I'm Still Alive (Just!)

It's been a horrid week for us. Kids are sick with a bad cold which means they grizzle and whinge from the moment they get up and to make matters worse, they've passed it onto me. On top of this, a quoll (native cat) killed all of my chooks bar the one who is on "chicken raising duty" as well as one of my ducks.

It has hit me hard, I loved my "divas" and so my backyard seems very empty without them. No one to sit on my feet whilst I hang out the washing, no one to pat and no one to run excitedly around me like I'm they're favourite person it the world. Ahhh, I know it must seem silly but they were special to me.

Anyhoo, whilst it's been a bit of a downer of a week, exciting things are still happening. Roger has finished all the serving boards and chopping blocks that we are using as Christmas gifts (thus saving us lots of $$ on Christmas presents). I've been prettying up the jars of jam that I've made for the neighbours (as Christmas gifts too, see here for a recipe) and the veggie patch is producing lots of yummy stuff.

No Spend November is in it's last week (I'll do a summary at the end of the month) but overall, it's worked well to get us back on the money saving train. I'm still concentrating on sticking to a budget when heading to the supermarket and not making any unnecessary discretionary purchasing along the way. I think it will be a good challenge to do again in January after the Christmas/New Year binge.

It has also helped me focus on using what I've got before going out and buying new. A prime example of this is the Black Cherry Jam (above). The cherries needed a purpose other than wasting space in my freezer and the fabric/string I used to decorate them was what I already had in the cupboard.

I'm off  now to 1 - blow my nose and 2 - make some muffins for afternoon tea (with ingredients I can find in the freezer/pantry of course!)