Moving in a new direction :-)

 

 

it seems like a million years has flown by since I have been here  Whoops!

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog except for the last post, it was a draft that has been sitting there 6 months and I pleased to announce that we have finished the latch hook but I have been too slack and haven't made a pillow yet. Embarrassing!
I promise to post a photo soon :-)


I have decided after much thought and prayer that its time to move this blog in a new and exciting new direction, instead of  just updates about our lives and what adventures we have been living. I thought it was time to include some variety in my posts by adding some different topics. Some topics that come to mind include single parent home-schooling, cheap and healthy recipes, healthy eating and homemaking  . If you have any topics that you would like me to cover please comment below :-)


Do not be worried though, I still plan on sharing our adventures but I just wanted to include some encouragement and advice because I know from experience that being a single parent is not easy and we need to support and encourage each other and build a support network.

The first topic that I thought I would talk about is how I pay my bills and still have money left over to eat!  It was stressful when I first started having to pay the bills and to keep up to date without feeling like I was drowning but now I have a system in place where most of my bills are in credit.



Drowning in bills!!!!

Many Blessings,

 

Kelly

Learning Latch Hook Craft

Tonight I had the opportunity to teach my Mum and Miss E how to complete a latch hook kit. I have been looking for these kits online and at Spotlight and Lincraft but online were expensive and the others didn't stock them anymore.

Two weeks ago as I was going to Big W to buy a book, as we were walking past a small art & craft store, there sitting on the front shelf was latch hook kits and they were also cheap or so I thought until on Friday we went to Big W again and they were on sale so I had to purchase another kit.It might just become my new crafting obsession! Mum was with me and decided that she wanted to give Latch Hooking a try and purchased the beginner kit with just a few colours.

I had never heard of Latch Hooking until we caught up with a local home-school craft group and some of the children were completing latch hook kits that their mother had found at an op shop. Even she had been looking for the kits without any success.

Even Milly didn't want to miss out on the action :-)

What I really like about them is how simple they are to complete especially compared to either a cross-stitch or long-stitch kits. For beginners such as Miss E and Mum, they are uncomplicated and easy to get started and quick to see the results.


Once we have finished, Miss E wants to turn her creation into a pillow for her bed and Mum was talking about making a pillow as well but to use it for the lounge room. Miss E has been busy working hard to complete hers and has almost finished, once its complete I must make sure to take a photo before we make the pillow.


Stay Tuned :-)








 

Trampoline Park!

A trampoline park opened in a nearby town and Miss E visited with her youth group last night. After two hours of jumping and a quick trip to McDonalds, she arrived home tired. It is great to have a fun venue for teenagers close by because the other trampoline park is over an hour away and this park is twenty minutes away.

Last night wasn't the first time Miss E has visited the park. On Monday we met another home-schooling family with a daughter close to Miss E's age and had a wonderful time catching up and hanging out. I did film Miss E doing a front flip into the foam pit.

It was great to see the girls trying out all the different areas and encouraging each other to try different trampolines and going during school time meant that they just about had the park to themselves.

Sad Day

We received a sad call from my parents last night to say that their dog, Gypsie had been hit and killed by a car. I don't know all the details about the accident but when Mum called crying last night I think my heart just about stopped in fear that something had happened to Dad.


After the quick call from Mum, I had to break the news to Miss E and my heart broke watching her upset and in tears. It's not the first time that I have had to explain to Miss E that a beloved animal has died but it doesn't get easier each time I see her upset.

This is not the only sad news that we have had this week. On Monday as I went to check on our chickens, I could only find one rooster so I can only assume that a fox killed eight chickens. Now we have a very sad rooster that I hope the fox doesn't return to kill.

Miss E, Milly and Gypsie




RIP GYPSIE
We love and miss you!

Living Virtuously Giveaway!

Over at  www.keeperofthehomestead.com 5 lucky people have the amazing opportunity to win a copy of Erin Harrison's brand new book called:

 

In this book, I cover 24 Virtues.  

1. Love–What is virtue
2. Conduct–Modesty
3. Conversation–Being careful with our words
4. Commitment–Keeping commitments
5. Goodness–Being good and not evil
6. Helping–Learning how to be a good help meet
7. Marriage
8. Work Ethic-A,B,C,D worker
9. Being Frugal
10. Hospitality and Meal Planning–14 day meal plan with grocery list–Table manners/place setting
11. Wisdom–Being careful when spending money
12. Strength–Health and wellness
13. Confidant–Pride verses Godly confidence/Marketing
14. Contentment–Content with daily grind/week schedule
15. Compassion–Helping those in need
16. Prepared/Not Afraid
17. Skilled–Interior design
18. Known–not smearing someone's name
19. Orderly–How to organize your home
20. Joyful
21. Kindness
22. Keeping the Home–Cleaning basics and chore charts/Time management–Schedule.
23. Mothering–child training and balance
24. Praise

While I have not read this book yet, I am hoping to purchase a copy very soon as I think it would be invaluable in any homemaker's library because of the many different topics covered. I have been a follower of Erin's for sometime and I have been greatly encouraged by many of her posts.
So head on over to her blog for your chance to win and Good Luck!


Kelly

Looking at ways to save and earn money!

Now that I have decided to not work for four months I have been on the lookout for ways to save money around my home. As the saying goes, "It's easier to save money than earn money".

So I have started on one of my ideas but it's going to take a few months before I see any savings. Over here in Australia we are currently in winter especially as we live in southern Australia, it is cold, today's temperature is meant to reach 14 degrees or 57 Fahrenheit. Not the ideal temperature to start gardening but I purchased raspberry canes, a blueberry plant and 6 strawberry plants. In total they cost around $20 but with a punnet of raspberries costing $8.00 in the supermarket and a punnet of blueberries costing around $6.00 and strawberries are currently $4.00 a punnet, the savings will be great once we begin to harvest.

In March we were also given 7 one week old bantam x silkie chicks that have joined our one white hen, now they are 2 months off from hopefully producing eggs so we wont have to buy eggs and we will sell excess eggs to buy food for them and their manure will be used in the vegetable garden that I am currently work on. I have also had the idea to grow herbs seeing as I love to cook with them and any excess herbs I was think I could sell too.

Currently I have the chicken coop over the area that I will turn into a vegetable patch once the warm weather begins but they have been doing a fabulous job of scratching the dirt as well as fertilizing it so when spring arrives I can grow beautiful organic vegetables!

It amazes me that even though we only live on a surburban block there are many ways that I could not only save money but I have the potential with some hard work to make money as well. We have some fruit trees planted such as an apricot, plum, cherry and mandarin I also purchased a lemonade tree which is supposed to be a cross between lemon and mandarin. In the next couple of weeks I am hoping to buy an apple tree while the nursery is selling them bare-rooted for only $20.00.

Hard Decisions

I am sorry for the lack of posts but we are back      Hurray!

It has been a very busy time around our house lately, we have been travelling most weekends up to my brother's farm and the many social catch ups with our local home schoolers as well as with my work at after school care, we have been run off our feet with all the activities. But changes are occurring, my brother and sister-in-law have rented their farm out for a year and have decided to travel around Australia before my nephew starts school and my parents have decided to pack up their caravan and travel for about 4 months. So within a space of a few weeks all my support people will be leaving.

So then I came to the point of making the hard decision on what to do with Miss E while I went to work because it seemed to be a common question asked by many people.

Now that your mum and dad are leaving, what are your going to do with Miss E while your at work?

Well I had a few options but none of them seemed to be the right answer, including because she is 13 she could just stay at home by herself. I don't know about you but I didn't feel comfortable leaving her for at least 4 hours by herself and I would be about 30 minutes away if she needed me for anything.

So I made the decision to take myself off the roster at work for the next 4 months, so we will have more time to enjoy this:


Bush walking in the beautiful forest!

Looking for these guys in the trees!

Enjoying the scenery while we are looking!

I am looking forward to spending more time blogging about our new changes for our lives and I know it will be an interesting adventure as always.