Treat yourself, and two UFOs...

 

After so much happening lately within the family, my plan for this week was to catch up on things around home, work in the garden, and go visit a friend. But the best laid plans can easily be changed.

I began to feel unwell last Saturday night, and by Sunday morning I suspected there was more to it than I'd at first thought. By Monday morning I had a full blown virus, and it's been downhill from there every day since. So I've not left the house in a while, and have had to pace my days between shorts bursts of energy, and long hours of feeling blah. 

Kelly-dog has stayed close to my side, perhaps sensing that I'm not on top of life at the moment? 

This morning (Thursday) after doing the basic chores of breakfast, dishes, making the bed, hanging the washing, and feeding our pets, I was preparing to settle down with a herbal tea and watch Olesya's new vlog (a new one is up every Thursday my time), when I thought "Jennifer, why don't you make yourself a nice morning tea? Do something special."  And so I did. 

You see, I never bake scones for myself. I only bake them for family and visitors. With hubby at work six days a week, it has never occured to me that I could just bake them for my own delight. 

As the scones were baking, I went out in the garden to pick fresh herbs to make a pot of tea, and pondered the idea of making a fuss of oneself every so often, with a special morning tea. It just didn't seem right, and yet, why was that so? I still cannot answer that question, but I think many of us need to take a moment some days, to treat ourselves by the simple joy of creating a special meal for one. 

I found my lovely white tray, gave it good dust and wipe down, lay one of my very favourite little welcome mats across the base, and once the scones and tea were ready I headed out to the garden where the view is so lovely now that the petunias and dahlias are coming in to flower. 

Instead of sitting inside to watch Olesya's vlog on the telly, I popped the iPad up on our outside table and spent a lovely relaxing half hour or so watching her and her husband working to create rustic beauty in their remote forest house in Belarus. You can watch her HERE

I chose to finish off the last of the marmalade and the raspberry jam with my scones, and enjoyed two large mugs of delicious lemon balm, mint, tulsi and ginger tea. Kelly-dog thought he needed a treat too, so I had added a plain scone to my plate for him as well. It appears he and I will repeat this morning tea regularly. 

To keep my hands entertained during the past few days, I pulled out a few UFO projects that would be easy to pick up and put down. The first is a crochet blanket I began last year around August, the end of our winter season...but our short winter was even shorter and it was soon far too warm for crochet, so it was put aside for this winter. It's a warm winter so far, but very pleasant, and the evenings are good for crochet as we have all the doors and windows open, allowing the cooler night air to fill the house. 

Now, at this stage I must tell you what happened last night. I was in the kitchen tidying up not long after my husband had arrived home from work. It was dark outside, and I was just using the pantry light as it offers enough vision into the kitchen. Hubby had gone up to the pool to clean it and to check on our cat Sophie. I had packed up the blanket and the balls of yarn, and carefully placed them in a basket on the small table by the couch, ready for me to work on a little later. 

When I finished in the kitchen, I came into the living room and discovered Kelly-dog in his bed with a ball of yarn, and then looked over near the couch to see the basket upended on the floor and my blanket was nowhere in sight. 

Well, I found the blanket wrapped around a tree in the backyard. Yarn was wrapped around plants and strewn across the ground, and my favourite purple crochet hook was missing. Hubby and I searched with spotlights in the dark to find all that was missing, but we were unable to retrieve my crochet hook. half an hour later I had rewound yarn, removed all manner of leaf and twigs from the blanket, and given Kelly a jolly good talking to. 

This morning as I hung the washing on the line I spied a flash of purple under the passionfruit vine, which is so wild it has covered the large red Ixora, and heavy with fruit, lay mostly along the ground. I thanked the Lord because I think that hook has moulded to my hand and is incredibly comfortable, so I was not looking forward to breaking in a new 4mm hook at all. 

The second UFO project I have been working on is the remake of Phyllis May's Kitchen (here is the original), but this time as a quilt and with my own name in the main block instead of Nana's. 

I began these more than two years ago, and after completing eight blocks I put it aside, with the idea of getting back to it a month or two later. Last year I did the embroidery and applique on the final four blocks, but then put it all away again, as I was not very inspired to do the borders at that stage. This week I felt it was the perfect time to do a little each day, and yesterday had completed the final four block borders. 

Throughout this remake I have added vintage lace, vintage buttons, and old doilies to most of the blocks, and am now planning how to display all twelve blocks as a quilt. Below are some of the photos...

I think I shall sew some favoured patchwork blocks to fill out the quilt, making it a better size for our bed. And if I'm honest, this may take a while, just as every step of the project has been thus far. ;-) 

There was also a third UFO I'd begun to complete, but my computer has been acting up today and I can't get the photos loaded, so it can wait till another day. All I did with the third UFO was finish one of the eight blocks, and then trim them all...while I figure out how I shall display them, for this will not be a simple idea and I shall need time. 

I do hope you are all looking after yourselves? Are you in need of a special treat for one? I have decided life is too short to wait for company, or a visit to a friend, before enjoying a lovely morning tea. In these wintry years of life, we should make time to not just be a blessing to others, but a blessing to ourselves, especially, if you're like me, and are blessing others in one way or another almost all the time. I do love to bless others, it comes quite naturally, a gift from the Lord to be sure, but I am realising it's okay to bless myself with a simple and special morning tea on a regular basis as well, for I love morning teas! What about you? 

May the Lord bless each of you with wisdom to understand His Word, so that you may know His good and perfect will in every situation you face. I find that no matter what is happening in our day to day lives, whether in the valleys or on the mountain tops, we need to know our Bible so that we can draw from it all the wisdom, faith, courage, hope and direction we need - and so that we will not be deceived by false teaching, which appears to be rampant now. 

Currently I am working on the next Bible Study to share with you, and as my love is for ministering from the aspect of womanhood and gentle domesticity, it will be about one very special Biblical woman whom some may overlook, but her example is profound and covers many exemplary qualities. I am excited to gift you this soon. 

Hugs,

Living in your season...

The first eight verses of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 describe various, seemingly opposing, seasons that we may face in our lifetime, such as a time to tear and a time to mend, or a time to plant and a time to pluck what we have grown...and so they go on. 

This year, I have come to realise that many things I used to do with ease, now require much more strength, time and energy - yet I have still been pushing myself to do them. This week I was needed to care for my grandchildren (and their new puppy) a few times, and it is such an enjoyable time for all of us when they are here with me for the day. I prepare food, set up activities, and give them my full attention until it is time for mummy to come and pick them up. The children shower me with laughter, love and hugs, and always look forward to our next visit. I feel so blessed to be their Nana.

There was a time when I could visit with them almost every day and still be fresh and energetic, but the time is passing, and over the past year or so, I have needed more recovery time after their visits. 

Another thing which is noticeable is recovery time being needed after working in the garden, deep cleaning the home, or spending a day in the kitchen preparing meals in advance and baking bread. 

Growing up, I watched my Nana and Pop working hard each day - Pop to provide for us, and Nana to create a tiny comfortable home with nourishing meals to fill our bellies - but I also watched them relax at the end of the day, and especially on Sundays. When the work was done, it was done. Nana did not write herself a list of things to do the next day, or concern herself with what the morrow would bring. Instead, when the dishes were done and her apron was hanging behind the kitchen door, she would sit with Pop and I to play a game, or drink iced cordial on the front steps while we children in the street played and the neighbours walked to and fro to chat before the sun set. 

The rhythm of their life was slow and steady, rarely changing, and to my young mind it was a life of surety, simplicity and delight. Nana was just 51 when she and Pop became my parents, a time in life when her child-rearing years were well behind her, but neither of them shied away from the responsibility of becoming 'parents' to their 3yo granddaughter who had just lost her mummy. 

I can look back now and see that they were quite intentional about drawing me in to their slow-paced quiet life, and perhaps its why I still prefer peace and quiet rather than excitement and people and noise. By the time I was a teenager Nana was 62 and Pop had retired. Their lives slowed more, and again, I was drawn in to that precious quiet, that wonderful day to day rhythm of doing what they'd always done, even though by now both of them had dropped a few pastimes by the wayside. I realise now that they were adjusting their life to what they could still do, rather than pushing themselves to do what they'd always done before. 

And that's what the Lord spoke into my thoughts this past week, after I had struggled to get as much done as possible during the in-between days of having the grandchildren. 

I heard that still small voice say, "It's time for you to do what you can, but lay aside what you now cannot. This season of growing older is a time to let go of old expectations, and be content with the things you are still able to do."

You know, I was speechless when I heard that. 

It was on my list to write two blog posts this week, but time was not provided to do so. Instead, I was blessed to spend time with family, and be 'all there' with them. You cannot put a high enough value on that, can you. 

Today my husband had a rostered day off work, and we worked side by side in the garden...such a treat. He prepared a new raised garden bed for growing sweet potatoes, at my request, and I was able to replant many of our older bushes into areas where they can thrive all year (they were all in the winter shade and quite unhappy). I also planted a new bareroot rose, a red one called Oklahoma, and now all the roses are in the dry area of the front yard where they get a lot of the winter sun. Some have already come alive after pruning, but the new one, and another that needed a hard prune, will begin to sprout new leaves and stems soon. We're both tired now, but thoroughly happy we spent the day in our garden.

Last night I made a chocolate mousse pie from a recipe in the Blue Zones Cookbook, and it is delicious, so we enjoyed that after a lunch of cornbread (another recipe from the same cookbook) and black bean chilli. 

The recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, but we do not have them in Australia so I made a pie crust using Arnott's Granita biscuits instead. I also make my own almond milk so used that and added some homemade vanilla extract. My husband was pleasantly surprised by the lack of sweetness in the pie, but mostly impressed that it was made with tofu. I used a 70% cocoa chocolate (180g) instead of chocolate chips, and will use an 80% cocoa chocolate next time for even less sweetness as we love bitter dark chocolate. 

Charlie, with the family's new puppy, Tucker. He's 10 weeks old, and already best friends with their older pug, Barney. Our own Kelly-dog simply adores him too, but trying to get a photo of the two of them playing was impossible as they never stood still. ;-) All three dogs love playing together so we make regular playdates at Blossom's now. This week was the first time Tucker had come to visit us...

Back to these changing life seasons...I choose to live in the rhythm of this season of life, not with regret or bitterness about what cannot be done, or my physical/health restrictions, but with gentle delight about embracing the things I still enjoy and can still do, as long as I can. 

I pray that whatever season you are in, you are finding delight in all you can do, and that if you're struggling to achieve more, or attain higher expectations of yourself, that you lower the bar to where you are today, to the season you are now in, and that in doing so, a weight lifts from your mind and you see delight in all you can still do, and perhaps just live a little slower to enjoy the journey. 

May God bless you, refresh you, open your heart to hear His still small voice, and bring His peace to rest in your life. 

Bless you heaps,

Block 6 The Sewing Room, and a trip to Lucinda...

 

I'm sure you'll agree that you cannot have a sewing room without fabric, and whether that be a small amount, or a large stash, it's what we rely on to sew garments, quilts, gifts, useful things for the home, and also for mending. 

I chose to feature eight different fabrics (perfect for scraps!) and sew them together in two rows of four. The squares were cut to 1.5", and after sewing together with a 1/4" seam, and turning the outer border under by a 1/4" before appliqueing to the background fabric, I had myself a cute little 2" x 4" "quilt". 

When I completed the hand embroidery, I hand quilted the little appliqued quilt with small running stitches. I hope you enjoy making this block and using up your own scraps. :-) 

Use the link below to download the free pattern...

DOWNLOAD block 6 of The Sewing Room

If you missed the first five blocks in this nine-month BOM, you will find them HERE

Today we went for a drive north to Lucinda, a beautiful spot on the water, and with a great fish shop. The weather is glorious for the first day of winter, 27C (81F), which is what it will be most of winter. It's so nice not to need air conditioning for a few months, and also a blessing to be able to sit outside and not dissolve in a pool of perspiration. 

We had grilled coral trout (our favourite fish) and salad, overlooking the Lucinda Bulk Sugar Terminal. Kelly was at our feet, waiting for titbits of fish to come his way (and he did indeed enjoy our leftovers!). 

The Terminal is the longest in the southern hemisphere at 5.76 klm long (almost 3.5 miles) and has been called an engineering masterpiece because it follows the curvature of the earth. 

The terminal allows Lucinda to handle large bulk sugar ships of up to 50,000 tonnes, and around 20 ships every year export from here to markets all over the world. In case I've not mentioned it before, we live in the midst of the 'sugar cane capital' of Australia, and right now many fields of cane are ripe for harvest. The sugar crush begins in June and finishes in December. During the crush, when you drive north or south of our town, you will see cane trains moving across the highway, carrying cut cane from the farms to the sugar mills (of which there are many). The smell of molasses fills the air, and the steam rising from the mill looks like thick smoky tornadoes. It's an amazing sight and one we love to watch on our Sunday drives. When the crush begins I'll take some pics and show you. 

As lovely as the beach is at Lucinda, you cannot swim there due to crocodiles. One day we were there enjoying lunch and watched a crocodile enjoying the water, so we take the warning signs along the beach very seriously. We come here for a nice fish and salad lunch, not to be his lunch. ;-)

Now that its June many of the mango trees are in bloom, which means its only 4-5 months until mango season again - something we all love in our family. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without fresh mangoes. I plan to make lots of mango chutney and mango pickles in February as the season winds down.

Where we live there are also loads of strangler figs, and though the host tree beneath eventually rots and dies, these monstrous figs are incredibly beautiful, and can live for hundreds of years.

I hope you are having a relaxing weekend, wherever you are. We did some gardening when we arrived home in the early afternoon, and I roasted a chicken for meals during the week. I also tried something new - roast a sweet potato, then scoop out the flesh and mash it with coconut milk, salt and pepper. WOW!!! It's delicious...and I had to hold back from sampling the lot as its a side dish for dinner tonight. 

God bless you dear ones, and I shall be back during the week to chat about homemaking and gentle domesticity...

Bless you heaps,

Boro, and a new Promises block for you...

Hello lovely ones. It's nice to be back chatting with you again, though my time away from the blog this month was a bit longer than I had planned. In hindsight, there's a pattern which has emerged in my blogging life the past few years, of needing an unspecified break every six months or so, to step away, refresh my thoughts, pray, seek the Lord's direction, and decide whether to keep going, alter my course, or close the door on Elefantz. 

I won't go into everything that's happened this month, just know that our family was challenged almost daily, and the only way we got through it was to hang on to Jesus, and not let the circumstances dim our faith in His goodness. We remind each other "and if not, He is still good" whenever seasons of trial, especially those seasons that appear to have no end in sight, are being faced. Currently, the end is still not in view, and some big decisions must be made, but God is with us through it all, and we know He shall provide at a given time in the way that is best for HIS glory. 

You know, there is so much comfort in this truth! I love opening His Word and studying, exploring passages in context, uncovering the original meaning of each word, praying for revelation along the way (and by His grace receiving it). There is no greater book to read than the Bible, for it is life giving, hope filling, way leading, course corrective, food for the soul, and rich in truths eternal.

During my absence I sketched and stitched a fourth design in the Promises of God project, and I wanted to share it with you today, before our next The Sewing Room block is shared.

Whilst stitching, I realised this was to be the final block in the project, as I have only a small amount of the vintage tablecloth fabric, and even smaller pieces of a few other vintage style prints I'd planned to use in borders...so, I sketched up a nine-patch quilt layout and will complete Promises of God that way. 

Perhaps you'd like to complete yours this way? Or do you have another idea you could share in the comments which others might prefer? I'll be sure to show you how my version comes together in another post, perhaps later in June.

Here are the four blocks in Promises of God. They are all free to download, and will stay free. Use the link below to download Block 4...

DOWNLOAD block 4 Promises of God

...and go HERE to download the previous blocks if you missed them.

The Boro Project...

Remember in April that I was repurposing an old white dress into a top using Japanese boro mending? In case you forgot, this is how it started, with white and grey patches along the bottom edge and some over the chest and neck area...

I did a lot more the first week of my blog absence, and when I was happy with it and felt no more patches or stitching were needed, I decided to dye the top blue. As we're having to be far more careful with our pennies these days, I thought it best if I gathered a number of old items from my wardrobe and dye them in the same batch, thus making the purchase of the dye viable and giving myself a new wardrobe in the process!

I ended up with two dresses, one pair of linen pants, one pair of garden shorts, one sleevless top, and that lovely Boro top.

The front...

The back...

I'm really happy with how it turned out, and have plans to do the same with a similar old white dress in the future, but next time in very deep purple because I suit the richer blue, purple and pink colour schemes.

While I've been away from the blog this month, I've been able to do loads in the garden, much of it clearing and replanting, but also adding new flowers for bees, and salad greens. I have a big sewing project underway, well plenty of small projects actually, but I'll share more about that in a few weeks, and I've also been studying a lot more about sour dough, especially how they managed it in the 1700-1800's - rather different to how I've done it over the past twenty years. 

Kelly-dog is wonderful, even when he's pulling the washing off the line, or the passionfruit off the vine. He adores us and we simply love him to bits. He especially loves sitting between us at morning Bible study, or in the evenings when we read or watch something interesting on YouTube. He tucks his head under hubby's arm in the mornings as though he's reading the Bible too - it's the cutest thing you can imagine. Of a day when hubby is at work, he's my constant companion and loves lots of cuddles. He also enjoys the occasional treat when I'm making lunch or my husband's work lunchbox for the next day...he especially loves the few raspberries I scatter outside the back door for him to find! :-)

I shall sign off today, though I have many photos and subjects to discuss that have been on my mind this month, they can easily wait for June. I am so grateful for each day that is given by God, and can tell you He has refreshed me enough to keep blogging the rest of the year. One day I think this door will close, but until that time arrives, my notebook is full of wonderful thoughts and ideas which I'd love to chat with you about. 

How have you been?? What's been happening in your life? 

Let me leave you with this passage, which has been light in my darkness this year, and excites me so much for what is yet ahead.

God bless, and big hugs,

Subscribe to my free Friday newsletter HERE and never miss a blog post, pattern or tutorial

Stitch my free 2025 block of the month 'The Sewing Room' HERE

A time to be silent...

Nana always said, "If you don't know what to say, don't say anything", and lately I haven't really felt like writing or talking. 

Apart from a three-day migraine that kept me quieter than usual, and between spring cleaning the house (though it's autumn here) I have been reading books from the 1800s. During our homeschool years I studied and taught my children quite a lot from that era, but these past few weeks I have learned new things about the tenacity, faith, hard work, and ingenuity, of those who lived in a time when things were indeed simpler. 

Simpler in the context of less decisions to make, less to own, less to buy, and living a regular rhythm of days and seasons and years. They had less than we do now, but I truly believe they had more that mattered, and they appreciated the little they had, something we in a consumerist society find difficult, especially when bombarded with advertisements and huge shopping centres/malls.

To say my mind has been elsewhere recently is to state a truth. The more I read of lives lived 150 years ago, the more I look at my own, and the more I seek out the teachings of Jesus about what matters most. 

I am a regular declutterer, as I do not like to feel crowded by things, but just the fact that I routinely declutter shows that I am still 'collecting' more than I need. And that was a bit of an epiphany for me the other day. 

Jesus clearly directs us not to 'store up' - not to worry about tomorrow, not to build a bigger barn to hold what we've accumulated, not to store up earthly treasures...He tells us that we need not be concerned about what we will eat or what we will wear, for our Heavenly Father knows these things and will provide for all our 'needs'. He teaches us to store up true treasures in heaven. 

You know, I thought I had a good understanding of all that, but the more I look around our home, the more I ponder my earthly treasures, and the $ spent on them over the decades, and I've asked myself "Has this brought me joy?" the answer is almost always, no. 

I was thinking about Nana's grocery list, and how short it was, how she'd only written very basic items, and then remembered the meals we happily shared around the table in her small kitchen - simple, nourishing - and memorable because I still remember them! No wonder she laughed a lot, no wonder we looked forward to a simple meal of scones, butter and jam on Sunday evening, no wonder she never needed a delivery man to bring her groceries, and no wonder the only 'pantry' she had was a small half-cupboard beside the stove with curtains instead of doors. The top of it was her kitchen bench. It was all she needed, and I never heard her complain about needing more space or wishing she could buy different things. She lived contentedly. What we had was all we needed, and though she worked hard every day to keep things clean and tidy, she knew how to enjoy a 'smoko' break with a big pot of tea and perhaps some bread, butter and jam. 

'Smoko' is what we used to call morning tea and afternoon tea. There was always tea, and always bread, butter and jam, but sometimes we'd have cake or leftover baked custard from the night before. She enjoyed those 'smoko' breaks with me, and Pop if he was home (he was a shift worker all his life on the wharves), and never felt the need to fuss it up. Plain and simple ingredients, made for delicious simple meals. 

This week so far I have deep cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, linen cupboard, and floors. Whilst cleaning out the fridges I decided to make more jam from the last of the season's plums. I always label them, and did so with the May 25 labels, but instead of printing up a fourth May 25 label, I used the leftover label from February. Its funny, but I have begun thinking about the little insignificant things which havent't really mattered to me before, and wasting one leftover label from February wasn't something Nana would have done...so I used it. How many small and seemingly insignificant things can I take note of moving forward? I think there will be many. I hope to follow Nana's example in new ways I've previously overlooked, or forgotten. 

You see, I just want to simplify, and remove as much of the life and mind clutter as possible, and hopefully live my life out in greater peace, contentment and gratitude. 

So, I am taking note of Ecclesiastes 3:7b and will be taking a blogging break for a couple of weeks. 

I'm enjoying the silence, and not needing to communicate much at all...my husband is like me, we're both rather quiet naturally at home, but this break for me will be one of observing more than talking or writing. I look forward to learning more as I read from times gone by, remembering Nana and her gentle ways, seeking the Lord and being taught from His words, tending the garden, slow stitching, remaking old clothes into new, simplifying our meals more than I have ever done before, and enjoying our dear dachshund Kelly.

I shall be praying for you all, especially that the Lord will open your own eyes to the things He wants you to learn (they may be very different to this season of my own learning), just as He opened mine. Who knows how these changes we make will affect our lives? But what I do know, is that it can only be for good, for everything from the Lord is for our best. 

God bless you, and I shall hopefully chat again late in May....

Hugs

You will find my design account on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz

And my other Instagram account, just for homemaking, HERE @elefantzhome

Subscribe to my free Friday newsletter HERE and never miss a blog post, pattern or tutorial

Stitch my free 2025 block of the month 'The Sewing Room' HERE