Veggie garden & home made lemon cordial

Well, here is an update on the veggie garden - as you can see it is looking great :-)

All is going really well and the broccoli is very big but no broc's yes :-(

The tomatoes are growing BIG but I have to say the snow peas are doing the best.

Can you see how many snow peas are on there!!!!

The fruit trees are thriving too :-)

Lots and lots of new growth.......

I am pleased with the way it is growing so hopefully I will have lots of vegies soon.....

Today, Mum sent me an email with the recipe for making your own Lemon Cordial. Jemma stayed down at Mum and Dad's over the school holidays and she LOVED this cordial. When I picked up Jemma, Mum's friend had given her a box of lemons and Mum gave them to me. So, this afternoon after work, I made YUMMY lemon cordial.

LEMON CORDIAL RECIPE

2 & 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup lemon juice

2 cups water

Combine water & sugar, stir over low heat for approx. 3 mins until sugar dissolves.

Increase heat and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes without stirring.

Pour in lemon juice and bottle. Makes approx 1 litre. Keep in the fridge.

I got the bottles from the Vinnies shop today and washed them out. I doubled the recipe and got 2 litres of cordial. There is a lot of sugar in it, however all cordial has heaps of sugar and at least you know exactly what is in it. Had a taste test and it was YUMMY. Great for using up lemons or if lemons are cheap and you buy a box full!!! (or your mum gives you some - thanks MUM!!!)

Rach

xxxxxx

Rescue Animals

Hi again

I thought I would feature some of our wonderful animals - our doggies and cats.

I am constantly amazed how society is obsessed with a "throw away" mentality and unfortunately this also how some treat their animals. I will only have rescue animals ie animals that someone else doesn't want (for what ever reason). It is a very sad fact that many beautiful animals are needlessly put down because the novelty wore off, people didn't want to spend the $$ or someone just didn't care. PLEASE PLEASE GET YOUR ANIMALS DESEXED!!!!


Introducing..............

Poppy (L) and Donut





These 2 cuties were probably pet shop puppies whose owners tossed them in the pound when they stopped being "cute puppies". They were about 9-12 months old when we got them.

Donut is very nervous around people she doesn't know and it took Poppy about 6 months to realise she had a home (and to STOP trying to escape the yard). All is good now though.

We got Poppy from Cordy's Rescue - http://www.cordysrescue.com.au/ and Donut from Doggie Rescue - http://www.doggierescue.com.au/

They are both lovely doggies and we LOVE them.

AND

Introducing.......

Victor (L), Honey (middle) & Cody

Victor is from the AWL & I got him as a kitten to be friends with Squishy (see my first post to see Squish and her story). Then Alex brought home Honey as a flea ridden kitten from some person she knew whose cat had kittens (grrrrrrr people who don't desex their pets grrrrrrr) and then we got Cody from my sisters vets. He is a pure bred Cornish Rex cat - chocolate in colour (and prob cost about $600!!!) and is previous owner "didn't want him anymore". Go figure....

So even "pure breed" animals are disposable (Squishy and Cody) - it is really sad.

So if you are considering a new animal for your family, please consider a rescue animal too. See my links for some sites. I so wish I could save more but we have 4 cats and 2 doggies and 2 chooks - Greg has put his foot down!! LOL

Oh, I also have rescue hen's from the battery farm (sadly I had 5 but only 1 left now). I will feature my chookies in another post - I have 1 ex-battery and 1 silky bantam now :-)

Rach xxx

Making soap is MAGIC!!!

Hi again - sorry it has been a long time between posts........ I have been a bit slack LOL

Anyway, on the weekend I decided to try making soap from scratch. I bought a cold processed soap kit from http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/ and followed the directions.

Well, believe it or not I made some beautiful soap - Vanilla and Hemp & Lime. It is hard to believe that you can melt some oil and put it with a caustic soda/water mix and in 24 hours you have made soap - AMAZING.

It is more expensive to make than purchasing cheap soap from the supermarket - however, there are no foreign ingredients and no animals have been harmed in the making of the soap (eg animal testing) AND if is fun to make. I also think that it makes a lot more than what you get at the supermarket and if you let it dry for 4-6 weeks then it will last a LOT longer than the cheap stuff. It is also much better for your skin too (non drying).

I put mine in washed out 1L milk cartons and we cut it with a knife and mitre box. I broke a bit off and tried it - it lathered beautifully, smells devine and my skin felt great after (not dry).

Have a look at aussie soap supplies and see what you think :-)

Here is a picture of the soap I made (the green is the hemp and lime & the brown is the vanilla)