In the Garden

My poor garden has been sadly neglected over summer. The only veges to do well have been chillis and pumpkin vines (I say pumpkin vines because the pumpkins didn't grow well) - I did make a few meals of stuffed pumpkin flowers and will share the recipe in another post becuase they were yummy.

Despite the neglect the herbs are all thriving. My mushroom plants are growing fantastically. This herb is amazing. The leaves taste just like mushrooms and are great in stirfrys, casseroles, omelettes or sandwiches. It is high in chlorophyll, calcium and protien - a little wonder herb.
Read more about them here http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/mushroom-plant.html

I have also found a use for all the olive oil tins I have been keeping. I have removed the tops, punched drainage holes in the bottom and planted them with herbs. They are just outside the door and make a nice little display.

Picking watermelons. They are all small but very juicy and sweet. They wont last long. I will be saving seeds from these to plant next year.

I have also been keeping busy on the sewing machine sewing more cloth books for my made it store.

I can't believe a whle school term has just about finished! It simply flew by.

Replacing Plastics

I have been reading a lot about plastic containers and have started replacing the plastic containers around the house. Have a look at the links below if you feel like a bit of reading.

http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests/Food-and-Health/Food-and-drink/Safety/Plastic-food-containers/page/Introduction.aspx
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/plastic-coding-system.shtml
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=plastic-not-fantastic-with-bisphenol-a


My pantry was the first place I began. I have replaced a lot of storage containers with glass. And I must say the pantry has never looked neater and it is so much easier to see what is in the jars. Drink bottles have been replaced by these. I love how they have big openings so cleaning is very easy. http://www.naturallysustainable.com.au/
Our lunchboxes are still plastic but I just love these cuter than cuter Eco Lunch box sets. They come in a huge range of colours too.

http://www.ecolunchboxes.com/product.html

They are on my wish list!

It will take a while to eliminate all the plastic so just doing a bit at a time at the moment but it so good to know there are some great alternatives out there.

Crafty Blog

I have been busy making a new blog in an attempt to keep the crafty side and Made it shop items seperate from this blog.

Creative Wishes

So pop over and tell me what you think. It is amazing how much time it takes to set up these things!

Meanwhile the garden is looking very neglected. The only things I am picking a lot of is herbs, eggplants and chillis. Fruit flies have found my citrus, pumpkin vines have taken over my yard and aren't even growing pumpkins!

Creating

It has been a while between posts but there is a very exciting reason for that!

At the beginning on the year I wrote a post about my goals for the year and my word for the year Create.

http://simplysuburbia.blogspot.com/2010/01/heres-to-2010.html

Creating is what I have been doing lots of!

I have been sewing.

I have been glueing.

I have been scrapbooking.

I have been hand stitchitching.
And as of yesterday I have taken the plunge and set up a shop at Made It

http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=12610

Creative Wishes

I have always made things - sewn, knitted, papercraft, scrapbooking, card making etc. My hands need to be busy! I can't just sit and watch tv... I need to be doing something with my hands.

But most of what I have made in the past goes to friends or family as gifts.

So selling my handcrafts is a very new thing for me and something I hope others appreciate as much as I have loved making.

Creative Wishes will give me an avenue to sell some of my handmade items. I have lots of other things to list in the next week or so.