Change to homestead Happenings

 They say a change is as good as a holiday . 

Hopefully I can sort this space out and not have to create another for our next adventure.. see yas real soon 

Moving on... Just a reminder to me that I am Living my dream :)

Hi ......... hope your weekend was a wonderful one x

 The first week we owned Rose-Ella we excitedly arranged for a dam to be dug , They are not cheap but we knew water is liquid gold out here , we didn't expect it to be filled anytime soon ,But we had rain and good rain within the first month we had it .. its a great size puddle now ...

 

 I kept as much of our furniture as possible and we have one 40ft and one 20ft shipping container here to store it all in , Love going through them and seeing what can be used next , one day ( maybe :) they will be made into a work shed with doors and windows ...

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So,,, I have been asked repeatedly from people "Why" , Why move so far from the coast , Why out in the hot dry west, Why onto a bush block with nothing on it, What are you going to do for power, water, a home, Why?!!
Honestly it made me ask myself the same questions , got me down for a little while,,, but I had the answers :) ,, I know why, because its our Dream to get a life , thats why....

    Things happen slowly out here, we are learning to plod along and are living with a back to basics , simple living , reduce ,reuse ,recycle mind set..
It keeps us busy in mind and body , our spirits happy..we enjoy the adventure of the every day , having to work for what we need .( water , power) .

I am finding that life is what you make it, and simple is a great way to live..
I know It is not for everyone , To live out here in the bush and start a new lifestyle,,but it has been our dream for a long time and now that dream is reality.

It's a little scary at times but we are working our way through , go with the flow , take one day at a time and tackle each challenge as it comes ..

Learning something new everyday......
I have been hand washing and making my own washing suds, surface spray and liquid hand soap..
Knitting wash cloths and keeping my hands and mind busy with homely creations ..

although hot ( very hot and muggy ) I have a wonderful appreciation for the sun , my washing line is imperfectly perfect and I am grateful for such a lovely space to hang my washing , and enjoy the shade of the tree's to sit , listen to the birds and contemplate life :) ,

Thats all :) ,,, Thank you, I just needed to get that all out of my head and remind myself I am living my dream xox ... 

ooh I nearly forgot , we have two new additions to our little family, this is Gizmo he is 4 months old and our little girl Khaleesi is 9 weeks old , they are Neapolitan mastiffs ... And yes we all know they are not allowed on the bed , hahaha

Until Next Adventure

Take Care 

*Kris*

Ask , Believe , You shall receive !!! ( and with a little hard work ,, dreams really can come true)

Hello,,,
Long time no write, but I'm back ...
I'm ever so Excited to share some news..

*First of all..( a little rusty at this writing so please bare with me ),, back to a post I wrote about a little cottage we thought of buying , well it turned out to be heritage listed,, we are not at all good with being told what we can and can't do so that ended that ........

NOW the awesome news....  we became the proud owners of a 30acre virgin bush block..
Yep nothing on it but trees and bushes and kangaroos and trees and DIRT lots of Dirt...
But we have a dream and its 3 months in living full time and its all starting to become reality..
LIVING THE DREAM AND LOVING IT

I have so much to share haha ,,So just a quick one today to get you all up on our adventure here at Rose-Ella .. I will do it slowly over the next couple of weeks
we are just so excited about being here.

we have not had a lot of power as we are off the grid, so building up our solar system. for now its been generator a few hours of a morning and late afternoon and a small solar panel charging up car batteries to charge phones and run led lights ..

For now we are living in our motorhome

in the three months we have been here we have put up a small 3X3 garden shed that pretends to be a Kitchen

I was getting frustrated with running up and down the bus for kitchen stuff and then again when finished ;) .. and had this little shed on hand so why not ...... we have concreted the floor and put in a small window

 Pip loves the cool concrete floors on our hot summer days...

what next ....ooh yes an out door kitchen sink complete with pump action running water

 Next the out house .. (drop toilet)

and then a shower block ..

 Made of reclaimed shower floor , timber and old tin. ( we love shopping our local recycle centre, farmers auctions and local garage sales)
Again we concreted the floor ( getting so good at this concreting gig ;) ) and have a 1000lt cube for shower water.

 a small portable gas hot water system will be mounted to this side.
I shopped my treasures and now have a sweet functioning out door shower block..

so thats us living comfortably here for now :) we are slowly getting there and have the foundation poles in for our little cottage / cabin / hut.. the fold up gazebo will be taken down and we have the poles in for a large timber one with tin roof to go up :) hopefully next week.

I have been doing the markets selling my cloth dolls and homely creations so next on the list was a creation station.. a cheap old caravan is now Calico cottage my work area , I have a small generator to run my sewing machines

 inside calico cottage.

Life has been full on and we have loved every minute of it ( even the 30+ heat out here) .
we have had a few good drops of rain and the dirt is slowly turning into green grass..
we have started a small potted vegetable patch ( cherry tomatoes and capsicum) with grand plans for a larger vegetable garden and fruit trees and chickens :)

I will be getting on and updating when possible,  as I love sharing our adventures on our property we have named Rose-Ella.

I will also share my finds on home made cleaning products, easy camp recipes, living off the grid, solar systems, water catchment and anything we come across that could be of use :)

Until Next Adventure
Take Care
*Kris*

flying by....

Hello x
A quick post , the week in photos .

 Hanging out here at the cottage , looking to give this bbq area a redo...

mid week coffee , hugs and chats with our Son on his lunch break

Findings from a trip to the op shop...

one persons trash is so much more than another's treasure :) Loving my $2 Cath Kidston find..

I may have a Jamie Oliver obsession ...

Fun cookie stamps

Lovely company whilst hanging the washing ..

Weekend Out and about .....Sunday we took a trip to a farmers markets, although this one was very small and rather a little to boutique for us it still made for a good sunday drive, day out , walk in the sunshine , fresh produce and time out..

Needing lots of chocolate fixes I've been trying and taste testing all the good stuff...

 I had written this post very very lengthy about my downer moods and anxiety with a touch of depression .. but I deleted it all ( it was good to just write it all down and get it all out ) you don't need to hear all about my downers ,, I am trying to find my bright and sparklies so thats what I will share :)

I am a little excited as I'm off on an adventure at the end of the week with our grandson Mana , looking after him while mummy works at the Melbourne show,, I have been with them for the Sydney show and again for the Brisbane one and love every minute of our times together ...

Mana and I will be flying back after a week in Melbourne to the Gold coast so Daddy and his sisters can get to see him .... Then I will be staying on the Gold Coast for the next week and spending time with all my grand babies..... ( hehe a bit more than a little exciting ;))

Thanks for popping in
Until next adventure
Take care
Kris
XXX

Sharing a Yummy choc chip cookie recipe x

Ooh yes I am ,, but before I do I will get you up to speed with the buying of the cottage news .. Yes we finally found out a yes or no...
Unfortunately (or is that fortunately) .... anyways we will "not" be buying the cottage as we have found out it is Heritage listed and with that comes lots of dedication to details and these details have to be passed by the heritage council before any work is undertaken on the cottage ,,, it also has to be taken back to original appearance and that would cost lots of $$ ..  we are feeling although disappointing , it would have been a very , very big job for us to take on....

on wards and upwards we will continue to save and be on the look out for our forever cottage ,, it is out there somewhere....

In the mean time I have this old girl still sitting in the yard waiting for a face lift ( well a total re build its looking like ) ,, I'll be Blooming where I am planted and working on the tasks at hand ;)
A Caravan Cottage

I have moments of downs and moments of ups ..... I'm focusing on the ups and will continue on my Bright and Sparkly Adventure :)


All righty then , I had lured you all here with a Yummy choc chip cookies Recipe and thats what i'll give you ....

                                                                 Choc Chip Cookies
* 150g soft butter                                                                       * 1 egg
* 1/2 cup caster sugar                                                              * 1 3/4 cup Plain flour
* 1/2 cup Brown sugar                                                             * 1 cup Choc chips

Pre heat oven to 160 *c 
Beat butter and sugars until creamy
Beat in egg
Stir/fold in flour and then chic chips
Spoon into balls and place on baking tray, press down slightly.
Bake for 15-18 minutes 

I have made these twice since we heard the news about the cottage... I think they are my go to comfort food

They are so quick and easy to whip up when needing a chocolate fix and I find the rhythmic mixing , folding and combining of simple ingredients therapeutic :)

I used Dark chocolate buttons in these ones and they are Delish.....
I am not a big fan of cookie dough .... But I Luv it cooked ...

I love , love , love my choc chip cookies gooey and squishy in the middle with a slight crunch to the outside and this recipe deliver's every time ,,,,,,

It truly is a no fail recipe,, trust me I have made them in all sorts of moods ..... :)

Until next adventure
Take Care
Kris
XXXX

Spring has sprung ( getting out of limbo mode)

Hello , Welcome .....

I have been wanting to get back here and blog some wonderful exciting news....

But well ,,,,, we are still waiting for conformation ,to see if we are on our way to owning our very own cottage, ( mortgagee sale = searches ontop of searches,Rural zoning means we could have to come up with 30% of deposit so trying to get it classed as rural residential as is has town water and sewer,,,and getting a home loan from a bank = waiting time for more searches) , and I didn't want to jinks our little cottage dream from coming true,,,, But you see its been over a months since we looked at, put in a contract and a deposit down on this ( down v here v ) shabby old cottage.....

Potential Potential Potential in my eyes.

and I am excited and anxious and wanted to make sure it was ours before i shared the news,,, I have been dreaming of our very own cottage , renting has its limits when you love to renovate and decorate as much as I do.... we have done up a house on the gold coast and also designed and built a little cottage for our eldest daughter when she was having a little family of her own.... plus we totally revamped our 40 foot motor home.. so I have been having a few withdrawals from renovating and making this shabbiest of old cottages into a home would give us some life back into our everyday...

Yep sure I have made Avondale cottage our home and we have painted a few walls and planted a garden, but its not the same,, its not OURS.... anyways we hope to know for sure if this ^^^^ cottage will be our very own...hopefully this week.... I am sure to scream it with joy from the roof tops for all to hear my utmost joy if all turns out and she is :). If not , well I am ready to except that it's the universe telling us all was not well and it was not for us x ..I just want to know..

 On with news that is in the here and now :)..

 I have been feeling in a state of ,,, lets call it limbo,, waiting for the sale to go through, waiting on the weather to be warmer, waiting on my days of going down to the gold coast and looking after my wonderful grand babies for 10 days to be done, waiting , waiting... really I think its just been an excuse I've used because I've been lazy, a little depressed maybe... I am not sure but I needed to get out of the slum feeling I had been in,, I needed to get off my butt, feel grateful for the wonderful opportunities my every day brings and just bloom where I am planted in the here and now!!! So I have made myself get up and out and about and with that comes the start of a few little make over projects...
I had been on the search for bentwood chairs as I love the old world cottage look of them,, being on a tight budget ( saving for a home and all) I had not yet found any within my budget....
But with a little on a whim call into the local op shop I came across these not sure of what make but totally adorable chairs,,,,I promptly swung these up and over my shoulders when I seen them and the wonderful price tag attached.
Yes Yes yes that is $5 for the Pair ;)....

A good scrub has the not so good for sitting on one ending up in the bathroom for now :) ,, with the new spring bringing in the sunshine my mini carnation is happily sitting here too...

A $3 op shop find basket holds cushions from the lounge that the mister Man has taught Pippin to push off ( He thinks cushions are a waist of bum seat space.... I love cushions, I do seem to have a collection ... so a constant joke in our cottage.... I find them in all sorts of strange places!!) I do like them plopped in here though so all is well ;)..

It amazing what a few budget friendly op shop finds will do for the spirit :),,,,

Another thing I have been trying to do is eat,, and not only eat but eat well,, (yep in my recent limbo days I often forgot to eat,, or was that just to lazy to! didn't help the energy levels at all!!)

I do love food!! and I loved turning a simple meal into something a little special...I had lived by this saying "bread and water can so easily be turned into tea and toast" ... So today, I got myself up and set up a little lunch out on the veranda, it was lovely and didn't take much time at all to pop together..... we enjoyed simple food , sunshine and a chat.....

Well my lovelies,, some more offerings have come in from the garden so ill be off to get a wonderful nourishing meal on the table tonight :)

Thanks for popping in , and thank you for being here for me to share my days doings :) ,, it makes me more willing to get off my lazy bottom and bloom where I am planted , and share my blooming good life and finds and creations with ya'll oxoxoxox

Until next adventure
Take care
Kris
oxoxox

So....... where there is fire there is smoke!

Hello ,, Im down on the Gold Coast looking after my awesome grandkids while our big kids do the Brisbane ekka show,,,,

I have been wanting to share this little post for a while so here it is.... I'm pressing Publish as I scrub baby food of my and Mana's face ,, and getting the girls ready for the morning school run :)

Ok here we go , ;),,,,,I had a little mis hap the other week, Did you know that sometimes with a fire place there can be a back draft ? I didn't ,,
Did you know even if the door is closed the smoke can come out?,, I didn't ,,

Anyways I found out this can and will and did happen!!

one lovely chilly sunday afternoon , after a trip to the local markets for fruit and veg and an axe to chop fire wood...

we pulled on our boots and had a lovely walk around the paddock collecting sticks for kindling and logs for chopping..
the dogs even got in on the act bringing us sticks :)

with our wheel barrow full we tramped back up to the cottage to get settled in for the night
whilst hubby was chopping up some of the bigger logs I went in and happily started stacking the kindling in the fire just the way he had showed me to....

I lit the little fire starter popped it under my stack of kindling watched as it took hold and shut the door.....
Now is when the trouble started...... I went out into the breeze way to start boxing up the rest of the logs, turned around and the cottage was full of smoke ... eeekkkkk

Now I don't like fire at the best of times so this was a bit of a panic starter,,, I ran back in to find the fire place was just spewing out smoke, Hubby came bolting in wondering what was going on and I was just standing there wondering that myself???

he took action and opened the door of the fire place and stacked more logs on,, bigger logs to get the fire raging ,,

I ran around opening all windows and doors to get the smoke out...

I was on the brink of tears ( one because I had smothered my beloved cottage in smoke and two because said smoke was choking me to tears mmmm)
Anyways Hubby was not to sensitive to my tears and had a few little choice words for me....
Always one to admit my mistakes and take them on as a learning curve I googled what I could have possibly done wrong!!!!

Ok so it wasn't entirely my fault,, I didn't know that you can get a back draft .. But I do now..... it could happen IF :: it is a windy day and the wind comes down the chimney, to find out if you have a back draft you must first light a bit of paper and if the smoke goes "up" the chimney your safe to go.. Oh and the bigger you get the fire going will help to get the chimney heated to suck up the smoke.. there is also something about if the temperature is the same inside as it is out side then you are more likely to have a back draft....
((Just saying it is safe to say that I will leave the fire starting duties to the expert then!!!!))

Well I'm off to adore my grankids and smother them in kisses OXOXOX

Until next Adventure
Take care
Kris
XXX