Little Street Library has arrived

So excited this week when my little Street Library was delivered. Three months from conception on paper The Renegade Men's shed delivered my 'baby'.

 

Friends helped carry and plant the library, hubby putting dry cement in    

 

 Watering the cement in  

All good to go now, jut need to weather proof it 

This is where I will store excess books so the other 'librarians' can come and take or exchange books for their own libraries. it faces out of the garage for easy access.

Recipes

Blackberry vinegar and recipes
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/blackberry-vinegar-three-recipes-in-which-to-use-it/

Ball mason jars
https://www.freshpreserving.com/ball-collection-elite-regular-mouth-pint-16-oz.-sharing-mason-jars-with-lids-and-bands-4-count-1037617.html

Homemade caesar dressing
https://www.liveeatlearn.com/vegetarian-caesar-salad/

HOW TO MAKE VEGETARIAN CAESAR DRESSING

We’ll start by making an easy homemade caesar salad dressing. To make the dressing, simply throw everything in a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. To make Caesar salad dressing (without the usual anchovies) you’ll need:

• Olive Oil: Caesar dressing is an emulsion, so oil is going to be our base! Use regular or extra virgin olive oil here.
• Mayonnaise: Rather than thickening with raw eggs, we’re using mayonnaise for a foolproof Caesar dressing.
• Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan adds a savory element to replace the anchovies that are usually found in Caesar.
• Lemon Juice: Fresh is best here! Bottled juice won’t have as much tasty lemon flavor.
• Dijon Mustard: This emulsion is held together by mustard, which will keep the dressing creamy and delicious.
• Garlic: Just a clove of garlic brings major flavor to this Caesar!

• Dressing

  • ½ cup olive oil 120 mL
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise 60 g
  • ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese 30 g
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice 30 mL
  • 1 ½ tsp dijon mustard 7 g
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  Salad

  • 5 heaping cups chopped romaine or mixed greens
  • 2 cups croutons
  • ½ cup shaved parmesan cheese 60 g
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  INSTRUCTIONS

  • Make Dressing: Add all Dressing ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.
  • Assemble: Roughly chop romaine or mixed greens. Toss together with croutons and parmesan. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat (you may not need all of the dressing).

  NUTRITION

  Serving: 1salad – Calories: 409kcal – Carbohydrates: 16.9g – Protein: 8.9g – Fat: 35.5g – Saturated Fat: 7.2g – Cholesterol: 15mg – Sodium: 516mg – Potassium: 259mg – Fiber: 1.7g – Sugar: 1.3g – Calcium: 19% – Iron: 10%

Granny Square Drawstring Bag - Crochet

I love small projects like this Granny Square Crochet Drawstring Bag.

Isn't it cute and super easy.

Here is the Video link, I need to watch something to really get it.

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Homemade Soap

I went to a soap making class some time ago. I have made soap 18 years ago and loved it. I was younger then and fumes getting up my nose was tolerable. At the class I was about 1.5 meters away and the fumes got up my nose worse.

This soap used the Cold Process and was so easy and took only about 30 mins to make. The white soap on the cutting board was a pure coconut soap she'd made a few days before. 

The yellow in the soap is the olive oil

At the class we were told about this online soap calculator I think its brilliant. You put in the amount of the ingredient you have and it calculates what you need and what quantities of the other ingredients.

Here are more links to help you out:

Simple Soap - Four ingredients

Christmas soap decorations

Melt and pour

How to make soap

An introduction to Cold Processed Soapmaking

Bramble Berry Soap Queen TV Video

Basic terms episode 2

Teachsoap

The everything soapmaking book by Alicia Grosso

The Soapmakers Companion by Susan Miller Cavich

Using fragrance and essential oils

Labels for your soap, you'll need to pay a one time payment of $8
https://www.jamlabelizer.com/

How to make decorative soap tops

More texturing

Eczema Soap Video  Website
Humectant-draws oil to the skin, calming, soothing. carrot, turmeric, honey, olive oil, oats, carrot pure Vit A,-  2 oz to a 5lb loaf

This book was recommended to us, it had some beautiful recipes in there

Origami Froebel Star

Origami Froebel Star

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5NplkRIwcw

1.5cm x 37.5cm cut 4, fold in half

Gardening without ploughing etc

Gardening without ploughing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNU8IJzRHZk&list=WL&index=3&t=0s

Deep mulch method
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/05/deep-hay-mulch.html

Found these wonderful you tube videos on gardening

How to make a compost with lasagna gardening

How to build an upside down tomato planter

Using banana stems for organic farming

I was given at tiny cucumelon plant that only had two miniature leaves on it. It is growing so well
after 2 months and producing many fruit. Found a video on growing it, pickling it

How to grow citrus

Preparing raised beds
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/05/prepare-raised-beds-spring.html

Having soil tested

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/04/test-garden-soil.html

How to poison your garden accidentally and not do it again

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/08/curled-tomato-leaves.html

Salt damaged plants


Found these wonderful you tube videos on gardening

How to make a compost with lasagna gardening

How to build an upside down tomato planter

Using banana stems for organic farming

I was given at tiny cucumelon plant that only had two miniature leaves on it. It is growing so well
after 2 months and producing many fruit. Found a video on growing it, pickling it

How to grow citrus

Preparing raised beds
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/05/prepare-raised-beds-spring.html

Having soil tested

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/04/test-garden-soil.html

How to poison your garden accidentally and not do it again

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/08/curled-tomato-leaves.html

Salt damaged plants

Deep mulch method
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/05/deep-hay-mulch.html

Preparing raised beds
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/05/prepare-raised-beds-spring.html

Having soil tested

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/04/test-garden-soil.html

How to poison your garden accidentally and not do it again

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/08/curled-tomato-leaves.html

Salt damaged plants

Deep mulch method
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/05/deep-hay-mulch.html


Found these wonderful you tube videos on gardening

How to make a compost with lasagna gardening

How to build an upside down tomato planter

Using banana stems for organic farming

I was given at tiny cucumelon plant that only had two miniature leaves on it. It is growing so well
after 2 months and producing many fruit. Found a video on growing it, pickling it

How to grow citrus

Preparing raised beds
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/05/prepare-raised-beds-spring.html

Having soil tested

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/04/test-garden-soil.html

How to poison your garden accidentally and not do it again

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/08/curled-tomato-leaves.html

Salt damaged plants

Deep mulch method
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/05/deep-hay-mulch.html

Weekly reading

Australia's most expensive homes for sale

https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/property/2019/04/26/australias-most-luxurious-houses/

Beautiful 1960's home of a Designer Decorator

7 very brave ladies sharing a house together

Alison McDonald makes some awesome designs with recycled items we throw out

Canning red meat

Man builds a Hobbit home in the UK for 5000poounds

The Sandy Bus   Instagram  Podcast of a tiny home in a bus

I love watch the show "Escape to the Chateau" and I heard about this one on a podcast Somewhere Else
Restoration on a grand scale Chateau in France bought by an Australian Family, Karina Waters

Memories and how they mould us

Reusable paper towels for sustainable living, what a great idea

150 years of postcards being posted

This craze that we all have, posting postcards all over the world to random people and to people we know is now 150 years old.

The history of postcards can you imagine it cost 1 penny per envelope to send, now in 2019 it cost us in Australia $3.20 (went up today) to post a postcard to the Northern Hemisphere, $2.30 to Asia.

Postcrossing celebrates

Putting together the Postcard Exhibition

My Street Library coming to fruition

 

So my venture into a Street Library became real today.

I sat down with Ian Kirk from the Renegades Men's Shed Inc. and we drew plans for my library, they will build me a library, I can tell you it's going to be awesome....I'm stumped for a name now for my library...HELP!!!

This wonderful band of men on the Macleay Island build other things for the community as well. One of them is the Heritage Trail Viewing Seats alot of them are dedication to people who have given so much to the Island and have passed on.

https://www.macleayisland.net/nature/

This is where my library is going in, I was clearing up the space and this beautiful Christmas tree  shape stared at me challenging me to get rid of it hahahaa. I will be keeping it and putting lights on it, isnt it a gorgeous tree.

It's a beautifully shaded spot but I will thin out the trees to bring a bit of sunlight in and turn it into a nice garden. My neighbour said it looked beautifully manicured 14 or so years ago but now its abit overgrown so a cleanup is long overdue.

Little Library in the Woods just came to me now as a name...so if you have a quirky name I could use please feel free to share it with me. Here's my email address.

Watch this space!!! 

Little Libraries was founded in 2009

For and Against and the founder of Little Free Libraries

https://littlefreelibrary.org/

https://www.facebook.com/LittleFreeLibrary/

https://streetlibrary.org.au/

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/how-the-street-library-revolution-is-bringing-neighbourhoods-together-20170620-gwusn4.html

https://www.facebook.com/streetlibraryau/

https://theplanthunter.com.au/culture/street-libraries/

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU556AU557&q=rules+for+a+street+library&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR6aPEsJnjAhXl7HMBHbq7CooQ1QIoAHoECAcQAQ&biw=1024&bih=899

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/576038608567961807/?lp=true

https://www.pinterest.com.au/lisavangemert/

How to keep your little library stocked - Karina Glaser
https://bookriot.com/2015/10/20/keep-little-free-library-stocked/?mc_cid=1080ec0d97&mc_eid=5517695823

The day my little free library came home
http://www.giftedguru.com/the-day-my-little-free-library-came-home/

How to keep people coming back to your Little Library
https://bookriot.com/2018/11/12/maintain-a-little-free-library/

Building library mistakes
https://littlefreelibrary.org/build

Book Week 17 - 23 August 2019

http://www.cbca.org.au/cbca-book-week

Netherlands makes train rides free if you show a book instead of a ticket
https://streetlibrary.org.au/netherlands-makes-trains-free-on-national-book-day-for-those-who-show-a-book-instead-of-ticket/?fbclid=IwAR05MsZD35bFwbKl_uIDnH6GLC9yko1zhHyPDs4gf7GvpBL9fdf3Va2sMZI

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/netherlands-free-train-national-book-day-tickets-travel-tickets-ns-a8849606.html

http://www.cbca.org.au/cbca-book-week

https://www.cbca.org.au/book-week-activities

Fallen Tree limb - Widow Maker

TIMBERRRR!!!!!

Hubby and I were sitting in the office at about 11.30am yesterday when we heard a loud bang/crash, I thought it was the workmen on the building site across the road so I walked over to see if they were ok. They said the sound came from our way so I walked  back home and took a walk around the house and checked the roof but no sign of where the noise came from. 

At 4pm I noticed an sms from my neighbour to tell me a tree from our yard had fallen in the duck pen.  I went to investigate and sure enough there was a huge branch down right over the duck pen.  Not sure what it hit on the way down to make such a racket.

A few days ago I moved all the ducks into the duck run which is secure. They always sit where the tree fell to keep cool and I always feed them at that time when the tree fell. So someone was watching over us all yesterday otherwise we would all have been crushed, by the sounds of the noise there was no warning.

Just a WHOOSH BANG CRASH CRACK KABOOOOM!!!!

The duck run is to the left of the tree and the green container is in the neighbours yard.

Made me think about how life is so precious and easily snuffed out by a falling branch. No wonder they call this tree a Widow Maker. Will have to get rid of the tree now as we can see more limbs about to break off.

Luckily a tree lopper on the island could fit me in the next day and chopped up the wood for me so I could mend the fence so the dogs from next door couldn't jump over the fence to terrorise my ducks.

WOYWW 520 10th Annniversary cards for soldiers

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY WOYWW

Who would have thought that a photo of a desk all those years ago would create this extraordinary following.

Well my desk is featuring creative card making for the soldiers. I do cards for them every year.

It is very gratifying to know that we can help them send something from home and they can then send a greeting  back to their families.

As well as cards we make other stuff to send as well, we are also making little stockings to put candy cane or life savers in it.

I had help from Dayle and Faye who kindly offered to lend a hand, we had a fun day.

I do love my new craft area for visitors, my own craft area is a huge mess at the moment, maybe I'll share it next week

 Desk of cards

 Room view

 Desks set up all ready to go

 Dayle and Faye colouring their hearts out

 Stockings knitted

 Take a trip over to the Stamping Ground where it all started and visit more desks if you wish

T Tuesday R U OK

This is a cup I bought for a charity called R U OK. 

ONE MAN'S PASSION

In 2009, Gavin Larkin chose to champion just one question to honour his father and protect other families from the pain his endured.  

The extraordinary story behind R U OK? was brought to life by Australian Story in 2011. In 2017, six years after they first aired the story of Gavin Larkin, they returned to his family to see how Gavin's extraordinary legacy has helped sustain them through their grief.

He started this as his graduation project called Landmark 

 I love this T2 tea maker. You brew the tea in it

 Then you pop it on your cup and it drains away

 You've got to know the capacity of your cup, as you can see its abit short, so I just top it up with water

Again our local cafe does lots of yummy dishes, this one is one of my favourites called Singapore Noodles, I like to eat it with a chilli and soy sauce that they make, I need to make some more of my own as I've now run out. that will be a hot affair and I have to cook it outside or risk choking myself on the chilli fumes

 The same cafe serves Yum Cha on a Sunday andn for $15 its value for money, I certainly cant eat it all.