Preserved

My boy's came home today and brought their Cryovac machine with them...a big effort but appreciated as it is the best way I know of preserving and maturing my cheese. In went the cheddar and fetta and it worked a treat. Just have to find a wine fridge or similar with temp control as the cheese needs to be kept around 10 deg C. A lot of trouble for a couple of cheeses? Even though it is time consuming to make cheese, and bread etc, it is so much more satisfying to do it yourself.
 Our big plan is to turn our backyard into a great big veggie patch, plant more fruit trees and have our chooks again. My hubbie has drained and started to cut up our inground pool ( that no one uses or wants to clean anymore) so if the transformation hits a snag he will be doing a lot of patching:)
I love going to the Saturday markets at West End and coming home with beautiful apples, strawberries and tomatoes ( you know the ones that actually taste like tomatoes).

Alive & Kicking!

What happened to the last 4 months? Even Blogger.com has a new look! I guess with Easter and excessive activities at school the months fly by. I have been busy ...some things turn out and others unfortunately do not. I had a few of those'do nots' while trying to get samples for the US quilt market that Pattern Press attends every year. I was not happy with my dolls so they didn't get sent. Back to the drawing board though. I hope Helen had a successful trip and am looking forward to hearing her news.

The following bag is a little design I had been working on over time...I'm happy to say it is finished and ready for pattern production. Holly was a great help with this one especially as Uni lectures were the inspiration behind the style. The bag has a zippered pencil case, space for a A5 lecture pad and a pocket for notes. It opens to form a writing mat, is easy to carry and just the right size. I have teamed it with a cute little mobile phone or IPOD holder. The owl fabric is so cute ( I made quite a few of these bags to match the lecture sets.

Catching up to this weekend...The long awaited cheesemaking course. A very full but satisfying 2 days. I did the course with my mum ( in pic) looking a little weary. The first day was so full we both slept like logs, the second day was easier and the lessons and hard work started to make sense.
This is a link to the course. cheesemaking They run all over Australia and there will be a part 2 with blue vein at the end of the year sometime, they are all booked out for now. I can thoroughly recommend the course...tutor very knowledgable and a lovely man...morning teas and lunch provided,yummy!

These are our chabichou ( in background) and camembert cheeses

This is my cheddar...very proud of this one. Needs to be sealed and stored til Christmas at least.

For now, take care

Deb