Making Buttermilk

One of the new items in our pantry lately has been buttermilk.

I have used this before occasionally, but tended to make my own 'quick version' that I had found as a fall back measure. Simply- to one cup of milk add two tablespoons of lemon juice. I have used this in my Irish Soda bread for years in this manner.

Since going Grain 'n' Sugar FREE we have been slowly adding some cultured and fermented foods, after reading Nourishing Traditions and will talk more about this at a later date :)

As these tend to have buttermilk, kefir or yoghurt in them I have been buying buttermilk for part of these. As I make yogurt already using more of this was not a problem. I also started making kefir and prefer this to yogurt as it does not have as strong a taste in the soaking process.

However I had not made buttermilk till just recently, in fact it never occurred to me that we could make it properly, well in fact I never even saw it in the supermarket until I was looking for it.
I did object to the price though at just under $3 for 600 ml, but considered it a part of our new eating regime and thus worth it. I did tend to use kefir more as I thought it more economical.

To make this buttermilk you need:
1 cup of cultered buttermilk from the supermarket
3 cups of  whole milk ( I just use regular milk, but you can use raw milk if that is your preference)
A jar with a lid

To make:
Pour the cup of buttermilk into the jar,
add the milk
Close or put the lid on then....
Shake the bottle up and leave on kitchen bench or other warm place for about 24 hours, depending how warm it is.

How do you know it is ready?

When it is ready, ie, the new cultured buttermilk  will coat the glass jar.
Put it in the fridge and it will last for  weeks, or until it is used up.

To re culture follow the steps from the start.
Simple remember the ratio of 1:3 or buttermilk to milk and you can use any quantities you like

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Slowing Down for Summer and a Sneak Peek

Happy Tuesday!  Hope you all are enjoying the warmer summer weather and it is not too hot to take advantage of enjoying the outdoors. 

You may have noticed it has been a while since my last Red Door Home post.  In fact, I think it is the longest amount of time I have ever had between posts since I began this blog over three years ago.   As anyone with kids, a blog and a business knows, the end of the school year can be exceedingly busy.  So while things have been quiet here, it is definitely not the case at my house.  Besides adjusting to a new summer routine, keeping up with lots of activities and sports, I have been putting my sewing machine to good use both for me and my Etsy shop.

On the home front I have been doing a few little updates to my living room. Below is what the space looked like before.

Here is a sneak peak of what it looks like today with more changes to follow soon!

I made the new off-white cushion covers and then had an upholster finish up the bottom part of the two chairs. Having the two chairs in the same fabric made a big difference as now the space feels more unified. 

I also made some new pillows for the chairs from old curtain fabric I had in my basement. My mom made the curtains over twenty five years ago and when my parents moved into a new house she no longer had use for them.  For some reason I decided to save two of the panels to use for a pattern.  I never used them as a pattern, but am happy I kept them all these years as they are the perfect complement to this room.

My sewing machine has also been kept busy with lots of embroidered pillows courtesy of my Etsy shop.  The most popular designs have been my new Linen Letter in a Box Pillowsand the Lumber Letter Pillows.

 I can also tell that the holidays (yikes!) are really not that far away as I have even sold a few stockings!

That is all for now.  I hope you have a great rest of the week.   I will be back in a few days with the July Red Door Home blog of the month!

Bead Star Tutuorial

As part of our Winter Solstice celebrations I especially wanted to make a bead star in 'sun colours'.
Of course when I looked at what we had in the craft cupboard I did not have any of the items I needed, sigh!
So after a quick trip to a couple of stores in town I managed to get some items to work with. You have to believe me when I say I was not able to get exactly what I wanted, something I am actually used to by now.

Mind you I think I am pleased with the way it turned out though.

So what do you need:
glittery pipe cleaners
simple clear tinted beads.
scissors to cut the pipe-cleaner with
optional pliers

Method:
Take a pipe-cleaner and cut in half and then half again.
Twist into a star shape

Place the colours of your beads you want together with the star and simply...........

Thread the beads on to your pipe-cleaner in a desired pattern

Trim the edges and even turn them under with pliers if you like.
Add some thread and hang up

Of course we tried a few other combinations and Rogan and Moran especially loved doing this.

Happy Beading!!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

It's the Little Things...........

So often it is the little things in life we and remember. So often it is these things that seem such a trivial fact of life and yet brings great joy to others.
So often it is these little things that others remember and associate with contentment and peace of heart in their lives.

And yet it is often these things that are lost or forgotten about in the busyness of life.
Each and every day is an opportunity for us to give those we love that something special, that little thing that will brighten their day or encourage them in the life journey we are on together.
So often this requires 'real' involvement with that person, getting to know them on a deeper level so that we can see what it is that this person enjoys or loves.
Only then can we really be effective in 'going the extra mile' and creating those memories that can be looked back on and remembered.
Those little things can be as simple as a smile when someone walks into a room or making that cup of coffee with that 'little bit of sugar'  both literally and figuratively. Showing simple affection with courtesy and care in your tone of voice and your manner is such a little thing and yet speaks volumes of how you regard a person.
One of the most telling ways of showing little things to me is in the way of gentleness and compassion.
To me these go hand in hand and yet are often neglected in our everyday life.
Gentleness in thought. Gentleness in my touch. Gentleness in deed. Gentleness in our speech. Gentleness of heart.
In fact Gentleness of Heart is the starting point for me.
It is the starting place where all other forms of gentleness proceed from. The heart is really the window to my soul and when my heart is gentle it allows all other responses to imitate it.
Each morning I pray that I would have 'gentleness in all I think, speak and do. That I will  have a gentle heart that show unconditional love and compassion always and that those around me may be blessed by my life in theirs.'
It is so easy to forget this though through the day!
So easy to get caught up in my own anxieties and difficulties and the busy stuff that simple comes form living life with other people!
It is so, so very easy to think it is all about me, when really it is only when I show my love in 'the little things' that truly I can achieve GREAT THINGS!

Linking to HERE today

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Snippets of my work.

Over the last few months I have been incredibly busy with my interior work, renovating my own home and just keeping up with the demands of life, my blog has always been such a important part of daily work life but as I'm discovering not always easy to do with so many commitments to juggle.

Last week I attended the launch of Country Trader, it was one of those fabulous nights when Brisbane's design industry all got together for an evening of inspiration and great company, to be in a room of so many people I have the utmost respect for, so many of whom were my friends which added to such a fantastic night.What always seems to surprise me is how many people actually follow my blog, maybe we don't always realise just how many people may look but simply don't leave a comment because like me, they may be time poor.

I blog to inspire, to share inspiration but mostly to connect with like minded people, whilst I am perhaps a little reserved in showing off my home. I thought it was time to maybe show a few sneak peeks. I was asked why I feel that way, well maybe its because I live in a real home that's not always perfect, like many of us I can't always afford lavish artwork and antiques, (Even if i lust after them) sometimes we just have to make do! When we bought our home we seriously didn't allow for just how much renovating would actually cost and to say it has been a struggle for us is the understatement of the year. During this time we lost a child so in perfect honesty I am amazed we managed to keep it all together. This home was not a labour of love but sheer and utter survival in a very difficult time in our life, that was then and this is now. I think we have spent nearly every weekend working on our house for the last year and a half, sometimes feeling like life is passing you by, but maybe for us it was also a time of healing. I think I sometimes need to pinch myself and look back and realise we did it, as hard as it has been no glossy story here, but it was worth it. I wanted to do so much more to the interiors but maybe even us decorators have to stay with our means and settle for its good enough!

I'm happy with the outcome and whilst I drive my family crazy that I could do so much more, secretly I'm happy and truly blessed with my home. I do have a feature coming up so I have to keep it under wraps for now but thought I would share just a few snaps of my home.

Winter Solstice - Ideas, Plans and more

King winter sat on his throne one day
And he said to himself, said he:
" I must admit I've had some fun,
I've chilled the earth and cooled the sun,
And not a flower or tree
But wishes that my reign were done.
As long as time and tide shall run
I'll go on making everyone,
as cold as cold cane be"

Tomorrow (today as I publish this) is the Winter Solstice for us and this year I am actually semi prepared before the day. Well at least I have a few ideas for us to celebrate with, although perhaps not all the materials for each of the crafts I can think of.

Some of the themes that spring to mind that we will perhaps explore are obviously to do with light and warmth.

Therefore we will be looking to make and/or display these  ideas throughout the day.
* We will have our fire on to warm the family room where we gather mostly
* we will be reading from our winter book list
* we will light some of our candles and oil lamps that are around our home.
* we will be making chicken and vegetable soup for our evening meal. You really can't go past chicken and vegetable soup for a comfort meal I think.
* we will have a beautifully rich hot chocolate with whipped cream and perhaps a marshmallow or two thrown in.
* Spiced Tea also sounds inviting and here is the recipe:
6 cups of water
1 teaspoon of whole cloves
2 1/2 cm of cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons of black tea or 5 tea bags
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup of coconut sugar or honey

Combine water, cloves and cinnamon. Heat to boiling.
Add tea; cover and brew for 5 minutes, then strain or take bags out.
heat orange juice, lemon juice and sweetener to boiling; stir and add to hot mix
Makes 6 to eight cups.
 NB tea can be replaced with apple juice or cider

* make a star wand-
find a piece of dowel or stick from the yard
Cut out paper or felt in a star shape.
Place star shapes together and either partially glue or sew around the edges.
Fill in the centre with some fleece creating a slight puff look
Finish sewing or gluing so it is completely sealed around your stick.
Complete and ready to play ( if gluing you will need to allow drying time)

* make golden starts from gold glitter pipe cleaners and transparent coloured orange and yellow beads.
Simply twist the pipe cleaners into a star shape and then just thread the beads on in alternating colours

* make a little felt gnome and pouch
*colouring pages about winter or solstice
* word searches or word mix ups (I generate these on line) using winter and solstice as a theme.
* make tissue paper snow flakes
* make tissue paper stars for your windows or hanging wreaths.
* make origami stars
* make a paper lantern using wet on wet water painting and then 'oil' it for a transparent effect.
* decorate bees wax candles with cut out shapes
* decorate a mason jar with tissue paper images.
This is done by tearing up tissue paper and gluing on to the jar with watered down pva glue to create the image you like. Over lap the paper to achieve the desired look.

*making a sun banner-
cut five triangles out of calico and sew into a banner.
Draw and colour a sun pattern on each one and embroider with golden yellow, red, orange and gold on the sun pattern

* We will be definitely making some hand cream from beeswax, olive oil and  coconut oil for those winter chapped hands. One of our dear children is suffering from this so it is a number one priority.

* reading aloud and drawing winter images or images of warmer times while sitting around the fire
This is a sweet little story for your little ones:

The Yule Faeries - A Winter Solstice Story
A group of little Faeries huddled in their home deep under the roots of a giant oak tree.
They were safe and snug in their tiny underground cave lined with dandelion fluff, bird feathers, and dried moss. Outside, the wind blew cold and the snow fell softly down to cover the ground. "I saw the Sun King today," the faerie named Rose said as she pulled her mossy cloak tighter about her. "He looked so old and tired as he walked off through the forest.
What is wrong with him? "The great oak said he's dying" answered Daffodil. "Dying? Oh, what will we do now?", Little Meadow Grass started to cry, "If the Sun King dies, our little plant friends will not grow. The Birds will not come and sing again. Everything will be winter for ever!" Lilac, Dandelion and Elder Blossom tried to comfort their friend, but they were all very sad. As they huddled together, there was a knock on the tiny door.
 "Open up, Faeries," called out a loud voice. "Why are you hiding instead of joining us in our Solstice celebration?" Rose opened the door and the little gnome Brown Knobby pushed inside, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his brown coat and hat. "We are too sad to celebrate," Daffodil said wiping her eyes, "The Sun King is dying, haven't you heard?" "He is dead you silly Faeries." Brown Knobby's round dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "Now hurry, or we'll be late for the celebration!" "How can you be happy and laughing?!" Elder Blossom stamped her little foot and frowned at the gnome. "If the Sun King IS dead, it will be winter always. We will never see the Sun again!" "Silly little child-Faeries."
 Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "There is a secret to the Winter Solstice. Don't you want to know what it is?" The Faeries looked at him in surprise. "Secret?" they all said. "What secret? We are only new little Faeries, you silly gnome.
We've never been to a Solstice celebration before." "Come and see. Come and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knobby danced and jigged around the room. "Hurry, Hurry, don't be slow! To the forest special place through the snow!" He danced out of the door and disappeared. "What did that gnome mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her cloak of dried rose petals held together with cobwebs and lined with goose down. "I don't know, but the Forest Lady lives there." Meadow Grass pulled on her hat. "Perhaps if we go to see the Forest Lady, She can explain what Brown Knobby was talking about".
 The Faeries left their snug little home and trudged off through the snow toward the forest special place. The forest was dark with only the light of the Moon shining down through the thick fir branches and bare limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very difficult for them to get through the snow because they were very, very small.
As they waded through the wet snow and shivered in the cold wind, they met a fox. "Where are you going, Faeries?" the fox asked. "To the special place in the forest," they answered, they were cold and shivering. "Climb on my back and I will take you there swiftly." The fox knelt down so the Faeries could climb up. Then he raced off through the dark. "Listen!" Lilac said as they neared the special place "Someone is singing happy songs. A LOT of someones."
 The beautiful music carried over the cold, still, moonlit air. It was the most beautiful music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries right to the edge of the throne in the center of the forest, then knelt down. "Look!" said Elder Blossom as they slid to the snow covered ground. "There is the Maiden and the Mother and the Old Wise Woman, and many other Little People." "They are all smiling and happy," said Lilac as she looked around at all the creatures. "All the animals are here too," whispered Dandelion. "Why are they all looking at the Forest Lady?" The Faeries moved closer to the three Ladies seated around the throne. The Mother held a bundle close in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries gently in her Hands.
She held them close to the Mother so they could see what She held. "A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A new little Baby! Look how he glows!" "He is the newborn Sun King," said the Maiden smiling. "But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree said the Sun King was dead," the Faeries answered her. "How can this little baby be the Sun King?" "That is the great secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise Woman touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the special place in the forest, during the darkest days of winter where he dies.After this the new Sun King is born. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King." " You mean everything lives and then dies and others take their place? the Faeries looked down in wonder at the baby Sun King, nestled in the arms of the Mother. " Yes, Little Ones," answered the Old Wise Woman.
"There is never an end to life. This is the great mystical secret of the Winter Solstice." The Faeries laughed because they were so happy. "I think the little Sun King should have gifts," said Rose. "I will show him where the wild roses bloom in the early summer." "And, I will teach him to call the birds and listen to the songs of the wind," exclaimed Dandelion. "When he is older and stronger, " said the Mother, "then the flowers will bloom at his touch, the birds will return to sing their songs, and the air will be warm from his breath, and winter will be gone for a time.
Then the Sun King will run and play with you in the forest." The little Faeries sang to the Baby Sun King, songs of the coming spring, the sweet smelling flowers, the bumbling bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the centre of the forest sang with them. Then the fox took them back to their snug home under the roots of the giant oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the warmth of spring and the fun they would have with the little Sun King.
 (author unknown)

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Book Wish List ♥

For my birthday this year I was given a gift certificate for books from our older two sons. Truly they know what I love!!

As it was with Amazon I  created a wish list on my  account to try to narrow it down. However I was really very  surprised that when I made the list I did not have a VERY huge list as I usually do.
Of course I was trying to get books for me and not get picture books which are my downfall. I could possible start a Christmas picture book list or even an Easter one.

No that will very quickly use up my allowance :)

So I am sharing this here as an idea of some of the books I would like to get.
If you have any  advice on these books or other similar suggestions please do share.
There can never be too many books on the list!!

Blessings to you and your homes,

Market Day

Every Saturday morning Paul and I head to Rocklea markets to buy our weekly fresh produce. Whilst getting up at 6.30am is not easy, we never regret our weekly ritual. When we arrive its straight to the black sheep coffee stand because I simply cannot start the day without a good cup of coffee. This barn style cafe bar oozes rustic style with its empty milk bottles filled with fresh flowers, it really makes such a lovely atmosphere. I always get there early because the best flowers are snapped up quickly, this is by far the best part of market shopping. How can I resist tulips at $8 a bunch? This week I purchased some topiary bushes for my pots and I'm yet to work out where I can grow bougainvillaea, how I love these lush vibrant flowers. We then stocked up on fresh vegetables for winter soups and casseroles, lots of fresh fruits and herbs. I tried very hard to walk past the Noosa Chocolate Factory stand, but decided to take a photo instead! The baker then told me to hang on so he could build me a tower of rocky road; how could I not support him!? The girls were very happy! We have a large family so apart from saving a fortune and buying farm fresh food, we also enjoy our weekly banter with the regulars and that rare time its just me and my man.

Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart Felt Craft Lesson

I wanted to do a simple craft for our little ones this year for the Feast Days of The Sacred Heart of Jesus and The Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I wasn't sure what I would do except it had to be hands on and quick and simple to do.

This is what I came up with~
Now you don't need to use that beautiful hand dyed wool felt for this craft, you can use the synthetic stuff from Spotlight of a cheap craft store.

I simple free hand drew two red heart shapes and the bits and pieces for each of the two hearts.
Of course you can make these as large of small as you like, and like I said, you don't need to measure just free hand cut as you go.

For the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
A large red heart
I cut a  cross from brown felt.
Orange fire shape
From a different colour brown I cut little 'stick like' rectangles that could be put together to make the crown of thorns
A few drops of blood from the red felt again

For the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
A Large Red heart
Orange fire shape
The sword was the most difficult (not really it is very simple). I cut the blade part from grey felt and then the handle part form brown, over lapping the grey bald part a little. Then I did a very small running stitch to join them with brown thread.
Pink roses- first I cut a circle and then just cut little parts out to make the rose,  flower shape
Tiny little green leap shapes.

Of course I like to give our little ones colouring pages for a feast day and this year we used these ones:
We really liked this colouring page as well as This colouring page. Also this was another I found on line too.
We didn't do this activity page but it is  a really good page for older kids
I also made word search for the children from this site using key words from both the devotions.

I also wanted to be able to talk about the symbolic meaning of the images  and what each part of the image means.
This was actually a bit harder for me as I have never actually thought about it in such detail (naughty me).
This was what I was able to find out: in relation to these particular images
Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Hearts represent love and life. Jesus’ heart beats with the fire of love (at the top of the heart) which was demonstrated at the cross. The fire also represents the purifying fire of God by which he purifies men. It exudes the transformative power of divine love.The crown of thorns brought suffering which was endured for the love of man to redeem him — to bear man’s pain in his own heart. The cut in the heart is that made by the lance that was thrust through his heart when he was on the cross.

The blood dripping represents the new life secured through his death (life came through dead). The result is the heart of man (below surrounded by flowers) is given new life. The flowers represent a garden of delights, new life, freshness. The Garden of Eden which brought about death by sin is now replaced by the Garden of Heaven which brings new life because of holiness.

Adam and Eve experienced death at the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden; The New Adam (Jesus) brings about life at the Tree of Death (the cross) in another garden. This cross is at the top of the heart. Heaven is represented by the clouds and the blazing sun or heavenly light from God behind the hearts.

Immaculate Heart of Mary:

This one is similar to the Sacred Heart. The roses surrounding Mary’s heart represent her sinlessness and purity, sweetness and new life. The seven swords piercing the top of the heart represents the “Seven Sorrows of Mary,” (“Mater Dolorosa”). The first of her sorrows was the Prophecy

of Simeon that a sword would pierce her soul because of her son’s death Luke 2:35), 2) their flight into Egypt, 3) the loss of Jesus in the Temple; 4) the fourth sorrow is Mary watching Jesus carry the cross, 5) the crucifixion imagining a mother watching her son die this way; 6)  receiving his limp, cold body after the crucifixion, 7) the body of her son buried in the tomb.

When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple as a baby the prophet Simeon said that the life and death of Jesus would be like a sword that would pierce her soul (Luke 2:35). The lower heart, the one of Mary surrounded by roses, shows a cut in it which is symbolic of her sorrows.  But her sorrows have brought us new life and pure hearts represented by the garden of roses below.

Corbyn was so funny to watch as he placed all of the flowers of  Mary's heart. I think he really wanted to give her some love, as flowers really symbolise love in our home.

Myffy working on her interpretation.

I actually think this is good for the children as it gets them to think of how the image is put together.

The children's finished work for the day

When it is all finished for the day it can be neatly placed in a plastic sleeve and filed in a ring binder ready for nest years feast day, or when ever you want to get it out again.

For our actual feast day celebrations we simple set up our display (a previous years craft here as well) and will leave it till the end of the month, as we did for last year

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Welcome to the cheep seats!

 Yes! We finally have chicks, real life chicken babies!

I do find it fascinating that many crafters are often also bakers, vegetable growers and chicken-keepers...I thought I was in the minority but no, there are more 'Chook Wranglers' at the Wednesday knitting group than 'Non-Chook Wranglers'...so with an incubator borrowed from one knitter, an Egg-lume (device for candling eggs - see below if you don't know what this means!*) borrowed from another and a tray of fertile eggs carried carefully from Middlewood Green we embarked on 'The BIG Project'...

Visitors to HH HQ over the last three weeks have been greeted with many cheeps and the invitation to 'hug a chick' - not your usual haberdashery purchasing experience!

The ten Light Sussex and one Buff Orpington chicks hatched over three days a little over three weeks ago and we have had a lot of fun watching them grow and boy do they grow! They are half-way through a 20kg sack of chick crumbs already!

Vintage Pyrex and hand-made porcelain dishes were pressed into service along with an old lemon squeezer which served as a brilliant drinker in the early days - baby chicks often throw themselves into water and drown because they are trying to get back to the wet atmosphere they have been used to whilst growing inside the egg!

As these babies were hatched in an incubator and not under a broody hen they like to have something to snuggle up to, in this case a knitted rabbit which attracted a few unkind comments at Wednesday knitting and a stuffed, hand-knitted sock that had developed a hole (I'm too lazy to darn it) were perfect stand ins!

It's not all cuddling fluffy lovelies and cooing over the little darlings either....we have to check their gorgeous little bottoms for 'pasty bum' a condition that can kill! *faints*

The first two hatched a little earlier than we had expected! Here they are on a non-slip tea towel and a dish filled with pebbles, they are tiny and look just like Easter chicks!

I tried hard to get some pics of them actually hatching but as I was 'being very good' and not lifting the lid of the incubator too often it was a bit tricky...it's all about the humidity apparently!

This was our first go at incubating eggs and it has been a load of fun, we would definitely recommend it!

Hope you like the chick pics, creative in a very slightly different way!

Nic x

*candling - shining a light through the egg to observe the development of the embryo, yes really!