Defrost The Freezer

Sometimes the excitement in my life knows no bounds. 

One of the first jobs I did this year was to defrost the freezer that stands in our dinning room. 

As you can see from the picture above it was long overdue, drawers were hard to open, there were things in there that I had no idea what they were, a polar bear had taken residence in the top box - it was time for a sort out!

I took everything out, sorted through it all, chucked away some old stuff, shuffled it round so I knew what we had, stored the good stuff in the other freezer then set about defrosting it, towels at the ready. 

Not sure why I put it off so long, it's so much easier now I can see what everything is and can get stuff out of the back of it. Before it was like my dirty little secret, I'd try to open it so people didn't see in!

Anyone else have a freezer that looked like mine or is it just me that lets things get this bad?

Making Vanilla Extract

We don;t really buy cakes or cookies in this house so if I wan them we have to cook them. I normally want them! So the girls and me bake a couple of times a week, normally a cake and cookies, I've been messing with a cookie recipe for a month or so now changing it every week to get it perfect. One ingredient I've been using with them is vanilla extract and although it's not terribly expensive from Lidl I decided to make my own.

Lidl vanilla extract

 I went on eBay and found some "extract grade" vanilla pods for sale, 50 for £4.83 - bargain! The "extract" grade just means they're a little drier than normal but fine for what I wanted.

 I then had a hunt around the cupboards and found some half full bottles of vodka, from a life before children, untouched for probably 5 years! These would do nicely though.

 I then split 40 beans in half and had my two year old helper push them into the bottle of vodka. Topped it up, shook it and put it on the top shelf in the pantry.

All I need to do now is wait a couple of months and I should have a large bottle of vanilla extract ready to use. I'll let you know how it works out!

Anyone else made their own vanilla extract?

Shipping Container

When we moved here I gave up the lovely workshop that I'd built at our last place. So to house all my "big" carpentry tools and the other things we'd need for a smallholding, we brought a shipping container until we could build something better.

Painted green and the with the ceiling insulated inside, its the perfect secure store.

I then went for planning permission to build a barn, this would have provided me with space for storage of things like hay and straw (and a tractor) as well as giving me somewhere dry to work. I got turned down - my own fault I think as it was probably too big for the area, although i had no complaints from the neighbours the council had the final say.

But now with my homemaker duties coming up in a few months, I could really do with a small workshop to make things in the evenings to sell (when the kids are in bed). So as a temporary measure I'm considering getting another container - this time an office type one so it will be ready insulated and have windows to provide some natural lighting. I like the place looking nice but sometimes you have to be practical as to what best suits your situation. unless anyone has got any other ideas on what I could do for a temporary workshop in the mean time?

Vehicle Dilemma

With my role changing in the Spring to full time homemaker, part time carpenter, we're really struggling with what to do with vehicles.

We both need a vehicle as we're quite far out from the village and even further from the town. When I'm not working I want the children to go to play groups, grandparents houses, etc and these will all involve driving and my wife's work is 45 minutes away.

Currently I have a transit van, which is about the minimum sized van I can get away with to do the type of work I do (I've had smaller vans but it never works out very well). I plan to continue doing my own private work for customers at weekends and school holidays and also it's handy having something like this for a smallholding where I can pick up large items (hay, straw, feed etc). The van has three seats in the front so me and the girls do fit in it, the trouble is it's expensive to run and drinks the juice.

My wife has an estate car, which is ideal for the children, fits all the stuff she needs for school in and is quite economical to run.

We also have (and are trying to sell) a small Skoda Fabia, my wife's old car. This is cheap to run and is a good runner.

My wife has suggested that we keep all three as it would be better if I had the estate car (as I'd have the children all the time), she kept the Fabia for going to work and I only used the transit for when I've got work (to keep fuel costs down).

The trouble is I don't like the idea of paying to keep all three vehicles on the road.

What would you do in our situation?

Recycling A Cardboard Box

When we gave Ev her new kitchen for Christmas we used the distraction to "remove" her old favourite toy before it fell to pieces.

 That's right, you guessed it - a cardboard box. It was her library, her house, her hiding place even a piece of modern art once she'd painted it!

 She'd sit in there and make tea...

And of course I had to go round for some tea sometimes, you were privileged to get invited in - even if you didn't fit!

I think children know that sometimes the best presents are free. This box gave her around 6 months of joy until it started to fall apart and now it's a mulch on the veg garden so it lives on a little longer yet!

 I think that's proper recycling of a cardboard box!