Merry Christmas to you and your family

Only a couple more days until Christmas.  One of my favourite times of the year.  Not for the presents etc but spending time with beautiful family.  My wish for this christmas is for everyone who reads my blog to have a wonderful christmas and of course a safe one as well.  It has been busy here this week.  I am still at work and don't finish up until Friday.  I have not wrapped any presents but at least they are all bought except a Konnect Game Box which hubby is picking up in the morning.

Busy weekend ahead plus we are flying out to Tasmania next Tuesday morning for a few weeks.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my previous business and as well as in my new one.

Have a merry christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope to do a couple of blogs while I am away so you can see what we are doing.

Love to you and your family.

Sue x

Giveaway time

I have reached over 100 fans on my facebook page.  Now to have a couple of giveaways.  All you need to do is go through the previous comments on Green-Me-Up-Granny facebook page and tell me the 6 different incense fragrances I have.  Leave the answer below with your email address so I can contact you.  The first correct will win some incense.  Simple and easy competition.

Thank you all for supporting me in my new venture.

Sue

Washing Detergent

Below is 2 recipes for washing powder.  I can't lay claim to the recipes.  These recipes are from Down to Earth     Check out Rhonda's blog she really has some great money saving tips and ideas.

CONCENTRATED LAUNDRY POWDER
4 cups grated laundry soap
2 cups borax (bunnings)
2 cups washing soda
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and store in a plastic container with a lid. Use 2 tablespoons per wash. This powder will not make suds and this is perfectly okay.





LIQUID LAUNDRY DETERGENT
Makes 10 litres
You may add any essential oil of your choice to these homemade cleaners. Oils like tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender or rose are ideal. They are not necessary to the recipe but do not detract from the effectiveness by adding them. Use essential oil and not a fragrant oil.



Ingredients
1½ litres water
1 bar Sunlight or generic laundry soap or any similar pure laundry soap, grated on a cheese grater
½ cup washing soda – NOT baking or bicarb soda
½ cup borax



Tools
Saucepan
10 litre bucket
Slotted spoon or wooden spoon for mixing

Method
Into a medium sized saucepan add 1½ litres of water and the soap. Over a medium heat, stir this until it is completely dissolved. Make sure the soap dissolves properly or the mixture will separate when cold.Add the washing soda and borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Pour this mixture into your 9-10 litre bucket then fill the bucket with hot water from the tap. Stir to combine all the ingredients.



The laundry liquid will thicken up more as it cools. When cool, store in a plastic container. I use one of those 10 litre flat plastic box containers with a lid. Use 1/4 cup of mixture per load or monitor to see what works well for you. I keep a quarter cup measuring scoop in the box to measure the mixture into the washing machine.


Sue

Community Christmas

Last night after the storm we headed a few kilometres down the road to the Uniting Church at Deagon.  This is an annual event which we have been doing for years.  Real community spirit. Beautiful decorations.  Handmade goodness and of course the Christmas Carols.  If you live on the Northside of Brisbane you need to visit and support this amazing community. 

William wanted a photo with the Koala.  How Aussie is this!

We were lucky to purchase a handmade christmas cake this year.  We got one of the last one's.  You can't beat Handmade.  Best cake I have had in years.

The lady who made the christmas cake also made these Melting Moments.  Last packet.


Sue X

BrisStyle Markets

Yesterday would of been one of the best Saturdays I have had for awhile. 

I LOVE HANDMADE! 

 I AM A HANDMADE JUNKIE! 

Over the last couple of years I have been part of an amazing group of women who create the most amazing items.  Ranging from Soaps to Jewellery, Clothes to Pottery.  Recycled/Upcycled.  Buttons buttons and more buttons.  These ladies rock.  If you really want to buy a present that you know is made with LOVE and meet and talk to the maker they have one last market this year.

The fantastic ladies I am talking about is BrisStyle.

'

BrisStyle members turn out whether it is raining, hailing or glorious sunshine to sell their handmade goodness.

Yesterday was no exception.

This was the crowd at one stage inside the hall yesterday at Hamilton.  This continued all day.  Did you miss out?  One last chance to purchase some amazing gifts is this Friday Night.  King George Square in Brisbane City.  One of the biggest markets of the year.  I'm heading in to do some last minute shopping plus to support local.

Sue x





1st Day of December

This is my view outside my window today.  First day of December and it is overcast and about to storm.





NOW
This is the view in the common area at work.  Everyone has been busy today with decorating for Christmas.

Only 24 more sleeps.

I know which view I prefer.


Sue x

Gotta Love summer near the beach

Always very friendly birds when you have food.  Fantastic day at Woody Point recently for a BBQ Lunch.

Do you have a favourite place.

Sue

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

  An old school friend had the below New Tradition posted on her facebook and I thought I would pass it on to anyone that reads my blog.  There are so many talented Aussie women and men who create beautiful products for sale.  So many amazing Handmade Markets in Australia where beautiful products can be bought for a gift for that someone special.  Buying Handmade guarrantees you that so much love has been put into making it for you.  So read the passage below and start that new tradition. 

 

 Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Australians with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods --merchandise that has been produced at the expense of Australian labor.

This year will be different. This year Australians will give the gift of genuine concern for other Australians. There is no longer ...an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by Australian hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small owned detail shops & car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Panasonic of a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. If your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local cafe. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the Australian working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, & I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up & running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool & knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, & pottery & beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. How about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another 10,000 Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a $5.00 string of light, about 50 cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks burn, leave the postman, garbo or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining Australian pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging our small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. When we care about other Australians, we care about our communities, & the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new Australian Christmas tradition.
Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- This is a revolution of caring about each other, & isn't that what Christmas is about?

Natures Beauty

Pesticides in our everyday life.

It is amazing the amount of pesticides that we come into contact in our everyday life by accident.  This is why we have changed to Organic Only and Free Range Products.  People say all these items are so expensive but in reality what sort of price tag do you place on a human life. 

blueberry Muffins

Makes 10 large muffins

2 1/4 cups of sifted SR Flour

90gr butter

3/4 cup Brown sugar

1 cup of milk

125gr fresh blueberries

1 cup of milk

2 eggs lightly beaten.

Preheat the oven to160C /or 150C fanforced

Grease muffin tray or use muffin liners.

Sift flour into a bowl.  Add sugar.  Rub in butter into mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre and add blueberries, milk and eggs.  Gently stir and spoon mixture into prepared trays.  Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

(These are yummy and I am sure you will love them.  Beats packet mix every time.  Why not use fresh raspberries instead of blueberries).

Christmas Decorations to make.

I have a fantastic job.  Today I spent the day making Christmas Decorations at work.  These are so easy to make and our craft room had everything there to use.

Angel



All you need is an old Dolly Peg, Organza, elastic bands, Pipe Cleaner, Lace Ribbon or any sort of Ribbon.  A hot glue gun, some dolly hair and fine pen for face.

Fold the Organza like you would fold to make a fan.  Tie an Elastic band around the middle then attach it to the peg.  Fold the Pipe Cleaner into four and make the arms.  Wrap around the back of the Angel.  You can also glue this in place.  Grab some dolly hair and glue it on the top.  Make a bow out of the ribbon.  This is for the wings.  Glue onto the back of the doll.  Draw a face on your Angel.

I used a magnet on the back of mine so my Angel can be placed on the fridge.

Reindeer

Our reindeer is very simple to make.  All you need is 3 clothes pegs.  The ones I used were flat not rounded.  Glue 2 together the same way.  Then glue the 3rd one upside down on the top of the others.

Apply some black paint for the hooves.  Red for the nose and add some eyes.

Why not sit the kids down for the morning and let them create their own decorations.  This was such a great activity to do.

In the coming days I will show you what you can do with those old Encyclopedias lying around.

Make some awesome unique christmas decorations for 2011.



Opening Special

Since my business name has changed from Spoil and Indulge to Green me up Granny I am offering some of the Spoil & Indulge products for a special price.  Everyone who follows this blog and comments below can purchase our Goatsmilk Soap with Lavender for a special price of only $2 per bar until stocks run out.  Each soap is approx 100gr-120gr.  Our Goatsmilk Soap is made from Fresh Unpasterised Goatsmilk.  Postage will depend on how many you purchase.  I will be using prepaid bags of 500gr (4 bars) or 3 kilo bags which will hold quite a few.  Insurance is extra or you may pick them up at BEICO Market at Hamilton on Saturday or the November Handmade Expo.

All you need to do is follow this blog and leave a comment below on how many soaps you wish to purchase.

Sourdough Breadmaking

This week I attempted to make my own Sourdough Bread from scratch.  I found this amazing Australian Website with all the instructions called Sourdoughbaker which I followed nearly completely.  I have to admit on the first day I added a heaped teaspoon of Honey.  I also used Wholemeal Spelt Flour that I recently purchased a few weeks ago fromNorthey Street City Farm Sunday Organic Markets to see how it would go.  I followed the daily feeding of my starter and this morning at 7am I started making my Sourdough to the recipe on the web site.  The first 400gr of flour was Wholemeal Spelt but the remaining Flour was White Defiance Bread Flour which I normally use with my breadmaker.  I also made an error on when I added the salt.  I added at the beginning. (didn't read instructions properly) but as you can see above I have just finished making the second loaf.  The first loaf the grandchildren and the family ate most of it and my friend Joanna took the rest home.  The process of making this bread is long and I couldn't make it everyday but on a Sunday it would be great with some freshly made Bruchetta.  I still have half the starter left and I will start to feed it again tomorrow so I can make some more next week.  Maybe next week I can make some
Sourdough Pancakes.

Please check out the Sourdoughbaker website.  He truly has some great recipes and ideas.



Brand New Beginnings!

It really is amazing how your life continues to change with the times.  Who would of thought I would become a mother of 3 truly amazing children, grandmother of the most adorable grandchildren and wife of 25 years to a man who has stuck by me through good and bad times.

I look at my journey from my everchanging career which orginally started as a Checkout Chick 30 years ago and now working for one of the biggest Australian Non-for Profit Organisations for people with Disabilities as a Resource & Development Officer.

Along the way I have dedicated the last 3 years to Spoil & Indulge.  My business which will be retired at the end of the year.  Why you ask.  Well along the way I have rubbed shoulders with some truly inspirational people who like me have a passion in recycling, upcycling, Eco friendly and back to simple pleasures in life kind of living. 

Green me up Granny is a new journey for me which I will share my love of everything green to you.  From basic free green tips for your home.  Great cooking from your garden.  Organic beginnings! Recipes! Plus of course recycling and eco friendly products for you to purchase.  Plus great money saving tips. 

Along the way I will also interview other Inspirational People.

Enjoy!