Pen pal day

June first is apparently international pen pal day. I've been writing letters on and off for years and they are more than often a lot different to how I write up a post for a blog. I love sending long 'chatty' letters and often include little sketches in the lines to make them fun. The letters I receive are always interesting to read. I have a long time pal from Mexico and most of the letters I receive internationally are from America. I love reading about how folks live across the pond and having a peek in their lives, it is so different from blogging.

It is said letter writing is a lost art, but there are still many who keep the art alive and well. Here are a few groups to find pals that I also use:

Postal society Facebook

Sendsomething.net 

I'm always open for more pals so you can email me at vintagepapery@gmail.com to exchange snail mail addresses.

Yes mailing can be expensive but if you keep your letter flat and 'letter' size you won't be charged parcel rate.  In australia letters are about $1.00 and over seas mail is up to $3. For less than five dollars you can find out what another person is doing with their life and cheer up someone when you send them something. There's not many places these days where you can have a lot of fun for less than $5. I'm planning to use June to write a letter a day, I should start with the mail I have to do some catching up.

Get writing and have fun! 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Sunlight & shadows

 We had frost on the ground this morning but the day is fair and if you can find a place to sit in the sun, it is a nice day. All the windows are open and we're airing the house out while the good day is warm enough to do so. It's still cool enough in the wind though not as cold as it has been. Our winter has really arrived.

A while back, our lady hairdresser who works from her home gifted us mandarins. This bowl has been brightening up the kitchen and they are really nice tasting. 

I've saved a few of the seeds to see if they will grow and I'll plant them out after winter. I also been saving the citrus skins of the mandarines, oranges, and lemons for potpourri. I dried out orange and lemon rings too to decorate potpourri.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Classic Shepherd’s Pie

Classic  Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Onion halved and finely chopped

Carrot peeled and finely chopped

Celery sticks trimmed and finely chopped

Beef stock

Beef mince

Plain flour

(we also add a frozen mix packet of carrot, peas and corn)

Method:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat add onion, carrot and celery. Cook stirring until soft. Add mince and cook, stirring to break up any lumps.

Add flour with beef stock and cook mixture until combined. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low and cook. Stir occasionally or until mixture thickens.

Cook potato in saucepan and boil until tender. Drain well. Add butter and milk and mash until smooth.

Preheat oven to 200 C. Spoon mixture into ovenproof baking dish and top with mashed potato. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until mashed potato is golden brown. 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Little Things

Winter has arrived and the days have been cold, wet, and windy. It is a good time to stay indoors when possible. My garden is loving the rain. 

Meanwhile I have been doing some mix media painting. I'm on a Folk Art style at the moment and using up scrap supplies. I used up alphabet letters I have and had to cut some down and rearrange the letters to make the letters I didn't have. The word 'little' uses L's for T's and F's for the E. 

The video below shows how I go about creating the art.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

House keeping

I've  been doing  house keeping on my blog. I cleaned up links and added links that needed to be updated. I made the blog look more simple and cleaner. It's not perfect but it'll do. This will hopefully motivate me to post a little more often and comment around again too. 

Here is a recipe for Citrus and Rose-Scented Potpourri

Dried Scented Rose petals

Lavender

Lemon Balm

Dried grated rind of 2 large lemons

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground orris root

1 container

Method:

Mix the flowers and herbs together in an airtight container add the lemon rind and leave for 2-3 days. Add spices and orris root, stir well and leave for 6 weeks stirring occasionally.

Lavender and Lemon Balm are good insect repellents, so this will also be useful in sachets among linen. 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Winter Winds

Winter has arrived with a cold blast. We had heavy rain the last couple of days and it has cleared up with winds to keep the temperatures down. Just before May ended we took a brief trip up to Hervey Bay and on the way back we had breakfast at the Rusty Ute Cafe in Woolooga. The cafe has a vintage retro vibe and it's well worth the stop if you are passing through.

With Winter about the trusty slow cooker is out making nice comfort food to keep warm.  Nothing is as easy to do as stew in the slow cooker. There is really not much you have to do with a slow cooker and it is worth the investment.

While my plants are enjoying the rain, not so much the cold, I am in doors working on a few projects it's a good time to work on them.

I hope everyone is warm and dry. We are going to have a wet winter I think.

Have a good day or evening where ever you are.