The New Diary

Is already for action. I use a page a day diary as it has more space.  I will not write anything in it though until New Year's Day - we do not want any bad luck issues.

However there is a long list of things to be inserted by hand and then transferred over to the computer diary.  There will be more items added as I go along and find things that I would quite like to incorporate. I am determined to organise as much as I can this year, so that I do not miss out on the creating, the planning, the making.  I also want things to be prepared as quickly as possible to make the most of the time available and also to ensure that if real life intrudes it does not scupper anything.  I intend to make use to start with, those items that I already have to hand and then as I run out top up.  I am also including birthdays, festivities like Easter and Christmas.  This afternoon I have been reading up on making my own pot-pourri with the aid of my dehydrator.  I also intend to have a go at home made paper making as well.  I tend to buy things when I can and then put them up until I get the chance to play properly but there are many things that I want to bring into general everyday use.  The dehydrator is one of these things.

I am buying where I can the embroidery software programmes that I like the look of for my embroidery machine hopefully to make some very individual Christmas pressies this coming year.  I have in mind individual decorations, and useful items as well as patchwork style rugs.  I stocked up on thread and the different types of backings, tear away and water soluble as well.  I see a lot of potential for this and a lot of individuality.  I am also taking advantage of freebie programmes as well.  Now I need to dive in and learn.  I am very excited.

I have decided to do monthly lists of potential things to do during specific months as part of the organisational thing.  These will be updated as I find something else for a particular month or season but I am hoping that they will eventually be a list an aide memoire that can be used year in year out, with obviously date adjustments as I go along.  The first one will be published on New Year's Day.  However these lists also take into account any reduced item finds where you can make something useful for the pantry shelf.  Preserving used to be a seasonal thing which essentially it should be but in this country we seem at the moment in any event to be able to take advantage of out of season crops from other countries.  Preserving at the end of the day is about making the best and most of what comes your way and if you can squirrel something up in this way for your own pantry shelf then all the better.  That's making the most of things and is a bonus.  Seasonal items are though very important for me individually as they are also a way of marking time through the year.

We can all make a small difference to our own pantry shelves just by doing a little to start with.  January to March tend to be quieter months in the calendar compared to the rest of the year so if we can do anything then you will also be maximising your time and providing good food or accompaniments for your family.  Whether this be by preserving in vinegar, jam making, dehydrating, freezing items, making wine home made liqueurs or having a fresh vegetable bed where you go and pick the crops as you want them.  At the end of the day its all a way of paying it forward.  I hope I encourage you to dip your toes in the water and have a go.  You learn with preserving of any sort by actually having a go.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x

P.S. By the way these are just ideas you do not have to make everything it depends on your own financial situation and whether or not you have easy access to ingredients and upon your time.  I get so enthusiastic and passionate about preserving of any sort as I love it so much.