Kitchen time today...

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We live 20 miles from the nearest grocery store in Salida.  We knew this when we bought the property, but I grew up in a rural area, so I was prepared for the consequences.  For my mother, it meant three meals a day for 6 people every single day of the year -- not a restaurant in sight!  In fact, I did not get to eat in a restaurant until I left home to go to college in the UK at age 17.  I worked my way through college by working... you guessed it... in the college kitchen.  We churned out hundreds of tasty meals every day, and I enjoyed the experience.

My kids garnered much sympathy from their teenage friends when they stated the truthful fact that they had never had a pizza delivered to our house.

I love to cook, and I love to have people over to enjoy meals with us.  So any time you are in our neck of the woods, you would be welcome to join us for lunch or dinner!

Today it was time to refill the granola jar, whip out a rum cake for my book-club meeting tomorrow, use up some of this summer's apple sauce from our tree in an easy quick bread, and toss a pot roast into the dutch oven to justify having the oven running all morning.

There was just time to duck over to the studio and pack the daily fiber orders in time to catch the post.  Then I had to buckle down and wind some wool and pack some kits to stay abreast of our wonderful customers.  In the winter I try to get ahead on some of the winding and packaging, 'cos once spring shows its smiling face, I'm anxious to get my seeds started in their little pots in anticipation of another season of organic veggies to restock my freezer and pantry.

A New Year

I tend to schedule more activities into my day than the hours permit....so things like this blog invariably get pushed aside in favor of more "urgent" tasks.
But this year I aim to change that!
However, as the owner of Outback Fibers, the daily routine of packing customer orders does not make for exciting blogging... though it does pay the bills.
I have occasional days when I have time to make felt, and I wish those days were more frequent.  I have a studio full of fabulous fibers that I daily ship off to lucky felters who get to make all those wonderful things I have in my head.
But, in moving to Colorado, part of my life goal was to immerse myself in a lifestyle different from our previous urban setting.  I grew up in Tasmania where we grew all our own fruits and veggies, milked a cow, made our own butter, bread, granola, preserves etc...and I miss that.  I have always done some of that during the years we raised our children, but our current location offers so much more opportunity for such endeavors.
So my blog from here on will encompass the many aspects that are important in my life.  Some days it might be the product of my felting studio... and other days it might feature the product of my kitchen, or my garden, or just some of the scenic reasons we selected this part of Colorado for our "golden years".  Even my grandchildren may show up from time to time as they make the trip up from Texas and get to participate in this "sustainable lifestyle" we have chosen to pursue.

I recently had time to work with the Truffles prefelt, topped with the Milan merino harmonies and a touch of Milan bombyx silk.
But now... I need to head to the kitchen.....