Blogtoberfest - the end?

Yesterday as I got home and tried to upload my blogtoberfest post for Day 18 I came across a small problem.  We have exceeded our internet allowance for the year (way too much blog surfing!) so I am admitting defeat for this October (but will be back with a vengance next year).  I will post on some days but my regular daily posting is now impossible (R is going to kill me when he sees the excess usage charges).

But for today I want you to go check out the Robin Street Market blog  - they are having a giveaway if you comment by midnight tonight (Tuesday 19 October) and while you are there check out the market site as well.  Some truely gorgeous stuff.  It is your online store for unique and handmade gifts from around the world.


Check out these earings - these are going on my christmas list

Have a good week

Jots Mum

Blogtoberfest Day 17

No pictures today as I have not been able to finish anything (yet) but I have two items sat on my ironing borad for some ironing and hemming.

In the meantime I am going to sit in front of the new series of 'Bones' and knit my face cloth which has been in the works for nearly a month after Jot hid one of my knitting needles (discovered yesterday inside one of our heating vents - I wonder what else she has been posting into them around the house)

Hope you had a good weekend.

JotsMum

Blogtoberfest Day 16

Have you ever had one of those 'Doh!' moments where the answer to an issue is just so obvious you wonder why you were having the problem in the first place?  Well I had one last weekend.

A few months ago I got Emma Hardys' book Making Childrens Clothes out of the library and traced the patterns for most of the clothes.  I didn't have time to photocopy (or even note) the instructions so when the book had to go back (it was reserved by someone else) I was a little stuck.  Anyway I forged ahead with making a Nightie for Jot (which she loves) with no instructions, I figured it would be easy as I could remember what it looked like.  I cut the pieces out of flannel and attached the two arms to the two body pieces - simple I hear you say.  Well not quite - this is where I came unstuck.  It didn't look right and so rather than put it aside and wait till I got the book back I did a patch job and cut off about 2in of fabric and then pinked the raw edges rather than hemming or putting elastic in.

So roll on to last Saturday and having borrowed the book again I though I would attempt it again with some lovely fabric I won in a giveaway from Retromummy way back at Easter ( which I don't seem to have ever posted about - whoops).  Got the instructions out, cut out the pieces (2 arms and 2 bodys) it still didn't look right when I laid it out before sewing.  I looked at the other sizes I traced and -  this is my Doh! moment - I forgot to note on the pattern that the sleeves were meant to be cut on the fold.  No wonder it didn't work right.

I didn't have enough fabric left to cut another sleeve so I used some plain cream I had in my stash (which I think might have been ear marked for something) and the end result - want to see it?

OK OK sorry couldn't resist:

I love it as the main fabric is THIS double gauze and so incredibly soft. 

I love the pattern to (now I have figured out my issue) and am already half way through the top version which I hope I will get to finish tomorrow sometime.  I also have a pair of pants from the book in progress as well (I just can't be bothered to get them done tonight, too much folding, ironing and threading of elastic for a tired Mummy.

Hope you all have a great Saturday night.

See you tomorrow

Jots Mum

blogtoberfest day 15

Luckily for me it is still Day 14 in Hawaii so I figure this counts as yesterdays post.

Yesterday was a work day for me and was for some strange reason rather manic.  It was pouring with rain (and that is probably an understatement) so I dropped Jot at childcare and then went to park the car in our normal car park.  Of course I forgot to get the buggy out so at the end of the day had to reverse the process which meant I was at least 45 minutes later picking Jot up which equals one very grumpy and tired little girl.  Managed to get her home without her falling asleep in the car which was an achievement in itself.

I am now all prepared for the influx of people at 10am for my Phoenix Trading Coffee and cards (I hope) so I should probably get myself ready or do you think they will appreciate finding me in my jammies.

I will be back this evening with todays post as I have been sewing again.

Hope the weather is good for you (I am over all this rain)

JotsMum

Blogtoberfest Day 14

Wow I have made it for two weeks!!  Celebrations all round.  Now to make it to the end of the month.

I have found it harder to blog this week, whether it has been the lack of structure or just lack of motivation I am not sure but I think I will do another series next week which I hope will get me back in the saddle so to speak.  Any ideas for topics?  I may just do some trawling through the web and see what takes my fancy enough to write about.

I found the self portrait challenge yesterday great as all these great bloggy ladies who I follow religiously have always been some random blog picture in my head and now I know what you all look like.  That is a fantastic bonus for me.

Right Jot is brewing something nasty I think so I am going to grab some dinner and head for an early night as I know we will be up during the darkness hours.

Night all

Jots Mum

Blogtoberfest Day 13 Self Portrait

 Tinniegirl threw out a challenge for everyone doing blogtoberfest to put up a self portrait.  So here we are -

It was the best of the bunch and Jot has just distracted me

Blogtoberfest Day 12

I have lost my mojo today.  I am feeling overworked and under appreciated so I am looking forward to knock off time in the hope that Jot will go to bed easily and I can get my sewing machine out.

However, I have reached a point where I can't figure out what to start next.  I have a number of things on my list but none of them are really inspiring me at the moment.  So do I start on my new summer skirt, quilt one of the quilts waiting, make my nephews Christmas present or find something new to start.

Watch this space and if you see my mojo please send it back.

Thanks
Jots Mum

Blogtoberfest Day 11

What do you do when you look in your fridge and find an unopened carton of Buttermilk with an expiry date of tomorrow?

You do what any self respecting person would do and track down recipes to use it up. As the majority of my cookbooks are still in boxes in the garage (I will unpack them before we have been in the house a year) I resorted to my good friend the internet.

Specifically the Tasty Kitchen website which is run by the Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond. It is an American site so all the measurements are in Cups which is slightly confusing to me but armed with my new set of cups everything is suddenly so much easier.

I was specifically looking for buttermilk pancakes but on my first search on Saturday evening with a cranky toddler I couldn’t find one (why I just didn’t search for Buttermilk Pancakes I don’t know) but came across this one for Buttermilk Biscuits instead. They are kind of like scones but are lighter and are still edible this morning (day 2 ½), unlike scones which I find go hard very very quickly. We made one batch and ended up with about 32 biscuits and one bad mummy moment.

Jot tried to take a hot biscuit off the pan as I was removing it from the oven, which isn’t like her as she knows and understands that things from the oven are hot, and got the side of her hand against the pan. She is fine though and nothing a cuddle from Mummy and a play in cold water couldn’t fix. Looking back there was nothing I could have done to prevent it as she was just too determined to have a biscuit (and I had both hands full) but at the time I felt decidedly like an irresponsible parent.

But back to the biscuits. I realised that having 32 yummy biscuits in the house was quite dangerous so I have frozen 20 of them for a Phoenix Cards open house I am holding this weekend. The proof I feel will be how well they defrost as scones never defrost well. Success and ½ the Buttermilk was gone.

So last night when R asked what was for dessert he had the choice of a banana or buttermilk pancakes (which I still didn’t have a recipe for), what do you think he chose. Back on to the Tasty Kitchen and I found this recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes (I used the right search term this time). I made the mix but R was in charge of the cooking (I always burn pancakes) and they are yummy. The batter made about 10 smallish pancakes and we kept four back for Jot for today. I think it would be a great recipe to make up to freeze pancakes for kids snacks but we don’t have a big enough freezer for that yet. Another success and ¾ of the buttermilk is finished.

So what do I use the rest of the Buttermilk for?

Well how about

Buttermilk Banana Bread
or
Peach Buttermilk Sherbert
or
Brown Sugar Buttermilk Pound Cake
 
Way too many choices now!
 

Blogtoberfest - Day 10

Determined not to miss a day despite feeling rotten. so here I am with pictures of some taggies I made for two new baby Jacks that have entered the world in the last three weeks.

and a sneek peak at our neighbours Fig tree.  Every branch looks like this so we are hoping for a nice big crop (which we get to share)

Blogtoberfest Day 9

I have been sewing.

Way back last year I made myself a bag to cheer myself up after returning to work and I recently decided that I needed to make a new one as well I wanted a new bag.  So I used the same pattern at 85%, put the back pocket on the inside and Voila, a new bag:

 I love it.  It is bright and summery and the denim goes well with most things.

So it is nice to have been productive again  and there are a couple more things on the go which I am hoping to complete today or tomorrow so another crafty post then perhaps.

Have a good weekend

Blogtoberfest – Day 8 (part 2) – Resources

Somewhere in the world it is still Day 8 of Blogtoberfest so here is the resources post. These are just a very few of the tonnes of links out there but they are the ones I keep coming back to again and again and that I think is the sign of a good resource. I will add to this post as I discover new resources so it should always be up to date.

Books (I buy most of my books from the Book Depository as it has free international shipping and the prices are really reasonable)

One of my favourite books at the moment is Stephanie Alexanders Kitchen Garden Companion and one of the reasons I love this book so completely is that it is Australian and therefore you do not have to do any calendar swapping in your head for it to make sense.  This book tells you how and when to plant and harvest the plants you would traditionally find in a Kitchen Garden.  Not only that but it gives recipes for all of them (some obviously have more than others).  

The Self Sufficiency Series - I only have two of these at the moment Household Cleaning and Soap Making both of which I have mentioned before but do have a number of others including Preserving & Cheese making on my wish list for the future.  They are very well written, simple to follow and have all sorts of bits of information that are in some case rather shocking.  The household cleaning book contains a section on the ingredients in commercial cleaners which is quite confronting when you realise how often some of these products are used around yourself or your children.

Another on my wish list at the moment is Grandma's Ways for Modern Days which I am hoping some kind soul (who is married to me) will purchase for me for Christmas

Websites and Blogs

Down to Earth Blog and Forum - Rhonda inspired a lot of my move to a simpler life and her blog is one I keep coming back to again and again and again - it has a great search function.
Towards Sustainability Blog - Julie is doing a photo a day challenge at the moment so select a label on the right hand side of the page to jump to a different area is you wish.

Education

Online Courses for Self Sufficiency or Permaculture  - This is a bookmark on my machine as I will get round to it eventually.

Blogtoberfest – Day 8 – Harvest

I had planned for today's post to just be a round up of useful websites, blog and books that can help you on your way to a simple (or simpler) life, however on Wednesday (perhaps foolishly) I promised to give you some ideas for your harvest so I have split today's Post into two. I will do my best to post the second part this evening but I might not get round to it till tomorrow.

When harvesting you garden you will at times end up with thousands of an item as all your plants bear fruit (or veg) at the same time. I for one am over Pumpkins after about 2 weeks so the need for preserving you harvest comes into play.

Harvest can be preserved a number of ways but the most frequent are:

Cold Storage - This involves placing food in a cool dark environment with varying levels of humidity (some foods need moist, others dry some warmer others cooler) which must be taken into account when deciding where to store food. A root cellar is a good place to start but not very easy to find in most of Australia.

Canning - The principle behind canning is to destroy the microorganisms that cause food to spoil and to create a vacuum in which remaining bacteria cannot grow. Essentially you are pasteurising your food so you need to make sure you get it right.

I have never attempted canning, but my grandmother always used to can fruits and veg.

Drying - This was one of the earliest methods of food preserving where sun was plentiful. It is by far the simplest and most natural way of preserving food and if you are fortunate to live in a warm, dry climate all you needs is fresh food and a little time, for the rest of us a dehydrator or an oven is all that is required.

FRUIT LEATHER RECIPE

Freezing - Although freezing does not stop the clock, cold temperatures considerably slow the deterioration of food and postpone spoilage by temporarily stopping the growth of organisms. While the initial outlay for a good freezer and the electricity to run it can be expensive it is superior to other preserving methods. More nutrients are preserved and texture, colour and flavour are better than other methods.

TIP: Always remember to label your items well and create an inventory and/or a map of your freezer so you (or the man of the house) can always find what you are looking for quickly and easily.

TIP: Freeze citrus juice in ice cube bags and use the juice to flavour dishes throughout the year.

Jams and Jellies - It is never too early or too late to learn the art of jam and jelly (Jellies have no chunks of fruit in them) making. You can create a seasonal ritual by going to a pick your own and then letting the kids help you to make the jam and then enjoy it throughout the winter. The basic recipe is simple and contains Sugar, Fruit and Pectin in varying amounts, for example raspberries will need more added pectin that blackberries in order to set.

HOT PEPPER JELLY RECIPE

CINNAMON PEACH JAM

Pickles, Relishes and Chutneys - These wonderful meal accessories add interest to a main course. They are far from nutritious on their own but make nutritious food much more delicious to eat.

MUSTARD PICKLE RECIPE

If you do not have a garden yet want to try any of the above methods buy your food stuffs in bulk when in season. Lemons can be bought cheaply when in season or ask around odds are you will know someone with a lemon tree who is desperate to off load some.

Gosh this has turned into quite a long post so I hope you all get something from it. The recipes I have linked to I have not tried (yet) but they are on my to list for the right time of year.

Have you liked the series of posts? Would you like to see another one next week?

Blogtoberfest – Day 7 – The Household Cleaning

I have found that you really only need a handful of products in your cleaning arsenal and they will cover pretty much anything (with a little elbow grease)

Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)- It cleans, deodorizes, scours, polishes and removes stains.  It is an effective oven and hob cleaner and brings a shine to baths and sinks.  It is also really good for your skin so kill two birds with one stone and put some in your bath, clean you and clean bath!   It is non toxic to humans and can be used on most surfaces and fabrics (use it in the laundry to get rid of perspiration smells.)

Club Soda - Yes it is a drink but always keep a bottle handy as it lifts all sorts of stains, red wine, blood, and grease can be fizzed away from fabrics and carpets with Club Soda.

Essential Oil - Tea Tree and Eucalyptus are antibacterials and lavender is relaxing.  All of these can be added to your cleaning products to leave a nice smell.  Lemon added to an oven cleaner is lovely.

Lemons  - Lemons are very versatile.  They are antibacterial, will cut through grease and have a mild bleaching effect.  Lemon juice also helps break down limescale.

Microfibre cloths - I picked mine up from Ikea for $9 for 4 cloths but they can be bought in any supermarket.  

Salt - Salt pulls moisture to itself and so is useful for getting out stains from carpets.  A pre-soak in salt water will help remove perspiration stains on laundry.

White Vinegar - Very useful for cleaning windows, mirrors and glass.  Mix 50/50 with water and it is a multi-purpose cleaners.  It can descale and when mixed with baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) it can clear blocked drains

I also have (but rarely use) Borax - It helps inhibit the growth of mildew and mould and removes grease and ketchup stains.  It can be used as a laundry booster and is a useful disinfectant. Borax is harmful when ingested so keep it away from children and pets and make sure you use gloves when using it as it can be a skin irritant.  

Ways to use them:

Sanitize your chopping board: Wipe over your board with the cut side of a fresh lemon (or lime).

To remove brown tea stains from cups: Mix some salt and White vinegar into a paste, wipe around the stain and rinse thoroughly.

Simple oven cleaner: Lightly spray oven with cold water, sprinkle a layer of bicarb over the oven floor, lightly spray with water again and leave to dry (or leave overnight).  Spray again with water and use a sponge to wipe away.  For tough areas use a palette knife or fine steel wool.  Rinse well with hot water or spray a 50/50 water white vinegar solution to clean away the powdery residue.

Dishwashing without bubbles: Dissolve 1 tablespoon bicarb is a bowl of hot water and mix in juice of 1/2 lemon.  There are no bubble but there will be clean dishes.

Remove Grass stains: soak garment in 50/50 cold water and white vinegar overnight, rinse and wash the following day.

Toilet Bowl Fizzer: pour 250ml white vinegar into the toilet bowl and scent with chosen essential oil (if you wish).  Add 250g bicarb to toilet bowl, leave overnight.  the next morning scrub with a toilet brush before flushing.

Remember that these products are natural and will need some elbow grease to get the same results as a chemical cleaner.

Blogtoberfest - Day 6 – The Garden Plan

We are lucky here to have a garden, coming from a unit with a balcony smaller than our kitchen table it is nice to have some space for Jot to run round in.   Our front garden was made into a very low maintenance garden by the previous owner (presumably to make it look good to sell) and we have yet to agree what to do with it although we have agreed it needs some colour so we are on the lookout for some Bougainvillia, this is one of my favourite plants and we had petals as confetti at our wedding (not very easy to get hold of in the UK) and it will look great along the front wall.

The back garden is a small patch of grass and a larger patch of concrete.  The plan is for a number of raised beds on the concrete and to leave the grass as is.  At the moment we are thinking of Apple Crate beds on a crop rotation  basis.  This area of the garden is a long term project though and we are in no immediate rush.

We are lucky in that just beyond our back gate is an easement  (it cannot be built on as the water board need access to the pipes under it) on which we have been allowed to plant a few trees (our next door neighbour has the most amazingly huge fig tree which we are allowed to help ourselves to) and so our Orchard has taken shape.  We now have a Peach, Plum, Cherry and a Lemon tree all along the back fence which will hopefully provide fruit over the next few years, they all seem to be doing quite well although the Cherry is a little slow to realise spring has arrived.

Inspired by an episode of the SBS show Costas Garden Odyssey R and I decided that the raised bed by our back door should be a wicking bed.  We didn’t have a lot of money to spend so Costas corrugated prefab raised beds wouldn’t work for us.  Luckily we were able to upcycle some wood planks we found into the raised bed.  It took us a few months to get the cash together to fill it but all in all (not including plants) the raised bed has cost us about $300 (rather less that Costas $875 each).  However maybe we should have done a garden plan before we made up the raised bed as I am not so sure we have chosen the right plants to put in it.  Never fear I am sure we can move them at some point without too much drama.

So the wicking bed in pictures:

Before

During

After

So we are planning to plan our garden and I am looking into gardening/permaculture courses that will give us a head start in making it work for us and be productive.

Further down the line (some 5 years away) we are looking at animals.  Needless to say if we want to get a pig or a cow we will need a bigger plot of land but we plan to start off small.  Chickens are probably the way to start for us (although I would love to keep geese if only for my Christmas dinner) and I have found a great way to try before you buy here in Melbourne.  Book a Chook let you rent the chook and paraphernalia that come with them for as long as you want ($165 per month).  

You will probably have noticed that I have not mentioned water here at all.  We do not have a water system in place and are trying to figure out just what it is we need.  A Water tank for harvested rain water would be a good idea but there are some rather large logistical issues we need to figure out before we get it, like where to put it.  

WEED TIP: I have found that white vinegar sprayed onto Dandelions kills them after two or three applications.

What to do with your harvest will be the subject of Fridays post so pop back then to see what suggestions I can find for you.

Jots Mum

Blogtoberfest - Day 5 – Home made toiletries

I love this part of my simpler life. It is fun, great to use and the possibilities are endless.


I got interested when an online friend (I think it was Ruth) attempted to make soap sometime last year. I was intrigued but nothing came of it. It took two more friends to attempt and succeed before I figured I would bite the bullet.

The first attempt cooled down too fast and although it was useable (and I still have a couple of bars) the second attempt was so much better. The recipe is this one for Cold Pressed Soap from Rhonda from Down to Earth. I had to half the batch as I don’t have a big enough bowl for that much liquid and ran it through the Soap Calc to ensure the ratio of lye was correct before I started. All the ingredients I found in the supermarket or the health food shop and for my everyday soap I do not use essential oils. This is because both all of us use the same soap and I don’t think R would appreciate the scent I like and I know I don’t want to smell like the ones he likes.

I have used this recipe and have made a lavender soap using lavender essential oil and dried flowers. It smells divine and is much creamier that the everyday soap (therefore it is used up faster).

I wanted more options from my soap making so I started looking for books. None of my local libraries had anything good for cold pressed soaps so I went online and discovered a series of books on self sufficiency including this one on soap making by Sarah Ade. The series also covers household cleaning, preserving and hen keeping among others.

This book has a number of recipes I am planning to try. I have already made the shampoo bar (my hair is undecided at the moment although it smells divine) and the shaving soap (which is still curing and not yet ready to use).

Is it worth it? Yes I think it is, financially each bar costs about $1 to make (the basic recipe is less and the shaving soap is more), it feels nicer on the skin and is nice to know that I am not introducing anything harmful to Jots skin.

I have also made deodorant from Jessica at How About Orange. A very simple and quick product which I love to use. I made up the amount specified in April and still have some left 6 months later. The only gripe I have is that in winter it is completely solid and an absolute nightmare to get out of the tub I put it in. It is starting to warm up now so hoping it will be a little easier to use over the next few months. I am looking for a deodorant recipe for a spray deodorant but so far I haven’t got very far, might have to try devising my own.

There are a couple of other recipes I have noted that I would like to try but I need to find some time away from Jot where I can concentrate on something new:

Calendula Salve from Passionate Homemaker

Lavender Water from Fiolinn and the Handy Gnomes

Lip Balm and Toner from Beautiful with Brains

Blogtoberfest – Day 4 – Simple Living

As mentioned yesterday I have in mind to run a series of posts this week (and if it works I will choose a different subject for each week this month). It will run from Monday to Friday (to leave space for my crafty stuff at the weekend) and this weeks series will be on Simple Living.

There was a British Sitcom in the 70s called ‘The Good Life’, starring Penelope Keith and Richard Briers. This show is about a couple who, tired of the rat race, decide to turn their suburban back yard into a small holding completed with Chickens, Pigs and a veggie patch much to the horror of their neighbours.

My revelation was not as the result of a mid life crisis (as Toms was) more of a subtle shift as a result of Jots arrival. I am steering us along the road to ‘The Good Life’ slowly and by degrees and I hope that in a decade (or two) we will be fairly self sufficient although I doubt our destination will be quite extreme.
The need to protect Jot from harmful chemicals and to create a better world for her to live in (even if we only affect her immediate surroundings) has driven a number of changes within our household.

Our big shift has been to install a Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system on our roof to provide us with our electricity. We found our supplier through Solar Choice and have ordered a 3kw system. This should generate around 13kwh of power a day (more in summer less in winter) and will hopefully provide us with about 80% of our electricity. We ordered back in July and due to some supplier issues for the inverters (they are coming from Germany) we are still waiting for the installation. I am really excited about this as it will help us financially as well as provide a much smaller carbon footprint.

We now have a garden (after 9 months this is still a novelty to me) and are making plans for raised beds, wicking beds, an orchard (do three trees an orchard make?) and a veggie patch.

I am also trialing changes in the house. I have started to make my own soap, deodorant and cleaning products. I use cloth nappies on Jot (although I am hoping this will not be the case for much longer) and I am shopping more locally and once a month I do a bulk shop at Costco.

And of course there is my crafting. I am sewing more and more of Jots clothes, knitting was cloths and warm clothes and this year I think I only need to buy 2 things for Christmas presents.

Over the next 4 days I plan to introduce you to some of these aspects of our life, some of the very cool websites and books I have found to help guide us (me) along the way and some of the benefits I have found.

Day 3

Today has been exhausting but in a good way.

Our clocks changed last night so we lost and hours sleep this morning although it didn't make any difference to Jot and we were up with the larks again (when do they stop thinking 6am is a good time to wake?).  So I decided to get some excercise in and went for a walk.  2.5km later we arrived back home to eat all the calories I had just burnt off with Crossaints (yum).

On the spur of the moment we then decided to go out and headed to the ABC Gardening Expo which was held at Caufield Race course today and on the way back we stumbled upon the Hard Rubbish collection in the Hawthorn area.  Lets just say we came back with bounty for the garden and for the house!!!

We have spent the afternoon in the garden and dealing with a very over tired 2 year old.  Full on tantys this evening of the "I'll scream and scream and scream until I'm sick" variety.  In bed now and I hope asleep but I am at work tomorrow so she is R's responsibilty now.

All of the above isn't actually what I planned to post about today and since I have a series of posts planned for this week (as long as I can get some research time in over my lunch break tomorrow) I will save my planned post for next week.  I will say though that I sat at my sewing machine yesterday and created something I really like.

Happy Sunday.

Jots Mum

Oh Beehave - October Block

I know I have mentioned this somewhere before, I am a member of the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild (MMQG) and they are running a Quilting Bee.  Now I have never made a block before so thought this would be a very good idea to get me to challenge myself and to learn new skills (and maybe be a little more carfeul with my piecing) so I signed up.

October is Esthers month and now she has received the block I made I can post a picture of it here.  I have no idea what the middle block is called but I think it is my take of a disappearing nine patch with a window frame.  Esther asked for 10.5 inch blocks and I am really excited to note that mine were exactly that.

So here it is - my first ever block

I wasn't too sure about it at first but the more I look at the picture the more I like it.

I still have to figure out my fabrics and block requests but my month isn't till August so I can think about it until the fabric deadline in February.

Have a good weekend

Jots Mum

Blogtoberfest is here

Last year I watched and read as friends (and strangers) got involved in Blogtoberfest and wondered if I would ever have enough to say to blog every day.  Well this year I am going to try.

Sign up and join the fun.  So far there are 107 of us so you will be in good company.

Jots Mum