Weekend Highlights- Crayfish & Journals

And an industrious weekend it has been!  It started off with the Early Bird Journal making (which I shall tell you about shortly), and finished  up with some lovely crayfish being cooked up. 

First off - here are the crayfish  - a fresh water crayfish that can only be caught during the winter months in the rivers down south - particulary the Murray River & hence they are often referred to as Murray Crays.

These were caught by our eldest son in the Murray River just a short stroll from here. The pic to the left shows them still alive, with the tail tucked under.  The claws are very able at taking off a finger................ so be wary!

Now to the right , and you'll see them after they've been cooked up in a pot of boiling water, lemons & rock salt!   Guess what we are having for dinner tonight!!!

Now onto the journals.........

For the early bird christmas project a journal was needed to do up lists etc.  As you might all know how much I adore list making,  I am rather consious these days of keeping my clutter to a minimum where I can.  I've decided that with this move to Bundalong - our new home + the idea of needing to get that christmas journal made up............ a New Homemaking Journal would be the best idea. Homemaking journals/binders were all the rage a few years back and although I did have one back then, it has been packed into a box and may not get unpacked for quite some time - along with alot of other boxes of books that are waiting patiently!  Since I need it to cover  most things I do (I'd like to think it would cover everything but we shall see) -

A large Binder would be in order in which I could add pages or sections as required or remove a page of lists to take with me if needed rather than carting a whole book into town with me  - you get the picture.  So I've covered a large 2 ring Binder in some appropriate looking fabric I had here

& inside I have made various  "Sections - complete with their own title page"  which divide my Big Journal into several areas in an effort to keep all my lists, references, quotes etc etc in the ONE place. 

 So yes, I have a separate section just devoted to the Early Birds Christmas (instead of a separate book - sorry Judith - but it does easily accommodates the various sections, plus allows me to pop in the wonderful pattern sheets Judith has supplied for us to use), another divider for The Kitchen  - which includes menu plans; preserving'; kitchen crafts & also growing food (seed catalogs can be kept here + a list of what fruit trees we have yet to purchase); A section for Home Renovations - repairs & upgrades (in which I can keep my "to do" lists for those item as well as quotes for costs); A sewing section - to list my projects on the go, groups I'm currently in;  gifts for birthdays etc. 

Now while my current cover pages are fairly basic (except for my christmas one which I've decorated with fabric & glitter paints )  - it does manage to give that section its own little identity (& I can pretty them up as I go :)  )

I spent a good part of Saturday morning getting quotes for a rain water tank (needed for our drinking water) - so now all of that info will go straight into my homemaking journal, and can easily be found by us rather than having to search for that "bit of paper".