The best chicken house in the whole backyard!

I'm sure there are better ones somewhere out there...

But I'll admit, I think mine rocks.

It isn't finished yet, there is still some painting to do, and another windowshutterthingey to make. But it still looks great!

A quick tour:

The front

The side ramps, there are two, the idea being one side of the run can be fenced off to give it time to recover from all the scratching.

The inside

The laying boxes

The back (yes we have gutters and they are attached to this rainwater tank)

The runs

Mr Homespun and I made the whole house, using this cubby house plan as a guide. It has taken us the best part of the year to make it, but on and off, whenever the inspiration struck us! We are so incredibly proud of it and our girls just love it! (Although the other girls, Miss 9 and Miss 13 are a little cheesed off that the chickens have a lovely house and they still don't have a cubby house!)

Cheers!

Recipe - Tomato Relish

Well Christmas is over for another year, and we have all started to slow down after the mad rush of the past week or so. A little more rushing than usual as Miss 9 had a bit of an accident on Sunday and now has 7 stitches in her shin. The poor little thing had a 3 inch gash on her leg with about 2 inches of bone exposed! But she is hobbling around just fine now and the wound appears to be healing nicely.

If you are experiencing a glut of tomatoes right now, as we are, here is a great recipe that will use some up in a most delicious way. It is from Complete Perfect Recipes by David Herbert, one of my favourite and most used cookbooks.

Tomato Relish

Ingredients
1kg tomatoes
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 small red chillies
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar (I didn't have any so I substituted white wine vinegar and it was still delicious)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder

Halve the tomatoes and remove the seeds, then roughly chop and pop into a saucepan with the remainder of the ingredients.

Bring to the boil and reduce heat and simmer for around an hour, or until it is thick and a bit jam-like, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.

Pour into sterilised jars and then store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

I usually like to let these types of recipes to sit for a week before eating to allow the flavours to develop, but the batch I made last Sunday (before Miss 9 hurt herself) is already gone!

It is lovely with leftover Xmas ham, or with cheese and crackers. Yum!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

For those of us celebrating, I hope you have a lovely day, filled with family and friends, good food and a glass of your favourite!

Cheers!

Makings and Made

I've been playing around in Miss 9's bedroom, moving furniture, having a big clean out, and generally having fun with the decor. Here's a little peek at what I have done:

I crocheted these lovely curtain tie backs, pattern found here.

Making a little reading nook for her. Still a few more frames to be added, I think...

But she loves her 'new' room!

Cheers!