Twenty one years ago, I woke up one January morning to a huge earthquake and my mother screaming for me to get out of bed. My family was unprepared for the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake. I was grateful that we didn’t lose water in our town, as my parents didn’t have any stored–and grateful that…
This post contains a referral link and an affiliate link. You can read my disclosure policy here. I’ve decided to increase our budget $25 a month to $300. This amount includes non-food items like toilet paper, shampoo, etc. We are a family of 9. Several readers have asked me what I will do about…
We’re not having school here this week, and I’ll be working hard to accomplish several things, including some that never happened this year, despite being on my-to do list many times. Garden: 1. Dig out non-producing Libery apple tree 2. Plant Katy apricot tree in its place 3. Prune grape vines 4. Weed raised…
We celebrated a simple Christmas at home. I was able to finish a couple of quick gifts and make some quick candy for stockings. I harvested meyer lemons from the garden. Because of last year’s freeze, I only had a few lemons, but each lemon is very large. I cut oregano from the garden and…
We celebrated Winter’s birthday with a simple meal at home, to which we invited her grandparents. I made an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. Her gifts were simple: I gave her the two thrift store sweaters that I recently purcased ($10) , two sizes of knitting needles that I bought for .25 a…
Here are a few quick, easy, and free or close to free gifts that you can download or print in 5 minutes or less: Download Free Music: Classical Music Amazon Amazon has several free songs and albums that you can download. Your local library may have free music that you can download from…
I cut roses from the garden for my nightstand. I also cut roses for the entry table. We had some rain this week, so I left the drip irrigation turned off. I have not watered the garden all month. I’ve never had a December like that before, so I am delighted that the rain…
I hosted two courses of a progressive dinner for a church activity this week. Food was provided for all of the homes except for salad dressing. I made ranch, Italian, and Orange balsamic vinaigrette. I cut roses, dusty miller, and euoyonomous from the garden to make arrangements for the table. I also cut euyonomous to…
Garden: I want to cut some herbs before frost comes to kill them back to their roots. We’re having a warm week, so I will plant some more seeds that can make it through the cool temperatures of our mild winters. 1. Cut oregano and hang to dry. 2. Cut and dry tarragon 3….
This post contains affiliate links. Last year, I made an advent calendar to help us have more fun together as a family in December. I included crafts, special treats, and activities we would be attending. I found that writing out a list made it easier to make sure we did the special things I wanted to…
December’s shopping will focus on seasonal deals, including citrus and holiday specials. I also will be stocking up on a few staples. For an idea of what we have to eat in December, you can check out my winter menu. I don’t follow that menu exactly. I use it to plan meals based on what…
Ezrom and I talked about making this pillow for his room a couple of months ago. He chose the image that he wanted. The little pillow will go on his bed. He doesn’t know I made it for him for Christmas. Supplies: Image from the Graphics Fairy Iron-on transfer paper Fabric for pillow and…