I made pickles this week using the Armenian cucumbers from my garden. No, they’re not a “pickling” type of cucumber, but I used them anyway. They’re rather long; some were 18-22″! The seed cavity is large. I scooped out the seeds and gave them to a friend of mine who has chickens, along with some…
I went out to my garden on Monday night, and found evidence of hornworm caterpillars on the tomatoes and I saw grape-leaf skeletonizers on the grapes. I decided to take care of this problem first, instead of pruning the trees first. By the time I was done ripping out the tomato plants (I had been…
I picked a few zinnias from the garden for our table this week. (My seeds are from Wildseed Farms). I made a bottle of homemade hair detangler with the leftovers from a free sample of conditioner. I made laundry detergent this week. I made yogurt and granola this week. I watched several shows for free on Hulu…
When I redesigned my website in January, I set it up so that I could include sponsored advertising. When I posted on my Facebook page that I was going to do this, and asked if anyone was interested, Heather was the first one to speak up. She’s been a sponsor for my site since February….
I mention on my Sewing for Less page that I have bought thread from Atlanta Thread for an amazing price. My mother-in-law introduced me to this company. I couldn’t believe how low their prices were on thread! I really liked Atlanta Thread. Atlanta Thread was bought out earlier this year by Wawak. Wawak has thread…
I was visiting with a sister from church the other day, and we were talking about all of the ways in which I use rosemary. I have one plant, that has become huge over the years. I make so many things with rosemary, including rosemary potatoes, rosemary olive oil bread, rosemary white bean soup,…
I spent a lot of time last week holding sick little ones. Most of my goals for the week didn’t happen. Last Week’s Goals: 1. Finish sewing pajamas for Liberty. 2. Finish sewing headband and barrettes for Liberty. 3. Make 3 (or more, depending on time) other gifts for Liberty this week. Any gifts from my…
I received a bag of fabric this week from my mom’s friend. There is some fabric in there that looks to be enough to make a Christmas dress, a skirt for a child, and possibly another dress. From the same person, I also received 4 doll shirts that I will use for Christmas gifts for my…
Last Week’s Goals: 1. Change the school schedule slightly so that my 5-year-old and 7-year-old have reading with me first thing in the morning, with 5-year-old first and 7-year-old after he is done doing his after-breakfast chores. This worked well 4 of the 5 days last week. I will be continuing this one this…
I picked up a small succulent at Sam’s Club and divided it into 5 plants. Using pots I already had that were not being used, I replanted it into several pots and arranged the pots by my front door. Eventually they will spread and fill the pot, and fortunately, they prefer it when you only water them…
That is my green bean harvest. It’s a normal year for green beans here. You see, green beans are like tomatoes–and zucchini, squash, pumpkins, peppers and cucumbers. When it’s above 90º, they don’t like to set fruit. They don’t even flower much. They just try to stay alive. We have over 5 months of above 90º…
Updated 12/2014 Sometimes I feel like the un-normal American. It seems that wherever women are gathered, they love to talk about their shopping habits. Considering that shopping is our responsibility, and it takes up so much of our time (as does cooking) I think we cannot help but talk about food. The trouble is…