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I harvested tomatoes, lemons, figs, swiss chard, and peaches from my garden. I sowed seeds in the garden for basil, zinnias, and vincas. I made a batch of apricot vanilla jam with apricots from my garden. I used shower warm-up water, water from rinsing fruits and vegetables, water from steaming vegetables, water from canning, and…

I harvested apricots, lemons, Swiss chard, a few cherry tomatoes, blackberries, and a peach from the garden. I continue to experiment with seeing how little water I can use in the garden. Our temperatures are oddly cooler this year than normal, and I have been able, so far, to water potted plants every three days….

I harvested blackberries, artichokes, and apricots from my garden. We had 10 minutes of rain late the Friday afternoon before last. I refrained from watering my potted plants that day and I turned off my drip irrigation for the one I have set for Friday afternoon. With the new rates and fines, diligence in saving…

I harvested spinach, green onions, lettuce, snow peas, and cilantro from my garden. My son is now in charge of the clearance markdowns at the grocery store where he works. The store is being rearranged and they are marking down everything that they don’t have room for while they build new aisles. He let me…

I cut flowers from my garden for a women’s church event that was held in my backyard. It was a beautiful night and the roses were all in bloom, so it was the perfect time to host. I was asked to teach about gardening and was happy to get to show people what is possible…

My last three weeks have been crazy busy and I haven’t been able to blog at all. On top of that, we had no internet for most of the first of those three weeks. My savings were not as much as normal in so many ways, but I still managed to save as much as…

I returned two items I purchased online that didn’t fit from ThredUp. I was surprised to find out that they have changed their return policy to have a per-item restocking fee, so I didn’t get my full amount back. Still, I felt it was best to return the two items. I harvested lettuce, mache, green…

I harvested lemons, green onions, parsley, mache, and lettuce from my garden. I zested the lemons and dried the zest to use in cooking later. I decided that since I cannot get replacements for my Texas Privet standards that died (the growers are no longer sending them to the nursery, so it is impossible to…

I live in a tract house. My parents have the same model as we do. They decided to purchase a different kind of blinds for their bedroom and asked if we wanted the old ones. These were custom blinds; the two windows in the room are oddly 1/2″ different in width. I have had blinds…

I spent a good portion of last Monday in back-and-forth voice message conversations with an old friend. If you haven’t spoken to someone in years (apart from the occasional social media post or Christmas card), I would encourage you to ask them what they are dealing with that’s difficult right now, rather than just asking,…

I continue to be shocked at the prices of items that are now triple what I used to pay just a year or two ago (especially food and toiletries). Efforts to save money where we can are of even greater importance. I rehemmed a pair of jeans that had come unstitched. I gave a son…