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  I went to the community garage sales with my mom. I always go to these with a list that I add to throughout the year. While I didn’t find as much as I have in the past, I was happy for what I found. I found the pressed glass bowl with the silver edge…

We began the hard work on the backyard ourselves, rather than hiring someone to do the labor. This project will take months, so doing everything but the concrete ourselves is our plan to keep the cost down and make it possible. I am still making small changes to the design, too. Because there is good…

Last week we had highs around 101 degrees, so it’s still quite hot here, but it is cool enough that my tomatoes have started to flower again! Hopefully, we’ll be able to harvest some before our frosts arrive in November/December. We’ll pick everything green and let them finish ripening inside when a frost is expected….

I am making my new garden plans on some old graph paper that my husband had from long before we were married. I know a lot of people want to design things in a program. I find graph paper is faster and cheaper. I’ve drawn and erased and moved things around several times. The more…

I spent a lot of time working in the garden this past week. I spread manure and more garden soil out in the garden in the raised beds to fix areas that had fallen and to add new life to the garden. The next day, the temperature dropped from 113 to 80! It was very…

When I went to the local nursery to pick up some bulk soil and manure, I asked about and was given some small plastic pots that they were going to throw out (they reuse the larger ones). These were just the size I needed to try to start some new hedge plants from cuttings. The…

I cut zinnias from the garden to enjoy inside. I harvested more Armenian cucumbers from the garden! I saved seeds to plant again next year. I purchased two heads of cauliflower for $.99 a head the week before last (normally they’re around $2.49 to $3.99 here so I was very excited) to use in my…

I harvested almonds, Armenian cucumbers, two kinds of pears and basil from the garden. I set the basil up to dry; I rinsed it and then put it on a cooling rack above a half-sheet pan. I set it in the kitchen on the counter under the ceiling fan. Once it’s dry, I’ll crumble the…

I harvested tomatoes, basil, and an Armenian cucumber from the garden. Each of the squares in the photo below is 6 inches (15.24 cm) across, to give you an idea of size. I love that these never get bitter and actually produce in the heat. It was 115 at our house (a friend recorded 119…

It’s been a busy week of repairs and organizing. My husband made several large repairs at home. Most of the sinks in our house had fallen (due to the installers not installing them properly) and needed to be fixed, and all of the faucets have been leaking from the handles for some time. He needed…

We harvested tomatoes, grapes, Swiss chard, green onions, an Armenian cucumber, oregano, and basil from the garden. I transplanted some zucchini starts that I started from seed outdoors in reused plastic garden pots into the garden. Hopefully, I will get some zucchini in October when it starts to cool down. I planted these in the…