Those of you who follow my photography account on Instagram and then noted it in the comments on the blog here the last few weeks (or noticed others’ comments on the subject of recent blog posts) saw our big news: My eldest is getting married! I know you will want details, so here they are!…
I hosted an outdoor spring party for my daughter’s birthday. I used cloth banners I had sewn for previous birthdays to decorate for her party. I also cut flowering branches from my flowering plum trees (these are the only trees in my garden that do not give fruit). In addition, my daughters made a…
The weather here was absolutely beautiful this past week. I purchased tomato plants on sale at the nursery and planted them in the garden. I am trying a few new types this year in addition to my favorites. Though tempting to buy herb plants, I held off, knowing I have plenty of seeds at home…
Our last frost date here is February 15th. Last year, we had a very rare snowfall the week after that! (It only snows here about once a decade!) But this year, everything seems ready to go in the garden! I manured the garden, taking advantage of the discount the local nursery offers when you buy…
I worked in the garden pruning and weeding to prepare it for spring and to keep my trees and bushes healthy. I collected shower warm-up water and used it to water potted plants in the garden. I do this every day, but I only mention it occasionally. I did some organizing. I am loving all…
My one-word theme for this year is “achieve.” Over the years, I’ve had goals and plans to do things that never came to fruition. This year, I’d like to change that. I have a lot to do this month! It’s going to be a busy month. Garden: Finish pruning all of the fruit trees, rose…
I made a cheesecake for my son’s birthday using a new recipe. The only real difference between it and my old recipe was the addition of two tablespoons of cornstarch, and then the way it was cooked: ten minutes on high and an hour on low. It neither fell nor cracked after cooking, which meant…
We all ended up catching the flu last weekend, which left us resting in bed for several days. Scrolling Instagram and watching tv was too difficult for us, so everyone slept as much as possible. We’re still recovering; some of us are certainly feeling better than others. The week before we definitely had some savings!…
I had a shoe repaired, rather than buying new shoes. I spent time pruning my garden to help my flowers and trees be healthier and produce larger fruit. I organized my garden seeds to be able to start planting in earnest. I planted seeds in the garden for snow peas, lettuce, larkspur, and Swiss chard….
I looked over my finances for the first three months of the year and planned accordingly. I plan three months at a time as we are self-employed. I received a Christmas gift of a $150 grocery gift card to Winco at Christmas. I plan to make that work for anything I need for January that…
I made several Christmas gifts. I sewed a pencil bag, a pair of mittens (from a felted wool thrift-store sweater), a dress, a scrunchie to match the dress, a skirt, a matching bow which I sewed to a barrette, and a second matching bow that I attached to a headband. Christmas dinner was a collaboration…
Using a yard of corduroy I’ve had for over a decade, I sewed my three-year-old a simple pair of elastic-waist pants (no pockets or zippers). The fabric was leftover fabric from a dress that I sewed for my eldest daughter. He loves that he can pull up the pants by himself and there are no…