I spent many, many hours up late each night this week canning. I am grateful to my mother-in-law for teaching me the basics of canning. I had a newborn at the time (my second baby) and she came to my house and taught me to can peaches. With lots going on during the day (and another…
I collected eggs from my friend’s chickens and picked cucumbers, a few green beans, and tomatoes from her garden. I canned a batch of dill pickles from the cucumbers. I harvested grapes, tomatoes, oregano, basil, and figs from my garden. In the garden, I sowed seeds for red noodle beans, red zinnias, white zinnias, Genovese…
This month from my garden we’ll harvest grapes, grape leaves, figs, Swiss chard, herbs, green onions, a few tomatoes, and a few peaches (from the tree in my white garden). I’m taking care of a friend’s garden and chickens for two weeks this month, during which time we’ll harvest cucumbers, tomatoes, and a few possible…
It was really wonderful to hear from so many readers this past week in the comments! So many of you have been reading for years and I didn’t know who you were. I loved reading your frugal accomplishments and was very, very touched to hear how much my site has helped so many of you…
This post contains affiliate links. I took a floral arranging class as a university student. I often say that that class and my public speaking class are the two most practical classes I attended. Floral arrangement styles have changed over the years. I follow several florists on Instagram (who have styles I love but that…
This post contains affiliate and referral links. Ten years ago, I sat at my computer and started creating this website. My plan was to create menus and recipes for those who were living, like us, from their food storage and garden. At the time, we had been living on our food storage for over…
My son and I repaired a leak in the garden. I signed up for a free online mini-class. I used a $15 off coupon at Joann fabrics on top of purchasing items on sale. I collected shower-warm-up water and used it to water potted plants in the garden. We picked blackberries and apricots from the…
I cut flowers from the garden. I cut rosemary and Swiss chard from the garden. We picked blackberries, apricots, lemons, and figs from the garden. I had my son spray for bugs. Spraying the outside of the house rather than having a bug service saves us hundreds of dollars every year. We watched children’s shows on…
I harvested Mission figs, Royal apricots, Meyer lemons, peppermint, green onions, New Zealand spinach, Swiss chard, hibiscus flowers, and blackberries from the garden. I worked in the garden, weeding and sowing seeds for sunflowers, Armenian cucumbers, Genovese basil, and vincas. I collected green onion seeds from my green onion flowers and planted a new…
This post contains an affiliate link. I cut flowers from the garden. We harvested Katy apricots, blackberries, chocolate mint, peppermint, chamomile, green onions, and Mission figs from the garden. I planted seeds for Dark Opal basil and Armenian cucumbers in the garden. I received an email advertising a discount for season tickets for the Philharmonic….
This month in the garden, I’ll harvest blackberries, Mission figs, and apricots. I’ll cut and pick Swiss chard, green onions, grape leaves, chives, oregano, rosemary, sage, elderberry flowers (and possibly elderberries, if I can beat the birds to them), New Zealand spinach, peppermint, and tomatoes. I’ll collect seeds from open-pollinated spinach, three kinds of lettuce,…
A month ago, I gave birth to a baby boy. We now have five daughters and four sons. This baby boy was our biggest child! He was 9 pounds, 1 ounce (4,11 kg) and 22 inches long. He was born at home on April 27th at 8:20 p.m. His name is Hamish. Curious about…