I’m grateful for the opportunity last month of not shopping to empty the fridge and work on clearing out the freezers. The freezers still have quite a bit left in them and I always strive to keep the pantry full; there is plenty there still. This month we’ll work on eating more of the fruit…
A stack of chocolate crepes for a birthday breakfast I sowed seeds for beets, arugula, spinach, larkspur, and New Zealand Spinach. I cut rosemary, Swiss chard, beet greens, arugula, and chocolate mint (pictured above) from the garden. We received more rain, which meant I didn’t have to turn on the sprinklers. I used rainwater…
In the garden this week, I planted seeds for lettuce, turnips, and flowers. I harvested Swiss chard, beet greens, oregano, rosemary, and parsley from the garden. We received some rain this week. In the past month, we’ve had some rain almost every week, and it’s been enough each time to actually water the garden, so…
It was a busy week in the garden. I picked lemons from the garden. I cut Swiss chard and beet greens from the garden. I pruned my iceberg roses and brought all of the roses inside to enjoy. I dug a few more small bushes that I started last year by tip layering and moved…
Last spring, when I was 8 months pregnant, I went through my closet and ruthlessly edited out clothing that I had, cough, outgrown before I became pregnant and that I figured was never going to fit me after my eighth baby was born. Before I took it all off to be donated, I offered it…
Winter just attended her first formal dance, a Winter Ball put on by the local LDS Seminary, which she attends. They have 375 students who attend a religion class early every morning an hour before school starts. Because of our dating standards, only those who are 16 and older could bring dates to the dance….
Black bean soup topped with tomatoes harvested green (and ripened off the vine) from the garden in early December. I made a large pot of black beans in the crockpot. We had taco soup with them one day and black bean soup three days. I harvested beet greens, lemons, and Swiss chard from…
January is the month where I spend the most time in my garden, pruning, tidying, and planting. I’m outside working for several hours almost every day. I have some goals I’d like to achieve in the garden this year, and a lot of those will come from good planning and preparation done this month. This…
For January, my grocery shopping budget is $0. We’ll be eating from what we have on hand. There are lots of reasons for choosing to eat from what you have on hand for the month. January is a great month to do it: You can rotate through food you’ve put aside all year (break out…
Queen of Sweden rose January is one of the busiest months in my garden. Our winter is short and very spring-like (our first frost came December 18th and the last official frost date is February 15th) and there is much to do in January. I’ll spend a great number of afternoons and every Saturday physically…
I enjoyed plenty of fresh air this week as I worked in the garden, planting the bulbs that I ordered back in June that have been prechilling in my refrigerator since October. I trimmed some bushes and used some of the clipped pieces to (hopefully!) start some new bushes by pulling off the bottom leaves…
Here’s what we did to save money this past week: I bought two beautiful poinsettias marked down to $0.99 each. I gave one to a neighbor and put one on our table. I sewed some more gifts for the children while my husband watched the children. I used fabric I had on hand, including fabric…