I have spent the last few days sharing links to help refugees leaving Ukraine to access services and help in Poland. I am in many international gardening and photography groups and follow many Ukranians on Instagram, and they have been sharing their thoughts and feelings as well as routes out of the country and services…
My big savings this week was an unexpected surprise! I have been wanting to go see my granddaughter, whom I have only seen once when she was 3 weeks old. She is now 6 months old. Someone I know from church was going to the same city (a 637-mile drive one way) for the weekend…
I took over 100 cuttings from the hedges in my front yard, removed the lower leaves, dipped the ends in rooting powder, and stuck them in the garden along the drip lines where I hope they will grow. To buy bushes would cost around $4 to $5 each. I need about 1300 bushes, and I…
I harvested two kinds of lettuce, Swiss chard, and Meyer lemons from the garden. I made a triple batch of laundry soap. Albertson’s offered me $5 off a $5 purchase on the app. They had eggs on sale with a digital coupon (limit 2 dozen) for $0.97 and lettuce for $0.97. I also bought celery…
I moved a rose bush that I never moved in the renovation but have been meaning to move to a new spot in the garden. When I went to take it out, there was still a root attached on one side that I hadn’t seen, so the rose stayed in place while a part of…
I harvested Meyer lemons, Swiss chard, parsley, and green onions from the garden. My mom gave me the silverplate tray in the photo. She bought it at a garage sale on Saturday. When she asked the price, the seller said, “It’s a dollar–unless you’re really interested. Then it’s $20.” She replied, “I’m not really interested,”…
My husband made three more sections for the backside of the pergola from steel. I sowed seeds for lettuce, Bells of Ireland, larkspur, and poppies in the garden. I ran outside with buckets of cold water to pour over everything frozen that was frost-sensitive before the sunrise two days in a row after we had…
I listened to music on Pandora and YouTube. I watched the Call the Midwife Christmas special on Pbs.org. I mended a sweater. I harvested lemons, lettuce, Swiss chard, and garlic chives from the garden. I brought lots of empty canning jars out of the pantry to cover and protect seedlings in the garden from a…
I bought a couple of small presents for the youngest three children on a one-day 30% off sale at Target. These were $1.99 each regular price. I paid $1.39. I then used the Target Circle rewards credit that I have been saving to use at Christmas to pay for them. This is a credit that…
We harvested lemons and basil from the garden. We zested the lemons to make lemon pepper and used the lemons to make lemonade. I hemmed a pair of pants for a daughter and mended a hole in a dress. We made spritz cookies, peppermint bark, chocolate and Pretzel Christmas trees, brownies, and popped popcorn on…
I harvested roselle hibiscus, peppermint, lemon verbena, tarragon, stevia, basil, oregano, and green tomatoes from the garden. I dried the herbs and will ripen the tomatoes inside. I used glass jars to cover several frost-sensitive herbs. New herb plants have almost doubled in price in the last five years, so I prefer to not have…
I harvested butternut squash, pumpkins, and basil from the garden. I sowed seeds for green onions, spinach, nasturtiums, and lettuce. Succession planting of seeds means I will have a continuous supply of these things over the season, rather than having them all ripe at once. It is still warm enough to sow seeds, but that…