In this time when so many of us around the world are dealing with reduced and eliminated incomes, making the most of every penny goes a long way towards making what we have last and conserving funds to help pay our bills and to keep food on the table. I went over our budget for…
I am thankful for my pantry, freezers, fridge, and garden right now. I did not need to do any grocery shopping. There are things I would like to have that I do not and items that I am low on/out of that were on my shopping list, but I will make do without them. We…
It’s been a whirlwind of a week as things have been changing multiple times a day in regards to Covid-19. We watched the governor speak live on a local news station’s website which we cast from the computer to the television (we have not had cable television for over 13 years and read our news…
When I sit at the table to eat, this apricot tree in bloom is what I can see out the window. It’s been a long time since I’ve shared some images of the garden behind my house, and right now it is absolutely incredible, so I’ve filled this post with them. Here are the ways…
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…
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…