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…
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 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…
My husband gave one of our sons a haircut. I watched several YouTube tutorials to learn how to do several things I needed to do this week. I then followed through and did those things. I made a doube batch of laundry soap. My youngest had recently broken favorite mixing bowl. I love a ceramic…
I replaced the elastic in two pairs of sweat pants for my 3-year-old. These were hand-me-downs from my older boys. They’ve been sitting in storage for 11 years, so the elastic needed to be replaced. I had previously purchased bulk elastic on sale from Wawak for this purpose. I kept the sprinklers and drip irrigation…
It’s been a busy week, as always! Here’s what we did to save money this week: My husband gave me a haircut. I sowed seeds in the garden for lettuce, snow peas and parsley. We harvested pomegranates and lemons from the garden. I stocked up on pasta on sale for $0.49 a pound. I see…
I harvested pomegranates and lemons from the garden. I sowed seeds in the garden for snow peas. I ordered Christmas gifts online with free shipping. A photography conference that took place in another state this week had some of their keynote speakers talks online for free for a short while! I was delighted to be…
I harvested chives from the garden. I used some of the pork roast I had purchased on sale for $0.99 a pound to make tacos. It’s so much cheaper than ground beef, and we love tacos! I made a smaller batch of oatmeal than I usually do. Without Winter around, the oatmeal is not getting…
I canned sweet pickle relish using part of an Armenian cucumber from the garden. They are so large that I can easily cut six to eight cups of cucumber from each cucumber! I mended a quilt, a pair of pants, and a cardigan. We celebrated a very simple birthday for my new teenager! (Now I…
I harvested grapes, figs, green onions, and basil from the garden. I also collected leek seeds from the garden. I sewed the button back on a shirt and replaced a button on an outfit with one from my button jars. Octavius, my three-year-old, asked me some questions about fish. He wanted to know about big…
We harvested peaches, figs, basil, and two Armenian cucumbers from the garden. I froze peaches from the garden. I stocked up on chicken thighs for $0.67 a pound. That’s the lowest price I ever see them here and I don’t see them that low very often (only a couple of times a year). They had…