I spent all week working in the garden each day, tidying it for planting. I pulled out dead plants, pulled weeds, spread manure. and pruned. I planted seeds in the garden for beets, green onions, snow peas, Armenian cucumbers, spinach, and lettuce in the garden. I began my birthday gift list for 2018, starting with…
Welcome to our home! In the urns by the front door, I added some free Christmas tree trimmings and free pinecones. Many places that sell Christmas trees will give free Christmas tree trimmings if you ask. I hung some wreaths I bought several years ago. This year, I added the two lanterns by the door….
I put up a few more decorations that I already had. The frost that was predicted earlier this month never came, but a frost was again forecast for this week. There were still some green tomatoes in the garden, so we brought them in. We also enjoyed eating garden tomatoes that we had picked green…
I sewed a tree skirt for our tree from drop cloth I had. My husband gave two sons a haircut. My husband took a free course for one of his required continuing education classes for work. This class was also very close to home. Most classes he takes are 30-45 minutes from home, so one…
This post contains affiliate links. Spritz Cookies made with my grandmother’s vintage cookie press. These are the fastest and simplest Christmas cookies I’ve ever made. Can you imagine a December without shopping? No food to buy. No gifts to purchase. The chance to stay home: making cookies and treats from items in…
I’m thankful for the chance to work on some Christmas gifts yesterday. What are you thankful for today?
I’ve made lined pencil bags and other lined, zippered bags before. They’re a pretty quick and simple gift to make. The important thing is to figure out what size you need it to be, depending on what purpose it will serve. For this bag, I chose to cut the bag 9 x 4 inches and…
Over the past decade, there have been many years where I debated every penny of expense. Our income was so tight that even “free” things were evaluated for the cost that they had. An outing to see something still cost gas money to get there, when we didn’t have that money to spare, was definitely…
I harvested Swiss chard, a few tiny cherry tomatoes, 2 tiny butternut squash, a small bell pepper, a small lemon, a small parsnip, and 2 beets from the garden. I planted seeds in the garden for lettuce and snow peas. I combined errands to save gas. I needed an item of clothing and went to two…
I took a free online photography posing class. I studied French using free online sources. I spoke to friends in France by a free video call. I harvested a small amount of Swiss chard, a small number of cherry tomatoes, rosemary, and a bay leaf from the garden. I used my solar oven to cook…
A few years back, we were in need of new Christmas stockings. Our family had grown, and we didn’t have enough matching stockings for the family. At the same time, I had been seeing beautiful miniature stockings online made from vintage grain sacks. I loved the simple red stripes at the top and I especially…
I cut flowers from the garden for arrangements in the house. I mended a hole in a shirt. I studied French online using free sources. We had a free video call with our former exchange student from France to wish him a Happy Birthday. I have had blue and white vases on my garage sale…