Towards Simplicity

 

It has been raining off and on for the past few days. This meant I stayed close to home and putzed around the house. 

Today while the rain stopped, Harvey and I went shopping for a few plants. I have managed to pick up a few, but really nothing at all like I am used to purchasing. Planting is going to be a breeze I think. 

A very few new perennials were picked up and I am hoping to be able to fill in a few of the empty spaces. Concentrating on that for the next few years I think and once I have it set, I will be surrounding the plants with bark mulch. Hopefully that will keep the weeds down a bit. 

I will only be planting my herbs and a few annual flowers this year. If it turns out well, I will perhaps cut down things a bit further. However simplicity plant wise is really hard for me, I love riots of colour in the summer. 

One saving grace is that flowers seem to grow very well under the grow lights. So I should be able to manage to inexpensively grow more next year.

While looking at the plants I did walk down the fruit tree area. Plums and apricots as well as a few apple bearing trees already had some fruit on them. Lots of the cherry had fruit as well. I did try to talk Harvey into an apricot tree, but he didn't bite. 

Working on projects and slowly making progress. Today I worked on the last sewing project for this month. With any luck I will finish off the project tomorrow and one more small area will be cleared beside my chair. 

I spent some time walking around the yard and down the street. I will be heading out one of these mornings and plucking some pretty yellow dandelion flowers to wash and dry enough to infuse oil and make some salve. I should really forage for some plantain as well. Pretty sure 

Sunday after planting and weeding I plan on sitting on the deck while Harvey BBQ's and enjoy the warmer weather and sunshine. 

The clothing is slowly getting removed and either donated or set aside to try and refashion or make into new pieces of fabric. I try something on and if I don't like the fit or feel that it is no longer flattering the article is removed after wearing and washing. I am now leaning more towards skirts and dresses unless it is cold/cool out. 

I am also making my way through embroidery thread, yarn and fabric. Clearing things out will definitely make it simpler to see what I have and what I need and I am loving the fact that I am getting to work on projects I inherited from my Mom. 

Simple also means I get more time for myself, something that has sometimes been in short supply while the sons were growing up and Harvey working. I am loving that.

Life is going to be wonderfully simple as things continue to be used, refashioned, planned and completed.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursdays

Thrifty and Frugal 

Cloudy once again, in a way that is a good thing for my frugal heart. It means no air conditioning, no watering, and the rain barrel being slowly filled.

So what frugal and thrifty things have we been up to this week. 

1.  The usual frugal and thrifty things that I do all the time. Lights off in rooms not in use, most meals made here at home, shopping the flyers, combining errands and repairing clothing.

2.  I am still trying to use up all that I can food wise and craft supply wise.

3.  Exercise is taking place by walking, and working in the garden. Next month I will be adding exercise by washing walls and all the light fixtures in the house. Spring cleaning, beginning in earnest.

4.  Fixed the wifi so that we can once again watch some streaming channels that were not coming in very well at all. They are coming in perfectly now.

5.  Reading free books that I have downloaded onto my ereader.

6.  Making sure I am washing full loads, both of clothing and dishes in the dishwasher.

7.  Found $0.35 in various pockets and have put that in the change jar.

8.  Used my gift certificate when I purchased fabric while at Kris's. 

9.  Decluttered a few items I no longer want or use. Someone else can probably use them.

10.  We bought a couple more berry bushes while at Kris's. While they will not produce fruit this year, we hope to get a bit next year. Saving us more grocery purchases in the future.

11.  I have decided to make both Kurt and Kris decent sewing kits and will search through my extra's to see what I can share with them. Kris already has a pin cushion, some decent pins, a few buttons (he will get more), a measuring tape and small scissors. Oh and some decent sewing needles. Should save me a bit of cash when making these up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 I am not moving very quickly right now, it seems that grocery shopping is becoming more of a Survivor type challenge for me. It hurts a bit more, takes a bit longer, and finding items on sale is becoming something my frugal Mother would have been proud of. One thing that bothers me is why are the sale items (the BBQ sauce that was on sale) always located on the bottom shelf which makes me contort my body to reach them. But for $0.85 a piece I was bound and determined to grab what I could, which wasn't that much. I didn't take all of them.

After a three hour shopping trip I made it home to put everything away. Today's problem wasn't only the search for savings, but meeting people who wanted to talk.... There are times I wish I could wave a wand and become invisible, but then I wouldn't get caught up on some friends lives. 

Life while actually becoming a bit simpler, can actually take a great deal of time. I love talking to people (Harvey says I talk to complete strangers, which is true sometimes), finding out how their lives are progressing, what their children (many of whom I had in Youth Group or worked with them at the schools) are up to. It is wonderful to hear how well they are all doing, and really I do miss the kids so very much at times. 

I did not get my entire list done today, but there are more days this week that things can be done. Considering we are supposed to be getting lots of rain over the next while, I will have lots of time to get things done in the house. Perhaps even finish a few of the smaller projects. 

Since it will be so dull, the sewing machine will be out and the jacket sewn, as well as some of the cards made. 

Harvey planted one of the Goji berry bushes but we need to find a space for the other one. I am thinking a corner of the garden that gets loads of sun. 

I couldn't find any grape vines (Kris is going to look some more when he goes and picks up his plants), so the goji berry bushes could be the only fruiting bushes or trees we plant this year. That's okay as I will need to convince Harvey of where I want the grapes planted.....

Once everything dries up a bit I will be planting flowers and such. Not as many as usual since we will be gone for two weeks (this is killing me) but enough to hopefully add colour and joy to the deck and firepit area. I have told Harvey that I will mainly be concentrating on the perennial bed this year and I will do just that. I am hoping to eventually have a riot of colour during different parts of the seasons. I started some Shasta Daisy plants, and some delphinium and will look for some lupines and perhaps scatter some annuals that will seed for the next year. 

Other plans for the summer are painting the railing on the deck, and around the basement windows. Both of our wooden chairs around the firepit need to be painted as well so I hope to get that done. 

The rest of the time will be spent working on projects hopefully on the deck when I can, working in the herb garden and looking after the flowers that I do get to plant. There should be time to sit by the firepit as well enjoying family time and alone time as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Menu Monday

 There will be a slight change in menu plans for this week. We had a rather large meal at lunch time and so I will not be cooking tonight. It will be a forage for yourself type of meal.

Monday

Forage through the fridge for each of us to have a rather smaller supper.

Tuesday

Hotdogs, baked beans, and the fries I never made with the fish.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. I have got Cream of Mushroom out of the freezer and will add some egg salad sandwiches to be eaten.

Thursday

Leftover chicken made into taco meat, served in soft tacos. Sour cream, cheese, lettuce and tomato as well as salsa from the fridge. The salsa definitely needs using.

Friday

Not really sure, I might make a lentil curry, or we can have glace and eggs.

Saturday

Leftovers from Thursday.

Sunday

BBQ hamburgers, and foil packet carrots, potato and onion. 

Off now to get some more unpacking done from our visit with Kris. We had a lovely time and man where Dutch Growers moved their greenhouses to is absolutely amazing. Harvey has said we will need to go there next year to get our plants.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Simple Living On the Phillips' Homestead

 

The dandelions are coming up great guns, flowers all over and the weather has not been nice enough for me to get out and pick. I want to make dandelion salve this year, or I may try my hand at making a hand cream as I am running low on that. Simple to make and very low cost as well.

Harvey and I enjoyed a few afternoons/evenings on the deck this past week. We listened to the birds, had wonderful talks and made some plans regarding the yard. Not so much the house, but at least the yard. I told him that this year I would be concentrating on more fruit producing plants as well as perennials. He seems to be fine with that. Also told him I would probably be trying to forage a bit more, and would love to have him join me. I got a shoulder shrug on that one, we shall see. 

I would love an orchard type yard, but I believe Harvey would miss his garden a great deal. I love the produce, but not so much the picking and processing for winter's use. Perhaps this year I will dehydrate a bit more and freeze a bit less.

Decluttering has slowed down, and I hope it picks up. There are a few more summer type dresses and pants that need to be worn to see if I still like the fit, and the comfort. I am leaning towards more skirts and dresses as I age. I find them way more comfortable and easier to wear now. They are much easier to sew as well and believe it or not, if I can find fabric on sale much less expensive to sew than purchase lately. They are also better made. 

With rising costs around the world, we all need to stop and think about what is important to us. In my case it is family, especially my immediate family and our health and well being. It isn't that we could not afford to do anything we really want to do, rather it is a leaving behind of things that no longer really matter. I would love to help our boys more, make our home an oasis of joy, love and simplicity, as well as just be more of who we really are. This is what I am going to strive for, and those in this extended family that think I am turning into a hippy or a radical can stuff it.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

  Thrifty and Frugal 

It has once again been a quiet week here on the old Phillips Homestead. Not quite as thrifty or frugal as I would have liked, but one manages the best that they can.

1.  The weather was so nice, or at least sunny most days this week so I managed to keep all lights off for most of the day.

2.  Decluttered a bit more in my closet. I tried on a dress and while it does fit I just do not feel comfortable in it. I put it on the pile to be refashioned or made into reusable fabric of some kind (squares to be used in fashioning fabric).

3.  Found thirty cents in pockets and put it in the change jars. 

4.  Eating as many leftovers from the fridge and freezer as humanly possible.

5. Chopped up mushrooms and celery before they went bad and have them in the freezer. 

6.  Added to the veggie scraps to make more veggie stock in a few weeks.

We are having one heck of a windstorm right now. At one point the wind gusts reached 110 km per hour, so almost 70 miles an hour. The dust is moving across the valley and at times I could not see the other side. 

Hopefully, I have downloaded the right video. 

This is what the wind is doing to our neighbour's shingles.

The wind seems to be going down now, but I think it will be pretty bad for the rest of the evening and into the night.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

The weather has been very nice the last two days. However we did have very strong winds yesterday in the afternoon and evening. Dust was blowing all over. Hope the farmers still have dirt in the fields.

I have spent some time outside working on the flower bed. I only have one but it is a two tier round one and man was it tough getting the weeds and grass out of it. I will need to go through it again very soon and see if I can manage to get more cleared. I also made the mistake many years ago of planting Creeping Bellflower. So now I am consistently pulling that out. It has even taken over some of the grassed area. I do what I can to keep it under control, but at times it is a losing battle.

Since the days are so lovely, I put away the sewing for awhile and have been working on the quilt block embroidery. May as well get what I can done on that while the sun shines. The sewing (and any major mending) will take place next week. We are supposed to get rain on a couple of those days, so planting and embroidery will wait. 

One spring cleaning item is crossed off the list. I managed to get all the window frames washed down. Now, when the screens are removed I will clean the bit of frame in those windows. Next up on the spring cleaning list is the curio cabinet and the dining room hutch and cabinet. Could be a few items getting decluttered as well. I hope to get the walls and light fixtures done this week as well. 

I am adding another 1k steps to my total this week. I find it easy to get lots of steps in on Mondays, it's the rest of the week that tests my ability to do so. Especially on those days where I am weeding, or planting. Not many steps are involved in those past times. I went over yesterday, so if I am under by a little today I figure that is okay (not really, but I will take what I can get). Just want to get in a bit better shape before we go on our trip. There are days when we will be doing lots of walking.

Harvey has managed to block of the area of fence that a rather small bush bunny was using to enter our yard. We have had other little bunny visitors, but this one seemed to want to eat the plants that were in the garden. This was a first as all the others just nibbled on the grass. 

Today, the truck was used to pick up my soil for my boxes and pots. Not that I am going to plant as much as I usually do since we will be away for almost two weeks. Harvey does not want to bother anyone to look after the garden or my flowers. I am supposed to ask Kris if he would come done one weekend when we are gone and give everything a good water, especially if we don't get any rain. 

I think I will concentrate more on the perennial bed and a few pots. Of course the lemon trees will be out and hopefully well watered before we leave.

Stretching out the time between shopping trips as well. If I can manage it I only want to shop every 2 1/2 weeks or even three. There is just a slight problem as Neilson's wants a scan every week. It will take a bit of juggling for sure. 

Over the next few years we will be trying to make this house a bit more elder friendly. I plan on getting a chair for the tub, or at least a well made stool. I use a foot scrub and can't do that in a shower. I am just too worried about losing my balance. I think we should put up some bars as well. I am planning on having more electrical things on power bars as well. Too many octopus connections in this house.

I will also be trying to cut down on grass areas by planting more fruit bushes. Probably grapes as well. I don't think we can plant anymore fruit trees, but if Harvey wants to make the garden smaller, we could fit a couple across the back against the fence. 

Lots of plans, I just need to get Harvey to agree. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.