As seen at local store:
Muk Luks, not.
The colors are all wrong, too. This store has a contract with the NFL to use the Green Bay “G”, but the logo on these purple/fuschia/pinkish slippers just looks like an afterthought.
I own a piece of team stock. I own real Mukluks. I don’t need to own these ridiculous slippers.
And I won’t even mention some of the garb available in other nearby departments.
I was watching rummage sales and thrift stores for wind chimes. We have a large wind chime hanging on the front porch. Beside the house, on the shepherd’s crook that’s a little too weak for a large and heavy set, I want to hang smaller wind chimes. I think the sounds would mesh well with the larger one around the corner.
I was on my way to check out at a local estate and vintage store when I picked this up – literally. I picked it up to look at something underneath it, and then heard the bells ring. You know me well, readers. You can guess that I picked it up, bought it, and then hung it from the crook beside the house. Good call, readers. That’s exactly what I did.
Ding, dong merrily!
Around the base you see peas and the ever-expanding mini mums. Oh, and the hose. I really need to do something about the un-aesthetic hose.
I found these at a rummage sale. Naturally, I bought them. Chuck enjoys model trains and finds railroads fascinating, so it was an easy decision.
Chug Chug Chug Chug Chug
Then I made cookie dough. I added a little cocoa so I wouldn’t have to frost them and decorate with all kinds of sprinkles and other delicious but messy garbage.
I baked the cookies.
Cookies! All Aboard for cookies!
And while you Ooh and Aah over the adorable little engine, coal car, and caboose, let me tell the the rest of the story. I usually bake this recipe in winter, most often at Christmas. The next picture will show you why I tend to avoid this recipe in the humid days of summertime.
Oh, dear. Project derailed.
They tasted okay with coffee, at least. Maybe I’ll attempt to make them again in December.
I didn’t call it container “gardening” because it feels more like a small to medium sized planter than a garden. No matter what the label, it was fun to put this together. I think the choice of flowers is better this year. It’s bound to grow and fill in and look beautiful. I won’t mention the struggle to keep it upright – you can find that here.
Done – for now.
In a few baskets sitting on the rock garden, I have spinach, radishes, and onions. I will sprinkle all of them with red pepper flakes to discourage small furry creatures from disrupting the goodies. It’s working – sort of.
Laundry hamper, repurposed – with a cat, an attempt to scare away tiny furry creatures.
This will be radishes.
Spinach will come up here – if I can keep up with the red pepper supply.
Some small critter loves garlic, loves it a lot, loves it so much that as soon as the scapes get two inches above the soil, the critter makes a visit and nibbles like crazy.I can rule out Bunnicula, at least. No vampire rabbit could withstand so much fresh garlic.
You saw the garage falling down with a little help from a big machine.
You saw the concrete slab waiting for more.
Before the concrete came in, our neighbors loaned us a metal detector. We didn’t find anything valuable, but we did find a few fun artifacts.
Let’s start with the little bottle. We think it might be an old medicine bottle. It’s thick glass, and it stands about two inches tall. It’s very cute. You also see *to the left and behind the bottle) part of a clay pipe. We’re not sure exactly why the pipe was there or what it did. Then there are two blocks of cement (from two different eras), and a few interesting rocks. That’s all.
Yellow Brick Road remains?
We found shards of yellow brick, mostly fragile (limestone or sandstone based?), but not enough to indicate an outbuilding or driveway made of the stuff.
That’s Chuck’s feet and my shadow, by the way.
All the scraps and shards ended up in my rock garden. Whoever told me the rock garden wouldn’t grow? they were wrong. It grows every year.
This is embarrassing. I took pictures of the “before” status and then…and then…I didn’t do anything to fix the problem. Not yet. I will! Hold me to it, folks. I will rearrange the shelves that hold my random containers.
This
Top Shelf
This is one of three shelves that holds containers in random sizes and shapes. It’s overflowing now because it’s spring! In August, these containers would be full and in the freezer. Right now, the freezers have empty space (I sense a defrost project in my future), but the cupboard in the basement is a mess.
Shelf in the middle
This one is so full I can’t put any more containers on it. I have a stack sitting on my planting table.
Lowest shelf
There must be a better home for these pieces. My food mill, an extra silverware holder, a few nice holiday plates…these don’t even belong together.
My goal: move what I can to better locations, find a bin or bucket for the oddest and smallest pieces, and then sort and stack those that work together. Eventually. I’ll get back to you, readers.
I blog about life, my life, and that includes a lot of gardening, canning, and otherwise preserving summer’s fresh bounty for the long winter months. Every now and then, I get comments or emails from so-called Doomsday Prepper groups. These are people who share my fascination with self-sufficiency, but for different reasons. Many Prepper groups expect the world as we know it to end soon and without warning. Their fears range from the massive changes due to global warming to a complete collapse of our government.
I’m not a doomsday type of person, but I do like to stock up when the veggies are fresh and I have time to can. This stock-up process gives us good quality jams and pickles and more goodies in the pantry and locally grown vegetables in the freezer. We don’t do it to prepare for some mythical End of the World, but it does ease our winter grocery budget and bring a taste of summer to the table when there is snow on the ground.
So when I started reading Michael Perry’s book Coop, I could identify with his statement in the Prologue.
Whether through prescience or too much nervous reading, we have developed a low-key doomsday mindset regarding the imminent future, and believe the time has come to store up some potatoes and teach the young’uns how to forage.
He hit it right on the head. Maybe I should stop reading so much dystopian fiction. Or maybe I should just water the seedlings, spread the compost, and always remember to vote.
I’m de-cluttering and de-junking again. Maybe I should say still. As I’m pushing the thick winter sweaters back on the shelves and bringing forward the lighter ones, I’m tossing a few into the ever present bag for thrift donations. Chuck is cleaning out the garage in preparation for its demolition and replacement in a few weeks, and there are items we can donate or sell outright.
Meanwhile, I’m making certain I get all of the wellness “rewards” I’ve earned. I grumble each year, but each year I find myself going through the motions like a rat in search of cheese or a donkey following a carrot. I get blood drawn, take the online health self-assessment, and I’m considering whether it’s worth my time to complete one of their online programs. What’s it worth, really? At this point, I’ve already earned $75 worth of gift cards. The online program would earn another $25. Hm. Think. Think. Think.
De-junking the house will make it easier to clean. I detest cleaning, so making it easier is a good thing. It’s not earning or saving any pennies, though, unless you count the money I’m not spending to hire a cleaning crew.
My products on Teachers Pay Teachers have been selling steadily. I plan to upload a few more when I get time – in June, most likely. It keeps the PayPal account active. Now, the dilemma. Should I sell my teacher books on eBay? And should I sell Amigo’s old baseball tee to Play it Again Sports, or is there a better outlet for that kind of thing? Anything like this will fill the penny jar a wee bit more.
Advice, peeps? What’s the best way to get a few dollars from the de-cluttering process? I welcome your comments.
I rescued a big stack of bright yellow paper from being recycled at school. It had been crumpled to take up space in science kits, and when the department heads unpacked, they didn’t save it. I intervened, of course. Folks in my school building know that I’m the scavenger among us.
I share this encore presentation because it’s still true. Amigo still insists that I’m a”green freak” and I take my eco-sensibilities too far for his taste. The rest of the family tolerates me, so here’s the rest of the story.
Several years ago I vowed to stop buying wrapping paper. I didn’t say I’d never use it or reuse it, just that I wouldn’t buy any more.
Amigo doesn’t like the philosophy. In fact, he’ll only help me wrap if we’re using real gift wrap. I compromised by using gift wrap I’d rescued from the wastebasket when the school PTA cleaned their closet. We wrapped with rescued and reused papers, and the gifts look great.
He doesn’t object to my green version of gift tags. Every year we take stock of the previous year’s holiday cards, cut them apart creatively, and with the help of a little ribbon and a hole punch, turn those cards into unique and lovely gift tags that cost nothing but a little time. We’ve done this since before he was born; maybe that’s why it feels natural to him.
Thanks to my spreadsheet gift record and my online shopping prowess, the majority of the shopping is done. Maybe I can sneak some of my eco-friendly and frugal methods past my wrapping assistant that time. Or maybe not; after all, he reads my blog.
An encore presentation: it’s all still true. I just got back from a short shopping trip that included Half Price Books and a local dollar store. I can finish the wrapping now.
Folks, you know me. You know I gave up buying wrapping paper several years ago. You know I plan ahead for gift shopping because of all the birthdays that mingle with Christmas. You know I love Christmas music and listen to it – well, I love to listen to holiday music, new or classic.
But do you recall – of course you do. Creative wrapping, frugal gift planning, and finally, the shopping, take a little thought. And then, with a little thought and planning, the fun begins.
Thrift stores! By carefully perusing the racks, I have often found good buys on brand name and quality clothing. Lands’ End, GAP, Old Navy, and my favorite jeans just take a quick cycle through the wash and then look good as new – or better. Better how? Because they’re already worn in, but not worn out.
Thrift stores again – baskets. I enjoy filling baskets with my own canned goods for special people like extended family. My favorite place to find baskets? Goodwill and other thrift stores.
Stores that specialize in vintage. This angle requires good knowledge of the gift recipient. If you’re considering that rabbit fur coat that’s marked 20% off, you’d better avoid buying it for me or for La Petite. But if you see a lovely scarf or classic cameo pendant, go for it.
Stores full of repurposed and crafty pieces. There’s a shop near my workplace that sells wonderful creative and useful household pieces. I look at their wine cork frames and trivets and think “I could make these.” Then I realize no, I don’t have the time or the talent. I’ll buy it from someone who does have the time and talent.
And finally, last but never least, I thoroughly enjoy shopping at Fleet Farm. Don’t bother with Toyland; just stick to my standard departments. Friends and family know that they can buy anything for canning and preserving and I’ll be thrilled. They might even find gardening tools and toys there, despite the weather outside being frightful. We’ve also discovered that the foodstuffs designed for hunting or camping are also good pantry staples. Bear Creek soup mixes, anyone? Yum.