Spring is here and DH and I planned our vegetable garden. Last year we planted 3 tomato plants, some green onions, and a cucumber plant and three herbs: Oregano, Rosemary, and Thyme. Last fall I planted garlic. 

This year we are expanding our garden a little bit. DH got out the tiller and we measured out the plot based on my plans on graph paper. Yesterday we planted most of the seeds for the cool weather crops. And today it rained so it watered our newly planted seeds. I've been saving coffee grounds, tea leaves, and egg shells and those were worked into the soil for our garden. Hopefully they will help feed some of these plants as well as commercial fertilizer. 

I bought some grow bags a couple of months ago because I wanted to try and grow potatoes. I had some potatoes that were starting to get soft and grow eyes, so I read online how to prepare them to grow new potatoes. I have two grow bags and a large pot planted, as well as a few in the ground. The ones in the ground are going to town; the ones in the pot and grow bags are beginning, but aren't as large. But hopefully we'll have some potatoes this year. I tried regrowing green onions, but haven't had a lot of luck with that, but other than my time and some water, I'm not out much. 

In addition to our vegetable garden, we've been working on different other yard projects. One was to fill in some holes the dogs dug. Top soil seems to have increased in price over last year. Mulch has as well. And although seeds are not super expensive, I'm seeing an increase in price there as well. 

As we've been working on all this, we sort of wonder if we will see an uptick in people planting gardens with increasing grocery prices and possibility of empty shelves. I remember during Covid more people gardened not only for the food, but also to have something to do since so many places were shut down. What are your thoughts?

I've spent quite a bit of time working on a front flower bed. My husband's late wife started it and planted lilies, a peony, and a rosebush. I've added some other lilies. We purchased Easter lilies for church the past two years and after EAster service, we can bring the plants home. I have planted them both years. I bought a lily root at Dollar General for $2 the other day, hoping it comes up. Last fall I planted a few daffodils and tulips and they came up. My hope is to have a variety of plants that flower at different times to keep color going during the growing season. We put out our hummingbird feeder and saw our first humming bird this week. I planted some flower seeds in two different areas to hopefully help hummingbirds and pollinators. I hope to plant some sunflower seeds soon too. We found a reasonably priced "bee house" on line and it is out as well. 

So here's hoping for a successful growing year. 

Yesterday we went to the local theatre in the small town we live in and saw a movie that was called "The Farmer's Daughter." It isn't the old movie, but a recently made one about a young woman who was once on the local TV station as a reporter, but after her brother died, she gave up her career and came home to work for her father on the farm. Fast forward a few years and her dad became very ill, and she's now running the family farm. It was a good movie and if you are interested in this sort of thing, it is on Amazon and costs $2.99 to rent. It was a movie that showed the moxie of the gal, but also how hard it is for family farm. The two directors were at the movie (it was free for the public) as well as the female farmer. It had a feel good ending so if you like this sort of thing, I encourage you to watch. 

Farmers are planners. They have to plan what they are going to plant and when and how and what can make them money. I think gardeners are as well. I'm not going to claim the title as gardener because I'm still working on it, but I do have plans. I recently planted some potatoes. I've never tried potatoes before, but I had some potatoes that sprouted "eyes" so I figured other than my labor, I'm not out a whole lot, but I am hopeful. I bought some onion sets so I hope to get some of them in the ground soon too. My radishes in the tin tray are starting to come up. I planted some lavender seeds the other day and so far, no sprouts. I'm hoping I get some started. I planted some more in egg cartons this afternoon. I'd like to start a small area of lavender because both bees and butterflies are attracted to lavender. I hope to plant some other plants that are bee and butterfly friendly as well as another small garden of wildflowers that are hummingbird friendly. I know, big plans!

Part of our plan it to plant a small vegetable garden at the back of the property. Here in Central Illinois we usually have a wet spring and then as the summer goes by, it often gets very hot and very dry. DH and I spent some time the other day making a rain barrel. We used a plastic trash can for the rain barrel itself, but built a small wooden platform for it. We finished it Friday afternoon and set it out. It rained some yesterday and then a whole bunch today so hopefully we have a good start on rain for our rain barrel. We need to till the land for the garden and I'm working on planning it. I want enough to get some good eats, but not so big that I'm married to it that I have no time to do anything but weed. I like fresh vegetables and I'd like to have enough cucumbers to make pickles and hopefully enough tomatoes to can a few. We both like green onions so I hope to do quite a few different plantings so we have plenty for the table, not to mention more radishes and hopefully a decent amount of carrots. 

Groceries continue to rise in price. I'm wondering if more people will be planning a garden of some sort to help offset the cost of eating. Although we have enough property we could raise chickens, when I was a kid we had them. People act like they aren't a lot of work, but they are. If you let them run free, you have to make sure they are roosting for the night and locked up so some predator doesn't get into the hen house and kill them and eat them. They only lay so long so it isn't like you are going to get ten years of laying from chickens. And although I helped with the butchering as a kid, I didn't do that much and I don't want to take that on now. Call me squeamish I guess. With the good, there's the bad and unless things change drastically, I'm not ready to be a chicken farmer. 

Here in Central Illinois it isn't exactly warm, but it isn't freezing either. When we don't have the usual gloomy winter days, it makes me think spring is around the corner and I'm getting excited.

We have this lovely sunporch on the back of the house. Although it is early to be planting a vegetable garden, I'm getting excited about doing so. Scratching around here, I found a metal pan and asked DH if I could use it to plant some seeds in it and have it on the porch. The porch seems warmer than the outside with the afternoon sun and the way it is built, it doesn't get super freezing cold when the weather is cool outside. So, I bit the bullet, put some potting soil in it and planted some radishes. Hopefully they will come up and we can enjoy some. I saw this dude on Facebook stating you could start strawberries by planting a small slice of a strawberry in dirt, so I did that as well in the plastic containers and those too are on the sunporch. 

We've been throwing out ideas on what we want to plant for this year. Last year we tried a few things and some where successful and some were a failure. DH had this wooden raised garden and the soil just wasn't deep enough to grow tomatoes or cucumbers because of the way it was made, the soil dried out so fast. We had some fierce, hot days so it made it tough to keep things alive. We bought one of those small raised metal garden rings too and planted tomatoes in that and they did really well. So, we bought a second one and that's the plan for this year -- 4 tomatoes in the two of them, two each. We are going to till up a spot and fence it in for other things like cucumbers, onions, and other things. I have garlic planted already and a small herb garden in a small area as well as strawberries. So hopefully we will get some good things this year. I'm hoping to preserve some of the things we have. With grocery prices we hope to have some fresh produce. I'm also hoping that the rhubarb and the black raspberries produce a lot too. 

Last fall I planted tulip bulbs and I'm looking forward to when they break through the soil. I plan to take a photo of the three spaces in case I need to fill in spots. I can plant things, but we have two dogs who like to dig so I think some of the bulbs have been moved. 

I seem to concentrate on food a lot, but since it is a necessity, I'll validate it that way. A few months ago I bit the bullet and bought a large toaster oven. I always had one to use for smaller things to bake, but when I moved out with the divorce, I didn't take the one that was at the house. I missed it. We have a perfectly good oven, but I know ovens are a big energy pull so unless I can bake more than one thing at the same time, I prefer to use a toaster oven to save on electricity. Lunch today was a casserole and heating up a vegetable, both fit in the toaster oven. As I have watched my retirement accounts decrease the past few weeks, I feel a little better knowing I'm saving a few cents here and there. It adds up as we go along. 

One thing that probably isn't frugal, but I have been crocheting little items and leaving them with a note that it is a free gift and if the person can, post a photo of it and where it was found. I crocheted bookmarks and left them in the Free Little Libraries in our small town and one person posted a photo on the Random Acts of Crochet Kindness so that was cool. I'm going to leave shamrocks this week around town. Most people who post talk about it being a day brightener. I hope it is. 

This has little to do with my post, but I can no longer post photos on my blog. Any ideas on how I can do that? I always get an HTTP 400 error. 

I learned a new word the other day: Grandmacore. If you aren't familiar with it, it's basically someone who does things grandmothers are usually known for like crocheting, knitting, baking, sewing, gardening, and stuff like that.  My DH looked at me and said that fit me to a "T."

I have a quirky sense of humor and read a columnist who has a webpage called Sean from the South. He wrote a column about  missing glass bottles amongst other things and I would have to agree. I remember all those wonderful glass bottles food and other items came in. Granted, shampoo probably shouldn't be in a glass bottle, but other stuff, well, in my opinion, should. I remember drinking soda pop and returning the bottles. My mom used glass mayo jars for canning because we had them. I know I latch onto glass jars of stuff I buy and reuse them because I like things in glass. You probably remember an email that was shared years ago about this lady at the checkout who was told by the young cashier she didn't understand recycling and the older lady talked about returning glass bottles so they could be refilled, reusing paper bags, and things like that. 

In my full grandmacore mode, I also have a button jar. I have cut off buttons off of clothes that are worn out or so badly damaged and kept the buttons. It is handy to have those extra buttons. I have been crocheting little gift card envelopes and I pulled buttons out of the jar today to sew on to them for the flap. I was thinking of a gal I worked with a number of years ago. The button on her khakis came off and I suggested we find a needle and thread to sew it back on and she said no, she'd just throw them away. I was shocked. I asked if she knew how to sew and she had no desire. I offered to sew the button on and was turned down. 

But many of these grandmacore things do save money. I reuse bottles and jars. I wash  my plastic bags and foil to reuse. I crochet and sew things. For example, I found some curtain panels at a thrift store for a room we are finishing in the basement. They are too long, but I will shorten and hem them so I will have curtains for around $5. 

Last year we planted tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and radishes and we enjoyed these fresh vegetables when they were available. We had a rhubarb plant and I used it to make a crumble as well as to make some jams and jellies, and we had both  mulberry trees and wild black raspberries and I picked those and made jam. We have a black walnut tree and I used those for some of my baking. I planted some herbs and dried them in the fall so I would have them to use this winter and spring.  Last fall I planned ahead, expanding our garden. We planted a couple of strawberry plants, two blueberry plants, some asparagus, and some garlic. Sure, these items cost money initially, but I'm hoping to be successful and getting some of this food in the coming years. I've concluded gardens are forward thinkers since blueberries and asparagus aren't supposed to yield a harvest right away. 

Since I mentioned baking with the nuts,  I've been baking our sandwich bread for over 7 months. My husband teases me how much please I get making a loaf of bread and then filling the house with the wonderul aroma of baking bread. Speaking of the oven, I went all out and bought a toaster oven so I could bake smaller things without heating up the big oven and having a large enery pull. I bake dog biscuits for our pups because they like them and it although we buy some commercial ones, the ones I bake are cheaper. I have to move the oven to the island to use it, but it is worth it. I'd like to explore making a solar oven this summer when the sun is overhead and hot. And we are discussing making a rain barrel to save money when we water the garden that we are increasing. 

I remember a friend talking about his mom and how she washed dishes in just a small amount of water in the sink. I asked him what he meant by a small amount of water and he said you know, less than half full of water. I'm thinking she was smart...didn't use a lot of the precious resource of water and still got things clean. She was frugal and as a result had a decent savings. Truly in grandmacore mode!

So, are you buying into the grandmacore? 

A few years ago I read about making a sourdough starter. It seemed easy enough...flour, water, and time. I named my starter Sammy and I've kept him going ever since. I've made sour dough loaves and used the extra or discard for other things and even given away discard. Then the bane of my existence...I was looking at Pinterest and it showed an easy recipe for sourdough sandwich bread that looked far less crusty than normal sourdough. I kept thinking, it won't rise without yeast, but figured I could try and if nothing else, redo the dough and add yeast. Much to my surprise, it did rise and made a beautiful loaf of bread. It just takes longer to rise and one has to make sure the starter is bubbly and ready to go. But it pleased me. My husband teases me and calls me his Prairie Woman since I'm baking bread and trying things like this.

Well, it goes beyond that as well...I'm always trying to figure out ways to reuse things. I tease about Pinterest being the banke of my existence, but I do get some good ideas from the stuff on there. Most work; a few do not. I'm working on making my own Pine Sol. We have pine trees and vinegar is cheap. Hope it works! 

I planted strawberries and blueberies  for next year and years beyond and I read where coffee grounds are good for the soil. Our soil is very clay like, so I have been adding it to other places as well as I have added sand, hoping it improves the quality of the soil. 

My husband's late wife was quite the crafter and in the basement are a lot of things. I've never mod podged stuff before, but a few YouTube videos showed me how, and I have been using material I have to decorate plastic containers of things. The other day I sent cookies with the grandson back to school in a coffee container. I save all the plastic things we get and reuse them. I sent cake home with my husband's daughter the other day in containers that were for something else and she laughed and said she liked my frugal ways. 

I had a doctor's appointment Friday and since we had to drive to town 40 minutes away, we decided to do some other errands to make it worth our while. We thought we'd get a quick lunch at a local chain restaurant. We were shocked...a sandwich, chips, and drink for each of us was over $30 before tip! So today after church we had vegetable soup I made the other day and put in the Crockpot to heat and some bread I had made for lunch. Far less than $30 and probably far better for us too. 

I was going to include a photo of the bread, but whenever I try to post a photo, I get an error message.

My post from last week asking about stocking up had some great replies. The sad thing is, I guess there was a run on toilet paper and paper towels because local stores had signs limiting these products. I wan't suggesting people hoard, just be prepared. 

It's amazing that half of 2024 is passed and tomorrow is the 4th of July. Not a lot planned as far as celebrating, but will enjoy the freedom of living in the United States and having the benefits of that.

Glad the markets were good today and saw an increase in my retirement accounts.

Things are starting to even out as far as money and expenses. I'm living in a small town instead of a larger town and learning new places to shop. One store in a neighboring town gives 5% off on Wednesdays for senior citizens so I am often taking advantage of that. I still shop at Aldi, although I have to plan my trip since there isn't one nearby, the closest being between 35 miles away. But it makes me more mindful of what I'm buying. But I continue to cook a lot of things from scratch. I have made and canned chicken broth, and made rhubarb and berry jam and rhubarb jelly. It's kind of nice to see the jars starting to build up in the pantry.

Instead of buying store bought bread, I am baking bread to use. I feel like it is saving money since it isn't getting wasted. I had a little left of a loaf and made my own croutons for a salad and they were a lot better than one the store bought ones. 

My garden isn't going to town like I had hoped. We had extreme heat and although I water, since we have had little rain, it is surviving, but not thriving. We received a little rain this morning and we are supposed to receive some rain overnight. I hope it comes to pass. 

If you have big plans for July the 4th, hope you stay healthy!