Design

  A nother little reveal in 'Grandma's Sewing Room.'  After examining my sewing machine, I do believe it's more of a portable model than one that can be installed into a sewing cabinet ... so I found a vintage library/sofa table that is very sturdy, a perfect height, and together with an antique (in good condition) sewing rocker, makes the perfect combination for a sewing table and chair. It serves double duty when not in use as a plant nursery.  There's even a recessed ceiling light above the bay window that gives off good illumination while sewing at night. My first night of sewing produced a beautiful linen and battenburg lace addition to the valance in the master bathroom's water closet.  And .. some sachet pouches for my dresser drawers. I'm beginning to really appreciate this new (almost) empty nest phase of life :) A few more reveals to come.

vintage parlor style lamp The new sewing room is being transformed into a vintage tribute to my many grandmothers.  I'm working on getting Grandma Libby's hand pieced quilt squares matched with some coordinating/accent fabric .. (we  have a new quilt shop in town for advice and selecting material:)  Here's a look-see at the lamps I purchased this week.  The parlor style double globe lamp is vintage .. I'm thinking mid century by the look of the cord.  Top and bottom lamps work separately or together. antique painted rose oil lamp The oil lamp appears to be an antique .. it may be original or have been made from two lamp parts .. I need to do a little research and look closer at it's design with a magnifying glass. More peeks to come :)

This has been an exciting week kitchen wise .  First with the arrival of our green coffee beans .. then the wheat grinder .. and today my supply of Tattler reusable canning lids.  Come payday I'm off the get the wheat berries and give fresh ground wheat a try.  I had such a nice quantity of milk kefir grains ( see previous post ) that I started to research about using them to make flavored water kefir.  The grains were divided:  half continue to make milk kefir .. and the other half have been designated for water.  So far I'm on my second quart of fermenting the water variety.  I used fresh organic ginger and some organic lemon peel to flavor the first batch .. it came out very refreshing .. now to try it on the family :).  The second batch I hope to flavor with some tangerines.  Soon I'll post some pictures with directions.  The seeds that were sprouted earlier this week are ready to use in salads .. and I'll start on a second batch to ...

Some days I get antsy reading the headlines on the sidebar of this blog.  GMO foods and crops .. to soak or not to soak grains .. raw -vs- pasteurized milk .. toxic money .. etc.   Yes, it is good to be informed.  Taking in the news and trying to eke out a common sense approach to life is important to having a quality life.  There is just too much living to do that one needs not to be in fear of living.  Just breathing is dangerous it seems some days.  I get the most enjoyment trying to figure out how to make products at home.  Be it soap or green cleaners.  Trying to save money and not always needing the latest gadget.  Being content with thrift store shopping.  Growing as much food as possible for summer use and winter storage.  Can I do it all? NO!  .. and I have learned that being a good homemaker means not only keeping busy at home with the garden, etc. .. but also seeking the best local produce, eggs, meat, etc. in the c...

Indian Summer & the clothesline second crop of berries bialy (roll) dough autumn colors still lingering some of today's garden pick

Photo by Mrs. Mac my stove stops working completely , I'd search high and low for something like this .. then do a little remodel in the kitchen area to make a free standing wood cook stove fit in.  Of course, then I'd need a summer kitchen on a closed in porch for cooking when it's warm outside ... canning day would not require an apology for such a mess in the kitchen should company drop by :) ... you've read the story, " If You Give A Mouse A Cookie " .. or .. " ...a Duck a Doughnut .. or ... Moose a Muffin" ... one thing leads to another.

Since building our home in 2007, I have been very disappointed in some of the kitchen appliances.  We did not buy cheap .. but middle of the road quality/price.  To date, my microwave, dishwasher, and fridge have all needed some repairs.  Even the range, which had an electronic starter go on the fritz has been worked on.  Our high efficiency washing machine purchased in 2004 was replaced in 2006 with a less high tech model that uses more water and has no electronic brain.  I'm not sure the dishwasher will get replaced anytime soon should it completely go kaput; I can envision a nice calico curtain on a rod with storage shelves for my cast iron pans in this space.  Product quality seems to have been replaced with customer no-service ..  or at the least ... expensive repair bills (or extra insurance policies) that are about half the original cost of the product.  We need to re-invent quality USA made products instead of importing junk.  How did...

We had a rip roaring bon fire yesterday ... fueled by tree trunks that were strewn on our property probably when the neighborhood road was put in.  Massive trunks ... uprooted ... eyesores that were cut up and hauled to our fire pit to burn.  We gave ourselves five years to clean up the property and turn it into a natural park like setting, with our well manicured front yard and home carved out of the wilderness.  Our yard is a work in progress.  I have a vision of a small vineyard along one side that will displace some of the grass.  It's enjoyable to take the time to get a feel for the layout and develop the landscape after living on the land for awhile. Photos:  top .. bon fire, middle ... small fruit trees in moose proof enclosements, bottom ... apple blossoms.

... takes time.  We have been in a state of flux at the Thrifty Garden/Home.  Nice weather prompted lots of planting in the garden .. then the rainy weather returned and made everything grow rapidly .. mostly the lawn and the weeds.  Having only one nice warm day predicted this week, that meant doing two days worth of (killer) yard work in one day.  With that out of the way for a few days, I've resorted to working inside most of this week.  Getting comfortable with our budget .. and committing it to memory and practice ... less paper and theory ... discovering that $350 is quite a lean food budget for my family and may need some adjustments upward.  Sometimes my ideas are greater than reality;)

This past week found plenty to do around the Thrifty Garden/Home.  Weeds galore ... of the noxious variety ... the type we are encouraged to eradicate from our property.  So .. with a steel blade, hand held gas grass cutter, I traversed the hills around our home knocking down the offenders.  It's impossible to pull them all by hand without the help of a small army; and I refuse to use any chemical sprays.  This is an ongoing war of the weeds .  For the past few years I have attacked different areas ... cutting them down to the nubs so I can get a mower in to keep them in check.  (These weeds are only in areas that have had the soil disturbed from grading years ago.)   In the areas that have previously received this knock-em-down-keep-em-mowed treatment, some non-invasive native plants and grasses have started to take over.  I have a feeling this battle will be going on for a long while.  Thank goodness for Sunday and a day of rest.

... Mrs. Mac has been busy cleaning up after a horrific windstorm on Monday ... mowing and reseeding parts of the lawn, canning baked beans and making lists of what needs to be canned or frozen for this coming winter.   Spring ... the real spring ... where are you?

Last week I cooked breakfast at my MIL's home.  The skillet used for frying eggs is a non-stick skillet.  A very old non-stick pan at that.  Its surface was compromised with flaking and scratches.  I was so hungry and went ahead and used it.  All the while dreaming of my cast iron skillets back home (sigh;(  There are so many controversies about using non-stick pans that I ditched my old ones a few years ago and replaced them with a nice set of non-coated-stainless-steel ones.  These are in addition to my (3) cast iron skillets, griddle, grill pan and Dutch oven.  When properly seasoned, they are non-stick.  Some studies report that using cast iron for cooking can help impart iron to your diet . My mid size skillet was in need of being re-seasoned.  It had developed quite a lot of build up on the inside surface.  This skillet was purchased used (at a yard sale) about 13 years ago ... and it's the first time I've super cleaned the...

Update:  This post is featured at Down To Earth ... For more kitchen sink photos, visit here . Here is a DIY project I undertook while we were building our home.  Some years ago I had purchased a (formerly built-in) ironing board cabinet.  After carefully stripping off the old paint (careful because the cabinet was very old ... and with the concern of there being some layers of lead based paint .. took no chances) and gutting the inner workings, I painted the unfinished inside .. and stripped down outside .. then sealed it with a waterproof satin clear coat.  Added new 'vintage' hardware, flipped the cabinet upside down .. installed a piece of glass where previously there had been a metal vent plate ... added glass shelves .. and had our builder  ... install it flush inside a kitchen wall.  The new 're-purposed' cabinet is perfect to keep spices cool and away from the heat of the stove.  It also holds both large and small containers of ...

Enriched flour bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, cocoa processed with alkali, corn syrup, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), corn starch, modified corn starch, propylene glycol monoesters of fatty acids, salt, distilled monoglycerides, dicalcium phosphate, xanthan gum, cellulose gum, artificial flavor, nonfat milk. This is the ingredient list from the last box of store bought boxed food in my pantry. Any guesses? This past week we had a little visitor enter our home. He took up residence in my freshly cleaned out pantry. I'm happy all of the grains/nuts/dried fruits, etc. were stored in mason jars. His demise was not too messy .. but a little tricky to extricate. I had to deal with the task at hand after coming face to face with two beady eyes early one morning (eeeeeeeeeeek). His visit made throwing out any remaining opened b...

There are a few inside household 'chores' that are required several times a year in a thrifty home. One that is on my 'to do' list is emptying my kitchen's pantry closet; sorting, tossing out, and reorganizing food staples. Cleaning toast crumbs from the toaster ... and the ones that fall through the white wire shelving and land on the floor. Checking for expiration dates, any sign of pests in the opened goods, and rotating canned goods having oldest near the front of the shelf. This plan is in the 'brain .. wait and see .. when the mood strikes ... mode' for now. But at least if I commit it to a blog post, the thought will nag at me until it's completed ... please hold me accountable and ask in about a week or two if I've completed this task :) Our supply of frozen and canned summer veggies is dwindling. Next year it will be necessary to better judge how much to store away for winter. And, perhaps, I'll try my hand at some garden row cove...

With the cost of water, soap, and power ... I've been cutting back on washing as many loads of laundry each week. I used to wash about 12 loads a week. Now I'm down to seven. How'd I do it? First, I really had to get after a grown adult child about using one or two clean towels a day. Now she gets one per week. Next, I have been 'pre-drying' damp towels by simply hanging them in the laundry room ... then tossing into the hamper until I have a full load. Washing just one or two loads most days makes the work less demanding on the weekend. To further cut back on electricity, I partially dry everything for 10 minutes in the dryer and hang them to finish drying. Hubby and a friend are helping to install some clothes lines in the laundry room. Plus with the purchase of a rolling laundry rack, it makes it much easier to dry clothes this way in the winter.

Waiting for the first snow to fly. This Saturday, we're supposed to be in for the first big snow storm of the season followed by frigid temps at or below zero degrees by early next week. We have taken advantage of the extended mild temps and hopefully have winterized the homestead. Gutters have been once again cleaned (third time this autumn) and outside Christmas decorations are in place. My new snow blower is gassed up and the four wheel snow plow is ready for business. There are snow shovels lined up in the garage for many hands to make the load lighter. Shoe "chains" are standing by and snow shoes purchased. There is nothing like being prepared ahead of time. I'm so glad Mr. Mac will be home to share the workload :)

This week in the garden I'm adding a top layer of leaves to cover the bare soil. This will help prevent soil erosion and redeposit nutrients back into the soil as they decompose. It should also help cut down on the amount of weeds that might take over in early spring. All of our foundations vents have been closed, protective covers have been placed over the outside hose bibs, and all of our sprinkler lines have been drained to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting this winter. My geraniums have been trimmed, re-potted and stored away. We have decorated the yard and front entrance with groupings of corn stalks, mums, pumpkins and a few scary spiders. The front windows have construction paper cutouts of bats and pumpkins that were made years ago from the wee hands of my children. My only chores left before winter: put up electric heating elements in the gutters to melt ice, do some more raking and burning of yard debris, and spray the fruit trees with a home made oil soa...