Gardening ~ Cooking ~ Frugality
Live from Zone 7b in New Jersey

  • The Suburban Semi-Rural Sweet Spot

    The Suburban Semi-Rural Sweet Spot

    I have been watching a lot of homesteading videos. I’ve never been one to sit and watch YouTube, but in an effort to stop doom scrolling on my lunch break, I looked up the videos of More Than Farmers, an Ohio family I follow on Instagram. I have since watched quite a few of their…

  • The Trying

    The Trying

    Lots of crawly friends in the garden this week: The swallowtail caterpillars are growing. And this spider, perhaps a cross orb weaver or spotted orb weaver, built a web between two of the garden posts and now has a tasty treat stored there. Sunsets are creeping earlier and I have to rush into the garden…

  • Mad Scientist

    Mad Scientist

    Hold up… do Ted Cruz and I agree on something? Cruz called the FCC chairman’s threats to media outlets “dangerous as hell.” Yep, Ted has gotten it right for once. ABC can do whatever it wants as far as Jimmy Kimmel is concerned, but the FCC has zero business getting involved. So zip it, Brendan…

  • Something Different

    Something Different

    Long story but I did not take off Wednesday and worked a full week, and extra hours too. I saw a meme that said, “I’ve been unemployed. I’ve been employed. I advise not being born.” ๐Ÿ˜‚ I’m really excited about my broccoli, Brussels sprouts and baby pumpkin! I have some lettuce sprouting too. I could…

  • Summer Reprieve

    Summer Reprieve

    Wrapping up a very quick trip down the Shore. Getting in the last beach and boardwalk time of the season (maybe, you never know). We stayed one night at the Tahiti Inn, which was serviceable for $240. N, F and N’s friend stayed at the house my parents are renting. Good times with the extended…

  • Relentlessly Dorky

    Relentlessly Dorky

    The title of this post came to me as I was falling asleep the other night. I was thinking about how I’ve been waiting all my life to be an old person who prioritizes my rest and my nonglamorous hobbies. I’ve been middle aged at heart forever. Sure, there’s some things I miss about my…

  • Yass Cream

    Yass Cream

    This week was the opposite of the previous week: chilly and rainy! No complaints here. I was able to bring my fall seedlings outside for extended periods and didn’t have to water the garden. The fall seedlings are really perturbing me. They don’t like hot weather, but they need to go in the ground soon…

  • August Interlude

    August Interlude

    Not much happened this week. I looked into laptop options for T; N bought a bike, with some birthday money from us and his own money. We worked on training Rocco and Molly received adoption applications. There were more doctor appointments for some of us. It was in the 90s all week but I still…

  • Staycate the Premises

    Staycate the Premises

    I hate to be writing this post, because it means my staycation is finally over. What a lovely break it was. I randomly, at the last minute, took off on Thursday and Friday, mainly because the weather was supposed to be wonderful. I wasn’t 100% sure what I’d do, but it all fell into place.…

  • Lost Week

    Lost Week

    Apparently I did not take many pictures this week and otherwise failed to record what we did. And the ol’ brain is not supplying too many details. Blame it on the 100 degree heat. It was nearly impossible to cook or do much of anything. The heat did not break til Thursday night. Friday was…