Tag: urban homestead
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The Last Harvest of the Year
Last week we had some frigid nights, with the mercury dropping to 17 degrees F. I was still recovering from being sick and figured the broccoli, carrots, etc. in the garden would be OK. But yesterday (Saturday), we were staring down a Winter Storm Warning that promised three to five inches of snow. So I…
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2025 Garden Totals
The 2025 garden totals are in! I’m pleased; this was a decent haul in a smaller garden compared to 2023. (I didn’t really garden in 2024.) My fenced-in garden is about 8 ft by 6 ft, so 48 square feet. In addition I had some large pots near the driveway for carrots, potatoes and herbs.…
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A Cheapskate’s Guide to Repurposing Household Items in the Garden
The garlic is starting to poke through the leaves! Not surprisingly, it seems the cloves I planted that had already sprouted are the first to reach the surface. Four of them are up. This makes me happy. Some of the lettuce and arugula seeds I planted have sprouted. Too soon to tell which is which.…
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Wintry Walks & More Thrifting
I really needed this weekend. I was practically skipping home on Friday, so glad the work week was done. Work was extremely busy; at home I was pulling single-parent duty Sunday through Tuesday while Tom and T went to Green Bay for the Eagles game. I worked from home Monday and Tuesday. N and F…
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Sprouts Is Bankrupting Me
This past week I was off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It wasn’t quite as satisfying a staycation as the one I had in August. I had dreams about work from Friday night right on through, frustrating dreams in which nothing was going right. But it was still relaxing and peaceful. I got some things done…
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Closing Time
This was a catch-up, clean-out, clean-up, fix-up, and shut-down kind of weekend. Tom did the fixing up: unclogging sink drains, setting up the new dehumidifier, and attempting to fix the back screen door. The kids and I cleaned up: the bathrooms, the kitchen, changing sheets, the cat box, and more. The garden moved a bit…
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Home Is Where the Plants Are
Soooo happy to be home from Arizona! I took a red-eye home on Saturday, leaving AZ at 11:45 pm and arriving in Philly at 7 am. The flight felt surreal, the quiet and the dark; I would nod off for a bit, then jerk awake. There was a period of turbulence that was a little…
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Desert Bound
Posting a little early this week because I leave soon for Arizona, for a work trip. Today I borrowed and bought a few items, finished packing, and ran some errands. My flight is early Sunday morning. So far I have spent $125 towards this trip (haircut and color) plus about $20 worth of snacks for…
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Calm Before the Storm
Sitting here getting my grays covered up and my hair cut, ahead of my work trip to Arizona. I leave next Sunday. Trying to enjoy fall in New Jersey before heading to the desert. However, we’ve got a nor’easter blowing in today, so we can’t do much outside. The worst of it will be tonight…
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Growing Onions in Zone 7b
I have grown onions. Not every year, and not always with great success. It can be done, but it’s not as easy as, say, tomatoes (in my opinion). And since supermarket onions are cheap, it doesn’t always seem worthwhile. But according to my husband, it’s worth it. He always raves about our homegrown onions and…
Garden State of Mind 