Its been a trip.....

Since my last post where I raved about Design*Sponge....I was so inspired with what I saw there it kicked off a spurt of creativity. I have since repurposed 4 large pieces of furniture. Repainted the studio, have the supplies to repurpose an old door into a funky studio table. I am hoping when I go back to the 3 floor, 1 city block flea market they still have the retro 50's dining chairs to go with this "new table". Did i mention they are aqua turquoise!!!! One thing is leading to the other.
In the mix of it all.....tile shopping and rounding up supplies for the laundry room. I tell ya what, I am keeping busy....the great news, all that "college furniture" (which was still in good shape) did not go to the thrift store...it went to a family down the street that lost everything in a house fire. Plus an extra queen bed, and 2 nightstands.

I have not forgotten ya'll...just lots going on. Am I keeping it simple?....SURE....work on one project at a time, while that project has down time, go and round up supplies for your next job.

Ciao,
Val

Oh dear...

Could I possibly find one more thing to SUCK the time right out of my day? Its design*sponge. yes on the web....Enough said!

Have a fAbUlous evening!
Val

Master Bedroom Makeover...

Still in progress.
Is almost complete...I so want to share what I have already done, but I want it to be a big reveal. EEEACK. I repurposed a vintage dresser that is just SO ADORABLE now. I cant wait to show you!!

I am still waiting on fabric from Missouri to make the drapes, 2 matboards from bfe through Hobby Lobby, and a canopy that I keep forgetting to call about because the company is in Australia so I would call them in the middle of the night here....maybe I will remember tonight.

You know it was just time, we still had dressers from the college days!!

The closet...ahem..I am here to report my husband has 118 T-shirts. Is that normal? that does not include button downs, polos... Just T-shirts.
I am happy to tell you all he purged 5 t shirts, 6 pairs of pants, 8 ball caps (he has like 30 he kept) so he is making a bit of progress in the less is more arena. Baby steps.

Ola Amigos

I have finally found that fire I was looking for. Staying busy knocking away at that "to do" list. Our family spent the weekend down on the Big Horn. I can now see why this area is touted for excellent fishing and all around beauty. I also learned that moving cows on four wheelers is not all that bad. ahem. Saves your horse when they are out of shape and not rode much (ahem rider included) and man can you cover some country in a hurry. One thing for sure its a task to hold on to your expensive camera and handle a horse moving cattle at the same time. Pics to follow if this computer can handle it.

28 yards of fabric...check
new sewing machine...check (the old one went kaput in the fundraiser project for my nieces high school dance team)
King Coverlet, shams, shower curtain sewn....check
Pics to follow when project complete.....you betcha
paint and supplies...check
framing material...check
tile and grout.....
cement board....
Custom laundry room cabinets....check.....remember way back when I first started this blog (look under laundry room in the list, when I was dreaming about a kick ass laundry room).....well that is about to come a reality. I was so excited to see those delivered I coulda made out with the builder, that would not fly so well with the builders wife nor my husband so I didn't and besides it would have been really weird since he is my ex brother in law. Great builder non the less!!!

What else going on? Well it snowed somewhere around the 10th of this month and reached down to 20 degrees only to be followed by a 73 degree weekend, alot of folks around here lost their pumpkins.....I managed to save mine in the knick of time however there are some very well fed deer running around as they demolished my garden. a bite out of every tomato...Dirty ba$#@!%$!

and the cowgirl camper has a new floor....it looks so nice!! Kids are in the swing of things and all is well on the homefront!! Just gotta batten down the homestead for a long winter I reckon.

Little birdies

I have been incognito here the past few weeks. It seems this cowgirl is going through a bout of empty nest syndrome. I never realized how much my little ones daily schedules of napping, eating and playtime had affected my own schedule. Now I am not complaining just saying its very weird not to have them under wing during the day. Its hard to explain, I feel a bit discombobulated. I have been keeping a to do list and adding to it when a project would come up, and lo and behold the day came and I found myself absolutely not wanting to do any of it. Sure I have knocked a few things out, however I really thought I would hit it at fever pitch. Transition dear, its all transition......is what my ya ya's are telling me, the ya ya's that have experienced true empty nest, like all of their kids are out of high school!!! So I suppose the lesson here is true self direction. Hang with me folks I will be up and running again very soon with posting and pictures. Please send "light a fire under me ass" vibes!!

XOXO
Val

Food Storing....get it touch with your inner squirrel!!

I have been following some baby steps in food storage, finding myself a bit frustrated at times....moving stuff from here to there. 1. To make max use of available space and 2. I find myself not using a cabinet or shelf just because its hard for me to get to. I am a shorty, and really the shelves that reach to the ceiling are well a pia. great for storage but not everyday digging.3. My jars of canned goods are increasing....they are heavy and I only want to touch them once when putting them away until I need them. I actually found a site where a guy moves most of his food storage from the basement to the upstairs closet every year for some reason to do with heat exposure on the legumes. huh? maybe its a built in workout program. I dunno bout ya'll, I do not want to do that.

So let me introduce you to this wonderful blog I stumbled upon searching for visuals on food storage.....My Food Storage Deals!! Holy Spinnoli Batman, I gasped, I got a bit veclamped. It is exactly what I needed....an actual hard core visual picture of organized, functional food storage. I am one of those visual spacial types, I must be able to see what 400 pounds of bagged flour looks like. Not buckets stacked high and dry I would soon forget what I had and get sick of moving buckets. Go check her out, it rocks! She is listed in the cool blogs to the right. I think the key essential to get off the right foot is good sturdy shelving, like a foundation to success!! Her process is simple, doable and effecient!!

GO SQUIRRELS, GO SQUIRRELS, GET YOUR GAME ON!!!
SC!

Recycled composter

There are some really neat composter's available now with the green movement and the increased interest of gardening. Along with these neato inventions comes a price tag. I remember a comment by whom that I do not remember but it was of this nature "going green is the new green"...the second meaning that is where the money to be made is at. Hmph, that coming from a corporate executive in the energy field just rubs me a bit.
So on the market is a very neat and esthetically pleasing Sun Frost Solar Scrap Eater. Google it, they are indeed very nice and would be great for areas of limited space. However I do not have 600 smackers lying around with nothing to do. Besides its for kitchen scraps, my huge ComposTumbler would have been 500 smackers had I bought it brand new and that baby cooks some serious amounts of 'post.

So I made one of my own with stuff around the yard.


Now the plan was to show you step by step....but I am about ready to take this computer and introduce it to Mr. Ax. argh!

whiskey barrel planter
5 gallon bucket drilled holes all over the bottom
olive garden "salad to go" bowl for the bubble
flat rock to keep bowl from blowing away

Voila! scrap eater right outside the back door so as not having to trek to the back forty to toss. Nice and easy and within easy reach. So now I have a look out for an acrylic bowl to fortify to the top via drilled holes and some zip ties or even a heavy ish lid.


Happy Gardens
Val

Chop Chop!!

Some one hand me a tissue please!! My baby baby is officially a kindergartner! Ack! The last five years have zoomed by faster than I ever could have imagined! My nephew is growing facial hair and is now taller than I. My niece and daughter could not wait for school to start. Those heatherites anyways!!

So that leads me to......getting organized, yes we so let it slip in the summer, big deal, its summer. Not only will I be preparing my home manager binder to keep track of all the "stuff" that comes home from school, I will be juggling canning season and harvesting the garden. Today was freakishly quiet, I thought I would really relish this day......so I decided the hum of the new sewing machine would keep me company!

You do not have a home managment binder.....do it, it makes life so easy!

Chop Chop, time to get busy!

SC

Houston we have a problem!

Cruising along with kids in tow we get about 75 miles into our trip to the "hi-line" and I am pressing on the gas peddle and it feels a bit mushy...glance down at my dashboard and both the speedometer and rpm dials are at ZERO! oh $#!*. pull over, rev the beejeesus out of it and a prompt u turn back to B town. Quick call to my hubby to let him know where we are. Drive back switch vehicles, then back on the road. Thank goodness we made it all the way back home. ack, this car is what 6 years old is all. I still will not trade it in, I am keeping my clunker. Its paid for.

The really nice thing about driving Ebe's big pick up...the kids are far enough apart in the back there are no karate chops across the face when the other is touching the others "space". WEll that and all the neato buttons on the steering wheel. Saweet!!

The Hi Line it is, mosquitos and tomatos, wedding cake bound and the camera is charged up for a nother round.

Guarding the Groceries.....link

An elderly gentleman that works at the book store was telling me of this today so when I had time I did a little search of my own. Sure enough...I am not surprised, my hubby was in Detroit about a month ago for business, the reported 16% unemployment is not what he heard while there. The locals were reporting it much higher around 30%. So much that freeway traffic has seen a marked decline and driving to work is not much of a hassle.

It reminded me of Zimbabwe in a way.....its not total out and out devastation like Zim but I am also reminded of an online conversation with Mz. Spider back in December ish...."we are not far behind them". Ya know what Lisa, yer right!!!

I did like the included bit about urban homesteading and folks bucking the tide and growing more of their own food....is this what is going to take to get people to take initiative to that...dire circumstances? I guess so, cus the calvery just aint comin!

Back to reading my new garden book....How to Grow More Vegetables. Its a plethora of info on biointensive gardening, really maximizing what you have available, by enriching the soil to the point of saturation of luscious nutrients just waiting to be soaked up by plants bursting forth with edibles. Why did I buy it? the remineralization section....now I replenish my soil with lots of good stuff but this is like a tried and true science of absolute incredible fruiting porportions, Mr. Donohue my Junior high science teacher would be so proud of me.....he was and still is I am sure a total granola, lord board wearing science geek, him and his beutiful bride had kick ass garden way back them, I am sure they still do!!. I routinely challenged him in class and occasionally got kicked out as well. and the section with the varieties of edible landscape trees, bushes etc. so detailed and perfect for what I want to accomplish here at home and in the landscape world I step in and out of in the summer.....thats a hint for you Scotty, its edible landscaping I am betting on it. Manicured grass is soooo last season.

WATCH WAITIN FOR....THE CALVARY? GET THEE TO THE GARDEN AND GET'R DONE!!!

ObamaCare in Montana

Well he hit in on the head Americans are being held hostage by their insurance companies, but he missed a few other key points. Single payer coverage is the same thing only worse!! Ask any vetran. Its true those of us that do have coverage are still being rationed what is covered and what is not. Case in point. Our insurance premiums are covered by our employer, they are up to $1,092 per month per family. My son just received immunizations to go to kindergarten. Wanna know what the bill was. Keep in mind this is considered a well child visit, and state law requires that they have the immunizations and the total premiums for one year is over $13,000. What i pay in co payments IS NOT applied to my deductible. Our deductible is $1,000 per member or $2000 per family, then I get to fork over $4,000 after that in 80/20. Now this does not include any services like labwork. So we estimate having at least $8,000 in a medical savings account if and when we need it. well gosh darn Sally I think we are over $21,000 for medical coverage for one year!!!

Total provider charges 247.25
Total allowed amount 223.73
Total Applied to the deductible 0.00
Total Coinsurance/Copayment 89.49
Total Amount Payable by Plan 134.24
My total responsibility to the provider 89.49

ITS EXTORTION! coming up with a new single payer plan is just running neck and neck with the current insurance companies. Insurance companies need to be held accountable for what they are doing to their clients.....its charging for a product and not following through on their commitments. Why do they do it? Because they can! If we do not have coverage we face high medical bills in case of a hospitalization, if we do have coverage we face paying high premiums and still have substantial bills to pay.

Tort reform and frivolous lawsuits MUST BE ADDRESSED!! Its absolutely ridiculous for doctors and surgeons and hospitals to "have to" carry malpractice insurance that is expensive. How about paying back 289,000 in university bills along with 125,000 per year premium on insurance so you can be a surgeon....... That gets passed on to us the consumer. Its not a matter of "if" they get sued, its a matter of "when".

Another thing to consider is if we reduce our doctors to general lay people, we are asking them to not practice their skill. No they are not better than us but they are different from us.....think about what it takes to actually cut another human being open and find the problem and correct it, if they can. Fair income for doctors, you betcha. Transparency in the bills we receive, you betcha. BTW, we were charged twice for nursing services because it was 2 different shots. huh?

knew a doctor once that carried zero insurance.....and it was posted in the waiting room. He put it all out there for the world to see, he even went as far as to say he owned zero assets so suing him would be pointless. His mission statement had the message that he became a doctor for the passion he felt about helping people blah blah blah and essentially the point came across that his vocation was not about getting rich but doing what he loved to do. take it or leave it. How is that for transparency!!

Its time we clean up this mess of health care and its not by offering a "new plan" that essentially rivals the current plan but by weeding out the low life, scum sucking ambulance chasers and the laws that support them and holding insurance companies accountable for fraudulent practice. Doctors need to stop excessive runabout for this and that oh like 5 MRI's for what ever, and hospitals need to stop charging $5 for a damn aspirin! People in general need to be accountable as well for themselves.....lay down the fork, lay off the booze, lay off the McDonalds and fried chicken! Patient accountability, hmmm there's a thought! Don't even get me started on the psychiatric mental health debacle that is essentially putting billions in the pockets of the Pharmaceutical companies......which are traded on the stock market!! gee I wonder what their mission statement is? The ridiculous bullshit practices where Viagra is covered by scrip plans but birth control and hormone replacement therapy is not. WTF? Seriously its all snowballing out of control and sooner or later we are all gonna get rolled on.

G'day ya'll
S.C.

Saurkraut

This is so darn easy to make!
All you need is cabbage, salt and some tools.

Shred the cabbage, mine was 4 heads out of the garden
Salt
food safe bucket
wooden tamper
plate to fit inside bucket
weight to hold plate
panty hose or cheese cloth

Layer shredded cabbage and salt, I used about a Tablespoon of salt per head of cabbage and let it rest in food safe bucket to sweat, once the sweating is good and going, go out to the garage and find a wooden 2x2 so you can start tamping the cabbage to form a brine. You will want enough liquid to cover the cabbage during the fermentation. Add a bit of salt water (1 tsp to 1 qt of water) if you just cannot create enough brine. Once ya got that done, place a plate over the cabbage in the bucket and weight it down with a clean rock or just a canning jar filled with water(lid on). I used a pair of CLEAN panty hose to cover the top of the bucket to keep flying critters out. Set in cool dark place and let it do its biness. It will stink for a few days kinda like a cabbage fart....just sayin. Its been 5 days and that farty odor is no longer. A few more days and it will be ready to eat.

The BEST Bacon

I am not kidding, just look at this bacon!!! Good ole Montana Made Bacon!!



said bacon, chopped up and added to a pile of freshly steamed garden green beans.....lip licken goodness. Gobbled down, no picture just trust me.

Heifer International

Just wondering? If Heifer International is based out of Little Rock, Arkansas then is it safe to say that there would be no food to plate issues in Arkansas? Just a question I was wondering about in lieu of food security issues......does any one know the answer? Anyone? Anyone?

testing 1 2 3

hmmmm, hmmmmmmmm,hmmmmmmmm how do I get music video posted where you do not have to click a link? This is what I am wondering. How do I get a music playlist on my blog? This is what I am wondering. HMMMMMMMMMMM.
OMG I figured it out!!!! well the first part, now the playlist.





In the garden....I just recieved a call back from a gal that has an organic farm/garden here in our county. I saw a picture in our monthly Food Co-op of her gardens, I called her to see if they do "tours". From what I could see the place is like my shangri-lah. No tours, they are busy busy with all the work they that do to keep it running at close to peak harvesting right now, just the 2 of them. To be quite honest I am seeking support for us garden gnomes, kind of like a 12 step program for gals with dirty fingernails. So we chatted a bit about organic gardening and this slow weather pattern, CSA and the like. It was good.

Back to School

Before shopping do an inventory of what they already have......and make darn sure they can see the supplies they have, such as pencil boxes and backpacks!!! I know sounds simple but if they don't see it, they will talk you blue in the face trying to convince you they need the newest and coolest pencil case, back pack or whatever.

1. Do not wait til the last minute.
a. and before the county fair, when the entire southeast Montana population has come to town and ravages the aisles.
2. If at all possible, take one kid at a time and squeeze in a special treat time.
3. Scour the thrift store first for needed items. Now is the best time to scoop up clothing that does not get the heavy wear and tear as some other items. Such as vests, hoodies, sweaters, and shirts and snow pants of all things. Understand not all the items are in top notch quality so do check them over well. No holes, no stains, not too faded a bit we can live with that. Jeans will be hard to find for primary boys....if they are anything like my boy....the knees are ripped out. Khaki shorts galore. Ya win some ya lose some. I found half his shirts at goodwill along with some much needed swim trunks. I also stocked up on winter clothing, even though its hovering in the 80's, cold weather is right around the corner.
4. Create a realistic budget.....I admit I was being a bit cheap at first then when I thought about it some more I realized I had not purchased clothing in quite some time, heck the last time I bought shoes for my daughter was last year during school shopping....and I sewed up her skirts this spring and stashed them so they would avoid popsicle stainage. We are lucky because she
has tiny feet that do not grow very fast at all. I did come in under budget as it turned out anyways. I have a separate budget/savings stash for the "supply list issued from the school"
5. Do the best you can with what you have. Quality over quantity and find your middle ground somewhere in between. Seriously do our kids need to have 30 complete outfits for school?
6. Take a clean pair of socks with you for your kids to try on shoes!!

and for some humor......who knew crayons would be so gangsta fab!!!

August Garden

Our Gardens are looking pretty good considering the whacky weather.



I put up a new trellis after I pulled the spent broccoli, planted with a second round of snow peas, lettuce, spinach.



Said broccoli, actually a few weeks back.







Patty pan squash....this thing is loaded to the nines


Snoozing lil bumble bee.....I had been walking past him all morning. Totally konked out.


Gorgeous Sunflower

liar liar pants on fire!!

click the title

enough already! I am sick to death of the hogwash back and forth wishy washy crap you proposed during your campaign....bait and switch at its finest!!!
Insert a few choice cuss words here! Who am I kidding, its not a few, its alot!

TODAY I HAVE HAD IT *UP TO HERE* WITH BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL ASS CRAP!!!

SINCERELY,
ONE PISSED OFF COWGIRL

Boot in the Ass, cowgirl style

Dear Trina Thompson,
Wow? REally? what I find most interesting about your lawsuit....and for those of you that do not know what I am talking about....Trina Thompson is suing the bronx college she obtained her degree from, because she has not obtained employment in her field 3 months post graduation.

Puh LEASE!! We are in a recession, thousands are losing their jobs everyday, along with facing some serious financial woes. Did it ever occur to you to look elsewhere in the interim until you find the job you want? In fact we have experienced this very thing some 16 years ago, my husband did not land the "a foot in the door job" for what? almost 3 years!! What he did not do however is lay down and play victim and blame everyone else for the circumstance!

Disgraceful! Nothing unusual in this day and age when everyone wants a bailout for their situation!!

Your life will not change by much if you do not learn to take responsibility for your SELF!!

are you by chance related to Octo Mom?

S.C.

Think about it!

“You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." Adrian Rogers, 1931

What is the purpose of this?

Good question.

The purpose of what? My life?, my gardens?, my skills?This blog? What?

Every now and again one comes across some reading or a quote that just hits them like a ton of bricks. Those 6 words hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. I do what I do because and the purpose part came later.

1. I chose to do it
2. (this came later)
3. Financial reasons
4. learning

I have not always been a stay at home mom, I chose to stay at home after the birth of our 3rd child. I reasoned every way possible as to why I "should" stay employed, but when the tic met the toc, truth be told I think my take home pay was somewhere around .75 cents an hour after taxes, gas, clothing and daycare expenses. What is the exact purpose of me working out of the home only to a. expense it all out and b. pay someone else to raise my children.

I do believe from the age of 22 to somewhere in my thirties I was on a gerbil wheel, just doing because it needed to be done. Truth be told here only in the last couple of years I have woke up and lived "mindfully" each and every day. Going from 2 incomes to 1 income has a way of doing that, and few other factors.

Let me take a moment here to say...."I am grateful that I have this opportunity and grateful for my husband and his unwaivering love and support and the job my husband has that provides us with shelter, food and basic needs for daily living and then some."

Note: when I say "support" it does not mean financial, making the choice to stay at home was difficult and a few of my demons where sitting on my shoulder mocking me and the ring leader was that demon/voice inside our heads that measures our self worth. There are still days where I would like to punch that butt head in the face.

Would I be worth anything at all if I choose this path?

I dunno? but there is only way to find out......jump in with both feet and hope like hell you can swim hard enough to make it to shore with your swim suit still on! I knew one thing for sure....at the end of the day my sweat and tears were worth more than 6 bucks!!

S.C.

Continued Education

Every year I like to learn a new skill and this year I would like to learn to make soap! Old fashioned soap from lye, fats and water. I have been cruising soap making sites for about a year now. I am ready to try it.

I would also like to learn to weld. My husband is a mighty fine welder.

Both would be great to learn in the fall when its a bit cooler.

Thats all, back to you folks

S.C.

I could be kind of a dork

I was cruising through my album and ran across this photo, I have posted it before....I think. Mr. Grobler is the closest thing to a "celebrity meeting" I have ever had. I have seen him in my living room on the Telly, so close enough! I would have to chalk that day up to one of the Top Ten Best Days in my life. The whole day was kick butt.

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures

My legs are kinda pale....my arms with a just a hint of sun brown up like southern fried chicken, its the farmer tan gene kicking in. Even my feet tan very well in fact. They could have even time in the sun and my legs....still pale. Soooo I decide to use some essential grapefruit oil as the remedy. Now why grapefruit oil, well because it is an oil that has a precaution on it that says UV sensitive, as in USE CAUTION while in the sun when it perhaps is mixed with some lotion........ perhaps.

Well I already had applied regular lotion earlier in the day to my legs along with 50spf to my face(with hat and glasses always when I am outside), arms and back sooooo I thought what the hell I am gonna do it anyways....throw caution to the wind and use the essential oil how its not intended....and guess what? IT WORKS! In fact it works a little too well....my thighs have a bit of a red rosy glow to them, however they did get the most sun exposure while at the pool. the rest well, they are not pasty anymore thats for sure, a weee bit of color. My feet look great.

I DON'T RECOMEND ANYONE TRYING THIS AT HOME OR AT THE POOL.

Needless to say I researched via the great crystal ball, aka the Internet, for home remedies other than aloe for sunburn and I will be trying the tea and milk bath tonight to relieve some of this redness. I have applied 5 times Jasons tea tree aloe gel and it took the major heat out, but I would like to sleep well tonight, I will let ya'll know how the chai bath works.

Yours Truly,
Crispy Critter

maybe I will get lucky and any sort of cellulite will be gone in the morning.

Attention in the Terminal!

That phrase was used alot when I worked at the local Airport oh some 7 years ago...incredible its been that long ago. It was seasonal city job taking care of all the flowers and landscaping. The job did not pay much but I tell ya I loved it. I always wanted to grab the mike and roll off with something witty and funny. No one would hand it over and with all the new law after 9/11 I am sure it would have been construed as an act of terrorism if I just grabbed it and rolled with it.

On another note......anyone sending me PM's from Soggy G.....I cannot retrieve them at this time, I have chosen to take a hiatus this summer to focus on my family and the projects that are lined up for Mwah to tackle. I can be reached at unkshei3atyahoodotcom if you need to get ahold of me.





This pretty much sums up the state of the union, think about it, no matter what political affiliation you have I find it fascinating that the new party/president never repeals any of the garbage law or Acts of congress the previous party/president passed while in Congress or on The Hill in the Whitehouse. Especially when the newly elected President may have railed about it as their "platform". For example Nafta, Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind and so on and so forth. The only one I can think of is Prohibition and even with the commerce of whiskey and booze and prostitutes they could not get it right......Maybe instead of washing the sheets they were just buying new ones....who knows.....but this same idology is what is driving this country into the wrecker....spending and spending till the coffers are dry....then what? Do we really want socialized medicine? I for one do not. Do we need change in this healthcare system? Oh you betcha!!! What I would like to see is an overhaul on the insurance companies and the lawyers that pursue frivolous lawsuits. Mr. BAucass does not have our best interests at heart, he sold out and his former staff now work for major pharmecueaticals as lobbyists. While we are on that subject......why do we even allow the Pharm companies to be traded on the stock market? Isn't that a weee bit of a conflict of interest? Do you remember the time when prescription drugs were not advertised on TV? Last I checked the stock market was for making money. Sooooo are they in it for the money?, of course they are, I wonder what thier advertising budget it? These are weird times, my friends, the answers and solutions are not simple ones either.

Ya know what else is funny, way back in the early 90's I used to go to this hairdresser, some of his best clients back in his formative hair skillz years were workin girls at the Mustang Ranch, its where he learned to perfect hair extensions. I asked for a perm, I should have gone with the extensions or some highlights. V-8 moment! I wonder where Dave is now.

GEt your boots on gals its gonna be getting deep I reckon.
S.C.

The Saga of The Thrift Store Dragon Lady

I am always on the look out for canning jars. I was at a local thrift store here recently and loaded up my cart with 2 boxes of quart jars and the few pint jars that were on the shelves...3 larges for a buck and 5 smalls for a buck.While I meander back to the check out I spied some jars in a different section.....turns out the second batch were considered vintage and or antiques. Okay the blue ones I could believe that but the clear? I never new there was big market for clear vintage canning jars....at $3.50 a piece. So I had a question for the clerk...."I found this jar in the back with this lid (zinc lid) and its only .20 cents and these up here for 3.50....so what gives?

Que Loud Obnoxious Manager to come forth to the cash register. I ask the same question again.

LOM: "What? you found this one in the back, it looks like someone has been mislabeling things again, good thing she is on medical leave, you said you found this in the back?"
Me: "Yes, I did, that is why I am asking"

LOM: "THESE are VINTAGE, AND that is WHY we are asking more for them"
Me: "Sooo the one I found in the back, is that still for sale at .20 cents?" fast foward to whats whirling around in my brain....wha? vintage jars? I have heard of antique jars but not vintage....the blue ones?

LOM: "Where did you find these jars" (pointing to my 2 boxes of quart jars, dodging my question)
Me: "In the back stacked next to the canning jar shelves, I figured I would just grab the boxes of them to make it simpler for me to carry and your store help since they are already boxed"

LOM: "Well those on the top are vintage and WELL *sigh* SINCE you found them there, then you can have them for the regular price."

She proceeds to lecture me on what jars are vintage and why and I began to feel like Woodstock listening to Snoopy....wah, wah, wah, wah, wah.

Audience rolling their eyes....and when I glanced at one lady she states in a not so hushed manner "what an obnoxious lady"......hence the nickname Loud Obnoxious Manager.

Me: "Well then I will take the quart jars and the regular pint jars, cuz there is no way I am paying three dollars and fifty cents for THOSE other pint jars.

The clerk proceeds to ring up my bill

Clerk: How many quart jars?
Me: "Thirty and at 3 for a dollar that is $10 bucks and 5 pints for a dollar"

LOM to Clerk: "YOU are doing it wrong, you must sell them individually, gimme a pen and a piece of paper"

Clerk looks utterly embarresed, the line is growing and now the manager is chastising the clerk for her mistake. Manager annouces she "I need to figure things out".

Audience member: "Good Grief, ten goes into thirty three times do you really need a pen and paper to figure that out"

Me: chuckling and getting a bit rubbed by LOM.

LOM: "Well, I have never learned to can, I have always wanted too, but I have never learned"

Me: Secretly wanting to say...."basic math skills are a must if ya wanna learn to can" waiting to be shot down by the jar dragon, on second thought best to keep my mouth shut and best not to poke at dragons when they suffer from a bizarre psychotic behavior.

LOM to Clerk: "Its 3 at 10 dollars, thats how to ring it up, 3 at 10 dollars"

Me to audience lady next to me: "ya know I passed up an offer from a country gal willing to give me all 500 or so canning jars for free a few years back.... and before I could say anything else LOM butts in to say..... "bet you could just kick yourself for passin that up"

Me: "not really, I didn't have the use for them at the time, so no sense in hoarding stuff just because"...........hoping that last jab would sink into her thick skull.

Clerk: "That will be $13.75" (I did find some metal pie plates as well for camping)

I pay and one of the audience members holds the door for me while I leave with my goods, and she rolls her eyes and says "geez that was interesting". As I was driving away a thought occured to me....as they always do, never to come to you when you are right there dealing with nutso people. I am close to 40 and most folks in my generation do not can their own food.....how many folks of my parents generation did not can thier own food? So really I will bet you $$ on it MOST of the canning jars found from estate sales or gramma's attic are old....vintage is a nice term for "really old and kitschy", it does not mean priceless and hard to find. Get real LOM, I am never shopping in your second hand store again, you forget that all of the stuff in your store was GIVEN to your organization in hopes it would find a home and or be of use to someone else. You did not have to pay for it and probably did not pay for the shipping either. Sure you have some overhead, we all do....however you are a non profit organization and do not pay the same tax schedule as small business owners. Shame on you! The jams that I make and the food I can is worth far more than the jar....not the other way around.

Buh bye


and no I did not get the jar I found in the back for the advertised price of .20 cents.....it occured to me once I got home....I thought about making a fuss and going back there to get it, then I thought, why bother its obvious she needs it more than I do. Then I wondered if I buy them outright at that grocery store, how much is the difference? The new ones come with new lids and rings. yet to find out.

XOXO
Cowgirls Wear Shitkickers!

Long term food storage

I am curious about these things.
*how much food do you have socked away?
*how it is stored?
*how do you rotate your inventory


I just read on a major website to use up what you have in your pantries when times get tough....that I can agree with, that is what food storage is for.......and in the same article stating from a "business perspective" that keeping an inventory of food is essentially a drain on your cash flow, comparing it to business's that keep inventory. I completely disagree with this line of thought. Could it be that the "business perspective" is a bit biased? When times get tough, I am sure if we had food stores, their business would REALLY feel it, if not go out of business! It is not a drain on your cash flow but an investment to feed your family if something should happen like a job layoff, major emergency or natural disaster. During those rough times our first line of offense is us....you and me, not the grocery store or food bank. If you are of the latter how many others are of that ideology? What will happen if 60 percent or more of your community relies on another source for food and did not prepare properly. I find it fascinating that most of our population could go probably a year without purchasing new clothing or shoes but not 1 month in regards to groceries. Proof: In new or homes built after the 50's the closets got bigger and the pantries got smaller if non existent.

Maybe it can be chalked up to the culture I grew up in. I kid you not the winters I remember....snowed in for weeks. One best have their ducks in a row well ahead of snow fall and be ready for it.

Yours Truly
Mrs. Squirrel

Such a Softie

Today I would like to share a secret to soft skin....sugar scrub. The kind of sugar scrub you can make at home with 3 ingredients. For a few pennies your skin will be like budda! I just cannot on good conscience pay $15 for a body scrub when I know this stuff work better, cost less and you can actually pronounce the ingredients.

Sugar
Vegetable Glycerin (I found mine at the health food store)
essential oil (optional)

That is it! I just put some sugar in a reused container, then pour in the glycerin, stir and if its too dry add some glycerin until its somewhat slushy but not too slushy.....a few drops of essential oil if you have it and VOILA! There you have it. Smear and rub all over your body whilst in shower then rinse off, lather up, dry off and lotion up. Yoooz Be So MUCH Softer.

I first tried this with olive oil....no glycerin on hand.....not good...it left my bathtub a greasy, greasy mess...glycerin is much better.

Warning: Hubby or boyfriends will not want to take hands off of you. *wink*

XOXO
Val

Haulin Pigs

Its a dirty job but someone has to do it.


Good times with the patient Miss Stella.
Val

Line up!

A while back I was reading where this lady had told her friend to turn off her "heat dry cycle" on her dishwasher to save on her energy bills. My curiosity was piqued, would that make that much of a difference? I thought. I tried it. $35 it knocked off my bill. Rough estimate of a smidge over a dollar a day. In fact it was close to 25% of my bill. A dollar per day does not sound like much but when I figured it in percentages I thought it was quite a bit. Seriously? that is only one appliance!!! No more heat dry, I can think of better/funner things to spend my money on than drying dishes.

I recently purchased a clothes line and got it erected yesterday. Cement socket and all, by myself. This was after I cut down the dead lilac with a chainsaw......yes a chainsaw, electric so it was not so heavy....I could not handle a big ole gas saw for the life of me. It felt good not to have to rely on a man to do these things. Digging the root ball out is another story, I mean really why hog all the fun, Mr. Ebes is going to be in on that one, as well as I am sure Mr. Bobcat! I am most curious to see what line drying does to my energy bill. No more line drying on the fence.....stuff getting blown off. Today I will create a pin bag from some old jeans. There is nothing like having crisp clean line dried sheets.....they smell terrific.

This year has been an appliance trade out year. The old fridge and freezer in the basement went bye bye,replaced with a new energy star chest freezer, the washer and dryer replaced with energy star front loaders.....cut my bill in half!! Had I replaced them 5 years ago when we added on this house, it would have amounted to $6,000!! I could kick myself for not doing it sooner, but no we just used what we had and they were really not that old. The total cost of the new appliances was $1,365, which we had been saving for and paid cash, plus a door buster sale the day after Thanksgiving. Lesson learned energy efficient appliances really do make a difference!!

Have a great day Ya'll
Val

Garden update

Its growing good considering we have had roller coaster weather. We have been eating chard, lettuce, radishes and broccoli. The broccolirahb bolted and went to seed in what seems like overnight. I will save the seed as it is an heirloom vegetable.



I love these raised beds, LOVE them, it makes it so much simpler and easier. I still have one spot that is done "old way" and I kind of ignore it.....not near as easy to stay on top of the weeds. It will be the last year for that bed as well. It will be a covered patio I am hoping next year. I did not solarize my beds this year due to inclement weather and them going in late. Solarizing kills the weed seeds and then gardening is virtually no work. It will also be a huge benefit to have the greenhouse up and ready this fall to roll on into spring with my own veggie plants. Nice! I tell ya what I have the best hubby in the world. He supports this passion of mine without a single wince., never do I hear him b*tch or complain about building this or that for me in my garden endeavors. He is a rockstar in my world, and most grown men want to be rockstars!!!!

Do a dollop of daisy

Sing that jingle with me....do a dollop, do do a dollop....
sooc



and in bronze



I like them both for different reasons. Photography can be fun especially when you have a camera that really works for you.

We be JAmmIn

MMMM strawberries, and today we will be making strawberry jam.

Find willing children to squeeze and mush up fruit after you have hulled

Its really easy. 5 cups strawberries, 1 box pectin mix and stir over medium heat till rapid boil, stir in 8 c. sugar bring to rapid boil, you may add 2 tsp of butter to decrease foaming. Into thee jars.

We ended up with 35 pints and we started with 24 pounds of berries, we ate some, a few didn't make the cut, so that is a rough estimate of what you will end up with.

I could have done the all berry method of cooking them down to concentrate the sugars in the fruit but I chose not to this time around. My husband loves this jam on this bread.

Basic Bread 2 loaves

2 T yeast
1/3 c. honey
2 1/2 c warm water

let sit until its good and bubbly
add 1/2 c. oil
1 tsp salt
6 cups of flour

If I use whole wheat flour I decrease the amount I use. Knead and turn out into an oiled bowl,cover and let rise to double. Punch down, shape, let rise again....325 for 25 minutes and your kids, neighbors, relatives and husband will think you are the queen of the kitchen.

How simple is that!!!!
xoxo
Val

Wide Open Spaces

Its a really big place....2 million acres wide open! That is big like no other. Growing up we worked on 250,000 acres, this even blew my mind. Good horses are an absolute must, so is a motorbike, they were finishing up branding slicks, just a few and it had dragged on for a week or so putting it off as they had been getting rain everyday for quite a while. My oldest nephew is an absolute peach, well they both are in fact.....my nephew told me and I quote "I'm an American Cowboy, always have been and I always will be". I believe him.


No corrals in this area, just move em up into the corner and construct a holding area with movable panels. Boy are my kids in for a surprise. Pip did not handle this well, she watched but a tear rolled down her cheek..."mama, the calves are just bawlin". Me hugging her "true Pip, but that is how it is done". Branding was a bit hard on Pips heart.


"Sticky".....she is a sassy mare, and a good hand and good lookin to boot and she knows it, she is the cover girl for the day.


Get r done.


How its done.



Workin Hands.
I am fascinated by workin hands....ranchers, farmers, mechanics, anyone really, they can tell a story all themselves.




Nepalese sheep herder taking a snooze. Yes ya'll this way of life still exists, in our tech new age its kind of like a time warp I reckon for most. He has the simplest life, no worries but the safety of the sheep, his horse, dogs and himself.....in beautiful wide open spaces.


While we were up there in the hills of Wyoming and right after this photo while I was reviewing it on the screen with my brother, the thought of environmentalist extremists wanting to decrease sheep production due to their methane output popped in my mind. Those extremists don't know squat about what is natural or not natural, I think they best come here to find out. This is ranching country, its dry and it takes alot of acres to raise animals. Nope sorry, soybeans and rice are not going to be growing here. Dang Cute little lamb, and wilder than a March hare.

Ranching life is a bit more simple than in most other places in the world. Its hard work, folks understand there are simply a few things in life you cannot change....best not to waste time and energy on it. Ranchers love what they do, its hard work and its a good life. While growing up in the country I thought it odd folks would take a vacation to ranch, I mean really, Its work!! As a kid I could have thought about a bazillion other things to do, like lying down on a sandy beach with not a care in the world. Now I know why. I have lived in the city for 20 years now, its not about paying to work. Its about going to a place so out of the ordinary of your everyday life to experience a different way of life or a different culture if you will. Life there was slower, it was simpler and it was good.

Its hot in the frying pan!!

Oooh doggy its been jumpin around here. Since we returned home from Wyoming I have done the following... This is all from the Wednesday to the following Saturday, tonight. I think I kicked butt on getting a few things done around here. So take that 28 day challenge.
priced the rest of my g-sale stuff
sewed 7 more recycled scarfs, 1 baby hat and 1 soaker....cashmere, way soft and perfect for a baby. I love good wool.
garage sale weekend
take leftovers to family services
dinged out the basement, found stuff I missed
moved all Halloween and Christmas totes to upstairs storage
dinged out Big Betty, she is a huge storage buffet in my dining room
Prepared Betty for canning season, she is now home to canning supplies
dinged out the wood shed.....the two seater is in use now. Now any grubby kids and their mom, dirty from working in the yard can use it without tromping dirt in the house.....hey it should save a bit on the water bill.
Sewed and new set of shower curtains/drapes for the downstairs bathroom. I like having the bathroom shower flanked for some reason.
Planted Rhubarb and more basil.
Prepared for yet another follow up garage sale...bored as ever and it was slooow so I painted up those chalk boards, stained the wood on my camper door, painted an end table, shelf and sign during that time.....read up on some Mother Earth News, and Mary Janes Farm.
Went to bed early that Friday night, I was pooped!
Wake up on Saturday thinking I am going to remove the dead lilac to replace with an umbrella clothesline..... since I located an electric chainsaw, nope I found an email update for a sale on Strawberries and the discount grocer.....urch! HELLO!! change of plans......24 pounds of straweberries in tow (good thing Big Betty was ready) , gather supplies for Pippies birthday, 3 garage sales and 1 thrift store later back at the house to finally process 35 pints of jam, 4 pies and kids to bed and the camper ready for a day trip of fishing on Sunday. Pippy asked for Birthday Pie instead of cake.....How darn cute is that? love that kid!!!

I still have not loaded any new pix, I do promise I have some good ones for ya. How in the heck bloggers keep up with that is something I have not figured out. So even with that said I have Denny Mcloughlins class to attend next week, so I will be a bit MIA. July will be dialed down a bit....but not by much, I have an Art show to prep for, gardening should be in full swing. Its all good!!
Lots of Love to Ya'll!!
Val

ps....we hit 102 this week, so not ready for that. One day its in the 80's then 102, back down to 72. oi that was way hot for us in June!!!

Uh Oh!

I have found myself coming down with a serious case of wanting to paint. Not the kind of painting on canvas but painting walls. Not good, I have so much other stuff to get done that this would really throw a wrench into me plans.

Where did I pick up this bug? I have not wanted to paint walls in 5 years. I really burned out after we built the house. Ack!! I have the urge to paint the kids's room Taos blue, and the living room butter yellow. Oh crap! Its taking over my every thought.

I think for today I will paint up some chalk board doors just to appease my inner paintbrush....

It can get nuts inside my skull at time! sheesh I tell ya!!!

XOXO
Val

Frugal Cleaning products that get the job done

Could this post be any more ________. Feel free to insert any descriptive adjective you wish.
If you just dropped in on any grocery store I bet you could easily drop 50 smackers on cleaning products to clean everything from grout to toilets to windows to get you started. No need cowgirls and cowboys. I used to be that gal that had everykind of cleaning product under the sun.

Here is what I have under my sink..
Pine Sol, thanks to blue statue lady. I totally forgot how awesome this stuff is. For 2.59 I can make 20 spray bottles full. Well that equates to less than 20 cents per bottle. Sure beats paying 4 dollars per bottle of fancy spray cleaner, even the stuff from the dollar store equates to being 10 times as spendy.

Baking soda. This is the best gunk lifter. Even baked on nastiness. Just make a paste and smear it on and let it sit. Great pre soak for dingy clothing.

Another tip for you whites, get em in the sun. One would be amazed at how well it works for sun bleaching out stains and dingy grayness, I learned that back in my cloth diaper days, and its easier on your utility bill. I predict a clothes line comeback for this year as we find ways to cut costs in this slumping economy.

Vinegar is the best for cleaning floors and great for windows.

Mr. Clean magic erasers will save your sanity~~

Thats all folks....simplify your cleaning cabinet.
S.C.

Up and Away

Its a cardinal rule around here to keep the walking area clean and picked up, the only exception to this rule is the playroom, however at the end of the day I still need to be able to walk through it. No one likes to stumble over Tonkas, shoes, back packs, duffle bags, or clothes on the floor. Look at your walls do you have room for a peg rack, shelf or cubbie? This rule goes for pictures as well, get em up on the walls and not all over flat surfaces. Much easier to maintain.

If you are storing items in rubbermaid totes, remember to keep the least used stuff in the bottom ones and more frequent used stuff in the middle and upper ones. Seems simple enough but I am amazed at how stuff can get jumbled all together and one finds them selves hunting through each one, and on that note label them too!!

I have been away a bit for a trip to visit my brother and his kids. I did manage to click off over 500 photos, I will be uploading and sharing those soon. From branding, fishing, playing, scenery and would you believe 2 Nepalese sheepherders. How neat is that! Heck I thought the days of sheepwagons and sheepherders were times gone by. Not so! Gosh who knew Wyoming is actually very scenic. I was pleasantly surprised and totally expected an eastern Montana like enviroment. They have gotten double the moisture for the year thus far, so I was reassured that did help make it easy on the eye. The Wind River Pass was so preetty, and you get to drive through a few tunnels..my first time...I really need to leave my home state more, get out of my comfort zone. Montana is a really nice place to live , it's my home and has been my whole life, but it is nice to go explore then comeback.

Our Garage sale is this weekend and I have been on the hunt for wool sweaters like crazy to repurpose, I found some doozies!! Oh and I was gifted a serger so this repurposing sweaters has just gotten a whole lot funner....is that even a word? In my world it is!! I LOVE IT!! I bought my daughter a potholder loom to keep her busy on the trip, when I say its remote where we went, its remote. Not totally at the main ranch house but we were planning on moving his camper up to the area that has no electricity,running water or toilet... aka "cow camp" but we were rained out. It's best kids learn to keep themselves occupied with their hands for something to do. So I was thinking with all the t shirts my hubby goes through that end up holey she could get her dad to build her a larger loom for placemats and then dye them with the procion dye we already have from other projects. I would not mind one for myself in rug size. Imagine that? one more medium!! I may not have the grasp of such recycling as Ms. Ffrench, however I love making new things out of stuff that seems to have no purpose left. Its getting every last drop out of that resource. I will more than likely need a few projects lined up for the winter months as *sniff* my baby, my last child will be entering Kindergarten this fall.

Live with a purpose!
Val

Introducing Mr. Tok Tokkie

Neat bug!

I picked him up off the ground right outside our cottage in the bush while in Kruger. They are called Tok Tokkie beetles and their claim to fame is drumming their abdomen on the ground to find other tok tok's. I did find a few dung beetles and one flew into our rig....equally as cool...lil unksheibahminkmahs....aka "turd roller". Dung beetles are surprisingly fast lil buggers. Mr Ebes says the tok tokkie is more fitting cus I like to talk talkie a-lot!!

Buzzzzzzzzzzzz

I am the queen bee but this queen bee works too.

Decluttering for yard sale.
new trellis in the garden...one up and 3 more in the wings, it started raining so the welding ceased...Ebes just rocked it finding welding screens at an auction for dirt cheap. 2 for me, 2 for him.
turnip, radishs, pumpkins, and winter squash planted
T ball is still going, 3 more games this season
school is out for summer
guinea pig funeral...I will miss you sweet Lucy!!!
Farm and Ranch supply trips
1 landscape design finished, set and wrapped up, 2 more on the board
4 new shrubs in
a great deal on 3 pallets of flagstone, thanks to my generous pal Scott, whom I do the consults for! *high five* to you Scott, okay maybe I will hug you. Thank YOu!!
Currently browsing 3 new periodicals on urban homesteading...special interest in greenhouse's, backyard chickens and edible landscaping...berries in particular.
Joined the Freedom Gardens Forum.....but I am a bit lost, its like a Facebook format and I dont facebook so its a bit over my head.
So busy is as busy was and ITS ALL GOOD!!

and I gotta bitty secret but mums the word for right now, I am the 1st person she called, and for that I am honored. Needless to say a few things are going to comeback out of that garage sale pile!!

XoXo
Val

Its raining, Its pouring.....

I should be sorting and tagging!!
We are hosting a multi family garage sale this year.....I have started to go through the house, room by room, ridding it of any unused, outdated, outgrown items. Kids room is done. They have grown like weeds this year!!!
I go through each and every drawer, closet and holdout for stuff and tag as i put them in the boxes, with clothing I do not tag individually, they get blanket prices.....kids items 50cents, coats 2 bucks, Jeans 2 bucks etc. Sierra bags up the little things and sells them that way.
I do not like going to garage sales and searching for prices, it bugs me to no end. So word to the wise have everything clearly marked. I always have a free box for odds and ends as well. I do not advertise in the newspaper anymore, it costs close to $40 for a 2 day add.....we just make sure we have plenty of signage around our neighborhood.

What are your garage sale strategies? any tried and true tips?

Busy as a bee!!

Its been busy around the urban homestead. We experienced a late cold spring and now today its 88 degrees. I really needed to get this all in 3 weeks ago however our oldest daughter(18) was in the hospital for 2 of those weeks....so this went way back burner. She is healing and this was busted out this week. Mr. Ebes did manage to build us 5 more of those long raised beds on Memorial day and filled as well, me planting right behind him.

My main garden area



and one just off to the side of it.


The first Peony bloom of the year


Between the hospital and the garden we managed to squeeze in the camping trip we had planned way back when we got the camper. Mo thought she would go with us, on second thought lazing around watching movies with her Aunt and cousin sounded better so she declined. I do not hold it against her, she was not up for camping one week after surgery.

A few photos from said trip up in the Beartooths.


Gorgeous lil waterfall while hiking to Sioux Charlie.....and we soon discovered this is a day hike for older kids and adults. We made it almost 3/4 of a mile up until Sierra started losing her footing.


Our lil nature nut youngest daughter out in the lead in true Sierra fashion....soon to be back with me when the climb started to get some grit to it.


a bit of fishing


flowers along the way...not enhanced just straight out of camera, heck most of mine are anyway.....me not so savvy with photo editing much.






Its been a busy 3 weeks to say the least. Summer weather is here and I welcome the sunshine!!
The camper suited us well. It does need some foam pad for our sleeping bunk....that was a bit hard on my hips. The kids bunk was actually very comfy. Wow!! May just passed in a flash.

My mecca

SMELL IT!


STICK YOUR NOSE IN IT!



ZANY ZINNIAS


GORGEOUS POPPYS



HEAVENLY HYDRANGEA


We came home with none of the above, we picked up our heirloom tomatoes, pepper, cabbage, and broccoli plants, my son grabbed a few packs of petunia and marigold, marigolds are his favorite because they are orange. I also picked up comfrey and if you are not familiar with this plant is also called bone-knit. Great for sprains, tendonitis and skin inflammation. Apply externally.
They are hardening off outside. Our last frost is May 15th, however I have seen snow here 11 out of 12 months of the year.

Universal Love

Do you remember when I said all kids where ever when ever love to ham it up.

Men love beeya no matter where you are as well.



and this man is no exception.

We learned proper clinking of the beeya bottles as well.....geez they gotta be so formal, even with beeya, I was getting a bit nervous about my not being so formal...clink the tops, clink the bottoms and then clink the tops AGAIN and say "your toast" and it could be as simple as "Thank God for cold beeya on hot day" then swig.

Daily bread...

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/

yes, everyday or so I check in.

The Devraes family is inspiration at its finest! Living where water restrictions abound in a semi arid region they manage to feed their family on 1/10th of an acre in American suburbia. Incredible!

Cheerio!

Purple Rain, Purple Rain

Now I know what that means!!

Have a great day, its sunny and going to be about 65 degrees today, utterly lovely!!
S.C.