Tag : frugal living

114 posts

201506/16

T Tuesday: something’s missing edition

Good morning all! Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday.

I’ve got my beverage…how about you? How is it that you never notice a dirty window or dusty surface until it’s displayed for anyone to see in a photo?? Early morning shots are the worst!! Ok…moving on.

I think a lot of you will recognize this view out our patio door…but something’s missing?!!

Shall I refresh your memory?

The playset is no more. That era is over. Mr. G took it down yesterday.

We still need to dig out the sand box and remove the remaining wood. We’ll need to do some fill of dirt and of course some grass seed for the bare patches. The plan is to put a fire pit in that area.

I just can’t believe how much bigger the yard looks!

I once again have a long to do list today although I don’t plan to go anywhere today. I’ve been avoiding a ton of paperwork but I’m going to have to tackle it today.

I did check one thing off my list already this morning though…

Patching my favorite shorts. They are getting so worn out. I don’t dare wear them any place but at home for fear they will split open or simply fall apart. I keep stitching together the rips but this spot needed a patch. Why not something cute!?! It was a scrap of embroidered linen I had trimmed off for another project.

What are you doing today??

Blog

frugal living, sewing, T Tuesday

15 Comments

halleday

201503/24

T Tuesday: update edition

T stands for Tuesday rolls around all too quickly each week! I feel like I’m playing catch up all the time.

I thought I’d give you a little update on life around here.

Not much has changed with the seeds I’ve started other than the view outside is a little white. We got about 4″ of snow which is actually good since we were under a red flag fire warning.

If you look really closely you can see a few little bits of green popping through the soil.

I also wanted to share about Little J’s surgery. It went really well. She is up and around almost as if nothing had ever happened. She is even going to school today a mere 3 days after knee surgery. Crazy!! Miracles of modern medicine and the resiliency of youth!!

What are you doing today?

Blog | Outdoors

frugal living, gardening, T Tuesday

11 Comments

halleday

201503/13

Scarf in pastel

I finally finished it!! This scarf has been on the needles for far too long.

I knit two yarns at the same time to make this the weight that I wanted. I got three skeins of the yarn at Goodwill for $2. I still have an entire skein left. I plan to wear it looped like this for a nice bulky look.

Blog

frugal living, knitting, yarn

4 Comments

halleday

201503/02

A second look: Fridge facelift

Today for the 2nd edition of Second on the 2nd I’d like to share with you a transformation that makes me happy each and everyday.

Original post from January 21, 2012 slightly tweaked to include updates:

So we have this old 20+ yr old fridge that just keeps humming along mechanically but cosmetically it was getting really nasty looking.

I used to keep papers, magnets and comics on it to cover as much as possible.
It was rusting from underneath the finish on the doors. I’m guessing that it was a manufacturing issue since the rest of it isn’t rusting at all.

I sanded all the rust and painted over it with Rustoleum paint.
I decided on dictionary pages to cover the fridge. My thought was…it’s got to be better than the way it looked before.

And in my opinion, it totally is!! I still need to put a couple coats of sealer on top so I can wipe it down as needed. I picked up the Golden polymer medium I used as glue in the recycle center reuse room for FREE!! Just two cheap foam brushes were purchased for this facelift.

Yes, I know we’ll eventually have to replace this beast but until then it’s definitely a conversation piece in my kitchen!!

In addition, I covered our recycling cabinet in the same manner. All I have left is a pantry cupboard on the other side of the kitchen to give the same treatment.

Fast, fun and frugal…nothing but good F words for this project.

Blog

frugal living, Second on the 2nd, upcycling

11 Comments

halleday

201409/30

T Tuesday: catching up edition

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday.

Do I dare say that I think our internet troubles are finally over? We haven’t had a reboot in almost 3 days now. Of course, we’ve hardly used the computer either since we’ve been so busy. Where shall I start?

Apples….

We helped with the annual harvest at our neighbors house on Saturday. We brought home 6 grocery bags of apples to be processed…a fraction of the total haul from their 7 trees.

Later that evening I went to a new neighborhood edition of craft club, where I made these 4 cards as well as got my stamp on the backs of a huge stack of previously made cards. I was pretty tired from the day and didn’t really have my craft mojo going.

Sunday was spent with Little J in the garage processing through the apples. They are organic so they have spots and holes so most need some trimming after being run through the peeler/corer/slicer. BIG JOB! So glad I had help this year. We ended up with about 15 gallons of apples ready for the next step.

So far I’ve made 7 quarts of sauce…

One pie…

An overstuffed quart bag of dried apple slices and three 8×8 apple crisps are in the freezer at the ready for future desserts. That was only about 1/2 the apples. More apple-ing today…

Last night I had a well deserved glass of wine.

Last week I finally got around to doing some creating…here’s a work-in-progress shot of a painting.

I’m a little late with my post today as I went for a walk with a friend around a local lake this morning. 4.25miles. It was a little brisk at times but as long as you keep moving it helps keep you warm.

What are you doing today?

Blog | Kitchen

apples, day in the life, frugal living, kitchen, painting, T Tuesday

12 Comments

halleday

201309/12

Soaping today

The garage is finally a comfortable temperature again so I got my soap making supplies out and made two batches this morning. The first was an unscented batch that I felt comfortable making again as it turned out well the first time around.

Next I decided to branch out a bit with new recipe, fragrance and an inclusion. I’d observed this soap being made by my friend Patty so I had a clue before starting.

The inclusion is oatmeal ground in my coffee grinder. I sprinkled a few oats on top of the mold so I’d be able to tell the two batches apart very easily. The oatmeal acts as a wonderful exfoliant and general grime fighter.

The molds are tucked away in the storage room waiting to be released from the molds in 24 hrs or so. I lifted the wool blanket a wee to show you the two batches. There was a lot of heat under there.

Blog | Crafts

frugal living, soap making

5 Comments

halleday

201306/11