Books, Bedlam, and A Lively Hope

At Home this week

10:17, Thursday, March 27, 2008 .. Posted in Small Homemaking .. 4 comments .. Link

On the table: Slow-cooked black beans and pork, cabbage slaw with toasted sesame seeds, raisin pie.

In the garden: My irises look lean, like onion grass. It's making me nervous. In other news, we've been discussing locations for the vegetable garden, and it may end up being where the soil is least moist due to the presence of an enormous black walnut tree which casts its bounty on all of the good soil. In case you didn't know, those black walnuts (which we'll harvest next October) will blight your garden and pollute your soil. So...we may just have to put the garden in the desert portion of our property and irrigate like crazy.

Around the house: I've given up. Okay, not completely, but I have given up on treating this property as our future dream home and planning on how to one day decorate it and make it livable for our family. With our plans for the future in mind, this home is simply a commodity to be renovated and resold in about five years, and our real hope lies in turning a profit. This has been an incredibly freeing adjustment in attitude. I no longer fret about the future placement of every little thing, or bother to spend money for things the house will need at some theoretical future time. Basically, I just want to keep the living area clean, grow, cook, and store some food, plant some flowers, and focus on the daily tasks of living. It's just about getting by day-to-day, and it's very, very simple.

On the nightstand: A terribly torn and misshapen letter chewed by our puppy. Oh, and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman, which contains some very interesting and economical recipes.

Just wondering: When you add up your monthly food costs to see what you spent on groceries, do you or don't you count non-grocery items?

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Untitled Comment

11:42, Thursday, March 27, 2008 .. Posted by Schatzi
Love the photo on your post....

Connie

**Thanks Connie, me too!***

Edited by Mennobrarian on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 09:34

Untitled Comment

11:00, Friday, March 28, 2008 .. Posted by haflinger
On the table your dinner sounds good.. About your Iris is it the first year they are done this? and what kind of puppy do you have?
I don't usually add non items cause I buy allot things when things are on sale..
Have a nice day..
Blessings Sister BRenda

***Hi Brenda! Yes, this is the first year for the irises, though they are looking a little meatier today. Maybe when the bulbs were purchased it was some lean variety of iris and I never bothered to check! Anyway, both of our dogs are mixed breeds. When people ask what kind of puppy we have, I usually say "a naughty one!" Have a good weekend! ~Monica~*****

Edited by Mennobrarian on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:21

Untitled Comment

11:13, Friday, March 28, 2008 .. Posted by gabbie427
Sounds like dinner is going to be yummy!!!! I read blogs like yours and hope and pray some day we will have a property that we can plant a garden on.

When we figure groceries we figure in the essentials of household items. We stock up on toothpaste, toliet paper (disposable diapers), light bulbs, etc. when we can. We don't buy them every month, so when we do, that months bill is a little higher.

God's Blessings,
Amy Jo

***Thanks, Amy Jo! This makes me feel so much better about February's grocery bill, which was higher but included stocking up for household essentials like toilet paper and such. It just made me think that since those aren't items we buy every month, some months will have an unfair advantage over others.***

Edited by Mennobrarian on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:24

Hi

12:26, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 .. Posted by MyThreeDaughters
Lovely to come across your blog. We bought a new house to be debt free. They we considered selling it or renting it out. I admire you being able to do those things. I think I chickened out, but dh does want to move there to grow food. We have been watching TV shows from England like Property Ladder and others.

I have added you to my friends list.