Marty and I were making the bed the other day. Some people say that people who make their bed right when they get up are more likely to be successful. I don’t know about that but in the middle of making it here comes, completely out of nowhere, a word from my childhood on the Iowa farm. I ...

The stereopticon and how the postcard is insertedAn example of a postcard How to look through the viewfinder Long before we had television and all the electronic-based instruments we now have, people had to entertain themselves somehow. Can you imagine that? Some learned musical instruments. ...

Happy New Year everyone! Let's hope this an even better year for fun, learning and adventure!Let's get to it!Recently, I got fed up with trying to cram all my bracelets into my jewelry box. It just wasn't working! As a crazy old lady, I feel that it's my time to shamelessly strut my stuff and ...

My husband's family has French on his dad's side just like I do. They have two recipes that were traditionally made at Christmas that I love, too. They are definitely not haute cuisine. They are substantial, hearty and made for hard work on the farm in winter. Neither one is difficult to make. ...

My wonderful Gramma E. holding my cousin.When I was a kid, every Christmas we got a giant box of goodies in the mail from my Gramma E. There was so much stuff in there we kids went nuts! Once she made Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls. Another time she made sock monkeys. Then, down in the bottom, was ...

Sam relaxes in the sun by the creek.I volunteer at a local animal shelter. We have dogs and cats, pigs and chickens, horses and sheep. I think we even had an emu once! Every day people come in to look for their next pet, which is a wonderful thing. Unless you have a specific need for a special ...

In the Central Valley of California, my roses and I are subjected to hot summer temperatures, which leave both of us a little worse for wear. This past summer it was over 100 degrees for 70 days out of the 90 days of June, July and August. I know. I kept track. The bad part is this: when it ...

Here's one of our incredible sago palms near our front door. We have two big ones. This is the biggest. As you can also see, there's a lot of vegetation near the base. Those are the sago palm's children huddled up around the base of mom. Upon looking, I observed that I had some teenagers in ...

Photo by Getty Images/FotoCuisinetteI love to try growing new things. I love to grow the tried-and-true things, too. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but I always learn something new. Recently, I started thinking about what new plant I could try that would work well for my climate ...

Dear readers, It's been a while since I've posted. I've missed you! I can only say that putting up a brand new homestead from (nearly) scratch is a lot of work. Especially if you have a day job like I do. However, things have simmered down and now I hope to post on a regular basis. I have so ...

The two wires I held loosely in my hands quivered. As I walked slowly forward, they began to sway back and forth. In a flash they crossed and stayed crossed. I stopped and backed up a few steps. They uncrossed. A few steps forward and again they crossed. A palpable sense of energy was there, ...

How do you know it's the first day of spring in orchard country?If you said, "Look at the calendar and see what's written there," you would, unfortunately, be wrong. You might also say something like, "Well, it's the first day of spring when the bees are buzzing and the trees start to bloom." ...

My mother frequently made a simple macaroni dish during my childhood. She called it "slumgullion," and we kids gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow.I don't know where my mom got this recipe, and unfortunately she's gone, so I went to the internet and looked to see what I could find about ...

My husband, dear one that he is, comes down most decidedly on the side of practicality in almost every situation. For example, for years he has been using lighter fluid to start our woodstove fires. It's cheap and readily available. In our drafty, old, mobile home when we lived on the ranch, I ...

We went to Santa Maria the other day. It's nice to be able to go to the coast, even when it's not hot. There's something about that great, big, huge ocean that soothes the soul. While we were there, I had to get some poquito beans. Now that we don't live up north next to Anna and Ed, I have no ...