Slow Living Monthly 9

May has almost been an overload of happenings here on the scant 1/2 acre!  We became grandparents for the first time, were getting ready for our trip to California to see the new celebrity (granddaughter), and getting the garden in and trying to keep the weeds out!  This link up has become one of my favorite things to do each month so please follow the link back and check out what the others have been doing as well.

Hubby's wildflower pot

Nourish - Not sure that Chocolate chip cookies and Oatmeal cookies count technically as 'nourishing' (except for the soul!)  but I made about 6 dozen cookies worth of dough to take on our trip to see the kids.  I froze it and put it in the cooler with ice for traveling. It is cooking from scratch though! (grin)They all also got their semi-annual stock up on pickles etc.

Prepare - Since we were trying to travel without going over on the monthly budget, we decided that this was a good month to look at our emergency (earthquake, snowstorm, ice storm, any reason we couldn't get to the store) food stores and rotate out the stuff that had gotten a little old or past the 'use by' dates.  This is a really important part of being prepared for life's disasters - we just usually make sure it coincides with a month that we are trying to be especially frugal!  Killing two birds so to speak

The center is the old fabric

Reduce - This month this category became re-use.  I crocheted a hat and blanket set for Miss Lily and then I also made myself a new purse.  On the hat I used a button from the huge stash of vintage buttons (some from the 30's) my late mother in law gave me, it gives the hat a vintage aspect and also

my friend did awesome embroidery work for me

something from a ggrandma this little girl will never know.  For the purse I used fabric I purchased in 1982, started a jacket and then got pregnant -  the jacket was not finished and has been laying in a pile all these years, the floral is new from Wal Mart (on sale - $1.29/yd) and the green is the oldie from the stash.  The brooch from my vintage jewelry collection.

OK it's a little large but by football season.....

Green - Nothing really new here, I have a goal of getting rid of all the commercial cleaners but it is still just a goal.

this years salsa crop :)

Grow - The garden is just exploding.  The tomatoes have already started looking kind of rainforest-y (?) The black beans have come up but not the greens - go figure.  The corn is about a foot tall already and I will see how this goes growing it in 2 ft squares. I also managed to take 4 bundles of herbs (mint, lemon balm, oregano and thyme) to my son the guy who will try anything and loves cooking organic and whole foods, I must admit that it is a cool thing to take something for him and have him be so excited.

Create - Someday I will develop the knack of doing things ahead of time! (not!) I spent May finishing up all the projects I had going for Miss Lily for months!  I did make a really cute pair of 'gladiator' sandals to go with the hat and blanket and I think they came out really well.  It was my first attempt to make something I had in my head without a pattern and I am pleased with the result. 

These were so cute I almost pinched them

Discover - This month my new YouTube addiction moved me on to "Terry Jones - Medieval lives".  If the name sounds familiar he was one of the Monty Python troupe and a historian.  This series then is real history with a humorous side, it was fascinating!

Enhance - So... I mentioned in an earlier blog that I was going to start another blog for my family history and the stories that I had found, and I did that.  I had not even gotten around to telling family members (the only ones I thought would be interested) and I already have 3 followers and have been featured as a new genealogy blog on two sites that highlight new blogs once a month!  I'm pretty sure that Pulitzer prize is not that much nearer my grasp, but I am a happy camper anyway!

Stained glass window in the mirror in the dining room

Enjoy -  The girls and I went to the 'Morrison House' auction walk through, we got to see all the stuff Velma Morrison had in her mansion that was going on sale including a 6 carat diamond ring.  (Her husband was the builder on things like the Hoover Dam and the Oakland Bay bridge.)  Fun day (we included the Chinese buffet!) and interesting history.  We all also commented on the fact that no matter how wealthy and fancy your life, when you die there are strangers going through your stuff and making comments - we were very motivated to keep down the clutter in our own homes when we got done!







 Remember to check out all the other blogs in this link up