Article Archives

Voluntary Simplicity & Simple Living

• I THINK Spring Is Finally Here....
• What Living in the Moment Means To Me
• I Think Contentment is Almost a Default Characteristic
• That Sense of Balance
• Overcoming the Paralysis of Too Much Analysis
• One In, One Out vs. Purging for a Reason
• The Wood-Burning Cook Stove In My Kitchen
• Visual Proof That Nothing Is Impossible
• Procrastinating is a Habit... Nothing More
• When You Give The Gift Of A Smile
• Have We Forgotten There is Value in Stillness... and Silence?
• A Simplicity Anyone Can Live With
• Some Thoughts About Voluntary Simplicity
• Why Would Anyone Deliberately Choose a Simple Life?
• Keeping a Photograph... Purging the Item
• Seeing The Beauty That Is Already There
• It's The Simple Things That Count
• Some Thoughts About Staying Motivated
• Sometimes It Takes a Closer Look
• But I Think an Intangible Something Has Been Lost
• There Is No One Way To Do Simple Living Right
• A Simple Country Life
• What Voluntary Simplicity Is NOT
• Why We Chose Voluntary Simplicity — Sometimes There Is No Tomorrow
• What is the Difference Between Simple Living & Voluntary Simplicity?
• The Importance of Learning To Care
• LESS Stuff Doesn't Equal Happiness Either
• Appreciating the "Now" of My Life

Sensible Frugality

• The Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 -- Fruits, Vegetables and Pesticide Residue (Updated for 2023)
• How Much Does It Cost to Feed YOUR Family? (Updated for February 2023)
• Does Frugality Mean You Shouldn't Have Nice Things?
• What True Frugality Is... and What It Is Not
• Can Credit Cards Be Used Responsibly?

Doing It Ourselves

• This Is Our Stone Path
• Why Mark Shields Never Looked So Good!
• Our Garden Paths
• Our Experimental 100% Leaf Mold Gardens
• Yes You CAN Learn To Do It Yourself
• We Should Have Wondered Where All Those Rocks Came From!
• How We Removed an Enormous Tree Stump
• Somewhat More Intimidating Than the Usual Do-It-Yourself Project
• Our Search For a Firewood Source Continues...
• How We Make Leaf Mold
• My Handmade Soap
• Digging Another Pond By Hand
• Our Hand Dug Backyard Pond
• The Final Cut and Summer Memories
• What Our Finished Compost Looks Like
• Our Load of Logs — A Progress Report
• A Truckload of Logs — Our Winter Firewood Supply
• More Leaf Mold in the Making — It's Starting To Heat Up

Simply Personal

• The Apple Trees in Our Meadow... Heirloom or Wild?
• Where Did the Summer Months Go?
• Sloshing Our Way Through Summer
• Yes, We Do Know It's There
• Want To Talk Bird About It?
• Lost On The Schoolbus
• What Do YOU See?
• A Downside to Our Rural Life
• Except For Those Two Times When We Dug Up Something Else...
• The Joys of Rural Mail Delivery
• And Sure Enough, It Was
• Two Spools, Some Knots & a Short Piece of Rope
• Coping with a Power Outage
• Do I Really Want Another Dishwasher?
• So If There is a Plus Side to this Whole Unfortunate Incident...
• Why There Are No Old Bold Mushroom Hunters
• A Little Too Close For Comfort
• This Winter Has Been Something Else
• Involuntary Tunnel Vision?
• Everyone Agreed It Was Past Time For a Rest
• 14 Things Unique To Me
• It WILL Stop Snowing... Won't It?
• Change Happens Really Fast Sometimes
• Our Absolutely Amazing Fall
• Buttons, Buttons, Who's Got the Buttons?
• Not Exactly What I Had Planned To Do Today...
• A Credit for the Inconvenience Caused by this Order
• I Hope She Didn't Try To Eat Them...
• Reactions, Recalls, and a Red Fox Move
• About This Blog (And About Me) FAQ
• What Happened When The Town Clerk Made A Mistake
• Our Uninvited Midnight Visitor
• The Mystery Of Duck Duck Goose
• I'm So Glad Today Is Friday
• Childhood Memories
• The Beginning of the End of This Temporary Chaos
• We Are Stranded
• All Things Confusion
• I'm Hoping They're Wrong
• For One of Us It Is a Totally Relaxing Experience
• Digging Eight Quarts of Dandelions
• One Year Ago Today...
• After the Storm — Day 3
• Can You Tell I'm Really, Really, REALLY Looking Forward to Spring?
• It's a Blizzard Out There
• Our Austrian Mushroom-Hunting Friend Has Survived Another Year
• Playing the "Let's Blame Anna" Game
• A Stove By Any Other Name
• I'm Sorry But I Can't Hear You
• When I Woke Up This Morning...
• How To Teach a Bird To Talk
• Will the Squeaking Wheel Finally Get Some Grease?
• The Vet, the Economy & Our Ferocious Dog
• Life is Getting Back to Normal
• It Was a Very Long Night
• Frugality for the Birds?
• Tomatoes From My Garden On Christmas Day
• A Mother's Thoughtfulness
• Farewell, Old House

My Creative Pursuits

• The Tiny Little Sweaters I've Been Knitting
• From Old Stove Base To Cast Iron Sempervivum Planter
• Fall, Gathering Grapevines & Weaving Baskets
• My Reversible Basket Weave Knit Afghan
• A Trip Around the World Quilt... x 2
• My Creative Chaos Is Still Alive and Well
• A Mock Cable Fisherman Knit Afghan
• My Knitted "Feather & Fan" Afghans
• Special Words in Cross Stitch

How To's & General Information

• Produce, E. Coli, Bacteria, and You
• The Lifespan of Appliances
• "Recipe" for Homemade Powdered Sugar
• An Easier Way to Clean Oven Racks
• Common Sense, Good Hygiene... and the Flu
• Are Your Hands Clean Enough?
• Cleaning With Vinegar
• Freezing Raw Tomatoes?
• How Long Should Food Be Left in the Freezer?
• Hanging Bags of Water... Do They Really Keep Flies Away?
• How Many Servings of Fruit and Vegetables Should Your Family Eat?
• An Amazing Natural Wood Stove Cleaner and Polisher
• My Winter Herb Garden
• How To Save Tomato Seeds For Planting Another Year
• How To Season Cast Iron Cookware
• Germination and Growing Information for Vegetables
• Shining Stainless Steel with Flour !?!
• A Recipe for a Natural Cough Syrup
• Jewelweed for Poison Ivy — Does It Work?
• My One Piece Long-Handled Spoons
• Getting Rid of Ants the Natural Way
• How To Roast Garlic
• Arsenic in Rice — How Concerned Are You?
• An Easier Way to Wash Dishes
• Equivalent Measurements For Fruit
• Equivalent Measurements For Vegetables
• Irradiating The Food Supply
• Dehydrating Fruits
• Equivalent Measurements For Herbs & Spices
• Equivalent Measurements For Beans & Nuts
• Equivalent Measurements For Meat & Dairy
• Equivalent Measurements For Miscellaneous
• Freezing Apples For Pies
• An Easier Way To Separate an Egg
• Another Green Cleaning Solution That Really Works
• Do You Still Want To Shake Hands?
• Don't Touch That Shopping Cart!
• How To Make Your Own Italian Seasoning Mix
• How I Make Garlic Powder
• Shelf Life of the Staples in Your Pantry
• 4 Unique Tips For Removing Garlic Odor From Your Hands
• Ingredient Substitutions For Baking

My Country Gardens

• What Do Bleeding Hearts Look Like When They First Come Up in the Spring?
• Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata hortensia)
• What Has Happened to My Rhododendron?
• The "Something" That Has Been Eating Our Cucumbers
• Pulmonaria (Pulmonaria saccharata)
• Common Primrose (Primula vulgaris)
• Money Plant (Lunaria annua)
• Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
• Lamb's Ear (Stachys lanata)
• I Think I've Already Lost the Foxglove Battle
• What Do Bleeding Heart Seeds Look Like?
• The Lupines Growing Wild at the Edge of Our Woods
• Bridal Wreath (Spiraea x vanhouttei)
• Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)
• Sunshine Columbine (Aquilegia x caerulea)
• Can You Tell Me What This Is?
• Did My Siberian Squill Survive?
• Starting More Hollyhocks from Seed
• Growing Hollyhocks the Easy Way
• The Peppermint I Planted Doesn't Smell Like Peppermint
• Growing Heucheras From Seed
• Flowering Almond (Prunus glandulosa)
• How Do You Suppose THAT Happened?
• Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
• Coral Bells (Heuchera)
• Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale)
• Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)
• Common Foxglove (Digitalis)
• Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium)
• What Flowers Are Blooming In My Garden?
• Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)
• What Are We Dealing With Here?
• Fringed Polygala (Polygala paucifolia)
• Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
• The Same Celery Plants, Year After Year
• Alpine Columbine (Aquilegia alpina)
• Common Sage (Salvia officinalis)
• Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)
• Leopard's Bane (Doronicum orientale)
• Micro Tom, the "Smallest Tomato Plant in the World"
• Our Traveling Orange Day Lilies
• Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)
• What Does Bee Balm Look Like in the Spring?
• Growing & Harvesting Garlic
• Primroses Blooming In The Snow
• Still Loving My Hollyhocks

Hostas in My Gardens

• What Do Hostas Look Like When They First Come Up in the Spring?
• How Many Days After the Last Snow Melt Should Gardeners Begin to Look for Hostas?
• Growing Hostas From Seed
• Hosta 'Lancifolia'
• Hosta 'Tattoo'
• My Hosta Sports
• Hosta 'Shade Fanfare'
• One More Reason I'm Glad I Don't Cull Volunteer Hosta Seedlings
• Finally... Some Streaked and Speckled Seedlings from My Revolution Hostas
• Can They Still Be Considered Seedlings at This Size and Age?
• Hostas, Slugs, Iron Phosphate... and a Dilemma
• What Do Hosta Flowers Look Like?
• How To Harvest Hosta Seeds
• Hosta 'Northern Exposure'
• Do Hostas Seed Themselves?
• My Surprise Streaked Hosta Seedlings
• How I Divide A Hosta
• Hosta 'June' And Its Seedling
• Hostas I Have Grown From Seed
• Hosta 'Twilight'
• Hosta 'Tokudama Aureonebulosa'
• The Hostas in My Gardens
• Hosta 'Christmas Tree'
• Hosta 'Ground Master'
• Hosta 'So Sweet'
• Hosta 'Queen Josephine'
• Hosta 'Golden Tiara'
• Hosta 'Honeybells'
• Hosta 'Regal Splendor'
• Hosta 'Sum and Substance'
• Hosta 'Undulata Albomarginata'
• Hosta 'Fire and Ice'
• Hosta 'Summer Joy'
• Hosta 'Great Expectations'
• Hosta 'Krossa Regal'
• Hosta 'Halcyon'
• Hosta 'June'
• Hosta 'Gold Standard'
• Hosta 'Guacamole'
• Hosta 'Undulata Univittata'
• Hosta 'Patriot'
• Hosta 'Cherry Berry'
• Hosta 'Revolution'

Sempervivum (Hens & Chicks)

• Propagating Jovibarba heuffelii
• Is It Possible That They Actually Are As Healthy Now As They Look?
• Three Sempervivum Hybrids... or Just One?
• There Was a Package in Our Mailbox Today
• Sempervivum Flowers & Growing Sempervivum From Seed
• Hens & Chickens (Sempervivum tectorum)
• Sempervivums in Shades of Red
• Cobweb Houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum)
• Oddity With Tubes or Oddity With Blades?
• Sempervivum 'Purdy's 70-40'
• Sempervivum tectorum 'Oddity'
• One of Nature's Small Miracles
• When "Have a Nice Day" Just Wasn't Enough
• The Destruction of My Sempervivums

Woodland & Meadow Perennials

• Hepatica americana... Our First Sign of Spring
• How To Grow Jack-in-the-Pulpit From Seeds
• Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)
• Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)
• Bluets (Houstonia caerulea)
• Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
• Is It Common Fleabane... Eastern Daisy Fleabane... or Robin's Plantain Fleabane?
• Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
• Starflower (Trientalis borealis)
• Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia)
• Looking for Blooms
• Wild Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
• Dogtooth Violet (Erythronium americanum)
• Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema atrorubens)
• Bluebead Lily (Clintonia borealis)
• Canadian Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Enjoying Nature

• What Are the Odds?
• Eastern American Toad (Bufo americanus americanus)
• A Sitting Duck and a Noisy FedEx Delivery
• A Prickly Situation
• A Plethora of Mushrooms
• Seriously... Doesn't That Look Like a Smile?
• A Toad in the Hand
• And That's a Warning We Take Very Seriously!
• Can Toads Climb Trees?
• Except For That One Year and That One Heron...
• Sometimes When You Feel You're Being Watched... You Are!
• Wolf Spiders in the Garden
• It Will Be Interesting To See What Type of Frog They Turn Out To Be
• Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
• This Really Makes Me Angry
• White-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
• Just Passing Through... We Hope!
• A Life Worth Saving
• Why Bumblebees Buzz
• It Just Doesn't Stop Growing...
• How To Tell If A Frog Is Male Or Female
• How Bees Collect Pollen
• Tiny Eastern American Toads
• Tricolored Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius)
• Is It a Frog, a Bullfrog, or a Toad?
• I'm Sure There's a Story in There Somewhere
• Old Mr. Toad
• When Wild Turkeys Come to Visit
• There's a Bear in Our Bird Feeder
• What Happened to All the Birds?
• Eastern Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
• Little Acorn... Mighty Oak?
• A Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder That Really Is

Antiques & Simple Treasures

• My White Ironstone China Pitcher — J.&G. Meakin
• Hazel Atlas Ovide Platonite Dinnerware
• Blue and White Soap Dish — Greenwood China Company
• There's a Pig in Our Garden
• Two Little Teapots, One Is Fiestaware, One Is... Not
• English Breakfast Marmalade Jar Kix Cereal Promotions — Hazel Atlas Jam Jars
• Vintage Hazel Atlas Jam Jars — Strawberry, Pineapple & Apple
• My Blanchard Butter Mold
• An Unintentional Collection
• Antique Stoneware Rolling Pin, Blue Wildflower Design
• Pure Food Sanitary Cooking Ware
• Welded Metal Garden Dogs
• Neu Deel Cookin Ware
• Swans Down Cake Pan
• The Prize Butter Churn
• Ford China Company Antique Pitcher & Bowl
• The Mister & the Missus
• My 1902 Antique Baby Nurser

Glimpse into the Past

• A Little Book About Law and Life, Circa 1881
• How To Boil a Potato Perfectly, Circa 1880
• What Did People Earn in 1860?
• "Any Citizen of the United States Has the Recognized Right of Paying His Respects to the President"
• How To Take a Bath, Circa 1884
• New England's Dark Day — May 19, 1780
• Prices for 1860, 1872, 1878 and 1882 — Groceries, Provisions, Dry Goods & More
• Prices from the 1899 Sears, Roebuck Grocery Lists
• What Did Things Cost in 1860?
• The Year Without a Summer
• What Did Things Cost in 1872?
• Dr. Rose's French Arsenic Complexion Wafers — 1902 Sears Roebuck Catalog
• Why Very Old Recipes Often Seem Incomplete
• How To Do Laundry, Circa 1880

Inspiration for the Soul

• What Is A Home?
• The Impact of Attitude on Life
• The Spring Will Come
• Bring Love Into Your Home...
• Autumn is the Eternal Corrective
• The Noble Art of Leaving Things Undone
• This Is How It Is
• The Essentials of Happiness
• If You Love What You Are Doing...
• Happiness... and Harmony
• Being Rushed Along with the Rush
• The First Day of Spring?
• Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life
• The Most Valuable Things in Life
• A Matter for Each Individual to Settle for Himself
• This Is My Symphony
• 'Tis Easy Enough To Be Pleasant...
• A Friend Is...
• How Far You Go In Life...
• The Day Your Life Really Begins
• The Years Teach Much...
• But of Little Things...
• Note That This Journey is Uniquely Yours
• The Future Lies Before You
• Not From the Power of Possession...
• We Tend To Forget That Happiness...
• "I Believe That the Very Purpose of Life..."
• Learn to Enjoy Every Minute of Your Life
• Success, Like Happiness, Cannot Be Pursued
• Keep Close to Nature's Heart
• This Is To Have Succeeded
• Happiness Is the Result of My Decision to Be Happy
• Write It On Your Heart That Every Day is the Best Day in the Year
• The Promise of Each New Day
• What If You Gave Someone a Gift...
• Don't Wait Until Everything Is Just Right
• When You Arise in the Morning...
• As Long As You Derive Inner Help and Comfort...
• You Have Succeeded in Life When...
• What Is Success?
• When We Stop Stuffing the World with Things
• You Must First Be Who You Really Are
• There is a Place That YOU Are to Fill...
• Many People Will Walk In and Out of Your Life...
• It Will Always Lead To Something Else...
• They May Forget What You Said...
• Just Because They're Not on Your Road...
• Wherever You Go, There You Are
• With An Open And Grateful Heart
• The Realization of How Much You Already Have
• The Potential to Turn a Life Around
• Our Happiness or Unhappiness Depends...
• When We Are Unable To Find Tranquility...
• There Are Only Two Ways To Live Your Life
• In Any Moment of Decision...
• Seeming To Do Is Not Doing
• Happiness Is... Not
• The Rewards Of The Simple Life
• If We Had No Winter...
• What Comes First in Your Life, the Compass or the Clock?
• A Definition of Happiness
• Cares Will Drop Off Like Autumn Leaves
• Nobody Trips Over Mountains
• Success Is Simple
• Enjoy the Little Things
• "Kindness Is Like Snow"
• Involve Me and I Learn
• Precious as Autumn Sunshine
• When I Hear "Life is Hard"...
• For Our Overburdened Spirits
• Don't Miss Your Share of Happiness
• The Question Is Not What You Look At
• ... Maybe Your Soul Has Never Been in Bloom
• Is It So Small a Thing?
• It Is the Time for Home
• Comfort on Difficult Days
• The Best Thinking Has Been Done in Solitude
• Peace Amid the Storm
• "Going Out, I Found, Was Really Going In"
• The Best Things in Life
• A Road Less Traveled By
• An Old New England Proverb
• Happiness Comes From Within
• Happiness Is as a Butterfly...
• Every Flower is a Soul