Wednesday's Wisdom

When you buy a house with an established garden, photograph the emerging plants so you'll remember where things are and you can plan to add or subtract accordingly.

Just read that . . . somewhere . . . maybe a blog post recently. Anyway. It's good advice and I went out this morning and took a few photos.

Ferns (and junk trees) on the south side of the house.

More junk that needs to be replaced

Tulips by the lamp post (which does not work) and shrubs infiltrated by junk trees that are all coming out!

These are such a bright color it doesn't photograph well with my little camera.

Volunteer junk tree at the foundation at back of the house.

You can see that Spring has sprung here in Minnesota. I was hoping for more flowers, but the tulips are all we got. Now I know what I need to plant in the fall. Along with the long term plans for the house, I have a ten year plan for the yard. I want to fill it with new shade trees, flowering shrubs, flower beds, and fruit trees. But before I can put in anything new, all the old has to be taken out and felling trees comes first.

Monday's Motivation

Could it be that Spring is here?

The snow is shrinking!

Almost gone!

Buds on the Lilac

South side of the house is completely free of snow.

After I took these photos I did some clean up and took most of the downed branches to a pile for the county compost.

Frugal Round Up

I could keep posting pictures of our weekly snowstorms, but that's just boring. I'm not sure what the date is; the calendar says April 16, but the weather and landscape say "February 75th".

I kept a list of all (or most) of the frugal things I did last week so I could at least feel that I was making progress.

In no particular order:

Combined errands on one day: bank, store, P.O., etc.

Used the end of the pot roast, and rinsed out a finished salsa bottle to simmer in the crock pot to make beef burritos.

Made cards from card stock and pages from last year's Sandra Boynton's page a day calendar.

Took drinks (water for me, Cokes for TopDad) with us on our trip to the Twin Cities.

Stuck to my menu plan.

Stuck to my grocery shopping list. Took my own bags for $.05 off each bag.

While the temperature was well above freezing I turned off the space heater on the enclosed porch where Calico the Cat lives. (I had to turn it back on when the temps dropped.)

I didn't renew my Amazon Prime.

We didn't renew our Sam's Club membership because we don't use it often enough to justify the cost.

Added leftover canned corn to a pot of chili. (Yummy!)

Since the New Year I have attempted to get into a good weekly routine but even with all our children gone there seem to be plenty of interruptions that get me off schedule. I'll keep trying!

What have you done lately to use resources wisely, save money or otherwise be frugal, thrifty, and provident?

Is It Spring Yet?

Apparently not!

Monday's Motivation

Timothy, my fifth "son"

"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell and to enliven the soul."  (Doctrine and Covenants 59:18-19)    

Thank you, God, for all the beauties of the earth! My soul is enlivened at last.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Springtime

I spent a few minutes outside today in the garden, such as it is. I cleared the beds around my tulips and soaked up a little sunshine. In between the tulips are hostas and violets, but as you can see they aren't up yet.

Around the base of the huge maple tree.

North bed by the front porch

This afternoon I got a phone call from Dr. Hair requesting a photographer for when he arrived home from school. This is the teenage transport:

The Summermobile!

Dr. Hair is the gent in the maroon shirt. I think teenage boys are great! I gave the truck the name of Summermobile and the boys had a good laugh.