Harvest Lane Cottage

Dear Reader, Welcome to Thrifty Week #23 at Harvest Lane Cottage.  It's been another busy week.  Aren't they all busy these days? Sometimes the thriftiest things you do are the things you don't do.  What we didn't do this week was go on vacation or smoke ribs or grill steaks. ~smile~  Saturday evening we went to the creek and cooled off after a long day at the cafe.  ~smile~  Lowell's father and brother enjoyed the peaceful creek with us.  Ah, the joys of living. Here we go! ~ I had my son plant my three little tomato plants.  I thought it was a sunny place, but the tree has more leaves on it now.  I can't remember if he planted them a week or two ago.  My accomplishment this week is making sure my mini-garden gets water. ~smile~  I have never grown anything.  I asked my husband to explain hoeing to me this morning. He's a Master Gardener but is too busy with Royal Delights, our cafe.  I'm sure this amused him. ...

Outside...      The drip drip drip of a lovely spring rain. This evening...      Sharing my recipes with my husband for our cafe. Thinking...       My children are growing up quickly.  I want to make memories with them this summer. I've been reading...       Out of the Ruins ... a novel set during the 1905 San Francisco earthquake       Modern Pioneering ... a non-fiction book about gardening, foraging, and cooking       The Circle Maker ... a book about praying boldly On the menu for this week... Monday:  Pizza Hut to the rescue! Tuesday:  Spaghetti Wednesday:   Eat at Church   Thursday:   Beef Stew  Friday:  Date night with my sweetheart.  Kids fend for themselves.  On my to do list...this week Mail a book that I sold with Homeschool Classifieds. Work at the cafe.  Work on school records. Organize my THM recip...

Hello ladies, Thank you so much for stopping in for a visit. Today's post is about reality. The reality of my life is that I've driven over two hundred miles since Monday... and I haven't gone anywhere. I have had to accept the reality that right now, I have two extra part-time jobs in addition to my work at home. First, I am the primary driver in the family. This includes to and from work, to and from appointments, to and from classes, to and from church, and to and from anything that must be done in town. We've never had a time like this in our life. Hopefully, the trips will be reduced when the 4-H fair is over at the beginning of July. Fortunately, school is almost finished, too. Second, I work part-time at the cafe during lunchtime as needed. I have to be on-call to run errands, too. It's been a hard adjustment for me. I haven't done it with the sweet spirit that I know God wants me to have. This has brought on a lot of guilt over how I feel an...

Dirty diapers, sleepless nights, teaching them to read, to pick up toys, to share, to love God and love others.  Dishes, laundry, dusting, picking up after them and with them. It's all worth it. I love my children. Laura  Blessed to be Momma to Four ~~~~~ May I suggest? On Being a Child ~~~~~

Photo by Emily Lane "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."   1 Timothy 4:12 NKJV ~~~~~ May I suggest? Who is Jesus? ~~~~~

Dear Sweet Reader, Another busy week at Harvest Lane Cottage and at Royal Delights Cafe and Bakery... It was a week of running errands, working lunchtimes at the cafe, homeschooling, and homemaking. ~  A stack of homemade crocheted dishcloths, a big bottle of dish soap, and a little candle in a teacup made a lovely shower gift for my friend this week. ~ I ordered some new review books. ~  I sterilized a jar, mixed together a cup of freshly ground rye flour and a cup of purified water.  I'm moving the mix to another sterilized bowl daily and adding another cup of rye flour and another cup of purified water.  If all goes well, in a few days I'll have sourdough starter to make Serene's Sourdough bread.  The recipe is in the  Trim Healthy Mama book. ~ Excellent garage sale hunting over the weekend.  A like-new pair of cowboy boots for my son, size 13.  He talked them down to $10!  New skirts for the Amy and Emily and lots ...

Father God, I pray that we, Your people who are called by Your name will humble ourselves before You; that we will pray to You and listen to You; that we will turn from our sins, our wicked ways, our apathy towards evil, our tolerance of sin. Father God, I ask you to turn the hearts of Your people toward You. Help us to sort through what is truth and what is fiction by comparing it always to your Son Jesus the Christ, Our Savior, and by comparing to Your Holy Living Word, the Bible. Father God, I ask for You to stir up in Your people a hunger and thirst for righteousness. Help us to be single-mindedly focused on You and what You want us to do, Your perfect will. 9 "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation,...

Isn't this just a lovely time of year?  My Amy loves to photograph nature.  I enjoy her artistic eye.  She sees things differently than Momma.  Isn't that just how life is? Baking:   - I want to make Serene's Sourdough Rye bread from the Trim Healthy Mama book.  It takes several days, so I plan to start early in the week. I think it takes a week or so to ferment.       I'm on target for baking next Tuesday. - I also want to make this lemon pie .     I've not gotten to it.  Maybe next week? Reading:   - I'm reading A Cast of Kings again.       Finished it! Sewing and Crocheting: - Mending       Sewed a button on a pair of trousers and let out a skirt. - Dishcloths for gifts       I'm working on them! Studying: - American History 2 by Dave Raymond for review purposes.       I watched one of the videos and looked at the Teacher's manual pdf...

Brides are showered with many lovely things in the weeks leading up to their weddings.  I enjoy seeing the beautiful gifts and seeing the bride's face light up in appreciation.  Having lived through some very hard times , I tend to be practical in my gifts.  While they don't always get the oohs and aahs that pretties get, they are appreciated and useful. For a simple yet helpful bridal shower gift, I crocheted a stack of dishcloths for my friend and included a large bottle of dish soap. She knows I care, because of the time I put into making the cloths. I know she has something she can really use and maybe enjoy , too. ~smile~ To crochet simple dishcloths:  Chain 21 then single crochet in the second chain.  Single crochet to end of row. *Chain one and turn.  Single crochet in the first stitch and continue to the end of the row.  Repeat from * until you have a square cloth.  It's 18 rows with my stitch tension.  Simple, but useful. ...

Source Unknown I actually thought about skipping my thrifty post this week.  It's been so busy with starting our new cafe and bakery . I've felt a bit discouraged in my thriftiness since I've not had time to devote to it.  I decided that I need to  Keep on the Sunny Side of Life , and do the best I can with what I've got, where I am, in the time I've got.  So, here's what I have done this week. ~ I determined that I will keep my expenses as low as possible during this start-up time.  Of course, I'll need to buy some things.  It's not to put a rule on myself but to help me keep in a frugal state of mind. ~ I mended a dress that will now give me another year of service. ~ We ate lots of leftovers. I hope this encourages some busy busy ladies to keep at it even when it's not easy.  Be blessed dear ladies!  God is our strength and our salvation. Laura A very busy little bee ~~~~~ You may enjoy... A Positive Rule fo...