Harvest Lane Cottage

Hints of Fall are showing up early here and there... Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino in the gas station drink dispenser Pumpkin Spice Creamer in the stores I saw one maple tree in town that has already turned mostly red! That's unseasonably early. We've had more rain lately and a break in the heat. That's the only reason I can think of that it might have had a jump start on the other trees. We also have sprigs of lilacs blooming! Nature doesn't know which way to turn! The leaves aren't falling yet, but the tree looked like this kind. Pinterest is already going crazy with fall inspiration. I've already been contacted with a couple of offers to review Christmas items. The first review will be in the next week or so.  My favorite Christmas book is one I reviewed a couple years called An Endless Christmas  by Cynthia Ruchti .  My bank had fall decorations on the counter and a jack-o-lantern dancing figure on the shelf. I told them it was t...

Hello!   Sometimes you find a tip that is just so good you've got to share it. I've decided to do so on Tuesdays. If you have a tip to share, please do so in the comments!    Today's tip is tried and true. We've lived in our home for nearly nine years now. It's an old bungalow style house that needs lots of work. Calling it a cottage makes me feel better about that. ~smile~ Over the years we've had lots of trouble with ants in the kitchen. I don't like creepy crawlies! That usually means a call to the exterminator and a check for $70. This summer, money's pretty tight.   A few weeks ago , I shared a link to a do-it-yourself ant poison. It worked great. I wanted to share the link with you again, because it really worked. The little critters showed up again yesterday, so I had my daughter (20) mix up a small batch and set it out on the counter for their dining pleasure. Ooh sounds like something out of a murder mystery! ANT POISON  T he...

Breast cancer treatment has dominated my life since I found the lump April 22, 2017.  I completed my first round of chemo in September last year. Chemotherapy was one of the hardest things I’ve lived through. I had a bilateral mastectomy with lymph node removal and reconstruction in October 2017.  I didn’t heal well from the surgery, but they did get all the cancer.  “No cancer in the lymph nodes and in the margins” is how they put it. They won’t declare me cancer free, but I am in remission.  The incisions finally healed just in time for radiation. Radiation was quite an ordeal. I had to be treated every day. I left the house every day regardless of the weather at 8:45 to drive about twenty minutes for a treatment that lasted about five minutes. I did this alone for seven weeks. I cannot explain how it felt to lie beneath a machine that looks like a Kitchenaid mixer that has the power to heal or to destroy. One morning, my treatment was delayed because of a...

Counting from preschool, this is my twenty-fifth year of homeschooling. We have three high school graduates and one junior. Back when I started, in the 1990's, resources were significantly less available than they are to today's homeschoolers.  For the Children's Sake, The Christian Home School, and The Successful Homeschool Family were some of the first books I read on home education. Together they sparked a vision in me for a different way to educate. I also read many reviews and books by Karen Andreola. She introduced me to Mother Culture and Charlotte Mason's real books based learning . Her book A Charlotte Mason Companion is an excellent introduction to the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling.  Mrs. Andreola was very influential in my life through her writing. She showed me a beautiful picture of what life could be like in A Pocketful of Pinecones. She now writes a blog at Moments with Mother Culture that is so good, I chose it to read from the beginning...

  Just a little update on how I'm doing.  I feel better than while I was in radiation and Herceptin treatments, but this whole process has left me feeling pretty run down. I knit on Tuesday nights with one of my chemo nurses. I asked her about it and a couple other things. She thinks that one of the meds I'm on contributes to the general "not feeling good" feeling, aches and tiredness. Unfortunately, I'll be taking this med for at least 4 1/2 more years.  I'll have to try to figure out how to rebuild my health so that I can feel as good as possible. I just feel so tired, I don't know how I'll find the energy. ~grin~  Since I'm done with my last chemo treatment, I do expect I'll continue to improve. With God, nothing is impossible. I will just keep on keeping on and keep on praying and trusting Jesus.   Thanks to all who pray for me! Laura

Thrifty Things Lately at Harvest Lane Cottage! ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~ Dear Readers,   The challenge to save money is never ending it seems. Sometimes we take a break, but the challenge just waits for us to embrace it again. As we approach school starting again, do any of you have any suggestions for keeping the back-to-school costs down for either homeschooling or traditional schooling families?  God bless!  Laura ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~ Here's how my family has been thrifty lately. My new friend, Phyllis, is going to help me learn to make socks that fit. As it turned out, the cable was coming out of one of my needles. Just out of curiosity, I called Knit Picks. Kara, a real person, answered the phone after a couple rings! They no longer sell my wooden needles, but with only my name and address, she was able to confirm that I bought them directly from the company. She told me she'd replace them with the color I preferred! I chose the Majestic need...