Harvest Lane Cottage

THE LONG AWAITED FALL BUCKET LIST 2021   Happy Fall Dear Reader!    It's beginning to look and feel like fall around here. Finally! We've had a few very chilly nights. A few of the maples are showing their first blush of red at the tops.   If you've been around for a bit, you know that I'm running quite  late with sharing my Fall Bucket List. I had surgery a couple of weeks ago. I'm healing now and ready to make my plans!  I've actually already done a few of these things. I still added them to the list, because y'all might want to do some of them. I'll put items I've completed in bold print. Then I'll come back and update regularly so that you can see my progress.   I'd love to hear what is on your bucket list for fall. Please share a list or a link to your list in the comments below. Is there anything I've forgotten that you consider a must do? Let's talk and be friends.  Here's my bucket list for 2021. Make my fall bucket list M...

 Hello everyone!   I'm just going to quickly dash off this post, because I have company coming tonight. I still have some cooking ahead of me!  My biggest thrifty thing was saving four tshirts and two dresses that were ready for the rag bag. Why? They had mystery stains across the fronts. Every once in awhile, I'll put something in the wash, and it will come out with a mystery stain. I read somewhere about using Dawn Powerwash dish spray on stains. I tried it on these clothes. I sprayed it on, scrubbed it in with an old toothbrush, and let it set a bit. After washing, the stains came out! Clothing saved! That is a big deal to me, because two of the dresses had only been worn a couple of times. So, six items saved! Big savings! I highly recommend trying it. They items I used it on had already been dried with the stains. I made cappucino at home with my Keurig rather than going out to the gas station for it. I saved about $1.50 per cup.  I ate salads at home this...

Hello everyone! The holidays are coming quickly. For us, they begin the third weekend of October with the Maple Leaf Festival. Next up is my husband's birthday the third week of November. We still celebrate the night started going together November 23, 1981. We were high school sweethearts.  Thanksgiving is next, then the whirlwind of December with Advent, church activities, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. Have you started making a list yet? Maybe I should say lists. Are you hosting a Thanksgiving celebration this year? Have you made your menu? Have you gathered your recipes? Have you started your grocery lists? Have you planned a cooking timeline? Are you hosting a Christmas celebration? The same quesitons apply, and many more. Pour yourself a cup of eggnog, tea, coffee, or grab a Pepsi from the fridge. Sit down and start making your lists. All the planning you do now will help reduce the stress later and help you enjoy instead of endure. God bless you! Happy ...

  Good day or evening to you dear reader!  I just put in my Walmart grocery order for the week. Just before hitting checkout, I added the items needed to make my family's favorite green bean casserole recipe for Thanksgiving. Early? Yes. But.   There are two reasons that I ordered the items now. First, I don't have money saved up for Thanksgiving dinner at this point. This year, I plan to order a few items I need each week in order to spread out the cost of a very expensive meal. Second, with all the uncertainty in the availability of items this season, I want to do my best to prepare early not only for Thanksgiving, but after that, the Christmas season as well.  Last week, I visited a small thrift shop in my town and found a set of cooling racks new in the package for just $3. I snatched them up. They will make a nice Christmas gift. Over the years, I have done much of my shopping second hand. I've found some nice sweaters, shirts, and a brand new wool coat ($2...

These cool days of  early fall are the perfect time to prepare for the busy holiday season coming in November and December.  Prepare double batches of soups and casseroles.  I like to do this on normal evenings as I'm preparing dinner.  It's easy to put the extra in the freezer for a busy day meal.  Just be sure to label it.  I've had a few surprises over the years.  Oh my, did I say that aloud?  ~smile~ in fact, right now, I have a container of something red in my freezer. I think it's sauce for meatloaf. I think. ~smile~ You'll find some delicious soups and stew s on this list from my blog:   An Autumn Mix: Warming Up with Soups and Stews... A List of Favorites  . Begin now to prepa re cookies for your family often. Bake a dozen for the family to enjoy now and freeze the rest for busy November and December days.  I often go ahead and shape the dough into balls for easy thawing and baking right on the co...

This post includes affiliate links. #AChristmasInTheAlps To sum the book up in two words:  LOVED IT! Truth be told, I knew I'd love it before I even received it. I've loved all of Melody Carlson's Christmas books that I've read. Of course, like in many Christmas novellas, we put aside many of the things that might limit the scope of the story. For instance, money. All Simone needs is provided through the sale of her grandmama's house at the perfect time. I wish life were that easy. BUT this is is a Christmas story! It's all about getting to that happy ending.  Mrs. Carlson spun an unusual tale for us of family love, of family grumpiness, of friendship, of secrets, of kindness, and of a mysterious treasure hunt. It's a story of the blending of the old ways and the new ways. We have an antagonist that puts just a bit of pressure and uncertainty into the tale as well as a wrench in the clockworks. ~smile~ This is a story that will help you relax and enjoy a bit...

Don't you just love this time of year? "The attic was a lovely place to play. The large, round, colored pumpkins made beautiful chairs and tables. The red peppers and the onions dangled overhead. The hams and the venison hung in their paper wrappings, and all the bunches of dried herbs, the spicy herbs for cooking and the bitter herbs for medicine, gave the place a dusty-spicy smell. Often the wind howled outside with a cold and lonesome sound. But in the attic Laura and Mary played house with the squashes and the pumpkins, and everything was snug and cosy." Little House in the Big Woods Laura Ingalls Wilder One of my very favorite books