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If I am not the cistern but the tree…

About a month ago, I was at my local thrift store again. And, my word: they had a sale on their crystal…for 25 cents a piece. What? This stuff was SO beautiful. I could not believe it! Naturally, I took as much as I could fit into the shopping cart as I had been drooling  over much of it for about a year but never thought I would be able to get any of it. Boy! Was I wrong! John and I never really had a wedding reception or huge amounts of stuff. It was fine with us, as we elo

I like researching how to make expensive items instead of buying them. It is a hobby of mine. One essential that I have recently made in quantities that I could sell is Vanilla Extract. It is easy and fun!  You take a bottle of Vodka or Rum, you put a pile of Vanilla Beans into the bottle and put it in the dark for 3-4 months, or more for an especially strong batch.  There are multiple types of Vanilla beans: the ones that I have been getting are Madagascar Vanilla Beans. The

Today was very enjoyable. I pruned my lemon tree that I grew from seed two Januaries ago this morning, cut back some roses that have been blooming all summer, and picked a whole lot of elderberries off the bush that is in front of our home. I also enjoyed watering my other lemon tree that I rescued last fall. It currently has five rather large lemons on it and I'm excited! I separated out the berries from the stems of the elderberries and they reminded me of the alveoli (bran

. A Story Dedicated to Crafters Everywhere I am always on the hunt for a deal at my local thrift store. A few months ago, I found a bunch of mugs for 25¢ each. Great deal! I said. And I walked on past because, well, I couldn’t think of anything to make. But it was brewing on the backburner. What would I do if I bought a bunch? The next week, the deal was still there.  So, I took home $6.25 worth of mugs. How many? Too many, but, 25 to be specific.  “What are you using them fo

Have you ever thought about growing a banana tree? Well, I have! In fact, I have four in my dining room right now. Last spring, I wanted to buy a Blue Java Banana Tree. To my dismay, a single six inch to one foot tree was going to cost me $40. But, for the same price I could get four baby trees. I chose the four smaller trees. Which are now as tall as my shoulder, about 3-4 feet of tree and about a foot and a half of container and soil. I have figured out the secret to growin

Crabapple, Cinnamon Stick and Cranberry Jelly

Vanilla Extract I like researching how to make expensive items instead of buying them. It is a hobby of mine. One essential that I have recently made in quantities that I could sell is Vanilla Extract. It is easy and fun!  You take a bottle of Vodka or Rum, you put a pile of Vanilla Beans into the bottle and put it in the dark for 3-4 months, or more for an especially strong batch.  There are multiple types of Vanilla beans: the ones that I have been getting are Madagascar Va

Update August 2025: This spring I bought the coolest fridge! Why? Because I wanted a fridge that I could experiment with cooking in...especially making Feta Cheese in since Feta Cheese is so delicious but expensive! The cool thing about this fridge is that it is also a freezer at the press of a button! It goes back and forth!. Now I can have my cheese and eat it too! But seriously! It was exactly what I need in order to make cheese! Summer 2024 I’ve been making cheese…and th

RECIPES: Giant Bubbles Recipe 1 gallon water...