Raised Beds

This past weekend Ron built four more amazing raised beds bringing the total to eight! We're just about to run out of room in the back! A green house is in the works as well, so stay tuned for pics. Ron was joking about doing an American Gothic picture with the two of us...I think it needs to happen.

View of the raised beds from the back porch.

The raised bed on the right has sweet peas in it, (thus the little ladders which hold the string for them to climb.) Dill, broccoli, zucchini and lettuce are on the left.

The three raised beds against the fence are full of tomatoes! The branches will be used for them to climb. Compost boxes are in the far right corner against the fence.

Brick Walk Way Made From Recycled Bricks

The finished product!

View from the side walk.

I love the way recycled bricks look.

Dad's big helper.

A few weeks back Ron installed an amazing brick walk way in the front yard. The hospital had removed a fire place after the earthquake and were throwing away a ton of high quality bricks. Ron asked if he could have them and they said yes! Now we have a lovely brick walk way made from recycled bricks from the side walk to our front steps.

My Mother's Day Present

Ron finished the amazing pond and waterfall in the front yard today as part of my Mother's Day present - lucky me! Most of the supplies for the pond, pond border, waterfall, deck and gate were free! He was given the pond liner, pump, etc. from a friend from work. He found the boulders on the side of the road where free green waste is dumped. The reclaimed redwood was from a foundation remodel a few blocks away. Ron made a cute little deck for sitting and feeding the fish and a safety gate out of the reclaimed redwood as well as a border around the pond. He plans to make a bench on the back of the deck for sitting. This all could have cost upwards to $600 or more new, but we were blessed with it for free!! We plan to get coy and gold fish for the pond, put water plants and lilies in it and will need to install an electric fence on the interior of the pond so the raccoons won't eat them.

Thank you to my wonderful husband for this amazing Mother's Day present! I love the fact that it will be here to enjoy for years to come!

View from the top of the porch. We'll plant flowers on the sides of the waterfall rocks. You can't see the waterfall, but the water runs behind the rocks and makes a lovely sound.

Another shot from the porch.

The pond deck where the kids will be able to feed the fish when we get them. Ron is going to make a bench for the back of the deck also so we can sit and enjoy the view.

Hydrangeas in bloom

The new brick walk way and fence/gate.

View of the left side of the front from the pond.

Vintage Linens and Fabrics

I'm constantly searching for vintage fabrics and linens for my sewing projects. So far my luck hasn't been great and I can't seem to find any at the thrift stores. But yesterday my luck turned and I hit the mother lode! I found two floral vintage sheets, a floral vintage pillow case, some awesome tapestry vintage 60's fabric, and a quilt made from vintage fabrics - score! The cost for all of these? $10. Now, what to make out of them, hmm...

Floral vintage sheets and pillow case. I'm thinking these might make cute little girl skirts.

The retro 60's tapestry fabric. This fabric would be cute made into a bag or purse.

I LOVE the colors in this quilt, and it's in perfect condition. Lately the kids have been making "beds" outside on the grass on sunny days. This quilt is the perfect size for them. It will make a great 4th of July quilt too.

We're Alive - A Quick Re-Cap

Dear Blogging World,

My deepest apologies for disappearing for almost a month. There's been way too much going on to keep up with you. Firstly, our construction is officially done - wohooo!! Our house looks fantastic, and I never want to have to do this again. It is well worth it, but quite the process, and has been a part time job for me this past year. Now I almost don't know quite what to do with myself! ;)

Sarah's 6th grade science project took up most of the past week or so. It turned out great and she aced it and may be going to county. Her topic was soil saturation. She has also added another ballet class and she now has 6 dance classes per week. It's hard to keep up with this girl! Ron has been gardening to his heart's content these past few weeks. He put up a fence, made a pond, made another raised bed, and planted seeds. I am a blessed woman! Justin's latest joy is digging holes in the yard with the mini shovel Ron bought him. Our yard is now the holiest yard in the county!

I recently joined a women's international justice group and LOVE it!! We meet monthly to discuss global justice issues. Last week we saw a film on Guatemala's history, and it also discussed a town in Guatemala which grows fair trade coffee as its industry. I get to host next month and can't wait to introduce my topic - more to come on that. I haven't gotten a lick of sewing done lately, (true confessions!), but now that things are mellowed out a bit I plan to get some major headway.

So, that's the month in a nut shell. I hope to be more regular with the posts now!

Here's a few pics of life the past month:

Front shot of our finished home sweet home.

Sarah out at the beach getting a sand sample.

Raised Bed #2 - broccoli and potatoes will grow in this one. Ron gets all of his soil for free now! He found a guy who gets rid of his regularly, wohoo!

Another one of Ron's free scores. A bath tub which he has made into a little pond with a sitting bench. The wood is redwood and he got it for free also from a foundation tear down.

The fence Ron made separating the front yard from the back yard. Now Justin can play safely in the back yard. The kitties have a door they can use to get through the yards too!

Tray Find

The other day I went fabric shopping at the local thrift store and I happened to find an adorable vintage tray for 99 cents! The thrift store I went to used to have a large vintage section, but now they take the vintage items and sell them on line and locally to antique stores. But, once in a while they miss some vintage items, and that's when I score! I'm pretty sure this tray is from the 50's or 60's based on the colors and design. I love trays, and am happy to add this one, for 99 cents, to my collection!

It matches my red shakers too!

Free Goods & Being Resourceful

A friend of ours came over the other day to hang out and we gave her a tour of Ron's beautiful garden. Ron was showing her the compost pile, the raised beds he had just made out of free redwood, the arbor he made out of stunning free willow branches, and the awesome free play set one of his co-workers gave us. Noticing a trend here? She then said, "Wow, you guys are really resourceful!" It got me to thinking since that thought had never crossed my mind honestly! Then I began to realize that we actually are way resourceful. Ron is the king of free; he's thrifty, and if it can be found for free he will find it! He's taught me a lot about being frugal and pinching pennies in the almost fourteen years we've been married.

Here are some examples of his frugalness, (that's not a word, but I like it!) The other day he saw some willow branches on the side of the road. He picked them up and brought them home, with a plan to make some sort of structure for the garden. Within a few days he had a design for an arbor which he made in a few hours. He is also making a cute gate which will be below the arbor, and a fence will eventually go on either side. He made a mini raised bed out of the scraps and it turned out so cute! Last week he found some free old growth redwood on Craig's list - perfect for raised beds! He plans to grow a veggie garden in the spring - can't wait! A few months back co-worker was very generous and gave us his kids' old play set! The kids love it and play on it every day. Another co-worker gave us her bunny, Charcoal, who makes great poop for the compost pile. My free find was an adorable 9 patch wool quilt, found on the side of the road in Arcata with a free sign above it. It just needs a new backing, a bit of mending and some tlc and it will make the perfect winter warm quilt!

One of Ron's co-workers, Russel, has a home made apple press. He invited Ron to come over and press apples last weekend. They pressed a total of almost 60 gallons which was a record!! In exchange for the work we get fresh organic apple juice, yummy!!! We hope to eventually have our own apple trees so we can do this ourselves, and have juice, apple sauce and fresh apples for apple pie. Another plan of ours is to buy chickens in the spring so we can have fresh eggs. We want to trade eggs for other goods as well. I used to make my own Keefer but my batch got old and I couldn't find any more live culture to grow it from. I plan to get more though and get that going again! With the economy being tight there are so many ways you can save money, plus have organic healthy food to eat. Please feel free to share any ideas with me as well!

The eclectic arbor Ron made from free willow branches.

Mini raised bed made from free willow branches.

Raised bed made from free recycled old growth redwood. The posts sticking up are for chicken wire to keep the critters out.

Another raised bed made from free recycled redwood.

Charcoal the free bunny.

Free Costco play set.

Free wool quilt.

Russel's home made apple press.

Ron and Russel hard at work pressing apples.

Apples ready for the pressing!

Thrift Finds!

Thrift scores: 2 shirts for Justin, 1 pair of pants for Justin, 1 shirt for Sarah, 1 vintage pillow case & 1 fire and light butterfly. Cost: $10!

One of the things I've been so excited about since we've moved to this house is the thrift store that's only about a 2 minute walk from our house - I think I've died and gone to heaven. I get excited when I see thrift stores, seriously! My grandma used to take me thrift store shopping when I was a kid. She was the thriftiest woman I've ever known. She was waaay ahead of her time when it came to recycling as well. She recycled everything! She hardly ever bought clothes new. Her mentality was, "Why do that when you can get them so much cheaper?" Back then you could buy antique dishes for 50 cents a pop. Wish I had collected more at that time! She and grandpa lived on a farm and had cows and chickens so they had organic fresh eggs and milk all the time, (and beef too.) Anyway, yesterday Justin and I made a trip to the thrift store and I am so thrilled at the treasures I got! That's what I love so much about thrifting. It's like a treasure hunt and you never know what you will find. All kids clothes are 1.99, and at 40% off I made out like a bandit! These prices are even cheaper than a local consignment store. The clothes were in great condition too. I also found this really cute vintage pillow case and a Fire and Light butterfly for Sarah's room for only $3.50! Fire and Light is locally made recycled glass and isn't cheap new. I love the fact that when I buy used I'm recycling and helping take care of the planet, plus it's easier on my wallet - I can't lose!