the simple life

doing domestic, thrifty, and down-to-earth things makes me really happy. and i'm glad it does. i recently had a sweet elderly lady in our neighborhood bring me a lovely antique dresden plate quilt to mend so she could give to her grandaughter. it was a simple fix, and although i didn't really have the time, i was happy to do it for her. then she said something that rubbed me a little wrong, "i come form a long line of southern women who would just as soon have someone else do it for them, so i'm having you do it for me". it almost made choose not to do it. but as i thought about it, i felt gratitude that i come from a different line of women...the "i can do it, or at least i'll give it my best try" type of women. i treasure that heritage, because even though it isn't the easiest way of life, it is satisfying.

this summer, for the first time, we have been harvesting and drying our own herbs. after drying, we vacuum seal them in canning jars - i love this new discovery, vacuum sealing in jars - we can preserve so many things this way - chocolate chips, rasins, nuts, grains, even granulated things, like salt, -and they last for 20 years or more. the photos above shows kale (green leaves), calenduala (orange, similar to marigolds), and echinaccea (pink cone flowers). red clover flowers and japanese shiso are in the jars. i hope to use them to make healthy herbal tea and other fun concotions. shiso is also wonderful sprinkled on rice - furikake, as the japanese call it.

i also really love hanging my laundry to dry. i love feeling the sun shine down and the breeze blow on my and my alundry as i hang it, and the wonderful feeling of saving electricity, and lengthening the life of our clothes. i even enjoy color coordinating the laundry as i hang it....making lovely color patterns and combinations - when i have time. it must be the quilter in me.

 

 

 

Comments

[Mary Smith]

I think both of your pictures are luscious! I can't remember if your secondary type is a 4 -- I love that you color code your laundry. I have a system, but it's different than yours. So did your shiso come back up? I accidentally "weeded" a few, but quickly tried to replant them. They're hanging on. I love that woman's attitude -- she doesn't she ashamed!

[Julie]

Our Shiso is thriving, and even taking over one end of our garden. We lost our red shiso though. Tomorrow some neighbors are going to come and get a start to take to their son & his Japanese wife. Yes, I'm a secondary 4. How are you and your baby?

[gina]

That sounds very domestic!
yesterday I cleaned out the muck down the bathtub drain. It made me feel very accomplished... especially when the water went immediatly down the drain.

[Emily House]

I am pretty sure you made Brock's dreams come true when you figured out how to vacuum seal chocolate chips. Are m&m's on the list too?