Solar Powered Night Light

Small mason jar

Lawn solar light

Super glue

I glued the lid to the top portion of the light before I took the above photo. Sorry. I also got super glue everywhere. Messy is my middle name, as they say (or sudden, actually sudden is a more appropriate middle name for me). I did not glue any of my fingers together or to the light though, so all is well. I will definitely purchase the "gel" super glue next time. There is totally a reason they came out with that latter version.   

I made this night light because normally we leave the bathroom light on all night. My son likes light in the hallway as opposed to an actual night light in his room. Our hallway light it much too bright but the bathroom light shining into the hallway is just perfect. I can't put a plug in night light in the hallway because there is not an outlet there. I saw this craft on pinterest and knew instantly that I would try it out. I honestly did not think it would give off that much light but we used it last night and it was perfect. I love this little jar light and he did too!

I had the mason jar on hand already but the actual cost would be 58 cents for the jar. I spent $1.06 on super glue and didn't quite use a quarter of what I bought, that's makes about 26 cents for the super glue. The lawn solar light cost $1.79. This little craft cost a total of $2.63. I don't know the life expectancy of a solar powered lawn light but according to an ENERGY CALCULATOR that I found online, leaving the bathroom light on for about nine hours each night costs us $1.80 per month. If this is anywhere close to accurate I will have recouped the cost of the solar powered night light on our energy bill in less than two months.

If we were using an actual plug in wall night light, the energy calculator says it'd cost about the same as what I spent on this solar powered night light to power that for a year. However you look at it I'm not paying for energy to run this thing. It just needs to be set on a window sill during the day. Living off the grid, Yeah! (Haha) I'm curious to see how long the solar light will last but we'll no longer be turning the bathroom light on at night so as long as it lasts for a month and a half then I'll have officially saved money on this craft. This solar powered night light is awesome! 

We started the paper mache shelves yesterday as seen by the mess above. They will take a good deal of time and I'm pretty certain they are going to be quite lopsided but the small shelving unit is turning out very sturdy and it will serve it's purpose quite well. Additionally, paper mache is always fun and we'll end up with a virtually free shelving unit with a lot of character (I had to pay for the flour to make the paste but the cardboard box we're covering with paper mache came in the mail and I'm using a catalog that also came in the mail as the newspaper).

Average daily spending for 2016: $21.11

Living off the land

Tonight's dinner was one of the best dinners of my life. Sounds like a bit of an exaggeration but this dinner was packed full of flavor, nutrition, pride, accomplishment, and blissful satisfaction.

Today's harvest

After planting all the seeds, endlessly watering them, watching the beautiful plants grow, and eagerly awaiting all the fruits and veggies tonight is the kind of night a gardener relishes.

Wild goose

Lightly steamed green beans

Fresh sliced tomatoes

Green tomato chutney

and

A wild rose from our rose bush for atmosphere

I am happy! And may I just give another shout out to Frugally Challenged for the chutney inspiration and for letting me know that its recommended to be eaten along side meat. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, the goose didn't turn out gamey AT ALL this time. So, so, so delicious!

Spending rundown today: $0. NO SPEND day 66 for the year. Side note: tonight's dinner cost NOTHING!

My budget for the month is $513.62 which leaves $392.58

Average daily spending for 2015: $18.04

Only for my own reminder I seared each side of the goose in a hot pan with oil, 3 minutes each. Took the breast out, deglazed the pan with chicken broth, turned the heat back on, returned the meat to the pan and cooked the breast for 15 minutes with a cover on (making sure less than 1/3 of the meat was submerged in broth) and turned every few minutes. Then removed from heat and let rest for 5 minutes (probably should have let rest a bit longer).

Simplify

Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! 

I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. 

Simplify, simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion.  

-Henry David Thoreau
 Walden 

I kid you not, I opened to this very page when I sat down to read during the kiddo's nap.
Ah, the refreshing state of mind he lived in...

Stats (at least in my world they'd be considered as much)

Little Abe and I have spent over seventeen hours together outside this month playing in the dirt and digging for worms (mostly on his part), doing yard work and gardening (mostly on my part).

I've had ONE no spend day this month. Well, my goal is shot but I'm not lamenting letting the no spend days fall by the way side either. I can only lend my focus to so many things at once and apparently no spend days fell off the radar this month. I'm okay with that.

I've spent $18.76 on gardening supplies this month; that's seeds, seed starter soil (whatever its called), and one plant. I've also re-used a lot of what I already had around the house for yard and gardening purposes, saved plants and soil that I would have normally gotten rid of while cleaning up the yard, and am doing a lot of dreaming about what I might create outside this year with things we already have on hand. I am VERY excited about this year's growing season!

Maybe just because it's finally gotten a bit warmer we've been eating some pretty simple light meals around here (maybe also because we've been spending so much time in the yard) but I have baked four loaves of bread, a wonderful batch of pretzels, and a tin of wonderfully moist blueberry muffins. Yes, I often measure my success around the amount of baked goods in my home.

Little Abe and I have only two chapters left in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. I've had such fun reading it with him. We'll move onto the next book in the series once we've finished reading this one.

So far, and having made it just half way through, April has been a lovely month. I've not all the time felt so upbeat and cheery but I've loved every minute with my boy and every minute spent in the fresh air outdoors (we've both got a little extra color in our cheeks now), and I'm happy with everything I've whipped up in the kitchen. For the second half of the month I think I'll try and limit the computer time more, which was a goal that I did not meet during the first half and try to give a bit more attention to the inside of the house as well... maybe.
: )

Average daily spending for 2015: $17.57
$153.33 left to spend in April

Using what you've got; Fingers crossed

It has begun!

I've just finished planting a few seeds for the very first time EVER. With the exception of elementary school experiments of course. I'm rather excited!!! Should I have probably purchased the little seed starter greenhouses? Probably so. Should I not be having my very first go at starting seeds in an egg carton tucked inside a juice bottle? Probably not. Even so I've done it and I'm excited and we shall see what happens. I do honestly get the hugest sense of satisfaction out of avoiding a purchase and being able to make due with things around the house (things that would have gone to recycle sooner than later too).

Today I've only started a few lavender seeds, two juice bottles worth; if I'm lucky I'll get eight plants out of that. But I'll soon be starting roma tomatoes, pole beans, and watermelon. Yep, I've officially decided on my garden this year and I am so happy (this will only be my second go at a vegetable garden). I have purchased seeds for carrots too but those apparently can go directly into the ground so I won't be starting those in egg cartons and juice bottles.

My strawberry plants from last year look incredible, such a hearty beautiful green and growing and growing by the day. I put too many plants into that one container last year so I've moved one plant to a different pot and intend to move one or two more shortly. Maybe I shouldn't mess with success but there really were far too many plants in that little pot.

I'll keep you updated, because I'm sure everyone is so interested to find out how my juice bottle seeds end up.

:)

Yellow Apple Basket Flowers

Sustainability folks and homesteaders alike seek to re-use things, find new uses for things, and get as much use out of something as possible. I'm just an increasingly more and more frugal gal but when I look up "homesteading" on pinterest I'll tell you that something inside of my heart starts to sing! I did so yesterday for practically an hour while my little guy was napping and it was a gloriously wonderful hour that planted hundreds of seeds in my mind. I'm actually looking forward to gardening and being outdoors considerably more than I already was and I found some ingenious ideas for gardening outside of the confines of our yard that my hubby is not very supportive of me digging up for a gloriously big veggie garden.

Today's project involved that pile of yard waste I posted about a little while back, an old rotty apple basket that I found in my basement during my recent basement clean up and some VERY invasive scraps of yellow perennials that were given to me many years back by my Grandmother.

My Grandmother was a wonderful gardener who had English garden type perennial beds surrounding her home. When my husband and I were first married she gladly split a great deal of her perennials and helped me plant a beautiful bed in my yard. I planted daisies, hostas, lavender, coreopsis, and several other plants with her from her garden. One of the plants she gave me was a very lovely yellow flower, Lance-leaf Coreopsis. That particular plant took over my bed, choked out my other flowers and just spread like wildfire. It's really beautiful but I got pretty mad at it the year before last for eating up all my other flowers and just started pulling it out everywhere I could find its remnants. I also found that it was super hardy, as I threw some scraps into a bucket and they took root in the other yard scraps I had in the bucket and bloomed for the whole rest of the year.

Today I have pulled up most of the remaining coreopsis plants (that have survived despite my having tried to eradicate them two years back) and placed them into this apple basket from my basement. I actually put three plastic jugs into the bottom of this basket as it's HUGE and I did not have enough scrap dirt in my driveway to fill it, plus I wouldn't have been able to carry it full of dirt. The dirt is not the best quality but I did manage to get most of the leaves, grass, and roots out by hand. I'm hoping the lovely yellow super invasive flowers from my Grandmother will bloom in the basket. I really think they will as they are hardy as all get out. And I think it will be a beautiful addition to my front bed at ZERO cost to me. I like the rustic look of the basket too. If the experiment fails I have only spent a small amount of time putting this basket together and will have lost nothing. This is my kind of homesteading beautification.

Now you must try and imagine these flowers in that old apple basket in front of my house. Of course I will post a photo later on this year if this experiment ends in success.

This and That; Birds and Blueberry Muffins

I'm suffering a bit these past few days from "the grass is always greener on the other side" syndrome mixed with home sickness. My little sister is off on a mission trip to Guatemala again. I consider that beautiful country my second home. This will be her fourth time there; she's caught up to me now and while I'm extremely happy for her, and right now is not my season for travel (believe me I prayed about it), I am missing it tremendously and trying my hardest to not be jealous (while failing a bit).

May I just say thank the good Lord for the great outdoors. These past ten days in a row the little guy and I have spent around nine hours enjoying outside. It's truly been wonderful digging in the dirt, raking leaves, pulling weeds, trimming bushes... oh, the list goes on! My yard really isn't all that tremendously big either. Anyhow, we've been doing whatever just to be out there. It's fun too, me getting to day dream while I un-bury tulips and hyacinth that are popping up from the grass that's grown around them, about what I might do in our yard this year.

Today I finally managed to snap a photo of our noble woodpecker friend.I know he's a bit difficult to spot in it. I think the reason I'm so fascinated by this little guy is that last year is the first time I ever recall seeing a woodpecker in real life. He's got a red crown and he loves to peck at the wooden power line pole in the corner of our backyard.

 This tree is in the neighbors yard and it's the first time I've ever seen him on it and the closest we've ever been able to get to him. This encounter was grand in and of itself because that sad little tree still has several old brown, very dried out leaves on it that that somehow managed to hold on through the long harsh winter. Anyhow, as he was tap, tap, tapping away on the tired little old tree the dead leaves were rattling, making a very tinny sound. It was really quite an odd sound and very lovely.

In other news on the April in Alaska front, we've made it through chapter 8 of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The little guy seems quite interested. I baked two loaves of white bread yesterday (a recipe I'd yet to try). They turned out wonderful. My best loaves yet. Little Abe and I walked to a friend's house last evening and gave them a loaf of bread. I've just now pulled blueberry muffins out of the oven. I haven't started sewing anything yet but I've gotten the fabric out and picked which ones I'll be using for my nephews small quilt. I've been on facebook much too much but I've not been watching much TV. I think I'd have considerably more spunk if I weren't fighting this glum mood but at least I'm working at my goals for the month AND spending a great deal of time outside which was possibly the biggest part of the plan.

I've honestly not calculated a daily spend yet this month which is insane because I generally do calculate it daily. But I have been keeping track of my spending. My no spend days might be shot at this point. I have picked up little things here and there all month so far, which also means I'm spending more than I should be. I'll get to that soon though. I must. In the mean time little Abe and I are going to sit down to some hot blueberry muffins now. I hope everyone has been enjoying April thus far!

Also Happy Birthday to my little sis who's in Guatemala at this very moment!

PRETZELS!

Today we did something I've been wanting/ meaning to do for just about forever. Making from scratch, home baked, hot, soft pretzels has been something like a dream of mine ever since my husband discovered some fabulous soft baked pretzels at a very good (very expensive) local bakery here. Now, I must ask myself, why in the world have I not looked up a recipe and attempted this before now? Why? Honestly, why?

I'm so glad I committed to baking more often this year and I'm so glad I included making more things from scratch on my April in Alaska goals. The pretzels just came out of the oven and they are SO tasty! I think they turned out perfect in fact. This long awaited experiment is a total successful mission accomplished. I actually kind of wish that the little guy wasn't napping right now so that he could enjoy the fruits of our labor sooner than later. But of course the pretzels will still be yummy when he wakes up from his nap.

The recipe I used is linked HERE for anyone else who's had a life long dream of baking pretzels at home but has yet to try it out. I highly recommend it!

In other news we've also taken one of our dog's for a walk around the block, played with both dogs in the backyard, spent a good 30 minutes doing yard work (digging in the dirt on little Abe's part), dyed some eggs silly colors, and finished our reading from Narnia today. We're 3 and 1/2 chapters in already. April in Alaska, so far so good! 

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Part of my Alaskan adventure this month was to include watching less TV (ideally less for Abe and none for myself (the little guy watches a ton of educational tv)) and reading much more. I can't say that I've opened a book yet this month solely for my own pleasure (I read history mostly so that's a silly sentence) but I did sit down with a timer set to 15 minutes yesterday and began reading out loud from C.S. Lewis's, The Chronicles of Narnia.

I read to little Abe again this evening for another 15 minutes. Thus far we've read through two chapters of the 17 chapter book. At this rate we could reasonably read through two novels this month. I honestly wondered before I began if my very young three year old would pay much attention to my reading from a chapter book. I figured it would be a good exercise none the less and I've been wanting to start reading aloud to him for 10 to 15 minutes increments for some time (from a non-picture book).

I often times find myself imaging what life must have been like before television and radio even. I know that even before books families would tell stories after dinner, during down times at the homestead. Books and story telling are one of the earliest forms of entertainment. I'm certain that countless three year olds through out the history of the world have been subjected to hours and hours of their parents reading aloud to at least the other children of the family. I imagine story time must have been anticipated, looked forward to and families bonded during the evening readings. I've just realized that many a child must have been subjected to very boring readings as well that they cared nothing for. Haha, and here I am wondering if my reading a children's novel to my child is foolish.

I'm happy to report that he is very interested. He's been listening really quite well each time I've read the story and he's asked a great deal of questions about the story (much more this evening then the last). I found it funny that while I read from this older story of which words are jumping out at me left and right that I know my child has never heard before the only word he's asked me to explain was "batty." Edmund called his little sister Lucy, "batty" after she'd returned from the wardrobe and they refused to believe her story of adventure to a land called Narnia. Little Abe stops me and asks, "what's he mean, batty? what's batty?" I find it humorous that the three year old boy is most interested in learning this new insult word. Don't get me wrong, my kid is very kind and compassionate but it struck me as very humorous. "what's batty?"

 

chirping at the homestead

(yes I'm really running with this Alaska metaphor)

Today was really busy at work and then since I was running so late rather than pick up groceries while I was at the grocery store (where I work) I had to rush home so my third shift hubby could get to sleep and then Abe and I returned to the grocery store. Deep breath... we didn't get outside to enjoy the fresh air and warmth (which we were actually lucky to take in this evening since it down poured all day (not complaining; the rain is great)) until 8PM but we spent a great 40 minutes outside.

I think my biggest observation today is that I don't really hear the birds unless I'm listening for them. There were some incredibly boisterous robins leading the choir this evening. I actually laughed at their enthusiasm a few times. Bird songs are one of my greatest joys in life. But truthfully this evening while we were outside each time I got to focusing on which ever task I was working at I also stopped hearing the birds. Their songs never grew quieter. The beauty in the most natural of music never faded but I stopped hearing them when I wasn't listening. It kind of made me sad but then I'd stop what I was doing and listen to the loud energetic musical creatures and smile an even bigger smile than the last time I found myself stopping to listen. They were honestly very loud. It wasn't that I had to focus to hear them, not in the least. I just stopped hearing them when I wasn't focusing. Gee, how often in life does this same exact scenario play out in a million different ways?

I've said it more times than I care to admit, but please friends remember to look for the lovelies and stop and listen to the music of life. We're surrounded by constant beauty and yet we miss it so often when we don't remember to look (and listen).

This evening while some very fluffy robins led the neighborhood birds in a chirping contest I cleared out some dead perennials to make way for new growth, picked up some fresh dog dirt, and racked a few select spots in the yard while my BIG helper excavated the tomato bed. He makes me smile so much!

We found the very first blooms of the year... I know, you all WAAAAY beat us to it but spring is very slow going here on the lake in Michigan.

AND the hyacinth are well on their way to making their glorious debut and just in time for Easter. Yep, I love being outdoors!

Our First day in Alaska (again, metaphorically)

It's a true testament to the length and bitterness of this past winter that has hopefully come to an absolute close when the third day in a row of doing yard work is about to come to a sweet silent end and I feel as though I've just had possibly the best day of my life. After raking in our own yard these past two days my little buddy and I drove 35 minutes south to my mom's house to rake the leaves and debris left in her yard from old man winter. We may have only gotten 2/3 of the front yard raked but we absolutely enjoyed every minute of it.

Today was the first t-shirt day of the year. It was the kind of day where all the neighbors depart their front doors almost in unison like in a musical, imagine if you will poppy theme music beginning to play right about now, everyone working side by side up and down every street in town; each happy neighbor smiling at all the fresh air, their muscles remembering for the first time in months how it feels to be of use outside in the warmth, with the sun beaming down ever so brightly. It was the kind of day where the birds dance through the still leafless tree branches in the hundreds singing songs of freedom, rejoicing, and delight as loud as any angelic choir; the wind blows, puffed up proudly with the bird songs floating within it. Today was the kind of day where the sky could not possibly be any more perfectly blue, the temperature could not possibly be any more perfectly comfortable and the sight of few mosquitoes fluttering through the warm blue air brings about the most delightful giggles instead of those old much more familiar "not another darn mosquito" groans.

After an hour of raking with everyone else in my mom's neighborhood (I'm telling you is was surreal (nothing like my neighborhood that's for sure)) I laid on my back in the just starting to return to green grass and gazed through the budding branches at the noble sky overhead. My son swang close beside me with his tummy placed on a yellow swing "weeing" with each kick of his toes on the ground. After only so many swings my greatest joy in life would hop from the swing and jump on top of me. We'd laugh and giggle and tickle each other as our gleeful noises rose upwards to mingle with bird songs overhead in the glorious spring wind. Occasionally rolling into various small dirt patches beside us was honestly a welcomed part of the festivities; to be gently scratched by the waking lawn and then feel the tiny grains of dirt on the skin of our arms and cheeks and in between our fingers, it was the subtlest of reminders, "this is living!"

We left my mom's re-energized, revitalized, re-fueled to overflowing with the very nectar of life and absolutely on top of the world. The sun was settling in for the night as we began to drive back home. Fabulous reds, delicious oranges, and memorizing yellows melted into lake Michigan the entire way.
The moon was waiting at our house to greet us goodnight and a few twinkling stars dotted the sky. I asked my kiddo if he could find the moon and pretended not to see it as he tried to show me it's bright glowing spot in the sky. He laughed at my silliness, took my hand and said, "Mom let's stand here for a little while and not go in. Let's just look together." It's amazing what a little fresh air can do for the soul.

April in Alaska

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.
― Henry David Thoreau

I want to spend April in Alaska, metaphorically speaking. I wrote a post explaining this a little while back, HERE.

• What I really want is to spend the majority of my time outdoors.
• I wish to live in a simple little home with just necessities. 
• I want to stay away from the technological aspects of our everyday lives that suck up so much of our time, attention, and are really very addicting. 
• I desire to devote so much more of my time to being with my loved ones, free from our busy world distractions. 
• I'd like to read rather than turn on the TV. 
• I want to make stuff, food, clothes, gifts for people, other things we may have need of; to work with my hands.

I'm going to tackle this goal/ plan on a day to day basis this month by writing up a mission statement for the next day each night. Overall I simply want to spend this month addressing the above points as best as possible.

I hope to accomplish some of the following:
Spend A TON of time outdoors
-yard work
-walks
-go to the woods
-go to a farm

Sew a tiny quilt for Parker, like his sisters
Make homemade pizza sauce

Make pizza from scratch
Make mozz cheese from scratch
Make butter
Make pretzels
Just plain don't watch TV
Limit facebook like crazy (maybe three log ins a week)

Sew an article of clothing for little Abe
Read a chapter book with little Abe (started reading The Chronicles of Narnia)

Start the second quarter goals with a thorough cleaning of our second story
Spend very little money
Sell stuff we own

Get together with at least one friend
Take the dogs for a few walks

Some people take a vacation. Other people pretend to live in Alaska.

I always say I'd love to live in Alaska (I've never been there before). I just picture this vast wilderness where life is so much simpler; okay, not simpler in the sense of less work, that's for sure. But simpler in terms of less distraction/ less nonsense/ less noise.

When I say I'd love to live in Alaska I don't ever intend on really moving there. I'm really only fantasizing about living out in pure nature. Like that show Alaska: The Last Frontier, I LOVE how they exist in nature, live off of the land, and make use of everything around them to survive. I brought the idea up to my husband once who replied, "Honey, we don't even fish. We'd die!" I'm pretty sure he actually dislikes nature. Yes, opposites attract.

Maybe my hubby is in no way prepared to move to Alaska but I think I'm up for the challenge, sorry, I mean a challenge. He's right. We'd probably die in the Alaskan wilderness.

• What I really want is to spend the majority of my time outdoors.
• I wish to live in a simple little home with just necessities. 
• I want to stay away from the technological aspects of our everyday lives that suck up so much of our time, attention, and are really very addicting. 
• I desire to devote so much more of my time to being with my loved ones, free from our busy world distractions. 
• I'd like to read rather than turn on the TV. 
• I want to make stuff, food, clothes, gifts for people, other things we may have need of; to work with my hands.

If you've been reading this blog for very long none of the above comes as a surprise. I'm pretty sure that everything I just pointed out is reflected in many of my posts. I am truly a minimalist at heart. I want to be very close to nature and very close to the ones I love with very little distractions or stuff gathering up between us.

I think I'd like to devote April to my dream of living in Alaska. I want to make a million goals (1/5000th of which I might accomplish) that outline my hearts cry for simplicity (or maybe more like 50 goals). In April I want to live in Alaska... in Michigan.

_______________________________________________

My next post will be the 1000th post to this blog. I'm working on something special for it so I might not be back for awhile (like a day, haha) because I'm not done with it quite yet. Stay tuned!

And now I'm going to put my kiddo down for a nap and try to take one myself... which I hopefully won't regret. Have I ever mentioned that I can't take naps because I wake up an absolute monster when I do. It's true. I Inherited this cool trait from my Maternal Grandmother (along with that neat little honey jar). Well that's a fun little fact about me for today. Adios!