Long story here! Earlier this spring I got caught up in buying baby chicks. I knew we were needing a few more as some of our original flock is getting old and they aren’t laying anymore. But, I got a little out of hand and ended up with more chicks than our little coop could hold. Who could blame me, those little chicks are just so darn cute! And there were so many different kinds to choose from! And everywhere we went there were these little babies needing to be brought home! Unfortunately, about the time we were looking to buy or build a new coop, the price of lumber skyrocketed and we were not sure what we were going to do. Then Joe’s brother came to the rescue. He had this little building that he had originally built to be a playhouse for his girls. Well, he never got around to finishing it, the girls are grown and have families of their own, and he really just needed the building to be gone.
So off to Coon Rapids we went, Joe, Don and my dad tore the building down into pieces, and we hauled it home. Then Joe and Drew got to work. I couldn’t for the life of me see what Joe saw as far as how he was going to put this back together and attach it to his shop but I knew he knew what he was doing. He put the walls back together and changed the roofline. Then he moved the whole thing to the side of the shop. Drew loved that part – he was the one who got to drive the 4-wheeler and pull the building!
Then the work began. We used as much lumber as we could salvage from our woodpile but had to purchase windows, flooring and steel. But even at that, it didn’t cost us a fraction of what a new building would have cost.
The girls have been in it all summer. They love it and I love it. Choring is so much easier now. And gathering eggs is so much easier. And it will be so nice this winter to be able to go inside a building to chore and the girls won’t have to go outside if they don’t want to as I their feed and water will be inside. I loved the little prefab coop we originally had. It served its purpose well. And we still use it to house a chicken that the others pick on. But this big coop is just perfect. And then, over the weekend, Joe did this:
He added this sweet little porch. I just love it! It is so darn cute! I am so blessed to have a husband who knows me and what will make me happy! I love my silly chickens, I love having eggs to give to others and I love my sweet little chicken coop. And so do my chickens!
That’s Eloise in white! And I think Matthew the Rooster is to the left. They aren’t all named but there’s always those few special souls that stand out from the crowd!
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word simple. I want to live a more simple life. But when I really think about it, simple might mean something totally different to me than it does to others. By simplifying I want to do things more like those before me did. But this will have to be a balancing act as others in the family might not want to go as far as I would like to! As I was snapping beans today for lunch I was thinking about this and I realized that simplifying for me certainly doesn’t mean making things simple or easy. I could have easily opened up a can of green beans, dumped them in a bowl, stuck them in the microwave and served them. Simple. Instead, I walked out to the garden, picked the beans, snapped them, washed them, put them on the stove and steamed them with a little bit of water, butter and pepper and then put them on the table. Definitely not simple. But, they tasted so delicious. Drew commented on how good the beans were. And I know exactly what was in them and where they came from. After all, I did all the work to get them on the table. Well, almost all the work. Joe tilled up the garden for me this spring. Then I planted the seeds, weeded (sometimes) the garden, kept an eye on them as they grew, picked them, etc., etc. And this wasn’t the first time. I have picked beans several times and have put several quarts in the freezer for winter. That is what simple means to me. The simple act of gardening is so very fulfilling. Lots of work, yes, but so fulfilling knowing where your food is coming from and filling your larder for winter. And it’s what my grandmother did to feed her family. And her mother before her. And what makes the most sense to me.
Not only did we have fresh green beans from the garden for lunch, we had leftover jalapeno popper chicken using jalapenos from the garden, along with cherry tomatoes from the garden, pickles made from last year’s cucumbers from the garden made earlier using Grandma’s recipe and cucumbers and onions using cucumbers from the garden. A very simple meal but oh so fresh and yummy.
Simple. For the past two years I have not had a clothesline. We had a clothesline for years and had struggled with it for years. It was made of metal poles and no matter what we did, we could never keep it so the lines were taught. They would constantly sag. Still usable but not always easy to use. Then Drew drove through it one day with the Mule and took out the lines. I asked Joe if we could get it put back together as I really miss my clothesline. I was thinking we were going to piece the original line back together and it would take a little part of a day and I’d have a usable clothesline again. He had another idea.
Yesterday morning he started digging a couple of holes. Then he sent me to Dad’s to borrow the posthole digger. So I gathered up the garbage, ran it to town to the recycling center, dropped off a dozen eggs to an older friend and past coworker who lives in town and then to Dad’s before heading home. When I got there Dad had me come out back because they had company he knew I would want to see. My Uncle Jerry and Cousin Todd had stopped by for a visit! I was more than glad to spend a few minutes chatting as I never pass up a chance to visit with them. Such a simple thing, spending a few minutes on a Saturday morning visiting with loved ones. Then home with the posthole digger. The holes got dug and next come the poles. We used two poles that were originally part of the old building we tore down last year. To that Joe connected the boards to hold the lines. Again using wood from the old building. After getting the poles all put together, he sanded everything down and painted them. This took all day. Definitely not what I had in mind. But, recycling parts of the old building – that I love! That old building is all over our property now! We are definitely putting the salvaged lumber to use!
Then the next morning we sunk the poles. I added dirt while Joe tamped, and tamped and tamped some more. It took most of the morning to get those two clothesline poles in the ground and secure. Now to let them sit for a few days and really get set. Next we’ll add the hardware and the lines. And I will have a clothesline that should last for ages! We will have to purchase the bolts to hold the lines but everything else will be salvaged. Definitely not a simple project. And if we had done it the way I was thinking it would have been a pretty simple project but it would have been something I would have fought constantly. So, I think Joe is starting to look at things a little differently too. He’s starting to think the same way. No more doing something quickly and easily just to get it done. We’re going to take our time, do it right and have something that will last.
Which brings me back to simple. I am so excited to have a working clothesline again. There’s nothing better than bedding that has been line dried. Oh that smell! And I just enjoy hanging out the laundry. And taking it off the line and folding it as I go. Such a simple thing. Does it save time? Absolutely not. Throwing wet laundry from the washing machine to the dryer and pushing a button to start the drying process. Simple. Carrying wet laundry out to the line, hanging each and every piece up, waiting for it to dry, taking each and every piece off the line, folding it all, carrying it in. Definitely not saving time. But for me, it’s a simple and fulfilling process. And, it saves on electricity and saves on wear and tear on the dryer. For me, this is simplifying. Hanging clothes on the line takes me back to my grandma. I’m not willing to get rid of the washing machine yet, and probably never will. And I can’t see myself out hanging up laundry in the dead of winter when it’s freezing cold and blowing snow. But I always think of all the women before me who hung out their laundry because they had to. Because they didn’t know anything else. You can really slow down and think when you’re outside hanging clothes on the line. It’s another fulfilling home keeping chore. For me, another way to add simple to my days. And going for a walk down to the corn patch is a nice way to end a day of hard work and simple living!
Some weekends just fly by and this past weekend did just that. Joe was able to work from home on Friday (yeah!) which gave him some extra time in the afternoon since he didn’t have to drive and he called Dad and asked if he wanted help moving his building over the weekend. The weather looked like it would cooperate and since Joe is wanting to do some pheasant hunting next weekend he thought it would work out best to get the building moved now. That worked great with Dad and Mom’s schedule so we basically spent the whole weekend working outside and getting things done! I am so thankful Joe is able and oh so willing to help Dad and Mom around their acreage!
I spent Friday planning and ordering some garden seed while Joe worked. I know, it’s really early to be thinking about the garden, but I want to explore some different types of veggies and I have this fear that I won’t be able to get what I want if I don’t order now. I didn’t get a tremendous amount but I am excited about what I did order. Things like purple carrots and different varieties of kohlrabi. It never hurts to plan ahead!
We left the house Saturday at 7:00 and didn’t get home until 8:00 that evening. Then Sunday we left the house at 8:00 and got home around 5:00. We didn’t get much done around here but we did get things done for Dad so I would say it was a very productive weekend. Drew and I ventured down to the timber as Dad wanted me to see the lichen growing out of the cottonwood tree. This tree has always been my tree, my favorite tree, the one I always gravitate to when we’re in the timber. It is huge and ancient and full of growths and protrusions and nooks and crannies. The eagles love to sit in the very tip top branches and look out over the fields and timber. If only that gigantic and ancient tree could tell stories. I can’t imagine what all it has seen over the years.
I told Dad and Mom that the building should be moved down to the timber, at the bottom of the sandstone bluff where the fire ring is, nestled between the trees. We could clean it all up, put a couple of beds in there, a couch to sit on and set up a camp kitchen. It would be the perfect place to get away. But alas, they had other plans, which I knew they did. But a girl can dream right! So we moved it up to the lot and it will be used for storage and that is as it should be.
I finally got some stitching time in yesterday evening. Mom had gotten out her microwaveable heating pad to show us and Drew wanted one so bad. She got hers from the store but since we aren’t doing much shopping and I’ve decided to try and make what I can with what I have versus buying anyway, I stitched him up a rice bag. I found a pattern I liked on Pinterest and used it as a guide and he loves it! I let him pick out an essential oil he wanted and we mixed few drops in with the rice before we stitched up the bag and he hasn’t let it out of his site since. He slept with it last night and warmed it back up first thing this morning. I love it when something so simple and easy can be made at home and can make someone so happy. Now I think I’ll make one for me too, and use lavender oil. Oh, to have warm toes when I get in bed at night. And then Joe will want too, to put on his back when he’s hurting. I’ll definitely need to put rice on my grocery list. Another reason to get the sewing machine out of the box and teach myself to sew. How much quicker and prettier would it be to sew up rice bags on a machine versus stitching by hand!
I try to work at being frugal as much as I can but I always forget to keep track. When I do keep track I usually find myself trying even harder or I realize some of the things we do that are frugal that I don’t think about. A few frugal things from the past few days –
We trimmed one of our trees instead of hiring it out. Trimming trees means lots of clean up work but it sure saves money to do it yourself if you can!
Lots of dead branches gone from our tree.
Mom gave me a bunch of green peppers from her garden. I chopped them all up and froze them. They will taste so good in casseroles and Sloppy Joe’s and such later.
We took advantage of Menard’s 11% off sale. You get a 11% rebate on all purchases, even those that are on sale! That’s when we bought our decorative fence supplies.
Drew found fish sticks on sale at the local grocery store – he loves fish sticks! I hate to buy them at regular price as they are so expensive. I then made some homemade tartar sauce to go with them. It tastes so much better than what you can buy in the store and I can make just the amount we will eat!
I was wanting a star to hang on the chicken coop but wasn’t really wanting to buy one. Then I had a “duh” moment – I used twigs off the branches we trimmed off the tree and made my own primitive star using twigs and twine. Perfect! I just might have to make a couple more!
We built our privacy fence ourselves. I can’t imagine what labor costs would be. Joe always does these things himself so we’ve never had to pay for labor. Between what his dad taught him and what he learned working construction for a local company years ago he can pretty much do anything except electrical. That he won’t tackle.
When I want fresh flowers in the house I go outside and pick what I want. This year I planted a lot of zinnias from seed. They come in so many colors and are so easy to grow and the more you cut them the more they bloom!
Beautiful bright cheery colors!
Joe’s been drinking lots of sun tea. So easy to make and so frugal.
We had a friend drop off some homegrown sweetcorn. That along with some fresh green beans from Mom’s garden made for a yummy supper alongside hamburgers from the freezer.
That’s all I can think of at the moment. I’m slowly working on building up my pantry. I put it on hold while we’ve been busy working outside and I thought this week was going to be really busy but plans have changed. (I’m very thankful!) Next week is Ragbrai – The Register’s Great Ride Across Iowa – and we will be having 20 plus people camping out in our yard Thursday night. There will be an extra 20,000 plus people in our little town of 2,000. Needless to say I will not be going to town on Thursday. But more about that later. For now I can relax the rest of this week and keep being frugal!
