I made my original dead body bag about 4 or 5 years ago and I've learned some things about how to make these after having to repair it a few times. Get my new e-book on Amazon! It’s free with Kindle Unlimited or $3.99 to purchase. There are projects in this e-book that you won’t … Continue reading How To Make A Bagged Dead Body For Halloween
I love making Halloween decorations, but I think they should be nearly free. Most of the things in our yard are homemade (with the exception of a couple of blow up displays and some skeletons.) I need my display to make a big impact (because we are trying to get people to walk down a … Continue reading Trash Bag Witch Circle/Ghost ring
Here we go! It's Halloween time on my blog again! I hope you enjoy the tutorials! I love making Halloween decorations! I also love to make CHEAP decorations. I don't think I can find a good reason to buy a lot of what I see in the stores. I am pretty happy with a lot … Continue reading Milk Jug Spider
I grew a few bush, and vine habit, winter squash this year. I only grow squash that are squash vine borer, resistant. There are two squash borer invasions per season here in my part of Texas. I only got one green one this year. If I like it significantly more than the yellow ones I … Continue reading Winter Squash, Texas Style
This is awful for trying to juice pomegranates. In fact I think it would be awful for citrus, which is what it is made for. This does not compress enough to be worthwhile. I used my fingers to juice what was left and it shot out from under my grip and spilled what little the … Continue reading Yes Or No: Pomegranates?
One of my family's favorite summer foods are often called either "quick" or "refrigerator" pickles. These make the crunchiest pickles because they aren't cooked. I grow Armenian cucumbers, which are actually melons. They taste like cucumbers and they don't get bitter in our high heat like actual cucumbers do. So, I always have fresh additions … Continue reading Quick/Refrigerator Pickles
We went on a tour of different universities. My boys had to deal with me excitedly saying, "Mushrooms!" as I ran across the street to take pictures. Yes. I am that embarrassing as a parent. But, they had a lot of patience for their goofy mom. I can't go places and not notice things in … Continue reading Great Links About Fungi
OMG! I am so glad I stuck with the annoying, ridiculously hard to train (to move indoors for winter), tropical vining cactus: the dragon fruit! I have only seen one other flower that rivals a dragon fruit flower. It was also a type of night blooming cereus. My mother had it as a house plant … Continue reading Dragon Fruit: Texas Style!
We went to three universities over four days. University of Texas at Austin was first (we were there specifically to look at the Cockrell Engineering School, which is number 5 in the nation.) If you are considering some South Texas Colleges and are looking for a university to go with a kid who has passions … Continue reading College Shopping: South Texas
So. Yes. I am having a new experience in my garden. As my grandmothers were, I'm also usually always home. I visit my family but mostly around Christmas time when my garden is asleep. This year I'm finding out what happens when you aren't home to stop disasters! There were bees and hornets all over … Continue reading Crazy Happenings In The Garden
We're going to go down a goofy road today. Do you know Monty Python? I used to hand tune my TV to PBS where they would show things like Doctor Who and Fawlty Towers. I loved British humor! Everyone should see: Monty Python And The Holy Grail. One of the funniest, goofball movies ever. It's … Continue reading Crazy Great Links
My best friend grew up in India. She's invited me to go to India several times over the last 23 or so years, and I still haven't done it. However, I have visited several temples with her in Colorado (Denver: plan on attending Sunday evening for the feast they serve. Castle Rock: this is a … Continue reading Personal Thoughts: A Christian’s View Of Another Religion
So. Yeah. Bad issue for me this year. I usually spray round up outside, in the play yard area. I have to hit it about three times a season. Last year I had issues with my sprayers and I only got the area sprayed once. Now, with my late start this spring (because of illness) … Continue reading Recovering A Gravel Area From Weeds
If you are canning tomatoes and you end up with a pile of skin and seeds... Can you do anything with it? Why, yes. Yes you can. Dehydrating and powdering the skin and seeds gives you a unique spice. You can add the flavor of fresh homegrown tomatoes to anything. All you need is a … Continue reading Powdered Tomatoes
Fig tree is full of ripening figs! (I think this is an unnamed fig someone bought at a big box store. I got a start about ten years ago while walking in my neighborhood.) It isn't a super high quality fig, but it does provide a nice screen between me and my less than stellar … Continue reading Figs, wonderful figs!
The most expensive part of my garden is the city water that we're on. Our city water is piped in. The aquifer that our land is over does not have good water. We're near an air force base, started in the 1930's and I wonder if over the years, that aquifer has been polluted from … Continue reading Watering In High Heat
There are so many things to discover on the land in the Rocky mountains. Indian prayer tree. Ute Indians lived in these mountains. This is an Indian prayer tree on my mom's property. There are several categories of Ute Indian prayer trees. Read all about them here: https://www.castlepinesconnection.com/ute-indian-prayer-trees/ From what I've researched: This one is … Continue reading Life In The Rocky Mountains
If you are in a position to look at a device to help you make tomato paste or sauce, seed different fruits and remove skins, do I have some advice for you! I have made paste from tomatoes before. I used to own a Foley food mill and used it regularly. (Like: an original Foley … Continue reading Tomato Paste
I have been a busy girl lately! We went to the sand dunes in Colorado after the hot springs. We stayed the night at the Hampton inn and watched the fourth of the July fireworks in Alamosa. You can also stay here: https://rusticrookresort.com/ Off we go! The distance to the dunes is deceptive. It is … Continue reading Great Sand Dunes National Park
I have never been to the hot springs in Colorado. I didn't know much about them. My best friend and her partner took my mom and I out to the springs in Moffat, Colorado. We skipped all of the lower temperature pools and got into the hottest one they had. Apparently, we were brave because: … Continue reading Fun In The Hot Springs
Crazy Green Thumbs 