Since we're already under several inches of snow, with more to come this week, fall/winter gardening is pretty much not happening, even for the kind of crops I used to grow in Seattle. I've been thinking of growing mushrooms again, and the 15% off sale today from Territorial Seeds is giving me a kick in the pants to do it. Shiitake mushrooms are about $25/lb in our area (especially for organic ..read more

The first time we went to the Pasco Flea Market in the Tri Cities was last July, on our way back from a biking vacation. We ended up touring through the market with our gravel bikes, so it was a little difficult to navigate the busy stalls and really get a chance to look through everything. So, when the opportunity to go back this past weekend arose, we jumped at the chance, dreaming of giant ..read more

Wow! I can't believe it's been over two years since I've posted here, but I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone too much. I've only posted a couple times on Facebook in the intervening time and I've been mostly laying low during this whole pandemic business. Biking in the TeanawayWhat have I been up to? Well, I didn't do much in the way of homesteading last year for a couple reasons. First, the ..read more

So much extra space on my double lot! I moved us out to Roslyn last year for a variety of reasons, the biggest one was to be more self-sufficient and independent of financial constraints. Living in Seattle was doable with two tech incomes but after my late husband passed away and I was laid off, spending $3,000 a month on a mortgage felt obscene. My two kids and I didn't need a house that big ..read more

Don't just sit there like a bump on a log, Mark Twain, 1863  I mentioned in a previous post, Going Zero Waste, that, since moving to a different town, I've been frustrated by the lack of recycling and municipal composting options. For starters, there's no curbside recycling pickup. This is manageable because the transfer station for recycling drop off is relatively close to my house. The downside ..read more

Hank's guitars standing watch Last year we didn't celebrate any holidays after my late husband passed away. It was just too difficult. So, for Halloween we turned off all the lights and watched a movie in the basement, avoiding the hundreds of trick-or-treaters we normally see in our neighborhood. Thanksgiving was a family get-together but, instead of traditional fare, we did a huge taco bar ..read more

Now that I'm getting settled into my new neighborhood, I've taken on a few challenges to not only connect with my community but to give back what I can based on my own background, skills and interests. I'll discuss all that I'm doing over the next few posts. Sunday garbage walk One thing we've been doing over the last several months is a bimonthly Sunday morning garbage pickup walk. Since we ..read more

Apple snack! A lot of what I try to incorporate into my life can be described as "seasonal living" and by that I mean that I try to take advantage of what's available each season not only from a local food perspective but from a cultural calendar as well. Heading into mid fall is a time of wrapping up production of fruit trees for the year and, for many people, it means processing and ..read more

In Part 1 of my posts on natural flooring, I discussed what we unearthed underneath the carpeting on the main level of my new house. Glorious Douglas Fir floors (read the linked post to find out what I ended up doing with them)!  I was not so lucky upstairs. Original carpeting (and staging) Underneath the carpeting and the carpet pad in the bedroom, bonus room and bathroom upstairs was ..read more

Drilling the stumps When I moved into my new house, there was an intimidatingly large "sticker bush" on the second lot against the fence. This holly bush was not so jolly and reached at least 8 feet both in height and circumference. I have had more than enough experience fighting with these plants in the past, and the girth on this thing had me afraid that it would take over the yard if I ..read more