Happy Fall Folks!

 We had our first snow in Wyoming this week, which has brought us to first winter, which will be followed by second fall shortly.  I hope where ever this blog finds you, you are content with the weather that fall has brought you.  I am working on becoming a little more involved in my community with some volunteer projects and also expanding my horizons and learning when I can.  I have signed up for a Master Class in January on traveling to Scotland.  Am excited to learn something new and look forward to traveling to Scotland at some point in the near future.

Here is a little catch-up on what I have been working on lately, in between my Netflix binges and lazy stints, I have to get those in as often as possible.  

I was able to grow a dahlia this year for the first time ever, I consider this my gardening accomplishment for the year, the garden and I have a love-hate relationship, I love it but hate weeding and the process about mid-summer.  Then in late summer, I appreciate all the work that went into it throughout the spring and summer.  

I took on trying pressure canning for the first time earlier this year, I am still a little intimidated by the process but learned a lot canning chicken stock the first time.  My advice would be to get the Ball canning book, and start out with something simple, even just canning water if you are nervous.  You got this folks!

Late this summer I made some zucchini pickles, they were an easy recipe from Kaleb at @wyseguide, I just modified his refrigerator quick pickle recipe and used zucchini and yellow squash instead of cucumbers.  They turned out great!  Here is the recipe.

It wasn't all roses this summer in the garden, my cucumbers didn't produce much and my winter and summer squash were lackluster, but that happens, there is always next year and I can support the local farmers market and co-ops as well for what I need.

This time of year marks my two-year anniversary volunteering with JASA Seniors and speaking once a week with my JASAChat match.  We talk every Sunday for about an hour, and it has been a very rewarding experience for both of us.  Whoever at JASA matched this crazy/lazy girl from Wyoming with my tough Jewish friend from Brooklyn, I sure appreciate them.

I hope you all have a great fall into winter, the holiday season is right around the corner.  As I write this, we have 50 days until Christmas, have you started shopping, is inflation affecting your Christmas plans?  Are you traveling instead of gift-giving this year?

Take care of yourselves and Happy Fall Folks!

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Summer Highlights

 Hi folks! I know it has been a while since I have posted on here, have just been working away on the house, garden and you know being lazy when I can.  It was a busy spring I had central A/C installed due to some new venting needing to be installed in my house, so figured might as well get everything done at once. Wow, am I loving central A/C this summer!! I feel very blessed to try and be able to save for one major house project per year. 
This spring was a weird one for planting the garden and flowers, it was cold and rainy for an extended period of time, and I had to replant a number of items more than once.  The vegetables are finally taking off now with the heat and I am eating a few cherry tomatoes and zucchini pickles as I write this post.  I came across Kaleb @ WyseGuide.com (@wyseguide on Instagram and the Wyse Guide page on Facebook) I have used a number of his recipes over this harvest season, he is also zoned similarly to me which is great for all his garden advice.
Speaking of the garden and flowers, below is a picture of one of my favorite hands-off annual flower combinations every year, Proven Winners flower pillows they start out as 4"X6" tiny little plants in early May and this is what they look like today.  You can purchase different color recipes and they usually go on sale mid-Winter for the following spring.  I find these mixes so stunning and easy to grow every year, plus it takes the guesswork out of planting my front planters.

What are you all struggling with this summer, gas prices? I know they are coming down (woohoo!) but it sure made traveling to see my folks earlier this spring/summer expensive.  In Cheyenne, WY where I live most of the Exxon stations have switched to Sinclair stations, did you know you can save 10 to 20 cents per gallon using their DinoPay app?  Here is some more information on the app, hope you can save some money with it.  Also, if you have a Walmart+ membership you can save using your membership, here is additional information on that, and an affiliate link to sign up for Walmart+ if you would like, no pressure ever peeps just if you are interested.

Here are some items I have been loving this summer while I have been trying to cook more at home and organize my little house along the way.  I am LOVING these measuring spoons that fit in spice jars of almost any size.  They have saved me dumping spices all over my counter a number of times, they also make a great wedding shower gift, or stocking stuffer (yes I said it, just planning ahead). Affiliate link

I am also loving this pencil case, which would be great for back to school for any students you have in your life.  It fits so many items, not just pencils, calculators, or glue sticks; it has a lot of storage and holds all my pens, pencils, sharpies, you name it.  It also comes in a few different colors for guys and gals. Affiliate Link

I just want to close by saying thank you to everyone who follows my blog here and my other social media accounts.  You all have been such great supporters even when I just post a story, reel or picture on Instagram and Facebook.  Thank you for taking the time to read through some of my summer highlights and have a great rest of your summer folks!  

I will close with a pic of my sweet peas, they are FINALLY blooming, I grew them from seed for the first time, and I am pretty happy that they are blooming.