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Hello Donna,

I just read your latest post and it was so lovely and calming to see your flowers and also the other home crafts that you are making and taking pleasure in.
In particular, the picture of the little cottage in the curtain lace really struck a chord. It made me long for a time of simple houses and gardens that were cared for by their owners and looked so pretty, unlike today’s big houses and ready made landscaping done by professionals. (and all the noise of trucks and machinery that goes with it). I find it distressing at times, but thankfully I have a group of friends who meet twice a month to do hand crafts together in a rather rustic cafe (a converted old shop with an attached house, probably about 1950’s vintage that is decorated with 1970’s memorabilia and music and has a great atmosphere. It’s a real blessing. 
Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your peaceful home life which is like a breath of fresh air in a very busy world. 
Best wishes from Sydney Australia  ????????????

Hello Donna,  thank you for another lovely post, they are a highlight of my week and I do look forward to reading a new one.

It’s been a cold and damp spring so far here in my part of the UK, not helped by the both of us having a heavy cold this week so lots of hot honey & lemon drinks being made and the heavier winter cover is still on our bed with nighttime frosts still threatening the young seedlings in our cold frame

Nature is still kicking on though despite the weather and this week the nesting pair of blackbirds have been hunting for worms & grubs to feed their youngsters. I watched them from the kitchen window for quite a while, heads cocked to one side listening for the worm movement under the grass and soon realised that the three juveniles were safely tucked under the hedge, just coming out far enough to have their beaks stuffed with food.

Donna, I chuckled to myself when I read about your mulberry tree.  I also love mulberries and have frequently lived with one either in the yard or nearby.  Another thing that I love is hanging my laundry outside in nice weather but I have to be careful during mulberry season because I have often brought the clean, dry laundry inside only to discover some big purple splotches on them.  I just laugh and re-wash them.  

It looks like spring is well underway at your house as it is here.  The flowers are so beautiful

Wrens are so silly!  A couple years ago my sister had them nesting down in her outhouse pit, where she had to be careful not to. . . ehem. . .  poop on them.  Of all the places they could have chosen!

About a week ago I found a wild turkey nest with 10 eggs in it, just out between my house and my tool shed.  I was so surprised to see it there!  So far the hen is still sitting on them, and if nothing raids the nest, they are due to hatch the middle of May.

I've been boarding/training a dog, foraging for mushrooms, and digging a lot of multiflora rose out of the woods.  That's pretty much it here.  I wish I had the energy to keep a beautiful home like you do!

I love changing my curtains with the seasons…. I like very light colors at my windows so we have as much light as possible come through… I generally only use a valance…. Made red gingham for my kitchen two weeks ago and it brightened the room! How’s the Madge house coming along? Such a huge project!!! 

That quilt that you added to the bed is really beautiful!  What a treasure!  

I recently finished a new quilt with a very light batting that will serve as my summer blanket.  Some recent frosts here so not much in the garden yet but having a sudden warming so I think the tomatoes might go in this coming weekend.  And I will put in some pole bean seeds maybe even today.  My little apple tree is covered with blossoms.  Last year I had just three apples as it was its first full year here but they were delicious and this year is looking promising. 

Hi, Sweet Grandma!????

Around here we are having cold one day and hot temperatures the other... So, our warm bed spread is still being used!????

Life does feel better and calmer when we do our chores and live in a simpler way. I believe more and more each day, that we weren't made to assimilate so much information and do so many things at the same time. God made everything in 7 days, so who are we to want to do everything on a hurry, right?????

I don't know if you checked your emails, but I sent you one.????

Hope you and Grandpa Charles have a blessed week!??????

I love the chenille blanket!  And the mulberry pies...looks delicious!

Thanks for the trip to the past!

hugs

Donna in Texas

I planted 2 mulberry starts about one and a half to two years ago, and this is the first year I am getting the fruit.  Only a cupful, but I'm excited to eat them.  My mulberries are supposed to be smaller trees, plus I'm pruning them every winter to keep them at 6-7 feet tall.  I'm not interested in climbing ladders on uneven ground to pick berries. I look forward to years when I can make pies or cobblers, maybe homemade mulberry ice cream.  My mouth watered at the sight of that pie.

I just took down lighter-weight curtains in our living area and put up thermal-backed drapes for year round.  It's so hot here for six months out of the year, that I need them to help keep my house cool, more than I do warm.  

I'm behind on my garden but I have made plans for this weekend.  Your flowers are lovely.  

I am with you on back to the basics.  My biggest exceptions are air conditioning, which is now an old-enough concept as to almost count as a basic, and running water.

I enjoyed your post.  I'm looking forward to more. 

Live in the ARKLATEX area of Texas. Our daffodils have bloomed and irises, planted 6 cherry tomatoes but something keeps breaking them off at ground level. I've only got 3 left. My mother says rabbits, but we've never seen any and have a fenced yard with dogs next door.

Been purging through the winter months for a yard sale soon.

Thank you for all the post you do. At 66 I'm still learning it's ok to live simply.

@Julia F.,

Do you mean breaking them off and eating them, or breaking them off and leaving the plant lying there wilting? 

If the tops are lying there wilted, it sounds like cutworms.  If so, they can be stopped by putting little "collars" around the base of each tomato plant.  The easiest way is to cut a piece of toilet paper or paper towel tube to be about an inch and a half to two inches long, put it around the base of the stem, and twist it down into the ground slightly so they can't crawl underneath.  Cutworms typically only attack young plants, so the collars don't need to last all summer.

Breaking off and leaving the plant.

Thank you, I'll try the collar around the remaining ones.

You're very welcome, and good luck.  

Dear G’Donna, 

I was so glad to see a new post!  I was wondering what you were up to.  I love the chenille bedspread, I looked online to see if anything close to that was for sale, but what was available was not good looking.   I used my mother in laws chenille bedspread on our bed until it wore out ;)

It is starting to be warm here in Arizona, so the days of open windows and doors are drawing to a close.   I am now all settled in my new home so need to decide what to do next…I am thinking of following in your and Charles’ footsteps and going to live in an earlier time.   Thank you for your posts,I know you are busy but they are a calm spot in the world!

Thank you again for another lovely post! I have spent the last month or so re-reading your blog, from the beginning. I am still at it and look forward to it in the morning when I sit down with my coffee. It has been such a great reminder of how many things I have learned from you and Charles, how to age with grace and never forget to keep learning new things, live simply and take time to notice the world around you, turn off the unnecessary noise and distractions, focus on the present. I took down kitchen curtains this morning to wash, and soaked them first. I am always astonished how much filth comes out of anything I do that with, which is now always sheets, blankets, kitchen towels and cloths, and sometimes clothes. I learned how to do one room proper cleaning from you, and I have continued to be reminded by your posts to live a prepared life at all times. Spring is here in Va, and most of the garden is planted. There is always so much clean up after winter, inside and out. I ordered and received my wringer for outside washing (dog beds) and my husband is going to build me an area to do that. I've rearranged my porch to accommodate an old pie safe I inherited, painted it and it now holds my canners and some jars. Why didn't I do that before?? Thank you again for your many 'soap posts', I finally tried it myself and can't believe how much cleaner my clothes/linens and house is. Not to mention the amount of money I have saved on cleaning products and adding plastic to the landfill. I will never go back to that again. As you can see, your blog has helped me in many ways and I just want you to know it has been appreciated. Thank you again. Karen

Your comment - “The smaller the print the better I like it” - I can totally agree with that! 
Here in the UK we call them ditsy prints

I can't wait to have mulberries planted at our place. They are delicious. We had this spring some house finches come back for a second year in a row and nest on the porch hanging geraniums. This year though their was a commotion so I walked out and peaked my head in the pot and 2 of the babies flew the nest right then. It was quite a sight to see. The parents and them took off into our big trees. I've recently gone back to more basics in many ways and it feels so much better. There's a calm and contentment I can't explain. I see others running frantically it feels like when you watch them. Others you ask how there doing and it's always I'm so stressed out due to work and kids activities. It's terrible. I work a lot, but it's not stressful activities that we do. I do believe that makes a difference.