Life on a little urban homestead in the making, showing ideas for self-sufficiency, Permaculture, DIYing, organic gardening, food preservation, Chicken keeping, cookery, crafts, thrifting and more...
If you use Blogspot you may have been in the same boat as me last night. I went to my blog and got a red screen saying my blog was full of malware, etc.
Oh what fun, NOT! I didn't know what was going on, then got an email that one of my posts had been deleted by blogger. I did a post about the red screen which was also promptly deleted too, with an email. I could feel my blood pressure rising! Would my entire blog be deleted??? Panic mode. I did back up my blog, although I was worried about the malware issue with that. I posted a help question in the Blogger community saying what happened. I guess it was an error on their part. I did get 2 emails early this morning saying the posts had been re-instated, with a URL, which didn't work. I also got some emails from answers on the Help post. I stumbled on the one recent post (the other from March) and it was in the "draft" mode. Glad to find them! I re-published the one from March The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly It did appear to go back to it's original publishing date. If this happened to you atleast you know what the fix might be for you! Wow what crappy way to the the work week. But atleast it's fixed...
Blogger Changes and Anonymous Comments-
I just wanted to update readers here as Google is changing some of the Blogger features. That is something I will be unable to modify. Typically I get emails alerting me when someone has made a comment, unless it is anonymous. I can go in quickly and answer any questions, or comments. Be aware that any anonymous comments here go into a spam folder. Typically I only check that periodically since there's nothing to tell me that anything is there. I went through the folder this morning and 99% of it was spam and there were a few actual comments. In the future if you want to make sure I see your comment please use some kind of log in. Otherwise it will go to spam central. I'll add a note on the home page as well. I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring them! I love comments!!! So far I haven't detected any changes of any features on the blog. I've been trying to find the notification again that I received about the changes, but if I remember correctly some of those won't affect this blog. Some bloggers use features that I simply don't and so that's a moot point. So please let me know if you do see something odd that I may need to adjust. Thanks!!!
If you're trying to follow my blog the "Google Friends" widget is down on my end. It's system wide affecting all bloggers here. Google is working to fix it. It may work on your end if you're a new follower? If not try Bloglovin' or just bookmark and try again later. Thanks!!!
“Part of self-reliance is building a resilient community of hard goods and soft goods (spiritual, emotional, educational) around us, proximate, and relationally-oriented". Joel Salatin
Ready For Winter/National Prep Month!-
Autumn has arrived at our little homestead! WE FINALLY HAD SOME RAIN!!!!!!!!!!! It was the first rain since July. It rained steadily for 2 days, with much cooler weather. Leaves are falling and the high today is 65 and sunny. I'm loving it!
Anya dressed in brown for fall!
I'm putting away some of my summer clothes and pulling out fall/winter things. I've gotten my fall decor out and will work on that tomorrow. Time flies!
This time of year I start thinking ahead of winter prep along with general preparedness. It's also National Prep Month! I got involved with prepping back in 1999 when there was a lot of fear around Y2K issues. I had extra food, water, cash and fuels. Y2K came and went and we used things up eventually. You only have to watch the news to see how many people are caught off guard in all kinds of situations. Weather, nature, floods, fires, you name it. Given the current political state of the world, it's good to look ahead. What if you couldn't get to a grocery store for two weeks? Or a gas station? No water, now what? Stashing extra food is great but what about OTC meds? TP? Emergency home repair items? There are so many little things we don't think of. Tomorrow when I grocery shop I'm going to stock up on low cost barbecue chicken parts. I freeze them for the winter ans great deals! I' making pesto to freeze and minestrone soup from my garden tomatoes as well. I'm enjoying freezing things for a quick thaw on a crazy work night! I'll be checking our flashlights, batteries and more.
Last year I did a nice blog post about this very topic It's National Prep Month! and this in 2014 Prepping Information Here's a great podcast with lots of info here Thesurvivalpodcast.com It's titled Zero To Prepared – Fast, Simple and Low Cost Part One. Not all of it will apply to everyone, so see what if any might work for you. There are lots of great websites out there so browse around on as well. I discovered this solar light, recently, easy to install, LED and and BRIGHT! MicroSolar LED Barn Light -
I first saw this on Leigh's post at 5acresandadream.com I will probably get one for our coop, and some may want to stash a few of those for emergency power outages. I could see running the cord inside (thru a window, etc) and using inside with some creativity! They'd also be great for a tiny house, cabin's, etc.
My 600th Post!!!
Wow, I can't believe I hit 600 posts! When I changed jobs it cut into my time to blog, but has helped me keep my sanity :) I love writing and it helps me feel connected to the rest of the world out there. It's fascinating that I have readers from literally every continent all over the world! I love my little widget on my blog showing where my visitors are from. Just fascinating! Thanks so much for your comments, emails and encouragement. Love ya guys!!!
I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate Google. There are NO words. When you have someone start buying up every smaller company their "customer service" (and your privacy) evaporates. It's their nature. Here's the short version with some helpful info in case something happens to your blog!
I backed up my blog and theme before I went to delete an old junk email account last weekend. After recreating a new blog, because google closed mine, I also had to choose a new URL, or web address. I chose something similar- "The" little homestead in Boise. When you Import your blog it still misses quite a few things- links, photos, etc. so you may want to create a back up word Doc for that. It would save a LOT of time restoring or recreating. You might also document the size of the side bar, etc. if it's not the default. I like mine a bitter narrower. I finally realized I could restore the junk email I deleted and within 1 or 2 minutes my blog reappeared. I disconnected the junk email from it and added my main email. This took me 7 hours!!! And a lot of tears. I did find this fix after I published this-How To Change Blogger Login Email AddressAdditional instructions I figured out- send the invite then log out. Log on with the new email, THEN accept then invite. Then log in with the old email and make the change. It worked! Pretty easy. I also deleted the new-recreated blog.
When you have blogged for several years, and create a following, it's really sad to lose all that. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM GOOGLE, ETC!!! Backup, or archive your stuff. Lesson learned :(
My faux lavender wreath
Faux Lavender Wreath & Crafting W/Thrifted Finds-
I'm getting some spring fever, with 2 inches of snow forecast tonite! We had an inch this morning. I've been loving Provence French Country colors for a while with their famous blues and yellows. I've always loved sunflowers, and I'm going to plant some BIG ones this summer. I have a tendency to put these kinds of things only in my kitchen dining room, so I'm going to spread them out into the living room and our main bedroom. This summer I'm giving our bedroom a fresh, much-needed coat of paint. I'll go with white or cream and use a lot of these kinds of blue/yellow items to brighten it up! I'm going for a rustic, shabby chic bedroom with pops of color. With blue being my fave color and loving lavender (I grow a lot!) I stumbled on to this fun lavender wreath project. It's easy- no glue, and only took me about 15 minutes. I used these 2 components, a fake lavender "bush" and a twig wreath (+wire cutter), total cost about $8.00 with a coupon from Hobby Lobby. I LOVE that place, great prices and very helpful staff. Their lavender is very realistic-
I saw this on Joss and Main for $60.00 and laughed! A jar, pebbles and fake sunflowers. I'll be making one. For a LOT less!
I saw this too at Confessionsofaplateaddict and loved the tin house look for winter decor. You take paper mache houses and spray paint them with "hammered paint", how cool! Also from Hobby Lobby.
My thrifted pile of components-
Recognize the house? Ready to paint and stash for next winter!
My thrifted print I just found, $1.99! Sorry, no no-glare glass :(
The blue/yellow vase will hold a topiary ($2.00) and I found a new French butter dish. It was a steal at .99 cents, since they run about $25.00 new. They work great!
My fave new ceramic teapot (not kettle), got it from eBay for $8.00 great condition! Reminds me of Swedish country style designs -
And Santa's (me) new French tin postcard sign will go up, but where??? Hmmm...
I finally re-habbed my real Birch Yule log that I got for about $3.00 with really ugly 70's-style greenery. I stripped it down, left the candle holders as is. It has nice heavy metal feet underneath. I deconstructed a small swag I'd made and re-used it, nice! I may add something else, we'll see...
My simple winter goodies are out now, with berries from the garden. Soon sunflowers & lavender crafts and decor will emerge from my pile of thrifted supplies! Stay tuned!
For You Baseball Fans!
Dave and I are both baseball fans, so when I bought him the new James Taylor CD Before This World (excellent!) for Christmas we were both thrilled! He has a great new baseball song that he took 10 years to write. It's about the 2004 world series game, won by the Red Socks, the 1st win since 1918. It's called Angels Of Fenway, luckily he did a great music video too! Enjoy!!!
Thrifting/Sales Finds-
I have been looking for a new summer quilt for two years. My search ended this week! It needed to be king size, even though our bed is a queen. It has a deep pockets mattress, I gave up on dust ruffles, so I just needed a longer one. I wanted something nice, soft cotton, durably made. I went thrifting lots of times, but could never find one. I went to Ross this last week and stumbled on to this-
New Quilt!
Nice, fine quilting, soft and reversible, with opposite stripes. I washed it and put it on over the comforter. I LOVE it! $35.00 well spent. I gifted my daughter with our old one :)
I went to Lowe's and found these babies, 75% off, just like the Scandinavian ones I had seen online but much cheaper. I wish I could knit and I could have made the red balls! Too cute to pass up, so I bought some for next year. I will get rid of some more things to make room for these. My kids love my leftovers!
Tomtens! (or gnomes)
Little trees
For some generic winter decor I bought these nice, neutral burlap-wrapped snowflakes. Perfect on my old, chippy window! Good size, about 5" across. All of these packs were a buck or two each...
Anya's New Spot-
After I made a small pile of donations on the floor Anya decided it was her new "spot'-
More New Year Deep Cleaning-
I gave away a car full of donations this last week, deep cleaned both my linen hall closest, Dave wiped down all the kitchen cabinets, oven, baseboards and fridge. Now it's mopping and vacuuming! It's nice to have the extra time over break to deep clean. Nothing better than starting the New Year clean, tidy and more organized!!!
500th Post Giveaway!
Wow, it's hard to think I've done 500 posts since 2011! To celebrate I'm putting together a little giveaway. I'll put something together and put it up here. Anyone in the continental U.S. can join, and it comes with free shipping! Check back soon!
I recently discovered the website above, MrPrintables.com and this guy is brilliant!!! He's a combination of a graphic artist/engineer. He makes the most amazing stuff! If you have a color printer and paper you can really go to town! A couple of weeks ago I made this for my library-
I didn't realize until after the fact that I had done my 400th blog post! So.... if you want to enter a drawing for some fun, environmentally-friendlyish gift pack stuff (ship only to continental U.S.), leave a comment below answering this question-
What's your favorite theme or topic that I post about? Please leave your name and/or email, so I can contact you if you win!
I'll choose the winner next week, after I go shopping!!! :)
Schmaundt Schinken/Creamed Ham-
When I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. Having part of my family coming from various parts of Europe, I knew that there's probably some Prussian in there too! It's here- Mennonite Girls Can Cook It's really pretty simple. I made it last night and it was fab! I served it with sour cream noodles and steamed broccoli. Yummy!!!
How Do You Like The New Font?
Too hard to read or ok? I wanted to try something new and went with "Indie Flower" on Blogger...
Gorgeous Holiday Designs!-
I stumbled on to this website, both holiday years have great displays and designs. I kind of wish I had her room, but then again I'd have to clean and maintain it! These are photos from- Sugarpie Farmhouse- Be Merry & Bright Check out her ideas, lots there! I love all the white, simple and clean, throw in some vintage and she has a great look!!!
Sounds Of Summer-
We're heading towards record-breaking 100+ degree weather in another day or so. Since it was cooler yesterday, I went out in the back yard for an hour and read sitting in the sun. I decided my pasty white skin needed some color! I did wear a hat and shades, as I HATE a sunburned scalp. Being stuck inside with the recovery of my foot surgery has really been pretty much inside. Luckily I'm off my cart in 2 more days! Woohoo! Skin is finally healing up better in the small spot that was a problem. Then- just 1 crutch and I can finally drive myself, and do more here. Anyway, Thursday night I had Dave set out a couple of deck chairs- one by the deck to transfer off my cart to, and one out on the grass for me to roll over to. That went well, and I took out my hot weather supplies in my little cart basket- water bottle, book, phone, etc. It was so nice to be outside! I'm finishing up Making Home by Sharon Astyk. Excellent book! Sitting there for an hour I could hear bird sounds, a little hammering by a neighbor, cars off in the distance, kids laughing down the street. It was actually pretty quiet. It was a weekday with most of the neighbors off at work. Weekend summer sounds tend to be- lawnmowers, more hammering (neighbors got a project going), more birds, music, screaming babies, barking dogs, and the neighbor that has his pool vacuum going. Meanwhile the cat's running up and down the hall chasing a tiny wadded up ball of paper. Anya is so easily entertained!
I love the BISCUITERIE sign Sweet Julia Child Tribute-
I recently watched a cooking show and discovered who Patricia Wells is. Patricia is a well-known American writer who lives in France. She has written lots of French restaurant reviews, guides and cook books. She was good friends with Julia Child, the famous American cook who brought French cooking to America. I was really charmed by this little corner remembrance Patricia made to her friend. When Julia was getting ready to close up her French home for good Patricia asked if she could have her cook stove. The full story is here Julia Child's 100th Birthday. When I first watched Julie And Julia I really became aware of what a wonderful, tough, and funny woman Julia was. Watch the movie if you haven't! Amy Adams and Meryl Streep were brilliant! And, of course, blogger Julie Powell turned her cook the entire Child's cookbook in one year into fame and fortune. Good for her!
Amy Adams as Julie, Child-type pearls and all. Wallpaper from ScenicReflections
Meryl Streep as Julia Child in her French kitchen
I already knew who Julia was from randomly watching her on PBS. She donated her entire American kitchen to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. It really shows a "working" kitchen set up for organization, use and simplicity. You can take an online tour Julia Child Exhibit. I wish my kitchen was that big, and I love the cabinets and colors. Talk about a lot of utensils, cooking collectibles, etc.! Here's a fun little article from Country Living magazine on How to Recreate Julia Child's Kitchen.
I remember watching SNL one year and almost dying from laughter at Dan Akroyd's imitation of her cutting up a chicken. He is sheer PERFECTION! BEWARE- if you're faint around blood, skip this! And try not to laugh yourself out of your chair!!!
Almost Time For a Giveaway!-
Two more posts to reach 300, then it's time! Keep checking back!
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