Some good reads

This past week we were camping.  We all had a great time.  Jaimie was able to cook another lamb over the fire for a community feast, and I was able to make an apple pie in the NuWave oven.  I'll post more about it later, possibly, but in the meantime, here is a bunch of stuff I'd love to check out further because it's interesting to me. 

Grafting your own fruit trees (because we have several trees that need pruning but it seems difficult to just cut it off and toss them).

Extreme whiting solution (because our camping laundry gets grungy and I couldn't find our regular camping sheets so I used white sheets because they were the least expensive).

Making soap.  We attended a workshop on making candles, which seemed easy enough, and they said that anyone who can make candles can make soap, and vice versa.  (Lily and I made very cute sand candles).

Seed saving instructions, because it's good to be self-sufficient and store your own.

Getting rid of cat urine smells, because our cat peed on our bed while we were gone.

Making hard cider in 5 minutes.  That's just cool.  (By the way, I got all these links from Homestead Survival, an awesome blog).


Must-have essential oils, because they are must-haves.

Homemade ginger ale, because Jaimie likes ginger ale and it's cool to be able to make your own and know what's in it.

Carrot cake jam, because it's something new and interesting and we have carrots planted.


Blackhead remover, because I got a free sample of Biore pore cleanser in the mail and if you had blackheads, this is a much more natural solution with stuff you likely have in your home already.

Poison ivy remedies, because there was a bunch of poison ivy where we were camping if anyone was foolish enough to wander into the woods off the mowed paths. 

When we made it home, I picked the last of the strawberries, a gallon each of beans and peas, and the first few ground cherries.  The tomato plants, though planted in a raised bed two feet off the ground, are almost as tall as me.  I am really hopeful to post about the garden soon too, though I am likely going to spend more time in the garden the next few months than writing about it.