Latest From Living Large: I Can’t Believe It’s August
This summer just flew by. Not saying it’s over. I haven’t even started my canning, but it’s August, and I can’t believe it. I’m still planting annuals in my garden. 🙂
August is my birthday month, and I used to celebrate all month long. I still celebrate the fact that I’m here and able to celebrate, but I honestly consider my birthday to be just another day.
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What’s Been Happening This Week
I’ve finished my hosting closet and shared it with all of you on Friday. It’s a pretty cute little space that even “Handy” thinks is a practical use of the space for this chapter of our lives. My other project is almost complete, and I will be sharing that soon. I also emptied my greenhouse and restyled it for summer. You will see that this coming Friday.
We had Harrison for the weekend so Mom and Dad could go to a Cubs vs. Yankees. It’s Chicago vs. New York, which is Annie vs. Tommy. Tommy was born and raised in Manhattan. Annie was born here in the Chicago suburbs.
My goal of one hour a day in the garden has been, for the most part, realized. When I can’t get an hour in, I’ve been making up for it with a couple of hours another day. I’ve been finding 1/2 price sales on annuals at our nurseries and also sales on perennials that don’t look great, but I know they will do well once I get them in the ground and give them some water. I have lots of holes in the garden this year from the floodwaters.
Posts This Week
What I’m Up to Next Week
I’m going to finish up my other big project this upcoming week. I can’t wait to show it to you.
Some of our tomatoes are turning red, and we’ve also had some pickling cucumbers, so I think the start of canning is right around the corner. My basil plants are huge this year, so I will be freezing basil in olive oil to have available for recipes all winter long.
I feel like a lot of the summer inside and outside projects are coming to an end, so I’m hoping for this month we can just sit back and enjoy them.
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Good News I Want to Share
- Allysa Curtis founded “Shame Free Collective.” Having grown up being fed by food pantries, she wanted to create a place where people could get food, personal hygiene products, and more without payment or judgment.
- I have been trying to eliminate as much plastic as I can in our home. The one thing I haven’t done but will be looking into is swapping liquid soaps and shampoos for solid bars. Read about how you too can swap out plastic for healthier, more eco-friendly products.
- I had just finished watching a series on Netflix, “My Daughter’s Father,” about a girl who needed a kidney transplant, when I stumbled upon this article about how 90,000 people in the US are on the kidney transplant list. This article highlights one man’s amazing generosity along with his desire to shed some light on this need.
A peek into my life
Lynn’s Recollections & Reflections
I have a little series that started out as a journal of sorts for my kids to have about my life. It became something more.
It’s a place where I share a very personal look into my life and believe it or not have helped some people get out of unhealthy situations.
It’s a work of fiction as it relates to others as it is my recollections of events. I hope you enjoy!
How do you make the basis in olive oil for freezing? I’ve never done it, but I have so much of it this year that it would be nice to have this recipe.
God bless you – Barbara
Hi Barb, I just put the basil, or garlic and basil, in an ice cube tray and topped it with olive oil, then stuck it in the freezer. Once they are frozen, I pop out the cubes, put them in a container, and put it back in the freezer. I do this with all kinds of extra herbs. I’ve also done lemon and mint with water for drinks. I have a post about it. https://livinglargeinasmallhouse.com/7-essential-kitchen-ice-cube-recipes/
I envy you with all your beautiful hosting pieces. I had so many beautiful pieces I had collected over the years but had to downsize when we moved to a continuing care retirement community. I still miss them but am confident we made the right move for us. We too now live in a small house — a little cottage just over 1200 sq. ft.and I don’t have a closet to spare but now have a hosting cabinet for the few things I was able to bring with me. I chose to use a cabinet stand for the TV and use the old entertainment unit as a hosting cabinet. We wallpapered the inside back with a navy grass cloth and added hanging racks for wine glasses. The top shelves hold glasses and bar ware and the shelves and drawers behind closed doors on the bottom hold placemats, napkins, napkin rings and a few accessories. We ordered the wallpaper and wine racks from Amazon and it all came together easily and at a good price. We are very pleased with it for our small house.
Sara—That is a brilliant idea to use an old entertainment unit. I see those large pieces on FB Marketplace all the time for very reasonable prices. Customizing it for this purpose is genius! Thank you for sharing. I’m glad you’re happy in your small house. There is something refreshing about having to be more minimal.
What a great idea for a hosting closet! I turned one into an entry closet for our coats and shoes, I just took a circular saw to it and cut it in half vertically to make it less deep. Those old telly’s were huge😂
Sandra – That is a great idea as well! I might borrow that idea and share all the things you can do with old TV cabinets!