tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76686455172631307462024-09-24T09:35:14.998-07:00The dangerous antics of a bargain hunter turned wannabee DIY-Homesteaderalibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-24658986166657413752011-09-24T22:13:00.000-07:002011-09-24T22:13:26.379-07:00

I am getting ready to make apple butter with the fruit we scavenged last weekend. Unfortunately, I only have three jars, not nearly enough to store the plethora of compote I will need to can.  I looked at buying new jars, but it felt so wasteful, so I headed over to Craigslist.  WOW! I was awesomely surprised at what appears to be an ongoing listing for Jim's Jars in SE Portland.

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-24267524825968562472011-09-17T19:19:00.000-07:002011-09-17T19:19:35.310-07:00

Today was our Family Fun Day Outing and we headed to Mt. Angel, Oregon for their annual Oktoberfest celebration. The Kindergarten area is always fun for the under 12 set, with free pony rides, an animal petting zone and bouncy houses for all ages! Biergarten avoided, it's a fun outing for our group, and I highly recommend discovering what Mt. Angel has to offer. With both kiddos sound asleep in

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-8014265096107793862011-09-14T16:36:00.000-07:002011-09-14T16:36:40.137-07:00

Suddenly it was already Sunday! We took our apples, washed and graded them according to how they would be used: A was for eating and/or slicing for the dehydrator, B was for cutting into chunks and getting out the pectin and/or using for applesauce, and C was for composting (or goat feeding).  I was amazed how easy the pectin was to make and will be trying to do some canning with this

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-19334886584572803472011-09-14T16:16:00.000-07:002011-09-14T16:41:01.766-07:00

June shares her homestead with us! The kids really enjoyed feeding the chickens! Forest Goats were another main attraction... Especially for Lucy! Making Pectin from the "Bad Apples" Prepping the dehydration trays and grading apples Slicing and dicing! Taking time to play Horsey with the kiddos! Lucy's proud leaf moment!

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-74835405075211153112011-09-14T15:32:00.000-07:002011-09-14T15:32:48.058-07:00

On Saturday we hopped aboard the short bus and went apple foraging. We found a bunch of apples and blackberries in season, and did a lot of plant identification along the way. I had fun pointing at things and asking what it was and could I eat it, perhaps I should've taken the edible plant class instead? We had lunch in an old county park along the river and then headed back to the homestead

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-39443555765558510562011-09-14T15:06:00.000-07:002011-09-14T15:06:02.662-07:00

Friday night we got there and got settled at the home of our hosts/instructors June and David.  They are really amazing people and I'm so excited to soak up their shared knowledge.  Our group, about 12 of us including our kiddos, sat in the living room cleaning elderberries from stems (over 15 lbs) while enjoying a few glasses of elderberry wine (juice for the younger set). The

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-87456972225162429712011-09-14T15:00:00.000-07:002011-09-14T15:22:26.751-07:00

My husband is the adventurous sort. He embraces the outdoors as part of his arena for contact sportz of every variety. Me? Well, I like to go camping, but I like there to be running water and flush toilets too. I'm not a total wimp and not afraid to try new things, so when Dan (aka Otis to his Trackers Bretheren) approached me about doing a 9-month immersion program through his employer,

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-71109476067105129322011-09-14T13:47:00.000-07:002011-09-14T14:45:06.625-07:00

Running With Scissors is morphing from your one stop shop for coupon deals into my dangerous antics as a modern Homesteader (wannabee). I believe that couponing and homesteading are symbiotic in that we are all trying to use and conserve what we have to employ the most efficiency into our lives as possible. Whether one does this by raising chickens for eggs or getting free feed for those

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-42805294629181135402010-05-05T12:47:00.000-07:002011-09-12T22:38:50.270-07:00

I received an e-mail from our friends at Swagbucks alerting me to a new way to earn microbucks from my favorite search & win site! Answer the daily poll and you will be rewarded! The e-mail says you can earn 30 bucks in 30 days, so not a ton, but every little bit adds up! Happy Swagging!

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7668645517263130746.post-50772651124514727032010-04-14T21:03:00.000-07:002011-09-17T19:27:27.898-07:00

I'm sure you've seen my not-so-subtle advertising for Swagbucks here on the blog and on Facebook. I thought I would take a few minutes to share my experience with the site so perhaps you can see why I get so excited about it. What is it? Swagbucks.com is a web rewards type site where you register and participate in various tasks like searching the web and shopping at your favorite

alibee13http://www.blogger.com/profile/13938719384658877468noreply@blogger.com0