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I have one thing to say: we are all in God’s hands so please don’t worry. 

We have a winter storm blowing, so I made soap today. Foolish me! I got some on my arm and thought I had cleaned it off, but tonight I have a large burn. Always wear gloves!!! I’ve also been working on finishing a quilt. This year i’ve been working on finishing undone projects and cleaning out … it’s a big job, but a little every day accomplishes a great deal! 

Your garden looks wonderful! Well done!!! 

Hello G. Donna.  I didn't know about Charles being accosted in the yard. I can understand your fears. At one time you and Charles were considering moving to Madge's old place, are you still contemplating that idea?  Maybe it is a safer place to be.  

Dear Donna... We don't involve ourselves in anything political or watch/listen to  the News on TV so we don't have our peace taken from us.

I noticed on social media that people open their mouths and say the most unkind things to and about people they don't even know so that too is no longer something we would wish to be part of.

Lawlessness is increasing and you're both very wise putting a sturdy fence around your property for safety reasons.

It is bottling season here in NZ so much time is spent doing that at the moment. Appears to be a glut of stone fruits and prices lower than the last few years.

I feel stay home, do homely things.... Crafts, reading uplifting books, even historical things on you tube can be most interesting in seeing how things were used, invented and how people lived in days past. Shut our ears to the going ons in the world today. We cannot change the plans others in power have.

Sending blessings 

Karen NZ

As others have said, don’t you worry about what anyone else thinks.  I do believe that you have some very nice followers. I’m sure many of us have varying beliefs, but I’m also pretty sure we can all agree there’s a lot going on and we as people are more divided than ever in our lives. 
I planted horse radish this fall but we are moving so I will dig it up to take with us- will see how it fares.  

Your fence is looking nice and I do hope you’ll enjoy your space/garden more 

Hello Donna & Charles

I was very sad to hear what happened to Charles, it must have been so frightening. The fence you have built looks very sturdy and hopefully you will feel safer. 

I find in my older years my peace is up to me and as another replyer said: I don't watch the news anymore unless of course it's time for the weather. Also I find Reading and My Crafts, Colouring In and Knitting keep me sane. I look so forward to your posts. 

Keep Well & Safe

Cheers Roz from Australia 

My peace is not disturbed. Everything is ultimately in the Lord's hands. And from what I can tell anxiety about anything outside of my control doesn't alter reality.  I focus on my routines, my obligations and responsibilities in my home and family. That gives me comfort and peace. My place is not to be anxious and worried about the news of the world as that's not what the Lord asks of me. It is enough for me to be a source of comfort & peace where the Lord has placed me.

On the collards you can cut near the base and it will continue to grow again, in your area you should get one more small amount of leaves before it begins to get too warm. 

I have planted the root end of grocery store romaine lettuce and get small yield but free lettuce leaves. It isn't as large as the original plant, but I pick leaves and continue harvesting for quite awhile. 

I have planted celery, herbs, garlic, collards,  and grocery store potatoes

I expressed my frustration with trying to control my electricity use this winter last post but I got over feeling bad and deleted the post. Maybe sometimes we just have to say things! We're all different but we're all here to watch and learn. 

What a beautiful fence! I'm sure it will do a wonderful job keeping everyone safe. Poor Bernadette. She has the perfect sad face for everything that's been going on lately. We opened the cold frames on a warm day and everything looked good except that we lost the perennial cauliflower. I'll have to devise a better way to get it through the winters. Our seeds are sprouting well in their seed trays. I'm trying a new pea type this year that's supposed to make both snow peas and podded peas on the same vines. I guess it's magic. It's called Wolfpeach purple podded pea. 

It is certainly a time of feeling over-stimulated with information coming at us so quickly. This can make us feel stressed and cause us to want to withdraw. Thank you for sharing the things you do which nurture and care. These qualities are universal as your many posts from your readers around the globe demonstrate. I looked closely at your photos and noticed that I have exactly the same candle angel chimes over here in England. They are in our Christmas box. Our garden planting is in the planning stage and we will be putting our cold frame together very soon now for the growing season. 

Hi Grandma Donna,

I have planted the roots of Spring Onions (they may have other names) in a herb pot for my daughter.

The Spring Onions were bought from the supermarket, the tops used and the bottom inch or so, along with the roots, was left.

I put them in a small jar of water for a few days. The tops started to sprout new growth, and new roots appeared.

I've attached a photo of the finished pot; you might be able to see a thickish green shoot near the front left. That's a Spring Onion after about ten days in the soil.

Wishing you and Charles peace,

Kellie

Hi Grandma Donna,

Taking action after such a shock can help with your feelings of security. I hope that you are both bouncing back well from that incident. Your fence looks excellent!

Even though we are having some extremely hot weather here is South Australia (today was 45C or 113 Fahrenheit!) I still managed to get some more spring onions and beetroot planted recently and they are going well. My tomatoes, both cherry and beefsteak, are all producing well, and aubergines are fruiting and I will soon be harvesting those as well. My lettuces, strawberries and basil are lapping up the heat and appear in our meals daily at the moment.

So good to read a new post on your blog. I understand your hesitance too. There is so much happening around the world. The world is so connected now and things can seem so urgent and personal even when happening afar and not under our control. Taking care of yourself and your own by growing, cooking, loving, even building a fence, can re-balance our focus. Thanks for the reminder.

Sharon in Lewiston SA, Australia 

Donna,

            I was very saddened to hear that Charles was robbed while out in your own yard. I imagine that must have been extremely stressful. Your new board fence is looking really nice. I hope you will feel safer outside when the wall is done because it is obvious how much you enjoy being outside, working in your garden, and enjoying wildlife and flowers. I hope you will be able to get back to walking on your paths, especially before it gets too hot outside for you. I am glad to see that your plants are doing so well. I know that gives you a lot of joy. I wish you could go live at Madge's place. It sounds like it was very peaceful there and probably much safer.

          I like to see your things out on the clothesline. I have some of mine out there right now. It is so wonderful to have the fresh air scent.

          I don't think you could really say anything that would offend people or get them to jump on you about something. I think we have a nice group here who are trying to find peace and calmness and we know we won't get that if we get embroiled in controversies. This is your blog and it seems that you ought to be able to post what is important to you. I sort of wish that you would get back on one of your history studies again as you really seemed to enjoy it and it seemed to give you a focus that took you away from present-day struggles.

        Wishing you peace and good health!

                                                                         Becky Sue

Hello,

Your wooden fence looks very solid and hopefully it will help you to feel more secure in your garden, poor Charles going through such an experience :-(

Not much going on growth wise here in the UK, we are still picking the never-ending Kale and Chard but everything else is at the planning stage, I have sorted through my seed box and know what I need to buy ahead of the season.

The world is indeed a scary place but I suspect that has always been the case it’s just that we are bombarded with the bad news 24/7 nowadays so think we all need to put up metaphorical versions of your wooden fencing to protect our mental well being? Mine consists of caring for my home, loving my family & friends, looking after my horse and, my current favourite, watching old episodes of Lark rise to Candleford

Hi Lainey T_2,

"Lark Rise to Candleford" sounds very interesting; I just read the Premise on Wikipedia.

I noticed that one of the actors is Linda Bassett, who stars in another period drama:  "Call the Midwife".

Being in the UK, I'm sure you would have seen that program. I wonder whether our US friends have seen it?

Here in Australia, we had Season 4 of "All Creatures Great and Small" on free TV over Christmas, but there weren't many episodes.

I love these kind of programs that give us a glimpse of everyday life in different times.

I absolutely love this quote of yours!  It is indeed "not what the Lord has asked of me" either! I wish I realized this better in the past years! 

The fence is a good idea.  I like keeping the peace and privacy in. I love your big table!

A nasty incident for Charles, it will have shaken him, but thank goodness he was not injured. The fence looks very tidy. Here the new housing estates have spiky evergreens, holly, mahonias, and berberis planted between the public footpath and the garden walls and fences. 

In Scotland there is “Right to Roam,” and my sister’s elderly neighbour and dog used to cross their garden fences every day for a short cut to walk on the hills. He uprooted some new hedge plants which were in his way, and wandered round to inspect the gardening projects. It stopped when he had a stroke. 

It is still cold and grey here in Staffordshire, 0°C overnight and 5°C today, some rain or snow in the forecast for Friday. We had a lovely snowdrop walk in the woods last week. The storms had brought down some branches and a few old trees. 

I'm so sorry to hear what happened to Charles!  Where you live, I would not have expected that to happen.  The fence should help.

I am still winter gardening and trying to decide what to do for spring.  I've had voles attack and something ate up my green bean and young beet sprouts this fall - not a vole, but I have no idea what it was.  And with all the flooding from hurricanes we had, I have a horrible amount of snails that will eat everything.  I use snail bait and diatomaceous earth,  but although it gets some, it doesn't get them all.  

I have planted the ends of green onions (also called scallions or spring onions) and celery, have cut up store potatoes and planted them, with mixed success due to fire ants, and sprouted tops of pineapples, but it gets too cold here for them.  My sister in lower central Florida gets edible pineapples from the tops she plants in pots.  I've tried lavender twice, but the heat and humidity of summer kills it.  I hope yours makes it, as it is lovely, and the scent is one of my favorites. 

It is a very turbulent time and the policies of your new government are affecting the whole world. It is frightening. I grew up in a dictatorship and I really appreciate the democracy in which I am now allowed to live. The time and the circumstances in which we lived have had a big impact on me. Recently I often feel like I am back in the old days. In the past, people here looked to provide for themselves with everything they could. This included gardening, handicrafts, repairs, construction work, cooking and baking, which were the basic skills needed to lead a good life under the circumstances. These skills ensured that we were able to provide for ourselves and that we could find peace at home, even when the environment outside was sometimes hostile. When I read your posts, I am sure that you will get through the difficult times.

Your garden looks great. You managed to get it through the winter well. I congratulate you on your success!

Let's stick together!
Best wishes from Germany, Sibylle

I am really sorry to hear what happened to your husband! A home should be a place to feel safe, I hope the fence will help to make you feel better! 

Usually we have our dinner when the news start but I feel that I can`t hear more (for me) bad news, so we have dinner 15 minutes later. I take care of my family, our house, my job, things that are worth it. 

It has become colder here, with some snow and ice. I don`t have something to harvest in our small garden. But I started to grow sprouts from mung beans in the kitchen, it`s easy to do and provides some fresh and rich in vitamins greens for vegetable pans.

Wish you all the best, stay safe!

These are times that try men’s souls. (Adam Smith?). Like Daddy, I’ve always kept up with news coverage.  Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t want to hear anything, so I try to look for non-political topics.  Sorry to hear about your safety. 

Donna, that is both shocking and sad to hear about Charles being accosted in his own yard.  I live rural but have had to start locking the front door if I am out in the back yard. Growing up I don't remember ever seeing my parents lock a door. 

I started locking after a neighbor had an intruder in their shed and notified me that the intruder had come thru my property. I then discovered the intruder had been in my garage and was trying to "huff" gas in my vehicle. 

I am appalled at the things going on around us. I do think being prepared, learning all of the old-time ways and crafts would be good for all. We need to be able to take care of ourselves and the less fortunate. Kindness, love and a true concern for others will go a long way. 

I am so ready for Spring and gardening, we have more snow coming in this week and sub freezing temps, I believe everything going on around us makes it seem so much colder.

Take care,

JC

Dear Donna, I'm always very happy when you publish a new blogpost. I also like to look at your older posts when I want to concentrate more on myself or on learning new things. I'm glad that you share your experiences with us. And not just you, but also everyone else who writes here in the forum. I can imagine that Charles' terrible experience is still in your head. I would feel the same way. But the fence looks great and will protect you and your property.
I feel the same way, I'm very worried about world events. And also the things that are happening in the USA right now. That's why I try to watch and listen to as little news as possible, because it always makes me feel worse. I try to concentrate on my family, our dog and my work. 

I don't have any experience with winter gardening yet. I only started gardening last year and I only have a very, very small garden. These days I have sown peppers on the windowsill and hope that they will germinate. We'll see. I'm looking forward to spring! best wishes from alexandra

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It's so nice to see the garden photos this time of year.  It hasn't been above freezing here in more than a month, and we have another big winter storm blowing in today.  

Your cedar fence looks beautiful!

We are most of us a little concerned in one way or another, gdonna. I can't blame you a bit for being reticent to state your opinions on things. And I remember when your husband was accosted a few years ago. That would certainly be a shock to anyone. If you perhaps could think of all the times you have been safe and secure in your home and garden though, it might help to ease the anxiety somewhat.  Most of the time the things we fear do not happen. I feel that some have been a bit judgmental on you here. Our Lord was, in fact, quite frightened in the  Garden of Gethsamane, it might help to understand that all human beings have fears and worries. These are strange times. I have to shake my head at some of it though.  I hope you will find strength and peace through what you do for Charles and yourself and your public here. You are most inspiring; and this is a calm and good place to visit.  Keep your faith; but we must act when we can to help things along. The present government has already broken rules outlined in the Constitution. If we can vote against this, we should. 

I think Claudia is right in saying that so many things that we worry about really never materialize and so it's mostly a waste of energy (worrying takes an amazing amount of energy I believe).  Having said that, in light of Charles' experience) I can understand how having a fence around your property would make you feel much more secure.  It looks really good and sturdy and cedar, while more expensive, will last a long time.  It has been my experience after putting in a fence (to keep out deer) that rather than making the area feel smaller it actually for some reason makes it look larger.  We no longer take the local newspaper since new publishers took over and reduced almost all the local employees along with most of the local coverage.  My husband is an economist and so we do get  the Wall Street Journal and so some national news .  But we hardly ever watch the evening news on TV anymore.  Just one bad, worrisome thing after another, most that we have no control over, and so not knowing much about what is happening outside of our little orbit makes sense. 

I’m so sorry Charles went through that! It feels especially violating to have an incident like that happen in your own home. I hope your fence gives you a sense of security and that you and those in your community stay safe.

I’ve been so restless these days. Everything feels on edge. I take heart in thinking of everything our ancestors have gone through and the attitudes and practices that saw them through the worst of times. My grandmother’s life was very difficult on paper, but she was such a lovely, joyful person despite it all. I think the key was her deep connections to her family and friends and her persistence. I try to think of her whenever I’m down. I’ve also been limiting my news to reading the morning paper (print, so there aren’t any rude comments to read!) and fifteen minutes of radio on my way to work. I feel informed without being overwhelmed.

G Donna,

As so many have replied, it’s always with excitement that I read your posts. It helps bring me back to focus on the things that matter. And I learn so much from you and others who reply. I’m new to gardening, but come from a long line of farmers and gardeners and hope I have retained some of what they have taught me in the past. It’s nice to learn new things as well. I’m currently starting to plan out a spring garden as I live in the Midwest where we have a lot of snow/ freezing weather.
The political environment and woke culture is worrisome. But it has been that way for many years, it has not started with this new president/ administration. I am in agreement with what others are saying, difficult times will always be present as we live in a fallen world, but how nice to know there are so many others who have the faith, and focus on their families, their homes, caring for others and trusting in God to take care of us. 
I wish peace and joy to you and Charles. 

I always appreciate your posts, Grandma Donna! I feel like it's things that matter, that are also within my sphere of control or influence. Home, how we treat others and ourselves - things like that. There are few places online that feel safe anymore, for keeping my mind and attitude peaceful, and this is one of them. So, thank you! My husband is the real gardener here, he puts so much time and effort into it. We've grown pineapples from the tops of store ones, but I have no idea what prompts them to fruit or not. I just stick them in the dirt and hope! We've grown sweet potatoes from store bought, many from just a single purchased potato. Also regular potatoes. Somewhat related, my husband has been experimenting with 15 bean soup mix from the store. This never occurred to me, but they grow! He's had pretty good germination rates. Not to the point of harvest yet. He's retired and I'm not, so it's good he has these things to keep him busy. I appreciated the picture of your tablecloth, I had started a project copying that pattern after seeing a glimpse of it in another post here recently. I haven't done much with crocheting thread before so it will probably be a long term project. I am doing a much smaller version, then we'll see. Thank you for the inspiration!

Erika C --  I buy some heirloom soup beans and apparently a lot of people were asking the seller if he would sell seed so they could grow their own and not have to pay the higher price. The seller said that he didn't need to do that because people could just take a few beans out of their package and go plant them, and that was cheaper for them than buying a special seed pack! 

Lainey T_2 --  Thank you so much for mentioning Lark Rise to Candleford! I  found I can get it on one of my free TV channels. I needed something new to watch. 

I like your phrase 'If I can keep my pillow buttoned so can you'. I've never heard it before. I'm glad you have been able to post and so sorry that you felt uneasy about doing so because of people's reactions. The simple life, doing what we can in our own circumstances and taking care of our family are universal and your blog brings a focus on what really matters in life. Best wishes to you Donna.

Penny

I am so sorry to hear what happened to Charles and also yourself. I hope the fence and time passing  gives you back the feeling of safety and sense of refuge in your home. These are very worrying times all across the world. 

I have always followed both the local and national news here in Australia and also the world news. I have had to stop this past week. It is too much. A friend of mine buys the paper and makes it last all week and that is her news for the week. I like that idea. It is not so overwhelming in small increments. 

I have been organising my home and working on my pantry just in case we need to stay home for a period of time. We are in the thick of flood, fire and cyclone season so it certainly doesn't hurt. 

I'm trying to plant something out every day so we can be as self sufficient as possible in our suburban home. This week so far I have planted out a Lisbon lemon, a Meyer lemon, a Hickson mandarin, a punnet of parsley, and a heap of strawberry plants, and I have sown seeds of lettuce, tomatoes, rhubarb, shallots, leeks, capsicum, and some flowers for a little joy. 

I hope everyone is doing alright with the many things happening right now. It is a lot to take in. 

It was lovely to see a new post but sad to think that you feel you need to censure your thoughts, in case someone doesn't approve.

Things are unsettled all over the world; the only saving grace being that, for most of us, a war isn't taking place.  I don't think you realise though what an oasis of sanity and calm your posts are in today's violently shifting political and social climates.  Please don't stop putting out your posts - we need more people like you,Charles and your supporters on this forum.

Like many others have posted, I don't pay any attention to what's going on in the UK or in the wider world.  There are some times when I think that my behaviour is too 'ostrich like' but I justify my non attendance by rationalising that I can't control or change  the bigger picture so continue working on myself. This is one person that I do have (a modicum!), of control over!

You, your husband and your continuing moves towards a gentler, less hectic and frenetic lifestyle are truly inspirational- long may it continue! 

Today is a difficult day around here, simply because a winter storm is blowing in. Though this means more time for my crafts, and of course, baking.
I am trying to keep myself occupied, though it has been more difficult lately. The sewing machine needs repairing, and my crocheting is starting to come to a stand-still. 

It is so hard to avoid politics right now, as it is all over the internet...

I love the phrase " planted........some flower for a little joy."  What a nice thought.  Flowers do bring a lot of joy into my life, and apparently into yours as well.  Joy is something that so many people need now.

Michele Y -- Thank you for sharing your perspective! I like cost cutting too. I don't understand how it saves money to cut 2T and then raise spending to 4T. That wouldn't work with my family budget. But I don't want to see Grandma Donna coming towards me with needle and thread and some buttons, so I had better stop there! 

"Our government should be held to the same standards."

Agreed. But will they be? I am a California gal who feels that we are pretty relaxed here, too. But I do not want to be in  the only class of people paying taxes while the billionaire government gets more cuts.

I meant to say earlier gdonna, that that breakfast is very appealing.  Delicious!

I have read non fiction Amish books for over 25 years as the way they live is of much common sense. They are a people of peace and I've noticed in all that time they don't involve themselves in politics. I feel politics is very divisive and like the Amish I don't put much energy into what the "leaders" are doing here or overseas. As i said before we cannot change anything and it's a waste of energy that could be used in a healthier way to bring us joy in the little things we do at home.

Dear Grandma Donna

I am so sorry to hear of that very disturbing incident. What a good idea or yours to build a new wooden fence back from the road, although it sounds like very hard wor for you both. We once had a wire fence between our old house and the house next door. Then we put up a wooden one like the one you are building. It made such a difference. It created a powerful psychological barrier as well as a physical one. 

Grandma Donna Wrote, Hello everyone, I have been here reading along.  I did remove a few posts that started yesterday on the 13th with an attached youtube video link. The responses were linking back to that youtube channel so I had to delete them as well.  This was contributing to some political discussion that could have gotten us off track.  Comments are welcome but outsourcing with someone's youtube video channel should not be done here as that is promoting and listed on our forum policy.  Also we do not allow someone to promote their blog or video's here.  We have a wonderful group of people here where we come to find common sense in this hectic modern world. 

If there is something that has historical information or helpful in our community and you want to run it by me first that is okay.  My email is on my blog.   

We enjoy photos here of your gardens, projects that you are doing, recipes, photos of breadmaking, pies and cakes or meals, we can enjoy and learn from these as they give us new ideas. Our chatting with one another (without politics or something that could lead us into difficult dialogs) are very welcome.   If you have posted something not knowing this was not allowed here, that is okay, it will just go missing, do not worry, we just move along now.  

Mentioning things, as was done in this thread, such as the series, Larkrise to Candleford is fine with me, I love that series, and anything that goes along with the interest in this blog most all of us are interested in things like this.   Just do not link to the series or youtube or website. We can type out what it is (as long as it is not political) 

 There have been times when I let things go through but considering the time we are in now I am just putting out a reminder.  I myself and as I put in the post name,  The Buttoned Pillow, I find it difficult in what I say right now.  But since this post I see in the comments that most all of us are seeking more comforting posts and talk.  Grandma Donna

Thank you very much for clarification Donna.

Karen NZ

Yes, indeed Donna. Sometimes we get caught up in a subject and accidentally run away with it. Ha! I read something this morning of interest to you though, and maybe others. It was an article on 13 things we should not have to buy new; and according to them we should be thrifting.  We are most of us familiar with this I am sure, but I thought it might be a good reminder.  Dishes, art, wooden furniture,  chairs,  mirrors, picture frames, vintage linens, lamps, books, coats, sweaters (jumpers) and finally mugs were discussed. I must say that I had not thought of some of them in a long time. It was interesting to see this on a main page site. 

Grandma Donna wrote, and Thank you Karen NZ

Grandma Donna wrote, Claudia O,  Very good point for many reasons. Thrifting also keeps many things from going to the landfill, it helps the many thrift shops that raise money for special needs in their community.  We have a thrift store that the proceeds go to one of the animal shelters, another thrift store supports the women's shelter which is a safe place for women in abusive situations.  Also the employees that work at these places get a salary, which helps employment.  Thank you for mentioning this.