Living Life in Rural Iowa

Rhubarb is an excellent addition to any garden! Being that rhubarb is a perennial, you can get a crop every year and fill your refrigerator/freezer with its deliciousness.

I was blessed to grow up with a mother that loved rhubarb and canned it into jams. I was doubly blessed to move on to a farm that has it growing abundantly.

Why Should You Grow Rhubarb?

1. Rhubarb is very easy to grow. Get some plants from a garden center or find a neighbor/friend willing to thin out their patch. Plant your rhubarb in a sunny location and fertilize with some well-rotted manure. Do not pick the first year, only pick the thick stalks the second year, and pick all you want the third year!

2. Rhubarb is easy to maintain. Rhubarb just need a sunny location and adequate moisture. You do not have to dig it up in the fall because it likes to have its roots frozen in the winter. Give the rhubarb some well-rotted manure in the spring or fall to help fertilize it, but this is not necessary every year.

3. Rhubarb gi…

My Grandma Rene is 94 years old. She has lived through The Depression, World War II, six sons (no daughters), lost two husbands and still is going strong. She is starting to show some effects of her age, but she still lives by herself, plays cards, and sometimes dances.

We have been probing her for more stories of her growing up and she tells what she remembers. She will tell you that was so long ago that she has forgotten some things. I am 38 and I have forgotten some things too!

When we have asked her how they got through the tough times, one of the phrases that stick out in my mind the most is "We just did".

What does that phrase mean? It means that things had to be done and you had to do them. Farm chores had to be done because that was food, income, and nobody else was going to do them. She worked as a hired girl in high school and afterward because she needed a place to live while going to school in town and the extra money was needed. They used flour sacks to make clothe…

Corned Beef Casserole is another childhood favorite of mine growing up. I make it now and then when I want comfort food. This is my mom's recipe and I have no clue where she got it from.

I also make it for St. Patrick's Day since the traditional foods of St. Patrick's Day does not thrill my kids at all.

Everything in this recipe is food storage friendly and can be stored for at least 1-2 years. I know I appreciate having ingredients for meals just in case going to the grocery store is not an option. This is also a very forgiving recipe!

For the ingredients, this recipe uses canned corned beef. You can find that in a square/rectangle tin in the canned meats section of your grocery store. Canned corned beef used to be very cheap to buy, but has risen quite a bit in cost. If you can find it for $3-4 a tin, you have got a deal and should stock up!

If you do not want to use canned cream of mushroom soup, feel free to use homemade. Homemade cream of mushroom soup works great and tas…

Every Sunday I will be posting a Sunday Savings on the Homestead. This posts will concentrate on one money saving thing you and I can do to save money for the week. Some will be easy, some will be be a bit difficult, and all will concentrate on one way to save money for the week. Please join me in trying to live a frugal life in 2015!

Got your gardens planned? 

You do?

Awesome!



Now is time to start some seeds! I haven't always been too successful at it in the past, but I learn every year. And I have a co-worker who is really good at starting seeds. I want to do my own tomatoes and peppers this year to save me money in May. With graduation coming, I don't have a lot of money to play with that month. I will also start my own cabbages. I only do 4-6 cabbage plants, but I love roasted cabbage and it stores well.

Literally, starting seeds is a pretty frugal activity. I bought a pack of 50 seed starter pots for $3 at Dollar General. I got a bag of seed starting and herb planting soil for…

Homemade apple fritters are a family tradition. And no wonder! They are so good! My mom makes these every Christmas morning. She loves to tell the story about who used to make them and where the recipe came from. In fact, when I emailed her to ask her if I could share this recipe, she sent me this:

"Your Great-Grandma Marie Jebsen Kopp made that recipe a family tradition using either apples or raisins. Your dad prefers the apple one so that has become our tradition. I heard the recipe came from her mother, so your Great-Great Grandmother Amanda Wohlert Jebsen. They would use dried apples and reconstitute them by boiling in water a little while. Raisins were also treated to a hot bath. Raisins were a treat for those living in the Midwest back in those days, they usually only bought them at Christmas or Easter time. They were not readily available in this part of the country most of the year or if they were they didn't spend money on them until the holidays."

I love the his…

Every Sunday I will be posting a Sunday Savings on the Homestead. This posts will concentrate on one money saving thing you and I can do to save money for the week. Some will be easy, some will be be a bit difficult, and all will concentrate on one way to save money for the week. Please join me in trying to live a frugal life in 2015!

March is here! I can finally get excited about gardening! Not that the snow has gone away yet, but planning what to plant, where to plant, and how much is wonderful! 


I have already amended the soil a fair amount with old chicken manure and bedding. I might add in a bit of peat moss too because my soil is a heavy black dirt that needs some lighting up. 

What are you going to plant? Where? How much?

My garden is going to contain:
2 rows (18 plants) tomatoes - 9 paste tomato plants and 9 heirloom tomato plants
2 grape tomato plants
2/3 rows of snap peas
2 rows of green beans
1 row of yellow onions
1/2 row of red onions
1 & 1/2 rows of bell peppers
4 zucchini hills
…

Many of us do the same things every day. We get up in the morning, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and start our day. Have you thought about how your daily habits and routines are a part of your prepping?

I didn't always see daily habits and routines as part of my prepping. I didn't use to have these habits and routines. Then I discovered Fly Lady and started to develop some routines. Then I had a few emergencies and discovered how nice it was to have these habits in place. I didn't have to search for clothes to wear. My clothes were in a neat pile, ready to wear. My phone and keys were in easy to find.

Lately, my nightly routine has been expanded. I make sure that by the time I go to bed, these things are happening:

1. Dishwasher is running.
2. The washer is running.
3. My clothes are laid out for the next day.
4. My phone is on the charger beside my bed.
5. All the lights are off.
6. The doors are locked.
7. Keys are beside my phone or in my jacket pocket.
8. My need-to…

Every Sunday I will be posting a Sunday Savings on the Homestead. This posts will concentrate on one money saving thing you and I can do to save money for the week. Some will be easy, some will be be a bit difficult, and all will concentrate on one way to save money for the week. Please join me in trying to live a frugal life in 2015!

This Sunday Savings on the Homestead combines the last three weeks. Not on purpose, but it does flow together beautifully. We have been very busy and I have had a lot of things slide to the back burner.

However, now it is time to start cracking on those things. One of the things I find essential to saving money is having a sewing kit. I mend a lot of clothing, sheets, and blankets by hand. I have only had a sewing machine for a year so I still do a lot by hand. This week's challenges will focus on this!

1. Buy yourself a sewing kit. This does not have to be elaborate. Heck, I love the little sewing kits with a clear top and red bottom plastic bottoms…

February was a rough month for us with kids having colds and sinus infections. The ones who did not catch them were doing everything in their power to not catch them. We also had basketball tournaments 3 out of 4 weekends. That will kill getting anything done!
My Goals For 2015

1. Clean, de-clutter, paint, re-carpet, fix ceiling,  and organize Paige's room. This room is an unorganized disaster that needs some serious help. Plus she is at that age where she is growing out of everything: clothes, toys, books, etc.

We are in the process of cleaning and decluttering her room. We set a timer for 20 minutes most nights and tackle what we can. A lot has gone already, but more will be gone. We could probably have a garage sale at this point, but no time for that. 

2. Clean, organize, paint, and re-carpet the office. This is where I work at home (most of the time). It doesn't work for me. It doesn't really work for anyone.

Nothing. Working on #1 first. 

3. Purchase a hand gun and lea…