John Buckingham

My Garden – Planting Daffodil Bulbs

Here in the northeast fall is the time to plant daffodil bulbs. Ideally, you should plant bulbs as soon as you purchase them. I received my daffodil bulbs in the mail and decided to follow the directions and plant them right away. The day was warm and sunny and most of the snow had meltedContinue reading “My Garden – Planting Daffodil Bulbs”

Frugal Tips: Homemade Gift Ideas

I love homemade gifts! As the holidays approach I try to think of gifts that I can make myself that might bless others. One favorite idea is homemade gift jars. You can fill jars with all sorts of gift ideas – cookie mixes, brownie mixes, or soup mixes. One of my favorites is a MinestroneContinue reading “Frugal Tips: Homemade Gift Ideas”

Recipe Box – Overnight Coffee Cake

Company coming this weekend and what better recipe to share than my Overnight Coffee Cake. It’s a delicious recipe that can be mixed up the night before.

Canning Dried Beans

Canning dried beans is much easier than you think! Once they are canned they are ready to use for any instant meal just like a can of beans!

My Garden- Putting the Garden to Bed

Well my intention today was to get outside and finish putting the gardens to bed. Snow is in the forecast and I really like to have everything cut back and cleaned up before the first snowfall. I worked outside yesterday in my flower beds and just about finished my work but today was going toContinue reading “My Garden- Putting the Garden to Bed”

Frugal Tips – Buying in Bulk

Once you know your prices by keeping track of them in your price book you can begin to buy in bulk and work toward having a well-stocked pantry. When you have a well-stocked pantry you never need to worry about making those unexpected trips to the grocery store. Once you have a well-stocked pantry youContinue reading “Frugal Tips – Buying in Bulk”

Recipe Box – Fresh Apple Cake

After making applesauce yesterday I still had some apples left. I decided to use some of the apples and make my Aunt Cathleen’s Fresh Apple Cake. My aunt shared this recipe years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since! It is delicious anytime of the year but especially good in the fallContinue reading “Recipe Box – Fresh Apple Cake”

Prudent Pantry – Canning Applesauce

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to pick apples. It was a beautiful fall day, perfect for such an outing. The orchard had over 43 different varieties of apples, although the trees were not marked. As I walked through the orchard I would pick a few apples from each tree. In a very shortContinue reading “Prudent Pantry – Canning Applesauce”

My Garden – Extending the Season

Our growing season in Vermont is a short one. The ground is really too cold to plant until the end of May and we’ve been known to have a frost as early as Labor Day weekend! My dream is to have a greenhouse to help extend the season. We have friends that have a beautifulContinue reading “My Garden – Extending the Season”

Frugal Tips: The Price Book

Raising four children on one salary was often a challenge. I learned many ways to help stretch a dollar. Sometimes I would work part time or take care of other children in addition to our own in order to supplement our income. When I did work part time we would consider my salary as extraContinue reading “Frugal Tips: The Price Book”