R Barbara

190 Posts | 145 Comments | Active Since 2009

Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 190 Posts

Bronze Tip Medal for All Time! 66 Tips

I am a quilter, my profile photo (that’s me behind the quilt) shows a recent log cabin quilt I made for my sister, last year as a Christmas gift. I am also a gardener (make my own compost), sometimes cook, and jack of all trades.

I began working for ThriftyFun in December of 2008. My daughter Laurel, also a ThriftyFun staffer introduced me to the site. Currently I help moderate requests from our members. I love this job. I am able to work from home and get to see and learn from all of the yummy recipes, beautiful crafts, and useful tips shared by our members. One of my favorite aspects of the ThriftyFun site content is the varied posts dealing with recycling and reusing, whether it is in crafting, decorating or other daily uses.

My background is in education. I taught Anthropology part time for a Community College, in addition to supervising several campus programs. My several seasons of archaeological field work prepared me for the months of rock screening we did to make our personal gravel pit into a yard we can landscape. Not exactly pot sherds or points, but necessary for the flowers.

My husband, Bruce and I share our house with the rest of our pack, our dog Belle and Cali, the cat. We currently split our time between Oregon and Washington. In Washington we spend our time visiting with our daughter and two wonderful grandchildren. When in Oregon we, mostly Bruce, are in the throes of remodeling our 1946 Cape Cod. We have redone the plumbing, wiring, added insulation, etc. Our focus has been on improving the energy efficiency of this older home.

This year we finally were able to put in an eco-friendly alternative lawn. It is called Fleur de Lawn, and is a mix of micro clover, drought tolerant grasses, and some flowers. I am very excited about seeing it in its full glory this spring. I am working to increase my plantings of native and low water usage plants in our garden.

One of my favorite frugal gardening activities is to search the “half dead” discounted plants at the local nurseries and big box stores. I have had great success incorporating these bedraggled plants into my flower garden and watching them flourish.

Keeping Track of Screws When Assembling a Treadmill - closeup of button head machine screws on blue painter's tape

Keeping Track of Screws When Assembling a TreadmillOrdering a treadmill in the middle of a pandemic has its own challenges. Just having to wait a month for delivery was the first. Add to that the delivery restrictions that were in place. There was no option to have it delivered to the house or to pay to have someone assemble it.

Repairing Clothing Snags - snag isolated against a paper towel

Repairing Clothing SnagsKnit fabrics are very easily snagged. Here is an easy way to repair the snag using an unusual tool - a dental floss threader. Here we show the process on two men's shirts.

CDC Guidelines for Using Bleach to Disinfect SurfacesBleach can be used effectively to clean and disinfect surfaces if prepared following the instructions on the CDC website.

Rose of Sharon Bloom (Hibiscus syriacus)My little Rose of Sharon plant got a slow start this season, but is now blooming again! I just had given it a drink right before taking this photo. I love the color of the flowers.

Fungi PhotosWhile hanging out some laundry on a sunny November day, rare in this area, I spotted these interesting fungi. I am not sure what type these are. I love taking photos of mushrooms and other fungi. I hope you enjoy them.

Finches Dining on Rudbeckia Seeds - late flowers and finches eating the seeds of the earlier blooms

Finches Dining on Rudbeckia SeedsTypically I don't deadhead my rudbeckia for this very reason. At the end of the season the birds love to eat the seeds. I had to take this photo through a window as there was no good way to get closer without scaring these sweeties away. They appear to be female gold finches or juveniles. I have nyjer thistle feeders further south in the same part of the garden.

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