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Winter Hump Day February 4
I did the math. According to my calculations, winter is now half gone! Winter Hump Day was officially February 4. We are now halfway through winter and halfway to spring. Don’t misunderstand, I do love the winter here in Canada! But this year’s winter has been unusually nasty. Frozen water pipes, broken water mains, and traffic accidents due to slippery driving conditions have been common in the extreme cold we have been experiencing. So I am especially looking forward to spring these days. It will be so wonderful to smell the earth as I am preparing and planting my garden! Bring on the spring flowers, daffodils, crocuses, and tulips! Winter…
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Cultivate Curiosity – Follow That Firetruck!
My husband tells me that he got into trouble a lot when he was a young boy. He supposes that nowadays he would likely be diagnosed and put on some kind of drugs. But back in those bad old days, they used to give children the strap. If kids didn’t get with the program and behave themselves, they would be smacked across their palms with a big ol’ piece of leather. I am not going to debate corporal punishment here, but I want to tell a story from his past that illustrates one of the great merits of homeschooling. Once there was a little boy who had trouble sitting still…
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Free Demo Planting Calculator at Sarah’s Kitchen Gardens
For those of you who are starting to plan your gardens, Sarah Hemingway of Sarah’s Kitchen Gardens is offering a free demo of her Planting Calculator on her website. This is an amazing little app that does all the thinking for you, whether you are starting seeds indoors, in a cold frame, or directly in the garden. It even tells you when to transplant your seedlings, if necessary. The planner also lists estimated harvest times and recommendations for succession planting, with the full version providing information for over 70 garden herbs and vegetables! All you need to do is look up the last and first frost dates in your area…
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Tools – Work with What You Have Now
“I’d get so much more done if I had an iPad.” “If only I had the new tablet. I know I’d be so much more productive.” Have you caught yourself saying things like this? Those of us who live in affluent North America have been conditioned by advertising to believe that we are useless without the latest and greatest and most expensive gizmos. But how much do such things really add to our productivity? It is certainly worth thinking about. An affinity for the latest gadgets will only hold you back, if your goal is to get ahead financially. Here is an interesting case in point. When the U.S was…
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Time – Work with What You Have Now
I’m sure that we all have wished we had more time at some point along the way. “I’d get so much more done if I didn’t have to work full time.” “I’ll have so much more time after the kids are grown.” “I’ll have so much more time to work on my business when I can afford to quit my job.” The fact is, we all have things to do. Lots of things. So how do you fit running your own business, or gardening, or exercising, into an already full day? The key is not wishing for more time, but working with the time you have now. Let’s say you…
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Seven Tips to Help You Get Things Done
We are all busy people. Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with all that needs to be accomplished. This is especially true if you’re self-employed and work from home. So many different things are vying for your attention that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. Here are seven tips to help you get those most important things done. 1• Develop regular work habits by making a schedule and keeping it. Habits are powerful influences for good or for evil. Cultivating good habits can make all the difference between success and the poor house. And once you have a daily and weekly schedule, you can know exactly where your…
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Urban Homesteading
Urban homesteading is built around the idea of becoming more self-sufficient in whatever way you can. Here are some of the ideas that can be included in the concept of urban homesteading: Raising Animals for Meat Raising animals allows you to produce your own food, support the environment and more. Animal rearing can range from something as small as raising a couple of backyard chickens or rabbits to something as large as raising livestock. Obviously, the bigger the animal, the more room you will need. But even in a small city yard, there is usually enough room for a few chickens. Gardening Like raising animals, gardening allows you to produce…
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Finding Time to Work from Home
Have you ever said, “If only I had more time then I could start my own business”? The solution is not getting more time – we all have the same amount. The key is managing the time we do have to make it work more effectively. Even if you think you don’t have time to take on anything else, you might be surprised to discover how much time you really are wasting during the day. If you can harness your wasted time, then you will realize that you can start working from home whether you hold down a full time job or not. Sometimes when it comes to being self-employed,…
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Raising Chickens in the Backyard
Is it possible to raise your own chickens in a big city backyard? Yes! And more and more people are taking advantage of this great way to provide meat and/or eggs for their families and a great educational experience for their children as well. For the story of one family’s adventure in raising chickens in the backyard, visit Sarah’s Kitchen Gardens. Sarah started off caring for three laying hens, Sadie, Rosie, and Nellie. It was only a temporary arrangement, but the convenience of having fresh, free range eggs was a real treat. The family enjoyed it so much that they moved to raising meat chickens over the summer and likely…
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How to Set Up Your Home Office
Making space for your work at home endeavours can vary from having no space to renting offsite space – and everything in between! Here are some tips on how to set up your home office. Your home office has to fit your personal working style and you may need to be working for yourself for some time before you really know what you prefer. Maybe you need nothing more than a laptop and connection to the Internet. You might be perfectly happy in your favorite recliner, on the couch, or even in bed with your laptop to work from. Do you need to use your office to meet clients? This…
