Day Hiker Grammie

Hello and welcome!  In today’s blog, we’re going to a pictorial exploration of my garden!  As part of my goal to help myself and other folks eat more whole foods, gardening has become a way to explore and share what that means. So we’re going to step into my backyard and explore what you can grow in a very small space. My garden takes up a little over a quarter of my backyard and it's roughly 20' by 20'.  It's not a lot of space but in that small space, you can grow food that fresh and good for you! Gardening has been an incredible journey for me.  I started out my journey not knowing anything and thinking..."how hard could this be?  Just plant a seed, right?"  Turns out there's a little more to it than that.  Soil quality, the amount of sunlight, plant spacing and how much you water them all counts, too! But those topics could be blog posts all on their own.  Today, I just want to show you my little patch of heaven. It's become a place of peace f...

 Life is an amazing thing. Just when I think that the Universe hates me and everything is going wrong, I find out that no, the Universe does not hate me.  Turns out, I have been standing in my own way.  I’ve learned some important things about manifestation, and I wanted to share them with you in this week’s blog. I found inspiration in the most unlikely of places.   I purchased a book called Moon Magic by Diane Alquist at Five Below. If you’ve ever been in a Five Below, then you know nothing in the store is over $5.   It’s an upgrade to the dollar store, I suppose, but sometimes you can find some hidden gems there. This book is one of them.   I’m going to do a review of the book when I’m finished reading it. I’m just not quite done. However, what I have read has been the key to this lesson in manifestation. First, life has taught me well that what you focus on is what you are going to get. Lately, I’ve struggled at my job. I am to the point where I fee...

 Hello Fellow Campers!  It's that time of year again.  Everyone is packing up and hitting the trails for some hiking and camping fun!  While we are out exploring the wild, it's important to stay hydrated to stay safe.  Here are some tips to help you stay hydrated while out on the trail.  Invest in a day pack that has a slot for a water reservoir.  The reservoirs are usually available in a 1 or  2 liter size and slip easily into the slot provided with the mouthpiece sliding out through a hole in the top of the pack. The bonus for these is that you can throw them in the ice chest the night before and keep them chilled! Don't rely on sugary or caffeinated drinks to keep you hydrated.  Limit these drinks to just one or two.  The rest of the day, drink plenty of water.  Keeping yourself hydrated all the time means that when you hit the trail, you're not prone to heat exhausted or stroke.  Pack more water than you think you're g...

 Hello and welcome to Day Hiker Grammie's blog spot.  I haven't been very active for the last year because frankly, I haven't had the funds and then the virus happened.  However, times are changing and I'm headed in a better direction so I'm hoping that I'll have more content now. My first camping trip in over a year was pretty much a disaster. I did not do my homework.  I took it for granted that since it was a state park, it would be pretty much the same as the last state park we went to.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  My brother set this trip up and I did not research the park or even the area where we were going.  Big, big mistake on my part! Let me begin by describing the area where this state park is located.  This is one of the most remote parks in the state park system. It sits in the middle between San Saba, Lampasas and Llano, Texas.  The closest town is Lometa.  It is a half hour drive from the park and the nearest gas sta...

Today, I suppose I had a mini moment.    I got my grandson yesterday and I had to take him home today know that it could be a while before I see him again. I was already a bit emotional.    After I dropped him off, I went to the grocery store.    The barren shelves at Walmart were startling.    I left there feeling more frightened by something than I ever have.    I stayed pretty disturbed by it all until I had a conversation with my daughter.    She always helps me put things into a better perspective.    Today, I’d like to share a little bit of insight with you. Way back in 2010, long before the present day madness was upon us, I felt very compelled to be prepared.    I lived alone in an apartment so I could not start a garden but I began gathering tools and supplies.    I began building a stash of food and water. This was not just the fall out from watching one to many episodes of Doomsday ...

Hello and welcome to Day Hiker Grammie!  In today's blog, I'm going to talk about our adventures into couponing.  This is one area where my blog space and my YouTube channel are becoming more about a lifestyle than a given set of topics.  I'd like to share our adventures with you as we go along. In the past, one of the things that really fascinated me was watching those shows on TV where the ladies got hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for a fraction of the cost.  I honestly didn't think that it was possible for the average shopper to take advantage of this opportunity but it turns out that I was very wrong.  I'll add this disclaimer ahead of time.  I do work for Albertson's. I am a barista in our store's Starbucks.   Unfortunately, it is quite a pain to add our discount to our shopper's app so I do not get my employee discount at this time.  The savings I've experienced are the same that anyone else can get by using their Just for Y...

Hello! It's been a long while since I sat down to blog for Day Hiker Grammie.  A lot has been going on in my life to prevent this. I wanted to share a bit because it's been a phenomenal period of personal growth for me as an individual. I have a video I loaded on my YouTube channel that I'd like to share with you now. January Update Life is such a great teacher if you are paying attention to the lessons.  Most people will think that what happened to me was an enormous failure but that's not the way I'm looking at it.  I learned some valuable lessons during the last three months. In March of last year, I experienced a major depressive episode fueled partly by my place of employment. I had a very difficult customer assigned to me that deepened my depression and made working there intolerable.  When I went to my management team for help, I was told that I was a 20 year employee and they were not going to reassign the account. In other words, deal with it.  Un...

I have been having so many computer issues lately!  I'm sharing my video of my Ozark Trail Lantern today.  I hope you enjoy the video! Many blessings, Lisa

My first solo trip was more like a spiritual sojourn.  It was spur of the moment but incredibly pivotal for me as a person.  I enjoyed every single minute of it.  Of course, my destination was a place I was very familiar with and that helped me to feel safer traveling alone.  I went to Kerrville. I spent four nights there. I've blogged about Kerrville before so this blog is more about staying safe on the road when you're traveling solo.  Solo trips are worth the extra headache that safety precautions bring because when you're traveling solo, it's your own agenda that you have to worry about. So here are some safety basics when you're traveling solo: 1.Travel during the day.  It sounds like a cliché but it isn't.  Daytime travel brings visibility and a bit of camouflage to your solo status.  Service stations are busier during the daytime hours. 2.  Stop in well lit, busy service stations. This one is especially important if you've got to...

Sometimes during your travels, you find a place that feels like home.   It’s the place that you make a point of revisiting several times a year just because while you’re there, it seems to recharge your batteries more than any other place.   In truth, recharging the self is usually the primary reason for taking a vacation to begin with.   However, a spiritual journey is not the same thing as taking a vacation.   I learned this truth recently.   I took my grandchildren on the semi-annual jaunt to Kerrville but this time, it was more than just a vacation. My trip to Kerrville came approximately a week after my trip to Colorado.   The trip to Colorado was amazing and a welcome change. I learned some things on that trip that didn’t manifest until the trip to Kerrville.   The trip was the last big one I intended to make until I returned to the real world with a full time job and a college class schedule on top.    I knew it when I left. ...

Life has been pretty hectic since I came back from Grand Junction.  This is the first time where I've had some time to just sit down and think.  Wow! What an amazing time I had during my visit!  My friend, Ginger, was traveling to Grand Junction for a family member's graduation from high school.  She invited me to tag along and I am so glad I did.  Ginger was a long time resident of Grand Junction before moving back to my neck of the woods so between her and our wonderful hostess, Mollie, I was treated to some of the best of what Grand Junction had to offer.  Now I must confess that the weather didn't cooperate much while we were there so what we did do is just a tiny, weather permitting part of what this region has on the menu when it comes to entertainment and things to do. First, no visit to Grand Junction would ever be complete without a trip to the Colorado National Monument.  If you are afraid of heights, this excursion will be terrifyingly bea...