Living a Simple Life with a Back Porch View
Grab a glass of lemonade and settle in for a visit! Listen to stories designed to encourage, uplift, and help you Live a Simple Life with a Back Porch View. Find out what that means, and how to shift your own lifestyle. Then relax and enjoy while learning the different aspects of a Simple Life - from following your dreams and passions to handcrafting, cooking, tending to the home and garden, and more. And from time to time, there will even be a recipe and freebie or two!
Episodes
129 episodes since 2022
Sanding Against the Grain
When you sand a piece of wood, you are taught to ‘sand with the grain’. If you sand across the grain, the grit of the sandpaper will leave grooves– like scratches or small cuts that are obvious in the finished project. When you sand ‘with the g...
September 16, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 129
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17:14
Willingness & Touch
We often think in tangible terms when we talk about living a simple life. Homemaking. Slowing down. Spending time with family, getting involved with our community, and developing our creative skills. But there are some things we can’t actually ...
September 09, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 128
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16:19
The 'Remnants' of a Simple Life
How many times have you taken a look at all of the bits and pieces left over from other projects, and wondered what in the world you are going to do with it? These are often called ‘Remnants’. But don’t toss them out. Instead, get creative – yo...
September 02, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 127
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13:37
The Problem with Creativity
Creativity is a wonderful thing to indulge in. You can be creative in the kitchen, craft room, yard, and in many other ways. But when you overindulge, it can create a very creative problem. Need help with creativity overload? You may find it he...
August 26, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 126
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15:08
The Calling Card
Social Media. Cell phones. Emails. They all have their purpose when it comes to communication and stopping in for a quick visit. But they all have one thing in common – they are very impersonal. It may sound old fashioned, but there...
August 19, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 125
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11:13
On the Banks of the Brook Besor
There are times when life just gets too heavy for us to shoulder the load. When that happens, it may help to sit down by the Brook Besore with David and his men, a story that can be found in I Samuel 30. You may be surprised as how a simple res...
August 12, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 124
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11:41
The Art of Doing Nothing
It may seem like a lazy, unproductive, and selfish thing to do, but there really is value in being still. Take a lesson from a little yellow bear and learn the value of the Art of Doing Nothing.
August 05, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 123
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12:02
Connect the Dots
Dot-to-dot. Connect the dots. As a kid, you probably spent time pouring over a page with numbered dots scattered around in what seemed like a random method. If we started at Dot One, drew a line to Dot 2, and continued in the same method, event...
July 29, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 122
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12:04
Planning Ahead for the Holidays
Holidays have a way of eliciting excitement in our hearts when we think about them. We can’t wait to catch up with family, dig into food we usually only get to enjoy once a year, and celebrate with all the festivities and fun. But t...
July 22, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 121
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16:04
Game Night Fun
Don't Lose Your Marbles!In the heat of summer, we are often looking for fun ways to entertain ourselves and stay as cool as possible at the same time. We also want to take advantage of the season and host a gathering. But knowing what t...
July 15, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 120
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12:26
Tempest in a Teapot: How to Avoid Heat-Related Attitudes
The summer months bring out more than bathing suits, grills, and ice-cold Lemonade. It also brings hot and humid days, some of which break the 100-degree mark. With little rain fall to break the heat and humidity, life can become un...
July 08, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 119
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11:21
Embrace the Freedom to Live a Simple Life
This week our nation will be celebrating the 4th of July, which we all know is the birthdate of our country gaining freedom. Our forefathers created and signed the Declaration of Independence, which gave us political separation from Great Brita...
July 01, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 118
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13:14
How to Fold Fitted Sheets
Mama taught all of us girls the basics of laundry. We learned how to use the washing machine, the proper way to hang clothes on the line, and when we were blessed with an automatic dryer, how to use it. Once everything was cleaned, ...
June 24, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 117
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10:20
Make Your Summer Reading List FUN!
Established in Washington in 1966, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) began when Margaret McNamara realized that students she was tutoring didn’t have ready access to books. Today, we have libraries, bookstores, eBooks, and even online librarie...
June 17, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 116
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10:54
Get Creative with Heat Busters: Ideas for Handmade Christmas Gifts
The summer heat has a way of driving us indoors, but we struggle to find ways to escape the heat and still be productive. Summer is one of the best times to work on handmade Christmas gifts. Listen in and discover some great ideas on gift...
June 10, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 115
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13:25
Cool Down with Summer Heat Busters
It’s official. Summer has finally hit us between the eyes. The humidity may be more of a southern thing, but the heat affects all of us, at least to some extent. And it doesn’t just make us sweat. It can affect us physically, mentally, and emot...
June 03, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 114
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13:09
Then vs Now
I hope you are ready for today’s conversation because I am going to take you back in time. I’m doing this to answer a question proposed to me recently. It had to do with the differences between a Simple Life ‘back then’, and a Simple Life now. ...
May 27, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 113
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12:47
Become Active Within Your Community
As much as we sometimes would like to withdraw 100% from society, in reality it isn’t practical or probable. As humans, one of our basic needs is to have contact with others – even if it is only one or two people at a time. Having n...
May 20, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 112
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12:35
The Delicious History of Cookies
Welcome back to the Porch! Help yourself to some tea cakes and lemonade and settle in for a few minutes. In fact, you showed up just in time to help me with a little project I’m working on. All I need for you to do is tell me – what is your fav...
May 13, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 111
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12:16
Starting a Seed Bank
Gardening as part of a Simple Life is more than just growing fresh food for your family. It is also finding a way to continue growing that food when money is tight or we find ourselves in the midst of floods, drought, or even food shortages. To...
May 06, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 110
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12:08
Frugal Garden Decorating
If gardening is an art form, frugal garden decorating is the canvas! We all want healthy, beautiful gardens that delight the senses. But there should also be an element of fun tucked between the greenery. But when adding decorative ...
April 29, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 109
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10:28
Spring Flowers: How to Embrace Life with Beauty
Spring is here, and with it comes a beautiful array of spring flowers. As you drive down the road, you see fields of wildflowers, or beautiful roses in someone’s yard. All that beauty can’t help but make you smile. If it...
April 22, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 108
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10:58
Get Creative with a Craft Garden
Handcrafts are a beautiful way to express our love for creating, and sharing that love with others. But having to buy all the supplies can get expensive. One way to circumvent spending all that money is to supplement your love of handcrafts wit...
April 15, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 107
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10:12
Friendship Gardens - The Ultimate Forever Gift
Flower gardens are a great way to add beauty to our yards and homes. But a Friendship Garden just seems to bloom better and more brightly. It’s my belief that these gardens are so beautiful because the fertilizer that makes them grow is love.
April 08, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 106
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11:10
Plan(t) It Better - Getting Your Garden Started
One aspect many of us have included in our Simple Life is having a garden. Our goal is to provide food for our family, seasonings for the food we create, or even just being able to walk outside and gather a bouquet of fresh flowers to decorate ...
April 01, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 105
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17:46