Recent Posts

close up of blue jean fabric rectangles sewn together for a picnic blanket

5 Things I've Made From Old Blue Jeans (Reuse and Upcycle!)

I love finding new uses for old clothes. What could I make with old jeans? Take a look at these five useful ways of using old blue jean fabric, from picnic blankets to children's satchels!
top down view of evergreen advent wreath with four tall ribbon-wrapped candles, one pink and three purple

Making Our Own Advent Wreath (Inexpensive and Beautiful!)

A fast and easy Advent wreath for our dining room table that uses dollar store candles, leftover ribbon, tree trimmings, and found pine cones.
a loaf of warm crusty sourdough resting on a flour sack towel

The Fastest, Easiest Way to Bake a Great Loaf of Sourdough Bread

Armed with a new sourdough starter, I was on a mission to make a fantastic loaf with the least amount of time and effort. Here's my method.
Mason jars of apple jam lined up on a wooden cutting board

Seasonality and Natural Rhythms: Why Growing and Preserving Your Own Food Matters

Having a garden isn't just a hedge against the End Times. Whether canning jam, fermenting cabbage, or dehydrating tomatoes, here's why the natural rhythm of growing and preserving food is good for us.
Tomatoes and cucumbers climbing their twine trellises, with marigolds, peppers, and basil underneath

Gardening, Year 3: What I Grew and What I Learned in My 200-square-foot Backyard Garden

Every year in the garden is different. I never know which plants will grow well, based on the weather and where they're planted. Here's what happened this year: what grew, what didn't, and what I learned.
folding chairs hanging upsidedown on a hook on a wall

Incremental Organization: How We Made Our Garage Better For Playing, Storing, and Working

Every week, we ask: What’s one incremental thing we can do to make our living space work better for us? This week, we tackled the garage.
small pepper plant just planted in the dirt in the garden bed

Backyard Gardening, Year 3: Spring Planning, Planting, and Pests

Starting tomatoes, planting herbs, and preparing for a season of fresh vegetables! But how do we deal with the neighbor's new bunnies?
yellow marigolds in a garden bed

Gardening, Year 2: What I Improved and How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested My 200-square-foot Garden

Could I replicate year 1's magnificant tomato harvest? Here's what I planned, how it went, and what I learned.
big beautiful red tomatoes in a wooden bowl

Gardening, Year 1: How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested a 200-square-foot Garden and What I Learned

I used the square foot gardening method to grow flowers, herbs, and tomatoes. I was most excited about tomatoes. If I grew some, the garden would be a success!
looking down at vibrant basil and marigold plants growing in a raised garden bed

Building Raised Garden Beds in Our Backyard

Our first home improvement project was to create a 200+ sqft garden in our backyard. Here's how we built our raised wooden garden beds!

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About

We're Jacqueline and Randy, a blogging duo with backgrounds in tech, robots, art, and writing, now raising our family in northern Idaho.

Our goal is to encourage deliberate choices, individual responsibility, and lifelong curiosity by sharing stories about our adventures in living, loving, and learning.

Learn more about us.


Connect:

whoo@deliberateowl.com

Start here

Curious about our life and journey? Here are some good places to start reading:

Jacqueline and Randy leaning their heads together smiling at the camera

A Blog About Education, Lifestyles, and Community

A brief history of how the Deliberate Owl came to be and why we're writing a blog about us, our lives, and how we're living out our values.
Priests in red and gold celebrate a traditional Latin Mass

Discovering the Traditional Catholic Mass

How I discovered the traditional Latin Mass a few years ago, why that discovery changed everything for me, and what was wrong with the Novus Ordo Masses I'd attended.