Granny Square Purse

I finally got my purse finished and I made a little coin purse to match. I lined it with fabric. It turned out really well. I'd like to make another one and maybe try some different shapes. I knitted the coin purse. I've been knitting again. I've done a wash cloth and am working on a second one. I'm also doing another scarf. I'm trying to use some of the yarn I have. I've been reading these knitting mysteries and that got me in the mood to knit again. The one I'm reading now is talking about felting and that is something I would like to try. It makes things warmer and more water tight. It's a good idea for a hat.

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I had all these medical, yearly apts., but they are done now and they didn't find any new problems so that's a relief. I've also been focused on trying to figure out how to make my budget work. I'm going to cancel my cable, just waiting for my current reality show to end, Top Chef. I don't think I'll get any reception without it. I'm tracking my spending at the groc. store and trying to figure out how to make it work on my budget. I've consistently gone over and I can't keep doing that.

I'm still reading Little House books. I finished the one written by Laura and am going to start the Rocky Ridge series about her life with her husband after they left their original home. I read about Rose and was sad to find out that she had a very different life from her mother and didn't have a happy marriage. By different life I mean her values seemed to be very different. All the things we love about her mom's life it sounds like she rejected.

Spring seems to finally be here and I'm going to start trying to get out and walk. One of the instructors at Curves is starting a walking group and so I hope to be a part of that. I've been struggling with my diet. I'm trying to get back on it. I gained back a couple of pounds, but I hope the walking will help.

I'm hoping soon to start doing some gardening again. My herbs and pansies seem to have survived the winter pretty well. The mints all turned brown, but they will come back I'm sure. I have bulbs coming up. I hope we have a better growing season this year.

I got a jar attachment for my Food Saver that you use on your canning jars to vacuum seal them. it works really well. I got it through Amazon for about $10. I've dehydrated green beans, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini chips and I'm going to do celery next. Come summer I'll do tomatoes.

We have sun today, I hope you all get some soon.

Linda

Stocking Up and Cleaning

I got a good report from my doctor so I can relax a little about my weight loss. Not that I'm going to stop but that I won't feel so pressured now.

I've been decluttering this one bookcase that has a lot of household books and binders and I've been rereading some of them and getting rid of some. Anyway I was inspired to work on my schedule again. I put up a check list this week for daily tasks and added a few. It's been good to see that some of these things I really don't need to do daily like sweeping my kitchen floor. I guess I'm not that sloppy.

 I read about sanitizing and disinfecting and ended up buying some of those wipes that are disinfectant and I'm using those to wipe out my sinks and wipe down faucet daily also toilet seats. I found out by reading this that good old soap and hot water do a lot and that you don't have to kill every germ you just need to reduce them to a harmless level unless you have someone in your home that has a virus. Most viruses are transmitted through the air so a disinfectant spray or an essential oil burner might be helpful. But for day to day the disinfectant wipes are just a convenience. I had given them up but am going back to them because they are quick and easy.

Next week I'm making a check list of weekly chores and I'll just check them off as they get done and make a note of what day I did them. That way I can see what needs to be done or what didn't get done. I already have a weekly schedule but as live has changed that schedule isn't working anymore and so it's become catch as catch can. The list will make sure I know what's actually getting done.

I started dehydrating. I'm doing some mushrooms today and I'm going to do spinach and green beans. I found out that you can buy these packets that take out the oxegen and help keep them from molding. The food saver also has an attachment for canning jars that does the same thing. I want to get that. I think I mentioned before that I watched some UTube video's on dehydrating and was inspired to try it. I've done fruit before but didn't see the possibilities in vegs. until I watched the videos. She also has a web site that has the videos. dehydrate2store

I'm stll enjoying the Little House books. I've read the first book and am almost done with number two. It's been interesting to hear about all the things they made and how they did it. I didn't know that Ma made straw hats. It's been along time since I read these books. It's made me realize how little we really need and how we have so much excess. They were really excited when they were able to get anything they didn't make themselves and they really appreciated those things, but they valued hard work and independence too.

The photo is of a painting I got in Amsterdam. I told Heidi I would post it.

Linda 

What Would Ma Ingles Do?

We had some amazing clouds. I was going to an apt. when I saw them and was wishing I had my camera so instead I took this photo later in the day, not as good, but still give you the idea. There were these big billowy coulds everywhere. We seldom get that kind here and not so many.                                                             

I wanted to share that Audrey Eclectic has started a series called What Would Ma Ingles Do . I was excited

because I've been watching the shows on tv in the afternoons. Her first post is from The Long Winter so I decided to read it. I'm really enjoying it and learning how they got along on so little and how much we have. People are complaining about the cost of living going up and esp. food and are stocking up against the possibility of rising prices. It's seem like I've heard this before many times, but they might be right on this time. I think after the collapse of the economy last year we all take these warnings a little more seriously. I don't have the extra money to stock up right now, but will be looking for super deals on produce come spring. Someone on a forum I'm part of has been drying a lot of produce and I was thinking the soups I've been making would work really well for dried vegs. and so I want to do some of that.                                   

I'm still decluttering. I'm going to tackle bookbooks again. I have a hard time parting with them even though most of them I never look at. I'm determined to get rid of stuff I'm not using. I'm not sure what I'm goingt to do with the extra space, maybe some of my overflowing kitchen equipment could go on shelves with a curtain on top. Have a great week and keep warm. Enjoy a good book and then tell me all about it.

Linda                                                             

Current Projects and Looking Forward to Fall

We haven't had much of a summer but for some reason I'm feeling the fall vibe. I'm starting to get tired of salads and am thinking of veggie dishes and hardier foods. I got some Japanese eggplant today and am going to make a summer squash, eggplant and tomato layered casserole. I just slice everything and overlap them drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and bake until the veggies are tender. You could add meat if you wanted. I love eggplant and use it a lot.

I'm starting to think about my fall goals. Everyone is talking about preparing for homeschooling and that is getting me in the back to school fall mood. I'm always ready to start new projects in the fall and make new goals. I get a new energy at that time of year and look forward to what that season has to bring. I think this year I'll be trying to do some Christmas gifts. I haven't done any knitting or crochet for a while and may do some of that. I also will probably be ready to do some more decluttering and organizing.

Current projects-I feel like I'm much more prepared for an emergency although you can never really be completely prepared. I will continue to do things a little at a time. I've been busy filling my freezer with berries and sauces. Another thing I've been doing is filling my empty milk jugs with tap water. My water doesn't taste very good, I buy bottled water for drinking and so I feel like I have plenty of drinking water for an emergency but I wanted to have water for other things. I've decided it's impossible to store enough of anything for a long term emergency, I just don't have the room. So I'm just going to do the best I can and concentrate more on just stocking up for everyday life and saving money.

I'm continuing to make yogurt and next I want to start sprouting. I've made ketchup, barbecue sauce, and pesto. I want to still make marinara sauce and tartar sauce and I'm looking for ideas for other things to make. I feel like I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen but I've enjoyed it. It's nice to know I've got all this stuff stocked away.

Linda

Image-allposters.com

Sauces in the Freezer

I already make my own low carb barbecue sauce and freeze it in small batches, so I wanted to think of some other sauces I could freeze. I cook in small amounts so it's nice to be able to grab just enough of that barbecue sauce for my baby back ribs and not have to make it. I want to make it myself because I think it's healthier and sometimes cheaper, but not always.

I've been looking for a teriyaki sauce and have found there are a lot of different version. I found one on Fox by Tyler Florence that I like so I'm going to try that one. This is really a marinade. I would also like to find something that is more of a glaze, but I'm trying this one for now.

Two sauces that would be good with left over cook chicken are curry sauce, I like the version with sour cream in it and enchilada sauce. I made the enchilada sauce last week and wasn't sure I liked it, but it seemed to get better every day. I guess it's one of those sauces that is better as it ages and mellows.

My reason for just freezing the sauce is it takes up less room and I can make one batch of sauce and use it for different recipes. This is part of my strategy for enticing me to eat right. For people with a bigger family I would double the recipes or even triple them.

So I'm on the look out for other sauces I could freeze. I'm not doing white sauce, cheese sauce because I know how to make those without a recipe and they are so easy. Also I'm not sure how well a creamy sauce freezes. I'm thinking I should leave the sour cream out of the curry and add it as I'm using it.

I have seen the idea of putting your raw meat in a freezer bag with a marinade and then freezing it and I want to try that too, but right now all my meat is frozen. One was a chicken with a Dijon marinade that sounded good.

Some of the marinades are really easy to throw together but you might not always have the ingredients on hand and so making them ahead and freezing them means you will always have them available.

So it's all about convenience but also health and frugality.

Linda

image-allposters.com

Kits, Lists and Filling Shelves

I redid my 72 hour emergency kit in a backpack. I added a one week kit in a duffel bag for my car. It has a change of clothes and more food. The kits are very minimal. I created a little notebook for my purse with all the phone #'s I might need. I checked my supply of batteries, water and propane. There are other things I might buy later on.

I already had what I needed for those power outages that were short in duration, but I added more canned foods in case I lost power for longer and lost my freezer foods. I think I have enough food that I wouldn't stave for 3 months, but I'm making lists and trying to figure out if I really do.

I like making lists. I made a list of the foods I use and marked those that are essential. I'm making an inventory list of what food and non food items I have. Next I will try and figure out how much I need of each essential item for 3 months. Then I'll make a shopping list to carry with me. I'll be looking for sales. I'm realizing how much water you need and I have enough for a couple of weeks.

We can't always satisfy all our needs but that's motivation to find those bargains or make it yourself. The couple in the book I was reading learned some new skills as the year went on. I look forward to the challenge of making more things myself. My dd and I were just talking about making Greek yogurt which can be pricey. So there is a lot to consider before buying. I'm learning this process.

I'm going to make black bean chili today and freeze part of it. I also want to make some traditional meat sauce for pasta.

Linda

Emergency preparedness and stocking up

I've been working on decluttering and organizing shelves in the garage and in the house to make more room for supplies. I also got out all the information that I have collected from different sources and am reading through it.

It can be kind of overwhelming to think about disasters, but one of the first things you need to do is determine what kinds of disasters you are likely to have in your area and if you will most likely be evacuated or stay in place. Then you need to make a family plan and make sure everyone in your household know what it is.

Really you need to prepare for all possibilities. Last year I bought a sleeping bag and packed a backpack as a grab and go kit and I bought a case of water. I need to go through my kit and see if I need to replace anything in it or add anything.

One of the printouts from from FlyLady's site. It was for evacuation. It is an old one and she may have new ones but hers was really the simplest. http://www.flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Prepared.asp

I hope to get copies of important papers in a folder for easy grab and go access. I already have a photo album near the front door.

Stocking up on food and water is something I was already doing, but I'm realizing that I need to check propane, batteries, and so on. If I lost power I would not be able to cook my food without propane for the little burner I have. I'm also thinking a small barbecue would be a good thing to have if I'm staying in place. Another thing I've been doing is filling 2 and 3 gallon water bottles for use other than drinking.

I realize there is no way I can prepare for every eventuality. So I'm just doing the best I can with the room I have and the money I have. There is much more I could share but that's enough for now. I'll share as I do things just to spur you all on.

Having Fun With Food Storage- This is a web site I saw on Falling Like Rain I love anything that has baby steps so I got excited about this site. You can sign up for a baby step program that will lead you to having your emergency storage in good shape in a year. The link is on my side bar.
Falling Like Rain also has an excellent post about simple living and things to think about.

We had someone come talk to our neighborhood about emergencies in this area and were told we would not be evacuted but would have to stay put and to be prepared for 2 weeks. So not all the information on this site applies to me, but I'm going to take what does and try and let it motivate me to work on my emergency supplies. I really don't have the money to do too much, but that is part of what they are trying to do is show you how you can do this slowly so you don't have to put out too much money at once. I think wisdom from God is important in these areas because you can get into fear and go overboard, but it's common sence to have some extra food, water and batteries. Depending on you situation you might need a car kit and so on. We all saw what happened in New Orleans. Ultimately pray is your greatest safe guard.

Stocking up is something I started to do for emergencies. So I started by stocking things that could be heated on a camp stove or eaten as is, lots of water and some other supplies.

Then I started to stock up to save money by freezing meat bought on sale or in bulk and seasonal produce. My daughter and I did a bulk cooking session and froze the entries.

With a full pantry and a full freezer I can cook a meal without going to the grocery store. I've seen challenges on line to see how long you can go without buying and just using what you have. I had to learn to use what I had and not let it just sit there.

Learning to store things properly is something I'm working on. I've had some problems with freezer burn. I keep all my nuts, whole grain flour and grains either in my extra frig or my freezer because I don't use them up fast enough. I've never had a problem with bugs but I keep a lot of my stuff in glass jars.

Keeping an inventory of the freezer and pantry helps to keep track of what you have and what you need. I try to buy things I will actually use and use the oldest first to keep the pantry and freezer active and fresh. I also learned to label things with the date and well as the contents. You have to maintain your food stores if you don't want to waste food. It's easy once you get use to it. If I make a mistake and buy something I'm not using I give it away. I have a small pantry in the kitchen and some shelves in the garage and I don't want to clutter them up with things I'm not really going to use.

I added another blog to my list these are all blogs that have inspired me in the areas I'm talking about. I also added a pastor who has been writing blogs to encourage people during this time. I don't want to forget that God is my source.