Coping With Shopping Withdrawal at Christmas and The Happiness Project

My two favorite snowmen.

It can be kind of depressing at this time of year when it seems everyone is out shopping and you have little to no money to spend. I pared my shopping list down this year so that I am already done buying my few gifts. I didn't let myself look at the mall or my favorite stores. I just went where I knew I could get what I needed to get. I did treat myself and my granddaughter to a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, yum.

I keep telling myself it's not about gifts, but it's hard to break those habits and so I'm glad I have some other things to think about like my decluttering. I took another load to Goodwill and that will probably be the last until after Christmas.

The other thing that I'm into right now is this book The Happiness Project. She has a blog here. I finished reading it and am rereading it. I skipped some of her chapters where she wanders into Buddhism and also some of the chapters that just didn't apply to me like marriage. She has some interesting ideas in the book and an interesting way of looking at happiness. I made a list last night of what made me happy yesterday and found that a lot of things did, so that was nice.

 She is a bookish person and so I identify with her is many ways and it makes me feel better about the fact that I'd rather read a book than go to a party. She talks about being herself and that is something it has taken me many years to be able to do. So it is an interesting read and I think I will try some of her ideas in the new year.

Linda

31 Days of Inspiration, My Choices

Yesterday I talked about the 31 Days posts and I just wanted to share some of the ones I liked. There is something for everybody in the list of posters. I'm hoping these will inspire me this month. I might share some more as the month goes on if I think something is really good.

• Amanda's 31 Day's of Intention's With a Measure of Grace
• Ann's 31 Day's To Crazy Joy
• Ruth's 31 Day's of Living Well and Spending Zero
• 31 Day's of Pure and Simple
• Stephanie's 31 Quotes in 31 Days

Photo is just more of my fall decor.

Linda

More About Decorating, Eating Well and Crochet Lessons

I've been enjoying following these Learning to Crochet lessons. Even though I crochet I've been learning things I didn't know. I'm hoping she will do a knitting one after this is done. I would also like an advanced crochet course, so after I finish this I'll go looking for that. I'm sure Ravelry has something. I've found so many fun projects on Pininterest like this tutorial on a new stitch, the star stitch. I'm still working on Christmas gifts. I feel so smug when I see people say OMG Christmas is only 12 weeks away. I've got 2 projects done and am working on 2 more.

I got some of the little pumpkins to add to my decor. I like having something real. I can't afford to buy too much this year but I got one big one to make into a jack-o-lantern for the porch. I like to layer my decorating. I start out with the basics and then start to add the details. I was thinking about how decorators say you should use bold statements, but at this time of year I think small vignettes are more intimate and cozy.

I got this photo off of Pininterest, isn't it gorgeous. It originated at sunsurler.tumble.com, but when I went to the site it was blank.

I've been reading these French women books, "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano, her cookbook "The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook" and "French Women For All Seasons" also by her. She gives good advise on moderation and how to do that, not totally giving up things but keeping them for special treats. She claims that the French woman eats 3 meals a day and no snacking also they eat 3 or more courses but small portions. The idea is to enjoy your treats like dessert in the context of a meal. They take a long time to eat a meal and linger over the table talking and slowly making their way through these different courses.

 In her second book she does admit that these ways are changing and you are seeing more overweight people in France. People don't want to make the time for a real meal in the middle of the day like they use to and fast food is becoming more popular with the young. The culture use to really dictate what people did but I guess things are changing.

What I got out of the books is what I'm trying to do in my life right now, to slow down, pay attention to detail and try as much as I can afford to not compromise on quality. I think we eat way too much and also waste a lot and what I would like to do is to make my meals little jewels that are beautiful and delicious like the tapas idea. However that is a tall order and I'm not sure I can do it but that is my goal, baby steps.

 I have a lot of bad habits to change and I don't know if I have the energy to do that. The whole low carb/diabetic diet just gets my down sometimes and I see the French way of eating as a way to put the pleasure back into meal planning and eating.

 I've been struggling with my food budget and making it work. One of the things the French do is buy for only a day or two and I've been trying to shop only twice a month. I'm finding that it's not really working that well for me. It really helped me to stay on budget when I stuck to it, but I would find myself at the end of 2 weeks eating what I could scrounge together and it wasn't all that appetising. That is a problem for me because I will tend to snack instead of eat a meal. So now I'm going to see if I can shop more often at least for things like fresh produce and still stay on my budget.

We can learn from other cultures, but put our own twist on it. I have another book about eating like the Italians and may take a look at that one again. I think it would benefit me if I could learn to widen the types of food I eat and try some new flavors and ethnic cuisines. My gd's love sushi but I have felt I didn't like the flavors of this cuisine, maybe I need to experiment a little more. I have to keep everything low carb, but I can still learn from others. I'm learning to use my low carb techniques on all recipes. It just a matter of substitution when it's possible.

So Bon Appitite.
Linda

Daily Life

Sorry I just haven't had much to say lately. I'm still doing pretty much the same things. I finished Little Women, Little Men and The Narnia Chronicles. Now I'm starting The Hobbit and Jo's Boys. I really enjoyed Little Men and Jo's Boys begins 10 years later. I read that it is the last book she wrote at the end of her life. I have a book called "The World of Louisa May Alcott" by William Anderson. It's quite interesting and talks of other authors of the time. I enjoyed finally finding out the end of the Narnia stories. I want to read some of his other books, but got in the mood to try The Hobbit because they are making a movie of it right now.

I'm making good progress on my cross stitch and plan to do the whole series of Peter Rabbit patterns that I have. I think they are so cute. I sit down and sew for an hour or two almost every day. I'm not doing any crochet or knitting right now, but my gd has shown me a crochet pattern that I may attempt for her and I plan to make another purse.

I've been trying hard to stick to budget and I'm doing well. I finally have the food budget under control, but it's not easy. It also mean little to no purchases that aren't absolutely needed.

My cooking has been very uninteresting lately, just trying to eat more salads and veggies. I've started phase 2 of Atkins and that means I can start adding some carbs, but haven't done that yet. I'm losing slow, but after a stall I started losing again. I've found that drinking water and eating the vegs. are important as well as being active. My dd and I took a 2 milk hike on Sat. and I hope that as the weather get nice I'll be able to do more of that.

Including a variety of photos from house and garden.

Hope you are enjoying life.

Linda

Tea and Poverty

My dd asked me to keep some of her china for her so I just thought I'd share photos. Isn't this pretty. We had a tea party/lunchion for Mother's Day and I got to use my china cups and tea pot.

I've been watching Lark Rise to Candleford. Dorcas the lady Postmistress of Candleford always offers tea to any guests and for those she is trying to impress the table is full of goodies. She also likes to partake of tea at the local hotel. When you visit Lark Rise residents you are usually offered a cup of tea or a mug. They even are able at times to offer some cake. Tea is the universal way to offer succor and sympathy. I think it's one of those very Victorian sounding rituals, but it doesn't have to be. It can be very cozy and easy. My dd's and I love our tea, but we don't feel we have to be fancy when we have a tea party. We've never been ones for making tea parties stuffy, for us they have always been comfortable and full of good food and fun.

I finished the Little House books and really enjoyed the Scottish ones about her great grandmother Martha. I was in the mood for something British so I've started reading the Narnia Chronicles. I never have read them and I decided, on the advise of my gd to read them chronologically, here is the order

1. The Magician's Nephew

2. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

3.The Horse and His Boy

4. Prince Caspian

5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

6. The Silver Chair

7.The Last Battle

I know this because she also gave me "a guide through Narnia" with complete index of names and places, plus map and chronology. By Martha C. Sammons. So I found that the second book (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) made much more sense to me after reading the first one, because it tells how Narnia came to be. I've never been a big one for fantasy, but my gd's are really into it and they bring their dvd's for us to watch when they come to see me and so I've come to appreciate it more.

I'm also continuing to read Little Women in between all these other things. I've been thinking alot about poverty seeing it in many different ways in these stories. I realize it comes in different levels. I started out with Little House looking for ways to live with less and make do. As I watched Lark Rise to Candleford it highlights the haves and the have nots in the two communities. The Lark Riser's are very poor and live very much like Laura's family. As I read Little Women they are suppose to be poor and yet they have a fairly nice home a maid and seem to have food on the table. I think sometimes the feeling of being poor depends on who your neighbors are and what you are comparing yourself to. I know that these books do make the point that money doesn't bring happiness. Poverty may be as much in the mind as anything. It's making me look at what I really need and what really makes me happy. I think the real poverty for many is in not being grateful for what we have and in not making the most of what we've been given. I'm not saying there isn't real povery out there I'm just finding that as I have less I have to realize that I still have much.                                                                                                                

I've been  busy decluttering and organizing. I'm pretty much done, it doesn't take me as long because I do it often enough that there isn't that much to get rid of. Also because I don't go shopping I'm not bringing stuff back into my home, but things still get out of order and I start to feel like I can't find things. Now I know where everything is and I'm made room for new projects and let go of old ones that I'm not          interested in anymore.                                                                                                                               

It's beautiful today. I hope it lasts for a while. We are having a local parade this weekend and both my gd's are going to be in it.  LindaWA                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

The Royal Wedding and The Caroline Years

I planted tulips in my herb garden last year and I forgot what color I choose so I was anxious for them to open up to see what I had. I still have a lot of pots with dead looking plants in them. We had a beautiful day yesterday, but back to rain today.  I was going to run errands today, but with the rain I decided it's a good day to stay home.

I'm almost done with the Caroline years and I really enjoyed this book. She goes to Milwaukee to stay with her aunt and uncle and go to college to become a school teacher. What is so fun about it is that she is introduced to this whole lifestyle that she knows nothing about. They have a bathtub with a tap that you turn and hot water comes out. They have a maid. Her uncle owns a news paper and lives very nicely, but he is not wealthy. But it is night and day from the way Caroline was raised. She goes to the Winter Ball in a fancy dress and goes to a lot of other entertainments that she has never known, concerts and so on. They take her to a temperance meeting and an abolitionist meeting. Her uncle is an abolitionist. One of their aunts is a single lady and very modern. So Caroline is exposed to a lot of things, but she is grounded by her upbringing. 

A few years ago I was really inspired by the Tasha Tudor books and I wondered if the same thing would happen with the Little House books. They have really helped me with my budgeting and frugality efforts. I've decided to make a patchwork coverlet for my guest room bed. This is something little girls did in the Little House days. My dd gave me a queen sized bed and I don't have any queen size linens, except for a set of sheets she gave me. I've been trying to use what I have around the house and especially stuff I've stored up in the craft room. I have a lot of cotton fabric, mostly in small pieces that I've been wanting to use so my gd and I got them out and picked out the ones we thought would work in that room. I may have to buy a little to have enough, but I'm just doing simple squares probably about 4 inches. I think this will be a long term project because I find this kind of work tiring. I'll take photos as I go along. I made a quilt many years ago, but I've kind of forgotten how to do it. I know the first thing I have to do is wash all the fabric and iron it. Then I'll find something to make a template with and start cutting out squares. I plan to make it a tied quilt because my poor hands are not up to that much quilting anymore and I don't think I could do something that large on the sewing machine. I've been wanting to do some patchwork for quite a while.

I've added a new list on my side bar that I'm calling history right now, but I may change it to storybooks. I've listed several Little House sites you can find the names of all the books on this one.                                                                                                            

I got up at 1 am pacific time and watched the wedding from beginning to end. I love anything British and this was right up my ally. The hats almost stole the show, but the whole thing was very beautiful. I loved seeing the carriages, but the cars they used were also fun to see, the royal family has quite a collection. I guess there has been a lot of opinion on the brides dress, some like it and some didn't, but I thought it was very appropriate for the occasion and apparently was well suited to her style. It wouldn't have mattered what she wore there would always be someone who didn't like it. They kept talking about how hard times have been in England and how this was really going to lift their spirits and it really seemed to. The people in the streets and the commentators all were very proud and thrilled with the whole thing. I love England. 

Linda                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                

Frugal Tips and What I'm Up To

If you're not reading Tongue and Cheek's posts on her trip to China you should be. It's fascinating and beautiful and she is witty as ever. This is the current post but start at the beginning of her trip after you read this one.

I'm thrilled I got a prepaid cell phone and no longer have a monthly fee. They also have a box to add to your home phone for $20 a month and it is both local and long distance. I haven't decided if I'm going for that or not. So next week I'm going to try and look into insurance home and auto. I'm thinking maybe I can bundle.

I'm almost done with my scarf and got circular needles to start on the hat soon. It's been grey and rainy here just about every day. I've been watching "Campion" British detective, sort of. The actor played Tristin in All Creatures. I like him he's funny and very dapper in this show. His side kick Lug is very funny too and quite the opposite of Campion. I read the book Laura Ingles Wilder wrote about her trip to San Francisco to visit her dd Rose in 1915, "West From Home". It was very interesting to me because I use to live there. She talks a lot about the Great World Fair that was celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal. I've always heard about the fair but never read anything about it. There were photos too. Anyway it was a good read for me and anyone interested in San Francisco. I'm continuing to read the Rocky Ridge series and I have a new crochet mystery.

The next catagory of blogs I want to share is frugal tips. A lady I've known on line for quite awhile has a blog called Living on Less Money which she has had to learn to do. She is sharing her experience and some good tips. I have several frugal sites that I like and I've put a list on them on my side bar. If you have any good ones please share. I'm in the process of changing it.

Have a good day.

Linda

Blog Sharing and My Week

I've been going through all my blogs on my blog feeder and I was thinking I'd like to share some of the ones I enjoy on a variety of subjects. I'm also going to be redoing my blog page and the lists I have on it. I'd like to redo the look of it too, but not sure yet what I want to do.

The first blog I want to share is http://tigressinajam.blogspot.com/ It is from my canning and preserving category. I don't really can, but I would like to. I've always wanted to make mustard and though Tigress in a Jam I somehow found this recipe  http://localkitchenblog.com/2010/03/12/can-jam-roasted-garlic-lemon-mustard/ So maybe I'll try it one of these days. Tigress has some yummy recipes and links to other yummy recipes. If you have any good canning and preserving sites you like, please share.

I've decided to try going grain free for several months and see if any of my allergic symptoms go away or get better. I read a blog about a family that had several allergic symptoms, not just stomach, but rashes, dizziness and so on and this made a big difference for their whole family. I'm not really suppose to be eating grains on my low carb diet, but I cheat now and then and so I'm using this to find out is I'm really strict if I notice any difference. I've been dizzy a lot lately and I've always been allergic. It's quite common for diabetics to have problems with grains.

I'm knitting a fall scarf, with fall colors and I got a pattern for a hat. So when I finish the scarf I'm going to try making a hat with circular needles. I'm starting to think about what I can make for Christmas gifts. I can't say what but I've started one project already.

So this week I made the call about my cable. I was prepared to be without tv, but I was able to get the economy package for it and my Internet, they are the same provider. So I cut my cost almost in half. I don't get all of my favorite channels, but most of them. I've decided to tackle the rest of the things a bite at a time. This week I'm going to tackle the cell phone. I've also unplugged all the things that I can to see if I can save on power. I tried it once before, but not really long enough to tell, but I heard someone say they did it and saved a fair amount. I'm more motivated now, it's a little inconvenient, but I think I can get use to it. Another thing I'm going to do is go with a smaller garbage can and that will reduce that bill.

We (my gd and I) went on a hike with the Curves group today. They were planning to go a lot farther than I though I could go so we just went part of the way and then dropped out, but it's a start and now I know a new cool place to walk. I need to get back in the walking grove. I tired out pretty quick today and we were lagging behind the group.

The photo is my herb and pansy garden. It survived the winter and is growing well. I planted some lettuce this week.

Have a good week.

Linda

Homemade Cleaners

Well I did it. I packed up all my cleaners to give away and I've made my own. I know most of you probably already do this and I've tried making my own a few times in the past, but half heartedly and always ended up going back to the stuff I was use to. I've been trying to use up my cleaners before I switch, but decided to just go for it. I'm much more motivated, this time. Monday I did laundry with my own powdered laundry soap and I cleaned my bathrooms. Everything seemed to work just fine.

I'm doing a series about my Housekeeping Book on Around the House and I posted the formula's I'm using. I still have more things to try, but this is a good start. I will be cleaning my kitchen later this week and seeing how they work there.

The photo is a binder where I keep all the formula's and ideas I collected. I been going through it and choosing those that seem the simplest.

Linda

Decorating with Garden Furniture

I wanted to display my tea things and I didn't have anything to use or a lot of room in my dining room. One day I looked at these little shelves that I was using to hold plants and decided to sacrifice it's use as a plant holder and see if it would work for my tea pots. I loved it. At first I had all my tea pots and fancy cups on it, but I found they got dirty and dusty so when I had room I put them in a closed cabinet and now I use it for tea pots that are decorative only.

I have used a lot of "garden or porch furniture" in my house because I found myself with a lot of rooms to furnish and no furniture. I really like the wicker and iron used in some porch furniture because it's smaller in scale for my smaller home and it gives a casual feel.

This is all about making do with what you have. Look around your house and garden with a creative eye and see what you can use for a different purpose. If you look under my tables that are draped with a cloth you never know what you will find underneath. In my craft room I used a hamper as an end table. I have a small round green bistro table covered with a sheet and topped with a nice red plaid table cloth in my reading corner in the dining room and next to it is an outdoor iron and wicker chair covered up with cushions. This chair was thrown out by a friend and my dd took it, then she gave it to her sister and now I have it and it is still going strong.

Linda

Tasha Tudor Lifestyle Pt. 8 - Soup

We all know that Tasha loved soup. She considered herself a very good soup maker. I agree with her I love soup too. The last few years I've started making more soup, it's frugal and as I get older there are times I want something light. Also I can make a big pot and freeze part of it for another day.

I made pumpkin soup. This is not one of Tasha's recipes. I think I Googled pumpkin soup and used the recipes for inspiration. I knew I wanted it to be savory, not sweet and brothy not too thick. So this is what I did-

Preheat oven to 400. Cut sugar pumpkin in half and take out the seeds. Put water in the bottom of a cookie sheet (with sides) to about 1/8" deep. Place your sugar pumpkin halves flesh side down on the cookie sheet and bake for about 50 mins. or til soft when pierced with a fork.

Clean seeds and put on a cookie sheet drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 20 mins. or til brown and crunchy, but not burnt. Reserve these to garnish your soup.

Cool pumpkin. When cool clean out any seeds left and stringy stuff. Take out the pumpkin flesh and puree (I used a food mill, but you can use a food processor). In a large soup pot, saute 1 sliced onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic minced, til starting to soften. Add 1 quart (4c) chicken broth and the pumpkin, a pinch of two of thyme, salt and pepper to taste and simmer about 30 mins.

Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds. I also saw a recipe that added grated cheddar cheese. I would like to try that some time. In the photo the soup looks brown, but in reality it was a nice pumpkin color.

I love cooking with these sugar pumpkins. Another day I made a pumpkin custard, which was basically a pumpkin pie filling without the crust. It was delicious. The fresh pumpkin tastes so much better then the canned.

This would be a good time to freeze some sugar pumpkin ready for pies, custard, or soup this winter.

I also found I like leeks as a base for a soup, they have a wonderful taste and I like leek and carrot together.

Last week I used the Nourishing Traditions recipe for chicken broth in which you cook it until the bones fall apart. Very nourishing and a good way to rev up your immune system.

I always get the flu shot, but I don't really want to get the swine flu shot, so I'm looking to other way to build my immune system. I'm starting to use coconut oil and I'm going to start taking cod liver oil. If you don't know about coconut oil, read Nourishing Traditions.

Edit- I made the soup for Thanksgiving and it wasn't it good. I had to blend it because the texture wasn't right and we had to add a lot of seasoning. It never really came together. I'm not sure why, but it was ok, just not as good as the first time I made it. I need to work on this recipe.

Linda

Tasha Tudor Lifestyle Pt 7 The Shawl

Tasha's shawl is in practically every picture I've seen of her in the cooler weather. She learned to layer to keep warm. I'm knitting a wool shawl, not the Tasha one, but one I saw in Mary Jane Farm this month. It is easy for beginners. It basically is a rectangle with a button hole and 3 buttons. I've also bought smart wool socks and fingerless gloves. I hoping to be very frugal with my heat this year. My gas fireplace really is expensive, so will keep it for special occasions.

When I have more confidence in my knitting I'd like to try a Tasha shawl I know the pattern is on line. I also have a friend that made a shawl that is also a long rectangle and you attach the end to the side of the other end and it become a poncho. I would like to make that one if I can find the right kind of yarn, hers is made with yarn she spun it's very fluffy and she used bigger needles.

When I first moved up here to the pnw I wore long underware made for being outside in the snow. I might look for some more. We lived in a draft old house at that time, my present home is new and not drafty but my legs and feet can get cold if I'm sitting around. We sometimes have mild winters, but the last few years we have had lots of snow and it's windy around here so I should be prepared this year to keep warm if it's cold again.

Linda

Using What You Have Window Treatments

These are the same window with different window treatments, but they are both using what I have. The top one is my current look with blue and white napkins on the bottom and just a length of fabric on the top.

The bottom one is two tea cloths and a length of red fabric swagged back and tied.

I just nail with very small nails and pin when needed. The clips make is easy to do this with anything that is the right size.

The napkins were a little small, but I actually like all the light they let in. I now have herbs in this window and pull back the curtains during the day.

I've used tablecloths, and bed sheets in the past for window treatments. I don't cut anything I just make it work. I also don't sew anything.

Linda

Tasha Tudor Lifestyle Pt 5 Herbs

Tasha had an herb garden and she also grew herbs in her greenhouse for the winter as well as drying them in her attic. Apparently she used herbs a lot for cooking and she made salves and creams. I've been wanting to do more with herbs and I read an article about growing them indoors. They had some suggestions about the easiest ones to grow inside. Yesterday I got garlic chives, regular and Italian parsley and curly mint. I have a rosemary on my porch that winters through. I'm thinking about bringing in my other herbs that are in pots, Greek oregano, sage, pineapple mint. I usually just leave them out and they die back, but come back in the spring. So I'll experiment. I'm leaving them out until frost.

Keeper of the Home is doing a year of herbs and I want to join her in learning more about herbs this year. My best resource for that is I Refuse to Recede. He does wonderful posts about herbs. I will be looking for other resources too, any suggestions? I'm going to start a list on my side bar for easy reference as I find web sites or blogs.

So I plan to try and find out how many ways I can use each herb. I would like to learn to use them in homemade cleaners as well as bath and body products. and medicinal use. I noticed that Tasha uses mixtures of herbs in most things that she cooks and made up her own herb tea blend. Her mixture is chamomile, spearmint, rose petals, rosehips, and blue malva, pretty as well as tasty. She does everything so well, I don't plan to try and emulate her, but just use her as inspiration. I don't have room for a big herb garden and so I think I may buy some dried herbs and medicinal herbal teas. I also have some essential oils in lavender and rosemary and lemon to use in the cleaning products.

Linda

Tasha Tudor Lifestyle Pt 2 Idle Hands

I'm having fun with this so I decided to make a series out of it. Tasha's hands were never idle. She was busy all the time.

I have 2 bad habits. When I want to take a break I jump on the computer and the 15 min. break ends up being an hour. The other one is when I sit down to watch a dvd or tv I want to have something to munch on.

So I thought it was time to keep those hands busy and I decided to create a work basket. It keeps your knitting, crochet or handwork at hand and also any mending that needs to be done.

With my budget constraints now I'm not buying clothes very often and I think I'm going to need to know how to mend and repair things. So there is a lot I could be doing with my hands.

I'm starting by making knitted dishcloths as many others have done. I've been wanting to do some more. I would also like to start some embroidered dish towels.

The main thing if finding useful things to do, but it is also fun.

Linda

Living and Dinning Rooms- Details

This last picture is one my daughter took for me. She did some posts on stacking china
(this was the one I found but there are more) and this was my interpretation.

I wanted to post some of my spring/summer details because it won't be that long before I'll be changing everything for Fall. I've been making do and using what I have for some time now. I do have one source where I buy small vintage things, but right now I'm just not shopping. So one of the things I do is dry my lavender and hydrangeas. You see a lot of them in my living/dinning rooms. It hydrangea season and I'm just waiting for them to age enough to pick them. We found out that they won't shrivel up if you wait until the petals feel like they are starting to dry. Also I use to dry them in a low oven for a few minutes. The old ones have turned brown but I like the look for summer.

My spring/summer look is a little barer than the rest of the year. I really cozy things up in the fall. Some things don't change and I don't redo my whole house. I mostly just do the living/dinning rooms. Unless I get in the mood or get an idea to redo a whole room. I'm pretty happy with everything right now.

There are more pictures on my Around The House blog.

Linda

So I do an after Christmas late winter early spring look, a spring/summer look, fall and Christmas. I don't have an idea yet for fall but I usually use a lot of books and china.

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

Don't Buy It

I've been trying since the beginning of the year to not buy anything that isn't really needed. It gets harder to stick to it as time goes on and so I was looking for some inspiration. I found it in a blog Don't Buy It and a book Not Buying It by Judith Levine.

The web site has some good ideas and challenges you not to buy something new, but find another option or do without. The book is about a couple that decide to not buy anything unnecessary for a year. It's seems to be more of a look at why we shop than ways how not to, but it is still motivating me to look closer at what I am buying. They have cut much deeper than I have. We all have a different idea of what is necessary. They have cut their grocery shopping to the very basic things, no frills. I have tried to cut out the more expensive things, but am realizing I could really get down to the basics. The difference is they are only doing it for a year and I may be doing this forever. So I'm not sure I can give up everything. They are learning a lot about themselves through this process and that is what is interesting to me. I'm not sure why they decided to do this except that she is a writer and I think it seemed like a good idea.

I bought some things for my emergency kit at the dollar store today. It is new and I was excited to be able to get a few things for a dollar each. I'm using my stimulus check to get a few things and also for stocking up.

The Depression books really made me see how much abundance we have even when we are supposedly cutting back. It's baby steps for me in learning to be a smart shopper.

Linda

I'm trying to learn to be more frugal. When my income took a hit this year I stopped shopping. I was thinking about it and I remember I use to read Cindy's Porch. She challenges people to stop spending. This works pretty well for me, but I still need to learn to be a smart shopper. I really don't like to shop that much. I think I need to start reading her site again.

I've been thinking about how some frugal ideas are also healthy ideas. Homemade cleaning products is one. I've been wanting to get into this more but I have to use up what I have. I have eliminated dryer sheets and softener in the laundry. I've tried a few things and am using vinegar in the softener dispenser and it seems to work pretty well. I also had a hard water mark around my sink stopper and I soaked it in vinegar and scrubbed it with a brush and got rid of the water mark. I've also used baking soda as a scrub. I like it with lemon essential oil to make it smell nice. So instead of replacing my usual toxic or expensive cleaning products I will try to find an alternative. It should be interesting. Have any of you had good luck with this?

Sometimes the healthy choice is not the frugal choice like organics. Being frugal isn't the only thing to think about when making a choice. Sometimes you can give up something else to allow you to buy the more expensive organic choice. I looked at what I use the most. I use a lot of dairy products and can't buy them all organic so I buy organic milk and regular cheese. I've cut down on how much cheese I use. I eat a lot of eggs and so like to get the organic when I can. It's all about choices and compromise.

I have a long ways to go with frugal living as well as healthy living I get lazy and sometimes revert back to what familiar, easier and more convenient.

Walking instead of driving is another frugal and healthy choice. I have been trying to do all my chores on one day and do as much as I can locally, which is frugal but walking to some of these errands would add that healthy element.

Growing some of your own food is frugal and healthy, but it is not an option for me. I'm growing some Roma tomatoes in a pot and that's it this year. Gardening and plants is a place in the past where I have spent too much money, so I just made up my mind I wasn't going to buy any this year.

Cooking from scratch use to be frugal but isn't always now, but it is healthier. Of course canning and freezing can help you preserve produce in season at lower prices. I do some of this but as I don't have a big family to feed I don't do much. I think this year thought I will be looking for things to purchase at a good price and freeze. We have also used a dryer to preserve things like cherries. Yum. Does anyone preserve produce in season?

I was taught growing up to buy the best quality I could afford, but I have had to compromise that ideal. I think planning might help in this area. If I wait until I'm desperate for something and I don't have the money I have to either do without or end up spending money I don't have. If I know I'm going to have to replace an item I can start looking for a deal and trying to save. This all sounds pretty elementary but I think many of us have gotten away from this way of life we are too use to putting using the plastic and worrying about how we are going to pay later. I'm happy to say I'm doing well in that area, but every once in a while I let my guard down and then when the bill comes I'm reminded why I need to stop and think before I spend. Cindy's Porch also has good advice on how to stop spur of the moment purchases.

So my next question to myself was, is simple living and frugal living the same thing? I think simple living is generally frugal but frugal isn't always simple. I remember reading frugal tips and thinking that is not for me. I'm not going to start saving every little item in case I can recycle it for another purpose. Some of that is good, but much of it is more that I want to get involved in. Many people are remaking clothing now and I think if you like to sew that is a great idea. If I can get myself sewing again I may try it.

Making your own clothes is another one of those ideas that isn't necessarily that frugal. But if your are good at it the quality for the price might be better.

So what I'm saying is that being frugal is complicated for someone new at it, but I hope to become an expert at it in time. I want to learn to not only make the frugal choice but also the healthy and simple choice.

As I keep saying I don't want to leave prayer out of the equation. God can give us the wisdom we need or even provide for us in miraculous ways.