Purple Haze

I didn't really notice until recently that I have, apparently, such a penchant for purple flowers!  I really like red too but don't have as many of those.  Or I guess they just are not blooming at this time of the year.

So, I'm feeling a little better, although not totally over the debacle of that last show.  I finally got in to see the rheumatologist this past Friday, after waiting on that appointment for about 6 months.  Unfortunately, it seems not to have gone so well..  I could be wrong and it was just my mood talking but I don't think so really.  I was hurting pretty bad the day of the appointment and then had to sit for over an hour past my appointed time because he was late.  Actually, I only sat a little.  I literally could not take that pain so I stood in the waiting room and in the exam room.  No one seemed to notice.

I was rather amazed by it all because I've never had a bad experience at Kirklin but this one made up for all the others I guess.  The nurse's aide acted like she wished she was anywhere on this earth but at work, the doctor never acknowledged being late, no apologies for the wait and had about as much personality as a washrag.  I tried my best to be friendly and even joke around a little but that went over about like a turd in a punch bowl.  The doc ordered several blood tests and some X-rays but told me basically, not to get my hopes up for a diagnosis.  He said only about 50% of the time do these tests show anything conclusive so it was pretty much a crap shoot.  That was nice although I guess it was good that he was honest about it.
The lady who did my X-rays was super nice though and that helped some. 
 

So, I think I have pretty much given up on going to the doctor.  I don't see the point of it anymore.  I went this time because I was thinking that, if I ever need in the future to apply for disability, having an actual diagnosis is paramount.  And, of course, I was hoping that maybe there could be some treatment besides an ablation or just something I could use on occasion for this pain. But, it appears that once you say you don't want to take steroids that they kinda just write you off.  Or something; hell I don't know.  No one but Dr. Nabors has ever even asked me what was I doing for pain and they are quite aware that I am in a fair amount of pain on a regular basis.  Maybe they think I'm gunning for narcotics?  I guess that is probably common these days but not the case with me.  This doctor did seem kinda surprised that even the pain clinic didn't do anything for me or offer me any alternative besides the ablation.  They did drug test me and even after finding out I had nothing in my system still did not suggest any other treatment.  They did charge the hell out of me though and my wonderful insurance decided that they would only pay a fraction of it, so now I'm still paying off a visit that was basically for me to pee in a cup and talk to 2 doctors for maybe 20 minutes combined. 

And please know that I am NOT ranting against the doctors (well, a couple of them I am) ; it's mainly the insurance's system of only caring about how much money they can make.  I have met several really good doctors, I have great respect for those.  Dr. Nabors and my gynecologist, Dr. Summers.  Two great guys that truly care.  But I've met some shit heads too, to be fair.  They are in every profession.  And I suspect that liability has gotten so that nobody is willing to say anything definitive or give you any treatment unless some test show practically 100% positive results.  I also realize you don't want somebody that just blabs out everything like one doctor I went to that suggested (out loud to me) that I had everything from a brain tumor to hepatitis.  But I don't see where it's unreasonable to say, well, we've ruled out all this, and it really looks like it could be this, so let's try a little bit of this treatment and just see if it helps any.  Not this shrugging of shoulders, no advice and wanting me to come back in 4 weeks so they can shrug their shoulders again and charge me for it.  If I could just get something to help me out on these occasional bad migraines I get I would be ecstatic.
I also realize that I may not be expressing myself correctly to these doctors to indicate my need.  I have come to see that I don't always interact socially the way most people do and there could be some problem there, but I don't know what else to do.

So, that is ultimately the final straw.  I simply can't afford to go to the docs anymore for not even a suggestion of help.  Heck, I don't know that I could afford to go even if they did a little.  My insurance company has raised my premiums the past 2 years to the point that I truly can't afford to pay for much of anything above my monthly statement.  Couple that with the fact they don't fully cover many blood tests now and have stricter policies about what applies to your deductible.  I used to never have problems meeting my deductible but last year, despite what all I went through, I only met about one third of it.  And that's the real kick in the teeth and shows you just how screwed up our healthcare is (and how corrupt).  The pain and issues with my bones and such keep me from fully working as much as I normally could at times.  I don't work as much, I don't produce as much, I can't sell as much, therefore I don't make as much money.  So I can't afford to pay so much for medical care that might could help me get back to where I could work as much, so that I could better afford to pay for it.  Got that?  What a racket!

And before anyone suggest I sign up for the new ACA insurance...I've already tried, two years in a row.  They said I made too much money for me to qualify for a subsidy, which is the only way I could afford the new policies they want everyone to switch to.  Which, by the way, cover less than I have now (no dental) and would raise my deductible on some of them.  Nothing about our healthcare system was "reformed"; what a total joke.  The only thing that changed was that now, more people get government assistance to pay for their insurance.  And I'm sincerely happy that those people get help.  But those of us in the middle areas are getting screwed over more than ever, especially if you are self-employed.  Insurance and medical costs are just as high, if not higher, than they ever were.  That is why you can literally travel to another country, have surgery or whatever treatment (and good treatment too!), hang around for a while to visit the sites and come home, cheaper than you could have it done here at home.  Now, I don't know about you...but to me, something just ain't right about that.

So, that's my mini-rant I've had on my mind for some time now.  Basically, I've just said, fuck it.  I'll try to take care of it myself.  I'm truly grateful to the 2 doctors that have tried to help but unfortunately, my issues are not their specialty.  Well, Klippel-Feil is nobody's specialty!  No one even knows what it is.  So, I've been doing much research and am trying to go as anti-inflammatory as possible in my diet and supplements.  This new doctor did mark "non-specific spondylitis" on my chart too (which I had to look for; he would not tell me), so I'm just gonna kinda go with that and assume those treatments I can do myself, like exercise and diet.  I know an excellent, local herbalist who has helped me out in the past and I'll get some stuff from him too.  I'm now taking about 5,000mg of fish oil a day with curcumin and MSM.  There's some other stuff too but that's the brunt of it for inflammation.  And I have got to get religious about my stretching exercises, which did help some and keep up my regular aerobic and weight-bearing exercise, which helps prevent bone loss.  I've done real good in that regard!  I'm very proud to say I've lost about 25 pounds and hope to lose another 10 maybe!  Yay me!  I'm also avoiding milk and most milk products, peanuts and wheat.  It has definitely helped to stop the milk and we'll see about the rest.

In other news, we finally got the whole garden planted but I still have to mulch everything.  I'll try to do a garden post soon.  And we might have a few new additions to our flock...and maybe one subtraction!

I hope everybody our there is doing well!

Strange Ways

As I alluded to in yesterday's post, our society seems to have divided up into 2 different camps on the environmental front.  If you listen to our media anyway, who uses nothing but extreme examples and knee-jerk reaction headlines to pit us against one another.  On one side, you're some hippy wannabe named StarFlower running around your yurt in dreds and a tinfoil cap, scrounging mushrooms out of the woods and riding your bike on your only occasional forays into civilization.  On the other side, you're some bloated Bubba running around your 5,000 square foot McMansion buying everything cheap, plastic bauble you can find, scarfing feedlot meat at every turn and throwing it all out the window next week as you drive down the road in your gas-guzzling tank.  Reality for the vast majority is somewhere in the middle, maybe leaning slightly to one side or the other.
I used 2 extreme examples yesterday, that do exist, but they are few and, in their sanctimonious clouds, they are not going to change.  I like to believe that the majority of people want a clean environment, not only for themselves but for their children, and are willing to do some work towards that end or change some of their ways when presented with real facts.  Especially if it saves them some bucks!  Money talks you know.  It's a fact also that a lot of environmental damage comes from industry and those businesses have to adhere to certain regulations to contain the damage they can cause.  But I submit that society itself, especially with it's rampant use of disposable products and the like, are responsible for a great deal of environmental loss.  It only takes a good look at Chernobyl, DDT, the Gulf Oil Spill and The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, amongst many other examples, to back up both of these claims.  Earth has it's own cycles that we have absolutely no understanding of, despite our arrogance that we do, but Mankind does a horrible amount of damage on it's own.
If you look at the incredible amount of energy and products that are produced and used by the millions of people in this country alone, we have to know that what we do in our own lives can drastically affect our environment when all put together...good or bad.  So, here's my list of a few things that we can all do (there's many more!) to some extent to help our earth breathe a little easier.  And maybe our pocketbooks too!

1.  Buy local food, or better yet, grow as much as you can yourself.  I realize not everyone can do the garden thing but a great many can buy from local farmers.  If all Americans would eat just one local meal a week it would save 1.1 million barrels of oil for that week.
2.  Choose Energy Star appliances when it's time to replace or get new ones.  I bought all Energy Star appliances when I started furnishing this house, and they are pretty good, but they have even better ones now.
3.  Carpool or bike if possible and if not that, at least combine all your trips to town.  When I go to Birmingham to deliver pottery it's usually an all-day thing.  In addition to the pottery, I drop off recycling, make a run by my favorite grocery store (or 2) and sometimes the hardware store or whatever if I need materials for the house.
4.  Add solar elements to your house if at all possible and this can be as simple as solar powered battery or phone chargers, solar security lights, etc.  Yes, big solar is expensive but the prices are getting better and some stuff you can do yourself.  One big goal for me this year is to get the solar hot water going here.
5.  Stop using disposable containers, bags, or practically anything disposable.  Some people seem to think this is akin to asking them to pull gold nuggets out of their butt but it's not that hard.  (The disposable stuff, not the nuggets).  Buy some good glass storage or tupperware and use it!  Keep cloth grocery bags in your car!  Get a stainless steel water bottle!  It's easy!
6.  Recycle!!  Everything!  Many grocery stores even offer recycling for those pesky things like styrofoam and #5 plastics.  If we happen to get any I just rinse them and put them away in a little dedicated bin until the next time I'm going to that store.  Don't believe recycling helps that much?  Go here.
7.  Use natural cleaners that you make yourself.  Now, this saves a ton of money and you can find recipes everywhere.  Just Google 'natural cleaner recipes'.  And yes, they do work. 
8.  Compost!  Many items in our regular trash can be turned into great dirt!
9.  Wash laundry in cold or warm water instead of hot.  Clothes and color will last longer too.
10.  Open your curtains and blinds and use natural light whenever possible!  That's one thing I love about my house; we really don't have to turn on any lights until dark.
11.  Turn your computer and other electronics completely off at night.  I also recently found out that laptops use 80% less energy than desktops.  I had no idea!  I've got to look into switching!
12.  Pay bills online.  Not only does this save paper and stamps but it helps me greatly in avoiding late fees.
13.  Stop unwanted junk mail and catalogs.
14.  Hang laundry out to dry instead of using a dryer.  I know not everyone can do this but if you can it's a huge energy saver.  And yes, I know some people don't like the stiff clothes.  A little secret of mine; I do fluff them in the dryer, especially towels, for about 5 minutes to soften them (yeah, go ahead and throw the tomatoes!) and adding a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle also really helps.  Just put it in where you would normally add the fabric softener and no, it doesn't make your clothes smell like pickles.
15.  Unplug appliances, chargers etc. that are not being used.  Turn off lights when you leave a room.

So, there is a partial list that I'm sure most of you already know about but maybe we all need reminding sometimes.  There are lots of other things you can do too but these are some of the easiest or most noticeable.  Any of you have any other great energy/ resource saving tips?

Oh, the photo of the bread has nothing really to do with the post but I finally made an edible homemade yeast bread the other day and was super excited about it!  I used to could easily do such years ago but had apparently fallen severely out of practice! 

Love Your Mother

No, I did not forget today was the 44th (I think) annual Earth Day!  I got up a little late this morning and have been trying to catch up all day since, so I put off posting until this evening.  I generally write better later in the day anyway.  I was a little disappointed to see that there were not very many bloggers, that I came across, that posted anything about Earth Day but that's okay.  It still gets more press than it did way back when I was younger.
Thankfully, more people nowadays care more about our environment, or claim to, but that doesn't always mean that they actually DO anything to help matters.  I have a couple of acquaintances on Facebook that are constantly going on about global warming but when you ask them, 'well, what are you doing to help matters?'  Wooo, it gets real damn quiet.  Because well, they don't actually do anything.  Apparently, there are many people that somehow believe that if they can convince enough other people to believe the way they do, everything will spontaneously and gloriously change and the perfect harmonious world will pop into existence through the power of thought alone.  And then you still have the people that I think just try to see how much they can muck up and waste just to spite because being "green" is sort of an in thing and they 'don't like anyone telling them what to do'..  I can't help but laugh at these people going around in their fake Hummers and gargantuan trucks to prove their point, all the while spending half or more of their hard-earned pay on gas alone, not to mention payments etc.  They're making a statement alright but it isn't what they think it is. 
So, unfortunately, environmentalism has now become just another political contention for many.  A way to beat others over the head with their supposed intellectual superiority.  "If you don't believe in my flavor of climate change you're an idiot and I'm better than you."  I know that it sometimes looks hopeless.  Now days, for every "green" choice Americans, Europeans and Aussies make there seems to be 2 or 3 in China, or other up and coming industrial nations, gobbling up our environmental savings and more.  A lot of people would think, what's the use?.  How can you win against such overwhelming odds? As hokey as it is, I'm always reminded of the story of the Boy and the Starfish.  It's a sappy, almost surely fictional tale but it does capture one reality; that one person can make a difference.  One person can help right where they are but also because that person can influence someone else and on it goes.  Every bottle I recycle is one less in the dumps and by watching me other people may be inclined to join in.  When one person will stand up and say, "I'm going to do this because it's the right thing to do", it's amazing how much that alone can help other people to do the same.
We are awash in trash in this country and show no signs of slowing down.  Approximately 55% of 220 million tons of waste generated each year in the United States ends up in one of the over 3,500 landfills.  On average, most people produce a little over 4 lbs. of trash in ONE day.  One Day!!  For our children and their children's sake we have to do better than this.  Fortunately, more and more towns are initiating recycling facilities or programs.  Even my little town has recycling dumpsters at the library and it's real easy to take other stuff into Birmingham.
Every day there are more and more "green" options available to us, such as Energy Star appliances, solar energy of all kinds, even down to solar charges for your phone and batteries.  More people are able to work at home due to computer linking.  Farmer's markets abound if you can't grow your own or you want to add to what you already grow.  Many cities are allowing gardens and chickens now.  I know not everyone can do everything but everyone can do something.  It's often just a case of wanting to and getting it out of people's minds that it some huge inconvenience to live more lightly.  In many cases it's very freeing and can save you a lot of money, and supposedly, everybody likes to save money.

I know, to many of my readers, I'm preaching to the choir on this subject but it's one I wanted to write about anyway.  I have a list I wanted to share also, on various ways we can live cleaner and greener, but this post has gotten longer than I anticipated so I'll share that next time.  I hope you all had a nice Earth Day and are getting those gardens planted!!

Happy Earth Day!!

In case you are having trouble reading the text it says:  “It’s pretty amazing that our society has reached a point where the effort necessary to extract oil from the ground, ship it to a refinery, turn it into plastic, shape it appropriately, truck it to a store, buy it, and bring it home is considered to be less effort than what it takes to just wash the spoon when you’re done with it.”


This says it all much better than I can.  Seriously.  Just wash the freakin' plate and fork.  I am unfortunately, often confounded by the number of people every day that croon about their love of disposables even knowing and understanding that it is crap for the environment, but who consider their "convenience" ultimately more important.  Wow.  Amazingly enough, these are often the same people who have multiple children or grandchildren, whom they claim to love unconditionally, yet are perfectly willing to let them grow up in a nasty, dying world made that way by our waste.
And yes, I used to pour hundreds of yards of concrete or weld for 10 hours a day and when I got home and had supper I washed the freakin' dishes!  Having a rough day is not an excuse.

Hands Clean

I read an interesting article the other day that I wanted to share with ya'll.  It was one of those things that, when I saw it, I was like, 'DUH, why haven't I ever thought of doing that!'  I found it on a great website that offers lots of tips on reducing waste of various types.  Now, before any non-greenies reading this roll your eyes and run off to look at something else, many of their tips are good for, not only the environment, but just flat saving money or protecting your own health.  Such as this article.  Even if you are not concerned with the environment, and shame on you btw if you're not (lol!), it's a great way to avoid flu germs, etc. in public places.  Basically, you keep a small towel in your purse, or vehicle for you guys, and take it in with you to restaurants, stores etc, where you might wash your hands.  Instead of using the paper towels or hand dryers in the restrooms, just use your own personal towel.  I personally HATE those dryers and always feel guilty for using paper towels.  It won't be wet enough to mess up anything in your purse but you can slip it in a baggy or such if you want.  Then just throw it in the laundry when you get home and replace with a clean one.  I think a decent washcloth would work fine but if you are feeling really crafty you could sew up a few simple cloths to use.  I'm thinking you could also buy one of those hair-drying towels and then cut it up into quarters.  They are designed to absorb lots of water and dry quickly.  Anything about 10x10 inches would be small enough to fit in almost any purse, even mine!  The health benefit is that it reduces the number of surfaces you touch in public spaces, thus reducing chances of picking up germs.  And, last but not least, it saves using so many paper towels, which usually come from trees!!
I got my towel, now you get yours!!!!

Monday Munchies

OK!!  I'm finally getting around to putting up the turkey/ chicken pot pie recipe I promised ya'll.  Now, in looking back at what recipe I used for this I realized that I substituted and/ or improvised quite a lot, so I'm just gonna give you the basics here.  You can use whatever mixture of veggies you prefer and whatever meat you prefer really.  The only thing set in this recipe is the size, the crust and the broth.

Now, I took the leftover turkey and diced it up so I had probably 5-6 cups of meat or so.  You could use a whole fryer size chicken if you want.  Bake or boil it and debone.  My turkey was already baked so I chopped it up (about 1x.5 inch chunks) and set aside.  I took the bones and giblets and made my own broth.  Remove the bones etc. and strain if you want and then pour back into the pot.  I used a combination of potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms that I had diced.  It probably was about 5-6 cups of veggies also.  Add these to the broth and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Drain veggies and reserve at least one quart of broth.  Set both aside.

While your veggies are simmering, mix 3 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt.  Cut in 1 1/4 cups shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.  This seemed like a lot of shortening to me but it comes out really yummy!  Stir in enough ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to moisten dry ingredients and you can work it into a ball.  Cut off 2/3 of dough and chill remaining 1/3.  Roll the 2/3 of dough into a 16x12" rectangle, or there abouts, and fit into the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.  Set aside.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan on low heat.  Add 1/2 cup flour, stirring until smooth.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Gradually add broth, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.  Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and whatever other spices you might like.  (I usually add a little parsley, paprika and some garlic).  Add diced meat and veggies to this, mix well and pour into pastry-lined pan.

Roll remaining chilled pastry into a 14x10 inch rectangle and layover pie, folding edges under.  Cut several slits in dough for steam to escape.  You can also brush with melted butter if you like.  Bake 400 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes.

Add a simple salad with it and it goes further.  Any veggies work really; you can also use broccoli, celery, peas, green beans, rutabaga, whatever!
The main part that I would consistently hold to is the amount of broth, (I hate a dry pot pie and this one was yummy juicy but not overly runny) and the pastry proportions.  The crust was wonderfully tender and flaky.  I also use a non-hydrogenated, organic vegetable shortening but that's up to you.

If you try this recipe please let me know how you like it and what improvements you might add.  Enjoy!!

Into The Groove

Hey Everybody!  Well, once again I did not mean to be away so long but it's a busy season right now.  I was up late last night glazing pottery and then starting the firing and then up early to catch it as it reached temperature.  If I start the firing about 10:00 p.m. I can let it climb all night and then get up around 6:00 a.m. to check the cone and shut it down.  Unfortunately last night I forgot to set the clock in the bedroom back an hour, so I got up at 5:00!  Crap!!  Not really going to be able to get back to sleep either, knowing I must get up again in less than an hour.  Oh well.  Firing like this helps heat the house too, on a cold night!  Might as well take advantage of it!

So, I tried to get the garden caught up today and succeeded for the most part.  Just need to plant the brussel sprouts now.  Hopefully I will get something out of them this year.  Last year they were a bust.
We've also been collecting and storing our seeds from this year and making plans for spring planting.  I've got to get more organized about that.

As you can see the girls are getting pretty big and mature. I caught 2 or 3 of them snooping around the laying boxes in the middle of the day.  This is very unusual so maybe they are getting close to starting egg production.  Most of the older girls are molting right now so we are getting like, one egg a day.  Sweet little, mangled Scooter is holding her own as our only layer right now.  We make sure to toss her an extra treat or two most days.

I really hope to get back to a more regular posting schedule soon and to focus on more informative or DIY posts.  Now, I'll still include some of my funny stories and goofy occurrences etc. because I think half of ya'll read just to see what crap I've gotten myself into now! lol!  That's okay.
I have just noticed lately, in making my blog rounds, that it seems that a number of the self-sufficiency, "green" type blogs have pretty much crapped out.  Even a few of the group type blogs, where they have 4 or 5 writers, have either shut down or simply don't write about anything in particular anymore.  Personally, I think it's due to the fact that many of the people that initially jump on the homesteading, DIY, conserving wagon don't realize how hard it can be, don't realize how much society will make you feel deprived and stupid, so they get tired and give up. 

Well, we haven't given up and in fact, are doing more than ever, so I want to encourage more people to try it also, where they can.  We can't all own 100 acre farms and have totally solar powered homes but we can all do something.  If it's something that concerns us, and there are LOTS of things that concern me about our world.  I'm really going to try to get back to posting more food and recipes too.

I've noticed also, that I have a few new followers, so if anybody has any questions about our gardening, animals, employment, the house or whatever, please feel free to ask!

Animal House

Well, I've got a ton of pictures for ya'll today since I have not shown any kind of update or progress on the chickens or garden in some time.  The original batch of hens are doing fine.  Scooter finally broke out of her broody mood and is back in the swing of things.  Sheila is either getting tired of motherhood or got booted out by Prissy because she has been running with the old hens more and leaving Prissy alone with the 6 mutt chicks.  That seems to suit Prissy fine.  Here they are enjoying a half of cantaloupe from the garden.  I ate most of it first and then gave them the rest.  Ramona, the red with the black tail in front, just about jumped up and snatched it away from me.  These chickens are spoiled rotten.  They think any time you come out of the house that you should have some treat for them.

Here is one of my little sweetie pie Speckled Sussex.  They are just the sweetest little things.  They climb all over me when I go see them.  Of course, they think you have treats for them too, but they love to be petted.
I've learned to be careful though because they'll snatch my earrings out given the chance!

Here's a good many of the others.  It is extremely hard to get a good picture of these birds because they are always moving so fast most of them end up blurred.  The reddish ones are the New Hampshires (like Ramona).  The gawky, bloomer-legged one on the far right and the one directly in front are the Partridge Rocks and the one on the right with the long black tail pointed down is one of the Brown Leghorns.  Those things remind me of Allen's pheasants. 

The little mutt chicks are not so little anymore and are all doing fine.  I guess Ms. Prissy and Sheila are pretty good mamas after all.  They've all survived so far and are very active.  I think I have 4 hens and 2 roos with these but I'm not totally sure.

The garden is on it's second wind apparently.  We have had very good harvests of everything this year.  I thought after the black-eyed peas made their crop they would die back but they just rested for a while and are flushing with blooms all over again!  The green beans are all still going strong.  I grew Jade this year, instead of the Blue Lake bush that I normally grow and I will probably stick with these Jade beans.  The package said they were prolific and they were not kidding!

These are my canning tomatoes.  They are finally getting cranked up.  I was a little late getting these in so it's my fault not theirs.  I went through the garden this morning and pruned, weeded and just generally tidied up the whole place.  My cukes have bit the dust and my other tomatoes were looking pretty rough so I pulled all that and a few beans and peas to make it easier to get around between plants.  I also pruned back these tomatoes where they were starting to run across the ground.  They just get too leggy and don't put much effort into fruit if I let them go so they got a good trim.  This should put more energy back into producing fruit and a sturdier base plant.  I have pruned my tomatoes the past couple of years and they will flush back out again to produce more.

The strawberry plants have really grown and become robust so hopefully I will have a good harvest next year.  These plants seem much better suited for this climate than the ones I had before.  On the right of the path is my pepper patch.  They have gotten so big they have fallen over even with staking.  I need to fix that!
The tomatoes you see on the ground are from the plants I pulled.  We picked through those and keep some and will give the rest to the chickens.  The raspberries are starting their second crop this year too!  I believe it will be better than the first one at the beginning of summer.

I have been tidying up along the creek next to the driveway.  It looks SO much better now.  It is very nice to sit down here and listen to the creek.  I have planted a few things and hope to have some real nice areas with the native ferns and things grouped in places.

Chigger loves it when we work down by the creek because it gives her an excuse to play in the water!  She has gotten better about getting in the deep areas.  For a long time she would not wade deep enough to get even her belly wet but now she flops in all the deep spots.

Now here's a frugal idea for ya'll.  Chigger loves to "camp out" on the deck in pretty weather but we did not have a bed for her there.  Well, she commandeered my drop cloth, from when I've been painting on the house, so we decided to find her something.  I found this thickly quilted pillow sham for $1, so bought it as a bed for her.  It's just the right size for her and with the slit in the back (for the pillow) it was easy for me to stuff an old folded sheet inside for a little more padding.  Works great and she seems to like it!

And this is just a gratuitous picture of Grendal.  We have had absolutely fabulous weather today and she enjoyed napping on the deck for some time.  It has turned so mild here that I just couldn't stay inside much either.  In fact, I'm going to go out and watch the meteors in a minute and it is so cool here I may have to wear a jacket!  In August!! 

Waste Not, Want Not

So, in trying to get back to the Frugality/ Savings theme; I had thought I was finished with food subject but then it occurred to me; I had never gone over frugality of food itself and avoiding waste, which can be a huge cost to a lot of people.  I hope I'm not repeating myself on this one too much but if I am just overlook me.  I did a little research and the results were kinda sickening.  In the US, food is second only to paper products in the amounts of thrown away.  They estimate that for EVERY American there is 400 pounds of food discarded every year.  They also estimate that each family in America wastes between $500-2,000 each year by throwing food away.  This is generally food that was bought but allowed to rot or expire before being used or food that was prepared but thrown out because no one wanted to eat leftovers.  Now, this is a BIG pet peeve of mine; especially when it is an animal product that is being thrown away.  It's bad enough the way most factory farmed animals are raised but then to have their abused bodies just thrown in the trash because somebody didn't want a leftover hamburger......well, let's just say it gets to me a little.  But even if that aspect of it doesn't concern you, the way food prices are skyrocketing, any waste, for any reason, is cause for concern.
Let me relate a little anecdote to illustrate my point.  Allen and I have both worked in other people's houses for years doing repair or remodeling work, both together and on our own.  We have worked for the super rich and the desperately poor.  Now, in the poor's case it was the landlords paying for the repairs etc., as you might expect.  In all of our experiences we always noticed one thing.  If you were in a poor person's house you would almost always find loose change laying around the house; on the floor, on tables, behind appliances, wherever.  I never recall seeing money laying around a wealthy person's house.  And no, I'm not blaming these poor people's total circumstances on a few dimes here and there but there is a significant point to be made.  If you think a little waste here and a little waste there don't matter, you're wrong.  Little bits add up fast and to a greater extent than we might realize.  When you have to throw food away, not only have you wasted your initial investment but you often have to buy a replacement.  And then there is just buying unnecessary things.
I cringe to think I used to buy chicken broth.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit that.  It is SO freaking easy to make chicken broth.  I bake a whole chicken and we eat on that for 2-3 days.  If we get tired of baked chicken I make chicken salad or chicken enchiladas or whatever.  As we eat I save the bones by putting them in a baggy in the fridge.  If it's going to take a while to collect enough or I already have broth made I store the baggy in the freezer and just add to it.  Then when I need broth just pull the bones out and presto!! fresh broth!  Then, in the winter, those used bones get thrown in the wood-burning stove and their ashes get put on the garden.  I try to use every part of any animal that comes into this house.  Fat, broth, scraps go into dog food if we don't eat it.
If we have a glut of some veggie or fruit I freeze, dry or can it if we can't eat it all then.  .  I generally cook so that we don't have tons of leftovers ,but if they are refrigerated promptly, leftovers can last up to a week with no problem.  If you cook just a plain roast or whole chicken one night you can spice it up into something else the next night.  You don't have to eat it the same way every time.  I generally eat most leftovers for lunch the next day anyway and that's a great way to use them if you take your lunch to work.  Or even if you don't!
I think another horrible waste area is where people freeze stuff and it stays in there for years.  If it's ever cleaned out it's thrown away.  I try to rotate my freezer stuff regularly, keeping the oldest stuff up front where I can see it.  It's not terribly hard to do.  For example, I stack all my veggies separated by type.  Like all corn in this stack and all beans over here etc.  Dating the packages is essential as you would guess, and then just pull the older bag off the bottom or put the new on the bottom when you put it up.  I keep all my meats separated too; that way you can easily tell how much of what you have and plan accordingly.  It's easy to work out a system that works for you.  I know I look at things differently and my methods may not make sense to some.  The main thing is just date everything and keep it halfway organized.
Another area some may not think about is recipes.  What I mean is, if you don't have a certain item that is not essential, just substitute what you do have rather than go buy the other.  For instance, I found a fabulous recipe for an apricot cobbler.  Well, I didn't have apricots but had tons of peaches and it was great.  Now, that was a no-brainer but you can get really creative with substitutions.  I mean, I've even read about people substituting large mushrooms for hamburger patties.  Why not?!
I also don't pay a tremendous amount of attention to expiration dates.  Now, I have found, by doing a little reading, that soured milk makes GREAT pancakes or other breads.  One word of caution on that though; I only use organic, non-homogenized and barely pasteurized milk.  I would never try that with the ultra-sterilized, homogenized fake milk crap.  And I mean, soured milk not spoiled rotten, chunky milk.  That gets poured on the garden on the rare occasion I have any.  It usually never gets to that point though!

So, I think that is really about it on the food topic.  I will try to be back soon with another subject for ya'll!!

Maximum Consumption

I swear!!!  that's why I was gone so long this time!!  But I fought my way out of their clutches and got back here as soon as possible!!  Really....!

LOL!  Anyway, I thought that was the funniest picture but apparently my humor runs way different than most people.  Well, humor, interests, brain patterns...hhhmmmm...my whole being.....well, anyway!!! back to the subject at hand!

So, we did grocery shopping last time and this post will cover other means of food production and saving. Of course, you all know, one of the main things is that I grow as much as I can of what we eat and we preserve as much of that as we can in order to go through the winter without having to buy many veggies and fruits.  Now, I realize that both the growing and preserving takes space and many people don't have much space but I believe you can do quite a lot even with limited area.  A friend of mine swears by the Square Foot gardening method and I would recommend checking out some books on that if you are interested.  I have seen some people do some amazing things just growing veggies in buckets on fire escapes.  You know, it's all what you are willing to do.  Even if you can only grow herbs on your windows sills, that's something.  If you have even a small yard you can grow many things, even mixing some veggies in the flower beds and such so it can be attractive.  I'm fortunate to live where no one can even see my house so I can do as I please.
As far as the garden itself goes, I invest in as many perennial veggies and fruits as I can.  Things that you plant once (and pay for once) and they bear for years.  This was a major reason we started the asparagus bed this year and I have been trying to plant a number of fruit trees or shrubs and get them established.  I add to my herb collection whenever I can and most of these are perennial so once they are established they will come back and you don't have to sow them every year.  Store bought seasonings are fairly pricey these days (at least the good ones) and just growing that can save some decent money.  I save seeds and start my own seedlings and will be doing this even more because I noticed seed prices, for a few things I did buy, were astronomical this year.  I also don't grow anything that we don't absolutely love.  I know some people will grow some stuff just because it's super early or grows fast but to me that's a waste of time, effort and space if I don't much like to eat it.  Having chickens has greatly reduced our need to purchase fertilizers or such to build up this soil.  In fact, between the chicken poo and composting I don't buy any amendments unless they are on a super sale; like that fish emulsion we got for $1 a bottle.  All of our kitchen wastes either go for the chickens to eat or go in the compost pile, so that either saves money on chicken feed or soil feed, so to speak.  My fruit trees are not really producing yet, except for the figs!, so right now we just buy locally.  It's not always cheap exactly but it is better than store bought in price and quality.  Plus, you're supporting local people.  I've said this before, so I guess I'm beating a dead horse, but growing at least part of your own food saves so much in so many ways, I don't see why more people don't do it.  Well, actually I do.  It's hard work and it's usually dirty.
So, as far as preserving the food, the best way is a way in which no further costs are incurred after the initial preservation.  Such as drying or canning as opposed to freezing.  Yes, I do freeze a number of things now because I don't have a pressure canner but I am going to try to remedy that.  I do can what I can now. ??? Got that?  LOL!  Jams, salsas, pickles, preserves, tomatoes, etc. require only a boiling water bath to seal and that is pretty easy.  Every year I try to put up more and more this way and I'm trying to dry more stuff too.  There is an initial start-up cost to canning, unless someone donates all their supplies to you, but the costs work themselves out quickly.  Since my mother and grandmother always canned I have saved a good deal of money on supplies by just using some of their old stuff.  Glass jars never go bad unless they get chipped or cracked and I enjoy using ones I know my Mama used.  You can sometimes find canning jars and other supplies in thrift stores or yard sales and I am always on the look out for such.  I also found out this year that many "dollar stores", as we call them, will have canning lids, pectin and such for drastically lower prices than Wal-Mart or other supposedly cheap stores.  I am going to invest I some of the reusable canning lids too.  They are initially more expensive but can but used over and over and over.  This saves money and resources.  In my experience, home canned products can range anywhere from a few cents per pint, if you grow or get the food free, to $1-2 per pint if you have to buy the food.  Either way it is a savings and a much better product than store bought and almost a zero-mile food.  Water bath canning is extremely easy too, so don't let it intimidate you.  I started with pickles and went from there.  I also usually do all the water bath part on an outside burner so it doesn't heat up the house and cause me to spend more trying to get it cooled back off inside! 
Drying food is super easy and can be done with an electric dryer or one of many types of solar dryers that can be easily built.  You can even dry food on the dash of your vehicle on a hot day!  I either store my dried foods in glass jars or in those vacuum sealed bags.  My Mama gave me her latest copy of Ball's Blue Book for preserving food and I highly recommend it.  It covers everything from canning to freezing and dehydration.  Of course, there are tons of great books on the subject nowadays so there are plenty to choose from if you want one even more extensive.
Meat is another thing you can produce at home at a great savings if you have the land and are zoned for it.  I would like to raise our own pork one day in addition to the chickens we have now.  Adequate pasture is essential though because if you have to buy too much feed to keep the animal up then your costs can skyrocket.  I don't know that chickens are cost effective just for their eggs, unless you can sell some, but I just enjoy having them so much I don't mind and they are hugely better than store bought eggs.  We do buy a half or quarter of a beef once a year from a local farmer and this is always a savings over store bought.  I have signed up for another this fall and, considering what they are predicting beef prices to be because of the corn harvest, this may end up being a tremendous saving this year.  Store bought conventional beef here runs around $10-11/ lb. now; with this drought in corn producing states they expect it to go even higher.  I pay around $5-6/ lb. for pasture raised local beef when I buy a half or so.  It is initially a large chunk to put out but it's paid for and can't go up later in addition to being cheaper to begin with.  I know a lot of people squeal over the cost of such things but you have to look at the big picture and realize a lot of people blow that much money or more, per year, on crap like TV or Starbucks coffee. 
I will say one other thing about storing/ preserving food:  Only put up what you would reasonably use in a year or so.  I know so many people that seem to have developed an obsessive disorder on food, buying and canning so much food that it literally sits and rots on the shelves because there is no way it can be used up before it goes bad.  Or people that buy and freeze enough stuff to fill 2 full-size freezers and it sits in those freezers until it mummifies.  This is a horrifying waste of money in my opinion.  Waste of money on the food, the equipment to store it and the power to keep them running.  I have been trying to keep some detailed records of how much of each product I make each year to know if that was sufficient to last all year or did I run out or not use half of it and such.  I also write the date of canning on each jar lid, that way I know how long it is good for and that lid has been marked on, so once opened I know to not reuse it for canning.

So, I guess that is it for food, unless ya'll know of something I left out.  I think clothes was to be the next subject so I'll be back on that soon!

Bread And Butter

I think we have covered the subject of Shelter pretty well so I'll move on to Food.  There is quiet a lot of info in that subject too, so I think I will make this a 2-part post also; grocery shopping, etc. in the first part and gardening/ preserving in the second.  I know I have written on these subjects before but I'll try to make these a complete and concise summary of my methods.
Now, since we grow quite a lot, I really only have to buy staples like flour, oil, sugar and so on and some treats sometimes, like chocolate or avocados and such but I have a method for even this.  First off, I never have had much luck with the couponing craze.  I realized, after trying to sign up and explore all of that stuff, that I just didn't buy the majority of crap that they publish coupons for and it is an absolute waste of money to buy something, even at an exceptional deal, if you aren't going to eat it.  Most of the coupons are for pre-packaged convenience foods or at least pre-made foods and I just don't buy much like that, so I quit putting so much effort into that strategy and developed a different one.  Now, I do still keep and eye out for coupons, because I will occasionally see one that I can use, but I have found it more profitable to shop at a couple of stores that have a lot of "buy one, get one" sales.  These type sales are normally on staple type items like flour, cooking oil, juice and such so it works out pretty good for me.  Now, this method requires a little money up front.  Kinda like that old saying, "if you want to make money you have to spend money."  Well, if you want to save money you have to have a little money to get started.  If you can buy all of your staples in larger sizes or with BOGO sales it is infinitely cheaper per ounce than what you would pay for the smaller sizes.  Now, it costs a little more up front initially but the larger volumes obviously last longer and if I stock up while the sale is going I usually have enough to last until the next sale, where I stock up again.  Now, I don't buy 5 gallons of stuff at a time so don't have it in your head that I'm like one of those doomer preppers (of which there is nothing wrong , btw).  I'll buy, say, 15 lbs. of flour while it's on sale and put part of it in the freezer.  This usually last fine until the next sale, so for you with limited space, it's not like you have to have an underground bunker to store all this.  I might buy 4 or 5 bottles of the cooking oil I like when it is on sale etc.  My goal is to never pay retail for these items and I usually am able to do this.  Occasionally I get caught and have to go buy something at regular price but not often.  Now, this usually requires I go by the grocery store each week, even if I don't buy anything, and just check what they have on special.  This is  not an extra expense or hassle as I usually go into town once a week anyway to deliver pottery.  So, I just stop at a couple of places on the way home to check things out.  Many stores also put their weekly specials up on online, so you can check that even and know whether you want to stop or not.  Now, you have to be able to properly store your excess because if it spoils or bugs get in it, well, you've wasted your money.  Make sure you have ample freezer and cooler space before you start.  I have also gotten kind of creative with storage of veggies.  Potatoes, for example, can be stored in the cool darkness under a bed.  We did this when I was a kid.  Mama would spread a layer of newspaper out under her bed and we would lay the potatoes on that in a single layer and they keep great.  Winter squash does well too.

Secondly, I rarely buy pre-packaged food, as I stated just a bit ago.  I will buy a few packages of natural flavored rice IF they put it on sale.  These last a good while and add some variety to meals.  I sometimes buy crackers or maybe a brownie mix, on sale, but for the most part it is much cheaper to make your own whatever and really, it doesn't take that long to throw together some muffin or pancake batter.  I mean seriously, like 5 minutes or less.  I don't make bread as often as I would like but I am working on that and am making my own yogurt and most all pickled products now.  This kinda stuff is really easy once you try.  I actually let it intimidate me for a while but it's ridiculous to.  Another thing is all these little single serving packages for lunches; epic FAIL!!  If you figure it up those things add up to cost like 3 times what the same amount of product would if it all came in one bag.  Just buy a few reusable, small containers and dish out what you want for the day. 

Thirdly, I rarely buy disposable products of most any kind.  I mean, you are buying something that you are going use a little of and then throw away and then buy it again.  WTH???! Almost any disposable can be replaced with a permanent or semi-permanent equivalent.  I do buy freezer bags but I don't consider them disposable as most people do.  I may not use them to freeze in a second time but they can easily be washed and used as simply storage bags.  And as for germs, please; I've been doing this for years and never got botulism or whatever.  Wash them in hot soapy water and hang to dry.  I have replaced a good deal of my plastic storage stuff with glass also.  Buy it once, lasts forever.

And my last point, I always buy the store brand if it is of a decent quality.  I know some food store brands are just not that good, so that's sort of a personal choice, and there are some I won't buy because they suck; I'll buy the more expensive name brand.  But, most things like pain relievers, stomach remedies etc., allergy meds are perfectly fine in their store brand form.  I only buy these because they are usually significantly cheaper even if you have a coupon for the name brand. 

Since I already have half of ya'll hating me from the pet comment I'll just go ahead and make it worse with this comment:  most of our ideas about shopping, cooking and cleaning are simply brainwashing by corporate America to get us to buy their needless products and our inherent laziness goads us on.  Commercials croon to us that they are actually trying to help us to live a more joyful life!  I mean, think of all the blissful time with our families we could spend if we only bought those little single packages of chips, rather than just sticking your hand in the bag and doling out some into a Tupperware cup.  We are so freakin' lazy that we won't, or think we can't, take time to wash a plate, so we buy tons of paper plates and cups over and over again.  Then we wonder why we don't have the money to take our family on vacation and spend that quality time that those commercials promised us!!  Dang it!!  They said we would be able to!!  What happened???  Now, before ya'll start throwing rocks at me, I came to these conclusions only because I used to buy into all that brainwashing.  When I was in college I was too poor to buy much 'convenience' items but as I started making money I fell right in line with what those commercials wanted me to believe.  As I started trying to seriously save money though, I began to see how I was being took.  I mean, pre-packaged furniture wipes??  Just get or make a bottle of oil and tear up an old T-shirt!
So, there you have it.  I have my hardhat on now so commence the rock throwing!!!

This Ole House

Well, I knew some of you were interested in these upcoming posts but I must admit I was a little surprised by some of your comments, or should I say, the enthusiasm expressed in your comments.  As I replied to a couple of you, I just hope I actually have as much valuable and pertinent information as you all seem to hope I do!  I will tell you what I don't have though.  I don't have any magic formula to all this.  I don't have some esoteric shortcut to creating the reality I want.  Well, actually I do in a way; but I'll tell you about that at the end!  At any rate, the majority of reason I am able to live this kinda life in this manner is 2 simple reasons:  I am willing to work my ever-loving ass off at times and for extended periods of times.  I do not follow fashion, trend, fad or common societal views.  So, let's get down to business.

I always knew I wanted to build a house, so I soon as I had a job where I made enough to literally have a little left over after I paid my bills, I started saving.  At first it was not very much and I cringe now at what I could have done if I had really been serious about frugality so many years ago but that's in the past and I can't do anything about it now.  What matters is that I did start saving.  It varied over the years but I always had around 10% of my weekly pay taken out of my check automatically and put away.  I want to emphasis I did not take it out on my own each week; I set it up so the bank would do this automatically.  It's too easy to talk yourself out of putting some aside if it's up to you so, in my opinion, the best way is that you never look at that money as being yours to spend.  It's put away before you can ever get your hands on it and you will learn to work around that.  I never missed not having that money in my checking and I actually often wish now I had had more taken out.  Now, this took a while.  I saved for probably 10 years before I had enough to even black the house in.  After getting the house dried in I still continued to save in the same manner in order to have a cash supply for finish work.  However, I had also, during those 10 years, been saving durable materials that I knew I could use later to build with.  Stone flooring, electrical supplies, insulation, rebar, miscellaneous steel and even little things like nails and screws.  Now, I realize in this respect I had a little bit of an advantage as I worked in construction and these materials were often readily available with just a little dumpster diving or such.  However, I believe if you are willing to ask around and do a little footwork, it is possible for anybody to come up with reclaimed, and often free, construction material.  By taking what was going to be thrown away from remodels and demos I got free toilets, sinks, hinges, hardware, lighting fixtures, switches and plugs, wire and probably some more stuff I'm forgetting.  And much of it was almost new!  I also took any lump sums of money I got, like tax refunds, large pottery orders or side job money, and put that in my savings instead of buying some stupid "reward" like jewelry or clothes.  In fact, I still do that now.  Or, I used it to pay cash for a large purchase such as my refrigerator or something like that.  At this point in the game I also had so few bills that I could often use a whole paycheck to buy stuff for the house too.  I only put one thing for the house on credit and that was my windows and I paid that off just as fast as I could.  It is just too easy to let a credit card balance slide and before you know it you've paid $200-300 in interest in a year or more!

Now, let me back up just a little.  Before I was really able to do any of this I had to get on the right track financially.  When I got out of college I was poor,.. no, I was destitute.  I had a vehicle and that was about it.  Then my oldest brother relieved me of that in order to use it to kill himself, so then I didn't even have that.  I don't say that for shock value or as a sympathy pull but simply to say, I started out with less than nothing and I pulled myself out of it; you can too.  I also don't mean to sound flippant about my brother's death, as that was certainly not the case.  It's just there were certain physical realities of his actions I had to face after he was gone.  On top of all that I had college loans to pay off.  So, I did what I thought anybody would do.  I worked whatever I could find to make money and I used the current system to ease some of my burden.  In other words, some public assistance.  I never got food stamps but I did use assistance for health care and college.  Hey, help is out there, you just have to look for it and every little bit does help. I worked 8-10 hours a day on a 6-story apartment building, forming and pouring concrete and welding and then, 3 nights a week, I would leave that job and go over to an ice cream plant where I worked as a welder and I would weld until 10:00 or 11:00 at night.  I couldn't afford health insurance, and we had to work 1 year before we could get it with the company, so I used Planned Parenthood for check-ups and such and I even used a public assistance hospital once when I needed minor surgery.  The care was great and I paid based on what I could afford; it wasn't much.  A few years ago I even worked on a remodel in that same hospital.  I was kinda proud of that.  My point is though, I had to swallow any pride I might have had and just do it.  I think a lot of people now days refuse to do that.  Everybody is so concerned with what other people might think and keeping up with the Joneses.  I was so far behind the Joneses I didn't even know who they were!  When other young women my age were going out bar hopping and shopping I was standing in a warehouse at -30 degrees F., knee-deep in artificial snow, welding steel racks back together.  But by doing this I was able to get my head above water.  I paid off my college loans.  I did not keep a balance on a bunch of credit cards.  I paid off my potter's wheel, which has been a great investment for me as a second source of income.  Then I was able to start saving my money instead of spending it on bills.
Now, some of you may be wondering what all that has to do with my life now; I'm on Easy Street now, right?  Well, all that taught me 2 things (see a pattern here); material items don't mean shit in this life (people do) and almost nothing comes easy.  Both of these lessons are the only way I would be able to live like I do now.  Even though the "green" or sustainable lifestyle is in vogue now, very few people actually do it or even know what it is.  Go down to the local Whole Foods (or other organic market) and talk about making fertilizer out of chicken crap and watch those people run in the opposite direction.  Living simply and frugally is HARD sometimes.  It is weeding the garden when it is 95 degrees at 10:00 a.m.  It is letting people stare pitifully at you because you are not wearing the latest in fashion or haven't had your hair dyed 3 shades of a color I have yet to see exist naturally in humans.  Yes, I have nice stainless steel appliances in my house but I don't have any diamonds or $150 shoes.  I hocked that shit and bought me a drill!

Dreams That Money Can Buy

Since some of you expressed an interest in reading a little of my frugality/ financial ramblings I decided I would do a short series of posts on how I have managed to build, live and survive on limited means.  Basically, as I said, how I live like a starving artist but do not starve.  Now, I know even in these days if you suggest to people that maybe they save their money and adopt a less materialistic lifestyle that some will brand you a elitist whacka-do.  But please know, I am not insinuating or outright saying you are a bad or evil person if you don't want to, or simply can't, consider, attempt, improve upon, adapt or do any of the things I suggest.  If you are reading this blog I will assume you are at least somewhat interested in frugality, self-sufficiency and a 'greener, healthier' lifestyle anyway. 
I will do the posts by category of need and the basic needs of most people are Shelter, Food and Clothing; but I'm also going to add Entertainment and Health, because I think those are important. 
Now, it is true that in the last 18 years of my life I have actually done pretty good for myself, having a job that paid rather well.  However, at a couple of early points in my life I have been pretty damn poor, and would be considered extremely poor now (regarding solely my income), so I can say I think I have some experience in which I speak to you.  In other words, I never had Mommy and Daddy there to pull me out of a tight, so I had to learn the hard way how to get by when things were slim.
I would also like to add that I do not have children nor have ever had children, therefore some of what I suggest may not apply if you do have children.  I understand that it is one thing to do without yourself but not acceptable for children to do without some things and I would also never criticize a parent for shopping wherever they felt they were getting the best deal for their kids. 
So, I was going to start out immediately on Shelter within this post but it seems already that it would turn out very long, so I'm actually going to start in the next post.  Also, by Shelter I mean, how did I save, etc. to begin my house and continue building, just so you know what to expect.  And, if you have a question about a particular aspect of the building, saving, spending etc. of my house, please go ahead and ask.

Call Me Irresponsible

The other day, as I hung the laundry out to dry, I kinda got to thinking about how much time normal, everyday chores take around here as opposed to people who say, don't line dry their clothes, have chickens, have a garden etc.  Then I got to thinking about how many people view the idea of voluntarily having such chores and a few of the wildly erroneous ideas that they have about others that choose the "live frugally, work at home, sustainability" path.  I think there are 2 main ones.  1.  People like this lay around all day on the sofa eating bon-bons and watching TV because they don't have a "real job".  2.  People like this are modern day hippie/ hillbilly types that rarely venture forth into the "big city" or any of it's conveniences, either because they can't afford to or they fear/ hate the fast pace.  I think both are a bunch of hoo-haa, but back to the first one.
If constantly being frustrated and wishing you didn't have to work is what constitutes having a real job, then no, I don't have one.  But I do have a job; one that takes a fair amount of time.  I try to devote about the same amount of time each day to paid work as I did when I worked 'out there', but the only difference is this job means I am sometimes working on Sundays, late at night and on holidays.  True, I can take a day, or two, off whenever I feel like it for the most part, but this job is similar to my previous one in that if I don't produce a product, I don't get paid.  In fact, sometimes I produce a product and still don't get paid.  That's one hitch with art; just because you made it doesn't mean anybody is going to buy it.  Fortunately, my work is fairly attractive and does sell okay here.  Now, I still have my regular chores such as washing and cooking but I am at home and can often do all these things at once, and often have to.  That is a great advantage to working at home.  Yes, hanging laundry out to dry does take longer than just throwing it in the dryer but I'm here all day.  Generally I do a few gardening, house chores in the morning first thing and then go to my studio.  Then, in the afternoon, I take a break from that and do a few house or garden/ animal things.  I stay busy all day and rarely ever turn the TV on.  I do check emails and such during the day though!

The second idea is one that really cracks me up because a lot of people think if you recycle and reuse, choose not to be a Consumer, then you must be poor.  Pooooor, pitiful thing...shut out from all those wonderful, sparkly things that people kill themselves to buy and let define their lives.  Actually, if people want to believe that I'm some destitute woodsy that's okay with me.  Less chance of them running over here bothering me for stuff.  But, the sad truth is Allen and I actually have quite a bit of fun, enjoy seeing new sites and even occasionally treat ourselves to a modern convenience like dinner out or a movie!!  Normally, through work and just necessity, we end up going into town about once a week.  Now, when I say town I mean a place large enough to have a variety of shopping, restaurants and movie theaters.  I don't really care for movies but what I mean is that if the town is large enough to have them it's large enough for the other stuff.  While we are in town we enjoy it and usually treat ourselves to dinner out and maybe a little window shopping or such and of course, you know we sometimes go to plays or concerts.  I think we enjoy our times out more because of this, rather than feeling like we have to rush through it all because we've got to pick up countless items from 6 different stores. 
I have trouble understanding why a lot of people find such a life deprived.  Yes, we watch our money and don't eat out every night.  I only have clothes and shoes that I actually wear.  We grow a lot of our own food so that means I have to get my hands dirty.  We use our local library instead of buying.  Both our trucks are over 8 years old.  But.  We have so much freedom.  I actually see my house and enjoy it pretty much all day.  I don't have a clue what rush hour is like anymore.  I don't owe anyone anything.  It's true, I don't spend half my free time at the local mall buying crap that I'll discard tomorrow but I do spend half my free time creating prized objects that I and my customers will enjoy possibly for a lifetime.
But what really kills my soul...is when you explain all this to a few people and they say yeah, that sure sounds great and they genuinely seem affected by what you have told them...  And then they turn around and hop in their new vehicle and head straight for the mall.  I guess old habits die hard or it's just too hard to change that radically.  I mean, I know Allen and I have some advantages, (no kids, he's retired) but we still have utility bills and insurance to pay and I can't grow everything and simply not everybody can work at home and live in the country.  But can we all not enjoy our lives a bit more than what most people seem to nowadays?  Maybe it's the aforementioned stigma, maybe it's the hard work, maybe it's just admitting there might be a better way.  I don't know; what do ya'll think??

Friday Food.....on Saturday

 I still have several of the roosters in the freezer from our first ever batch of chickens and I alternate between cooking one of them and one of the broiler chickens, which are much better for baking or roasting.  The assorted roosters are just a little too lean to make a good baking chicken but I was determined to find the best way to cook them and not waste any.  What I found is a super easy way to cook them.  I just defrost one and simmer it in a big pot for 1 to 2 hours.  This accomplishes several things:  1. I get at least a half a gallon of good, fresh chicken stock for seasoning and soups.  2.  The chicken meat is extremely easy to pull off the bone, assuring it's all used with no waste and it's very tender.  (the bones then go back into the stock pot to simmer another hour or so.)  3.  I now have a couple of pounds of juicy chicken meat to use in whatever recipe I decide on.  I've been bad to just bake a chicken, because it's so easy, and not experiment with new ways to cook them and this way I have to come up with a new recipe.
Southern Living just happen to put out a bunch of new chicken recipes this week so I decided to their Chicken Enchiladas.  It was very good.

Chicken Enchiladas

5 tablespoons of butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
3 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies, divided
3 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese, divided
8 soft taco size tortillas
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
Toppings: fresh cilantro, chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat;  add onion and bell pepper, saute' 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir together onion mixture, chicken, 1 can diced chilies and 2 cups shredded cheese.  Spoon a heaping 1/3 cup onto each tortilla and roll up.  Arrange tortillas , seams down, in a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth.  Cook, whisking constantly 1 minute.  Gradually stir in broth and milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until thick and bubbly.  Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 cans of chilies.

Remove enchiladas from oven and pour green chili mixture over enchiladas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees (F.) for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.  Serve with desired toppings.

Now, I used corn tortillas instead of flour because I like the texture better for enchiladas.  I also added a little cumin, garlic, red pepper flakes and cilantro to the chicken mixture because I didn't have any green chilies.  Oh, I also added some fresh yellow corn to this mixture.  I had more chicken than what they called for so my recipe ended up making about 16 tortillas; it filled the whole pan, but I just whipped up a little more sauce than what they called for.  In fact, I made extra to pour over the enchiladas right before serving as you can see in the photo.  I thought it was quite yummy and apparently Jack did too.  It would be good served with a small salad too.

Since we've found a local source for fresh, mostly organic, actually tasty strawberries, we have bought about 4 gallons to put up.  I took a couple of cups and mixed with some store bought rhubarb to make this pie last night.  Yummyyyyyy!!!!  Yeah, I know my crust is messy and kinda wonky but who cares!  It doesn't last long!

Spreading The Wealth

The wealth of plants and flowers that is... I've always preferred to think of myself as frugal but I guess sometimes I'm just downright cheap because it just kills me to pay full price for plants and such sometimes. I mean, I will occasionally buy, and pay good money for, certain plants. Like an heirloom apple tree. But for the most part there are just so many ways to come by free or really cheap plants and gardening tools and I know these days lots of people don't have a lot of extra money for such anyway. So, being that gardening and such are the big "in" thing, how does one come by plants and save money too?
1. Most of the plants in my driveway flower bed were extras shared with me by friends or my mom. If you have friends that garden they most likely will have some plants that need dividing or reseed freely and most people are happy to share these.
2. I've told ya'll before about my .25 cent mums I get on clearance at the end of the fall season. Each season has their own clearance sales, so watch for these. I probably have 5 mums in this bed that I got for a quarter a piece. They might need a little TLC for the first season but I've never had any die and the next year they come back great.
3. Old abandoned homesteads are great for digging plants, just make sure you have permission. I've even dug them off the side of the road but make sure this is okay too beforehand. Several counties in my state also have "plant dig days" at the local landfills. Whenever they are about to move to a new area of a landfill they will let the public go in and dig whatever native plants you want before the area is cleared. These are always free and announced several weeks ahead of time. Your state may have something similar.
If you have any friends in the know, you can often go into a construction site before the excavation starts to dig plants too.


4. Jack and I happened upon a winter clearance sale at a gardening center and got 6 bottles of this fish emulsion fertilizer for $1 a bottle, so they often have many things besides plants on clearance. Keep your eyes open even in the winter too.


5. I'm very fortunate to have many great native species that grow all over my land; some of your friends or you may also. I have counted about 5 different species of ferns on my property, not to mention hydrangea, dogwoods, rhododendron and scads of flowers, so whenever I have an area I want to spruce up I often just go transplant stuff I already have out in the woods. You can fill in with one or two store bought plants if you like.


6. Don't be afraid to dumpster dive!! I got this cool, old planter out of a dumpster on a job I was on and my mom has been known to dig plants out of a dumpster too! The planter was broke but a steel pin in the base and that was fixed. Stuff like this has so much more character than that plastic/ foam crap they make these days. Thrift stores and flea markets are also good places to find old funky garden decor.
7. Many seed vendors will send you a free pack of flower seeds when you place an order for other stuff. I've gotten several packs of seeds this way.
8. Many people will also be happy to let you take cuttings from shrubs and trees they have or you can just propagate your own stuff this way. Sometimes it's kinda tricky to get them to take but even if they don't you are usually not out much or any money.
9. Joining gardening clubs is a good way to find friends for swapping plants and our local Master Gardeners club often has sales around town or at the farmers market where you can get some really good deals.

Do any of ya'll have any other frugal ways to acquire plants, seeds or tools for gardening?