Saving thru the Holidays

The tighter money is, the earlier we need to begin planning for the holidays. In quick progression, we will post ideas for: Holiday meals, Christmas decorations, gift giving, gift ideas, party planning, traditions, dealing with lack of funds and avoiding the "blues".

Quick Link to Cutting Utility Costs

Click HERE for reminders of ways to reduce utility usage.

Quick Pumpkin Spice Dessert - Fantastic

I got this note from my daughter and granddaughter this evening and couldn't wait to share it. I haven't tried it yet but know how wonderful it must be because I know the original recipe it's based on and will make it as soon as I get to the store for ingredients. (The original recipe follows Cindy's note.)

Mother,

Hannah and I came up with a delicious holiday dessert that you might use on your blog. It's a take-off from our "Chocolate Chip Cooler". We used Ginger Snaps in place of the chocolate chip cookies. Then folded together a prepared box of Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Pudding with a bowl of Cool Whip. Dunk the cookies quickly in milk and layer just like the cooler. If you fold the pudding and cool whip gently, not thoroughly, it makes a "marbled" look which can be swirled into decorative patterns on the top. It's beautiful and delicious! I've attached a "Mother's Blog" style picture!! :-) Love you!

Original Chocolate Chip Cooler
1 bag Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 lg. container of Cool Whip
1 c. Milk

Put the milk in a bowl large enough to hold a cookie. Using 1/2 of the cookies, dip each one quickly in the milk and layer them in 9" X 13" casserole. Spread 1/2 of the Cool Whip over the layer. Repeat with second half of the cookies and Cool Whip. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Spoon into bowls or onto dessert plates and enjoy.

Soda Can Carolers

Go from this

to this

with very little time and even less money.

Make a bunch to decorate an entire tree, give as gifts, tie onto packages or use as favors for guests leaving a party...or even better, after an evening of caroling.

INSTRUCTIONS: Wash cans, remove pull-rings, tuck the tabs tight to the underside of the lid. Note: there will be a small semi-circle of pull-ring metal remaining around the "nose" button. This can easily be removed by grabbing it with pliers and pulling. Allow to dry completely. Paint a solid background color on the can sides, rim and bottom using spray paint, interior latex wall paint, even craft paint. Pre-sanding may be done but is not absolutely necessary (I don't). Paint your decorations on the can sides using ordinary craft paint. After everything is painted except the face, crush the cans. Inside the mouth can either be painted black or a small piece of black felt can be inserted and secured with a dot of glue. Paint the face simply. Remember that craft paint can be mixed with latex wall paint for color variations. I add a little brown craft paint to white wall paint to get a flesh color for painting the faces. This can be as light or dark as you like. Add decorations: pom poms, bells or bows to the hats...pipe cleaner "fur" around their faces, bits of greenery or berries salvaged from years past or thrift store bargains.

Snowmen Centerpiece

These little snowmen add a touch of whimsy to any table during the holidays. They are quick, easy and inexpensive to make and (the best part) they are edible.

They made their first appearance here as Halloween Ghosts and are made by dipping pears into Almond Bark. Click HERE for instructions.

Rainy Day Blessing

Sometimes blessings come in very small packages.

My Tuesday began with frustrating disappointment. It was to have been an eagerly anticipated flurry of activity but waking to tornado warnings and heavy rain completely devastated my plans. Taking my favorite first cup of early morning coffee to my favorite porch to sit in my favorite chair, I intended to listen to the wind in the trees and watch the sheets of rain march across the pond, and thoughtfully rearrange my busy schedule. But that, too, was eliminated as a possibility. My chair was occupied.

There, in the chill and damp, deposited in the center of the seat cushion, a tiny ball of kitten had taken refuge from the storm.Now, it's not that I'm not a cat person; I am. It's just that a dozen or so years ago, I developed allergies that make their proximity to me very unpleasant, so my coffee cup and I reluctantly went back indoors. No sooner had the door closed behind me than I worried that the shivering little fellow was being soaked by the windblown mist. At first, I moved the chair to a more sheltered location and decided to spend the day attending kitchen chores that I might keep an eye on the porch and its intruder.

Before long, a box filled with towels heated in the dryer found its way to the porch, eventually followed by a saucer of warm milk. As the day progressed, the unlovely eyes were tended with diluted antibiotic drops.My hands were washed a million times with antibiotic soap and rinsed with peroxide as I braced for the aftereffects of having touched a CAT...Eek! I busied myself in the kitchen, put on a pot of soup and checked the kitten, set a loaf of bread to rest and checked the kitten, did the dishes and checked the kitten, cleaned the refrigerator and checked the kitten. In the dim light of early evening, I stepped to the porch yet again and was startled to find the scrawney mother cat positioned between her baby and me. She hissed once, jumped off the porch and turned to stare defiantly. I went back inside and watched through the side-light as she returned and hungrily finished the kitten's milk. Ugh, I thought...'if I feed her, she will stay' and I couldn't deal with that. On the other hand, she was hungry. Throughout the evening, mama cat stayed close, was given warm milk and tuna. By bedtime, the wind and rain had moved on to other places and mother and baby were comfortable curled together and sleeping in my favorite chair. And as I curled comfortably in my own bed, I smiled, realizing that it had been a very satisfying and productive day.

At first light, the two of them were gone. My favorite spot for morning coffee had been returned to me but it seemed like a lonely place on Wednesday morning so I had my coffee at my desk.

White Bean Soup

Bean soup and fresh baked bread - the perfect meal to warm a chilly, rainy day. A ham, even a small, half ham can be the basis for several meals.First: Baked ham slices served with "Sweet Potato Pone"
Second: A "Scalloped Potatoes" casserole with diced ham
Third: Sliced ham for breakfast, omelets, sandwiches or pizza
Fourth(and best of all): A big pot of White Bean Soup!

PERFECT WHITE BEAN SOUP
1 lb. Dry White Beans (cover with water and soak overnight)
1 Ham Bone
3 Onions - coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch of Celery - finely chopped, include leafy tops
1 Tbsp Garlic - minced
1-2 c. Instant Mashed Potatoes
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Rinse beans that have soaked overnight. In a large pot, bring beans, ham bone, onions, celery, garlic and 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil. reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. Remove ham bone and cube the meat. Add the cubed ham back to the pot with enough of the instant mashed potatoes to bring the soup to the consistency (thickness) you would like.

Wonderful served with warm, homemade bread. My favorite rustic bread recipe and method comes from Artisan Bread in Five, makes up in a matter of minutes in a single container, doesn't require kneading and goes from last night's refrigerated dough to warm and ready to eat in one hour and ten minutes. Yummmmmmmmmmmm.

Sweet Potato Pone

From the first time I saw the old movie "The Yearling" I have been curious about "Sweet Potato Pone" and have researched it for years. Long before I ever baked my own hundreds of pones of cornbread, I wrapped many a slice or square in a napkin to take with me outdoors to play, just as young Jody did with his sweet potato pone in the yearling story.
The recipes I have found, vary greatly but inevitably result in a dense, custard type pudding, much like cooked pumpkin pie filling. Surely, that is not appropriate for a little boy's pocket. So, I've been experimenting and am getting closer. When and if I ever get it right in my own mind, I will share the results. In the meantime, the recipes found through the following links provide an inexpensive and mouth-watering accompaniment to ham.
Recipe #1 at Cooks.com - Recipe #2 at Gumbo Pages - Recipe #3 at Bella Online - Recipe #4 at Ambergriscaye

Halloween - Impromptu Centerpiece

No money. No time. Or completely forgot?!?!

Try a nest of little ghosts for a quick, easy, inexpensive and even edible centerpiece. Melt Almond Bark according to package directions. I used the microwave and it took only 90 sec. Dip washed, unpeeled pears in the melted Almond Bark and set on wax paper to harden - only a few minutes. Use raisins or cloves for the eyes.

Thanks to Michelle for this fast, fun and frugal idea.

Autumn Harvest Cake

This is the best cake I have ever tasted in my life...my very favorite sweet flavors.

I'm sure that somewhere there is an actual recipe for a cake similar to this but I don't have it. All I got was a phone call from an excited daughter who loves the combination of dark chocolate and orange as much as I do. She rattled off ingredients but had no measurements or instructions so I made a couple of adjustments and experimented. Here's what I came up with and it worked perfectly.

Autumn Harvest Cake

1 box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 can Libby's Pumpkin - to replace the oil called for on box directions
3 Eggs - according to box directions
Water - according to box directions
Zest of 1 Orange

1 jar Orange Marmalade
1 can Dark Fudge Frosting

Mix according to package directions except: Omit the Oil. Add the can of pumpkin and the Zest. Bake as sheet or layer cake. Split in half to double the number of layers. (I cut a sheet cake in half & split each half to make 4 layers) Spread marmalade between the split layers and frosting topped with marmalade between the two actual halves. Frost the entire 4 layer cake with the remaining frosting. Enjoy...and, by the way, it's even better the second day.

Egg-ghoul-y Eyes

Hard boiled or deviled, for the children at home or for a party, these blood-shot eyes fit right in with the season.Crack, but do not peel, hard boiled eggs. Add a good amount of red food coloring to water and soak the eggs for a couple of hours. Rinse, peel and prepare as usual. Top with an olive slice. Although I used a larger leaf of lettuce for the purpose of this photograph, it occurred to me that you actually can cut egg shapes from lettuce leaves and place them on top of the deviled eggs before turning them over on a serving plate. That way, the good egg filling will not be left behind as guests serve themselves.

Chicken Enchiladas - Our Way

Yes, half a chicken can serve 12...and, the colors are right for FALL!

Once upon a time, in my days as a single mother, when money was scarce and hungry mouths were many, I often threw together just what we had on hand. One result became our family-famous, signature meal - Chicken Enchiladas, our way. You will not find these in restaurants or the recipe anywhere online but they are served from Florida to Alaska and many states in between. My sons have taught their wives. My daughters have them requested again and again for church functions. they are quick. They are easy. and, yes, they are a bargain.

Ingredients:
2 c. Cooked Chicken (2 - 5 oz cans may be used)
2 - 8 oz blocks Cream Cheese
1 or 2 cans Green Chilies - chopped (2.25 oz)
1 or 2 cans Sliced Black Olives (2.25 oz)
1 Onion - chopped
Salt - to taste or as you see fit
12 - 16 oz Grated Cheese (Cheddar, Colby, Jack or a blend)
Flour tortillas - 10 - 12 large or 20 - 24 small
1 - 8 oz can Tomato Sauce
Salsa - 8 oz of your favorite

Can't believe I left the onion out of the photo :(

Put the first 5 ingredients into a bowl; add salt as if salting French fries. Add 1/2 the grated cheese. Mix thoroughly (we use our hands).
Mix the Salsa and Tomato Sauce together and spread a very small amount of the mixture in the bottom of a greased pan. 9" x 13" works well for taco sized tortillas. I used a broiler pan for these burrito sized tortillas.

Form a small "rope" of mixture along the center of a tortilla, roll it up and place it in the pan. When all are made, spread the remaining sauce over the top. (This process is more like basting bar-b-q sauce than pouring liquid.) Top with the remaining half of the cheese. Bake 20 min at 425.

NOTES: Amounts are not critical. You can use more or less of almost any ingredient. However, if you make only half this recipe, still use 1 can of tomato sauce with perhaps a little less salsa.

When made with smaller tortillas, my husband generally eats two and one is quite enough for me. At this size, we discovered that one was quite enough for him and a single half did it for me. So, after the enchiladas cooled, I cut the entire pan-full in half, separated and wrapped each one individually for freezing. With 21 halves in the freezer, I am ready for last minute meals for 2 or 10 or more with only 30 sec. in the microwave on "Defrost" plus 1 minute on "high".

Serve with chopped lettuce & tomatoes topped with sour cream or with refried beans or try this easy

Spanish Rice recipe:

2 c. uncooked white Rice
3 c. cold Water
1 - 8 oz can Tomato sauce
2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 - 2 tsp Salt

Combine in saucepan with tight fitting lid. Cover. Bring to a vigorous boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Do not lift lid. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir before serving. (Leftover rice may be packaged and frozen for later use.)

Fall: Halloween Costumes, Free/Thrifty/Creative

Holidays from now through Valentines Day can be a time of fun and joy and making memories or they can be the source of incredible stress. I am trying to relax, rethink priorities and enjoy these special times for our families regardless of our economic situations. When I grew up, half a hundred years ago, all costumes were homemade. All treats came from someone's kitchen or from their harvest. I honestly believe we enjoyed life more. I know the memories are sweet and worth sharing with grandchildren.

Please search your memory for costume ideas that cost little or nothing and share them here, through your comments. Thank you.

Grown-ups and babies need not be excluded from Halloween dress-up fun. Thing 1 and Thing 2 required only wigs, long johns, red socks on hands & feet and imagination (and quite a bit of stuffing).

The prize winning baby flower began as a green hoodie and sweatpants. The petals, made of pink felt costing only pennies and were embellished with rhinestones from a discarded pageant dress.

If you have a tambourine lying around the house, some old curtain sheers and Christmas tree icicles, you have the makings of a dancer.
A plain gray skirt, white blouse, a very simply made white apron and some white paper for a collar and cap and your little Pilgrim girl is ready to go.

Some angels don't even need wings. A little gold garland for a halo and a tie around the waist and no one could refuse treats to this one.

However, if wings are requested or required, remember that wire coat hangers make perfect frames for a covering of tulle or curtain sheer fabric. Angel wings are a single piece, while fairy wings each have two parts.

And...angels are never too small. This is my first grandchild, 20+ years ago, dressed in a teenage aunt's petticoat pinned under her little white, hooded sweater. Coat hangers and aluminum foil provided the wings and halo. Cost - $0. Memories - priceless!

Sometimes we only need to work with what we have. A little girl with very long hair almost instantly, and certainly economically, becomes Pippy Longstockings. The hair was gathered into two pony tails. Then the center of a straightened, wire coat hanger was shaped across the top of the head, like a croquet wicket and each end was threaded down through the pony holders on each side. The hair was then braided around the wire; the braids secured at the ends and the wire bent up and out. A few exaggerated freckles and with a look like this, the rest of the outfit hardly matters...but it is an easy look to duplicate.

This cute, cute (and prize winning) dinosaur costume requires no pattern at all. A green hoodie and sweat pants provide the base with fabric from a second pair of pants used for footies and mittens. The gold colored chest, knee patches and identifying dinosaur "plates" are felt.

The little white cat is made of fabric from a fuzzy thrift store bathrobe. Notice the piece of monofilament line attached from the end of the tail to the back of the neck to keep the tail lifted when "kitty" is upright. The nose is a triangle of pink felt attached by fine elastic that goes around the head. It has momofiliment "whiskers" hot glued in place.

The baby chick emerging from a cracked shell is about as adorable as a toddler costume gets. In trying to locate a pattern for this little chick, I came across a different approach to the same idea that you might enjoy seeing. Click HERE for the link. The bat and spider costumes were amazingly simple to construct with a black hoodie or sweatshirt and black sweat pants as a basis. The spider legs are connected to each other at the tips with black yarn so that they move up and down with the child's arms. The additional black fabric used for the ears, bat wings and spider legs and the red and blue fabric pieces on chest and tummy were all bargain priced on a remnant table.

NOTE: Another source for incredibly inexpensive fabric is the neighborhood thrift store during a clothing "bag sale".

Combine sewing skills with imagination to delight your child and everyone else. Copy your child's favorite stuffed animal. A little inspection will let you know how many pieces are needed and what shape they should be. With the cooperation of a child willing to lie down on freezer wrap while a rough pattern was drawn, this Tigger, made completely of felt with the stripes simply painted on, became an instant Halloween favorite.

Imagination jumped into high gear with the pretty yellow dress that is so much more. If you are familiar with Beauty and the Beast, you well know Bell & Chip, the tea cup. This dress has a large hoola-hoop sewn into the hem and a small hoop sewn in the hem of a shorter under-skirt. The wearer can grab the hoop at the hem of the long skirt, lift it over her head and "taa-daa", Bell becomes Chip, the teacup.

One little girl not only wanted to be Raggedy Ann, she wanted to be sitting in a rocking chair just like the doll that had been in her room as long as she could remember. Fortunately the request was made months in advance giving the creative mother plenty of time to strategize. The chair is made of styrofoam, duct tape and black paint and is attached to a simple, long, black skirt. The wig is made of red yarn, of course, and the outfit - sewn by Mommy.

I know there are a hundred ideas out there. PLease share them through your comments.

3 Popcorn Ball Recipes

I'm trying 3 different recipes that I've never tried before, collected ages ago, some from family members who are no longer with us. In each case, I'm giving the recipe a twist.

This first one, my Grandmother's, is the oldest. The photo is my grandmother, me and an unknown baby. The worms, mixed in and sprinkled on are a just-for-fun addition.

This is Recipe #1

Muddy, Wormy Popcorn Balls

1/2 c Molasses
1/2 c. Corn Syrup
2 tsp Vinegar
1 Tbsp Butter
5 - 6 cups Salted Popped Corn (1 Microwave Bag)
1 bag of Gummy Worms

Combine first 3 ingredients in pan over medium heat. Cook to a brittle but not crack ball stage. Remove from heat. Stir in Butter. Pour over popped corn & stir to coat. Shape into 6 to 8 balls.

Opinion: This was by far the easiest, quickest recipe. I think the flavor is 'old time' perfect. The worms, mixed in and sprinkled on, are just-for-fun additions, perfect memory makers for an evening of thriller movies with the children.

This second one is more for adult tastes.

.....................................

This is Recipe #2

Almond & Raw Sugar Popcorn Balls
2/3 c. Light Corn Syrup
2 c. Raw Cane Sugar
2/3 c. Boiling Water
2 Tbsp Vinegar

Combine the above ingredients in a heavy pan, then add:
2 tsp Cream of Tarter

Boil to soft ball stage. (Notice the rich nutty color from the raw sugar) Remove from heat. Stir in:
2 tsp Almond Extract
1/8 tsp Baking Soda.

Pour over 2 bags of Microwave Popcorn (appx. 10 cups) to which 1 cup of Sliced Almonds has been added.Mix and mix and mix well. Butter your hands. Form into balls. Cool on wax paper. Makes 8 large balls.

WARNING: Hot sugar is really, really, really hot. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Opinion: This is my second favorite. Love the way the addition of the baking soda caused the entire mixture to froth up. This may be the reason it coats the corn more easily.

..............................

This is Recipe # 3


This recipe made more than twice as many popcorn balls. They were slightly smaller than recipe #1 but I think the real difference is that they didn't pack together tightly. The pieces stuck lightly to each other and the resulting balls are significantly lighter in weight and less dense than the first batch. Another difference is that this mixture cooled very quickly making the mixing process a bit more difficult. I had to work very fast.

"O" My Goodness Colorful Popcorn Balls
In a heavy pan with buttered sides, combine the following:
2 c. White Sugar
1 1/2 c. Water
1/2 c. Light corn Syrup
1 tsp. Vinegar

Cook to hard-ball stage. Remove from heat and add:
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Pour over 2 bags of freshly popped microwave popcorn (appx. 10 cups*) to which 4 cups of colored cereal has been added. Work as quickly as possible, mixing well to coat. Butter your hands and form into balls. Makes 18.

* If you are using regular popcorn instead of Microwave bags, add 1/2 tsp. Salt to sugar mixture.

Opinion: This recipe was a bit more difficult in the coating process and hardened very quickly. I really struggled with it but it was worth the effort according to the grandchildren.

Fall: Decor Made Easy

Decorating for the seasons doesn't necessarily require that we pack away everything that personalizes our home most of the year. After living in Alaska for 13 years, I was so thrilled to return to my home Florida, that my home almost immediately became a collection site for all things "beach". The Gathering Bowl of shells in the living room is one of my favorite things and there was always a bit of regret associated with replacing it with season appropriate decor. Last Christmas I flatly refused to banish it through the winter and tucked bright, shiny Christmas ornaments in among the shells. This fall, I expanded that idea, tore apart the cornucopia that had become an unimaginative yawner and added the plenteous harvest to my precious shells.

I love the look and hope you find ways to incorporate a bit of the "season of the moment" without depriving yourselves of the company of items you truly enjoy.

There is very little new here...4 mums bought early and small @ $2.50 each. Most of the items on my shelf/table were there through the summer and have only been tweaked for Autumn by the addition of the old table runner, a stem of autumn leaves added to the greenery and free pine cones mixed with old artificial gourds set in a rustic ceramic serving tray that was a 50 cent yard sale find years ago. The result is a statement of color and texture acknowledging that we are at least aware and appreciative of the change in seasons.

Fall - It's all about Pumpkins

Pumpkins range in color from almost white to a deep rust with all shades of yellows and oranges in between. From the winter fruit that grows to 1,300 lbs in Alaska to the tiny ones we tuck into a bowl of apples for a centerpiece, the pumpkin is truly versatile. Pumpkins are nutritious, loaded with Beta Carotene (Vitamin A) and Vitamin C and loads of fiber. Check this link to Heritage Farms for more in-depth nutritional information.

The small "sugar" pumpkins which are used commercially for pie fillings have a stronger flavor than the large "cow" pumpkins we carve for Jack-o-lanterns. they are actually, and were originally, grown as feed for livestock. However, the large pumpkins are certainly usable for pies and breads and by increasing the amount of spices recommended in recipes calling for canned pumpkin, I doubt that anyone could tell the difference.

Today I'm decorating with pumpkins.
I've been dragging out these very inexpensive, orange, plastic pumpkins for years and decided to so something different with them this season. I started with thoughts of Halloween...a simple matter of masking and black paint.

Mid project, I visited one of my favorite decorating blogs which was making use of white pumpkins and it caused me to do an immediate about-face. Fortunately, I also have white paint and liked the results so well that I took a brush to my larger pumpkins, too.

This great shaped squash got nothing more than a couple coats of white paint.

Considering the possibility that there might me such a thing as too much stark white, this plastic pumpkin was "antiqued" by simply rubbing it with Old English furniture polish and rubbing off the excess.

My oldest daughter surprised her sister and me with a craft day of making these adorable little pumpkins.
They are made from 2' lengths of clothes dryer vent hose, the two ends wired together with floral wire. They are first spray painted solidly with orange and then sprayed lightly with a dusting of a burgundy color. The stems are corks and the silk, fall leaves add the finishing touch. It occurred to me that these would make a really cute topiary, threaded onto a dowel, secured in a terracotta pot and dressed with moss.

A note about blackboard paint...

It is said that a touch of black always adds class. That is fine and appropriate for the decor of many of my friends. But my look is so very Florida Casual that I worry about things like that. Blackboard paint has become my bridge between two worlds. Too much white, or "light" IS boring and the addition of a touch of black does give the eye a place to "rest". My shabby frame was cheap, cheap, cheap...simply painted and distressed. The original (and ugly) picture inside was painted over with the blackboard paint. The freshly painted piece of slate, only yesterday displayed a blue and white, Made in China family of snowmen. I bought it at a yard sale for a quarter. Now it makes a statement and serves as background for the little pumpkins.

And, speaking again of pumpkins...in a couple of days, I'll be cooking fresh pumpkin, roasting seeds, making pies and breads and will share methods and results with you.

Fall: A Time for Treats & Comfort Foods

As the nights begin to cool, activities around my house have always turned toward favorite Autumn activities so I'm beginning a whole new category called "Fall". In the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting decorating ideas, old Halloween favorites, crafts and of course, treats and comfort foods. This week, I'm experimenting with variations on popcorn balls. It should be fun.


In the meantime, try your hand at making lollipops. It is a fascinating process for children to watch. Quick. Easy. And inexpensive. Sure, you can go to the expense of buying molds and sticks or you can try some thrifty alternatives. The ones pictured were simply spooned onto a greased cookie sheet. A great and thrifty source of safety sticks is cotton swabs, with the cotton removed.

Be creative. Have fun. Here's the recipe. Feel free to copy & paste:

1 c. Sugar - 2/3 c. Water - 1/3 c. Light Corn Syrup
2-3 drops of Food Coloring - 2-3 drops of Flavoring
(oil extracts give more intense flavor)

Mix first three ingredients in pan and cook, stirring only until sugar is melted and temp. reaches 260 degrees. (Or until a few drops of mixture become brittle when dropped in cold water.)

Remove from heat. Add color and flavoring and stir only enough to mix. Quickly pour hot mixture into greased molds or spoon onto a greased, flat pan. Remove lollipops from mold or pan as soon as they are firm. If allowed to remain too long, they may crack while being removed.

Is Your DEBIT CARD Busting Your Budget?

Because so many of us find ourselves in positions where each dollar is becoming more and more important, when I found this article, I knew the information needed to be passed along.


Often deposits - even "direct deposits" take days to clear a bank. A deposit to our accounts on the 1st may not show up as available funds to our accounts until the 3rd or 4th or even the 5th. Unfortunately, the checks we write or the debit card we use, withdraw funds from our account immediately. We think you have money in the bank. The bank says we do not.

My Wells Fargo bank charges a $35 fee for every transaction involving "Insufficient Funds". That means that a $5 purchase can cost me $40 so you can see how a couple of inexpensive purchases can result in the loss of hundreds of dollars.

This September 9, 2009 New York Times article by Ron Leiber and Andrew Martin details just such banking practices, is quite and eye-opener and provides ample motivation for us all to sit down for a policy discussion with our bankers. The information I gathered actually inspired me to move my accounts to a small, local bank.

Reducing Utilitiy Usage

We hear rumblings from Washington that would cause our Utility Bills to double or even triple. That’s the last thing my household needs or can even withstand. They are already 50% higher than two years ago, so I’m making plans of my own right now concerning electricity in general, lighting, temperature control, hot water, and laundry.

SAVING ELECTRICITY

#1 – Unplug.

If it produces heat, it’s using electricity even when turned off: computers, televisions, chargers, etc.

#2 – Lights.

Determine one or two work areas in your home: one for adult activities and only one for child activities. The dining table is a good place for children to gather for their studies. In these areas, provide substantially adequate, low-glare light. In all other areas of the house, make drastic changes. Where possible, reduce lighting to one single bulb per room and reduce the bulb wattage. It may be dim but it won’t be dark. Tickle the kids, tell them it’s romantic and you love them and move on. Put sensor night lights in the bathroom(s) and kitchen so that they are never totally dark and avoid using the more powerful lights as much as possible.

#3 – Temperature Control.

A programmable thermostat is useful and will save electricity but you can achieve the same effect if you will: A) Adjust the thermostat to be 5⁰ less than ideal as you go to bed and 10⁰ less comfortable as you leave the house for more than an hour. B) Keep an outdoor thermometer outside a north-facing window. When the air outdoors approaches an acceptable temperature, turn your system off and open the windows. You will even be healthier for the fresh air. C) Get in the habit of wearing sweaters or sweats and slippers in the house in the winter and using fans to cool and circulate the air in summer. D) A wet towel clothes pinned to the front of a fan will help cool dry, hot air. E) Search your memory for movie images from the 1930’s and 40’s. Doorways, especially broad, expansive openings between rooms were most often flanked by heavy draperies. This was more than a decorating trend. Unused rooms were most often closed off from the active areas of the home. Consider closing heat and a/c vents in and doors to rooms that are seldom in use. Formal living rooms and dining rooms can be tastefully closed off using the drapery techniques of days gone by. F) Windows, even thermal pane windows fight against your temperature control efforts in both summer and winter. Heavy or thermal-lined drapes are a necessity if you live in an area of temperature extremes and they will make a difference in your utility usage. Fortunately, flat panel drapes are very much in style and nothing could be easier to make or to hang. Inexpensive white fabric, even used, white, flat sheets can be used as liners so that the drapery fabric is protected from sun-fade. They also provide a uniform ‘look’ to your windows when viewed from outside your home. And when using the clip-ring method of hanging, they don’t even need to be sewn to the drapery fabric. The liners can simply be clipped together with the drapes and easily removed from each other for separate washing.

CONSERVING HOT WATER

We think of it as a necessity. It isn't. My parents thought of it as a luxury. How did they manage?! They told tales of the wash tub in the kitchen warmed with pots of boiling water from the stove and of the children taking turns starting with the least dirty. Extreme? You bet but not impossible. Am I advocating this? Of course not but take heart, you could do it if you had to and even make a game of it. But, in the meantime, here are a few more practical ideas.

HEATER BLANKET - Spending money to save money - not necessary, but...you can wrap your hot water heater. Insulating blankets are available at home improvement stores.

TIMER - Install a timer on your hot water heater so that it will not be reheating water continuously even when you are sleeping or at work.

BREAKER - Flip the switch. Your electric panel box has a breaker designated especially for the hot water heater. Keep it turned off for 20-22 hours out of every 24. Give your tank 1 hour to heat up and your family 1 or 2 hours for usage. Determine to get all household members bathed, shampooed and ready to face the world in one or two hours each day. Inconvenient? Yes. Impossible? No.

DISHES - Washing dishes without hot water? No, but without using the hot water heater. Here's how it's done: (For starters, forget using the dishwasher except as a rack for air drying.) Scrape the dishes, rinse in cold water and stack. Partially fill a sink or dishpan with cold water and add boiling water from a pot on the stove and add detergent. Fill a second sink or dishpan with cold water for rinsing. Cold water actually removes soap better than hot water. Wash glasses and cups first, plates and bowls second, silverware and pots and pans last. As each item is washed, give it a pass through the cold water rinse and set to drain. Towel dry or leave items to air dry.

BATHING - Bathing used to be a family affair. children were tumbled into a single tub, scrubbed by an apron-wearing mother and rinsed while standing as Mother poured a pitcher of warm water over their heads. Husbands were usually assisted by their wives and the wives were pretty much left to fend for themselves. (In case the thought of wearing an apron, triggered something in you, HERE is a link to aprons and apron patterns available online.)

The labor intensive full-body bath was most often a Saturday evening affair ensuring a squeaky-clean and sweet-smelling family attendance at church on Sunday morning.

Cleanliness over the remaining six days of the week was achieved primarily through cold water rinses of the hair, frequent soap and water washings of the face and hands, foot baths in a small wash tub before toddling off to bed and a mid-week sponge-bath, with which we are all familiar.

In my recollection, it wasn't until the 1970's that the weekly routine of shampooing ones hair began to change into a daily task. Coincidentally or not, it was during that same time period that commercial hair products hit their heyday. Salon formulations of products became available in retail stores and hair, as the crowning glory of one's person, became a social obsession. The population preference of he bath began to give way to a rising preference for the shower. For the man, a shower was quick. For a woman, it provided the perfect environment for the ritual shampoo even though water consumption was greater, it took longer, eliminated the relaxing properties of the "soak" and presented the challenge of shaving while standing on one leg.

Whether you hold to your habit of showering and adjust only your timing so that it fits into the hours you've chosen to have hot water available or opt for an entirely new approach to bathing - a great deal of money will be saved when the high cost of hot water is conquered.

REDUCING THE COST OF LAUNDRY

WASHING - Simple solution: wash everything in cold water. If you feel you absolutely must do an occasional load in warm water, try this: After the last bath or shower, turn the hot water heater off by flipping the breaker. Then fill your washing machine using the 'hot' setting. that will make use of all the hot water remaining in the tank ant the water will simply run cold once the hot water is all used.

Click HERE to access a U-Tube video with recipe and instructions for making your own Laundry Soap for 40 cents a gallon.

THE DRYER - The clothes dryer is a huge consumer of electricity. Make sure your lint filter is always clean and clean lint from every area that you can access.

DRYING - the best way to conserve electricity (or gas) is not to use the dryer at all. Proper hanging methods will be covered in a later post. In the meantime, make a point to hang all heavy items like jeans and sweats. When using the dryer, dry items of similar weight fabrics together. If your dryer doesn't have a moisture censor, set the timer and check the load every 20 minutes. Soon you will determine the necessary drying times for different weight fabrics in your particular dryer.

IRONING - If you are in the habit of ironing items as they are needed, try to change the habit and set aside a weekly ironing time. Your iron uses more electricity in the time it is heating up than it does in the same amount of time once it reaches temperature. If you can plan ironing on laundry day, you can save drying time, whether on the line or in the dryer, by ironing tiems while they are still slightly damp.

CLOTHING - Reduce the amount of laundry you do by limiting needless changes of clothing. Just a couple decades ago, we owned far fewer clothes. School clothes were removed and hung immediately upon arrival home and would be worn again several days later. Play clothes were then put on, to be removed at bath/bed time and folded for the next afternoons use. Unless they were particularly soiled, they were expected to last a couple of days before going in the laundry. Underwear was changed daily. Socks were required to be rolled into pairs as they went into the hamper. Yes, that meant they had to be unrolled as they went into the washer but it ensurred that there were no unmated socks.

Reader Response to "Find Cash in Your Kitchen"

I'm a Stay at home mom. Well, I was until I decided to go back to school because being a military wife gives my resume' more holes than Swiss cheese. But how was I going to do it? Things were already tight financially with three people living on one income (less than 30K). How was I going to afford the extra expenses of child care, gas, tuition, books, uniforms. Thank God I was able to apply for scholarships to go to school but that still

didn't cover the extra $335.00 a month for child care or the extra gas I would be using. But with the extra help of your book, I was able to cut my grocery bill by HUNDREDS every month!

My usual grocery list consisted of a hungry, busy, stressed, and broke mom trying to remember all the things I needed to buy for a weekly family menu. So I travel up and down all the isles getting all the things I "need" including meats that I have no recipes for, veggies that usually go bad, and snacks (because I'm starving by this point!).

So my mom gives me your book and I am so tired of running around like a chicken with my head cut off but getting nothing done that I'm willing to try anything. I dive right in. I want to know how to shop, what to get, how to prepare everything, and save time doing it.

First I write my list based on the recipes I'm going to make when I get home, a few more meals I will prepare later, and the essentials (milk, bread, etc). Second, I need a crock pot. It's payday so I take my "half" of the money that's left over after bills and buy a crock pot. And I'm thinking I better use this thing because those pink stilettos have been eying me since last week and if it weren't for this crock pot they could be mine! Third, I go shopping and get ONLY what is on the list. I don't go down the snack isle because there is nothing there on my list. No chips, no sodas, no cookies, just what i need. I check out and I'm about to faint. My grocery cart is loaded with fresh foods but my grocery bill is $50 less than usual. And I'm thinking "But there's so much more than usual, how is it less?" And the savings were enough to cover the cost of the crock pot!!!

SHUT-UP!!!!! : )

I hurry home and I'm ready. I had cleaned my kitchen before I got home so "it's on"! I don't bother putting away the unrefrigerated things. I get straight to work on the meats. I pull out the new crock-pot and put in my onions, 2 whole (washed) chickens and set the timer. I've never used a crock pot so I'm worried. But practice makes perfect right? Next I'm browning ground beef and making spaghetti sauce. I'm working on 4 meals and it's only been 5min!!! OMG!!!

The sauce is done so what am I going to do with it. Lasagna with 1/2, and freeze the other for spaghetti. I've got the oven going and I make the lasagna. Well I've got an extra pound of uncooked ground beef I had gotten, so I save a little time (and electricity) and make a meat loaf. The lasagna comes out, meat loaf goes in. Once these have cooked and cooled they go in the fridge so they can set and I cut them into smaller portions and freeze for meals on the go or a 5 minute home cooked meal!!!!

I check on the chickens a while later, de-bone, split the broth, chicken and dumplings with one half, chicken salad with the other and I've got extra homemade broth to make soups or use in other recipes.

Thanks to your book, FIND CASH IN YOUR KITCHEN, after 4 years, I feel like I can really do my part to help the financial stability of my family and still be able to do things I want to do like going back to school. I may not be working, but I can stretch that dollar twice as far as my husband can, which means we can save more.

Thank you Cia!!!!
Mallory - a proud USArmy wife

A Follower's Suggestions for Cost Cutting

I came up with an idea for your next blog (or one in the future). How about

"Stop using Consumables when non-consumables will work"

Here's the idea...

1- Emery boards cost money and you use them up. A metal file does the same job and lasts forever.

2- Exfoliating creams and lotions have to be replaced. A good loofa or buff puff does the same job.

3- Paper towels cost money (although good for SOME stuff). A drawer full of rags (made from cut up old towels) can be rinsed and reused over and over for quick spills as well as scrubbing needs. Toss them in the wash.

4- Cloth diapers used even one day a week, can cut down on disposables by a considerable sum over the course of the diaper-years......Etc.

I'm sure you can come up with TONS more suggestions. These are just some of the ones I came up with. In addition, the loofa used prior to shaving, can get a MUCH closer shave and prevent the "chicken skin" problem. You can end with something funny like "Toothbrushes need replacing every 6 months, but a good wire brush is forever!" Hee hee! - Cindy

BUDGET SHOWER - Baby or Bridal

I’m sure it’s possible to host a shower with virtually no cost at all. Those on the guest list who are family and close friends can participate in bringing different elements of the party – assorted decorations, food, drinks etc. and yard sale goodies can provide delightful favors and game prizes.

BUT

For those occasions when something less casual is desired, a LITTLE inspiration can replace a LOT of cash.

My total cost for this shower with 12 guests was $51.10.

$15.10 Invitations and all Decorations

$19.00 Snacks, Food, Drinks, Cake and Favors

$17.00 Games & Prizes and Grandmother Gifts

Here are the components and how they came about:

THEME – Because I wanted to demonstrate versatility, I chose a ‘color only’ theme; this one is blue (because it’s a boy) and white. A bride’s color selection can easily be substituted. And, just as easily, a new mother’s theme of teddy bears or trains & planes or little princess, etc. can be simplified and incorporated using stencils or rubber stamps or homemade sponge stamps.

INVITATIONS – My computer graphics capabilities are non-existent so I had to rely on personalization and the old cut and paste method.

WELCOME – Since we live in a rural location and some of the invited guests had never been to our home, I wanted to give them the assurance that they were at the right place before they actually knocked on the door. Additionally, the borrowed umbrella, toddler toys and 50 cent streamers helped set the mood upon arrival.

DECORATIONS – Table Cloth is simply a length of fabric which will be washed and later sewn into crib sheets. Placemats and Napkins were diapers, a gift from the maternal Grandmother. A blue punch was served in Glass baby bottles, also a Grandmother gift, and the bottles were wrapped in $2 worth of bulk washcloths for koozies and tied with blue ribbon. The cake and games prizes provided centerpieces and my white everyday dishes were topped with 50 cent clearance cocktail napkins and homemade Mint or Nut Cups.

FOOD – The diaper shaped mint or nut cups were filled with a really good trail mix topped with a couple of Jordan almonds. We found blue Hawaiian Punch and mixed it half and half with 7-UP and it was actually acceptable. The mid-afternoon main offering was a Baked Shrimp-Crab Salad, one of my favorite Paula Deen recipes, served on a bed of field greens tossed with grape seed oil and balsamic vinegar, fresh ground black pepper and sea salt and accompanied with whole grain rustic crackers. We chose cupcakes over a layer cake for convenience sake...(and click HERE if you want some real cupcake inspiration.) The small carrot cakes, the expectant mothers favorite, were topped with premixed cream cheese icing into which a full block of cream cheese had been whipped. They were decorated with the standard Lifesaver and Jellybean pacifiers and wrapped with theme-painted, homemade cupcake wrappers. The cupcakes were served with fruit cups.

GAMES – Our games were outstanding. We played four.

First Game: the guests were greeted at the door with bracelets of cord strung with 10 decorative, plastic diaper pins and pacifiers. At that point, the word “Baby” was banned from conversation. Penalty for getting caught saying “baby” was to relinquish one of your pins or pacifiers to the person who ‘caught’ you. This was a marvelous ice breaker and the source of a great deal of laughter. The winner was the person who accumulated the most.

Second Game: Charades. The Place Cards were folded in half and held closed by sandwiching them between the fork and spoon in the napkin bundle. Inside each place card was a word or phrase pertaining to mothers’ activities with new babies. (For the duration of this game, the ban against saying the word “baby” was suspended.) Phrases included things like ‘singing a lullaby’, ‘a stinky diaper’ and ‘tickling baby’. We started with the expectant mother and circled the table in such a way that the guests who were least familiar with the majority of the guests would be last, so that they would feel most at ease. Each player, in turn, was to act out her phrase. The person who guessed the correct phrase first was awarded the actors’ place card. The player who ended up with the most place cards at the end of the game was the winner.

Third Game: I had printed columns of alphabets on cardstock and cut them into strips. We set a timer for four minutes and each player wrote down a baby-related word that started with each letter of the alphabet. After the timer went off, we went around the table for each letter, with each player announcing their word. When two or more players had come up with the same word, they were eliminated from play for that letter only. Of the remaining players’ words, the expectant mother had to choose which word she liked best. Each player kept count of how many times they had submitted the winning word. The player with the most winning words won the game.

Game Four: Bingo. I was thrilled to find this site. It provided me with these adorable printable Bingo Cards. In addition, it is filled with ideas and even a “Shower Etiquette” listing of the proper ‘order’ of activities.

GAME PRIZES -- Were self-indulgent, token gifts, a candle, body butter, etc., placed in blue and white plastic take out containers, loosely tied with sheer ribbon and were actually left with the mother-to-be.

GUEST FAVORS – were not as time intensive as they appear. My homemade Praline Pecans are elegant and deceptively easy and fool-proof using this old family recipe. The organza bags were purchased in the bridal crafts section of a discount store. The tiny tags are just a page of cut & paste on the computer, printed on cardstock. The over-wrappers continue the super-simple blue brushstroke theme and I was able to cut two at 11” long from a single sheet of cardstock.

ADDL. IDEA – Because my kitchen is open to the dining area, a blue table cloth was used as a drape which provided a backdrop for suspending two framed photographs of the parents-to-be. They were presented to the two expectant Grandmothers.

Click on the following links for instructions:

Invitations

Diaper Shaped Mint/Nut Cups

Wrapers for Favors

Praline Pecans Recipe

Life Saver & Jellybean Pacifiers

Also, Check This Site for Cupcake Inspiration

SIMPLE SUMMER

If you have younger children, you simply must click HERE for a link to one of the most wonderful posts I've ever seen on a blog. My words are completely inadequate when compared to this young mother who has discovered magic moments with her children in a week of sheer simplicity.

Clearing Desk Clutter

Saving time and saving money go hand in hand and the primary key to saving time is organization.

Unfortunately, keeping organized is a constant battle for me. Of course I have a filing cabinet but I have so many things going on and active at one time, (a book, a blog, a business, a couple of art projects, a household) that I am generally buried under a mountain of paperwork and don't dare file away unfinished and 'in progress' things...yet.

This 50 cent yard sale dish drainer seems to have solved my clutter problem. All the papers and projects that littered my workspace are not only organized but are readily accessible. My desk is clutter free and I am now able to get to work on whatever project without having to search for it or clear work space.

Budget Gifts Just Need a Little Imagination

Finding the right gift for someone can be difficult under the best of circumstances but when there is little or no money to spare, it can be sheer agony. Try substituting thoughtfulness and add a bit of creativity for the cost. You may find that yours is the only gift remembered.

I'll be adding to this category from time to time so check back in. For now, here are a couple of ideas:

THE 50 CENT GIFT BASKET
I recently bought some multi- packs of the new light bulbs, (the cheapest I could find) and noticed that each bulb came in its own little unmarked box. What a discovery! I knew they would come in handy some day.

The apple mugs were $.25 each at a yard sale and the little basket was free. I took a picture of the apple on a mug and printed it out for a homemade card, the label on the Spiced Cider Mix (in the light bulb box) and the tag on the candle (left over from last Christmas). I will need to buy some cinnamon sticks but for the purpose of getting a photo to you, I just grabbed some twigs from the woods and tied them together with raffia.

The finished basket will make a nice gift for an autumn birthday, a mother whose child is headed off to school for the first time or someone who is under the weather. The mugs could also be given individually as teacher gifts, filled with cinnamon candies, and wrapped in cellophane gathered at the top and tied with a red bow.

The Gardener's Pot is a breeze to put together, a little more costly but a thoughtful gift when visiting over the summer. The pot was $.50 new at a yard sale. The spiral bound book is blank inside for a gardener's notes. Hand tools and garden gloves are extremely inexpensive as are a few packets of seeds. The little spray bottle contains Listerine with a handmade tag that explains its use a mosquito repellent and the card is made using one of my old photographs. Everything is coordinated in the recipient's favorite color - blue.

Remember that a gift is always more memorable, appreciated and special when it reveals that you actually KNOW something about the recipient - a favorite color, activity, struggle, leisure, flavor, etc. So, make your gift giving lists now and keep your favorite people in mind, looking for ideas as you go through your days, read magazines, watch television and roam the aisles of stores. And visit here often for more ideas.

50 WAYS TO CUT MONTHLY EXPENSES

None of us want to trade our comfortable lifestyles for that of a half century ago but we are able…and knowing our abilities can be a source of comfort when finances threaten to get the best of us.

1. Reduce the number of lights per room

2. Switch to lower wattage for all light bulbs

3. Tape the bathroom light switch in the ‘off’ position

4. Put a night light in the bathroom

5. Put a night light in the kitchen

6. Put solar lights in sunny windows

7. Use solar for outdoor lighting

8. Use motion-detector lighting outdoors

9. Switch to the new ‘curly’ light bulbs

10. Unplug all chargers when not in use

11. Unplug TV when not in use

12. Unplug computer when not in use

13. Wash all laundry in cold water

14. Line-dry or rack-dry all heavy fabric items

15. Determine refrigerator needs before opening

16. Close refrigerator promptly

17. Turn off hot water valve under bathroom sink

18. Install timer on hot water heater

19. Turn off hot water heater at breaker for 18 hrs. daily

20. Watch less TV

21. Use rechargeable carpet sweeper for touch-ups

22. Vacuum thoroughly only once a week

23. Do all ironing at one time – once weekly

24. Change clothes less often

25. Have weekly family night with board games – not TV

26. Bake often in winter

27. In winter, leave oven door open after baking

28. Limit oven use in summer

29. Grill outdoors in good weather

30. Include veggies & heating bread on the grill

31. Roll newspapers into fire-starter logs

32. Add heavy drapes to windows for winter nights

33. Let the sun shine in windows on winter days

34. Cover sunny windows in summer

35. Add extra blankets/quilts to beds in winter

36. Wear warm slippers

37. Learn to love sweaters & sweats indoors in winter

38. Turn thermostat to 5⁰ or 10⁰ less comfortable

39. If you have a fireplace or wood stove – use it

40. Use flannel sheets in winter

41. Use fans in summer

42. Close off unused or seldom used rooms

43. Wash dishes by hand

44. Do not use ‘dry’ cycle on dishwasher

45. Place plastic jug of water in toilet tank to reduce water usage

46. Get a rain barrel for watering lawn & garden

47. Change children’s cell phones to ‘pre-paid’

48. Eat at home

49. Pack lunches

50. Get to 5^th gear ASAP when driving a stick-shift

Reducing Household Expenses

Tallying the amount of money required to keep our household afloat each month can be a rude awakening. When we look at the very basic expenses, after all the frills are stripped away, and realize that the need is greater than our income, we can be overwhelmed by a sense of doom, depression or even panic. We can feel helpless and hopeless because we have no experience of or instinct for survival.

WELL, CHEER UP!!!

There really are ways to spend significantly less – even on essentials. And, I’ve had enough experience to be somewhat of an expert. Over the next few weeks, posts will be made in the following categories: Utility Use, In the Kitchen, Housing, and Lifestyle. You can use the ‘Labels’ at the left to access them by categories.

Solutions will range from modest to extreme, providing options to meet your individual need. As I add posts, I will also place links on this entry.

A L E R T ! ! ! Powdered Milk Recall

As we attempt to save money, many of us are turning to powdered milk as a replacement or an extender for drinking, cooking and baking and for making our own yogurt. Unfortunately, powdered milk has joined the list of foods being recalled due to salmonella contamination. Click this link for an updated list of products and brands being recalled.

100 FREE: Activities for Children

If a tight budget has you at a loss for something special to do with the children this summer, check out this fantastic list. Here is a link to, not dozens but, an actual one-hundred creative activities that are absolutely, 100% FREE.

Solving Sock Problems

The Saga of the Single Socks
I began doing the family laundry somewhere in the vicinity of 1957. My brother, sister, father and I each wore socks. Assuming we each wore one pair a day; my Saturday laundry included 56 socks. By the time I reached my personal peak, with eight children at home, my weekly sock laundry had advanced to a staggering 140 a week. I thought for a moment that I would do the math and calculate my lifetime sock washing total – not.

For most of the years, our socks were hung on the line to dry. That may seem a reason to groan in sympathy but after giving it proper consideration; I think it might actually have been easier. Because hanging the laundry was a common practice, laundry baskets were more ‘user friendly’. They had cross-legs, like a TV tray, held a canvass basket with pockets on each end for clothespins and folded to almost nothing for storage. Hanging clothes didn’t require bending over. While hanging laundry, single socks could be draped over the edge of the basket until the proper mate surfaced and then they were hung in pairs by the toe.

Eventually, we stepped into the 20^th century and I was blessed with owning a clothes-dryer. I think that might have been the origin of my hatred for the task of sock mating. Almost immediately, there appeared a basket of clean, dry socks demanding the grueling process of mating as baskets and bags of unmated socks began to accumulate. I’m sure the dryer didn’t come with a warning that it ate socks but I am equally certain that all dryers do. The only solution to the missing mates problem seemed to be the purchase of more and more socks while waiting for lost mates to magically surface… someday.

How is your single sock supply?
This link will take you to 4 ideas for making use of old mated socks.
This link will take you to 13 creative uses for unmated socks.

I found another site with additional old sock usage ideas and a wealth of other information. You may want to check it out.

Budget Camping – Super Summer Fun

Thoughts of reducing summer vacation expenses naturally turn to thoughts of camping. Play your cards right, plan accordingly and the kids will be hooked for a lifetime. Don’t and you may never get them to go anywhere but a theme park again.

Because new equipment can be expensive for first time campers and camping itself can range from absolutely free to quite expensive, I've put together some tips, ideas & suggestions.
They are all related to the following 7 very important rules:

(Rules 1 thru 6 are links which will take you to much more information on each subject.)

Rule #1 Don’t go crazy. Any lawn chairs you already have that will fold for transport are just fine. Buy as much gear at Yard Sales and Thrift Stores as possible.

Rule #2 Adults NEED to sleep comfortably. Kids, when tired, will sleep any place.

Rule #3 Plan for too much sun & too much rain.

Rule #4 Plan for emergencies: tiny to traumatic, from bugs to broken bones

Rule #5 Eat well

Rule #6 Get creative

Rule #7 Maintain daily schedules: mealtime, naptime, etc.

This Weeks Grocery Shopping Challenge

I generally keep 100 or so servings of meals in the freezer but it is looking pitifully bare these days. To say I’ve been preoccupied or busy is putting it mildly. In the past 30 days, I’ve been out of town for 10, gotten a book finalized for print, started this blog (from a position of total ignorance), put together a marketing plan for a new company, held 5 art classes, refinished a table and kept up with the house, garden, lawn, laundry, etc…well you know the grind.

Not only do I need to replenish the meal supply in the freezer, but within the next week, I will be hosting a cook-out Sunday and expecting overnight guests mid-week. So…here are the problems and here is the plan:

PROBLEMS
Freezer needs start-from-scratch stocking
The 50's-style cook out is a big deal
I would like to impress my mid-week guests
I’m on a diet requiring expensive live foods
My budget is alarmingly low

PLAN
Shop tomorrow AM at 1 store buying items on my list - only.
Spend 1 hr in kitchen to put away groceries and start cooking.
Later, prepare, package & freeze main dishes
And...Post results, cost, time, etc.

Here’s my grocery list. Wish me luck.

PRODUCE—Cabbage, Field Greens, Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes, Avocados, Green Peppers, Potatoes, Bananas, Apricots, Blueberries, Peaches.
DAIRY—Organic Milk, Shredded Parmesan, Cream Cheese, Flour Tortillas
CANNED GOODS—Peas, Mandarin Oranges, Lemon Curd
BAKERY—Hot Dog & Hamburger Buns
MEAT—15 Lbs. Ground Beef/Turkey, Beef Roasts (2), Chickens (3), Boston Butt (2)
MISC—Potato Chips for cook-out & Ice Cream for hubby

This is continued on the "Shop & Git 'er Done Day" post.

Shopping & “Git ‘er Done” Day

53 minutes ago I sat the last bag of groceries on the counter and set the stove timer for 1 hour. Now, I sit at the computer with a Fuzzy Navel Smoothie that has citrus flavored Omega 3 Fish OilRoyal Greens (like good tasting barley grass) and homemade yogurt added. (can't taste anything but slight lemon), mint flavored Yum.

In the kitchen, the groceries are put away and the counters cleaned, a 5+ lb. Pork Roast (Boston Butt) is cooking in the crock pot, 14 lbs. of chicken is stewing on the stove top, and 6 1/2 lbs of Beef Roast (Chuck) are cooking in the oven. I only got 10 lbs of Ground Meat and I don’t know why. the packages seemed really large and looked so fresh and good, I guess I just grabbed two and went on my happy way. At any rate, 1 package was made into patties for tomorrow’s cook-out. The other package was browned with salt, pepper, chopped onion and minced garlic. The cooked mixture was divided into, 6 pkgs for the freezer, enough for 24-36 servings (to be prepared in the future) and the remainder was made into spaghetti sauce, enough for 4 meals each serving 4-6. That’s 16-24 servings

MINI-DETAILS
1—I cut the fat from the huge pork roast and salted it heavily to make salt-pork before putting the lean roast in the 6 qt. crock pot.
2—I shaped the hamburger patties using the plastic lid from a sour cream container as a form: Cut strips of wax paper the about patty width. Stack and cut them in half to make squares. Place one square of wax paper on top of the inverted lid, add a ball of ground meat and press into a perfect circle. Remove by lifting the wax paper and set it aside. Repeat, stacking the patties with the wax paper squares conveniently separating them.
3—The total spent for the items on my list, including tax, was $91.46. Of that, $51.09 was spent for meat, $40.37 for the other list items.
4—It took 7 minutes to de-bone ¼ to 1/3 of the chicken, which I will use in the Soup & Dumplings.
5—From the chicken stock, I filled 4 - 1 cup containers for the freezer, for future use.
6—Total time in the kitchen today was 3 ½ hours. Will give full tally tomorrow - 1 additional hour slicing beef, making gravy, pulling pork & packaging. Total time - 4 1/2 hours.
7--Item yield as follows: Chopped pork & pulled pork bar-b-que - 40 servings. Sliced roast beef w/ gravy - 20 servings. Cubed roast beef for stew - 6 servings. Cubed & sliced chicken - 24 servings. Spaghetti sauce - 16 servings. Prepared ground beef for 'helper' type meals - 20 servings. Hamburger patties - 18. Chicken n' dumplings - 12 servings. Chicken vegetable/noodle soup - 12 servings.
8--Total yield: 168 meat servings for about $.30 per serving. Turning these frozen, prepared meats into full meals can be accomplished for very little additional cost.

Link to Chicken Stock vs. Chicken Broth here.
For another bloggers take on the subject, use this link.

Spring - When Children Bloom

As I’ve already said, I give 4 of my grandchildren art lessons once a week. I started with the oldest, a year or so ago, and decided to add her two little brothers this year. As winter began to fade, I felt bad about leaving the little one out and invited her to join us. I was thoroughly prepared for fidgeting and boredom and paint in places that paint should not be. However, I was not prepared for her light, gentle handling of the brush or her innate understanding of washes or her ability to transcend the literal.

A few weeks ago, taking out lessons to the deck, I asked for definitions of spring. Having been given ample answers covering new growth and warmth, I asked what spring smelled like, felt like and what impressions of those senses would look like. Asking the children to paint, not “things” but feelings and impressions, 3 hesitated but the little one went right to work. I would like to share some of those impressions with you.

This is her
rendering of
“Night Sky
with Moon”.

Link to the children's Mercy & Truth Necklace project.

Table Rescue

This unique, stylish and personalized table which now resides in a family den, began life as simple discard. Details of its rescue can be found at this link.




With the final finish of several coats of non-yellowing polyurethane, a family heirloom was born.

The Most Amazing Bread

I’ve been baking bread steadily for almost 20 years. In Alaska, my Sourdough began with a starter passed down since the Alaska Gold Rush. It was baked in my kitchen and on campfires from the Denali to the Deshka, from Ketchican to Klutina. I’ve used old recipes, new recipes, fairly simple ones and labor intensive ones but never have I had such repeated success as I have with the basic recipe found in the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and it is incredibly simple. No kneading, no punching down, no waiting hours and hours for rising and a second rise.

I suppose it’s nearly impossible to defeat this recipe. Surely, I have tried. In my first batch, I substituted a cup and a half of oat flour – no problem. I infused sunflower seeds in the second batch and rolled an additional loaf in poppy seeds. Since the three loaves pictured, I have substituted with half rye flour and added cocoa powder for color and caraway seeds for flavor. We ate it before I could get a picture. It was wonderful. Twice we have used the dough for pizza and as soon as I lose a little weight, I’m going to start baking the amazing sweets…all variations of the same simple dough.

$1.78 = Pizza for 7

I made pizza for dinner tonight using an amazing Artisan Bread recipe. Seems I just make it a habit these days to keep a batch in the refrigerator ready for any passing whim.

Tonight, as I piled our pizza high with a shameful amount of pepperoni for my husband and artichoke hearts, black olives and mushrooms for me, my mind wandered back to a less plenteous time. I was counting my current blessings when it occurred to me that a long ago pizza had also been a blessing.

I was a single mother with 6 children at home and had not only lost my job but lost our home and every belonging to a fire. The children and I were scattered in two dingy, single bedroom apartments carved from an old ramshackle house. The quarters were quite temporary but that didn’t lessen the blow to my pride. As our resources were finite and dwindling, mealtime was a heartbreaking challenge.

One day, while job hunting, I noticed a sign on a local eatery, “All you can eat salad bar $1.99 – To-Go $.99”. I stepped inside to see what was offered and how large or small the To-Go boxes were. My mouth began to water and an idea began to form; Cheeses, Mushrooms, Peppers, Cubed Ham, Pineapple Chunks and PEPPERONI. I filled my dinner sized container so completely that it almost wouldn’t close, paid my 99 cents, of course plus tax, and hurried to the grocery store. With a 79 cent box of the “Chef’s” pizza mix in hand, I smiled all the way home.

There in the kitchen, smaller than my closet, the children and I waited breathlessly for the dough to rise then pulled and patted and stretched it as far as we possibly could. We spread and sprinkled and layered. And then we baked. The minutes ticked by so slowly. The sweet fragrance of our pizza, as the temperature rose, was almost more than our patience could bear and we warned ourselves not to burn the roof of our mouths with the hot cheese, though I’m sure a few of us did. Never-the-less, it was a pizza I will never forget, one that I will never forget to be thankful for and one that can never be matched, no matter what the price.

Camping Tips (#1): Basic Equipment

+ Tent to fit your family for sleeping and waiting out rains if necessary.

+ Chairs – Anything that folds will do. They don’t have to match but comfort & durability are considerations. Take chairs for the children…Depending on the number, sometimes a stack of small molded chairs will take up less space than a bunch of folding ones.

+ Table – Park camping always includes a picnic table at each site HOWEVER, having a card table along that can be set up beside the fire pit or grill will keep all of your cooking needs on hand without overrunning your eating and game playing space at the picnic table.

+ Coleman Lantern – with extra mantles and an ‘electric match’ (butane lighter)

+ Cooking supplies – see #5

+ Cooler(s) – see #5

Camping Tips (#2): Sleeping

+ Sleeping Bags – inexpensive and washable for children, good for adults. IDEA Using old sheets, make covers for the children’s bags just like pillow cases except that one side should only be seamed half way up. In hot weather, the sleeping bags can be zipped closed and slipped inside the cases so that the children sleep in top of the bag and under a single layer of sheeting. In colder weather, the case will fit inside the sleeping bag to provide both a bottom & top sheet. The cases can also be used as stuff-bags to hold the sleeping bags.

+ Sleeping Mats – whether using an air mattress (get an air pump that plugs into the car lighter) or foam pad, remember that adults are cranky when we wake up aching. Seriously consider your own comfort. Take your pillows & sheets if you like. 2 Adult sleeping bags can be zipped together for less confined and more familiar sleeping.

Camping Tips (#3): Weather

+ 3 Tarps for over tent, under tent, and for shade & rain protection over picnic table.

+ Plenty of bungee cords and small diameter rope for suspending overhead tarps.

+ Extra tent stakes for securing ropes that support & tie-down the overhead tarps.

+ Hatchet for driving tent stakes.

+ $1 plastic Ponchos are close to ‘disposable’ but take up almost no room and can save the day.

+ 1 or 2 large ‘golf’ umbrellas, in case they are needed to attend the restroom in a downpour

+ Sunscreen, lip balm, aloe

+ Rainy Day Games – You never know when the worst camping trip for the adults will be the very best camping trip for a child. Remember every word game from your childhood. Take cards and balls and bean bags. Take family favorite board games for rain or shine and a story book for bedtime.

Camping Tips (#4): Emergencies

+ First Aid Kit – a must! Make sure it has a manual and read it. Never panic and never let the children see you sweat.

+ Medications – be sure to take enough for twice the number of days you are planning. You never know when something unexpected will alter your plans ALSO keep medicines out of the reach of children, even lock meds in your vehicle.

+ Check the children each morning & night for Ticks.

+ Bug bites & bee stings – recipe for success: 1 part Ammonia, 1 part Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer, 1 part Baking Soda. Mix in sealable, airtight container. When needed to stop itch or detoxify a spider bite or neutralize a bee sting, shake container to suspend the particles and rub solution into affected area.

+ Cell phone – If you have two (2), keep one turned off to save the charge in case of emergency.

+ Near water with children, have all children wearing life jackets. If you are near running water, tether the children to a nearby tree or other stationary object, with enough line to be active and comfortable. Better to have onlookers think you are strange than to watch your little one vanish around a river bend in a rapid current.

Camping Tips (#5): Eating Out – REALLY out!

+ Organize to make it easy on yourself.

+ Plan all meals ahead of time. Always plan meals for an extra day, just in case…and let them be of the non-perishable kind: granola bars, fruit wraps, string cheese, summer sausage, crackers, canned beef stew, etc. You never know when something unforeseen will delay your departure OR maybe you’ll just be having such a good time you want to stay an extra day.

+ Cookware. You can spend unnecessary funds on cute little cooking ‘kits’ containing pots & pans that don’t serve their purpose very well. The best bet is to purchase thrift store items that will stack comfortable inside one another. You will need a skillet, a large pot with 2 handles and a lid and a small pot with a bail wire handle and a lid. Nothing needs to match; they just need to stack. With these three items, you can cook anything.

+ Utinsels. No need for the fancy grill-master sets. You will need a good turner, a set of tongs, a 2-tine fork, a large spoon, a slotted spoon, a large sharp knife, a paring knife, a can opener, (a flat grater and a potato peeler if you have use for them).

+ Silverware. You may as well pick this up at a yard sale or thrift store as well. Unless you plan to throw away plastic at every single meal, you’ll be washing silverware anyway. Why not let it be a permanent part of your camp gear?

+ Tablecloths??? – Certainly. Take a couple of $1 plastic ones. Use one to cover the cooking supplies on your card table. Put another on the picnic table so that it can be wiped clean as needed.

+ Dishes – You will possibly leave me here. I never used paper plates and I didn’t use the cheap plastic ones sold every summer, either. I bought melamine plates at a thrift store. 1) They are substantial enough to take the abuse of a steak knife. 2) I never paid more than $.25 for one. 3) They are thin and a stack for my entire crew took up less space than paper plates for that number of meals would have. Same thing with bowls. I made sure everything nested and included a size for mixing/salad, serving (veggies), and one each for single servings.

+ Cooler(s) – It is best to have two; a larger one that contains items to be used in meal preparation and will be opened seldom and a smaller one for drinks, etc, which will be opened more frequently.

+ Cooking Tips & Meal Ideas in a future post.

Camping Tips (#6): Creative Camping

+ The Spice Box – This was one of my favorite camping ‘inventions’. It began with a piece of luggage known as the ‘Make-up Case’ purchased at a yard sale for $1. The hard case with the handle on top was the perfect size for containing my mini-kitchen conveniences. For 13 years, it occupied a corner of the old card table which faithfully stood in close proximity to whatever our source of cooking in wilderness Alaska. When we moved to Florida, I passed the case and all its contents to a fellow camper.

My Spice Box contained all the small necessities and conveniences we depend on at home. It’s hard to believe so much can fit into so small a space but keeping an eye out for bottles and jars and plastic containers will allow the contents to fit together like a Chinese puzzle. When time permits, I will make a diligent search for some old photograph to illustrate the magic of the Spice Box.

Mine contained: Forks, spoons and a potato peeler and can opener standing in a jar, knives and my tongs lying in the back pocket, sharp knives, the spatula and large spoons were tucked under elastic straps fitted to the inside of the lid. Spice jars of salt, pepper, garlic powder and steak seasoning. A plastic jar, with sections and a lid that ‘dialed’ to provide an opening over individual sections, contained strike-anywhere matches, toothpicks, the little tooth-flossing picks, safety pins, multi-vitamins and aspirin. A small plastic box contained a bar of soap and a bottle with a flip-top squirt lid held dish soap. A scrubbing pad lived in a zip-top bag as did a couple of dish cloths. My ‘silly’ jar contained mascara, lip gloss, hair clips & scrunchies, nail clippers, a file, toothpaste and toothbrushes with the handles cut short enough to fit. There was a container for baking powder and one for baking soda and a bottle of ‘insect-bite-relief’ mixture and a bottle of peroxide for everything from cuts & scrapes to sanitizing toothbrushes. I had a folding hair brush that stood in one corner. There was also a box of Dominos, a couple decks of cards, a jar-candle for romance and my own personal bottle of bubble soap. Dish towels and 2 hot pan holders were folded on top of everything else or double-folded to fit into awkward gaps.

My spice box was truly my home away from home and its first opening on any camping trip always felt a little like Christmas.

+ The Camp Box – Just like the spice Box, we always had a ‘camp box’ ready and waiting to be loaded for spontaneous outing. My husband built mine out of 5/8” plywood making the box itself heavy. Today, there are any number of plastic bins with handles on each end that would work just as well. Mine was about 30” long, 16” wide and 18” deep. To keep me from having to bend so low to the ground to access contents, we usually sat it on a couple of logs or big rocks.

Like the Spice Box, the contents of the Camp Box were chosen, winnowed and replaced to achieve close to a perfect fit. Some of the items contained were, by their very nature, dirty (like the fire grate) and were dealt with accordingly. I made a bag for the fire grate and the bellows out of an old plastic tablecloth. Pots and pans with soot laden bottoms had paper plates placed between them as they were stacked and the large (bottom) pot, containing the others, was slipped into a plastic bag before being returned to its position inside the plastic dishpan. My large skillet also lived in a plastic bag.

My Camp Box contained the following items: fire grate, bellows, fire tongs, 1 large and 1 medium sized skillets (with a collapsing handle), large enamel (canning) pot with lid, smaller enamel pot with bail handle and lid, a large enamel coffee pot, steamer basket, 2 cutting boards, a large bottle of cooling oil, 6 Melamine plates, bowls & mugs, 1 large and 1 medium plastic mixing bowls, 2 plastic table cloths, a plastic rectangular dishpan, a folding wire dish rack, a plastic dish drain board, a bag of ropes of different lengths & diameters, a bag of bungees, 2 Frisbees, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, misc. sized zip-top bags, a roll of paper towel, rolls of toilet tissue (flattened & fitted into zip-top bags), misc. plastic bags to contain and carry away our trash, a Coleman lantern, a tiny Coleman single burner stove (for quick morning coffee), a larger 2-burner Coleman stove, a collapsing camp oven (for baking bread), a 3-foot length of heavy plastic carpet protecting runner (used as a clean surface for feet when bathing in the wilderness) a light-weight door mat (for the tent entrance), our camp sheets, towels and washcloths, books identifying wild flowers and mushrooms, mosquito nets and head nets, rain gear, my favorite camp hat, a ‘made for camping’ hammock and a collapsing toilet seat.

Keep in mind that we were wilderness campers in Alaska, miles off-road and even more miles from basic services. People camping in National or State Parks or campgrounds surely do not need as much equipment as we did. But, between our Spice Box and Camp Box being kept at the ready, we were able to load up and take off with very little advance notice or preparation.

+ Phone book. Take along a phone book so that you and the children can collect and press wild flowers. Some of the tiniest blooms have incredible detail. Later, the pressed flowers can be sandwiched between 2 small pieces of glass and sealed with black electrical tape around the edges. The little framed flowers can be placed on a stand, in a frame, or hung in a window. They can be beautiful reminders of a wonderful time.

+ Kids Light up the night. Remember to take glow sticks and dollar-store flashlights for the children. They will tuck-in earlier (leaving some ‘adult’ time) if they have something to occupy them in the tent. Reading under the covers and telling stories with a flashlight under your chin are usually good enough aides for triggering children’s own imaginations.

+ Catching Bugs. A canning jar with a 2-part lid is perfect for containing insects long enough to examine them. Either punch many holes in the flat lid or, better yet, replace the flat lid with a circle of window screen wire held in place with the screw-on ring. Take along an insect identification book and a magnifying glass. Insist that the captured insects be released once they are identified and the information is shared.

+ Paper Plate Art. A box of crayons and a stack of the least expensive paper plates can keep children busy at the table while meals are being prepared. They can color the back sides and still be able to put food on the plate. The plates can also be decorated and used as Frisbees or can be made into masks for dancing around the evening fire. Add a bottle of white glue and the children can decorate the plates with leaves, tiny pine cones and bits of moss to make their own ‘naturescapes’.

+ Creating Safe Water Play. Any body of water of water is enticing for children. Young ones don’t understand the issues of safety; they only know that the water is there and they want to get to it. We once solved the problem of a little one feeling left out with a tarp, some driftwood and a LOT of hauling pots of water. Remember that imagination is a great thing to take on a camping trip.

+ Imagination & Adventure. Children love to explore and create ‘grand adventures’. Camping is a great time to introduce then to Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Tom Sawyer, etc. Consider combining daytime adventures with evening reading.

USES FOR OLD, BUT MATED, SOCKS

1—Make Coat Sleeve Snuggies – Using only the ribbed top part of a pair of socks, sew the cut edge of each sock to the inside of each coat sleeve, far enough inside the sleeve for the finished edge to just peek out from the coat sleeve.

2—Make Coat Sleeve Extenders – When a child’s coat is perfectly good and fits properly except for the length of the arms, make the arms longer by sewing only the ribbed top part of socks to the ends of the sleeves. These can be cuffed and if well matched, will not even look like a retro-fit.

3—Leg Warmers are Back in Style. Use only the ribbed tops of mated socks, sewing the ‘tubes’ together to the desired length. Sew cut end to uncut end for all of the additions except the last one. For the last one, sew two cut ends together. That way there will be a factory-edge at both ends.

4—Silly Leg Warmers. Using the same method as above, mix different colored sock tops together for fun, stripped leg warmers. It isn’t necessary for the two legs to match.

USES FOR UNMATED, ORPHAN SOCKS

1—Theraputic Heat Wraps. Fill a tube sock half full with uncooked white rice and either knot or sew the open end. Microwave for 60 sec. for a good 20 minutes of soothing heat. Wonderful across the back of the neck, over an aching shoulder and between garments for low back ache.

2—Sevin Dust Applicator. I don’t know if there is a downside to this or not so I am only sharing a story and expect you to do your own research regarding health and safety. In the mid 1970’s, an elderly woman taught me to garden. She was an advocate of Sevin Dust for pest control. She would fill an old sock with the powder, knot the end and walk the rows of her garden, swinging and shaking the sock over and around her plants leaving them covered with a fine layer of white dust. The dust would also have covered her shoes had she not used the following hint:

3—Shoe Covers. Large, old, unmated socks are great protectors when pulled over shoes before working in the garden or doing messy jobs like painting. The gardener (above) always covered her shoes before going into the garden and washed the dirty socks under the hose.

4—Garden Tool Storage. My elderly gardener friend had been using the same garden tools since she was a young bride. They lasted because she took care of them. After the gardening season, the metal parts of each trowel, spade and hoe were carefully cleaned, sharpened, scrubbed with steel wool, rubbed down with linseed oil and covered with an orphan sock. Thus protected, they were stored away for the winter.

5—Thistle Bird Feeders. Fill a long tube sock with thistle seed, knot the open end and hang it from a tree branch. The sock thistle feeders are unhandy for squirrels but are a serious attraction for thistle feeding birds like Goldfinches.

6—Moth Ball Bag. Simply fill a sock with mothballs, knot the end and hang in your winter storage closet or toss into your blanket storage chest or plastic bin.

7—Cedar Bag. If you buy sweet smelling cedar chips for a pet’s bedding, why not fill unmated socks and hang them in your closets?

8—Candle Holder Caddies. Tired of cleaning brass and silver candle holders only to have to clean them again the next time they are used? After each use, while still bright and shiny, give the candle sticks a quick wipe with your favorite polish, put an old sock on each hand to avoid finger marks and place each holder in its own sock for storage.

9—Packing Glassware. Old and unmated socks provide perfect protection for drinking glasses whether they are being packed for a move or stored until the next holiday or to make room for other things.

10—Cold Drink Koozies. For yourself, or the children, slip a glass, can or bottle into a sock. It will absorb the condensation as well as provide personal identification of drinks.

11—Bean Bags. Sock tops make perfect beanbags. Simply sew the top closed. Cut the foot from the sock, fill with dried beans and sew the cut edge together. Need something to do with all those unused sock ‘feet’? Get creative. Use them to fill soft toss-bags or make a soft toy by sewing or painting faces on the heels, fill the foot part (body) with other sock feet and sew the opening closed.

12—Quieting Dice Cups. If you play a board game that requires shaking dice in a plastic cup and the noise drives you crazy, cut as much of the top of a sock as will be needed to line the cup (bottom & sides) and glue it into place. Enjoy the silence.

13—Wicking Water for Plants. Over water or under water houseplants? Here’s a trick. Cut the rounded top-part off of a water or juice bottle so that you have a container the shape of a drinking glass. Hang a sock inside the container and fold the top over the edge to make a cuff an inch or two wide. Carefully dig a hole in the dirt beside your plant and insert the bottle deep enough that the sock ‘cuff’ will be partly buried. Fill the container with water. The water will wick up the sock and into the soil. When the sock is empty, it’s time to refill with water.

Chicken: Stock or Broth

While the rice is resting and the 3 qts of Chicken & Dumplings, and 4 qts of Chicken Vegetable Soup w/ Noodles finish up on their own, I would like to address my confusion concerning chicken fat. Considering today’s mania about fat of any kind, I would be inclined to remove and discard it. However, my childhood recollections overrule and I generally treat it as liquid gold. (If I die next week of clogged arteries, please don’t follow my example.)

In 1949, my father moved my thoroughly southern mother and us children to Cleveland while he attended school for four years. For the first year, we lived on the ground floor, left/rear, of a large red brick apartment building somewhere on Euclid Avenue. I remember that the front entrance had buzzers and speakers. Each day, coming home from the 2^nd grade, I would have to press the buzzer, listen for my mother’s voice and announce myself into a little ring of holes in order to get the door to unlock. The door seemed huge and heavy. Wearing mittens and carrying my book-bag made opening it difficult but it was one of my favorite moments in any day. Perhaps that’s why walking into some restaurants whisks me immediately back to my childhood. The fragrances of out apartment did not ‘waft’. They were not gentle, like something on a spring breeze. They were hot, heavy and hard. Almost taking your breath away…and they were delicious.

Sylvia, a large Italian woman, downstairs/right/front, cooked with sausages and dried meats, garlic and basil and oregano, a great deal of which decorated her long white apron. With flour flying, she made her own ravioli and hung pasta on a clothes rack to dry. She had balls of cheese weighted with a plate and a rock in a large crock filled with liquid. Ester was the pencil thin Jewish woman who lived upstairs/left/rear/. She cooked with onions and caraway, cabbages and fishes and chicken that still had feet and necks and were laid out on a table that was covered with newspapers. Most often, the aroma from one of the kitchen overwhelmed the other but sometimes it was a real, mingling battle.

I loved those smells. I loved those women. I spent hours in their kitchens watching their every move. It was Ester who taught me to make latkes, the old knuckle-shaving way. When I got my first food processor, I tried it as a shortcut to turning the potatoes to a gray pulp but it wasn’t the same and I quickly returned to the time consuming method of hand grating. It was Ester, also, who taught me that chicken fat was something of a gift from heaven. I remember the golden pools floating on her soups. I strive diligently for that look, for that taste.

Today I have cooked big pots of chicken as well as Italian dishes. My kitchen has achieved the fragrance of that long ago battleground which existed just the other side of our huge and heavy apartment entrance door.

Sometimes Old-fashioned Makes Cents!

Not only is this a new blog, I’m a new blogger, almost totally dependent upon my daughter not just for blogging instruction but for encouragement. Although she’s an 11-12 hour drive away, her blog has kept her close for me. I see my grandchildren in their creative activities, read her frugal living tips, recipes, weekly menus and shopping guides.

Tonight, she suggested I spend time researching. I was about to give up after 20 or so duds, when I finally stumbled onto some blogs and sites that contain genuinely helpful information for anyone seriously trying to save money. I was pleasantly surprised and my faith was renewed. The first was a fun, funny and pleasant surprise. Could you possibly be interested In MAKING YOUR OWN LAUNDRY SOAP FOR ABOUT 40 CENTS A GALLON? I was…so I clicked on their U-Tube Video. No wonder so many people live their lives in cyberspace! This was wonderful. Water. Borax. Fels Naptha Soap and Washing Soda. Who knew???? Super simple. Super savings!

I was so inspired, I kept searching.

It wasn’t long before I came to a well researched and wide-ranging site with an article about growing your own recession Victory Garden. It gave a little WWII history, brought the concept quickly into the present, dealt with the home garden and even opportunities for apartment dwellers. A really good read. Then there was a point-on article with a list of cut-to-the-chase specifics detailing the Biggest Mistakes Poor People Make. If you think you have avoided such mistakes, read the article. You might be surprised and might get a tip or two that can make a difference in your personal situation.

Slowly I am improving in my ability to navigate this world of my children and grandchildren and you. Funny, isn’t it, that the reason I’m even here is to help readers look to the past for solutions to the financial difficulties of this futuristic age?

A Frugal Grandmother's Sheets

I remember when fitted sheets first hit the market. I would have said they were 'the best thing since sliced bread' except that I didn't know bread came any way except sliced. Ah...but this is about sheets.

Flat sheets for top and bottom were a horror to me at the age of 12. I had been making my own bed for years but never changing the linens. It seemed that 12 was the magical age for learning to do just that. 'Hospital corners' were the bane of my young existence. Even if Mother might turn an occasional blind eye to something less than a perfectly square corner, it was my father who regularly did the inspections. Whether it was the propriety of his upbringing or his not-too-distant discharge from the Army after WWII, I guess I will never know but he had little patience with a job improperly done.

Not long after my mastery of the hospital corners, I spent quite a bit of time with my paternal grandmother. On the first occasion of my changing bed linens I noticed a peculiarity. One of the sheets had a seam sewn directly down the middle, from head to toe. Upon further examination, I noticed that it was the selvage edges that had been sewn together and the outer edges had been neatly hemmed. My unsatisfied curiosity caused me to ask for an explanation. It was simple:

The center of the sheet had worn thin from use but the sides, having received virtually no use at all, remained "as good as new". Put the sides in the center, the center to the sides and the sheet will last twice as long.

Mind you, this was not my poor grandmother. Yes, I had one of those, too. But this was my 'comfortable' grandmother with AT&T stocks and a shiny new car and perfectly coiffed, blue hair. "Put the sewn sheet on the bottom", she said, undoubtedly to reserve wear to the top sheet. However, after careful consideration and believing myself to be the princess of 'princess and the pea' fame, I opted to use the sewn sheet for the top with the seam flaps facing up. After all, I reasoned, if the little 'flaps' were to touch me in the middle of the night, they might tickle and I would have none of that.

I hadn't thought of my grandmother's sheets for eons, perhaps not until I started seriously paying attention to the tumbling economy. So, I've told you that to tell you this: We have had life so very easy for such a very long time that few of us remember simple things like 'making-do with what we have' and 'a penny saved is a penny earned'.

If my thoroughly proper grandmother could be satisfied with life while getting twice the wear from a simple sheet, I believe we can make it through whatever this economy throws at us. Perhaps if we think hard, think back, we will each remember some example of almost forgotten avenues to thrift. My hope is that you will share your thoughts and ideas here. Post a comment, please.

Budget Friendly Summer Activities for Kids

I will be posting explanations, instructions, plans and recipes for the following children's activities over the next few weeks. Some are new twists on old things. Some are just old things. In fact, some are so old I did them when I was a child. "Sling the Statue" and "Kick the Can" are two such outdoor activity and favorites on my block in the 1950's. I hope to be able to do this for each season.

Sidewalk chalk & hop scotch – Sand castles on tarp w/ hose – Ice sliding on tarp – Jump rope (tying off one end) – Landscape timber balance beam – Tether ball – Pool full of balls – Pool full of bubbles – Bean Tent sandbox: Plans – Streamer/Flyer: Instructions – Making kite tails – Kite flying – Bubble Recipe – Slime Recipe – Treasure Rocks: Recipe - Mud puddle & pies – Making Boats out of paint stirrers – Pinwheels - Shower curtains for stage play – Make a Piñata – Painting Rocks for rock garden – Leaf Babies – Make a Secret Garden – Limbo – Squirt-painting an old, hanging sheet – Sack races – Wheelbarrow Races – Head to Toe: partnership rolling – Lock Arms: stand n’ sit – Royal Chair – Duck, Duck, Goose – Red Light, Green Light – Kick the Can – Flashlight Tag – Sling the Statue – Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button – Musical Chairs – Simon Says – Mother May I? – Library – Berry Picking – Local free park w/ ice cream ball

When Saving Money - Isn't

Is there a difference in saving money and saving the money? When we generally spend $200 a week on groceries and are able to cut that down to $150 a week, one would think that we’d be saving $50 a week, about $200 a month, $2,400 a year. How can that be wrong?

It is wrong when we don’t have the right attitude, mindset, focus and determination. When we consider the savings as “extra money” we quickly find that we don’t have it any more. Because extra money has a way of slipping through our fingers like so much beach sand, the best way to actually save it is to get it out of our hands.

Think of that handful of bills and coins growing. Think of it becoming enough to open a savings account. Think of the savings account growing to more than a thousand dollars. When we reach that point, we can think of it growing to $10,000. That is the attitude. That is the focus which will turn a few dollars here and a few dollars there into real savings, real money.

When we want our money to grow, more than we want the things it can buy, we have adjusted our mindset. Crossing that first $100 mark, the first $500 mark, can be as inspiring as the latest electronic gizmo, the finest pitching wedge, the smartest new dress.

Start with a jar or a piggy bank. Count the contents often. Include family members if they are on-board with the savings plan. Rejoice with each new addition. Even after the savings account is opened, continue to save in the piggy bank and make account deposits only monthly. See how often you can deposit more this month than last month. Before you know it, you will find yourself taking a deep breath and feeling free. It’s a very nice feeling.

Table Rescue - Details

This 36” table was just the right size and style for Jill. The problem was that Jill is a very classy woman with impeccable taste and the table was not only old but in horrible condition; not just the finish but bits of veneer were curling or flaked away, and someone’s probably beloved pet had obviously used a corner of the base for a chew toy.

Still, Jill’s family was in the process of downsizing and extreme belt tightening and relocating to a much smaller home. She needed a smaller table and the $10 yard sale price tag was more than she could resist.

We decided not to try to camouflage the flaws but to celebrate the age and wear by treating the table as a family heirloom.With so little original finish remaining, it was not necessary to sand the surface. It was wiped down well and painted flat black with a brush, being careful not to get paint in dents and dings and chew marks – as if the obviously aged damage had been done after the table acquired its black finish.

Next, the names of grandchildren were computer printed, as large as possible. The pages of names were cut into strips with one name centered on each strip.

Guidelines were drawn in chalk and the name strips were placed and adjusted to be equal distances apart. Tiny pieces of tape marked the spaces between the names. Then each name was written between the tape markers using a white paint pen.

Finally, paint dots were centered between the names. The writing was aged by going over the white lines with a small brush and water-thinned brown craft acrylic and lightly splattered with the flat black.

Mercy & Truth - nature appreciation necklaces

WE CALL IT ART CLASS BUT...
it's really an excuse to spend time with grandchildren.

I purchased Sculpey brand clay for the children to make Mother's Day gifts and they enjoyed it so much that I thought we'd try another project. I remembered seeing a "Dinosaur Art Project" making "Fossil Casts" on one of my favorite blogs - "that artist woman". Tailoring her basic idea to our materials and tying the entire project to our current topics, the children and I had a
good time, shared a bit of adventure, brought their recent Bible Study into play and ended up with necklaces for each of them.

Materials included: Sculpey clay, a drinking straw, acrylic craft paint & brushes, colored magazine pages, white glue, large jump rings and leather laces.

After rolling their clay into balls about the size of a small egg and pressing them flat to about 1/4" thick, we went for a Nature walk to find twigs and rigid leaves for making impressions.



The children used a piece of a drinking straw to punch out holes for hanging. The clay clogged one end of the straw with the first punch so we used the other end for the second punch. As the trapped air forced the first clay plug out of the end of the straw, I thought it would be a good time to teach about displacement so I asked if any of them knew why the first clay popped out as they plugged the second end. Without hesitation, the 6 year old replied, "air pressure" and the 8 year old chimed in to quickly give me a lesson in physics. I was impressed...Oh, did I fail to mention that the children are home-schooled? (continued - link here)

Mercy & Truth - necklaces - Part 2

After baking the clay to harden it, the pendants were painted and the excess wiped away.










The children's recent Bible Study - Proverbs 3:3 - was a natural for inclusion into this project. "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them around thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:"

Long tapered, triangle strips of magazine pictures were cut out, 2 for each necklace and the children wrote 'Mercy' on one and 'Truth' on the other. The papers were then spread with white glue and wrapped around drinking straws, beginning with the large end, to make beads. The straws were cut to fit.

I sprayed the beads with gloss acrylic and the pendants with matte acrylic and added the jump rings.

Find Cash In Your Kitchen

I began writing "Find Cash In Your Kitchen" because several friends asked for my advice as they struggled with failing finances. If the ups and downs of my own life have taught me nothing else, they have driven home the value of thrift. Though reducing the family's food budget may seem an odd, even extreme, place to begin cutting costs, it was chosen deliberately. The reason is that success in cutting the food budget is dependent on a change in the way we think. Once that is accomplished, there are no limits. Savings can be found almost anywhere.

FIND CASH IN YOUR KITCHEN details organization, skills and methods that can actually result in spending less and saving more.

It is available now.

Buttermilk for Cooking

Make sour milk, a cooking substitute for buttermilk. In a NON-metal measuring cup, add 1 Tbsp. of either Vinegar or Lemon Juice and fill with regular sweet milk to total 1 cup. Let stand for 5 minutes. Click HERE for one of the best and quickest recipes for making buttermilk biscuits from scratch.

Powdered Sugar Substitute

In a pinch, you can make your own powdered sugar in a food processor. Blend 1/2 cup plus 1Tbsp. Granulated Sugar with 1 Tbsp. Corn Starch. Process to a fine powder.

Coconut too dry?

Shredded or flaked coconut that has dried out can be re-hydrated by soaking it in milk for a half hour or so. Remember to use the milk in your recipe or save it to add to your next smoothie. Don't cook with coconut often? Check out these 2,643 coconut recipes. Yum!

Aging Bananas?

If bananas are ripening faster than you can find time to use them, here are a couple of options:
+ Put unpeeled bananas in the freezer to eat as "Banana Pops" or as suggested by a reader, use them for making banana bread (thanks Michelle).
+ Peel bananas, bag and freeze in quantities suitable for adding to fruit smoothies.
+ Peel and thinly slice bananas and place them in the dehydrator overnight for crisp banana chips...a great addition to trail-type mix or hot cereals.

Diaper Shaped Nut/Mint Cups

Two of these can be cut from a single sheet of card stock. Use a Corsage Pin to set holes for the tiny safety pins. Because of the "leg holes" in the diaper, these need to be lined to keep the contents from spilling out. I used tissue and muffin papers.

Guest Favors

The wrappers are 3" x 11" which allows two to be cut from one sheet of card stock. Begin by applying your pattern to the card stock. Cut 3" wide strips. Measure 1" from one end of the strip and fold it over to make the closing flap. Without creasing the remainder of the strip, pull the other end up and tuck it under the flap. Punch 2 holes (for ribbon). Holding the two ends in
position, open the flap and trim each edge to


shape the wrapper. Form the bottom by creasing approximately 3/4" on either side of center.







Using the bridal sachet bags both solved and created a problem. I didn't have to hand make them but they needed to be attached to the wrappers. I attached them by threading the ends of the drawstrings through the holes on the front side (only) of the wrapper. Then, the flap was folded over, all 3 sets of holes aligned and additional ribbons were threaded through and tied in a bow.

Candy Pacifier Decorations

These have been around for a long time. I think most people connect the Life Savers together and attach either a jellybean or a gum drop using icing. I didn't. I actually used glue. Of course that meant I had to warn my guests but I thought the glue would dry faster and hold better and it did.

Invitations

With a photograph of the mother's and the father's hands wrapped around their precious new life, I cropped and tweaked and printed small photographs for the invitations. Since I was limited to my supply of plain white card stock, the blue background was achieved with just a few brush strokes of ordinary craft paint severely thinned with water. That set the tone for all the rest of the homemade decorations - a brush stroke of blue. Mounting the little photographs on scraps of card stock trimmed with pinking shears, provided the white frame on the blue field. the rest was just computer printing, a bow and a button.

PRALINE PECANS - Recipe

This is a favorite family recipe, especially around the holidays. It is super simple and takes only a couple of minutes to throw together.

Preheat oven to 350

Combine the following in a bowl & stir well to coat:
1 cup Light Brown Sugar - packed
1/4 cup Heavy (whipping) Cream
4 cups Pecan Halves

Spread into a 9" x 13" pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake for 20 minutes - stirring once at the 10 to 15 minute point.
Remove from oven to cool and stir once more after about 5 minutes.

Once pecans have cooled thoroughly, store them in an airtight container.