Two Frog Home

I decided to participate in the Independence Days Challenge hosted by Casaubon’s Book.  I’m a week behind, but here’s what I did this week:

1. Plant something - Considering we had snow, yes snow this morning and our hopefully impending move, I haven’t done much planting.  I did transplant some seedlings into bigger pots to keep until we hopefully move.

2. Harvest something.  I picked dandelions & chives this week.

3. Preserve something.  I made dandelion jelly.

4. Prep something. I mended a pair of Jeff’s pants and have been preparing to move, include moving some of my plants.  I also have 2 quilts pinned and ready for quilting.

5. Cook something new. Nothing new this week…

6. Manage your reserves.  Nothing really new this week, there are some chicken & beef bones in the freezer that I hope to can this weekend.

7. Work on local food systems.  I gave some of my raspberry canes away to help someone else start their own patch.

This week’s favorites in no particular order:

• I joined the harvest keeper challenge, and look forward to seeing everyone’s results
• The Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Post just touched me in its simplicity and joy, I bet it’ll touch you too
• Gardeners are such hopeful people
• Sewn Fabric Beads, for all those decorative home touches
• Voluntary Simplicity is a handmade life not a bought one as so well put in Rhonda at Down to Earth

We finally heard from the seller’s bank today, we have their approval.  Now we move to the inspection process and hope we find no surprises.  Thanks to everyone who has been sending well wishes and saying prayers!

Frugality Tip #3: Cook from Scratch

One of the biggest expenses for most households beyond housing is food.  With food prices on the rise by leaps and bounds, it would seem this is an important area to learn some frugal tips. One of most frugal skills a person can learn is to cook from scratch.  I know plenty of people who see this as very time consuming, however; with some planning and knowledge, scratch cooking can be just as fast as a lot of boxed meals.  A well stocked pantry is priceless.  Keep your pantry stocked with food that you and your family enjoy.  Here’s a quick look at what Jeff and I keep stocked:

• Pasta varieties
• Dried Beans in all our favorite varieties
• Canned and frozen fruit & veggies (home canned & store bought)
• Various sauces (spaghetti, enchilada, salsa, etc.), soup stocks
• Dried herbs & spices
• Grains (oats, millet, rice, wheat berries, etc.)
• Vinegars
• Oils (olive, sesame, etc.)
• Canned and frozen meat & fish (home canned & store bought)

That’s a very brief summary.  We buy things in bulk and find ways to keep it all safely stored.  We buy things like grains and beans in 25 pound sacks.  Let me tell you the savings there is huge.  For example, the last time I bought organic black beans at my local health food store the price was 89 cents a pound.  5 pounds of dried beans translates into roughly 17 pint jars ($4.45) of cooked black beans - a 1 pint can of organic black beans at the grocery store is $1.75 on sale (17 cans = $29.75).  That’s roughly a savings of $25.30!  I like to can my beans, so that when I get home from work I can just pop the top and reheat for a quick meal.  Before, I started canning them, however; I would soak overnight and cook them in the crockpot while I was work. 

Buy meat in large quanities whenever you can afford it.  Its generally cheaper, but not always and of course there’s the whole storage issue, do what works for you.  I buy large quanities from local farmers, this is still a little more expensive than the super cheap cuts at the grocery store, however; it fits more closely with my values.  I do understand, however; that sometimes price has to be the deciding factor, depending on the person’s financial situation. 

Cooking from scratch does not have to mean super gourmet fancy meals like those you see on the Food Network.  We eat very simple meals: bean burritos, roasted chicken with veggies, soups, salads, etc.  I enjoy cooking when I have time, but I promise you I don’t spend more than 30 minutes making dinner after work, most of the time its quicker than that.  I make and stick to a meal plan every week and that has been the biggest life saver in several ways: it saves time, saves money (no quick trips to just pick something up), and its much healthier because the food is generally more nutritious.

Learn to make a couple of basic soups and vary them based on what you have stocked in your pantry.  We eat a lot of soups to keep us warm in the Montana winters, and I rarely follow a recipe.  Soups are the most basic food: throw some veggies, maybe some meat, maybe a grain or pasta, some herbs/spices, and some broth/vegetable juice in a pot, cook, serve, eat.  If you a have a crock pot, throw it all in before leaving for the day and when you get home, dinner is quickly served.  Add some homemade bread and my dear you have a 5 star meal in my opinion.

Learn to eat with the seasons.  Chances are that asparagus and watermelon in January is outrageously expensive and not very good, but those same items in season are not only cheaper but much tastier.  I understand the urge for some green in the middle of a long winter, choose wisely.  Its about choice and personal values, not deprivation. 

Stock up when you see a good sale (if you can afford to pay for it in cash not credit).  If you like to eat tuna and its regularly 75 cents a can and you see it on sale for 45 cents a can, stock up.  Keep a price book, so you know without a doubt when you see a good deal.  I use the SplashShopper program on my palm pilot for my price book, but before I went high-tech I used a small spiral bound notebook.  A great free price book template can be found at Organized Home. 

Grow it yourself.  A garden is a great way to save some money on your grocery bill.  It doesn’t have to be huge, anything you grow yourself will be a price savings whether its a pot of herbs on your apartment balcony or an entire acre.  Chances are it’ll taste better, too. 

Preserve it yourself.  Learn to can, dehydrate, freeze, ferment, etc. your own homegrown food or food you’ve bought in bulk.  It’ll probably taste better and won’t be full of chemicals and preservatives.  I know these are big skills for folks to learn; take a class, find a friend to teach you, advertise for a mentor on freecycle, once you learn, I promise you’ll be glad you did.  (If you can’t find someone locally, email me - mtkatiecakes@yahoo.com I’ll help, but its nice to have some one actually walk you through the process the first time you can).

Find support.  Last year, we found a great deal on organic grass-fed beef, the catch: we had to buy an entire cow.  That’s a ton of beef, we can’t store it and it would take forever for us to eat that much.  We found 3 other couples willing to go in on the cow with us.  Again, advertise on craigs-list and freecycle, I’m willing to bet you’ll find someone if you don’t already know a friend or two willing to split large quantities of items at a discount.

Having all these things you bought in bulk, grew yourself, etc. will only enable you to cook from scratch in a way that doesn’t feel like a ton of work and will prevent multiple trips to the grocery store in the same week or even day.

I’m sure I’ve missed some big tips, here, please feel free to add your own in the comments section.  In the end, please remember that frugality like anything else is very individual, find what works for you and stick with it.

100 Things #13) I Vermicompost

Jeff and I started vermicomposting about 6 years ago.  We had just moved and our yard was small, we didn’t want to take up any valuable gardening space for a compost bin.  I did a little research and learned about composting with worms, online.  We decided to give it a go.

We found plans online to build a bin out of plywood, which we did.  It looked like a small coffin, but it served its purpose.  We bought some worms on ebay and we were on our way.  Eventually we did away with the wood bin (it serves as an herb planter outside now), I just didn’t like the way the water ran out the bottom.  We switched to the Worm Factory about 5 years ago, again an ebay purchase and have loved it ever since.

The compost/worm water is so wonderful, we’ve given away numerous bottles of it over the years and it is a highly requested item among our friends.  The worms have in a way become pets, we’re always amazed at how quickly they “eat” through everything, and we are very conscious of their care.  In the end, the worms and the compost have been a great blessing to us in that they show us how useful all of God’s creatures are, not to mention how the compost feeds our gardens and in turn our bodies.

Today has been a rollercoaster of a day.  We still haven’t heard if the seller’s bank has approved the contract, so while the house feels like its ours, it isn’t officially yet, no matter how good it all looks to everyone.  The day was full of swings from overjoyed to completely down in the dumps.  I’d think we were all clear then realize the house might not be ours in a month, oy it was terrible.  Then when I was at my most overwhelmed, saddest point of the day, the phone rang at work and it was my dear Jeff.  It never ceases to amaze me how just the sound of his voice can change everything for me.  He’s my best friend and my biggest earthly comfort and I’m so grateful. 

I kept thinking about how lucky I was, and I remembered this post from Simple Katie, originally posted on October 4, 2006.  It was a good reminder to bring it over here.  It’s also appropriate considering our 8 year anniversary is in just 12 days.

While talking with several single friends last week, “you’re so lucky,” was said to me. The luck being discussed was that I’m happily involved with Jeff and have been for some time now. While I agree I am lucky, it’s not only about luck there’s so much more to it in my opinion. I’ve been thinking about this luck and my life the last few days.

A great amount of luck had to fall into place for Jeff and I to meet; that is absolutely the truth. But really, in my opinion the luck ends there. Everything else has taken place because of love, commitment, dedication, and work. In the beginning, we both shared dreams, goals, things we didn’t want from life, past experiences, and so much more so that when we made the leap to commitment we knew what we could expect from a life together. That was honest work that built our love which led to our commitment.

The bond between us grew quickly and I was head over heels in love with him within 2 weeks. There was no denying my affection for him; I mailed him handmade cookies every week with love letters and much more. How could his love for me not grow, with those kinds of packages? It was very much a fairytale type love. A love that was all encompassing and wonderful. The kind of love that only allows you to think of the loved one and little else. The kind of love that leaves you in a constant glow and smile.

When we made the decision that I would move to Montana with him, we sold just about everything I owned and fit what we could in my car and drove back to Montana together (he’d flown into Pittsburgh). The fairytale love while it still exists can’t be maintained constantly at least in my experience. But the love we do have is better then that fairytale love because it’s backed by a deep commitment and dedication to each other and the life and lifestyle we share. It’s the commitment that makes our life real to me, it’s the commitment I crave because the commitment deepens my dedication and love to him as my soul mate.

Honestly, there have been times in the last 6 years when I’ve thought I don’t know that I’m cut out for this - I don’t know if I can be the woman he needs/wants, I don’t know, I’m not sure, etc. However, in those thoughts it’s has never crossed my mind that I would leave or that he would leave. That’s commitment and that’s love, unconditional, fairytale love. He puts up with me when I’m less than gracious. I put up with him when he’s cranky. It’s in those moments of realizing he’s not the prince on the white horse, and I’m not the grateful sleeping beauty, that love and commitment are born. It’s in those moments that a relationship is defined. It’s in those moments where you can define your partner’s truest self and your own. It’s in those moments that you decide how much you want/need/love your partner.

It’s easy to love when everything’s perfect or when you feel like it - it takes work, commitment, and dedication to act in a loving manner when he’s cranky or when you just want to be left alone. I can honestly say that my love for Jeff is stronger and better now then it was 6 years ago, it’s not that dreamy head in the clouds love, but it’s the realistic committed love that in my opinion is way better.

Am I lucky? Absolutely, but I’m also dedicated and willing to work hard for what I want. When I was single I wasn’t willing to settle either and neither was Jeff and because of that we both got what we wanted and in the end that was each other. Thankfully all that honesty in the beginning paid off; to something I don’t know how I could live without.

While we were waiting for news on the house on Saturday, we tried hard to just zone out.  The best way to do that seems to watch the boob tube.  We don’t watch a ton of television and I’m always surprised by the commercials when we do. 

The first was for Home Depot (I think) talking about a new line of outdoor furniture, made and designed by an interior furniture company.  The idea being that you can make your outdoors an extension of the indoors “in style”.  Part of the tag line said something to the effect of “have the coolest yard in the neighborhood”.  While nice outdoor furniture may be a nice addition, it doesn’t have anything to do with how cool your yard and/or home is, you and your attitude do that not the things contained on your property.  Our outdoor furniture is a mish mash of items found second hand and/or given to us, one of neighbors has the matching set with the big gazebo, etc.  yet in the summer our yard seems to be the gathering place of the block, not because of the furniture but because of the hospitality and gardens (expectations of home baked goodies probably don’t hurt either).

All this brings me to Frugality Tip #2: Don’t Buy the Hype.

Beware of commercials and ads, their sole purpose is to entice you.  We all need things from time to time, even want things and that’s ok, but be sure you want it because you want it not because of some hollow promise from an ad agency.  Don’t buy the hype, realize that materialism is a reflection of who you are inside, is that what you want the rest of the world too see when they look at you?  Be sure your spending habits reflect your belief system.  Is it really the furniture that people come for when they visit?  Remember that its not money most folks want, they want love and attention, give that and the returns to you will be much greater than some high from nice furniture or from that shopping spree.

Note: I’m going to close down the Simple Katie blog that I kept for several years before this blog, but before I do I’m going to bring my favorite posts here.  The following was originally posted on May 1, 2007.

I’ve written before about how much I adored my grandmothers, my grandparents in general. Months ago, my dad sent me a box of old photos. Some of my grandparents when they were first married, some of my aunts and uncles growing up, etc. as well as ones of my sister and I as children. I just started scanning some of them, however. These two photos particularly reminded me so much of the impact my grandparents had on me.

According to my grandmother’s handwriting this photo was taken in 1979, I would have been about 5. I’m a little taller now, I can do dishes without standing on a chair, otherwise not a lot has changed. I still wear an apron when working in the kitchen, though now it’s a real apron not a dish towel. My grandma eventually taught me how to sew my own aprons. I still wear slippers around the house constantly (I have no doubt that the slippers in the photo were very similar to the ones my grandpa wore and I wanted to do everything like he did). Notice the canning jar on the counter to my right, I was being indoctrinated at that young age about the virtues of home canning. Houseplants on the windowsill as well, just this past weekend, I potted up a ton of houseplant starts that had come from cuttings from other houseplants we have. Our home is full of houseplants, again something that was part of my life from a very young age.

This photo was snapped in 1978, I loved playing with my grandma’s fabric scraps and imitating my grandmother in everything. She hung her laundry on a line outside in the summer and had lines strung up in the basement for winter drying. At the ripe old age of 4 I was learning how to do laundry and line dry. Something I do to this day. I still play with fabric scraps too, thanks to my grandma I’ve learned how to turn them into beautiful and warm quilts.

I feel incredibly blessed to have had has this exposure to old-fashioned home keeping, truly what a wonderful thing it’s been for me. I feel blessed that my grandmother’s shared this wisdom and knowledge with me, that they had enough foresight to know this was important stuff and didn’t let modern notions of what is and isn’t necessary color their worlds. How lucky was I that I had these amazing women in my life? I miss them everyday, but I feel their spirits around me when I use the many lessons they taught me as I was growing up.

First let me say thank you to everyone who said prayers and thought good thoughts.   It’s always hard for me to ask for prayers for something so very material when there is so much real need in the world, but I do so much appreciate it.  So for the good news: It looks like we get the house! 

The counter offer had a contingency that the bank had to approve us as buyers.  No one our realtor or the seller’s realtor sees this as a problem because of our pre-approval letters from our lender.  We’ll know 100% for sure on Monday (barring any disasters that may come up during inspection) that we can begin the whole process to close on June 5th.

At first we were shocked, happy but we were starting to talk ourselves out of it, trying to protect ourselves from disappoint, then it hit us and tears of joy flowed.  There’ll be so much to do in the coming weeks, if all goes well, so I’m not planting anything in our garden space here, which is a bit odd, but I’m sure my time will be full in other ways.

Again, thanks everyone.

I hesitate to write this post because I don’t want to jinx anything (I’ve decided that I don’t believe in jinxing, however; I do believe in prayer) and I don’t want to seem like I’m bragging (and I’m not sure why I feel that way).  Anyway…

Earlier this week, Jeff and I made an offer on some property.  The property is just shy of one acre, level with some mature fruit trees and beautiful garden space.  The yard already has fencing, including some electric fencing for critters.  The house is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath manufactured home on a permanent foundation, just under 1,200 square feet, it needs work but all work we can do (replace windows, do some drywall, flooring, painting, etc.) nothing too extreme.  There is a garage with shop that Jeff loves.  It’s perfect for us, and well under what we’re approved for financing wise.  We made an offer and apparently the same day 2 other folks made an offer.

Today all three of us got the counter offer.  Jeff and I immediately signed acceptance of the counter offer and sent back to the seller’s agent.  Apparently, however; we have to wait until Noon tomorrow to find out if we get it or not, that’s the deadline for everyone to respond to the counter offer.  To say that this waiting will be the most difficult for us is an understatement.

We have a lot going for us, the counter offer actually came from the bank not the sellers, meaning the house is close to foreclosure, and one stipulation is that financing be in place by May 15th.  We can do that, maybe the other potential buyers cannot.   The counter offer also stated the sellers would not do any repair to the house, we didn’t ask for any so that was another potential buyer wanting that, hopefully the fact that we are prepared to do the work ourselves and the other buyers may not, will make them not want it any longer…

A long story, short, any prayers and good thoughts would be most appreciated.