Two Frog Home

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.

This week’s favorites in no particular order:

• My love for my grandmothers and bread baking have been well documented so when SouleMama combined both in her kneading board post, well it was destined for this list.
• A natural sunscreen recipe, just in time for a weekend hike
• The biggest trick to making change is getting comfortable
• It’s early yet for me to start canning local fresh fruit, but that doesn’t stop me from drooling over what others are creating
• We’re house hunting and I appreciated the oh-so-funny decorating tips over at Razor Family Farms

I can tell by the recent web stats that my recent ”Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make Do” post has been a big hit and there have been a lot of searches on recession, saving money, and frugality leading people here to Two Frog Home.  In order to serve those folks and perhaps get the input of readers in the comments section as well, I’m going to do a series of posts / tips on frugal living and how I currently apply it to my life. 

Tip #1: Change Your Thinking

Changing how we do thing is never an easy thing, not for me, not for most folks I imagine.  We humans seem to like routine and habits, and breaking those are uncomfortable, a touch scary, and just plain hard no matter how much we may want the change.  If that’s so, then how do we do that in terms of how we think about money, spending, and frugality?  Simply, baby steps.

I think the first step is to get rid of entitlement thinking.  How many times have you heard or said the following: “I work hard, I deserve this (boat, RV, designer shoes, trip to Mexico, etc.)”?   How hard we work has nothing to do, necessarily, with how much we earn.  It’s how much we earn or don’t earn that should determine what we deserve to spend money on.  I agree that most of us work very hard, however; the hardest physical labor jobs also tend to be the lowest paying in my experience.  Working hard doesn’t give us license to spend beyond our means, it just means that we should enjoy our time off and relaxation more in my opinion.  I suggest changing that thinking to: “I work hard and I deserve a debt free life” or “I work hard and deserve a savings so that someday I don’t have to work so hard”.

I think its vitally important to stop attaching happiness and/or joy to shopping and things.  For a lot of people, I know thats very hard and if you have to get professional help.  However; as long as a person is seeking happiness through spending money, there can never be frugality.  This applies to thrift store / yard sale shopping too.  I know many folks who think its ok to spend money because its cheap or used or whatever, however the thrill of the hunt is really what gets them excited its not so much the stuff that eventually clutters up their space and mind.  Money wasted is money wasted doesn’t matter if it was a $150 pair of designer shoes or 5 kitchen gadgets for 50 cents each that you never use.  Change your thinking to one of “do I really need that” that involves thought before plunking down your change instead of “I really want that” and impuse buying.

Finally, change your thinking of buy now, pay later to buy now, pay now.  Paying later removes the reality of money from our spending, if the money and potential savings and/or waste isn’t real we can’t change how we think.  Make your earnings, money, and spending real to you.  Personalize it in a way that has meaning so that you show what you value through your check register.

100 Things #12) I Heart Glass Jars

I’ve never met a glass jar that I didn’t love.  Glass jars are one of the very few things I have a tough time parting with, its one of those things I think I need to keep around “just in case”.  I’m not talking about canning jars here, though I have a special fondness for those as well.  I’m talking about plain and fancy glass jars, whether its being reused from a store bought purchase or one I picked up at a yard sale / thrift store.  Glass jars and their collection can pretty much break all the non-clutter rules established here at Two Frog Home.

I keep a supply on hand in a cabinet under the kitchen sink, when the collection threatens to outgrow its cabinet, Jeff has to help me sort and thin the herd.  He’s much more brutal than I am in this particular case, and as hard as that is, I’m grateful he can do so with no emotional attachment to glass.  These days I try very hard to only pick up glass jars at sales that are unique in nature, like that gorgeous square one holding the coconut in the photo. 

We do use glass jars for everything around here: I store dry goods bought in bulk in them, glass jars hold a multitude of different items in different places - pens on the desk - ponytail holders in the bathroom, Jeff uses them to sort various nails, screws, bolts, etc., small jars hold spices/herbs, they serve as vases for flowers and they serve many other purposes.  We are never short of storage containers around here, that much is sure.

I just finished reading All Together in One Place by Jane Kirkpatrick.  The book is a piece of historical fiction based on the following:

One of the incidents that made a profound impression upon the minds of all: the meeting of eleven wagons returning and not a man left in the entire train; all had died, and been buried on the way, and the women returning alone.
                                           –from the journals of Ezra Meeker,

The book takes you through the journey of a group of women pioneers as they journey towards a new future together.  It’s a great story of faith, hope, adventure, and community.

I came across the book in the library stacks, just wandering around and this book just seemed to jump off the shelf at me.  I’m so glad it did!  I’m hooked and look forward to picking up the second book in the series from the library this evening. 

The book is a story of God and overcoming triumphs, but for most importantly for me, it was a story of the “essential” nature of community.  No matter what happens in life, no matter how much paring down we might need to do to get over that mountain, community should never be tossed out.