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Monday, April 13, 2015

SWEET BRIAR COTTAGE JOURNAL: THE BIG BANG THEORY

Hello dear friends!   Hope you all are doing well!  Finally!  We had some warm weather.  It was so nice to go outside with just a sweater.   I tell you one thing, if you live in the North, you better be wise in your choice of winter coats, because you will be tired of them by the time April rolls around.  The rising temperatures couldn't come at a better time either, because on Saturday we awoke to discover that our furnace wasn't working.  The plumber discovered that the motor had malfunctioned.  We had a top of the line all-American," from a good company", furnace installed three and half years ago, but I guess there are no guarantees in life.   Well at least it can be fixed.  Also, on the same day our credit card company called to tell us that there was suspicious activity on our card.  So they stopped all transactions.  Turns out the suspicious activity was that we had used it.   We rarely do.   When it rains it pours! Some days I'm ready to go back to the horse and buggy days, or maybe become a hermit.  Anyway, just spending a few days heating our home with wood and boiling our water for washing up, makes me realize that I will always be grateful to whomever invented furnaces and indoor plumbing.  So this month is yet another month of lean, as now our food budget is nil so we can pay for the plumber.  I'm always so glad that we have a well-stocked pantry, even though I take a lot of teasing from friends about my prepping.  You know the old saying, "Those that fail to prepare, prepare to fail."

SCHMIERKASE
While we are using the wood stove to heat our house, I took advantage of the radiant heat from the stove top to make Schmierkase, which is a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe for a soft cheese.  It's really the easiest cheese you can make and taste like a cross between cottage and cream cheese.   You simply combine 1 pint of whole milk with 1/2 pint cream and put it in a warm place (like you would for yogurt) until it thickens.  Once it thickens, drain the cheese curd in a cheesecloth over top of a fine mesh strainer.  Put this over a bowl.  You can use the liquids for baking.  Once the liquid is drained add enough cream to make it a creamy consistency.  Stir in a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar.  There you have it, your own cheese.  I used 2% milk  and half-and-half, because that is what I had on hand and it worked out fine.  Schmierkase with a warm scone and a dab of maple pear butter is a fine thing, indeed.
PANTRY RECIPE

As always, I try to use recipes that use basic pantry items.  These Oatmeal Cinnamon Scones fill the bill.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Scones

1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. oatmeal
1/3 C. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine these ingredients in a large bowl and stir in :

1/3 C. melted butter
1 egg
1/3 C. buttermilk

Stir together and pat dough into a 8 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick.  Score the dough into eighths.  Sprinkle top with additional sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

There you have it, a nice simple and easy scone.  Perhaps it doesn't look as grand as a fancy one from Starbucks, but it serves its purpose.  Which leads me to:

THE BIG BANG THEORY OF HOME ECONOMICS

First to all that have never heard of the phrase "bang for the buck" it means getting the most value out your money.  Every time you purchase something, you should ask yourself,. is it worth it?  If it isn't, leave it on the shelf.  Every person is different, so I cannot tell you what those things will be for you, but here's some things that I don't find it is worth spending my money on: store made bake goods,  fancy restaurants, the latest fashions, expensive jewelry, the latest technology, cable TV, a big house, expensive hotels (or travel for that matter), and the list goes on and on.  Conversely, there are some things I think it is well worth spending money on, such as; quality cookware, my All American pressure canner, my husband's guitars, good quality tools, walking shoes (we walk 3-6 miles a day), wool rugs, non-gmo seeds.  You and your family have to decide what's on your list but you'd be amazed at how much you can save just by asking yourself this question.  Sometimes I will go to the store fully intending upon purchasing a food item just for its convenience (like a frozen pizza), then I look at the price and what I get for the money and leave it on the shelf, it's just as easy and convenient to fry up some eggs or make a quick vegetable soup.

DO IT YOURSELF

This week reupholstered one of our living room chairs.
Reupholstering is one of those skills that has saved us a lot of money over the years.  You might not want to start out with a curvy chair like this, but certainly anyone who has ever wrapped a Christmas present can tackle their dining room chairs.  Gradually work your way up to bigger and bigger projects.  We have no choice but to reupholster our furniture, since furniture makers now days do not make chairs that are the right scale for a tiny house.  I found this chair for $5 at a garage sale eons ago and after searching far and wide for some linen-y type fabric, I found these dropcloths at the Harbor Freight store.  So it only costs me $14 to redo this chair!  A long time ago we went to a garage sale at an upholstery shop and bought an entire bin of gimp for $5.  Some of the best money we ever spent.  Certainly got our "bang" for those bucks! Oh!  BTW, that cabinet that is in the background is one my husband made from scrap lumber and a piece of old barnwood.

THRIFTY THINGS WE DID THIS WEEK

Heated our home with wood (of course)
Made a cabinet for our guest/storage cottage from scrap lumber and found objects.
Reupholstered our living room chair.
Knitted a pair of baby booties from some thrifted yarn (more on this next week).
Harvested our Glass Gem corn seeds for planting this spring.
Packed away our heavy winter clothes, which really helped change the mood of the place.
Dried our laundry by the fire.
Gave several bagfuls of things to charity.
Made all our meals from pantry items.









20 comments:

  1. Your chair looks beautiful! That is a skill that would save alot of money around my house as my slip covers are getting threadbare! I agree with things that are a waste of money. Especially eating out. A house would give you a good asset, but I figure we save alot of money in the long run to stick with our first house, which now is small enough to be our retirment house..ha..! Plus we spent alot of money on private education for our kids, which I feel was well worth it. And not having any mortgage debt is priceless in peace of mind and low stress in an uncertain job market.
    Luckily I don't like to travel, and my husband used to have business trips with expensive hotels and nice flights and different countries and he hated every minute.

    I will say, at my house, we waste money on constant new cars. And gasoline as I had to drive my kids to school each day into the city up and back, up and back. (No public school buses for private schools in Delaware like I had growing up in Pennsylvania).

    Sad about your furnace. Almost comical about your credit card though!

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    1. Hi Andrea! Oh yes, I remember always having to buy cars when the boys were at home and everyone was working. One of the benefits of retirement is that we don't drive very much anymore and therefore don't have to buy a new car every couple years.

      I think our first house would have made an ideal retirement house too. As a matter of fact it is very much like the house we live in now.

      I have the worst luck with mechanicals. I asked the plumber when he installed it what furnace would he buy for himself and this one is what recommended. Just goes to show you, there are no guarantees in life.

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    2. We have bad luck with our furnace and air conditioner installations over the years. But we did find a good company for our hot water heater, and one to fix our ultra expensive Maytag dryer which burned out the coils (electric) after two years.

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    3. I know about designed obsolescence, but two years? That's ridiculous! And Maytag is supposed to be such a good brand. I'm longer for the olden days when they used to make appliances like tanks. What I really want is an old-timey wringer washer. My grandparents handed one down to my parents and that baby worked like a dream. And saved a lot on the water bill too!

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    4. These brand-new machines are tricky. Otherwise my husband usually replaces parts himself. He had me watch the repairman so he could do it himself next time. (Ha...I half-explained how he did it.) The repairman told us (after telling him my husband likes to fix things himself) that Speed Queen washers and dryers (speedqueen.com I think) are mechanical and so next time we are going to try those. I think they are expensive (although my Maytag was a little over $1,000 each) and wash the old-fashioned way, none of this squirting out water. Andrea

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  2. Dear Jane ~ Sorry about your furnace. They just don't make things to last like they used to.

    Today I've got a lamb cassoulet going in the crockpot. My big splurge at Easter, lamb and I'm using left-over lamb. Have half of the piece I bought in the freezer for other meals. We always enjoyed our Easter meal.

    We've lived a frugal lifestyle our whole married life. The little cottage is paid for, DH could do many, many things with his hands, saving us LOTS of $ through the years. I am thankful. I miss him so much, life just isn't the same without him.

    You did great reupholstering you chair.

    You are a continual inspiration to me. Thank you ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Well that;s the way the cookie crumbles, Rainey. (remember that old saying?)

      I was hoping lamb would go on sale after Easter, but it never did. I like a good Irish stew every once in a while.

      Thank goodness you have your little cottage, Rainey. Not just for financial security but for the memories of your dear DH. Funny you should say that I'm an inspiration to you, because you and your DH were/are always inspirations to me.

      Are you feeling better? Everyone I know has this lingering cough. Just won't go away.

      Hugs
      Jane

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  3. dear jane,
    wow.....what a dream of chair and the cabinet behind the chair is so beautiful. you and your husband are so talented.
    sorry about your furnace! i live this month also from my pantry. we need new wheels for our car!
    have a nice spring day,
    love and hugs regina

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    1. Thank you! Well, it's a good thing we have our pantries, Regina.This year it seems every month brings something unexpected. It's a beautiful day today, we are cleaning up the flower beds.

      Love
      Jane

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  4. Dear Jane ~ Thank you for the 'bear hug' I just received. It is welcomed very much. Being a widow, I certainly don't get hugs and kisses, or gentle pats, etc. like I used to. The human touch is powerful and can be oh so good, especially when we are ill. It is deeply missed. I melt into hugs these days. They are so healing spiritually, mentally and physically. Have a great week. We widows are huggers and appreciate them so much, giving and receiving

    Love and hugs to you ~ FlowerLady.

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    1. You're welcome Rainey. You are in my thoughts daily.
      Love
      Jane

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  5. That is a very comfy chair Jane :0) sorry that the furnace needs to be fixed but what joy that our Lord is providing food from your very well stocked pantry :0)

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    1. It is a very comfy chair, Mari. With plenty of room for lots of pillows. You are so right, that is the right attitude.

      Jane

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  6. Your posts are always interesting! I think your re-upholstered chair and the hand made cupboard are nicely done--and such homey touches .I have recovered the seats on dining room chairs, but my one attempt at making a slipcover for a sofa was a disaster. I have a rocker I hope to reupholster at some point--when I run out of things that have to be done right now.

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    1. I tried to make a slipcover once for a chair and it was an unmitigated disaster also, Sharon. It looks like you'll be busy for some time. Your farm is so beautiful, it looks just like something out of a Currier and Ives illustration. What good fortune you have! Gives me hope!

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  7. Sorry to hear about your furnace, hope you have it up and running soon, thank goodness though that it made through your winter! :) Your scones sound delicious, I love cinnamony baked goods and they make the house smell delicious. Your chair reupholster turned out nicely too, my friends mother recovered her living room furniture when I was a teenager, and I used to think that was so wonderful that she could extend the use of her sofa without having to pay a bundle for a new one, what a great skill to learn. Glad your weather has turned toward spring, hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)

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    1. Thanks April! It looks like Spring is going at full throttle near you. Still a bit nippy here but at least we can finally ditch the winter boots. Have a nice week!

      Jane

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  8. Well done! I've slip-covered my couch ($20 yard sale find). And am now toying with upholstering a wing-back chair. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Blessings,
    Leslie

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    1. Wing backs are pretty easy to reupholster, Leslie. They don't have a lot of over-stuffing and curves. We reupholstered a wing-back settee a while back and it was a cinch. Needs to be redone as our room colors have changed. That's why I'm going to all natural colors because we change our decor so often. $20? Sounds like a great deal!

      Jane

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  9. Passei para uma visita.
    Gostei da receita e das dicas de como economizar em supermercados.

    Ótima semana!
    Beijinhos.
    ♬♪ه° ·.

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