Friday, April 17, 2020
Just A Note
Starting Sunday, this blog will be private, so if you want any information off of it, you'll need to make copies. It has become too stressful for me and if I can't be genuine without fear of backlash, I do not want to do it any longer.
Victory Gardening
Hello dear friends! I've been reading that people are starting their own gardens. One of the silver linings of all this business that is going on, is that people are becoming aware that they need to be more self-sufficient. Hurray! About time! We've always had a vegetable garden and small orchard ever since we bought our first home in 1981. I can't even fathom how much money it has saved us, plus I truly believe that it has contributed to our good health as we go into our senior years. One of the helpful little booklets I found for backyard (now called urban) gardeners is a little booklet put out by Stark Bros. Nursery during World War II. Here's a diagram of a small garden that anyone with even a small amount of gumption can tackle:
And here's one for a half-acre plot that is common sized plot in many suburbs:
Sorry if the picture is a little small, you'll have to click on it if you want to see it in a larger image. From the text:
The dimensions of this garden are 30 X 50, but it will be easy for you to adapt it to your own small back yard dimensions. Keep in mind of the importance of growing the more expensive items such as fruits. Here it also important that you combine food production with ornamental beauty. In these times, when you plant a tree for ornamental uses or shade, it should be a fruit tree or fruit bearing vine.
Now here's something that I've heard umpteenth times, "I'd love to have a garden like you, but I can't grow anything". All the while I'm looking at their yard filled with flowers and shrubs. If you can grow flowers, you can grow a vegetable. If you can grow a flowering crab for ornamentation, you can grow a fruit tree. As I've said many times, "Do you mean can't or won't?"
Here's a diagram of a little larger garden, that I particularly like:
Some of the common mistakes that new gardeners make is to be too ambitious. The get someone to plow up a huge plot and find that by mid-July it's filled with weeds. Proper plot preparation is key to success. You need to till and work the soil until it's in pulverized condition. You need to pull out all the grass clumps. If you don't prepare your plots, you are just giving yourself more work and discouragement with weeding as the garden grows. That is why it is important to start small.
Another mistake I see is that new gardeners buy too many seeds. A packet of seeds goes a long way. They also start everything inside. You need to read the back of the seeds packets. Some vegetables, such as radishes, lettuces, peas , etc. are sowed directly outside before the last frost. Some are sowed outside after frost, such as carrots, beans, corn, etc. About the only seeds we start inside are tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower and broccolis. Here and here are two posts that Ran wrote on how to start seeds. We live in zone 4 (know your zone) and now is the time to start your indoor seeds. Which leads me to the next point for my fellow Michigan gardeners. Spoiler: I'm going to talk politics now, so you "sensitive" types can stop reading:
Dear fellow Michiganders, as you well know, our lovely governor has prohibited the buying of seeds or plants and has ordered mail order companies not to ship to our state. There is no other word for this but tyranny. We must resist by civil disobedience. Now. more than ever we must grow a garden in defiance. Three ways to get around this absolutely ridiculous and illogical edict is to trade seeds with neighbors, and ask friends and families from other states to send them to you. A third way I've found, is that seeds can be found in the produce section of smaller grocery stores. (We should be supporting these smaller stores anyway. Do not support WalMart and Amazon, that Whitmer wants you to support. She probably has stock in them). I am so proud of my fellow Michiganders for protesting the governor. We are showing the rest of the country how to stand up to tyranny. Now get out there and start a garden and show Whitmer we refuse to lie down!
Friday, April 10, 2020
BREAD TALES
Hello dear friends! Hope you are all doing well. The other day I was making some flatbread because we were out of tortillas and I had no desire to go to the store, when it occurred to me how important bread is to a thrifty budget. Way, way back in the 70s when my husband and I were literally starving students we used to buy store brand meat pies at 4/$1. They were basically a crust and gravy with a few pieces of gristle and maybe a tablespoon of veggies, but boy we looked forward to them! Obviously, they were not very filling so we sopped up every drop of gravy with bread. Back in the day, there were bakery outlets on almost every city block you could buy a grocery bag full of bread for a couple of dollars. That bread was a real life saver for us. It kept us full. Toast with a cheap jar of store brand jam was our snack in the evening (I think you can still buy a pretty good sized jar of jam at the dollar store), it was our breakfast , it stretched our meager dinners. I will always be grateful for those outlet stores. I don't know if these outlets exists any longer, but it would be worth checking out.
Later, when we had a bit more money, we began to bake our own bread. Bread baking duties quickly became my husbands area, as he made a much superior loaf to mine. He's a chemist and he loves to do everything precisely, I'm more of a free spirit and like to wing it when it comes to baking, resulted in varied results. So for over forty years, he's been the chief bread baker in our household. As a result, I am not all that practiced upon it, and as many things in life, practice makes perfect. It takes time to learn what is just the right texture, just the right amount of liquids, etc. So all this to say in a long-winded way , is that even though you can't bake a decent loaf of bread to save your life, there's plenty of easy ways to get thrifty bread on the table.
Biscuits
Biscuits are quick and easy. When all you can afford is vegetable soup, a biscuit makes it a meal. Here's the recipe I use:
2C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 C. shortening
1 C. buttermilk
Combine dry ingredients. Quickly cut in shortening. Mix in buttermilk just enough to make a soft dough. .Pat dough on a lightly floured surface to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut into rounds. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Now, here's where being a lazy baker comes in handy. When baking biscuits you want to do everything quickly and lightly. When cutting in the shortening, you want to do just enough to make pea-sized crumbs. It's the layers of shortening and flour that make them flaky (ditto for piecrusts). You don't want to play with dough any more than you need to, so don't roll with a rolling pin, just pat the dough. And pat the dough out as few as times as possible, each rerolling makes the dough tougher. I once watching a lady on YouTube knead her dough (yikes!) they came out looking like hockey pucks. When cutting the rounds don't twist the cutter, just one motion up and down. Place the biscuits on the cookie sheets close together so that they rise high. In other words, the less you do the flakier and more tender your biscuits will be. This applies to piecrusts too, everyone always ask for my secret crust recipe, but it isn't the recipe that makes the flaky crusts, it's the lazy technique.
A note on buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute for it by adding a splash of lemon juice or vinegar to your measuring cup before adding the milk. I use buttermilk in almost all my baking because it makes a tender crumb. Buttermilk costs more than regular milk, so here's what I do, once my quart or buttermilk gets down to about a half of pint, I add regular milk to the quart and shake it. Refrigerate for a couple of days and you have another quart of buttermilk. Like cheese, buttermilk is a cultured food and it regenerates, if you keep it up. I only buy a new quart about every six months, although I use buttermilk several times a week.
Scones
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 C oatmeal
1/3 C. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 C. melted butter
1 egg
1/3 C. milk
Combine the dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, egg and milk. Again, using the instructions for biscuits, work the dough quickly and lightly. Pat into a 8 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough halfway through into wedges. Gently spread 1 tbsp. butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Transfer rounds onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
Scones make a wonderful breakfast or a snack for fikka. One tradition our little family of three adults keeps is to fikka everyday around three. We get together and have a cup of coffee and a snack such as these scones. We talk about our day and play a board game. It's a lovely, relaxing tradition, that is so makes life so pleasurable. We eat our main meal at noon and do not eat in the evening so sometimes the guys will eat leftovers during this time. There are no hard and fast rules. Which is another reason our grocery bills are so low, we do not eat three meals a day. Breakfast and one substantial meal should suffice for most people unless you are really working hard as a manual laborer. Plus most people eat snacks too. If you make your evening snack something healthy, you might discover you do not need that meal at six in the evening.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for the day. I hope that you all will have a blessed and joyful Resurrection Day!
Later, when we had a bit more money, we began to bake our own bread. Bread baking duties quickly became my husbands area, as he made a much superior loaf to mine. He's a chemist and he loves to do everything precisely, I'm more of a free spirit and like to wing it when it comes to baking, resulted in varied results. So for over forty years, he's been the chief bread baker in our household. As a result, I am not all that practiced upon it, and as many things in life, practice makes perfect. It takes time to learn what is just the right texture, just the right amount of liquids, etc. So all this to say in a long-winded way , is that even though you can't bake a decent loaf of bread to save your life, there's plenty of easy ways to get thrifty bread on the table.
Biscuits
Biscuits are quick and easy. When all you can afford is vegetable soup, a biscuit makes it a meal. Here's the recipe I use:
2C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 C. shortening
1 C. buttermilk
Combine dry ingredients. Quickly cut in shortening. Mix in buttermilk just enough to make a soft dough. .Pat dough on a lightly floured surface to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut into rounds. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Now, here's where being a lazy baker comes in handy. When baking biscuits you want to do everything quickly and lightly. When cutting in the shortening, you want to do just enough to make pea-sized crumbs. It's the layers of shortening and flour that make them flaky (ditto for piecrusts). You don't want to play with dough any more than you need to, so don't roll with a rolling pin, just pat the dough. And pat the dough out as few as times as possible, each rerolling makes the dough tougher. I once watching a lady on YouTube knead her dough (yikes!) they came out looking like hockey pucks. When cutting the rounds don't twist the cutter, just one motion up and down. Place the biscuits on the cookie sheets close together so that they rise high. In other words, the less you do the flakier and more tender your biscuits will be. This applies to piecrusts too, everyone always ask for my secret crust recipe, but it isn't the recipe that makes the flaky crusts, it's the lazy technique.
A note on buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute for it by adding a splash of lemon juice or vinegar to your measuring cup before adding the milk. I use buttermilk in almost all my baking because it makes a tender crumb. Buttermilk costs more than regular milk, so here's what I do, once my quart or buttermilk gets down to about a half of pint, I add regular milk to the quart and shake it. Refrigerate for a couple of days and you have another quart of buttermilk. Like cheese, buttermilk is a cultured food and it regenerates, if you keep it up. I only buy a new quart about every six months, although I use buttermilk several times a week.
Scones
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 C oatmeal
1/3 C. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 C. melted butter
1 egg
1/3 C. milk
Combine the dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, egg and milk. Again, using the instructions for biscuits, work the dough quickly and lightly. Pat into a 8 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough halfway through into wedges. Gently spread 1 tbsp. butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Transfer rounds onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
Scones make a wonderful breakfast or a snack for fikka. One tradition our little family of three adults keeps is to fikka everyday around three. We get together and have a cup of coffee and a snack such as these scones. We talk about our day and play a board game. It's a lovely, relaxing tradition, that is so makes life so pleasurable. We eat our main meal at noon and do not eat in the evening so sometimes the guys will eat leftovers during this time. There are no hard and fast rules. Which is another reason our grocery bills are so low, we do not eat three meals a day. Breakfast and one substantial meal should suffice for most people unless you are really working hard as a manual laborer. Plus most people eat snacks too. If you make your evening snack something healthy, you might discover you do not need that meal at six in the evening.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for the day. I hope that you all will have a blessed and joyful Resurrection Day!
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Hard Times in the KItchen
Hello dear friends! Today I got quite a jolt of reality; on my drive to get gasoline, I noticed a very long line of cars. What on Earth? They were queuing up to pick up free food just outside of our city limits. Firstly, I didn't even realize we had that many locals, and second of all, it's only been a few weeks of being shut in, can there possibly be that many people in dire straits already?
Are you feeling the pinch? Here's some ideas that have gotten me through many a rough patch.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE A BASIC WHITE SAUCE
Here's a post I wrote about this very functional and basic culinary skill, that everyone that wants to be frugal, should know. A basic white sauce can turn anything into a casserole. Today I made an egg casserole with it by adding a bit (about 1/2 C) of cheese to this sauce, sautéing up some onions and my home-dried peppers in some bacon grease and scrambling up six eggs. All was combined, poured into a greased 8-inch pan, topped with some cracker crumbs and baked for 25 minutes. Made a nice lunch for the three of us. Last week I wanted to make some lasagna, but didn't have any ricotta cheese and had no desire to go to the store, so again the basic white sauce came to the rescue. I added some garlic powder and parmesan cheese (the kind that comes in the canister, not the expensive cheese aisle type) to it for flavor. Although the lasagna was a little runnier than with the ricotta cheese, we actually preferred it.
GET OVER THE "NO CARBS" FAD
I know many prefer and some cannot eat carbs, but they are what fills you up. Maybe you won't want to eat these meals, but when you are trying to feed children on a budget, there's no other way. In this
post I write about potatoes and give two very basic recipes for potato pancakes and potato soup. Two recipes that have gotten my family through some very dire straits of our own. A baked potato with cheese sauce (again from the basic white sauce) and some broccoli makes a thrifty lunch. Hamburger or sausage gravy served over potatoes, rice, or a slice of bread can stretch a pound of meat to feed several. An egg by itself might not be very filling, but throw in a couple of slices of toast or a bagel and you've got something that will stick with you. Oatmeal has always been one of the most economical and healthy breakfasts known for centuries. Popcorn (the old-fashioned kind popped in pan with a dab of oil, not the microwave stuff) makes an inexpensive snack and is a good source of fiber.
LEARN TO LOVE BEANS
Beans are an inexpensive source of protein and are easy to store. Besides being eaten on their own, you can stretch your meat by adding more beans in your chili, sloppy joes, mashed ones to meatloaf, etc. Here's a post on how we prepare our basic refried beans. They are delicious. And another with basics how to use beans and more meal ideas.
USE IT ALL UP
We try not to waste anything. When we finish with our chicken we scrape the bones into a pot and with the potato and carrot peels, the leftover vegetables, etc. we always make broth, which I can, but can be frozen. You can do this with just vegetables or other meats also. I never buy broth. I already mentioned that I use the leftover bacon grease to sauté onions and peppers for omelets. Stale bread is always turned into bread puddings, breadcrumbs, French toast or garlic bread. You get the picture. At the very least, scraps should be made into beautiful compost for you garden.
Well, my computer has already messed up this post several times, so I better get it posted. Hope this helps! We'll see how it goes, if you'd like more posts, let me know.
Hugs
Jane
Are you feeling the pinch? Here's some ideas that have gotten me through many a rough patch.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE A BASIC WHITE SAUCE
Here's a post I wrote about this very functional and basic culinary skill, that everyone that wants to be frugal, should know. A basic white sauce can turn anything into a casserole. Today I made an egg casserole with it by adding a bit (about 1/2 C) of cheese to this sauce, sautéing up some onions and my home-dried peppers in some bacon grease and scrambling up six eggs. All was combined, poured into a greased 8-inch pan, topped with some cracker crumbs and baked for 25 minutes. Made a nice lunch for the three of us. Last week I wanted to make some lasagna, but didn't have any ricotta cheese and had no desire to go to the store, so again the basic white sauce came to the rescue. I added some garlic powder and parmesan cheese (the kind that comes in the canister, not the expensive cheese aisle type) to it for flavor. Although the lasagna was a little runnier than with the ricotta cheese, we actually preferred it.
GET OVER THE "NO CARBS" FAD
I know many prefer and some cannot eat carbs, but they are what fills you up. Maybe you won't want to eat these meals, but when you are trying to feed children on a budget, there's no other way. In this
post I write about potatoes and give two very basic recipes for potato pancakes and potato soup. Two recipes that have gotten my family through some very dire straits of our own. A baked potato with cheese sauce (again from the basic white sauce) and some broccoli makes a thrifty lunch. Hamburger or sausage gravy served over potatoes, rice, or a slice of bread can stretch a pound of meat to feed several. An egg by itself might not be very filling, but throw in a couple of slices of toast or a bagel and you've got something that will stick with you. Oatmeal has always been one of the most economical and healthy breakfasts known for centuries. Popcorn (the old-fashioned kind popped in pan with a dab of oil, not the microwave stuff) makes an inexpensive snack and is a good source of fiber.
LEARN TO LOVE BEANS
Beans are an inexpensive source of protein and are easy to store. Besides being eaten on their own, you can stretch your meat by adding more beans in your chili, sloppy joes, mashed ones to meatloaf, etc. Here's a post on how we prepare our basic refried beans. They are delicious. And another with basics how to use beans and more meal ideas.
USE IT ALL UP
We try not to waste anything. When we finish with our chicken we scrape the bones into a pot and with the potato and carrot peels, the leftover vegetables, etc. we always make broth, which I can, but can be frozen. You can do this with just vegetables or other meats also. I never buy broth. I already mentioned that I use the leftover bacon grease to sauté onions and peppers for omelets. Stale bread is always turned into bread puddings, breadcrumbs, French toast or garlic bread. You get the picture. At the very least, scraps should be made into beautiful compost for you garden.
Well, my computer has already messed up this post several times, so I better get it posted. Hope this helps! We'll see how it goes, if you'd like more posts, let me know.
Hugs
Jane
Thursday, March 26, 2020
It's A Mad, Mad World
Hello dear friends! Bet you thought you'd never hear from me again. Today Ginger and Debra left comments, so I thought I'd put my two cents in about what's going on out there. I won't waste any time about what precautions everyone should be taking, just to say, that if you feel in anyway ill, please be considerate and stay indoors. Personally, I had a sore throat and cough for weeks before this whole thing started, and not knowing if it was "anything" I opted to stay at home and have my husband doing any necessary running. BTW, all better now and have been for about ten days.
What worries more than the pandemic, is what will happen to our economy if things remain closed for as long as some politicians are saying (up to 18 months!). Our country will never recover from that. The president wants the country open by Easter, but some of the governors are saying longer, and since we have a federal government, there's really very little he can do about it. Whatever the case, we better get ready for some lean times.
I have faced lean times myself; as married students, after a major illness of both myself and my husband, when we had two sons in expensive colleges at the same time ($60,000 out of our $70,000 salary), and on a few occasions when he came home and told me that his lab was laying off everyone. So yeah, I can empathize with everyone that is being laid off now. It seems in life you can only be certain of uncertainty.
WHAT I DID FIRST
The second I learned that I might not have any money coming in, I went around and turned off all the lights and unplugged everything. This may seem silly, but when every penny counts, it's the sum total of all the little things that will save you.
The next thing I did was cancel all unnecessary things; the cable, the newspaper, the Culligan man. I would say the cell phone, but most people are unwilling to do that. I manage without one, using a cheap Tracphone to carry in my car for emergencies and we use a MagicJack for a home phone, it costs us $30 a year for phone service, all together my phone services costs less than $10 a month. I do have internet, but the cheapest I can get at $50 a month. This works as my entertainment in lieu of cable and as my phone service with the MagicJack. I suppose that if I needed to, I could get rid of the cable and use the Tracphone as my only source of communication. But for now that's not necessary. Just something to think about if you really are in dire straights.
The third step was to take inventory of our pantry. It is reassuring to see that with a little ingenuity, you won't starve. Never buy what you can make yourself! Not only will it be cheaper, it will be better quality and probably healthier. It's surprising how few things you need to buy when you make everything from scratch. Crackers, tortillas, bread, pie crusts, rolls, noodles and dumplings are all just some sort of variation of flour, leavening, and fat. I always buy shortening, yeast, baking soda and baking powder, sugar and flour in bulk and only about twice a year. Just like in the pioneer days. Ha! If times get tough, I dare say that people that do keto, are going to have to give it up or be prepared to pay the piper. Protein, especially in the way of meat is ultra expensive. Plain honest foods are and always will be the best. As a matter of fact, there's a term for it, "whole Foods". Had to laugh when I read that, because it's a supposed a new-fangled philosophy about eating, yet I, and most of the country folks I know, have been eating that way for centuries. I guess one of the silver linings of hard times is that people will not be able to afford so much junk food.
The final step was to hold a family meeting. In these days, we like to coddle our children, but I believe letting the older ones know the situation is character building. They'll know not to complain and ask for things that cannot be afforded and they will also know not to add anymore stress on mom and pops. Have them brainstorm for ways to save money and put them in charge of monitoring electrical use, gas consumption, etc. Maybe than can think of ways to raise a little money by collecting bottle returns or selling some of the games on Ebay. I truly believe that it times like these that draws families closer together.
SILVER LININGS
And that is the silver lining to this whole mess. I live in a tiny village. The entire winter I've only seen a handful of people, but since this lockdown, I've seen families out walking, playing ball, raking their yards. I was astounded. I never even knew we had so many young families in the village. As I reflect back on my long life, I can say without a doubt some of the hardest times have also been the most enjoyable. It strips away all the distractions of modern living and get it down to the brass tacks of life. Tonight I am sitting here typing this by the light of a kerosene lamp, belly full of a make-do dinner in my cozy tiny living room completely furnished in second-hand goods and I truly feel like the most blessed person on earth. My hope for you all, is that you too can find solace in that fact that even in the hardest of times, there is a certain joy that comes from meeting difficulties head on and knowing that you are capable of overcoming them. And when you do, you will feel invincible!
Hugs
Jane
What worries more than the pandemic, is what will happen to our economy if things remain closed for as long as some politicians are saying (up to 18 months!). Our country will never recover from that. The president wants the country open by Easter, but some of the governors are saying longer, and since we have a federal government, there's really very little he can do about it. Whatever the case, we better get ready for some lean times.
I have faced lean times myself; as married students, after a major illness of both myself and my husband, when we had two sons in expensive colleges at the same time ($60,000 out of our $70,000 salary), and on a few occasions when he came home and told me that his lab was laying off everyone. So yeah, I can empathize with everyone that is being laid off now. It seems in life you can only be certain of uncertainty.
WHAT I DID FIRST
The second I learned that I might not have any money coming in, I went around and turned off all the lights and unplugged everything. This may seem silly, but when every penny counts, it's the sum total of all the little things that will save you.
The next thing I did was cancel all unnecessary things; the cable, the newspaper, the Culligan man. I would say the cell phone, but most people are unwilling to do that. I manage without one, using a cheap Tracphone to carry in my car for emergencies and we use a MagicJack for a home phone, it costs us $30 a year for phone service, all together my phone services costs less than $10 a month. I do have internet, but the cheapest I can get at $50 a month. This works as my entertainment in lieu of cable and as my phone service with the MagicJack. I suppose that if I needed to, I could get rid of the cable and use the Tracphone as my only source of communication. But for now that's not necessary. Just something to think about if you really are in dire straights.
The third step was to take inventory of our pantry. It is reassuring to see that with a little ingenuity, you won't starve. Never buy what you can make yourself! Not only will it be cheaper, it will be better quality and probably healthier. It's surprising how few things you need to buy when you make everything from scratch. Crackers, tortillas, bread, pie crusts, rolls, noodles and dumplings are all just some sort of variation of flour, leavening, and fat. I always buy shortening, yeast, baking soda and baking powder, sugar and flour in bulk and only about twice a year. Just like in the pioneer days. Ha! If times get tough, I dare say that people that do keto, are going to have to give it up or be prepared to pay the piper. Protein, especially in the way of meat is ultra expensive. Plain honest foods are and always will be the best. As a matter of fact, there's a term for it, "whole Foods". Had to laugh when I read that, because it's a supposed a new-fangled philosophy about eating, yet I, and most of the country folks I know, have been eating that way for centuries. I guess one of the silver linings of hard times is that people will not be able to afford so much junk food.
The final step was to hold a family meeting. In these days, we like to coddle our children, but I believe letting the older ones know the situation is character building. They'll know not to complain and ask for things that cannot be afforded and they will also know not to add anymore stress on mom and pops. Have them brainstorm for ways to save money and put them in charge of monitoring electrical use, gas consumption, etc. Maybe than can think of ways to raise a little money by collecting bottle returns or selling some of the games on Ebay. I truly believe that it times like these that draws families closer together.
SILVER LININGS
And that is the silver lining to this whole mess. I live in a tiny village. The entire winter I've only seen a handful of people, but since this lockdown, I've seen families out walking, playing ball, raking their yards. I was astounded. I never even knew we had so many young families in the village. As I reflect back on my long life, I can say without a doubt some of the hardest times have also been the most enjoyable. It strips away all the distractions of modern living and get it down to the brass tacks of life. Tonight I am sitting here typing this by the light of a kerosene lamp, belly full of a make-do dinner in my cozy tiny living room completely furnished in second-hand goods and I truly feel like the most blessed person on earth. My hope for you all, is that you too can find solace in that fact that even in the hardest of times, there is a certain joy that comes from meeting difficulties head on and knowing that you are capable of overcoming them. And when you do, you will feel invincible!
Hugs
Jane
Friday, April 12, 2019
AN UPDATE ON LIFE AND THOUGHTS ON PREPPING
Hello dear friends! Anyone out there? I want to thank everyone that has written, e-mailed or left a comment since I last wrote a post almost two years ago. Every day I am astonished at how many are still reading old Hope and Thrift. It really touches my heart on many of you remember me, let alone take time out of your day to write. I've been spending my time away from the computer studying even more ways to live frugally. And creating! If I don't do something creative during the day, I feel out of sorts. Of course, I use the term "creative" loosely; creative can mean sewing or knitting, but it can also mean finding a way to save a dime. I apologize that I haven't been a very good blogging friend, my time on the computer is very limited. Computers just confound me and I don't enjoy feeling frustrated all the time, so the best way for me to avoid that emotion is to just stay away from computers all together. I don't even own a smart phone and have no idea how to text or use an app, or scroll. Sound pretty old-fashioned don't I? I tell you, we had several days without electricity this past winter and they were the most blissful days of the year to me! Probably the only one that would enjoy that EMP attack they are always predicting.
Which is why I'm writing now. For some reason this past week I've been contacted several times from people concerned about what is "about to happen". I'm not sure what is concerning people so much, not owning a TV, I'm blissfully ignorant of what is making the news these days, but I suspect it is something they are hyping up on TV and the internet. So, first, I've been around long enough to have heard all of it before, one of the blessings of old age. When I was a kid they used to show us films at school telling us that we'd soon be living in an ice age, have a nuclear war with the USSR, and if we managed to survive those two catastrophes we'd all be living underwater. By the time my sons were in elementary school, just twenty years later, we were supposed to have such horrific global warming that all the ice caps would melt and we should be swimming for our lives about now. Excuse me if I seem a bit jaded. You know, it isn't only the Germans of WWII and the cold war Soviets that use propaganda. News is in the business of making headlines. And have you noticed that most news these days is not news but opinions? Anywho, just my long-winded way of saying don't fret so much about all the impending doom the newscasters are foretelling. Did you ever notice how the weather channel always reports any bad weather as the storm of the century? News is the same way. Ha! How many people wrote to ask if I was safe during the "polar vortex"? Just a cold snap. It's a rare year when we don't get temperatures well into the negatives in winter.
So that is what I think of all this doom and gloom. But do I think people should prepare for hard times? You bet! Few people never go through a bit of misfortune in their lives. As I found out, even a lemon for a car, can upset the apple cart sometimes. It is good to know that at least you've got the next meal covered.
Well that's all good, you might be saying, but how can I stockpile any food when I'm just scraping by, you say? Scrape a little harder. I would be hard pressed to find a budget that doesn't have any wiggle room. On the weekend that you don't have to drive to work or school, stay at home and save the gas money. Put the meat back in the freezer and open a can of beans. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater. Collect cans and bottles to return for the refund, even in our tiny little village, we found seven dollars worth of cans this month. That's seven items (beans, oatmeal, dried fruit, bag of rice, etc.) that could be bought at the dollar store for your prepping pantry. And speaking of which, the dollar stores are not always the best deals, most of these items can be bought for less at your regular grocery store, I'm just using the dollar store as an example as every place has a dollar store (even you Canadians :)) Use those candles that you get as gifts in the evening and save on the electricity bill. Basically, just be very purposeful in every purchase you make. Is it a need or a want?
I wrote in a comment that I have almost my entire year's of groceries bought and it cost me a little less than $600. As you dear readers know, I can, can and can. I came across and amazing deal on ground round so I bought 20 pounds and canned it. Ham is on sale almost everywhere at Easter time (as are eggs). I bought 20 pounds and canned that. We bought all our basic supplies such as flour, sugar, yeast, cornmeal, dried fruits, oatmeal etc. at our Mennonite bulk food store. Enough for a year cost about $150. A local store always has a sale on beef roasts twice a year, when it's cheaper than hamburger, we always wait for that sale and buy around 20 pounds, which I can. I'm always on the lookout for cheap dried beans ( they last forever) and I found some on the reduced for quick sale rack at our local fruit market for 50 cents/lb. So I canned about 30 jars of them up. Ran caught a couple salmons this week, so that was also canned up, along with a pike (taste like albacore tuna). One of the thrift stores we frequent has all sorts of produce for free that they receive from the local Walmart. One day, the weather was really blustery and they didn't have very many customers and they practically begged us to take home a couple of the rotisserie chickens that the freeze and hand out, so I took them home and froze the meat and canned 8 pints of broth from the carcasses. They often have produce that no one ever takes, but when they have free baked goods they are gone in minutes. Priorities people! Ha! If I didn't garden, I could probably get enough produce there to fill some of the pantry. BTW, if you don't can, you can always dehydrate your vegetables, so keep a sharp lookout at the reduced-for-quick-sale bin at your grocery store. I used to feel funny about taking any of the food, but then I realized, we live near the poverty level also, we are just better at managing.
Which leads me to my next point. Get over yourself! People that say they won't take free food, shop at thrift stores and discount grocery stores better not whine around me about how hard it is to make ends meet! True story, I was telling a frien-emy about a discount grocery store that we like to explore. She emphatically swore that she wouldn't be caught dead buying outdated groceries, all the time sipping the coffee (that she had complimented me on earlier) that we bought there (three months out of date). Oh that is another thing we stocked up on, a year's worth of coffee ( we love our coffee) at $1.50 a pound, and it was good organic fancy-name coffee too.
Tthe next excuse I get is, sounds good, but I don't have the time or energy to do all that canning and cooking-from-scratch business. I spend about two hours a day cooking, baking and canning. Our motto is to never buy anything we can make ourselves, so we bake our own bread, crackers, sweets. We make our own soups, cereals, broths, noodles, etc. On the average it only takes two hours of prep work and while the bread is baking you can be doing the laundry or helping the kids with schoolwork. You can even be on your phone texting or looking at Instagram (which I have a feeling consumes a lot of people's time.) While the canner is jiggling the weight, you can be balancing your checkbook, or even reading. You get the picture. As for energy, I find that the harder I work the more energy I have. It's very invigorating to see your pantry fill with jars of home canned goods. Plus the harder you work the better you sleep.
Finally, and most importantly, just put your faith in Our Heavenly Father. Whatever may befall this old planet, hope is always with me. I pray every day that His will be done. When the news is alarming I go outside and listen to the birds and feel the sun upon my face it never fails to melt all the worries away. My favorite Bible verses that I endeavor to live by:
That you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, as we command you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
God Bless!
Jane
Which is why I'm writing now. For some reason this past week I've been contacted several times from people concerned about what is "about to happen". I'm not sure what is concerning people so much, not owning a TV, I'm blissfully ignorant of what is making the news these days, but I suspect it is something they are hyping up on TV and the internet. So, first, I've been around long enough to have heard all of it before, one of the blessings of old age. When I was a kid they used to show us films at school telling us that we'd soon be living in an ice age, have a nuclear war with the USSR, and if we managed to survive those two catastrophes we'd all be living underwater. By the time my sons were in elementary school, just twenty years later, we were supposed to have such horrific global warming that all the ice caps would melt and we should be swimming for our lives about now. Excuse me if I seem a bit jaded. You know, it isn't only the Germans of WWII and the cold war Soviets that use propaganda. News is in the business of making headlines. And have you noticed that most news these days is not news but opinions? Anywho, just my long-winded way of saying don't fret so much about all the impending doom the newscasters are foretelling. Did you ever notice how the weather channel always reports any bad weather as the storm of the century? News is the same way. Ha! How many people wrote to ask if I was safe during the "polar vortex"? Just a cold snap. It's a rare year when we don't get temperatures well into the negatives in winter.
So that is what I think of all this doom and gloom. But do I think people should prepare for hard times? You bet! Few people never go through a bit of misfortune in their lives. As I found out, even a lemon for a car, can upset the apple cart sometimes. It is good to know that at least you've got the next meal covered.
Well that's all good, you might be saying, but how can I stockpile any food when I'm just scraping by, you say? Scrape a little harder. I would be hard pressed to find a budget that doesn't have any wiggle room. On the weekend that you don't have to drive to work or school, stay at home and save the gas money. Put the meat back in the freezer and open a can of beans. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater. Collect cans and bottles to return for the refund, even in our tiny little village, we found seven dollars worth of cans this month. That's seven items (beans, oatmeal, dried fruit, bag of rice, etc.) that could be bought at the dollar store for your prepping pantry. And speaking of which, the dollar stores are not always the best deals, most of these items can be bought for less at your regular grocery store, I'm just using the dollar store as an example as every place has a dollar store (even you Canadians :)) Use those candles that you get as gifts in the evening and save on the electricity bill. Basically, just be very purposeful in every purchase you make. Is it a need or a want?
I wrote in a comment that I have almost my entire year's of groceries bought and it cost me a little less than $600. As you dear readers know, I can, can and can. I came across and amazing deal on ground round so I bought 20 pounds and canned it. Ham is on sale almost everywhere at Easter time (as are eggs). I bought 20 pounds and canned that. We bought all our basic supplies such as flour, sugar, yeast, cornmeal, dried fruits, oatmeal etc. at our Mennonite bulk food store. Enough for a year cost about $150. A local store always has a sale on beef roasts twice a year, when it's cheaper than hamburger, we always wait for that sale and buy around 20 pounds, which I can. I'm always on the lookout for cheap dried beans ( they last forever) and I found some on the reduced for quick sale rack at our local fruit market for 50 cents/lb. So I canned about 30 jars of them up. Ran caught a couple salmons this week, so that was also canned up, along with a pike (taste like albacore tuna). One of the thrift stores we frequent has all sorts of produce for free that they receive from the local Walmart. One day, the weather was really blustery and they didn't have very many customers and they practically begged us to take home a couple of the rotisserie chickens that the freeze and hand out, so I took them home and froze the meat and canned 8 pints of broth from the carcasses. They often have produce that no one ever takes, but when they have free baked goods they are gone in minutes. Priorities people! Ha! If I didn't garden, I could probably get enough produce there to fill some of the pantry. BTW, if you don't can, you can always dehydrate your vegetables, so keep a sharp lookout at the reduced-for-quick-sale bin at your grocery store. I used to feel funny about taking any of the food, but then I realized, we live near the poverty level also, we are just better at managing.
Which leads me to my next point. Get over yourself! People that say they won't take free food, shop at thrift stores and discount grocery stores better not whine around me about how hard it is to make ends meet! True story, I was telling a frien-emy about a discount grocery store that we like to explore. She emphatically swore that she wouldn't be caught dead buying outdated groceries, all the time sipping the coffee (that she had complimented me on earlier) that we bought there (three months out of date). Oh that is another thing we stocked up on, a year's worth of coffee ( we love our coffee) at $1.50 a pound, and it was good organic fancy-name coffee too.
Tthe next excuse I get is, sounds good, but I don't have the time or energy to do all that canning and cooking-from-scratch business. I spend about two hours a day cooking, baking and canning. Our motto is to never buy anything we can make ourselves, so we bake our own bread, crackers, sweets. We make our own soups, cereals, broths, noodles, etc. On the average it only takes two hours of prep work and while the bread is baking you can be doing the laundry or helping the kids with schoolwork. You can even be on your phone texting or looking at Instagram (which I have a feeling consumes a lot of people's time.) While the canner is jiggling the weight, you can be balancing your checkbook, or even reading. You get the picture. As for energy, I find that the harder I work the more energy I have. It's very invigorating to see your pantry fill with jars of home canned goods. Plus the harder you work the better you sleep.
Finally, and most importantly, just put your faith in Our Heavenly Father. Whatever may befall this old planet, hope is always with me. I pray every day that His will be done. When the news is alarming I go outside and listen to the birds and feel the sun upon my face it never fails to melt all the worries away. My favorite Bible verses that I endeavor to live by:
That you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, as we command you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
God Bless!
Jane
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Thank You
Hugs
Jane
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