Stricter grocery budget

Included in my efforts to rein in my budget even further are my gardening projects. I may not be able to totally forego visits to the grocery store, but at least I can have some fresh, organically grown vegetables to round out meals.

I already don't eat much meat. It just doesn't interest me. Incorporating more vegetables is better for health anyway and could help me get rid of stomach fat that I've carried since having babies.

I've got a dehydrator and water bath canner, so I can put some things up. I need to get another pressure canner so I can put up regular vegetables, too. That way, I can save some money next winter and still know I'm getting healthful meals.

Technorati Tags: gardening,vegetables

Reducing the need for expensive gasoline

It's time to get back to the regular business, I guess. The business of trying to live within a budget, cutting costs, and making the best of what we have.

Around the country, gasoline prices are on the rise. A couple of days ago, I spent $35 for gas and didn't even fill my tank. Gas prices here are around $3.25 a gallon, and it's predicted to rise even more. What's a person to do?

Once a month, I take a 4 day trip to my Mom's, which is around 85 miles away. She is 88 years old, and will be 89 this week. That's not a trip I'm likely to cut out due to high gas prices. This just means I'll need to cut back further in other areas.

One thing I'm going to do is ask my supervisor if I can work 4 days a week, for 9 or 10 hours on those days. That reduces my driving miles per week by about 30. It's not much, but it's a little and could help for now.

As always, I combine trips. Days that I work, I also may run needful errands in town, since I'm already there. Days I'm off, I stay home. Most things can wait until I have to be at work again, anyway, because I make sure to stay pretty well stocked up here.

I also pay bills online as often as possible. In reality, since I'm already paying for Internet, I might as well make use of that function. I don't have many bills, and most can be paid online. Only my rent can't be, but it can be collected while I'm at work, saving my son-in-law the drive out here and saving me an extra trip to another town to pay it.

While I'm at it, I keep my electric bill as low as possible and am looking at supplementing my power with solar and wind energy options. I would like to be completely off-grid, but that's still in the future.

Technorati Tags: budget,gas prices

Naps are not always good

After an early start to a rather long day, we ran by a local discount store and picked up some more stuff for the gardens. I got 4  of the 40 pound bags of potting soil and 2  of the 40 pound bags of manure. My original intention was to start mixing soil for my raised beds and containers, but that just didn't happen.

Between the chicken noodle soup, potato soup, and barbecue sandwich, I didn't even need sleep aids this evening. I dozed off on the sofa and was right there until around 9 PM! Guess I needed the sleep, alright, but it sure threw me off on getting anything else done.

I have to get up at 3 AM and now I'm wide awake. Maybe after I surf the 'net for a bit, I'll get drowsy again and doze off till the alarm goes off. I hope so!

Technorati Tags: health,sleep

Fun family get-together

I had a great time at our family gathering today. I really enjoy these events because there are several family members I never see until something like this occurs.

Of course, we all communicate through a popular social networking site and keep up on one another's goings-on that way, but there's really nothing like giving hugs all around to warm the heart. And believe me, there were plenty of hugs given out today!

One of my nieces (the event was held at her and Nephew's house) said there were 43 in attendance. Not all were direct relations. Some were guests of family members, which is just fine.

There was an announcement that Nephew and Niece's older son is getting married this June! We were all very happy about that. It's so good to get good news like that, and the girl is very well liked by everyone.

Of course, there was plenty of food to go around and we all ate a little too much. That's so easy to do at a get-together like this. There were tons of children running about, having a good time. The ones who were old enough spent a lot of time playing outside in the large yard.

Technorati Tags: family

Water in the garden

While I am definitely ready for spring and the growing season, I'm really not ready for mid-summer and the extremely hot temperatures we usually have to endure. It's hard on my garden and it's hard on me when we go for several weeks with 90+ temperatures and little or no rain.

Those weeks work like Lipofuze in the garden, stunting growth and wilting the plants and their produce rather quickly. Since I am on a well, I can water everything, and I do that almost daily during those days. Still, there's nothing like a God-sent rainfall to really perk up what's growing outside in the gardens.

A slow steady summer rain can soak into the soil much deeper, it seems, than just watering from a hose. Probably because I don't spend enough time out there watering. For me to lay in that amount of moisture to my plants would mean at least a couple of hours of watering.

This year, I'm going to attack the problem a little differently. I'm going to be reserving bath and laundry water in a livestock tank, then letting it irrigate the gardens through the use of a small water pump. These pumps are usually used for water features in your yard, but my "water feature" will be a functional irrigation system!

Technorati Tags: gardening,water

Seedlings update

My cucumber and squash seedlings are about 3 inches tall already. I've taken them out of the mini-greenhouse and put them under a grow light in an old egg carton. I can keep a good eye on them, water when necessary, and brush the tops of them every now and then.

I've read that lightly brushing the tops helps the stems grow stronger, so I'm doing it. It certainly can't hurt. They have good color and are just beginning to put on real leaves, very tiny ones right now. But it gives me hope of a bountiful garden later in the summer.

In the meantime, I've order more seeds. There will be enough for a really large garden, so I'll have some I can save for future use since I won't be having a huge garden this year. Mostly, it'll just be container and raised bed gardening. I do hope to be able to do some very intensive gardening, given my limited space. I want to be able to dehydrate, freeze, and can produce to use during the winter months.

I need to plan ahead how much of each item I need to put up to do me through the winter. There are charts online and also my Ball Blue Book has a guide for how much you need for a family of, say, 4.

Yes, the seedlings sprouting up have already given me lots of pleasure and promises!

Technorati Tags: gardening

Gardening begins

I have some seeds planted in a planted in a table-top grow kit. It came with peat pellets that get larger when you add water. The price was good -- only about $7 each -- so I got two sets.

So far, I've got cucumbers, squash, and tobacco seeds planted. The cucumbers have already started growing. It's pretty exciting to watch things grow like this! I also ordered some non-GMO seeds to plant and can hardly wait for them to come in so I can get them started.

I purchased a grow light to use for the little seedlings until it's time to set them out. Since the seedlings have started up, I set up the light to help them along.

I also got some onion sets and put about a dozen of them in the ground outside. I'll plant them a few at a time over the next few weeks for fresh green onions to eat.

I'm hoping for a lot more vegetables to eat and put up this year. Using organically grown, fresh vegetables works on my waistline as well as anything including oxyelite pro results. Besides the fresh air and exercise I get from gardening, I have the assurance that there are no chemicals used because I grow it myself.

Technorati Tags: gardening

Be prepared

Earthquake preparedness doesn't differ a great deal from being prepared for any other type of event. These can knock out power, contaminate water wells and city water systems, make septic issues a real problem, disrupt communications, and even make it impossible to travel to other locations. Because of this, it's important to have a plan and some emergency supplies on hand to last at least three days. (I figure longer, since I'm in a rural area.)

The advice is to NOT run outside in the event of an earthquake unless your actual house is crumbling around you. We are instructed to find a sturdy doorway to stand in. Find a place to get under, like a sturdy table or flipped over contemporary sofas to protect yourself from things that are falling and could injure you.

After the event, if you smell a gas leak, LEAVE! Don't try to find it. Don't try to turn lights on or off. Don't even start your car or cause any sort of ignition source, such as lighting a cigarette. Just leave and let emergency workers deal with the gas leak.

Stay away from downed power lines. The grid could fail completely, but then again, those power lines may still be fully charged and lethal.

Stay in or near your own home if other dangers there don't exist. Don't make it even more difficult for rescuers to find you. Do the best you can where you are.

Have a plan and emergency supplies where you can easily get to them. Include drinking water, non-perishable food, extra clothing, blankets, and any medicines you take.

Technorati Tags: earthquake,emergencies

More earthquakes

Strange events have been occurring in our part of the country. Earthquakes.

Although experts say these have always occurred here, they haven't been strong enough to actually feel them. A number of years ago, there were earthquakes centered in an area about 15 miles from here. I lived in that area when we got one that rattled the windows and scared the wits out of me. Now, they are happening in the town where I work and in an area a few miles north of where I live.

We will hear a sound like thunder, then the ground shakes. It's not hard, and it doesn't last long, but it is unnerving. The fact is, the tectonic plates under the earth are really active and sliding right now. Also, because we live near the New Madrid Fault line, we are likely to get a really big earthquake at any time...it could be soon.

Besides the usual spring weather events -- strong storms and tornadoes -- common to our area, this adds yet one more reason to be fully prepared in case there is a really catastrophic event.

Technorati Tags: earthquake

Smoking still?

Even with the high prices on cigarettes, the health warnings, and the limits on where people can smoke, many people still do. It's a difficult addiction to break, there's no question about it. I've read that it takes three or four times of trying to quit before a person is finally able to quit entirely.

Some people have met with success by going cold turkey. Others have used gum, patches, or prescription medicines and quit. More recently, people are trying e-cigarettes in an effort to at least avoid the harmful results of tar, and to take a step forward toward quitting.

I've read and heard both good and bad reviews for e-cigarettes but I haven't tried them myself. I am wondering if any of my readers could comment on their experiences with them. I've been looking at smoketip reviews lately to try to figure out if one brand or flavor is more successful than the rest, but reader input from reader experience is the best, I think.

Technorati Tags: health

Gardening time soon

The weather is warming up again, at least for now, which makes my thoughts turn to gardening. Several years ago, I had a very nice, productive garden which was all in raised beds. They were easy to work with and using intensive gardening methods, I was able to produce enough basic vegetables and herbs to can, dehydrate, and freeze for use in the winter time.

I miss that a lot.

I have two small raised beds now, but my plan is to once again take in the entire front yard in vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. I also want to plant an asparagus bed, a strawberry bed, some fruit trees, a few grape vines, and maybe even some tame blackberries.

Below are a few pictures of the raised beds I had where I used to live. Hope you enjoy viewing them!

Technorati Tags: gardening

Cabin fever

I don't have it. Even though I've been stuck at home for a few days due to very bad winter weather, I still don't feel the urge to leave and go someplace. I do have to work tonight, but even so, if I didn't have to work, I'd just stay right here and enjoy being home another day!

See, I can usually find plenty to occupy my mind and hands at home. Not only can I go online and cyber visit with friends and family, but I can pay bills, do banking chores, work on my bookkeeping, work on crafts, cook, clean...well, you get the picture. I also go outside and take photographs from time to time and work on those.

On a favorite social networking site, I've seen a lot of comments about being tired of being home. I can't even remember the last time I thought that! While it is necessary from time to time to re-supply the pantry and freezer, it's not necessary right now. I keep plenty on hand at all times just so I don't have to shop very often.

Probably the only thing I'm wishing for now is the supplies I need to start seeds indoors for my garden, and the warm days and time to begin preparing beds.

Technorati Tags: gardening,cabin fever

Need a new laptop

My poor laptop is probably on its last cyber-legs. I've had it for over three years now and loved every minute of owning it. However, it's developed some old-age related glitches lately and it's probably not worth having them fixed anymore.

I have a lot of info on it that I'd like to keep before it crashes completely. In fact, I'd like very much to invest in a new laptop soon, before this one fries itself, and just hang on to the old one for the pictures and recipes alone. Getting a new laptop, though, means breaking it in and also transferring some of the information I have here to the new one.

Not sure as yet what would be the best way to do that. Write it to CD-ROM, computer network cable, some kind of transfer cable, upload it to an online storage, save it on a flash drive?

I'd love any suggestions you might have!

Technorati Tags: laptop,computer

SNOW!!

Holy cow, we've had a lot of snow lately! OK, so it's not as much as some other parts of the country, but bear in mind that I live in the Grand Ole South where average winter time temperatures are about 50 degrees F. Not so this year, I think. We've had 5 snowfalls since the first of the year, and it's just now going on the middle of February.

The first and second snowfall fell on my sister's and my birthdays respectively. We've had snow every week since then, with the last being a full-blown winter storm. Totals in our state ranged from 24 inches in the northwest to 3 inches in the south, with the area I live in receiving 8 inches. For us, with no real winter road preparations budget in place for the state, that's almost a disaster.

Temperatures this past week have been extremely low, too. Where I live, the temperature dipped to 0 this morning! Thankfully, I do prepare for every event, which means I had fixed air leaks around the doors, pulled heavy curtains over windows and doors, and even covered the front of the window air conditioner with a heavy bath towel to help ward off frigid drafts.

I have large single pane, solid glass windows which have been covered with plastic to help insulate them. In the afternoons, though, I can actually open the curtains and blinds on the living room windows and allow the sun to warm the house to a point where I can turn off all heat but the small bathroom heater, which I have just done. Since the winter sun is farther over the rooftop, it works out to do this around 11:00 to 11:30.

I am really hoping this is the last snow event of the season, but there are still a few weeks to go. We've been known in the past to get snow in March.

Technorati Tags: weather,snow

Between jobs tips

It seems as though there are at least part-time jobs available in my area. I just did a quick search for merchandising jobs and came up with several that were a short drive away. I bet you could find something through this, too.

Some of these jobs are full-time, which could be a real bonus for many of you if you've been looking for work. I realize these might not always pay what you're used to, but it's a start.

If you are out of work, then maybe it's time to reset your priorities.

• Do you really need two cars, a boat, a jet ski and a camper?
• How many TVs do you need in your house, if any?
• Can you cut the cable bill out and still survive?
• Can you cut the home internet out and use one of the many available free wifi hotspots?
• Assess your wardrobe. List things on ebay or Craigslist for sale. You probably don't wear half the things you own!
• Take a look at your meals. Eliminate eating out until you've got your feet back on the ground financially. Cook from scratch using Once a Month or Once a Week Cooking techniques. A few hours in the evening and you can have a lot of meals prepped and in the freezer!
• Reduce your need for electricity by installing CFLs, learning to turn the thermostat down in the winter, and plugging everything into inexpensive power strips that can be switched off when the item is not in use. Unplug chargers and eliminate those phantom loads.
• Preplan your trips so that you can do all your shopping and errands at one time.
• Pay bills online to cut out wasteful trips in your vehicle.
• LIVE CHEAPLY!!

Technorati Tags: job,employment

Employment troubles

Every so often I think I should get a part-time job to help fill in the financial gaps. However, I'm not going to. After all, my goal is to be able to walk away from the job I have now! Adding more hours to my schedule will not make that happen. It would only serve to make me even more exhausted and less able to build a home income.

Thoughts recently have crossed my mind about switching jobs. It's hard to do in this economy though. Many people who have quit their jobs are now unemployed, and the outlook is pretty bleak. Finding new employment just isn't that easy, regardless of your skills and training. I know of a fellow who has two years of law school but is working in a local factory. He couldn't complete his schooling and he couldn't find anything better to work at, so now he's sort of stuck.

It's not a bad job. It's just that his level of intelligence and education don't suit the work he does. Maybe, though, that's the way more people should be thinking. Lower the standards a bit so you can be employed at something. Bills have to be paid, and collectors don't really care what your job is as long as you're paying the bills.

I hear so many people complaining about foreigners taking American jobs. Well, maybe if Americans didn't think it was beneath them to wash dishes, clean toilets, or pick produce, they'd have a job today!

Technorati Tags: employment