HYDROPONICS Systems For SELF-SUSTAINABLE LIVING

Words

"Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be."  - Khalil Gibran

A great website for using up leftovers is Big Oven.  You simply select what leftovers you have and it searches for recipes to use them up!

Plant Guide Link

Sprout Robot is a free planting guide for gardeners.  They do have an optional membership program you can join and have seeds sent to you at the time they need to be planted. The free plant guide breaks down planting into weeks in your zone.  Very helpful when you are unsure when to plant.

Better Late Than Never

I'm sorry I didn't update last week or post but truth be told we haven't done anything of interest lately.  Still cutting wood when the weather permits.  We got the dirt bikes out last weekend but the track was a little too wet so we didn't ride.  Buddy cut his ear out playing in the creek.  It bleed something terrible but finally got him fixed up and he seems to be ok.  There for a while I didn't know he lost so much blood.  All in all a rather low key last few weeks.
We had company last week and that was fun as usual.  but made for a busy time so not much was accomplished.  We skipped our weekly meeting this week there wasn't much to discuss other than the grocery shopping list.
One thing that's worth a mention is the amount of food that Zach has started to consume.  he can now put away as many biscuits and pancakes as his dad.  That makes for a change in the quantity that I have to cook.  Just this weekend he was sitting at the table and says " I hate to see good pancakes go to waste"  and forks the rest onto his plate.  That child ended up eating five pancakes that morning.  But he ate that amount every morning over the long vacation. 
A few errands have to be run this week.  This week we should also be having a budget meeting again.  Time to start thinking about getting the garden broke up and seeds started inside.  The weather has been so pleasant the last few days it makes me think about replacing the sand in the pool filter a little early.  If the weather holds I may go ahead and bring up the deck furniture.  I'll have figure out a new placement for things since we have added the mudroom. It shrunk the size of the deck more than I like but we'll just have to make the best of it.  One good thing is it provided a more shady area that will be welcome come the middle of summer.  Normally we have to put up the gazebo tent for shade but i think we will be good without it this year.  "There's no great loss without some small gain."
Have a great day!
Until next time.....Kristi.

Ain't That the Truth!

Heavenly Isn't It?

Made these over the weekend.  Very, very good!

Cream Cheese Danish

Makes You Think

We watched this video a couple years ago and it really makes you stop and think before purchasing something new.  Combine what you learn through this video and The 30 day list  concept and suddenly spendthrift ways come to a halt.

Some people try to go a whole year of not purchasing new. Of course you would want to set up your own standards to do that. Such as my list of things to only buy new would be pillows, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, shoes, and light bulbs. Ever try to find a used light bulb? Hard to judge the hours clocked on that sucker, I tell ya!

Anyway the list would probably contain several more things but the idea is to buy used when you can, borrow or rent when it isn't something used regularly and when it has to be purchased new don't get the fever and impulse buy; make sure you are getting good quality merchandise.

If you can find twenty minutes now or later take time to watch this video. It's very interesting and something we should all be aware of.

Keeping My Motivation

Since starting our debt reduction plan this year, it has meant a few life style changes, a few more extra chores to add to the list, and a few changing of habits,  but over all it hasn't been that much of an intrusion into our daily routine.  Charlie insists it is more disrupting to my everyday life than his because, as he puts it, he still gets up, puts on clean clothes, goes to work, and comes home to dinner same as usual.  Where as the clean clothes he puts on is from water toted from the rain barrel and then hung up to dry instead of tossed in the dryer, and the meals are homemade, etc. 
I'm  saying all this not to toot my own horn but to instead show how yes, somethings have changed around here but it isn't so much extra work as it is a change of mindset. Once you get used to it they become a habit just as anything else. 
One thing I did request of Charlie was to have a weekly meeting.  I told him this would keep me motivated on those days when I just didn't want to make a white sauce for a casserole when everyone else could open a can of soup and toss in theirs.  (see, I'm not a saint, I get bitter sometimes)  I know myself well enough to tell him from the get go that- " I will lose my motivation along the way and I'm going to need your help." 

These weekly budget meetings on Wednesday nights allow us to go over the checkbook after his check has posted in the bank earlier that day.  We go over any bills to be paid that week and see how much that leaves us.  We like watching the extra grow because that extra gets sent to the credit card to knock a chunk off it.  Eventually we are going to blow it out of the water!  That being said some weeks are more exciting than others.  We always finish with the weekly grocery sale paper.  We make a list of things to stock up on and just things we need in general.  So we are in agreement before we get to the store later that week on what to buy and how much.  That way there is no debate or confusion once we get there. Lastly we go over any unplanned and planned future expenses.  For example, this spring we will have to replace the sand in our pool filter.  We knew this when we closed it last year so we have it on our expense sheet to remind us as it gets closer to time.  Since we planned for it ahead of time it shouldn't be such a blow to our budget. 

One other note is that our son, eleven, sits in these meetings with us.  I wanted him to start understanding how money works.  I wanted him to understand the inflow and outflow of it.  I also wanted him to learn from our mistakes.  He gets to see how important it is for your money to work for you and not the other way around.  This way he sees where we are, what our goals are, and what he can do to help out; like making sure to turn the TV off when he is finished watching it.  If there is any praise to be doled out like keeping his room clean for three weeks straight then that is addressed as is any requests for dinner that week.  A crude menu plan is made before ending the meeting. 

Then it's on to popcorn and a board game for Family Game Night!
(I usually end up losing to Zach, every stinking time!)

And that is about it!  That's how we do it so far and it's working for me.  I feel like I have the motivation I need to get by one week at a time.  I also hope Zach has a better understanding of what we want to accomplish now.  Our goals reach far beyond just getting out of debt but those are still a little scary for me right now and I'm not ready to voice those just yet.  But when the time comes I'll be putting them on here and sharing with you. 

Putting this all on here at the blog helps in so many ways.  It holds me accountable.  It lets me preen when I'm excited and it makes me do the crawl of shame when I have to admit I failed.  Thanks so much for listening as we try to do this. 

I hope your goals are coming to light.  I pray you find the motivation you need this week to accomplish them. 

Hope you'll stop by again......Kristi.

Moving forward in 2012.

Dog Treat Update

Zach and I made the Peanut Butter Dog Treats from yesterday's link post.  They were very simple to make and the dough was easy to work with.  The dogs seem to love them.  We will definitely be making these again. 

Dog Treat Recipes

Another link today but this site is amazing!

All kinds of homemade goodies for your pet pooch!

The link I'm posting is to a specific recipe called Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits that I want to try but the whole site is chock full of such neat ideas.  Some recipes are made with dog food you already have wet or dry but vamps it up to the treat plateau.

Happy eating to your favorite furball!

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Homemade Cheez-Its Link

Taking the lazy route today after all the candy making for Valentine's Day. 

Here is a link to make Homemade Cheez-Its.  (yes, I call them cheez-its instead of cheese-its, I am who I am)

These are really good!

The only thing I did different was flip them half way through cooking so they would be crispy on both sides.

I also added a little cayenne pepper powder to them to add a little kick, no heat, just kick. 

Happy eating!

Homemade Cheez-Its

We're on the home stretch. Tomorrow is the big day!

And my favorite love song of all time.....complete with puppies and kittens:

 

Marriage

Marriage is more than just good times and happiness together. Sometimes there’s pain and tears. Fresh wounds and old scars from the past that gets molded into the mix.

I remember the giddiness of being newlyweds and the playfulness about our days. Like the water hose fight right after we were married. In the rush of the blinding water we forgot about that rusty roll of hog wire…..I still have the scar.

There was that four wheeler ride after dark that was so romantic until we missed the turn in the dark and hit the ditch. I was still pulling briars out days after.

Marriage was painful those days.

 Later there was the exploding ditch that knocked me down up on top of the hill and left him with a hairless face and singed smelling. I was pregnant with our son at that time. Marriage was scary that day.

There were the knight in shining armor days when decked out in Redwing boots and demin shorts, handgun at the ready, he kept watch on the trespasser next door. A drizzle was falling and my heart in my chest I waiting and watched and prayed. Once all was clear I could see him trekking back up our hill, my hero heading home back to my arms, when the slick bottom boots on the wet grass tried to yank him back from our haven…..he instigated the most amazing, never again attempted, James Bond roll. Up he popped again, never once having dropped his gun. How we laughed that day.

Then there was the menacing skunk -the trash bag destroyer. Armed with a rifle my white knight set out on a mission that day. I’ll never forget him jumping up on the hood of that car when the skunk came out of the bag sooner than expected. I’ll also never forget standing ready at the washing machine armed with vinegar as he undressed outside the back door. Marriage stunk that day.

There were signs that these days were to be expected. I’d heard the tales of his dangerous past. Falling out of the apple tree, landing on the doghouse, and putting a nail through his tongue into the roof of his mouth.

Falling through floors, incidences with wenches outside of barn lofts all in the name of playing.

There were also the wheeled accidents  tricycles down sets of stairs, bicycles wrecks with handlebars to the throat, and a three wheeler wreck that started out as a “watch this “ and resulted in trying to eat up a gravel road entirely on his own. That didn’t deter him though, years later he upgraded to a motorbike and an asphalt road.

Some events were simply from rushing around. Such as with a certain light fixture, having changed the bulb, he replaced the globe and dropped back down to finish his project underneath. The fixture fell and broke apart across the back of his head. Had I blinked I’d have missed it.

The VCR repair, one last tweak after testing it resulted in an Aborigine dance across the kitchen floor. He forgot to unplug it. How I laughed that day.

A failure to listen to one another can be blamed for some accidents. Words like “shouldn’t the truck be on a level spot first?” , or, “let me help you” went unheeded and he flipped the dirt bike out the side of the truck. That event resulted in an evening spent in the emergency room and I was awarded the “Yes, I should have listened to you” line anytime I bring it up.   Ever.  Still.   Like, all the time.

Through it all we have looked back at the events over the course of our marriage and found laughter in each one. What was once scary or painful or stinky at the time became fun memories over the years.

We started out this journey with laughter and I hope that’s how we go out.

He always says,” you can’t be careful and have fun too.”

So I’ll simply say…. Have fun Charlie! I love you!

Happy Anniversary! (#16)

Kristi.

Almost Friday Funny

Post credited to Doing My Best for Him for sharing this hilarious news paper article. 

Not Just For Pizza- Pizza Dough

Pizza crust is very versatile and inexpensive.

If you want to get away from traditional pizza, then roll out flat and add ingredients of choice, roll up and bake.

Some combinations to choose from:

Pepperoni and black olives, and mozzarella- I don’t use pizza sauce in mine but you can.

Ham and cheddar

Chicken, broccoli and cheddar

Cooked seasoned taco meat, tomatoes, and cheese-refried beans, rice, etc.

Scrambled eggs, sausage/bacon/ham, cheese

To make it pretty I like to drizzle a little olive oil on top of the roll and sprinkle with a little shredded cheese. Top with chives or parsley and powdered parmesan cheese.

These are great hot out of the oven, sliced, and dipped in ranch dressing. They taste a lot like hot pockets.

Pizza Crust:

This makes one thick crust or two thin crusts. I usually just half the recipe for one thin pizza.

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 ½ cup all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Add in sugar, salt, and oil. Mix, then add in flour. Spread on lightly greased pizza pan. (can sprinkle greased pan with corn meal, though not necessary) Let rise in pan for a while 30 minutes if possible. Then spread with toppings and bake 400* for 15-20 minutes.

If making rolls you can skip the rise time. After adding all ingredients roll out on floured board. Spread on topping to within an inch from edge and then roll up jelly roll style and tuck under ends. Spread with oil and cheese across top of roll and bake at 400* for around 15-20 minutes. Until crust is baked and golden.

When making the hot pocket rolls I make the recipe with amounts stated and make two rolls.(they are easier to handle ) That way you can make two different variations of them in one cooking.

Happy eating!

A Boy's Bedroom Redo: Extremely Dusty Edition

Zach wanted to rearrange his room last week. His one request was to move his desk to the big window so he could look out while on the computer(wonder who he got that from?)


Before:

Sleeping and gaming area.

Sitting and playing area.

Office area.

 After:

New office area with a view!

Gaming area.

Sleeping area.

Now on the video games!

Trash to Treasure

Let me tell you about my dishes.....

While helping my father move two weeks ago, we were placing belongings to be stored out in his barn.  After numerous trips over, around, and running into a box out in the aisle, I stopped to see what was in it.  At first glance all I could see was shredded paper -handy work from a mouse.  Upon further inspection I could see dishes covered in dirt and mud.  I ,being on the hunt lately for extra bowls, asked Daddy about the dishes that obviously had been in the barn for sometime now.  He said take them on he didn't want them.  So I tossed them in the truck and took them home. 

When I found time to do something with them it was too cold to wash them off outside under the hydrant but they were way too dirty to wash in the sink.  I decided to clean them in the bathtub.  Armed with a tub scrub brush and rubber gloves and shampoo I took to cleaning and what emerged was this beautiful gold-rimmed plate with pink dogwood blossoms.  After admiring the pattern I flipped it over and went to scrubbing the backside and the words Homer Laughlin became visible.  I froze, I couldn't believe my eyes!  Homer Laughlin has been around since the early 1900's.  Homer and his brother actually started making dinnerware in the late 1800's but his brother sold his share and it became the Homer Laughlin company in the early 1900's.  This is the company that produced the famous Fiesta line from the thirties until the sixties.  Plus thousands more before and after the fact. 

I found two different stamps on the whole lot.  F 49 N 6 and B 49 N 6.  Once I Googled how to read the stamp, I learned the F and B at the beginning was the month they were manufactured.  So B was February and F was June.  And the year?  1949!  Thus the next number in sequence 49.  N 6 was the plant in which they were produced.  

I was so excited to behold this treasure and after questioning Daddy as to where he got them, he replied," In an old trailer I traded for and then later resold.  That was just part of the junk I had to clean out of it!" 

One person's junk is another person's treasure.

Lovely!

Mini Paperless Cupcakes Waiting For Icing

Paperless Kitchen Progress

The paperless kitchen challenge is going great so far. Largely in part due to drastically reducing our use of paper towels last year. I’m thinking that had we not done that and went cold turkey this year, then we would be sweating a little. I got used to reaching for a hand towel last year so the no-paper-towel-thing hasn’t really bothered me.

But let me show you my top shelf in the pantry.

EEEEEK!!!!!

But there’s paper products in my paperless kitchen?!?!

Well, yes there is. And here’s why.

The paper towels are still from that ridiculously overpriced package I bought last year-October 7, 2011. The fact we still have 8 rolls left(can't see them all in the pic) is promising. I’m not going to throw away money either so they’ll sit up there until life happens and I just can’t bear to touch it with a regular towel. With three people and three pets those things happen sometimes. They’ll also be good during hunting season and processing meat. Less regular towels to sanitize. But once they’re gone, they’re gone!

The package of napkins and paper plates were purchased at Christmas. I made cinnamon rolls for the guys at my husband’s work and sent those along to be used. Come to find out, another fellow brought meatballs that day along with disposable napkins and plates so these never got opened.

The paper cups are from Charlie. He went to work sick a few weeks ago and instead of buying high priced individual orange juice cartons he purchased a half gallon and bought these cups to drink it out of. So I have what’s left in my pantry. They can be used when we have kids around or this summer when we have pool parties.

The resealable bags are from meat processing over the winter. And will be used for that next winter or over the summer/fall to store our garden produce.

The biggest problem I have had is not using paper plates. Sometimes over the course of a busy weekend it’s hard to fight the urge to grab those instead. But then I have to remind myself that it only takes a few seconds to wash a plate.

It takes twenty one days typically to make a habit and the habit is there. But sometimes so is temptation. (smile)

So what about your challenges this year? Resolutions? I hope you are succeeding in them.

“Victory belongs to the most persevering.”-Napoleon

Moving Forward in 2012!

Have a great day!

Kristi.

Tortillas

I love using homemade tortillas. They are quick and easy and inexpensive to make. Make up a batch fresh when needed or make ahead and store in the refrigerator. Make up a really big batch and freeze until needed.

They can be used for tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc.  Fried for chips. Or my favorite is a breakfast burrito on the weekend breakfast menu. Made with bacon or sausage and scrambled eggs, sprinkle with cheese and served with salsa. Yum!

One other way is to lay a layer of pepperoni on bottom, add in black olives is desired, cheese, and a little pizza sauce. Plus any other ingredients like ham if you wish. Then fold burrito style and fry in oil. Tastes just like the pizza rolls from the deli only better because you control how much sauce and ingredients are in them.

My favorite tortilla recipe:

Tortillas

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ cup all vegetable shortening

Cut shortening in until large clumps are gone. Add in ½ cup hot water (not boiling) Knead for about 3 minutes. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Divide into balls for desired size tortillas. Roll out thin and cook med-high for 1 minute, flip and cook for 1 minute, flip back to 1^st side and cook for 1 minute more. (Puffing up is normal.) If making to use right away store under a dampened towel. To reheat from the frig I place under a damp towel and microwave until warm and pliable.



Happy eating!

Truth Time

The last day of the month and how did we do on our grocery spending?

Let me start out by saying( because it will make me feel better, ‘mkay?) when a lot of blogs have a Boost Your Pantry Month/Week or a No Spend Month/Week they tend to stock up before hand. Just this past month one blogger in particular stated that she was stocking up in December so as not to go over her hundred dollar limit in January. I maintain that this is cheating. Some say it is good planning but I digress….

We didn’t stock up ahead because we didn’t know we were going to try to do the twenty dollar limit. We just decided and headed out.

So of course we ran out of stuff along the way.

Plus I always check the weekly sale paper for good stock up prices and they had several this month.

I’m not going to pass those up especially when it’s stuff we need now.

Well the first week of the month we went and spent $21.96 On potatoes , oil (on sale) and eggs and sinus meds and coffee. (all these things we were out of)

Pretty good.

Then we ran out of fiber. So $12.88 was the next week. (outrageous but needed)

We decided to go back and pick up more eggs since the store had them on sale 3 dozen for $4.00.

We also picked up a few other things to get us on through the month. Our total was $10.01

Charlie got sick with a sinus infection so he picked up orange juice and Epsom salts. $4.76

We ran out of dry dog food. I use it to supplement the rice and bread for much needed nutrients. The bill was $8.23.

The store ran a sale on corn meal which we were completely out of. We picked up four bags for $8.66 total.

On the way to help Dad move we stopped and bought disposable bowls for the lunch that I packed. I know PAPER! But I didn’t have enough of my own bowls to serve everyone. So sometimes you have to make exceptions. But I will be adding a few extra ceramic bowls to my collection as I find them cheap. So next time I’ll be prepared and no more buying disposables! Cost $3.99.

The last week of the month we ran out of shortening and margarine. Charlie stopped on the way home and bought those plus bananas for $12.97.

The local store also put canned green beans back on sale 3 for $1.00. We bought three flats last time they ran it for that price and still had two whole flats plus three cans from the third. But that is a great price for around here and we can’t buy the seeds and the lids for the jars to can our own that cheap so we purchased four flats on Friday for $20.26.

Which means we went way over but like I said it wasn’t set in stone. Plus a lot of it was stock up sale items and just things we ran out of but needed.

Our total including the initial shopping trip at the first of the month was $103.72.

We’ll see if we can’t beat it this next month.

***********************

On another note, we received our utilities this past weekend. Our gas bill this time last year ran us a little over a hundred dollars. This year with the wood stove and limiting our use of the bedroom gas heater our bill was 11.42! Yay!

By unplugging our energy drainers like the coffee pot, tv, cell charger, etc., we lowered our electric as well. Last month our bill was 173.45 on 29 days. This month our bill was 150.54 on 32 days-more days on the meter and it was less! Amazing how just remembering to unplug something that isn’t being used and turning out a light when you leave the room makes such a difference!

We will continue to see how low we can get it this next month since Charlie adjusted the temperature on the refrigerator. Curious to see what impact that will have on the bill. I love my side by side but it is by far the biggest energy eater we have. And yes, it is an energy efficient appliance; purchased in 2010. But the difference in the bill between it and our old not-suppose-to-be-energy-efficient-because-of-it’s-age model is astounding! The old one is still running and being used in the shop to hold water. Our bill out there for the month was 32.96. That’s the frig and two chest deep freezers. Doesn’t sound too bad to me.

Anyway, we will see and I’ll let you know!

Good luck to you if you are trying to lower your utilities too!

Have a great day!

Until next time……Kristi.

Happy Monday to you! Thought I'd show you a nifty wood rack that Chuck built and Zach helped put together.

Here it is place. 

(Note: Yes, that's osb board for the floor.  We will put down flooring in the spring once we can take down the stove. It doesn't have to be pretty now to be useful now.)

The guys on the roof patching a few places.

Zach nailing in a shingle.

This is what Bud did the entire time they were hammering up on the roof.  He couldn't figure out who was knocking on the roof.  (smile)

On a totally different note, you can tell we are nearing the end of the month.  The shelves in the frig are looking rather bare.  Ha!
But the door is still full of condiments, go figure.

Have a great day!

PS.  This is what you do after all that hard work:

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do."-Epictetus

Homemade Tornado Potatoes

I love Tornado Potatoes.  Different resteraunts call them different things but basically it's a spiral cut potato or thinly sliced potato deep fried, seasoned with cajun, barbecue or ranch seasoning, topped with cheese and/ or bacon bits.  Really good! 

Above are my potatoes that I prepare at home.  I scrub a potato (don't bother peeling it) and slice it  long ways and wide width as thin as possibe with a vegetable peeler.  ( hey, it works for me)
Deep fry them and season with creole seasoning. 

We top with cheese, or cheese sauce or nacho cheese sauce from the dollar store.  ( they have a nacho cheese sauce in a squeeze bottle at Dollar General that is very close in taste to what our local eatery uses.  It's located down their dollar isle. Think it's called Mr. Moo )

Then sprinkle on bacon I cooked and crumbled or we cheat and buy real bacon bits for salads.

Then drizzle with Ranch dressing.

Yummy!  Perfect if you are craving take out!

You can experiement with different toppings on these and go for something different say taco or chili for a few starters.  Lots of ways to use these.  They are great alone. They taste just like potato chips but cheaper! 

Happy eating!

Just a Few Sewing Notions

A few sewing projects completed.

First up, a plastic bag (plarn) rug.  I'm using it as a placemat outside underneath the dog's food bowl. 

A reversible swiffer cover.  I have the name brand of these a Mr. something or other (smile).  I paid five dollars a piece for them.  They are washable and work fine but sometimes you just need something smaller.  These homemade swiffer covers are made from the Sugar n Cream yarn $1.77 at Walmart.  It doesn't take a full roll.  I believe I will have enough between two rolls to make three covers.  Plus you use one side and flip it over and get twice the usage over Mr. Shiney Head! 

I didn't make these but snagged them at the 50% off sale at goodwill.  More napkins for my paper free kitchen! 

Lastly, this is my new tote bag.  I'll use this more in the summer time but wanted to get it done early.  It's made out of Sugar n Cream Seaside.  I'd love to make another one of these but smaller to use as a purse.....hmmm. 

Until next time, Kristi.

Quick Update

Taking a few minutes to show you a few projects we completed a while back.  Proof that we haven't been completely lazy lately.   Though we have spent a few days on the couch being sick over the course of the last couple of weeks.  It's this crazy up and down weather we've been having.  We finally all seemed to kick it in time to work at my father's house this past weekend.  He needed help moving out. Charlie and his dad took the tin off the trailer( it looked brand new) and they also took the rafters off.  We had intentions of making another wood shed with it but I think it would be nice to build a shed to park the boat under.  We have it tarped but the water pools in the tarp and ends up dumping a lot of water in there anyway.  It's such a pretty boat (can you say that about a boat?) that we'd like to keep it that way. 

Here is a pic of Daddy's trailer.  They already took the metal off the top before I could get a pic. ( Charlie's mom and I were busy moving stuff from inside and I mean a lot of stuff!) (smile) I'll post a pic of his new house once it's completed. 





****

One of our back projects we completed  the week after Christmas.  We needed to expand our wood shed.  Here's how he did it.

Took the tin off the side of the shed.

Made it into the roof of the lean-to.

View from the back.

*****

Charlie made me a new knob for my skillet lid.  The original black plastic one broke.  He turned this on the lathe and made it out of food grade white plastic called delrin.

Have a great day!

Until next time, Kristi.

Picture Thought

After being gloomy all day Thursday the sun finally peeked thru just as it was setting.

Picture Thoughts on Off-Grid

I promise to slack up about off-grid living but thought this was a neat comparison:

Off-grid yester year.

Off-grid today.

Have a great day!

Snack Time!

This was featured on Eat at Home, submitted by Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain. 

I halfed the recipe. And it still made a large batch.  I used American Honey for the bourbon.  It was all I had in the house but it made it so sweet!  Really, really good!

Bourbon Bacon Caramel Popcorn

9 strips of bacon
2 1/4 cups of unpopped kernel corn
1 c butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 c maple syrup
1/2 c bourbon
1 tbl vanilla extract
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
Vegetable oil
kosher salt
Directions:
Fry bacon and set aside.
Put 3 tbl of oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
Add 3 kernels to the pot – when they begin to pop, add 3/4 c of popcorn (you’ll be making three batches), cover and shake pot occasionally, so popcorn doesn’t burn.
Remove pot from heat once popping has slowed, place popcorn in a large bowl.
Repeat for remaining batches.
Heat oven to 250 degrees.
Crumble bacon over finished popcorn.
In a large pot, bring butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
Stir in bourbon, vanilla extract, salt and baking soda and mix. Be careful, the mixture tends to take on a life of its own and might over flow.
Pour caramel mixture over bacon and popcorn mixture.
Toss to coat evenly.
Spread mixture over three baking sheets covered in parchment.
Sprinkle each tray with kosher salt
Bake for 1 hour, stirring the mixture every 15 minutes.
Remove from oven. Cool for 1 hour.

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Whistle While You Work

There seems to have been a sudden shift in the subject matter on here. That’s because there has been a sudden shift in us.

I talk a lot about saving money now , saving on electricity, going off-grid(on some things, not everything!) J

I’m going to repeat myself here and say we were well on our way to being debt free by the time Charlie turned 35. Then the business derailed us, or rather, we allowed ( taking ownership here), the business to distract us from that goal. Along with making wants into needs, placing them on credit cards for instant gratification. This didn’t happen yesterday. It happened several years ago and we’ve been coasting ever since. In denial I suppose or disappointed in ourselves for being so close to the finish line and then detouring and never crossing it.

We know the tricks of tightwadding. It isn’t something we have to relearn. Once you’ve done it you will always have the know-how. What we lacked was motivation.

Slowly over the past few months, seeds were planted in our minds. We did not make resolutions , although we did sit down together as a family and discussed goals we would like to accomplish this year. The change just happened to coincide with the beginning of the new year. A large part, truth be told, probably being that the first two months are always constant bills. Everything falls due at once. Those once-a-year costs attack January and February with a vengeance. .

For us it is the following:

Property taxes
Membership for insurance
Safety deposit box fee
Life insurance premium
Auto insurance premium
House insurance premium
Annual vaccinations for the critters
Termite station inspections
Income tax prep fee
Along with hospital bills still pending from Charlie’s allergic reaction
Lab fees associated with it as well.
Plus the regular monthly bills, mortgage, utilities, cell phone bill, etc.

They say fear is a great motivator, well I’m here to say that so is disgust. Disgust is what I’m feeling. I’m tired of paying “the man“. Granted that some of those bills will never waiver. We can’t eliminate them all. But if we paid off our house and credit card bills, then that money could be saved. We are lucky to have paid off our shop. Both our vehicles are paid for as is the boat. But there is still work to be done. And a nest egg to build. We are tired of working for the money and ready to make the money work for us! We have gotten serious about it once more.

A few things that we are doing to work toward our goal:

We are burning wood instead of using the gas wall heater. We do use the one back in our bedroom to knock the chill off before bed on the coldest of nights and then turning it back down before hopping in bed. A warm comforter helps as does a snuggle buddy. J Zach’s room is upstairs so all the heat naturally goes up there. We actually have to worry about his room getting too warm. Luckily he is cold natured. J

I’m making everything form scratch that I possibly can. Chuck provides the meat for the freezer. And we buy lots of beans and rice. Stocking up when things are on sale helps too. Drinking water or kool-aid at supper. (We have given up tea. Charlie can only have the decaffeinated and it’s three dollars a box and for some reason decaf never goes on sale. If I can find it at the discount store I buy it but otherwise it’s water at supper.)

Not using paper products in the kitchen keeps expenses down too. And it isn’t any more work. I’m washing dishtowels anyway, might as well toss in cloth napkins.

I only wash when I have a full load now. I line dry all the clothes. Having the wood stove helps with this. I can wash and dry four loads of clothes in one day. The wood heat draws the moisture right out. In the winter this allows me to put them away the same day just like those using electric dryers. In the summer time they go on the outside lines.

I have been using a rain barrel to help fill up my washing machine on the initial fill up. The rinse comes directly from the meter as always.

Turning off lights during the day. I only turn on the lights when we are in school or I need one while cooking. I also unplug anything that isn’t being used and has a light. For instance the coffee pot and my cell charger. I also unplug the tv and dvd player. Anything that has a remote is never truly off, it’s on standby and drawing energy. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

I’ve started making half of the dog and cat food. I still buy dry food but I use dried out bread, corn bread, and/or biscuits, then a layer of dry food, then I drizzle homemade water and flour gravy, seasoned with beef bouillon and liquid smoke, over the top of it all. The gravy tastes great! I’m using up the beef bouillon instead of tossing it, Charlie can’t have it anymore due to his allergy to beef. Big Dog, Bowie, loves this concoction. He even eats the new dry food I bought that he didn’t like. The cat prefers her dry food plain and her gravy on the side. Buddy is a little more picky. He gets a light sprinkle of cheese on his( he loves cheese and it adds extra calcium although this might be a problem in older dogs as they sometimes become lactose intolerant and should limit milk products. At any age dogs should have limited milk products. It’s hard on their digestive tracts- as told to me by our vet.)

We will once again be having a garden this year. ( I missed it last year. I missed a lot of things last year.) We will also be firing up the boat to restock our fish in the freezer. Once our blackberry bushes start bearing we will have homemade jelly.

We’ve implemented a “twenty dollar a month for groceries act” as a guideline. It isn’t set in stone so don’t freak out on me. We are mainly able to do this because we have food storage to supplement, plus his harvesting our meat during the season.

The twenty dollars a month puts things into perspective. For example, I’m willing to drink water at supper as opposed to $3-a-box tea so I can buy our $3-a-pack toilet paper. Priorities are a wonderful things, am I right about it? Ha!

It’s quality time together cutting wood. It’s playing board games instead of being scattered about the house playing on computers or watching tv alone. It’s eating stove popped popcorn that tastes better than microwave popcorn.

I’m not going to lie, it isn’t always fun. It means more work for all of us, but not so much that it isn’t worth it.

And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. 2 Chron. 31:21

"God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be employed; and that employment is truly our Father’s business’. He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough, for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves."- J. Ruskin

Have a great day!

Motivated and moving forward in 2012!

Kristi.

Watch Your Language!

Over the holidays I was discussing people going "off-grid" and my interest in learning more about it and how they are faring at it. Later, a friend wanted to know if we were going anti-government. At first, I laughed about the misconstruction but over the next few days I was still puzzled over what I had said to make them think that in the first place.

About a week later, while cooking supper, I was going back over the conversation in my mind once again.

Then bing, bang, BOOM!

Words came in a thread. I began piecing them together. Off grid, grid, coordinates, location, off, off the map, hidden, bunker, survivalist, radical, BINGO!

I was talking about going off the power grid and they were picturing off the map, as in can’t find a trace of me, hiding in a bunker with enough ammo to start a small militia! Then I did laugh, at my ignorance. It took me that long to come to that conclusion! I could see clearly in my mind's eye what I meant when talking to our friend, but conveying it was a little murky.

We aren’t environmentalists, extremists, or even greenies, though I do tend to think of myself as an accidental greenie, of sorts.

I’m not seriously going off-grid. We aren’t set up for it. We do not live in an area with constant wind, so a wind mill would be out of the question. We don’t have a creek with a constant flow of water so a water wheel wouldn’t work . But it would be so neat if it would! Could you imagine having that as a backup in a power failure instead of a gasoline powered generator? Because with a generator we would always be caught without gasoline at eleven o’clock at night. Trust me on this one.   

Actually I was interested in off-grid on a more subtle basis instead. Using a spoon to mix batter as opposed to using it’s electric counterpart. Hand kneading dough instead of using a dough paddle on a mixer or a bread machine. Little things.

Why, when it seems like a penny is all your saving,? Well a penny adds into a dollar sooner or later. You’d be surprised how much appliances pull on the meter. And this is one area I can control.

Let me give you an example on the control factor: Let’s say I go to our bank that holds the mortgage on our house, walk right up to John, our loan officer, and say, “ You know John, our house this past month has kept itself neater it seems. I only had to dust occasionally, that creaky floor board didn’t creak as much , and that leaky faucet seems to have healed itself. I’d say that deserves a reward. So how about lowering our house payment this month?”

John of course is standing there blinking at me. One blink, two blink, three…..mentally he is wondering if they changed the date of April Fool’s Day without telling him.

“Ok,” I say, “then how about waving our interest on it this month?”

Again, with the blinking. John is now pondering what fishing hole would yield the most fish this afternoon, having tuned me out after my first suggestion.

What I’m getting at here is you can’t change that mortgage payment. It’s set. As is your car loan and any other loan you have out there in the ether. They do not fluctuate. But we do have expenses that fluctuate. Variable expenses.  Namely utilizes. Anytime I can do a manual operation of a task as opposed to the electrical operation, I am saving electricity. Which translates into lower electric bills and less money going out the door.

One other reason, personal reason, for wanting a backup, is that our service isn’t what it used to be. Twice last year our power was off for over 20 hours at a stretch, that’s twice we had to restock the refrigerator for food safety. The eggs, mayo, and meats had gotten warm, had to be thrown out, and that is a waste. Most of the smaller outages happened when there was no weather factor to increase the problem, like high winds, rain, or lightening. Right before Christmas the power went off twice in the same week at the same transformer!?!  The company is no longer independently owned and things that are worn out aren’t getting replaced; they are getting patched instead. Apparently there just aren’t enough funds to get things back to the quality they used to be. Which brings me back to off-grid. Whether to have it solely as your supply or just as a back up seems to be not such a "radical" idea after all.

Have a great week!

Kristi.


PS.  Every time I think of a bunker, I picture the Teletubbies house.......

Just saying..........

Moving forward in 2012!

Words To Live By

"Enjoy what you do and do your best.  The rewards will always pay off." -Sharon Ramsey

Found this recipe last week and tried it.  Had to put my own spin on it to use up peas and half a can of tomatoes out of the frig.  It was really good!

Had to pass it along.

This is the original recipe as I obtained it from Doing My Best for Him blog.

Tamale Pie

1 lb. hamburger
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can tomatoes
2 Jiffy corn bread mixes (sweet cornbread mix)
Cheese

Brown hamburger, drain, add taco seasoning. Add veggies and beans. Place in casserole dish and cover with cheese. Mix cornbread batter according to directions and pour over casserole. Bake as directed for corn bread.

Here's how I made it:

I used ground turkey and cooked diced onion with it.  Seasoned it with a little seasoning salt and then added homemade taco seasoning. 

I didn't have black beans or canned pinto beans so I used black eyed peas leftover from New Years' Dinner the day before(rinsed and drained). 

I used one can of whole kernel corn, drained.  And a half can of diced tomatoes, drained. (left over from salads)

I followed the recipe for the remainder except the sweet cornbread mix. 

I made up a" from scratch" version for that and sweetened it with maple syrup.  It made the whole house smell good.

Cornmeal Muffins

2/3 cup corn meal
1 1/3 cup flour
(for a total of 2 cups of grains)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Mix with fork or sift together.

Mix
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup shortening, melted

Add liquid to dry ingredients.  Stir to mix.  Bake about 30 minutes at 400*.  Time approx.  just watch closely around twenty. 

Happy eating.......Kristi.




 

A Little Motivation from PS22!

Moving Forward in 2012!

(BTW if you haven't watched these kids on YouTube yet, they are awesome!  In my personal opinion the videos in the auditorium seats like above have the best sound quality to fully appreciate their talent and the man that helps them find their voice.)

Love to you all on this Tuesday morning!

.....Kristi.  

The Rooster and The Hen

Depression-era poem:

Said the Little Red Rooster,
“Believe me, things are tough!
Seems the worms are getting scarcer
And I cannot find enough.
What’s become of all those fat ones?
It’s a mystery to me.
There were thousands through that rainy spell,
But now, where can they be?”

But the Old Black Hen who heard him
Didn’t grumble or complain,
She had lived through lots of dry spells
She had lived through floods of rain.
She picked a new and undug spot;
The ground was hard and firm,
I must go to the worms,” she said.
“The worms won’t come to me.”

The Rooster vainly spent his day
Through habit, by the ways
Where fat round worms had passed in squads
Back in the rainy days.
When nightfall found him supperless
He growled in accents rough,
I’m hungry as a fowl can be;
Conditions sure are tough.”

But the Old Black Hen hopped to her perch
And dropped her eyes to sleep
And murmured in a drowsy tone,
“Young man, hear this and weep.
I’m full of worms and happy
For I’ve eaten like a pig.
The worms were there as always
But, boy, I had to dig!”

Now You See It, Now You Don't

What paper towel holder?

I'm ready for this challenge!

Bring it!

To Be or Not To Be Green, That Is the Question

My sis-in-law, Heather, gave me a book at Christmas about “going green”. As she handed it to me she said it sounded like me. I was skeptical. For one, I don’t like the term “green”. I think it’s over used. It’s become a fad. Companies over use the word to market their wares and use that slogan to sell it under false pretenses. Sort of like when foods boast “no trans fat” on the front of the package in an attempt to sound healthy; they are hoping you don’t notice that it’s 6,000 calories per teaspoon. (Stepping down slowly now……as not to tip that soapbox.)

I decided to give the book a try. And not long into the book I realized this girl knows what she’s talking about. She hooked me when she warned of companies green washing you; using the slogan to save the planets resources but not really doing so. (one smart cookie)

Further into the book I caught myself saying, “I already do that.”, “I have that product” , and thinking I'm doing ok at this but then came the words“I never knew that.”

There is a lot about carbon dioxide emissions in there that I never realized before. For instance, I learned that burning natural gas releases around 320 pounds of CO2 annually. And that the average American is responsible for about 22 tons of emissions per year. I always thought industrial giants were the culprits but as it turns out personal activity accounts for more than 30 percent of all emissions in the United States.

Wow!

I would like to say that all our trash cut back, composting, and cutting out paper products in the kitchen is purely honorable but mainly it’s for selfish reasons. One reason being, I want to save money and the less we use that has to be tossed the less has to be bought and replaced. Meaning more money staying in the house than leaving it. Especially when it’s leaving for convenience items like paper towels or paper plates. Sadly, the bigger reason for our switch is just pure laziness. In my old age I don’t want to have to run to the store when I suddenly discover we are out of milk. Now I can just mix up more powdered milk. Or if we are out of paper towels I can just reach for a dish towel or cloth napkins. The homemade cloth pads are such a convenience; no taking stock constantly to keep from running out or , heaven forbid, being caught unaware.

Granted, in my laziness I’m saving three milk jugs a week from ending up in the landfill, that just happens to be a plus in my favor.

I’m learning more areas where I can make do and use what I have on hand for convenience and to recycle at the same time.

I love these scrubbies.

They are cheap and really useful in the kitchen.

I recently ran out because I forgot to pick up another package of them while at the store.

I was in need of a scrubbie but was too lazy to run to the dollar store to pick up more just for that particular cleaning job.

I looked around and remembered a crochet project of dishtowels using left over yarn and plastic bags for the centers to use for scrubbing dishes. I had plenty of plastic bags so I crocheted up about five scrubbies in just a few minutes sans the yarn. I didn’t need them to be pretty just useful. I made them in varying sizes to see what would work best for me.

They ended up working great and can actually be cleaned out better than my store bought versions. Food particles aren’t trapped in it as easily and that means better sanitation.

I’ve used them for washing dishes in the kitchen and made a few for the bathroom to use in scrubbing the vanity and shower. I’ll never go back to the store bought again.

I used to save plastic bags to use as garbage bags but because we generate less garbage now and compost more, bags were coming out our ears around the house. I’ve since made up several balls of plarn to make more scrubbies out of and even made an outside door mat.
　

I admire those that are trying to remove their carbon footprint and if everyone would just change one habit it would greatly improve things for future generations. If dinosaurs had used plastic water bottles we’d all be digging up prehistoric relics in our backyards today. Those things don’t’ break down. They’ll tell a lot about us in millenniums to come. You’ve heard of the iron age well we will be known as the plastic age. And the proof will still be here to prove it.

Just food for thought.

　
If you would like to read more about going green and learn more ways of reducing carbon dioxide emissions the book is entitled: Green Chic- Saving the Earth in Style. by Christie Matheson. 

Disclosure: I received no compensation for reference to this book.  All opinions are my own.