November 26. 2017
Hey y'all, it's me!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, cause I sure did. The Redneck was off for a four day weekend, and it was lovely having him home. It was also nice getting to sleep through the night, instead of waking up at 1 am and going back to bed at 2:30 am. That has a tendency to bumfuzzle my brain some days.
Monday I found that one of my dogs had chewed holes in my best water hose. It was so bad, the only way I could fill Fang's water trough was to actually set the chewed up part in the trough and let the water run out! Filling the horse's trough was impossible, until I remembered there was an old hose left by the former owners on the pile of stuff waiting to be hauled to the dump. It was brittle and unusable, however there were a few hose repair links on it. After cutting the chewed parts out of the newer hose, and quickly repairing it, I had saved the cost of a new hose. I also had a couple of extra repair links in case the other hoses need fixing.
We were given a nice dining set and chairs a while back, so I took our old dining table to the local consignment store, which will clear some clutter and also make me a little cash for the holidays.
Fang has a severe food allergy, so he has to be fed a pure protein diet, and that's a bit pricey. So I did some cost comparisons this week on natural protein dog foods. Turns out that the store brand was actually ten cents MORE a pound than the 'fancy' brand, so we switched. Fang won't care--he's just thrilled to eat!
I ordered one of the Redneck's Christmas gifts (A Kyle Park CD) from Amazon using one of the gift cards I earned by taking surveys online. I found a like new copy, and it will be here the first part of December. I also ordered a like new copy of Eric Brende's book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology. I have read this one several times, so I decided to get my own copy. The description of the book from Amazon says;
"What happens when a graduate of MIT, the bastion of technological advancement, and his bride move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated?
Hey y'all, it's me!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, cause I sure did. The Redneck was off for a four day weekend, and it was lovely having him home. It was also nice getting to sleep through the night, instead of waking up at 1 am and going back to bed at 2:30 am. That has a tendency to bumfuzzle my brain some days.
Monday I found that one of my dogs had chewed holes in my best water hose. It was so bad, the only way I could fill Fang's water trough was to actually set the chewed up part in the trough and let the water run out! Filling the horse's trough was impossible, until I remembered there was an old hose left by the former owners on the pile of stuff waiting to be hauled to the dump. It was brittle and unusable, however there were a few hose repair links on it. After cutting the chewed parts out of the newer hose, and quickly repairing it, I had saved the cost of a new hose. I also had a couple of extra repair links in case the other hoses need fixing.
We were given a nice dining set and chairs a while back, so I took our old dining table to the local consignment store, which will clear some clutter and also make me a little cash for the holidays.
Fang has a severe food allergy, so he has to be fed a pure protein diet, and that's a bit pricey. So I did some cost comparisons this week on natural protein dog foods. Turns out that the store brand was actually ten cents MORE a pound than the 'fancy' brand, so we switched. Fang won't care--he's just thrilled to eat!
I ordered one of the Redneck's Christmas gifts (A Kyle Park CD) from Amazon using one of the gift cards I earned by taking surveys online. I found a like new copy, and it will be here the first part of December. I also ordered a like new copy of Eric Brende's book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology. I have read this one several times, so I decided to get my own copy. The description of the book from Amazon says;
"What happens when a graduate of MIT, the bastion of technological advancement, and his bride move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated?
Eric Brende conceives a real-life experiment: to see if, in fact, all our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier and better -- or whether life would be preferable without them. By turns, the query narrows down to a single question: What is the least we need to achieve the most? With this in mind, the Brendes ditch their car, electric stove, refrigerator, running water, and everything else motorized or "hooked to the grid" and begin an eighteen-month trial run -- one that dramatically changes the way they live, and proves entertaining and surprising to readers.
Better OFF is a smart, often comedic, and always riveting book that also mingles scientific analysis with the human story, demonstrating how a world free of technological excess can shrink stress -- and waistlines -- and expand happiness, health, and leisure. Our notion that technophobes are backward gets turned on its head as the Brendes realize that the crucial technological decisions of their adopted Minimite community are made more soberly and deliberately than in the surrounding culture, and the result is greater -- not lesser -- mastery over the conditions of human existence."
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know if they can get along without all the technology most folks use today.
After a freezer inventory I found that we had plenty of meat for the next two weeks, so this shopping trip was used to stock up on some pantry essentials we were a little low on. I used to be able to buy one pound vacuum sealed bags of yeast that last a long time, but I can't find it here. I will be searching online for a good deal on bulk yeast. Those little jars and strip packages are too expensive.
I tried making sauerkraut as usual, but the head of cabbage I shredded and added salt to didn't produce enough brine. There were several things I could have tried, but instead I simply put the crock in the fridge, and I will serve the salted cabbage as part of our lunch this week. Nothing goes to waste, and we have a good addition to our meals.
The Redneck picked up the ham dinner we ordered for Thanksgiving on his way home from work Wednesday. We had Thanksgiving at a friend's home with other folks from church, so the ham was used for Friday. All I had to do was heat it and the side dishes up in the oven and microwave. The next morning I cut the rest of the ham off the bone, which I took to my friend so she can make bean soup. She makes a huge pot of it to take to many of the elderly folks in our church who don't do a lot of cooking for themselves. Her soup provides a lot of good nutrition. The meat I put in a large container to use in other meals, and I will freeze some it of for later. I predict a big pot of beans later this week!
One of the things I made with the ham was a Mexican Breakfast Casserole for Friday morning. It made a big pan, with plenty of leftovers for the Redneck's breakfasts each day this week. I also made up his snack and dessert bags for his work lunches, with home baked cookies or other desserts left over from the weekend. Along with that I made up his bottles of Koolade that he takes to work. Much cheaper than sodas from the machine. I can control the amount of sugar, and he simply refills the bottles with water from the fountain the rest of the day.
We stayed away from the Black Friday nonsense. Seriously, it's crazy to battle the crowds for bargains! I can find just as good if not better deals all year by simply being patient and doing research.
Braums is having a sale on their milk this week--2 gallons for $2.00. I will pick up 4 gallons and freeze them. All you have to do is pour about a cup out of each one before you freeze it.
I will be cleaning the filter for my central heat and A/C unit this week. It helps save money, because the unit won't have to work as hard when the filter is clean.
One last thing--I can brag that my many little efforts are paying off in the electrical department. When I opened it last week, my bill was over $40.00 LESS than it has been! Much of it has been the result of shutting off the A/C and heat on nice days and opening windows, hanging clothes on the line, hand washing dishes unless it's a really busy day, turning off lights, and unplugging anything that pulls energy when turned off, such as the microwave, television and Blu Ray player. It adds up!
Well, I got chores. Later y'all.
© Evelyn Edgett 2017
