Meat Week

Husband got a deer on Saturday, so that is getting processed tonight. He will do the cutting w. his buddies and then I will package it all up in foodsaver bags. We also went in on a portion of a cow with my sister and my parents. My Dad picked that up today, so this weekend I will process that. Its wrapped in freezer paper, but that wont cut it, so I will do the foodsaver bags on that too. Should be a fun few days, but atleast the freezer will be full!

this week....

I need a little "pull yourself up by the boot straps" speech today.
I'm feeling rotten about money and the more we need it, the more I seem to spend.
So, as a reminder to myself today, I am going to make a list of all the things I have been doing well this week to save money-

1. rekindled my romance with the bread discount store! Cha-ching!
2. thought through my meals for the week- all home cooked (as always) but no last minute pick ups. I am cleaning that cupboard out baby!
3. returned all the bottles we could find- $14 buckaroos! We used it to buy t.p. toothpaste and other needed items.
4. the furnace is off and the woodstove is going. Normally, this is the only time of year we allow the furnace to run at all- just a low temp while we are at work. But this year, we dont have any oil, so the woodstove is on early (we will see how that works out come February!)
5. We both have brought our breakfasts and lunches to work all week- husband is great about this- I am not.

So there we have it. I need to be positive and continue to focus on the things we can improve on to help save us more during these difficult times.

Remember to vote today!

A Monday morning surprise.

It seems sometimes saving money and living simply is only fun and rewarding when it is a choice. But on the other hand the skills do come in handy when all the sudden you find yourself needing to cut corners.

Every year I get a little nutty in the Fall. I think alot of New Englanders get this way. I have the overwhelming urge to stock pile food and firewood and batton down the hatches. Winter here in Maine can be pretty long and brutal and I make every effort I am ready when that first storm hits. Normal financial stresses come along with winter. Bigger electric bills, bigger fuel bills. Holidays. And both of us being in the construction business, sometimes work slows a little in the winter.

This year, before we even see a snowstorm, it sounds like a financial storm is going to hit. Husband found out this morning he is about to be layed off.

In some ways we are very prepared for this. We have about as much food as we can store. We have almost five cords of wood, which will get us into at least February if we are careful. We really aren't behind on any bills and Christmas can be small. But we live hand to mouth on what we make for the most part now and the difference between his check and unemployment is going to hurt us. That means we can put starting a family soon on hold. That means we can forget about (even a cheap) vacation this winter.

When I have money in the bank and I am making my own laundry detergent and eating food I raised, I am so proud. When I don't have two dimes to rub together, the story is slightly different.

Welcome cold weather!

Finally, it's starting to feel like fall! The heat wave is passed and I for one am so ready to move on to the next New England season- fall!
It seems every year we do better and better with being ready for winter and all that comes with it. We have over four cords of wood, all cut, split and stacked under cover. The garden is all pulled and just needs to be raked out. It was a bumper crop this year! 3 huge pumpkins, fresh veggies, pickles, relish, salsa, tomato sauce and plenty of dried herbs later, we made out pretty well I think!
We still have to clean the furnace and chimney, get the yard ready and drain the pool, but we are well ahead of where we have been in seasons past. It gives us more time to spend at the local fairs and having good times!

Summer in Maine...

Its less than 2 days away from Labor Day weekend and Maine is experiencing a heat wave. Don't laugh! I'm not talking 3 days of 80 degree temps here! We've seen the 90's all week and let me tell you, this isnt right!!

Now don't get me wrong, I can deal with a little sunshine and warm weather. But when you live in Maine (most of us anyway!) you get acustom to a 2 month summer of 80 degree temps and some rain here and there. This has been nuts and yes I am complaining!

My garden is done. Looks like someone took a leaf torch to it! I had great sucess with it this year before the heat got so bad and have more produce than I know what to do with! 25 jars of pickles, 6 jars of relish, 6 large frozen bags of tomatoes sauce, 3 huge pumpkins and a summers worth of fresh veggies galore, I have had enough! Bring on the crisp apples, the fall nights, all the good stuff fall has to offer! I am ready!

Praying for rain

This has been a strange week. I don't feel like I should be bothered by it.
But I am.

Husband got a new job, after much encouragement and pushing from me. His old job, while the pay was good, was very stressfull and unstabile. Sometimes he wouldnt get paid for the week. He would come home tired and angry. He would call me several times a day, to check in, say hi, maybe vent a little. During our long work weeks, we stayed connected. We would even ride to work together the last few months. But, atlast he got a job offer and it was time to move on to greener pastures. It's a good job working for a framing contractor.

Great! I thought. This will be a new experience for him. He will have better opportunies, be happier. And in turn, it will make things at home, that much happier.

Wrong.

We are on day 3. I don't like this job. No phone use unless on breaks and even then he doesnt call- doesnt want to call the old lady in front of the new boys at work I suppose. He starts at 6:30 and who knows when he gets out for the day. Last 2 days its been well after dinner time. Last night, I missed him so much (pathetic I know, after 2 days of barley seeing each other) that I decided to make a nice dinner to butter him up and get some attention. He came home late, chowed it down and promptly fell asleep on the couch. No "how was your day". No "thanks for dinner". He was toast. And for the record, he thinks the job is "okay".

So this morning, I woke up, in an empty bed. He was already gone. On the way to work, my hour long commute was very lonely. My hour long lunch break and hour long ride home will be too. I found myself hoping for rain. May it pour and he be rained out of work today. Maybe my old husband who needed me will come back.

homestead update

With all this beautiful summer weather who has time to sit in front of a computer! Not I! But I thought I might take a moment and catch all my loyal readers (um, to date none) up on the happenings of us.

Weather has been hot hot and the garden is doing awesome. We have some japanese beetles and I am going to have to do something about that soon. Corn is tall, blueberrys are plentiful and everything else is trucking along nicely.

The waterbarrel has yet to be used for watering, as I am still nervous about what was in the barrel, but I have been using it to wash dirty hands and feet after gardening and that has worked out really well.

The yard is doing great, we have all of our wood for the winter now, just have to stack it all and fashion a better wall around the wood shed. We are currently on the hunt for some reinforced plastic, tarps just didnt cut it last winter.

Lastly, I've been doing a bunch around the house and things are looking great. New (to us) couch and love seat, lots of weeding out the old and re organizing. I've been repurposing tons of stuff. We also have drastically cut down on waste and expenses by making our own household cleaners and laundry detergent and using alot more rags and less papertowels. I have never been a paper plate person, so our new dishes from the wedding are being used all the time!

Lastly, our new food plan. I work 45 hours a week and commute 10. So when I get home, I want the high heels off, the wine in a glass and dinner to be quick. I love to cook, but by 6 I am done for the day. I've been finding myself running around in circles when I get home, especailly if I have not planned ahead. So we are trying a new way. I do big shopping every 10 days or so. Then I make a list of all of the meals we can make with what I bought and what we have on hand. If this works right, I have atleast 10 meals. I post this list on the fridge. Whomever gets home first, picks a dinner off of the list and starts it up. No fumbling for an idea, no "oh no we dont have that!". Its all there and its ready. And I am efficiently using what is in the cuboard- I buy less because I am putting my pantry to work. It has been a life saver and my husband loves it! He's made dinner 3 times now!

anyway, thats whats new. Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

Gifts on the cheap

Today is my mothers birthday. Cash (as always) is super tight but I wanted to give her some nice gifts. So last night I racked my brain and made some home made gifts that I could make her. I ended up distilling some home made rosewater for facial tonic and making some mint foot scrub. Both came out awesome, were cheap and hopefully she loves them!

Ultimate Homestead Weekend!

Whew! What a weekend we had! I blindsided the husband a bit with a work weekend, he was expecting a relaxing one and I had other things in mind. I hit some resistance, so I took it easy on him (he has been working a ton) and did most of the work myself.

What brought this on? Well, nothing better to do for one. But I also bought the best book ever on Amazon and it arrived friday while I was at work. Do It Gorgeously- It was packed with awesome ideas and I had some things I wanted to get done anyway, so I set my mind on getting some projects knocked off.

The first thing I did was revamp the homemade laundry detergent. My sister seems to like the liquid stuff we made, but I found it to be weak and not as effective as I need it to be. So I made the powdered kind. Heres the receipe I used-

1 cup borax

1 cup washing soda

1 grated bar of all natural soap (my girlfriends use Dr Bronners- I used the cheap stuff)

Let me tell you- it works awesome! My husbands work pants look fantastic!! I even hit the local flea market and bought the cutest green antique tin pail to store it in.

I cleaned every corner in the house. Even defrosted the chest freezer and cleaned it out. Made meal plans, sewed some projects, made the all the beds in the house and even reorganized some rooms and closets.

Husband did make it outside to stack wood and mow the lawn. I heard the lawnmower shut down 2 times followed by silence. Both times I went to investigate (I wanted to make sure he didnt lose a foot or anything) and BOTH times found him hunched over a plant. "Look! We have strawberries growing here!". "Look! We have raspberries over here!". He was excited! And so was I! Looks like this homesteading thing is contagious! Glad to see he is liking it too.

Anyway, I feel like we got alot accomplished! One step closer to a greener, happier (and pretty!) home!

my first pie!

Admittedly, I am not much of a baker. Not because I can't, more because I don't want to. I don't follow directions well and like the freedom of throwing together a meal. Exact measurements are just not my thing.

But, that may change.

Last week was my Dads birthday. As I was weeding my garden the morning of his birthday, I looked over at my very small rhubarb bush. As I continued on with my gardening chores, I thought back to when I was a child. Every June, this older gentlemen from our church would bring a bundle of rhubarb to my dad. They sang together in the choir and my dad must have mentioned how much he loved strawberry rhubarb pies. My mother would bake him one every year for his birthday, until the old man died. Then the pies stopped.

So, then it dawned on me. Why not make him a pie? Well for one, not enough Rhubarb. But then I remembered I had loads of frozen blueberries from last season in my freezer. And I had a whole pile of fresh strawberries. I hurried with my chores and then ran to my sisters house next door. She can bake.

She instructed me on a quick pie lesson. Line the oven with tinfoil, it will blow. Don't grease the pie pan. Wash top crust with milk and sugar. All the stuff us non bakers don't really know. And with that, the invention of my strawberry blueberry rhubarb pie.

5:00 came and the pie was fresh from the oven. It looked good. It smelled good. We loaded up the car and I made my husband drive 5 under the speed limit all the way to my parents house as I held the pie on my lap. Then I realized. Would people even eat this? I don't bake! They may not trust my first attempt. I told husband he should try it first- no way! was his response. Nice.

Well, I have never seen a prouder father! He was surprised and was tickled that I remember his love of rhubarb pies. He loved my addition of the blueberries. We made him try it first (it was afterall his birthday!) and he loved it! We didn't believe him, but he didn't keel over, so the rest of us dug in. Perfect! So, maybe I can bake after all!

home made laundry detergent

So last night, after much persuading by my sister, we made a large batch of home made laundry detergent. We found a receipe online and had all the suppys handy. Off to walmart we went in search of something to store it in and we lucked out. We found a 5 gallon water jug (like the kind you put on a home water dispenser) and it had a handle and a lid. It cost us $7 but was well worth it.

We decided to alter the recipe a little, but steeping a nylon full of lavendar in the boiling soap mixture. This does make it smell nice, but don't use a colored nylon...duh.....our batch is kinda black! Definetly wont be using it on my whites! Whoops!

Anyway, heres the receipe we used-

3 gallons water

1/2 bar ivory soap shaved and boiled in 3 cups hot water

1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup washing soda

Overnight it gelled up and it now looks like store bought laundry detergent gel! It smells good, but not sure how much of that will carry over to the washer clothes. I plan on trying it out tonight. I have a frontload HE washer, so I plan on using very little until I figure out how well it works.

We will see!!!

cleaning up my act...a quest for better cleaning products

Okay, so I have mentioned this before. But I am still on the kick of working on streamlining my cleaning products into better, multi-use, eco-friendly products. We have been trying to start a family, so I have been very concerned with chemicals in the house and finding ways around them. So far I am doing really well. Heres what I have done, and while there is room for improvement, I think this is some real progress.

1. Today I purchased my first box of Borax! There is mixed reviews on this, but I am going to make my argument. First, I am saving on packaging of so many other cleaners. Second, it's not dangerous to inhale or touch. It's also a renewable product. I am replacing soft scub, oxy-clean and comet with this product- maybe even more!

2. I converted to all natural spray cleaner, with reusable bottle. When you run out, you just add a new little bottle of cleaner to the spray bottle and fill with water. No more throwing away bottles!

3. Rags. I found on another website a lady who had a basket of rags on her kitchen counter. She used these to clean the counters and such and every couple days she would swap it out for a clean one. Then I remembered my grandmother gave me a ton of dishclothes for my bridal shower! So, I've been using those and have cut back drastically on the papertowels. I can't kick the habit completely, because (sorry) I refuse to wash the bathroom with rags and then throw them in my washer with clothes. Can't do it. So papertowels it is for that, but I use very little.

4. Lastly, I have gone back to a product that I love and have a hard time finding Dr. Bronners Sal-Suds cleaner. I can't even tell you how well this washes dishes! It works great on the floor too!! I adore Bronners and use it camping all the time- now we are using it in the house too!!

I've been watching you.....

Okay, so not to sound creepy, but I have. I've been watching you. I've been reading what you have to say. I have been learning from you. And now I am really geared up on my quest for sustainability.
I don't know what started the web searching,because I have been doing alot of this without influence for awhile, but once I found all these homesteading blogs, I was hooked. I have been reading every little bit of homesteading, sustainability, housekeeping info I can find on the internet. Ever since we purchased our own home, I have worked hard to make it greener, more productive, sustainable and comfortable. I love the ideas that other people have, what you all have done and I can't wait to learn more from you!
I will try harder to show you what we have been up too and share our successes and failures as well!!

Progress!!

After a weekend of record breaking temps, we got a head start on all our spring clean up chores. I planted tons of srubs and cleaned up piles of leaves left over from the fall. Husband rented a power broom and cleaned our yard and my sisters and the compound is looking squeeky clean!! We built the platform for the rainbarrel and started making plans for the gardens this year. I am expanding the area were we grow corn and we have added elderberries to the mix this year, so we are quickly running out of usable space!!

Two years ago we purchased a composter like the one pictured above. I keep reminding myself that I need to use it as much as possible. Maybe this year I will remember not just to fill it up, but to also use the compost!! I'll be interested to see whats in there- now that the snow is gone, I can finally go check it out. Anyway, seedlings are doing great, yard is looking good and we are doing well! Happy Spring everyone!!

Doing well with what you have

I can say that I like to have a neat home. I am proud of my house, my belongings and I like to take care of them. I wouldnt say I am anal about it, but I am not like other many other people I read about on other blogs that seem to shun "buying the latest trends" or "buying things you dont need". Do I really need framed art? All those cooking gagets? I am sure there are plenty of things I can do without. But I AM good at balance. I don't have tons of shoes or piles of unused items all over my house. I use or enjoy everything I own.

Lately, we have been strapped for cash. Spring is here and the desire to clean the house up, look nice and do things around the home is strong. But with little money available, I have had to look at ways I can revamp the items I already own. I have learned a couple things. First off, if I want something I see at the store, I walk away. I think about it. I may even leave. I mull it over. Do I WANT it or NEED it? Would I really use it? Is there some place else I would rather spend this money. And then I dont want it! I have also learned that I can be pretty crafty when I want to and have managed to pull off some nice projects in the house with little to no money. Heres what we did this week.

Project one- Outdoor living space

I wanted a outdoor table set. We spend tons of time in the yard and have a nice covered gazebo, so we would use it. But cheap ones that would break in a year were over $100. Money we didnt have. Instead, I took an old picnic table that had seen better days and cut the seats off with a sawzall. I purchased a pretty bright plastic table clouth and picnic table clamps and covered the top. I found some old plastic chairs (6) that looked bad, but worked fine and purchased some coordinating seat cusions. They were the cheap indoor kind, but I'll take them in when we are done for the evening. Lastly, I found 2 small candle lanterns and put them on the table. It looks perfect and cost me under $20! I will post pics, I promise!

Project two- cleaning up the cleaning supplies

I ran out of every cleaning product I own. I debated just going the vinegar and water route, but I can't get past the smell. So, I found at a locale discount retailer a mix your own cleaning solution kit. For $3.00 I purchased 3 all natual mixing solutions and the bottle! What a steal! While I was there, I spotted soap containers that had tops that appeared to be the same size as a canning jar. Well. I have tons at home, so I purchased a top for .59 cents. Sure enough, it fit just fine. Today, I found Dials new eco-friendly soap refills in a plastic bag- and now I can stop buying pump soap containers! Oh yeah and it looks really nice and country too :)

Project three- Custom curtains

My sister wanted some new drapes for her french doors. Walking though a second hand shop, I found some super nice thick material. So, just for her, I have made 2 panels of insulated orange curtains. And they cost me $12!! I have done this several times in my own home and I love the way they come out!

compound updates

I have a couple homesteading tasks that I really want to get done this season, one being making a rain barrel. We have a shed near our garden and it would be perfect to set this up. We found a chunk of gutter in the yard, but barrels are expensive! This made us hold off last year, until we could find one. Then "POOF!" just like magic, Husband is driving home from work and sees a house that sells them for $5! He grabbed one and now we are in business! (and yes, it's food quality, not used for chemicals). I will post some photos once it is done and ready to go! This will save us quite a bit on our water bill.

Next task is the 4 elderberry trees we got for the yard as a gift. We have a very close friend who works for a landscape company and from time to time snags us some free stuff. Usually it needs to be nursed back to health, but we all have a green thumb around here, so it works out. Anyway, I plan on planting 2 of the trees on my property and 2 next door at my sisters. I look forward to making jam from the berries in the near future.

The seedlings are doing great, the pickling cucumbers are already up and the regular cukes are on their way. Not nearly as moist this year in the greenhouse as it has been in years past so I have been needing to water a ton. In the end, it will all be worth it!

Lastly, My sister and I have been thinking of really getting into the craft fair circut this year with homemade soaps, jams, pickles, quilts and dried herbs. Maybe even a few other items. We'll keep you posted if we proceed!

Spring fever

Spring does some strange things to me. I get the Spring Fever and I get it BAD! It starts with a warm day or two and I get the seedlings growing in the house. As I mentioned before, I do this too early almost every year, because I am so excited at the thought of Spring. As soon as we get a dry warm day, I am hurdeling over the snowbanks to the clothesline to get laundry out. It gets worse from there. Windows open on 60 degree days, hoeing the garden through ice. I need to get a little control!

Nevertheless, I love the Sunshine and the promise of warm weather to come!

Tonights the night!

Tonight is the night I wait for all winter! I am starting my vegetable seeds! I really love this task every year. To me, its the first sign of spring and a real test of what the growing year is going to be like. Some years I do well, others I do not.

The last couple years I have done this way too early. This year I gave myself some extra weeks. Its been 50 degrees several times here this month and I think we are in for an early spring. Every year my technique gets a little better. Last year I had full size plants on my hands and no room before the weather was ready for the little guys. I lost a bunch. Hopefully, this year plays out better.

I have learned a few rules. I don't start corn inside, that goes straight to the ground in the spring. Beans as well. We really don't eat tomatoes, so I don't waste the space, I just buy a flat from the farmers union. I have some good goals for this growing season. I am doing a large corn crop in a seperate garden, on my sisters side of the lot. Hopefully, I will do well on the cucumbers this year so I can can pickles. (last year the excessive rain killed my whole crop). Watermelon ALMOST made it last year and the rain killed them too, so hopefully we have some success this year. I will try my best to get some photos on this darn blog soon!

Heres the full plan for 2010:
Fruits-

• highbush blueberries (already planted)
• Rraspberries (already planted)
• groundcover strawberries (new this year)
• shortvine watermelon

Vegetables-

• tomatoes
• bush green beans
• salad & pickling cucumbers
• carrots
• rhubarb (already planted)
• corn
• pumpkins
• hot peppers
• bell peppers

Herbs-

• dill
• basil
• oregano
• chives
• mint & spearmint

somedays I want to be rich...and warm....

We are truly in the throws of winter now and boy is our wallet feeling it. We have very low funds, very low temps and we are very low on wood. We figure we have enough left to get us through another 6 weeks. Who knows, maybe the groundhog will be right and spring will start in exactly 6 weeks!! huh!

My husbands job has been touch and go and last week he only worked 3 days. But, then came some good news (well, for us). Just when we thought he was officially out of a job, the company (a family owned business) had a internal falling out of sorts and several of the crew have chosen to leave. After we had a long talk, he came to a very wise decision to be "switzerland" in all of this (staying neutral) and just ride the storm out. Upon hearing this, his boss was very happy that he stayed out of the whole mess and just wanted to work. So, now he is back to work (40 hrs this week- first time since thanksgiving!) and things are going well. They even meet at a new location, so we car pool to work everyday! We have saved atleast $50 in gas this week!! Yeah for us! My husband deserves a big kudos for sticking with it!

So, not only are we saving money on gas, but its really motivated us to keep going on the savings. I see on other blogs everyone else seems very motivated to do this as well. Some people have reffered to it as a "money diet". This is a great idea! So here's our successes for the week:

• hung all laundry by the woodstove this week. 4 loads, no dryer!
• tonight is community dinner night (we try to do this once a week). We go to a friends to eat or they come to our house and we share the expense of the meal. Its cheap and cuts down on the energy used to cook, if your not the host. Plus, its fun to visit!
• We have car pooled all week long- $50 in savings so far this week! Its an hour commute each way, so thats big!
• We've kept the woodstove going all week long. We've trained my sister to go over on her days off to load the stove mid afternoon. Its been 5 degrees out just about everyday, so this has been a big help. Today she will load it twice for us while we are out at our friends for dinner.
• I did a great job comparing grocery deals this week. We even found a new local store with great dry food deals, so we've been stocking up there. I stopped going to the co-op. While it was a really neat store, the prices were not a bargain. I just cant afford organic bulk coffee. sorry.

This is in addition to all the other things we normally do. My next plan is to reduce the lights we use. More candles!

Until next time.....

Another day, another snow storm.

So, last nights commute home in our little blizzard wasnt as bad as I anticipated. Once I made it back to the house, the work began though. While husband snowblowed our driveway, my sisters driveway, the path between us and the paths to the woodpile and shed, I hauled in firewood and got a fire going. Once that was settled I started supper. Chicken Parm with homemade bisquits and salad. Within an hour or so we were snuggled in and could relax.

This morning we woke up to the sound of the plow truck. Yes, more snow! 4"-7" due to fall today. So, tonight will be a repeat showing, commute in snow, home to clean up driveways and start the wood stove back up. But what for dinner?

All this snow, has me thinking spring. And its only Jan- we have a long way to go here in Maine! But I like to make a firm game plan on what our garden will look like this year and I start my seedlings in march, so I will begin my shopping soon. I've been reading other blogs and everyone seems on the same page as me. Trying to keep grocery bills low and looking for money any way we can.
Until next time....

oh wait! Its happening again!

I woke up this morning to.......what was supposed to be a dusting of snow.....and there was 10" on the ground and more coming down! What a shock, more white stuff! These kind of monday morning surprises make me want to bury myself under the covers, so I did. About an hour later, I realized I had to go to work today, afterall its monday and they kinda expect me to be there, so I drug myself out of bed, got ready and grugingly made my way outside to dig out my car. My husband left for work 2 hrs prior, so all the snow removal he had done needed to be redone. I should have just got up at my normal time, my laziness doesnt pay. I went back inside and realized the fire was out. We were not prepared for this... no wood in the house. I said screw it and left the house nice and cold.

I made the hour commute, which today was extended by an extra half hour, cursing the snow all the way there. No one was on the roads today (smart people stay home in this shit) and I counted 15 plow trucks on my way in. Driving in Maine in the winter is an art form. One I mastered long ago, but despise nonetheless.

I get to work, obviously the last one in for the day (my timely counterparts cars are now all covered in 2 hours worth of snow) and stomp into work strutting my Maine girl winter gear. Scarf wrapped around face, hood up, gloves on, big old boots, parka, holding a bag of lunch, purse, shoes and a coffee. It was a sight. I make my way to my cubicle and organize myself to begin my day. Its now 10:15. I should have been here and ready to go at 8. I take my seat and glance out the window. Still snowing. Here comes my boss. "what are you doing here.........you should have stayed home. The roads are bad!" He says. Fucking great.

I should have stayed in bed.

Now its 12:30 (I'm here, I might as well stay) and I am nervous already about the drive at 5:00. Its still snowing. There has to be 12-14" out there now. Maybe I will just sleep here. I have enough winter clothes with me to make a nice bed under my desk.

Why do I live in Maine again?!

aaahh... winter in Maine!

Woke up to a cold one this morning! I thought I had the woodstove dampered down enough last night, but we woke up at 6am to a very cold house. I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard the furnace click on. (We have maybe 1/8 of a tank of oil left which we are trying to preserve for the 2-3 hr time span between the stove going out and us getting home from work). I ran down stairs, still half asleep with just my robe and no slippers on to find a empty, and I mean not a coal in it, woodstove. It was 55 degrees in the main area of the house (where the woodstove is located) and -4 degrees outside!! So, our day started with husband splitting kindling in his pjs and coat and me crumbling up newspapers in my freezing barefeet. I took an extra long hot shower to warm back up. By the time I left for work at 7 the house was up to 65 degrees. I am sure tonight we will have to repeat the whole process- surely it being this cold out the stove will not have kept in warm the 11 hrs we have been away at work.

When I started thinking about leaving work, I also started thinking about dinner (as I mentioned in the last post, trying to save some $$) and what I could make tonight that we have in the house. Due to the extreamly brisk weather outside, I think we need something hearty. I've decided tonights menu will be country ribs, roasted potatoes & carrots, corn and homemade bisquits. I might even bake some brownies for dessert!

This time of year can be a little long in New England. Our Winters, especailly here in Maine, can be mind numbingly cold. And its cold for so long. Its only January and I am ready for spring!!

high gear

Sometimes I find, because "easier" ways are available to me, that I have moments, days, weeks, where I slip and forget my mission is to be more sustainable- more efficent. This weekend I was lazy and 3 out of the 4 of my loads of laundry found their way into the dryer. I didnt cook on the woodstove once (I used the electric range instead) and I even turned the oven on for baked potatoes only (I never do that!). I really really need to kick it in to high gear!

Money is tighter than it has ever been and as a result I think my behavior is a way of acting out. I need to keep focused and remember how much money some of these practices saves us. My husband has been horribly depressed about the lack of funds, which (just stating a fact, no finger pointing) have been due to his lack of work. Its just the way the construction industry is right now. So, every penny really does count.

We have been doing really well on somethings. I thought we were low on firewood until I went out to the firewood shed last night and discovered we still have enought to get us through march if we are frugal with it. I have made some awesome meals this week and we have done a great job making meals with what we have on hand and not buying other items or eating out. We've done a nice job on reusing items from around the house and making due with what we have. But I still think I am slipping.

So, I am going to set some weekly reminders or "goals" for myself.
This week-
I will bring my lunch everyday.
I will brainstorm some ideas to make / find some more money.
I will watch our electricity comsumption.

Wish me luck, I may need it.

daily happenings....

Its funny how winter changes the daily activities and chores to keep the "compound" going. In a way its almost easier, because we really have to do alot of work to do outside unless we have had a snowstorm or are going to have one. Snow removal is always fun! With 2 driveways and then a path between the houses, the new snowblower my sister purchased this year has been a vast improvement over shoveling in years past.

Drying laundry is my biggest gripe of winter time. I love having the woodstove for heat and to cook meals, but drying laundry inside doesnt come out the same as on the line outside. I try not to use the dryer whenever possible (pretty much only in the rainy spring time) to save on our electric bill and energy in general. Lugging wood is also kinda a downer, but a neccisary evil.

Lately money has been very very tight, so everyday I find myself trying to think of more and more ways we can cut costs or find money. I am always hunting the internet for different ideas other people may have. I have the grocery thing down to a science and I don't think we could save any more money on the heating of our home. The house is winterized to the till and we can't change how much wood we burn really. Gas for the cars never really changes, we have to drive to work. And we never spend money on luxury items like vacations or new clothing (unless we have too). Any ideas, feel free to share!