Loose Ends
Spiritual Life Retreat
To those who have asked, we had a great time at the spiritual life retreat. As someone who cooks a lot, I was looking forward to a few days without cooking. Still I found myself in the kitchen helping out the students as a way to get to know them a little better. Many of these students I was meeting for the first time, so I really enjoyed my time with them.
The teaching sessions were awesome, but we were only there for the tail end of the retreat, so we didn’t get the full message. Still, we came away invigorated and thankful.
The kids were a big hit. Everyone wanted to hold Bobby, but he wouldn’t let them. Thomas, though, was passed around to everyone. It reminded Dan and I of our pre-kid life when holding a baby would be the highlight of our day. Now, it is our whole day, but still a great joy.
Most of all, this was a retreat for us. We were able to put away the stresses of our daily lives for a few days. We didn’t think or talk about the blog, work, or even classes. That was refreshing.
Mattresses, Mattresses, Mattresses
I think there has been some misunderstanding about the no-mattress idea.
First, the links I posted of alternatives were not of alternatives I was thinking of getting, but ideas of bedding types I was inspired by. Beds that fold up or roll out are neat and worth considering, which is why I used the word “like” when mentioning them.
Second I don’t want a conventional mattress for reasons that have been discussed. I think the best alternative I am looking at is a nice blanket mattress. This would not be a blanket thrown on the floor, or even folded once or plopped on the floor. This would be three or four blankets folded three or four times, depending on the size and type of bed we end up with. It would also depend on what my kids want for firmness and it may talk a few nights to figure out exactly how that will go. Then, when we’ve got them the way we like them, I would sew them together in a way similar to how you would sew a quilt to keep the batting in place. They would then be covered and put into place. If people genuinely think this would be uncomfortable, go get a stack of blankets, fold them up and see if it is cozy.
It will take longer for my husband and I to convert our own bed to this, since we simply don’t have that many blankets. I imagine we will achieve this by the end of the yard sale season for our bed.
One More For Haiti
After I wrote the post about helping Haiti without money, I received an email about one more way to help. It took me six minutes to donate $1 through Brickfish. All you have to do is go here, make an account and submit a photo. For each photo, they will donate $1. You can then tell others about it so that more money can be donated. Here is the photo I submitted:
You might want to check out my new comment policy .
Copyright Under $1000 Per Month, 2009-2010
Continue reading Loose Ends …
From Under $1000 Per Month.
Practical gift for funeral calls: food baskets and dinners
I completely understand now why it is so common for people to take food over to a family who is handling funeral arrangements.
They forget to eat. Or they don’t have time to cook.
My father-in-law, who lived in Toledo, died a week ago. His memorial service was held Sunday, family graveside visit took place Monday.
Amid working out the service and cremation arrangements; my husband, his sister and their mother also have been taking care of as many legal and financial arrangements as possible during the past few days.
On Monday, most of the family gathered in the morning to work on more errands. I arrived in Toledo about 1:30 p.m. to attend graveside ceremony, help clear more stuff out of my father-in-law’s home, and go to restaurant dinner in honor of sister-in-law’s birthday.
It was about 3:30 p.m. when someone opened a popcorn tin at my father-in-law’s home and started eating. My husband and I had given him the popcorn tin for Christmas, but he never got a chance to open it up.
“Aren’t you hungry?” someone else asked me.
No, I said. I ate my leftovers from Sunday’s funeral dinner for lunch just before I left Monroe.
Come to find out: most of them had not had breakfast OR lunch on Monday.
“What?!” I said in response.
An hour later, we’re at my mother-in-law’s apartment and her manager delivers a box that had arrived during the day. The box contained a fruit basket sent from cousins.
Everyone starts digging into the fruit basket, even though we had plans for restaurant dinner. We laughed quite a bit about that situation. Just before we left, UPS showed up with another gift box that had soup mixes.
I come from a very large family and many of us are excellent cooks. As a result, there are plenty of people around to staff the kitchen or make grocery runs during funeral arrangements. We filled my grandmother’s house with her favorite foods when she died several years ago. Someone else sent over a catered dinner. Nobody went hungry during that time.
But in the case of my father-in-law, the list of immediate survivors is very small. There are just two children. My in-laws divorced many years ago, but remained on good terms and neither one remarried, so mother-in-law still counts as family. Then it’s just me, my sister-in-law’s husband, and the two grandchildren.
The result: restaurant and take-out dinners have been the routine this past week. When no one has time to think about food, that’s what happens.
Yes, food is a very practical gift for such a family!
Continue reading Practical gift for funeral calls: food baskets and dinners …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Have a backup plan for disaster dinners
photo by koadmonkee
DEAR SARA: What do you do when dinner doesn’t go as planned? We stick to a strict meal plan. However, we’ve run into problems with it sometimes when something goes wrong and it can’t be fixed. For example, if the meat for the meatballs is bad and I don’t know it until an hour before dinner, then I don’t have a meal for that night. We’re stuck getting fast food. What are your ways of fixing this issue? What have you done in place of your strict meal plan that allows you to keep the price under control? — Tisha, Canada
DEAR TISHA: I’ve ruined dinner a few times through the years. At my house, if one of us wrecks a meal for whatever reason, the other spouse cooks. It’s nice. We always have something else that can be made quickly if something goes wrong. Even if it was a time when we were low on dinner ingredients because we needed to go food shopping, it’s still easy to put together pancakes, eggs, spaghetti without meatballs, soup, sandwiches, etc. Instead of fast food, consider picking up a rotisserie chicken at your grocery store. You can make your side dishes at home.
DEAR SARA: I work for a campground. When my boss was hired, he did away with all the things that had been working for years and started doing activities that interested him and his wife. People just weren’t interested in the things he wanted to do. So he stopped having any activities at all. People ask constantly about them, so in the three years I’ve been there, I’ve been trying to bring back some things on holiday weekends. My winter project is to come up with some fresh, fun ideas.
Here are the my problems:
– NO budget. My boss will donate prizes at times — things such as pool passes, etc. — but there is NO money for supplies, etc. All of that comes out of my pocket, and sometimes my co-worker will pitch in some money. I need a lot of ideas.
– My boss is a fuddy-duddy, and will turn down anything that sounds like fun. So I need a lot of options to throw at him.
– I need things that we can do from my office. With only two of us on duty at a time, we CANNOT leave the office to go out and do things with people. So they need to be options that work without us or things we can do from the office. I need things for kids to do, as well as some family things. — Sherri, West Virginia
DEAR SHERRI: A scavenger or treasure hunt would be fun. You can plan a cooking contest (soup or chili come to mind); potluck or progressive dinner; holiday decorating contest; karaoke or singalongs; bingo or game nights; pet parade; a fashion contest, such as pajama catwalk or crazy hat; murder-mystery games; movie night; craft night; handmade/homemade gift exchange; talent show; swap meet; or clean up the campground.
Continue reading Have a backup plan for disaster dinners …
From Frugal Village.
The Well Stocked Pantry for Christmas Cooking
The last thing any holiday cooks want to do is walk around the kitchen and find out that they are missing a vital item they need to finish a meal in fantastic fashion. Undoubtedly it has happened to you at least once. Be sure it doesn’t happen again with this pantry staple list for the [...]
Continue reading The Well Stocked Pantry for Christmas Cooking …
From Frugal Simplicity.
How old is that spice jar anyway?
I had to go digging in my spice and baking ingredients shelf yesterday for an ingredient, and realized that a couple of things seemed to be out of date.
So this morning, when I woke up, I checked the dates on every bottle and box. This took only about five minutes. Any container that was out of significantly out of date was thrown out. I last did this about two years ago, so most of the affected expiration dates were for 2008 or early 2009.
One of my happier finds: two newer bottles of cinnamon in addition to an almost empty older bottle. I threw out the oldest one.
I will replace only about half of those products. I need new jars of paprika, ground cloves, ground ginger, and chicken boullion cubes. I also need a new jar of onion powder because I will run out of that soon. But I don’t use allspice or chicken seasoning anymore, so they are gone for good.
The best times of year to have spices and baking supplies on your shopping list are just before Thanksgiving, just before Christmas and just before Easter. That’s when the grocery stores and food companies aim at the holiday cooks. Those of us who cook year-round will be smart to take advantage of those seasonal sales to restock basic supplies.
Continue reading How old is that spice jar anyway? …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Turkey Talk and Thanksgiving Tips
This is just a little reminder for everyone to take your turkeys out to start thawing Friday or Saturday if it is about a 20 lb turkey. I would start thawing all turkeys at the latest on Sunday. I like to have my turkey thawed at least a day or two ahead of time so I can get it all prepared, in the pan and ready to just pull out and stick in the oven. I have so many things to do the day before Thanksgiving that this is one less thing to worry about.
For all you new or inexperienced cooks be sure to take out the “guts” or giblets as most people call them and neck which are usually stuffed inside of the turkey.
If you are needing to dry bread for your stuffing lay it out this week end to get good and dry. Break it up, place it in the bowl you are going to be mixing it in and have that much done ahead of time.
This week end get your linens for the table washed and ironed and your silverware and dishes organized.
Do as much as you can ahead of time. Clean the veggies for the relish dish and salads or sides on Wed.
If you are making something like a sweet potato casserole get it all prepared and ready on Wed. so all you have to do on Thanksgiving is to pop it in the oven.
If you don’t want to be mashing potatoes two minutes before you sit down; mash them and place them in a crock pot on low to keep warm. You can keep them in there beautifully for 1 hour but no more because past that they get “yucky” fast.
Most of all for you new cooks or those of you doing your first Thanksgiving don’t panic. It is really no different or harder then any other regular meal, you just are maybe preparing more of everything.
If you are really nervous do a trial run this week end. Practice by roasting a chicken, making mashed potatoes, do one or two sides and a dessert. It’s just like a mini Thanksgiving.
If something goes wrong and most of us have had something happen once in awhile just laugh about it. It usually is the Thanksgiving everyone will remember and they will remember it with fond happy memories. It will give you something to tell your future daughter in law, granddaughter or daughter about.
I remember being so scared my first Thanksgiving cooking alone. My friend who was older and going to be one of my guests told me how on her first Thanksgiving everything was perfect, the table looked great everyone was laughing, joking and enjoying the food but half way through the meal she noticed something – she had forgotten the turkey. She had set it on top of the fridge to move it out of the way for a minute and had left it there. No one either didn’t notice or were too polite to say anything.
Things happen but you will do fine.
Jill
Continue reading Turkey Talk and Thanksgiving Tips …
From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
Dining On A Dime Christmas Sale
Just a little reminder for those of you who haven’t peeked at the newsletter yet we are having our big Christmas sell this week. We often get asked when is it going on sale again and the time has now arrived.
We often want our children to be given lots of opportunities, to be exposed to and to try so many things. We spend hours and lots of money taking them to music lessons, karate lessons, football practice, dance lessons so they will be well rounded when they grow up.
Sometimes though we get so busy doing all these things we can forget or don’t have the time to teach them basic life skills. Two of those are cooking and being a wise steward of their money. Dining on a Dime helps with both of those so this Christmas instead of giving your collage age child another CD, DVD or electronic toy why not give them a copy of Dining on a Dime to help and encourage them in both areas.
It would be an unexpected gift for that young man moving out on his own and of course don’t forget your mom, sister or best friend. It would even be fun to give a young girl along with a set of tea towels to add to her hope chest.
If you know someone who has lost their job or are struggling financially right now toss in a copy of Dining along with a bag of groceries to help them learn how to stretch those groceries.
Don’t forget to stock up too for the coming year for birthdays, showers, wedding gifts etc. and as a gift for our older cooks. I’m so surprised at how many seasoned (70, 80 years old) cooks we get who say they have learned so much from Dining.
Hope we can help you get a nice chunk of your holiday shopping done this week and to save while doing it.
Jill
Continue reading Dining On A Dime Christmas Sale …
From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
Dining On A Dime Christmas Sale
Just a little reminder for those of you who haven’t peeked at the newsletter yet we are having our big Christmas sell this week. We often get asked when is it going on sale again and the time has now arrived.
We often want our children to be given lots of opportunities, to be exposed to and to try so many things. We spend hours and lots of money taking them to music lessons, karate lessons, football practice, dance lessons so they will be well rounded when they grow up.
Sometimes though we get so busy doing all these things we can forget or don’t have the time to teach them basic life skills. Two of those are cooking and being a wise steward of their money. Dining on a Dime helps with both of those so this Christmas instead of giving your collage age child another CD, DVD or electronic toy why not give them a copy of Dining on a Dime to help and encourage them in both areas.
It would be an unexpected gift for that young man moving out on his own and of course don’t forget your mom, sister or best friend. It would even be fun to give a young girl along with a set of tea towels to add to her hope chest.
If you know someone who has lost their job or are struggling financially right now toss in a copy of Dining along with a bag of groceries to help them learn how to stretch those groceries.
Don’t forget to stock up too for the coming year for birthdays, showers, wedding gifts etc. and as a gift for our older cooks. I’m so surprised at how many seasoned (70, 80 years old) cooks we get who say they have learned so much from Dining.
Hope we can help you get a nice chunk of your holiday shopping done this week and to save while doing it.
Jill
Continue reading Dining On A Dime Christmas Sale …
From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
Dining On A Dime Christmas Sale
Just a little reminder for those of you who haven’t peeked at the newsletter yet we are having our big Christmas sell this week. We often get asked when is it going on sale again and the time has now arrived.
We often want our children to be given lots of opportunities, to be exposed to and to try so many things. We spend hours and lots of money taking them to music lessons, karate lessons, football practice, dance lessons so they will be well rounded when they grow up.
Sometimes though we get so busy doing all these things we can forget or don’t have the time to teach them basic life skills. Two of those are cooking and being a wise steward of their money. Dining on a Dime helps with both of those so this Christmas instead of giving your collage age child another CD, DVD or electronic toy why not give them a copy of Dining on a Dime to help and encourage them in both areas.
It would be an unexpected gift for that young man moving out on his own and of course don’t forget your mom, sister or best friend. It would even be fun to give a young girl along with a set of tea towels to add to her hope chest.
If you know someone who has lost their job or are struggling financially right now toss in a copy of Dining along with a bag of groceries to help them learn how to stretch those groceries.
Don’t forget to stock up too for the coming year for birthdays, showers, wedding gifts etc. and as a gift for our older cooks. I’m so surprised at how many seasoned (70, 80 years old) cooks we get who say they have learned so much from Dining.
Hope we can help you get a nice chunk of your holiday shopping done this week and to save while doing it.
Jill
Continue reading Dining On A Dime Christmas Sale …
From Living On A Dime Blog » Living On A Dime Blog.
How to self publish a book. Part 2
This is a continuation from yesterday’s post.
Now for the additional questions:
Tawra, Thanks so much for all that information. Very enlightening. I’m just the most curious (nosey) person in the world. I was interested in things like, were you and your Mom driving in the car one day and one of you said, “Hey, we’ve got all these recipes, and experience with scraping by. Let’s write a book!”
Well, yes, sort of. I read the Tightwad Gazette years before around 1992 and thought “wow, we do that and even more”. At the time I had no intention of writing a book. I went to school for horticulture and all I wanted to do was open my own greenhouse and herb farm.
I re-read the Tightwad Gazette when I was pregnant with my first baby in 1997. In there she said how everyone kept asking her to write a tightwad cookbook but she hated to cook and it would be too much work to do a good job. That is when I said “I could do that!”
I made the announcement to Mom and Mike that day and they both laughed and said “Ok”. (Their enthusiasm was under whelming!) I was one of the worst cooks you had ever seen. I burned everything! Ok, I confess there some days I still do! I figured if I could learn how to do it then others could do it too! Mike confessed a few months ago that if he would have known then what he knows now he would have told me “no way!”. He said he was just “being supportive” and didn’t think I would really do it! LOL
From the time I came up with the idea and started writing until we got the book back from the printer was 2 babies and 2 years later.
Did you two sit at the table night after night hammering out the book?
Well, sort of. I started writing and Mom would call or come over (she lived across the street at the time) and say “you need to be sure and tell them this…….” . That’s why in the front of the book I say I was the typist. 
There were several times I printed it all out and we would sit and edit it and add more stuff.
Check back for Part 3 in 2 days! Tawra
Continue reading How to self publish a book. Part 2 …