The Frugal Foody

As a household administrator (doesn't that sound snotty?), I've always found rising to challenges exhilarating. Yeah it can suck, too, when you see something you want or *need*, but there's something about not letting things get you down, not being beaten, that feels good.

This month's challenges include finding a way to go Organic and Non-GMO in a frugal way, and doing my best to handcraft as many gifts as I can for the holidays.

I was concerned about the expense of Organics, but I think there's a way to do it frugally. It will just take more work. MuNKi called this morning to say there was a rumour floating around at work that there is a possibility they won't be paid for the Christmas break. Which would be sucky. He thinks it may not affect the salaried employees, though (like himself.) Either way, if I plan ahead, we'll get through. I'm going to buy some bulk stuff from the co-op: oatmeal, beans, etc. We just ordered a bunch of flour from King Arthur when they had a free shipping deal, and I still have a ton of bulghur wheat, too. And I'm looking for a source for rice in even greater bulk than we already buy. So this week and the next will be devoted to finding some great recipes that stretch the food budget and maximize low cost ingredients. Feel free to share recipes and resources. I'll try to post some as I discover them. :)

I've decided to take my kitties off their conventional meds (one has a thyroid condition and another has athsma) and go homeopathic. Hey, if it's good enough for me, why not them? And bypassing the side-effects of the meds is a bonus, not to mention the cost difference. I should have thought of this ages ago, as homeopathics are what finally cured Emmett's UTI after 2 failed courses of traditional meds a year or 2 ago.

It's important, too, at this time to count my blessings. MuNKi still has a job, which is BIG! Today I'm making another batch of soap, and know that there are people at the co-op waiting to buy it. And the weather has been warm, so that keeping the thermostat at 61 just hasn't been a big deal. Yay! :)


But back to the food. Here's a yummy looking recipe for starters. My sis and I both had a thing about lentils leftover from our childhood, but we're challenging each other to make the yummiest and cheapest daal. This is going to be fun. :)

All Shall Be Well

The kids are LOVING that $30 swingset. I'm so happy. :)

And yesterday we went cherry and strawberry picking with good friends, first stopping by our TKD Master's house to see their freshly-hatched baby quail. (OMG sooooooo cute!) One of the babies hatched while we were there. Mollusc (ever-patient and ever-vigilant) stayed at the incubator while we were checking out the progress of all the fruit trees in the yard, and she got to watch him come out of the shell. Wow! :)

When we got home, a bill was waiting for us from the tax man for summer property taxes, and can I just say, "GULP!"

So it's a good thing we splurged on that fun stuff when we did, because it's belt-tightening time from here on out. You know, I don't mind paying for the roads (though it would be nice if they were better maintained) and I don't mind paying for the library (though I pay cash over and above taxes for the priviledge of using our local library) and there are a few other things I find acceptable, but it ticks me off that the people who reassess the value of your house (whenever they find it convenient -- i.e. when they want more $ ) are the ones who stand to gain from that reassessment. So it doesn't matter that houses here in MI don't sell for anywhere near what you paid for them, and that you have to keep your house on the market for at least a year in order to sell it; they still raise the assessment value. :-/

I have a new motto:

"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." ~St. Julian of Norwich (who, by the way, was a chick.)

Let the Savings Begin

Today I bought $87.32 worth of groceries and I spent $30.72.

I could get used to this.

Oh and here's a great homeschool and household helper link. (great organisational printables among other things)