Nope.
I think it is best to revel in what has been done, than to beat up on myself about what I did not get done.
Planted: rye grass in a pot for the kitties to have as greenery this winter. Although this is not really for our human consumption ,it does keep the kitties from eating house plants and then chucking them up. So I look at this as house work mitigation.
harvested: spinach and kale. Still.
preserved: 7 quarts of beets
prepped: extra hydrogen peroxide. I like to keep a goodly supply of this on hand. Hubby works with a lot of tools and has had minor injuries. But his last summer he had a serious injury that required 13 stitches. I used nearly a whole bottle of peroxide to cleanse the wound before I rushed him to the ER. Stocked extra toothbrushes and TP. We are pretty well stocked with goods but this is a good time of year to think about taking advantage of loss leaders. Flour, sugar and other baking needs are on sale soon. We are just at the beginning of hard times and stocking up on basics is a hedge against inflation.
managed reserves: turned compost piles but I still need to make one more pile before the snow flies. I managed to mine the piles of clutter that have gather over the last few weeks and I have implemented several anti- clutter methods that I hope the troops can work with. Cleaned out teen's drawers and thinned out the outgrown clothing.
local foods: Well, we've been doing a really good job of eating from our stored food that hubby just buys milk, cheese and butter. However, the food cupboard that our church sponsors has run low of funds so we purchased extra soap, shampoo and toothpaste for the cupboard. Our neighbor is getting eggshells from a local breakfast joint to give to his chickens and floats us an extra bucket whenever he gets the chance . ( informal economy baby!!)
OOoohhhh Inspiration: New Category for the IDC challenge....Informal Economy.
reduced waste: working those compost bins, feeding those worms. I will take the out grown teen clothes and save the good quality ones for the wee one. I will give the rest to the local thrift shop.
Learned something new: I learned how to post pictures on the blog post.
Cooks something new: It was hubby's birthday today and I baked a cake from scratch. It tasted yummy. I admit, I have been a big fan of the box cake mix and tub o' frosting. So I was taking a chance that it would turn out okay ...and it did!
6 comments:
I like the "informal economy" category. I have a friend who is a genius and an inspiration in the informal category. She found us free blueberries, free apples, gives us free clothes by the bags ful, raised five broilers for us, because she has a bigger piece of land, AND she even gave us a laying hen that was destined for their freezer, but which, they decided at the last minute, they couldn't send there :).
I'm way behind on my updates. Unfortunately, now that the garden is (mostly) dormant and the Farmer's Market is closed, I don't feel like I have been doing much to prepare. We do keep stocked on things like toiletries and staple foods, though.
We have a neighbor that is more than willing to work with in the informal economy with us. He is letting us cut wood from his property, we give him extra garden produce. it is not only a way to save money for the formal economy but it is also building social capital.
Althought not relevant to this post, I wanted to say "good on ya" for your post over at Sharon's.
YoungSon, at 21, is following a path of trade, rather than college. Which was kind of difficult, since he was an honor student, high GPA and SATs and speaks three languages. But we simply can't look at him and tell him in all honesty that we think a college degree will make his life easier. So we're happy that he's learning skills that will help him in his future, even if he decides to go back to school.
Just wanted to mention that. You can delete this if you want. :)
Delete? Heck no! And yeah, I figure the boy is young enough that he can have a trade and if the world doesn't end tomorrow and he wants to go to college then he can with the ability to pay for it as he goes.
he is artistic and thinks he might like art school but is considering blacksmithing and metal work. Something that has practical and artistic applications.
YoungSon had an interest in blacksmithing so he hooked up with a regional conference and learned a ton. He found an anvil through craigslist and goes out to forge once or twice a week.
There are so many dreams I wish I would have followed back when I didn't have any financial burdens. :)
Yeah, my brother went to an agricultural highschool. I followed the college track. Now I grow food. Would have been nice to have that experience. Live and learn.
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