Monday Message

"To foster the economic self-sufficiency of the Latter-day Saint families, fathers and mothers, priesthood and Relief Society leaders are encouraged first to focus upon family preparedness, an important part of which is home production—canning, gardening, sewing, making household items—and also upon home storage, on the need for Saints to have a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel." (H. Burke Peterson)

"I have on occasion cited the need for many reservoirs in our lives to provide for our needs. I have said, 'Some reservoirs are to store water. Some are to store food, as we do in our family welfare program and as Joseph did in the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty. There should also be reservoirs of knowledge to meet the future needs; reservoirs of courage to overcome the floods of fear that put uncertainty in our lives; reservoirs of physical strength to help us meet the frequent burdens of work and illness; reservoirs of goodness; reservoirs of stamina; reservoirs of faith.

"Yes, especially reservoirs of faith, so that when the world presses in upon us, we stand firm and strong; when the temptations of a decaying world about us draw on our energies, sap our spiritual vitality, and seek to pull us down, we need a storage of faith that can carry youth, and later adults, over the dull, the difficult, the terrifying moments; disappointments; disillusionments; and years of adversity, want, confusion, and frustration... Parents...are expected to lay foundations for their children and to build the barns and tanks and bins and reservoirs." (President Spencer W. Kimball)

It is so sad to watch what is happening in Ukraine. Their lives will never be the same. All their buildings and homes destroyed. Their lives upended. You can see what they value most is family and loved ones.

We have been asked to sacrifice before and now we have been asked to again. We need to pull together. It saddens me to see people be so petty about the price of gas. 

We need to be an example, we need to be kind. I heard a report about how bad Russians who live here now are being treated poorly just like Asians are ever since Covid and Muslims ever since 9/11. I do not know why people do that. There was protests in Russia against this invasion. So, I say we need to be kind. We need to do what we can to do our part and for now... that goes for enduring high gas prices and in turn groceries and other products. It will not kill us to give up the extras to make do for now, that is doing our part. If we are not able to, what does that say about us? I say we can find ways to make do.

Yes, it means things will be tight and tighter yet. We need to roll up our sleeves and work a little harder and wiser for now. We live in a country that has freedoms and we can be supportive or negative but being negative is exhausting and is not a good example to the next generation. Lets show them we can push on and be kind to others.

One of the skills you know that I have been working on is weaving. I used some odd cotton yarn left over from knitting dishcloths to weaving some.

They are still wet in this picture but they turned out wonderfully. I will do them again at some point.  You can see I tried a waffle weave on one of them, I want to see how it holds up. In the podcast I watched to learn to do these, she showed her old ones when she made the new ones and they looked just as new as the new ones. She said she washed them several times a week for the last year. So doing them from what I had on hand was a bonus and a good way to use up those little balls of leftovers.

I now have the little loom warped up ready to do mug rugs as I continue to learn new skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nkPrJk9X5s - love this gal, this should be inspiring to you.

http://artthreads.blogspot.com/2011/12/monday-project-christmas-tree.html - I thought this would be an easy way for you to work on the embroidery skill.

https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/category/how-to/ - this is a learn how to knit techniques site, very nice.

https://lifesewsavory.com/how-to-sew-a-shirt-womens-free-tshirt/ - I love free and she has a free pattern to print piece together and make t-shirts but go through here and watch her make one from a man's used t-shirt. If you have a used men's t-shirt and this pattern then whole thing would be free.

Speaking of used t-shirts, did you know you can make underwear from the t-shirts as well https://atfirstblushpatterns.com/how-to-make-underwear-out-of-a-t-shirt/

https://fondi.com/how-to-stretch-pizza-dough/ - okay, I thought who doesn't want to learn this skill? :p

http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2014/02/monday-message-convenience-in-kitchen.html and of course to go with it is this post on my favorite pizza dough.

https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/blog/frugal-living/ - frugal living.

https://savvybudgetboss.com/frugal-living-tips/ - frugal ideas.

https://lifeandabudget.com/best-frugal-living-tips/ - there is a nice list here to get you thinking.

There is more we can do, we just need to think differently about what you can do.

https://wediditourway.com/low-waste-zero-waste-kitchen-on-budget/ - a different way of thinking, use everything, waste nothing. Find a use for items, don't throw them out.

Save glass jars with their lids to use for leftovers or storage items. https://www.ruralsprout.com/reuse-glass-jars/ - don't throw them out.

If you make your own mixes you save money and excess waste.

https://www.budget101.com/frugal-living/5956-why-you-should-make-your-own-homemade-mixes/ - this site has wonderful recipes for mixes.

I use cardboard boxes to put down on the garden to keep weeds from growing before planting time arrives.

Gus said here is another idea to reuse a cardboard box...take an old t-shirt and put it on the box so the neck of shirt is at the open part of the box, then tip the box like in his picture and tuck the rest of the shirt like an envelope in the back.

Missy says use what you have on hand to store things in rather then running out to buy items. You could start a whole new trend and it may even have a dual purpose as Missy shows with her exercise routine.

They both say to still be very safe and to be kind to others. Look for frugal ways to build your skills and storage and to pray for Ukraine. Meow.