Monday Message

"The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

I picked this quote since this week at the thrift store I got this ark. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love Noah's ark.

It is about ten inches high.

Have you ever paused to think of how much work it was to get all the storage ready to put on that ark? They just couldn't roll up to Costco and then to tend all the animals. I think it is a lot to store for a family let alone all that.

Skills are necessary for living more frugally...

You can see I am using the pattern that fits me and laying it over a dress that was way, way too big for me. It was given to me with three others. I'm just trying this one first.

I wanted to place the pattern on so that I could keep the neck ribbing, hem, and sleeve ribbing. This should make a fast sew when I get to it next week.

If I did not have some sewing skills, I wouldn't even be able to do this. So I am glad I have some sewing skills, plus this is a skill I am wanting to build on as well.

This amount of knit fabric would be pricey for me. So keep your eyes out for large articles of clothing that would have lots of fabric you could use. Even a grown-up t-shirt could be made into smaller t-shirts or underwear. So before you get rid of your clothes think about what you can make out of them.

I picked up this pattern as well. It was marked 50 cents this week but as I am a senior, and this was on their senior discount day, it was less. But my concern was this store used to have two big boxes of patterns... now they only had not quite ten patterns and that's it. Maybe they are doing a clear-out. When they do that they shift them to another store but at this store it did not look like that. Usually there would be empty shelves throughout the store but that wasn't so. Let me know in the comments if you are seeing patterns at your thrift stores. I am very thankful I have saved my patterns over the years.  Still, I have used the clothes I have and like that I have made patterns from them.

So I urge you to build your sewing skills.

I have been shifting a few things about in my living room, just a few things...

I moved my chair and spinning wheel to trade places with each other.

Here is the chair. I wanted to be able to have the little loom closer and easier to use by the chair where I use it. Right now it has rug mugs going on it.

The spinning wheel is where the chair use to be.

I am almost done with this spin project I have going on the wheel.

I also have been weaving...

First, I needed to get a better pad for the seat.

Boy, has that made all the difference!

I am almost done with the first of three dish towels.

They all have the same colors but they are switched around. This one has more periwinkle in it, the next has more pumpkin, and the third will have more green.

This is a skill I am working on to further develop.

I used up a bucket of flour so now I need to load it, re-date it, and put it to the back of the others. Rotation is very important!

I got my buckets free to begin with years ago from bakeries and then they went to charging a dollar a piece. Still, you could purchase buckets like them from Lowes BUT ask them for FOOD GRADE BUCKETS as they carry both kinds and to store food in them, they must be food grade.

Yes, you can store flour for five years in a cool and dry environment. Remember not to place them on concrete. I put wood between the concrete and the bucket, otherwise moisture sucks into it.

Since I have talked looms, I thought you might want to play a game called can you spot a cat...

Missy says to keep working on your skills, you will need to know how to use them to live more frugally.

Tippy Longstockings says that whatever skills you have, build on them and keep working on your storage like with the bucket of flour - maintain what you have and build on it too.

Monday Message

"Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget. Store seeds and have sufficient tools on hand to do the job." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

If you don't have the equipment to can or dry food, then freeze what you can. But continue to try and get the equipment that you can and while you are trying to get these things, learn how to use them and you will be ready when you do get them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsY6HdtrJb8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQqhUiJ5BZ0&t=1s

Here are a couple of ideas on how to make your own solar dehydrator and maybe this will help you come up with your own version.

https://www.freshoffthegrid.com/dehydrating-food/ - here is good info on dehydrated food.

https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/ways-to-rehydrate-dehydrated-food/ - this gal has tons of wonderful info.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2022/08/monday-message_15.html - here is more things I do.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/07/monday-message.html - more info.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2020/08/monday-message_31.html - more drying.

It really helps the budget to use your excess veggies and fruits.

Look at yard sales and thrift stores and even look for sales online for dehydrators and other equipment that can help you put up food.

I tell you, I get my groceries once a month and so far no relief in the prices. I am glad that I am getting produce out of the garden.

I was given this cute ice chest. It's perfect for making my yogurt. I have some going in it even now.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2023/12/monday-message_11.html - you can scroll down to see my yogurt and yes, it is that thick. The recipe is just above that picture. I make two quarts at a time. When I open the last, then it is time to make more. I like this the best over any I have ever had, so I keep it in the refrigerator all the time as we have it daily.

This last week I moved my tea cart to the other end of dining room. When my sister and I were little (I was five, she was three) we lived in Wyoming. We went walking out on the prairie. We were told to stay near the fence line, which we did as it was a vast prairie. On our walk, we saw a wooden box on its side. We went to investigate and inside were the most beautiful dishes. They had flowers on them. We loved playing with them. We never knew why they were there... They looked like they fell there. It had that shredded packing material. We were too young to even question where they came from or what became of them. 

That was 63 years ago but that was a very wonderful memory of the two of us playing with those beautiful dishes. So on my cart are those same kind of dishes with pretty flowers around the plates, each invoking that memory from a walk on the prairie on a sunny day in Wyoming so many years ago.

I finished cleaning and organizing the basement. When faced with a huge project like I mentioned before, I will work an hour a day till the job is finished and that was this week for the basement.

I was given a needle punch kit...

I look forward to working on this and learn more about punch needle this is a pillow kit complete with everything.

Here I am in one of the dresses I recently made this dress cost time and skills as the rest was free... so skills are important to have.

Every year we have two love birds come back to our house. Well this year they have offspring. Aren't they cute? You will hear a parent cooing to let them know they are near.

How are you doing at building your skills? Are you trying to learn something new? Share what you have picked to work on in the comments.

A few things to keep in mind... Christmas is coming. I know in this awful heat where I am it is hard to think of, but do a little now and then to be ready. You can spread out the cost or be working on gifts.  The kids will soon be back in school. This will help you have more time to work on things.

Keep looking for sales to stock up.

Missy says find time to rest a little as you work so hard at being frugal.

Tippy Longstockings says keep thinking of what skills you are wanting to learn- you can do it!

Monday Message

"You do not need to go into debt, may I add, to obtain a year’s supply. Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account. Save a little for storage each pay-check." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

Have you ever had a huge job you needed to do and thought how ever will I get it done? Well, our basement was that task. I had to move many things, many times when we replaced the furnace and then had to put things back. A food storage shelf failed twice. Different shelves and the water heater needed replacing. Things just got shoved where I could get them out of the way for repairs.  

What I told myself was wait for a heatwave to come and then I will like going to work down there. Well, that time came. Hard work it has been but here is how I tackle a huge job... I tell myself one hour a day, then quit, and that is how I have been tackling this. If after an hour I feel like I can do more, I can do that, but at the two-hour mark I am pretty wore out. I can chuckle at this end of it... more like I have to work to find something to do, as all the big things have gotten tended.  

So if you are faced with a huge task, break it down do just a little at a time same with storage a little at a time.

I finished the dress I was working on last week. I had to be creative. I bought the fabric at Salvation Army for $2.99. The person had cut the full length of fabric down the fold so I really had to be creative but it turned out, so that was good.

But it did make me aware that things did not flow well in the sewing room, so when the dress was done I fixed the problems.

I moved my sewing space so that each ironing station is to the right of the machines.

I decided to switch up carts and put this one at the watercoloring desk. Which means I shifted things on my desk a bit.

Being so very busy and tired, I have decided to do one fun thing a day. I just started this so maybe that is something you would like to do for yourself as well.

I made this watercolor palette out of an Altoid tin a while ago. So my one fun thing for last two days was to swatch my watercolor sets. It took me two days I had children watercolor sets that I thought would at best tint the water. Boy, was I surprised! They had great color.

Another day I found this - https://seekatesew.com/cat-toy-sewing-pattern/ and did two. I made them as the fun thing to do that day.

My husband calls them cat fish since each fish has cat fabric on them. The directions call for a potato chip bag but I had this...

A cereal bag I could use. It's more crinkly than the chip bag. I also put some catnip in it for added fun.

Did the girls like them???

They loved them!

So if you find you are working too much, take a break and do one fun thing a day.

Missy says remember to be kind to others and you too might find a fun fish toy.

Tippy Longstockings says keep working on your storage and you may have fabric scraps to make a fish toy, plus, it is a good skill builder item!

Monday Message

"I wish to urge again the importance of self-reliance on the part of every individual Church member and family. None of us knows when a catastrophe might strike. Sickness, injury, unemployment may affect any of us. We have a great welfare program with facilities for such things as grain storage in various areas. It is important that we do this. But the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

I think we may have trouble either way the election goes...we should step up our storage and skill growing. Here's a reminder to pick up an item every time you go to the store.

We cannot prepare for everything, but we can ease the pain of hard times.

Go through your recipes and if you have them online, make a hard copy to have as a back up. You can still use online but if one day your server has issues and you are in the middle of a recipe, you can go get out your binder. We all know they go down from time to time. But go through your recipes, study them, find which ones are cheaper to fix but that your family still likes. Work with those and use the difference you normally spend for stocking up.

We are all having angry weather events so it is better to be prepared as much as we can.

https://www.self-reliance.com/2015/02/basic-long-term-food-storage/ - this has inspiring pictures of his pantry.

https://www.thehappyflammily.com/2020/03/month-supply-food-storage-family-four.html - this is interesting.

https://seasonedcitizenprepper.com/feed-a-family-of-4-for-1-year-for-less-than-300/ - this has some helpful lists.

https://foodstorageorganizer.com/printables/ - this has helpful info.

The few things I want to remind you are to store your yeast in the freezer and store what your family eats. If you store the food they don't eat, they will not eat it. Think of a food you hate...now think that is what is in your storage. First you would eat everything but that, oh yes, that is what I would do.

Also, there is food fatigue. Make sure you have plenty of variety - if all you store is beans and rice, no matter how much you like them, you will come to hate them in time. So store variety.

In my storage, there is always ingredients to make my chocolate cake, get the recipe HERE.

No matter what goes wrong, we can have chocolate cake.  

This brings me back to skills...

If you are someone who grabs a can of cinnamon rolls and one day that product is no longer available...and if you are saying it's never going to happen...it has happened to a lot of my favorite items. They either are cutting the product to cut costs or the store stops getting it as they are cutting their cost by offering less choice. So back to if you only do cinnamon rolls that way and for some reason you can't get them. Are you prepared to make them? Yes, you could go without them but who wants to do that?? If you have supplies on hand to make them from scratch and have that skill built up....yum!!  Really, which do you want - a life without cinnamon rolls or a life with them?

Now, I know you all want one now as do I.

This is the recipe I use for cinnamon rolls. Get more recipes HERE. Yes, I can make them by hand but if I can use a bread machine, I will. And can you take this recipe and do it by hand? Yes, you can. I did one at the same time - one in the machine and one by hand and you cannot tell the difference at all. The recipe was from before bread machines were a thing.

I make my own bread flour by adding one teaspoon of vital wheat gluten to one cup of flour and that equals a cup of bread flour.

Skill building...

I have shifted my sewing space to be more efficient and so far it works fantastically! I am in the middle of sewing a dress, it's almost done. You can see it there on the table

The space is small but I worked hard to get it to this place where I can function more smoothly in.

This gal is a weaver (a good one but) is talking about sewing machines....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHaxS1goq-s - video one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd-_w80fVGs - video two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7WSb1ZLc0 - video three.

I think these are very helpful.

To me, having a dedicated space set up so I don't have to keep dragging out stuff every time I sew is huge. I always have had a spot even if in the corner of my bedroom or living room, wherever, I would make it work. If I would have to drag it out every time, I would be wore out before I did anything.  

Missy says build those skills while you can. 

Tippy Longstockings says be working on your storage, the weather is angry.