Monday Message

"Today, I emphasize a most basic principle: home production and storage. Have you ever paused to realize what would happen to your community or nation if transportation were paralyzed or if we had a war or depression? How would you and your neighbors obtain food? How long would the corner grocery store—or supermarket—sustain the needs of the community?" (President Ezra Taft Benson)

We are still plugging away trying to get over this sickness - not an easy thing for two old people.

Every job has to be done in parts.

One day my husband dug a hole for a post. I gathered the dirt from the hole in pots as it was going to rain. So I pushed myself to do this, it was very hard but it kept the dirt dry.

Then a couple days later I filled these produce containers I had collected over the years. Then a couple days later I was able to plant seed to get my plants started.

So every thing is taking way longer to do than I would like but at least I have planted the seeds. Now to get better before the plants will need to go into the garden.

Are you going to plant some things this year?

I still see no prices coming down and expect they will go up. So you might want to think about planting and preparing for harder times ahead.

Today I vacuum sealed some crushed flax seed. Again, took it in steps. Gathered my jars and used lids and rings and cut coffee filters to fit each jar to put on top of the crushed flax seed to keep particles from going into my sealer.  As you know, one can use the flax seed as an egg replacer as well as in other things.

One of the jars was a half gallon jar that uses a wide mouth lid. There are two ways I can vacuum seal in jars. One is in a canister - and I can use any jar with it's lid that can fit in the canister. The other way is to use the jar top attachment which is the way I did the half gallon jar. And when I use from that jar I will reseal it.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2018/11/monday-message_99.html - I talked about this in this post if you want more details.

Learning to do sourdough is a skill as well.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2014/01/monday-message.html - lots of sourdough info here.

I know many do "no-spend months" but I feel now is the time to gather in storage, use and rotate rather than let it get too low.

Keep being frugal as much as you can. Keep haunting thrift stores and yard sales for items that can help you like canners, vacuum sealers, dehydrators... items that will help you to put up food.

Build the skills of bread making and jam making, also stock proteins....canned meats, beans, etc.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2019/08/monday-message.html - I make this recipe into mixes in the jar. All I have to do is add the water to the bread machine and dump in one of these mixes.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2016/02/monday-message_29.html

I am so thankful I have several jarred mixes ahead, especially now as this is our conference weekend  and we like to have chili and cinnamon rolls. It will be easy to make, plus I keep cooked hamburger in the freezer for when I need an easy meal and so chili will just be a dump in the crockpot deal as well.  We are looking forward to it.

So keep working at your storage. I try to work hard on my grocery list to allow for me to get one or two items to stick away.

Keep working on those skills.

Missy says be wise in your spending, stay in budget and stay well.

Tippy Longstockings says keep working on skill building, being frugal and be kind look after others.

Monday Message

"When we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep warm, and you cannot wear it." (J. Richard Clarke)

Just a thought to make one think.

We are still pretty sick here. I feel like groundhog day - wake up, still sick, drag through the bare necessities, the drop of course, resting hurts my hip for some reason and so it sure isn't fun.

I made a big batch of Burrito Filling:

Hamburger cooked

Refried beans

Enchilada sauce

I just throw in the crockpot and for the leftovers I just scoop out what is needed to microwave.

I made a batch of Haystack Gravy: 

Can chicken

Can of cream of chicken 

Chicken broth

My chicken gravy mix I keep in jars. Here is the recipe: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/ready-gravy-mix/?srsltid=AfmBOop5o_WGskGrxJxK3TJ_nFWjIInG6zJ1-stjaOjDyKcbLrSvkVMP#RecipeCard

Towards the end, I put cornstarch in cold water and add to thicken it.

Like the other, this I do in the crockpot and then store leftovers in the refrigerator. I just scoop out some as needed.

I chose these as I had veggies bought and Chinese noodles and so chopped them and put in baggies.

I like mine over Chinese noodles topped with chopped celery and chopped green pepper and chopped onion. Then I top with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped almonds.

Hard for me to do all this while sick but then it just goes together after that fast.

So this has been helpful for a while.

I can say I am so tired of being this sick for this long but pushing on.

I had gotten some foam squares that hook together from the recycle place before we got sick. I use them for blocking various things I knit or crochet or tat. It was a big batch in a bag so I made two cat caves...

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/09/monday-message-food-storage-in-small.html - ideas for storing here.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2019/07/monday-message_8.html - skills.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2020/02/monday-message_24.html - more on skill building here.

So while I have been sick these girls haven't left my side....

Missy and Tippy Longstockings say...

Take care of yourselves or they may come and have shenanigans at your house too. They want you to keep stocking your pantries and find frugal ways along with building skills. They also want to say they love you all and are proud of you!

Monday Message

"A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life." (Bishop Keith B. McMullin)

"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)

Well I did end up getting Covid as well as my husband. What a rough time we have had and are still having.

It is here. I will remind everyone to have a sick plan. I did not think I would ever feel this bad for this long so you might want to put in extra.

Also, learn from me it was so bad even putting a baked potato in the oven was too much...plus no sense of smell or taste.

The good news for us was insurance did end up paying all but $250 each. While this still hurts, we thought they wouldn't pay any, so there is that.

This is March 20, 2025, at the time I am writing this. I sure can see how people died from this. I also am thankful we were vaccinated to the hilt. It will still take some time to recover. This is my last day of Paxlovid.

I can honestly say I am worried about the next pandemic, will there even be these things available?

Prices continue to be high, how are you doing? How is your storage coming along? How is your skill building coming?

Tippy Longstockings is shocked at the prices.

People heading into spring will know today is the first day of spring. Be gathering your dirt and your pots and your seeds, it will soon be time to start those garden seeds. Even if you don't have a spot to garden, consider gardening in pots. Every little thing will help. We will need every bit of knowledge to make it through these very difficult times and the whole globe is affected.

Think how much you will save and what you will learn.

https://www.lionsbread.com/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/ - having and keeping a sourdough starter is a skill worth working on. Your family will love eating your tests.

Now is the time to learn to can before things get busy with harvest.

Missy wants you to brush up on those skills...

Here are a few that I am working on to give you ideas...

Sewing...

Making yarn learning to dye and spin fiber...

Embroidery and mending...

Learn to make yogurt...

Learn to knit

Learn to bake a pie...

Learn to weave...

Learn to vacuum seal...

Learn to dehydrate food...

These are just a few of the skills I work on. I would love to hear your lists in the comments below.

But remember to always look up and find joy in everything you do.

We need to keep positive thoughts and be KIND in all we do.

Missy says things are hard right now but we must find joy and help others and be kind... keep working at being frugal. 

Tippy Longstockings says she encourages you to be on the lookout for bargains and frugal ideas and to keep working on your storage.

Monday Message

"Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

I feel now more than ever we need to be helping those around us who are in need, also show kindness more than ever before.

We need to find joy. It will be harder to do but we must try. Also, at this time here in the US it is hard to not be discouraged but we have to take the time to find joy. There is nothing we can do but pray and try to keep our homea as stable as we can. Chocolate cake time is what I call it. Get my favorite recipe HERE.

Try to keep your home life as normal as you can and tighten your belt, no extra spending! Get out your frugal recipes. If you are afraid no one will like them, do rolls to go with and chocolate cake.

If you buy a lot of frozen prepared food, now is definitely the time to put in the basics instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjb-Of5_jRs - what items to put in the pantry.

https://www.thriftyfrugalmom.com/frugal-pantry-staples-to-help-you-cook-from-scratch/ - staples

https://onepotwellness.com/budget-pantry-staples-list/ - some ideas here.

https://joyfullythriving.com/10-items-to-stockpile-in-a-pantry/ - more ideas.

https://www.unexpectedlydomestic.com/pantry-staples-on-a-budget/ - there are some ideas here as well.

https://www.mommyskitchen.net/2024/02/the-homemade-pantry.html - great help here.

At the time of this writing our General Conference is two weeks away. I love conference and so look forward to it, especially now. You can watch the conference here - www.lds.org as they replay them and I think you will find watching it very calming right now for sure. It is our thing to have chili and cinnamon rolls on conference weekend.

I make these rolls by using the bread dough recipe from this cookbook... get the recipes HERE.

When the dough is done, I spread sugar and cinnamon raisins and chopped walnuts or pecans, roll and then I cut the roll in half and then each half I cut again into six so that you have twelve rolls that fit nicely into a 9x13 size pan. Cover and let rise till doubled in size then bake at 350 degrees for twenty to thirty minutes. Remove from oven and cool. When cool you can frost. I do about two cups powdered sugar, two tbsp butter, and I use 1 tsp of vanilla but it could be what you like. For example, almond flavoring or maple just what you like on your rolls. Then I add very little of the hottest tap water, stir an add more as needed to get frosting consistency.

Cinnamon rolls and chili must be an Iowa thing. We used to have this for school lunches. It was always a hit. So it is a yummy and inexpensive meal. Very much one of my comfort meals.

You just do not know what is coming around the corner.

This week my husband came down with Covid on Tuesday. Paxlovid - the med you need to start within the window of three days from onset of symptoms or positive test costs $1,754.17

This is quite a hit. Insurance did cover some of it but if it hadn't, we were going to have to be on a payment plan for meds that would cost about two hundred dollars a month - IF AND I MEAN IF I do not catch it... If I do, double that amount per month through the end of the year.

So yes Covid is still out there. Thank goodness we kept up our vaccinations.

So that was our unexpected thing around the corner. This makes an already tight budget a whole lot tighter. Having food storage is a blessing to help stretch dollars for us.

Today, while I write this post we are going to have our first potentially severe weather so when it rains it pours.

Missy says to get some storage in to help you over the rough patches. Prices are still higher and talk of going higher. Be sure to rotate your storage, use oldest first.

Tippy Longstockings says try very hard to find joy every day!

They both say to please be safe out there!

Monday Message

"Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. We could refer to all the components of personal and family preparedness, not in relation to holocaust or disaster, but in cultivating a life-style that is on a day-to-day basis its own reward." (President Spencer W. Kimball)

I think we will have these high prices for a while so continue put by some food in your storage for hard times.

When our girls were little we played a game called buckle buckle beanstalk. Everyone but one would leave the room. The one left would hide an object we all picked and then they would say warmer or colder till the object was found. The finder would shout buckle buckle beanstalk and then it was their turn to hide it.

I just finished spring cleaning for now. I had reorganized books putting them in new areas but I could not find one book. I hunted and hunted but tonight I can say buckle buckle beanstalk...

Platz is our favorite recipe from their site and in this book the recipe is in this link - https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2017/03/monday-message_13.html 

Keep working on being frugal. Build those skills while you can.

Making the platz will be a great way to build your bread skills.

I am so tired of spring cleaning but it's good to get it done. Gardening time will be here soon enough ugggh.

So if you haven't perfected bread baking, now is the time before you get too busy with the gardening.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2014/01/sister-millers-rolls.html - these are fantastic, also it's a great place to start. Rolls are great!

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2021/05/monday-message_10.html - of course you know this is our favorite recipe. So many different things can be made from this dough, even pizza.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2018/03/monday-message_12.html - there are quite a few links for bread goods here.

So keep up the good work. Be a blessing to others along your way as well.

Missy says learn all you can now when you are not under as much stress so that when you are, you will know what to do.

Tippy Longstockings says beef up those skills... they will bless you.