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 want to tell you what my mother-in-law told me years ago. She said never ever go into debt for Christmas but to give within your means instead. Very good advice.

The ones you give to would not want to know you will be making payments all year on their gift.

If people gave me gifts I would want food storage items, totally would love it!

So parents think about food storage gifts for your kids away from home. Add family favorite recipes, how fun is that?

If you know someone struggling, make them a food care package, be sure to toss in chocolate and goodies with it.

It is not too early think on gifts for giving at Christmas time.

Make your own Angry Birds kit! Pattern HERE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTCodG3OOdw&feature=em-uploademail - apple roll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTCodG3OOdw&feature=em-uploademail - gift ideas

https://www.iheartnaptime.net/handmade-christmas-gifts/ - more gift ideas

http://www.the36thavenue.com/25-handmade-gifts-under-5/ - inexpensive gifts

http://www.bhg.com/christmas/gifts/ - gift ideas

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=inexpensive+homemade+christmas+gift+ideas&qpvt=inexpensive+homemade+christmas+gift+ideas&FORM=VDRE - ideas

http://www.woohome.com/diy-2/24-quick-and-cheap-diy-christmas-gifts-ideas - full of ideas
https://www.thespruce.com/homemade-gift-ideas-1251561 - gift ideas

https://www.thebalance.com/homemade-gifts-for-kids-1387907  good ideas

I am a firm believer in making craft kits with everything to open and do that go along with your child’s interest.
https://www.pinterest.com.au/explore/inexpensive-christmas-gifts/ - lots of ideas

Please don’t forget your sisters you visit teach and those who visit teach you and for home teaching families and those you home teach.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/11/13/a-do-it-yourself-christmas-34-great-gifts-you-can-make-yourself/ - this looks great

I have given you great places to start.

I again say give food storage. I was able one year to give a case of veggies, another year an oil lamp set.

So think of those you give to and please stay in budget.

Keep working on storage and keep working on skills and start working on Christmas.

Do it with love.

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)

"When will all these calamities strike? We do not know the exact time, but it appears it may be in the not-too-distant future. Those who are prepared now have the continuing blessings of early obedience, and they are ready. Noah built his ark before the flood came, and he and his family survived. Those who waited to act until after the flood began were too late. Let us not be dissuaded from preparing because of a seeming prosperity today, or a so-called peace.” (President Ezra Taft Benson)

It would be wise to be continually working on our storage.

Keep trying to be frugal. Patch those holes and if they're in kids pants they have cute ways to patch.

https://www.nationalsewingcircle.com/video/make-a-cute-monster-jeans-patch-for-a-kid-009661/

I remember being in line at an amish grocery. There was man wearing his coveralls. He was getting a hundred lb bag of potatoes. While I waited I noticed a patch on his overalls. I studied it and noticed the tiny stitches around the same fabric, probably coveralls saved for patches. The stitches were all tiny and even placed there with loving hands of his wife. So learn mending skills, just don’t throw out things.

https://www.thespruce.com/mend-your-clothing-and-save-money-2978474

This week I hitched a ride with hubby as he had a town errand. I stopped at the library and found a Hy-Vee cookbook that all the employees put their favorite recipes in. I have a newer copy from 1999 and the one at library was 1989.  It was free and I am excited. I loved the one I had, now I have a ten year older one that will net many more recipes. I also got my youngest grandson a beginning reading book for free as well.

The book I had is on the right the older and free find is on left.

So look for frugal opportunities.

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/preparing-for-winter.html

We have already started winterizing at our house. A reminder, soon you will need to unhook hoses and nozzles or your things will freeze and ruin all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnRVCKC-Gwo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4RPG8SP4Kw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ5c7MW8xKI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnRVCKC-Gwo&t=38s

These videos will help you know what to do with the year-end garden things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8_KM5PWbzU - how to stop buying the canned soup which has gone up in price so bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ZRYS7D4tQ&t=10s easy to can dried beans to have on hand for convenience.

It is time to sit by the fireplace and start working on gifts…

These are some of the gifts I made last year. Remember, live within your means! Homemade gifts are fun!

Missy says have fun trick or treating but be very safe!!!!

Monday Message

"Store a provision of food which will last for at least a year wherever it is legally permissible to do so. The Church has not told you what foods should be stored. This decision is left up to individual members. . .From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. ‘There is more salvation and security in wheat,’ said Orson Hyde years ago, ‘than in all the political schemes of the world’ (in Journal of Discourses, 2:207). Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent.” (President Ezra Taft Benson)

We are blessed by the wisdom of those who have gone before us, who show by example things that would be helpful.

When storing wheat you need to remember a wheat grinder. Get a corn and grain hand grinder if that is all you can do at first. We were given one to us. It looks like this -http://thewholetruth.org/Res_Corona.asp I bet there are used ones out there.

I love how it cracks wheat and is good in case of no power. Then as you can get an additional one. We were blessed to have been gifted one from my sister. This makes it easier as I have fibromyalgia.  This is the one I have - https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=pvhoOcqs&id=32CCCE4C72D6D2D3F41B1B630BFEE1B1A6E3CE18&thid=OIP.pvhoOcqsyP9zr5TE4-dOQgEsEs&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.topgrainmills.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2016%2f02%2fwondermill-grain-mill.jpg&exph=1000&expw=1000&q=grain+mills&simid=608006313937666273&selectedIndex=53&ajaxhist=0

And also don’t forget to store the wheat. I love love love white wheat. I get my wheat here - https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/food-storage/home-storage-center-order-form?lang=eng

I have also seen wheat at Walmart that is fantastic as well. It is on the shelf with the large bags of flour.

I store my wheat in food grade plastic five gallon buckets. I go to bakery places and get the buckets for free or a small fee. I wash them well and dry well, then I air dry overnight just to be sure. I load into the bucket then I place two bay leaves on top, close the bucket and then label and date it. I then store in the basement and here is what I want you to know - DO NOT store any food storage directly on the concrete. I put a piece of wood between the floor and buckets and other storage.

http://www.mormonshare.com/lds-clipart/crazy-huge-list-of-food-storage-recipes - this is a treasure trove of food storage recipes.

Robert D. Hales passed away and I wanted to add my favorite story he told, it’s message is so important…

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-03-06-becoming-provident-providers?lang=eng&_r=1

Use your storage, rotating and using and replacing is the best way to have storage.

If children are not used to eating the things you have stored they won’t eat it!! So best to put wheat in your pancakes and breads.  That sort of thing.

Don’t do a "some day" storage do a huge pantry storage you use and replace and keep rotated.

Skills - how are you doing on them?

It is time to get out knitting and spinning and settle in.

https://www.nationalsewingcircle.com/video/sewing-buttons-quickly-and-easily-009028/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=A6199&vsoid=A6199 - this a great button video.

Feels finally like fall and I am trying to learn more on making socks. Here are the two I recently finished. I am now knitting their mates and I am enjoying learning as I go.

Keep working on your storage and skills. It is not too early to be working on Christmas gifts, also be sure to plan for those soon to come snow days.

Gus and Missy say hi and to keep doing the best you can! 

Monday Message

"In words of revelation the Lord has said, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing" (D&C 109:8).  Our people for three-quarters of a century have been counseled and encouraged to make such preparations as will assure survival should a calamity come.  We can set aside some water, basic food, medicine, and clothing to keep us warm.  We ought to have a little money laid aside in case of a rainy day." Gordon B. Hinckley.

"Brethren, 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... I do not predict any impending disaster ... yet prudence should govern our lives ... We can begin with a one week food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. ... I fear that so many feel that a long-term supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all.  Begin in a small way... gradually build toward a reasonable objective." Gordon B. Hinckley, Priesthood Session, October 2002

Count how many times you go to the store. Now every time you set foot in the store pick up one thing for storage. You will be surprised at how it grows. If all you can get is a jar of peanut butter or a package of gelatin or a box of Band-Aids, it will add to your storage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnhFAhtmEUw&feature=em-uploademail - this is such a great help, I just love these girls.

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/02/05/food-storage-blender-wheat-pancakes/ - these blender pancakes are the best thing one can do with wheat. Ok, I am a pancake person. If you have a blender and stored wheat, you can make these even if you are still waiting to get your grain mill. Your kids would love to make these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx352N2foFE&feature=em-uploademail - I like this gal too. This is doable as well.

http://peaceofpreparedness.com/CookingWithFoodStorage.html - some recipes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxUQuc6uIWE&feature=em-uploademail - this is the next knitting lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzTncNT9VYA&feature=em-subs_digest - she is the other gal who works with the above taco video. Watch this if you don’t do anything else. She is such a great presenter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Aen1ffHpQ - she is doing the needles and yarn big to be better for you to see. You could use size ten needles with regular Walmart type yarn.

This is a double sock blank. I knit two yarns together, I then dyed it.

Because I knit the two yarns together I needed to roll each yarn into a ball. These two balls, one for each sock, will knit the socks identical.

Here you see what the finished sock looks like. I never would have guessed what the finished sock would look like. This is just one of the skills I am working on.

What skill are you working on?

This week I made one batch of peach jam plain and two batches of raspberry/peach jam pictured at the top. I froze the rest except for about fifteen that weren’t quite ripe, we are just eating those fresh.

The peaches are from our two peach trees and the raspberries I picked earlier in the year and froze. I used only two packages of the raspberries, one for each batch. The rest will be made into raspberry jam later. These were picked from a new raspberry patch that started around one side of our back deck.

I have two peaches left on the trees. I want to see if I can grow two more trees, we will see.

Having these to work up is a real blessing to us. Was it work? Yes, it was but one bite and it was all worth it.

I was able to stop at the library in a nearby town when we were there on errands and I got a couple mysteries, cooking magazines, and a knitting book - all free! I do love this service that they do, you need to check out your library and see if they provide it too.

So these were my frugal things this week along with dehydrating ten packages of mixed veggies that were on sale for $0.68 a bag and did ten packages of mushrooms that I sliced and dried. They were on sale for $0.69 a box.

What did you do this week to be frugal?

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)

Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future.” (L. Tom Perry)

How are you coming on your skills? We need to keep building on basic skills and expand from there. Baking bread, knitting, sewing, cooking from scratch, living within our means, getting out of debt, canning, dehydrating food, all kinds of home production, gardening, crocheting, budgeting, this list goes on and on.

I push skills on you all the time. Having skills helps to stretch your budget.  It helps your family.  It is not busy work. There is so much out there that is trying to grab your attention. If we try to learn these skills whether you feel you need them or not it will be a huge blessing to you and others.

Living frugally is a goal we should all want.

When we have needed things, we looked for them used first. This has been a huge stretching of a budget and a blessing for us.  

Trying to be frugal….

When our girlies were just tykes the sewing machine I was trying to learn on was in just rotten shape so we looked for a used machine. We found one in the paper. The lady could not take it with her as the place they were going was a different electrical. It has been a work horse for me for years and years and years and it's my favorite still. It was ten years old when I got it and since which is thirty more years.

Look at yard sales and thrift stores…

Here is my thrift store blender. It was like new. A couple weeks later I happened in there again and still in its box (pictured on the left) was the food processor attachment. I'm still using them now. If you look under the jar you can see my waffle iron which came from a yard sale. 

I have found two food savers at different yard sales. This one was brand new and still in the package. The other is like new and is a newer one. So you see buying used has served me well.

All my canning supplies are bought used except for new lids.

I found a shower curtain at a yard sale and turned it into kitchen curtains that cost fifty cents. This definitely saved us money.

Every one of my bread pans came from yard sales, most for ten cents. Which brings me to another skill, making bread….

I pushed on learning to make bread. I watched others how they made bread and made it a priority to learn.

So when I push skills it is because I have learned them and they have blessed us. I keep on learning!!  Also buying used has helped us over and over through the years and when I use my ten cent bread pans I feel happy that over the years I got them at yard sales.  I would get the kids’clothes for school used. My reasoning was you can buy a brand new pair of jeans for your kid and one romp outside and they are used jeans. So a quarter beat ten dollars in my book and if you knew how to sew you could be creative in sewing on patches as the need arose.

What frugal things have I been doing this week? I was blessed to pick apples from friends.

I made apple rings. If you have a peeler like this you know it peels and cores and slices the apple in a coil. If you cut top to bottom on one side you get individual rings if you cut in half you get pie slices. After doing the rings I put them in water with lemon juice then into dehydrators. Yes, this year I had 23 trays on two different dehydrators going.

If you look at the top pic the basket is empty. The apples from this bushel fit into this bucket. I did this three times and have three buckets of dried apples.

I picked the peaches and they were about 3/4ths of a bushel, yum! So I will be having to start jam.

These things have kept me busy and sore but remember my deal, if Heavenly Father sends me produce I will happily put it up as my own gardening did not net much for us this year.

I found these great videos to teach you to knit in time to make a knit scarf for winter…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3uEnbYqZSk - slip knot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn3V2KHZSIc - this shows how to cast on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBx5PTdcXdg - how to knit 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j3oOv-ygQk&feature=em-uploademail - purl

So this will help you build a skill. Practice it and make scarves for gift made by you.

So this blog post was heavy on frugal and skill building. I hoped to show things can be gotten used that are very helpful to us and our budget. 

When we first moved here we had no refrigerator and no stove and no money. So what we did have was a microwave, a crockpot that sat on a base, and a freezer. We went along like that till we got some pay. We could spend a hundred dollars for a stove or a refrigerator but not both. So I chose a stove. We borrowed a truck and I looked in the paper. There was a yard sale that had refrigerators for fifteen dollars. They were perfect for worms they said. We bought the better one. It was so old it was from the fifties. So we got the stove and this worm fridge, cleaned them up and felt like we arrived. So you see used things have blessed my family

Keep working on storage. Frozen veggies are on a really good sale. They are my favorite to dehydrate as all the hard work is done for you. Just open and dump on trays and dry. Mushrooms are on sale again. I will do more of those, dehydrating them as I showed before.

I will be doing peach jam.

Tell us what frugal things you are doing :)

Do the best you can!