Monday Message

"We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a one week’s 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 food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all. . .Begin in a small way, … and gradually build toward a reasonable objective." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

Starting small can be worked into a budget quite easily if one uses thrifty ways.

We are starting into the hardest part of the year. Heating bills will be up, groceries are up, and it is dark and cold if you are in my neck of the woods.

I finished the hat I was sewing. I made it reversible, it took longer to cut out than it did to sew up. Here's a link to the pattern - https://www.fleecefun.com/basic-hat-adult-child-and-baby-pattern-and-tutorial/

This is the week before Christmas at the time I am writing this post. Our weather has turned colder brrr. I have a big pot of chili in the crockpot and made a pan of cinnamon rolls. When we were in grade school they served these two together and it was a fast favorite.

I have been working hard to make a few kits up of things I want to work on. Christmas Eve I want to cast on a hat and Christmas Day I have an embroidery project I would like to start and a little beading project I have been learning to do, so I will be ready.

I have all included in the bags ready and waiting.

I finished the spin project I had going as you can see in the picture. I saved the label from the fleece and taped it on the skein at the end so I would have the information. I also started another as part of my fun for the holidays idea.

I have been rushing to finish the mats I have on the loom so I can get it warped up with my next project which will be dish towels... which brings me to what I want to say...

I am trying to use what I have on my bobbins and using up the warp on the loom. I am hurrying so I can have the dish towels on the loom by Christmas. I am only able to do one mat or so a day before my back complains and rushing isn't helping with that as well. So while I have put this self-imposed deadline on myself trying to meet this goal of getting this done, I have decided when I get those dish towels warped up and a few rows worked, I will slow this way down and enjoy the process more. And that is how I plan to do the things I have planned, moving to more process rather than production, to take everything slower and enjoy the process, enjoy my minutes to find joy in a slower pace.

I am concerned about the virus. I heard two doctors on tv yesterday, one said that in a few weeks we will enter into the fifth wave and it would be the worse yet. The other said we should be wearing N95 masks and if not able to then two of the others...add that to what the president said that it would be dark and we would lose many more people. All this and the rumblings of shortages and higher prices just really puts a dark outlook on the future so I am trying to find things that will bring me joy.

I think the new year will find us all tightening our belts a bit more.

How can we make that not such a drudge?? I think staying positive. The chocolate cake rule I have is one way to do that. No matter what, I always have the ingredients on hand to make this chocolate cake.  No matter how hard things are I make this cake and it somehow helps. I also plan to make it for my birthday which is early January so it's not just in hard times that I make this cake. When there were hard times I would make it, I wanted it to represent normalcy for the family so the kids would not worry. So no matter what happens I can make chocolate cake which is why I always keep the ingredients on hand.

Get the recipe here - http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2020/04/monday-message_20.html

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/frugal-living-guide - helpful ideas here.

We don't need to do these things grudgingly, we need to set a positive mood. Make things like a game.

This reminds me of an article I read in the Ensign in 2013 - https://media.ldscdn.org/pdf/magazines/ensign-july-2013/2013-07-19-powdered-milk-budgets-and-blessings-eng.pdf?lang=eng

Having hard times does NOT hurt our children in any way, they are so resilient. We all have had hard times...they will have hard times too. It is part of life.

Gus and Missy say that their chocolate cake is a toy and catnip. It really is the simple things that make a difference.