"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.
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.
I have made this chocolate cake several times after you first posted it. It is very good & everyone loves it! I always have the ingredients on hand. Thank You! Pat, from the Great State of Texas. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI love it too always have got it from a neighbor in 1975 glad you like it too
DeleteDEAR BECKY: ESE PASTEL SE VE MUY SABROSO¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ ME ENCANTA EL CHOCOLATE HERMANA, ES MI FAVORITO, MI ESPOSO SIEMPRE ME TRAE ALFAJORES DE CHOCOLATE DE UNA PANADERIA Y AUNQUE AQUI HACE MUCHO CALOR AHORA, LOS COMO IGUAL AUNQUE ESTEN UN POCO PEGAGOSOS JAJAJAJA. QUE TIEMPOS DIFICILES QUE ESTAMOS VIVIENDO Y ESTOY ALGO PREOCUPADA, EN MI PAIS HAY CUALQUIER CANTIDAD DE INFESTADOS Y AHORA ESTAMOS EN EPOCAS DE VACACIONES DE VERANO, TODO EL MUNDO SALE A LAS PLAYAS EL QUE PUEDE Y TIENE PLATA, NO ES NUESTRO CASO, NOS QUEDAMOS EN CASA, NO SE QUE PASARA EL AÑO QUE VIENE, SE ESTA PONIENDO MUY DIFICIL TODO, AQUI TAMBIEN LOS PRECIOS ESTAN AUMENTANDO DEMASIADO, CUESTA MUCHO ESTAR AL DIA, DEBEMOS AHORRAR EN TODO LO QUE SE PUEDE, PUDE COMPRARME ALGUNAS LANAS PARA TEJER MEDIAS Y PULOVERES PARA EL PROXIMO INVIERNO, YA EL PRECIO SUBIO NO QUIERO PENSAR CUANTO COSTARA LA MADEJA EN LOS MESES DE FRIO, EL PRECIO DE LOS ALIMENTOS AUMENTA CADA SEMANA, SE HACE DIFICIL, ES UNA LOCURA TODO. BUENO TE ENVIO UN ABRAZO Y SI TIENES TIEMPO, PASA POR MI BLOG, HICE UNA PUBLICACION ULTIMAMENTE. BENDICIONES.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad you are being safe. I like your idea for your knitting needles.
DeleteWe love that chocolate cake, too! But, right now our freezer is stuffed with all sorts of goodies from Christmas so I need not bake for a few weeks. We have not watched the news and all the gloom and doom for over a year and a half. We find that we are much less stressed and happier by keeping the news off. There were a few times we needed to see the weather and we asked our selves why we ever watched it. It was all the same murders and crimes that we saw over and over and it is best just to let all that go. We especially do not want to see the Covid updates since that is what sells the news these days and they have to keep us worried and afraid. We just did not need that in our lives.
ReplyDeleteWe are having an extremely mild winter here is SC. In fact toady we took the fifty or so pots of plants that we over winter in our garage out to the driveway until Friday! They will enjoy the sunshine and hopefully get rained on later in the week.
We continue to trust in God for provision and our very lives. He has been faithful! Five years ago today my husband had a massive heart attack and spent ten days in a coma. I will never be as terrified as I was for those ten days. Covid is just a blip on history compared to what I went through for those ten days.
Happy New Year!
I hear you same my husband had triple bypass and it was like I couldn't breathe till I knew he was OK. Yes on the news finding things I like to do and watching shows I enjoy like old Columbo shows and reading I do try to keep numbers for here in my journal but things are not accurate at all and they don't have the current ones so that hasn't been helpful. I did get the loom warped...so that was good yes we all need to find fun things to do or think about
DeleteI'm sorry that you have been through that awful terror, too. We are going to go out and look at Christmas lights tonight instead of sitting here and thinking about five years ago. Me and you are stronger than we think!
DeleteYes we are we can do hard things have fun looking at lights
DeleteI'm going to go look at your recipe. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
ReplyDelete