rockncook

Is the email addy still working? I could send a few recipes each day and you can do with them what you will. Some will probably be dupes as I've gotten some from here. Anything else I can do to help? I have quite a bit of marketing experience as well. I know originally Hill said she'd do that, but she's juggling a lot right now, so I'd be happy to lend a hand with that, or with anything else that might be needed. Mommy of Six

These are some incredible lists. Paired with Nana's $20/wk plan, I can see how it would be easy for a family to put together the plan that best suited their needs and financial abilities. I appreciate the things all of you ladies have shared! Mommy of Six

Also a note on colloidal silver. I'm not sure where it is on the list of stuff, because I just c/p'd it to read and plan with later tonight, but if you're starting this late, say August or September, and it's further down on the list, you may want to bump it up to an earlier week. CS WILL freeze, some places won't ship in winter months, some places will but will not be liable if it does freeze. I had one freeze on me during shipping and they would NOT replace it. So if you have to order it rather than buying locally, get it before cold weather sets in. I second or third or whatever that this is AMAZING stuff, so if it's winter and you're doing this, it's worth a drive if you have to go get it. Mommy of Six

Finances are my biggest concern, too. Right now we are still paycheck to paycheck. Because DH is still just a temp, some weeks he gets 55+ hours, but this week he'll be lucky to get 40. So we're using the big checks to get ahead enough that we can still do what we need to do with the small checks. Things are getting better, but they are still tight. We live in gov't housing. I'm hoping that they would be umm, nice, but I'm not counting on it. While I'd love to shelter in place during the pandemic, the reality of it is, I may have to run. Spending the winter in a tent in the mountains does NOT appeal to me, but we may have no choice...although the flip side of that is...if this all goes THAT badly, will they be able to enforce an eviction or foreclosure? The few police that aren't sick will be busy dealing with looting, vigilantes, etc. I think putting someone out of their home will be last on their list. Of course, that's only putting off the inevitable, because eventually it will happen if you haven't been making payments. But by then it will be warmer, so less to worry about. That being said, I'd be a mighty happy camper if I had six month's worth of rent under the mattress. It's not going to happen unless the pandemic comes after IRS refund time, although part of that money will also be spent finishing up preps that haven't been done. Mommy of Six

Welcome, Lilly!

Oooh, not even close to ready. Sick kids, heating element went out on dryer, money coming late from a client....not good. But, I'm excited. Oldest DD comes home Tuesday. THAT will be my Christmas!

Oooh, westie, you give me inspiration. I know I could make a business out of planning, but not locally. With the economy here, most are too afraid to start a biz right now, and the ones that have been at it awhile have an "If it ai'nt broke, don't fix it" mentality. Everytime I go in to the local market I see things that could be improved and how sales could be increased, but whenever I say anything at all to the owner, he just kind of smiles and nods. As "townies" go, we're new, having been here only about 4 years, I think that has something to do with it. Anyway, thanks for such an inspring post. I will make a note to pay attention to signage. WE'd be outside and I want to put an awning up if we can (shade trees we may not be able to) and I could paint the awning, but I'll make a sign, too. First year vendors get whatever space is next on the list of available when they get there. I think DH would enjoy the challenge of fabricating a pole that would rotate the sign! Then I could have 3 different messages! or four! LOL We will be on the main road, I think, but I am also going to look at stuff near the rides. As what I have will be natural bath and body stuff, plus crafts, I don't need to be too near the ag part. I think what I have will appeal to a lot of the out of towners that come for the fair experience, not necessarily the folks that bring livestock to show.

We'll be doing essentially the same dinner we had at Thanksgiving.

Has anyone ever sold their wares at a State Fair? I am planning things (I am a consumate planner, if only I could make a living doing just that, LOL) and am looking at doing the sTate Fair in a few years. It's $900 for 16 days, exposure to over half a million people, so the cost is reasonable-but it's also a huge risk, having inventory in stock, etc. Have any of you ever odne this? How did it go?

Friday it is! Kids get out at 2 today, so we'll have some extra time to spend together. Working on laundry and my biz plan today. There is something rather tranquil about folding laundry-perhaps because there is a sense of accomplishment when it's done. I NEVER see my kitchen completely clean. About the time I get all the dishes done it's time to start the next meal. The bathroom amazingly manages to get icky 5 mins after I clean it. But with laundry, even though that is never ending, you fold the clothes and put them away. The empty baskets are put in their spot where they stay, empty, until the next round of laundry. You empty the sorters (even if they have something in it the next day again!) and also see progress there. I actually feel like I'm accomplishing something when I do laundry, LOL. Snow, I'm glad you're getting in to see the doc today. Do let us know how it goes! I'm not done yet, either. This weekend I will finish up the "bought" things at Walmart. My kids are going to have to get a lot of IOU's for Christmas this year. In this small house, there wasn't much room to hide presents, and not much money to buy them with. But I am giving them certificates good for a certain item on a certain date, so that I can buy one thing a week to get them more gifts. OK, off to go work on things, after one more post in the Crafts forum. TTYL!

Quote: Nope not worried here. I make a yellow dock tincture that will kill the influenza virus. We have 100% sucsess with it. Care to share your recipe? I am planning on trying four thieves vinegar next season, this would be another good thing to try!

First off, let me say how truly thrilled I am to finally be posting some GOOD news here. It seems the last year of my life has been very topsy turvy and you ladies have stuck through it all with me, and I appreciate you all so very much for that! Several months back I posted about the job that I have and how I want so desperately to get out of this business, for so many reasons. There is no way I can just quit...we're technically homeless as it is, but things could get worse and there's no way I'm risking that. I have, however, taken two huge steps that will allow me, in time, to stop the job I hate. The first is that I have enrolled in school (correspondence courses) to become a nutritionist. I want to become a Naturopathic Doctor, and the nutritionist courses will count towards that degree. I can also probably find work locally as a nutritionist once I'm done. The second is that I've started selling a health benefits program that will help me make some additional income, which will all go in to savings for getting us into a new house. It is something that I can work on while the kids are home, too. I am very happy that I have finally gotten things on the right track. I just wanted to share with all of you that have stuck with me during all of the yucky stuff!

Me too, from my dad!

Yay Spider! Well last night was reasonably enjoyable. The little kids looked adorable, and the older kids sounded great. We came home and everyone just collapsed! Today I am going to work in the kitchen (imagine THAT, LOL) and make certificates for oldest DD's gifts. She needs clothes, having been in Arizona, she doens't have much for winter, but I can't buy them till she's here, so I'm going to make little gift certificates that say "1 pair of jeans" etc. I did buy her a few pair but this way I can be more sure of the sizes. WE got 4 inches of snow last night, and Main Street is just a sheet of ice, but at least I didn't get stuck this time LOL. It's supposed to hit 39 today, which should take the edge off the ice. 50 by Saturday LOL. Welcome to Colorado!

Morning! Well, it's not cold here yet, but a small front is supposed to be moving in, will leave us with a bit of snow. Tonight is our Christmas program. They cram in every grade, from Pre-K through 12th, in to one night, glare at us when the younger kiddoes get noisy along around bedtime, but won't let us pick up our older kids until the whole thing is done. I plan on being a bit evil this year if my kids get glared at once 8 pm rolls around and telling the band director that she needs to let the little ones go home early or the parents are going to be the ones throwing fits. WE go through this 2-3 times every year and I am, quite frankly, tired of it, On the one hand, being a rural community, I can understand the need to have it all in one night, on the other hand, if you expect my 4 year old child to be quiet and on best behavior way past her bed time, you need to re-evaluate your decision to teach. The first year we were here, I got glared at by the band leader for her fussing, and then by everyone else in town for discreetly nursing her (she wasn't a year yet). I do NOT look forward to these events at all. They have all the enjoyment of watching the kids sucked out of it by the attitude of the band director. OK, end rant! Today I am working and cleaning the kitchen. Why is it that I have to do that every day? LOL. Just for one day won't it do itself? Made cupcakes for youngest DD's bday (it's not till saturday but we're doing the school party today) and took a shower and did some laundry, now off to work on kitchen and living room in between work. Tonight's dinner is ham and potato soup-nice and quick. Well, OK, not quick, but I can have it done on time LOL.

We have folks that put up handwritten signs in the post office. One thing on feed-I think it depends on what you're raising, and how much of it you can use. I'm still in the homework stage for raising rabbits, but I have learned that the fur can be used, the meat, obviously, and that rabbit manure doesn't need to age to be used as a fertilizer, so I will get a quicker return on that. WE're going to contact the zoos and the raptor farm that is near here to see if they will be able to use the heads and entails. More use equals more profts, after feed. I know it will take awihle, what with the building of hutches and buildings, but because I will be able to sell more, I should have a shorter time to come out ahead.

Hill, Boy, do I wish that were an option here! It sounds like a wonderful experience. Right now I feed 7 on $300/mo. I see that decreasing as we do and learn more things. Here are what we are working on Purchasing two new freezers-well, not new, but new to us. More room to purchase sale items. Building more shelves for our pantry-again, better utilization of sale prices. Learning to can Buying canning supplies Planting a garden Right now I freeze a lot of produce, bought on sale and at the Farmer's Market in season. I do buy a lot on sale, and also use coupons. I also use a dehydrator, and that helps with the fresh produce as well. Grocery shopping this way takes a lot of time, but I look at my household in terms of a business, with the ultimate goal being to purchase our homestead. The less I spend on food, the more money goes in savings to get our land. It takes me about 3 hours a week to do our list, plus another 2 to 3 hours of shopping. It took a total of about 40 hours to set up inventory sheets, a price book, and a coupon book. But our money goes a lot further now. My goal is to get it down to even less money, but part of what is spent on groceries right now is also "preps", and eventually that will be a separate part of the budget.

I'm here I'm here! So busy, 2 bdays, Christmas, New Years, oldest DD coming home the 28th, and making the money to pay for it all LOL. Next year I'm going on vacation for the whole month!

Unike, I don't take a prescription for the migraines. I do take excedrin migraine if I catch them in time-beyond a certain point and I just hurl anything that goes down. I can't take BC pills because of them. They aren't hormonal, just come to visit whenever they want. When I was taking feverfew religiously they came much less often, but when our financial troubles started last year I stopped buying the feverfew. I get about 1 every 4-8 weeks or so and even if I catch them in time they will affect me for about 3 days, leaving me tired and sometimes fumbling for words long after the regular migraine feeling has gone away. I get much more warning since we got our Rhodesian Ridgeback/Pit Bull mix. He's normally an affectionate dog, but when I have a migraine coming on, he's twice as affectionate, often climbing up in my lap if I"ll let him. I've seen dogs that can do that on TV, it was amazing when I figured out what he was doing. He does it 12-48 hours before hand. Once I thought he was wrong because it had been a few days but the next day it hit, sure enough. Thanks so much for the suggestion, unike!

Has anyone made and successfully stored potato chips for an extended period of time? Potatoes are on sale so I thought these would be a yummy treat.

OK Ladies... We have been seriously looking at land lately. WE so desperately want to get out on some land and start our homestead. I am completely in love with Colorado, and would miss it if we moved. DH is from Virginia, but land out there is just outrageous, from what we've seen. WE can get some reasonable land prices here, but because it's mountainous, improving the land is pretty pricey. $10,000 is a pretty common estimate to dig a well, and with us being in a drought, using a cistern system gets pretty expensive, too, cause we'd have to truck in water (which would involve buying a larger truck, another expense to consider). In our search for land, we've seen some ads for land in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma for pretty cheap. Now, I don't know if I could grow anything immediately there, but I probably couldn't grow anything immediately HERE either. But moving to one of those locations, despite the great prices, means starting over COMPLETELY. My job travels, but since I am going to be getting in to crafting type stuff, some of the contacts I have here are pretty valuable. DH would ahve to get a new job-we'd need city money to keep the homestead going, at least for awhile. I know that homesteading does equal starting over to a degree. You're living a completely different kind of life, and you have to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things for the kind of life you want, and I have no problem with that. But I do worry about money. So, those of you that have done it: Did you completely start over, with no income at all and build from there, or did you buy your land somewhere, so that at least one of you could work and keep the money coming in? Which would you rather have done? Was the decision you made worth it, to you? Did you ever have a time when you thought you would lose everything you'd worked so hard for? Thanks, ladies, I appreciate your time here so very much!

Oh, Spider, your poor neighbors. I will add them to my prayers. I haven't gotten much done yet. I woke up stiff and with a headache that I originally thought was sinus. I took my son out to breakfast because we had promised him a special day because little DD has been the center of attention lately with her teeth. We had a nice talk about my dad, his grandpa. His biological father, who only talks to him once or twice a month, made a big deal (to me) about DS calling my DH dad. So I wanted to talk to DS about his grandpa so he'd understand that it's OK to love both the men in his life, in case my ex decides to make him feel guilty about it. I think it's just his own guilt coming out, but if he had been around more, then DS wouldn't see DH as his dad. So I don't feel sorry for him. Anyway, by the time I came home I realized I was on my way to a whopper of a migraine, so I took some medicine and fell asleep. Normally, what I take knocks me out for about 20 mins or so, then the pain is manageable and I can function. Today I slept for over 4 hours LOL. DH did the dishes while I was snoozing, so that helped a lot. I am going to get another load of potatoes in the dehydrator today, and hopefully one or two more tonight. They certainly go fast in there, which makes up for the few I can get in there. I need to buy more shelves for it, but the ones they have at Walmart are for a model they don't sell (go figure, LOL). Then I'm going to work-busy work, not phones. I am revising my biz plan to allow for less of the stuff I want to quit doing, and more of the body oils and herb stuff and candles, etc, for a gradual move to land when we get some. I'm off to post a question in homesteading, be back later! Love you all!

Thanks, Lois, I can see I'll be spending lots of time reading this one!

Afternoon! Hey, I made it here earlier. Well, I got a few dishes done and re-arranged the freezer and went for the first round of this week's grocery shopping. Mainly I've been enjoying some special time with youngest DD, since she had her teeth pulled yesterday she was the only kid home today. Was nice. It's warm here, near 50...unseasonably warm for Dec, but a cold front is moving in Sunday. I'm enjoying the weather while it lasts. Oh, I also got a lot of laundry done, with roommate's help. I've spent most of the afternoon looking for a good link to replace a very valuable one that I lost, about food storage guidelines. One of my upcoming household projects is to make the big list for the one year of supplies that I want to have on hand, so I need to know what lasts how long in the freezer and on the pantry shelves.

Morning! Well, OK, almost evening, LOL. We took youngest dd to the dentist today to get her four front teeth pulled, she did soooooooo well. I told the dental assistant that, the last time she was in and had to be restrained, I swore I was going to send my husband in next time, but here I am. She said dads usually don't do as well, which really doesn't surprise me. He gets way out of sorts when she's hurting, I can't imagine him h aving to help hold her down. We ran a few errands since we were up in the "big city." Went to Home Depot to price a battery charger for DH's drill, his died, and then to Barnes and Noble for a book I need for some research, (and I didn't even stop at the cookbooks) then to walmart to shop for DS's bday (he'll be six Monday), then to find the bail bondman's offices (DH is studying to be a Bail Enforcement Agent-have I mentioned that? Once he gets his license he'll work pro bono for local bondsmen for awhile to get experience and get established), then we had some lunch, then went to the health food store to pick up some Rescue Remedy and Eucalyptus EO. Then back home to pick up DS from school bus and work in kitchen. Phew, am I done yet? Back to the kitchen I go!