Beans and rice aren't terrible but you do need sour cream

First, let's look at something pretty, 'kay? I am SO excited. The picture is from 2020. Notice the first part of the picture is apples! (I know, lots of spots, but we do not use pesticides, so you have to learn that things won't be perfect and that you WILL have to share with the universe if you choose to not poison your food). 

Last year, the hard freezes at the end of April killed all the blooms on our apple, pear, and cherry trees. I cried, quite literally. I mean, real tears of frustration and disappointment. But this year is different! We are loaded up with blooms! Hurray! The other two sections of the picture are coming soon, as well, fresh beans and tomatoes. I hope to repeat 2020s bounty since the weather has been more cooperative. 

So, inflation sucks. Am I right? I've gone to war with it, it's a quiet and personal fight, but it's a fight nonetheless. When you have rescues and the bills that go with them, you learn that the sacrifice is on the humans to do without and to adjust to situations like extreme inflation. So, we are literally and figuratively back to the "beans and rice" era of our life. That's okay. Add some salt, pepper, and sour cream, and it's delicious. The beans and rice are the literal part. 

Figuratively, it means eyeing what is in my shopping cart and doing some simple math to make sure that I don't go over a budget of $5 dollars a day for food for two people, three meals a day. If you do the math, that's .83 cents per person a day. You could actually go much cheaper, but I have been sticking to this for the most part.

You'd be surprised what you can get for less than $35 a week if you choose a bit differently. I think we get in a food rut and believe that some of the food that we buy is made up of necessities. If you evaluate - TRULY evaluate - what you are buying, you'll probably find that if you change your meal plans a bit, if you're willing to give up meat several times a week (we do not eat pork, chicken, or beef), if you navigate every single price and weight on every item, you can eat incredibly cheaply, even during high inflation. 

We recently ate for four days on slightly less than $20, and that included all meals, not just supper. For two people, that comes out to $1.66 cents a day combined, not each. So the goal is to repeat that as often as possible. Keep in mind that's just food, not the other items that may be needed some weeks such as laundry detergent, paper towels, etc. In the summer, the garden rounds out a lot of those weekly food bills. The big bonus is that my dad is the one who often cooks the garden food, so not only does the garden save us money, it also comes served up already cooked many days! 

Three observations about frugality:

    1. Frugality in and of itself can feel like a full-time job. It's a matter of constantly monitoring expenses not just in your bank account but in every store that you enter (regular store or online store) and every single price. It can be time consuming, but once you get in the habit, it gets easier. 

    2. Frugality should be a way of life, even in the best of times for anyone who is not independently wealthy or, at the least, extremely well off. If you practice frugality all the time, then situations like high inflation are just points in time that will pass with much more ease because you're already used to pinching pennies.

    3. Frugality requires a lack of influence. By that, I simply mean that you cannot allow yourself to be susceptible to consumerism. You cannot allow yourself to envy your neighbor, who buys whatever they want and seems to always be flush with cash. You cannot allow yourself to believe that happiness is dependent on "stuff," so the more stuff you buy, the happier you think you will be. On the flip side, it's important to find support in your frugal efforts. A whole family has to be on board or the person trying to be frugal just comes across as a cheapskate and "wound tight." In some cases, this may be true, but often (and in my case), that person is just fighting to make sure there is money in the bank for emergencies and to sleep better at night.

One final note is that we have numerous rescues. Some months, the medical bills are extremely high. We also try to help out with other rescue expenses to help alleviate some of those costs for the rescue organizations who are footing the larger part of vet and care bills through their non-profit. Believe me when I say that there are months when the money goes out the door quickly if one of our rescues is extremely ill or needs a specialist or a stray comes along unexpectedly, so you have to bear additional expenses that month. This is where the practice of frugality pays off. No matter what your passion - rescue work, travel, sports - frugality can help you maintain some of those passions so that life is not sheer drudgery. 

My goal is to always help ease suffering in the animal kingdom. I'm glad for the "beans and rice" era. It's self-imposed, and let's face it - I round it out with goodies from our local, favorite bakery. I also try to have aging parents over throughout the summer for Sunday lunch a couple of times a month. I'm glad to up the spending on ingredients to spend time with them. We won't have them forever, time is fleeting. I'm not about to give that up.

Wherever you are with this inflation stuff, bear in mind how hard it can be to earn a dollar, then ask yourself how quickly are you sending that dollar out the door? If you can possibly do so, send it to your bank account instead. I'm not naïve. I know that there are people who live paycheck to paycheck with nothing left over, quite literally, even after practicing frugality and living a small and economical life. My heart goes out to them. In the end, sometimes it just becomes a matter of getting through another week. I always suggest that people re-visit their budget to find, quite literally, even just a few dollars they might could save that month. Usually, you can find something to cut.

Love to you on this Friday Eve. At 5 p.m., we can start sort of partying, then tomorrow, we can just jump right on board the "it's the weekend" train! Our weather looks beautiful. Time to play outside, right?! 

I think we are finally squared away, please, Lord . . . .

It's been a while since I've been in this space. We've had the unexpected with a sick baby who had to have multiple trips to the University of Tennessee animal hospital over the course of the past few months. Turns out that she has a rare condition, one they've never come across in their books until now. We are so grateful that it was treatable and that the treatment seems to have worked. Hoping we had our last trip last week and that we are able to manage her issues completely locally now and are squared away with a future plan for any additional issues.

In the meantime, spring finally showed up! I'm back to documenting things again. On our last trip with our baby, we headed over to Baxter Gardens in the Knoxville area and spent over an hour touring a gorgeous, private garden that is open to the public once a year in the month of April. Below is a picture of just one area of this spectacular acreage. As you can see, we had a gorgeous, crisp (in the upper 40s), sunny day. I'm so glad we went! It was peaceful and calming, and it was the place where I received the news via phone call that our baby was not going to need surgery for her condition after all! You can imagine how that endeared the place to me, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, at home, our own azalea bushes have finally begun popping out! We have one area outside one of our bedroom windows where there are several azalea bushes in varying colors of pink. I've done that one purpose. It's on the side of the house with the first light of the day. Those pink variations glow like nobody's business on a sunny morning. So glad I had the foresight to go with the pink color scheme. It's just fantastic! The first picture shows the dark pink azaleas, the second picture shows the light pink azaleas.

Finally, allow me to share our mountain view. I never get tired of it, and pictures do it very little justice. It doesn't help that I'm no photographer, but at least it gives you an idea of my daily visual blessing. It just never grows old. When you see this in person, the mountains appear much closer. Not sure why in pictures they seem so far away, but I can guarantee you it's most likely my lack photography skills.

We have been warm these last couple of days and have spent a lot of time outside. It feels so good, and I'm thrilled to finally start complaining about being too warm instead of complaining about being too cold, ha ha. Soon, the tomato sandwiches with Duke's mayo will be a staple of our environment, and the garden will get fully planted on Mother's Day weekend in two weeks. Hard to believe that it has rolled around already. Time really does fly.

I know that a lot of people are struggling on many levels right now. Things are still somewhat topsy-turvy, but I think part of that is because we are kept stirred up with so much information. The bombardment of news is ridiculous. What a mess we became when 24-hour news arrived on the scene. It's not healthy. Turn off the news, go do something different. Stop letting them get you stirred up, stop listening to the sensationalism.

If you are living your life to the best of your ability, taking care of the acre of life that God gave you, picking and fighting the right battles rather than just lumping and dumping yourself in with everything, then you will find a much sweeter balance. Constant outrage will kill you sooner than later. It truly harms no one but yourself, and the people raged against often just sit back and enjoy that show while you exhaust yourself. 

I learned long ago to stick to my beliefs, vote how God guides me, and not rise to the constant baits set before me. I simply walk away, and it is so freeing. It doesn't allow anyone to impose their opinions and beliefs on me, or to try to persuade my already-decided mind. In addition, turning off all of those ridiculous news channels helps their ratings drop and will, perhaps, one day, force most of them to close up shop. Not likely, but I can at least do my part to try to make that happen. Always, always, always think for yourself.

The sun will be up soon, and I plan to enjoy every minute of today. Full sun, 83 for the high, low humidity - what a doozy of a day! Heading to the local library book sale later with my sweet love, and we may just have to do the old Sonic summer drink. I know summer isn't for four more weeks, but I think it's okay to enjoy an Ocean Water a little bit early!

Love to you on this gorgeous day in upper Northeast Tennessee! Time for a Bojangles biscuit with honey and vegan bacon to start out the day. I truly hope your day and your weather are beautiful!

Negative test, more snow and those warming spices

We've had another round of snow. I knew it was coming, but I was a bit surprised by how much we got. Not that it was a lot, but I thought we were just getting a dusting (to me, that means just the grass has a coating of confectioner's sugar!). But, no, we're up to a couple of inches, and it is still coming down. It has that Charlie Brown Christmas vibe to it, as most snow does to children of the late '60s and '70s. We only go to 27 degrees today, so it's not going to melt any time soon. We have cherry slices in the cabinet, no orange slices, which is a very random statement, I know. 

I've been thinking about orange slices lately. I worked with a lady who, for years, dipped them in milk and dark chocolate at Christmas. She always sliced them in half before dipping because the chocolate-to-orange slice ratio was better (you get more chocolate that way, ha ha). They were so good, but I've never bothered to make them myself. The cherry ones would be good for Valentine's Day, dipped in white or milk or dark chocolate. 

Speaking of orange, here's this morning's tea . . . . . and yes, those are orange slices, not lemon slices. I would have LOVED a thick slice of sourdough bread with butter and orange marmalade to go with this! Alas, we did not have any in the house.

It's the season of warming spices. I love pumpkin season in the Autumn, where we really start adding in those spices. This time of year, however, I like to rev up those spices even more - Thai food (heaven-sent stuff, y'all; I could eat it every day, I think), Constant Comment tea, ginger cake, spice cake - you get the picture. If it has a hint of clove in it, even better. I realize that clove can sometimes be an acquired taste, but I've always loved it, especially with citrus. I cannot remember a time that I didn't love the taste and smell of clove, but if you use too much, it can be off-putting. It's all about using just the right amount. I also love Himalayan and Indian food. There's a Himalayan buffet about an hour away from us. It's calling my name . . . . but it's in the mountains, and you have to go across and up and over mountains to get to it. We'll wait on snow season to pass.

In March, my cravings begin to change and the warming spice cravings turn into cravings for buttercream frosting and all foods in pastel colors. I think we all know that's the promise of spring, teasing our palettes and making us think about chocolate bunnies and pink, purple, yellow and soft blue frosting flowers, lemon anything - you get the picture. Then, we get another snow or another freeze, and I switch back to the spices for a bit. Somewhere along the way, we get that first truly warm day, and we know we are finally heading into garden season.

A little over two weeks ago, I had to take a Covid test. I had one symptom but it was persisting and because I had been around someone five days earlier who had tested positive and was very sick, I went ahead and got a test. It was negative, so grateful for that. My "symptom" went away the next day, and I did not have to miss any work days. Our city school system closed for two days this week due to staff shortage from Covid cases. Here's hoping this wave peaks soon. I predict there will be another wave, just a gut feeling. 

I'm not being negative, but it's not rocket science, either. Getting back to business, staying open because now there's a vaccine, flights, shows, movies, concerts, vacations, etc. - this will all create another wave, especially this coming summer. It is what it is, and I'm certainly not all about shutting down again. We went to a movie recently, and I'd go again. I'm going to a live show on February 20th, and I'm very excited about it! I think we should continue to forge ahead and get through it to see where it lands us in the end - eradicated (most likely not) or simply a new way of life with a vaccine each year much like the flu. 

We are careful when we go out; we wear our masks and keep our distance, but we do continue to try to live as normally as possible. Obviously, if anyone has a condition where Covid could be potentially life-threatening, then they would need to live their lives quite a bit differently during this time. But we are blessed with overall good health, so we are careful and move forward with wisdom and caution.

We have had our first shots, as well as our boosters, a personal choice for sure. We went back and forth for a bit trying to decide, but in the end, because we both work and need to work to take care of our rescues, the vaccine was the right choice for us. I do not judge those who choose otherwise. They have their reasons, and I will respect those reasons and their right to do what is best for them. I love them, and the vaccine has nothing to do with that!

Just one baby picture today. It's my precious, beautiful big boy, Baby Oscar in his thinking box. He has climbed into the paper towel box and is just sitting there, contemplating about his plans for the day. I don't have a crystal ball, but I'm betting his plans include eating, sleeping, playing a little bit, then doing it all over again. I can "sense" these things, ha ha. He is the cutest thing. This little boy is precious to me.

Love to you on this last weekend in January (imagine that!). It's going quickly, and as I pointed out to someone recently, it is just nine months until Halloween. I hear you laughing, but it'll be here before you know it! Local buddies, stay warm and safe. I'm venturing out for a ginger bread cake mix today, that is, if I manage to get out of my flannel pajamas at any point.

The adorable name of Izzy, don't let it fool you

We are under a severe winter weather advisory, and it's blowing a bigtime wind out there. I can see some snow mixed with the spotty rain. Her name is Izzy, and she's is freezing cold! It's not even that the temperature is so low, it's the wind involved that is pushing the "feels like" to "feels like hammered crap cold." It's not like I can stop it, so in anticipation of Izzy's arrival, we had a (very cold and damp) day out yesterday in a bigger city just a few miles away to gather up some goodies!

Lunch was a warming Thai curry. We were not overly hungry, so we split a Panang curry with brown rice, and was it ever good. I could eat Thai food several times a month and never, ever get tired of it. Same with Indian food and Himalayan food. Those spices and flavors never get old. 

Afterwards, we went to Daylight Donuts, just across the road from the Thai restaurant! How handy is that? Now, if you order a filled donut at Daylight Donuts, they don't fill it until you actually choose your filling. That way, you can get it in a Bismark style donut or a round glazed donut or a powdered donut. You get the picture. I got the Bismark (éclair style) donut filled with apple filling. My husband got the Bismark donut with Boston cream. I failed to get a picture of the donuts themselves, but here is the logo from their bag. Cute, eh??! Very old school.

                                            

We also went to The Fresh Market and found a few things to enjoy to make Izzy a bit less tedious. Raspberry pillow cookies, chocolate cherry cordial coffee, smoked mozarella pasta salad, seafood salad, and Kalamata olive bakery loaf of good, chewy bread are on the menu today, along with the new movie "The Tragedy of Macbeth." It is getting phenomenal reviews, and there is nothing like a good (fictional) murder story on a winter day! I studied Shakespeare in college many years ago, and I still love the music of the lyrics, the pre-Star-Wars twist of words that Yoda carried on (not nearly as well as Shakespeare, sorry fanboys, but that's gospel truth).

Take a look at this chalkboard art. It stands out in front of the Fresh Market to greet everyone. Isn't it adorable? The artist's name at the bottom right is simply "Beth '21." Whoever Beth is, she did a great job creating something warming and sweet and good. I love that they're still acknowledging the New Year. Stores are already full of Valentine and Easter stuff, and I guess that's okay (not really). But I love the lingering of the freshness of the New Year. I'm not quite ready to give that up, yet here we are already halfway through January.

                                      

On the way home, I noticed that the snow sky was building. Initially, the snow was supposed to roll in late Sunday afternoon (today). However, the timing has changed, and it's already starting to show up a bit. Rain and snow off and on, then steady snow later this afternoon. I'm going to turn on some winter lullabies to drown out the (very loud at times) wind and pour another cup of chocolate cherry cordial coffee. I happen to have a Peggy Ann's Butterfinger chess bar to go with it, so how fantastic is that?

Local buddies, be safe. The roads are supposed to have that thin ice that is only lovely if your intention is to go car gliding and crash. If you must be out - particularly later in the afternoon- go very slow. I think they salted in anticipation, but not every road in the county will get salted. Be extremely careful, even if you think the road got salted and looks safe.

Love to you on this 16th day of January 2022. I'll be busy praying away ice and heavy, wet snow, the two things that tend to cause power outage issues. May those of us in the path of the storm stay safe, keep our electricity, and find something enjoyable to do during the hunkering down phase. Heading to the kitchen, which I love dearly, ha ha.

Winter showed up wearing its finest

Winter has made its appearance the last few days, dressed up in cold temperatures and a snowy outfit. On Saturday, it was 78 degrees, a new record high. On Monday, five inches of snow fell and stayed through Wednesday. This morning, we woke up to a new dusting of about an inch but it is accompanied by that dreaded ice this go-around. For that reason alone, it's a work from home day, per the directive of my employer. I'm glad to not have to go out in it, I don't mind snow at all. But ice is altogether different. You can't see it in the road until your car is skidding, and even then, you don't really see it. You just know that you hit a patch of it because, well . . . you're car is skidding! Pictures below are from last Monday. And yes, it was as cold as it looks in the pictures. Brrrr. The high today is only 26. 

We are deep diving into that in-between time. The landscape looks like a toilet scrub brush. It's beautiful when it snows, but when it's just cold and gray, it really is not a feast for the eyes. The sunlight this time of year is thin and watery, and just when you think you're going to get that first truly warm day like, say in April, BAM! You get a couple of days of hard freezes. Then comes spring and the bad weather that goes with it. Lord, help limp me along until summer shows up. 

I've been mulling over one particular garden area repeatedly. Still unsure what to do with it. Last year's efforts weren't good for that particular spot. I may go back to what was really successful the year before, but I'd kind of like to try something different again. Problem with planting experiments is that if they don't work out, you're stuck until next year to try something different. Growing seasons have a planting window. If whatever you planted doesn't work out, then the window to try something different has generally closed since there's not enough time to begin another round of growing something.

It's definitely a morning for toast topped with butter, crumbled sausage, colby cheese, and cranberry-pear compote alongside a giant mug of strong coffee. I generally butter the bread, crumble the already cooked vegan sausage over top of that, then put the colby cheddar over all of that. Toast it until the cheese is completely melted and slightly browned, then top it with the compote and eat it all with a fork. I know it sounds odd, but the sweet and savory together is wonderful. I DO heat a big scoop of the compote before I top the toast with it so that it doesn't make my breakfast cold. If I have pancakes or waffles, I also heat my maple syrup. Trust me, it helps a lot! Your breakfast stays nice and warm that way.

Enough about food, this isn't getting my snack made. Our upcoming temperatures look much nicer - cold, but not too terribly cold. Looks like we'll have our normal highs in the 40s for a while and maybe even some sun here and there. It's not "time to go get a Sonic Ocean Water and tater tots" kind of warm, but it's better than 26 degrees for sure! 

Love to you on this very cold day in January. I hope it's beautiful where you are!
 

Never a dull moment

Yesterday, we enjoyed 76 degrees with sun and (heavy) breeze. It lasted for hours on end. We sat outside with family during lunch and enjoyed homemade dill pickle potato salad, cheese, crackers and heavily frosted cupcakes with caramel macchiato coffee. Windows were opened for cross-breezes and you could literally smell the warm combined with earth and sun. We went for a three-mile run on the trail with mountain views while wearing shorts and tank tops. It was a heaven-sent day.

Here comes the reality of December, though. Last night, heavy rain blew in and temperatures began dropping. The picture below tells you that there's never a dull moment around here. I'll leave  you with it, love to you on this second day of the New Year. 

A new year and living realistically

Happy New Year's Eve! Hard to believe we start all over tomorrow. We really don't, but society tells us we do, so it must be true, ha ha. I have zero expectations, only hope, which is something I try to always hang on to. I don't need a new year to work on having hope, I let hope work on me all year round. Even on my worst days, hope hovers, ready to take the reins if I will let go and hand them over. Sometimes it's easier said than done, I know.

New Year's Day looks beautiful, 75 and partly cloudy with a slight breeze. I cannot imagine a more perfect weather day! I plan to enjoy it as much as possible. The cold comes back on Monday! It is December, but you wouldn't know it these past few days. I'm ready for the rain and the muck to end for a bit, though. I'm over it in a pretty big way.

The picture was taken on one of our fall drives, not too far from where we live. It’s one of my favorite pictures from the past year and sums up nicely the peace and tranquility most people crave. I literally stepped out of the car and snapped it on my phone. The picture doesn’t do it justice. In person, it takes your breath away on a golden autumn day.

Love to you on this last day in 2021. We’ll be here again soon. In the meantime, let’s make the most of it, shall we? Swords drawn, and away we go, straight ahead into the foray of 2022!