::Hanging Wall Paper::

Catchy Title, huh? 

You may see the 'fantel' and 'fearth' here

You may see the Fake Art here 

Party Here: 

Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the LORD and not unto men. ~Colossians 3:23 

 

::Frugal Fodder ~15~ NO SPEND Summary

This is the last week in  NO SPEND February's Challenge -and. the. crowd. goes. wild!!!
I don't know if other's of you took it upon yourselves to do this or not; but I found it to be quite telling in how we spend our money!

 Meaning:  I learned something!

Just let me stress --- it takes two, to be successful; especially if there are two in the household.
All or nothing!

When the two of us discussed how we wanted to implement this. We agreed it would be ...

(my WORD for 2013) 

• Cash Only --No ATM 
• Necessary Gas and Groceries ONLY.
• No eating out. 

 NO ATM rule:    

That rule got broken. I'd like to say "I made no purchases with a debit card."

Didn't happen like that. 

We used the debit card for Gas only. We spent $60 for gas this month.
I used the ATM card to withdraw CASH for an etsy shipment, a FEED Store run and Fire wood. (Some of this will be replaced) 



Necessary Foods vs. UnNecessary Eating Out: 

I'm happy to report we did pretty well. 

• The only necessary spending for groceries was geared toward restocking the pantry AND...any essentials that were on sale. 

For instance, I was able to buy Sugar on sale early in the month for $1.99 for 4/lbs. (not great...but pretty good around here)  I was also able to buy ULTRAGRAIN GROUND HARD WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR for $.70/ lb.  (10 /lbs = $7.00)

• Also when the month of February started-- Eating out was off the table. Wasn't going to happen. Nope.

We ate out. But...I have a good reason!

My Dad turned 70 years old this month...both brothers and I agreed-- we decided we HAD TO DO SOMETHING for Dad. Party at my house wasn't going to happen.  Long story short we made reservations and have the whole family (those that could make it) surprise him at Carmona's Mexican Grill and Cantina! 
I split Fajita's for One with my Aunt.  Oh man! they were good too! We paid with Cash for our dinner and Dad's gift and  I saved a little bit on my meal  :) 

We even got Dad to wear the Sombrero and let us sing Happy Birthday to him and he ate his Birthday Sopapillas!  
Happy Birthday Dad!

Money Saved: $190.00 

Over-all we saved- $10 / week  for propane.  Our total for the year (by Thursday this week) is $80.00 ($40 for February)

We had $100 left when our monthly check was direct deposited.  Doesn't sound like much...but believe me it is!!! 

We saved $50 toward an Emergency Fund. 

My brutally honest keeping it real statement~ 

• Our POTENTIAL for MONEY SAVED: $428.00 total. That is what we could have saved had we not had to buy more firewood, eaten out at the birthday dinner, plus tip, plus gift! 

What did I learn?! 

1.  It can be done if you're both on board. 
2.  Debit Cards can be habit forming (enabling,even!) unless used wisely.
3.  A well stocked pantry is essential when CURBING EATING OUT. 
4.  We can continue to tweak the budget and tame the beast! 
5.  My Dad is Priceless! 

How about you?  Are you changing things up with your household budget?  Are you over OR under in your spending?  I'm not a finance blog...so I'd love to hear your take on some of these matters?  You can leave your comments below!  

Let us not grow weary in well-doing; for in due season we will reap,  if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

::Homestead Laundry List and Another Loss::

We're at about 41° right now with winds 25-30 mph and gusts in excess of 50 mph! 

The weather man is saying in the  30's over night lows ...adjusting for wind chills 

...and the wood guy has not called with delivery confirmation on our wood yet. 

We've gotten down pretty low on wood, not thinking we'd need to buy anymore. We cut most of our wood for this year; but we've burned just about all of it. 

We heat our home with wood---those of you up north. Stay warm! 

Over the weekend we planted our garden...I went out today and soaked it down.  I put out corn and potatoes in the North Side kitchen garden on Sunday... 

I'm afraid if this wind keeps up...it is going to blow the dirt off! 

This year, we took the Hugelkulter and the raised bed boxes out of this area. 

Couple of reasons. We didn't grow anything over the winter-- the Hugelkulter would be ideal for this. I fought with ants really bad in the garden with the Hugelkulter as well. 

So we tilled it all up and are going with planting straight to ground. 

We'll see how this works for us. The boxes, I thought were pretty successful for us before-- and they keep weeds to a minimum!

As soon as we got the corn and potatoes in the ground... 

The chickens came round to see us and began scratching in the CORN ROWS... 

We had to hurry and get the fence back up; do you think they know it was down there? 

 You can see, I got my laundry done over the weekend too.  I suppose I could hang my laundry out tomorrow...but I'd have to go get it out in the field...it's supposed to be windy all day tomorrow too. 

Last week-- we started the week with the loss of our Audrey Chicken. 


On Sunday, this week, we had a freak accident and lost one of  our dogs...Gracie. 


She was an 8 year old mutt. But as dogs go, she was a pretty good mutt. The Honey didn't like because she'd kill the bunnies and squirrels...but that's what dogs do. 

She was a 'scardy-dog' ...yet she would sound the ALARM any time there was someone or something in the yard that DID NOT BELONG! 

 I knick named her Yoda-- because of the way her ears would stick out when she was cool...and not scared. 

She's being cool...and smiling at me through the screen door. 

She was good with the kids.

My daughter said "Bree cried..." 

She loved being out on the property and running the fields and swimming in the tank... 

she was born here, the pup of a stray. 

Have you heard of 'brother from another mother"? 

Trouble and Gracie were:  "Sisters from different litters":  

She will be missed...

G'nite Gracie. 

. 



 

Be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer and supplication let your request be made known unto God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6-7 

 

:: My Skills Notebook::

You would think a woman my age would know all there is about home keeping ...but not so. I'm always looking at ways to improve. I like finding new ways to do things. Honestly, there is always room for improvement.  

So I while I used to have actual notebooks that I wrote in-- I've gotten in the habit of writing it all down here.  The more internet dependent we become...the more I think I should probably keep a real notebook again.  I'm of the opinion sustainable lifestyles will come to a screeching halt for some of us-- the avid Pinners, Bloggers, and Google -YOU-tubers...there may even come a time when the books we read ,to mine for information, will no longer be available as resources. 

 What are your thoughts on that? 

In the mean time, here are some  things I'd write down in a notebook if I were still keeping notebooks...

• IN THE KITCHEN: cooking skills; recipes for bread, rolls, etc. 

I made rolls for the first time. EVER. 

I used the same recipe I got from Cottage Sweet Cottage here.

Before I set the dough to rise, I just rolled it into balls, dusted the sides with a little flour and  this time I used a trivet on the wood burning stove so the bottoms didn't start coooking!

Once that was done (about 30 minutes) I coated the tops with oil popped them in the oven on 350° and baked for 30 minutes! 

 TA-Dah!  Now... I will say, this is the last week of our NO-SPEND MONTH and I've made bread, tortillas (didn't photograph those)  and now-ROLLS!  I've made tortillas before-- but it's been years.  The Honey thought they were good-- but said, 'round' tortillas would look cool. 

I figure, you can buy round tortillas...not everybody has 'Name that State' shaped tortillas. ha! 

 I also let the Littles make butter out of heavy cream.  Not cost productive, unless you have a source for cream. But in a pinch-- you could have some butter. :) 

• Horticultural skills: companion plants and how to garden in small areas 

In the garden, I was able to plant Broccoli, in this narrow bed. 

 Brussels Sprouts, Onions, were planted in the larger bed.
Two potato plants that The Honey had planted a while back were popped up and I'm guessing the others are going to pop up pretty soon! We'll see. 
(I actually forgot he and the kids planted those potatoes until I saw the two plants poking out...so I hope I didn't disturb them.) 

•  Knowing my plants: 

Making a note in my garden notebook of the things growing in my yard this the time of year. 

 Right now, I have daffodils and iris blooming. The daffodils started poking out of the ground in January; and were blooming the week of Valentine's Day. The iris' have been blooming since Janurary, they usually don't bloom that early. 

The picture below has me stumped. Maybe you can help me out. 

 Right in the front are daffodils just like the one's all over the yard. But the one in the back has a much thinner and more pointed blade with the tiny flower heads--they look just like daffodils. 
Doing some research- I get conflicting names, Daffodil, Narcissus, and Jonquil?  Are these names interchangeable?   There were here when we moved in--so I'm just not sure, and haven't ever taken an interest until now. 

• Hand Made ARTISAN SKILLS: ON THE HOOK: my crochet skills

The last picture is the SAFTEY ORANGE FAUX HAWK...I made for my brother.  He and his family went on a ski-trip--their first time to ski. EVER. 
  I gave this to him last Saturday; and because I forgot to take a picture of it before giving it to him
-- I made him pull over on the side of the road so I could get his picture with it! 
                                       He's giving the 'Thumbs Up" in this picture. 

They're back from their trip today...

Hind sight being what it is... I should have made him a helmet! 

I'm linking this here: 

Deborah Jean's Dandelion House and Hop

and invited to link here: 

Let This Mind Be in You

...and now I'm off to find the PERFECT NOTEBOOK and something to write with! 

Do you keep notebooks? 

Do you keep different books or just the one? 

Do you keep a notebook for any SPECIAL topics, besides, gardening cooking, etc...like, first aid, and 'how-to' ? 

Bless the LORD O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 
~ Psalm 103:1

 

::Frugal Fodder~ 14~ Prudent Pinning::

Well, there is one week left in my February challenge to NOT SPEND if we don't have to. 

So, when we ran out of Mozzarella Cheese the week before last and I made an unplanned trip to town and bought junk food AND bread---I decided right there and then; I need to learn how to make bread. 
Now don't get me wrong-- I HAVE A BREAD MACHINE. But, I've been wanting to make bread without the use of it for years; and never have. I thought this was the perfect time to do it. 

I looked through my Pinterest Boards   and found this recipe-- 

Homemade One Hour White Bread

It really took no time at all. Actually, it would have probably went a lot quicker had I not put it on the wood burning stove to rise; because I panicked when I went to get it and the bottom was toasted!  
Then I may have left it in the oven a tad longer than necessary...I get addle-brained when I cook. Really.  I don't cook because it's fun and I have nothing else better to do...no, I cook to eat, folks. It's just how it is. 

The next item I Pinned and used this month was for a CITRUS CLEANER. 
I buy limes and make lime-aid...mainly because when I go to the grocery store, they're always marked down! 
So, what to do with all the rinds, right? 

I've been wanting to try this... 
You can see her tutorial I didn't photograph my process. 

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner: Lemon Lime Vinegar


It is great for degreasing and I've used it to wash down the refrigerator and deep freeze on the outside and the stove, too. Plus it's non-toxic!

I was surprised too, when I brought this dressing table out to make-over, I sprayed the veneer with the lime-vinegar solution; and the veneer came right off,with a little scraping!  

                                                                                                                                           



It took about 4 hours, not continuous, but over all-- you just have to let it soak into the veneer and use a little elbow power. 

I am so visual when it comes to finding things, it helps me to visualize where something was last time I saw it, or to get a mental image. That is why I LOVE Pinterest. I can easily find what it is I'm looking for. I tend to be an organized messy-- so Pinterest helps me with this. I spent the better part of an evening last week,  'pinning' most of my bookmarks and deleting any that have a dead link. I'd much rather look for something with an image, than to read the titles, and find the folder (which I don't usually make) for the link. Pinning is much simpler! 

Occasionally, I see things on Pinterest that I like and I RE-PIN them-- I don't just get on there and Pin like crazy.  "Ain't Nobody got time for that!"

I generally, just use it for a bookmark page. :) 

How about you? Do you pin prudently?  Do you copy what you pin? 

Do you pin for fun or convenience? 

Bless the LORD ,O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name! 

~Psalm 103:1

 

::Fakin' Like It~ Revisited::

From the Archives--- 


"Fakin' Like it." That is the term my children would use when they were small for 'make-believe' or pretend. Fakin' like it.

"Hey, Fake like ...your the baby and I'm the momma. And I said eat your vegetables...and you fake like you're cryin'."

OR...

"Hey, fake like we're on the bus and I'm driving all crazy (but you make the porch swing go all wonky)... and then.... You run and jump on it with me."

Fakin' like it. The stuff kids dreams are made of...

That is what my post is this week for







So....let's just Fake Like I bought this online at Target. But not really, cause it is made with different picture. AND! it didn't cost $40. plus S/H charges.
At Target.com 

This is about $40 bucks.



I made this...  
















for Free! Yes, the sheet is part of set bought and given to me, the plywood is scrap from the shed. Paint left over... from an A moire makeover.






No Fakin'!


I have no idea where exactly I'm gonna hang these. But, it will probably be in a spare bedroom. I'll 
keep you posted.

****************************NOW~ Fake Like it's 3 years later...

Okay! That was some time ago. In fact...it was a whole other BLOG AGO. 
Really. 
This post was originally posted on my "Corninmycoffee-pot" turned "something different and totally NOT me" before I reverted back to..."CorninmyCoffee-Pot"  because I liked it so well and it suited me! (and all 20 of my readers at the time voted to KEEP CORN!)

And NOW?  I'm updating the post. 

So... Fake Like we're Fast Forwarding...to Today... 
























...and you're super impressed with my artistic ability and spontaneity !! 

So-- the artwork shown previously and forgotten?  It never made it on the wall. In fact, I never EVER even put hardware on the back.  I just wasn't into the Tropical Island theme.  I got over that in the 80's when we sold our Rattan Furniture-- (before blogging for sure)

But... I still had this 'art'. A couple of times I came really close to whacking them up with the cut saw, to make something else and never did that either. 
I finally painted a very thin coat of white-washed paint onto the fabric. I still didn't like them.

I just kept shuffling them around until today.  :) 
Here you can see the white wash toned it down some. Gave it a washed out faded look--which I liked much better. 

 First I sketched this out with chalk... used a template to get the circle...it looks squished here, but you have to separate the boards a little for the circle to be ...a circle. 

Then I painted it... 

because I had the paint out and was painting my faux hearth! 

To the person that had a similar graphic online in the google images... I tried to find you again today... I must not have clicked on your image; but just viewed it from Google. 

So Fake Like-- I'm siting you as the source, please?!  And since I pretty much free handed this from memory... Fake Like your inspiration and my version of your art work has you feeling flattered. 

***You can check out my faux mantel progress with hearth here.

Linking here: 

Cozy Little House





Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
 ~Psalm 103:1