Is anyone else growing a garden to offset rising food prices?

In response to these economic times, I wondered how many people were starting a vegetable garden this season? 

In my own circle, there are many of us starting gardens.  We know that every little bit helps. 

  I for one am not happy paying $1.89 for a head of luttuce.  For $2.65, I can plant a pack of seeds and come up with 750 heads. ( Burpee catalog 2008)   I don’t need that many heads.  However, if I stagger my planting time, I can have a head every week and some to share with friends and family.  The same goes for all other kinds of veggies and fruits too.  

 

Ain’t that a hoot!! Me, going down a Slip N Slide.  Actually, that was fun day with my family.  I had like 10 kids at my house and we were having a ball with the slide. 

I am gardening again.  I will post photos some other time.  I have planted a rose garden.  I had roses A LONG time ago.  At one point, I had 18.  I am currently working my way back to that.  I love roses. 

I also planted tomatoes.  They might make it through June.  After that, it is just to hot to grow veggies here in Southwest Florida.  However, my Michele, has an experiment going on her back porch.  I think she might make it through the summer!   Anyway, I do intend to grow a veggie garden this fall.  We have to do something to fight inflation.  I will grow luttuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, brocolli, radishes, carrots, and that would be about all that would be eaten around here.

We are feeling the pinch of higher gas prices.  I have drastically cut the grocery bill down.  Thankfully, I allready had a well stocked pantry and freezer.  I am going to need to restock the pantry soon.  That would be with side dishes, rice and noodles and mashed potatoes.  The frozen veggies are overflowing in the freezer.

Pressure, financial pressure

I am about to beat a dead horse;  Financial woes of this country and how it affects ME.  

I must start out by giving thanks to God.  He provides all that we need and alot of what we want.  I am incredibly gratefull that my husband has a job, a good paying job, and one that is relatively safe during these economic times.  We are doing okay with income.

However, I am seeing a decline in weekly pay.   It is not as much as last year.  That worries me.  We need all his pay to cover all our expenses.  So far, not much to save.  It concerns me, because this is the season he makes the bulk of his salary.  This would be the time of the year that we would have lots of extra money to do repairs and spend on luxeries and such.  I hope it pickes up.  I have plans for debt repayment, house repairs/upgrading, and vacations.

In the meantime, while I wait for our ship to come in, what do we do to stretch those dollars?  I would say that we cut back, but all I did was prioritize what I wanted the boys to do for the summer, and I sunk some money into our homeschool curriculum.  Valuable spending.  We bought a cheap above ground pool. ( Purchased at any Walmart, BJ’s, Target ) That keeps us home and the boys occupied.   The boys go to Gymnastics 2x a week.  We find that to be important for their health, interests and social oppurtunities. They still have music lessons.  That would be the last thing we got rid of.  So strongly we feel about music we do. ( HEE HEE )  There will be very few, if any, art classes.  I doubt very seriously if we will go on long distance field trips.  I have allready decided to pass on beach day with our homeschool group, simply because it was to far away.  I am certainly driving less.  I am trying to conserve gas.

Gas, what a pain in the ass that is.  I thought that $3.99 a gallon was tough to swallow.  Now, it seems we will be paying $4.25 by July.  That would be $76.50 a week in gas.   GOOD GRIEF.  That is a crazy amount of money.  Especially when it costs more to gas the car than it does to run electricity in my home.  I guess,  I will be spending enormous amounts of time at home!

Then there is the price of groceries.  I can spend $600 a month easy on filling our cupboards and closets.  I am trying to cut back, and I am doing okay.  It isn’t enough, though!  So, I decided to grow a veggie garden this summer and fall and winter and spring.  ( Yes, the beauty of living in the tropics!  I can grow year round )  I want to grow enough to feed us and to sell a bit.  I would like to sell enough to cover the cost of having the garden to begin with.  That will help the budget.

The electric.  OH the MAFIA, as we affectionatly call them.  That electric bill is the bane of my existance.  I have been counting KW and calculating usage.  I tried it with the air off, which is no fun here.  I have tried it with the hot water heater off.  There is an energy sucker.  I have tried it with the computers sleeping at night and only on in the daytime when needed.  That made a small difference.  I have tried it by not using the clothes dryer.  There is another energy hog.  I think I have a handle on the usage now.  The only problem remaining is to upgrade windows, sliding glass doors, and a/c duct and equipment.  OH, and add insulation to the attic.   Right now, as I type, my husband is replacing all the duct work.  God love the men up in my attic.  It is so hot up there!  Hopefully, at the end of the month, we will have time to install a new sliding glass door and blow more insulation in the attic.  All that will help to keep the house cooler, longer.  That way they a/c won’t have to work as hard or as long.  I also want to sew window quilts for the front windows.  These will hang in front of the mini-blinds and behind the curtains.  The quilts help to insulate the area, trapping the heat before it comes into the room.  We also installed a new fan in the living room.  That helps to make that room more comfortable at a higher temperature.    ANYWAY, we were using 82 KW a day.  The lowest I could get with all the things I tried was 47 and that was with the a/c off.  It seemed that the best we could, without to much trouble, was around 67 KW. I look forward to the duct work results. 

So, I mentioned different things I tried.  I tried not running the air.  Of course the humidity was lower.  Now, it is a sauna and not so enjoyable.  I turned off the hotwater heater.  That made a big difference too.  That thing uses 1 1/2 KW every hour.  I don’t need it to run all day and all night.  The water stays hot and then luke warm for a very, very long time, when you turn it off.  It only takes 1/2 hour to heat up the water.  SO, I turn it on when I need showers and turn it off.  There is always enough hot water to do dishes.  EASY way to save some money.  The dryer is not being used anymore, either.  The clothes fry fast in the heat.  IF I get the clothes up early in the morning and continue all day long, I have no problems with getting rained on.  3 or 4 loads dried on the line is very doable.  Before I had the clothesline, (which is tied between two large trees) I would hang my laundry over the fence.  Dried just fine there. I didn’t really care how it looked.  I am saving money and that is what matters more.

There are other changes that were made in the past. I do have all those energy saving lightbulbs.  They work really well and last for a very long time.  They helped out the electric bill too.  I like having alot of light in my home.  Helps me see.  :)  Tinting windows help too.  I tinted them a few years ago.  Did it myself.  What a bitch, for an impatient person.  But, it helped! 

I need to be curbside shopping again.  But, the price of gas is slowing me down.  I do find so much that I can use.  It is important for me to weigh the cost of what I need to the cost of the gas used to find it.   Is it cheaper to go to the store and buy it?  Of course it is much more fun to go out and FIND it.  “)

So, the pressure is on.  I feel nervous and apprehension about the financial future.  As long as my husband keeps his good job and his earnings, we will be okay.  But, nothing is secure anymore, these days.  I find it best to just to adapt to the situation and find my way to frugality.  Enjoying the journey makes it easier to bear.  Willingness to try is key as well.  Off I go!…..

7 days until Hurricane season begins…

Yep, we count down.   I am a weather geek.  I love weather.  I love watching the Weather Channel.  I love  weather education.  I love the website Storm2k.org.  

Storm2k.org is a forum board for proffesional and ameature meteorologists.  They talk weather.  They talk forecasting.  They talk model runs.  They talk weather in history.  They talk and talk and show and show and I learn.  I actually will go to them for tropical forecasting, before I will watch my area news.  The area news has to clean it up and keep the forecast on the not so scarey side for viewers.  I get the real information and the read probabilities from the meteorologists on Storm2k.   

For instance, right now, meteorologists all over are watching the tropical weather models.  These computer models will take all kinds of information and create probably weather scenarios that go out 10 days.  Hour by hour it changes.  Meteorologist watch these runs and use them to forecast the weather.. next wensday.   Right now… all the models consistantly want to bring a system into souther Florida next week.  You won’t hear this on your local weather station, until it is for certain real.  

I, however, have the inside track.  Even if it doesn’t occur, that is okay.  I know that the season is going to be active and early.  I know that I need to start stocking up supplies.  I know that very soon, we are going to get some serious rain to make this ugly drought go away.

 

 

TOOT TOOT

Yea, I am tooting a horn.  I am so damn proud of my kids.  I just left music lessons.  I overhear the two instructors one upping each other over MY KIDS.   “That one has a natural talent to play the drums..” ” Yea, well this one plays the guitar and SINGS at the same time..”   I turn around and tell them both, “I got a ready made band!” 

I so wish that my Momma was alive.  She would be so proud too.  It all comes from her anyway.  She had all the musical talent.  My husband and I just LOVE music, but LOVING it is not the same as a GOD GIVEN gift.  I hope she is watching the show from Heaven.

Okay, done tooting.

 

 

Catching up

I didn’t realize it had been so long since my last post.  

I did physical therapy for my back.  Such amazing relief!  Turns out that my sacrum joint was out of alinement.  My muscles were all tangled up.  So, the techs worked their magic and I feel so much better!

The antidepressant medication, CYMBALTA, is wonderful.  I have been taking it for 2 months now, and what a difference!  It is a natural difference too.  It is working very well for me and I am back to my hyperactive self again.

Nathan turned 9 in April.  I can’t believe that my baby is 9 already.  Next year, I will have a TWEEN.  A tween to go with my TEEN.   I think I am starting to feel my middle age self.  LOL

Spring has arrived in Florida, and it is fabulous!  The birds are nesting and there are fledgings fluttering about.  Right now, there is a fledgling Mockingbird in my yard.  Mama and Daddy have been wearing themselves to the feather trying to keep that baby safe and fed.  I was looking through the vine that the baby finally hid in.  I came face to face with it.  So precious!  I felt blessed.  

Nathan has been keeping a bird feeder and bird bath.  We love watching the black birds and the doves.  I keep hoping that we will get other birds to visit.  I think that most birds are busy catching bugs for their babies. 

Nathan saw a Hummingbird Moth.  They look almost like a hummingbird and they behave like one too.   really is cool. 

Anyway, at dusk they are out and about.  Easily mistaken for the hummingbirds.  SOOOO, I decided that we should plant a butterfly/hummingbird garden.  The moths will come for those plants too!  It will take the whole season though. 

My Rosie, the baby Bloodhound, has a Hygroma on her elbow.  We thought she had something more serious and that required xrays.  Thankfully she doesn’t require surgery.  However, the Hygroma has been drained twice and it fills back up in a matter of days.  ICK.   She needs padding on her elbow.  However, the device that will work is $95.  I will be measuring the dog and ordering it.  The vet told me about a patient who sewed up their own.  I am not that talented.  I did a web search and found the company that makes the device. 

Our home school year is coming to an end soon.  My portfolio review needs to be in by July.  Last year, I did the review at the end of May.  Then started our new year in June.  I have math and language arts down.  Now, I am adding geography.  Once we get that going, then I will add history and science.  It will have taken 3 years of home schooling to get it all down.  LOL   It took two years to get comfortable with this .

I have many ideas for next year.  Our home school group will benefit and hopefully be inspired!   I want to take the group on the Seminole Train.  It is a train ride through our area and the conductor talks about the history.  I want to have the library system give a class on HOW to use the library.  How to find books, periodicals, videos and references.  Our older kids will be learning how to do research papers and colleges do not allow the Internet as the only source of information.  I want to have a Heirloom/Antique Fair.  The kids will bring in something older than 24 years and tells us the history of the item.  A really neat show and tell.  I am thinking of teaching a class or two.  I am not sure the subject or topic yet.  Of course, I will want to have the Critter Fair, the Florida History Fair, and not sure what else.   My goal is to provide more academics for my kids and the group’s kids.  

My home school room is ALMOST in order.  I need storage in the worst way.  I finally had to claim the area that the weight machine would have gone.  Then I had the brilliant idea that room could handle a couch.  Yea, not so much.  But, it is too late.  We like it out there.   I will make it work.  I really hope to have the room done enough to post a decent photo.  It is usable, but not postable.   I am really glad that we built the room.  We so desperatly needed the space.  

I am about to be Nom-Nommed by my Rosie.  That means she wants to climb up here and nibble on my nose and then hug me.   You really do get owned by these dogs.  They love with every inch of their body!

Taffy

heheheehee I made it.

back and tail bone pain

Sometime during December 2006 and January 2007, I jacked up my tailbone.  I have lived with that horrendous pain for a year now.  It doesn’t go away, it is always present and I think I will have it forever.  I am almost used to it.  LOL

I have always had back aches.  In recent years, I have complained about feeling like my back will snap in half sometimes.  I chalked it up to arthritis and fat.   THEN on October 18th, I woke up to horrible spasms and back pain that has not let up for 8 weeks now.  I thought it would go away.  Fat chance.  I did some searching on the message board I hang out at and discovered that I began with this back pain 2 days after I fell in a quicksand ditch over at the lake.  I wonder if it is related.   I must be.  I recall how I fell in and  it makes sense. 

How all this information helps is beyond me, but I know my doctor will want to know what I did, how I did it and when I did it.  So, I will hobble on down to see her.   I leave in 10 minutes. 

MANY MONTHS LATER ….

 Well, I have had muscle relaxers, steriods, X-rays, and an MRI.   I am alot better than I was when I made the above post.  The tests determined that I did not have a slipped disc or protusion, or anthing out of alignments.  I simply have tied my muscles up into a huge tangled knot.   I started physical therapy today and that was VERY enlightening.  I have much weakness on my right side.  I didn’t realize that until I was evaluated and asked to do things I didn’t know I couldn’t do anymore..   SO, I did the stretching and strengthening excercises and was given the instructions of what I can’t do.   HMMMMMMMM  That list is NOT going to work for me!!  I can’t vacuum, sweep, rake, paint, walk the dogs ( pulling ), lift the baby, bend over from the waist, sit on the floor/ground, ( How am I going to weed? )   Sit cross legged, sit with my feet tucked sideways under me, stand in one spot without one leg propped up on something, sit anyway.. except UPRIGHT.   This is going to be tough!  After tonights therapy, I hurt more, but I feel a little less restricted.  I think that in the end this will help out alot.  I do know that when I go to bed.. I see a muscle relaxer in my system.

My new floor!!! Looks so good

Stop and smell the roses

These are from my garden. Yep, I grew them and I have a few others. I plant my roses in the front of the house. I want them to, hopefully, slow my visitors down. Either coming or going, the roses are there to capture an attention. The roses are there for one to admire and consider. Stop and smell the roses.