Just curious who else is living super frugal

[DennisK]

Thanks for sharing your picture, Scott! It sure is nice to see a nice smiley face after all of the sadness we are seeing on the TV these days!

 

[erinszoo]

Making "Grape Nuts" cereal tonight and dehydrating some of the cranberries I got for 69 cents a bag. Gonna go buy more tomorrow and stock up on juice for the year. Any body else make their own cereal or juice?

 

[mickey328]

I've never done cereal but when I can get a hold of good apples and don't need 'em for other stuff, I make apple juice. Canned 7 quarts this year...I have to be stern with myself...I could go through it in a week. LOL

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I've never done cereal but when I can get a hold of good apples and don't need 'em for other stuff, I make apple juice. Canned 7 quarts this year...I have to be stern with myself...I could go through it in a week. LOL

What I did this year with our apples was to bake them in the oven after quartering them and sprinkling cinnamon and sugar over them (just a little). I covered with tin foil and baked for a couple of hours on 350 degrees.

Then I packaged them in those disposable tupperware containers that I collect and put them in the freezer.

They are delicious by themselves, thawed in the fridge or over oatmeal as the sweetener.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Awww, so sweet! Is he just a young'un?

Yeah, that was a year ago when he was a year old. He's a miniature llama, so that's why he's not so big. He still weighs in about 250 or so (I lost a toenail from getting stomped on by him)! I guess he has grown some since the picture was taken, I know the flock has, and there are 2 more pens in the pasture behind them now, too.

Dennis, thanks. That's one of the things about Lydia that I love. She smiles all the time! When I got hurt 30 years ago, it was bad. They got my heart started again in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. My partner went to get Lydia as they were trying to stabilize me. As I started to become conscious, I still had tube in my throat and was blind. I couldn't make out sounds or words, all I knew was pain. Then some of the fog cleared from my eyes and I saw that smile! THAT'S when I knew I was going to be O.K.

I just realized it's my anniversary, Nov 2, 1982, app. 08:07 a.m., my life ended, and began again.

~S

 

[mickey328]

Really? I've never heard of a mini Llama. It's Moofy, right? He's a cutie, but tell him not to step on ya again!

Happy Anniversary...really glad you came back to us...that smile has to make it all worth while!

 

[newfoundland]

When I was a child my parents always exchanged Christmas gifts with their many brothers and sisters. Since this was just after the war, no one had any money and everything was rationed or unavailable. They always bought little luxuries for each other which were a real treat. Perhaps a bar of scented toilet soap which people hadn't been able to buy during the war, or a tasty treat such as pickled walnuts or glaces fruit.

They often made toys for us and I remember my dear dad making me a farmyard with barns and fences etc. It must have been a struggle to put a celebration meal on the table but everyone chipped in and contributed what they had. The house was at all times spotless, but at Christmas it was also carefully decorated with evergreens and home made decorations. We never had a Christmas tree for years it would have been too expensive, but we had the happiest Christmases ever.

We went carol singing with the Church and how excited we were to stay up and go to Midnight mass on Christmas Eve. We may have been threadbare but mums had a real pride in their homes and families and everyone did their best to be festive. In these straightened times we need to learn from the people of that generation. In our family we will spend the money on children and grandchildren. We have set a limit on adults gifts, in our case £10 a couple. We have also agreed that we will buy only edible presents with the £10. I am really looking forward to finding foody treats that I know my family would not buy for themselves but will really enjoy.

I will never forget my lovely mum's face when she was presented with a bar of soap, Pink Camay, as I recall. She used it so sparingly, carefully drying it off after each wash, so it would not melt away. Come on people if they could do this so can we. Let's all have the greatest Christmas ever with none of the financial worries. I think it will be the shape of things to come for all of us. Let's embrace it with good cheer as they did.

 

[DennisK]

Yeah, that was a year ago when he was a year old. He's a miniature llama, so that's why he's not so big. He still weighs in about 250 or so (I lost a toenail from getting stomped on by him)! I guess he has grown some since the picture was taken, I know the flock has, and there are 2 more pens in the pasture behind them now, too.

Dennis, thanks. That's one of the things about Lydia that I love. She smiles all the time! When I got hurt 30 years ago, it was bad. They got my heart started again in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. My partner went to get Lydia as they were trying to stabilize me. As I started to become conscious, I still had tube in my throat and was blind. I couldn't make out sounds or words, all I knew was pain. Then some of the fog cleared from my eyes and I saw that smile! THAT'S when I knew I was going to be O.K.

I just realized it's my anniversary, Nov 2, 1982, app. 08:07 a.m., my life ended, and began again.

~S

Scott, you and Lynda found a real treasure in each other. All the other things we value seem to pale in comparison. Funny how death, even its prospect, will snap us back to those very basic values.

 

[DennisK]

Scott, you and Lynda found a real treasure in each other. All the other things we value seem to pale in comparison. Funny how death, even its prospect, will snap us back to those very basic values.

Ops! Excuse me --- YOU AND LYDIA

 

[DennisK]

When I was a child my parents always exchanged Christmas gifts with their many brothers and sisters. Since this was just after the war, no one had any money and everything was rationed or unavailable. They always bought little luxuries for each other which were a real treat. Perhaps a bar of scented toilet soap which people hadn't been able to buy during the war, or a tasty treat such as pickled walnuts or glaces fruit.

They often made toys for us and I remember my dear dad making me a farmyard with barns and fences etc. It must have been a struggle to put a celebration meal on the table but everyone chipped in and contributed what they had. The house was at all times spotless, but at Christmas it was also carefully decorated with evergreens and home made decorations. We never had a Christmas tree for years it would have been too expensive, but we had the happiest Christmases ever.

We went carol singing with the Church and how excited we were to stay up and go to Midnight mass on Christmas Eve. We may have been threadbare but mums had a real pride in their homes and families and everyone did their best to be festive. In these straightened times we need to learn from the people of that generation. In our family we will spend the money on children and grandchildren. We have set a limit on adults gifts, in our case £10 a couple. We have also agreed that we will buy only edible presents with the £10. I am really looking forward to finding foody treats that I know my family would not buy for themselves but will really enjoy.

I will never forget my lovely mum's face when she was presented with a bar of soap, Pink Camay, as I recall. She used it so sparingly, carefully drying it off after each wash, so it would not melt away. Come on people if they could do this so can we. Let's all have the greatest Christmas ever with none of the financial worries. I think it will be the shape of things to come for all of us. Let's embrace it with good cheer as they did.

I’ll buy that, Newfoundland – hook, line and sinker! After spending most of my life chasing the bells and whistles of what we refer to as the Standard of Living, I am beginning to realize that there is a vast difference between the Standard of Living, and the quality of living.