Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Amberjem]

Yep.... My house has a huge R value one foot thick walls very insulated. But old windows. The desert does get cold but its a different cold from what you get. All my pipes are buried out to the yard a good couple of feet. Then each faucet comes out of the ground about two feet. They are surraounded by galvanized duct which is stapeld to the post used to support the pvc pipe. Then the whole thing is filled with Decomposed granite sand. so insulated I have no pipe probs in the yard. The horses corral is completely open with the excption of shade structre thats 24 x 24 feet.... Then there is a water hose that goes from the house to her water tank.... Two fifty footers with another for the final reach to the 100 gallon tank. Believe or not the last one of those hoses lasted six years.



this is an old picture... Her shelter is larger and taller but her water is in the same spot.

Here is the bulk of what we get for snow. It lasts a good 24 hours some times....LOL


It melts as soon as the sun comes out. She loves the snow. One morning I cane out and she had been sleeping standing next to the fence and she had a blanet of snow on her back....

It does get cold enough to freeze pipes though.... It usually has nothing to do with the snow. It got to five degrees from the Jet stream touching ground. I lost one pipe in the green house.

Those oil heaters do work to keep you comfortable though.

deb

you always make me miss the horses when I see you talking about yours..

 

[perchie.girl]

Jem I have had horses for 47 years now.... I cannot see myself without... ever. since 1967. I did get out when my son was an infant for about ten years. But in 1999 my dad passed away. I kept reflecting on how he had to quit flying and how he so wanted to get his pilots liscence again. He was forever designing planes and involved with some sort of Airfoil design.... and telling stories aobut how he did this or that with planes. I realized I was doing the same thing.

then one day I started hearing echos of hoof steps following me down the hall at work... climbing the stairs next to me she was black and an echo of days past she stood guard over me and my son at night... By 2000 I saw her in a postage stamp picture of a horse for sale... It was a site that sold horses on line in the San Francisco area. I had stock options... and realized I didnt want to spend the rest of my life reminiscing and dreaming... I bought her sight unseen with the exception of a video.... She was in Washougal Washington. Nope I didnt get a vet check.... Not a very frugal thing to do.... I followed my heart.

Within six months after she came home.... my life changed dramatically. Doors closed. I lost my Engineer job to a revolving door that opened in Argentina... our jobs went out of the country. Oh I got a good severance. "thank you very much Job well done.... dont let the door hit you on the way out"

I should have sold her sent her along with alot of horses that were being Dumped because of the economy. Many went to feed lots. I had promised her she would have a perminant home here.

Sorry I digressed. I do live frugally have since I stopped being an engineer... Life happens

deb

 

[Amberjem]

Jem I have had horses for 47 years now.... I cannot see myself without... ever. since 1967. I did get out when my son was an infant for about ten years. But in 1999 my dad passed away. I kept reflecting on how he had to quit flying and how he so wanted to get his pilots liscence again. He was forever designing planes and involved with some sort of Airfoil design.... and telling stories aobut how he did this or that with planes. I realized I was doing the same thing.

then one day I started hearing echos of hoof steps following me down the hall at work... climbing the stairs next to me she was black and an echo of days past she stood guard over me and my son at night... By 2000 I saw her in a postage stamp picture of a horse for sale... It was a site that sold horses on line in the San Francisco area. I had stock options... and realized I didnt want to spend the rest of my life reminiscing and dreaming... I bought her sight unseen with the exception of a video.... She was in Washougal Washington. Nope I didnt get a vet check.... Not a very frugal thing to do.... I followed my heart.

Within six months after she came home.... my life changed dramatically. Doors closed. I lost my Engineer job to a revolving door that opened in Argentina... our jobs went out of the country. Oh I got a good severance. "thank you very much Job well done.... dont let the door hit you on the way out"

I should have sold her sent her along with alot of horses that were being Dumped because of the economy. Many went to feed lots. I had promised her she would have a perminant home here.

Sorry I digressed. I do live frugally have since I stopped being an engineer... Life happens

deb

havent had a horse fix since I moved to this island grew up with them my grandfather was a horse rancher even when I didnt have a horse least I'd be riding once or twice a weekfriend of my other half has a horse but they dont even ride them just have them for big pets, I cant imagine that,

 

[LindaB220]

Good job Dennis!!!

I had a vet put me right into full tears telling me dog needed to be put down because of large tumor. Yes I had waited until it was very large, though she was not in any pain because of it, and had brought her to the vet to be put down in all probability. BUt at the last moment I needed a few days more to say good bye. Later in the day I called a good friends , with lots of dogs, and she demanded why not get another opionion. DOH. I called a tech from Turfts and she totally poopoo'd the lab results--- my girl was good for surgery, not at all the situation my vet had led me to conclude. SO called another vet for a second opinion. My girl went in for surgery to remove the lump and lived another 2 full years. Well worth getting yourself educated and double checking the vets. Yes, there is MUCh you cando yourself!! GOod going!!

Dennis, as you brought up the medications, could I make a few suggestions. Get yourself onto a low carb diet; there are several of them. ANd you are likely to feel MUCH better. It is not just about how muc extra poundage we carry ( I carry a few extra pounds myself) but also a matter of what we eat. If you want to know more, let me know. It is a big change compared to the SAD ( Standard American DIet) but the foods are easy to come by and according to some authors of these diets, the blood pressure meds can be reduced or eliminated.

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution
online there is the low carb forum for support and information

There are several other, their names and book titles and websites elude me at the moment.

My BP can creep up to 110/80 and at the doctors office this is viewed as good; bah humbug!!!!!!! That is too high for MY normal. Means Ive been cheating too long. Back to eating a diet of low carbs-- and the BP drop back down to ??/ 65. THAT I am happy with. IT is about eating the right foods and the right amount of carb foods.

If any one wants more info, just send me a PM and I'm happy to share.

I've lost 50 pounds in the last 2 years. Well, I lost it in a year and have kept it off a year. Mainly low carb. I was able to get off blood pressure medication and colesteral (sp) med. The best thing about it was being able to change my dead metabolism to a working one again. The website was lowcarbfriends.com and it has a lot of different types of diets. Low carb, paleo, low calorie. A bunch of them. Check what works best for you.

 

[boxofpens]

*mark

 

[erinszoo]

The only problem with low carb/paleo is the cost. Its not a very frugal way to eat, especially in winter. We do okay on it in summer with eggs and fresh produce from the garden but without beans or bread or pasta to extend meals in winter, how do you do it? I can't feed four of us that way. Lettuce is $2 for a skimpy head right now, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, even carrots are ridiculously priced as well. I still have a supply of squash and sweet potatoes and tomatoes plus I have meat in the freezer.

 

[perchie.girl]

It really depends on the trade offs. Medication for High blood pressure visits to the doctor meds for type to diabetes.... VS loosing weight and learning to keep it off. as a lifestyle change. Pure Low carb or pure Paleo isnt a forever choice.... but a process to loose the weight then learn which foods you simply cannot eat when you start adding back in carbs.

Being able to go out to do chores would be an awesome deal. Especially if I didnt have to use my walker to get about. Or be out of breath just getting in and out of the car.

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
to be quite honest some people's bodies react differently to different foods, plus people sometimes don't know what a balanced diet is.

 

[GoodwinFarm]

I'm sorry to have brought up the low carb thing, as it's distracting from living frugal. I do it because I'm healthier and feel better. I asked my doc if I could overdo eating eggs, and he said no, they're the perfect food. I eat at least three eggs a day!

Other things I do: I belong to paperbackswap, where you can trade your used books for other people's used books. They have a cd and dvd version too. DH and I used to spend way too much at "half price books", now we have stacks of books just waiting to be read. You agree to mail out a book and in exchange you get a credit to request a book in the future. I keep a running wish list and when a book becomes available if I have a credit it just gets mailed to me. I get at least a book per month .

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
You are soo right. Part of the Paleo movement is getting away from Super processed food.... because its dead. Even stuff in the store that says "Its good for you".... "No Trans Fats" "No processed sugar." But the deal is these foods are extremely processed and have preservatives in them.

Natural preservatives are Salt vinegar and sugar.... Sugar isnt bad for you ..... but pounds and pounds and pounds of it not so much.

I have done em all Atkins... gained weight.... Airforce diet.... lost ten gained twenty..... Spent five thousand dollars on an all liquid Dr and hospital approved and supervised diet 250 calories per day.... Lost twenty Gained eighty.... couldnt give away the food I had bought.

The best food program I was ever on was Weight watchers.... they encourage you to cook for yourself... despite all the products they sell. The Classes teach you recipe conversions and strategies to deal with pushy friends and family. and most of all they Whoop it up if you only loose a half a pound. Encrouragement. I lost fifty six pounds in twenty six weeks and kept it off for more than two years.

Bht that whole program was designed around a Balanced diet. No one thing was forbidden.... ever. and now to identify those foods you dont react well to.... another big one.

Face it I dont know about any one else but I certainly didnt get to be almost four hundred pounds by eating a balanced diet. So I dont have a problem of eating an imbalanced weight loss program to get a choke hold on this progressing fluffyness.

deb
deb