Just another Day on the Farm

Garden Records

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

gardenplanner

Now normally I use a ruled lined book from the dollar store and i do love my farm books. However I figure that I am putting so much effort into the gardens, the food forest and so forth that this year, I would step up my game.

This book came highly recommended on the homesteading groups and I liked that it kept a page on costs out, but really liked how much room there is for reporting each day and that it has harvest total place.

It has two pages for the fruit and I have them filled out and even added in one more spot on the bottom.. I wish it had three full pages instead of the two.. as it only has 24 slots of the fruit orchard and of course I have more then that.. so I had to decide what I would add into it and I was not able to break them down into kinds.. but it has a good note section so i will do more follow up in that regards into note..

Example, I had to just go with Apples and then I will need to use the note page next to it to break it down into the 9 kinds of apples I grow and their harvest numbers. I am not sure I can hold this to much.

I expect I will find the same issue with the veggies grown section, not enough pages there either but i do grow a big garden and a lot of different things.. I do think for the average garden/yard that there is enough space..

However given that it is for a family large garden, I stand by would be nice to have one more veggie page, and one more fruit page..

I do love the monthly at a glance spare, and the weekly area looks great! I really like the break down though the day because its true, we putter and I like that it allows you to putter record lol

Saladgreens

We started our baby greenhouse at the first of the month and we are harvesting salad greens already, we have pea’s up, radishes up, and the patio tomato seedlings are up as well. I will need to transplant them into 4 inch pots today. They came up in 5 days..

I have hit a snag I didn’t expect.. the cost of soil in regards to microgreens, I have soilless sprouting trays and they would great but they are sprouts, not mircogreens and I used my main soil for doing the mircogreens trays but I figured out very quickly that it will cost to much to do them in soil.. because the soil is full of roots and the bits of stems left after means you can’t just reuse it.. so the chickens are very happy campers and that soil will come back into compost for my garden at a later point.

So I hit the internet and I have a large set of 4 trays including the stand coming that is a two part tray system that is to be used as a mircogreen tray that does not use soil.. I am of mixed hmm on it. I mean the seeds themselves only have so much that they can grow on their own without extra imputes so I will see how this goes..

Keep you posted on it.. I should have my first sets in full producing by the end of the month. Do you use the soilless microgreens trays, how have they worked for you?

On one hand I am not happy for another 50 dollar output this month but if it works, then overall it will be a big money saver and pay for itself within the year.. I have heard that soil is hard to come by this year.. I know last year that many peaple by the end of last season where really having issues with the soil that was being sold, and many were sold out, I have a feeling that its going to effect the ability and for sure the cost for buying soil this spring..

Mean while it appears that at least here in ontario that trying to find onion sets this year is going to be harder then normal.. So I will be starting Onions and Leeks in the next two weeks. Its been a good while since I have needed to grow onions from seeds.. but I was able to buy onion seeds for ones that I would never be able to get locally in sets so that at least is fun and interesting..

I will share as it goes, I have a interesting bunching Russian one, one that is to be a huge onion, it is said that it can by fall reach up to 5 pounds each (i will believe it when I see it lol) its not a keeping onion but i laughed and said to hubby. dang, those are the onions for sauce making.. one five pound onion per sauce batch haha and a few more..

What is the most fun onion have you grown? If you grow onion from seed, do you have a hot tip on a successful outcome!

Posted in Garden | Tagged Garrden record book, growing onions from seed, microgreens, tracking your garden | 4 Comments

Chocolate Snow Icecream Recipe

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Ah Snow, did we ever get snow! 9 inches in the past 24 hours.. Time to make a speical winter treat! Snoe Icecream.. Never heard of it? Here is my Vanilla Snow Icecream regular way of making it.. so easy and so yummy..

chocolatesnowicecream

Chocolate Cream Snow Icecream

This is a lighter version that is safe for hubby to eat..

2 cups of heavy cream
3 TBSP good Coco Powder (light chocolate, use more if you like it more dark chocolate)
3 tbsp of Monkfruit sugar (or 1/4 cup of regular sugar if you are not diabetic)
1 tsp of salt
14 cups of clean snow

In a heavy pot at a very low heat, put milk, coco powder and sugar/salt together, whisk till its blended together and just warm.. you are not trying to make this hot.. just warm enough that the sugar melts in and the coco full blends into the cream.

Chill the chocolate cream till its cold.. then collect your snow, pour over and stir till it comes together.. stir it as it melts.. a lovely treat and made with the monk, it did not spike hubbies blood sugar at all!

Posted in Life moves on daily | 1 Comment

Peas Seeds- One for pot and One to put up..

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

60 hours ago, we planted out a tray of pea seeds grown and saved in 2019 and in the tray went into the BG(Baby Indoor Greenhouse) it is amazing how fast things are growing in there..

Amazing considering I didn’t even pre-soak them before they went into the damp soil and yet they are all popping their pretty little green selfs up and onward.

Normally, I grow one row of snow peas and stagger out 2 to 4 rows of regular pea’s that I then pick about 80 percent of the pea’s for fresh eating and or blanching and freezing for future use and then I let at least one row finish out the last 20 percent into seeds.

Typically this gives me lots of peas for planting out in the fall plants and for next years crop.. if I am a little short, i will only pick 60 to 70 percent in the fall to bump up my stock but I will be honest, I like to save from both the spring started and the fall started,

Saving seed from the spring started pea’s help you save seed from plants that do well in very cool just worked soil, they tend to be shorter plants and they tend to close out faster in the heat.. where saving seed from fall started, tend to be better in the heat and tougher in holding though some very light frostings.

By keeping each as their own line, you are working towards improving your lines to both suit your own area but also for the conditions they are raised under.. just do not mix the up.. because the cool soil spring ones can struggle more if started early in late summer in the warmer soils/hotter days.

Back to 2021, I need to flip it.. hubby will do better with the whole pod for the increase in fiber, so I will be growing 4 rows of snow peas, one row of fresh eating pea’s and this year with my eye firmly looking at the whole view, I am planting a whole row into just seed saving, on the spring seeds for winter planting in the baby greenhouse..

Its a combo of winter plantings for pea shoots (cut around 4 to 5 inches for greens) at pretty much low/no cost but its also because pea’s seeds are a great gift..

I am going to bring them as little house gifts (even if its just a driveway drop off).. I am going to do the same with little pots of flowers.. Lets face it, if you gave someone seeds for turnips (not everyone likes turnips) or carrots( they can be fussy to start) pumpkin (o my gosh.. that is a huge plant and take so long to produce), you get the idea..

While a “gardener” might be happy with all kinds of things.. for most peaple, they know what pea’s are.. they are pretty easy to grow, they have lovely flowers and I have never meet a child that does not love to pick fresh pea’s off the vine and pop that lovely green boat and snack on those fresh raw peas.. its just a treat.

Consider starting a extra tray of your favorite flowers and bring a few of them in cute basket, box or ?? with you this spring/summer/fall.. it will help brighten someones day!

Posted in Gal in the Garden Series, Garden, seed saving, Seeds | Tagged breeding for fall planted pea seds, breeding for spring pea seeds, gifting out seeds, give a little gift, growing peas, Pea seeds, pea shoots, Saving Pea seeds | 5 Comments

Pawpaw Seeds

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

I ordered in Pawpaw seeds from a seller one zone harder then my own and I hope to get two 3 year old trees this spring about 40 minutes away as they like to be planted in clumps.

pawpaw

I ordered in 15 seeds and the sellar sent 23, and they have been kept in damp and cold in the fridge till this week.. some of them seem much more plump then a few, so we will see how many sprout.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/pawpaw

They are in damp potting soil in the Baby Greenhouse and once I have sprouting, as they have a heavy thick tap root, they will be planted into 5 gallon pots in sets of two or three depending.

Do you have pawpaw on your homestead? Do you prune them.. have you ever pruned them to keep them smaller? Honestly they appear to get very large, I am not sure I want them to grow up to 10 meters, that’s 30 feet tall.. how are you to harvest the fruit when they are that big? speical picking tools?

Then I have heard that they will not grow that big in my area, many say, no.. in our area, they will get about ten feet give or take.. who is right.. that is the issue..

I am not sure I want more then two or three clumps of them, so if everything starts and grows well, then I guess I will be gifting or bartering out extras.

One of the things I find very interesting is that they are a shade tree and that they do not like full sun, they need part to full shade.. that say this is very important for young baby trees..

They also like damp soil.. I have plans to place them edged into my slew area with shade from my big tree.. I hope that they will like this spot.. i will let you know..

It felt great to start another project for the gardens and the food forests on the farm..

pawpaw flowers

One of the things that i am looking forward to even if it takes a long time for fruit is the flowers.. I mean a tree in the spring full of amazing scarlet flowers, stunning..

interesting fact on them, they like to be pollinated by beetles, not bees.. or so I read.. I have never had the chance to date to try these real life so I am taking a bit of a leap o f faith that they do taste good 🙂

Posted in Food Forest | Tagged ontario pawpaw seeds, paw paw tree, pawpaw fruit, pawpaw red flowers, pawpaw seedlings, Pawpaws in food forest understudy, spring flowers on trees | 2 Comments

Homemade Custard Recipe

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

I hope this photo shows you how silky smooth this custard can be..

Ah custard, so easy to make when it goes right, and fussy when it does not..

Creamy Homemade Custard Recipe

4 cups whole milk

4 egg yolks

2 tsp of vanilla extract

2 tsp of corn starch (add 1 tsp more if you like a stiffer custard)

1/4 cup sugar (if you want a sweeter but its not needed)

In a heavy bottom pot add your milk, sugar, vanilla and corn starch (blend this together while its cold, then add half a cup of your milk to the beated egg, blend it together and pour it into your milk mixture. This goes on your small burner for even heating and you want it at a low-med heat.. which on my stove is #4, it does mean that it heats slower but its worth it.. Whisk slowly and softly the whole time.. don’t worry it only take a couple minutes to bring it up to heat, it only needs to cook at that very slow low heat till the yolk cooked in combo with the corn starch thickens..

Once you have trail lines behind your whisk,, take it off the heat and stir another min or so, it will keep cooking from the heat of the pot.

Details in regards to your egg yolk Split out your egg yolk from your egg white, (save your whites to add to a omlet or however you would like to use them), beat them till they froth and have that lighter color change. Do each egg on its own, try as hard as possable to have no egg white in there.

This can be served hot (its very good fresh hot from the pot as is, its thinner but you will not care) or you can put it into a heat proof tub (cover it if you do not want a skin on the top to form and chill in the fridge, it will be thicker this way..

Can be served with fruit, can be served on pancakes or waffles, is amazing with banana’s, or a sprinkle of coconut, can be put in your icecream maker.. o my! can be placed in tart shells with a drop of whipped cream on top.

Now the joy of this is that you can take your recipe up or down as needed.. I find that the 1 cup whole milk to one egg yolk works very well.. I like half a tsp of thickener but if you like a thicker custard, you can up that a touch.. but do try it that way first.

Posted in Life moves on daily, Sheep Milk | Tagged custard, Farm Fresh Eggs, Making custard, sheeps milk custard, smooth vanilla custard, ways to use custard, winter egg use | 3 Comments

Increase your Skill Set -Hair cuts

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

When it comes to increasing my skill set when it comes to hair cuts, there are three area’s to get better at.

Human Hair trims/cuts

Sheep Shearing/crotching

Dogs Trims/Shaping

If there is one thing that 2020 taught us, we can go for ages without getting our hair cut, we can do our own nails, shape our own brows.. If you didn’t already do it.. bring your trims “in house” for 2021

In this case, I am do not recommend any major hair cut style changes and if you can do so, utube is your friend on this.. or just stay with the most basic trim, do your split ends and go..

I started trimming hubby’s hair year one of our relationship, he wanted a trim and we were way up in the north and he said I will get my hair cut next time I am down south, which had me give him the funny look and while it took me a bit to explain that we did home hair cuts 99 percent of the time in my family.. so I did the smallest trim possable for the first cuts he got.. I have been cutting his hair/beard/eyebrows for the next 20 years lol

2020 was the first time he trimmed mine.. he was very careful.. to careful really I wanted more off but it will come with time. Always better to want more trimmed off then to regret that to much was taken off.

I saw someone say, what are skills that we should be learning and or getting better at, and hair cuts was really on the top of that list.. Dog hair trimming was for sure in the top ten skills to learn.

Makes me wonder how many peaple are sending their dogs out to be groomed.. I do not mind grooming my dogs. My oldest girls are the ones that have the longest hair and need the most thinning/shaping and or shave down depending on the time of year.

I perfer to take the time to thin and shape then shave if I can.. but I have been known to take miss paris right down with the clippers once a year.. Dezzy is very double coated but short haired on her legs and so its a matter of trimming and lots of bush out..

Out of the two new boys, its Uther above that needs the steady daily groom time.. He would shed enough with all that lab blood and that crazy blow the coat twice a year.. but he really shows his Chessie blood all down his back line and he has this crazy course/wire type all over his back and down to his shoulders.. its so thick and water proof that the vet felt the need to warn me twice now that I will need to groom him regular to brush that out, keep the oils moving, and brush it back up after swimming as he says they can get skin infections if its not looked after properly.

So he is learning that he gets a daily brush out and I am always amazed at all the things that come out that you do not see.. little seeds, bits of hay, little sticks and so on..

Then comes the one that I am not fond of but do need to get better at.. shearing.. I am down to 3 ewes that need to be sheared.. and I swear at some point I will get back to only having hair sheep that shed out fully on their own.

Until that day comes, at least once a year I have to tackle shearing the ewes, I promise you they are not more happy to see me coming then I am to do it.. I know that some folks like shearing their sheep, I am not one them.. I wish I was!

So this year, I am going to see if there is any way to learn to be a better at it, to try hard to be safe but just a touch faster at it.. Thank goodness I use the wool in my gardens and I am not shearing for wool..

So when it comes to clippers/scissors use in your house, have you brought them in house, will you be bringing them in house.. Do you do basic grooming but send your dog out for the trim/cut/bath?

When it comes to the sheep, do you have any words of wisdom to make my shearing go better? If so I am all ears? I have power clippers as well as hand shears

One part of me wants to point out that it will save you money and it will in the long run if you keep it up but in truth depending on how much you need to buy in regards to grooming kit (dog) sheers(sheep) and grooming kit (human) it could be a bit spendy to set you up..

Still if push comes shove for peaple at least, you need a straight comb and a pair of straight scissors, if you have to in a pinch, good fabic scissors will get the job done..

Posted in farm | Tagged brushing your dogs coat, cutting your hair at home, doing your own dog grooming, Shearing sheep, trimming your dog, Trimming your own hair | 5 Comments

Carrot Slaw -Lighter Carb

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

I love a good carrot slaw in winter, the carrots keep so well if prepared properly and they just get sweeter with age if they are the right storage kinds.

This is just one of my Sweeter Carrot Slaw Recipes.. A lovely red Carrot Slaw. I also love it with a creamy dill dressing made of mayo, cream a bit of sugar and lots of black pepper and dill, so good.. or how about this great Sweet Pickle Slaw recipe?

However with Hubby’s new Diabetic rules in place, I wanted to lighten this version up..

Carrot Slaw Light Recipe

2 Medium size Carrots, Peeled and grated med course
2 Medium young Zucchini, ends trimmed, grated med course
1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1 tbsp of golden raisins
1 tsp of poppy seeds
1/2 tsp of salt free herbal salt replacemnt
2 TBSP of a good Italian Dressing

If you need to drop out the raisins you can do so.. but even just the odd one works to bring in that the chew texture at times and that hit of sweetness.. the poppy seeds seem to meld but they do add to a bit of pop in the mouth feel. I personally go unsalted with the seeds as hubby’s heart issue also means we are balancing between heart smart and Diabetic at the same time.

The joy of the Zucchini is that is lower carb compared to the carrot and it takes on the flavors of the carrot in a lovely way.. Enjoy..

This makes 4 sides to go with a meal or a hearty salad to go with soup or meal side.. Does not hold up that well in the fridge as the Zucchini lets out more liquid and makes the carrots even more soggy..

If you need to keep in fridge, be prepared to drain off , add a bit more grated fresh carrot and touch up your dressing to bring it back up to full flavour and texture.

If you are looking for a way to turn leftovers into something different, a leftover of this could be added to a cabbage slaw to create a new dish to finish it up very easily.

Posted in Recipes from the Root Cellar | Tagged Carrot Slaw recipe, Carrots in salads, Winter Carrot Slaw, Winter Keeping carrots, Winter root veggies | 8 Comments

Increased Theft in Rural Area’s

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

My biggest and best driveway alarm

Every single day my local police department puts out a notice on what is happening in our local area, I have watched the reports of theft increase.

Now to be fair, its not like theft is not a somewhat normal event in our area and I am sure the same in yours? We have had a small propane tank theft in some of our small towns locally that has struck year after year..

we all try and figure that one out.. do they use the tanks? are you they stealing them to turn them in for the refund on them when you recycle them? Where do they sell them onward because its not local that they are going?

Sure those hit are unhappy at the loss but its one of those.. o again.. when its reported. We have really had a increase in vehicle thefts and they are very targetted and rarely recovered, they are believed to be targetted, chopped and shipped out of the montreal port at very rapid speed. (no idea if its true or not, just here it on the news and radio) this morning, they annouced 5 vehicle thefts of the same make/model in a very small local area..

Clearly someone wanted parts or those makes and has a plan.. no one steals 5 of the same make and model (but different colors) in one night without knowing what they are going to do with them at the end point.

We have very little theft in regards to truckers compared to the big city areas, where they will hit the whole truck and take everything out the back.. it can happen but its rare.. heck we have even had peaple come and steal truckloads of grain..

Of course we have the normal amounts of B&E’s it happens.. not to often but it does happen. We have a mother-daughter set that did local B&E’s for a couple years in a wide ring around our rural area.. they were finally caught and the whole area got real quiet that way.

Right now, the biggest issue is farm thefts, they are using small drones to check the farm out.. a) to check to see if they want to hit your farm b) to see if you are home

now that is taking new tec to a level that I am honestly surprised at.. I am not even sure our dogs really would react to a small drone zipping by.. do you think yours would?

They say the top items that are being stolen off the farms are, mobile generators, wood splitters, chain saws, tools, Jerry can’s, snow blowers, lawn mowers, ATV’s, Moterbikes, Saddles/horse tack,

In the past two years the other one we see is small stock theft, baby goats, baby sheep, the odd calf and chickens.. I mean really.. chickens.. and then there is garden produce theft..

Last year someone within 2 hours of my farm, had someone come in at “JUST” the right moment and cleared out 12,000 worth of garlic.. first to do that in one night did not happen with just one person and second.. who and how did they move 12,000 worth of raw garlic.. ??

I have heard of fruit trees picked clean in the night, I have heard of garden raids, I want to believe that they really needed that food.. but then I think about the time someone raided my own garden as it was to close to the road.. no one is ever going to make me think that a herd of raccoon came, cleanly picked all the ready zucchini on the same night.. as I was growing for canning and there was over 30 plants worth.. I still do not know who or how they needed and used that much of the green stuff lol

I am just glad they did not damage the plants and so it was a blip, but still.. it taught me to not plant quite so visable to the road that’s for sure.

So the stats clearly state that having dogs, really helps and that often the sound of a barking dog or in my case a pack of barking dogs will encourge them to look for easier pickings..

Yes, she put be behind this fence.. yes I could clear this fence in a heartbeat.. she is just trying to make you feel better but know I am watching you..

I swear my new lab boy would help them load stuff(maybe he will grow into a better watch/bark dog) but given Remmi would not let them out of the truck its a moot point.. and my little girls would be raising a rackit that would be loud enough to raise the dead..

Remmi will wake me up in the middle of the night if he thinks he hears something, one night someone parked on the road, I am not sure why but it was around 2ish in the morning and he heard them, woke me up, I went and let him out.. he pointed his nose to show me the issue and barked his fool head off while a line went up his back..

The two men shaped shadows on the road standing out, kind of leaning on their car, got back in and sat for a min or two and then started the vehicle and pull around and drove off.. while he has got me up a few times that I am not sure why.. he is very sure why and I do respect his work ethic.

Camera’s are a good idea if you can make it happen, Locked Gates will help to a point, Locked doors will also help, if you have lots of windows, spraying with the window paint that is that soft white can help, lets the light in but blocks just looking in, unless they scrape it off. Chaining things up can also help.. in some cases running a hot line in just the right place and way can give a nasty surprise.

None of those will really stop someone with good planning and skills but they will stop those that are just looking for a quick grab and go..

So best theft preventing tips? What is the most commen types of theft is being reported in your area? Have you had theft’s happen to you directly, if so what did they take? What do you do to help prevent issues? Do you think with things going the way they are in regards to job loss, that we are going to see a increase in theft?

Posted in At the kitchen table | Tagged Farm dogs, farmdogs, rural living | 27 Comments

Friday Rambles- Fish and Feathers

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

What a week its been coming into my first Friday Rambles for 2021..

Bloody @$^@&%* hell.. $^@&%@& it all anyway.. O my did that #$@&**$^*^* really just happen..

Yes, yes it really did just happen and I do not know about you but this week’s highlights have made my gut clench a few times, made me cry a few times, made me rant in my own house and at my kitchen table more then a few times..

My radio has had me flip it the bird at it more times this week then I want to own to.. I have been reading my friends thoughts and comments.

So the first thing I want to point out is that as Canadian we are not in any way immune to this kind of thing happening, so anyone who thinks.. o we are canada and we are better then that.. then your head is firmly stuck in the past or the sand or up you own.. well you know what..

Shake yourself out of your “eco chambers” and take a good hard look and do not think for a moment that kind of crazyness is only on one side.. O no, I got to read some of the most “liberal” folks using words like crush them. I find it very interesting to watch peaple who truly believe they are hard core C and hard Core L’s both spout the same thing at each other..

Anything like a middle ground where you can find common goals seems much further away these days then ever..

So what can we do about it at the moment.. for the average person.. pretty much nothing! We can work on our own homes, lives, relationships, our plans for how we will manage the coming year. These thing are in our control..

All “that” pretty much out of our control..

So what do we do with that stress that comes with it it.. For us in our home two of the things we both enjoy that helps us lower that stress down, down and down is Fish and feathers.

Upgrading our main fish tank to a bigger one was pretty much a big gift to me and to the whole household, I have always had fish tanks but most of the time I use them spring/fall for outdoor growing, we have a nice little 10 gallon that has a fish or two in house. The big second hand tank that we had and use for many years for raising up hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles turning into toads/frogs took a beating.

So when a big sale came on, we picked up a new tank and some new fish and moved the 10 gallon fish etc into the new tank, it has proven to be a big boon this winter.. both of us will take time to stop and just watch the fish.. you can just feel your heart rate slow down..

IMG_7006 (2)

The second thing we enjoy in a crazy way is our big yard filled to the brim with fluttering feathers, we currently have 4 feeders in action, Mr Red is a young male that found the farm and has claimed it, as we had a young female pass though the year before but she moved on, he has settled and I have great faith that he will call in a female.

He adores our big spruce trees as one of his favorite sitting spots but he really enjoyed munching on the hawthorn berries.

The flashes of red are him or the three kinds of woodpeckers we have coming in or sometimes the red caps

When it comes to yellows, we have a flock of grosebeeks about 20 of them that are coming regular and man they are a fun bird to have around, so pretty indeed.

We also have about 40 finches..

plus all the wild zones that is providing natural eating for them.

of course we have lots of sparrows

and chickadee’s, I adore my little friends.. and they are for sure the most freindly of all the wild birds!

We often take the time to stop and just go to the window and watch the bird at the feeders, we have walking trails though the gardens and the food forest’s marked out and snow blown and as we walk the birds move from tree to tree and swooping over our heads and moving behind us or around us.

So what is your? Are you working on a puzzle? do you play a game of cards? Knitting? Writing (hubby does writing for sure) What are you using as short brief breaks to bring your stress down, or are you just turning everything off?

Posted in At the kitchen table | Tagged Fish Photos, Friday Rambles, Friday Rambles around the table, Wild Bird photos | 13 Comments

Low Buy Jan

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

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I joined a budget based group that lasts the month of Jan, its a good overview and tweeking type of plan.. I laughed a touch as folks are like.. what is something your life that costs you money every single month that has to be considered a luxury.

Do you see those fat butts up there in that photo.. any way you cut it.. they fit that bill.. back in the day, that was not the case, you would use them all the time.. however times have changed and even with the uses we do with them, there is no way to call them anything but hay burners.

Add in that this is the first winter that Caleb is starting to show his age and needing some extra care. feed and so forth, so of course I had to spend a couple hundred on his winter extra’s.

Still I have been reading and thinking about things (when my mind is not stuffed with all the breaking news these days.. and man.. there has been alot of breaking news in the past 48 hours) and when I am not chasing this lunk head to try and help get him around things or unstuck..

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I belong to a food co-op and you get a fresh food basket twice a month, I like this program very much as it

a) keeps me out of the stores and town

b) its local driveway drop off delivery

c) I pay the highest box fee which means that I help support a lower cost box for those in need in my community and I really like this.

d) sometimes we have things go on sale that I buy extra and donate though the program into the local community food box (anyone can go to the food box 24 hours a day and get or leave a little something as needed)

So this helps me greatly in keeping the “fresh” in the meals while not going to town.. our little towns around us right now are increasing hot spots and it would be a very good idea to avoid them for at least the next month.

The one thing that they were talking about was clothing budget, so I had a very hard look at my closets and have decided that I can plan a very frugal clothing year for 2021. I am going to allow myself 2 pairs of curvy fit blue jeans (I have worn out a number of my jeans, patched them and cut them into shorts) so I need to replace them with full legged jeans this year and my new summer dresses.

Thats it! Hubby does not need much at all either, I think the only thing he needs this year is new underwear lol..

Having said that a friend of mine out Sask way was talking about something worth mulling on.. she basicly said.. given how many big company’s are closing and that the odds are good that more will close over the next year, or couple years that if you have a favorite “brand” for your boots, gloves, coats and or certain wear, that you might want to really consider stocking up a few extra’s in your size or if kiddo’s the next couple sizes up as when you go to buy or size up, its very possable that you will find its not available.

I will add a personal note on this, or you might find its the same name, slightly more costly but they have changed something in the making of it due to supply chain issues. I had grabbed a three pack of extra duck tape, same brand I have used for years and then I grabbed a couple singles of kinds I like as well

Well I was totally shocked to find that my three pack rolls were “new” and they are pretty much useless,, they work kind of.. but they are thinner, weaker, I will hold it for in a pinch/no choice but I will not be buying that kind again and I have bought it for many many years..

So even if you think you know the brand, do the research or look at the product because it does not mean you are getting what you think you are.

Otherwise, I will keep looking at things a case by case way of needing things, but I am hoping to save on some things in order to have that extra for a few coming bigger projects.

Did you do your 2021 budget? if so, are you saving for a project, or just saving for the future.. or are you WHAT savings, we are using them up as we speak! Is anyone looking at taking advantage of the very low interest rates and considering buying a house and or taking out a repair/redo loan on this home?

Do you have anywhere in your basic budget lists were its pretty clear that you can bring things down and either just have a no spend or a very limited low spend on?

another area that should be very low buy/low cost is household items.. while I know I will be finishing some repair/redo work and paint etc.. that overall the budget for anything household is very small for the year. We put one vehicle into winter park mode and covered it for storage so that saves us for 7 months in insurance and really is there any reaosn at this point to have more then one vehicle working on the farm right now..

As it is, its hard to make sure it gets run once or twice a week to keep things moving.. I guess that there are some folks that’s not true on but certainly is for us at this time. Ar you driving less? Same.. More? (I know someone that is driving more.. normally taking public transport who does not feel safe doing so and with so many working from home there is parking at his work building, so he now drives in)