Redd Hudson

Before the age of instant banking, ATMs and plastic spending, I had a check register. And like everyone everywhere with a checkings account received the monthly bank statement.

Unfortunately, being deslyix, I am not good at math. (Deslyics of the world UNTIE!)

I could never reconcile my register with the bank statement. But I KNeW MY register was RIGHT, I still have checks!

This broke my accountant Mother's number crunching heart. Then, Dad suggested that I round up the check entries.

And The World Changed.  He said at the end of the month put the difference between the bank and the register into the savings account.  

He also confirmed that the bank was very likely right.

I still do this. Not the rounding up, but putting whatever is left over at the end of the month in savings. Having emergency savings is important and a huge stress reducer.

Having a budget is really important. But don't try to account for every penny (round up!). Plan on saving. This used to be called paying yourself first. Put it in your budget.

If you are still on grid, see if the electric company offers budget billing. This gives you a bill you can plan on.

Turn off lights
Insulate to reduce heat and cooling costs.
Wear more clothes in full winter. Turn the thermostat down.
Raise the AC in the summer. I live in the deep south, wearing less clothes in the full summer is likely illegal. At least outside...
Always run a full load of wash. And if you buy laundry soap, buy powder. And use less soap.
I buy ammonia to sanitize laundry.
Line dry your clothes if you can. Indoors or outside clothes lines are handy. I hang bath towels and when almost dry put them in the dryer. I like fluffy towels. Same with jeans.
Dont waste leftovers. Consider cooking a roast for Sunday and using it in different ways through the week for dinners. Meatloaf to spaghetti to chili, to pizza.
Convince is expensive. Time is valuable. If you have more time than money, make it. Even if you don't, make it. Good health is valuable. Hand made is joyous.
Check for free activities offered by library or parks department. The parks department here has free movie nights. Civics organizations often have fun things to do for free.
Borrow before you buy. Or rent before you buy. This is a great way to get a job done AND figure out if that 'thing' is as great as you thought it would be.
Double and triple check prices. I have an instant cart account. I don't order. But I can search for a item to see what store has the best price.
Keep a price book for shipping. This book helps you to really know if the sale price is really a markdown. Start with listing 3 things you always buy. My 3 are Milk, butter, coffee. Jot down the cost every time you buy. You'll see the buy cycle patterns after a few weeks.

I have a lot more strategies, but I may run out of "posting" room. So I will end here

I haven't used pdf patterns for clothes, but I have used them for small items, like stuff animals. Nothing I would need to scale up.

I have 3 sewing machines.  2 are buried in a closet and 1 is jammed under a table.  We are in the 7th year of the 2 year remodel plan.

BUT when I could reach one,  I liked to experiment with sewing.

My grandmother would be deeply disappointed, but I think reverse engineering or remaking clothing is easier than decoding the symbols on the tissue patterns. .

I have enjoyed watching this woman on YouTube.  
https://youtube.com/@refashionistasheri?si=7eO6BY3n5Ud_JEHs  

She has some interesting ideas.

Happy day, everyone!

I think having pre-chopped, herbed onions tomatoes and peppers ready to go in 1 cup measures is brilliant.

As I read through the messages, I came to the regret that I donated the Tupperware hamburger maker.  Oh well.

What about using used milk or cream cartons, with the tops cut off.The "paper" ones. They are pre waxed, and proven leak proof.

You could pop out the frozen mix and store the puck (is it stiil a puck if it's square?) inside a larger milk carton. That might not make the allotted freezer foot print bigger.

Curious to know what was the final results.

Christopher Weeks wrote:I made egg salad sandwiches for lunch and was thinking about whether I should start an egg salad thread or just post here. Since someone else bubbled the thread to the top, I'll post here. I mixed in some of this stuff (about a heaping spoonful per sandwich) and it was great! I'm sure it would be great in deviled eggs, too.

What is it?

My husband came with a dog named Ayu (say hey you with a Boston accent) and a cat named Damn Cat. The vet refused to call her that and  it was DC on all of her paperwork.

Ayu was rescued by him on a dangerously cold night in the north end. He saw the 1yr old dog trying to keep warm in a pile of debris in an alley way. Husband tried to lure him into the warm with a piece of steak. Nothing doing. But a bowl of water got his attention. When husband got him home 'up north', dog sat in the corner waiting for the door to open and make his escape. Once free, dog headed west, down the middle of the ice covered country road. The plow truck was coming east on same said road. Husband chased after calling dog, every name he could think of... Fido, woofy, finally in frustration husband yelled Ay you! Dog turned around and ran back to him.

The cat got her name when she distributed crackers, dog cookies, butter wrappers (formerly butter sticks) and toilet paper (all of which had been placed out of reach above the refrigerator) all over the house in some strange game she and Ayu where playing... Husband came home, saw the disaster and exclaimed "that damn cat" to which she trotted over and smiled. Really.

I once named a cat by randomly opening the phone book - Sunborne Emerson.

Some of my hacks are:

My toilet bowl brush sits in a container. I add the last bit soap to the container, the last tiny sliver of the bar, shampoo, dish soap,. I add a bit of water if needed. Cleans the toilets just fine.

I premake "convenance" food.

Bread mixes - I make up the dry parts of recipes - biscuits, bread dough, pancake, cornbread etc. I label my jars with type and the needed wet ingredients. (I don't add the yeast to bread dough until I am ready to bake) I add the cooking temp and time to the label.

Rice and grains - I measure out grains with herbs and spices into a half pint jar, the label the jar with the wet ingredients.

Other cooking hacks I use, and probably you already know:
Spray measuring spoons with oil before measuring honey or molasses. The sticky stuff won't stick.
Wash flour off hands, and surfaces with cold water and it won't clump and get sticky.
Wear an apron. Saves clothes and cleaning.
Use a small spatula to get the last bit of yogurt, mustard, mayo etc out of the container.
Freeze butter wrappers and use then to grease cake pans and cookie sheets.
To warm cold eggs in a hurry, to make mayo or meringue, wash or place them in warm water.
Place a warm bowl over a stick of cold butter to soften quickly.

In the garden, I made up this planting tool so I don't have to bend over to plant peas, beans, corn... Works best with large seeds.

I took a PVC pipe and measured it to my height, I am 5.5 ft, so about 4 ft. I added a PVC T extension to the bottom of the pipe, so that the top of the T is in line with the pipe and the seeds can fall straight through. I added a short piece of pipe - maybe less than 2 inches - to the part of the T connector that sticks out from the pipe. To that I added an elbow connector. So now I have a long pipe with a sideways T at the end and the elbow off the T.  To use, I gentlely push the long pipe into the soil of a garden row (I use a hoe to first make the row) then drop the seed through the long pipe. The elbow marks the spacing for the next seed. I place the long pipe in the mark left by the elbow. When I have seeded the row, I use the how to push soil over the seeds and tamp down.

I use pool noodles to keep my tall boots from flopping over.

I use a large fat Webster's dictionary as a knife block.

I put wheels on my old low hutch so I could move it as needed for extra counter space for canning and other kitchen projects.

I hope these help. 😁

This is a family favorite

Bloody Mary deviled eggs..

Ingredients
12 large eggs - older eggs peel easier than fresh
Also, if you store the egg carton on its long side for at least a day, the yokes will be in the middle.

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 tablespoon lemon juice
couple dashes Worcestershire sauce
couple dashes hot sauce
1 teaspoon celery seed
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
4 to 5 cornichons cut into rounds (these are tiny sweet gerkins)
4 slices crispy bacon sliced
1/4 cup celery leaves for garnish
12 mini cooked shrimp (optional)

Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and with 1+teaspoon of cream of tartar (this will also help with peeling) carefully lower in the eggs with a large spoon. Cook for 12 minutes. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let cool completely.

Peel the eggs under cool running water and then slice each in half.

Remove the yolks and place in a large bowl. Add the mayo, tomato paste, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, celery seed, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash with a fork until completely smooth. You can also do this in a food processor if you want it really smooth. I like it a tiny bit lumpy, but that's just me.

Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag, fitted with a small star tip. Or, if like me, you don't have a pastry bag, use a plastic bag with a corner cut off.

Place the Old Bay seasoning into a small shallow dish.

Dip each egg half, cut side down, into the seasoning to fully coat and then place on a platter. It helps if the egg whites are a bit damp

Fill the center of each egg with the yolk mixture.

Top each with a pickle round, a piece of bacon, a celery leaf and a small shrimp, if using.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

When my daughter about 5 she would "garden"  and collect earth worms. She called them snakes. She would put them in her pockets along with rocks and other items. Made laundry day exciting.

One day as I was heading down to the barn, she announced excitedly that she caught a snake and did I want to see it. I told her I would look at it later, when I got done in the barn.

As I came up from the barn she jumped off the swing set and ran up, "Mom, do you want to see my snake?" I said sure. She plunged her hand into her pocket and pulled out a poor dead garter snake.  I said "Oh, I think the snake is dead." She looked at it carefully and said it was only sleeping. I told her to make a bed for it in the garden and to not catch any more snakes...

After that only rocks and other interesting bits of things where found in her pockets on laundry day.  

So, to find garter snakes, send curious 5 year olds out to the garden to look for worms.

Update:  The weather is threatening SNOW!!!

I am secretly excited, don't tell the neighbors.

I planted peas 2 weeks ago,  according to my garden planing guide. Maybe they will come up, maybe not. I spread some compost mulch to keep them snuggly warm.

But SNOW, the poor man's fertilizer, is going to help reduce bug pressure this spring.

So excited. ❄️

P. S. The dog is refusing to go out until she can't hold it anymore and the chickens are laying frozen eggs.

Still excited.

I live in zone 8a. Last fall...about 6 weeks ago (LOL)  I cut the dead veggies and herb plants to the ground. I left the roots to hold the soil.

Last May I created a Bio reactor, which I am very excited to open up and spread on my beds. A bio reactor is a fancy term for very lazy composting with wood chips and leaf debris..

It's time to plant peas here.

I live in a hot climate area so I bed prep as I plant. This seems to cut down on hideous creatures digging up not-quite rotted compost.