We didn’t have a lot of time together, but we managed to pack in a whole lot of fun.  And barbecue.  It’s what you do when you’re in Texas.

They took me and my husband to our very first professional hockey game.  Our team lost, but I was glad the other team won, because the Friends came so far to see them.  Hockey is a lot of fun.  It is so fast and furious you really have to keep your eyes peeled or you might miss something.  Also, it turns out that there are times when the refs just stand there and let the players duke it out, and other times when fighting is an absolute no-no.  From what I can gather, fighting really close to the goalie is a bad thing.

Also, Mrs. Friend and I discovered that we have a mutual passion for antique stores.  This is interesting, because we have been buds for 20 years, and I did not know this.  So I took her to one of my fave local places and she picked up a few bargains.  She got me a sign to hang in my guest room that says “Guest Room Limit 2 Days”.  That’s funny.  Because she got it for me.  But really I was sad they only stayed two days.  I wished they could have stayed longer.

I scored, too.  And what’s more, the Big Score happened to be in the sewing arena.  I got a little tiny electric iron for 12.95 (seen on ebay for 92.00) and a bunch of patterns dating from the late 60’s and early 70’s for 1.50 each.  The iron will make a cute, and apropos, decoration for my sewing room and I’ll frame the patterns and hang them up in my sewing room to lend it some genuine vintage flair.  Yes!  I even found a pattern for a manly leisure suit, circa 1971.  It’s awesome.  One of the models has a big mustache.  He looks like a Village Person.

Heck.  Maybe I’ll go ahead and make up some of those patterns too.  I’ll resurrect the 60’s, right in my very own sewing room.

Mr. Friend got a great deal on the airline tickets to come out and see us.  Because of circumstances (i.e., Life), they had to get their tickets at the last minute.  We’ve all been there.  And so we all know that this is generally a very expensive proposition.

But not for Mr. Friend.  He got their tickets on Southwest.com.  They had one stop in San Antonio.  They paid $109.00 each for two one-way tickets.  That’s the best I’ve ever seen.  And I know, because I fly between California and Texas quite a bit.

Then they caught a ride on a passing motor home and drove to Nashville to see another hockey game.  One way tickets home from there were $136.00 each.

Phew! Now that’s Advanced Bargain Traveling!  I am impressed.  Yes, I am.  Traveling all across the country for a measly $490.00.  And it just goes to show you, the opportunities for learning new Frugal strategies in every area of life are never-ending.  Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Friend.

Come back soon and visit!

Now I’ve come up with a new, cheaper, and more, er, classically American diet.  The Eat Like a Pioneer Diet.

I got this idea from reading the Little House on the Prairie books.

This diet is pretty simple, because it is based on the Ingalls’ family diet.  Which was very simple.

The Ingalls didn’t have a lot of money, but they had six mouths to feed.  Also they worked hard every day, so they needed lots of energy, too.  And not to mention that the Ingalls were very hospitable so they were always prepared to feed just about anyone who came to their door.

So how did they do it? First of all, they hardly ate meat or sweets.  Pa would go out and hunt when he could, but that was chancy.  The girls usually got a stick of candy (ONE STICK) in their Christmas stocking, and Ma would make a pie or some other baked goodie as a VERY occasional treat.

Every day meals, though, were usually pretty monotonous.  They were biscuits, bread, or cornbread, some sort of bean main dish, maybe bacon or sausage, tea, coffee, milk (if it hadn’t blown out of the pail), homemade butter (from the milk, when possible), and maybe molassess to flavor the bread.  That was pretty much it.

The Ingalls were wheat farmers mainly, but they usually had a kitchen garden, too.  So they might have potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.  But many times it seems as if things didn’t work out too well for them weather-wise, so they didn’t get much from any of their crops.  Then it was mostly beans, beans, beans.  And some sort of bread.

Is this a healthy diet?  I don’t know.  But I can tell you how long everyone lived.  I have a book right here beside me called Laura: the Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert that has that information.  Let’s take a look:

Pa 1836-1902, 66 years old

Ma 1839-1924, 85 years old

Mary 1865-1928, 63 years old

Laura 1867-1957, 90 years old

Carrie 1870-1946, 76 years old

Grace 1877-1941, 64 years old

Well, I’d say that’s a pretty good spread of lifespans for a pioneer family of six.  Of course, in all the pictures I have seen of them none of them are ever smiling, so I can’t tell what kind of shape their teeth were in.  I wonder about that because it seems like they weren’t getting a lot of vitamin C.  Or had any access at all to dentists.

So maybe the Pioneer Diet has something to recommend it.  Even in our times beans, flour, root vegetables, and milk are among the least expensive staples.  But with so much variety available to today’s consumer, it is easy to be led astray by delicious convenience foods.  And restaurant meals.  Believe me.  I know.

It’s interesting to contrast the Ingalls’ typical daily fare with that of Laura’s future husband, Almanzo Wilder.  His family were prosperous farmers in New York state, where Almanzo was born and raised.  A typical meal for the Wilder family would run something like this: all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, bacon, butter, pie (three different kinds, at every meal), fried apples ‘n’ onions (Almanzo’s favorite), doughnuts, cookies, cake, candied carrots, some sort of meat, and on and on and on.  Three gargantuan meals a day.  By the way, Almanzo  lived to be 92 and also survived a diptheria-induced stroke when he was about 30 years old.  So I guess those early years of high-fat, high-cholesterol eating didn’t harm him too much, either.

Whew!  After writing all that, I’m hungry!  Cornbread and beans, anyone?

I still have some juice left on the Half-Price Books gift card that my hubby gave me for Christmas.  He gives me one every year, and it is fun to see how long I can make it last.  Here it is almost March, and I still haven’t used it all up yet.

The other day I was there, and I thought it would be a good idea to get some sewing books.  So I did.

As I was browsing, the Little House on the Prairie books caught my eye.  It occurred to me that it was strange that in all these years I’ve never bought them, especially since I love them.  So I decided to start collecting them.

I’ve read four of the eight in the series so far, and just as I expected, they are still wonderful.  And not to mention, lots of food for thought from a frugal perspective.  And when you read them as an adult you also notice a lot more than when you are seven-years-old.

For instance, since I’m into it now, the sewing references really interested me.  Laura hates to sew, but she is an excellent seamstress because her mother was a stern taskmistress.  Laura is even able to make money by working for the town seamstresses, who hire Laura on the strength of her reputation alone.

One day, Pa goes to town with a cow tied to the back of his wagon, and comes back with a big surprise for Ma.  It’s a brand new sewing machine!  By this time, the Ingalls family was finally starting to enjoy a bit of prosperity after years and years of grinding struggle.

It’s interesting to me to think how much some things really cost way back then as compared to our  own time, even though we suffer from the effects of 130+ years of inflation between our time and the Ingalls’ time.   The purchase of a sewing machine for Ma demanded the relinquishment of a significant portion of the family resources - a whole cow, and all the time, work, and nourishment that that cow represented.  But for us, a sewing machine may cost a week or much less of wages.  And even the simplest $60.00 machine of today is way more technologically advanced  than Ma’s treadle model.

Ma loves her new appliance.  She just can’t get over the excellence and uniformity of machine stitching.  Just like many of us say today when we get an awesome new gadget, Ma says, “I don’t know how I got along without this before.”

Ma is one of those people who can sew just about anything.  Laura uses some of the money she earns and buys some beautiful pink cloth to make a new dress.  Laura is afraid to cut it up, because the cloth is so beautiful and expensive.  But Ma just takes her big shears right to it, and with the help of the new sewing machine makes a beautiful dress that Laura will wear for years and years.

By the way, my mom has told me her mom could do this.  She never sewed with a “boughten” (that’s a LHOTP word) pattern.  She would make her own out of newspaper.  My grandmother was one of those old-fashioned ladies who never in her life wore pants.   She always looked spiffy, too.

This a strange thing, though.  In every single book I’ve read so far, several times a horrible blizzard will torment the prairie.  Pa takes a pail, and goes to the barn to milk the cow.  By the time he gets back to the house, most of the milk has blown out of the pail.  This very thing happens quite a bit.

Now why couldn’t Pa put a lid or SOME sort of covering on that pail?  They really depended on that milk.  I just don’t get that.  If I could get in a time machine and go back in time, I would take Pa a bucket with a lid on it.  I have lots of good ones in the garage that used to hold laundry detergent and kitty litter.  Something that many people would regard as trash in our day and age would be a real life-saver for Pa.   Just think how that one simple thing would improve the Ingalls’  life so much.

I love reading the Little House books, but one thing is for sure.  I am glad, glad, glad that I am a 21st century gal.  1870’s DeSmet, South Dakota is a fun place to visit, but I sure wouldn’t want to live there.  Especially without a pail with a lid on it!

I’ve been swinging both ways with it.  I’m working on a TOP SECRET FOR MY EYES ONLY project that will be revealed to your eyes sometime in March.  That endeavor is awesome, and awesomely frugal.

But I’m trying to learn how to sew.  Well, learn how to sew better.  So that means I went to the fabric section at Walmart. (BTW, they are closing a lot of those.  That is sad.  Maybe if THEY knew of my newly kindled interest in sewing they wouldn’t.  But there is still one Walmart in the vicinity with a fabric section; apparently that one will remain for the moment).

Woo doggies, I got some major sticker-shock-itis.  I guess it has been a long time since I’ve been in a fabric store.  Patterns are really expensive now.  And fabric and thread, too.

But then I kind of got lucky when I had I private moment with my brain and we got together and came to an honest assessment of my sewing-skill level.  Yep.  I’m just a beginner, really.

So I found a pattern for a blouse I decided I would actually wear, from the easy-pattern spinny rack. That was only $2.99.  And then I found some cute cloth with a fetching paisley print that would really make that blouse pop.  That was $4.44 a yd.  And some thread, which was $1.94 a spool (now that was somewhat shocking.  Thread is expensive).  I needed bias tape, too, but I had plenty of that already.

It ended up that that one blouse totaled about $11.00.  Yes, I did make it dear friends, and it is cute, cute, cute.  I did a great job.  Luckily, it was pretty easy.  But since it came out so cute, and I know for sure I will wear it, and it is so easy, I will probably make more.  That will bring down the cost of the pattern.  Which is nice, from a frugal perspective.

I suppose learning how to sew is kind of like getting an education, expense-wise.  It costs a lot up front, but once you’re done, you’re done and you have that little piece of paper that gives you a warm glow inside whenever you see it hanging on your wall or come across it when you’re spring cleaning.

Oh, wait a minute.  No.  Sewing goes on costing a lot.  But at least I’m learning a valuable skill.  And also, wherever a lot of money is being spent, it’s fun to find ways to save.  Time to put on our Frugal Thinking Caps, so to speak.

Heck, I’m having a good time, too.  That’s priceless!

Plus, I just did this today, so I need to blog about daily frugal stuff I do.  And also, my method has changed slightly, I think.  So this is by way of being an update.  But the old version will pop up on the bottom of this page, if you’re interested in comparing the posts.

Today I used up the last of my favorite French Vanilla coffee creamer. I need to make some more.

I got out my recipe. It is what I call a “cheat.” It is a cheat because I’m “cheating” and making my own. Also, the ingredients are “cheats”, too.

It’s easy to make with staple ingredients that you may have on hand in the pantry. Here is the recipe for that (I got it somewhere on the internet. I didn’t come up with this on my own. But I also didn’t write down where I got it from. Oops. But, it seems like this is a pretty common, well-known recipe floating around on the web. So who knows who invented it):

Mix together in a blender 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 tablespoon Vanilla.

But what do you do if you don’t have some of these ingredients? Then you have to kick it up a Frugal notch, that’s what.

Now things get a little more interesting.  Now you need to do this: Mix in a blender 1/2 cup hot water, 1 cup fake (cheaper) Splenda-alternative Altern, 1 cup dry milk, 3/4 cup liquid milk, and 1 TBSP vanilla.

Then pour the result into an empty, clean, re-cycled Coffe Mate container.

Oh, wait a minute, I got the recipe for sweetened condensed milk from the Hillbilly Housewife blog.  Thanks!

I even made the Vanilla myself, a year-and-a-half-ago.  I made it because I had some vanilla beans and my husband  had some vodka and gin he decided he didn’t  like.  He was never going to drink it.  What a waste.  So I stuck a vanilla bean in each bottle, and let it sit for about three months.  Now I have the best vanilla ever.  And I can keep it going for almost forever, too.  I just have to top the bottles off with more vodka and gin whenever it gets low.

Woo, it is really snowing here in North-Central Texas.  This is the most snow I have seen since I’ve lived here.  So as promised here is a picture of the kids playing in the snow today:

They are trying to pick up a tennis ball.  Good luck, little doggies.

I am experiencing this right now with my sick sewing machine. I have a project I am having a lot of fun with, but it is just sitting there waiting for my machine to come back from the shop.

For a few hours there, I thought I would actually be spared a repair bill. My husband managed to put the darn thing back together after all. Yay! I was so happy.

There I was, sewing for all I was worth, when PLOP!, out comes the whole needle-shebang again. I put it back on. It comes out again. I put it back on. It comes out again.

My craft room is upstairs. I was ready to throw the darn thing out the window.

Well, it was still pretty early in the day when all this happened. So I packed up the machine, got me and my problem in the car, and drove the whole mess to Plano, TX which is where the nearest Brother Authorized Dealer/Repair shop is. That isn’t too far from where I live, so I thought I might as well take it right to the horse’s mouth, so to speak, rather than to a generic repair shop.

Now, I’ve been in these types of stores before, just going along for the ride with others who were looking to buy a super-fancy machine. The people who work at these places are like car salesmen. So I was a little worried I would be subjected to the hard-sell. Oh, and to a not-so-subtle mockery of my very humble machine.

But, what a relief, nothing like that at all. They just took a look and said, “Don’t worry, we will get this all taken care of for you. It will be done by the end of the week.” That was so nice. They were so nice. I’m glad I took it there.

While I was there, I decided to just take a little peeky-peek of the the latest and greatest. The clerk just let me look, and didn’t follow me around and try to sell me a $5,000.00 machine. That sort of thing always makes me very uncomfortable, so I really appreciate that.

I can’t wait to get my machine back. I think it will be in great shape and have an even bigger lease on life, since I decided to go ahead and get it “tuned-up” too. I have never had this done, and the machine is a few years old, so I thought about it and decided it was worth it.

I am going to start looking around for another machine, though. I’m not in a hurry because I want to get something just right.

I am in two minds about a “new” machine. For about $500.00 I can get a brand-new computerized machine that will have more bells and whistles than I will ever need. That is a lot of fun. But I am also attracted to excellent condition all-metal “vintage”-type machines. These are not as “versatile” as modern machines, but they can be excellent quality. There seems to be a pretty good supply of these, and they seem like they are relatively easy and inexpensive to fix and maintain.

I learned to sew on my mom’s Singer Touch and Sew. She still has it, and still uses it as far as I know. Boy, that thing really took a beating from us three girls and it always worked great. I don’t remember it ever breaking down. But I do remember my mom regularly oiling it and taking it to the shop for maintenance every once in a while.

So another consideration is that from what I’m hearing, computerized machines are expensive to maintain and fix. My current machine is mechanical, so it’s pretty simple to work on. And all machines need to be worked on sooner or later, so it’s something to think about.

I can use my fixed-up Brother as the fancy-pants backup. It has 26 stitches (I’ve used two), does a blind hem and buttons and one type of buttonhole. Compared to some of these awesome new sewing machines, that’s not much. But then I thought about it really hard, and I kind of concluded that these features might serve the absolute limit of my personal reservoir of sewing skills.

Hmmm. Any opinions out there? Keep in mind that I’m just a “hobbyist”. I’ve picked up some decent skills here and there, just by virtue of a lifetime spent around excellent seamstresses (my mother and sisters). I’m not in their league, but I do alright.

This will be fun to think about and research. I wonder what I’ll end up with. Stay tuned….

There I was, sewing along happily, when all of a sudden the needle just falls out. But wait - it wasn’t just the needle - it was the thing that holds the needle onto the post. The needle was still in that piece.

That’s weird. I tried putting it back on, but it just fell off again. Well, I’m not Mrs. Fix-It, so I asked my husband to look at it when he got home from work. He’s pretty handy. But he couldn’t fix it either.

I’ve owned this machine for about six years, but in that six years it hasn’t gotten very heavy use because I’m not much of a seamstress. So I’m a little put-out by this. Then again, I don’t think it’s exactly a top-of-the-line model, which is perfect for my basic sewing-needs. I just want to sew mostly a basic straight-stitch, maybe a zig-zag once in a while. I don’t need a lot of fancy features. But I do like this a lot - it has a needle threader. That’s awesome!

But the relative “cheapness” of my machine puts me in a bit of a dilemma. Do I get it fixed, or do I buy another (cheap) sewing machine? Oh, I could also go without, but I regard a sewing machine as essential frugal housewife equipment.

After I thought about it for a while, I decided to go ahead and take it to the repair shop. I usually lean toward getting things fixed before replacing them. Sometimes this philosophy has bitten me in the butt, money-wise. But still. It seems such a waste to not try to fix something that is broken. Oh, and not to mention, my husband gave this machine to me as a gift. My very first sewing machine of my own! So it has sentimental value, too. XXXOOO!

So I will take it to a local sewing machine repair shop later today (it’s very early in the morning. I’ve been tossing and turning, worrying about my machine. Ok, just kidding. I really just had to get up to go potty and get a drink of water. And then one thing leads to another, and here I am blogging. Crazy). Yep, I think that’s the best approach. That way I can buy myself some time, and start putting a little bit away here and there for a replacement.

Sounds like a plan, Stan.

And if you think that arm-waving and screeching aren’t good prophylactics, just try it the next time your significant other comes at you with that certain look in his or her eye. Instantly, the mood is gone. See - it works! It’s cheap, too.

Luckily, Texas is the land of ginormous (American) trucks. And, strangely, Kias. But even so it’s not so unusual to spot Toyotas here and there. So I really have to keep my wits about me when I’m out on the streets.

Oops, I accidentally published this before I was finished. I meant to just save it.

Tomorrow is the SuperBowl. Here is a good idea for a delicious, easy, cheap Superbowl meal:

Today is Saturday. Make a big slow-cooker full of chili for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow for the SuperBowl, use the left-over chili to make super-dooper SuperBowl nachos.

May the Best Team win!

You’d think that with computers and all, this wouldn’t be so difficult. But I guess not, because there are so many variables that affect taxes, like mortgages, kids, medical costs, retirement plans. But still.

Anyway, as I’ve mentioned before, I always do my taxes myself. I use the old pen, paper, and calculator method. It’s really not that hard, so I don’t know why more people don’t do it themselves. I guess our tax situation is not very complicated, though. But you know, it is pretty easy to just follow the instructions.

Here is why I decided many years ago to be my own tax preparer:

The first year I was married I wanted to be a responsible married person, so I decided to make an appointment with a local accountant when tax season rolled around.

Back then we didn’t make much money and lived in an apartment. This tax situation absolutely screamed for a 1040EZ form. But still. I had been brainwashed that only a “professional” was capable of preparing our taxes.

So we show up for our appointment. And guess what? It turned out that the person “helping” us wasn’t even the accountant. Nope. It was someone who had taken one of those 2 week tax preparation courses. Of course, since our return was so simple, there was no point in the lofty accountant actually wasting his time on us.

But the realllllll kicker was this. The person we had our appointment with was a girl I had gone to grammar school with. Actually, she was a year younger, in my sister’s class. And let’s just put it this way - she wasn’t exactly an “A” student. And also, she was mean. Well, she was mean back then, but actually she turned out to be nice as a grown-up tax-preparer lady.

Ugh! So now we were paying a few hundred bucks for the top-notch accountant, when we were actually getting palmed off on the second string! And not to mention, she now knew a lot of private info about us that I would NEVER under normal circumstances want her to know.

I should have walked out. But I was younger and wimpier then.

But after that I decided to do them myself. Over the years, things have gotten a bit more complicated, but still not that bad. One year I was even audited. And what’s worse, the IRS said I owed them a lot more money, plus penalties. Yikes. But since I had good records, and not to mention, right on my side, I was able to stage a pretty good defense of my tax return. I sent it off and waited. Not that I was worried or anything. What, me worry? Ok. Maybe I was a teensy-weensy bit anxious. Mostly because the IRS is scary.

Boy, you haven’t lived until you’ve been audited by the IRS.

Three months later I got a letter from the IRS saying that yes, I was right, and it turned out they actually owed me an additional $30.00. Case closed. I win ha ha ha.

So that just goes to show you: if you’re honest, have a reasonably firm grasp of basic math, and a decent reading comprehension level, the world is your oyster. If not, prepare to shell out to the “professionals”.

P.S. Shout-out to Nana Liz. Yay! I made meat-loaf in my Little Red Toaster Oven the other night, and it was yum.

So far I have:
*Put the reins on eating out.
*Which means, I have cooked a LOT at home. I’ve been extra not-lazy and done things like make my own bread, prepared powdered soup-mixes (for use in casseroles), and made home-made versions of my favorite french-vanilla coffee creamer.
*I’ve been helped a lot on my Frugal Journey by the weather. It’s been so cold that I haven’t wanted to go out much. No going out means not spending money, or less money. For instance, last date night was take-out Chinese instead of going-out-to-the Steakhouse. Turns out take-out Chinese is about half the price of sit-down Steak. But I’ll be back to my old ways as soon as the weather warms up, so don’t get too excited.
*Oh, boy, I love my Kindle so much. I mean, it’s like crack. I’m not kidding. The good news is most of the things I want to read are pretty cheap. But even cheap things add up over time (that’s the bad news). But wait a minute: if you have to be addicted to something (and I think every human, except maybe the Dalai Lama, has to be addicted to SOMETHING) than reading books is probably a pretty happy “addiction”. And Kindle downloads are probably actually cheaper than crack.
*Regarding the above, I’ve been using the new library branch that has recently opened closer to my house quite a bit. It’s right on my circuit of housewifely errands, so I don’t even really have to go out of my way or use extra gas. I am so lucky!
*I’ve been thinking ahead to birthdays and working everyday to finish up crafting projects I’ve had sitting around. I started them last year, intending them for gifts, but of course I got bored with them and never finished them. Well, there’s something to be said for self-discipline. I decided I’ll just work on them a little bit every day, and even if I think the amount of work I do on a project in a day is insignificant, still, all those little bits add up. I know this is true, because I actually managed to finish ONE WHOLE PROJECT this month just doing a little bit at a time every day. Even ten minutes a day will get ‘er done (eventually).
*Awesome grocery-shopping score: a local store had a great sale on ground turkey (90/10, which is ok, I usually go for 93/7). It was a BOGO deal and worked out to $1.50/lb. I got twelve pounds. That will last me a long time.
*Oh, wait a minute. That same day they had whole chickens for .55/lb. That’s very excellent. I got five of those.

On to February, the weirdest month of the year!