Feeling Good, and Summer Camp for Cheapos

Last night I slept the whole entire night. This never happens.  When my husband got up this morning I blearily looked over at the clock.  5:52 am.  I couldn’t believe it!  I had gone to bed around 11:00 and slept seven straight hours.

Wow, nothing sets you up for the day like a good night’s rest.  I really appreciate it, because it is so rare.  And it is so cheap!

I think it’s a good thing I’m married. My husband had a business dinner last night.  He had a delicious, fancy-schmancy dinner.  Yay! Good for him.  I had an I’m-home-alone-dinner: one sleeve of graham crackers and a glass of milk.  BOO! Bad for me.  That’s pretty cheap, but probably not that great for you.  I know if I lived by myself I’d probably eat like this every night.  Being married, I’m more motivated to put somewhat healthy meals on the table most nights.

I have a good idea. As I was sitting on the sofa eating my graham crackers and waiting for my husband to get home, my mind was wandering in a general tightwad direction (as usual).  I was thinking I wish I knew how to can food.  I have a book and a huge pressure cooker, but some experiences seem to be learned better by actual instruction.

Than I thought that it was too bad that the local adult education opportunities in my community are so meager.  This would be a good thing to teach people.

And then I had another thought.  Why limit myself to just canning?  Wouldn’t it be fun if there was a summer camp for Frugals?  It would revolve around seminars teaching different aspects of the Frugal lifestyle: canning, budgeting, sewing, making laundry soap, couponing, gardening, cheap (healthy) cooking, Frugality in Literature (my favorite), solar cooking, basic car maintenance.  Just think of the networking opportunities.    Attendees could take whatever classes they’re interested in. The sky’s the limit!

This is knowledge that was once passed down from mother to daughter, father to son.  But then we all moved to the city, and lived more convenient lifestyles.  I like the “city” life, but I’d also like to learn how to be more self-sufficient, because I like to save money, and I like to know how to do things for myself (to a certain extent).

Sign me up!

Yay, it’s a nice sunny day again today. I’m going to roast a chicken in my solar cooker.  Supposedly we are going to have storms from Saturday to Friday, so I have to get while the gettin’s good.  Rain is good - free water for my veggies, kicks the drought in the face.  But I’m a person who loves a sunny day.  Plus, a soggy Memorial Day weekend is yuk.

I had a super fun day yesterday.  I went for a long ride on my motor scooter.  I went to my doctor’s office, my old house, the mall, and the movie theater.  It’s a great feeling to know I can’t get to all those places on my scooter.

Thank you, Good Samaritan: I also did some errands on my scooter.  One of the places I hit was the post office.  (The clerk was very impressed with my scooter, by the way.  Wanted to know all the details).  Well, I really talked up my scooter, but when I got outside, it wouldn’t start!  This has been happening a lot, but when it does I put her up on her pegs, and use the kick starter, and she usually starts right up. So no big deal.

Not this time, though.  I was really trying hard, but no go.  Hoo, I worked up a sweat.  But then a nice man got out of his car and said, “Do you need some help?”  He gave that kick starter a couple of good whacks, and she started up! Whew! What a relief, because it was a long walk home, especially pushing a 350 lb. scooter. I guess that kick starter needed the oomph from a really strong man leg.

Anyway, since the thing was running I thought I’d take her for a long ride to charge up the battery.  It was fun.  I hope I can start her up with the key and the button today.  If not, I think I’ll need to get a new battery.  It’s a little tiny thing, so hopefully it won’t be too expensive.