Wednesday Grrr

I. want. to. spit.

No moisture in ages. (Although we're supposed to get rain -- and snow -- today and tomorrow, thank God.) The dogs exhale big plumes of dust when petted. All over a freshly cleaned house, of course.

And the house is clean because I've been trying to avoid working on taxes. And business paperwork. Pumping out sewers would seem preferable, at this point.

Papers everywhere. A few need-to-get-finished-NOW projects in the spots the papers haven't drifted into. So what does my secret heart want to do? Tidy up in the bedroom closet. Clean out the refrigerator. Put out lavender sachets here and there. Prance around in the garden. Anything but taxes and business paperwork.

Sigh.

Ever have one of those days?

* * * * * *
If you haven't been watching Undercover Boss, you should -- this tv show is refreshing. A CEO goes anonymous for a week during his/her business locations, just to see what happens. The results are enlightening. The boss finds out how hard people work -- and generally better than the boss!
     I was especially impressed by David Kim, the head of Baja Fresh. (They have GREAT tacos, by the way.) True to form, he wasn't nearly as quick or effective as his employees. What he did have, though, was high standards, an attention to detail, and a willingness to consider new ideas.
     Kim is obviously a practicing Christian. (A "muscular" one, as Eric Liddell would say.) His faith was never forced. He prayed as naturally on camera as he scrubbed the floors or took an order. A Korean immigrant himself, he gave a franchise to one of his managers -- a Mexican immigrant who had worked his way up. (The guy said, after wiping away tears, "I won't let you down." And I'd bet he won't. See the video on the link for his initial reaction.)
    Putting your faith into action? Actually doing what you should, and doing it well?
    Wow.   Yay God.

Guess this means I have to go back to working on those stupid taxes.

Photos with Bite

Take a look at the selections from the Stanley Burns photo archive, pictured here in slideshow form. Burns was an opthalmologist  who collected unusual photos -- many of them documenting important events (like the presentation of the Emancipation Proclamation) or unusual people. (Or, even more importantly, miscarriages of justice.)
    Dr. Burns recognized, back in the 1970s, that few people were collecting photos of the different cultural groups in the U.S., as well as "dark" images about jails, medical conditions, lynchings, and so on. He decided to do something about it, eventually amassing more than 70,000 images. (More about Dr. Burns and his collection here.)
    Take a moment to page through some of the photos in the archive -- good, memorable stuff here. (Beware: some of these photos are creepy and unsettling -- and some show nudes. Stay away from the medical photos, if these are issues for you.)

20 Ways to Save

I haven't stopped thinking about my earlier resolve...and what to do about it. In the meantime, I came across Frugal Upstate's list of 25 ways she saves money. And I started thinking about my own list:

*I buy my high-end clothing at the thrift store. (most recent purchase: Nike tennis shoes, perfect shape, $3!)
* I repair our clothing -- especially our socks. An hour with needle and thread, and you've got more outfits to wear -- fast.
*I water our milk down. Whole milk, at least around here, is the same price -- or cheaper -- than skim. Dilute it 30/70 with water, and you've got a much healthier drink with less fat.
*I buy cheese in big chunks -- and freeze it. You have some crumble factor, but the price per pound is much better when you buy 5 pounds versus one.
*Fruit and veggies, whenever possible, come from the farmer. It isn't just the farmer's market -- though that's nice. Trips back to Michigan invariably end with a bag of apples or peaches lugged back. Our suitcases back from Panama included ten pounds of coffee, direct from Finca La Milagrosa.
*Meat ditto. We have friends who own an insurance company -- this year, as in one year past, I'll be covering the office for them for a week or so. In return, we get one of their pigs in the fall, nicely processed in white packages and ready for cooking.
*If we can't get it from the farmer, we grow our own...
*buy it on sale, or from the clearance area. On Wednesdays, our local Sprouts not only honors the current week's sale prices on stuff -- but the previous week's sales, as well! And I always hit the clearance aisle. You never know what you'll find.
*I turn the thermostat down. Way down. As in 62-64 degrees. (Ironically, our plants seem to thrive on this.)
*We scavenge the wood for the fireplace. (One of our neighbors just cut down a dead tree...I need to get over there!)
*We swap dogsitting with neighbors, and a friend. We watch theirs...or reciprocate with gifts of home baking, fruit from Michigan (see above) and other goodies.
*Husband fixes our broken appliances. The man's a genius. (Yes, I'm a lucky woman!)
*We buy furnishings off Craigslist. Our classic leather chair and ottoman was less than $300 this way. Now I'm on the lookout for an Oriental rug for the dining room.
*We buy other stuff there, too. Or from penny advertising circulars. Our popup camper and Ford truck came that way -- at a steal. 
*We use the expertise of friends. Tommy, who's run a concrete firm for decades, poured our driveway, plus our deck. Yes, we paid him the going rate...with the confidence that if something was wrong, he'd fix it. (I'm planning the long-overdue quilt he wants me to make!)
*We almost always buy used, and...
*We offer less than the price stated. Yes, we haggle. We bargain. My leather chair and ottoman would have cost at least $65 more. Husband saved us more than a thousand dollars this way on our Jeep Cherokee.
*We'll get plane tickets wherever we can get them cheapest. Kayak is the best, though Priceline and Cheaptickets do well for us, too.
*We'll buy travel packages -- but only when they save more than booking separately. The Panama trip was a drive/hotel package -- and worked out to roughly $45 a day. Not bad, for hotel rates that were double and triple that price. Plus, we got a car and unlimited mileage, in the bargain.
*We buy our souvenirs at the grocery store. Snacks and quickie meals come from there, too.
*Other souvenirs come from the roadside stand...or weekend market. We rarely buy anything from an official 'store,' unless it's groceries or food souvenirs.


I have more to say, on saving for the holidays...but I've yammered on long enough for now.

Take a look at the 25 things Frugal Upstate says she wouldn't save on!

A Literary Big Find

A Nuremberg Chronicles (published 1491) shows up at a little museum in Sandy, Utah...wow!

Secrets of Billionaires Who Live WAY Below Their Means

This post gives you a closer look at guys like Warren Buffett, Rick Warren and Carlos Helu...and how they don't spend money.
      You'll want to read the post in full (Thanks, Go Frugal Blog!), but here are a few of their often-practiced notions:

*They don't eat all the time at expensive restaurants. In fact, they eat at home a lot. (Helu spends every Monday supper with his children and grandchildren.) Buffett is a notoriously picky eater, often preferring french fries and burgers to anything fancier. Simpler foods = simpler choices = less overall expense. And that adds up.


*They live in the same modest house purchased decades ago -- at a much more modest price. Sure, the houses are palatial...but five or six bedrooms provide plenty of space for these millionaires.

*They drive used, well-maintained (because they're old!) vehicles. And they drive them themselves. 

*Money is not the most important thing in their lives. In fact, Rick Warren actually paid back the comfortable salary he earned as a senior pastor, some twenty-five years worth!


*They find value from the use of their time and accomplishments...not just their financial status. (Though they're careful about that, too.)

Can we lesser-spenders take advantage of some of these 'secrets?' You bet!

A New Quilt Every Month!

...thanks to the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, NE. Sign up for their monthly calendar, and you'll see a beautiful quilt, up-close and personal, plus detailed info about its makers, age and origins.

April's selection is a modern era Crazy (1980s), seen below. The selections range from modern to antique, artsy to traditional. It's a nice way to get to know these quilts...and an excellent forum for learning more about quilts. (Their museum and changing exhibits are terrific, too.)

Weird Weekend

Ever heard of the "best-laid plans of mice and men...?"
    I was all set to finish up restoring a quilt, get some paperwork done and polish off all my errands... when Daughter #1 called: she'd dislocated her knee, doing the twist at a rockabilly concert in Boulder. (Hey, if you're going to get hurt, do it up right!) She felt terrible, and wanted to know if we could watch Jack the dog.
   To make a long story short, Daughter ended up here for the weekend. (Charley was thrilled that Jack came along -- we are now into Chapter #37 of the "I'm a bigger, badder, more important dog than you" tournament, and both dogs have been having a wonderful time chewing on each other.) And, wouldn't you know it, we also had to fill in for Saturday night's worship team, as well as do our usual stint on Sunday morning. Three batches of music.
    Then a committee meeting and lunch afterwards on Sunday. Sigh.
   Other than a few precious hours with Daughter, munching pizza or drinking tea, we haven't had a weekend. The house looks like a bomb went off in it, including a decorative motif of dirty dogprints. (It snowed most of Sunday. My poor plants, newly planted in a flush of optimism, in our 70s temps? Everybody but the tomatoes and a few of the basil looks like they'll make it, thanks to the greenhouse, and coverings.) I hope to get the dishwasher loaded before I take Daughter to the doctor this afternoon.

    The quilt's done, right? And the paperwork? Surely you jest.