Great article about frugality at The Simple Dollar:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/what-i-wish-my-family-understood-about-my-frugal-lifestyle/
Yes, a voluntary lifestyle that can free you from debt and "keeping up" with...anyone!
Monday, September 19, 2016
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Routines for better or worse
For some reason this thought has been bouncing around in my head for a few days. Probably because I broke a routine and found myself out and about, unarmed. For me, that was highly unusual and started me thinking about good routines and those that can be hazardous to your health.
While I was working for the military, we had our annual force protection/anti-terrorism training that warned us against some types of predictable physical routines. If the bad guys know you'll be at the corner of Hollywood and Vine every weekday between 7:00 and 7:15 a.m., you could become a target of opportunity for kidnapping, assassination, etc.. We were encouraged to vary our routes to and from work and in our personal lives. That level of breaking routines is a good thing.
My husband has a daily routine that includes coffee, walking the dog, practicing his music and exercising. I'm a bit more random about when I do things, other than morning coffee. The day I failed to arm myself when I dressed was a fluke. We decided to bathe the dog that morning, so I didn't wear a weapon to the shower stall. Kept forgetting after that. Not the best way to break routine. Twice I found myself crossing the country road on foot, well away from the house, alone and unarmed. Fortunately, all was well -- this time. In an emergency situation, this may have been an unrecoverable mistake.
I'm a locker and turner. I lock the doors to the house as a matter of routine. To me, it's part of the action of closing an exterior door. I also turn lights off as I leave a room or walk through the house. My husband doesn't have those automatic behaviors. As a result, I am occasionally startled to find an unlocked exterior door in a room with a blazing light.
So are you aware of your routines during the day or week? Are some good for your life, health and safety? Could others be hazardous in an emergency? What are your contingency plans for varying these routines during non-routine times? Now is the time to ponder these and prepare your thinking in case of emergency!
While I was working for the military, we had our annual force protection/anti-terrorism training that warned us against some types of predictable physical routines. If the bad guys know you'll be at the corner of Hollywood and Vine every weekday between 7:00 and 7:15 a.m., you could become a target of opportunity for kidnapping, assassination, etc.. We were encouraged to vary our routes to and from work and in our personal lives. That level of breaking routines is a good thing.
My husband has a daily routine that includes coffee, walking the dog, practicing his music and exercising. I'm a bit more random about when I do things, other than morning coffee. The day I failed to arm myself when I dressed was a fluke. We decided to bathe the dog that morning, so I didn't wear a weapon to the shower stall. Kept forgetting after that. Not the best way to break routine. Twice I found myself crossing the country road on foot, well away from the house, alone and unarmed. Fortunately, all was well -- this time. In an emergency situation, this may have been an unrecoverable mistake.
I'm a locker and turner. I lock the doors to the house as a matter of routine. To me, it's part of the action of closing an exterior door. I also turn lights off as I leave a room or walk through the house. My husband doesn't have those automatic behaviors. As a result, I am occasionally startled to find an unlocked exterior door in a room with a blazing light.
So are you aware of your routines during the day or week? Are some good for your life, health and safety? Could others be hazardous in an emergency? What are your contingency plans for varying these routines during non-routine times? Now is the time to ponder these and prepare your thinking in case of emergency!
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Relocating out west? Random thoughts to consider
If so, just a few random tips you may not want to learn the hard way. I have personal stories behind most of these, but we don't need to waste the electrons.
- If you aren't living in the city, you'll eventually need all-wheel or 4-wheel drive.
-Your vehicle needs more than 6 inches of ground clearance, even in good weather.
- If you can't stand a few creatures occasionally sharing your house with you, don't move here. We've captured, relocated or killed uninvited scorpions, vinegaroons, geckos, moths, junebugs, centipedes, birds, bats, various rodents, etc. from inside the house. The yard has hosted many larger, more scary creatures.
- If you look at a prospective property in good weather, check nearby for little valleys above the property. Could be that the drainage will cover your back patio in mud during the rainy season.
- Flash flooding is deceptive. Never cross a flowing wash unless you can CLEARLY see the line in the middle of the road. If you can't, your vehicle probably can't take you across safely.
-Always have at least a gallon of water per person in your vehicle. I drive alone in remote places often, so carry a kit that will keep me for up to a week.
- Never ask a rancher how many cattle/sheep/whatever critter they have. It's like asking how much money they have or their net worth.
- Don't ask a rancher where or how much land they run their cattle/sheep or other critters on. Not only is it like the question above, but it's often more complicated than you want to hear (some owned, some leased) unless you know them well and have some time to listen. For example, a friend of my brother's runs his cattle on 4 different properties, some owned some leased, more than a 50 mile drive to see the closest edge of them all.
- Wherever you are, don't get co-opted into making or promoting a change outside your own property for at least a year. Sometimes, recently moved city-dwellers will do this to the newbies and it will create a lasting rift between you and the longer-time residents. These ventures can also have harmful effects to other residents and get you sued. Example 1: The push for paving roads happens often -- recent resident city-slicker realizes his [insert expensive car brand] is getting dirty or hit by gravel and wants road paved. This raises everyone's taxes, diverts funds from important meaningful projects, etc., Can actually make flooding and erosion problems worse. If you wanted paved roads and they weren't there when you moved in, suck it up. It should have been on your list of must-haves when you looked at the property. Garage the Ferrari and buy a beat-up truck. Example 2: (This really happened in a ranchette conservation subdivision near me with a central lake/pond) One recent city-slicker guy thought the pond bottom was too gooey and wanted to assess other members $3000 to empty the pond and concrete the bottom for a better 'swimming-hole experience.' Turns out that 'pond' was the place that recharged the local aquifer providing everyone's domestic water. When the pond was emptied, but before it was concreted (waiting for the engineering and cost estimates), wells started going dry. Project was halted, pond refilled, wells recovered, bullet dodged. It would have cost a lot more to jackhammer all that concrete out.
- Dust. Learn to live with it. Yes, vacuum and dust regularly, but it will be back quickly so don't obsess. The important things to dust are your electronics (refrigerator coils, air-conditioning filters, etc.) and vacuum around your baseboards (where the dustbears grow).
- Consider renting for 18 months to see if you are allergic to the place. I've never had worse allergies than in the times I lived in Texas and Arizona.
- NEW ITEM: Amazon Prime is SOOOO worth it when otherwise you wait until the monthly trip to the big town and then have to shop for it!
- If you aren't living in the city, you'll eventually need all-wheel or 4-wheel drive.
-Your vehicle needs more than 6 inches of ground clearance, even in good weather.
- If you can't stand a few creatures occasionally sharing your house with you, don't move here. We've captured, relocated or killed uninvited scorpions, vinegaroons, geckos, moths, junebugs, centipedes, birds, bats, various rodents, etc. from inside the house. The yard has hosted many larger, more scary creatures.
- If you look at a prospective property in good weather, check nearby for little valleys above the property. Could be that the drainage will cover your back patio in mud during the rainy season.
- Flash flooding is deceptive. Never cross a flowing wash unless you can CLEARLY see the line in the middle of the road. If you can't, your vehicle probably can't take you across safely.
-Always have at least a gallon of water per person in your vehicle. I drive alone in remote places often, so carry a kit that will keep me for up to a week.
- Never ask a rancher how many cattle/sheep/whatever critter they have. It's like asking how much money they have or their net worth.
- Don't ask a rancher where or how much land they run their cattle/sheep or other critters on. Not only is it like the question above, but it's often more complicated than you want to hear (some owned, some leased) unless you know them well and have some time to listen. For example, a friend of my brother's runs his cattle on 4 different properties, some owned some leased, more than a 50 mile drive to see the closest edge of them all.
- Wherever you are, don't get co-opted into making or promoting a change outside your own property for at least a year. Sometimes, recently moved city-dwellers will do this to the newbies and it will create a lasting rift between you and the longer-time residents. These ventures can also have harmful effects to other residents and get you sued. Example 1: The push for paving roads happens often -- recent resident city-slicker realizes his [insert expensive car brand] is getting dirty or hit by gravel and wants road paved. This raises everyone's taxes, diverts funds from important meaningful projects, etc., Can actually make flooding and erosion problems worse. If you wanted paved roads and they weren't there when you moved in, suck it up. It should have been on your list of must-haves when you looked at the property. Garage the Ferrari and buy a beat-up truck. Example 2: (This really happened in a ranchette conservation subdivision near me with a central lake/pond) One recent city-slicker guy thought the pond bottom was too gooey and wanted to assess other members $3000 to empty the pond and concrete the bottom for a better 'swimming-hole experience.' Turns out that 'pond' was the place that recharged the local aquifer providing everyone's domestic water. When the pond was emptied, but before it was concreted (waiting for the engineering and cost estimates), wells started going dry. Project was halted, pond refilled, wells recovered, bullet dodged. It would have cost a lot more to jackhammer all that concrete out.
- Dust. Learn to live with it. Yes, vacuum and dust regularly, but it will be back quickly so don't obsess. The important things to dust are your electronics (refrigerator coils, air-conditioning filters, etc.) and vacuum around your baseboards (where the dustbears grow).
- Consider renting for 18 months to see if you are allergic to the place. I've never had worse allergies than in the times I lived in Texas and Arizona.
- NEW ITEM: Amazon Prime is SOOOO worth it when otherwise you wait until the monthly trip to the big town and then have to shop for it!
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
September is preparedness month
The always-fabulous "K" at Planning and Foresight has a wonderful series for National Preparedness month. No reason to gild a lily by duplicating his effort. Hope you'll stop over daily, better yet follow him if you aren't already.
Monday, September 5, 2016
It's that time of year!!
Time to wintersow! What the heck is that? Time to plant your cold hardy and pre-spring vegetables. Root vegetables can be planted now for harvest in the spring. Cold hardy perennial vegetables can be planted and harvested throughout the winter, location dependent
Here in the high desert, I've sewn 2 types of kale, 2 types of rutabagas, 2 types of parsnips, beets and Swiss chard. These are in a raised bed with a net to keep the birds out long enough to have plants grow. Once the real chill sets in and nights approach freezing, the net cover will be replaced with heavier but translucent non-woven fabric or clear plastic.
In past years, I've been able to harvest kale and chard several times during the winter. The root vegies are new to me.
Although they are mid-website change, wintersown.org is a great place to learn more if you are a beginner like me. Methods to get a jump on spring are also on the website.
Here in the high desert, I've sewn 2 types of kale, 2 types of rutabagas, 2 types of parsnips, beets and Swiss chard. These are in a raised bed with a net to keep the birds out long enough to have plants grow. Once the real chill sets in and nights approach freezing, the net cover will be replaced with heavier but translucent non-woven fabric or clear plastic.
In past years, I've been able to harvest kale and chard several times during the winter. The root vegies are new to me.
Although they are mid-website change, wintersown.org is a great place to learn more if you are a beginner like me. Methods to get a jump on spring are also on the website.
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