Planning for our Christmas

I know it is early to talk about this...but I'm going to anyway.


Everyone seems fascinated with the events of today. No one of course is immune. People are afraid for their jobs.

The little mom and pop specialty stores on our Main Street who struggled before this economy are struggling harder now.

Will they make it the year?

I don't know.

People I've talked to are not spending money unless it is on something they need. Everyone is cutting back. Christmas may be more like Christmas was intended to be this year.

The gifts will be more heartfelt and not 'just unthoughtful spending'...at least in our family.

And why not?

Why not get back to a more meaningful Christmas, not a Christmas where everyone shops like mad to impress their family and friends.

What is wrong with jellies and jams, homemade breads, or little treats?
Or...Gosh, what about just getting the family together for a nice meal?
[NO reader, I have NOT forgotten Thanksgiving...but the stores are chock full of Christmas stuff already and it really aggravates me!]

That brings up the subject of Thanksgiving...well, I will address that in another post okay???

Work and play

Well I'm done with training and started the 'real deal' on Wednesday night. I got called back to work on Thursday morning and worked yesterday's busy shift in ever changing weather.
I'm sure the picture above may imply that my job is terribly boring. I can guarantee that it is not.
I have reports to fill out on the night shifts and all sorts of busy work.
The day shift is chocked full of activity in comparison...tonight I work the midnight to 8AM shift. Things are fairly quiet on that shift except in the early morning when construction workers come in.
Yes, I like it.
Yesterday I covered a day shift ... it was my first day with so many things going on and I was tickled when one of my supervisors who does things 'by the book' seemed pleased at my 'catching on' quickly.

One of the things I need to do it get a collection of music for those nights I have to spend 2 hours at a time by myself at 'the gate'.

That's one of the things I need to make a list of and burn off onto CD.
While searching today I came across this old classic from Mason Williams, Classical Gas:


Well, while the sun is giving a peek at us, I'm going to put on my mud bogging boots and get outside for some fresh air.
Then take a good 'afternoon' nap and see what the 'late-early' shift is like.

Just some more fun...

Kids books.
Well I always wanted to write one, so here is my chance at writing quite freely in the form I want and combining it with photography.
There...
I can combine two of the things I really love into one project.
And I have NO fear of a rejection slip from the publisher because it is a self published book.

Right now I am using Blurb for my books. I'm pretty happy with it, except I'm looking to have some more variety with my page layouts.
I've read the BlurbForum and there are useful hints and helps to do a layout yourself in the form of a PDF file.
Yikes. That might be a bit technical for me.

Maybe one day I can grab theses individual little 'bed time' adventure books and put them in a larger book with chapters.
Let the fun begin...
It started with
Crazy Squirrel and Happy Hedgehog's Farm Adventure
and
has progressed to
The Big Woods...

These characters have already plotted their next adventure...

The Big Woods

Another Crazy and H...

By Val Ewing

Book Preview

When the weather gets yucky...

We go out to play.
;-)

Okay well I was outside yesterday when suddenly the urge to ride just took hold. I hollered to my muddy mule and asked if he'd like to go for a ride.

Badger trotted down through the mud and met me at the gate.
I ran my fingers over his back and brushed some mud off him. I really didn't have enough time to curry, brush, and saddle him up.
We had to go to my mother in law's for supper.

I put his bridle on and grabbed a 5 gallon bucket. The wind was cold and damp and bits of icey snow fell from the sky.
I put my hood up over my stocking cap and did a bucket mount.
I told my hubby that I was just going for a little jaunt in the woods and I'd be back in plenty of time to get ready for supper at Mom's.

Now it has been a long time since I've ridden bareback. I did it last winter when the snow was deep.
But I've never ridden Badger in the woods bareback, basically because the ground is so steep in areas, that I figured I'd slide right off his back if we climbed a steep ravine.
[Plus, I am so short, and Badger is SO tall! I would need to find a good stump if I got off him in the woods.]
Ok.
I decided to have fun and brave it out anyway.
Crazy?
Yep, a little.

The world was overcast and the woods brown and gloomy.
But the air felt fresh and wonderful, and I felt very much alive.

Badger was feeling good too because he didn't dawdle like he normally does, instead he walked out and trotted on occasion.
We even loped through the valley.

I kept my eye on the time and headed through the woods, doing a bit of brush busting to get back in time as I'd promised.
That meant climbing some steep trails.
I was grateful that Badger was not sporting a summer haircut and that there was about 2" of mane for me to grab onto as we climbed in and out of steep ravines.

As I rode into the yard, the snow was coming down in a sleet-like form.
And of course I was grinning like some idiot.
The weather was horrible and yucky...
and I'd gone riding.

Just call me nuts.

Frugal~nomics

Well it had to come up you know.
How are today's economics affecting you???

Well here are some of the things we've done to combat today's economics.
First, if we don't need it~~it isn't purchased.

New jeans? Well patch the old ones. Don't wear the 'good' ones unless you are going to town. Keep the patched ones for working on the farm.
Savings???
Well for men's pants anywhere from $15 at Walmart to $30 for a pair of Wranglers.

Long johns...now this is a funny one. Hubby went to an estate sale a month or so ago and bought a box of goodies.
He paid $2 for this box that contained.
Long underwear not used...size XXL.
A heavy duty set if coveralls with a hood...perfect condition.
An insulated sweatshirt with a broken zipper.

My Frugal~nomics method???
Put new elastic in the long johns= .50 [cost for new pair?...$10...savings= $9.50]
Broken zipper? Okay this was hard, I've never done a zipper. $1.32 for the zipper + aggravation = $1.32 for a new thermal sweatshirt with hoodie.
Cost in the store new?
$32 at TSC.

If it can be fixed, it will be.

Cooking Frugal~nomics.
Hubby paid $24 for a deer hunting license. The first day of the special season we gained 80lbs of usable meat.

Well you do the math there.

I just got a job with a Security company.
Work clothes and winter gear= and investment of my part of $0.00.

Food.
Soup is great for cold weather.
Make a huge pot of soup, chili, or a meal that can give you leftovers...yeah everyone doesn't like leftovers.
But they come in handy as a lunch, an extra meal...and they extend the budget.

Reuse, recycle your clothes, and be ever watchful for buying groceries.

Practice
Frugal~nomics.

Yep, I'm the queen of that.

Thursday thoughts

Well I passed all my certifications and testing last night, so today I become an official 'watch person'.
I do like my job. The hours will take getting used to as my first scheduled shifts will be midnight to 8AM. But I knew that when hired.
Last night as I 'certified' on my patrol [which won't be a normal part of my job], my sergeant commented on my ability to be told something and retain information.
Most of my training was verbal and we could take notes, but had to leave them at work.
I told him that I found the training part really fun and challenging to learn a whole new language and new type of job.

The nice part of this job is that I can also have time being home and work with my mules. I also have a good chance for advancement further down the line.

On other thoughts...
I read the news stories today and things are looking pretty glum all over the place.
It looks like our President Elect has some serious work cut out for him. But also the American people have some tough times to face.

I recall my father telling about the hard times he went through during the depression and prohibition [his stories were always amusing and still bring a smile to my face today].
Mom taught me how to be frugal, and I've embraced that fairly well.

Hmmm, so why was I drooling over a catalog I recieved in the mail that had the newest ... latest... and greatest digital cameras???
Well; one can dream right?

I am full of dreams.

The day before elections of 2008

Rise and shine, the alarm goes off in the wee hours of the morning.
Jump in the shower and get squeaky clean while the coffee maker gurgles and spews fresh coffee.
Take inventory of the lunch items I've packed.
Drive.
This is what Viroqua looks like in the wee hours of the morning.

I am interested in the election. Yet I really don't express my opinions much. Especially being a new kid on the block at work...in fact I avoided talking about it, kept my mouth shut, and listened.

It was interesting to have a co-worker approach me and ask me who I was voting for.
I told him that I didn't discuss who I vote for with anyone, not even my spouse...that I felt it was my right to keep that information to myself.
I also said that as a norm I did not discuss politics and religion.

My co-worker then showed me something he'd printed off a public bulletin board that slammed Obama and a particular bill he'd voted on regarding hunting, the second amendment, and NRA.

I simply replied that anyone can write anything they want to on the internet, but had he, my co-worker, looked up the bill in question or the wording...or who voted on it and how they voted?
He said he had not.

I simply asked him to be an informed person and not depend on someone's written words that were not backed by evidence.
I didn't offer an opinion but asked the co-worker to do his own research on issues he was concerned on for both candidates.
We talked for a while and the co-worker and I had a nice lunch together.

Tomorrow morning I will join many others in casting my vote, exercising my American rights and anxiously await the results.
Yes I am pretty excited about it.
I think we'll be watching history in one form or another in the making.

And nope, I won't tell you, reader, who I voted for either.
But you have a wonderful day and go out and cast your vote.