One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 945 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Recipe: How to Make Snow Cone Syrup

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 27, 2015 · 9 Comments

With all the snow falling on the east coast lately I thought I would go ahead and re publish my kid’s favorite recipe for homemade snow cone syrup. It’s super simple to make and a whole lot of fun to eat.

Ingredients

1 packet Kool-Aid
1 cup water
1 cups sugar

Combine the Kool-Aid, sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar and Kool-Aid is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Once cool, place the funnel into a squeezy bottle and fill. Squirt flavoring onto fresh clean snow and eat.

Yum!

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See the Country in Exchange for Your Time on an Organic Garden – Become a WWOOFer

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 27, 2015 · 16 Comments

I recently found out about a program called WWOOF {Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms}. It is basically a collaboration of organic farms/gardens all around the country that have agreed to open their mini-farms up to visitors interested in visiting {and putting in a 1/2 day of manual labor} in exchange for education, room and board. I literally LOVE the idea, and thought it might be a really cool way for The Girl and I to travel the country this summer.

The whole idea started in England {wouldn’t you know it, those clever Brits}, and has spread worldwide. The USA chapter is thriving, with over 1900 participating farms/garden.

To become a WWOOFer {which I will do, just so I can call myself a WWOOFER}, you have to sign up. It costs between $40-$50, depending on which option you choose. Once you sign up, you receive a directory of all of the farms participating in the program. Then you make a plan and contact the garden to arrange a visit. Oh, and P.S., it’s not just gardens, you can choose from homesteads, ranches, orchards, etc. You can also become a host, if practice organic growing techniques, and you would like to open up your farm/garden and house to visitors. I’ll admit, if I had a bigger operation, I wouldn’t mind somebody popping by to help me with the weeding for 1/2 a day in exchange for dinner and a bed.

Holy buckets, people, if this is not the most Utopian idea I’ve heard in a long time, I don’t know what is. How cool would it be to meet other people, learn different gardening tricks, and then get the rest of the day to explore the place you’ve landed? It would be awesome, I tell ya.

Has anyone tried this before? If not, would you be interested in trying it?

~Mavis

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Safety Tips for Surviving a Blizzard or a Snow Storm

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 27, 2015 · 24 Comments

So, maybe I’m a little off my rocker, but I feel like I’m missing out because I’ve never been through an epic snow storm or a blizzard. All we have up here in Seattle is rain and gloom.

Mark my words, one day, I will live on the east coast full time. I’ll have a red wood stove, a huge supply of wool socks, and a pantry stocked to the brim. I’ll ride it out a blizzard in style, I tell ya. For now, though, I’ll just have to settle for prepping mentally.

If you are facing the reality of a potential snow storm or blizzard now, though, here are some tips to keep you toasty warm and safe during a major snow storm or blizzard:

Create a survival kit for your house and office…in case you stuck at either place. It should include flashlight {with batteries}, candles, matches, battery powered radio, extra food, water {and medication, diapers, formula, etc. if applicable}, first aid kit, an emergency heat source {mine will be the lovely big red wood burning stove}.
If you have animals, make sure to bring them in or shut them into their shelter. Bring their food closer to the house, so that you can still access it. Think about stocking extra water for them too.
During the winter, never let your car fuel level get below 1/2-3/4 tank. That way, if you are stuck in the car, you will hopefully have enough fuel to provide heat. In the event that you do get stuck in the car, run the heater for 10 minutes every hour to conserve gas. Before running the car engine for heat, make sure that the car’s exhaust pipe is not blocked with snow or something else. Carbon monoxide is not healthy.
Create an emergency winter bag for the car. Have extra food and water. A metal coffee can, matches, sticks and newspaper is always a good idea so that you can build a mini fire. Keep you cell phone charger handy, so that you can charge your phone if necessary–that way calling for help is totally an option. Keep a stash of blankets in the car during the winter months.
If you have to travel during a snow storm or blizzard, make sure to let someone else know when you are leaving, where you are going, and when you plan to arrive. That way, if something goes wrong, people know where to start looking for you.
Place snow shovels near the front door so that you can access them and dig your way out if necessary.
Have an alternative cooking method, in case the power goes out. Think a little propane powered grill, or the like. Just make sure you use your “alternate cooking source” in a properly ventilated area.
Have you kids keep snacks in their backpacks, just in case the storm hits while they are at school.
Don’t leave the house unless you are dressed for the weather. Resist the urge to pop out for some milk in your shorts and t-shirt. You never know when the weather can turn, and it’s best to be dress accordingly should you get stuck in your car or any other building beside home.
Have a family plan. Talk to kids about what to do if they get stuck at school, or on the bus. Know how you will contact each other to check in.

Okay, so after that list, I have to admit, if you were to get stuck somewhere besides home in a blizzard/snow storm, it would not be fun. BUT, if you have plenty of food, water and heat in the comfort of your own home, it might be kind of fun to have a “forced shutdown” of life’s activities. Maybe I’ll sing a different tune after I’ve actually experienced a blizzard?

Stay safe,

Mavis

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Rock Borders, Moving Daylilies and Digging up Dirt

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 27, 2015 · 8 Comments

Would you believe it was 60 degrees at my house yesterday? In January? The daffodils are popping up all around the neighborhood and the street in front of my house was packed with walkers in short sleeved tee-shirts. How can that be? What happened to the rain, wind and crappy weather?

Well who cares, right ? I have a garden to plant! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Yesterday, I started to re-work the rock path alongside our house. When we first moved here I had all these grand plans of yanking out the river rocks and installing a mulched walkway with a brick border. And then I realized it would cost me about $500 to do that {not to mention all the blood, sweat, and tears}.

And with last Sundays impromptu planting of the arborvitae hedge, I decided I didn’t really need to go all out and install a totally new border… the old one would just fine with a little tweaking and a fresh load of pea gravel {which I’ll lay once I finish the border}.

And for those of you who are worried I planted the arborvitae hedge too close to the house… it’s hard to tell from the pictures but the hedge actually sits about 3 1/2 feet away from the house. My goal is to have the hedge grow 6 feet tall to conceal the utility boxes from the road. and still have a 18 inch path between the hedge and the house for any access needed for repairs.

Several other people in the neighborhood have well trimmed hedges like this and they look fantastic. Not to mention the lush, green backdrop.

I also dug up a boatload of yellow daylilies that were in the front of the house and transplanted them to the side of the house.

I’m not a huge fan of daylilies, but hey, they were free.

Digging up the daylilies of course left me with a bunch of giant holes in the front garden bed. Over the next few weeks I plan on leveling the area, removing the lamp post that’s not really a lamp post {because it has not a lamp nor any electrical wiring} and transferring the soil to the new vegetable garden area. It will take some time, but it really needs to be done if I want a nice, cohesive look from the road.

Now, if I could just get those garden beds built soon. 🙂

Keep calm and garden on, right?

~Mavis

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