Finally got the family room done

I am suprized that I diden't throw my back out today.  I rearanged the liveingroom to get it ready for the Winter months.  Now to just get the vacume out and get the rest of the dog and cat hair up.  Yes I went ahead and tore thru most of the room today and got things really done.  Even though I diden't do the dishes today and feel lost becuase of it.  I can do them tomarrow for sure and clean the kitchen while I am out there tomarrow morning.  It will not take me long at all maybe a half an hour at most.  Very small kitchen and not enough storage space.  I got really creative on makeing space and odd ball ways of doing it also.  For people who have these huge kitchens it's more to clean.  My kitchen is 12x14 at this point in time.  I have some cabnets but not enough to really say for storage at all.  So what I did was get a storage tote for the canned veggies for the house.  They are out in the kitchen under part of the appliances that I have.  And they are out of the way also.  I also have 3 stand alone cabnets for spices, flour, sugar, cleaning supplies, and extra storage space for other things that I do not use on a daily basis in the kitchen.  Since I do buy 8 bags of flour a month to use for bread, muffins, and other goodies that I make it makes it easier to store in one of the stand alone cabnets.  Then I also have an old T.V. stand at the front door so I can store the parts to the mixer and other bake wear that I use all of the time also.  And alot of it is hid away and looks like the pieces of the stand alones are suppose to be there.  I will admit that I have out grown the tin can all togeather now.  It is all in how and what you do with the small space is all.  I will have to take pictures to show what I mean around a small space.  I know people who have smaller spaces also.  You find ways to store things that you never knew that you could put something in or under.  Ok folks have fun and play even harder.

Leftover madness

I had leftovers on Monday.  They are and were better than when I had cooked them on Saturday and Sunday.  Since there is only me myself and I here at least 5 days a week I do not cook as big as I would with the Hippy here.  I just do not like cooking for one anyway it is way hard to plan that unless it's finger food or soups and or leftovers from the weekend.  The Electrition that I know up here refuses to eat leftovers period.  Gee my Ex-Husband dident mind them at all when I would make enough for a couple of days.  Then again the Ex diden't try to act rich niether at all.  So yes in some ways I will stick up for him in others I just can not.  Some leftovers are just plain out better anyway the next day.  I know homemade chilli,sauces, and soups are always better.  Along with Crock Pot roasts.  It is one of them things that you just cant beat up on leftovers.  Pluss you can doctor up leftovers also.  So be creative and get a couple of meals out of one cooking or pull it back to the freezer for another meal down the road.  I have been known to pull back 2 days worth of meals off of one meal and when I would get one of them weeks of just pure crazyness I knew I had a couple of meals that I could pop out of a container and put it in a pan and into the oven and 20 min later there was a meal for 2.  Now what my Nieces Mom In Law does is what ever is left over she wraps up the food in singal servings and there's a ready meal for her or a guest in her house.  SO eather way you do the leftovers jazz them up or eat them like they are.  I have been known to make chicken salad from a whole bird that was cooked on Saturday or Sunday and eat it on tortella shells or homemade bread.  Then there is always other ways to do chicken also that is left over.  Ok folks have fun and play even harder.

What a weekend

This has been a long weekend around here again.  There's another pile of dishes waiting on me to get them done and they can wait untill tomarrow.  And the place looks like a disaster went off around here.  I sat down and clipped coupons for this morning.  Between the house being a disaster area and myself being totally tired from cooking all weekend for the Hippy and a bit of shopping that I did I am totally done for the day.  I did have over 7 dollars today in coupons not the best that I have done and not the worst niether.  I have to get into the swing of things again for the coupons.  Well Monday is another day to get things done around here.  While everyone is out of the can.  At least the big freezer is packed full of food along with the little freezer out in the kitchen on very little money of course.  Sales and coupons are a wanderfull thing with me.  Pluss theres 3 big turkeys in the big freezer.  What else can I say I have heat I have gas to cook with unlike some people I know around the park and other areas also.  And it will get chilly tonight of course.  Since the weather is changeing like this in early October I tend to listen and watch more.  I know there will be at least 4 feet of snow on the first dumping this year.  Just one of them feelings of course.  So I blocked up what I could so far and will be doing more to save on the gas and power bills again this year.  Today was somewhat chilly but not bad enough to say I needed a heavy jacket on yet.  Pluss I grabed the heavier insolated sweat jacket out of the van before it went out to Collins.  So I will be washing more blankets here shortly also so everyone can keep warm here in the can.  This is what I get for haveing a drafty place.  Ok folks have fun and play even harder.

Laughing at the power company

Ok now I have been doing several things during the day to cut the power bill down for the past several weeks here.  I have unplugged and havent ran hardly anything during the day.  The main problem is the power plant is right down the street here and my power bill is still huge.  My rates were cheaper in Illinois and the taxes are more than the actual bill its self up here in NY State.  Eather way I will be cutting and slashing 5 days a week now around here and will do even more cutting and slashing in the time to come.  It takes some new habbits of course and banging my head a whole lot.  I have been dealing without T.V. for most of the day.  If I go past 7am in the morning it feels wierd to have the computer and T.V. on past that Monday thru Friday now.  And talk about power strips all over the can around here and there's at least 5 of them to turn off here.  Ok it drives everyone just plain nuts around here when they see the appliances unplugged.  The one electritions can not understand of why I do things like that.  I ask him to pay the power bill and he says he doesent live here so he wont(also the man likes to bounce checks and not pay his own bills).  Spend thrift on his part and hanging out with his parents for to long.  His Parents God love them for working thier tails off and giveing thier kids everything and then some.  So I will try to be as cheap as I can and go from there and just try to drive everyone else batty over it so I can live within our means if not less at all possible.  If that means by not running hardly anything so be it now.  And the water bill did fall by 20 dollars this time.  After I raised cain at the water company.  I am useing even less water now than I was for 3 months ago.  Ok folks have fun and play even harder.

I finally got out again

I got out again for about an hour yesterday morning.  I had to pay some bills again and without a car to go in I walked all over.  I also picked up another 20 cents while I was out of the house on my walk.  It was so nice out that I almost peeled my jacket off also.  Why I diden't was what my mother always told me if it is chilly when you first walk out without a jacket then you keep that item on.  Well after the cabbage fest and cooking enough soup I finally got sick of soup for this week.  Part of what was left was pulled back and put into the deep freezer.  I can only deal with so much cabbage before I start pay for it.  Now I have to wait for awhile for my system calms down before I can eat more of the cabbage now.  I can really say that my Grandmother wanted some over the phone also when I called her yesterday.  The poor woman is no spring chicken anymore and she has had the flu for the almost a week.  The flu season has hit very early everywhere this year.  As our mom's told us wash your hands constantly and a few other things to prevent on illnesses.  Anyway at least when Winter hits I am hopeing some of the flu bugs get away from everyone.  Now I know why alot of the older folks sit out in the winter time now.  Ok so it takes me a bit to realize what goes on and why.  Also why I love my soup and stew dishes around here.  And chicken soup will be made today again.  Well I picked up 3 chickens at the store on Saturday when I did have the van.  I eat while I am alone but smaller meals if that makes since.  It is still hard for me to cook for just me.  So lots of leftovers around here during the week depending on if it is a favorite in the house hold.  Another good thing about the Big Freezer is that I can cook and put alot in there and pull something small out during the week.  That is the bad part around here.  Maybe not since I am not going out to eat and spending money that way.  I think that's why the Hippy keeps me around for my cooking.  Ok folks have fun and play harder I have to start cooking for tonight.

Ok now that I have Begly somewhat beat

I feel sorry for Rocheshelle on some things that her hubby does around the house.  I think I have Ed just totally beat now around my place.  My own Hippy and myself do not fight on everything here in the house on anything.  NO OARNGE BERRELS IN MY YARD.  Tea cup roses and ladith takes care of that one if anyone did.  Pluss the new season of Liveing with Ed starts tomarrow on the green planet.  I have to laugh at Ed and Rochelle becuase I am Being frugal down right cheap at times also.  Ok Ed please top my cabbage soup from today in the solar oven that you have.  Well why put solar pannels on the can now.  I want to get out of here not stay here.  So when I do get a house instead of the can I will get solar pannels and a few other things.  I am still saveing nickles for the kitchen wood burnner for the new place.  When the Hippy and I get it of course.  I haven't stopped dreaming of the wood burner/coal heater for the new place.  Also it is extra heat and extra cooking space for the new place when we get it.  And I plan on going extra ultra cheap for the house and wood/coal heater for the place.  200 dollars is way to much for groceries for the household in my book.  In the same since most was meat for the next 3 months also.  So eather way I can not complain about it.  At least I have food in the household and no complaints on what I cook now.  The poor Hippy cringed when I said over the phone that we all have cabbage soup today and the next week.  Oh well have fun and play even harder.

The cabbage fest went well

The cabbage fest went very well on Sunday.  I had a ball sitting there watching the camera when I was there for the band Eletric Rodeo.  First time of working the camera for the day and not knowing what to do when to do it it's alittle shakey but I am hopeing for the best.  The 15 pound cabbage was my prize find of the day for 5 dollars.  So I am makeing cabbage soup as of 10am this morning.  It is smelling so good right now that it's not even funny.  The recipie came out of one of the booklets I picked up from Ft. Niagara in Youngstown NY when some of my family came up to see me 3 years ago.  It is a great educational tool around here besides the falls in the city here.  Along with Smokein Joes with thier museum in the smoke shop also.  I still like to walk around for an hour over there to see whats new and a few other places also.  The Cabbage Fest was free in Ransomville NY on Sunday to get in and pay for food and if you wanted anything from the other vendors also.  It was such a nice setting in the Ransomville firehall parking lot that I will not complain about it at all with family orianted stuff to do.  Once I get some video from the fest I will post that here of course.  I forgot my camera of course never fails with that becuase I wanted pictures of everyone includeing myself.  Well I do have a picture of the head of cabbage that was baught on Sunday and I will post that at a later date so you can see how huge this thing was.  It was still worth the money for it and then some.  The Eletric Rodeo is on http://www.facebook.com/ I know the band members well and LOVE them as my own family.  A bunch of wanderfull people in the band.  Ok folks before I go to much farther here I have more work to do around the house.  So have fun and play even harder.

Realizeing that I am lucky

Ok now I am realizeing that I am lucky around here.  Now I know I have been picking and chooseing the cheap ways of life since I am alone around here.  And without children in the house I can pick up and go at any time that I do want.  I am glad that the state of PA diden't send a child my way that wasent even related to me nor the Hippy.  The quick run down is that the girl was a welfare scam from the time she was born.  I was willing to take the girl in if she could behave in my household and learn the life skills that she needed to know for the real world or at least to give her a head start on the real world one.  Eather way this girl who is now 18 years of age has did nothing but lie about me and others who cared about her and now I want nothing to do with her after she became of age.  Now it has been a slow process for myself to be cheap and or frugal in this world and I have started young.  On top of it I have been on and off the computer for 5 days a week that I have been by myself for the past month and a week.  I have cut my power bills down of course by cutting as much power as I can and a few other things during the last 6 months.  Pluss now the 170 that I spent for Wegman's and Walmart for the next couple of months on meat.  I will be set on soups and stews for a while.  And a big THANKS to the Eletric Rodeo for draging me out of the house on this past Sunday for the cabbage fest also.  A 15 pound cabbage is a wanderfull thing for the recipie books that I have.  I will make soup and or cabbage rolls out of it also.  Now that I am thinking of cutting even more corners around here so I can get out of the trailer park and away of the kids across the street that need the shock collars around thier necks also.  Now with myself and the Hippy we have been collecting cans and bottles for my kitchen wood burner stove and I am being ultra cheap now with what I do around here so we both can get out of here and a new start with out a forwarding address to the next place.  So anyway have fun and play even harder.

They credited my account

Corperate did credit my accout for thier screw up for Tracphone.  I will NEVER go back to tracfone again after that ordeal.  I am not the only person the screwed with niether.  Go with another company for pre paid phone service.  Well it also helps when you get corperats phone number also.  I think the FCC and a few other places will be called also while I am at it.  And why did the states hook up with the tracfones anyway for the welfare people I have no clue.  I am not knocking the welfare system at all when some folks really need health care and food in the house.  I am knocking the folks that have refused to go out and get jobs and sit there on the system though.  Oh well I guess that has been going on for years now and I can't stop it by myself.  Maybe that's why I did what I have had to do to support the household in any way shape or form that I have had to do.  By streaching out everything to the max and going dumster diveing when things were really tough.  I am still streaching out everything as much as possible still to this very day so I do not have to crash course on it and go ultra cheap at all.  Ok before I go any further than that I will get back to the house work before it gets to late around here.

I am enjoying the quietness

At this point in time I am really enjoying the peace and quiet around the can.  The kids will not be outside today becuase of all the wet sloppy weather out in the open.  Well October came in with a bad attitude it will go out even worse by the end of the month.  I am hopeing for NO ice storms this year.  I would rather walk in 4 feet of snow than walk in ice anyday.  Pluss it gives me a chance to start really useing the oven now.  This morning it was 37 outside already and its only the 2nd.  So yes I have to move somethings around so nothings blocking the vents again for winter.  The windows are blocked up most of the way and I will be blocking off the front room this year.  I am planning for a hard winter this year again also.  And since I diden't get the cieling fixed over the summer I am going to block off the front of the can with a sheet at least so no drafts come thru the kitchen via that way.  And my list is growing by the day to get things done around here also.  I need to do all the sheets and blankets that are up at the windows again before winter hits again.  By doing that it seems warmer in here becuase I really hate to say this Mobial Homes are drafty if you havent lived in one before.  Yes I block the windows as much as possible around here to stop the drafts as much as possible.  Now I do know some people who got thier natural gas shut off during the summer months.  First  one dident even attemt to pay on the bill so they shut it off on the person.  The next one has been slowly paying the bill off and, she hasent been able to get the gas turned back on at her place.  I do put my foot down on paying the bills first before I go to the store or any place else to get anything.  Guess I got lucky that I have been good in that habit.  Yes I did get the furnace going instead of running the space heaters for the 2 rooms like I was doing.  The Hippy had to close off the damper to the A/C unit before I could fire up the furnace anyway.  At least I do know how to turn on the furnace around here.  And have had to show other people while I was on the road so much a couple of years ago.  So now to start cleaning again and blocking stuff off even more today.  Have fun and play even harder.