Green Jean Granny

The ever elusive freeze-dried foodstuff has finally made it’s way here. Boxes and boxes – a pretty good variety too if it’s palatable. Sliced apples, sliced peaches, applesauce, whole wheat, cornmeal, rolled oats, beef stroganoff, country stew, stew vegetable mix, protein powders, raisins, cheddar cheese powder, peanut butter powder, prunes, margarine/butter powder, mashed potatoes, dry milk powder, and a hamburger flavored textured protein. We’re trying a can of Country stew tonight!

I received a packet of vege seeds in the mail today. Got them planted and the sprinkler is running. My fingers are crossed that soon we’ll have salad greens, onions, beets, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower. Fall garden extrordinaire!

There were a couple of wtf moments as I reacted to a link to where there are jobs to be had. North Dakota has oil jobs. No housing for the workers with approaching winter, but McDonalds is paying $15 an hour. Housing that IS available, looks high. One, I did react and I did cry. Homelessness is heavy on my mind. I don’t have gas to drive to the grocery store let alone money to consider leaving everything behind and going to a boom town in ND on the Canadian boarder. Negative? Maybe I am. but if it comes through, it’s just because i am watching my life and my family’s lives move closer and closer to what we fight against. It’s not a natural disaster for sure, but in our life, it might as well be. I guess if we are on the street, I’ll pack my car with everything I can and drive toward where we want to end up. I will smile for appearances, and sing to keep my family from despair, but I am not gonna like it. This whole situation sucks and those who have jobs need to stop thinking jobs are out there and it’s just my outlook why I don’t get chosen for one of them. No, it’s not my age keeping me from working. It’s my ruined credit, and the distance I have to travel to get to the job, and the 400 people they get to choose from who live right where the job is. When so many want a job, only the person who’s “perfect for the employer” will get one. That’s not negative, it’s real.

So I’ll figure something out. What? I really don’t have a clue – But the mantra of “one day at a time” is a lifeline I’m holding on to for all I’m worth.

The stew was sold in 1982. Canned, 29 yrs ago. It’s not good, but it’ll do. I let it cool and closed my eyes. Jackie had a bowl for dinner too.

G ate Ramen.

My prayers are with SO many.

I found myself searching online for what options the homeless have, again. There aren’t a lot it seems unless you have a place to camp or people to go to. I know how to figure these things out as far as how to do it, but the where is so tricky. In theory, it’s doable, but facing thoughts of the winter leaves me in tears. Having a mate who won’t talk about it is the hardest part. I asked him if he had any ideas and he doesn’t. He just goes silent and wanders off and cleans something. The house needs so much work with everything broken. I guess we just keep on till whatever happens, happens. There are no jobs and aside from having a yard sale, no ideas.

So we plan our yard sale.

Craig’s list ad up. Hyundai re-listed. Friend called to listen to my fears, check . . .

I found a pkt of chilli mix in the back of the cupbard! diced 1/3 an onion, 2 stalks of celery and added the odd can of tomato sauce and kidney beans. I also had 4 meatballs in the freezer! cut those up, mix well and serve over spaghetti noodles! They sell meals like this at Steak N’Shake! lol

omg this goes a long way toward a peak tonight!

Today’s accomplishment – homemade laundry soap! I used baking soda, Borax, soap flakes and lemon essential oil. Steve’s so excited to try it. We’ve been buying off brands at the Dollar Tree that left the clothes stinking even after they were washed. I don’t think that’s gonna be an issue anymore! I’m going to look at borax uses too because I think this cleaner is going to end up being multi-purpose! Yipee!

Steve asked me if i’d use the freeze-dried wheat we are getting and make bread. He was complimenting my bread. I KNOW what’s going on, but doggone, I didn’t expect it so fast!

I found $3 in the pocket of my coat from the back of the closet and bought a can of tuna, a small onion, and a plain yougurt. I’m pulling out my yogurt maker after dinner!

I went through my yarn and found enough to make a blanket for Geoffrey to replace an old quilt that has fallen apart that he has loved to unsalvagable threads. lol Drama is needed to convince him he has to accept a new blanket! He’ll like camoflage and olive 🙂

He just came inside and asked me if I wanted to see something pretty. So I followed him outside and watched as he laid on on the deck chair with his head where his feet should go and his feet up in the air. He was gazing at the tree branches and looking at their layers against a perfectly blue sky. He told me i have to look from his perspective so i can see what he was seeing. I laid down on the chair and couldn’t get up! We both busted out laughing as i rolled off the chair. I told him he was right. It was pretty, and i was funny. lol I adore my boy. He always surprises me.

We came home from trivia discussing how a bit better strategy might have netted us a bit of cash, but fact remained, we didn’t finish in the money. We did ok though. It was a nice afternoon. The pressure had both Steve and i napping by about 6pm, and trying to reground. he studied his music book, i crocheted. So still no housepmt money – we get $50 here, and spend $30 there and my little hoard stays small. We have almost $300 of the $667 we needed this month. Steve will work with Don today and we’ll gather enough to make 1 pmt and stay one pmt behind. My stomach knots thinking how the month is over and the cabinets are totally bare and the money i have will be gone by the 2nd – we’ll start the scrape again.

A dear friend, with such a kind heart, is sending me garden seeds. my beds are ready to get the fall garden started. I have some broccoli and cauliflower to begin with and those seeds go in this morning. We are still way above 90 degrees each day. i’m putting lettuce and carrots into the cold frames. With luck, collards, chard, kale, onions, collards will flourish. i wish we had instant grow powder to sprinkle on the babies.

Another friend asked me for my paypal address and sent me $50. We know so many people in so much distress right now. She asked me to keep the gift anonymus because she has to pick and choose who to help. I am relying on the kindness of strangers who love me sight unseen. I’m gonna change my f’ing name to blanch. Goddess please let my life flourish so I can pay such love forward.

Another friend who i gave a few dollars to, weeks ago, when she was selling blood plasma asked me if i wanted the money i gave her, back. i never even considered it. Bless her heart for asking.

We put our priorities out there into the universe.  One person fights to pull together a birthday party for her child, and another for a trip to California as a last ditch effort to reconnect to old business ties and maybe end years of homelessness. We are fighting to keep our home and not put our pets down. Another young family strives to begin a decent life and bring their unborn child into comfort of some kind. They fight the guilt of not being able to support both themselves and their parents and siblings. Everyone gathers their small lives closely around their hearts and prays that if there is a God, he will have mercy and help. The scenario if things progress as they are, is frightening. We could be on the street, living in our car in just a very short time.

i think the hardest thing for me, is to see people waste what we so desperately need. Food stuffs allowed to expire; 2 people living in 10 bedroom, 10 bath houses that are paid for – FAMILY – that doesn’t say, hey, we won’t let you live in your car. instead, they deny their friendship online and leave you to stress because you are different than they are…because they think your politics are liberal and you are worthless. THAT is hard for me. And if that’s not their viewpoint, it’s what they put out there and how they conduct themselves. it’s their face to the world. Gods bless them too – they will need blessings to live with the pain around them.

What a place my thoughts get stuck in!

my daughter just let me know their power should be back on by late tonight. They lost the contents of fridge and freezer and a tree uprooted in their yard. Hurricane irene has come and gone and my children are safe. Their skies are blue. Thank you Universe.

We lost a computer cooling fan to last night’s power outage. My son is not happy because it’s his computer we can’t use until fixed. So he’s on my machine, and I’m on an old limping laptop. The keys stick and the shift doesn’t work.

LOL things could be worse. Today, there is food. Today, we are online. Today, we are safe. Today we are together. What more do I need for THIS day? Can’t think of a thing.

My mama used to say “tough titty said the kitty, but the milk’s still good.”

This morning begins another blessed day and it’s going to be full even though it seems like I don’t anything. lol I’m listening to Stevie Nicks on GMA. Such beautiful music.

I’m waiting for my glycerine soap flakes to get here in the mail so I can make laundry soap. All ingredients are gathered except the flakes.

This morning I am trying my hand at homemade dog treats. I was given a lb of ground chicken and Jackie is out of everything but dry food – he’s been a spoiled little dog 🙂 He runs to the dresser and sits against it and ‘talks’ to us, very insistantly to get his treat for eating his dinner or using the bathroom. Steve started the habit and I didn’t fight it too hard because it’s darn cute. But treats are expensive and even the dog needs to adjust. So I mixed the chicken with 3 cups of flour, 2 eggs and 2/3 c of cheese with some chicken broth I had from a dinner I made last night and a tsp of salt. Mixed it into a gloopy mess lol and baked at 350 till they started to brown on the bottom a bit. They ended up being soft, I broke each one into thirds and while the dog is still sleeping, the cats certainly approved! A friend told me about the ones she makes – liver, flour, garlic. I think I can use chicken bullion too and leave out the meat, just making a cookie and he’d eat it.

I’m almost finished with a shawl I’m making for my little online store. The color is called Lagoon by Lionbrand. It’s their homespun line. It’s going to be so warm and lovely, so soft. I’ve never fringed anything before so that will be my challenge.

We got our EBT sorted out. Two months with only 200 each for food has depleted everything we had in the pantry. Steve’s brother is giving us some 30 yr old freezedried food that has no shelf life limit. I’ve researched it and it should be fine. Corn meal, powdered milk, wheat berries, protein powders – there was a time when we’d have been too good to use it. Not anymore. We have $349 a month pension Steve was able to start, and a $200 a month cleaning job. That’s it unless we pick up a little bit of trivia money. The kids won’t be helping anymore after September so we are busy job seeking, but also paring everything down to sell or store. Things will come to a head soon.  It’s hard not to be afraid.

We have a trivia tournament on Saturday. The first place pot is $5000. We are good enough to have a real shot at it. Divide it by 6 and we get two shares if we win. That will catch the house payment up. Sometimes I hate the importance this has in our lives, the fun is gone. The house cash feeds us, the cash contests put gas in the Jimmy. Our team got revamped at the last moment and even though we were a bit upset at first, right now, it’s way better than it was! So cross your fingers for us. Light a candle – we need a win badly.

G is doing well at school. He had one of 2 100%’s on the first test in his classes. I’m always so proud of him. V is feeling first movements from her little one. My middle daughter’s family is in the path of a major hurricane in the VA Beach area. My youngest daughter has moved back to Atlanta. My army girl was in town and I chose not to meet her boyfriend who beat her up horribly, so I didn’t get to see her. That was hard on my heart. My oldest son found out he won’t get out of prison till NEXT year. We thought it could be any moment and as mama, I was pretty disappointed. He’s ok except he’s hungry. So all in all, the kids are good enough.

I tried to buy seeds for the fall garden and Walmart stops carrying all seeds on August first. Not good. My beds are ready to plant in again. 🙂 I met a lady in England who posted a recipe for dandelion fritters. they looked lovely. Really, foraging and homesteading is a lifestyle we are prepared for. This weeks musings are of selling the house before we loose it and buying a small trailer and paying for some land outright so we can’t be kicked off it and just living on our skills. I’m looking into a generator and some kind of survival mode living for us. The animals can eat oats or mush if they have to. We are still resisting taking them to the pound. I need an outbuilding and a travel trailer and a piece of land – everything else is expendable. I know, take a deep breath. Nothing is set. No deadline has hit us. We will have utilities for at least 2 months. two months flies though and I have to prepare.

Winter’s coming in more ways than one.

We had a long talk with a friend last night about all kinds of things. Politics, trivia, work, Arkansas; you know, the get to know you stuff. I was up way too late. :0) We won $25 cash at trivia. Gas money.

The coffee water is heating. the skies started out overcast but I doubt it will rain. It’s simply HOT.

G is all registered for school. I was hoping a pair of shoes someone offered him would come in the mail. I guess he’ll start High School in my tennis shoes. He just says “it’s ok mommy, I love you.” And I sit here and fight tears. I know logically it’s what people have to do and I wear men’s shoes, so it’s not like it’s going to hurt him. But as a mom, it hurts. He didn’t need supplies this year yet. Just lockers and paper, pens and notebook. Those simple things are covered. Hopefully what he used last year will be enough for any other requests. I’m so proud of this kid. His classes are all advanced.

Advanced Placement Human Geography (History)/Freshman Honors Language Arts/French 1/Accelerated Integrated Algebra 1/Honors Biology/ and either Beginning Chorus or PE – He has changed his mind and wants PE.

I told him I loved Language Arts, but was most intered in Biology. We have wonderful conversation going this past week about military and history and French. My head can’t quite get wrapped around the young man he’s become. I still feel my baby.

Yesterday I rearranged the living room. I have a couple hours worth of work still to do on a nice soft gray pair of wrist warmers. I also want to make a few gemstone bracelets to sell at a fund raiser for a friend’s daughter. That project needs to start soon. We have our cleaning gig on Tuesday. And I have a job interview on Monday at a train shop. I’m interviewing to photograph trains which a local company posts on Ebay. It’s a 70 mile round trip for $10 an hour. Not sure it’s wise to go that far out, but we have to do something. So I’m unpacking my smile and charm and will hit the pavement running come Monday morning.

so I guess that’s my update.

We were anticipating this great week with 3 unexpected cleaning jobs. Instead, the alternator went out on the Jimmy, ate up our money we got from the tiny bit of regular work, and we had to cancel the jobs we had scheduled. I don’t think I can handle another week like this. Goddess intervene, please!

My oldest develpoed pneumonia – I’ve been so worried. Finally heard from her tonight that she’s almost 100% better. There is a thankyou for the day!

My diet is blown and I can’t seem to get back on it.

EBT refills tomorrow – another THANK GOODNESS . . .

All week, all I could think about was counting unhatched chickens, and trying not to cry.

The water bill was tripple what we expected. The garden has burned up. I had committed to paying the bills ourselves this month and had already done it, when the money disappeared – no house payment in sight for July yet.

I made a pair of socks, and haven’t finished the second pair – I got bummed out and stopped. lol Oh my. I need to stop moping and figure out how we are going to manage. Thing is, I guess we will simply run a month behind and hope something good work wise comes back into view. Looking for my knot at the end of my rope again…I know it’s here, but the slide down to it is getting to me.

Anyway. Just trying to keep up to date with the blog. I also need to make dinner and have no idea what to do. Omlets… that could work.