Proverbs 24:17

Remember this? Well maybe this is what eventually happens when you try to run minivans off the road. I'm not gloating...just saying.

On Not Knowing Things

If you have a bit of time for a good read try this out. It's stellar.

I'll Leave This Property When the Bank Man Pries the Shotgun from my Cold, Dead Hands

I think I'm going to enjoy being a Squatter. Our landlords officially foreclosed on our home this month, which means we have 90 days left to revel in our little paradise. Thankfully, it is seasonally the best time of year (we have no heat or insulation, so the cold winter months aren't quite as pleasant here). We have our rent to save (we don't have to pay the bank anything), and our hound to scare away nosy realtors.

If you know of any great houses let us know; we'll be keeping our eyes open for the bank man.

A Broken Washing Machine is Never Romantic

Some ways of saving money are so picturesque. My last post on homemade butter churns up (note the pun) such nostalgic memories of bygone eras; ladies in cute dresses; sitting out in the barn with the cows; mixing that cream again and again in the early morning sunrise. Even a broken dryer can evoke such fond thoughts of hanging the washing out on the line...sun shining through...happy children running in and out of the sheets....it's so beautiful, I think I may have seen it on TV.

However, our washing machine is broken, and nothing about it is romantic. Here's the problem: it fills with water, it rinses, and it empties of water; but the motor is broken and nothing agitates. I hate the thought of lugging the loads of wet clothes home from the laundromat, so I've been filling the tub and scrubbing the stuff by hand for a good ten minutes and then letting it soak and rinse on its own. After one or two loads of being up to my elbows in soapy water, scrubbing up and down, and sweating, I'm really hoping we're done with this soon. I can evoke no romantic memories of ladies from years past with washbasins doing a similar thing. And I can tell you, it's nothing like those sirens in the river from "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

A Really Fun Money Saving Tip

So I was doing my normal Costco shopping last week, and butter was on the list. Imagine my dismay when Costco up and jumped the price of their butter, the 4-lb. pack, an entire dollar! I was irritated and didn't want to pay the new $8.50 price.

Then I remembered a little trip to a farm demonstration show at the county fairgrounds in June. They showed how easy it was to turn whipping cream into butter with a KitchenAid. Hmmm...and how much was a half gallon of whipping cream? Only $5.50 for the same weight (4 pounds) as the butter! So I took it home, and here's what we got:

Put about 2 c. of whipping cream in your KitchenAid with the whisk attachment (a food processor would also work).

Beat on medium-high speed for 10 minutes.

It will go through several stages: first it looks like whipped cream, then a chunkier version (almost like creamed butter). Keep an eye on it when it gets close to the end--when you see the milk liquid (skim milk) separate itself from the solid you have BUTTER! And it's the sweetest creamiest stuff you can't buy.

The Song that Makes My Son Burst into Tears

On top of spaghetti
All covered with cheese
I lost my poor meatball
when somebody sneezed.

It rolled on the table
and onto the floor
and then my poor meatball
rolled out the front door.

It rolled in the garden
and under a bush.
And now my poor meatball
is nothing but mush.


Why does this make him cry? I have no idea. He's four and has sympathetic feelings for the meatball? He loves meat so much he hates to see it wasted? Who knows? Anyway, he burst into tears after this song tonight, mumbling something about the meatball. Not just a few tears either, weepy like anything.

The Fifth Commandment

When I was young, both my parents had to work full-time. This was for honest financial reasons and not, as sometimes is the case, a justification to keep up a glamorous lifestyle. We owned one car, we paid $200/month mortgage for our mobile home, and we shopped at thrift stores. However, to keep us out of daycare my mom worked full-time during the day while my dad worked full-time all night as a janitor on the graveyard shift and took graduate classes during the day. As a result, they usually only saw each other when one got home and handed the other the car keys. Sunday nights were often the only times they had alone together.

And that's just what I want to honor them for. They gave up much of their own comfort and desires to raise my sister and I in a godly way. They were firm in their conviction to keep us out of daycare, and home with them, and God blessed them enormously for it with the only true wealth--faithful children and grandchildren and treasures laid up in heaven. My Dad said, a few years ago, "When you have a family you do whatever you have to to provide for them." And God blessed his faithfulness; both materially and spiritually.

I am often concerned about our financial situation. As with most of our friends, money is tight when you're on one income, living on a teacher's salary, and raising kids in one of the most expensive counties in the country. But then I remember my parent's sacrifice and their hard work to provide for me, and I remember that we are rich indeed; and our God who clothes the flowers of the field, knows exactly what we need. If the harvest we reap consists of faithful children who love their heavenly Father with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength; we will have real wealth in the end, of the kind that you truly can take with you.