75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda

Found this little tidbit, 75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda, on lifehackery.com and thought I'd share. Hope this finds you well!

Growing Up in the First Great Depression--a video

Love the Peak Moment videos I've come across so far on YouTube. Thought I'd share!

Frugal Dad's Top Frugality Blogs of 2011

Thought I'd share a great post by Frugal Dad that I'm only just finding: Top Frugality Blogs of 2011. I told myself that today I MUST go out and get some more short-sleeved shirts before the warm weather is upon us for good. Yet, here I am surfing for ways to save money instead. I hate shopping!!
   In hopping back and forth to check out his frugal picks, I happened upon this site that I'll be checking out next: Budgeting with the Bushmans and their Extreme Frugality Festival.
   If interested, I did post a few pics on my Flikr site this morn. I wish I could share the potluck photos with you here!

DIY Rocket stove!!

Gotta love this DIY! :-D

Transforming my life AND my day old doughnuts

Eat the Food: Last week when I was craving doughnuts, I made pancakes instead. Though I love my recipe, the pancakes did NOT end my craving.

Skill Up: Yes, mending my gloves was a way for me to "skill up" as part of the Independence Challenge. Does the fact that I pricked my finger say it all? ;)

Preserve Something: As you can imagine, Grandbaby, strapped to my chest in her infant carrier, was a big help when it came time to finally use that salsa mix that'd been in my pantry for so long. Still lacking the confidence to actually can anything, but feeling pretty good about the jars of salsa now in the freezer!

Make Over Leftovers: No, I wasn't thinking 'Now, how can I make doughnuts less healthy?' Just trying to enjoy the dozen day old doughnuts I bought when I at last gave into my craving. I froze the doughnuts right away, so I could eat them a few at a time. These'll keep me from giving into the urge to drive into town next time I get a craving. A real money saver, eh? *wink* Anyway, my dad came up with this method to slice stale doughnuts and fry them in a smattering of butter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and EAT WARM. The ultima comfort food!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I like my life but there's always room for improvement. I keep taking on new challenges because the only way I'm going to steadily improve my life (Kaizen, baby!) is to change what I do for something better. Doing something different daily seems to be the key. Loving this Indpendence Challenge because it helps me to daily think of categories certain to improve my $$ bottom line.
   Time for me to get off this computer now and go do something different!
   Whassup in your world? Taken on any new challenges lately? Leave a link if you're so inclined!

Lovin' this Independence Challenge; Laziest 'icing' ever

Lemon Shrimp...yup, this is me cutting down on animal protein. When the folks came back from Florida recently and gifted us with FIVE POUNDS of Royal Reds (oh, yeah!), we divvied the shrimp up into 1/2 pound bags and froze it. Totally resisted the urge to fry up and scarf down a pound of it for dinner the first night. Sadly, eating this sweet Gulf shrimp in smaller lots feels a little chintzy, but I will be happy to have it last longer. We had the leftovers from this tonight, with steamed broccoli added in, along with 1/2 jar of organic baby food peas that I didn't want to give to Grandbaby today since it'd been opened on Friday. (Yes, I hate wasting food so much I'm willing to eat baby food...well, as long as it's heavily disguised.)

HARVEST: Hubby harvested our first mess of kale from the late planting he'd done. Some of it is red kale, a new crop for us. I LOVE kale. What's more, I LOVE the Independence Challenge reminding me to get off my tuchus and go see if any of our winter crops are ready to be harvested.

WANT NOT: Unfortunately, a loved one was in the hospital over the weekend...a hospital two hours from here. Before we and some others hit the road, I tossed a box of Clif bars, bananas and a water bottle into a bag. So, during this family medical crisis, I did not eat any hospital food! (Our dear one is MUCH better and well on his way to complete recovery, thanks!!)

EAT THE FOOD: After getting only about 45 minutes of sleep Friday night, I did not feel like cooking when we got home Saturday night. Didn't want to go out to eat either...too much food in the fridge at home. But comfort food was definitely wanted, so I baked a box mix White Cake and topped it with the quickest, laziest icing ever: 2 cans sweetened condensed milk mixed with 3/4 cup lemon juice then poured over the cake.

WASTE NOT: Scraping out the edges of my powder make-up. I buy and use this powder stuff only for traveling, because it's more expensive than my everyday makeup. I don't want to waste even ONE application!

EAT THE FOOD: Our refrigerator is jam-packed with cheeses that need to be used up (bought before my resolve to eat less animal protein/eggs/dairy). To up the vegetable proteins, I added some freshly harvested, sautéed Swiss chard into the Rotel Dip that jazzed up my mushroom tacos. Didn't take much of the spicy cheese dip to take my vegetarian taco over the top!

Happy Monday!! Anything getting harvested, eaten, saved or wasted in your neck of the woods??

Minimal animal protein and dairy for life--can she do it?

Made spaghetti recently with only a 1/4 pound of Italian sausage, and Hubby didn't even notice I'd reduced the meat! Had enough leftovers to make chili, and since it was chock full of black beans, onions and peppers, Hubby didn't even notice that there was VERY minimal meat. Any time I make chili or other casual, stain-producing meals I use our oldies-but-goodies cloth napkins. BTW, Grandbaby serenaded us during this lunch with her baby drum--that girl can jam! ;)

My most recent pot of Potato Soup contained only scant pieces of chicken from the homemade broth made from the carcass of my most recent Roasted Chicken (a variation of this one). Actually, the majority of our meals contain minimal meat, except for the first night of eating a newly roasted chicken or smoked pork loin, for instance. My challenge will be to keep Hubby from eating mega meat on those first nights, to spread the animal proteins even further. Aside from any health benefits, no doubt this challenge will save us money!

Oh, yes, I DID eat my chocolate ice cream with peanut butter mixed in while in my car with a copy of The China Study glaring up at me! The kinda folks who praise this book are impressive, to say the least, including a Nobel Prize winner. Not even finished with the book, I am convinced that eating MINIMAL animal proteins/eggs and MINIMAL dairy is the way to go for optimum health. (Starting right after eating this free ice cream gotten with a previous purchases reward card!)

A BIG Thank You!
Thanks, Yummy Little Cooks, for thinking me Liebster Award worthy! Of course, her lovely, absolutely yummy site would definitely make my short list of the blogs with less than 200 followers that I enjoy immensely. (Never got around to becoming a "follower" of any blog; I subscribe to folks' RSS feeds.) I have a tough time making lists because I hate leaving anyone out, so very many of you edu-entertain me. I will have to name another five very soon!

1. Yummy Little Cooks (Like my own private cooking school with glimpses into an exotic cuisine.)
2. Minting Nickels (Dunno how many followers Lindy has, but she makes me laugh while reminding me of my goal to save $$.)
3. Simply Self Sufficiency (Becky mixes frugal, simple living with preparedness.)
4. Sue's Garden Journal (When I visit Sue's site, I feel like I'm looking over the shoulder of a master gardener.) 
5. Living a Little Greener (Bruise Mouse offers a little bit of everything. Always worth a visit.)

   Time to close this post and go read an intriguing article over on Organic Soul's site: Fighting Your Nature Deficiency: Tips for Natural Health. Oh, and I cannot wait to try this recipe over on Seasaltwithfood's site: Baked Potato Skins Pepperoni Pizza. Where are you headed next??

Take with frozen doughnuts; Extreme Frugality guy is back!

My ear's still pounding like the ocean during a hurricane, despite two nights of steroids/decongestants-induced insomnia. Though I'd hoped to get by with a phoned in RX, guess I'm gonna have to go see the doc after all. Meantime, I will wonder about these possible causes found by googling: injury caused by earphones at too high a volume (bought these in hopes to avoid that problem in future) or prolonged hyperextension of neck (a problem for bicyclists and maybe couch-sitters. When I spotted this cause, I realized that since rearranging the furniture, I've got a lot of tension in my neck when watching the telly). Oh, well, it's always something!

On a brighter note, Extreme Frugality writer W. Hodding Carter is back. Used to follow him back before Gourmet Magazine went defunct, but just now realized he's back writing for Gourmet Live. Yea! If looking for some motivation in frugal living, check him out: Extreme Frugality: Well, Nobody's Perfect.
   Time for me to go get updated on the heartbreaking, ongoing saga over at Our Simple Lives. Mark's blog has been amusing me for some time now, but now his loving family is threatened by discrimination/deportation. Thanks, Practical, for giving me the idea to share his story here. Now, why didn't I think of that? (His four beautiful children's faces are enough to compel me to get off this couch and write a letter of support to Secretary Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C. 20528.)
   Hope everyone has a splendid weekend. And for all those couch sitters like me: Be Careful Out There!

Amping up boring baby stuff; Decluttering, inspired by Zero Waste Home

The other side of this bib has some ridiculous quote about fast food embroidered on the other side, so I only used the plain underside even before adding the embellishment. Also pictured here is my "sewing case," which was originally my Barbie case made for me a hundred years ago by my Papaw. My childhood Barbie collection included two knock-off Barbies: one with a pinched boob and one with a hole in her abdomen. Unlike me, my mom doesn't insist yard sale purchases be gently used. Even skanky knock-off Barbies were hers for the taking if the price was right. Btw, this case happens to be one of my favorite repurposings!

Not being one that thinks baby must wear $$$ outfits, I buy plain white onesies and embellish them to suit me. These appliqués are iron on, but I just tack 'em on, as the sticky backing didn't make it through many washes for the first of these I did. Back in the day when our DD was just a babe, I embellished her plain Jane clothes--mostly hand-me-downs--with little rosebuds. To supplement the items given to us or that I bought used, I would scour the stores at the end of each season for the best clearance prices on items that would fit the kiddo the next year. 

   I figure not spending big bucks on short-term-use items like clothes for a fast growing little one is one of the reasons that Hubby and I were able to pay off our house and other debts quickly. One of the reasons he is able to be retired and me not working at 50. We may not live like kings, but we're happy!

   Of course, we didn't do it all right, but what I wish I hadn't spent money on will have to wait for another day's post.

   Rainy, rainy day here in western Kentucky...but the little one is expected in a bit, so she will definitely brighten up this day for us! Hope something wonderful brightens your day today!!

Made a solemn vow to declutter an item every time I read a post over on Zero Waste Home. These are my two latest declutters: the only remaining peignoir item from my wedding trousseau and a pan I'd bought for a quarter at a yard sale, because I misunderstood what type of pan Hubby wanted to put under his seedlings. Seems a pan with holes in it will NOT suit for watering the little seed pots from bottom up. ;)

Longstanding love affair with Lincoln Boyhood Park

Lincoln Boyhood Living Historical Farm. This recreated log cabin is only one square foot larger than the one President Lincoln lived in as a boy in Indiana. The pegs jutting out of the wall to the left of the fireplace are steps up to the attic. Abe and his brothers climbed such steps to their beds each night.

Having visited many times since I was a little kid, I'd always called this place Lincoln State Park, but evidently the Lincoln Boyhood Living Historical Farm is a National Park.

This seasonal ranger said the shoes were made to be worn on either the right or left foot and that, back in the day, shoes were rotated from foot to foot, so that if something happened to one, a single shoe could be bought to replace it. Now, how frugal is that!?

LOVE these pegged shutters! Having finished installing my folks' new replacement windows, Hubby priced vinyl window shutters for them yesterday @ around $45 to $55 per pair. For some reason I couldn't convince him that he should make some pegged shutters instead. ;)

Lawn darts anyone? I managed to land only one of these corncob/turkey feather darts in the hoop lying on the ground by the tree.

How's that for a sturdy chicken yard fence? One of the rangers said that the eggs are the ONLY thing produced on the farm that they are able to share and take home at the end of the day, but I got the impression that eggs get wasted, because the workers can only use so many. *sigh*

Located in the memorial center, this may well be the largest braided rug I'll ever see.

Recent purchases of the truck and dishwasher really dipped in the till, so "brown bagging" lunch was the money-saving choice on this day's excursion. I keep forgetting to put some picnic flatware in our day cooler. We keep some plastic utensils in the cooler's side pocket and have washed and re-used them for ages.

"Labor is the great source from which nearly all if not all human comforts and necessities are drawn." Abe Lincoln

   On that note, time for me to go labor a little...laundry and ripe bananas are awaitin'! What labors await you today? Necessities or comforts?

Sharing the blooms, the vows and the blowout!

The little wisteria sprig we brought back from my aunt's yard in Pensacola last year has grown like crazy and has been blooming in our western Kentucky back yard since the first of July! 

I don't like to think of myself as a close-minded blockhead, but at 50, I do sometimes have trouble making changes stick. When it comes to being green, I fail as often as I succeed. When I fail at living green, most likely I'm failing at being frugal too. When I fail at being frugal, I'm failing to save money. *SIGH*

   Yeah, there's a reason for my whiny confession! I'm goaling to incorporate some green changes that I hope will make me THINK GREEN more often. Whether you join me or not, you're now my accountability partners, don'cha know!

   High time to ACT instead of just read about changing my life. A YES! Magazine article, 10 Ways to Change Your Life: Not Just Your Lightbulbs, has finally pushed me over the fence on two green changes. Witness here my solemn vows:

1. Instead of serving all-veggie meals willy-nilly, I vow to join ranks with the Meatless Monday folks (like Jessica Simpson).
2. Instead of simultaneously surfing/blogging while watching TV/movies, I vow to take a mini-"Eco-sabbath" for AT LEAST ONE uninterrupted 4-hour block of unplugged time per week...and work my way toward a 24-hour once weekly unplugathon. (Exceptions: fridge, freezer and air conditioner/heat pump.)

   Okay, baby steps, I know, but even baby steps can move you in the right direction, eh? Anybody else vowing any new baby steps lately? Feel free to share a link to your posts!

Had a blow-out in one of my dishwashing gloves--the right hand, as always. I'll save the still-good left hand glove and turn it inside out the next time a right hand glove gets a nick & needs replacing. Thanks to Amy Daczyzn's Tightwad Gazette for that little repurposing tip.

We have high cholesterol--the good kind--maybe because of foods like this

Last night's Minimal Meat Meal: Squash Tomato Garbanzo Medley
Yeah, branching out from always calling things a "mish mash." ;)

   Despite the pics you saw yesterday of some of the road food we've eaten at locally owned joints in the last year, we seldom eat fried foods. Mainly because I am too lazy to clean up the mess in my own kitchen.
   Our blood work tells the tale: we eat fairly healthy most of the time.

   Hubby and I have both been tested and told we have high cholesterol...of the GOOD kind, the HDL. Though I couldn't point to just one thing, I think our abundance of good cholesterol may be attributed to the fact that we consume plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and raw nuts, ground flax seed and LOTS of olive oil. I cook up primarily minimal meat meals, and the lion's share of the protein nowadays consists of what Hubby brings home, including wild turkey, wild caught fish and venison. If, for instance, we have grilled venison steaks one night, the leftovers will be cut up into a stir fry of mostly vegetables for the next night. Minimal meat meals save us both time and money!
   We eat dairy too, including cheeses. These days I eat 6 ounces of organic whole milk plain yogurt daily. I often cook with butter, never margarine. Hubby drinks whole milk. We eat the skin anytime I cook a humanely raised chicken. We sometimes have whole eggs for breakfast, and in the last year or so these eggs have been organic and certified humane.
   Hubby's cholesterol improved once he retired, but my HDL moved up to "amazing" even before we switched to leaner, organic meats. Maybe because I love fish, eat minimal meats & eat ground flax seed on an almost daily basis??? I'm also addicted to sweets, but that's probably not at play here. ;)
   I may have mentioned this before: A few years back, I quit buying "low fat" products after reading REAL FOOD: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck. Her book just made sense to me, and then a few year's later I learned that Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food also validated the principle of eating real foods. For the most part, we just aim to follow Pollan's mantra to eat the way our great grandparents would have eaten.
   Now, it goes without saying: I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV. Can't say this method of eating would work for anyone else, just sayin' what works for us. Capiche? ;)

(Ingredients in the squash medley: olive oil, sliced sweet onion, zucchini and yellow squash, minced garlic, about a half cup of cooked organic sausage, dried oregano, freshly ground pepper, red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons of chicken base, half a can of garbanzo beans, pimiento-stuffed olives, plus about 14 ounces of chopped, fire-roasted tomatoes. Added a little bit of cornstarch and water to make a bit of thickened sauce, and added about 3 tablespoons of minced fresh basil at the end.)

This moment: Gettin' my Kentucky on with burgoo and a natural bridge

If you think burgoo looks like a gloppy mess, well, you'd be right. But burgoo's a spicy, meaty, slightly vinegary Kentucky stew, and we buy the stuff by the gallon anytime our favorite source has a kettle on the fire. Comprised mostly of ground-up chicken and barbecued mutton, the only recognizable ingredients in burgoo should be some corn, potatoes and the occasional onion (IMHO). Some misguided folks put Lima beans in their burgoo. That's so wrong! ;)

That's my purse jutting off my thigh, not some bizarre body part. ;)

   Finally remembered to share pics of my favorite site we visited in our recent jaunt through northeastern Kentucky. These were taken at Carter Caves State Resort Park, in a "natural bridge" within the park. Bus-loads of school kids picnicking created a powerful noise near the entrance to this "bridge," but even that could not detract from the quiet beauty of this time worn natural phenomenon.
   Hope to find some time for quiet beauty today, and hope the same for you! For now though, it's time to head to the dentist for a check-up/cleaning. Just another of those "costs money but saves in the long run" little things we do!
   Thanks to Soulemama for this Friday photo sharing concept. Please feel free to share a link to your moment.  

On my mind: Works in progress like fried chicken, hardscaping the new garden bed and foodgawking

Hubby is hardscaping the new garden bed. No more mowing the little strip of lawn between the garage and the driveway! Hubby collected the stones from our hobby farm, a little place we co-own with some other family members.

Oh, my, am I ever thankful that I visited Niki over at Debt Free by Thirty this morn. She brought FoodGawker to my attention; that site is full of eye candy. If you need pictures to motivate you to get off the couch and into the kitchen, you'll love FoodGawker! (More to love: check out Niki's post on how watching The Twilight Zone teaches her about personal finance.)

   We don't have cable, but while at the folks the other day, Food Network's 5 Ingredient Fix was on. Claire's Roasted Curry Chicken inspired me, but I wasn't willing to pay for all that Greek yogurt, so I subbed out buttermilk to use in the marinade instead.
   And because I'm feeding DD today, I decided to fry instead of roast this chicken, so I'll have to let you know later how it works out.

Pureed red Thai Curry Paste, garlic, roasted cumin seeds, salt and pepper and then stirred the mash into 2 cups of buttermilk for the marinade.

Yum, 20 blueberries harvested from our yard went into this morning's Blueberry Strawberry Almond Nutmeg Smoothie. The phytochemicals in blueberries greatly benefit our brains and hearts, as well as fight off cancer-causing free radicals. They are so easy to grow, why didn't I plant some blueberry bushes years ago? Think of the money I'd have saved!

I am so proud of my growing sprouts. There's a BIG salad in my future!

   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth. 

Gather ye cookies and cauliflower while ye may

Though I'm not a Magic Cookie Bar fan, I am a huge fan of the basic recipe! These Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars are the latest incarnation to come out of my oven. My dad is a HUGE peanut butter fan, and he LOVES these. These bars have about 6 ounces of mini chocolate chips and 6 ounces of peanut butter chips on the graham cracker crust/sweetened condensed milk base, plus 1 cup of whole peanuts.

The Ball Blue Book said to blanch cauliflower 2-4 minutes before freezing.

Hubby doesn't cover up the cauliflower as they grow, so they're not as white as those found in the supermarket. (They taste the same.) Here they're cooling after being blanched.

Froze the blanched cauliflower in a single layer on my jelly roll pan for a couple of hours. Here they're ready for the freezer.

My little baby sprouts! They're really growing...wow!

I am in a carbohydrate craving mode right now and cannot wait for Cheat Day! Looking at goodies is all I can do 'til then; so, if you have any great pics to share, I could use some eye candy right about now!

Spicing up my smoothie and finally trying to sprout my seeds

I've had these alfalfa seeds for almost two years, and I'm just now getting around to trying to sprout them. If this works, I'll no longer need to buy plastic-wrapped sprouts, reduces packaging but saves me money too! And it doesn't get any more local than growing your own! Can it really be as easy as soaking them in water one day, then rinsing and draining them twice daily 'til they sprout?

Loving the book Healing Spices by Bharat B. Aggarwal, Ph.D, as I do think the phytonutrients found in plants can keep us healthy. Thanks to Healing Spices, I now know which spice does what for the body. The book also had some excellent lists for which spices pair well with each other and a substitution list if you're out of a spice.

These four ingredients are the base for my morning smoothie: a little coconut milk, a heaping tablespoon of brown rice protein powder, 6 ounces of plain organic yogurt, a tablespoon of stevia and a teaspoon of ground flax seed. Takes the guesswork out of eating breakfast. Gotta love that! This morning, I added a peach, 8 blueberries ('cause that's all I had!) and ground nutmeg to the usual base before blending. First time I ever added nutmeg...YUM!

Ironically, there are not enough hours in the days of summer, but I figured pics with captions will get the job done. I'm off to hang out with my folks this morn. Hope something interesting comes along to spice up your day!!

Boy, do I hate spending money eating in a hospital cafeteria!

I was in a hurry, so this quick tuna salad only contained
pickles, salad dressing, celery seed, salt and pepper.

Okay, there are worse things in life than being forced to eat in a hospital cafeteria...sure beats having to eat from a tray while in a hospital bed, for instance! But that doesn't mean I like to waste money buying ho-hum food when visiting loved ones in the hospital.
   To keep from having to spend a lot of money on convenience foods in these situations, I keep a box of Clif Bars (70% organic ingredients) in the car. Often used by hikers, the bars won't go bad in the summer heat of the car, and they make a quick meal when on the run. (No kickbacks for any product mention...just sharing what works for me.)
   Got lucky once to be home at mealtime. Not enough time to cook but enough time to whip up a quick tuna salad, the perfect fast food. Note: To avoid any mercury buildup from eating tuna, I mark on the calendar when we eat it and only serve tuna once a month.
   Once our loved one's health turned the corner, I even found the time to stop at a garage sale between hospital visits. Got the measuring cup set for 75¢ and the Fire King bowl for only 25¢. Isn't it a hoot that someone coveted the newer plastic cups more than the vintage glass?!
   Finding any good buys at garage/yard/boot sales lately? How do you save money when eating on the run?
 

My 25¢ Fire King bowl garage sale find has some finger nail polish on the handle.
Should be easy enough to clean.

On my mind: Never thought I could learn so much from a dinner party!

One Tonne Life, Sweden's remarkable reality show experiment in lowering the carbon footprint of living wrapped things up recently. Much to learn from the site and its webisodes, particularly the dinner party episode embedded here.
   Often what I learn reinforces what I already know, but as they say, "knowing and not doing is not knowing." So, for me, the value of hearing energy saving tips again is they increase my motivation to start or maintain the takes-more-time tasks...hanging laundry for instance.
   Besides saving our planet, saving energy more often than not means saving money. Gotta love that!!
   Thought I'd share some of the One Tonne Life tips/data that have helped me to intensify my focus on frugality. Let me know if you've anything to add...some days I need all the motivation I can get to not take the easy way out! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some laundry to hang!

One Tonne Life Energy Wasters:

• Cooking with the lid off the pan results in a loss of 80% of the energy.
• Layers of frost and ice make a freezer work harder, which uses more energy.
• Pre-washing dishes is unnecessary in newer models of dishwashers.
• We throw away about one third of the food we buy, which means we should take less or clean our plates!
• There's a significant jump in the environmental impact of beef, as compared to chicken.

One Tonne Life Energy Savers:

• Defrost frozen foods in the fridge, so the fridge has to work less.
• If you must pre-rinse dishes before putting in the dishwasher, at least do not use running water. Instead, stopper the sink and use as little water as possible (preferably captured water).
• Cooking for many people at a time is a climate-smart move.
• Cooking enough extra for the next day's lunch or another meal reduces energy consumption.
• Open fridge and freezer as little as possible.
• Spend 5 minutes less in the shower daily to save 14,000 liters of water per year.
• Fill the washing machine to capacity to save every two out of three washes, by saving energy, water and detergent.
• The clothes dryer generally uses four times the energy of a washing machine. Air dry whenever possible.

   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth. 

Playing the frugal game with laser-like focus, including the Fire King bowl I bought

Typical camp table.
Though we seldom use aluminum foil, it does come in handy for some camp foods. 

All right, despite my 2011 pledge to spend less, save more, I've been spending like crazy this spring. No regretful purchases, I mean, what's not to love about seeing the grandkids outfitted in matching pink visors, sunglasses and pink-flowered Crocs? Besides, having the money to spend when you want is one great reason for saving, but despite increased spending in some areas, I have re-intensified my focus when it comes to everyday purchases.
   Did rack up some points in the frugal game during our jaunt through northeastern Kentucky. We only ate out twice during our five-day excursion. And "souvenir" purchases were limited to one Jesse Stuart book, bought in support of the JS Foundation, and a vintage Fire King Blue Mosaic bowl found at a yard sale for a quarter.
   Yup, I went to a yard sale while on vacation! What better way to get the real scoop on the lives of eastern Kentuckians than sifting through folks' castoffs?
   True to form, I also hit a grocery in one of the towns we passed through. Groceries are one of my fav travel attractions, as I seek to bring home locally produced foods from whatever part of the country we find ourselves in. Got extremely lucky in eastern Kentucky when we stumbled upon a grocery that was going out of business, so everything was 40% off. That's how Knox gelatin ended up mingled with our camping gear.
   In an effort to decrease our consumption of food additives, I've decided to buy less Jell-o. If champion frugalista Amy Daczyzn can make her own jell-o, so can I!
   Anyone ever used unflavored gelatin? I'm flying in uncharted territory here! (New to me, that is.) Have a tom-terrific Tuesday!

Easy campfire Brats-n-Onions, with carrots hidden underneath.
Seasoned the brats with curry, oregano and pepper. Yum!
The sweet potatoes from last year's garden we brought along were simple and delish too.

My 25¢ yard sale find: a vintage Fire King Blue Mosaic bowl.

Embarrassed to admit that I had a box of Knox gelatin in my cabinet that must be 20+ years old.
Tossed it!
Boy, was I surprised to find their packaging virtually unchanged from then to now!