A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart. Jonathan Swift

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.
-George Horace Lorimer

Hi ya'll.  Hope your day is going better than mine.  Using my coupons at Walgreens, I had to get rain checks on several items (no big deal).  Mary, my cashier was very kind and helpful (unlike the last cashier at Homeland...see previous post).  However, when I got home and using my online banking, found that they had charged me $29.74 (which was correct because I saved over $22 using coupons with sale items). But then they deposited the money back into my account. Huh? What? Why?  So I called the store to alert them to the possible problem.  They were as confused as I.  To make a long story short, if it doesn't sort itself out, when I go into town next week, I will pay them again and maybe this time they will keep it.  My bank lady said she had never seen such a thing!  You know weird freaky stuff happens to me a lot.

If only this were the end of my tale of woe!  My final stop of the day was K Mart (right after Wal Mart).  Having not had time to eat today, I was feeling a little weak!  They overcharged me on an item (which I caught) so I had to go to the service desk to sort it out.  The moment I looked into my purse, a sick feeling came over me (and it wasn't from not eating). 

My car keys weren't there!  Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!  But the correct answer was oh, yes!  Locked in the car was the ONLY key!  After saying a few choice words regarding my ability to leave the house unsupervised,  I called my brother, the long suffering David.  Oh, Good Grief!  He's 30+ miles away instead of being home in Muskogee where I need him to be.  No help there this time!  Shoot, shoot, shoot!  My only other option was to call my long suffering daughter, Becky, who works in Okmulgee for Creek Nation, to come and get her deranged Mother  before she collapses  from the heat and starvation. 

Feeling faint, I went back into the store.  In my younger days, if I had swooned, someone (good looking man) would have caught me before I hit the ground.  But nowadays, being a little old silver haired lady, most men would have left me laying and stepped over me. Growing old sucks sometimes!

(now back to my LindaDrama). And what to my wandering and desperate eyes did I see?  A neighbor who just happens to be a former employee of a wrecker service which also opened car doors!  THANK YOU GOD!  I WILL BE GOOD FROM NOW ON!  O.K. I WILL TRY TO BE GOOD FROM NOW ON!  I'm not going to tell you how he opened my locked car door using bits and pieces of stuff he had in his truck (can't contribute to any possible Grand Theft Auto you know) but in less than five minutes this cleaver man had my door open!  I was truly amazed at what I saw!  I didn't know that could be done!

But anyway, here is the breakdown on my coupon activity today.

Walgreens:

Carmex/New Lime Twist           $1.50 but I received $1.50 in Register Rewards to be used on my next trip.

2 Frito/ Lay Chips                     $4.29  Buy one get one free so $2.15 each

Charmin Ultra Soft 6 double rolls=12 regular rolls    $4.00-.25coupon=$3.75 or.63 each for double or if       they were single rolls .31 each

4 pack Energizer Batteries        On sale for $2.99-.75 coupon=$2.24 or .56 each

Bounty Paper Towels  6 rolls    On sale for $5.50-$1.00 coupon=$4.50 or .75 per roll

Cover Girl Liquid Makeup    Buy one get one half price   so  $11.99 + $9.99 for Mascara=  $21.98 - $5.00 for half price Mascara - $2.50 coupon  =   $14.48 for both

Bottom Line:  Spent $29.74 (which they accidentally gave back to me) but saved $22.51 using store coupons, sale items, register rewards ($5.00 from previous savings trip) and coupons.  (Also got rains checks for 30 oz. Mayo on sale for $2.49 (with coupon in Sunday's Walgreen Sale Flyer) -$1.00 coupon = $1.49 each with a limit of 3 and a 4lb bag of Domino Sugar $2.49 with Walgreen's coupon - $1.00 coupon = $1.49 each with a limit of 3.

Are you feeling the itch to save a lot of money legally and  embrace the art of couponing (the other legal currency)?  Just be warned, once you get the hang of it, you will become a coupon addict and your children will become coupon orphans as you clip coupons and organize coupons and search for coupons on-line and.......well you get the idea.  This is all a wonderful puzzle to me.  I love playing find the hidden object games and this is the same only the hidden object is a coupon to match the sale item.  Try couponing if you dare but I must warn you, life will never be the same once you start to see the really long register tapes with a hefty percentage saved on each trip.  We all want something that money can buy so why not save our way to that dream

Now this is Simple Living at it's very best! Each time I go couponing, I know that I have learned some lessons and will do better next time.

I saved $11.91 on pet food at Wal mart today.  When you've given a home to as many lost animals as we have, you have to save as much as possible and still provide quality food.  Not an easy task! Wal Mart is not my favorite place to shop because they try to distract me and sell me impulse items.  Big Mistake!  I no longer distract or impulse to their great dismay I am sure.  I go with a list (well prepared ahead of time), coupons in order, and stay focused.  The last is the most important to saving time and money.  They pay millions of dollars to people to learn how to get our hard earned money but I am willing to spent my time learning how to defeat them legally.  So, Wal Mart, you can kiss my grits! 

Gypsy was a neighborhood stray.  Now she is my loyal and faithful guardian angel.

Pushka showed up one winter's day and liked our Harmony Acres.  So he stayed.

Mischief and Pickle are Gypsy's boys.  They went to see Stacey (our beloved family vet) and came home missing their tails and other manly parts.  They still can't figure out why Stacey took their tails but they want them back.

Sophie purred her way into the house and the next thing I knew, I had a sleeping buddy.  She's kind of weird though.  Pulls my hair in the middle of the night.  It's rather startling!

At first she was just outside "porch kitty" and then she became inside "Molly".  Being one-eyed gets a lot of sympathy from Becky.

Maggie stays mad most of the time because there are cats in her bed, on her bench, next to her Becky and trying to eat her Cesar's!

Izzie and I just try to stay out of everyone's way!

Grabby Britches just wants to be everyone's friend.  She is the one that gave me cat scratch fever last year.

And then there are the weinners!  Need I say more?

Tomorrow, I have Homeland in my sites (that cranky cashier had better be on her toes) and my coupon binder (3 inches isn't really that big? Is it?) organized and ready to go.  So many nice cashiers have commented on how organized I am.  I don't tell them about my OCD and AADD which won't allow me to be any other way.  It's our little secret.

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability***Sam Keen

You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.
 Author Unknown

Hi ya'll.  Who knew that 80 degrees under the air conditioner could feel so good!  When it's a 100 degrees actual temperature outside and the air feels like you are breathing in liquid flames, you know that you are living in Hell's kissin cousin, Oklahoma.  Nothing is moving outside this afternoon.  Not birds, not animals, not leaves on trees, not humans (if they can help it).  The shade trees offer little relief.  Hello, summer!!!

 

I don't know about you, but as a very feminine lady (yes, I clean up pretty good when I want to), I find summer very challenging.  It's hard to look good when your make-up is dripping off your chin (lookin like something that should be in a wax museum, no doubt) and sweat is pooling between your boobs (yes, I said boobs).  The fragrance you are wearing goes sour in a matter of minutes and you smell worse than if you were wearing none at all.  Pantyhose are out of the question!  Your clothes seem to cling to every unsightly bulge you have and your panties settle in some very uncomfortable places.  I think it should be perfectly legal and morally acceptable to go naked in the heat of an Oklahoma summer.  Well, that just what I think bout it. 

Gypsy is hot!

Pushka is hot!

And my tomato plants are hot!

The guys (father, son and friend) came yesterday and unplugged the sewer line and put in a clean out line (A sewer cleanout is a point of access where the sewer lateral can be serviced. It usually is 4” in diameter and has a tight-fitting steel or plastic cap over it.).  The cost was more than reasonable and I found out that they are general contractors (that means they can do anything). 

I was a curious spectator and watched them work.  The hairball (it was the size of a small state) they removed looked like we had scalped at least ten people and flushed them down the toilet bowl (it wasn't pretty).  The look the father gave me when he removed said hairball, spoke volumes.  His tip of the day was to pour one cup of bleach down the bathroom sink and bathtub once a week to prevent this sort of thing from happening again (kinda figured out he thought a little common sense would have prevented this problem).  Anyway, they are coming back next week to hang a new storm door for me.

Ground level view of my new clean out line (box?)
After living here for 18 years, I got a clue.

One of my neighbors stopped by the store today while I was working and left me this gift that keeps on giving.  I love Simple Living  and everything that comes with it.  You never have to stand alone when you live in the country. 

Bless my bloomers!  It's new potatoes and yukon gold!

Thank you for dropping in today.  I gotta go and cook some taters.  Have a wonderful evening and I will see you again soon.
Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more?Bev Adams

   

Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. ************ ~William Hazlitt

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant. 

Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus), Satires

Day 1
Hi, ya'll.  I know it's been a bit since I last posted.  The brain frying Oklahoma weather seems to have already taken a toll on me and summer just began a week ago.  The animals are just trying to survive, too.  They are all mad cause I woke them up for a photo op.

Sophie was sleeping on a basket in the window.

Maggie woke up really grumpy!

Molly said "Will you just leave me alone and let me sleep?"

I have a rule of thumb for visiting doctors:  if I have less than three things wrong with me (or the problem has bothered me less than two years), I don't go.  Period.  End of statement.  Well, the count is well above three so I have a doctor's appointment today at 2:45 p.m.(all the morning appointments were taken so I have to venture out in the heat this afternoon, yuck). Think I'll treat myself to a milkshake after the trauma of a doctor's visit (any excuse will do when it comes to ice cream).  I know ya'll are tired of hearing me whine about being sick but it is what it is!

I just wanted to take a simple bathroom break.  How often does a catastrophe start with one simple task? One bathroom is flooded, the other has "stuff" backed up in the bathtub and my living room is flooded.  I'm sick ya'll!  I shouldn't have to deal with cleaning up recycled pooh!  Just shoot me now!  I want to curl up in the bed and be a sick person not the repair and maintenance crew today!  If we rented our residence, I could call the landlord but when you are a frugal homeowner you are the maintenance man and the cleaning crew and the do it yourself repair person.  Just shoot me now! However, adversity brings out the most creative in me.  Plus I can read instructions on how to repair most things.  Thank God for good language skills. 

One full bottle of Liquid Plumber later and  with one foot on the bathtub stopper, the other foot in front of the toilet bowl and stretched out like taffy (thanks to yoga I can do this) to reach the toilet bowl (this is not a technique I read about but I had to be creative since there is just one of me), I have plunged my brains out to no avail.  This issue is way above my skill level.  Guess I'll have to take a bath in the wadding pool in the front yard.  Just shoot me now!  Anything requiring water or drainage has come to a complete hault til I can meditate (changed to Pepsi and with Bronchitis, a cigarette is out of the question).

Day 2

It now takes me two days to do what I used to do in one hour.  I went to the doctor yesterday and found out I have sinusitis, bronchitis and two other itis's (no, I'm not going to tell you what the other two are.  it's personal).  Let's just say I don't feel so great.  The total cost was around $150.00.  Just shoot me now!

Now, back to my plumbing problems (not my personal plumbing problems but the whole house plumbing problems).    Need to call in a professional (me thinks I have tree roots in the lines and no clean out line). My plumber of many years had retired and the next one I called wouldn't even respond to the two desperate messages I left on his answering machine (probably thought I was a crazy lady).  In my next life, I'm coming back as a plumber.  Expensive, unavailable and sets their own hours.  Brother Danny (my, when I go to church, minister) gave me the name of a great plumber today.  When I called, they said they would be out first thing in the morning.  Thank You, Lord!  Finally, instead of unreturned phone messages, I talked to a real person (he understood my pain and was very nice on the phone).  Hold off on the shooting me to let me see how expensive this will be.

In the meantime, my friend Charlie the Barber left me cucumbers and squash at the little store.  The cucumbers are just crying out for home canning as pickles.  Country folk don't get sick days and one must seize the moment when it comes to fresh picked veggies. Simple Living is planning for the future.

I see pickles in my future!

O.K.  I hate to admit it but I have become fascinated by the complexity of the most talked about criminal trial in recent American history.  It is my humble opinion that we will never know the exact details of how Caylee Marie Anthony died because this mystery is surrounded by far too many lies, changing stories, and enough forensic testimony to sink a battleship. I am a reasonable person and I have drawn my own conclusions.  There is one fact that remains after all is said and done:  a beautiful, loving child is now in the presence of our Heavenly Father who knows all things.  This link is a live feed from the courtroom.  Perhaps you can figure it out.  The prosecution is presenting their rebuttal tomorrow. Orlando Sentinel

O.K. Blah, blah, blah.  I'm shutting up now.  I know you're tired of listening to me.  See you another day.

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.

 ~Francis Bacon

A Healing Place

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter...

to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. 

John Burroughs

The donkey pooh has nourished my garden plants as though they were on steroids!  They love it!  Move over Miracle Grow; here comes donkey pooh!  The first bag of pooh from Brother Dave was a freebie (he shoveled, he delivered).  The rest of them I have to shovel myself.

Can't wait to have fried green tomatoes!

Roma and Cherry Tomatoes for our salad.

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato. 

Lewis Grizzard

Arkansas Travelers for canning.

I also planted cucumbers in the same fertilizer.  They will have to be moved to the back yard so they can grow up the fence.  With the late frost and weird Oklahoma weather, it's a bit tricky knowing when to plant.

Cucumbers seeds planted in pooh!

My lawn mower is still playing dead so I had to take drastic measures and try to repair it myself. So far, this ain't pretty.  This is the first time I have ever had a shed to store it and now it wants to give me grief.  Guess I should have left it out in the rain.  My dandelion crop is taking over the yard.  Gotta mow!

Lawn Mower Battery On Life Support.

Everywhere I look, there are signs of life!  It is amazing!  Plant life, tree life, animal life, insect life, and people life.  I love the simple life.  Small moments of absolute joy and delight. I love Harmony Acres! 

When life has inflicted sometimes near mortal wounds, this place we call home is a sanctuary.  It is a healing place for everything (human and animal).  The beauty here is of the wild kind.  No formal or manicured gardens here.  To work the land is like touching the face of God.  It is a place of peace, love and harmony.  A place that restores balance.  I hope each of you can find your "harmony acres" even if it is just one moment at a time. 

As you know, all the animals here are strays (except Maggie. She was a pound puppy). Each one is a cherished member of our household.  I don't believe a loving God makes trash!

Pushka would like to be the only child.  He is so needy!

Gracie just wants to be left alone. (Are you looking at me?)

Oh, by the way; my salad garden is doing great.  Can't wait to harvest the lettuce and have a salad grown by yours truly!

A mixture of greens just waiting to nourish my earthly temple.

The first gatherings of the garden in May of salads, radishes and herbs made me feel like a mother about her baby - how could anything so beautiful be mine. 

And this emotion of wonder filled me for each vegetable as it was gathered every year. 

There is nothing that is comparable to it, as satisfactory or as thrilling, as gathering the vegetables one has grown.-  Alice B. Toklas

A Magical Time

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.

—Ruth Stout

The first bloom of Spring invites others to join the dance.

Spring is simply a magical time.  A time when all things are renewed.  A time when all things seem possible.  It is a joyous time for all of the senses to go on high alert to the glorious riches unfolding.  The mystery of life itself is encoded in the burst of Spring-time activity.  Only God could perfect such a delicate balance of all the elements that converge to create Spring.  It is the time to release our child-like fantasies.  It is a time for myths and legends to come alive in our gardens!  In a garden, there is no reality.  There is only imagination.  So come with me and release the creative genius that resides in all of us.  You Can Do It! 

Another lonely traveler seeking the life-giving breath of Spring.

Flower Fairies of the Garden

Every flower is believed to have a flower fairy watching over it, monitoring everything from scent to colour. Different flower fairies possess different qualities:

• Faeries of Joy – found in yellow flowers, such as primroses, buttercups and daffodils
• Faeries of Healing – found in blue flowers, such as bluebells and forget-me-nots
• Faeries of Purity and Hope – found in white flowers, such as daisies, lily of the valley and jasmine
• Faeries of Love and Beauty – found in purple flowers, such as lavender, violets and foxgloves
• Faeries of Energy – found in red flowers, such as poppies, roses and carnations

Can anyone who loves gardening resist a birdhouse?  Our yard is a bird haven year-round (have to remind the cats the "do no harm rule") with an abundance of beautiful creatures. To invite Spring to come early, I bought my first birdhouse of the season at the Dollar Store for $8.00.  This year we will also put up a Martin Birdhouse to help control the mosquitoes naturally.

If you were a bird, won't you just love it?

There are many elements that can be added to a garden to bring joy, fantasy, and life.  If you build it, they will come.  Butterflies, bees, birds and many other beings wanting to share in the fun.(Garden Faeries?) To me, nothing says "sanctuary" like a garden.  There is no room in a garden for earthly woes and burdens.

Even the cats are helping get ready for Spring.  Cleaning the yard is a family project. Gracie will drive the lawn mower while Pushka loads trash.

Ode To Spring

Ode To Spring

It snowed today
Again
Like yesterday
And once more
Snow tomorrow

A harsh winter
That's what they say
Colder than it's ever been
Snow like we've never seen
Spring... it will be late

But I will wait, for like fate
Spring always follows
Spring always comes
Spring has never failed me

Sonya Florentino

I refuse to let the howling wind and blowing snow outside dampen my enthusiasm because I know Spring is just around the next blizzard.  Speaking of Spring, who knew the beginning was in question?  My wall calendar indicates it starts on March 20th but other sources (including my countdown gadget) insists it is March 21st.  I will check the 2011 Old Farmers' Almanac to get to the truth of the matter. 

I am so excited about this Spring because it will be my first serious attempt to grow and preserve our own food. I have been researching the various methods of building a root cellar and cool pantry.  It will have to be inexpensive and hopefully using simple materials easily available. 

But in the meantime Beck, the animals and I are taking it easy and doing the smart thing in this weather:  staying home.  It's now nap time and everyone goes to their own space and their own blankies (no one likes to share personal items). Pushka has to be separated from the others just in case she has something contagious.  As soon as the weather breaks, we will take her to see Stacy for tests.

Grey Kittie (Pushka) is incarcerated until she can go to the Vet.  No, she is not going to live inside! When the temperature is above freezing, she is going back out and that is that.

Gigi just wants to wrap up in her puppy blankie.

Noah just wants a hug and a biscuit.

A human can't hardly find a place to sit around here.

How many times have you heard it said "what goes around comes around"?  It's an old fashioned way of saying "Karma". We are continuously polluting Mother Earth in 2011 as we were in 1937 (only much worse).  Will we (the human species) ever learn?  When we look to the past, have we made any positive changes or are we continuing to abuse the beautiful earth that God gave us?  We are his stewards and we need to start acting like it.

The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. 
 (Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. Democratic politician, president. Letter, February 26, 1937, to state governors, urging uniform soil conservation laws.)

Cats, Cats, Cats

"When my cats aren't happy, I'm not happy.  Not because I care about their mood but because I know that they're just sitting there thinking up ways to get even."
Percy Bysshe Shelley

We both know who the Queen is around here.

Have you ever watched a commercial on T.V. and said, "that is me, I do that"?  Well, that is exactly what has happened to me.  The other night Becky and I were watching T.V. and the Sears Optical commercial came on where the lady gets in the police car thinking it is a taxi.  I didn't get the punch line because I couldn't see well enough to know it was a police car.  Becky once again had to explain what was going on.

The other commercial they have is the lady going out in the yard to get her cat and comes back with a skunk.  This one could be me. Yesterday, I told you about "Mooch" the black cat that is hungry all the time. Well, it seems Mooch is two cats and that is why he is hungry all the time.  You look at the photos and see if a "normal" person could tell the difference:

They look like identical twins, right? 
The grey one has a piece of it's tail missing and is a true wild child.

Do I look like the pied piper of cats?  Is there a sign up on the road that says "free food & lodging for all cats"?  Is there a GPS for cats with a big X marked on our house as a great get-a-way location?  What is the deal with cats?  Now two more have appeared in the yard!  The inside cats and dogs took a vote last night.  The vote was unanimous "no more animals inside the house". The lovebird gave a big "Heck Yeah! I don't need another cat looking at me like I'm dinner".  Sometimes everyone (c.a.t.s.) has to be reminded of the Simple Living creed:  Do No Harm

Well, got to go for now so I can make home-made dog biscuits from Becky's blog.  See you later. Have a simply wonderful day!

Neti Pot 101

You already have the precious mixture that will make you well. Use it.
Rumi
I'm sure Rumi wasn't referring to a Neti Pot when this was spoken but I took it as a sign when I came across this today. In recent years, I have suffered from allergies which leads to sinusitis which leads to bronchitis which leads to pneumonia which leads to a very expensive doctor visit and medications.  It is a vicious cycle. 

However, the preventive medicine for this malady has been sitting in my medicine cabinet for over a year, the Neti Pot.  I have avoided using it because it involves water in my nose.  To me, a non-swimmer and scared to death of water up my nose, this was not my first choice in the "heal thyself" scenario.  It has come to my attention, after checking the cost of my last brush with an infection, this is less expensive and painful than a doctor visit (and my doctor uses it herself).

First, let's identify the source of my allergies.  Mm.....surely it can't be.......................cats and dogs?

It's not me. It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me. It's HIM!

It ain't easy being the only guy in a household full of women!

Upon discovering the possible source of my symptoms, I move on to the cure.  The Neti Pot box says "Allergy & Sinus Natural Relief ".  Now your talking.  Then it says "for nasal irrigation" as in nasal=nose and irrigation=water, therefore;  water up my nose.  Oh, boy! Oh, boy!  This ain't no cure for the faint hearted.

Upon opening  the box, I discover a small library of instructions enclosed.  Why can't they just say "mix the stuff in the pot and pour it up your nose?"  They lure you in with "nasal irrigation" and "sinus rinse". 

The dreaded Neti Pot.  Looks harmless enough, huh?

This is a five step process.  First read the Warning Before Using the Product.
Step One:  Wash hands and rinse pot.  Fill the pot with 8 ounces of warm distilled water. Hey, wait a minute!  If you can drown in less than an inch of water in the bathtub, why am I getting ready to pour 8 ounces of water up my nose? 
Step Two:  Put sinus rinse stuff in pot.  Place one finger over the hole of the cap and shake gently to dissolve mixture.
Step Three:  Stand in front of sink, lean forward and tilt head.  Sounds simple so far.  Without holding your breath and with mouth open, apply tip of device snugly against nasal passage and allow the  solution to gently flow until the solution starts draining from the opposite passage.  Ugh....gross.  It should not come in your mouth unless you are tilting your head backwards. (now they tell me). 
Step Four:  Gently blow nose.
Step Five:  Repeat steps 3 & 4 on other nasal passage.  Obviously, if you make it to this step, you didn't drown on step three.

The brochure says a lot of other stuff but this is the condensed version. If my family doesn't hear from me by noon, the first place to check for me will be leaning over the bathroom sink in a puddle of "Sinus Rinse".

Hope this will help you find a "natural" preventive cure for your allergy symptoms.  Natural healing is a staple in any Simple Living household.

Thank you for visiting today.  Hope I didn't bore you with the details.  But as they say "the devil's in the details".  One little detail omitted can change the outcome of a really great idea.