Patching boys' jeans

If you're like me, you often pick up a pair of jeans, wondering whether or not to fold them up one more time, or add them to the burning trash pile. A few months ago I came up with a new idea how to fix pants. Since my hubby also uses jeans, I had no problem getting matching pieces. See the photos below and notice how I sewed the pockets from big jeans over the worn knees, which in this case all happen to be on the same knee for some peculiar reason, :), and used the bottom part of the big jeans to replace the worn part I cut off of Joseph's jeans.

Now that summer is here and there is no more school, he will be wearing these pants out one more time, and then we can worry about buying new ones. This saves me money for now, and he loves them! no more boring patches, although I never was much of a pant patcher before this.

The way we lived in Tennessee

When we lived in East Tennessee, I did not yet have a blog, but I have often thought the time there would have been worth blogging about, so I decided to go ahead and start!

Life was not always easy at first; we moved from Winnipeg Canada right after my sister-in-law passed away in a car accident, so those first weeks after leaving all family over thousand miles and another country behind, in a strange place with no place to call home at first, proved to be challenging. However, we made it through those times with more pleasant than unhappy memories. Many are the moments I find myself wishing I was back there, but then I come back to reality and am thankful we are where we are at the moment. 

 

We had bought an old property with an old house that my husband wanted to renovate part time while he went to school. We were offered this camper by some church friends, which was to be our temporary home the first few months. It was quite the experience, making this our home with two small children. It was one long summer camp, that's for sure!

Most of my daily life happened outside. The laundry had to be taken to the laundromat or a friend's house. Sometimes I would take it home to dry on the lines. Then I would fold it on the small picnic table. 

 There was a little stove attached to the outside of the trailer which I mostly used. If it was too rainy, I could move it indoors. And rain it sometimes did. Those were the special times which we remember so well. Too well! Then I would loose all joy of cooking, and sometimes we would get to eat out if it rained. There was a tarp covering the outdoor kitchen, but it was not always enough to keep out the rain. It was also hard to keep all rain out the windows when it got stormy. Those were the nights we just had to ride it out and hope the next day would be sunny again.

Sometimes when it rained, we would hop in our car and go for a drive. At times we picked up McDonald's breakfast and had a picnic in the car. Here in Belize when it rains in the morning, I sometimes suggest that we go for a drive and take coffee or pick up breakfast so I can relive those good old times again. No McDonald's in this country, but I can make my own biscuits and gravy, or we can buy burritos. We never got tired of seeing how green everything was and the beautiful mountains and rivers never failed to entertain us. I especially loved the mist on the mountains after a rain.

 The children had no lack. They were happy and healthy, always finding something entertaining.

The backyard. We lived right on the edge of the forest, and the setting was perfect. We have had many a bbq on this barbecue pit. Once I even turned it into a baking oven, because I wanted to bake something so badly but didn't have an oven! I baked some biscuits that didn't exactly turn out very fluffy but were edible.

 

 We found out, to our big delight, that we had wild blackberries growing in our backyard at the woods edge. I remember going over to our friendly old neighbor asking if they were blackberries! We sure enjoyed the jam.

 Once some friends came over to help Daniel with the house, and I served them watermelon. It never tasted better.

Bathtime is always fun, no matter where it happens!

This bird visited us regularly; it was wonderful to be so one with nature out here in the 'wild' parts of Knoxville.

Yes, even the raccoon didn't fail to make his rounds at night, snooping through our things trying to find food.

I would put Joseph in this basket to play, and then Jessica would climb in the other one. Perhaps needing attention?

We could always go to the mountains when we felt like it. Thankfully gas prices were good back then and there! (Here going for a drive for fun is out of our financial reach, unless it is within a few miles of us.)

As you can see, we had a great life.Challenging, but I would not exchange what I experienced for anything in the world.

To be continued...- how we lived in our old house before renovation was complete. It was every bit as interesting.

Recycled Lids

By now you probably know that I like to recycle whatever I can, and save money where possible. One yard sale I went to not too long ago had a bunch of yogurt containers with lids in the free box so of course I took them all..... The containers have come in very handy but many of them have already been discarded. I used them to freeze water in and often they didn't stand the pressure so they ripped. But now I am left with all these colorful lids that I can still use. I use my half gallon jars a lot, but not for canning, so I don't necessarily need the metal lids. These plastic ones are just perfect, and look great too!

 Just take a metal lid, place on a plastic lid, and draw around it with a pen, and cut it out!

Linking to these parties: 

Craft-O-Maniac

The Money Thing

Belize has very colorful money. Red, brown, blue, purple, wine, black...although that is beside the point of this post. This is what a Belizean $100 looks like. (50 US)

The money thing. It is such a powerful subject, isn't it?... Daniel and I have struggled through many of his school years trying to survive on little while raising a family. It has been a challenge, but then, I consider myself to be a person who loves challenges so for the most part I have enjoyed it. I learned that life is as enjoyable as you make it, and it doesn't mean making millions of dollars. (Although I wish we were making that much.:) 

The children will be just as happy and can be happier than others, if they are encouraged to let their imagination soar with what little they have. At one point I remember that our neighbor told us many children she knew were not as creative as ours, because they are handed everything they want and thus have no need to 'create' anything. It pays, in more ways than one, to not give your children everything they ask for, no matter if it is in style and ALL the other kids have it. The contentment they can learn from having few toys will be priceless. Like a family friend once said, "We give our children everything they need, but only a little of what they want." So good!

Living with little can be fun and challenging, but what's not cool is living with debt. Unfortunately we were not able to go through all these years without making some, and we came to a conclusion recently. We are getting out of debt! Whatever it takes! The bible says he who is borrower is slave to the lender. We were tired of this slavery. When we first came to Belize we thought, good, its much easier to make a living here and we won't need to be so careful with our money. Wrong! After a year of being here, we realize it is this attitude that can keep us in debt for our whole life. We awoke. We saw things needed to change. We did. We bought the book, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey...if you have heard of him before, then you know what we have gotten ourselves into. Sigh. It's going to be tough. Another challenge! We have learned some very valuable principles so far, and can see that sticking to them will make all the difference financially. We feel like we actually have control over where our money goes now and don't have to look back at the end of the month wondering where it flew off to. I found out about this Ramsey by reading other blogs and especially April's story, so I already knew that it required a sincere commitment.

I am becoming more creative than ever, seeing what I can do at home to save money. (I opened a new blog, Pioneer Home Recipes, where I am going to upload many more recipes yet. It will help you make most anything at home for a fraction of the price you have to pay if you purchase the same item from the store. These recipes are results of years of collecting while trying to live on less.)

Following are some few ways we make do on less: 

hanging my wash out to dry,  we have no dryer

gardening, 

not going to restaurants, (which is a hard one for us!) 

purifying water using sunlight; we have to buy drinking water, but I supplement by purifying some for use in cooking and freezing for ice.

don't drive unnecessarily (have a menu plan so shop weekly if possible; carpool) In Belize gas prices are outrageous, and even though we live only a few miles from the store, we still try to limit driving.

In the past, I have made cloth diapers from a used flannel sheet,  made baby wipes, and diaper covers.

made baby food and cereals

make almost any food from scratch

turned off the porch light at night, 

gotten rid of my maid

had a yard sale

exchanged old bulbs with new fluorescent ones
use only homemade napkins
buy no paper towels - only use old towels and sheets a t-shirts cut up

turned fridge and freezer temp down
we have no water heater, so we shower with cold water or heat the bath water for the children on the stove(no problem for this country where a cool shower is preferred...)

I wash with cold water only. 

make my own laundry detergent.

raise our own chickens

having family fun means  to:
pack a picnic, play a game, or read stories, ride a horse, go swimming, camping, go see the crops or watch a good movie

Just doing one of these things might not make much difference at all, but combined, it amounts to a lot of savings. Multiply those monthly savings by 12 months, and then 5 years, and we are surprised how much we can save!

Ways I try to make money:

(Before you get the wrong idea here, the decision to make money was all mine, not something my husband requires of me.)

Cook lunch on Mondays for a crowd of people; I enjoy this as I can now run a little 'restaurant', something I always thought would be fun. I usually have between 4-8 customers. 

Sometimes I cater for a crowd. This is so far the best way for me to make money. It means I am doing it on my own time, so I only do it when I have time for it.

Sell buttermilk to the local store.

Selling wallhangings and quilts, when I have time to make them

I have also sold kombucha, homemade wine, baked goods, and more foods that people are hungry for but that take time to make. People might ask me to make ice cream, bake a cake, or something similar. I only do it if my time and family allows me to do it;  family comes first. 

I go with the children to hubby's workplace to sell cookies, lemonade and other foods. (This is how they try to make money to pay for bible camp this year. They ended up making 67 of the 80 it cost.)

I hope to share more money saving ideas in the future. I plan to go back in time a couple years when Daniel was still in school, and show you how we lived then. Even though it was not always easy, I look back at those photos with fond memories, and am thankful for every experience we had then!

Kombucha Mushroom--Perfect Cleaner!

Ever wonder what those fat grandma mushrooms are good for? I found out today; they clean a sink better than anything I've tried before. Our sink was stained with calcium deposits from hard water. Today before Jessica cleaned it I rubbed it well with a mushroom and let it sit a while...then rubbed it again, and let the mushroom sit on the drain hole. And then we cleaned it, and now our sink shines like it hasn't the whole time we lived here. The faucet looks shinier too. So, now you know what other use you have for them. I am going to try them on the toilet too...

On Saving Money and Keeping House

Really, I could not figure out what to name this post. It includes the idea of saving money, organizing my home, having a yard sale, doing without a maid...I guess it all went together in this post...hope you make sense out of it!

Recently I told you about me having a yard sale. I had made a decision a while ago to organize our house, because I just realized I could not keep it organized the way I would like to; it seemed we never had enough closet space for all our things; everything cluttered so fast I could not quite keep up with it. I had read many times that in order to be less busy, one needed less stuff. I knew we had too much stuff.

I eventually had a maid to help me with keeping my house clean, because I thought I could not manage. But then. I started thinking. We are still in debt. And I think I can afford a maid? It only costs me 18 US. per day. (correction: I realized I had calculated this wrong. It's more like 15 US per day, which will change the numbers...)I had looked at the small picture, not figuring how much that money will amount to in 5 years!.. Hmmm. That is close to $8,000 Bze in 5 years.  Who can afford that anyway???  The prospect of having a yard sale really started looking good, because I realized I might ease up my time a little while organizing my home, and maybe even get rid of the maid, and who knows, maybe even make a little extra cash...

On the last day my maid was here, (before I knew  for certain I was laying her off that day), I sat down with my notebook and pen, and tried to figure out if I could make it on my own, with our children's help. I divided the work she did in one day over three days per my week, and came to the conclusion that, yes, I can do it! I can tell you it was a tremendous relief on my part to come to that decision. I told her that was the last day I had work for her, but for her it was no problem. She had other work waiting for her. 

I dove into getting ready for the sale. I started really looking forward to it, having never had a yard sale before. Because I was already in the money saving mood, I decided the children should try to sell cookies and lemonade for their upcoming Children's Bible Camp. They were so excited about it!

The yard sale day came. I was ready! I had rented the space for a small fee, but I expected to make enough to make it worthwhile. The location was prime. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away the morning of the sale, but since I had some volunteer help from my nieces I was able to leave in between. It worked out well.

Can you imagine I was happy when I counted the money at home, and found out we had made over $700 Bze? All that money for cleaning house! I was so happy that I had made this decision. It was worth all the effort and hassle.

One more thing I did to be able to organize my time was to make a homemaking binder. That is another subject I might cover some time, but for now suffice it to tell you that it has really helped me stay on track. Daniel enjoys coming home to a clean house nearly every day instead of only on 'maid day', and all that money in the new savings account from the yard sale and the savings from having no maid is a constant happy reminder that I made a few right choices. I am no longer dependent on the maid as I realized I had started to become.

I am not telling you all this to make you think I am somebody, and I know how to manage things. I am just trying to encourage you, as I have been encouraged by other bloggers. If I can save money, organize and de-clutter my home and free up some time, so can you! At one time I didn't believe I could, but then I read a post by Aunt Ruthie from Sugar Pie Farmhouse, and I took matters into my own hands and set out to do it! I have Aunt Ruthie to thank for inspiring me like she did.

Here are a few yard sale photos.

 Hi Lisa! Thanks for stopping at the sale! 

 All those nice girlie toys that my big girl had outgrown. It's almost sad to see some of them go, but I made sure that all the money that came from the things that belonged to them, they could have and do with as they pleased. I was happy when they both wanted their money put into their savings accounts. Perhaps they have learned a little about money already.

 I believe we did so well because we had quality things to sell, and most for reasonable prices. We made sure things were clean and packaged neatly. I noticed that all the little baggies of small toys that were a quarter or 50c were ALL gone at the end of the sale. Many of those small toys could have been thrown away and no one would have known the difference, but this way it all adds up. Don't take anything for granted! I had 10cents items too, and those are the things people buy.

(just to give you ideas if you want to make a sale...)

 Books sold very well. They are not as easily to come by around here so people always look out for a good deal, and they found it here.

No,  I did not sell the wallhangings and blankets, but I am not unhappy with the end result.

 Here are the little sellers. Lemonade did not sell too well, but cookies yes! 

I had them walk around with the cookies towards the end and they sold most of them. What they did'nt sell they took to daddy's work place some days later and sold there, along with some more lemonade. So far they made over half of what the camp costs them, and they are learning some very valuable lessons at the same time. AND hopefully some interactions skills as well, which are still sorely needed, them being so shy as they are. One or two more trips to the work place, and they should have done their duty for this year.

Don't toss that toy!

It looks pretty tossable, would'nt you agree? My little boy loved that toy, and it didn't matter to him that the cab was off, and it was very rusty and worn... And then, I got this bright idea to restore it at least to some extent. I bought some spray paint for a few bucks, sanded the rust off that old yellow paint, and painted it. I also broke out the side windows to make it look newer. It was Daniel's job to attach the cab, which happened some time after the painting was done, and here is the result.

You just can't come by these sturdy tonkas so easy anymore, so fixing these toys is, in my opinion, a good option. Hmmm, I believe I have another tonka toy somewhere that looks pretty old...

Sprinklers!

 What's a mother to do when it is over 100F, like, say 105, and the children want something fun to do to keep themselves cool, but she doesn't want to spend too much money? 

How about building a sprinkler...I remembered the good one we used to have years ago, and was thinking how nice one would be... Once the idea crossed my mind, it took only a matter of minutes to make one out of a soda bottle. Actually I made two, because the first one was an experiment that turned out to be a failure...

Take a small plastic soda bottle.

Take a small nail, (and make sure it is small because I found out big holes don't work) and heat it up, preferably holding it with a locking pliers, and melt holes into the bottles only on one side, making sure the some are pointed sideways.

I had a broken hose (one with the end cut off) and I don't know if this is something everyone has, but if you do, here's what to do... Take a big rubber band or two, and wrap it around the end of hose. Fit it into the bottle neck. Turn on the sprinkler, and fire away! Let the fun begin...

The Shampoo is in the Fridge

You know how those shampoo companies that make kids' shampoo ALWAYS make the holes too big for the shampoo to flow out, and your kids end up wasting lots of it because they can't control it? I got so sick and tired of it, and couldn't believe how fast one bottle emptied. All it takes is a few drops at the most to get one hair washing done. So, I decided to do something about it. I took a small empty mustard bottle, and cleverly filled it up with shampoo. The first time we wanted to use it, it was not around! I immediately call in the youngest, who is famous for schlepping things like this all over creation, and demanded to know where the shampoo had gone. He wasted no time in leading me to the refrigerator, and sure enough, there sat the mustard bottle of shampoo...

Have a great sunday! ;)

Baby Chicks

 What's cuter than a bunch of baby chicks...?

...A cute little boy holding a baby chick.

We slaughtered our first batch of chickens last week. (Yep, it was me that slit all those throats...)That was only 10. But it sure does feel good to have some home-grown free range chickens in the freezer. 

Last week I also went back to the Hatcheries and asked for twenty new baby chicks. She handed me the box back and asked me if it was ok if there were more like thirty. I said yes. Since these are free rejects, it is easy to loose some at first, but so far we have only lost three. I am not a person to kill off baby chicks just because there are too many, so we will try to raise all of them. I can't say I am looking forward to slaughtering day or days, but hey, it will be worth it once I have thirty home-grown free-range chickens in my freezer...or maybe I'll sell the extra and make a few dimes...

 

When I went to buy feed at the mill recently, I saw this calender that was for the taking and I couldn't resist, seeing as we are in the chicken raising business now. Cute cute.

Laundry Stain Remover

This recipe is very simple. I put it in a neat spray bottle. I find that the best place to keep this bottle is in the bathroom, where the dirty clothes can be sprayed and have a chance to soak before they get to the washing machine. Handy!


1 cup laundry detergent
1 cup household Ammonia
1 cup hot water
1/4 cup dishwashing detergent

Mix together and shake well.

(After posting this recipe originally, I realized I used too much ammonia, so I changed it. I couldn't stand the smell when spraying my laundry, but this way it is much more diluted, but works just as well. If you still find the smell unbearable, you can add one more cup of laundry detergent.)

Have fun!

Borax -- Yay! (Laundry Detergent)

I recently told you about the buttermilk I was not able to get here in Belize. Well, borax was another product pretty much unheard of around here. It was quite frustrating for me when we moved here to have to do without these products I was so used to in the US.

I constantly used to make my own laundry detergent. It was fun, frugal, and a healthy alternative to storebought detergent. Seeing I couldn't get borax here to make my own, I reluctantly turned to using storebought.

One day I just decided to ask the service boys here at the local store if it would be possible for them to order borax. They took down the name of the product, and now, several weeks later, I went shopping and was surprised! There on the shelf sat a row of borax boxes!...;) I was so happy. I grabbed two boxes, (in case they run out soon) and now I am back in the business of making laundry detergent! The store usually already sells washing soda, and I make my own lye soap, so the rest is history.

I encourage you to try it, if you haven't yet and are feeling a little experimental or frugal.

Laundry Detergent

1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda

Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.

Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.

Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.

Cover pail and use 1/4 cup (I use more) for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).

My personal note: If mixing it this way does not work well for you, you may want to try what I usually do. Into three separate jars pour hot boiling water. (slowly so you won't break the jars...) Add borax to one, washing soda to another, and soap to one. Stir one by one till all is dissolved. Let the jars cool separately, and pour into a big container with water until you have the required amount. 

Hopefully I can soon add more recipes including laundry softener and stain remover. Have fun!

Pasta - from scratch

Now and then I have to do a post on making things from scratch, just to prove that what my blog title states is in fact true, sometimes...

Joseph, thank goodness, is my muscle power around here. I get most of my wheat ground by him. Of course, there is a little incentive I came up with to get him to do it, and now I sometimes have to stop him from grinding too much, as it is hard work for a little guy.

Jessica gets the easier part, making the noodles. I love that pasta machine! And the homemade pasta. When we got married, two of hubby's sisters gave us cash to spend, and he said I could spend it, and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather buy than a pasta machine. Probably not one of the first things every bride thinks about, but my Grandma had one, so... I have never been sorry.

Ok, not that we eat only homemade pasta, but one of these days I am going to make a big batch to have some on hand.

Here we go again...

It's hard to know where to start blogging when one does not get very many chances to do so. So I think just a general update would be good. You'll get to see what keeps us all going. The weather has turned unbelievably nice. I had forgotten Belize could get so 'cool'. The corn is being threshed and it sorta feels like fall, but instead of everything changing colors or turning brown, it stays a lovely deep dark green. I do miss the colors of fall though, but I am telling myself, that at least here we won't get that dreaded cold wind that I don't think I could miss.

There is something I am pretty excited about. I have gone through some bigtime dental work to 'remodel' my teeth. I now have 6 brand new porcelain crowns on my top front teeth. But, I do not yet have the photos to show you, as my mouth is still healing from it. I am very happy with the results though, and I will update the photos when I have them.

Probably the best thing that has happened recently though is, I now have hired help once a week! I must admit, I am getting spoiled. But then, it seems almost impossible in Belize to keep up with the work of cleaning and everything else besides. Windows have to be cleaned once or twice a month if you want pretty windows, and who has time for it? Not me. The maid works 8 hours for under $13 US, so why not?!!!

I have opened my house as a restaurant on mondays for those guys working at the shop to come and eat. It helps bring in the money I need to pay my maid! I do enjoy it. It feels very rewarding. I can be a chef, and a waitress, and a server, all at once...not to mention being a teacher, mother and all those professions besides.

Now, for some photos:

I have started making our own cheese, when I have the time for it. It is definately a money saver. Or maybe not, because we tend to eat more. Either way, it is still worth it.

I bought this coconut shredder here at the local store, and it sure is a time saver when it comes to grating coconut.

 A while ago I was invited to a quilting bee, and these are my three sweet old mennonite aunts that are all doing some handwork.

 Daniel has actually started his own little ranch. On our six acres that we own from way back, he fixed the fence and put some cows that he bought from his dad. The baby was born soon after the purchase. It is kinda neat to start somehting like this and watch it grow.

 And here he is, plowing his field that he is renting from his dad for farming. Here we have two growing seasons, so he plans on planting soybeans soon, and corn next summer.

This is the same field, when the hurricane passed us by. We had lots of rain, as you can see. Lucky that there was nothing planted yet.

 Out for a drive on a Sunday afternoon.

This old yellow crowned parrot used to belong to us a long time ago, and it still lives. I was thrilled to see it, yet on the one hand I feel so sad he has to be caged up like this. They say he can't survive on his own in the big world, so I suppose it's just as well this way.

 Our own 'smokey' mountains.

 Sometime ago we went camping up in the mountains, and here are some shots of that trip. My genius of a brother has built these seats to put on his four wheeler to give the children rides, and they love it.

Strawberries do grow in Belize, in the colder areas. This one was not quite ripe though, but it thrilled me to see it anyway.

 When I saw this old church house being painted, I couldn't help but pull over and take this photo. If you click on the picture, you will see some pretty 'bad' boys up there!

Sometimes, when the weather is great, I just go driving for fun and take some photos. This is one of them.