Burned Sweet Potatoes

One of my most favorite foods to eat are sweet potatoes.  I sometimes just eat one for lunch because they are just so huge and filling.  And super healthy for you, as long as they aren't completely smothered with butter....or marshmallows.

So, I had three sweet potatoes hanging out in the pantry and they were getting a little rough looking.  A little dimply, as though may begin sprouting those dreaded 'eyes'.  I had the great idea of wrapping them in foil and popping them into the oven to bake while I tended to packing some of my Etsy store orders.  Easy peasy.  No need to set the timer, because did I **really** need a timer to tell me to take them out in 45 minutes?  Nah!  So, off I went.

Except.  Except that I shut myself in the other room, packing away, and having a great catch-up/quality time convo with my daughter.  It was great.  I was getting stuff done and all was right with the world.  You don't really notice how quickly time flies by when you're caught up in something, ever notice that?  Well, I open the door and step into the kitchen and, huh.  It kind of smells like that smell when something sugary is burned in the oven.  Hmm.  Oh, well.  Continue puttering and putting items away.  DRAT! NOW I remember.  Saved the sweet potatoes - they were quite delicious.  But NOT before they left some wonderfully hard, black clumps of burnt sweet potato juice on the bottom of the oven.  Ugh.

Good - sweet potatoes have been saved.  Bad - oven will have to be cleaned.  Moan.  Whine.  Whimper.

If you just figured out that one of my least favorite things to do is to clean the oven, then you are mighty clever.  I hate is because:

*because it's so dang hard to reach in to clean it without laying on the door to do so.
*because every time I have to clean it it's a horrible reminder that I never clean it.
*because I can't believe I actually use it enough for it to get dirty.
*because I'm afraid of the commercial oven cleaners*.

*afraid of commercial oven cleaners? Yes.  I'm afraid because I have a gas stove and I think the house will blow up.  I'm afraid because I'm not convinced that all of the cleaner will be cleaned from the oven and will poison our food.  I'm afraid that they'll be over spray and my dog will lick it and die.

I think I have purchased one can of commercial oven cleaner once in 27 years of marriage.  I'm terrified to use it.  Sometimes, if I whine effectively enough, my wonderful husband will clean the oven for me.  Not because he loves me, but because he loves to eat and wants the oven to work when he's hungry.

So, this time, as I looked into the cold, burned sugar encrusted orifice that is the oven, I was determined to clean it without whining and without the commercial cleaner.  I sprayed the interior with a mixture of vinegar, water, and natural dish soap.  I then sprinkled baking soda all over the surfaces to be scrubbed.  I let is rest for about 30 minutes, and then used a bucket of warm water and a sponge to scrub it all.  The baking soda makes a paste and is just abrasive enough to break down all of the burned crustiness without damaging the oven's surface.  I won't tell you that the sponge and the bucket of water turned a horribly disgusting shade of brown - that would be gross.  I will tell you that I was pleasantly surprised at how clean my oven became and without the use of any chemicals.  A little elbow grease goes a long way, too.

Next time, I will be setting the timer when I pop a few sweet potatoes into the oven.  For sure.

Turn Back the Clock on Holiday Decorating

Over the years, I have done many different kinds of simple and frugal holiday decorations.  Of course, the 12' tall perfectly decorated, themed, ribboned, sparkled trees are gorgeous, but they're not my style.  I don't do themes.  I just want to be surrounded by things that I like and that I can afford.  I don't do after-holiday decoration shopping.  A lot of homemade or handmade decorations are special because they can be done in shared time with friends and family, or be made with items that are sentimental.

Just a few examples:

This is a fabric and button star ornament made by my sister-in-law, Brenda.  Every year, Brenda makes the most wonderful handmade ornaments as gifts.  This particular star was made with holiday fabric and a small piece of fabric from my late father's-in-law shirt.  It pretty, sentimental, and easy to make.

This >>>> is a wooden ornament, purchased at a craft store, and painted by my two-year old grandson.  He's at the age where he is learning his colors and using his fine motor skills.  He chose the colors and used a foam 'dot' brush to paint his ornament.  I'm sure it will be treasured by his mama and dada forever!

This is another ornament made by Brenda.  It's a large, wooden craft stick painted white and decorated with marker to be a snowman.  She added a black felt hat and red ribbon as the scarf.  My son has had this for many, many years.

To the right are these wonderfully scented pomanders that I made today with oranges and whole cloves.  That's it.  I just stuck whole cloves in any pattern that fancied me and now my house is filled with this lovely scent!  Whole cloves can be found in the spice aisle of the grocery store.

And don't forget the old stand-bys of holiday decorating: the paper chains, stringing of popcorn and cranberries into garland for the tree or to hang throughout the house, making garland from dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks, using small pine boughs and ribbon to make swags for doors....so many possibilities! 

What's wonderful about handmade decorations are the memories that are made during the creation process, the receiving as a gift, and the possible traditions that are formed from these handmade items.  Handmade items seem to have a way of bonding people together, even when there's a physical separation.  Generally, simple, handmade items cost significantly less than the pricey department store items (which also don't give you the warm and fuzzies).

Keep things simple.  Involve your significant other, your kids, and your friends and have some fun making some new memories on the frugal.

Simple Does Not Equal Stupid

A few years ago, while chatting with my husband, I made the remark that we were 'simple folk'.  At first he was offended.  You see, he was taking the meaning of 'simple' to mean 'stupid'.  I began to explain that I was referring to our lifestyle, our approach to how we live and the values we live by. We were talking about how we don't have a lot of 'extra':  our house is little (under 1500 sq. ft. and I really don't want to clean more than one bathroom); our cars are modest (we didn't purchase a brand new vehicle until we were married for 20 years); I prefer to shop at thrift stores for clothing for myself ($40 for a top and jeans for $100 are you kidding me?!); we never go out to eat (I cannot, in all good consciousness, pay $20 for a pasta dish when I can cook a whole box for less than $1 at home and eat it in my comfy clothes);  and I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

I personally feel that as long as we have all that we need, we're blessed.  Sure, there are things that we want, but will those wants add value to our life?  I've always said that if we're warm when it's cold, dry when it's wet, and fed when we're hungry, we're doing pretty darn good.  We have worked so hard over the past 30 years, that I don't want that hard work to be represented in things.  I don't give a flip if the Jones' have more than us.  I don't care if we're not fashionable or that if you drive by our house and blink you'll probably miss it.  I. don't. care.  What I do care about is that we spend quality time together - being together at the end of our day - talking, checking in, enjoying each others company.  I don't want to have to babysit a bunch of expensive things that will just make us look good in the eyes of people who don't even know us or care about us.  What I care about is falling asleep every night knowing that our house is OURS because we worked really hard to pay off the mortgage and that my car is MINE because we paid off the loan early and we don't owe anyone anything.

I would rather have an emergency fund than a vacation.  Been there done that.  We went through a horrendous year 18 years ago when one summer:  our roof and septic both failed on the same day, and weeks later our daughter suffered a life-threatening illness (and we did not have health insurance).  That was a really hard and humbling lesson in finances.  But, we got through it, learned from it, and took measures to make sure something like that won't happen again.

I believe that to live 'simply' is a huge lesson in patience.  Because you have to wait. You can't buy it if you cannot afford it - because that wouldn't be smart and just doesn't make sense.  (I thought about putting the word 'shouldn't' in that sentence, but if you don't have the money for it - you really 'can't' buy it!)  Do you want something just because you think you need a 'new' one?  Research an item that you're thinking of purchasing. Consider thrift stores and consignment shops.  So many wonderful things are found there because really good, quality products don't go out of style and they oftentimes exceed the products that are manufactured today.

Living simply takes intelligence, patience, gratitude, humility and hard work.  I know, you can be grateful for your great big house(s), or your car that you paid more than the value of my house for, but are those really smart choices? Personally, I don't think so.  I don't begrudge anyone who has those things.  I just know that I would not feel comfortable having too much.

I don't require more than I need.  And I'm pretty happy with that.