The Thrifty Lady

At a recent Youth Group camping trip, my oldest children were quite impressed with the shoes one of their buddies was wearing.

At least, I think you could call them shoes.

He had taken a pair of ankle socks, turned them inside out and covered the inside with duct tape. Then he turned them right side out and covered the outside with duck tape.

He claims they are water proof and very comfortable, but did admit they didn’t work well on gravel. (It ripped up the tape.)

I’m afraid the mother in me thinks they don’t have much support or traction.

But, I will admit that I think they are pretty cool looking and will definitely attract attention.

And yes, I let my kids make a pair, too.

Why? Because around here we all know that,” Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.”

Isn’t it frustrating to run out of an ingredient when you’re in the middle of baking? Especially when your 15 miles from the nearest grocery store!

Here’s a thrifty substitute for sweetened condensed milk that will work in a pinch.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute

Combine in a blender:

1/2 cup warm water
1 cup and 2 Tablespoons non-fat dry milk
3/4 cup sugar

Process in the blender until smooth. It will thicken as it cools. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

This equals one 14 oz. can.

“Oddly, it is not real cooks who insist that the finest ingredients are necessary to produce a delicious something…Real cooks take stale bread and aging onions and make you happy.”

~ Susan Wiegand, Cooking as Courtship

Waste in the kitchen is an easy way to throw money away. It happens to everybody. We over buy, or we don’t pay attention to what’s in the fridge and it gets wasted.

With my oldest daughter selling at the local farmer’s market, we have lots of leftovers coming home. If we don’t push hard and take care of them right away, they spoil in the heat and humidity of summer.

I missed one plate of cinnamon rolls last week. Things got busy and I didn’t notice them on the counter for 2 days. (I blush to confess this, but it really was a busy week!) They hadn’t spoiled, but they had gotten quite dry.

I didn’t want to throw them away, so I experimented! I cut each roll in half, soaked it in my favorite French Toast batter and fried them up. I served them for breakfast with butter and syrup.

The family loved them!

The Thrifty Idea for today is to be creative and turn those left-overs into something new and delicious!

It’s hot in my house today. I’m afraid the weather forecast doesn’t give much hope for the rest of the week. It’s gonna stay hot and humid.

What do you do when you’re living in an old farmhouse with no A/C?

You adjust.

We have.

We usually wake up early and work in the cool hours of the early morning, and then rest in the heat of the day.

We let the kids play outside after supper until dark so they get their fresh air when its cooler.

We try to keep fans running on us when we are inside.

We don’t run the oven. I use my crock pots, the electric skillet, or the stove top, or even just eat a cold meal.

I try to do something special in the afternoons so the kids have a treat to look forward too. It might something cold and special for snack time in the afternoon, like a homemade popsicle or pudding pop, a root beer float, a slushie,  or just even a glass of cold lemonade.

When the kids were younger it was time in the wading pool under the shade tree (mom, too!).

Now we sit and watch a movie in the heat of the day, with the shades pulled and fans blowing on us. It’s a nice rest and by the time the movie is over, things have cooled off a little and we’re ready to work again.

Most of all, we have learned to give ourselves a little “grace” during these hot spells. We accomplish what we can and know that our energy level will be better as soon as the mercury lowers.