Shortly after my last post (May 29th) I fell in my bedroom and broke my foot - or ankle, or - it hurt like &*$&%( - the ambulance drivers thought it was just a sprain - I knew something was broken. so, turned out that my stumble caused my tibia to split from the ankle joint up a few inches, and three toe bones to break up by the joint.
9 weeks off work with my foot in a cast and up - watching my beautiful garden become overgrown from lack of care. I did find friends and family to pick raspberries and marionberries. Cucumbers didn't make it, as well as some of the herbs I had just purchased - lack of water. We had a mass of tomatoes, mainly from not being able to get out there and pick off the suckers.
Started back to work August 1st, but still pretty tired from the injury, so have been sleeping a lot. Just now starting to get back some of my energy. And tackling much needed projects around the yard.
So may have some pics soon.
Woven throughout all of this were over a dozen appointments for my daughter up at the Oregon Health Science University to determine what was going to be done about her heart. we found out last week that she has been accepted as a candiate for a heart transplant. they can't list her until she loses about 12 pounds. Not that easy to do, when you are hardly eating anything anyway, and don't have the energy to get around much. so need a miracle in that area.
When not trying to catch up with the outside, I have been inside trying to finish the back bedroom ( the master bedroom) for my daughter. Have been wanting to move her into that room for over a year - she needs the room for all her books and stuff, and it is closer to the bathroom. :) Very important when you are on a diuretic. So it seems that every waking minute is filled with either working in the garden, yard, or painting, patching, building on the inside. Not much time for computer stuff.
So I have been around - just laid up most of the summer. It was kind of weird - this is the first year in many, many years when I have not canned anything! (kind of hard to do from a wheelchair). Perhaps in a month or so I can post some pics of what I have been up to.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Living Simply
A tumultuous year is behind me, and another one is ahead.
November 2011 I received a layoff notice, ending the job I had been going to for 9+ years. I started taking St. Johns Wort right away.
April 2012 I started a new job ( at the same state agency) - but working for a previous supervisor that I had had a contentious relationship with. He had not changed any. Stress level went way up. still taking St. Johns Wort.
December 2012 - Governors budget came out, and our agency was only on it for one year - guess what that meant? Yep - our agency was probably being shut down -no ones job was safe.
February 2013 - My daughter went in for one of the many tests that she routinely has to have with her heart condition. Found out that her heart had become much worse, and her cardiologist was referring her for a heart transplant. she is not sure that is what she wants, but at least is going along that path for now.
April 8, 2013 - finally some good news! I started a new job, at another state agency, but this one with secure funding, doing something I really enjoy. But, still taking St. Johns Wort.
Since March, besides getting a new job, our lives have been filled with Dr. visits. There are many, many tests that you have to go through to find out if you are a candidate for a heart transplant. Jess started going to the severe heart failure clinic in Portland - an hour drive away from our home. Every two weeks we met with them, and along the way, there were in-hospital tests, out patient tests, lab tests - and the she was referred to OHSU - which is the primary hospital for heart transplants in the NorthWest. Yesterday was our first meeting with one of the doctors from the heart transplant team. Since we were up there anyway, and I had the day off of work, we packed in more tests that her doctors had ordered, labs, chest x-rays, immunizations and pulmonary breathing test.
We came home exhausted and I at least went to bed and slept for 10 hours.
When facing situations like this, it is best to simplify your life as much as possible. For me, that has meant scaling back on my garden this year. I don't know where we will be in the transplant process in the fall, when I am normally going nuts canning beans. So I didn't plant beans this year. And I have enough canned beans from last year to get me through another year if I don't eat beans every day.
I have planted tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. And of course, the berries are coming on wonderfully - but I will probably give away what we can't eat fresh. With a new job, and all the doctor and clinic visits, there just won't be time for the normal rhythm of growing, picking and canning. And I don't even want to try.
So my work outside will be on adjusting infrastructure - working on the chicken house - things that I can do that if I have to walk away from the task for a few weeks, I can. So I will be living as simply as possible for the next year.
I am glad that new visitors to this blog can still get instructions on how to create a raised bed, improve their soil structure grow vegetables and fruit to feed their families and neighbors. I am so proud of my children, who are each growing food (some in friends yards as my son in Seattle is doing). My granddaughter just picked and ate the first peas that her parents are growing in the community garden they belong to at OSU in Corvallis. At the end of the day, it is a simple joy to prepare your dinner with foods you have grown yourself, or bought from farmers in the area.
The need to live simply for awhile is sometimes brought upon by disaster, like those fellow Americans in OK who lost so much in the storms of life. When you are reduced down to nothing by a few minutes of wind, it gets real. What is really important? In this past year of living with the change in job, then the imminent loss of my job, and the sharp reminder of my daughters mortality - again, having a life that is already simplified as much as possible is important. The yearly rhythm of planting, harvesting, preserving - even though scaled down, helps to keep my life in perspective.
I am sad to not blog as much as I was, but not apologetic. I will post when I can. I have a thread on growing carrot seed that I hope to post later this summer. If you don't hear from me in awhile, it is because I am spending what precious free time I have in the garden - when not visiting doctors, clinics, or working. And, I will keep taking St. Johns Wort.
My thoughts go out to all of you who are endeavoring in your own way to live simple lives...
Robin
for more info on St. Johns Wort: http://www.herbal-supplement-resource.com/st-johns-wort.html
And always let your dr know when you start taking an herbal supplement - I cleared taking this with my pharmacist first to make sure there would be no problems. But my daughter could never take it, as it would interfere with her heart medications. So always a good idea to check with your doctor or pharmacist first.
November 2011 I received a layoff notice, ending the job I had been going to for 9+ years. I started taking St. Johns Wort right away.
April 2012 I started a new job ( at the same state agency) - but working for a previous supervisor that I had had a contentious relationship with. He had not changed any. Stress level went way up. still taking St. Johns Wort.
December 2012 - Governors budget came out, and our agency was only on it for one year - guess what that meant? Yep - our agency was probably being shut down -no ones job was safe.
February 2013 - My daughter went in for one of the many tests that she routinely has to have with her heart condition. Found out that her heart had become much worse, and her cardiologist was referring her for a heart transplant. she is not sure that is what she wants, but at least is going along that path for now.
April 8, 2013 - finally some good news! I started a new job, at another state agency, but this one with secure funding, doing something I really enjoy. But, still taking St. Johns Wort.
Since March, besides getting a new job, our lives have been filled with Dr. visits. There are many, many tests that you have to go through to find out if you are a candidate for a heart transplant. Jess started going to the severe heart failure clinic in Portland - an hour drive away from our home. Every two weeks we met with them, and along the way, there were in-hospital tests, out patient tests, lab tests - and the she was referred to OHSU - which is the primary hospital for heart transplants in the NorthWest. Yesterday was our first meeting with one of the doctors from the heart transplant team. Since we were up there anyway, and I had the day off of work, we packed in more tests that her doctors had ordered, labs, chest x-rays, immunizations and pulmonary breathing test.
We came home exhausted and I at least went to bed and slept for 10 hours.
When facing situations like this, it is best to simplify your life as much as possible. For me, that has meant scaling back on my garden this year. I don't know where we will be in the transplant process in the fall, when I am normally going nuts canning beans. So I didn't plant beans this year. And I have enough canned beans from last year to get me through another year if I don't eat beans every day.
I have planted tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. And of course, the berries are coming on wonderfully - but I will probably give away what we can't eat fresh. With a new job, and all the doctor and clinic visits, there just won't be time for the normal rhythm of growing, picking and canning. And I don't even want to try.
So my work outside will be on adjusting infrastructure - working on the chicken house - things that I can do that if I have to walk away from the task for a few weeks, I can. So I will be living as simply as possible for the next year.
I am glad that new visitors to this blog can still get instructions on how to create a raised bed, improve their soil structure grow vegetables and fruit to feed their families and neighbors. I am so proud of my children, who are each growing food (some in friends yards as my son in Seattle is doing). My granddaughter just picked and ate the first peas that her parents are growing in the community garden they belong to at OSU in Corvallis. At the end of the day, it is a simple joy to prepare your dinner with foods you have grown yourself, or bought from farmers in the area.
The need to live simply for awhile is sometimes brought upon by disaster, like those fellow Americans in OK who lost so much in the storms of life. When you are reduced down to nothing by a few minutes of wind, it gets real. What is really important? In this past year of living with the change in job, then the imminent loss of my job, and the sharp reminder of my daughters mortality - again, having a life that is already simplified as much as possible is important. The yearly rhythm of planting, harvesting, preserving - even though scaled down, helps to keep my life in perspective.
I am sad to not blog as much as I was, but not apologetic. I will post when I can. I have a thread on growing carrot seed that I hope to post later this summer. If you don't hear from me in awhile, it is because I am spending what precious free time I have in the garden - when not visiting doctors, clinics, or working. And, I will keep taking St. Johns Wort.
My thoughts go out to all of you who are endeavoring in your own way to live simple lives...
Robin
for more info on St. Johns Wort: http://www.herbal-supplement-resource.com/st-johns-wort.html
And always let your dr know when you start taking an herbal supplement - I cleared taking this with my pharmacist first to make sure there would be no problems. But my daughter could never take it, as it would interfere with her heart medications. So always a good idea to check with your doctor or pharmacist first.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Saving Money
How do you save money?
Do you cut coupons?
Drive around and hit all the sales?
How much money are you really saving?
Cutting Coupons
Every week I overhear someone in the lunchroom at work talk
about making an effort to use coupons.
Perhaps they saw one of those TV shows where people get hundreds of
dollars’ worth of groceries for just a few dollars by cutting coupons. Amazing?
Hmm, well, I would ask you to look at what kind of food they are buying.
I tried to use coupons too, but found that the only
companies that can afford to offer coupons are the big mega-companies that have
the brand names, that push the gmo-processed food. If you want to live off chips, pizza,
cookies, pop, and name brand cereal that is all very expensive ( and not good
for you) – then couponing might be a good way to go.
I was taught by my mom to shop the perimeter of the grocery
store – if I had to go to a grocery store at all. This is where the fresh food is; fruits and
vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs, etc. No
name brands; I have never seen a coupon for organic apples or broccoli.
If I had to shop the aisles, I was taught to look up high,
or down low, where the off brands are kept – not at eye level where the more
expensive national brands are. That was
how we saved money. We made cookies
instead of buying them or buying the kind you slice and bake. And for those who tell me they don’t have
time, I was a single mom with four kids working full time, and I still managed
to find time. I also taught my kids, who
all can cook and bake and are really excellent in the kitchen.
So back to saving money.
Do you read the weekly coupons and drive around and hit all
the sales? Well, sometimes that can work
– especially if you have a freezer. I
also watch the news, the commodity prices – I know that with the drought this
last year, corn and wheat will go up in price, which will put meat prices up
also. I already bought my pork on sale
this fall when farmers where butchering, and have all that I will need for the
next 6-8 months socked away in the freezer.
I have my canned and frozen veggies and fruit. About all I really need to buy are dairy
products, eggs, and fresh vegetables now that my garden is not supplying me
everything.
So, how do I save money?
#1 – I keep a budget.
I figure out what I am going to use my money for every month, put some
aside for long-term goals (even if it is only $5), and let the budget be the
boss of my spending.
#2 – my main credit card is one that I get cash back on. I use this credit card just for paying my
monthly bills, like phone, utilities, cable, etc. So I pay my bills, and then pay off the
credit card. So on bills that I would
have had to pay anyway, I get cash back.
I also put about 60% of my food money on this card. And I don’t pay it off completely – companies
get upset with you for doing that. But
even leaving on about $75 - $100 balance, I don’t pay that much in interest. And I get back about $25 - $50 a month
depending on what I paid that month.
#3 – I use ebates.
Now, I would never encourage someone to go and spend money just to buy
stuff. I think a lot of the stuff that
people do buy they don’t need. But, if
you do have needs, why not save money on it if you have to buy it anyway?
I have been using ebates now for about 6 months. I was skeptical at first – not thinking that
I would get much back in rebates, because I didn’t think I spent that much
outside of needed items every month. I
started using it when I was shopping for Christmas. And was surprised how quickly the balance
they owed me built up. I started looking
at the list of stores they are signed up with, and realized that a lot of the
stores that I buy from anyway are listed through ebates – I had just been
buying stuff from them without going through the ebates portal first.!
A good example of this is my garden. You see how much lumber I have used in my
garden to build raised beds, right? A
lot of that lumber, and the fasteners, chicken wire, tools, etc., came from
Home Depot. Did you know that you can go
online to Home Depot, place your order, pay for it, and then go pick it up at
your local store? I activated my ebates
tracking ticket for that purchase, and got 5% cash back. And, the order was already on a cart and
ready to go for me when I got to the store.
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Next I found that two suppliers online I use all the time
were also listed on ebates – one was Gardeners supply (where I get my garden
fabric to cover the raised beds) and Puritans Pride – where I order about $75
worth of vitamins and herbs every other month.
I still am buying from these companies, I just go through ebates first,
and then get cash back.
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One of my favorite new stores is Drugstore.com. I went there because I was looking for a less
expensive place to buy one of my daughter’s supplements that is pretty
expensive – about $25 for a thirty-day supply.
I found it at Drugstore.com - $27.99 for a sixty-day supply. And they not only offered a 12% cash back
through ebates, but you get Drugstore “dollars” to spend the next quarter.
You'll earn $5.66 in drugstore.com
dollars™ when this
order ships.
(This total may change, as it doesn't reflect any credit used to purchase your order.)
You can redeem the drugstore.com dollars™ you earn today between March 31 - April 30, 2013
(This total may change, as it doesn't reflect any credit used to purchase your order.)
You can redeem the drugstore.com dollars™ you earn today between March 31 - April 30, 2013
And I am careful to put all the ebate purchase on my credit
card that I get cash back on – so each purchase I am getting money back from
someone.
My first ebates cash back check was for a little over
$60. My next one will be around $70 I estimate – I
keep finding things that I could purchase locally, but can instead get online –
and with many sites, like Drugstore.com, you get free shipping if it is over
$25. A lot of the generic products are
what you would get at Walgreen’s, so I am all stocked up on stuff for the cold
and flu season, buy from them everything
from toothpaste to soap, and it all comes within a couple of days – their
shipping is incredibly fast.
Account Info
- Ebates Member:
- Member Since:
Cash Paid:- Cash Pending:
Total Cash Back:
Ebates is free – the companies that are signed up probably
write off the cost like advertising or coupons.
You don’t have to enter any credit card number – just your name and
address so they know where to send the check. And you can even use ebates for Groupon and LivingSocial!
I never wanted to run a bunch of ads on my blog – because
those are just annoying. However, I am
so convinced and so excited about the money you can save by using ebates, that
I don’t feel bad sharing a link to it.
I am currently putting all my ebate checks in my savings
account to go toward a big screen TV for us – something that I normally could
not afford, but may be able to next fall.
And, I will get cash back on that purchase as well.
Have fun browsing the shops – there are some there that you
can save a lot of money on items you would need anyway (Zulily, the lego store,
toys r us, Home Depot and Lowes, Puritans Pride, Gardener supply co.,
etc). So have fun doing your monthly
shopping and knowing that you are going to get some money back!
So here is the link to click on for signing up - and I will also put it in the sidebar:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=VYX0GwG3LJG7eChd9c8wdg%3D%3D
Robin
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