Spare Change!

Well, I haven't been successful at all with living off $150 cash for three weeks, but I did have one small success with my spare change.   I've been keeping little dish since Christmas when I gave my grandson, Anthony, a little paint-it-yourself froggy bank  along with a Share Bear savings account at my credit union.   So Ant and I went to the bank with a baggyful of change and he put all the coins in the counting machine.   And WOW! That leftover change amounted to $13.82.

What does the sound of a sigh look like?

If you were writing a novel and you wanted  one of the main characters to take a long, slow luxurious deep breath, then stiffly squeeze up her shoulders and then just push the hell out of that breath from the back of her throat, what kind of a sound would that make?   Would it look like "uuuuuuuuhgnktchhuh" or "hahhhhhkuhhhhchcch"?  Because  I don't know how to write that sound.   The sound that really says, "I'm DONE and what would I do without my two pals that were here tonight to help me organize and collate and package the Solar print exchange portfolio that was due on the winter solstice - December 21, 2009?"  Well, that's the sound I want you to hear before I thank your two Leftover comrades, Katherine Jones and  Linda Schrock who made that happen for me tonight.   


Thank you SO much Katherine and Linda!
(applause in the background)

Nope, couldn't do it!

But I regret it!

T'was almost three weeks ago when I made a commitment to put 150 bucks in my wallet and live on it for three weeks.  No debit card at the gas station, no quickpulloutthecreditcard for that have-to-have book at Barnes and Noble, no last minute stop at the grocery store with the debit card for a jar of capers, a bag of spinach and, what the heck, a little treat near the check out.  Nope!  Couldn't do it!  Just couldn't do it.   And after all, there was Saturday at BSU and I had to park in the Admin lot for the day and I needed my debit to do it.   And how else was I gonna order some ink from Dan Smith?  Send a money order?? I don't think so.  Oh, yeah, and I forgot that I needed to buy a bunch of stamps and the machine at the USPS doesn't take cash and I really didn't want to stand in line and on and on and on and on and on.

So, I'm gonna try it again.  It's just a little over three weeks until Leftovers is due and it would be great to have to not do this alone.   And maybe having just one other person to challenge me to make it would make the difference.  Anyone game?

Wise Words from World War I

Yes, that is what you think it is

These are remains to be seen.  And this is a photo I took of a chandelier in an Ossuary near Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic.  The small chapel is decorated with the skeletal system of nearly 40, 000 people.  According to the official website:  "The chapel was built at the end of the 14th century and its current appearance is the result of Baroque reconstruction carried out by Santini-Aichl in the early 18th century. Unique skeletal decorations of the interior are probably the work of woodcarver František Rint. Remarkable masterpieces include a massive chandelier, a cross, chalices, a monstrance or Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms. According to estimates, bones of approximately 40,000 people were used to decorate the chapel, creating this unique ossuary – a reminder of the transience of human life and the inevitability of death."   Click on the image to get a closer look at this extraordinary chapel.

Compare and Contrast

Check out this beautiful plate of food!   This was an extraordinary meal I had in Bologna years ago and I still dream about it once in awhile.  Note the gorgeous shavings of parmigiano on the top!  My mouth is watering as I write - and no, there were no leftovers.

Leftover Curry

Had a little dinner party on Saturday and served the birthday girl and guests veggie curry.   I made way too much basmati rice and dal, though, so I have been eating it all week.

Yes, I'm gonna eat it with a soup spoon to get every last grain of rice.   Garnished with cashews, cilantro and a little mango chutney, it's delish!   Move over Rachel Ray, I didn't need any EVOO for this little feast

Leftover Toxic Waste

Ew, leftover hazardous waste!

It’s gonna be sunny today and that got me thinking about how I can't wait for spring and then it got me thinking of spring cleaning and then I started thinking about a bunch of the stuff I have stored in the garage that I need to take to the hazardous waste site.  You know whatI’mtalkingabout.   It’s the stuff in the illustration. 

I googled Boise Hazardous Waste Disposal and this is what I found.

http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Public_Works/Services/HouseholdHazardousWaste/index.aspx

Check out all the info here for getting rid of the bad stuff.

Now, of course I know those of you in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado,

Michigan, Rhode Island, Kansas and the British Isles are not going to make a trip to the Boise Hazardous Waste sites, but this could just be a little nudge to find your local site and get a wiggle on!

Y'knowwhatImean?

Leftover Studebaker

I was just thinking if anyone out there has a leftover 1929 Studebaker convertible, you can put my name on it.

I would gladly trade my '98 long in the tooth Honda Civic.

Can you do it?

Listening to NPR today, Michelle Singletary was talking about going on a 21 day fast.

She wasn't talking food, she was talking credit cards and debit cards.  Could you do it?

Could you actually figure out what you had in the way of food in your pantry or in the back of the refrigerator and really use it instead of going out?  Could you pass up the dry cleaners, the DVDs, the take out pizza, the haircut, the manicure, the $5 artisan bread? So, say you agreed to put $150 in cash in your wallet - and then you told yourself this is going to last me for 21 days.  According to the folks that tried, it was liberating, confidence building and empowering.  Let's face it, the money that wasn't spent, was still in the account and that surplus or leftover could be one small step for financial freedom.  The average savings was about 300, count it 300, dollars a month.

I thought it sounded like a great idea.  So, I'm gonna try it, starting tomorrow.   

I'm sure I don't need to remind you . . .

Collector, shmallector, get cooking on those Leftover Prints, ya hear.  They're due in 51 days and you know as well as I do, it will be here before you know it.

The image above was from US Administration during World War II.  I ran across some of these great old posters  and many of them are oh so appropriate for our Leftover Efforts. 

Plus, I think it's against the law to burn papers, though I remember we had a big old barrel in our back yard when I was growing up.