for Marilyn--sourdough softies!!
I posted this almost a year ago, but I am re-posting it because the recipe has been requested again.
My friend Hope gave me some Amish friendship bread starter, which is sourdough starter, but she also gave me a bunch of recipes to make besides just the bread. I tried this one on Saturday and they turned out great! They are a really soft chewy cookie. It took me 2 trays to get it right. I made them a little smaller and lessened the bake time to 10 minutes, but everyone's oven is different...
Sourdough Softies
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sourdough thinned with 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with sourdough. Drop onto greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.
the truth about thrift stores
The Truth about Thrift Stores
by Rachel Muller
Could a thrift store be dangerous to your financial health?
When it comes to flea markets, thrift stores, and garage
sales, are you a shrewd shopper or a junk collector? The
answer may impact more than your finances, as I realized when
I examined my own behavior in this area.
Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of secondhand purchases.
Enter any room in my house, and most of what you'll find was
pre-owned. I dress well, but I pay only a fraction of what my
mall-shopping friends pay for their wardrobes. My home is both
comfortably and attractively furnished, and I didn't have to
go into debt to do it. Besides saving a significant amount of
money, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I benefit the
environment when I re-use perfectly good items and help keep
other people's cast-offs out of the landfill. When I shop at
thrift stores in my area, I'm also supporting worthwhile
charities.
This sounds like a win-win-win proposition, but there is a
potential downside. Garage sales and thrift stores can be as
addictive as malls. I'm more likely to get into financial
trouble if I'm buying new items recreationally, but even
thrift store purchases can add up. If I'm really going to wear
the three skirts and four blouses I picked up for a song, then
I can be proud of my bargain hunting abilities. If I'm going
to use the cast-iron apple peeler, or the battered mandolin is
going to add to the decor in my living room, then I have every
reason to be pleased with my purchases. But if the clothes are
just going to take up space in an already-crowded closet, and
the apple peeler is going to gather dust in a cupboard, then
not only have I wasted money on things I didn't need, but I've
also cluttered up my home. Whole books have been written on
how clutter costs time, money, and peace of mind.
I've recently taken stock of my secondhand purchasing
patterns. More than half of what I bring home can genuinely be
classified as useful. However, many of my "bargains" duplicate
things I already have, and some of them are downright useless.
In an attempt to become a wiser secondhand shopper, I've come
up with the following strategies:
1. Inventory what you own. If you have a weakness for kitchen
gadgets, then inventory what you already have, and what you
actually use, in your kitchen. If, like me, your weakness is
clothes, then check what you have in your closet. I tend to be
drawn to the same things over and over again, like black t-
shirts and denim skirts. Counting how many I already had was
an eye opener and will prevent me from making further
duplicate purchases.
2. Make a list of what you want or need. Keep track of the
items in your home that need to be replaced so that you
remember to check for them each time you're at a garage sale
or in a secondhand store. With your inventory in mind, keep
track of your children's present and future clothing needs.
Plan for upcoming events, such as occasions that call for
dressing up, holidays and celebrations that require
decorations or gifts.
3. Set spending limits. Plan how much you're willing to spend
on your "shopping spree" before you set out for the flea
market or enter a thrift store. Take cash with you instead of
a debit or credit card. If you find something you absolutely
must have that exceeds your spending limit, you can always ask
to make a deposit on it while you run to the bank machine.
Instead of seeing this as an inconvenience, see it as a gift
of additional "reflection" time.
4. Recognize your own second-hand shopping patterns. I am much
more likely to buy things I don't need at the cheapest thrift
store in my area than anywhere else. If an item is only a
dollar or two, I'll buy it without thinking. On the other
hand, I give a lot of thought to the items I buy at more
expensive consignment shops. Cheaper items aren't a bargain if
I don't use or wear them. I'm learning to be a more conscious
shopper wherever I am.
5. Eliminate clutter at its source. Check over your purchases
as soon as you bring them home, and you may see them in a
different light. Return unwanted items for a refund if you
can, donate them for a tax credit, sell them, or pass them on.
Just don't let them take up valuable space in your home!
saving on your heating bill
Saving on Your Heating Bill
by Justin Ripley
You don't have much choice. You must heat your home.
With gas, heating fuel, and electric prices rising more and
more every day, many people are finding that the cost of
heating their homes is reaching astronomical proportions.
Unlike other monthly expenses that can be cut out of a
person's budget, home heating expenses are not an area where
we have much choice. We have to heat our homes during the cold
winter months just in order to survive. It's a simple as that.
Despite the fact that this is an expense we can not remove
from our budgets, there are a number of things that can be
done to trim those heating costs throughout the winter. Many
articles point to expensive remedies, such as installing
energy efficient windows or installing new insulation. While
these solutions work, it can take years to realize the savings
in lower heating costs. Conversely, most of these ten tips are
cheap, easy, and quick to implement. I hope they will save you
some money while keeping you warm throughout those cold winter
months!
1. Install a "smart" thermostat. While it may cost you
somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to purchase a
programmable thermostat, it should pay for itself within a
year. Personally, I bought a 7-day programmable thermostat as
soon as I moved into my new house and I love it. It was
relatively easy to install myself and now the temperature in
my home fluctuates throughout the day per my plan. The heat
drops down to 62 during the day when I'm not home (why keep
the place warm when nobody is home!) then charges back up to
70 degrees shortly before I get back from work. At bedtime, it
drops down to 62 again, and then it heads back up to 70
shortly before I need to get out of bed in the morning. It's
great!
2. Throw some extra blankets on the bed. Following the thought
from above, I sleep in a relatively cold environment. I find
it to be better for my lungs, and frankly, once you're nestled
under a bunch of warm blankets, it's quite enjoyable. Not
heating the house to 70 degrees throughout the night will save
a bunch of money on those heating bills.
3. Consider buying a humidifier. Moist air feels warmer than
dry air, and it's better for your skin and lungs, too.
4. Wear wool socks in the house. The floors in your house get
cold in the winter as heat rises and colder air moves down.
Cold feet make cold people. Wool socks are cheap, comfortable,
and will keep you and your feet warm.
5. Wear a sweater. Like the socks, this is a cheap and easy
way to stay warm throughout the winter and allows you to set
the thermostat at a lower temperature. I've noticed that in
today's modern world people seem to think they should be able
to wear shorts and t-shirts in their homes throughout the
winter. This is fine if you want to pay for it. I'll take a
lesson from my ancestors and just bundle up a little bit.
6. Let the light in. Be sure to open the window shades and
blinds during the day. Sunlight coming in will act as passive
solar heat and can make a significant difference in the
temperature of your home.
7. Turn the ceiling fans on. This one may sound a little
crazy, but it works. Most ceiling fans have a switch on them
that allows them to run in reverse. By running the fan in
reverse at a low speed, it will actually help circulate warm
air throughout the house.
8. Seal the leaks. At the beginning of winter, go around your
home and seal up any potential air leaks with caulk or weather
stripping. Most of the heat that leaves your home escapes
through cracks around the windows and doors. To the extent
possible, seal these up!
9. Service your furnace. A dirty furnace is not efficient and
will cost more money to run than a furnace that receives
annual cleaning from a professional. In addition to periodic
servicing, be sure to replace those air filters.
10. Cook a big Sunday roast. Growing up in Maine, my Mom
always cooked a Sunday roast. Pork or beef with carrots,
potatoes, gravy, and all the other good stuff. It was a great
tradition to bring the family together at least one day a
week, and of course, the food was great, too. Coming from a
frugal ilk, there was another reason she did it. Cooking a
roast meant having the oven on for a few hours, and all that
heat definitely escapes into the house. It doesn't cost much
to run the oven, and it's also a nice way to spend a quiet
Sunday in the winter with family.
I hope these simple tips prove useful and help you save some
of your hard-earned cash this winter!
Take the Next Step:
- Try a few of these simple tips and save some of your hard-
earned cash this winter.
tip
Get an envelope, cookie jar, coffee can or whatever
you like and set aside the same amount every week.
Whether it's $5 or $20, after a couple of weeks
you're going to have a nice start on an emergency
fund. The trick: don't count it, don't spend it and
remember to hide it where no one -- including your-
self -- will be tempted.
what we got yesterday
This is what I woke up to yesterday--UGH! I am NOT ready for this! I am never ready for it, but especially not the week before Thanksgiving!!
Emily's cookies
Thursday was Emily's snack day in school. She wanted to take cookies again, so I made sourdough softies. They sort of taste like snickerdoodles, but they are SOOO soft and moist, and they have such a wonderful flavor! They are made with that Amish friendship bread starter... They were a big hit in her school, too. I took a container of them to my mom and dad, and my dad ate ALL of them with his coffee!
Dave's cookies
These are actually from a mix, but I wanted everyone to see that when Dave says, "Hey woman, make me some cookies!" I get right in there and make them.. LOL
homemade turkey stock
I made a turkey last Saturday, and on Tuesday I decided to make stock out of the bones. I had been keeping them in the fridge, and at my house we use up as much of everything as possible before throwing it away or recycling it... Here it is in the pot:
I put the turkey carcass, some halved onions, some celery stalks and carrots cut into big chunks, and a few garlic cloves. I also added a chicken bouillon cube for some extra flavor. I ended up with 7 pint containers and a small butter container of stock to use in soups this winter...
a good investment
This is one of the best investments I ever made--a clothes drying rack! Now in winter I don't have to run my dryer much at all!! I actually bought 2 of them, so I will have enough to do 2 loadsof clothes at once if I need to. I have a wooden one, but htese metal ones are much nicer. I paid $15 each for them at work, but I will have them forever and they will save me money!
Anyone heard from Glenda?
Just wondering if anyone had heard from Glenda lately? You can PM me, if you would, and let me know how she is?
Thanks,
Rhonda
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