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We always name the spiders we see around the yard  “Charlotte” (kind of obvious, I know).  And yes, I try not to walk into them too.  They’re doing good work

I am most interested in your multiple accounting system. I have tried to keep everything in one book, but it does not work very well. Could you share where you got the ledgers? They look neat and orderly lined up in uniform size. I understand that the Budget book is the overall summary of the various categories, but my mind does work better with division of subjects, then an overall summary.

This is another wonderful post. Thank you.

That's a golden orb weaver, commonly called a banana spider, and it is a female.  The ones in North Florida are not venomous to humans, so I'm sure they aren't there, either.  She will likely leave an egg sac soon, if she hasn't already.  The males are much smaller and darker.

I always wanted an outdoor shower, but for years we had neighbors I couldn't trust, so we never built one.  They are gone, but I doubt it will happen, now.  Also, I didn't like the idea of wasps nesting in it, and I know they would.  That's funny, that the camera was still in your shower!

I'm 1.5 years out from retirement.  I'm trying to get debt, like my car loan, paid off and get set to live on a smaller income.  I also want to improve some skills, but first I have to learn some!  I can sew, but I can't crochet or knit, and I very much want to learn to do that.  

You asked about holiday meals; ours are usually cooperative meals these days, with the grown kids providing their share along with what I make.  Grandkids included, we have 10 sitting down to eat at holidays, normally.   We have scaled back on the number and types of dishes for holidays over time.  Thanksgiving is normally a smaller turkey, sometimes dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and a salad, perhaps.  Dessert is pumpkin and/or pecan pie. This is our traditional food.

We make our own cranberry sauce - whole berry sauce is so easy - pie crusts, pie fillings and whipped cream.  If we have dressing or rolls, we make them.

Christmas has seen us serve a medium sized ham for a long time, with various sides - green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, that sort of thing.  The one thing that is a lot more time consuming and a little more expensive to make is the Lane cake I make.  It's also a tradition, though.  It's so rich, one 3-layer cake is enough for all of us.

Leftover ham and turkey gets frozen for later. The bones get reused for broth, soup, or flavoring.  The ham bone usually flavors greens for the traditional New Year's dinner.

I start stockpiling what I will need ahead of the holidays, trying to get the best prices.   We have a conversation around the cost and effort every year, and so far, what we do is not too much cost or time on anyone, so we stick to it.  It could always be cut back, though.  

One thing we never do is buy disposables for the holidays.  We use real dishes, silverware, platters, napkins, and glasses.  I made gift bags and tags out of fabric, so I only need paper wrap and tags for non-family presents, and those are very, very few.  Wrap bought after Christmas is cheap and lasts me a long time.    

Henry is very neat! I name all of our lizards (I am in the northern AZ) Henry!!  All indoor spiders I trap and let outside are named Bob...lol. I am starting to stock up on holiday ingredients. I watch for sales and plan accordingly. I host all holidays for the last 30 years (wait, how on earth I am old enough to say that?!) and do all of the cooking. This year I made up my mind that I am asking for help. I don't want to put anyone out and there aren't many offers, so I handle everything alone. It's days of cooking and non stop on the holiday to the point I am exhausted,sore and I don't get to enjoy it. So, this year I am asking for help and cutting back on how much I make. I make A TON of from scratch food and so many different dishes and desserts, so everyone gets their fill and has leftovers to take home. I do it to myself! So I am putting my foot down on my own nonsense this year! And the dang men are gonna do the dishes! lol. I get back into my groove of wanting to cook around now. We are having a temporary cold front and it is gorgeous out! Going back up next week but we get our cold temps starting the first week of November and I get way too excited. I am examining my budget and expenses again, esp food and household goods. I have plenty stock but need to slack a little bit for awhile on the stock so I have a good balance. I found myself in my 50's, divorced after 27 year marriage and having been a stay at home mom for over 20 years. I have been  trying really hard to find a job, but AI is not helpful neither is my resume. My college degree is kinda pointless because they don't tend to get past the gap and my age according to recruiters. I loved running a home and raising my kids by myself (my former husband tended to not be present or participate) but I didn't realize how much it would bite me later. So, I am figuring out I need to stop putting everyone else first all the time (i also did a TON of volunteer work) and look at what I need and want to do. I am scared, but I kinda just have to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. Keep calm and carry on. If only my overthinking brain would quiet down a tad! I am also trying to find another way to track my finances. I do the cash envelopes and write all expenses down, but I feel I can improve on it with another method. Just trying different ways to find the one I like the best. Thanks for the encouraging post! I was laughing at the camera in the shower!!  

I am loving that security camera story!  It is amazing what we see on our cameras.  This current world where my stuff seems to be free for the taking is not comfortable.  We are fortunate that we have had little of that in our immediate neighborhood.

Our utility bill spiked up so we started looking at why.  They had implemented peak hours and they started with this bill.  Yesterday we reset our water heater timer so that it will not be on during those peak hours.  We are thinking about the winter peak hours when we will need to consider when we turn the heat back up in the morning.  

Our holiday meals are very basic foods.  I will be looking for sales and begin to stock those foods so we are prepared.  We like to make plenty on Thanksgiving so that we can freeze turkey, stuffing and gravy in packages do we can have that favorite meal for several months.

Our beloved next door neighbor lost his long battle with cancer yesterday.  I was glad to be able to go in the kitchen and prepare food for his family without having to go to the store yesterday.  That is a huge benefit of a well stocked pantry.

Looking forward to all the comments!

We have been to the Memorial Hall, built to honour the men from the mining village who died in the Great War, for a film show this afternoon. We had a cup of tea and biscuits included in the price, and because many of the audience were senior citizens, there was an interval half way through the film. We were asked if the sound was too loud or not loud enough. There were no advertisements. I took my knitting and got a few rows done while we were waiting. It was an enjoyable film called The Duke, both sad and funny, based on real events. It was about one man’s campaign to make the BBC television licence free for impoverished and lonely old people and war veterans. 

The Memorial Hall and our Community Centre will be important warm centres for people to gather again this winter. Last year it was because the gas and electricity costs went up a lot, quite suddenly, and many old people were frightened of going into debt. This month the new Government has withdrawn the heating allowance which all state pensioners get, to try to give it just to those in most need. It is going to take a lot of sorting out, and the temperatures are falling and the bills are set to rise again. 

I haven’t seen many insects this year, it has been particularly wet and chilly. The various bumble bees are on the last blooms of the lavender, and the honey bees have started on the nectar from the ivy flowers.

I had a good laugh over your reaction to Charles wanting to delete the shower camera footage.

I have a new tip from you thank you. I never thought to record the food items and non food purchases as separate entries in my recording. I have often said to Ken " most of this week's grocery bill is not things we can eat". This will be most interesting.

Christmas in NZ is Summer time.

For years we had open home at Christmas time and such joy was had. After Dan died we just couldn't do it so we began a new tradition of going to our daughters home and it was the best relaxed thing to do. Since we begun that our daughter and husband have had 3 boys and joy has come back. We share food prep. They do mains...  Usually roast lamb as they own 30 acres and run stock, salads and new boiled potatoes.  We do dessert..... Trifle, pavlova, fruit salad, jelly,cheesecake. I want to say I make us, our son in law and landlord and sometimes others a Christmas fruit cake each year however the dried fruit has become so expensive so to get around this I start buying 1 packet of what I'll need each week for about 3 months before I need to make the cakes. I don't have my cakes." Maturing" for months ahead of consumption.

I have been doing online grocery shopping from our local supermarket off and on for about 9 years. I have found that when I do go into the supermarket I take cash however for me shopping online us a great help to stay within my budget and I can zap in and out to pick up my grocery order from outdoor lockers. It isn't about temptation for me going into the supermarket it's about too many people and wanting to stay in budget. As you said in the beginning of your post Donna " to be flexible so we can remain steady"

I'm about to iron, but I had to reply about the spider names.  You guys choose such normal names.   Around here, every spider larger than my thumb nail is Aragog.  That was Hagrid's ginormous spider friend in Harry Potter!  Hagrid was a giant and Aragog was the size of a compact car!!  My husband laughs at me.  But I know this...if he tells me that Aragog is near my hydrangeas, I'm not going near them lol!!!

My granddaughter and I were out in our back "yard" looking around. We are surrounded by corn fields so I call it a yard. Anyway she found one of those  spiders among some corn stalks on the edge of the field. She was amazed. Really amazed when a grasshopper hopped into the web and was quickly surrounded by the spider enclosing it in netting. I always called those garden spiders. I don't think that is technical though.

Naming the spider reminded me of when my youngest dd was 3 and saw two spiders on the kitchen ceiling.  She started screaming and I told her to stop she was frightening Herman and Henry.  She looked at me like I was crazy, but I explained that they needed a place to live too, and she was scaring them.  We were about to leave for vacation, and I didn't want to take time to climb up and deal with them.  Turned out she talked about those spiders constantly and that was the first thing she told her grandparents when we arrived at their home.  They were the daddy longlegs type of spider which do not bother me.  

My budget book is very simple -- a three-ring binder with notebook paper.  My categories are income, auto, clothing, food, housing, medical, miscellaneous, tithe, savings and utilities.  I throw anything not in another category into miscellaneous.  If I purchase miscellaneous items and food at Walmart, I will separate the items for the budget book.  I also have a 13-column spreadsheet that I transfer monthly totals to and add down for each month and across at the end of the year.  The annual total is what I base the next year's budget on.  One year I came within $4 of accounting for every penny but 2023 I was off by $12.  Auto includes gas, oil changes, repairs, license and insurance.  Housing includes taxes, insurance, repairs, mowing and snow removal.  I eliminated insurance as a category because it is deceptive if not included in the relevant category.  I also put medical insurance into the medical category along with all out-of-pocket medical expenses.  Do whatever works for you.  This makes sense for me, and I've been doing this for too many years to recall.

I have a plentiful pantry and I've been making changes.  I'm only buying macaroni, spaghetti and spiral pasta going forward.  I have a supply of other varieties but when those are gone, they will not be replaced.  Since I'm alone, I don't eat a lot of jam/jelly so I'm buying only small jars in the future even if the cost is more.  Otherwise, it gets nasty before it is used up.  Cake mixes will be devil's food, yellow, white and angel food.  I do not need 15 different varieties on-hand, nor do I need 15 cake mixes PERIOD.  I think it is important to review habits regularly to make sure they are still working for you.  Like I need to stop buying books and use the library more!  Well, I'm only buying used books these days, so I've already taken a step in the right direction.

LOL on keeping the footage of Charles' shower!  

I do not like Henry.  ;)

I was also wishing I could find one hobbyish thing to do. I've been searching for one.  I'm impatient, so it needs to be a small project. And I don't feel like I'm good at much anymore. I used to be so crafty and rather good at it, but I've lost that.  I have sewing machine, I have embroidery, although the latter I have arthritis in my fingers and would need two pairs of readers, lol. I Just keep searching for a hobby I like. I love rearranging furniture, but all our stuff is big and heavy, like armoire's and entertainment units, so that's out, which is a huge, huge bummer.  In northern Tucson AZ, it's still really hot, so I'm waiting for it to cool off.  I do better mentally if it's colder.  I need to get a handle on my grocery bill for sure, but we live so far out that I tend to stock-pile. My husband isn't much for being thrifty, so I have to do it on my own. On a good note, I have 1/2 car payment left then my vehicle is paid off, which means debt free completely! 

Grandma Donna, thank you for all you inspiring posts, I look forward to them so much.

I do not have anything to add regarding the new series of All Creatures Great and Small, but have a little tidbit about the ending of the last series. In a final scene James and Helen are standing outside of Skeldale House wearing coats, all wrapped up for winter, snowing is falling.

In reality it was summer when they were filming and temperatures were over 90f. I know this because I have a friend who lives in the area. 

I am a transplanted Brit, now living in Texas, I lived in West Yorkshire UK, for many years where the series is filmed and that area is so beautiful. 

I also borrowed, from my local library, an audio book of the original All Creatures books, read by Nicholas Ralph ( James in the show), it was really good, so relaxing. About 52 chapters I think so it took two or three borrow periods to finish! You might enjoy checking it out from your library.  

Very best wishes to you and your family.

Pam in Texas.x

Temperatures in my area here in Germany have dropped significantly, and I love it! I am not made for hot weather, now I feel more lively and enterprising. Autumn is my favorite season. The chestnuts started falling, I can never withstand to pick some up. They are so wonderful smooth and shiny. It is that time of the year for tea and candles. The leaves will turn red and yellow. I canˋt get enough of it every year again.
I am thinking how and where I can store apples in the house. Not in the same room with potatoes, and the place should be cool and dark. My vegetable boxes are regional and saisonal, in October one of them begins to pause until April next year, the other one delivers only every two weeks in Winter and nothing in January. Last winter I ordered vegetables and fruits from a local delivery service, now they charge a fee for every box. I understand that, it is not that much but.. We will have more expenses from October on, and I have to make decisions. 
I don‘t like spiders but I can live with the thin, small ones in our bathroom. I give them old fashioned names like Helga or Waltraud. 
In November I will get storage potatoes and onions and fresh kale. Five kilos kale to wash, chop and blanch and freeze at the end. The day before Christmas I will cook it together with my sister in law. Kale for Christmas dinner is a tradition in my and my husband‘s family. It is great to see that this tradition lives on with our children. 
The camera story made me laugh, thanks for sharing :)

Good Morning, 

Spring is a rather short shoulder season here in Queensland, Australia. We will most likely be into the hot weather within the next few weeks and that will carry all the way through until Easter. 

We tend to switch over to eating salads with meals instead of cooked vegetables once the heat starts and we cook outside on the bbq often to keep the heat out of the house. 

I kept notes about what we liked and how much we ate last year at Christmas to avoid excessive spending and waste (I actually wrote this on the next year's calendar under December). This year our Christmas lunch will be a baked ham, Mooloolaba prawns, potato bake, caesar salad, pavlova, rocky road and a tray of Bowen mangoes. Christmas breakfast is always baked croissants with ham, tomato and Swiss cheese. 

My favourite part of Christmas is Boxing Day and eating mangoes and leftover ham while watching the cricket. 

Grandma Donna wrote, 

Belva J, Charlotte is a good name, nobody would want to harm Charlotte. :)

Glenda H.2  We all need a system made for each of our needs.  It is what works for you.  I had to separate mine like I have them because this is how my brain works.  Took six weeks to get it to this point.  The ledgers are made by staples and these are called a single ledger.  I will try to show more about these on another day and show more about them. :)

Joan S, Yes! that is the name I could not remember, a banana spider and I did not know it is a female, I guess we could still call her Henry.  She is pretty but scary as heck. You are on the right track to getting out of debt before retirement.  I had read to live on social security income for at least one year to get the feel of it and iron out the issues and this is what we are doing now.  Your meals sound very similar to the type of food we eat for holidays and good idea to not buy the disposables and this will save money on the food bill.

Michelle L, Lol, good simple standard name Bob! you just don't know what Bob might do. Lol  You have quite a situation, maybe you could take one class t make your degree more recent?  Just a thought.

Lana D, Thank you for telling about the utility bill.  That made me look into peak hours and found out that Madge's house does have peak hours.  We are not use to her power company. Those KWH up there are already twice the cost per kwh as they are here in our city. So everyone beware they can sneak those increases in on you if you are not looking.  Lana, my condolences for the loss of your neighbor. 

Janet W, Your film show, tea and biscuits sound so nice.  That is sad that the government withdrew the heating allowances.  My dear friend Rhonda Hetzel reminded me of the electric blanket which can be used at night or day or both to stay warm and saves on heating costs. 

Karen S, I am enjoying keeping up with the cost of each grocery item and what we spent on each item.  Now I know exactly how much was spent on household as well and pets also.  Another good idea about 1 packet of what you need for those fruit cakes, start purchasing them three months ahead. If we keep trying and sharing here in the forum we can keep getting ideas so we can stay within budget.

Debby B, My friend Catherine would love your spider names.  I must give her a call and tell her your names. Catherine is having a set back with cancer and this will cheer her up.  She is older but loves Harry Potter. 

Nancy B, I wish y yard was surrounded by corn fieds! That grasshopper most likely never got out of that web. 

Ann W, You got that right!  I have to name things that I am afraid of so they don't seem so scary.  I also name people or things for other reasons.  We had a young man that every morning drove by on his loud motorcycle and would rev his motor as he came around our curve in the road.  It was so loud and I had to think of a way to not be bothered by it so I named him Robby and pretended that he was my grandson and at first I would scold him and say Robby, you know not to act like that.  Then I started not being bothered so much and I would think as I heard him coming here comes Robby, he must be going to work.  He also did the same in late afternoon. I got to where I did not bother me at all since he was my pretend grandson.  One day I noticed that Robby did not come by anymore.  I guess Robby got a new job. It sounds like you have a very good budget system and you are right about don't have more than you will use.

Ann E, I feel I am not on top of my skill as I use to be.  Instead of getting rid of my craft tools I will package them nicely and when I am gone from this earth someone can use them, sell them or donate them all clean and boxed.  Congratulations on getting that car paid off very soon!

Pam T, We have watched that last episode 3 times now because we watched all 4 seasons on our DVDs.  It is the only thing we watch other than some youtube videos to learn things.

Petra B, Oh my they charge per box on delivery, that is not nice since it did not cost before.  I like your spider names too. I am going to plant some kale and swiss chard this week.  This is good you will have some greens in the freezer.  I like how you order certain things per month when it is the season to stock up. 

Michelle K, I like that you keep notes about what you like and how much you ate, this is a great idea to share here in the forum. 

Thank you all for your comments this far. Donna

I am very lucky to live in a small flat for older people in the U.K. I live very near the sea with most things I need easy to get to. I pay for my electricity and water in with my rent ( I don’t have to pay actual rent or council tax now I am retired and get pension credit).       I pay only for my utilities.. my heating is fuelled by electricity and altogether I pay £30 a week . This is because it is social housing. We have a good communal laundry which is included in our services. I will get fuel allowance this year as all pension credit receivers do. I do think that more pensioners should get the payment but there has to be an income cut off point in order to be fair.

I am vegetarian so I usually make a delicious homemade veggie roast that I share with any visitors or take with me if I am with one of my 4 children at their home at Christmas . I have an allotment that provides fruit and vegetables most of the warm seasons… make jam etc. I think not using meat / fish etc probably keeps my food bill down. I spend under £50 a week . 
My big expense ( and she is worth every Penny ) is my Maltese dog. Her insurance is now £50 a month and she’s only 2. 
groomer is £45 a month and her food is expensive too ! 
my freezer is often full of yellow sticker / prepped veggies from allotment… we share and swap produce amongst us .I didn’t have a lot of money while bringing up my children and had to be frugal to survive and  although I am supposedly one of the poorest pensioners I am coping quite well and happy in my simple life. The secret is to be content with what you have , make do and mend and use your time well as it seems to go faster the older you get lol !

In October I begin stockpiling for holiday meals.  I plan these meals ahead and then buy items as they come up on sale or figure out how to make them less expensively here at home.  My husband dreams of purchasing one of those ready-prepared holiday meals that you pick up the day before the holiday.  I am always shocked at the costs of even a small meal and disappointed at the lack of pizazz in them, too!   I'd much prefer to make my own meals at home.  

I do cook differently come cooler months.  Where in summer we tend to have a salad night with a main dish salad, I lean towards a soup night.  Soup is such a good inexpensive meal!  I also like to make heartier slower cooked meals.  However, I find myself more and more leaning on ground beef and chicken, those good old staples for lower-cost proteins.  As well as good rice and bean combinations.  

While we don't garden I try to rely on seasonal vegetables that are lower priced so we'll eat less lettuce this time of year and start eating more greens, carrots, onions, cabbage, etc.  And we'll eat lots of citrus and apples.

It is starting to ease into Fall where I am, which means I need to start winterizing. The lawn mower has been stowed, the hoses have been rolled up and the sprinklers put away. I haven't put away the air conditioner, because I'm sure there will be some latent hot days. I'm also switching the clothes to winter clothes and bringing out the comforters and quilts. 

I like the idea of journaling lessons learned after each season. I may have to give it a try! 

Hello Donna,  I try to catch a visit with you as I can; always a joy to read what you and Charles are about doing. Here in south Arkansas we are still running the ac, it is hot, dry and humid. Our garden produced tomatoes, butternut squash and okra. As with many, the last several years our garden has struggled greatly.  The Lord has had me meditate on Habakkuk 3:17-19 and Psalm 118. Both say to praise, they speak of God's goodness and faithfulness, and  a will to praise and rejoice. In Psalm 118 the verse, "This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it."  Is a daily choice I have had to make myself repeat.  The words  this and is are present tense, so it is daily that I will myself to rejoice and be glad in it. Finding the glad is a challenge but not impossible. I have had to look deep many days. It is a growing lesson and I am thankful for being schooled in such a way.  And it will be the same for when winter comes. We do not seem to have 4 seasons but only two  ").  

Thank you for the work, time effort you and Charles give in sharing all you do. Praying wellness, blessing, strength, peace, love and joy in all your days and they are productive. 

In Joy

Hello GDonna. I must say I had a good laugh about the security camera shower! :) Henry is quite the spider, I remember those from my childhood.Fall will be arriving next week here in NC so hopefully we will have a welcome reprieve from the hot, humid summer weather. Our menu during the cooler months consists of  lots of different soups and slow cooker meals. We eat beans and rice as well which is filling and budget friendly. Our holiday meals are the traditional turkey meal for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas. I am buying the items for those meals now so that is one thing off my list. You have inspired me with your budget books so my project this month is to make one. Have a blessed week.

Ha ha, the idea of you running back into the house before Charles could delete the footage made me smile :-)

Here in the Uk we are into autumn but with some very mild temperatures at the moment, it’s 23c today with clear blue skies and light winds so perfect for drying all the blankets and throws that I’m washing ahead of the winter months. We live in the rural east of England, in an area known as the bread basket of the UK and the farmers have had a busy few weeks getting the cereal crops harvested and the straw left baled up for animal bedding. It makes me want to follow their lead and get everything in & ready for the colder months to come although we don’t have the extremes in temperature that many others do.

I’m now moving away from the lighter meals of salads etc into more comfort food, such as stews, soups, toad in the hole, cottage pie etc. The root vegetables will shortly be coming into season so will feature heavily in my meals as they are cheap and fill you up.

Lastly but no means least yes to a new series of All Creatures Great, it starts this Thursday and I for one can’t wait!

Love and appreciate your posts. Always excited when I am notified there’s a new one. Thanks for your hard work 

I have one of those garden spiders that spins its web in the frame of my entry door.  I have to put up a sign for people to leave it alone.... they think they are doing me a favor by removing the web. I like to keep it there because it is close to the outdoor light. The light draws bugs at night when I am outside with the dog. The web catches the bugs and it is helping both the spider and myself, the spider eats and I don't get bugs in my house....win-win.

Our summer temps are still here and it is so dry and dusty, I am cutting back and removing spent plant tops. It makes me sad to see them go but Fall has beauty of its own.

Still eating lots of salads but have slowly added in more "cooked" foods. I eat a lot of baked potatoes, topped with whatever, sometimes just sauteed veggies sometimes veggies sauteed with a bit of meat. Served with a nice green salad it makes a nice, filling, colorful meal.  Potatoes are filling, good for you and at this time one of the cheaper foods.

Thank you GDonna for the shower story! Tell Charles to keep it clean LOL

JC

Hello Michelle,

 I was home for about thirty years with kids, too.

May I suggest a cover letter explaining how your skills were improved, or perhaps adding your volunteer work to your resume?

Blessings from southern Missouri,

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Donna dear,

 My husband switched our cell service to PureTalk a few years ago. We pay about $50 a month for two cells and 3 g of data each.

It is a very good price in our area.

God bless you!

Laura Lane

Grandma Donna Wrote,  I just want to let you all know I am reading each comment, thank you all for participating in the forum, I love reading your comments and we are all learning so much!  

I haven't had time to respond today but have been popping in to read and keep up.  Charles has become allergic to insects and has had two trips to the doctor since February this  year from bug bites. The first one in February was a mystery bite, then in May, another trip to doctor from a wasp sting and was treated for a serious reaction and now has to carry epi pens. He has never been allergic to anything before.   Today he had another insect bite and started reacting right away but we do not know what from but it "was not" Henry! Lol,  I started him on double dose of Benadryl right away as per doctors instructions from last time we went in, also sprayed Benadryl on bite site as well and we did not have to make a trip to the doctor or ER this time. He has been resting, I have been watching him like a Hawk!  Hives have gone away now and his skin has returned to normal color.  Whew!  I have my trusty bedside flashlight under my pillow and I will check on him off and on during the night.  Thank you Laura for that information.  Donna

oh dear Donna! Such a worry when a family member has a severe allergy. My daughter carries benadryl and an epi pen also, though for another kind of allergy than bug bites . I have developed some kind of reaction to mosquito bites that I used to not have. Now when I get bit I get huge lumps that take days or weeks to go away. Fortunately,  it hasn't affected me in any other way. 

In a discussion once with my doctor he told me it's possible to develop an allergy at any age. He had a patient develop a shellfish allergy in his 60s.

Oh Donna. That's no good about Charles but am glad he's much improved. I have thought if maybe people get poisons through insect bites because of all the spraying that goes on the foods these days and insects still eat the plants etc. My personal thoughts are there never used to be as many cancers until the commercial food growers began pouring that poison everywhere for pest control.

On another topic. I found a You Tube video I had saved a long time back. It is delightful and is called:. Women of These Hills - 3 cultures of Appalachia....2000 . It has been very interesting to hear the women speak of how they were raised and I learnt a lot from what they said.   Compared to past generations we are not living even now like they did. The first lady they had no water in the house. One big downstairs room and they slept up in the attic, her mother hand made (hand sewed) all the families clothing AND wove beautiful baskets. Praise the Lord TV had not been invented then. We can learn many ways from watching and reading the survival stories from the past 

.

Hello Grandma Donna

We live in the UK and also love All Creatures Great and Small. Our eldest daughter is a vet and my goodness science has moved on! 

You might like to know that the same people who created it have made a new drama called The Hardacres which will be airing soon. The trailers say that if you like ACG & S you will like this drama too. It's also set in Yorkshire. I take it to mean that it will be gentle and decent, no vulgarity, violence etc. I can't fully recommend it until I have seen some of it but will let you know in due course.

Thank you for your grounded and interesting thoughts.

Thank you so much for thinking of me!!  I actually do have all that on there, sigh. I actually ran the front desk of the police dept and managed a ton of paperwork on top of that while volunteering. I also substituted, ran reading testing and lunch times as a volunteer at my kids schools until high school (hence the next being police dept). Apparently AI is filtering resumes. On top of which, on several electric applications, it actually asked me if I "had reached my 16th birthday but not my 40th" which I am so confused how that is allowed to be asked due to it is clearly an age filter? I also have gone into businesses to look them in the eye and shake hands and ask if they are hiring and was told to "go online, we don't handle that here" and my son had the same issue in high school when I told him to do that as well. I am not fool enough to think I can restart where I left off but struggling to find a low minimum wage job, which kicks me for having a college degree, is insane. I even tried to doctor up the whole stay at home mom time. It will work out somehow. Until then I will keep trying and looking into refreshing my skills (I actually created a website for my friend's company and do the book keeping, but I got it so organized it doesn't take me long each month! I streamlined my own position. Yes, he pays but it ends up being 150.00 a month) and yes, it's on the resume. lol. Thanks for your kind response!

Karen, there's an excellent movie called The Dollmaker on YouTube.  I believe the family is from Appalachia.  It stars Jane Fonda BUT even if you're not a fan, give her a chance in this.  She knocked it out of the park in this movie.  She's a thrifty and skilled woman living a very hard life.  I was captivated and found myself rooting for her.  I highly recommend it.

Thanks very much Debby B. I'll have a look. TV here is rubbish and WOW immoral stuff and Im grateful for the recommendation. You Tube does have some good resources. 

We've gone back to paying cash for groceries, as that's the easiest way for me to keep track of what I'm spending.  Grocery prices here in Australia are astounding - seems each week, the prices have gone up.  I shopped yesterday, first stop was a "fruit and veg" shop that caters to all the ethnic population in our area.  A net bag of oranges (3 kilos so roughly 6 pounds) was 4$.  I didn't grab it as I was low on cash and needed an ATM.  My next stop at a more traditional grocery store, the same amount of oranges was priced 8.90$.  I really worry about people who are struggling in all the countries where prices are out of control.  Husband and I are in transition to retirement so we are dialing back spending and making changes.  My project is to utilise garden space and grow vegetables we like, so I'm studying up on all that.  It's crazy. 

I’ve love reading everyone’s comments in the forum! I check it in the evenings after the kids are tucked in bed. It’s been really insightful and helpful. I am 38 stay at home mom, homeschooling two 7th graders and a 1st grader and another baby due in 6 weeks. It’s a busy season. I am trying to stock my pantry/keep a good handle on our budget/prepare for a new baby/educate young men. Seems like something is always coming up for repairs but that is part of life. Thankful we have the resources for those repairs. I am thankful we are able to make it work on just my husband’s income so I can be home with our children and homeschool them. Anyway just wanted to comment :)

I’m so sorry to hear about Charles’ allergic reaction. Trusting he is doing all better in the morning. 
I haven’t seen the new or old All Creatures Great and Small but I grew up reading the books and my mom would read them out loud to us. Love them
I’ve been watching “Great Depression Cooking with Clara” on YouTube. And lots of fall garden informational videos as I feel I need to tuck everything in for winter season before my new baby arrives. 

Grandma Donna wrote, I just want to say that I am enjoying reading your comments and your conversations back and forth with each other.  Charles is doing well from his bug bite, we got on this one right away with Benadryl, cold packs and had epi pen ready just in case but thankfully he started responding to the Benadryl quickly this time.  He is back to normal now.

You all have so much common sense and this is so encouraging to get different perspectives, and read about what is going on in your lives and how you do things.  Donna

GDonna - now with live cam! :D

That was a good one.

It has been a chilly 13°C today. The central heating came on for a while this morning as the thermostat is set at 17°C. Breakfast was the usual hot porridge with evaporated milk, half a banana and mixed seeds, home made kefir, and half an orange each. 

 I wrapped up well to walk the elderly dog round the park this afternoon, there was a break in the week of rain. A pot of tea and a slice of cake were most welcome when we got back. I had a mug of thick lentil and vegetable soup, with bacon, egg, tomato and homemade bread for dinner tonight. DH was at the local football match, he gets a free ticket because he is one of the team of helpers. 

Soup and stews with plenty of seasonal British vegetables and pulses, will be our regular hot meals, with a small meat joint, pot roasted for Sunday. We use WW2 ration quantities and our meat ration is £3 each a week, and four ounces of bacon or ham. We have a good store of apples for puddings, sliced, stewed, baked, or in a crumble

There aren’t any special meals until Christmas, though we do have pork sausages and mashed potatoes (bangers and mash,) on Bonfire Night, the fifth of November. 

We keep Christmas and Christmas food as simple as possible, pretty much like a normal Sunday lunch for the two of us, a small beef joint or a roast chicken with seasonal vegetables, Christmas pudding and custard. I don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, or spend the day watching TV, though we would not miss The King’s Christmas Speech.

I have come to bed early with a rubber hot water bottle in its cover. I have my warm pyjamas, socks, the thick feather duvet, and a wool rug for a shawl to keep warm while I read. I have my flask of tea. 

Janet W.,

Your entire post sounds so warm and cozy!

Hello ladies,

 I don't know if you like audiobooks, but I just found the audiobook on YouTube for free.

I know I'm really late in responding to this post, but I have to say the camera story is very funny. One thing we stock is bentonite clay for use on bites, scrapes and anything that needs attention. It's uses seem endless. I have used them on bites and hives very well. It's all natural that's the best part. Horses used to roll in the clay if they had a problem I found out. We have those spiders here too. There's one that keeps making his web on my garden gate latch. We have a deal that he will let me in without issues as long as he doesn't bite me or anyone else. Recently our garage door was just covered in these huge spiders that appeared overnight. I can't remember what they were called, but we identified them and within a couple days they were gone. It's as if they were drifters and found a good spot to stay for the weekend. I have never seen a candle holder like that one before, but we read in a book about them and not they look just as we had imagined.

I just thought of the series of Foxfire books.  I bought them for my dad as they came out and when he passed my mother gave them back to me.  I have the first six and then nine.  Not sure what happened to seven and eight!  

These books are stories recorded by high school students from older people in Appalachia.  I haven't read them in years, but maybe now would be a good time to do so.  

Studying previous generations can give us insight into how hard life can be and doing so can make us very thankful for all we have instead of thinking about what we don't have.  It also can give good perspective between needs and wants.