Self Sufficient

Hello Friends,

I am happy to report my garden is doing well.  I can see changes in the rate of growth. The tomatoes are done, the peppers are there but small, and the sunflowers are almost ready to harvest.  With the cooler weather the plants naturally wain. I have just begun my self sufficient trek so I will allow it all to go for the winter.  Most homesteaders plant a fall and winter garden with row covers and cold frames. I did a cold frame one winter that was mild using old windows from the house. (I love to re purpose things.) However, this year will be different. More thought is going to my my planning, soil, and plants. My research is ongoing so I will take some time and replant next spring.  I freeze most of my foods that I have grown. Its easy for me and I need the freezer full so it runs less thereby saving energy. I have a smaller refrigerator now. Before I had two large refrigerators with freezer attached. Now I'm down to a side by side fridge in the kitchen and full size freezer in the basement. I have a food dehydrator and have used is for tomatoes. They taste like sun-dried tomatoes. I will use it again for beef jerky and dried apples for snacking. Canning is a problem at the moment because my electric stove has a glass cook top and the weight of the canner with all the water will be too much for it to hold. So canning will wait till I have a single burner to rest it on.

I have been enjoying my time here at the house, researching sewing, growing/preserving food and caring for the property. I have a lot to be proud of.  My research in homesteading is paying off by being more prepared to handle whatever the future brings with little waste of money and resources. Getting away from big agriculture, learning the process of raising crops and preserve what I have grown is the best way for me to care for myself and my family.  Its sad to see how animals are treated in food processing plants. and the way vegetables are altered giving us little nutrients for what we consume and the high cost of all of them. I wanted to create a more satisfying way of living and am getting there day by day. So I invest my time and efforts in to being self sufficient. Also, we all are used to a disposable lifestyle, I am too. But for me... I had the desire to learn to use less disposable materials keeping most things in glass containers, using cloth napkins and dish towels instead of paper. I reuse plastic storage bags as many times as I can by washing them out. The exception to this is the bags that held meats. They are tossed after each use.  It's these little things that help the environment and our wallets. It takes some getting used to but is easy once you have the mind set of conservation. We recycle almost all of our plastics, paper and metals. What cannot be picked up by the town will be taken to either the metal recycling plant once a year or repurposed if possible. My good friend Ingrid Justic has helped me see how convenient all these things listed in my blog are to do. It just takes awareness and the willingness to try. She has truly helped me to learn how to go natural with everything. I knew of all this before I met Ingrid, but I never used the knowledge in my everyday living. I thank her here and I will thank her in person the next time I see her.

To continue my path to self sufficiency I will be buying solar panels and learning to use them as soon as finances allow. They are much cheaper now and easier to use than ever before.  I long for a wood stove but fitting it in my house is a problem. Its just too tiny to fit one. The money you save heating with wood is so great your wallet will be closed almost permanently. Wood is hard to cut without a log splitter, but for around $1800 you can get a good gas powered one and split 10 cords over a summer with little effort. Wood is $200 per cord pre-cut, but if you team up with a tree trimming company your can get it for free. Make sure you have a place to cut and store the wood and you are set. Our house is secure for winter heating though. We have saved up and added a large electric hot water heater (Thanks to our good friend Orlando and My husband Tom)  to off set the oil bill which can be upwards of $800 per fill 3-4 times per year. Also on hand is the kerosene heater for power outages, and to supplement heat where ever we need it.  I will never give up my hair dryer or my dishwasher or my washer and dryer for the laundry. So if your are thinking I will live like an Amish person your are completely out of your mind.  However, going "off the grid" never really meant that lifestyle anyway.  Self sufficient means you can live without those things and can care for your self without needing everything prepackaged, and delivered to your door. Breaking free from the high bills of the energy companies, using solar power, keeping more of what you earn, and for the love, the joy and pride of doing it yourself.  That is where its at for most homesteaders.  I am getting there. I enjoy the work.  Do what you can to save the earth for your children.  We all have a responsibility to our future.

Blessing to you all.

Suz

Clearing out the closet and finding $$$

Hello Friends,

I am still going through all my stuff in the house and organizing everything.  I want to be certain of what I have on hand so I don't repurchase items I already own but didn't know.  This is the most frugal way to save space, money and time. Keeping organized will also keep your mind at ease because things are neat and orderly, you aren't visually bombarded by stuff. This will help you feel more comfortable in your surroundings. Having to clean out old stuff from my house made me think about what I was going to do with what I found and so I decided to return items that I bought but never used to put the cash back in my pocket.  Returning past purchases is the best motivation I can conjure up to even start cleaning out the garage. 

Think about the items that you bought in the past year that are still sitting in their original box, still have the tags on or at least appear resell-able. You most likely aren't going to use it if you haven't already. Don't hang on to it for that "someday when I get around to it."  Bring it back to the store where you bought it even if you can't find the receipt. Most stores will give you cash back with a receipt, but if you don't have one then you can at least get a store credit. Some stores, like Wal-Mart, and Home Depot have easy return policies that allow you to return items that cost  $25 or less without a receipt for actual cash. The Home Depot will give you cash for up to $50 if they sell it and if it is not opened.  Or, they can look up your original receipt by swiping your credit card then scanning the item. Money is money so store credit or refund, it's all good! At stricter or smaller stores, the best you can hope for is store credit. But that's ok too if you shop there or can use it right away.  Plan your returns time so you are not waiting on long lines. The best time to go is in the morning any day of the week. Also, plan it around other errands so you are not waiting gas just going to one place.

Well, I'm off to the store. Yes I am returning my findings from the garage. Not sure if it can all go back to the store, but it doesn't hurt to politely ask.

Smiles

Suz

My responsibility to ME

I have been over this and over this in my thoughts. Many times over the years I have had to make tough choices to maintain my balance in life. To create a happy and joyful life for myself ad my family. I have the ability to conduct my life the way I believe is right for me. No one else but me has this ability. I choose how and with whom I spend my time. The places I have chosen to work are all good or great companies. If the energy there changes and it I am no longer fulfilled I can move on.


On Sunday I went to work at my store in Howell. I am a cashier in Home Depot. As soon as the store opened I had customers. Some had large dollar bills with which to pay. I requested change from our bookkeeping and made change. As the morning progressed, I encountered several customer who made small purchases and paid with a $100 bill or a $50 bill. Not uncommon. One of those customers who made a small purchase and paid with a $100 bill I gave change to in the amount of $80 or so dollars, which was comprised of 1 $50 and 1 $20 and 1 $10, I thank him for shopping and he leaves. After many hours working and near the end of my shift my manager tells me that the customer called the store and stated that I gave him a "phony"(counterfeit) $50 bill. He further states that "he knew it was phony when I gave it to him. I tested it with my money tester and it is certainly phony."  The store policy is Customers First. My manager questioned me about it, checked my register drawer, and then walked away. My shift ended and went home. The store manager assured me that I was not in any trouble at all but that the store policy was to please the customer and side with him. Still feeling very upset and concerned that I had been targeted I went home and tried to get it off my mind. I returned to work on Tuesday of this week and was placed at a register near the one I was at on Sunday. at around 10:30 am a customer comes to my register, I greet him, he has about $28 in items to purchase, hands me a $50 bill and says, "You gave this to me the other day, so now I am giving it back to you."  My beliefs are confirmed. He is targeting me. There had been an arrest of a man in my county near this store who passed a counterfeit $50 to a taxi driver and was arrested for it.

This brings me back to my first statement. While I trust the managers word that I am not being accused of laundering counterfeit money, I am responsible for what happens at my register. I have security measures in place and take care to be accurate in my transactions. However, I no longer feel confident that this will not happen again with this customer. I have been un easy since his return on Tuesday and called out sick yesterday. So I am taking charge of my future. I have the ability to request a to be moved to another area in the store, or I can leave and find a new job, or I can just ignore all that has happened and continue on as usual. I no longer feel confident, I no longer feel secure. I have decided to resign. No one will be happy with my choice but I. Most will be upset that I am taking this stance. Experience within this retail industry has shown me what happens to cashiers who mishandle their money till. I could be fired if the store feels I am a risk. I do not want anyone to mar my outstanding customer service history nor will I allow it to unfold to see if this will happen. For me, I see that my spirit has been hurt not only by this customer but others.


I am the only one who is responsible for my happiness. You are the only one who is responsible for your happiness.

Peace
Suz

The celebration is over. What now?

As Christmas draws to a close, take time to reflect on what we have, what we've done, and who we have been over the past 12 months.  Each year I take a moment after the holiday's and check my behavior and attitude to see what kind of person I am.  Am I the kind of person I would like to be with?  Have I done what I wanted to do this past year?  If not, then set out to doing it in the New Year.

What is important to me is giving of myself time and money wise.  Being available personally to my family and friends and taking care of my clients as best I can.  This year I have accomplished most of what I wanted in my life. (With my work not so much)  However, in my time this year I have been able to use all of my powers of love and devotion to heal and be healed.  Not healing like Jesus for those of you who are "Christians" but heal like emotional, mental, loving healing.  To further that I wish to volunteer my free time to help a bigger cause.  I am working on that now.  We will see how it turns out.

What kind of person are you?  Answer that for yourself to see who you really are.  Do you like who you really are?  Change is possible.

Sincerely,
Liking who I really am,
Suz


Suzanne Paquette, Life Coach, Reiki Master

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How do you see your future? Is it full of all that you dream of? Or is it cloudy? Maybe you can't quite see it? Post your feelings on my page and discuss why you think you feel this way.

Love and Light
Suzanne