If reincarnation is real, I was once a Depression era housewife. This is never more clear than during a No Spend Challenge when more time at home allows me to consciously use what I have. I was thinking about this last night while making dinner.
I’m good on a regular day but am more conscious and stricter during a challenge.
Today is January 12 and every meal I have eaten so far this month has been home cooked. I don’t eat out much but this is still good for me because it’s so easy to order lunch when I don’t feel like packing.
Last night I found a couple of random things from the freezer that I turned into a good meal. While that was cooking, I decided to face the music and do something with three sad overripe bananas that had been staring at me. I ultimately turned them into some delicious muffins to freeze for future enjoyment.
I have a basic banana muffin recipe but don’t especially like banana flavored stuff so I doctor them up. Every batch is an experiment. Adam likes them so at least one other person finds them enjoyable! Last night’s batch included peanut butter, blueberries and dark chocolate chunks. Best of all, I know exactly what goes in them – flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, butter, salt, and egg – a far cry from the ingredients list on store bought muffins and certainly better than a box mix.
There are lots of things I do that I take for granted but others seem to think odd. For example, I try to use up what I have. Things that others throw away without thought always get some attention from me.
For example, I use the heal of a loaf of bread. If it’s for a sandwich, I turn the end part to the inside of the sandwich to address the texture issue some have. Sometimes I will toast it and put it on a plate with an egg over easy on top. Odds and ends of excess bread might get turned into a french toast casserole.
When nearing the end of a jar of peanut butter or spaghetti sauce, I’ll use a silicone scraper to use up as much as possible. If you cut off the end of the toothpaste tube, you’ll find several more brushes worth of toothpaste that you just can’t squeeze out. Just hold onto the piece you cut off to slip over the end of the tube.The same goes for things like lotion, face wash and shampoo.
I lean into leftovers because they are great for lunches, easily frozen for later, and often delicious when turned into something else. For example, leftover mashed potatoes are great potato cakes and random vegetables are perfect for stir fry or quiche.
I also use the freezer liberally. It’s impossible to make a small pot of soup so I lean into the excess, freezing one or two servings per package for later. I like peppers, onions and mushrooms in omelettes and on pizza. Extras of these items get added to a bag in the freezer for future use. I do the same with carrots and celery for soups. I rarely have at risk fruits but, when I do, they go in baked goods like last night’s muffins or they get frozen.
Odds and ends can often be stretched into multiple delicious meals.
What’s left, the actual waste, either gets composted or just tossed into the edge of the woods for opossums and other hungry creatures to find.
Food and product waste is truly disturbing to me. After all, some farmer expended much energy and money to grow the produce. Some factory did the same to make the toothpaste or a jar of spaghetti sauce. Some trucker drove miles across the country to get these things to the store for me to take the time to drive to the store, find and drag home. That’s a lot of money, time and energy. Throwing away what can still be used is nothing less than wasteful.
My No Spend Months are often tidier times in my world. I suddenly stop leaving dishes in the sink overnight. My living room is nice and tidy. Even my home office is neater. Every day feels easier to declutter. Taking care of what I own feels more important than acquiring more.
For the last ten days, I have been in a constant state of preparation for a power outage. When you live in the hills where there are more trees than you could ever count and the winter wind and a foot of snow put you at risk of downed power lines, you learn to be ready. We have been lucky though and I’m grateful. Still, I have my indoor tent ready to go if there’s no heat. Plus, there’s plenty of water ready for drinking, flushing and cleaning – important when you need electric to operate your well. I have also been prepared with food that is good eaten cold or that will cook quickly on the grill.
I’m not a prepper per se but I am always prepared within reason for whatever comes my way. In other words, I keep myself in a place that I never have to go to the store if I don’t want to and that a winter storm won’t be catastrophic.
None of this is outlandish to me but people act like I’m odd because I don’t like waste and see value in things others consider trash. This world is just too disposable for my taste.
I have these tendencies anyway but the skills and attention are sharpened during a challenge. Today, I will inventory the fridge and come up with a game plan for food that needs used up this week. I’m hibernating today. There will be no shopping or spending today. I’ll entertain myself with things I already own. I’m excited to have this quiet day to relax and enjoy. I’ll read, do a load of laundry and perhaps take a nap.
It’s day eight of my No Spend Challenge and things are going swimmingly so far.
In case you need a review of the rules, you’ll find that information here. In a nutshell, I pay bills, buy anything that’s a necessity and try to avoid buying things that aren’t actual needs.
Sometimes I feel guilty doing this because I know plenty of people have zero extra dollars and are struggling to keep their kids clothed and fed. Then I remember that I’m not exactly a wasteful person to begin with and that this is a great reminder that life isn’t about spending.
So where are we today?
I filled up my gas tank and bought some basic groceries on December 30 before the challenge started but that means I started out in good shape.
The first week was easy for a couple of reasons.
Basic needs were covered.
I didn’t go anywhere to tempt me.
Work lunches were packed leftovers and the rest of my meals were at home. I stayed off shopping sites that tempt me and deleted marketing emails without reading them. Whatever it is they’re selling, I don’t need it.
In anticipation of this storm we got Sunday and Monday, I did stop at the local grocery for some specific items to help in the event of a power outage: eggs to boil because boiled eggs are good cold, a box of store brand Cheerios because I happened to have milk in the house (also a good cold meal) and a case of water because you can never have too much. It was about $11.
That’s it.
Have I been tempted? You bet I have. I heard an interview with a linguist this weekend and am dying to read his book. It’s not something my local library would ever have and I’m pretty sure I’ll want to own this one anyway. It’s on my list. Maybe I’ll pick it up someday. I’m actively avoiding those people online who film themselves thrifting and show how they style their treasures. I’m not ready for that sort of temptation!
I have paint for my bedroom (this is an anxiety inducing story for another day) and will need to buy some new curtains and possibly a couple of other things to bring the room together. I have pinned ideas on Pinterest but am avoiding online shopping. I want to paint and see how the new shade looks before shopping around for options.
You know, shopping and spending aren’t necessarily a bad thing. I enjoy treating myself and finding just the right treasure to make my home cosy. The part that I have to control is the impulse buy.
One thing that this challenge reminds me of year after year is that purchases can wait and that it’s best to plan. It reminds me that by thinking something through and finding what I really want rather than what’s in front of me now, life can be both less costly and better.
I have done some decluttering this week. I am working on a puzzle, have done some reading, listened to podcasts, and watched a little tv. I got a new walking pad for Christmas and have enjoyed using that while rewatching some “All Creatures Great and Small” in anticipation of the show’s return to PBS on Sunday. In all, it has been a good, happy time.
So, week one is in the books and I made it through without buying any books! I’m sorry if you had money riding on that possibility!
Yesterday was a busy one for Scout. As Mother Nature dumped several inches of snow on our ridgetop home, birds of all kind flocked to our feeders. I worked in my home office, natural light filling the space and setting the stage for a calm day.
But it was not to be.
Scout enthusiastically worked a rotation that involved bird watching in the office window, bird watching from his perch near the back door where he can see two feeders, AND sitting on top of anything I was working on.
He particularly detests the sound of pen to paper so I was reprimanded any time I tried jotting down some notes. Eventually he had to be removed from the office which resulted in him crying woefully to be let back in until he was a jerk again and got put out once more.
Of course, I didn’t take pictures of the bad part. I just want to remember how excited he was to see so many birds today. His wide eyed wonder at the world afresh with snow always makes me happy as well.
I tend to read a healthy mixture of genres in both fiction and nonfiction. These people who read just one genre have my respect but I could never do it because there’s just so much interesting stuff out there. Plus, I’m a moody reader so my tastes can change. Nonfiction is handy when my mind is quiet and able to concentrate. Different fiction genres are reserved for when I wish to just be entertained or when I need a palate cleanser between harder books. Historic fiction has been my favorite for a long time. Photography books and children’s books come in handy for when the mind needs help quieting.
This year, the bookshelf was sparse. I read about half what I would normally read and abandoned at least a dozen books either because they just weren’t for me or because I truly disliked them.
Historic fiction was once my go to fiction category but I have become extremely picky about what I will even consider reading. That’s because there have been some troubling trends in that genre these last several years. The first is that it seems every book cover features a woman facing away from the author. Yes, yes, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but this style choice is often our first clue that the word cookiecutter might be part of our review. The second is that they’re all about ordinary women doing extraordinary things during World War II. It’s like a few of these books performed well and publishers decided to churn out as many as possible without regard to quality. The third trend is that the story starts to drag a little more than half through and you wonder if the author knows how to end the book.
I tell you that to say this: most of my DNF list was World War II historic fiction published in the last two years.
In 2024, I read far less nonfiction than normal but most of those choices were rock solid. Overall I felt rather uninspired by my reading life last year. Yet, when I went to choose my very favorites to share with you, gentle reader, it was hard to pare down to a manageable number. That’s because the books I did enjoy were mostly books I loved.
Without further ado, here are the books I would recommend!
Nonfiction:
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
This true crime book reads like a thriller, telling the story of the world’s most prolific art thief. He pulled off over 200 heists, mostly in broad daylight in museums across several countries. Priceless paintings, sculptures, tapestries, silver pieces and more were expertly whisked away to his sad attic room that resembled the inside of Ali Baba’s cave. He lived in that room with a girlfriend who was a partner in the spree. I did not want this book to end. If you are a lover of fine art, museums, or true crime, this is the book for you.
Come Fly The World by Julia Cooke
The author is a travel writer and daughter of a former Pan Am executive. She gives us a glimpse inside the golden age of travel and the glamorous life of the Pan Am Stewardess by weaving together the stories of actual women who wore the uniform between 1966 and 1975. During those years, these women had to be college educated, speak two languages and be well versed on current affairs. There were age, height and weight requirements too. Often treated like glorified waitresses in the air and perceived in suggestive ways, these women helped to define midcentury air travel. They also were put at risk when Pam Am added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for plane loads of soldiers who were off on five days leave before being flown back to battle in the Vietnam War. What a journey this book takes you on!
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
The woman who brought us Eat, Pray, Love has written several other books including this examination of Eustace Conway who left his comfortable suburban life for twenty years of beautiful, rewarding, harsh and unforgiving living in the Appalachian Mountains. I bought this book on a whim without knowing what was in store. It was shelved in the nature section which seems both appropriate and an odd choice. Regardless, I’m glad it found me. Honestly, this book defies description but it’s a fascinating glimpse into a mind and a life that’s a bit offbeat from what we take for granted today.
The Man From the Train by Bill James and Rebecca McCartthy James
This book is a ruler by which I judge all historic true crime. Oddly enough, Bill James had a career as a baseball writer rather than a crime writer. He read about a series of crimes that occurred in the midwest at the turn of the twentieth century. The worst of them all was in Villisca, Iowa where eight people were murdered by axe in a locked home. The murderer had disappeared into thin air. When the author read about this series of crimes, he was certain there were more. Using modern technology, he pieced together a much larger group of crimes that he believes were committed by the same person and he believes that person traveled and escaped by train. We will never know for sure but this book made a believer out of me.
When Books Went To War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning
It is difficult to describe what this book means to me. It opens in Berlin in 1933 where German college students gathered to burn banned books – books that the government had designated anti-German. Imagine the birthplace of the printing press becoming the crematory for books! It was difficult to stomach. Fast forward to America’s entry to World War II when the War Department and the publishing industry partnered to create a program that put lightweight pocket sized books into the hands of American soldiers. Soldiers carried them into battle and some died with them in their hands. These books connected them to home and inspired them to learn. Men and boys who had never read even one book in their lifetime were suddenly excited to read. Ultimately, this book program led to the creation of the GI Bill and the motivation of an entire generation to better themselves through education and career. I struggled with the book burning but am grateful for the author and the work she put into her research.
Winter’s Song: A Hymn To The North by TD Mischke
The author is a writer, podcaster, former talk radio show host and Minnesota native. This book is his love letter to winter and it is the first book I have read by someone who enjoys the season as much as I do. Of course, his Minnesota winter is far more hardcore than we have in my region of the country. It’s funny, sad and profound and an honest look at the season. He quotes a woman named Nannah who moved from Manilla to Minnesota at the age of 35. When she photographed snow and sent it home to family in Asia she always used the same description “So white, so beautiful, so quiet, so cold.” He wrote “she said she always made sure to include a description of the word quiet, because after each snowfall, that was what struck her most when she stepped outside, the remarkable quiet of the world around her.” It’s a lovely book.
Honorable Mentions: Nonfiction
Courageous Women Of The Vietnam War: Medics, Journalists, Survivors and More by Kathryn J. Atwood (part of the Women of Action series geared toward young women)
Life Makeover by Dominique Sachse
Out of the Forties by Nicholas Lemann
Stories In The Grove by Phil Nuxhall
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer ((ages 10-14 but extremely well researched and told)
Fiction
The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore
This was a much anticipated release last year and I can understand why. It’s the story of a wealthy family, missing children, and secrets that stretch across time from the 1950s until the current day setting in 1975. That’s when a girl goes missing from a summer camp that the family owns. This is a nonlinear telling of the story, meaning that it jumps around a lot. I personally like that kind of story and especially appreciated it in this case. It kept me engaged and guessing from the first page to the last and that’s honestly something I can’t say about most fiction.
Heartwood Hotel: A True Home by Kallie George and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
This chapter book was written for about the 7-10 year old set but I don’t care. It was like a warm blanket and cookie after a long day in the rain. It is the first in a series that follows Mona the Mouse, an orphan who finds her way to the exclusive Heartwood Hotel. This hotel is in a tree in the Fernwood Forest and is a place for all kinds of animals to come together for stays both brief and long and where everyone mostly coexists happily. In fact, the hotel motto is “We live by protect and respect. Not by tooth and claw.” It’s a delightful book that’s well written and beautifully illustrated. It would make a great read aloud book for your family but is awfully nice for us tired grownups who just want to live peacefully among our neighbors. I also read book two in the series and it held up as well. I’m holding on to the next two for a proverbial rainy day.
Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich
This year gave me a new author. A southern writer. A man who is open about once being a middle school drop out. He studies people and loves traditional music. He sees the good in this world and seems to do his part to make up for some of the bad out there. His oral storytelling is second to none. His written storytelling is probably my new favorite as I read his daily essays online. This book was my gateway into his world of fiction. I won’t try to describe it for you other than to say it’s a beautiful story about rich characters and about what brings us together. It’s set in the seventies but the themes are timeless. Do not miss out on this book.
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Two boys go missing in a West Virginia state forest only to reappear six months later with no explanation for where they have been or how they got back. Fifteen years later one has become a reclusive artist with no memory of what happened. The other is a famous missing persons investigator who knows they spent those six months in a magical realm that he can only access again with help from his friend. The two set off on a journey with a woman whose sister went missing in that very forest. What happens next is a magical, awe inspiring fairy tale that makes you want to go find your own portal into a magical land.
Olivetti by Allie Millington
Olivetti is a typewriter who despises books and the laptop computer that has replaced him. But he feels deeply for the family he lives with and about protecting their secrets. That is, until one day he realizes that the code of the typewriter is less important than a member of the family who has gone missing. He knows secrets that can help and begins to speak in the only way he knows how. This is fantasy writing at its best because it doesn’t feel like a fantasy. It feels like it could actually happen and I liked that. By the way, I bought this book for its cover and title. I guess you can sometimes judge a book by its cover after all.
The Women by Kristen Hannah
I actually wrote about this book after I read it. Click here for that story. Meanwhile, I would like to emphasize that this isn’t the absolute best fiction book I read this year. However, it may be the most important. What our men and women endured in Vietnam was unspeakable and the treatment they received when they came home was reprehensible. We owe a debt of gratitude to them but the topic has always been taboo. I was in a store the other day and witnessed a teenager thank a Vietnam veteran for his service and I noticed he stood a little taller after that. It’s important. These women who were nurses deserve to be noticed, thanked and treated just the same as the men but their stories have largely gone untold. I hope this will spark a conversation and inspire more books like it.
Honorable Mentions: Fiction
Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
Nightwoods by Charles Frazier
Saturday Night At The Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb
The Trackers by Charles Frazier
So that’s the cream of the crop. What did you read that you can recommend? I would very much like to know!
With the new year officially here, I’m still seeing a lot of folks talk about their resolutions. As I said earlier this week, I have monthly goals but no real resolutions.
I was thinking about this last night and decided to come up with a list I might be able to work with in 2025. Here it is! And yes, some of it is kind of ridiculous.
Fold clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer (and remove them from the dryer as soon as they’re done).
Take a lunch break of some kind. Every day.
Breathe fresh air for as long as possible. Every day.
Stop buying new pajamas because I promise I don’t really need more.
Read at bedtime.
Stop watching news that is designed to inflame rather than inform.
Come up with a better last minute dinner than breakfast. Really, how many eggs can I eat just because I’m too lazy to microwave a vegetable?
Always, always, always keep a book handy.
Convince my shamrock plant to survive this winter.
Stop stuffing pots and pans into a small cupboard like it’s a magic portal to another land where there’s space for all the crap I don’t use.
Leave rooms where I do not belong.
Talk to every cat, chipmunk, squirrel, bird, deer, lizard, toad, frog, opossum, mole, vole, raccoon, groundhog, bat, and cow that I see. And not feel foolish doing it.
These seem like manageable resolutions!
Have a great Sunday, friends! We are expecting some actual winter weather today so I’m happy to spend today relaxing and maybe even working on one or two of these resolutions. Enjoy!
Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant.
Don’t burden yourself with possessions.
Keep your needs and wants simple and enjoy what you have.
Don’t destroy your peace of mind by looking back, worrying about the past.
Live in the present.
Simplify!
Henry David Thoreau
I’ll be spending today at home. Rest, declutter, read and relax are the words of the day. Potato soup and cornbread are the foods of the day. A backlog of podcasts are the sounds of the day. Warm pjs and fuzzy blankets are the textures of the day.
All these things will weave together to create the day I need. We may get some snow tomorrow so I have some storm prep to do in case the electricity goes. This is a worry when you live in wooded rural America.
But I won’t worry today. I’ll relish in the simplicity of my day. I hope you relish in yours as well.
