The price of food keeps going up, up, up! Even the fairies have discovered increases at their little local markets in the Grove. With the price of food so high, it makes sense to cut waste at every opportunity. One of the best ways to do this is to save all your leftovers so you are truly eating most of the food you buy. ~ Save your leftovers ~ First - Freeze The best way to save leftovers is to immediately freeze any portions that you think you won't be able to finish in the next few days. The saving of leftover meals is of course thrifty in itself. Almost everything can be frozen nicely and most cookbooks have a section on how long it is safe to store different types of dishes. Save more money by reusing old margarine, yogurt or cream cheese tubs. When money runs low - don't reach for the credit card at the grocery store - turn to your freezer to make up a supper. Second - Refrigerate Put leftovers in the fridge that you know you will use in the next little while, but don't cover with that costly and wasteful plastic wrap or tin foil. The fairies, who simply don't have those type of factories in the Grove, use covered glass and ceramic dishes instead. Many vintage Pyrex and Fire King dishes were intended to be used first for cooking a meal, and then came with a fitted lid, providing a simple method for saving leftovers in the fridge. And even if you didn't prepare the meal in the dish; you can still use these beauties for storing leftovers! Estimate the amount you pay each year for disposable food wrap. It quickly becomes apparent how a covered dish, that you reuse year after year, makes good economical sense. Covered dishes are yet another way to work towards self-sufficiency and move away from the dependence on, and expense of, disposable products. Third - Remember; leftovers aren't just cooked meals Ever open a tin of crushed tomatoes or vegetables and only need half for your recipe? Freeze the rest immediately in a small tub. Freeze it, no matter how small the portion because you can always add separate portions together to make up a full portion at a later date. Likewise wrap up bits of cooked chicken, turkey, ham etc. to later use for soups and broths. And make sure to wrap up any leftover (and very expensive) cheese when cutting or grating! It makes a great pull-it-all-together macaroni and cheese at a later date. Save old bread bags and cut them up to use for wrappers and secure with a bit of masking tape. Once you get started truly saving all your left-overs, you will be pleasantly surprised how much money you save, and how few ingredients you really need to buy in order to put together some sort of a meal when money is tight ... not to mention saved preparation time on those nights when you just don't feel like cooking at all! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 / edited 2020
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The merry Yule gatherings have been successful in chasing away the darkness! The fairies in the Grove have noticed the dazzling pink sunsets glittering on the snow have moved from the late afternoon to the early evening. We also find that the joyful winter celebrations around the tables have somewhat exhausted the fruits of harvest and it is time to take stock of our larders. January often marks a month for tightening our belts!
A Calendar of Yuletide Doings Here are some suggestions from the Meadow Sweet Grove fairy folk for daily doings leading up to Christmas Day (pick your own order!), to celebrate this magical time of the year: Dec 1 - Take a child out for a cup of fancy hot chocolate Dec 2 - Donate clothes, bottles, household items to charity Dec 3 - Send pretty Christmas cards to friends Dec 4 - Buy Christmas Crackers Dec 5 - Build a snowman ... if you have snow! Or make a bowl of oranges decorated with cloves. Dec 6 - Watch old movies: A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life Dec 7 - Take part in a local Christmas event Dec 8 - Trim your cedar or holly tree and leave out free for neighbours Dec 9 - Decorate your front doorway with cedar boughs, holly, pinecones Dec 10 - Put up and deocorate your Christmas Tree Dec 11 - Make a wreath for the front door Dec 12 - Listen to all your favourite Christmas songs Dec 13 - Wrap gifts (cut up old Christmas cards for tags) Dec 14 - Gather lots of nummy food and treats together for the big day Dec 15 - Bake cookies and share with neighbours and friends Dec 16 - Clean your little abode, ready to receive guests Dec 17 - Watch: A Christmas Story Dec 18 - Enjoy a Christmas Concert in a lovely venue such as a old church or hall Dec 19 - Put together a Christmas puzzle with a child or friend Dec 20 - Walk around the neighbourhood and look at all the Christmas lights Dec 21 - Create a Winter Solstice Tree for the woodland creatures (see instructions in folowing weeks!) Dec 22 - Watch: A Charlie Brown Christmas, White Christmas Dec 23 - Spend a quiet evening, gazing at the twinkling lights & enchanting ornaments on your Christmas tree Dec 24 - Hang up your stocking, sit quietly by a window at midnight, and feel the approach of Santa's sleigh Dec 25 - Yule / Christmas - Have a Merry Christmas! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2016 The dark time of the year is also one of the most festive. The fairies are busy readying their little homes to prepare for all the happy visits from friends and family ... and Santa Claus of course. After all, Jolly Old St. Nick wouldn't miss this chance to party with his kinfolk! Most of us have some cherished decorations that we lovingly bring out and display for the whole Yuletide season. It's nice to bring in some of Mother Nature's evergreen decorations too such as pine, holly and cedar boughs to brighten our homes and remind us that the trees are only sleeping, and life is an everlasting cycle. A lot of fairies have small homes and so it may seem silly to have dishes with Christmas motifs that can only be used once a year. While a full set of dishes might cramp their style (or storage spaces!), a single decorative serving plate or tray is a very pretty accent to set out with some cookies, nuts, candies or other Christmas fare. The fairies in Meadow Sweet Grove have several of these special plates in their homes, stocked with yummy treats, to welcome anyone who might stop by ... especially the biggest elf of all - Santa! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2016 / edited 2021 Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2016
The fairies in Meadow Sweet Grove are an old-fashioned lot and they approach many of today's problems with yesterday's solutions. Disposable items are not too appealing to them and only used when absolutely necessary.
One disposable item that is easy to reduce in your household are throw-away paper tissues. The use of a cotton hankie is a great way to love Mother Nature and save money! And if you buy vintage, your footprint is even less, as the item was manufactured long ago and has already paid its due. If you buy just 1 box of Kleenex every month, your yearly outlay is probably between $12 and $36. Use that money to buy vintage hankies instead. They are usually available around $1-3 each, depending on the quality, and you then have a dozen hankies . . . all ready to use for many years to come. Every little bit helps and when you replace disposable items with reusable ones, you really do save $$$. But what about germs? Sometimes the concern is valid, especially around vulnerable individuals, but in most cases the risk is low. If you are worried about germs - just don't use it when you have a cold but do use it in so many other ways. My father and grand-father always carried a cotton hankie about with them, but I rediscovered hankies when my child was born and was given lots of "baby washcloths". I wound up using them for everything - spills in coffee shops, wiping the corners of baby's mouth, wrapping up sticky pine cones and other nature treasures found on our walks, creating a make-shift tablecloth for eating at a park picnic bench - you name it! Long after my child grew out of this stage, I found I was still using them for everything, but switched to hankies because they are larger and thinner than terry washcloth material. I even tucked one at the back of my heel when a blister developed on a long walk to stop the rubbing! You will find countless uses once you start carrying one and wonder how you ever got along without it. Put one in your pocket, your purse and your car. And when it's dirty? Simply throw it in the wash along with everything else! My husband's grandfather had a lot of very worn and well-used hankies in his possession - a man who lived to 101 years old! Clearly the germs weren't a hindrance in his case. Old ways sometimes really are best. © Meadow Sweet Grove / V. Buchanan, 2016, edited 2019
© Meadow Sweet Grove / V. Buchanan, 2016 edited 2021
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan, 2016 / edited 2019 This is a poem I wrote as an assignment for a writing class I took a few years back. It uses a lot of rhyming and is meant to be in "Shel Silverstein" style. I hope you like it. The Right Stuff The big white cat looked Up from the fence, At the old oak tree Leaving leaves less dense. The white cat said, to the Oak King, "Halloween's here, hear me sing. I can hiss and spit, And flash my eyes, Arch my back against a full moon sky. I be as scary as a black cat be, Now what do you think, You old oak tree?" Not a sound rolled around From that ancient soul, But between its leaves, Stretched a cat of coal. His eyes they glowed Like yellow flames and He bared sharp teeth, With an aim to maim. "Best leave to me," He said with a boast, "And wait this out Behind that post. The children are coming up the path And I've got the stuff to make them dash. If they see you, "puss, puss" they'll say And laugh and carry on their way. Shamed, the white cat, Slunk and hid Behind the post As he was bid. But when those posers came quite near, He thought around the post he'd peer, Just to see the garb that night, Of witches, skeletons and the like. But those kids they screamed! And fled in fright. Trick or treat bags Thrown left and right. For rounding 'round that post they'd seen A BIG WHITE GHOST !! (or so it seemed.) The taunting black cat, Added a caterwaul, Laughed to the white cat, "You're the scariest of us all !!" So that's the story of the two old cats Who learned that night (and it's a fact) That there's more than one way to skin a cat! (if you'll pardon the expression) © Vicki Buchanan, 2014, 2016, 2019
Genealogy find For example, my paternal grandfather was born in 1907 but wasn't issued a birth certificate until 1945! Obviously, no one checked for birth certificates in those days as he had by that time: attended school (although only for a few years), worked many jobs, got married, had children and was rated 4-F for military service during WWII due to a broken back in childhood, and a metal plate in his wrist from a construction accident. I'm not sure what prompted his need to apply for a birth certificate in 1945 but it is certainly interesting how he was able to function until the age of 38 without one! Just shows how different the times are now. He was born at home, and had to get statutory declarations from his mom, aunt and a former neighbour, together with a copy of his dad's handwritten entry of the birth in the family bible, in order to have his birth registered. Wishing you a lot of cool stories to uncover with your grave-digging too! Picture Frames & Photo Albums That favourite picture of your loved one deserves a good frame. Most you will find these days are made of MDF - which is just not good enough! Real wood, metal or ceramic is much more long-lasting and kinder to the environment. Also, don't forget to print out your special photos and get them into albums. While I know it is space efficient to store photos on the computer, it is easy to forget that crashes, viruses and obsolete technology can render those photos irretrievable. I have heard horror stories at our local camera shop from people who have lost their photos - always print the special ones! One of my goals this winter is to sift through our family's virtual mountain of photos and compile a physical record of the precious ones. Meadow Sweet Grove © Vicki Buchanan, 2016 / edited 2021
Meadow Sweet Grove © Vicki Buchanan, 2016
I admit it. I'm no minimalist. I love being surrounded by old treasures that evoke good memories, new treasures that enchant me with their beauty or whimsy and ......... books, books, books! The current trend is to reduce clutter. While I feel it is very beneficial to reduce items in our lives that we no longer need, use or love, I find that I am very grateful for the honour of possessing heirlooms or simply sentimental items. They give me great pleasure and enhance the contentment I feel in my home. I also believe strongly, in 'Reduce, Re-use, Recycle" and purchasing vintage or used items satisfies all three! Creating a home for yourself and the ones you love should reflect the people within it, and as taste is very personal, each home should be very different. I hope you will find some things on my site that create those good feelings in your home too. I welcome you to visit Meadow Sweet Grove often for a little bit of folklore, comfy home cooking recipes and a look at the vintage treasures I have rescued and now offer to you in my store. To quote Tigger... "TTFN"! |
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