20 Euros for 20 days part 2
Balance: 20€
Money spent:
11/28/08- zero
11/29/08- zero
11/30/08- zero
12/1/08- toilet paper 1,05€
12/2/08-zero
12/3/08-zero
12/4/08-chicken bouillon, 3,85€
12/4/08-lettuce, 1 kilo of tangerines, 1,80€
12/5/08-zero
12/6/08-zero
12/7/08-zero
12/8/08-zero
Well there you have it! I have spent 6,70€ to get us by with 13,30€ left to spend the next 10 days. We continue to eat well and frugally.
We did spend money on some Spanish ham, manchego cheese and holiday candy: turrón and sent it to our friend, and mother tongue speaker, Ricardo, who has faithfully worked with us on the Aragonese NT. I also had to spend some cash on butternut squash because I was asked to make a cream soup for 45 ladies this Friday night. I’ll be reimbursed for this so I didn’t include it.
I’m saving money and it looks like I will have what I need for that ROAST BEEF I want to serve for Christmas. I’d like to have a Standing Rib Roast and will cost me more. My menus are planned for when the family comes… one of my favorite/relaxing things to do! Only 10 more days to go!
Our meals for the the next 10days will include:
bean soup
pizza
macaroni and cheese with ham
Spanish tortilla
and toasted sandwiches using the luncheon meat I have in the freezer.
On another note: last week when we returned from the village, I checked the garden and found that it had frozen in Madrid while we were away. All of my potatoes plants were dead so I dug them up to see if any were worth eating. Here is my photo of what I found:
Isn’t that just GREAT??? I had never grown potatoes before and I can’t tell you the encouragement digging this little guys up! I couldn’t have been happier. I’ll definitely grow them again and I have some “seed potatoes” sprouting in the garage now. In the articles I’ve read on the the internet, they say that seed potatoes should be purchased… well, these just came from our grocery store and did very well!
I was also able t pick these pea pods from my garden to add to salads. Very yummy.
I’m having a great time with all of this! Please leave your comments and tell us what you are doing in this challenging economy. Many Blessings!
Madrid
72°
john pearson says:
So far, Bobbie’s experiments with frugality seem to have produced no significant changes in our varied diet. I attribute that to Bobbie’s creativity. She seems to me to be able to make new ever more creative dishes that are always tasty and nourishing. One thing is for sure, I haven’t lost any weight… (Now, is that good or bad and is it due to the frugality or not?… these are questions for only the very wise to ponder… I’ll not comment further…)
We were very positively surprised to see how many potatoes actually grew. If the plant tops hadn’t frozen we think all the little ones would have eventually developed in to full blown adults. However, the death of the tops arrested root development so, we’ll eat the little ones anyway…
While watching little potatoes grow into big ones, we’re also reading and trying to stay current on the financial crisis. It seems to be world-wide at this time. It appears that our nation has not been frugal enough and we have overspent our financial resources. Now the USA has to “pay the piper” for spending tomorrow’s income, last week. Reckless fiscal spending will always lead to a “huge bill” that eventually must be paid. Is this the legacy that we wish to leave to our children? We have failed in our fiduciary responsibilities.
We believe that it’s time for all of us to change our ways. We also believe firmly that “national behavioral changes” of this type cannot be forced but, must rather, originate in the heart and mind of the individual. One at a time, we need to become sensitive to personal income limitations, then, save and spend accordingly. In our current situation, a return to the fiscally conservative traditions of our founding fathers is certainly in order and even materialistically-hardened modernists are beginning to recognize this.
Anita says:
love the taters! whoo hooo!
Anita says:
by the way, those are really good thoughts… things need to change in our hearts to affect society. one by one we can change. ‘it starts with me (and you)’ as they say.
Jesseka says:
Very encouraging on the potato front. I might try that in our postage stamp back yard here in Chicago next year. Might shock the neighbors.
I made a comment about our current economic condition at a dinner with neighbors a few weeks ago- made reference to the possibility of it being a condition of the heart, born out in society at large… I received mostly blank stares, but it is true that most people are having to take a good hard look at their spending now. They might even have to make a budget. Ouch. We don’t know how to live in moderation anymore.
Anita says:
haha, i think you should do it JUST to shock the neighbors. haha.
pearsonsprogress says:
Yeah, Jess, grow potatoes… shock the neighbors, just for the fun of it! They may “appear” to be so but I know that your family is a testimony in your neighborhood in so many areas… a light in an otherwise dim Chicago neighborhood.
John C. Pearson says:
Plant the potatoes but watch them…If things keep going as they are, your neighbors may come over at night and dig them up…
BTW, we just hatched 7 chicks in our incubator. The last one hatched last night. The kids loved it.-John
Anita says:
I dug up my potatoes… nada.
one little tiny one the size of my thumb nail, maybe…
but the plants froze, so i had to. oh well. i don’t have a victory garden. i have a garden of defeat… booo hooo