Thursday, 4 October 2018

I made it through the day!  :-)

Didn't get to the yardwork, but worked on other things.  Had to wait on the bread loaf... maybe tomorrow.  Created a veggie-bean salad from things I needed to use up, and it was pretty good.  Better when it was fresh (lesson learned), but still good.  I ate the second round with the last of my bread supply from the other day.  Toast is good... I like it better than soft bread.  I had my bean spread with some toasted bread earlier in the day, too.

Food... it can be a challenge when you don't have your favorites on hand and have to get creative with your meals.  It's good to have to do that occasionally... willingly... not by the force of life issues.

I keep thinking about what kind of foods grow in those countries where drought is causing starvation... what kinds of seeds or help could we do for them... but then I remember all the violence that makes their lives worse, and that we can't control.  It is a sad thing that Man, as a creature, is the same all over the world, when you really get down to the power struggles.  :-(   Women and children always suffer because of the Men who have no control over their actions.

(This always leads me to wonder what life was like for Noah and his family...  being away from it is the only way to survive, I think.)

I have been trying to work out my October budget... looking forward to getting food again... trying to rebuild my "back-up" supplies.  I spent my crafting budget today.  Not much left to work with now... but I am getting focused on my Christmas gifting.  No money means I MUST find other options for giving.

I have always loved the giving of the holiday season... and struggled to include as many as possible.  With such a tight budget, I am trying to figure out what I can do this year.  When the news reports (and government reports) say everyone is doing fine and spending more, I wonder if they are living on credit cards, which is not really doing fine.

I still want to try a credit card, one, maybe by next year... but I don't know if I can get one.  I am thinking of using it to buy my big-ticket items... smartphone, computer, digital camera, and things like that... ONE at a time, if I can control my spending.  Mostly I need a smartphone, internet access, and a better computer... the rest is flexible.  Pray for my finances... thanks.  :-)

I received a beading supply catalog today and was so motivated by the process of looking through it.  I have designs in my head that I want to try.  I am trying to find a way to get them into a selling phase so I can increase my income level.    I may have to rethink my crafting organization.

It seems that rain is coming back to my part of the world.  It is good for the dry ground.  I am wondering if I will need to fill the birdbath when the rainy season gets here.  I have never had a birdbath before, so I am not sure what they do.  I love seeing the little and medium and big birds drinking the water and taking a quick bath, always on the lookout for the creatures that want to make them dinner.

I was looking at some of the birdhouses available at the crafting site I was looking through.  I am not sure which kind of birdhouses would fit the birds in the area, but eventually I will figure it out.  I have some bird food to make into winter feeding aids, as soon as I figure out how to make it stick together and stay in the shapes I am looking for..  :-)

Finding a good space to work on my crafting projects is a challenge... I have come to believe that I will find the answers as soon as I can.  I keep praying for GOD to bless my needs and my efforts.

Well... I will get to that challenge... finding a solution to my crafting issues.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May the GOD who owns it all find a way to share with those of us who are depending on His provisions for our needs.  Amen.

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

Time flies as you are catching up with your emails!  :-)

I took a long survey from a link in one of my emails... which is a mixed feeling activity.  The options to answer their questions are never good for all situations, more the categories they want recorded.  I tend to favor the text spaces to share the details of my opinions... but, actually, if they don't have a character count, I wonder how much gets through.  I hope I was able to share what I thought they wanted to know.

Other than that, I call this a recovery day... I was able to do more than yesterday, and hopefully I will be able to do more tomorrow.

I made some bean spread, and it worked out OK.  A learning experience.  It was good with bread pieces.  I can see why they have those bread and cheese fondues.  :-)  Bean "hummus" is a good protein source, and I made this without oil, just the bean liquid and some lemon juice.  I'm still going to have to work out the proportions for the next batch, but it is something I will eat again.

I see making more bread in my future, so tomorrow I will try to make an actual LOAF shape of bread.  That will be good for sandwiches. My veggies are going to become veggie sandwiches.

The giant jicama still stares at me from the counter... I think it is good for bean spreads, if I remember the last one I ate (a much smaller jicama!)… so, soon... very soon, I think... it will become gone.

That's about it for now.
Too much email tonight.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we all survive until tomorrow...
and our country find leaders that really care about the people they serve.
Amen.

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

This will be short, as I haven't been feeling well lately... so...I am resting a lot.

Just wanted to touch base with my blogging effort...

I'm waiting for my October budget to kick in and am really stretching my food options... too much pasta.  I tried a new recipe for pancakes this morning, but it all ended up in the trash. I tried a reduced amount of a bread recipe, and it kind of worked, but is more like a flat bread.  Now I am trying a pizza dough recipe and making it into a loaf shape for sandwiches and toast... hopefully.  Not sure it will work, but it's better than all pasta as an emergency diet.  :-(

I'm still trying to decide what to do with a huge jicama I bought, and I have a yellow squash and a zucchini left.  Some canned foods.  And lots of pasta.  :-)  I have oatmeal and dried fruits and nuts, too.  I'm just trying to see what I come up with.

It is making me revisit my back-up food plan.  haha.

I use to always have certain boxed foods as back-up, but I have been working on changing my food choices to more whole food that are plant based... as much as I can.  It is always a lesson in life and our choices to try to make changes in our habits.

Food commercials are really our enemies when we are trying to eat better.  :-)   I have almost ordered pizza at least 10 time!!!   haha.

So, after I get this bread baked, I'm heading back to bed for a rest.

I hope all is going better with you.

My brain hasn't stopped thinking of all the problems in our world, but I just can't write about them right now.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we all be healthy and able to meet the needs of our days.  Amen.