Where was I? Oh yes, frugal stuff...

Here's one of my favorite tips.

Angie and I are foodies. We are bonafide food snobs. We like good food, and we are not ashamed to say it.

A while back we tried making some bread, for several reasons. First, it sounded fun. Second, it sounded tasty, and we like tasty. In fact, it turns out all of our taste buds are in our mouth, so we like to taste food. Happy coincidence. Third, it was some cheap fun. We also like cheap stuff.

We tried several recipes, and we tried my mother's bread machine. We also tried a recipe from another blog, that I tweaked to fit my own devious needs. We found that we really liked it. We also found that it's cheap. So for the past few months, we have not bought any bread, but have made all of our own. Plus it's easy.

Here's the recipe, and how to make it without inturpting your busy day of reading this blog. (C'mon, you know it's all you do all day.)

Brian's Big Bad Blissful Bread (Behold, Believe, Be eatin' it)

3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar or honey or brown sugar
2/3 tablespoon of salt
1 1/4 tablespoon of yeast

Put it in a big honkin' bowl and stir it up. Then add 2-4 cups of warm (not hot) water. You may need a little or a lot. It depends. I add two cups, and add more untill it makes a nice firm dough. Knead it mercilessly for five minutes or so. Just imagine it's an IRS agent's head and go to town. Plop it on your counter and wash out your big honkin' bowl. Spray with some no-stick spray or lube as otherwise appropriate. I've use more cooking oil. Re-plop dough back into bowl, cover with towel, and ignore for 3 hours, or untill it doubles. Then punch it down and shape it into a loaf. Put it in your favorite loaf pan, or a cake pan, or whatever oven safe containment vessel you have, it only affects shape. Ignore it for another hour. Catch up on my blog while you wait! Bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes, or, untill it sounds hollow when you thump on the bottom of the loaf.

Let it cool, because hot things burn your mouth.

Slice and enjoy.

Now, how to make it fit your busy schedule...

Get up five minutes earlier on Sunday morning. Make dough. Leave for church. Return home, punch dough. Eat lunch and clean up. Bake dough.

See how that fits so nicely into your Sunday? If you need more than one loaf per week, make as many as you need. The bread freezes very nicely.

You may now return to waiting breathlessly for my next post.

Snow snow snow

Those who may read this in a less fortunate area where you get snow regularly won't appreciate the importance of one day of snow.

Here in Eden, er, Blythewood, we don't get much snow. One day of snow with under an inch of accumulation pretty much destroys the city. And that's exactly how we like it!

Today was that day. We awoke to snow falling pretty heavily. It built up to a nice 3/4 inch or so. Just enough to take Madeline out to play in it and see snow for the first time. She was amazed and perplexed. She spent a lot of time looking out the windows at the snow falling, with wide excited eyes. There wasn't enough on the ground for a snow man, and with freezing temperatures it is not a good idea to take a 1 year old out for long anyway.

But, at least she got to see her first snow.

Then, the ground began to warm. The snow melted faster than it fell. A bizarre battle was waged, where the sky beat down heavily with large beautiful flakes swirling and tumbling. The ground began to warm, even though the sun was occluded, melting the snow as soon as it hit. The beauty of snow is not just the falling flakes, but the blanket of purity that is spread across the land. This was not to be, for just as quickly as it began, it was over. The ugly dead grass, sodden with water, now became a desolate view. No more was there joy and hope for deep crunching snow to trample under foot, just the soggy muck to track inside. No matter how much the heavens may try to prevail and bestow their gift, it is removed by the hot and humid turf.

The beauty now over, just the taunting of falling flakes like ash from some great fire.

Odd that today is inauguration day...

Sometimes, you just have to get comfortable...

Allow me to pontificate on the enormity of life.

Every now and then, you have to stop and evaluate what you are doing.

Are you doing what you WANT to do? Or are you doing what you think you have to do?

I have started several projects recently. I have started to read more. I am currently reading a lengthy tome that has been a great read. Once I am done, I will report and reflect accordingly. On my list this year are several things: I want to read some C.S. Lewis. I want to read Walden, re-read Chaucer, finish Morals and Dogma, and maybe some biographies.

I am also on the Dad Stays Home weight loss challenge. This has required some Push-Backs. Not eating everything in sight because I can, but eating sensible portions. I am also taking Madeline for a walk every day. It's only two miles, but it's a start. Maybe I can get to the point where I am not weighed in gross tonnage displaced.

I am also working on the garden to end all gardens. It's my overambitious 1/3 acre plot that I won't be able to manage, or keep the deer out of.

That's a lot of stuff. Especially when I am also trying to run a home inspection business ( http://www.cooperhomeinspection.com/ ) and be a Stay At Home Dad.

I'm doing it by simplifying.

A good friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, just found himself in a position where he has more free time than he has had in years. I had to remind Marty (OOPS!!!) that he has gone into business for himself, and is no longer working 40 hours per week for someone else in addition to running his business. Marty is the ambitious type that never rests. He gets antsy if he has to sit and relax. Accordingly, I told him to hook up his tractor and try to grow something. Hopefully he won't get carried away like I have. Marty is entering a new stage that I am forcing myself into. He has scaled back his involvement.

While I am much more active in my church, I have cut back on some Masonic activities. The trade off is more nights at home, but more morning activities. Luckily, I'm still with the family unit when I'm at church.

On a side note, Madeline's first birthday will be Saturday. Boy how time flies.

Fun with rope!

Here's the blog entry all the power companies will sue me for...

You need a line to hang your laundry on.

BEHOLD! my loyal minions, I have declared that is must be so.

The biggest power munchers in your house are your HVAC unit, your refrigerator (and freezer if you have one) your water heater, your stove, and your dryer.

Now, we will cover each of these in their due time, but first up is the dryer.

Back in the days of the caveman, when Dick Clark was young and AT&T was not a monopoly, we hung our clothes on the clothesline after removing them from the washing machine (or nearby river). And as we say in the Masonic Lodge (to my chagrin) "if it's good enough for my Daddy, it's good enough for me." Thus progress is thwarted.

This is a simple device. 1: Find a length of rope. 2: Find a bunch of clothes pins. They are cheap, look for them in the dollar store to get them really cheap. 3: Find two stationary and inanimate objects to tie the rope to. These can be trees, telephone poles, two posts you have set in the ground, a few Congressmen (because the NEVER move), whatever. I put mine between the bathroom exterior wall and the screen porch. This gives me two lines about 10 feet long each. They are close to the house and over my rear deck. I may put up something longer soon though. use what works for you.

Now, as we have established, I know what you are thinking. (you and your filthy mind) Yes, you can and should dry clothes outside even in the winter. I have hung clothes when the temperature is in the twenties. This is also the temperature at which Southerners cease to exist, so be careful. It takes longer but it still works. If you can put your line in a sunny area, or an area where there is a good breeze, that's better.

I line dry everything except the baby's clothes. Her stuff still gets the dryer so it will stay softer.

CAUTION Be sure to remove the clothes before it starts to rain. This may seem obvious, but not everyone is an Erskine College graduate, so I have to be sure I cover all my bases for those less fortunate than me. (kidding... maybe)

If you are nice I will tell you about the car show I went to this weekend.

Rub a Dub Dub

Clean fun in the washing machine?

Okay, not the most creative title. Shoot me.

After several loads with the experimental soap, I think we have a winner.

Background; in an effort to cut costs around the shack, we looked at the cost of laundry soap. I do about one load of laundry per day. Sometimes more. That's a lot of soap, and laundry soap is expensive. I read several posts on the Dad Stays Home forum and on the Homesteading Today forum about home made laundry soap. People with more free time than sense calculated out the cost per load with pre-made soap and with the home made stuff. It was at least 20 cents less per load with the home made stuff. I'm bad at math, but that's got to add up over time. The total cost for all the ingredients was under $10, and I have enough supplies to make laundry soap for a VERY long time.

Here's the recipe:

1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap
1/3 cup Washing Soda
1/3 cup Borax detergent

The hardest part is finding the ingredients. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I finally found all of the parts. Kroger sells the Washing Soda and the Borax. Publix sells the Fels Naptha. NO, you CANNOT use Baking Soda in place of Washing Soda. If you try to substitute baking soda your washing machine will explode and kill your dog and two neighbors (three if they are liberals) so don't try it.

Maybe I over reacted. Actually , the soap won't work unless you use Washing Soda.

Grate up the bar of soap. I used a food processor. Yes, the food processor will come clean, it's soap. Put everything in a pot with about 6 cups of water and boil it until the soap dissolves. This will take longer than you would expect. Divide the special sauce between two one gallon jugs (or one two gallon jug) and fill the rest with water. Shake liberally. Do not shake Democratically. That will only raise taxes.

I use 1/4-1/3 cup per load.

Here's the weird part; Angie hates the way the soap smells but the finished clothes have no scent at all. There is no smell left in the cloth.

So, go hunting. Find some soap. Introduce yourself to the middle ages of laundry.

Next time I will tell you about fun with rope! Oh boy!!

Just what we needed...

Yeah right, the world needs another blog like it needs another politician. I know, blogging is the realm of the lunatic, the radical left-winger that thinks he matters, and the high school kid who thinks the world doesn't understand.

But this blog is DIFFERENT!

No, it's not. Really.

This blog is written by a Stay At Home Dad, who won't be able to find time to write droll missives for the masses (both of you!) on a regular basis.

I'm also a Home Inspector. http://www.cooperhomeinspection.com/ And I will shamelessly plug myself. I have to eat after all. Since the economy is in the tank right now, I'm mostly a SAHD. They pay about the same...

This blog thinks politics is like politicians; stupid, and a waste of time. So, I won't comment on political balderal other than to quote myself:

"All politicians are liars, so vote for the one that lies your way."

(copyright Cooper Heavy Industries)

But, I'm a Libertarian. Which is to say that I hate big government, taxes, politicians, the DMV, and the Highway Patrol. Enough of that blah blah blah, you get the idea.

I'm a Freemason, and I won't tell you where the gold is hidden. C'mon, we can't agree on who will make dinner next month but we secretly rule the world? I think not. It's a boys club with a secret handshake. It is a lot of fun though.

So, you are asking yourself two things right now. First, how can he read my mind? It's uncanny!! Second, what's this junk about? Does he even have a point?

Well, I can read your mind, and you should be ashamed of yourself! Go wash your mouse out with soap. I'll wait...

And this junk is about the misadventures of a 33 year old who is surrounded by a eleven month old infant. She has me covered, and she knows it.

She, the one of which I speak, is Madeline. She keeps me busy all day, every day. Sometimes she allows me to take time for frivolities like my lunch, checking the mail, and breathing.

I have also been asked to get a pile together of all the crazy stuff I do to save money. Being a SAHD doesn't pay much, and Home Inspecting pays less sometimes. I have to keep the Benjamins in check, yo! So, I will grace you with enlightenment at my discretion. And you will like it. Behold, I am the blogger, what I say goes.

I'm sure CNN will be covering this blog soon.

I'll wait while you clean the coffee off the monitor.

Thanks in advance to the Dad Stays Home message board. I've *ahem* stolen most of my ideas from there. The rest came to me during peyote hangovers.

Have a question? Send it along after consulting your Magic 8 Ball. I'll answer it if I'm in a good mood. Maybe.