Tag: nonconsumer

  • Hold Still and Hope January Doesn’t Notice You

    Hold Still and Hope January Doesn’t Notice You

    Seriously, no sudden moves, no bold proclamations. January is a trickster. Everything is going pretty good, the weather warmed up a bit, it’s still a little light out at 5 pm, you’re feeling cautiously optimistic and then BAM! someone spikes a high fever. And it pours rain for 12 hours straight. Am I envious of…

  • Plans for 2026: Garden, Travel, Scrimp, Party!

    Plans for 2026: Garden, Travel, Scrimp, Party!

    My goal was not to be sick on Christmas, and I wasn’t. But most of us had strep throat this week. I guess it’s better than a cold or flu since once you get the meds it goes away. I resent having to pay $135 to urgent care so far. (But grateful for urgent care…

  • Cozy Christmas

    Cozy Christmas

    My homemade, handcrafted holidays are finally over, though I’ve still got time off coming up to enjoy. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I was on my feet a lot, and definitely had moments of “never doing this again.” Two of the kids were sick and thus I didn’t have a lot of help in terms of…

  • Supporting Small Businesses This Holiday

    Supporting Small Businesses This Holiday

    I’ve been sick for just about a solid week now, and I am cranky. I guess I should be happy that I am getting a little better every day and I can breathe out of my nose again, most of the time. Still, Christmas doesn’t care that you’re sick. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, it will…

  • The Anti-Black Friday

    The Anti-Black Friday

    How did I spend my Black Friday? Instead of shopping, I repaired: I sewed holes in three items of my clothing, so I can continue to wear them. I’m not particularly good at it, but I don’t mind my revolutionary mending showing. I created: I had a hankering to create something that wasn’t food. Poking…

  • A Cheapskate’s Guide to Repurposing Household Items in the Garden

    A Cheapskate’s Guide to Repurposing Household Items in the Garden

    The garlic is starting to poke through the leaves! Not surprisingly, it seems the cloves I planted that had already sprouted are the first to reach the surface. Four of them are up. This makes me happy. Some of the lettuce and arugula seeds I planted have sprouted. Too soon to tell which is which.…

  • Wintry Walks & More Thrifting

    Wintry Walks & More Thrifting

    I really needed this weekend. I was practically skipping home on Friday, so glad the work week was done. Work was extremely busy; at home I was pulling single-parent duty Sunday through Tuesday while Tom and T went to Green Bay for the Eagles game. I worked from home Monday and Tuesday. N and F…

  • Sprouts Is Bankrupting Me

    Sprouts Is Bankrupting Me

    This past week I was off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It wasn’t quite as satisfying a staycation as the one I had in August. I had dreams about work from Friday night right on through, frustrating dreams in which nothing was going right. But it was still relaxing and peaceful. I got some things done…

  • Calm Before the Storm

    Calm Before the Storm

    Sitting here getting my grays covered up and my hair cut, ahead of my work trip to Arizona. I leave next Sunday. Trying to enjoy fall in New Jersey before heading to the desert. However, we’ve got a nor’easter blowing in today, so we can’t do much outside. The worst of it will be tonight…