BREAD MAKING

I recently bought a bread maker at The Goodwill Store for $5 bucks. I always wanted one and now I have one. I put it to use and it works well. When your making your own without a loan you know what goes in it. There are no hormones, chemicals, preseratives, insects or "droppings." It taste better and is better for you. None of that glue ball stuff that sticks to the roof of your mouth.

I use a big meat slicer to slice the bread when it is cool. I make sure the meat slicer is very clean and sanitary. Adjust the blade to about the width of a store bought slice of bread. It looks just like store bought bread when your done. If you make more than 1 loaf wrap it and freez it as there are no preservitives in it.

Take a deep breath and smell the bread baking. Snif, Snif, smells good doesn'it? MEB

Take a deep breath. Winter is coming. The higher gas bills will blow in with the cold winds from the frozen north and it won't be Jolly St. Nick exhaling. Preditions are that it will be a cold winter. The utility companies have told us we will pay more(what else is new) to heat our homes.
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I have an old home, not well built andnowt well thought out. I have improved on over the years and it is paid for, so here I stay.

However, I am trying to butten it up for the expected cold weather and higher bills.

I went to the utility company and got on the budget plan. They average your bill/usage for the year and bill you accordinly. I am single and conservative, so my bill is only $124.00 per month. This includes gas, electric, water and sewer, scool tax and library tax. Don't think that I am scrimping or doing without. I am not. But, I am not wastefull.

I also went back and set up an automatic bill pay plan. It saves me from going out in the winter weather and saves on gas and time. And I neverhave to pay late fees.

Anyone can do this. Even if you are on S.S as I am it will work out well and save time and money, wear and tear on car and body and car.

Also, I have found a new or better use for plastic bags. I stuff ever little crack or cravise I can find. Tacky, you say? Not really because after you seal it you can caulk it and it looks perfeckly normal..part of the construction. And the house is warmer.

Take sheets of bubble wrap and cut to size to cover windows. Wet windows and stick the boublle wrap to the windows. I am short and I like to look out the windows so I only cover the upper half of the window. Heat rises so that will keep the warm air from escaping out the upper half of the windows.

LivingLessons

Waiting to exhale? Don't hold your breath. You'll turn purple. Your alive..or will be if you exhale and breath deep. Ahh, just smell that polluted air!

Every blog I read is fraught with doom and gloom. I'm poor so I have no money to lose..unless the government defaults and keeps my Social Security check.

But be happy!! I have good cheer brewing away in the back room, food in the pantry, gas in the tank and plenty of toilet paper.

The government wouldn't have to default to take my s.s. check..or yours. They have been doing it for years. You know, borrowing against it, like every thing else they have siphoned off .

Back to the Home Brew. My grape vine was very productive this summer. I called 2 different charities to see if they wanted to come pick them.

"Oh Yes!" they say. No one called back. No one came to pick them. These charities must be getting government bailouts or big donations so they did't need to expand their energies.

So I am making wine. I should have 6 or 7 bottles by Christmas. When I have it strained and bottled I will take some over to the residents that I used to take care of.

Wine is so easy to make.
I pureed grapes in the blender.
Strained it 3 times
Put it in gallon jugs
Put in 5 or 6 of cups sugar
Put in plain old bread yeast
Capped it with balloons and rubber bands
and watched it bubble merrily away!

That Little Old Wine Maker-MEB