What To Do with Cheap Sunglasses

...Or Darned Eyeglass Cases.  I know I will catch quite a few of even the seasoned frugalista's out there when coming up for uses for these things we are supposed to put our glasses in when we aren't using them. Does anyone use them by the way?? Maybe even 25 percent of the time? They are sturdy enough you feel guilty tossing them out and everyone knows the local thrift store isn't running short of a Pandora's box of variety on any given day of the year. They are weird shaped fitting pretty much only one thing, eyeglasses. Once you outgrow your pair every few years or so these things accumulate. I have only been wearing glasses for a few year and I already have a few laying around here. In fact, I think I can find them first before my glasses on more occasions than I can count.  I have all kinds of other cool tins I do things with and I will talk about those at another time.  I just want to discuss options to save one more thing from the landfills.  I have been leaving this one in the back of my mind for quite some time. I have been enveloped in more important tasks like canning, painting, and such so the creative things get pushed to the back while life is happening. That is the greatest benefit of all being a frugalista, at the least a Sicilian one, is getting to be creative along the way.

I found a very small screw in a bowl I was going to re-purpose to be a match catch. A match catch in my definition would be a bowl to safely throw matches in after lighting your perfectly great 1954 O'Keefe & Merit stove that has a meticulously finicky pilot light. So while holding the screw in my fingers wondering where the heck I was gonna put this to store because frugalistas do not, I repeat DO NOT throw out little screws that may someday save $3.99 for a eyeglass repair kit to avoid giving up one hour of a frugalista's life sitting in line an at eyeglass factory when I could be garage saling, repainting something or eating my fresh grown tomatoes. I need to have an eyeglass kit! Its the perfect idea and it could be made to take in a purse or left in a desk drawer where you'ld have easy access. I will build a little eyeglass kit of my own specifics. I do small electronics now and then and some of the tiny perfected tools get lost in the electrical box. So this kit will specialize in what my needs are when I work on small circuit boards. It might run a little different for you. In fact it might be a great thing for you to do with other small task jobs such as button repair. How many times have you found a button after the laundry and had to throw that in a dish? Not everyone has a sewing box anymore as many have traded their time for money to go out and buy the inferior made products being brought, even in the name of being ' green', half way across the world by boat(how idiotic and hypocritical at the same time). They just don't make em like they used to. Remember the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union of America? They made them right. They made clothes that lasted. When are we going to start doing that again in America? If the government would stop taking whats ours and let us rebuild we could make this country great again. I admit my idea is probably not an original idea but its time has come into fruition as if there ever was a time to 'gather the sails' so to speak, the time is now. You should be preparing and making your family as self sufficient as possible.  There may come a day when you either don't have the money to pay for something, you can't afford the services to repair it(like now) or the service is no longer in business, especially here in California. That's not to say that we do have some new, and mostly short lived or greener, jobs and small businesses happening here but the signs on the wall say we are in for an even wilder ride than that of the rest of the country digging out of two massive debt holes, the federal and the state. Now you say, "So tell me how you really feel."

Anyways, I'm working on my eyeglass re-purposing project and I challenge you to make one and send me your pics and if you get yours done before my version gets posted on my How To Page I will attach them to the page I'm creating with pictures of the project ideas. Sorry I wasn't frugal with the word frugalista, I couldn't help myself. It just kept rolling off the tongue. More on the cheap sunglasses later.

The Bone Yard

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see. We are ruining our world. We are consuming at rates we don't even know even if we could imagine. We are addicted to buying. I admit to having the same human character flaw. Its ridiculous to say it is about cars and oil. Its really about all of it...consumption!  I have resolved to buy only that which I can't make or find used. I am not a 'Greenie'. I never confessed to be one. I am a reuser, a freecycler, a frugalista! I can go lengths on what I think about the 'Green' movement and all the charaders latching on for the money. But I won't.

OK, hands in the air...how many of you have bought at least one cute but "only lasts one season" type of lighting item for your garden at the big box store? You thought its only $6 bucks on sale and the lights will be so cute at the summer night barbeques right? Now its two years later and they are more appropriately ready for the trash with holes in the paper lanterns and the design faded along with the bird drops and dust that has accumulated for two summers but the lights still work. So what do I do? Run to the local big box store and buy replacements....you know the ones they just made in a country that doesn't have fair rights for its citizens, and then travels by boat to a central port on one of our coasts, then gets put on a rail train to a central point to get dispersed, goes to the distributor by truck and once again when it takes its trip to the local store, which could be hundreds of miles away. Those replacements?  That's what I am talking about when I say consumer. I am not talking about our needs. I am talking about our wants. Let's just talk about all of the 'things',  like the late George Carlin put it ..'stuff', that we have that aren't really used to sustain our lives. They are possessions.

The best thing you can do for your children, their children, and the future of our country is to stop buying into the government propandga that you must buy to boost the economy. Invest in yourself, your local community and your families future. The government has their M.O. in this whole scheme besides the large corporations who want profits. You buy 'stuff' and they get a cut. If they get what many economists say they are planning to get, add the VAT(Value Added Tax) then you will really be supporting them to the tune of about 25% of everything you buy. You will have more than a small stock in the company of  "The US Government" if you keep buying 'stuff'.

So my solution? Recycle. I thought, the ribs of the lanterns are still there. The lights STILL work! All I need is to reinforce the paper. I got a sheet of deep blue rice paper(from my stash of things collected over the years...not much are consumed items but collected, I'll explain later), white glue, a sponge brush and I sat myself under the Abelia bush in the shade listening to Garrison Kellor's 'Prairie Home Companion'( free entertainment on the radio you know). I used watered down glue to brush the lanterns, which were partially dusted off and still very weathered looking, and painted away. Tearing bites of paper, yes bites, not bits and overbrushing them with glue. The initial results is great. It is a technique I have also used on pots and candles. I can't wait to see them later tonight all lit up. I didn't spend any money and used current resources.

For those who came this far I want to note the difference, as referred to my me, between a consumer and a collector as I promised you more about. A consumer sees something they want at the moment and buys it only to find themselves bored or tired or some other vague excuse which they no doubtfully will remember next time they buy the same said item once it is disposed of in the trash. A collector sees an item and sees potential in what it can be made to do or into. I am not a collector to tell a story as the character in Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Everything is Illuminated' but I collect rejected materials and objects to create something useful by giving it another life. I have collected many things, some are being used, some are on their way to being used and others are waiting in the bone yard for an idea to emerge from the 'black hole' or in other words, the imagination zone of my mind.  Of course the later items are taking up space somewhere along the side of my house in what is lovingly referred to as the 'Bone Yard'. A 'Bone Yard' is what they call the leftover scrap metal and materials left outside in a designated area after a job as my husband explains it so I have adapted the name in hopes it will somehow seem more acceptable to him when he sees the 'stuff'' if I've gone diving a few too many dumpsters. As a collector I see potential. Everything in life has potential.

Just in case you missed it the first time...

...it's never too late to learn about our country's history and the foundation of our laws.  After all that's what we are celebrating on 4th of July, Independence day.

The Constitution of the United States of America

Provided by USConstitution.net


------------------------------



[Note: Repealed text is not noted in this version. Spelling errors have been

corrected in this version. For an uncorrected, annotated version of the

Constitution, visit http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html ]



We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,

establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common

defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to

ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the

United States of America.



Article 1.



Section 1

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the

United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.



Section 2

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second

Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall

have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of

the State Legislature.



No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of

twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who

shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be

chosen.



Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States

which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers,

which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,

including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not

taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.



The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting

of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten

Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of

Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State

shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be

made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three,

Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut

five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland

six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.



When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive

Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.



The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and

shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.



Section 3

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each

State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall

have one Vote.



Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election,

they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the

Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second

Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the

third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be

chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise,

during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may

make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which

shall then fill such Vacancies.



No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty

Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not,

when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.



The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but

shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.



The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore,

in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of

President of the United States.



The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for

that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the

United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be

convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.



Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from

Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or

Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be

liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to

Law.



Section 4

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and

Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;

but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except

as to the Place of Choosing Senators.



The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall

be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a

different Day.



Section 5

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of

its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do

Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be

authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and

under such Penalties as each House may provide.



Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for

disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.



Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time

publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require

Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question

shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.



Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of

the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that

in which the two Houses shall be sitting.



Section 6

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their

Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United

States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the

Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of

their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for

any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other

Place.



No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected,

be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which

shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased

during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States,

shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.





Section 7

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives;

but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.



Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate,

shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United

States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his

Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the

Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after

such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it

shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it

shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it

shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be

determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and

against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If

any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays

excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law,

in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment

prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.



Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and

House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment)

shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same

shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall

be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according

to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.





Section 8

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and

Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general

Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be

uniform throughout the United States;



To borrow money on the credit of the United States;



To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and

with the Indian Tribes;



To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject

of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;



To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the

Standard of Weights and Measures;



To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin

of the United States;



To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;



To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited

Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings

and Discoveries;



To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;



To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and

Offenses against the Law of Nations;



To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning

Captures on Land and Water;



To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be

for a longer Term than two Years;



To provide and maintain a Navy;



To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;



To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union,

suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;



To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for

governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United

States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers,

and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline

prescribed by Congress;



To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District

(not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and

the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United

States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent

of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of

Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And



To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into

Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this

Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or

Officer thereof.



Section 9

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing

shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to

the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed

on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.



The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when

in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.



No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.



No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the

Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.



No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.



No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the

Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from,

one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.



No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations

made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and

Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.



No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person

holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of

the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind

whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.



Section 10

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters

of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but

gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder,

ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any

Title of Nobility.



No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties

on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing

its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by

any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the

United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Control

of the Congress.



No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep

Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact

with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually

invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.



Article 2.



Section 1

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of

America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together

with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:



Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,

a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives

to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or

Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United

States, shall be appointed an Elector.



The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two

persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State

with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and

of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and

transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to

the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence

of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the

Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes

shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of

Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and

have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall

immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a

Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like

Manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be

taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum

for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the

States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In

every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest

Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there

should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from

them by Ballot the Vice-President.



The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on

which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the

United States.



No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at

the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office

of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not

have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a

Resident within the United States.



In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,

Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said

Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by

Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of

the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as

President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be

removed, or a President shall be elected.



The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation,

which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he

shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other

Emolument from the United States, or any of them.



Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following

Oath or Affirmation:



"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of

President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve,

protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."



Section 2

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United

States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual

Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the

principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject

relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to

Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in

Cases of Impeachment.



He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make

Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall

nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint

Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court,

and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein

otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress

may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think

proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of

Departments.



The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during

the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End

of their next Session.



Section 3

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the

Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge

necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both

Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with

Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he

shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he

shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all

the Officers of the United States.



Section 4

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,

shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,

Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.



Article 3.



Section 1

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court,

and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and

establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold

their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for

their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their

Continuance in Office.



Section 2

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under

this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which

shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other

public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime

Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to

Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of

another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the

same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a

State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.



In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and

those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original

Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall

have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and

under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.



The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and

such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been

committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such

Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.



Section 3

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against

them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person

shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the

same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.



The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no

Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except

during the Life of the Person attainted.



Article 4.



Section 1

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records,

and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general

Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be

proved, and the Effect thereof.



Section 2

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities

of Citizens in the several States.



A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall

flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the

executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be

removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.



No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof,

escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein,

be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim

of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.



Section 3

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States

shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any

State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States,

without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of

the Congress.



The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and

Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United

States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice

any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.



Section 4

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican

Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on

Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature

cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.



Article 5.



The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall

propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the

Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for

proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and

Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of

three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths

thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the

Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One

thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and

fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State,

without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.



Article 6.



All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this

Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this

Constitution, as under the Confederation.



This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in

Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the

Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the

Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or

Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.



The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the

several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of

the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or

Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be

required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United

States.



Article 7.



The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the

Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.



Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the

Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred

and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the

Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.



George Washington - President and deputy from Virginia



New Hampshire - John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman



Massachusetts - Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King



Connecticut - William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman



New York - Alexander Hamilton



New Jersey - William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan

Dayton



Pennsylvania - Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer,

Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouvernour Morris



Delaware - George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett,

Jacob Broom



Maryland - James McHenry, Daniel of St Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll



Virginia - John Blair, James Madison Jr.



North Carolina - William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson



South Carolina - John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney,

Pierce Butler



Georgia - William Few, Abraham Baldwin



Attest: William Jackson, Secretary





Amendment 1

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or

of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition

the Government for a redress of grievances.



Amendment 2

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the

right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.



Amendment 3

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the

consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by

law.



Amendment 4

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and

effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and

no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or

affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the

persons or things to be seized.



Amendment 5

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,

unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising

in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time

of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense

to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any

criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,

liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be

taken for public use, without just compensation.



Amendment 6

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and

public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime

shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously

ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the

accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory

process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of

Counsel for his defence.



Amendment 7

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty

dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a

jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than

according to the rules of the common law.



Amendment 8

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel

and unusual punishments inflicted.



Amendment 9

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed

to deny or disparage others retained by the people.



Amendment 10

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor

prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to

the people.



Amendment 11

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any

suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States

by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.



Amendment 12

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for

President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant

of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person

voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as

Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as

President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of

votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to

the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of

the Senate;



The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of

Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;



The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the

President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors

appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having

the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as

President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot,

the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by

states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this

purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and

a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House

of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice

shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then

the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other

constitutional disability of the President.



The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the

Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors

appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers

on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the

purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a

majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person

constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to

that of Vice-President of the United States.



Amendment 13

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime

whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United

States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.



2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate

legislation.



Amendment 14

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the

jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State

wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge

the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any

State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of

law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the

laws.



2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to

their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State,

excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the

choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States,

Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or

the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male

inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the

United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion,

or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the

proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole

number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.



3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of

President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the

United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a

member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of

any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to

support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in

insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the

enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove

such disability.



4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law,

including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in

suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the

United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred

in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for

the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and

claims shall be held illegal and void.



5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the

provisions of this article.



Amendment 15

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or

abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or

previous condition of servitude.



2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate

legislation.



Amendment 16

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from

whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and

without regard to any census or enumeration.



Amendment 17

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each

State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall

have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications

requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.



When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the

executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such

vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the

executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the

vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.



This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of

any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.



Amendment 18

1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale,

or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into,

or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to

the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.



2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce

this article by appropriate legislation.



3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an

amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as

provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the

submission hereof to the States by the Congress.



Amendment 19

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or

abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.



Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.



Amendment 20

1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th

day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d

day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this

article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then

begin.



2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting

shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint

a different day.



3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the

President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become

President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for

the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to

qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President

shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein

neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,

declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to

act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President

or Vice President shall have qualified.



4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the

persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever

the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the

death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President

whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.



5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the

ratification of this article.



6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an

amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the

several States within seven years from the date of its submission.



Amendment 21

1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States

is hereby repealed.



2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession

of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in

violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.



3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an

amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided

in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof

to the States by the Congress.



Amendment 22

1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,

and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for

more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President

shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this

Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this

Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may

be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term

within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of

President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.



2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an

amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the

several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States

by the Congress.



Amendment 23

1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall

appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of

President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and

Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were

a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in

addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for

the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors

appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such

duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.



2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate

legislation.



Amendment 24

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other

election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or

Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be

denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to

pay any poll tax or other tax.



2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate

legislation.



Amendment 25

1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or

resignation, the Vice President shall become President.



2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the

President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon

confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.



3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate

and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he

is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he

transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties

shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.



4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers

of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law

provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of

the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is

unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President

shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting

President.



Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the

Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration

that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office

unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of

the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,

transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the

Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the

President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon

Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that

purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after

receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session,

within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by

two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the

powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge

the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers

and duties of his office.



Amendment 26

1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or

older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any

State on account of age.



2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate

legislation.



Amendment 27

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and

Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall

have intervened.

When you can't control the wind...

...adjust your sails.
A message, not in a bottle, but on the back of a Dove candy wrapper. All Dove fans know about the hidden messages inside. The message also credits Brenda of Schofield, WI for submission. I bet many Louisiana fisherman can tell you that one as it seems they have been living that statement to its core for over 5 years now.  I think its time as a nation we all take heed of that warning. The gulf tragedy is only in its infancy with the amount of problems we will face. I am sure the President got his 'adjust' message at G20 when the push was to reduce deficits by half of GDP by 2013; that would put us at 3-4 percent or how many Trillion in three years? I want to say they were joking but I can't. I also want to say we can do it but I know we can't. When you sit on the sidelines long enough you learn the game. This has been a great time of learning soccer for many US fans. I love soccer. I wanted to play when I was a teen but knew it would end up giving me a knee injury I would regret later in life, having had a major injury already when I was a child. Its been fun learning the playoff ranks for World Cup and how it all breaks down. I have mastered it enough to keep on top of it above my husband and many friends. The game we need to master is a real life version of survivor for the United States I choose to nickname "Bootstraps".  I don't know how many have noticed, but this ship is going down and it doesn't matter which branch of defence you are in military, homegrown militia, or just pacifist, we are all in the same army when it comes to what country we love. We may be at the stage of just sprung a leak' to some but any way you look at it, its a bad situation and its time to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. There are not enough lifeboats.

Hey Jeremy Piven!

I saw you on David Letterman while I was flippin over from Jay Leno and you were talking about your cell phone in the toilet incident. (All you video clip junkies know how to find it on the internet, I've already seen it and if you don't know how to find it, well tough.) I was laughing when you mention the phone getting bagged in rice method didn't work on the phone. I would think it would've worked too. I do have a way that works. I once dropped my phone, unknowingly, into a soft side cooler several inches full of ice water. You know the kind you can't hold your hand in for more than 10 seconds? Ice cold water still floating with miniature ice bergs. When I went looking for it I realized my phone had sat in there submerged into hand freezing temperatures for at least 45 minutes. I knew it was a goner. But knowing how costly it would be to replace and the time involved getting a replacement, I had to revive it. I immediately noticed the screen was partially working. I immediately shut it down. Then I wrapped it in a towel and dried it quickly. This is where you get creative. Use cosmetic brushes, q-tips, or eye shadow applicators and clean every crevasse and crack of any moisture you can find. This is where you get lucky. If you are lucky enough to own a 1950'S O'Keeffe & Merit stove or some other 50's model with vents for the heat at the top of the stove then you will have no trouble with the next part. Set the phone, with the oven off, on the heat vent. Make sure to slide it open if its a slider model. You then come once a hour for 4-6 hours and flip it over each time. Lastly let it sit on a warm heat source for overnight. Turn your phone on and proceed where you left off the day before. I would think you would be safe in your situation after heating the germs away too.

You won't die tomorrow

I have recently realized I have had it up to here(several inches above my head) hearing about the latest facts on food, eating and EXERCISE.

You are supposed to use EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) for better health....ummm, except when cooking at high heat, except if you dislike the taste in baking(spoiled brat you), etc, etc. You are absolutely not to touch butter, the bane of mankind in the fats world. At least that is what everyone making money on those hydrogenated margarine's, 'earth' friendly soy blends, and 50/50 mix would have you believe so they can sell you a higher profit item whether it really is better for you or not. 'Don't eat sugar', 'don't use too much salt', 'Eat This, Not That'! Sports drinks are being marketed to make you believe there's nothing better to 'replace' what the body looses during exercise even though they are full of sugar and salt. I think I'll stick to real food thanks, the kind that grows on trees and in my garden and the stuff I make from scratch.

The same goes for what you eat. Indulging in oversalted fast food aside, having something fried in fat keeps your body satiated and you get to indulge in one of life's truly satisfying flavors and textures, fried food.  We had the most amazing Italian Rice Balls recently and one person didn't 'eat fried foods' so they choose not even to taste it. Your missed chance at a moment of pleasure my friend. The thing is is to be smart. Don't go to the Sushi house every night if you don't know when to stop. It goes with anything you eat. You have tastebuds and senses for a reason, to tell you what not to eat and when to stop when your full. Its up to you to hear what your body says.

I know I have to exercise! There is no other way to say it so I am saying it now! Quit showing us how to do the most boring exercise known to man, chair raises, on morning TV and get down and do some real reporting. You call yourselves a morning news show and you just spout about the latest affordable jacket at $450 and the next recipe in the 'Eat This Not That' cookbook for only the 7th time this year along with Lindey Lohans latest antics with the courts. Why don't you do a little exercise...in investigative reporting. Go down to Louisiana and really show whats going on. Why are there no real footage of the cities and the businesses effected coming out of that area? Are we all so tired of hearing about the problems the south is having we think they'll go away by just ignoring them? My idea of exercise is to pick up a shovel or a rake or til some earth or pull some weeds. Get in touch with this land we need to preserve. It is literally the last thing we have left after the economic demise that is clearly evident by now. If you deny it you are not watching or reading the right things. I am amazed at the stories I see on the international channels. People showing others how to farm, people helping others with no commercial agency propped behind them to soak up the glory, people laughing and running even though they don't have any shoes on their feet yet most Amercians own 10 or more pairs of shoes, and many more examples showing life and not the American dream version which is being lived tied down to a television set.

So I guess what I am saying is, 'You won't die tomorrow' if you eat a few scoops of ice cream this year, or you taste use a little butter with breakfast on Sunday mornings, and you skip that exercise just this time so you can go out to watch the sunset while eating Chinese food. Let's get back to basics and live a little.

The best frugal living advice I can give you is best said in the following quotes:

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”~Mahatma Gandhi

“Live as you would have wished to live when you are dying”~Christian Furchtegott Gellert

Carpe Diem~Seize the Day!

Rope for free

Vintage Electrolux Canister Vacuum ten bucks, rope for free. I got up early a few Saturday's ago and went to the local church sale. They had your usual stuff; old clothes, books, kitchen wares, and they also had a gem hidden in a box. An almost pristine Electrolux canister vacuum in a blue similar to my "marina blue" squareback and the people at the sale said it worked. Your at a church so they wouldn't lie right? I finally got a chance to use it yesterday when one said 'family' vacuum went on holiday.  It is so awesome. It sucks better than my 10 year old Kenmore which is the only vacuum I've bought brand new and is quieter than any vacuum I've ever owned, including my Kirby. I love it and as far as I'm concerned as long as 'family' vac is on vacation I think were both happy. This model is much smaller and the hose doesn't look like a pancaked snake, it has REAL wire reinforcement and fiber wrapped hose in perfect shape. To top it off it looks kinda cool in my 50's met Bohemian kind of house.

The next part is the awesome parts that came with it. They were in this old cardboard drawer box, the kind that is decorated with line drawings to help blend it with your surroundings...it screams "I'm a box" at you but its the cheapest way to store the stuff you only need when its cold. It was wrapped in what I originally thought was a cheap piece of string. It turned out to be that durable nylon rope that is really smooth and is a delight to tie down stuff with. It doesn't tear up your hands or gash you when you tie things down on a truck or van. It just needed some TLC on the ends with a haircut and a flash hair dry(hold the ends over a flame real quick just to singe the ends so they don't keep raveling). So I also have a working rope for free. Let's see what I can make next.

This posts for Jacky, my favorite hairstylist.

A little bit of sugar

Billington's Muscavado Sugar from England.

My excuse for not giving up sugar. I have cut back and used much less because I see what too much of anything can do and the diseases caused by our excess ways. I critique every snack I buy so very little in the way of soft drinks and sugary stuff gets into the house. But God gave me the ability to crave for a reason dammit! I WILL enjoy sugar on occasion in small enough quanitites to appease my craving for sweets. AND what I won't do is to buy into the pandering by companies that would have me believe they can fullfill my dream of a calorie free sweetener. Artifical sweeteners taste aweful! Will everyone just admit it right now and be over it already? Stop the deception! Even Stevia doesn't get my vote. It tastes just like the fake stuff(or should I say engineered stuff?). I don't care if it came from the most precious plant with the ability to reseed itself, water itself and it could send you emails when its ready for harvest! After the taste treat and craving fulfillment, I will give myself a lesson in self control and tell myself, 'no, you had enough. Suck it up right now!!" A reflex of the afterlife of my 7 weeks in spent in Army Reserve boot camp in the 70's listening to drill sergreants yelling at us to hold up our shelter halves. The military will leave their mark alright, mostly in a good way. Those who know me know I got kicked out for having one leg shorter by more than 1/2 inch. Funny thing is that I told them it was at least 13 cm shorter when I enlisted. They took me anyways.

Back to the brown crack. This stuff is so good. It's got to be the Queens brown sugar already! At least I would like to think so. A little bit goes a long way on hot oatmeal, hot apples and caramelized onions or sprinkled in my Peach Stuff (recipe later). Its amazing. You can taste the molasses that is still in there as God originally intended and the molasses hasn't been added back to sugar already bleached and processed. In being frugal sometimes the lesson is you get what you pay for so pay for quality. If you will use a lot less and it tastes better you are going to save in the long run. But add up how many times you get to live like the Queen rather than the pauper that you are after the government taxes, kids tuition and keeping up all of those things you've been brainwashed to believe you need for existence.

I know it will be hard to find. I buy mine from a food co-op once a month. I buy just enough to get through the month and I have yet to use more than 1/2# a month. Now I know that is way less than the 150# average they accuse Americans of consuming. But what would life be without a little bit of sugar?

This post dedicated to Jody.

I Can Do It Cheaper Than Martha....

OK, so you want to help the environment but your sick of all these Greenies who are just in it to make money. I am here to tell you don't have to buy Martha Stewart's new line of cleaners called 'Clean' to do both. Take your Brillo pad for instance. You are not quite sure the old style is up to your trendy consumerism that is going through necessary change, so you buy the plastic 3M ones instead thinking it looks like it might be a better solution. The original steel wool from the hardware store is your answer. Sure they had to make the steel wool, but once it breaks down with usage and time it becomes the earth's own minerals free of man made chemical compounds. Natures way baby! Environmental safe way for you to clean your desired earthly possessions in an earth friendly manner. Steel wool and a drop or two of dish soap, I like the Natural Almond from Earth Friendly Products and is sold at my neighborhood OSH for under $3. Its a sure winner and the price won't find you wanting when it comes to good quality for little money. How much is Martha's brand? $5? And Earth Friendly is a USA MADE brand. I have a very hard time finding anything NOT made in China in the high end stores. You know, the Macy's, Nordroms, Kohl's....I rest my case. Support your local neighbors and local hardware store owners first. Some Ace Hardware are local owner stores and franchise operated. Closest thing besides the small ones hidden in the corner's. Stop shopping the great American way and do your own thinking. If you are the herd going to Target, you might be who I'm talking about.  Localities survive in this economy if you support your neighbors. Martha is not my neighbor.