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.