Jane Spencer wrote an excellent article for the Wall Street Journal (I forget the title and date) that beautifully illustrates why holding a garage sale is a waste of time. First of all, if the proposed sale is held in a garage, that a sign that the owner is carrying a mortgage on a house. The owner would be better off increasing the available income tax deductions by having Goodwill, Vietnam Veterans of America or the Salvation Army pick up ALL unwanted items worth less than $50. More expensive items should be sold on eBay.
No, this winter won't be any more expensive. I'm in MN, and most winters are equally cold and equally expensive. Plus, I'm a naturally warm person and it's so much easier to keep warm than it is to keep cool. Throw on a sweatshirt and snuggle under a blanket!
This winter my husband and I are going to be trying out hardest to cut back on alot of our expenses. IE: date night might be a skidoo ride instead of dinner and a movie. We will be reusing winter suits for our kids and turning down the heat when we leave the house and at night and shutting of lights when we leave a room :) :) :) :)
If you've already tried some of the hospital organizations and charities that are out there, you might consider asking friends and family for help before you declare bankruptcy or do something else drastic like stopping treatment. Our system is broken, but you might be surprised at how much your community and loved ones can help. Online fundraisers for help with medical bills have been very successful for a lot of people, and are sometimes combined with more traditional fundraisers like pot-lucks or raffles. There are quite a few great online personal fundraising tools out there like http://www.gofundme.com/medical-bill-assistance/.
I'm worried that we're going to have an early and exceptionally cold winter this year. We'll have a newborn in the house this year, so we'll have to keep the thermostat up a bit from our normal temps. Also, with only one of us working, finances could be tight if we end up with a high gas bill all winter long. Again, we're beginning to wish we'd installed a wood-burning fireplace for supplemental heat instead of a gas one.
Hammy,
That is a beautiful boiler/tea urn! You could secure the lid with a few strong bungie cords and seal it with flour paste. I use my old bread, add some water and make a dough. Seal it well and let it dry some before turning on the heat. I can not believe the price for the urn. I would buy 2 or 3 at that price. At first, I thought it would be aluminum and would be a problem, but it seems to be ok.
Matt,
When you are unsure of what is in your wash, you have to watch what you make. If there are different alcohols in there, you have to desperate them. When you ferment fruits and veggies, you get oils, methanol and ethanol. The methanol is bad for you. The oils are nasty. Since the boiling point of the 2 alcohols and oils are not the same, you can collect the product according to temps. You will start with heads coming off the still. They will smell and taste bad. If you have a small still, collect them one shot glass at a time. You can save it for the next batch, or just toss it. When the bad smell and taste goes away, start collecting. As more ethanol is separated out, you will start to get more water vapor. You can collect it, but it dilutes your product. Eventually, you get tails. You can collect them and reuse it next fermentation. It dilutes your product a lot if you use it. So take it out.
It depends on whether we have a cold winter like we did last year (for the south). Energy costs are up, so it could be bad. Summer has been bad with the extreme heat & increased energy costs. I'm prepared for the worst and hoping for the best!
We're hoping to have the same or lower costs - we just installed new doors and windows, and "topped off" our attic insulation to improve our house's heating efficiency. We also filled our heating tanks (500 gallons total) so that we won't have to purchase again when the price goes up in winter.
I would also like to know about freezing. I make basil regular noodles in the summer and freeze them, but would love to make gluten free for gluten-intolerant extended family. Also, can you use the commercial gluten free all purpose flour, or are the included flour types too different?
Of course it will be, mostly because we do not have enough cash, and very likely we will use credit cards, which generates interest and because of that, the final payment is always higher...
I think it will be - but not much more than last year. I also think folks are more aware of conservation techniques to save energy etc - so this will help too
I'm expecting the cost to be similar. Last year was an extremely cold winter for the region. However, even if the winter is milder we still received a rate increase for electricity(it's a no win proposition because even when people don't use electricity we end up getting increases to cover the fact that it was mild weather-I kid you not).
Yes, it'll be more expensive this winter... not because of rises in fuel costs or anything like that, but we now have a baby! While previously we were content to put on extra sweaters (and even coats) at home, it seems unfair to our baby to have to wear layers of clothes when we could set the temperature a little higher.
Also, farmers' almanac says this will be a colder winter than before. I don't doubt it...
We'll try our best to continue keeping costs low with our fireplace (free firewood from father-in-law's property!), extra sweaters, hot beverages, lots of snuggling, etc.
I have a hard time believing it will even get cold enough to use the heater this winter here in Dallas. Only in the past week has it even gotten "somewhat less than hot" outside.
I think it will cost me about the same for heat as last winter. Natural gas prices are stable or maybe a little lower than last year. I use a space heater, programmable thermostat, and electric blanket in addition to the furnace.
Young Living has an under arm deodorant that is highly effective and all natural. I use it because I can't use any of the commercial products on the market.
yes because a lot of necessities have gone up in price so it will seem more costly.
Jane Spencer wrote an excellent article for the Wall Street Journal (I forget the title and date) that beautifully illustrates why holding a garage sale is a waste of time. First of all, if the proposed sale is held in a garage, that a sign that the owner is carrying a mortgage on a house. The owner would be better off increasing the available income tax deductions by having Goodwill, Vietnam Veterans of America or the Salvation Army pick up ALL unwanted items worth less than $50. More expensive items should be sold on eBay.
Temperatures will be more erratic, with cold spells and even hotter days. It'll cost more more for most people to heat their homes.
No, this winter won't be any more expensive. I'm in MN, and most winters are equally cold and equally expensive. Plus, I'm a naturally warm person and it's so much easier to keep warm than it is to keep cool. Throw on a sweatshirt and snuggle under a blanket!
This winter my husband and I are going to be trying out hardest to cut back on alot of our expenses. IE: date night might be a skidoo ride instead of dinner and a movie. We will be reusing winter suits for our kids and turning down the heat when we leave the house and at night and shutting of lights when we leave a room :) :) :) :)
If you've already tried some of the hospital organizations and charities that are out there, you might consider asking friends and family for help before you declare bankruptcy or do something else drastic like stopping treatment. Our system is broken, but you might be surprised at how much your community and loved ones can help. Online fundraisers for help with medical bills have been very successful for a lot of people, and are sometimes combined with more traditional fundraisers like pot-lucks or raffles. There are quite a few great online personal fundraising tools out there like http://www.gofundme.com/medical-bill-assistance/.
I'm worried that we're going to have an early and exceptionally cold winter this year. We'll have a newborn in the house this year, so we'll have to keep the thermostat up a bit from our normal temps. Also, with only one of us working, finances could be tight if we end up with a high gas bill all winter long. Again, we're beginning to wish we'd installed a wood-burning fireplace for supplemental heat instead of a gas one.
Hammy,
That is a beautiful boiler/tea urn! You could secure the lid with a few strong bungie cords and seal it with flour paste. I use my old bread, add some water and make a dough. Seal it well and let it dry some before turning on the heat. I can not believe the price for the urn. I would buy 2 or 3 at that price. At first, I thought it would be aluminum and would be a problem, but it seems to be ok.
Matt,
When you are unsure of what is in your wash, you have to watch what you make. If there are different alcohols in there, you have to desperate them. When you ferment fruits and veggies, you get oils, methanol and ethanol. The methanol is bad for you. The oils are nasty. Since the boiling point of the 2 alcohols and oils are not the same, you can collect the product according to temps. You will start with heads coming off the still. They will smell and taste bad. If you have a small still, collect them one shot glass at a time. You can save it for the next batch, or just toss it. When the bad smell and taste goes away, start collecting. As more ethanol is separated out, you will start to get more water vapor. You can collect it, but it dilutes your product. Eventually, you get tails. You can collect them and reuse it next fermentation. It dilutes your product a lot if you use it. So take it out.
Hope this helps.
It depends on whether we have a cold winter like we did last year (for the south). Energy costs are up, so it could be bad. Summer has been bad with the extreme heat & increased energy costs. I'm prepared for the worst and hoping for the best!
We're hoping to have the same or lower costs - we just installed new doors and windows, and "topped off" our attic insulation to improve our house's heating efficiency. We also filled our heating tanks (500 gallons total) so that we won't have to purchase again when the price goes up in winter.
I plan to wear warmer clothing and use more blankets, so I'm hoping this winter will be less expensive. Fingers crossed!
I think it'll be a more expensive winter..time to break out the snuggie..
I would also like to know about freezing. I make basil regular noodles in the summer and freeze them, but would love to make gluten free for gluten-intolerant extended family. Also, can you use the commercial gluten free all purpose flour, or are the included flour types too different?
Of course it will be, mostly because we do not have enough cash, and very likely we will use credit cards, which generates interest and because of that, the final payment is always higher...
I think it will be - but not much more than last year. I also think folks are more aware of conservation techniques to save energy etc - so this will help too
We are expecting a very cold winter here in New Hampshire after a very hot summer! Seems the weather is getting weirder every year...
Yes it will probably be more expensive this winter but I plan on turning the heat on as less as possible and cover up with blankets.
I'm expecting the cost to be similar. Last year was an extremely cold winter for the region. However, even if the winter is milder we still received a rate increase for electricity(it's a no win proposition because even when people don't use electricity we end up getting increases to cover the fact that it was mild weather-I kid you not).
Christine
dazed1821@aol.com
Yes, it'll be more expensive this winter... not because of rises in fuel costs or anything like that, but we now have a baby! While previously we were content to put on extra sweaters (and even coats) at home, it seems unfair to our baby to have to wear layers of clothes when we could set the temperature a little higher.
Also, farmers' almanac says this will be a colder winter than before. I don't doubt it...
We'll try our best to continue keeping costs low with our fireplace (free firewood from father-in-law's property!), extra sweaters, hot beverages, lots of snuggling, etc.
I have a hard time believing it will even get cold enough to use the heater this winter here in Dallas. Only in the past week has it even gotten "somewhat less than hot" outside.
Luckily, Seattle is pretty temperate, so it rarely gets super-cold here. So I don't think there'll be a huge price difference for heating.
I'm afraid it will be a more expensive winter. Costs are already heating up as it gets colder in the deep south. We need cheaper fuel sources!
I think it will cost me about the same for heat as last winter. Natural gas prices are stable or maybe a little lower than last year. I use a space heater, programmable thermostat, and electric blanket in addition to the furnace.
Young Living has an under arm deodorant that is highly effective and all natural. I use it because I can't use any of the commercial products on the market.
Michelle