Girl on a Journey: Waste: Day 14

It has been a productive week! We took some recycling to the Franklin County Recycling center on Thursday… had some big helpers and they earned a whopping $7.

They used their money that afternoon at the New Haven Farmer’s Market. We went to down to get some tomatoes to make some salsa. We ended up buying flowers and cinnamon rolls (along with the tomatoes). We sat and listened to a traveling band that was playing at the market that day. The kids enjoyed their cinnamon rolls and were completely enchanted by the duo. It was super great to sit and watch, just enjoying the things all right there in our community.

Friday was a lazy day… but had a very productive day today. We went to the local hardware store to purchase all of our items for the clothes line. Also spent some time in the local second hand store looking for a few items I have been hunting for but can’t find (or find or a reasonable price)… still no luck.

We spent the afternoon moving swing sets, building clothes lines, and making pickles. All of these things felt very “waste fasting worthy”, but I am not convinced any of them will turn out fantastic. Only time will tell :)

kids drug the post down the hill

This is my "moving the swing set" face.

Hard at work with all his "help"

2 gallons and 1 quart of pickles... hope they taste better than they look!

I will say this about the month and it’s financial impact… there are some things that you can definitely get a much better deal on by shopping around, especially if you are looking for something specific that isn’t likely to be carried by a local merchant. There are TONS of things you can find at thrift/second hand if you are willing to go on the hunt and be patient. I have found myself not spending more on groceries this month than I normally would. This came as a surprise. I really expected to spend more. But I think the fact that I am aware that shopping local and farmer’s markets is more expensive has made me much more particular about my purchases. This is a good thing. I will say the exact opposite about eating locally. We have spent WAY more than we normally do on eating out this month. We don’t normally eat out a lot, but I find my self wanting to try all these local places that I don’t normally eat just because I am focused on supporting local this month. (This might also explain the not so high grocery bill :)) I think I need to just make a list of all the local places I want to try, and then spread the wealth over then next few months. :)

The girls are very excited that their green house is actually producing plants (and so am I!!!). It makes me want to plant and herb garden in my kitchen windowsill… though I am not great at using herbs other than oregano and cilantro… might need some herbal tips before I venture down that road.