Fun With Foodstamps #1

This is supposed to be an ironic title - because as I approach my 57th birthday, I am now using Food Stamps for the first time in my life.  However, as one who has always aspired to make lemonade of life's lemons, I will attempt in this blog to make the most the experience by sharing creative ideas on the best usage of the EBT.

I got through a couple of months mostly on beans, rice, oatmeal, and the gradual emptying of my pantry shelves and freezer before the paperwork finally cleared and my card and PIN number arrived in the mail.  Interestingly, the PIN number arrived first, torturing me with anticipation for a full week before I was able actually to access the benefit and get to the store.  The first thing I did was to run to Wegmans and pick up some vegetarian proteins that were not beans!  I also splurged on a half gallon of orange juice, some peanut butter and jam, and 5 lbs. of additional rice (as I had run out).  I think the whole draw on the account was $12.00 when I checked out.  I need to point out that I am self-employed, my children are grown and out on their own, and the only one who needs to be fed in my household is me.  And my two cats.  The issue of pets will be the topic of a later blog.

It is high harvest season now in the Finger Lakes.  Farmers' Markets, farmstands, specialty dealers such as Red Jacket Orchards, are overflowing with healthful fruit and produce at reasonable prices, and in bulk quantities suitable for canning and freezing for later use.  Unfortunately, most of these outlets do not accept the EBT card.  Also, I experienced for the first time the mortification of offering the card at one such venue and the owner not even knowing what it was, much less being able to honor it.  There is shame in this, even in necessity.

The only sources of bulk produce I have found that do accept Food Stamps are the Mennonite grocery stores, primarily Sauder's in Seneca Falls.  From these outlets I have, to date, purchased and canned bushels of peaches (sliced, and as jam), tomatoes (as puree and prepared sauce), and green beans.   Total cost so far has been only 1/4 of my monthly benefit.  I borrowed a pressure cooker to process the low-acid vegetables and sauce.  Everything else was open kettle.  I anticipate that one months EBT benefit would supply me with enough raw products to process as would feed me for several months.  Many other staples such as dried beans, cheese, flour, spices (incredibly cheap!) and other baking supplies, can be purchased in bulk at the Mennonite stores.

I have just finished processing 7 qts. of tomato sauce in the pressure cooker; which basically was 2 1/2 hours of work:  1 hour to cut up and put 1/2 bushel of tomatoes through the Victorio strainer, chop onions, garlic, and peppers, and start the sauce cooking down.  Another hour to prep the canning jars and lids, and set up and load the pressure cooker, plus 1/2 hour listening to the jiggling of the 10 lb. pressure weight, making sure the temperature was neither too high nor too low, while I wrote this blog.

My EBT card renews in two weeks.  I've used less than half, both meeting my current needs and laying up healthful food supplies for the cold winter months.  This is all still new to me; so I am sure others may have useful ideas.  Feel free to post them here.

Feng Sui of the Home Workplace

The beginning of a new year is a good time to clean house, both physically and metaphorically.  When you work for yourself, your environment is very important.  Old habits, inconveniences long ignored, clutter and material obsolescence, all need periodically to be shaken out in the light of day.

Sometimes the simplest changes can have the most profound effects.  In recent months I have had difficulty in connecting with my partner, only achieving good business communication over extended breakfast or lunch dates - not very cost effective if you are living on a shoestring!  Today I took a good look at my home office space (which also doubles as my absent college son's room and the TV and computer media center).  When my partner returns from his "day job," his tendency is to switch on "Two-and-a-Half Men" and zone out for the rest of the evening.  The TV was the focus of the room layout; we had to twist awkwardly to converse and it was impossible to maintain eye contact.

So, today I took the whole room apart, stuffed the TV in a corner and set up the two armchairs at a 90 degree angle to each other in the bay window, with a table between them.  This positioning automatically draws the eyes to the other person.  Also, the tables at the right of each chair allow us to have our computers/note pads handy.  We're also close enough to rub each others' feet!

Making a virtue of necessity, I will probably retire the TV anyway.  The cable rates are going up and it will be better for the budget to rely on my Internet service provider both for work and entertainment.

More anon. 



 

Dusting

A couple of months ago I decided to do my part to help the environment by no longer buying paper towels.  Being well supplied with rags and old linens, I figured that this would be an easy switch.  I found out, though, that there are some cultural norms that it is hard to psychologically escape.  Drying lettuce with a dish towel, after washing off the dirt, seems somehow unsanitary.  And, I'm sorry, when the cats york up on the floor, I am not going to use and wash a rag (digging through the recycling, I found some old newspaper to deal with that).  I started wondering how clean rags and towels actually get in the wash - are the germs and filth just recirculating and somehow ending up back in the household food chain?  I stopped using bleach quite awhile ago, so no back-door sanitation can be achieved that way.  Yet what sort of toxins exist in paper towels?  They just look clean!  I have always believed in the "five second" rule, anyway. 

Interestingly, I have had no health problems of any kind that relate to an unclean environment.  We all have been brainwashed to buy products to secure the illusion of protection from ....what?  Our bodies are adapted to the world around us.  Some people believe that allergies and other autoimmune symptoms are directly related to over-exposure to cleaning agents and household chemicals.

Dusting is one of those "quarterly" chores that I get to only when extreme boredom sets in.  Cleaning the bathroom is another general area of neglect in my life.  I get down to bedrock only when I expect students in the house or when I am hosting band practice.  Lately, though, I have discovered a couple of quick fixes to keep me ahead of the game.

Dust with your dirty laundry.  When in transit with your loaded laundry basket to your washing machine, grab whatever item is on top and use it to dust the stair rods, bookshelves, piano, and whatever else you encounter in passing.  Then just throw it in the wash!

After you shower, use your wet, soapy washrag to clean the sink and toilet.  Yes, I know this sounds gross, but after all, you just throw it in the wash afterward.  And your bathroom will be clean (or at least look clean) all the time!

It's all a matter of perception.

More anon.





 

Bluing - Amazingingly Cheap, Effective, and Environmentally-Friendly!

I recently "discovered" bluing - a liquid laundry additive that dramatically whitens whites and brightens colored fabrics.  Made of blue iron powder suspended in water, a nontoxic amount of a pH balancer and a biocide to prevent the buildup of algae and bacteria, bluing achieves striking results while being environmentally-friendly.  It also does not destroy fabrics, like bleach will do.  Bluing was a standard laundry product from 1883 up until WWII, when laundry detergents hit the mass market.

Each washload requires just a few drops of bluing (pre-mixed in a half-gallon of water, to prevent blue streaks on clothing), and it is amazingly cheap - a bottle will last forever.  Amazon.com and other on-line sources ratchet up the costs dramatically - your best bet is to go straight to the source (see link below), where you can get it for $4.00 per 8 oz. bottle:

.http://www.mrsstewart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=LFCMOMSB

My opinion is that bluing largely disappeared because:
1.  repeat purchases were too slow for marketers and profit margins too low
2.  bluing worked too well and would cause unfavorable comparisons with products that cost more and had a higher turnover.

Great for the poor fiddler's budget!

More anon.

Ads That Pay Off and Those That Don't

Just a piece of advice for those of you needing to market yourselves or your business enterprise.  I have found that reader ads in the local shopping guide give a much better return for money invested than display ads in the weekly entertainment section of the regional newspaper.  For some shopping guides, you can run a single ad distributed in three separate regions for one set price.

My friends in folk radio have been great boosters for me, announcing my fiddle classes, but regretfully I have yet to get any inqueries from these.   Facebook is a good launch site, but unless you keep re-posting your classes or events, people will forget that they are there.  

I am working on developing e-mail subscription newsletters, and once I give these a shot I will let you know how effective they are as a marketing tool.

Onward and upward, fellow independent workers!

All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir....

One of the "perks" of being a musician is being frequently asked (begged sometimes) to plug a gap in someone's musical line-up.  If you have a seasonal specialty, e. g. being a Celtic fiddler around St. Patrick's Day, suddenly everyone will be pounding on your door for gigs, or to ask you to come in as a side-man to make their jazz or old-time band "sound Irish" for a couple of weeks.

Tonight, Christmas Eve, I have been called to the Episocopal Church because I can sight-read and sing alto.  There are two of this denomination in town - one known for it's beautiful music and professional presentations and the other with a brilliant and thoughtful pastor, but a small choir (many of which members have decamped for the holidays).  Each year the former church is packed to the rafters for the midnight service while only a few folk drift in to the latter.  These are a scattering of mostly elderly people who favor substance to style in their Christmas celebration.  About an hour from now I will be singing for them.

Happy Christmas (as they say in the British Isles) to all of you.

More anon.  

The Gift That Keeps On Giving?

I will be teaching four different levels of fiddle classes beginning in January.  The e-mail inquiries coming in are quite interesting but, in some cases, alarming.

Two people have contacted me to register for other people that don't know they are being signed up!  This scares me because it is like buying someone a pet without their knowledge.  Will they resent it?  Feel obligated? Or, just not come at all? 

This brings to mind a strange occurrence from one of my early beginning fiddle classes at a local community college.  An elderly, confused gentleman appeared on the first day with a banjo in hand and an absolute conviction that I was going to teach  him to play.  "But this is a fiddle class," I protested, helplessly.  "I don't teach banjo."  Taking a seat in the front row, he flipped open the latches on the case.  "I'm sure the college will give you a refund," I persisted.  "This is a mistake." He looked up at me mildly, picked up the banjo, and sat at attention.   Out of ideas, I let it go and resumed my focus on the rest of the group, all properly equipped with the right instrument.  He kept coming back week after week, ignoring my explanations, then half-way through the third class abruptly jumped to his feet, bawled, "I'm not learning anything here!" and stormed out.  I made sure he got his refund, but it was unsettling.

Why learn to play fiddle?  Because it’s the greatest thing in the world to do!  I’ve been playing fiddle now for 36 years, as a solo performing musician, as a band member and as a teacher.   My job is to share my joy and enthusiasm and to show others how to get there. 

Make sure, then, that those for whom you buy the ticket really want to take the trip.

More anon.