On the other hand, this year has brought me many joys. In not having full-time employment, I’ve found ways to fill my time productively. I spent most of this year free of addictive gaming. I picked up new hobbies. My various freelance jobs taught me much about web design – those much-needed ‘best practices’ that I’m ignorant of, since my way of learning everything web-related is just to jump in and make things work.

In measuring the success or failure of my goals this year, I’m using two things as a yardstick – both my 101 Goals in 1,000 Days list, as well as my more specific 2009 collage.

Goals Attained This Year

• I finished League of Extraordinary Hogwarts Students, the LARP I was writing, for Intercon I in March 2009, and ran it again at Festival of the LARPs in April 2009. (collage)
• In August 2009, I finished reading the last of H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction. “The Whisperer in Darkness” was the last story I read, and it became one of my favorites. (collage/101 goals list)
• In November 2009, I successfully completed NaNoWriMo, writing the first (very rough) 50,000 words of Viktory Empire, a new novel. (101 goals list)
• I successfully built my emergency fund up to my goal of $5,000. In fact, I had close to $10,000 in it before I lost my job in May. Sadly, it has since been diminished, but it did its part in getting us through some of the toughest months.  (101 goals list)
• I finally established a compost pile. You would think that creating a pile of rotting food waste wouldn’t be very difficult, but I was plagued by uncertainty about the best way to do it. I really didn’t want to build a structure to contain the pile, so I ended up repurposing a large plastic tote for the job. So far, it works great! (101 goals list)
• I completed a paid freelance web design/development project. Several, in fact. (101 goals list)
• In transitioning from full-time to contract employment for most of my income, I reduced my work week to less than 30 hours. It’s a bittersweet accomplishment. (101 goals list)

Goals Attempted But Not Attained This Year

• My husband and I did not attend WorldCon, due to finances, and as a result we did not finish the costume we intended to make for it. (collage/101 goals list)
• The whole “losing my job” thing meant that I didn’t make an additional $10,000 this year, despite my best visualization attempts. (collage)
• My habit of daily exercise – and my “personal best” of 19 out of 30 days of a month with exercise – was not bettered during this year, despite getting a Wii Fit for Christmas 2008! I’ve found that I most enjoy outdoor activity – but I live in a place with frequent inclement weather, so I often use the weather as an excuse not to exercise. (collage/101 goals list)
• Biking around town is still a faraway goal. By a combination of walking and riding my bike, I managed to top the Hill o’ Doom (in October 2009), but doing so is still a major undertaking. (collage/101 goals list)

Goals of Questionable Status

• Do I have a new career? Here in the last days of the year, I’ve started another contract position which has the potential to turn into full-time. When I think back, a lot of the work I’ve done to pay the bills during this six months of semi-employment has been web development-related, rather than research related. So in some sense I have a new career, even if I don’t have a full-time job will all the benefits I want… yet. (collage/101 goal list)

I’m working on putting together a 2010 collage, and I’ll share that as soon as I finish it. In the meantime, how did your year-long goals or New Year’s resolutions turn out?

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Year-End Goals Check-In

And yet, I seem not to have broken anything! Please poke around the site and confirm that this is true?

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Upgrade, at last

But I’ll be honest: sometimes I hate it.

Sometimes I get to thinking that without a ~$3,000/month mortgage, I could do a lot more with my money. Without all the maintenance that needs to be done, I could do a lot more with my time.

It’s not realistic to consider moving/downsizing. For one, my husband is against it, and marriage is, if nothing else, a compromise. For a second thing, try finding an apartment that will let you have four cats. Moreover, try living in a small space with four cats. No way. For a third thing, selling my home – let alone selling it for enough to cover the remaining mortgage – would be challenging or impossible.

But that doesn’t stop me imagining it.

I hadn’t read all of Early Retirement Extreme’s 30-Day Makeover, so I became engrossed in that this morning. In Day 1, he explains his method of finding sustainably-inexpensive housing. Here’s a quote:

I think there are three things that matter.

1. Location relative to your work.
2. Location relative to your grocery outlet.
3. Cost.

Jacob then walks you through using Craigslist and Google Maps to find some housing options that meet these three criteria. I read the article with interest, but feeling a little crestfallen that none of this was really relevant to me. Then I read his little note at the bottom of the article: Even if you are not going to move, try going through the craigslist/google maps exercise anyway just to realize that it is possible.

Well, sure, why not. Here I am killing time until my next assignment, anyway.

Since I currently work in Bedford, New Hampshire, I went to NH Craigslist to begin my search. I went to housing, typed in “Bedford,” and entered in the parameters of $400-$700 that Jacob recommends (I have to admit, I was very skeptical about this limit, since I don’t live in a particularly inexpensive part of the country, but again, killing time). I didn’t specify a number of bedrooms or the need to allow pets. In this imaginary downsizing world, I don’t have four cats, and pets do significantly limit your housing choices.

One of the first acceptable listings I found (i.e. not for a single person, not furnished) was this one, a walkout basement in someone’s home with a bedroom, living area, and bath. I had no idea if it was anywhere near where I worked or not, so I turned to the power of Google Maps. Jacob recommends that if you live somewhere where you can bike to work year-round, you should limit the distance from work to 6 miles; 3 miles if you live somewhere with a winter, so that you can walk the route if necessary. I, of course, live in the cold Northeast, so 3 miles was the limit.

Good news! Google Maps’ walking directions to my workplace clock in at 2.4 miles. The most difficult part, I knew from experience, would be the walk along Rt. 3, which is a divided highway with scant sidewalks. It was doable, though. Ironically, the walk would take 49 minutes, which is exactly the amount of time Google estimates it takes to get from my current home in Massachusetts to my workplace by car :)

Total time elapsed in doing this search? Five minutes.

What’s my point? Jacob’s way of doing things is feasible. It’s not for me, right now, but it was an interesting thought experiment. Maybe some day the markets will perk up, I’ll have paid down more of my mortgage, I won’t have four cats, and my husband will be sick of stacking wood and changing air filters. Such a move might be more reasonable then.

But for now, I’m content.

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Imagining Downsizing

I’ve often wondered if picking your own apples is a good value proposition.This past week I shelled out $44 to fill two bags with apples in about 15 minutes. That seems like expensive entertainment! But the question remains if it’s a good value relative to how much you would usually spend on apples. Are you paying for the experience, or just the apples?

At the place where I pick apples, Doe Orchards in Harvard, MA, a 1/2 bushel bag costs $22 each, or $44 for a full bushel. A bushel is a volume measurement, not a weight one, and each individual bag will vary, but by the U.S. Federal standard, a bushel of apples contains approximately 48 lbs of apples. (I believe that, having tried to carry some of those bags).

Let’s compare this to another pick-your-own place, Lanni Orchards, which is just down the street from me in Lunenburg. Here, pick-your-own apples are 75 cents/lb, meaning that those 48 lbs of apples would cost me $36 there. This is less than Doe Orchards, admittedly, but part of the reason I choose Doe Orchards is that it has more trees and a greater number of apple varieties.

Let’s compare it to apples sold at a farm stand. Dick’s Market Garden, also close to me, sells Macintosh and Cortland apples for 99 cents/lb, or $47.52 for 48 lbs. If I had to buy apples on my own, this is where I would buy them – paying $3.52 more than pick-your-own at Doe Orchards, and a full $11.52 more than pick-your-own at Lanni.

And finally, to a grocery store. Macintosh apples are sold for 99 cents/lb at my local supermarket, although they’re marked down this week to 59 cents/lb. At the 99 cent rate, you’d be paying $47.52 for those 48 lbs of apples; but at the 59 cent rate, you’d only be paying $28.32. But at that point, you’re not necessarily buying local produce, which is one of the strengths of pick-your-own and my favorite farm stand.

In conclusion: pick-your-own is not a bad deal for food, but it’s probably a bad deal for entertainment. If you’re the type of person who likes to do a lot of fall baking or canning, it’s a better choice than buying apples at a local farm stand. I guess that makes sense, since you’re doing most of the work yourself.

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Is Apple Picking a Good Value?

First of all, here’s the original recipe:

Universal Casserole

1 cup main ingredient
1 cup second ingredient
1-2 cups starchy ingredient
1 1/2 cups binder
1/4 cup “goodie”
Seasoning
Topping

Main ingredient suggestions: tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood.
Second ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard-cooked eggs.
Starchy ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice.
Binder suggestions: cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup.
“Goodie” suggestions: pimiento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts.
Topping suggestions: potato chips, cheese, bread crumbs.

Thoroughly mix your combinations of the above ingredients. If it seems dry, add 1/2 cup milk or stock. Place in buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

- The Complete Tightwad Gazette, Amy Dacyczyn, p. 625

As Ms. Dacyczyn suggests in the surrounding text, I most frequently use a basic white sauce, found in any recipe book, as a binder in this. Another favorite trick of mine is to use panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), when I have them. But I guess I just have yuppy tastes like that ;)

Here’s one of the yummier casseroles I’ve concocted:

Salmon & Veggie Casserole

1 cup smoked salmon
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup grated carrot
1-2 cups of cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups of white sauce
1/4 cup of fresh dill
Bread crumbs

Thoroughly mix the above ingredients, except the bread crumbs. If it seems dry, add 1/2 cup milk or stock. Place in buttered casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

My notes:

• I happened to have a leftover pouch of smoked salmon from a Harry & David gift box I’d received. Canned salmon or tuna would probably work, also.
• The herbs you can use are entirely up to you. Dill works especially well, but I have also used cilantro.
• The finished casserole can be a little liquidy. You can reduce this effect by thawing the peas as much as possible beforehand (or using fresh peas), and by using the full two cups of cooked rice.
• As mentioned above, panko makes everything better :)

I hope this discussion of turning leftovers into casseroles has inspired you to branch out in your cooking :)

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Best of the Tightwad Gazette: Universal Casseroles

While popular in our household, I had somewhat gotten out of the habit of pulling together leftovers in this way. However, my recently-painful dining out bills inspired me to get back in the kitchen and make something with leftovers from a party – five ears of corn, some Stilton cheese, and a mustard sauce for kabobs.

I’m happy to say I succeeded, thanks to the universal crust-less quiche recipe. Here’s the original recipe:

Universal crust-less quiche

I cup plain yogurt (milk, cottage cheese, or other substitutions are possible here)
1/4 cup water
2-3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup flour
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/4 cooked, chopped meat
1/4 cup chopped, cooked vegetables
Seasoning to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9″ pie plate Bake for 30-35 minutes or until set.

- The Complete Tightwad Gazette, Amy Dacyczyn, p. 763

A couple of my own notes:

• The consistency of this quiche may not be what you’re expecting in a quiche, but don’t let that deter you. It’s good in its own right.
• As suggested, there’s a wide variety of dairy options you can use for the first ingredient – milk is always perfectly acceptable, and sour cream also works well.
• I find the quantities of meat and vegetables to be pretty small – you can definitely increase those if you happen to have more lying around.
• I usually bake this in a casserole dish rather than a pie plate – most pie plates seem too small to me. Muffin tins also work to make mini-quiches!

This flexible recipe has been the basis for dozens of meals in our house. Heck, sometimes we even buy ingredients especially to make this quiche, rather than piecing it together from leftovers.

So here’s what I made last night:

Corn & Stilton Crustless Quiche

1 cup sour cream
Honey mustard
Finely chopped onions and peppers
1/4 cup water
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup flour
1/2 cup crumbled Stilton (or any bleu cheese)
1/2 cup corn

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9″ casserole dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until set.

The top three ingredients were part of the mustard sauce for the kabobs. I figured, hey, it has sour cream as a base, why not? I’m pleased to say it worked well. The corn I sliced off the cob; since I didn’t have any meat to put in, and I figured the eggs provided enough protein, I just put in what I had of the corn, which was about a half cup. And, finally, Stilton is obviously not an inexpensive food item, but I happened to have it lying around, as I said, so in it went.

Try it yourself sometime – as with any universal recipe, substitution is half the fun :)

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Best of the Tightwad Gazette: Universal Quiches

I am a bad frugal blogger. I’ve spent over $350 this month on dining out.

To be perfectly honest, restaurant meals regularly make me a liar when it comes to frugality. Every month I tell myself, “Okay, Lise. You can’t afford to spend more than $100 this month on dining out.” Every month I fail.

Back in October 2007, I even set a goal of not eating out for a month. I met it… then when to Outback Steakhouse the very next evening for dinner.

I hate this habit of mine, not only because it’s a budget buster, but because a lot of the restaurants near me aren’t even that good. Considering that I live in throwing distance of several farm stands, in the right season, I can easily create my own meals out of high quality ingredients.

… well, except for that whole hating to cook thing. Oh, I suppose I don’t hate it. But I don’t derive joy from it, either. When I cook, my only goal is to get out of the kitchen as fast as possible with something edible.

My husband does a lot of the cooking, and often he aims for the extravagant. He’s been perfecting a coconut-lime cheesecake recipe for a month and four iterations now. Man cannot live on cheesecake alone.

Plus, what I like about eating out is more than just the food.

Let’s take the Breakfast Issue. I’d say probably 85% of our restaurant expenses involve breakfast. Breakfast, in addition to being my favorite meal, is one of the least adultered meals. There is only so much you can fake eggs, bacon, toast, etc. On the weekends, it’s not unusual for us to eat breakfast out both Saturday and Sunday, usually at Bickford’s or the local cafe, The Ugly Omelet.

There are added benefits to these meals, however. If I get out of the house in the morning, I’m less likely to nap later in the day. I love the opportunity to sit across the table from my husband and have somebody else wait on us. I like to support local businesses. In the end, breakfast out is more of an event than it is a meal.

So where does the solution lie? One meal out per weekend isn’t going to break the budget… but more than that probably is.

Anyone have any experience with or advice about keeping dining out bills in line?

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Reigning in the Dining Out Budget

Here I am, breaking that rule – and also confirming I’m still alive.

A lot has changed in my life since my last posting. The most significant is that I was laid off from my full-time job in market research. I didn’t sit idle long, though; within a couple of weeks I had a part-time freelance gig as a web programmer for a marketing firm in New Hampshire.

I’ve been supplementing this income with a couple of side projects. For one, a friend hired me to write and program the product tour and introductory email blast for a piece of software he’s trying to sell. Secondly, a former coworker, who had recently become VP of Research at a different company, hired me on as a contractor for a phone survey her firm is conducting.

To be perfectly honest, losing my job was probably the happiest thing that could have happened to me. It has taken me on the path toward self-employment, which is ultimately where I want to be. Right now finances are tighter than usual, but I am hoping to fill out my time with more freelance work. I also still look at (and have interviewed for) several full-time jobs; but it seems a lot easier right now to get part-time work.

Aside from work, I have been working intermittently on my garden, (which is doing very poorly this year, alas), planning an RPG campaign for friends, and, after six months of WoW-freedom, volunteering my time to help other gaming addicts find a way out.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting my first substantial post in a while: Reigning in the Dining Out Budget.

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

Where in the world is Lise Fracalossi?

This guide will explore the origins of Freecycle, how to find a group near you, and the etiquette of exchanging items on Freecycle.

What is Freecycle?

Freecycle is a movement whose mission is “to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.” The origin of the word, is, of course, “recycle,” and the verb “Freecycle” is often used itself.

Freecycle.org acts as the hub for the Freecycle movement but – and here’s the confusing part for some people – nothing much happens on the site itself. As stated on the site’s main page, “The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,661 groups with 6,287,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns…. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free.”

So How Do I Find a Local Group?

Do start at Freecycle.org, as it is the central database for Freecycle groups. You can use the search box to search for your town by name, but I recommend “Browse Groups” as a better option. For example, if I search on “Lunenburg, Massachusetts,” I get a series of results for groups that are not very close to me (i.e., Quincy?) – this is what will happen if your town doesn’t have its own group, even if the next town over does.

If I browse groups in Massachusetts, I see all the towns that host a group listed alphabetically. This allows me look for any towns that might be near me. Here, for example, is the Fitchburg North and West CARES group, to which I belong.

Signing Up For a Group

Once you select a group, the page will redirect you to the group’s mailing list. Most mailing lists are run by Yahoo!Groups, Google Groups, or a similar service. If you don’t have a free Yahoo or Google account (or whatever provider the group is using), there should be easy steps to follow to get one. Do this first, as this is key to your interaction with your local group.

With membership in a mailing list like this, you or another member can send a message to everyone in the group just by sending an email to an address like Your_Freecycle_Group@groups.yahoo.com. In this way, no one has to know all the names and email addresses of everyone who belongs to the group.

In signing up, it is very important to follow the rules exactly. My Freecycle group, for example, has the following sign-up rules:

• You must disclose your email ID or you can’t be Approved.
• Please list your ZIP CODE in your request.
• Let us KNOW you read & will comply by our site’s rules.
• You CANNOT choose NO EMAIL in your Profile as Admin MUST be able to reach you, which is minimal.
• Please read our Rules as some are different on this site than others.
• Everything posted must be Free, Legal & Family Appropriate.
• Proper FORMAT in the Subject Line is MANDATORY for ALL Freecycle sites.

In some Freecycle groups, you may be required to submit a short paragraph that describes why you wish to join. This is to rule out people who are joining just to get free stuff to resell, for example.

Okay, I’ve Joined. Now What?

Once you’ve joined, Freecycle emails will start pouring into your inbox – okay, depending on where you’re living, they may dribble rather than pour. If you don’t start seeing emails within a few days, check your settings with the mailing list provider to make sure you have checked the option to receive emails.

The first thing you’ll want to do is acquaint yourself with the rules and etiquette of your particular group. Most often these will be emailed to you as soon as you sign up. This will specify things like what items can be offered for exchange (most Freecycle groups, for example, have a strict “no pets” policy), what the format for email offers/requests should be, how frequently you can request items, etc. Groups can be fussy about these rules, so it’s very important that you pay attention.

Once you’ve read the rules, it’s time to look at the emails you’re receiving. Most Freecycle posts are of one of three types:

• WANTED: Someone is making a request for an item that they want for free
• OFFER: Someone is offering an item for free
• TAKEN: Someone is announcing that something they posted previously has been claimed. Some groups allow the use of “PPU” (pending pick-up) to announce that an item has been claimed but has not been picked up yet, but others do not – again, check the rules of your particular group.

If you are new to this group, it is considered good etiquette to offer an item before you request anything. Some groups also cap the number of “wanted” posts you can make. Once again, refer to the rules.

Offering an Item on Freecycle

If you have an item to offer, simply send an email to the whole group (at Your_Freecycle_Group@groups.yahoo.com, or whatever the address is) with a subject line of “OFFER: [My item]“.

Within a short period of time, if anyone wants that item, they will email you privately to request it. Usually they will tell you when they can pick it up. (Usual Freecycle etiquette dictates that if you’re getting something, you pick it up; if you’re offering something, you let the other person pick it up). At this point you arrange pick up instructions with the person who wants the item, such as “I’m located [here] which is at the end of ABCD Road. I’ll leave the item on the porch for you.”

Some other issues that frequently arise with offering items:

• Multiple people request the item. Most people simply take the first person who replies; other people give priority to charities or folks in need. You can come up with your own guidelines for who gets your stuff, but make sure they’re in line with the rules of your group.
• The person who claimed the item doesn’t pick it up. I usually give the person one or two more chances to pick it up, then I offer it to the next person on the list (assuming multiple people claimed it) or relist it. Chronic no-shows should be reported to the administrator of the list.

One major don’t in offering items: don’t just say, “There’s a pile of leftovers from my garage sale on my porch at 1234 ABCD Street; whoever gets there first gets them.” This is frowned upon by many Freecycle groups, and is just plain annoying in others.

Requesting an Item That’s Been Listed

So say that someone is giving away a Nintendo 64 system with the old skool Tetris game you’ve always wanted. (The Nintendo 64 Tetris is the best Tetris, after all!) Email that person off list - i.e., reply to them at their own email address, NOT the entire list – saying simply, “I’m interested in that item and I can pick it up at such-and-such time.” Some people put in a line or two about why they want the item, but frankly, I find that comes off a bit needy.

If the offerer decides that you’re it, they’ll email you back with a confirmation, i.e. “That time works. I’ll leave it on the porch for you. I’m at 1234 ABCD Street.” Don’t be offended if you get no reply back – if the person has a lot of responses, they may not be able to individually reply to everyone who requests it. If you don’t hear back promptly, assume you didn’t get the item.

If you’re requesting an item, the burden is usually on you to pick up an item. Be sure to pick up when you say you will! If you have to miss it for some reason, send a timely update to let the person know what’s up.

Requesting an Item That’s Not Been Listed (i.e. Making a “WANTED” post)

I recommend not posting a “WANTED” post until you’ve been participating for a few weeks to a month, and have offered other items. That said, a “WANTED” post can be very effective for both parties. I have only ever requested two things – an atmosphere oil burner, and a sari – and I got the first and was able to borrow the second. In the first case, the person was very eager to get the item out of their house, as she never used it!

When making a WANTED post, simply post an email to the entire list with the subject line: “WANTED: [your item here].” As outlined above, people will begin to contact you shortly if they have the object you want, and from there, you can arrange pick-up. As always, be courteous and grateful for the item you are getting for free.

Downsides and Alternatives to Freecycle

Asking my young, urban friends why they don’t use Freecycle more, I got a common response: because of transportation. Many of them don’t own cars, and as the burden of pick-up is on the requestor, that makes it difficult to participate.

Some people also dislike the strict rules of Freecycle. It’s true that to deal with a large volume of posts, Freecycle group moderators must sometimes slap people for things that seem trivial, like using headlines that don’t use the words “wanted” or “offer.” As in any human endeavor, too, management issues and bureaucracy creep in, such that some people have left Freecycle to start their own groups with similar interests.

If you’re looking for an alternative to Freecycle – either because it’s burnt you in the past, or you simply don’t have the transportation to participate – I recommend this wikiHow article, How to Find an Alternative to Freecycle.

In Conclusion

There are basically four steps to get involved with Freecycle:

• Find a group near you.
• Follow the rules.
• Give as much as you take.
• Find appropriate alternatives, when necessary.

If I’ve left anything out, I refer you to this wikiHow article How to Freecycle for more details.

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

The Complete Beginner’s to Freecycling

Some better-known artists you’ll find free downloads of:

• Bare-Naked Ladies
• Ani diFranco
• Willie Nelson
• Jamiroquai
• Ray Lamontagne
• Ted Nugent

Personally, I downloaded Very Best of Naxos Early Music, a sampler of early ecclesiastical music (yes, even as an atheist I enjoy this… it’s so cleansing).

Post from: Frugal in the Fruitlands

561 Free Songs from Amazon