Greenjeans Farm

There is a framed postcard in our bathroom that greets me each morning on the shelf where I keep my make up brushes.  It portrays a 1950ish beautiful blonde woman ala Lana Turner in full make up and the caption on the bottom is “Frugal is such an ugly word.”  There is also a framed postcard on another shelf in our bathroom that portrays a 1950ish beautiful red headed housewife type and the caption on the bottom is “My Garden Kicks Ass”.  

These two postcards totally explain my relationship with frugality.  On one hand thinking frugal is a pain, on the other hand it can be greatly rewarding and a heck of a lot of fun.  The fact that I chose to place these two in our bathroom is beyond me.  I guess I think of the bathroom as a place of reflection!  And I am definitely a split personality.

There is the me who wants to be able to live in the Pottery Barn Catalogue.  And there is the other me who looks at the pictures in the  Pottery Barn Catalogue and can figure out how to get the same look and feel at a fraction of the price!  That spurs me on to other frugal adventures.  It would be wonderful to be able to hire people to decorate your home, or landscape your property, or if dogs and cats and mud and dust and fly’s didn’t exist!  And yet it is rewarding to be able to plant with abandon and make things grow and have a beautiful multi colored frog visit you in the bathroom while you are brushing your teeth.  And to not have to pay $300 for a slip cover that your dog is going to destroy in a matter of months. 

I long for an all white living room, I always have.  If I ever lived by myself I would have one, it would also have a view of city lights and ever changing floral themes in the room.  But I live  on a working farm with the people I love, so I won’t attempt an all white living room any time soon and if I ever get there I think it would be initially satisfying, but really lonely. You are never going to get alot of people that want to live in an all white house.    And hey, I can always go to my all white living room in my head and the people I love know not to bother me when I’m there! 

Visiting second hand and consignment stores rather than “antique” shops.  Making new friends, finding friends who have saved what they tore out of their homes and are willing to give you that wood that is just laying around, or the clawfoot tub that didn’t fit in the new bathroom. Or trading a tent for a mattress!   Buying that fabulous three door refrigerator that is marked down by 50% because there is a scratch on the side that no one will see.  These are the things that make frugal fun.  Trading plants and recipes with a neighbor.  Buying a side of organic beef that two families can share!  Now that is fun!  That is participating in your life, being conscious of what you are doing!

There are a lot of people who think they are entitled, either because of education or their “place” in society, what ever they think that is.  But none of us should think that it’s not work, getting up everyday, hitting the ground running.  Here and there you slam your head against a wall or fall down and brush yourself off and hit the ground running the next day!  The only rule should be it is never at the expense of another. 

I am not sure what this whole ramble means, except that I am leading up to taking a sledge hammer to my 7 foot living room ceiling.  Honey get the tarps out and catch on to the vision! 

Yesterday it was my birthday, hung one more year on the line.  We planted willows and hazelnuts Thank you my wonderful work friends for your generous gift certificate to Oak Valley!  Today I planted lots of herbs and flowers in the greenhouse and more chives and walla walla onions!  I also took the pruning cuttings from the willows and stuck them into the ground to see if they would grow.  So we might have about 8 willow trees!   It is cold and there is a promise of rain.  First from the southwest and now from the north!  Could be the perfect storm! This would be great as it has been way too dry.    I am into experimenting this year and planted some of the broccoli starts out in the garden to see what they’ll do this early.  I also planted poppies outside, it will be beautiful in a few weeks if they go!  We have daffodils and robins so anything goes!   

By the time I was done it was freezing cold and I didn’t have to ask Jeff to build a fire.  I came in the house and started reading seed catalogues for things I have yet to purchase, (potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins).  Territorial Seed is great and has a really comprehensive catalogue, but Peaceful Valley is just as organic and cheaper.  I went with Peaceful Valley.  They just seem a little bit more real and a little less yuppie.  44 dollars for what I wanted to order as opposed to 150 dollars at Territorial.  But without the two of them, I would be hard pressed as an organic farmer. 

Went to the grocery store today to buy a couple of things for dinner.  I got in line in the ten items or less line  feeling good that my purchase was less than ten items and bruised that that I only had 20 dollars to spend.  January is a tough time for our farm and our bank account!    

There was a woman in front of me that I noticed had two frozen pot pies, a loaf of bread, and envelope and a newspaper.  She was waiting for her daughter to come back into line that she had sent for something else.  The ten or less line is always very urgent and I actually enjoy going through it, because some people are so weird about fast, and I like to make comments that screw around with their heads.  Her daughter came back with a gallon of non fat milk and she was looking at it like it was  a twelve pack of coke to one of my kids.  The clerk rang it up and she was two dollars short.  I could feel her fear and her pain as she paid her cash, (like 15 dollars and then told the clerk to put the 2 dollars on her ATM, I know she was sweating whether it would go through or not. I know that she knew how much a gallon of milk meant to her daughter at that point.   It worked for her, but I tell ya I was ready to give her my 20 and walk out of the store with nothing.  I actually regret I did not give her one of our cards.  And  hope that I see her again sometime.