I haven't posted much, because I've been fairly busy but nothing would have made a very important post frugality wise.
However, here's a little update:

- In order to save money next summer, I am going to buy CSA shares. Local farmers will give me fruits and veggies grown locally and often organically, in exchange for buying shares early to help pay for growing the crops. I am doing a large berry share, a regular fruits and veggie one, and a greens one as well. The total will be around $700, but I will get deliveries weekly for 5 months. It's a pretty good deal once you break everything down. I will also have my garden, with lots of greens, tomatoes, radishes, potatoes, beets etc. So, I will try to eat 80% local next summer, lots of it organic, and make few trips to the store to get citrus fruits, avocados, pineapple and what I can't get here (which isn't much).

- Because of the deer damage, the insurance gave us money to redo the floors. We've been working hard on getting rid of our "junk" on freecycle, and decided to repaint the walls since the rooms are fairly empty now. I am very happy we decided to do this, as the flooring and painting will be done by the end of January, and no other toxic projects are planned. This will give me ample time to easily detox before I get pregnant.

- Which brings me to something else. I am planning on getting pregnant this summer. Since many women get morning sickness that turns them off greens, I plan on getting pregnant in October, when all crops start dying here. Before I do though, I will go on a 6 month detox where I will eat mainly raw, organic, locally grown food. I will also exercise a lot, to get strong stomach muscles to handle the pregnancy, and strengthen my heart to make the delivery smoother.

- I will go off the pill next week, which means that I won't be putting toxic contraceptives in my body. I'm actually going off hormones for ever, not just for the pregnancy. Instead, I'll be using something called lady-comp, which is based on the temperature method. You might say that at $500, it's an expensive method. But it's not! Back in Spencer, my pill used to cost me $40 a month, or... the same as the lady-comp, except I had to pay that every year, while the lady-comp works for a very long time with minor software updates every 10 years or so. So, I'm actually saving money AND my health. Ever noticed how the 2 are often connected?

- Here is a map of my future garden. It's going to be beautiful. I might get a manual wheatgrass type juicer, and any greens I get that start to wilt will be immediately juiced. I am hoping to get 10 ounces of greens daily, mostly in salad and blended, and the rest juiced.



What are your plans for the new year?

Joanna.