The butter is melting

We moved to Ohio from Tennessee about eleven or twelve years ago. The first few winters, I went outside as little as possible, usually in a full snowsuit. I got a lot of weird looks, but it kept me warm.

When we lived in the city, we had a huge house. Over 2000 sf, two stories plus attic and basement. A nightmare to heat. One year, thanks to the soaring price of natural gas, we kept the thermostat below 60 and lit two kerosene heaters. Our gas bill was still over $450 for a single month. We wore a lot of layers and slept under electric blankets.

When we moved to the country, our home here had originally had floor heat (buried inside concrete). Those pipes had long since rusted out, so no warm floors for us. We spoke with several heating contractors. The one that suggested we jackhammer up the floors and replace the pipes was probably the least helpful of the many that were here. The house has no basement or crawl space underneath and no attic, and also had no duct work. Most of the contractors weren't even interested in the job since it wasn't a plug-it-up-and-go type thing.

We finally ended up with a lovely forced air oil furnace and custom duct work. It put out wonderful heat, and the first winter here wasn't too bad. But we did run through the oil trying to keep the house comfortable.

Then the price of oil started going up, and up, and up. We relied more and more on the wood burning insert in our living room, and stopped buying oil. We learned to cut firewood. We learned which wood burns best and how to season it, etc.

Still, the back of the house was cold. We all use electric mattress pads, which seem to work better than electric blankets, but getting up at night was uncomfortable. We all wore heavy flannel pj's and socks to bed. Big Sis' room felt like a meat locker. I swear you could see your breath in there.

We decided this year that we would install a second wood burner. Due to the layout of the house, it had to go in the kitchen. We rearranged the kitchen to make room, bought the wood burner, and then bought the stovepipe and accessories (which ended up costing as much or more than the stove did).

Finally, my new stove is in. I am warmer than I have ever been (in winter) since I moved to Ohio. I am wearing short sleeves. It is so toasty in here that I may have to open a window. If I do, I'll shout to the world that IT'S WARM IN MY HOUSE!!

So warm, in fact, that the butter is melting. This is a wonderful thing, as just last week the butter on the counter was no softer than the butter in the fridge.

Tomorrow, we expect a wind chill of -17F. The new wood stove will get it's first real test with temps like that. I expect to still be toasty warm. ;)

Last Christmas, I got a new living room floor. This year, I got heat. Real heat. I just don't think it can get any better!

Keep your filthy paws off my ruby slippers!

The economy has finally flattened us like a falling house. Yes, those are my cool stripey stockings and ruby slippers sticking out from underneath. Dorothy, you bitch, keep your paws off my slippers! I may have to hock those!!

Hubby (aka Satan) works in the auto industry. Not the big 3. He works for a Japanese company that makes the majority of its parts here in the U.S. However, they are also feeling the pinch of the economy and have, as a result, cut back production. Which, of course, means we are taking a beating financially. Satan will work only three days a week. We aren't sure for how long.

I was pretty freaked out at the news. I have our budget on a spreadsheet. I can tell you how spending $20 today will affect me in six months. Plugging in the new numbers left me in shock.

I tend to internalize stress. That means I don't whine, but I get sick. My hands shake and I feel like throwing up. That's pretty much how I spent the entire day yesterday.

Then I talked to Satan. He was completely positive about the whole situation. I really didn't give him enough credit there. After all, he makes the money and I manage it. I thought he really had no idea the dire straights we were facing.

So I talked to Biggest Brother. He also reminded me that this can be an opportunity. He's a firm believer in the laws of attraction and positive thinking. He always impresses me with his positive attitude.

I was reminded by Big Sis that she has a job, no bills, and would be happy to help out if need be.

I was reminded by Little Sis that I am, after all, Country Wife, and what the heck is out there that I can't kick its butt?

And here I am now, looking at the 'setback' from a whole new perspective. Yes, it'll be tight. We are, essentially, a single income family (meaning only one parent works), and have been for many years. We've lived on a tight budget for a long time, just so that one of us could be home with the kids. We will get by.

I have skills. I know, you don't see a chainsaw wielding writer very often, but there's a demand. I swear! lol I was, not too long ago, offered a position I could perhaps pursue from home, so I may look into that.

Satan will take this opportunity to help me restock the firewood we've used, as well as get ahead on his inventory of items soon to be available on Etsy.com. We'd planned to set up our own website, but at this point, Etsy will be the most affordable option. Look for those items coming soon to your local Country Wife blog. :)

We will learn to live on even less, and hopefully take that with us as Satan returns to full time work. That will mean more money in savings.

How will my life change? How will the new, uber tight budget affect us? Well, for one, we will have to switch to less expensive brands of toiletries. Some of them, anyway.

I will be cooking all of our meals. We've gotten lax lately, or I should say, I have gotten lax, and I've been buying a few convenience items. I know..how awful. But Satan loves frozen pizza, so who I am to tell the man no when it leaves me with the bonus of free time and a clean kitchen? lol

In the future, you can expect to find a few frugal recipes, some frugal tips, and hopefully lots of positive thinking at my country life blog. And if you see Dorothy, kick her butt and get my shoes back, will you?

Christmas is HOW close??!!

I can't believe Christmas is approaching so quickly. It's like a holly laden locomotive barrelling down on me. Help!

At least I am done with most of the major renovations for the year (or what is left of it). We still plan to get our second wood stove installed, which means a bit of work (ripping up linoleum tile and putting in stone flooring under the stove, framing in the skylight where the stove pipe will go, etc).

I am greatly relieved to have Little Sis' room done. Well, mostly done. Her room still needs accessories to match her new horse theme, but those will make nice Christmas gifts, so her room will be officially done after Christmas.

In the process of painting Little Sis' room, I discovered something...bad..about..Adam Ant. Oh, that's so hard to say. The bad news: Ant Music isn't good for painting. See, no one can possibly stand still while listening to Adam Ant. Therefore, paint ends up in places it shouldn't be, splattered and spotted. Oh, well, at least it made the job more fun. ((yeah, yeah, I know, people are probably tired of my Ant obsession...tough!!)

I officially start Christmas shopping tomorrow. I'm one of those people that never buys too far ahead of time. I did manage to do that one year, and discovered it was pretty boring to be done before the holidays even started. I enjoy being out, the people watching, the fully stocked shelves of neat things I've never even heard of, the piped-in Christmas music. I really don't buy a lot, and I will be exhausted when I'm done, but at least one or two trips out during the holidays are a must. I usually avoid the weekend crowds and the major 'door buster' sales, though.

I actually don't have a lot of shopping to do. I need to pick up supplies for some cookies and candies, perhaps some packaging for shipping, ingredients for a tea basket, etc. We are exchanging home baked goodies with some family members via mail, and everyone here at home has asked for practical items.

We'll put up our tree this weekend, write letters to Santa (a family tradition), dance around to silly Christmas carols, drink hot cocoa, and have a great time. Now I just have to find my copy of A Nightmare Before Christmas!

How about you? Are you all ready for the holidays?