Local Fun Things to Do

In the last several weeks, school has ended.

This is the first year that my little guy was in school full-day…5 days a week.  I have MISSED him terribly. So, the last several weeks, we have been bonding again.  Snuggling, holding hands, playing games, etc.

But, I don’t want to just let his summer slip by without having a ton of fun.  To that end, I came up with a list of local free or low cost activities for us to do. After I did, I saw a list going around of 50 fun things to do in Philly.  There is some overlap between my own list and their….but I swear I didn't copy. I came up with more than 30 things on my own.

Some of the things I have chosen, are based on a few memberships that I have.  When I pick a membership, I look at the cost and what the reciprocal memberships are.  A perfect example of this is the Delaware Museum of Natural History.  They offer reciprocals at 4 VERY local places that we would have a good time at…including the “dinosaur” museum in Philly.  Make sure you read the fine print.  Does the reciprocal membership offer free admission or do you have to pay 50% of the entrance fee.  Are there any restrictions like day of the week or the distance from the reciprocal museum to the residence on your ID?  Are you limited to number of children you can bring?  Because I have an only child and I usually am watching one of my friend’s children, I always add a second child on when I fill out the membership.  That way I’m not charged for the favor I am doing my friend…but we’re still having fun.

All that said here’s the list that I came up with.  If you have any other suggestions, let me know.  I could use a few more!!!

Mural mile tour

Fireman’s Hall Museum

Waterworks tour

US Mint

Foot tour of Philly – pay what you want

Rose tree park concerts

Freedom playground

Taylor Arboretum – let kids play in creek

Tyler Arboretum – treehouses and picnic (have membership)

Green dragon

Cowtown

Brandywine zoo – get in with Elmwood Park Zoo membership

Elmwood park zoo – have membership

Delaware Museum of Natural History – have membership

Hagley Museum – get in with DMNH membership

Iron Hill Museum – get in with DMNH membership

Lego building competition

PJ/Movie day

Visit Liberty Bell

Go to Statue of Liberty – request from the little guy

Day trip to the shore

Make s’mores

Catch fireflies

Marsh Creek State Park

Scavenger Hunt/hike

Ridley Creek State Park

Let kids pick a recipe and teach to make it

Learn to play piano

Go to Please Touch Museum (bought groupon)

Camp out in back yard

Academy of Natural Sciences - get in with DMNH membership

Have lunch at Philly food cart

Putting in my new garden - Part 4

Coming to the finish line on starting the garden.  And trust me, it felt like a race putting it in.

The first thing I did was find a local place to purchase hay and straw. I basically typed in "straw [ZIP code]" into google.  Then I called the two closest ones that came up.  The price was the same, so I picked the closest

I did some calculations to figure out how much hay and straw I'd need.  It was like revisiting high school all over.

To do 4 inches of hay or straw in a 80 square foot garden, I multiplied 1/3 x 80.  [4 inches is 1/3 of a foot....4/12=1/3]  That resulted in 26.6666 cubic feet.  I found information that said there were 7 cubic feet of straw in a bale of hay/straw.  Dividing 26.6666 by 7, I came up with 4 bales of hay and 4 bales of straw.  Just a tip......that is SOOOOO much more than I really needed.  What that number didn't take into account is that hay and straw bales are highly compacted and when you spread them out, it goes so much farther. I really only needed 1 bale.

Just for comedy's sake, here's my minivan after putting in 5 bales of hay and 5 bales of straw (4 of each for me and 1 of each for my best friend who is allergic to hay, so I did the transport).

And here is what my car looked like after they were removed.  It took me 2 hours to vacuum it out....even with covering the back area with a tarp. 1.I spent the rest of the afternoon picking the hay out of my hair and my bra.....lord knows how it got there.

Then I debated about where to get the compost/leaf mulch.  Our county has a free composting program.  Townships drop off their compost material, the county composts it, and it's free to pick up. From what I understand, most counties have something similar.

Doing the math (correctly this time), I wanted 8 inches of compost.....which is 2/3 of a foot deep.....I came up with 80x2/3 = 53 cubic feet.  I looked up how many cubic feet in a cubic yard and came up with 27.  Meaning I'd need 2 cubic yards (53/27=1.975).

To get 2-3 cubic yards of leaf mulch delivered from my township is $60.  To get the quantity I needed for free....using 5-gallon buckets, it would take me 8 trips of 30 minutes of driving time (15 minutes each way).  I decided to go with the $60. I'm all about saving a buck, but the gas for a total of 4 hours of driving time would be comparable to that...if not cost more.  So, I went to see the township, wrote the check and got my delivery date.

Here is the lovely delivered leaf mulch. You can see pieces of my broken down pallet in the background.

So, with the back wall built, and the blocks evened up to create the front wall and sides, we were now ready to go.....FINALLY!!!!!!

We took cardboard boxes that we had pulled from our recycling bin, ripped them into pieces with a box cutter, and laid it down covering the grass.  Then we used rolled newspaper under the edges where the cardboard didn't match up properly so the grass won't grow through. We put the cardboard under the edge of the concrete blocks so that I can use them for planting too.

Then we watered the whole thing to soak the cardboard so it would mat down and compost well.

Next came the hay.  We spread it out to a 4-inch depth....and watered it thoroughly.

After that, the beautiful leaf mulch.....I made my husband shovel, while I wheeled, dumped, and spread.  I filled in the holes in the concrete blocks.

Put down a soaker hose and topped it all off with straw.  And now it's ready to plant!!!!!!!!!

So....what Id I spend?????? $50 for the concrete blocks, $60 for the hay and straw (some of which I am now re-selling to friends at a huge discount....recouping about $30 of that), $60 for the compost/mulch, and $25 for the soaker hose (not a necessity, but sure will make life nice).

Grand total.....$165.  And almost all of that is a one-time expense.

Next year's costs will be almost nothing. The joy of this type of garden is that it's almost maintenance free.  Next year I will use my home-made compost and buy 1 bale of straw (which I will split with someone....lesson learned) for $7.

Putting in my new garden - Part 2

Now that I had decided that a garden MIGHT be helpful in more ways than just growing food, I had to really sit down and figure out the how.

I wanted to do it as cheaply as possible.  What I really wanted to do was buy lovely cedar and get someone to build it for me with cute posts with caps on each end.  Something like this......

However, you'll note the price on this lovely thing is $314.95 for a 2x8 bed.  Considering that the area I wanted to cover....I mean use......is 2x40, that would mean 5 of those lovely things.  The total...$1574.74!!!!!  And that didn't include dirt or plants.

NOT quite the cheap way I'd been hoping to go.

Then I looked into pallet wood and concrete blocks.  I like the free price of the pallet wood....but not the look.  And getting enough concrete to go around an 80 square foot garden was still on the upper end of what I hoped to spend.

I did look into the fear that pallets have chemicals from pressure treating.  They used to.....YEARS ago.  The newer pallets have to be labeled.  

Finally, I settled on a half and half thing.  I decided to use wood pallets to create the back wall of the raised bed....because I am SURE that my *lovely* neighbors won't be bothered by the unattractivness of my makeshift wall.

I put in my FB status that I was looking for pallets.  Two neighbors replied and kindly even dropped them off to me.....I TOLD you the rest of my neighborhood is awesome!!!!!! I ended up with 8 total.

My sweet husband (SH) and a friend of ours spent half a day breaking them down.  SH and I tried doing it the "old fashioned" way of using a crowbar and mallet.  It took us (SH doing most of the work) an hour to get 4 pieces of wood off.  While free, I was starting to question the wisdom of using the pallets.

Then our friend stopped by to drop his son off to play with ours....our way of keeping the native happy while we were busy....two boys are more occupied than one.

He had a brilliant idea.....use a circular saw to just cut down the side of each stud.  It worked AWESOMELY.  In an hour, they got me a nice pile of pallet slats to use and a pile of the studs that we are going to use in our firepit.

Now, what to do with the wood.  I'd seen all kinds of idea, but they were mostly to build small boxes out of..

Finally, I came up with a concept.  I cut some of the pallet boards in half.  Then I hammered two of them into the ground parallel to each other, slotted the pallet boards down into it and screwed the front and back boards together with the long pallet boards in between.  The pictures below should give you some idea of how I did it.  (Please note the trash in the background of the photos is NOT on my side of the fence.)

The cut boards driven into the ground with the longer boards slotted down into the channel

A front view of the joining between two sections after the screws were put in.

A view of several assembled sections.

Top view of the wood slotted into the channel (thank heavens I had my toes painted, right?????)

It took me about 3 hours total to do 40 feet of this.  But the first hour was spent doing just the first section.....I had no idea what I was going to do when I sat down.  There are 13 sections total covering the 40 feet.  I got the remaining 12 sections done in 2 hours.  

Not bad for a crazy girl and a pile of free wood.

For the front side of the bed, I went with concrete blocks.  I picked out some that were 6x8x16.  My hope is to use the front cubbies to plant flowers and herbs.

I measured out 24 inches from the stud in the ground for my back wall and placed the cement blocks.  The 24 inches is to accommodate two rows of square foot gardening...a taller or vertical row in the back and a lower growing plant in the front.

As you'll see, some of the ground isn't even.  So I just used some of the compost dirt underneath to raise up the sections that were all crazy.

The cost for doing 40 feet on the front and the two 2-foot side walls, came to about $50.

Making your own laundry detergent

About 3 years ago, my sister told me that she’d been making her own laundry detergent to save money.  I came away shaking my head.  Was she NUTS?????  I mean, REALLY!?!?!?!?!  It’s not like it costs THAT much.  If you watch the sales, for $10, you can get a supply that lasts about a month.

On the drive home, my friend of 25 years was with me.  I commented that I thought my sister had gone too far in cutting costs...typical older sister that never gives the younger ones credit for anything, right?  My friend replied that she actually thought it was a fantastic idea.

I then proceeded to think them both insane.

About a month later, I kept thinking about it.  I did a little research.  Shockingly, I only found positive reviews. 

So, I caved and called my friend and told her I was thinking about it.  She was excited beyond belief because she had been thinking about it too.  I shared with her the info I’d found and we decided to split initial costs.  We both spent $7 and gave it a shot.

I didn’t mention it to my family…my husband then played in a band, and my oldest was a teen at the time.  I figured that if no one noticed any change in the cleanliness of the clothing, that was a win.

Two-and-a-half years later, I couldn’t be happier.  In addition to my initial investment of $7, I have spent $5 more.  $12 for 2-1/2 years of clean clothes.  Buying it on sale would have cost $300.  CRAZY how much of a savings it has been.

And the time cost is negligible.  It takes me 5 minutes to grate the soap.  Another 5 to simmer it.  Another 5 to measure everything and stir.  Then I let it rest overnight and it’s good to go.  Each batch lasts me about 3 months.  Not bad for 15 minutes of work.  

AND, it works for high-efficiency washers, too!!!! My friend that I split the start-up costs with has a high-efficiency washer, 3 kids who play sports, and a husband who works weekend construction.  It really works.

And….YES.  I was a big girl.  I called my younger sister and told her I thought it was a GREAT idea!

Here is what you need:

• 1 bar of Dove 

NOTE: I am allergic to Ivory, which was recommended, but oddly all the things I found remarked that the mixture made with Ivory was lumpy; with Dove, it’s not. Finished product looks like the real thing.

• 1 cup Borax
• ½ cup Washing Soda
• 6 quarts of water total
• Grater
• Sauce pan
• Water
• Container that will hold 6 quarts [I use an empty (clean) cat litter container]

Grate the bar of soap...Typically I have always used plain, white Dove, but this time, my sweet friend picked up the soap for me at a local farmers market.

For the grater, I use a regular cheapo grater that I picked up at my local Swedish store.

Put into a sauce pan and cover with water (about 1 quart of water).  

Heat over medium heat until soap is dissolved.  Do not let boil and stir occasionally.

Pour mixture into your container.  

Add in the 1 cup Borax and 1/2 cup Washing Soda.  I keep mine in zipper bags with the amounts written on it so I don't have to check every time.

Stir until dissolved.

Add 5 quarts of water.

  

Let rest overnight and it will be ready to use!

Make Your Own Yogurt - Traditional or Greek

My son eats yogurt like CRAZY.  On a weekly basis, he probably eats 3 quarts of it....by himself.  My sweet husband and I both like Greek yogurt. In addition, for the last year, I have used it in place of almost everything that calls for sour cream (save heated dips....which it does not work for).

All in all, I probably was spending about $20 each week on yogurt.  Crazy, but it's healthy....and how can I talk my boy into cutting back on eating something

Years ago (like 15????), I bought a counter-top yogurt maker at a garage sale, but got confused by the instructions and gave it away to GoodWill a couple of years later.

But, with spending that much on yogurt, I decided that it was time to figure out if I could do it on my own.  And.....ta-dah!!!!!!  I CAN!!!!!!!!!

For the cost of a gallon of milk (about $3.50 where I live), plus the cost of 2 boxes of generic vanilla or banana pudding ($0.62 each X 2 = $1.24), and 1/2 cup of sugar ($0.08????), I can make 3 quarts of regular yogurt or a quart and a half of Greek.....total cost 4.82.  Buying at the store, the same volume would cost me about $11.37 for the traditional yogurt or $9 for the Greek yogurt.

Keeping on with the math, that's a 58% savings for traditional yogurt and 54% savings for Greek yogurt.....unless I am doing my math wrong.  It has been a while and this whole "new" math thing has me confused. ;)

While the whole process takes a long time, the actual time invested is minimal.

Here's how I do it.

I start with 1/2 gallon of skim milk at a time....I might be able to start with the full gallon and use a bigger pot....but I've never tried it.

Measure out 1/2 gallon of milk.  Remove 2 Tablespoons of milk and put into a small bowl for later.  It's OK to leave this out on the counter.

I heat the milk over medium high heat, stirring constantly.  It takes about 7-10 minutes, and I get bored quickly, so I read a book while I'm stirring.

When the temp reaches 180 degrees F, turn heat off.

Immediately pour into large, room-temperature bowl.  It is still, hot, hot, hot....as you can see by the steam rising off the heated milk.

Wait until the milk cools to between 110 and 105 degrees F.

While milk is cooling, preheat oven to 150 degrees F.

Then take the reserved 2 Tablespoons of milk and add in 3 Tablespoons of yogurt that contains live cultures.  The first time I did it, I used store-bought yogurt, but from then on out, I just take 3 Tablespoons out of every batch and put it in a small container to use as the culture for the next batch.

To tell if yogurt has live cultures, read the ingredients label.  Most commercial yogurts just say "cultured yogurt" or "cultured milk"....that doesn't count.  Look for the ones that actually list them....L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, L. acidophillus, Bifidus, etc.

There are some that just say "live active cultures," but I figure if you can't list them specifically, you're just making it up.

You can find more info on live active cultures here.

Stir the reserved milk/live culture yogurt mixture into the 105-110 degree F milk.  Make sure to combine throughly.

Cover container and place into preheated oven.

Turn oven off, turn oven light on, and wrap covered bowl in a towel.  The light on and the towel will help keep the temperature what it should be for the cultures to grow properly.

The mixture needs to rest/culture for at least 8 hours.  I typically do this at night before bed and then move on to the next step in the morning after I get the little guy off to school.  

This is what it looks like the next morning.  Not sure how well the picture turned out, but I tilted it sideways a bit to try and show the yellowish liquid on top.  That is the whey.  The rest is a VERY soft pudding-like consistency.

Then I line a colander/strainer with a thin tea towel.  A lot of what I read said to use cheesecloth.  For me, cheesecloth isn't re-usable...and would have added to my cost.....NOT my goal or in keeping with how I feel about using re-usable items.  So, this is a thin tea towel that I purchased at IKEA.  It's got a loose, supple weave and I wash it before...and after in a laundry load with bleach.  So, I'm not worried about any contaminants.

Pour the cultured milk (now really yogurt) into the strainer and liner.  Put the strainer in a large bowl.  I use the one that I just cultured the milk in over night.

Put the cover back on and place in the refrigerator. 

For traditional yogurt, let it strain/drain for 8 to 10 hours.

For Greek yogurt, let it strain/drain overnight.

The liquid in the bottom is called whey.  There are uses for it.  I have tried one...making sauerkraut....and I have a quart of it in the fridge to try bread with...but have yet to get there.

Set aside 3 Tablespoons of the yogurt for the next batch.

If you want to flavor or sweeten your yogurt, now is the time.  For my little guy, I use a pudding mix and extra sugar.  I was shocked how much sugar it took to make it taste like the store-bought stuff.  My hope is to dial back the sugar a teaspoon at a time and hope that his taste buds adjust to the slow decrease.

For me and my husband, we just use the Greek kind without additives.

Place your yogurt in a clean container. 

Refrigerate and enjoy!

Budget Asian Cooking

Every couple of months, I head to an Asian grocery store in South Philly....the kind where I am the tallest person in there....at my big height of 5'2"...and I stock up.

Here is what I always get.....

• big jar of sambal oelek
• big bottle of sriracha 
• a couple large bottles of rice vinegar
• a large bottle of good soy
• a large jar oyster sauce
• a jar of hoisin sauce
• several packages of rice noodles
• a couple packages of cellophane noodles
• some fresh thin noodles...I toss them immediately in the freezer
• won-ton wrappers....also go right in the freezer
• egg roll wrappers....same with the freezer
• fresh ginger...when I get home, I peel it, and freeze it...then just grate it while still frozen
• fresh lemongrass...stick it in a glass of water and lasts for months...even starts to root
• bottle of fish sauce (yeah, it sounds gross and doesn't taste great when you try it plain....but in stuff....WOW)

I also pick up any spices that I'm out of....and anything I've been interested in trying or have seen in a recipe.

While all this stuff would normally cost me about $85 in a regular grocery store, taking the time to drive the 20 minutes there and back....this ends up costing me about $35 and the quality is MUCH better.

Crazy savings, right????  You have to be comfortable reading/guessing at labels in another language....and with sights and smells that aren't in your "norm."  Once you get over that, it's so fun to find new things.

Valentine's Day on the Cheap

This year, with our major efforts to simplify, my sweet husband and I decided to not buy gifts.  We don't need more "stuff" in the house or our lives.

I still wanted to do something to show him how much I care about him and value our life together.

So, I did a little research and came up with a meaningful, no-clutter gift.  I dug through our spare change around the house and found pennies with the years we were born, the year we met, the years the boys were born, the year we got engaged, and the year we got married.

I headed down to the basement work area and drilled a hole in the top of each one.  Then dug in the the junk drawer for a spare key ring and strung them on in order.

And now my sweet husband has an addition to his key ring.

He loves it.  No extra clutter. Cost me $0.07 and 45 minutes of time.  And my husband has a sweet token of our life.

Tonight for Valentine's dinner, I asked him to pick his favorite meal.  We are having chicken gyros that I found at The Girl Who Ate Everything.  They are fantastic and the preparation time is SO simple.

Homemade bread

In starting on my journey to take my family to a new place of peace and enjoyment, one of the places I have looked to is Weekend Homesteader.  Weekend Homesteader January

While I do not want/need to test my soil because I am planning on putting in a raised-garden bed, I have decided that I would LOVE to be making more homemade bread.....IF I can find one that my 7 year-old will eat on a regular basis.

I am no stranger to making homemade bread.  I have done it with the traditional kneading method.  I have done the Artisan Bread in 5-minutes-a-day method.  I found some Peasant Bread on Pintrest. All have had success.  But none would I consider making my little-est's day-to-day sandwich bread from.  He LOVES them all warmed with butter, but in his mind (because I have warped him) sandwiches go on Strohman's Family Whole Grain bread.

Today, I decided to combine the Artisan Bread above with the dough rolling technique from The Simple Dollar's idea.

I have not yet tried it on the boy....BUT, the texture of the bread was very similar to the store-bought bread the boy loves.  And, my sweet husband and I both loved it heated lightly with some butter.  YUM.

Tomorrow will tell if it's "good enough" for a 7-year-old's sandwich. ;)