The first thing I did was help the kids determine what size refrigerator they need. The space is relatively small, and we decided that a 14-cubic-foot refrigerator would be about as large as they could go. I did the obligatory Internet search to compare prices. Even the smallest of refrigerators ran upwards of $400.00 when purchased new. I need to do much better than that. In fact, those who know me well, will tell you I am so frugal that I will look for a free one first. They’re correct. Never pay for something you can get for free—and they’re are plenty of free things. You just have to look for them.

Without a doubt, the best free stuff on the Web can be found at www.freecycle.org. Freecycle lets you join a mailing list from your area. It’s like a cyber garage sale that never ends. When you sign up, you receive an updated e-mail every day. I’m constantly amazed at some of the items that people are giving away. Here’s a sample from this morning’s e-mail for the Wausau, area:

1. Offer: 25″ Sanyo Color Television – Weston From: Super Lou
2. Offer-small TV stand- Rothschild From: Lisa
3. Offer-Chemistry set-Kronenwetter
4. Offer-Shoe Cabinet

I haven’t found the refrigerator yet, but I do have my eye on the scrap wood and the shoe cabinet. Some folks want the items picked up immediately, which a problem for me, as we only make one trip a week into Wausau (sometimes less). So, we have to coordinate pick-ups and drop offs.

If you have something that someone else can use, and you don’t feel like driving it to the thrift shop, consider giving it away on Freecycle. If you’re looking for something, look at Freecycle first.

At our house, Christmas is a religious holiday. We have never been extravagant in the gift department. Growing up, my children always got fewer gifts than the other kids. However, we never went into debt to buy them anything. If they wanted a big-ticket item, we waited until the late-January clearance sales.

Every year, I pick a theme for my gift-giving. I pray and meditate on what new things I’ve learned in the past year. This year, I’ve learned the value of creating memories. While others are pouting and whining about what they don’t have because of the “global economic crisis,” I was blessed with the gift of remembering the good times. So, everyone on my Christmas list will receive a memory book from me.

When my kids were little, I took copious amounts of pictures, ordering doubles when I went to have them developed. I have a huge plastic tub full of pictures. Each of my children will recieve a photo-album filled with old pictures from their childhood. My in-laws and parents will recieve one also. My youngest daughter started a scrap book in the seventh grade, and abondoned it the tenth. I’m going to finish it for her and give it to her on Christmas Eve. I’ve been picking up photo albums whenever I find them on clearance. When I add up the cost of giving seven albums complete with photos, it is under $40.00. Add in a few pounds of fudge, dried fruit, and other homemade goodies, and we will have a wonderful Christmas for next to nothing. Joy to the world.

Established homesteaders like Sue Robishaw of Many Tracks and my friends Roger and Ann from Confessions of a Tightwad, are masters of the craft. They know full well that homesteading is a gilded craft, requiring the knowledge of the ages to sharpen modern skills. In the pages of Countryisde, the words of sage homesteaders guide others through the often tenuous steps to mastering their own level of self-reliance. I’m often in awe at the personal mastery of the readers who write to us. They are willing to try, repeatedly, to forge a way of life that reflects who they are and what they’re doing here. If you want to know someone’s heart, simply look at the things they care enough to do for themselves. Homesteading isn’t about a lifestyle; it’s about personal mastery.

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Below are some photos from the event:

Chuck and Dawn–Countryside readers and fellow Organic Valley producers.

Visiting before the walk starts

My grandson Aydan playing in the leaves.

The County ag agent, the Organic Valley rep, and the NRCS agent had a quite the discussion about Johne’s Disease. It’s a controversial issue, but in the end filth is filth, and organic producers have a responsibility to ensure that our herds are free of the disease. You can read more about Johne’s Here.

We also learned about dung beetles from Nadine. These little scavengers really are an important indicator of health in a pasture. According to Nadine, if you don’t see several small, round holes in the top of cow patties in 24 hours, you don’t have enough beetles to help break down the manure and return in to the soil. Without a healthy beetle population, it will take longer for the manure to break down, slowing regrowth of the pasture.

All in all, a productive day. And my grandson had a great time too!

I was reading the Scarecrow Chronicles and read Jeri’s entry about the Greens and Browns, and I just had to send an email thanking her for her thoughts. I whole heartedly agree with her opinion of the authors words who wrote that letter.

While reading that letter, I kept getting an uncomfortable feeling about what was being said, but couldn’t really put a finger on what was bugging me. And Jeri just coined it!!

We as humans need to be tolerant of everyone!! And tolerance is not a one way street! I also feel that so many people in this country feel divided, that putting more fuel on the “thems verses us” is NOT going to get anyones agenda moved forward!

I look forward to my magazine every other month and am so glad that I get to read everyone’s perspective! I always “take what I want and leave the rest”, and know that everyone’s voice is important. Even if it’s different than what I believe. ~ S.H. from California

I’ve long held that industry and government have co-opted the concerns of people who want to live as healthy as they can. First, the USDA, at the behest of big agri-business eviscerated the term “organic” so that it doesn’t mean what consumers believe it means. For instance, organic producers are allowed to spread anti-biotic contaminated manure from CAFOs on certified organic land, even though there is plenty of research to show that there is significant uptake of anti-biotics and other industrial chemicals in the crops grown on land where imported, conventional manure has been applied. Most consumers have no idea. They just want to do what’s right.

Now, besides industry and government, we are seeing an almost evangelical type of dogma evolving among those who consider themselves “green.” The writer of the letter was struggling with whether or not she had sinned against her greeness by attending a wedding in Hawaii, and enjoying herself. This is the same sort of self-loathing that religious zealots (and dieters) engage in: am I holy enough? Have I committed a sin? Did I eat too much? Along with this comes extreme self-debasement.

The author resorted to the same tactics as religious fanatics and fat people: she justified her beliefs and actions by condemning someone else–the “Browns.” Fat people, especially women, do the same thing. I know. When we enter a room, we immediately look to see who’s fatter than us. It’s a dangerous and limiting way to identify ourselves.

It seems to me, no matter what your agenda is, the environment or the budget, the simple solution to both is to consume less, not to consume politically correct things. I know people who feel good when they buy “environmentally friendly” products, but they dont’ stop to think that they may not need the product in the first place. It’s simply a way to feel better, just like fat people who buy packages of fat-free fudge because it makes them feel like they’re doing the right thing.

People are shocked to learn that I have been part of the “organic” movement for decades (I’m fond of telling people that I was “green” long before the Gore and Moore show happened on the scene). While I am an advocate for small-scale sustainable farming, I’m decidedly not “green” in my ideology. This has gotten me in hot water more than once. People assume just because we own an organic farm, we have certain political leanings. They take great umbrage when they learn I’m not the ideologue they would like me to be (not that I’m an ideologue, just that I’m not their sort of ideologue).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Jerri