The Frugal Farm Living life deliberately

Last summer Frugaldad lost his cell phone. We knew exactly which day it had been lost. It was a day in late June, and we had been running an ad in the local classifieds to sell the rest of the previous summers' hay to make room for the hay we planned to cut the next week. He had helped someone load a trailer full of hay bales. The phone turned up missing soon thereafter. He kept the ringer on "silent" so we couldn't call it and listen for the ring, but I did, on a few occasions, go outside in the dark and call the phone, hoping to see the display light up or hear the vibrations it made in silent mode. After a week or so, we gave up looking because we knew the battery would have gone dead. We had checked all over the yard, the lane, in the ditch, the remaining hay bales--everywhere. We figured it had ended up in that load of hay and now resided in the belly of a horse or on a barn floor, or it had fallen out of his pocket in the parking lot and been pulverized.

It was a prepaid cell phone and since we were able to login to the online account, we knew that the phone was lost, not stolen, because the minute balance stayed constant. A few months later, Frugaldad bought another phone and had the old minutes transferred to his new phone.

Fast forward to today. My sister-in-law and I were out front pulling out all the old strawberry plants. In a section that had been overrun by long grass, she pulled out a very dirty cell phone. The lost cell phone! The display is clouded up with condensation, but since I have washed a phone in the washing machine and it dried out all right, I imagine when it dries out it will be as good as new.

I guess we should have weeded the strawberries a little better last summer.

Have you tried the bulgur salad yet? I made some today and I love that stuff! I feel good when I eat healthy food. It is totally worth the extra effort that it takes to make myself something tasty and nutritious. So try it!

I have unsuccessfully tried to find online instructions on how to tailor suit pants, specifically, taking in the waist. Before I just dive in with my seam ripper and sewing machine, this is my last-ditch effort. Surely someone out there must know how to do this at home without going to a tailor? We got a screamin' deal on a suit a while back and Frugaldad wants the pants in a little. I am sure I can do this, but instructions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sure you're all just dying for an update about my ankle, aren't you? Today marks two weeks since my fall.

I went to the orthopedic doctor on the 18th and he gave me an orthopedic boot instead of a cast. I get to wear it for a long time. How long, I am not currently sure, but I go back in two more weeks for an update.

If I were crazy, I'd have elective surgery and get a plate and some screws and be back on the football field in 4 weeks! But wait, I don't play football, and elective surgery isn't something I'd elect to have.

I can walk around very slowly without crutches. I get tired very easily but find I have a little more energy every day. I am getting tired of the same three pairs of pants. Last night I made dinner for the first time since the injury. As much as I appreciated all the food brought in, it just isn't the same as the stuff you're used to.

My knitting friends (who also happen to be my cloth diapering friends, too) and I are about to start a game. It's called the Stash Game, and to win you need to earn the most points by knitting from your stash of yarn. Points are earned for finishing unfinished objects (UFOs), using up complete skeins, giving away knitted items, starting and finishing projects, etc. Points are lost for starting a project but not finishing, but mostly for buying new yarn. The point of the game is basically to use up as much yarn as you can without buying any new skeins.

Since I broke my ankle, I've been cranking out finished objects (FOs) like a madwoman. It started with Frugaldad's socks.

I started these socks way back in September (after buying the yarn in March) and 8 inches of ribbing just about did me in. When I finally finished the first sock, it was too big, so I did the second sock differently and then ripped the first one back and reknit it. Those socks were almost the end of me!

Right before I broke my ankle I cast on the Lace Capelet and I have finished the knitting to the end of the pattern, but I want to add one more pattern repeat to make it longer, and despite my efforts to have a loose cast-on, it's still tighter than it should be so I am going to rip out the cast-on and knit a row, then cast-off loosely. I am using the softest baby alpaca yarn. I can't wait for this to be done!

I have also knit two baby hats and a pair of newborn-sizes longies, and today I cast on a pair of baby socks. My baby shower gifts for the next several months will be finished well in advance!

I warned the other participants that I am knitting a lot because I am sitting a lot, but we'll have to see how the game ends at the end of April!