A Journal of My Days: 10/21/24

The theme for this year is "Laser focused, hunkered down and spending as little money as possible.” 

We're talking gardening, bargain shopping and pantry building and how we utilize all three to keep us fed and cared for without breaking the bank!

In the garden:  We had our first frost this week, which is about a month early for us.  Yikes!

I got our carrots planted.  Late fall is the time to plant carrots here, it's too hot during the summer!

I also planted beets and curly mustard!  The same holds true for beets as it does carrots for our area.  I'm telling you; the heat and humidity are brutal in our area during the summer!

I got in another harvest of nettles, and I think I can get one more 'smaller' one yet ... and we'll gladly take it!

I also did a small harvest of comfrey, and it's now air drying on a tray under a ceiling fan.  Our house is small and very lived in, it's nothing to see herbs drying in various places and I think I've come up with a new place to hang and dry some!  Stay tuned as I try it out to see if it works in reality like I see it in my mind!!  LOL, sometimes there is quite the difference between the two!!

With just a few things to do before we close the door on this year's gardening season, I'm already turning my thoughts to next year's garden.   Not being able to 'garden' this year as we have in the past has made my itch to garden stronger.  I'm already putting thoughts down on paper for next year, a calendar has been designated and sticky notes have come out.   I'm making a list of new things I want to try, perennial things I need to replace that didn't survive our hot, dry summer, things I want to relocate to a new area and of course a list of my tried and true.  

You can see on the pages above that I've made note on the dates that things have been planted.  The curly mustard will be ready to start harvesting in early December, the beets, carrots and garlic will all be harvested in late winter or early spring.  (By the way, this particular calendar goes through December 2026!  I found it on clearance for $2 at the local big box store so I have plenty of months to fill up with gardening journaling.)

In the kitchen:  I fried up these green tomatoes for my hubby, it's one of his favorites so whenever I can and the season is right, I fix them for him.  We had a few small ones still left on a tomato plant that I'd been keeping an eye on, so I harvested and fixed them for him. (It was a good thing I harvested them when I did for it frosted just a very few days later!)  He was delighted, and I was delighted that he was delighted!  It's always nice when our work in the kitchen is appreciated, isn't it?

Thrifting, bargain, and/or loss leader shopping at the grocery store, farmers market, etc:   None this week!

We went grocery shopping for a few necessities, but didn't find any bargains.  They're getting harder to find and that's why when we find ourselves at the right place at the right time, we take advantage of them, like the haul hubby found last week!

This of course means we have to have the money to take advantage of said bargains ... which of course means, that there needs to be a little money always set aside just for this purpose ... a 'food bargain' category in our budgets, kind of thing. Or maybe a portion of our food budget being designated just for bargains that rolls over from week to week until bargains are found and funds used?  Savings and the ability to save come in all kinds of forms and this is one!

In the Pantry: 

I dried and jarred up rosemary from my herb garden.

In other news:

There has been a small amount of interest in my doing another preparedness class where I create a make-believe scenario to test one's preparedness.  I have done several of these type classes in the past but usually in a private group type situation on FB.  I have tried doing them on the blog here, but there is just not much participation and for this type class, participation is crucial.  I'm trying to work out a solution and will let you know as soon as I do.  For the few who have expressed interest in a class like this, please know that I am working on it.  

I really do take everyone's requests seriously and try to address your questions in as timely manner as possible when possible.

I'm really feeling drawn inward to our home, a more circling of the wagon kind of thing, if you will.  I love our little home, it's perfect for us and I want to be a good steward of it and of all that involves the people who call it home.  We feel so blessed to be in the season of life we are and have a place we can call our own.  There's warmth and love within it's walls and yes, mason jars, home preserved foods, drying herbs, books, WIP projects, lots of snuggly quilts and a swing on the front porch! We call it home and we call ourselves blessed.  We give God the glory for He truly had His hand in it all along!

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   Hebrews 13:5

One simply cannot put a price on contentment ... and contentment with and under God is even better!

Every year I look forward to Cath Armstrongs 'Own Your Christmas' challenge from The Cheapskate Club.  We're on week #3 and while my list looks somewhat different than hers, it's moving me toward having a less stressful holiday season and that's my overall goal and purpose of doing this challenge!

Here's my week #3 prep list ...

Print address labels for Christmas cards that get mailed and affix to envelopes.

Purchase one ingredient for making fudge cups and set it aside in a safe place.  You know what I mean when I say, 'safe place.'  It's that place that requires so much effort to get to when you have a craving for said ingredient, that it's just too much trouble to go after!!!  

This is an expensive for us item to make, but in so doing we bless several people during the holidays.  And when you do the final costs and the number of people we give it too, it comes down to about $1/gift cup, we don't feel like that's bad at all!  About this time of year, we start hearing inquires such as 'you gonna make fudge again this year?'  'That sure is good fudge, don't forget me if you make it this year.'  Isn't part of the holidays about spreading good will and cheer.  These little fudge cups seem to have the ability to do just that!

Put together one of the gifts we plan to give to multiple people to make sure it's going to come together as we think.

Okay, that's week's #3 prep list, but what about week #2, did I get it done ... let's take a look ...

check gift wrapping supplies ... Done!  I don't need anything!

print labels for Christmas cards ... I divided my Christmas Card list into 3 categories (1) those that are hand delivered at church (2) those that get mailed and (3) those that are hand delivered to friends and neighbors in the community along with a goodie.  This week I printed off labels for category #1 and attached them to the envelopes.

purchase 1 gift (I actually only have two gifts that I need to purchase, everything else is handmade, already in my gift trunk, a money gift or coming from my kitchen. Christmas gift giving is kept simple on purpose at our house.)  Got it ordered!

Lesson three in our study on Martha in our Thursday ladies Bible class has been posted HERE.

I have two posts to share from my sewing blog, Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine ...

Transitioning Summer Clothing to Fall and Winter Wearing

and

Working on Draw String Bags

In case you missed my 'Mornings' with Me' post this last week, you can find them here ...

Mornings with Me: 10/15/24

Mornings with Me: 10/17/24

That's it for me this week, what has your week looked like?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

(Rude and or unkind comments will not be published, this is a place of warmth and encouragement ... enough said!)

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

A Journal of My Days: 10/14/24

The theme for this year is "Laser focused, hunkered down and spending as little money as possible.” 

We're talking gardening, bargain shopping and pantry building and how we utilize all three to keep us fed and cared for without breaking the bank!

In the garden:  I did some more container gardening clean up and got a raised bed ready to plant garlic, which I did the next day.  

I harvested nettles and am letting them air dry.  I'm trying to gather as many as possible before they die back for the winter.

I did some work in the orchard this week as well.  I did some shaping up of some of our dwarf fruit trees.  The goal is to keep from getting slapped in the face when mowing.  If this has ever happened to you then you will understand our desire to keep those branches high and growing upward instead of hanging low and outward!

In the kitchen:  I revived Prudence, my sourdough starter.  I've got a whole list of ways to use sourdough that I want to try this fall and winter starting with making what seems like a really simple pizza crust.  Notice I said crust, not dough!  Yes, I am a lazy cook who is always looking for the quickest and easiest way to get a nourishing meal on the table!  I'll let you know more about the pizza crust after I try it! 

My kitchen is so much more than just a place to cook.  It's where I preserve food for our pantry, it's where I make herbal remedies, it's where I make soap and other cleaning products, it's where I create food gifts for others, and where my family pops in and out of, sometimes to chat, sometimes to lend a helping hand and other times just to be there because I'm there ... it's the hub of our home.  It's the heartbeat of our home and I am blessed to be the keeper of my kitchen.

Fill in the blank:  my kitchen is where I _____________.

Thrifting, bargain, and/or loss leader shopping at the grocery store, farmers market, etc:   Hubby went to town to run some errands and stopped in at a local grocery store.  Look what he scored!!!

I set to work cooking a good part of it.  Some we refrigerated to eat on over the next few days and the rest I let cool and froze cooked.  This will be so handy to thaw and heat or use as an ingredient in a meal for quick meal preparation.

In the Pantry:  We were given 2 buckets of field peas and after shelling and processing them, we added 11 jars to our pantry!   We are so thankful for friends who share their surplus, I pray God's blessings upon this family for their generosity.

I've also been dehydrating end of season produce.  I harvested a few ugly peppers and turned them into a mixed pepper melody.

I also dehydrated some end of the season small tomatoes.  I sliced them, sprinkled Italian seasoning herbs and salt on them and set the dehydrator to 125 degrees until they were dried ... about 4 - 5 hours.  I plan on using them as a topping on homemade pizza later this week.

The other thing I dehydrated was onions.  I plan to keep them in chopped form until I need to replenish my onion powder shaker.  Then I'll powder enough of the dried onions to refill the shaker and repeat as needed.  Powders lose their nutrients faster so I try to only powder what I think we will use in a given time.

(pictured:  dehydrated items just mentioned, from left to right ... herbed tomatoes, mixed melody of peppers and onions.)

The pumpkin in the picture is the one I told you about in an earlier post ...

it's the only one that survived our hot, humid and dry summer ...

It's curing right now ...

I'm saving it for the seeds as it's an heirloom variety ...

Isn't it cute!

In other news:

First, thank you to those who noticed I've been MIA for the last few days and reached out to check on us.  We've been dealing with an ongoing health issue and a reoccurring injury.  We hope to get some answers on the injury later this week.  I miss you all when I can't meet with you here in our little space in this big world ... just so you know!

I've been asked to share my thoughts and suggestions for someone wanting to start to prepare for weather related disasters that knock out power, internet and cell service.

Sadly, I've had experience with this type of scenario more than once.  After moving to this area many years ago we quickly learned that we needed to up our preparedness lifestyle by adding hurricane preparedness.  The area we moved from did not have hurricanes, the area we moved to, did.  In fact, when we moved where we are now, we unloaded the U-Haul one day and a hurricane hit the next.  Needless to say, that having lived a preparedness lifestyle up to that point helped, but we soon realized that we needed to broaden our preparedness.  

I've taught online classes on preparedness that placed you in a make-believe disaster situation where you had to rely on what you had in order to see what you needed to do.  Is this something anyone would be interested in again?  

To answer the question of where to start though, I would start with food and water.  If the power goes out, do you have enough water to meet your family's needs for at least a week?  I have read many times that the recommended water storage is one gallon per day per person.  I can tell you that if all you plan to do is use it to drink and maybe do a small amount of just add water type meal preparation, that will suffice.  But, if you want to do any cleaning including washing dishes, basic hygiene, meal preparing other than 'just add water,' flushing the commode, etc one gallon of water per person per day is NOT enough! 

Do you have enough food on hand/stored to meet your family's needs for at least a month?  In a grid down situation, you need to be able to eat as healthy as possible.  Surviving on packaged peanut butter and crackers or cheese spread type crackers will get old ... if one even has those.  We have seen so many different sad scenarios in disaster situations regarding food and water.

These are the very first basics I would start with, then I would look at individual needs of your family members.  Is there a baby in the family?  If so, what about diapers and formula?

Does someone in your family have special dietary needs?  If so, are you prepared to be able to meet those needs?

Do you have a source for light in a grid down situation?  What about keeping warm if the disaster occurs in the winter months?  What about staying cool enough to survive during the heat of summer?

As you can see this is just the tip of the iceberg, please feel free to let me know how I can help in your preparedness journey.

Every year I look forward to Cath Armstrongs 'Own Your Christmas' challenge from The Cheapskate Club.  We're on week #2 and while my list looks somewhat different than hers, it's moving me toward having a less stressful holiday season and that's my overall goal and purpose of doing this challenge!

Here's my week #2 prep list ...

check gift wrapping supplies

print labels for Christmas cards

purchase 1 gift (I actually only have two gifts that I need to purchase, everything else is handmade, already in my gift trunk, a money gift or coming from my kitchen. Christmas gift giving is kept simple on purpose at our house.)

Okay, that's week's #2 prep list, but what about week #1, did I get it done ... let's take a look ...

Make gift list and divide into 8 parts.  I actually made a gift list but didn't divide it into 8 parts.  I'll do better just working on it weekly, some weeks I'll get more done than others, but the goal is to be mindful and keep working on it every week.

Make Christmas card list and divide into 8 parts. I made the list, but didn't divide it into 8 parts.  I'll do better with scheduling a time to work on them each week and do as many as I feel like doing at that time.  That's just me!

Make a list of ingredients and or materials needed to make any handmade gifts. I got that done, list is ready!

Budget to pay cash for everything.  That's done too!

I'm happy with the first week's assignment, now let's see what we can do with week #2!

In our Winter Preps Challenge we're down to the last two items on the list.  Have our HVAC unit serviced for the winter and order a couple ricks of wood for our wood stove.  We use our wood stove as a backup and or when it gets really cold.  It helps keep the house toasty warm and the power bill low.  We have our lowest power bills during the winter months and we're pretty happy about that!

I put together Halloween treats for my grands and got them ready to mail.  I'll be posting about that over on my sewing blog, Grandmas Got a Sewing Machine, in the next day or so.

Lesson two in our study on Martha in our Thursday ladies Bible class has been posted HERE.

In case you missed my 'Mornings' with Me' post this last week, you can find them here ...

Mornings with Me: 10/8/24

Mornings with Me: 10/9/24

That's it for me this week, what has your week looked like?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

A Journal of My Days: 10/7/24

The theme for this year is "Laser focused, hunkered down and spending as little money as possible.” 

We're talking gardening, bargain shopping and pantry building and how we utilize all three to keep us fed and cared for without breaking the bank!

In the garden:  I've been working on laying the garden to bed for winter, cleaning out containers and harvesting a few more peppers.  I harvested some rosemary too, if all goes well, I should be able to get another harvest of several herbs before they die back for the winter.

In the kitchen:  I'm working on setting up a weekly routine of making all my dairy items such as yogurt, kefir and any other dairy related items we use all on one day.

I need to set aside another day to do our baking and making snacks for the week.

I'm going to try Monday as my dairy day and Thursday for my baking day.  I'm going to give this schedule a try for a couple of weeks and see if it fits our lifestyle.  

Do you have a specific day during the week when you bake or is it as needed?

If this works, my weekly routine will look like the following:

Monday - Dairy and menu planning

Tuesday - Flex Day (I can either play catch-up if I get behind or reschedule something from another day to this day.  Example:  if I have an appointment on one of the other days, I can move that day's routine to Tuesday.)

Wednesday - Sewing and Mending

Thursday - Baking Day

Friday - Laundry

I have another routine schedule for housework.  I just do better with routines ... but that's just me!

Thrifting, bargain, and/or loss leader shopping at the grocery store, farmers market, etc:  None this week!

In the Pantry:  I dehydrated bananas and cinnamon flavored bananas.  I'll use these for snacking and or for smoothies.  These little flavorful chips are delicious as a snack!  

(picture:  dehydrated apples (on the left) and dehydrated bananas (on the right).

I'm working on a list of things to can or preserve throughout the winter months.  Here are some things I've got on October's preserving list:

Apples ... I'm working on finishing these up.  I've dehydrated lots of apple slices and this week I want to use the rest of the apples up in canning apple pie filling.  I like to use this filling to make quick apple pies and apple crisps.

For the apple pies I dump a jar of pie filling into a pie crust and make a crumble topping for it.  Here's the crumple topping I use ...

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar (can be a combination of brown and white)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup butter chilled and cubed

Mix well into crumbles and distribute over top of pie.

Bake pie at 350 degrees until bubbly and topping is golden, usually around 45 minutes

For the apple crisp, I dump a jar of apple pie filling into a buttered baking dish and distribute evenly the following topping over the top ...

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oats

2 sticks butter, chilled and cubed

Bake crisp at 350 degrees until bubbly and topping is golden, usually around 30 - 45 minutes.

For the preserving part of the medicinal part of my pantry for October, my list looks like this:

Cider fire ... this is in the 'making' stage

Elderberry syrup

Honey garlic ... this is in the 'making' stage

Before we leave the 'pantry' part of this post, I've been asked to address the issue of expiration and best buy dates on food products from the store.  Of course, it's going to depend on what it is, but I always take each item on a one-on-one basis.  If it's a canned item past its expiration date or best buy date, I look at the can.  Is it bulging, is it dented, if it's not, I'll move it to the front of the pantry to be used the next time I need that item.  If it's a boxed item, I check it for any signs of insects.  If it has a 'mixed' powder package inside, I'll check it for rips, tears or any evidence of it having been permeated by said insects.  If the boxed item has been compromised by insects, then it becomes animal food.  If not, and it's past its expiration date or best buy date, I'll just move it to the front of the pantry where it can be used next.  Honestly, I just use common sense, when the expiration or best by date comes and goes, it doesn't mean the product needs to be discarded.  It just means that it needs to be checked for any signs that would indicate the product was no longer safe to eat.   Of course, with all food products, if in doubt, throw it out!  I hope this helps.

If there are pantry related issues you would like me to address, just let me know what you're wondering about.  I was raised by a food preserver and have been preserving my own family's food for 44 plus years.  I have lots of experience to draw on ... that's not to say I know everything; I do not and of course we never stop learning how to preserve our food better.  But I'm happy to share from my life experience of preserving food and keeping a well-stocked pantry.  Just asked, there's no stupid question!

Here's another question I got, this time on headlamps.  A reader wanted to know what headlamps I recommended.

I've included a picture of one of our favorites and is one that has lasted for several years.  I went to Amazon to see if they had it, they did not have this exact one but one similar.  I was shocked at the price though, so please shop around.  We did not pay anywhere near that much.  I'm sure there are others out there that are just as good, and cost less so be wise in and frugal in your shopping.  Here's the link to the one that is similar.

I've also been asked to do some writing on weather related preparedness, sadly I have lots of experience in this area as well and have written a lot about it in the past.  If this is something you would like to see me write about again, please let me know.  There seems to be an abundance of preparedness info out there, but if there's enough interest, I can give you my perspective from the point of view of someone who has lived it, more than once.

In other news:

Every year I look forward to Cath Armstrongs 'Own Your Christmas' challenge from The Cheapskate Club.  It began this week, so I pulled out my Christmas notebook and got started.  (I've used this notebook for several Christmas'.  It's a big help to have info on what we did and gave for Christmas' past all-in-one place.)

(pictured:  my Christmas notebook where I keep all things pertaining Christmas all in one place. Those different colored tabs on the side separate years.)

Here's what my week #1 Christmas prep looks like:

Make gift list and divide into 8 parts

Make Christmas card list and divide into 8 parts

Make a list of ingredients and or materials needed to make any handmade gifts

Budget to pay cash for everything

Are you thinking about and preparing for the holidays yet?

In our Winter Preps Challenge I took a quick inventory of our winter wear.  For myself the only thing I needed was a new winter coat.  I found what I had in mind for less money than I was expecting to have to spend, so that was a win!

Lesson one in our study on Martha in our Thursday ladies Bible class has been posted HERE.

In case you missed my 'Mornings' with Me' post this week, you can find it here ...

Mornings with Me: 10/3/24

That's it for me this week, what has your week looked like?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

A Journal of My Days: 10/2/24

Yep, I'm late getting this post done this week.  What can I say, it has been a really busy past few days!

But I'm here now, so let's get started ...

The theme for this year is "Laser focused, hunkered down and spending as little money as possible.” 

We're talking gardening, bargain shopping and pantry building and how we utilize all three to keep us fed and cared for without breaking the bank!

This just keeps getting harder and harder to do, doesn't it?  I hope you will share in the comments, how you're managing.  We all could use some inspiration and new ideas to consider.

In the garden:  My one lone pumpkin was ready to harvest this week and I, with great pomp and ceremony, took my clippers and harvested it right off the dying vine!

I have watched and babied this one pumpkin ever since I realized that it was the only one the vines were going to produce this year.  

Why all the babying?  It's an heirloom pie pumpkin and I wanted to at least have one so I could save the seeds.  Of course we will enjoy the pumpkin, but it was those seeds that I'm after!  

The variety is called 'Luxury' in case you're wondering.

I harvested our sweet potatoes and as you can see it was a small harvest.

We got these from 7 plants, so if you stop to think about it, I guess that isn't too bad. 

This year was a brutal growing year for us coupled with health issues for my hubby, so we are thankful for anything that gave us a harvest.

In the kitchen:  A friend shared a recipe for sausage ball muffins that were supposed to taste like sausage balls.  We love sausage balls, so I was eager to try it.  This recipe did not disappoint!

Here's the recipe plus a few variations ...

1 lb of sausage cooked into crumbles and drained (you can substitute turkey sausage if you prefer).  If your sausage is dry, I would not drain it, meaning that if it doesn't cook out much grease, then it's dry.  It is my and my hubby's opinion that for making sausage balls, the greasier the sausage the better tasting the sausage balls are.  Just our opinion!

1 cup Bisquick

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (you can substitute pepper jack or other varieties of cheeses)

4 eggs

onions to taste (chopped), any variety including green, leeks and shallots.  I found this addition when doing a quick search online for variations of this recipe.  I didn't add onions, but I don't add them in my sausage balls either.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, I used muffin liners that I got on clearance

In a bowl whisk eggs, stir in cheese, Bisquick and sausage

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Thrifting, bargain, and/or loss leader shopping at the grocery store, farmers market, etc:  None this week!

In the Pantry:  I jarred up several herbs that have been drying and added them to the medicinal part of our pantry.

In other news:

Our hearts and prayers continue to go out and up for all those who are, were and continue to be affected by Hurricane Helene.  The physical and mental experiences they are enduring will shape their future decisions on preparedness in all areas of their lives.  While I will be the first to say that you cannot prepare for everything, I'll also be the first to say to prepare for what you can.  While there are some who say that preparedness didn't help those who lost everything in a matter of minutes, I say, 'you're right,' but to those who didn't instantly lose everything, if they had any level of preparedness their preparedness made things doable and bearable until help could arrive.  It's not an all or nothing thing.  We do what we can, build a community of friends and neighbors who are willing to help each other when needed and pray for God to do the rest.  

In our Winter Preps Challenge we restocked our sugar supply and that really finishes up the food part of our winter preps.  I also started some cider fire for the medicinal part of my winter pantry.  Next up is to get some elderberry syrup made.

In my sewing this week I did a bit of prepping the drawstring bags I'm working on such as cutting, pressing and getting everything ready to sit down at the machine and sew.

Those long strips lying on top of the stack are the side handles ... in case you were wondering!  You can read more about this project HERE.

The introduction to our study on Martha in our Thursday ladies Bible class has been posted HERE.

In case you missed my 'Mornings' with Me' posts this week, you can find them here ...

Mornings with Me: 9/26/24

Mornings with Me:  9/25/24

Mornings with Me:  9/24/24

That's it for me this week, what has your week looked like?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps keep in sewing supplies.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.