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Picket Fence Dreams

Saturday, July 16, 2011

OK. So growing up we are taught to want a charming house with a white picket fence and, if the proverbial we are males, a beautiful wife and a dog and a few well-mannered children.

Somewhere in the last twenty years, this so-called American Dream morphed into something more attributable to mass consumerism. Everything is centered around quantity: more square feet, more stuff, more…

But lately, as Andi put it today, we are feeling a bit consumed ourselves. Consumed by the stuff we own. There’s too much of it. Even in our fairly modest-sized 1200 square foot house, it feels overly cluttered, full of things we never touch or use, and always in need of tidying up.

Both of us have been in purge mode of late.

Earlier in the week I sold my 12-string guitar to a man from Whidbey Island who teaches Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder how to play guitar. And he gives them a guitar if they’re committed.

And, a few hours after that, I sold my iMac.

After returning from What The Heck Fest late this afternoon, Andi and I took a walk and she told me about these cute little micro-houses. You can buy the plans for a little under a grand and build the place yourself, placing it on a sturdy utility trailer for a little under $20k.

We looked at a few online, and I have to say that they have quite a bit of appeal.

The one we like is called the Lusby (pictured below) and it measures 8″ by 19″ with a floor space of a mere 117 square feet.

The ones they picture on the other end of that link feature a miniature propane stove to heat the space, but you can also drop in a Jøtul 602 wood stove, which I would prefer.

Of course, if we go this route, I would want to place it on a plot of land further out in the country. On this land I’d put a small outbuilding — say, a small workshop (perhaps the size of a 2-car garage with a small loft area) which would house a few tools, a push mower and a stacking washer/dryer.

We are already saving a tremendous amount of money, and more is coming in as we purge. If this keeps up, what money we get from selling stuff could go toward building our new house.

Hopefully, then, by the time we’re done the housing market will have at least gotten to a point where we can at least break even on the sale of this one.

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Cash Only Budget: Recap of Week 2

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Andi and I used to watch a show called ‘Til Debt Do Us Part on MSNBC after The Suze Orman Show, and the host swore by the cash-only budget. Until recently, I thought debit was fine as long as you limited yourself to that mode of budgeting (i.e. not mixing debit and cash).

However, I’m finding that with cash-only you think more about your budget because you can actually see the money disappearing from your wallet. That’s the problem with debit, and that’s the BIG problem with credit.

That being said, it’s probably been close to 3 years since I’ve used my personal credit card.

Last night I wrapped my second week with a cash-only budget. Week 1 saw me spend the full amount as I put my last $15 into gas for my car on the way to the STP Bike Ride. That left me with $15 for the weekend, as I sold some old CD/DVD shelves via Craigslist earlier in the week.

On Tuesday I pulled the allotment for the week, picked up groceries for approximately $60 (including about $15-20 worth of food storage items like black beans and crushed garlic), and filled both the Versa and the Bimmer with gas.

That left around $60 for Wednesday through Friday.

Yesterday I spent $16. $5 went to beer at the local mayoral candidate forum hosted by Skagit Young Professionals. $5 went to Burger Friday at the Red Apple downtown. And the remaining $6 went to cheese.

For week 3, there are a few items of note in store. Today begins What The Heck Fest, which coincides with Shipwreck Day in Anacortes. Any money spent at the latter will go toward emergency-related supplies. Andi and I would like to pick up an antique washboard and basin, so that’s what I’ll be looking for. Other than that, I hear evening shows at What The Heck run about $15 to $20. I’ll only do one if I do any. Either way, expect a recap of the festival in the next week.

It’s raining outside, so hopefully that won’t dampen (…heh…) the fest too much.

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Photo Recap: STP 2011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

I did it. Just returned yesterday after two days on a bike riding just under 210 miles. I survived my first major bike ride, the 2011 Seattle to Portland Bike Ride.

The weekend began late Friday evening. I met up with my father in Seattle and we checked in at a Holiday Inn in Bothell, then trekked it down to UW to drop off our luggage. We woke at 4:30am and were on our bikes at the UW starting point by 6:30am.

The first day wasn’t too bad, though toward the end the heat started to wear on me. We arrived around 6pm or so, having taken plenty of breaks for water, rest and food.

Got to our hosts’ house at about 6:30, showered, had a few beers and ate barbecue.

Plenty of good times.

They had a beautiful house with a large basement, plenty of antiques including a 1940s restored road bike and a 1940s or 50s stove, and a wonderful yard.

We rose at 4am and were on the road at 6. Day 2 presented perfect morning weather and we cruised to the lunch spot at about mile 45, arriving at about 10:30. The second half of the day was hot and, at times, monotonous, but we made it to the finish just after 5pm.

My odometer read about 210 miles. We averaged 13.5 MPH on Day 1 and 14 MPH on Day 2. Not bad, considering the longest ride prior to this was the 1st of July, clocking in at 40 miles.

I’m now hooked on rides like this. My dad and I will hopefully be doing the Portland Century in August. I also hope to do the MS Bike Ride locally in September.

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A Cash Only Vacation

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

For the weekend of the 4th of July, Andi and I went to visit our friend Cassie at her parents’ house in Garfield, WA. The small town of Garfield has only a few businesses and probably a township of no more than 500 or 600 people. There’s a bar, Grumpy’s, and a recently closed restaurant (due to illness of the owner). Other than that, trips must be made into the neighboring Palouse, WA or nearby towns of Pullman, WA or Moscow, ID for groceries.

Life is simple and life is good. Trips must be planned ahead, lists made, and routes organized.

What better way to begin my cash-only change of lifestyle than to visit such a place!?

Well, it was good and bad. Good in that planning ahead was mandatory. Bad in that travel is a mighty expense.

I pulled my weekly budget out Saturday morning, which will be my regular plan, and by Tuesday (today), I have spent all but $20 and some change. I have set aside for myself $160 per week. Note that I still have some calculations to do and will likely adjust down at least $10 in the next month, if not more.

Here are the line items:

Fuel: $10/week
This should be more than manageable, but I may need to adjust this upward slightly in the winter due to driving more. I typically bike to work and only visit the grocer on the weekend, sometimes doing so via bike. My fuel expenses should decrease significantly over the next few months.

For vacation weekend, fuel dominated the budget. I put in $20 before we left, and then Andi and I split the gas cost on each subsequent visit (about $40 total during two refueling stops). So a whopping $60 went to gas for this trip. Plus I added another $12.25 to the Bimmer this morning during my grocery run.

So during week 1, fuel ate nearly half my weekly budget; not bad considering I still have $20 left and that we were on a road trip.

Groceries: $65/week
Groceries are a large expense. I enjoy organic foods and we like certain items (meat, cheese, etc.) that tend to cost a little extra. I have also been allocating $10 to $15 of this amount to building an emergency supply of food.

Today’s spend included a sizable bottle of hand sanitizer for just under $4 and 2 lbs. of organic black beans. We now have three to four 32oz. jars of black beans, which will be a core ingredient in our emergency supply, along with rice and a few other bulk staples.

Home Improvement: $20/week
My hope is for this allocation to vary based on the needs of the house. If I need more, it’ll eat into my miscellaneous budget. In the near future, I see a few expenses based on upcoming projects. These projects include building a fire pit, adding a door to the lower section of the house to allow for storage underneath the main floor (you can stand upright underneath the house), raised gardens, and assorted landscaping.

My assumption would be, now that I’m continually thinking about and monitoring how much money goes out of my wallet, that overages will go to one of two places: home improvement and the Bimmer.

Miscellaneous: $65/week
This is a large budget, but it’s also the one that gets dipped into a lot for overages in other areas. It is the variable spending budget that includes entertainment, dining out, updates to the Bimmer, pets and anything else.

During the vacation, the miscellaneous budget was pulled from a few times. I grabbed coffee at One World Cafe a few times on Sunday, and I picked up a 7″ single by Kelley Stoltz at Deadbeat Records in Moscow. The total of those items came to about $15.

There are a few pressing Bimmer projects in the near future. First is the incessant rattle coming from the muffler. It’s missing a bracket that holds the muffler steady, so it clangs loudly against the lower body metal (under the bumper) when the car idles. Second is the alignment (hopefully it’s just that) that also causes a slight wheel wobble. Third is the rubber hose you pump gas into; it needs replacing. And there’s a “popping” slight backfire sound that occurs in idle as well.

Other upcoming miscellaneous expenses include Andi’s gift for our 4-year anniversary, which takes place end of month. I would also like to add her to my AAA policy. And there is Christmas too; the plan again will be to shop locally for consumables only. Last year I picked up gifts at Skagit Valley Winery, Slough Foods in Edison, and Rosabella’s Bakery on Farm to Market Road.

Summary
I would dub the first week a success. Granted, it’s not over yet, but there’s nothing else I need until next weekend. My bike could use a tune-up, but I think it’ll be fine for another 200 miles. Next week is the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride) and I do not anticipate having many expenses other than fueling up the Nissan on the drive home from Seattle and groceries.

I’m excited to see how the whole cash-only budget works out. Even more so, I’m excited to see how much I can save each week by being on such a budget.

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End of Month 1: A Lesson in Failure

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

So we are just about to hit the first month of an attempt to live a slightly more frugal lifestyle. In this time, I have attempted to change a number of standard habits, which I will now document…

Changing Food Habits

This has, by far, been the most successful item in month one. I have worked to eliminate many processed foods, stopped purchasing junk food (such as chips for lunch), and achieved reducing my portions (albeit only slightly).

Another goal with food has been to develop an emergency supply. In June, we focused primarily on three items: rice, black beans, and water. Our emergency supply will ultimately grow to include other foods, as well as a water purifier, and possibly even a gun or two. We already have chickens, which will produce a minor food supply.

Changing my food habits has also included purchasing more organic foods and, when possible, buying local. However, local comes at a price, which brings me to the second item.

Changing Spending Habits

This has been the biggest failure, but perhaps not for wont of trying. I achieved my dream of picking up a classic BMW 2002. This one, unlike the previous two, runs and drives. That cost me $2,200, but it was a drop from the original price of $3k. Second was Abby the cat, who ran up a vet bill of $200 and Thundercleese’s medicinal food supply which was $40 (the last item should offset his medicine bill by half, which will ultimately be a good thing).

However, Andi has moved to a cash only system. Come July 1, I will join her in this goal. Some things will be paid online such as select bills, the mortgage, and the car loan (my Nissan; the BMW is paid off). Variable expenses like fuel, home improvement, miscellaneous expenses including entertainment, and food and groceries will come from the cash bin, which will be a lump sum I take from the bank each week.

While I never had any interest in a cash-only budget before, I’m kind of looking forward to this.

Changing Transportation Habits

This has been a mixed bag, mostly because of three trips to Seattle to see the BMW. The success comes in my standard commute to work and the grocer, which is by bike. The last part of this week has been hindered a little due to uncooperative weather and a nasty slip down the stairs which resulted in a massive welt on my lower back/buttock. But come Friday I’ll be back on the bike.

More to come, hopefully sooner than later.

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A Quick Update: Two Weeks In

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A few quick updates on some light progress in the past two weeks…

Crisis Preparedness

Today I received two preparedness books in the mail, along with a gardening book on lasagna gardens. I’m looking forward to boosting my knowledge in both areas and learning how to live a more sustainable life.

Both books appear to cover crises in their most terrifying – nuclear holocausts and complete societal breakdowns. But they approach it with some basic fundamentals on what we can do to prepare for such events. I’ve started Crisis Preparedness from Jack Spigarelli, and I’m most interested in reading his section on food storage.

Andi and I have become increasingly interested in a few items: starting our own organic garden in raised beds around the back yard, harvesting our own eggs from the chickens under the porch (Literally. We have four at this time.), and canning our own foods.

I think both preparedness books will cover some of the basics, and the gardening book should give some great tips as we begin building our raised gardens.

Transportation Updates

The other big news: the BMW 2002 is gone. I sold it two weeks ago to a fine fellow from Spokane. I hope it does him well. The hunt has begun for a solid running automatic for a weekender and occasional driver.

The daily driver and commuter has become my bike. I haven’t driven a car to work or the grocery all month. The biggest ride has been out to La Conner and back, about 22 miles total, done in just about two hours.

Diet Changes

Where my obsession before was documentaries on peak oil, it has now become the same on processed foods. From Food, Inc. to King Corn, these documentaries show the fundamental problem behind processed foods and explore the need to return to basics, that being organic foods grown locally.

In line with these, I have yet to set foot in a grocery that is not the local food co-op this month. I am also planning to frequent the farmers market a bit more as summer continues.

Sunday night Andi and I made black bean tortillas with cheese and salsa, all ingredients of which were organic. It’s amazing how much better that food tastes than its processed contemporary. It didn’t take much time, and preparing it was a wholesome, rewarding experience.

With these changes in diet and exercise, I am also getting ready to take the belt in another notch.

For now: it’s time to settle in for the evening.

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Directionless

Friday, June 3, 2011

My problem with this blog is that is has, in the past, had no direction. But I think I found something I am passionate enough about to give On The Fense some focus.

Energy. Oil. The 3 C’s…

Consumption. Consumerism. Capitalism.

And the title of the blog fits as well. I’m on the fence about changing my habits as, like many, I tend to take the easy route. That means taking the path with least resistance.

In a way, we as a species are like Thundercleese, Andi and my big fat white cat. If we could, we’d lounge around all day doing nothing, laying in the sun, over grooming ourselves and spending a fair share of time eating. In fact, many of us are probably already guilty of this. I know I am.

So, given my recent penchant for documentaries on Peak Oil, my attempt at training for the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride), and my desire to reach the Suze Orman eight-month security fund, I want to challenge myself to consume less.

This means I need to think more about my purchases, where they come from, and how much they cost. It means I need to be smarter about how I commute and where I go. And the Boy Scout in me says it’s also about being prepared for the inevitable and the unexpected.

I have a few goals with this life project. Unfortunately, some may impact the environment more than I’d ultimately like. But it should ultimately balance out.

1. Assist Andi in refurbishing a 1920′s (we assume) Ice Box.

2. Begin growing some of our own food.

3. Eat better, eat less, and cook more using local and organic foods.

4. Learn how to use less energy.

5. Find ways to curb spending.

6. Live, as best as possible, locally.

Of particular note are numbers 1 and 5.

Refurbishing the Ice Box will be a fun project, but it will likely use paints from great distances and nasty paint removing materials.

As for the fifth one, this is difficult as I’ve already set myself on a fairly minimal budget. If you read back a ways, you’ll see posts on my 1968 BMW 1600 and possibly even my 1969 BMW 2002. Project cars take an unbelievable amount of money.

The update: last weekend I sold the 1600 for about half of what I paid for it. The car went to a young man who’s rebuilding it for his girlfriend, so at least it will live again. I look not at how much I lost price-wise, but how much I gained in knowledge. I learned a lot about cars and taking them apart. And I discovered what I want and what I do not want.

As for the 2002, A seemingly nice couple is coming out from Spokane tomorrow to check it out. I have a pretty good feeling they’ll leave with it. And the money I get from both, along with an extra grand or so will hopefully go toward purchasing one that’s ready to be a daily driver.

Enough of that. Back to the new direction.

It starts tonight. I could use a pizza. You know, one of those take and bake ones from the chain grocer freezer aisle. But that wouldn’t be the smart thing to do. No, I’m going to go make myself a sandwich.

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Tonight…

Monday, November 22, 2010

Snow outside, onion & bacon pizza in the oven, an optimistically full glass of Pinot Noir… I have an inkling that it’s going to be a good night.

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Abby The Cat

Friday, November 12, 2010

Andi and I have felt a bit off of late. After returning from our Albuquerque trip we picked up Thundercleese from her parents house, leaving behind our three chickens who had integrated themselves nicely into their flock and our second cat Sara who had flat-out disappeared. She had always been a bit awkward, Sara, meowing loudly for attention then running for shelter when attention came her way. It just felt strange with only one animal; we needed a second.

We drove down to NOAH in Stanwood and checked out a few. I found one named Harley that was pretty adorable. For some strange reason, the cat reminded me of Maybe from Arrested Development — an odd reminiscence. (I think it was her freckles. She was pure white but had patches of red fur on her face.) But Andi felt some of the employees were a bit pushy as the place was packed and super busy, so we went on our way and headed down to a place called Paws or something like it in the Marysville area.

The cat that immediately caught our eye was a pure gray one named Abby. Super mellow and nonchalant, Abby had the meow of an alley cat and the eyes of the depressed. We were in love. To mull over the decision, we went to WinCo and bought 40 bottles of Francesco Rinaldi (the best spaghetti sauce in the world, on sale for the low price of $1.08 a bottle and split between the two of us for 20 bottles each) before returning and picking up our new little baby.

Our baby is 9 years old.

And she’s as greasy as a vat of dive bar fries; tomorrow we give her a bath.

Here are a few shots of Abby, whose full name is technically Abby Priya:

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Poor Rooster

Saturday, July 3, 2010

I am proud to be a carnivore. But like most in today’s society, were I not able to purchase my meat from a grocery store I’d probably be a vegetarian. Killing an animal, even for a meal, is not something I’m comfortable with. That brings me to today’s subject. Mr. Rooster.

We got chickens about two months ago. Andi saw how cute they were at her parents’ house and she thought it would be fun to raise a few. Plus we’d have a consistent supply of tasty eggs. We got four.

Turns out one of them was a rooster; the white Polish one. Poor guy has had it rough from the start. The ladies kept picking on him. They gave him a hefty bald spot, pecking the feathers out of his head.

Then, the other day I returned home and noticed him limping. Upon further inspection, the head pecking had returned in full force due to this new injury and the poor guy’s scalp was bleeding and swollen. We isolated him and brought him inside. Iodine went on his head and we made him a nice warm bed in a giant blue plastic container.

Two days passed and Mr. Rooster is still struggling. His leg is no better and Andi thinks he has Marek’s Disease, which is apparently fairly common in birds, and is somewhere (oddly enough) between herpes and cancer. It causes varying degrees of paralysis (leg, wing, neck), blindness, lack of appetite, and facilitates the growth of tumors.

I checked on him this morning and while I was holding out hope for it to just be a sprain, I’m starting to think she is right. After all, she is amazingly good at diagnosing these sort of things.

Today she’ll be taking him to the vet, and he/she may ultimately put him down. I guess that means I’ll leave you, and him, with this:

RIP Mr. Rooster: Sometime in March or April, 2010 to July 3, 2010.

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