This first one is the small room the front door leads to.
The same small room.
Looking from the small room into the living room.
A view of the living room from the other end.Kinda scary aren't they?
Before Pics Part II
26 June 2008
Here are a few more of the before pics.
This first one is the small room the front door leads to.
The same small room.
Looking from the small room into the living room.
A view of the living room from the other end.
Kinda scary aren't they?
This first one is the small room the front door leads to. The same small room. Looking from the small room into the living room. A view of the living room from the other end.Kinda scary aren't they?
The Before Pics
Here are a few before pics of the house. These were taken before the cleaning up and clearing out had started. The house is about 85 years old. It belonged to my great great aunt who lived to be over 100. I have childhood memories of this place and really like that I will be living in a piece of family history. The house had been vacant for eight years. In that time, rodents had moved in and the out buildings seem to have been party central for the teenage crowd. It needs a lot of work still, but we do at least have it clean now and full of our boxes instead of Aunt V's!
This first pic is of what we consider the front porch. The door actually leads to what was always used as a bedroom, but we do not like the idea of guests entering into one of the kids' rooms. So, at the moment, this room will serve as a temporary dining area. I wanted to use it as a den/office space, but upon further investigation, it has no electrical outlets at all.
These are the two other front doors, both leading into the living room. The house was destroyed in a fire in the early 1920s, so when they rebuilt they added lots of ways to get out.
This one is looking into the kitchen from the living room. The multi paned glass swinging doors are one of my favorite features. There is one leading to the breakfast nook from the living area as well.
Another shot of the kitchen.
The breakfast nook.
This first pic is of what we consider the front porch. The door actually leads to what was always used as a bedroom, but we do not like the idea of guests entering into one of the kids' rooms. So, at the moment, this room will serve as a temporary dining area. I wanted to use it as a den/office space, but upon further investigation, it has no electrical outlets at all.
These are the two other front doors, both leading into the living room. The house was destroyed in a fire in the early 1920s, so when they rebuilt they added lots of ways to get out.
This one is looking into the kitchen from the living room. The multi paned glass swinging doors are one of my favorite features. There is one leading to the breakfast nook from the living area as well.
Another shot of the kitchen.
The breakfast nook.I'm Back!
Hello to all my blogger friends! The Internet was finally connected and I am so thrilled to be able to blog and read my favorite blogs again!
We are all moved, but far from settled in. The house is 85 years old, so we were cleaning it out and now working on remodeling while moving in. It sure has made for an interesting experience! I think it will be wonderful when we are done, I just have to remember to be patient.
I am adapting to life with no kitchen at the moment. We are working on tearing out walls and sheet rocking in there. The only appliance we have is the refrigerator. I have a crock pot, an electric skillet, and the bread machine to feed us with. I've been doing a lot of recipe experiments, so I'll probably be sharing those from time to time.
I am not a fan of the only grocery store in town, Brookshires. They only double/triple on certain weeks :-( So, I'll be driving to Kroger in Brownwood or HEB in Stephenville. I've never shopped much at HEB, but the sales flier looks like it might be worth a try.
Just wanted to let you know I am back online and will be posting regularly again.
We are all moved, but far from settled in. The house is 85 years old, so we were cleaning it out and now working on remodeling while moving in. It sure has made for an interesting experience! I think it will be wonderful when we are done, I just have to remember to be patient.
I am adapting to life with no kitchen at the moment. We are working on tearing out walls and sheet rocking in there. The only appliance we have is the refrigerator. I have a crock pot, an electric skillet, and the bread machine to feed us with. I've been doing a lot of recipe experiments, so I'll probably be sharing those from time to time.
I am not a fan of the only grocery store in town, Brookshires. They only double/triple on certain weeks :-( So, I'll be driving to Kroger in Brownwood or HEB in Stephenville. I've never shopped much at HEB, but the sales flier looks like it might be worth a try.
Just wanted to let you know I am back online and will be posting regularly again.
Thankful Thursday - Great News!
Well, the lab results are in and I DO NOT have skin cancer! Huge thanks to you all for the prayers, emails, kind words, and concern. God answers prayers!
Reader Comment - How do you save that much?
02 June 2008
This was a recent question in a reader comment. I want to start by saying that getting to the point of seeing big savings on groceries did not happen over night. It was a slow process. I have found that getting HBA items for free or close to it is much easier than saving on food. Saving on your grocery budget takes a little more work, but it is worth it.
This is how I started seeing big savings at the grocery store.
1. I got all my coupons really well organized and took my coupon binder with me into every store. I am good about making lists and sticking to them, but you never know when you will find a super deal. I often find close out or unadvertised sales, that make for free or very inexpensive items when combined with a coupon.
2. I do most of my shopping at a grocery store that doubles and triples coupons. This helps keep my grocery spending low.
3. If it's not on sale, I don't buy it. I do not pay full price for much of anything anymore. The few exceptions I can think of are milk and produce. I've always been a frugal shopper, but now I've taken it to the extreme. In fact there are somethings I refuse to pay for at all anymore, because I know they will eventually be free after coupon during a sale if I just have patience. Examples of this are BBQ sauce and lots of HBA stuff like deodorant, toothpaste, and razors.
4. Stockpile! I do not hesitate to really stock up on good deals. My HBA stockpile is always in better shape than my food stockpile, but that is just how the deals seem to go lately. My last great food stockpile deal was pot roast at less than $1 a pound. I filled half my freezer! I try to stock up on the things my family eats the most, but will bulk purchase all sorts of foods when the are free/almost free. Having a well supplied stockpile will really help with your food costs as you won't need to buy as much.
This is how I save so much on groceries. Sometimes the sales aren't great for awhile and we eat out of the pantry a lot. But, using coupons has helped us over come the "feast or famine" lifestyle we once had. It takes awhile to get the hang of it and to build up a healthy stockpile, but it is very much worth the effort. If you have any questions, please email or comment and I'll do my best to be helpful.
Happy Saving!
This is how I started seeing big savings at the grocery store.
1. I got all my coupons really well organized and took my coupon binder with me into every store. I am good about making lists and sticking to them, but you never know when you will find a super deal. I often find close out or unadvertised sales, that make for free or very inexpensive items when combined with a coupon.
2. I do most of my shopping at a grocery store that doubles and triples coupons. This helps keep my grocery spending low.
3. If it's not on sale, I don't buy it. I do not pay full price for much of anything anymore. The few exceptions I can think of are milk and produce. I've always been a frugal shopper, but now I've taken it to the extreme. In fact there are somethings I refuse to pay for at all anymore, because I know they will eventually be free after coupon during a sale if I just have patience. Examples of this are BBQ sauce and lots of HBA stuff like deodorant, toothpaste, and razors.
4. Stockpile! I do not hesitate to really stock up on good deals. My HBA stockpile is always in better shape than my food stockpile, but that is just how the deals seem to go lately. My last great food stockpile deal was pot roast at less than $1 a pound. I filled half my freezer! I try to stock up on the things my family eats the most, but will bulk purchase all sorts of foods when the are free/almost free. Having a well supplied stockpile will really help with your food costs as you won't need to buy as much.
This is how I save so much on groceries. Sometimes the sales aren't great for awhile and we eat out of the pantry a lot. But, using coupons has helped us over come the "feast or famine" lifestyle we once had. It takes awhile to get the hang of it and to build up a healthy stockpile, but it is very much worth the effort. If you have any questions, please email or comment and I'll do my best to be helpful.
Happy Saving!
I'm Back!
Dear Blog Readers,
I am so sorry that I disappeared for awhile. Life took a crazy turn and left my world spinning. It was the last week of school, which is always a hectic time with award ceremonies and such. Then we found out we are moving to a different town, which naturally caused excitement and a flurry of activity. Lastly, I had an unexpected surgery to remove an irregular growth from my left shoulder blade area...this was scary and has slowed me down quite a bit as moving my left arm is very uncomfortable. So, that is why I've been missing. It's been busy, exciting, scary, and now we've come to anxious. Anxious to get lab reports back to rule out melanoma, anxious to get packing done, anxious to have this move behind us.
Thanks to all of you who sent concerned emails! It is so nice to have some many caring blogger friends. I appreciate all your prayers, concern, and support. I am truly blessed to have ya'll in my life!
Sincerely,
Nessa
I am so sorry that I disappeared for awhile. Life took a crazy turn and left my world spinning. It was the last week of school, which is always a hectic time with award ceremonies and such. Then we found out we are moving to a different town, which naturally caused excitement and a flurry of activity. Lastly, I had an unexpected surgery to remove an irregular growth from my left shoulder blade area...this was scary and has slowed me down quite a bit as moving my left arm is very uncomfortable. So, that is why I've been missing. It's been busy, exciting, scary, and now we've come to anxious. Anxious to get lab reports back to rule out melanoma, anxious to get packing done, anxious to have this move behind us.
Thanks to all of you who sent concerned emails! It is so nice to have some many caring blogger friends. I appreciate all your prayers, concern, and support. I am truly blessed to have ya'll in my life!
Sincerely,
Nessa
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