Lounge Wear

I have to say thank god for grandparents. Today The Misers joined their friends for a hike and picnic outing once again at Will Rogers State Park. It was hotter than we anticipated and The Misers were a bit overdressed for the day. After our hike, as we settled on the sweet expanse of grass for our picnic, I removed Bee's long sleeved top, socks and shoes so that all she had on were her overalls, which I rolled up at the leg.  She looked like a miniature Huck Finn, but as she was overheating, I know that she felt much better, cooler and a little bit freer.

When we got home, it was too earlier for pajamas, and I needed to put something else on her, so I grabbed an outfit that her Nanny (Sparky's mom) had bought her: a short sleeved white girly top that said "Cutie" on it in lavender, and matching striped purple and white soft cotton pants. It's not an outfit that I would put her in to run around outside as it's not durable like her jeans and overalls, but it's perfect for those moments where you just want your toddler to lounge around inside in something comfy. I had to laugh, because it's actually something I could see my mother-in-law wearing herself (only maybe without the word "Cutie" emblazoned on her chest with little flowers and butterflies.) Anyway, the outfit is perfect for post-picnic loafing around the house moments like today. And it's something I never would have bought her myself. Now if only someone would buy me an outfit like that, then life would be almost nearly perfect. 

This Old House

The inevitable finally happened the other day. The butt ugly blackish-grey Levelor blinds that were adorning the window in our bathroom gave out at last. We've only lived with them for 20+ years, and frankly, I don't see how we put up with them for so long. All the windows of our house were covered with these monstrosities at one time - they were there when we first moved into our rental. But over the years we managed to replace all of them except for the ones in the bathroom. The Misers have been in this old house for awhile. We started out as renters, and then bought the property from our landlord, whom Sparky is still friends with. They always got on, and because of that we got a pretty good deal on this property back in the mid 1990s. Anyway, over the years we've done this and that to the place - mostly getting rid of unfortunate 1970's interior mistakes that came with the house, such as green and yellow shag carpeting, plastic beige tiles covering the kitchen walls (including the ceiling - why would someone glue plastic tiles to a ceiling?) and now those hideous blinds in the bathroom.

I wasn't happy at first when this happened, but now I'm feeling differently. I got out my sewing machine and made new curtains. Sparky gave me some canvas from the giant roll he has (for his paintings), and I measured, cut, sewed and hemmed a new window treatment that is a vast improvement over the ratty Levelor. Now the light softly filters in, the canvas color is nice and neutral, and it adds a happy little boost to our tiny little water closet. Why didn't we do this sooner? It didn't cost much, which as you know is always a plus for The Misers, and it looks so much better. The lesson learned? Sometimes it's good when things break. And even if you "don't  fix something if it ain't broke", sometimes maybe you should...

Night Owl vs. Morning Lark

I'm a Night Owl and I had to get up this morning at 7:30 a.m. It was pretty brutal even though I went to bed fairly early in preparation. I just can't function in the morning no matter what. I inherited it from my maternal grandmother, who passed it down to my mother, who passed it down to me. Only I'm worse than my mother. She can actually get up in the morning, she's just not very chippy. My father, on the other hand is a Morning Lark all the way. He goes to bed early and gets up early, and he's cheerful when he wakes up. That is entirely foreign to me. Sparky is more of a morning person, he usually goes to bed earlier than I do and gets up earlier, and is the one who does the important stuff like make coffee. Before Bee was born, he actually used to bring me coffee in bed - on a tray! I would drink almost a full cup before I dragged my sorry ass out of bed. I want to be a morning person, I really do, but it's just not in my genetic makeup. I don't know what Bee is yet, but I know that she loves to sleep. She usually is up around 8:00 a.m. or so and she is always happy to see us, so maybe she is a Lark. Since she's adopted I know that she hasn't inherit my grandmother's Night Owlness, but maybe she's got someone like that in her background. I know people who are Larks. They are in bed by 10:00 p.m. and up at the crack of dawn ready to greet the day with a smile on their face and love in their heart. Brother, I'd rather just roll over and get some more zzz's. I feel grumpy just thinking about them. But at night I can stay up late with the best of them. I have all this energy, I feel wide awake and ready to get things done. The only problem is that everybody else is asleep. I used to work the night shift and I actually liked it. I remember when I was young and spent nights at my grandparents house. My grandma would stay up and watch The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson while chain smoking her Salem's. My grandpa would be fast asleep in bed, and I would stay up and watch the television with her. She loved Johnny Carson, and so did I. He was the best.

Anyway, around the Miser household Sparky gets up with Bee, changes her, makes coffee and gets her started on breakfast. Then I'll stumble up and absolutely must have some coffee before I can even bust a move. I'm trying to change this, I'm really trying to get up earlier. Notice how I didn't say that I'm trying to become a morning person - I don't believe that you can change that about yourself, an Owl can't just morph into a Lark. But I can get up earlier. I can be more like my mother. Get up earlier and be a mumbly grump and get started with the day that much sooner. Carpe Diem or some such crap. This is my new goal, and I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Some More Things

The Misers have been doing a few other things to help save the planet and save money as well. We don't buy bottled water anymore - we gave that up a long time ago. Here in L.A., everybody used to buy water until we finally realized how bad plastic bottles are for the environment. Now the Misers just drink filtered tap water. And for those days when we are on the go, we pour the water into stainless steel containers. Another thing we have to do is  be mindful of wasting water. Here in arid So Cal, water is not at a premium and it's a good idea to conserve water. This means short showers and giving Bee baths in a toddler tub instead of the regular tub, which uses way more water. Also, one need not shower ever day - sometimes a sponge bath will do just fine. But the thing we've been doing that Sparky and I are the most excited about is the compost heap in the backyard. We recycle all of our organic decomposable food and yard waste into the pile. He turns it over with a shovel and it gets nice and soily. We want to get some earthworms to go into this heap once it gets all earthy, and then we'll really have lovely dirt which we'll be able to use in our garden. And lately our citrus trees have been covered with flowers and honey bees, so we have some nice pollination going on now. Things are looking up, and the Misers are looking forward to Spring which is just around the corner.

Homesteaders

The Misers have been feeling a bit like homesteaders or pioneers as of late. (Only with all the modern conveniences of the 21 Century, thankfully.) Today, Sparky cleared out an area in our yard to make room for more garden and planted seeds: eggplant, carrots, bok choy, and beets! I can't wait for them to sprout. And I've been clearing out Bee's bedroom, getting rid of too small clothing and old baby toys. She has so much stuff it's not even funny. We didn't have as much when I was a kid, and we were perfectly happy. How in the world did she accumulate so many things? After all, she is only one small little girl and her needs are pretty simple. I vow to make this my new mantra: Less Stuff, Less Stuff. Also, I'm never buying anything from Ikea again. None of their furniture seems very well made; Bee's dresser that is less than two years old is practically held together with spit, gum and duct tape. I wish sometimes that we really were homesteaders, making an honest living off of our land. Sure they had it tough, but who doesn't these days? At least all of their furniture was handmade, and I'm guessing a lot of it was very well made, too. From now on, as god as my witness, I will only buy handmade/well made furniture. Or at the very least sturdy used furniture, which is both green and thrifty. 

P.S. Tonight we dined on salads made of lettuce from our garden. The lettuce was delicious - earthy, buttery and a little nutty all at once. 

Yellow Tree

We did it! Today the Misers bought and planted an orange tree. Well, actually Sparky planted the tree. And he had to dig out a huge rock that was in the way, and then get three wheel barrels full of soil from the other side of the yard in order to plant the damn thing. But he did it, and we are all pleased as punch. Originally we had talked about planting an apple tree, but we decided that since we live in So Cal that citrus was the way to go. We now have a Myers lemon tree, an Oro Blanca grapefruit tree, and our brand new baby Valencia orange tree. Bee will be happy because soon she'll be able to have freshly squeezed organic orange juice everyday, or "yellow" as she calls it. And I'm happy because this Miser knows that we'll be saving money on all of our citrus needs. Plus, none of us will ever get scurvy. 

Yellow Splurge

As a Miser, I had to quit buying flowers a long time ago. They just had to go as we have other priorities at the moment. But I love fresh flowers and have missed them. So today while out at the grocery store, Bee and I splurged and bought a happy rose bouquet at Trader Joe's. They were only $3.99, which I thought that was a pretty good deal. I wanted to buy orange ones, but I let Bee choose and she opted for yellow. It seems to be her favorite color plus her favorite word at the moment. (For some strange reason she calls water and orange juice "yellow". "More yellow," she'll say while waving her cup around. I'll say to her very slowly and clearly "wa-ter", and she'll repeat back to me just as slowly and clearly "yel-low.") It's a luxury to have flowers in the house, but it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. There are Farmers Markets, and the Flower Mart in downtown Los Angeles where bargains abound. Also, you can grow them in your very own yard, which is my new strategy. Then we can have fresh cut flowers whenever we have something blooming in the yard, and in L.A. that is pretty much year round. My all time favorite flower is the peony, and I just found out that they do quite well here in southern California. I think that flowers will be a great addition to our fruits and vegetables. After all, one does need art, music and beauty in one's life, and just because you are a Miser doesn't mean you have to do without these things.