Lori Alexander 46: She Sure Is Highly Edumacated

[Curious]

8 hours ago, Koala said:

Right?!  Last week a reader was complaining to her about the price of eggs.  Lori said something like, "If they were that expensive here, I'd consider owning a couple of chickens."  Sure.  The people in Lori's neighborhood wouldn't have any problem with that.  

Here it is....

I have some doubts whether she would even be allowed to own chickens in her area.  Chickens are considered livestock so we can't have them here.  our neighbors had a few chickens and they weren't noisy or anything because no rooster.  They put up with my barking dogs and I put up with their chickens  

We did end up with a rogue chicken in our yard a couple times.  I was worried our dogs might hurt them so my husband went out to catch the chicken and return it across the fence.  My dogs all sat on the deck until the small dog endangering interloper had been dispatched  

I checked into it because I was thinking it would be nice to have a couple chickens that could free range (and eat bugs) in our backyard, but nope...not legal here.

[PennySycamore]

@EowynW, oh, I'd love a set of KnitpIcks interchangeables!  I think they are so pretty!  

[EowynW]

15 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@EowynW, oh, I'd love a set of KnitpIcks interchangeables!  I think they are so pretty!  

They are! I use their 4 inch DPN for my socks 

[Sarah92]

I was think about the Etsy suggestion and that just annoyed me as well. I made a pair of embroidered earrings as a test run for expanding my embroidery. It took hours to make them and they're maybe two inches or so in diameter. I crochet as well and a blanket took me forever in between everything else I was doing. Me doing a painting takes hours. My uncle does stunning award winning art work but again it takes days and weeks. You don't just fart out projects.  Art supplies is expensive and you have to either buy it online or have access to a supply store. Plus everyone and their mom is doing etsy so breaking into that market can be difficult. Lori's daughter (or DIL idk which) is luckily. But even she is probably spending hours without her kids working on that. From my perspective, having babies around potentially toxic art supplies or easily tangled yarn is a no. Same with painting and wood working. I hate when people think artists just wave their arms and poof work just shows up and then said people only want to offer 15 dollars for something that took weeks to make. Or like Lori, use an artist's artwork as covers to get article without permission or recognition. Okay artist rant over. 

[SueEllenMishke]

Really, very little of that list is easy or super economical, as so many have pointed out. 

Even their old mainstay "can your own food!" isn't as easy as they make it. Money for the garden, for seeds or seedlings. Water if there's a drought. Time to plant, to weed, to watch the veggies. Money for canning jars, vinegar, spices, etc. Canning pot or pressure canner. More water and power to run them. Time to pick and process the fruits and veggies.

We have a modest garden and I spend a huge amount of summer and fall canning and freezing. Last Sunday my daughter's and I spent 2 hours shucking and freezing peas. And I love it. I love going down to the garage and getting pickles or jalapenos or relish or salsa. But I can do it because I have the time in the summer cause I'm a teacher and because we can afford the cost. But am I saving a ton of money at the store? Probably not. And I definitely couldn't do it in a trailer with 10 kids running around. 

Rant over.  

[Black Aliss]

On 5/16/2018 at 7:32 AM, Alisamer said:

I hate to say this, but I'm kind of glad she's so purposefully stupid. Her serious leghumpers won't care, but I'm sure some women who may have been leaning toward listening might be put off by the idea of following someone who is too dumb to know that when a fire is coming toward your home, you grab the important papers and the cat, maybe throw a quick bag together of necessities, put your back to the fire and leave! You don't call someone from out of state to ask you what to do. You especially don't call your SON, who you raised and supposedly TAUGHT, to ask him what to do! Does she think that having a penis automatically gives you insight into fire safety that people with vaginas cannot possibly understand? Did her son-in-law have to stand there and tell her "OK, now we go out the front door, and get in the car. No, close the door, Lori. Now open the car door, Lori. Get in and sit down. Put the keys in the ignition..."

I suspect Lori might have some cognitive degeneration, specifically in the area of executive functioning, that  might make it hard for her to decide what to do in case of an emergency like this. It might also explain her free-floating anger, but I don't know. She may have always been a truly unpleasant person.

4 hours ago, AlwaysDiscerning said:

This is a comment on IG. Again this sends the message that those who don't buy organic or can't AFFORD organic, don't have their husband's best interest in mind!! Infuriating. 

 

Huh. I used to explain to the kids when they were young that, with the exception of certain foods like strawberries, the difference between organic and conventional produce wasn't important for our health and well-being BUT it did make a big difference for the people who work in the fields to provide us with our produce. So, no, not the best for my husband or even for my children and myself, but for those other, invisible people, blessed_vegan.

[Briefly]

3 hours ago, Loveday said:

That chicken comment  cracked me up. 

And we are AC sisters. 68 deg:) rees, a fan on the floor next to my chair, kitchen ceiling fan running, and a big fan running in the living room. And I'm the only one home right now.   I'm mostly past the hot flash stage now, thankfully, but menopause did something permanent to my internal temperature gauge, so anything over 70 degrees just makes me sweaty and miserable. I'll economize somewhere else to pay for the AC, but if Lori thinks I, or anyone else in the sauna that is southeastern Virginia in the summertime, should do without it, she can kiss my nice, cool ass. 

Are you peeking in my window?    I'm pretty much past the hot flash stage and I've noticed the same thing - my normal temperature is warmer than it used to be.  I'm from S. Texas and grew up in incandescent heat.  I loved it.  As in past tense, now I have to have the a/c and a fan in every room.  Two if you count the ceiling fan.  As I've gotten older, my asthma has become more of an issue and the a/c also keeps my able to breathe.

[Maggie Mae]

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The biggest expense is the home. Don’t get a mortgage; don’t buy a large house. Buy a used mobile with cash if you can, fix it, live in it until you can afford to buy land, and then move your mobile onto the land until you can afford to build a home.

 

Where do I live before I buy this "used mobile?" Where do I get the money for this probably used to be a meth-lab shelter? 

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Use it up and go without. 

 

Use what up? What am I going without?

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Don’t eat out. 

 

OK. I guess when my boss says "I'd like for you and your spouse to join me and big wig for dinner" we shoudl say no. 

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Grow your own veggies as much as you can.  

 

I already do, and we can what we can't use right away. I DO think that many people in the US have a lot of wasted land, lawns are so pointless and I much prefer the overgrown vegetable gardens to perfectly manicured lawns. But I also live in La La Land and want the world to be different than it is. I understand there are many many many reasons why it's unfeasible for many people to do any sort of gardening. 

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Trade.

I actually do this already, so thanks for the tip! We trade bread and garden starters for chicken eggs and goats milk. This is really only possible if you have friends, though. 

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We use one cell phone, whomever leaves the house takes it.

 

We leave the house unattended. I mean, I guess the cat could call for help on one of our old smartphones, but he's really not very good with technology. The bird might be able to actually say "help" but his talons and beak can't trigger the glass screen. 

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I ditched cable when it went up to $50 a month. 

 

I have never paid for cable in my adult life and I graduated in 2000. Real money saving tip! (and I'm pretty sure it costs quite a bit more) 

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Repair your clothes and re-sole your shoes/boots at a cobbler. 

 

If you have nice shoes, sure! But if you are buying trendy shoes from Target, just buy new ones. 

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Have chickens if you can – use eggs to feed other animals/pets and yourself. I mix scrambled eggs with canned cat food for my cat. It stretches the canned food (earthborn), is healthier, and an egg is a complete protein for them.

 

Or you can buy eggs at the store when they are on sale (it happens!) and buy your cat food at Costco. You can get a giant bag for the same price as the small bags. 

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Don’t vaccinate; it causes health problems in all animals.

Um, no, please vaccinate. Coming down with polio will be infinitely more expensive than a vaccination. Bringing back smallpox will be expensive. Whooping cough will be expensive. Rubella will be expensive. 

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Eat healthy without chemicals.

Do you know what a chemical is? 

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We buy used clothes. Make things, sell on Etsy – every little bit helps.

Etsy won't let Alaska Natives sell their ivory art, even though there is an exemption in the law. No thank you.  

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Take fewer car trips for supplies. Borrow items that you cannot afford (wheel barrow, chain saw, lawn mower, etc.) 

There's actually a few co-ops that share things like wheel barrows and other tools. It's nice, because what a pain in the ass to have to store something that we only need like once or twice a year. Probably going to want to get your own lawn mower, though, our grass grows inches overnights, what with the rain and the 12-18 hours of daylight. 

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Cut back on electricity and don’t use air conditioning unless you MUST. Heat with wood.

I have an unpopular opinion, and it's that I hate air conditioning ever so much and have since I was about 10. It probably has an emotional component to it. It also is a double edge sword in that people use it and it increases the temperature of cities and then they use it more. I think it's a great invention for the elderly and very sick people, but I can't stand going into a restaurant in the summer and needing a sweater. It also gives me headaches. 

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Do it yourself (fix it or learn how; YouTube is a great source). Do your own oil changes and vehicle maintenance and build your own things. 

 

The problem with this is that we actually built our economy around specialization. I don't know how to change my oil, so I pay someone to do it. (Cars are also much more complicated than they were in the 60s.) Most mechanics aren't going to be able to design a flyer in photoshop, so they pay someone to do that. The admin doesn't have a professional printer so she will send it to a print shop; the print shop doesn't own a paper making machine, so they buy paper from someone else who has the skill and equipment to make the paper. It's how the world works. My time is also not well spent learning how to change oil, a task that I can easily and inexpensively farm out to my car dealership. 

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Cut back on gift giving, trust me, people understand – make gifts or buy small gifts. 

 

Maybe, but it seems pretty selfish to expect people to lend you things and you can't get them something nice in return. 

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Housing and heating is where we save the most $$. 

 

OK, but there are lots of places where housing and heating/cooling will be your biggest expense. 

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We never go to the movies. 

 

Hey, me either! I got like twice a year, maybe. 

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Hiking is free, so are many other activities.

 

Hiking is SO not free. You've got permit fees, or parking fees, or if you don't live in a very good location, you've got to drive to get to a trail. You'll end up wanting better boots, a better daypack, new pants, a cute shirt for the selfies, a water bottle, a different water bottle, beer/wine for the summit, snacks, bug spray. No matter what, there's always something to buy to make your hike a little better, or something to replace. It's addictive, for sure. Cheap? In comparison to some things, yes. But free? Not if you want to be safe and have a good time. 

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Kids don’t mind used toys. We buy used video games and movies. 

 

Not all toys are available used, there are laws about it. I prefer my media digital so there's no used buying there. Why buy when you can rent from redbox, anyway? 

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We homeschool; my kids don’t have cell phones and they are never bored because they HAVE CHORES to do. 

 

Welll, bully for you, homeschooling is expensive. And don't most kids have some chores? Why brag about it? Weird. 

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Go to the library; don’t buy books or magazines. Play cards/board games/play outside. Price check around before you buy anything major, if you cannot buy it used. We get second hand stuff from family too, especially for the kids. Strive for self-sufficiency; aim for how they did it in the 1800s!

 

It's okay to buy books! Board games get expensive too. These are not revolutionary tips! 

I'd rather not live in the 1800s, thanks! I'm born now, in a country with modern amenities and a very different economy. So skills useful in the 1800s are not really going to help me. 

 

 

[Krissy]

I showed my husband this and he said maybe they have a dynamic of both of them leaving a list for each other to do? What does this guy do leave a to do list? I do all the household lists and schedules because my husband wouldn’t have a clue on cleaning or tasks so if this guy knows so much more why isn’t he doing it or showing her how to do it? Thank goodness she responded with “Im not sure” instead of some horrible advice but she still put down the wife. It’s rebellious to not clean a house? 

My advice, quit making her feel stupid by leaving assigned tasks like she’s a child. Make someone feel like a helpless adult they might just prove you right. 

[Maggie Mae]

What the fork is up with these relationships? Assigned tasks? Disciplinary actions? So weird. 

[Curious]

I can crochet a baby blanket if 2-3 days if I put my mind to it.  An afghan, I can do in a week or less, again if I'm rushing.  However, selling items like that is NOT ecnomical, in the least.

I finished an afghan for my husband last week.  I used a run of the mill bernat super bulky yarn that normally costs $9.99 a skein.  It was on sale for $7.50 a skein.  So my expenses before I put any time into it was $60.

Even a baby blanket, the one I just finished last night I only had to use 3 skins because they were largeish.  It was on sale for 5.99 (normally 7.99).  So that one started at $18 before I put in any time.

Since most people aren't going to be $180 for an afghan or $54 for a baby blanket when you can buy them at walmart for much less.

I don't make things to sell anymore.  If someone asked me specifically to make something and they would buy the yarn I'd call that good just because I love to crochet and am happy to make things for friends, but can't afford to keep myself in yarn if I do that.   I have a big plastic bin that I keep my completed projects in.  If it gets to full, I go through it and donate items to the local NICU or another charity that uses those types of items.

Add me to the list of 68-71 degree with fan blowing on them cold air lovers.   My husband puts on a sweatshirt the second he gets home.  He LOVES the heat.  He says I'm into cryogenics

The last SNF I was in had amazing room units.  I kept my room between 63-66 all the time.  People would come in and try to change it thinking I was cold and I'd shoo them out.  Techs and PTs would come visit me to get a few minutes of cold air because they'd been lifting elderly patients up and down in an 80-90 degree room.   My husband wore winter gloves in my room after he'd been there a couple hours.  lol

[Destiny]

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