Homemade

While I was thinking about starting this post yesterday, I decided that I would title it "Poor and Proud." However, just as that thought started to stew in my mind, I heard a voice outside our gate yelling, "Hello in there!"  I went outside and there was a middle-aged, beggar man standing there.  He pointed to our garbages and said, "I noticed that you have a lot of stuff there, do you mind if I look through it." My neighbor is packing up to move, so she had thrown a lot of things out.  I said that it should be fine, and then went back into the house.  As the man carefully opened the garbage bags and meticulously combed through the trash, I heard him praising God for the little things that he was finding.  I went back out to give him a bag of rice, and he talked to me about how the creator has a plan for all of us.  I left him again so he could finish, and before he left, he straightened everything up so it looked better than before.  I felt like I had been chastised in thinking that I was poor.  Compared to almost all the local people on this island, we live like kings and queens.  So, consequently, I decided not to title this post "Poor and Proud," but "Homemade."

Boyd's job here in Dominica is to get good grades.  My job is to save money and keep these people happy:)  

So here are a few ways that I've found to pinch pennies, keep busy, and teach my children the importance of hard work.

First off...Dinner:) Groceries are way too expensive here.  Let's just say that a gallon of milk is about $8.00, a jar of peanut butter is $15.00, and a box of cereal can be from $5.00 for the nasty cheap stuff, to $15.00 for anything worth eating. So, we are trying to eat more like the locals. Which means...FISH!  So far we have had marlin, mahi mahi, and blue and yellow finned tuna.  I never really liked fish growing up, but I found that it's because I was only eating fresh water fish.  For some reason the salt water makes it taste a lot better.  We also go to the open air market once a week for their delicious produce.  We tried our hand at gardening, and we gather fruit from the campus trees and our mango and lime trees in the back.

(Tuna.  Way more tasty than the canned stuff.)

(Mangos from our tree)

(This is the only time in my life that my garden has actually grown.  Kasie and I got a tip about some good dirt from a homeless guy with a wheel barrow.  We filled up our strollers and mixed it into the clay filled soil.)

The grocery stores are also limited in what they carry all the time.  So, we make our own tortillas, granola, bread, and drink powdered milk.  

(Homemade Granola, Yum)

Just recently, Kasie Shippen and I have also started making and selling our own jam.  The first week she made pineapple-coconut jam and apricot-passion fruit jam.  I made mango jam and mango-coconut syrup.  We sold enough to make us want to do it again, and have enjoyed our yummy extras all week.

Second... Decorating.  When we moved in, our apartment came with two strange pictures on the walls, and nothing else.  In an attempt to make our house more of a home, we've done a little creative decorating.

(Basket weaving anyone?)

(These are dried palm leaves in a jar filled with black sand and sea glass. Then, I needed something large to fill a big, blank, white wall. So, I made a wreath?)

(The stick is from our backyard, and the letters are cereal box cut outs covered in black sand.)

(I weaved the bowl and we made the pictures at a Relief Society activity.)

Third... Laundry.  To support the local economy, most students here send out their laundry to have someone else do it.  Don't get me wrong, I love not having to do laundry, but I don't really love paying the bill.  We have a line out back and little boy who is willing to help his mommy, so we've started doing a load a week in our bathtub.  Have you ever heard of the "stomp cycle?"

(Keido helping with the laundry.)

Fourth... Transportation.  We Walk!!  You also may wonder why I have a picture of our stroller in this post, but this little baby has had more work done to it than Dolly Parton.  Once upon a time in Idaho, it started out as a one-seater bike stroller.  Upon having another child, it needed to be modified to work for us.  So, my dad helped us put a board under the seat in order to help support a newborn.  However, upon arriving here, we found that it just wasn't going to be enough.  We had purchased an old stroller from someone who was leaving, but realized it wasn't going to last.  So, I took the seats and sun cover from that stroller and put them in my bike stroller.  Then, I made some pillows to go under the seat and some to cushion Keido and Emi's heads.  After a few strolls, I realized the sun cover would sag into their faces, so we attached the front handle of the other stroller to the top of this one.  It will also act as a roll bar if anything crazy were to happen;) Then there was the question of a swivel, front wheel that stuck out on the attachment to the bike.  I took that off and bolted it to the front bar.  It only took about a month before the swivel casing broke, so we just bolted the wheel straight to the frame after that.  Our other wheels have broken off several times, but I just keep going back to the hardware store to find new ways to attach them again.  This stroller and I have quite a love/hate relationship.  Hopefully, in October my parents can bring us a new, normal stroller and we will put this one to rest.

Fifth... Wet Wipes!  I have to thank my good friend, Sharese, for this one.  It has really saved us a bundle.  A box of diapers here is about $65.00, and a bag of 250 wet wipes is about $20.  I wish I could figure out something to make a cheaper diaper, but at least I've been using homemade wet wipes and saved a little there.

(Cut a roll of Bounty paper towels in half.  Add 1 1/2 c. water mixed with 2 Tbs. baby soap. WhahLah. Wet wipes that wipe wonderfully:)

There will definitely be more to come on this Homemade blog.  But for now, I just have to say that I have never had so much fun in my life.  I love living here and finding new ways to do things.  What a blessing!