Getting started

Welcome! You and I are here because times are tough. Many of us are barely getting by. We’re juggling bills in ways that feel like trying to paint the Mona Lisa while walking a high wire. And here comes Christmas! The peace, wonder and joy of the season is in danger of being swept away in a tidal wave of uncertainty, bills and suffocation.

Let’s try something new. Actually, let’s try something really old. Do you know the story of the soup stone? Many cultures have a similar story but the simplest one tells of a beggar who comes into a village hoping for something to eat but quickly sees that these people are nearly as poor as he is. As he approaches he can see he’s being watched warily by people who likely have nothing to give him. He comes into the village square, takes his soup pot from his pack and starts a small cooking fire. He fills the pot from the village well and settles back to start his soup. As villagers begin to gather he tells them of his magical soup stone; that it can create the most wonderful soup anyone has ever tasted. As the pot begins to simmer he tells how he’s carried it for years and how it’s never failed. The crowd grows and expectation builds. Finally, he draws it from his pack and many in the group scoff. It’s just a stone! A plain old rock like so many lying around the fields! But the beggar reverently drops it into the pot. He adds a tiny pinch of salt and slowly stirs what looks like plain, simmering water. He dips his spoon into the pot and like a connoisseur testing a fine vintage, he thoughtfully sips his brew. Slowly, he smiles. He sighs. His face plainly shows that this batch may be one of his best yet. But then, the tiniest bit of doubt creeps across his brow. The villagers are mesmerized. What could be wrong? Has the magic gone? But no, he hastens to tell them. No! The soup is wonderful. It’s heavenly. It’s ALMOST the best he’s ever made, but still… If only he had a carrot. A carrot would make it absolute ambrosia! One of the women at the edge of the crowd broke and ran to her house. She’d been hoping, like all the rest, to beg for a taste of the wonderful, magical soup and this might be her ticket! She returned with two small, shriveled carrots and timidly held them toward the beggar. He beams up at he and receives the carrots as a great offering. He produces a small knife and quickly chops them into the pot.

He takes another taste but his face clearly shows that the addition of the carrots didn’t make quite the difference he’d hoped for. A man close to him asks what could be done. He shakes his head slowly and says softly that he doesn’t know; that the mixture is so close to perfect but just wasn’t all it could be. “A potato”, one woman asked? “A turnip,” queried another? He just didn’t know. A woman slips through the crowd with a small onion. He quickly chops it up and adds it to the pot. A potato appears, then a turnip. Someone offered a handful of barley. A small handful of herbs appeared. A boy returning from a morning’s hunting trip offers one of the small birds he’d taken. Eventually, there are so many suggestions and offerings, someone brings a huge pot into which they transfer the magical brew. The smell of the heavenly concoction fills the village square. Ever citizen leans forward to watch the beggar’s every pronouncement. He watches as the last citizen creeps timidly forward. All she has to contribute was a little salt. After he’d stirred in it, he jumped to his feet and shouted, “Yes! THAT was it! Everyone! Get your bowls. Everyone has to try this!”

As everyone shared the huge pot of soup, they marveled at the amazing flavor. A few brought out some bread to share and it was practically a party. Old grudges were forgotten, old jokes were shared and every villager ate their fill. All were amazed at the power of the magical soup stone. At the height of the fun, the beggar quietly fished his stone out of the bottom of the pot, packed up his things and left with a full stomach.

Maybe it was just his showmanship, but everyone benefited. I think we can do it again. I have a soup stone. I even have a few carrots and a little salt. Let’s get together and see if we can toss some tidbits into the pot and each come away with a few things that will sustain us through this season that’s looking bleak and scary.

I’d like to use this space to share ideas for low cost, or no cost, gifts. Or ideas for ways to re-use or recycle items that can contribute to cool gifts. Or ways to just stretch the budget to get by day to day. Many of us could use ideas on how to make low cost meals at home. Any ideas on cutting corners, reviving Grandma’s tricks for stretching a dollar and input on how to get by, are welcome.

Here are a few I’ve been contemplating to get us started:

I have a dynamite recipe for homemade Kahlua. There’s barely enough time to make a batch in time for Christmas. There’s definitely a cost. It requires vanilla beans which are NOT cheap and does require buying a big bottle of cheap vodka. I’m going to ask all my friends to save pretty bottles for me. I’ll wash them out, remove the labels and bottle up the Kahlua as a special gift for a few special friends. Since Kahlua is very expensive and I can print super pretty labels, this might be impressive. Let me know if you want the recipe, it’s really simple but the trick is in the aging for a couple weeks.

Music – I’m going to record some of the music from my collection and put it on memory chips or sticks. My brother is out of state so I need something I can mail cheaply. I’m sure I have a lot of old music he doesn’t have and right now those memory chips or sticks are on sale. You can fit over a hundred songs will fit on a 512mb memory device.

Plants – I have some houseplants, especially spider plants, that are ready to root babies. If I start them now, I can pot them in time for Christmas. Spider plants are particularly good for cleaning indoor air.

Dried herbs – There are some herbs still in my garden that I could dry. There’s rosemary, sage and maybe some lemon verbena out there. I could dry them, cut out circles of some scrap fabric and tie them up with a pretty ribbon. The cooks in my family will love homegrown herbs.

Home canning - I canned some jams and pickles this fall. I’m willing to share a few with close friends and family this holiday.

Salsa – I have a friend who has an incredible salsa recipe; it’s won competitions. She uses plain old canned tomatoes, fresh cilantro, garlic salt and fresh jalapeños which are readily available at the grocery store and whips it up in seconds in a blender. I’ll be making up pints of it to take to get-togethers. If I give it as a gift, I’ll have to warn the recipient that it needs to be refrigerated and eaten within the week but it’s so good it won’t take much to persuade them.

Old pictures – I have a couple of old pictures of old, old relatives. I have a friend with a scanner. I’m going to get copies for my sister. Dollar Store frames will dress them up.

So there are my “stones” for today. Any other ideas? I no longer have small kids at home so maybe you can help fill in ideas for them. Hopefully, over the next few weeks we can all share enough ideas that we’ll all have a little easier time getting by.