The Ladies Are Back on the Production Line

 

It seems all the hens are laying again.  Nice.

Here is the range of colors:

Light tan must be from the barred rock, Porky.  I have 2 white layers.  This is from the larger on, Pearl.  She's a white leghorn.  I also have the brown leghorn banty, Flora, who lays TINY white eggs and there is a tiny egg in the laying box today.  I left it as bait so they keep laying up in the boxes.  The darker brown is from one of the red-sex-link, aka Novogen, type hens.  I have Suzanne (might be Brittany...not sure who got killed by a raccoon but I'm sticking with the name "Suzanne" now), who is 2 years old or more.  The other red-sex-link is Gertrude who is just a year old and laid most of the winter, though not every day and slowed down.   The blue in the lower left is from Pru, and aracauna/ameracauna (I see so many spellings I give up).  She's the only blue egger.  They aren't as large.  I think Porky's egg today is a double yolk.  I am letting it age a bit so I can boil it up and may a double deviled egg because that would be amusing.

The darker brown eggs run extra large to jumbo.  The big white ones are the same.  The blue eggs run large to extra large.  The small white ones are small to medium size eggs.

I am SUPER surprised Flora is putting out eggs.  She is probably 5 years old.  When I got her last year the owner who was giving away banties said they were mostly 4 years old.  

It was nice out today and I was doing chores and moving manure.  The hens LOVED it.  Stirred up bugs and things I guess.   It was around 60 degrees out! The creek is running and they were happy.

So was I.

Brand New EXTREMELY Used Car

 I was going to post about something else and then I remembered I hadn't put up the new rig.  I will have to shut off comments on this post because purchase posts get super spammed.  

Anyway, so, partway through the house build, when I was at the financial nadir of the winter (still thankfully employed and getting checks but the savings had pretty much all been transferred to the builderman and mrs builderman)...the subaru gave up the ghost.  Sol is dead.  Sol (remember, I got it by the summer solstice so "Sol") is an ex vehicle.   It started shaking like a beast.  Very much like when it broke a drive shaft (there are 2 on a subaru) last spring and cost me 300+$.   I took it in and found out it  had a completely f'd ignition system including a blown up (yes, it exploded a little and burned a hole through itself) ignition coil.   That and the new wires and installation on the hard-to-work-on motor cost me 500$ or so.  It was 180k miles LATE on the 2nd timing belt, burning more and more oil, and had 288000 miles on it.  This is not a car worth fixing.  I drew a line under it and started driving the pick up.  Not a super delight, but it was "the good car" for a couple of months.

I searched high and low.  I had 5000$ for a rig and Sol as a trade-in or to scrap.  Also, Sol had a dying battery.  Anyway, the longer I could deal with the truck, the more I could save.  By the time I purchased, I could have possibly spent 6-8000$ for the right vehicle.  I test drove a variety of things.  Chevy Equinox made my spine hurt in 20 min.   Toyota Sienna was just crap.  The particular one I drove, could afford, was less uncomfortable but also drove like a couch which makes me puke.  A super smooth ride and I get car sick.  Both would have been dealt with if I had no truck, but I had the truck.   So, I told the dealer, same one I got the truck from that my dream car was an old Honda CR-V or Subaru Forester.   The sedans I considered did not have enough clearance and newer subarus have the expensive 17" tires.  

I had two dealers I was watching and a CR-V popped up at one.  I called, texted, and emailed them requesting a 36 hour hold on it because I had work meetings I couldn't miss and they are an hour from me.   They held it , because it's easy to sell an old CR-V.  They said they had 4 or 5 people waiting in the wings if I didn't want it.  Whatever.  Don't care.

I read the reviews for the 2002 model, reliability ratings and the CarFax.  All were fine.  Of special interest was the timing CHAIN.  No belt.  The 2002 is the year Honda took the CR-V back to a timing chain.  These are much much more reliable than belts and may not need replacing for the life of the vehicle.  A timing belt replacement on the subaru was going to be over 1200$...nope.  That's why I let it go on Sol.  The CR-V is all wheel drive, plenty of clearance and has 15" wheels hence much much cheaper tires.  Also narrower tires than the subaru.  I did not look up features or cool stuff.  Don't care.  

My bottom line criteria:

Clearance of 5.75" or more

Automatic (clutch/gas dyslexia is not a solvable issue, I tried for 3 years solid, screw it)

All wheel if possible

Reasonable chance of getting 1+miles of driving for every 10cents of purchase price plus major repairs.

Seats that don't cause immediate back/next pain

and...a new one after testing the above mentioned Sienna....does not REEK of baby puke.

Preferred: 

Stiff/rough ride

Decent handling

Cheap to fix

Good cargo space

Stupid but I thought it would be fun:

a tire mounted on the back door  (because I've never had one)

I got there, in the truck, to test drive it.  It was fine.  The driver's seat is a tad wiggly but whatever.  Hood is 1/4" off square.   Scrapes in the doors.  It's grey and hence nearly invisible on the road (maybe reflective flame stickers will help?)

Stiff ride.  Rough idle.  Twitchy steering.  Decent acceleration but not a powerhouse by any means. 

166k miles on it. (LOW for the age).  Engine light on for an "evap" code.  After market gas cap likely cause.  

Asking price was about 5000$

I said I'd be back in 2 days with the subaru to buy it.  We negotiated a price before I did that.   The price was what they were asking but 450$ for the subaru (junk/salvage price would be about 250$ minus the hauling fee if I couldn't drive it there...I would not sell it to anyone who might try to drive it).  With some random 90ish$ fee, the drive-away cost out of pocket was 4650$.  Taxes (my plates from the subaru transferred at no cost) and title fees were about 340$.  Total price: 4990$.  Let's call it 5000$ with the driving down to test drive. 

The day comes and the subaru, which had been sitting for 2 months with the crap battery, would not start.  It also would not take a jump.  I called the dealer and they said they go to auctions up north of me and would pick it up, minus a hauling fee.  FINE.  Kill it.  I told them I'd be there the next day because they were about to close.  Then I called around to the 1 person in my bubble...and she gave me a ride down.  She took a 2nd test drive in it and agreed that it was fine for the price.   She had family to get presents to in the dealer's town so she took off and I wrote a check.

They picked up Sol about a week later.  

So....introducing Juanita:

Not bad looking for nearly 20 years old.

She is called Juanita because she's a bit of a rough ride, is showing some wear (dings, windshield crack, broken trim here and there), and stinks of cigarettes.

Exhibit 1:

So there you have it.

Issues that have shown up post purchase (and yes, I know that the better part of valor is to take a used car to a mechanic but I did not have time and it would have cost me a day off of work in addition to the mechanic's price for the testing.  Then what do I do with myself during 'rona?  Stores don't want you hanging around.  My mechanic near work couldn't do it for 2 weeks and the dealer wasn't going to hold it for 2 weeks...so I thought "what the hell"...and bought it.  It's 5000$.  I've made bigger mistakes.

I bought the truck, reminder: named Prince because 1999)...anyway, things that have shown up:

Shifting issue at 1800rpm and between 25 and 40 MPH.  It quits having an issue if I hit the gas or take my foot off the gas.  I'll get that assessed when it needs oil.  Turns out it the protocol is oil every 10,000 miles...I will go 5000 but I don't think I can deal with waiting 10000 miles between changes.

Mild whistling noise (antenna?) at highway speeds.

Bonuses I've noticed since purchase:

There is a trunk!  The tire is on the back door but there is a tire shaped storage spot under the floor of the cargo area.  

There is a folding table.  The floor of the cargo area is a flimsy (apparently unused) folding table.

Sun roof

Cassette player (I did notice before purchase)

6CD changes (also noticed before purchase but like the cassette player, I don't care)

The backseats not only fold down, they flip up and attach to the back of the front seats so you get a TON of cargo room.

There is a rubbery thing lining the cargo area so things don't leak all over.

There is a storage bin under the passenger front seat that slides out...perfect for filling with baking soda and charcoal to try to minimize the cigarette stank.

All the electric windows still work (I did check before purchase but didn't really care)

The seats are manual hence hard to bust (did notice before purchase but not a consideration)

The front seats lay flat and then you can shove them against the back seats for a super uncomfortable bed area!  More comfortable than the subaru for sleeping.  

There is an extra cubby on the door side of the steering wheel, in the dash but on the door side.  This helps make up for the lack of a console between the seats.  

The thingy between the seats is a fold down table.  Strange.  

Minuses:

The shifty issue

Minimal cup holders that are flimsy and crap.  Like ONE that is functional and it's flimsy.  Oh well.

Just one charging port.

The engine light goes off and on at random.  I had it checked and it's the "evap" code.  Still, annoying.  So I bought a code reader and will be able to shut it off as well as making sure it's not trying to tell me that the engine is about to blow up.  There is just the engine light, not any fine detail on what the issue is.

I think the stupid folding table is the funniest bit.  Clearly it is useless or it would have been used.

The seats do not hurt my spine.  It's like driving around in a straight back kitchen chair.  The head rests do not mess with my pony tail like every other car I'd tested AND the subaru.  This and my pick up may be that last vehicles with bun space.   My left leg doesn't fall asleep in this one like it started to in the subaru (that seat was worn out).

I've put about 2500 miles on it so far...That's 2$/mile cost so far.   It goes down fast the first few months.  By summer, we'll be hitting 1$ or less.   Headed for the golden 10cents.   The first subaru costs me 5cents per driving mile....Betty was a good car.  But, she's dead.  Long live Juanita.

No-Spend February Informed Pantry Stock List

 It is time to start restocking the pantry.   The no-spend month was handy in getting through the stuff I don't eat, as well as noticing what types of foods I get for free or onsite and hence, they will not be on the top of the restock list, but instead on a sort of watch list in case the supply should change.

Things I get, or can get, onsite or through my own efforts:

Meat  By helping people butcher, I have a pretty good supply of meat and I gain skills...oh so slowly do I gain skills.   I will add the hunting rider to the fishing license mentioned below.  I can get small game or big game here on the property.  I can also butcher out my chickens as they get past being decent layers or I get sick of the cock duet in the mornings.  The 2 roosters are on notice every day they start the concert before 4am which is now every dam day.

Eggs More free hens should 

Fish. I'm going to go get a fishing license with the "stuff for land" or "household" budget line(s) this month.  If I actually fish this year (AHEM Sara W!!  You have been warned), that will pay for itself AND provide recreation and nature break thinking time.

Legumes.  I managed to grow a very few lentils and garbanzos last year.  Critters got them before I did but with more effort, I could make it happen I think.  The Siberian Pea shrubs are starting to put out pods and those are an edible legume.   I might be able to harvest some this year.

Camelina seeds.  They are a protein boost with omega-3, fiber and they can be gelled into fake eggs like flax seeds.  EASY to grow, harvest, clean and store.  I kept plenty for seed.

Greens 9months of the year.  Need to work harder on this and I am getting a jump on it now.  My Good King Henry is up but got frozen in the bad weather.  Might begin being harvestable in April.  Same with some wild greens like nettles, dandelion leaves, and fern heads.   If I plant radish seeds this weekend, the sprouting kind (the radish is edible but not delicious but the greens are excellent if you like strong flavors on the bitter side) I could have greens in a few weeks.   I have kale coming up in the mini greenhouse.  I have some kale that has been alive through 2 winters now.  It doesn't put out a ton of leaves, but one takes what one can get.  Lovage...god the lovage!  Both a green and a seasoning.  I moved as much of the roots as I could get out of the raised bed yesterday over to the big in-ground garden and planted what might be 3 large clumps.   The rest of the root bits I plan on potting up and maybe selling or giving away.  IF I am diligent and dry some of the greens, I might be able to stretch the supply into winter.  If I get enough sprouting seeds off radish plants, that would nearly get me greens independence.

Garlic.  I am still eating on last years' sad harvest (critters got most of it) and what the community teaching garden was giving away.  Of course I forgot to plant any last fall, middle of the house build and whatnot, until a sudden really hard freeze and then gave up.  Still for the past month or more I've saved a clove off the heads that had stored well and yesterday I stuck them in the mini greenhouse.  Why not?  Might work.  I've had a few this past week that were starting to grow in the storage bag so I put a few of those in as well and planted on in a little pot in the wee shed.  The spider plant former pot occupant froze to death a few weeks ago.  Oops...

Flavoring agents.  I've managed to collect dill.  Could have collected and dried lovage leaves, chives, sage, thyme (multiple kinds), oregano, tarragon, horseradish, onions (walking onions mysteriously appear and disappear in the garden...I did plant them but where do they go sometimes?), garlic, mint (various types).

Herbal teas.  I have wild roses, pine and fir trees, hops, mints, raspberries, and much much more that I could have been gathering leaves and petals off of to dry for winter teas.  I'm testing chicory to see if I want to grow that as a coffee substitute or coffee stretcher...so far, it makes me poop to  much to want to have all the time but might be worth it as a medicinal.

Berries.   Still have a TON of service berries, elderberries, and oregon grapes perserved in vinegar (partly because I had access to so much other fruit all winter this time).  I also have blueberries from the you-pick and I might even have some of my friend's blackberries in vinegar.  My berry bushes didn't put out enough to preserve, the planted bushes.  BUT they are doing better since the move to a new garden.  We'll see...   Service berries are pretty reliable.  If I drive or walk 5 miles to the state park up the road, I should be able to get huckleberries now and then.  I think I've found a spot to put my honeyberry shrubs and they are even bearing in their sad undersized pots.  The hens picked them clean the day before I had about 2 cups coming ready to harvest.  My blueberries have never been happy and my wild raspberries are meager.  I could work harder with the pin cherries on the lower part of the property and try working with the ash berries (those orange danglers on ash trees are edible), as well as haw apples (the fruit of the hawthorn).  My aronia berries and chokecherries are coming along a bit but are not happy.  The gooseberries and currants put out 1or 2 berries a year so far...hope springs eternal.

Apples.  I get bucket tons off the deer poop apple trees.  Plenty.  Need to work on more preserving them with drying, canning, and a root cellar some day.

Water. I have a well. 

Mushrooms.  Not many, just a few.   I am trying to learn more about identification so I will have more species that I can harvest and eat. 

Potatoes grow but are hard to preserve without a root cellar.

Beets also grew well in the big garden and were a good source of greens as well as roots.

Oddly, I suck at squash but am going to keep trying.   I have a ghost pumpkin in the small garden rotting away with some sheep poo on it.  Here's hoping it turns into a nice pumpkin patch this year!!

So, that's a great deal!

Things usually/often included in 2nd Harvest distribution locally:

Canned fruit, some fresh fruit 

Canned veg, some fresh veg

Canned beans

Pasta

Rice

Bread

Those have come, in the past few months, in large enough quantities to become part of the pantry stock.  Recently the canned items have been no-added-sugar and no-added salt versions (mostly) which work in my preferred diet.  

I'm learning to pace myself with the canned goods...eat the fresh fruit and veg early on because it's usually a tad bruised or near the expiration date.

Occasionally there are windfalls like the 10lb bag of all purpose flour I got 10 months back or the 6lbs of red meat that we got last week.  Those can't be counted on but are lovely when they happen.  The usual animal proteins are dairy and/or super salty processed meat.  I can't eat those and stay healthy due to personal problems.   The amount of pasta lately has been bonkers so that is getting shared out and when people quit accepting it, I put back 2lbs of angel hair to make up for the chickens.  They love it.

Things that are currently hard to produce and hence could be purchased as pantry stock:

Grain.  I like me some grain!  I might be able to get buckwheat to go but don't have the brain space to figure it out.  I've planted it and it came up and flowered and put out seeds. I didn't figure out an easy/doable hand harvesting method.  Once I do, then there is the cleaning and getting the hulls off and etc.   I might try wheat and wild rice.  I've tried quinoa (yes, I know it's not a real grain)  (neither is buckwheat smarty pants) but didn't get a harvestable amount.  Will try again.

Nuts.  I've planted chestnuts, hazelnuts, english walnuts, butternuts, horse chestnuts (don't eat those....make soap).  So far all but 1 hazelnut tree have died.  A chestnut might be powering back from roots.  We'll see.  I really want nuts (heh heh).   Good protein and an oil source.  BUT I can grow sunflower seeds so once I get that going, I may need/want fewer nuts.

Oil...the meats I can get easily are pretty much super lean.   Even the chickens because they are layers butchered in old age or roosters, they are not fatty.   The elk a friend gave me (thanks Rik!!) was amazing and lean.   Same with the ducks I've butchered with a friend. More fat on the ducks.  Since we're canning, we've been taking it off.  I might ask for some to render into cooking fat next time.  Nut oil (heh heh heh) would be handy.  It magically appears when you try to make nut butter.  Instead of mixing it in, pour it off and cook with it.  For now, I've been buying various oils. Coconut oil is the easiest to store, hardest to spill and I prefer it to the others when I use it as skin lotion.  I may not want to smell like olive oil or canola all day and they go off flavor in the freeze/thaw/overheat cycle of my home.

Spices.  Many herbs I can grow.  If I get a greenhouse going maybe hot peppers will make it, or thai peppers as a house plant.  Many spices like cinnamon won't.  Nutmeg is from Madagascar so I don't believe it's going to make it in north Idaho.  Mustard seeds...the debate is still alive on this one! Not growable in the quantities I need for making mustard for others, but maybe enough to make for me.  I will run a test.

Cocoa/Chocolate.   That's not going to grow here but I am going to continue to love it.  That will be purchased as needed/wanted/possible.

Coffee.  That isn't going to grow here.   I'm working my way toward lower consumption and finding ways to stretch it.  Right now I reuse the grounds.  If I start with all fresh grounds and make a french press, pour over or percolated version, then for the 2nd press/pour/perc  I add about 1/2 the original amount or less of fresh grounds.  It's not going to win coffee awards, but it cuts the amount of coffee grounds per 2 cups by 1/4.     That's about a week's worth per month.  Every 4th month is free!  (sort of).  Cutting back on the number of cups per day also helps.  I've been filling in with my back stock of tea and will keep doing that until the tea is gone.

Tea.  Herbal teas yes.   Green or Black tea...nope.  Not able to grow that here.  Hopefully I can mostly transition to growable or gatherable tea types (nettle, mint, raspberry) eventually.   They don't have caffeine so I'll have to watch and see if coffee intake increases when the G/B teas run out.

Sweeteners.  I keep trying to grow stevia as a houseplant!  So far, no go.   Honey is a theoretical possibility but I have failed for several years to get a harvestable amount and currently do not have bees.  I have been cutting back on  sweetener so that will be the biggest help.  If I keep making kombucha I will buy sugar for it.  If I eventually get a honey source going then I can try to move the mother over to that.   Sometimes sugar is also helpful in a liquid to turn into vinegar.  Honey vinegar is delicious but without my own honey it can be spendy.

Sourers.   I can brew vinegar and the pineapple scrap vinegar I brewed is AMAZINGLY delicious.  For reals!  I will keep trying with the vinegars.  Eventually maybe press apple cider and vinegar some of that.   Other sours...I have started a perennial sorrel in the garden and learned to pick sheep sorrel.  Nice sour for salads and whatnot.  Hmmm...I wonder if it is still sour if I dry it!  Lemons are not going to grow here outside. Perhaps a tree when I get a house.

OK!  Time to inventory my seeds while enjoying a cup of pantry stock tea!

No Food-Spend February Final Results

 HOLY COW!   You save a LOT of money if you don't spend it on food.  I mean, for reals.  You also learn stuff.

1)  You save on food

2) You save on tips (because not going to restaurants)

3) You save on gas (because groceries and laundry are my towntrip motivators)

4) You learn to eat new, often cheaper, things that have been sitting in the pantry

5) You really start to appreciate that living off other people's "waste" food is pretty amazing and get more and more willing to eat it.

6) You learn that 6 is my favorite number so I had to have 6 things in the list.  

As of Feb 28 I had 2 heads of garlic and a few random cloves as "fresh food" and still have almost all of my sprouting seeds.

Still had a few cans of 2nd harvest veggies and peaches.  4 or 5 cans of peas.  No more beans in cans.  Maybe a half cup of lentils left.

Some dried carrots.  No more bouillon cubes or dried veg mix as soup base.

Still have plenty of berries in vinegar (actually gave a pint and a half jar of them away today...must remember to get that jar back, I love that size/shape) and have been eating them pretty regularly.  They are nice on a veggie and bean soup and add some color other than the carrots from the cans of veggies.

I still have plenty of rice and put 6lbs of spaghetti in the little free pantry over the weekend because it was too much.  While I was there, I grabbed a can of diced tomatoes.  Just one.  It made a really nice tomato-garden soup with the last of the dried veggie mix.  Surprisingly good.

I'm a bit low on spices but still plan to use up what I have.  I'm out of cumin and paprika which are surprisingly handy for adding flavor to almost anything with rice or beans.  BUT I still have chimayo green chili powder and a tube of "poulet" (thanks Chris!) seasoning that is about half full and seems to have some smoky paprika in it.  It is delicious on much more than poulet.  I also have 1 or 2 small jars of salsa from the farmers market.

I was planning on going to the store in a week or so because I will be in town anyway.  I was thinking through what I "need" vs what I want and turns out I don't "need" anything.  I'd like a small bag of sugar to keep my kombucha mother going and keep making kombucha.

I thought I'd like some oatmeal or flour of some sort (still kicking myself for not grabbing the bag of 5lbs of corn meal for 25cents...damn! but I had enough flour).

I say "thought" because I am just moments back from an extra "2nd Harvest" distribution day.  A random truck showed up about 6hours ago and after lunch, the call went out far and wide that there was TONS of stuff available.  INCLUDING MEAT!!!!   

I got many many too many pounds of pasta.  I will re-donate that.  Already passed on the mac and cheese to a colleague with kids.  I don't do the dairy so much and that is totes not worth the dairy cost.  I will pass on most of the spaghetti because I got 3 or 4lbs of spinach rotini and still had 2lbs in the pantry. 

There was also....OATMEAL!!! Maypo brand.  Plain oatmeal.  No sugar.  Whole grain.  Nice.  It's quick cooking but whatever.  I kept thinking I could make a nice fruit crumble if only I had some oatmeal.  And there it was.  2 boxes of 1lb 2oz each.  Lovely.  

More than a dozen cans of fruit.  4 cans of peas.  4 cans of kidney beans.  4 cans of pork and beans (I ate one...oddly good cold out of the can...but tooo salty so the other 3 are getting donated to the little free pantry). 

3 pounds of frozen ground beef.

3 pounds of frozen ground BISON!!!!!  YAY!!!!

Since I was down to 3 or 4 jars of my home canned meat, this is excellent. I cannot remember the last time I had a burger.   I plan to fry one up this weekend and put the rest in soup with the potatoes left from last week's regular distribution (they have some dark spots so need to be eaten sooner rather than later), some of my garlic and dried carrots.  Whatever spices I can round up.   I know I have fennel and peppercorns.   I'm skipping the salt as much as possible so not adding it to most dishes.  I gave away my hot sauce but have that delicious green chili...oooo....green chili bison stew...oh yeah.  That sounds good.  With a random fruit crumble using the oatmeal and a bit of the buckwheat honey or stevia (I bought that stevia powder...less than an ounce, before I moved into the wee shed.  It lasts forever because you need so little).

There are also cans of the mixed veggies in the 2nd harvest "non-perishables" box.   I have started just emptying one into a bowl and adding meat and spices.  The home jarred meat is already cooked.  Just heat and enjoy.  The broth from the veggies in the can is good enough as soup.  Left over soup with a bit more spice and oil is good on pasta or in rice as a casserole.   Like, really not bad.   

I'm not as much of a food princess right now.  I'd RATHER eat local, organic, no-spray and think that is the way farming and consuming food helps the planet.  I think that eating up food "waste" also helps in a different way.  When I have more cash flow, once the house is done or whatever, I can go back to the fancy eating.   

I do appreciate fancy food more now.  

I put money in the grocery budget for March, but could continue to eat healthy meals without it.  I didn't put any money in the dining out lines of the budget.   Or the coffee out budget.

I still have money on the fancy bread gift card and by cutting back to every other week and getting less, like 2 small treats rather than a whole loaf of bread, I am stretching that out for another month at least.  That's kind of fun.  

Hopefully most of the March food budget will go to pantry staples I'm unlikely to get from 2nd harvest, spices, cocoa, coconut oil (one of your better no-dairy oils that keeps reasonably well in the wee shed).

I have enough coffee beans to make it through the month and still have enough tea to host the royal family a few times.  I've cut back to one cup of coffee in the morning and then black or green tea for the next couple of caffeine shots.  It works well so far.  I also found the dregs of a bag of ground chicory root so I can add a bit of that to a small ration of coffee beans and make some New Orleans style coffee.  It's quite tasty really.

Overall, my total spend for things that were NOT the "new" used car (more anon) or the house building bill, was 700$ less than January.  About 300 of that is attributable to the no food-spend.   In the summer, while building the pantry stock, I can spend 200$/month on groceries.  It is easy to spend 50-100 a month on coffee and restaurant food with a couple of work lunches and a few fast drive through coffee hut trips.   March has some annual bills to be paid so won't be as much lower.  But I think I can keep the food bill a great deal lower than it was and that I will keep patronizing 2nd Harvest late in the day after the truly needy have had a shot and the food pantry folks from the small towns around have stocked up their rigs and headed back for those 2ndary distributions (does that make it 3rd Harvest?)