What Goes Up....

When Mr. C. and I were first married, $30 per week easily handled our grocery needs. As the children came along, we doubled our budget, thinking, "Twice as many mouths to feed, twice the expense." We didn't account for the increase in food prices over nearly 10 years. We also try to buy organic when possible, which drives costs up even more.

My generous estimate at this point is $500 per month for 2 adults and 2 small kids. (Tigaloo is nursing, and won't start solids for many months yet.) Hopefully my estimate is high, and we'll save enough to have a stock-up fund.

I don't really have anything with which to compare this amount. Does it seem high? Low? Since it's so much more than we used to spend, it feels high to me.

What a Weekend! (or, An Appeal to Gardeners) -- 3/2/09

Saturday, Mr. C. and I took the children with us to the bank to close the loan refinancing our home. "Herding cats" comes to mind. The loan officer was very gracious with us. It is such a relief, given the current economic atmosphere, to have been able to re-fi to a shorter term with lower interest. I'd consider this a huge step towards our goal of financial independence.

While Tigaloo was sleeping Saturday afternoon, I cooked up a huge pot of chicken and dumplings. Then Mr. C. and I started seed shopping for our garden. This will be our 3rd attempt at gardening. (The first summer after we married, we planted a garden in a tiny patch of dirt near the confluence of Ignorance and Enthusiasm, and our yield was nil.) This time around, we've the experience of having successfully grown 3 tomato plants and some lettuce, which sets us one tiny step above Woefully Ignorant. And we still have plenty of Enthusiasm.

Here's the list of the seeds we ordered:
Amaranth:
- Love-Lies-Bleeding
- Golden Giant
Beans:
- Jacob's Cattle
- Blue Lake Bush 274
- Hutterite Soup
Beet:
- Albino
Carrots:
- St. Valery
- Berlicum 2
Cowpeas:
- Purple Hull Pinkeye
Marigolds:
- Harlequin
Herbs:
- Genovese Basil
- Slo-Bolt Cilantro
- Lemongrass (to repel mosquitos)
Lettuce:
- Tom Thumb
- Forellenschluss
- Little Gem
Peppers:
- California Wonder
Chard:
- Five Color Silverbeet (Rainbow Chard)
Squash:
- Sweet Dumpling (winter)
- Crookneck - Early Golden Summer
- Cocozella di Napoli (zucchini)
Tomatoes:
- Arkansas Traveler
- German Lunchbox
- Mama Leone
- Rev. Morrow's Long Keeper
- Cherokee Purple
- Isis Candy Cherry
- Yellow Pear
Watermelons:
- Blacktail Mountain
- Wilson's Sweet
- Black Seeded Ice Cream
- Golden Midget

So we're probably in way over our heads. I would be appreciative of any suggestions from any gardeners out there! Anyone? Anyone?