Living-Deliberately.com

On Monday my cupboard was bare. Or so I thought. I’d meal planned through our familys’ visit and Monday morning and by lunch I was out of pre-planned ideas and supplies. There was more space than food in our fridge. Unfortunately, there was also *just* space in my cash envelope system.

If I’d had the funds I’d h’ve run right out to the grocery store. That’s what one does on grocery day. But being “cash only” these days meant I was going to have to try to find a way to make it until the next pay day. Thus the dubbing of this week a “Manna” week. Some people call it a CORD week: Clean Out the Refridge Dinner.

Monday morning my lanlord brought me 2 dozen of his homegrown eggs. And I found a long-lost 5 dollar bill in the box of hand me downs. I stashed that away for milk later in the week.

I keep a stocked pantry for the most part, though we do frequently use all but the spices up. After two visits from family I had a few unusal items in the cupboard still. I came into the week with a jug of milk, something that is almost never true of Monday morning. And so, rather than plan by the week, I”m going by the meal.

And I”m ashamed. I”m embarrassed. In this week when we thought we had so little, we are finding we have much. I am constantly remembering the other countries of the world were they not only don’t have the same variety but they often don’t have even half of what we’ve had to eat.

We’ve had big plates of oatmeal with dried fruit sprinked on top. I’ve not had to do without coffee.  I used up the last of the root veggies with sesame oil and maple syrup and roasted them for a family “Hit” recipe that thanks to my necessity, sparked creativity. I baked two loaves of the best wheat bread I’ve ever made. We’ve had fresh strawberries from last week, popsicles we’d saved for days warm enough. I discovered biscuits made with  the crumbled package of cream cheese pushed to the back of the cheese drawer and diluted buttermilk taste just as good as those made with butter and full strength buttermilk.

My mind is swarming with fresh inspiration for making the most of what we have. My laundry smells like the honeysuckle that is blooming near where it’s hung. We’ve renewed our committment to be less dependant on the TV for entertainment as these beautiful days stretch before us. The children spend long hours down in the hollow at the bottom of our yard, rolling hysterical with laughter down the hill or working on thier fort. We’re connecting with neighbors on our front porch, with friends over for a few hours, with each other as bedtime gets pushed back.

“Manna” is our daily bread and we have plenty.

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