Sales by the Month

Hi Everyone,
We all know that there are certain sales that take place at certain times of the year - flour, sugar, baking stuff all goes on sale beginning in November to get ready for the holidays, etc. I came across a month-by-month list of sales that I thought I'd share to help us all save some money. 
Marie Tiller

Monthly Sales

January

• Holiday decor and wrapping paper
• Linens (Invented by a Philly department store in 1878, "white sales" are now practically law.)
• Toys
• Treadmills and ellipticals (Stores are trying to push these out the door before your resolutions tank!)
• Vacation packages

February

• Furniture (The lowest prices hit around Presidents' Day, in order to move merch at a traditionally sluggish time.)
• Homes and condos
• Lobsters and steaks (Grocery stores stock up for February 14 and discount immediately after.)

March

• Chocolate (Yes, it's from Valentine's Day--but really cheap!)
• Luggage (Retailers cut prices to boost sales in a month when people aren't traveling much.)
• Outdoor gear and winter clothing

April

• Cookware (Welcome to the start of graduation and wedding season...)
• Home-improvement supplies
• Tires and auto parts (For National Car Care Month--who knew?!)

May

• Air conditioners (Buy now, not in July.)
• Camping and outdoor gear
• Summer clothes (Memorial Day sales!)
• Mattresses (Stores are making way for the new models.)
• Gym memberships (Because who wants to work out inside when it's beautiful out?)

June

• Caribbean cruises
• Lingerie (Retailers like Macy's, barenecessities.com, and Victoria's Secret turn over inventory this month.)
• Laptops
• Tools and hardware (Happy Father's Day!)

July

• Sandals and swimsuits
• Furniture (New styles introduced at April's big trade show are finally hitting the market, so last year's models are super-discounted.)
• Picnic supplies (Fourth of July + nearing end of summer season = sales bonanza.)

August

• Outdoor grills (Great selection, good prices.)
• Kid clothing and school supplies (It's the annual back-to-school price war that you know so well.)

September

• iPhones and iPods (New models usually debut now, so old ones are cheap.)
• 2013 cars (When 2014's start hitting the lot, dealers have to empty out some parking spaces.)
• Airfare (Vacay's over, sadly.)
• Bikes
• Summer apparel

October

• Grills (Meh selection, awesome prices.)
• Patio furniture
• Winter coats (Yes, they'll go cheap again in March, but these sales offer the best choices.)

November

• Gadgets, electronics, and small household appliances (What with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this is your sweet spot.)
• Winter clothing (Everyday retailers like Target and Kohl's focus on Black Friday, luxury stores like Nordstrom and Coach on Cyber Monday's online savings.)

December

• Toys (It's all about the second and third weeks this month.)
• Large appliances
• Gift cards (Okay, it's not a sale sale--these good-as-cash cards never have those--but manufacturers offer bundled deals like "Buy $50, get $10 free" to goose holiday shopping.)

Lesson: Temporal salvation for ourselves and others

George Albert Smith, Chapter 20,
Temporal salvation for ourselves and others

George Albert Smith became President of the Church as World War II was ending. The war had left many nations devastated, and thousands of people were without food and other necessities. In a general conference address, President Smith described their plight and urged the Saints to help relieve their suffering:

“They are all [God’s] children. They need us; they need not only our moral support and our religious teaching, but they need food and clothing and bedding and help of all kinds because, in many cases, they haven’t anything left. If you could see some of the letters that come into our office from some of the poor people over there, it would wring your hearts. People who have been taken away from their homes with the idea that they were going to be allowed to settle elsewhere, and all of a sudden deserted, and then when they returned to their homes, found them pillaged and robbed of what they had—everything—and left helpless, with no place to go.”

Because the Church had been in the practice of storing food for many years, it was prepared to help in these circumstances. Efforts to provide such help began near the end of 1945, when President Smith went to Washington, D.C., to make arrangements with the president of the United States, Harry S Truman, to send food and clothing to Europe. During their meeting President Truman said, “We will be glad to help you in any way we can. … How long will it take you to get this ready?”

President Smith surprised him by replying: 

“It’s all ready. … We [have been] building elevators and filling them with grain, and increasing our flocks and our herds, and now what we need is the cars and the ships in order to send considerable food, clothing and bedding to the people of Europe who are in distress. We have an organization in the Church [the Relief Society] that has over two thousand homemade quilts ready.”

President Smith reported to the Saints that as a result of these shipments, “many people received warm clothing and bedding and food without any delay. Just as fast as we could get cars and ships, we had what was necessary to send to Europe.”

 

^{Main topics}

If we are wise with our means, we will be prepared for hard times.

The Lord has directed us to work to earn our own livelihood.

Neither the rich nor the poor should set their hearts upon riches.

Through tithing and other offerings, we assist in the work of the Church and bless those in need.

If we are generous with our means, there is no need for anyone to go without.

 

^{When you think about each topic, ask yourselves these questions:}

^{Why is this principle important?
What makes it hard? (What are the obstacles to living it?)
What makes it easy, or could make it easier to live?
What are the blessings that come from living it?}

The answers may provide insight into why our church teaches principles and how you can live them better.

Conclusion

If we desire to be identified with the kingdom of our Lord, the celestial kingdom, this is our opportunity to prepare,—with love unfeigned, with industry, with thrift, with perseverance, with a desire to do all that is within our power to bless others, to give—not to be always feeling we must receive, but desire to give, for I say to you: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” [Acts 20:35.]

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of giving, not only of our substance but of ourselves, and I thank my Heavenly Father that I belong to such an organization that has been so instructed.

e

 

Lesson: Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living

Our combined RS/PH lesson this week was on Provident Living, given by Kellen Wentzel. Kellen did a great job.

Here is a bit of what he reminded us we should be doing. In addition to a 72-hour kit we should prepare:

• Three-month supply of food that is part of your normal daily diet.
• Drinking water.
• Financial reserves.
• Longer-term supply of basic food items.
• Medication and first aid supplies.
• Clothing and bedding.
• Important documents.
• Ways to communicate with family following a disaster.

But just as important is to prepare spiritually, to get the education you need to get a good job, and to avoid debt.


Find more information at providentliving.org.

e

Bishop's Storehouse Trip

We have 4 sisters planning on going to the Bishop's Storehouse in NJ on Saturday, June 4, to do dry-pack canning for personal home storage (a little peace of mind in a tin can).

We have room for 3-4 more.  If you'd like to sign on, please call me. 

Our appt. is for 8:00 AM in Bridgeport, NJ.  We'll pull out from the church parking lot at 7:00 AM, so if you want to carpool, be there a few minutes early so we don't take off w/o you.

It may be more convenient for you to just go directly from your house.  Address:  613 Heron Drive, Bridgeport, NJ.  We should be back by about noon.

Go to www.providentliving.org to download an order form so you can see what is offered, prices, and storage life.

Older children and teens (and husbands) are welcome, and usually enjoy helping out.  People who have never been before and don't know what they're doing are especially welcome.

Payment in cash or by check only.  No cards.

If you have no idea what dry-pack canning is, please call me, or call a member of the RS presidency, or look it up on providentliving.org.

Owenna Nagy

The Legendary Wheat Grind-off: A Photo Essay

The much anticipated Wheat Grind-off and CarbFest has come and gone.

Many thanks to Jenny Boyer and our participants for pulling together a fun informative evening! Kudos to all who brought such yummy carb-laden treats for our consumption. Special thanks to the flag-maker...fine start and finish flags!

The wheat, of course

In this corner we have Contestant #1: The cheaper-if-you-buy-five...K-Tec

In this corner Contestant #2: The large, the sleek, the favored...Nutrimill

Contestant #3 The I-may-be-small-but-I-still-get-the-job-done Hand Grinder

And in this corner Contestant #4: The Wonder Mill a.k.a. Whisper Mill

And finally Contestant #5: The "oldie-but-goodie" stone grinder, a.k.a The Church Grinder

The fearless organizer and the uninitiated operator

The dynamic duo

The father and son team

The confident old-hat

The willing conscript

 

A few of the judging audience and participants fortifying themselves

And they're off...to be compared, judged, handled, listened to, discussed and then to finally race to finish the whole can of wheat!

Here's how the scoring worked. Each grinder was judged and scored by each observer on eight qualities of fine grinding: Cost, speed, ease of use, ease of cleaning, batch capacity, noise, quality of coarse grind (cracked wheat) and quality of fine grind (flour). Then the scores were totaled.

The winner is...Nutrimill...[and the crowd goes wild with cheering]...[the applause is deafening!] (Good thing we had those fluorescent orange ear plugs.) We loved that the wheat could be pre-loaded, no fussing over carefully feeding it a few kernels at a time, and that the batch capacity was great. We loved how easy it was to clean, though we're not sure if the cleaning-man is included in the price or not.

The very close 2nd place goes to the Wonder Mill. Great speed, good capacity, nice fine flour. We know why the name was changed from the misleading Whisper Mill, though. Extra points that one piece was missing but it still worked fine.

The Church Grinder did the best for price...free!...of course. You can borrow it any time; just bring it back in good order and clean.

Surprisingly the Hand Grinder did very well in several categories...price, noise and cracked wheat. And if the power goes out we'll be lining up for the privilege of its use.

Good sports, one and all

And the lucky winner of the ground flour...drumroll...Ellen King (me!).

Related Posts:
Wheat! Find out all you need to know and get the recipes.
Breadmaking by Apryl 
Check out a few more pics at Jennie's blog.

e

Don't Miss This!

BPVF! - Wheat Redux

We had our Be Prepared Valley Forge! meeting this Wednesday.

Big thanks to Deb Chiapelli for hosting it at her house and to Debbie Horton for all the time and preparation she put into get us all educated on wheat. Thank you to all who made tasters, too!

Debbie's handout about wheat
Recipes from the evening as a document, or on our RS Recipes page.

There is a wheat grinder at the church if you want to buy wheat and then just mill it at the church—no need to purchase your own wheat grinder.

 

e

Upcoming Meetings

Preparedness Meeting: All About Wheat

Everything you wanted to know about storing, purchasing, grinding, & using wheat!

Wednesday, February 16
7:00 pm
At Deb Chiapelli’s



RS Service Activity & Potluck Lunch

Wednesday, February 23
11:00 am
At the church


We’ll be putting together Newborn Kits
 for Montgomery Hospital’s Maternity Wing



What we need:

YOU - to help put together the gift sets
(please come, whether or not you are able to contribute clothing)

Solid-color, infant pants
(we have a ton of "onesies" that need pants)

Receiving blankets

Infant layette gowns

Booties or socks

We hope you're able to come to one of these activities.  Thanks!

Devon

Food Storage Clarification

Hello Sisters!

I am worried that having a class on wheat has sent the wrong message to some.

As was discussed in the first food storage “lecture” I gave, you should store what you and your family will eat!  If you don’t, or won’t, eat wheat — or don’t want to deal with grinding it — then please don’t feel that you have to buy it or that “the Church” wants you to buy it!

I thought wheat would be a good place to start because if you don’t have anything else, you could probably survive on bread if you had to!  Remember, you can store flour — you’ll just have to use it more quickly then wheat.  But that is OK — especially if you are just beginning and especially if you are working on your three-month supply first.

Please only store what you will eat; and please don’t go into debt to purchase a grinder or any other food storage item!!!

Concernedly, Debbie Horton

BPVF - Wheat!

Hello Sisters!

We had a fun meeting centered around wheat today and I want to send out the recipes and the handout.

We will be having the same class on Feb. 16 at 7 pm at someone’s house (any volunteers?) so if you weren’t able to come today, you will get another chance to sample different wheat and different ways to cook it. 

Included in the handout are prices of bulk wheat and flour and other stuff.

Also, there are some sample prices for wheat grinders. If we can get at least 5 people to buy one, we can get a price break on the kitchen mill. (We will have two wheat grinders at the Feb. meeting—one electric and one hand—for you to see and try out.)

There is also a wheat grinder at the church if you want to buy wheat and then just mill it at the church—no need to purchase your own wheat grinder.

If you have some great wheat recipes, please plan on making some to share at our next meeting! 

Wheat recipes
Wheat handout

Debbie Horton

Photo credit

Wednesday Preparedness Meeting Cancelled

Due to illness the BPVP meeting planned for Wednesday at Debbie Horton's has been cancelled.

Please watch the videos of Wendy DeWitt and read the documents that will help you make a plan.

From Debbie, today:

The first video is a humorous look at food storage—but also really makes you think about why you need and may not have your own personal food storage.  View it for motivation and for laughs.

The third video is the system that Wendy DeWitt uses to plan and gather her food storage.  It is easy and flexible and uses real food.  I hope it will inspire all the sisters to come up with their own plan. 

There are 9 total clips on You Tube. They are easy to find one after another.

Her handouts (an old one with her original system and a newer one with a simplified version) are attached to this blog. 

If you need anything else from me, just let me know.  I will be checking email throughout the day as I feel up to it!

Debbie

More ongoing information can be found on her blog...everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com

I personally found them very motivating. e

Next BPVP Meeting This Wednesday!

Our new Relief Society Preparedness Meetings have begun! The second meeting is this Wednesday, December 15. This meeting is during the day for you who couldn't make the evening meeting. It's important to attend to understand the plan for the coming months. We know you're busy, but you'll be glad you attended!

Food Storage: Making a Plan

Wednesday, December 15, 10 am,

Debbie Horton's house, 170 Hedge Row Circle.

On-going meeting information:
Be Prepared Valley Forge (BPVF)!
Held 3rd Wednesday each month
Odd months (Nov, Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep) will be in the evening, 7pm
Even months (Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct) will be in the morning, 10am

Topics and location will be announced ahead of time; group ordering of preparedness items will be available. All info will be posted on the blog if you can’t come to a meeting. 

e

 

Image Credit

Preparedness Activity Info

We had such a great time at our first Preparedness activity this month.  If you missed it, we hope you'll be able to join us in January for our next one.  We watched a few videos and got some great ideas on how to organize and start planning for food storage, plus we got a lot of great feedback from the sisters who came on what works best for them.  Here is a link to the first of the videos from Wendy Dewitt that we saw, and from that you can watch the rest of her videos if you're interested in hearing more.






Also, here are links to download these two great handouts we received.

Everything Made Simple

Everything Under the Sun


We had a great time, learned a lot, and really got into the spirit of preparing for the future.  We'll be compiling a list of where is the "best place" to get the lowest prices on specific food items (i.e. Butter is cheapest at Aldi, etc.), so if you know of a place with the best deals, let us know in the comments!  It'll be great to get all of our cumulative knowledge all in one place so we can all be provident in our purchasing.  Thanks Debbie for coordinating this great activity and information!

New Relief Society Preparedness Meetings

Our new Relief Society Preparedness Group Activities are getting ready to begin!  Debbie Horton is heading this up, and based on our last Relief Society Quarterly Activity, we think it will be really great!  Here is the information for any of you who are interested:

Preparedness Meetings:

Be Prepared Valley Forge (BPVF)!

Held 3rd Wednesday each month

Odd months (Nov, Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep) will be in the evening, 7pm

Even months (Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct) will be in the morning, 10am

Topics and location will be announced ahead of time;

group ordering of preparedness items will be available.

-All info will be posted on the blog if you can’t come to a meeting.

 

 

First Meeting: 

 "Food Storage: Making a Plan" 

Wednesday, November 17 at 7 pm at Marie Tiller's home;

We will watch and talk about a food storage seminar that is wonderful!

Hope anyone interested will be able to make it!

 

Image Credit

Spaghetti Math

We enjoyed the trip to the cannery to do dry pack canning on today.

We had some pros with us...Owenna, Charity, and the Clarks, so we got a lot done and in good time. We were like a well-oiled machine, despite a couple of novices.

Map reader

Food scoopers

Can weighers

Switch thrower, floor mopper

Box packer

I brushed up on my dry pack canning skills. Wentzels are well on their way with their food storage. We all have a little more put away, at a good price. And, we enjoyed the pleasure of working well together.

And the spaghetti math? We discovered that 25 lbs. of spaghetti in 4 pouches instead of 5 or 6 is still 25 lbs. of spaghetti! Who knew?!

e

Church News addition to monthly Visiting Teaching message

Each month, the Church News publishes a message to complement the Visiting Teaching message found in the Ensign magazine. This article is based on the July 2010 theme, "Strengthening at every opportunity."

 
This is Sister Julie Maree Beugre Powa from Africa's Ivory Coast.  Sister Powa served as first counselor in the Cocody Ivory Coast Stake Relief Society presidency during the Ivorian civil war in 2002 and is now the stake Young Women president.  She tells of the struggles that the sisters and the families faced during their civil war, and how the gospel helped to strengthen them.

In the Church News article, Sister Powa emphasized how the members relied on visiting teaching and food storage to help them with the difficulties they faced in the Ivory Coast.  In addition to their hard work and provident living needs, here is an excerpt about how the members spiritually handled their struggles.

"We taught them that they should keep their faith; most of them did keep their faith," she said. "You have to rely on God. If you don't have hope, your life is gone. You have to keep praying that the war will stop; you shouldn't give up."

Eventually, the war did end, but members still face difficulties every day. What amazes Sister Powa about her ward and stake are the people who walk miles and hours to and from church, who have tough challenges in life and who sell goods on the street to feed their families when no other jobs are available. These people come to church with smiles on their faces, excited to be part of the gospel, she said.
 
It's a great article, and if you'd like to read the rest of it, you can find it here.  It's so faith inspiring to read how members all over the world use their faith to assist them in their trials, and it makes me want to be better too!  Plus, this gave me a lot more to think about when reading this upcoming month's visiting teaching message.  Strengthening families and homes really can be life and death in different times and areas around the world, and it makes me really think if I could do the same when hard times come to me.  I hope you get a chance to read and enjoy this inspiring article!
 
Devon

Dry Pack Canning Day

Join me for a morning of dry pack canning.

I have made an appointment at the Church storehouse in Bridgeport, NJ (under an hour away) for Saturday, July 31, 8 AM - noon. We have to be out by noon.

I'm hoping to get a bunch of you (6-8 adults) to go with me.  If you want to involve your older children/teens/husbands, they're also welcome.

Foods available to can, and prices, are listed on this link from lds.org or this form:
Open pdf order form

You can buy 1 can or many.  The food comes in either #10 cans (large food service size), or in mylar pouches.

Storage life is around 20 years—but you know you should actually use and rotate it!

The advantage of dry-pack is the long storage life—the cans keep out insects, rodents, and moisture.  Prices are excellent.

Send me an e-mail if you want to sign up—or if you have questions.

As Pres. Hinckley said "there is a portent of stormy weather ahead".

Owenna Nagy
owennanagy [at] gmail [dot] com

Photo credit

Self-reliance: Grow a Garden

If you want to grow a garden to ease the squeeze on your food budget, become more self-reliant, learn a new skill, enjoy being outside more, or you just miss the taste of homegrown vegetables, it can be done even if space is tight.

Grow a garden in a bag!
Sarah Kinghorn inspired me with her plant-in-a-bag idea. So I went hunting for more instructions...

How to grow vegetables anywhere. So if you want to grow some food, but don't think you can because your yard is shaded, the soil is of questionable quality or is paved over, or you don’t even have a yard, chances are there’s still a way to do it.

Plant up a growing bag. Despite only measuring 13in x 37in, growing bags have enough space for three vegetable plants that will provide you with enough food for several meals over the summer. Plant two to three plants in each bag during spring.

Potatoes in a bag. Fresh potatoes have a flavour all of their own. But how do you grow potatoes if you only have a tiny garden, and how to get them started before the frosts have passed? Grow your potatoes in a bag.

How to grow vegetables in a bag of soil. One of the easiest ways to grow food in a small space is by planting directly into a bag of potting soil. The bags help to prevent water evaporation so you don't need to water your plants as often. The plastic prevents weeds from sprouting in the rest of the soil, so all the nutrients go toward your food crops. Let your children try this project along with you, and they will have a successful first gardening experience.

Here's my efforts. Pear tomatoes, Romas, 2 Better Boy tomatoes, a bag for summer squash and one for cucumbers. I think I'll try the potatoes this year too. We'll see how it all works out. Next year, if this spot gets enough sun, I'll make it a permanent raised garden and mix this soil in.

Make a raised garden bed
I have a tiny backyard, but bit by bit I'm carving out a few spots for a plot. I built this raised bed last year and am working to add more garden space. Here are the plans I used if you want to give it a try. The guy at Lowe's cut the wood for me and I used the drill to screw it all together (with a little help from Wade because it needed muscles at one point.) After several trips I had all the soil and peat moss I needed. You can see more photos on my Facebook profile. It was very satisfying and I learned a lot.

Garden in containers

The thing to do is just start. A nice little herb garden in a pot is easy and satisfying.

Container sizes for each vegy. From the Family Home Evening manual. You can plant in almost any kind of container. Try using plastic jugs, garbage cans, milk cartons, cans, plastic bags, baskets, a wagon bed, kitchen canisters, or clay pots. The bottom of the container should have several small drain holes and be lined with 2 to 3 inches of small gravel before you put in the topsoil. Hang containers from windows, put them on windowsills or in window wells; line your sidewalk or driveway with them, or hang them from your ceiling.

Ideas and inspiration photos
Video: How to Container Garden

If you are doing a garden this year...large or small...please take pictures and I'll post them to the blog.

e

The Lord's Earthquake Warning in Chile

The Lord warns and prepares His people!

This morning I read this article The Lord's Earthquake Warning in Chile, in the Meridian Magazine.

It is actually a letter written by the wife of the mission president of the Santiago Chile East Mission regarding the earthquake.

She wrote that two weeks before the earthquake she woke in the middle of the night to a prompting that they should prepare the missionaries for an earthquake. The office staff kicked into gear, visited each apartment...

President Larry Laycock and his wife, Sister Lisa Laycock head the Santiago Chile East Mission and had spent the two weeks prior to the 8.8 earthquake visiting each missionary apartment and preparing them for an earthquake. They brought specific instructions on what to do, supplied water purification bottles for the missionaries, told them how to create a 36-hour kit for emergencies and how to stay in communication should an earthquake strike. They prayed with each missionary and dedicated their apartments. Why?  Because of a special experience that alerted them to what was coming. They told their missionaries, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”

Read it with a box of tissues nearby. It is powerful.

There is much food for thought here. Very basic lessons can be learned, and faith can be strengthened:

He is watching over us. He warns us. He prepares us. Prophets lead and guide us. We should heed them. Faith overcomes fear. Dreams are a form of revelation. Perhaps He speaks to us and maybe we are not still enough to hear Him. Gratitude for those good servants of the Lord who are listening and obeying. And on and on, the lessons and thoughts come.

See what you learn from this experience. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

e

Food Storage

Ward Families:

Paying too much for food?  If you are purchasing oatmeal, flour, rice, sugar, instant potatoes or pasta at the store, you might be paying too much!

All of these items and more can be purchased at the Church Cannery for relatively cheap prices.  And the best way to keep your food storage in good order is to rotate through it.  If you don't know how to use the food in your stores now, how will you know what to do when you actually need it?  When is the last time you took an inventory?

Do you know how much is required for your family's 1-year food storage?  The following offers the Essential Items of a 1-year food supply for a family of four (4):

Essential Items	Quantity
Water (potable)	56 gallons
Grains (wheat, oats, rice, flour, pastas, etc.)	1600 pounds
Dairy & Eggs (powdered milk, egg powder, etc.)	120 pounds
Sweeteners (honey, sugar, syrups, etc.)	240 pounds
Salt	32 pounds
Seasonings	192 ounces
Oils & Fats	48 quarts
Leaveners (yeast, baking powder, baking soda, etc.)	48 ounces
Legumes (beans, soup mixes, etc.)	240 pounds

Remember, this is just the basics.  I have an Excel spreadsheet that will help you see what you have and figure out what you still need.  I will forward it to anyone that wants it, just let me know. 

Want to can food, but pressed for time. Let the Wolf's help out. Our boys are needing scout service hours so put us to work. We will be checking the cannery out and canning at our house over the next few weekends. Let us know what you want canned.

Food storage is very important and now is a great time to stock up.  Don't feel intimidated... nobody gets their food storage done over night.  The key is to work on it a piece at a time.  Please let me know if there is any area that I can help you.  I will be going to the Church Cannery soon.  Attached is the pricing list from the Cannery.

Thx,
Charity Wolf
484-902-8220

Photo credit