Cheap as Dirt
I have mentioned previously in this blog that I'm seeking and finding a simpler way to live. OK, I guess that is really poor English so let me rephrase - more simply. I want to live more simply. I have discovered that living more simply is not to be confused with living more inexpensively. Now I am a frugal person but to be perfectly honest with you, that is because I HAVE to. I live below the national poverty line and so I have to be careful with, literally, every single penny. This is not a dark and dreary dilemma because I chose it. I look at it like a game so it's all good. I find it so rewarding to make things happen on so little dollars. Of course, sometimes it's a pain in the ass but mostly I just wait till something happens. Sometimes it does, sometimes not, but it's all good. And...to be 100% honest with you, I do own my home. No mortgage so things are rosier for me than some. This does not mean there are no expenses but still...I do have a place to live.
I was riding in my son's car the other day. As he was driving us to lunch, I noticed several dimes, nickels and pennies on the floor of the car. I was happy for him that he could just LEAVE those laying there. (He paid for our lunch as well, yay)!
When I was preparing my garden this spring, most of which was container gardening because I thought my time here would be short, the greater part of the cost of the garden was the soil. Florida's soil is really a poor growing medium, very sandy and insubstantial. And, like other states, the soil has been overused, over-fertilized, over-everything. The land my house sits on used to be a celery farm, kind of boggy in addition to sandy. I've lived here 15 years and have had many vegetable and rose gardens and I have had to truck in proper soil and then add all kinds of organic material to encourage good growth.
So I said all that to say: where in the heck did the term "cheap as dirt" come from. I googled it, of course, that's what we do now, right? If you want to know something, no need to go the library and research it, just google it! Well, the meaning is obvious...to everyone except gardeners. Supposedly, when something is cheap as dirt, it's really, really cheap. Well, I must take issue with that.
As I said, I did some container gardening this spring which is less expensive that plot gardening but with less than stunning results. And it still cost me about $100 and $80 of that was for the freaking dirt!
Since I am living a more simple lifestyle, gardening is a good way for this vegan to help supplement her groceries. But, WOW, paying for dirt is NOT cheap. Nor is watering that garden. My water bill jumps up dramatically when I have a full plot garden growing my veggies. But yet I see myself as abundantly blessed to live in a country where water is accessible to everyone. That is certainly not true in many other countries. So, Linda, shut up already.
But as an aside, gardening is one of the ways to live a longer life. Really. And I'm all about that. If my efforts to raise funds to continue my walk are unsuccessful, I will put in a real garden next time...and pay for the dirt!
Though it certainly IS NOT CHEAP!
I was riding in my son's car the other day. As he was driving us to lunch, I noticed several dimes, nickels and pennies on the floor of the car. I was happy for him that he could just LEAVE those laying there. (He paid for our lunch as well, yay)!
When I was preparing my garden this spring, most of which was container gardening because I thought my time here would be short, the greater part of the cost of the garden was the soil. Florida's soil is really a poor growing medium, very sandy and insubstantial. And, like other states, the soil has been overused, over-fertilized, over-everything. The land my house sits on used to be a celery farm, kind of boggy in addition to sandy. I've lived here 15 years and have had many vegetable and rose gardens and I have had to truck in proper soil and then add all kinds of organic material to encourage good growth.
So I said all that to say: where in the heck did the term "cheap as dirt" come from. I googled it, of course, that's what we do now, right? If you want to know something, no need to go the library and research it, just google it! Well, the meaning is obvious...to everyone except gardeners. Supposedly, when something is cheap as dirt, it's really, really cheap. Well, I must take issue with that.
As I said, I did some container gardening this spring which is less expensive that plot gardening but with less than stunning results. And it still cost me about $100 and $80 of that was for the freaking dirt!
Since I am living a more simple lifestyle, gardening is a good way for this vegan to help supplement her groceries. But, WOW, paying for dirt is NOT cheap. Nor is watering that garden. My water bill jumps up dramatically when I have a full plot garden growing my veggies. But yet I see myself as abundantly blessed to live in a country where water is accessible to everyone. That is certainly not true in many other countries. So, Linda, shut up already.
But as an aside, gardening is one of the ways to live a longer life. Really. And I'm all about that. If my efforts to raise funds to continue my walk are unsuccessful, I will put in a real garden next time...and pay for the dirt!
Though it certainly IS NOT CHEAP!
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