POST THREE - FREECYCLE

so, its week 3. this week i wanted to encourage you to check out freecycle! i know that many of you are familiar with freecycle, but for those of you who may not be, it is described on the website as " a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns." you can find the site at http://www.freecycle.org/ now, to be honest, this is a resource that i have not used nearly as much as i know i could- especially not recently- when i first learned about freecycle i used it quite a bit- and really enjoyed being able to give things away, and receive things i was looking for... all for free!! i joined groups in our area and receive email updates which include offer posts- people giving, and wanted posts- people looking for an item. items posted vary- some recent posts include... crockpot and senseo coffee maker, bubble wrap and packing peanuts, remote control color tv, adult knee pads, plug in night light... and there is a new list pretty much every day. membership is free and a local volunteer moderator runs each local group. so, if you haven't already, check freecycle out!

now, to follow up on post one- i have completed a project from amanda blake soules book, handmade home. i made... "millie's hot pad" !! (pictured above) actually i completed one and have another one almost done. its basically a little pot holder, made using fabric scraps and some old quilted material. i also used bias tape for the edge (a new experience for me- pretty cool stuff) the instructions were easy to follow- very user friendly- which i appreciated as i am not much of a seamstress, and generally have issues following patterns in the craft/art realm. so, if anyone is in need of a new pot holder, let me know...

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER "B"

HOWDY. DOUG HERE. THIS WOULD BE MAN POST NUMBER 2, BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER B.

QUESTION #1: DO YOU LIKE BOOKS?

QUESTION #2: DO YOU LIKE STRANGE MIXTURES OF STRANGE COLORS & ODDLY DOODLESOME ART WORK?

QUESTION#3: DO YOU REMEMBER THE WAY YOU FELT AS A KID WHEN YOU WATCHED SESAME STREET (WE'RE TALKIN' OLD-SCHOOL PSYCHEDELIC SESAME STREET HERE). I'M THINKING THAT THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, SCHOOL HOUSE ROCKS, THE BANANA SPLITS AND EVEN GUMBY COULD WORK FOR THIS ILLUSTRATION (AM I AGING MYSELF HERE)? IF YOU DID VIEW ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS AND HAD AN ACCOMPANYING FEELING, WAS IT A PLEASANT FEELING (THAT WOULD BE QUESTION #4)?

IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO EVEN ONE OF THESE QUESTIONS THEN YOU REALLY SHOULD SCOPE OUT BOOK BY IT'S COVER. THIS IS A BLOG RUN BY JULIA ROTHMAN, AN ILLUSTRATOR & PATTERN DESIGNER FROM BROOKLYN, NY. JULIA IS CLEARLY GIFTED AT FINDING BOOKS THAT ARE OBSCURE, PECULIAR & VISUALLY STRIKING. SHE REVIEWS THESE BOOKS IN DETAIL WITH NUMEROUS IMAGES TO BOOT FOR EACH ONE. I BELIEVE I CAME ACROSS HER WHILE SEARCHING OUT A BOOK FOR MY DAUGHTER SADIE THAT LIKEWISE FELL INTO THE PLEASANTLY WEIRD CATEGORY. FOR INSTANCE, I WAS JUST CHECKING OUT A BOOK SHE REVIEWED A WHILE BACK CALLED VISUAL AID. IT'S A COLLECTION OF DIAGRAMS, CHARTS & VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF ALL KINDS OF STRANGE AND INTERESTING FACTOIDS THAT EXIST IN THE UNIVERSE. EACH IS DONE UP WITH SOME VERY COOL RETRO IMAGES AND TEXT. INCLUDED ARE CHARTS OF INDIGENOUS DWELLINGS, A DIAGRAM OF A TONGUE AND IT'S AREAS OF TASTE - YOU NAME IT. VERY FUN LEARNING. SHE REVIEWS NEW BOOKS AND OLD FINDS, AS WELL AS BOOKS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. IN ADDITION SHE FEATURES MAGAZINES, SKETCH BOOKS, COMICS, HANDMADE ITEMS & VARIOUS OTHER THINGS. WITH TITLES LIKE ORANGE DAY HARMONY, THE LATKE WHO COULDN'T STOP SCREAMING (WHICH BY THE WAY IS A CHRISTMAS STORY), & BALLOON FOR A BLUNDERBUS, HOW COULD YOU GO WRONG. I MEAN REALLY.

APART FROM BEING VERY HIP, THIS WOULD FALL INTO THE UNDER THE RADAR CATEGORY IN TERMS OF MY RATIONAL FOR POSTING IT. THEREFORE, THESE ITEMS MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE CHEAP. IN MOST CASES THEY PROBABLY AREN'T. HOWEVER, YOU MAY FIND SOMETHING HERE WORTH ROLLING YOUR PENNIES FOR. A SIDE NOTE: I HAVEN'T SIFTED THRU THE ENTIRE SITE, SO BE AWARE THAT THERE MAY BE IMAGES THAT YOU DON'T WANT THE SMALL PEOPLE SEEING. WITH SKETCH BOOKS, IT'S POSSIBLE. I HAVEN'T COME ACROSS ANY YET, BUT I FIGURED I OUGHTA (WHY I OUGHTA!) THROW THAT OUT THERE. IF YOU COME ACROSS ANYTHING ON THE SITE THAT YOU REALLY LIKE, LET ME KNOW. THANKS FOR READING. SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS. LOOK FOR THE LINK BELOW. DOUG http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/

POST TWO - A MOM WHO SAVES

so, i am slightly over the one week mark (a bit late as usual:) thank you so much to everyone who is checking this out and for your very kind words!

for this week i wanted to pass on the link to a site i have really benefited from. it is called money saving mom and you can find it at
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

this is one of the moms i had in mind when i wrote last week and said i am

not super mom who only spends $3.47 a week on groceries. i am continually amazed at how little money she is able to spend especially on groceries.

i have found lots of printable coupons, links to free samples, and money saving ideas in general on this site. like... $2 off deodorant so i paid less than 50 cents for it, johnson & johnson coupons that i have used to get free buddies soaps- which the kids think are really cool... return address labels for super cheap, and Christmas cards for less than$7 (yes the ones in the snowbank which by the way our landlord found yesterday:) ...
i check the site regularly especially as it is updated all the time with new links. the mom who runs the site seems to really be committed to being wise with what she has, and letting others know about what she has learned and resources she has found. she often links to other neat blogs which is cool. i have been encouraged to try to make changes in the ways our family uses what God has given us, and i hope you find this site helpful too!

since there was no real picture to post for this site, i decided to feature " mr carrot" our now deceased snowman.

oh, and just in case you were wondering no, i have not yet started on my "handmade home" project. i'm still debating what to try, and am hopeful to have it done by next week...

POST ONE - HOMEMADE HOME

so here we are. my first post. to be honest i am pretty excited about this, and a bit intimidated. i have been checking out blogs on money saving, thriftiness, simple living, etc for a while now and have found myself both encouraged and overwhelmed. lately i have been learning to remind myself that its okay that i am me and not super mom who has amazing artistic abilities a perfectly clean house awesome dinners every nite and only spends $3.47 a week on groceries. so i hope in these posts to pass on some of the ideas i find about creative ways to save money, handmade projects, ways to simplify life, encouragement in faith, and other things i come across along the way.a recent inspiration i have found in this realm has been a book i received for Christmas (thanks mess) called "handmade home" by amanda blake soule. i think its definately worth checking out. the focus of the book is on creating new things from old items. anything from mouse pads to beach blankets- there are some really neat projects in the book! you can also check amanda blake soule out online at http://www.soulemama.com/i really like the "elf hat" she has pictured in her jan 12th post. so, my thought is to pick one of the projects from the book, with a goal of completing it in 2 weeks (i am trying to be realistic here). i will let you know how things go, and post some pictures for you of the final product.please feel free to comment with any thoughts via the comment link at the bottom of each post.well i think thats it for my first post. thanks for reading, there will be more coming your way soon...

POST A - WELCOME TO THE WELCOME WAGON!

GREETINGS ONE & ALL (OR NONE @ ALL), THIS IS DOUG COOPER, THE MALE HALF OF "BIRDS OF A FEATHER." THIS IS MY FIRST POST FOR THE PUBLIC @ LARGE. MY INTENTION IS TO POINT FOLKS IN A GOOD DIRECTION FROM TIME TO TIME (EVERY TWO WEEKS OR SO). MORE SPECIFICALLY, I HOPE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO GOOD ART - MUSIC, FILM, LITERATURE, IMAGE & THINGS OF THE LIKE. NARROWING IT DOWN MORESO, I'LL BE FOCUSING ON MEDIA THAT IS EITHER LEGALLY FREE, UNDER THE RADAR, OR CHANGING LIVES FOR THE GOOD (THESE QUALITIES MAY OVERLAP @ TIMES). FOR THOSE WHO WILL NOT SHARE MY TASTE I APOLOGIZE (KINDA), IT CAN BE A BIT ECENTRIC/ECLECTIC. HOWEVER, IT WILL BE QUITE TAME FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS BLOG. BOTH LEAH & I INTEND TO CHOOSE OUR TOPICS CAREFULLY WITH THE HOPES THAT IN MOST CASES THEY WILL LEND THEMSELVES TO PEOPLE BOTH BIG & SMALL, MALE & FEMALE (I AM RESISTING THE TEMPTATION TO GO ON WITH THIS LIST OF OPPOSITES ON INTO ABSURDITY), ETC... PLEASE OFFER ANY THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, ETC... I LOVE THAT STUFF.

FOR MY FIRST POST I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE WELCOME WAGON, A.K.A. VITO & MONIQUE AIUTO, A HUSBAND & WIFE FOLK DUO OF SORTS (FOLK/POP/GOSPEL/ETC). THEY WRITE MUSIC THAT IS VERY MUCH ROOTED IN THEIR FAITH AS CHRISTIANS. IN FACT, VITO AND MONIQUE FOUNDED A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN BROOKLYN, NY, OF WHICH VITO IS THE REVEREND. HOWEVER, DON'T LET THIS LEAD YOU TO ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THEIR SOUND. THIS IS NOT BILL & GLORIA GAITHER THAT WERE TALKIN' ABOUT HERE (PLEASE TAKE NO OFFENSE). THEIR MUSIC IS BOTH INVENTIVE & ORIGINAL, MAINLY TO THEIR OWN CREDIT. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THOUGH, THAT THEIR SOUND IS SHAPED IN NO SMALL PART BY THEIR COLLABORATION WITH SUFJAN STEVENS WHO ALSO RECORDED & PRODUCED THEIR DEBUT ALBUM. SUFJAN IS ANOTHER FAVORITE AROUND OUR HOUSE - HE'S A STAPLE ON THE INDIE MUSIC SCENE & AN OLD TIME CHUM OF VITOS. IF YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED SUFJAN OUT BEFORE NOW, PLEASE DO SO, HE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. IN FACT THE WELCOME WAGON IS SIGNED TO SUFJAN'S RECORD LABEL --> http://asthmatickitty.com/.

JUST RECENTLY, THE WELCOME WAGON RELEASED AN EP OF OUTTAKES AND DEMOS ENTITLED, PURITY OF HEART IS TO WILL ONE THING. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE ALBUM GO TO AN ORGANIZATION CALLED FREESET (http://freesetglobal.com/who-we-are.html). HERE'S A QUOTE FROM ASTHMATICKITTY, "Freeset is a fair-trade business in India that helps to liberate and empower women escaping the sex trade in the largest red-light district in Kolkata (Calcutta), India." SO CLEARLY THIS WOULD BE MONEY WELL SPENT - $3.96 EQUALS GOOD MUSIC (FOUR TUNES WORTH) & ONE STEP TOWARD THE LIBERATION OF ENSLAVED WOMEN. HERE IS A LINK TO THE MUSIC --> http://asthmatickitty.com/purity-of-heart. ALSO, HERE'S A VIDEO TO GET YOU MORE ACQUAINTED WITH WHO THESE FOLKS ARE AND WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE:

A SIDE NOTE: I DO REALIZE THAT SOME FOLKS READING THIS BLOG MAY NOT NECESSARILY JIBE WITH THINGS RELATING TO MATTERS OF FAITH. IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN THIS RECOMMENDATION MAY NOT BE YOUR CUP OF TEA. ALL THE SAME, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK THESE GUYS OUT, BECAUSE THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THE WELCOME WAGON IS AN ENJOYABLE RIDE, IRRESPECTIVE OF ANYTHING. AND I THINK THIS MAY BE SAID OF FUTURE POSTS AS WELL. LEAH & I WILL INEVITABLY RECOMMEND & REFERENCE THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO OUR OWN FAITH, BUT JUST ABOUT ANYTHING WE'LL BE PUTTING UP HERE SHOULD BE FAIRLY ACCESSIBLE TO FOLKS OF ALL FABRICS. FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR OWN THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER. PEACE & BACON GREASE - DOUG

POST ZERO - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

happy 5th anniversary babe!! surprise! - a small token of my love for you. this is both a gift & a challenge.

the gift: a thrifty blog! that's my best general way of describing it. it's a creative outlet of sorts - a way for you to continue your pursuit of thriftiness, simplicity & good stewardship as a way of life for our family. beyond this, it's an opportunity for you to share with our friends & family all of the totally rad ideas, deals, & other such bits of free & discounted goodness you've been tracking down so that they too can partake. i call it a thrifty blog (as opposed to a "mommy blog", etc...) because i hope it will be a good resource to not only moms or families or even women, but anybody who is trying to be smarter about the way that they use their money, time, stuff, world, etc... this is probably starting to sound intimidating & i haven't even laid out the challenge yet.

the challenge: in the spirit of julie & julia, (which is in part responsible for inspiring both this blog and the challenge that follows) i hereby challenge you to maintain this blog for one calendar year with the goal of making 52 entries (one for each week of the year). what you choose to do with these entries is completely up to you. are you alone in this endeavor? not quite. being the brave knight that i am, i would not have you to go it alone. i too will contribute!!

posts: this particular post has been labeled "post zero" with a little phrase tagged on to let folks know what the post is about. you will start with "post one" along with the corresponding tag thingy and will continue in this way, week by week, until you finish off the last week of december 2010 with "post fifty-two." with this in mind, you should put out your first two posts prior to january 15th in order to set a good pace ;-) as for me? i will be posting thru the alphabet: a thru z (26 posts in all). that's one every two weeks. my posts will focus on the arts: music, art, film, etc... (surprise, surprise) i'll be focusing on media that is free, off the radar, or that promotes important change.

from here on out i will post in all caps (the way that i write by hand), and you will post in all lower case (the way that you write by hand). so...here we go! together. love you. (i almost wrote "i love you my dove" to go along with the bird theme, but didn't in order to save you from being embarrassed in front of all of our reading pals).