Baby Steps

You would think that, at my advanced age, I would be done with baby steps. But I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, we're all still babies.

John and I have been reevaluating finances lately, something we do every 5 years or so. Given the current economy, and our recent experiences, we are staying much more on top of this than we ever have. One thing we have to really watch ourselves on is shopping. Neither of us has an expansive wardrobe, nor do we have expensive hobbies or toys. (Not yet, anyway; my horse comes next month!) But, when out and about, we can see lots of little things that "would make our lives easier," add up to beaucoup bucks over time, and often just sit there, being stared at, because the work to implement them is just...too...daunting.

Case in point; my grow lights. Last spring I put together a grow light stand for starting my garden plants. Those of you from warmer climes will have no idea about such things, but here in the frozen tundra, some of us start our garden plants from seed. We like to be able to anticipate fruits, veggies or flowers from these plants, and need to extend our growing season by starting them inside. Lighting inside can be tricky, as windows get either inadequate or inconsistent light. So I made a light stand, a la college days, with cinder blocks and shelving. John installed grow lights in the undersides of the shelves, and I topped it off with a grow light Grandma had brought along. It worked great, and the plants grew fine and healthy... Until they got some kind of white flies on them, and I sprayed them with soapy water. Burned those puppies right up. But that's another story.

Last fall, I brought in many of my deck and porch plants, and put them under the grow lights for the winter. I didn't have enough space, so I decided to build another stand. I built the stand and bought the lights. They sat...through the winter...until about two weeks ago, when John finally listened to my pleadings and put them in. So that money was tied up for most of a season before being put to use. Bad idea.

Another case in point; our pond aerator. John picked up a unit to circulate the water in our pond. That keeps the algae down and helps keep the fish healthier. It's been out there for almost 2 years, tied up by the male struggle between needing to call an electrician and wanting to do the electrical work ipse.(-giggle- I think I just put the Latin for "himself" in Italics. Get it? Of course you do; you're not an idiot.) Another instance of good money being tied up for far too long before being used.

Wait...do you see a pattern here? Maybe it's not me. Hmmm....

Anyway, the plan is, shockingly, to complete one project before buying the supplies for another. Radical, I know. Today I took a baby step. I had a potted plant that needed repotting. I needed a new pot. I went to Wally World, bought the pots, (the original was actually two plants in one pot) came home, and repotted them. Right away. Within 15 minutes of being home.

I feel so grown up.