Cents and Sensibility, Day 22. Taking stock as we head into Week Four.

Today marks the first day of the fourth week of this project, so I figure that this a good opportunity to recap what's happened so far.

Or hasn't happened.

Compared to what happened with money in my house before June 1, it's obvious that I haven't done as much shopping.

In three weeks and a day, I've spent 197.48. That boils down to 8.98 cents a day.

I'll probably have to fill up my gas tank tomorrow, for the first time since May 31.

Let's take a look back at what I used to spend. Back on June 11, I did a bit of math, and figured that I'd been spending, on average, 43.75 per day on discretionary items http://paradigmthrift.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-06-14T21%3A42%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7 before this project began.

And apparently, based on a February 2011 Gallup poll, even my salad days weren't quite as bountiful as those of my peers. Because Gallup deduced that "self-reported daily U.S. consumer spending in stores, restaurants, gas stations and online averaged $58 per day in January 2011, down from the January averages of $62 in 2010 and $64 in 2009, and far below the $97 average of 2008." http://www.gallup.com/poll/146060/Consumers-Self-Reported-Spending-Down-January.aspx.

That's quite a disparity. I'm sure some folks are wondering if we're eating mac and cheese seasoned liberally with cat food while we're wandering around aimlessly, wondering what to do with ourselves.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

The majority of the 197.48 I've spent has supplemented the fresh items we've depleted.

Over the past three weeks, we've entertained - and we've been entertained by - a whole bunch of people, both at the Peasants Feasts and in smaller groups. I've been taken out to dinner a few times. And like last night, I've spent time with friends, either at their house or mine. And it's been lovely.

And we've eaten well, largely because of my son Logan's mad skills in the kitchen.

I took Logan out to lunch the other day, as a thank-you for buying into the project, and for making such amazing dishes over the past few weeks.

Most notably, he made breakfast pizza with homemade dough that was topped with cheese, potatoes, bacon and spices.

Decadent and delicious.

He whipped up some pizza muffin things that could easily be considered restaurant fare, served with a side of homemade marinara.

This morning, he made me an egg dish for breakfast that was yum-smack-licious. He makes every meal. And they've all been delicious.

And we have salad items that are as far away as our back yard. Nothing's as tasty as the spinach, lettuce and arugula salads we've been making lately.

Interestingly, when we were sitting at the Thai place we'd chosen for our lunch out, Logan mentioned that he appreciated going out to eat more than he used to.

It's good, I think, that he's noticing that moments become more special when the entitlement and frequency is taken away.

Both of my kids have been so accommodating to what I'm 'making them do' with this summer's project. They're both learning a few things. And the no that's implied by this experiment has gradually become willingly self-imposed. Because this has gradually become fun. Sometimes frustrating, but ultimately fun.

The project's not over, by any means. But it seemed significant today, to reflect on what we've learned so far.

This simple living really isn't the least bit constricting. And my bank balance is healthier than it's been for quite some time.

A very relaxed shift seems to be happening because I'm beginning to understand, very gradually, that if I stop twirling in my perceived need to procure, do, achieve, pre-emptively solve long enough to look up and notice, everything I need is right here.

Cents and Sensibility, Day 21. Keeping it close to the vest.

Another day was passed at home, doing all the things I so actively avoided before this project began.

It was a lovely day - another day spent reacquainting myself to just being here, in my house, by myself. I could make a list of my accomplishments today, but I'm beginning to understand that's really not the point of this zany thing called Life.

Making a list of the stuff we get done. Highly overrated. Some things need to be kept to one's self.

I had plans tonight with my friend Pammy. Originally, she wanted to go out, but I requested that we meet either at her house or mine. Because of the project. I gratefully allocated the teeny bit of gas I still have in my tank to drive over to her house.

Ah, the sacrifices we make....

And what a sacrifice. Hanging out with my friend Pammy on a beautiful evening, in her bucolic back yard.

Pammy and I chat well.

So of course, that's what we did. Never enough Pammy time.

We talked about everything.

Like Fight Club, the first rule of a fruitful chat-fest with a good friend is to not talk about what you talked about.

Long story short: Pammy's the best. She's on my short list.

My evening proves that good times are free, and they're everywhere.

Some things are best when they're not shared.

Cents and Sensibility, Day 20. Everybody eats when they come to my house.

I had a very low-key approach to tonight's Peasants Feast. I didn't know who was coming, and I questioned our collective capacity to create a cogent meal with the somewhat odd theme of the week.

The theme was a song. Everybody Eats When They Come to My House, by Cab Calloway.

Here's the link. It's a jaunty, tasty number. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIy6pXmQtkc.

Everyone was requested to bring something that was mentioned in the song. Logan made latkes.

Around 5 pm, I wondered if people would bring items that would make our evening true to the title of the song. I felt I needed to supplement the delicious latkes, so I made a salad out of lettuce, spinach and arugula from the garden. I added tomatoes, just in case.

I wanted to make sure that everybody could eat when they come to my house.

Despite the threat of rain, we had quite a succulent turnout. And people were so creatively scatological with what they brought. Connor and Jenny brought bologna. There was banana and strawberry salad. There was cacciatore and rice that was way past fantastic. Bagels. Pancakes. Tomatoes. Cherries. Watermelon and kiwi beverage of some sort. Fruit pie. Brownies. So much more. It makes the head spin, the creativity.

The kids spent time around the dining room table, acting like grown-ups. The grown-ups spent time outside on the back porch, talking smart and acting like kids.

So many interesting conversations tonight.

And the laughter. So much of that.

I love this odd amalgam of randomness we've generated with the Feasts.

Unpredictable.

We all seem to leave these nights completely, contentedly full.

Cents and Sensibility, Day 19. Let's talk about gas.

As you may recall if you've been following the progress of my little experiment, I filled up my gas tank on May 31. I had about a quarter of a tank, kind of the amount I have now. It cost 3.59.9 (let's round that up a micro-percentage and call it 3.60, shall we?) a gallon, and I spent $33.

As of today, 19 days later, I've driven 318.8 miles. That's an average of 16.78 miles per day. And I still have a touch less than a quarter of a tank left.

I think I can go a few more days before I need to get gas. I work from home tomorrow, and there's the entertaining Peasants Feast tomorrow night for which we're making latkes with the potatoes we bought last week. No need to go to the store for anything.

I have Tuesday off, work from home Wednesday, and have Thursday and Friday off. So conceivably, if I stick close to home, I may not need to get gas until next Saturday. If that happens, I'll have gone 25 days without buying gas.

I understand that not everyone has the good fortune to work from home, and I know that most people operate like I did before May 31. I used to go wherever I wanted to go, whenever I felt like it.

So you might be wondering how I've kept the gauge away from the E for this long. Of course the telecommuting helps. Entertaining here at the house instead of going out has been so much fun. And I've been staying home more.

Actually, I've been staying home a lot. I'm not considering renaming my house Grey Gardens any time soon, but staying home has been more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Being a homebody is out of my ken. I like to ramble.

But instead, I've been walking more when I feel the need to get away. Walking instead of driving has helped the bottom line on more than one level, if you know what I mean. And when I do drive, I drive like a grandma. No offense to grandmas.

There are tons of tips to be found on how burn gas a bit more slowly. Here's one: http://gasbuddy.com/gb_tips.aspx.

The pain at the pump I got 19 days ago is barely a dull ache today.

We all complain about the wallet-gouging price of gas, but there seems to be a fairly easy way to fight back.

Just stop.

Cents and Sensibility, Day 18. Here's to good friends.

My friend Anne had two extra tickets to Ray Lamontagne at Red Rocks last night, and she asked me if I wanted to come along and bring a friend. 

I couldn't say yes fast enough!

Anne and I go way back. We met in high school, and by my calculations, we've been friends for 33 years. Way back in the Dark Ages, back in the '70s, when times were cheaper and our motivation was high, we went to our share of concerts. Anne and I went to Rush concerts together, whenever they were in town. She'd imagine herself as the female Geddy Lee.

My friend Erin joined us last night. Both Erin and I repeatedly asked if we could pay Anne back for the tickets, but she mentioned that she didn't want to mess up my project. That's just Anne. Generous, supportive, hilarious, wry, smart-as-a-whip Anne. She couched inviting us to the show by saying she was supporting the project, but I don't quite buy that. Anne's a giver, plain and simple.

What a great show. Brandi Carlile opened up, and her pal Shawn Colvin made an unexpected appearance.

I bought a beer during intermission. A $7 Coors in a plastic bottle. Times have changed.

As for Ray, he rocked it. He's not much of a talker. Other than an occasional "thank you very much" in between songs, the only other patter he provided was a random, "fucking Wikipedia. You guys know everything." Because his birthday is today, and a group of merry pranksters in the audience, way up front, sang him a birthday song.

He's kind of eccentric, with the look of a guy who might work at Tattered Cover.

I took some nice pictures of our time with Ray.

As for how the past meets the present, Anne and I have sepia snapshots of who we were then, all the crazy crap we did, tucked away nicely in our heads.

Here's to good, old friends. Let's both nod and smile knowingly about the past.

And here's to another few decades of friendship.

The past is good, but the present is so much better.

Cents and Sensibility, Day 17.

I'm going to Ray Lamontagne tonight, thanks to my friend Anne! I'll post an update with pictures tomorrow!

Woo Hoo!

Last time I saw him was 5 or 6 or 7 years ago, when he was a nobody. But he's somebody now, and he's playing at Red Rocks, the coolest place ever to see a show!

More tomorrow.

Cents and Sensibility, Days 15 and 16. Making up for lost time.

I went to the store today, and I'm not really sure why I did. Let's see if we can figure it out.

After two days at home, I needed to get away from my predictable comfortable home place. We needed eggs for Monday's Peasants Feast, and we were almost out of dog food, I said to myself.

Long and short, I wanted to be elsewhere.

As I was trying to make sense of this need to shop today, I remembered an entry I wrote in November http://paradigmthrift.blogspot.com/2010/11/ill-take-it-few-words-on-why-we-shop.html about the why behind why we shop. After re-reading that entry, it became obvious that my trip to the store was less of a need than it was a diversion.

Like someone who's on a rigid diet who decides to have a piece of cake, I felt I owed it to myself. I thought I deserved getting out for a bit, based on how conscious we've all been about living with what we have.

Going to the grocery store ranks among the least glamorous, least indulgent rewards I can possibly think of.

But today I was making up for a bit of lost time, by getting lost for a while. Sometimes it's nice to go somewhere no one can find you. Even if where you choose to lose yourself is in an aisle at the grocery store.

I got out of the house for a bit, by myself. I even left my phone in the car.

After 16 days of sticking close to home, I forgot how much I enjoy diversions of the sort I allowed myself today.

It's interesting, how just a few weeks ago I wouldn't have thought twice about rambling all over the city, getting lost all day long.

Today it felt different.

Sometimes I think it might be better to ask 'why?', rather than 'why not?'.