Welcome!
I'm Frugal Trenches (no, not my real name!) a lover of natural, simple and frugal living! I use this space and my camera to document a beautiful, purposeful, downshifted and abundant life! Life is not always simple (oh how I wish it was!) but it is always rich and I hope this space demonstrates beauty and joy!
If you have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments! I read and appreciate every comment and will reply to questions within the comment section, even if it takes a day or two (or three, but whose counting!).
Archives
Money Spent On Groceries in 2013
January $198.39
February $231.88
March $248.71
April $Books Read in 2013
Myself
Fiction:
1.The Help
2. Away
3. Flowers For Algernon
4. Animal Farm
5. Room
6. The Secret DaughterNon-Fiction:
1.The Two Nazanins
2.Confessions Of A Bad Beekeeper
3.The Encouraging Parent
4.Freakonomics
5.Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?
6.Raising A Right Brained Child In A Left Brained World
7.How To Make Your Child A Reader For Life
8.The Bookseller of Kabul
9.The Sane Woman's Guide To Raising A Large FamilyDaughter Grade 3 (Chapter Books)
Stanley's Christmas Adventure
George's Marvelous Medicine
Sarah Plain and Tall
Ramona Books x 5
Road To Avonlea Chapter Books x 3
Junie B Jones Chapter Books x 6
James and The Giant Peach
Freckle Juice
Reader Level 4 Books x 9Son Grade 1 (Picture Books)
January: 62 books
February: 73 books
March: 95 books
April: 89 books
Category Archives: Inventing My Life
2013 Goals: The Year We Begin Home Educating!
I’ve written about 2012, though didn’t specifically update on the goals for the year (with monthly goals often being accomplished, but not blogged about). This was partly because my focus was on connecting and building our family and partly because … Continue reading
Two Thousand And Twelve
This was a funny sort of year. Not exactly one for the history books by most people’s standards, but as I reflect on it, I see that there were big changes. The year started with that newness, a strange, not … Continue reading
Merriment
There was no big tree (we did have a 3 foot “elf” tree purchased for $20 and donned with fairtrade ornaments), minimal decorations (a collection of four trees made from repurposed metal from a local barn, some ruby red beads on the … Continue reading
What I Learned This Week
It is late Sunday evening, or Monday morning if you count the 51 minutes past midnight the clock tells me it is. I was asleep for about 3 hours, having fallen asleep with my daughter after lying down with her to help … Continue reading
Holidaying
We are holidaying at the moment. It is so amazing to be here, on a vacation, with my children. We’ve enjoyed many hikes, a horse ride, swimming in lakes and a very very exciting “moose spotting adventure”. While the holiday has been very … Continue reading
The Assumption Everyone Has Money Part I
One of the greatest lessons from my downshifting journey, has been an appreciation that you never really “know” someone’s financial situation; there are people we assume will be “well off” based on their job title, education or family of origin, … Continue reading
My Ice Cream
“Sometimes we stare so long at our balloon in the sky we forget that our ice cream is melting on our plate” I’m in a season of incredible change, exciting change, longed for yet scary change, it’s a season of following … Continue reading

