Hope is free, hope is frugal, but I splurged anyway and spent seventy-five cents on the most radiant symbol of hope I've held in my hand in a long time. Hope is a lemon: a freshly picked small yellow thin-skinned, fragrant and sweet lemon, locally greenhouse grown, non-certified organic. Be still my beating foodie heart. (I found them at Brambles Market on 4th and Cliffe)

If we can grow and sell lemons here on the Island, what else can we do? There is hope for anything we can imagine.

The word sustainable is getting a good work out these days, perhaps substituting frugal can put a different spin on things.

Year End Review of Frugal Ideas

Read the local newspapers with pen and paper, make a list of the free and low cost activities that interest you. Watch Channel 4 for announcements. There are gatherings, meetings, hobby clubs, activist groups, support groups, lectures, music jams, documentary films, book clubs, the list goes on. Meet people, learn something new, have fun. Art Gallery openings are particularly enjoyable as you may even score a free glass of wine and a cookie, cracker or corn chip. Good local websites to also check are Our Big Earth www.ourbigearth.com "empowered families, inspired communities" and Tide Change www.tidechange.ca "Connecting people who share a vision of healthy communities on a healthy planet" There is also Valley Links with info on community groups and volunteer opportunities, www.valleylinks.net

There is even a website that links to all the grocery flyers. http://courtenay.flyerland.ca/

Public library

With free access for all, and helpful staff, the library is another radiant symbol of hope for our future. If you have the stomach for yet another public consultation, your input is needed. “Vancouver Island Regional Library is embarking on a Strategic Planning Process and invites the public to participate and help plan our future by shaping a common vision, direction and goals for the next three years.” You can fill out the survey available at each branch, or take it on-line www.virl.bc.ca

There is also a meeting when you can have your say in person: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009

7 - 9 pm in the Comox room, Best Westerly Hotel, 1590 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay

Good books on frugal living from the library:

The Tightwad Gazette ... Amy Dacyczyn 332.024

Sink Reflections ~Marla Cilley # 648.5

Miserly Moms: living on one income in a two-income economy ~Jonni McCoy,. 332.024

Never throw out a banana again: Darcie Sanders, 640.42

Bonnie's household budget book: the essential guide for getting control of your money

Bonnie Runyan McCullough,. . 640.42

Raising kids with just a little cash ~ Lisa Reid,. 649.1

Living simply with children ~ Marie Sherlock. 649.1

Heloise’s household hint books usually around 640

Heloise: Hints for a healthy planet 363.7

Top Secret Recipes (Kitchen Clones) Todd Wilbur 641.59

More-with-less cookbook; Doris Janzen Longacre

Trails, Parks and Walkways the obvious choice for frugal entertainment, even in dismal weather it's beautiful out there. Pick up maps and info at rec centres, municipal halls and Chambers of Commerce or go on-line:

Comox Valley Regional District www.rdcs.bc.ca/

Courtenay www.courtenay.ca

Comox www.comox.ca

Cumberland www.cumberlandbc.net

www.activecomoxvalley.ca

Do you know about the grownups playground? I think it's called the senior outdoor exercise circuit. It's on Anderton, across the street from the Florence Filberg Centre.

Play Pass is available for low-income people, for the sport and aquatic centre, phone 334-9622 for info, Courtenay residents can apply for one from the CRA, Lewis Centre

Hop a Bus and go sightseeing in this beautiful valley; visit Puntledge Park, Comox Marina, Cumberland's hip main drag, and lots of stops in between. Transit website www.busonline.ca/regions/com

Comox Valley Beauty School on 911 McPhee Ave, Besides free haircuts each Monday 9 am to 12 noon, they also have reasonable prices on esthetic and hairstyling services. If you desire a little pampering without a spa price tag, give them a try.

Free Used Bikes from World Community Bikes, contact Gordon or Valerie at gvsherr,,,telus.net. or access through Salvation Army family services at 250-338-8151 See World Community's website at www.worldcommunity.ca

Thrift Shops, always a vital link in a frugal community

Salvation Army's three thrift shops: 1785 Comox Ave., downtown Courtenay on 4th, and the main store and family services office at 2966 Kilpatrick.

Cottage Thrift (behind St. Joesph's Hospital)

Too Good to be Threw Shop (Transition Society) 637-6th St.

St. Vincent dePaul Thrift Shop (Behind Driftwood Mall)

Habitat for Humanity Restore: hardware, home reno, furniture and appliances, 1755-13th St

Community Thrift Store 971 Cumberland Road unlike the other shops listed, this is a business, not run by a non-profit, but it's a good low cost neighbourhood thrift shop complete with cluttered abundance.

Keep it Flowing

A frugal community is a sharing community. Sometimes you are in need of help, other times you have surplus to give- time, money, ideas. Your participation is important, your vote counts. What a lopsided community we would have if all the volunteers quit showing up. How could something like Music Fest exist without volunteers?

Foster Parenting?

Have you ever thought about becoming a foster parent? There is a need for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal foster parents. Marlene Stevens of the Federation of aboriginal foster parents works with Ministry of Children and Family Development and aboriginal service delivery organizations to recruit foster parents for aboriginal children. She can provide workshops on cultural awareness and fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, and a workshop targeted toward prospective foster parents. As the support person for people becoming foster parents, Marlene can be reached at 1- 866 291 7091

Buy/Sell/Trade online

Comox Valley Craigslist http://comoxvalley.en.craigslist.ca/

To find Freeycle and other yahoo groups, go to http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/ and type Comox Valley in the search field.

Free Software

OpenOffice 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose. Download it at www.openoffice.org

A good list of 30 Essential Pieces Of Free Software for Windows can be found at

www.thesimpledollar.com/2006/12/01/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows/

Print your own planner pages and calendars: check out www.diyplanner.com and http://donnayoung.org/household/index.htm

Spacejock Software www.spacejock.com A selection of simple and useful programs, all free and safe

And remember: Google is our friend, www.google.com

Telephone Resources

BC Nurse Line call 811. Talk to a nurse. 24/7 Pharmacist avail. 5pm-9am. Speak with a Dietitian weekdays 9am – 5pm

Enquiry BC 1-800-663-7867 call free to BC gov’t services, programs or people 7:30 am-5 pm

Credit Counselling Society. Do you have problems with debt? Call to request information, to speak with a counsellor or to schedule an appointment by telephone to sort things out. All appointments are confidential, free of charge and without obligation. Toll-Free 1.888.527.8999

Let's not forget the Crisis Line while we still have it for local information 250-334-2455

Power Smart kit is free to low-income families. Contact BC Hydro power smart toll free at 1 877-431-9463

Miscellaneous

-Get a rain check if a sale item is sold out.

-Always check expiry dates on perishable food.

-Weight different bags of produce e.g. potatoes, apples, oranges to find the heaviest .

-Get your friends together for a fun clothing swap.

-Instead of dinner out, go out for lunch - the lunch menu is cheaper. Or go out for an elegant evening of coffee and dessert. And just for fun, before you spend your money you can check restaurant inspection results online www.healthspace.com/viha click on Food Facility & Inspection Information.

-Trade books for credit at second hand book stores, get other books to read or give as gifts

-Attend store openings, anniversary events, open houses for service agencies and businesses for freebies, snacks, info and who knows maybe even balloons for the kiddies and a nice fridge magnet.

-When using manufacturer's coupons, you may be able to double it if the store also offers a coupon for the same product (check the fine print)

A Small Apology

If I had more power I would offer a bigger apology, to the homeless people, and those living in sub-standard conditions and those living in over-priced conditions. Another year has gone by without any new affordable rentals being built. I'm sorry that Courtenay by-laws continue to restrict length of stay and hours of operation of the emergency shelter. I'm sorry that when people have to leave the the shelter in the morning, no matter what the weather, no matter what the state of their health, we still do not have a supported day drop-in to help them. If I was a mayor, a councillor, an MLA or MP, I would be embarrassed and shamefaced and apologetic to those who do not have the means to help themselves.

But then I think of the sweet and fragrant organic lemon and I have hope. If we can grow lemons here, we can put a shovel in the ground and plant appropriate housing for everyone. Let's keep our eyes on the prize.