I’m looking forward to taking part in Brenda from A Cosy Little House’s new series on Thrifty Living 2012. In this series, there will be five women sharing the individual struggles they face economically with their families in a particular region. Each week [Thursday] one of us, Brenda, Claudia , Elaine , Diane, and myself will feature a topic on how we are living more thriftily in the year 2012. Then the rest of us will add our own paragraph or so on how we apply that to our own lives. 
We run the gamut. Brenda is a single family household. Claudia and Don live with their two dogs in New York. Elaine has a small daughter, and grown children in Southern California. Diane and Ron live in Florida and are retired. Gar and I have just relocated to another part of BC, Canada and have just bought our first house.
So here’s my introduction:
My name is Jane. My husband, along with Bootsie our cat, and I have just moved up to the North Okanagan, in BC, Canada. We moved from a small condo in White Rock, near the beach to the gorgeous mountains, cold winters, and hot summers of the Okanagan to be near my family. It's a huge change for us, going from 850 sq. ft. condo, to 1st time homeowners of a real house! The first thing I would have to say, is it's expensive to do this, from the move, to the house purchase it's been a big drain on our finances. Like everyone else we have a budget that we have to live within.
So while I might dream of tearing out the kitchen right away, and replacing all the brass colored door handles, along with the interesting light fixtures, reality will take over as soon as we move into our new home. And that's where Thrifty Living 2012 comes in. I am going to have to dig deep, and be creative in order to make this house our home without breaking the bank.
We will be living in a rural area, it's a long drive to the grocery store, or to a job, there is no Friday night take out around here. We plan on recycling as much of our waste as possible, because there isn't any garbage pick up, no mail at the door, and I am not sure if there is even any cable. 
As soon as summer comes along I am going to learn to can, and freeze summer fruits, and veggies for the winter months. I have big plans for a garden, and I love to cook, usually making most of our meals from scratch because of my severe allergies to so many foods, and additives. I also make my own cleaning solutions because I am allergic to the commercial ones that you would buy in the store. 
It's going to be fun, and interesting, and I am sure that you will pick up some great tips from our series on Thrifty living 2012.
To read the introductions from the rest of this team, go over to:
Brenda of Cozy Little House
Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Elaine of Sunny Simple Life
Diane of Lavender Dreams
I am heading off to read the other introductions, and get to know the other bloggers in this series, talk to you later.