Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with frugal

Where to live in Boston?

objdoc — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:34:36 -0800

Boston Filter: Where should I live in Boston? 20 minutes, or less, from Tufts Medical in Chinatown. Looking for a 1 BR rental apartment with a parking space, and possibly street parking or other spaces for guests, central air, clean and relatively modern appliances, a washer and dryer inside.

The catch: would like to be in a location that makes it worth while to live in Boston, someplace close to city life, someplace and walkable to what the city has to offer. Safe and minimal crime also important.

Budget: $2000/mo. Prefer less but could go a little higher.

I asked about finding my best place to live a bit over a year ago. I think I ended up picking Boston. OK- where do I need to compromise? More importantly which neighborhoods and locations should I focus my search?

Please help me overcome my aversion to staying in hostels.

jason's_planet — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:02:29 -0800

Please help me overcome my aversion to staying in hostels. I want to travel more. Unfortunately, funds are a bit tight, so staying in expensive hotels is out of the question. I understand that there are hostels serving the lodging needs of people like me, people whose horizons exceed their incomes but I'm not sure if those would be appropriate for me. I'm older than the usual age profile for hostel travelers. For that reason, I'm not sure if I would be welcome. I also have a fairly negative attitude toward hostels; I tend to view them as grubby, shady establishments filled with odoriferous, America-bashing hippies and iPod-snatching thieves.

But I recognize that my prejudices are not based on any real experiences, good or bad. I would like to open my mind a little bit and consider hostels as a possible travel option. I'd like to hear what your experiences have been and whether you would recommend them as places to stay for someone who isn't going to be making partner or winning the lottery anytime soon.

So what is it like to stay in hostels? Do they welcome people over the age of 35? Are they clean and safe? Is it possible to use them just as places to sleep? (I'm not really into the idea of hostel-as-party or hostel as a place to hangout.) I need a bed, access to a bathroom, and a place where I can lock up my stuff. Anything beyond that is gravy.

And in the event that you tried hostels and found them lacking, what sorts of budget alternatives would you propose?

Thank you very much for your time; I look forward to your answers.

Proper Lasagna consists of RED & WHITE sauce, not PINK.

Mutant — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:10:51 -0800

We love lasagna. But my white sauce mixes with my red sauce and it all ends up looking pink. I'm using a rather basic lasagna recipe but consistently have been frustrated by sauces mixing together. It seems to be happening during cooking to some extent, but cutting portions and serving doesn't help much.

While the mixing doesn't effect the taste, my lasagna is rather unsightly compared to professionally prepared portions.

What can I do to keep the sauces as distinct as possible? It seems that professionally prepared (i.e., restaurant) lasagna has distinct layers of white and red sauce, separated by the pasta itself. Mine tends to mingle, almost to the point where I'm ending up with, at times, a pinkish sauce.

I'm not sure if it is caused by my sauce recipe or technique, but it has happened both with meat and veggie lasagna. The filler for either is as follows :

Meat: 1 lb. browned ground beef
Veggies: 1 lb of coarsly chopped broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, celery, green lettuce, all raw

Here is my red sauce :

Chopped onion, one large
Garlic, four cloves
Salt
Pepper
Tomato paste, two cans

This is generally prepared once a week in a large batch that I use for multiple dishes, lasagna included. Sometimes I'll make and use the sauce immediately, other times I've frozen and reheated it, but this hasn't changed my results.

If I'm making meat lasagna I'll mix it (after browning separately) with the red sauce otherwise, I spoon out red sauce, then cover with the veggie mix.

And my white sauce, which remains the same for meat or veggie lasagna :

Munster cheese
Four tablespoons butter
Four tablespoons of flour
Two cups of milk

I melt the butter, then add in salt & pepper. Blend in the flour then cook over over a low flame for two minutes, finally adding milk. Bring mixture to boil and let boil for two minutes.

Technique:

Parmesan cheese on the bottom, then some red sauce (if veggie then layer chopped vegetables on top of red sauce).

A layer of lasagna pasta sheets, more parmesan, then white sauce.

This is repeated three times in total, with red sauce and more parmesan topping off the lasagna.

Bake and serve.

I still don't have good control, and end up with the sauces mixing. Does anyone have any tips on how to insure that the layers don't intermingle too much? The professionally prepared portions that we get at a restaurant are much more visually appealing (and I seem to recall my great grandmothers as having sharp, distinct layers as well).

Thanks for your help!

What to do at night in a small hotel room in a small country town?

b33j — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:13:46 -0800

My husband and I are going on a road trip this weekend and have plenty of places and things to do during daylight hours. It's just the two of us (yay, no kids!) and we'll no doubt chat all day during the drives, hikes, sightseeing. We need something to do between checking in and going to sleep. I'd like an activity that's cheap, and involves the both of us. Nights are in prebooked hotels in very small country towns (that is, we don't have the option to keep driving until we need to sleep). We don't drink. One laptop between the two of us, with no guarantee of internet access. Apart from the obvious bedroom romps, what the hell else do we do during the night time? Normally at home, we (introverts) work (online), study(online), interact with the kids, he plays WOW (not installed on my laptop). Not big TV watchers.

We're Australian, married 17 years, 40+, travelling through Central NSW.

More muffins more muffins more muffins!

Mutant — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:14:43 -0800

I can make apple muffins, banana muffins, and carrot muffins. So what else can I muffinise (oh, did I just invent a verb there)? I've gotten my recipes and technique down to the point where I can make, on demand, dozens of very standardised apple, banana or carrot muffins and that's great. But I wanted to expand my repertoire (and our diet) somewhat.

So what other fruits or vegetables can you recommend I include in my next batch of muffins? If it helps, my basic recipe (makes 18 muffins) is :

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup melted, unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup confectioners sugar (for topping muffins pre-bake)
2 large eggs
1 cup plain (or sometimes different flavoured but always rather light e.g., peach, vanilla, etc) yogurt
1/2 cup milk

Either Apples, Bananas or Carrots to suit, coarsely chopped (four Apples), mushed (four to six Bananas) or grated (six to ten Carrots).

On a whim I'll toss in 1/2 cup of either choco chips, walnuts or raisins (all faves of Mrs Mutant and I sorta like them as well). Technique involves the usual first prepare dry, then wet ingredients separately, then mix shortly together before the oven. I'm using paper muffin cups seated in a non stick pan as well.

Many thanks!

Cheap Beans, Rich Flavor.

mccarty.tim — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:29:13 -0800

What's a good whole bean coffee I can buy in bulk online on a college student budget? I'm a college student with limited money. However, I do like good coffee and keep a coffee grinder and an aeropress in my dorm. What brands should I go for? I'm a big fan of pacific coffees and blends of them. I would say the two best varieties that I've sampled would be Dean's Beans Moka Summatra and the Summatra blend from Starbucks. Starbucks is widely available, but it is, of course, really expensive, about $11 a bag here, for a bag that isn't even a whole lb. Dean's Beans is more reasonably priced, but the shipping makes small amounts not worth paying for if I'm not also ordering something else, which I only do around other coffee-lover's birthdays.

Is there any supermarket brand or internet brand that ship affordably? I'd like to be able to pay about $4-6 a lb after shipping, in quantities that vary from 2-5 lbs. I know ordering that much at once risks the coffee going stale, but I can deal with slightly stale coffee on my budget. Fair trade, organic, and shade grown would be nice touches, but I know it's a bit much to ask on my budget.

Also, my school is near Trenton, NJ. I'm a bit scared to go into the city, but it's worth it if there's a cheap wholesaler of beans in there.

On the hunt for the tantalising and elusive French Croissant

Mutant — Mon, 26 May 2008 06:17:36 -0800

Recommendations for French Cooking courses in London or Paris? I'm taking a year off work, and one of my self improvement goals during this period is to markedly improve my cooking skills. I cooked in a diner while taking my undergraduate degree, make all our meals at home and don't have too much of a problem with a range of baked goods - e.g., breads, cakes, cookies or muffins - but French croissants are (still) frustrating me somewhat.

Thanks to folks taking the time to answer my previous question, I've managed to improve my product somewhat, but my croissants are still noticeably flat compared to bakery offerings, lacking lightness and distinct, multiple layers i.e., some of my layers collapse into each other.

I'm aware there are different styles for learning, and it would appear I'll have to see the process of croissant banking in order to reach my goal. I've watched several videos which were interesting & helpful, but I'm apparently lacking critical feedback on technique which would help me markedly improve my croissants. As my Grandmaw taught me to cook at a very young age, I undoubtedly acquired more basic cooking skills the same way.

Can anyone recommend a French pastry course, preferably lasting one week or less, in London? Paris would be acceptable as well, and while I realise this would sharply increase the range of courses available, would have to be taught in English.

Many thanks!

You can take the boy out of the farm but you can't take the farm out of the boy

Mutant — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:36:46 -0800

Best practices on home canning? So much to the amusement of Mrs Mutant, I've laid in about a dozen tomatoe plants, five Broad Bean vines, ten Bell Pepper plants and five Cucumber plants. I'm also planning to plant some potatoes and onions.

As we live in London and our flat is located on land with a history of industrial use (and I'm too cheap to pay for an evaluation of the earth in our garden) all planting is being done in 47cm pots. From the bottom we've got rocks, sticks, earth, compost, with the seeds in the compost.

I should be able to start harvesting in about two months, but wanted to get some ideas about best practices for home canning. I'm ashamed to admit that back on The Farm my grandma canned frequently but, as I was more interested in cartoons, I didn't absorb much more than cutting, boiling and bottling.

From reading I realise that cleanliness is key, and further, that tomatoes appear to be the safest (due to acidity). If things go well, we should have a large quantity of those to be canned.

Can we combine the tomatoes with other vegetables? I was hoping that perhaps the acidity would help with other vegetables that might be troublesome on their own.

What combinations, if any, can we make from what we're planning to plant? Or should we focus on canning vegetables individually?

Finally, what about fruit? We can get very cheap deals on seasonal fruit from street markets but I've read the sugar makes this a relatively riskier undertaking. Does anyone have a view on canning fruit?

Many thanks!

My homemade ice cream gives homemade a bad name.

Mutant — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:56:02 -0800

A big problem and a small problem with my home made ice cream ... I need some tips and pointers on home made ice cream. Specifically, I've had inconsistent results across two dimensions - clumping, or the creaminess (more properly lack of) of my ice cream, and layering of fruit.

After much trial and error, I've settled into this basic recipe:

6 egg yolks
3 cups single cream
1 cup sugar (granulated)
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
Juice from a small lemon (fresh squeezed)

As we can get reasonably priced Spanish strawberries this time of year, my most recent attempts have me using 400g (maybe one half a quart) of the fruit. I puree about half, and split the remaining strawberries down the middle, but will cut again if necessary to render all pieces no larger than 1/2".

Over low heat, I whisk the egg yolks, ten tablespoons of the cream together than add sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. I continue whisking until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, all the while careful to keep the heat in check (i.e., avoid boiling). I try to let this cook for about ten minutes or so.

At this point I then add the remaining cream and strawberry puree, and continue whisking until the mixture thickens significantly. Then I add the remaining strawberry slices.

I freeze in a stainless steel bowl for between two to three hours (this part of the recipe is still changing) and we then consume immediately.

Here are my problems:

Big problem - The ice cream is very inconsistent in terms of thickness; sometimes almost soupy, other times it thickens up too much. Is this normal for homemade ice cream? The variance in batches is frustrating me somewhat (Mrs Mutant is a champ, and never complains!) as I'd like to at least have a repeatable process.

Small problem - Fruit - it all seems to end up on the bottom, at least the pieces. Is this just the nature of the product? I can't seem, for the life of me, to get uniform distribution. I've tried freezing the mix for a period of time then adding the heavier pieces, but still I end up with most - if not all - of the fruit chunks on the bottom of the ice cream. What are you folks doing to get a uniform distribution? I've tried mixing after freezing but before serving, but sometimes its difficult to even spoon out, let alone mix (see 'Big Problem' above).

I'm using this recipe each time as I'm trying to get a standard product. I'm eager to add flavours to my repertoire, but seems I'm having difficulties with the basics.

Any tips or suggestions welcomed. Willing to change recipes as well.

Thanks for your help!

Cheapskate Laundry?

thisjax — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:44:14 -0800

Can I do laundry with just ammonia alone? I'm a broke student and am interested in using the spare bottle of ammonia to cut my laundry costs. However, the bottle's directions for laundry use are a little unclear, as is Google, as to whether or not it's a detergent substitute or just a laundry additive. Can anyone help me out?

Eat 'em before they get mouldy!

Mutant — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:44:51 -0800

Why do my banana muffins go so mouldy so quickly? I was a short order cook while working my way through my Undergraduate degree, so since marrying Mrs Mutant I've taken on responsibility for cooking our meals. I particularly enjoy keeping the house full of cakes, breads and muffins.

However I've been frustrated by mould rapidly appearing on some of my muffins. Although this sometimes happens in as little as three days, its very inconsistent in terms of time, and I don't understand what's causing it.

I made several dozen carrot muffins (we juice a lot and muffins are a good use for the pulp) that never developed mould over the two plus weeks it took to consume them. Same thing for apple muffins over a one week horizon. Last Sunday, however, I made two dozen banana muffins, several of which developed mould in three days while in sealed a plastic container, which was never opened (there were plenty of other muffins to be eaten). Other batches of banana muffins moulded in less than a week.

Thinking it was perhaps the self raising flour, I've switched brands, twice now. The recipe I'm using is pretty basic (proportions & actions left out for brevity) :

Bananas
Honey (we avoid processed sugar)
Olive oil
Milk
Eggs
Butter
Self-raising flour
Salt
Cinnamon
Walnuts

I've tried a couple of brands of different self-raising flour with the same results. Perusing the labels I haven't noticed any preservatives listed. We live in London - is it possible the ingredients don't detail a sufficient level of granularity, and the flour does indeed contain preservatives?

Even so, I'm very puzzled why only my banana muffins mould. I can purchase three dozen ripe bananas for two pounds (after a little negotiating) at a London street market, so I'd like to continue to use this cheap fruit for muffins. But it's only my banana muffins that go bad so quickly.

Any suggestions?

Pass me the homemade bread.

lucyleaf — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:06:11 -0800

What parts of your cooking do you strictly DIY? I'm looking for more ways to incorporate "doing it myself" into my cooking. Do you make your own snack mix? Make cookies instead of buying them? Make your own vanilla extract? Make your own liquers?

Can you offer any tips for foods or drinks or edible treats that are easy to do yourself but most people buy?

Refilling contact lens solution bottles - eye or nay?

Mutant — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:09:04 -0800

Refilling contact lens solution bottles with contact lens solution? I live in London and travel a great deal on biz, both long haul as well about Europe.

Recently The European Union enacted travel rules, restricting the volume of liquids in carry on luggage to 100ml or less per bottle. There is no way to circumvent this restriction; if your bottle is capable of holding more than 100ml, even if partially full security will confiscate it.

This presents a problem, as I'm frugal and prefer to purchase contact lens solution in bottles of 500ml or larger. Recently I bought a new brand of contact lens solution and noticed that their 100ml bottles have a spout which is fitted, NOT molded into the plastic; in other words, I can pry the spout off, empty the bottle or even refill it should I choose to do so.

So if I'm careful about hygiene, always washing my hands, being sure never to contaminate the tip of either bottle, is this a good or bad idea?

I already wear daily disposables, reuse mine and don't want to discard a fresh pair. And I know that I could check my bag with bottles larger than 100ml, but that's not viable because of my schedule - sometimes I'll visit three cities in one and a half days and a lost bag just ain't gonna find me.

Many thanks for your help!

Can I make my own delicious Aquafina water at home?

redteam — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:52:16 -0800

I love Aquafina bottled water. There's something in it that makes it taste much different than other bottled waters. Still, it gets expensive. What's in it that makes it taste so nice and can I make my own at home? BTW, I'm in California. I've had Aquafina in Vancouver, Canada and it was awful. It tasted very plain. Maybe there are regional differences?

The ones here in California taste very smooth, almost sweet. If you open an empty bottle that's been sitting for a while, it will have a nice smell that's similar to the nice taste.

Wedding ring - $500; Wedding - $2000; Honeymoon: $600; Spending the rest of your life with your soulmate - Priceless

tdreyer1 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 22:13:17 -0800

Poor college student filter: I'm getting married, and have very little money. I'm in my second year of college, and I am getting married this summer. I need tips on how to have an affordable wedding & honeymoon. I appreciate you advice.

Does this smock make me look frugal?

jbickers — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 19:37:31 -0800

Is making your own soaps/lotions/oils/candles/etc. worth the time and trouble? My wife and I have become interested in the notion of making our own soaps, lotions, candles, etc. We're big fans of Burt's Bees in particular, and have recently come across 3-4 different small, boutique lotions/candles/thingies that (a) are really appealing for a number of reasons (aesthetic, olfactory, other) and (b) seem pretty simple, compositionally.

I've spent enough time on frugality/simple-living message boards to know that there are many people making such products on their own, and I know that there are myriad recipes for such online (and wholesalers who supply the necessary raw materials).

I'd love to hear from someone who actually does this, whether or not they resell said products for profit. Do you find the products you make at home can compete with a Burt's Bees product (or other) on quality, for a comparable price? Is the amount of work, cleanup, mess, etc. worth the trouble? What's a good starting point for buying supplies? Any mistakes you made in your learning process that you'd be willing to share?

Permit me a small sob story

mulkey — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:48:10 -0800

How do I get a reliable car for not much money? Permit me a small sob story that I'd like your advice on.

I'm a graduate student, in my fifth year of a PhD program. As you might guess I'm growing weary of the indentured labor and voluntary poverty. I'm about a year or two away from being done. Praise God.

I own a nice little house with house payments that are actually less than most rents in town, and I had a little car which I liked very much and was almost done paying off.

I HAD a car. This weekend a guy ran a red and smashed into the side of my sweet little car. Thankfully no one was majorly hurt, though I'm still (a week later) sore, achy and getting treatment for it. That will be paid for by the insurance company.

The car was a good, reliable car, but not a valuable one. So my insurance just informed me that it's worth $3100. I've fiddled with numbers and tried to see how I could raise that amount given previous mefi comments, but it's about right. $2600 payable soonish and another $500 once they get the deductable back from the other company. Oh, and I still owe $1500 on it still - though I paid off the bank with a 0% apr credit card.

A few details: I don't use my car a huge amount, but I do sometimes drive to campus and to the store. I also take trips to visit family that are a few hours out of town. And I've used my car to take longer trips to keep my sanity in grad school. I prefer driving when I go out at night (especially recently, I've been too sore to bike). I live about 4 miles from campus and bike there sometimes. But I don't have a contingency plan for rain days - the bus takes twice as long and there's no one else around with a car that I know. I think I probably want to have a car, the idea of biking to the store to get paint etc for home improvement projects/groceries etc doesn't sound appealing. I do have a roommate but she relies on her bike primarily, and so has often relied on my having a car for longer transport.

So what do I do? How do I get myself a car? Anyone have ideas? What can I expect to get if I spend the $3100 on a private party car? I'm guessing the rental car they gave me is going to run out soon. But frankly, the thought of buying a car sounds incredibly tiring to me. I just can't afford to spend more money per month than I already do (which is just the minimum payment on a credit card) without eating only ramen for the rest of my days here and not ever going out for entertainment (which is believe me minimal). So I'm not too keen on going to a dealership and having them try to sweet talk me into a car I honestly can't afford.

I could take more money out in student loans but being as overly educated as I am means that I've taken a lot out already. Plus I tend to use student loan money to take care of house emergencies (such as backed up sewer pipes on the day after a car accident). I've thought about selling the house, but it's not a great market for selling at the moment and I'm not sure I'd be able to find a cheaper place to live if I rented.

If I do buy a car, I don't know how I'll get one that is as reliable and as reasonable to maintain as my smushed up friend in the insurance lot. Do you know how? What do I do? Please tell me!

Is this investment recoverable?

Mutant — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:08:40 -0800

Can I correct my vision by wearing sign reversed contact lenses? I messed up ordering some daily disposable contacts off the internet and reversed the sign. I use -2 and -1.5, but accidentally ordered +2 and +1.5.

I didn't notice anything until I put the lenses in, whereupon everything got really, really blurry. My first thought was one or both of the lenses was messed up or I'd reversed them, so I pulled both and put in a new pair. Same result. It was only then that I noticed my mistake.

Well, the vendor won't take them back as the package was opened and I can't really blame them as this was my fault. But I had an idea - would wearing these lenses gradually correct my vision?

I'm a banker and don't know much about optometry, but it sorta seems logical to me, as I envision a number line. And I wouldn't have to lose out on my entire investment in lenses (yes, I am frugal).

GalPal is appalled at my theory, and has hidden the lenses. Can you help me get them back?

The vacation approaches. My kid says camping is boooooring.

craniac — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 08:01:47 -0800

So we're going to the Oregon coast camping for a week. We'll be near Tillamook. I have kids ages 2/5/6/9, and we'll be there for 4-5 days. In addition to sandcastles (got that one book recommended via Cool Tools), smores, kite flying, assorted games and lounging around, what are some fun camping activities or things to do in the surrounding area? And yes, we will tour the cheese factory, and I believe there is a blimp hangar out there too.

What are your fondest camping memories?

added challenge: My nine-year-old told me yesterday that he's not looking forward to it, that we go to the beach every single year--boring!

Better with age

Mutant — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:33:57 -0800

Why does my tomato sauce taste so much better the day after? I'm a frugal sort and purchase economy brands whenever possible. To the bottled sauce I buy I typically add garlic, a couple of sliced tomatoes, olives, a couple tablespoons of kosher dill pickle juice, pesto, a dash of red wine (usually a Shiraz) then boost the volume by about 50% with cold water.

Then I reduce the sauce back to it's original volume by a slow boil and serve over (economy, of course) pasta shells with grated cheese and olive oil.

Both GalPal and I have noticed that the sauce markedly improves upon a second heating, usually a day later. We generally don't make enough to last more than three days, but when we have we both agree the sauce is even better on the third day. The difference is so pronounced that I've taken to making a batch Friday evenings when we're going to be eating home over the weekend, so we'll can consume after a single days "ripening" for want of a better word.

From a rudimentary googleing we suspect something in the sauce is oxidizing, but what? Any tips on controlling or perhaps even improving the process? Bonus points if you can explain this in simple monosyllables a banker like myself would understand.

sluggish, aging pc seeks hot young linux installation

craniac — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:00:11 -0800

I have an old pc. Celeron 600mhz processor, 376mb ram. The ram is maxed out (I believe) and the overhead of microsoft's anti-spyware combined with AVG antivrus, along with XP sp2, have slowed the machine to a crawl. Is there a way to speed things up that is compatible with quicken 2004 and will leave me protected from net nasties? I thank you, hive-mind. Or, barring that, can someone recommend a lite version of linux that will dual boot, likes older machines, and is easy to install?

My kingdom for a pen cap.

craniac — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 15:49:14 -0800

Too many pens, not enough pen caps. I gradually acquire disposable pens that are missing their caps. Is there something that can commonly be used as a cap for these de-crowned writing sticks? I've tried small balloons--too awkward. Corks? Does someone sell universal pen caps? Just one of life's small annoyances and I'm wondering if there is an elegant, material solution, short of tossing them.

Question number 10815

Jaybo — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 01:18:23 -0800

What is the cheapest you could live and still maintain a fairly normal lifestyle?

Question number 3766

Shoeburyness — Wed, 10 Dec 2003 12:46:23 -0800

I need some ideas for Frugal Christmas decorations. We're quite strapped this year (due to unexpectedly having to move when our landlord sold our rental house out from under us), and buying a tree would mean cutting into the meager budget for the children's presents. We're forgoing presents for ourselves or anyone else, or at least delaying them until the new year when our financial situation will be better. I have lights, ornaments, garland and such from years past, but what can I do with them with no tree to put them on? Does anyone know how I could cheaply make some sort of a tree-like thing for hanging the ornaments on? Or some sort of way to display them? I only want something 3 or 4 feet high that I could put in my bay window.