In Search of Frugal Joy

Recently, my librarian friend Jenny offered an intriguing book recommendation—The Art of Frugal Hedonism. I found it at a local bookstore and now have a copy in hand. After digesting a few of its ideas, I decided to see what kind of joy I could create from the concept of frugal hedonism. Before getting started, though, I rechristened the concept frugal joy. I’m too self-conscious to consider myself a hedonist. Joy, I can handle.

Source: ksbaeg/Pixabay

The next day, I experienced frugal joy at the fish counter when I found fresh crab at a steep discount. The monger studiously took each crustacean in hand, assessing their relative weight and solidity. Then he cheerfully cleaned the one he deemed most worthy and wished me bon appetit.

A few aisles away, a small-statured woman asked me to snare a couple of sauce jars from the top shelf for her. At just short of six feet tall, I was pleased to help, and she left smiling. Me, too. More frugal joy.

My next experience that day involved this month’s book group selection. It finally being my turn to select the book, I’d decided on a new favorite non-fiction tome, The Wide, Wide Sea. It’s about Captain Cook’s fateful third voyage throughout the Pacific. I’d mentioned the book to an out-of-state friend I visited over the holidays. He’s a recreational sailor, and I thought he’d like it. Tom got up and returned with a book published in 1978, Sailors and Sauerkraut, which is basically a recipe book of dishes referred to in Cook’s journals. Perusing it together was a hoot.

Once home, I looked everywhere for a copy, my idea being to concoct something historically accurate for my book group dinner meeting the following Wednesday. We often make dishes inspired by the books we read. Breaking with frugality, I considered some quite expensive copies, but none would arrive in time.

Source: Memory Catcher/Pixabay

I perused several used bookstores nearby. No success, but I did find 365 Penguins, a fun and informative kids’ book for $7.95. My best friend from high school had a sweet interaction with a penguin once, and I know she’ll get a kick out of it when I visit her later this month.

Going back online, I googled Captain Cook recipes. Bingo! Another kid’s book with a laugh-out-loud title: Cook’s Cook: The Cook Who Cooked for Captain Cook (2018). There’s a lot of joy rolled into that title, right?

Despite its more recent pub date, I still couldn’t locate a readily available copy. I finally found one at a library halfway across the state. With my book club meeting only a couple of days away, I needed a way to wrangle access. Stat.

No way was I hopping in my car for a 163-mile one-way jaunt, and it was too late for an interlibrary transfer anyway. Thanks to my friendship with Jenny, I knew that most librarians get a kick out of unique requests from readers. Spread the frugal joy, I thought, and wrote down the call number for Cook’s Cook before dialing the children’s library phone number.

My call went straight to voicemail. “I’m a writer working on a project about Captain Cook,” I said cheerily, “and I have an idea related to a book you have in your stacks.” “I’m on a bit of a deadline,” I believe I added. Minutes later, Erin, the librarian, called. She chuckled at the book’s title and already knew its call number when I offered it. “Give me a sec,” she said. She put me on hold to some surprisingly pleasant music. Definitely frugal joy.

In moments, she was back with several recipe options, like albatross or kangaroo stew, pease porridge, and turtle soup. The screenshots she later sent are priceless. I think I’ll riff on the stew, substituting swordfish for the albatross, tossing a little beer into the prune-ginger sauce. She asked for a link when I finished my piece, and I’ll gladly oblige the moment it’s published.

Source: Good Gallagher/Pixabay

Why didn’t I just contact my friend who owns Sailors and Sauerkraut? Well, I did. That was before I knew about frugal joy. He agreed to send copies of a few options. That was five days ago; I bet he got distracted. He can be a little ditsy that way.

Besides, I’m now hooked on spreading frugal joy. From fishmonger to short-statured shopper, and bookseller to librarians, we shared the delight of quirky quests. I’m reminded that most people love participating in a treasure hunt, and I’ve had a smile on my face for days. Sometimes I’ll share the story with Tom to bring him some frugal joy, too. Frugal joy, the perfect pick-me-up.