Monday, April 5, 2021

Saving Money

 Hubby picked up the cucumber I forgot to get at the store the other day on his way home from a hauling job and he had to get fuel anyways in town. He found fresh flowers that were decent on clearance so brought them home for me. 

I decided to start cutting the bread with the "meat" slicer as Hubby just whacks it and some are thick and some too thin. I will measure the bread that M sends over and figure out how many slices I can get 3/8s or 1/2 inch thick. I might do both from same loaf as we like a thicker slice for garlic toast and French toast. 

We turned the furnace down to 62 several times during the week. It was warm enough and that let us get to April without having a propane delivery. I ordered propane to be delivered this week... that should give us enough to go until fall. I told Hubby I wanted to use the canning stove since it's hooked up and working now for canning this year as that is a grill propane tank. 

We talked to my life ins rep about paying off my life ins loan. She is crunching numbers as she knows the company that Hubby retired from is shut down now due to computer chip shortage and she doesn't want us short cashed if we have to start buying our own health ins. There has been 3 other companies in our area that their retired people are now looking for health ins. as they are not going to reopen in this area. She wanted us to see all our options. 

We have been using up leftovers. Freezing extra for when we work in the gardens and are too tired to eat let alone cook. Old age sucks sometimes. 

I finished clearing weeds out of the 2 ft by 16 ft herb bed. I have room for some annual herbs in that bed now. I cleared the pots of mints of weeds in them. Repotted into bigger pots the last of the fruit trees we got last year along with a maple tree I had started 3 yrs ago from the rental we lived in and the lilac a person was going to toss because it wasn't growing (root bound).  Cleared weeds from 6  4 ft  by 4 ft strawberry beds. Cleared weeds from the 12 ft long beds of the red raspberries, yellow raspberries and blackberries. Cleared the 3 pots of the blueberry bushes ( we have alkaline soil). 

I still have the chives and garlic chives patch to weed and the north flower garden.  I will start potting stuff closer to May.

My garlic and Egyptian onions are doing well. Asparagus is starting to show in a few places also. 

I plan to be planting my cool weather crops today and tomorrow so by middle of May we will have fresh veggies without going to the store