AND HERE WE GO... Mortgage

 We signed a 30 yr loan on 3/10/21. SOOOO payoff was set for 2051.

I have it paid down to 15 years left.

Goal is to pay it off before Social Security is forecasted to be cut. I can not afford truck payment, medigap coverage and the house payment on WHEN we get that cut in income. THEN we will pay off the truck.It's due to get paid off in 2031 anyways.

Side benefit of NOT going to the store as often it that $ can go to the mortgage. Electric bill dropped $1... I put it on the mortgage.

Saved $17 on groceries... went on mortgage. Truck ins went down as we don't put the miles on it like we used to, it went on the mortgage. Found change went in a jar, once a month I deposited it and sent it to the mortgage.

 We will be restocking the coal (last winter right before a storm our 94 yr old Amish guy came and asked to buy some of our coal. His English driver got sick and couldn't go get his coal, Hubby took a ton to him and told him to just replace it as we still had 4 tons, we got it back 2 weeks later), night time wood (Hubby was just given another tree truck so he thinks we will have enough and all cured for over a year, for this year) He wants another wagon of day wood blocks just incase.

We need creosote remover for the wood stove.

We need softener salt for water softener.We buy it twice a year.

 Sidewalk salt (pet safe) for this winter. 

Diesel, gas and mineral spirits (AKA lamp oil) are needed

We will have lawmover maintainence done this fall when the dealership has their discount. Gives them work during the slow winter months and everyone starts the mowing season with mowers ready. In the early summer we do it with the garden clippers and chainsaws.

I have enough fertilizer for the gardens.

Have a great week.

Blessed Be

AS I put the basement back together

I am inventoring what we have in the pantry.

We bounced figures around, asked some homesteaders/Amish etc. and found there was areas we forgot often causing runs to the store. We want a very small list for what is needed for the store run.

First changes.... going back to baking our own bread, pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, bagels, English muffins, cupcakes, muffins etc FROM SCRATCH. I always did it when we had the 6 (usually 12 as they all had friends in) kids. Fudge at Christmas.

Adding soup and casseroles to the meal rotation more often. One suggest to use the left over casserole as the base of the soup. Hubby's first thought was scalloped potatoes and ham to potato soup, then I added a 3rd round of adding corn to turn it to corn chowder. Little House on the Praire actually talked of them eating "drinking" the bean broth as round one and then making Boston bake beans for the next round. It was in the book about the long hard winter I think.

I need to restock my butter, yes I use the real thing. I will get 30 lbs in the freezer. I probably have 15  but I need to restock the frig 1st. I go through at least 60 lbs a year between baking and regular eating.

 I'm low on oats that is the Amish bulk store.

I need 1825 pints of veggies and fruits for ONE year. YES we eat 5 a day. Yes I have that right now between canned, frozen and dehydrated. BUT I will need to refill that from the gardens. I know peas and corn will be almost out or out completely in the spring.

So I need to make sure I plant successionly to cover that.

I need to buy 90 lbs of sugar. I am down to 30 lbs. I have honey, maple syrup, molasses, boiled apple cider and ,sorghum.

I might have to get some of the dried fruit as Hubby likes it in granola, cooked oats,cookies, muffins and vanilla bean Greek yogurt that he wants weekly.

I will focus on what the staples are and then figure out the extras.

We need about 1500 to 3000 sq ft for a garden for that amount of food. Succession gardening will be a NEED.  SO I NEED to check my seeds this fall to make sure I have enough to plant. I have the area, do need to start new strawberry patch. 

Meat wise, beef and pork (except smoked sausage links) are already ordered and will almost carry us 18 months.

Chicken and Turkey will be as they come on sale. I would love a deal like Krogers had last year before Thanksgiving of turkeys at 59 cents per pound. I bought 6, cooked 1 for Tday, shoved one in deep freezer for this year and canned the rest.

While growing up, we ran out of food in Feb. I never could understand why my parents didn't just dig up more of the back yard. No one in are area was doing succession gardening. Later as an adult they said they wanted the yard because they only had gardens and no yard to play in as a child.Mom always stretched the tax refund and Daddy's Christmas bonus to cover us until March when she could pick wild greens etc. Beans were on the table every day.

Grandpa raised potatoes for a cash crop, Daddy paid full price of $5 for 100 lbs. No discount for the family. Now I am paying $8 for 10 lbs if I am lucky.

Blessed Be

 

LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH.

Storms rolling through daily, sometimes all night and all day. Means Charlette is a walking basket case and I am a zombie from exhaustion. 

Both of us worn out. She did sleep decent today... as the storm that was to come in DID NOT. Supposed to get the next T storms at midnight SO, Vet said to give her 2 of what we have at 9/ 9:30 so it is already working. He is putting her on meds 3 times a day until these storms quit rolling through day after day. His own dog is on the same meds.

Good news BASEMENT has remained DRY.  I have 2 large shelfing units to declutter in freezer room, one has paper products and vaccum seal supplies.... those will be moved out of that area and I will put canning items there as I lost space due to sump pump. I can put a roll cart in from of the escape window.I haven't figured out the bucket room or pantry room. Pasta/ dehydrated foods is being debated on going to loft or staying in basement but WILL be put over into BUCKETS.

Got all the new buckets and gamma lids washed and dried.

Waiting for the peas to make, they bloomed.

Cleared gardens  except for the wax beans to dry for soup beans and the KY wonder beans and purple beans to finish drying on the vine for next year's seeds.

Hubby said he was leaving the beds that had the wild flowers and tulips until next spring for the small animals. I am leaving the berry vines for same reason. I will prune in Feb.

Will have to start new strawberry beds. 

I ordered some new clothes as the ones I am wearing are so big on me that I am safety pinning them or should be moved to paint clothes. I haven't bought much clothers in 10 yrs.