Done this week.

I pray that everyone is finding a blessing each and every day.

As today I was up at 3 am sick with allergies and praying it wasn't like the sinus infection Hubby came down with ...my blessing is it's just a bad allergy flare up and the meds I keep on hand are working really well. It's a day of rest anyways so being totally worn out from not being able to breath and being sick from the meds I can rest.

I cleaned another shelving unit in the basement. This is one is the speciality flours, assorted bread crumbs,dehydrated eggs (top shelf) pastas (2nd and 3rd shelves, ramen noodles in 1 -5 gal bucket)) and different rices, bottom shelf (and 2 of the 5 gal buckets). School scissors is in the hanging basket to cut the panty hose the onions are in (not shown) along with the cleaning rag that I had and put there so I wouldn't forget to toss in laundry.Like it was hard to walk 10 ft to the washer and toss it with the rest of the cleaning rags...SIGH. 5  shelving units to go.

The buckets do show that gamma seal lids we got at Menards during the 11% rebate for all the food buckets so I don't have to either fix something else because I forgot to have Hubby pry open the bucket before he goes to bed or hurt myself (sure did ) trying to pry it open with my bad arm. I have found since we put them on that I am using more from the buckets than I was and we are having a better variety on the table. Boy do I miss my strength.

Other side of the same shelving unit. On the floor( actually it's on a board) you can see my shortening...the oils and vinegars sit there also but Hubby had the storm door sitting there and the flash from the camera kept reflecting so it wasn't a good picture.I didn't think I should share a picture of the flash of my cell phone. ;)


I found paprika and cayenne at my price point so stocked that up. I will make my spice blends AFTER I finish the gardens. I did go through my spice blend recipes to make sure I had what I needed to make them.I make over 2 dozen spice blends that can be bought at the store. but is cheaper for me to make it at home. A negative of being a professional personal/private chef is the costs of spices, herbs, condiments and booze that is can be required. I am thankful that I had several instructors that taught how to grow herbs, buy spices in bulk and what to sub for what you didn't want to use(broth or flavored water for booze) or couldn't afford to use. I can now use my dried cayenne for just straight cayenne powder. Next year I will have to grow cayenne so that's on my buy list for plants. Positive side is I serve a variety of foods from different countries.

I did get the good news that I will not have to have surgery on the left shoulder at this time. I do have a slight, very slight bone spur and a lot of arthritis but nothing damaged or in the way of being damaged UNLESS I throw the shoulder out of place and don't immediately get it put back into place. The reason I am not able to put the right hand behind my back isn't the surgery but how my cerebral palsy has reacted to the surgery and sling. I have some stretches added to my daily stretches for my CP and my appointment to start therapy at Hubby's company's wellness center (we pay $26/yr for the 2 of us... yes just $26) . Doc did suggest I talk to my back doctor (pain doc) and see if he can help ease the stiffness as I am due for my injections. Shoulder doc, pain doc, Crohny doc and doc...doc is primary who is also a friend. that's the only way Hubby can keep the doc's straight .

We met with our friends for dinner , no coupon and not during lunch time so that was not really frugal and worn out from being at the auction  but her hubby let us know at the dinner she was having knee replacement surgery and wouldn't be going out for dinner for a couple months.Very glad we decided to suck it up and meet them.

Our youngest owes us money and is now at the stage of being able to make us payments (She's finally back to work full time) It was going to cost her to transfer it to me since we live 1 1/2 hrs away and neither of us is driving it. I said something to our son that I owe money to (he paid the deposit for the rental hall for our Tday dinner) and he suggested she pay him because he can transfer to me for free AND since he owes our mechanic and is making payments to him on a monthly basis through me (son uses debit/credit card only and mechanic charges a fee for use of  debit/credit card) I could just pay off the bill he has with the mechanic instead of paying him. He will also get the hall cheaper by being the one to sign for it since he is a member.

A friend that stays in motels all the time due to work sent me the tea they leave in the room. Housekeeping told him they have to pitch it when he checks out because it might be contaminated so he kept it and sent it to me.

I've saved my butter wrappers and they are in the freezer. I bakes a beef roast in the oven with root veggies, a pork roast with sweet potatoes in the crock pot for the first day of fall and made cheeseburgers and onions for the last day of summer. We ate leftovers the rest of the time except when we with friends that one time.

We went to Amish produce auction. We have NEVER left with spending so little (only 1 /5 of what we budget and usually spend) and still we got most of what we went for. We got 40 of 10-15 lbs pumpkins for $28. That is 70¢ a pumpkin.We got 43 wee be little pumpkins ( the type that most people use for decorations.. we eat them) for 50¢ a piece, they are big enough that one will make a serving for each of us. We got 50 lbs of candy onions (think sweet onions ) for 60¢ lb. I have now gave the kids most of the others and will dehydrate what is left of what I had as the new onions are cured better so will store better. We got 70 lbs of apples for 40¢/lb. We wasn't going to get any but our friends let us know that it looked like not many would be coming from their neighbor. Better to have too many than not enough as we eat applesauce daily if I have it canned.

We stopped at the produce market farm and got the last of the winter squash. They didn't have delicata or hubbard so we will most likely go without.

We delivered pumpkins/potatoes and onions to 5 of the 6 kids. We got to see 4 of them as the one was running her kids to games and the other parent. She was happy we had dropped off the food but not thrilled her dad put a 50 lbs bag of potatoes on her driver's seat and passenger seat of her car.Lucky for her that her boyfriend stopped in and moved them for her as he laughed at watching her rolling them out of the car onto a blanket to pull them into the house. She might remember to get that key she made us to us before we deliver something again.  I got to play a bit with my great grandson while his momma helped Hubby unload what she was taking... and she took the rest to deliver to 2 of our friends that wasn't home so we wouldn't have to make another 1 1/2 hr one way trip or leave it where it could be stolen. I got to see my one granddaughter that I haven't seen in over a year as she is always doing something when we are in the area.

Hubby mowed all of the yard and ditches including all the trimming.

We had 5 not so good pumpkins in the 40 that I decided instead of trying to process it right now along with tomatoes etc that I would just use the for decorations. Hubby decided afterwards he would toss them to the cows and pig landlord's son has here. They were okay with that.

I washed some jars I found in the garage that had came from an auction last year and was shoved under the bench behind the metal tool box that used to sit in the truck bed. Hubby uses it for storage.

I bartered 7 pumpkins with the landlord's oldest son (he has a boy and girl) in exchange of him hauling the dead plants and straw from the gardens when I wrap that up. He said he could actually use it because they need  that type of stuff for the compost pile they have at his grandmother's house.He can get the stuff when he cleans the barn next month or in early Nov.

My son gave me a pair of flannel pj bottoms that he didn't like (too warm for him) that I can wear as long as I roll the waistband when I am walking so I don't trip on the length. So that's off my to sew list.

We decided against planting anything for winter since the gardens are still going crazy. I can buy romaine lettuce at Aldi's once a month for our lettuce needs. Our friend planted lettuce 3 times in the last month and this heat just killed it off.

I have 3 appointments still to schedule but am waiting on the one so I can hopefully tie at least 1 if not 2 in with the trip.

Hubby told me this morning after he went out and played 10(ball as we started limiting him to 10 throws after spending 8 hrs doing nothing but playing ball with him as a pup) with Rascal that I have herbs, tomatoes, and eggplants to deal with and he wasn't sure but maybe bell peppers by the end of the week as they still haven't turned orange or red yet. I know I have some onions in the one box in the north gardens that need pulled and cured. I know I have flowers to dead head.

Blessed be and have a wonderful first week of fall.