where is the money going?

I priced generic OTC meds that we were low on. Cheapest place was Amazon and got 6% back on my card for taking the later date of delivery besides saving at least 10% on each. I have been checking all the stores around us and Amazon to get the best price.

I bartared asparagus with neighbor for red rhubarb that I made into pie. 

I cut our green rhubarb for the freezer.

I have enough asparagus to have it once a week through the off season in the freezer. 

We put on long sleeves since it's turned cold again, actually have a freeze watch with is NOT normal for this area this time of year. A frost yes... a freeze no.I set the furnace to be 65 during the late morning/afternoon as I don't want to relight the wood stove.

Hubby found another Amish sawmill that was having issues getting rid of the leftover blocks. He is taking the wagon down this afternoon. It's a mix of hard wood and soft wood for half the price of other sawmill was charging for wood.

Peas that had sprouted took a hit with the cold spell last week. I doubt if they make but I won't replant them until late summer. Anything I can grow in spring I can grow in fall. If I planted them next week they would not make until after the heat hit and still won't be good.

Hubby has at least 2 medical appts each week for 5 more weeks.It's rough on the budget fuel costs. We do have the back state taxes paid in full. Now just have to pay off the IRS. THEN we can get back to paying extra on the mortgage.

I made sourdough starter 3 times before I got it to work. Felt bad until M told me she had the same issues. Finally got one loaf, not much rise but good. Added hops flower powder that another Mennonite suggested and got better rise. Shared the hops flower powder with M. 

Asked my aunt for her pie crust recipe as Daddy always said she had the best. Her husband laughed so hard he cried. She uses Pillsbury store bought crust and has for years. So much for that recipe being handed down.

I put money back for the propane, I checked to see what Ohio is running and it's about 70 cents more than last year per gallon. 

I've been fixing meals that we have leftovers for at least one more meal if not two. Gets warm (without freeze crap) I will start using the grill more.

We have been only going to grocery store for milk (1 loaf of bread when starter failed) and did a pick up of some odds and ends at Menards using rebate to pay for it. Hubby is allowed 1 chocolate candy bar with peanut butter on it.Better if I have him use our peanut butter with no added sugar than a certain candy bar where he eats four of the "cups"  Looking at you Reese's.

Hope everyone is fine and healthy.

Blessed be

prayers for peace and sanity

 

What a week!!!

 We helped with eclipse... that was low key for around here.

We helped Amish with funeral of young wife (thrown from car in car accident on way to a funeral out of state) No kids, her husband banged up pretty good. Driver now has reckless op, going way to fast around a curve and rolled car) and charges for the death. Husband is dealing with what to do about her greenhouses and how to run the home on his own.

WHILE setting up for the funeral (at their home and had almost 700 show up for the funeral) our Amish neighbor let us know her 19 yr old nephew cut his arm off using a notch machine (cuts notches in pallets so forklifts can lift pallet from any side). The notcher was jammed and instead of using the stick like he had been told repeatedly. He stuck his arm in it and it took his arm up to the elbow. Could not reattach. SIGH.

Dealt with the state taxes. No longer owe anything there. Got school taxes paid for the quarter. Will make first month payment on loan we got to pay off IRS for taxes from selling business equipment at profit. Have a year to pay it off but want to do it quicker BUT need to put propane money back first as it will come due before the final payment of the taxes will. Hubby is going to get more fire wood also.

E asked Hubby to move some large pieces of wood that his sawmill can't cut and he doesn't want for his fire wood. Hubby is going to cut it up for us since I use that type for when it's cool but still need the wood stove. He also reminded Hubby that he was going to fix the purple martin house and him and the boys to do the roof on the shed. He did not want to see either of us up on ladders

April bills and May's mortgage is paid so nothing is due until the 7th of May.

Bought new deep freezer. Small one is almost 15 yrs old and with our luck figured it would go out. We found this one for half the price of an 18 cubic. It's 21 cubic plus 2 doors. We brought it home on our trailer so no delivery charge.

I already have 52 meals of asparagus in it.  It will be fruit and veggies freezer which will let me move the poultry into the house freezer.

Yes, asparagus is in. I let M know the kids can start picking for them as they only do fresh eating of it. E doesn't like pickled asparagus.

My rhubarb is trying to flower (I take them off so the rest will still grow). M gave me a bunch so I can make pie.

Peas and snow peas have broke ground with radishes and turnips.

I inventoried the pantry, wrote out what I have, how much and what I need.

Will do the same with the freezers as I defrost them and move fruits and veggies to new freezer and poultry to the house.

Spent some time with M talking of the struggles of making ends meet, sourdough starter not making and just the daily trying of do things more frugal and dealing with the death and accident.

We had almost 5 inches of rain 2 weeks ago and almost 3 inches this past week. Hubby mowed as he put "made hay" as rain is in forecast and the grass is over 5 inches tall. Raked up the front yard and tossed it into E's pasture. Horses love him.😀. 

We talked about winter squash. I lost about half last year due to temps bouncing and they got too warm. I want to turn basement ramp into a root cellar also can  freeze some with the new freezer. We decided to leave so "weeds" in some of the old potato beds as the bees were loving the flowers. The rest of the beds I will either plant squash in or he will get rid of.

We talked about potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic and onions... all that I bought from the one that died. I usually get my flowers from her also. Her 2 workers are going to run the green house this spring so I will still get my flowers but most likely will shut it down after that as she was doing more of produce in the summer and fall and had told her husband she wasn't doing that this year any more.   He is not sure what he is going to do right now as they had talked about building a smaller home on the farm and letting one of the nephews take over it since they have no kids and looking at age 41 and what to do if one died before the other. Everyone told him to just wait on making choices. His family and hers are close by plus his sisters married her brothers. We checked on him yesterday, he was helping his brother in law with tearing down the old barn and planned today to rebuild it. Said he will have gotten 4 meals, 2 loaves of bread, a pie and cookies. Really needs everyone to stop trying to feed him unless it's breakfast. He's already found he hates cooking breakfast and doesn't care for oatmeal. Hubby told him boiled eggs and what ever pie would be decent. All the guys laughed. M said she would boil him 2 dozen and take him rhubarb pie when we told her. 

I watched our electric co annual meeting (they only do virtual) and earned a $20 credit on the next bill.

We went to chiro, then to Hubby's ENT appt. He only needs to go back if he starts losing his voice or speaking constantly low. He had to finish his voice therapy as they found he does not speak using his diaphragm like you are suppose to.  She told him speaking using his throat only will cause him to damage it and lose his voice completely.  Our primary already said he would renew the nasal spray for his allergies so we don't even have to go back for that. We then shopped at Menards, 11% rebate plus what we needed was on sale on top of the rebate. We ate out using a gift card that we almost forgot about and came home. Said several trips by combining them even though it wears us both out.

I did not go to grocery store. Will have to pick up milk this week.

Hubby had voice therapy, a Ham Radio meeting and a drop off of Ham Radio trailer they used during eclipse. He made it so he did it all on the way to his voice therapy so he wasn't over lapping, using more fuel. 

We have turned off the furnace during the day and only turn it on low at night. Still to cool in house without it completely. But we haven't even used 1% for this month by doing it that way.

Hope everyone is safe.

Prayers for peace 

Blessed be

 

Preparing for the Eclipse.

 Our local news showed you could use a pasta strainer (not mesh). I had a flat grater and Hubby decided to see if it would work. You just hold it (or strainer) out (do not look at sun) and see the " sun" pass over the holes, when the eclipse occurs, the spots where the sun shows through will become dark instead of light. 

Hubby is working Ham Radio at the sherrif dept 3rd shift. I will probably have to say something to him about taking a nap. He is installing his Ham Radio that usually is in house in his truck and has his hand held for back up depending on if he is responding to a problem.  A lot of people don't realize that the area could run out of fuel, water, ER and Urgent care over ran and trash dumped, people using yards for potty, no place to stay and traffic jams are in the forecast. Think of a major sports event or concert and instead of a city being jammed it's the whole freaking state. National guard is on stand by. 

Hubby came home this morning, dealt with humidifer and put some wood in stove and went to bed. When he worked 3rd shift at factory he didn't go to bed until noon and was up at 4 then napped at 6:30 to time to go to work.  I told him I would wake him at 4 pm if he wasn't awake.

He said people were coming in that had reservations at motels and was topping off their cars (motels actually posted it on their doors and at check it to make sure they top off before Monday, to have snacks and water with them. Hubby is topping off his truck daily.

Update of 2024 goals

 

Hubby sold the motorcycle.( Money going for tax payment) With his neuropathy, he struggles to hold the bike up. It's too big for me. I told him after we get taxes paid off, and rebuilding savings. Have money back for replacing Silverado. We would look at a trike. I can handle a trike (son2 has one) and if he couldn't handle it for what ever reason, I could still take us out on the bike. He calmed down. It's hard for him to lose things he enjoyed and I understand that with my cerebral palsy in day to day issues. Like today I couldn't use the stairs on the front porch as my leg didn't want to lift and hold me, I had to use the ramp... which is why we have a ramp. I've dealt with it all my life, he is just now facing limits.  I immediately cancelled the insurance on it. Our agent let me know it was cancelled. 

Pay extra on Mortgage... not happening like we planned but we have made 10 EXTRA payments in 4 months. That might be all we can do until taxes and rebuild savings is done.

3 months emergency savings, We had it, now we are down to less than 1 again. Still moving things around to pay monthly on taxes.

Hubby called State tax as they have an assessement on us from 2012... we were in Ch 13 bankruptcy (slow pay). They sent it to the Attorney General office as the bankruptcy court should have filed a dismiss and didn't. Still waiting to see if we owe it and what amount. Hubby called back today, spoke to same lady and she was going to push for an answer. He told her he would call back next week on Tuesday. 

My mending day is floating. Everytime Hubby has 4 clothes to be mended I will do mending.

Eat healthier. Even the few times we have ate out, we chose places that we will eat heathier. 

I am inventorying the pantry (not freezers) to know what I need to put up this year to go a good solid 12 months if not 18 months. Readjusting what I am growing and what I will buy.

Instead of a small green house, I got a vegepod. I have to bend over which can be an issue but it's on the deck so Hubby can go harvest if needed.

In growcart I started tomatoes, herbs, and cabbages. I did not do brussels sprouts or bell peppers. Amish grower said said she should have some to sell me as she grows them for herself.

I replaced elderberry bushes and 3 peonies *if this crappy weather doesn't kill them*. I have not found roses I want to plant to replace the 2 that died. I have strawberries to plant .

I moved the tiger lilies to the north flower garden. I have not moved the daylilies.

I have sunflower seeds to plant , daffoilds showed up in veggie garden, I will moved them later but didn't get any tulips.

We haven't framed the puzzle we finished or worked on any more. Hubby is focused on next year's wood.

Project list is low man on totem pole though I did ask for the basement ramp tarp door to be installed before Aug so I can set that area up for a "cellar" like I had growing up. Would help with root veggies and squashes.

Major grocery shopping has went from once a month to once every other month. I am buying milk and this week added 10 lbs of potatoes from cash on hand. I was only going to get 5 lbs of potatoes as I have a few left but it was $5.99 for 5 lb. and $6.99 for 10 lbs. Just means we need to eat more potatoes.

Sweet potato did not produce slips. SIGH.  We decided against planting regular potatoes as we only ate about half of what we grew and lost the rest. I will have budget for buying them.

 Last fill for propane on prebuy acct is April 30th. We don't need a refill so the company moved our credit from propane to the gasoline and diesel fuel we had delivered. No cash out of pocket but I will have to save up more for the propane. I told Hubby that I was moving the fuel money we had saved to savings (not for tax payment) so I wrote it on paper to remind myself of that. I can pay in June and get a discount or pay normal time of August. It's going to depend on where the savings is.

Hubby is working the eclipse. He is a HAM radion operator and retired EMT. He has worked with Home Land Security for decades. He will be working 12 hr. Night shifts. He was trying to figure out how to do that until I just told him he went back to the factory.  He stopped and looked at me then laughed. Yeah, that is exactly how it was as he worked 3rd shift and was gone for 12 hrs with drive time. No pay but he feels good about being helpful for community, that's enough.He decided to cut more wood today. Would like to have all the wood on site dealt with before end of May to make sure he has enough. Since E just dragged this up to add to the 8  cords we already have...

I would guess we might have close to enough for next fall/winter.

Got to work on finance budget and inventory pantry

Stay safe 

Prayers for peace and sanity

Blessed be