Frugal week of the 4th

I prepped several meals and put them in the freezer and posted a list on the frig.

We went to produce auction and got

pickles and zucchini... I would like to have more zucchini but I am not going out to get a lot more, just enough to try another recipe I ran across that makes is taste like pineapple.

Jade green beans, I got enough to process for us to have plenty for the year and a couple meals as fresh.

Roma green beans, a wide green bean that I use for one pot green beans, ham and potatoes. I have enough for the year also.

Candy onions, we gave one box to a friend as each box is 10 lbs. I have enough onions for 2-3 months.

I have to find out where the local extension office is to take in a bit of my grapes which seem to have a problem they didn't have last year.

We went to see Daddy who was on the tired side as he had joined a group exercise instead of a morning nap.

Wilbur and Rascal sitting at my feet while I watch Charlotte to make sure she stays in the yard.

This is Charlotte's "I won't do it again" after she was let out of her cage after a 15 minute time out for taking off AGAIN.  Wilbur "told" on her and Rascal chased her back out of the field to the house. Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent ?

Hubby worked the "pit" at the fireworks so I stayed home and watched the ones that were shot off by the little village up the road from us.

Weather has finally cooled off, turned off AC, opened windows (almost kicked furnace on when it dropped to 55 in the morning) and enjoyed the good breeze while I put polyurethane on the bathroom doors for 209. I need one more good day to finish the second door.

Used gas buddy and Kroger fuel points for cheapest gas.

209 update

Head contractor is still saying July 15th for it to be finished... carpenter and painter are saying when the paint and then floors dry. HVAC is done, electric is being finished today. Plumbing will be when the dishwasher, sinks and toilets are installed AFTER the paint dries . Floors are sanded and covered until painting is done and then they will be finished. The basement is suppose to be ready for us to clean and seal. We had 7 inches of rain last week at 209 and there is a little bit of water from the outside door so that has to be changed so it doesn't happen again.

Here is the pics.
First is "I blew a gasket" because I was told the cold air return duct would take about a drawer space out of my cabinet IF the kick plate wasn't enough. HVAC contractor took half the cabinet and then didn't want to box it off so I could keep the rest of the cabinet from being covered with dog hair etc. Like I paid $400 for his return ...and I knew he could have done it a lot differently. Head contractor and carpenter saved him from me ripping his head right off his shoulders and came up with a compromise. Funny how he only needed 8 inches and it could be boxed in.

I love my cabinets, were expensive but will hold up for decades .

The empty spot is where the dish washer goes. The white vent will be painted but that's the only color that size comes in.

Carpenter and Hubby hung my chandelier and then decided it was too low and raised it. Like someone is going to walk on my counter to hit their head? 

Hubby did say he had to lean almost to the middle of the cabinets to get his head in the picture.

Kitchen sink light is in . They are hanging the pot rack light that goes over the stove today.

bedroom ceiling fan done.

Laundry room light

bathroom ceiling light. Painter stood in tub and held up a drop cloth where the shower curtain would be so the electrician could put the light so it shown in the tub but not interfere with the shower curtain. They said their wives complain about a lack of light to shave their legs... Hubby just laughed because I do that also. Won't have that problem now.

Wheelchair bathroom light was done the same.

south loft lights done

north loft lights (and skylight) done

this is the wood we had the skylight boxed in with since there is about 3 ft from the skylight to the ceiling in that loft.

east loft lights

staircase light between east and west lofts. The north and south lofts don't have a light due to no place to install one. We will figure something out.

west loft light

front room is oak

the dining room and mud room is white(aka sugar )maple , the kitchen , hall and bedroom are red maple.

the east and west lofts have red maple.

Both bathrooms, laundry room, north and south lofts have to have floors replaced so we are using Sterling oak vinyl planks that are water resistant installed. Still looks like gray wood. Pictures to come when they get to that part.

Hubby is still working on moving fence posts to move the fence. Front porch floor needs repainted LOL.

Last time we updated the to do list, it was done from 600 plus to 350.
Our plans are to be moved by end of Sept if not sooner.

JUST BECAUSE

for no other reason than something to smile about.

It's for the laundry room at 209.

My 4 legged babies.

Rascal being afraid of the storms rolling through during the night. Wilbur standing guard over Charlotte, he thinks of her has his baby.

Charlotte looking back at off while she's on the front porch. I am standing in the house in the dining room looking out the window.

It just happened that was the last time she was allowed out by herself as she is now trailing bunnies and birds through the corn fields and not able to find her way back home. No way for us to find her while she's in the field either. SO Hubby and I take turns of who goes out with her. Side benefit is both of us are "slowing" down in the evenings to got out and sit and watch her . She's doing better after this last time but not trusting her. Be glad when we move as there will be a fence around the plus acre for her to run and not get lost in a field or on the road.

July groceries...please sit down ...

I'm not sure what type of grapes they are, this heat has been taking it's toll on them . Rain came in yesterday so that helps some.

I went to the store....by myself and Hubby was shocked. I haven't been shopping for much, we aren't eating much. A neighbor of 209 gave us some tomatoes and green tomatoes on Friday. But there is a good size hole in 2 freezers and one frig was almost completely empty. They...meaning the head contractor is HOPING to be done with 209 by mid July which means we need to pick up the speed of getting the fence moved so we can haul dogs over with us and let them run around (instead of a 20 x 40 ft area fenced off with the barn open for them to go in out of the sun).

SO I need meals that can keep us healthy (lecture from Doc) and not weigh us down but not salads a lot to trigger my tummy issues.

Spent $456.96...saved $147.36  of almost 31% savings... got $1 off 35 gals of fuel for another savings of $35.

What is on the menu:

egg muffins (Kevin Jacob's blog, some frozen for later,  bfast/lunch/supper)
Chicken Kiev (not rolled just butterflied)
meatloaf in muffin tins(some frozen for later)
Country fried Steak (Hubby loves it for a weekend bfast , might make extra for freezer)
Roasted chicken followed  by chicken and rice casserole.
Chicken salad
Philly cheese steak meatloaf (half sliced and frozen )
Shredded beef , broccoli stir fry
cauliflower steaks
pork chops
ribs
ground turkey Asian lettuce cups
Hamburger patties
Mini (bfast) sausage patties on slider buns
Cucumber, cream cheese sandwiches


I have strawberries, rhubarb(in my patch here), watermelon, honeydew, pineapple and cantaloupe.

I have potatoes to make potato salad, potato presse (recipe from Son 2 Home chef) and mashed potatoes, and mashed potato patties.

I have sweet potatoes to make baked sweet potato and sweet potato wedges.

I bought different lettuces, kale, spinach etc for salads and cooked greens (boy do I miss my gardens)

Green tomatoes to fry, red tomatoes to go with cucumber and onions, and carrots to shred for sunshine salad(orange jello)

 I HIT THE SALES

PASTA, I had coupons for $2 off of 3 or 4 and had several coupons. Kroger's had a pasta sale, buy 4 save .... I came home with 30 lbs of pasta for $11.70

GARLIC POWDER. Not something I use a lot of as I grow garlic but I didn't grow as much this year since I knew we would be moving. I will run out about December so I got what was on sale that I can use when making pasta sauce instead of my fresh garlic.10 for $10

COFFEE, Hubby drinks 3 times as much coffee as I do and we don't drink the same type (he drinks BOLD) I had coupons for 2 cans so picked them up as Kroger's had a sale. Ended up being half priced.

FROZEN CHICKEN BREAST, on sale and I had 2 coupons, usually $9.99 I got for $4.99

CHEESE on sale with coupons

ANCHOVY PASTE in tube...clearance

TOMATO PASTE in tube ...clearance

PUFF TISSUES .... on sale with coupons and I was completely out due to allergies for both of us. I would hate to think how bad they would be without our meds.

BACON...on sale with coupons

MUFFIN MIXES...on sale with coupons. I don't normally buy muffin mixes but at this point even thinking about making anything from scratch is pushing the limits of my energy which was already low before the antibiotics that causes sever fatigue.

SODA POP...on sale with coupons and I buy the drinks for the family reunion that is in Sept. I always get the drinks around July 4th when the prices are low and combine them with coupons. For the last 3 years I've been able to get all the drinks (including 3 cases of bottled water) for less than $25 for 50 -75 people.

FOR FREE...olive oil, balsmatic vinegar, 64 oz diet cranberry mix juice, energy drink, 2 pkgs of Always underwear, Hefty slider bags, Klondikes, flatbread,loaf of bread, bibb lettuce and 2 bags of frozen corn.

For the next 2 days I will be prepping everything as much as possible to take the"what's for dinner when we get home" and "it's too hot to cook"  out of our lives for a few weeks.

Blessed Be

90 plus degrees, heat index over 100 and humidity above 80

Swelting is the term Daddy uses. Said it was a combination of sweating and melting. If it was after July 22 I would say the dog days of summer which runs from July 22 to Aug 22. I really hope it's just early and not that it's going to get worst at the end of July.

We have taken to opening the doors before 7 am to get fresh air in the house and closing it back up by 9 am. Curtains are drawn across the tops and binder clipped to keep the sun out  with sheers shading the bottom so we get light and don't have to turn on lights. We took down the chandelier in the dining room (needed to take it to 209 anyways) and installed the old ceiling fan. We have to keep it on low or it triggers the gauge to the ac as it blows air there. Won't have that issue at 209 as our electrician made sure that issue wouldn't happen when he installed the thermostat.

The grill is at 209, I doubt if  either of us would go out to cook on it after being outside most the day in the heat anyways. I've been fixing quick foods that can be reheated in the microwave for a couple meals. We don't care much for sandwiches. Frankly neither of us care to eat at the end of the day between being hot and tired. Hubby will grab a salad but I can't always eat salad due to my Crohn's. Couple suppers have been ice cream with fruit.

I mended some shirts and a couple pair of work jeans for Hubby.

I change the dogs water 4 times a day.

I washed clothes with homemade laundry soap and vinegar for the softener. Still not using the clothes line as they are back to working on the road in front of us.  I do put the dryer on sensor and wash and dry the heaviest first so if it's not dry the first load it can be tossed in with the second load. What ever isn't dry in the last load goes on the drying rack.

Hubby has quit needing a light on in the kitchen during the night when I leave the dining room curtain open at night. I close them at night as people from a mile away can see in if there is lights on in the house and they are driving down the road.Its a window that faces the away from the road so unless they are coming down the lane they can't see in.

We have been going to bed by 9 (so no lights and the ac isn't as cool as during the day) and up by 4-5 am. Under doctor's orders I rest between 1 -3 in the afternoon.

I continue to sort and pack for 209. I am using used cardboard boxes and Rubbermaid totes bought on sale at Home Depot by Son 2 using his military discount. The totes are for things that will be stored in the barn loft like Christmas stuff and out of season items.

I've been searching for winter curtains for 209... I am not willing to pay $100 for 1 set of curtains so I will be finding material and making my own. The windows are not regular sized windows but not something we will be replacing this year.  I have curtains for the lofts as Son 2 gave me his old curtains that he didn't use any more. I am going to line them for winter.Only 12 more windows to figure something out.

Hubby is doing a lot of outside work moving fence, dealing with the gardens, the pond etc over at 209. Gas Buddy and Kroger fuel points has been a lot of help on saving on gas. We are still under budget for that area.

When we go to town we combine errands. I had a last minute doctor appt (thank you sinus infection heading in to strep) so pit stopped on the way home at the store to do a partial shopping. We did the rest of the shopping the next day as I had to go back in to get my meds for the infection.

I would admit our meals have been BLAH... and that is something that bugs me (I am a chef after all) so Son 2 that started Home Chef has taken to sending me a picture of his meal (he eats the 2nd serving as his lunch) every night and I share it with Daughter 4. Who is a great cook and at the BLAH stage as she is single again and the kids are with their dad.

He is plating them according the the directions... SO I am sharing them with you. He does add a side of fruit. Says he is eating healthier as he is getting more veggies in and actually is saving money of $5 a day from lunch and the $100 of food he was throwing out every 2 wks as it got bad before he got it ate.

They include the recipes so he can make it for others if he wants or if it's not on the menu that they change weekly.

Blessed be

209 and frugal

I haven't been to the store to buy any groceries.

I used a volunteer lettuce plant from 209 and lettuce from the neighbor to make Kevin Jacob's lettuce soup. I cut the recipe in half, served it hot the first night, Hubby said it tasted like green potato soup to him, and cold the next day.I could taste the lettuce better when cold but liked it both ways.

I fried a green tomato a friend gave me and potatoes and served applesauce for a light dinner.

Made potato presse (recipe from Home Chef that son2 got as he is using that service and LOVES it)  double the recipe son got (his service is for 2 even though he is single,uses the other serving for his lunch). I doubled it so I could have leftovers for Wed as we will be on the road between doctor appts and ordering the windmill for the pond. Son2 said it reheated nicely in microwave on 50% power for a minute or two.

I found a box of 30 dinner sausage patties that was froze solid together. So I cooked them ALL and then refroze the leftovers after dinner on a cookie sheet so I could bag them and then pull what I want for fast meals.

I have to make a grocery list tonight, basic produce is needed, chicken as Hubby wants some chicken salad, bread and milk, not sure what until I finish making the menu.

As for 209... we walked through on Sunday, crossing our T's and dotting our I's and found 2 switches and 6 outlets were not installed...Got a hold of the head contractor by email (he has his email on his phone) who forwarded to the sub contractor who admitted he just ripped his son's head(co owner of business) BECAUSE he was there on Friday and was suppose to check and make sure everything was correct. Son admitted he forgot to take the paperwork but did look around and noted 3 of the outlets weren't done.  HEAVENS.

They already got a guy there (not the son as he is now doing crap duty.instead of one of the employes SNICKERING..unplugging a customer's sewer line as they do electric/plumbing and HVAC) and the guy at 209 that is no longer on the crap duty job also noted to Hubby that he thought he could do all of it if Hubby could help him run the one line. We have no problem helping.

We cleared an area (again) for us to take stuff over that was packed...and the contractors took over it for their painting and building odds and ends. SIGH. Can't complain as they moved it to the barn so the ones sanding the floor wouldn't have to stop and wait on them.

Front room floor is oak, dining room floor is maple, kitchen floor, hall and bedroom is pine.

This is where the maple (came from our land)meets the pine.

Can't wait to find out what the two rooms over the front room are. I am willing to guess the hall and the bedroom are pine since the original owner, a young man of 18 when he built the house, put the kitchen in.  The front room was put in by an Amish owner. He cut down oak trees in the pasture and made the floor boards.

Front room oak floor sanded

This is the wood that the north loft skylight is being boxed in with.

It will also be the bottom of walls in the south loft.

They have the 2 access doors that will allow us to have a separate shut off for the showers done and ready to install

and finally.... so floors,ceilings and walls can dry... the AC is in and running when needed.

The contractors are turning it on when they leave and then off when they get in. They set it at 74 which is a good temp for paint and polyurethane .

We put a portable AC in the loft where the carpenter is working on the skylight as he needs it during the day. Said it was a good thing we did as he got stuck in the tresses while boxing in the skylight (he said his size 14 feet got caught) and one of the other contractors went to see what he was banging on so much. They got him out and then stayed with him while he finished that area (they joked he was building his own casket but they didn't think we wanted to pay for it for him.)He said it wasn't bad because he at least didn't get over heated and pass out or have heat stroke which can happen in those areas because we had turned the AC on the night before so it would be cool when he arrived in the morning and wouldn't have to wait for it to cool that area.

I started putting polyurethane on the bathroom doors and then had to take it off the first door and drag both doors in the house in the AC due to the wood had drew so much moisture from the air the polyurethane wasn't not drying at all. House stunk for a couple days until the humidity dropped enough I could get the house opened up and the first door back out the garage to get it finished. I will start the second door later this week as I see rain in the forecast tomorrow and it takes a good 3 days from start to finish on the doors of dry weather.

They keep telling us July 15th if everything dries and the kitchen counter gets in.

Blessed Be

8 days of frugal

We made a milestone on 209 and celebrated by eating the special at the local restaurant , the special was a rib eye steak . We brought half the steak home and a baked potato and used it in another two meals. The rest of the meals came from the pantry/freezers.

I went to the store and used coupons and sales for the odds and ends we needed...really odds LOL orange and lemon frosting for the cupcake mixes I had and some plain white to make "lime" frosting for the cupcake mix and cookies.
That I made for the Father's Day cookout on Hubby's side on Sunday.I took some to Daddy for his Father's day. We split the day between the two dads saving gas.

We used Gas Buddy app on our phones to find the cheapest gas where ever we are. We are driving to 209 or somewhere else for appts or supplies almost daily.

I harvested rhubarb, strawberries and cherry tomatoes from gardens. The neighbor at 209 canned me more strawberry pie filling and strawberry jam and let me know the strawberries were almost done and gave me 3 heads of summer lettuce(aka Iceberg) . The seller of 209 wife gave us a tomato and green tomato when we stopped to drop off some mail that had came to us instead of them. She also told me where she got the heavy fabric that she had made curtains with that kept the cold out very well so I can check that out to see if I can find fabric cheaper than what it would take to buy new winter curtains as I am not finding anything insulated at thrift shops or yard sales.

We picked up somethings off what we call the buying punch list (punch list is what contractors call the finishing list)at Menards with the 11 % rebate. Carbon/smoke detectors and a clock for the kitchen and one for the front room as the ones we had died, and furnace filter for 209 and dog food for here.

We are working in 103-110 heat index weather. Drinking tons of water and eating a decent lunch from either the local store or Chinese buffet. we prefer the store as most times we can split the meal or bring it home.Suppers are next to nothing...maybe a salad,eggs or a wrap of leftovers. Soup has been a regular even though Hubby doesn't like much soup.

The AC is running here, I do open the windows and doors in mornings , especially before the sun rises, curtains shutting out the sun in afternoons and late evenings as we have a picture window facing west. One ceiling fan and two other floor fans run. The one in the front room is on low all the time as it's right in front of the vent that air is doesn't "drift" out into the room.After putting the fan there I found we could raise the AC temp by 3 degrees. THAT being said... 209 will have ceiling fans in the dining room, front room and bedroom. The AC is installed (will be ran for the painters otherwise not on) but all the crews have mentioned if they keep the doors/windows shut on East side the house but open the west side in the morning, the house is cool. Then they shut the west side at 11 and open the east side , the house stays around 80 even when it was 100 outside. Humidity is an issue with trying to get things to dry.

I trimmed my hair. Washed laundry in homemade soap and used dryer sensor for drying. Hung a few things off and on this week on the drying rack. Made gallons of unsweetened ice tea to go with the gallons of water we are drinking.Hubby has taken to shutting the TV off within 30 min after he goes to bed and not leaving his computer on all the time.

Bought work jeans for Hubby for $10 each instead of the normal $30. Found all weather dresses and skirts on clearance for myself.

Back to packing for the move which is suppose to be in 4 weeks

Blessed Be

209 update

They did the ceiling with what they call knock down .... and then had to REDO the ceilings as it wasn't as dry as they thought and it messed it up ...

Knockdown texture is created by watering down joint compound to a soupy consistency. A trowel is then used to apply the joint compound. ... The trowel is then run over the surface of the drywall, knocking off the stalactites and leaving the mottled finish. 

Think orange peel or golf ball dimples . This is what it looked like when it wasn't dry when they "knocked it down" 

 and this is what it looked like when it was dried 

the walls and floors are covered while they are doing the ceilings

the water to the hot water heater is done

the electric in the basement(the last to be ran) is done

and they have started running all the vents to the rooms from the furnace 

The floor has been patched and is ready for sanding but since they have it covered due to ceiling work I couldn't get a picture of it.

This week they are suppose to have the last of the vents in. The final outlets and switches in and sanding of the floors OR painting of the rooms.... they are trying to decide which way the mess will be less LOL.

The kitchen cabinets are in the barn LOL...they would love them to be in by this coming week so they can get the counter tops ordered as they take 3 weeks at least to get in and Head contractor is pushing for July 15th.

We straightened up the areas in the barn that is being used to storage, couple of the contractors mentioned it seemed almost empty.

I would have to say that from my 1st project binder there is little that has been changed and what was changed was for the better except this....

This was suppose to left open, it's the wall of the tub attached to the bathroom wall... I was going to build a shelf for this now useless space

of 2 ft up, 3 ft deep and 10 inches wide for the bulk toilet paper and then a pantry rolling cart to slide under the shelf...  I'm not sure what to do about it now as it's even too low to put the cart in it. We are meeting this coming week about how to deal with it. I would hate to rip it back out plus the ceiling section didn't get done in that area so Hubby suggested enclosing it but it's such a waste of space when I have no "floor"space for storage due to needing the area for wheelchair to be able to turn around.  Guess we will  see how it comes out.

Frugal in the kitchen (small 209 update)

209 update... they are have primered the entire 1st floor and the only thing left to primer is the door to the lofts in the kitchen and that stairwell. The ODOR takes my breath away so I won't be in the house much when over there. Ceiling is suppose to be done next. Head contractor was hunting down my kitchen cabinets that hadn't came in Wednesday like they were suppose to.

I bought  3 thin steaks that were marked down, marinaded them in coke a cola and then sliced thin with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms for a Philly steak sub one night, stir fry the second night and the next will be a soup as what I trimmed from the steaks I simmered and then strained for broth. That's for tomorrow night and I might add a can of black beans to it if it seems on the thin side of soup.

I bought a pork loin and was going to cut 4 pork chops from for tonight's dinner, and put  what is left of the loin will go in the crock pot on Wed. When I opened the package I found it smelled horrible and immediately called the store as it was NOT expired. They credited me for the cost and added a bit more for the inconvenience. So Hubby dug through the kitchen frig while I dealt with that and pulled out the 2 hamburgers I have cooked last week to go with mac and cheese and a veggie along with the last of the strawberries I picked from 209.

My niece that just graduated was telling me at her party that she takes either left over chicken or pork and shredded it to put over tortilla chips with nacho cheese (optional lettuce, onions and tomatoes) for a quick meal. She has taken over the kitchen a lot since she was looking at going to college out of state , her parents insisted she know how to cook from scratch and run a budget for a home. She is staying at home for the next year as she took college classes during high school and found she can get her BA degree in a year if she stays in the same college. She is in robotics and has already done some work for a local company that offered to hire her but wasn't willing to work with her going to school like she wanted. Felt at this stage of the game remaining at the job she is working at and living at home and attending school full time on a scholarships and grants was smarter.

I cleaned out Baby, the 7 cu ft deep freezer. We are completely out of corn...sigh.That's a good 6 wks. away of being in. We need NO bacon, bulk or smoked sausage or ham bones or peas/peas and carrots. I've yet to figure out why there was 4 wadded up brown grocery bags and an empty box at the bottom of that freezer.

We started cleaning the pantry, one it's over due and two is to see what I must can or what we need to eat up and not get any more of. I acknowledged that I did can an "extra year's" worth to cover us this fall because I figured we wouldn't have a garden with planning to move... I didn't plan on us to almost stop eating from the pantry.I have a good 6 months extra in most things that I shouldn't have.

I have 11 of these units.Three of these units have dry goods or store bought can goods that I just got for the "tornado" season that has arrived. So they were easy to straighten and check if everything was good.

 I went through 5 of them today checking lids on the home canned jars and  moving the oldest to the front so it's used up and what needed tossed.

I also noted what we were not eating... dill pickles and hot salsa that only Hubby eats and must have stopped completely (it's his middle of the night when he used to eat lunch snack). Fruit... makes me scratch my head over that overage.Hubby used to drink 1 gal. of juice a week and now it's maybe 1 qrt. a week if that. We haven't been eating pancakes,waffles and French toast on a regular bases and it shows in the amount of different syrups and pie fillings I have on hand. I didn't bake pies last Tday dinner or cakes  or at Christmas and that shows by the abundance also.We need to eat at least 24 qrts. of chunky applesauce before apple season. Or I won't be canning any of that either.

If I only use spaghetti sauce (red sauce here as my Nonna was Italian and from the old country) every  3rd week we will make it until tomatoes are on again to make sauce with.  I don't need to make pizza sauce, enchilada sauce or tomato juice this year. Diced tomatoes if I have enough tomatoes for sauce will be wanted.

I have enough veggie soup, chicken potpie filling, canned turkey and canned  broth for this year until after Tday. Since we aren't doing much of a garden I might have room in the freezers to put the broth instead of canning it.

SO my thoughts on this line is .... everyday cottage cheese , applesauce (Hubby only eats cottage cheese with fruit on it), dill pickles and beets on the table.

EVERY NIGHT 2 jars/cans of fruit and 2-3 jars of veggies need to be brought up for meals the next day.

Let's see how that one works.

Blessed Be

Choices

It's seeing this

And knowing it's the answer to an area that is narrow in the bathroom that needs storage space at $75  BUT going out to the barn at 209 and rummage through the scraps and decided you can make it for the price of buy 4 wheels and use paint you already have.

It's deciding to run a portable welder ( a need in the community so a part time/full time income) and double checking what Hubby has and what he will need to do a good job(including business requirements) and stay safe. AND then looking for it as auctions/garage sales and word of mouth before paying full price in the stores.

It's about needing a narrow bookcase or something for the corner at the doorway to the staircase... right doorway of picture

and looking at what I have or what I can build before hiring someone else to make me something as it is a strange size and I am not making do for it's my dining room and a focal point when looking at this wall. I thought about floating shelves until I watched Charlotte pull on one that is upstairs. I do have a cabinet that might work but really wanted to use it in the one bathroom.

It's about waiting until the floor is done (as it will have a new stain on it along with sealer) and kitchen cabinets (suppose to be on site this week but nothing is ever on time on this project) before choosing what to stain my china hutch that is a orange-ish yellow that I hate. I would rather paint it then look at it as it is.

It's about sorting through EVERYTHING here including what is stored from the kids homes and only taking what we WANT not just pack it up and deal with it later. THOUGH that is tempting when it comes to the kids stuff and just letting them deal with it after we die ...except the one that would deal with it doesn't have anything here LOL. Trash guy probably hates me at this time as we are maxing out what we are allowed to put out each week. and I am now on a first name bases with the guy at the drop off for the thrift shop.

It's about focusing on how to save money when we move, a more frugal lifestyle to stretch the retirement funds out more. It was suggested we sell extra garden at the auction we buy from... that is a maybe. Hubby welding. I don't know how the internet is going to be so I am not counting on my surveys for anything.

We changed to a joint checking account when our bank decided to start charging if you didn't have an automatic deposit into your checking. Hubby does, I don't. We went paperless so we don't have any fees for that.Might help me to only be dealing with 1 checking instead of two, since Hubby is gotten very good about receipts and he will only use duplicate checks.

If it's not LED or can be changed to LED, the Christmas decorations won't be going with us. I already passed a lot of it to daughter 2 but I know I have more. All the lights have been changed to LED if they weren't already LED.Every appliances is energy savings.

It's about thinking about habits...Hubby has gotten better about turning off lights and setting TV on timer to go off but leaves his computer on about half the time. He has gotten so he won't kick the AC on until it's over 80 instead of 74  and found (thanks to Daddy) that by turning on a fan where he is that he is comfortable enough without the AC. He has taken to opening the windows if he gets up before me. Closing the top of the curtains to keep the sun out when it's hot. We chose to put 3 ceiling fans in all with LED lights in 209.
I still need winter curtains for 209.

I do full loads (doesn't matter about the water but it costs electric wise each time the washer runs) of laundry and will with dishwasher when we move. I have to use the dryer here (and drying rack) due to construction on the road in front of us spewing dust everywhere. At 209 I won't have that issue  we are installing a new clothes line that is towards the back away from the road and there is already clothesline INSIDE the house as Amish don't use dryers . Ester even told me how long it would take to dry on the porch if it wasn't snowing or raining during other seasons and how long in the basement when it was snowing or raining.

We went with gas instant ready water heater, gas cook stove and gas furnace. Saves on generator (fuel) when we have no electric for what ever reason. English neighbor told us 5 times last winter she was without power due to cars hitting poles.

We bought a TV and radio tower so Hubby can get local stations and connect with his HAM radio so no cable TV to deal with.

It's about planning more perennials in the flower and veggie gardens and more heirloom and less hybrid. Starting a compost area.

Our biggest yet to be dealt with complete is the food storage/cooking etc. It's gotten funny that we will hear Malinda or one of the kids ring the bell for Eli to come in for lunch and we look at each other and decide on lunch. Since Amish don't do day light saving time it rings at 1 pm right now.Breakfast bell is at 8 our time.

Still we know we want to grow and store most of our own food or know where it comes from, which means in season to eat or be processed. I want to go back to baking our own bread. Hubby loves bagels so he bought me bagel things that you put the dough on and boil then bake them on it so they are formed like store bought from King Arthur flour( not that I needed them ) to be supportive of me learning to do that. I have made English muffins, tortilla wraps, pita bread, naan bread, all sorts of bread loaves...bagels not on that list. Might be a Father's day gift since he will be gone all day the day before.

Blessed Be