Frugal Accomplishments

I have been trying to keep a list of my Frugal Accomplishments. When you are frugal to begin with you don't always acknowledge what you are doing is frugal.

I finished canning the green beans that we had bought at the produce auction.The cost without the hours of my time (243 pints of green beans, I had pint jars so I didn't go buy anymore). The cost came out to 26¢ a pint, a lot cheaper than buying green beans at the store.

We bought acorn squash and spaghetti squash for 50¢ each that weighed about 2 lbs each.They are running about 79¢ a pound at the farmers' markets which is cheaper than the stores. I haven't been able to grow squash for what ever reason. This is now in the section of the basement that winter squash and potatoes hold well through the winter. I will still pick up butternut, delicata and maybe some kind of hubbard.

I am recording humidity levels in other parts of the basement to find another area for "root cellar" food.

I gave some strawberry starters to our friends so I would have more room in my strawberry bed.

I hung my first strand of onions that our friends gave us. I buy the cheapest panty hose or stockings I can find to store my onions in . Tie a knot between each (I cut panty hose in half) and hang from the beams in the basement. Helps keep them during the winter. If one goes bad it doesn't affect the others and I can just cut an onion off the bottom when I need one. We use 7-10 onions a week.A 3 lb bag from the store doesn't last the week. My onions didn't do well this year.Gave us enough for fresh but not for storage.

I took the hem out of a couple of Pat's pants.

We got the wringer washer set up and usable (I can change water every wash and have hot and cold water to fill with without lugging water)...I timed it yesterday when I used it and I spent an extra hour doing the rinse by hand(Hubby rigged it like a rain barrel so I can drain it without lifting it) and it took the dryer the same amount of time of laundry done at the laundromat which is twice as long as a home washer. I used the clothes line all week except yesterday...was wet here. Since Hubby can actually fix this, no computer YEA!!! I feel the $90 spent on it is well worth the price of my extra hour's time doing laundry comparing to going to the laundromat. AND I got the a lot of fall cleaning done in the basement during loads.Maybe next year I will look for a new washer and deal with computer boards again. Right now I am okay with this.

I gathered seeds from my lettuce plant to replant next year.

I gathered some of the green beans that I let dry on the vine to plant next year. I grow heirloom most of the time. I make sure I mark what is NOT heirloom so I don't waste my time letting it go to seed and gathering it. I have 5 varieties of beans I plant each year.

I made a list of the gag gifts we will be giving for Christmas. We have a large family. The budget has remained the same even as the family quad-tripled. Over half will be made with things we already have on hand. The list helps me keep focused on what I need to keep and do. I try to do 10 gag gifts per person...that's over 400 gifts. Not counting Hubby's guys under him at work we get for.

I didn't list anything else...got to focus on that some more.Make sure that I am keeping things as frugal as I can.

Blessed Be

This week's goals

The goal is to get it done this week, since I also have several appointments to deal with this week I might be more hopeful than realistic on what I can get done.

Priority...finish harvesting the gardens.We dodged another frost but sooner or later we will get nailed so I need to get the last of the tomatoes, cabbages,yellow bell peppers and a zucchini off and dealt with. I might have Hubby cover the zucchini plants as there are blooms on them and they are in an area that we could cover them easily enough.

I need to update the budget. This Thursday we make the final payment to a loan that was half the bring home of the month. I don't want to fritter that money away so I need to have where it goes in place besides the savings acct and on the last of the debt from where Hubby was down to 3 days a week for 2 yrs. We are still rebuilding. The only that didn't take the hit was the retirement fund. Better to work 2-3 jobs now while still able than live in poverty when we are in our 70/80's.

I have apples a friend gave us yesterday to make applesauce and caramel apple jam.

I need to pick the last of the beans to be shelled to plant next year.

We need to finish taking the gardens down and prepping for spring. The last 2 yrs things turned bad for us and it didn't get done.Makes spring planting late getting in when we have to finish what should have been done in the fall.

I need to clear the foundation garden also.

I need to cover the strawberries and fall garlic I planted with straw.

The lilac and rose bush needs trimmed.

I need to cut some corn stalks down for decorations and grab some of the leaves for gag gifts at Christmas.

I need to gather some of the sticks up out of the yard, keep some for gag gifts for Christmas (the grandkids always look forward to and wonder what gag gifts they are getting)

I have started working on Christmas. We have a large family..that happens when you have a lot of kids and then they have a lot of kids.We spend $12 per person for gifts...I try to make most of it and give gag gifts with $1 cash.

I need to inventory the freezers. I want to have them pretty cleared out so I have some room for turkeys and hams in case we aren't able to get another large deep freezer.

I need to make the grocery list.

I need to finish fall cleaning the pantry and clean the area I keep the root veggies. I would like to add an area for a root cellar but I don't think we have enough stuff laying around to wall the area in.As it is, I would be battling the field mice over the food. I might be able to use the outdoor staircase from the basement. I need to keep track of it's temp and humidity this week and see if it is possible.

I need to caulk some windows after I get more caulking that is on the buy list for this week.

Pat asked for a Lunchable for his field trip on Thursday. Since he has youth group on Wednesday and needs a hair cut (coupon) I thought I would take him to get the hair cut and Lunchable after youth group. Saves a little on gas.

I need to go through some clothes my oldest gave me from her youngest to see if any of it fits Pat or can be altered to fit him before I start hitting the thrift shops to find more winter clothes for him.

I need to go through Hubby's clothes and make the list of what he needs replaced.

I need to go through my own clothes and see what needs replaces. I've lost enough weigh since last winter that my clothes are hanging on me. While doing that I need to find the box that has my winter socks and flannel tights.

I need to call the hospital about a bill that was not done correctly on their end. They are trying to get it fixed but I want to stay on top of it as our ins is saying they haven't filed the corrected papers.

Have a blessed day

Weather changes.

Our first tree completely turned, the maple trees are still green with slight touches of yellow. Might turn more with the cold front going through tonight with possible frost in the morning. We had a slight frost a couple weeks ago but not much damage to speak of.

I am thankful the picture wasn't blurred with wind blowing like it is.

It has been a good day to check for drafts.I made notes of where they were so I can get enough caulking the next time I go to town for non-food items.

I started the shopping list for winter clothes. I already had a good start on the list for Pat but Hubby and I need some replacements of things also.

We tested the the furnace a couple weeks ago...worked great...figures today it wouldn't kick on when it's cold in the house. Frustrating to figure it out so I am leaving it for when Hubby gets back from town. Worse would be that we have to call the landlord which will call his brother to come fix it. We have secondary heating as long as we have electric.

I decided to sit down and do some planning for this month...we will see how that works out.

Blessed be

My new washer

Oh yeah, Hubby did...for those that are not old enough to recognize this..it's an old wringer washer. Yes, it works. Yes, I will have to stay with the washer to wash the clothes.I won't go in to detail of all that but it's not a turn on and walk away and the load is done 30 minutes later. I would love to have a second one for the rinse but I doubt if we will find another one at $90. You can get brand new ones for $1000 and I have seen used going for up to $500.

Hubby set up the old washer hoses so I don't have to lug water and I can change the water every load which in the old days we used one fill of water and started it with hot water and whites was washed first.The pump hose it connected to the old drain hose so that is taken care of also. He bought me a new bright pink water tub (they use for farm animals etc) and put a drain and hose on it so I don't have to dump that water either and the hot and cold water hoses reach the rinse tub.

The agitator knob is sticking so he is going to deal with that this week and I will be set to wash clothes at home again and no more $5 a load at the laundromat. which was costing me $75 a week to do all the laundry. I probably will take the comforters,king size blankets and winter coats to the laundromat like my Mother did but that won't be a weekly expense.

The up side of this washer...no computer to go out and I can SOAK in the washer instead of a sink. The negative besides the risk of smashing fingers in the wringer is I will be definitely hands on with the washing and rinsing. I figure it might be a side benefit that I can sort boxes and do some cleaning in the basement that keeps getting pushed down the to do list if I am sitting in the basement dealing with the washer. We will see.

I figure the money I save from NOT going to the laundromat can go towards a new washer down the road and I can resell this washer for parts to someone else if it quits running on me.

Blessed be

Sept grocery round up

We finished the month at $468.92...that's over our $350 budget by $118.92.

I don't feel bad about it because $63.00 of that was 4 1/2 bushels of green beans which made 243 pints of green beans.That comes out to be 26¢ per pint (a 15.5 oz can is running $1.69 here) AND we got 12 acorn squash for $5.70 that would have cost us $17.59 at the local farmer's market.

 The rest of the over budget amount was eating out twice while I was canning the 243 pints and then taking Pat out after his last soccer game which they won.

October's budget is $600. I know we will be stocking up on winter squash,onions and potatoes on top of starting to stock up for the holiday baking.

I would love to find a used chest freezer before Nov  but that is low on the buy list.

Blessed Be

Grocery update

We didn't do so well last week with our grocery budget.  I spent $67.03 at the grocery store and that included some stocking up. That part was good...the bad part was I didn't check the calendar when I made the menu and didn't take in account there would be 2 nights of us not being home until around 7 pm...not a good time to start cooking or even eating when Pat goes to bed at 8 and Hubby goes to work at 8:30.

So I spent $21.98 at Taco Bells getting 2 boxes of soft tacos. That fed us with additions of fruit and raw veggies for dinner , Hubby's lunch at work, and the next night's dinner also.

The other time was I had been canning all day, knew I would be the day before but still didn't engage the brain and fix something so I wouldn't be trying to deal with all the canning and the dinner.Hubby called in a couple orders for fried chicken (4 pieces and sides each meal that we split 4 ways ) at a tavern (which is known more for it's food) that is only 3 miles away. He spent $20.49...actually we got it for a better deal....the server gave Hubby the wrong meals and he didn't realize it until I opened it up at home so they gave those to us free and he went back and got our chicken. So we had extra veggies that night and Hubby got 2 extra lunches and Pat got to have chili fries with the left over fries.Works for me LOL.

This week I really checked the calendar, paid attention to the fact I will have more canning to do this week and several appointments.We are also trying to get more color on our plates which meant more fruits and veggies then I normally get since we lost most of our colorful veggies and fruits when the deep freezer died.

Still we have $28.45 left out of the $350 budget and 9 more days of this month.I might splurge and buy some pork chops as they have been out of our budget for a couple months now. I will see...

Blessed Be

The day of rest and the week to come.

I am looking forward to when our trees look like this.I won't have to rake them because they blow away over the fields so I get the pleasure of looking without the work though I image I will have to rake some up or let Pat rake some up for him to jump in. Maybe burn a few since we can do open burn in this area if the winds are not blowing much.

Hard to rest today when I look around and see all the work still to do before winter hits. I compromise with myself and spent the day planning for the work load this week.

I hope to have most of the harvest done this week and most of the gardens prepped for winter.It would be nice to not start my spring planting with clearing last year's mess.

I have started the fall cleaning and weatherization, yes, even though I do Flylady (www.flylady.net) I still do fall cleaning. I just break it down in to steps so I don't over whelm my self...or at least I try to. Yesterday I spent 6 hours in the pantry in the basement and I know I have another 4-5 hrs left of cleaning, reorganizing,inventorying etc left to do in that area (12 x 26 with 8 ft ceilings which the shelves go to the ceiling.... 32 shelves that are 3 x 8). That is the priority of this week as I need to keep the groceries down as low as possible and by not knowing what is in the pantry I end up buying food while what is in the pantry goes to waste.

I am not going to get my sewing done like I want until the harvest is done and I can paint my craft room and set up my sewing area again.

Blessed be

Grocery budget update,goals,frugal accomplishments

Grocery budget update : we spent $62.09 this week. We bought 31 lbs of dog food (will last 2 wks) and 3 bags of softener salt which came to $42.73 of that $62.09. Non-food costs us more than actual food ( this week was only veggies) does most of the time.

We haven't eaten out, Hubby and Pat even pushed their lunches back last Saturday until they got to the cookout so they wouldn't be spending any money eating out.

I fixed pizza and spag at the beginning of the week and we ate it as left overs the rest of the week until last night. Last night was breaded pork tenderloin for us and grilled cheese for Pat, his lucky sandwich when he has games. It's just Hubby and I this weekend as Pat is going to spend the weekend with his Dad so we will just raid and see what we find to eat.

I didn't accomplish much of any thing with my goals. Had a lot of appointments and phone calls to get medical bills paid (GRRRR) that should have just been paid the first time. Hopefully I will be able to get more done this week even though I have some appt or game almost every day to get to.

Frugal accomplishments....we didn't waste any food this week...not one thing :) I mended a couple tee shirts for Pat and sewed a button on a shirt for Hubby. I moved laundry day so I could use the clothes line.

Be safe
Blessed Be

This week's groceries

Last week I spent $43.36 and it was on non-food only not even a gal of milk. :)

This week I spent $54.70 on food. Bought milk, half and half, coffee beans, baking potatoes,apples,2 juices, 4 dozen eggs,and a loaf of sliced white bread.

That brings the total so far to $98.06 leaving $251.94 out of the $350. budget I set for this month.

I have realized that Hubby and I are not on the same page of what to do with the leftovers or other items that need ate with in a few days.

I usually put these type of items in the frig in the kitchen, the one that has the water pitcher and milk so during the day I see them and figure out how to serve them.

Hubby put them in the white frig as there was more room...and I didn't notice it or more I didn't pay attention so we lost a couple things :(  I figured out it came to about $5 but still that is the same as pouring 2 gals of milk down the drain.

So we talked about figuring out where the items go, and to list them on the menu immediately or put them in the freezer.

I am looking at how to organize the frigs better also.

Other good news is we didn't eat out at all but boy did I want to with the appts and game during the week

Hubby and Pat might today grab a sandwich because they are working the parade in town this morning and I did make sure both had a good breakfast and then going to a HAM radio thing this afternoon. I know they will have hotdogs and brats at the HAM radio thing because our friend told me that he was grilling them for the group but it might be more of a dinner thing than a lunch thing.

All week our dinners average $2-$4 per meal (3 ,might as well say adults as Pat eats as much as I do and I am not a small eater, and then we pack Hubby's lunch for workout of dinner)...not per serving. The main part of the meal is out of our garden or friends gardens that was given to us free. Meat has been more of a condiment than the main course but with us eating protein through the day I don't worry about that being low at dinner.

I baked bread today using a different recipe. Cheaper 18 ¢ per loaf compared to my 32¢ per loaf recipe. I spent $16.83 a month for the last 4 months to buy just bread. That is way too much on something I can make that is just as good if not better.

This coming week is going to be a rough one. We have an appt or a soccer game right at dinner time 4 nights this week. Pat eats early on game nights so he doesn't get tummy cramps during the game.So those nights need to be something he can eat before the game and Hubby and I can eat after the game.

I am thinking of the following:

Sunday is left over pizza or baked potatoes and corn on the cob. We have a reunion that day and we will pig out there.

Monday: spaghetti and meatballs (the "boys' favorite) salad with lots of veggies, home made bread and mandarin oranges

Tuesday: Chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, corn on the cob, carrots and dip and apple slices

Wednesday: beef roast with root veggies,home made bread, cobbler or crisp depending on what fruit needs used up.

Thursday: beef in homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, coleslaw or veggie salad (depending on what needs used up) and some kind of fruit...depending on what needs used up.

Friday is still open...maybe leftovers if there is any or a breakfast for dinner.

Saturday will depend on whether my son and his family can come up or not.

Blessed be

What to do?

Which bill do we pay? The rent that the landlord is okay with being late as we do work on the house for lower rent anyways or the medical bill that we save on by paying ahead of time?

What necessities have to be bought? Last week was none food, this week is food.

What do we do about the child that says one thing to us and another to his teacher and both are lies that could cause someone trouble?

What do we do about the mother of the child (our daughter) that isn't doing what she should so she can see him (been a month) let alone have him living with her again?

What do we do about both the SUV and the truck needing repairs?

Do I work on the house getting it winterized for this winter?

OR

Do the washing that has the winter bedding and clothes so I can dry them on the line to keep the electric bill down.

OR

Just focus on the incoming harvest?

Trying to do all 3 just put me down for 2 days with my Crohn's. It doesn't like stress...Even my Hubby that never has complained of stress in over 20 yrs. complained of stress yesterday and considering we have dealt with 2 different children being suicidal, kids losing homes, us losing homes, my heart failure, my Crohn's and his work went down to 3 days a week for 2 yrs and mine going away completely causing us into a Chapter 13 bankruptcy (slow pay)etc...it takes a lot for him to acknowledge he is stressing...which, of course, stressed me even more.

What to do?

Hold on to my faith with both hands.

Take a deep breath, release....okay, do it again and again and again.

First is, pay the medical bill, landlord is okay with being paid on next Thursday. His running joke is he knows were we live and he can always shop for his groceries in my pantry...true, very true and he knows if we weren't here that the house would sit empty and he would have nothing coming in anyways except the bills of keeping it in good condition. It's the old homestead and he was leery of renting it out anyways and can't rent to family due to tax reasons.

Second,I think milk, coffee beans (we use less if we grind our own then if we buy ground coffee, saves us about $10/wk) and possible in season fruit and veggies that we don't have in our garden.

Third,Okay, we dumped that on the school counselor and his psychologist. I am dumping mine on my counselor.

Fourth, I can't force my daughter to do anything, it's to the point that she threatens to harm us if we are anywhere near her. I leave her in God's hands.THAT IS HARD.

Fifth,make a list of repairs needed, price out what is needed and prioritize the repairs. What can we do ourselves and what will have to be hired. We have 2 very good and affordable mechanics.

LAST...winter wash, weatherization,harvest...all 3 are very important but nothing gets done when I am down with my Crohn's. I can weatherize when it's raining, I can do the winter wash on good days. Harvest can be done rain or shine...the in ground garden is when its shine and the rest in square foot gardens can be done in the rain. I have been known to put my muck boots on and go in the in ground garden and harvest...horrible and messy but doable.

Sometimes I just need to stop and write it out.

Goals for this week

Caulk windows the 2 of the upstairs bedrooms, the last 5 windows out of 24.

Caulk the crown molding in the one upstairs bedroom.

Craft room:second coat of primer, 2 coats of paint, closet painted, woodwork cleaned and oiled and room put back together ORGANIZED.

Sewing including insulated curtains for all windows and Autumn aprons and finish the mending.

Write up description and post at Hubby's work the front load washer we have removed from basement and is now sitting in the garage.

Fall clean 9 rooms (half of what I have to do) including getting it ready for winter.

Finish inventorying the basement pantry, set it up for the last of the crops to come in(area for root cellar) and give it a good cleaning which is one of those 9 rooms of fall cleaning).

Check out FaceBook's garage sale page for book shelves.

Continue with the canning of tomatoes,banana peppers, cabbage and what ever else comes our way.

I plan to buy Pat some knit hats and knit gloves along with a heavy winter coat. I will start looking at yard sales and thrift shops for these items now and buy new as a last resort.

We will eat from the pantry...no fast food this week. Between doctor appointments, counseling sessions, soccer practices,and tests at the hospital we have been eating out a lot.

Blessed Be

Thanks Brandi the prudent homemaker

Brandi does frugal accomplishments and weekly goals over at
theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.com.

My frugal accomplishments this past week were:

I mended 2 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts.

I glued a pair of shoes back together for myself.

The dryer died, but we were storing our son's dryer so he is "lending" it to us until he decides if he needs it back or not. Hubby tightened the clothes lines so I can hang the wash on good days. I have been trying to float when I do the laundry to days that I can use the line and if we need something that can't wait I hang it on the drying rack in the basement.

Hubby has been taking the motorcycle to work instead of driving the truck when weather is good.

Tomatoes, green beans, banana peppers and green bell peppers, zucchini and yellow squash has been coming in so they have been canned, froze or dehydrated.

Some friends gave us some zucchini, cantaloupe,banana peppers, hot peppers, green bell peppers and cucumbers. They are pretty much to the point of just eating from the garden instead of preserving it..

I am trying to use hydroponic with my strawberry runners to get more plants so put else where and to share with the friend that gave me the produce.

I gathered some of the seeds from the lettuce plant I allowed to go to seed. It's one of them that we prefer. I have some green beans that I am allowing to dry on the vine to replant next year also.I am thinking of saving a couple other green beans also to have the different varieties.

I combined my appointment this with getting the non-food this week and saved $13.10 at the dollar store.

I used my coupons and bought fabric on sale for clothes and home items, including a couple Christmas gifts I need to make and saved $76.20 which shocked the register lady along with Hubby. PLUS got another coupon if I go back this week.

I used my swagbucks to order a couple books from Amazon for free and am saving up again for a book that is on order for end of Oct. Half way to that amount.

We spent Saturday evening with friends and had a cook out.

Blessed be

Back in the old days

of my childhood...this kitchen picture was close to what my Mother's uncle had built in the home we lived in except we had a cabinet under the sink and the top cabinets didn't come all the way down to the counter. The apron was one like my great-uncle's mother-in-law from Italy wore. She insisted I call her Nonna and tell people I was her granddaughter. I didn't have any problem with that at all as I spent as much time as I could with her and my great-aunt and her sister.

Even though money was extremely tight, Mother was not frugal in the kitchen. The only casseroles she ever made was tuna noodle and scalloped potatoes and ham. The only soups was bean soup and chili made with hamburger. There was always a piece of meat, (Dad hunted and fished or there was no meat), potatoes, usually fried, two veggies that had been canned from our garden or that someone gave us that Mother canned if the garden wasn't producing. There was store bought bread and real butter, maybe pudding if the farm that my brother worked at gave us milk or jello. Fruit was only in season and what ever was in the neighborhood. Christmas gifts was an orange. I remember the first time Dad bought meat at the local grocery that had a butcher cut the meat right there. It was t-bone steak, one for each of us. My brother had gotten accepted to a private college, received a scholarship for playing football and Dad had just made the payment for his freshman year. We celebrated with that steak on the grill, we had baked potato with sour cream and butter and a tossed salad and corn on the cob. I didn't see that meal on our table again until my brother graduated from college four years later.

Why the thought of that time? Because I need to cut the budget to make the bills that have came with taking on a grandson to raise and preparing for a winter that they are forecasting to be just like last year...below zero and lots of snow. I am also dealing with losing the deep freezer and all the food that was in it.

So I have accepted Mary's challenge over at www.owlhaven.net/2014/08/29/join-my-spending-challenge. I plan to spend half of what we have been averaging for the months since there is now 3 of us for the month of September. I am hoping for less but the goal is NO MORE than $350 for food and non-food.

Have a blessed day

Garden and juggling act

The tomatoes have started coming in on a daily bases of this amount. I have the blisters inside my mouth that shows I can't control myself with constant eating them or the cherry tomatoes. I finally got myself to at least drink water between them :) . A lot of the plants are starting to die off. That's okay as I have tomatoes that I canned last year still in the pantry. Just filling in the holes so to speak with this years.

The zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers have died. I might get a couple cantaloupe yet, they are small but don't seem to be growing much.

The yellow wax beans and the first planting of state green beans are pretty much done. I will pull them this week and plant something for this late fall/winter harvest.

The second planting of state green beans and the KY wonder beans are starting to need picked every third day.

The Italian beans are just coming on but haven't started filling out.They were mislabeled as bush beans but are viners so I have a bit of mess of them.

I have some small heads of cabbage that will be ready in a few days. They are from the heads I cut instead of pulling the root out.

I downloaded to my kindle pc "Winter Harvest Handbook" By Eliot Coleman. To the dismay on my Hubby I have decided to try my hand again at a winter garden. The second year here I did one 4x4 (Square Foot gardening) and it was decent until Jan when the winds took it out. We have a lot of high winds here so I think I have figured out how to deal with it.

We have lots of doctors appointments and testing for Pat this week besides my own is going to be a juggling act to put meals on the table between those appointments, soccer practice (almost forgot that one) and the canning that I will be doing.

We will be spending Saturday at our oldest daughter's home to help them finish putting the fence up.

I would like to get some bread baking done but that keeps getting shoved to the bottom of the list. Going to have to suck up the heat and the time...maybe Wednesday when I have to keep Pat up later than normal due to the test the next morning . They want him tired...that's find except I don't do well at staying awake that late and then getting up earlier. I wonder which one of us is going to be the grumpy one.

I have some mending to do that I need to pull out the sewing machine for. Haven't gotten to that either.

Best get back to it, dinner needs to be done so we can get to practice.

Blessed Be

When there is a major loss....

   trauma trauma trauma...
what you are looking at is our main deep freezer that died and everything thawed and was very very warm when I found it.I am usually in it every day even if just to check on it since it's in the garage. Monday I wasn't and Tuesday morning I found it a very warm mess.

All of the broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini,berries and melons etc. that I had harvested and preserved this year for this coming winter gone. All of our large roasts that was in the bottom drawer and the last of last year's corn gone.

This is a very serious set back for us.

First, that just wiped out 60% of our winter side dishes and 100% of the desserts. Second, those 10 large pieces of meat were a month's worth of entrees for lunch and dinner. Third,I won't be able to replace those veggies and fruit as they are not in season now and fourth...we can't afford to replace the freezer until late fall or maybe even next spring. So fifth, I don't have a place for turkeys,hams and prime rib roasts (I get it for Hubby for his Christmas present when it's on sale)come this fall. That is our main meat supply for the rest of the year.

We have already priced a new freezer so I know what we need to save.

I striped the old freezer of the shelves and drawers. I will use the shelves in the root cellar since I definitely will need to get that done asap so I can at least have some root veggies for fresh veggies this year.

My Daddy called because he had me on his mind and probably wished he hadn't after I downloaded my pity party. He reminded me that both him and Mother grew up with less, that Mother even went hungry and they both were fine and healthy. I needed to be thankful for what I do have, focus on what I can do (root cellar like my childhood) and take those steps.

I am also planting a fall garden, something we had decided against due to other commitments but now putting food on the table is the priority.

I an thankful that it was NOW and not after I loaded it with 6-8 turkeys, 4-6 hams and the prime rib roasts(depends on price and money flow on how many).

Blessed be

August :A New Month

Row after row of field corn ripening in the warm sun of an August day.

This is my time of harvest and preparing for our home for the coming winter.

This year on top of that normal heavy work load we have custody of a young grandson and with us he has a totally different lifestyle and a lot of  counseling and doctor appointments to get through...with me right along beside him each step of the way. We have adjusted better to our changes in our routines then we thought we would.

The last few days I've been laid up from a procedure so I took this time to think about what needed to change to get it all done (yeah right) and smooth things out so I am not running in crisis mode (HEAVENS PLEASE).

First I did a Control Journal (www.flylady.net) for him. Broke down morning, afternoon, evening and bed routines as he does better with being able to read it as he doesn't do well trying to remember things even after doing them for the last 4 months. I also broke his room done into zones so he isn't trying to clean it all in one day, wasting his Saturday of play time.We set times as he has problem with time management. We are strict with that Sunday is the Day of Rest and Church. Even with me down today, he immediately asked if Granddad and him were going to church...YES!!!!!

Now I am working on my own Control Journal, a menu plan that has covers the entire day and lists the sides and adjusting the grocery budget as it almost doubled with having a person in the house with a sugar issue. Can't just fill that empty pit up with bread or grains when it sends sugar up. Already had to change my nightly glass of milk because he can't drink milk at night or his sugar is through the roof even with exercise....bike riding...for at least 30 min after. :(

I started updating my Christmas/winter holiday Control Journal...21 weeks to that as there will be extra "celebrations" and  more gifts under that tree including from Santa....another increase in the budget that has to be worked in.

I need to let some of it stew in my head of what days to do what with acknowledging soccer practice etc that is now in my life.

Blessed be

Weather and back to school

My hand is 6 inches, these were around 2-2 1/2 each. Thank the heavens that there wasn't many of them so there wasn't much damage yesterday when it hit.

I got Pat's bus schedule for school, bus will be here at 7:10 so he has to be at the end of the lane at 7:00. That wouldn't be all bad except he gets motion sickness when he eat and rides so he has to DONE eating by 6:00 so not to get sick. His wake up call is now at 5:45 A.M. just like last year. We were hoping since we transferred him to the local school there would be a later start to our ( MY )day. The good news is he will be home by 3:30 and that's about 1 1/2 hrs earlier than last year.

I also won't be on the road 5 hrs a day with transporting him so along with the huge savings in money I will be able to get my own work done instead of sliding it to the back burner and operating in crisis mode.

I've been inventorying the freezers and doing a good cleaning. Down to the last one in the kitchen refrigerator to do tomorrow morning as I start the "back to school" schedule since my wake up call will be 4:45 A.M.

Hope everyone is doing well...and HEALTHY

Blessed Be

Best laid plans

The best laid plans... is when the produce it coming in, stop every thing else :)

Usually I get about 1/4th of the cabbage I plant and no cauliflower. This year I got 1/4th the of the cauliflower and almost everyone of the 90 some heads of cabbage I planted. Wished I had made sure they were Kraut cabbage, being what they are, more of a spring cabbage than fall, they are too dry to make kraut so I am pickling some, made cabbage rolls for the freezer, blanched some and am dehydrating some.

Pat started riding his bike, still can't start off at a standing stop, needs an incline to get it moving but he is riding and keeping his balance for short distances.

We have also got back some news about Pat's medical problems. He is hypoglycemic and has issues with red food coloring. We are still jumping hoops with ins. for testing of other things including a learning disability/memory problem.

The rest of my goals and plans have fell apart, part of the garden coming in and Pat's issues that needed dealt with and now I have to have 2 procedures on my back within the next 2 wks....fun,fun.

Blessed Be

Goals accomplished Goals for this coming week

Garden: harvested 3 heads of cabbage, harvested green onions, harvested radishes. Planted bush green beans, radishes and more green onions. Used clothes pins to pull outer leaves to cover cauliflower.

Preserving: dehydrated oregano.

Sewing: mended Trenton's shorts and Patrick's shorts. Sewed button on Trenton's other shorts.Mended Patrick's new pillowcase that he stabbed with Lego sword causing holes, he won't do that again.

Cooking: made treats for the kids instead of buying them. Been awhile since I had to be in that mode. :)

Service to others: helped find a honey supplier for a friend that can't use any other sweetener and her supplier lost 60% of their bee hive due to our last winter. Shared some of the garden harvest with a family that is struggling to put food on the table and their own garden isn't doing well.

Organization: broke down the to do list in to different areas so I can focus on what is most important first and not just what annoys me the most.

Blogging: read my favorite blogs and wrote my own for my own blog.

Next week's goals:

Organization : my desk, 3 boxes of papers,the garage and my sewing room.

Gardening: weeded, fertilized and plant fall crops.

Sewing: start on insulated curtains or making winter curtains,catch up on mending.

Preserving: cauliflower, cabbage, oregano, parsley, radishes, and onions.

Service to Others: help my daughter and older grandson paint his room. Send recipe for homemade noodles to my Dad.

Cooking: granola bars,cookies,ice cream, possible noodles and bread.

Blogging: post 2 - 3 times including pictures and check out new blogs of being frugal/gardening/sewing.

Blessed Be

another summer day

Hot....humid... and very limited on activities.

Grandkids had swimming lessons this morning. The older ones had a good time as they are diving now. The youngest doesn't like it that he has to put his head in the water, more he has to stop talking or he gets water in his mouth.

The kids are learning to be quiet because Hubby sleeps days from 12 to 5. Not a long time but he does take a nap before going to work at night.  Youngest thinks he needs to run everything and everyone...even though he is 7 and we just got custody of him, it's like a newborn that can get into everything and talk the whole time. We thought he would be better since he was in school but found out the teacher he had treated him as teacher's pet and pretty much allowed him to run the show and do what ever he wanted ...sigh...this next year is going to be rough with a different school system that will be expecting more out of him.

Tstorms in the forecast today so I am not getting out the sprinkler. They are tired of the videos, legos and games...the preteen is missing her friends and her own pool.

Tomorrow is the last day for the older 2 to be here...Sorry to see them go, I'd keep them forever...but I know they have had enough.

Blessed be