Feb. 2. 2015

The ground hog saw his shadow...probably wondering why the humans don't understand it's 6 weeks to spring by the calendar so why are they poking him and waking him up to tell them something they should be able to read for their selves.

I got sick and found out that Hubby will reheat leftovers but that is about all he is going to do.SO the eating from the pantry went by the way side big time because it took almost 3 weeks for me to get well enough to not worry about passing my germs with the food I served.

BUT while down, I decided on this year's gardens. I have decide to try to do a 4 season garden. We miss our green veggies during the winter and they cost an arm and leg and then half the time because I have to buy a "big" container, I end up tossing part of it out before we get it ate. We just don't eat the same greens every day. I don't have that problem in the spring through fall as I only cut what I need. SO 4 seasons...that means extra seeds to buy...different varieties as we already know we get bored of the same thing. I don't grow the same green veggies in the fall that I grow in the spring.

I have placed the last of my seed orders(maybe HA HA) and in April (April 17th to be exact) the Produce auction will start for plants.

Meantime, it's organize organize organize and plan those garden plots.

Still recovering....slow and steady, a bit better daily, exhaustion is down to beyond tired  HA HA (NOT really funny).

Be safe, be healthy, live well.

Frugal week

We didn't eat out at all even though I am sick(head cold into chest cold and hoping it doesn't not go into pneumonia) and would prefer not to messing with food to keep from passing it...Hubby did a little bit of cooking on the worse day. I am hoping I am over the hump.

We only bought milk since the Jan 2nd  when we did our meat buying(sales were good). Since I just opened it this morning I figure we will make it through the week. Hubby bought it on the way home from work at the local grocery store, it's only 2 miles out of the way instead of 30 mile round trip and that saved on gas even though the milk was a bit more in price.We both figured we spend less because he just went in and got ONLY milk where in the city we would have been checking out the sales.

I roasted a turkey that made 4 meals for the week (stayed on menu mostly)and put 2 more in the freezer including over a gal of broth (in different size containers) for other meals.

I mended 3 pants for Pat.

I mended a shirt for Hubby and I changed a jacket he had that was damaged to a vest for him that he can wear.

I mended a sweater for myself.

I made 5 gals of laundry soap. That will last about 3 months or more for us.I wash the bedding and furniture throws quite often since the dogs sleep on my bed and furniture.

I made cranberry juice from last year's cranberries that was in the freezer and made cranberry sauce from what was left of the juice.

I started a soup container in the deep freezer...funny how we stopped all of a sudden of having a couple bites in containers in the frigs after I did that.

I have been making sure the curtains to the south are open on days that it is sunny to help warm the house and closed before it gets dark.

I checked the pantry for what we are low in and what needs used up before it's lost....we had water standing in the pantry at Thanksgiving and I got a feel it cost us with some of the root veggies. Next year we are going to change where we store our root veggies to keep them longer and hopefully not have as much waste.

I started planning our garden....we are looking at year around gardening....big planning of needing covers and etc to do that so I want to have the "buy" list now to have it all way before it's actually needed.

I have a daughter getting married and she asked for me to grow her flowers ...or try to grow as much as I can as I am not into growing flowers (yarrow does well for me and that's about it). SO I need to think about what to plant AND where I am going to plant it because if I give veggie garden space up for it then I have to figure out where to put the veggies so we have our needs for the year met.

What did you do to save money or your time this week?

What I am doing

or still doing... besides trying to stay in out of the wind chills of below 20° and moan about Pat having to go to school which means I have to go out in wind chills of below 20° to drive him down the 2 tenths of lane because I sure am not going to have him walk in something I wouldn't walk in myself as an adult.

I blended the rest of our horseradish from the garden...end with a mess mid way as I didn't get the blender back together correctly and ended up with horseradish slung EVERYWHERE.

Tried to find some seeds that I want...Excalibur F1 parsnip, Riccia Parsley, Forest Green Mizuna and Amerliore Turnips...striking out so far.

Mending is caught up.

Finances are done plus I reworked the budget to start saving for seeds  and the Scioto Valley produce auction in April.

Checked the groceries...nothing needed....might need milk over the weekend but that should be about it.

One solid week of eating from the pantry.... YES!!!!!

Got to get back to it.

Goals for 2015

Blog more LOL

Eat from the pantry and less eating out...more of clean food eating like we did when I was growing up until tv dinners came along and we ate them a lot when Mother was in the garden harvesting mode.

Waste less food, wear things out, quit buying what we already have but can't find because it wasn't put away in the correct place.

Declutter and condense down what we do have and use.


Keep the mending done.

Get back into routine of my home blessing which is still getting bumped all over the week due to other things...sigh.

Plant a succession garden including into the winter (low tunnel hoop houses since I am in OH)

Save more...a lot more...get out of debt and save more...

YES I am alive....I think...let me ask myself again

Oh yeah it's been that type of fall....

I have several Crohn attacks...but remained OUT of the hospital (praising all in the heavens for that ).

THEN messed my back up and thought here I go again with the pain clinic but my massage therapist got me straightened back up and able to walk without pain again. Pain clinic put off YEAH.

I have filled the pantry and then some...still have to deal with pumpkins and some apples...just got oranges in also.Am working on a menu to use up what is in the pantry so nothing goes to waste.

Been battling field mice with the cold that came in...I won but they did get into the tomatoes I was ripening DARN CRITTERS.

Put 8 turkeys and 6 hams in the freezer...and one pork loin.

Ordered 12 bones of prime rib for our Christmas Eve dinner(Hubby's favorite gift) and will cut it up BEFORE cooking  so we have some in the freezer for our anniversary in Feb.

Am watching the sales for pork roasts, ribs,pork loins and kraut. Will call our local store to see what 50 lbs of potatoes are running. We go through about 30-40 lbs a month.Our one store is offering meat packages...the one is really really good for us as it has roasts for half the price as the big stores. I will be ordering it also in the next couple weeks...after the bills are paid and Christmas is bought.

I have half of Christmas bought and wrapped...will finish the rest before the 20th and have the cookies and candy done by then also. LONG days this week.

I bought a large calendar for menus only. I use www.flylady.net calendar for everything else but I wanted one for the kitchen and the menu only. I wanted to list the entree, sides and dessert if having one. I hope it will keep me on task of using what is in the pantry and let me lower the grocery bills so I can start focusing on what to plant in the garden.

This year we have a daughter getting married and she wants me to grow must if not all of the flowers that she needs...I suck at growing flowers so I hope the heavens look about these flowers and bless them for her wedding and ignore my flower black thumb, hand, arm ...body LOL

The house is decorated mostly for Christmas. I have lights on the tree in the front room but not the decorations yet. The rest of the home is pretty much done.

Hope everyone is keeping in mind what the season means of their faith.

Blessed be

Sometimes Our Kids Worry

Remember this? Our kids were thankful we found a washer, that we weren't be spending our grocery money at the laundromat but there was concern of the amount of work it would cause me to do the laundry and the age of the washer. Truthfully I enjoy doing the laundry more and I do it less often and the clothes are coming out cleaner.

Wellllll...see this?

This is the used freezer we just bought.  We had been looking since the other one died. Saved up a couple hundred knowing that a used freezer was just going to be a stop gap until we could afford a new one. Hubby went to a couple auctions, we checked out the want ads etc...always sold or up right or had sat off for a long time with door shut...not good or was a very small freezer. Just when we thought we would have to buy a new freezer that was really too small, there was another auction close by that had a freezer listed. BUT it had been sitting turned off (the door was open so it didn't stink).As the price went up Hubby decided he wasn't willing to sink that much money in a maybe it will start back up freezer. He turned to walk away and an old friend from work ran into him. They got to talking and the old friend told him another coworker that had retired had a yardsale the other weekend and the deep freezer didn't sell and gave him the phone number. Hubby came home and called...and there it just gets interesting.

The freezer was the sister-in-law's that had died and they were clearing the house. They hadn't really put the freezer up for sale...no one was really interested in it because it was old but still working, was on and cleaned so they were going to just let it go with the house.It was the size we wanted and a chest.

When we went to get it the store comes out. First it wasn't put up for sale because they used it as the table during the yard sale. A lady had asked about it but since they asked for $50 for it she walked away.The sister-in-law died from cancer. She liked to buy things and then give them away to those that needed them...like my Mother. The co worker's wife's name is exactly the same as my Mother.  The freezer is bigger than we were looking for it, it runs and it's clean AND it's over 40 yrs old. Yep over 40 yrs old...

A blessing and I still believe Mother was looking from heaven guiding us to this freezer.

Amish Produce Auction...Frugal Friday...grocery budget

We got two of these boxes filled with small pumpkins for a total 54 pumpkins minus the 2 we gave to a friend.

We got 80 lbs of winter storage onions.

We got 15 lbs of small potatoes the size that is of new potatoes.

we bought 14 heads of cabbage. I gave one to an elderly gentleman that reminded me of my Dad and another to a friend.

We bought 14 lbs of carrots and gave 2 lbs to the friend. This is after I put them in wood chips/shavings for the root cellar in the basement. I did this also with the 10 lbs of turnips we bought.

There is 8 boxes (was 9 , gave 1 to friend) of red tomatoes, 7 boxes of green tomatoes,10 lbs of small green tomatoes, 8 eggplants (gave 8 to friend) 24 butternut squash (gave 8 to friend) sitting on the table waiting to be processed. I wished there had been beets.

And 16 -10 inch pots of mums that we got for 25¢ each.

We spent a total of $211 for enough veggies to last us for several months.

I picked up 6 spaghetti squashes and a 50 lb bag of Chef (baking) potatoes and an apple crumb pie and pumpkin roll for $64 at Hurley's farm market.

I had set the Auction budget at $400. So part of what was left was spent on us eating out and going to  the grocery store, picked up a few beets SMILE, celery and a few odds and ends needed.

Grocery budget stands at $594.54 out of the $600 budget. Leaving $5.46 for the rest of the month....I know we will go over with the acknowledgement that most of the stuff I bought at the auction and farm is going to lower the amount in the coming months so I can spend the regular grocery money on buying stuff for Tday dinner and Christmas baking.

All in all I am happy with the haul for the price.

Scioto Valley Produce Auction

We go to the Scioto Valley Produce Auction which is ran by the Amish in the spring to get our plants for the gardens and flowers. Pictures above are just a very little bit of what I have gotten. I've gotten tomato plants for 25¢ each. Bought several trays of 48 tomato plants for $5. Broccoli, cauliflower,onions,cabbages, pepper plants and more for a lot less than I would pay at a green house or the stores.

Then middle of July to the beginning of August we go again and starting picking up produce that is raised by the Amish. This was some of what we have bought last year. This year we didn't go because my gardens were running us over as it was.Then my deep freezer died and took it all with it. :(  Can you tell I am still upset over it ?

We went last month with some friends, we usually wait until middle of October for fall crops but they wanted to go to the pumpkin auction. I had to leave early before the auction was over so I left Hubby with a list. I wrote 5 b green beans...meaning boxes which was 1/2 bushel each...he got 5 bushels. Granted after canning it the cost worked out to 26¢ a pint, (I can in pints because that is the jars I have) so it ended up a good deal except for Hubby that doesn't like green beans to begin with. He eats them, but doesn't like them. I have over 240 pints and I still have a few coming in from our own plants.He is going to eating green beans every 4 days.

Next weekend we go for the fall crops.

I really hope onions, winter cabbage, winter squash (besides pumpkins and acorns that I have plenty of) sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and garlic are in abundance.

 Some of those that sell at the auction sell  what is their over flow from their own gardens. Some have went to growing produce to sell since farm land is limited and they can grow produce on 10 acres of land to support their family instead of 100 acres to raise crops and livestock. Last year was rough with the hard and cold winter we had. Those heating green houses by wood were sleeping in the green houses to keep the fire going where a few were heating with propane watched the cost go through the roof. Putting food on the table is their first priority, selling the rest is second.With talk of another hard winter, not as much is going to the auction as last year.

Blessed Be

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