Frugal bomb...

It's only Thursday and I am going to start this because I know I won't remember much by Sunday when I usually write due to a family reunion that is 3 hrs away one way on Sunday and I will have to drive as Hubby works Sunday night.

Daddy gave me 800 jars, about 100 of them is old glass mayo jars that I won't can in but will put dry goods in so I can free up my canning jars. I'm down to about 50 jars to can with.

My new dehydrator, about half the size of my Excalibur in 2015 , this new one that I got on sale...well I got what I paid for. It either over dries the bottom and everything on top molds, OR I am rotating trays ever hr and the food falls off and it still won't dry what ever is in the middle . I decided to send it to the craft room and maybe when I get around to making something like ornaments it will work well there. So we ordered another one just like I have and it has replacement parts so if something goes wrong I can buy the parts, or strip it off the other one.

My old pressure canner needs new seal and gauge...so it's now a water bath on the stove, but the new one is doing okay still.

Meantime 2 of the 3 turkey fries that I was using for the water bath (aka Cold packer) ...are out of commission. One died completely and the other is struggling to heat up correctly. Hubby is going to replace 1 as we need 2 for when we deep fry turkeys for the ham radio group at Christmas and see if he can take the bad two and make one working one. Figures when I am starting back up on tomatoes.

I've dump hot coffee all over the kitchen floor and was thankful I hadn't put the sugar or milk in it. Tripped over a metal trunk that has been sitting at the end of my bed since 1985. Nice bruise on the shin now , along with catching myself with the arm that had surgery so I wouldn't bash my cheekbone on the corner and have to have that repaired again. Then took Rascal out to play 10 (ball) and hit the ceiling of the porch with the ball and beaned myself in the head....all of that was from 5:15 to 6.A,M.

Next day I went out with Rascal and went to kick the ball off the stoop for him...bent all 5 toes to my shin by kicking the stoop instead and falling because of it, it's not as smooth as the porch as my shoes slide very well when I kick the ball off the front porch.

Today I ran the knife through the tip of my thumb working on bell peppers.(50 lbs plus now roasted and skinned). I've yet to figure how I did that but I can tell you that bell pepper juice BURNS on open cuts.

Good thing Hubby is an EMT because we saved a small fortune on me getting medical care this week from HIM instead of the Doctor's office or ER.

Went an hour away to pick up 400 lbs of potatoes. Got 100 lbs of what they call 2nds..green spots, nicks , weird shapes LOL (18¢/ lb) I will sort through these tomorrow and the nicked ones will be used to make mashed potato granules. The rest will be split with family that only wanted 5-10 lbs. I have 2 daughters that wanted 100 lbs each for storage along with my in laws wanting to split a 50 lb bag between their family  (24¢/lb) I got 50lbs of "chef" potatoes...more like what we would buy for baking potatoes (30¢/lb)...so I walked out with 400 lbs of potatoes that averaged at a bit over 23¢ a lbs. FRESH POTATOES that have been cured by people I know as our kids grew up together and Hubby played baseball on the church baseball league with the Dads.

 I did get a couple more shelving units clean, straightened and  inventoried.

This is pretty full, there is one spot that it looks full but isn't and that is where the Miracle Whip is...Hubby won't eat mayo . That's the last jar from last year. Need that refilled.

This is chips of different flavors, marshmallows of different sizes, choc condense milk, caramel condense milk, condense milk, evaporated milk, coconut cream, coconut milk, instant milk, powdered white sauce and powdered sour cream.It also holds the majority of the appliances that we use for our family meals that are of about 50 plus people.

and last but not least...the last of the canned butter. I will use this for our "eating" butter, the dried powder butter will be for baking and the stick butter will be for cooking, mostly for pancakes or French toast. That should get us through until the cash flow starts back up.

Prayers for everyone to stay safe. Including MYSELF LOL

Blessed Be

Where is the Energizer Bunny when I need him???

Because my batteries are definitely running low.

I forget what I have canned this week but I know today I did 24 -1/2pints of butter, 5 pints of pickles, 6 pints of peperonata, dehydrated 3 dozen eggs, 4 bunches of celery,20 lbs of roasted tomatoes for olive oil and fire roasted bell peppers to put in freezer for Brandy's Red bell pepper soup (www.theprudenthomemaker.com) I also cooked some orange tomatoes to strain and cook done for sauce tomorrow.  I put some onions that were cured in the hose to hang in the basement and picked some of the coriander off the dead cilantro.

Dishes are stacked, dinner is over due to Hubby bringing Wendy's home after he worked 36 hrs straight himself ( at the plant, then security at 5 k and the Ham Radio operator at park )

I did start working on my monthly goals. Straightening the pantry is one of them. I got this shelving unit dealt with and took a picture. Side benefit was I realized I only had one shelf of applesauce (we use 2 each year). And there is next to none of cherries or apricots.

Since this seemed to be a good way of looking at what is missing or what I have to much of  I did this shelving unit.

This one looks good, or at least will until Thanksgiving and Christmas then half of it will be gone.
To the left is another shelving unit ...it has bare spots that need filled in. ONLY 8 more shelving units to clean and straighten.

I went through Hubby's clothes. He does NOT need socks LOL... I forgot I ordered him a case as he takes a unusual size.  The rest he pretty much needs. He found hiking boots half price so I talked him into buying 2 since finding something he can wear with his ankles is hard. I found tee shirts with pockets in different colors on sale as he likes different colors but has worn black,dark gray or dark blue for work. Figured since I could afford them with this sale I would get him a nice variety of COLORS since he is retiring.

I went through my clothes, or part of my clothes and I NEED socks LOL. I wear a girls size but have a hard time finding them heavy enough for winter. My feet get cold but sweat easy. I am thinking about trying to crochet a pair for myself and see how that works , I can always wear them in bed if it doesn't. I need pj bottoms, I have flannel and I have a pattern I don't have the time right now as the garden is overflowing.

I caught a sale at King Arthur's flour and still had a discount coupon so I ordered all that I could and keep the shipping at the same price.

I've scored my Swagbucks goal twice this week...probably because I've been up at 3 am canning.

Did 2 Pinecone  surveys

I turned the furnace on twice for about an hour to take the chill (62°) off. I've been opening the bathroom curtain and the kitchen door to the mudroom to let the East sun come in and warm the house.Once it starts getting cold I won't open the kitchen door to mudroom as we don't heat that area.

I did the usual of opening curtains in the morning and shutting them at night, turning lights off, turning computer and printer off. Turning my coffee maker off at power strip so even the clock on it doesn't run.Turned ceiling fan off in bedroom.

Got rid of dehumidifier as it was only working as a fan now. Landlord will replace next year. Got stuff on sale with rebate also to set up humidifier when we start the furnace full time.

Use short cycle, tap cold with laundry with homemade laundry soap. Used the drying rack for light weights since I still can't hang clothes out on line...arm is cranky...better but cranky.

Added water to dish soap, shower soap and used the "rinsed" out shower soap to refill sink soap. Just have to shake it before using.

Continue to use turkey fryer bases for cold packers while doing water bath canning which in turns actually lets me get 3 times more done and doesn't run up the electric bill.

We are "interviewing" different financial advisors about investing Hubby's retirement money.... I had one tell me I didn't know a thing about investing and staying calm for the long haul  etc...Hubby actually started laughing out loud. Needless to say, we thanked him for his time and started to leave when his boss stopped me and asked what I would invest in and I rattled it off with the reasons why.. Told me to remember I did know about investing and asked to see the one that was so sure I didn't know anything in his office.We see another one tomorrow that a friend's parents (who did investing on their own most the time) used while they were alive.

Guess all those years of reading the Morningstar for Dad has paid off, just not what I really want to do but frugal wise I'm not willing to pay someone 1 %... example..if we take 4% to live on, and we pay the broker 1%...that's 25 % of our income NOT INCLUDING the cost of the stock/bonds etc that we would be buying.... I'll do our own financing for that price. BUT man do I hate reading the Morningstar. To those that don't know  the Morningstar evaluates funds (stocks, bonds etc) for up to three time periods: three, five and 10 years. It's like watching the Dow Jones which I didn't like doing either.

Meantime back on the home front , the garden is running over me and I can't even give the produce away as everyone else's gardens are running over them.

To those that are dealing with Mother Nature at her worse....I'm praying for you

AND thankful I'm not dealing with her.

Blessed Be

Preparing for winter

This is a woolly worm aka woolly bear worm. He/she was at my door yesterday.

Their job here is to predict the coming winter. HA HA Blonde or light brown means light and warm winter, if they are just brown means normal winter, striped colors means a winter that will change, example black then brown then black means hard winter, normal winter, then hard winter...you will notice this one is BLACK...I really hope he/she is WRONG because the last time they were black we had the a lot of snow and the year after that we had the winter vortex.I would rather have the snow, not ice or wind, just snow. Just saying, not asking for it.

Our local weather forecaster is waiting to see what type and when Canada gets snow but did say it could be a crazy winter.

Better to prepare more than usual since we also will be retired and a lower income means tighter budget, which in turns means the electric bill needs to stay down and we don't need to be having to order more propane with a service charge of $100 if we don't fill the tank. I already ordered and paid for this winter's fuel of 700 gals. That is a huge check mark for done.

SO Hubby and I agreed...grill propane tanks need to be filled after SCARES Christmas dinner (we deep fry turkeys for it). That's the first part of Dec and when Hubby is retiring. Those tanks not only run our grill but run the MR Buddy propane heaters we use in the house when it's extremely cold and provide another way to cook when the electric is out.

Draft old farmhouses out in the boonies with no wind block gets COLD.

I have plastic to put over upstairs windows including the trim as wind leaks there also. In late November I put Christmas decorations that are heavy plastic  like this  WOWindow Posters Santa Claus Jolly Christmas Window Decoration 34.5"x60" Backlit Poster  No I don't get money for this. but I have 3( Christmas tree and snowman also) of them and I put them on the worse 3 windows upstairs....it helps. I do set a reminder on my cell phone to go up and turn the overhead light on at dusk and back off before bed as that is how these are lit up (lamps work but I have 3 in one room so overhead is cheaper to do with LED light). All windows will be checked to see if they need caulked. Landlord checked outside when he power washed the siding this summer. I will put up the heaviest curtains we have (I lined them with BLANKETS) on the worst windows. I have a set of insulated drapes (came with this house) that will go in the north upstairs bedroom. That leaves 4 rooms that need heavier curtains due to the loss of ones I had . I have sheers to put under the curtains.I will tape the windows ...sigh, yes I use tape and tape the windows shut. The windows are that bad.

I will make sure we have the winter bedding aired, washed and ready.I might need blankets sooner as the nights are down in the 50's now.

 Winter clothes also...Hubby needs clothes as he has lost weight so I know his winter clothes isn't going to fit. I should be okay except for some flannel pjs bottoms, I have flannel fabric ,might need elastic with a slight shove to get the craft room cleaned back up so I can sort out my sewing supplies.

I need to clean out the garage...basically move garden table and stuff and swing so we can put a car in the garage during the winter.

Hubby moved generator out of garage to outside electric box so if we lose power it's just flip the switch and plug generator in and kick it on. He built a "lean to " to cover it so it's vented but protected.Another big check mark in the done area.

All 3 freezers are full, both refrigerator freezers are full...well might not be if I took the 50 million ice packs out of them but full enough that we need to do some eating to get turkey and ham in there.

 I have empty spots in the butler's pantry of dry goods. That's now on the stock list

We ordered dehydrated foods from Rainy Day Foods suggested by Brandy at theprudenthomemaker.com

 I have empty spots in the pantry in the basement.

This unit needs applesauce..I use 2 shelved worth what ever I can will have to be put somewhere else until I get some some room. I need cherries (next to cranberries that is next to store bought fruit) and apricots (lonely can on bottom shelf). Bread flours are to the left, all purpose to the right.

Tomato juice and pasta sauce are big holes but after walking the gardens today it's more of me having the energy to get the canning done before we lose the produce without messing up my shoulder.

I should be able to fill it before Dec.

Make sure we have extra staples to cover what I use during Thanksgiving and Christmas baking might be a tight one since I usually restock that in Dec during the Christmas sales and won't this year as we won't have any income.

The loss of the winter curtains is going to be the hardest as I have to make those because otherwise they are $100 per window due to the size of windows. I will have to look for cheap blankets if I don't find they at the yard sales the end of this month or thrift shops to line the fabric I have.


Blessed Be

Frugal 1st week of Sept

I reread Brandy's (theprudenthomemaker.com)frugal posts along with all the comments on a daily bases, there always seem to be another suggestion or thought I can use.

I reread Brandy's (theprudenthomemaker.com) post of eating from the pantry and checked her pantry menu to my pantry. I found a couple holes that will be filled as I didn't realize I was out of bouillon.

I finished Rehab at the hospital for my shoulder and can now work out at the wellness center where Hubby works. So instead of 2 trips at a 40 mile round trip each time at a total of 3 hrs away from home and cost of gas at $20.40 (current gas is $2.55). I will now do 3 trips to the wellness center which is a 10 mile round trip each time for a total of 3 hrs away from home (because I will take advantage of whirlpool which will equal in time of driving) and $7.65 at current gas price.

I use Hubby's bungee cords for my exercise bands instead of buying exercise bands here at home.

I washed foil, cold cereal inserts, and freezer bags for reuse.

I open curtains for sunshine, close at dark. Use lights only when necessary. Changed when I read so I am not using light just to read. I changed the bedside lamp to a smaller lamp with LED so if I do read after going to bed it's using a lamp that is cheaper to use, plus gave me a bit more room on the night stand.We don't get enough sunshine in the winter to use solar lamps.

I kept my grease from meats and onion "juice/oils" from cooking onions.

I tried to extend each main dish to feed us 2 -3 times, one to stretch our food but also to cut down on my time cooking meals when I am processing food for storage.

I canned (water bath aka cold packer)outside to cut down on electric costs as I am running 2 dehydrators and cut down on the heat in the house...which now I wouldn't mind some heat in the house as it's in the mid 60s in the mornings without the furnace. I ran the furnace 1 day on 62, kicked on 1 time, ran 30 min and didn't run again so OFF it went BUT at least we know our furnace is in working order unlike last year when it wasn't.I will be also using the pressure canner this week.

I continue to shop sales, coupons, rebates etc to stock up the pantry and non foods.

I rewrote the stock up list in a priority first with it listed per stores that I know I will be getting it BECAUSE  Hubby's company is changing next year's retirement package...so he is coming out in Dec. That is the month I spend $$$ for restocking the staples that I used to make Thanksgiving and Christmas so that stock up is being done prior to the holidays. IF I have money I will get choc etc that goes on sale at Christmas.

I harvested tomatoes, eggplant, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and bell peppers.

I put the potted plants out in the yard around the annual flower bed so if it does rain as forecasted they will get watered, also looks good if it doesn't and I don't get out to move them back to the porch. 

Blessed Be

September stocking the pantry

I would love to say that these boards that are on the side of my frig that is at the door of the butler's pantry, are cleared because we don't need anything ...

but actually they are cleared because the amount was more than the boards could hold.

Right top is items needed for household..softener salt, filters, auto items etc.

Right bottom is for canning items, freezing items and whatever is needed for holidays upcoming .

Left top is weekly needs of food (which we plan to go to biweekly when we go to chiro)

Left bottom is monthly needs of non-food.

Fall months are my prime stock up for items I don't grow or can't buy at the Amish produce auction.

Even more now with Hubby retiring out beginning of Dec rather than Jan. so it will be 3-4 months before he gets seasonal work instead of 2-3.

I am blessed with the over flow of food to produce.

This week's to buy...Hummingbird food, I think we are starting to get  "visitors'" as they travel to their winter homes. Milk,lettuce, ice cream (maybe) eggs and butter (price depending) Aldi's has ground beef and strawberry jam on sale so I will check on those.


Part of Fall stock up

First we went to Brandy's website theprudenthomemaker.com and checked what she had listed as her pantry menu and then compared it to what we have...there was a couple "holes" that are now on the stock list and we feel good at what we are facing.

Usually in Dec I refill the pantry with staples used at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Hubby is retiring first of Dec there won't be any pay coming in for 6-10 wks. He told me to stock extra for the holidays NOW.

Eggs if right price as I need 24 dozen between noodles and cookies in Nov. I am trying to have that much dehydrated and then another 24 dozen dehydrated for us. I have 18 dozen dehydrated and powdered.

Butter is running $3.78/lb right now, I will check Aldi's tomorrow. We ordered powdered butter from Rainy day Foods. We have never used powdered butter so will be doing a test run on how it does with cookies. I've already been told to lower the amount of water I use to make it.

Mushrooms if on sale, with coupons etc to dehydrate. I have enough canned...well not really I will never have enough canned or enough mushrooms. :/

Winter squash :3 Acorn,3 Butternut,3 spaghetti squash and if they have Delectia  3 of them. Hurley farms market is the best price. This will be Sept 22nd.on way past from Amish produce auction

Pumpkins, we have 4 for dehydrating and decoration, we will buy 30 for the kids,grandkids and great grandson for Halloween. We might also buy pie pumpkins to make pies from for Thanksgiving. Plus crate of Jack be littles or Wee be littles (usually used for decorations but edible and we roast them for side dish) if the price is good. Last year we got them for 1¢ each . These are bought at Amish produce Auction

Potatoes from Michael produce farm( I would have to drive to) if the price is less than 20 ¢ / lb other wise I will order them for Save a lot that has them running for 28 ¢/lb that is right here in 50 lbs bags The savings in gas will be enough to just order them.

Sweet potatoes, I do have some planted in straw bales in garden...not sure how they are making. I bought 20 lbs at Amish auction last week...I would like to have another 20-30 lbs.BUT if my crop hasn't done any and I don't get them at Auction or produce farm we will make do.

Apples, our friends neighbor said he thought he would have extra. If he does we might get enough to finish filling out the applesauce and dried apples needed. Otherwise I can go over to the Greenthumb market and get them there for cheaper since we no longer have a pick your own orchard near and it that's too much I might just go without.

Ginger...if it comes on sale at the stores I will get fresh to dry for powder and teas and a tube for fresh. ( I have garlic to dry and onions to dry). Whole cloves (Amish Country store before Amish produce auction )

Vanilla bean (I make my own vanilla extract and sugar) Vanilla bean paste.

Dried blueberries, mixed berries,cranberries, raisins, figs and prunes as they come on sale (check Amish Country store) King Arthur Flour fruit cake blend when on sale. Hubby's favorite and the kids/grandkids love it in oatmeal cookie bars at Christmas.

Dried veggie soup as this is the only thing Hubby likes as a dip.

Nuts:pecans. walnuts, peanuts, cashews,almonds,pinenuts and sunflower seeds

Peanut butter. I make over 100 dozen buckeyes at Christmas.. I don't use butter..just pb and xxx sugar and then Freeze then dip in choc.(Check Amish Country store)

Candy M&Ms and Reese's pieces... we use this for cookies,trail mix and on top of ice cream/frozen yogurt. Assorted choc chips on sale because I will wipe out my supply when I make cookies and fudge for the family. Generic is ok.

Staples: flour in Nov as I will already have the bulk of the Cookies and homemade noodles made and vacuum packed. Wheat germ for granola bars and yogurt, Wondra flour, Bisquick (Hubby insists) semolina flour(Amish Country store) chicken and beef bouillon, regular sugar,xxx sugar, brown sugar lt and dark, honey. This is going to be MORE than usual as Hubby said to "overstock" to make up for not stocking in Dec. I have already saved this money and put it aside.

condense milk and evaporated milk

Lard/Butter crisco/ oil (turkey deep fryer)

This is just part of the list but what I am focusing on getting in the pantry this month.

In the gardens...I have tomatoes to make pasta sauce, juice, steak sauce, and if still have enough BBQ sauce. The last 2 yrs I have ran out of pasta sauce.... I just walked the gardens and I should have plenty if I can get them out before they rot. I have some I will over roast.

I have onions to hang in nylon hose (about the only time I buy panty hose) that I will dry for the damaged ones or the ones starting to go bad for dried onions and powder for onion powder.

I have garlic I can dry and change to garlic powder

I have a bell peppers I can roast and then dry or can. Dried can be mixed with dried cayenne to make crushed red peppers ( I use any color not just red).

I have a few cucumbers left. Hubby asked for more refrigerator pickles since I now have enough bread and butter. I thought about small dill as we use mini dills to make dried beef cream cheese rolls for Thanksgiving. Since I have 3 quarts of refrigerator pickles sitting in the frig so the mini dills win out.

Menards is having their 11 % rebate still, so I will pick up more cases of distilled water for humidifier, humidifier treatment additive, washing soda, fly traps(usually marked down by now) ant traps(usually marked down by now) and paper plates...sigh, a battle I am not going to win but at least he is down to using it for his snacks and reuses it if it's just crumbs on the plate AND will put the crumbs in the trash instead of shoving plate and crumbs in to the microwave.

Blessed Be

Can I do any more at one time?

Yes I have 3 cold packers aka water bath canners with food being processed at the same time, I also had the pressure canner in the house going along with 2 other burners with food being cooked to be canned AND it's been like that for the last 2 days. I could easily see a couple more of those days this week depending on the rain that is forecasted to come in Monday around noon.

I met my swag bucks goal one time this week. The other's I just did what I could, I figured 3 pts a day is more than what I was doing.

I usually catch a couple surveys but since I don't have a DVR I'm getting bumped out.We have an antenna only.

We saved gas with Kroger points, Speedway, Wagner IGA points and Gasbuddy. Hubby has been riding the motorcycle to work. Have used almost 15 gal. of gas in the lawnmowers this week. Had to move twice and haven't had the issue alls summer.

We shopped Menards for sales and household items to score on the 11 %  rebate and got additional rebate from Whink rust remover.

I washed the insert to the cold cereal that Hubby used to make a trail like mix to carry when he is working SCARES ( group of radio operators that would with Homeland security)

I got the stain out of Hubby's dress shirt FINALLY after 4 different washings and different soaps.

I did laundry with cold tap water and homemade laundry soap. Still can't use clothes line due to surgery.Used my stain remover that came with my home dry cleaning kit.

No AC or furnace...open windows , let sun shine in. close up before it cools off. Wear shawl in mornings and evenings.

I harvest cherry,Roma and regular tomatoes, green onions, green tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers,2 thumb size cucumbers, a single green bean (thank you to the birds that ate the blooms) and surprise oregano and rosemary that the Bunny family didn't eat.

I battered and slightly deep fried eggplant and green tomatoes for the freezer . I will either bake or finish deep frying them when I serve them.

I froze sausage grease and beef grease and 1 pint of blackberries this week.

I canned 14 qrts beef vegetable soup, 16 pts of zesty chili, 21 pts mild chili,10 qrts. blackberry pie filling,14 pts blackberries, 14 pts bread and butter pickles,8 pts peperonata, and 8 -1/2 pts of caponata.

I dehydrated 6 dozen eggs, 2 lbs of carrots, 1 bunch of celery, 9 pints of blackberries, and Roma tomatoes sliced and sprinkled with seasoned salt.

I've used whatever I was canning that day to make something for dinner

Oh yeah, we went to the produce auction. I now have mums that the people parked next to us ran out of room in their SUV and couldn't find anyone to buy them from them so I bought them for $2 each which is what they spent. The big mums Hubby bought for me for $4 each. Also go pumpkins $3.50 each for the large ones and  less for the others, storage onions (half go to a friend that will pay us back when they get home from vacation)colored bell peppers , roma tom, yellow roma tom, yellow tom, sweet potatoes, beets (for Hubby's mom) 50 lbs of red onions (behind pumpkins), apples, pickles, maple syrup , blackberries  etc ... I priced against what we would have spent if we had bought from store... we saved $640. We picked up some peaches at the produce farm down the road from the auction. I just wanted some to eat this week.

Hubby asked where Brandy (The Prudent Homemaker) got dried cheese sauce from. I went to her Bulk food and grains page, clicked on the Walton food link that cheese was listed under and it took me to Rainy Day Foods website which is Walton's food subsidiary and it was a good thing stuff was on sale because we definitely placed a big order. Still it was under budget for our stocking up AND the sale actually covered more than the shipping costs. Hubby figured out if we didn't go to the store every week to get dairy products we would have the money back in gas with in 3 mos.

We ordered dehydrated sour cream, something I use regularly but Hubby doesn't like so it sometimes goes bad before I get a large container used up but the small one doesn't last long enough. Hash browns, diced potatoes and sliced potatoes means we won't have potatoes going bad in the root cellar or have to eat them ASAP. Never had that problem when the kids were home. Butter powder for making cookies at the holiday so I only have to stock for our usage which is 1 stick a week unless Hubby makes pancakes, then he greases the skillet with butter. Clear jel that I just used the last of it with the blackberry pie filling. Golden raisins that I struggle to find around here, and mango that Hubby requested. Dried sweet Garden peas and dried carrots so I am not taking up freezer room with them and we only need like 1 cup of at a meal and that leaves an open bag in the freezer that half the time get's knocked back open and dumped in the freezer.Instant milk, that should stop the extra trip for milk especially during the winter. Hubby can get it at the local store on his way home IF he heads home 2 hrs after he gets off work, If he doesn't work out at the wellness center then it is go without or make a trip back to the store using a gal of gas.Shortening powder.. sugar cookies call for this and I get it as I have a granddaughter that only eats sugar cookies and I bake everyone else's favorites at Christmas but because I don't use shortening for my cooking, I end up throwing part of it away. I hope this works for us. Teriyaki sauce mix...my fix...HA HA... I crave this about once a week, okay daily but I limit the salt intake by not eating it daily AND FINALLY the cheese sauce that started this to begin with.

The dryer just buzzed and I am tired, still working on rebuilding my strength with my arm and it wearing on me.

Tomorrow is another day.... and for one last thought. I bought this painting and showed it to Hubby and told him it was the house I wanted...with a walkout basement and 1-3 acres of land because I want fruit trees, berry bushes and maybe a cow or couple pigs so we needed a barn and grazing area.

He thought it was a great looking home.

Frugal update 8.20.17

Hubby really doesn't know if he meant to take a picture of his shadow or if he meant to take a picture of the hose...I think he meant to check his phone for the time because he just turned on the water for the garden and we switch the controls in an hour to water the other gardens... Frugal to time water and frugal to take thousands of pictures and be able to see them without spending a fortune getting the film developed because he constantly takes pictures of the floor , his feet whatever when he checks the time on his phone.

We had enough rain we didn't have to water as much as normal. We don't pay for water (in country have water well and septic tank, leach bed) but we do pay the electric to run the water pump (yep no electric means no water for anything). I moved the flowers off the porch to get the rain also.

Windows and doors open every morning, I close them up if going to be very humid or hot with no breeze unless I was running in and out from the gardens due to canning. Curtains are clipped close with binder clips to keep some of the sun out. I see no point of closing them completely and then turning on the lights to work since the house doesn't get that hot with the curtains clipped.AC off at night after the sun sets and I turn on a fan but don't open the windows if it's not going to cool down or humidity is high.Lights are off as long as the sun is shining. If I need a light for something it's a light that shines only where I need it.

Harvested oregano ("Italian" bunny had a litter and they all like oregano, basil and rosemary but hopped right by the lettuce) and rosemary to dehydrate for the first time this season and probably the last because now her litter is coming with  her and they aren't afraid of my dog who bumps them with his nose to get them to hop..right under him.  A bird was picking on one and he chased the bird off and then brought the bunny into Hubby who carried it back out and put it in the bean field where Mommy bunny goes in and out while I sidetracked Rascal. An hour later Baby Bunny laying curled up with Rascal. I do not need a pet bunny. I don't think Mommy bunny is happy about it either as she was at the edge of the field hopping in and out.

I harvested eggplant, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers,2 small cucumbers and yard long red beans. I gave the beans and eggplant (she has bell peppers and tomatoes)to my daughter who is off work without pay due to having mono.She didn't have time off to cover being off sick so she lost the job. She has an interview on Wed so hopefully she is well enough to hold on to it as the doctor told her she could go back to work. She wants a full time job NOT through a temp service but most companies in her area hire only through a temp service.

I mended 3 shirts and a pair of shorts. Hubby darned two pairs of work socks.

I am out of the sling so I am back to doing most the cooking. Hubby lifts anything heavy and washes whatever I can't pick up yet.We gave the boxed food we bought that he was going to fix to our daughter to help her through this time. She has helped us more than once.

After rehab on Friday I went shopping to try to finish the stocking up.

I used my CVS extra bucks to pay for the Xlear spray along with a $2 coupon. I had enough left over to pick up the last of the calcium tablets I needed for stocking.OOP $3

I used my Reward points at Walgreens to pay for the Gold bond products that I had coupons for also. OOP $ 7.27.

I went to Walmart and got the different beans that was cheapest there along with some clearance items they had I needed also.

I went to Krogers, got buy one get one of pork tenderloin, beef roast, and chicken breast. Their frozen chicken breast was on sale for $2 less than normal and I had a $2 coupon. Bacon was on sale, I had one free coupons and 5 other coupons. Pasta was on sale, between the sale and my coupons I walked out with 4 free pounds of the 10 lbs I bought. I also got toilet paper, on sale and with $2 coupon for 2 -6 rolls...I got 2 packages of cheese for free. I saved over $100 and it took 30 min to check me out with the coupons I had.

I went to IGA and got the buy one get one sale of hamburger and sausage. They also had carrots and celery for half the price of everywhere else so I got 2 bunches of celery and 4 lbs of carrots. I will dehydrate half of it.The sausage is going into zesty chili to be canned. The majority of the hamburger will go into mild chili (using our tomatoes and onions) to be canned. IF there is enough left I will make some salisbury steak for the freezer. I did take some to make a bacon "sushi" roll with hamburger and cheese(free cheese) in it...google BBQ bacon sushi for different recipes. I weaved the bacon slices (the free bacon)and precooked in the oven until done enough to hold shape before adding the hamburger but not so done it was crunchy. I hate slimy bacon.

I canned pasta sauce and tomato juice and put onions to cure. I planted some onions...again.

I need to finish putting everything away and update stock up list.

We continue to research the best way to invest the retirement and how to deal with the funds we will be given for medical. Along with new(to us) vehicles.

We used Speedway points, Kroger points and gas buddy for gas.

We went to see my Daddy and took him to Bob Evans(he is housebound) to lunch. We used a gift card and Daddy paid the balance and the tip. We all saved. We listened to him talk about choices he made when he retired and had to use his assets for 3 yrs for daily living. Hubby's parents did it for four years including buying a house (they rented like we do) and 2 vehicles. Daddy also told me when I caramelize onions to save the juice/oil from them to cook potatoes in or add to soups.He knows I keep pretty much all my meat fats and freeze them.

We went to a friends' home for last of the summer cookout. I made a bacon sushi roll (free bacon, free cheese and cheap hamburger) low carb bread(friend diabetic and doesn't eat grain, on sale cottage cheese and on sale eggs) and part of a pineapple side down cake... I made it for Daddy but divided the cake into 3 round cake pans, cake mix was free and the pineapple was marked down to 59¢) I took a bag of blue tortilla chips (that had been free from Krogers) also. After we started talking about it we figured out NO ONE paid full price for anything that was there.

I bought a new pressure canner that was on sale for cheaper for the parts I need to replace on my old canner. I still kept the old canner, it can be used as water bath until I find the parts at a better price.

I followed WHIO tv instructions to make a way for me to "watch" the eclipse without buying glasses. I remember my cousin making one with the paper and foil also, and then nailing me when I turned to look over my shoulder instead of at the paper. I do have a blind spot in my eye but lucky for me it's not right in the middle to mess my vision up as bad as it could have if she hadn't stepped behind me and shoved my head back to not see it. Years later when the spot showed up Mother told me she felt like turning me across her knee again because of me disobeying my cousin...who by that time was deceased.

I sorted through my seeds for what I can plant for fall and what I need for spring to check with sales. It doesn't look like I need anything. A coworker of Hubby's gave us seedlings of field tomatoes...they are like Roma but thicker skinned because they are harvested by machine. He told us to get a hold of him in the spring and he will give us more if he gets any. He was given them due to a farmer running out of space to place them. He didn't know if they were heirloom or hybrid so I might try to keep some seeds and see if they grow for me next year.

A person at the cookout offered to share his apples with us when they are ready next month. Especially if we are willing to climb the ladder to get them as he doesn't like doing that due to bad knees. Our friend who is the guy's neighbor doesn't like to climb ladders either.

I made caponata from the eggplant and tomatoes from the gardens

I cooked chicken to make chicken salad.

I have the 2 beef roasts in the oven to slowly roast overnight to make beef veggie soup and beef and broth for noodles. I will can the broth and the veggie soup. Other canning this week will be zesty chili, mild chili, tomato juice and pasta sauce. Caponata if there is any left.

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

Blessed Be

Why I am the way I am.

Four hundred and one variety...that is different/variety things not number of things.

In my pantry when fully stocked there is 20,852 items...not counting what is in the freezers.

With 80% being what I grow or buy at the cheapest price and process myself to keep it frugal.

Why? because I have went hungry as a child. I went hungry as an adult but I made sure my kids didn't and in 2007 I watched my Hubby worry there wouldn't be food on the table when he went to 3 days a week (company didn't lay off full time workers and kept them at 3 day which is equal to unemployment but gave them health ins that wouldn't be available if they had laid them off. Temporary workers were let go. We lost both the house we lived in and the one our one daughter lived in. Now we are looking at retirement, with health insurance going through the roof and not sure what income we will have after he retires and we pay for the insurance.He has been offered part time, seasonal work with a couple companies owned by our landlord's families. Landord has made it very clear he would work with us just to keep us here, would prefer for us to live here another 10 yrs or more.

My parents grew up during the Great Depression. Hubby's parents weren't born yet, his dad grew up on farm(cattle/pig and grain) and his mom's dad worked for the electric company. Hubby grew up farming and all grocery money and bill money was on the farm loan so it was more of will the crops pay of the loan and if not what's the interest to roll over to the next yr's loan.His mom did some gardening but enough to go year to year.

 Daddy didn't know it was the Great Depression as he grew up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Everyone was poor and ate pretty the same thing. Milk (evaporated milk) gravy and bread or oatmeal for breakfast and bean soup and bread for lunch and supper. Spring brought sassafras tea and wild greens, summer brought fish and the gardens. If there was enough money after buying his mother's medication they got shells to hunt with.

 Mother on the other hand, understood the difference. Her dad worked in lumber yard and rail road... and was without a job for 2 yrs. He refused to work the program that was offered and his family paid the price for his pride in the way of not having food or clothings at times. Mother finally got a job at the age of 10 working for a "junk man" cleaning up things for him. She made 5¢ a day that was spent on beans to feed her parents and siblings.

 There was never enough grown in the gardens with how big the family was to put any up for winter.Daddy did know how to dry food on a tin roof covered to keep the animals off the food but there wasn't enough food to do it often. Mother was clueless.

As a child my parents had decided my older brother would not only graduate from high school(first of both their families) but go to college the day he was born. Good thing he wanted to go because both him and I know he would have went even if he didn't want to. Both did whatever work they could often working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet, money went to pay off the mortgage and put money aside for his college education. Dad grew a good size garden and started hunting. One neighbor taught Mother how to can corn, tomatoes and green beans. Another neighbor showed her how to make and can grape juice as we had a very small harbor of concord grapes. By this time Grandpa(Daddy's side as Mother's dad had died when they first bought the house) was raising chickens and potatoes along with a huge garden for himself and his daughter that remained as his care taker.Grandma died when Dad was 16) So we would get eggs once a month when we went to visit, sometimes a chicken that wasn't laying and old and in season we would get 100 lbs of potatoes when Daddy went to help dig potatoes with Grandpa. Grandpa had an acre planted of potatoes and that was how he made his money to pay his bills.I would pick up cans and pop bottles for Daddy to take into recycle to get money to go towards my brother's college fund. Many times food was on the slim side when the garden didn't produce or Dad didn't get anything when he went hunting or fishing. If soup was on the table I knew not to ask for more than what I was given which usually was a 8 oz cup.Most times it was a water based soup.

As an adult when my late husband died I went through a time, almost a year where I wasn't sure what I was going to put on the table. He didn't have medical insurance (heart attack, ambulance run, ER, doctors, tests) and no life insurance  (funeral home, casket,open and closing of grave to be paid up front etc) and I had just left my part time job because it was costing us more for me to work with the kids in childcare than me to stay home. No income, didn't qualify for any assistance as it was based on what I WOULD get from SS survivor benefits that took 3 mos to get. Then I had to pay back the ones that lent me money to keep the home and bills paid. I made it Went from 130 to 75 lbs), kids never went hungry, though saw me count pennies many times for their lunch money (no help there and didn't qualify for health ins either) I sold everything I could that wouldn't affect my kids..The elderly neighbor gave me tomato plants to grow on my deck (lived in the city), my lawyer's secretary gave me corn and green beans. My Daddy brought me dried beans,potatoes, eggs and bar soap. Mother brought me ham, flour, sugar, yeast and toilet paper. I didn't have water in the kitchen but did upstairs. House was one step from being condemned when we bought it , he died 6 wks later. I finished bring it up before I remarried.It appraised for $120,000 right before we moved.

Ask my kids what meals they loved as a child...beef veggie soup and noodles with homemade bread...both dishes were served when I was scraping the bottom of the barrel for food. I was shocked it wasn't the beef roast that I used the scraps for the soup or the roasted chicken that made the noodles. They still ask me to can veggie soup for them for Christmas, noodles dried and given at Thanksgiving.

My answer to those times it to have a large pantry that will feed my family for 2 years. Have variety as I understood my parents for years struggled to eat and enjoy bean soup. And to try to make sure I have a variety to also meet nutritional needs I have with my Crohn's.

Right now I could go 19 months with the holes I have in the pantry...the holes are 192 varieties that either are low or gone completely. Those holes are the last 5 mos I want in the pantry by Dec 31st.

My goal for the next four months it so have enough cash to pay 6 mos bills ahead of time, enough in the pantry to go 2 yrs and household items(cleaners. softener salt etc) and personal items to go one year and OTC meds to go 6 months and all prescriptions filled as of Dec 31st.AND pray the car holds together until AFTER Hubby retires because he qualifies for $5000 reimbursement if he buys a car through the program. We plan to replace Hubby's truck the following year.

Hubby is trying to save his vacation to cash out to cover some of the Jan bills, (he will get one paycheck before he retires out)when he retires but I am not counting on that due to he takes vacation when I am in the hospital with Crohn's.

Off to make zucchini bread pancakes for supper.

Blessed Be

Being frugal while filling the holes in the pantry

Top shelf is 26 pints of enchilada sauce and 26 half pints pizza sauce.Enchiladas one week, pizza or calzones the next.

Next shelf down is pasta sauce, red sauce( 32 qrts pasta and 12 pints red sauce)6 store bought alfredo sauce and 4 #10 cans of tomato sauce to change into pasta sauce or go in chili...chili will be first.

Third shelf down is diced tomatoes (60 pints) and 6 cans of stewed tomatoes my son gave us and 6 cans of Rotel tomatoes a friend gave us.

That bottom shelf was full of tomato juice that is old enough that I decided to convert it to pasta sauce that will be used first of the sauces and using this year's tomatoes to make fresh juice.

I have holes in a few places that make me leary of the coming year with Hubby retiring and insurance going through the roof, not sure how much money will be coming in and we have to live below what is coming in ( in the last year I've cut the budget by 50%)...but after inventorying all 401 varieties ( yes that is varieties not items....when fully stocked there is 20,852 items( yes you read that correctly) in the pantry not including freezers) in my pantry (not including 3 deep freezers and 2 refrig freezers) Hubby and I was able to pinpoint where my focus should be to fill in. FRUGALLY of course!!

Tomatoes... I need 20 qrts of pasta sauce  and at least 8 qrts of tomato juice. I should be able to get this from the tomatoes in the gardens. IF I get that and still get tomates I will make red sauce. I can bread and slightly deep fry some green tomatoes for the freezer or make green tomato sauce if it turns cold before they ripen.

I have NO chili. Hubby eats hot spicy and I eat mild. I can pints of these for quick meals or snacks of nachos.  I need at least 26 pints of each, 52 would be better...depends on the meat prices.The one small store near us does buy 3 lb sausage get 6 lbs free...if I can hit that sale it will be a definite big help.

Garlic powder. I grow my own garlic so I can dehydrate some of them and blend to powder.This will be done this fall as the dehydrator is running daily with other things now.

Onion powder. If we get bulk onions(25-50 lbs) at the Amish auction I can dehydrate and blend for powder otherwise...not going in the cabinet. My onions I grew this year did better but not enough to carry us through until the next season. We usually get 25 lbs for $5 sometimes in a bad year it might be closer to $15.

Applesauce, I have 36 qrts...that means we can have 1 qrt every other week. I would like to have 52 which is 16 more qrts but that depends on the price of apples and if anyone gives us apples.  More would be better as we used to eat it at every meal.but I haven't been able to find apples in my price range.

I have 12 half pints of butter canned.I got some butter at $1.99/lb. I'm going to can it(no room in freezers and I grew up with canned butter since we didn't have a frig for a while, neither parent had ice boxes growing up). Last week I saw butter at almost $5/lb. I don't eat margarine due to my health issues. We "Eat" 1/4 lbs a week, a half pint is almost 1/4 lb. BUT we use over 10 lbs from Thanksgiving to Christmas so hopefully the prices will be down by then or there are going to be some traditional foods not made or given.

Eggs... I got 5 dozen for 75¢ a dozen to dehydrate. We go through 5 dozen a month with me baking and making pasta and eating. I use 15 dozen at Thanksgiving and 15 dozen at Christmas ( 6 kids, 22 grandkids and one great grandkid). I have 12 dozen dehydrated right now. My goal is to have 20 dozen dehydrated by Jan when Hubby retires. Eating fresh eggs might become a treat instead of common meal. Though a fried egg on homemade bread is a pretty cheap meal but I've seen eggs hit over $3/dzn.

In the dehydrated cabinet the holes show the most...I need bell peppers (garden) tomatoes (garden) oregano(garden) rosemary(garden) carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, potatoes, mushrooms,ginger and pumpkin. I blend the pumpkin to powder, easier to add to dry mixes or water for pie filling/custard.

The root cellar is close to empty. I have a few potatoes and sweet potatoes left in it that will be dehydrated if I find them at reasonable price. I'll be calling the produce farm that grows potatoes at the beginning of Sept for prices along with looking at the Amish auction.

We will buy our winter squash from Hurley's produce market. They grow them organically and usually are the lowest price unless we can get them at the Amish auction.

Pumpkins will come from the Amish auction. We get a pallet (usually 25-35 pumpkins) to share with the kids. Last year we spent 50¢ per pumpkin and they weighed in at 25-35 lbs each. Depending on prices we will get sugar pumpkins (pie pumpkins) and jack be littles or wee be littles.... usually used for decorations but can be cooked for single servings.I love baking molasses custard in them.


I would like to learn how to make orange marmalade, lemon curd and lime curd,possible orange curd LOL, but that's low on the list and might end up being a Christmas present from my kids instead.

First week of Aug

Frugal fail...sending Hubby to store for ice cream... he bought the expensive klondikes yes they are my favorite and yes I was craving chocolate which took half of the $20 budgeted for the month.His answer was they are medicine because I need to calcium and I'm not eating cheese, yogurt or drinking milk and it's chocolate to help with the cravings and it was DARK choc so that helped with the depression....Then on the way to Great Grandson's 1st birthday party that was 2 hrs away..we pit stopped at the gas station to potty and walked out with $21 of food because it was lunch time and I have to take my meds with food and we didn't think about bringing snacks as we knew we would eat at the party but the grandson let me know After we headed that way we wouldn't be eating until closer to 2 ...at least most of it was healthy and we brought half of  it home and I was able to cover it with the eat out fund that we put aside for the month.At least we thought to take water. We didn't eat on the way back l even though it was pass dinner time like we planned and ate mini eggrolls that was in the freezer instead since I had meds to take with food...I wasn't hungry but hey meds need to have food or I get sick.

I gave my great grandson his afghan made with yarn that matched his and his parents birthstone. I only had to buy one skein of yard due to his Mom being an Oct baby and I didn't have enough of that color of pink.

I think I will start looking for shades of blue to make him one for his 2nd birthday.

 We took water to the birthday party to drink, it was in park. I took my ice pack sling for my arm in case and instead of buying a bag of ice for the cooler to keep it cold I dug out every lunch box, medication ice pack etc I had tucked away and put that in the cooler. Did a decent job for being out 8 hrs, sling was still froze as it was on the bottom but the rest was starting to really get warm.

I scored at CVS between the coupons and sales I eliminated 7 more products I needed in the pantry. I budgeted $300 for these items...paid $144.04  with a savings of $155.96... not only am I happy about the savings but happy that I actually knew what to budget. My next goal is to finish stocking the personal care stuff and medical supplies. I've been watching the sales and have the coupons already.I don't buy name brand much but what I do I try to match coupons and sales. Like Pantene shampoo/conditioner... CVS had it buy 3 for $12. I had a coupon that was buy 3 save $5 and a coupon that was buy 3 save $2. I got 6 large bottles  shampoo/conditioner for less than $3 each...THEN I ADD 1/3 of water to them  so I will end up with over 2 bottles for free.bringing the price down to around $2 for a large bottle. Doesn't work as well with Sauve.

I gave what few cucumbers we got that Hubby didn't want to eat for a friend that made refrigerator pickles so I would have pickles for myself since I can't handle canning with my arm in a cradle sling. I gave tomatoes that were going to go to waste to my ex son in law and his wife. Their tomatoes are still green.

My cucumbers and squash got hit with the squash bug... I won't replant as I have friends that are being ran over produce.

We turn the AC off every morning and open the house. THEN only turn it back on it's it's over 80 and there is no breeze. If there is a breeze. Ac stays off (hubby will use room AC while sleeping during the day) .Hubby has started turning the lights off without reminders and turns the tv off after the news as figured he didn't need to zone out with the tv on.

We ate from the pantry and ate Plan overs twice. We will be making the menu today for this coming week. We have enough pasta left over for tonight.

Our pressure switch went out on the water pump and the landlord showed me how to fix it and keep the water on until he got a new switch that he installed himself.Which was luckily to be the next day right after breakfast.
 
We put in the order for our propane and pulled the money to pay it. Put a hole in the savings but it's paid in full at the lowest price. It always seems to go up the 2nd week of Aug.

I am starting my winter produce list that I buy at the Sept auction.I can imagine that it will change weekly as I recheck the pantry.

I am looking at the Christmas to buy list also this week and making a list of what is still needed.Mostly there are 2 crafts I want to make that I don't have all the supplies for. I have a back up plan if the costs is above when I have budgeted.

I contacted Menards about a rebate that should have came in and hadn't and they traced it and it was sent. Glitch in their system.

My son bought 3 of the shirts I had bought (I bought 5) for when I was wearing the sling, I'm to the point I can put on a shirt over my head if I don't raise my hand, actually I lean over and put the bad arm in first.

We are working towards not using disposable items as much. I got rid of the paper napkins decades ago but Hubby's go to when he eats lunch or a snack is a paper plate. I told him I wasn't buying the better paper plates (as he won't do the thin cheap ones) for him to use when he retires so he needed to quit pulling the paper plates that are in the supply for the family reunion and Thanksgiving (because I don't wash dishes by hand for 100 people).., He is doing better.I caught he was doing it when he was on shut down and was actually home and the plates are stored on the shelf going to the basement which is an area I don't look much at. BUT since we ate lunch together every day I caught it. He also wants to use my freezer bags for things he is putting in the frig and going to eat later. I am reminding him to put it in a storage container

I transferred money to our Ally savings.

I checked our credit scores at credit karma

We used Gas buddy, Speedway fuel card with speedway fuel points and Kroger points for gas.

We look our Maybe buy house list when we are going some where to see if we can do a drive buy to save fuel.

 Other that noticing we are now having Oct weather in Aug everything is pretty steady on the frugal front...as long as I limit paper plates and buy the ice cream myself.

first physical therapy

the black thing is the ice pack the hospital provided.It's almost as awkward as the cradle sling

It wasn't the nightmare others told. Maybe because I was in better shape, wringer washer, clothesline and 1200 sq ft of gardens is a lot of exercise.OR maybe it's because I actually did the exercises they told me to do after the surgery until I got into the physical therapy. Still looking at 11 more weeks unless the doctor changes the orders when I see him the 10th. I have a love hate relationship with the cradle sling.It's too big to fit me correctly and causes some raw spots from rubbing along with pinching nerves in my back shoulder area.

Due to the mess up of my therapy not being ordered until after surgery,my twice a week is scattered instead of the same days each week.Also the time is bounced around so a couple are in the afternoon when Hubby sleeps. A couple of friends had offered to transport me but can't due to other conflicting things.. So the doctor cleared me to drive myself. Still because of the bouncing of days and times we will be spending more on gas than I would like as there isn't anything else going on to combine with..

I would say the lack of decent sleep by having to have the cradle to my side is the biggest issue.The rash that started under my arm I was warned about was pretty much stopped because I had the meds here at 2 am when I woke with it and didn't have to wait until the local store opened at 9 am.I can do more than I thought, just slower and not some things like eat jello without issues.

My physical therapy is stretches right now as they didn't think I would be in as good as shape as what I am. My baseline testing put me closer to the beginning of 3rd week instead of the end of 1st week . I am hoping that advancement continues and I get out of cradle sling sooner.

Blessed BE

one handed frugal $20 grocery for Aug

when you look forward to harvesting the gardens just to get out of the house that isn't concerning medical issues. I already found out walking outside in high humidity will help a sling rash under your arm to flare even bigger. Frugal side.I already bought stuff for it at the dollar store.I didn't buy all the gadgets that I was told I would need to survive with one hand for a month or so...maybe because we have several one handed family/ friends that get along with all that stuff?

Finger carrots, baby eggplant and one zucchini

There was 6 beets that I roasted,then realized I was hungry so ate 3 of them before this picture. Since hubby doesn't care for beets it made him happy and neither of us had figure out what I could eat for lunch.

Cherry tomatoes are starting , several had busted due to downpours.

large onions aren't mine but the small ones along with the cucumbers are. I'm thinking refrigerator pickles might be the easiest for Hubby since I'm stocked for dill pickles but don't have any bread and butter pickles.

These tomatoes aren't very big,there are some that are size of baseballs or bigger that are still green in the gardens. I mentioned fried green tomatoes to Hubby and watched his eyes roll...rough when your wife is a chef and down to one hand LOL.
















The now deceased mole destroyed my scarlet runner beans. I don't think they will recover in time to get beans off them.

We have August bills paid and the rent,electric and this coming winter's propane ( price right now is $1.29/gal and we use 900 gals to be paid in full at signing of contract this coming week) sitting in the savings until due.

The bad news is my car that I was going to sell to my youngest has a broken drive shaft. She's now looking for different car and I'm looking at a repair bill.It's still good enough for driving, just not the 2 1/2 hrs a day she does to work. Our mechanic, bless him and his, is willing to use used parts if they are good enough to put in his own cars and lets people make payments without holding the car until paid in full.

We know we have 4 outings that will cost us some money so I put that money back also added a bit more to it as we will be going to a friend's summer cookout and I'm not sure what I'll take.

Monty..the 27 cubic ft chest deep freezer (Montgomery Ward) is full to the point if you don't put things just so the top won't close. Mostly meat but the veggies have crept in.

Newbie the 21 cubic ft chest deep freezer (new freezer) is full of veggies, fruit and cooked meat.I could get some sliced cheese in there...maybe.

Baby the 7 cubic ft chest deep freezer(it's the littlest) that sits in the mudroom has some of everything but mainly it's breakfast or soup food. It holds this year's amount of corn as the one bin is the perfect size. I don't think a sheet of paper would fit. I really need to make chili but Hubby isn't thrilled with canning it.The meat for it is in Baby.

The kitchen frig is full,it's freezer has enough room left for 2 boxes of ice cream sandwiches,my ice packet for my shoulder and 2 ice pack refills for my shoulder.

The mudroom frig is seasonal fruit (local produce)and produce from the gardens.The freezer must be full as Hubby told me to NOT open it.That's usually the sign he put too much in it and it falls out when the door is opened. Since the door is held shut with tape, has been for years, it's hard to look and see with only one hand and not worth possible set back if I get hit with something.

The dry goods of the pantry are in good shape until Thanksgiving and will be wiped out by time Christmas/Yule is over with. I'll restock during the holiday sales.

The canned goods (home canned and store bought)...I would like more especially meat and fruit but right now I could easily stretch it for a year.Longer by eating the fresh as it is in season.

I'll restock pie filling,pumpkin,apples,winter squash,sweet potatoes in Sept.at the Amish produce auction and Hurley Farms. I also noted on my calendar to call the local produce farm that grows potatoes next month as they close the first week of Oct.

I'll restock ham,turkey and roasts this fall.Maybe pork loin as last year the prices were a bit too high.

We need personal items and some household items like water softener salt that costs $72 plus tax per fill but we will wait until there is a sale.I also want to add to the emergency  fund (and pay off car repairs). I figure $20 for the month of Aug for the day to day groceries.

We need to eat from the freezers so I have room for the fall meat.

Is it just women

that run around the day before surgery and clean everything, prep food and do the laundry?
 I can add on deal with the 1200 sq ft gardens and my great grandson's afghan that I need 2 hr to complete.

A neighbor (in his low 20's) came in last night and mowed the largest part of the yard and is coming back to deal with a mole we discovered yesterday after he mowed. Hubby will have to finish around the house and trim as the neighbor's mower was too big to get in some areas around my gardens. But he cut down a 6 hr job to a 2 hr job for Hubby and we made sure he knew we were very grateful.

Let's Hubby work in the gardens with me and cuts MY time down.

Hubby told me to do the afghan first as doing it with a arm in a sling is time consuming and difficult (yes I tried to just to see if I could do it) and he isn't willing to learn to crochet. I could ask one of my kids to finish it but I am going to block out time to finish it myself. Anything else he can deal with himself.

torn muscles ( they located 4 on the MRI,) bone spur above bursa ...it hurts now but Hey I can still use it unlike a couple years ago I couldn't lift my coffee cup out of the microwave and put it on top of the microwave.

I've looking forward to having the surgery and getting this fixed... I am not looking forward to the IV. I have very small veins that roll, blow out and disappear.I've made nurses cry because of how it goes.

MEAN TIME water and water and more water... try to pump it up as of midnight the liquids are shut off and surgery is at 2: 00 pm.

The good thing is even though I had to buy some clothes to wear, I bought mens elastic band shorts in my son's size because I tried his shorts on and I could make them work and I bought 6 shirts that my son fondly calls Hawaii shirts for a total of $50. My son is buying the shorts and at least 2 of the shirts if not 3 of them off me after I am done with them so I will get back $35. Thankfully I have a lot of slip on shoes so I didn't have to go buy any.

I best get back at it.

Blessed Be

Tuesday before surgery

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in town getting fitted for my sling which looks like this. There is a huge wedge of foam between the arm and the body. The lady had told me I had a $44 copay...hum... I politely told her she needed to call my ins and confirm that because as of 2 wks ago my deductible and copays had been met and I was what Hubby's employer considers catastrophic and they pay 100%. She really didn't want to take the time, wanted me to pay it and then wait for a refund. Very polite but I politely insisted she call them and I would come back to get the sling after I went grocery shopping. She called me 30 min later and confirmed what I told her. Kept apologizing and then one of the other ladies that knows me told it that the young lady had got nailed the week before because someone told her their copay was at zero and she didn't confirm it and let them have the sling when in reality they were suppose to pay over $500 for it. Lucky for the young lady that they were able to get ahold of the spouse and the spouse came in and paid it or it would have came out of the young lady's paycheck. I told her that she needed to confirm the day before what the copay is because with our ins it can change in one day.  I didn't have a problem with her wanting the copay but I know that it would take me MONTHS to get that money back since they can't give me credit for it as all medical bills are paid in full from the ins as of now. After fitting me she put it in a case and zip tied it shut. If the hospital feels that it is over kill and I don't need that, we are to return it to the doctor's office as ins won't pay for it if we don't use it...it's $2500...talk about prices running wild.

Since I was in town and I had the grocery money on me with plans to stop after the appt at Krogers for the sales. I went to Aldi's had picked up this month's part of the "stock" up items.Scored as 4 of the veggies I was picking up was down to less than 50¢ a can.. We need 97 items restocked, that's 97 variety not 97 total... more like cases.I got 11 yesterday off the list. I usually restock Aug through Nov but I am not sure how I will be doing after surgery and during physical therapy. I've been warned I should  have someone take me the first week because I will be crying when I leave therapy from how bad it hurts.

I stopped at Krogers and got the sales. Came home and picked a few veggies out of the gardens.

Have my list of MUST DO BEFORE SURGERY for today and ready to get started.

Blessed Be

Frugal preparing for Surgery

Surgery is Thursday afternoon.... I have bought clothes from Goodwill what I couldn't bum from others with acknowledgement that my son is buying some of what I bought off me when I am done with them. I might use what is left for paint shirts since I just toss what I had been painting in into the trash.Figured when the shirt is HARD after washing due to the amount of paint on it , it's time to toss it.

I dug through the medical equipment bag and found a mesh sling to use in the shower so my main sling isn't getting wet nor am I chancing messing anything up when I get the go ahead to shower. I think it was the youngest that had the sling. I have other supplies including the stool softener that seems to be number one with everyone that had the surgery that I talked to...makes me wonder if they didn't know that pain medication causes your digestive system to slow down and can cause constipation.Our friend that has had this surgery 3 times told me the worse was physical therapy and being able to reach above your head...he could only lift to the top of his head...I'm still hanging clothes on a line that is 6 ft from the ground... going to be some difference there I think. More worried about my elbow freezing up on me again with the lack of movement by being in the sling for so long.

Hubby doesn't braid hair and he's not the greatest on ponytails either even with his own ponytail, so I dug out my bandanas and tied them so I can pull them on with one hand to keep my hair out of my face while working in the gardens.

This herb garden is running me over daily with harvest...which is very good except for the lack of rosemary,basil and oregano...the rabbit must be Italian.Bunny sure hopped right by the lettuce and spinach to those 3 herbs and never touched anything else.

I have inventoried the pantry (not freezers) and wrote out what we need to be stocked so it doesn't matter which one of us is doing the shopping. I also listed the most I would pay for each item.

I have made a general menu based on what we have  with side notes of what is needed to be bought for the meal when it's made. We decided we would sit down on Thursday when we do finances and figure out a menu for the coming week as Hubby will be doing the prepping and I am trying to not over load him since he is doing my work in the gardens ...can't wait until he has to start doing the canning.  We decided on one meal a week either store bought made or eating out to give him a break.I don't think it will happen that often because of what I have prepped and put in the freezer that it's more of a thaw, combine and warm up type meals but I would rather budget for it than not.

We have decided for Aug since I am down and he might be buying one meal a week out that we would buy milk, eggs, in season fruit and lettuce as our lettuce  is done from Aldi's.Dog food for the dog as we are only doing 5 lbs at a time instead of the 40lbs as usually with the dampness we can't store it in the basement or garage. I've been using coupons and sales to keep the cost as the same as the 40 lb bags.Any other money goes for stocking up.

I mended some clothes, changed some buttons  on a couple things so I can wear them after surgery using buttons from my late mom's button can. I'm down to a flat sheet that the hem got ripped out by the wind on the clothesline, a skirt that needs a hook and eye on the waist band and a skort that needs a new zipper in the mending basket.

We have ate zucchini, the last of the lettuce , the last of the spinach and green tomatoes from the gardens. I left the last head of lettuce and spinach to go to seed.

I have harvested and preserved spearmint, peppermint, choc. mint, chives, garlic chives, thyme, curly parsley, flat parsley, cilantro for coriander seeds, and basil. I bought a jar of oregano (maybe bunny will quit eating it) that was on sale from an Amish store.

I repotted 7 pots of flowers that were root bound and now have 7 pots plus 14 more areas in the gardens of flowers.All of them are doing fine.

I saved 10% on my MRI bill by paying it in full early.

I combined errands with tests being ran for surgery.

Used Kroger points and Speedway fuel card to save on gas money. Used sales and coupons when shopping. I shop Aldi's FIRST. We would use the motorcycle if it wasn't storming so much. Wet roads and bikes aren't the greatest either. We only have the truck right now besides the bike.

Helped a daughter fix her roof that her landlord was dragging his feet on doing (been 2 months). She'll be breaking her lease as she has already started court proceedings against him for not honoring the repair list he signed off on that he was going to do when she moved in. Well I guess that means HE broke the lease not her.Meantime she is living there until the court part is over. She likes where she is but you can't live with roof leaking and ceiling dropping, broken pipes and no furnace in OH winters. She paid for the supplies, and two meals and gas.Helped as we were bringing her car to our mechanic and she offered it to be used to go see my Dad after my surgery so I don't have to flip with her brother or rent a car as Dad can't get in a truck.

I cooked 10 lbs of hamburger and bagged it for meals and put it in the freezer. While doing that I had a bit more (not a pound) of hamburger so cooked it also, added a can of black beans that someone had given me, some leftover corn, homemade salsa and simmered for taco soup. Served it with cheese quesadillas and topped the soup with cheese and sour cream. Hubby thought it was really good , especially after I told him how I put it together.

I have two 2 x 2 square pots to plant for fall crops that I can do after surgery with one hand. Sort seeds is on the I'm bored list.

I have made a list on the whiteboard of things I need to get done that I can do with one hand so when I start the "I'm bored, I can't do anything" crap with Hubby he can pick something off the board and tell me to do it...Yes I can act like a whiney 2 yr old that needs a nap after I've had surgery...he's worse and he admits it.

I wrote out what I have to get done before surgery... each day is listed separately and priorities are noted. Keeps me on track and will become the list of what he needs to take care of after I have surgery.

I cancelled our Amazon subscribe and save as it is no longer saving me money.

I open curtains and windows in the mornings and late evenings (if not humid) and close them in the late mornings. Fans are on when we are in the room. Central air is off when I have a breeze and no rain.

I used the clothesline, homemade laundry soap and tap cold water cycle doing the laundry.

I started my Christmas shopping from what I already have here.

I mailed out the rebate forms that  we had from this past week. Checked coupons and sales for this week's to buy for stock up. I am breaking it down to what is on sale with coupons only unless I am at Aldi's

Have a frugal week. Blessed Be

Mid July... 11 days to surgery..staying frugal

I have a post it on my desk that I sit down at every morning that says"what can I do frugal today?"

Sometimes that is only take a shower when I really really want to soak in the tub even though we don't pay for water (live in the boonies) we pay for the electric to heat the water and the electric to run the pump for the water. BUT the last few days I've had to soak due to a rash from the weeds we cleared from our daughter's. Not the type of soak I was wanting. I used epsom salt, witch hazel, rubbing alcohol and Aloe on the advice of my doctor since I am allergic to so many things that most use for rashes

Wikibuy cancelled my order for the 2nd dehydrator. I got one during Amazon's Prime day sales for half of the normal price cheaper than what I would have gotten through Wikibuy and BIGGER... that is frugal.

I made 5 gallons of laundry soap that cost me less than $1.50 to make.Used the clothesline or drying rack when I did the laundry.

Used the inserts to the cold cereal (Hubby's meal before he lays down in the mornings)to layer meat on cookie sheets for the freezer to freeze individually before I bag them. I buy cereal when it's on sale and I have coupons that puts a big box around $2.

Hubby fixed his tailgate twice and then fixed his rear lights.

AC has been off a couple nights and I kept the windows shut and just turned the fan in the bedroom on low. Windows open every morning, curtains closed in the afternoon.Hubby ran the window AC in the bedroom when there is enough breeze I won't turn on the Central Air.Lights off when not in room or needed, Computers and coffee makers on powerstrips that are turned off ( I unplug at night or during storms)

The fuel tank for the tiller is to be in this week and that will be fixed. They gave us a discount due the wait of getting the part in.

We used Speedway fuel card and Kroger pts for our gas.

I am weeding daily to keep up with it so Hubby isn't overwhelmed when I go down on surgery. Cherry tomatoes are starting to turn, eggplants are about half my thumb length, bell peppers are getting a decent size, Should have a couple nice green tomatoes to fry next week.Still have lettuce which is a shock with this heat.

I got my son's wardrobe done without buying anything to refinish it. Score for both of us.

I am working on the buy list to be stocked up when Hubby retires and by doing so I have found some things that should have been in one spot but was in another so we aren't as low as I thought.I brought a bookcase that was sitting in the farrowing house (storage building now) that we bought over a year ago and used it upstairs to sort the Personal Items on for storage.I moved a smaller bookcase into another bedroom upstairs to put empty canning jars on so I can get to them if I try canning with one hand.

I dehydrated spearmint, peppermint, thyme and basil.

I used milk/water mixture to treat the mold on the plants. I use borax and sugar at the base of the hummingbirds feeders to get rid of the ants. I use borax to scrub the bathroom and floors.

I changed a 30 day med order to a 90 day on 2 prescriptions saving $10 between the two so that is $40 a year.

We went to a hog roast on behalf of the man that Hubby had to do CPR (none of the Medical people had ever seen someone that gray that survived with very little damage). I took 2 salads from our pantry and gardens.We took water also instead of buying it.

I picked up medical items I will need after surgery on sale at Dollar General.

We went to Menards to pick up weed killer for our daughter (should have done that before we all got rashes from the honeyvine milkweed) and ran across several good FOOD buys of things we needed to fill in the pantry. I almost have my pasta filled back in and I got a few more boxed dinners that Hubby thought he could handle to get us pass the two week mark.I figure by then I can start cooking with one hand and not mess myself up.

I fixed egg sandwiches tonight for dinner just to see if I could crack eggs one handed, fry them and then make the sandwich and then cut it. Closing the bread sack was the hardest.

We are at what Hubby's employer considers catastrophic medical wise so we no longer have copays or deductible which hit just at the right time with the surgery in 11 days. What we do owe is sitting in the saving waiting for the bills. Two of them will give us discounts for paying before the due date. We try to wait until about 3 -4 days before it's due to pay it.

I wrote up a menu for 37 weeks even included sides on some. If there was a recipe I noted where it was (computer bookmarks main, side etc, what cook book , BRANDY.( The Prudent Homemaker) yeah the eat beans for a week and whatever is on her menus that I had already in the pantry and freezers is listed.

 I am half way through my have to be done before surgery list. Even if I only get 1/4th of what is left done... I will consider it a success.

May you find peace in your day
Blessed Be