UGH.

 I told Hubby I was tired. Breathing was messed up through the night, probably allergies since I spent 8 hrs. each day in the gardens yesterday and the day before.

He told me to take the day off . THEN as he walked out the door to his hauling job, mentioned the dishwasher still needed unloaded and reloaded and he had 2 items needing pretreated before they were washed and they were on the floor of the laundry room and we were out of boiled eggs and he forgot to put the blackberries in the freezer. 

Work done this week:

Helped widow two houses down with charging her dead battery, spraying her driveway for weeds and going through so legal paperwork that was confusing her. Hubby dealt with the battery and weeds. Since I dealt with that paperwork before (I was widowed in 1989) I got that part. She was making it harder than what is was. 

I updated our finances and we went over the get it done list.

Cleared 2nd wardrobe so we can take it upstairs from front room.

I canned green beans, broth, turnips, and beets and froze blackberries, angel food cake and a handful of red raspberries.

I loaded, dehydrated and unloaded 27 trays twice.

I put over a dozen dill heads (for dill seeds) in paper bags.

I harvest and have curing 50 onions.

I planted 50 more onions.

Hubby checks his "garden" daily. He thinks pumpkin, maybe a zucchini and he's not sure if the other is cucumber or a different zucchini. He doubts if the corn does anything unless the field across the road in corn pollenates it.

I harvested, weeded and replanted 32 (actually 34 as 2 are 16 ft long instead of the 8 ft of the others) garden beds . I watered all of it (will have to water daily where I planted carrots until they are up) and the 59 potato bags/crates.  We got 5 very small (golf ball size) peaches. First time our tree fruited. 

I fertilized 2 dozen pots of flowers, herbs and cherry tomatoes.

Hubby spent so far 20 hrs. removing cow poop from our pond. E feels horrible and would love to help but Hubby is using a trash pump (think septic tank pump of a smaller size) to remove it. He has gotten it clear 3 times now and then it rains and brings more up from the bottom. E said he will never put a cow anywhere near a pond or stream again. We are trying to get it clear so they can use the pond to cut ice for their ice houses. Otherwise several families are not going to have ice next Jan/Feb. when they usually cut. I would add the geese, duck (first time for that) and heron have been in the pond fishing... that's a good sign.

I have one room completely deep cleaned. I thought maybe 4 hrs. since it's a small room... took 2 days. SIGH . Old age sucks. 

 Still needed to be done:

I have grapes to harvest, zucchini to deal with, cucumbers to deal with, cherry tomatoes and a few red oxheart tomatoes to deal with.  A large head of cabbage was given to us that I need to deal with. I need to blanche the last of the broccoli. Our cauliflower did not make so I will buy some and process it for the freezer. Apple trees took a really bad hit with the freeze that came in after the blooms were on so we will need to buy apples.

I rechecked the need to stock list. Instead of getting sausage dinner patties I want to get some ground pork to cook up for eggroll in a bowl. I can use part of the cabbage we have in that along with the carrot I already have. 

We still need chicken thighs, breasts, and wings. Still need turkey and Jif peanut butter.

How is your week going? 

Blessed Be

Prayers for peace

Stay safe. 

done this week

 

She makes sure we sit outside with her every morning... we are wondering if this is going to be a winter thing also and need our insulated bibs. It's nice to see the sun rise and enjoy coffee just looking across the land and not really thinking about what needs done like the pond needing another cleaning of cow manure. E is trying to borrow a small boat from his brother to help get it cleaned out since it was HIS COW.  Which is a lot of stuff to not think about aka house work, garden work, yard work, cutting wood. 😏

Windows are open and the AC has been off. That will change tonight with the humidity being high along with temps and Hubby putting in a 600 mile trip tomorrow hauling so he definitely needs a good rest tonight.

I harvested broccoli, cherry tomatoes, leaf lettuce (that came where I cut the head lettuce) green tomatoes, green beans, banana peppers , a small handful of red raspberries and a couple cups of blackberries.  I am trying to not use the veggies and fruit from pantry or freezers except for meat at this point. Makes for so weird meals as I did a quick stir fry on cherry tomatoes, banana peppers, and green beans with onions and garlic. The night before it was cherry tomatoes with ramen pasta and diced up shrimp in garlic butter sauce.

We didn't go to the store on Tuesday as normal after chiro since the truck was making creaky noises we went to our mechanic instead. Truck goes in Aug 2nd for work. We have blood work, chiro and voting that day also. Friday will be grocery day including stopping at Amish road side markets.

This week I have read The Puma Years (Kindle Unlimited) by Laura Coleman and 3 books by Ted Riley (Kindle Unlimited) Grid Down Situation, The Prepper's pantry and When Crisis Hits Suburbia.  FYI, Hubby is HAM radio operator, his group is connected to Emergency Services and Homeland Security. All the "solar flares" that NASA is warning about does trigger anxiety some what it could take out in the Emergency Services. I think the grid going down for almost a week just east of us taking out phone service along with the power also has  bumped up the concerns. 

Speaking of Grid down.... 

The Heco 520 and the 1 ton of anthracite coal  is to be delivered mid August. As of last week we had the final amount put in savings to pay for it. HUGE sigh of relief.

The chimney for stove ordered and money in the savings.

Solar deep well water pump will be in during the last of Sept. It's paid for but the batteries for it not ordered yet. When that amount is in savings then Hubby will order them. 

Propane due in Sept. We decided to cut the propane down to 800 gallons, might bring that up to 1000 if the Heco stove doesn't come in during Aug. That money (even if goes up to 1000 gallons) is in the saving as of last week.

Hubby thinks he has enough wood for this year. He just has to finish cutting it.  We wanted 3 cords hard wood and 1 cord kindling (soft wood and twigs) . He hasn't had much chance to cut wood with the rain. 1 cord is 4 ft by 4 ft by 8 ft or 128 sq ft. Any time the temperature goes down to 32 degrees and holds there we will be burning coal. We have paid $40 for the wood, the rest of it was free. Going rate around here is $300 to $500 for a cord of seasoned wood cut to order. 

The oil for the oil lamps will be in also in Aug. The money is in savings. The guy that will get the stove and coal will have the oil also.

Finances got a lot easier when a person owed us money finally paid it back. 

I put the money back to pay what we ordered plus extra for emergencies.  We are staying on the grocery budget and keeping the stock up separate with extra money so I pulled cash for the stock up so it's not tempting to get more than we have 

Then we looked at the stock up list that was a want if we had extra $$. 

I got pasta we were low on. We will be checking prices on chicken, peanut butter and dinner sausages (or bulk sausage to make dinner sausages since we don't eat a whole pound in one go) when we go to the store.

I rechecked the pantry to see what I have coming in and what I will still need to process, I will need to check with a couple of the Amish ladies about beets. I probably should have had Hubby plant them in the compost pile LOL 

In the garden... tomatoes have bottom rot, treating that and it seems to be getting a lot better. I think I caught it before it got bad. Second planting of green beans are blooming, some of the potato plants are blooming, the baby butternut is blooming , cabbage is doing good. I hope to make kraut this year. The red cabbage is slower but it seems to be doing good. Don't think the cauliflower it going to do well. 

There are blooms all over on Hubby's garden aka compost pile. The majority is definitely winter squash of some type.

Blessed Be

Stay safe

Prayers for peace

Hubby wanted you to see this

 He says it's his garden...

He tool 11 pics but this shows all 4 sides. 

It's the compost hill, he turned it late fall and then early spring. Went out about 6 wks. ago and found a vine so decided to let it grow and see what it produced... Now we have several squash vines that could be pumpkin, acorn, butternut, zucchini, crock neck, watermelon or cantaloupe. There is he thinks a cucumber vine. He found a tomato plant and a stalk of corn.

It is definitely interfering with mowing in that area. He told E anything that goes to his pasture is his. E just laughed.

Okay... here we go with the grocery budget...$42.37/month

 Biweekly

milk $3.49

half and half $2.69

heavy cream $2.79

cottage cheese $2.99 (Hubby added it for stuff pasta shells, manicotti and lasagna)

Total $11.96

Once a month 

celery $1.79

carrots $2.19

tricolor bell peppers $4.29 (I can't eat green ones)

White mushrooms $4.19

Portabella mushrooms $5.99

Total $18.45

GROCERIES FOR THE MONTH $42.37

We will be out of choc. bars (we put peanut butter on them ), chips and soda.

STOCK UP

of turkey, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken wings, peanut butter... maybe cube steak, round steak, dinner sausage patties and G&R (Bar in Waldo OH) bologna AFTER wood/coal stove, chimney, propane, batteries for solar water pump and the saw is paid off.

I could and have dropped it lower than that but I don't want to trigger feelings of DEPRIVED in Hubby

Hubby

 Bought a new toy... okay, it's not a toy. He replaced his saw to cut the wood for the wood/coal stove.... 

It's a buzz saw that has connects to the tractor ... the tractor is the "motor" that runs the saw (like his tiller, back hoe etc.). It will cut his time spent cutting by 75%. He is going to set up a table so he doesn't have to cut wood in half and can run it like a table saw cutting plyboard.

He has learned that you don't lean forward and to have a good grip on the guard 

He was thankful it didn't really cut the nose(nasty scrape) or break his glasses... It didn't break his nose. I kept my mouth shut as E was giving him the lecture of why you don't use that type of saw without a second person with you and he checked Hubby out. 

Lesson learned (I HOPE) 

Changing focus on groceries

 It's Friday...After talking about the budget for gas. I brought up to Hubby that I was stocking for 2 yrs as I didn't know if we were going to be able to afford to redo the gardens next spring even with us sifting dirt. We would have to buy more weed barrier to use slab wood as Hubby has found potato plants growing out the sides of the slab wood potato crates he made. Or buy plyboard (not particle board like he did the last time) and paint it to seal it. 

I finished cleaning, defrosting and organizing the 4 deep freezers( barn will need done again this fall).

We decided to have 2 yrs of main entrees for bfast, lunch and supper. That is 2,190 meals... Hope you were sitting down and not walking while reading this on your cell phone. 

We are set for beef for 2 yrs if I am careful. I even have the prime rib for Christmas eve. I might have to buy one for next year. I have a few steaks that can be for Hubby's birthday in Oct.

We are set for pork (except for sausage patties) for 2 yrs if I am careful. I want to buy dinner sausage patties but they haven't been in stock from the butcher shop we get them from. I will only need bulk sausage if we run low on chili. I think I have enough chili canned to go 2 yrs. I can stretch that if I make white chili. I have brat patties so we might just go with out the sausage patties. I have 3 pork butt roasts that were in the bottom of the freezer that I didn't know I still had that can make several meals. 

I have enough canned fish for this year. We don't eat it a lot. I don't "stock" this up for more than 6 months at a time. I will have to get frozen shrimp (or go without) at holidays.

I have cheese for 1 yr. I am not willing to fill the freezers with more. LOL. I do have Velveeta cheese pouches that are good for 18 months. The blocks go bad on us before we get them used. 

I have pasta, we will run out of our favorites but we can suck it up and use other stuff. I make my own noodles and since Son 2 made his own ...  plan to make ravioli.

I have 6 dozen eggs that have been beaten up and put in sandwich bags then freezer bags. Half in 2 eggs/ bag the other half 1 egg/ bag. I can use them for baking, egg sandwich, frittata, quiche and omelets.  I usually get 2 dozen a week FREE from M but when her chickens don't lay in the winter, I don't want to head to the store. 

I have 11 different types of beans, some are dried and some I canned for quick meals. Plenty for 2 yrs.

What I don't have enough of is POULTRY. I have 3 meals of chicken breast (me) and chicken thighs(Hubby) . I have 2 meals of wings. I have a quart of turkey meat in the freezer.  I have 3 roasting chickens. Those can make 3 meals each as they are not very big ( I prefer 6-8 lbs, these are 4 1/2). I will get at least 2 turkeys (maybe more depending on price) Not sure about chicken at this point with the prices.

SO what is the plan to have enough? 

Bfast: I have oats (steel cut, regular, instant) that can be porridge or fried, cream of wheat, grits, barley, millet(never had but Daughter 4 likes), bulgur wheat, corn meal (polenta and mush) and assorted flours for pancakes, waffles and fried bread dough (Daddy called it knee bread as his sisters would take bread dough that had not raised yet and stretch it over their knee and then fry it in the skillet) Eggs of course... fruit pie, custard/custard pie and cake will also be there. I have oil for pie dough (like Daddy used) if I run out of butter (not likely as M is now sending that also) 

Lunch is iffy as if he is hauling he is not at home, I just pick either left overs or cheese and crackers( have some in pantry, will make them when I run out). Might be good to make room in freezers for personal size pizza as I have cooked sausage and pepperoni ( I dice my slices to make it go farther) I could use for that. He will eat what ever I tell him to. 😉

Dinner we will rotate beef/ pork/poultry/ fish and eggs as Hubby isn't a fish eater/ cheese (think grilled cheese, cheese soup with broccoli or something, cheese and crackers, mac and cheese etc. /beans/ soups/vegetarian and pasta.

So what does that leave me to buy (besides chicken, sausage patties, and fish) 

Milk/ half and half/ heavy cream. Biweekly.

Celery/ carrots (might try bucket growing next year) tri colored bell peppers/ fresh mushrooms once a month.

I make our own bread. I will start making tortillas, bagels and English muffins.  I will also try crescents,  croissants and popovers.

I set the food budget for $50. Should cost less than $40 but I can see once in awhile picking some thing up like onions at end of winter or potatoes.(Fingers crossed ours does well and hold through the winter). I have $300 back for the rest of the meat.

I need to pick up speltz (50 cents a pound)  and maybe peanut butter at the Amish bulk store.  

IF we eat from the pantry we should be able to pay cash for wood stove, chimney and propane. It will be close with having to by a buzz saw (Hubby's saw died while cutting wood and 2 of the Amish who was going to cut it for him... broke their own saws) and batteries for the solar water pump. 

Thursday

 

This is hard wood that Hubby is cutting up for our wood stove. It is about 2 cords. We have been advised to have 5-6 cords even though we have a propane furnace also. Stove guy said the stove and 1 ton of coal is coming in August... might be the first or the last part of the month. You never can tell now days.

Son 2 and his lady and a couple of friends of ours met at the Hong Kong buffet. Been about 2 yrs since we did that. Son 2 paid for our meals and left good tip for the lady for keeping the glasses filled and the table cleared.

We went to Kroger's before eating. We were out of tortilla wraps... the ones I make mold within 3 days. Granddaughter found one that is supposed to do well even if frozen that makes a small amount. So that should be the last time I buy tortilla wraps.

We usually get Mission tortilla wraps... I am not paying $4.52 for tortilla wraps so I got Kroger brand that was $1/each.  I got a package of bagels free (Kroger coupon) and found thin bagels (haven't found them in 2 yrs) on sale and a package of English muffins on sale. 

On the way home we got gas ($4.67 here, got it for $4.27 on way home). Hubby asked what the budget for fuel was... I said WAY TOO LOW. I had actually changed a doctor's appt for a couple months due to gas budget this month. We have one more doctor appt for both of us, depending on weather we might use the motorcycle. Just so we can stretch this tank to the end of the month. 

Savings for the wood/coal stove, chimney, and propane is holding  but not increasing. Hubby switched who had his IRA and that payment might not come in on time to pay the mortgage and health ins from it so it might have to come from the savings. 

Going to have to rework the budget due to fuel. Hubby just increased his rates for hauling. Amish didn't bat an eye. 

Blessed be, pray for peace

July 4th

 https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration#:~:text=By%20issuing%20the%20Declaration%20of,colonists'%20motivations%20for%20seeking%20independence.

Interesting to read, not all states were on board for us to claim independence. 

Happy 4th. Blessed Be

FRUGAL JULY

 https://www.frugalwoods.com/2022/06/23/join-me-for-the-july-2022-uber-frugal-month-challenge/

I have joined this challenge for years and she usually does it twice a year.

I told Hubby we were doing it again.

 We are 1/3rd to having what we need to pay off the grid items and  next year's health ins deductible. 

I moved money to savings after paying the bills. Left only a couple hundred in checking and Hubby decided to leave his personal credit card at home. He has to carry the business one as he usually gets diesel once a day if he has worked all day hauling.

 He handed me a list of two things we might need to buy , batteries for the solar pump that he hasn't even priced (update... $1000 for the 2 batteries) but will need when it comes in and a new saw (his table saw died so he is using a small chain saw) to cut the wood he is bringing home (update...hasn't found anything that will work better) .

 Groceries will be, milk, heavy cream and half and half.  Dog food for Charlotte. No stock up bought. It will go on a list for later. Will do  celery, carrots, fresh mushrooms and tricolored bell peppers(I can't eat green which is actually not ripe bell peppers) once a month. Grocery budget is set at $200. 

He frowned when I said NO EATING OUT. He said he noticed more and more of the Amish men are eating what he calls a lettuce sandwich, the lettuce has replaced the bread and there is only 1 lettuce leaf. We have plenty of lettuce in the garden at the moment LOL. 

Instead of spending $300/cord of wood (going price) he is lending an Amish his small trailer to haul wood (not cured yet) to the Amish's dad and a widow and reloading the trailer with leftover slab wood from his saw mill which is CURED hard wood. Means we don't have to stack it twice, once for curing, lots of air needed etc. compared to cutting and stacking directly in to barn . We won't need much if any kindling wood and we can get that for free from E. We should get another load in a couple weeks from the other guy. Gives Hubby a chance to catch up with cutting it.(Side Note, E has offered to come over and finish cutting slab wood since he borrowed his brother's saw to get some of his own wood cut) 

Hubby signed the papers to have his IRAs transferred to the same place I go. The other place said Hubby need to have 10 % on federal taxes (I said 15%) My guy had me call who did our taxes and she said 14% average is good ball park figure. Do not want to owe a lot but don't need to give the gov't an interest free loan of our money.  We would have owed over $3000 in federal taxes if he had agreed to the 10% federal tax.  Hubby called them and let them know he was transferring his money. He also told them the 10% would have cost him over $3000 in federal taxes as it was an incorrect amount. The office manager called when she got back from her vacation and told him she would have never let it go through as she knows there is other income in the home and that changes the rate of taxes. She had the corp. send notices out to ALL to not base taxes only on what is being with drawled but on total income of household. Glad we said something. My place charges 1/5th of what Hubby's place charges plus it's 25 mins. away AND we can go see his parents at the same time. That will also save us $125/ year in gas AND 10 hrs. of travel time. 

Even with it being hot we have still kept the AC off. ONLY if the house gets 85 do we turn on the AC and then will shut it down when the outside temp drops below that. 

Harvest from the gardens. 1 tomato, several cherry tomatoes, lettuce, turnips (greens dehydrated), scallions, red raspberries, and blackberries.

Given 4 zucchini, 6 dozen eggs, and a raspberry pie.

I made angel food cake (had peaches and mixed berries as options to put on it) and peach ice cream. 

Meals were:

fried egg sandwich with salad

Homemade pizza Twice

BLT wraps

zucchini bread pancakes  

Lunch meat wraps (finished lunch meat)

Frittata 

HUBBY RANTING

 This is NOT normal !!

He called his IRA guy 6 wks. ago and asked about maybe changing how he was invested, how the account was handling the withdraws etc. Guy told him everything was okay, don't panic etc. As the account was lower than we liked we were iffy about things being okay... after all we LIVED through 2008 when Daddy lost 75% of his money and had to go to living on Social Security (which wasn't much after Medicare came out).

Last week we got a call to schedule coming in. Didn't think much of it since my IRA guy had already scheduled my bi yearly appt. 

Talk about someone being in a panic attack. Hubby's finance guy was " you need to change how you are invested since you are at 85/15 ... pulled out the papers and found Hubby had suggested 75/25 and the guy TOLD him 80/20 would do us better for what we were trying to do and then he cranked it up to 85 (at one time it showed 90). We were pulling far too much .Hum, it's our money and we are okay if we run out of that acct. and made that clear when we went in. AND then suggested I move my IRA to them.... 

I firmly told the guy No never. I was staying with who been there for my dad for over 30 years including 2008. My acct. was making money, even with how the market was doing. He said I was too comfortable and confident in my people. The young man did suggest then we move Hubby's acct. to ease dealing with two accts two hours away. Mine is 30 minutes. We didn't think about distance as we focused it was closer to our son who would be handling the acct. when we died.

Hubby told him he had things to think over. I could tell he was doing his best to keep his mouth shut. 

As we got in the car to drive an hour to our chiro (and again to drive home from chiro) he cut loose.

We see my guy on Tuesday for my bi annual meeting. He is asking what it will cost to move his money in Dec... or should he move it sooner. 

He has lost confidence in the company. Called the guy who recommended them as he was with them and his parents were also. He said he was changing (to the same people I go to) due to how they were all about employee and not about clients. 

Mean time I am looking to see if we can live on Social Security only in 2023 instead of 2024. 

Going back to The Prudent Homemaker and reading How to Cut expenses when you think you have nothing left to cut.

What can I do today to save?

 Has became the daily question.

Saturday we found pork butt and pork loin marked down. I sliced the loin into pork chops and froze them. The pork butt is now in quart jars in the canner...the scraps and bones in the oven roasting. I'll pick what ever meat is left and use it this week when the temps hit above 90 and heat indices are in the 100s again. We also got some smoked sausage links the size of hot dogs. Works nice for a quick sandwich that Hubby can take with him while working or sliced into 123 pasta (one onion, 2 cups of protein and 3 cups of veggies with 1 lbs. of pasta... sauce is what ever).  Those are now in the freezer .  We haven't turned the AC on since Thurs when the heat wave went down to 85. That will change probably tomorrow.

I harvest peas, lavender, mint, dill , onions, cherry tomatoes, turnips, radishes, lettuce, spinach and basil from the gardens. PLUS a few red raspberries that  the rest should be turning by this weekend along with the blackberries. Some of the potatoes are getting blooms.

The electric bill dropped $15. I think that is because we are making sure the fans are not running when we are not in the room and opening the windows in the morning until it's 80 before Hubby turns on the AC. He also agreed to set that temp at 78. He prefers a bit cooler but since we are saving for the wood/coal stove he is willing to be warmer. LOL

We have started our mornings on the kitchen porch with coffee so often Charlotte now goes out and get a seat and waits for us. If we don't come out she comes back in and woofs softly then goes back out. We now have 3 chairs for the 3 of us LOL.

I have been using the laundry of the day to block the sun out of the kitchen

I did have to add an old shower curtain to block the very end. It is lacy so we can still see through it. 

M sent over 2 1/2 dozen eggs. I beat them up and put in freezer in 2 egg measurements. Apparently her chickens are running her family of 11 over in eggs.

We found country style pork spareribs on clearance. I let them sit in homemade BBQ sauce and a bottle of coke over night, turning the bag they were in when I thought about it. Hubby grilled them and we had 3 meals from 6 ribs. We had "salad" from the garden every other day. 

We haven't gotten rain since last Monday so I will be out tonight watering the gardens.

For what ever reason she has decided she needs to lay in this potato bed. She isn't on the plants them selves so I am at least thankful of that. Hubby will be adding straw to it in the coming week so maybe she will stay out of it then.

But she's done this since we put it out and planted it. She won't sleep in a dog bed. She is weird LOL

GRID DOWN

Not ours but our family. 

Central Ohio has been without electric since Monday night between storms, tornados and the heat wave with feel like temps 105 to 115. It has been horrible for those going through this. Some still don't have electric and it's a maybe for tomorrow. A lot of nursing homes, assistant living  and hospital are on emergency power and can't open windows for what little breeze there is. 

Hubby's brother and sister lost everything in their freezers and refrigerators. I can tell you that is a financial hit big time for his sister who is already on a strict budget on low income. His parents are on generator on their propane so the frig and freezer are okay but they can't run their AC on it. They were thankful they grew up without AC and knew what to do to keep the house cool. Gave advice to several of their grandkids. ( Our kids didn't grow up with AC).

Most home insurance policies will not cover much of lost food unless by fire. Some won't then. SO you might want to check your policies. 

Hubby's parents thought we were stupid for preparing for the grid to go down... they don't now. BUT I did point out to Hubby I needed to be canning more of our meat. I have froze snow peas, peas and strawberries though the majority of the berries are in pie filling and jam. I am now dehydrating the last of them. I should have the last in the dehydrator today.

It made us stop and think if we were preparing enough to be off grid.

This is Charlotte at 7 A.M. as I was putting laundry out and Hubby was making sure E's two cows' water barrel was full.

One of the ways I am keeping the house cooler so the A.C. doesn't run as much.

side purpose is to dry the laundry. ;)

Tonight is salad with what ever we can use without me turning on the stove so no boiled eggs or pasta. 

I will admit

We are both dragging butts. BUT we knew this week we would be under a heat warning so hauled butt last week through the weekend to get the outside work mostly done. We can work inside the house this week since we are moving furniture around due to wood stove coming in during August... figures crossed as you never know is something is going to come in when they say it will.

Hubby bartered the use of his small trailer for a cord of seasoned hard wood.

I only bought what was on my wish list (actually it's a need list but not immediate need) when it came on sale and I have points I could use. 

I pulled the snow peas and garden peas that were dying. I have 4 more varieties of peas yet blooming.  I harvested strawberries... we might have one more round to pick it the bunny and birds haven't gotten to what few were left over Sunday. Lettuce leaves are daily now, a few radishes left and we have plenty of scallions. I don't have tomatoes but the Amish around the corner does so I will be pit stopping there to get some for this week. I have blooms but not tomatoes at this point.

I finished planting the summer crops and most likely will run myself over at harvest time. I do have 6 square pots I want to plant with "salad" stuff to try to keep it on the table through the heat of the summer. I just need to figure out where I am going to put it. I am watching the sun light in the area between the house and the deck ramp thinking it might be a good place.

I checked the IRAs, check where we were for saving for grid down stuff. Checked about replacing the garden boxes that are falling apart and got our propane contract early and was pleased to see it less than $3/ gallon. I decided on 1500 gallons for winter contract and will pay for a summer fill if we need it.

I am really trying to limit the propane use from the main tank by using the electric water kettle for hot water instead of running water until I get hot water. We don't pay for water as we have a well but we do pay the electric to run the pump to get the water. I was still able to drop the electric bill another $10. I think it's mostly that we are outside  so not running the ceiling fans. Curtains open in the evening so not turning on lights. I imagine it will go up when the AC is on this week with 110 heat index. 

 Then I had a sit down with Hubby over finances. I pointed out how much his IRA has lost (mine hasn't that much as I am more conservative than him) and that at this rate he would be through his IRA in a couple years (I had this talk before). I SHOWED him what we could do to not draw as much (like 1/3rd of what he is drawing now) and be okay. 

No we would not pay extra on the mortgage for the remainder of this year or any next year. 

No we would not be buying willy nilly. Like the whole house insect system he just wanted at $1500. 

No that does not take in any income from his business or me earning it from the gardens or work. It's not something we can count on. 

We would have to use the slab wood for making new garden beds or save it from extra income if it is there. We would be sifting a lot of dirt to reuse, I have some fertilizer that we can add to it to improve the soil. I am sure E would give us manure if needed. 

BUT it would give time for his IRA to recover since he is changing how it's being invested this month.

Charlotte

 

One way to stay out of the sun , is to lay under the lilac bush.

Spying on the Amish neighbor while he runs his saw mill just incase he has his dog Pepper with him that she hates. She is standing on the back of the old love seat that we call the dog seat as all the dogs used it to either sit on or sleep on. Hubby is sitting at his desk doing paperwork.

Sweet baby needs a nap and made herself a bed on my bed AFTER keeping me up half the night due to rain (not storms) coming in. I think if I had a cot and slept with her in the basement she would settle. Wilbur used to do that with her.

end of May.

 petite peas are starting to come in, not even 1 serving so I froze them.

Scallions, radishes and strawberries are starting. Good on the strawberries as I had just cut the rhubarb back so we had strawberry rhubarb pie and I put 4 jars of the filling in the freezer. I harvested mint and red raspberry leaves for teas.

Love my peonies that have bloomed. I can sit on the deck and smell them. Reminds me of sitting at Daddy's and Mother's bedroom window where Daddy had planted them for Mother.

SIGH, well at least she didn't dig the potatoes up that is planted in that box. Hubby cleared the drain pipe he has stuck in the small lean to on the barn hoping she will lay there instead. Otherwise those potatoes probably won't make.

The summer curtains are up so that's off the to do list. 

Deep freezer #1 has been cleared of bad food (not much but I do need to stay with vacuum bags instead of freezer bags), reorganized and inventoried.  I now have only the other 2 deep freezers to do. 

The last 2 days has been finish planting potatoes, harvesting spinach, strawberries, lettuce, scallions, radishes and a couple cherry tomatoes. WEEDING... LOL Catching the yard work up since it is now dry enough as we got almost 3 inches of rain in 2 days. 

We got 7 items on the grid list done, 3 on order and paid for (wood/coal stove, solar pump and chimney for stove). We have 5 left to to get done. Have to save up the cash for those.

I've been hanging the wash on the kitchen clothes line so it blocks the sun from heating up the house. 

We have been opening the windows in the mornings to get the coolness in. I opened the skylight and the floor vent (old fashion cast iron floor vent) in the lofts to have the heat go up to help cool the 1st floor. We run the ceiling fans while sleeping if too warm. AC and box fans have not been on yet even though we hit high 80s the humidity is still low.

Meals are light and from the pantry. 

Left over water from dog bowls, glasses etc was used to water flowers. If flowers didn't need it I poured it in the drain off the kitchen porch that goes to the pond as last year I was having to run the well pump to keep enough water in to not have a fish kill on my hands.

I reworked the budget since the "grid down" stuff whacked out the get the mortgage paid off. ADD on top of the stock market hitting the IRA's. It's nice for both our IRA guys to call and keep us up to date with what is going on, how they are handling it and what we can do on our end to help keep things stable.

I want to tweak it a bit more for setting it in stone. 

Blessed Be 

Prayers for peace. 

Stay safe

done

 Ordered Solar Pump of deep well and paid in cash saving 3% ($225.00) by paying cash.

Hubby went to pick up Son2's cabinet that F had finished and found out our grandfather clock was finished. So I finished moving wardrobes over to the other side of the room for now to put the clock where it was going to stay. F came with Hubby to unload it  and set the time including having it go silent during the night and winding it etc. He also picked some asparagus ( almost done with it). We also made the final payment for the clock.

F also helped Hubby load Son2's cabinet into the back of our truck.

Next day we took cabinet to Son2's, spent time with him, his lady and her daughter and Son2 bought us  lunch at a local restaurant and then gave us a gift certificate for our local Chinese restaurant. 

On the way home we did some errands and then ate leftovers for supper.

Sunday, I updated the "down grid spreadsheet." Since we spent less than we budgeted for the solar pump, I moved it over to the odds and ends needed for the wood stove like chimney thermometer, ash bucket, companion set that has shovel, brush etc. through Amazon. Used my cash back points, a discount and a coupon saving 50% of that costs. 

Any amount that is not used gets moved to what still needs to be paid for.

I caught up the laundry and used the clothes line. 

I worked on #1 deep freezer in the basement. It's not in as bad as shape as I thought it would be. Vacuum packed food is in good shape, freezer bag stuff has a lot of ice crystals :(   

I will work on organizing it better and having it inventoried by end of the month and a good defrosting/cleaning. Only 2 more to go after that one.

We used the gift certificate at the Chinese restaurant and got enough for 4 meals. SO no cooking next 2 days. 

Monday I have a medical appt that is 2 hrs. away, we will drop off stuff to Daughter 4, and two of the grandsons. I need to call water softener company to deliver softener salt. 

Tuesday we have chiro( we have a credit at Chiro so that is a free) plus drop off to 2 places of donations, and Menards as I need a food grade bucket with Gamma lid. We will use rebate for that cost.

I will be redoing the finances to stay on task to pay for wood stove, chimney and propane come August. 

Blessed Be

Stay safe

Pray for peace

 

Frugal moments

 Furnace has been doing short cycles. Our HVAC guy suggested new thermostat. I love the new one as I can read it from across the room and don't have to touch it to see what the temperature is. BUT that didn't solve the problem. Another HVAC friend suggested we check the intake and exhaust pipes and we found a birds nest in the intake. We thought there was screens on the ends but if there was, there isn't now. Hubby got the nest out and let our HVAC guy know and to see how to make sure nothing got sucked into the line and to stop it from happening again. Our HVAC guy doesn't charge for calls or texts for information (we had one that did).

Since our weather has been mid 70s to almost 90 and then down to low 60s. I turned the schedule off on the furnace and only run it when it gets down to 68 unless the sun is shining and it's around noon. After noon we get a lot of sun from the French doors in the kitchen/dining area so we don't bother to turn the furnace up. The house heats up by a good 3-5 degrees.

I have started checking as Hubby forgets to turn the ceiling fan off when he leaves the front room.

I am monitoring how much rain we get. If we get an inch of water in 7 days, I do not water. M sent over 8 red oxheart tomatoes and 4 goat bag tomatoes. Last year both varieties only took 1 tomato to fill a pint jar. I have never seen a tomato get that big.

Asparagus is almost done. We have a year's supply between the freezer and the pickling of them. We have shared with E and M and 3 other families. We both are tired of having asparagus every day. Even M said her family is getting tired of asparagus. 

Chives, garlic chives, spinach and rhubarb are ready also. 

Peas, strawberries and blackberries are blooming.

We have limited how much ice we are getting in our glasses. I told Hubby if he had ice still to not dump it in the sink but in the dog's water bowls. He mentioned he probably didn't need to get that much to begin with. Charlotte, our dog has one water bowl in house and one on the kitchen porch. Out of habit I have always did this. It wasn't until the other day I saw him dumping his ice in the sink before putting the glass in the dishwasher that I realized he wasn't.

I am using the family size tea bags to make hot tea (water kettle ), then letting it cool for ice tea... both of us are starting to just drink it as room temperature. I also use the bag a second time and just let it steep longer.

MEALS

First we had Arby's thanks to an Amish family Hubby did some message running for. 

From the pantry:

bacon, eggs (free from M) and asparagus. 

cheeseburger with spinach instead of lettuce , last of the French fries, asparagus 

smoked sausage with fried onions , mac and cheese, asparagus

leftover mac and cheese with spinach salad

pork chop, rice and veggie mix of onions and bell peppers

leftover porkchop, rice, onions and bell pepper turned into stir fry.

Last of turkey and ham lunchmeats into tortilla wraps.

pancakes with homemade peach pie filling instead of maple syrup( from M), eggs(from M), homemade potatoes O'Brien.

 I had some friends give me a heads up  about a possible salt shortage..

https://www.tridge.com/news/celestun-producers-forecast-salt-shortage-by-2022#:~:text=Surely%20by%202022%20there%20will,one%20of%20the%20main%20producers.

I am not out but will be by mid summer instead of waiting I priced my local stores and then a couple over in another area that one of the kids live in and Amazon was the cheapest. I made sure I have canning/pickling salt, sea salt and table salt. I also ordered pepper as it is the last spice I have on my list.

I can not find 5 lbs. bag of yellow corn meal. I even asked a couple bulk stores. they said it's on order but said they were iffy because most grains that are coming in are on a limited bases. I found some on line and ordered it. I am down to 16 oz of yellow corn meal.

Unless I get speltz (Amish spelling) which I can get locally , my grains are or will be in stock by the end of this month.

I had a friend give me an e-gift card from King Arthur that I used. I only paid shipping.

Update on get it done list

Highlighted in green means it is done completely.

 Stay focused on saving for Grid down items (stove and pipe and solar water pump especially) started on

Stay focused on saving for winter propane. Hoping we got enough to make it to Oct 1st when we get winter fill... going to be close and depend on cold days. 

Continue to do deep cleaning (good for rainy days) Bedroom and front room completely done. Age is definitely slowing me down LOL

Clean outside front room windows so Hubby can put on full size screens. All the rest take  adjustable window screens. 

Install front room window screens (Hubby)

Finish washing summer bedding and put on beds

Finish washing summer curtains and hang up

Finish washing summer furniture throws and put on furniture

Wash last of winter bedding and put in barn

Wash last of winter curtains and put in barn Sitting in mudroom as Hubby said he would take them out... 

Wash last of winter furniture throws and put in barn

Wash summer clothes and put in drawers

Pull winter clothes and put in barn.

Finish planting the garden by Memorial day. Plants are in, sweet potatoes, the last of the potatoes and root veggies are not.

Take grow cart to barn.

Take grow lights to barn

Clear garden shed completely. 

Repair garden shed floor and add ventilation. (Hubby)  cancel ventilation since it will remain garden shed.

Load firewood into garden (now wood) shed. Split any that is too big for stove.(Hubby) Might pay a could of Amish kids to help put the wood in the shed. Hubby has decided to store fire wood in barn in the old dog kennel area since we don't use that area for anything. He is slowly moving the cured wood to it. He is putting anything that needs split to the side.

Continue to get wood for winter. E has wood we can use for kindling and it's cured just needs split. J and A both have scraps from making pallets Hubby can buy for $30 a cord (most cords around here are going for $300). They will load his trailer for him.

Store large drying rack in east bedroom 

Unload Hubby's wardrobe in wheelchair bathroom(me) and move to front room( hopefully Hubby but probably me)

Deep clean/ caulk if needed/ install insulation covers on outlets and switches if needed wheel chair bathroom.  Since Hubby is drilling holes in the walls for closet he told me to wait for clean it until AFTER he is done building closet.

Build closet where wardrobe was (Hubby) in wheelchair bathroom

Put Hubby's clothes in new closet. (Should be Hubby but I can guess it will be me)

Remove wardrobe in front room by Hubby's desk (Grandfather's clock will go there) Take to East bedroom (both)

Remover wardrobe in front room by wheelchair bathroom. Take to West bedroom.(both)

Move Hubby's wardrobe that was in wheelchair bathroom to front room by wheelchair bathroom door. ( Probably me but hope Hubby)

Mark off area that wood cookstove will take and space needed around it for safety. (both)

Straighten 1st bay of barn to store garden stuff.

Put garden stuff in 1st bay of barn. Which will clear a lot in the front room. 

Start moving front room furniture around for stove to come in.

MAINTAIN GARDEN 

EAT FROM PANTRY.

This and that... saving electric/ mice control etc.

 I am facing retirement LOL... Son 2 has put in his retirement package and just went to the range for the last time. He doesn't think they will send him to annual training. He is hoping to get completely out (normal time out date is 6 months from putting in package) in Sept when he turns 40s. 

First time we have had a Baltimore oriole here. This is a male, the female flew before Hubby could get his phone out. Hummingbird was not happy he was sitting there.

I was asked about storing winter clothes in our barn and mice. One we use Rubber Maid containers that mice are not fond of eating through. Two we have a gizmo called Pest Repeller (Amazon) that have worked wonders. I have noticed hawks and Amish barn cats visit our barn off and on in the back stalls where the horses used to be kept when this was owned by Amish. Off season items are in barn enclosed loft.

Cutting the electric...Hubby asked how I did this also. It's little things

Phantom aka vampire power users is horrible. 

I unplugged all extension cords that had stuff on it but not being used  and power strips that have a on button light that not being use.

Full freezers and not packed to the gills refrigerators do better energy wise.

I unplugged the DVD player in the front room (I would not turn off or unplug cable box or phone modem, most updates are during the night)

I unplugged cell phone charger station and got in the routine of charging the cell phone while watching the news and not leaving it charging over night anywhere. Hubby has started charging his when hauling and only charging in the house when he doesn't haul which is usually Sunday and Tuesday.

I put the second tv, radio, my laptop etc. on a power strip (that does not have a on button light) and turn it off when not using.

We turn the coffee pots warming plates off (yes, pots as we don't drink the same strength of coffee) after second cup of coffee. Hubby cut his coffee consumption in half so that cut that power in half since he is only brewing every other day instead of daily. We don't have issues with leftover coffee. That also cut the amount of coffee having to buy.

I cut the amount of from 4 to 1on night lights ,even though I am using holiday candles that use LED lights. I don't close the curtains completely on the side of the house the security light is. It helps as a night light.

I turned the furnace down, it's propane but has electrotonic ignition so  it's not coming on as much. I stopped turning on the water with my left hand... that's the hot water and 9 times out of 10 I wasn't needing hot water. Propane instant ready water heater , still electrotonic ignition plus it would pull propane. Saving the propane also. In the past week we have used less than 1% propane.

I run shorter cycle of the clothes washer and the dish washer. Don't use the dryer on either, except maybe every 3rd month. I only run full loads in the dish washer. Since I dry clothes on a drying rack or on the clothes line I do laundry daily with cold water.

I put the radio in the barn on a timer other wise all sorts of lights flicker on it while plugged in  and Hubby doesn't think to unplug it or turn the power strip off... pretty electric vampire is what son 2 called it and since it was HIS , he should know.

I told Hubby that within 30 mins. of him getting in his recliner to sleep that he is passed out. I've turned off light by him and tv several times. So now he is trying to set the tv to go off in 30 mins. instead of the 90 mins he was doing and turn off the light as soon as he is done setting the timer. 

Blessed Be

Stay safe

Prayers for peace

Get it done list for May

Stay focused on saving for Grid down items (stove and pipe and solar water pump especially)

Stay focused on saving for winter propane.

Continue to do deep cleaning (good for rainy days)

Clean outside front room windows so Hubby can put on full size screens. All the rest take  adjustable window screens. 

Install front room window screens (Hubby)

Finish washing summer bedding and put on beds

Finish washing summer curtains and hang up

Finish washing summer furniture throws and put on furniture

Wash last of winter bedding and put in barn

Wash last of winter curtains and put in barn

Wash last of winter furniture throws and put in barn

Wash summer clothes and put in drawers

Pull winter clothes and put in barn.

Finish planting the garden by Memorial day.

Take grow cart to barn.

Take grow lights to barn

Clear garden shed completely. 

Repair garden shed floor and add ventilation. (Hubby)

Load firewood into garden (now wood) shed. Split any that is too big for stove.(Hubby) Might pay a could of Amish kids to help put the wood in the shed.

Continue to get wood for winter. 

Store large drying rack in east bedroom

Unload Hubby's wardrobe in wheelchair bathroom(me) and move to front room( hopefully Hubby but probably me)

Deep clean/ caulk if needed/ install insulation covers on outlets and switches if needed wheel chair bathroom

Build closet where wardrobe was (Hubby) in wheelchair bathroom

Put Hubby's clothes in new closet. (Should be Hubby but I can guess it will be me)

Remove wardrobe in front room by Hubby's desk (Grandfather's clock will go there) Take to East bedroom (both)

Remover wardrobe in front room by wheelchair bathroom. Take to West bedroom.(both)

Move Hubby's wardrobe that was in wheelchair bathroom to front room by wheelchair bathroom door. ( Probably me but hope Hubby)

Mark off area that wood cookstove will take and space needed around it for safety. (both)

Straighten 1st bay of barn to store garden stuff.

Put garden stuff in 1st bay of barn. Which will clear a lot in the front room. 

Start moving front room furniture around for stove to come in.

MAINTAIN GARDEN 

EAT FROM PANTRY.