Frugal Friday Wrap Up 6/42/16

 

   Sorry I am late yet again in getting this posted.  I had a "crash day" after doing too much the previous days and we had a storm system move through that wreaked havoc with my sinuses.  While I am typing this out, my sinuses are still going bonkers even though I took a Sudafed to try and relieve some of the pressure.  We have the grandboys here to spend Saturday night with us and I want to give them my full attention and energy.  I am blessed that my sweet hubby recognizes when a crash is coming and flat out tells me that I am to just rest for the entire day and not worry about doing anything.

~I cashed in via Swagbucks for a $25 Cracker Barrel gift card.  They just opened one up in CDA and I can't wait to go and eat there.  It is one of our favorite restaurants. :)
~We borrowed the really tall ladder from our neighbor so we could get the cherries that are higher up before the birds get them all.
~Harvested lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, radishes, green onions and cherries from the garden.
~Skipped out on going to a community wide yard sale and saved the money instead. ;)
~Father's Day was celebrated here with a BBQ with our kids and grandkids.  My cousin was not able to make it unfortunately.  We grilled venison steaks, potatoes, burgers, corn on the cob and our kids brought veggie kabobs, sweet potatoes, watermelon, and buns.

~We picked lots and lots of cherries and sent some home with the kids, and gave a bunch away to friends. At last count we had harvested about 26 gallons of cherries off the tree.  The kids probably got another 4 gallons when they were here picking.
~I made a Caesar Pasta Salad with a Suddenly Salad mix that I got on sale, a leftover chicken breast, some turkey bacon, a diced tomato, the remaining 1/4 of a orange pepper that I had used in another recipe and some broccoli. I added some mayo and Caesar Salad dressing to it also. So good and filling!
~I have been trying to work my points programs a lot.
~My favorite soft cotton flat sheet ripped and is not mendable to use on our bed.  I will try to salvage what I can and use it for other projects.

~I keep an ongoing list of things that I am looking for at the thrift stores and garage sales.
~More shows were watched online. Confession time...my husband and I love to watch Big Brother in the Summer.  The social dynamics of that game fascinate me.  It's a guilty pleasure. :)
~We discovered that Walmart marks down their hot food items in the deli close to when the deli closes at night.  I found 2 bags of jalapeno poppers for half price.  I brought them home and froze most of them.  It was cheaper to buy them that way than already frozen.
~My multi-talented hubby changed the oil and filter on his car.
~I saved eggshells to use in my garden.

~We love muffins and I had an overabundance of strawberries and raspberries.  I made a double batch of mixed berry muffins.  I just followed my favorite recipe for blueberry muffins but substituted the raspberries and strawberries for the blueberries.  I'll freeze some and also share some with our friends.
~We put more cardboard up in the windows of the front guest bedroom.  Our pantry is also in that room and with the temps starting to climb, I needed to keep the room from heating up.
~More sourdough bread was made.
~I used up the crusts and leftover bread to make more croutons.
~Jackpot!  Jeff and I found 2 brand new king sized white flat top sheets for our bed for $3.77 each at the thrift store.  We have one of those deep pocket beds so the king sized sheets actually work better for us.  I also found some more shirts on clearance for .97 each.

~Jeff and I cut each other's hair and we both feel so much better!
~I manage to snag seasons 3 and 4 of "How I Met Your Mother" for $2.99 at Goodwill.  They usually mark their dvd series up pretty high but for some reason had these at the same price as a single dvd movie.
~We were given a big box full of free groceries while doing our volunteer work. :)
~While going through my closet, I found some very lightweight shirts that I had bought last year and had totally forgotten about.

~I've been turning leftovers into new meals.
~Our rhubarb is not producing as well as it has in past years but I was able to get a bag cut and frozen and also make some rhubarb simple syrup and some stewed rhubarb.  I'll use the simple syrup for drinks and maybe even over pancakes. :)
~I had my friend Shannon come over and pick raspberries.  We have so many and I love sharing.

~The movie that I had borrowed from the library last week did not get watched and luckily I was able to renew it online so we can hopefully get to it this weekend.
~Jeff and I hot tubbed on Friday before he went to work.  It helped to ease my aching muscles and did help with my sinuses too.
~Friday the skies opened up and dumped for most of the day.  Our rain barrel was overflowing.  All of the gardens got a really deep soaking and I am so thankful for that because our temperatures are expected to soar into the 90's starting on Monday.

 
   I think I did pretty well this week overall.  I know that I will need to get out and harvest a bunch of lettuce before the high temperatures hit Monday or it will all go to bolt.  Hopefully I can get to that within the next day or so.  My raspberry bushes are really kicking it into high gear and the grandboys will be thrilled to help me pick the berries this weekend,  Of course, with them, the berries will be going straight into their mouths and not into Grammie's bowl. ;)  That's fine with me though...I just want them to enjoy themselves.  I hope that everyone has a great weekend!