Frugal Friday Wrap Up 4/10/20

      

   Things got a bit crazy around here this week and I forgot to write down my frugal doings.  It hit me on Wednesday that this could pose a problem since my memory is not so great.  I am going to try to remember everything I can and list it here.  It will be in no particular order since my mind is a jumble and that is just what it is at the moment.  I'm sure lots of people can relate to that. :)

~I bake 3 loaves of bread and a batch of hamburger buns. I used the heat of the hot tub below the hot tub lid and sun from above to help the dough rise.  This cuts the rising time way down.

~We got our order from Imperfect Foods and the produce all looked wonderful this time.

~I made a list of possible meal ideas with all that we have on hand.  I washed everything as it came in the house.

~Jeff and I masked up on Tuesday with some N95 masks and ran errands.  I have a sinking feeling that our Stay Home Stay Safe order is going to extend for yet another month after May 4th and I also see a rise in cases in our area...not a huge rise, but a rise nonetheless. School has been moved to online learning for the rest of this year so that is another huge clue as to what is to come. I wanted to get out and get what we needed before things got any worse.  I am now stocked for at least another month and it cost me about $140 total by shopping sales.

~We picked up some screws at the hardware store so Jeff can use them to rebuild our aging back porch.

~Jeff ripped down a bunch of free lumber that he was given to use to redo the back porch.

~Some tree trimmers were working up the street from us so Jeff asked them if we could have the chipped tree mulch.  They were more than happy to give it to us for free even though Jeff offered to pay them for it.  I pulled some of my mixed berry muffins out of the freezer and we gave them to the guys as a thank you.  They were very happily surprised and appreciative.

~Jeff returned some tire chains that we did not use this past winter to Les Swab.  With the credit for them, we only had to pay another $20 to pay off our account there.

~We have been on several walks with Caesar around town.

~I found several marked down to $1.99 meals in the deli case at Winco so I bought 3 of them since it had been a long shopping day and I was exhausted.  Cheaper than grabbing some fast food on the way home and healthier too!  We had 2 of them on Tuesday night and I froze the other one (Manicotti) for later.

~I cooked up a huge lasagna and made 2 smaller ones that I added to the freezer for future meals.

~The refrigerator was cleaned and I took inventory of all we had so I could work it into my meal plans.

~Since we got some gloriously warm weather, we took advantage of it and washed all the rugs in the house and also opened up the windows and doors to air things out.

~I made a big batch of stroganoff with some venison and some Greek yogurt that needed to be used up.  While that was baking in the oven, I also baked some potatoes along with it. Jeff decided he wanted rice instead of potatoes so I cooked that up as well and we had a side of green beans to round out the meal. I did this after I had take one of the batches of bread out so the oven was already hot.  

~Jeff and I have been watching movies that we already own here along with things on YouTube.  I have also been streaming music via YouTube.
~I have been working in the garden deadheading the roses and the blackberry bushes.
~I watched a video on how to increase the yield of my blackberry bushes.  Good to know and will be tried this year.
~I continue to bury my kitchen scraps in the garden and put the used coffee grounds around the blueberry bushes.
~I made a list of possible meal ideas based on what we have here at home.  I was amazed at how many delicious and varied meals I can make with things on hand.

~It is no secret that I love flowers and to be surrounded by beauty.  This year I decided to transplant some volunteer columbine plants that have landed in places that I don't want them to other spots to brighten things up.  Columbine is one of my favorite flowers and I try to add to my ever growing collection of colors of them each year.  This year, due to the virus, I will not be doing that but I can still continue to expand my collection and enjoyment of them with what I already have growing here at home.
~I placed an order with Vitacost for zinc and some cranberry supplements.  There is research showing that a combination of Zinc and quinine may possibly help with Covid-19 as both a preventative and as a way to treat it.   I am NOT prescribing anything or advising anything as I am not a doctor...just sharing what the research is saying.  You choose to use this information as you see fit.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHMyazPY24A&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0CuK3YgmdUwGvGBh7vnQKq0ZspMPFMd0O39m4UN2jfQaJFfzn6TDA5jHU

~One of my former students and her family are moving and they had a bunch of furniture set out on the curb for free.  We picked up a china hutch that is pretty scratched up at the moment but it will be super cute when I redo it.

~We checked with our town about some plum trees growing on one of the side roads right of ways.  They said we were welcome to dig out a few and replant them in our yard.
~I got the peas planted in the garden.
~Jeff replaced  2 of the burners on our BBQ grill and then grilled some burgers for us.
~I made a baked potato ranch salad.
~The bottoms of the green onions were put in some water to grow more roots before I plant them in the garden.

   So that is our frugal week.  I think we did really well overall and I am pleased with our efforts.  This next week we are going to buckle down even more and try to increase our frugal activities that will benefit us long term.  Stay tuned for more gardening, baking, and home projects.  Be blessed!