Yes, I am very, very late posting this and there will also be no Frugal Friday Wrap Up for this week due to being really busy in the gardens yet again while dealing with a Fibro flare. Such is life here in our small slice of our fully paid off American Dream. With the property taxes paid off in full, we don't have the fear that many are dealing with at the moment of losing their homes. Honestly, it scares me because we have been in that exact position before and especially if you have young children, it is one of the most helpless feelings in the world. Jeff and I are continuing to do everything we can to make sure that we are prepared for the long haul and the second and third wave of this awful virus that the experts keep trying to prepare us mentally for. Be blessed and hang in there!
Saturday:
~Chris, Heather and the kids came over to get some strawberry, oregano and mint plants from our garden. Yes, we still practiced social distancing for the most part.
~Our neighbor Shannon also came and got some.
~I transplanted some flowers from the back yard into the front yard.
~Jeff and I watched the movie "The Intern" which we already had here in our DVD library at home.
~I planted peas along the fence line.
~Jeff ripped all the old outdoor carpet off the back porch.
~While out for a walk in the evening, we found a bunch of books just being tossed out in the trash. I was able to pick up some for the grandboys.
~We also got some free tomato seeds from a free seed exchange at our little free pantry that has been set up down town.
~I saved the bottoms of the green onions and rooted them in water.
~I made a pasta, veggie and black bean salad. We had some of it with the leftover burgers from the night before.
~Jeff moved the outdoor table and chairs onto the back porch for us to use until he can get the porch rebuilt.
Sunday:
~I got the lettuce, radishes, and spinach planted and moved some volunteer sunflower plants that were just coming up.
~We had a family SKYPE chat with Josh and Lauren, Jaysn, Rachel and Steven. Chris, Heather and the boys were not home and were unable to join us. It was fun though to have some of us able to all chat together, share wonderful news and to see Steven's antics and excitement at seeing his Uncle Josh and Auntie Lauren along with their kitty and dogs. :)
~Jeff worked on fixing our lawn mower. Unfortunately it needs a new part BUT Jaysn and Rachel had given us their lawn mower from when they moved from their house into an apartment so Jeff will still be able to get the lawn mowed without having to make a trip into town for a part right away.
~I grabbed some rolls out of the freezer along with a pizza and got that baked up. Not your typical or traditional Easter meal but it worked and was easy!
~I cleaned the hot tub and added new chemicals to it.
~The sheets, napkins and kitchen and bathroom towels were all washed and hung out on the line to dry.
~We popped up a big bowl of popcorn and watched the movie "Day After Tomorrow". It is one of my favorites and I am so glad that we bought a copy of it years ago at either thrift store or a yard sale.
Monday (It was a huge Fibromyalgia Flare day for me unfortunately):
~My sis/hanai mom to my kids surprised me with a gift hanging from my front door in the morning. It has a small bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey, a essential oil, hand lotion and a cute little piggy kitchen sink strainer. The woman knows about me and my pig obession. LOL! She told me she had been thinking about me and wanted to bless me and help keep my spirits up during this time. Love her!
~I had leftover pizza for a late lunch after I took a long nap. I did not sleep well for the past 3 nights and I had been pushing myself to get a lot done and it all finally caught up with me.
~Jeff did get the lawn mowed.
~He hung his laundry out to dry on the line.
~I watched some budgeting, gardening and money saving videos online.
Tuesday:
~After seeing how many meat packing plants are being shut down due to workers getting sick I got a bit concerned. Jeff and I headed into town, donned our N95 masks, and marched into Winco. I was shocked to see how the prices had shot up on cheese ($2 more per package than last week), meat and eggs. I did manage to get some pork roasts, two more 2 pound blocks of cheese, a 50 pound bag of flour, cornmeal, more canned goods and some other things that we needed to round out the pantry.
~Once we left Winco, we headed up to Walmart where we once again donned our masks. There I found marked down breads, a huge veggie tray, salads, stir fry mixes and boneless pork chops. We also picked up things for the lawnmowers, some printer ink, new work gloves for Jeff, stuff to make powdered laundry detergent and a gift for someone very special. I am hoping that we are now set for quite awhile and will not have to go out shopping for about a month or more. Oh, I also picked up some tomato plants there. Those suckers are hard to find. I found one pot with two plants in it and another with 3 plants, so I got both.
~I had picked up a marked down sandwich at Walmart and Jeff and I split that and had some cantaloupe with it for dinner. We were both tired after shopping and it made for a quick and cheap meal.
Wednesday:
~Most of the day was spent in my recliner or bed so I stayed in my jammies.
~I did make a nice dinner for us of boneless pork chops and rice. We had broiled asparagus and a salad with it.
~I watched more gardening videos on how to increase our yield.
~Caesar has some medical issues going on and so far, I have been able to treat them at home.
~Heather let me know that she had found some cherry tomato plants for me and bought them. Now we just have to do a quick meet up so I can get them from her.
THursday:
~My dear friend, who works for Council on Aging, brought Jeff and I each one of the meals they make daily for Seniors and those that are shut in. She knew I had been struggling lately with Fibro flares and decided to bless us. We had burgers, baked beans, mac salad and a donut.
~I was able to pot up some chive and squash seeds and repot some tomato plants.
~I watered the gardens.
~Two more loaves of bread were made.
~I tried to help Jeff move a huge pile of mulch but it hurt my neck and shoulders to do so. He sent me inside to rest. And yes, I am paying for overdoing it now. UGH!
~Had a nice visit with my neighbor/hanai sister over the fence today while we practiced social distancing.
~We've been sharing our free mulch with our neighbors.
~The weather was beautiful so I aired out the house.
~I whipped up some quick broccoli cheese soup for a late dinner (I had the meal our friend brought around 3 p.m. and that was the first time I had eaten all day) using some of the broccoli from a discounted veggie tray I bought on Tuesday.
~After Jeff left for work, I watched some TV shows online.
Friday:
I completely forgot to write things down and we got busy in the garden so no report for this day....Sorry!
Embarking on and embracing this next chapter of my life where I start the great adventure of becoming a grandmother.
I sure sounds like you are getting into the spirit of spring. I still haven't ventured out into a store (40 days), but I am thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteTake care and don't over do it.
Wow, I never thought about tomato plants being scarce. I better look for a few and keep them inside.
ReplyDeleteGreat as always to read your posts. I find them so inspiring. Especially on what you're cooking - I get so tired of my own cooking.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you've had flares. They are so frustrating when they arrive. I've been doing ok for the most part although my sleep patterns are anything but normal.
Today was the first day in over a month that I left the property. I went up to my closest community garden and picked some asparagus, dug up some strawberry plants and weeded. It was pouring rain so no one around. I came back here and planted the strawberries.
I was able to 'go to' the CA church on Sunday via YouTube - one huge blessing from this whole mess.
I started a sourdough starter three days ago and so far haven't killed it. Yea.
Blessings to you and yours. Sending hugs and prayers,
SJ in Vancouver BC Canada
We've had the same meat plant issues as you here in Canada. I've stocked up on so much stuff already - but I think I will go stock up on some more beef and pork. I've now got extras of every otc we need, 40 lbs of rice, 20 lbs of flour, 10 lbs of white sugar and 4 lbs of brown, 15 lbs of potatoes (gave Mom 5) and put extra toilet paper under the house in the crawlspace as unexpectedly came across a very large package at my one and only Costco trip since March 1. I am having a hard time stocking up. Like when is enough? My brain just keeps on wanting to stock up but not hoarding, just protecting my family. My fibro has been flaring too. Skin so super sensitive hubby was helping me trim my hair this morning and it was so painful every time he got near my face with the scissors (maybe I was a bit paranoid too lol). Take care and stay safe.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah and 3 cases of white and red wine as we make it ourselves - I don't think the liquor stores will ever shut here but it is so much cheaper that way
DeleteHope your fibro flare eases up and you feel better, soon. I enjoy reading all what you have been and are doing. I haven't gone grocery shopping in over a month and I know I didn't stock up on meat, so that is going to be a bit of a concern. But, I did stock up on fish, so, I'll be fine for a long time. :)
ReplyDeleteWe are a little worried about the meat situation, as well, but are hoping that by living in the Pacific Northwest we will fare better than some for chicken anyway. I have not heard Foster Farms was affected and that's where a lot of ours comes from. Here's hoping not hearing means no problem:). It takes about 8 weeks to grow a chicken, they say, but that assumes there are enough baby chicks---so time will tell. (I jokingly told my husband we could put a bunch of meat chickens in our garage as a friend did years ago!--Hopefully NOT!) We have beef left from our 1/4 beef last fall, and we assume the farmer will still be growing ours for next fall--we've been on his list for the past 15-20 years.
ReplyDeleteWe've stocked up very well in the past 2 months, as we had planned to re-fill things when we got our taxes back, which we started doing before this thing hit. It was sure easier then. We finished the stockup of staples, and are now just keeping things filled when we find them, and buying produce.
My husband is growing vegetable starts this year, so we will have those when the time is right. Early cabbage, broccoli, etc. is in the garden, but tomatoes and peppers and so forth need to wait a bit more.
I've had a problem with my computer that has stopped me from commenting on many, many blogs. I think it's fixed! Hopefully for good.