Frugal Doings So Far in May 2020

   

   I thought I would make a list of the frugal doings so far in May to share with you all since I have NOT been good about the weekly frugal doings posts.  Most of this is by memory so please forgive me for the more than obvious lapses.

~Jeff rebuilt the deck with mostly salvaged and free lumber planning the rough cut boards down himself to make them smooth.
~He built a composting bin out of old pallets.  I am amazed at how quickly the compost pile inside is breaking down into nice rich compost already!
~We have been planting the garden with plants that we bought cheaply, seedlings I started here from seed, direct sowing some seeds and we had lots of volunteer plants coming up including an abundance of Swiss Chard and Kale.
~We are drying herbs from the garden...dill, oregano, sage, thyme and mint.
~I continue to stock our pantry and freezer when I find good deals on things.  The bulk bins at Winco are empty for the things that we buy the most so I am really glad I did most of that ahead of time.
~I made up a huge batch of homemade hot cocoa mix that Jeff mixes into his coffee.
~We borrowed Uncle Bob's rototiller to work the soil in our front garden.
~We used a gift card to cover 3/4 of the cost of outdoor bamboo blinds for the back porch to keep things cooler out there.  I ordered them online and they will be delivered directly to our home.
~We were given a $25 Starbucks gift card as a thank you gift.  We will use this as a treat later this Summer and try to combine it with deals if possible.
~I cooked up a huge turkey and had lots of leftovers to make into more meals to freeze for when Jeff has his knee replacement surgery.
~I did not have room in my refrigerator to thaw the turkey out before cooking so we thawed it out in one of our coolers.
~I got all the birthday and anniversary cards at the Dollar Tree that I needed for this and next month.
~Overripe bananas have been either frozen or made into banana bread.
~A good protion of our laundry is being hung out on the line to dry.
~I picked up some nice free pots and pans, along with a nice lamp, while "treasure hunting".
~Plants that we not doing well in one part of our yard were transplanted to another where they seem to be doing better.
~I've been making iced tea by the pitcher full using 3 tea bags.
~We stocked up on cheap spices at the Dollar Tree.  I found the same ones at Walmart for four times the price.
~More movies are being watched on Youtube while we munch on old fashioned home popped pocorn.
~We picked up another 50 pound bag of flour and more 1 pound bags of yeast to add to our pantry.
~We also picked up the ingredients to make homemade laundry detergent since the laundry detergent we normally get has been hard to come by lately.
~Jeff was able to get 2 large bags of free potatoes from work.
~We are doing the "cherry picking" method of shopping buying what is on sale at rock bottom prices.
~Many new recipes have been tried out lately and we are finding some new favorites.
~I'm back to working my points programs after a long break from doing so.
~Jeff and I are enjoying our hot tub once more.
~More loaves of bread are made weekly.
~We had an abundance of potatoes that needed to be used ASAP and 2 bags of lemons that also needed to be used.  I found a recipe for Greek Lemon potatoes and tweaked it to our taste.  Jeff and I both loved it!  Of course it is just another one of those I throw this and that into a pot and put comes something wonderful thank goodness moments.
~I was having a bad fibro flair day and had gone to take a nap.  I woke up to the smell of brownies coming out of the oven.  This is why I keep a stocked pantry...so my hubby can make brownies for me.  Just kidding, but it sure is a nice bonus. 😁
~I harvested some radishes from our garden.  I turned them into kim chee radishes.
~Jeff and I have found more free channels on our Roku. YAY!
~I used some of the leftover turkey and homemade turkey gravy to make 2 containers of turkey pot pie filling (they went in the freezer for future meals).
~I also made 3 pans of turkey enchiladas.  We had one for dinner and the other 2 pans went in the freezer as well.  Jeff gave it an two thumbs up!
~While I was at it, I also made turkey stroganoff sauce and will have that over noodles.
~The turkey carcus was made into turkey noodle soup and turkey bone broth.  To make the bone broth, I just put the bones with a little of the meat still attached to them into my HUGE crockpot and cooked it on low for about 20 hours. It is nutrient rich and very flavorful.  It will be used to make soups and in casseroles and rice dishes. Most of that was also frozen.
~The pillows and cushions are now back out on the glider swing on the screened in porch.  Patchy and I enjoyed a nice nap on it after I spent a long day cooking and gardening.  I'm also enjoying being able to lay out there and read.
~I direct seeded in a bunch of cosmos and zinnias.  I love how pretty they are and that they attract bees to the garden to help pollinate it.
~Jeff got the Swamp Cooler ready for us to use since the temperatures are climbing quickly.
~I harvested spinach and lettuce from the garden along with rhubarb.
~Jeff went down to get food commodities in our town's food giveaway.  We volunteered with and even were in charge of this program for years until it became too much for me to be able to do any longer.  He came home with 4 boxes full of fresh fruits and veggies, canned goods, milk, yogurt, cheese, juice, pasta, flour, rice, other grains and beans, treats, frozen meats and fruits, breads and some treat items.  This really is going to help us out since we are trying not to spend any more money than needed so we can bank it for when Jeff is off without pay if he has to be home for more than a month after his surgery.  Mentally adding up all of the food we were given I would say it was at least $300 worth.
~The bush and pole beans have been started from seed directly in the garden and we transplanted out the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and more cantaloupe.
~Jeff set up the sprinklers and soaker hoses in the garden for me to make my life so much easier.
~I have been making bouquets for the house with flowers from our garden.
~I cooked up some breakfast sausage that I made into patties.  We used them to make sausage "McMuffins" along with sausage, cheese and bagel sandwiches.
~On our last shopping trip (about 2 weeks ago), I found fresh pizza dough at Winco for 98 cents.  I usually make my own but bought it anyway so that I could make a quick pizza at home since I already had all the toppings.  It came in really handy when the inevitable Fibro flare hit.
~The rain barrel got full when we had multiple rain storms so I have been using that water for my potted plants.
~Jeff and I curled up in bed on one of the hotter days, cranked up the swamp cooler, popped some popcorn and watched a movie.  It felt like a mini vacation.

   Only one more day in May and then we are on to June already.  How on earth did that happen so quickly?  We have done all we can at this point to have our garden in and going.  We do have some horrible weather coming in later today with chances of tornados and large hail and I am praying that our garden survives.  Be blessed all!