Sunday, July 25, 2021

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/23/21

 


   Late again...such is life with me. ๐Ÿ˜‰  At times the week seemed to fly by and, at other times, it seemed to drag on.  It was a busy week for sure with both lots of work in the garden and doing some stocking up shopping several times.  Every time I go to the store, the prices keep going up on most items so when there is a good sale, I buy it and put it in the pantry or freezer.  Jeff and I had planned on participating in our town wide yard sale on the 31st of this month to make some more money and stash that away in savings but we then realized that he will be working that day and it is supposed to be 97F.  So there goes that idea since I can't do the sale by myself in that kind of heat.  I will list some of the "better" items online on Facebook Marketplace.  Now onto the frugal doings:





Weekend:

~Jeff and I did the shopping and combined sales and coupons at Safeway.  We were able to stock up on 4 boxes of Cheerios, a spiral bound notebook, two 1.5 quart sized containers of ice cream, toothpaste, and 2 bags of bagels.  This came to a little over $13 including Idaho sales tax.  We had a gift card making it all completely free!

~We bought a 50 pound bag of flour, some avocados, pluots, creamer, crackers, bananas, a cucumber, hamburger and hamburger buns at Winco.  I'm stocking up on flour before the prices go up again.

~The air quality improved a bit where we live so we were able to shut of the AC and use the swamp cooler at times.

~I love watching Frugal Money Saver's YouTube channel.  She has some great tips on saving money in this video and I learned a few things I was not aware of: Frugal Living! Ways To Spend Less Amid Rising Costs! - YouTube  Be sure to check her out!

~Steven came to spend the night on Saturday.  Jeff picked up frozen pizzas so that I did not have to cook.  Between a big day the day before, being woke up at 6 a.m. by one of our new neighbors mowing his lawn (this guy has to be on Santa's naughty list) and then having screeching kids (more new neighbors) 2 houses away from me carrying on, I was not able to get much sleep and that threw me into a major Fibro flare.

~I was able to get some blueberries and raspberries picked.

~Steven helped me water the front and side gardens and spot the squash that we plan on picking for his mommy to take home.

~We watched Toy Story 4 with Steven on Saturday night.  We love that movies and Steven picked it out.

~I had a brand new package of color crayons and a Paw Patrol color book waiting here for Steven.  He was thrilled!

~We hit two thrift stores over the weekend.  I found a brand new casserole/ceramic Dutch oven at Goodwill along with a Fall ornament that was half price.  I also used a 20% off coupon on the casserole dish.  The second one we went to had a book on making all kinds of homemade items that we use on a regular basis for .99 and a few other items that I picked up.  I spent a total of $4 at that store. I figured that I wanted to learn to make even more things here at home and not have to buy so much premade stuff.

~We had leftover pizza for dinner on Sunday night.





Monday (in a Fibro flare so taking things easy):

~I harvested squash, tomatoes, blueberries and raspberries from the garden.

~Washed and froze the blueberries and raspberries.

~I cooked up some ground venison and added finely diced squash from the garden along with some diced red and green peppers that I had previously frozen.  I also added a handful of crush corn flakes to bulk things up a bit and then added a large can of sloppy joe sauce to that.  Jeff loves sloppy joes and it makes for a quick and easy dinner since I already have hamburger buns to put it on.  Adding the veggies also gives it a much needed nutritional boost.





Tuesday:

~I pulled some  homemade chicken fajita filling out of the freezer to have as part of our dinner.  I needed quick and easy plus I need more room in the freezer for all the fruit I am getting out of the garden at the moment. ๐Ÿ˜‰

~I harvested more squash and a tomato out of the garden.  I also trimmed up the tomato, bean and squash plants.

~I watered the gardens in the morning when it was cooler since the forecast was calling for storms later with dry lightening and winds.

~We got a much needed break from the heat and the smoke so I enjoyed my time out on the back porch.  I have missed being able to be out there with my coffee in the mornings.

~I was really craving shrimp scampi so I made the shrimp part and served it with squash instead of noodles.  I love it even more this way!




Wednesday:

~We got some much needed rain overnight!  It completely filled up the rain barrel and buckets that I had out in the yard.  YES!  It was one of those heavy downpours that we have not seen in ages and it deeply watered everything.  No need to water tonight.

~I trimmed up the cucumber plants to the bees could get to the flowers more easily.  I also rearranged the vines so they would not take over the beans.  I did the same thing with the cantaloupe plants.

~While checking on the pole beans (which are not doing well at all), I noticed that I have some volunteer ground cherries growing. Bonus!  I love these things but was unable to locate any plants this year and have never had luck starting plants from seeds.

~I picked more blueberries.  One of the plants had been loaded but the heat has been taking it's toll and I have lost about half of the berries to that.

~Leftovers will be on the menu tonight so I can clean out the fridge.

~I uploaded coupons onto my Safeway card.

~Jeff and I headed in to do the grocery shopping in the evening and shopped the sales.  I did find the peach iced tea mix at Grocery Outlet that my #2 grandson Isaiah loves so I picked him up 2 canisters of it and another one for me. I also found chicken flavored rice mixes for .50 each.  I bought some because they are great to just add a can of chicken to make a main dish and serve with a side of veggies or fruit.  I have days when this is about all I can handle making.

~I harvested a bunch of kale to dehydrate and got it all washed and loaded onto the trays of my smaller dehydrator.  The dehydrator started smoking and melting the plastic bottom.  YIKES!  Turned that off and threw away the bottom of the dehydrator but kept the trays and top.  I then went out to the garage and got my old Harvest Master dehydrator with the held together by duct tape top and got that all washed up.





Thursday:

~I transferred all the kale from the broken dehydrator's  trays to the Harvest Master trays and got that going.

~I picked another 1 1/2 quarts of raspberries.

~I also picked 2 more squash from the garden.

~I checked on the summer apple tree and it looks like I will be making applesauce within a week or so and then canning a bunch of it. ๐Ÿ˜‹

~Dinner was meatloaf (with some liquid smoke added to give it a different flavor profile), au gratin potatoes and green beans.  Quick, easy and I had everything needed in the pantry and freezer.

~Trying to find more ideas for frugal meals using things I have an overabundance of in the pantry that needs to be used up ASAP.

~Jeff made a "plug" to go in the floor of Jaysn and RAchel's subfloor in a hole so they can lay new flooring over it.

~I froze 3 quarts of raspberries.







Friday:

~Jeff dropped off some tools for Jaysn and Rachel to use on their floors this weekend.  They live about 4 miles from where he works.

~I picked blueberries and some raspberries from the garden.

~The air was blissfully clear today so I was able to hang the sheets out to dry after I washed them.

~Dinner tonight was a quick throw together meal of chicken flavored rice, canned chicken and some zucchini.  I know, not very creative but yummy and filling and I was tired after doing  3 loads of laundry and a few other projects.

~The cats enjoyed the drained water from the canned chicken.

~I got the dehydrated kale all packaged up and stored away.

~We used some of the water from the rain barrel to water one of the pear trees at the top of our backyard where the hose would not reach.  Jeff hauled it up there in a big bucket.





   I again want to urge people to stock up on things while you can.  Do your research to find out what crops have been affected by weather, political unrest in other countries and also look into other things that are in short supply and are a long way off in being replenished for various reasons.  Jeff and I will continue to build our pantry, HBA and even buy Christmas gifts for the grandkids now so that we have them on hand.  Covid cases are again going up in so many areas, including ours.  That, along with the fires in the Pacific Northwest are causing all kinds of issues and will continue to do so.  My stockpiles are not just for us and our family, they are to help friends and others, even strangers, who find themselves in need.  Be blessed!


















 




4 comments:

  1. I just love all the ways you save money, you are so much like me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I take that as a HUGE compliment because you inspire me so much!

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  2. Sounds like a good week - glad the air has cleared some.
    Have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you and I hope you have a good week yourself my friend!

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