Only a Few More Days

 

   It's only a few more days until Christmas is here.  My tree is decorated, gifts that needed to be sent out in the mail have either arrived or are on their way. Gifts for the youngest two grandkids, Tate and Peyton are safely tucked away at their home now, along with gifts for our Lauren.  Hopefully Josh's gifts will arrive in Japan soon so that he has gifts to open on Christmas too.   We have done our annual lunch and shopping trip with Bradley and Isaiah (it was so much fun).  I love spending time with the two of them!  Steven will be coming over this coming Monday, and we have a Christmas craft of painting a snowman mug (or we could use permanent markers which may be a better option and then bake it on in the oven).  If time allows, there will also be cookie making with my "King of the Sprinkles" grandson. 😋  All that is left to do now is bake the cranberry-orange bread and get Steven's gift wrapped along with the finishing details on the family gift bags for Jaysn and Rachel, and Chris and Heather.    

   Jeff has a dental appointment tomorrow and a doctor's appointment for his knee Monday.  The plan was to go and fix the damage at Jaysn and Rachel's home from the huge windstorm that hit our area on Saturday.  However, our Chris went over today and fixed the shed and the house roof for them.  He also took over a gas-powered generator to run for a few hours to keep their freezer stuff frozen and he took them a propane heater.  They have been out of power since yesterday.  Jaysn did take time off work to be there to help Chris.  Chris let Jaysn know that they were going to need a new roof soon. That is going to be a huge expense.  Luckily, Jaysn and Rachel are very good about budgeting for big expenses and paying things off as quickly as possible.  I am forever grateful that my kids are all amazing at helping one another out.  It takes a lot of pressure off of Jeff, who whether he will admit it at times, is not as young as he once was.  Things take a bit longer to fix now that he is getting older and the arthritis, degenerative disc disease, along with some other issues, make it harder on him to do what he once did for everyone.  He is still there as a wonderful guiding and teaching source though.  If he can't figure it out, there is always YouTube.  LOL!

   If I do not post again until after Christmas, I do wish everyone who reads my blog a very Merry Christmas!!!

Clearing Out the Smoke, Rain and Other Blessings!

   I'm currently sitting out on my back screened in porch listening to the rain come down while soft piano jazz music is playing in the background. The rain is so welcomed as it scrubs the heavy smoke from wildfires out of the air.  I can breath again!  I am praying that the rain makes its way up to the Spokane area and beyond as they have had devastating fires up that way with many losing their homes and with 2 deaths between 3 different fires.   My neighbor's co-worker lost her home and I am waiting to hear how we can help her rebuild.

   My garden and yard desperately needed this good soaking rain.  Everything has been so dry and despite our constant watering, it seems the plants can never get enough and have been struggling in the horrible heat.  I am so very thankful for a much cooler day and rain, as I can feel it refreshing my soul once again.  It is much needed before the heat comes back on later in the week, just in time for our Josh, Lauren, Tate and Peyton's visit.  They are used to the heat and kind of like it...I know...how can Josh be my kid and like the heat?  LOL!  Going to a little splash pad in in the plans for this coming Sunday and we will be celebrating the twins, Josh and Chris's birthday with that and a baseball game with friends and family.  I will happily be in the splash pad area with the little ones while the game is going on. 😉 I can't wait to have Josh and family home again.  They will be staying at a hotel with a pool due to the erratic sleep habits of my two youngest grandbabies.  The pool is a nice bonus and one that I plan on taking advantage of while enjoying it the grandkids.

   As you know, Jeff and I have been planning for him to be able to work part time and take early retirement.  Well part of that plan involves replacing things that need to be replaced and fixing other things, as well on stocking up on needed items.  It has also been learning new skills that will save us money, and/or enrich our lives.  I'm a firm believer that God will guide you to those needed or desired items, and He has once again come through for me in a big way.  My poor little immersion blender has seen lots of use and was one it's way out.  I had been wanting to replace it.  Well I found one at Goodwill for $5.99 and it had the blender and the milk frother attachments.  Now I needed a new immersion blender and I had been wanting a milk frother also.  Now I have both!  On that trip I also was blessed with a Home Dairy book on how to make cheese, yogurt, butter and more.  I already know how to do the yogurt, butter and a simple cheese, but I wanted to learn how to make other types of cheese as well.  My find of the day though has been something that I have wanted for a very long time.  I wanted a nice basket with handles that I can use in the garden to gather produce and I wanted it to have a washable and waterproof liner.  The only baskets that I knew about that had these attributes were Longaberger baskets, and those are way out of my price range.  Imagine my surprise and happiness when they wheeled out a new trolley of merchandise and there it was, the basket of my dreams (with the illusive liner) for $3.99!  I carefully flipped it over to see if there were any brand marks on the bottom because it was so well made and much to my delight, it was indeed and Longaberger basket.  Oh Happy Day!!!  On that trip I also found a hand blown wine glass from Italy (which is now being washed) and a movie.  Yes, it was indeed a great trip to the thrift for me!

  Our garden continues to bless us (even though the heat has definitely slowed things down) with Sungold cherry tomatoes, squash and apples.  The blackberries are just ripening and I ate the first 2 last night...I had forgotten how good they are.  I've been busy making applesauce and I need to freeze some of the tomatoes since I am getting more than I thought I would from just the 2 largest bushes and the other red cherry tomato buses are setting fruit, as are the Black Crim and Romas.  The green beans are just starting to get big enough to pick and I am sure we will have a lot of them once they really get going.  I have been sharing with my neighbor and she is anxiously awaiting for the pears to be ready to picked.  We are going to have a lot of them this year, and yes, I will be sharing them with her and with the rest of our family that lives nearby, as well as trying to put some up for Jeff.

   Well I suppose I should go and work on my "to do" list for a bit.  I have taken most of the day off to relax since Jeff and I did so much around and in the house over the weekend.  Between all that, the fires up north of us, as well as one just a few miles from us earlier last week, and just the general day to day trying to keep up on the gardens, it has left me exhausted and in lots of pain.  I have not been sleeping well, but last night, I was finally able to get into a deep sleep and slept until 9 a.m.  My body must have really needed it and I am not going to argue with that.  Be blessed my friends who are reading this and keep stocking up on those things that you need, and yes, even some nice "surprises" along the way.

   

   

There is Always Something to Do Around Here

 

   I thank those of you who read my blog for being so patient with me.  Things have been super busy around here and it seems like there are not enough hours in the day for us to get everything done that we need to.  So today, I am making time to do an update on things that are going on in our world.

   Above you will see 2 pictures of a salad that I made for dinner one night and then the filet mignon that Jeff grilled and I served with mashed potatoes made from Yukon Gold potatoes harvested from our garden.  In addition to the Yukon Gold potatoes, we also harvested the first batch of Huckleberry Gold potatoes that we grew in our half whisky barrel.  That barrel was a wonderful place to grow the potatoes and we got a good yield from it.  We still have more of the Huckleberry Golds to harvest that were grown in a row on the ground near the whisky barrel.  We will see what kind of yield we get from that also.  I gave some of the Yukon Gold potatoes to our neighbor/hanai sister Shannon this morning and she was super excited about it.

   The raspberry bushes have been going gangbusters on us and I am picking gallons of berries off them.  I have also been getting a handful of blueberries off those bushes every few days.  The strawberries are at the end of their season here and did not do as well as I had hoped.  Jeff and I are going to put down a lot of compost and work it into the soil this Fall.  The rhubarb also struggled and we got nothing off it.

   We are still getting cherries off our tree, but those too are coming to the end of their season and to be honest, I am really glad they are. 😉  We have harvested and given away so many of them.  This year was a bumper crop year for cherries all over our part of the country.

   Oh yes, an update on the doctor's appointments for Jeff and I.  Let's start with Jeff.  He is going to have to do a follow up on the spot they saw on his kidney.  He will be having another more detailed CAT scan sometime soon.  We are still waiting to hear from the hospital on scheduling it since they only do it there once a month.  Now me...so it has now been discovered that I have some arthritis in my right hip as well as in my lower back (which is really a mess according to my doctor) and I have degenerative disc disease as well.  Oh joy...NOT!!!!  I am now taking Aleeve twice a day to help with that pain, in addition to all my other medications, and it seems to be helping.  It's funny how the Pregabalin does not touch that kind of pain, but helps with my Fibromyalgia pain.

   Back to the things we have been doing around here.  Jeff got the chest freezer all cleaned out and reorganized.  It was a big job, but we both are very happy to have it done.  Now he and I both know what is in there.  We still have to upright freezer to do, but that will have to wait until sometime in August since we are getting ready for our town wide yard sale at the end of this month.  Jeff did get the garage all cleaned out too and we have some of the yard sale things in one area ready to be set out in our driveway when the sale happens.

    I taught a class on frugal menu planning at the library last night.  I only had 2 people show up, but they were a lovely couple that are still fairly new to our area and did not know the places to get the best deals on things.  We had a wonderful time and are very like minded.  They both said that my interactive class was really good and that more people should take it.  They want me to do a follow up class the Fall. Since they were the only ones there, they got the door prizes and we so surprised that I would still not only give them a door prize, but give them all three.  I gave then a book by a local author that is loaded with all kinds of recipes, ideas for free places to go to and enjoy (many of them not well known) in our area, gardening and sewing ideas, etc.  It really is a beautiful book.  I also gave them the :More With Less" cookbook and some of my Tuscan Herb Salt that I make.

   Our weather has been either delightful or way too hot for me.  Luckily, up until now, it has cooled off enough at night for us to just run the vent on our swamp cooler to bring in the cooler night air as we sleep.  That is now ending and we have a heat dome coming upon us once more.  I try to do things early in the mornings since it heats up quickly in the afternoon and I have to retreat into the house and turn on the cooling part of the swamp cooler.  If it gets really hot, I will go over and get the extra air conditioner that Shannon has and she saves for me to use when needed.  That time may come by this weekend unfortunately.  Yes, I realize how very blessed I am to have such a wonderful friend who is so gracious with me.

   I'd better get going and try to get a few more things done before the heat gets to me.  I have my laundry on the line drying but still need to get out into the gardens and check and see how things are coming along.  Be blessed my friends, stay cool and stay safe.

   

Frugal Friday 12/9/22

 

   We've had snow this week and I am so grateful that Jeff and I did our big shopping trip over the weekend.  We did notice some things that we use on a regular basis that were missing from the store.  We asked the guy working in the bulk food section of the had any tortellini and he said it was the weirdest thing, but they could not get it from anywhere.  Boy am I glad that I have been trying my best to pick some up every time we go.  The hot cocoa mix was also out, and they did not know when it would be back in stock.  Are you noticing any shortages or missing items in your area?

Weekend:

~We shopped at Goodwill for a few things and used a 20% off coupon on one item each and also got 50% off an additional item since it was their 83rd anniversary.  Jeff got some warm wool socks (new) and some kind of exercise equipment. I got a full place setting of the Winterberry pattern dishes that I love so much, a cute insulated cup, a gorgeous led crystal piece of art, a package of new underwear (again, new and never opened package), and a beautiful pewter votive candle holder.

~I spent a full day doing laundry and getting that caught up from our trip.  I do not use a full capful of laundry detergent because you really do not need that much to clean your clothing.

~Jeff and I did the Winco shopping and got stocked up on things that we needed.  I then entered a picture of my receipt at Swagbucks to get some addition points. By this time the snow was coming on hard so we headed home.

~Jeff got out the Christmas tree for me and the ornaments and wall decorations.  I wrapped additional colored lights around the tree and then worked on the wall decor.  I was really sore after all of that so I stopped decorating for the evening.

~I dehydrated 2 packaged of frozen mixed veggies.  I now have a lot to use in soups, stews, pot pies, etc..

Monday:

~I finished decorating the tree.

~I found a blanket to use under the tree as a tree skirt.

~I found another Christmas themed fleece throw and got that put in the wash so we could use it.

~My father had given each of us a wreath with a candle holder.  I put mine outside near our front door.

~Jeff finished the rest of the shopping that we did not get to over the weekend.  He shopped the sale items at Safeway and then headed over to the Dollar Tree to pick up some things on my list there.

~Pizzas were on sale at Safeway so we cooked two of those up for dinner.  They were the thin crust kind (that was all they had left).  We put two away in the freezer.

Tuesday:

~I made 2 loaves of bread.

~While the bread was baking I worked on the pork rib steaks that Jeff got at Safeway on sale.  Two of them (they were huge) went into my crockpot along with some seasonings, a can of cream of mushroom soup and 3 red potatoes that I sliced up.

~I froze 3 packages of 2 each of the rest of the pork rib steaks for future meals.  I am trying to stock my freezer with sale priced meats.  We usually get a lot of our meat from Chris and Heather, but the hunting has not been as good this year.  The deer that they were going to give to us, they gave to their friends who were going through some rough times financially. Of course we fully supported them in doing that because we have been there before ourselves and they have 4 children to feed.  I don't want anyone to ever go through what we did.

~I watched some trash TV.  LOL!  Yes I find that relaxing.

Wednesday:

~This was mostly a day of rest for me.  I have been pushing myself way too hard trying to get the Christmas decorations up so that we can enjoy them for as long as possible.

~I was able to order 10 more free covid tests to be delivered to our home.  The flu, covid and RSV are hitting our area hard.  The city schools in Moscow, Idaho, where my grandson Steven goes to school, had 33% of their students and staff out sick.  I want us to all have access to home tests so we can tell if it is covid or something else if/when we get sick.

~We did breakfast for dinner.  I made my own version of McDonald's Egg McMuffins with cheese and served them with canned pears.  I sizzled up some shaved ham, had some sliced cheese and fried up 2 eggs for Jeff's sandwiches (I don't like eggs).  It was really good and made my hubby a very happy man!

~One of the representatives of a company that supplies products to the store Jeff works at brought in hats for everyone.  They are really cool looking too!  I may just have to steal the hat from Jeff. 😉

~My Uncle Gary and his wife April sent us a box of Esther Price candy for Christmas.  It is soooooo good!

Thursday:

~Apparently, I was more tired than I thought after our trip.  I took a 2 hour nap in the morning and it felt so good!

~Still dealing with the health insurance company rejecting authorization for an echocardiogram.  I will be changing health insurance again in January and we will have to start this whole process over.  The cardiologist office and I are forming a plan to hopefully get things taken care of and the right information needed onto the preauthorization paperwork this time.

~I keep Christmas music playing in the house via YouTube.  They have a lovely selection to choose from.

Friday:

~I watched some YouTube videos about frugal Christmas appetizers to make.  I needed some new ideas.

~My cousin Jeremy and I had a lovely phone visit.  We all really miss him up this way.

~Heather and I are swapping the days when we each take Steven while he is on Christmas break from school.  His school actually shut down today because so much of the staff and students are out ill.

~I made a large pan of homemade Salsbury Steak and gravy.  I used some elk burger that we had in our freezer, some spices, onions, and made a quick beef gravy (from packets) to pour over it and bake in the oven.  I threw in a large acorn squash in another pan to also bake along with the steaks.  I also made a large pot of rice.  Some of the rice will be used for this meal and the rest will be used in future meals. 

   As our temperatures are expected to plumet this coming week and I trying to come up with a menu plan that is filling and comforting.  I am so glad that I have so many cookbooks here at home to browse through.  I think I many also dig out a quilt to have on the couch to cuddle under since I am not sure if just a thinnish fleece blanket will be up to the job.  It seems like it will be the perfect time to snuggle in and read.  Be blessed all!

Frugal "Luxuries" that make Life Better

 

   Life, oh life!  Sometimes we get so caught up in everything around us and don't take time to nurture ourselves.  It's a trap that many women (and men) find themselves falling into.  I have been climbing my way out of that trap and trying to nurture myself in small and frugal ways.  It has paid big dividends in my attitude towards life in general, and that is something that I definitely needed to do.  So instead of a Frugal Friday Wrap up for the week, I thought I would share some of the things that I am doing to nurture myself.  Here we go...

~I have rediscovered my love of Soft Jazz music.  YouTube has some great channels that share this, along with cozy cafe scenes (something else that calms me).  Cozy Smooth Jazz channel is one of my favorites.  Jeff even enjoys it. 😉

~I've continued to recreate some of my favorite food dishes that I used to order in restaurants or that I grew up eating.  The other day I made a big pot of rice and used some of it to make rice balls with ume boshi (Japanese small, pickled plums) in the middle of the rice ball.  This is something that brings me back to my childhood and reminds me of field trips in elementary school.  My friends, who were Japanese, knew that I loved these, so their mothers would make an extra rice ball for me and I would bring extra homemade cookies to share with them.  The rest of the rice was used as a base to serve stroganoff over and some for making jambalaya.

~Soft lighting, especially at this time of year, is something that I look forward to.  I have a nightlight in the kitchen, a small table lamp in the living room, and candles flickering as the darkness envelopes us in a cozy little cold weather bubble.  The fire is also going in the pellet stove and we have soft throws to cuddle under and a new plush rug in the floor in the living room.

~I like to switch out the fragrances that I wear.  Above are two of my favorites for the colder months.  I'm finding that where I only used to wear them when I went somewhere, I am now wearing them on a daily basis here at home.  I'm also pulling out the nicer earrings (with gemstone too), and wearing them at home.  I have so many beautiful earrings.  My grandson Steven is the one who got me started on this when he told me I was not dressed and ready for the day until I had my earrings on.  That boy was onto something because I do feel more ready for the day and, dare I say, "prettier" when I have a nice fragrance and some pretty earrings on.  

~Cozy socks, and fun socks.  These are frugal treats that I do love to not only get for myself, but also surprise others with.  There is nothing like putting on a pair of soft and fuzzy socks after a long day of shopping or playing with the grandkids.  I also try to find seasonal fun socks.  My mother also loves fun socks, so I get them for her as gifts.  I am finding that my girls love these too!

~Homemade bread is another one of those things that just say comfort and home to me.  My hubby is also a huge fan of homemade bread and tells me I spoil him with it.  You will frequently find some bread dough rising on the top of my pellet stove under a pretty tea towel.  When the dough has risen, then it's into the oven and before you know it, the house is filled with the enticing aroma of bread baking.

~ Who says you can't have those clothing items that you want.  I bought the coat above last year at Marshall's when it was on sale and I had a gift card.  It is a thin "puffer" style that is incredibly warm and not bulky at all.  It's great for every day use and for traveling since you can pack it easily into either a suitcase or carry-on bag when you do not need it and it does not take up much room.  Throw a pretty silk scarf (I bought this one at the thrift store) or a cashmere scarf (also found at a thrift store or yard sale) on for a pop of color, some warmth and that little extra touch that speaks to your personality and makes you look very put together.  Most of my wardrobe is either thrifted or bought on sale.  I have absolutely no problem buying things at thrift stores.  I find great bargains there in clothing, housewares, furniture, books, dishes and glassware, purses, etc..  I use those things with pride!  😊

~We just got done with the gardening season, but we are still enjoying some of the things that we were able to grow this year.  The pears are ripening up inside the house and I keep pulling blackberries out of the freezer to enjoy.  There are cherry tomatoes in the freezer that can be popped into a pan, along with some olive oil, garlic and seasonings to make a wonderfully easy and delicious sauce for pasta.  I have Walla Walla Sweet onions all cut up and bagged into one cup portions in the freezer for easy access and use.  There is a rather large acorn squash just waiting for me to bake it in the oven.  These are all things that we love and that we ate a lot of fresh during the growing season and can still enjoy now.

~I've been binge watching certain TV shows on Paramount Plus, Disney Plus and Peacock channels.  We are able to access these channels for free thanks to our kids.  Some of these channels even have live TV so we can watch Survivor the night that it airs.

~How could I ever forget our precious fur babies. We are down to the two indoor cats, Midgy and Patchy, and we have a neighborhood cat that adopted us, as our outdoor cat.  We call her Ginny.  There is a possibility that we may temporarily be taking care of Nala, the golden retriever that belongs to Josh and Lauren, since they can only have 2 pets in base housing.  Nala is the most "adaptable" of their 3 pets.  They plan on buying a house once they know the housing market there and then Nala would return home.  This is an offer we made to the kids so they would not have to rehome one of their pets for good.  Fur babies bring so much love and laughter into our lives and know how to comfort us when we are going through a rough patch.  They are a priceless gift!

~I've returned to the comfort of our soft bed in the master bedroom.  During the warmer months I had been sleeping in our guest room since I needed to spread out (so I did not get too hot to sleep) and I also was having trouble sleeping and was afraid to wake Jeff up with my tossing and turning.  This time of year, I love the coziness of pulling the soft quilts and blankets up around my shoulders and feeling the warmth radiating from my hubby and at least one of our cats as they sleep.  A good bed, cozy blankets and soft pillows, along with a warm hubby and a snoring cat (yes, Midgy snores), make for a good night's sleep for me.

~Warm drinks, whether good coffee, hot cocoa, tea or even mulled wine, are things that I look forward to.  There is nothing like sharing some mulled wine on a cold night with a friend as we get caught up with each other, or a cup of hot cocoa with my grandkids (or hubby) after coming in from playing or working in the snow.  A full pot of good coffee is something to be shared and enjoyed on my hubby's days off.  We try to save the "good stuff" for the weekend and use the regular coffee for the weekdays.  Oh, and creamers...I have to have good creamers.  It is something that I do splurge on.  I have tried some of the store brands and I do not like them at all!  

~Books, books and more books, with a few magazines thrown in.  "Hi, I'm Debbie and I'm a bookaholic".  😆  There is nothing like cuddling up with a good book!  I adore books and have so many here in my personal library that is busting at the seams.  It is a running joke in our family about me and my books.  I have a personal library here complete with a children's section for my grandchildren.  Heather is now borrowing books from me for my oldest two grandkids to read.  This is exactly why I built up my children's book collection.  Now my personal favorites are cookbooks, decorating and craft books, or Christmas related books.  My favorite sources of books that I buy are from yard sales and thrift stores.  I also buy books there for gifts if I know that someone that would enjoy them.

~A full pantry and freezer with lots of things to pull together nourishing meals is another luxury.  I have scoured sales, dehydrated herbs from the garden and made homemade seasonings, along with putting up produce from our gardens in order to have the pantry and freezers full of food that I have on hand.  I know what it is to go without and to have to depend on others for food so you can feed your children.  I have been there in the past and I can tell you it was terrifying to me.  I also experienced it as a young child, and it made me feel like I needed a full pantry in order to feel secure.

~Tools and building supplies.  Jeff is able to make or fix so many things because he has the tools on hand and has been blessed with lots of free wood.  Rachel called the other day to tell him that they had all kids of good hardwood pallets at her workplace from all the new machinery for the new plant that she was helping to get ready so they could start manufacturing things in.  Jeff took our truck in, along with some tools, and he was able to fill the back of our truck up with good solid wood.  Chris will also be able to go and get some next week hopefully because it will be good to burn in their woodstove since they have not been able to go out and cut wood this year.  I am hoping Chris gets several truckloads of it or borrows the family trailer from Jaysn and Rachel and fills that up too to haul home.

   Well, those are the things that I can think of off the top of my head.  We used to have a running hot tub, but that is not working at the moment.  We will try to see if we can get it fixed in the late Spring or this coming Summer.  I do still have a deep soaking bathtub that I can use if I need a good long bath.  I'm looking forward to cozy nights with our antique game table set up in front of the pellet stove while Jeff and I play Scrabble or Rummy.  Watching old movies while munching on popcorn is another favorite activity that we partake in and really enjoy.  Honestly, there really are so many frugal luxuries that we can all enjoy IF we have a resourceful and grateful mindset.  Be blessed my friends and please share in the comment section what your frugal luxuries are that you enjoy this time of year.  I know that I am always inspired by all of you!

Seventeen Cups of Onions are now in the Freezer

   I got a late start to the day, but I knew I still had to get my "to do" list done.  On the top of that list was processing most of the Walla Walla Sweet onions that I had grown and getting them cut up and frozen before they went bad.  We do love Walla Walla Sweet onions because they are milder in flavor, and we really enjoy that.

   The best place for me to do this is on the back porch.  Luckily the weather had been unseasonably warm, so I was able to be out there in my capris and a short-sleeved T-shirt.  My plan of "attack" was to have my big crate of onions on one chair where I could easily reach them and the "for the compost bin huge stainless-steel bowl on the chair to the left of me.  I also had another huge stainless-steel bowl on the table to put the diced onions in, a chopping board, knife and my onion cutter.

   The other two things I needed were my computer to watch videos of listen to podcasts to keep me from getting bored and a towel for my nose.  My nose always runs when I am chopping onions!  

   Well, I sliced and diced and ended up filling the stainless-steel bowl on table to the top!  I also cut up some of the sprouting greens.  The cut-up greens were about 1 1/2 cups worth but the onions themselves just astounded me with their amount.

   

    I bagged up the diced onions into 1 cup bags.  All in all, I ended up with 17 cups of diced up onions.  I loaded the smaller 1 cup bags into 2 gallon sized bags and took them out to the upright freezer.  In order to make room for them, I had to take a few things out.  I ended up taking out some chicken pot pie filling and a piecrust.  Those will be made into dinner tonight since I am now beyond sore.

   I am rather proud of myself for finally getting this done.  It has been on my list for 2 weeks now.  I know that those onions are going to come in handy when I need onions in a recipe.  Each cup equals about 1 onion, so that really makes it easy to just grab what I need.  My grandpa would be proud since I am "making hay while the sun still shines".😊

A Thrifty Thursday

 

                

   Well, yesterday proved to be a day of unexpected bills.  I did the taxes and we thought we were going to be getting a refund...NOPE!  We owed both Federal and Idaho state taxes.  Jeff works in Idaho, so we have to pay non resident taxes in that state.  I paid online for the federal, but we are mailing in the Idaho stuff since Tax Act wanted to charge me for it.  Luckily we did have the money in savings to cover it all, so that was a huge relief.  Jeff came home to me just finishing up the taxes at dinner time and took pity on me and made grilled cheese sandwiches for our dinner.  I love that man! 😘

   That being said, today is one of those "I'm on the frugal warpath" kind of days.  Luckily the weather is cooperating, so I was able to hang the laundry out on the line to dry.  It is unseasonably warm (in the low 70's), but we are expecting more rain, freezing temps and even snow within the next 7 days or so.  There is something so calming to me when I am hanging out laundry to dry...I have no idea why, but hey, I'll take some moments of calmness in this world that has seemed to have gone totally crazy.

   While the laundry was going in the washer, I got some water boiling and thinly cut up a potato into small dices and then added it to the water.  I the added some Auguson Farms cheesy broccoli soup mix to it, along with a handful of frozen broccoli that I had in the freezer that need to be used up.  I let that simmer while I moved on to my next project.

   Remember those large cartons of ricotta cheese that I found for $1 each, well I had one left that needed to be used.  I mixed the ricotta up with some parmesan cheese and some Olive Garden herb mix.  I then layered the sauce, noodles (uncooked), ricotta cheese, a handful of mozzarella cheese from a bag I pulled out of the freezer, and then repeated that pattern all over again until my pans were full and the top layer of noodles was covered with sauce.  I was able to make 3 pans to pop into the freezer.  This is our idea of convenience meals and makes it easy to grab one to give to someone who might also need a meal.

   I had to break the lasagna noodles up to fit in the pans, so I had lots of broken pieces of noodles.  I never throw them away.  I put them in a bag to use in homemade soups in the near future.  This is something that I learned many years ago from my mother, who was a great teacher in all things frugal!

   While out in the freezer putting the lasagna in, I grabbed some cotta salami for Jeff and also a bag full of frozen Zuppa Toscana.  The soup will be dinner tomorrow night since we are expecting bad weather to move back in.  Soup on a rainy night is something that brings me comfort and makes me feel all cozy.  Again, having that soup all made and in the freezer for me to just pull out is convenience food at it's finest.  I may make some garlic and cheddar biscuits to go with it.  That just sounds delicious and I know Jeff would love it!

   It's now mid afternoon and I am going to take the rest of the day off, other than bringing in and folding that laundry when it is done drying.  Jeff has bowling tonight, so I don't have to make dinner for the two of us.  I'll just grab something easy, maybe those egg rolls from the freezer??? 😉 I am in the middle of a bad fibro flare, but have been pushing myself to get some things done.  My pain levels are going back up again, so I may have to talk to my doctor about raising me pain medication dosage.  I need to get adjusted to it before I have Steven here a few days a week this Summer.  Sometimes it takes me a good month or more to adjust unfortunately. 

   So that is it for today...stay busy, stay frugal and stay prayed up and sane!

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 1/7/22

 

   Well hello again!  It has been an eventful week filled with snowstorms, horrible roads, some frugal fails, etc..  However, not all is gloom and doom.  Remember my saying that I am always looking for those Silver Linings?  The best one of the week was being able to have our grandson Steven spend the night midweek since his daycare is still shut down and his parents needed to be able to get back to work.  Oh that was so much fun for me!  He is simply a wonderful little guy and we both enjoyed each other's company.  Now onto the frugal doings in no particular order since I again failed to keep track of them as they happened.

~Steven spent the night with us on Tuesday. G-pa brought him home after getting off work.  We had cuddle time, stories were read and he fell asleep very quickly that night.  He did wake up at 4 a.m., but went right back to sleep when I told him it was still nighttime and that it was not time to get up yet.  He then slept until 8:30 a.m.!  Wednesday morning found Steven and I here alone without Jeff who had to go to work.  It was way too cold with the windchill to go outside so we found some fun things to do inside.  We made cookies and we decorated them with sprinkles...so many sprinkles!  LOL!  He took some home with him to share with his parents later when they came to pick him up. We played a bible character memory game, which he was amazing at (it is a matching game that I had here and had found at a thrift store for .49 years ago), played with toys and he actually caught the elusive Midgy cat and was quite proud of himself for doing so. We cuddled up in Grammie's bed and he watched a construction vehicles video while Grammie got some much needed rest and then we played construction site later.  Here are a few snippets of our conversations and my observations that I posted on Facebook, gosh I love this kid and he keeps me on my toes!:

Oh yes, life with a 4 year old...tells me he wants fruit gummies for dinner and that is what his parents let him have. LOL! Good try kiddo but Grammie knows better. He didn't want the chicken strips and French fries, so cereal it was! Breakfast was fruit cereal bars and cheese. He was really hungry. I think we will skip making a snowman because the winds are cold. Onto cookie making it is!

Yet another adventure with the 4 year old grandson Steven...

Steven: "Well my construction hat fell in the toilet" He says while wearing it on his head. "It's okay, I washed it in sink".

Grammie: "could you please put the hat in the bathtub to dry and the towel in the laundry room"

Steven: "Sure"

Grammie: "Here Steven, you can wear my construction hat".

~I sent some of the cookies to one of our friends that works with Jeff and she loved them!

~Here is where the frugal fail happened. Jeff and I had an agreement that we would not be eating out this month so that we could save money and pay off some of our bills sooner. Here is where the frugal fail happened...Jeff ate out twice for lunch. We had a talk about this and why we were trying to NOT do that...he is back on board with the plan once again. We want to get my car paid off and then work on a few other bills big time.

~I made two loaves of bread. We went through one very quickly when we had chicken salad sandwiches for dinner one night.

~Leftovers were on the menu several times during the week.

~I stayed home all week long and happily did so. I was able to get some reading done and work on a few things around the house.

~Jeff stayed home from work on Thursday since the roads were absolutely horrible! There was blowing and drifting snow and so many accidents. A semi truck was even blown right over on it's side and shut down one of the main highways right outside of Pullman! We spent a cozy day together and we both even took naps.

~I watched a few movies during the week on YouTube. Gotta love having that resource for movies from all genres.

~Jeff was so sweet and got all the birthdays and anniversaries filled in on our 2022 calendar.

~I went through the refrigerator and made a grocery list of things that we are getting low on and will need in the near future. Most of it is fresh fruit and veggies. I really am trying not to spend much at all on groceries this month since we do have lots of frozen and canned goods here.

~I've been gathering more recipes on things like hoagie rolls, and more veggie rich main dishes to try.

I think that is about it for what I can remember at the moment. Nothing earth shattering when I comes to saving money. It really is the small savings that add up though. Be blessed!

A Calm Snowy Day and Silver Linings

 

      I took the picture above this morning.  It is of my side garden with the high sided raised beds my hubby built be.  Those bumps you see in the lower bed are my kale plants blanketed with snow.  I love looking out at this scene.

   From what I read online, the roads were horrible this morning with some even being shut down.  Many places opened late and are closing early today since round two of the snow is hitting us now this afternoon.  I am so glad I had Jeff take my car today.  They are calling for even more snow coming in next week on top of all of this with no melt off, so thing might get interesting.  I'm thinking Jeff may end up having to take the truck to work at some point.  Things could be worse, my brother and his family had their flight back home to Seattle cancelled on Monday and they ended up having some extra time in Montana.  He just posted, that after another delay in flights, they are finally going to get to go home today.  Now he just has to deal with trying to get home from the airport to his house.  Seattle is not prepared for these kinds of snowstorms that have been hitting.

   The cats and I are cuddled up all snuggly warm on the couch.  I have beautiful music playing in the background and I am watching the snowflakes gently twirl as they make their way to the ground.  The chores I had lined up for today are done and since our cell phone service is spotty in bad weather, there are no phone calls coming in, nor going out.  There are many other things that I could be doing but I am choosing to just enjoy the calm and peace that I feel in my home and in my heart right now.  I am also choosing to continue to make my goal for this coming year to find the silver linings in all situations that at first may seem bad or limiting.  I have had to practice that a lot lately, and it has really helped my attitude and level of gratefulness.  In all things, give thanks. 😊 

  

   

Snow and Soup Kind of Day

 

      The snow is gently falling outside and starting to cover everything.  There is something so magical about snow falling around Christmas isn't there?  I have Christmas music playing softly in the background which just adds to the whole Winter wonderland and holiday mood.  The snow is expected to keep coming on and off through Christmas too!  I can't wait for my oldest two grandboys, Bradley and Isaiah, to be here this weekend and to help me build a snowman in the front yard.  We are also supposed to head down to the valley on Sunday evening and go to Clarkston, WA for a company Christmas party.  I think we will go the Idaho route for that one to get there since Idaho is much better at keeping their highways maintained during snowy times than Washington state is. Anyway, I am getting off topic again...it's one of those days. 😉

   Snowy weather is equated with hot homemade soup in my mind so I have the rest of the chicken that I had bought at Winco simmering away making a nice chicken broth at the moment.  I will strip the rest of the meat off the bones and add that to the broth, along with some veggies, garlic and noodles, to make a delicious and warming soup.  Jeff and I love homemade chicken noodle soup.  It was not something that he had growing up, they always had canned soups, so he was pretty amazed when he tasted real homemade chicken noodle soup the first time I made it eons ago.  It was something I grew up eating because my mother was, and still is, the queen of making things stretch and not wasting food.  I learned so many important lessons from her while growing up and it is just second nature to me now to throw together all kinds of soups based on what we have handy in our home and what needs to be used up ASAP.  Thank you Mom for imparting your wisdom onto me.

   Tonight we are expecting the temperatures to drop down to 16F.  I'm thinking I may need to add another blanket onto our bed and the guest bed too.  I never know which of the two beds I will end up in.  Last night I slept in our bed and poor Jeff was really restless waking up almost every hour after midnight.  I'm sure he is exhausted today.  I was able to sleep for a long stretch after he left for work and finally got up at 11 a.m..  That is really late in the day for me to get up, but it still only gave me 6 hours of good sleep.  If it is not windy tonight, I may opt for the guest bed if Jeff is having another rough night.  I don't like to sleep in the guest bedroom if the wind is blowing because the front awning makes noises that keep me awake.  Before anyone thinks that there is "trouble in my marriage" because I sometimes sleep in the guest bedroom, I can assure you that we are fine.  It is just that some nights either one of us can be really restless and toss and turn for the majority of the night keeping the other from getting good sleep.  Patchy cat loves the nights that I sleep in the guest bedroom because she joins me in there and cuddles up to sleep.  Midgy's domain is our bedroom and bed, so it is rare that Patchy will come up there unless it is a really cold night and both Jeff and I are sleeping in there.  Then she will risk the wrath of her sister to come snuggle up next to me while Midgy remains near Jeff's feet.  There has been more than one occasion where a cat fight has taken place over the top of Jeff and I when they have decided to go at it.  UGGGG! 

    I want to end this post by saying that my heart aches for and goes out to all those who lost loved ones, their homes and businesses in this awful weather that has been hitting our nation here in the USA.  I have friends who have had damage to their homes also.  My love and prayers are with them all.

   

    

A Frugal Brain Foggy Day

    

    Tate's expression above expresses is exactly how his Grammie feels today.  He is so cute and I love this silly look on his face. 😁

           

   Today is a major brain fog day.  I get these kind of days sometimes, but today is a particularly bad one.  Not sure if it is just because I am wiped out or because of the gabapentin that I started on last night.  Could be either and only time will tell.  Because of this, there are things on my "to do" list for today that are not going to get done.  I had planned on making applesauce but I really don't trust myself with a knife today.  I did cut open a acorn squash and oh my goodness, that was scary!  So here is what I am attempting to do today that does not take much thinking (or using a knife).  

~I washed all the bathroom rugs and bath mats and hung them out to dry on the laundry line.  It is a cloudy but warmish and windy day so they should dry rather quickly.  I try to do this at least once a month.

~I have Italian sausage and the acorn squash sharing a cookie sheet divided by separate aluminum foil liners in the oven cooking.  Both needed to be baked and this is a good way to do it and save electricity.

~More money saving videos were watched on YouTube.  I seem to glean something new or am reminded of something that I used to do, but stopped doing for whatever reason, each time I watch these.

~The water that was collected in the rain bucket was used to water some of the potted plants in the back yard.

~The cats and I enjoyed some time on the back screened in porch.  I know that our time is going to come to an end soon being able to use this other room that we enjoy so much so we are taking full advantage of it.

~I cleaned out the refrigerator and found some things that needed to be used up ASAP.  This is something that I really do need to do more often. The refrigerator was cleaned out a little at a time since I kept forgetting to get back to it and was getting very distracted.

~I redeemed my points at Mypoints for a $10 Walmart gift card.

~I did some surveys at Swagbucks and earned enough to cash in for a $25 Walmart gift card.

~More clean masks were loaded up into my purse.  Jeff and I forgot to grab some when we went out yesterday and thank goodness I had 2 in my purse.  Those are now in the laundry, so I had to "refill" my purse once again.

~Jeff called from work to let me know that he had accidently run over his phone.  I told him to bring it home and if the sim card was not damaged, we could just put that in my old phone that is the same model.  If not, we will have to get it switched over through the company.  Luckily we did keep my old phone.

~I made a huge lasagna for dinner.  It is a favorite around here and is one of Jeff's favorites.  I used some of the parsley from the garden in the cheese mixture and also put some leftover red wine I had in the refrigerator into the sauce.

~Chris called and we had a really nice visit.  He gave me an update on some friends and relatives that are dealing with Covid and other health issues.  It sounds like the ones with Covid are starting to finally feel better, praise God!

   That is about it for my frugal day.  The plan for tonight is to take things easy, enjoy the lasagna and watch a few TV shows.  I'm hoping that I can fall asleep earlier tonight since I am totally wiped out.  Take care and God bless!