Frugal Friday Wrap Up 06/20/25

   It has turned out to be another busy week.  I had tried to keep things calm and limited trips out of town, but that was not to be.  We did stay home over the weekend and that was a much-needed break from all that had happened the previous week.   Jeff just wanted a quiet day at home for Father's Day, so that is what we did.  I do believe there were naps involved both over the weekend and during the week for both of us. Four different doctors' appointments of four different days for Jeff, having Steven here Friday, going to get our concealed carry permits, still attempting to get Jeff's enhanced driver's license, and doing some grocery shopping again wore me out.  Did I mention that all but three of these things required us to drive to other towns?  Then there is also the gardening to make sure we take care of.  At least Jeff is able to help with some of that once again, which is lovely!

   Onto the Frugal Doings:

~I did a sheet-pan dinner with 5 Italian Sausages along with a cut up onion and a large cut up orange pepper seasoned with salt pepper and Italian seasonings.  I served these on hot dog buns.  YUM!  

~I took the 1 leftover sausage, along with the leftover onions and peppers and turned them into dinner for Sunday.  I cut up everything and then added it to frozen cheese ravioli and pasta sauce, which I baked in the oven covered at 425F for an hour.  I then added some Pecorino cheese, along with Monterey Jack Cheese (because I was too lazy to go and get the froze block of Mozzarella cheese out of the freezer and deal with all that) right before serving, stirred some of it in and also topped it with some and set it under broil.  These made lots of leftovers.  I also served a spinach salad (with spinach from our garden) with it.

~I made a HUGE salad with some Romaine from the store, along with spinach, other types of lettuce, and radishes from our garden.  Jeff and I each customized our salads with various dressings, croutons, and other add ins.  There were leftovers which made for a nice side salad later in the week.

~I pulled all the radishes and got those washed and put in the refrigerator for snacking and salad making.  I also pulled all the spinach out since it was just starting to bolt.  I made a delicious spinach and strawberry salad for me with some of it, along with strawberries from the garden.  I also picked more strawberries throughout the week for snacking on.

~I got the tomato plants all staked up.  I also found a few volunteer ones that I will add to other areas in the garden.

~The cucumbers and summer squash plants, that I started in the greenhouse from seed, were all put into the garden.

~I made more Hummingbird food for our tiny, feathered friends.  They bring me so much joy! :)

~We had a lovely chat with my parents over the weekend via Facebook.  They were both looking really good and it was an easy and much needed one.  My parents are such a great and loving support for all of us.

~Jeff got more shade cloth put up over the roof of our greenhouse so the plants inside did not get sunburned and roasted.  Luckily, we still had some on hand, so we did not have to go out and buy more.

~Homemade lemon thyme and chive butters were made with herbs from the garden and frozen for future use.

~I scraped out the bowls I made the homemade herb butters in and spread that on tangy slices of sourdough bread.  

~I got my sourdough starter fed again and used the discard to make some long fermentation cheese crackers.

~Jeff helped me get the homemade blackberry vodka and raspberry gin into proper bottles instead of canning jars.  This freed up room in my refrigerator also.

~I made some homemade scrapple.  It is one of our favorites and is a very frugal.  We can make 3 meals out of it.

   Steven spent Friday with us once again.  Jaysn blessed us with donuts when he dropped Steven off in the morning. Steven helped us tremendously with the garden.  He planted cucumbers with me and I planted the squash.  We had some leftover cucumber plants which Steven took next door to his beloved Auntie Shannon.  He helped harvest more strawberries and rhubarb.  Later in the evening, Chris stopped by on his way to work the Sprint Boat races the following day.  We sent him off with some cucumber plants (that I had promised him), a nice hoodie that I found at Goodwill that I thought he would like (he did!), and something to drink on the drive over to where he would be working the next day.  

   As you can see, it has been a busy week for us.  Be blessed all!

The Final Goodbye and Family Coming Together

 

   This past weekend, family started to come into town for the final goodbye service for my husband's parents and also to scatter the ashes of his Aunt Helen, whom we were so blessed to have in our lives for the last chapter of her life.  Jeff's cousin Mike, his wife Felica and their son Jacob, along with their foster baby girl got her first.  Jeff and I had dinner and then went back to their hotel to visit on Saturday night.  We had a wonderful time with them and I got lots of baby snuggle time. :)  Sunday late afternoon, Josh arrived at our son Chris' home where he spent the night.  We did not see him until the following day because we were really encouraging him to spend time with his brothers.  We had seen him down in Utah a couple of months ago, but it had been awhile since he saw his brothers.  He spent that Monday night with Jaysn and Rachel.  All of the grandboys loved being able to play with their "funcle" (fun uncle) again. ;)  Then early Tuesday, he was off again on a 10-hour motorcycle ride back down to Utah.  Jeff's Aunt Jane and cousin Steve arrived Monday morning for the services.  It was lovely to see them again and we were able to catch up. We had breakfast with them Tuesday before they left to return to the coast and it was very nice.

   Monday's service for Jeff's parents, a later his aunt, was a hot one.  The temperatures were in the low to mid 90's and a lot of us ended up getting sunburned.  Jeff's sister planned the service and luckily her hubby Matt put up a nice shade tent for us.  There were so many of us there though that not everyone fit under it.  Our boys made sure that Jeff and I, along with Bradley and Isaiah and the baby were under the tent.  Bradley and Isaiah took turns holding the baby at the service and I think it helped distract them a bit.  Our niece Ella was there, and we had a really nice visit with her and with Matt.  Jeff's Aunt Jane was having a rough time since she was the last survivor out of her siblings.  Monday she was saying the final goodbye to both her sisters and to her brother-in-law. Jeff's older brother did not come down for either service.  He had his own reasons, and we will just leave it at that. Jeff's parents' ashes were buried in the Gilbertson family plot.  The service itself was short and all of us, with the exception of Jeff's sister, BIL and our niece Ella, headed up the mountain to spread Aunt Helen's ashes, as she has wanted done.

   Jeff's maternal grandparents had their ashes spread years ago up on Moscow Mountain overlooking the beautiful rolling hills of the Palouse.  Aunt Helen had told us that is where she wanted her ashes to be also.  Chris picked out a place that had a gorgeous vista of the Palouse, including being able to see our little town off in the distance.  Chris scattered the ashes as Felica documented the exact spot where Helen's ashes were. Aunt Jane wanted her ashes scattered in the same spot, so she could be with her baby sister and her parents, up on the mountain. Jeff was not able to scatter the ashes because he had knee surgery 2 1/2 weeks prior and is still in a brace holding his knee in place.  After we were done, we headed back down the mountain and to Jaysn and Rachel's home.  Jeff and I bought pizza for everyone and Jaysn and Rachel provided sodas and seltzers.  We all had some much needed family time and Aunt Jane loved seeing our boys and being able to visit with them.  Us girls had a great time visiting and so did the guys.  Bradley, Isaiah, Steven and Jacob played video games and it was so nice to see the younger cousins all together and becoming friends.  As everyone started leaving, we hugged each other tight, said I love You's and even made some future plans together.  The hardest goodbye was hugging Josh and knowing that it could be the last shared hug if he has to deploy early.  With the way that things are going in the Middle East, that could come soon, and my momma's heart is not handling it well.  He has been there before, but not in the direct danger zone.  This time he very well might be.

   Jeff and I still remain exhausted from it all.  Emotionally, it was hard in some ways, but then wonderful in others.  Spending time with Jeff's Aunt Jane, cousins Mike and Felica, and Steve, along with Jacob and the baby, and off course all our kids and the three oldest grandkids, was very sweet.  I think Jeff really needs his cousins, whom he has a good relationship with, as do I.  He and his siblings are not in each other's lives and that seems to be a mutual agreement at this point.  Jeff is very much loved by his aunt, cousins, our kids, grandkids and my side of the family.  My brothers love their "big brother", and my parents consider him their own son.  My aunts, uncles and cousins all love him too.  What can I say, my husband is a very kind, compassionate, caring and loving man who would do anything for those he loves.  I think I will keep him. ;)

   

   

   

   

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 5/29/24

 

                                 When the kitty steals your new bed...

    Jeff is recovering from orthoscopic knee surgery and has to be off his leg for at least 3 weeks.  The first week was pretty rough, but we are now in the second week and the doctor prescribed some meds to help him relax so he can heal faster.  He is trying to help me with the household tasks and amazes me with what he can do without putting pressure on that leg.  That being said, I am still having to do the majority of the things he usually does around here.  With my own problem knees, back, hip and fibromyalgia, this has not been easy and I am exhausted but it has to be done.  Luckily our kids and neighbors are helping out with mowing the lawn, and doing other household tasks that I cannot do.  Prayers for my sweet hubby are appreciated and welcomed.

   This is a conglomeration of my frugal doings over the past month or so.  My memory is not the best, but I will try to list all I remember.  

~I'm back to making bread again.  I had taken a break for about 3 weeks, and both Jeff and I missed my homemade bread.

~Jeff got my back screened in porch furniture all take out of the shed and back where it belongs.  This was before his surgery.   I love sitting out here while I type up my blogs along with eating meals and having coffee (or cocktails depending on the time and the day).

~Jeff and I went to an estate sale and I found lots of nice quality named branded clothing in both my size and his, some were even new with tags.  I got us all stocked up for the colder weather months again.  I also bought a gorgeous crystal bud vase and a book.

~Yard sale finds included 2 sterling silver rings for $3 each and some more books.

~Thrift store finds were a caftan, some small shaker style jars to store seasonings in for the camper, and women's bible study book for me and a nice sweatshirt for Chris.  We also found some shorts and shoes for Jeff at a second store.

~I went to JoAnn Fabric on one of their last days and bought interior paint for the pop-up tent trailer at 80% off and also got bra extenders for under $1 per package.

~I put together my own hanging baskets of flowers for a fraction of the price of premade ones.

~We were able to use the ramp that goes over the back steps onto the porch that we use for pellets for Jeff to be able to use his walker to get into the house after his surgery.  I am so glad he built that thing and that we have wonderful friends and neighbors who got it set up for us before we got home.

~I found Hershey's chocolate candy for .79 cents a bar on clearance.  I bought 20 of them to use for making smores when we go camping (okay, there is one less chocolate bar now since Jeff and I split on a particularly frustrating day).

~We have a local to our town Farmers Market.  I went down to it for the first time this season on Sunday.  I bought some rhubarb blueberry jam and some homemade goat's milk soap for my hubby that a dear friend makes.  They were also giving out some food leftover from our town's commodities distribution.  I got a 4 bags of powdered milk, 2 bags of lentils, 2 bags of split peas, a bag of pears and a bag of apples for free.  This will really help with the food budget.

~The garden has been planted out with 5 tomato plants, radishes, spinach, lettuce, 2 1/2 beds of potatoes, 1 raised bed of beans, and I have cucumbers and zucchini started in the greenhouse.  Once the spinach and radishes are done, I will plant the cucumbers there and trellis them.  The zucchini will be planted out in another spot in the garden.

~Our new Home Depot opened and I was able to find 2 medium sized planters with pink Dalias in them for $8.00 each. They are now on either side of my bench in the front of the house walkway.

~I'm cherry picking the deals again at the grocery store and found pork loins for $3.00 each after my discount and the half off sticker.  This made 3 servings. I also found thinly sliced round steak that I turned into some delicious stroganoff with the addition of a package of sliced mushrooms.  This made 5 servings when served over baked potatoes.  I also got 2 more cans of baking chocolate so I can make homemade hot cocoa mix for Jeff to have in his coffee.  It is much cheaper for me to make it that buy the premade stuff.

~Our neighbors had bought a big watermelon and had too much for just the two of them so they gave us part of it.

~Our son Jaysn, along with our Rachel and grandson Steven came over and got the swamp cooler up and running for us.  This was really sweet of them since Jeff is in the second week of his recovery from knee surgery and still cannot put any weight on it or bend it.  We had pizza for dinner, along with some watermelon and had a wonderful visit with the 3 of them.

~I got the lighter weight quilts out that my mother made for the bed and the smaller ones for the living room to cuddle up under when the nights are cooler.  The heavier feather duvet got folded up and the duvet cover got washed and put away for the season.

~While making the guest bed (which is where I sleep), I put 4 hand embroidered pillowcases on my pillows.  These are ones that I found at previous yard and estate sales and compliment my mother's quilt that I put on the bed.

   Next week will be a rough one for our family with Jeff's siblings, his aunt, one of his cousins, and our kids and grandkids having a graveside service for both Jeff's parents.  Following that, we will be scattering his Aunt Helen's ashes up on the mountain where her parents' ashes are.  Given the family dynamics, well, we will see if everyone can just focus on paying our respects to our beloved family members who have passed.  We are looking forward to seeing Jeff's aunt and cousin and visiting with them, along with getting to spend a bit of time with our Josh who is coming up for the service.  As you all know if you have been reading this blog for awhile, family is our personal treasure here on earth.

   

   

Surgery for Hubby and Other Things

 

   Jeff was finally able to get his much-needed knee surgery.  There was more damage than they thought, but all in all it was the best outcome possible.  He is now having to keep his knee totally straight for two weeks and not put any pressure on it. Week three he can start to bend it and we will see at that point if he can start to put any pressure on it or not.  The doctor figured that he would be off work for about 6 weeks and then can go back but be careful with his knee for a bit more time.  Getting around the house with his walker (which he decided yesterday that he was done with and switched to crutches which he had me retrieve from Chris and Heather) was wearing him out, especially the getting up and down part.  I know he thought the crutches would be easier, but sadly, that is not the way it turned out.  Between the surgery on Tuesday and expending all that energy, he is exhausted and taking multiple naps a day.  We are staying up until 11p.m. for him to take his pain pill before bed, and then are back up at 5:15 a.m. for another pain pill.  Of course the fur babies all think that they are starving at that point, so I get all of them fed, coffee going for Jeff and I and then get him something to eat.  By 9 a.m., both of us head back to bed for a bit.   Now, if I were a normal and healthy person, this would not also be taking a toll on me so much, but you have to remember that I have fibromyalgia, along with hip and back problems.  I am doing my best at trying to take care of him, the house and yard, but let me just say this...some things are definitely slipping through the cracks.  I will be enlisting the help of my oldest grandson Bradley next week to mow the yard and possibly get Jaysn over here to work on the swamp cooler this long weekend since the temperatures are supposed to get up in the high 80's.  YUCK!

   Before Jeff's surgery, I tried to get as much done as I could and get stocked up on everything we needed grocery wise except for the fresh produce and dairy products.  I did get some apples, since the last longer, but Jeff loves to have a banana a day, so I will have to run into the grocery store at some point for that.  Since Jeff will be without a paycheck for about 6 weeks, I told him we are just practicing for when he fully retires.  I will be getting a very small SS check starting in July, but we are going to try and save half of it and use the rest to pay for windshield replacements on both Jeff's car and the truck, and get the rest of the things Jeff needs to fix some other things on his car.  We are waiting to see how much his Medicare/Medicaid will pick up in costs, since we will have to pay off his knee surgery also.  At this point he is saying he wants to retire this Fall, but he also wants to make sure we get these other things done and paid for first.  I get where he is coming from.

   We are hoping our garden does well this year.  I have spinach, radishes, lettuce and potatoes already coming up.  My tomato plants have been living in the greenhouse and will be planted out tomorrow.  I have 5 different plants of different varieties.  I wanted everything from cherry tomatoes to pear tomatoes and onto big slicers.  I didn't pick out any Roma plants this year or grow any from seed because I still have bags and bags of them frozen from last year that I still need to process.  I started zucchini and cucumbers last week in the greenhouse and am waiting for all of them to come up and get a bit more established before I get them planted out.  Beans will be directly seeded this coming week and I am hoping I get lots of them also.  Jeff and I love green and yellow beans, and I'd like to blanch and freeze at least 15 bags of them this year in addition to eating some fresh.

   There really is not much else going on around here at the moment.  Other than going to the doctor for Jeff's knee surgery checkups and doing the occasional grocery shopping, we will pretty much be home bodies for the next 6 weeks or so.  Steven will be joining us on Fridays in early June, so that will be a much needed and delightful distraction for both Jeff and I.  He just celebrated his 8th birthday and lucky for me, is still cuddly.  ;)

  

I hope you all have a nice Memorial Day weekend.  Please take a moment to remember the reason for this long weekend and send up good thoughts and prayers for the families of those who have lost loved ones who served.  Please also pray for those currently serving and for their families also.  With the way the world is right now, our brave men and women can be put in harms way at any moment.  This is coming from a mom who lives with this knowledge and possibility every single day.  Thank you and God Bless!

   

   

Yes, I am still here.

 

   Yes, I am still here.  Things got crazy busy in our lives again and I needed to just focus on our family, friends and home.  It has been nice to take a break from blogging, even though I do love sharing my life with all of you.  My priority is and always will be, my family.

   Baseball season is in full swing for our oldest two grandsons Bradley and Isaiah.  Jeff and I are trying to make sure that we get to go to as many of their games as possible.  They are playing in different leagues this year so we are having to figure out which games to go to when and keeping things as even as possible.  We look forward to their games and being able to see our older kids too. ;)

   We recently got back from Utah where we spent a week with our youngest two grandkids, Peyton and Tate.  Josh and Lauren had an out-of-town commitment and needed a short few days of vacation, so we went down to take care of the kids.  We had a lot of fun watching Tate play soccer and doing some fun things with both he and Peyton.  Grammie here finally has a little girl to do her hair and dress up, and I had a wonderful time doing just that.  We took our dog Maggie with us down there and she enjoyed being part of a pack.  She also got a new bed out of it, which she absolutely loves.

   This coming weekend we are going to celebrate both Mother's Day and our middle grandchild Steven's birthday a little early. It has been a bit since the whole family has been able to get together.  We have all been stretched in different direction and trying to find a time that works for all of us has been a challenge. 

   The garden is taking up a lot of our time, but it is very worth it!  I found some great deals on plants and will be making hanging baskets soon.  I also need to get the lettuce, bok choi and spinach seeded in.  Jeff has done an amazing job getting the raised beds ready for me.  I just need to get out there and get er done! ;)

   These next two weeks are going to be busy with medical appointments and surgeries for our family.  I have my regular quarterly doctor's appointment so I can get my medications monitored.  I have bloodwork to do and luckily already had my mammogram which looked good.  Jeff has his pre-op appointment for his knee surgery next week, followed by the actual surgery the following week.  Our Rachel tore her ACL and is going to be having surgery to repair that during this same time period.  Her sister, who has the most beautiful heart, is coming up to help her and Jaysn with Steven and to help their mother if she needs it.   We had joked that if Jeff and her had surgery close together, that I would give up my recliner and they could watch movies together while they both healed.  Well, they are having their surgery within a few days of each other and the offer is still open.  ;)  I have a feeling that both Rachel's sister and I are going to have our hands full trying to keep these two resting and not going stir crazy.  LOL!  Yes, they are both not ones to rest much and tend to focus on all the things they think need to be done right then.  And yes, Rachel, I know you will read this and giggle because I am spot on.  Love you!

   I need to leave this here now since I need to take a shower and get ready to go to Isaiah's game.  Today has been a busy day for me already and I have gotten a lot done despite being tired.  Be blessed all!

   

A Big Thank You and Catch Up

 

   I want to thank everyone who has commented, prayed and kept our family in your thoughts.  It has not been easy.  I did not realize how much it was affecting me until I hit day 4 of not showering and just staying in the same pajamas.  I knew I had to claw my way back up and out of the depression spiral.  I can "mask" things pretty well with a smile, concentrating on helping others, etc. all the while slowing being sucked down myself. Not even my sweet hubby knows how deep the hurt is until I finally open up and tell him.  I then find out that he is hurting very deeply also.  So today, I finally took a long shower and tried to scrub away the pain.  Did it work?  No, but I am clean now and am able to post here again, so I would say that I am moving in the right direction.

   Jeff and I have been working on projects around the house, trying to get things back in order after almost a year of just not having the energy physically or mentally to do "all the things".  None of the projects are huge, just time consuming.  There has been lots of cleaning, purging, reorganizing and making lists of other projects that need to be done.  I'm sure many can relate to this.

   Jeff and I did go on a real "date" last Friday.  We went to one of our favorite breweries for their Saint Paddy's Day dinner.  Well, I ordered the traditional corned beef dinner, Jeff had a burger and then finished the rest of my dinner because there was just so much food! They also had green beer in very tall pilsner glasses and it was really good.  Dessert was Green Velvet cake with vanilla bean ice cream.  YUM!  Jeff and I shared that because it was a huge piece.  We waddled out of there happy and came home to our recliners and watched Moana 2.  

   Earlier this week I got a message from our son Josh who said that our youngest grandkids wanted to talk to Grammie and Gpa.  I got the computer all loaded up and we Facetimed with them.  First thing our little Miss Peyton says is "Where's Gpa?" since he was turning on a light and was not in frame.  Yes, she is Gpa's girl!  She then modeled her Snow White princess dress for us.  Tate, who is Grammie's buddy, decided to take the phone from his father and give us a "tour" of the cool new vacuum that  his mom got.  LOL!  This is a boy who loves cleaning gadgets and was very excited about them having a new one. ')    Those grandbabies, along with our other 3 older ones, are helping motivate me to come up to the surface once again. :)

   There have frugal doings around here too.  I cut up, sugared and froze 4 pints of strawberries. I made Belgium Waffles with some mix that I found in my pantry that I had forgotten about and served that with homemade maple syrup along with some cherry syrup I made with some of my mom's homemade cherry jam.  Jeff used up the last of the syrup, so I made more to have on hand.  We got in on a really good chicken deal.  I got the chicken hindquarters for $1.57 a pound with $1.00 off the package.  Apparently, they had a lot of chicken to sell quickly, so they also had a buy one family pack, get one free deal.  I froze one of the packages and made shoyu chicken with the other.  We had shoyu chicken over rice for one meal and I then froze the rest for another meal.  I love having fully cooked meals I can pull out of the freezer and just add a side dish to it.  The leftover rice was used for 2 meals of chili and rice. Cabbage was on sale, so I bought 3 of them.  I used half of one to make coleslaw, and will use the other half in another dish.  The 2 remaining cabbages will be used for a cabbage salad, while most of it will be blanched and the dehydrated so I can add it to soups, stews, etc. at a later date. I made a nice dinner with broiled asparagus and lobster ravioli.  I also made another nice homemade alfredo pasta dish and served that with a nice crisp salad. We ordered another hose online for Jeff's cpap machine saving ourselves about $40 there.  I have been using decor that I have on hand here to change out my Winter decor and bring our some of the Spring stuff.  Jeff found some watercolor prints from Hawaii that I will be framing and putting up in our guest bathroom.  They are bright and cheery and remind me of happy times in my life growing up.  I finally found a pair of jeans that fit me and Jeff found some lounging type pants at the thrift store.  Oh, I also found more new canning lids and rings.  I love to have lots of these on hand.

   I had better go and figure out dinner for tonight.  Be blessed all and thank you once again.

   

   

More Deaths in our Family

                                                                             😭

   We sadly have lost two more family members this past week.  We lost my Uncle Gary (my father's youngest brother) and my hanai Auntie Toots.  Both of them were so important to me and shared nothing but unconditional love, support and laughter.  I was sure when my mother gave me the news about my Uncle Gary, that she was calling to tell me that my Uncle Ed had passed away.  Uncle Ed is still holding on though, and is back in the hospital once more.  It is hard to be losing so many people that we love so close together.  Jeff and I were hoping this would be a good year for us, but it seems to be off to a rough start.  Prayers would be appreciated for my family.  There are so many people hurting right now.  Thank you.