Frugal Friday 7/8-7/14 2017

 

Another bucket full of cherries from our tree.

   I'm late again posting this...life is hectic right now.  I usually try to post this on Saturday mornings, but we had some very important and special people to meet an hour and a half drive up north of us.  it had been 4 years since we had seen my baby brother and his beautiful family so we all agreed that we would make time to have brunch together Saturday morning while they were on their way back to Seattle from Montana. Oh we had such fun and my nephews has so much to tell me, even the youngest who tends to be more shy.  This auntie loves those boys so much! 💖  Onto the frugal doings!


~Another, yes another, cherry tree branch came down.  Poor tree is on it's last legs and will most likely need to come down this Fall.  We had some more friends come over and pick cherries on Saturday.  Jeff is harvesting the rest of the tree like a mad man now because he does not want anyone else near the tree, especially the grandkids.
~Saturday was my birthday and Jeff asked me what I wanted to do.  Since we got a late start, we hit a few yard sales and the thrift store.  I was able to find some more tops that fit me along with some pants for $1 each (some new with tags), an emergency radio, a small coffee maker that we will take with us when we go to a hotel because some hotels no longer provide them in room and CDs for $1 each.  I also found some brand new Hot Sox  for $1 (Christmas gift) and a plate hanger for .50.  At the thrift store I found the coffee filters to go with the small coffeemaker for .49, a really cool scripture coloring book (brand new) for $1.99, a crevice attachment for our Shop Vac for .49, a gift bag for .29, 2 Seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond for $2.99 each, some freezer container labels .49 and a beautiful Brighton purse for .99.  I have been on a roll lately finding Brighton purses and wallets.  I love the quality of them.
~Jeff fixed our Swamp Cooler by installing the new water pump himself.
~I harvested more strawberries, raspberries and started harvesting the blueberries this week.

~Two large canning jars of homemade raspberry gin were started with fresh raspberries from our garden.  I need to pick up more gin at the store.  Some of the gin will be used for Christmas gifts.
~Two more loaves of bread were made along with a batch of strawberry muffins with some of the freshly picked strawberries from the garden.
~We decided to try and sell some of the cherries.  Within a few hours of posting online about them I have people buying quart sized bags for $3 each. :)  Heather and I will split the profits. :)
~I found 4 weekend newspapers with the coupon inserts in the recycling bin at the post office.  I can use some of the coupons at the Dollar Tree to get some great deals!
~I sent Heather home with 2 gallons of cherries and 2 quarts of raspberries for their personal use and to share with her parents and inlaws.
~We took a gallon sized bag of cherries to Jaysn and Rachel.
~Jeff and I watched the movie "The Magnificent 7" that we borrowed from the library.
~I borrowed the movie "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" from the library.  It is a childhood favorite of mine.
~Jeff has been working on his car yet again and was getting really frustrated.  I asked if there was anything I could do to help and within 15 minutes, we had it done.  He just needed an extra set of hands.  I wish he had asked me hours earlier and saved himself some frustration.
~Jeff picked more cherries on Tuesday evening and I picked strawberries and raspberries.  I gave the strawberries and some of the raspberries to our friend Shannon and also sent her home with some cranberry juice concentrate and a vitamin drink since she is fighting a cold.

~I made a squash casserole and used some onions from the garden.
~Dinner Tuesday night was Sloppy Joe Noodle Skillet.  This is just something that I threw together because it sounded good.  HUGE hit with hubby!
~Tuesday night I curled up in bed and watched "Sixteen Candles".  I was in crash mode and needed something to distract me and calm my mind before I went to sleep.  I forgot how bad that movie really is...not going to watch it again but I was too lazy to get out of bed to put a different movie in.
~I needed a prescription on Wednesday and opted to get it at the little pharmacy across from the clinic.  It saved us time and gas money from driving about an hour to our pharmacy.  We will be doing that again since their prices are about the same as Walmart on some of our prescriptions.

~Leftover squash casserole was for lunch on Wednesday and Jeff finished up the Sloppy Joe Noodle Skillet for an early dinner.
~I worked on my points programs this week as much as time allowed.
~Laundry was hung on the line to dry.
~Wednesday I made myself a huge pancake with homemade pancake mix and topped it with fresh strawberries from our garden and whipped cream.  YUM!
~My baby brother and sweet sis in law got ahold of me and told me they messed up on the date they were supposed to be coming through our area, it is Saturday, not Sunday.  It is going to be tight time wise, but we are going to make it work.  We have a wedding to be at that afternoon that is a 3 1/2 hour drive back down south from where we are meeting them.  I'm taking huckleberries that Heather is picking today for them and cherries and possibly raspberries from our garden too.  They have really busy lives and do not have time to do a garden themselves, so this will be a nice treat for them.  No matter how old I get, and how old my baby brother gets, I still want to spoil him and his beautiful family whenever and however I can.  😁
~Thursday I did not go anywhere.  I stayed home, so no gas used in my car, and rested up.  This UTI, along with my other health issues are sure draining me.  I have a busy weekend ahead so I an trying to rest now.

~Jeff dropped some cherries off as a surprise and thank you to our mechanic who is always giving Jeff great advice over the phone.  He is such a blessing to us and we really appreciate him.
~Jeff and I are enjoying watching some of our favorite TV show online.  I love the convenience of it also.
~I found some marked down 22 oz packages of ham lunchmeat...the good stuff!  I bought all 3 packages and froze 2 for using later.
~I bought a family pack of boneless, skinless, chicken breast @$1.99 a pound.  That is the cheapest price I have seen in awhile around here.  I divided them up and put one huge breast in each ziplock bag.  One breast is enough to feed both Jeff and I easily!
~I stopped at the Goodwill and found some new bras that fit.  They were the color tag of the week so I got them for $1 each!  I also found 2 seasons of "Everybody Loves Raymond" (so that give us 4 seasons to watch now) and 1 season of "Home Improvement".  There was a beautifully illustrated Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes book that I picked up for Steven for .49 and I found 2 more shirts for me and some diapers for Steven.


   Not a bad week!  This coming week I hope to get out and pick some huckleberries with Heather, the little boys and Rachel.  Heather has multiple orders for huckleberries and it is a lot of work for her to pick them.  I don't want to ask her to pick some for me so I am going with to do it myself. :)  It will be fun to hang out with her and Rachel and of course the little boys.