Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/15/22

 

~We went to the Farmer's Market over the weekend and bought some gifts for Christmas there.  Amazing handmade and beautiful items abounded and it was so hard to choose.  We are trying to support the local farmers and artists in our area.

~Lots of laundry was hung out to dry over the week.

~Steven and I went swimming several times and worked on his swimming skills.

~Walmart is having some amazing Summer clearance sales.  I was able to get some underwear for Jeff at half price, along with some shirts for him for $3 each.  I also found a shirt for Steven for $1, shirts for me for $1 and two dresses for $3 each.  Our little granddaughter, Payton (who will be making her grand entrance into the world in late November), will have some very adorable outfits too!  While there, we picked up 12 bags of topsoil to use early next Spring.  The price was under $3 a bag, so we got what we needed now.

~Steven and I spent last Friday shopping in the morning.  One of the grocery stores in a town that we shop in is going out of business, so we got many items for 40% off to add to the pantry.

~Dollar Tree was a great place to stop by for my favorite toothpaste (charcoal whitening stuff that really works) and a few other items.

~I found a new roll up blind for the kitchen on clearance.

~Goodwill had 2 movies I wanted and a whole bag of kitchen items for $5.98.  In that bag was a canning lid lifter, mesh coffee filter that will fit my coffee maker, many hand carved and gorgeous salad servers and butter paddles, can openers, a collapsible cup (boy did that bring back memories for Jeff and I of our childhood scouting years), an old fashioned whisk like the ones I grew up using, and a mystery item that I have no idea what it is and can't find an answer even with a google picture search.

~Strawberries, peas, raspberries and our first tomatoes are starting to come out of the garden.  We are still getting lettuce and kale too.

~I've been really hunting out the deals grocery wise and building my menus around that and what we have on hand that needs to be used up and/or what we have coming out of the garden.  I just made a broccoli slaw using a package of marked down broccoli slaw mix, and items that I had here at home.  Dried cranberries, green onions from the garden and crumbled turkey bacon, along with sunflower kernels and a homemade dressing all went into it and made for a wonderful lunch with lots left over to enjoy over the next few days.

~Jeff and I are making a conscious effort to cut back on our meat portions so that we are not eating more than our bodies need.  He eats peanut butter almost daily too, so I am not worried that he is not going to get enough protein. 

~I know that I do not drink enough water during the day so I made myself a daily chart to check off 6 glasses of water each day as I drink them.  This helps me a lot because I tend to forget to drink water and I know I need to.

~Uncle Bob blessed Jeff with $60 for helping him put together an outdoor swing and told Jeff to take me out to dinner with it. That was so very sweet of him because Jeff and I do not go out to dinner much anymore.  We chose to go out to lunch at one of our favorite Mexican places that holds special memories for us. Neither of us could finish our meals so we brought the leftovers home and had them for lunch the next day.

~I remade leftovers into new meals several times over.

~A dear friend let me borrow a book from her that I wanted to read.

~We are being wiser with our money and where we keep it.  If you see what is happening with banking, not only in the USA and Canada,  you will understand what I am saying. 😉 

~I used a Walla Walla sweet onion from the garden in one of our dinners. I also cut up and froze the green tops to use in other meals.

~It got super hot quickly this week.  I got the house cooled way down at night and then closed it up during the day to keep the cool air in for most of the day before I had to turn the swamp cooler on again.

~Steven and I headed back into town this Wednesday.  The grocery store that is going out of business is now 50% off groceries.  We picked up some more shelf stable items like coffee, boxed potato mixes, and a few other items.  We also went back to Walmart and got another Summer dress for me at $3 and a shirt for Isaiah for $3 for his upcoming birthday.  Safeway was our next stop for sale priced items like cheese and plums.

~Steven and I also went next door to see Auntie Shannon and took her a Walla Walla sweet onion from our garden.  Steven had a great time playing with her cats and dogs and even got to see that some of the tadpoles in her pond are now getting their legs!

~Thursday was my "at home and alone day" so I slept in and then had coffee on the porch in the cool hours of morning before the temperature started to climb.  I love being able to sit out there and just relax, listen to the birds and have my cats join me while the world around me is still peaceful.