Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/15/25

 

   It has been a strange week weatherwise.  We went from hot to very cool and will be heading back up the thermometer to "I'm gonna die" temps this coming week.  Upper 90's and Fibromyalgia do not mix well for me.  Maggie however is not happy with cooler temperatures and either wants me to cover her up with her blanket, or I will find her on the couch.  I swear she would be happy living in a dry sauna.  Friday found us running lots of errands and both Jeff and I were exhausted by the time we got home.  The only thing that made me able to keep on going that long was the cooler temperatures.  So we ended the week on a good note!

~I put the chicken carcus into the crock pot, added some vinegar to draw out the calcium from the bones and cooked it overnight.  It made 2 bags of rich chicken bone broth, along with lots of chicken meat.  I froze these for future meals.

~Jeff picked 3 plums for me from the wild plum trees that grow along the gravel road just up over the hill from our house.

~We went down to our  little Sunday Farmer's Market here in town and got the following free:  3 yellow squash, a bag of potatoes and a  bag of pears.

~I made a big pot full of homemade elk burger casserole using ground elk from the freezer, a small bag of macaroni noodles, spices from the spice cabinet, and 3 cans of V8 vegetable juice.  I cooked it up just like you would hamburger helper.  It made for 2 meals for my husband and I which was perfect since the temperature outside the following days were brutal.

~I picked lots of tomatoes off our plants.  Unfortunately, the big slicer tomatoes have now developed blossom end rot and are no longer usable, but the other tomatoes are still doing well, especially the cherry tomatoes. I also picked our first cucumber from our plants.

~Snacky type lunches and dinners have been a big thing for me this week.  I usually have a cheese spread, crackers, cherry tomatoes, green olives, and some kind of fruit.  I do small portions of each but going heavier on the tomatoes since we have so many of them.  Perfectly simple and perfectly delicious.

~Jeff and I stopped at Home Depot so he could look for something he needed.  They did not have it in stock in the store, so we will order it via their website.  I, on the other hand, found pony packs of petunias for $1 each and bought 3 of them to replant into my now empty half whiskey barrel where I had potatoes growing before.

~I found a sale on corn on the cob for .25 each.  I bought 4 because that is a reasonable amount the Jeff and I can eat before it goes bad.  I know I could have blanched and frozen some for later use, but to be honest, I just did not have the energy to do all that.

~Jeff fixed the middle bamboo blind on the back porch so we now have even more shade out there in the afternoon.  It also offers us more privacy, which I enjoy.  We can still see threw it to our garden and can keep an eye on Maggie and Ginny.

~We watched the movie "The Day After", which my cousin Jeremy had given to me years ago.  Talk about sobering.

~We did the grocery shopping on Monday.  My goodness, the prices have gone up since about 2 weeks ago.  Thank goodness we shop the sales and found marked down items.  We did splurge on a watermelon at .48 a pound at Winco, but it was a huge treat for us and we will get lots of fruit to eat from it.  It still came out to under $7, so I will call that a win.

~Jeff fixed the hanger on one of my large pictures.  I changed out the pictures in the guest bathroom with that one and a Bev Doolittle print that we were gifted from Jeff's aunt before she died.

~I cooked up a pot full of rice and will used it in meals for the rest of the week..  If we can't finish it in time, I will freeze some for later.

~I have been enjoying the squash we were given in several different forms.  Jeff  does not like  squash so I get to enjoy more of it for me. 

~I mixed up some Ranch dip with plain Greek yogurt, mayo and Ranch seasoning mix.  This was used as a dip and also as a topping for some of those potatoes that we got at the Farmer's Market.

~Jeff and I had a lunch date at the bowling alley and then he bowled for the first time is his knee surgery.  He did pretty well and I am so pleased for him.

~So... we went to Goodwill to look for a few things and found a self-inflating blow up mattress for the other bed in the trailer..  We now have all the bedding and mattresses we need.  We also found a few books for the grandkids, some beautiful Fall floral pics for $1.99 that retailed for $7.98 and $14.98 respectively, a brand new pink fuzzy robe for me, some black jeans that fit me well and have been on my wish list for a few years now and a cookbook for me.

~Jeff and I had a lovely phone call visit with my parents.  We are pushing our lake cruise to next year.  Things have been crazy for them and for us.

   I know our life sounds horribly boring but honestly, we are homebodies for the most part.  We do greatly enjoy visiting with our family and friends.  Traveling is limited for us due to health and finances, but that is ok.  We do what we can, when we can. 😉  As  long as we have our family, that is all that really matters.