Saving Money and Weekly Update–October 15, 2017

 

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It was my sister’s birthday, so I made gluten-free double chocolate loaf cake with chocolate candy.  (Can you tell she likes chocolate?)  We all enjoyed it with taco bar at Family Sunday Dinner.

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She had plenty of help blowing out the candles.

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It was a beautiful day on the river, and I saw a group of kayakers paddle by while I was getting the finishing touches on the meal at my sister’s house.

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We took Patsy and Jake to a pond to see ducks.  They had a great time.  Some kind soul had put peanuts on the railing and they cracked some of them out for the ducks and left the rest for squirrels.

I took Michaela and Patsy to the YMCA pool to swim, using our membership.

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We spent several hours cleaning in the shop on Saturday.  I took a few minutes to enjoy looking at all the canning we have done.  We are doing very well using several jars of canned items each week.  I am also using several freezer items each week.  The freezers are crammed full with all the produce from summer and other items.  As much as I enjoy looking at it and knowing I have so much food at my fingertips, I really enjoy using it!  After all, I can make more next summer, and it helps me get good food on the table fast and inexpensively all winter.

I found several pictures while cleaning the shop and Rob hung up the ones I wanted in the house.  We put the rest of them in a pile to donate, along with a few other boxes of items we do not need any more.

I was able to get all the things I wanted and needed from Costco and stay within the budget I had set.  I am still searching for butter at a low price, but $3/lb is the best I’ve found at the regular store, and they were 4 boxes for around $11 at Costco, which is $2.75/lb.  So, I can live with that for now.

Rob fixed the broken part on our wood stove and we heated with wood for one day this week.  Then the weather warmed up.  It’s all ready to go for the next cold day, though.  Fall has arrived and we have had a few rainy days, then sunny ones, but always cooler, and the nights are getting very cold. We even had a light frost one morning. There are still a few items in the garden, but their days are numbered, for sure.

We went to a rummage sale, but only found a very few small items we wanted.  We will try again another less-rainy day.  I have a few things I’m looking out for.

 

24 thoughts on “Saving Money and Weekly Update–October 15, 2017”

  1. I love the expression of amazement on Jake’s face as he admires the chocolate cake. His excitement is so obvious.
    Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com

    1. Yes, he is excited. Funny thing is–he won’t eat a bite of chocolate–it’s just one of his many dislikes where food is concerned. But, helping Aunt Rosalie blow out the candles…that’s another story.

  2. Wow…she lives in a gorgeous setting!. I always loves your pictures because you include so many of nature (nice house also..lol). Our butter prices are still awful so I am still buying margarine at $1.00 a box..sigh. I love the pics of your canning…that is a lot of amazing food!

    1. I’m glad you enjoy the pictures. I do love doing things outdoors. It’s always been a large part of our family’s activities. We even went to the beach, and then camping on our honeymoon, all those years ago, and we still love getting out!

      Bummer on the butter!!! Here and there!!!

  3. Sounds like another wonderful week. Could you share your gluten free chocolate cake recipe please? I want to gather more recipes to have on hand for friends that are gluten free. 🙂

  4. Happy birthday to your sister! Enjoyed seeing your pictures of the country side and the pantry shelves full of your home-canned food! A lot of hard work went into all that canning! Hope you have a lovely week ahead.

  5. Your shelves are so beautiful full of all your hard work. Looks beautiful and will taste so good this winter.
    Your hard work …will be paying off.smile
    Have a great week.. and belated Happy BIrthday to your sister.

  6. Wow! That’s a lot of canning! You put in a lot of work, that’s for sure!
    The river scene is so peaceful looking.

  7. Love your shelves of home canned goods! We’re still using up some things as we go along, too. I did pick up a few fresh items for the week at the grocery store though. I stuck to items I don’t have a lot of success putting away.

    I’m pretty fortunate on the butter front. My daughter does not like butter….a combination of the taste of it and the fact that it seems to bother her stomach. I buy a little, but she prefers margarine which is definitely the cheaper option.

    1. Margarine is less expensive, except the dairy-free Earth Balance kind, which is what my daughter wants to eat! It costs more than butter–yikes!! My niece and nephew eat lots and lots of real butter-they have a limited range of what they eat, and that’s one of their favorites!

  8. Becky, if you have a Kroger’s around you might want to check their butter prices. Mine has their brand 2/$5.00, limit 10

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