This was a week of projects. We were able to get a ton of them done, as we did not need to watch the kids. One day, we worked together all morning to cut kindling from a large pile of boards we had picked up for free during the past few months. I held the long boards and Rob ran them through his saw. We got several large garbage cans full and several cardboard boxes, which we stacked in the greenhouse to keep them dry.
All the wood our friends brought us is now stacked in the woodshed. There are just about 5 pieces that need to be trimmed to fit our stove, and that project will be finished. There is another load, though, and we are super excited to know it’s on its way one of these days–that will give us enough for the winter.
Rob repaired the roof of the greenhouse. He built it last year for me and used some plastic he had on hand. It wasn’t the correct plastic and it disintegrated during the past few months. He ordered the correct one, and installed it this week. It was still great to get a season out of some plastic that was otherwise not being used.
I got some peppers from the mark-down bin at Fred Meyers and cut them up to freeze. I added some peppers I picked in the garden as well. My peppers have not done great this year, but I will pick a few more before this season is over.
I also canned more tomato products this week, and another small batch of pear butter with the last of the pears from the tree that fell.
The zinnias are blooming in several places in the yard. I love them. I found a few places where I may be able to save some seeds from them. I’m wondering if the clove pinks below them will come back–or if they will die this winter. Sometimes the dianthus family is quite hardy. Time will tell. They are from seeds my sister brought my mother from England, and I grew them in the greenhouse. We got so many, my mother shared with me, and my sister, and now we have them in several places.
I enjoyed looking at the flowers that are still blooming, despite the dry weather. We did get a little rain this week, and I’m sure they all relaxed a bit! The nasturtiums came up volunteer this year, and it looks like they are dropping some seeds. Maybe next year, I’ll have more!
There have sure been large bees on my flowers this year.
My niece brought over a large box of apples from her mother. I’m excited. They look and taste great. The family has already been munching away on them. I probably will preserve a few if it seems like we won’t eat them all fresh. Fun!
We cashed out part of the Ibotta account and used the money for an order from Azure Standard. I ordered some cleaning supplies and soap for Rob since he doesn’t handle many soaps, but the goat milk one agrees with him. I got bulk gf oatmeal, a lot of spices, salt and pepper, and more. It was great to use rebate money for basic items I needed. I shopped the sales and purchased some things like sugar, produce, milk, etc. I got several free things such as French bread, several drinks, and a ready-to-eat dinner.
I had a very nice visit with Harnet and Danait. We just hung around their place, ate, visited, drank coffee and took Danait out for some air. It was good to catch up with them as I’ve been pretty busy this summer, and haven’t gone up there as much as I wished to do. Because I went alone this time, Danait thought I should play with her as there were none of the girls to play with. Thankfully, her mom had a meeting with a lady there at the house, and Danait and I played and played, satisfying her, at least for a little while. We fed the dolls, played “Baby Jesus in a manger”, took all the dolls to the hospital and fixed them up, she found broken toys to send home to “Uncle Rob” because he fixes things, and put blankets over our heads and howled like ghosts for a while. It was truly entertaining, the things she thinks up! Thank goodness for Harnet’s nice, strong coffee!
We ended the week feeling quite good about what we got accomplished, and are now ready for a busy, busy week watching the kids and keeping life going. How about you?
That is wonderful that you are getting more free wood. That will sure save you a bundle of money this winter. Good to hear that Rob is able to do some stuff still around the house. How is he feeling? Did the doctors appointments help at all?
Daniat is a cutie. At her age you don’t need a lot of stuff. Just your imagination. Have a wonderful week.
Here’s how it is going with Rob:
Some doctors have been helpful, some not.
One helpful one said he should try to do a little, rest, do a little more, rest, etc. they don’t want him to lose all mobility. So, he stood by the saw and I brought the boards from the pile and pushed them through for him. We carried the full bins together. It was great teamwork and we felt great to get it done. He just keeps plugging along doing what he can. Another doctor has him stretching out when it gets too painful. It helps slightly. He folds laundry a lot, will drive Michaela here and there, and so forth. He’s dtermined to do what he can, but he’s in a pretty rough place right now because if he pushes at all he’s really in agony all night. Thanks for asking.
Sending lots of prayers his way that you find a doctor that can figure it out so that he feels better. Being in constant pain is awful.
They know his left hip needs a full replacement. But, there are a lot of hoops to jump through before they will do that. So, it’s kind of a waiting game at this point, until the criteria are met. Thank you for your concern and prayers.
Little Danait is sure growing up and what an imagination. When we Skype with the grandchildren in Germany they sometimes just like to howl at us and we howl back which cracks them up. That is wonderful news about the firewood and to know you will be stocked for the winter. Soon we will take a drive up to the NC mountains to our favorite apple stand. We love Jonagolds and they only pick them for a few weeks and they are gone so we have to time it right. I also want to get a half bushel of culls for applesauce. They are usually only $3 a bag.
We had gotten in a bad habit of eating out too, too much. We have a budget for it and we use coupons and apps so it pretty inexpensive but honestly we were sick of it. We have eaten at home almost every meal for a few weeks now and it feels good to be back to our normal. We packed big sandwiches with all the toppings for the free concert at the library last week and people kept walking past and telling us how good they looked. Then they all headed for the expensive food truck. I noticed that we are going through produce much quicker now that we have reigned in the eating out but that is good because it means we are eating better! I bought a meat slicer last week using Swagbucks gift cards so that I can slice meats that are available at the surplus grocery store. They have had supply issues since the hurricane but hopefully they will be well stocked again soon. This store stocks really good products. They get the expensive items that don’t sell at the regular grocery such as the items on the top shelves and better brand juices and deli meats and whole bean coffee for really great prices. K-cups are really cheap there and we often find Whole Foods brands there. It is a real blessing to have this store in our town and the owners are really nice people.
Have a great week with the kids.
Thanks. Hurray for the meat slicer?. I noticed right away how much Danait had grown in the short time since I’ve seen her!
I’m glad you are eating produce. My bill will be higher as the garden winds down but I’m determined to do my part to help Rob in his quest to eat better, so I will buy as much variety as I can.
Great answer to prayer with you getting even more free firewood. That will surely help your budget.
I’m just in from the store. I know I’ve hit a great price match when the cashier says ‘wow, great price’. Ta-da. It was on the large jug of Sunlight laundry soap, better then half price. Yippee. So I price matched at the grocery store with a great loyalty program.
I’m also slowly cleaning up my gardens. Slow is the word so I can relate to your hubby having to take it easy.
Cheers,
Yes! A real answer to prayer and a big help for the winter budget!
I’m glad you are getting your garden cleaned out. I really need to find the time to do that a bit–there are areas that need cleaning out soon! I’m spending quite a bit of time canning, still, and working with the kids this week, so I’ll have to wait another week. Hope the weather holds!
So wonderful you were able to cut up the boards for kindling and get the load of wood stacked! Such a blessing to know that another load of wood will be delivered so you’ll have enough for the winter! Those bags of peppers and your flowers look so colorful! I hope the dianthus and the nasturtium return, next year, too. Glad you were able to accomplish so much during the week and hope you have a wonderful weekend and another good week, ahead.
Thank you. It’s been a crazy week, super busy! This weekend is a little better, so I hope to get some yard work done.
The zinnias look so cheerful. It sounds like you made great use of your week, having some fun along with getting plenty accomplished. It’s a great feeling to know you have wood for the winter. We need to get more wood cut. It’s been so hot and humid, and since Florence we’ve had a multitude of large, aggressive mosquitoes hatch out. Looking forward to first frost this year!
Mosquitoes would be awful. Occasionally, if we camp in the spring, we run into them, but it’s way too dry for that to be an issue now. Thankfully, we got a tiny bit of rain today.
I hope you get rid of them soon.
Glad to hear the Bees have been around your place. With all the talk about them disappearing, I’ve been worried about how anything is going to get pollinated. Sounds like there are still some up your way.
We have so many, it’s crazy! I’ve heard talk of them all disappearing, as well, but I live right in the capitol city of Oregon (Salem), and there seem to be tons here.
I loved seeing your zinnias; they are so cheerful. I wish I could grow them. I have tried a few different varieties this year and one is doing well (one PLANT is still living). I am letting every single bloom go to seed to save for next year. You know the best thing about gardening? There is always next year. Hope that it will be better.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
They grow so good here. In fact, many of what’s growing in my garden this year are volunteers from last year’s plants. But watermelon….and other melons….not so good. Now, with those wonder watermelon seeds….next summer may be a different story!