All posts by Becky

Holidays, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week—Dec. 27, 2023

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We have spent the past few weeks working a tremendous number of hours, getting ready for Christmas and enjoying ourselves tremendously in the process!

Because we work with our niece and nephew, and because there was a school holiday, we searched for fun things to do together on the days they were with us. We had the added joy of having our daughter, Patsy, home for a couple of weeks. Of course, there were our grandsons and many other family members and friends to spend time with, as well, so we were never bored.

We snacked on popcorn many times. We did puzzles. We played games. I read aloud an entire advent story that is basically a chapter a day in a serial story leading up to Christmas. Rob and I had a really fun Christmas party with our Sunday School class.

We visited an attraction called Storybook Lane, where scenes from books and movies were set up with stuffed toys, lots of lights and other items, a model train, etc.

Malcolm liked Santa, but mostly the candy cane he got. My nephew and Patsy liked the churros and donuts they got at the concession stand. Other than food for a food drive and snacks we bought, this was free.

Other things we did was watch the movie “Elf” for free in a theater near us. Again, it was a food drive, so we just popped into Wilco and bought a bunch of cans of food. We got some snacks just because it made the exceedingly rare occasion even more fun. We did have a blast.

2 Costco gingerbread houses were decorated by different sets of kids. We attended a free ornament-making event and a simple gift making event, and a friend’s cookie decorating party with various kids.

The grandsons had a preschool Christmas program, where all the adorable kids got up and sang (or didn’t sing) for all of us. Zai crawled around the stage during his song. Malcolm sang a bit and then would randomly leap into the air. So cute.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent with various family members. Then we sat around like zombies all day yesterday, except for a trip to the dentist. We have one more small gathering on Saturday, after a few days of work this week. I’ve got to say the exciting activities seem to have dried up in our area, so we plan to do mundane, but fun, things like library, YMCA swimming pool, more popcorn, more puzzles and games, and perhaps a little cooking. We will see what we actually get done. It should be a good week, whatever we choose.





Holidays, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Dec. 5, 2023

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After a crazy, busy week, I went outside and was surprised to see that my garlic had really started to grow. This was some organic garlic I had purchased from Azure Standard. I forgot to take it out of the plastic bag it came in and it started to grow. I decided to plant it and now it’s growing!

You can see some leeks and parsley still growing in that raised bed, as well.

Our Christmas program went very well. I’m guessing there were between 90-100 people involved in it, maybe more. The true message of Christmas was given and many people attended.

I was excited to be a part for the second year. We had rehearsals every night, except one, and one final dress rehearsal, then 3 performances. The final rehearsal offered a chance for special needs guests to come and enjoy a quieter atmosphere so there was a small audience that night, which was good practice.

I have cooked a lot with my home preserved food this past week. I’ve made vegetable soup, several apple crisps, spaghetti, applesauce muffins, and more. We’ve eaten canned fruit and jam along with frozen bread, veggies and various proteins. Some meals went out to others and many were gobbled up by us.


I was super tired Monday, but am bouncing back quickly. That’s a good thing because I’ve needed to work a little extra already this week and it’s only Tuesday! Some weeks are like that.


Holidays, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Nov. 26, 2023

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I’ve been enjoying my Thanksgiving flowers all week. We hosted this year and I made several bouquets to put here and there. I used some flowers my daughter had used the previous week for a party she had. I was amazed that part of them were still good. Rob grabbed a few more from Trader Joe’s and I combined them. Then I plan to pull out the old ones as they get yucky, and keep enjoying the newer ones as long as they last.

Unfortunately, I was quite sick the entire week before Thanksgiving week so I wasn’t able to get as many things done ahead as I would have liked. It all worked out in the end. I had family members pitch in and, together, we got the job done. We had a lovely day and many family members were able to come and celebrate.


The day after Thanksgiving dawned clear and crisp. We loaded our nephew and grandson up and took off to find a tree. We haven’t had a live tree for over 5 years, so we have no “favorite” farm. We just drove out, followed a sign, and easily found a nice place. Rob helped the boys cut down the tree and we brought it home on top of the car.

We got the decorations out of the shop and got them up. This upcoming week is insanely crazy so I wanted that job done this weekend so we can enjoy the decor before it’s time to put it all away!

I am in the Christmas program at church again this year, which means rehearsals every night this upcoming week, except one, dress rehearsal and then 3 performances next weekend. We also have extra work training one day, and a full work schedule. To help myself out, I have some pre-cooked meals in the freezer. I have all my home-canned “fast food” and many ingredients in my freezers and pantry. We should make out fine, despite the busy week.

I sat down this evening and ordered seeds from Pinetree Garden Seeds. They had a 15% off Black Friday sale, which was awesome. There are a few things, like Carmen peppers and cabbage mix, that I always get there. I will do a Territorial order later on. I am excited to feel like the new gardening year is right around the corner!

Garden, Saving Money

Thriving in My Thrifty Week-Oct. 18, 2023

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We are still getting a few scraggly vegetables from the garden; a few cucumbers, snow peas, tomatoes, boc choi, a handful of green beans, and carrots. It’s nice to have more manageable quantities, but to not be entirely finished with produce.

I’m delighted with my new mixer. One day, on the way to church, Rob noticed a “free” box on the sidewalk. This mixer caught his eye and he hopped out and snagged it. Of course, we had no idea if it worked, but after church he found the switch wasn’t working properly. He tore it apart, and fixed it, which I find quite amazing, especially with a toddler 2 inches away, “helping.” Now it works great. It looks like it was used very little. So fun to have!

I have lots of kitchen help. He’s especially fascinated with washing dishes right now. That is good because I have been cooking and cooking lately. We have so much good food and it makes me happy to use it, so we eat at home. Since I’m in an extra-busy season of life, I have been writing out my menu plans. This helps me use food I already have from my abundant harvest this summer, but more importantly gives me a list to follow when I’m in a hurry. I don’t have to think it up AND make it, and I can get some things prepped ahead. There are a couple of evenings where people here need to eat before I get home from work on my new schedule and I like to leave easy home-made healthy options.

Although the flowers are waning, I’ve been picking bouquets. There are still many lovely blooms.

We’ve saved seeds from some zinnias and marigolds, dill, and some other plants. I was also unable to keep up with it all and I noticed the dill has reseeded and is about 3 inches tall. It won’t survive the winter but I hope there are plenty of volunteers next spring. I’ve been using what did come up—just snipped off entire tiny plants and cooked with them.

We’ve been utilizing free and inexpensive activities with the kids, since my niece and nephew have been spending the week with us. Our grandson loves to run so we try to get him out as much as possible. Our nephew likes Pokémon Go annd for me to read aloud to him. Our niece likes car rides. They all like popcorn and a movie. We ate SO much popcorn this week. Thankfully, we had plenty as my mom gave us a big bag not long ago. And butter…….we kept the dairy industry going this week😀 It was a fun week and I think we all had fun most of the time. I will admit I’m looking forward to a few more restful days that are coming up before long, though.

camping, Garden, House Projects

Where Have I Been?-October 13, 2023

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Thank you for all the concern from all of you checking if I’m ok. I am more than all right, but have had an extremely crazy summer, which is why I haven’t found time to post very often. Also, our laptop will no longer make posts —it’s very old— so all blogging has to be done on my iPad, which is harder, and I find myself putting it off. I hope to do better because I want these posts for myself in the future to look back on.

In September, we spent a week camping. We went to Detroit Lake, which is in the mountains not far from our home.

Although our youngest grandson didn’t sleep in the campground with us, his dad brought him up a couple of times. One time we took both boys fishing. It took all of us and we caught nothing. We had so much fun, though. We went back to the campsite and roasted marshmallows and the boys played. Another day, Rob, Malcolm and I all went fishing and we did get 5 between us. Fun! We ate 2 and froze the rest.

Rob and I have been working so many hours in October that I can hardly catch a breath. My sister’s family will be going on a vacation in the future, including the kids, so we will be having a vacation, too. We have been able to work extra before and will work extra after, so we will be financially fine, as long as we stay frugal. My project list is growing by the day in anticipation, plus we will go camping again for a few days.


The garden is almost finished. Rob chopped up the last of the peppers yesterday and I dried them. I’ve been pulling plants as I can and have about 1/4 of the garden cleared. There are a few more fall crops but most are finished.

I’ve filled so many jars I’ve lost count. I do have a written list so I could count them, but I haven’t had time lately. We cleaned out all 3 deep freezers, completely organized the canning to make sure older items are in front and the new stuff is behind. I’ve frozen veggies and fruit and the newest are on the bottom and the older on top. We have already finished up quite a few of the older things I found. We received our 1/4 beef from the farmer we buy from each year and now have any leftover beef from last year in a place to grab before we grab the new. We had a gift to spend at Costco and did that and put those staples in the pantry to be rotated correctly. In August, I utopped up some pantry items with an Azure Standard order and have our drop next week that I have ordered from. As well. I tend to order a bunch then skip a month or two or even three since I get bulk items from there and they last a long time.

We are slowly cleaning the shop and garage and other areas. Rob has already been hauling things off to donate and we have more ready when he gets time. Our neighbor kindly took a bunch of our stuff to the dump. We have tossed, recycled and even burned quite a bit. This is a big project but we have at least started and can tell where we’ve worked.

I didn’t keep the garden weeded very well, but still got lots of food from it. I didn’t sew or quilt at all. I went so far as to take my sewing machine camping and didn’t even sew one stitch. I have been cooking, but not baking as often as I do sometimes.

These are just a few of the things we have filled our time with over these past few weeks. I hope to catch up with you all soon!

Garden, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Aug. 28, 2023

8 Comments

I spent a lot of time preserving last week. I also enjoyed my flowers as I went to and from the garden.

My table looked like this for most of the week. Early in the week, my sister shared beans, corn and peaches from her place. The tomatoes keep ripening on our vines and other veggies do, too.

This is how my outside table looked late that same night.

Rob dug out my drying racks and I pulled the onions. We had many more, but we have been eating, sharing and preserving with them. We have plenty left for winter use.

I used quite a few mild and spicy peppers to make a pepper sauce, canned whole and diced tomatoes and made bruschetta in a jar.

I used lots of odds and ends of food up. I made the rest of the tomatoes that wouldn’t fit in a canner into pizza sauce. I will make pizza soon or freeze it.

Bananas became banana bread. You can also see the melons I picked—Ha Ogen. We have had several from our bushes and there are more ripening. They are like a honeydew in many ways, but maybe a little firmer. Peppers were put into a big pot of refried beans. The last bit of a Costco chicken was boiled to make broth, then made into chicken and noodles. Because we’ve been preserving so much, some meals have been less than stellar, so it’s been nice to get time to make a few that are more tasty.

The yard and garden look terrible because they are so weedy. Once I get through this busy preserving time, I think they will be getting some serious attention. I’m glad the weather has cooled down—it’s so much easier to work out there😀

food preservation

Simple, Inexpensive Basil Pesto

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My basil is getting sad. It’s been SO hot. Thankfully, I have made lots of pesto already. I still hope I get more from these bushes.

My recipe is simple and uses no nuts.

I fill my food processor with basil leaves that I have picked and washed. This is 4-1/2—5-1/2 cups because I press it in there a little.

I add: 3-6 garlic cloves, depending on size ( I cut them up a little bit)

2-1/2 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

I then put the lid on and turn on to low setting. As it processes, I slowly add olive oil. I use about 9 Tablespoons but it can take a little more or less , depending on how many leaves I pushed into the bowl in the first place. Scrape the sides once or twice. The pesto should be quite thick, not watery.

I spoon into empty ice cube trays and freeze.

Once frozen, transfer to a baggie or other freezer container and enjoy all winter!


Garden, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Aug. 13, 2023

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I turned all my ripe tomatoes into pizza/pasta sauce this week. That is one of the most time consuming things I preserve, but also one of our favorite things to eat.

I shredded and dried zucchini. I also did get some thyme and basil dried and sorted out the thyme stems from it and put it away. I have been organizing my food storage a little when I have a few minutes.

We are going into a heat wave this week and it’s supposed to top 100 degrees for several days. I’m not sure what that’s going to do to the garden, but likely nothing good….

I was able to get most of the newly planted veggies to sprout, so if I keep them well watered I will hopefully keep them alive through the heat so I will have fall Lakeside spinach, Marvel de Seasons lettuce, Joy Choi Boc Choi and more. You may notice I put old lettuce leaves over the carrot row in hopes they would hold moisture in. They still haven’t sprouted. Neither have the green onions or snow peas.

The Quick Start cabbage, Pinetree cabbage mix and Hybrid broccoli blend are coming along nicely. I watered them this morning before church and just did it again this evening. They were already dried out. There’s also lettuce in there.

This basil has been cut several times. It’s lookimg a little heat stressed but I’m hoping to make pesto again. I’ve frozen several ice cube trays full already this summer. We love, love, love it!

I’ve also been weeding. I gave this raised bed a complete re-set. I pulled old snap peas, lettuce, an amazing pile of weeds and put strawberry runners back up into the bed. They had grown down below by the concrete! I left some cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. I will add lettuce when it cools.

I’m pretty far behind with my weeding but I won’t get much done this week. We will be helping at church every morning because it’s Vacation Bible School week. Rob and I are in charge of the snacks again this year. We have a team and pre-packed 160 paper bags of prizes and snacks today after church. We are now set for 80 kids Monday and Tuesday, with the ability to quickly pack more if needed. We will finish packing bags later in the week once the numbers stabilize.

I need to run up to another county one day to do some judging for 4-H food preservation and it’s going to be quite hot. This is a good week to do those other activities because I would absolutely not be weeding in the heat anyway😀. What I have done has been in the very early mornings and has taken me quite a few days to accomplish, as I just do a little each time I can.

We went to a small local parade with my sister and family. Both grandsons were able to go and they enjoyed the big trucks and rescue vehicles. My nephew was super excited about getting things at McDonald’s. We were on the sidewalk by it. So he kept going in there and buying food for the babies….we didn’t need to do lunch! He had it covered.

food preservation, Garden

Preserving and gardening—August 2023

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I am having trouble with my computer. I’ll do my best with my iPad.

I am spending much of my time these days picking and preserving food from the garden.

I first inventoried my canning. I counted every jar and arranged them logically. Then I knew what I needed to can.

My sister gave me peaches and I canned them. I made jam and froze some as well.

I’ve canned and frozen green and yellow beans and pulled the bushes. I still have pole beans so we’ve been eating them fresh and will until frost. I will can a few more later when my sister has extra.

I’ve done a half batch of sweet pickles and a very few dills. I have lots left over.

We are eating zucchini frequently and I froze a few packages I have made zucchini bread often as well.

I pulled all the beets that were left from the spring planting. We ate lots, shared some and I pickled the rest.

I picked lots of tomatoes and need to start processing them. I need pizza/ pasta sauce and enchilada sauce. I also need whole tomatoes so there’s lots to do as they ripen.

There is more produce out there so I just try to do a little bit each day and more on days when I’m not working. I’m getting there!




Garden

Garden Update-Mid July-2023

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The garden is really starting to take off, and I’m spending most of my free time out there.

After having only enough raspberries to eat fresh last year, I’m delighted to be picking the ripe ones every-other-day and have been able to freeze several cookie sheets full of berries for this upcoming winter. I’m also getting Marion (black) berries to freeze.

My blueberries aren’t very prolific this year, but I’m getting some and also got some from my mom’s bushes. I have some of those left over, so I will be fine with what I can gather. I’m going to really prune those bushes this year. They need it. Then next year’s crop will likely be better.

We have so much good cabbage that we are eating it almost every day and have given away quite a bit as well. I have picked and processed most of my broccoli and after getting a few more side shoots, I will pull those bushes. They are about finished.

We have 3 cheddar cauliflowers and they are almost ready to pick. There were also 2 purple ones. They didn’t come out very big and one has been eaten and frozen and the other is still in the garden.

We’ve been picking a few cherry tomatoes of various kinds. These are Sungold, but we also have gotten a few Sweet Million (red), pear (yellow, pear-shaped), and a grape variety (red). There have been just a few round, red tomatoes so far.

So far, we’ve been able to have enough lettuce with all the succession plantings we put in. The hot weather is brutal on it, though, and it tends to get bitter this time of year. I do have some small lettuce coming along and hope to get more in this week.

There’s lots of basil.

….onions, celery and pumpkins.

The green beans are blooming, so it won’t be long. I’m getting lots of zucchini and dill, but the cilantro has bolted. There’s one more small patch and I’ll plant more.

My bright idea of growing nasturtiums up this trellis isn’t working, but I still love the flowers. I need to buy the trailing mix, but instead threw down any saved seeds, old (like 2016) packets, etc. that I could find.

There are dahlias everywhere, from last year. I have zinnias and marigolds scattered here and there, as well.

Every day, I spend a little time out on my deck, just enjoying the flowers I have planted out there, and looking out over the garden.

My gardening year is far from over. I’m still putting in succession plantings of many things. My latest planting of fresh summer squash/zucchini, lettuce, zinnias, and carrots is mostly up. I mean 7 carrots is enough, right? NOT! I’ll be planting more this week:)