I enjoyed watching my very confused iris, and keep it will go ahead and bloom before it freezes!  Cheap entertainment, for sure:)

I think Legos are one of the best investments on this earth–the kids play with them for hours on end.  Today, when Jake came over, he brought some of his with him and played for a LONG time with them.

It’s so nice to have the camper parked at our house now.  Rob moved it down here last week.  I was able to take advantage of some bulk items at Costco because I have another refrigerator to put the excess in.  My extra fridge broke in the move, and I have not replaced it yet, so I’ve been lacking for space for extra food.  The camper fridge works very well, so it’s a great help.  We figure we saved over $4,000 in rent by living in this camper this past summer while we were between houses.

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the many, many things that I (and others) do on a weekly basis to keep our home running smoothly and economically.  Here are just a few.

Dishes are one of my favorite things–they can be washed and re-used so many times.  Everyone pitches in to wash them, as we do not have a dishwasher in this house.  I did buy paper plates for Thanksgiving as over 20 people will be coming.

We heat with wood and use our cardboard and paper scraps to help light the stove up.  We pack food a lot of the time when we are going to be away from home at mealtime.  When we do stop in for something, we are very careful to order wisely.  We try to combine errands to save gas.  We mowed the lawn ourselves on Saturday, and do not have a yard service.

We have been shopping the sales this past week, and also did some stocking up at Costco.  I store the food for a time when things are not priced so low.

I garden, then freeze, can and otherwise store the excess.  I’m excited because I received my first seed catalog in the mail this past week.  Last year, I did not order seeds.  I bought what I absolutely needed from the store and used up lots of odds and ends.  This year, I’m in a new place, with a new garden area.  It’s a great challenge to look forward to.

What ordinary things did you do this week to keep your household moving along smoothly?

I am amazed that I am still getting lettuce from my little garden in my yard!   I was able to make salad a couple of times this week, and there’s still more out there.  It’s been unseasonably warm here, but we are now past our usual frost date, so this won’t go on forever.  I’m hoping to go pick some more today.

This past week, I was able to concentrate on getting some things done around my home.  Friday was a holiday for both the kids and Rob, so I did not need to do school with the girls.  Instead, I cleaned a lot, weeded in the yard a bit and unpacked a few more bins.  I also pruned the blueberry bushes and Lovana cleaned up the rhubarb plants.  I have not pruned blueberries very often, so I just trimmed off any dead wood and cut them back slightly, being careful to open them up a little in the middle and cut off any straggly branches, but I left as many of the new little buds as I could to hopefully make blueberries next summer.

I got some great deals at Fred Meyers over the weekend–apple juice for 99c/container (I bought 10), Life Cereal for $1.49/box, 2 chickens for 88c/lb, and potatoes for 88c for 10lbs (I got 5).  I still have some potatoes left from the garden this summer, but this is a potato-loving family and we are burning through them.  Lovana especially loves them and eats them almost every day.  I put them in the shop so they will stay cool and last longer.  I have been working on using up food-storage items that I’ve had for a while, but also have been working on building things back up when I find a great deal.  I keep pretty good track of things and like to rotate them often.  I was especially glad to get the apple juice as it is a favorite of the kids, both mine and my nieces and nephew, so we will drink that quickly.  I could have used 20, but am glad for the 10 I chose to buy.  The cart was certainly heavy enough with all those potatoes, 10 juices and other things I bought–so I called it good!  I love being well-stocked.  I couldn’t have made it through the last year as nicely without such a well-stocked pantry, freezers and garden.  There were many, many weeks where we spent only $50 on groceries, and ate very well.  It’s great to have the chance to fill it back up.

I was also able to get a few items for Christmas gifts from the 70% off the lowest marked price clearance section.  I have some plans for the girls that are well on their way now.

We got the camper moved down here and parked.  It is so nice to have it here.  I hope to get in there and do some cleaning before too long–it could use a thorough going-over after living in it for 3 months, and the dust that accumulated in it since then is significant.  I’m also excited since there are items in there that I’ve been missing, and a bunch of food that it would be good to just use up.   We plan to make some reservations and go camping in the next few months–living in it did not dampen our enthusiasm in the slightest.  We can’t wait to go!

This past week went very well.  We were able to do a lot of fun things.  One of them was having my mom, aunt and one sister over for lunch.  Ja’Ana made this lovely veggie plate.  J and Alissa made potato-cheddar soup, as well.  It was very economical and came out extremely tasty.  We had a great time together.

Our decorations were very simple, but looked pretty.  We made the table larger for the occasion, and used the silk flower arrangement I put together last week for a centerpiece.  Our dining room is not very big, but it’s doing the job!

The girls are making aprons.  They worked on them after lunch.  Everyone offered advice, and helped them with any rough parts.  They are not quite finished, but are making great progress.  This was a great way for them to get to practice their cooking, table setting and decorating, and then their sewing while enjoying the company of their aunties and grandma.   They are cousins who are fortunate enough to share both the aunties and grandma who came this day.

Later in the week, we took a trip up the Columbia River Gorge.  We were able to take a lunch with us.  Of course, we packed lunches all week for both Rob and Patsy to take to school with them.  We visited sights that did not cost admission, so our only expenses were gas and a few snacks like ice cream, etc.

I was able to do a tiny bit of sewing, but didn’t get very far.  I’m trying to make a skirt for Patsy.  I’ve run into a bit of trouble.  Good thing I already own a seam ripper.  I’m getting it out today to fix the issues.  I was able to use some fabric I already owned, and a very inexpensive pattern from JoAnn’s.  I’m still figuring out how and where to sew in this house.  I’m struggling with having enough lighting in the evenings, which is the time when I have time to do anything I want to get done (not helping a kid with anything).

On the day my sister was here, we cleaned out the shed behind the shop.  We made a better place to stack wood and re-arranged the items that had been stuffed in there when we moved.  We worked on stacking wood, and the girls finished that job yesterday.  It saves us quite a bit to heat with wood, and this load was chopped at our old house, saved all summer by a friend, and then delivered to us.  What a blessing.  He needs his trailer back this week, so we were under a time crunch to get it unloaded.

We are loving the new wood stove and hearth we had installed.  The fire is so cozy and warm.  In fact, we are getting heated out of the house it works so well and are having to open windows sometimes to cool the place down.  The weather has been quite mild, so I’m sure this stove will have no trouble keeping us warm when it gets cold.  Our next project is rounding up some kindling.

We have been working our our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  We found several items on super good sales or around the house, plus some from the Dollar Store to add in.  We are not quite done, but will finish this week.

Fall is here.  I got much enjoyment this week looking at the gorgeous fall colors that are appearing all over.

2 days after taking the other picture, Alissa’s dog pulled her down the slope beside the same tree!  I guess you could call it a free slide?  A free fair ride?  Either way, she was unhurt, laughing, and I hauled her up the hill, safe and sound.

My aunt gave me this vase.  It complements the different wood tones in our house, but is not made to fill with water.  An insert would need to be used if water was put in it.    I put some fall-themed silk leaves and flowers in it.  I got them from the $ store so it made an inexpensive fall decoration.  Later, I can put some other flowers or decorations in it for different seasons

I made lasagna, spaghetti, teriyaki chicken, salads with lettuce from our garden and purchased lettuce, used 2 green onions from our garden, rice, and more.  I’ve started using up a LOT of home-canned and home-frozen foods, with the idea of finishing up what I have during this winter so I can can fresh next summer.

I used a gift card I had at Bob’s Red Mill and got one-to-one flour, tapioca flour, potato starch and other items I use in my gluten-free baking.

I used the rest of my October grocery budget on a trip to Costco.  I bought a few cases of food to keep my stockpile up, including pineapple and manderin oranges.  I got butter for a little over $2 per pound (bought a 4-pack), a huge bag of corn chips, large bag of broccoli, mushrooms,  brown and white sugar, and some treats like jalepeno-artichoke dip and chocolate chips.  I feel great about what I got for my money and am stocked up for the week, as well as some stockpile items.

We’ve been building fires most days to heat the house up.  Today, a friend delivered a trailer of wood he cut and saved from our old house!  How thoughtful and kind.  We will unload and stack it this week and return his trailer next week.

I will pack lunches for Patsy and Rob as usual this week and have some menu plans involving  a ham that was in the freezer.  I’m going to attempt to make Brazilian Cheese Bites.  They were out of my budget at Costco–$12.99 for 64 pieces.  I found a recipe and hope that they turn out.  I’ll let you know!