Saving Money

Saving Money–July 10, 2016

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Rob taught Ja’Ana how to replace the inner tube in her bike tire.  We’ve been giving the bikes a real workout lately on all our camping trips and she ran over something.  We spent 4 nights at Champoeg State Park.  It’s near my sister’s, so were able to do our regular things, while enjoying the park in between activities.

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July the 5th is BOTH of our mothers’ birthdays!  So, on the 4th, we had a double birthday party.

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Rob barbecued, my sister made lemon meringue pies for everyone (mine has no crust–it was great!), we used lots of garden produce, and we had a great time while celebrating the 4th of July, plus birthdays.

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We drove past this flower seed field one evening.  It was so beautiful!

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We are enjoying lots of baby kitties right now.   We need to tame some of them down because we have people who would like to have them.

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We are eating peaches like crazy.  I helped sell u-pick peaches Saturday, and will do so on Monday and Tuesday, as well as help can beans.  I made peach upside down cake, gluten free bread from a mix, sweet and sour pork, chicken soup, coleslaw, lots of sandwiches and salads, Rob b-b-qued burgers, steak, chicken and the last of the trout for the 4th and other meals.  We are eating lots of lettuce, zucchini, onions, carrots, green onions, and just started getting beans from the garden.  We will can a load in the morning.  Wild blackberries are also ripe on the bushes here on the property.

We did quite a bit of work in the garden this evening.  We pulled out old lettuce, spinach and the broccoli plants, which turned out to be a very strange variety that was very odd and did not taste good.  We were so happy that it wasn’t the tomatoes that failed!  Usually, I carefully choose all of the varieties from seed catalogs and grow my own starts.  This year I was at the mercy of the stores for starts because of the move.  If broccoli was my greatest casualty, I’m relieved.

 

Garden

Garden Update

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I came back from a few days at Champoeg State Park and found numerous goodies had ripened up in the garden!  I’m especially excited about the green beans and the little yellow cherry tomatoes.  Those are the first I have been able to pick, although my sister got started on them earlier in the week while I was gone.

I made green beans and garlic tonight for dinner, along with coleslaw from part of the cabbage.  I think I will make some fish tacos with some more of it, and make a grill basket with the round zucchini.  There are also some onions you cannot see, as well as some snow peas.   I will add some of them to the grill basket as well.

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Patsy’s flowers are blooming!  They are lovely and will just get brighter and more beautiful as time passes.  The squash on the left is delicata and has several forming.  On the right in the back in a tronboncini squash, a kind of zucchini that grows to look like a musical instrument–I hope we get one.  It isn’t even blooming yet.  There is an acorn squash bush as well as mixed summer squash on the right.  We were using up seeds, so have a little of several things.  In the far center is regular, plain, green zucchini.

I have been succession planting things.  We are on our 3rd planting of lettuce, at least, with a couple more plantings coming up and growing nicely.  I have a new planting of spinach up nicely, too.  This week, I’d like to plant more lettuce, green onions and snow peas. Last summer I did not have to buy lettuce, except 1 or 2 times, and I’d like to repeat that.  None of the rows are long.  I just want fresh things to eat so they are not bitter from heat.  It’s turning out to be a great garden and is easily feeding my family, my sister’s family, and quite a few other friends and relatives.  It’s also working out very well to have more than one person working on the weeds and planting!  Sharing a garden is really a blessing for both my sister and I.  I’m glad.

moving

House Hunting–Round 2

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We’ve been hunting for many, many hours, but the girls are still finding some time to horse around:)

I spent about 6 hours on the internet, and chose a pretty good list of houses we might like to view.  We got to look at 3 or 4.  We found a real fixer-upper for a price we could afford, and put in an offer.  They countered, and we had to decide what to do.  We just found out that 2 of the rooms were added over time, without permits.  After calling  the city and county, they informed us of what we had already been told.  We would either need to bring the rooms up to code, or tear them down.  With all of the other work that we would have to do, we had to let that one go.  It also had some major problems in the basement, along with quite a few other problems.  We did the math, and could not finish the project if we started.  I’m really sad.  I had hoped we could get it to work.   It would have been a nice size for our family.  So, it’s back to the drawing board, again.

In the meanwhile, we have another day at Champoeg State Park, so plan to enjoy tomorrow there.  Today we had so many errands to run, plus viewing this house again, that we will welcome a day of rest tomorrow.

Saving Money

Saving Money–July 3, 2016

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Patsy and I went with my sister to pick blueberries.  They were so delicious, only $1.25/lb, and are all gone now:)

I picked wild blackberries and made a crisp to take over to our friends’ house when we went for dinner.

I made pinto beans in the crock pot, lots of salads from garden lettuce, sandwiches, packed lunches, enchiladas, omelets from eggs we got for 88c/dozen, and numerous quesidillas.  I am trying to keep meals simple.  We got invited to my sister’s one morning for pancakes, a friend’s for dinner, a potluck for the last night of J’s camp where she was a junior counsellor (I took watermelon, cheese slices and crackers), and my aunt took us out for lunch after church today.

We did not get the house we bid on last week, and in fact got outbid by $15,000 (over the asking price).  So, you could say we saved $15,000:(  I spent 4-6 hours looking on the computer, have sent the real estate agent a list of properties we would like to see, and will go at it again this coming week.

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Patsy and I went for a bike ride at Champoeg State Park.  I am happy to report I did not fall off of the bike, or have any other catastrophes.  (I would pretend I am teasing, but have done some crazy stuff on (off) of a bike in the past, so am trying to build myself up again after several years of not riding since we all have talents and that’s not one of mine!!!!)  We rode over 5 miles.  We packed a lunch, and got ice cream at the historic store that was the 1/2 way point of the ride.  We also played a game of checkers they had on the table while we ate our ice cream.  Cute and quaint.

I visited with a friend while Patsy and her daughter swam at a local pool.

We worked in the garden.  We are still eating the same vegetables–snow peas, lettuce, beets, carrots, cilantro, basil, spinich, and the zucchini is just starting.  I am also looking forward to green beans soon.

We got library books, movies and borrowed 2 movies from a friend.  We watched one movie tonight.  It was called “The Finest Hours” and was about a Coast Guard rescue.  It had a little bad language, but kept us riveted to our seats as the men battled the stormy sea.

 

moving

Still Hunting for a House-July 1, 2016

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You can see our current house right behind Rob’s head!  We are enjoying the view out the back window, for sure, but it is a bit small for the 5 of us.

We have spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of weeks hunting for a house that is a bit larger than our current one.  We are finding many, many that need a lot of work (like no walls, cupboards, windows, did I mention the dead rat on the floor, mold, etc.), are priced too high, don’t have any garden space, no place for the r.v., etc.

We did, however, find one that we though would work.  The house itself was very tiny, but it was on a 1/3 acre and had a shop and a large garden area.  We put in a full-priced bid, and we still got outbid.  By $15,000.  That’s what the market is like around here right now.  Although we are a little disappointed to not be making plans to move right now, we prayed a lot about it and don’t want to be in a house that is not the right one for us.  So, we are back to looking after a short break while we waited for them to make up their minds.

Today we drove by one.  Believe it or not, they would not let us view the house.  They told our realtor that they would not give a showing without an accepted offer.  As if.  There may be someone out there (it wouldn’t surprise me the way the market is) that would buy a house they had never stepped foot in, but it won’t be us.  So, it’s back to pouring over the computer listings and hopefully, we will see some more possibilities soon.

recipes, Saving Money

Enchiladas

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The camper fridge gets full extremely fast.  Even so, I lose leftovers in there sometimes!  I don’t want to waste food, though, so today I searched out several bits and pieces and made enchiladas.  I usually use a tomato base with my enchiladas, but today I was focused on using some things up.

Here’s what I did:

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I made a filling:

–1 cup (approximate) lite sour cream mixed with 1 small can of green chilies (I used 1/2 in the filling and 1/2 on top)

–Pork leftover from a few days ago, cooked in crockpot with salsa verde

–pinto beans I cooked yesterday with jalepenos and onions in the crockpot

I put a little bit of each of these things into 10 warmed corn tortillas, rolled them up, and placed into a pan sprayed with non-stick spray.

I made sure to finish off the pork, but have lots of beans left for another day.

On top I put:

–the rest of the sour cream/chile mixture

–the last of 2 small bags of cheese–1 cheddar and 1 Mexican blend

–5 green onions, chopped up with kitchen scissors

I covered with foil and baked in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes-1 hour, until warmed through.

Makes 10 enchiladas.

It would be so easy to use chicken, hamburger, or whatever meat you have left over.  Any cooked beans would work.  There could be more cheese, or less cheese.  Olives could be added on top, too.  It is a great way to use lots of little bits of meat that are leftover.  Everyone will feel as if they got a whole new meal.  I’m sure looking forward to dinner tonight!

 

Garden

Garden Update–June 29, 2016

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We got to cut our first 2 zucchini!  This year, my sister and I planted many packages and partial packets of old seeds so we could use them up.  These were from a summer squash mixture that was several years old.  I have grown the round kind before, and they are prolific!  So, I was glad to see that one of these turned out to be the round kind.

We have been picking and eating so much lettuce, we should be turning green any day!  Snow peas, beets, basil, cilantro, green onions, spinach, and carrots are all ripe, too.

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Patsy’s sweet peas started to bloom.  She had planted them at the old place and we moved these pots here with us.

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Of course, with all of the veggies growing, Rob needed to get out the tiller and get rid of the weeds.  We’ve also been weeding between the plants, and hoeing where things have grown together too much for Rob to safely till between them.

I spent some time thinning some lettuce.  I’ve been succession planting it, and so have some that is about 1 inch tall, some newly planted that is not up yet, and the rows we are using currently.  I’ve already taken out the first row we had.  There is also new baby cilantro and basil coming up.  I also spent a little time spacing out some baby head lettuce plants so that they can make heads.

I’m finding that working in the garden a little bit each day that I’m here, and having the help of several of us working on the garden is making a big difference in getting this garden to stay weed free.  There are several other vegetables coming close to getting ripe.  I’m looking forward to red tomatoes sometime soon, but for that, I’ll have to wait a while.  There are green ones, though, so there’s hope:)

I’m so happy I have the garden to work in. It gives me something to do that I love.  I always used to with I had more time to spend in the garden, so now I do, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Saving Money

Saving Money–June 26, 2016

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One of the things we did this past week was visit a fish hatchery.  They didn’t have very many fish right now, since this particular one has more going on when the fish are running in the fall, but we were able to see baby Chinook salmon, and show Patsy how the whole operation works.

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We harvested lettuce, basil, cilantro, beets, carrots, spinach, snow peas and green onions from the garden.  I used the produce in salad, marinade, Pico de Gallo, stir fry and to eat.

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Rob was fishing for rock fish and caught a crab on accident, instead of any fish.  It was a male, and a keeper, and he has his license to crab, so—Yum!  What a happy surprise!  We ate it:)

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We enjoyed some beautiful days down at the coast and watched many boats going in and out of the harbor.

We had to drive a lot, as Ja’Ana had a couple of days of training for her junior counsellor opportunity next week.  Since we were driving anyway, we went house hunting again, used our Kids Bowl Free coupons with Patsy, and enjoyed some sights on the way.   We took food with us in the van a lot, and cooked in the camper most of the time.  We also ate out a little bit on the road, and chose as wisely as we could.  We used a lot of gas, but are so glad to do so for such a good reason.

We put in an offer on a house.  They already have several offers because the market is so strong right now, so we are looking at it again today to see if we want to “up” our offer.  I’m ok either way.  I know we can’t go “up” very much, so it’s in the Lord’s hands.  I know if this isn’t the one, we will find another one with time.  We should find out tomorrow.  They have so much interest, they have been collecting offers since Thursday, and will decide tomorrow.  Even the crummiest houses are getting multiple offers right now.  (Except the one with the broken windows, tremendous patches of mold, doors ajar and unlocked, and the dead rat on the floor–hmmmm–we’ve seen some beauties)

recipes

Basil-Parmesan Veggie Stir Fry

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This stir-fry turned out to be extremely tasty.  I thought I’d share the recipe.

1 zucchini, sliced

4 oz. mushrooms, sliced (1/2 carton)

1/4 onion, chopped

garlic salt in a grinder bottle

several basil leaves, sliced thinly ( I used about 10)

butter and/or oil, as needed for stir-frying (2-4 Tablespoons)

3 Tablespoons-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Put butter or oil in a pan and heat to medium-high heat.  Add the prepared veggies and stir-fry the zucchini, mushrooms and onion.  Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and grind several turns of the garlic-salt grinder.  I used a non-stick pan, so was able to get away with less than if I had used a stainless steel pan.  I probably used 1 Tablespoon.

When the vegetables are crisp-tender (about 4-5 minutes for mine), add an additional 1 Tablespoon of butter, Parmesan cheese and basil.

Makes 4 servings

This tasted a lot like pizza or garlic bread from a pizza parlor.  We seriously gobbled it down, it was so good.  Of course, you could easily adjust it to have more/less butter, parmesan, etc., but I think the butter as well as the garlic/salt grinder gave it that pizza parlor flavor.  I’m looking forward to making it more as the garden ripens and the zucchini produces.

Menu plans

Menu Plans–June 23, 2016

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I feel like I’m finally getting adjusted to living in the camper and am ready to make some menu plans.  So far, I have been flying by the seat of my pants–eating and using whatever needs to be used next.  To some extent, I will continue to do that because space is at such a premium.  If there are any leftovers, they have to be used before I cook more food or there is no where to put it.  So, here’s a tentative plan for the next week.

Friday:  We will eat the lovely crab Rob caught.  I will probably make Crab Louis with it, as I have lots of lettuce, eggs and Thousand Island dressing on hand. For dinner, I am making a small pork roast in the crock pot.

Saturday:  Pack a lunch for the road, as we are traveling back to the valley again, this time to stay at my sister’s for 10 days.  For dinner, we will eat leftover pork roast and whatever garden produce is ripe when we get back, most likely lettuce salads.

Sunday:  I need to make a plan with my other sister for our family Sunday dinner.  For the evening meal, we will have something light, such as salads or leftovers.  If there are not enough, we can make burritos or tacos from frozen refried beans I have.  I need to put beans on to soak for Monday.

Monday:  I want to make a pot of refried beans in the crock pot.  I have all of the ingredients.  I use soaked pinto beans and water, jalepenos (or whatever peppers I have), and onion, and cook all day, then mash.  The onions and peppers add flavor, but not much heat.  I salt and pepper to taste.  My kids love them and will eat beans and cheese constantly.   Lunch:  soup  Dinner:  Beans, cheese and salad–maybe leftover meat if there is any left

Tuesday:  Chicken:  I made a new marinade this week and we grilled it at the beach.  It was so good, I want to make more:)

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Wednesday:  Lunch:  leftover chicken, sandwiches or salads   Dinner:  trout, potatoes, salad  (we still have 1 meal of trout left from our fishing trip–frozen, of course)

Thursday:  Lunch:  leftovers or soup   Dinner:  grilled steak salads.  I saw a recipe in the Pioneer Woman cookbook I’d like to try.

This week will be busy, but not too busy–just perfect.  Ja’Ana is going to be a junior counsellor at a day camp, ran by the church we are attending.  She will need to be driven down to church (about 1/2 hour trip each way) every morning and picked up each evening.  That will mess with dinner, but if I have things marinading, Rob can barbecue while I’m driving, or I can cook while he is.  We are excited for her to have this opportunity, so it’s worth the driving to us.  We also have a few appointments, but thankfully, not many.  I hope to work on the garden some more, and might pick some blueberries at an u-pick patch.  I will also be watering flowers for someone on a few days when I drop J off.  We will probably go house hunting some more as well.  This menu plan will help on those busy days.

 

 

Making My Home A Haven