Category Archives: Birthdays

Birthdays, Cooking for a crowd, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Feb. 12, 2024

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I got to do some fun baking this past week. First, they were doing some kind of birthday celebration at the Young Adult group, so I did a couple kinds of cupcakes for that.

We also celebrated a couple of family birthdays yesterday, so I made cake for that. To make things simpler, I made all the cake and cupcakes last Tuesday and froze the ones I needed for the family party. I frosted them Saturday, after I defrosted them.

I soaked a large amount of pinto beans.

I cooked some and made chili and froze a baggie for later.

I made a huge crockpot of refried beans from many of them, along with peppers and onions from my freezer. I also pulled 8 lbs of hamburger from the freezers and made taco meat. Much of this I had gathered on super sales from Safeway and some was from the 1/4 beef we purchased last fall. When you volunteer at the food pantry, you can take whatever bread products you can use. I got quite a few packages of tortillas, even some gluten free ones when we were there last Saturday. That, plus cupcakes, was sent to the Young Adult meeting Tuesday. Other people brought taco toppings and sides. They had around 40 there this time….you just never know. There were still leftovers, which we ate. I also pulled out some refried beans and froze 3 cartons because I purposely made extra for that purpose. I was happy there was some left. When attendance ranges from 25-40, it’s hard to gauge what will be consumed on any given week. This was a week where I had volunteered to make extra because I had this burger I wanted to use up. This week, my part is much simpler since there are others helping out, too.

We used our membership to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and took our nephew and grandson.

As always, we all had a great time.

The play structure is very cool and both boys enjoyed playing for quite a while. Malcolm is too small to climb up the big slide, but Jake went up multiple times.

Malcolm had plenty to do on a smaller slide and a little fake mountain and these bouncy leaves. After we visited the aquarium, we took the boys out for lunch and to a candy store. It’s kind of a tradition to get a few pieces of taffy and let them choose candy and they really enjoy it when we do that.

We worked a lot of hours over the past couple of weeks, which kept us busy thinking up fun activities to keep everyone busy. We are always on the lookout for low-cost, but fun activities to do with the kids. Almost every night, when our nephew was here, we had a popcorn “party” which simply means I made popcorn and he ate it while he played his Switch. Easy-peasy. There was a free activity at a near-by center where he could play electronic games, do Legos, or play games, so we did that one day. Even a trip to Safeway where he could get a free cookie is a fun activity for him. Rob took him to the library one day and he chose books. They also went on a drive, searching for Pokemon on his phone. The aquarium was our “big wow” because our nephew didn’t have school one day and we wanted something that filled hours and hours and was fun.

I continued using things from the pantry and cupboards and had to go put away my basket of emptied jars more than once, which is always a good sign that I’m using things up the way I want to. I went through the potatoes I had in the garage and threw away the few that were spoiling and used a lot of what was left. We made Swiss Steak with mashed potatoes, potato salad, fried potatoes and threw some in soup. Rob made bacon-wrapped pork bites after we had them at our oldest daughter’s house when we went there for lunch last weekend. We also had some pretty lame meals because we were busy, such as pieces of lunchmeat on a plate with other odds and ends from the fridge, salad with the last of a head of lettuce and a jar of giardinera stirred in because I was out of toppings (actually pretty good), leftovers that did not go together AT ALL, the same leftovers 3 days in a row because it was easy…..what can I say? We all got fed. It all worked out:)

Birthdays, Cooking for a crowd, food preservation, Garden, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week—June 12, 2023

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This week, I went to a U-Pick strawberry patch, all by myself:). I know he would have enjoyed it, but I was so glad he wasn’t there when I saw the (seriously) 150+ people who were swarming the field. I got enough for a batch of jam and some to freeze for smoothies and some to eat fresh. It was hard to find ripe berries, actually. After seeing the people come and come and come, I could see why. I may try again soon, or just make out with what I got.

I think Malcolm is trying to wink at Papa. He loves “bahberries.” In fact, I stepped outside for a minute the day I brought them home and came back only to see the floor littered with little green tops–he’d eaten as many as he could grab. We got those picked up and I turned my back and …….yep! We had to clean the floor again. I’m so glad he didn’t get sick.

The garden still takes quite a bit of time each day. It’s growing so well, as are the weeds. We are eating lettuce daily and sharing with many. The peas are almost ripe. I mean they maybe would plump up if a certain little boy wasn’t out there stripping off any that look like they are growing….It warms my heart to see him enjoy them so much and like Rob says, “He’s eating vegetables, we can always buy a bag of peas at the store.” I’m pretty sure we will get a big batch one of these days–it will be beyond what he can eat.

We are harvesting a few snow peas every couple of days and my cilantro is bolting. I’ve been using the lower leaves anyway in salads and marinades. I will pull that out and let the next planting be used very soon. I put more seeds in the ground but have none yet. I may need to replant.

The compost heap on the right has been emptied completely. I’ve been working on it for a while and now we have started dumping new scraps in there. I have side-dressed the celery, some cabbage and cauliflower and some onions with part of it, as they were struggling where they were. These 3 buckets are all that’s left to disperse and I have plenty of places that could use it. There’s never enough compost! There is one more bin that needs emptying on the other side of the garden.

Malcolm has spent hours and hours working on this project and pouring his buckets all over the place. It’s so cute! I’m glad to have this bin finally empty and he still has another bin to get into in a different place. Otherwise, he just digs holes in the garden. That works, too.

We went to the library this week and watched a preschool show. We also signed up both Malcolm and my nephew, Jake for summer reading.

It was party week. We attended a graduation ceremony Friday, a grad party Saturday and a birthday party Sunday afternoon. I haven’t cooked a whole lot this past weekend.

I did make gluten-free hamburger buns early in the week. They came out great. I made pulled pork sandwiches for us and the college group I cook for weekly. I used extras for sandwiches a few times.

We loaded up on $1.99/lb boneless-skinless chicken breast and thighs today. 3 packs in all. I froze them in meal-sized portions. I popped some Mexican-inspired marinade on some of the chunks to use tomorrow for SW chicken salads for the college group and some to freeze. Milk was $1.29 for 1/2 gallon so we got 2 of those. There were sausage rolls for $1.99 and those kielbasas for $1.99 each. I grabbed a few of those.

We passed up the $5.99/package tator tots. Seriously? It wasn’t even a big package. We got 10 lbs. of potatoes for about $5.

I’m already having an easier time stretching my time between grocery store trips, due to the abundance of lettuce in the garden. I’m also still loaded up with home-canned food and things I froze last summer. This is a wonderful time of year to be cooking and there’s so much more growing out there. I love it!

Birthdays, food preservation, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–Feb. 13, 2022

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I was given several loaves gluten-free bread. I decided to make some crumbs from part of it. I chose the loaf that seemed like it was getting a little hard and dried the slices. Then, I used the food processor to make crumbs. I had trouble getting even crumbs–some are extremely fine and some are still small chunks. I’m happy to have them no matter what they look like. I froze the rest of the loaves that were in good shape and composted the other one that wasn’t. You can see dried apples in the background of this picture. We are still drying them whenever we get time to do so.

We had a family party to celebrate birthdays in January, February and March, but mostly just to get together. I chose a tropical theme, cooked some food and people brought food as well.

I made a teriyaki-lime chicken that tasted delicious.

I also made pineapple-shrimp fried rice. Those were the two dishes I made to go along with the tropical theme. I’ve only made this once before, and I loved it, again!

I colored the frosting on the cupcakes a coral-orange tint and they looked festive, too. We held the party on Sunday afternoon, so I was gone all morning at church. I got almost everything ready on Saturday so I could get lunch on the table as soon as possible once I reached home. Even the veggies were cut up for the fried rice (Thank you, Rob), and I peeled the shrimp, so all I had to do was quickly stir-fry the shrimp and veggies and rice and was done very quickly.

I made all of our meals at home this week, and cooked a little for others, as well. I used some medium-sized eggs for deviled eggs, and used this teeny-tiny jar of mayo in there.

I also threw in some home-dried chives. I notice the chives are starting to grow, so I will have more very soon.

I took every single item out of the kitchen refrigerator, washed down the shelves and drawers and put most of it back in a better way. I was ruthless when I sorted and if it was very old, tasted terrible, or almost gone, I either repurposed it, or tossed it. I hadn’t gotten around to cleaning out the door the last few times I’ve cleaned it, and it was time! Bottles and jars were just stacked in on top of other ones in there, and now they are not. I put some items in baskets in the fridge, such as little yogurt containers. They have been falling out and frustrating us all. All tortillas are in a basket now, keeping them from slipping around, flopping all over, or sliding out at the worst moments. Now they can’t, as long as people remember to put them back!

Right after I cleaned it out, I went shopping and actually had room to put away the new groceries without pushing things around! Ahhhhh…… I also had room for party food.

I got out of Safeway for $39. To do this and get what I wanted, I downloaded several store coupons on my phone. Along with the small ones, I had a $10 off $50, and $10 reward, a $10 baby club coupon, and $24 of Bottle Drop money. I purchased boxes of soda pop, 2 boxes of diapers (over 120 total), fruits and veggies, and other things I needed for the party, such as ice cream, which, in the end, I forgot to get out of the freezer…..

I had coupons for several free items, such as a package of frozen ginger, a box of biscuit mix, non-dairy cheese (our daughter likes that stuff), and a box of kid’s instant protein oatmeal packets. I had 3-4 shopping bags full, plus the 2 boxes of diapers and sodas. I was happy with that.

I ordered from Azure Standard this week. I get bulk, healthy food from there. Cocoa powder has been difficult to get around here, except in pricy, small containers. Even at the restaurant supply store, 5 lbs of cocoa powder was about $60 when Rob went in there and checked the other day. Costco had none. I got 5 lbs for around $23 from Azure. I got 10 lbs of raisins. We have burned through 5 lbs. quite quickly. Now let’s just hope my little raisin eater doesn’t decide he has a new favorite. There were other yummy items in my order, along with a few non-food items.

Rob found some more small jars at the thrift store for 25c each. I have a lot of jars, but we do give away a few of the small ones at Christmas time, so we need a certain amount of replacements each year.

I cut the bottom off of a lotion container and got several more applications of lotion from the inside of the tube.

My mom came over and we made flatbread together. Since we are both gluten-free, we made a triple batch and both froze some for future open-faced sandwiches, pizza crusts or just eating. She also helped me fold many baskets of laundry, along with some other boring, but necessary chores:). Most of all, we had fun visiting!

Although we do not have the necessary channel to watch the Super Bowl, our son added an app to our t.v. and he, Allison and Rob were able to watch most of it. Since changing to all internet-based t.v., using the Fire Stick from Amazon, we have saved a lot of money from what we used to pay for cable, even with paying for a couple of add-on apps, such as Disney+.

We would have been just fine without watching the big game, but it was so nice for Rob to be able to watch it. When we first got our sons, Rob thought that would be a fun thing to do with them. I thought it would be nice to have a tradition of making brownies every Monday night since that was when they showed football at that time. I would make the brownies every week, and sometimes snacky foods for dinner and they would turn on the football game. They would eat the brownies with the rest of the family, and snacks, and………… take off to play:). The girls had already made it clear they were interested in brownies, not football, except occasionally. So, it’s fun to see it come full circle and have the son want to watch it……and as far as I know–NOT eat brownies, although there were some:)

Birthdays, food preservation, Saving Money

Thriving in My Thrifty Week-Jan. 29, 2023

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Rob had a birthday this week. He wanted to drive down to the beach for the day to celebrate. We did that Friday, as we were working on his actual birthday. It rained a little, and the wind blew, but overall, it was gorgeous for a winter day at the beach.

Neither Papa or Malcolm cared at all if there was a little rain! Rob got Mac this super cute “fireman” rain coat at the Union Gospel Mission store for under $7. It seems like brand-new and kept him dry on this day. We took snacks and drinks, and Rob and Malcolm got chicken from a store and we all got French fries from a restaurant–I had a salad and Lovana had fish tacos. After we had gathered our food items from the various locations, we all had a blast eating our goodies and watching the ocean from a lookout point!

On the actual day of Rob’s birthday, I had some help with the cake. Malcolm and I made and frosted the cake. Jake supervised and consoled us, saying that Malcolm’s extra huge handful of mini chips there on the top looked just like a sideways heart and went with the cake just fine! We were trying to get the mini chips on the sides and the sprinkles on top, but such is life when you are two:). Most of this delicious cake is in the freezer, but we enjoyed it’s richness before I cut it up, layered it between waxed paper and froze the rest.

I experimented some more with my air fryer. I got it last Christmas and haven’t utilized it as much as I wish I had. This was parmesan chicken and was delicious with our home-canned pasta sauce and green beans. I used a fresh mozzarella log we got for 99c during our recent trip to the scratch and dent store, so it was affordable. Rob saw the same logs of cheese for around $7 elsewhere. This one was short dated, but I used it up right away.

I made egg flower soup twice. I slipped in some tofu for added protein. This is a new recipe to me and it was SO good. There was sesame oil, garlic powder, turmeric, seasoning salt and ginger in there, along with pepper. It was slightly thickened with cornstarch.

The first time, I used some chicken broth in a carton I had been given and the second time I used bone broth I boiled from some Costco chicken. I put in less egg the second time. I split the 99c tofu brick I got from the discount store and split one can of diced water chestnuts between the two batches. As I have previously mentioned, I am not a tofu fan, but Rob is. I have to say, I liked it in this soup. (I am not canning this. I just used a jar for storage in the fridge.)

I did can these, though.

We were blessed with more apples again this past week. It seems that no matter how fast we eat, we cannot use up all the good food we have been given this year. My sister had a large crop and generously shared. Rob’s sister works at an apple orchard each fall and gets free apples. Somehow, those apples keep ending up at our house over the past few months. Yum!

I decided to do some applesauce with some since they are still nice. Why wait until they aren’t to face the fact that we can’t eat them all fresh? So, I did 10 pints of applesauce Saturday. I picked out the worst looking ones to use up. It’s going to take off some stress during the canning rush next summer. Win-win! I also made a small batch of chunky applesauce this week we are eating fresh. Lovana made an apple crisp. Such a nice problem to have.

Last, but not least….I have a budding mechanic on my hands. He decided his lawn mower was broken and turned it over and proceeded to “fix” it with his toy hammer. This guy landscapes with his bubble mower, repairs equipment and works for applesauce. Now that’s the kind of help we all need!

Birthdays

Birthday Bash for the Boys-2022

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The boys are 2 days shy of one year apart. They had a double birthday party on Sunday afternoon. Zaire was celebrating his first birthday, and Malcolm his second. Auntie Lovana planned and executed the whole thing. She chose the theme “construction.” Yellow, orange and black were the colors she chose. Even the boys were dressed as construction workers in their Carhart overalls and hats.

She had a huge banner made and there were bouquets and balloons everywhere.

The child-sized picnic table was turned into a kinetic sand play station.

We had burgers, hot dogs and shrimp.

Of course there were lots of side dishes and chips to go along with the main course. To follow the construction theme, little signs were put into the various bowls. The chalkboard sign was changed from Grandma’s party to say “Happy Birthday” and a truck was drawn on it.

The boys had so much fun, but Zai was not loving the fire on top of the cake. There were 2 cakes, and they each got to blow out candles, with help, of course.

Both boys got so many nice gifts. Many of them were cars and trucks along with so many fun toys and other things. Malcolm had to take his bulldozer to bed that night. It was a long, but super fun day for us all!

Birthdays

90th Birthday Party for Rob’s Mom

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We wanted Rob’s Mom’s 90th birthday party to be special and nice, but simple, as she requested. I think we succeeded and she, and everyone else that came, had a good time celebrating with her. Rob made this sign, using chalkboard contact paper, a board and some edging boards. He made a stand to hold it up.

The garden made a nice backdrop. We set up 2 awnings, a few tables, and got out the children’s picnic table. We moved our flowerpots around so they were part of the decorations.

We used wine barrels to hold up planks for a table and the sign. We had a “Make your own burger bar” and pulled pork sandwiches.

There were salads, chips and other side dishes, including our “Over the Hill Bubble Bath.”



Drinks, plates and extra food were on another table. Homemade ice cream and cupcakes were the dessert.

The birthday girl loved her quilt and all the other gifts she received.

All 3 of her living brothers were there, all 4 of her children, and many of her grandchildren. Pictures were taken of everyone that would hold still and smile. It was a very special day, and I was so glad to be part of it.

Birthdays, Cooking for a crowd, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–June 5, 2022

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Oregon State Parks had a celebration commemorating the first park that was donated, 100 years ago. Rob was asked to barbecue for the event. I was asked to hand food out.

It rained. That was not really a surprise. We do live in Oregon:). There was another couple, the park hosts, who helped at our station, as well.

The organizer made it easy, and had him do hot dogs. We served them with chips and packages of condiments in a little paper boat. There were also Oregon State Park birthday cupcakes in our area, and a huge cake and more cupcakes in another area. She got all the supplies and had the park rangers put up tarps and tables and all we had to do was show up and deal with the food.

I got to walk around a little and enjoyed the classic car show. They had various booths set up all around the park. One was recreation through the ages and had a mini frisbee golf course, croquet, and nerf sports set up. I wasn’t there when children were actually playing on the games, but I’m sure they had a blast between rain showers.

There were speeches, a birthday song for Oregon, a huge cake, and they even found several descendants of the lady who donated this first state park in 1922 and had them take part in the ceremonies. I did not listen to those speeches, as I was at the hot dog station, but Patsy did and said they were nice.

Rob and I had a lot of fun. We have benefitted so much from the Oregon State Parks through the years and it felt good to be able to give back a little. I talked to some people I have never met before, went to a state park I had never visited, and found out about another place I’d like to visit that isn’t too far from home. They gave us a pin and a picnic blanket as a thank-you gift.

I cooked basic foods this week, and focused on using up any leftover party food.

I just finished making a huge batch of refried beans. They are in old cottage cheese cartons, cooling on the counter so I can freeze them. I’ve had to buy a few cans lately. Although they are not expensive, making them is even less expensive, and we love all the peppers and onions I add in. I’m also still working on the 50 pound bag of pinto beans Rob got at the beginning of Covid. At that point, there were shortages, and it was 50 pounds, or nothing, and he took the big bag. It was only about $22, if I remember correctly, and that’s a lot of chili and refried beans! I’m doing chili next.

Rob worked in the greenhouse. It’s really getting funny. Now that the word is out that he enjoys growing dahlias, he continues to be given dahlias, dahlias and more dahlias. He planted another bag full someone gave him. We have many, many plants in the back of the garden, the side of the shop, the front of the house, and anywhere else we could fit some in. It is going to be gorgeous around here in a few months.

He started me some head lettuce, which was promptly chewed off by bugs or slugs, so he started some more. There is a succession planting of cabbage and broccoli growing in there, as well. I worked several hours weeding and hoeing in the garden until it started raining again and became too muddy. I re-planted a couple of things that didn’t come up.

I have been very pleased with the germination of Rob’s home-saved seeds. This is something he has only been doing for the past 2-3 years, and he knows he is still learning. All of our pole beans, both Blue Lake and Purple/Violet Podded have come up very well from saved seeds. We still buy seeds–lots and lots of seeds, but it’s so nice to be able to cut that down whenever we can. It’s also a skill he enjoys learning.

We were given a pickup load of chopped, split wood. We are very excited to have it and will be stacking it up in the back for next winter’s fires. There will be more to come, and that’s exciting, as well.

Birthdays, Garden, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–February 1, 2022

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My daughter asked me if I would help her do my grandson’s hair. So, yesterday, we did it! Since he was wiggling and squirming while we pressed snacks, toys and other treats on him, at the same time as singing to The Wiggles and trying to distract him in any way possible, I thought it turned out great! I washed his hair, Ja’Ana made parts and combed it, and we both started braiding like crazy from both sides. Now it’s clean, his head is moisturized, and he looks great! It’s a big job, but by doing it ourselves, we saved at least $75-$100. It brought back a lot of memories to me of years and years of doing hair….

My daughter has been at a new job for a few weeks now. She works mostly at night. This has been difficult, but we are all pitching in as we can to help with babysitting so she can keep her money in her pocket. I’ve been babysitting a lot as they have been calling her in due to people not coming to work due to Covid symptoms. These were afternoon shifts, so I was able to help her out. Patsy’s been babysitting a lot, as well, as has anyone else who will take a shift. Today, my sister and I had a great visit while she helped me with Jake, the boys, school, and life while my daughter got some sleep after working all night last night. My Mom helped while we visited last Friday. As you can see, we are using any one with arms that will come over:). They are happy to work for soup, so……..Seriously, I am very grateful for the help and J is, too.

We put Malcolm to work to help out (ha, ha). He’s happy to work for crackers, so the price is right. Rob ordered this little cleaning set and we’ve had so much fun watching him sweep and mop. Little brother was not amused today, when he got “swept” in the process.

Rob’s seeds are popping up like crazy in the greenhouse. Our second batch of ordered seeds arrived yesterday and he planted some of them today. I had forgotten to order the Carmen pepper seeds the first time. I got Rob some flower seeds while I was at it and he’s excited about them.

I successfully cooked the beans I was soaking. Now I have both red and black beans frozen for quick use. The previous post details a lot of what I cooked this past week. After I posted it, I ended up making a huge vegetable-pesto soup, cornbread, brownies and potato salad. Our neighbor with Covid is feeling a little better and has food from some other places, so I’m haven’t sent more over after today unless he runs out or feels worse. (Rob just talks to him on the phone and leaves it on the doorstep. He’s a truck driver and basically crept home feeling awful a few days ago and called asking if we had broth or chicken soup. He doesn’t keep much food in the house as he’s away so much. We were glad to help out.). The soup got away from me and become too large, so I shared with a couple of other people and there’s still plenty for us. I used onions, celery, hamburger, canned carrots, broth and tomato products, frozen beans and corn, frozen pesto, frozen white beans, Italian seasoning, water, salt and pepper and a little corn pasta in it.

We didn’t need many groceries from Safeway this past week. We are still using things from the freezers and pantry. I used the last of January’s grocery money for another Azure order of mostly bulk food products such as rice mix, white beans, popcorn, etc.

I read library books on line, and a couple actual books. We watched U-Tube, Netflix, etc. for entertainment…(We Don’t Talk About Bruno in 21 languages, anyone? Jake loves that song in English, Patsy in other languages….you see how it is). Thankfully, U-Tube is free so they can both have their way. I worked on a baby quilt a bit, using fabric I’ve had for years with just a couple of small pieces I bought to go with it. There is no baby in mind for this. At the rate I’m going, that’s just as well as they would be a teen before I get done. But, I cleaned up an entire basket of miscellaneous sewing items/scraps, along with going through a couple of other drawers of sewing things and found this fabric, some scraps from other projects that matched, so…why not?)

Rob’s been taking Lovana, our daughter, driving. She really wants to pursue getting her license. She’s a little older, but feels ready at this time. They delivered a meal to a family who needed it. That was good double use of time and gas.

Rob had a birthday. He had a great day. I made the cake he loves so much. It’s a sour cream chocolate cake and it’s great. You really cannot tell it’s gluten-free, or so they say:). Making it that way means I get some, too. Yum!

Birthdays, Homeschooling, Saving Money

Thriving In My thrifty Week–September 28, 2021

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This week, we celebrated the arrival of fall by doing some extra activities with the kids. On the first day of fall, we decorated the extra fall-shaped sugar cookies I had frozen before we went to the beach. Then, we made fall cards.

Rob organized the project. It involved collecting fall leaves on our walk, then spattering them with watercolors so that when the leaf was removed, the shape of the leaf was left on the card.

Another day, we made some cinnamon puffs. They are like little fritters. The kids enjoyed the project and they were soon eaten, especially when the big girls and babies dropped by later in that afternoon and helped eat them.

We had 2 birthday parties. One was for sweet Allison and one was for my aunt. I made hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans along with the big chocolate cake and we had some ice cream for Allison’s party. We played games and had fun with our son, Anthony and his girl, Allison. For my aunt’s party, my sister did the hosting. I took a pan of enchiladas–easy! Both gatherings were kept extremely small, but it was nice to get together.

A friend gave us some dahlia starts in pots earlier in the summer. A few of them recently bloomed. I’m trying to get an idea of what they look like and how tall they are before I plant them in the flowerbeds. This one is especially pretty.

I canned the rest of the whole tomatoes I needed and 3 more pints of diced tomatoes. I also made 7 pints of enchilada sauce, using all the tiny tomatoes, yellow ones and cherry tomatoes I could gather. There are just too many for us to eat fresh. They are winding down, though, so I’m glad I pretty much have what I need. When Rob’s cousin graciously offered us more tomatoes, I was able to say “no,” gratefully and thankfully for the offer, of course, but still “no.” Truthfully, many of my jars are filled now. The shelves have only a few small spaces left. I have plans for those spots and will fill them, but there comes a time where I need to move on to other things that need to be done and not can just to can, not fill jars just because I have a few empty ones left…. Other than things that are ready yet, like cauliflower, I’ve preserved what I need and a little more for a carry-over.

One of those things that desperately needs done is cleaning. My house is a disaster. It makes sense. I’ve spent up to 14 hours some days growing or picking produce and dealing with it. So I started with the garage, which became a handy place to drop boxes, buckets, food items, toys, crafts and garage sale items over the past few months. I’ve put in about 2-1/2 hours so far, over 2 days, and you can hardly tell at all. I plan to clean a little, in short increments, several times a week until it is done. Once things are sorted through and organized, I will be able to tell if I have enough for a garage sale, or just want to donate the excess. I go through my food storage pantry shelves a couple of times a year out there, so I should make faster progress when I get to that section as it shouldn’t be too messy.

I cleaned out the freezer over the fridge in the kitchen. I found lots of food I had frozen for future meals so we are eating a lot of that this week. I put empty ice cream buckets I’d saved in there, one for baggies of frozen fruits and one for frozen vegetables. I’m hoping I have stopped the avalanche each time the freezer is opened. So far, so good!

I made vegetable soup, clam chowder, enchiladas, zucchini noodle lasagna, and thawed several pre-cooked items I’d cooked in the past.

We were able to get 24 cans of Progresso clam chowder on the 99c/can sale this week. All of my regularly budgeted grocery money this week has gone on stocking the pantry–things like this soup, 25 pounds of 1 to 1 flour, etc. and a little dairy and produce. Since we ate the camper freezer food, and now the house freezer food, I really don’t need much so this is a perfect time to load up on pantry items.

Birthdays, Holidays, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty 2 Weeks, and Why Rob’s Been Running Red Lights–July 5, 2021

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We have had a crazy 2 weeks since I last posted. I know we seem very busy most of the time, but these 2 weeks were amazingly full of activity.

We planned and carried out a 4th of July party, combined with 3 birthdays. Rob’s mom and my mom both share the same birthday. One grandma is 89 and the other 80. Our grandson has his birthday the very next day and he is 1. These birthdays are all close enough to each other and the 4th to celebrate them all on the same day. So we had the “2 Grandmas and a Baby, 4th of July Birthday Bash.” We set up the back yard for lots of people. There were lawn chairs under the awning, along with a table full of desserts, drink coolers full of lemonade and water along the bench, along with sodas. All of the food was inside of the house and there were several places to sit for those who didn’t want to be outside in the near-90-degree heat.

We were delighted that some of Rob’s relatives were able to come from a great distance to help celebrate, along with all the people who live nearer. It was a huge success. People were ready to see one another after being apart for so long.

The baby scarfed his cupcake in a most satisfying manner. The grandmas ate their dessert more politely, although we all decided that they could eat it any way they wanted, due to their advanced age:). I made them each a cheesecake in my Instant Pot to put their candle on and we decorated them with berries from my garden. There were also some great brownies that showed up, along with some cinnamon rolls and the tasty cupcakes, so there was plenty for all.

I made 4th of July Krispie treats, but all my houseguests, niece and nephew and Rob, Patsy and I ate them all up before the party even started. Oops.

Rob BBQ’d teriyaki chicken breast, a huge trout he caught recently, shrimp skewers, hamburgers and hot dogs. Many, many pot luck side dishes, drinks and desserts were brought. I made coleslaw from a huge cabbage I grew, lettuce salad, mixed veggies with rosemary, olive oil and other spices cooked on the grill by Rob. I had a huge tub of ice cream as well to fill in the cracks.

Although it wasn’t my most inexpensive grocery shopping week, by far, I was able to use a $10 off $50 coupon as well as many good digitally downloaded coupons at Safeway. I was also able to use things like ice cream previously purchased for only $3 for a huge tub, my garden produce, meat purchased on sale, shrimp bought for only $3/lb a couple of months ago, and the trout Rob caught to keep the cost down.

Rob’s been wanting to sand and paint the deck for several years, but he wasn’t up to it until this summer. It was peeling badly and got very slick when wet. We rented a sander ahead of time for last Monday. Then it got hot. We broke the all-time record for heat in our city and reached 117 degrees here in Salem, Oregon. One day was 114. Several other days it “only” reached 104 or so. At this point it was too late to cancel without losing our money, so…..we carried on.

Rob worked early and late, trying to prep the deck before sanding. Then we all helped as he sanded on that blistering Monday morning. We were pretty quick with Rob running the sander and Patsy and I sweeping and holding the cord out of the way. He then painted it with 2 coats of textured deck paint over the next couple of days. There’s a little bit of hand painting to do still, and the bench needs painting, but what he did looks great!

In the meanwhile, the girls and baby moved in with us for the duration of the heat wave, since they don’t have air conditioning. Rob and I cooked like maniacs the day before they came, to have food that could be eaten cold or warmed in the microwave. The plan worked great until we lost power one evening. That night, we ate ice cream for dinner. It worked for me:).

After the heat wave broke, they went home. We spent one morning at their house chopping, trimming, clipping, weeding and so forth in their front yard. It was extremely overgrown and they asked for help trimming it up. I was sore after that! You’d think I do enough yard work that I wouldn’t have been, but I guess all that chopping used different muscles than hoeing.

I weeded and hoed for a bit each evening in my garden and yard, except a couple times that were just too hot. Today, my sister came and helped me weed for a couple of hours. Little by little, the job is getting done. The “problem” is that the warm nights and watering I’m doing are causing the weeds to grow super fast. I can hardly keep up. The good news is that the vegetables are, too. The heat ruined my peas, some lettuce, some spinach, and some snow peas. It annihilated most of my blackberries and burned many raspberries and blueberries. It encouraged some other veggies, though, and I have a few ripe tomatoes, zucchini and other things coming right along.

And, about those red lights…..

The 4th of July, the day of the party, we felt confident that we would be able to go to church, come home in plenty of time to do the last minute things for the party, and have a pretty relaxing day with all the relatives who were coming. About 6 am, we received a frantic call that our daughter was in labor. Rob rushed over there, collected our grandson, and took our 2 daughters to the hospital, one to deliver a baby and one to support her sister. She felt she needed to get there fast, and she kept saying, “Dad, just run that red light. Hurry. Just run that red light!” Thankfully, there wasn’t much traffic at that time on a Sunday/holiday, so he did. He dropped the girls off at the birthing center and brought Malcolm home to me and we figured we had a little time to calm ourselves down. Nope.

By 8:05 we had a new, precious grandson, delivered by emergency c-section. I rushed over to the hospital, my sister rushed to our house to help Rob with both the party and our grandson, and the day became a little more exciting by the minute. His name is Zaire. He was 7 lbs., 4 ounces and 21-1/2 inches long.

We’ve been enjoying having a little one around the house the past couple of days. He’s keeps us hopping. I am happy to help in that way.. Only one person is allowed at the hospital once they move the new mom to a room, and her sister is that person, so I’m just thankful I got there before they moved her out of the labor and delivery area. They will likely discharge her tomorrow, and I plan to hold new baby again then. I need to be here with big brother right now anyway.

I doubt our lives will become boring any time soon. With 2 babies exactly 1 year apart, I have a feeling I will be able to spend time with kids any time I feel lonely in the least, and likely some times when I’m not lonely at all:). I feel very blessed to be surrounded by all of these healthy, happy kids. They say it keeps you young to spend lots of time with young people. Maybe someone should start sewing me a baby blanket……