This is a test to see if the problem is fixed. Here’s hoping!
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Some Trouble with the Blog
I’m having some trouble getting my blog to update properly. I’ve tried everything I’ve seen on the internet, and don’t have it figured out. It continues to load the March 26 post first, all the time, with new ones after it. Rest assured, the posts are there, they are just listed on the right hand side and I’ll keep working on it.
Thanks!
March 2017 Low Budget Grocery Challenge–End of Week 4
I made the last week of the grocery challenge into a school assignment. I gave the girls a list of what I needed, and told them they could spend $38 dollars, not including the soap. I would pay for that since it wasn’t food. I loaded coupons onto my Safeway card, and looked up the Fred Meyer ad on-line. I gave them a list that included soda pop and goldfish crackers, as well as the needed items, and told them to get the most important things first. Do you see that loaded cart? I was amazed–they did so well. They only spent $39 and a little change. They bought milk, eggs, salad stuff, 2 cases water, 1/2 and 1/2, sour cream, 2 lbs cheese, and more. I got dish soap and laundry soap. They did not buy goldfish crackers or soda. They had me drive over to Fred Meyers for the 99c eggs and got 2 cartons and one other thing I forgot. I forget what that was now. Hmmm….. At home, I had them write up what they had learned, and what they would have done differently if it was their shopping trip. One would have bought chicken instead of 1/2 and 1/2. They both thought coupons were a great idea. I plan to repeat this assignment later on and have them do more of the planning.
So, we ended the 4 week period of the challenge at $101. We did not suffer at all. I have almost $100 left over to do what I want to with.
I can really see some spaces in the freezers and on the shelves in the garage. I’m excited about that. I’ve also been going through the camper and pulling items that were opened last summer and forgotten in the cupboards in the move.
I used:
Home-canned and frozen items: Green beans, canned peaches, home-canned grape juice, jam, berry syrup, tomato products, salsa, frozen broth, hamburger, turkey burger, steak, ham bits I froze earlier, hazelnuts, lemon poppyseed muffins I made a while back (all gone now)
Pantry: Gluten-free pancake mix (1 bag emptied), syrup (gone), navy beans, Hershey Kisses from Valentine’s Day, chocolate chips and all odds and ends of M and M’s and other white chocolate chips from camper, Rice Krispies (huge bag and box gone), marshmallows (used all I had in garage and camper–some pretty old), a box of gluten-free bread mix, random cookies and crackers and chips, gluten-free pasta, mushrooms, cream of rice cereal (all gone), cocoa powder, some peanut butter from the camper, baking supplies (all gluten-free), ho chocolate mix and tea, potatoes, onions,
Fridge: carrots, celery, milk, eggs, 1/2 and 1/2, butter, sour cream,
Garden: Swiss Chard. I picked a large handful of leaves 2 times this week from what I planted last fall and stirred it into spaghetti sauce. No one, even the pickiest eater around here, seems to care if there is some chard or spinach in the sauce. I’ve been doing it for years, to add vitamins. The plants are not very tall, so I’m very careful to take only from the outside of the plant and I take sparingly. The leaves are young and tender, and wilt down nicely into the sauce.
I served spaghetti, ham and bean soup, steak with baked potatoes, hamburgers, waffles, eggs, leftovers, chocolate cookies with assorted goodies in them, Rice Krispie treats (3x), chocolate chip cookies,
I wanted to make a few freezer meals. When I made the spaghetti, there wasn’t enough left to freeze, so I made it again Saturday morning and froze that batch. One time it was turkey and one time, beef. Rob made a huge batch of waffles and we froze a bunch of those. I cooked a soup bone in my Instant Pot and froze the broth and bits for a stew later on. I also cooked taco meat and froze it, ready to go.
I will say that the natives got restless on Saturday. I ended up getting completely spoiled when Lovana decided to take us out for lunch. She’s been planning on it for a while now, and Saturday turned out to be a good day. We went to a Chinese buffet where they focus on vegetables and seafood. I was delighted to not get sick. I chose carefully, but buffets are always a gamble for me. I ate a lot of plain-looking sauted shrimp, sauted mushrooms, and stir-fried vegetables. THEN, Ja’Ana talked her into ordering pizza for dinner. So, with the large breakfast Rob cooked, the only food I cooked that day were the freezer meals. We could have eaten at home, but that is what she wanted to do and we gratefully accepted. We thought it was very sweet of her. So, technically, this was 1 day short of a full week, but since I made freezer meals, it evened out in the end.
I learned: We have a very well stocked food supply. We can make good meals out of the things we have. My garden (frozen and canned things at this time of year) saves me a lot of money. It’s worth it to invest in large quantities of things like meat and pasta, as long as we have times like these where we use them up so they don’t go to waste. My family will fork out their own money if they don’t like the offerings I serve, or just want a change. That being said, they will eat Mexican food 5 times in one week without a single complaint, and also eat Swiss Chard in their spaghetti, happily. There was a little bellyaching, but not much more than usual. There’s always a little! In the end, I was very proud of them. We were 1/2 way done before the kids even figured out what we were doing. Trust me, when I do spend the extra $100, they will all know what we buy, and I will make sure they like what we get, to encourage them to see a tangible benefit of saving. In reality, it saved me more than $100, because I can easily spend over $200 in a month for the 5 of us.
Having a list of rules for my challenge that fits my family and situation keeps me less stressed. If I had to only use $100 per month without any little trips for fries or ice cream with the kids or my hubby, it would be very, very hard. But, I could do it, because I did for years in the past. I’ve just gotten softer in my middle age. Also, having that extra $100 set aside that I could use if I needed to, worked well for me. My life is really busy, and can be quite stressful, so it’s very important to me to keep things balanced.
I made more casseroles and desserts than normal and we also ate more carbs (i.e. potatoes, bread, cereal) and I’m afraid I gained a couple of pounds. Yes, really. Yikes! It would be much easier in the summer when we had a producing garden to stay on the challenge and to eat more fresh veggies.
What’s next? Rob and I agreed that we don’t want to think very hard during spring break, which is next week. We both have the week off from work. We have some fun things planned with the kids, and I envision home-cooked meals, some freezer meals I made this week, a picnic if it stops raining for 5 minutes, and probably eating out at least once. I plan to go grocery shopping within the next couple of days and get a few things replaced, like pancake syrup. I may even spring for soda and goldfish crackers for spring break treats.
Where Do I Purchase My Seeds?
I ordered my seeds yesterday, using a gift certificate I received for Christmas from Territorial. It is my favorite place to buy seeds, and I have been happy with their products for many, many years. I have some other seed companies I like very well, and have successfully ordered from in the past, but decided to keep it simple this year, and also save postage by purchasing it all from Territorial, along with the Dollar Store. I also may pick up a few packets from local stores if I find I’ve forgotten something or have a hard time with germination or slugs eat my seedlings.
I was asked by a reader how I decided which place to buy each kind of seeds from–what made a “good” seed? What I am looking for in a seed is one that will grow vigorously in my climate, produce well, and have the qualities I am looking for. Some of those qualities include: The ability to fruit in a short season here in the Pacific Northwest, the ability to give me a lot of high quality produce in a short amount of time to can or freeze on vegetables such as beans and/or the ability to stretch the season out without bolting quickly in something like spinich or boc choi, and a variety that will grow in the space I have. Also, the vegetable needs to taste good.
I grow many open-pollinated varieties. I also grow hybrid seeds if they have a quality I especially want. Some of those include: Shorter time until harvest, larger plant with more vigor and disease resistance, and a large crop. One year I lost my entire crop of tomatoes to a blight. After that, I searched for blight-resistant varieties. I do understand that if I tried to save seeds from those hybrids, they would not come out the same as the parent plant I saved the seeds from, as a hybrid is a cross of 2 plants. I do not save many seeds, so that is not an issue for me. If I do save seeds, it’s often marigolds, squash, dill and a few other things, and I only save the ones that have not crossed with any other plant. I do not choose to grow GMO’s. I grow my garden organically, so I don’t worry about whether or not the seeds are organic. I know that what I serve on my table is not covered in sprays, in fact, sometimes it has a few more critters on it than I like, so I am careful when I wash my lettuce, especially.
Seeds from seed companies are expensive. Seeds from the Dollar Store are cheap. Seeds purchased from the garden store, Bi-Mart, Fred Meyers, etc. are often somewhere in the middle, especially when you get a sale. So, how do I decide where to buy mine? I’ve done some experiments in the past and will continue exploring that question.
I have had great success with Dollar Store cucumbers. I have made jars and jars of pickles from Straight 8 and Homemade Pickles varieties. Because they are old, open-pollinated varieties, and are 4 packs for $1, I make a big hill and plant tons of seeds all over it. They may not have hybrid vigor, or the highest production per bush. Since I plant several packages in one huge hill (around 4-5 feet long), I’m planting enough bushes to get lots of cukes. We will see if I want to continue that practice in my much-smaller garden after this summer, or if I want to switch over to a more compact variety.
I also get great results from their zinnias. Again, I just plant tons and tons, and enjoy.
These are from my old house, and are all from Dollar Store seeds. At most, I used $2 worth of seeds for a huge flowerbed full. It’s a lot of bang for my buck.
This year, I am growing Raven zucchini, and Easypick yellow zucchini from Territorial. When I did side-by-side zucchini trials (Territorial vs. Dollar Store), 2 years ago, I found the more compact bushes from Territorial yielded more and had a more open growing habit, enabling easier picking. The Dollar Store ones were more gangly, yielded less, and succumbed to powdery mildew sooner. Raven is a new one for me this year, and promises a more compact bush. I could not keep up with the Easypick when I grew it, but I like to share. You may be perfectly satisfied with the amount you get from the Dollar Store seeds, and in fact, may be rejoicing when they die from powdery mildew. No matter where I buy my seeds, zucchini tends to out-produce my need every year.
I also ordered Bush Delicata squash for the same reason–compact growing habit. I ordered a lettuce blend, spinach that is not supposed to bolt easily and Joi Choi boc choi that they say grows bigger, faster. I know it does because I’ve tried several kinds from different places over the years. The kind I planted last fall never grew larger than about 6 inches. Hmmm. I also have successfully grown lettuce from the Dollar Store. Last year, we ate romaine from the same kind for weeks and weeks. It’s a lot of lettuce for a quarter. Again, I just plant lots and have no trouble having more than I can eat. I happen to love Buttercrunch lettuce–it’s my favorite–and I ordered a large packet of that kind. I also ordered red-spotted butter crunch lettuce. It is a slow-bolting kind and I will grow it in the summer.
Green and yellow beans (I like to mix them when I can them), are something I don’t mess with. Because I need a large amount, I won’t gamble on seeds that may not produce as well. I’ve grown Venture beans from Territorial for years, but they don’t have them this year and recommended Speedy. I will try them. I like Carson beans for the yellow ones. We use so many beans that I want lots and lots of beans at the same time to preserve. It is not uncommon for us to use 50-75 quarts in one winter, depending on if we have them 1 or 2 times per week, and how many weeks the fresh ones held out. Carson strings the season out a little longer, but I’m hoping this new kind (Speedy) performs the same as the old ones I used to grow–oodles of beans in 8 weeks. I also grow a few pole beans for fresh eating. I got 2 packages of Blue Lake pole beans from the Dollar Store. Blue Lake is a great kind, and the pole beans will produce until frost. I also got purple pole beans, a small pack, to eat fresh as well, from Territorial. Those are the kind of things the Dollar Store doesn’t sell here–they just sell the most basic varieties.
When I start things like tomatoes and peppers, I am looking for certain varieties that mature early, have disease resistance, and produce well. I bought my starts last year, and will again this year, and could not find the varieties I wanted. So, I took what they had. Still, they grew fine, and I’m sure I’ll find varieties I can live with again this year, and every year until I get set up for seed starting again. I will also buy cabbage, onion, and broccoli plants. When I start plants from seed, I like to order the Territorial broccoli blend and it comes out as a mixture of kinds that mature over time and I freeze and eat for weeks.
To sum it up–I have tried a lot of varieties in the past, and will continue to do so. We rely on our garden for year-round eating, so I feel it is worth it to put some money into seeds to get varieties that meet my needs. Everyone’s needs are different, so different solutions will be needed. I am exploring space-saving options because the garden is much, much smaller than my old one, and also pole varieties for the same reason. This year, I will not be doing much experimenting with new or unusual vegetables. Instead, I will be getting used to the new garden space, seeing what grows here in this slightly different climate (lower elevation), and figuring out how much produce we really need with our ever-shrinking family size.
Time To Clean the Fridge and Menu Plan
I made a menu plan a couple of weeks ago. That week, I cooked a lot of food, and then cruised along on the leftovers this past week. For instance, I ate the last piece of lasagna last night for dinner along with some green beans. I did have to cook some things, but it was minimal. Today, when I went to make a menu plan, I quickly realized I could not make a grocery list because there was NO WAY to tell what I had or didn’t have in that over-stuffed, disorganized fridge.
So, I spent the morning cleaning it out. I found things to toss. I found lots of yucky stuff that had gotten tipped over, ran down the fridge, and settled into unidentifiable masses on the bottom. There were crumbs, smears, and what looked like relish all over the shelves, and plastered to the door, even. The leftovers were piled in stacks in no apparent order, random things like bowls of rice were piled onto mostly empty bowls of chili…..you get the idea! So, I sorted, discarded, put contents of bottles together when people had opened new ones even though there was still some in the old one, washed and scrubbed, and ended up with a clean fridge. Now I know exactly what I have to work with and I had a feel-good morning. There’s nothing like clearing up a big mess to make me feel virtuous. Then, I made a menu plan.
I am continuing with the theme I’ve had for the past couple of weeks–clean it out and use it up from the freezers, pantry and canning cupboard in preparation for summer, when I will grow a garden.
Breakfasts are choice of: oatmeal, muffins, eggs with ham bits, homemade granola, cereal
Lunches are: leftovers such as soup, scalloped potatoes, salad, etc.
Dinners:
Today: Rob barbecued chicken drumsticks, veggies, brown rice I cooked last week
Sunday: Not sure yet–my sister and I still have to decide, but I’ll take whatever she tells me to bring
Monday: Sausage and beans, using frozen pinto beans Rob cooked a few weeks ago, veggies
Tuesday: Enchiladas, using some meat and bean mixture that was leftover from the chili-mac I made Thursday, veggies
Wednesday: Roast beef, carrots and potatoes in crock pot
Thursday: French Dip from leftover roast beef, carrot sticks
Friday: Beef soup/stew with remaining beef–in Crock Pot
Saturday: Home-made chicken nuggets, green beans, home-made fries
Veggies consist of my home-canned and frozen veggies, plus a huge bag of carrots I have. I also have some salad greens and a cauliflower
To Make: muffins, scalloped potatoes with ham (for lunches when there are not enough leftovers), big container of cut-up carrot and celery sticks for people to munch on, apple crisp with some apples that are getting a little wilty, roasted hazelnuts (from a bag I discovered in the freezer), and Chex Mix.
I need to buy: 1/2 and 1/2, milk, French dip buns, celery, look for potatoes on sale, and a few non-grocery items. If I see something I regularly use on a super good sale, I may get a few more things, but I’m very pleased with the shortness of this list. Any extra grocery money I may save will be put towards a Costco trip in a week or so. It’s not hard to use up excess money.
So, here’s your challenge! Does your fridge need cleaning? Why don’t you go see what treasures you discover when you do? It’s a feel-good job that you can accomplish in a couple of hours and you will feel “oh-so-successful” and thrifty when you do.
Gluten-Free Individual Raspberry Cheesecakes
I changed a recipe from p. 148 of the December “Cooking Light” magazine to make it gluten-free and more economical. It came out great! We enjoyed these cheesecakes on Christmas Eve and also at a family birthday party on New Year’s Day. Because I bought a tiny little carton of raspberries in the winter, the cost was much higher than it would be in the summer when I have berries growing. That being said, I did cut the cost by making the sauce from frozen berries instead of buying 5 cups of berries as suggested. They were from my garden at the old house. I’m not even sure how many of those $3 cartons I would have had to buy to get 5 cups!! I plan to grow a mint bush, as I did at my old house, to garnish these in the future.
I bought 1 package of foil cupcake liners from JoAnn’s. There were 24 in the package and I used 1/2 each time. Apparently there is a special pan with removable bottoms, but I don’t have one, so I took the 2nd option and used a muffin tin with those liners. I removed the liners when I served the cheesecakes.
This recipe was more time-consuming than I normally make, and had a very festive feeling for the holidays. I think I will make it many more times, especially during the summer when I can grow my own berries. I also plan to try it with other toppings.
Crust:
3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill One-To-One flour
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter, canola oil and vanilla and mix. I stirred it with a wooden spoon, smashing the butter against the sides of the bowl until it was mixed into the flour mixture and looked like course sand. I did have a few lumps of butter that were a little larger than grains of sand, but it still worked. Then, I took my tablespoon measuring spoon and divided the mixture between the 12 muffin tins lined with the foil liners. I then pressed the mixture down into the bottom of the liners with the back of the spoon. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly brown. Cool 10-20 minutes.
Filling:
12 ounces Neufatchel cheese (less fat cream cheese—1-1/2 package), softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons Bob’s Red Mill One-To-One flour
Mix up all the ingredients, until smooth. They recommend a mixer, which would work very well, but I used a wire whisk and a spoon. The cream cheese needs to be extremely soft for that to work, though. Spoon into the liners on top of the crusts. I used my gravy ladle and it worked great. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until just set an slightly puffed. Cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Topping:
1 quart-sized ziplock bag of frozen raspberries, thawed in a strainer so the juice drains out, or equivalent fresh or purchased berries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
36 fresh raspberries (1 small carton had plenty)
Mix the juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Keep at a low boil for 2-3 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon water and stir into the hot mixture. Cook about 1 more minute until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Cool completely. When ready to serve, spoon sauce over the cheesecakes and decorate each mini-cheesecake with 3 raspberries and a sprig of mint. I stored the cheesecakes and topping separately in the fridge and put them together right before serving. When our family could not eat 12 in one night, I only assembled the ones we needed and made up the others as wanted over the next few days.
I think they would be good with blueberry compote over the top, and can think of several other good combinations I want to try. Thankfully, we have lots of family parties, so I know I will have many opportunities to experiment!
Saving Money–December 18, 2016
I enjoyed the sunset over the Willamette River while I was with the kids at my sister’s house.
The girls and I were treated to lunch with my sister, Rosalie, her friend, Harnet and little Dinuite. We went to Bob’s Red Mill and little Dinuite loved climbing up and down the stairs. The big girls took turns reading to her, helping her up and down safely, and we all loved lunch. Then, I did a little shopping since I love their products and I was there. I especially love using the gluten-free one-to-one flour so got some more of that. I was able to finish using up a gift card I’ve had for some time, so that was a nice bonus. Then, we took the little cutie to McDonald’s to play on the toys.
We got a drink and one package of french fries because we think it’s only fair that if we are going to use the toys, we buy something, but since we were full from lunch, we didn’t need much. (Didn’t need food at all, really, but we were there to spend time together and for the toys!) It was so great to visit and that we could let the little girl loose to run and play, with the big girls climbing up and down the play structure when needed.
We stayed home for several days during the snow storm. I took one big walk with Patsy, and she played in it for a while the first day. Rob doesn’t mind driving in it, so he went and got Jake for 1 night, so we were not lonely. We ran off coloring pages from the internet for him to color. He also enjoyed working on a Perler bead snowman, but Patsy needed to finish it for him. He also played with our train set, Legos, Transformers, stories and the Wii. I was pleased with the fact that he found so many other things to do, since the Wii is so attractive to him. I actually severely limit his time on it, but I love having it for him to enjoy for short periods of time.
I had a ball and cooked lots of meals, including 2 kinds of soup, spaghetti, chicken, pizza, and more. I also spent time sewing on Michaela’s Christmas p.j.’s. and took a big nap and went to bed early. Absolutely free and amazing to get a nap! I also cleaned the house a bunch and Lovana spent several hours organizing the food storage in the garage/family room. We saved money by not shopping after the first day when I stopped for milk, bread, etc. It’s so important that I use up leftovers and make sure food items are not getting overlooked in the storage area. Both are important kitchen management skills that I try to implement.
We went swimming at the YMCA using our membership. I hope to use that several times this week.
We are entering a week where we are going to spend quite a bit of time watching the cousins. We are going to do several kid-friendly activities throughout the week to keep all of the kids busy. We will see what gets done, but so far I have sugar cookie dough chilling in the fridge to bake cookies tomorrow. Rob is off for 2 weeks because he works for the school system, so he is taking one of our kids to an appointment in the morning, plus doing some errands. Then, we will spend time with the kids together. It will be more fun that way for everyone.
We made some more caramel corn for gifts, and included some in the gifts Rob took to his co-workers. They loved the gifts and said the caramel corn smelled just like the beach (candy shop) and ate it up before they left for the day, for the most part. We also made another big batch we will give away soon. We are mostly finished with our Christmas shopping. We kept it simple.
Black Friday, 2016
This year we did not go shopping on Black Friday. Not even to buy a single pair of socks at the annual Fred Meyer 1/2 price sock sale. Not even for flannel at JoAnn’s. Nothing was shopped for. Instead, we went with family members to a very special outing.
We went to ride a historic holiday train. My niece, Michaela, adores trains. Her mother, my sister, decided to treat us all to a train ride. So, today, we went.
My niece, Rachel, and Lovana took they selfie. I thought it turned out super good. I love it!
Everyone enjoyed the fun experience, but Michaela was in train heaven! She LOVED the train ride.
The train departed from Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Oregon, and traveled along the Willamette River almost to the Ross Island bridge, and then returned. During the ride, we could see the river and some wetlands containing birds. We also saw great views of Portland itself.
After riding the train, we ate lunches out of our car trunks, and then headed for the roller skating rink at Oaks Park. The rides are closed for the season, but the rink remains open year-round. Bless Auntie Gail’s heart! She helped Patsy skate. I watched. Although I admire her gumption, I wouldn’t want to be her tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll be sore!!
Alissa enjoyed her first time roller skating!
Ja’Ana loved whizzing around with Kim, one of Alissa’s good friends.
Even Michaela tried it out with help from her Mama. It was a LONG trip around the rink, but she was proud and happy that she did it! The non-skaters had a great time encouraging the skaters, sipping soda, and visiting.
Afterwards, we ended the day with dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. The kids enjoyed the balloon toys a roving balloon-toymaker crafted for them. It was a great follow-up to Thanksgiving Day, and gave many of us the chance to keep visiting. On the way home, we enjoyed seeing many Christmas lights that busy people had hung up while we enjoyed our day. It was a great start to our Christmas season!
Saving Money–October 23, 2016
Eggs were on sale for 99c/dozen at the store 2 blocks from our house. So, tonight, when we had company, I served up deviled eggs, soup, veggies, rolls they brought, and ice cream. I was so happy to easily serve 14, a nice practice run for Thanksgiving, where there will be only a few more than that. It was great to see our friends. Different sets of friends are slowly making it down to visit us in our new home, and we are super excited to see them when they come.
I got milk for 99c for 1/2 gallon, corn chips for 88c per bag and a few other items at Fred Meyers.
During the summer, my sister had Ja’Ana and Alissa dig up a flower bed for her, removing many bulbs. She shared a bucket full with us. On Saturday, Patsy planted a bunch of them near the sidewalk. There is nothing but a big blank area that gets really dry in the summer, so it will be perfect for bulbs. There are still some left, but a lot got planted. It should be a lovely splash of color for absolutely free. Rob got a lawnmower and mowed the lawn for the first time since we moved here, so things are looking good. We’ve had such a lot of stormy weather and were glad to get a nice day.
J had a chance to go with the youth group to remove a tree that had fallen in the recent storm. The kids were paid into a fund that will be applied towards the next youth group outing they want to attend. Win-win!
I worked a lot last week, which will translate into a bit more $. This week will be easier on me, and I have a lot to do around here, so that’s ok.
My sister was able to come do school with the girls one whole day. Of course she wants to be as involved as she can with her daughter’s education. Get a load of those expressions! The girls clearly didn’t know what to do with both of us teaching them at the same time:) Truly, it was awesome. I was able to show her what they were doing, and how to do it, and she did some of the reading while I did laundry. We are settling into routines now. My brother-in-law started geometry and conversational Spanish with the girls last week and they are off to a great start. I have assignments to help them do Monday, and he will work with them after work on Tuesday and give us some more to have done by Friday. They have both done Spanish before, so he is talking to them at length (like an hour at a time) and giving them little assignments to do in-between when he works with them. I’m keeping Language Arts, History, Vocabulary, and Biology going. Also, I’m handling the Home Economics. We are all working on field trips, Rob included. Between us all, these girls are going to get educated! Even if it kills them:)
Rob’s job keeps changing a little each week. The first child he was originally hired for has moved on to another school. We are happy that they kept Rob on at the same school. For a while there, we were not sure if they could. So, they changed him to another child, and then another. He also rides the bus with yet another child, and this one gets on near our house, which saves him gas money. He is still getting used to what he is supposed to be doing, but is getting the hang of it more and more each day. He still has a job, and we can’t wait to get paid for the first time in a long time. So, that’s going well.
Saving Money and House Update–September 12, 2016
So much left to do!!
Rob built a wall in the shop to divide it. There was a tarp there when we moved in, but he wanted a wall so our freezers and canning could be placed along it. He had our electrician friend wire it so it could handle all of the freezers and our extra fridge. It passed inspection on the first try! Although we have spent plenty getting this house in order, everything he can do himself saves us a lot. He bought some of the wood, but was able to get some for free from a scrap pile a company was discarding for some of his projects.
We were given a few groceries. There was some tuna in the bag. I made tuna noodle casserole. I used gluten-free penne pasta I had on hand, some frozen mixed veggies, gluten-free cream of chicken soup, cheese, tuna, and dried onion. Very basic, but it was yummy! There were a few potato chips in a bag and I crushed them for the top. I was also able to purchase a 5-lb bag of white cheddar cheese for less than $7 at Cash and Carry one day. I put it in the casserole, froze some, and have been using it right and left. Also, Fred Meyers has Tillamook cheese for $5 for a 2 lb loaf, an incredible price, so we got some of those.
Patsy and cousin Jake enjoyed a game of croquet in the backyard on Sunday. It was great that we found the set and they could play it!
The fall garden is growing. I love the leaf in the picture, it reminds me that even though it is very warm right now, fall is on the way! I have high hopes that this lettuce will give me salad before frost comes, though.