Work on the greenhouse continues!  Rob and Patsy worked for several hours yesterday, and whenever they needed an extra hand, Ja’Ana or I ran out and helped.  He is still not done.  This has turned out to be quite a project!  I’m SO excited to see it coming along so well.

Late in the day yesterday, Rob got it to the point where he wanted to put a plastic roof on.  He was not satisfied with the plastic he had because he felt it was too thin.  Also, the wind really kicked up and a rainstorm was coming in, so he cleaned up and stopped for the day.  Today, he is getting thicker plastic and will tackle that roof again this evening.

He is taking this opportunity to show Patsy how to build with tools.  She has been really enjoying her woodworking class at school this term, and is sorry it’s almost over.  So, he hopes to continue teaching her more skills in that area, since she is showing an interest.  He was talking about maybe moving on to some planter boxes or flower pots next with her.  Building things is a very rewarding hobby for him, and has saved us many, many dollars over the years.

In the meanwhile, the seeds have started to arrive.  2 out of the 3 orders I placed have arrived!  You may notice the “Mater Magic” fertilizer in the middle.  Who could resist something that promised that it would grow great tomatoes, take care of blossom end rot, and was organic to boot, all in a tomato-shaped container? Certainly not me:). So, I will try it this year and see how it does.  I’m also trying those biodegradable, stretchable twist ties for the first time.  I’m going to see how they do.

Rob and I both went scrap wood gathering this week.  There are a few places in town that put out tote bins full of scraps.  They are free, but it’s very rare to find them full of good-sized chunks, since people usually empty them as fast as they are filled.  So, we generally just check the boxes if we are passing by anyway to see if they are full.  Earlier in the week, he hit the jackpot at one of the places and got firewood scraps, and even a bit of scrap lumber he can use to make part of the plant table inside the greenhouse.  I put a bin in the back of my car “just in case” since he had such good luck.  When I went by, taking J to her house-cleaning job, I got a few scraps from the place he had such luck at.  But, when I went over to the other place about 2 block away–WOW!  So, I filled the bin the rest of the way up, filled up a shopping bag and a basket I had in there and piled extra wood around.  I took it home, unloaded it, got Patsy since she had come home from school, and went back and we did it again!

In the tote, Patsy found a broken dowel, like you would put in a closet to hang clothes on, and grabbed it for plant stakes.  It was split down the middle, so it will hold up 2 plants.  I found some pieces that will be perfect for garden row-marker stakes.  I don’t care if they are different lengths. Neither will the green beans:)

And, in the end, I got over 6 boxes of wood chunks.  Rob got an old garbage can full, several buckets full, and I think a couple of boxes besides.  He also got some larger pieces he will cut up a little more and then we can burn it.  These are great to use when starting fires and we’ve been burning through what we got before:), so it was nice to find some more.

I decided to get out my yogurt cooker, some starter that had been in the fridge for a long time, and some powdered milk and try yogurt-making.   No one wants plain yogurt to just eat, but Patsy is loving smoothies right now, so that’s what I’ll do with it when it’s finished.

Is your week going well?

I took my friend, Harnet, to visit the state capitol.  We walked around the outside, and enjoyed looking around the grounds, as it was Saturday, and was not open.  The circle of flags has one for each state and 9 for the American Indian tribes in Oregon.  They were very beautiful against the blue sky.

She has been studying government in her citizenship class and really enjoyed looking around.  One day, we hope to go when it is open so she can go inside.

Who knew there were toys for kids to play on?  I didn’t until Saturday.  We could tell they were meant for children because of the soft, cushy pad around them.  Danait loved climbing on them.

We also took Patsy and Danait swimming at the YMCA and they had a ball.

Last week, Harnet cooked a ton of food for Eritrean Christmas (celebrated later than we do), and froze it.  Then, she packed it all up and brought it down for us to enjoy at family Sunday dinner after church.  After we had all enjoyed our meal, some friends of my sister dropped in.  The young man had seen Ethiopian food cooked on t.v. and had been dying to try it. (Eritrean food is basically the same, as the countries are very close together). So, he happily dug into the remaining food and loved it so much, he ate most of the rest of it!  I’m not sure who was happier, him or Harnet.  It’s is so fun to cook for someone who appreciates it, and he appreciated it!  She made us coffee, and he loved that, too! What remained of the food, went home with him:)

Rob’s working on a small greenhouse for me to start seedlings in.  I will order some seeds this week so they can begin growing.  Peppers and onions take a long time to grow from seed, so I hope to get them started in the next couple of weeks.  However, this is a big project, so I’m not sure it will be done this week.  He has made great use of the long weekend and thankfully, we had good weather for him to work outside in!  I’m super excited.  I used to grow all my own starts for the garden at our old house and love being able to choose the varieties I want.

I cooked a lot.  We have weeks where no one seems hungry.  This was not one of them:)

I still have plenty of most foods on hand.  I did pick up a bit of produce, and Rob was able to grab a few items that were a great price at Grocery Outlet.  I also got my Friday freebies from Fred Meyers–2 weeks worth–a Lara bar and a bag of popcorn (popped).  I don’t anticipate needing a whole lot more for a few days, but will be going out to get ice cream for poor Lovana.  She had 2 wisdom teeth pulled today, and they had a hard time with one of them.   So, I will be getting whatever flavor(s) she wants.

We were able to use insurance for the dental work.  After not having any for most of our marriage, I’m still very grateful that we have it now.

Did your week go well?

 

 

 

Keeping my pantry well-stocked is important to me, even on a month where I’m not planning to spend a great deal of money.  So, believe it or not, I was almost out of olives!  Now, to some, like my mom and aunt, that would be good news!  To me and my sisters, a tragedy:). Rob spotted these medium-sized olives at Grocery Outlet for 79c/can and so he snagged me a case. We’ve used 2 cans already.

I grabbed the 5 packages allowed of grated cheese from Fred Meyers on Saturday.  I got Rob a birthday present from the clearance rack while I was there.  His birthday is at the end of the month, and I struggle with what to give him every year, coming so close to Christmas.  But, this is a small thing that I know he will enjoy.  Better yet, I thought of another idea I will work on this week.  We will be watching both our niece and nephew that weekend, so any celebrations will be group efforts.  I think another chocolate cake is in order, for sure.

Our 1/4 beef arrived.  It was taken to the butcher shop in December, but Rob went and picked it up yesterday.  I had to do some major freezer arranging to fit it in, so now I’m even more committed to emptying out a few more items.  I like the freezers full, but not crammed to the point where I worry they will pop open.  I had been emptying them and they were in great condition, but now they are really full!  Buying the beef in bulk saves a lot, compared to purchasing little by little. We have done it for many years this way, but have cut our order down from 1/2 to 1/4 as our family is smaller.

One of my goals in January is to use things that have been around for too long.  This soup is some I canned in 2011.  I ate it for lunch, and it was still delicious.  I felt so virtuous when I ate it:). I also used some peppers I pickled a few years ago.  I put some in refried beans and some in chili.  They worked fine.  When a friend made them, they were crisp.  Mine turned out mushy, and so people didn’t want them that way, so they just sat there.  Now, I’m using them up in creative ways.  I’ve also used several frozen bread items.  I buy it when it is on the day-old rack at Fred Meyers and freeze it.  But, I needed space more than extra bread this week, so I targeted it.   I will try to post later in the week about the other goodies I cooked.

One day, Alissa came to my house for school, as usual.  She had her hair in curlers.  After she took them out, some hair was curled and some was not.  So, we curled the rest with a curling iron, and it turned out great!  (We also did school, if you were wondering). Ja’Ana had taken a job for the holidays where Lovana (older sis) works.  They just needed a dish washer for the break, and Lovana said, “My sister will do it.” And, so she did.  But, there was a mix-up, and they thought the break continued one more week than it did.  So, they scheduled J for a few days last week.  Therefore, Alissa and I had a fun week of school, and we made J a list of work she had to do in the evenings!  I tried not to make it too hard, and it worked out.  This week, we will hit it harder, as both girls will be here, as usual.  So, it was win-win for everyone, and J ended up getting a few hundred dollars out of the deal.  Alissa still has her after-school job, so she enjoyed buying Christmas gifts for everyone this year, even more than she usually does.

We got a microwave!  Rob went to a hardware store out in Mt. Angel, Oregon, where we have bought appliances for years.  It’s just a little store in a little town that has excellent customer service and good prices.  They showed him the choices. He did not pick the most expensive or the cheapest, not the simplest or the fanciest, the largest or the smallest, but one that met our needs for a good price, and within an hour, he had it home.  I’m sure glad to have one again.  I use it a lot.  With my work schedule, I cook a lot on the weekends and warm it up during the week.  We’ve managed, but…..this will be better.

We went swimming as a family at the YMCA and I took 2 exercise classes this week.  We’ve been enjoying watching Netflix, Rob’s Christmas gift from Lovana.  When we moved in here, the price of cable, plus internet, was less than our bill at our other place for phones plus internet, because we dropped our phone land line.  So, we got cable.  I’ve especially enjoyed the ice skating that was on this week, as I have not gotten to watch it for years and years.

Jake spent the weekend.  He wanted popcorn, so we enjoyed the frugal, tasty snack.  We had him help Rob run errands.  He went swimming with us, and decided to run around the track 2 times as well, while we were at the Y.  We read out loud several times.  Right now, we have moved on to “Little House on the Prairie” and he is loving it!  We just finished “Little House in the Big Woods.”  It’s been so rewarding to see him making this transition to enjoying it when I read chapter books.  This is our 4th, and I’m such a proud auntie!  It’s so fun to see how indignant he got when the Ingalls’ dog, Jack, got swept away when they were crossing the creek because they forgot to put him up in the wagon, and how happy he was when Jack showed up, all right, by the campfire that night.  (I know I have a few new readers–for you, Jake is my special-needs nephew, who is going to turn 10 this coming week, whom I work with as both an auntie, and as his personal support worker for DD services, so spending time with Jake is both rewarding for me as a person, and generates some funds for the family.  When I work with him, I try to help him go forward in his development, in some way.  You can read about some things we have done here and here.)

 

This week has been a week of blessings.

I’ve been pretty busy getting ready for Christmas, finishing up the last week of school before the holiday, and my regular chores.  To top it off, Lovana’s work asked Ja’Ana to wash dishes over the holiday break for a few hours on a few days this week and next.  So, there’s been an interview, and training so far, and she starts tomorrow at 9.  Thankfully, this place isn’t far from our home, as I am driving both of them now most of the time.  I had them walk home today, as it was mid-afternoon and not rainy or dark.  I’m happy for her–a little money will be welcome, and it won’t interfere with school.  So, that was an unexpected blessing for her.

I cooked a bunch of food during week.  I made a couple of lasagnas, and froze some pieces for later.  I cooked a roast beef with horseradish. I also did a pork roast with salsa verde. What’s left will be used for taco filling, or pulled pork sandwiches.  When we went to my oldest daughter’s house to celebrate Christmas on Saturday, she sent us home with a bunch of baked potatoes.  So, today, I made hash with roast and potatoes in a frying pan for dinner.  BECAUSE….my microwave broke!  It’s been over a week.  I keep forgetting it is gone, and turn to pop something in there, but….it’s still gone every. single. time.  I will be replacing it, but I have been too busy to shop properly and feel I will just grab the first one I see if I go to the store, so I’m waiting until I have time.

I made a couple of Christmas stockings from some fabric I had on hand.  I wrapped a lot of presents with gift bags recycled from other years and wrapping paper bought on clearance 3 years ago after Christmas.  I’ve been so happy with the poinsettia Rob bought for me, sitting on the piano with the nativity scene next to it.  My tree is giving me so much enjoyment.  It was very nice of Harnet to give it to me, and God knew it would fit in the small space I had and make things so much more cheerful then they were last year with the tree in the garage.

I was sitting with Harnet on Friday, drinking coffee, and it was such a blessing to visit with her about how God has met my needs over the past couple of years, and hear how God has been meeting hers, too.  It was good to take the time to just rest and encourage each other after the hustle and bustle of the errands we ran.  Last week, I was able to spend some time visiting with another friend I’ve not seen for a while.  I was also very uplifted and encouraged during the time I spent with her.  Sometimes, a girl just needs some visiting time, and I feel very blessed to have gotten some 2 weeks in a row.

While we were doing one errand, we dropped Ja’Ana off at the library with Danait.  They went to story time, and soon after we returned, it was craft time.  They had stories about snow, and made snowflakes.

Of course, she wanted her Mommy to see what they were doing.  It is such a nice service of the library to provide all the stories and supplies for such fun crafts.  It was SO nice to be able to know she was happy and entertained in Ja’Ana’s capable hands while we did what needed doing.

After that, we took her to McDonald’s to play on the toys.  I planned to buy her a Happy Meal.  So, I asked her what she wanted to eat…a hamburger, a hamburger with cheese, or chicken nuggets.  She replied in a sweet, cheerful voice, “I like ice cream.”  So, I tried several other ways to have her choose, and each time, she stated politely and sweetly that she wanted ice cream, she liked ice cream, she wanted me to get ice cream.  Finally we negotiated that she would have a sandwich with cheese on it (cheeseburger) and ice cream.  As she was eating the ice cream, she explained to me that she really likes ice cream in a voice that was very grown-up, and polite, but firm, like she was explaining to a toddler…wonder where she got that:)

During the course of the day,  after much discussion and looking at Amazon, we found a new injera cooker to order for Harnet.  Hers is broken and doesn’t work well at all, and discussion about this purchase has been in progress for a while now.   She eats this injera bread daily, so it’s something she needs.   She’s been saving for the purchase, and so on Friday, she made her final decision about which one she liked.  All she really cared about was that it would cook the injera properly.  All you can do is read the reviews, and hope for the best, but we found one that was the same brand and style as the one she has.   I took the info home to Rob since he orders from Amazon more than I do,  and I couldn’t remember our password at the moment.  After several phone calls, and discussion, Rob and Harnet were both delighted when he not only ordered it, he found it on sale for a significant amount off, with free shipping!  So, it turned out to be another blessing that I couldn’t remember that password at the time!  It also was terrific that we didn’t have to drive around the streets of downtown Portland, searching for the (different than last time) store that supposedly had one, for full price….IF they even did have one, which was our other option.

Today, Rob has a cold.  He has 2 weeks off of school, so the first thing he did was get sick.   I took the girls to church this morning, then came home to be with Rob.  I felt very blessed to have a few hours with just him, as my sister took Patsy with her for the afternoon, and the older girls were at work.  He’s already feeling a bit better, and we both got a lot of rest today.  It’s a good thing–my week is busy as usual.  I wouldn’t want it any other way!

This week was a whirl, filled with holiday gatherings, a play at the Children’s Theatre in Portland, and lots and lots of driving children to various appointments and events.  When I came up for air, I made a batch of butterscotch chip cookies, and used up some cornflakes I’d had for a while.  They were the natural ones, and soaked up all the liquid in the batter, so the results were less than stellar.  They were dry.  I got another bag of the butterscotch chips, as they are on sale this week, and will try again. It is difficult to find gluten-free corn flakes, but I do have some that are thinner and crispier, I hope.  I will also add more liquid and another egg.  Sometimes the gluten-free flour is a little different.

We had breakfast at Bob’s Red Mill.  We had a lot of fun visiting with our son, and one of his friends who works there.  We also took a lot of pictures with “Little Bob” and are planning to enter the contest they are having, just for fun.  We put ‘Bob” in a bottle, Bob in a tree, etc.

Bob even played Yahtzee with Michaela on Sunday, but she sure thought I was strange when I took that picture!

Anyway, they gave us a free bag of Scottish oats.  I guess we seemed like we were enjoying ourselves, or maybe it was because we were friends with Adam, but we were thankful!

The play we went to was Cinderella.  It was well done, as always, and took the twist that Cinderella only wanted to tap dance, and that’s what she and the prince did. She lost her shiny tap shoe at the ball… Very cute!  One of my friends and her children went with us, and we had a great time visiting.  We went to the school matinee performance, so it was very reasonable.

I did get some cornbread and soup made.  We also had salad and lots of potatoes.

I was able to find a lot of very inexpensive grocery items that I bought to donate to various places.  They are collecting at Rob’s work.  They need donations at church.  Patsy’s school is collecting.  I don’t feel like I single-handedly need to fill all the barrels, but love to be able to help with 50c/box macaroni, 33c/can veggies, and other items that are really on sale right now and can make the donation $ stretch so much farther.  I set aside some items for later when they ask for donations, as the prices are really low right now.  We are also giving food gifts to some people and got some of what I needed for that.  And, of course, I filled up my supply of 99c sugar, 99c for 18 eggs, and a bunch of other items.  So, I put quite a bit of energy into shopping this week.

We also got most of our Christmas shopping done.  We went pretty simple this year, and now need to wrap it and sort it into piles for the various places we are going to celebrate.  When you have many children, and some of them have children, and you have a large, extended family on both sides, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming.

This week is quieter.  It is the last week of school before the break for everyone, and so we will put our usual amount of time into that.  I hope to do some cooking and baking and cleaning, in preparation for Christmas.  We will be having guests, and I need to go out and fix the camper up in preparation–we use it for a guest house.  I’m looking forward to it very much!

 

Ja’Ana, Alissa and I went to see Danait’s school program.  After singing a few songs, including one about a tree, and one about ABC’s, she “read” a book she had colored for the girls.  This was a very quick visit, much shorter than usual, because both Alissa and I had to go to work.  We loved the program–the kids were so cute, and we had snacks the kids had worked on preparing.  When we were preparing to leave, after dropping them off at their home, our last glance at Danait showed her pouting big-time, yelling to the girls, “YOU STAY!!!  YOU STAY!!!”  How gratifying for the girls to know they are loved so much by one certain little 3-year-old girl:)

I did some grocery shopping.  When Rob and I picked up some Christmas gifts at Fred Meyers, the total came above the $50 mark, so we grabbed a 49c/lb turkey for later in the year.  Then, when I did my shopping at Safeway (including my 2-$1.99 butters), I got a 39c/lb turkey.  I chose a small one, since they are easy to handle in the summer.  I had loaded a $2/off a turkey coupon on my Safeway card, but figured they wouldn’t use it for such an inexpensive turkey, but they did, and I ended up paying under $3 for that turkey.  Good grief.  I couldn’t turn that one down.  While Rob and I were out and about the night before, I had also ran into Safeway and picked up my 2–4 lb sacks of sugar for 99c each.  Today, the deal is frozen pie, and I will skip that one, as I don’t need any of those.  I also got a free 2-litre bottle of Dr. Pepper when I bought the turkey.

Patsy made some sugar cookies with a new recipe.  They turned out very tasty, using gluten-free Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 flour.

I cleaned for several hours.  I did some organizing, and found all the tablecloths I need for Thursday.  In fact, the table in the garage is all ready for the big day, except decorations, and they are in a pile on top of it.  We will serve buffet-style, so I will set that up the night before or the morning of Thanksgiving.   I feel very prepared for Thanksgiving, and plan to do a little towards it each day, but mostly play with the kids and have a couple of conferences, etc. this coming week.

So, another week of normal has passed in my life.  Sometimes those are the best weeks to me.

There’s nothing like a good library visit!  I don’t know if your family has discovered the Elephant and Piggie books, but Jake sure loves them.  They are pretty funny, and very easy for him to read himself.

None of the kids, or Rob, had school on Friday, due to Veteran’s Day.  We did some errands, got some groceries, and stopped by to feed the nutria and ducks at a pond.  As we were picking Jake up, his mom handed us a big bag of old hot dog buns, since I had to confess I had forgotten my old bread at home.  The kids loved throwing them to the animals.  4 other kids showed up, armed with their own bags of stale bread bits and they all had a blast.  They even shared with Jake when he used ours up.  I though that was really nice of them.

We saw mallards, 2 different kinds of wood ducks, a pair of domesticated ducks and 1 lonely sea gull that travelled far from the ocean, along with the nutria.

It is time to fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  They need to be filled and back to the church by November 19.  I went out to the shop, dug around in my fabric and patterns, and made 2 little skirts, using the same piece of fabric, and the same pattern–just 2 different sizes.  I hoped to use the piece up, but there’s probably enough for 1 more skirt left….but I only need 2.  The girls have been selecting items at various stores for the boxes and we will pack them this week.  Although I certainly plan to spend money when I fill the boxes each year, I love being able to put in skirts that will be nice for the recipient that cost me nothing out of pocket.

I have a busy week ahead, full of fun things like a field trip to the state capitol building, and some other things.  I’ve been doing some extra cleaning and getting ready for Thanksgiving, as that’s suddenly right around the corner.  Rob cleaned in the shop for a few hours today, as well as grabbed some of the buy 10, get $5 off items at Fred Meyers.  I bought 10 items earlier in the week, but milk was on the deal, and it made them 99c for each 1/2 gallon, so I wanted 4 more since we used up a lot of what was purchased earlier.  Butter was $2.50 with the deal, so he got 2.  There was gluten-free clam chowder for 99c/can, and I grabbed a couple of cans of broth.  I take the little cans camping with me because it’s more convenient than large frozen cartons. I also occasionally drink a can when my tummy is upset–and I don’t want to thaw anything then.  They ended up 49c/can.

We did 2 exercise classes at the YMCA.  We’ve been in that class for over 2 months now.  We are taking Pilates twice a week for the girls’ PE.  I seriously stink at Pilates.  I have very little coordination or flexibility.    The girls are better at it.  BUT, it’s exercise, I can already tell I’m less stiff than I was, and I can do more of the things each time.  The teacher is patient and kind, and I haven’t fallen off my exercise ball lately, which is always a bonus!  Things are looking up:)  Lovana works out a few times a week there, and it’s all included on our membership.

I cooked several items today for tomorrow’s Family Sunday Dinner.  I didn’t need to cook anything for today’s meals except eggs for breakfast, there were plenty of leftovers from the week.  I continue thawing and using items from the freezer.  Our 1/4 beef is at the butcher, so that will be ready in a couple of weeks–so I need to keep emptying to make space.  So, I pulled out meatballs and sauce for tomorrow evening, meat, broth, bread, berries, etc. this week to keep using it up.  Rob dug around a bit in the chest freezer and unearthed a few things that I should make a plan for soon.  He found both the turkey and the ham that I knew were in there, so Thanksgiving is set.  I targeted some apples today, as the box we got has a few that are starting to get soft.

How about you?  Do you have any foods you need to specifically, purposefully use up before they get too old, or go bad?  Are you filling a shoebox and putting something interesting in?