Tag Archives: Frugal Accomplishments

Baby, food preservation, Oregon Fires

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–Sept. 13, 2022

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Rob and I got away to the Oregon Coast for a few days over the weekend to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We stayed in a hotel with an ocean view, and spent hours staring out our window, reading, and relaxing.

We took several short hikes. The above pictures were taken down near the town of Yachats, Oregon. There is a trail there that runs along the beach. It’s easy to hike and you get to look down at the ocean and these rocks the entire time. I’ve always wanted to hike along it, and finally got to. We also hiked a little bit at South Beach State Park in Newport, Oregon.

Although we did stop in at the Lincoln City outlet mall, we did not find a single thing we could not live without. It was fun to look around, though.

We did not go down onto the beach this trip, as Rob is still recovering from his wound on his leg. Since the wound care clinic was kind enough to give him a lighter wrap and let me change the bandages for this trip, we did not want to get sand on his leg…..and it paid off. They were very happy with how it looked Monday morning when he went in! He goes 3 times each week.

We went out for a couple of meals, and ate food I took for the rest of the time. Although it was such a momentous occasion, we could have eaten out the entire time, I feel better when I cook my own food, for the most part.

We had one short-lived scare, as a grassfire broke out just a few short miles from our home. People in our area were put on alert. After we figured out that the evacuation center was the school very near our house, we relaxed a bit, and figured that if people were told to go to our neighborhood, it was probably a safe place to be. Lovana, who was home taking care of things at the house, ran the sprinkles anyway, just to keep things damp, just in case.

On our way home, we stopped at the docks in Newport and got tuna to can. We last canned tuna 2 years ago, so it was time to do some more.

I was canning right up until I left for the trip, and started in right away when I got back. It’s that time of year. I gave away several boxes of tomatoes right before I left, as I couldn’t quite finish.

I am typing this on Tuesday. Over the past 2 days, I’ve picked 8-10 buckets full of tomatoes. It might have been more. I lost count. Yikes!!! Talk about a bumper crop. We are still laughing, as last spring, those were the worst looking tomato plants Rob has ever grown!

I canned 7 quarts of diced tomatoes from the Romas that were left home over the weekend. I knew they would keep. I did a few jars of dilly beans from the pole beans. I took the very small tomatoes I picked and made tomato juice (10 pints) and taco/enchilada sauce (12 assorted pints and 1/2 pints). I chopped and froze some peppers that ripened.

There are still quite a few boxes of tomatoes. I have several tomato products to can, but I’m gaining on the project.

I sent produce to my sister and my next-door-neighbor. I cooked with it, as well.

One day last week, we took Jake and both babies to the library. There was a baby story time, which I attended with the babies and their mom. Rob took Jake to the library to choose books. Then, Rob and I took Jake and Malcolm for a walk in the area and enjoyed ducks and a pond. It was fun to go somewhere new.

It’s becoming a tradition for whatever babies are here to pile onto the bed and look at books with Grandpa.

Of course, there’s lots of tickling involved, as well as jumping, flashlight waving, and more. But, they can call it reading if they want:)

food preservation, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Aug. 30, 2022

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I quickly mowed the lawn one day before it got too hot. It’s been a challenge getting it done on these hot days. I had a good helper. Rob was right there to make sure my helper stayed behind me and away from the mower. His little mower sends out bubbles when it’s full of soap, but he mows and mows with or without the bubbles.

It’s been hard to weed, as well, because it’s been hot, but I keep doing a bit whenever I can. On a. couple of days it was cool enough that I got quite a bit done in the garden. I weeded and planted a little more lettuce, some snow peas and spinach for fall. They have yet to come up, but we are watering frequently in hopes that they seeds will germinate.

I pulled the rest of the carrots and a lot of the beets. I canned beet pickles and carrots.

It’s a good way to put the super ugly carrots into a form where I can use them easily. In the winter, I can make soup quickly, and that’s my main purpose for them. I used some fresh and have a few more of the nice ones in the fridge for fresh eating.

I also canned a few dill pickles, dill beans, and some tomatoes. We picked and ate quite a few veggies from the garden.

On Sunday after church, we slipped away after church for a picnic at a park. This deer came up quite close to us.

Garden, Saving Money, wedding

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Aug.22, 2022

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My sister has a peach orchard. Their crop was terrible this year. They did not have enough to open the orchard for u-pick at all. Walking through the orchard, except for the one section, the other trees are completely bare. I feel so bad for them. There were enough of one kind to offer to family and friends, and we picked some on Saturday.

I froze some. I ended up with 3 trays, which is about 9-10 quart baggies full.

I dried some. I did not can any. Thankfully, there are still 50 quarts left over, since last year was such a good peach year and I did extra. That will be enough. This is one reason I always try to preserve extra of everything when I can get it.

I had a jam-making day. I did one batch of peach jam from the fresh peaches. I pulled frozen peaches and frozen raspberries and made a double batch of peach/raspberry. We did not freeze any raspberries this year, our crop was so poor we easily ate them all, and I was glad I had extra peaches and berries from last year. While I was at it, I pulled the California strawberries I had purchased one carton at a time on super, super sales and froze and made a batch and a half of strawberry jam while I was at it.

There is a fruit stand where our family buys pears and apples if we need them. Rob will call again tomorrow and see how those things are ripening up, but the owner indicated to him a few weeks ago that those things would be readily available–no shortage was expected.

50 quarts gives one jar per week, most weeks. I expect there may be some weeks where people eat more pears and applesauce then they have in the past, so I will do a little more of those 2 items, especially since there are only 13 jars of pears left on the shelf! After years of no one eating many pears, they have suddenly become the favorite. Who knew? That’s how it goes around here. It keeps me on my toes.

Although some crops aren’t doing well this year, the zucchini is taking over! This is a tromboncini zucchini. There are so, so many, along with the yellow and green traditional ones. And, oh yes, the scallopini ones. Hmmmm. What was I thinking when I planted so many?

We are really starting to work on the logistics for the reception for my niece’s wedding. My sister and I have a good plan, we have Rob building a few things, and we were able to tour the venue last Friday. The mother of the bride took us all out to lunch so we could all keep making plans, and we had a really nice time. The dahlias and white zinnias are growing nicely in the garden, and I keep dead-heading the spent blossoms. Hopefully, we can keep them blooming until the wedding, because we plan to use a lot of them at the reception.

4H, food preservation, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-Aug. 16, 2022

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The flowers are getting gorgeous around here. I love this bouquet Lovana, my daughter, made for me. She added dill and put it in the bathroom, which helped the room smell wonderful.

This week I was able to pick enough cucumbers to make a batch of sweet pickles. It takes 4 days. You need to do something morning and night each day. It was so great to get a batch out of the way.

I was invited to judge food preservation at the 4H fair and had a great time doing that on Monday. It is such a great program and we participated for so many years that it is a super fun 1-day job for me.

I picked and froze several baggies of beans. (You can see the pickles in progress in the background.)

It was a little hard to get any garden work done last week, but I managed a couple of weeding sessions and a couple of harvesting sessions. We were involved at Vacation Bible School at church, which took quite a bit of time.

Rob has been “enrolled” in wound care for his leg and ended up with antibiotics in an I-V in his arm for 5 days in a row. Today was the day they assessed him again, and thankfully decided that was not needed anymore, so he got the I-V port out this afternoon. His leg needs on-going treatment, though for at least a month. Although I hate that he has to go through this–it’s very painful–I’m glad they finally got him the treatment he needs.

As always, the babies bring lots of joy into our lives. Today, we baby sat both of them, which made a full day. We took them for a nice long walk first thing this morning, before it got too hot. They had fun looking for kitties and chickens. There are kitties in many places, and one place that we can see a chicken once in a while on one of our routes.

It’s been a busy week, and there’s lots more fun to come this week. I’m looking forward to a little more time in the garden soon, but it’s supposed to be super hot for a couple of days, so I may have to wait. I guess time will tell:)

Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-August 9, 2022

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Last week, I canned green beans several times. I also dug up the ugliest, cracked, huge carrots I’ve seen lately, and diced and canned them. Although I got cucumbers, I did not make pickles. Instead, I sliced them up and made a fresh salad for Rob to eat and served them on a veggie tray. So far, I’ve canned about 19 quarts beans, and 20 pints. Since there are quite a few jars left over from last year, I really don’t need more. I do want to freeze some. I got 11 pints carrots.

This week is VBS at the church. We are in charge of packing bags and bags of snacks and treats for the kids. Rob and Michaela went to Costco and the restaurant supply store and bought the snacks. We’ve been rounding up little prizes with the help of the childrens’ pastor and staff. Last week, we got a head start on the job and prepacked a couple hundred bags on Thursday. Malcolm helped:)(He filled a bag with candy and I poured it out when he wasn’t looking…then helped put the candy in the bags….and so forth.)

This week, we have been very busy adjusting the amount of packed bags, according to the number of kids that actually show up each day. We have packed 240 more bags, and still have some to go. Tomorrow, we will pack more. My aunt has been helping. Whew!!!

While we are not packing bags, we are the bathroom monitors. The whole theme is “Water Week” and the kids are rotating between stations with various water activities, including a huge blow-up water slide. Of course, being Vacation Bible School, they also are getting songs, object lessons and another teaching time. Our job is just to make sure kids can be safe while finding the closest restroom, and do what they need to do without running all over, slipping and falling, dripping water everywhere, or even worse, getting lost! We are having a blast.

This event is for kids that are older than Malcolm. There are 3 young kids that needed childcare because their adults are helping, one of them being him. I was so happy and excited to see that they are doing a mini VBS just for those 3. For him, a Covid baby who has spent his entire life at home for the most part, this is a BIG DEAL to get a craft and story, etc. You may notice the tail of a whale poking out of the cup. If he pulled on the string, a mini “Jonah” came out the bottom. Jonah went in and out until he finally broke……such is a craft’s life for a 2-year-old:). But boy, does he love his craft!

I was able to get out and weed in a flowerbed one evening and work in the garden a few times. When I cleaned the bathroom, Rob picked me a bouquet for me to put in there, as I often do. The dahlias continue to bloom more and more and I love having so many flowers available.

Even though we’ve been super busy running around for these snack bags, we managed to avoid fast food, except for yesterday when we didn’t finish our job until 1;30 and one little boy had had enough. He got a Happy Meal. Otherwise, I’ve cooked salmon, sandwiches, salads galore, hamburgers, mashed potatoes, potato salad, and we devoured a Costco chicken. My lettuce is holding despite the hot weather, but will bolt soon. Another batch should be getting bigger soon.

My mom, aunt and sister came and celebrated my birthday last week. We had such a fun time visiting.

I did some grocery shopping today, after a couple of weeks. I am finding prices rising rapidly, and really noticed a difference in the time I’ve skipped shopping. Even so, I was able to use coupons and get everything I needed, and stay in budget. I’m glad it’s garden time! Too bad I can’t grow diapers:). (And, yes, I could save money while Mac and Zai are over here by using cloth, and have chosen to do disposable anyway. Just sayin’. It’s the beauty of being frugal the rest of the time!)

Garden, Saving Money

Thriving in My Thrifty Week–July 31, 2022

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This has been 2 weeks of ups and downs! I guess that’s how life tends to be.

Rob went out with Malcolm to turn on the barbecue and shut the shop door. Instead of the relaxing evening we had planned, or the meat and grill basket of veggies we were going to eat, he accidentally tripped and got jabbed badly on his leg in 2 places by a stick of wood, and we ended up at the urgent care. The huge blessing, especially since we were towing both Jake and Malcolm at the time, is that the second place we drove to was willing and able to see him right away. Within an hour, we were picking up his antibiotics. Amazing! He is healing now, thank goodness, but has a ways to go. Poor Rob!

A real highlight of the week was an event at the church called Family Fun Night. We took Malcolm and there were all kinds of water activities set up. It was blazing hot and all the kids enjoyed themselves so much.

This past week, we have had to contend with temperatures near or above 100 degrees F. every day. It has been a challenge to keep the garden from dying. I’ve been watering almost every day and running an extra setting on the garden during the hottest part of the day, most days. The beans are blooming and will drop their blossoms and not set fruit if they get too hot, so I try to cool them down a bit. I was able to can 7 quarts and 10 pints on the hottest day of all. I have a knack for growing things that ripen during the hottest days of the year, I’ve been told:).

Despite the heat, my latest crop of lettuce is not bitter yet, so I have been picking lots of it early in the mornings. I’ve been sharing it with anyone who wants any because it will bolt and become bitter quickly in this weather. I was able to weed a few times early in the morning and my newly planted lettuce, snow peas, cucumbers, cilantro, spinach, summer squash and cabbage and broccoli transplants are growing well. Zucchini is ripening daily and I’ve grated some for winter, stir-fried it, and given it away. The current batch of snow peas was finished up and there will be a gap until the next planting gets ready. I pulled some exceedingly large and ugly carrots, which I will can when the weather cools a bit. I’m getting just a very few tomatoes, both cherry and large, but there are many green ones coming on. I even got a few small cucumbers.

The heat caused the blueberries to ripen quickly. I used some left over from last year to make a few pints of blueberry pie filling. I picked several times and froze fresh ones for the upcoming year. We’ve eaten a few strawberries, blueberries, a few remaining raspberries and some Marion (black) berries.

The dahlias are in full bloom now. There are so many kinds and colors. Behind the beans, where you can’t see them, are about 30-50 plants of the kind with small blooms. There are more plants with large blooms out in front of our house, including a pale yellow one with a bloom the size of a dinner plate! I have picked bouquet after bouquet already!

Yesterday, we had both babies for 10 hours.

We’ve been keeping busy around here. Through it all, we’ve been able to stay quite frugal, although the heat kills my joy for cooking and I didn’t alway feel like doing that job!

I cooked several times exceedingly early in the morning. One day, at about 4 am, I made gf bread from a mix I had been given and also some flatbread. I made 2 different noodle casseroles to microwave in the evenings. Rob picked up some lunchmeat and we’ve had sandwiches and salads several times. He asked that I NOT make soup this week:).

A very good friend’s family has contacted Covid. Rob left food for them. I sent noodle casserole, scones and cornbread from mixes, and salad. Rob stopped at Costco and got us and them each a cooked chicken. $5 can’t be beat! I made the food I cooked early in the morning. This was an excellent way to use a cornbread mix I had been given, but could not eat, as it contained wheat flour. The ones who can eat wheat around here had some and we shared the rest.

Our heat pump, which runs the air conditioner, broke yesterday (Saturday). (Did I mention we had both babies for 10 hours?). What a day for it to break! Rob called a friend who is in that business, but lives over an hour away from us, to ask if he knew of anyone reputable in our area, and he came and fixed it! He “happened” to have another call in our area. That, my friends, was God looking out for us, for sure. We had feared we would have to just live with it until Monday. We might have had to move into church all day Sunday:). But our house is cool and comfortable today. What a blessing!

I have been stacking wood. We have been given many loads of wood and it is so nice to see our woodshed and wood stack slowly grow week by week.

The schools near us are handing out free lunches for children again. We were able to find time to get them 3 times, and they contained apples. Jake has been in an apple-eating mood and has been enjoying them very much. I don’t have an apple left in the house, including the ones we bought. He has cleaned me out! I’m going to send Rob over there to get them those lunches again tomorrow if he has time. Let’s hope for more apples! I just didn’t have time or energy in the heat to shop this past Friday and we are happily making out with what we have on hand and garden produce. Except Jake, who wants more apples:). I will just make a list of what I run out of and buy extra next week, if needed.

It is supposed to cool slightly this week. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to canning more beans tomorrow and having more opportunity to get outside with the cooler temperatures.

Baby, food preservation, Garden, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–Gardening, Gardening, Gardening!–July 18, 2022

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We started last week off with 90 degree temperatures, but it quickly cooled off. I seized the opportunity to do some extra yard and garden work.

I picked all the remaining peas over a 2-day period. My mom came over and helped shell out the first batch. The second batch felt like it took all day, but it really didn’t. We ate some and froze some.

After dealing with the last of the peas, I pulled all the vines up and put them in the compost heap. Compost was spread on the area from a finished bin and tilled in. The small cabbage and broccoli plants Rob grew were planted in that spot. More lettuce (Buttercrunch, a mixture, and Drunken Frizzy-Headed Woman) was planted in several places, along with spinach and snow peas. At this point, despite the few hot days we’ve had, we have had enough lettuce to eat and give away all anyone wants.

Although good help is hard to find, I found some. He will work for berries and peas.

And rides in the wheelbarrow!

Despite all my help (of course I mean “since I had so much help”), I was able to take out all of the broccoli that was finished, leaving 2 plants that looked like they had some shoots still coming. I cut and used several cabbages or gave them away, and lots of lettuce was harvested. I cleaned out patches of lettuce, as some was starting to bolt. It was still good, though, so I gave some away and ate some.

Both the yellow and green zucchini are ready to start harvesting and we’ve had a few small ones with many more to come.

Some onions are sizing up enough to use. I just used the last one from last summer’s garden so will pick a few of the new ones, use them, then pick some more, as they will only gain in size until it’s time to harvest them for winter.

I picked and froze the Marion blackberries. I got more than I thought I would. I picked and we ate the raspberries. It is a very small crop this year, so we are just eating them fresh. I have leftover frozen ones from last year, thank goodness.

I pulled weeds in the garden and the flowerbeds. There are enough left to keep me busy another day. And another. And another.

Rob’s dahlias are starting to bloom. Whenever I get stressed, I just go take a little walk down the rows and it calms me right down. They are so lovely. They seem to be every shape and size and color you can imagine. I’ll be taking more pictures, as you can imagine.

I also have a large cleaning/rearranging project going on. My sister and aunt came and helped me one day. I’ve gone through and sorted or filled so many bins, boxes, etc. Our garbage can is stuffed for the second week in a row. I’ve carried many, many bins upstairs into the shop attic. I have a growing pile up there that will be for a yard sale in the future. I have many items packed away that I don’t use often. My house is getting less cluttered all the time.

We have a house with 1,100 square feet. 3 small bedrooms and one bathroom, a modest living area, a dining room so small the table barely fits, an adequate kitchen and tiny laundry room. We use the garage for extra living space, but mostly put junk out there, and some of my food storage. We have many, many people and babies that go through this space, and a dog.

One adult daughter will be staying here for a short time in-between rentals. It was time to clear the clutter and move some things around. Although there is always work to be done and things to sort, this one part of the project is done. She has a place to stay, I have the things I want accessible to me, and the rest is stored. I’ll bet when I put it all back before long, I’ll get rid of more. In the process, several areas got deep cleaned and one room is almost entirely empty. It is so clean right now. I love it!! (Except for all the toys spread across the living room floor……always more to be done!)

Through all these projects and gardening, we did our best to stay frugal. We took our nephew and grandson to the park and on walks.

I made several batches of popsicles and also fed them ice cream purchased on sale because the weather turned hot again.

The little pool on the deck continues to be a blessing during these hot days.

Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–July 12, 2022

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We took the babies to the beach this week. Zai went straight for a little creek that meandered across the sand. It was pretty cold. Good thing he had his coat on:). After he soaked himself and we changed him, we spent the rest of the time chasing him, and pulling him back from another plunge. It was so cute. We all had a blast.

It was one of those rare, perfect beach days. There was little wind, lots of sun, but not too much, not too many people and a little river for the kids to more safely play in and by. Malcolm was content to sit next to the creek and dig, unlike his brother.

We kept it frugal by dividing the fuel costs and packing a big picnic lunch instead of eating out. Even if the food at all the restaurants had been free that day, I think a picnic was the best idea for those sandy, sandy boys anyway. We took sand toys we’ve had for years. After letting the boys play in the sand, we drove down the coast a little bit and stopped at a small rest area. The tables in the shade were full, so we just used our own lawn chairs and had our picnic overlooking the ocean next to our van.

The week had quite a few very warm days, so the pool on our deck got a lot of action. I got some swim diapers at last. I paid full price for them. The next day, Rob found a package on clearance at another store for $3. He grabbed them.

I picked most of the broccoli. It may make more side shoots, but all the big central heads are gone now. I froze several baggies and made a batch of broccoli soup from some tougher stems and some florets that were a little more loose than I like to freeze. I also picked snow peas, lots of lettuce, cabbage, a few small tomatoes and one mis-formed zucchini that I believe did not pollinate correctly.

I weeded when I could and mowed the lawn. Although my little landscaper with his bubble-blowing lawn mower will work for food, there’s still plenty for me to do around here, so we just keep chipping away at it every day.

We used food left over from the parties and spent about $10-$15 for odds and ends we wanted/needed at the grocery store.

I used as many little bits of food that were hanging around from the parties last weekend as I could, along with garden produce, in my meals. We ate a lot of salads. Today, I used the small ends of cream cheese packages left from some frosting in macaroni and cheese, along with some cheddar and mozzarella. I used up the last little bit of heavy cream in the broccoli soup I made, along with milk. I used buns up, along with extra burger patties and hot dogs, and the pulled pork from Saturday. I made a stir-fry with snow peas, onion (including green onions I’d pulled a while back, but were still good), noodles and chicken thigh meat. I also added a little broccoli.

Rob bbq’d hamburgers again Monday with some more of the buns I had popped into the freezer for our adult son, Anthony, when he and Allison came for lunch. Their group home has moved and is now 10 minutes away from us rather than 30-35. I anticipate we will be able to have so many more of these mini visits, rather than needing to rely on long holiday visits only. They have only lived there for a little over a week, and he already called me yesterday to let me know they would love to come today. I’m glad he is excited. I’m excited, too! I had agreed to help take the babies to their well-child checks in the afternoon, so it was great to be able to visit for a while, then move on to the next thing without having to say “no, there isn’t time.” Although they have transportation sometimes, many times we drive them at least one way, and now it won’t take an hour of driving to get them or take them home anymore.

Ice cream was left here, both home-made and purchased. I’ve been bringing one partial carton after another into the house freezer, and they just disappear like clockwork.

The brakes went out on the car. Rob’s friend offered to help him fix them on the 4th, so that’s what they did early that morning. We still had plenty of time to celebrate, and I’m so excited it got done. His friend has a mechanic shop, and graciously used both it and his holiday to fix our car. I’m feeling very blessed.

I got a great deal on diapers at Safeway. They were $14.99 for 64. If you got 2 boxes, it was an additional $10 off. It ended up $20 for 128 diapers. I had tried the Safeway diapers out on Malcolm before I did this and they work just fine for him. (Zai was just gifted a huge box of diapers, so he didn’t need more this time.) It is a long time since I bought many diapers, but that just seemed like an amazing deal to me.

food preservation, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–June 28, 2022

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The garden is starting to produce. This week, I harvested peas, pea pods, green onions, lettuce and broccoli.

I froze the peas and broccoli. The rest, I’ve been eating and sharing.

I spent several hours weeding and I also stacked wood we were given. It feels good to be filling up the wood piles again.

We got together with some friends and family and took the boys to a park with a splash pad and picnic. I took sandwiches, snow peas and carrot sticks. Others brought fruit, chips and drinks. All the kids and adults had a great time. The park had a soccer field that some of the kids enjoyed, as well.

Rob dug out the kiddie pool and we used it several times this week. We used a frisbee, old cups from fast food, the watering can, and plastic bowls for toys. It was very hot for several days and even the adults put their feet in at times.

I will say that everything got watered well. The deck. The dog food dish. The trike. The flowers. The rocks. My legs. Rob’s feet. The buckets. And so on……We were so thankful for the rash guard and swim shorts Rob found for a dollar or two at a yard sale.

I cooked several food items: a whole chicken I got for the incredibly low price of 47c/lb, some white rice, a vegetable soup, tuna-noodle casserole, lots of salads, meatloaf, and more. Then we just heated food up in the microwave during the hot days. It has cooled off again, so I am ready to cook again, although there are a few things to finish up first. I did boil the bones from the chicken, so I want to do some soup with that in the next couple of days.

We have 3 parties this upcoming weekend. 2 are at our house, one we are attending and need to take a little food. I’ve been working this week on figuring out the decor and food for Rob’s Mom’s 90th birthday party, which is on Saturday. I’m also frantically finishing the binding of her birthday quilt, which came back from the machine quilter just a few days ago.

I’m not in charge of decor for the boys’ birthday party on Sunday afternoon, but do have a few things to get ready. By the time I get to the 4th, and go to my sister’s, I will be cruising along, just taking a salad and enjoying the fact that I can just visit with everyone. I’m sure I will have lots of pictures to post by this time next week.

kids, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-June 20, 2022

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We went berry picking at a local farm. Jake had a blast on the playground and in the pipe, where other kids rolled him around!

I picked enough strawberries to fill 8 quart-sized ziplocks and to make another double batch of jam. We also ate a bunch of them fresh. This year, berries are almost $2/lb if you pick them yourself in our immediate area. They are $2.40/lb if you go up toward Portland. If you buy them already picked, in our area, they are anywhere from $32/flat to $46/flat. That’s about 10-12 pounds. I’m so glad we could pick them ourselves!

I made a bouquet from Japanese iris from my yard and the last bit of baby’s breath from Patsy’s party. I cleaned the bathroom really, really well and spruced it up with the flowers. I cleaned and mopped several times. Rob and I were joking around that it was hard to believe I had done it, after all the garden dirt was tracked in over and over. A few minutes after I got the bathroom done, Malcolm had a bath and when he took his boot off, it was full of dirt…which was dumped on the floor…and there I went again!

As is normal this time of year, I spent quite a bit of time weeding, hoeing and caring for the garden and flowerbeds. I harvested snow peas several times, along with a few green onions and lots of lettuce–gallons and gallons. I shared some, we had so much. It’s so good, but a person can only eat so much and I’m happy to know people who also like to eat it. Once I’ve gone to all the trouble to grow it, it’s satisfying to see it used! Since I have multiple succession plantings going, I rarely run out from spring until fall.

I did have a lot of help some days. Thankfully, the help got new boots “Pa” found at a yard sale for $1, as he grew out of his red ones. He has tools he received from his first birthday, and is all set.

We had to move locations after several veggies were in grave danger from the wild shoveler!

“Double trouble” kept our lives interesting. These are the M and M bandits here…..trying to get candy out of those big containers. They look guilty, for sure, but actually Grandpa lets them play with them. There are a few candies in the bottoms of the containers, and they shake them around a lot. There are a few M and M’s eaten over time, but not as many as Mac wishes.

This was a week filled with little boys. We had our grandsons several times, our nephew 3 times, as usual, and one day, I also had 2 neighbor boys for several hours, along with one grandson and nephew. It was a wild week! My neighbor gave me a gift card, to thank me for filling in when her normal sitter had a crisis, which was totally unnecessary, but gratefully received.

I did a lot of grocery shopping with some extra money we had, including Costco. It’s nice to have some of those things like Ziplock bags restocked. I use so many in the summer to preserve fruits and vegetables. Even with re-washing, bags are used up rapidly. Of course, I got a $4.99 rotisserie chicken. Easy for those busy days!

We went to several stores, and gleaned the bargains from each one. I was delighted to get 9c/lb watermelon at Safeway. Grocery Outlet had a large bag of Pamela’s gluten-free pancake and baking mix for $12, quite a savings, and a few other items I could use. We ended up at Winco for the 98c/can olives and a few other items that are less expensive there. I bought diapers. I have tried the Safeway diapers a couple of times now and I’m very satisfied. They are a few dollars less than the Huggies. I had an Ibotta reward for baby food, and got that, too.

Meals were made from scratch, as always. I made salad after salad–garden salad, chef salad with meat and cheese, crab salad, and turkey meat taco salad on the day my Mom came to visit. We had sandwiches and hamburgers. I made chicken-rice soup, which is a big hit with the babies. Monday evening, I just took things from the fridge and used them up. We had cooked carrots, stir-fried celery and snow peas, and mashed potatoes from the bottom of a bag of potatoes. I added a little chicken and there we were!

Our neighbor gave us 2 Dungeness crabs he caught. We cracked them out Sunday. I love crab, but don’t buy it because it’s very expensive and we can catch them occasionally. We haven’t been crabbing for a long time haven’t had any to eat lately, so it was a real treat.

We took plenty of walks! Sometimes we found a few pop cans laying around and hauled them home. Rob did Bottle Drop and with all the cans everyone gave us, plus our own, he put $49 on the card. That will be worth even more groceries, as I use the 20% + feature when I redeem them at the store.

This pretty well sums up how we felt at the end of some days! Happy, but ready for our rest:)