I harvested Indian Snake cucumbers, red noodle beans, moringa, basil, oregano, and okra from my garden.
I collected water from the ac drip and used it to water potted plants in my garden.
I paid three months of HOA fees at once to avoid two months of online payment service charges.
I gave my sons haircuts. My husband came home and I cut his hair, and he cut mine.
I ordered two dresses secondhand from Vinted. I plan on making the one into a skirt; a woman was wearing it at church, and I asked her about it. I found it in my size, shipped to me, for $5.95. It’s still so hot here (108 F/42C) and the dress is seeksucker. We still have lots of hot weather left.
My local nursery had fruit trees on sale. It’s too hot to plant, but I went ahead and bought some replacement trees for ones that died this summer (I’ll plant them later in the fall). I also decided to replace two of my rose trees that died with kumquat trees; they are less expensive than rose trees, and will give us fruit, too. Plus, they flower multiple times a year, and I love the fragrance of the blooms.
What did you do to save money the last few weeks?
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Beautiful garden pickings! Seer sucker anything is such a comfort fabric. Lucky you!
I “squirrel” away tiny amounts of ground meat in the freezer and bulk it up with lentils.
My sibling came into town for a visit (parent) which meant my mom didn’t need me to visit or chauffeur her for a few days. I took that time and stayed home saving gas and getting caught up. I was able to do a little more contract work too.
We lost another huge branch (storms) so the chipper came out again for another 4 cu ft of mulch. So far with this gifted half broken chipper, we chopped 20 cu ft of mulch this year.
With an appointment being across town I made a list of errands on that side of town to conserve gas.
The grocery budget will be decreased 10% to cover gas costs. Thankfully this blog has taught me so much…
Hoping everyone has a calm and productive week.
I missed commenting last week but enjoyed reading of everyone’s frugal adventures over the weekend. Always inspiration to be had here! I was inspired to clean out my pantry over Labor Day weekend, spending about 5 hours pulling everything out, cleaning it top to bottom and rearranging things to make them easier to locate, especially for my boys who are cooking more for themselves these days. It was a great feeling! I not only have a better space to work with but I chose some kitchen items I am not using to sell in my antique booth. Sales there have been going well and I need more inventory, Shopping at home is a great way to do that for many reasons. Along those lines, I thought I might have to purchase a new pair of character shoes for the show I am in rehearsals for now but I looked through my closet and found another pair of shoes that will do nicely so no one’s spent.
I applied for a very part time (10 hours/week) mostly work-from-home job with an organization I have been involved with. I won’t say much now as I haven’t had an interview yet but it could be a great opportunity to work in an area I know and feel passionate about and could fit it into my otherwise busy life with no to minimal costs (no commute so no gas costs, etc.) Will keep you posted! I was also hired back for the third year in a row to perform in an interactive and immersive production of A Christmas Carol at a local historic theatre. I have loved doing this show since its inception three years ago and am glad to be asked back. Extra funds at the end of the year are always appreciated. And my boys are excited because I am usually given a lot of the leftover desserts the audience is served during the performances. 😊
My husband replaced the brakes on our old truck which is a huge savings. Our newer truck needed a couple of maintenance things done to it my husband does not have the equipment to do so I took it in and we were given a discount for having two services done at once. I also utilized the shuttle van service the repair shop operates to get three errands done while the truck was being worked on saving time and gas.
I had a small swarm of bees emerge from one of my hives a week ago. This is very late in the season for a swarm as there is not much time for them to build a colony large enough to survive winter. So, I caught them and set them up in a new home with extra insulation and nurse bees and larvae from another hive to help them get going. So far, so good. Swarms = free bees which is always good for a beekeeper. Honey sales have been good both word-of-mouth and in the antique shop. One of my many gifts from my beekeeper friend who got out of the business was about 100 jars which has made all of the honey I’ve sold this season have no direct cost monetarily – just a LOT of work on my part and, more importantly, the bees. This is one reason I never offer discounts on larger jars of honey. The bees have to work just as hard to make every ounce of honey no matter how large or small the jar that contains it. Fortunately, people seem to understand and appreciate this fact.
There is a shift in the breeze and Fall is on the horizon. A few of the maples are already starting to turn color. Enjoy your week, all!
We have had such intense sun and high temperatures this summer that we used shade cloth. I have planted Armenian cucumbers for the first time. You mentioned that you made pickles and relish with them. Will you please share the recipes that you use? Thanks. I also planted yard long beans which will be interesting to try and can grow in heat. We have always had hot summers but nothing like this year and did not have much rain this summer which is a real change for us. We have been very successful this year growing sweet potatoes for the first time and started our slips with grocery store sweet potatoes. The vine takes over a section of the garden but we did get a good harvest. We will be planting carrots soon. We have had wonderful luck with Bolero carrots using the pelleted seed from Johnny’s Select Seeds. Bolero is a storage carrot. They freeze dry and can well. The pelleted seeds are easy to handle and you can be very precise in planting them. They are a little more expensive but in the long run you don’t loose so many small seeds. We planted about 2,000 which sounds like a lot, but we use them all year in dried beans, soups, stews and salads, etc. I look forward to your blog each week and have learned so much.
The main pickles I make now are dill pickles with the Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix, and the sweet pickle relish recipe from the Ball canning book. These are my children’s favorites. We use the sweet pickle relish primarily to make tuna melts.
My kids also favor the Mrs. Wage dill pickle mix (kosher pickle mix) and I also cucumbers for dill pickle relish with that mix. So good!
Brandy – I grew some of those red noodle beans and have a ton out there but really don’t know how to cook them. What is your favorite way to make them and do they stay purple after cooking?
Thank you!
I steam them.
They turn black when you cook them. I wish they stayed red! But they are delicious!
1. I joined Garden club…this set me back $40, then I bought one of their tshirts for $20…but I hope the friendships and knowledge gained will be worth every dollar!
2. My husband rigged it up so the dumped RO water goes to a barrel in the garden instead of down the drain.
3. I froze some cherry tomatos
4. I cooked up some of the many sweet potato leaves from the garden
5. I’m picking peppers from the garden.
Pictures and more details here: https://practicalwalk.com/2026/09/15/frugal-five-garden-club-the-garden/
Life continues to be hectic with family coming to see my mother as she declines. I love that our family is doing that, and I’m so glad to see them, but I’m the local one and they all come through my house and life. I’m profoundly tired. My house is cluttered and doesn’t feel good. I keep thinking I’ll get it all done and then I’ll rest, but I can’t catch up.
I’ve continued selling on Vinted, which is so easy it makes me dislike selling on ebay.
Harvested chives, rhubarb, cucumbers, tomatoes (plus received 20lbs from a friend), winter squash and apples. Roasted the overripe tomatoes and made tomato sauce.
Put a shirt out to return, I love the overall look but it wasn’t long enough. Thankfully I’m very good about keeping receipts. Set aside a shirt that had been given to me. I thought I’d wear it but I finally put it on and realized that I will not. It is in the pile to sell. Our daughter dropped off clothes to donate, but she’s happy for me to sell them and keep the money. So that’s what I will do.
I had 46 children’s books checked out from the library for my grandchildren’s visit this weekend. What an incredible savings!
Kara, sending you strength.
Hello. I’m sorry about your mother’s decline, and the exhaustion of the care-taking and hosting family members. I felt your weariness in your words. My mom lived four hours away when she was dying and it was really hard too. (We could even stay at my parents’ house!) I think it’s all hard. Trying to go so far away and leaving things behind here was rough. Always when I was there it was stressful and when I came back a mess was waiting here too. I just think it’s hard all of the way around. But now looking back, in spite of the incredible stress I’m so glad I did it and have those memories. Prayers for you and your family.
Prayers continue here for your mom and yourself Kara…
I love the idea of tree replacement with a choice that flowers and gives fruit. By switching to only 2 meals per day approx 1 year ago I have lost 25lbs and it really helps with grocery bill. I tracked how much paper products we use and have it on subscription so got lowest price and free delivery- no gas or running around. Time is money. My sister turned her inlaw house into an airbnb, I help her clean and redo the house so no cleaning costs- we do everything ourselves from cleaning, bedding, lawn,gardens you name it. Then at holiday time we have all our family parties there. Have not needed any clothing to buy have ample warm weather and cold weather items. Biggest expenses are electric, gas still over $4,taxes
I had a short term childcare job for the first 2 weeks of Sept. The lady had expected it to go 2-3 months but when it lasted a shorter time she gave me a $1,000 bonus for the short notice-I thought this was very kind.
The other night takeout Vietnamese food arrived unexpectedly on our doorstep. I thought perhaps a friend gifted it and helped myself to a spring roll. Shortly after the neighbour came looking for his dinner-oops.
I purchased Air Canada gift cards at Costco at 10% off before booking a flight next summer for a Baltic cruise.
I rebooked some other flights for better times at no charge for Dec as they were booked on my husbands airline points so turned out to be very flexible.
I hope you will show us the new “dress to skirt” when you finish it. I’m fascinated.
Just a follow-up as I was late in posting last time. Maria, I added comments last time as to how your neighbours might obtain the name and address of the owner of the house they rent. Suzie, I also commented on not worrying about future events but acting proactively, and a few items I’d recommend for an emergency pantry.
In the last three months I have decluttered, cleaned and five houses all in transition ( either sold or inhabited.) Not all mine. My elder parents renovated were both moved into independent living situations. We renovated and consolidated into a 1912 house on the Sacramento river. I am OVER STUFF. I never want to see “stuff” ever again. I went through thousands of my mothers photos, mother’s day cards, postcards etc. . . She is 91. I threw away her 1947 English homework of sentence diagramming. Not kidding. It clutter is NEVER frugal no matter what the original cost. She had 12 tape dispensers unusede. She wasn’t even a “hoarder” in the sense her house was always neat and tidy. But every closet and storage bin was stuffed.
One of my greatest skill is letting go of things. I am a ninja of getting rid of stuff. I have made dozens of trip to the Goodwill. I have sold somethings. We have filled 2-yard dumpsters multiple times. I have made an oath to not force my only son to clean up after me. We are moving in to a very large old house but I am not filling it. Everything is curated. What comes into the house must be of service, a utility, a precious position. That is the best frugal path I believe.
Hello! I really look forward to your posts, Brandy, and these comments! Here are a few of the ways that I saved this week:
I found two comfy long sleeved shirts at the thrift store, got them washed, hung in my closet. I also found my grandsons some dinosaur wall hangings and one of those star gazer balls that will light up the ceiling with stars.
I cleaned out the spare room closet where we need to store a few toys for our grandsons. I had all kinds of garden supplies in there and it felt good to get it all organized. I didn’t organize the seed packets themselves though. I think that will be a job that I look forward to when the winter winds are blowing.
I finished reading a great book that I got for 25 cents at the thriftstore – The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. It was a page turner for me and I enjoyed reading it and visualizing the Alaska landscape.
I harvested and shelled more dried cranberry beans.
Earlier this summer, I started a late planting of Lina Sisco’s Bird Egg beans (heirloom) and I picked them. I don’t have many but they are a historic Missouri bean and will give me seeds for next year. Sometimes just planting seeds for more seeds is a huge money saver!
I made a nice batch of homemade pancakes on Sunday. I use self rising flour and I don’t have to use a recipe so is easy. I shared some with my MIL and have some leftover. I have a favorite recipe for butterscotch pancake syrup (buttermilk syrup) and I intend to make it because I prefer it over store pancake syrup.
I used some of my garden bell peppers and onion in last night’s supper of foil packets using on sale hamburger with sliced potatoes. Both of us have leftovers from this family favorite meal. Tonight I might make a batch of biscuits and serve it again!
I used my microwave to make homemade one-egg lemon pudding. It is chilling in the fridge! I like that it cooks in the glass bowl that I store it in so cuts down on dishes – and no pot sticking/scorching like cooking pudding on the stove. The microwave is so much easier!
I picked some volunteer sugar rush peppers which might be pretty hot?? I may try to pickle them with some sweet peppers mixed in (Jimmy Nardelos).
I pulled out some fall decorations that I already have. My favorites are two wheat plates that I display on my dining room table. There’s just something about wheat lately that I find so beautiful!
I bring my breakfasts and lunches to work every day. Today I brought a friend some homemade yogurt w/ freezer jam and granola. She loved it. I told her that I could easily tell her how to make yogurt but I’m not sure she’s convinced. lol Last week I used some chili from my freezer to make a copycat Wendy’s Taco Salad but I usually have something easy like yogurt, an apple w/ peanut butter or a homemade bean burrito.
That’s about it for me this week. Have a great rest of the week everyone!
I’ve been washing windows using a vinegar and dishwashing liquid solution and a rag from an old tshirt. The whole house is much brighter. It was much quicker and less messy than using window cleaner.
I bought an extra bag of cat food. I had scheduled a ride to go to the next town over to buy the only brand my 17 year old cat can keep down, but had to reschedule because of a day of thunder storms. I ordered a bag from Amazon as well, which delivered it later in the day after the storms had stopped.
Wben I went to the next town over, I bought two bags of lentils, red and green, at half the price they are where I live. I also dropped off some cans of food I wasn’t likely to use in the food bank box.
I was tired of oatmeal and short of eggs, so this morning I made sheet pancakes from a whole wheat pancake mix. I added frozen berries to the batter and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top. Lots of mix left for the future as well.
Gas prices have increased significantly and range from $3.76 gallon to $4.04 a gallon. Rural places are on the higher end. I shopped at Aldi. I also bought two shirts to wear under my blazers at work. They were on sale at Target for $8.40 a piece. I generally only buy black. No is happier than me, when I am able to stay home an entire day on a weekend and just work around the house and rest!
Love the pictures. Our garden is finished and the seeds we planted for a fall garden didn’t get the rain so not many came up. Your produce looks great. We planted blackberry and blueberry bushes when we took down a fence. My husband wanted roses but I wanted food. I made chicken broth for the first time and also got a gallon Ziploc bag of meat. I don’t know why I was so scared to try it before. I see casseroles and dumplings in our future. I have two more bags of frozen chicken to cooked down as well. I found some meat on clearance and made a meatloaf with ground chicken that I bought for two dollars a pound. I also got a pound of ground pork that I am going to try making breakfast sausage. My niece gave me a bag of lentils. If anyone has any good ideas or recipes I would appreciate the help. I think I have been a rut of making the same things so I am looking for new ideas. I checked out some new to me recipe books at the library. I have been looking at the true costs of different events and social get togethers. Even if the event is free there still is a cost of time and gas. I appreciate all the sharing of ideas and tips this blog fosters.
I dumpster dived for food again and found shelf-stable food as well as produce and perishables. I curb shopped two Igloo coolers. Last week I found a rolling storage cart. When I put some shelf stable food in the community share box, I took a few cute notecards & envelopes out of it. I like to send notes to friends across the country. I pick a friend a month to send a card to. I picked up some coins on my neighborhood walks. Finally, I did my own haircut. As usual, all food made at home. I haven’t had a meal away from home since before the pandemic. No food truck, no fast food, no restaurant, no takeout, no delivery. I also skipped a few errands and consolidated a few to reduce gas use, and I decided against a few grocery items at the grocery store due to their prices.
Hi Brandy and everyone
I hope we will be able to see the blossom on your kumquat trees in due course, I’ve never seen the trees. You have so many lovely roses so it seems sensible to replace a couple with fruit trees.
I sold an item on Vinted this week and reused some packaging to wrap it up.
We received lots of figs from a neighbour and two packs of flower seed from a friend. We have been giving surplus veggies away.
My husband repurposed a wall cabinet from our utility room to house garden supplies in our conservatory/ entrance porch. He researched and found timber at a good price to build a shoe and boot rack in there too. He asked at the timber merchants if they had any free offcuts and was surprised and pleased with the amount he was given!
In a charity shop I found a M & S sleep bag in its packet for my granddaughter at £4, a new book for myself and charity Christmas cards, 3 packs for the price of 2.
The boiler engineer told us we had a blockage in the oil pipe feeding it and said we would need to hire a compressor to blow it through. My husband found a long piece of sturdy wire, fed it through the pipe and jiggled it backwards and forwards, the blockage cleared and the oil flowed! To his credit the engineer was as delighted as we were at this low tech fix. We all had a good laugh.
The garden has provided chilli peppers, cabbage, sweetcorn, aubergine, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes and potatoes.
Not a very frugal couple of weeks for us my husband had a
fall and seriously hurt his leg. Thankful for a health provider who us providing excellent care. We had 2 ER visits, 2 urgent care visits and 2 regular doctor visits. I had to source some medical equipment quickly, but thankfully was also able to borrow some from friends, especially a wheel chair. It’s been a huge blessing.
I’m a member of an online group and I shared the value of buying some equipment ahead when it’s found at thrift or garage sales in good condition. Many in the group shared they had lending libraries for medical devices in their communities!! Good to know in advance. As far as I have been able to find, we don’t have one locally, but sounds like they are very prevalent in other communities.
We had to cancel our vacation and ended up
Losing some nights stay and drpisits, but some entities worked with us, so we didn’t lose it all.
On the upside, we’ve for didn’t very little on anything else. Eating at home, buying very few groceries m, saving on gas.
Hope everyone has a good week!
Your photos are lovely as always. Nature is so photographic and beautiful. I didn’t know Kumquat trees flowered multiple times a year, I’ll have to look into those.
Was able to source a few items directly from manufacturer on sale w free shipping. Shockingly paid $5.999 a gallon for gas at Costco on Friday, up almost .50 in a week and a half. They sell the least expensive gas in my area. Bought a few Canadian items to stock up on before prices increase. Noticed smuckers jam “value priced” 32oz jar no longer says that, and is now only 30oz w a higher price. Trying to plan even less car use and routes w least stoplights.
I read online to drink a large glass of water upon waking to help with lightheadedness, and it seems to be working.
Was approved for an eat healthier program via my health insurance, which will send me free frozen meals regularly, just waiting on paperwork to set up delivery.
Used free cardboard boxes cutdown as organizers in my bathroom cabinets I’m decluttering.
Made pumpkin snickerdoodles using purée from grocery outlet costing less than half of the sale price at major store.
Got kindle and audiobooks online from the library. Did my nails using polish I already have. Use washable v paper towels and napkins as always. Found very old oven cleaner still usable stockpiled by previous me.
Moving neighbor gave me a free bin of birdseed. Found a squirrel doing her best impression of Jack in the box in it the next morning. Kids got a video, very cute.
Found a small appliance repair shop that still exists. Hoping to get my old box fans repaired vs landfill. Really missed those big fans during heatwave last week.
Hope everyone has a good week. 🙂
Since I have paid off my last big debt, I am getting to keep all or most of my SS checks. So I am upgrading some things around the house. Finally gave in to 21st C. entertainment technology and bought a smart TV. From Walmart for under $250. Only using FREE viewing choices on it. Love the 55 inch screen which fits on a wide chest of drawers I already owned.
Saturday, I was driving by a thrift shop that is sort of like a Habitat ReStore, only for a different charity. They had a sidewalk sale going on and I saw a riding lawnmower. I turned around and went over to the store and bought the thing! It was barely used because the previous owner had bought it and then had a stroke. When he passed away years later, his widow donated it. The thrift store guys refurbished it — new battery, new starter, etc. — so it’s like new. It was on sale from their price, so I saved an additional $200….or make that $170 because I had to pay $30 to have them deliver to my house. (I couldn’t put a riding mower in my compact car!) They will also service the lawnmower if I buy the parts. My yard guy is no longer in town and every time I mow, I will save $45 (his price) to $65 (another lawn service’s price) by doing it myself and not paying someone else to mow. So it won’t take too many months to “mow down” the $700 I paid. (New riding mowers are easily $1,000+). In other words, it’ll pay for itself.
I got a COVID vaccine and flu shot via Medicare so it was free to me. Why this early? I work in a drug store and there are a lot of viruses going around already. We don’t have a drive-thru window so lots of sick folks come into the store and through my cashier lane.
Lots of Covid cases here; my daughter said she knew tons of people who have it, and I saw a map showing a huge number in our county
We have been picking a few figs everyday. Hubby is very happy.
My friend and I went to the local pizza place for dinner. I spent $10 on a pizza roll and a cup of water. I had the other 1/2 for lunch. My friend said lets go get ice cream. A small cup of carvel is $6.I said lets go to Stop N Shop to get some. Entenmann’s were on sale for BOGO. I treated her to a box of donuts. We then looked around for sale items. The guacamole that was free was out so we each got a rain check. All summer stuff was 90% off. I got my sister a huge flamingo float for $3 for Christmas. I got 4 garden hats with the long backs to cover your necks for $2 each. I got 2 flag sets that are made in USA for $2.40 each. I got Big League chew for 12 each. I got 20 to give to trick or treaters. I got a few other items to put in the gift closet. We went back to my house and watched a movie and ate donuts. Hubby was home and joined us. I love having a friend that is like us and happy with the simple things.
Hubby’s free work shelf had a brand new ceramic travel cup. He grabbed it.
Hubby and I went to our favorite church thrift store and started our Christmas shopping for each other over the weekend. We dropped off a bag of clothes that are too big for me now.
Our neighbors and a friend were supposed to come Sunday for a smoked turkey that I got free from my buy nothing group. Well they weather wasn’t going to cooperate so we cooked it inside. My neighbor wasn’t feeling well so after we ate I ran food over to them. I sent my friend home with leftovers. I froze the other breast for future easy meals. I made brownies for dessert. Not what we planned but it was still nice. I put the bones in the crockpot over night and picked all the meat off the bones. 5 quarts of stock and a bag of meat. Perfect for soup.
I went to a library craft, a shadow box. It came out really nice. I hit the stop n shop that is near the library after my class. They had pork butts 50% off. I got 2 of the 4. They came to about 64 cents a pound. I also got a free pack of rice.
I parked by Aldi and went to the park a block away to get in some free exercise on a beautiful day. I did a few laps when I realized that there is a little free library a block away from the other side of the park. I walked over and found a book: The Secret Language of Girls. Walking back I found a Titleist golf ball that will be added to Hubby’s golf bag. Next time I will bring a plastic bag and gloves because I saw at least 10 beer cans. When I got back to my car there were 2 carts connected to each other so I returned them…25 cents in my pocket. I went in and got a bag of onions, 2 dozen eggs, hamburger buns and 2 pumpkins. The pumpkins were marked for $1.79 each. I took a picture because I was going to send it to my frugal friends. When the pumpkins rang up they were $3.99. I showed the cashier the picture. A manager was called over and he price adjusted them. He then went and changed the sign.
One of the pork shoulders I got marked down has been in the crock pot all day. We are having BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and homemade fries with a garden side salad. I took the skin off the pork before I put it in the crock pot. It will be cooked as treats for the dog the next time I use my oven.
I signed up for a new mystery shopping company and already got a shop.
Hubby printed a label for the books we are selling at work. He brought home a box and the label at lunch. I dropped it off at FedEx. I will be getting a check for $27 and change.
I shall need to be even more frugal towards the end of the year as family members are relocating back to UK from overseas and will be staying with us for a few months until they work out jobs, school, housing etc. We have been trying to make extra space for the them, which involves sorting the many unpacked boxes from our own house move, emptying long neglected cupboards etc. I did find a number of new things I forgot we had – bed linen, tea towels. I have put these aside as our family will not be shipping much here and will need household items. We stocked up on logs for the winter, hoping to reduce our use of expensive oil fired heating. Neighbours gave us a load of apples from their tree, and we picked the last of the courgettes from our garden. Still a few tomatoes ripening. I picked lavender to dry. We did treat ourselves to takeaway food on our 40th wedding anniversary, but are celebrating family birthdays this coming week at home. Thank you to everyone who comments, I love reading about your week.
I don’t care how silly it sounds, but today I picked up a penny…I always pick up change I see on the ground and while it’s not much, it’s still basically ‘free’ money. I went into the dollar store where I can buy organic quality half and half. It’s not the cheapest but it’s local, so I’m supporting local business and I know myself well enough to stick to what I go in for and not wander the store randomly ‘looking’ so I only spend for the half and half! I placed an order with a clothing store I like a lot and bought with autumn wardrobe in mind. Most of the items were on sale and I feel I am well set for autumn and milder winter weather now. I do not really expect to buy more before next Spring when the weather begins to warm once more. I cooked at home last week and tried a couple of new or not frequently used recipes, so I felt a though I were getting something different. I filled my car up while I was out near the interstate where gas is about 40c a gallon cheaper than it is here in my hometown. I was still in a bit of shock at the total! However, I’m blessed to get good mileage, and it was still considerably less than it might have been. I stayed out of the grocery store, which is always an accomplishment for me, as I often wander in to get one or two items and then end up with more than that. I’m trying to get better about actually having a substantial list before going into any grocery at all. Some of my grandchildren opted to have Gramma dates rather than have me come visit during the Grandparent visitation days at their school. For the most part these dates are not expensive, and I pay for our lunches from the allowance portion of my funds. I really enjoy the one-on-one time with them, as I tend to have them in groups. I refashioned a fall swag into something fresher and prettier for my front door using old fall florals and a piece of ribbon I’d saved from a floral gift. I’ve shopped the house to redecorate other areas of the house as well. I made a HUGE pot of vegetable beef soup and had a ton of leftovers. I canned 9 pints of soup to go on my pantry shelf. Two jars failed to seal so when they were cool enough to safely refrigerate, I did that and then froze those two pints in souper cubes, so no loss. I used a cleaning spray to salvage a blouse that apparently acted like a wick and gathered oil from a load of laundry. I was able to save the blouse! In future I’ll handwash that one or save to wash in a small load of delicate items.
I’ve been harvesting tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and winter squash, herbs, grapes, apples and kale. I picked pears for free from a friend and plums from another friend. I’ve been baking bread, muffins, protein bagels (Greek yogurt and flour), and granola bars.
I used up a butternut squash from the freezer plus some kale and chickpeas for soup. I’m making another batch of broth with veggie scraps and bones in the instant pot. I made a big batch of stir fry with all the garden veggies as well as cowboy caviar. I did get eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe, sweet corn and peaches at the farmers market. The season is winding down fast.
I sold a few things on marketplace and eBay. I returned a few things that didn’t fit right. I gave some sporting equipment to friends.
We cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over the bonfire. I resisted the urge to go to the store to get more goodies to cook that night.