The weather turned colder and my tomato plants started to wilt (but not die; it must have been just above freezing). I cut them back and picked lots of tomatoes. Most were green; I will ripen them inside.
I picked eggplant from a plant that didn’t freeze, and then cut the plant back.
I’m hoping if we don’t get a freeze this winter for the first time ever, I can overwinter some of my vegetables. This will not only save me the money of buying new plants, but I will also be able to harvest tomatoes in the spring, something I have never been able to do.
I sowed seeds purchased in years past for lettuce, mâche, poppies, nasturtiums, and cilantro. I am working to just plant seeds I have and not buy any new ones this year.
I dug two small calla lily plants from my garden and moved them into pots by my front door. I didn’t buy cyclamen for these pots in December like I usually do, and now they will have some green for the next couple of months until the calla lilies go dormant for the summer.
There was a small amount of sweet potato vine still growing in each of those pots. It was long and hanging to the ground. I took cuttings and put them inside to water to root, so that I can grow more this year. These normally die from frost, but as we didn’t have one, they are still alive.
I gave two sons and my husband haircuts. I love that this saves not only money, but a significant amount of my time not having to drive anywhere for haircuts.
I did not buy anything this week. We are eating down our pantry and freezer, and using up toiletries that aren’t favorites (travel ones my parents gave us, bottles of products like conditioner from a friend who passed away, shampoo we bought but the matching conditioner has been discontinued, mascara I didn’t really like because it flakes, makeup samples, etc.).
I requested a book from the library rather than buying it. It may still be one I want to own for my children, but for now, we will read it from the library.
I made several meatless meals this week, including this salad using chickpeas (cooked from dried and bought in bulk) with tomatoes, parsley, and green onions from my garden (there’s also a bit of ground sumac, salt, and olive oil). I usually put cucumbers in this salad, but I don’t have any in my garden right now, so I made it without, and it was still delicious.
What did you do to save money this past week?
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I am glad you got to gather more tomatoes – I did that too this past fall and a lot of green did ripen and thankfully were not wasted.
Grocery prices here rose again – even at the discount grocery. I usually have a flavored seltzer daily (bought on discount), I will be cutting that back. I bought citrus that looked and felt well but was softer than I realized and had not a lot of flavor. I juiced it and added it to herbal tea. A true wonderful gift, I finally was at a grocery store at the right time for 50% mark down on meats. I bought only a few.
I mended a skirt that I’ve had for years – midnight blue cotton velvet. I hope to have it for many more years.
Traded snow shoveling for a quart of homemade soup. It wasn’t my intention, but I am thankful for a night off cooking.
I have a vintage wool/rabbit hair/sequin holiday sweater (oh yes it is loud) – I wear it once every year and haven’t cleaned it in a few years. Placed on fresh snow for an hour – it really did revive it (I had seen this on the internet) and it will not need dry cleaned.
Made a few hand painted valentines to send out using supplies owned and a free tutorial.
Wishing everyone a calm and productive week!
Thanks for the tip about the sweater and the fresh snow!
I made turnip greens and when I ate the greens I poured a can of collard greens into the broth and have eaten that this week. I made cornbread to go with it. I had cooked chicken in the freezer and used it to make a chicken and rice dish. Katy, at The NonConsumer Advocate, did this and added cabbage and soy sauce to make a “fried” rice dish that was not fried. I followed her lead and did the same with a coleslaw mix I needed to use up. It was delicious! There is a new Aldi 30
mikes away from where I live so I went and stocked up on sandwich meat that does not contain nitrates to freeze for my lunches. I also bought spinach for my lunch sandwiches that was $1.49. I have an extremely small kitchen and house and do not have any extra room for kitchen aid things such as slicers, toasters etc. The only extra thing I have is a crockpot which I use in my living room. Aldi is much cheaper than any other grocery store around here but it will be a very infrequent trip there bc of the cost of gas and I have a grocery store (Piggly Wiggly) in the town where I work so no extra gas. However their sandwich meat contains nitrates so I am trying to avoid that which is why I went to Aldi.I also got an Acadia for 55 cents and several other items. I cut my hair very short myself. I am going bald on top of my head ( I think it is genetic bc my mom and grandmother were the same way) and I ordered a wig for work for $16.99. The baldness has been gradual but it is much more noticeable now that I am almost 66. I walked in my neighborhood for exercise. I shopped my house for several things that I could repurpose to suit my needs now.
Cindy, I love your thinking on using up your broth and shopping your house for your needs.
Cindy in the South, I did not know Aldi carries sandwich meat without nitrates. We have given up eating it for that reason but would love to be able to have it again. Next time I’m there, I will check it out. Thanks for the information.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
How timely that I came here to catch up… I have been looking at wigs and how-to videos regarding them for a couple of weeks. My hair is fine and thin and I have some nearly bald spots and have actually been thinking about wigs for a few years. Maybe your post was an additional “sign” for me, lol.
Your produce still leaves me green with envy! Windchills here are in the single digits or below zero (F) so we are bundled up when we go out!
New week and I learned something new! I had previously purchased 5 pound family packs of chicken drumsticks on FF for $2/package. But they take up a lot of freezer space.
Did you know you can cook raw chicken in IP? Video showed whole chicken with 2 cups water and 6 minutes time per pound. Then after its out, it falls off bones. I thought of my chicken drumsticks. 35 minutes for 5-1/2 pound pack and 30 minutes for 5 pound pack. So in about 90 minutes they went from bulky family packs to this!!! https://pin.it/45qEJdn9y
Now I can label & bag in ziplocs and they are in freezer, ready to use!!! I’m happy!!!😃 https://pin.it/7vBWJq4E4.
My first client quilt of the year came in for our business. She was delighted and while the style of the quilt was more modern than I love, it’s been fun to see other people’s creations! https://pin.it/2P9o850pq. Then the second one got quilted- a T-shirt quilt- https://pin.it/62wijEk66. And now the 3rd client quilt will be loaded on my longarm this week! What does this have to do with prudent homemaking? The side income that this regularly produces has now become a way for us to put more into savings or use to fund DIY projects that we need to hire helpers for. My daughter/business partner has also finished 2 client quilts this week and it’s gratifying to see that we both have work coming in.
All week our meals and snacks came from our pantry/fridge and freezer. I made:
Texas style chili (using precooked ground beef mix from freezer, home canned beans and tomatoes, freeze dried corn and homemade chili seasoning mix) .
Home baked biscuits from my Buttermilk Biscuit mix. https://pin.it/5uOIGJ7o4 and https://pin.it/xO6OSUnUF ,
Oatmeal raisin pancakes from homemade mix,
Shepherd’s Pie (again using some precooked ground beef mix from freezer, home canned green beans, IP mashed potatoes from fresh potatoes from FF and cheese I bought on sale a month ago when it was $2/pound) https://pin.it/11jrBktwY.
Our youngest son came for dinner Sunday night and I was too tired to plan dinner so Hubs brought up 3 pints of home canned Sweet and Sour sauce, 1 pint of home canned pineapple chunks to add to them, part of a FF bell pepper, Popcorn chicken from a discount grocery that was in my freezer and food storage rice cooked in my IP . In 20 minutes we had Sweet and Sour chicken with lots of leftovers for our son to take home!
I also tried a new Brownie Mix for my class tomorrow https://pin.it/7F03JiZhF and this is how they turned out: https://pin.it/1usy9a2ms. They passed the taste test.
Made 2 homemade pepperoni pizzas using a free round flatbread from Panera, home canned pizza sauce, more of the FF fresh bell peppers and diced onions, pepperoni I had in fridge and more of the $2/pounds cheese that I bought a month ago. Made 2 meals for the 2 of us! Yum!
The pantry challenge for January has been an eye opener about how many different things we can be eating without needing to go to the store. So far, a gallon of milk (using a digital store coupon= $2.64) and 1 FF produce bag ($5) that had 3 big slicing tomatoes, 3 heads of lettuce, 2 big broccoli heads, 5 pounds of potatoes, 3 pounds of apples, 3 giant white onions and 6 big bell peppers.
We gave away on Freecycle over 10 yards of a nice upholstery fabric that I bought 15 years ago and never used and admitted I was not going to use it and it was picked up within 20 minutes after I posted it ! Feels good to declutter!!
I dehydrated FF apples that were in my fridge after holidays. https://pin.it/1ZfZT3LxV.
A very frigid week with more to come but we haven’t had much snow at all. We groaned as we paid our property taxes but realize how blessed we are that: a- we had money to pay the tax and b- that we have a house !
Looking forward to getting more ideas and tips from you and your readers that will help me become a better manager/steward of everything that we have!
Since I love your salsa recipe, would you share your pizza sauce recipe? Can it be water bath canned? I don’t have a pressure canner. I freeze my pizza sauce, but would love to can it.
Nancy in Eastern Colorado: here is the pizza sauce recipe for canning. I do add tomato paste the way it suggests and use my steam canner to water bath can it.
https://hawkpointhomestead.com/homemade-pizza-sauce-canning-recipe-from-fresh-tomatoes/#mv-creation-64-jtr
I appreciate that you are doing things like using up what you have, including seeds. Every year a local non profit has a seed fair where they collect many of last year’s seeds from stores and distribute them for free to the community. I will probably not be able to attend this year but truly, I have so many seeds I need to use already!
This past week I found an Owala water bottle for $6 at the thrift store. It was in very good condition so I purchased it. I also went to the quarterly library book sale and got a like-new copy of Martha Stewart’s Housekeeping guide for $2.
Its been a long week with tutoring and classes starting back up in the same week. I definitely didn’t go anywhere if I didn’t need to.
Got a dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts for half off.
Was given a few whole pears and about a dozen cookies.
Got a free coffee from Einstein Brothers by ordering in the app.
Received my $60 from my work for my shoe reimbursement, but they sent it to an account that I don’t have a debit card for anymore 🤦♀️I just applied it all to a credit card through bill pay, and will close the account as soon as it clears.
Made sure to eat leftovers and made as small of a grocery store trip as possible (it was still $120).
Borrowed books from the library.
Brought home a nice big jar from work to reuse at home.
Decided I am going to use up all the shampoo, conditioners, body wash, cleaning and laundry supplies, etc that I have on hand before I buy anything else. I still have so much I brought home from my mother in laws that I need to use.
So strange to hear “maybe my tomato plants will make it without a freeze.” Ours have been toast since late October! I’m beginning to think about starting them from seed again. (I’ve had some success rooting cuttings in water – have you tried that?) I just bought a huge pkg of beebalm seeds — could you use some?
And I know it’s silly…really. But I was starting to think you were living alone in your house and garden. Soooo glad to hear your comment about cutting Husband’s and sons’ hair, not to mention the occasional comment on a daughter or two. Thank you. Your readers, me included, love hearing about your family.
Not much to tell here, saving-moneywise… except things get very quiet in our part of Colorado’s San Luis Valley (SLV). The summer people went home just before Thanksgiving, and the rest of us just hunker down. We get lots of cold — but not nearly as much snow. (It’s dry here, too.) That means bargains at restaurants and the thrift shops. Friday I was at one in Monte Vista: clothing and winter gear were half-price. The clerk said, “We’re not too busy right now.” That meant a vintage rayon/silk kimono for $3 — and a bunch of hats, gloves and scarves for 50 cents to $1.50!
I have really enjoyed flexing my frugal muscles. I darned 2 socks, am knitting a scarf with free yarn (will donate) and took in the waist of 2 of my adult son’s trousers. We loaned our 2nd e bike to the same son, who started his clinical hours (working on a masters in counseling) today. His placement is only 1.5 miles from his house. This saves him a lot of commute time, and now he won’t be using any gas either. I brought him 2 free shirts as well.
I have a very specific list of items that I need and since I’m a chronic under-buyer, I’m forcing myself to buy what is needed. I shop only with companies that (as far as I know) share my values. Outside of these strict needs, there’s no buying.
Meatless meals are also happening at our house.
Kara, I love how you termed what you do as “flexing your frugal muscles”. Mine need it. Since we moved a year ago, a lot of spending has happened…necessary, for convenience and, sadly, as compensation for emotions. Brandy, you restarting this blog when you did gave me the wake up shove I needed to refocus and stop feeling sorry for myself. Where we live is lovely and we are very comfortable. For me, it’s the isolation and I tried to spend my way out of it. Ugh! Now, I am facing it and dealing with it. I find this blog to be a great help, and I feel connected to something familiar.😊 Grateful for you, Brandy, and this community!
We can always start anew from where we are!
I think a lot of people are struggling financially right now. I know a LOT of people who are out of work, and i think the numbers are going to continue to climb. I feel like those of us who have always lived frugally are going to need to continue to find new and different ways to lower our expenses as everything continues to go up in price.
Brandy – I never feel qualified to give you suggestions about food but am curious if you’ve ever made green tomato relish. It has long been just one of the ways I make use of them but don’t often hear others mention doing so. It’s yummy!
I continue the systematic cleaning and clearing out things we are not using that I mentioned last week. It has yielded a few things to sell and a couple of bags to donate all of which feels good and frugal.
My husband made two shelves each to go over a window. They look as if they are part of the window trim and give me more space to keep books and other beloved things. He made them with wood he had in his wood shop which also helps him gain needed storage space.
I purchased some workbooks for my boys from a new-to-me company called Carson Delarosa Publishing https://www.carsondellosa.com/?partner=google&campaign=1063055187&adGroup=52252515996&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1063055187&gbraid=0AAAAAD_HgTIkNp_Jpt6tL8ZTsBw_tBOkN&gclid=CjwKCAiAybfLBhAjEiwAI0mBBr_TkSnyyCwZItEIdNPGGqwDTAWuyxQt_XMYxCO3KL8WfaBGfohvWBoCgwIQAvD_BwE. They are here in NC but I have never had occasion to order from them. I had a coupon code which helped but had a question regarding the necessity of purchasing a teacher’s manual. I called the company and the person I spoke with independently offered up several suggestions on how to save money with this particular workbook set which I would not have been able to figure out otherwise and greatly appreciated. It’s not my usual experience to have a customer representative talk you out of buying something! Just like to spread good news about companies who care about their customers in this way.
We’ve had frigid wind but I find drying our clothes outside still works that way. They dry from the wind and then a brief warm-up to finish the process in the dryer or on the drying rack by the wood stove certainly saves on electricity. I also love the way air-dried laundry smells no matter the season and it does have the scent of whatever season we are in when it comes indoors – very distinct one season to the next.
Rice has been on regular rotation here as we have a lot of it and it stretches whatever else you serve with it. Thankfully, no one is threatening mutiny. 😁
Have a lovely week, all!
I haven’t, but I did make and freeze some green tomato salsa before, and we used that all winter. I’ve got these green ones ripening in colanders on the counter right now.
My Ball canning book also suggests green tomatoes as a substitute for tomatillos in green salsa and green enchilada sauce.
Fried green tomato sandwiches are delicious and another option.
I am with you about bedding being line dried, I love the fresh scent. I air out my comforter each week and sometimes twice a week. It feels very European, I went to Germany in high school and remember the mothers airing out the comforters each morning!
Oh those tomatoes look good! I would suggest you save some of your tomato seeds to replant. I’ve overwintered tomatoes before, l’m in 9B, but they don’t seem to produce nearly as much, so stopped doing it. Also, see if your library has a seed library. My branch doesn’t, but found another one in my city does.
I haven’t gone anywhere all week, but I did buy a black cashmere sweater online, marked down from $150 to 40. I love cashmere and my old black one the moths got. It’s not really mendable anymore.
My ankles are healing surprisingly quick, but I haven’t been pushing it. Tomorrow will try to go out for the first time. Plan to try to go to 2 goodwill stores for senior discount dayas I have a Hawaiian themed celebration of life next weekend and nothing Hawaiian to wear. It will be a long shot to find something, let alone something I can make work w January weather, though it was nearly 70 today. However, that’s unseasonably warm.
I reset my bed with its winter theme, red plaid flannel sheets and chocolate faux fur comforter I got yrs ago on clearance. I’m late doing it because of my ankles, but feels great to finally get my “snug as a bug” bedding on. I fully change my bedding for the 4 seasons. Been doing this for years. Everything is at least 20-30 yrs old (my spring set is from the 1980s), so seems frugal and makes me happy to welcome each season.
I grow hybrid tomatoes, so saving seeds doesn’t work for me for tomatoes (other things I grow are open-pollinated). I plant gallon-sized pots of tomatoes that are a foot and a half tall around Valentine’s Day, so I would have to start them indoors in November if I was growing them from seed. I don’t have a place for them inside, and they need to be big when I start, or it will be too hot to get any tomatoes before the heat stops them from blooming. Since changing from 4″ pots to gallon-sized pots, I’ve had many more tomatoes, but this year, I’ve had more tomatoes since December (I grow indeterminate types, as recommended here, and they don’t start to flower again after quitting flowering in June until late October, ripening in December).
Your old sweater can be washed on high and put in the dryer to felt it. As it shrinks, the holes often disappear. The felted wool can be cut and used to make other projects. I have several felted wool sweaters that are cut into to make children’s gloves, and I have been wanting to use some to make some felted flowers to turn into brooches.
You might try rooting tomato cuttings. I have had success with that and they should stay true to their hybrid type. If you can find suckers at the leaf joints, they should root in water. They should send out roots pretty quickly and can then be potted on. Sometimes there are suckers at ground level as well.
We live in a cold climate and most of our mitts and hats are made from felted woolens. We like double mitts so the outers are made from duffle fabric and the liners from lambswool or cashmere. I used to buy woolens from the Salvation Army thrift store for $5. per garbage bag full. I’ve had some real treasures as people seem to avoid wool because they think it needs dry cleaning.
I did, but they molded! I never had trouble before. I am going to take new ones tomorrow.
Hi Brandy and everyone
It’s so good that you haven’t had a frost yet and are still harvesting. In the UK we welcome a cold snap to improve some of the crops( parsnips) and to get rid of some of the overwintering pests. Do you not need the cold to help anything in the garden?
My biggest money saver has been not going anywhere. I really need to learn the lesson that time at home allows me to get on with tasks and stops me spending.
We pulled parsnips from the garden which I intend turning into spicy parsnip soup for the freezer.
My indoor flowering narcissi are blooming so I’ve moved them to a spot we can enjoy the fragrance.
I planted my bargain tulip bulbs( this is late but they should be fine) and split up and replanted congested clumps of muscari. Again not exactly the right time but often things are forgiving and will be fine.
We’re eating down the freezer like everyone else at this time of year I think.
That’s all for this week.
We usually get about 10 nights of freezing weather right at freezing or a tiny bit below–but not this year.
We do need temperatures slightly above freezing in order for fruit trees to produce fruit. I have purposely chosen fruits with low amounts of chilling hours, as we are always warm, but have been getting warmer each year.
Turnip greens, collard greens, and mustard greens, like parsnips, also taste better after the first frost, or that is what the old timers say here in Alabama. We do eat them before the first frost also and well, I eat greens year around but generally eat more spinach in the spring.
What beautiful flowers and vegetables. We are preparing for a winter storm this weekend. We are forecasted to get up to 18 inches of snow. We went to the grocery store and got some extra things. I was even able to get some discounted meat. I have been making bread every week. Our church is going to be a warming station, so we picked up somethings that was needed for donations for meals and drinks. We have been walking everyday for fresh air and exercise. I continue to go to the library for reading materials. I have been getting cookbooks and gardening books. My Bible Study group of ladies has been playing pickleball. When the weather is warmer we are going to start hiking a couple Saturdays a month. I have been using up food in jars and the freezer. I have been making some unusual meals.
In college for 2 years I had a roommate from Bangladesh. Living with her I learned I like Indian food. I went to the website Brandy shared Ministry of Curry and I am so glad I did! I tried the great bean curry and loved it so much I am adding it to my meal plan.
We have also been eating what we have and using what we have. The weather has turned really cold and we may get a big snow storm this weekend. It is the time of year I plan my garden so I know spring will be here in a few months.
Brandy, that chickpea salad looks delicious! Our climate is warm as well (north Texas), but I still can’t imagine a season without one single freeze. 🙂
We have both been sick this past week so we haven’t done much at all! We did pick up takeout a couple of times, but I have no regrets. We did manage to get out to buy our regular grocery and Costco supplies. We are anticipating a winter storm this weekend, so I stocked up on a few extra grocery items just in case. We do not get winter weather here very often, and any time there is even a remote threat, the grocery stores look like something out of an apocalyptic film. I stopped into Tractor Supply one afternoon for a few items and they had several tables of clearance items, including all of their remaining holiday merchandise. Everything was 50-60% off, with an additional 75% off the lowest marked price, plus another 20% off that! I stocked up on scented wax melts, hand cream, and Bag Balm. We are working on a non-consumer year and opting to not purchase a lot of things until we use up current stock, but we agreed that if we run into exceptional sale prices on anything, we will still take advantage. I did my own manicure at home.
We have been looking for a new large area rug for our main living area. After several years of use, our current rug was looking a little rough. My husband stood staring at it for about 15 minutes last weekend and then said he had an idea. So we turned the rug 180 degrees. LOL. We have a cowhide rug layered on top of it, and a couch & coffee table that cover about 1/3 to 1/2 of the rug, so basically only about half of the rug was seeing use. By turning it around, the worn areas were almost completely hidden, and the now-exposed areas were essentially brand new as they haven’t seen any traffic this whole time. Like getting a brand new rug! I am proud of him for this great idea but also disappointed I did not think of it myself. LOL.
I hope everyone has a lovely week!
Our last freeze date is less than a month away, and right now, I can see two weeks out–and it’s saying 73 F at the end of January! We JUST got reclassified as a zone 9a (and I think it should have been a 9b) from an 8, but if we stop getting freezes in winter, then we will have become a zone 10. I feel is every winter (winter is my busiest time in the garden) and this year is very, very odd.
So I think we aren’t going to get a freeze at all here before our last frost date of February 15th.
Pam, your rug situation reminds me of what we do with our sectional sofa cushions. When we have company coming over, we flip them to the “good side,” lol. When the guests leave, we immediately flip them back. We’ve had the sectional for years, and it is in excellent condition except for staining on the upholstery.
Right now, I have beef fat in the crockpot cooking down to render the tallow. We bought some sirloin and 5.5 lbs of ground beef from CostCo. My husband cut the fat off the sirloin and cut into steaks. I’m cooking the ground beef into 3 lbs of taco meat and the rest just browned and will use in some marinara sauce with spaghetti. All of the fat has gone into the crockpot to be rendered down. This is the first time I’m trying it but look forward to seeing what I get from it.
We are heading to a cabin next week and will take most of our food with us. (hence the taco meat and ground beef for the spaghetti) We vacation a LOT (LOVE being retired) but we do it as cheaply as possible. We almost always get an airbnb with a kitchen and take our food with us to avoid eating out. Or when staying in hotels, I made sure they all had a fridge and free breakfasts. We took food along in a cooler and made our lunches each day to eat along the road. Or, we take our trailer which has a full kitchen, and I plan our meals and take what we need and grocery shop as needed along the way. By doing the frugal trips for most of our trips, we can splurge here and there for large trips. We did a month in Europe this past fall, but aside from the hut-to-hut hiking (6 days), we always stayed in an airbnb with a full kitchen and first stop was a grocery store to ensure we had stuff for breakfasts and lunches.
As we’re retired, we’re using our trailer for longer vacations now. We are planning a trip that has us leaving in late March and will encounter fairly cold weather overnights. I am making insulated window covers for all 9 windows in the trailer which will help keep the cold air out and the warm air in. I’m repurposing foam we’ve acquired over the past year. Some of the foam comes in a monthly refrigerated Rx. My husband saved the foam that came on the wheel well covers he got for his truck. I bought 10 yards of black fabric on sale and went to Michael’s to get yardage at $2.99/yard for what will show inside. For additional insulation, I’m reusing scraps of batting from quilt projects.
As mentioned above, I quilt (which isn’t frugal these days!!) but I try to save as much as I can. Last night, I was picking the pieces I had cut from the quilt edges that are needed for long arming the quilt. The batting from those strips will get used in the above RV project as well as smaller quilting projects like table runners or wall hangings. And the fabric from those strips will get used again and again to extend the edges of my quilt backing so they are large enough to fit on the longarm without wasting good backing fabric.
Those tomatoes look so delicious, I refuse to buy winter tomatoes, but those look so good! Your roses are stunning!
I am continuing making soups for lunches all week and that is using up some cans of tomatoes from last winter, and using up bones that take up space helps to empty my freezer! I have bought some clearance veggies for soups but trying to eat down my pantry and freezer when I can.
I have been turning down the thermostat when I get up from 63 to 60 and wearing my coat or giant hoodie during the day. When my husband gets home I turn it back up, the utility rates are crazy.
I need to go through my old seed packets and see what I have before I buy any new ones. I have been checking at the library but they haven’t put out the expired ones from a nearby store. I have discovered an author that I am enjoying. Patti Callahan. Currently I am reading ,” The Story She Left Behind.” I finished her book. “ Once Upon a Wardrobe.” It was a story about C. S. Lewis’ wife, and quite a good read . The library and our local gym , which has senior classes are my favorite free places beside my church, to hangout at!
We are expecting a major ice/ snowstorm this weekend. We will see what that brings!
Hello!
—I saved 40 cents a gallon on fuel day at Circle K. I also paired it with Upside and received an additional 55 cents back.
—I started my garden seeds. Last year I grew dwarf cockscomb (celosia orient #2 at rareseeds) that I absolutely loved, so I’m growing more of that. Like you, Brandy, I’m trying to use seeds I already have, although I did get some geranium seeds for the first time. I’m blown away by how quickly they have sprouted! No tomato seedlings yet, and I really don’t want to have to buy any plants.
—I was able to get an Amazon refund on an air fryer purchased nearly a year ago. It was outside the return window, but the seller was next to impossible to get ahold of, so I “chatted” with an Amazon rep and explained the situation and that it should’ve had a one year warranty. They refunded my purchase price and I shipped it back.
—I redeemed Starbucks points for a free bag of coffee, a $15 value that will go much further at home! I accumulate points via gift cards given to us and sweepstakes throughout the year.
—I made a bright and cheery valentine sign for my front door with supplies on hand. This time of year is so gloomy here, so I like seeing it when I come home.
—I bought our family a slushie machine as our main gift for Christmas. My husband and I do not buy for each year. We’re all enjoying the machine so much, especially my kids. We made copycat Dole Whip over the weekend.
Have a great week!
Celosia are edible. There are specific varieties grown for the leaves, but all parts are edible, even flowers!
https://recipes.net/articles/how-to-eat-celosia/
Interesting, Cara! I had no idea. The leaves do look a lot like spinach.
It will be interesting to see what your tomato plants do if indeed there is no frost this year.
On the frugal front:
I used a flopped batch of muffins and the snips and snails of cinnamon and caramel chips to make a bread pudding.
I pulled rotesserie chicken carcasses, a turkey breast bone, and veggie scraps from the freezer to make chicken broth. i used a portion to make chicken noodle soup and froze the rest of the broth.
I packed frozen mac-n-cheese and leftover taco hotdish for easy meals to reheat while at the cabin.
I used frozen sliced apples from our neighbor’s tree to make applesauce.
To fight off cabin fever, we went to a free boat show.
My neighbor and I have been using our inexpensive indoor track memberships to catch up and get some exercise.
I purchased clearanced biscuit mix, BBQ sauce, microwave popcorn, and orzo for $0.99 each at the local grocery store.
I look forward to ready everyone’s frugal feats.
I am excited to get gardening, but need to wait another month or two at least! I have not had a lot of success starting seeds indoors – it’s my own fault, either they’re out of the way and I forget to water them or they’re in the way and the latest toddler gets into them. So I am trying to be diligent about only growing things I can direct sow. I have allowed myself a very few exceptions, but on the whole I will be waiting to start gardening until March or even April.
Still, I have a lot of prep work to do before then! This will be the first year with the whole kitchen garden under production, and I still need to move some soil around to finish filling raised beds, and to try and get at those pesky perennial weeds. I have done a lot of covering with cardboard, but the nettles always sneak back through.
I used up a lot of odds and ends of seeds last year, so I am starting with an almost completely clean slate this year. I have chosen to buy from Real Seeds, who do open pollinated varieties and have a lot of advice about saving your own seeds. I plan to start with the easy ones this year and possibly level up over time.
I also did some homeschool planning and tried to only use resources we already have.
Your pictures are amazing as always, Brandy!
Hope everyone, in the South especially, is prepped for this dicey weather headed our way! It’s a challenge for us here!
Shopped grocery sales before this weather announcement, so we are in good shape food wise. Have our heat and electrical alternatives ready to go! Am praying no trees go down! That is always our biggest problem where we live!
Take care. Onward, y’all, by all means! ❤️
Cheryl B in Tennessee from Jeannie in Tennessee. Hopefully, we are prepped and ready for the big storm that has just now arrived. The snow began about an hour ago. Our location is on the dividing line so we don’t know what will happen. We went to Aldi’s two days ago before the last minute panicked and frantic shoppers arrived but the shelves were already half empty. All my husband needed was milk, cream, cheese and apples but he grabbed other things too. I’m doing a pantry challenge but he isn’t. He is allowed to get whatever he wants so I can avoid a revolt. He deserved a reward because he has been working hard cutting firewood from the back of the property in preparation for downed power lines. We are at the end of the line and it takes a while to get to us. We have been getting ready.
We purchased more kerosene, not cheap at all for $5.50 per gallon.
The car tank and all the gas cans were filled using Kroger points. It will be needed for the generator if the power is out for a long time. The car battery will be used to charge cell phones so the adapter was found and is ready. Hunting for it in the console in a cold, dark garage with only a flashlight isn’t pleasant.
Jugs of water were added over a few days to fill both freezers to help hold them if there is a long outage. A cup with a penny on top of an ice cube was added as a test if power is out for long. Blankets will be tossed over them and they will not be opened until the power has returned. Both freezers are full of garden vegetables and meat. They can’t be lost. We have a solar panel that can run each freezer for about one hour each day, providing there is sun, and it would hopefully, avoid melting.
We have a well and and lose water if there is no electricity. I have been distilling water to freshen our drinking supply. We have plenty of gallons stored to flush the toilet but prefer distilled if it has to sit on the shelf a while.
I have canned meat, soups, vegetables, and fruits for such a time as this. Hopefully, perhaps, maybe we are ready.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
We are Tennessee Tough! I can ditto all that you said. I just pray that the cold doesn’t destroy everything on the property. We are going to 3–hopefully the windchill doesn’t make it worse!
Take care, friend. Many blessings!
I’ve been eating mostly rescued produce. Borrowed lots of library books in advance of the upcoming 10 days of extreme cold, with nighttime lows several nights below zero and wind chills -20F. As usual, I cooked all meals at home and we had leftovers to use. I have my needle arts hobbies I can do as well. Hoping the power stays on as we have an electric heating system, no generator (no gas line to the house).
I can’t help but contrast two shopping trips made to the grocery this past week. On Sunday our grandson came home with us for a spend the night. He had no school and mama needed to work on Monday. I stopped in at a grocery and picked up hot dogs, buns (bakery buns by husband’s request) a bag of chips (grandson’s request) and a Match Box car ($1.25). I was so shocked at the cost of the buns and the hot dogs…Oscar Mayer beef hot dogs were nearly $9!! The buns were over $5 for 6 of them and the bag of chips were nearly $6. My husband had also requested I get lactose free ice cream for my grandson who seldom is allowed to have ice cream due to a lactose allergy. That was on sale thank goodness for just $3. Somehow, my groceries all came up to about $30 and I carried them out in one little bag.
Later last week, in anticipation of possible winter storm, I knew I needed some fresh produce items and milk. I went to the discount grocery and checked out the discounted produce: 3 heads of romaine hearts, 2 dozen Roma tomatoes, about 1.5 cups of cherries cost me a mere $5. I then headed to Walmart where I very seldom will shop and picked up numerous items including milk. This shop included marked down packages of boneless skinless breasts and packages of luncheon meat (not a normal purchase for me but I’d thought I’d have other grands here this weekend). With added produce it all came to just at $100. And it took four BIG bags to carry it all out of the store. What a contrast!
Most of our January we have spent eating from the Pantry and Freezer…I’ve made bread and have been diligent about using all the scraps and run down looking fruit. Last night I made a pan of applesauce with older apples my husband wouldn’t touch. I also made a favorite fruit salad using wrinkly apples and dry looking oranges. Oddly, once they are disguised as edible things once more, they are no longer shunned.
I have a repeat cold (following on the heels of one two weeks ago) and have opted not to have grandchildren visit. I’ll divide the luncheon meats up and save for future in the freezer. I’ve been diligent about freezing leftovers we are slow in eating as well as pulling frozen entrees from the freezer that I’d put there in the fall when we had excess leftovers. I try to rotate oldest out as I put newer in.
I’ve found a new hobby of making journals (Junk, Art) that uses junk mail, food packaging, magazine clippings etc. and am thoroughly enjoying it. I also set up a work pace for myself in the guest room using my great grandmother’s old Singer machine as a desk, pulling a chair from the kitchen to use as a desk chair. I have further plans to make this room ‘mine’ since we seldom have guests where I can craft and write without having to clear the table every time.
I took a complete inventory of household items this past week, before this cold struck me down, and was pleased to note that we are well set in many areas without need of purchasing more of anything at this time.
I also made two batches of vinegar. One was fresh made apple core vinegar which formed a lovely little ‘mother’ in it’s initial incubation. Now it’s in the pantry continuing to age. Then I mixed up a batch of citrus vinegar to use as a cleaning agent for floors and such, using leftover citrus peels.
I’m thinking I will extend my pantry freezer challenge to next month, as well.
And most importantly…we came out of the end of the year with some credit card debt due to major repairs made on both our 20-year old cars. Not ashamed of the debt but anxious to pay it off. I managed a sizeable payment on both this month and am pleased to see those are coming down quickly.
Terri: I have read your posts diligently over time as I realized that your frugality put my Grandmother’s to shame! I have “stolen” many of your ideas. Hope all is well!
You mentioned fruit salad with less-appealing looking fruit: My Mom would make “fruit salad” with cut up whatever fruit we had, using orange juice as the sauce. This way, everyone could get two parts of strawberries, a couple pineapple chunks, some apple and some orange, and maybe ten blueberries– I never thought about how she shared things up, just that I liked it and the orange juice covered up less-interesting apples.