I was invited to be the speaker at a Seed Swap. The organizer had a lot of last year’s seeds donated from one source, in addition to the seeds that everyone brought. I took home a lot of free seeds, a mulberry branch cutting that I hope to root, and a baby octapus agave. I was particularly happy to get some seeds that I had been wanting to purchase and a cutting of the specific mulberry I was wanting to grow.
I started reading a book I got from the Little Free Library near me.
I made granola and Italian dressing from ingredients on hand.
I harvested Swiss chard, tomatoes, garlic chives, and parsley from my garden.
I attended a women’s activity at church. We played a game and I was one of the winners. I won a candy bar, a lip balm, and a journal with a pen. I gave the journal and pen to one of my daughters.
My husband gave me a haircut.
What did you do to save money last week?
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How awesome about the Seed Swap and what you came home with!! We had about 3” of unexpected d seed now this morning but on a happier note, it may reach 70 degrees on Saturday!
This week has been busy helping youngest son move to a new apartment across town that will be a much closer commute to work and also be a bit cheaper even though it’s the same size and still in a nice area. Grateful for our 12 year old van with fold down seats that doubles as a moving truck ! lol!
I bought butter on sale at Grocery Outlet for $1.99/ pound with no coupon needed and no limits. I also found 1 pound packages of grass fed organic 85/15 ground beef using Flashfood food for 99 cents instead of their “normal” $8.99 a pound. I bought the 8 that were available, saving $64!! https://pin.it/XXg0MIM6I
I made 72 meatballs and flash froze them for future meals, but we had to taste test them in meatball subs on free ciabatta rolls we had. Yum!
I bought 50 pounds of strawberries on Flashfood for 49 cents a pound. Let friends and family have about half of them. I dehydrated 18 pounds (9 pounds fit into 2 glass half gallon jars! https://pin.it/
Quilted up a quilt my daughter made: https://pin.it/3aq3KyZDm..
Pressure canned some beef chunks but since I only had enough for 5 pint jars, I added 3 pint jars of dry black beans to make a full batch in canner. https://pin.it/73YpM2jNc
Also made a rotisserie chicken in the crockpot from a 6 pound chicken I had. And baked up a dozen panko crusted chicken drumsticks in the oven. This is some of my investment cooking and preserving to save me time later on when I need something in a hurry and I’m worn out! Keeps us from getting takeaway food!
Since our food budget is the one line item that can be the most flexible, I’ve been most focused on that as a way to be better money managers and it seems to be paying off! We are eating well but at a fraction of what the typical store prices are and we are able to help other friends and family at the same time! It’s a good feeling!
That would be 3” of unexpected SNOW, not “seed now”
My thumb is clumsy on my phone when I try to type! 😖
I read it as you were that excited about Brandy’s seed take away 🤣
Living in NY I knew exactly what you meant and assumed it was auto correct lol
I went to a thrift store and bought 2 laundry baskets (different sizes) for $2 and $3 (Aldi sells them for $7.99); a sturdy plastic step stool that matches the color of my bedspread for $3; and a nice picture frame for one dollar.
Worked Sunday and was given a box of kolaches (sorta like hotdogs, with Czech sausage in the center) and donuts. So that covers several meals. Went to Aldi and they had half gallons of milk for only 79 cents. The exp. date is 3 days away so they were extra cheap. Bought 4 and froze 2. I can add a few grains of salt to the jugs in the fridge and that’ll keep the milk from souring before I can drink it all up. I got the credit union to issue a cashier’s check to the roofer in order to beat the March 1 deadline and not be counted late. (Because I had run out of checkbook checks. New ones didn’t arrive on time.) Got the post office to cancel the envelope containing the check, so it proves I mailed it on time, since the roofing company office is always locked up and they don’t have a drop box.
May I ask you about the grains of salt in the milk? That’s fascinating! Do you know why it works? Also may I ask you whether you find that frozen milk has a different taste? I’ve never done it before but intend to try it! Thank you for the good idea!
I don’t know why the grains of salt works but it does seem to extend the life of the milk for a few days. Maybe stops soame bacteria from forming?
We buy milk by the date– whatever has the farthest out date is what I get. We use very little of it, less than two quarts a month, so it doesn’t matter if it is whole, 2%, or skim, though I try to get whole milk because it seems to last longer.
I haven’t frozen milk; have read it is important to leave “head space” in the jug as it expands when it freezes, and it needs to be shaken very well when it is thawed.
Just my usual of taking my breakfast and lunch to work from home, eating supper at home, buying what I need at Aldi (spinach, cabbage, and one avocado, the avocado was 50 cents which is cheap for here). Gas went up to $2.89 gal. overnight. I didn’t buy any meat and I am debating on that one. I usually buy chicken legs at Piggly Wiggly for 99 cents a lb bc their chicken legs have more meat on them than other stores. I just don’t know if the prices are going to go up or not on chicken legs. I noticed sugar jumped 29 cents in a weeks time. I have eaten a lot of my dried beans this winter and I am debating on whether ai should buy a bit extras I still have about eight months worth of dried beans and I usually keep a years supply. I have been trying to eat down my storage but now with gas prices jumping I am wondering if I need to restock. What are you doing? The temp is in the 80’s and my heat is off as is my air.
If I could buy, I would. I am eating what we have.
Thank you Brandy, and Jeannie, and Laura. I believe I will buy a few bags of beans and chicken legs today after work.
I went to the store and bought enough dried beans to increase my supply by one month, eating a bean meal a day. That is the good news. The bad news is that I went home and inventoried my dried beans and I have a five months supply including the new purchase. I had no idea I let my dried beans supply get so low. So I have $20 to go spend on dried beans tomorrow at either Aldi or Walmart. There are next to each other so I will check out both prices. I have a good two months supply of other food and maybe three months if I stretch it carefully.
Second update. I went to Dollar General, Walmart, and Aldi. At Aldi I bought a jar of chicken Bouillon for $1.09. a one lb bag of lentils for $1.39. At Walmart I bought a 4 lb bag of lentils for $5.62 I think. At Dollar General I bought a one on bag of pinto beans for $1.25. I have not bought chicken yet and will probably do that Monday after work at the Piggly Wiggly in the town where I work. I appreciate this group bc if I told anyone around here I was comparing dried bean prices they would give me the side eye! Never mind I live in one of the poorest sections of the U.S.!
It’s time we all made new price books.
I was explaining this concept the other day to a woman who was forced into retirement. She just shops at Walmart. But Walmart is a lot more money than Winco, which is just on the other side of the freeway.
Pricing out beans is definitely worth it.
I have been making a lot more lentil recipes lately. Brown lentils are $0.97 a pound in bulk and red lentils are $1.49 a pound in bulk from Winco (which is much less than they are bagged in other places; my son said bagged lentils were $1.98 a pound when he looked at a store near him). A lot of the recipes I was trying called for red, but they could easily be made using brown lentils instead (adding a little more cooking time). This reduces the price significantly. So sometimes we need to choose a less expensive variety of beans, or shape of pasta, etc.
Brandy, I am not familiar with Winco. But recently I watched a video where a frugal blogger videoed her trip to Winco. It looked like a very interesting store and one that I would frequent if there was one near me. The prices she showed were quite good, compared to here in NC, especially the bulk area. Another blogger I follow makes the case that by sticking with sales, that other stores beat Walmart prices. A recent report from Consumer Reports indicated that big box stores and Aldi and Lidl now beat Walmart prices.
I agree about adjusting a price book. Even if the price is the same, due to “shrinkflation” it is really more expensive! So disheartening. I volunteer at our church’s food pantry and due to the price on beef, we’ve had to stop providing that until we can find a better sale price. 🙁 We still have found good prices on chicken and pork, so if families want those options, they are available, along with shelf stable chicken, tuna and dried and canned beans.
The bulk section is very good at Winco. I can still get some things cheaper at Sam’s Club (pinto beans, white, and Basmati rice) but for other beans, lentils, and some spices, I go to Winco (some spices I also buy at Sam’s, but I grow most of my own herbs now).
For spices, though they have a lot, they don’t have everything. I’ve compared between three different other places in town, and one Indian place (India Market is the name) has the best prices on the other spices I need. They’re half the price of the place I had found before for several spices (same brands). It’s far from me, but I have friends who live very close, so I go on the way to visit my friends.
Cindy in the South, I agree with Brandy, if you can afford to buy beans right now, do it. Your cash in the bank will only continue to crash in value. As for chicken, my husband read a news clip last night that they are slaughtering ANOTHER one million chickens here in the US. I do not believe the argument that it is a virus. No other countries seem to be having these “virus” problems only here where the farmers are offered top dollar compensation by the government if they kill them. I just checked tomorrow’s Kroger sale (starting March 4th)and boneless chicken breasts will be $1.99. Watch and see if you have the same sale too.
I won’t be buying beans because I still have a large amount from when a store went out of business about 5 years ago. They are fine but just take longer to cook if they aren’t soaked overnight.
I will send messages to my sons to load up on chicken. One has already asked me a few months back to watch for a killer sale – this is it if we can get it. He needs to can more for his long term storage.
My plan is to load up on eggs and freeze a bunch before the prices rise again.
You have your eyes open looking for the deals and that is the absolute best thing to do.
Jeannie
Jeannie, I agree with you on the chicken virus. Also, if it’s a bird flu, why aren’t all the wild ones and free range ones dying? Makes no sense!
Avian flu is widespread in certain wild birds, but is usually asymptomatic and songbirds rarely get it. Raptors and poultry are very vulnerable and it spreads like wildfire through flocks. It’s a 100% mortality rate once it hits, which is why you see such mass numbers being euthanized. Avian flu is worldwide, but less so in colder climates like Canada. China, France and many other countries vaccinate their foul against bird flu, but the US does not at this point. Unpasteurized milk can carry bird flu, so it should be avoided for consumption. My prayer is that it stays in chickens and doesn’t find an easy access to humans.
If anyone has cash in a bank, please look at how much interest you are earning. And then look at high yield savings accounts elsewhere. There are good HYSA’s that will pay close to 4% interest.
Ooh, I love that you got to go to a seed swap! I’ve had great intentions, but the weather and illness have gotten in the way.
This week, my hope is to distract myself from world events by starting my seeds. I did do a few containers for winter sowing, but I also won an indoor seed starting set, and I’m ready to try that.
Money-saving efforts of late, nothing too amazing but effort matters.
1) I met my dad for his birthday at a college town between our 2 cities. We went to a museum (free), pizza nearby (surprisingly enough, you got a % off for your birthday – so he got an amazing 80% off!) and then we went to the Lunar New Year celebration also on campus. It was a good day, and all we paid for was pizza and parking.
2) Gave my daughter my coupon in the mail for oil change – 20% off.
3) Carpooling for errands.
4) Using my empty prescription bottles for sharps containers for my insulin needles.
5) Made a list of all my questions before I went to my doctor’s visit! Saved follow-up time and felt more together.
6) Have done a lot of pantry/freezer cooking.
Like I said, nothing too amazing, but persistence matters!
Robbie
Robbie, a lot of what I do to save money isn’t amazing either, but it’s still frugal. Any money saved is a win for me😊
Robbie,
We also use empty (milk) bottles for our cats insulin needles. The amount of sharps needing to be tossed for their lifetime would be more costly if we had to but the medical sharps disposal.
And I also make a list of questions for medical appointments. At first they thought I was a little off (not that I care) but it makes it so much easier especially when I need to be my own advocate and with appointment times being on the clock – I want every minute to count!
I agree with making a list of questions for medical professionals. Not only does it make sure the information is complete, I think it prompts the doctor to pay attention more closely.
(Although when I was pregnant some decades ago, the books for expectant mothers included monthly lists of things to discuss with the doctor that would have led to appointments well over an hour long if I had tried to ask them all).
Check your local hospital for needle disposal. Mine has free sharps disposal bins. I save mine up and drop off when I’m nearby.
That is so cool that you were a speaker at the seed swap and that you got free seeds! I hope to have a garden this year. I lost 40 lbs this year and continue to lose about 1 lb a week. It is slowly coming off. I am feeling so much better! So I feel that I can tackle a garden this year. I am looking forward to it! I am getting rid of a couple of sizes of clothes so far and hope to get down more. I am glad I saved my smaller clothes. My husband told me he would gladly buy me new smaller clothes if I want them. To spread the budget I am wearing what I have. But I will probably have to supplement my wardrobe with new pieces. I have found it easier to go longer without food the more I have done it. I am eating until 80 percent full. Drinking lots of water and moving more. The more I move and lose weight the easier it has become. I’m not on any crazy diet. Although I try to eat more vegetables in every meal and more beans. Fruit is my desert, or yogurt, or a piece of cheese. Cooking at home for the most part has helped me feel better and is incredibly frugal. My whole family is feeling better. Which, of course, helps our medical bills disappear. If we go out, I might buy a sparkling water and take a small bite of what my husband is eating. We are enjoying cooking at home, making tasty salad with homemade dressings, soups, beans, lots of veggies, eggs, with meat here and there. We make a lot of ethic foods that use a lot of veggies. We enjoy Thai curries, Indian food, Korean dishes, Vietnamese food, Mexican food. All that use a lot of veggies and or beans. These foods are cheaper to make and absolutely delicious. I’ve learned to make homemade salsas and curry. It has been fun! It helps that my family appreciates it and that they like to cook too. We are getting eggs from our chickens. My husband made two types of quiche yesterday with different spices and vegetables. They were yummy. My son cooked some Greek beans with my help this week. I am enjoying making Greek food as well lately. The beans were wonderful with lots of spices and herbs. I mostly use the cheapest vegetables and fruit. But once in awhile, I just buy whatever vegetable I want. I think of it as a treat instead of a processed food treat, or candy bar, or donut. Because I am making things at home, even if I buy a vegetable that costs more, it is still cheaper than eating out or buying something that is overly processed. It takes more time to make things from scratch, but it is not only cheaper, but it is also healthier. I have a few go too that don’t take much time. I can get Tuna Thoran ready in 30 minutes. A Quesadilla takes less time or a grilled sandwich and some veggies and fruit. Eggs are easy. I make a Korean stir fry with cabbage and carrots or any vegetable I have, and Thai curries just require some cutting of vegetables and can be ready quickly. My son loves quesadillas, sandwiches, and soup. My husband will eat anything I make. Both are complimentary of my cooking. That makes me want to cook more and I don’t mind tackling new things. My sister and dad both loved a Thai green curry I made recently. It made me very happy. I wanted my sister to try it, but my dad did too when we brought it over for my sis to try it. Thai Beef mint salad is a favorite, but we have done it with other meats as well. I love mint in a salad. I think I might grow some in a pot this year. I also would like to grow Thai basil among other things. We hope to make it to our library and get some free seeds this year. Hopefully, very soon. Then I will order as well or go to the store to buy some. It has been a good week. Although, we did have to buy a new dishwasher recently. But honestly, The new dishwasher makes me incredibly happy. It works so much better than my other one. Lots of things to fix around the house. But we are tackling things a little bit at a time and still enjoying life. We will fix things as time and budget permits. I think one of the best things about a garden is shopping in your own back yard. Of course having healthy vegetables and fruits is a benefit as well. I hope you have a nice week!
I love your comment!
Thank-you Brandy!
Tammy, congratulations on your weight loss! I love all the things you are doing with your food!
Thank-you Laura!
Dear Tammy,
It is so nice to hear that things are going well for you. I love reading about what food dishes you are cooking. It all sounds very healthy and congratulations on your weight loss.
ann
Thank-you Ann!
I’ve never been to a seed swap, but our local library converted a library catalogue into a seed catalogue, and I got some free seeds from there.
Oh Brandy, so many seeds! What a blessing!
Most of my seeds arrived and I can’t wait for the rain to stop to get out in the garden. I did manage to start the onion seeds and put a sweet potato in water to root for slips. Since no garden work was done, I decided to use an old can of polyurethane to cover the wood on the iron shelf I bought at the estate sale last week. It looks great and it has gotten me energized to do more. Now that I have started, I’m in the mood and can’t stop painting! I have purchased (also from estate sales) big wicker baskets to hold the garden produce that will sit on the kitchen floor while waiting for processing. Cardboard boxes were previously used but I think it is time to upgrade. The baskets will be painted tomorrow. Now that I am looking around it seems like everything needs a fresh coat of paint, or wax, or a good scrub.
All the other savings were what we didn’t do – no grocery store, shopping, estate sales, or online purchases. My husband has worked in our yard and woods cutting firewood and burning huge piles of fallen trees caused by winter storm Fern. Now is the time to get it done because ticks will be hatching out around the end of this month. After that, no digging in the undergrowth until after the first fall frost. I have been cooking him big meals, all from the pantry.
The only harvest from the garden has been spinach but since it is growing rapidly, we have eaten quite a large amount. This is my February garden update. https://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2026/02/februarys-garden-2026.html There is almost nothing left other than spinach. The horse trainer’s trailer is still sitting empty beside my garden because of two flat tires. We are waiting for a new load before tilling starts. I will not complain because it is free. It seems wintertime rest is over.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
TYPO: I’m waiting for a load of manure from the horse trainer. Sorry to be so cryptic.
Jeannie
I did some home maintenance -cleaning blinds and window tracks.
This week I’m working through my list of quarterly maintenance tasks.
I cooked a batch of pinto beans in instant pot and put them in portions in the freezer. It makes for a quick meal base for a busy day.
I made cards to send to my grandchildren. All supplies had been given to me for free.
I ordered books from the library to read to my grandson on video chat.
I made 4 kitchen towels out of a thrifted organic cotton tablecloth. They will make gifts for one friend and one aunt.
I rescued food twice and have been preparing and eating it. I noticed the past few weeks there hasn’t been as much to rescue. The food pantry hasn’t had much to give out to clients either, which has made it rougher for a lot of people. This is an independent place that doesn’t get anything from governmental organizations, so the federal government cuts don’t directly impact what they have. Donations are way down, both at the business and private individual levels. As it was, they only gave 1 protein per family of any size per week. Lately, they haven’t even had the old breads to give out. Canned food – 1 per person per week. It’s getting harder and harder, so I continue rescuing food when I can.
I curb shopped a pair of slide style sandals that look brand-new, a stack of flower pots to use for growing herbs outside this summer, a cookie cutter and a hat. I went to an estate sale and got a couple of hand tools, some kitchen ingredients, some kitchen utensils, a jacket and a sweatshirt for $10 total. It was less than 1 mile from the community fridge that I put some rescued food into each week.
I combined errands with an in-person doctor’s office visit. Realize I should’ve filled the gas tank because with Trump’s war in Iran that has spread all over the Middle East, fuel prices are about to soar.
That’s rather sad about the food bank. I am sorry to hear that.
I think it’s going to get much worse for a lot of people in need.
And unemployment is rising. A LOT of companies are laying people off right now.
I am buying food, of course, but I’m not being anything non-essential. And I’m being very honest with myself about what I deem “essential.” I think hard times are here and will be getting harder. I want to be able to help our adult children/grandchildren and those in my community. I am always telling people where the free things are in our community.
I am sorry to hear about the limited options from your food bank. I had just posted how beef prices have affected our food bank’s supplies. Thankfully, our community has rallied and there have been a number of food drives to benefit our pantry, so-except for beef-we are still able to supply a month’s worth of food to families, regardless of the size of the family. We feel very blessed that we are still able to provide for our neighbors.
First, Brandy, what is the white flower in the last picture? It’s beautiful! Next, I feel like had a Gardenpat score for once. Our local Mennonite grocery offered pre-orders of chicken…boneless chicken breasts and thighs were $79 for 40 pounds (1.975/lb.), and boneless chicken tenderloins were $89 for 40 lbs ($2.225/lb). When I went to place my order the day the email came out , they were all sold out. I was very disappointed. When I went to that same store to buy our milk (non-homogenized and also some raw, what they call pet milk here), I decided to ask if they had any extra boxes of the chicken. They did!!! I bought one box of each of the first, and two boxes of the tenderloins. An unexpected purchase but worth it. When we opened up the boxes, the chicken was all over the place (none of the bags were sealed). So, we got ziplocks from the house and bagged it all up. My husband plugged in a side by side left by the former owners that I was going to sell and we put the chicken in there. We were concerned we might trip the breaker in the garage, as we had had a lot of issues before, but the rewiring my husband did must have helped because we didn’t. That chicken froze solid quickly, as did the packages we put in the other freezer in the garage. Normally, I only buy locally raised chicken that is raised in a healthy manner (this was not per the young man who loaded it for us), but almost all the kids and their families are coming to visit at the same time and this will feed a lot of people. I try to aim for 80%/20%, if not more, but sometimes it’s just what it is. We had also bought a 25 pound box of chemically free lemons from the same store on pre-order (ordered organic carrots but the grower’s crop failed). My DIL juiced most of them and we froze the juice in ice cube trays to use in the future. I usually buy the two big bottles of organic lemon juice from Costco, but now that the kids have their own homes, it goes bad before I can use it. This was a great way to save. She also zested some, and I discovered that my new air fryer with lots of functions has a dehydrate function! No need to pull out the dehydrator and the zest was dry in less than an hour! I also sold the dryer that came with the house for $75! We have our own. Had a wonderful conversation with the people who bought it. She often uses a clothesline, but there are days (like yesterday that was rainy) that she wanted a dryer and their other one they bought used had given out. My husband is thrilled that I am finally starting to sell again and he is getting back garage space. We spent the weekend outside as the weather was beautiful. My DIL and I started reclaiming the garden beds (seriously neglected); it’s going to take quite a few weekends 😬, but the flowers that were exposed are happy to breathe again. My husband and son planted trees. We bought a bunch of small arborvitae (they grow fairly quickly) for the front of the property to add privacy and noise barrier from the road (which apparently has become much more travelled😩). We also purchased bare root trees for $12 each from a local farmer…three apple, two pear, two plum, three peach, and two maple. The pear, peach and plum trees will also be added to the front of the property and start our food forest. The apple will go along the side property line with berry bushes (my DIL’s sister is buying 100 blueberry bushes in bulk and offering some to us). The maples will replace some old shade trees that need to go (my husband and son are taking down a bunch of trees, and the oaks are will be great for firewood inside (the rest we will use in the fire pit outside). I know this is long, but so much saving happened this past week and I am sooooo excited! Have a great week everyone!
The flower is Leucojum aestivium, aka Summer Snowflake. In cooler climates than mine, it blooms in June.
Thank you! I am going to find some for my garden. They are gorgeous, as are so many of your flowers😊
I have started winter sowing in milk jugs. This is my first year doing so.
We have been looking to move out if the city for the last few years and praying this is the year.
We will have having baby #8 in Aug.
We struggle with so many trees in our yard but we still have some garden beds. In the last couple of years we have e bought grow bags and I now have 2 greenstalks. These I will be able to move around in the sun when needs and also be able to move if we find something in the middle of garden season.
I have only filled my van once in the last 2 months. I combine errands ans use my husband’s car for the gas mileage.
We have used the library for movies, audio books, books, and video games for free entertainment.
Really focused this month on eating out of the freezers this month. We had a child medical emergency in late January and still waiting for the Dr bills to come through.
As I start deep cleaning each room I am adding things to donation and decluttering. As a large family it can be hard — even when each person has h 2 pairs of shoes, there are still a lot of shoes 😜
We have homeschool field trips and will be packing lunches and homemade lemonade (your recipe has been loved for years!!).
When I can I have been packing leftovers into the freezer using the Costco version souper cubes (Xmas gift from my sister). This will help with summer lunches and will use them to make postpartum meals and soups.
I also plan to use the library free seed library to fill in what I need.
We did haircuts at home.
The children have been enjoying coloring contests with eachother. Using markers from Christmas . We print at home (our printer recently said we’ve printed over 10,000 pages – a huge savings with homeschool too.)
I paid 56 cents for 3 maternity items from old navy using my credit card points. We had my husband’s car in the shop (bigger job than we could do- which we tried) and paid using the credit card for points and promptly paid it off… I have used this system for buying childrens clothes too.
Congratulations on the coming baby 8! With nine kids (and a few who always ended up at our house), we had quite the shoe pile as well.😂 It was one of the kid’s weekly chore to straighten the shoes.
Weekly chore assignment is a great idea. THANK YOU! W
Faith from Indiana, congratulations on baby #8! You are blessed!
Jeannie
Thank you Jeannie.
Congratulations! What a blessing baby #8.
Hello Brandy, how lovely that you got a cutting of the plant you wanted. That’s a lot of seeds to share out.
To save money I have been stocking up on dry goods while they are on offer. I’m only buying fruit and vegetables that are on offer. I’ve been using lentils more in soups, curry and stews as they pad the meal out and everyone seems to like the changes.
I’ve repaired 2 pairs of trousers and resewn a hem. Made a head warmer for a daughter, from wool I already had.
Painted a wooden star and using items I had, I made a little memorial plaque for our 1st grandchildren that was born too early. Our daughter loved that I had taken the time to do it.
On the request of this daughter I am making tiny premature baby outfits, to donate, with material I have. She said it made things easier to have her tiny baby clothed in an outfit that someone else had made with love and care.
Sending great sympathies for your grandchild. It is so important you are remembering and acting.
Thank you. I will have more empathy for others this happens to.
I’m sorry about your grandchild. What a comfort you are to your daughter. My sister lost a baby and she was so grateful for the clothes that had been donated. She volunteers her photography skills to an organization that offers free professional photos to parents who’ve experienced infant loss.
How lovely to do something so positive. My neighbour who is a dental technician now volunteers to make the hand and feet casts.
what a beautiful gift — the star. my condolences.
A star is something that reminds me of the nativity and hope
Diane, what a beautiful way to honor your granddaughter; I’m so sorry for your loss.
Thank you, so much.
Grandchild…I’m sorry.
Thank you. We have just been told that my daughter should still be able to have a family in the future. Blessed indeed.
Oh Diane, I am so sorry. My condolences to you and your family.
A seed swap sounds like a fun community event. What was the topic of your presentation?
On the frugal front:
I spent a weekend with several college friends. We stayed at my mother’s townhouse and each brought a meal and snacks. We went to a cute historic town to shop. I bought my daughter a used leather coat for $35. She was thrilled.
Our remodel continues. While a remodel is not a frugal endeavor, we are mindful of where to spend and where to save. We have prioritized durability, function and timeless design over trends. We have saved for many years to pay for the project, and are tracking the budget as we progress.
I continue to drive my 10 year old Toyota Corollla. It may not be fancy, but it is affordable, dependable and economical to operate and maintain.
HH was able to repair our kitchen faucet. He truly dislikes plumbing repairs, but I am thankful he is willing to tackle them, especially since this faucet will be replaced soon.
We were in a nearby town for a funeral. While there, we stopped at a liquidation grocery store. We purchased fruits, frozen meats, and a few pantry items that were great deals. It was very helpful to have a good feel for typical sale prices since not everything in the store was a good deal.
I used deeply discounted ripe bananas from the liquidation store to bake banana muffins for one neighbor who had a knee replacement and another neighbor who’s father recently passed away.
I look forward to reading everyone’s frugal feats.
I was asked to speak on garden design. That’s a topic I haven’t spoken on before, so I needed to write a new talk 😆
I would have loved to hear you speak on garden design!
Julianne, would you be willing to share the name of the liquidation grocery store? Minnesota is a neighboring state, and I really enjoy visiting discount grocery stores when I’m in the vicinity of one since we live in a rural area. Thanks
Hello, all! I hope Spring is on its way to all of you. I love all seasons and especially the shoulder seasons between seasons when every day it looks like something new is happening outdoors. But, I am eager for some warmer weather and the shift to more projects being tackled outside. Number one on my list today was to wash our truck to remove all the salt that accumulates during the winter. Keeping our vehicles in good shape and avoiding rust as much as possible is certainly frugal. Also doing some garden clean up to be ready for early spring seeding and picking up some free mulch at the church down the road helps, as well. In my quest to always learn new things and inspired by GardenPat’s tremendous savings with FlashFood, I looked into their app but it looks as if no stores near me participate. Also looked into Too Good To Go. There are a few stores in the area that participate with that one but pick-up is late at night (understandably as they are clearing out stuff at the end of the day) and I am never in town that late. Plus, it is not food we would want to eat anyway generally speaking (leftovers from convenience stores, etc.) But, you never know if you don’t consider all possibilities and it shows that different savings opportunities exist in different locations. The play my son and I were performing in ended and we have a great experience! I’m glad the loan of our antiques and vintage clothing for sets and costumes saved the theatre company money which can be funneled into the next production. Everyone brought food to feed the crew and actors (especially important with a cast with kids!) which makes it even more fun and saves people from the typical theatre thing of everyone going out to eat a late night meal after the show (which can be a fun but expensive way to bond.) We will now save a bit on gas money for a while not having to go to 4 rehearsals/week…until the next show! With the warmer weather also comes our landscaping jobs with neighbors which is always helpful to the bottom line. We continue to eat as much from items we have on hand with strategic shopping for things to go with those pantry staples so we save money by avoiding buying too much and we use up what we have. Not very exciting but the little things add up. Hope everyone has a lovely week!
My daughter did community theater for several years when she was in school. I do miss those days! What show were you both in?
I agree about Too Good To Go. Lots of convenience store stuff, but I occasionally get things like pizza from a higher-end pizza place that is so good, a French bakery and I did splurge and try a smoked meats place downtown today. I am making sourdough bread and we’ll nosh on cold cuts/chartcuterie for a week! Good because sports practices will be 5 days a week, so everyone is going separate directions.
Robbie
Your pictures are amazing as always. I wish I could have been in Las Vegas to here your talk at the seed swap. From the looks of the seeds I bet it was amazing. We have been working in the yard and field trying to finish off picking up limbs and trees. I believe we are as done as can be. I have been cooking more and we have been trying different dishes with basically the same food. I think you can add some type of cheese to anything and it’s good. We had a potluck lunch after church Sunday. Everyone brought dishes and it was a great time of fellowship. We had dinner with a daughter lives in a different town. We all ordered salads and so it was not very costly. We continue to walk everyday and visit the library. Our local greenhouse opens this weekend and I am going to get candy onions to try to grow this year. I have always wanted to grow onions.
I would have loved to hear you speak at a seed swap! I hope to attend our own seed exchange this Saturday which is much like your seed swap. I am very determined to do more with gardening this year. I did invest in a 6 tier chrome storage rack this year that I will start seeds on.
I have been slowly stocking up on meat here and there when I find markdowns. Usually, they can be found at the beginning of the day at certain stores. At Aldi I found ground pork marked down to $1.60/lb so I bought some of that, then at our Kroger chain here I found chicken breasts for .99/lb, so I purchased 5 packages. I love making egg roll in a bowl with ground pork, soy sauce, and coleslaw mix that I get at Sams Club.
I also called in today to save 10% off of a medical bill we had for one of our kids recently – the 10% off is supposed to be if you pay promptly. The customer service agent asked if I had insurance (we currently do not) and then said we could have a 42% off discount instead because we are self pay. I know it’s not ideal to not have insurance, but I was really grateful for that discount.
Also, one tip that has nothing to do with being frugal but really handy – did you know that rubbing a tylenol / acetaminophen capsule over a very hot iron will dissolve burnt on sediment? One of my irons got a horrible buildup after a supposedly 100% wool ironing mat started to melt onto it. Just make sure to hold the capsule safely with something like needle nosed pliers, but I was truly amazed at how well it dissolved the burnt on substances.
That’s good to know!
Good Morning!
The biggest savings is to maintain a healthy life. Credit to Tammy for the weight loss. I have been my husband’s meal service since August. That means I have counted all the calories for every meal and snack and portioned things out accordingly for day and night meals. ( He is a farmer and is sometimes on the tractor late at night). Everything is in a cooler bag and he just has to eat from a bag. If I am gone ( I have been traveling) I have done stocked the frig for up to 14 days. Of course this saves him eating out but more importantly he has lost 35 pounds. The big drum roll pay off ……. yesterday at the doctor’s he was able to get off his blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds. (Silver lining is that saves $30 in prescriptions.)
Our finances have taken quite a turn in the last six months. Farmers are in big trouble in our area right now. The peach growers in our area have all lost their contracts. (Del Monte has shut down.) The tomato contracts are rare. Our walnut buyer went bankrupt and we lost $300,000 in last year’s payout. Thank goodness we have kileer frugal skills even though in the years prior we have had a comparatively generous lifestyle. We have lots of options and Hubby is a miracle worker with finances but he has asked me to take over some of the expenses – like the gas for my car. OK. I priced out the different round trips I do. Mom at $15.00 r/t stays. $24.00 mall goes. It is $10 /rt to sub a day at the music academy. However, I can net $100 for just under 4-5 hours of work. So that stays.
I have gamified March’s budget.. I set some goals to cut in areas and come up with work arounds. We will have lots of fruit available that comes ripe and I don’t always get it all. No longer!!! It will take effort but I can do it. I have time now rather than money. When I was working full time I had more money than time. It is good that I enjoy lots of home crafts and learning. I can entertain myself quite happily without spending any money. I have wheat berries from his crop. Honeydew melons will come in the summer along with figs.
Thank you for that sobering look into what is happening right now to farmers.
Oh dear. I think I may buy some cans of tomatoes, peaches and perhaps walnuts based on what Mary Ann has posted.
I am sorry that your farmers are suffering and I am sorry Del Monte has shut down.
The loss of the Canadian market due to the grass roots boycott protesting the attempt to destroy our economy sector by sector?
Sorry to hear about the troubles of the farmers. and sorry about Del monte.
Thank-you Mary Ann! Better health does save money! Congratulations on what you have helped your husband do as well! I like learning as well! Sounds like you have a good plan.
Sending prayers for farmers. I can’t imagine taking that much of loss at once. I have had job lost before but this is horrible.
Mary Ann,
I was unaware of the Del Monte closure so researched a bit online. I’m so sorry as it looks to be devastating for so many farmers, especially peach and pear farmers. I had no idea that farmers planted orchards based on long term contracts and those contracts have disappeared due to Del Monte’s bankruptcy and lack of plant buyer. I hope other buyers can step in quickly. And that doesn’t include the job losses due to the plant closure. I’m hoping for the best for you and all the other affected families.
Last week I mentioned my fig trees, and Marybeth from NY asked where I live. Marybeth, I’m in California, zone 10a. I may try wrapping them, and will probably bring the potted one inside next winter. I really appreciate your insight. The older tree is clearly in need of some attention.
Figs shouldn’t need to be brought inside in a zone 10 nor wrapped. They wil overwinter just fine outside. I grow figs outside and I know lots of people who do here in zone 9 as well as people who grow them in zone 10. Fruit trees in warm climates need a certain number of chilling hours in order to produce fruit.
If they are potted, they will need extra phosphorus, more so than trees in the ground, in order to produce fruit.
I am in Central Valley, California. We have several giant volunteer figs – mission and a green one I don’t know the species. They have thrived in our zone with absolutely no care. Maybe they don’t thrive in pots?
I used to live in the Central Valley! And we had a fig tree that was prolific. Now we live north of San Francisco and we have a fig again (I brought a cutting with me). Though we get a good number of sharp frosts, my fig doesn’t need any care.
Everything in a pot will require more water, at a minimum, and perhaps other babying as well. Since water is not free (we’re on a meter) and overall water is a precious and limited resource, I don’t grow any trees in pots. And overall I severely limit growing anything in pots (I have a couple of pots with herbs that are not water hogs). My fruit trees in the ground get watered from our rain water barrels in the summer (and no supplemental water in the winter). I’m training them to put their roots down deep and get their own water.
Thank you, all, for the input. I’ll try to keep people posted on how they do. 🙂
We love our fig trees. They produce so much. I pour cooled water from making hard boiled eggs and steaming veggies on them. I like to think the added nutrients help.
That would have been very cool to see you speak or to have someone here speak. At most if it is free, you better be knowledgeable how. Which is very acceptable, but I am learning through volunteering at the local food pantry there is a lack of knowledge or hesitation to ask for help. I have a feeling you spoke with great encouragement and were very helpful.
This past week we are learning our appliances need new parts or we will make due with the appliance doing 80% of what it can do. We have the skill, now we just need to find the parts.
I collected some of my moms yard waste to burn and save the ash to use for next years ice (on walk ways).
Prepped what could be done for this years vegetable and flower garden. Seeds that have been successful have been started in milk jugs, seed potatoes are in a sunny window, I started covering the garden with cardboard and compost to deter winter weeds that are the brightest green weeds I ever did see. The month we had more than a foot of snow to the compost pile, collected food waste and scraps were stored in an old garbage can until it could get dumped. Dirt is not cheap these days.
Met friends for brunch and ate beforehand – enjoyed a hot drink there to still be social and have the bill be costly.
Wishing everyone a calm and productive week!
*I sold a few clothing items online. I am trying to get something listed daily. I met $198 of my February goal if $200. I will try again for $202 in sales in March. The big thing is I am cleaning out and organizing the house.
* As I eat through the inside freezer I found a bag of breaded tenders with just enough for supper one night. I had 2 remaining small breast pieces in another bag, corn on the cob I put up in 2023, and green beans I canned in 2023. I have a big lump of frozen onion I dont think I will want to try to eat, but I will put it in when I make bone broth, along with older celery I dehydrated and need to use up.
* My friend dropped of some sourdough starter this morning. I want to begin making bread again and try the discard recipes this time, and th3 jalapeño cheddar bread, and the cranberry walnut bread.
* I cut my husbands hair
* We paid extra on our mortgage
* I went to an estate sale and filled two grocery bags with fabric for $30, I got4 spools of thread for $.50 each, a quilt book for $1, a friend gave me fabric and 9 vintage patterns.
* I had a Bucees car wash from last year that I used. I only buy the wash when I fill up. It is $16 but you get $1 off 15 gallons of gas, so $1 if you buy 15 gallons of gas. I normally dont let my tank go under half a tank so when I go out of town and am near empty I pay the $1 for the wash. I had 7 saved up.
* I am cutting fabric from my scrap bin for the Four Patch Fun quilt I am making. I am going ahead and cutting the fabric from the estate sale in 2 5″ strips, 5″ and 2 5″ squares ready to use in quilts. I normally wrap fabric around comic boards and put on a shelf, but I am trying to get some cut for future quilts. I am trying not to buy fabric, but I keep getting ads for bundles of beautiful fabric and I want it all! It is like a disease. So far i only bought the estate sale fabric, and rescued it- wink wink. I ought to get an award or something, oh maybe a fabric bundle would be a good reward 🙂
Last week disappeared. Being sick probably had something to do it since I was downing cold meds all week.
Earned $0.75 from Ibotta
Earned $2.95 from Amazon shopper panel reward
Downloaded a free Amazon first read book
Earned a free soda from the gas station.
Chopped up and froze 3 zuchinnis
Chopped up the rest of my mini sweet peppers and used them in quiche.
Got a second dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts for $1
Washed three of the dogs at home.
Very thankful that our cruise is nowhere near the middle East-nor is our flight home in 12 days. Many air and sea passengers are stranded and/or enduring missile attacks. Prayers for everyone currently affected by war.
My daughter says she is flying in to surprise my cousin at his baby shower. She leaves about 90 minutes after I arrive so if my flight is on time I hope to have a quick visit with her at her departure gate. If it doesn’t work out I will be seeing her in May.
I bought some plane tickets using my husbands American Advantage points-the only cost was $5.60 which I consider a great bargain.
My friend told me that on the first Tuesday of the month, Safeway offers 15% off all its prices (even off of sales prices). So I tried to stock up. I bought $144.00 of groceries and then saved about $50.00. Most of the items were already on sale. Still I was appalled at the prices and a lot of shelves in the stores are bare. Prices have really gone up especially on dairy in the past month. I am hoping to make it almost through the month on this load of groceries, except for bread. I have bought some yellow pre-cooked cornmeal and hope to make some arepas to replace bread if I need to do so.
I have never made them but they look easy to do.
A comment above wondered what the reader should do — stock up?? Yes definitely yes.
It looks like the war against Iran will not be over soon and gas prices will soar (and today have soared). When they do, there will be inflation on other items such as food.
Time to stock up again…
Brandy, nice to hear about your talk and the seeds! I have decided to relocate
my raised garden beds so it gets more sunlight. It will be easier to water as it will be nearer to the faucet.
Yes! We’ve all seen how inflation has driven up food prices recently (thinking specifically about all the foods that cost double now). Whatever we can buy or grow now is going to save us so much more in the months and years to come.
I’ve seen prices go down as inflation has eased and energy prices have drastically decreased. Also, there are many jobs being created.
February Jobs Report shows that in the U.S., 92,000 jobs were lost, unemployment has risen to 4.4%, and jobs were lost three of the last five months.
Everyone I know, even people who never worry about money, has remarked on how much things have gone up.
Grocery prices rarely figure in official inflation reports, but they are up all over the world, as readers can attest from their corner of the globe.
Oil prices are now rising sharply daily and it’s going to cause more increase in the price of everything around the world as oil and LNG exports from the Persian Gulf are blocked.
If one can afford to stock up on anything now, be it grocery staples, clothes on clearance in the next size up for children, shoes on clearance for one’s self, etc. it will help them in the inflation that we are all about to see.
This week gas prices went up 80 cents a gallon overnight. I left several items on the shelf in the grocery store due to price increases. One grocery item increased by $1. The increases continue and it is getting very scary.
It’s going to get much worse. Fertilizer prices are affected because LNG is used to produce ammonium nitrate, which farmers need to fertilize their fields. Qatar has had to stop production, and it’s going to affect food prices worldwide.
That is very worrisome!
Here is a website that has been such a help to me in cutting expenses. A cute husband and wife team, they cover EVERY aspect of saving money, but I especially enjoy their videos on saving money at the grocery store. They have a website “Under the Median – Live with Joy and Abundance on a Budget” and they also have a YouTube channel.
https://underthemedian.com/how-to-save-money-on-a-low-income-each-month/
https://www.youtube.com/@UndertheMedian
Kathy, I watch Under the Median on YouTube all of the time. Hope and Larry really know what they are talking about and are very serious about saving money! Their channel is a great resource.
I’m looking forward to gardening this spring. I moved to be closer to my daughter and the soil is about as bad as it can be so I will try going around to farms for free manure as well as making compost. Brandy, you mentioned a few years ago that you bought some worms from someone in Texas. I bought some and would like to buy more to improve my garden, could you please give the name again so I can place my order? Thank you!
Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm
Is there a source for free compost in your area? Our city provides it for free.
Our master gardener motto is “Compost, compost, compost, mulch, mulch, mulch”. The worms will come if you improve your soil and compost is one of the best ways to do that. Mulch also is vital. I’m always astonished to see gardens with bare soil. Rice straw is best for veggie beds and wood chips can be used in landscape areas or under fruit trees (don’t let mulch touch the trunks). Not only does mulch help improve your soil, it also helps retain moisture and decrease water need.
How wonderful that your city has a green recycling program and offers free mulch. It’s not everywhere. Definitely worth using if one lives where that option exists!
Jane – You may know this so excuse me if I am telling you this unnecessarily. Use caution when getting manure from farms especially if it is horse manure. Unless the animals are completely grass-fed (no hay) or are fed only hay grown in fields not treated with pesticides/weed-killer, you can unknowingly be putting those chemicals in your garden and have no idea why things don’t go well. Also, horse manure can be a concern if the animals are treated for internal parasites with chemical wormers. All of that goes right through them and into the manure. This can be less of a concern with cow or chicken manure though they need to be well-aged (especially chicken) or it will be too hot. I mention it as some farms do not have the space to age large amounts of manure so anything you’d get directly from them might cause problems for the reasons I mention above. I have known people who have been through this and then were kicking themselves for spending so much time with free manure that killed their plants or caused them to do very poorly. When we had horses, we kept a manageable amount of manure for years before we ever used it for gardening and then only things on things we didn’t eat (we fed them chemical-free hay but did worm them.) The rest we had hauled away (for free) to a man who had a business and the space to pile it up in huge piles and let it sit for years. Our chicken manure is much more manageable. There is loads of information on soil-building available today. You can really go down a fascinating rabbit-hole if you so choose. 😁 Best of luck and have fun!
I had SO many problems with horse manure: too hot and it killed all kinds of trees and other plants, plus I ended up with crabgrass/bermuda grass that was so invasive I couldn’t get rid of it after 15 years. We ended up having to dig out the beds completely and take all that soil to the dump.
I only use sterile steer manure in bags now because of that.
Jane, I agree with what everyone else has said about being careful with the manure you get. I get trailer loads of manure from a horse trainer close by me. It has improved my horrible soil 1000%. He raises show horses so no chemicals can be used because the horses are tested. By accident, some glyphosate (Round-up) ended up in my compost pile from food scraps. After composting for one year, it was put on two rows of my garden and destroyed them for two years. If the manure is safe, it will be like magic and worth the effort. If you aren’t sure, pile it in an area and plant flowers. If there are no problems, transfer it to your vegetables. You can Google images that will show the damage it does to plants so you can be watchful. Keep looking. You will find something.
Jeannie
This will cover several weeks as I’m not good at posting consistently.
We celebrated my mother’s 95th birthday! We are blessed. Her twin sister celebrated in FL! Because she lives out of town and we were traveling, I packed lunches for us and took food to eat while out of town, limiting fast food breakfasts and going out to eat-except for the lunch time celebration! My children were able to join us and I think she felt well loved and celebrated. 🙂
During our trip we used GasBuddy to check on gas prices and used rewards to bring down the price of gas. This will be even more important now. We also drove my car which is a “gas sipper” with better mileage than my husband’s.
I made a number of items from scratch-pizza crust, pie crust, artisan bread, beans from dried plus pretty much all home cooked meals. I can’t find the great deals like GardenPat in my area, but I did find chicken legs for .80#, which was the best I’ve seen here. I got BI thighs for .99 that I deboned, saving 1.79/# compared to buying them boneless.
I have continued to eat down my pantry and freezer, though I may resume stocking up now. It was good to use up so many items however, many that have languished in the freezer. I saved from the food budget by doing so.
I foraged fresh rosemary in a public park as I can’t get it to grow in my yard, despite multiple attempts. My husband foraged 2 cups of pecans after a recent windy day.
Bought a whole chicken which I cooked in the crockpot which I then used for 4 meals and finished it off by making broth with the peels and bits from onions, celery and carrots. I used to use these items from my produce drawer, but now I keep the peelings in a bag in the freezer to use for this. I’m reusing what would have gone in the compost pile.
We had heavy snow (8”) which is unusual for our coastal area. Then we had frigid weather for days on end, so much that our sounds froze. To try to help with the high electric bills, we lowered our thermostat again and used throw blankets and have kept them low to hopefully help even out the bills a bit.
I look forward to reading and learning from others! Thanks again Brandy. So glad you’re back!
Brandy- that is wonderful that you gave a presentation about garden design! Our local church thrift shop had all clothing for $1 this week. I have not seen that price at any thrift shop in years. I bought three sweaters for my daughters. Does anyone have a good, not-too-spicy chili recipe and a good, easy cornbread recipe?
HI Tara,
There are so many ways to make chili. I use ground beef or ground turkey or ground pork.. My preference is beef. Brown it in a pot with a chopped onion. We like to use sweet peppers and a jalapeño or Rotel tomatoes. But we like spicy food. You could use just the sweet pepper chopped and add a can of diced tomatoes. Sometimes, I use fresh if I have a lot of tomatoes. Then I add a can of tomato sauce. Then beans. If I make extra dried beans, I add that. Otherwise, I will get a can of pinto beans, a can of chili beans and a can of kidney beans. Although, I have added black beans before and that is tasty too. Generally, beans stretch the meat. If I add a lot of beans, I will add more tomato sauce. Then I also add cumin, chili powder, garlic (fresh or powdered), and you can add onion powder and paprika. I never really measure. You can start with a teaspoon and add more if you want more. I like my chili heavier on the cumin. Also add salt and pepper or let your family add what salt they want. It is yummy with sour cream and cheddar cheese. But sometimes we eat it as is. Often, I just use a jiffy mix for cornbread. My husband likes me to add a small can of green chilis to it and sometimes a bit of grated cheese. Although we love it as is and served with butter and honey. Sometimes my husband will put molasses on it. Chili can be made so many different ways. My mom makes a meat chili and adds water sometimes to stretch it more. I prefer not to do that. I’d rather add beans and tomato sauce and put in more spices. If you don’t have a lot of spices, you can buy chili beans that are already flavored with chili seasoning. I used to do that when I was a young mother on an extremely frugal budget. I have also made homemade cornbread. I usually just google the recipe. I don’t have a specific recipe to tell you. But I hope this helps.
I forgot to mention that I have also made chili with the only spice being chili powder and salt and pepper. It was tasty as well. But I love cumin and the other spices in my chili. My son likes to add fresh green onions to his bowl. My husband enjoys chopped onion.
We really like The Frugal Gourmet (if you remember that PBS show) Texas Chili. Google search to find.
The amount of meat could be reduced or use a cheap cut, (it isn’t hamburger), beans added, and we don’t add jalapenos.
It uses cumin seed, which is an important part of the flavor, I think.
If you are in the UK, I recommend looking up Heritage Lottery Week. You buy a lottery ticket and you get FREE entry to as many of the participating attractions as you like for the whole week. It runs from today until next Sunday. We don’t gamble, but I am happy to view the ticket as my “entry ticket” to all these attractions!
Today we went to a National Trust property near us, trusty lottery ticket in hand. I brought a packed lunch and packed snacks, and we enjoyed the house and gardens for hours. It was my children’s first time visiting a stately home and my eldest was completely blown away by the house. He absolutely loved going round it, exclaiming in very loud tones over how beautiful everything was! And my daughter who loves flowers was enchanted by the walled gardens – rooms and rooms of gardens that seemed to go on forever!
We are doing zero homeschool lessons next week, just spending every day going to a different National Trust property while the offer lasts!
[We did not, incidentally, win the lottery with the ticket I bought 🙂 ]
We just arrived in Darwin so looking forward to going out exploring despite the passing rain showers.
DD texted yesterday that she is engaged-we have known since Nov and her boyfriend must have found the perfect moment to surprise her. He told her he had to work this weekend and a friend who was in on it made fake plans with my daughter. He gave her his mothers loved engagement ring which had been resized-in the pic she sent it appears to be a diamond. Recycling at it’s finest-his father passed in 2014 so I think his mother is pleased to see the ring used again by the oldest of her two sons.
I popped into a grocery store in Australia yesterday-milk was double and bananas were 3 times what we pay at home! I would think they can grow them here so no idea why they cost so much. I would not want to be feeding a family here.
DD texted that she is now engaged so we are very happy for them-I havent heard a date yet. Headed home in one more week.
Officially, we’ll not get another fill-up from the propane company. However, it looks like we’re going to go right into really warm weather (already seeing temps in the 80’s) which means the AC will be coming on.
Technically the pantry/freezer challenge is over for me. I used a good bit of older food items that otherwise were being buried or pushed aside in favor of other things. Now I am ready to stock up on those things that ran out while I was not shopping.
I gave my living room a free makeover using only what I had on hand, switching things around, changing the accent colors and decided to decoupage a lamp which made it quite pretty. It’s a very old lamp, about 33 years old but good yet.
I’ve been doing yard clean-up, a little bit each day rather than a lot all at once. That’s the way I’ve paid off the credit card debt as well, a little at a time, set aside consistently adds up.
This week I’ve added extra entrees to my freezer as I’ve made our meals. Most recipes will feed four to six. There are only two of us so I split the entrees up and freeze portions. Convenience food without the expense of spending at the grocery store.
I’m going to do a big grocery stock-up this next week. It will be interesting to note if I see the sort of price increases you all have mentioned. I cannot judge by the only grocery we have in our small town. I bought pizza, chips, drinks and ice cream for the grandkids yesterday (we have one outing a month together) and it came to $52…I could have gone out of town and picked up take out for less! And in future I may well do so. The local store has lower meat costs but abysmal prices on other things and the produce is sketchy.
One of my daughters is 24 weeks along, expecting their first baby. She flew in from Connecticut for her baby shower this past weekend, but ended up in the ER after she got here with complications. She now lives at the hospital for a few months. Hopefully Baby will stay put for as long as possible. They are hoping to get her to 34 weeks which is unlikely. He will be very very small. But…the blessing is that she is here. The hospital is five minutes from my house in one direction and five minutes from her sister in the other direction. This is her hometown, she grew up here and has many friends from church and school. And, our hospital is a top notch maternity hospital with a renown NICU so she won’t have to be separated from her baby. If all outcomes are positive, they’ll not be able to head home til August. Oh, and they have great insurance and the hospital is in network, even though it’s out of state. Her husband flew in and can stay in the hospital with her. But, he can pop over for laundry, food or anything. She has two sisters and a brother who live in state and they are also flooding her with attention. Sisters brought things from home to make her room cozy. I’ve been bringing over plates of dinner so they don’t have to eat hospital food all the time. Thankfully our hospital has free parking. And friends have been dropping off coloring books, puzzle books, treats and other activities for her. So, this isn’t ideal…we are worried for our little guy, but we are making the best of it. *I got to volunteer in my granddaughter’s second grade class. They are making paper mache puppets. It was a free way to have fun. Second graders are hysterical. *We haven’t really had a chance to spend money, so that may be our biggest savings this week. Cooking from scratch, sharing our meals, knitting and crocheting, reading and watching basketball and hockey games are keeping me occupied. And lots of hospital visiting. Hope everyone has a good week.