Frugal Accomplishments

I made a cake from scratch for Liberty’s birthday. That is an Armenian cucumber. I harvested some Armenian cucumbers from the front garden, including one super large one. I canned 14 pints of dill pickles. I also picked a few apples from the garden. I cut tarragon, basil, Swiss chard, and green onions from the…

Our unusual humidity continued, so I collected water from the drip off of the air conditioner for several days this week and used it to water the potted fruit trees on the back patio. We had rain! This is turning out to be the oddest weather year. Normally I can count one day in January…

Thanks to some unexpected summer rain and cooler temperatures (caused by a tropical storm) I was able to turn off the sprinklers and drip system for days, saving us money on our water bill. I also opened the windows in the mornings and was able to cool the house for a while in the morning…

Last week was all about making repairs. I mended a pair of pajama pants, a jumper, a handkerchief, a napkin, an apron, two dresses, a pillowcase, and a basket liner. I sewed a button back on a jumper, and I mended the embroidery on another jumper. I shortened the sleeves of a t-shirt for Elsa and I…

This past week was a week of freebies more than a week of active frugality. We were given a bag of apples from someone’s tree. We received 10 pounds of ground beef that someone was getting rid of, as it had been in her freezer for over a year. She gave it to us in…

We have been having very unusual weather for August lately. I have lived in Las Vegas for 13 years. My first year here, I remember the weatherman announcing that it was 126ºF in the north end of town one day in late September. (The new zone maps show that Las Vegas has several different microclimates, from a…

I picked peaches, Mission figs, Bartlett pears, grapes, and apples from the garden this week. We enjoyed some mushrooms that a friend gave to me (she received them in her CSA and she doesn’t like mushrooms). I took some photos of the children. I found a free online typing instruction course for Winter to use…

Most of my accomplishments last week centered around helping the children with their schoolwork and chores. Nevertheless, I did manage to do some things to save money: We played outside in the backyard. As our humidity continued, I was able to collect 15-20 quarts of water a day from the runoff of the air conditioner….

Seeded grapes from our garden My husband and I celebrated our 13th anniversary this week. I made us a late dinner for just the two of us. We had homemade tamales. I used the corn husks from the corn I bought on sale last week. I also used pork shoulder roast that I had bought…

I picked grapes, basil, Thai Basil, tomatoes, chamomile, one small cucumber, and apples from the garden.  Zinnia Seedlings I planted zinnias, vincas, Swiss chard, Armenian cucumbers, and melons from seed in the front yard. The zinnias, chard, and cucumbers came up already! I collected seeds in my garden to plant again from larkspur and lettuce. I fixed two…