Our bedroom remodel is continuing ~ Greg is painting the inside of the old closets (after he removed the diving wall, and all the shelf built ins, and patched the walls). The dark blue trim work on the closet, bedroom door frame, windows, etc. is being painted a beautiful neutral beige. The paint and trim in the room is the same as our bedroom at our old house in MS. Our love seat will fit into that space along with an end table and lamp. On each end of the space, Greg is going to build bookshelves from the old shelf builtins/inserts. They will be painted the same as the walls. We have loads of books packed in boxes under the pool table.
Amy and I found some cute plastic containers at Walmart that we are going to use on the Candy Favor table for the wedding favors. We managed to find 10 that were just printed with hearts or heart shaped that did not also have Feb. or Valentines day printed on them. Her future Mama in law, Tammy, found some really cute flower girl dresses for our 2 little flower girls. Amy picked out her favorite and they were available in the right sizes, so those got ordered.
Our dear Chicken gals are nearing 2 years old and have greatly slowed egg production ~ as in we used to get 5-7 per day from 10 chickens and now we are getting 5-7 per week. They may become free range chickens in the back field and we get the coop ready for a new flock. Our local Tractor Supply will start getting chicks in a couple of weeks. When we get the chicks, I will have to get all the grandboys over here for pictures!
I got a beautiful plant nursery catalog yesterday. I have dreams of more blueberry bushes and fruit trees. Also of a nice long row of Leyland cyress trees/bushes to block the view through the chain link fence into our back pasture. We received a box from one of Gregs aunts a couple of weeks ago with 15 or so little raspberry plants she dug up from her patch. That was a huge "free" blessing! In the fall Greg ordered us 10 grapevines to start our little vineyard. Both the raspberries and grapes are planted. I've got 3 vases with plant starts in them from Moms old yard ~ with healthy roots. I am hoping they survive when they are potted. Some for her house and some for ours.
My days are spent canning, sewing, cross stitching, laundry, cooking, cleaning, in Bible study, reading, wedding planning, running errands with mom & Amy. My daughter in law brought me lots of grapefruits from her aunts tree. Amy juiced these for me yesterday and the juice will be made into grapefruit jelly. I've also got frozen apple juice and apple pulp to make into jelly and apple butter. I canned 21 quarts of small red beans to use in our casseroles and in chili. Buying dried beans in bulk and then canning is much cheaper than buying all the little cans at the grocery store.
Thankful for ~
lots of Mason Jars
cooler weather to can
Free fruit (grapefruit) & plants
anticipation of spring
getting baby chicks soon
a great football season watching our Falcons play
planning our garden and vineyards
cheery, bright yellow daffodils
knowing that God is in control of everything
Showing posts with label frugal living/shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal living/shopping. Show all posts
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Friday, October 14, 2016
Frugal Friday
Coming up with some Frugal things to share ~
Wed. is Senior Citizen day at our local Kroger grocery store ~ so that has become the day I shop ~ I am not too proud to get this discount! I saved over $70 on my groceries this week by combining sales, the senior discount, Will's employee discount, online coupons, and a 10% off your total order coupon I got in the mail! Score! It was great!
Craft shopping ~ we rarely pay full price for anything at a craft store. We either wait for sales, use the published coupons, or shop after a holiday. Frames are always on sale at Hobby Lobby ~ either open back or photo frames ~ they flip the sale in between the two every other week.
We love essential oils and I do pay for quality ~ doTERRA! But I buy my "gear", droppers, roller bottles, diffusers, empty vegie caps, fco (fractionated coconut oil) online at Amazon. Great prices! And Monday I will share how I get my oils at a 25% discount everytime!
Hope you have a fabulous weekend!
Wed. is Senior Citizen day at our local Kroger grocery store ~ so that has become the day I shop ~ I am not too proud to get this discount! I saved over $70 on my groceries this week by combining sales, the senior discount, Will's employee discount, online coupons, and a 10% off your total order coupon I got in the mail! Score! It was great!
Craft shopping ~ we rarely pay full price for anything at a craft store. We either wait for sales, use the published coupons, or shop after a holiday. Frames are always on sale at Hobby Lobby ~ either open back or photo frames ~ they flip the sale in between the two every other week.
We love essential oils and I do pay for quality ~ doTERRA! But I buy my "gear", droppers, roller bottles, diffusers, empty vegie caps, fco (fractionated coconut oil) online at Amazon. Great prices! And Monday I will share how I get my oils at a 25% discount everytime!
Hope you have a fabulous weekend!
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Sewing Headbands
This week I have been making headbands for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. These are costing me $0 since I already have everything....the fabric used is scraps. When I organized all my scraps months ago, I cut these out, placed them in a plastic container....and forgot about them. Stuff got piled on top of my container and "out of sight, out of mind" happened ~ I uncovered it this week! Many years ago I bought a handy, dandy tube turning tool, and never could figure out how to use it ~ this week I figured that out too. Products really need to come with explicit directions for "dummies".
*when inserting the dowel you need to have enough fabric "caught" to encase the dowel ~ kind of like a fold of fabric. Otherwise the dowel shoves thru the tube with no fabric and accomplished nothing but frustration. Once I figured out the trick, my fabric turning went a lot quicker. In other words....play with it till ya find out what works for you!
The link for the headbands is http://www.happytogetherbyjess.com/double-sided-fabric-headband-pattern/. My suggested to slightly change her directions is....to sew one side of the headband and press, then turn under both ends, press and sew. Then sew the other side and turn, then press. It seems like this would be a whole lot easier than trying to shove the ends up to encase them in the seam after the top was sewn on both sides. I am going to try this next time...because I did it the "shove" way this time. Even if you don't sew the ends, you can press the ends.
Happy Crafting!
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| insert the plastic tube into the fabric tube |
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| shove the end of the fabric into the plastic tube with the dowel |
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| viola....it works. *see further instuctions below |
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| fabric tubes ready to be ironed and attached with elastic to headbands |
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| finished headbands ~ ready for shoeboxes |
The link for the headbands is http://www.happytogetherbyjess.com/double-sided-fabric-headband-pattern/. My suggested to slightly change her directions is....to sew one side of the headband and press, then turn under both ends, press and sew. Then sew the other side and turn, then press. It seems like this would be a whole lot easier than trying to shove the ends up to encase them in the seam after the top was sewn on both sides. I am going to try this next time...because I did it the "shove" way this time. Even if you don't sew the ends, you can press the ends.
Happy Crafting!
Thursday, August 11, 2016
WWII Rations
I have always loved history ~ and I especially love historic cookbooks, diaries, etc. of housewives from different times. Its fascinating to me to see how folks used to live, how they made do with what they had, how they coped with emergencies, etc.
I borrowed a book of Amazon Prime this week entitled "World War II Christmas Cookbook" by Megan Rogers. I believe it was published in England. It was a quick cookbook to read and contained many "mock" type recipes for when the real thing wasn't available. What really caught my attention was the list of ration items that each person was allotted in England during the 2nd World War.
This list is taken from the back of the book ~ it is for 1 adult per week ~ each child would receive half the adult amount
bacon & ham (3-4 slices/rashers)
other meats ~ 2 small chops
butter 2 oz.
cheese 2 oz.
margarine 4 oz.
cooking fat 4 oz.
milk 3 pints
1 packet dried milk per month
sugar 8 oz.
preserves 1 lb. every 2 months
tea 2 oz.
Egg 1 (a single egg)
+ 1 packet dried egg per month
sweets 12 oz.
You could get canned meat, fish, rice, canned fruit, condensed milk, breakfast cereals, biscuits, and vegetables in limited quantities on a point system. An adults monthly allowance might get you a tin of salmon or fruit, and 1/2 pound of dried fruit. read flour, fish, game, sauces, and pickles were not rationed, but not always available.
This is not a lot of food. Just think about what is in your grocery cart every week. The above would all fit in a handbasket.
Then I started researching if the American Ration Equivilents were the same as England ~ and they were not. But keep in mind also, the War was raging in an around England for years. The US came in later after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour.
I found these 2 sites which has tons of information about the subject. ~ https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/81/4f/d6/814fd6447ee1569eac5a2690999692ee.jpg and http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/take-a-closer-look/ration-books.html and my favorite because of the graphics http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/ww2-rationing.
Here are some pictures I found on Pinterest ~
Thankful for ~
History
learning to be prepared
great reading
retro pictures
the bounty we enjoy now
I borrowed a book of Amazon Prime this week entitled "World War II Christmas Cookbook" by Megan Rogers. I believe it was published in England. It was a quick cookbook to read and contained many "mock" type recipes for when the real thing wasn't available. What really caught my attention was the list of ration items that each person was allotted in England during the 2nd World War.
This list is taken from the back of the book ~ it is for 1 adult per week ~ each child would receive half the adult amount
bacon & ham (3-4 slices/rashers)
other meats ~ 2 small chops
butter 2 oz.
cheese 2 oz.
margarine 4 oz.
cooking fat 4 oz.
milk 3 pints
1 packet dried milk per month
sugar 8 oz.
preserves 1 lb. every 2 months
tea 2 oz.
Egg 1 (a single egg)
+ 1 packet dried egg per month
sweets 12 oz.
You could get canned meat, fish, rice, canned fruit, condensed milk, breakfast cereals, biscuits, and vegetables in limited quantities on a point system. An adults monthly allowance might get you a tin of salmon or fruit, and 1/2 pound of dried fruit. read flour, fish, game, sauces, and pickles were not rationed, but not always available.
This is not a lot of food. Just think about what is in your grocery cart every week. The above would all fit in a handbasket.
Then I started researching if the American Ration Equivilents were the same as England ~ and they were not. But keep in mind also, the War was raging in an around England for years. The US came in later after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour.
I found these 2 sites which has tons of information about the subject. ~ https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/81/4f/d6/814fd6447ee1569eac5a2690999692ee.jpg and http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/take-a-closer-look/ration-books.html and my favorite because of the graphics http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/ww2-rationing.
Here are some pictures I found on Pinterest ~
Thankful for ~
History
learning to be prepared
great reading
retro pictures
the bounty we enjoy now
Monday, August 8, 2016
Full Freezer
When life blesses you with a full freezer, what do you do to make room? I start canning!
Today, I've got 10 quarts of yummy vegetable beef soup and 3 quarts of cut up squash canned. I am defrosting chicken to can. Defrosting tomatoes to make into salsa, blueberries and strawberries to make into jelly. I had 2 large Tupperware containers (their large cereal keeper) full of apple pulp from our North GA trip last year...its now in my crockpots with brown sugar, cinnamon, and apple cider to make into apple butter.
If I can find a good deal on ground beef, I will be browning and canning that also.
Amy has her request in for homemade chicken noodle soup, so that's a priority too.
So far, this summer I have canned squash, green beans, salsa, watermelon jelly, apple/pear butter, and peach jelly.
My favorite canning book is from the University of GA ~ So Easy to Preserve! Its got very detailed instructions for preserving food for the future.
Thankful for ~
wonderful directions for pressure and water bath canning
the ease of meal prep with home canned goods
preserving gardens bounty & blessing
lots of jars to fill
getting over my fear of pressure canning
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I love this retro poster from Pinterest!
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Thursday, July 28, 2016
Its almost August!
Wow! Where did July go? This month has flown by.
Here are some updates ~ mom found a house! Now we are jumping through all the hoops with real estate agents, bank officers, appraisals and inspections. The house is quite close to us and a cute little 1 story with a flat driveway and lot. The sellers are moving overseas, so their furniture is staying. We have started the who wants what process with the grandkids and hopefully will have all that settled when the closing occurs. There will still be stuff to donate or give away.
And we got a contract on our house in Mississippi! Yay....Hooray! Its contingent on them selling their present house, so we are praying that they get a buyer soon! We left stuff in the house from our last trip, so we didn't have to haul it back and forth it we needed to "camp" in our house again, so we will have a few things to bring back with us after our closing.
We have been hitting the sales for back to school supplies for office depot and office max ~ for our shoebox gifts. We've got lots of pencils, sharpeners, spiral notebooks, pens, index cards, pencil boxes, etc. Amy, Granny, Brenda, Bethany and I are going to start working on personal care items for the older girl boxes. JoAnns has a great 50% off coupon today, so we are getting our supplies on sale....more on that when we set our work day.
2 months from now we will be on vacation and are all very excited about our trip. Austin will be joining us for the week and his parents will be able to come for the last couple of days. We are enjoying getting to know him and his family. And Amy loves their time together.
The days are long and hot here in GA ~ almost like Mississippi weather, but without the benefit of a backyard pool. We go out and take care of the dogs, rabbits and chickens in the mornings and evenings. The garden is still producing some ~ mainly squash and tomatoes. We do have some more corn to pick. The green beans have given up in the heat and I've been giving the chickens the plants to munch on. I am totally thrilled that my sunflowers bloomed ~ the plants are about as tall as I am. They are planted beside the chicken coop and do provide some shade for the chickens from the afternoon sun. I am thinking about the coming autumn and winter but its still several months off.
Thankful for ~
air conditioning
cool drinks
indoor projects
sunflowers
house contract
helpful friends
Here are some updates ~ mom found a house! Now we are jumping through all the hoops with real estate agents, bank officers, appraisals and inspections. The house is quite close to us and a cute little 1 story with a flat driveway and lot. The sellers are moving overseas, so their furniture is staying. We have started the who wants what process with the grandkids and hopefully will have all that settled when the closing occurs. There will still be stuff to donate or give away.
And we got a contract on our house in Mississippi! Yay....Hooray! Its contingent on them selling their present house, so we are praying that they get a buyer soon! We left stuff in the house from our last trip, so we didn't have to haul it back and forth it we needed to "camp" in our house again, so we will have a few things to bring back with us after our closing.
We have been hitting the sales for back to school supplies for office depot and office max ~ for our shoebox gifts. We've got lots of pencils, sharpeners, spiral notebooks, pens, index cards, pencil boxes, etc. Amy, Granny, Brenda, Bethany and I are going to start working on personal care items for the older girl boxes. JoAnns has a great 50% off coupon today, so we are getting our supplies on sale....more on that when we set our work day.
2 months from now we will be on vacation and are all very excited about our trip. Austin will be joining us for the week and his parents will be able to come for the last couple of days. We are enjoying getting to know him and his family. And Amy loves their time together.
The days are long and hot here in GA ~ almost like Mississippi weather, but without the benefit of a backyard pool. We go out and take care of the dogs, rabbits and chickens in the mornings and evenings. The garden is still producing some ~ mainly squash and tomatoes. We do have some more corn to pick. The green beans have given up in the heat and I've been giving the chickens the plants to munch on. I am totally thrilled that my sunflowers bloomed ~ the plants are about as tall as I am. They are planted beside the chicken coop and do provide some shade for the chickens from the afternoon sun. I am thinking about the coming autumn and winter but its still several months off.
Thankful for ~
air conditioning
cool drinks
indoor projects
sunflowers
house contract
helpful friends
Friday, July 22, 2016
Sewing Time
In all our house busyness, and gardening work and preserving the bounty work, I haven't sat down at my sewing machine in weeks. Quite sad! This week, I've had 2 days to sit down and work on machine applique projects ~ a new technique to me. I did my first project on a scrap piece of fabric leftover from another project, it turned out great! Then I moved to a kitchen towel! The top chicken is my first project on Wed. and the 2nd was my Thursday project. I desperately needed new kitchen towels, and decided to decorate them!
I liked my chicken on the scrap piece too, so I duplicated the 2nd one on a scrap. I think I will do about 4 more on the fabric and turn it into a chicken table runner ~ my scrap was actually 2 18" long pieces, so I figure I can get 3 chickens on each piece. These projects are also using my boxes of scraps that I organized in the spring. Its much easier to look through a photobox size of little scraps than a big blue tote.
These chickens came from an applique set produced by Designs by JuJu ~ https://www.designsbyjuju.com/. She has loads of designs ~ everything I have bought from her has stitched out beautifully ~ and she has great sales! If you love machine embroidery, then you should check her out! (free advertising....I just really like her designs!) New discovery ~ I just went on the site again....she has 90+ free scripture designs for download....FREE! On the homepage, click the Bible Verses box on the right side. This is exciting~at least to me!
Greg got all my new sets downloaded for me last night ~ so I am ready to explore those files today! Lots of new projects on the horizon!
Sunday morning I got a sweet gift from a friend that knows I love chickens! These towels are adorable!
Thankful for ~
surprises
sweet gifts for no reason
date nights with my hubby
great sales on designs
free designs
time to sew
I liked my chicken on the scrap piece too, so I duplicated the 2nd one on a scrap. I think I will do about 4 more on the fabric and turn it into a chicken table runner ~ my scrap was actually 2 18" long pieces, so I figure I can get 3 chickens on each piece. These projects are also using my boxes of scraps that I organized in the spring. Its much easier to look through a photobox size of little scraps than a big blue tote.
These chickens came from an applique set produced by Designs by JuJu ~ https://www.designsbyjuju.com/. She has loads of designs ~ everything I have bought from her has stitched out beautifully ~ and she has great sales! If you love machine embroidery, then you should check her out! (free advertising....I just really like her designs!) New discovery ~ I just went on the site again....she has 90+ free scripture designs for download....FREE! On the homepage, click the Bible Verses box on the right side. This is exciting~at least to me!
Greg got all my new sets downloaded for me last night ~ so I am ready to explore those files today! Lots of new projects on the horizon!
surprises
sweet gifts for no reason
date nights with my hubby
great sales on designs
free designs
time to sew
Friday, May 20, 2016
More Summer Fun Ideas
Here are some more fun ideas ~
*Vacation Bible School (VBS) ~ music, bible lessons, crafts, snacks ~ a kids paradise...and if your kids are too old to participate, they can volunteer to help.
*Craft Days at Home Depot and Lowes
*Shopping trip to Dollar Tree ~ let the kids earn money doing extra chores and spend it at the dollar store ~ lots of cool stuff in there that's good quality
*Park days ~ take a picnic ~ find one with swings, slides, things to climb on ~ run out some of that summer time energy
*Art days ~ paper, glue, crayons, markers, etc....lots of fun there. Make birthday cards to send to grandparents or gift tags for parties the kiddies are invited to.
*Pick a topic to learn about and go all out ~ dinosaurs, cars, a period in history, fashion, plants, lizards....whatever. You can find tons of resources online for this ~ pictures, word search puzzles, scrapbooking ideas etc.
*Go to a "Pick Your Own" patch ~ strawberries, blueberries etc. Then come home and make yummy treats with your produce.
*Service Days ~ find ways to serve others and teach your children about giving of themselves, their time and talents
*Give Back to the Community ~ is it ok to give your local policemen, firemen, etc. treats? Can you bake cakes and take them to the stations with a thank you note for protecting your home and community?
*Take a class ~ sometimes ballet & gymnastics offer a summer fun class schedule for your child to try out. Or Karate, tennis, sports camp, sewing, crochet, etc.
*Reading program ~ does your local library or book store offer a summer reading program ~ sign up and read! Some even offer prizes at the end. And this is usually FREE!
*Have a summer party ~ for no reason ~ in your backyard, at the park, etc. All the families could bring food to share.
*Beach ~ do you live near one? Collect shells, watch the tides, swim, make a sand castle, walk
Have some rainy days activities on hand ~
Games ~ monopoly, Yahtzee, dominoes, phase 10, Uno, etc.
Art supplies
plenty of books
Special snacks to pull out for movie days
I am sure there are loads of ideas I haven't thought of ~ use your imaginations, ask the kids ~ you don't have to think of everything alone. I feel certain that if you get on Pinterest and type in summer activites you will have many more ideas than days to fill.
*Vacation Bible School (VBS) ~ music, bible lessons, crafts, snacks ~ a kids paradise...and if your kids are too old to participate, they can volunteer to help.
*Craft Days at Home Depot and Lowes
*Shopping trip to Dollar Tree ~ let the kids earn money doing extra chores and spend it at the dollar store ~ lots of cool stuff in there that's good quality
*Park days ~ take a picnic ~ find one with swings, slides, things to climb on ~ run out some of that summer time energy
*Art days ~ paper, glue, crayons, markers, etc....lots of fun there. Make birthday cards to send to grandparents or gift tags for parties the kiddies are invited to.
*Pick a topic to learn about and go all out ~ dinosaurs, cars, a period in history, fashion, plants, lizards....whatever. You can find tons of resources online for this ~ pictures, word search puzzles, scrapbooking ideas etc.
*Go to a "Pick Your Own" patch ~ strawberries, blueberries etc. Then come home and make yummy treats with your produce.
*Service Days ~ find ways to serve others and teach your children about giving of themselves, their time and talents
*Give Back to the Community ~ is it ok to give your local policemen, firemen, etc. treats? Can you bake cakes and take them to the stations with a thank you note for protecting your home and community?
*Take a class ~ sometimes ballet & gymnastics offer a summer fun class schedule for your child to try out. Or Karate, tennis, sports camp, sewing, crochet, etc.
*Reading program ~ does your local library or book store offer a summer reading program ~ sign up and read! Some even offer prizes at the end. And this is usually FREE!
*Have a summer party ~ for no reason ~ in your backyard, at the park, etc. All the families could bring food to share.
*Beach ~ do you live near one? Collect shells, watch the tides, swim, make a sand castle, walk
Have some rainy days activities on hand ~
Games ~ monopoly, Yahtzee, dominoes, phase 10, Uno, etc.
Art supplies
plenty of books
Special snacks to pull out for movie days
I am sure there are loads of ideas I haven't thought of ~ use your imaginations, ask the kids ~ you don't have to think of everything alone. I feel certain that if you get on Pinterest and type in summer activites you will have many more ideas than days to fill.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Enjoy Summer
This week marks the beginning of summer vacation for many schools in the south ~ enjoy this time with your children! They will be off and working before you know it (I know!).
Instead of dreading the long, lazy, hazy, dog days of summer ~ embrace them and have fun!
Here are some things my kids loved ~
*hours at the pool ~ take a picnic lunch or dinner & lots of drinks and sunscreen
*tv afternoons ~ watch classics like Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons or old Disney movies
*Learn something new & fun ~ cake decorating, scrapbooking, sewing, fishing, tennis, etc.
*Read ~ there are loads of books of all interests available
*Fun Foods ~ cook something new, teach your kids to cook, have breakfast for dinner or my kids personal favorite ~ ice cream for dinner night! They still love it. And 1 or 2 ice cream dinners for the summer will be long remembered and talked about. We still do this one.
*Vacation ~ find side trips along the way, play games, hunt shells, eat shrimp (yum), drive through the mountains, go to a state park, enjoy the journey, collect brochures of places you go and make a scrapbook together
*Staycation ~ catch lightning bugs, grill out, have a bonfire, find a place to swim (pool, lake, etc), sleep late, stay up late, write a letter, watch a movie together, find free or inexpensive sites locally to visit
Celebrate Christmas in July ~ movies, crafts, make ornaments etc. Do the things you don't have time for in December. I even did a turkey dinner one July, with all the fixings...everyone loved it!
Make up new traditions ~
*Celebrate a winter birthday with a pool party or running through a sprinkler
*Make up your own holidays ~ popsicle day, coloring day, pick flowers day, watch the clouds day, decorate cookies or cupcakes day, take a meal to a friend day, play with your food day, play doh day, etc.
*And if togetherness gets too confining....take a nap, rest, or time out day ~ everyone needs those occasionally.
One thing my kids learned early on not to say....I'm bored. That statements gets you chores, like vacuuming the house, cleaning the toilet, cleaning fridge shelves, etc. One of my children came into the kitchen and started I'm....going to find something to do. She had learned not to say bored!
And yes, life still happens ~ houses get messy cause you are home all day, dishes pile up, etc. Set a timer and everyone work like crazy for 30 minutes ~ then have a reward....popcorn, popsicles, etc. You can get a lot accomplished in 30 minutes if everyone pitches in. Even a little one can pick up toys, or carry small things to other rooms, or help "wash" dishes.
Have fun.
Enjoy your time together.
Make memories.
It may not seem like it now ~ but these days will quickly pass.
Happy Summer!
Thankful for ~
the time spent with my children
the ability to stay home with them
the break in the school routine & schedule
long days of summer
Instead of dreading the long, lazy, hazy, dog days of summer ~ embrace them and have fun!
Here are some things my kids loved ~
*hours at the pool ~ take a picnic lunch or dinner & lots of drinks and sunscreen
*tv afternoons ~ watch classics like Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons or old Disney movies
*Learn something new & fun ~ cake decorating, scrapbooking, sewing, fishing, tennis, etc.
*Read ~ there are loads of books of all interests available
*Fun Foods ~ cook something new, teach your kids to cook, have breakfast for dinner or my kids personal favorite ~ ice cream for dinner night! They still love it. And 1 or 2 ice cream dinners for the summer will be long remembered and talked about. We still do this one.
*Vacation ~ find side trips along the way, play games, hunt shells, eat shrimp (yum), drive through the mountains, go to a state park, enjoy the journey, collect brochures of places you go and make a scrapbook together
*Staycation ~ catch lightning bugs, grill out, have a bonfire, find a place to swim (pool, lake, etc), sleep late, stay up late, write a letter, watch a movie together, find free or inexpensive sites locally to visit
Celebrate Christmas in July ~ movies, crafts, make ornaments etc. Do the things you don't have time for in December. I even did a turkey dinner one July, with all the fixings...everyone loved it!
Make up new traditions ~
*Celebrate a winter birthday with a pool party or running through a sprinkler
*Make up your own holidays ~ popsicle day, coloring day, pick flowers day, watch the clouds day, decorate cookies or cupcakes day, take a meal to a friend day, play with your food day, play doh day, etc.
*And if togetherness gets too confining....take a nap, rest, or time out day ~ everyone needs those occasionally.
One thing my kids learned early on not to say....I'm bored. That statements gets you chores, like vacuuming the house, cleaning the toilet, cleaning fridge shelves, etc. One of my children came into the kitchen and started I'm....going to find something to do. She had learned not to say bored!
And yes, life still happens ~ houses get messy cause you are home all day, dishes pile up, etc. Set a timer and everyone work like crazy for 30 minutes ~ then have a reward....popcorn, popsicles, etc. You can get a lot accomplished in 30 minutes if everyone pitches in. Even a little one can pick up toys, or carry small things to other rooms, or help "wash" dishes.
Have fun.
Enjoy your time together.
Make memories.
It may not seem like it now ~ but these days will quickly pass.
Happy Summer!
Thankful for ~
the time spent with my children
the ability to stay home with them
the break in the school routine & schedule
long days of summer
Monday, February 22, 2016
More on Consignment Sales
You hear & see many interesting things at consignment sales ~ from both the sellers and the buyers.
This relates back to the post from a couple of weeks ago about be careful how you speak and your tone, etc.
I had mama's come through the line for cutting their tags off and the checkout/pay line who did nothing but complain ~ about their children, prices on items, the line they had to wait in, etc. The most complaints I heard were about their own children ~ one mom was buying loads of name brand, expensive clothing for her teen daughter (maybe I could mention here that the shorts had a tad more fabric than underwear does, but not much), and said She is so picky, She probably won't wear any of this and I will just have to get rid of it ~~~~ and on and on and on. Good grief, knock the little princess off her pedestal and introduce her to the real world.
Then there was the gal that I checked in who had 3 completely full racks of "in perfect condition" blue jeans for girls. Curiosity got the best of me and I did ask how many daughters she had ~ answer ~ 3. But they love jeans. As she was putting stuff out on the floor, I counted one of the racks of jeans....150 pair ~ she had 3 racks....that's approximately 450 pairs of blue jeans for 3 girls. Talk about excessive. She even said ~ oh, they love the $60 jeans from xxxx store and we buy them all the time. In my mind, there are 3 teen girls that need a clothing budget, and possibly jobs to feed their blue jean obsession. She priced them at $5 a pair, I hope she sold them all because that would have been a blessing to many people. It does make ya wonder what kind of job her husband has to feed that blue jean addiction ~ and I feel sorry for their future husbands who will be getting a wife who is used to this extravagance.
I heard loads of moms talking about how they let their kids wear anything they want, how they grew up poor so they give their kids anything, how they love to shop and get away from their little "brats", one of my favorite (not) was the lady enthusiastic about homeschooling (her 2 children were with her) and the gal in my line loudly stated that schools were there for a reason and kids needed to be in them ~ I did speak up and congratulate the mama on homeschooling and shared with her that I had homeschooled for 18 years....that hushed the loud gal. (Homeschooling isn't for everyone ~ but niceness and manners are...you can question and disagree without being nasty, especially in front of her kids).
And the comments about their husbands. One lady wanted to split up her purchase and only put $15 on her husbands credit card so he didn't know how much she spent ~ the rest went on her card (guess they have separate accounts). Sad thing was, the person checking them out was fine with it and said she does it all the time to hide her purchases from her husband. Hummmm, that's just wrong.
The best conversation I had all week was the last day ~ a mom came to my checkout loaded down with books, games, and educational materials ~ she was going to start homeschooling next year...what a fun time of sharing. She paid for everything and thanked me for the inspiration to begin her homeschooling journey in the fall~ that was all worth it!
Thankful for ~
my kids who weren't that picky as teens
& kids that saved their money to purchase items they "had" to have
time to share with others about homeschooling
seeing the treasures everyone found
being thankful for what we have
finding items to buy for others and bless them with
This relates back to the post from a couple of weeks ago about be careful how you speak and your tone, etc.
I had mama's come through the line for cutting their tags off and the checkout/pay line who did nothing but complain ~ about their children, prices on items, the line they had to wait in, etc. The most complaints I heard were about their own children ~ one mom was buying loads of name brand, expensive clothing for her teen daughter (maybe I could mention here that the shorts had a tad more fabric than underwear does, but not much), and said She is so picky, She probably won't wear any of this and I will just have to get rid of it ~~~~ and on and on and on. Good grief, knock the little princess off her pedestal and introduce her to the real world.
Then there was the gal that I checked in who had 3 completely full racks of "in perfect condition" blue jeans for girls. Curiosity got the best of me and I did ask how many daughters she had ~ answer ~ 3. But they love jeans. As she was putting stuff out on the floor, I counted one of the racks of jeans....150 pair ~ she had 3 racks....that's approximately 450 pairs of blue jeans for 3 girls. Talk about excessive. She even said ~ oh, they love the $60 jeans from xxxx store and we buy them all the time. In my mind, there are 3 teen girls that need a clothing budget, and possibly jobs to feed their blue jean obsession. She priced them at $5 a pair, I hope she sold them all because that would have been a blessing to many people. It does make ya wonder what kind of job her husband has to feed that blue jean addiction ~ and I feel sorry for their future husbands who will be getting a wife who is used to this extravagance.
I heard loads of moms talking about how they let their kids wear anything they want, how they grew up poor so they give their kids anything, how they love to shop and get away from their little "brats", one of my favorite (not) was the lady enthusiastic about homeschooling (her 2 children were with her) and the gal in my line loudly stated that schools were there for a reason and kids needed to be in them ~ I did speak up and congratulate the mama on homeschooling and shared with her that I had homeschooled for 18 years....that hushed the loud gal. (Homeschooling isn't for everyone ~ but niceness and manners are...you can question and disagree without being nasty, especially in front of her kids).
And the comments about their husbands. One lady wanted to split up her purchase and only put $15 on her husbands credit card so he didn't know how much she spent ~ the rest went on her card (guess they have separate accounts). Sad thing was, the person checking them out was fine with it and said she does it all the time to hide her purchases from her husband. Hummmm, that's just wrong.
The best conversation I had all week was the last day ~ a mom came to my checkout loaded down with books, games, and educational materials ~ she was going to start homeschooling next year...what a fun time of sharing. She paid for everything and thanked me for the inspiration to begin her homeschooling journey in the fall~ that was all worth it!
Thankful for ~
my kids who weren't that picky as teens
& kids that saved their money to purchase items they "had" to have
time to share with others about homeschooling
seeing the treasures everyone found
being thankful for what we have
finding items to buy for others and bless them with
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Consignment Shopping
Since moving back to GA, I've shopped at a huge consignment sale in our area. This sale features baby, children, and teen clothing & shoes, bedding, tons of toys, books, games, movies, etc. With 4 little grand blessings to buy for, its a lot of fun to go look and find them goodies. I usually have a list of sizes and what their moms want for them ~ and after I cover the essentials, I get to throw in some goodies when I find them!
This sale I got my Cutler boys a little tykes picnic table, several outfits for each for the 3 of them and pajamas! I got Aiden a little tykes basketball goal, outfits, and jammies. And our house got 4 new to us Vegie Tales CD's for the little guys to watch when they visit. Amy and I got 2 scrabble games for the letter pieces....we found some cute projects on pinterest to do with them. The 2 games cost $5 total. I also found Will 2 nice pairs of cargo shorts for the summertime.
The basketball goal and the picnic table were the 2 things I really wanted for the boys. Robert, Thomas, & Alvins backyard is fenced in, so their table is going outside for spring/summer fun. There were 6 basketball goals ranging in price from $10-$15, and one stuck in the back for $2. It was an easy choice! The $2 came home with me, we have to buy a ball to go with it. Walmart has some smaller size sports balls for kids so that's where we will go.
Since I volunteered at the sale, I earned some $$ credit for time "on the job", so out of pocket, my cost was $20 for all that I got!
I found the boys incredibly cute stuff. I found Robert some size 4T jeans that appear to have never been worn for $1 each, he got 3 pair. They love Cars, so they got car jammies, I even found Alvin some to match his big brothers! Aiden is into Toy Story right now and I found him a cute toy story shirt and 2 pairs of jammies also.
Consignment shopping is the way to go for little ones. They outgrow their clothes long before they wear them out (usually), so its a great money saver.
Its definitely worth seeking out these sales, especially if you have lots of littles to buy for!
Now, someone needs to have us a grand daughter blessing cause all the girlie stuff is adorable!
Thankful for ~
grandchildren to buy goodies for
finding specific items I wanted
great prices
lots to chose from
This sale I got my Cutler boys a little tykes picnic table, several outfits for each for the 3 of them and pajamas! I got Aiden a little tykes basketball goal, outfits, and jammies. And our house got 4 new to us Vegie Tales CD's for the little guys to watch when they visit. Amy and I got 2 scrabble games for the letter pieces....we found some cute projects on pinterest to do with them. The 2 games cost $5 total. I also found Will 2 nice pairs of cargo shorts for the summertime.
The basketball goal and the picnic table were the 2 things I really wanted for the boys. Robert, Thomas, & Alvins backyard is fenced in, so their table is going outside for spring/summer fun. There were 6 basketball goals ranging in price from $10-$15, and one stuck in the back for $2. It was an easy choice! The $2 came home with me, we have to buy a ball to go with it. Walmart has some smaller size sports balls for kids so that's where we will go.
Since I volunteered at the sale, I earned some $$ credit for time "on the job", so out of pocket, my cost was $20 for all that I got!
I found the boys incredibly cute stuff. I found Robert some size 4T jeans that appear to have never been worn for $1 each, he got 3 pair. They love Cars, so they got car jammies, I even found Alvin some to match his big brothers! Aiden is into Toy Story right now and I found him a cute toy story shirt and 2 pairs of jammies also.
Consignment shopping is the way to go for little ones. They outgrow their clothes long before they wear them out (usually), so its a great money saver.
Its definitely worth seeking out these sales, especially if you have lots of littles to buy for!
Now, someone needs to have us a grand daughter blessing cause all the girlie stuff is adorable!
Thankful for ~
grandchildren to buy goodies for
finding specific items I wanted
great prices
lots to chose from
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Extravagant/Frugal Purchase
Sometimes I can make a purchase that seems extravagant at the time but in the long run, turns out to be quite frugal. In June 2013, I bought a huge roll of really good quality aluminum foil for around $20. Just to see how long it would last, I wrote the date on the top of the box in sharpie marker. The roll came to an end this past Sunday. If you have bought aluminum foil lately, you know I got a great deal! About a year ago, I remember thinking it should run out soon and I bought another one for about the same price....it got opened on Sunday.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Money
Loads of people went crazy over the lottery this week in Georgia ~ the prize was $1 billion +. I saw lots of posts of facebook ~ if you like this post and share it, and I win, I will split the money with everyone...or give everyone $10,000 or whatever amount.
In my mind, this is silly. Someone is going to win eventually ~ actually I think 3 people in different states won and now I heard complaints about the money having to be split 3 ways. Its over a billion $$ folks. What is there to complain about.
Well here are some complaints I can think of concerning the purchase of lottery tickets ~
*spending the money on the off chance you might possibly win
*spending hard earned money on a gamble
*spending money that could have put groceries on the table or diapers on the baby
*spending money on gas to drive to another state if your state didn't sell lottery tickets plus all of the above reasons
*spending money on little slips of paper instead of paying your bills or settling your debts
*actually thinking that every dollar you spend on lottery tickets actually benefits schools (they don't get $1, maybe closer to a quarter)
*letting the grand prize consume so much of your thoughts & days
So instead of gambling why don't you ~
*use the money for groceries or gas for the car
*donate any cash you would have spent to your local schools to help them ~ If every parent with children in the school gave $5 or $10, the school would be ecstatic.
*straighten up your household finances
*pay your credit cards off monthly instead of giving Visa, MasterCard, etc. interest money
*spend less than you make & save the difference
*stay off online sites, craigslist, and yard sale sites for stuff you don't need but have to have if you see it ~ unless you budget for some splurge money each month
*take that money and put it towards paying off your home or car
So if you hit it big ~
*use wisely
*take care of your own home & then bless others
*don't spend it all
*realize taxes are going to eat a big chunk of it
*remember where your blessings actually come from (its not the lottery)
Rant over!
In my mind, this is silly. Someone is going to win eventually ~ actually I think 3 people in different states won and now I heard complaints about the money having to be split 3 ways. Its over a billion $$ folks. What is there to complain about.
Well here are some complaints I can think of concerning the purchase of lottery tickets ~
*spending the money on the off chance you might possibly win
*spending hard earned money on a gamble
*spending money that could have put groceries on the table or diapers on the baby
*spending money on gas to drive to another state if your state didn't sell lottery tickets plus all of the above reasons
*spending money on little slips of paper instead of paying your bills or settling your debts
*actually thinking that every dollar you spend on lottery tickets actually benefits schools (they don't get $1, maybe closer to a quarter)
*letting the grand prize consume so much of your thoughts & days
So instead of gambling why don't you ~
*use the money for groceries or gas for the car
*donate any cash you would have spent to your local schools to help them ~ If every parent with children in the school gave $5 or $10, the school would be ecstatic.
*straighten up your household finances
*pay your credit cards off monthly instead of giving Visa, MasterCard, etc. interest money
*spend less than you make & save the difference
*stay off online sites, craigslist, and yard sale sites for stuff you don't need but have to have if you see it ~ unless you budget for some splurge money each month
*take that money and put it towards paying off your home or car
So if you hit it big ~
*use wisely
*take care of your own home & then bless others
*don't spend it all
*realize taxes are going to eat a big chunk of it
*remember where your blessings actually come from (its not the lottery)
Rant over!
Monday, January 11, 2016
Stocking Up
Several times a year, I like to go to our local Restaurant Supply grocery to stock up....last week was one of those times. At this one, you do have to show proof of a business license to get the pass to get in. We got a business license several years ago when we were doing some catering at church, family reunions, weddings etc.
Amy and I braved the store by ourselves this time ~ first time without Greg along. We bought lots of goodies ~ boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1.13 a pound!), 1/2 is frozen and 1/2 will be canned: small red kidney beans, that will be canned; large box of sweet potatoes to be canned; #10 cans of tomato sauce for spaghetti dinners, large rolls of ground beef that were split into 2 pound packs and frozen, large bags of cocoa and powdered milk for my hot chocolate mix; blocks of butter for our butter dishes, we cut them into sticks); large blocks of gouda, mozzarella and Mexican melty cheese, the gouda per pound was less than 1/2 what the grocery store would be; a gigantic bag of pepperoni slices to be split into packs and frozen for pizzas; a deli ham to be sliced for dinner pieces, pizza fixings, sandwiches & omelets; a pork loin that can serve use at least 3 dinners and leftovers; and Amy got cupcake boxes and inserts for the boxes.
I opened the bag of kidney beans and have filled 2 1/2 large plastic juice bottles with them ~ awaiting the time they will be canned. I read years ago that you can put dried bay leaves in the bottles, add the beans and screw the tops on. Bugs or rodents won't get into them because of the bay leaves. I've done this for 7 or 8 years and never had a problem with pests in them, so the bay leaves are working! I used to soak the beans overnight and then can them....but I read on my pantry site on facebook how folks are canning them without soaking first. They are putting 1 cup of dried beans in a quart jar or 1/2 cup in a pint jar and then filling the jars with boiling water, then canning. I've tried it once and it worked great. That's what I am going to do again today ~ this time I am pushing the limits a little and canning 1 1/4 cups per quart jar to, I'll report on how that works later.
The cheese will be sliced into pound packages and frozen till needed. One pound of mozzarella will be used per "make your own" pizza nights. The melty cheese will get sliced into thick slices and frozen 4 or 5 slices to a pack. This is great for enchiladas, quesidillas, nacho's, etc. The gouda is all for Greg, I much prefer to snack on cheddar but he likes to be adventurous with cheese snacking. It was a good deal, he has a lot to snack on!
The #10 can of tomato sauce = 1 gallon. I usually make spaghetti sauce a gallon at a time. We love spaghetti and freeze the leftover sauce to use at other times. It can be put in a casserole or used for pizza sauce or whatever you can think of.
The sweet potatoes will be peeled and cut into chunks and canned. Greg, Will and I love them and not a potato will go to waste....and if it does, the chickens will eat them!
Happy Canning!
Thanksful for ~
a business license
stocking up
Jars, lids and rings for canning
a friend who taught me how to pressure can (Thanks Marie)
great advice online
My favorite canning book was published by University of Georgia ~ "So Easy to Preserve" ~ its very detailed and explains thoroughly the processes.
Amy and I braved the store by ourselves this time ~ first time without Greg along. We bought lots of goodies ~ boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1.13 a pound!), 1/2 is frozen and 1/2 will be canned: small red kidney beans, that will be canned; large box of sweet potatoes to be canned; #10 cans of tomato sauce for spaghetti dinners, large rolls of ground beef that were split into 2 pound packs and frozen, large bags of cocoa and powdered milk for my hot chocolate mix; blocks of butter for our butter dishes, we cut them into sticks); large blocks of gouda, mozzarella and Mexican melty cheese, the gouda per pound was less than 1/2 what the grocery store would be; a gigantic bag of pepperoni slices to be split into packs and frozen for pizzas; a deli ham to be sliced for dinner pieces, pizza fixings, sandwiches & omelets; a pork loin that can serve use at least 3 dinners and leftovers; and Amy got cupcake boxes and inserts for the boxes.
I opened the bag of kidney beans and have filled 2 1/2 large plastic juice bottles with them ~ awaiting the time they will be canned. I read years ago that you can put dried bay leaves in the bottles, add the beans and screw the tops on. Bugs or rodents won't get into them because of the bay leaves. I've done this for 7 or 8 years and never had a problem with pests in them, so the bay leaves are working! I used to soak the beans overnight and then can them....but I read on my pantry site on facebook how folks are canning them without soaking first. They are putting 1 cup of dried beans in a quart jar or 1/2 cup in a pint jar and then filling the jars with boiling water, then canning. I've tried it once and it worked great. That's what I am going to do again today ~ this time I am pushing the limits a little and canning 1 1/4 cups per quart jar to, I'll report on how that works later.
The cheese will be sliced into pound packages and frozen till needed. One pound of mozzarella will be used per "make your own" pizza nights. The melty cheese will get sliced into thick slices and frozen 4 or 5 slices to a pack. This is great for enchiladas, quesidillas, nacho's, etc. The gouda is all for Greg, I much prefer to snack on cheddar but he likes to be adventurous with cheese snacking. It was a good deal, he has a lot to snack on!
The #10 can of tomato sauce = 1 gallon. I usually make spaghetti sauce a gallon at a time. We love spaghetti and freeze the leftover sauce to use at other times. It can be put in a casserole or used for pizza sauce or whatever you can think of.
The sweet potatoes will be peeled and cut into chunks and canned. Greg, Will and I love them and not a potato will go to waste....and if it does, the chickens will eat them!
Happy Canning!
Thanksful for ~
a business license
stocking up
Jars, lids and rings for canning
a friend who taught me how to pressure can (Thanks Marie)
great advice online
My favorite canning book was published by University of Georgia ~ "So Easy to Preserve" ~ its very detailed and explains thoroughly the processes.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Pantries
2 of my favorite blogs to read are http://thebluebirdsarenesting.blogspot.com/ written by Annabell and http://aworkingpantry.blogspot.com/ written by Patsi. These ladies have excellent tips and advice about building up your pantry items. And its particularly interesting because Annabell lives in Austrailia, its summertime down under as opposed to our wintertime in the States. Patsi also has a facebook page dedicated to pantries and is on Pinterest.
But why build up your pantry ~ it really just makes good common sense to buy items when they are at their cheapest prices and if your budget allows, buy as many as you can to last till the next really good sale. The months of November and December are excellent for buying baking goods, hams, turkeys, etc. All of these can be frozen or stored in airtight (critter proof) containers. Since Amy bakes, we bought bags of sugar, plain flour, chocolate chips, and pounds of butter for .99 at our local Kroger over several weeks on their sales. The flour came in 5 pound bags and we bought 10 ~ 5 got stored in her big bucket (an old icing bucket from Walmart) and the other 5 are in the freezer waiting till she needs them. $10 for 50 pounds of flour that will last us for months ~ its a good deal.
When we bought our house, I was thrilled with the "utility" type room off the sewing room that I could use for my pantry ~ it houses all my canned goods, canning supplies, extra spices, Amy's baking supplies, our upright freezer and a 2nd refrigerator. While the extra fridge is not totally necessary, it is awesome at holidays and family get togethers to have the extra space. We can make up salads or casseroles ahead of time and store them in the fridge & not take up valuable space in the kitchen fridge. The walls of the room are lines with stainless steel shelves that Greg bought me at Home Depot. Last week, at Target, I found some cute heavy plastic folder boxes with a chalkboard label on one end, they are working great to store our evaporated milk, rotel tomatoes, campbells soup size cans etc. I bought 4 of them. With the cans laying down, each box will hold more than 1 dozen. Now I need to find something similar to hold slightly larger cans ~ like progresso soup cans and tomato sauce cans. Since the shelves were wire, it cans tilt just the right way, there can be an avalanche ~ with the folder boxes, this doesn't happen. I try to store my full canning jars in the boxes they came in ~ those work great on the shelves.
I decided several years ago, that the late fall and winter time is excellent for canning. Its much more pleasant to heat up the house on cold days than in the summertime on hot days! These past several months I have been canning ~ ground beef, chicken, small kidney beans, black eyed peas. I've read with the ground beef that you can process it in the jars without browning ahead of time ~ but that its harder to get out of the jars because its a lump ~ I brown mine ahead of time and add onions, salt and pepper. Then fill the quart jars and fill with boiling water, follow your pressure canner directions for canning meats. The chicken, I cut into strips, fill the jars, add a teaspoon of canning salt and fill with boiling water, then follow the pressure canning directions. Both take 90 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure. And why can meat? Its easy to open a can of ground beef for tacos, or spaghetti sauce or chili and not worry about browning the meat each meal needed. The chicken we use for chicken pot pie or enchiladas or chicken salad. And if the power goes out ~ I have some meat preserved that won't spoil.
On A Working Pantry ~ Patsi has great challenges each week for encouragement and inspiration. She also discusses different types of pantry's ~ your freezer is your frozen pantry, canned goods in your regular pantry, a gift pantry of either a drawer or closet or Rubbermaid type container for gifts you find throughout the year, etc. She has broadened my understanding of pantries. Excellent advice, fun to read and learn.
On Bluebirds are Nesting ~ Annabell is starting a gift challenge (besides all her pantry posts) to encourage everyone to make gifts throughout the year for holidays, birthdays, and especially Christmas. Make more, buy less. I am excited to see what everyone posts and to glean some new ideas and inspiration.
You will be inspired and blessed reading & following these 2 blogs, You will learn lots and be better prepared in your own home for unexpected company, storms, sickness, etc.
At the end of Proverbs 31 ~ women are advised/inspired to willingly work with our hands (v13), provide food for our household (v15), plant a vineyard (or garden) (v16), extend our hand to the poor and needy (v20), and most importantly, watch over the ways of our household (v27). May we all be diligent over caring for our families.
I am thankful for ~
sales to stock up on items we use
advice and inspiration shared by others
shelves full of canned goods
available resources to take advantage of the sales
books to walk your through the canning process
Here are some pictures of my pantry....
Greg and I went to Kroger the day after Christmas ~ the family size packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts were marked down to $1.39 a pound ~ I bought 5. One was cooked and made into lots of chicken pot pie filling, one is frozen and will be barbeque chicken for several meals and the other 3 were canned. I love sales!
Oh, if anyone knows of any containers that work great for the larger cans, I would love to know about them! I've looked on Amazon but a $35+ can rotator system isn't real frugal!
But why build up your pantry ~ it really just makes good common sense to buy items when they are at their cheapest prices and if your budget allows, buy as many as you can to last till the next really good sale. The months of November and December are excellent for buying baking goods, hams, turkeys, etc. All of these can be frozen or stored in airtight (critter proof) containers. Since Amy bakes, we bought bags of sugar, plain flour, chocolate chips, and pounds of butter for .99 at our local Kroger over several weeks on their sales. The flour came in 5 pound bags and we bought 10 ~ 5 got stored in her big bucket (an old icing bucket from Walmart) and the other 5 are in the freezer waiting till she needs them. $10 for 50 pounds of flour that will last us for months ~ its a good deal.
When we bought our house, I was thrilled with the "utility" type room off the sewing room that I could use for my pantry ~ it houses all my canned goods, canning supplies, extra spices, Amy's baking supplies, our upright freezer and a 2nd refrigerator. While the extra fridge is not totally necessary, it is awesome at holidays and family get togethers to have the extra space. We can make up salads or casseroles ahead of time and store them in the fridge & not take up valuable space in the kitchen fridge. The walls of the room are lines with stainless steel shelves that Greg bought me at Home Depot. Last week, at Target, I found some cute heavy plastic folder boxes with a chalkboard label on one end, they are working great to store our evaporated milk, rotel tomatoes, campbells soup size cans etc. I bought 4 of them. With the cans laying down, each box will hold more than 1 dozen. Now I need to find something similar to hold slightly larger cans ~ like progresso soup cans and tomato sauce cans. Since the shelves were wire, it cans tilt just the right way, there can be an avalanche ~ with the folder boxes, this doesn't happen. I try to store my full canning jars in the boxes they came in ~ those work great on the shelves.
I decided several years ago, that the late fall and winter time is excellent for canning. Its much more pleasant to heat up the house on cold days than in the summertime on hot days! These past several months I have been canning ~ ground beef, chicken, small kidney beans, black eyed peas. I've read with the ground beef that you can process it in the jars without browning ahead of time ~ but that its harder to get out of the jars because its a lump ~ I brown mine ahead of time and add onions, salt and pepper. Then fill the quart jars and fill with boiling water, follow your pressure canner directions for canning meats. The chicken, I cut into strips, fill the jars, add a teaspoon of canning salt and fill with boiling water, then follow the pressure canning directions. Both take 90 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure. And why can meat? Its easy to open a can of ground beef for tacos, or spaghetti sauce or chili and not worry about browning the meat each meal needed. The chicken we use for chicken pot pie or enchiladas or chicken salad. And if the power goes out ~ I have some meat preserved that won't spoil.
On A Working Pantry ~ Patsi has great challenges each week for encouragement and inspiration. She also discusses different types of pantry's ~ your freezer is your frozen pantry, canned goods in your regular pantry, a gift pantry of either a drawer or closet or Rubbermaid type container for gifts you find throughout the year, etc. She has broadened my understanding of pantries. Excellent advice, fun to read and learn.
On Bluebirds are Nesting ~ Annabell is starting a gift challenge (besides all her pantry posts) to encourage everyone to make gifts throughout the year for holidays, birthdays, and especially Christmas. Make more, buy less. I am excited to see what everyone posts and to glean some new ideas and inspiration.
You will be inspired and blessed reading & following these 2 blogs, You will learn lots and be better prepared in your own home for unexpected company, storms, sickness, etc.
At the end of Proverbs 31 ~ women are advised/inspired to willingly work with our hands (v13), provide food for our household (v15), plant a vineyard (or garden) (v16), extend our hand to the poor and needy (v20), and most importantly, watch over the ways of our household (v27). May we all be diligent over caring for our families.
I am thankful for ~
sales to stock up on items we use
advice and inspiration shared by others
shelves full of canned goods
available resources to take advantage of the sales
books to walk your through the canning process
Here are some pictures of my pantry....
 |
| These work great ~ very sturdy! |
 |
| Quart jars of chicken I canned yesterday ~ 3 family packs filled 7 quart jars. |
Greg and I went to Kroger the day after Christmas ~ the family size packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts were marked down to $1.39 a pound ~ I bought 5. One was cooked and made into lots of chicken pot pie filling, one is frozen and will be barbeque chicken for several meals and the other 3 were canned. I love sales!
Oh, if anyone knows of any containers that work great for the larger cans, I would love to know about them! I've looked on Amazon but a $35+ can rotator system isn't real frugal!
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from Georgia!
I wish everyone ~ fun memories, family times, laughter, good food, and quiet, joyful reflection on the reason for the season.
We will be spending the day at my moms house with Will, Amy, James, Allen, Jennifer, Aiden, my mom, my sister and her family. We've got enough desserts coming to give us all tummy aches.
We are trying a new gift swap game tomorrow ~ so I will have to report afterwards. We've had fun getting ready for it.
In our striving for a simpler holiday we are still experimenting on what to do for our family. With Greg and the kids working, their schedules have been determined by work hours. I've been able to sit down for hours and cross stitch this week and watch some recorded TV specials. Since we are going to Moms in the morning, we did our gift exchange tonight for Greg and I and the kids. Lots of fun and surprises!
I am thankful for ~
presents ~ I love to give and receive!
anticipation
long weekends
living closer to family
yummy holiday food
sales and coupons for sales
But most of all ~
Our Lord coming to earth
Luke 2:8-14
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For there is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
I wish everyone ~ fun memories, family times, laughter, good food, and quiet, joyful reflection on the reason for the season.
We will be spending the day at my moms house with Will, Amy, James, Allen, Jennifer, Aiden, my mom, my sister and her family. We've got enough desserts coming to give us all tummy aches.
We are trying a new gift swap game tomorrow ~ so I will have to report afterwards. We've had fun getting ready for it.
In our striving for a simpler holiday we are still experimenting on what to do for our family. With Greg and the kids working, their schedules have been determined by work hours. I've been able to sit down for hours and cross stitch this week and watch some recorded TV specials. Since we are going to Moms in the morning, we did our gift exchange tonight for Greg and I and the kids. Lots of fun and surprises!
I am thankful for ~
presents ~ I love to give and receive!
anticipation
long weekends
living closer to family
yummy holiday food
sales and coupons for sales
But most of all ~
Our Lord coming to earth
Luke 2:8-14
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For there is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
Now its just 3 more days till my Mississippi buddies get here! Can't wait for my Tapley hugs!
Friday, October 30, 2015
Lots of Apples
When we purchased a bushel of apples ~ it didn't look that big in the baskets. But that was a lot of apples....and they may have multiplied on the way home.
Of the bushel ~ 1/2 granny smith and 1/2 winesap ~ about 15 or so were eaten. And the rest are stored in jars to be enjoyed this winter & beyond ~ or used as gifts.
We've got 11 jelly jars & 17 pints of apple jelly. There is probably another jelly jar size of jelly in my fridge stored in Tupperware ~ I ran out of the small jars. Also, 7 quarts & 5 pints of apple slices ready for apple crisp. There is also 2 large Tupperware containers (cereal keepers) absolutely full of apple pulp from making the juice for the jelly, that I will make into apple butter.
The apple pulp containers are frozen for a time in the future when I have time to figure out how to make apple butter. I would imagine it would be about the same process as the pear butter I made but with lots more cinnamon.
The jelly is made from the recipe included in the boxed fruit pectin. We are crediting the success of the jelly to using the powdered pectin that we bought in New York from the Amish Bulk grocery store. I am totally thrilled that every jar sealed and every jar jelled ~ no runny jelly!
Thankful for
apples ~ one of my favorite fruits
Amish bulk powdered pectin
every jar sealing & jelling
the 5 apples trees Greg bought to start our own orchard
help with slicing the apples from Greg & Amy
I also shared this post at Farmgirl Friday bloghop ~ http://deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/2015/10/farmgirl-friday-blog-hop-208-and-happy.html
Of the bushel ~ 1/2 granny smith and 1/2 winesap ~ about 15 or so were eaten. And the rest are stored in jars to be enjoyed this winter & beyond ~ or used as gifts.
We've got 11 jelly jars & 17 pints of apple jelly. There is probably another jelly jar size of jelly in my fridge stored in Tupperware ~ I ran out of the small jars. Also, 7 quarts & 5 pints of apple slices ready for apple crisp. There is also 2 large Tupperware containers (cereal keepers) absolutely full of apple pulp from making the juice for the jelly, that I will make into apple butter.
The apple pulp containers are frozen for a time in the future when I have time to figure out how to make apple butter. I would imagine it would be about the same process as the pear butter I made but with lots more cinnamon.
The jelly is made from the recipe included in the boxed fruit pectin. We are crediting the success of the jelly to using the powdered pectin that we bought in New York from the Amish Bulk grocery store. I am totally thrilled that every jar sealed and every jar jelled ~ no runny jelly!
 |
| my sister bought me the cool green lids & rings and blue lids & rings! |
 |
| yummy in a jar ~ I used 1/2 water and 1/2 unsweetened apple juice for the liquid |
 |
| jelly ready to be stored in the pantry |
apples ~ one of my favorite fruits
Amish bulk powdered pectin
every jar sealing & jelling
the 5 apples trees Greg bought to start our own orchard
help with slicing the apples from Greg & Amy
I also shared this post at Farmgirl Friday bloghop ~ http://deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/2015/10/farmgirl-friday-blog-hop-208-and-happy.html
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Happenings
Right now, its cold and nasty and rainy outside. Perfect day (yesterday & today) to work on inside projects, drink hot spiced tea and hot chocolate, and cuddle under quilts.
Now that our doggies flea infestation is eradicated, we've let them come in to warm up too. My sewing room has been puppy proofed so that no fabric will be damaged due to a hiked leg from Chip or Oreo. Amy has started training because they have forgotten how to act inside ~ cheerios are the treat. Licorice enjoyed sitting in my lap today while I was at the embroidery machine.
Our crockpot has been getting a workout. The convenience of putting dinner in it in the morning and then having it cooked by dinnertime is great. Today its cooking one of Gregs favorite soups ~ split pea. The recipe came out of my "Fix it and Forget it" cookbook.
Gregs got our bedroom painted and the pool table is put together and in the sunroom. Which caused some rearranging of what was already out there. He has worked hard on the garage. About 1/3 of it is now his 'man cave". It contains a sofa, 2 easy chairs, coffee table, tv and WWii system. That section of the garage has been insulated, pictures hung and on one wall there is pegboard for tool storage.
Yesterday, he deleted everything off the laptop that is for the embroidery machine and reinstalled windows and the embroidery software. I haven't been able to use the machine since we moved because the laptop and machine weren't communicating. I am thankful to have a handy, computer literate husband.
Amy and I are ready for Thanksgiving ~ me because everyone will be here and we will have lots of fun. Her because Austin will be here and they haven't seen each other since August~ He and his parents are coming for the holiday & weekend. We will all be volunteering for 2 shifts at the Operation Christmas Child center here in Atlanta. Amys brothers and sisters and Granny are anxious to meet this young man.
Blogging 2 days in a row! I hope the 6 folks that read this blog are excited!
Thankful for ~
puppies
no more fleas
cooler weather
crockpots
Amazon prime music (Manheim Steamroller was sewing music today)
hot tea and hot chocolate
warm clothes
quilts
at home days
Now that our doggies flea infestation is eradicated, we've let them come in to warm up too. My sewing room has been puppy proofed so that no fabric will be damaged due to a hiked leg from Chip or Oreo. Amy has started training because they have forgotten how to act inside ~ cheerios are the treat. Licorice enjoyed sitting in my lap today while I was at the embroidery machine.
Our crockpot has been getting a workout. The convenience of putting dinner in it in the morning and then having it cooked by dinnertime is great. Today its cooking one of Gregs favorite soups ~ split pea. The recipe came out of my "Fix it and Forget it" cookbook.
Gregs got our bedroom painted and the pool table is put together and in the sunroom. Which caused some rearranging of what was already out there. He has worked hard on the garage. About 1/3 of it is now his 'man cave". It contains a sofa, 2 easy chairs, coffee table, tv and WWii system. That section of the garage has been insulated, pictures hung and on one wall there is pegboard for tool storage.
Yesterday, he deleted everything off the laptop that is for the embroidery machine and reinstalled windows and the embroidery software. I haven't been able to use the machine since we moved because the laptop and machine weren't communicating. I am thankful to have a handy, computer literate husband.
Amy and I are ready for Thanksgiving ~ me because everyone will be here and we will have lots of fun. Her because Austin will be here and they haven't seen each other since August~ He and his parents are coming for the holiday & weekend. We will all be volunteering for 2 shifts at the Operation Christmas Child center here in Atlanta. Amys brothers and sisters and Granny are anxious to meet this young man.
Blogging 2 days in a row! I hope the 6 folks that read this blog are excited!
Thankful for ~
puppies
no more fleas
cooler weather
crockpots
Amazon prime music (Manheim Steamroller was sewing music today)
hot tea and hot chocolate
warm clothes
quilts
at home days
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
We are Still Here!
We are still here! Life has been exceedingly busy around here.
Highlights (or lowlights)
Greg has been ripping up our "lovely" blue carpet from the dining/living room and replacing it with hardwood floors. It looks immensely better. We are using the same flooring we put in our bedroom in MS from Home Depot.
I worked at our local ginormous (translation~really, really big) childrens consignment sale 4 different days and Greg worked with me on 2 of them. We got enough credits to get all the grand young'uns loads of clothes. Cost to us was about $26.
We did an IKEA trip with Andy and AmyKate to look around and eat lunch.
Helped Mom clean some stuff out. She is about to put her house on the market.
Our little Aiden turns a year old tomorrow! Can't believe is been a year!
And our `next little blessing, Alvin, will arrive in the next couple of weeks.
We are going to enter the local fair next month. We've got some stuff that we were going to enter in Miss., so we're kind of ready for it!
Amy and I had our first crafting day, today. Its been months since we had all day to work together. Just needed Angel here to make the day complete.
Greg set our stupid rooster free last week. The rooster had a terrible, possessive attitude over our chicken coop. He didn't want us anywhere near the coop. He had to go. He was set free about 50 miles from here.
Greg fulfilled one of his farmer dreams....and is now the proud owner of a tractor.
The weather has cooled off a little. And we've had some torrential rain storms.
Ready for football season to start~
Bye till I turn on the laptop again!
Highlights (or lowlights)
Greg has been ripping up our "lovely" blue carpet from the dining/living room and replacing it with hardwood floors. It looks immensely better. We are using the same flooring we put in our bedroom in MS from Home Depot.
I worked at our local ginormous (translation~really, really big) childrens consignment sale 4 different days and Greg worked with me on 2 of them. We got enough credits to get all the grand young'uns loads of clothes. Cost to us was about $26.
We did an IKEA trip with Andy and AmyKate to look around and eat lunch.
Helped Mom clean some stuff out. She is about to put her house on the market.
Our little Aiden turns a year old tomorrow! Can't believe is been a year!
And our `next little blessing, Alvin, will arrive in the next couple of weeks.
We are going to enter the local fair next month. We've got some stuff that we were going to enter in Miss., so we're kind of ready for it!
Amy and I had our first crafting day, today. Its been months since we had all day to work together. Just needed Angel here to make the day complete.
Greg set our stupid rooster free last week. The rooster had a terrible, possessive attitude over our chicken coop. He didn't want us anywhere near the coop. He had to go. He was set free about 50 miles from here.
Greg fulfilled one of his farmer dreams....and is now the proud owner of a tractor.
The weather has cooled off a little. And we've had some torrential rain storms.
Ready for football season to start~
Bye till I turn on the laptop again!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
What I Miss ~
*When I am in GA, I Miss ~
my friends
My bed (the air mattress is comfortable but gets old pretty quick)
Will
my comfortable sofa
the internet (we don't have it yet in GA)
*When I am in Mississippi, I miss.....
my Farm
the quiet
my children that have already moved
Family
watching my pumpkin & squash plants get bigger and bigger
*What I miss no matter where I am ~
knowing where all my stuff is
having our possessions in one place
my books ~ they are packed in boxes in moms basement
my craft supplies
Even with our unpainted walls, our ugly blue carpet, our boxes everywhere, the confusion in every room ~ I am ready for our move. Its happening very soon!
Blessings from our Savior ~
Gregs job interviews
James' job interview
Amys job
Wills job transfer
interest in our house and the trailer
excitement for our upcoming mission trip (a first for my niece & nephew)
spending time with family ~ Andy & Amy Kate came this weekend, cookout with A & AK, Amy Lynn & Granny, Allen, Jennifer & Aiden, & James, and going to SC to spend time with Robert & Thomas ~
my friends
My bed (the air mattress is comfortable but gets old pretty quick)
Will
my comfortable sofa
the internet (we don't have it yet in GA)
*When I am in Mississippi, I miss.....
my Farm
the quiet
my children that have already moved
Family
watching my pumpkin & squash plants get bigger and bigger
*What I miss no matter where I am ~
knowing where all my stuff is
having our possessions in one place
my books ~ they are packed in boxes in moms basement
my craft supplies
Even with our unpainted walls, our ugly blue carpet, our boxes everywhere, the confusion in every room ~ I am ready for our move. Its happening very soon!
Blessings from our Savior ~
Gregs job interviews
James' job interview
Amys job
Wills job transfer
interest in our house and the trailer
excitement for our upcoming mission trip (a first for my niece & nephew)
spending time with family ~ Andy & Amy Kate came this weekend, cookout with A & AK, Amy Lynn & Granny, Allen, Jennifer & Aiden, & James, and going to SC to spend time with Robert & Thomas ~
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