Sunday, October 18, 2015

Frugal Happenings 10/18

Howdy gang!  Hope this finds everyone well.
It seems that in our neck of the woods the "garden party" is over!  We had our first freeze of the season both yesterday and today in early morning hours.
So sad - everything looks so droopy and blah.
The leaves should really get to their color prime in the next week or so.  We are to be back to low 70's as highs this coming week.

I had to give in this week and admit that my baby hummingbirds were gone for the season.  Took down and cleaned the feeders.
Got a LOT of fall yard work done!

I did manage to get all the tomatoes in - both red and green.  Baby cabbages picked as well.  So it's all over but the shouting and the rubbish that has to get picked up!!!

  • I harvested my thyme and it's air drying
  • Picked a total of 27 lbs. of red, green, and partially ripe tomatoes
  • I canned 7 pints of sweet green tomato relish
  • Canned 2 pints and 5 half pints of tomato puree from all the misshapen and funky looking tomatoes.  (Still have plenty for fresh eating)
  • Renewed library books on line, so they wouldn't go over due
  • Got our furnace checked for the winter under our maintenance agreement.  No money output in the fall
I went to my first holiday bazaar of the season this weekend.  It is by far the smallest of the ones I like, but it's right up the street, and I have gone for years.  Bought NO crafts.  I always go to buy my holiday nuts for baking.  They have a group that sells them and profits go for missions.  So I bought 4 pounds of pecans and some mixed nuts.  Also got G a bag of spicy trail mix.
So I now have all my nuts for holiday baking!  YAY!

I have only had to turn on the heat for a cycle or two 3 days, all at the end of week.  Lasts years attic insulation sure has made a difference.  The house really stays a lot warmer.
Absolutely no AC - I think it's done till next year.

I have made some really yummy meals this week.  I made a small roast and had beef Manhattens one night, then made roast beef hash another night.  We have had soup and grilled cheese, homemade quesadillas, burgers and salad, and I made a big pot of 'gumbo like' Cajun soup.
Just trying to get a bit creative and varied with the menu, and I love using what we have to make yummy fall and winter comfort food.

The bazaar was my only outing this week.  No shopping or spending!  Yay me!!!!

Hope you guys have had a lovely week and have tried to stay on the frugal bandwagon!  Let us know what you have been up to.
Have a great upcoming week, and may God bless and keep you all you safe and healthy.

9 comments:

  1. I am so glad you posted those pictures of your canning! We had a semi-hard frost here last night also and the chard took it hard. Like you I have been using the library, too. We got the woodburner up and running. The electric bill was up again, could it be longer hot showers? Baking has begun too. Made an oatmeal crisp with walnuts and a coconut impossible pie. The Good Man’s taste buds are in heaven now.

    My girlfriends gave me a gift certificate to a quilting shop and I was able to get two sweet prints for $14. The pattern was reduced from $14 to $10 and I’ll try the first fabric tonight. Got up at 4:30 this morning to cut it out. The tops being made are scrub tops for work. I sure hope they fit! I can do a few minor alterations but that’s it, well, maybe need to learn more then.

    I’d like to find some cashews at an affordable price…but locally they are high, even over the mountain in Amish valley.

    The Good Man passed up some deer during muzzleloader this weekend. I told him we could smoke some and can some, but he thought we had plenty of meat for the year now. He said the woods can keep their deer this year.

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    1. I love cashews and you are right, they are so terribly expensive. Always have to splurge a little around the holidays and buy us a TREAT!

      Good luck with the sewing project.

      I bet there is a deer somewhere saying a prayer of thanks!

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  2. OMG, our local grocery, maybe in response to my complaint about how expensive walnuts have become, put on a 2 for 1 on one pound bags of walnuts! I got three bags and since the shelf was empty, got a Rain Check for another ten. Rain Checks have no expiration date, so I can pick them up at anytime. And the price? OMG! Regular price was $9.99, so that means 2 for 1 makes each bag $4.99. Five dollars for a pound of walnuts is FABULOUS!

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    1. WOW what a great price! I would have nailed that sale as well. You go girl! Stick them in the freezer and you will have them for a long time!
      You can't hardly find an 8oz. bag of walnuts here for 4.99.

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  3. I did find some salted cashews for $12.99 for 18 ounces which makes them $0.72 an ounce, or $11.55 a pound. There are lower prices online but since we don't use them in pounds and pounds like walnuts, I simply got the one container on the shelf that they had and promptly put it in the freezer.

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  4. The scrub top is going well except I need to take up the shoulder seams a bit more and cut a new collar binding to adjust for the change. One of the prints was a Halloween print. If you know how I can post a picture here I would love to share it! Pink background and black print (because October is also Breast Cancer month), with silhouetted Victorian dresses floating between the trees, little wisps of ghosts, and white bunny rabbits.

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    1. I really don't know how someone else can post a picture here. I will do some checking on that.

      If you like you can e-mail the picture to me and I will share it! There's always a way!!! LOL

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  5. Pretty funny about the deer saying a prayer of thanks! There may be even more than one since he saw six shootable ones that day! Which is remarkable in itself for that area!

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    1. I have to clarify, he only had a tag for one of them, though and would only shoot one!

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