Sunday, September 30, 2018

Frugal Happenings 9/30

Happy last day of September!  Fall has surely been in the air this week.
It is mind boggling that tomorrow is October!
We have had quite a chilly week (I love it) compared to past weeks.  It has been in the 60's and 70's during the day and upper 40's and 50's at night.  It is quite refreshing to sleep with the window open a bit and snuggle under the covers!
This next week it is going to warm up again with highs in low and mid 80's. 

My hummingbirds have left for warmer places.  They were here last Sunday and I saw them first thing Monday morning.  They fluttered directly in front of the kitchen window as if they were saying "thank you and see you next spring".   I will miss my little flying jewels.

My frugal week:
  • Produce has drastically dropped off.  I harvested around 6 1/2 lbs. and most of it was peppers - a few tomatoes.
  • Hosed down the front of the house, the porch, and the furniture on the porch.  Looks so fresh!
  • Mowed and did some yard work
  • Washed windows, mirrors and glass on pictures
  • G had a birthday this week and I made him a German chocolate cake - his absolute favorite.  I had a mix I got on clearance , but of course it didn't make up like the picture.  It had no ICING - just stuff you mix in the cake.  So I made the topping from scratch.  Dang was that cake rich and yummy - we even shared with neighbor - too much for us to eat here (sugar wise).
The nuts and coconut it came with were to be mixed in cake.  I made my own topping.  Easy and YUM!
  • No AC at all this week - windows open and house aired out
  • Cut some herbs for drying
  • Saved old bread - drying.  Starting to make dressing bread for the holidays
  • Received more individual pop bottles to use for water storage
  • I did run to Kroger for milk and eggs this week.  I found 3 Mrs. Wages pickles mixes and 2 - Mrs. Wages hot salsa mixes on clearance and got them for my brother's Christmas basket.
  • Went to Big Lots 20% off sale yesterday and found 2 nice duffle bags.  They were already on clearance 75% off (school supplies were all marked down) and I got another 20% off - I paid $2 each for them!!!!!!!  They will be the 'goody bags' for 2 of the teenage kids this Christmas. (They are both into sports - so should come in handy)
       One bag for a girl and one for a boy.  They will take a LOT of goodies to fill them!!!!!!
  • Got a ton of small maintenance projects done on Friday.  Little things that needed to be done before winter.  Feels good to have them done
  • Neighbors had a yard sale Saturday.  I bought myself ANOTHER sewing machine!  I have 2 - one that gives me headaches (I need it serviced) and one that I inherited (haven't even tried it).  This one was too good of a deal to pass on.  It was marked $25 I offered $20 - she said yes.  The original tag on the box says $97.  E-Bay $75 and up.  If nothing else I can gift it to a niece OR keep myself!  We will see.
           It has the manual and all accessories - doesn't look like it has barely been  used.


Meals this past week:
Remade balance of broc./cheddar soup into a chowder & had sandwiches with it
B-day dinner - G wanted food from 50's Diner (HUGE breaded tenderloins/fries/onion rings)
Open face cheeseburgers and slaw, tomatoes
Chef salad - beef stick/cheese/crackers
Taco/Mexican type soup - 2X
Smoked sausage, 4 cheese mac n cheese and tomatoes


That pretty well sums up my week.  Just doing all the normal stuff.
How was your week?  Any great deals?  Gardens still producing?  Preserving goodies?
Let us know.

Prayers for a healthy and happy week for each of you.  Good forward and do or say something nice to/for someone this week - it will help counter balance all the negative out there.  If we all do good - it could change everything.  It's 'catching' you know!!!!!

Blessings to you ALL from our humble home to yours!

14 comments:

  1. What a deal on the sewing machine! Looks like a good one too. You are warmer than us. We are going to be in 60's this week. Brr. You had such a great week with great deals. Have a great day Cheryl!

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    1. I thought it was a good deal too. Sorry it is so cold there.
      take care and stay warm!!!!

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  2. Great deal on the sewing machine, Cheryl. You can never have too many of those. I have two, down from three. And what a great deal on the duffel bags! Those will make nice Christmas gifts indeed. I've already started shopping for Christmas too. It will be here before we know it, so it's best to prepare ahead of time. Have a great week. :)

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    1. Yes we are down to less than 3 months to Christmas. I try to buy as I see thins.
      yeah a girl and her tools - just like men - we can't have too many!
      Blessings

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  3. How exciting to get such a great deal on the sewing machine!!! I have noticed that I haven't seen my hummingbirds in a few days. I'll miss those little guys!!

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    1. It always make me sad when they leave. Not only do I miss them, but you summer is really over.
      have a good one.

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  4. Happy Birthday to your DH!

    I know a lovely sweet girl that has the same version of your new sewing machine. She makes the most beautiful doll clothes with it. She power uses her machine. She has had it for years and years, practically uses it daily.

    I love Brother machines. They are good machines. Such workhorses. I have a very old Brother 270D embroidery/sewing machine. She is still going strong with no problems. My DH has a quilting machine from Brother that is a workhorse.

    I hope my reviews give you some confidence you spent your $20 well. :)

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    1. Thanks so much. I have one Brother already. They are good machines.
      Glad you like yours.

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  5. My goodness, that's an amazing deal on the sewing machine! For $20, I would have snapped that up as well. I need to get mine out this week; Halloween is coming soon and my daughter needs a costume. :)

    You had a great week!

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    1. Oh how neat that you make costumes. I need to get busy too soon, now that the weather is changing up a bit. I am more apt to sew when it's cool out!
      Have a good one.

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  6. That sewing machine will serve you well as do the 2 you have already. I need one and there is a vacuum and sewing machine place that I pass daily (to and from work). I must stop in and start seriously looking. Speaking of tools, a nice set of tools (hammer, wrenches, etc) would make a nice gift for your teen girl and that duffel bag wouldn't seem to need quite so much more to fill it. I need a bag of some sort to put my tools in as the plastic carrying case it came with has broken. Food wise, I am cooking, eating a meal and either taking the leftovers to work for lunch, or freezing for another dinner, or to make soup. Our temps are predicted to go from the 90's (the hottest September on record here in N. FL) to the 80's this week. Hopefully the nighttime temps will go into the 60's. Have a great week.

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    1. Good idea on the tools. She isn't old enough to drive yet or I would put emergency car stuff in there. She does help her Dad do a lot of wood crafting and she and her brother are both into sports.

      Great job on using up all the food. I sure hope you get a break with the hot weather.
      We are sure enjoying it. Although today is back in the 80's.

      Have a blessed week.

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  7. Wow what a deal on the sewing machine! Me thinks you should keep it for yourself!! Our church rummage sale was saturday, it rained of course! We made a big chunk of money though! Maybe theyll get the work started on the parsonage soon. I got some fun stuff, cookbook, loom, big basket, some jars, wheel barrow, 2 bird feeders, tripod, and a big ice chest! One lady donated some interesting pieces, they were dishes glued into bird feeders, bird baths, candle holder and whatever! All kinds of dishes, vases, cups, plates and etc was used, pretty unique and colorful! I ended up with 6 of them, Im going to put in among my flowers next year! We had a blast!

    Did you have a chance to look for a master gardener class, I so hope you get to go! The weather here has been crazy windy, in the 50s over night and rain ever so often. I like the 70s and low 80s temps though! I got several projects to do before we get a frost. Happy bargain hunting!!

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    1. Phyllis it sounds like you got a lot of great goodies at the sale and helped a good cause as well.
      I love that 'glass art' that is around now. They are so pretty and your garden will look lovely. We have a friend that makes all kinds of neat stuff like that and sales it at flea markets.

      No haven't looked into master We have had REAL fall weather and now it is back to summer. I guess we need to enjoy it while we can.
      Blessings

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