Sunday, September 6, 2020

Weekly Wrap-Up 9/6

Hello everyone. I hope this finds you all well and safe.
It is a cool and lovely morning here.  In the upper 50's when I went out this A.M. and now in 60's.  It will be warming and a couple chances of rain coming in the next day or two.  We can sure use it.
This week the temps will be going back to 'summer' and then cooling again next weekend.
We have had a couple really nice days - seasonal temperatures and no humidity.  Love it!!!

It is Labor Day weekend here in the states.  I hope you all have a SAFE weekend if you get together.  Once retired and then alone - it is just another weekend - with no mail or trash pick-up on Monday!!!!!  LOL  For many, this is the last hoorah of the summer.

My week:
  • Got to open windows a lot and have fresh air.  No AC a good part of the week - especially mornings.
  • Mowed and trimmed entire yard on Monday - then neighbor did the front and way out back again on Friday for me.
  • Been picking lots and lots of tomatoes.  I FINALLY have my first bell pepper on the plants out back!!!!!  I guess better late than never!
  • Colored my hair with supplies on hand
  • Used my crockpot for the first time in ages!  I did a small portion of pork roast and it made 3 different meals for me
  • Refilled all the outdoor bins of critter feed with supplies I have on hand.  Not going through nearly as much last couple weeks.  They are all finding new sources of natural food!  (Walnuts, thistle seed, other seeds, etc.)
  • Paid all the bills and balanced the checkbook
  • Dropped off 4 banana boxes of goods and some pictures to the church thrift store.  They were thrilled
  • No grocery store again this week!!!  The only time I left the house was to take mail to P.O. and go to thrift store for drop-off
  • Put out my fall door decorations
                                    It is so bright and cheery.  Picture doesn't do it justice
  • Dug my potatoes - my experiment!  I didn't get a lot, but for the first time and using a potato that would have been thrown out - not bad.  I just did them in a barrel planter.  It was a fun experiment and the first time in my life to try.   
                                  Amazing to get actual food from something considered trash
  • Totally cleaned out the bathroom closet - it is like a 7' tall pie safe.  My goodness it is so much better now - looks so neat
  • Did a lot of porch sitting this week - enjoying the weather & nature
Meals this past week:
Cheesy sloppy Joes & chips
Chicken & dumplings (small can Sweet Sue) and salad
Thickened wild rice & chicken soup (from freezer) - added some instant mashed - was tasty
Philly cheesesteak Italian bread pizza (homemade)  used ground beef/peppers/onions/mushrooms & swiss
Pork roast with potato and carrots
BBQ pulled pork and pickles and chips 
Taco pork/bean/cheese tostadas
OF course EVERY meal had tomatoes!

It was a little more laid back this week.  I enjoyed relaxing on the porch a bit more and did less physical work.  I will probably be back at it this week.  First plan is to clean out the glass/cup cabinet in the kitchen!  I also have a set of dishes that I may see if a family wants (it came from their family).  I won't use them.

How has your week been?  Are you getting any decent weather to enjoy?  Did you have a frugal week?  

May the Lord guide you and direct you in all of endeavors this coming week.  Enjoy the goodness & beauty of the world and pray for all evil/nastiness to end.  Amen

Blessings from my humble home to yours.

21 comments:

  1. We woke up to some very chilly weather this morning and it feels great. It will be hot again soon enough, so I am going to enjoy it. Your potato harvest was terrific from one potato on the verge. That's great and I know you are enjoying those yummy tomatoes!

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    1. It was chilly this morning. I had my bedroom open a bit and I didn't want to get out from under the covers!
      Yeah, not a bad little harvest. I am absolutely loving the tomatoes.
      Have a good week!

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  2. I'm impressed with your potato crop! My neighbor used to grow a big crop and shared! She had a huge beautiful garden...and four little gardeners to help with all that work!!

    This week... I'll give it a 'meh' in productivity.
    I got 2 sets of masks done as Christmas gifts for 2 families. I made more toilet bombs while it's hot. They dry quickly in the heat. I got lots of doll house trim cut and painted. I also got my early fall decor up. I ease into Autumn with sunflowers, crows and apples.

    Meals were:
    Salsa chicken tacos
    Burgers
    Chinese noodles a la The Prudent Homemaker
    BBQ takeout
    Baked ziti
    French Dips
    Burritos
    Looking forward to this week's cold spell and some old winter meals!

    Still reading the same as last week but finished the book by Karen Robards. Ugh. Nearly 400 pages. About 100 of actual mystery and 300 pages of smut and what was best described as steamy foreplay! After flipping past all that, it was really just a short story.
    So, I went to my bookshelf and pulled a couple more of her books. One was a lovely shade of blue that I will now stencil on and decorate for my Valentine decor- red and turquoisey blues. I didn't buy these books. They were given to me. Thank goodness!

    Looking forward to cooler weather and accomplishing something this week!

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    1. Sounds like you got plenty done IMO. Not all weeks are super busy and that is good.
      Your meals sound yummy.
      We are going back to hot for a good part of the week. I am looking forward to chili, hamburger soup and stew days!

      I am afraid the book would have lost me. I have so many old books here I need to read. While I was cleaning the living room shelves - I was reading titles - some sound pretty good. They are all really old books.
      Cooler weather will be nice. Have a good and productive week.

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    2. I just hate when the story is weak so they take it into the gutter. I wish they'd label them as SMUT so I could know before getting caught up in the mystery. Ugh.

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    3. Debby in KS - It has taken me many years, but now if a book fails to impress couple of chapters in, it gets sidelined and I read a better one!

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    4. That's what irked me so much! The first 3 or so chapters were good mystery and just a little background on the characters. I started the 50 page rule several years ago after literally forcing myself to finish Wuthering Heights!! I decided life was too short. And that my idea of a classic clearly differed from others'! I find many classics to be too disturbing. I got a special excuse after I got assigned a Jack London book in Jr. High. I was near traumatized from that one!

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    5. LOL - I had to laugh out loud when I read this comment. I have tried several times to read different classics and just couldn't do it. Rave revues and all - not my cup of tea.
      I remember years and years ago - I also tried reading Dyanetics (sp) and couldn't get past about 3rd or 4th page. I didn't understand a word I read. Tried several times - nope. Figured it was just me and not liking things others did. Glad to hear someone else is like that.

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  3. We got Blight on our tomatoes so no crop here. The beans are still doing well though, so it's Runner Beans with every meal!! Autumn raspberries cropping well, and wild blackberries and elderberries to pick (food for free). The apple harvest is stupendous . . .

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    1. Sorry about the tomatoes. I didn't get much in the way of cucumbers. Yum on fresh beans. They are so good.
      Oh berries are one of my favorites. Glad you have so many.
      Many apples got hit by a May freeze this year. I haven't heard of any shortage though.

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  4. We are harvesting plenty of potatoes too from pots. It is amazing how many you get from such a small number.

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    1. My first time experiment. My brother always gets a good crop, so I thought I would try. One old potato gave me fresh goodies!

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  5. Thanks for another great post. Nice that you had some down time to relax as well. Still oppressively hot/humid down here in SW Florida. We have each other, but with no kids here, Labor Day celebration is just like any other day for us! But--I do have the baked beans in the oven to go with the hotdogs :)

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    1. It is always nice to take tine to relax and just enjoy.
      I bet it is hot there - oh my.
      Yep, just another day here. I will eat leftover lasagna today! Baked beans sound good.
      Thanks.

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  6. We just had three absolutely gorgeous weather days, and I made the most of them. Hung out laundry and weeded flowerbeds on Friday. Mowed and weedwacked, put up a motion detector light in the carport, and checked the heat tape on the water pipes under the house on Saturday. Baked in the early morning, vacuumed the whole house, and mopped my bedroom floor yesterday. I plan to mop some more today, though it is to be hot and humid before cooler weather returns later this week. Autumn must be on its way; I feel like nesting!
    Small frugalities this week. Got whole wheat macaroni and spaghetti on sale for $1/box. Baked a cherry pie and a chicken pot pie at the same time to run the oven less. Did it in the morning to heat the house a little since Husband was chilly. Had the A/C on only once this week, just to cool the house before bedtime. No furnace yet, just jackets. Turn out the lights and enjoy God's light when we can. Had a nice breeze yesterday afternoon for God's A/C, too.
    The garden is looking tired. Still picking lots of tomatoes, though the cooler nights have slowed ripening. Cucumbers are just about done. I think we got five this year. I was giving them away last year. Will be picking bell peppers to freeze some time this week. I wish Husband would eat more potatoes. I like them, but can't eat them fast enough and don't have a good place to store them. I've grown them from sprouted purchased potatoes years ago.
    I finished reading the Sharon Kay Penman mysteries and read three Bernard Cornwell "Sharpe" books. I have more books on order from the library, but they must be quarantining them before releasing them because it is taking forever for them all to come in. I also chased dead ancestors around the internet for a while (in lieu of reading). I agree with Debby (and others) that smut ruins books. The other thing that can ruin an otherwise good book is 21st century values and ideas in medieval historical novels. Queens, who had all the power in the world, didn't sit around talking about how oppressed they were as females.
    Dinners this week will be chicken pot pie, salmon burgers, and hot dogs w/potato salad for Labor Day. Salad every day, of course, and cherry pie for dessert.
    Going to be a busy week with Aldi, Rx refills, the library, and my optometrist appointment. I'm hoping I can use the $3 frames I bought at the thrift store for new glasses.
    Hope everyone has a safe and frugal week!

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    1. So happy you got some nice weather days and took advantage. They sure are enjoyable.
      No jackets here yet and no furnace hopefully for a long while. I love the chill of the mornings and late nights.

      My garden is tired looking too. I am still getting lots of tomatoes, especially cherry toms. We need rain - but doubtful we get any yet again today. Looks like it will miss us. It is cloudy, but that keeps the heat down.
      Your dinners sound good.
      Don't over do it this week.

      Our library is keeping books for 5 days before releasing/re-shelving. You have to use the outdoor drop drawer. I guess they are being extra careful. You can go in and look around and sign out - but need masks.

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  7. Cheryl, you and your readers are always so busy that I feel like a sloth! ha! This morning Jim O'Brien on Fox59 said we might get some rain today. We were out yesterday and came out of Half Price Books to a few splatters of rain.

    Yes, I wish books were labeled like movies with a rating. Nothing worse than opening a book to the *F* bomb and images I'd just as soon do without. Listened to a pastor one time talk about the "eye gate". He had a young teenage son at the time and was talking about the Victoria Secret catalogs that came in the mail. Hmmm, wonder why they were delivered to their house? Patricia Cornwell wrote a biography on Ruth Bell Graham and Ruth asked her why she used such filthy language in her books. The biography on Mrs Graham was actually excellent.

    Planting sprouted potatoes is an excellent idea. We have some in the garden and even if we have only a small crop, it's better than throwing the old potatoes away. My dad used to store the potatoes all winter and I don't know what he did to cure them so they didn't shrivel. We had two persimmon trees on the farm where I grew up and Mommy would freeze the pulp that she didn't use right away. I have her persimmon pudding recipe. We also had morels in the spring. Talk about a treat! Fresh little radishes, slender green onions and wilted lettuce was one of my favorite meals.

    We have leftovers in the refrigerator so probably won't fix a traditional Labor Day meal. The Urban Farmer is into using sourdough starter in breads and he made a sourdough pizza crust yesterday. I chopped onions, fresh peppers from the garden, black olives and homemade turkey sausage for it. Best pizza we've had in a long time.

    The chill of the mornings is a joy after the heat. We don't have the extreme heat some places are still experiencing.

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    1. Yes, sweet Jim fibbed for my area today! I love watching that team- they are so funny. I hate that Ray is leaving at the end of the month. He is funny!

      You are hardly a sloth!!!!!
      SO may magazines and ads are full of sex today - that is how they sell everything. Used to not even be able to show ladies in undies on TV and now look!!!!
      No wonder there is so much depravity any more.

      I have Mom's persimmon pudding recipe as well. Man I miss that stuff. We used to drive some where out in the country to get them (of course what was country then, probably is city now). Paw paws as well. She made the best paw paw bread.
      I used to love taking drives with them as a kid - new adventures always. Abandoned peach tree or apple trees, berry patches, paw paws, persimmons - my goodness.
      I love morel mushrooms - I still have family that go hunt for them every spring.

      Homemade pizza is always so good.
      I love the chilly mornings as well.

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  8. There is nothing better than fresh potatoes from the garden. My daughter dug hers this week and we had a fill on Saturday evening, yum!

    Cooler weather prevails here with frost forecast overnight. I am so not happy about it but warmer weather is coming later in the week. It does mean no a/c required but the furnace has been needed to take the chill off in the morning.

    Take care and stay well!

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    1. Frost oh no. So soon. But I saw Colorado is getting snow and a lot of it!!!! EEK
      I love the cooler temps - but alas, they are gone here again for a few days. Back to hot and humid. I hope I don't have to worry about furnace for a long while.
      Have a good one.

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  9. At last...someone else that actually says they balance their checkbook. So many people I know just say they look at theirs for anything they don't recognize. I don't even write that many checks, and I still cannot remember all. I love that sunflower wreath...

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