Sunday, June 13, 2021

Weekly Wrap-Up 6/13

 Happy Sunday to all.  My goodness here we are almost half way through June.  This year is about half over - seems crazy.
It sure has been HOT & HUMID here.    We did get rain at the first of week.  Not getting as much done outside as I would wish.  I spend about an hour - less than two - outside each morning, just trying to do stuff.  I come in red as a beet and melted.  It is way too hot.  Hopefully we have a little cool down coming this next week and the humidity is dropping today.  YAY

We had a heck of a storm come through last night - they were very spotty - but we got the edge of a fierce one.  There was lightening and thunder NON stop for over an hour.  It looked like a strobe light going off outdoors and the thunder - oh my.  It really sounded kind of scary.  It was just a loud rumble that never stopped.  Huge winds came through quickly and then rain.
Each new day brings new hope and a new vision.
This morning the sun is shining, the birds are singing, my babies and all the other animals are here and well, it is a BIT cooler.  LOVELY!!

We all have these days - do not fret if you do.  There are days and maybe weeks - that life needs to slow down and naps need to be taken.


My week:
  • Worked outside as I could.  Pulled weeds and more weeds.  Working in various areas - avoiding the big bed out back!  LOL  Oh what a mess it is.  Here's hoping I get to work on it this coming week
  • Cut a bouquet of roses
  • Washed all the summer bedding for kitties
  • Planted a few more flowers and onion sets
  • My neighbor cut my front grass with his riding mower so I wouldn't have to push mow in the heat.  The back did NOT get mowed this week!!
  • Made a big batch of hummingbird nectar and clean and refilled feeders.  Refrigerated the remainder 
  • Ran to the store again this week.  Did a good buy on canned cat food.  It is finally starting to fill the shelves again.  I also got Kroger brand olive oil on Manager's Markdown for 3.49/25 oz. bottle.  They said they are redoing all the labeling, so marking down current product. Win for me!
  • I used the air fryer this week.  I give it an  A on chicken strips and maybe a C+ on fries.  They were pretty darn crispy - I need to adjust my times.  I guess this will be a trial and error type thing!
  • Ran to the library.  Returned a couple books and found nothing new to bring home.  I did get a book put on my wish list and they will let me know when it comes in.
  • Had to run the AC quite a bit this week.  Keeping blinds shut as the sun moved around the house.  Looking forward to cooler days this week!

Meals this past week:
Taco salad
Chicken/broccoli/rice
Small pizza and salad
Cream cheese/chipped beef spread on toasted bread and topped with veggies
Chicken strips and fries
Chopped steak, corn on cob and lima beans
Tostadas
Made an ice cream float one afternoon as a treat and eating fruit as snacks

Have you been having hot weather?  Staying cool?  Did you get any deals or bargains this week?  Look forward to hearing from you all.

Blessings from my humble little home to yours.
Please take care and praying for health and safety for all.


The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for ever-more.
Psalm 121: 7-8

Lay your problems and worries in God's hands - He has us all in His protective and loving arms.
AMEN

28 comments:

  1. Amein and amein! Our Elohim loves us and cares for us.

    That was quite a little storm last night. Fortunately it wasn't all night as my Riley really doesn't like thunder and lightning or the sound of rain hitting the screened porch metal roof. Poor little guy.

    Good buy on the olive oil. Glad you are enjoying the air fryer. It's a new cooking method and lots of things to learn. The Urban Farmer is trolling Pinterest right now, reading off air fryer and Instant Pot recipes.

    Weeding is ongoing! I posit that when it rains, it rains weed seeds. I need to go out and pick peas and strawberries, although the strawberries are slowing down. The black raspberries are starting to turn. No red raspberries or blueberries this season...just planted them. Also need to tie up tomatoes as they are growing like crazy. The zucchini are blooming and we have tiny cucumbers set on. Still have lots of kale (two varieties), mustard greens and collards. Gardening is exciting when you can shop in your own backyard.

    Your chopped steak, corn on the cob and lima beans sound good! Funny story...when my youngest daughter was very little she called corn on the cob "corn on the hay", probably equating the dried silks as hay. We haven't made a taco salad in a coon's age. Have to fix one this week. Mmm, an ice cream float!

    What a blessing that your neighbor mowed your front yard. Our ninety-one year old neighbor mowed his yard with his John Deere this week but he does use a push mower to trim with.

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    1. I can imagine the noise on a tin roof!! I worried out my outdoor kitties - but they have places to get in and under and they must have used them. Dry as could be this morning!

      I do believe this is going to be a good year for gardens. Sounds like yours is doing great.
      Corn on the hay - cute! Not totally wrong! I had some corn today as well.

      My front yard is little - I would have had no trouble mowing it (although thankful he did). My back yard is half shade - but it still gets me hot to mow! So many things to go around.

      I need to do some reading up on recipes and ideas for the air fryer. New toy!
      Have a good week.

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  2. Hi Cheryl, Glad you got rain but the storm sounded scary! I'm in Arizona and it's supposed to be 112 today but it's dry and no humidity. We haven't had rain in months! I get my yard work done early or late and my AC has been running more than I like and I only keep it set at 84 degrees! Salads sure are good this time of year. Don't give up on the fries in the air fryer. They are good when you get the times exactly right. My bargain this week was my Dollar Store had the Snyder pretzel twists flavored with honey in stock and I got way too many bags but those are so good and I don't find them often! Hope you get some relief from the heat soon! Take care!

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    1. WOW - that is hot! No humidity helps, but hot is hot!! I am sorry you are having such dry weather. I heard the other day that CA. Arizona and Nevada are all in drought. That is awful.

      I keep my AC higher than most people - I use it mainly to remove humidity from the air.
      Salads are wonderful in the summer.
      I love Snyder pretzels. They are always so crisp and crunchy and just have a good flavor. I have a couple bags of them here as well.

      Well, I guess I shouldn't complain about the heat after reading your temps! Today is much nicer.
      Have a good week.

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    2. We're in SW MO and it's been in the upper 80's and lower 90's and very humid. I keep the AC set at 80 to help with the humidity. We have ceiling fans in all the main rooms to keep the air circulating. Our big zero turn mower, the walk behind gas mower and the weed whacker all decided to quit at about the same time! I still have 4 tomatoes to plant. I was planting some of them last evening and decided to see how hot the soil was. It registered at least 105. Our daughter in Wisconsin said it's been raining all around them but not at their house. She said the grass is brown and crunchy there. We usually get that here in August. The ticks and ants are actually moving up to Wisconsin now. We never had ticks there years ago. You'd think it would be too cold there. I believe the world is going topsy-turvy!

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    3. Crazy for sure. We are now having August weather as well. Have huge storms coming through tonight. I hope they fizzle some before reaching us.
      Things do seem weird for sure.
      Sorry all your mechanicals quit! Hope you get some repaired easily.

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  3. Good sunny Sunday morning! We, too, got a little rain, but nothing significant. I got a CODE RED warning from the National Weather Service, but the first line stayed north and east of me, and the second line left us with about 10 minutes of steady rain. No thunder, and not nearly enough rain to break our drought, but it was at least a little. I went with a good friend to SW MI mid-week, when he went meet his daughter to return his grandson home. We hit my favorite roadside stand for strawberries -- 4 quarts each. On Friday, I made strawberry jam, and yesterday he came over and we made jam for his family -- 1st time making jam for him and I think he's hooked. Grocery shopping was minimal last week - just a few essentials, some for jam-making and others for meal prep. It was just a matter of keeping cool. Today, I want to get my remaining 2 quarts of strawberries cleaned and into the freezer and to make strawberry shortcake for after dinner tonite. Better get a move on!

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    1. Glad you got at least a little rain and that you didn't have anything bad hit you.
      Mmmmm fresh strawberries. I bet those are good. I haven't bought any this year. How neat you taught him how to make jam!
      Enjoy your shortcake! That sounds delish.

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  4. It was a stormy week here, too. It seems to have been stormy everywhere. I am hoping for a less humid week too! Highlight of our week was meeting friends and their little ones for breakfast. Those little girls are so sweet. Have a good week!

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    1. Word has it that our humidity is leaving! It is still hot today - but way less humidity. Hope your week works out that way as well.
      I bet that was a fun breakfast.
      Have a good one.

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  5. Hot and very humid here this afternoon, though we are supposed to have severe thunderstorms later. Having to run the A/C in the evening to cool the house down enough to sleep.

    Took the car for its annual inspection and oil change on Monday. I had driven just under 2000 miles in a year, which is excellent considering we are out in the boonies. If I hadn't been going to PT for the broken wrist, it would have been under 1850 miles.

    I transplanted six volunteer cherry tomato plants to a skinny area I dug out beside the carport. The older tomato plants have buds, and the zucchini is blooming. The spinach never did come up, and it's too late for the peas. My flower seeds are starting to come up, though I'll probably have to add some inexpensive annuals to cover the bare spots.

    Lots of interesting birds lately. I put up my frugal homemade oriole jelly feeder (a yogurt cup and baling wire), and at least two male orioles are feeding. They like the hummingbird nectar, too. Had a female rose-breasted grosbeak visit the sunflower seed feeder for quite a while the other day. I see the males in the little woods behind the house.

    Got a deal (for around here) on frozen chicken breasts a couple of weeks ago for $1.39/lb, so chicken is in the crock pot for meals this week.

    My best frugality of the week was getting six cans of peas at the mail station. Saved me $3.

    This coming week is my Aldi grocery stopping and other errands. I have a short list, nearly all perishables. The plumber is coming Friday to replace my non-working hose bib and move it from under the house to outside the skirting and installing a winter shut-off under the house. I'm getting to be too old to be crawling under the house to attach a hose or turn on the water every time I need it. I don't use it often, but like to have it to wash the car or for our required bi-annual scrubbing of the house. I use my water barrels (two trash barrels under the gutterless eaves) for watering plants.

    Hope everyone has a safe and frugal week!

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    1. Sounds like a good week. You are doing great with your plants. My brother can grow anything except spinach - he never has success with it.
      Good deal on the chicken. I think I may make up a bunch to use for different things this week. Free peas is a real deal.

      I don't blame you on the hose connection. Sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and do things a new way!
      Have a great one.

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  6. Enjoyed your verse today...especially as I did turn things over to God for my MRI results...thanks to your (and others') prayers I give credit for a "probably" benign diagnosis. Awfully scary after having had the cancer once already. I feel like a new woman without the worry.

    Jane

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    1. Jane Praise the Lord. That sounds wonderful - continued prayers.
      That had to be a scary time for you. You are a NEW woman - you gave away a huge burden!!!!
      Have a great week.

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  7. Whoo, sorry about that humidity/heat! So thankful for a/c at those times. We turned our a/c on yesterday for the first time this year. Which is half over, as you mentioned!!
    Your sweet little kitty picture and quote along with "We all have these days - do not fret if you do. There are days and maybe weeks - that life needs to slow down and naps need to be taken." are surely true. We just have to accept and adjust to what life sends us.
    How nice your neighbor mowed for you! Glad your kitties are all all right after that big storm! Ah, fresh, clean summer bedding for them :)
    Made some good (if I do say so myself) goulash this week, a b-b-q sauce meatloaf (àlá Hillbilly Kitchen), an orange jello/cottage cheese, cool whip, mandarin orange salad, and some sweet tea this afternoon. Yep - summer is here ;)
    God bless and protect you and those kitties~
    Mary

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    1. AC is sure a great invention! I grew up without it and I sure wouldn't want to go through any more. That is great you just turned yours on.
      Yep - we all have those days. Some days are really good and some are good just different. I figure I wake up it is good!
      All your food sounds yummy - with the exception of the cottage cheese. I just can't do that! LOL I need to make a jug of tea - the best old summer drink - sweet tea!
      Thanks. Have a great one.

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  8. I like the humidity, when I'm in the Caribbean but not so much on a regular basis. It is warming up here but not nearly as hot as it has been there. I appreciate my a/c so much!

    Have a good week

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    1. I hear that - there humidity would be fine. Not on a regular basis though!
      AC's are sure wonderful.
      Have a nice week.

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  9. It’s been hot here, too. I definitely have to close the blinds while chasing the sun around. So thankful for a/c!!

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    1. It sounds like we are all in agreement - AC is wonderful!!
      Stay cool and have a good one.

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  10. Hi Cheryl! I'm just curious what brand of canned cat food you buy? I'm still searching for one that my cats like that is not too expensive.

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    1. I buy Friskies for the most part - that is the one they like. They will eat 'some' WM brand - but not much. They are picky and like certain flavors. I keep a box of Meow Mix wet around as well - for a treat now and then. Crazy I know - that is my fault! LOL
      I am now finding more and more at Kroger.

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  11. Sounds like everyone had a good week! Nothing too exciting here, but there is this--

    I cashed in $45 worth of rewards from my Medicare Advantage plan for Amazon and Target GCs. I use them for Christmas--either to buy gifts or to give as the gift.

    We're playing pinochle again! Last week was only the third time since the pandemic started 15 months ago, but we are starting up weekly again. Same group of pals have played together for 10 years before the pandemic. I read an article about how Warren Buffet spends his money. Besides still living in the home he bought in 1958 (it's a nice place), he plays bridge 8 hours a week. He says he wouldn't mind going to jail if he could have 3 bridge-playing cellmates! (He once took Bill Gates to McDonalds for lunch and used coupons).

    I used $4 in coupons from last week's Sunday paper to buy 4 lbs. of Darigold cheddar cheese. It was $5.69 per 2 lb. loaf before the coupon. I prefer Tillamook--when it is on sale--but Darigold is also good cheese. When melted, I can't tell the diff.

    Looks like I'm going to get the first picking of strawberries Monday or Tuesday. I covered the bed with red nylon netting to keep the birds out and closed off the whole area with a baby fence to keep the boy dog out. He LOVES strawberries and raspberries!

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    1. Good going on getting the GC's - FREE money!
      I am glad you can get back with your friends now. Enjoy your card playing.
      Sam Walton was the same way I have read. Lived a very frugal life. Older nice home, old truck, old suits, etc. I don't think his kids have followed suit!

      Nice being able to get a high value coupon you can use. Enjoy your berries - fresh strawberries are so good.
      Have a good one.

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  12. Look out for Miss Read books. I think you would love them if you haven't found them already.
    Bun

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    1. I will watch for that. I haven't heard of them. Is that the name of the book or the author?
      Thanks

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  13. Very hot here in Saskatchewan as well. It does cool off in the evenings and we managed to get 2 inches of rain late last week.

    God bless.

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    1. It seems so many are getting a lot of heat. Glad your evenings are more enjoyable. The rain has surely got to be a gardening/flower blessing.

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