Hello to all and happy July! This is the 4th of July weekend here in US. Celebration of becoming a free country. Despite all the things that go on daily - we still have a great country. Celebrations actually started around here last night. People shooting off fireworks. I do not like them at all - but people will do them. This year has been better than most to this point. I will be glad when all the fireworks are done.
It started out cooler this week, then it got HOT! Dry as a bone here. We had sprinkles one night and that was it. Today the humidity is down a bit - so that really helps. Next week looks to be hot and at least there is a chance of rain just about every day.
We look to lose about 40 minutes of daylight this month!
My week:
- Neighbor across the street gave me a couple cucumbers
- Trimmed the weeds/grass at fence line on the other side of fence (the newer folks that moved in). They have yet to get a weed whacker - so I reached over fence and whacked it all.
- Cut a bunch of wild stuff growing out back in fence row
- Used some very old apples and made an apple treat - stove top. Apples and thick pancake mix - made a big and tasty fritter. Used as dessert/treat a couple days!
- Raked the back yard MANY times
- Picked 2 mixed bouquets
- Worked on the flowers on front walk - deadheaded and cut back a lot
- Picking zucchinis! Got 5 more this week
- Cut my hair and did a little color. My hair sure needed cut!
- Just doing all the normal stuff we all do
- Got to have windows open and air house many mornings
- Stopped when out and got 100 stamps. I am good for about a year
- I ran to Kroger for a couple deals. Boy, did I get some great deals!!!! Best shopping trip in a while. The store was fully stocked - aisles had tons of pallets of goods being unloaded, and actually some decent prices. I got TP - 12 pack of dbl. rolls for 3.99! Didn't need - but I will eventually. CHEESE was on sale 1.49 lb. for 8 oz. blocks and 1.49 - 6 oz. packs of sandwich slices. I got 5 of each (limit of coupon). FRESH CORN - .25 ear. I just got 5 - for eating this week. ALL BEEF HOTDOGS - 2.49 pack. Got 5 for freezer. Seedless GRAPES - .99/lb. WATERMELON - was to be 2.79 - they didn't charge me for it I noticed when I got home. Yikes - so Free. Then I got bags of frozen veggies on clearance. Broccoli/cauliflower and Brussels/onion/winter squash and one of okra - .50 EACH!!!!! I got 5 each of the mixed and only one okra (what they had).
I also got Creamette's elbow macaroni 2 - 1 lb. boxes for $1. I got 4 more pounds for stock. A few weeks back I got 4 lbs. (2 lb. boxes) for stock as well. I should be set with pasta - I have tons of long pasta.
All in all it was a great shopping trip. I wasn't going to go - something must have nudged me.
NOW my upright freezer is positively stuffed, jam packed full, and I have no plans on grocery shopping for July. I will have garden and will use what I have. Only things might be cat food (of course) or milk.
Meals this past week:
Leftover cheeseburger rice skillet and green beans
Chopped steak and tomato/onion/cucumber salad
Zucchini/sausage/rice skillet and leftover salad
Leftover zucchini skillet and corn fritters (freezer)
Cold cut sandwich and a bit of this and that - just a snacking kind of day
BLT
Sauteed zucchini, corn of cob, and onion/cuke salad
SNACKS - fresh fruit, apple fritter
I had a decent week. I was pleased.
I had a baby kitty show up for a couple days - and it finally found its way back home (across street). It was so precious and little! Glad it got home safely, as I didn't know where it was from. I saw the neighbors with it - a couple days later. I was really fretting about it - I sure don't need another cat!
Caught a relocated a huge racoon!
My babies all got their flea meds yesterday. (I had on hand)
Goodness, there is always something going on critter-wise around here.
How was your week? Did you get any deals? How is the garden doing? Staying cool?
I hope those in US have a nice and safe holiday. I wish everyone a great week ahead.
Blessings to you and yours from my humble little home.
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Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending with flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11-12
Dear Lord, we ask you to bless our nations, our people and our communities, with heaven's greatest gift and earth's greatest need. Peace and harmony. So many have succumbed to Satan's evil ways, and they do not even realize it. We ask that evil be gone. Please help us all to be free and at peace. Amen
The best grocery deal of the week was bananas at 25c/lb; usually they're 79c. Of course I made banana bread awa lemon poppyseed loaf, chocolate chip cookies, rice krispie & puffed wheat squares. Some for the freezer & some my son's family who stopped enroute to a family reunion. They haven't visited here for ~ 1 yr altho' I've visited them often. Washed the car inside & out altho' it rains so frequently. There's been 1.25in of rain in the past wk. Temps are in the high teens, low 20's (C). I know - I go between metric & imperial measures. I won't complain after last summer's drought & high temps. Pulled pork/brisket sandwiches with coleslaw & quinoa salad was the highlight of the week's menu awa a baked brie dip with feta, olives & artichokes. So delicious. The US July 4th celebrations border on the same w/e as Canada's July 1 celebrations. There was a parade in our little town that even my 89 yr old mom left her lodge to watch. Fun! Visited with my cousins at a local lake yesterday & played 11c rummy under the RV awning. Managed a wiener roast between showers. Peonies & day lilies & cacti are blooming. I was gifted a pot of basil and have some drying. Bear sightings continue. A good week.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful sounding week - except the bear sightings! That is fantastic on the bananas - boy you made a lot of goodies.!
DeleteGlad your son and family got to come by for a visit. Your meals sound divine.
My car needs a bath badly!!!!! It is so stinking dusty. I sure would like a little of that rain. Funny, a few weeks ago we had plenty!
Yes I believe the celebrations are much the same. Fireworks are a huge thing here. Oh how wonderful that your mom got out and enjoyed the festivities. Sounds like you had a nice week and weekend.
Have another wonderful week.
No groceries were purchased last week, as we had plenty in the fridge/freezer. I'll head out today or tomorrow to pick up some sale items and few necessities, including cat food and milk. :)
ReplyDeleteMy tomatoes and peppers are blooming, and the potato plants are huge (who knows what is going on underneath).
I'd send you some of the rain we're getting...it's supposed to start again at midnight and rain off and on for 48 hours. At least I won't need to water the containers.
Happy 4th of July! Hopefully the fireworks don't last too much longer. I'm sure the cats don't care for them in the least.
Good for you on using what you had. Find some great deals!
DeleteYAY - I have some little tomatoes and peppers and lots of blooms. I sure wish cucumbers would produce something other than flowers! Here's hoping that you had lots and lots of potatoes under there!
That rain would be lovely. Hopefully this week we will get some. It is nice to not have to water, and that water is so much better than the hose.
No the kitties do NOT care for fireworks in the least. Hopefully just a couple more nights and it will be somewhat quiet again!
Have a good one.
Happy July, Cheryl! Your flowers are gorgeous. Do I see coneflower in there? I broke down and bought some flower seeds (@2/$1 and 4/$1)... just to test our soil. Hubs gave me a look. I assured him this will help prevent loose soil erosion if they sprout and take + we can see what will/will not grow. It's monsoon season in AZ. We've had rain nearly every day.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a busy, crazy week of 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, but we're making progress overall. The house is again full of empty boxes. Our TV was broken in the move, so we had to get another for streaming services we use. I've had to replace a few things, searching best prices for all. It's going to take awhile to build up food stores again, too.
I'll leave you with this quote for the holiday weekend:
"Then join hand in hand, Americans all! By uniting we stand; by dividing we fall." --Elise
You go girl - plant those seeds. I like your logic!!!! Yes, those are coneflowers in there. I have lots of them all around.
DeleteWhat a bummer that things need replaced. But you will be starting all fresh and new - so there is that! Your pantry will get back to normal in quick time I bet.
Funny, I have never thought of monsoon and AZ in the same thought until now!!!!! Just always thought of AZ as dry and desert.
LOVE the quote - it sure is true. Now, if everyone would do that!
Have a great week.
You know, I thought the same thing about AZ until 6 yrs. ago, when we started exploring beyond Phoenix (where family lives) and Tucson. An amazing thing about this state is how much the topography and climate can change as you drive! I never imagined piney mountains, lakes, waterfalls, or snowy winters in this state. This is our 1st monsoon season, and I've been astonished by the amount of rain!
DeleteIf I were to move to either AZ or NM, I'd definitely be north of the I-40. I love Flagstaff and Santa Fe. We had a lot of relatives in the Santa Fe area so we took the I-40 a lot. Now, that's how we go and visit California. I tell everyone heading west to fill the gas tank in Kingman and stop for lunch at the In n Out Burger there. That's the most crowded one I've ever seen. I suspect because it's the first one heading west and the last one heading east!!
DeleteI've never been through during Monsoon season but my friend at NAU said it rains a lot!
All grocery shopping last week and this morning was for 4th of July BBQ tomorrow. I'm hosting and, while guests will bring a dish, the bulk of it is on me. But, it's food I enjoy. I'm assuming there will be leftovers, too, which will keep me from having to cook a lot next week. The remainder of July will be for urgent purchases only -- perishable fresh produce, dairy ... Continuing to harvest herbs and lettuce from my deck rail boxes, and I'll bake bread as needed. AT some point next week, I'll need to get to Michigan to check on my mom and will get raspberries and blueberries for canning and freezing. (Daughter got me the new Ball canning book (the big one) for my birthday. Am going to need to check out some of the new recipes included in that one. Happy camper!)
ReplyDeleteHave a great BBQ event. That is the neat thing about get togethers for holidays - leftovers!!!!!
DeleteHave a safe trip visiting your mom. Sounds like you will bring back lots of goodies. YAY on the new book. Hope you find lots of fun things to make. I haven't gotten a new Ball book in many years.
Have a nice 4th and a great week ahead.
A nice, quiet week around here. Didn't leave the trailer park except to go to WM Monday where they were out of slow cooker liner bags and Husband's particular type of rye bread, but had brown eggs $3/dz. Lots of errands to do this week, including Aldi & Costco (for the bags and rye bread only), then the other direction for the bank, post office, local grocery (for rye bread if Costco doesn't have it), and library. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteWe had 3/10in of rain Fri night, but mostly hot and humid. Tomatoes are blooming, zukes have buds, cukes are blooming but all the blossoms are male so far. Eating sugar snap peas, beet greens. Echinacea and monarda are now blooming, with buds on the butterfly bush and transplanted salvia. Weeded the front flower bed after the rain. The june bugs have found the roses right on schedule at the beginning of July.
Assembled kits for quilts to make later. Reading a biography of Catherine the Great. Indexing/reviewing databases on FamilySearch. All good things to do on a hot day. One afternoon we treated ourselves to rootbeer floats. That sure hit the spot!
Sounds like your garden is growing nicely. Must be my problem, all blossoms male maybe on cukes. Mmmm sugar snap peas.
DeleteInside work is sure the ticket for these hot, humid days. Sounds like you have a busy week ahead. Hope you find all the things you are needing.
You have some neat interests! Yes, a root beer float sounds yum.
Have a good week.
The way to tell the gender of the cuke and zuke blossoms is that the female blossoms have what looks like a tiny cuke or zuke right below the flower. The males have just a skinny stem. Most varieties have both male and female and are self-pollinating. Weather conditions can affect the number of each, though.
Delete--Frances in the TP
Thanks. I knew that on zucchini - it's just the flowers are so much smaller on cukes and so covered by leaves! I guess I have to look a lot closer to see. I know I have lots of pollinators as everything else is pollinating. I will look more closely tomorrow. Thanks!!
DeleteHappy 4th of July to you too, Cheryl. We don’t have any plans. Fireworks are OK in my book for a little bit, but I am not seeking them out. If it weren’t for Bailey, I wouldn’t even go and it wouldn’t bother me at all. 😂
ReplyDeleteYou got some smoking hot deals at Kroger! Way to go! I love being in the right place at the right time. Your meals sound delicious and how nice that you won’t have to grocery shop again in July.
It was nice of you to whack your neighbors weeds and get some cukes from another neighbor. It sounds like such a nice neighborhood to live in. Your flowers are beautiful.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
I wouldn't mind the fireworks so much if it weren't for my ctas. They sure get scared. No need to go anywhere, where I live - they surround you!!!
DeleteThe deals were great and a much appreciated surprise.
I have some pretty good neighbors. It is a nice little area for the most part. There are a couple - I could do without - but that happens everywhere!
Have a great one.
Crazy good grocery deals here too!
ReplyDeleteJust love it when that happens!!!! Got to take advantage!
DeleteGood week here. I also stocked up on basically the same deals you did, Cheryl. Too good to pass up. Loss leaders and filling in the blanks are my grocery goals these days. No rain here in S. IN....a little around us but it keeps missing us. We keep watering the garden. Therefore, still getting some yummy garden veggies and fresh berries. VBS went well...I kinda forget how wiggly and fun little ones are as the grands are past that stage. Went out to lunch with a friend one day. Doctors appointment another day. So, lots of away time. Thank goodness for fuel points! Food this week included: homemade brats, pork steak, leftover meats from the freezer, red raspberry glaze pie, corn on the cob..yes, our own. Cucumbers, salads, and zucchini. That's all I recall. Tonight is Cheryl's zucchini rice skillet with a salad. Anxious to try it. The neighbors....in the country, so far apart, had a big fireworks display last night. We sat in our screened in porch and watched. Talk about convenient 🤸.
ReplyDeleteWhen you see those great deals it sure pays to stock up for the future. The rain keeps skipping me too.
DeleteVBS - I bet it was fun. I have such fond memories of teaching that. Kids are so darn cute.
Your meals all sound good. WOW you are picking corn already? We usually say knee high by the 4th of July - not picking!!!!
I sure hope you enjoy the skillet dinner. I just wing it at times and add whatever I want or have.
At least you didn't have to contend with mosquitoes - they are bad here. Have a nice week.
This'll be a short one since last week was a wonky one. My doggy got his teeth cleaned 10 days ago Friday. Fine all weekend but started with the trots on Sunday. Hubs slept in the living room with him so he could let him out quickly if needed. He needed! Long story short...none of us slept worth a toot until Friday night, when the vet finally got the meds right. Wouldn't it be nice if pets could just tell you what they ate or what the problem is?! Week was spent napping and vet trips.
ReplyDeleteAs for my reading, I didn't do much cuz I kept falling asleep! My only change was at my nightstand. I'm now reading Gamble by Felix Francis.
Lots of salads for meals.
Poor doggy. I hate when the animals have problems and we have to decipher what it is. Sometimes it can take a while and it can be traumatic to be going back and forth to the vet. Poor baby. I hope he is feeling better. I hope you have a better week ahead and get caught up not just with rest, but whatever you need.
DeleteHave a good one.
We definitely need to wear the full armor these days! Too many people have succumbed to HaSatan and we need to be on guard.
ReplyDeleteYou found some fabulous bargains! I agree with you regarding fireworks. Not only are our furbabies disturbed but also our veterans.
Your flowers are so pretty! My flower beds are still a mess as we have been working on planting veg.
Had the first mess of green beans. Will pick more in the morning if it is not raining. The cucumbers have been good and we are abundantly blessed with zucchini and yellow squash. I found several interesting recipe for those. Have some more eggplants to pick and the white ones are coming along. Tomato plants are huge but no ripe ones yet. The corn is starting to form ears. Can't wait for fresh corn.
Enjoy your Fourth! We have no plans and if it is as hot as predicted, this old gal will be inside in the AC!
Yes mam, many people have become friends with the evil one and we sure need to always stay aware.
DeleteI love that your garden is doing good. I have a few cherry tomatoes that will be ready in a day or so - but no big ones.
I have always used yellow squash just like zucchini. How neat on the egg plants and oh - green beans!!!!!!
No plans here either. Just hanging out here.
Enjoy your day!
I stopped in the store on Tuesday. Picked up 5 of those salads that are packaged in the plastic containers-- the smaller 5 oz size. Usually sell for 4.99 here and I got them for 49 cents each. They didn't expire until Thursday. My daughter took one, I ate one for lunch & dinner Wednesday. My husband & I split 2 over a few days and one left for tomorrow's family party -still fresh. $25 worth of salad for $2.50.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping there would be greens. Otherwise, I didn't need any food for every day meals. Most shopping trips out lately have been for deals I can stock up on. I've been out of the house a lot lately but hoping this week I can do some cooking and restock fridge & freezer with already cooked meals.
I tried storing my unwashed strawberries in a glass jar & after a week they were soft and looking sad. I threw them out as they didn't taste too good either.
My brother is visiting us and so we've been out and about. He's a single guy so he doesn't mind buying meals out whatever they cost. When it's my turn to provide the food I cook at home! He likes to cook too so he doesn't mind and I get to save money! Though I don't think he realizes my husband & I with extended family here who often eat with us can't just drop $25 on a couple of sandwiches with chips & drinks for lunch.
~~margaret
Wow, that was a huge deal on the salad. What a tremendous savings. Good catch. Love those kind of deals.
DeleteI am sorry your strawberries didn't work. I just ate the last of the ones I got almost a month ago and they were perfect. You did keep them in the frig? I have 2 more quart jars from some I got week before last.
Sounds like you are enjoying your brother's stay. How nice. It is nice that he likes to take you out and also enjoys the home cooking. I am sure as a single guy, that is probably a treat for him. Eating out costs soooo much - even fast food.
Have a good one.
I love PictSweet frozen vegetables. They are on sale this week, so I have to get some of those.
ReplyDeleteAround here, it is illegal to relocate raccoons! Be careful handling them.
Their veggies are really good. I sure couldn't pass up at .50 bag.
DeleteAlways careful, Not much around here that can't be relocated.
Have a good one!