Happy Sunday to you all. I hope this finds you all well and safe. Hoping that many in the hot, hot areas are cooling - if only a tab bit! Hoping those that need rain, get it.
We had quite a rain come through the area about midnight last night. I was asleep and heard this loud noise, jumped up and it was just pouring like crazy. It sure was loud - not thunder or wind causing the noise - just the rain!
When I woke, it kind of sounded like a faucet on full blast right next to my head!!!!! It took a moment to get my bearings. All good this morning. No need to water today!!! Storms coming in overnight here again, tonight. I really don't like the overnight things!
It is supposed to be a cooler week here. Predicting low 80's for most of the week. That will be nice. The 90's and the humidity are icky! It feels so cool out this morning - breezy and upper 60's.
My week:
- My car alarm went off early in the week. Weird!!! Luckily I had a new battery on hand that fit it. It hasn't worked to LOCK the doors in ages, it just works to unluck (it is 22 yrs. old). That had nothing to do with the battery. So I took it all apart (completely) and cleaned everything with a dry toothbrush. I figured what harm could it do. I will be darn, but it works perfectly now - even locks!
- Cut grass - front to back and trimmed
- I caught ground hog #3 - it was a much bigger one! (Momma or daddy) - neighbor took it to rehome. THEN the night he took it, for some reason he set the cage (in my yard) when he brought it back. Well little Rocky racoon got trapped that night! So stinking cute. But it has a new home now. I kept my neighbor busy this week! LOL
- Did a big trim on my bushes
- Working on weeding and doing things around the yard, when cooler in mornings. So much to do - so behind because of heat.
- Harvesting - tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cukes, and lots of bell peppers!
- Got my August coupon book from Kroger
- Paid all the bills on hand
- Had lunch with a bunch of gals I met in grade school. Over 60+ years for most of us - and yet we have remained friendly - and keep in touch. So many stories!!!! Fun day!
- Came across a quart jar of dehydrated mushrooms I put back last year. I rehydrated some for a meal this week - perfect.
- Neighbor brought me 3 fresh ears of corn
- Had a smallish green tomato fall off the vine - so used it all chopped up in a stir fry dish. It really added a sweet taste
- Just doing the regular stuff
My meals this week:
Taco style zucchini boats
Cream cheese/veggie wraps
Canned - beans with bacon soup over rice, cukes and onions
Zucchini fritters and salad
Smoked sausage sandwich and salad
Lunch out -giant tenderloin sandwich and fries (Bubba's)
Veggie stir fry served over pasta
How was your week? I hope you are getting lots of yummy veggies, herbs, and fruits from gardens or farm markets. Did you do anything super frugal this week? Any good deals?
I know many are trying to use everything up - no waste. That is my life most of the time, but it pays to really concentrate on that, and use up things in new and creative ways.
I hope you all have a lovely week. May you all stay safe, healthy, and COOL this week.
Blessings to you and yours from me at my humble little home.
********************************
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night my heart also instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; and my body also dwells secure.
Psalms 16:7-9
Lord, again we come to You and give praise for our lives and all parts of our lives. No matter what we face, You are there with us, if we just listen and even when we don't. You never stop. Help us each one, to count our blessings, big and small, as we have so much in our lives to be thankful for. We are truly blessed. Amen
A beautiful prayer and verse. It's so true Cheryl, God gives us counsel and advice and even good ideas if we are quiet, still and listen. : ) God's Presence is such a beautiful thing, so comforting.
ReplyDeleteYour bowl of tomatoes tickled me, I do the same thing, I have a container full of washed cherry tomatoes I snack on and a bag of washed mini carrots too.
Probably the best deal we've seen lately is the cherries at Aldi. A couple of weeks ago they were 99 cents a pound and last week they were $1.99 a pound, still not that bad. They are delicious, especially when refrigerated and make a nice snack after dinner.
That is wonderful that you spent time with school friends, I bet your laugh meter was going off the charts! : ) That's so great.
We went out for lunch, Friday, I always order Veggie Fajitas, they are so good and there was plenty for supper that night too. Suppers were pretty simple last week, my favorite supper was a veggie lasagna (spinach) with tofu ricotta and veggie cheese. We were able to eat that twice!
I like the idea of a veggie stir fry over pasta...I might try that this week, I have some frozen veggie eggrolls in the freezer that would go good with that. I can have one of those eggrolls and keep within my sodium tally for the day. : ) A treat. Do you make your stir fry with sesame oil?
Missy is doing better, the little stinker clenches her teeth when I try to give her meds but at least she's a little piggy with canned dog food and I slip it in that. lol
I made my little grandbaby a precious little jumper/sundress this past week from 'Dumbo' print fabric with a very light blue background from Hobby Lobby. It's so sweet and old fashioned, her mommy, our daughter sings the lullabye from the movie, 'Dumbo' to her. (Oh my heart!)
So glad the little creatures have been rehomed, my special dove shows up still and it's one of the most precious things. He was standing on a table on the front porch the other day...So sweet. Very unusual to say the least.
That's a great idea to clean the car lock mechanism with a dry toothbrush, I love that. We can save so much money by just taking a little extra time and at least trying to salvage things. : )
Have a blessed Sunday, Cheryl. I appreciate you! ~Amelia
I really enjoyed the stir fry veggies with pasta. I am not a huge sesame oil person - but I used garlic infused olive oil. It was good. I also add my aminos instead of salty soy sauce.
DeleteFunny that Missy clinches her teeth! Just like kids!
I bet that little dress is darling.
Oh my goodness, yes, we laughed, hugged, chatted for 3 hours and we weren't done! Luckily we get our 50 year high school reunion coming up next month - then after that we will do another luncheon in Oct.
We can do a lot of things that save money. Those key fabs are expensive to replace. Glad it worked.
Have a wonderful week.
Hi Cheryl, I am envious of your tomatoes:). Here we just get the horrid tomatoes…our growing season will start after the summer. My washer broke yesterday am and so I called the home warranty folks (free for a year when I bought the home). They said they will call back in 24 hours, Well that time has come and gone, no call. I am very unimpressed. I also wonder if my AC had broken, would they have the same poor performance. Anyway, I went to the laundromat yesterday, I had to ask for help since they no longer take cash! And it is very expensive…each medium size was was $5.50 per load….it cost me a bit over $20 to do three loads. Yikes! But it went great, very fast, so all is well again. Have a good week, Hilogene in Az
ReplyDeleteWOW! Didn't realize the laundromat was that high. Gulp!
DeleteWOW that is crazy for a load of laundry. No cash? Nuts. I will have to ask around here, never heard of that before.
DeleteI sure hope they get there soon. Not the greatest first impression.
As hot as it is there, I can understand why tomatoes are not the best right now.
Have a lovely week.
Shocking to see how much money it now costs to do a load of laundry! Yikes! Hope you can get the washer fixed SOON. We're not as hot as you part of the state, but we've been hot enough in the mid to upper 90s. I've wondered how our neighbors' garden is doing with so much heat and so little rain this year overall. --Elise
DeleteP.S. Hilogene, just to add, I don't know how it is in the Phoenix area--or anywhere else--but where we live it's become so common as to be expected that workers don't get back to you when they say they will, and work gets done "whenever". Even through national chains like Lowes; BIL ordered carpet months ago and still hasn't heard when it will be delivered/installed. The guy who did our drywall patching/repainting of cracks has agreed to do BIL's house. Gave him a time estimate of up to 2 weeks out to work him in. Our solar project took 13 months. Seems to be the post-pandemic way of things? There aren't as many workers here as before. --Elise
DeleteI have a friend whose family own a few laundromats in our area. They no longer take cash due to the machine repeatedly broken into ( and you can imagine how much those babies take to fix). They went to tokens and then the token machine got prised off the wall and stolen.
DeleteThey now operate on a token system that you must purchase from the staff and can no longer stay open late or open early to suit shift workers . This is all sadly a sign of our dishonest times.
Louise
Louise - isn't that something? People so desperate to not work that they resort to such shenanigans. Society is just sliding down the sewer in my opinion. I know there are still a LOT of GOOD people out there - but the negative stuff is increasing daily. Sickening.
DeleteExcellent devotional! We need to praise the Father for all He does for us.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you have gotten rid of all the raccoons. The babies are cute but they grow up to create havoc. We are still battling the chipmunks.
Good for you repairing your car alarm! The catalytic converter failed on our 2000 Buick. It is currently at Auto-Lab in Avon awaiting complete diagnosis and repair. We felt it is worth fixing as used cars are going for a premium and who knows what is wrong with any of them. It has only 78K miles on it.
I heard the heavy rain last night. Didn't seem like it lasted long but more is coming. The weeds are loving all this rain...ha!
We canned quart jars of hamburger soup on Friday. Now I have to make a space to store them. More green beans are coming on, I have more to snap and also have a large bowl of cooked beans in the refrigerator. I've been putting some in the dogs' breakfast bowls. I'm hoping the roma tomatoes start coming on. I need to can more tomatoes. Had forgotten I canned spaghetti sauce. The Farmer opened one of the jars of potatoes I canned last summer and the potatoes were excellent. Probably can more potatoes this year. I think there are enough beets to do a few pint jars.
Fresh Thyme had boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound so we got two packs and cooked it all up. Some is for dog food, some for people food. Also cooked hamburger that we got at Costco. It's nice to have seasoned beef in the freezer. Take out a handful to put on pizza, make soup or chili, tacos, all sorts of dishes. Meijer has had extra lean ground turkey on clearance for $1.65 a pound a couple of times. I cook it up and put it in bags for Jake's food. Next time we find it, I think I'll make turkey meatballs.
Gloomy day and probably will be for a few days with the prediction of rain. Lots to do inside tho! Always...
I would fix the vehicle as well. It didn't rain all that long - but boy, did it come down.
DeleteGood for you on the soup. That will be so good later on. I will probably do some tomato canning this week - of some sort.
I bet those potatoes were super tasty.
You are doing some very wise thigs to stock that pantry. It is always nice to have those 'little' things stashed away.
Yep, gloomy and cool - but that is OK.
Have a good week.
Yes, Cheryl, count our blessings. I've been prepping for a lake holiday with my son & his family so yard & garden work, food prep, making arrangements for my mom's care. The phone land line has not been working this week. The provider is not invested in repairing this old infrastructure yet I rely on it in this rural river valley where satellite service can be spotty & expensive. At one point, my neighbor's number was ringing in my house. I looked after the neighbor little one afternoon while her parents celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary. Six quarts of beans & 5 pints of mustard beans were processed. There's been beans for meals & I gave some to my neighbor. Waiting on zucchini so I can try the fake pineapple recipe.
ReplyDeleteOh the trip will be lovely. A lake holiday sounds wonderful.
DeleteI can imagine that they are in no hurry. They think no one uses any more. I do!
You are doing good on canning. Those meals will taste so good later on.
Have a great week.
Most of our rain comes in the overnight hours here but we really have to listen to hear it in our house. I am thankful for every drop no matter when it comes! We did have a rainy day on Thursday. I don't know when the last time was that it rained for hours on end.
ReplyDeleteMy super frugal thing was a stir fry meal that used up all the bits and ends of produce in the fridge and it was delicious! Hubby went to the dump yesterday and the lady unloading next to him asked him if he wanted three boxes of canning jars! YES! There was every size of jar in those boxes and a few glass mayonnaise jars from years gone by that will be perfect for food storage.
We are heading out for two weeks at the lake today and it will be so good to rest and sleep and read and all the things that we love about being there.
Have a good week!
Lot of lake visiting by you gals!!! Love it. I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing time.
DeleteGlad you got a good rain. When needed, it sure makes us happy.
Oh my goodness, she was going to drop jars at the dump? Lucky you. What a huge win. That is a lot of money saved.
Have a wonderful and fun week.
Sounds like you had a really nice week Cheryl. So fun to go out with friends and talk and laugh. It always makes me feel good. It was nice to be able to open the patio door this morning for Binx to get a bit of fresh air. After tonight, it looks to be a good week. We're in the cone of storms from 5-9 pm and not looking forward to that. I hope the storms aren't bad for you. Your meals all sound delicious. I hope you enjoy your Sunday!!
ReplyDeleteIt was great fun.
DeleteYes, the breeze and temps this morning are cool. Love it.
Stay safe - I hope you don't get hit bad. It is supposed to really hit here after 10PM - they are saying mainly about 2AM.
I am going to my nieces this afternoon - so that will be nice.
Have a wonderful week.
What does frugal mean? I keep saying next month I'll get back to watching my spending, then I realize I've actually spent a lot. 29¢ bananas at Kwik Trip were my big win, plus produce from my daughter.
ReplyDeleteSam, you've been in my prayers. There are spendy periods in life. Getting a house decluttered and work done qualifies. You have a lot on your plate. Good price on the bananas! I haven't seen a price that low in years. --Elise
DeleteFrugal is different for everyone. It just means being a good steward of your money and things to me. You are really doing good. You have a lot going on right now - so things will be different for a while. Great price on bananas.
DeleteHave a good week.
You've had another busy week to be sure, Cheryl. I'm glad you were able to get the wild critters caught and away from your garden. What lovely cherry tomatoes! They look perfect. Also nice you were able to have lunch with old friends.
ReplyDeleteWe had rain early in the week, a good amount, and it was appreciated. Then it got hot again. It's already 80 degrees at 8:30 a.m. today. This, too, shall pass; before we know it there'll be chilly mornings and evenings again.
In the meantime, no grocery shopping this week. Stuck to my plan, even last night when our son and my BIL were here with a eclectic dinner of the leftover penne chicken dish + pork pot stickers and BBQ meatballs from the freezer. To explain, when I did my in-house food inventory, I realized we have plenty to work with and need to to eat down what's in the chest freezer. Grocery sales haven't been sales at all here. August seemed a good month to stay out of grocery stores as much as possible. Normally I take advantage of sales and stock up. Anyway, that's about it. Quiet week here. Well, other than someone took a sledgehammer to our mail box on the street.
As always, thanks for the verse and the prayer. Stay cool if you can.
--Elise
Thanks - it was a nice week.
DeleteGlad you got a good rain. Yes, we will be griping about the cold before you know it!
No shopping for me either. You go girl! No need to go - then don't. Sales stink - why venture out? I agree.
You are doing good. Continue to stick to your guns.
It will be a cooler week here - so no problem. You stay cool!
Have a wonderful week.
I'm glad you got some rain. We're really dry here at the moment, though there is a possibility of rain a couple of days next week. I actually prefer the rain overnight.
ReplyDeleteThe lilies are beautiful! I like that your were able to move the groundhogs and raccon. I'm sure Blackie appreciates it too.
Thanks. If it were just rain - overnight is fine. But that doesn't happen often - we get these huge storms and winds a lot and that is scary. When they talk tornado watches (last night) it gets a little creepy.
DeleteThank you. He seems to be calmer as do the squirrels.
Have a great week. Hope you get some rain.
Cheryl, it started raining here about 4 yesterday afternoon and continued raining hard until about 2AM. I am about 70 miles north of you and supposedly we got over 5 inches in that time span. We need the rain so just deal with the darkness and wet.
ReplyDeleteI only needed 3 things from the store this week and DD's needed 2 things so I volunteered to go to Aldi's. I am so glad I did! I got 2 flat packs of chicken breast and 6 whole chickens all in the no hormone no antibiotic natural variety for 50% off ! We eat alot of chicken so this was a major score. I roasted a chicken with cornbread dressing from the freezer yesterday, so good.... the "leavings" from the roast chicken will eventually become chicken and noodles.
I live trapped a raccoon this week also, they will wreak havoc on my chickens if I don't. SIL rehomed it. I also have a possum coming around so as soon as I can catch it he will rehome it also.
Canning beans and zucchini coming on and on....My beets never come up, I planted them 3 times and nothing... I may have to buy some at the farmers market for pickling.
Planning a salsa day with family, fun and productive.
We also have pork loins ordered to grind and freeze for pork burger.
Grocery sales around here aren't good either, lots of processed food that none of us use.
Have you noticed how expensive ground beef is?
Have a good week.
JC
I heard northern IN got a ton of rain. It is the tornado stuff and winds that gets me a little scared. I hope nothing flooded.
DeleteGood find. I think sometimes our plans change as we are 'supposed' to find those deals. Maybe we are led!
I wouldn't mind the critters if I were out in the country - and there weren't pets and other animals around. A neighbor behind me has chickens too. They just don't belong at MY house!!!! Glad you were able to rehome as well.
Glad your beans and zucchini are doing good. I wonder what happened with the beets.
I may make salsa or something tomato this week - plenty of tomatoes for canning. Doing that with family sounds like fun.
Last time I got a deal on gr. beef it was on sale 2.99 - haven't looked much. I hear it is very high. I will wait for Labor Day sales - hopefully we will be able to get cheaper then.
Have wonderful week.
Your cherry tomatoes look so good. We have not grown any this year, they take over the greenhouse like triffids. But other tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, onions and cabbage are growing really well, lots eaten this week. Pulled and cooked the first beetroot, yum.
ReplyDeleteWe actually had a fairly warm sunny day today!! It's almost been like Autumn (fall) here lately.
Hubbie had two hospital appointments this week at two different hospitals. A large mole cut off his arm, waiting for the test result. The other in our nearest city, a pre op assessment for eye surgery in the next two weeks. As I hate driving in that city, we went by bus, two hours each way.
Hope you have a good week Cheryl and no more uninvited garden visitors.
I hope you are doing well. That is a long way to go on bus, but I understand. Hope the test results are good.
DeleteSounds like your garden is doing good. That is great. You are right about the cherry tomatoes, once they start they go gang busters!
Have a great week.
Husband got the bushes trimmed just before it rained all day here. It's quite cool and we are loving it. I tried to do some weeding in the garden but it was too hot to stay long before this cool down. So glad and thankful we don't have excessive heat here in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteIt will be cooler this week - so I am hoping to do more weed pulling. I agree, too hot at times to do much. The cooler stuff is so nice.
DeleteHave a great week.
Prayers please. Thank you ahead of time. Got a call from my mom she wasn't doing great and could not get up, chest pains at one point but had stopped. We jumped along with Zuzu and her hubs and kids and went over. Her bp was fantastic, pains were none, and she was able to get up with our help. She had a couple of other problems that probably caused the pain. My wonderful son in love washed all of her dishes, hubs helped too, I scrubbed the carpet, Zuzu helped clean too, oh dear me. We made her some sweet potatoes and got her settled. I pray there won't be anymore incidents. We're going to have to get her a little help to clean house, I'm going to have to make her some meals and get her some chinet paper plates etc. She calls Zuzu and I her two little nurses. : ) I would like to say, I talked to the Lord like a little girl, a trusting little girl talking about her daddy taking her to a special place or buying her something or making her something etc. and the Father gave me Peace and helped me. I was so thankful for a loving family to help. Definitely a blessing to count so I cannot complain. Now for a nap. ~Amelia
ReplyDeleteSending up a prayer, Amelia. --Elise
DeleteOh my goodness - I am sure you were scared. Glad you were all able to go and to help. Sounds like everyone pitched in where needed.
DeleteYou are His little girl. We are His children, and simple prayers is all we need. It doesn't have to be complicated or fancy - just out 'simple' little girl prayers. He knows our heart.
Hugs to you and the family. Prayers for mom.
Thank you Elise, I so covet your prayers. ~Amelia
DeleteThank you so much Cheryl, yes, God is showing me more and more to just simply trust Him, just like a little girl should trust her Father. We toodle along in life thinking it's at a dull roar and then we get that call. God is so good to me though helping me so, so much. Thanks again Cheryl, ~Amelia
DeleteHere is a song for everyone today as we are all trodding through this earth, may we all be encouraged: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkRiYsTN7KY
ReplyDeleteMy mom said before we left and I was bringing her to her couch..."I miss Tonie sometimes" (Tonie is my dad) I tell her..."He's watching, don't worry...he's watching." : )
ReplyDeleteAaaahhhh. I am sure she does miss him. Bless her heart. Yes, he is always watching over her and he is in her heart every moment.
DeleteYes... *tears*
DeleteYou were pretty close - that is north of me. My rain came in over night. Then there was a mist all morning. More storms coming over night.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good visit and got to try some local fare. Another day another dollar - as my dad used to say!
Have a great week.
You and your neighbor are getting to be good trappers! I’m glad it is cooling off there for you. We have rain off and on today with 89% humidity, so it’s muggy here. How great that you got your car alarm to unlock the doors now. Kudos to you!
ReplyDeleteLOL - he said the same thing. His words "think we should start a business?" Too funny.
DeleteWe had mist all morning - but it is much cooler here now. sorry you still have that darn humidity.
Thanks.
Have a good week.
We had some good rain here on Saturday night, it was much needed as things were really starting to look thirsty.
ReplyDeleteYour week sounds like a good balance between work and pleasure.
Question for anyone who has had Covid... did anyone find their sleep patterns go wildly out of whack while recovering? Louise
Both of my sons had it, the youngest 3 times. He did have trouble with sleep schedule after the last round, but has had trouble sleeping since childhood. Yesterday it was hot (98 degrees) and I had a 4 hour nap; I'm not sick, but that meant I was up at 3 a.m. today. Hope you're back to a regular schedule soon, Louise. --Elise
DeleteThank you Elise, I’m all over the place, falling asleep at 4pm and then awake at 2am. Of all the people I know that have had it, including my two eldest kids, no one mentions disrupted sleep.
DeleteIt will sort itself out Im sure. Thanks again.
Louise - glad you got needed rain. It was a good mixture of a week for sure.
DeleteSorry your sleep is messed up. I have heard that from other people. I have not had C - so no idea personally. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.
Have a good week.
Thanks Cheryl, glad to know it’s just not me then. I’ll be back to full health soon. Have a super week, looking forward to some great conversation about whatever you post. Louise
DeleteGOOD things to start the week...
ReplyDeleteCuddle time with fur babies last night. Poppy still thinks she's a lap dog, but even Blue was especially cuddly.
Star gazing.
Cool, cotton sheets on a too warm night.
The silence of the wee hours of the morning. All but the crickets asleep.
A neighbor's rooster crowing at 4 a.m., on schedule.
Seeing the subtle patterns of clouds in a predawn sky.
A fresh mug of coffee.
Feeling very grateful for sight, sound, touch and taste (too often taken for granted).
May all be blessed with simple pleasures today! --Elise
THANK YOU! Yes indeed - we all need to be thankful for all those little and simple pleasures in life. Some people seem to just shut themselves off and never enjoy anything. So darn sad.
DeleteHave a blessed week.
How lovely!
Delete--Frances
Beautiful! Poppy and Blue...Adorable.
DeleteLove to hear about your fur babies Elise. Our daughter is looking after her SILs dogs this week, they are both rescue dogs from the same lady we got our little dog from. They are only small dogs and both pretty cuddly. I took Freddie over to meet them for a walk and play today.
ReplyDeleteHeather, it's surprised me a lot, since they're Australian cattle dogs and those aren't known to be cuddly. I think it's because they're rescued... or they rescued ME... I'm not sure. Don't you think rescues are especially loving? I'm very sure they bring me a lot of deep-heart joy.
Delete--Elise
Ellise, Yes, Rescues are especially appreciative, you can see the love in their eyes.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteFreddie loves the ladies in the family but is still nervous of men, even my husband. As Amelia said, you can see the love in his eyes. He does have Lhasa-atude and will only by cuddly on his terms. He comes and springs on me in bed between 5 and 6 each morning for cuddles and belly rubs.
DeleteGoodness but you eat well! Here's to a blessed week ahead...and hooray for rain:)
ReplyDeleteLOL - thanks! I love anything fresh and I like to cook. I just eat what I like - and I usually eat once a day.
DeleteHave a lovely week.
Lovely flowers. Been a busy few weeks caring for frail elderly parents. Today I have been playing catch up, and have been doing an inventory of my pantry. Weather here (England) has been wet and chilly. They say it will be warmer Thursday, so I will have my laundry washed Wednesday evening ready to hang out first thing. Liz
ReplyDeleteCaring for our parents as they get older is reverse of roles that comes to many. It seems all things go around in a circle. A gift to them. Memories are being made. Hugs.
DeleteI hope it warms a bit for you so you can hang your laundry out.
Have a blessed week.