Hello to everyone. Hope this finds you all doing well. Here we are at the end of another month - the 5th month of the year. Amazing. This is the end of meteorological spring in the U.S.
I have started noticing a few lightening bugs at night. The garden is in and the flowers are planted and so many are blooming.
We have no rain in sight this week. It looks to be very nice. Cool and breezy mornings, and warm/hot afternoons. Super sleeping weather later at night. The hummingbirds are showing up a lot more now. I have kittens that seem to be thriving, just over a week old.
There has been a big racoon showing up a lot, so I have had to make some changes on feeding the cats. I don't want to encourage the racoon to stick around, nor can I afford to pay to feed it as well. Those things eat ALL they find.
We have had 2 houses sell on my block, and another went up for sale yesterday. Sigh. The only good part of that is what they are selling for - goodness, real estate has gone up around here.
All in all, it has been a good week.
My frugal week:
- I have been deadheading plants, cutting and pulling weeds and poison ivy (it thrives here). Of course I have gotten a poison rash - not too bad
- I have picked lettuce 2X this week
- Got to mow the entire yard after all the rain & trimmed
- Got the soaker hose placed in the garden - for just in case. Too much to water it all by hand with a watering can & too far back
- Airing the house every day - get a lovely cross breeze
- Made hard boiled eggs & egg salad
- Used the last little bit of watermelon with a couple of mandarins and a sample size bottle of vodka (like airline size) to make a fruity faux sorbet. The vodka keeps it from freezing solid, but can't be tasted - very refreshing
- Had a sweet craving - so I made a no-bake, lo-cal cheesecake. Not the heathiest thing, but it sure is tasty & refreshing
- Laundry & using dehumidifier water as well, line dried
- General house cleaning
- Trimmed the back bushes again - they always look so nice when freshly done
- NO shopping at all this week - didn't go anywhere
- Lots of walks and talking with neighbors and porch setting a reading
- I gave myself a ME afternoon/evening one day. Trimmed hair, root touch-up, spa like evening. Soaking, bubbles, defoliating, facial, pedi, lots of lotion........ it was so nice
- Did a fix to get air in the greenhouse for the babies. It gets way too hot in there in the afternoon - so had to do something. I found an old screen in the garage (goes to nothing!) and I can open the greenhouse door and place the screen and bungy in place. Keeps an air flow and still gives a bit of protection. Pip wasn't sure at first - but she loves it now. She can come out on the deck and visit with the other cats and still hear her babies, and she also lays inside in front of the screen now. Also hung an old towel at the back of the greenhouse (near babies) to act as a shade. The greenhouse is tarped too. I close the door back up at night. Yeah, I am a bit obsessive!
Still lets her have a bit of security, but fresh air as well (she has a cat door to get in/out)
Meals this past week:
Bean & cheese quesadillas
Egg salad sandwich, watermelon
Brats on buns, little salad, yogurt
Homemade pizza & side salad - 2X
Spanish style rice w/peppers, white beans and cheese added
L/O rice and a salad
Just eating kind of light, not a lot of meat, but using beans and cheese. Eating all leftovers and cooking from things I have on hand. Days that I worked outside, I just didn't feel like cooking a lot - so leftovers were great.
How was your week? Gardens in? Growing? Did you find any good deals this week? I just love hearing from everyone and hearing what everyone is up to. It always gives us all other ideas.
Have a wonderful week ahead, and I hope you all stay safe and healthy. Blessings to you and yours from me at my humble little home.
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Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalms 34:19
Lord, we come forth saying thanks for all our blessings. Help us each to realize that You are always with us. You help us through grief, help heal bodies, help heal families and protect us all. We may not always get answered the way we think we should, but things happen as You see and in Your time. Sometimes letting go is an answer, as hard as that is to understand in present time. Help us all be kinder and gentler people and help us all know we can always help someone else. AMEN
It has been raining here a lot and my grass is knee high. I managed to walk an hour a day early in the morning. I have been working on starting my private practice since I completely retired two weeks ago from the state, so I have been busy. .$3.18 was what I spent in groceries on eggs and bread for the week. I am leaving extremely early
ReplyDeleteFriday for a legal conference (bc I refuse to pay for an extra night on Thursday) and will be gone through Sunday so didn’t want to buy any food that will waste. My friends laughed at me bc I booked a room at Motel 6 instead of the high dollar conference hotel. I do not care. I pay my bills and no one else does.
I am just sleeping there anyways and used to stay at same Motel 6 when I went down to take care of
of my uncle and aunt who lived nearby! I made turkey meatloaf from the freezer, baked chicken legs with green beans, finished off the watermelon, etc. Hope you have a splendid week! Cindy in the South
Congrats on retirement. Best of wishes for starting up a new business, may you have great success.
DeleteI don't blame - you just sleep there, it doesn't have to be high end or expensive. I always wonder about people on TV looking at homes and mention the bedroom seems small! So what, it is just for sleeping.
Your food sounds good.
Have a wonderful and enlightening week.
Good for you, Cindy! I've had great luck with Motel 6, and like you, I've said, gee whiz, I'm only planning to *sleep* here. I don't need the fancy spa or pool or whatever. And the cheap/free breakfasts are ok - yogurt, toast, powdered eggs, whatever. It'll see me through to lunchtime! :) Hope it all works out well for you.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for your new Practice.
MaryB
I agree 100%!
DeleteHave a great week Mary.
The heat wave with temps ~30C has been followed by thunderstorms & temps ~15C today. The week was kicked off with a greenhouse run w/ the neighbor little & her mom. We had a great "girls' day" out. The bedding plants were hardening off on the porch until yesterday when my youngest granddaughter & I planted the majority of them. One little flowerbed left to plant & hanging baskets. Grasss has been mowed twice, trimmed once. The perennial flower bed has been cleaned. I can't do it all at once like I used to. The WPCA (world professional chuckwagon association) races started on Wed so I spend the evenings listening to the broadcast. We have friends who compete at races all across the province. Now for an "organ recital". My systolic BP (the top number) has been hovering ~140, higher than the norm of 120. Two weeks ago, it dropped to "normal". What's different? I stopped drinking my well water which is high in dissolved minerals & started drinking spring water that I collect locally. I don't know if that's the reason; all I know is I like the new numbers & so did the dr I saw this past wk. We celebrated a friend's BD w/ cards & carrot cake. My son & his youngest daughter came this w/e, so nice to have them under my roof for some quality time. I rent pasture land & the cattle were brought in this wk. I am very comforted by these seasonal cycles & routines. In the kitchen: baked tortellini; ham; potato & broccoli salad; grilled burgers & steak; naan pizza. Have a good week, Cheryl & all.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a busy spring week getting all things planted and purchased. Nice to have those girl days!
DeleteGlad to hear your BP dropped. That is interesting, but it kind of makes sense. Too much of anything can be bad. Hopefully that is all it took to fix it.
Glad you got to spend time with family. Your meals sound so good.
Have a lovely week.
Busy (too busy) the last 2 weeks but it is winding down.
ReplyDeleteHad a raccoon break into my chicken coop and killed 2 hens, breaks my heart because I love my chickens. Had DD and son in law help me with repairs and "raccoon proofing" yesterday. I worked because I found evidence this morning that it was trying to get in. I have live traps but have only caught a possum so far. I am determined to catch any varmints and protect my chickens.
Cheryl, not trying to be a downer but IF that raccoon gets a chance, it may very well try to kill your new kittens. They are cute and funny to watch but will kill.
I love kittens but sure don't need any more LOL.
I am sorry you lost chickens. I realize racoons can be nasty. That is why I am trying to make it not a food pleasant place for it. I believe it is about time to get out the live trap and try to get it. I really don't want it here at all.
DeleteHave a good week.
Wonderful devotional, I especially like the prayer which was prompted by the Scripture. Prayer does not come easy for me, even though I can be quite the talker...ha!
ReplyDeleteYou have fixed up a nice, safe and comfortable place for the kitties. I won't say it is a cat house...ha! That raccoon will eat you and the kitties out of house and home. The only varmints that we are battling right now are the sassy squirrels. They are not even afraid of us when we try to chase them off. They are destructive.
Deadheading flowers is tedious but so necessary if one expects more blooms. The Farmer used a fertilizer tea that he made from putting weeds in one of the rain barrels, and poured some on the rutabagas which were not doing well. That tea made all the difference and they are growing like everything. He gets lots of good ideas from some fellows on YouTube. We have some cauliflower just about ready for harvest. The cabbage I picked the other day made some delicious slaw. Who knows how long ago the cabbage in the store was picked. Sometimes it even tastes musty, like it's old. Peppers are going great guns, with little baby peppers. Strawberries are just about done but we will have some more later on as some plants are ever-bearers. All of his fig trees are looking good. We should have figs off at least a couple of trees this season. Lilies are blooming and I've been trying to keep up with dead-heading the Stellas, so they will bloom again. The liatris is faithful about coming up each year, although I haven't seen the white one for a while. The others are purple. I am grubbing out the wild strawberries (which Riley loved to hunt and eat), wild violets and creeping Charlie. Hopefully I will have enough homemade mulch after shredding all the sticks and small branches Erin brought me from her yard. We get such joy from caring for what our Creator gave us.
Enjoy your day!
My squirrels walk right up to me and beg for peanuts. I don't mind them.
DeleteI can't believe you have so much to pick already. Gosh, that is really amazing. I do have some little toms of the cherry tomato plants and squash has a bloom.
Tiger and D'Oro lilies are just starting to bloom.
Your yard sounds amazing - I bet it is pretty. SO blessed with all those wonderful things.
Have a blessed week.
Cheryl, good for you for finding an innovative way to shelter the kittens and keep them close to their mom. Even with the photo, I can’t really picture it but the important thing is that it works.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a fairly quiet week for me - just how I like it! I’m hanging more artwork and going through framed photos and taking some out of the frames and putting the frames in a donate box. I also have several candleholders to donate.
Yesterday I trimmed the tall tropical plants on the side of the house. I did a lot but there is more to do. Some areas I can’t reach and will need my neighbor’s help. I was drenched in sweat when I came inside and was tired.
On Wednesday I visited my ophthalmologist at her new office. She is a glaucoma specialist. There was a lot of traffic. My next appointment in four months is early and I hope that is better. I will have to have my eyes dilated on that visit and I’m nervous about driving the 20 miles home but this new office offers a dilation reversal drop (not covered by insurance, $40) that supposedly returns the eyes to “normal” after 30-45 minutes. There is a breakfast cafe within walking distance where I could spend the 40 minutes. The other option is Uber which would probably cost at least $80 round trip. There IS a city bus but it would be at least 2 hours each way. Thankfully dilation is only once a year. Barbara M.
I will post a picture from a different angle later.
DeleteSounds like you are getting things sorted and donated after the move.
Be careful in that heat!
I have never heard of the after dilation drop - but I would sure pay for it. I hate getting my eyes dilated. I have some very dark sunglasses I use to get home after that.
Hope it all works out for you. At least you have time to plan.
Have a lovely and cool week!
There is a machine that some ophthalmologists use instead of dilation but my doctor says dilation is “better.” The dilation reversal drop is called Ryzumvi. I’m going to research it on Google.
DeleteSounds like a good week, Cheryl. I love staying home and puttering around the house doing things that need doing. That was a smart idea to put the screen in front of the greenhouse door and will give those sweet kitties some good air flow. Your meals sound good to me, beans and cheese for the win. I noticed Kroger will have their 32 ounce blocks of cheese for $4.99 starting on Wednesday, so I'm going to get some. I hope you have a great week.
ReplyDeleteSometimes just staying home and puttering around feels just right and like enough.
DeleteI love the combo of beans and cheese - then throw in some taco sauce and yum. That is a great price for 2 lbs. of cheese!
Stock up!
Have a super week.