The weather is still warm in our area today, in fact we had the doors open all day. I just love being able to have our doors open, it gives such an open atmosphere to our small home.
I finished my book for the week, What Money Can’t Buy, a story
from the Great Depression by Emily Steiner.
As mentioned previously, this is the second time I’ve read this book and
I can tell you that I will read it again. (I think it’s that good!) This book is about
one family’s journey and how they survived.
Here’s an excerpt from the back of the book …
Caught in the vortex of the Great Depression, the Hess
family needs to work and sweat and pray for every mortgage payment on their
Ohio farm. Their savings disappear when
the bank fails, and prices for farm goods drop ever lower. Disaster sweeps across the entire nation, and
no one knows when – or if – things will get better.
My next book choice is a classic that I have never read, Uncle
Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I’m
looking forward to reading this one as well.
I made egg salad a couple of days ago and hubby and I cleaned
it up for lunch today. I will definitely
make it again. The next time I’ll try adding
a bit of home-canned sweet pickle relish to it and maybe some chopped onions,
but other than that, we’ll leave everything else as the recipe states.
Our next sandwich spread we’ll be enjoying will be chicken
salad. I set out some home-canned
chicken this morning to use in making some for our lunch over the next few
days. I’d love to hear what kind of
home-made sandwich spreads you create in your kitchen.
I had occasion to talk in depth today to someone who is dependent upon the grocery store for all their food. My heart went out to this person as they shared the struggles of trying to make their food budget feed their family. I came away from the conversation more determined than ever to do everything I can to keep my pantry well stocked. I've been putting off canning the last of the collards in the garden along with preserving carrots also in the garden. After today I'm going to make a point of carving out some time and getting those done as soon as possible.
To finish off a busy day, I sat down with a cup of warm honey/ginger water and watched Planning for a Handmade Christmas by Cath over at the Cheapskates Club. I came away with several things to make for myself and for gift giving.
Until tomorrow,
Patsi
Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building
My second blog: From This Heart of Mine
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
You can view my privacy policy HERE.
Patsy, another book you might consider is:
ReplyDelete"We Had Everything But Money"
Published by Reminisce Books
I think I bought it used from Abe Books, however.
"Priceless Memories of the Great Depression...from strong people who tell in their own words what it was like when banks closed and hearts opened."
Jane in Florida
Jane, I think I have that book, I need to check my bookshelves. Thank you for the recommendation.
DeleteSandwiches sure have gotten more expensive. We like egg, chicken and tuna salad but tuna has gotten pricey as well as eggs. I was raised on a bologna salad that was ground up bologna, pickle relish and Miracle Whip. I doubt I would like it now but loved it then. Mom also ground up leftover roast beef with onions and dill pickles. No added dressing. That was delicious but messy to eat. We don't care for ham salad even after trying several recipes. I think it is the texture. Everything was so much better made with the old hand grinder that clamped on the table edge. I look for sales for anything that can make a quick meal like Springer Mountain Farms chicken burgers which are delicious and less than any lunch meat if you get their emails and very generous coupons.
ReplyDeleteWe relay almost totally on the grocery store here. We have a lot of stores and a lot of competition but it would be much harder without all the salvage stores we have in our area. We also have a US Chef store which has some great deals if you look carefully.
Lana, you are wise and prudent in your shopping and far ahead of many in strategy when it comes to grocery store reliance and shopping. So many people do not even know how to begin stretching their grocery budgets and sadly some are unwilling to make needed changes to what they eat in order to stretch what monies they have for food.
DeleteThose are some good sandwich spread ideas, thank you. I like chicken burgers too; I'll have to check those out and the coupons too!
It's about time for Food Lion to put those chicken burgers on sale again. You can print the coupon three times. I have used dozens of them.
DeleteI don't know what to say to three DIL who don't even seem to know to look at sales. I asked one how much eggs were back home and she said she didn't know because she never looks at prices.
Lana, thank you for the heads up on the burgers. The price is the first thing we Iook at after locating the item. It's the main factor in determining whether we will or will not purchase an item. I've never known any other kind of shopping!!!
DeleteI learned at my Mother's knee! I bet you did, too. Blessed to have been taught before I needed to take care of my own home!
DeleteLana, yes, definitely! My mom could stretch a dollar like no one I knew!
DeleteYour quilt looks beautiful! I most often use leftovers for lunch. But when I have leftover chicken, I make chicken salad, either to eat with crackers or to eat as a roll-up or in a roll. I also make tuna salad every once in awhile, adding a couple of chopped green olives, along with celery and onion. Every now and then, I'll buy 1/4 pound of deli-sliced ham or turkey, and make a grilled sandwich with cheddar or swiss.
ReplyDeleteLori, thank you! Leftovers are a big component of our lunches too, but for those times when we don't have any leftovers, we typically put together some kind of sandwich. A grilled ham and cheese sandwich is one of my favorites!
DeleteDear Patsi,
ReplyDeleteLast year was so difficult on many levels, but I am ready now to get back to the garden and crafting. We are about to go back to one income (Colton has been working two jobs, one of which ends in March), so I am making adjustments accordingly and preparing for that.
Thank you for the Depression Era book recommendation. I am always interested to learn how people made do and how I can apply those lessons to my circumstances.
Tonight I need to look through my seeds and make my garden plans. I also have a few craft projects that I want to complete with things I already have. I am looking forward to it!
Love, Kelsey
Kelsey, it is so good to hear from you!!! Will you start blogging again? Yes, last year was a difficult year for many, I hope and pray that brighter days are ahead for all of us. I've started 'garden' thinking too and trying to get most of my sewing done before it starts. We are running most everything we do through a frugal filter as we try to offset rising costs on everything. Again, it's so good to hear from you, if you've started blogging again, please list the address so I can visit.
DeleteHi, I love the quilt top! Can't wait to see what you and your sister make this time.
ReplyDeleteColeen
Coleen, thank you!
DeleteThank you, Patsi! It's good to be back. I don't have any plans to blog in the immediate future. I have been having some health issues so I am having to take things a bit at a time and blogging just doesn't fit into the equation right now. But if/when I do, I will be sure to let you know!
ReplyDeleteKelsey, please do take care of yourself. You are wise to recognize and do what is needed to take care of yourself. The changes I've made to my online participation during the last 3 years have been based on that very thing and I can tell you that I don't regret it at all. It was the right thing to do!
DeleteI sometimes make a simple scramble burger of browned ground beef with onion and ketchup or if I'm feeling more ambitious I make a really good sloppy joe that has shredded zucchini and carrots as well as onions and peppers and some canned diced tomatoes. I sometimes add ketchup to that as well but less than I do to the scramble burger. The homemade sloppy joe is really stretched out with the added vegetables. It's an old weight watchers recipe. I always end up using just 1/2 pound ground beef and freezing a portion of the mixture for another day and time. Pigs in blankets (I use homemade biscuit dough to wrap) can be tasty for a sandwich lunch as well. And any sliced leftover roasted chicken or even chuck roast with gravy. I guess you can tell I'm partial to a 'hot' sandwich. Peanut butter with grated carrot and celery or even raisins is nice, too and so is peanut butter and cooked bacon (sounds odd tastes wonderful). Tuna salad, chicken salad, Turkey spam make good sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteI am dependent on the grocery myself but I have learned to look for clearance/sale items, always buy as much as I can afford and try to keep my items as basic as a good pantry should be, not lots of mixes and such. I work hard to make what I can from scratch rather than buy it if possible. I know that's not possible for everyone.
I hope this year to be able to garden on a small scale using my patio area as the main area as a potted garden. And of course anytime someone offers me an item from their garden or a blessing I take them. I have loads of canned black beans just now courtesy a friend of a friend whose dad is a tow truck driver. A semi broke down and had to offload his stuff and the driver took the beans to pass along to his daughter who passed some to my daughter in law who passed some to me. The original recipient said she had cases of black beans covered with tablecloths as end tables in her living room, lol.
We are grocery store dependent as well. But do our best to keep things in check. Hubs went to Denver this week and Costco had eggs for 3.20/doz so he picked up 10 dozen of which I will freeze most of. He picked up coffee beans and canned chicken also, he couldn’t find the mayo so I will need to add that to a list.
ReplyDelete