How did we do this week?
This has been a busy week with lots of 'going' involved. Both of us had eye doctor appointments and hubby had another doctor appointment. In and around those appointments' life was busy and full of non-medical things as well.
Whew! I really am ready for life to slow down a little, but as that's not likely to happen for a while, let's talk gardening, bargain shopping and pantry building and how we utilize all three to keep us feed and cared for without breaking the bank!
In the Garden: I harvested more mullein flowers! Aren't they pretty, their yellow color is so vibrant.
We have cabbage ready for harvesting and preserving. That's on the to-do list for this upcoming week!
The flower seeds that I planted in the tractor tires are coming up! As soon as they get big enough to see well, I will post a progress picture.
I know that a lot of people are having way too much rain, but we could use some. Our pitiful row garden could use some moisture from the sky!
I had planned to order several of these herbal seeds when I learned that I had won.
The wooden spoon/spatula is of highest cherry wood quality.
I was so excited as I almost never win anything when it comes to this sort of thing.
God is so good to honor our efforts by providing what we needed in this instance without us having to spend money!
Thrifting, Bargain, and/or Loss Leader Shopping at the Grocery Store: Hubby and I went bargain shopping for food this week and found boneless chicken breast on 'manager's markdown' for $1.19/lb. Score!
We also found rolls of sausage on 'manager's markdown' for $3.10 per/1 lb roll (regular price $5.49/1 lb roll). Score again! I can remember a time not too long ago when $3.10/lb for sausage was considered a really high price, now it's considered a good sale price!
I learned how to make a medicinal salve that I'm going to try out on mosquito bites. I sure hope it works because mosquitoes are already out and pesky in our area. If this works, I'll be making more and adding it to the medicinal part of my pantry.
In Other News ...
I finished Lesson 3 of our ladies Bible study on Mary of Bethany and posted it on my blog, From This Heart of Mine.
until next time,
mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
You can view my privacy policy HERE.
Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.
Hope you can manage a little rest this week. Great goals for the week. Gosh, harvesting cabbage already - mine is still tiny. I am lucky - we have had just enough rain, that I have not had to water the garden yet!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week.
Cheryl, we are getting quite dry. The corn in the farmer's fields is twisting at a crucial time, tousling! It's need for rain is great at this time in its growth.
DeleteYou did get some great deals this week! And winning those seeds and spoon, too! God does provide. I went thrifting, too, this week and found several canning jars in sizes where I can always use extras. I chose the ones that had a ring and unused lid, too. Plus, I found a pair of like-new jeans for $2.50. And, my purchase put me over the threshold for points and I'll get $5 off on my next purchase there.
ReplyDeleteIn my deck garden boxes, I was able to get all of my lettuces, tomatoes, and peppers planted before the rains came. I've got buttercrunch, romaine, and spinach planted and will be making a first cutting from some to go with my dinner tonite. Strawberries are also coming to market in my hometown area and when I went to visit my mom, I stopped at a favorite farmstand and got a flat. Prices are up substantially this year, due to the farmer's increased costs -- plus, it's still early in the season. But, I wanted to make sure I got some to put up this year. I've made 2 batches of jam and a batch of strawberry lemonade concentrate for hot summer days, and also made a batch of strawberry shortcake. I still have just over 2 quarts to process for the freezer today.
Lori, you did really well yourself! That strawberry lemonade concentrate sounds good. Do you freeze it? Our strawberry season is over, but between what we could grow and what we could purchase, we have enough preserved for our needs.
DeleteThat drawing prize is amazing!
ReplyDeleteLee Ann, it is, isn't it!
DeleteThat looks like a delicious birthday cake to me! I hope you had a happy day! Wow, that was a great price on the chicken breasts. I agree about the price of sausage. It's nuts! Fresh cabbage sounds delicious. I have skipped buying it lately because it looks so bad at the store.
ReplyDeleteI really think life gets busier and busier with no let up especially since Hubby retired. That is why we value our weeks away to the lake so much. We missed our weeks in May because of the accident and now we are wondering if we will get there later this month. I sure am hoping but unless e can get ahold of the insurance company to find out what is going on and the body shop gets the go ahead I just am not sure.
I don't know how many of you know but Atlanta has been without water since Friday. It seems to cover 50 square miles of the city center. The airport was closed for awhile and this resulted in friends of ours being stranded in Dallas since Saturday and they are still there. The situation in Atlanta does not seem to be improving. Atlanta sure needs our prayers right now.
We were so happy to get a text from our oldest son that he will be in our area today and can spend a few hours here. Then he updated this morning and said he could be here for lunch. Yay! I am so happy we could just go to the pantry and pull out jars of home canned chicken and put together a bowl of chicken salad. He is coming through Atlanta so we are praying there is no problem with him coming on through.
Everything went through with the closing on my parents house on Friday and now my sister is happy to have the house. I am happy to know that it is still in the family. My sister and I both have to disperse finds to our brother. We wish we could just hang on to it for him for the next time he is broke because it will just slip through his fingers but it is his share so we can't dictate that.
We had way too many meals out last week because we were so busy but many were freebies so all within budget. I hope we can slow down and cook at home more this week. We didn't spend a penny at the grocery store because we were too busy to get there. Those deals will come around again.
I hope you get some rain soon. We have just barely had enough to keep going here. Last night we had supper on the screen porch and a nice rain was coming down. That is our favorite part of summer.
Have a good week all!
Van was totaled. It's our only vehicle. Please pray for us and decisions to be made
DeleteLana, I'm so sorry! I prayed as soon as I read your comment and will continue to pray for wisdom and guidance for you both as you make your way through the process of making this decision.
DeleteCount me among the busy ones! Too many things to list. More today and tomorrow, then Hub's birthday on Wednesday, time with both sons (our oldest came for a visit and left with his brother today to see Four Corners and the Valley of the Ancients, but they'll be back), and much to do through Sunday's church breakfast. Tomorrow the dogs have an appointment and 30 tons of aggregate will be delivered and tailgated along the full 200+ ft. of our utility easement. Thursday a couple of pallets of retaining wall block will be delivered. Our projects are moving along outside with hopes they can be finished before the Southwest monsoon rains arrive.
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned the neighbors building and expanding their homestead? Well, I gave the wife many packets of heirloom vegetable and herb seeds and she gave us a tour of how things are coming along. She also gave us a doz. eggs, fresh goat milk yogurt, ricotta, mozzarella and farm cheeses. Through her I'll have all the eggs and dairy I'll need for the summer. Which is AWESOME. A handful of times per year I do a stock up of basics... paper products, cleaning supplies, personal products, OTCs, etc.... and last week that ran just over $200!!! At least I saved $99.87 on groceries, but even that ran $139.98. As if to reassure me, God has provided through an informal co-op with a neighbor, now! There's no doubt the Lord is in this. It's exciting to see how he's working in your life, too, Patsy! Thank you so much for sharing! --Elise
Elise, you are going to be busy!!! I hope you don't overdo it and as for your neighbor ... everyone needs a neighbor like that! I'm calling you blessed!
DeleteWe ARE blessed, Patsy, and hope to be a blessing in return. We gave them our stack of wooden pallets for a project they're doing, as well as saved/washed nursery pots for their 2nd, larger greenhouse. Yesterday I baked a crust-less cheesecake using the farmer's cheese gifted to us and delivered it over the fence with the recipe. Just got a text that they loved it! :-)
DeleteI forgot to mention some of the busy-ness last week was a major spring cleaning indoors that gave us the opportunity to deliver a huge load for donation to a local thrift store for expectant mothers in crisis. How I love having clutter gone! --Elise
Happy Birthday Patsy! xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeletePatsi, your cake looks positively delicious. Even with all of the busyness it looks like you had a wonderful birthday, Great scores on the bargain hunting. The heavy rains have finally let up and we were
ReplyDeleteable to get outside and do some gardening work. It's warm enough now to get the okra planted. We also were able to put in the sweet potato slips as well as the basil slips. I'm still overrun with loose leaf and romaine from when a couple of plants went to seed last winter and I didn't get them all as I had thought. The blessing
is I haven't had to buy lettuce since March. We made a trip to the rescue mission to pass on things we no longer have use for. A book I ordered from the library came in so a trip into town to pick that up. It's called "The Widow Spy" and is a true story in novel form about the first female Pinkerton detective during the Civil War. Hubs is reading it now as I'm finishing up the 6th volume of the Bregdan Chronicle series.
4 dozen 3 ingredient peanutbutter cookies got baked as well as a loaf of gluten free millet bread. No sewing or crafting happened this past week. Shopping consisted of picking up eggs at the farm and a couple of cucumbers and carrots. We heard that a Trader Joe's opened up about 30 miles away from us and it's on the way to someplace else we need to go so this week we're planning to stop in and see what they have. Cookie
Cookie, I checked Libby for The Widow Spy and they didn't have it. While I was there, I rechecked to see if they had added the Bregdan Chronicle series, but that was a no also.
DeleteIt sounds like you have some good options for shopping in or near your immediate area.
Our lettuce has been gone for a long time, we're in the throes of hot, humid and dry weather now and lettuce just doesn't survive in that kind of climate.
Dear Patsi, we have dreadful mosquitoes and flies here in Australia all summer long. Hence the famous hats we have with corkscrews on the brim to keep away flies ! I always use mosquito repellent in summer every single day. Burning a citronella candle also works they hate the smell !
ReplyDelete