Friday, June 20, 2025

From My Home to Yours: 6/20/25

 From My Home to Yours

6/20/25

~ Hot & Humid! 

It's that time of year when the weather turns hot and humid making it dangerous to be outside for any length of time ... it's my least favorite time of the year!

It's the time of the year when anything done outside or in the garden is done in the early hours of the morning shortly after daylight.  It doesn't cool down until about 8 p.m. but then the mosquitoes are just waiting to have a feast on you if you tarry outside too long!

It's the time of the year when I regularly give thanks to God for our HVAC unit!



In spite of the weather, our sweet potatoes and zucchini are doing well.  So far, they are not showing signs of heat stress. I hope the zucchini can hold on long enough to give us a harvest, they don't like this heat.  The sweet potatoes won't be ready to harvest until fall, so they have a while to go!


This is not a very good picture of our tomatoes, but at least you can see our setup.  We are in the process of setting our pots/containers on concrete blocks for two reasons, (1) to make it harder for fire ants to get into them and (2) for ease of tending to and harvesting from.  We don't have all our pots/containers done yet; in fact, it will probably take the rest of the year to complete this task since I'll be working around the heat and humidity.

We are making big changes to the way we garden this year, and this is one of them.  The changes we are making are in relation to our aging; we just can't do the physical work that we could do even 5 years ago ... but, where there is a will, there is a way!


I shared with you last week that I was using a planner I had purchased on clearance to start tracking our expenses.   The purpose is to make us more aware of where our money is going.  I told you I would update you on how I used it, here's what this week looks like so far ...

Monday was a no spend day
Tuesday, we purchased groceries and gas (for groceries I color coded it green and gave gas a yellow color code)
Wednesday, we spent a little more at the grocery store and recorded that
Thursday was a big spending day for us ... medical (color coded orange); groceries; eating out (color coded blue); and more gas

At the end of the week, I'll total the different categories and record those.  At the end of the month, I'll total up each category for the month and see how it all shapes up.

I can tell you that this is already making me more aware of what we're spending. I'm looking forward to the end of the month ... I think it is going to be a real eye-opener!


For the pantry ... I canned 6 jars of white chicken chili and 1 jar of navy beans.  The jar of navy beans was so I would have a full canner to process and since both the chili and beans process at the same time and amount of pressure, I filled the canner with the jar of beans.


In the herb garden:  the echinacea is ready to start harvesting ...


the Holy Basil/Tulsi is thriving in this pot ...


and finally, the spearmint looks pretty good too!

I love the lifestyle we've chosen for ourselves!  Most nights we fall into bed worn out from the day's activities, but it is a satisfying worn out. 

Our days are filled with activities that keep ...

 our pantry filled ...
our bodies nourished ...
 our bodies moving (this is so important as we age) ...
and our minds busy (an idle mind is the devil's workshop).

I haven't had time to do any sewing or creating for the past 3 weeks and I'm really beginning to get the itch to stitch, if you know what I mean!

Some meals we cooked this week include:

meatloaf, fresh from the garden potatoes
hot dogs, buns and chips and all the trappings that go with hotdogs
smoked sausage, sauerkraut, young green peas, roasted vegetables
haystacks (taco pie)

And finally, ladies, the next lesson (lesson 6) in our Bible study on Hagar has been posted HERE!  I hope you'll pop over and take a look.

That's all for this week!

I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine 

12 comments:

  1. I like your colour-coding method. It's a good way to get an overview at a quick glance. I have never seen that idea for tracking spending anywhere else, but it makes good sense.
    It suddenly got very hot here this week and I don't do heat very well. I have been opening windows early in the morning and then keeping them open all day on the north-facing side of the house. I would prefer to keep the curtains closed on the sunny side, but my husband hates having them shut during the day, so we compromise and just have them closed upstairs. It's not perfect, but it does help.
    My edible garden hasn't been doing too well. I planted some sprouting potatoes, which has always worked well before, but they never grew. I think they must have been treated to stop them sprouting. A lot of my seeds didn't germinate very well either. Some were older, gifted ones, but others were new, so I can't work out what is to blame there. My fruit trees are looking good though and there is plenty of time to plant new salad leaves etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tracy, the color-coding system doesn't originate with me, I've seen it used by others and like you said it makes doing a quick 'glance' much easier. I'm all about easier!

      Our weather forecasters are telling us that it is going to be even hotter and more humid in our area next week. This gives me concern for our garden and I'll have to watch it closely for signs of heat stress which I'm sure will happen.

      I'm glad you still have time to plant more garden; it's discouraging when our efforts end in failure. It has happened to me too. I just have to pick myself up and try again. I refuse to throw away old seeds, so sometimes it does end in failure when they are planted. But sometimes it's also a success!!

      Delete
  2. It sure is hot! I'm glad you are being careful about the heat. It's good to have that chili on the shelf for when you need it.

    We got some great deals at the grocery store this week. Four pounds bacon for 10.99 was the best one. Also over 3 pounds of breaded chicken strips for 4.46.

    I restocked the freezer with biscuits and some main dishes. We have been eating out too much so it is time to eat at home and use what we have here. Whether we have money in the budget of not, home just tastes best. We got in a bad habit while we didn't have a dishwasher.

    Here's hoping for cooler weather soon!



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lana, it's easy for us to fall in the 'eating out' trap too, it's the one area of our budget that needs constant watching. I have to remind myself that just because it's easier for us doesn't make it easier on our budget and since we've set ourselves a huge financial goal our eating out has to be watched carefully!

      I can't believe the price you paid for the bacon! In today's economy that is an amazing price!

      Cooking at home does taste better, it's the convenience that gets us drawn into too much eating out. I'm try hard to work out a system to prep as much ahead of our meals as possible so that so much doesn't have to be done when it's time to cook.

      It looks like the weather is going to be hotter and more humid in the coming week! Stay safe!

      Delete
  3. You are always very encouraging as you teach us by example. I admire your focus on the importance of staying on budget. May God bless your making double payments on your vehicle.
    Our TX garden has given us asparagus. onions, potatoes and green beans. The tomatoes probably got too much rain. It’s looking like a skimpy crop.
    Sweet potatoes, okra, and purple hull peas are just getting started.
    Kim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim, thank you for your encouragement.

      The rain or lack of it certainly makes a difference with our gardens doesn't it. I still need to get our okra and purple hull peas planted, so you're ahead of me. Next month I'll start prepping and planting our fall garden. Thankfully, we can grow something almost year-round here and I'm going to try to take advantage of that to the best of my ability. But right now, we have to get through these super-hot and humid days!

      Delete
  4. Impressive! I really have to teach myself to can. I bought a new pressure canner a few months back... That's my goal for July. You have inspired me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mrs. Murphy, I know it can feel intimidating, but once you learn you won't ever look back. I would recommend canning water for the first canning. It will give you confidence in using the canner before you move on to canning food.

      Delete
  5. I love how you’ve put your tomato plants up on cinder blocks. What a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Belinda, it makes tending each pot a lot easier!!

      Delete
  6. Mrs patsy, you have a beautiful garden. If you can find old cotton sheets, or old sheer curtains at thrift stores, you can drape them over your containers and wet them with the hose a few times a day. It really helps reduce plant stress during heat waves. Even thin tablecloths could work in a pinch.
    And I hope you wear a wet bandana around your neck and another under a straw hat.

    Very nice post.
    Elaine

    ReplyDelete