From My Home to Yours: 5/22/26

  From My Home to Yours

5/22/26

~ We Found It! ~

What did we find ... ground beef on sale for ... $3.99/lb.  Not so long ago I would have refused to pay that much for 73/27 ground beef, but in today's economy that is a sale price!  Regular prices in our area right now are running from $5.99/lb and up.  We did a stock up using the grocery money we haven't had to use the last few weeks.

That's one thing I was able to mark off my unfinished 'to-do' from a couple of weeks ago.  Here's another item on the list I started working on ... freezer meals!

With the ground beef, we ...

added chopped onions from our freezer and browned a big skillet full and froze it ...

made meatloaves and froze those ...

made meatballs and froze those ...

Made hamburger patties and froze those ...

Yes, we've been busy ... and I do mean we, my dear hubby has worked along side me doing the parts he felt comfortable doing.  (His knee injury has healed enough that he can walk around inside without assistance, but isn't quite ready to take on the uneven ground outside yet.  So, we work as a team, he helps out inside doing as much as he can, and I take care of the outside chores ... as much as I can!)

We also found marked down 'overripe' banana's and I made a couple loaves of banana chocolate chip bread for the freezer ... well, actually only one loaf made it to the freezer!!!

At the same store, we found whole milk on mark down (with a best by date of 5/22) for $2.45 per gallon.  I love it when we find deals on milk ... I try hard to use every drop in some way before it goes bad!

(Cucumbers working their way up the trellis.)

Out in the garden ...

I've spent a small portion of almost every day in the garden this week and was able to make progress on ticking off yet another item on my 'to-do' ...

clean out remaining raised beds ... I got 1 done leaving two to do yet.  Our temps soared this week and early mornings were the only times I could stand to work in the garden.  You'd be surprised what you can get accomplished by working in the garden approximately one hour a day!

(This years garlic harvest was not the largest bulbs we've ever grown, nor were they the smallest!  We'll take it!  This variety is 'Music.')

I got the garlic harvested and now curing ...

I amended the raised bed the garlic grew in and planted sweet potato slips ...

I planted more tomato plants that we grew from seeds as well as tomatillo plants, also grown from seed.

I pulled the 'suckers' from our well-established tomato plants and put them in a jar of water to root.  As soon as the roots start to appear, I'll plant them in a raised bed or container for a second wave of tomatoes, later in the summer.

With this year's garden I have really tried to focus on using heirloom seeds from things we have grown and doing things such as using the tomato 'sucker's' to generate new plants.  I also grew our sweet potato slips from left over sweet potatoes from the last harvest.  Anything we can do to help offset the cost of seeds and plants, we're doing!

(this is one of my new roses and the smell is amazing!)

My roses are blooming and showing out ... even some of the new bushes I planted earlier this year are already producing roses ... and they smell so good!  As part of my garden walk each morning, I cut roses, bring them in and add them to a mason jar of water.  I replace the spent ones with the new ones giving me a beautiful jar of roses to enjoy everyday.

(The results of one mornings 'hour' in the garden.)

In addition to pulling the occasional weed, directing rose legs or cucumber vines up their trellis and watering, I also harvested the things you see in the wheelbarrow ...

garlic scapes (I made more garlic scape vinegar)

rhubarb (it wasn't enough to do anything with so I froze it and will be adding to it as often as possible.)

elderberry flowers  (they have medicinal properties too!)

a few more garlic bulbs of a different variety

and finally, the day's rose harvest!

Not pictured, but occurred on the same 'morning' ... a handful of spearmint.  I walked by the container it was growing in and noticed that some of it needed harvesting so, that's what I did.  It is now air drying in a colander near a ceiling fan.  So is a colander of apple mint!

I think that almost takes care of my 'unfinished' to-do list of a couple of weeks ago, so let's make another one for the upcoming week ...

clean out another raised bed (the only thing left on my 'unfinished' to-do list.)

continue harvesting elderberry flowers

work on herbal garden area (it needs some freshening up)

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires.  This is what they looked like last year ...

I finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye and started on book 7, Glimmers of Change.  I finished listening to An Unexpected Grace by Tracie Peterson on Libby the library app and then listened to Wish You Well by David Baldacci, also on Libby the library app.  I now understand why there was a long waiting list for Wish You Well, this book touched me in deep places in my heart. And then I started listening to Roses by Leila Meacham.  If you like Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, you'd most likely enjoy Roses.  To me it's another 'page turner!'  (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)

That's it 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  

~ quietly holding the home front ~

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

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