Here in Central Illinois it isn't exactly warm, but it isn't freezing either. When we don't have the usual gloomy winter days, it makes me think spring is around the corner and I'm getting excited.

We have this lovely sunporch on the back of the house. Although it is early to be planting a vegetable garden, I'm getting excited about doing so. Scratching around here, I found a metal pan and asked DH if I could use it to plant some seeds in it and have it on the porch. The porch seems warmer than the outside with the afternoon sun and the way it is built, it doesn't get super freezing cold when the weather is cool outside. So, I bit the bullet, put some potting soil in it and planted some radishes. Hopefully they will come up and we can enjoy some. I saw this dude on Facebook stating you could start strawberries by planting a small slice of a strawberry in dirt, so I did that as well in the plastic containers and those too are on the sunporch. 

We've been throwing out ideas on what we want to plant for this year. Last year we tried a few things and some where successful and some were a failure. DH had this wooden raised garden and the soil just wasn't deep enough to grow tomatoes or cucumbers because of the way it was made, the soil dried out so fast. We had some fierce, hot days so it made it tough to keep things alive. We bought one of those small raised metal garden rings too and planted tomatoes in that and they did really well. So, we bought a second one and that's the plan for this year -- 4 tomatoes in the two of them, two each. We are going to till up a spot and fence it in for other things like cucumbers, onions, and other things. I have garlic planted already and a small herb garden in a small area as well as strawberries. So hopefully we will get some good things this year. I'm hoping to preserve some of the things we have. With grocery prices we hope to have some fresh produce. I'm also hoping that the rhubarb and the black raspberries produce a lot too. 

Last fall I planted tulip bulbs and I'm looking forward to when they break through the soil. I plan to take a photo of the three spaces in case I need to fill in spots. I can plant things, but we have two dogs who like to dig so I think some of the bulbs have been moved. 

I seem to concentrate on food a lot, but since it is a necessity, I'll validate it that way. A few months ago I bit the bullet and bought a large toaster oven. I always had one to use for smaller things to bake, but when I moved out with the divorce, I didn't take the one that was at the house. I missed it. We have a perfectly good oven, but I know ovens are a big energy pull so unless I can bake more than one thing at the same time, I prefer to use a toaster oven to save on electricity. Lunch today was a casserole and heating up a vegetable, both fit in the toaster oven. As I have watched my retirement accounts decrease the past few weeks, I feel a little better knowing I'm saving a few cents here and there. It adds up as we go along. 

One thing that probably isn't frugal, but I have been crocheting little items and leaving them with a note that it is a free gift and if the person can, post a photo of it and where it was found. I crocheted bookmarks and left them in the Free Little Libraries in our small town and one person posted a photo on the Random Acts of Crochet Kindness so that was cool. I'm going to leave shamrocks this week around town. Most people who post talk about it being a day brightener. I hope it is. 

This has little to do with my post, but I can no longer post photos on my blog. Any ideas on how I can do that? I always get an HTTP 400 error. 

I am thinking of posting this on one of the Facebook frugal sites, so I thought I'd run this by all of you to get your feedback:

Pinterest -- I have a love-hate relationship with it. It's a good source for a lot of things, but sometimes the stuff isn't what it claims to be.

I like to read articles and blogs on ways to save in case I'm missing something. But  if they are true sites, they say the same thing, and mostly general stuff. I belong to a couple frugal groups on Facebook and there are people who post that they are new to this and want ideas on saving money. It makes me realize that there are newbies that some of these general statements are just that -- general and if one doesn't know how to do it to begin with, it could be overwhelming. I was thinking that perhaps things need to be explained more fully for those who don't know.

For example, there is almost always the topic of meal planning. That sounds great, but what if someone hasn't done that before, it could mean they don't know where to start. A frugal meal plan is going to look different than one from someone who isn't looking to save money. I think it should be better explained. Such as, figure out what you have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry, and  decide if you have to go to the grocery and supplement it. If so, what are things that are on sale that will go with whatever one has. Stick to your list and don't buy extra. Find deals like the loss leaders and digital coupons. If you have a little extra money and there are nonperishables on sale, stock up a little since grocery stores tend to have sales cycles, and try to build a small stockpile of things you like to eat. Most importantly, don't buy something you really have no desire to eat just because it is on sale. 

When you meal plan, try to fix enough of things for more than one meal. I know when I was working it meant some planning on my part, but I would figure out what I could fix ahead of time and then bake off when I got home from work. One of my coworkers asked me how I did it and I said I would often buy chicken on sale. If I got a whole chicken, I cooked it in the slow cooker. If it was a slow cooker I would add vegetables and spices so I could then have chicken broth.   If it was other stuff, I would brown in the pieces and depending on what I got, would then take it off the bones, then use the bones with some vegetables and spices to make broth. Then I would make casseroles, depending on what I had in my pantry and fridge or whatever I got on sale. I tried to change it up each week so we weren't eating the same casseroles, but it sure saved us a lot of money because I would then put these casseroles in the fridge and I could bake them when I got home from work, and if need be, add a vegetable and have our meal. I made a lot of soups and stews as well and would use whatever I had and since there was usually quite a bit, I could make more than one meal or freeze some for a day when I didn't feel like cooking. I bought cheaper meats and learned to love my slow cooker. It might mean prepping the stuff the night before and then putting it in the cooker that morning and turning it on, but what a relief to come home to a meal. I treated it like a challenge -- what can I make that is filling, nutritious, and cheap? 

Studying the sales is important. I read somewhere that grocery stores often do an 8 week cycle on stuff so putting away a little money and then stocking up on things that you like when it is on sale is smart. Plus, it is fun to shop your own cabinets knowing you are saving money. 

The next idea isn't really cooking and shopping, but planning is important. I admit I like looking through recipes and cookbooks and seeing different things. But in reality, I rarely made any of those fancy dishes. But I started with simple recipes that were good and then would tweak them. Then I would write them down. I have a love affair with index cards so I have a double recipe box with recipes that I use and have, in my opinion, improved upon. I learned that although I thought I'd remember a recipe, if I didn't make it for a while, I would forget all about it, then need a refresher. I went to the library and looked through cookbooks of simple recipes, not gourmet ones, and copied them on index cards for my try pile when I had the ingredients. If it was a good one, I kept the card. If not, I threw it away.

Figuring out what to do with things that are leftover is another way to save money. For example, if you make chili and don't have enought to have another full meal out of it, can you add some sauce and serve it over pasta and stretch it? A restaurant chain does this and calls it "chili mac" so if they can serve chili over spaghetti, why can't you? 

An important thing is use what you have. Even with egg prices on the rise, they are still a decent deal. My dear husband likes soft buns and I don't know why brat packages (bought on sale of course) have one less than the 6 buns, so what do we do with the bun? Of course one could use it for a sandwich, but then again, why not make an egg casserole? I often will do that -- tear up the bun into small pieces in a greased casserole dish, then do a fridge clean out of leftover cheese and vegetables  combined  with milk, and a two-three eggs (It makes a small casserole). I mix the egg and milk together, add the vegetables and cheese and pour over bread and refrigerate overnight. I bake at 350 for an hour or until a knife comes our clean in the middle. One can add meats or different cheeses to make this different. I like to add herbs to give it a different flavor, but it is a great way to use up what I have.

My other suggestion and personal goal  is to never have an oven that just has one thing in it. Ovens pull a lot of energy and baking one small thing isn't the most economical. Sometimes it can't be helped. But trying to fill the oven is always a good plan. For example, yesterday I  did a bunch of prep of stuff. I had our supper to bake at 350 and since I was going to put together dough for sourdough sandwich bread to be baked the next day, I had the flour out. So, I put together the ingredients to make cinnamon apple muffins. I also made dog treats. Each rack was full of stuff when I had the oven on. It doesn't always work out like that, but if it does, it is a good way to save money. 

My Papa always told me to never stop learning. He was a Depression Era kid and had me late in life. He said if someone wanted to teach me something, learn, even if I didn't think I'd use it, one never knew if it would come in handy. I'd say the same with cooking. I know the fancy chefs get all the publicity, but it is the person who can make a delicious meal out of what they have is a true gem. 

I learned a new word the other day: Grandmacore. If you aren't familiar with it, it's basically someone who does things grandmothers are usually known for like crocheting, knitting, baking, sewing, gardening, and stuff like that.  My DH looked at me and said that fit me to a "T."

I have a quirky sense of humor and read a columnist who has a webpage called Sean from the South. He wrote a column about  missing glass bottles amongst other things and I would have to agree. I remember all those wonderful glass bottles food and other items came in. Granted, shampoo probably shouldn't be in a glass bottle, but other stuff, well, in my opinion, should. I remember drinking soda pop and returning the bottles. My mom used glass mayo jars for canning because we had them. I know I latch onto glass jars of stuff I buy and reuse them because I like things in glass. You probably remember an email that was shared years ago about this lady at the checkout who was told by the young cashier she didn't understand recycling and the older lady talked about returning glass bottles so they could be refilled, reusing paper bags, and things like that. 

In my full grandmacore mode, I also have a button jar. I have cut off buttons off of clothes that are worn out or so badly damaged and kept the buttons. It is handy to have those extra buttons. I have been crocheting little gift card envelopes and I pulled buttons out of the jar today to sew on to them for the flap. I was thinking of a gal I worked with a number of years ago. The button on her khakis came off and I suggested we find a needle and thread to sew it back on and she said no, she'd just throw them away. I was shocked. I asked if she knew how to sew and she had no desire. I offered to sew the button on and was turned down. 

But many of these grandmacore things do save money. I reuse bottles and jars. I wash  my plastic bags and foil to reuse. I crochet and sew things. For example, I found some curtain panels at a thrift store for a room we are finishing in the basement. They are too long, but I will shorten and hem them so I will have curtains for around $5. 

Last year we planted tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and radishes and we enjoyed these fresh vegetables when they were available. We had a rhubarb plant and I used it to make a crumble as well as to make some jams and jellies, and we had both  mulberry trees and wild black raspberries and I picked those and made jam. We have a black walnut tree and I used those for some of my baking. I planted some herbs and dried them in the fall so I would have them to use this winter and spring.  Last fall I planned ahead, expanding our garden. We planted a couple of strawberry plants, two blueberry plants, some asparagus, and some garlic. Sure, these items cost money initially, but I'm hoping to be successful and getting some of this food in the coming years. I've concluded gardens are forward thinkers since blueberries and asparagus aren't supposed to yield a harvest right away. 

Since I mentioned baking with the nuts,  I've been baking our sandwich bread for over 7 months. My husband teases me how much please I get making a loaf of bread and then filling the house with the wonderul aroma of baking bread. Speaking of the oven, I went all out and bought a toaster oven so I could bake smaller things without heating up the big oven and having a large enery pull. I bake dog biscuits for our pups because they like them and it although we buy some commercial ones, the ones I bake are cheaper. I have to move the oven to the island to use it, but it is worth it. I'd like to explore making a solar oven this summer when the sun is overhead and hot. And we are discussing making a rain barrel to save money when we water the garden that we are increasing. 

I remember a friend talking about his mom and how she washed dishes in just a small amount of water in the sink. I asked him what he meant by a small amount of water and he said you know, less than half full of water. I'm thinking she was smart...didn't use a lot of the precious resource of water and still got things clean. She was frugal and as a result had a decent savings. Truly in grandmacore mode!

So, are you buying into the grandmacore? 

It seems like it is continous on groceries...But guess that is a given since we tend to eat.

Anyway, before Christmas it seemed like there were a few decent deals so we could stock up on a few things. Between the coupon savings, the sale prices, and the receipt apps, I'm hoping to save money. 

On social media different folks post about writing companies and asking for coupons. I've done so in the past so I decided to tackle that as well. I think of the ten companies I wrote, two kindly sent coupons. The rest said they don't send coupons and to check my local paper. Seriously? Our local paper doesn't do coupons anymore and a few years before, the coupons were pathetic. Seems newspapers could buy coupon inserts and there were different ones, some had a few coupons, and some had a lot of great ones. Our paper never did go for the really good ones. Anyway, I tried as far as the coupons and emailing companies.Land O' Lakes and Celestial Seasonings both responded and mailed me coupons.  I use digital coupons at our Kroger and County Market when it is for something I would pruchase anyway. I don't just buy something because I have a coupon. But the wins are becoming fewer and far between. 

DH and I are trying to eat at home and even then, with the price of groceries, it is expensive. We had bought some brats and buns and why these companies do no not communicate with each other is beyond me. There are fewer brats than buns. I refused to let the buns go to waste that were left over so I made tuna salad and we had them on the buns. We bought some bagels and same thing...we used each and every one of them. 

Today I had a small win at this grocery game...Kroger had smaller boxes of cereal on sale for $1.99. Ibotta was giving a $1 credit, so that box of cereal cost 99 cents and tax. Plus, I had 4 other grocery receipt apps, so hopefully a reasonable price. I used the Land O'Lakes coupon for 55 cents off and then got a credit of 65 cents on Ibotta. Not cheap butter, but saved money on something I was going to buy anyway. 

I have an Aeorgarden. It's a hydroponic garden for small plants. I had to bite the buttlet and buy replacements for my pods, and went ahead and got the lettuce ones, but now that I have them, I can reuse them and plant my own seeds. But, we had our first "harvest" of tender lettuce for a small salad this week. This first salad was a little pricey, but I figure as I use more of it and then replant, it will get more reasonable.

Since Lent is coming up, I'm counting on sales of tuna to continue. There was a sale today so I bought a few cans since DH likes tuna sandwiches. But I want to stock up so we have some on hand when the sales diminish after Lent. 

I continue to bake sourdough bread. I have a loaf in the oven as I type this. I used my starter and let it proof in the fridge overnight before baking. It's nice to be able to bake our own bread and be able to make it without yeast. Granted, yeast isn't super expensive, but one more thing we are saving on.

Last year we went to an orchard and bought apples. They had some that were not perfect and I bought them and made both applesauce and apple juice and canned both. With extra juice I made apple jelly and canned it. Between our eating it and some I gave away for Christmas, we got a decent deal. We've had some of the applesauce and it was nice treat with our lunch and it was great to be able to shop in our basement storage area. 

It is frustrating playing this game, because the deals seem to be less available. Are you finding the same?

The end of January is nearing and it's been what I'd call a typical winter for the Midwest, at least as it used to be: cold and snowy. We had some measurable snow and lots of cold temperatures. Previous years we had warmer temperatures so having a "cold spell" has been different. But I remember growing up to lots of snow and cold, so maybe we are reverting back to what it had been. The nice thing is we have had quite a bit of sunshine. A lot of times we have little to no sun and the days seem especially gloomy and depressing. 

DH and I have continued working on finishing a room in the basement. Fortunately he is a handy type guy and I'm willing to try and learn new things. The advantage is we don't have outside stuff to do so we have time to work on it. I have called Menards "my home away from home" since we have been there a lot. Fortunately they have had what we needed. I wonder if home improvement stuff will see a huge increase in prices as both the hurricane victims and the wildfire victims start to rebuild -- the whole supply and demand scenario. 

One good thing about winter is I don't mind running the oven. I have been trying to bake different things. I saw a recipe for making English muffins and tried it. I always thought they were baked, but this recipe called for cooking them on top of the stove in a cast iron skillet. They were pretty good for my first attempt. We had homemade cheese and egg sandwiches that night with them and even with the price of eggs, a reasonably priced meal. 

I have continued crocheting and some loom knitting. On Facebook is a site called "Random Acts of Crochet Kindness USA" where people crochet a little thing, put it in a plastic bag with a note saying it is a free gift to make one's day and then leave these items and suggest people post a pic and where they found it. I live in a small town that has some of those little free libraries so I thought I'd crochet some bookmarks since I had some crochet thread. I have them crocheted and hope to get them distributed soon. 

Speaking of crochet, a friend of ours is a woodworker and quite talented. I teased him and said I bet he had never made a crochet hook and he said he hadn't and so he did. He made the handle a little bigger so it is easier to hold. Wasn't that super cool? He said he likes a challenge. So, I crocheted a small basket for him and put some Hershey kisses in it as a "thank you."

For my birthday, DH gave me Kristin Hannah's book, "The Women." Talk about a powerful book. I was little during the Viet Nam war, but have read a lot about it and how the vets were treated after they returned. In this, it was even worse because the lady nurses weren't considered "vets" although they went through a lot as much as the men. 

I currently am using 6 of those receipt apps. I figure it is free money. On three of them, we donate the money for our mortgage reduction for church. Granted, it isn't a ton, but we figure every little bit helps. I continue to look for digital coupons and sales at grocery stores. One of the grandsons thinks I'm funny to do this. He's 20 and I just smile and think, "Wait until you get on your own." I wrote some companies to get some coupons. I'm tired of a lot of them saying they don't send out coupons and to check our local paper. I learned the hard way that newspapers can buy different coupon packages and the local paper we had bought the cheapest ones which were basically ads to mail order stuff, hardly any useable coupons at all. But Celestial Teas and Land O'Lakes did send me some coupons which was generous of them. My husband is good about wanting to save money and he is happy that I want to find ways to continue to do so. 

Life remains busy here at "Hummingbird Hills." That's what my husband's late wife named the property. Each day brings lots of things to do and more things to discover and winter is a nice time to do different things. 

Lots of and lots of that white stuff has fallen and even more is forecast this evening. We've had some warnings ahead of time and living in the country, we try to keep things stocked up and ready. DH has a small tractor (a little larger than a riding mower) and he put the plow on it and we bought diesel fuel. I had my first snow plow lesson this afternoon. I most certainly need more lessons and practice, but it was fun learning something different. I shoveled the walk and St. Bernadoodle Murphy thought it was a game, barking and biting the plastic shovel. The dogs frolicked in the snow, playing and running. It was a joy to watch them. 

We had been stocking up on things as they went on sale so other than picking up a few things like milk and fruit, we didn't have to do the big worry of panic shopping. We went Friday morning and casually bought our milk and fruit and got in and out. I guess by Friday evening the panic shopping had begun and I guess the shelves were ravaged by last night. I'd rather buy things on sale and stock up then being forced to buy stuff at regular price due to immediate need. I have a friend who does as we do and he was saying he was delighted he didn't have to fight crowds with a well stocked pantry and fridge. Another friend who is also retired decided to hit the stores yesterday and then complained about the shelves being empty and the bad attitudes of many of the other shoppers. I get it if someone has to work and has no choice to shop then, but a retiree with plenty of weather warnings really has no excuse.

Today is my 64th birthday. My husband said he wanted to bake me a birthday cake and since he didn't know how, would I help him? I said yes. I already had the ingredients and so we baked the cake yesterday and then frosted it last night. He's a good student and listened and asked questions. I let him do it all, just read him the recipe and gave him hints. I haven't had a homemade birthday cake since my mom died in 2006 and the fact he wanted to bake it for me although it wasn't in his original skill set means the world to me. 

My DH also fixed us our Sunday dinner. Growing up, I never had the family Sunday dinners. It was usually a baloney sandwich on white bread and maybe some chips. No family gathering or sitting down, just basically fending for yourself. A few weeks ago we had a grandson staying with us, so we did a Sunday dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cheesy muffins, and brownies for dessert. So, DH decided with just the two of us, he would take care of our noon meal, setting the table, fixing it, and cleaning up. That was a special treat for me as well. It was warm and loving and cozy as the snow flies outside our dining room window. 

The best part is I am not fretting about this snow. I am content. I am blessed. I have a wonderful husband, a lovely home, two sweet pups, and the feeling of being safe. If you are in the path of this storm, hope you are safe and warm.

If you celebrate Christmas, did you have a ham? We did, complete with ham bone. We had multiple meals from that ham and I have saved the ham bone. We did a grocery run yesterday to pick up a few things to tide us over until the next major shop. I didn't have enough dry beans to make ham and beans so I bought a bag...97 cents. So, with the ham and ham bone, chicken broth I canned, some carrots, celery, and onion I already had, a reasonable meal. I imagine we will have enough for a couple of meals. The chicken broth was made with vegetables and the carcass of a rotisserie chicken. I have corn meal and flour and sour cream and other items, so I plan to make some cornbread to go with it. A reasonably priced meal all in all.

We debated on whether to go out to eat on New Year's Eve, and after looking at the prices of the special menus, decided to forget it. Instead we went to a local meat market, bought a couple decent steaks, and we will eat at home, using potatoes I bought on sale and fixing up some leftover green beans I had in the fridge. More expensive than most of our meals, but far less than going out. 

I'm a big fan of Pinterest. I like looking for recipes and craft ideas. Since I often look at their frugal pins too, I get some interesting ones suggested. One is about homesteading. I always thought homesteading was living off the land, but I guess the defintion is getting looser and if so, I guess I'm a homesteader. We had a garden and am planning for this spring, I can, I dry herbs, I mend clothes, and I make things by crocheting or sewing. Plus I make do with a lot of things instead of going out and buying new. DH was surprised the other day when I was mending some of my work jeans and I said there's nothing wrong with them a few stitches can't fix. 

One thing I normally do at least once a year is polish my leather shoes. I was thinking about them as I worked on them. I have 4 pairs of shoes and two pairs of ankle boots and I realize I have not bought leather shoes or boots in 8 years or more. Granted, none of them look new, but they are still servicable and comfortable. A number of years ago I started buying well made shoes because my feet hurt all the time and it made a difference. As I could afford them, I bought more pairs. And I wore these shoes often, so I have more than gotten my money out of them. My expense has been the shoe polish and a bottle usually lasts for a lot of applications. And taking care of these shoes has paid off. At least I think so. I can't see a reason to buy new shoes if these are still wearable. 

I have been baking our bread for the past few months and trying new recipes. Today was no different. DH was shocked the other day when we went to the grocery with a bakery to see how much a normal loaf of bread is that looked homemade. Not sure if it is frugal or not, but it seems like we are wasting less bread and using what we have. I've been working with a sourdough starter and have even made loaves that with a strong starter rise like those with yeast. I figure I'm learning a new skill as well as feeding us and sourdough is supposed to be good as far as gut health. 

I'm hoping I'm being frugal, not cheap, but at this point, it is my life. I take care of things I own, I use what I have. And I try to save money on many things so we can enjoy the things we like and have the money for it. 

Hope you have a wonderful and propserous 2025! Or should I saw a frugal new year? 

It's the time of year when my oven gets a workout. We had our church bazaar and one of the big draws is the cookie walk. People line up early to get in to buy cookies by the pound. Prices have not been raised in a few years so it was $7 a pound. 

There is an insurance company that is sort of affiliated with our church synod, and I wrote for a grant to help cover the cost of some of the baking supplies. The insurance company was generous and gave us $250 to buy flour, sugar, butter, etc. I baked 21 dozen cookies, four loaves of sweet breads, and a dozen cupcakes to donate. We had a lot of stuff donated and a lot of it was purchased so that's good since the profits are used by our ladies guild to send to different missions.

But, I've been baking and cooking for gifts as well. Most of the people I know don't need more "stuff."  But they seem to like homemade stuff or jam or jelly I have made and canned. I have a fudge recipe that my grandmother used to use and would sell her fudge by the pound. One of my friends asked for it a couple of years ago and tried to make it and said it didn't set. The same thing happened last year. It's very simple so I have no idea why it didn't -- don't even need a candy thermometer. So, I stopped by their house last week and we made it together and it came out perfectly. I'm wondering if they interpreted the recipe differently than how it was written. I learned a long time ago people don't always connect to verbal or written directions the same way. But doing it with my friend seemed to help. 

I continue to experiment with bread and my sourdough starter and discard. I've been making our sandwich bread for months. I've successfully made a soft sandwich bread with no yeast, just the sourdough starter. It takes hours for it to rise, but if one isn't in any hurry, it is really good. 

My husband bought us tickets to a concert in St. Louis so that will be a great Christmas experience. Our little town has a festival of lights which just has a free will donation so we have gone through it at night and it is amazing. Most of our gifts are practical to each other and we aren't going into debt to get them.

I'm going to include the fudge recipe in case you are interested at the bottom.

So, are you watching what you are spending for Christmas? Are you doing more shopping or more of baking or crafting? 

Grandma Pannek’s Fudge

4 cups white sugar

1 12 oz can of Milnot or evaporated milk

8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 stick butter or margarine

1 13 oz jar of marshmallow creme

1 tsp of vanilla

Chopped nuts (optional)

9 x 13 buttered pan. 

Have everything ready before you start because you cannot leave the stove. I have the chocolate chips ready to go and the marshmallow creme opened and ready to spoon out. Put these and the vanilla aside. Have the buttered pan ready.

In large pot, melt butter and add evaporated milk or Milnot. Then stir in sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes. Take off fire, add chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, and vanilla. If you are using  nuts now is the time to put them in. Stir until everything is mixed in and pour into the greased pan. Cover with foil and put in a cool place. It will set up and be somewhat firm after a few hours. You can then cut it into pieces. 

TV has advertised these great "bargains" as far as groceries for Thanksgiving dinner. However, there are certain things I'm picky on, so my price is more than what they are advertising.

But I play what I call the "Grocery Game" throughout the year. I check digital deals and then also check Ibotta to see if I can get a good deal. I use three other receipt apps too. My husband teases me about being frugal, but he has told me repeatedly how proud he is of me to save money.

Kroger recently has had turkeys on sale. Not name brand, but their brand. I got one for 69 cents a pound. I ahve limited amount of freezer space so I had to wait until this week to get a second one. I could only use that coupon for the 69 cents a pound for one, but did get the smaller turkey for 99 cents a pound. I waited and they put potatoes on sale. I had hoped to snag some green beans, but it seems they sell out of those quicker than anything else. So, I'm on the search for green beans that are reasonably priced. I have some in my stockpile, but hate to hit it. We are having more people for our meal than originally anticipated, so would like to buy what I need as far as our meal.

As I was rearranging the freezer, I noticed a pound of ground sausage. I thawed it and with some eggs, some leftover onion, a leftover Brat bun (why do Brats come in packs of 5 and buns in packs of 6), some leftover cheese, some milk, some herbs and spices, I made a breakfast casserole, It afforded us two  meals, and reasonably priced as well. The other day we had what I said was a free meal. We had met another couple for supper the other night and I brought home half of my chicken. So, I heated it up, had leftover risotto, and some leftover cooked carrots. It sort of balances out those times when we go out and spend money or have to use extra money for different meals.

My church has their Christmas bazaar coming up. We sell cookies by the pound so I will be baking soon. I normally get my sugar, flour, eggs, and butter at Aldi and have already bought some flour and sugar and butter. But there is this insurance company called Thrivent which offers grants for different church projects so I wrote a grant proposal to ask for some money for our church and they awarded the money, so we bought more baking supplies like vanilla as well as basics for everyone to share with so it will help alleviate the expense for those who might find it more difficult to buy these items but would like to bake. 

Are you finding any good ways to save money on groceries? 

I am going to make a confession here...I love looking through community/church cookbooks. I don't even have to know the folks involved in them. But I find them entertaining and informative. 

I have some of my own and some I've contributed to. It's nice to see recipes that people I know shared.

I've run across two that don't have covers on them, but I can tell they have some age to them. One has lots of recipes using oleo. Oleo was a term my mom and grandma used because it was cheaper than butter and butter was rationed during World War II here in the United States. They talked about how it was white and they would have a little color tube they would put in and then sit and mix it all together to get a more yellowish color. We don't think about that as we use the term "margarine" now. 

Also in one of these is canning and preserving recipes. I know for a number of years, people got away from canning and preserving as a whole -- there were still people who did it, but most would say it wasn't worth the work when you can buy a can of green beans from the store. I think these cookbooks are just time capsule treasures. 

One whole section is on rabbit, venison, and other game animals. Plus there are some recipe names that I think are local that I'm not familiar with. It's all a fun learning experience. I noticed that this one older one started with breads and rolls whereas some of the more current recipe book starts with appetizers. 

Do you ever use one of these cookbooks? Or do you have some recipes that you deem special?

I grew up in Central Illinois and we have our own little special terms for things such as cheese toastie for a grilled cheese. I ran across this recipe and I'm thinking it must be a Wisconsin term, but I think it is fun so here is the recipe:

Kamitch-Kamotch

1 lb hamburger

4 to 6 slices of bacon, cut up

1/2 small onion

1 cup peas and carrots

3/4 cup elbow macaroni

1 can tomato soup

1/2 can water

salt and pepper to taste

Boil macaroni and drain. Brown hamburger, bacon, and onion. Drain grease and add soup, water, veggies, and macaroni and ,amitch kamotch it together. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes. 

One thing I've inferred is that most of the folks who share these recipes must make them a lot and don't give specific details, such as the vegetables -- canned or fresh. I'd figure canned so they would be cooked. 

I saw this phrase on one of the pages and thought it was clever so I'm going to share it:

“A truer friend there cannot be, than one who shares her recipes.”

Near us is a John Boos showroom -- perhaps you have seen their cutting boards. I normally wouldn't be shopping there, but a local catering business combined with Boos and had a charcuterie board class. It was $60 and it included a small board, a very nice paring knife, and the food as well as instructions. I attended and it was a good class and it seemed like we got a lot for the money. My husband and I had two servings each of the food afterwards. I attended with my step daughter and she loved it as well. 

A friend of ours is a woodworker and he loves making things, so he said he'd make a personalized board. It is beautiful and such a kind gesture. He made one for our stepdaughter, personalizing hers as well. 

It was a nice splurge and I really enjoyed the time with my husband's daughter. Not a cost saving, but overall, I think we were ahead with the original board, the nice knife, and all the food. Plus, I learned something and one can never stop learning, right?

The local Ace hardware is going to have ladies' night to make some things (and demonstrate some tools) and we are planning on attending it. My husband already has the tool they are going to demonstrate so I will hopefully be learning how to use it. Since this evening is free, I figure if I only learn this tool is beyond my skill, at least I can say I've learned that. 

A few years ago I read about making a sourdough starter. It seemed easy enough...flour, water, and time. I named my starter Sammy and I've kept him going ever since. I've made sour dough loaves and used the extra or discard for other things and even given away discard. Then the bane of my existence...I was looking at Pinterest and it showed an easy recipe for sourdough sandwich bread that looked far less crusty than normal sourdough. I kept thinking, it won't rise without yeast, but figured I could try and if nothing else, redo the dough and add yeast. Much to my surprise, it did rise and made a beautiful loaf of bread. It just takes longer to rise and one has to make sure the starter is bubbly and ready to go. But it pleased me. My husband teases me and calls me his Prairie Woman since I'm baking bread and trying things like this.

Well, it goes beyond that as well...I'm always trying to figure out ways to reuse things. I tease about Pinterest being the banke of my existence, but I do get some good ideas from the stuff on there. Most work; a few do not. I'm working on making my own Pine Sol. We have pine trees and vinegar is cheap. Hope it works! 

I planted strawberries and blueberies  for next year and years beyond and I read where coffee grounds are good for the soil. Our soil is very clay like, so I have been adding it to other places as well as I have added sand, hoping it improves the quality of the soil. 

My husband's late wife was quite the crafter and in the basement are a lot of things. I've never mod podged stuff before, but a few YouTube videos showed me how, and I have been using material I have to decorate plastic containers of things. The other day I sent cookies with the grandson back to school in a coffee container. I save all the plastic things we get and reuse them. I sent cake home with my husband's daughter the other day in containers that were for something else and she laughed and said she liked my frugal ways. 

I had a doctor's appointment Friday and since we had to drive to town 40 minutes away, we decided to do some other errands to make it worth our while. We thought we'd get a quick lunch at a local chain restaurant. We were shocked...a sandwich, chips, and drink for each of us was over $30 before tip! So today after church we had vegetable soup I made the other day and put in the Crockpot to heat and some bread I had made for lunch. Far less than $30 and probably far better for us too. 

I was going to include a photo of the bread, but whenever I try to post a photo, I get an error message.

My post from last week asking about stocking up had some great replies. The sad thing is, I guess there was a run on toilet paper and paper towels because local stores had signs limiting these products. I wan't suggesting people hoard, just be prepared. 

Just curious if anyone else has been stocking up with the fear of the longshoreman's strike warning and then the actual strike coming about?

I always try to keep a few things on hand. I haven't been hoarding, but each time something comes on the news, my stomach clenches and hopes it isn't like the fiasco during the Pandemic as people go crazy and go for a hoarding frenzy. The media keeps claiming prices will go up and there will be shortages which makes me worry people will go crazy and start stripping shelves of stuff. 

I have always shopped sales and this continues. Yesterday I scored a great deal at Kroger. It was a digital coupon offer of Quilted Northern toilet paper for $4.99 for 6 rolls, normally $7.99. In addition, I had a $1 off digital coupon so I bought three packages to put back. 

I have canned some items -- I didn't have a huge garden, but hoping for a bigger and better one next year. A lot of changes this year so no time to put in a garden. But I'm planning for the future in my new home. I planted garlic yesterday. I've planted a few strawberry plants too earlier, hoping we get some next year.

So, the search has been on for reasonable priced canned goods. Dollar Tree here has had Del Monte vegetables for $1.25 plus tax. At Walmart they are $1.48 so I figured that was a decent deal. I have a few cans of stuff we'd eat. And a couple extra cans of tuna and things like that. 

Just wondering what's going on in your pantry!

Perhaps you remember John Denver's song, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." The lyrics talk about the simple things in life and what pleasure they brought him.

I'm not a music artist, but I am learning to appreciate the simple things so much more. Good friendship is one of them when it is pure and deep. It's sad when people are so shallow that they use you for their own good, calling it "friendship." But those folks who are there when you are happy or sad, the ones who just are content with being, those are the diamonds in your life.

My vegetable garden has been hit or miss this year, but a good, homegrown tomato is a pleasure. There have been a few of them as well as some green onions and cucumbers. 

Wild black raspberries ripened and although they were sticky with those thorns and a pain to pick, what a pleasure it was to see them bubbling on the stove as I made jam. I love the look of seeing beautiful jams and jellies and vegetables in canning jars. 

My best friend is encouraging me to try new things. I have been looking at different Facebook groups for things of interest and one person posted some pictures of recipes for sweet breads from a 1941 cookbook. This one sounded interesting, although I'm wondering if there was an issue with World War II going on and rationing. 

Brown Sugar Bread

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 egg, well beaten

3/4 cup of milk

2 cups of flour, sifted

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

cinnamon for sprinkling

Cream sugar and 1 T of butter. Add egg, then milk. Add flour, baking powder, sand salt. Pour into well oiled pan and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and dot with butter. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes.

It wasn't too bad, not as moist is most sweet breads, but an interesting try. 

Speaking of old stuff, remember during the Depression in the 1930s (well, reading about it, I mean), how people were not going out and buying new and using up things? I had purchased two towels a few years ago that could be counted cross stitched. I did one to give away as a gift a couple of years ago, but still had the other one with the intention of working on it at some time. I saw it the other day and thought, I should do that. So, I found a simple pattern online that was free, and have been working on it during the day (as I age, my eyes need more light). I finished it today and hung it in the kitchen. I didn't buy anything new for it -- I used embroidery floss I already had and had to change the pattern colors, but it's for me, so it didn't matter. And I felt like it was being a good steward using something I had. I crocheted some scarves and had just little yarn leftover from the skein I had been using. I had enough to make myself a new dish cloth. So, not spending any money, I have two new kitchen things.

I saw there were some hydrangea blooms looking awfully pretty, so I went to cut some and put them in a Mason Jar. It just makes me smile! I am enjoying the simple things!

It's amazing that half of 2024 is passed and tomorrow is the 4th of July. Not a lot planned as far as celebrating, but will enjoy the freedom of living in the United States and having the benefits of that.

Glad the markets were good today and saw an increase in my retirement accounts.

Things are starting to even out as far as money and expenses. I'm living in a small town instead of a larger town and learning new places to shop. One store in a neighboring town gives 5% off on Wednesdays for senior citizens so I am often taking advantage of that. I still shop at Aldi, although I have to plan my trip since there isn't one nearby, the closest being between 35 miles away. But it makes me more mindful of what I'm buying. But I continue to cook a lot of things from scratch. I have made and canned chicken broth, and made rhubarb and berry jam and rhubarb jelly. It's kind of nice to see the jars starting to build up in the pantry.

Instead of buying store bought bread, I am baking bread to use. I feel like it is saving money since it isn't getting wasted. I had a little left of a loaf and made my own croutons for a salad and they were a lot better than one the store bought ones. 

My garden isn't going to town like I had hoped. We had extreme heat and although I water, since we have had little rain, it is surviving, but not thriving. We received a little rain this morning and we are supposed to receive some rain overnight. I hope it comes to pass. 

If you have big plans for July the 4th, hope you stay healthy! 

Hopefully I am saving money... I have planted a small garden, but am taking advantage of things that are already growing where I live. I've planted some radishes and green onions and have had the opporuntiy to enjoy both. There are also three tomato plants and two cucumbers that are under my tutelage.

But the ongoing joy is there is rhubarb and mulberry trees here. I know some think mulberry trees are "garbage" trees, but I'm living in the country and they are like a blessing. I've picked some mulberries and made some jam and I've been using the rhubarb for different things. I didn't plant the rhubarb and probably wouldn't have, but I'm all for using what's here. I've made a strawberry rhubarb pie and someone gave me some strawberries and I've made strawberry rhubarb jam and canned it. Supposedly there are wild black raspberries here so I hope when they ripen I can use them as well. There are two black walnut trees on the property too, so looking forward to that as well. 

One of the stores in a nearby small town offers a 5% discount on Wednesdays for folks who are 62 or older. You can probably guess I'm all over that as far as grocery shopping. I was telling a friend that and she said well, we are a generation that understands you have money because you learn to save it here and there. She didn't grow up rich, but learned to save and invest and take advantage of things like that.

The local electrical coop had an annual meeting last week and if you attended, you received a lunch and $15 off yoru power bill. The lunch was great -- two pork chops, potato salad, applesauce, and ice cream. It was an informative meeting and they even drew names for door prizes and won a $25 gift card to Walmart. Well worth a couple of hours and a filling meal to boot!

When I see on the news about folks who struggle to find enough to eat, I realize how awesomely blessed I am!

Yesterday we had an icy day here in Central Illinois and even if I had wanted to get out, I wouldn't have.  So, my reward was to go onto Pinterest (what a dangerous site for me) and look for bread recipes. I had certain ingredients like milk that was ready to expire that I wanted to use. I found this recipe for honey buttermilk bread. I did tweak it a bit, but it made two lovely loaves. I thought I'd use some for our supper to accompany spaghetti, again another pantry offering. 

Anyway, here's the recipe: https://www.restlesschipotle.com/buttermilk-bread/

My tweaks were I added some sourdough discard (I have quite a bit in the fridge) and I added some whole wheat flour since I had a little left in a bag in my pantry. 

Last night's supper was spaghetti with canned sauce I had made and the bread and some leftover vegetables that I heated up. I'm thinking for today's lunch I will make French toast since this bread had a little bit of sweetness to it. It is billed as a sandwich bread so I was thinking maybe it would make great peanut butter and jelly sandwiches too. 

I noticed there's some frozen soup in the freezer so I think that will be supper tonight. With the bread, of course!

As many of you know, I'm pretty involved in my church. And like all things in our personal lives, prices have gone up for things at church too. The power bill has increased. Insurance increased for the few employees, the cost of materials like paper has gone up. 

A couple of weeks ago we passed a deficit budget. And that is scary since it is often a crapshoot on giving to begin with.

I'm friends with the treasurer and he and I have been brainstorming ideas on ways to "fundraise" to make extra money to throw at the church mortgage to get it paid off sooner. If the mortgage was paid off, it would free up money for the regular budget.

I like doing research so I worked on that. Sadly Amazon is discontinuing its Smile program so that was out. But Kroger grocery stores does have a community outreach program where they donate a small amount back. So, we are working on getting people to sign up for that if they haven't already allocated these funds elsewhere.

A local meat shop is going to designate a week this month and whatever we buy and say we are from Mt. Calvary Lutheran, he will donate 10% back to us. 

I know Rural King also has a Church Week program once a year so hopefully we can get some money back from that.

I have been playing around with sourdough, and I think I might have tweaked a recipe that is pretty good. I gave a loaf to a friend to try and asked if she thought it would sell. She said yes. I gave a loaf to my treasurer friend and he's going to try it and give me feedback on it as well. 

And this weekend I also talked to a couple of ladies who liked my crocheted dish cloths and I asked if I brought some to them, if they might be interesed in purchasing them.

I do these receipt apps and two of them does PayPal, so I am going to donate my money for the mortgage. It's what I consider found money. It's not a huge amount, but more than what we had to begin with. 

I know not one of these items is going to pay off the mortage, but I think it is like our personal lives where we chip away at stuff a litle bit at a time. Plus, having the Kroger store and the local meat shop giving back, we are helping our community by shopping, especially the local meat shop. 

So, off to look for more fundraising ideas...

I'm going to own up to it...

I did it.

I ate part of a dog biscuit.

Shocked? Well, here's, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story...

I have a friend who has two wonderful dogs. I also have a love of baking. I ran across a recipe for making simple dog biscuits and I had all the ingredients. In fact, I had just opened a jar of chicken broth I had canned last summer and there was a little left. I was planning on baking some other stuff so the oven would be on, and well, I'm open to new things. The recipe was easy. I used a heart cookie cutter. Baked them and let them cool. I sort of wondered how they would taste too.

Years ago when I lived in the Chicago area, I rescued a dog from a shelter. My father, upon meeting my dog, informed me I needed to get some name brand biscuits to help with the dog's bad breath. So, I bought some, and offered one to my pup. Except he didn't know what to do with it. So, I bit off a little bit to show him it was a treat, and there was no going back after that. He was sold! I remember the biscuit as being quite salty and a little savory.

So, enter yesterday. The heart shaped biscuits were cooling and I wondered...so I bit part of one and chewed it. It was very savory (tasted like chicken) and wasn't too bad. 

Today at church I gave the bag of biscuits to my friend for his dogs, he teased me and asked if I tasted one and was surprised when I said yes. Another friend, after learning my gastric adventure, messaged me and asked if things were so dire with the grocery budget that I had resorted to eating dog biscuits and if so, he might be able to float me a loan.

I await to learn if the dogs like the biscuits. I, on the other hand, have taken quite a bit of good natured teasing which is fine. Nothing like some amusement in our lives! 

We recently received our power bill and it was the most we've ever spent! It wasn't unexpected, but it still was painful. And this next month's will probably be more since we had that Polar Vortex with Winter Storm Elliott and it seemed like the furnace was running an awful lot.

In the bill was a flyer with suggestions on how to cut energy costs. I almost had to chuckle. The suggestions were things we've done for years such as turn the heat down when we leave for any extended time, make sure windows and doors are closed, and unplug any appliances you aren't using. I wondered who put together that list. I guess I was disappointed in not finding better information. Then again, those of us at SA are probably ahead of the game. 

One of my friends gave me a gift card for a meat market. I'm looking forward to using it. Last week I did our weekly grocery shopping and spent over $130 and wondered what the heck was so expensive since I only bought one package of chicken. And it was a small package! But prices keep rising and just buying basics and fresh fruit is getting more and more expensive.

We had some turkey left over from a meal last week. Actually we've had two meals from the turkey breast and there still was some left. I made turkey and wild rice soup for lunch today and there's enough to make a casserole for tomorrow night's supper. Plus, there is a little soup left which we will be having for lunch tomorrow. I don't want to waste anything! 

We used to buy a lot of crackers because we are big soup eaters. But I have been baking fresh bread and we have a slice of that instead. I did a sourdough starter a few months ago and use it and the "discard" or "excess" as well. The nice thing about using the excess sourdough starter is it adds moisture to what you are baking and  you use less eggs. And we know how expensive eggs have become.

As much as I enjoyed the holidays, I am looking forward to spending less. I did a lot of baking for Christmas, some as gifts and some for our church bazaar. I'm wondering if I will need to cut back on baking for next Christmas because I don't see prices dropping. One can hope, right? 

Every September I get all our paperwork out and compare our net worth from the previous year. I don't know why I did it in September a few years ago, but now that's when I do it. We lost a lot from our retirement and investments in the past year. It is disheartening. I know experts say to hold on and that's our plan, but it still hurts. 

In other money matters, I do those apps to get cash back when I shop. I work with Fetch, Ibotta, Receipt Hog, and Checkout 51. Although Fetch seems to be the best, I am cashing out over $32 from Checkout 51. It has taken a long time to get to that, but I decided since I haven't been able to scan anything with them, I might as well have the money so they are going to send me a check. I don't have tons built up on Fetch or Ibotta and not really sure about Receipt Hog. I don't order a lot of stuff online so Rakuten doesn't seem to be something for me. 

Our Kroger store has a kiosk that will buy back phones. I have an old one and I wondered if it had any value. So, I charged it, erased everything and put it back to factory settings, and took out the SIM card. I got $3 for it. Granted, not a lot, but $3 is better than nothing and I feel like I at least recycled it to an extent. 

I continue to bake with Sammy the sourdough starter. I've made lots of things with the discard as well. I have given some away and some we've eaten. I have shared some of the discard with some friends too.

One thing we've been doing is instead of having sandwiches with commercially made bread, we've been eating some of the sourdough with our soup. It has cut down some of our food costs. This afternoon using some of the dicard I made Irish Soda bread and the ultimate price was so much cheaper than Artisan bread at the grocery or a bakery. As grocery prices continue to rise, I continue to look for ways to save money, even a few cents here and there. My husband has been laughing at me because I have been saving our old bread bags and used them for this and that, but I also have been using to store our bread in after it cools. I already wash out our plastic bags and such to reuse. I have been sharing things with a friend and I guess he has figured I'm frugal -- he has washed out the plastic bags I've sent stuff home with him and returning them! A man after my own heart!

There was a story on the news the other night that said people are hitting their 401Ks to pay bills. It's sad that people are having to resort to that. I guess it is better than accumulating more debt. But sad nonetheless.

I have most of our Thanksgiving dinner bought other than potatoes. I've been buying things here and there so it isn't one huge chunk in our grocery budget. I use potatoes most of the time and buy them when we need them. They aren't anything we can stockpile.

A friend from church is coming over tomorrow and we are going to make multiberry jam. I make a fruit salad each week for us and I cannot use all the fruits, so I freeze what we do not use. So, I have small containers of frozen fruits that I intend to thaw and we will cook down and make jam. She's never made jam or even canned before so I'm hoping she will enjoy the experience. I will share the product with her so she'll have some and we'll have some. A friend gave me a case of jelly jars so I have those. My friend asked what she could bring and I said an apron. I have everything else. It should make for a fun afternoon. 

A few days ago I mentioned I was trying to do sourdough starter and hoped to bake a loaf. I had named the starter Sammy. 

Hopefully the photo will come through...my first attempt!

I used the discard for lots of other items throughout the week. I wasn't going to throw it away. I baked coffee cake which we enjoyed for breakfast a number of days. Yesterday I made cheese crackers and orange muffins. I still have some in the fridge and hopefully will find a way to use it. It was fun learning how to do this. I know my loaf has some improvement that can be made, but I think for a first time effort, it wasn't bad. 

Y'all are probably wondering who Simon is and why this person would be proud...

When I was a little girl, I loved Alvin and the Chipmunks. We are talking early 1960s. We had just moved to this building where my parents were opening a furniture store and we would live in the apartment above. We didn't know any of the people there, and the story the neighbor told me I was standing in the back calling, "Simon! Simon!" She said she waited to see if I had a little brother. When it appeared I didn't, she answered. Any my neighbor became Simon for the rest of her life to me. Her husband was then named Alvin and the lady who lived in the apartment above them became Theodore. 

Simon was like a mother to me. I spent an awful lot of time from when I was 3 until I was 12 with her. She was an amazing cook and very talented in being frugal. Her husband had diabetes and she would fix certain things that wouldn't throw off his blood sugar. It seems archaic now when I remember the sterilizer for his needles and how he had to give himself a shot each morning and night. But she was good about planning good meals, and keeping him healthy.

One thing she did every week was bake bread. It was a certain bread that supposedly wouldn't set off his blood sugar too badly. I remember sitting with her as she would put the dough together, let it rise, and eventually bake it. And what a treat it was when she would thinly slice the "heel" and put some butter on it and cut it in half so we could enjoy it while it was still warm. 

I learned a lot about baking and cooking from her. I really believe God put her in my life because my childhood was not a very happy one, but she loved me unconditionally, and always was kind to me. I picked up her habits of trying to make do with stuff, find a more reasonable solution, and I believe my love of baking comes from her.

There's a Facebook page called Bread Club 20 and it was started by a Brit. I have learned a lot from the folks on this page. I never realized sour dough loaves could be such works of art. I learned about making sourdough starter and decided to try it. It means feeding the starter each day and also dealing with the discard. The discard is the stuff you take away because you only keep 1/2 up and feed that. Not wanting to waste stuff, I have kept the discard in the fridge and looked up recipes to use it. 

Years ago I was given a bread machine for Christmas. I so enjoyed using it. In fact, like most of the kitchen appliances I have, I use them and they wear out. After a number of years and going through 3 bread machines, I decided to just do it by hand and have baked loaves that way ever since. I like to experiment, but never thought I could accomplish sourdough. But hopefully that isn't the case. 

My oven is at work -- I just pulled a cinnamon coffee cake out of the oven made from the discard. I have biscuits ready to bake for tonight's supper. And tomorrow, if all goes well, I hope to bake my first loaf of sourdough bread.

I truly believe Simon would be proud. 

It's been another busy week around here. Week before we pulled up the garden. I dried herbs, picked tomatoes and peppers and all that. I'm still waiting on the herbs to dry more fully before I can process them. Instead I decided to do my usual fall thing which includes cleaning and polishing.

Twice a year I put orange oil on my kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities and woodwork. They aren't painted -- they are wood. I think canning really seems to suck the moisture out of the kitchen cabinets and then during the winter, the dry air seems to also do the same. I'm always amazed at how much nicer the cabinets look when I'm finished.  I figure it is a way to keep them nicer. A friend of mine commented that if I ever wanted to paint them, putting the orange oil on them would be a problem. He is probably right, but since I'm not planning on painting them, it isn't an issue.

I have a list of other things to do, like polish my shoes. I have 3 pairs and two pairs of boots that are at least 5 years old. I clean and polish them every year and they seem to be faring well. I just means keeping up with this. I decided a long time ago to buy quality shoes so that they last. A couple of pairs I wore very frequently when I worked and they are holding up well and polishing them seems to help as far as how they look. 

I also want to wash and wax the exterior of our charcoal grill. We don't grill a lot, but it is nice to do so when we want and since it sits outside, I think waxing it keeps it from fading so much. Kind of like with cars. We normally wax the cars before the winter and that's been done so that's another thing to check off the list. 

Each year my church has a Christmas Bazaar and sells cookies by the pound. Of course when the Pandemic closed things down, we didn't do that, but hope to again to it again this year. However, eggs went up from $2.31 on Wednesday, to $3.39 on Thursday at Aldi. I know butter has gone up and I see sugar and flour have increased, just not as much. I'm not sure how many cookies and baked goods we will be able to have due to increased costs. Plus, and this is a sad commentary, but many of us are getting older and some can't bake and do things like we used to. 

I constantly look for ways to tighten our belts, so to speak. We work on not wasting food, not buying things we don't need, but honestly it is getting tougher and tougher as prices continue to rise. We had to spend money on getting our sun room fixed because it was starting to leak. We were fortunate that the people working on it could find the materials and I figure it is a way to keep value of our investment of our house. 

However, I will admit, when I hear the market having another bad day, our investments losing money yet again, it scares me. I think, what else can we do to cut back without taking all the joy out of our lives? We eat less meat than we did 3 years ago. I can and preserve as much as I can. I look for sales and use coupons and continue to put money into savings that doesn't pay squat. We don't eat out as much and if we do, we go to lunch or breakfast which is cheaper. We don't go and party or go to movies. The bulk of my wardrobe comes from a thrift store. I maintain what I have. I cook from scratch. And honestly, I'm just getting weary worrying. 

T'was a sad sight this week; we pulled up the garden. I can't truly express how much we gained from our little plot. 

A person I knew one time informed me that those tomatoes I had canned were free -- we got them from our garden. I pointed out that we purchased the tomato plants, bought some top soil to enrich the soil, fertilized them, kept them watered and weeded, and then there was the work of canning them, not to mention the jars, lids, and equipment. Free? I don't think so? But I truly believe in my mind a superior product to what I can purchase off the grocery shelf. 

I know we realized a lot of good things from the garden this year -- tomatoes, bell peppers, radishes, onions, and herbs. Some did better than others, but overall, we were blessed to have a good year. I canned tomatoes and made spaghetti sauce, froze the chopped bell peppers, and have been using the onions. I have the herbs drying. We had so much Basil that I decided to make Basil salt as a finishing salt and will package it up and give it as part of Christmas gifts this year. I gave some to a friend to try who likes to grill and he liked it so I figured it was a success. I know we've enjoyed using it. 

My failure was lettuce. I planted it three times and it didn't come up any of those times. I even bought a different packet of seeds for the third planting. Oh, well. Maybe next year!

It's interesting that almost every site that talks about being frugal, it says grow a garden if you can. I wonder as food prices may continue to climb if the past few months are any indication, will we see more gardens?

Fall is here and this past week has been nothing but glorious as far as weather. I doubt if I will be saying that when winter comes, but right now, it has been so nice seeing the lovely skies and the mild weather. So often we don't truly have a fall season...it's blazing hot, we have a couple of cooler days, and then bam! It's winter. So, I'm appreciating the sunny, lovely days.

The end of the week may result in a frost so DH and I are working on getting the garden taken care of. I have been cutting and drying herbs. It's nice to have them through the winter and spring. We pulled up a few plants yesterday after taking off the bell peppers and tomatoes off of them. We still have a few to go. I have chopped and frozen some peppers, but need to do more as I get a chance. I don't think I will be canning any more tomatoes which is sad, but we sure have enjoyed the fresh ones and I did can some earlier. I know my pantry is looking pretty good with them. A young lady I know was telling me her husband decided to plant 28 tomato plants this summer and they have a lot of tomatoes. A friend had given me a juicer that makes fast work of juicing tomatoes if you have a lot. It's a crank type. I dropped it off for them to use. They did their first attempt at canning tomatoes too, so we talked about that and also preparing the soil for next year. I'm delighted to see another young family growing a garden and taking up preserving. 

I'm already dreading our monthly statement on our investments; I don't think it will be good news. 

Some of the news stories keep saying prices are going down, but I'd like to know where. I keep trying to cut back on stuff, but it seems like our grocery bills remain about the same, much higher than a year ago. Sadly, most of the companies that offer coupons are for things we don't buy. Same with Ibotta -- so many of the things they offer cash for, we don't buy. I'm not going to buy anything just to "save" money. Seems a bit ridiculous to me.

We did take some things to the thrift store to donate. I need to go through more stuff, but sometimes getting DH to agree to giving up things is a challenge. 

Watching the news reports on the hurricane, it breaks ones heart to see the devastation and the loss of life. Life can change in just an instant. Prayers for all involved.

For now, I will enjoy what we have and enjoy this fall weather. 

There's just something immensely gratifying about saving money and having some cash in reserve. I can't imagine anyone on this site disagreeing with that!

Overall, our life is pretty darn good considering we both worked in the public sector and didn't make the salaries a lot of folks made working elsewhere. We have decent pensions. We have some investments (we won't talk about the Dow lately), and our house is paid for. There isn't a whole lot that we need that we don't already have. So, shopping isn't a recreational sport for me. 

Growing up poor I think made me consider ways to squeeze a nickel or dime or quarter as much as I could. And I still do. I don't have to look for stuff on sale, but why would I want to buy something for full price?

We watched some series on Netflix that was called "Dirty Money" and it had an episode on plastics and how the Zero Waste Movement is trying to get away from using them. So, I did some reading on this movement because I wondered about it since I had heard mention of it before. I think many of us do some of the things already because we are frugal. We use stuff. We recycle. We buy used. We do it to save money and in the long run it also helps the environment because we aren't buying a lot of new stuff and throwing away the old. 

I look at my jars of stuff I've canned. It gives me incredible pleasure. It means we'll eat well this winter as I use it. It also means I have some Christmas gifts for people since I made some different jellies. My pantry is stocked and I have put most of my grains and pastas into glass jars and recycled the boxes and paper bags. We don't have a bulk food store where you can take your own bags and jars sad to say. 

I did have to break down and buy a new Crockpot. One of mine that I used a lot died a few months ago. But I wasn't going to pay full price. I knew as soon as the holidays approach, many stores start putting them on sale. So, I scored a 6 quart Crockpot for $39.99 and tax...$20 off that store's retail price and more at another store. But, I put that new baby to work. I cook a chicken in it yesterday and used the broth to cook some noodles to go with it. Then, I put the carcass back in with some vegetables and herbs and water and let it cook down over night to make more broth which I will can and have for soups and flavorings for rice and noodles. Could I buy a box or can of broth at the grocery? Yes, but at least I know what's in my broth and I'm using what I already had. Cooking the whole chicken means at least 3 meals for us plus the benefit of the broth. So, dividing the price of the chicken by 3, then adding what it cost me buying noodles in bulk, and what it cost for the carrot seeds, and then a little bit of spices and add ons, I think our meal last night cost around $8 for the two of us. To me, that is thrilling! That wasn't adding the cost of the Crockpot in of course, but I'm glad it worked and I look for it to get quite the work out!

Our grocery had apples on sale. I took my own cloth bag for them (we use them at the grocery stores) and bought some and made more apple juice and applesauce. Fortunately I have a lot of jars and lids and rings. I also made tomato juice and canned that and diced tomatoes for the pantry. I also have been picking, washing, and drying herbs. Why buy the stuff in the store when we have it here and I can dry it? I don't put in the oven or a dehydrator; I wash and towel dry them and then set them in our sun room and let them dry naturally. I then run them through a food processor and crunch them up and put them in jars. It sure is nice seeing those knowing they are relatively fresh. 

We go once a week to the local thrift shops. That's our activity. I normally have a small list of things I'm looking for. I scored some beautiful Hallmark and Day Spring birthday cards, sympathy,  and thank you cards last week. I bought around 36 cards for a little over $8 and that included tax. As expensive as postage is and cards themselves have gone up, I was pleased with my good deal. I have scored some name brand clothing a few times and why pay full price when I can get an item for less than a third? I'm not buying junk or worn out stuff. Plus, I guess I'm helping by buying used according to the Zero Waste folks.

The hubster still pays with cash and over the past couple of years has amassed quite a few coins. I talked him into letting me have all the pennies and he said he'd give up some of the "silver" coins as well. We have about $73 to put in a savings account. It's not a lot of money, but it is far easier than trying to save big bunches at once. We have a Christmas Club account I want to put it into. We use that to buy Christmas presents as well as for Christmas tips and all that so come January, we owe nothing as far as Christmas. And the credit card company doesn't get any interest from us as well. 

I won't say I don't buy new things because I do. The Crockpot is a prime example. But honestly, if the economy depended on my shopping, it would be in worse shape than it already is. 

Do you find being thrifty thrilling? What are some of your best examples?

The garden is starting to slow down, but we are fortunately still getting a few items. DH picked a bunch of peppers and no, I didn't pickle them! I couldn't resist...I made bell pepper soup with them. We ate some and I froze the rest. 

We had a bunch of tomatoes so I juiced them and canned the juice and realized 4 quarts and 4 pints. Hopefully I will have more to can this week.

My plans are to start picking herbs and drying them. I know some people freeze them in olive oil and honestly, I wish I had the freezer space to do that, but I don't. I just know I'm happy to have them once the weather turns and we can't have them fresh anymore. 

I know I've blogged about making jelly...I have used every jelly jar I owned I think, except for the one I just cleaned out. That's a nice feeling to have so much ready. I use a lot of the jelly as Christmas gifts. 

I did get ambitious and make some cloth Christmas bags to use instead of paper bags or wrapping paper. I've done that in the past, but sadly no one ever gives me a gift back using them. That's fine, I figure it is part of the gift. I wonder if they are using them as gift bags or what.

We received out investment statement...we lost $13K last month. It is getting depressing seeing this month after month. I get that the market is up and down, but I'd like to see a few months where it is up to offset the loss. 

Hope y'all are having a good Labor Day weekend if you live in the states. 

Most of my week was spent working with things around here. Our CSA box afforded us a few cucumbers and I made sweet relish and canned it. My husband's cherry tomato plant has been prolific so I juiced them with a couple of larger tomatoes and canned a pint of tomato juice and had a little over half of a pint in the fridge which we enjoyed with our brunch this morning. I decided to try a new recipe and made root beer jelly. I found the recipe on Pinterest and the recipe was spot on -- it came together perfectly and it is very yummy. This summer I made a variety of jellies. I will give some of it away as Christmas gifts this year so I guess I'm sort of starting my Christmas shopping already. I used all of my jelly jars and most of my half pint jars this year. With just the two of us, the quart jars are often too big for some items. I use them for apple sauce and apple juice and green beans and regular canning tomatoes, but are way too big for spaghetti sauce and tomato juice. 

Also on Pinterest was a recipe for Basil salt. I made some of that and I have some for us and a couple small jars to also give away. It was easy and since we had the Basil, I figured why not. I have started drying some of our herbs so I'll have them this winter and spring. 

I hated to spend the money, but I bought some things to make handles for the bags I'm sewing using up the material I already have. I have made handles with the extra material, but they just don't seem to hold up as well as the the commercially made stuff. I was fortunate to find it on sale though.

Not a lot planned for the holiday weekend. We are eating from the freezer as much as we can so I can use up some of the items we have, as well as eating from the pantry and supplementing from our garden and CSA box. 

On an evening news program, there was a report about grocery prices and inflation. The reporter claimed that the department of agriculture claimed that grocery prices are coming down and that the cost of eggs has dropped 60%. Also mentioned was chicken wings had dropped down to prices of over a year and a half ago. Yes, you read that correctly, that's what they reported. I was aghast. That was broadcast Tuesday night and I planned on grocery shopping the next day.

The week before I had noticed eggs had risen 50 cents a dozen at Aldi which is usually cheaper than the other name brand store I pick up things I can't get at Aldi. I did notice a few cents drop when I went to shop in Wednesday, but it wasn't anywhere near 60%. However, I happened to pop in to Aldi yesterday because I had forgotten to buy something and noticed that eggs had increased a few cents from Wednesday. I looked at chicken wings and I didn't see any drop reduction on them either. 

I am concerned with the rising cost of food. The saltines we like has risen 14 cents. That's not huge, but when you see everything going up, or then the worst is the empty shelves, you know it could be a grim fall and winter. I was watching a Clark Howard video and he said that grocery prices were actually showing a 13% inflation rate; far higher than the overall inflation rate. 

I continue to look for sales, but honestly, the grocery stores aren't running a lot of sales, at least not on some of the things we buy. We don't buy a ton of processed foods. I can and freeze what I can. I have written companies for coupons and some are far more willing to mail coupons than others. Some flat out informed me their prices were low enough and that they don't send out coupons anymore. 

So far, we are fortunate that we can afford our groceries. But I wonder how many who are already livng paycheck to paycheck are doing it. They may be going to the food pantries, but even the food pantries are being stung by the higher costs and can get less for their money. 

So, I'm not sure where the reporter was giving his facts other than quoting the department of ag's stuff, but maybe it is better other places than here in the Midwest. Are you seeing grocery prices going down?