Frugal Foodie

After using those wonderful apples that were a gift, I thought muffins are a damp, dark, fall evening would be scrumptious. I found a recipe, tweaked it, and we had them tonight. This recipes makes a dozen.

Applesauce muffins

1 1/2 cups instant oatmeal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg white
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk

brown sugar

Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon in a mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg white, applesauce, and milk together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until evenly moistened; it's ok if small, dry lumps remain. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle a little more brown sugar on the top of each muffin.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

They were moist and pretty tasty. I like using things we had on hand.

I'm going to brag a little here...our house smells marvelous!

OK, notice, I said our house, not me! :-)

A gal I work with offered me a bag of apples. It came from her mother's tree. She said she was hesitant to ask me because they weren't perfect with spots and bruises here and there, but then she realized I like to cook. The first thing I said was, "I can make applesauce!" She smiled and said exactly.

So, today she wended her way in the building with my much appreciated bag of apples.

As a teacher if you need to make a doctor's appointment during the school day, you have to either take a half a day or a full day off of sick time. I had a doctor's appointment for 1:30 so it meant I had to take a half of a day off. I got home, ate a quick lunch and then remember reading someone's blog that they made applesauce in their Crockpot. So, I washed the apples, cored and peeled them and put them in with a little lemon juice, water, a little sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg.

Returning home the opening of the door was such a pleasant experience...it smelled like fall! Rich applesauce barely bubbling. I took out a potato masher and mashed them up and let them cook a little longer. Yowza!

I had put a turkey breast in another Crockpot this morning so with that also going, it almost smelled a little like Thanksgiving.

Ah. Fall Scents. Can't beat 'em.

Today is Sunday and it has been a busy day. We went to church and then returned home. I fixed "brunch" of scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, and sliced tomatoes. I then made ground chicken enchiladas for supper tonight. I also fixed fruit for a salad and cleaned up the kitchen.

This afternoon we walked over to an open house that is listed. The young couple who bought it a couple of years ago really fixed it up. We like looking at homes in our subdivision to try and compare what has been done and what we have done and hopefully get an idea of the real estate market. There seem to be an awful lot of homes for sale in our subdivision.

After our little trek, I have been doing school work. I finished it and can now reward myself with some SA time.

Perusing the paper today, there were two stories next to each other on the same page. One was outlining how so many more folks are having to use the local foodbanks because they can't make their money stretch after paying bills and then how many folks ordered the new iPhone and what a record it was.

Wow...some folks are spending big bucks on technology while others are struggling to eat. Wonder what's in between?

DH has grown quite a few herbs this year. Actually, because of the mild winter, we had a pot of rosemary, a pot of sage, and a pot of oregano that made it through the winter. DH planted basil, thyme, tarragon, and dill in the ground as well as another rosemary.

I have enjoyed using these fresh herbs, but someone asked the other day if I dried them. I tried once before just tying them up, but I didn't like working with them afterwards.

So, I went to that wonderful invention called the Internet and googled drying herbs. I found a couple of sites that explained how one can dry them in the microwave. I really didn't want to put out the money for a dehydrater. So, I've been experimenting and I have a nice little stockpile for the winter.

I decided yesterday since I still have plenty left, I might dry some extra and put in small bags and label them and give them away. I have some friends who enjoy cooking and I thought it might be a nice surprise for them. Plus, I hate to see anything go to waste.

It seems hard to believe the middle of September is here. I feel like all I have done is work both at home and school. Maybe even after a month of being in school, I still don't feel like I've hit a routine.

I did receive some excellent news...a grant I wrote to our local district's foundation was approved and we will be having a storyteller for a three day artist in residence. I have worked with him before and he is excellent and also will manipulate his fees to meet a reasonable budget. So that was a day brightener to say the least.

It goes without saying my dear husband loves a potato! He likes them baked, mashed, roasted, and sometimes fried. Even boiled.

When I tried this recipe he was thrilled.


Creamy potato casserole

7-8 russet potatoes peeled and sliced thin
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon nutmet
1 teaspoons flour
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 - 2 small green onions chopped (both white and green)
nonstick cooking spray

Mix flour, nutmeg, cream and milk together. Grease casserole dish. Add sliced potatoes and onions and mix together, then pour milk/cream mixture over. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour, covered, or until potatoes are done. Add shredded cheese and green onions and bake 15 minutes uncovered.

This is on our menu tonight; he's pretty excited!

"When life gives you green tomatoes, fry them!"


OK, no sage said that to my knowledge and it is loosely based on the life and lemons quote, but this is our predicament. Our tomatoes have quit ripening. We have lots of small green ones on the vines, but little red in sight.

DH was hungry for a tomato and I suggested that I fix them as fried green tomatoes.

Here's how I fixed them:

Fried Green Tomatoes

Wash and slice the tomatoes and soak in milk

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground pepper

Canola oil

I heated up the cast iron skillet and then added the oil. I dipped the milk soaked tomato slices into the flour/cornmeal mixture and cooked on both sides. DH and I do not like spicy stuff, so I'm sure you could add whatever else you wanted if you want them hot.

DH enjoyed them and felt he had his tomato quota.

One of our local grocery stores reopened as a County Market. As a result they had some great specials for "loyal" customers also received a postcard with 6 coupons..white bread for 49 cents, 12 double rolls of tp for $4.99, 4 bourbon marinated pork chops for $2, 4 lbs of sugar for $1.49, Cheerios for 99 cents. Wow, what a fun grocery trip. They also sent out their monthly coupon booklet and had other stuff on special like bananas for 39 cents.

Well, I feel a little like a hoarder because any of the items I could get 2 of, I did. I only used the store special coupons on stuff I normally would get, and I used regular coupons on some of the stuff too, so felt like I saved some money.

It was nice to feel "appreciated" with the extra savings.

Heard on HGTV's Extreme Homes...to solve the problem on the yacht if you need room to dance you can have the table move up to the storage area in the ceiling...I know that this problem of not having room to dance on my yacht has kept me up nights...how about you?

Saturday the group we toured with this summer to the east coast had a get together to view the movie the leader so graciously put together and then to eat some snacks.

One of the ladies asked me why I stopped putting what I was fixing for supper on Facebook. I told her because I was getting verbally abused for it. She laughed and said she missed it.

I had been kind of kidded about it -- I started it as a joke. A couple of the local restaurants that I "liked" on Facebook were putting their daily specials on their walls, so I said I would join in and put mine on my wall. A couple of folks kind of got grouchy about it. Most either said it sounded good or asked when was meal time.

Well, the gal insisted I start, so I did. It's been interesting to see the comments. This gal said she liked seeing it because it gave her ideas on fixing things.

I guess that is sort of like this site -- we blog and post replies and it makes us think. Maybe we think about menus or finances or just get challenged to think about something either we didn't or hadn't broached before.

So, although we often think of menus as associated with food, I think we can also think of our writings as a menu of thoughts.

This week was the first official week for students, although staff started school the Thursday before.

Last weekend I cooked a chicken in the slow cooker and made two casseroles and chicken stew. That took care of three suppers and a few lunches. I also fixed a beef roast one evening -- DH nicely put it in the oven -- and I had sloppy chicks last Sunday so the leftovers were DH's lunch one day. So, with this, I counted I fixed supper 6 out of 7 nights. We met friends last night at a reasonable place and I had salad bar and water so it wasn't super expensive.

I mentioned that I was tired, but kind of pleased that I didn't succumb to eating out and the hubby of the couple looked at DH and said he needed to help out more. I think he was kidding because although DH is a wonderful husband, he simply isn't handy when it comes to cutting, chopping, etc. He can put something in the oven or heat it on the stove or in the microwave.

So then the friend said we needed to eat out more. I guess he just doesn't get it. I cook for two reasons: it is more reasonable and I control what we eat. I know that sounds like I'm an ogre, but at most places, you have no idea what they are putting in their food or on their food. We used to eat at a restaurant that boasted all their pasta was fresh. I guess they thought opening a box was fresh. Not in my book. True fresh pasta is not dried or frozen.

Well, as I'm sitting here, I'm waiting for the pie crust to cool down so I can put the makings of quiche in it for our supper tonight.

Here's the easiest quiche recipe:

1 pie crust (homemade or store bought)
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Optional -- browned meat like sausage or bacon
roasted vegetables
herbs

Often if I have leftover roasted vegetables, I will add them to the quiche. Since I'm starting over for the week, I will just serve it with a green salad. But, you can add whatever you want.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until it is solid.

Take out of oven and let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Depending on the serving size, you can get 3-6 servings.

So, another day of saving a few coins by not eating out!

Life suddenly went into overdrive...I started back to school last week. I don't know if it was stress or the fact I no longer controlled my time, but by Friday I was so exhausted I could barely think straight.

Fortunately the weather cooled off a bit and the buildings were decent temperature wise. But, it is supposed to start warming up as the week goes along.

I have 5 meals planned for the week and most of them will give leftovers for lunches. We had meatloaf last night and there is enough for lunch for both of us one day. We are having sloppy chicks (joes made with ground chicken) for supper tonight so that will give leftovers as well. I cooked a whole chicken in the slower cooker Friday night and made three casseroles and a stew for some week day suppers.

I need to start the grocery list for the end of the week Aldi trip. I've already used a few things that I need to replenish.

Mugs.

No, I'm not talking about one's face. I'm talking about those devices we use to hold coffee, tea, milk, water, etc.

Yesterday, we perused a couple of thrift stores. I noticed that at each one there was a shelf set aside just for mugs.

Poor, abandoned, lonely mugs.

I bet at one time they were either given as gifts or bought with joy of using. Now, they are abandoned, left to their own, to sit on a shelf for folks like me to notice.

I decided to do a mug count at our house. I thought while I was cleaning out the cabinet, I'd take a few photos. Bet you can tell which ones my DH uses. I have to admit not all my mugs are in one cabinet. I have 6 on a mug rack, some in a hutch, and another in another cabinet. I didn't take photos of the ones on the top shelf because I didn't want to get a step ladder.
















After all is said...drum roll please...I counted 51 mugs in our house. That averages out to 25.5 mugs per person (MPP) in our home. This doesn't count the coffee and tea cups.

And yes, I succumbed to the call of the lonely mug yesterday and bought this clear one. I thought it needed a new home.

I am, in effect, a bit ashamed. Yesterday we went shopping at a larger city near us.

I am 51 years old and I did my back to school shopping. We spent a ton! OK, I work in education, so perhaps that is sort of justified.

I can rationalize it to an extent. I have been going to the local stores and thrift shops and have found nothing I liked in my size. I'm overweight and I hate so many of the new patterns that are huge. They are not flattering. And what's with all this sleeveless stuff? Not everyone has the toned arms of Michelle Obama. I wish I did, but as I get older, my upper arms are getting uglier. I don't have huge upper arms, but they still aren't pretty. I have lost enough weight that many of the things I own are very unbecoming -- most are years old because I haven't like many of the things I've seen in clothing the past couple of years.

So, yesterday, I took a plunge and went into a store with more classic looks. My DH is a wonderful clothes shopper, so he's ideal to take along. Bet many of you are jealous already. :-) Anyway, I found quite a few things and his comment was he didn't care how much it cost, I should get them because it is important to look professional. So, after three stores, my purchases included 3 dresses, 3 slacks, 7 blouses and a pair of shoes. Not everything was on sale, but I liked what I bought.

I always get a little upset when I spend this much money. It isn't that it put us into debt -- we have the money. I just don't like spending large sums of money and I hate clothes shopping because I have unfortunately been made ashamed of my body and therefore often think I'm not worth it. DH is wonderful and very encouraging. And as for the money, he doesn't get upset over it.

Hopefully this will help my self image a bit. A friend told me to letter my inner diva out and enjoy it. Her words were, "Let her rip!"

I know we are indeed blessed DH has put in a small garden. I had the opportunity to make another small batch of tomato sauce yesterday. I will use part of it for tonight's meal of sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken) and then the rest will be used for goulash tomorrow night.

A friend of ours told us his wife went to the farm stand and paid $1 each for homegrown tomatoes. DH has moaned that his regular tomatoes aren't as large as they were last year and we think it is due to the drought, but $1 each? Wow.

We stopped at Aldi's Thursday night for our weekly run. Eggs had gone up 40 cents to $1.69 a dozen. Living in Central Illinois is far more economical than other places, but a 40 cent jump...wow. But, I had heard on the news that with the heat chickens aren't laying as much nor are cows giving as much milk. I noticed that butter had gone up considerably as well.

Lucky Robin has been blogging about her harvest and I bet their family saves a ton of money eating what they have grown and picked and preserved.

I wonder if the economy continues to be grim if more folks will be planting gardens next spring. I tease my husband we need to plow up the front yard and put in a really big garden. I doubt if the city would allow it, but I bet during the depression of the 1930s, folks did whatever they could.

I did something today that I hated to do. I threw away some bananas that were overripe. I normally make banana bread. The thing is, neither of us eat that much banana bread. I'm trying to watch my carbs and dh will eat a piece or two, but otherwise it goes to waste. I normally bake it and give it away. I decided that throwing away the bananas was probably more economical than using the eggs, sugar, and flour to give away the bread. I hope that doesn't sound too cheap. I shouldn't have let the bananas get overripe, but they turned on me before I knew it.

Well, I digress. It would have been interesting to have kept a running tally of how many onions, bell peppers, herbs, and tomatoes we have realized from the garden and how much we spent on the garden itself and how much it would have cost us if we had bought them at the grocery. Maybe I'll think to do this next year and see if we are eating economically.

DH loves to garden. He has a very small vegetable garden in our front yard due to the fact our back yard is heavily shaded.

With the drought (sorry, I keeping bringing it up)we weren't sure how well his tomatoes were going to do. We are currently under water restrictions so he can only water three days a week and if we don't get any rain in the next week, that will be cut too.

So, on those three days he waters deeply hoping with the 90+ degree days (they are anticipating 100 or more today), the plants will survive.

We didn't think we would have enough tomatoes for me to make sauce this year. In the past, he plants both cherry tomatoes and then regular tomatoes and when both ripen at the same time, I use the cherry tomatoes to make sauce. In the past, I've been able to freeze some of it for the winter, besides using some of it.

Well, this week we had a bonanza of both tomatoes, so I could make a pot of sauce. My recipes changes based on what I have on hand, but I start out with diced onions and bell peppers and saute them. Then add the tomatoes and cook down and added lots of basil and then some garlic. I then pureed the mixture for a smooth consistency.

It made for a thrifty supper...I cooked some pasta and added some of the tomato sauce for our meal that evening. With the heat, we didn't want a whole lot. With bread and butter and some cottage cheese as a side dish, it was filling. It also made our kitchen smell wonderful.

I had some of the pasta and sauce left over so last night I had a piece of chicken left over so I chunked it and browned it, and cut up vegetables that were in the crisper, and made chicken stew. I had broth in the freezer. I simmered all of this and then added the leftover pasta and tomato sauce. That will make a good meal one evening this week.

It is me, or are there more commercials on television?

Furthermore, do these folks think we are stupid?

DH says I observe too much. For example, some of the processed foods show these fancy kitchens with beautiful cabinets, granite countertops, and perfect appliances and nothing out of place -- the gourmet kitchen to heat up a junk food snack in the microwave. Even the dog and cat food commercials show pretty elaborate kitchens! Really? Do they think most of America has the fancy kitchen of these commercials or is it a subliminal message that if you buy this stuff, you'll be like these folks?

I'm not sure the draw is for these car commercials where they drive in some of these settings like big cities and storm out and go rapidly down these streets. In most big cities, it is usually bumper to bumper during the day. I guess the car companies think we will think we can avoid the traffic and have a blast driving their car. I'll just putter along in mine and hopefully save some gas!

I wonder how many homes look as fancy as the ones in the commercial? I guess they feel it is everyone's dream to have these elaborate, fancy homes with up to date everything. Do we all buy into this? Is it a way to make folks unsatisfied with what they have and buy bigger and better?

Right now on Facebook it seems most of my friends keep putting these photos asking if we remember this and that such as a potato masher or speakers from a drive in theatre. I do have a potato masher and often use it, so I guess I not only remember it...I'm not up to date with whatever the kitchen market industry thinks I should be using. It was my grandmother's and it works just fine.

I remember Charlie Brown and Linus talking about commercialism as well as it being a sticking point in "Miracle on 34th Street." Maybe I'm becoming sick of it as well. Have we become too infected with commercialism?

As I've mentioned before, we are in Illinois and in a severe drought. Our yards are crispy, and things are dry. DH has been watering his garden and a couple of trees that aren't super old.

Today he came in hot under the collar. Seems he found a cigarette butt in the corner of his garden near the front of the house.

Neither of us smoke. The butt wasn't smushed like it had been stubbed out. So, apparently it had been flicked over.

I truly do not understand why some smokers (not all, but some) feel it is someone else's responsibility to pick up their cigarette butts because they are done and throw them wherever. That's bad enough. But, it is dangerous in this situation with the dry grass. If it had hit the dry grass, we could have had a fire in our yard.

We think it came from our neighbor and her kids. They were out in the yard the other day. The reason they were in the yard?

Well, a few months ago she had a fire in her house. Her garage caught fire and did major damage to her garage, her vehicle, and the contents of the garage. Smoke infilterated her home.

The cause of the fire? She put the remnants of her ashtray into the garbage can and apparently they weren't all out. It smoldered all night and when she opened the door between the house and garage it created a backdraft and the place caught fire.

So, she has been out of house for the past 4 months as she fought insurance and got folks to in to fix things and clean up.


We haven't seen any butts in the yard recently because no one has been at the house. But, now that they are helping her move back in, the family is back and in the yard smoking.

One would think after that little experience, everyone involved would be more careful.

We are considered in a drought like most of the Midwest. Our city lake has dropped to such an extent that we are now on mandatory water restrictions. So far, the water restrictions let people water their gardens and lawns on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If we don't ge some rain and the oppressive heat doesn't subside, that will probably be cut as well. In the meantime, no watering of any kind can be done on any other days, even with a sprinkling can.

DH is worried about his small vegetable garden. Before the restrictions, he was watering his tomatoes, peppers, and herbs each morning. he's been out over 1 1/2 hours today trying to get things thoroughly soaked.

I totally get why we need to restrict water. Drinking water is vital. It just means many of us may lose our gardens which means higher food prices. I see the national news is now predicting higher grocery prices of at least 4%.

That rate hike may mean some folks won't be eating very much.

Let's pray the drought breaks soon.

Perhaps it is the heat or maybe just the frustration...

Watching television is getting my cynical side surfacing.

We usually watch Suze Orman each Saturday night. We have been watching her for years. But, I'm getting tired of her analyzing emotions and trying to act as a therapist. Yes, I believe emotions play a big part in spending, but I want to hear more facts instead of playing the therapist.

During the school year I retire at 9 p.m. so it means I miss out on some shows I'd like to see. One of them is Restaurant Impossible. Well, I'm getting a little cynical about it as well...last week Robert was acting like a therapist and solving the family emotional problems as well as their restaurant problems. That was bad enough, but when the construction crew couldn't get a wall down, super Robert to the rescue with a sledgehammer showing them how it was done. Too bad he wasn't wearing tights and a cape!

On Mondays we normally watch American Pickers. We even ventured to Iowa last spring to see their place. My folks had a used furniture store and later an antique shop and I get you have to buy low to make a profit, but sometimes I think their attitudes are a bit much anymore. No one knows it all, and if they are making as many great deals as they say, they don't need to be on television. They talk about buying some and selling for double or triple the amount...but that might be the value, not what they really got. In retail, one can only hope the demand is there.

Well, we've been watching dvds borrowed from the library...last night we watched a Sherlock Holmes and Watson had a flashlight. What a great flashlight it was...it light up half the room...wonder where we can buy one of those and some of those great candles in the old westerns that you could light one and the whole room was lit.

Well, I guess I'll take my cynical self and go make lunch...unless Robert wants to show me how and Suze can analyze my feelings.

It's been so hot lately here in Central Illinois. Friday was cool with the temps in the upper 80s...it made us almost feel chilly! :-)

I know some of our friends are beating the heat by eating out. I don't want to succumb to that temptation. So, I've been perusing the Crockpot recipes to try and find some things that I can fix that won't heat up the kitchen.

Yesterday I put ribs in one slow cooker, but wondered what to fix. We have mashed potatoes and rice already so I wondered if I could find a recipe for a Crockpot.
I did find one that cooked between 6-8 hours on low and it was pretty good.

Oregano potatoes

8 potatoes peeled and sliced into wedges
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
3 T Oregano (fresh), chopped
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients except garlic in a slow cooker -- mix until evenly coated. Stir in garlic. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If potatoes appear to be dry, add up to 1/2 additional water while cooking.

Serves 6-8


This was pretty good and I had everything on hand. We have fresh herbs. I bet this could be changed up using a different herb.

So, I resisted the temptation of eating out and saved money and used what I had.

We went to the library and I checked out some more cookbooks for the slow cooker. Hopefully I will find some other great recipes as we endure this heat.

It was a nice start to our Friday -- the temps were a bit cooler and there was a nice breeze when we walked this morning. It has been dreadfully hot here in Central Illinois like it has been in most of the Midwest. Still no rain, but at least a few hours of relief.

After our walk I picked lettuce and washed it and put it in the fridge. DH picked tomatoes. We are starting to get some cherry tomatoes and a few larger ones. He waters every day to keep things going.

We went to the meat market the other day and I bought both ground chuck and sausage. Yesterday I sauted onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic with thyme and oregano (onions, thyme and oregano were from our garden) and mixed that with the meat and added oatmeal, some bread crumbs, and eggs to make meat loaves. I make a topping of worchestershire sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and ketchup. I made 4 loaves. One we had last night baked in a toaster oven. The other three are wrapped up and put in the freezer.

For lunch today we will have the leftover meatloaf on sandwiches. I think I'm going to get some herbs and olive oil and put them on some tortillas and make our own chips. And, I think we'll have a few of those cherry tomatoes.

I saw a recipe the other day for meatloaf that had 3 meats -- hamburger, sausage,and ground turkey breast. I wonder if it is tasty.

We've been out and about the past couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago there was a garage sale in our subdivision. We look forward to this couple's sales because they usually have good stuff marked reasonably.

This time was no exception. They had a metal kerosene lamp that had been electrified for $8. I asked if it worked and it did. I knew it was missing both the chimney and the shade, but figured for $8, I could come up with something. I also bought a couple of tablecloths and some like new jars for pasta.

As my summer quickly seeps away, we decided to go antiquing down I55. We try to do this a couple of times a year. We usually take a friend with us, but she was unavailable. My mission was to find a shade for this lamp at a reasonable price. We took the lamp with us so we could make sure we bought the right size.

The first two antique malls didn't produce the shade, but the third one had a possibility. I asked them if we could bring the lamp in and try it on...I thought it might fit, but didn't want to buy the shade and find it didn't. They said that would be fine and so we did and it did! The shade was $8. They not only sold me the shade, but wrapped it up and my lamp as well to make sure both made it home safely.

The chimney I had at home on another kerosene lamp. I figure I'll replace it when we find a cheap one sometime. But, I like the looks of lamp and it is sitting on the tablecloth that I bought at the garage sale for $2. We did see lamps very similar to this one at two different places starting at $75 so I figure we didn't get hurt.



In other searches, I have been looking for a mug rack. I found this oak one at one of the stores. It said handcrafted by someone on the bottom. I bought it because it was handcrafted, matched my kitchen cabinets, and was cheap. I know these mug racks aren't technically in, but a friend of mine gave me these Blue Willow mugs a couple of Christmas ago and I wanted to be able to display and enjoy them.

Well, yesterday's mail takes the cake so to speak!

Vista Print sent me an offer for 20 free birth announcements so I can share my joy.

Lovely.

Except...I don't have a baby and am not pregnant.

Not sure how I got on this mailing list. Of course a couple of months ago I started receiving American Baby magazine. I called the magazine subscription office and was told it was a free gift from some business.

Well, I am puzzled. I don't remember signing up for anything baby orientated so not sure how some business thought I would want the magazine and now the birth announcements. I give the magazine to friend who gives it to her daughter who is a new mom.

Anyway, I had a chuckle over the birth announcement offer. I don't believe I will be taking them up on the special deal though.

DH has been watering. We live in the Midwest and haven't had rain for weeks and weeks. There are spotty showers, but nothing substantial. He brought in some almost ripe tomatoes. He lost one because a bird or animal got part of it. It was probably looking for moisture. He keeps the birdbath clean and changes the water in it for the birds, but I think everything is thirsty. We are looking forward to the tomatoes though!

My mom was nosy. There is no getting around that. She always wanted to live on busy streets or roads so she could be where the action was. The last three places she lived, she got her way. We lived on a busy city street when we lived in town, when we moved to "the country" our house was on U.S. 51. Then when they downsized, they moved to another busy street.

When my great aunt died, among her things was a pair of binoculars. My mom latched on to those and used them frequently. They were next to where she sat on the couch and she would use them to look at whatever she thought deemed important.

I'm afraid I've become my mother. OK, I don't have the binoculars. We don't live on a busy street.

However, walking this morning, I was noticing what was in folks garbage cans. No, I didn't lift the lids. I haven't got that bad. YET. Friday is garbage day for our neighborhood, and it is interesting to see what folks have put out. One house had a box that once contained diapers and 4 boxes for beer. Wonder if the baby drives them to drink?

Another had lots of fast food containers, including a huge pizza box. Guess one can infer what their diet is like.

The garbage containers are kind of interesting too. One home has a neat garbage container with the address written in paint on the side. Bet their house is tidy too.

There are folks who no longer have lids. I don't fault these folks. I can't tell you how many times I've gone on the search for ours. We had one collector that didn't put it back on or inside, but threw it wherever it landed and if the wind picked it up...well, you get the idea.

I know why detectives often sift through garbage for clues...what one throws away tells multitudes.

We used to have a very limited recycling program and everything had to be separated in brown paper bags which were not returned. About a year ago, the city offered big containers and it didn't have to be separated. I know we recycle far more because there are far more items. I think we fill it up and there is less garbage.

As for our garbage, it would be kind of boring...usually bread wrappers and peelings.

Well, I've digressed here. Sorry. We live on a cul-d-sac and not much goes on here so I don't need binoculars, but I certainly have the nosiness gene! I'm not planning on moving, so I'll have to settle for checking out the open garbage cans and recycling bins.

It's only Thursday, but I feel like this has been a long, busy week. I'm not complaining by any means, but I'm tired.

Monday we wound up making a couple of trips to the credit union, a bank, then back to the credit union. Last weekend we received the flyer from the credit union stating they had a special account for those folks over 50 that paid a bit more interest. Both of us meet that criteria, so we decided to check it out. Seems one has to open another account within the accounts and put in a mimumum of $1000, but once you open it and keep the money in a couple of weeks, you can let it drop below the $1000. We had the money because with my husband's pension system, in July he receives the "thirteenth check" which is based on how well the investments the pension did over the year. It was for $1004. So, we opened the account to get a bit more interest. While we were there, we learned their money market account was paying .4 as opposed to the .2 we were getting at our bank. I have told DH that it no longer pays to be loyal to a bank. So, we drew out half of what we had in our money market at the bank and deposited it into the credit union's money market. It is insured so we feel safe doing that.

Yesterday we drove to St. Louis to visit one of DH's relatives. We had a nice visit and ate at a microbrewery in St. Charles. It was good. None of us drink beer, but the food was good and decently priced.

Today is errands and DH's allergy shot. I have a pork roast in the Crockpot for supper so that will be yummy and have leftovers as well.

I'm not posting this to bash or praise the president or any party...I was just surprised to find this real estate tax as part of the Obamacare.

It seems that if a couple has an adjust gross income of $250K or more, come January 1, 2013, any home they sell, they may be subject to a 3.8% income tax.

http://www.realtor.org/small_business_health_coverage.nsf/docfiles/government_affairs_invest_inc_tax_broch.pdf/$FILE/government_affairs_invest_inc_tax_broch.pdf

I guess I shouldn't be surprised about all the stuff they stick into bills as they try to pass them into laws, but I guess house sales and health care seem to be a bit distant. Guess not.

Anyway, just an FYI. We aren't close to the $250K adjusted income and we aren't planning on selling our home so it probably won't effect us. I do think I need to read what else is in this new law...in case something else effects us.

Gas prices in our town went up twice last week...to $3.55 by Saturday. We felt it was weird since the price of oil had gone down by the end of the week.

Saturday night we drove to a smaller town north of us -- less than 30 minutes away -- to eat out with another couple. Amazing, the gas prices were lower -- $3.29.

One would think the gas station owners are in a conspiracy in our city...especially since the two larger cities, one east and one west, either around 45 minutes away, are both cheaper. I realize we aren't in Chicago or on the coasts, but trying to figure out the rationale for higher prices is beyond me.

What are gas prices in your neck of the woods?

I live in Central Illinois. If you do not live in the Midwest and haven't watched the news, we are in drought conditions. Last night they said 56% of the country is in drought.

The corn fields around here are pitiful. It has tassled and we have had no rain. The leaves have curled and many plants are stunted in growth.

No, I'm not a farmer...I'm telling you this to tell you the next part.

I'm stocking up. We went to Aldi yesterday and I bought some bottles of oil, and some extra crackers, flour, and sugar. I predict grocery prices are going to skyrocket because of the corn crop. Today I'm buying corn meal to put in the freezer. The sugar and flour went into the freezer as well. I might even buy a little more beef to put in the freezer, but it doesn't keep THAT long.

The reason I bought some of these items...well here is my reasoning. Sugar -- I believe the price of sugar will go up because many things are made from high fructose corn syrup. When there isn't as much corn to make this corn syrup, sugar will be used and the demand will increase.

Flour -- people will start using flour in place of corn products.

Oil -- a lot of vegetable oils are made from corn and the lack of corn...well you get the picture.

As for beef, well, the price will probably go up because the price of corn will go up to feed those cattle.

Also on the national news was with the extreme heat, cows aren't giving as much milk...I wonder if we will see an increase in dairy products as well.

My pantry isn't bulging by any means, but I thought I'd pick up a few extra things to ofset major jumps in the coming weeks.