It's been quite a while since I've last written and I apologize, but life has been hectic. A week ago yesterday we had our church bazaar. I was in charge of the vendors and the publicity not to mention baking dozens of cookies. I told my husband when I arrived home last Saturday night that I felt like I had my life back. Our ladies guild realized $2800 after all was said and done, so that's not too bad. The money will be dispersed first to pay for things like funeral dinners and supplies for that and fellowship on Sunday (coffee, tea, and cups, napkins, creamer, sugar), then in January there will be a meeting and different charities will be gifted the remainder. This is not the only fundraiser for ladies guild, so they will have a little bit of money to give out. Not too bad for a congregation that has about 80 in attendance on a good Sunday. We had vendors who sold different things and the only requirement was it had to be homemade, not commercial stuff. I think everyone was pleased with their results. 

Before that was Thanksgiving which we hosted for some of our family. Last year we did two whole turkeys and this year we decided it was more economical to fix turkey breasts -- less waste and no one seemed to really want a turkey leg or wing. We also figured out dishes that we could make that were economical and we knew would be eaten.  

Before Thanksgiving our knitting/crochet group at church chose places to take hats, scarves, and blankets that we had made. We had over 1000 hats to give out! We gifted hats and scarves to our church's preschool children and then two teachers in the congregation to give their classes. We took hats and blankets to a cancer care facility. We also gave hats to an orphanage/foster care facility, an inner city school, and then our local Lutheran school. We had dish cloths, potholders, and scrubbies made and we made up a packet of these to gift to our preschool parents. A local women's shelter will be given some of the dishcloths, scrubbies, and potholders as well, along with staples for their kitchen. My husband and I delivered the bulk of these items before Thanksgiving and it came at a good time because the weather started to turn very cold. 

Most of our Christmas shopping was done a few months ago. I would keep an eye out for sales on stuff. There are a few people we shop online for and again, watched for specials and free postage. The price of postage has really increased. My husband lasered small cutting boards and to mail one was $9.30. So, we discovered it might be far more reasonable to just order things from companies and snag the free postage besides the discount for people who live far from us. Most of the things we ordered to be shipped were food related. We figured these treats would be well received because we all have to eat, right?

Over the summer I did make some jams, jellies, and pickles, and for my husband's three kids, each family will be given some of the things I canned. We bought a few small items so everyone has something to open on Christmas, but the bulk of their gifts were either money or a gift card to each family from a meat packing plant that has amazing cuts of meats. So, no outstanding bills for Christmas gifts. Everything has been either budgeted for or paid for. 

My husband's late wife had a Silhouette machine which is like a Cricut. He encouraged me to learn how to use it since I like to make things. I made the bulk of our Christmas cards and Thanksgiving cards. I crocheted little star bookmarks for the ladies in my Bible class for Christmas. I normally buy Christmas cards at thrift stores throughout the year so I can't say I saved money making my own, but it was fun and I've learned a lot. DH says if I enjoyed it, it was worth the cost of the paper and a new blade for the machine. Fortunately we had plenty of envelopes so no cost there. I also made gift tags for the family for their small token gifts. Maybe I'll eventually feel more comfortable making these items, but it is fun, nonetheless. 

It's been bad weather the last few days here in Central Illinois. We had snow on Thursday and temperature started dropping. We received more snow yesterday and it became colder and this morning it was really cold with wind chills in negative numbers. We shoveled part of the driveway yesterday and by the afternoon you couldn't tell we had. We did the same today and at least it is sunny and not snowing, but oh, how blessed I feel even when I got really cold, knowing the pioneers didn't have the warm clothes, scarf, hat, and gloves I have and then a warm house to return to and electricity to make hot chocolate! I'm looking forward to a relaxing afternoon reading since most of my crafting/baking is about finished...just will need to clean up after our Sunday dinner. On to enjoy the holidays!

Last Wednesday when the grocery ads came out, I did my scrounging to see what we needed and what was on sale. I was also trying to buy stuff ahead as far as Thanksgiving. Plus, DH was running out of soda and I was hoping to score a decent deal. Last spring there was a buy 2 get 2 free of 12 packs of his favorite kind and there it was this week. He doesn't drink a ton of it, but likes a can every so often and we have room to store it. All in all, I did a deal on English muffins of buy one, get one free, and other things on sale and saved over $34 on things we either needed or planned to have for upcoming meals. This puts us at having saved over $225 in coupons since July. Not a bad deal. We need to buy a couple more things for our meal and the quantity will depend on how many are coming. We will be spending more than $4 per person (sorry Walmart, can't beat your deal), but I like fresh things like celery. But at least I felt like I'm saving some money while buying the things we want and will use. 

I do 7 grocery apps. Two I don't get much from, but every so often I score a little on them and I figure it's better than nothing. I just cashed out another app for $10 and DH wanted some batteries from Amazon so they are basically free. Yay! 

Boer's Head had a settlement and I got $26 from that. I see Amazon is going to have settlement sign ups in December so I hope we can sign up for that. Sorry they have to do that, but if we're deserving, then we should get our piece of the pie, so to speak.

Our Thanksgiving won't be huge and boisterious. We put out an invite for people from our church who might need a place to eat and we are having two of our three families coming. When we see the need out there for so many who are struggling, we realize we are very blessed to have plenty of food and a nice home, and a little extra for things. Hope it is the same in your lives as well. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have much to be grateful for.

Happy first day of fall! After suffering through extremely hot and humid temperatures, we are finally receiving some rain, rain we haven't seen in almost a month and a half. It's deary out today and sort of cooler, so it feels like fall.

Since the end of July, I've been keeping a running tab on how much I've saved using coupons, digital and paper. I'm not counting mark downs, just coupons. I hit just a few cents over $74 this weekend. This is for stuff we normally buy, but I'm trying to pair the coupons for either keeping the pantry/fridge/freezer stocked or something we would use for every day. I guess that's not bad. Sadly, most of the things we buy, I can't find coupons for.

I try to give blood every few months. I received a $15 gift card for Amazon for doing so last month. It isn't why I donate, but it was a nice benefit.  I do a bunch of receipt apps and just got to a $20 gift card for Amazon as well. We live in rural America so DH often orders things off of Amazon that are not available locally, or even 30 minutes away. I consider it found money.  Again a lot of things we buy do not give us bonus points. 

I try to stay out of thrift stores because I'm often tempted to buy things I don't need, but I was on a mission to replace mixing bowls. The ones that were here had those cracks on the inside that bacteria can grow in. When I divorced, I didn't take everything out of the kitchen so I really wanted decent mixing bowls. I cook and bake a lot. I found a set that were clear for $20. Vintage, but safe! As a result, I was motivated to clean out some cabinets and reorganized a few things to get rid of the other mixing bowls. Hopefully it will make me a little more efficient.

I often use my Discover card to pay for things. I am getting a little over $100 back after a few  months. That will go into savings. 

As we head into the last quarter of the year, do you think you did enough to save money? I'm not talking about things that were out of your control, but just everyday things that helped you save? 

Hummingbird Hills has become pickle palace! Our two cucumber plants have gone wild and besides eating them now, I have made sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles, dill pickles, and sweet relish. My pantry is filling up and hopefully there is enough to share during the holidays with family. 

DH and I have already had serious talks about the garden for next year. We started a compost pile, but it won't be ready for when we tear up the garden and pull the plants. We don't think we want to plant much more, but would like ot make the garden a little bigger just for ease of getting around it. 

I had hoped to get enough tomatoes to can a few jars, but not sure if that is going to happen. At least we are getting fresh tomatoes. We've had extreme heat and little rain, so it's been a hot job watering and even if the plants want water, those pesky weeds can grow no matter what. 

We picked our second watermelon. The first one was around 27 pounds. I think this one is close. 

We planted sunflowers at the end of May and they didn't come up so I planted some in July just to see if the seeds were bad. I planted them in a different place and they all came up. I'm hoping we get some nice blooms before it gets cold so I can harvest the seeds for next year. 

One of the goals this year was to plant more butterfly and hummingbird friendly flowers. I hope that worked and my observation skills are spot on. I've seen more butterflies this year than last year and we have a couple of hummingbirds who seem to be visiting frequently. 

We have been eating a lot of stuff from the garden which means we aren't buying as much at the grocery store. That has helped with the grocery budget. 

Do y'all remember the Extreme Couponing shows from the past where folks would have their notebooks of coupons and plan a big trip and get cartloads of groceries for very little? I enjoyed watching them and I looked on YouTube and there are a few there. I was always amazed at how their built their stockpiles on so very little. But then, I always wondered, how they really did it. 

Our local paper had pathetic coupons. I learned that there were different coupons packages the papers could buy and of course our local one bought the cheapest which was basically a couple of coupons for the grocery and mostly ads. The Chicago Tribune had better coupons, but the paper was a lot more too. 

Then there was the fact none of our local grocery stores would double the coupons. So, I resigned myself to never being able to make such great deals, but I still liked the idea of it. Plus, I don't need 50 boxes of cereal or jugs of laundry detergent in my pantry, garage, or basement or wherever I could store it. 

Years ago in the book, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," the author made a comment about one of the characters. Flossie was a minor character and amongst all the characters in this tome, they were all basically working poor. But Flossie had a hobby, and that was to dress up every Saturday night and enter a contest and if she won, she would receive a silky, colorful parasol. The parasols were useless, but she displayed them proudly and the author as the narrator stated that people who are poor, like to display things they collect. So, I sort of wonder if that is the case with those extreme couponers...they liked to display all their products. I remember a couple talked about doing a shop where they would donate the stuff to a charity which was great, but most were just wanting to add to their stockpile. I wonder if they ever used everything before some of it went bad.

Well, I digress. I spent a few minutes this morning writing some sites to ask for coupons. I do the digital coupons at the stores that offer them. I no longer get a printed copy of the paper so no coupons there. Rarely does the store have those little things that offer you coupons on the shelves. But I have no problem writing companies and asking. Earlier this year Land O'Lakes and Folgers sent me coupons and I used them. Land O'Lakes actually sent 4 coupons, two of which were for products I don't buy, so I put them on the shelf next to the items for someone else to take advantage of. Hopefully someone used them and saved a little bit. 

I was discussing the saving money and couponing with DH and he said I should start keeping track of what I save with coupons and see just how much it adds up to. I was thinking that might be a good project. There are a lot of products I don't buy that coupons are offered for and I'm not going to purchase the item just because of the coupon. I remember some friends who would get coupons emailed to them by a couple of businesses and they would rush to go the store or restaurant to use them since they received them, even though they weren't planning on going and really didn't anything from the product. I'm sure the businesses were glad, but not sure how financially responsible they are.

So, my challenge is to start keeping track of how much I save with coupons. There will be times I save more than others. Right now I'm not buying a ton of stuff because we are using what we have from the garden of what's in the freezer. But I think it will be a worthwhile project just to see if it is worth the time and trouble. What do you think?

Some of the frugal sites I follow on Facebook have been touting "No Buy July." 

I'm just wondering if any of you are thinking of participating? It seems like we are keeping our spending down so far since prices continue to rise and to be honest, we are a little worried with the state of economy. We've been doing a lot of using what we have around here and making do. 

Bet that title make you scratch your head! 

But, I did have to spend some money so I could save some. The little town we live near has a small, but active library. Unfortunately since we live on the outskirts of town, we don't pay library tax which means I couldn't get a library card unless I paid the equivalent of what we would pay in taxes to the library. I contemplated it before taking the plunge. I didn't want to get the card and then feel like it wasn't worth the cost.

This little library is pretty busy as far as activities. I've taken advantage of a couple of craft nights which had everything included. Another one is coming up this week with stamping kitchen towels. That sounds like fun. We've also sat in on "True Crime Night" where the library director gives research on true crimes. 

I've missed being able to check out books and since it is part of the system of interlibrary loan, even though the library itself is small, I can still get books from other libraries.

So, I spent the money to get the card and according to the little receipt, I've already "saved" money by checking out books. I have gotten some nonfiction how to books plus some mysteries. I believe having a library card is being frugal since I will use it. 

So, I spent money to save some! Books are expensive!

Yesterday was a day I could head to a Kroger store in a nearby larger town. Since we live 40 minutes away, I try to bunch my errands so I don't make a lot of unnecessary trips and with gas prices on the rise, I especially don't want to spend more on gas and wear and tear on my car.

I had a list created. Most, not all, of my items were either on sale or I had digital coupons. I was fortunate that I found a couple of things that I wanted on clearance so I saved even more. Even so, I wound up spending almost $120 and only one item was meat. I did splurge and buy some teeth cleaning dog chews simply because the pups like them and its cheaper than getting dental work done on them. I try to write out my list based on the store layout so I don't forget stuff or make additional visits to aisles. The longer I spend in the store, the better the chance I wind up buying stuff I don't need. One item was buy one, get one free and although expensive, it was far more reasonable than regular price. 

I kept seeing some of the same people making many of the same purchases I was making -- stuff on sale, stuff on clearance, stuff with digital coupons, or items with paper coupons. According to the cash register tape, I saved over $40 and if that can be believed, that's a nice chunk of change. The gal ahead of me in check out had a full cart. But of that cart, I bet she didn't have more than 5 items at regular price. Everything was either on sale or marked down on clearance: very little snack foods, mostly fruits, vegetables, and bread.  I saw the same pattern with the older man ahead of us. Very little was regular price in his small basket. I think there is a trend developing. I think this trend is going to continue as people feel more of a squeeze as prices increase and money doesn't go as far as it did. The thing that bothers me is the people who can least afford high prices are the ones who need help and as programs are being cut, they won't get the assistance. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm thinking as everyone suffers, the folks who were generous to donate to food banks and things like that will cut back because they will be afraid themselves.

I'm hoping if you are going to the grocery you'll report on what you are finding. I'm curious if you are seeing the same thing or doing the same thing. 

Based on the market dropping and prices increasing, do you think we bound for a recession? I keep reading and hearing that our economy seems to be ripe for one. To be honest, it is frightening because it seems like our world is topsy turvy with all the wild things coming from the news. The trade war and prices increasing and the marketing losing money doesn't seem like a good thing in the near future. Are you planning on doing anything to combat this?

I feel like we are already trying to save money. Granted, we are spending money on things, but DH and I were discussing what else we can cut back on. Which just feeds into more economic woes if enough of us do that. 

We already planned on planting a small garden. I've started a few things from seeds and have them on the sunporch. Hopefull they will sprout. I continue to make my own bread. I buy things on sale. But even so, we spent almost a hundred dollars at the grocery store yesterday and we didn't bring home a whole lot. Fortunately we can afford it, but I don't know how people who are already struggling are going to make it. 

So, what are your thoughts?

Today was the first time I heard the term, "Doom Spending." It is consumers spending more than they normally would for fear of rising prices due to the tariff threat. CNBC had an article about it and it said it was more than just stocking up, but people buying things they cannot afford because they fear the prices are going up. The issue is some of these people are already deep in debt and instead of working on paying down their debt, they are increasing it.

Things are uncertain and I think there is a fear that people won't be able to get things  if prices continue to rise. I can't imagine any of our SA folks succumbing to it, but I can see people rationalizing a big purchase saying they are saving money now by buying a big ticket item. 

Here is the URL for the story if you are interested: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/27/1-in-5-americans-are-doom-spending-heres-how-that-can-backfire.html

A friend shared this with me. Since many of you are commenting about how you are not happy with the current administration. As we know, money talks.

 

 

Hi,

 

The People's Union is calling for an Economic Blackout on February 28 to protest the Administration's attack on diversity in our country.

 

Here's a Newsweek article:

https://www.newsweek.com/will-nationwide-economic-blackout-work-2030187

 

Here's a summary of actions to NOT do on February 28:

 

WHEN:

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28TH. from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

• Do not make any purchases.

• Do not shop online, or in-store

• No Amazon

• No Walmart

• No Best Buy

   Nowhere!

• No McDonalds 

DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON FOOD:

• Fast Food

• Gas

• Major Retailers

• Do not use Credit or Debit Cards for non essential spending. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO IF NECESSARY:

• Only buy essentials of absolutely necessary items such as 

(Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)

•If you must spend, ONLY support small, local businesses.

SPREAD THE MESSAGE

• Talk about it. 

• Post about it.

• Document your actions that day!

WHY THIS MATTERS!

• Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line.

• If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message.

• If they don't listen we make the next blackout longer. 

• This is our first action.

• Our numbers are powerful. 

• This is our first action.

• This is how we make  history. 

AGAIN,

• FEBRUARY 28TH. ✊🏾

• The 24 Hour Economic Black Out Begins.

A friend shared this with me. Since many of you are commenting about how you are not happy with the current administration. As we know, money talks.

 

 

Hi,

 

The People's Union is calling for an Economic Blackout on February 28 to protest the Administration's attack on diversity in our country.

 

Here's a Newsweek article:

https://www.newsweek.com/will-nationwide-economic-blackout-work-2030187

 

Here's a summary of actions to NOT do on February 28:

 

WHEN:

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28TH. from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

• Do not make any purchases.

• Do not shop online, or in-store

• No Amazon

• No Walmart

• No Best Buy

   Nowhere!

• No McDonalds 

DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON FOOD:

• Fast Food

• Gas

• Major Retailers

• Do not use Credit or Debit Cards for non essential spending. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO IF NECESSARY:

• Only buy essentials of absolutely necessary items such as 

(Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)

•If you must spend, ONLY support small, local businesses.

SPREAD THE MESSAGE

• Talk about it. 

• Post about it.

• Document your actions that day!

WHY THIS MATTERS!

• Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line.

• If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message.

• If they don't listen we make the next blackout longer. 

• This is our first action.

• Our numbers are powerful. 

• This is our first action.

• This is how we make  history. 

AGAIN,

• FEBRUARY 28TH. ✊🏾

• The 24 Hour Economic Black Out Begins.

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. 

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.

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is looking forward to 2025!

My Christmas season was very, very busy. Besides shopping and baking and sending cards, I also tackled the storage room with the many, many, many Christmas decorations of my new husband and his late wife. We went through every tote of stuff, and he chose a few items he wanted to keep, but the rest we boxed up and donated to our church bazaar.  A lot. Hopefully someone else will get some enjoyment out of this stuff. I just smile when I go into the storage room because it looks so much neater. My DH has some of his tools down there and he said he wanted to finish putting a piece of drywall on a wall that he's put off because he couldn't get to it with all the stuff there. I see a label maker in my future when we put away our decorations this year.

Sadly my bubble light tree died. It was over 50 years old. My electrical engineer husband looked at it, but it on one wiring circuit and since one of the bubble lights quit, they all quit. Unless we can find the lights with the small base, guess it's dead, but I've enjoyed it all these years. I shared it with a grandson when we were putting it out and he thought it was really cool -- kind of nice a 20 year old would think something so vintage was cool. 

We spent a lot, but all our bills are paid so no outstanding bills. I heard on the news that many people are still paying for Christmas 4 months after. That is just plain scary. We gave a lot of practical gifts or else money or gift cards. 

Hope your Christmas was amazing and hope the new year is as well!

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. 

Recently I watched the program on Netflix called "Buy It Now." It was touted as a way businesses encourage consumers to purchase things. It was both a frightening program and enlightening.

Sadly we do not have a recycling program in the county where I live. I try to reuse and repurpose as much stuff as I can and use a lot of containers and things over and over. But even so, the amount of stuff disposed of is considerable. One of the speakers went into a grocerty store and showed how so many products are encased in plastic, most of which is not recyclable -- although some claims to be.

I grew up in the 60s. My Papa worked for Coca-Cola Bottling and they actuall reused the glass bottles. He worked on the bottler, which contained machines that cleaned and sterilized bottles before filling and capping the bottles. I remember having to pay a deposit on the bottles of Coke when we bought them at the store, but these same bottles when returned would then have that deposit returned. Although not the most convenient, it sure was a better use of resources than all this plastic. In this video, it showed how much plastic isn't really recycled, but often said it is, then sent to third world countries for them to deal with. 

I've read articles which I'm sure most of you have on grocery stores put things on certain shelves to entice. I've seen the perusasion techniques about better get this now since there are so few and you don't want to miss out. 

As we face the biggest season of consumerism, I wish more people would pay attention to what this film said. I'm guilty of some of these items, but I try not to buy more than what I need or can use. I have been baking cookies for our bazaar and have been using some of the clam shell plastic cases to carry cookies to put in the freezer. I try to take my own cloth bags into the grocery. But I'm a long way from keeping from buying stuff that can't be recycled. I'm not really sure if that is at all possible unless one doesn't buy stuff at all -- the business world has made it almot impossible. We don't have any of those stores where you take your own jars to fill with stuff. And living in a small town, I don't have that many shopping choices. I try to make my big shopping when I got to a larger city where I can buy what I need and what is packaged, but that doesn't always work either. 

Funny how things change. 

I never used to mind grocery shopping. Now I dread it.

It isn't the shopping per se, it is the check out that unnerves me. It seems like each week the cost goes up a little more. I know the experts claim inflation isn't as bad, but I know my grocery bills have risen. I'm not buying anything different. In fact, I'm trying to cut back. For example, I'm trying to use less meat. Kroger had a buy one, get one free as far as chicken this past week. The package had three chicken breasts. So instead of having one meal and a little left over, we are having two meals out of one package. And I put the second package in the freezer for another time.

I ran across this article and wondered how she could spent $124 a month on groceries. Granted, she's single, but there are a lot of things that factor into saving so much. I never worked any place that gave free meals. Up until my last school, I never worked at a school that provided coffee. You brought your own coffee from home or did without. And the only reason the last school had coffee was because the principal bought it. 

Anyway, here's the url for the article if you care to read it:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/14/i-spent-124-dollars-on-groceries-in-a-month-what-i-bought.html?utm_content=Intl&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=facebook%7CIntl&fbclid=IwAR0p6S0CgGgvr5xdPwPG5_xDBIpCN4-uZ9UEP0KKKorr0QnSi1KxWL6W2b4

So, how about you? Are you dreading the grocery store?

Although I've been busy, I really haven't had anything of consequence to actually report. It has been a bit expensive lately. 

We recently went for our dental check ups. DH had a tooth extracted and I had a crown as well as another tooth having a filling replaced. We have no dental insurance so it was all out of pocket expenses. Ouch. But any of the dental insurance available to us isn't really cost effective and we like our dentist and don't want to change.

My laptop was slowly dying so that was replaced. I got 7 good years out of it so I can't complain too loudly. 

Like many, we've had extreme heat and I keep pushing the a/c up so it won't run as much. Lots of water for the garden so that goes up each month.

And need I  comment on the groceries and how expensive they are? It seems like every week we pay a little more for the same items we bought the week before. 

It's getting tougher to save money.

I haven't blogged for a bit because I really haven't had much to write about. Life is going along and I'm not complaining, but my days seem full and busy. 

I am continuing to work on ways to decrease the church mortgage. I'm not taking credit for all of this, but we have reduced the mortgage by $50,000 in 6 months. Granted, this isn't sustainable due to some large gifts, but it is pretty amazing and we have knocked off quite a few months since this was applied just to the principal. There have been other cost cutting ways applied to also just help with the regular budget. It's nice that so many of the people of our congregation want to help by saving money. 

I have donated a few things to the local thift shop. Someone wasn't happy when I said I didn't want to go every week to shop; it's easier to resist temptation when you aren't shopping. I wasn't going crazy and buying stuff every time, but honestly, I don't need to be tempted. I think I'm getting to that stage in my life where I realize less is truly more.

Just thought I'd check in. Hope everyone is having a grand day.

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...

On Wednesday I did my weekly shopping. Same procedure every week. Usually get mostly the same stuff. But this trip had a little more frustration added.

A couple walked in ahead of me. I didn't think anything of it, until I couldn't get around them. They had a cart and between the two of them and the cart, they blocked aisles. The mister felt it was important to discuss every little thing they were shopping for. And it was usually a lengthy pontification. Seriously, how earth shattering is it to decide betwen regular cottage cheese and low fat cottage cheese? 

I try not to act to impatient, but inside my stomach is clenching. I take a deep breath and try to remain calm. I get what I needed and of course they head to produce. I need celery. But they are standing in front of celery and cabbage and he has to touch every head of cabbage. Then talk about why or why not they should get a particular head of cabbage. After all the chatting and touching, they decide not to get cabbage. This goes on for a bit. I finally snag my celery and eventually get around them. I see them still roaming the store as I try to get the few things I needed and head to checkout. 

I wait in line because there is only one checker and that is OK. I see the end is near. By the time I pay and am bagging my groceries, they wind up in line with 5 items. That's it...all 5 items!

I felt sorry for this man's wife or girlfriend or significant other...it wasn't like she was doing much of the talking, but all of the listening. I was glad to get away from them. I know, this might have been a big outing for them, but I would have preferred they wouldn't have blocked the aisles. 

The majority of my shopping is finished. I have a few items to get that need to be fresh like oranges. We make stockings for the 4 neighbor kids and I like to put an orange in the toe. Each year we start a Christmas Club so we spend what we have saved and once it's gone, it's gone.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the news said that a lot of folks spent more for their Thanksgiving meals at the grocery, not cutting back even with the rising costs of inflation. They said they wanted a nice holiday and didn't want to skimp. 

So, I guess I'm wondering...will you be spending as much or more than last year? It will be around the same for us I think, unless I include the rising cost of postage stamps for the Christmas cards. Then it might be a little more, but not a lot.

Although there are tons of stories coming across email and such about the state of the eocnomy and inflation and...I just wonder, am I getting used to this? I mean, I was tempted to order something that was a luxury, not a need, from Amazon the other day. I didn't order it, but I really wanted to. 

Then I thought back on what I do about every day -- figuring ways to make do with what I have and stock piling stuff. We bought a whole chicken at Aldi when we grocery shopped. It will make more than 3 meals, plus I have the broth. I canned 2 quarts of the broth for the pantry. 

I almost hate to admit it, but my heart rate went up a little bit when the postal van stopped in front of our house this afternoon and the carrier got out with some boxes. Then I realized, I hadn't ordered anything. I met her at the door and she looked at me, the house number and then her computer. I told her I bet she had the wrong house and she asked if it was a certain number. Wrong number and wrong street. I really felt like Winthrop in "The Music Man" when he sings about the Wells Fargo man when I first saw her. Glad I could get to her before she left the stuff. Someone would have been disappointed. 

Although I would love to buy some new things, I honestly don't need anything new. So, I'm struggling. I mean, we are OK so far, financially, but I don't want to look back and say I wished I hadn't spent money. So, I know I am just being tempted and I need to resist. 

Are you finding the new prices the new normal, or are you still struggling to come to grips with it?

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. 

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?

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? 

It's been a foodie sort of week.

The tomatoes are still coming, but not as many. I did have enough to make and can some pints of spaghetti sauce and make some tomato juice. I had some leftover chicken and made broth and canned it. I had some green beans from the CSA box so I canned those as well. Only realized a pint and a half pint, but this winter, they will enjoyed. I picked some lavender and made lavender jelly and then I got brave. I've commented that Pinterest can be my downfall.

I was perusing jelly recipes on Pinterest and one that caught my eye was coffee jelly. I like coffee, so I thought this might be fun.

I did make it and it's good. I know I won't be eating it after 2 p.m. on toast though with the caffeine, but how unique. 

Grocery shopping was another downfall. I didn't think my lists were substantial -- I go to two stores, Aldi being the major one. But eggs had gone up 50 cents a dozen. Saltines had risen 12 cents a box. So, I spent more than I anticipated. I fear that prices are going to continue to rise as a drought seems to be hitting so many parts of our country. I remember during the Pandemic seeing empty shelves and what was there was so expensive. I decided that if there were lots of bread loaves at the grocery when we stopped to get DH's prescriptions, I would buy a couple of loaves to stash in the freezer just in case. There was plenty of bread, so I did just that. I haven't been hoarding stuff, but I have been filling my pantry and freezer like I normally do every fall with things from the grocery and the garden.