Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Last Week's Savings and Summer Fun

Daughter gave me the geranium for my birthday.
I grew the rest of the flowers from seed.


First, a quick thank-you to those of you that suggested I try the arugula with other things.  I had a little in a salad and liked it just fine.  I guess I grew more than I will probably need, but I'm learning!  I will likely try it a few other ways through the week.  Some of it is going to seed, so I'm going to try and save some seeds as well!

Our days have been cooler than is typical.  Our lettuces, kale and peas are producing very nicely.  The beans and tomatoes are blooming, so I'm hoping the predicted warmer temperatures will arrive, so the tomatoes will set.

We have herbs planted around the perimeter,
with vegetables protected inside the fence.

There were some really good grocery sales this week.  Bottom round roast was 2.98 a pound, bacon was 1.98 a pound and the same store was offering a free carton of ice cream with a $25 purchase.  We bought roasts, bacon, a few other items and got ice cream (two cartons!) as well.  I sliced a lot of the roast for teriyaki or jerky, and also cut one roast in half to make two smaller roasts.  The 'ends' from slicing were cubed for beef stew, and everything was wrapped and labeled for the freezer.  We also got some apples for .48/lb, and it was .48 for green peppers and .88 for red peppers.

One of the feed stores in our area opened two new stores this past weekend, so all stores in the chain were offering 15% off feed on Saturday, 7/11.  We stopped on the way to pick up free small Slurpees at 7/11, then went to the feed store for chicken feed and scratch and rabbit feed.

I had two rabbit programs this week, and learned that we'll be scheduling some chicken programs for September.  Woohoo!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset.


We have also been getting quite a bit of rain, so we haven't had to water very much the past week.  We have been fortunate in regard to rain and storms.  Not too far from us, the storms included hail, and a lot of people had damage to their gardens.  There has also been a lot of flooding in the area, some roads washed out, etc., but we are high enough that the flooding did not affect our property.

We were in the practice of putting Taffy out on the deck sometimes, so she could get some fresh air.  We simply put a baby gate across the doorway, but she figured out that she could knock it down if she crashed into it.  Husband used some hinges and wood we had on hand from other projects and made a gate that keeps her safe and out of trouble.

Daughter attended a free library program for 'mad scientists'.  She had a great time!  We also checked out books and media for the week.


We used some things we had on hand to create a bird feeding station.



We had lost a small apple tree in the front yard, so we turned the trunk into a platform feeder.


We moved a bird feeder on a post and attached the two with an old garden gate that came with the property.  I wired on some wrought-iron hangers, and Husband made a platform for a bird bath.  We used a can of black spray paint to touch-up wherever we needed to and to make it look more uniform.  We are using a glass pie plate for the water, so it's easy to clean as needed.  I hung some things we had on hand, but I'm sorting through some ideas on Pinterest to make some bird feeders.  What do you think of it so far?  It was zero cost so far, and I'll share as I get more feeders made.






We've had enough sunny weather to hang our laundry outside on the clotheslines.  It smells so wonderful!  With all the rain, we've been busy with mowing, but we're keeping up with it.  We are also in the midst of sorting and weeding some of our possessions so that we can sell the things we no longer need, declutter, and make better use of the space in our basement.  We are staying busy!

Are you making the most of your summer, or is it a different season where you live?  What are your plans for the coming week?

10 comments:

  1. Your bird feeding station is absolutely beautiful! It's a great combination of creativity and frugality!
    Don't know if it's the summer doldrums or something else but frugality and creativity is just about at a standstill here. There are practically no deals at the grocery store lately. The one thing I did manage to do is get several pounds of butter for the freezer at 1.99$ The regular price here is now up to 3.39$!!!!!!!
    Eggs were up to almost 4$ a dozen!!!! They even have big signs up in the market apologizing for it.
    I need to refuel my enthusiasm and creativity to make my grocery budget work. Hope I'm up to the challenge!
    I am working on a list of what I will be able to make for Christmas both presents and decor so I can get started.
    As always you are a source of inspiration!
    Thanks so very much!!
    Helen

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    1. Thanks, Helen! When you are planning for Christmas, make your list of cooking you want to do and see what you can buy ahead that is nonperishable. Watch those sales! Back to School time is coming and there will be better prices on things like peanut butter and jelly and some produce items. You can do this!

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  2. I love the bird feeding station! You had a great week. I am seeing a few lower beef prices too and I am hopeful that the [prices will come down. There is a sale on ground chick for 2.48 a pound here this week and I am about our so I will stock up.

    We have had bad storms and wind the last few days and our yard is trashed. Time to call our yard helper!
    I am thankful that we finally had some rain though. I have tomatoes ripening finally just in time to leave for 5 days on Sunday. So it always goes! We are going to Daytona Beach with my parents and sister. Mom and Dad own a timeshare right near the boardwalk and it is 5 star. I am thankful got having this beautiful place to go together. We are all so excited to be there together.

    You know that yesterday we had two completely free meals at Chick fil A and had an absolute blast doing so.

    I have been so tempted to clothes shop lately and I have to remind myself that I do not need anything right now at this size. My Mom will want to go to a great outlet at the beach and I have to be strong! I could really see a difference in my face and shoulders this last week so I am likely to drop a size soon.

    We continue to work on our long chore list weekly and have done quite a bit of sprucing up and painting with paint and supplies on hand. We enjoy doing projects together and much more done by working together. Hubby painted our house number on the front door which was zero cost and looks amazing. I want him to put 'hey y'all' om the outside of our screen porch door, too. He does an amazing job with this. He did our grandchildren's bedroom walls a few years ago too. We finally decided to hire someone to get the last two rooms of wallpaper down in our house. We have been taking down wallpaper for 21 years and have just had enough. I will never buy a house with wallpaper again! This will be a big step toward downsizing.

    I bought 5 pairs of PJ's for grandchildren Christmas gifts for $20 shipped. I won a Cuisinart ice cream maker in a giveaway and will give that for a Christmas gift since we already have two of those. I am like a deer in the headlights now and must make progress with a family as big as ours!

    Have a good week!

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    1. Those silly tomatoes! It sounds like you're staying very busy too! Congrats on winning the ice cream maker - I recently won something too...I'll share when the first shipment arrives! I'm starting to think about Christmas as well - we do not have a large family, and we only exchange gifts with a very few people, but I like to plan ahead.

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  3. Over winter your geranium and in the spring you can make more pots with cuttings. I started with 6 plants and now have 25 pots!

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    1. I am hoping to do just that, Lana. Bringing it in for winter is not a problem, but I'm not sure how to start cuttings. I'll research it this winter. If nothing else, I'll get to enjoy a happy plant in my craft room this winter and then move it back out in late spring. :)

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    2. Don't trim it or cut it back at all going into fall. Mine get kind of tall and wild over the winter but they are in the garage so it does not matter. In the Spring I cut them all back to only about three to four inches. It takes off all of the leaves most of the time. I fertilize them and they come right back. Take the cuttings and clean them up and cut to reasonable sizes. Just fill pots with a good potting mix with fertilizer and stick them in the dirt. Keep them watered and with in t week they are usually rooted and you have a new plant. I probably had two 5 gallon buckets of cuttings this year when I pulled out my pots. I made a few more and gave a bunch away. I think that next year I will pot some up in smaller pots than I put on my deck and get them going for gifts. They are so easy!

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    3. Thanks, Lana! I will put the plant in my basement by a bright sunny window. It will be cool, but not too cold, and I will do as you suggested come springtime. Thanks again!

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  4. Your bird-feeding station is creative, your garden is amazing and your flowers are beautiful!!

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    1. Thank you, Dawn! The bird station was really fun, and I'm looking forward to making (or thrifting) some more feeders for it. Daughter really enjoys bird watching and this one is easy to see from our living room windows in the winter time. :)

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