Planting for Fall and Frugal Accomplishments

Merry Monday, everyone!  If you've been here before, you've probably guessed I'm joining in with Frugal Accomplishments today.  I cut a bouquet of zinnias, bee balm and ironweed for the house.  made yogurt & kefir, canned dill pickles, and harvested and dehydrated lambs quarter.  I usually freeze the lambs quarter, but with freezer space at a premium, I want to see how I like using them dried.  I've been enjoying handfuls of blueberries in fruit salad or on my cereal at breakfast.  I picked up a few things at the discount grocery, including 2 bottles of organic rose hip oil for $2 ea.  The oil nourishes skin, hair and nails.

I harvested cucumbers, blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, dill, basil, zucchini, and tromboncino squash.  One of the tomatoes had an interesting bullseye pattern on it.  Not sure what might have caused that.  Our yellow crookneck squash didn't germinate, but we had planted some of my Mom's zucchini seeds, and were happily surprised to find they are Gold Rush zucchini, so there's still a colorful combination of squash.  I shared cucumbers with a friend, and neighbors.

I helped J pound in rebar stakes for most of the tomato cages, so a strong wind won't knock them over.  I gathered seeds of columbine and money plant, and am letting some carrots go to seed.  We planted rutabaga, carrots, beets, lacinato and Red Russian kale, and broccoli for the fall garden, and another round of cucumbers.  I harvested mint a couple of times.  The first time was for mint tea, and the other was for fresh mint ice cream, perfect for a day with a heat index above 100.

I prepared a homegrown breakfast, which my Italian grandmother called Popeye cream eggs.  The story goes that some of us grandkids were not too keen on eating it, so she renamed it, and being we were into Popeye, we all ate it without problem.  You saute some garlic in olive oil, add diced tomato and salt, then beaten eggs and heat until done.  Eat with buttered toast.  Yum!  I purchased bulk Pomona's pectin, due to a comment on The Prudent Homemaker.  I had not realized that it was sold in bulk, and that it lasts indefinitely if kept dry.

I bought the batting for my quilt online, going through ebates, and using a 20% first time purchase code.  I also purchased some batik fabric from the site.  It was on sale, with additional 20% off, and got me up to the free shipping minimum.   I hope to make shorts with the material, modeled on batik shorts which I purchase at a local show.  This vendor sells clothing, created in Africa, only at shows, and I remember the shorts run somewhere in the mid $30's, so if I can create them or something similar, that will be a significant savings.  I haven't ever attempted to copy a piece of clothing, but I've seen tutorials, and will see what I can do.  I spent time with a few good friends on a nearby lake.  We watched the sun set and then the moon lower in the sky while out on the boat, stopping in a cove to eat our dinner.  There is little that relaxes me more than being on the water.  We saw quite a few osprey and herons, and a threesome of raccoons along the shore.  Sweet summer days.