Birthday Bargains & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  I hope all those who celebrate had a Merry Christmas.  Last week, I made yogurt, and some more healthy cookies.  These were coconut carrot, and not very wonderful.  The molasses ones have all been eaten, and I'm sure these will be too.  I saw a recipe for dessert bars that are sugar free, sweetened only with dates.  That will be the next one I try.  I enjoyed listening to free holiday music online.  For Christmas, M told me he'd really appreciate it if I mended a huge rip in a pair of his overalls, so I did that on Christmas Eve.  We also shared a dozen eggs, a clementine, in addition to one small gift, and he joined us for dinner.  J roasted a chicken for Christmas dinner.  I made a potato dish (patatas bravas) using our potatoes, and my Grandmother's stuffing (vegi version), using our onion and herbs.  I made a salad for myself, as the guys didn't want one, and used homemade Thousand Island dressing.

winter greens with garlic rows beyond

The only "work" I did on Christmas was cooking.  The day after, I was back at work painting several orders.  No complaints here, and we actually got another order on Christmas Day.  I wondered if it was someone's gift to herself, or from another, or just a coincidence.  The pups have been getting our eggs  and yogurt in their morning meal, and sweet potatoes in their evening meal.  They often get chopped greens and stems too.  I harvested winter greens for a salad, and gathered some for the chickens too.  Our garlic is beginning to poke up through the leaf mulch.   J received Good King Henry seeds for Christmas, which he'd been wanting to try.  They require cold stratification to germinate, so he went ahead and planted them in the ground.  Have you tried this green?

The pink amaryllis bloomed.  Though they're all pretty, this one does not look like the bright pink one on the label.  Oh well.   J wanted to have chicken and noodles with the leftover Christmas chicken and broth, so I made mushroom gravy with a bag of the foraged maitakes I had frozen to have over my noodles.  Yum!  As Christmas fell on my usual massage day, my day was switched to Friday.  I took advantage of being in town on a Friday, and visited the RSPCA thrift store.  I found a huge pottery pot for $10, which will be perfect for one of the lemons or avocados.  I do try and support local pottery, but the last time I got one a bit smaller than this, it was $65.  So, this one is a much appreciated bargain.  When our GD was here last weekend, she used beads and floss to make a friendship bracelet.  I found lots and lots of beads at the thrift shop, picked through them, and got 8 packets for from .10 to .50 ea.  This will be part of her birthday, which is later this week.  I then headed to the discount grocery, got my favorite organic blueberry cranberry juice for $1 ea., and found her a tie dye kit for $2.50, another birthday present.

The weekend was again filled with road trips, one to celebrate a milestone birthday, and the other, a holiday get together to enjoy a meal with extended family near the coast.  It was nice meeting new members of the extended family, and seeing so many loved ones, but I'm really thankful to be spending the next several days here, enjoying the cozy comforts of home.  There is cooking to do, laundry to catch up on, batches of soap to fill in empty spots on the shelf, cups of tea to drink, and much more on my to do list.  Wishing you a warm and cozy week, friends.  Happy New Year!