Monday, February 17, 2020

February Critters & Frugal Accomplishments


Though not the pic I was going for, isn't that the cutest fluffy butt?

Hello, friends.  Last week, I planted a celery end in the lettuce bed.  They do better in the warmer months here, but it's worth a try, as warm as the winter has been.  I redeemed $2 off purchases in both produce and groceries at Food Lion, and got a free organic salad dressing with purchase of their spring mix.  Parsley was harvested for potato salad on a warm day (about 70 degrees).  Swiss chard was harvested, as well as onions to add to black beans.  I brought home leftovers from my Valentine's dinner with J.  This was the first month of using my cash back credit card.  I put two dental bills on it, and a few meals, got over $8 cash back, and paid it off immediately.  Frozen blueberries from last year's garden were enjoyed in my oatmeal.  I spent many hours working on my taxes, and can see the end in sight.  A load of laundry was hung on the line.


I made a pot of taco soup, which has to be the easiest soup ever, and yummy.  It used home canned tomatoes, corn I froze last summer, dehydrated home grown garlic and onions, and some of the olives I recanned.  I had a small amount of leftover black beans and tomato sauce that I threw into the soup, to use them up.  I signed up to get 3 free credits on the History Channel, so we could watch Washington.  When we tried to watch it Sunday, it didn't seem available, though it showed I had 3 credits available.  We're really out of the loop with this technology, but are thinking it's possible we can't watch it live because we don't have paid TV, but can watch it afterwards on our Roku TV.  I hope so.  I paid utility bills online, saving stamps.  The Healthshare I belong to sent a letter of apology earlier in the year, for such poor customer service, with a promise to do better this year.  Last week, I received a couple of emails with signs of progress being made on some reimbursements I am due.  It is a significant amount for me, if they actually follow through, and I'm hopeful.  I called for info about being an election official, and intend to apply. 


Several items I plan to sell on ebay were researched, to get an idea of appropriate prices.  I drilled holes in two canister lids, and fitted them with carbon filters, making them compost crocks, which I listed in my shop.  J harvested turnips, and prepared them the way he loves, with bacon.  Orders were cleaned and powder coated.  J & I cleaned up some of the massive amounts of sticks and limbs in the yard, and burned them.  He had cut up the pine that fell into our garden the morning after the storm, and we cleaned up all the limbs from it.  I pruned plum trees and butterfly bushes.  I started cutting up one of the massive mystery/crossed winter squash, and a couple of hours later was getting a blister.  J rescued me, and cut up the last few pieces.  I roasted some of it, and pulled our lima beans from the freezer to have, along with basmati rice.  I had hoped to get some seeds planted last week.  I didn't, but there's always next week.  Wishing you a most peaceful week.

7 comments:

daisy g said...

Another busy week for you. I was thinking about pruning our butterfly bushes, but decided to wait a bit more. So glad you are able to continue to create meals from the garden and larder.
Hope you enjoy the sun today. More rain on the way!

Michèle Hastings said...

I am going to save the soup recipe to pinterest, it sounds yummy. We often have soup once a week.

Jeannie said...

Wise decision to pay off the credit card IMMEDIATELY. I use our middle son's credit card to buy things online because he earns 5% cashback. He has made quite a bit of "free" money doing it this way. When I place an order, I email my husband (so I won't forget) and he immediately transfers money to my son's checking account as soon as he gets to work. My son's bank account pays off the bill in full automatically so he is not charged anything by mistake. My son really appreciates the extra money.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

Laurie said...

Daisy, years ago I was told to prune butterfly bushes on Valentine's Day, and try to keep close to that. The woman had many beautiful butterfly bushes, so I figured she knew what she was talking about.

I hope you enjoy the soup, Michele. I'd have soup lots more often, if I could get J to agree!

I hadn't received the statement yet, Jeannie, but saw where they created it on the website, so paid it right then. I can see if you weren't strict about doing this, you could get in trouble. I should be OK, unless I just mess up, which I hope will not happen. Your son is lucky to have you.

Jenny said...

Laurie, the photos of the flowers and animals are lovely! Do you have a link to the compost containers you're making? I would be very interested in getting one of those and knowing how they work! We had a "usual" week around here but making slow and steady progress towards our financial goals :)
*Found out we could buy the big bag of bunny shredded bedding in the back of the farm store with the feed products which is only 1/4th of the cost of buying the same thing in the front part of the store. I was grateful for the cashier pointing this out!
*Continued my quest of purchasing as few trashbags as possible by using another pet food bag this week.
*Got a load of books through the new inter-library loan program at our tiny local library. I got books on homemaking, organizing, hospitality, gluten-free cooking, building and growing in greenhouses, and finances. I feel like I have found a whole new way of doing research :)
*Came in a bit under budget in groceries last week and got a notification from the auto insurance that it has been lowered a few more dollars this month.
*More on my blog! https://www.cozyhomemaking.com/frugal-fun-homemaking-for-february-9-15-2020/

Laurie said...

That was a great savings, to find the bedding at 1/4 the price. I see you're a book lover too! My shops are in the side bar. The compost crocks are in this shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/abelabodycare/. The crocks are meant to hold your kitchen scraps, then you'd empty it into your compost area outside, which, if I remember correctly, you recently built out of pallets?

Jenny said...

Laurie, yes the compost bin out of a big pallet turned out really well! We did move it a bit away from the garden as the cats quickly figured out it made a way for them to get into the fenced garden and use the beds as litter boxes! So it's moved and ready to use. These crocks are so cool! I have put it on my "to buy" list as I can see how handy these would be :)