Words For These Times & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I found two more volunteer tomato plants, which J transplanted.  We trained beans up the strings several times.  On a rainy day, I caught up on ironing and mending.  I mended 3 sweaters, a carry bag for a camp chair, and three pairs of J's work pants.  Yogurt was made.  For a business purchase, I combined going through swagbucks for 2% back, $25 off a $75 order, and 25% back through rewards.  J was able to get our a/c running with supplies we had on hand.  Hallelujah!  I listed an item on ebay.  Our library has reopened for curbside pick up, and I requested three books.  A celery end was planted in the garden.  It's been so wet, all the previous ones have rotted.  Several items were added to the thrift store donation box.  I harvested a grocery bag of mint for my niece.

The library called, and said books were ready for pick up, so I went to town, and got groceries while I was there.  There were some good produce prices at Aldi's, such as a seedless watermelon for $1.89.  Food Lion had avocados for .89.  Dog food has stayed on sale $3 off the usual.  I mostly shopped from my list, but also picked up produce that had decent prices.  I ran into the garden center at Lowe's, and got marigolds on the clearance rack for $1.  It was an 8 pack, and only 5 were good.  Still better than $1.98 ea. on the regular racks.  Just couldn't seem to start any this year.  I had hoped to find an oregon grape, which it appeared online they might have, but no luck there.  I put gas in my car for the first time since April 10.  A jar of our canned crowder peas was opened for dinner.

I finished weeding the carrot bed.  The chard, basil and parsley seedlings were transplanted into larger pots, where they'll hopefully grow further before planting.  We got tomato cages on the tomatoes.  A neighbor recently brought us a pile of tobacco sticks, which we used for a few tomatoes that we ran out of cages for.  There are quite a few with blooms.  I found several squash lady beetles on the summer squash, and shortly after, we saw our first squash bugs.  So, we're picking and squishing.  Hummus and taco soup was made for lunches.  We tasted our first service berries, as a few had ripened.  It's rained so much, they were a bit watery, but still had a nice flavor.

Another amaryllis

There have been a bounty of critters this week.  In my daily wanderings, I've come across skinks, lizards, wild turkeys, snakes and a tortoise.  I'm thankful to share the land with them.  I added some of our service berries to a fruit salad on Sunday.  Orders were created and packed over the weekend.  We enjoyed a relaxing dinner at a table near the pond on Sunday.  Many birds, butterflies, a skink and a lizard accompanied us.  We all have different ways of dealing with the current days.  One of the things that has uplifted me is poetry, as it speaks so beautifully to this time we are living in.  Here are two recent findings I'm very much enjoying:  First Sip and A Hundred Falling Veils.  Wishing you peace this week, my friends.