Wood Working & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  During the week, J worked on cutting the burnt trees.  Our elderly neighbor likes to use smaller pieces in his woodstove, so we set those aside for him as they were cut.  He came by one day on his tractor, and we all loaded it into his trailer.  He brought us three bags of dried cranberries that had '21 on them, and said the store was going to throw out.  I'm guessing they were last year's, and expired earlier this year.  We were happy to get them.  They were put into mason jars, and will be sealed when we next do that.  He also brought us a few sweet potatoes.  J & I finished getting a large pile of split wood stacked under the woodshed.  All the pines cut down went to another neighbor who plans to use them for lumber.  There's been a delay in our solar plans, as we learned that there can be high tariffs from solar items imported from China.  J is sorting that out, and researching US sellers.  

I recently saw a post one of the local potteries put up, with lots of photos of their offerings.  There were so many lovely handmade things, in addition to pottery, it inspired me to visit and shop there.  I bought a gift for all the ladies, and finished shopping for a nephew, a niece, and my daughter in spirit.  I consider it a most successful outing.  I heard from M, letting me know he had Covid, despite being vaccinated.  No surprise there, considering his lifestyle choices.  During a quick perusal of the jam section in our pantry, I found a jar of peach preserves from years ago, and enjoyed it on several morning's oatmeal to use it up.  The last round of tiny squash and eggplant were used in a pasta sauce, with our tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs.  

pretty tromboncino

I'm harvesting lettuce a couple of times a week, and especially enjoying it in salads with pomegranate arils, red grapes and toasted pecans right now.  Before meeting my sister in town, I ran several errands.  I'd heard that sunflower seed for the birds would be going up.  Sure enough, at Lowe's, a 20# bag was $24.99.  I decided to check next door, at Tractor Supply, and was able to purchase a 40# bag for $21.99, a great savings.  I wish I had room to buy a few, but I only have room for one at a time, besides the bag I'm finishing.  I dropped off three boxes of donations, and found a wicker laundry basket, canister, and lidded jar.  The last two items will be used in my shop.  I found another local, handmade present for our GD at another stop, as well as a gift for my niece, and picked up another handmade gift my sister had been looking for.  A book was returned, and two more plus a movie were picked up at the library.  I'm not sure how good a price it is, but FL had cranberries on sale 2/$3, so I bought some.  I pulled 6 gallon bags of vegi bits from the freezer, throughout the week, made broth on the woodstove, and canned it all on Saturday.

Despite cold temps, there have still been a few blooms around the homestead.  Lettuce, collards, rosemary and a few hickory nuts have been gathered.  I made mushroom gravy to go with our potatoes, a comforting dish I love this time of year.  A jar of our butter beans and a salad rounded out the meal.  Changing up the layout of the garden, J emptied out several containers in late summer.  There was a parsley in one of them that grew enough so that I found it last week.  It was transplanted in a container along with the beets growing in it.  With the hens molting, it's been around a month since we've gotten an egg.  I was happily surprised with one egg this weekend.  Hopefully, there'll soon be more to follow.  Slower delivery dates were chosen on amazon, for digital credits.  Wishing you a most happy Thanksgiving.