Monday, January 29, 2024

Late January Days


Hello, friends.  Last week, I made golden paste for the pups, and a double batch of ketchup.  All but one jar of the ketchup was frozen for future use.  Soapmaking oils were melted on the woodstove.  A pot of sweet potatoes was brought to a boil on the gas stove, then placed on the woodstove to finish cooking.  Back in the fall, I had picked up lentils at Dollar Tree, $1.25 for 12 oz., but I recently heard Aldi's carries them for .99/#, and picked up two pounds, at a savings of .04 per oz. or .68 a lb.  All these little amounts add up.  When dropping a book off at the library, I looked through their movies, and checked three out.  I do the most screen watching this time of year, to amuse myself during the long nights.  I was happy to see an old favorite series of mine, Northern Exposure, is now free to watch on Prime, and watched the first episode.



We had another cold spell, which froze the pond.  We don't see that every year.  When it warmed back up, I winter sowed three types of lettuce, arugula, mache and parsley.  A lb. of wood ash was applied at the drip line of the majority of our fruit trees.  The next time J cleans out the woodstove, I'll be able to finish the others.  The early flowers are waking up.  Last week, I noticed daffodil and hellebore flower buds. I look forward to the return of the flowers.  One of the large sweet potatoes was dehydrated for pup treats.  I cooked up several bags of our frozen lima beans, seasoned with our onions and vegetable broth for a gathering to celebrate my MIL's birthday.  Colcannon was also requested and brought.  The seeds of the lima beans have been handed down multiple generations of J's Mom's family.  At the grocery store, we got cherries for $3.99/# and lemons $1 off 2#.  This week looks to be a quiet one at home, which I'm looking forward to.  Wishing you a most lovely week.


10 comments:

Laurie said...

Several days nesting will be most appreciated. We've definitely had interesting weather. I was so happy to know your wintersown lettuce did well. I'd never tried it this early, and am excited to see how it does. Now to go through all the flower and herb seeds, and get some of those wintersown. Enjoy your week!

Staci @Life At Cobble Hill Farm said...

Thank you for mentioning Northern Exposure. I'd forgotten all about that show! I'll look it up on Prime.

Our weather has been such that we've never left mud season. Usually, the ground is frozen solid by now but not this year. It makes for an interesting trip out to the coop.

Enjoy your time at home!

Laurie said...

Oh man, I was really sliding and squishing in the mud on our walk up and down the hills this evening. I feel for you! I'd forgotten about Northern Exposure too, until someone mentioned it. It's a good one.

April said...

Northern Exposure! That was a trip down Memory Lane just seeing you mention it!

Laurie said...

Yes! Hopefully a good memory for you!

Jeannie said...

We share Prime with our son and since it has gone up to $140, we all decided to drop it. We don't know if really saves us enough to cover the cost. We order quite a large amount from them but often you get free shipping if you place a larger order. I'm watching everything I can on Prime Video before it stops in two weeks. We can sign back up later if we change our minds.

Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

Laurie said...

Oh, I need to see what I can find out about Prime video! Wait... I took that as Prime Video is stopping in two weeks, but maybe you're talking about your subscription? I hadn't heard about the rate increase. Joseph covers it, and orders a good amount for his business, where time is of the essence.

Jeannie said...

Prime Video is only stopping for us because we are canceling our subscription. My son pays the fee and hasn't paid attention to the amount - he has automatic billing. He is not as watchful of his money as I am. I don't trust banks. Since Joseph is using it for his business, he is probably ordering quite a large amount.

I got the idea to cancel after watching a money saving video of a woman who set up two accounts with Amazon, one was prime, the other wasn't. She compared the differences in shipping costs and discovered she could bundle her purchases and do just as well. We shall see how it goes.

Jeannie

Jeannie said...

As a follow up, one month without Amazon Prime has been fine. My son, who orders everything online (hates shopping) has learned to adapt. He is letting his orders build up and then places them all at once. (He complained about waiting a few days to get sandpaper. I wasn't sympathetic and told him to go to Dollartree.) I am doing fine without the movies. Instead, I am downloading audiobooks from the library and listening when it's too late to read at night. Bill seems to be spending his movie time watching news reports. I'm not sure if that is good or not.

I just finished the book "The Four Winds" by Kristen Hannah. It is the story of a lady who lived through the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. It is quite intense and eye-opening. Never again will I take having a floor beneath my feet for granted. I highly recommend it.

Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

Laurie said...

I've read The Four Winds! It's a good one. LOL re: Bill and the news. My BIL drives my sister crazy with the news on constantly. Thankful we do our computer watching with headphones :o). I'm glad you found a new way to save that you're adapting to easily.