The Light of a New Year

Hello, friends.  Last week, I made sweet potato pie with leftover sweet potatoes.  Lettuce was harvested for egg and avocado toast.  On Monday, J did some work at a distillery that sells food in their tasting room.  The sell by date was up on a number of their jams, and local specialty goat cheeses were dated the following day.  They filled a box up for him, which he brought home, and immediately shared some with his business partner, and some with a neighbor.  We tried the mango goat cheese before dinner, which was very nice.  He tried a dill and lemon pepper one later in the week, and I tried an onion and chive one, and we thought both were good.  They're nice treats for us.  Our beets were used in an apple beet salad.  My mending pile, and the ironing were caught up.  I sewed two hair scrunchies, using some of the plant-dyed fabric.  A load of laundry was hung on the line, but didn't fully dry, with possible rain forecast that night, so it was finished in the dryer.  I enjoyed walks with the pups when it wasn't raining.  Soapmaking oils were melted on the woodstove.  The man who recently gave a shout out on my shaving brush and the sample soap on his youtube channel, did another nice segment this week on my shaving soap, and I already sold one soap from it.    

Spaghetti squash and lambs quarter were pulled from the freezer for a side dish.  Winter squash and peanuts were pulled from the freezer for succotash, and thyme was harvested to go in it.  Our garlic was used in a brussels sprouts dish, and our blueberries were used in cranberry relish.  After picking a book up at the library, I got local milk in our small community store, and several greeting cards at Dollar General.  I've been going through things, mostly paperwork, as I can. A pile of papers were shredded, and others were organized.  Some books will be donated.  With all the shredding, another bin of shredded paper was added to the compost bin.  I found the seed starting schedule, and the peas saved from last year that I'll soon be planting.  Some of the small sweet potatoes were cooked on the woodstove for the pups.  Bean burritos were made for a simple meal one night.  The hens have upped their egg laying some.  I hope it lasts.  On a night J felt like having sausages and baked beans, I pulled frozen leftover broccoli in garlic sauce from the freezer, and made some jasmine rice.  

I had my first massage appointment since last March, which was lovely, then delivered soap to a gallery across the street.  I usually go to the thrift store after, but didn't this time, with the recent treasures I brought home.  On the way home, I shopped at Harris Teeter, picking up a favorite wine at $2 off, another bottle of wine for my sister that was on sale, and mushrooms for .99 ea.  I bought 4 packs, and intend to can them for future meals.  In one of the aisles, I happened to look up, and saw a Ball box on the top shelf.  Though I couldn't see anything in it, when I pulled it down, I found boxes of regular canning lids.  I bought 6 of them, at $2.99 ea., and left the remainder for someone else.  I'd recently been looking for lids without luck, and was very happy to find these.  It's hard to know how many I'll need each year, but I feel better having these.  There was some ricotta that needed to be finished, and a little bit of pasta sauce.  They were combined, and served over pasta, with a green salad.  The last of some homemade salad dressing was finished.  I redeemed 2200 Swagbucks for a $25 Lowes GC. 

We had an hour of intermittent mixed wintry precip on Saturday.  Nothing stuck, but it was nice to see a few snow flurries.  The stove was cleaned with baking soda and homemade thieves vinegar.  While I was powder coating orders, J put the final window in the new workshop, which he picked up for $25 through fb Marketplace, and worked on the door hardware.  I finally cooked the last of the chestnuts last week, and on Sunday, made a chestnut mousse with most of what remained.  Laundry was hung on the line, which dried quickly in the breeze.  I enjoyed watching several episodes of Victoria on amazon prime, as well as a few things on youtube.  I'm sending wishes and prayers for peace in the US this week, as well as the rest of the world.  May it be so.  

January Goodness & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, there was some flat beer, after opening a crowler (32 oz) of local beer, and not drinking it in time.  I know, a bit of a tragedy.  After researching ways to use it, I mixed it with a little bit of ammonia, a can of old soda and water, and poured it over the compost, as an activator.  At least it was put to good use.  I pulled cubes of our winter squash from the freezer, and made butternut crumble, also using our onion, garlic and parsley.  I mixed half real butter and half plant "butter" in the crumble, to help use it up.  With recently harvested broccoli, I made broccoli, cashew, apple & pear salad.  Our cool space is sadly not cold enough for apples, and they've all gotten soft.  Most are being cut up for the pups dinners, and a few have gone to the chickens.  I could turn them into applesauce, but they're all quite small, and seems like just a bit too much work for what I'd get.  Loads of laundry were hung on the line a couple of days.  It was a cold chore, but they dried well.  

Two ripe bananas were frozen for smoothies or bread.  Pasta sauce was made with our canned tomatoes, oregano, parsley, basil, onions & garlic.  A batch of yogurt was made.  Lots of paperwork was done on Tuesday.  While gathering papers needed for paying sales tax and estimated taxes, I gathered a few items I'll need for the regular taxes.  It's a start.  Egg laying has slowed down greatly, normal for this time of year.  I'm lucky to get one a day at present.  My GD and I visited on facetime on her birthday.  Two free books were downloaded on the Kindle app, and two books were requested from the library.  I decided to head to a different Food Lion than the one I usually go to, which is the same distance.  I redeemed a $4 reward towards my purchases.  Across the street, I went to a thrift store, and picked up 4 cotton sheets and 6 pillowcases for $10.50.  A king sheet will be used for dyeing, and the remainder will be for home use.  Lots of our sheets have gotten holes this past year, so I was happy to find these.  We especially need flannel sheets.  No luck there, though I did find 3 flannel pillowcases.  I do love vintage linens.  Though they don't last as long as new, they're inexpensive, already soft, and I love to mix and match them.  My sister always jokes that she can always find me in linens, in a thrift store.  

Just across the parking lot is a consignment mall I've only been in maybe three times over the years.  I went by there, and found all sorts of treasures, including 2 pillowcases and a 1/2 gal. jar for $1 ea., a glass refrigerator dish $4, 2 plates from a pottery just up the road $7 ea., a large terra cotta planter $6, plates that match others I have for our annual hayride 4/$5, plus pottery orchid pots, a covered enamel pan, and canister to turn into a compost crock.  The most expensive item was an enamel laundry bin for $20, but it's so nice to have all the laundry things corralled and out of sight.  I can't remember the last time I had a haul like that, and look forward to putting everything to good use.   I harvested winter greens, and made a hearty winter salad, to go with cream of celery soup which used our onion and potato.  My husband ordered sweet potato sets for the spring.  He waited last year, and had trouble finding them.  We've had some good years and other not so good years in starting our own, so for now, we feel better about knowing we'll have some.   He also ordered onion plants.  Two books I'd requested were picked up at the library.  

Our a/c leak was never found by us or the repairman, so we've decided to get a new system that is a different type from the one we have, and the one J says we should have gotten to begin with, instead of throwing more money into this one.  J was able to get a business account with the company, and this saved us $1000 over the cheapest price we found previously on the unit.  Feeling very grateful about that.  We will use our stimulus funds toward the purchase.  I harvested parsley, for roasted carrots, and used our onions in black beans, and a vegi version of my Grandmother's stuffing.  Several sweet potatoes were baked, so there would be leftovers.  A year or more ago, I realized tight shoes were causing a small bunion.  I changed my shoes, which has gone a long way, but there is still occasional discomfort.  I mixed up essential oil blends I read about, which are supposed to help with any inflammation and discomfort.  Oh, the adventures of growing older.  Several nice tufts of usnea were found in my woods wanderings, and a new jar of tincture was started.  I'd intended to remove Christmas decorations from the tree, and leave birds nests, pinecones, mushrooms, etc. for a bit longer, but found it was so dry, I decided to take it down.  Though areas around us got dustings of snow on Friday, it missed us.  I'll keep hoping.  Here's to a week of January goodness.  

A Fresh New Year & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  While in our local small town, I checked into Dollar General, and got a roll of wrapping paper 1/2 off.  It's a nice large roll, so should last a good while.  More and more, I'm using pretty boxes and fabric wraps for J's presents, but still use wrapping paper for others.  While J was out of town working, I pulled okra and veggie patties from the freezer, to have with leftover sweet potato.  The credit card bill came in for our new workshop supplies, and I paid it immediately, so there would be no interest.  Laundry was hung on the line, and yogurt was made.  After washing one of J's merino wool sweaters, I noticed three small holes, and mended them with the darning feature on my sewing machine.  I love that feature!  I also mended the hems of a pair of around the house pants, while I was there.  I scrubbed the bamboo cutting board with baking soda and homemade thieves vinegar, to remove the onion smell.  It worked really well, and the fruit I cut no longer tastes like onion, a definite plus.  

On a raw, cold day, I gathered all of the jars of medicinal tinctures from this year, and strained and bottled them.  While pulling them out of the pantry, I also found the jar of mint honey I'd made, and have been enjoying a spoonful of it as a simple tea.  Our potatoes in storage are fading.  I had to compost a few, and made a pot of mashed potatoes.  J asked for mushroom gravy, so I tried it with one of the home canned jars of mushrooms, instead of fresh, and it turned out great.  That's good to know.   A full bin of shredded paper and cardboard were emptied into the compost bin.  Kale was harvested for a farro pilaf, which also used our onions, garlic and homemade broth.  The onion experiment this year, of braiding them as garlic is often done, has been a success.  I've been pulling the ones that start sprouting, and the braids have stayed together, probably because there was a strand of twine among them.  There have been just a few I've had to compost, but for the most part, I'm keeping up with them.  It seems to work better than having them all together in a basket, and I'd do them this way again.

The pilaf recipe I mentioned was surprisingly wasteful, the directions saying to cut up carrots, celery and a 1/2 onion to cook the pilaf in, along with a quart of broth (in this case, homemade).  It then instructs you to drain the pilaf when cooked, and discard the vegetables.  The recipe was from a well known magazine.  Of course, I wasn't going to waste perfectly good food, so kept it all, and used the broth and vegetables as a base for soup a couple of days later.  I'd been waiting for a good time to make a Vitacost purchase.  One morning, I received a code for 20% off vitamins and supplements, and went through swagbucks to get another 8% back.  That was definitely worth the wait.  The pocket calendar I bought for this year didn't come with a plastic sleeve.  It would never make it two years in my pocketbook, so I used some heavy plastic, and sewed one.  I was wanting a clear cover, but if the plastic doesn't hold up, I'll probably end up sewing a fabric cover.  J & I started a jigsaw puzzle on New Years Eve, which has been fun.  

For New Years Day, I decided to make Earth Goddess soap, an old favorite that I haven't made in 9 or so years.  It has a warm, earthy scent I just love.  Whenever I make a batch of soap, it requires pouring it into the mold quickly, when it's at that point.  This means there's always a bit of soap remaining in the pot, so instead of wasting it, or sending it down the drain, which is not so good for our septic system, I scrape it and often make little soap balls with it.  We use the soap balls at the bathroom sink, and I recently used some of the Earth Goddess ones.  Yup, soap is perfectly good to use for years, decades even.  I knew when I caught the scent that I wanted to make more, and it seemed a fitting endeavor for the first day of the New Year.  That the old soap still smells so nice this many years later is a testament, I believe, to the quality of natural essential oils used for scent.  I expect the years would not be as kind to manmade fragrance oils.  

More positive happenings on New Years day included shop orders, and the nicest message from a man who was so impressed with the quality of the shaving brush and soap sample his wife gave him from my shop, he featured them on his YouTube channel.  What a lovely surprise to receive such positive feedback and encouragement, just as this new year begins.  I intended to sew some masks months ago, but then was given three handmade masks by a friend, so never got around to it.  No more than I go out, three has been enough for me.  But, they've all been washed numerous times, and I don't know how much longer they'll hold up.  The first one I made was with some of my avocado dyed fabric.  The pattern was adult size, and was way too big for me, but fits J well.  I already had a kids pattern, so made it with the same fabric.  It fits me much better. I decided to make two more, this time using some of my eco-print fabric.  One of these will be going to my GD.  I still have to adjust the ear loops, and put the knots inside.  Next, I hope to make some hair scrunchies.  Over the weekend, I helped J pull wire for the new workshop, he installed the electric panel, finished putting up all the corner boards, and did the door trim.  All in all, a fine start to the new year.  May 2021 be kinder to us all.

  

As 2020 Draws To a Close & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  One of winter's blessings is noticing how the light moves and changes through the house.  Lentil soup was made for a dinner, and ciabatta rolls pulled from the freezer and warmed.  Our Christmas Day was a quiet one, with just the two of us.  Earlier in the week, I made cookies and candy with my GD and niece.  The honeycomb candy did not come out well, due to my error in following the directions to heat "all" the ingredients in a pot, only to find out the baking soda was to wait until the next step.  It never set up well, though it was edible if you didn't mind the stickiness.  There wasn't time to make another batch, and notes were made on the recipe for the next time.  We were able to view the Christmas star and some lovely holiday lights when taking our GD home.  Cabbage, carrots and dandelion greens were harvested.  Imperfect carrots were cut up for the pups dinners, and the tops added to the broth bag.  Containers of homemade cookies were given to our mail carrier and Fedex driver, as a small token of our appreciation.

 

Yogurt was made, and three celery ends were put in a pan of water to regrow.  Oatmeal was enjoyed with our peaches and blueberries a couple of mornings.  Books were requested from the library, including A Quilt For Christmas, which was started on the 23rd and finished Christmas afternoon.  We watched The Bishop's Wife for free via amazon prime on Christmas Eve.  To have with the movie, we tried an old, but new to us drink I'd seen in a recent Country Living magazine, called Tom & Jerry.  It surprisingly used raw eggs, but as we were using our own eggs, I wasn't concerned.  We cut the recipe in thirds, to make enough for us each to have a cup, which was just right.  We both thought it was good, and we'll probably make it again this holiday season.  Pasta Norma was made on Christmas Day, which used our canned tomatoes and eggplant, onions, garlic, and herbs, with the addition of cheese.  A green salad was made, using some of the gifted pomegranate.  Though it was off my radar before watching The Crown, I've come to enjoy watching the Queen's Christmas message, particularly this year's.  I also enjoyed watching the Call The Midwife Christmas special online for free.

J & I  went around the garden, covering up all that we had coverings for, as it was getting down in the teens Christmas night.  When I harvested collards the next day, they didn't look as though they'd been affected, which is lovely.  That morning, the pups and I walked as usual, though I layered on another wool sweater.  Laundry was hung on the line.  The collards were enjoyed in a saute, with our sweet potatoes and lima beans.   Sunday morning was another morning for frost flowers.  I love having interesting things to look for on my walks, and how those things change throughout the year.  We needed some supplies for the workshop build, and J got his 5% veterans discount for that.  We also ran into Big Lots.  I was hoping to find Christmas cards marked down, but there were none left.  I did find two sweet little reusable boxes marked 50% off, making them .75 ea.  We also did an Aldi's shop, and stocked up on produce, bread, frozen organic corn, and also got a bottle of Prosecco for New Years Eve.  I found pineapple for $1.29, mangoes for .79, brussels sprouts for $1.49, and Cara Cara oranges for $3.99.  As I've yet to find a sale on organic butter, we bought 4 lbs for $4.49 ea., the best price I've seen this year.  We've used quite a bit of butter lately, so this will help restock.  Extra sweet potatoes were baked, and one was used in pancakes on Sunday, with some home ground wheat.  Homemade buttermilk was also used, and a new batch started with the remainder.  Some of our dried crowder peas were placed on the woodstove to cook.  As the year draws to a close, I'm looking forward to ushering in a bright, shiny new year.  Here's to a year of peace, hope, health, and the blessings of the company of loved ones again.

Winter Solstice & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I was able to catch up on a number of things on my to do list.  One day, I made dog treats and a double batch of granola.  For the dog treats, I pulled cubed pumpkin from the freezer, and pureed them when defrosted, to add to the dough.  Home ground wheat was used in both the dog treats and granola.  The forecast for Wednesday kept changing, and in the end, we only got rain.  But, it was one of those raw, cold days, so I made a cup of tea and mended cashmere sweaters, then ironed while watching a few short videos on youtube.  When I have various bits of leftovers, I tend to make fritters these days.  This week, they included pinto beans, corn, lentils with maple syrup, sauteed cabbage, and lambs quarter.  I made cranberry blueberry relish again, to go with them, and opened a can of peas.  Peaceful Christmas tunes have been enjoyed several days on Pandora, and I enjoyed listening to this Robin Wall Kimmerer interview.  If you haven't had the pleasure, I'd recommend reading her Braiding Sweetgrass book. 

Pasta sauce was made with our tomatoes, summer squash, herbs, garlic and onions.  Laundry was hung on the line.  Lettuce was gathered for salads.  Cashmere sweaters were washed with homemade soap gel.  I added soap gel to the bathroom sink dispenser. Kale and collards were harvested, enough for 18 cups of chopped greens, but you know how it cooks down to not much.  I used them in a new to us recipe.  Next time, I'll cut down on the bread crumbs, and may halve the recipe.  I subbed cheddar for fontina cheese, as that's what I had.  We thought it was yummy, but it's definitely not lowfat.  Some comfort food right about now is a good thing, I'm thinking.  Some of our potatoes and store bought rutabagas were cooked to go with it.  We decorated our tree on Friday, bringing some cheer to these short days.  First, we had to hang the paintings on the living room wall, taken down in the spring when painting, as they were sitting where the tree goes.  That's been on my to do list a long time, waiting for J, so I'm glad to have that done.  There's a book I've been wanting to read, but hadn't wanted to buy.  I checked my library again, and they now have it, so I put it on my list.  

This was the first year I tried bringing in the turmeric pot for the winter, to give it extra growing time.  It began fading rapidly last week, so I harvested what there was, a small 2 1/2" piece, and three tiny pieces.  Not enough to save to replant, they were cut up and added to the Fire Cider in progress.  J was visiting family over the weekend.  While he was gone, I pulled a bag of maitake from the freezer, and made mushroom gravy with jasmine rice for dinner.  He's sensitive to many foods, and that's one of them, so I'm using up the frozen mushrooms whenever he's away.  Some were used in a breakfast scramble on Sunday.  Earlier this week, I had mixed up a batch of za'atar, from foraged sumac.  Some was made for us, and some for his Mom, who expressed interest in tasting it some time ago.  I also sent him with a couple of jars of preserves.  On Saturday, I was grateful to be able to devote most of the day to spiritual pursuits.  On Sunday, I went through cookie recipes, in anticipation of our GD coming to bake cookies this week, then wrapped all the presents, and decorated, both of these simpler than most years.  I have all the ingredients for the cookies.  A number of J's presents were wrapped in cloth wrappers and pretty boxes I'd saved, instead of paper.  Almost all of the ribbons were reused ones.  I'm looking forward to the return of the light. Happy Winter solstice!

Frost Flowers & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I made pintos with cornbread, which J requested.  The cornbread was made with home ground wheat and corn, homemade buttermilk and our eggs.  I enjoyed sorghum syrup on my cornbread, which came from a small, local store, but was made in TN.  Recently, a man approached J about making a sorghum pan, for a possible new local endeavor.  Joseph's company has built a sorghum pan in the past, and he told him it would be no problem.  I do hope this new business works out.  They'd have my support.  A new batch of buttermilk was made, started with what was left from the cornbread.  After a dental appointment, I stopped at an antique mall on the way home that I've wanted to check out, and found an enamel pitcher, the main reason I stopped there.  I've been wanting one to keep in the shower for warm up water, so I could keep my soap pitcher for that purpose only.  The enamel pitcher is certainly more attractive than the plastic soap one, which makes me happy.  I also found four vintage pillowcases at 1/2 price there, $2 for all.  Three of the pillowcases were hand embroidered, and I found a sweet birdhouse ornament made from old quilts for $5.

I recently learned about Julie Zickefoose, and have learned several interesting things from her, including frost flowers and graupel.  On a walk one morning, I was delighted to see some frost flowers, which I've never noticed in the 24 years I've lived here.  I do love learning about the natural world, and the life forms that share this place with me.  I made a waldorf salad with our celery, after Becky mentioned doing the same.  In another effort to use frozen items, I pulled homegrown peaches and made cobbler, and a bag of pesto for dinner.  I continue to baby my muck boots along.  Besides the holes where the sections join, the sole separates from the boot once or twice a week.  I've tried shoe goo and a glue gun, but either way, it comes apart fairly quickly.  I sure hope Santa brings me new ones.  Our thoughts are moving to the seasonal treat of Hot Buttered Rum.  I mixed a batch of the dry portion up, so it will be ready.  I found another volunteer lettuce in the garden, and transplanted it to the cold frame bed.  I repotted the strawberry plants a friend gave me, as they shouldn't be planted out until the spring in this area.  

After orders were powder coated on Saturday, I helped J put the first two windows in the workshop.  On Sunday, the porch posts and roof were put up, and the porch flooring.  I wrapped and shipped the one Christmas box that needed to be shipped.  No wrapping paper, tags or cards needed to be bought this year.  I try and purchase the coming year's cards each year, but not sure if that will happen this year.  Hummus was made for lunches.  Notes and lists were written on scrap paper.  Yogurt was made.  Laundry was hung on the line.  We had a dinner of lentils with maple syrup, sweet potatoes and cornbread.  Though there were no markdowns this year, we bought our Christmas tree.  We'd been hearing stories of shortages of trees, and wanted to be sure to get one.  With not much in the way of festivities this year, a tree will surely help to bring cheer to the season.  J did get his veteran's 5% discount at checkout.  There's a chance we'll have wintry precip this coming week.  Soon the light will be returning.  Enjoy these remaining days of fall, friends.  

Workshop Progress & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Happy December.  Last week, I harvested lettuce and parsley.  I made spaghetti sauce with some of the parsley, our onions, garlic, canned tomatoes, and a cube of the basil I had froze.  The parsley that didn't get used in the sauce was frozen.  I like Margaret's method of freezing it in logs.  For the new workshop, two french doors and three windows were found on fb marketplace, in various places, for $170 total.  We already had some windows.  Only two of the windows will match, but that's OK with me.  I also have a solatube that we'd planned to use in the studio build.  That never happened, so I've asked for it to be used in the workshop.  M suggested a diagonal placement of the doorway, which I liked, as it will mostly be facing trees and flowers, instead of directly looking at the shop, or the lawn mower and such under the shed.  It will also allow me the best view of the house.  I'm willing to give up a few feet of floor space for a better view.

For dinner one night, J asked for vegetable soup. I gathered a can of our tomatoes, onions, garlic, frozen corn, frozen black eyed peas, homemade broth, and store bought carrots and celery.  I also used a pint of cabbage from the canning experiment in the soup, after draining the liquid, and we both agreed it was fine.  Hopefully, we will also like the cabbage sauteed, as I mostly canned quarts, which I think is a bit too much to add to soup.  Soup leftovers were enjoyed for my lunch.  I'm blessed that orders continue to come in to my soap shop, so I've packed and shipped them several days this week.  A fresh batch of Back To The Garden soap was made, which incorporates homegrown mint and local clay in its recipe.  It's been a best seller this holiday season, and sold out over the weekend.  A pan of eggshells was crushed, and added to the compost bin.

The hollies, winterberries and nandina are looking festive these days.  When we replaced our refrigerator this summer, we were in the middle of harvest season, and kept the old one on the porch, to use for the excess.  I have to admit, it was nice to have the space, though definitely trashy looking.  I finally got the last of the food emptied out of that freezer and fridge, and unplugged it.  One of the things found in the freezer was a partially used bag of garbanzo flour.  It smells fine, but has been in there a while, so I thought to look for ideas for using it for animals, and found a recipe for dog treats I plan to try.  There are only three ingredients... the flour, applesauce or pumpkin, and peanut butter.  Seems a good way to use it up.  I woke very early on Saturday, and was moving slow, so decided it was a good day to make some cocoa, and finish writing holiday cards.  A load of laundry was hung on the line.  A broccoli dish was made, using a mix of ours and store bought broccoli, and our garlic, eggs and onions.

J and his son put the roof on and attached the siding for the workshop on Sunday.  Next will be framing and putting the windows in.  Between powder coating orders, I made lunch for us, the Prudent Homemaker's taco soup, and pulled a loaf of fig bread from the freezer to have with it.  I harvested a small but ready broccoli.  Hopefully, the others will grow much larger, and this one will have some good side shoots.  Collards were harvested to saute for dinner.  Winter squash was pulled from the freezer for butternut squash crumble, and lima beans were also pulled from the freezer.  I needed 1/2c of broth for the crumble, and pulled some mushroom broth I had frozen.  Bringing all the outdoor freezer in has made it a bit tight, so I'm trying to use frozen things as I can.  It makes it so much easier to use what's there, when you can see what you have in the freezer.  I'm slowly putting away the fall decor.  We may look for a tree next weekend.  I keep twinkly lights up all year, and gathered cedar, holly, pine, and catbrier berries for a small bouquet.  

I needed to replace a pillar candle, and noticed I paid .25 at the thrift store for the "new" one in 2017.  I've only bought beeswax candles the past couple of years, and that's what I use at our kitchen table, but I'll use up my thrifted stash of other candles until they're gone.  If you could use some frugal encouragement, join the community of like minded folks at The Prudent Homemaker.  Well friends, it's been a whirlwind of a week.  I hope the coming week will be full of good things for us all.  Be well, friends.