letters from the wilderness
Even though we've had quite a few expenses recently between a funeral, car repairs, and medical stuff, I'm focusing on saving where I can. Recently, a financial newsletter I read weekly talked about saving money as the skill of spending. I really liked that! Not buy Starbucks or Joe Beans coffee; made coffee at home... Continue Reading →
I'm trying something new this winter - growing black cherry tomatoes indoors in my basement greenhouse. To this date, the only expenditure in this experiment is electricity and a few plant supports. Everything else was already purchased or recycled. As I mentioned in my frugal Friday post, I transplanted my tomato seedlings this week into... Continue Reading →
Using stuff up in the fridge - We have a somewhat empty fridge this week. Now that I think about it, I like having a somewhat empty fridge because it pushes us to get creative with our cooking. We arrived at this status thanks to a trip to Pennsylvania for 3 days for a funeral.... Continue Reading →
I circled back to knitting this fall. I knitted a lot when my kids were younger. Mostly socks which were interesting enough yet short enough as a project to keep me interested. Hmm, I operate the same way when it comes to fitness. I guess I like to keep moving when doing stuff. We had... Continue Reading →
A few days late.... Grow cuttings from the garden for next year - I've been having some success starting cuttings from my garden for next year. Generally, I dip the cutting in rooting hormone and pop it into the soil. I saved the containers from plants I purchased this year to use for this purpose.... Continue Reading →
Only 4 things to report! Make chicken and beef stock for my dogs - Our dogs cost as much as our kids. Seriously, both dogs receive heartworm and tick medication and an antihistamine supplement. One dog, Winston, is on Apoquel for his allergies. Tobey is on Glycoflex for his hip and elbow dysplasia. I decided... Continue Reading →
I'm back! My schedule got a little crazy, and then we did a 24-hour visit to see our 2 sons in Pennsylvania. October Unprocessed - I set a goal of making stuff from scratch AND using up old ingredients. One item I'm using up is chia seeds purchased from Giant way back when. I toss... Continue Reading →
Time for a belated Frugal Friday post. Our fall schedule kicked into high gear with the addition of physical therapy appointments for my daughter to help her TMJ and me dealing with a sinus infection on top of a recurring ear infection. Fun times! Coupons! at Kroger, CVS, and cashback and Fetch rewards - When... Continue Reading →
1. Recycle plastic containers for chicken. Since I discovered Aldis used plastic containers for chicken pieces, I've been washing them and reusing them as plant bottoms for the plants I'm starting from seed or cuttings. 2. Use up bits of veggies in quiche. My sister-in-law mentioned making quiche and using up some peppers and onions... Continue Reading →
Time for my next edition of 5 frugal things. Leave plastic bottle under kitchen tap to collect drips. Our kitchen tap has been dripping off and on for several months. Since my husband has been working on other projects like the river birch stump, I simply stuck the plastic bottle under the tap and did... Continue Reading →
2 dogs and a house 