This Month's Grocery Spending - August 2022

 

Next to my no spend month in April this was my lowest month of grocery spending coming in at $46.11.  I was, and still am, on a mission to use up what is currently sitting in my kitchen freezer and the odds and ends of things in the refrigerator, mainly condiments.  I made a BIG dent in that endeavor by using up a jar of pickles, a jar of banana peppers, a jar of minced garlic, a jar of pesto, a container of mustard and ketchup, all of the leftover salad dressings with only one or two servings left in them, the veggies I had in the crisper drawer as well as any leftovers from meals I prepared throughout the month.  It made for some creative meal planning and added some interest in the process.  I do not want anything to go to waste and so far, so good.

 

My first shopping trip this month at Winco

My focus this month was to supplement only the fresh produce I would need throughout the month and to purchase only what was on sale.  I found a lot of good stuff to choose from too as this is the time of the year when produce seems most abundant, especially local produce.  Even though the prices were good I needed to make sure I didn't over buy which I tend to do at times.

 

The first week of the month I didn't shop at all as I wanted to use up what I already had.  After that I shopped weekly picking up only what I found on sale.  At Winco I was able to refill my produce bin and pick up a few pantry items I was low on.  The next two weeks I shopped at Albertson's and only purchased their loss leaders and sales items making for some really low cost shopping.

 

My second grocery haul from Albertson's & Dollar Tree

I allocate myself $25 each month for nonfood items, but since I hadn't been spending that money I used some of it to establish a $100 budget to stock up on pet food and supplies for winter.  So far I have the kitties and the bunny taken care of and a good start on my chickens.

 

I got this plus two 22# bags of dry food from Amazon

You can see from my list I did not purchase any meat and that is because I didn't need too.  In previous months I had stocked up on meat, mostly found on markdown or a great sale so I'm pretty well set for a while.  I was able to pick up some sliced cheeses on sale and that will likely last me for a couple of months or so.

 

Like this month my plan for next month is pretty much the same.  I will shop the sales to supplement what I already have on hand and fill in any gaps in my pantry.  Again my main focus will be on fresh produce and possibly some dairy.  I'll continue to prepare delicious and nutritious meals using up a lot of what I already have in the pantry and freezer too.

 

My last shopping trip at Albertson's - all loss leaders & sales items

How are you doing with your grocery budget these days?  Are you changing up what you normally do in order to combat the rise in prices?  Did you happen across any great bargains?

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 21

 

It has been hot around here.  In fact the news reported it as our hottest summer on record with the most days over 100°.  To beat the heat I spent a great deal of my time last week indoors in my craft room sewing.  It has been a very long time since I've been able to just sit and sew.  I've done some mending, but not actual cut fabric from patterns and make something.  I made a bunch of doll clothes and I had a ball.  I also have been coming up with some new ideas for rehabbing a few old dolls I just happen to have hanging around.  I'm excited about that too.

 

I combined and ran errands on Tuesday.  It was the first time I'd left the house in a week, which felt a little weird, but also very nice.  Since renovating the house, both inside and out, I find it is becoming more difficult to want to leave.  I went to the post office, the bank, the liquor store for some Sloe Gin 😏, the grocery store for a handful of items on sale and swung through the library on the way home to drop off the DVDs and one of the books I had checked out.

 

Angus beef patty & asparagus

Pot roast & vegetables

I knocked cleaning under and behind the stove and refrigerator off of my quarterly checklist, did another pass through my closet and purged two more items I no longer wear, fixed one of my kitchen drawers that had a screw loose, did some reorganizing of my sewing notions, did a little work around the yard as well as my usual housekeeping chores and a load of laundry.

 

I thought this was super cute

and of course I liked this one 😃

Thursday I went to the fair, which was a much smaller venue than the last time I went prior to 2020.  There weren't nearly as many exhibits, animals or vendors.  I think there were fewer rides too, which was fine as I wasn't planning to go on any.  My favorite part is the exhibits and the animals.  While there weren't many dollhouses or dioramas and no dolls to speak of there were plenty of beautiful quilts to admire.  And I did.  Oh my goodness there were so many gorgeous pieces.

 

Next I made a quick jaunt through the vendors, I wasn't buying so no need to doddle.  Then I did go see what animals they did have which sadly didn't take me very long.  It was a hot day so I only stayed for a couple of hours and then headed home.  Hopefully next time I go there will be more for me to see.

 

This log cabin dollhouse is adorable

So fun to look at these

This miniature tack shop is really cool

I prepared a small pot roast in my slow cooker and enjoyed that with some carrots and broccoli florets.  I cooked up a couple of angus beef patties and finished up the asparagus I had steamed the week before.  I had also picked up a bag of frozen ravioli at the dollar store last month to try so I cooked that and used up a small container of pasta sauce I had stashed in the freezer to go along with that.  The ravioli was surprisingly good.  I am beginning to see a little bit of space opening up in the kitchen freezer, but I still have a ways to go.

She posed for me

Here's some more quilts

I hope you all had a great week!

 

 

 

Preparing For Winter 2022

 

This is the time of year when I begin to prepare for the winter ahead.  Purchasing extra supplies so I am stocked up in anticipation of higher heating bills and inclement weather gives me greater peace of mind.  My main focus right now is acquiring enough pet food and supplies so I don't have to go out in bad weather to buy what we need.  Tossing a bag of chicken feed into the back of my truck during a rain or snow storm is not ideal and can ruin the feed on the way home.  Not to mention, carrying heavy bags of feed or cat food across an icy driveway can be a bit hazardous.  With this in mind I make sure I don't have to worry about it and pick up enough to get through the winter.

 

Beginning in July of each year I try to purchase one large bag of dry cat food and a 50# bag of chicken feed to stack in my garage.  I keep an extra chicken water feeder and bowls for the cats on hand in case something gets broken.  I also make sure they all have plenty of treats too.  Each fall I like to have a full bale of grass hay for the bunny and a full bag of her veggie pellets in the garage too.  This year I've really noticed that pet food has been a little thin on the shelves and the last time I bought hay I had to drive across town as my regular feed store I get it at was out.  I find it even more important to make sure I keep extra on hand now more than ever before.

 

As far as for myself I make sure to fill in any gaps in my pantry or freezer and I check my supply of toiletries, first aid supplies, medicines and cleaning supplies making sure I pick up anything I may need.  That way if the weather turns bad or I catch a cold I won't feel pressed to go to the stores and can just stay home.  Also, when the heat bill is higher I won't feel stressed about my budget because I won't have to spend money on things I already have.

 

Over the summer and in the fall any maintenance. repairs or improvements to my house and vehicles are also taken care of.  No one really wants to change the oil or patch the roof in the middle of winter so I try to make sure all of those maintenance items are taken care of before the weather changes.  I also check my tools (this year I need to consider replacing my snow shovel), supply of ice melt, make sure I have good winter clothing on hand, plenty of blankets in the linen closet, extra cooking fuel, lamp oil and candles in case the power goes out, and so forth.

 

While we can prepare for everything I feel that what I do each year has helped me to a lot to be as prepared as possible.  With rising costs, shortage of goods and odd weather patterns I just need to do what I can at the moment.  What are some of the things you do to prepare for winter.

 

Not Just Any Rice & Beans

 

Leftovers at my house have a tendency to morph into new meals that carry me through the following week.  I get great economy out of the food I purchase and prepare.  A couple weeks ago I had opened a pint jar of homemade beanless chili to make a chili dog meal and use up a couple leftover hot dogs.  Once that meal was prepared and eaten I had about two thirds of a jar of leftover chili and no idea of what to do with it.

 

Chili with black beans

I personally prefer my chili with beans so I didn't want to just eat what was leftover.  I did have a jar of black beans I had canned in my pantry so I pulled that out and then the ideas began to flow.  I knew I could make a delicious chili simply by combining the leftovers with the jar of beans, however I also knew I could take it up another notch simply by using up some other leftover items in the refrigerator as well.  Primarily a jar with a couple tablespoons of salsa left in it.

 

Seasoned rice

This made a lot of food for not a lot of money

I began by sautéing one cup of rice in a pot with a little bit of oil.  While the rice toasted I filled up the salsa jar with two cups of warm water and gave it a good shake.  Once the rice was sautéed I used the salsa water as the liquid to cook the rice.  I seasoned the rice further with some chili powder, cumin, onion powder and minced garlic and cooked it for five minutes over medium heat before turning the burner off and allowing the residual heat to finish the cooking process.  Click here to learn more about how I prefer to cook rice.

 

A delicious burrito

While my rice cooked I combined the jar of black beans and leftover chili in a saucepan and brought it to a boil then simmered it with some additional chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder and garlic salt.  I warmed up a flour tortilla and placed some of the rice, some of the chili, some leftover grated sharp cheddar cheese I had in the fridge and sprinkled hot sauce over it to make a most delicious burrito for my lunch.  It was so good I ended up having another one for supper and lunch again the next day.

 

Rice & beans topped with cheese

Another way to enjoy the chili and the rice is to simply place a serving of each one in a bowl and top with cheese.  In either case, the bowl of rice and beans or the burrito, you could add various toppings such as sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado or guacamole and change it up even more.  I think the key to making the ever so affordable rice and beans meal more palatable is to make sure we add a lot of flavor to the meal.  My typical red beans and rice recipe is loaded with flavor too and this variation is every bit as good, in my opinion.  It's a different take on it and I quite enjoyed it.  In doing this I was able to make several more delicious meals for myself for mere pennies.  By thinking a little bit outside the box I was able to make some wonderful, low cost meals and minimize any potential food waste in the process by using up quite a few items that were hanging out in my refrigerator that needed to be used up.  I will definitely be making this meal again.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 20

 

I have been steadily working on my quarterly housekeeping checklist and ticking off the boxes as I go, which I find oddly satisfying, I must say.  Lately I've been doing some more decluttering and reorganizing as I am sprawling out in my larger spaces now that all of the kiddos are gone.  I went through everything under the bathroom sinks as well as under the kitchen sink and purged more items I do not want or need.  Then I cleaned the cabinets and reorganized what I kept.

 

I made two broccoli & cheese quiches - one for now & one to freeze for later

My Sunday last week was a busy one.  I spent the morning meal prepping my meals for the week ahead with my main focus on using up a lot of odds and ends I had hanging out in my refrigerator.  I made a potato salad, pan fried jalapeno angus burgers, BBQ pork in the slow cooker and two broccoli and cheese quiches, one for to bake and one for the freezer to enjoy later.  I used up two dill pickles, an extra dozen eggs, the last of a bottle of BBQ sauce and the last of two bags of shredded cheese that were in the fridge.  I also used up two burger patties, a package of pork chunks, both of which I got on markdown, and a bag of broccoli florets I had in the freezer.  I ate all of these things as well as two leftover slices of veggie pizza from the week prior with green salads made from items I already had on hand.

 

Potato salad

Along with spending some quality time in my kitchen I did some computer maintenance on my laptops as well as an old desktop I had sitting collecting dust in the downstairs bedroom.  I will talk more about what I did later in an upcoming post as it is fairly involved.  More big decisions need to be made in the not too distant future with where I want to go with my home technology.

Our mornings were nice and cool so I was able to get back outside in the backyard and do some more work out there.  Primarily I wanted to work on the lower deck and get it cleared off swept and make some big decisions regarding the project woodpile.  I'm not going to do a lot of the original projects I had planned to do so I've been letting a lot of this wood go for FREE on the Facebook Buy Nothing Group page.

 

Before

It feels so good to have less stuff and have the decks clear and usable once again.  I was able to move the BBQ back to the spot I like to have it.  I'll also be getting rid of the grilling station I made for my daughter's graduation party as I really don't need it anymore.  Next, I plan to work on the other pile of stuff near the firepit woodpile.  I just collected too much stuff with grandiose ideas.  It needs to go now.

 

After

Tuesday was my errand day and I got a lot accomplished.  I dropped off an Amazon return at the UPS store, went to the dollar store, exchanged a defective item, went to the carwash, went to the library to check out a couple books and some DVDs, dropped off my glass recycling and went to the grocery store.

 

A small grocery haul

I also started doing e-rewards surveys for money spending a small amount of time each day as it does become a bit tedious.  You are paid per survey you complete and I am pleasantly surprised at quickly it adds up in my account.  I try to do at least two or three each day until I have enough to redeem for a Home Depot gift card for a project I have in mind to do this fall.  You don't make a huge amount per hour, more like just above the minimum wage, but I figure if I have the time, why not?  I probably only spend an hour to an hour and a half each time doing the surveys.  I had heard of people doing this for extra cash or gift cards so I'm glad to have the opportunity to try it out for myself.

 

BBQ pork, green beans & potato salad

An angus beef patty with potato salad

Broccoli & cheese quiche

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer.  Did any of you take a trip or go on a vacation this year?

 

Another Construction Project Is Under Way!

 

Once the bedroom renovation was complete I was ready to begin my next project.  In fact, while I was working on the bedroom I spent a lot of time thinking about this project and planning it out in my head.  At long last, I'm now in the process of building a log cabin!

 

Building a solid base with two layers of thick cardboard glued together

It has been a longtime dream of mine to build an off grid cabin in the woods.  A place to escape to and just relax, split some firewood, cook a nice meal and enjoy the peace and quiet.  However, for the time being anyway, the price of land and building supplies has put that dream on hold.  Instead I decided to build a dollhouse.  But not the traditional dollhouse, a log cabin for my Barbie dolls.  I am having a blast!

 

First "log" wall underway

Recently, I acquired a couple new Barbie dolls to assist me in completing this project. As a child I used to build my Barbies houses, campers, apartments, stores, you name it, I would make it.  Along with every accessory I could think of.  Using items I scrounged around the house and a lot of imagination my dolls had it made!  Well, I'm doing it again. 

 

I absolutely love dollhouses and there is just something about miniatures that really enthralls me.  I don't know what it is, but I find them fascinating.  So I decided to take my dream of building my own cabin and my love of dollhouses and mash it together and make a miniature off grid cabin in the woods.  Barbie size.

 

Close up of the "logs" I made by cutting cardboard and painting with various layers of paint
The "chinking" is strips of cream colored card stock

What I love most about this project is that it is totally frivolous.  It's only purpose is to satisfy my own desire and to amuse me.  I'm in no rush to complete it, it is something I can work on at my leisure and I expect it to last a good long while.  I'm tapping my imagination and creativity in a way I've not done in a good long while and I'm loving it.  Ideas are flowing and as long as I take my time and exercise patience things are coming together and turning out better than I expected.

 

I'm constructing the cabin out of cardboard using the boxes my bookcases came in as well as some Amazon boxes.  The "logs" are cut from strips of cardboard and painted in layers of acrylic paint to mimic wood.  I think they turned out really neat, but my most favorite part is the "rock" chimney I made with cardboard and egg cartons.  I randomly cut pieces of the egg carton to make the rocks and the texture of the inside of the carton is perfect.  I had painted the chimney dark gray to mimic mortar before adding the rocks, then applied some layers of paint to add color and dimension to the egg carton rocks.

 

I think this chimney is my favorite part so far
I even added moss from the dollar store to the logs

Along with working on the cabin itself I've been making items to put inside the cabin too.  I've made little rugs, packages of food, crochet and sewing items, all kinds of tiny things.  My dolls will need a bunch of stuff for their off grid cabin, don't you know?  Dishes, pots and pans, more food, supplies, etc.  I'm going to be busy.

 

I love the moss.  This is so much fun!!!

My plan is to place the cabin on the desk I painted.  That desk is on wheels so I can move it and turn it around as I like and it is a size that will accommodate my needs, although I can easily see this project growing quite a bit over time as ideas just keep popping into my head.  Let me know what you think of my "dollhouse" and if you would like me to post more as I work on it.  I'd love to share if there is an interest.  Are any of you miniature enthusiasts?