My Tireless Retirement - Week 82

 

Hello!  Tomorrow is Halloween, but since I don’t ever get any trick-or-treaters it will be a pretty quiet night for me.  I’ll wear my jack-o-lantern shirt and snuggle with my black cat while I enjoy my cute Halloween decorations.  Sounds pretty good to me!  What will you be doing tomorrow?

 

Last week I treated myself to a gift, something I rarely do, and drove to the next town over and picked up a mini electric skillet.  Not something I need necessarily, just something I wanted to have.  I’ll go into more details about it in an upcoming post on Friday, but suffice it to say I’m so happy I went ahead and got it.  It is my “congratulations on your new job” gift.

 

One of the things on my quarterly housekeeping checklist to complete was to move the washer and dryer away from the wall and get it all cleaned up underneath as well as behind where they sit.  I was able to get the walls washed down, the appliances cleaned and the floor vacuumed and mopped.  It felt really good to finally get this particular job completed.  After moving the appliances back in place I went ahead and cleaned the rest of the room, purged and reorganized the shoe rack and even gave the coat rack a one over.  With everything nice and clean I celebrated my efforts by running a load of laundry.  Does this girl know how to party or what?!

 

Our weather had been so lovely, warm and sunny, however that all changed literally overnight on Wednesday when the temperatures dropped and we got rain.  With our lows at night dipping to the freezing mark I got outside ahead of the weather change and picked the rest of the tomatoes, a couple final zucchinis and harvested some rosemary to dry and add to my spice cabinet.  Then I pulled everything, but the rosemary as it is a perennial.  My garden is officially done for the year and now I just have to wait for all the green tomatoes to ripen indoors.

 

Along with the final harvest of my garden I also got the motorhome ready for winter.  I brought in everything that I didn’t want in there over the winter and got it all tidied up inside.  Then I added fuel stabilizer to the gas tank (I also put some in the gas can I keep in my garage) and gave her an overall inspection.  I got out the ladder and my leaf blower and blew off the roof so there were no leaves or debris on top before I got her all covered up.  Laverne is now wearing her winter coat so she will be better protected from snow and large amounts of rain.  Her insides were already winterized with RV anti freeze so she is officially good to go.

 

With the changing weather and much colder temperatures now I have started to use my fireplace a little bit to warm the house as well as the electric blanket on my bed to take the chill off when I go to bed.  I really do enjoy climbing into a warm bed during the wintertime.  This is the longest I have ever been able to go without turning the heat on and still be comfortable due to the nice warm fall weather we had been having.  Our overnight temperatures then dipped down into the 20s as the week progressed so I then had to turn on the main heat.

 

I try to keep my house around 68° and that seems to work very well for me since I like to dress in layers, wear socks or slippers on my feet and use a throw blanket when I am sitting for any length of time.  I like to feel warm and cozy.  Because I get quite a few hot flashes (medication side effects) throughout the day having it a little cooler in the house really helps me with that.  It also helps with the power bill which is a nice little bonus.

 

Are you ready for winter yet?  Ready or not, I’m afraid it has begun where I live.  Brrrrr!

 

This Month's Grocery Spending 2023 – October

 

As my pantry challenge has continued this year I found I really wasn’t in need of too much from the grocery store this month.  Cream for my mid morning coffee break is a must so that is always on the list, but other than that I just didn’t need anything.  I had an abundance of fresh produce in the refrigerator that I wanted to work my way through before I purchased anything new so I focused on doing just that.

 

Total spent on this haul = $1.29

My garden provided me with zucchinis, banana peppers and loads of tomatoes, more than I could eat so a lot of that ended up in the freezer.  I did stock up the deep freezer with frozen veggies and an extra package of vacuum sealed frozen salmon fillets because I had digital coupon offers for those items as well as a digital coupon for a FREE bottle of salad dressing.

 

I now have enough supplies to keep me in laundry detergent for at least two years

I actually bought some nonfood items this month as I needed to my supplies to make homemade laundry detergent after making a new batch.  I also wanted to add a large refill bottle of concentrated dishwashing liquid as I was nearing the bottom of my last one after I refilled my dish soap dispenser I keep next to the kitchen sink.

 

I stocked up on frozen vegetables & an extra package of salmon fillets

This month my grand total for food came in at a whopping $33.18 while my nonfood total ended up being $15.57.  I’d say that wasn’t too shabby at all.

 

I am pretty happy with these totals

Next month I will be restocking my produce drawer in my refrigerator and picking up a few, very few, items for the upcoming holidays.  Thankfully, I won’t need too much so I’m looking forward to staying within budget and getting the things I need.  Were you able to stock up on anything this month?

 

Putting My Holiday Plans In Place

 

Two months from today it will be Christmas morning.  Yeah, I don’t know how that happened either, but it is coming up fast.  I’ve been doing a lot of planning lately – financial planning, yearend planning and planning for the upcoming year of 2024.  I’ve also done a little bit of holiday planning and I can tell you this year is going to be, dare I say, the easiest holiday season I’ve ever planned so far.

 

My goal is to really be present in the moment and truly enjoy the holidays like never before.  I’m not doing any entertaining this year and it amazes me how much relief I feel about that decision.  Instead, I will be going places and doing things outside of my home this holiday season.

 

This year I will not be cooking a giant Thanksgiving Day feast, no turkey to brine, no big preparations of any kind.  I plan to bake one pumpkin pie and my grandmother’s fruitcake recipe and call it good.  It will be a quiet and uneventful weekend, no Black Friday shopping, none of that commercial nonsense.  Instead I will be doing other things and I can hardly wait,

 

This year I won’t be doing any Christmas shopping.  I’m keeping it super simple.  I’ll be sending out Christmas cards (already have them made) along with my annual letter to friends and family and if you happen to be on my gift list you’re getting a gift card (earned from doing surveys) or some home baked goods.  That is it, nothing fancy.  Other than a book of postage stamps and a bottle of wine, this is going to be pretty much a no cost Christmas.

 

I’ve streamlined and decluttered my Christmas décor to the point that I’m down to one single bin of décor, a wreath and a three foot artificial Christmas tree.  I have zero plans to purchase anything new, in fact, I plan to go through and do another declutter to get rid of even more stuff.  I’m pretty much down to the sentimental and heirloom ornaments for my tree and a handful of items I’ve kept simply because I like them.

 

After giving away my set of Christmas china last spring I found four small Corelle Christmas plates on eBay this summer that match my set of Corelle coffee cups I’ve had for quite a while now.  I believe that will be more than enough to keep me in the Ho, Ho, Ho spirit.  I find it takes less and less to make me happy these days.

 

New Year’s Eve and New Years Day will also be simple affairs.  No big parties or anything special really.  Just time spent with those that are most important to me and some good food to go along with it.  So, as we head on into the holidays I’m getting super excited.  Low key, low cost, low stress and I’m going into it with no real expectations.  I’m just going to roll with it.  However it all turns out will be good enough for me.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 81

 

Hello everybody!  We are on the last full week of October already and Halloween is next Tuesday.  Anyone else surprised by that?  I thought this month might go a bit slower, but apparently I was mistaken.

 

After finishing up on my HUGE photo project of getting all of my lose photos into albums I’ve embarked on yet another one.  This time I am working on digital photos and I can tell you I’ve got a boatload of those on my laptop as well as on a thumbdrive.  I am starting one year at a time and getting prints made of photos I want to place into albums.  After weeding through a bunch of files I filled up my Walgreens photo cart and picked up a pile of photos on Monday.  Then I began working to get those onto pages for my next photo album.  It is definitely a labor of love with this particular project.

 

I also pulled some more of my high school memorabilia out of my sentimental box and added it to the album.  I even purged a little bit of it while I was at it.  It was mostly awards, a newspaper clipping, my graduation program and some certificates.  The only high school memorabilia I have left in the bin now is the bulky stuff that wouldn’t make sense to add to an album.

 

I grated zucchini & carrots for the freezer

Our weather warmed up and we had no rain last week so I had no need to heat the house at all.  In fact, I was able to open the windows in the afternoons and let the fresh air and sunshine in.  I harvested more tomatoes and zucchini from the garden, but I can tell the plants are starting to get tired and it is time to think about putting the garden to bed for the season very soon.

 

Fall leaves have been falling

None of the grocery store ads were very tempting last week so I saved my grocery dollars and didn’t shop at all last week.  Other than picking up that packet of photo prints it was pretty much a no spend week for me.

 

My garden is still plugging away

I worked a whopping three days last week for a total of twelve hours, which included helping out at a senior citizen health fair.  I loved it!  The hardest part of my job right now is learning their software system, but I’m starting to get the hang of it.  To be honest, I am enjoying this so much it doesn’t really feel like a job at all.

 

My first big pile (of many) of Fall leaves

The fall chores have officially begun.  I got out the leaf blower and cleaned up a huge pile of leaves from my yard and flowerbeds.  I filled up three trash bins full of leaves giving one to the chickens to “process” into mulch for their pen area.  Once they get through those I have another bin full to give them.  They well turn the leaves into mulch which helps control mud and their droppings during the winter and spring.  It is a chore that I’ll be working on for the next several weeks until the leaves are off the trees or the snow falls.

 

The girls are hard at work

In the spring I will rake out the chicken’s pen and add that to the compost bin and give them another bin of leaves I’ve reserved for them to continue the process.  In the fall I will add the contents of the compost bin to my raised garden beds when I get them winter ready.  It is a process, but one that works really well.

 

Hoses have been drained and rolled up for the season

Are you raking leaves now where you live?  It is warmer than usual for this time of year?  This is pretty normal for us when they predict an El Nino winter.  Have you needed to turn the heat on in your house yet?  I’m feeling pretty fortunate that so far it hasn’t been necessary.

 

All cleaned up, but it won't last long this time of year

Have fabulous week my friends and take good care or yourselves!

 

Investment Cooking - Canning Raw Beef, Pork & Chicken

 

I’ve canned a lot of various meats this year.  I like to keep meats canned in pint jars and half pint jars on the shelf to help me prepare a quick meal.  I also like that I have an alternate shelf stable method of keeping meat in my LTFS without the need of a freezer.

 

On the left is beef roast

One of the ways I can my meat is to raw pack it and then process it in my pressure canner.  Since meats are low acid foods they must be pressure canned in order to be safely stored in jars.  As always, I encourage you to do your own research and follow proper canning methods.

 

I begin by washing my jars and rings in hot soapy water.  I place the lids in a bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Then I will cut up the meat I am canning into one inch pieces.  It is important that the pieces are the same size so they cook and can at the same rate.  Once the meat is cut up I place it into the pint jars leaving one inch of headspace and add a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon for half pint jars.

 

Then I boil some broth and fill each jar up to that one inch space.  I use chicken broth to can chicken or pork and beef broth for roasts and stew meat.  You can also use vegetable broth in place of the meat broth or just boiling water.  Next I de-bubble each jar with a chopstick to remove any air gaps and top up the broth if necessary.

 

I wipe the rim of each jar with a clean wet cloth before place a lid on top.  Then I add a ring and tighten just finger tight, careful not to over tighten the rings, and place them into the pressure canner.  I fill the canner with warm water until it reached about a quarter to a third of the way up the jar, place the lid on and secure it.  I process my jars for 75 minutes.

 

A nice assortment of canned meats on these shelves

My preferred method of canning raw meats is with salt and homemade broth.  I find it tastes better and retains its color.  I also know exactly what I have in that jar, no unknown ingredients.  Have you canned and put up any meat this year?

 

I Went Back To Work!

 

At the beginning of this month I was offered and accepted a part time position with the city of Boise working primarily with seniors.  I am thrilled!  It is considered a temporary position and I can quit at any time without notice if I want to.  I was originally thinking about volunteering at the senior center this winter but, if the city wants to pay me to work instead, why the heck not?!  It doesn’t pay much, but it will cover my gas so that works for me.

 

I’ve only been working a couple of weeks, but so far I am really enjoying it and the people I work with are super nice and friendly.  They seem really excited to have me there too.  I knew I didn’t want to go into this winter without a job of some kind.  Whether it was a paid position or something voluntary, I was determined I’d be doing something outside of my home this year.  I can’t sit around with nothing to do and after all the major projects were completed around here I knew I’d be bored to tears.  I have to be busy, that’s just how I’m wired, and I really enjoy the social aspect of having a job.  I think I’ve missed that social part most of all.  I’ve surprised myself with how good I feel being back in the workforce.  It has really added a lot to my overall happiness and made me feel like I have a greater sense of purpose.

 

Even better, the place I work out of is near the foothills area where I love to go and hike so I can leave work and get a hike in before I head home anytime I wish.  There are loads of parks and activities in the area as well.  My doctor’s offices, the library and several grocery stores where I enjoy shopping are along my route so I can hit those up on my way home if I decide to.  I feel like it couldn’t have been more perfect for me at this time.

 

I don’t consider myself “semi” retired though because I don’t really work that many hours so I’m still definitely retired.  Plus, I don’t feel like this is a “job” because I enjoy it too much.  I do consider it a true blessing and an answer to a prayer for which I am truly grateful.  Right now I know I am meant to travel this particular path and I’m thrilled to be on it.  Yippeee!

 

I've Done A LOT Of Canning This Year!

 

This girl has been extremely busy this year and in no small part was that in the home canning department.  In looking back I was actually quite surprised at all that I’d put up in jars for my LTFS while at the same time using up items I’d canned in previous years.  Having shelf stable home canned food helps me maintain my grocery budget while making for some healthy and easy to prepare meals.

 

I cleared out my old chest freezer and canned up a huge pork roast that I can use to make quick and tasty BajaTacos, pulled pork sandwiches, verde and so many other things, I could just go on and on.  For the first time I cooked up sliced Italian sausages with green peppers and tomatoes as well as some meatballs in marinara sauce.  I canned ground beef and ground pork sausage.

 

This year I made Split Pea Soup and some Taco Soup which I put up in pint jars for a much healthier canned soup I can just heat and eat.  Both of which are fabulous, by the way!  I do have some plans to possibly make some more soups this year.

 

I made and canned sweet relish using my own homegrown zucchini and even made a couple quarts of cucumber pickles using someone else’s homegrown cucumbers.

 

I soaked and canned a variety of dry beans so they are recipe ready and super convenient, along with a double batch of salsa and some marinara sauce to round out the pantry.  I even tried canning butter and guess what?  It worked!

 

I truly do enjoy home canning.  What is next on my list?  I’m not really sure, but you can bet when I figure it out you’ll be the first to know.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 80

 

Hello!  We had a wonderfully warm weekend and beginning to our week.  I think it was our last hurrah of summertime before the true Fall weather settled in about midweek.  It has definitely been much cooler lately.  We were graced with a couple days of good rain last week which I really appreciated.  On Thursday the overnight low was in the high 30s so I’m now on frost watch until I pull the garden plants out and call it good.

 

Last week I harvested a lot of tomatoes, a banana pepper and four zucchinis, all of which I prepped and bagged for the freezer.  I’ve got quite the stash going on in there.

 

I didn’t do much grocery shopping last week as I didn’t need a lot.  After using my rewards points to save some money on a tank of fuel for my truck I popped into Fred Meyer and grabbed a half gallon of milk on sale for $1.29 and my FREE offer of a bottle of salad dressing.  I don’t use a lot of milk so half of it ended up in the freezer.

 

At the end of the week I stopped into Albertsons and picked up two digital coupon offers for a pound of vacuum sealed salmon fillets for $5.99 and four bags of frozen vegetables for $1.99 each.  The veggies filled up my bin in the deep freezer and the salmon is a nice extra to have in there as well.

 

After a super busy summer I had a lot of items on my quarterly checklist that I hadn’t completed or had only given a lick and a promise so this time around I’ve been motivated to do better and be more thorough.  I did all of the bedding related tasks and tackled a few tasks in both bathrooms and the living room throughout the week.   This week I want to get in the laundry room and clean under and behind the washer and dryer.  At this rate if I just keep plucking away bit by bit I should have it all done before the holidays.

 

Despite the cooler temperatures my house is still warm enough inside that I have yet to turn on any heat or use the fireplace.  I haven’t needed to plug in the electric blanket at night yet either, but I am wearing my winter pajamas to sleep in and my slippers during the day inside the house.  I find if I keep my feet warm then the rest of me will stay warm too.  The opposite is true in the summer and I will typically be barefoot inside the house.  I’m one of those that if I get too warm under the covers at night I will poke out a foot to cool down.  Anyone else that way?

 

It was just a busy, busy week with lots of tasks aimed at getting winter and holiday ready as well as some errands that needed to be run.  I hope you all had a nice week and I wish you all a blessed week ahead.  Are any of you thinking about the upcoming holidays yet?  Do you still have plants growing in your gardens?  What are you currently busy with?