Phew! We embarked on quite a heat wave this past
week, not completely unusual here for July, but hot nonetheless. I know some people don’t think Idaho gets that
hot in the summers, but we sure do. It
started warming up on Sunday and the temperatures just kept climbing. On Tuesday it reached 108°! These triple digit temperatures are predicted
to continue the next two weeks so I decided to be kind to myself and drive
where I need to go rather than ride the bus and walk. I know I am very blessed to have this option.
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| New organizing bins for the new refrigerator/freezer |
On Saturday the new refrigerator I had ordered the
week before arrived bright and early in the morning. I was pretty excited to see it and to know
that I’d managed to replace the old one before it had a chance to completely
croak and leave my stranded. It had been
leaking water onto the floor with more frequency and in the final week the
freezer portion was struggling and running pretty much nonstop trying to stay
cold enough. I always like to run my
stuff until the wheels fall off, but I was worried I may have pushed it a bit
too far. The new refrigerator is working
like a charm and I’m starting to get used to it. So far I like it very much.
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| On the top shelf I have a bin for veggies & one for meats and cheeses On the bottom is the container I use to store my ice cubes & meal preps sit next to it |
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| I'm still figuring this part out - Stay tuned for an update 😄 |
After the
refrigerator delivery I had a few hours for it to run and start cooling before
I could put all of my food away so I hopped in the truck and went to Wal-Mart
to pick up some organizers for the new fridge. After choosing and ordering the fridge I had
plenty of time to really put some thought into how I wanted to use and organize
it. I picked up four white plastic bins,
two for the freezer and two for the refrigerator. I also selected a container with a snap tight
lid for storing ice cubes in so they won’t pick up any funky odors or flavors
from the freezer. Then I got to go home
and have fun organizing and putting everything away. I was in my element!
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| More containers for the refrigerator |
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| My Costco haul! |
Tuesday was my
day to run errands. I was up bright and
early and started off at the post office and picked up a couple books of stamps
before the postage rates increase on the 14th. Then back to Wal-Mart to pick up four more
organizer bins for the new refrigerator.
Next, I was off to Costco to use one of my gift cards and get myself
another pair of pants and a few other things to enjoy, namely a rotisserie
chicken. I have been wanting one of
those silly roasted chickens ever since I decided to go ahead and get my new membership. Two hours later I was able to get back home
before the heat of the day really set in.
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| 4th Of July leftovers |
Meals I Prepared:
After
Independence Day I was loaded in leftovers so that is what I ate throughout the
weekend before thawing and reheating a variety of the meals I’d prepped and
stashed away in the freezer. On Tuesday
I did enjoy some Costco rotisserie chicken with a nice green salad on the
side. It was the perfect meal on a hot
summer day and I was also left with a load of leftovers.
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| A much anticipated chicken dinner 😘 |
Wednesday I decided to use up a little bit of leftover tomato sauce in the fridge and turn it into a single serving of tomato basil soup. I used the liquid I had from rinsing out a quart container of cream so it was like using half and half or whole milk. While my soup was cooking I made a small batch of tuna salad using up some diced hardboiled egg I had in the fridge along with some of my homemade sweet relish. It was the perfect accompaniment.
Not
much cooking in my kitchen last week, but as hot as it has been that was a
blessing. I still have leftovers now to
work with so that is likely how I’ll be starting off the new week in the
kitchen.
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| This was so good - really hit the spot 😋 |
Most of the week
was spent working on little projects inside the house, mainly ticking things
off of my quarterly housekeeping checklist, while keeping cool indoors. I’m super grateful to have my two A/C units
upstairs and I’m easily able to keep it nice and cool upstairs. Downstairs I have a couple box fans set up to
move the air around and it feels very nice.
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| Stay cool my friends |
I hope you are
able to stay cool and well hydrated while the summer heat is peaking. Do any of you not have air conditioning in
your homes and if so how do you manage to beat the heat? My home was built in 1979 and the way it was
constructed we don’t have an option to install central air and heating so I’ve
had to get creative. Fortunately my home
is very well insulated and I also have the added benefit of some large shade
trees in my yard. I hope and pray you
are all doing well and taking very good care of yourselves.
FYI
- My retirement week runs from Friday through Thursday.
I love reading all your doings. I look forward to my retirement in 6 years. Dh will still be here, so I won't be able to do all I want, but I will be able to be home and I'm happiest here.
ReplyDeleteFrugally this week, I got a manager's clearance priced chuck roast for over half off. That was one evening meal (cooked in slow-cooker all day) and there is enough leftover for one meal and a pint of drippings/stock for soup or another roast cooking.
We ate out once this week, but we used a gift card for half of the bill. I guess I ate for free. :)
We renewed our Sam's Club membership by getting a new one at the new member price. We just had to wait to use our new cards until after our expiration date on the old ones. We saved over $45 per card (4 of them). Amazing sale! I thought we had lost our cashback funds from our old card with our new membership but when I asked about them, I was able to cash them out. $120.47 in "Free" money!
I found the 40oz "stanley dup" cups on a sale. $15 verses $45. I got some for gifts and a new one for me. I have a dup already and now I can alternate using each one.
We are eating from the freezer this month as we prep for our beef butcher date. Burgers, steak, lamb roast and breakfast night on the menu this week.
Living in SE Neb, we need AC in the summer. I've learned to keep it set at a moderate temp and not open the house when it's at all warm or humid. I don't use the dryer but hang out as much laundry as possible and use the slow-cooker or AF or grill instead of the oven for cooking. Anything I can to keep it cooler in here. It helps we have a large tree to the west for shade and a 2-story house so all the heat stays up there.
Stay cool!
Wow Kay! You did great! Thank you so much for sharing all of your thrifty adventures. I'm super impressed! :o)
DeleteWe don’t have A/C but very few places in the mountains do. It still gets down to the 50’s at night so all windows and doors are left open all night and all closed and blinds drawn early in the AM. I think we were able to keep a 20° differential last weekend when it hit the 90’s.
ReplyDeleteNice! :)
Delete