Vintage Cookery - Pumpkin Bars

 

I remember making these Pumpkin Bars back in the day and they are delicious, especially with cream cheese icing.  I would be willing to make these again if I had any self control whatsoever, but with these I don’t.  I have no doubt I’d eat the entire pan myself.  However, if you have any modicum of self control then have at it.

 

Remember you only need a 1/2 recipe of cream cheese frosting
I'm not responsible if you make a full one 😉

These would be perfect for any fall get together or holiday potluck so I won’t completely write this recipe off.  I would definitely want the majority of them to go elsewhere rather than sit in my kitchen tempting me at every turn.  Guaranteed not last long in my kitchen, that’s for sure!

 

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 184

 

Good chilly morning to you!  We are dipping into the 40s overnight now, brrrrr.  The days have been warm enough though that I have yet to turn on any heating.  I do not want to warm up the house in the morning just to be opening windows in the afternoon so I am waiting.  With my slippers on and a sweater I am plenty comfortable in the morning anyway.  I have, however, swapped out the Egyptian cotton sheets for flannel and I imagine soon I will also need to add my winter blanket.

 

I only worked a short half day Friday afternoon instead of my usual all day because I worked all day on Saturday.  I took a group of seniors up to McCall for lunch and to shop and just walk around.  It was sunny, windy and chilly but we had a really nice time and lunch was delicious.  Definitely worth the drive and it is always nice to have a change of scenery.  A friend and I are planning to do something very similar soon as neither one of us wants to be overly housebound this winter.  I also worked Monday and Tuesday in the afternoon and was off the remainder.

 

It was a good week to slow down and enjoy all of the accomplishments I have made this past spring and summer and I am feeling really good about where I am at personally.  Our nation, however is a whole other thing as I am feeling very scared about where we may be heading.  I am trying not of focus too much attention on it each day, but it is hard when you hear about young children dragged out of their beds at night, zip tied and hauled outdoors by masked militia.  They must have been petrified, their parents too, and it breaks my heart for them.  I find myself praying all the time and wondering how I, alone, can make a difference.  I decided it was time (probably past time) to write letters to my congressmen.  I hope they will listen.

 

Instead of fretting about things I have limited control over I decided it was a better use of my time to just get myself busy.  Wednesday was my day to run errands so I left the house with a list and a plan and headed off to Albertson’s to empty my glass recycling collection bin and then inside to purchase some organic cucumbers they had on sale.  Next I headed off to the post office to drop off a package.  I sold some Pyrex!  Then I was off to Fred Meyer, first to top up the gas tank on my truck and then to pick up a couple items they had on sale.  Next, I was off to the feed store.

 

The timing could not have been any better if I had planned it, but when I got home Tuesday evening there was a $25 OFF a $25 Purchase coupon from the feed store in my mailbox.  Needless to say I took that right in and picked up two 50# bags of feed and the 40# bag of wood horse pellets I needed for the bunny (her litter pan) and was able to cross those items of my winter stock up list.  My total out of pocket after using the coupon was $11.  I was thrilled!  When I got home I was able to get all of the feed bins refilled and I have one full bag and a partial bag of chicken feed in reserve.

 

A couple weeks ago I got a $15 OFF coupon from Chewy so I used that to order three cases of canned food for the kitties and some fancy stuff for them for their Christmas present.  The only thing left on the list is to get another bag of cat food the next time I go to Costco.  I also want to get the bunny another bag of veggie pellets before the end of the year, right now she still has plenty.

 

I spent some time in my happy place - the kitchen!  I meal prepped some delicious red enchiladas.  I ate two servings this past week and then put two away in the freezer for later.  I also had leftover filling I plan to use next week to make some burrito bowls.

 

Using those cucumbers I picked up at Albertson’s I made a small batch of bread and butter pickles.  I was beginning to think I wasn’t going to get to make any this year because the pickling cucumbers I was given over the summer were super bitter and inedible.  When Albertson’s had these long skinny organic pickles on sale I decided it was worth the stop to check them out.  Since they seemed to be good ones I got four and now I have pickles!  Hurray!

 

Another very good and somewhat productive and relaxed week in retirement is in the books!  I hope you all had a wonderful week and remember, even when the news seems bleak and prices continue to climb, we can always find something to be grateful for and happy about.  We need to keep ourselves busy, keep praying and do whatever we can, no matter how small, to try to make things better.  NO Bad Days!  Be blessed.

 

My Luxurious Life

I find you don’t need to be wealthy or go into debt to live in luxury.  I live a very luxurious life by my standards, which happen to be the only standards that matter, and I find it costs me very little money to do so.

 

We all have those little things we do or like that just make the quality of our lives so much better.  And we should.  I like full heavy cream in my 10:00 coffee every morning.  To me that is a little luxury that I look forward to every single day.  I prefer using foaming hand soap in my bathrooms and kitchen to wash my hands.  I insist on cotton sheets and cotton towels.  No microfiber anything!  I don’t care for the feel of it at all.  So 100% cotton it is.

 

I dress for comfort and function, not fashion.  To me, it is a luxury to be able to wear comfortable good quality clothing and shoes every day after many years of uncomfortable and restrictive business attire.  Not caring what anyone else thinks about it is also a luxury all unto itself.

 

Eating well is a necessity, but eating very well is a luxury that I put a lot of effort into.  Buying fresh produce to make big salads with plus good cuts of beef, beautiful salmon fillets, shrimp and boneless skinless chicken breast rank pretty high on my grocery lists.  Having a Costco membership just because I want one isn’t a bad deal either.  Also, I don’t need to eat out to feel luxurious, I can do that at home and to be perfectly honest, that is my preference.

 

I’m living a life without complaint.  Every day I get up and thank God for everything He has seen fit to bless me with.  I make my bed, I brew my coffee, I sit and reflect and slowly begin my day.  I only go to work a few times each week because I want to, not because I have to and that is a luxury I’ve been waiting on for quite a while.  I am happy and content with what I have and eagerly looking forward to each chapter as I turn the pages in my life.  My needs are met and my wants are few.  I’m living a luxurious life.

  

Round Three Feels So Much Different

 

Since retiring in the spring of 2022 I have been steadily decluttering my home.  That first year I let go of A LOT of stuff, a lot of furniture and things that belonged to my kids, some they took with them and some we offered up for free on Facebook Buy Nothing Group.  I sold a few things, donated four various size truckloads of stuff to a nearby thrift store and even took a very full truckload to the dump.  When I was done I cleaned, reorganized with bins and labels and refurbished spaces.

 

I emptied all of these containers in my first pass

A year later I began to declutter once again as I went through every nook and cranny and gathered up an amazing amount of stuff I still did not want, need or use.  More trips to drop of donations, more full recycle bins and a bit more trash.  I took inventory of what remained.  I reorganized, consolidated, put new labels on bins and once again placed them into closets on shelves.  I felt really good about where I was at with this second trip through my entire house and the things I had chosen to keep.

 

I have debulked and used up a boatload of craft supplies

Now I’m midway through my third year of retirement and last spring I began the decluttering process once again as I was still feeling like I had way too much stuff in this house.  This time as I went through every nook and cranny in every single room of the house and the garage I felt different.  My decluttering muscles were stronger and I had more clarity regarding what I truly want my home to be.

 

I tackled the sentimental stuff and photo albums

This time I let go of a lot of the harder items I had been hanging onto.  A lot of the things from my childhood and my kid’s childhood was packed away in boxes.  They didn’t want any of this stuff and after three years they hadn’t changed their minds about that so I let it all go.  It was hard to but I was ready and I have no regrets about it.  It was time to finally close that chapter so I can begin the new ones.

 

I have downsized & streamlined my wardrobe

Along my journey this time I was more realistic about the things I was choosing to keep.  I let a quilt project go because I had an honest conversation with myself about why I hadn’t finished it after seven years.  I realized it was because I didn’t like the quilt.   Huh, how about that?  So I gathered up the topper and the backing fabric and I donated it to our senior center sewing & craft supply semiannual sale event and now someone else will get to finish it and enjoy it.

 

I got rid of boxes of boxes

I let go of things that no longer interest me, I no longer want or no longer wear.  I let go of things that belonged to other people that I had inherited and felt guilty about getting rid of for years.  I shredded documents I no longer need, I got rid of cardboard boxes (way too many boxes) that I had emptied or saved, I gave away food I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat in time before it went bad.  I used up craft and sewing supplies to make things and let go of the leftover scraps instead of saving them for a “someday” project.  It felt so good.

 

The junk drawer isn't so junky now

Decluttering my home will continue on a regular basis because I don’t want to fill my house back up and I know I currently have things that in the future I will no longer need, want or use.  I will continue to keep a bag or a box in the corner of the garage and make regular trips through the house collecting items to add to that bag or that box.  When it is full I will drop it off at the thrift store.  Papers will continue to get shredded and recycling will go to the curb as the wheelie bin gets full.  I will continue to focus on using what I already have before purchasing anything new and being really mindful about the things I do choose to buy.

 

The garage got a BIG decluttering this year

The beauty of all of this work is that my home functions so much better and, as a result, so do I.  It is much easier and more efficient to complete projects and my daily tasks and I’m saving money and time.  Instead of fearing Swedish Death Cleaning I embrace it.  I’ve been able to complete some of the more difficult projects like my end of life documents because I had a clearer understanding of what I ultimately want in that regard.  I also know that by the time I’m ready to sell my home and move I’ll actually be ready and that excites me.

 

 

Fun & Leisure Spending – Beverages

When it comes to my monthly grocery budget postings you’ll notice there are virtually no beverages listed and with good reason.  Nearly all of my beverage choices are part of my Fun & Leisure budget, which typically would include alcohol (wine, beer, liquor), ground coffee, any sodas or carbonated beverages, etc.  It also includes things like ice cream, chocolate and other fun and unnecessary (or are they?) treats.

 

On a daily basis I mainly drink filtered water and coffee.  Now that the price of seltzer or sparkling water has come back down a little bit and I can purchase it in twelve packs at my Winco Foods grocery store I have been purchasing it again.  As part of my attempt to get as many good nutrients into my daily diet as possible I started purchasing pomegranate juice at Trader Joes and will often mix a quarter cup of that into my seltzer.  It is delicious.

 

My favorite flavor

I started including beverages into my Fun & Leisure budget many, many years ago because these were items that I did not consider to be necessities.  While raising my children I made sure to have plenty of milk, which was part of my grocery budget and still is, as well as clean tap water for them to drink, sometimes juice if it was on sale.  During those years my Fun & Leisure budget was miniscule, sometimes nonexistent, because I focused more on the grocery budget and feeding my family.

 

The budget also includes these guys... 😍

Now that I’m an empty nester my Fun & Leisure budget has grown (yay!) and I am able to add more things to my life which is a luxury I really appreciate.  If you haven’t tried adding pomegranate juice to your seltzer water, you may enjoy it like I do.  Anytime we can add extra nutrients and anti oxidants to our healthy eating plan well, I think it’s a good thing.

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 183

 

Hello my friends!  It was another wonderful week for me.  Likely while you are reading this I am in McCall, Idaho taking a group of seniors for a fun Fall daytrip adventure in the mountains.  It is a sweet little tourist down so restaurants and shopping are the main focus of this little jaunt.

 

I picked up 3 frozen pizzas and 3 blocks of cheese on sale at Fred Meyer

Albertson's had the great meat deals I was after!

Last weekend I was able to get a really good jumpstart on my October grocery shopping with the focus being to fill up my deep freezer in the garage as well as any gaps I had in the pantry and my LTFS.  With such a busy week ahead of me I felt it was a good idea for me to use my weekend just for this purpose and it was very successful to say the least.  I found a good deal on marked down meats at Albertson’s and was able to restock my ground beef which was starting to run low.

 

Winco for produce and a few pantry items

I stopped at Winco on my way home from work on Monday for the bulk of my shopping and was thrilled to be able to get the rest of my list completed and still have plenty of money left in the grocery “envelope”.  So far I have only spent my monthly budgeted amount and have yet to touch the rollover amount from previous months.  Go me!

 

A little meal prepping

Stuffed bell peppers

One of the things I really wanted to do was find a good deal on bell peppers and make some pepper halves stuffed with my meatloaf mixture for the freezer and use up some of the older ground beef I had in the deep freeze.  I was able to just that and now I have loads of delicious stuffed bell peppers to enjoy in the upcoming months.

 

Kitchen freezer is full 😁😁

Garage freezer is well stocked too

I managed to get outside and do a little yard work starting with trimming the shrubs and a little pruning on the big sycamore tree, very little.  The weather has cooled down quite a bit now, our mornings have been a bit chilly and Fall is definitely in the air.  Leaves are just starting to change colors too.

 

I remove the fronts & backs

Then I soak them in hot water and degreaser before I give them a good scrub

The last item on my list I wanted to get done was to gather up and take apart all of the box fans I use to keep my house cool in the summer so I could give them all a good cleaning.  It isn’t a particularly fun job and an easy one to procrastinate about because it is a process, but this year I decided to just do it and be done with it.  Now that they are all clean and put away for the season I must admit I am feeling pretty darn good about it.  I have a solid sense of accomplishment because with that my summer “To-Do” list is officially “Ta-Done!” and that feels amazing!

 

They get pretty grimy

I put these 3 away until next year

Spiffy clean!

October is off to a really good start and I couldn’t be any happier about it.  I am super thrilled with all of the grocery bargains I managed to find and the fact that I am well stocked with both groceries and household supplies for the upcoming winter gives me tremendous peace of mind.  I am nearly stocked with the pet food and supplies I will need before winter hits too with only a few items left on that list.  Right now however, I am feeling extremely blessed and grateful.  How are things going for you?  Are you working on preparations for the upcoming winter season too?

 

Contentment = Happiness

 

I am a very happy individual and I believe that is due to the strong feeling of contentment that I enjoy on a regular basis.  A few years ago I talked about how gratitude leads to contentment and as someone who is grateful every day for all of the things that I have and my experiences, even the less than stellar ones, I truly do believe this.  When we feel content because we are grateful it only leads in one direction - Happiness.

 

As I have settled into retirement life I do find that because I need less and less than I used to and want far less than I used to in my earlier years that I am much more content and happy with what I already have.  I no longer feel that desire to acquire more or do more.  I no longer have that need to work myself silly with hours of productivity.  I still enjoy productivity and prefer it to idleness, but I don’t need to be super productive anymore.  I am just as content now with smaller projects and shorter amounts of daily productivity.

 

I think I appreciate the simple things much more too.  Just going outdoors and pulling the weeds, emptying the trash or washing my car can really make my day.  I really do enjoy homemaking, I always have.  I love preparing my own meals or spending an hour or two of my time meal prepping.  I still love to go grocery shopping.  Even vacuuming my own floors and cleaning the bathroom makes me feel good.  I think the reason is because long ago I learned to replace the words “I have to” with “I get to” and just doing that one thing made a huge difference in my attitude.

 

Practicing simple gratitude is an amazing way to live life.  It leads us on the path of contentment and then you realize how happy you are in your daily life.  NO Bad Days.  When we are happy we feel better, we look better, we are healthier and our lives are better.  I am grateful to be able to continue my retirement journey along this path.  I like being happy.