Frugal Friday

A basic tightwad tool is a battery charger. My sweetie bought this 15 minute charger that charges 4 AA batteries 3 or 4 years ago and it just sat in the cabinet for a long time. When I got my first digital camera I was going through batteries really fast and the cheap batteries from Dollar Tree just didn't work. We remembered the 15 minute charger and tried those batteries in the camera. It has been great. The battery charger has saved us a lot of money. My sweetie keeps my batteries charged for me. If you have an extra set of back up rechargable batteries, you would never have to buy regular batteries for the camera or what ever it is you keep having to buy them for. What's great about this charger is it only takes 15 minutes to recharge!!!

We have been keeping the batteries charged this week so I can take plenty of pictures of my new grandbaby, Dylan!!!

Please go to www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog.htm for more Frugal Friday Tips!!!!

Unique picture

At first I thought the cornfield behind my mailbox made this picture look bad. But when I received a request to take an identical picture without the bow for framing, I realized it was unique. If you click on the picture to make it bigger you will see lots of tiny flowers on the vine, morning glories, corn stalks, and early morning mist. I set it as my desktop background on my computer.

Our new grandson has arrived!

Announcing the birth of my new grandson, 6 lbs 12 oz, 21 inches long, born at 11:45 P.M. 8/27/07!!! Mother, father and baby are doing well, after an extremely long and hard labor!!!

Thanks so much for your prayers and comments!!!

Update

Lori's labor slowed down during the night and everybody got to sleep! Wasn't that thoughtful of her? She will be induced shortly, so we are soon leaving to go to the hospital. The next time I update the blog we should have a baby, because I don't have access to a computer away from home! It may be a while!!!!

Pray!!!

We have labor

She's at the hospital right now. We are going as soon as things start happening!!!
PRAY!!!

This picture was taken today in the baby's room!

Clothespin Bag

Thanks so much for the sweet comments about the clothespin bags! To answer your questions, I just threw these bags together with no real plan. I got the idea by looking at the clothespin bags for sale in the Firefly Farm Shop at Homespun Living which is a favorite blog losted on my side bar. Her bags are gorgeous and mine don't even begin to compare with the ones she has for sale.

I was using a really old bag that a lady who lives down the road made about 10 or 15 years ago. It was made to look like a little girl's dress and you simply used a hanger to hang it. It was worn out.

In an effort not to spend any money on the bag, I used the above hanger that I had. Its not too wide and goes straight across. I used a piece of fabric the width of the hanger. You have to leave an opening at the top for the hanger to go through and a second piece of fabric to make the opening in the front. In order not to have ravels I hemmed the seams where the slits would be before sewing.

This is not too clear I know, but I don't have any measurements or pattern. I just cut and sewed, took out some seams, etc. until I had an acceptable bag. I would like to make more bags and write down the meaurements. Also I would like to embellish them with ric rac or bias tape like the ones at Homespun Living.

I doubled the fabric in the second bag in an effort to have it be more sturdy. I need to figure out how to line the next one.

I did a google search to see if there were instructions on line for making clothespin bags and found soume, but they were made differently and I really like the style I made.

Thanks for the comments!!!

Clothespin Bag/Baby Sock Bag

Christmas Sewing

Here are several pieces of Christmas fabric that I bought over the last couple of years at the after Christmas Sale at Walmart. Each was $1.00 per yard. There is a yard of each. I plan to make some Christmas napkins, rice filled heating pads (cuddle buddies) and coasters with them. I see several pleasing combinations already!

Also shown are three Christmas baskets purchased from a church thrift shop. I plan to roll up the napkins and place in the baskets.

Also today I made a clothespin bag. I liked it so much I made one for my daughter to hang in the baby's closet to put a variety of small things in, like baby socks or baby toys. I think I could easily made a diaper stacker bag using a similar method.

I am so happy when I am sewing!

Also today I made 2 more pizzas and peas and corn from the freezer. We cooked 2 more inexpensive marked down steaks from Food Lion.

I was able to get some basic cleaning done that was really needing to be done!

Happy Saturday!

Frugal Friday

I always feel that everybody else already knows what ever Frugal Friday tip I have, but here goes anyway!!!

Last night I was googleing "homemade hamburger helper" and this web site came up: www.allthingsfrugal.com. Once the home page comes up if you click on search "all things frugal", (not search the web) you won't believe how many great frugal articles come up.

I just put in the word "quilt" and I was amazed at the great articles that I could read on quilting frugally! I was really excited.

You can put in any word and read and read frugal tips to your heart's content.


I also wanted to show you the pizza I made this week. We had several frugal meals this week, including the pizza. I was able to make use of the bell peppers we have coming out of the garden. I had the pepperoni which I bought on sale in the freezer. The recipe I use is a combination of several recipes. I use my bread machine to get the dough ready. The pizza sauce recipe I use came from WWW.hillbillyhousewife.com. I use the one that doesn't have to be cooked.

Here are the ingredients:

For 2 pizza crusts:

1 1/4 cups water
3 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp yeast
1 T sugar
2 tsp garlic poweder
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano

Put in the bread machine in the above order on the dough cycle. When it is finished (I take out early if I'm in a hurry) roll out onto 2 pizza pans.

Sauce for 2 pizzas

2 8 oz cans no salt added tomato sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp italian seasonings or 1 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp olive oil

Simply mix together in a bowl. Its that easy!

Then just top as desired. I put the sauce on the unbaked crust, then mozerella cheese, parmesean cheese, pepperoni, onion and bell pepper.

Bake at 400 degrees until bubbly and the crust is brown, about 20 minutes, depending on your oven.

I buy all my spices at the dollar store. The ones in this recipe are easy to find there.

Another frugal meal we had was : Inexpensive steaks marked down at Food Lion to 2.81. We put meat tenderizer on them and grilled them. I made fried potatoe slices with cheese on them and fried okra that was given to us. The potatoes were soon going to go bad, only had 4, but made a delicious dish. The entire meal was about $3.00.

Be sure to go to www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog.htm for more frugal tips.

String X Baby Quilt

These are bigger pictures of the baby quilt that was on the side bar.

Since they won't show up in my archives if I just post them on the side bar, I'm trying to show my quilts in posts.

Thanks to Bonnie at www.Quiltville.com for this pattern!

Fall Quilt

These are some bigger pictures of my fall quilt.

I made it with all kinds of fall scraps and fabrics. I ordered some on ebay, used some scraps people had given me, used some scraps I had from the past and bought a few 5 inch strips from Walmart of fabrics with fall leaves, sunflowers, etc. I bought the fabric from Walmart for the backing. The backing has cows, sunflowers, tractors, chickens and all kinds of farm things like that on it.

This is the pattern I used: http://www.quiltville.com/stringx.shtml I didn't use a foundation fabric because I found I could just sew the strips together until the piece was big enough, press it flat, and then rotary cut off the edges to the correct size.

I also made the baby quilt on my side bar out of all kinds of "baby" scraps from the same pattern.

I love the Quiltville Web Site. Bonnie's scrap quilt patterns are the best I've ever seen. I love her leaders/enders instructions!!!! You can make two quilt tops at the same time this way!

Thanks, Debbie J.

We made it!

My VERY pregnant daughter and her husband are now living in their new town! We left home this morning at 6:30 and got home tonight at 6:00. We drove a total of 260 miles. We filled up a pick up, a huge trailer, a van with the seats removed and 2 other cars with stuff. We cleaned the carpet in the apartment they moved from and almost cleaned everything. Do I have to explain to you how tired I am?!!!!

I am so relieved that this all fell into place before the baby arrived!

They still need to do a lot of unpacking and lots of things to get ready for the baby. I still have several boxes and bags of baby shower stuff at my house to get to them.

My son in law has to make one more 200 mile round trip to get the last of their stuff, finish cleaning and turn in the keys to the apartment. He plans to do this early tomorrow morning so that hopefully he won't be too far away from his VERY pregnant wife as she nears her due date in 2 weeks.

I am so excited for them. I think I have memorized the directions to their new house but if not, I have been told by other grandparents that my car will know how to get there all by itself after a while. They are still a little over an hour away.

I am so thankful to my hubbie/sweetie for all he did today. He borrowed the trailer and master minded the packing of the stuff. He tied it all down and nothing even budged! He is so good at helping people move.

Let me tell you people, moving is a lot of work!!!!

Frugal Friday - The Fruits of My Labor

We needed sheets and a bumper pad for this family heirloom cradle. They didn't have the size we needed at our local stores and they were pretty pricey on line, so I decided to just make them myself. I already had most of the fabric on hand and purchased some more at Walmart to match the quilt I had already made.

This is the finished Jungle Babies bumper pad, matching sheet, quilt and hanging pillow which I have been working on this week. For safety we will hang the pillow somewhere else, but I thought it was cute for this picture. There is also a rice filled heating pad. We call these "Cuddle Buddies". I have been making them for the upcoming fall and winter season for gifts, to sell and for our own use. You heat them up in the microwave and they are wonderful!!! Some of them have lavender in them. The baby's Mama can heat it up just a little bit for the baby or heat it up more for herself! She might even be able to use it during labor! They are also good to freeze and use for ice packs or for sinus headaches.

I also have made a pastel yellow and yellowed checked sheet to match.

We will be moving this cradle along with the other baby stuff we have been storing for my daughter and her hubby to their new home tomorrow. They have been living in a tiny apartment until the house was ready and had no where to store their shower presents, etc.

I will be so busy at work today!!! Fridays are always busy, but today I have to travel to another county to a town called "Elizabethtown". Just like the movie, but not the same state! That was a crazy movie by the way. We didn't really like it!

Have a great Friday and Weekend!!!!

Go to www.biblicalwomanhood/blog.htm for more frugal ideas!
Debbie J.

Sewing

I have been busy sewing before and after work all week. The earlier I can get up in the morning, the better I like it. I love to get that coffee going, do my morning routine, and have some time for sewing. My daughter asked me this week "How do you have time to sew before going to work in the morning?!!" I told her that I feel as if I have no life if I don't have some down time in the morning. If I got up at the last minute and just left to go to work, I'd be a little stressed out. (more than usual :o)

I have almost completed a new bumper pad and 3 new sheets for the baby's cradle, that match the jungle babies quilt I made for him. I think a little hanging pillow would be cute from the same fabric to hang on the end of the cradle or a door knob.

I have so many crafty ideas now, I just can get the time to put them in action!

A Busy Happy Week!

This Baby Bouncy Seat is all ready for the Bouncing Baby Boy!!!!

This is going to be a busy, yet happy week! My daughter has only 2 weeks left til her due date and We will be helping them move into their new home Saturday. Her husband is starting his new job today! Maybe in about a month they can catch their breath!!! Well it maybe about 20 years :0)!

I am praying for a safe and easy delivery for Lori and especially for a healthy baby! I would appreciate any prayers you can send our way too!

I have been really busy both at work and at home.

At home I am sewing like crazy! Every year at Christmas time I realize that I wanted to make some home made gifts for certain people, but by that time its just too late! This year I am already working on some things. I am making use of the wonderful fabric remnants that were given to me. I will post pictures here a little later on.

One idea I have is to make Christmas Napkins like the ones in my previous posts and roll them up and arrange them in a Christmasy basket. I have 2 such baskets on hand already that I bought at a little church thrift shop in Gatlinburg, TN last November when sweetie and I went on our anniversary trip. I already have lots of Christmas fabric.

I am getting all kinds of ideas from some really smart ladies' blogs I have been reading.

I always get in the mood to sew in late summer and especially in fall and winter. But I usually start a big project like a quilt. This year I am going to use that energy to make some gifts. I would like to sell some also, but I'm not sure if I can find buyers. I thought about having another yard sale in October and have a craft section. The only problem with that is most people don't want to spend much at yard sales and I don't blame them!!!!

Well, I gotta go get ready for work! Have a great Day! Hugs, Debbie J.

Saturday Doings

We had a really bad storm last night. Our power was out for 3 hours and the yard is a big MESS! We have pine cones, pine straw and tree limbs everywhere! Our neighbors thought they heard a tornado, but I thought it was just a really bad storm for a few minutes there!!! I am so thankful for the electric company's repairmen. They had to get power back on all over the county and they do a great job in all kinds of weather and at all hours of the day and night! So, we will be busy today cleaning up the yard!!!

I made more napkins before the power went out! Now I have 5 total! I think they are so cute! I plan to made some Autumn ones. I have plenty of Fall fabric on hand. Then there's Christmas ones to be made too!

Frugal Friday

A frugal Week:

I seem to have done several frugal activities this week. I really didn't think about them as being frugal at the time, but looking back now, they were. And you know what, they were things I enjoyed doing and made my life easier!

1. I got out my clothes drying racks last Saturday and started hanging some things on them to cut down on dryer use. Placed over the air conditioning vent, it takes advantage of that expensive luxury in another way. I also hung some of the menfolk's shirts on plastic hangers straight from the washing machine and hung them on the clothes line to dry. My son, Jacob, bought himself some new shirts this week that fit him really well, but they don't need to be shrunk much in the dryer. So, I'm going to try to hang them up to dry. (you know they'll eventually hit that dryer though!)

Check out last Saturday's post down below called "Letting God Dry My Clothes" to see pictures!

Lesson no. one: towels placed on the dryer rack, even with liquid fabric softener, are stiff as a board. So towels go in the dryer!

2. Its been excessively hot this week, but despite that I had been wanting some chicken and rice. I had some boney pieces of chicken in the freezer that needed to be used soon. So over the weekend I thawed the chicken and Monday morning early I boiled it until tender, picked off the chicken from the bones and added one cup of rice and just a little salt. I made sure I didn't over cook the rice. I poured out the excess liquid, leaving just a little. I placed it in a plastic container with a lid and placed it in the refrigerator at work. Each day this week I took a sandwich from home and at lunch time I would heat up a small bowl of the chicken and rice to go with the sandwich.

Now you may ask me "why in the world would you want to eat that kind of food when it is 100 degrees outside?". This is why: I stayed inside the air conditioned building every day instead of driving to a fastfood place. I didn't go shopping. I used the time while eating to catch up my blog, work on my check book, or pay bills. I haven't really been affected by the hot weather because I've been inside all week.

I saved gas, food money, and no telling what if I had gone shopping.

Today I'll go outside at lunch because I've been putting off all week my trip to CVS to get what looks like one of the best deals they've ever had. (The $20.00 free kraft food deal and free Aquafresh Toothpaste) I also need to go to Walgreens to get some deals there that I have coupons for. Check out www.littlepenpen.blogspot.com to see all the deals she got a CVS!!!

Lesson No. 2: Will need a new idea for lunch next week, can't eat chicken and rice again next week!

3. Alexandra at http://happyheartsathome.blogspot.com/ had a link on her blog yesterday for making homemade napkins. I liked them a lot, so last night I got out my scrap bag and made one to see how it would look. It's cute I think! You can use 2 different kinds of fabric for each side or the same. I've had the sewing bug all week so this allowed me to get out some that energy. I plan to get a cute basket to put my rolled up homemade napkins in just like in the picture on the link. This is a picture of the one I made, showing the front and the back.

Thanks Alexandra for the great link!

4. Also check out the post from Wednesday of this week which shows the recipes I cooked for Justin's birthday. Cooking the meal at home and celebrating at home as compared to what celebrating at a restaurant would have cost saved quite a bit of money. He celebrated his birthday out with friends the next night, so he had well rounded birthday celebration!

Visit www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog for more Frugal Friday ideas!

Humble Quilter

I keep looking at that NC State Quilt and I know I will not be satisfied with it until I rip out some seams and do something different.

I've got some ideas going around in my head.

It'll take a while to make the changes I'm talking about.

..... and all the work I've already put into it!

Do any of you ever call a project a total loss?

signed: The humble quilter

N. C. State Quilt In Progress

This is definitely a UFO from long ago! I started this quilt last fall (I think) and it fell by the way side when I discovered my first grandchild was on the way. I went into baby quilt making mode in high gear!

I'm making it for my stepson, Justin, whose 21st birthday was yesterday. He doesn't know I am making it.

My original idea for the quilt didn't work out and so then I started working with what I had, and I'm not really satisfied with it. That makes me just want to put it away and start something new. Its a lot more fun to quilt if you like the way the quilt is looking!

I pulled it out yesterday and decided to finish it, even if its not what I had envisioned. I have discovered that when you get done the mistakes don't really matter.

I saw once that when pioneers made a quilt, they purposely turned a square the wrong way to show their humility, because only God is perfect. Well, let me tell you, most of my quilts are pretty humbling.

I love scrap quilts and this one fits that definition alright.

The first picture shows the quilt so far. The second picture is of some finished squares and strips to go into the border. The third picture is the progress I have made on the border which is a pioneer braid. Yes, that is the treadmill that I used for the background. Might as well use it for something!!! :o)

I am so looking forward to cooler weather so I can light some fall smelling candles, put on a pot of soup in the crock pot and work on quilts.

Justin's Recipes

Today is my stepson, Justin's 21st birthday! He is so sweet, handsome and smart, just like his dad. I first knew him when he was 13. He has come to love my cooking, after the infamous stuffed pepper episode! I made stuffed peppers when he was only 13 and he absolutely hated them! We've never let him forget it. Its a family joke. After that he was scared to try anything new that I cooked or that he hadn't had before. Now he loves to try new things because most of the time he loves them. I also think his taste buds have matured!

So for his birthday I made 2 of his favorite recipes: Chicken Broccoli Casserole and Sweet Potato Souffle. Both of these recipes come from a church cook book I've had for 31 years. Its called "Southern Cookery" and was a fundraiser project for the "Fidelis Class" at the Methodist Church in the small town near where I live. The cookbooks are worth their weight in gold and are still being sold at the local drug store!

Here they are:

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

2 (10oz.) pkg. frozen broccoli

(I used 1 24 oz bag frozen broccoli florets)

6 halves of chicken breasts, cooked and deboned

(I used 1 whole chicken. You can use whatever chicken you have that is on sale, etc.)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1 tsp. curry power ( I have never used this because I didn't have any)

1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 c. soft bread crumbs (I just pinch off pieces of 2 slices regular loaf bread)

2 tbsp melted butter or margarine.

Cook broccoli according to package directions and drain. Arrange in greased 7 X 11 inch baking dish, keeping flower heads turned toward outer edge of dish. Arrange chicken on top of broccoli. Combine sauce ingredients and pour over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle buttered bread crumbs on top. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

The buttered bread crumbs look soggy, but place them around the top evenly and when they bake they become crispy and crouton like. My family say they are the best part of the dish.

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 medium size sweet potatoes

1 egg, well beaten

1/2 stick margarine

1/2 c. sugar (according to sweetness of potatoes)

pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c. milk

marshmallows

For basic recipe, boil potatoes until tender. Drain and mash until soft and fluffy. Add other ingredients. Bake in a greased casserole at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Cover with marshmallows and return to oven until marshmallows are melted and a light brown.

The lady who entered this recipe in the cook book states, "You may use originality in this recipe. Spiced nuts and raisins may be added. A small can of crushed pineapple may be used in place of milk, or orange juice may be used in place of milk."

I add chopped pecans in the winter when I can get them from our tree. That makes the recipe really good! But most of the time I just use the basic recipe and its wonderful and easy! We are usually given lots of sweet potatoes here in the late fall and early winter, because so many farmers have an abundance of them.

I'll let you in on a secret!!! I didn't really like those stuffed peppers either!!!!

LET IT SNOW!

I thought these pictures would be refreshing on this hot August day!

This is my front yard and back porch one day last winter. We get snow about once a year, if we are lucky! This snow was gone by afternoon, but was pretty while it lasted. I would love to have some good snows this winter, just a couple. I'm not sure I'd like a lot of it.

My county is under an excessive heat warning today and for the next few days. The temperature will reach the triple digits, with a heat index of about 110. Its not so much the temperature that is bad here in Eastern North Carolina. Its the humidity combined with the temperature.

I hope you have a great day and stay cool!

Letting God Dry My Clothes

If you're going to take clothes out of the dryer and hang them on hangers anyway, its just as easy to hang them on the hangers wet and just let them dry there. If you have a place to hang them inside that's out of the way, they usually dry over night. Its so hot and breezy here today, these shirts dryed in a couple of hours. Its also easy to hang them on a clothes drying rack and place the rack over a central air conditioner/heater vent. They dry really fast that way!

Frugal, easy and good for the environment!

Frugal Friday

You can have hobbies that are fun and frugal at the same time. Many hobbies are money savers in themselves.

My hobbies are quilting and sewing, gardening, cooking and couponing.

These are some of the ways I enjoy these hobbies without spending a lot of money.

1. Quilting and sewing: Use scraps that I have saved, have been given or purchased very cheaply at yard sales, thrift shops or on ebay; use clothing for fabric such as blue jeans; piece leftover batting together to make the size quilt you need; get patterns and ideas from quilt books checked out from the library or free on the internet (such as http://www.quiltville.com/); make homemade baby quilts for shower gifts instead of buying a gift; Sell quilts on ebay (haven't tried this yet but would like to!)

As you can see from the above picture, my sewing machine is rather old and basic. But it does the job! It is an old high school home economics singer sewing machine built into a cabinet. It even has a name some teenager carved into it! I found a walking foot/quilting foot to fit it that has made all the difference in the world in my quilt sewing. I can quilt on my machine with it and its wonderful for sewing on the binding. This machine was given to me years ago by my mother who bought it from a high school surplus sale at the school where my sister in law taught home economics at the time. Sometimes I think I would love one of the new fangled sewing machines, but this one does the job and I like it. I had it serviced a while back and borrowed a new one from the sewing machine store to try out. It had lots of fancy stitches, etc. But the bottom line is I LIKE MY OLD MACHINE BETTER.

2. Gardening: Buy seeds at Dollar General for .10 or .25 per pack; divide perennials and replant in other areas of the yard; be the recipient of friend's divisions of perennials; Plant perennials and annuals from seeds instead of buying the established plants; allow annuals to come back the following year from seed; root cuttings of plants; Some of my favorite plants came from divisions of heirloom type plants at the family cemetery near my home. If they live in a country cemetery with no care at all, they will live in your yard. The plants were planted there many, many years ago. This is the cemetery where some of my family is buried and I was responsible for maintaining it. These plants were being mowed down every year and so I was able to save some of them.

The picture above is of some aloe plants. My mother in law gave me one little aloe plant about 15 years ago and it has multiplied and multiplied. It happily grows babies for me which I repot. They make great gifts and the gel inside the plant is good for burns and stings. My mother in law was killed in a car accident 7 years ago and this aloe plant is a physical reminder of her that I want to keep growing.

3. Cooking: Check out cookbooks from the library; use frugal recipes from cook books such as "Not Just Beans" or "More With Less Cookbook"; inventory freezer and pantry and plan meals around what you have on hand; Plan menus around the grocery store sales paper each week; Use the "Pantry Principle" (shop to replinish the pantry only); use coupons wisely (see no. 4 below) Look for recipes on line that use the ingredient you have that needs to be used; buy meat that has been marked down but is still in date; Use the freezer to store sale meats; Plan menus ahead of time; Know the best price for each item and only buy it when it is at the best price and stock up when it is at the best price; organize the pantry and freezer to know what you have to avoid buying something not needed that is not on sale.

4. Couponing: Only use coupons to buy things you would use anyway; Use coupons on sale items and especially if you can get a rebate too!; Keep coupons organized; Study sale papers weekly from Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid to see what can be bought for nearly nothing or for a final cost of "free" or even sometimes they pay you!; Study each stores "gimick", such as extra bucks, cash register rewards, and rebates to know how to use them to your advantage. After an initial investment roll the gimicks over and over. Don't let the store trick you into buying items that are overpriced while you are there getting the deals! The coupons will pay for the newspaper subscription.

The coupon organizer above is one I bought from Gooseberry Patch using a birthday coupon they sent me. Its not exactly what I want for my coupon oranization, but until I come up with a better solution its nice and pretty.


I totally understand that some people don't want to do coupons, but for me it is a hobby.


If your hobby can't be done frugally and its your passion, that's a great incentive to be frugal in other areas of your life so that you can afford to enjoy your hobby!

Go to www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog.htm for more frugal tips.

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!

Debbie J.

Odds N Ends

We are extremely busy at work lately!!! That's good for job security, but I always wonder why in all aspects of life, everything comes in batches. Sometimes you have a lot to do and sometimes you don't. I have learned to enjoy the slow times, because you know what's right around the corner.... pure bedlam!!!!

I am still trying to get everthing organized in my life. Am I just lazy, or is this normal? Every day I still have to decide what's for supper, try to do some housework/laundry, etc. If I would just make myself plan ahead!!!!

Anyway, I'm still trying to use what I have on hand. We have yellow squash, eggplants, tomatos, lettuce, and various kinds of leftovers. So I went to Food Lion at lunch and bought some bacon. I plan to make BLTs which my guys love. This will use up the tomatos that are quickly getting too ripe and the lettuce I bought Saturday that I don't want to go to waste.

I also plan to make some baked squash from a recipe in my "Not Just Beans Cookbook". You cook a few slices of bacon in the oven and then bake the halved sqush face down in the bacon grease. Then you sprinkle a little brown sugar, crumbled up bacon, salt and pepper to taste on top. If we like this recipe I'll post it here.

Also, in the same cookbook, there's a squash recipe called "Mexican Squash" that uses squash, tomatos and corn that I should try. Its a shame to let this garden bounty go to waste. (not to mention a down right sin!) I absolutely love squash when it first starts producing, but after a while, I'm not so interested.

This morning before leaving for work I did the following: Did my Bible Reading for the day, washed and dried one load of laundry, made a gallon of iced tea, vacuumed the kitchen/laundry room area, damp mopped the kitchen, finished organizing my coupons, remembered to make a sandwhich for my lunch :o), got dressed for work and got to work on time (well 2 minutes late). I stopped at McDonalds to get a sausage burrito. I should have made a scrambled egg sandwhich at home, which would have helped use up the eggs in the fridge before they expire and would have saved a little $$$. I'll remember that tomorrow.

I'm doing better with not letting food go to waste. Even if we don't eat the produce, my son has 7 goats who will take care of it. They especially like fruit like peach peelings and grapes. I guess we really don't completely waste too much, because the throw aways get given to the animals. We have some farm cats that help with that too!

Well, my daughter has one month to go before the baby arrives! She is getting pretty far along and is going through the typical "hot and miserable" stage. I pray for her health and the baby's health. I wish I could deliver the baby for her, but she'll be fine, once its all over. She's going to the doctor weekly now. I'll keep you posted about her progress!!!

Debbie J.