I just love what Sarah said about my memory of eating peaches at Grandmama's in this Frugal Week post:
I was thinking about your peaches. Good food combined with sweet memories sure does increase the goodness doesn't it! :) I have several meals we like but remembering the people that taught me to make them or shared them with us adds to the mix for sure.
I agree, Sarah. As we went about the mountains there were just loads of churches tucked atop a hill or snugged in a cove and I'd say 8 out of 10 had the outdoor tables that I recall from my childhood church. These were set up for 'Dinner on the Grounds', a lovely sort of pot luck meal usually where everyone brings enough for their own family and two more. I reminisced over Granny's usual meal of fried chicken, tiny little green butter beans (a world of difference between those gems and the more mature Lima bean), potato salad, deviled eggs, and pimento cheese sandwiches with the crusts removed and then cut diagonally from corner to corner to make a triangle. The only variation was what she brought for dessert. I recalled Mrs. Waters Strawberry cake, and Aunt Ruth's Watergate Salad, and Mrs. Green's Sausage Biscuit or Biscuits with Country Ham that she brought in after they killed hogs each Fall.
Yes, indeed! Just as Sarah says, "Good food combined with sweet memories sure does increase the goodness..."
In the second Frugal Week post Sarah commented on hanging out her laundry and finding it was stained by bird 'bombs'. She was struggling with the stain. May I suggest, if the blouse is bleach safe that you try soaking it in dissolved dishwasher detergent? It will lighten if it's not color safe but at this point that hardly seems to be the concern.
She noted that one of her freezer organizing tools is a tipper type bread box that she can open and stash small bits of things in. I use an old freezer basket in my refrigerator freezer for small items such as jars of nuts etc. It's very handy, sits atop an old cabinet plate rack and I stash loaves of bread underneath it so the space if well used.
Lisalynn, Rebecca and Lena, you flatter me truly with your estimation of my skill in feeding company. I pretty much just rely on my basic cooking ingredients, which allows for far far more creativity and inspiration than most realize. I know all three of you are good at keeping basics on hand, as well.
When Samuel was in college he pretty much kept real food (basics) on hand. His friends would come in and look about for the snack foods and convenience items they were used to having on hand. They'd always tell him, "Man you've got nothing to eat!" Samuel would then set about cooking a meal and soon had a nice meal on on the table. His friends couldn't believe that he could make 'something out of nothing'!
In this Frugal post Susie asked about my surprise carrots. I have an 8-10 gallon galvanized drink bucket that I bought at Dollar General a couple of years ago to use as a planter. I filled that with potting mix last year and then sowed carrot seed in the pot. They came up a bit but never got big, so I just left them there all winter long. When I went to empty the pot, voila, there they were! I was pretty impressed with both the harvest and the taste. Yum! I will do the same this coming August and will sow more than I did last year.
Rhonda also asked about the turkey sausage and bacon we purchase and which brands are favorites. I shared with her via a private email but thought you all might like to know as well. I'm picky about things and I really have tried a lot of brands until I've settled upon what we now use. For turkey sausage, I prefer either Honeysuckle White Turkey Breakfast sausage (1 pound tube) or Tennessee Pride Turkey sausage patties which come 8 to a package... Make no mistake, you will NOT save money buying turkey sausage! It's pretty pricey for anything that tastes like sausage. I have tried and do not care for the Butterball turkey sausage nor the Jennie O.
For Turkey bacon the best to date has been Aldi's Fit and Active Turkey Bacon. It surpasses both Butterball and Louis Rich in my opinion, both for flavor and texture.
And just for fun: I love Spam and always have. To me there's nothing better than a Spam sandwich come summer when there's fresh tomato and lettuce, onion and peppers to go on it. We used to call them Garden Salad sandwiches as everything came from the garden that morning. When we stopped eating pork I thought that was also the end of my Spam days but there is a Turkey Spam and it's tasty. I slice and fry for breakfast and have my occasional sandwich from it.
Sarah had a nice chatty comment on this post but what stood out to me was this portion which made me laugh as it's very indicative of the mindset of the younger generation. "I think they think everyone has one and knows all about using it!! :-) If so they are wrong!! LOL My sister said she called a company to do some business and they said to print the paper she needed from them from their sight. Print it out sign it and them email it back to them. She said at this time she did not have a printer or access to one. The young guy said he had no idea how he could help her then cause she needed this paper. Unless she found someone who could print it for her they could not do business. Well DAH! He finally realized he could...hold on to something...MAIL it to her!!! He said he had not thought of that at all as who mails anything anymore!!!!! Well imagine his amazement when he gets an actual snail mail sent to his office!!!! "
My mom just recently got a small netbook to use because her doctor's office insists that you must register with the lab ONLINE in order to get bloodwork done. It's been a real challenge for her and a source of a lot of frustration as she got an Apple which I can't operate at all. Fortunately my niece has helped her find her way around the thing.
And can I just share this? I've taken to doing a bit of online shopping, not a lot, but a little bit. It's far less expensive to order from Walmart than it is to go in and walk around...and then I have the bonus of getting that item in the mail. It sort of takes me back to those wonderful packages that used to come from Sears, right through the mail.
In the fourth frugal post I mentioned our spending 'spree'. Rebecca rightly points out that such a shopping trip was saved and planned for well in advance of the purchases being made. And it is indeed one of the reasons why we try to save, so that we have the money for such needs as those. Courtney, it was a blessing that we found so many good buys on those things we were purchasing.
And yes, Sarah I have indeed had that thought about putting a copy of an advertisement for some of my items next to them in the booth...Like those pretty little glasses I picked up at an estate sale that I just discovered were peanut butter jars!
In the Q&A post Karla your idea of scooping the cookie dough close on a cookie sheet then freezing is indeed a good one, especially for the chocolate chip dough. Those are the ones I find hardest to cut when the chips are still frozen solid inside.
Sarah and Karla both mention the new washing machines and the woes they cause. I've heard enough that I just might opt for a used machine next go round, of the old fashioned variety. Our current set is 18 years old and still going strong, thank goodness. Our only trouble has been the loss of the timer on the dryer and we just set the microwave to remind us to check the clothes.
JoAnne, I am so happy that your husband finished his treatments. I hope you get to spend plenty of time with those grandchildren.
In my Coffee Chat post There was a good bit of discussion over my ironing board on the front porch. Years
ago I was desperately trying to find furniture for that front porch. At the time there were dumpsters just outside the city limits (both the dumpsters and the city limits have long since moved closer out towards our home). I kept passing this ironing board on the side of the road at the dumpsters...and I kept looking at it each time thinking about it. Even more years ago I had an antique wooden ironing board and I used it on the front porch to hold potted plants. One day, as I passed that ironing board by one more time it suddenly occurred to me that it would be an ideal plant stand.
I have a love/hate relationship with ironing that dates back to the many, many, many hours I logged in front of an ironing board in my childhood/teen years. I love freshly starched and ironed clothes. Not so much about having to do them, however. I came home that day and put my own ironing board out on the front porch. I do have a small one that I use when sewing (or desperation over wrinkles in clothes occurs) so it wasn't a great loss. I'm just sorry to say that it took me only about five years before I remembered the silly thing was adjustable and I could lower it, lol, which made it fit the space better. I'm thinking it's time to give it new color this year.
In my first Meal Plan post for the month Karla mentions that meat loaf is a favorite at her home. I have three meals I consider the ultimate comfort meals: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Corn Muffins; Chicken Pot Pie; and in winter when it's cold and blustery, Cowboy Chili (Baked Beans mixed with onion and hamburger and ketchup, super simple super good) with a pan of hot Biscuit Bread.
She also added this: My project this week is to start the embroidery project I picked up cheaply at WalMart several weeks ago. I decided I needed a light hobby other than the internet and magazines that I can carry with me and have something to show for. So I picked up an easy embroidered pillowcase set for less than $5.
Now that is something I ought to do. I keep a Suduko book in the car dash pocket which has filled many a waiting moment but it would be nice to have something to show for my time besides just doing puzzles.
Finally, in my last post for May, I wanted to thank all of you who wished me a restful vacation or happy anniversary. I did enjoy my anniversary week, but felt a little let down the day of. My own fault for losing sight of what a privilege it was just to be spending the day with my husband. It was a perfectly nice day overall.
Well that's it! I really look forward to reading all of your comments and thank you for taking the time to do leave them.
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