The Week Behind: In Which I Wait

Saturday:  John must work tomorrow so I put a corned beef into the crockpot last night before we went to bed and turned it off this morning when I got up.  I let it cook all night long from about 11p until 7a on low.  It turned out so tender and lovely!  I seldom cook meat that long even though that is what the crock pot/slow cooker is meant to do. I'm certainly going to consider doing more of this low and slow cooking in the future.  I was able to cut it by simply pressing the knife against the grain of the meat.  I steamed cabbage wedges atop the potatoes I was cooking.  And that was our  Irish dinner today.  I kept it very simple.  It was delicious.

Of late, I've been trying to make a dessert only on the weekend.  Today I mixed up a pan of brownies and made the half recipe (8X8 pan) which is plenty for us.  I've been making brownies for years and can practically do this in my sleep.  It takes about three minutes from melting the butter to putting in the oven.

Another fallout of going back to daylight savings time: Shabat is later on Friday evening therefore it ends later on Saturday evening.   I stopped early evening today  and loaded the dishes that accumulated during the day.  I'd been rinsing and stacking but things just got out of hand.  I had a full load so started it washing.  That was about all the work I did aside from what little work dinner entailed but in future I'll try not to let any work be necessary on these late Shabat evenings.  

I glanced over the items I had on the counter and in the fridge today and I know what we really need to use: cauliflower, lemon, lime, asparagus.   I planned out menus according to those items.  We'll have two meatless entrees this week since I've missed having one the past two weeks.

Gave myself a fresh manicure.  I have taken Katie's advice on the manicures and use a gel top coat, the sort that does not need to be light cured.  I have two brands: Seche Vive and the Sally Hansen product.  I like both products and each has something to recommend it.  The Seche Vive is easier to remove, although it does require a bit more effort than a typical top coat.  What I like about the Sally Hansen brand is the wide brush which essentially means one stroke covers the nail and you're done.  It's a little longer lasting and therefore a bit harder to remove but still far easier than using the standard gel.  To remove I use acetone free remover and simply soak a cotton ball and hold it on the nail for a minute or two or three and then remove as usual but it does require that extra time to soak.  A regular gel coat requires a lot longer to remove, soaking for upwards of 15 minutes.   Typically, a manicure done my way lasts me two-five days depending on how hard I use my hands and the quality of the polish I've used.

All in all it was a relaxed easy day at home.

Sunday:  Sent John off to work: food for the day, breakfast, coffee.

Gracious but I'm tired of sitting in the house waiting on the pollen counts to fall!  There's nothing for it but to stay busy indoors doing all I can find to do.  Surprising how looking for work generally leads to finding some.  And for the record, I'm not highly allergic but I just hate sniffling and snuffling and having a headache.

I reorganized my bag of stuff where I keep all the nail/mani/pedi stuff I accumulated while with Jamberry.  I now have it cleaned up and better organized.   Then I tackled my makeup bag and my desk.  All done and looking better.  I also cleared off the top shelf of our closet so I can put the linens from the guest room on that shelf.

I went on to clear out my makeup case and used a divided organizer in it to better sort things.  My makeup case is about to bite the dust.  I've had it for over two years and it wasn't an expensive one to begin with.  I'll be looking for something a little larger.

I stripped our bed this morning and did a good basic clean up on the master bathroom.  I am not happy with what I had hanging on the walls in that room, so I took it all down and will look for something fresh.   The ones I'd just put up in our bath will move to the guest bath where I've had nothing on the walls for too long.

I was so hungry this morning.  My light breakfast did not hold me at all.  I remembered I had sliced strawberries left from our shortcake night so I mixed those with homemade yogurt as a second breakfast.

The onions are not holding well at present, so I decided it was worthwhile to chop them all at once and freeze.   This will be convenient for future cooking sessions.  I just piled them all in a reused peanut butter jar.  We buy those 46 ounce jars so the jar is a good size.  I still needed to use a smaller second jar to hold a few more.  I salvaged all of the tops and bottoms and outer skins I could.  Those went into my broth bag.  I left three onions that felt firm in the basket.  No need to cut up everything all at once if they are holding up just fine.

There's an item on sale at the grocery that is a really great price.  On sale for today only.  I decided to skip the sale.  It would involve driving 80 miles round trip and while the savings would more than pay for the trip over and back, I also know this price is likely going to occur again and again as we enter warmer weather.  So I'll pass and take the day at home to tend to homely things and save that $15 towards another day.  Yes, I mean to write out that amount from my checking account as though it was spent.  I'm labeling it "Pantry/freezer stock up" and saving it ahead for spending later.

Watched church online this morning.  It was a nice morning break and I felt I'd been in service all along without the drivetime.  I wouldn't do this every Sunday but it's nice I can watch a live service on our tv.

I reheated a frozen serving of the tuna noodle casserole.  That held up well to the freezing and I think in future when I make that recipe I'll go on and make up smaller sized portions on purpose so I can freeze some.

Went through a catalog this morning and sought inspiration.  I found it, too!  Color, texture, ideas to further promote my English country look...Now to find the items that inspire me without paying the big catalog prices.   One idea will involve nothing but paint and will be part of my spring/summer porches plan.  I'd never have thought to use two items I already have on hand in such a way had I not seen this idea on the catalog page.  And mine won't be costing $100 plus shipping!

After I'd had lunch I got my second wind and went back to work.  I cleared the guest bedroom closet of all the linens and curtains and such that were stored on the upper shelf and moved them all into our bedroom closet.  This allowed me to store paper products on that upper shelf and get them off the floor.  If ever I had opportunity to build my own pantry it would be just about the size of that closet I think.   I still want to clear a shelf unit off in my shed and bring it indoors to use but I'm more and more pleased with the way the pantry is shaping up.

Made guacamole from a lime that was about to give it up and two avocados that got ripe at the exact same rate though one was a little bit ripe while the other was quite firm when I bought them.  I'll have guacamole and chips tonight with my supper.

Monday:  When John called this morning to say he was running later than usual, I took advantage of the lull in preparation and cooking of breakfast to step outdoors while the air was cold and damp.  I swept the porches and my gracious you should have seen the pollen fly!  I pulled weeds in the flower beds and pots along the back of the house.  John came in just as I finished up so that all worked nicely.   I have more to do but I shall work with the theory of small bites getting big jobs done.

I showered immediately upon coming in but my ears felt stuffed with cotton, a minor but irritating allergy symptom I experience.

 I desperately need mulch and would love landscape blocks too but getting them home is the trial of the gardening life here.  I told John if I could just go order up bags and bags and pallets of stuff and have it all delivered it would be just grand.  Still a lot of work but half the battle truly is getting it lifted into and out of the car and humped over to the flower beds where it shall go and making the multiple trips required.

I decided to make red beans and rice for our dinner today.  I was dicing celery and onion and shredding cabbage and carrots for slaw and looked at all the remains of things and decided that a pot of vegetable soup could be had easily enough with just a few more small additions.  So I chopped all the leavings of things and started it in the same pot I cooked the beans in after our dinner.

I added a can of mixed vegetables,  canned tomatoes and  beef bouillon base.  Hot soup for an easy supper tonight and perhaps dinner one day this week will be an added savings and more than offset the lack of meatless meals these past two weeks.

After my work in our bedroom this morning, doing what little was required  of the deeper cleaning , I gave myself a fresh manicure and pedicure.  The last polish didn't last well at all, a not uncommon problem with that particular brand polish, I find.

An article I read this past weekend on Frugal Girl about trail mix was interesting.  Do any of you buy trail mix?  I usually don't but every now and then when we're going to travel, we will pick up a bag.  I've always been sure I could make it cheaper, but I generally am already stressed enough when we're about to go on a trip that I grab a bag to go with us, or John will pick up one of those seriously overpriced single serve sizes at a gas station somewhere.  Anyway, I love her findings that if you're buying ingredients at Aldi, you might as well buy the trail mix and be done with it.  Frankly I have made my own at home, but I never thought to add in M&Ms instead of chocolate chips which would be less likely to melt and something to seriously think about next time a trip is pending.

One of the minerals that John was told to take for Hashimoto was zinc.  He loathes taking the zinc tablets and mostly avoids them.  Good sources of zinc are easily enough slipped into his diet and don't seem to have the same side effects that a zinc supplement has: cooked broccoli, not raw; mushrooms; Brazil nuts.  It only takes one or two Brazil nuts a day to provide the daily allowance.   Occasionally I pick up the mixed nuts at Aldi but Brazil nuts are few and far between in those mixed nuts usually.  I've looked all over for a traditional source aka standing store to buy them in bulk, with no luck.  Finally I gave up and looked online.   Not inexpensive but comparable to the price per pound of most nuts these days and at least I can store them in the freezer when I do order.   My older recipe book (The Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook) has loads of recipes that call for Brazil nuts.  I wonder if they were more easily found in those early days of last century?  It does seem I recall our having them each winter here in the South during my childhood years but not so much anymore.

John finally has started to mow the lawn.  I always feel a little guilty for not working while he's working.  Not that he minds, you know, but it's me.  So I stirred myself to go work on two more items of deep cleaning for the baths and bedrooms and knocked those tasks out and considered I'd done enough.  Now seriously, I can list nineteen jobs and four projects I might tackle right this minute but my 'want to' is obviously is very low gear this afternoon.

Tuesday:  I washed a full load of dishes last night.  John did a large load of clothes this morning.  I heard an ad this week that said we will save the most energy by always doing a large load of clothes or dishes rather than choosing short cycles for smaller loads.  

I wish we could have hung the clothes to dry on the line.  There was plenty of wind but even more pollen, so John hung most to dry on hangers in the laundry area and dried the rest in cycles, choosing to do the lightest clothes first and the heavier ones after when the dryer was good and hot.  All in all, the two loads don't run as long as one very full load would.

Made French toast for breakfast this morning, using pieces of bread that were too small for sandwiches or that had dried out.  One thing about the bakery bread we buy is that it dries out quickly, as opposed to the mass baked loaf breads which seem to get heavier and denser as they age.  I have noted fewer digestive issues when we eat bakery breads so I feel it's good value.  We pay no more for bakery breads than we would for mass produced loaf bread but there are fewer slices compared to a king sized loaf of bread.

I took out meat to thaw this morning but the coolness of the house and the late hour I took it out, meant it didn't thaw.  Never mind.  I had other options.  I reheated the corned beef from Saturday's lunch, baked potatoes and steamed cauliflower since I'd used all my cabbage yesterday.  John raved over this meal.  I've enough corned beef and potatoes to make hash at the end of this week.  

I was thinking about the cost per pound for most of the meats we eat these days.  It runs around $4 per pound, a good ways from the $2 a pound limit I used to have.  Have prices increased that much?  Yes, and no. We tend to eat a higher quality meat than we did in the past and we don't eat pork which really was a staple of our diet in those years when we first moved here.   I look hard to find chicken that has no carrageenan injected into the meat, and that typically costs more.  We keep prices lower because I am careful to keep our servings to about 3 or 4 ounces and no more, and I stretch meat whenever I can as I will this week when I make corned beef hash, the third meal we'll have off this piece of meat.

Late breakfast, late dinner and a light supper.   Those are the rules at our house.  Tonight it's cereal and yogurt for me.  I have had fewer issues since I chose to spend the extra and buy the higher protein cereal for my personal use.

Wednesday:  Sent John off to work in the usual way.  That isn't likely going to change.  

It was chilly this morning with a light frost!   That wasn't expected.

Pollen levels today are very high...again.  I went out when John was leaving to pick up the mail he'd attempted to throw onto the porch from his car window...Seriously it would have been so much easier if he'd just hung on to it but no harm done.  While out there I grabbed handfuls of weeds from the corner flower bed.  Not by any means did I finish that task, but even with the frost and the damp out there, I came in with a headache and sneezing.  I took a shower right away and cancelled any plans I had to go out and do anything this morning.  I don't even want to go out shopping!

Hung a pair of pictures in the guest bathroom.  I'd taken these down from our bathroom when I decided they weren't filling the space adequately.

John is paid on Monday.  I know I won't have time to work up bills between now and then, so I sat down and worked on that this morning.  It took just minutes.  I'm not sure why it went so quickly this morning...perhaps because little is due at this point in the month.

I had no clear idea of what I'd make for lunch today but I took out chicken breasts and partially thawed them.  Then I cut in half so they were flat fillets and seasoned for southwest Chicken Salad.  I heated black beans and corn in the same oven with the chicken breasts.  With salsa and quacamole it was a delicious lunch for Bess and I, hearty enough for me to call it dinner.  

Isaac was not fond of the corn.  Neither of the boys like corn and I really don't know why.  He loved the blueberries and the cheese which was about all he really ate.

I didn't need a full can each of corn or black beans so I put what was left into the freezer to pair with half a pound of browned hamburger.  I think that will show up on the menu next week as a tamale pie or Tortilla Tower casserole while the weather remains cooler,  Leftover chicken will be used as a supper sandwich filling for John and I this week.

I really enjoyed my lunch guests.  Isaac was in a kissy mood and that's always sweet!

After the company left, I was restless as could be.  I couldn't start a project however, because all of them require paint and I don't have drop cloths for the one room and I'd promised John I wouldn't do another job until he took the door down...So I headed in to clean my closet.  I sorted through all my clothing, tried on everything, discarded three items that I pass over time and again, discovered two tops  went surprisingly well with items I'd never have dreamed of pairing them with and moved heavier cooler weather clothing to the back of the rail with the coats.

Thursday:  The latter part of this week has turned into a do nothing time pretty much.  I have done less than usual because there's nothing to be done indoors.  With pollen at 10.1 today and smoke moving into the area from a forest fire in the piedmont region, plus the chilly wind, there's little reason to venture outdoors.  A friend asked when the pollen season will end and I realized that it will be weeks yet.  Pecans haven't yet bloomed nor persimmons and then the privet must also bloom.  I think I'm just going to have to get on outdoors and get busy at some point.  But not this week.  John's asked me for a date tomorrow and it's been a week or so since I last left the house.  I'd like to get out of here for a bit.

The savings portions of our week have seemed mighty small.    I've made all meals here at home every single day of that time.  I haven't run errands.  I won't say I haven't spent money, because I did place an online order for an item Mama wanted for her birthday in May and found a clearance priced skirt I hope will fit and I've had two auto charges go through on my credit card.

One of those auto charged items was a subscription for dog food which arrived today, in a very timely manner, as we just emptied the last of the last bag into the dog food bin today and it didn't quite fill it half way.

I washed a full load of dishes which I allowed to air dry and John washed a full load of clothes, hanging most to dry.

Friday:  I kept breakfast simple and lighter today since I knew we'd be going out to eat for lunch.   We were very much at leisure this morning in our home and didn't hurry to go out.  I had time to give myself a fresh manicure before we left home.

I told John since we were heading out to plan to go by Walmart.  I have had a long running list for quite a few weeks now and it was to the point of buying now or having to split our list several times.  Naturally not every single thing I wanted could be found today.  We still spent a chunk of money but no regrets.  Every single item was either on my list or John's.  His never includes items needed for household but that is my job after all.  

John looked at shirts and a polo shirt that he especially likes was marked down to $1 and $3 each.  He picked up three.  I watched to make sure they rang up as they were marked.

We went by Publix to purchase more bread and to pick up a prescription.  John did spy bananas and get some but we stuck to our list otherwise.  I checked out cosmetics and nail polish while there.  I was still looking for a couple of items from my list.   No luck there either.  I have extra cash bucks to spend at CVS so I'll try there next.

We had a nice lunch out at a favorite pizzeria.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves.  They always have the nicest, freshest salads at this place and the food is always freshly made and delivered to the table piping hot.

We took trash to the dumpsters on our way out today.  We picked up mail on our way back into the property.  We received our electric bill.  It was half what last month's bill was and nearer what is normal for us in winter months.   This winter we've had two very high bills one related to having to run emergency heat while our heat pump was awaiting repairs and one related to that hot water leak.  Both of those bills topped our highest summer time bills, so quite a shock to me.  

All in all, it was a good week.  I do feel I accomplished little but I think that's more because there were no big projects or deeper cleaning needs required this week and I pushed hard through the few tasks I did have on my radar early in the week.  

John brought home a refund check for a fee related to his job.  I will redeposit that into our account next week.

That's my week and what little I felt I did to save money this week.  How were things in your home?  What did you do to save?