Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Use What You Have

 

Saturday:  Today we were out and about for a little while.  I have started calling these Saturdays "Sanity Savers".  Honestly without this day out each week I don't know if I could go on with each week, but we do have this day, and Sunday and once or twice a month an evening at church.  It makes a huge difference in my attitude.

Today John looked across the table and said "You seem relaxed.  It's nice to see!"   I looked up and smiled at him and assured him I did feel relaxed, "and happy!" I added.  He asked me why.  "Well, we had last night out at Coffee House at church and that was fun.   And I think because these Saturdays out of the house really are saving my sanity."   We discussed ways and means to continue and agreed we'd try to balance days out where we spent a bit more with days that were less expensive but equally pleasurable for us.  There are two or three restaurants and even some fast-food places we actually enjoy that aren't pricey at all.  As well, I can set aside some funds here and there and pick up a few gift cards for us to use when we're out, budget entertainment back into the budget, etc.

We came home to a very relaxed family.   Caleb was having quiet time, Taylor and Katie were sitting in the living room on their devices.  John and I had a cup of coffee.  We all discussed supper for the evening and determined what we'd have.  It was just a very relaxed and easy day.

Sunday:  Off to church this morning, then a mad dash back home to have Gramma's Fried Chicken.  We only had about two hours before we all had to leave again.  I took a ten-minute nap which hardly made up for last night's lack of sleep, but it was something.

Off to senior supper last night and the speaker was the former leader of the group.  My word, what a powerful teacher that woman is!  I mean, powerful.  

One thing I saw quite clearly last night was that I have a resource at my disposal that I am not using at all:  my Bible and prayer time.   Much of what happens in our lives currently we cannot change in any manner.  But I can seek some solace, and answers to a few problems, if I'd just take those few minutes daily to pick up my Bible and let the Word get down into me. 

On the way home, John suddenly announced his intent to call the contractor we met back at the end of the year and ask him to come out to do quotes and give us a timeline based on his current schedule.  We're going to stop waiting for when Katie and Caleb move out and start living some portion of our lives right now or at least schedule in our own lives.

I was cleaning out a file last night and found I'd tucked away a number of Amazon gift cards from the start of the year.  I remember getting two of them from Fetch and Ibotta reward points, most of which was grocery spending.  I had two small cards that I'd earned from Amazon Affiliate links that you all have used.  The total for the four cards was surprising to me.  I decided to use those funds to help start the pantry restock.  I'd seen some really good deals on Amazon thanks to a website that Lana mentioned, Hip2Save.  

So I went to the Hip2Save website and found some really good prices on several items that were on my pantry stock up list.  The prices were just a bit less than the very best prices I'd seen on many of these items.  I bought tomato, cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, mac n cheese (the kids love this so much it pays to have a small supply on hand), razors and coffee.  Other items I priced I can do as well or better with in stores that I routinely shop.  I tried to be sure I was getting the best price for my money.

Monday:  Whenever I read Annabelle's The Bluebirds Are Nesting On the Farm and Brandy's Prudent Homemaker blogs, I always think, "I could do so much more than I'm doing."   I get very frustrated at times reading of how they had this or that resource to work with.  For goodness sake!  I need to do just what they are doing: using the resources I have at hand.

So this morning following my bout of housework, I went into the fridge and gathered up fragments.  I found leftovers of Fried Chicken, some cooked broccoli, a third of a can of 3-Bean Salad, some tossed salad, leftovers from our lunch out the other day, pineapple slices, a red onion that was looking a bit past prime, some baked sweet potatoes and some apple juice I'd made from apple cores after making those two apple pies for the freezer.   I was standing at the freezer where I'd meant to take out meats for the rest of the week (whoops!  Still need to do that!) and dug down into the vegetable basket to see if I had jalapenos and cilantro.  I'm positive I do somewhere but I didn't find them.  What I did find was a whole lot of apples peels and cores and even some half apples I'd tossed into bags, plus a few bits of broccoli and a big broccoli stem piece.

All of those things got turned into something today except the Fried Chicken.  That's going to become a leftover makeover or lunch here before the week is over, but it will definitely be used.  

You know what else I have plenty of at present?  Mistakes.  And what on earth can you do with mistakes?  Well you could learn from them.  Here's my three examples of learning from a mistake today.  I was so proud of a deal I could get on Amazon for a food item. It was so low I couldn't believe the price but you had to do the deal as a subscribe and save to get that low low price.  I went right ahead and ordered it.  It was slated to go into my March order. This subscription was set up in February. What was my mistake?  I didn't realize that just adding it to my list wasn't going to keep that price that low.  So the order shipped this month and I didn't pay attention to the price until after I'd confirmed the order.  It was still a decent price, but not that low low price it had been.

My second mistake was not exploring the site a little harder and figuring out how to get that item shipped sooner...But I learned and last night when I was placing those orders for the deals from Hip2Save, I found a little previously unnoticed button that allowed me to change the order date from next month's subscribe and save date to this month's.  One or two of the items will actually arrive a day or two later BUT they will all be at that best price.  I didn't miss out this time!

My second failure was to think ahead.  I cooked something today and realized I could have made another thing too, if I'd just planned things a bit differently.  I made a salvage operation and did get a little extra from it all, but I could've done better.  And in future, I'll be sure to do things differently than I did today.

The main point is that I looked at what I had and I did something with them.  They weren't just scraps of this and that.  They weren't just mistakes I made. They were resources.  I used them.

My Stitch Fix box came today.  I have four of the prettiest spring blouses now.  Of course it's cold as everything outdoors just now, more sweater weather than spring weather but when the weather turns back in the right direction these new blouses will be lovely.  I took two more tops from my closet and a pair of pants and moved them to the house drawer.  So I have a fresh bit of clothing in both the closet and the around the house drawer.

Now I am off to play ball with Caleb who asked me to come play.

Tuesday:  Long family discussion last night.  John, Katie and I now know where we all are on the page of life at the moment.  They will continue to be with us at least until the end of this year.  We will be touching base periodically over the next few months and see where we all are at that time, but we are working towards some common goals.  

Now that has been settled, John confirmed his plan to go on and talk to the contractor at some point in the next week or so.  So, the work on the house will not be postponed on our end.  We will obviously be working with the contractor's schedule at that point.  

Caleb is having a difficult day today.  He quickly escalates over the simplest things.  I brought out a toy he got at Christmas that I thought he'd enjoy.  It's a construction set but he got very frustrated with it.  He could put it together well enough but had a mental block when it came to taking it apart.  Listening to him rant and fume as he got frustrated was not amusing but it was insightful.  I often feel that way myself when something just will not cooperate with my idea of how it ought to work.  After a while I picked the items up and put them away.  He happily went back to his usual blocks, books and cars.

It has been a major advancement this past week that he began using the terms, "I", "me", "mine".  Up until now he has referred to things with his name.  I'm doing my best to encourage the use of language and forming complete sentences; he seems to be frustrated on that score as well as many others.  I'm backing off today and just letting him be.  He works hard at things for the most part, but I reckon he's like me or anyone else.  There are days when I'm just not emotionally and mentally able to handle hard things that I've been trying to learn.

I received several of my pantry items this morning.  One box of an item was badly split, and the contents had spilled out into the packing case.  This is such a rare thing for me with Amazon items.  I will say their customer service attended to the issue right away.  That's another reason I don't mind doing business with them.   

It felt good to add things to the pantry and fill some of the gaps there.  I have been worrying slightly about the need to get this done and it's a relief to begin the process.   We are by no means in desperate need, but I have become very accustomed to keeping my pantry at a certain level and it's not where it was.  I've been looking around for the best prices to restock the several items that are low or missing now, all commonly used items.  

One item I've noted three or four times lately at a local store was a cut of meat I was not familiar with.  Thank you to the internet that allows me to have that information immediately at my fingertips.  The item is an English Cut Boneless Chuck Roast.  I am all too familiar with roasts and Chuck roasts (bone in and out) but I'd never heard of an English Cut.  This is a cut that is higher up on the shoulder and is supposed to be leaner than the more typical Chuck Roasts.   For this reason, the meat needs to be slow cooked, braised or simmered but the end result is supposed to be far more tender than Chuck roast since an English cut (or Arm Cut) roast has less connective tissue.   It does not make a good roast for baking because the center tissues do not get tender.  Mind you I've never tried cooking a Chuck roast as a Roasted piece of meat.   I can't imagine it would be very tender either.

Granny used to take a Chuck Roast and bake it in the oven, but it was slow cooked.  She'd salt, pepper and flour her meat, then brown it on both sides in her cast iron skillet.  Then she'd transfer the meat to one of those deep Pyrex dishes with a glass lid.  She'd make a thin gravy from the drippings and scrapings in the pan, pour that over the roast, cover then put in the oven to cook slow and low for hours.  My gracious that was a good roast!  I was always amazed that it had no seasoning beyond salt and pepper and the initial browning process.  However, the whole was very effective at tenderizing and flavoring that meat.  

I think of that often when I'm watching cooking videos.  The popular view these days seems to be that the heavier hand you use with seasoning and the more seasonings you put on the meat the better the dish will become.  I am sure that the food is good, but you're not tasting the food itself as much as you are the compilation of seasonings overall.  I think these folks are missing something in going so over- board with the seasonings.  Often enough, cooking meats (or vegetables for that matter!) in the right way imparts a load of flavor without all the additional ingredients.  And ultimately that also means the end cost of the dish is less expensive.

Have just looked at weather and towards the end of this week we will be going back into the 80F range.  It's about this time of year I become impatient for warmer temperatures.  We had a thick layer of frost again this morning.  I don't know how the peach and strawberry crops are faring in our area.  

Wednesday:  I was shattered by end of the day yesterday.  Our three-year-old resident was emotional over many things.   He broke down in frightful tears and tempers over potty training, diaper changes, the very toys he had just asked us to retrieve for him, naptime, foodstuffs, etc.  

I will say that later in the evening as I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram a video popped up of a little girl lying on the floor wailing.  She was dressed in her princess gown...According to the caption the young child had gotten up smiling, put on the princess dress and walked into the kitchen to the very breakfast she had requested and lost her mind and threw a temper.  I could so identify with those facts.  But what made me scoff and feel upset with the person sharing was the last sentence; "Have you been terrorized by your toddler today?"

I was tense and tired last night at the end of the day.  But you know?  I didn't see myself as a 'victim' of this child.  Grow the heck up!  From everything I've read and studied and learned over the years as a parent, friend of those with kids and as a grandparent, there's likely something going on with that child that hasn't a blamed thing to do with spoiling my/your day.  Perhaps they feel 'off', slept badly, had a rotten dream, blood sugar is low, are hungry, tired, or stressed by something that you don't even consider a stressor.  But it's not about ME/YOU.  

It's perfectly acceptable to feel frustrated, angry, tired, weary at day's end but get over the idea that it was all about that child trying to spoil the day for YOU!

Well, not I've had my bit of a rant...Let's move on.

Kroger sent out an offer to try a new app, Fresh Mode, a few weeks ago.  I put it on my phone, but it took me until yesterday to really look it over.  Glad I did because I had earned points and those points were redeemable for cash off my grocery purchases.   I told John since I needed eggs, I'd almost feel I was paying 'normal' prices for eggs with the coupon offer I redeemed.

I need to further explore this app to see how it might help me save/earn.  I made sure to take time to move that app, which was stuck on a separate page, into a folder with the other store apps I have so I'll remember to check it more often.

I went on to go through Ibotta and see what I might get for free, or what deals might come up at the various stores where I shop for rebates.  It was worth taking time to do that because I earned a couple of dollars today due to that.

I looked over the Fetch app yesterday, too.  I saw what deals they had where extra points might be earned.  I was able to combine a sale today with one of those deals and earn more than the average number of points for my receipt.

And of course, it's all moot without taking photos of my receipts to ensure that I get those credits, so I used my camera to get those photos uploaded and earn those points/cash!

Across the boulevard from the grocery is a Burger King with an outdoor play space.  Even though this sits next to an on ramp for the interstate, there is an overpass bridge and a long line of trees and shrubs which blocks out the traffic noise.  The restaurant also sit well back from the road with a green space in front of it.  All in all, it's one of the nicer outdoor play spots attached to a fast-food place.  We were the only ones there today and that lacked appeal for Caleb.  He much prefers playing or following along behind others who are playing even if he's not part of the group.  However, I was taking advantage of an opportunity to let him get a bit of outdoor play time in an enclosed space.  

I got a bit unnerved.  There was a homeless man sitting in the green verge area and then another man who appeared to either be on drugs or psychotic wandering around the parking lot.  Frankly this made me a bit nervous.   At one point, Caleb heard a staff member giving a delayed order to a car that had pulled forward.  He ran to the fence shouting "Hey!"   The gentleman in the truck kindly called back to him but as he pulled away, I lost visual contact with Caleb entirely.  I called and called and walked around and through the play castle and finally found him standing staring out of the fence and attempting to climb out.  I was pretty much done by then.  I'd gotten myself a small lunch but I felt like I had a bowling ball sitting on my diaphragm at that point, my head ached, and my nerves were so taut I felt I could have screamed just to release the tension.

Fortunately, Caleb decided he was going to head indoors.   I took advantage of that exit to take him on to the car.  He didn't fuss about leaving.  He happily tucked into his lunch and ate every bite of it and then he sang a made-up song which consisted of Happy Day, Happy Day.  

Caleb went potty when we got home, then headed to his room to lie down with Cocomelon.  I've found that something soothing like music will often ease him into a nap as well.  I'm pretty sure he took a nap today because the room was very very quiet.

 I took advantage of nap time to haul groceries in from the car, put them away and start supper.  Then I made myself a cup of coffee and appreciated the deep quiet all about me.  It was just lovely for the half hour I had to myself.  Then John came in and Caleb knocked on the door to let me know he was awake.

If you're wondering where John was, he went out to lunch today with his former partner/long time-buddy.  They haven't gotten together in six months or more and John was pretty happy to get out.  And since Andy spends time with his grandchildren, they swapped the war stories and John said, "You know what?  Caleb acts just like Andy's grandkids.  I think we both feel better knowing they all act the same!"  

Thursday:  And more confirmation today that Caleb is a typical three-year-old because Millie and he were like a matched set all morning long.  They both yelled, screamed, cried, fought, played happily together, shared/refused to share, hit one another, etc.  The only difference was Millie's willingness and cooperation in going potty.  Caleb not so much.

It was a wild and wooly ride this morning. John was here for moral support.  Which means he had his eyes glued to the television and noticed nothing or anyone unless the children actively got in his face.  At one point the two children were whispering and shushing each other and whispering some more.  I listened hard and caught the word's "Papa" and "Hair" so I believe they were discussing his baldness, but I can't say that for absolute sure.  However, whatever they were saying, they giggled over it.  Children at this stage are not mean but they do notice differences in people around them, like who is heavy and who is thin, who has hair and who has none and even who has gray hair and who has brown.

John is much, much improved by the way.  The allergies have cleared up and the other issues he was dealing with have cleared up with medication.  I'm so relieved.  And he's cleared up just in time to start the lawn mowing season!   He might have done nothing this morning, but he's mowing the lawn right now.  And boy is it dusty.  Hard to believe we still have ground water and boggy places in the yard from the winter rains and the dust is so thick out there.

I've just finished slicing/grating the toppings for tonight's supper dish which took a whole six minutes, allowing for the interruptions of Caleb.  I thought about tomorrow's meals and the weekend ahead.  I think I'll try to get a couple of dishes ready for the weekend tomorrow just to be ahead by that little bit.  

I'd thought I'd sneak outside today during quiet time and get a few things done.  Well, I won't be.  Not only is John dusting things up mightily out there at present, but my back is paying the price for two 35-pound children who suddenly went dead weight on me each time we went to the potty and since we did that in tandem this morning, it's twice the ache.  I don't think I could take doing any bending just now for weeding and cleaning.  But I'll get out there for a little this evening when things settle down and at least blow porches and furniture off and wipe down tables.   Now the yard will be looking so neat and nice, the rest of the stuff will just look trashy unless I start doing some outdoor tasks in odd moments.

Oh, and this season of putting retirement plans aside for the grandchildren is going strong.  I was asked today if I could take the kids from across the field twice a week come summer if work schedules failed to coordinate.  I didn't say "No" to that request.  Three children are sure a lot to have to put into daycare.  And I was assured that more than likely it would be 1 day a week at most.   But I do know after this morning that it won't be a 'quiet' season by any means, lol!  

Friday:  I had two happy males in the house this morning.  I made pancakes.  Sometimes it's the little things!   I put a few extra in the freezer.  It's only enough for about 1 breakfast for the three of us, but it is one more breakfast item than I had.

We always do our bedding and bath laundry on a Friday.  John had started a full load of clothes before I came out with the items from our room.  I think he ends up doing about three loads on Fridays.   I started bread in the bread machine, made sure of my plans for the remaining meals and since Caleb was happily occupied playing with his trucks, I slipped quietly outdoors and managed to prune the dead wood out of the Rosemary bush. 

My Rosemary bush is soooo big.  It's about four feet wide and five feet tall.  I probably need to prune more but I wanted to get out the obviously dead branches today.  

I cleaned the porches and patio somewhat yesterday evening after Caleb had gone to bed for the night.  On the front porch, I wiped off the furniture, picked up the pots, and blew off the porch.  I weeded right in front of the porch steps.  I blew off the patio and back porch and wiped off the furniture and tables.  I at least touched on one of my few goals for this week.

I slipped back indoors and washed the breakfast dishes, wiped off the counters, made our bed up fresh.  I decided to check the contents of the trunk at the foot of my bed.  I was surprised to find I had an item I was thinking I needed to purchase.  Glad I checked before I made an unnecessary order. I removed three or four items to donate.  My goal at present is to fill a box or bag once a month of things I no longer need.

Back to the kitchen to set the bread for the last rise.  My fridge is so full, I determined I needed to go on and make that last batch of jelly.  I started that juice heating and made our sandwiches for lunch to slide into the oven once the bread was done.  Caleb came in as I was prepping things and said "Gramma, I want bread butter and jewwy."  He got out the jar of jelly from the fridge.  I held up the peanut butter jar.  "No, I not wannit."  He went back to the fridge and brought me a stick of butter.  I made him a jelly and butter sandwich which he proceeded to devour, as though he hadn't just eaten two pancakes an hour and a half earlier.

I got two more jars of apple jelly with a smidge to spare.  Bread was baked, lunch served, dishes cleaned up, kitchen cupboards restocked, and we are now in quiet time which is when we all sit down or lie down for a couple of hours.  It's been a good morning in my home.  

All in all, it's been a great week. I feel I've accomplished a few things, I've added to my pantry/larder and we've all come through the week behind us without drama or trauma.  The weather is warming up once more and it's just lovely outdoors.  I know we'll have a few more cold days and nights and possibly a frosty morning or two but we're fully in Spring now.  A new natural season is here and I'm ready for it.

How did your week go?

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