Easing Out of the Week

 

The back pain has lingered on for so long that I began to be fearful I had something else entirely going on.  Like any other good internet junkie, I finally looked up my symptoms and struck out all of the least likely things (liver infection, kidney stones, gallbladder) and landed right back on what I thought it was initially: Muscle strain).  I stopped being stubborn and went back to taking the occasional pain reliever.  I try not to use it multiple times a day but when it's bad enough, I'll take some just to get the relief, which helps my attitude tremendously.

I have stopped tugging, lifting and trying to ignore that I am injured and honestly that has done far more for bringing relief than most anything.  John has always had this theory that we should "Make like circus folks and walk it out...".  In other words, just go on as you've been doing and it will heal itself.  I decided to follow my former boss's wisdom, (he was an Orthopedic surgeon): "Pain has a purpose.  It reminds us we're injured and we need to stop."  Seems the good doctor's mandate works a bit better.  I'm shocked at how long this has gone on.  Typically, I'm better in a couple of days' time.

I've been beyond frustrated at being able to do so little, but I am having moments of freedom from being uncomfortable or in pain and that encourages me to continue doing more restful activities.  

I played in the closet creating some outfits to wear over the next week or so.  This time of year, it's 'How cool can I stay and look nice?'  But cooler days are coming, and I'll be able to dress a little better in light layers that will look quite lovely together.

I cleaned out my dresser drawer and determined that I HATE everything I've had to wear all summer long.  I promised myself last year to get something new to wear this year, but I'm wearing the same baggy capri pants and basic t-shirts that I loathed last summer.  I know full well that if I don't get rid of them at the end of this summer, therefore forcing me to buy something more suitable, I'll wear them again next year, too!  So, the plan is to start looking around at clearance shelves and stop buying things just because it fits or is cheap.  I want to feel as attractive at home in summer as I feel when I'm going out.

I had landed on a rather neat looking combination of leggings with sweaters for over the winter that worked well with matched tops and bottoms and felt really put together.  I wish to have the same for summer, outfits that look neat and trim and feel nicely put together.  

I've been hearing a lot of hype lately about dressing for your archetype.  I did some research and find that most folks are doing this as a one-time consultation fee. After watching a video or two and reading a half-dozen articles, there seem to be a lot of archetypes.  One site narrowed them down to 12 and they were different than the 10 another site listed.  Another consultant combined archetype with seasonal coloring.  And per another article I read, there are also those who do it by zodiac signs.  In the end, I decided that my 'type' is still bohemian which is apparently a combination of "romantic", "adventure explorer' and/or 'magician'.  I don't mind the 'romantic' but I'm not keen on the 'magician' designation and I don't feel adventure explorer is suitable since I tend to think more hiking, safari, that sort of thing.  Kind of a Ralph Lauren vibe, at least in my mind.

I took time to put up a couple of items on the kitchen walls and am thinking long and hard before I move anything more on them.  

More and more, I find I want to be thoughtful and really love what I have whether it's what I'm wearing or what I'm displaying in my home. 

John took me out for breakfast this morning.  It was good...but the local place we went to is also pricey.  We paid as much for breakfast as we'd pay at Longhorn's for a meal that serves us twice.  Don't get me wrong.  The service was pleasant, the place clean and the food was delicious.  But yeah, it's not something we'd be tempted to do too often just due to price.  

We are trying to put a bit more money into the local economies in our county these days because we do appreciate the small businesses.  I really do want to make more effort to use local services whenever we can.

I had called on Monday to ask about the fiber optic internet we're supposed to have installed.  It had been three weeks since I last called, and the clerk didn't really have any idea when I might see anyone. I'd made up my mind we'd just have to wait until they were ready.  Turns out that they were ready this week.  We're not hooked up yet, but the line has been run from the house down to the box and today it was spliced in and the main box that is outdoors was set up on the siding.  He told us that likely Monday or Tuesday they will be out to run the connections inside the house which is pretty awesome.   Once we're connected, we will realize a big savings on internet which will be a help with the budget.

So, the week went on.  I added to the pantry, but in very slow ways.  I went over my lists this morning and I've done very well filling in gaps.  There are still a few to be filled and a few more things I want to can but I took a break until I could buy more jars.  I got those yesterday, so next week I plan to put up a few things.  I also hope to finish off the last of the outages next week and then I'll work on maintaining what we have stocked.  

All in all, it's been a slow week this week, but it's also been a week of accomplishment, if on a much smaller scale than the previous two weeks.  

I hope you all have a great weekend!

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Pantry/Freezer Challenge Week #5

 

Saturday:

For breakfast this morning, I pulled muffins from the freezer that I'd made earlier in the month.

lunch: we had leftover pizza slices left from mid-week.  

supper:  Chicken and Rice Soup.  One container of the Chicken soup said it had been in the freezer since 2023...Sheesh.  How did I miss that one?  It smells good still.  It's basically just leftover broth and bits of meat from cooking off broth at some point.  I added rice to the pot after the soup base came up to a boil.

Sunday:

Breakfast was bagels and I do want to say that when I cleaned up the fridge freezer, I found bagels in various places, so yes, this was a pantry/freezer meal.  We finished off the last of the 'strays' this morning and the next weekend will open the newest package in the freezer.

The other meal we ate here at home was supper and that was just a quick cheese omelet and toast and a bit of bacon I realized had been in the fridge for a bit longer than I'd meant for it to be there.  Tomorrow we'll start the week all fresh and we'll see what I can used in our freezer and pantry that needs to finished up.

Monday:

Tuna Casserole, Beans and Taters, Sliced Tomato Salad with Mayonnaise.  The only meal we're eating that is from pantry and freezer today is dinner.  I had a tuna casserole in the freezer that's been there since February.   

While I was in the freezer I went through the basket thoroughly and pulled out another casserole for another day this week and then I sorted out the chicken basket and pulled out a couple of breasts that weren't vacuumed sealed.  I think I know what I'll do with those.  

I decided it wasn't worthwhile to pull out anything more just now since I've found pulling out too much at once often means it sits far too long in the fridge.

Tuesday:

Chili dogs, homemade pickles. I found the four hot dogs in the poultry basket.  I'm sure they are chicken based.  I can't recall how long ago I had the kids over and fed them hot dogs, so I'm making lunch from them.  The chili was leftover in the fridge, and the pickles are the last of the jar Sam made and sent over.

Chicken and Dressing, succotash, cranberry sauce.  The breasts aren't really old, just from April, but the 'dressing' is actually cornbread I dehydrated, and vacuum sealed with the intention of trying to make my own 'stuffing mix'.  I added in dried onions; dried celery leaves and some bouillon powder.  We'll see how this turns out this evening when I serve it.  

I'm using leftover lima beans to make the Succotash.  And I'm pretty sure this cranberry sauce (store bought) expired last month.  It's all good. Actually, discovered it expired in January.  It was fine.

I'm glad I didn't take out more food to thaw.  We had leftovers of the tuna casserole last night and leftovers of Chicken and Dressing tonight.   We'll be having a leftovers night on Thursday evening, I think.

Wednesday:  

Chicken and Rice Soup, PBJ sandwich, fruit juice

Enchilada Casserole, Pan Roasted Corn, Pico de Gallo Salad.  We had leftovers of this, too.  On the one hand, I am so ready to do some 'real' cooking but on the other...I have plenty of edible food in the fridge and I guess we'll eat our leftovers before I plan to do anything else.

Thursday:  

French Toast, Smoked Sausage.  I used the last portion of the loaf of bread I made last week to make the French Toast this morning.  I was able to get six slices.  That is two meals for us (two pieces for John, one for me) so I put some in the freezer for a future meal.

Saltines, cheese, plum.  We ate a very late breakfast, and I didn't want anything terribly heavy.  John changed mower blades and went off to mow and I knew he wasn't going to want anything to eat prior to leaving.  He'll have a snack of same as I had when he does come in from The Manor House.

Funny man that he is, he's already got a name for Katie's place whenever she's able to get moved out here.  Hers will be "The Palace".  

Leftover Chicken and Dressing, cranberry sauce, Succotash, Beans n Taters.  I wish I could say I am excited about what's left in the fridge.  Frankly I really, really have to be in the mood to eat a tuna casserole, and I seldom want seconds of it.  I think tomorrow, we'll take a break from pantry/freezer challenge and free fall with whatever we feel we might want.

Friday:  

breakfast out and it was a big one.  Really enjoyed that.

Pizza, fruit salad.  Just a small one.  I mixed up my regular pizza dough and put the rest of it in the fridge.  I suspect we'll end up having pizza with the kids tomorrow unless they specifically ask for something different. The pepperoni is from the freezer.

John requested fruit salad this week and when he explained what kind of fruit salad, I knew I had to go purchase sour cream and marshmallows.  I also decided to get a can of fruit cocktail.  I drained that well then added fresh plum and fresh apple to the fruit mixture.  This was something I was told to do ages ago by a local librarian and writer who published a syndicated cooking column.  She said to always have both canned and fresh fruits when making a fruit salad because you needed the textural differences to balance one another.  

Steak, Pub Fries, Salad.  I had leftover salad the other night, so I'll just add a bit of lettuce to that.  I like to make pub fries now and then, which is just oven fries that are sprinkled with a generous amount of salt (preferably a coarse salt), malt vinegar and parsley and then run them back in the oven to get really hot all over again.  They make a nice change from a standard French fry.

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#everybitcounts 2025 Challenge: August 11-20

 

August 11:  

I've already counted this into the first record of this challenge, but I bottled the herbs I'd harvested last week.  

Started planting the fall 2025 garden today.  I had potato eyes (I let the pieces scab over), green onion in water and a celery end root here in the house.  All of those got planted.  Then I planted Blue Lake green beans, parsley, Japanese eggplant, carrots, zucchini and yellow squash.  

Packaged the pork chops and chicken breasts I bought yesterday.  I added 3 pkgs Bone in Skin on Chicken breasts. 1 pkg had 2 smaller breasts and the other two had one huge breast each. These will be on sale all month at Publix and I'm trying to get a package or two each week.  The breasts are huge.  The one we ate lasst week gave us two meals!

I put four 2 pc. packages of pork chops in the freezer.

I made granola and put 1 quart in the pantry. 

I mixed up Make Your Own Brownie Mix from Eating On a Dime website.  I made 1 pan for now, have 1 pint and 1 quart of mix for the future.

August 12:  

We were out for a doctor's appointment this morning so I couldn't do anything here at home, but I asked John to run by our local grocer on our way back through town.  I checked for discounted meats and came out with 2 sirloin steaks (2/$5.  These steaks were just over 1.5 pounds each) and 2 Ribeye that I think were about 1 pound each.  The Ribeye were $5 each.  The manager rang me out and he only charged me for the 2 Ribeye, knocking the other meat down to 0!  I've no idea why he was so kind, but I appreciate the savings to my budget.  

I believe I should be able to get 2 meals off each of the sirloin steaks and each Ribeye will serve the two of us one meal.  So I can count 6 meals for this little haul.

While supper cooked tonight, I mixed up chocolate chip cookie dough, made the dough into balls and flash froze.  I put 4 dozen cookie balls into the freezer.

August 13:  

What I did today was not even on my list for the day but it works toward the challenge for this month all the same.

I found a one pound roll of sausage in the pork basket, so I took it out to thaw last night.  This morning, I made sausage balls.  I got about 40 sausage cheese balls to go in to the freezer.  These will be frozen uncooked and I'll  bake a few when we want them.  I used some of the shelf stable white cheddar that came in the school boxes as the cheese.  I assumed this would be very salty like Velveeta but it wasn't.

I roasted all the beef bones and the vegetable scraps from the freezer this morning for about 3 hours.  I then put them all in the stock pot and let them simmer for a few hours.  Later this afternoon, I'll strain out the bones and scraps and put the broth in the fridge to chill so I can skim off any fat.

While I was making dinner, I had an extra pan of corn pudding which went into the freezer for future side dish.

August 14:

This morning, I skimmed the fat off the beef broth (not too much) and then I got my jars washed.  Today's canning: 1 pint ham broth, 9 pints beef broth, 8 quarts cranberry juice.

I have more cranberries but not enough for four more quarts.  However, cranberries will be coming onto market soon enough.  

The jars I canned need to sit for 6 weeks according to all the sites I sourced for information on how to do this and then it will be ready to drink.  I'll be curious to see how this stands up against bought juice.  I used the 'easy can' method rather than the longer  process.

I also cooked up egg roll filling and made 20 egg rolls this morning.  I've got 14 egg rolls to put into the freezer.  John and I ate egg rolls for lunch.  

August 15:

Today felt very abundant in so many ways.  I added all the sealed jars to the pantry this afternoon.  My Amazon order arrived, and I went off to the grocery stores to pick up a variety of things.   Like the canning I did yesterday, most all of the Amazon order has been added to my challenge lists already but...I said I'd purchased one box of oatmeal and apparently, I decided to get TWO, so 1 64-ounce box of oatmeal.

I went to the discount grocery today and picked up a 2 pound package of smoked sausage.  This was divided into ?  2-pc packages.

At the same store I also bought 2 bottles of corn oil.  I went down the spice aisle and picked up a 2-ounce container of cumin.   

I've been eyeing prices on Chuck roasts.  Publix has them for $7.99 a pound this week (the new 'sale' price!).  The discount grocer had shoulder round roasts for $5.75 a pound.  Shoulder roasts are very tender if they are slow cooked so they can substitute for Chuck Roast quite well.

I bought 4.75 pounds shoulder roast which I plan to divide into smaller roasts of about 1.75 pound and the rest will be cubed for stew meat.  

At Publix this week I purchased 24 chicken legs.  The family packs of 12 were BOGO.  I'm not fond of dark meat as a rule but I do like legs in certain recipes.  I'll package them into packages of four.  I was surprised that the bone in skin on breasts was no longer on sale.  Usually these sales last a month but this time they kept it going only two weeks.

5 pounds of grits

2 14-ounce jars Pepperoncini

1 can coffee (for emergencies)

1 jar instant decaf coffee 

4 bars of Yardley soap.  I got lavender soap for the kiddos to use when they are bathing and lemon verbena.  This was a BOGO, too.

I feel like I've done a good bit this week and since I didn't take a day off last week I'll be taking at least the next two days off.  It's a busy weekend ahead for us and I just don't have time to play in the kitchen as well.  

August 17:

I took time this afternoon to break down the sausage I purchased on Friday and got it in the freezer in portion sizes.  I had 7 packages and cooked one more portion for our breakfast this morning.

August 18:

I had no plans to do anything today, but I walked by the fruit bowl and noted that the peaches purchased on Friday had been bruised and were showing signs of getting ready to decay.  I washed, peeled, sliced and vacuum sealed enough to make a cobbler later this year.  That was 6 peaches that went into the freezer today.

I also gathered marigold and Balsam seeds which I have drying on the counter now.  

I packed up Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Zinnia and Sweet William seeds to sow later in the fall.  Well not the Zinnia, those will be sown next Spring.  

Food Depot has a ham shank on sale this week for just 98c a pound (plus 10%) which is a great price.  I'm contemplating this because I still have a bit of ham that I purchased at Easter last year.  For the two of us it's a lot of ham.  I can break down a Butt portion into portions better than I can a Shank portion.  I may pass on this sale this week, but it is a good price.

August 20:

I've just ordered 10 cans each of Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom from Amazon to go on the pantry shelves.  I found a deal for 69c a can through one of the coupon sites this morning and ordered it right away.  They will arrive tomorrow.  This was a blessing to find because I'd just noted that I was low on these.  I know the cans at Aldi are a little cheaper, but I often have a hard time finding cream of chicken at our Aldi and I don't feel the taste is as good as Campbell's.  The Amazon Fresh Brand (formerly Happy Belly) is quite good.

I put two quarts of the Mixed Fruit Juice I made last week into the freezer.

John had said he'd go into town today to get some gas and a belt for the mower.  I was going to ride along and check in at the local grocery, but he's made no move thus far and it's after 1pm.  I feel like this week is ending up being a bust where food storage is concerned.  

Sales have slowed at the grocery.  I suppose next week they'll have Labor Day sales and things will pick up once more.

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Easing Into This Week

 

Our hectic weekend took a toll.  But so did canning last week.  I hurt my back at some point on Thursday when I had the water bath and electric canners going.  I've been struggling along ever since.

Even though I'd gone through my home on Sunday and tried to pick up, it was still in need of a lot of loving care come Monday morning.  I decided to just take the day off of from canning and kitchen work in general and continue to rest my back which is a good deal better but still twinging. 

John got up at 7am Monday morning, and I seriously contemplated getting up as well, but I thought I'd see if I might sleep just a little bit longer and I did, another two hours!  I think sleep after our busy weekend was just what I needed and that's another reason why I'm taking it easy (relatively).  

When I did get up, the first thing I did was tackle cleaning up the kitchen, even before coffee, because I left it a big mess Sunday night.  It didn't take long to straighten but it most definitely needed work.  I am not done in there yet, but I will tell you that I made a solemn promise to myself not to leave it in such a mess again.  It's not worth facing right away in the morning!

After breakfast I went into the master bath and gave it a good cleaning.  I'm happy to say that while it's not completely gone, the 12% Hydrogen Peroxide has killed a good bit of the mildew issue in our shower.  I use it two or three times a week, just spraying it along the grout lines.  I haven't found scrubbing the area to help much, but dousing with the heavier duty Peroxide has made a difference.

We are still waiting for the man to come repair our leak under the bathroom sink.  Fortunately, it's still very minor, but yes, it's still leaking.  In another week or so I'll get John to call the man again or text him and ask if he can get to it.  Or I'll see if possibly Sam can help us with it.

I went outdoors to take the cardboard boxes from Friday and to feed the pets and when I peeked around the corner, I noted that the Balsam was just loaded with ripening seed pods.  I am saving all I can harvest of these because they are so pretty and don't seem to mind heat, humidity, dry weather or rain. I stepped out into the yard and harvested a handful of the seed pods, but it was too hot to stay out there to do any real work.  I hope to plant a lot of these next year and to share some with gardening friends that I think will appreciate them.

The rest of the week and all of next is meant to be cooler.  The night temperatures are meant to be down in the 60's and days won't go higher than the 80's which is still plenty warm enough especially if there's humidity but it's very mild for our usual August heat. 

It was hot and humid and that made me more irritable than I should have been.  Contemplating the rough state of the back porch didn't help a bit but it did incentivize me to walk right indoors and order more Wet and Forget from Amazon.  This is something Juls recommended quite some time back and I'd ordered it but didn't use it until early summer on the front porch.  It worked quite well.  I ordered more for the back porch because I know it works well and has held up well through our wet summer.  Now I'll tackle the back porch rails and ceiling rafters with it and that should look a heap better as well. 

I wish I could say it was heat that made me so irritable yesterday, and irritable to the point that I tried to be even more irritable.  But no, it wasn't that.  It was partly being tired from the weekend and the week that went before it and partly due to not getting my way about several things and partly due to being very uncomfortable with backpain and unwilling to take anything for it because I found Ibuprofen had played up with my blood sugar and made me feel miserable as well as irritated.  

I went out later in the evening to get the mail that John left outdoors and failed to notice he'd done a task that I'd been fussing over all weekend long... which made him irritable, so he stomped outdoors and went to mow the yard saying he'd had enough of my attitude.  Well, who could blame him?  Not even I could.  I was rather sick of my own nasty temper.  

While I'd been out earlier, I admired my green beans that are now standing tall and proud in the planter.  And the tiniest little parsley (apparently the sole seed that took).  Everything else is just the same blank soil that it was before despite being carefully planted. 

I harvested marigold seeds and more of the seed pods from the white Balsam that is growing out front.  

We didn't eat supper until 8pm last night.  Yes, it was late, but John had been mowing, and I figured I ought to wait on him since I'd been such a pain all day long.  We barely spoke last night but it was peaceable, not irritated, silence.  

I felt much better this morning. I realized two things yesterday, I need rest just now, not work and I need to let my muscles heal.  I do feel less pain today and I am sure that doing nothing strenuous for a few more days will only help.  

So what am I doing?  Thinking about Fall.  Yes, I am.  Not ready to decorate, not ready to rush summer away, but I was watching Jennifer L. Scott of The Daily Connoisseur yesterday and she was planning her Fall wardrobe.  I saw the wisdom of it when she announced what she was bringing back from last Fall's wardrobe and then stated what she needed to add to this Fall's wardrobe.  She was planning ahead for the next season.

Just as I've been looking ahead to the next season with my household goods and food storage, I need to be looking at what I might need for Fall in my wardrobe.  I'm good for shoes this year because I bought those last year.  I think I've got all the lightweight sweaters I'll need for Fall as well.  But I also know I have things that must be replaced.

I know I need new jeans.  The ones I have fit very well but one pair is very faded which I don't care for and the other, which were 'distressed', are tearing.  I'm too old to wear that sort of jeans.  I could use a pair of trousers.  I want pants to wear for nicer occasions, even though I do mostly wear jeans.   I find black or brown is usually all I really need for pants.  I have a nice pair of brown pants that fit well but...they are the ankle length sort and I prefer something a bit longer.  There's less than an inch of hem.  So I will hold onto them until I find something more suitable.  

I know I need these things without even going to look through what I have.  

I'll move the old jeans into my home clothing drawer once I've replaced them.  

I don't know how I am fixed for blouses, nor how they fit now that I'm down a size.  So, this week I'll be going through my closet and drawer and see what I have and determine if there's any other need beyond jeans and pants.  Went through the drawer to see what I had in the line of blouses.  I had four in the drawer and am keeping only two of them.  One I didn't like last year but it fit.  Poor excuse for keeping anything because I only wore it twice if that much since I didn't like it.  

Then I went through those in my closet and got rid of five more!  One is too sheer for comfort and boxy in shape, one is too garish in color, one is cute and fits but is a bit too short.  One I won't wear because it's black and that's a color I just don't really care for.  And the last one I've held onto to see if I liked it better when I'd lost weight and I don't. So, there we are.  

I do see the point of thinking of the season before you get to it.  How many times in years past did I cry that January was too early to buy a bathing suit and besides I was going to lose weight only to arrive in June at the same weight with no bathing suits available?  The stores have fall clothing in right now.  Now is the time to choose not when autumn is here and everything has been picked over.

I also would like to get a different black leather bag.  I feel guilty over that one though.  John bought me a perfectly nice one, well-made but so heavy.  That's the killer right there.  It weighs about four pounds empty.  Even though I don't put much in my purse as a rule, I find myself struggling with the weight of it.   If I recall correctly both the leather bags I have were bought around Labor Day.  So, I'll keep my eye out for sales. 

I also took time today to water plants, get supper started in the slow cooker.  Oh! I want to thank whoever suggested I could use the slow cooker liner bags!  I have used them several times without any issues, and I do not have to worry about the flaking non-stick coating on the pan.  One day, perhaps they will make a stainless-steel pan to use on this model.  Many customers have asked for one.  But until they do, or until the base of this one quits, I'll keep using the slow cooker bags.  And thank which ever one of you it was for the suggestion!

I also hung up my platter on the kitchen wall once more.  I brought back the framed Psalm I'd had in the kitchen sitting area which I think I might like to put on the baking wall along with more pretty old platters and soft floral prints.  I'm waiting on hanging that while I contemplate and look around a bit.  I brought out the Acacia cutting boards I got last year, too and those are propped up on the wall.  I have been very reluctant to put things back on the wall because I wasn't quite happy with what I had up before we painted and so I've lived with blank walls for months now.  I just knew the platter was right and I had John hang it up today, right where I had it between the stove and the sink.  This time it will be only piece I hang on that section of wall.

I've been thinking about slow decorating. And slow purchases in clothing.  About making slower decisions period.  It's not just to try to avoid mistakes, which I've made quite enough of (evidence seven blouses going into the donation basket), but the desire to be really thoughtful about what I'm doing and why.  I want to love my home and my wardrobe and even my garden areas.  I want to feel comfortable and at home and as though it's an extension of myself, not something that just got shoved in somewhere.

I recall a line from "The Crown" where Phillip said to Elizabeth, "Something's different.  You're different.  Clothes used to wear you, now you wear them."  This was after she'd gone through a sort of mini makeover, changing her hair, losing weight and taking time to get comfortable in her own sense of style.  And at the time she was incredibly attractive because she was finally happy with her personal choices reflecting who she was.

Well, that's quite enough chatter.  I'm off to peruse Stitch Fix and Cato to see if I find anything attractive, but I am not purchasing anything today.  I'm only getting an idea in mind of what I might want to choose.  I've got time because I'm planning ahead.

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Pantry DNA

Ruth Ann Zimmerman, whom I follow on Instagram, about having food preservation in her DNA.  And later she shared a brief post about having anxiety this time of year.  She felt it was because she came from a long line of hunters/gatherers who produced, harvested, preserved, and stored food for the year ahead.  

I can so identify with that attitude of feeling you must create food storage.  

I learned pantry principles from my mother who kept a good supply of food in the house, as did my grandmothers.  I wish I could tell you that Big Mama and Grandmother Stewart did, too but I never saw their pantries.  Big Mama had a proper pantry closet, but I was never once allowed to walk into that closet.  Granny had limited space and used to store her canning jars outdoors in Grandaddy's work shed.  Grandmother kept a deep freezer.  None of them had a kitchen with much storage but they all believed in the principles of putting food up.  

In my first marriage I learned pretty quickly that food was not my husband's priority.  If we had a little extra, he might allot me $10 for food but he might expect it to last a month before he thought to set aside more.  This was in 1980 when the economy crashed and while prices were lower than they are now, it was pretty hard to figure out how to feed two on $10!  

I grabbed my cookbooks and learned quickly how to make meals that used 1/2 cup of meat and still give us two meals.  I learned to forage for what I could and to graciously and gratefully take whatever anyone cared to send our way.  If my mother-in-law offered us a bag of fresh peas from the garden, I took them and put them in the freezer.  If Granny asked if I wanted to go to the woods to pick blueberries, I went and picked blueberries.  If a co-worked said, "I have extra tomatoes.  Would you like a half dozen?"  I said, "Yes thank you!"  and I'd dice those up and put those in the freezer, too.  

I finally convinced my husband at the time of the need to have a deep freezer.  He knew someone who was wanting to give one away and I happily accepted it.  And I filled that freezer the same way I'd been feeding us all along, with little bits here and there of whatever I could get my hands on.  Whether we produced it in the tiny garden next to our clothesline (and taking up only about as much space), or from hunters who had a wild boar or deer meat they didn't want, or a food plant sending out a message that we could cull a field they'd finished picking, I canned, I froze, I baked, I fed.

And it has just remained a habit over the years.

I recall an afternoon when I'd come in from a long day of shopping, back when I used to shop multiples of stores at one time when I went shopping.  Katie was home from school when I returned, and she'd offered to put away the foods going into the (then) main food cupboard.  She sat down on the floor, surrounded by boxes and cans.  As she put them away in the cupboard she said, "You must find it very comforting to have this food ahead for us."  

Katie had never known those days when we had only a fridge freezer and a tiny set of cabinets for food storage.  She'd never known the days when I cried on my way home from the grocery because I'd had to figure out if I should buy an extra can of baby formula or an extra pound of ground beef.  Either way, we were going to come up short before the next pay period arrived.  I swear every grocery shopping was an exercise in faith, because I knew I had to trust that God would provide what we couldn't.  She'd not been old enough to know the meals that were far more rice, pasta or potatoes than protein, nor the days I'd stretched a chicken to feed our family of seven not just one meal but four.  I doubt she remembered the nights we sat down, and neighbors or friends had come to join us for the meal that got stretched a bit further with each additional plate we fit on our crowded table.

But she was very accurate when she stated that I must feel 'comforted' knowing I had food ahead for our home.   As the years went on and Katie grew up and moved out, we expanded the pantry to include a closet in what had become the guest room.  We bought a larger freezer and filled it.  And in the years that followed we furnished Katie and Sam with multiples of pantries when they were setting up their own households, at least enough of a pantry to give them a hard start.  

Neither of them kept a real pantry in those early years but I've noted that they both tend to stock far more food now than ever in the past.  Katie used to have months of formula and baby food ahead for her babies, but for herself things often looked pretty scarce.  Now that she has a larger family of her own, she stocks more heavily on good basic foods that will feed her family.  Sam keeps expanding his food storage. It's on top of cabinets and on the extra shelves he's crammed into available spaces in the laundry.  They have both come to appreciate the pantry principle of life.

Like Ruthann, I can sincerely say, "It's in my DNA."

If studying genealogy has given me back a sense of family, of being rooted in the time and space where I find myself at this time, I can say that this year's #everybitcounts challenge has reminded me of other things that are in my DNA makeup.  The need and want to provide for my family, the desire to be prepared for what I can, and the deep satisfaction that comes from seeing a well-stocked pantry and freezer, knowing that we can face the winter months ahead.

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Peach Season is Done

 

Saturday:  Today on our way home, two things heralded the coming end of summer.  Pearsons Peach Shed put up a "Closed for the Season" placard on their main road sign.  No more local peaches for us!  I had stopped just yesterday by the truck farmer's stand here in my town because I saw he had a few baskets, but I'd noted that he had had two cases and only one of them had any peaches left.  I realized that it was likely the last we'd have this year.  I picked up a basket from him.  

The other sign was along the creek banks on the highway that leads up to our road.  Goldenrod was blooming!

And now, I must stop and look at what is left of summer and ask myself: "What have I missed this year?"  For me, it's usually about the foods I associate with a season that I think of first.  What have I missed eating this summer?  Lemon Pie.  I haven't made a lemon pie.  But I have had tomato sandwiches, BLT's, green beans, squash, fresh corn on the cob, fried green tomatoes, peaches, peach cobbler, peach muffins, peaches on peanut butter toast and tossed into cereal.  I suppose missing out on lemon pie is little enough to miss out upon.    I got some of most of the essentials.  So foodwise I think I am good.

Then there are experiences.  I tried hard to get flowers and vegetables and herbs to grow for me.  No luck really. I had one or two rather straggly looking bouquets.  There was one flush of blooms on the Hydrangea that literally covered it and then nothing more.  I think that was my fault.  I may have pruned the spent blooms off in the wrong manner.    No vegetables grew and herbs struggled.  

John and I didn't get a single day trip or picnic out of the summer.  

I didn't take a moment to turn on the sprinkler and enjoy the medley of hot sun and cold water, but Caleb spent a happy afternoon dashing about in the sprinkler here.  And I enjoyed watching him have fun probably far more than I would have enjoyed it myself.  

But I did manage at the last week before school started up to get the trio of kids off to the peach shed to have fresh peach ice cream.  That's a summer memory I very much want to share with my grandchildren, at least those that are not lactose intolerant!

I have taken time to watch the fireflies sparkling in the early evening light and listened attentively to the drone of the cicadas.  I have sat on the porch and admired the sparkling new day and stopped in the evening to hear the softer whirr of the crickets when the cicadas fell silent.  Thanks to keeping Caleb this summer, I was able to get outdoors each day and appreciate the songbirds, the bugs, the heat and the cool.

So, I'll say no regrets for this summer.  It's been a good one.  I took time to appreciate all that it had to offer up.  And I'm grateful for every bit of it.

I am tired.  I've worked hard at this #everybitcounts challenge this year.  Here we are nearly halfway through and I'm wondering if I can possibly go two weeks longer.  Money is dwindling, jars are dwindling.  But I can do something more I am sure, and I plan to try to go all the way to the last day of the month.   This month I am not about overspending but I'm willing to spend a little extra if it will fill gaps that we have in our household.  

I told a friend of mine that I had been busy as a squirrel and I truly have been.  She replied that she remembered when people used to always do as I was doing this month.  "They used to say they were preparing for winter."  My reply was that this was the way in which I grew up.  Mama gardened and we froze and canned and preserved all we could each year.  It was always a busy time of year.  I still recall thinking the bowing shelves in the pantry were the loveliest thing and to open the deep freezer and see the hundreds of bags of vegetables and fruits that we'd preserved for the freezer used to make me feel a deep sense of satisfaction.  There was something wonderful about opening a jar of blackberry jam in February when we were longing for winter's end and spreading it on a hot buttered biscuit that brought a brief but keen memory of summer to our senses.  

I'm not focusing on seasonal produce, at least not yet since I didn't garden and I don't have ready access to too much fresh produce in my local area, but it's felt good to watch the empty spaces on my shelves fill up with what I have 'put by'.  I'm used items that have been sitting in my freezer with the intent to use them.  Then I fill the empty spaces left behind in the freezer with fresh items that will serve us well in the coming months.

It's been work, all of it, but it most definitely is satisfying.  And I hope in the seasons ahead I shall remember to try to keep putting things up for the seasons ahead.

Sunday:  I feel like we've just rushed our way through the whole day.  We hurried about this morning to get breakfast and dressed prior to church.  Hurried to church.  Hurried from church to get through the second business meeting this month.  Hurried from the meeting to Katie's where Katie hurried to cut John's hair and then we all hurriedly ate as the family was all slated to be leaving shortly.  Bella's mom was coming to pick her up.  Katie had to take Taylor back to her dad's.  Cody was taking Caleb to a birthday party.  It was go, go, go, and rush, rush, rush.  

The kids were fine but as I said, it was a hurried visit.  Bella's mom arrived to pick her up just as she finished eating.  Katie hurried to get her changed and her hair fixed.  Taylor was packing her bags.  Henry was upset because I set him down in his play pen to get him out of harm's way.  Cody, who makes my slow eating look like an army chow hall veteran job, was trying to finish his meal.  Caleb was everywhere underfoot and John, God bless him, was oblivious to it all and just talking away, lol.

Caleb asked me to come to his room to see the newly added items.  He has a bedside lamp but more importantly, he has a soft chair that is pulled front and center in his room in front of the tv...and he has his own remote that he keeps on the arm of his chair.  He sat down proudly and showed me how he holds the remote...My word, he's spent too much time with his Grampa!!

I had constant little jabs of anxiety that continued to build up and last longer the further the day went along.  I am not sure if it was the hurry and bustle, or if it's related to the pain I'm experiencing.  I hurt my back, and it has moved into the right side of my body around the rib cage.  Pretty sure it's due to being foolish and lifting heavy canners when I could easily have asked John to come help, but I do find more and more that I am fairly intolerant of ibuprofen or naproxen.

Never mind.  I relaxed for a bit when we got home and then I went off to the kitchen to make a meal for our supper.  While things were getting started, I managed to bag up the sausage I purchased on Friday, and I arranged the flowers I'd purchased on Friday of the same day.  

I have pushed to get housework done but cannot deny the need to tackle the house tomorrow with a good hard home blessing.  I am done rushing. I am going to pick up the next book in my stack, which I started the other day, Miss Read's The Howards of Caxley.  I have pulled out the markers and coloring books once more.  We have a favorite vlogger we watch only on Sunday evenings.  It's time to relax and calm down once more.  Work will wait until tomorrow.  Hurry belongs to the morning, not the evening.  It's been a beautiful summer weekend.

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Pantry/Freezer Challenge Week 4

 

One thing I mean to do in this challenge is use up expired, older items that have been lingering in the pantry and freezer.  I have a small amount of stuff on a pantry shelf that I need to use.  There are two or three items in the prepared foods bin in the freezer that I certainly need to use.  I did not even pull the about the expire items on the shelves of the pantry, just those that absolutely were expired.  

This is my attempt to use food we've already paid for and not let it just become money thrown away.  I confess they are sometimes things I just don't want to eat, but we will eat them.  On the days when I cannot make something more palatable with an item, I will make a plan to have something we really like along with it or at least at the next meal.  We are adults.  We can eat our foods and not kick up a fuss about it.

Saturday:  Buffalo Chicken Calzones, Green Salad.  I was surprised to see that this was dated March.  Wow.  They turned out okay, really.  It was okay.  Not super tasty, not blech either.  

Leftovers from this past week:  Chicken Pot pie, Brenda's Sausage and Potato Casserole.  Now the fridge is free of leftovers from the week behind and we can start fresh.

Sunday:  Nothing from the freezer or pantry today.  We had breakfast at home but picked up deli food to eat when we finally got home today which was at 4pm.  Sundays are crazy for us and we often end up eating breakfast and if we manage it, we'll get a second meal after 3-4pm.

Monday:  I had one leftover in the fridge, and we used that at breakfast this morning.  I took the last of a can of Turkey Spam and made breakfast sandwiches using English muffins from the freezer.  We ate one each and there are two more in the refrigerator.

leftover: Fried Chicken, potato salad.  

John off to men's meeting.  I ate a frozen dinner entree from the freezer, one I'd bought while keeping the boys. Ugh.

Tuesday:  Ham Sandwiches, Peaches, Brownie

I found the ham slices in the freezer.  I think I just bought this ham back in July and froze it in sandwich sized portions.

Philly Cheese Steak Pizza.  I was digging to find the older ground beef in the beef basket and came across two petite sirloins that I knew full well were from the first months of this year.  Scratch the Sloppy Joes I'd planned and switch gears.  We'll use this older meat first.  The peppers are in the freezer as well and have been there for quite some time.  Only the mushrooms are fresh, bought just yesterday.

I think I'm going to continue with this challenge at least thru this week and possibly into next.  I just can't see us leaving these older items behind and eating fresher ones.  

Wednesday:  Spoonbread Ham Supper, Lima Beans, Sliced tomatoes.  While digging around for the sandwich ham yesterday I found sliced ham I'd put heaven knows when, probably last winter.  I took out a packet to make this dinner today.   I should have made the sauce to go with this meal, but I simply didn't.  The spoonbread was too dry and more like cornbread than spoonbread.  

I told John if he'd leave some lima beans I'd make him succotash this week.  

Fruit punch.  Instagram idea from a young man.  She takes all the peels, pits, apple cores, fruits of all sorts that are left at the end of each week, covers them with water and makes juice for her kids to drink.  No additives, no sugars.  I'd seen her do this several times and today I gathered up all the bits and pieces of fruit I'd frozen that wasn't prime fruit for anything, but I didn't want to waste it.  I had cherries, peaches, blueberries, grapes, plums.  I covered with water and simmered for a couple of hours.  I did put some sweetener in my jars (a bit of Stevia, a bit of sugar), then added the hot juice.  I had a bit left when the jars were full, so I poured it over ice and drank it.  Gosh but that was good.  The only thing is now I'm wondering if I should have added sweetener to my jars.  Next time I don't think I will.  note: Actually, the sweetened version turned out perfect.  Not too sweet, not too flat tasting.

I looked at ways to use the fruit pulp and the only one that appealed was making fruit leather...but we don't even eat that.  I put the fruit pulp into my compost can.  

Leftovers for me (lunch) and John had a PB and Cheese sandwich.  John felt like he'd hit the jackpot this evening when he announced he planned to make a peanut butter and cheese sandwich, which is one of his favorites and I didn't fuss, but told him which packet of cheese he should open.   His sandwich is not to my taste at all!  I opted for leftover lunch but did make the 'sauce' the original recipe suggested.

Thursday:  Eggrolls, Popcorn chicken.  I was tired from my morning of canning and had just refilled both the water bath canner and the pressure canner.  I'd made egg rolls this morning, using cabbage and carrots and onion that were on hand.  I'd bought egg roll wrappers a couple of weeks ago planning to do this today.  Since they were made, I dug about in the freezer and found the small bag of popcorn chicken we'd brought home one day when we'd grabbed lunch out.  It was barely enough for two, but we had plenty of eggrolls.

Taco Salads.  I'm tired from my week of working in the kitchen.  I had planned to have a cooked supper tonight but I'm too tired to cook much of anything.  I took a quart of chili from the freezer that I cooked down a bit and let cool slightly and I will make a big salad.  I'll top the salad with chili and shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips and French dressing. This fell flat...It didn't taste like taco meat at all ,even though I added seasoning to the chili.

Friday:  Pork Chops, Fried Green Tomatoes, Pan Mac n Cheese.  Everything mentioned here was purchased this month (pasta, chops) and the tomatoes were bought at the peach shed when I took the kids.  The mac n cheese was over seasoned and had far too much sauce.  The fried green tomatoes were delicious though!

This whole week has been disappointing foodwise.  I've overcooked, over seasoned, under seasoned and just generally missed the mark all around with meals.  I think it's because I've been so distracted by all the other kitchen work that I didn't pay close enough attention or plan as well as I should have.  Oh well.... 

I still have foods to use up in the freezer and a handful of expired items on the shelves so this will continue at least one more week.  And seriously if I'm going to go one more why not try for two?  I'll just bet I can scratch up enough stuff to finish this month off as a full pantry/freezer month.  

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Tuesday: Good News Day

 

I was having the oddest dream this morning when John woke me.  In the dream he'd booked a family day outing to a labyrinth of an old house to be followed by sea fishing.  Bess, Sam and the children, John and me, and Caleb were all there.  Bess was troubled about something and I got an overall feeling of sadness from her that really made me feel upset.

Somehow I got left behind and I kept catching glimpses of Caleb who'd apparently been cut off from the group as well and I was chasing him down.  There was a room full of huge ice blocks (pretty sure that is the result of reading Farmer Boy), a sand snail farm with gigantic snails that had a Zen like patterns raked into the sand beds, a farmer's market (prices on beef were good, lol) and more.  Suddenly John was with me and he corralled Caleb.  We were checking out of the place and the cashier insisted I had to unbox every item I was purchasing because they wanted to recycle it all.  I was so upset because some of the items were meant to be gifts.  At this point, John woke me.  

Now the dream was neither more or less strange than other dreams I've had but I was especially struck by Bess in the dream.  And then John came out of the room this morning and said, "I had the strangest dream last night.  Bess was in it."  That is the odd thing to me, that we were both dreaming of her.  

We pray for her each night and I pray for her off and on throughout the day, but today I've been especially mindful of the need to cover her in prayer.  Please join me in this.

We headed off to the dermatologist's office this morning.  They were very efficient, very personable and nice.  John got a diagnosis right away of Basal cell cancer.  They assured him it was not melanoma and that it is a fairly common skin type of skin cancer that is easily removed.  

They took a sample that has gone to the lab in Savannah for testing but we were told to expect to hear the results in 1-2 weeks and then they'll schedule his surgery.  As well he will need to return visit 2-3 times a year for them to check him to insure that he doesn't have more spots.  And helpfully the technician told John that if he sees a pimple or a sore to mark the date on the calendar and in six weeks check again.  If it's there still, make an appointment immediately.

John's relief was palatable.  You could see him physically relax.  Again, I think the technician and PA were absolutely the best.  They immediately put him at ease and their calm demeanor was helpful.  John, being a retired medic, knows professional calm from real calm.  He understood their lack of concern and knew it was a good thing, not a cover-up meant to help him relax.  

I'm relieved as well.  I was fairly sure from the way this place would heal over and in two days time turn into a sore once more that it was cancerous.  I was beyond frustrated with John for his refusal to even consider going to the doctor and his insistence on doctoring it himself, but this man can be incredibly stubborn when he chooses to be.  Just Saturday I'd told him he probably needed to go to the doctor about it and he said "I can't afford it!"  I told him bluntly, "Well if you die from this I'll be sure to say how grateful I am that you saved us that $200, especially as I'm making out the check for your funeral fees!"  That really ticked him off. 

But it is over.  Thank God!  He has vowed to wear the UV protecting shirt and his big hat and long pants and boots and gloves when he goes out to mow in the future instead of heading off for 3 hours in the hard sun of the day in shorts and a t-shirt.  

I don't plan to do much of anything else today beyond making supper.  I am wiped out, more than I'd thought I'd be and I know that I must have been holding onto tension the same as John.  He walked into the house this afternoon, sat down in his chair and immediately went right to sleep.

later:  John laughs every time I say, "I'm done."  He knows well and good that I am not and I wasn't yesterday either, except I did leave this post hanging.  

I got up to make our supper, Philly Cheesesteak Pizza.  It was good but needs tweaking a little more.  The crust was a little too thin for my liking and I put a bit too much sauce on the crust.  I think it could have used some mozzarella as a sort of 'glue' that the provolone didn't offer.  But flavor-wise it was on point.    I sliced some sirloin (or was it Chuck Steaks?) very thin and cooked onions, peppers and mushrooms as well as the meat, then made my own sauce using broth, worcestershire, steak sauce and ketchup.  

While all of that was cooking in its various stages, I mixed up chocolate chip cookies. I'd put the eggs and butter out yesterday to come to room temperature.  Mixing took hardly anytime at all.  I made those up into doughballs for the freezer.

And of course, I cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned the kitchen.  

As for leisure time, I read.  I sailed through quite a few chapters of Farmer Boy  The sheer abundance of good foods is astonishing but the real story is behind all the incredibly hard work that went into that farm and it required every able-bodied person to help, including the children.  As well it was year round work.  There was no point in the year when there wasn't something to be done.

And his mother was just as busy as her husband and children were.  Again, the sheer volume of food she prepared was astounding plus she did a routine baking day on Saturdays.  She spun and wove woolens and made clothing for all of the family from the inside out.  She kept the house and must have had a kitchen garden, preserved foods, made cheese, butter, and cream from the daily milkings of the cows.  

I'm watching the third season of Mountain Men and those guys there are always busy, too.  At one point they mentioned that Eustace Conway ate about 5500 calories each day because of the sheer hard work he did daily.  Compare that to the average 2000 calorie a day diet of most and note that even so there is a little extra weight being carried.   These guys on Mountain Men are not carrying extra weight.  You might think they are due to the multiple layers of clothing they wear but they are lean and strong, everyone of them.  

I think about that as I use my 'servants' of running water, dishwasher, slow cooker, gas stove, etc.  Even so I never lack for something to do though I might give in to being leisurely for a longer spell each day.

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Monday Work

 

John left moments ago to attend men's meeting at church, and my supper is a frozen dinner that says it requires 45 minutes to cook.  So I've time to spare and I've had much on my mind, again.   So here I am.  

I refuse this time of year to go into any craft store.  I don't want to look at autumn and Christmas displays...I don't, but I know if I want something very specific for either season I need to be out looking right now because if I wait until I feel it's an appropriate time, everything will be picked over hard and nothing worth having will remain.   

I've been hearing peeps and seeing peeks from various ones about autumn, but no, I'm not ready just yet. That said, John sat down with his phone this afternoon and switched his color theme to black and orange.  "It's Halloween!" he declared.  He's already started going around singing Christmas songs, too. 

Nope. I've gone to look for Westbrook's Summer playlists and I've put on seasonally appropriate music.  There's only about five or six weeks of summer remaining.   I know full well come September, I will think it's time to go look for autumn decor once Labor Day is behind us and that's soon enough.

John made an appointment this morning with a dermatologist.  He's had a spot on his face for a bit over a year and a half.  He's doctored it with this and with that and we finally settled on a regime that had it practically healed.  He shaved a bit too closely and it got sore all over again, almost cleared, and he scratched it in the night.  It's been a source of frustration and yes, of fear for him.  

Why fear?  His mom died from melanoma that went undiagnosed for too long (she did seek a doctor's attention).  By the time someone finally tested her it had metastasized to her lungs and brain.  She dieed in her mid-50's.  

But John has been worrying and fretting and fussing along with this thing on his face for far too long.  He gets very upset if I don't just come into prayer agreement with him that it will be healed ( I have!).  In his mind, my saying, "Perhaps you should just make an appointment with a dermatologist," is akin to utter blasphemy.  I stopped arguing the point way back, but I can't deny I've been a bit concerned.  

When we had lunch out with Andy and Debra, Andy apparently suggested John should have it seen about.  Andy's had multiples of skin cancers (he's fair skinned and was fair haired and has worked for years in the outdoors).  That was almost a month ago and almost daily John has fretted and worried and doctored and insisted on changing up his treatments.

It all came to a head yesterday when the preacher gave his second sermon on Joshua 1:9 which is the verse base for this month's series on fear and courage.  John came home convicted of having given in to fear.  When he said this morning at 8am that he guessed he'd call, I held my breath.  I prayed that the doctor's office would be open and they were.  And they had had a cancellation for tomorrow morning so he's going right in.  Still fearful, still worried but we will at least know.  

I think the fear of the unknown is probably the most wretched thing ever, especially when it paralyzes us, keeps us from taking a step forward, or moving out of a bad job, situation, mental state, or getting a medical diagnosis, etc.  

Now I shall also confess that I have very little patience with fear. I dislike letting fear trap me into doing nothing, which is often the very worst thing we can possibly do.   That was part of what I was trying to convey about aging last week. I don't want to be afraid of what lies ahead.

I lived in fear once upon a time.  It got very tiresome to say the least.  And when I started doing things despite the fear, I was better.  Some of the best things that have come to me in the last forty years came from facing some of those most fearful moments and doing it anyway.  Nine times out of ten I found that my fears never came true.  Other things I didn't fear came along and hurt me that's true, but not the things I'd been lying awake quaking every night over!

All that said, brave and bold as I sound, let us not forget I am the same one who waited three years to use the electric pressure canner because I felt a sliver of fear about using it.  So by no means think I am holding myself up as something I am not.  I'm just as foolish and silly as anyone else!

I've been working at getting Rufus' fur sorted out.  He has very fine silky hair and a very fine undercoat and he gets terribly matted.  He's refused to let me touch him for nearly a year and sometime last week he sat down in front of me and patiently let me start clipping.  We followed that routine three days in a row and when he'd had enough, I let him go on about his business.  I went out Saturday morning prepared to do as we'd been doing.  He wasn't having any of it.  He got up and walked off the porch and out into the middle of the yard and just looked at me.  He wouldn't eat.  He wouldn't come to me.  He'd move if I moved.  I said "Fine.  We'll get back to it when you're ready."   

Well he wasn't ready on Sunday nor this morning.  I went out into the yard to do some yard work and he decided to go sit in the woods.  I told John he was acted hurt that I hadn't paid him any attention and at the same time kept his distance pretty hard.  I told him just what I did on Saturday morning.  "When you're ready we'll get back to it."

This evening as I was saying goodbye to John on the back porch, Rufus came strolling up and sat down on my foot.  I looked at him and asked, "Oh, are you ready now?"  Well I don't know if he was or if it was the thunder I heard rumbling a little bit later, but I got a good bit more of his matted fur off him.  I guess his anxiety over thunder is greater than his dislike of the shears.  

Getting this matted mess off him is going to take a long time I'm afraid and there are parts I'm not at all sure about, like his ears and certain areas of his bottom and underbelly and about his toes.  But if I can get the bulk of it off him, perhaps I can get someone to finish the grooming (a professional) for me.  For all that he considers himself very much a rambling country dog he is far too small and too much of the lapdog genetic pool to truly be a country dog.  But go tell him that.  He'll show you otherwise.

This morning, as I said earlier, I'd gone out into the yard to work.  For me, getting outdoors and working in the cool of the day (relatively speaking, it was very humid) is the most pleasant thing.  I finished cleaning up the flower bed at the end of the house.  I noted that some weeds have made an appearance in the places I'd worked on earlier this summer.  It's not out of hand but I'll definitely need to get out there and give it another going over.  

I looked over the plants and talked to them.  The old fashioned lantana that came from Grandmother's yard has gotten tall and leafed out but not a single bloom upon it this year and I've no clue why not.  All in all this year has been a difficult year for gardening.  And I'm not the only one saying so.  Sam did well enough with zucchini and blueberries but his green beans quit producing as soon as they got started.  His tomatoes were a disappointment.  He did get a few tomatoes but then they quit.  My own are as full of blooms as ever but they are not producing a tomato.  Just blooms.

Anyway, I enjoyed my morning puttering about the yard.  I was out there far longer than I'd meant to be.  I decided to make good on one of my promises to myself and I put a few seeds in the planters.  Fingers crossed that autumn crops will do what none of the summer ones did.

After being outdoors I had hardly any energy left to do home things.  It wasn't until afternoon that I got busy with my #everybitcounts challenge.  I did get a few things.  I sat down last night and made out a list of things I could do with what I have at home.

Yes, some of the things I plan to do are using things on hand but they will be in a different form, one that should be more useful and more convenient to use.  I'm really enjoying this challenge this year and I'm glad I'm finding ways to add to my home's pantry and freezer even if I don't have a garden.

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#everybitcounts 2025 Challenge: August 1-10

 

This is what I added to may pantry/freezer for the first week of August.

August 1:

6 boxes of cereal: I got a variety of our favorites.   These were BOGO at Publix and a really good deal.  I earned Ibotta and extra Fetch rewards on them.  I put 5 in the pantry storage. Why 5?  Because John opened one right away.

2 boxes of Poptart's (BOGO).  We rarely eat these, but they are nice to have on hand especially if the grandchildren come in. 

4 cans Organic black beans, 2 cans Organic Garbanzo beans (99c each)

2 Beef Polska Kielbasa

1 can Coconut Milk (on sale for $1.25 per can).

Non-Grocery items:

Glue x 2

single subject composition books x 4

pocket folders with tangs x 4

All of this cost about $54 which I thought was very good.

August 2:

I've been watching tuna prices for the longest time.  About 2 years ago, I got a flat carton (24) of 5-ounce cans of tuna for a very good price on Amazon.  I've priced them ever since at every store near me.  I'm down to two cans and haven't found a sale.  On sale these were $1 or more per can! I went to Amazon to look and discovered I could buy the same for less than 80c per can which is quite a good price.  I put a case in my cart on Amazon.  It will arrive later but I'm counting it now.

2 64-ounce boxes of Old-Fashioned oats.  These were put in my cart at the end of July, but I won't receive them until August 15.  I'm counting them in now.

August 4:  

This morning, I got busy very early in the morning.  

I bought a package of four bone in skin on chicken breasts the other day for $2.49 a pound.  I put one in the oven this morning to cook for our dinner.  I added 3 bone-in skin on breasts to the freezer after vacuum sealing.

The peaches I bought on Thursday did what peaches do.  They were almost dry and crispy when I bought them but given a day or two and they started to soften and ripen.  Yesterday I noted that they were fully ripe.  This morning, I peeled them all.  I used some in baking right away and put the rest into the freezer to flash freeze.  I vacuum sealed two packages of peaches for future.    

I use frozen peaches the same way I use fresh.  I eat them thawed (they taste very similar to when fresh), I cook with them, and I make smoothies with them.

August 5:  

I went into Kroger this afternoon on my way home.  I bought five half-gallons of milk.  I put all five in the freezer.

I found 2 pounds of organic Lamb marked down, so I picked those up.  No, I don't typically buy Lamb and to be honest, it was a mistake.  In my defense, it was in the beef case and the clearance sticker covered the label.  Mind you this same grocery put SCENTED vinegar (for cleaning/laundry) on the shelf with the regular vinegars, something I did note when looking for vinegar...Lesson learned to read the labels more closely.  I can use the lamb, have recipes that actually call for it that I've subbed ground chicken or beef for in the past.  And it really was an excellent price, just $4.38/pound.

I did find a gallon of white vinegar to purchase and put in the pantry. I opted for regular white and not the SCENTED one.  

Other items I picked up today which went into the pantry or freezer: 

4 bottles of oregano

1 quart Maple syrup 

5 pounds of sausage 

3# pounds of hamburger 

3# of bacon slices

72 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 pound can of Crisco 

All of these items were on sale or clearance priced, except the vinegar and Maple Syrup.  The Crisco wasn't on sale either, but the price has dropped $3 since I bought the last can which was upwards of $11 then and was now just over $8.

I bought only things meant for the pantry/freezer today.  I spent $115 on all of it.  

August 6:  

I got the chocolate chips vacuum sealed and put onto the pantry shelf.   2 quarts and 2 pints.  I put about 1/2 cup into the freezer for immediate use.

I got a 50-ounce bag of Gatorade powder delivered today.  I vacuumed sealed that into one quart and one pint jar.  The little left was put into a jar and placed on the shelf for immediate usage.  

I had some chili leftover last night.  I put two quarts chili into the freezer.

I had strawberries in the fridge that weren't being eaten.  I topped them and put the berries into the freezer.  It's a bit over a pint of strawberries.  I have made up my mind that in future when we are getting low on strawberry jam, I'll make my own.  I have plenty of berries in the freezer.

I took the strawberry tops and put them in a jar and then I filled the jar with sugar and shook it well.  Nancy Birtwhistle does this to make strawberry syrup which she uses over ice cream or in lemonade, etc.  In a week I'll strain the liquid off the tops. I should get about 1 cup of syrup from that.  

I put 1 quart of chicken pot pie filling into the freezer.

August 7:

I finally, finally, FINALLY used my electric canner.  To those of you like me who bought an electric canner and then proceeded to let it sit on the shelf because you are scared, please pull it out and USE it, if only to can water just to practice.  It was so easy!  I made mistakes and had to start over, but nothing blew up and everything sealed!

5 pints Chicken Broth and 4 quarts of Ham broth are cooling on the counter.  Tomorrow they will go into the pantry.  That's all I got done today but I'm proud of those jars!

August 8:

1 pound Smoked Sausage link broken down into serving size packets.  I got four packets to go into the freezer. 

I was very surprised at the price of this sausage locally.  It's a well-known brand in our area, Conecuh, and runs about $7 a pound most places but in my small town it was actually closer to $6.50.  I'll check in there again when I have more money to spend and buy more.  

2 New York Strip steaks.  These were a markdown item at $10 for almost 2 pounds of nice steak. I packaged them up one steak to a packet (they are big enough to share).   I put two in the freezer. Reminding myself to go to town and check the meat case on Monday to catch post weekend markdowns.

August 9:

I harvested chives, oregano, sage and basil today.  They are in the oven drying just now.  

There wasn't a lot of any one of them, but I truly am following the idea that #everybitcounts.  I had about 2 tbsps. chives, 1 tbsp. oregano, 2 tbsps. sage and 1/4 cup basil when I dehydrated and then crushed them.

August 10:

I bought meat today, but I haven't packaged it up yet so I'm not going to count it in today's additions, but I added other things that were put into the pantry.

Today I picked up four boxes of Rice A Roni Wild Rice Mix.  I used to buy bigger containers of wild rice, but it often got rancid before we could use it up.  It's better to buy small boxes like this to use than have to throw out product.

I bought 5 cans of black-eyed peas, 3 cans Cannellini beans, and 2 cans of butter beans.  

I bought four 29-ounce jars of peanut butter for the pantry.  

I think the first ten days of this challenge have been very good and I can't wait to see what I can do in the next ten days!   Are you participating in #everybitcounts challenge?  Share in the comments what you were able to do thus far.

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August Weekend: Keeping Promises to Myself

 

Saturday:  This morning, I woke up and made coffee.  On Saturday, I forgo Instagram which is how I take coffee during the weekday.  But on Saturday's I abstain.  No particular reason, just something I felt led to do a few weeks ago and I've honored since.  When I no longer feel the stay on my spirit about it, I'll probably return to it.  This morning, I watched a couple of videos on YouTube.  I'm in the blessed position of sleeping fairly well lately with only an occasional night of not sleeping at all.  So, I'm well behind on all of the YouTube channels I normally would watch.  

What do I do when I get behind?  I remind myself watching those things isn't a have to it's a gets to and I don't need to know every single outfit that Diane made or every recipe that Jennifer prepared.  I just start with the most recent videos and watch what I can and when I get behind again.

Yesterday, when I was out and about in town, I stopped in at two of our stores (we only have a handful in this little town).  The local grocery is high, as I've shared before and I am reluctant to do too much shopping there.  The Dollar Store is a money trap for me, so I am cautious about going in.  It's so easy to think, "Oh that's cute..." and put it in my buggy because it's not so very high.  

What I bought yesterday at the grocery store yesterday were truly good buys.  At the Dollar Store, I had a list, and I stuck to it.  I wanted a basket to use as a laundry hamper in our bathroom.  I didn't want a plastic hamper.  I wanted something 'real'.  I found just what I wanted. I also bought 2 birthday cards, an over-the-counter medication, and a plastic bin to go into my fridge freezer for better organization.  I wanted a plastic set of drawers to go under the kitchen sink, but they didn't have that.  

I also stopped by the truck farmer's stand and got a basket of peaches.  This was $5 for six very large peaches.  I paid $10 at the gas station that had the same size basket.  I'm very happy with this price!  And happy to support a local truck farmer.

That's a promise I'd made earlier this year.  I can't afford to do all of my shopping here, but I can at least push some of my money their way and help support the county businesses.

I thought of all this because John cut one of those peaches this morning.  Gosh were they good!

 After breakfast I promised myself a second cup of coffee but first, I wanted to tackle Rufus again.  I slipped outdoors and put down food for him and the cat.  I found him sitting quietly off to the side of the porch.  I swear he sighed when he saw me.  Instead of coming to me and bowing as he typically does, he slowly got up and walked out into the middle of the backyard and looked at me.  I got his message loud and clear.  Not today, lady mine, not today.  I laughed and went back indoors.

I forgot all about my planned second cup of coffee though.  I was a little anxious to fulfill my promises to myself.  First, I got dressed and made up.  Then I tried blocking out activities on my calendar.  I'm not at all happy with it.  There are things I simply didn't get into the schedule, and I know I want them there.  I planned far too long a block for leisure/fun each day.  I know I won't be satisfied if I keep it as it is.  By the same token I'm not interested in skimping on 'my time' either.  Again, I need to find the balance between working and playing.

I went outdoors to putter on the patio.  The fig tree I feared had died is putting out new leaves as is the one pot of Chrysanthemum that looked burnt to a crisp.  I deadheaded the zinnias, marigolds and the mums.  I clipped herbs to bring indoors to dehydrate.  

It's so cool outdoors, unseasonably so.  It was mid-70's the whole morning long.  What August is this?  I told John it's the strangest August I think I've ever experienced.

I came out and gathered a stack of books to read.  They are totally random choices, books I've been thinking of for quite a while.  I chose Miss Read's The Howards of Caxley, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy, Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express which is new to me, and Sarah McCoy's Marilla of Green Gables, and I plan to continue with Stephen W. Hines' A Prairie Girl's Faith, and Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.  I also put one of my Bibles next to my chair.  Might as well have it there to read each morning.  I have one on the table to do the study work I want to do. 

Ambitious, aren't I?  I'm pretty much halfway through the Hines' book.  The Fallon book is a very slow read for me, as I feel compelled to begin at the beginning which isn't chapter 1 but a lot of prefaces and talk about food studies and such.  

I weeded down the pile of genealogy stuff to just the paperwork related to the current family line I'm working on.  That deleted a big pile of stuff, but it's still a sizable pile of paperwork.

Then I went back to the guest room and dug out the file of scrapbook papers and other such things.  Then I dug down to the bin of art supplies I'd packed away months ago and found scissors, glue, double stick tape, and such.  I had really thinned things out back when I packed that stuff up and I apparently knew what I'd miss because I kept the papers and such.  

I found a bin of clothing I've been meaning to take to Katie for Caleb.  These should be mostly size S, 6 or 7 and hopefully she'll find something he can wear in the lot of them.

I also found a file of old artwork that I'd done.  There was a whole series of sketches, a set of art pieces I'd done with color pencils, as well as a piece of collage art I'd done and a paper pieced variation on Van Gogh's sunflowers in a vase.  

Honestly, I spent so much time organizing all the papers and such that I didn't even want to play with it today when I was done.  But I did read a bit and work on genealogy a bit.

This evening John stumbled on a Hollywood Graveyard video.  That was pretty interesting. It's about lesser-known actors and actresses with a few well-known ones tossed in here and there.  It's fun to me to recognize character actors faces and put a name to them.  One guy was named Candi Candido who could sing a range from basso to soprano.   His basso voice supplied many of Disney's crooked characters with their voice.   He had a big hit with a song called "One Meatball" which he sang in both falsetto and basso.

That led us down a rabbit holes.  While John was looking up the song video to listen to I was reading about the history of the song which was written by a Harvard Professor in 1855 and originally was "One Fishball".  We listened to the Candido version which popped up everyone else's version including Frank Sinatra.  We sampled a few of the variations and stumbled on an artist we really enjoyed by the name of Calvin Russell.  We spent a half hour or more just listening to song after song by him.

All in all, it was a very interesting sort of day.  There's nothing more fun than keeping a promise to myself and discovering new interests like old songs that have stood the test of time and new artists (even if they are dead).  Which reminds me that one song Caleb and I enjoyed this summer was called "Herman the Worm".  It was right up there with "Alligator Chomp" which is one of our favorites, lol.

Now I am off to read a bit.   

Sunday:  Up early this morning and got ready right away.  I wore a new dress to church today, one I hadn't worn before, but I've had about two months now.  I feel very anxious about wearing dresses overall.  John said it's just because I seldom wear one.  

I was much pleased when I saw myself in the full-length mirror in the ladies restroom at church.  It really did look okay on me and that is going pretty far for me to say that much.  

If I miss anything about the old bathroom it is the ability to have a full-length mirror to see myself.  And that's all I miss!

My most honest critic can be Katie, and I passed with her today, so I guess this dress is a true keeper.  It was very comfortable, although it is closer to form fitting than anything I've had in years.  

We went by Katie's after we left church today.  I need to pay more attention to what Caleb says.  Taylor has straight up asked, "When will you bring chicken?"  Caleb doesn't.  He simply hangs about the kitchen repeating, "I want chicken."  I don't ever catch on until we've left and that was the same today.  I've been planning to take chicken over for weeks, but there have been a variety of scheduling conflicts that have prevented it.  I think instead of making it solely something I do just for Taylor, I need to ask Caleb when he wants me to bring chicken, though.  Apparently, this is something that is important to him too.

The children insisted I come with them right away to see their 'new' rooms.  Not the Mama moved out a couple of weeks ago which means the adults could move into the master bedroom, and the children could all be separated into girls' and boys' rooms.  Caleb and Henry are sharing a room and that is going very well.  Bella and Taylor are sharing a room as well.

I went into Publix after John picked up missionary mail.  I added to my pantry and freezer again.  I'm taking advantage of the best sales and choosing carefully what I add to my supplies.  

It was 4pm today when we got home.  Honestly Sundays disappear these days.  I was so hungry when we got home.  We ate a thrown together meal, but it sure hit the spot!

Tomorrow, we begin a brand-new week, and I am as ambitious about it as I have been about the last two weeks.  I can wait to greet tomorrow!

Here's hoping you had a grand weekend.

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