August Produce from the Garden

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Brad's garden has been doing quite well!

His cantaloupe was a whopper! It weighed 10 lbs (and was delicious!)

 

This Moon and Stars Watermelon weighed in at 19.6...but, it wasn't quite ripe :(

(We have tried all the "tricks" at knowing when to pick them, but, they don't seem to work for us!)

We have picked many buckets of tomatoes. Brad picked this basket (which holds less than the buckets)

and it weighed in at 20.6 lbs. I made salsa out of them. :)

How is your garden growing? I hope that you are enjoying the

fruits of your labor too!

Making it sssttttrrreeeettttccchhhh!

I've been thinking over my household chores, and the money that needs to be spent

to keep things clean.

I am stretching our money (as are a lot of us during this tough economy)

so, I thought I'd pass along a few things that we do here to stretch money at home.

• Make our own Window Cleaner (1/2 rubbing alcohol and 1/2 water) (a little stronger for tough jobs)

It is inexpensive and effective! We picked up a .99 squirt bottle, and use a squeegee to clean windows and mirrors

• White Vinegar and Baking Soda make a wonderful cleaning paste!

We even washed our clear vinyl shower curtain in this - came out looking like new!

• Eat at home-and, we make our meals from scratch (planning for leftovers for lunch the next day when possible!)
• Buy in bulk (at the Amish store-whenever possible)
• Some of the items we purchase there are: spices, flour, brown rice, wheat berries, popcorn, honey, yeast, baking soda and powder, sugar and brown sugar.
• Planted a garden and use the produce (both fresh and we freeze and can the excess)

We use our squash in casseroles, and stir-fry. We use the tomatoes for sandwiches and spaghetti sauce fresh, and make salsa and sauce to can. We also cut up the tomatoes and put in quart freezer bags--perfect for soup and chili!

• Use masking tape and a Sharpee marker to label our leftovers so we know how fresh they are (keeps us from wasting food!)
• When we make muffins-we mix up a 2nd batch and freeze the raw dough in the cupcake papers - when you are ready to bake them-just take straight out of the freezer and bake! Great for a "pinch"!
• Use pay by phone to pay my bills--saves me stamps!
• Use the library for borrowing movies, books, magazines, cd's and books on tape
• Organize our errand runs so that we don't waste time/gas
• Put sheets up over our windows during those 100 degree days--kept it much cooler in here!
• Arranged a tarp for shade over our heat pump to keep it from having to work so hard in the hot sun (we were careful to be sure it had proper air flow)
• Put a small fan in front of our a/c vent in the living room to help the cold air into the room
• Wash our clothes in cold water - making sure to measure our detergent so we don't waste (we also use less than they suggest)
• Keep our lights off if we're not going to be in the room
• Hang our clothes on the line (they get dry for free!)
• Shop at Thrift Store (I'm trying to do this only when I need to look for something-If I just "pop in" I will buy something I don't need!)
• Cut the men of the house's hair ourselves (I found a pair of professional clippers on amazon- usually $160, and I got them for $15!)
• We also took the Dave Ramsey FPU course, and we try  hard to stick to a budget
• I use the internet to get Swagbucks-and get free amazon gift cards
• Use Paperbackswap.com to get free books!

These were just a few ideas that came to mind. I am sure you have lots too! Feel free to share them with me!

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31:27

May God bless you as you "look well to the ways" of your household!



Summer Fades to Fall

Summer is drawing to a slow close...

And Bingley is now 8 months old

The sky has been stormy several times

(kind of neat after a summer with no rain)

We're still getting Peppers (we didn't pick these in time--now they're "woody")

Our Black-eyed Susan vine is more beautiful than ever!

 I picked a basketful of Peppers today

 Brad bought the yellow mums on clearance last year for 10 cents each!

 The Knock-out Rose still keeps cranking out blooms below

We've been doing some baking, and finished up our canning

We put out our Fall Decorations

We're having a bit of trouble getting out of "Summertime mode"

Right now it feels like Indian Summer--yesterday was 80!

But I guess it's time to say...so long Summer!

When summer gathers up her robes of glory,

And, like a dream, glides away.

~ Sarah Helen Whitman

Kitchen Happenings

Recently I had a busy day...I bought peaches and blueberries at the Amish store....

And made this cobbler...

I also bought these cukes there and...


Made these Dill Pickles Also baked this...

And picked these...

First cukes!

These cukes were fresh picked this afternoon-I love fresh cukes from the garden! Yum!
I left my glass in the picture so you can relate to the size.

I also was able to pick this bowl of raspberries this afternoon. They'll be great with cereal in the morning. :0)

Ah! I love summer!