Savings and Goals Journal #37

Snow again! We had some beautiful days but now we are having some cold, wet days. I’ve made good use of them working inside the house, drinking tea, reading and hanging out with my cat. 🙂

In the Kitchen

My older daughter came to visit and brought us a bag of Anasazi beans. I’ve never had them before, but Grampy has and he really likes them. They are grown near where she lives.

Grampy was given about ten pounds of baby carrots. So I spent an afternoon preserving them. I canned seven quarts of Glazed Carrots using the recipe in my Ball canning book. (Adjust the pressure for your altitude if using the linked recipe.) I also made 4 freezer containers of Whipped Carrots with Cranberries. Besides in soups and stews, these are Grampy’s favorite ways to eat cooked carrots.

While my daughter was here, we made four loaves of zucchini bread using zucchini I’d grown and frozen last summer. She took two loaves home.

This week’s meal plan:

• Sunday: Chicken, potato salad
• Monday: Leftovers
• Tuesday: Anasazi beans, cornbread
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Chicken Taquitos, Spanish rice, salad
• Friday: Hamburger Stew, Salad
• Saturday: Leftovers

In the Garden

I was able to do some yard work between the cold snowy days. I worked out in the front of our house tidying up the flowerbed by the driveway. I’m happy to see tulips and columbines popping up. I planted the columbines years ago from seed, and each year they multiply.

Home and Family

I’m trying to incorporate more plants in our indoor decor. Grampy brought me a start of a spider plant from a coworker. I’m sticking with hardy plants because I’ve not always had great luck with houseplants.

Errands and appointments took me out of the house often this week. I’m looking forward to spending more time at home for the next week or so. I’m making tiny bits of progress on my kitchen makeover. I try to do a bit each day, even if I only find a few minutes to organize or plan. I’m almost finished with the spices.

The spices were a terrible mess. I painted the drawers and put in shelf paper. I used canning jars to store the spices and made lids using chalkboard paint and a chalk marker. So far I love them!

Have a wonderful week!