Savings and Goals Journal #22

We had a wonderful week at our house! Grampy had several days off for the holiday, so we were able to spend lots of time together and just relax a little bit. We love to cook together, so making everything for our Thanksgiving meal was fun.

In the Kitchen

I made two gallons of homemade vinegar cleaner (3 parts water, one part vinegar, and a few drops of essential oils. I put 10 to 15 drops of essential oil per gallon). One I scented with cinnamon essential oil and the other I scented with tea tree and lavender oils. I use this cleaner all around the house.

I’ve been using a store app (Safeway) for digital coupons and I’ve been earning points with my purchases. I’ve earned three points, which I am redeeming for a frozen pizza for the grandkids and a pound of butter–for free!

Grampy had some restaurant gift cards he’d been wanting to use. We used them for takeout on Tuesday, since we knew we’d be cooking lots on Wednesday and Thursday for Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving meal turned out great. The rest of the turkey is going into the freezer for future meals. Three days of turkey is enough for me. I’ve planned an easy menu for this week with most meals being leftovers I’d frozen previously.

This week’s meal plan:

• Sunday: Omelettes, fruit
• Monday: Taco Soup (this is one of our favorite winter meals)
• Tuesday: Pork with mushroom sauce, mixed veggies, brown rice
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Pinto beans and ham, cornbread
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Sausage, pepper and onion bake

In the Garden

I spent time cleaning and organizing the greenhouse. I’d stuffed a lot of things inside when I was finished using it for plant starts, so it needed some tidying up. One of the panels had gotten pushed in, so Grampy helped me repair it. It was 45 degrees outside, but 70 degrees inside the greenhouse while I was working. This week I’ll be starting my seeds for lettuce, spinach, kale and chard. I’m going to start them indoors and then move them out once they’ve sprouted.

I went through my garden seeds to start planning our spring garden. I’m trying to decide if I’m going to buy chile pepper plants at the nursery or grow them myself. I’ll need to order seeds soon if I’m going to start them from seed. I often have low germination on chile pepper seeds, even using a heat mat. I do great with bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes. I’m thinking of saving myself a lot of frustration and buying chile plants in the spring. I might order seeds to have on hand in case plants are not available. Finding plants last spring was difficult. We bought twenty to supplement the ones I’d started from seed.

Grampy and I decided that we are going to plant corn in next year’s garden. I haven’t grown it for a couple of years, but the grandkids love corn on the cob. I have the seeds I bought last year and didn’t plant.

Our granddaughter has a new fascination with birds, so we moved our birdfeeder from the backyard to near the area where we park our cars. Now she can watch birds from the living room window.

Home and Family

I actually did some mending! Mending is something I tend to procrastinate about. BooBoo the dog had chewed a small hole in her dog bed and was pulling the stuffing out. I sewed the hole closed. Hopefully she won’t undo my work. I also mended the hood of my grandson’s Spiderman bathrobe where it had come unsewn at the seam.

We put up our indoor Christmas decor the day after Thanksgiving. This is the first year in a while I’ve been inspired to decorate. It was really fun and the grandkids had a great time putting ornaments on the tree. They are at such a fun age!

I did spend a few dollars at the dollar store for things to remake our outdoor wreath. Most of the items on it I bought at garage sales. We will decorate our porch next week.

Our older daughter and her boyfriend joined us for Thanksgiving. That wonderful boy spoke with Grampy and asked to marry our daughter! We are so happy! 🙂 They will have a small and simple wedding.

Have a wonderful and safe week!