I am covering a couple of weeks in the post. I managed to come in close to budget on groceries for the holidays. I did a two week shop since I plan to stay far away from the grocery store this week. W did make a quick stop to pick up three items for me.
W picked three big bags of lemons from a neighbor's tree. The tree is in a pasture, and the neighbor never picks even one so is glad to share. I gave one bag away. We juiced the rest. Most went into the freezer for lemonade. Some of the juice will become lemon curd. I did forget to buy lemonade concentrate for Thanksgiving, but we will have free homemade lemonade which is better.
I used a gift card (one of the found ones) to purchase Christmas ornaments for the new house. It was nice to get free decorations!
Thanksgiving was a potluck affair at my house. One aunt provided the paper products. My mom, another aunt, and mother-in-law contributed some food. W's brother brought ice. We had 23 people for dinner (lunch to the non-southern areas). Eleven of us gathered for supper to eat leftovers. It was a fun day, and the layout of our living room kitchen worked just as we had hoped for hosting a large crowd.
I spent some time working in the garden. I topped off two raised beds with dirt from pots that were in the garden. Since the dumped dirt was full of earthworms, I put the wire covers on top of the raised beds to keep the chickens out.
I started addressing Christmas cards. I bought the cards on clearance last year since I knew I would not have time to make my own. My $14 worth of cards cost me just $3.50.
I have been using homemade cleaners (vinegar/essential oils/water) and old washcloths for cleaning. The washcloths get washed and reused. It is cheap, effective, and no waste.
I stayed away from the stores this past weekend. I did purchase some DVDs and two books from Amazon with gift cards. My only real purchase (a small toaster oven) was planned in advance. I found one at Lowe's with free shipping.
No comments:
Post a Comment