Etsy Sale

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I just wanted to let you all know that items in my Etsy shop are on sale through Monday. 

Weekly Goals Update: Week 46

1.  Disaster Preparedness
I had the same problem as last week with the suggestions.  This goal is pretty well done for now.  The website had good information, but it has ventured into areas more advanced areas of preparations.


2. Makeover the Garden
This week is supposed to not be rainy and just cool rather than cold.  I will get out later in the week and clean some areas for planting.  I still have time to plant lettuce and other greens.  I also have to decide if I am going to plant garden peas this year since that is done in late December.


3.  Organize Recipes
Not last week and definitely will not happen this week.


4.  Have 13 No Spend Grocery Weeks - Done
I will add one to it this week as I have no intention of going to the grocery store. Thanksgiving crowds make me nervous.


5. Focus on Saving
Shopping other than stocking up on groceries was very limited last week.  I have no real plans to much Black Friday shopping although I am holding out for some Etsy sales later in the week.  Not buying stuff remains one of the best ways to save!


6.  Etsy Shop
I missed this goal last week.  I only listed three items.  Things just got too busy, and it was easy to skip crocheting.  I hope to do better this week.  I do have plans for a sale for the holiday and will stop back in later this week to remind everyone. 

Flamingo Coffee Cup Sleeve

Giraffe Baby Photo Outfit

Newsboy Hat in Multiple Sizes

Mermaid Lip Balm Holder (relisted)

Busy Days & Giveaway Winner

First up the giveaway winner....Congratulations to Renee G. who commented "I love making caramel apples".  Renee G please contact me using the form on the left side of the blog with your full name and mailing address so I can pass it on to the publisher.  Thank you to everyone who entered.


I should know by now that November will never be a calm month.  I had good intentions of posting all week, but it seemed each day a surprise popped up that kept me from my original plan.  Thanks to some help from the youth at church I was able to get the 50 shoeboxes packed.  W and I dropped those off on Tuesday while out running what felt like 100 errands.  We did our big grocery shop so I can stay far away from the grocery store next week.  After dinner and feeding up I headed to the church to help sort donated clothes.


Yesterday I helped a homeschool student with geometry.  He had a great teacher, but she went on maternity leave.  He was having trouble with the new teacher's teaching methods.  He left in time for us to heat up leftovers for dinner (lunch).  All too soon it was time to feed up and then get ready to go to a community Thanksgiving service. 


Today was supposed to be a do nothing day.  Predicted cold weather with a chance of frost meant we rushed to get some delicate plants in the house.  That was mainly the dragon fruit plants which needed to be staked first.  A few other things were just moved to sheltered areas for now.  Cleaning the church took up some time as did cleaning up the house. 


On the plus side I did manage to finish up two crochet projects and hope to spend some time tomorrow on a couple more projects tomorrow.  I need to finish some things in order to keep up with my goal for this week. 


I am sure many of you are finding your days to be busy as the holiday season draws near.  Often I need to remind myself to stop and rest and hope you will do the same. 

Weekly Goals Update: Week 45

1.  Disaster Preparedness
The website I was following along has gotten more into long-term catastrophic disasters which is not my goal at this point in time.  My goal for right now is to use up the odd and end items in my pantry.  I want to use the grocery savings to then restock my pantry.


2.  Makeover the Garden
It was rainy all of last week here for the most part so I did not do any work in the garden.  There is just a slight chance of rain today so I hope to get a couple of beds fixed and seeds planted.  My problem is that most fall crops here are greens which chickens love.  I can see that for next year I will need some netted hoops to keep the chickens from eating everything I grow.


3.  Organize Recipes
The weather is starting to turn cold.  My plan is to focus on this goal after Thanksgiving.


4.  Have 13 No Spend Grocery Weeks - Done


5.  Focus on Saving
I waited until Saturday to do some shopping at Dollar General to take advantage of the $5/25.  I bought items needed to finish the shoeboxes as well as paper towels.  I need to start taking advantage of these almost weekly coupons.


6.  Etsy Shop
I hit my goal again this past week and listed six more items.  I am taking Sundays off.

Flower Trivet

Baby Football Cocoon (also in Pink)

Turkey Baby Photo Prop

Fitted Cloche Hat

Fitted Beanie

Slouchy Beanie

Weekend Book Reviews

Homemade Christmas by Yvette van Boven includes over 100 recipes for the holiday season.  The recipes included are best for more adventurous eaters.  The majority of them would not go over well with the crowd I host.  The pictures included are lovely, but the recipes are simply not for me.  I cannot imagine convincing my family to eat broccoli pot pie.  I did see a few dessert recipes that were good.  The Trifle with salty caramel, cheesecake cream, & chewy brownies sounds especially good.  I recommend you take a look at the recipes first especially if your family is not full of picky eaters.

Downright Dead by Pamela Kopfler is the second book in the B&B Spirits Mystery series.  Holly is expecting business at her B&B to pick up after a television show featuring footage of her ghost airs.  The show's host calls to say that are doing a follow up show after a debunker challenges the ghost story.  The problem is that the B&B's ghost has moved on.  The debunker and tv crew arrive and soon a murder occurs.  Flooding strands the guests at the B&B.  Holly must solve the mystery and save her beloved B&B.  The characters are engaging, and I enjoyed the ghost element of the book.  The mystery was strong and kept me guessing.  I look forward to the next book in this series.

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

Weekend Book Reviews

Assault and Beadery  by Mollie Cox Bryan is the fourth book in the Cora Crafts Mystery series.  Cora has organized a mom's craft retreat with her friends Jane and Ruby.  When the director of the community theater is murdered, their friend Zee is the prime suspect.  Cora struggles to prove her friend's innocence while keeping the retreat guests in line.  I enjoy the crafty side of this series.  Each book gives background information on a particular craft which is beading in this book.  The guests were a bit on the "moms gone wild" side, but it was nice to see a bit of a crossover with another series.

The Dead Ringer by M.C. Beaton is the twenty-ninth book in the Agatha Raisin Mystery series, but it is the first book in the series that I have read.  I had heard great things about the series and was excited to read this book.  Unfortunately I was disappointed.  The story jumped all over the place with no true consistency.  They murders were not really investigated but only mentioned now and again.  The remainder of the book was full of Agatha chasing man after man after man and screaming at people.  Perhaps I should have read some of the previous books to understand more about Agatha.  I do not see the charm based on this book alone.

disclosure:  I received these books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

November Grocery Plans

Since I reached my goal of having 13 no spend grocery weeks already, I want to focus on using up some pantry items during the month of November.  I made a menu for the week by shopping my pantry/freezer first.  I will share next Tuesday how the first menu plan worked out.  This week I spent $21 on groceries.  I probably could have gotten by on less, but W requested a couple of meals and those used up a few pantry items.  What did I buy?


carrots
tomatoes
bananas (W's impulse buy)
mayonnaise
olives (for pizza)
chicken tenders
sausage
sour cream
cheese - 2
yogurt
frozen pot pies (for hectic day)


My menu is going to cover three meals a day for W and myself.  I am hoping for at least one meal of leftovers each week.  I would love to keep my weekly spending at around $20.  One of the main goals is to use up a bunch of odd things in the pantry.