Week 4 of the Boring Blog Box Giveaway.....Last Week to Enter!

Here's how it works if you are new here.......

 

I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today............something for your pitts, your hair, your nails,  your tummy & your décor......

 

 

1.  1 small Dove Deodorant stick

2.  1 bottle of Magnetix nail polish

3.  1 small bottole of Pantene conditioner

4.  1 bag of Brach's Fall Harvest Mix(candy corn and such)
5.  1 winged Gargoyle figurine for your Halloween decorating

 

 

 

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I close this post to entries.
This is the last post for this Giveaway.  You have until Friday, October 4th, at 11:59pm to enter.  The Giveaway will be closed at that time and a winner selected from all the valid entries received by that date/time.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email address and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week I want to hear about if/how you celebrate Halloween.  Do you dress up on Oct. 31st whether or not you are going to a party?
And if you give out candy/treats on Halloween, what do you like to give?

I use to get those full sized candy bars for a good price at the restaurant supply store so my house use to be very popular for Trick or Treaters.  This year I think we'll scale back but I am not sure what we will give out yet.....I still have a few weeks to work that out.
 

 

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post besides the daily comment.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.

 

Two more weeks/posts after this and the box will be full and ready to pick a winner.

Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

Going Back to the Old Home Place

It hasn't been the best of days here lately.
Nothing earth shattering just the blasted foot not healing.  Actually on Wednesday it was worse again so I was scared of having to go back to the hospital so I babied it extra and Thursday it was better.
But I am still nowhere near being able to do anything I use to do.

Hubs was out of town for 2 days so even less got done around here.  And little things were blowing up while he was gone and I just couldn't physically take care of things.
Sigh.

And now the Chihuahua is sick.  I noticed her eye was closed today and a bit swollen and then pus started coming out of it.
And we are going to the reunion tomorrow so she's going to have to wait until Monday to go to the vet.  If it gets worse while we are gone, #2 Son can take her to the ER vet down the road but still, that's another worry on my mind.

We had trouble booking a motel room for this reunion.
The location is so off the beaten path that there is not a chain motel/hotel for 50 miles in any direction.  The only motel is an old family run one in the next town over which has been there from before I was on this Earth.  If they had a listing, words like "old" and "dumpy" would be the highlights for it. lol

With my foot condition I put off making a reservation until last week as I still wasn't convinced we'd be going.
In between the time I first found their website and 800-number and last week, they stopped paying for the website and it disappeared.  And the 800-number was disconnected.
Great.

But we found the local number and yes, they are still in business so if I don't get back online(of course there is no WI-FI there!)by next Monday, someone please come looking for me in Keysville, VA.  Hopefully the motel clerk is not a chap named Norman with a penchant for bird taxidermy.....

I am thinking I'll need a wheelchair at the reunion since it's outside and I can't stand for long periods of time and they'll probably just have folding chairs strewn about the place. 

Trying to find a loan or rental of a wheelchair has proven difficult.  The place that loans them out for free for short periods of time never returned the message I left(figures)and the one place that rents them is all the way on the other side of Wilkes-Barre and while I could have driven myself there, I couldn't have gotten myself from the car into the store and back again.

But luckily, my sister in-law has one for her mother, who won't be needing it this weekend, so they are bringing it for me to use on Saturday.  Bless there little old hearts......

I also had to make a dish to bring to this shindig.  Having to stay over on Friday night meant I had to make something today that would keep with possibly not being refrigerated the full time beforehand.
So I settled on my mother's Pineapple Salsa recipe and Tortilla Chips.  The salsa will stay cold enough for the ride down in a small cooler and if there is no dorm sized fridge in the motel room, we can pack ice from the motel into the cooler and keep it chilled overnight.  Hubs can run into a local grocery store on the way down tomorrow or Saturday morning for the tortilla chips and I can take a big plastic bowl to put them in.
This dish got selected also because it was something I could make while seated at the kitchen table after I had Hubs gather all the ingredients.

Now I just have to pack and get to bed.  Tomorrow I'll attempt a shower as I don't want to offend Hubs on the ride down.

I'm nervous as hell because besides my brother and his wife, I am not going to know a soul at this thing.  I had hoped to bring the computer and be able to get online to access my Ancestry files and tree while there so I can engage whomever is interested in the family genealogy, but I doubt that they have broadband or dial-up at the plantation house and I don't have satellite internet.

So I am bringing a photo album of pictures and I'll take my camera, a pen and a notebook and hopefully will make some meaningful family connections.

I am nervous and sort of depressed at the moment so I have to try to get my spirits up before we get to this party so I am not a downer when I arrive......I am sure there will be plenty of time to BECOME a downer once the festivities get going. lolz

At least I have my painkillers and I'll take a little bit of "adult beverage" since if I remember correctly this county is semi-dry(meaning restaurants can sell liquor by the drink, but not stores by the bottle)and so, so backwards and still dwelling in the early 1900's.
I hope my Time Machine begins me back to 2013 by Monday.....

Wish me luck!

Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Still Hobbling Around" Edition......

 

Look at all those ripe tomatoes still on my plants!  I wish I could get out there and pick them so I can can them.....sigh.....

 Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Leftovers (I had my leftover Chinese Food.)
Monday--Leftover London Broil cut thin for beef hoagies(with caramelized onions and melted provolone cheese), stir fried Green Beans
Tuesday--Roasted Chicken with Onions & Carrots, Stuffing(for the menfolk), Cranberry "Glop"
Wednesday--Frozen Pizzas(I can have a small piece), Caprese Salad
Thursday--Broccoli Casserole, maybe Pork chops if I can dig them out, Applesauce
Friday--no clue but will probably involve tomatoes and/or green beans lolz
Saturday--ditto

And here's what actually got eaten--

Sunday--Leftovers (I had my leftover Chinese Food.)
Monday--Leftover London Broil cut thin for beef hoagies(with caramelized onions and melted provolone cheese), stir fried Green Beans
Tuesday--Roasted Chicken with Onions & Carrots, Stuffing(for the menfolk), Cranberry "Glop"
Wednesday--Frozen Pizzas(I can have a small piece)
Thursday--I was the only one home for dinner so I made a piece of fish, and green beans.
Friday--BLTs, yet again....lol and Broccoli Casserole
Saturday--Hubs had leftover chicken and broccoli casserole, I had a turkey sandwich and salad.

Through Wednesday was on plan and then the wheels flew off the bus. lol  We didn't get take-out or spend on more groceries at that point, deciding instead to work on eating some leftover and surplus tomatoes and beans and going to the freezer/stockpile to see what we could find.   It all worked out for the best. 8-)

  

As for food spending last week.....I spent $100.86 on $197.03 worth of groceries at 2 stores and the farm stand.  Actually Hubs spent the $ as I was in no shape to go shopping(except for riding out to the farm).  I have $193.67 remaining of my $400 September food budget with 6 days to go in the month.

As for food waste, nothing last week. 8-))

Leftovers going into this week--still more green beans and tomatoes from the garden.

Here's this week's meal plan---
 

Sunday--Pork Chops(freezer), Green Beans(garden), leftover Stuffing, Applesauce(from stockpile)
Monday--Dinner at TGIFridays(I had an appetizer and water, Hubs had a burger and iced tea.)
Tuesday--Roast Chicken(freezer), Brussel Sprouts(freezer), leftover Applesauce
Wednesday--Halushki(noodles from stockpile, cabbage from farm stand) with Bacon(freezer)
Thursday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce(meat from freezer/pasta from stockpile/sauce made from stockpile ingredients), some veggie from the freezer OR Fend for Yourself-not sure which yet
Friday--No plan yet, eating out
Saturday--My brother will probably want to eat at a pizza joint so not sure what I'll get there.

On the shopping list......I cooked a chicken breast for lunchmeat so no deli meat will be bought this week.  What I need to buy to prepare the meals above are a head of cabbage(picked up already at the farm stand).  That's it as I have everything else either in the stockpile or freezer.  I do need to pick up some staples we are out of like cornstarch, vinegar(on sale this week), yogurts for me(on sale this week), milk and a bag of dog kibble.  I'm still in no position to do a full-on grocery shop so I don't foresee spending more than $25 at the grocery store this week.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy. 
  

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

Online Shopping.....Got Me Some Deals!

Last weekend, while I was stuck sitting or laying around the house due to my foot I did some online shopping.

#2 Son needed new clothes as I hadn't bought him any since getting him some cargo shorts in the Spring.  He hadn't grown much but all his duds were wearing out.
So I sat him down last weekend on the edge of my bed and made him pick out stuff.  I must say that this method is much easier than trying to take him to the store and wait for him to point at something and grunt at me.  8-)

So we shopped and I added a couple of items in the old shopping basket for myself and I checked out virtually.

Here's what we got.....

3 x Cargo Pants  Reg. $52.00 pr.  on sale $29.99 pr.
2 x Band T-Shirts  Reg. $20.00 ea.  on sale $14.99 ea.
1 x Henley thermal Shirt  Reg. $25.00  on sale $14.99
2 x L/S T-Shirt  Reg. $20.00 ea.  on sale $9.99 ea.
1 x Women's Nightgown Reg. $36.00  on sale $20.99
1 x Women's Sweater  Reg. $40.00  on sale $28.00

Regular retail total was $337.00
Sale subtotal was $203.91

I had a code for an additional 25% off which brought the total down another $50.98 so my total was $152.93.  (The total for #2's stuff was $116.19.)

I got free shipping because the total was over $75 AND I got $30 in Kohl's Cash, so I'll get another $30 worth of clothing for free.

Then #2 Son couldn't wait for these clothes to arrive so he went up to Kohl's and spent another $120 something on 2 more pairs of pants, 3 more shirts and a jacket.  He got some good deals but he didn't get the 25% off I got online....sigh.
And he earned another $20 in Kohl's Cash so now I have $50 in that script to get him some more garments.  I'll probably pick up some underwear and socks and who know what else for him.

So around $236 for a complete wardrobe for the teen.
Not too bad for things he needed.
And we are good now on clothes for him until Summer weather 2014.

Sluggy

Successful Weekend

I'm feeling a bit better today(Sunday).
If the foot continues to improve(being able to put weight on it)it is looking like we'll get to the Baker/Vassar Family Reunion 2013 next Saturday.
Now I just have to get copies made of some photos I want to bring with me.  Photos I need help identifying persons pictured on them.  Plus a photo of the old home place that I don't believe anyone else has seen(or has in their possession).

We needed to get 2 things crossed off the "To Do" List this weekend.
#1 was to finish getting all the coats of paint on the baseboard moulding strips.
And that one got crossed off this afternoon when Hubs finished the quarter round strips.

We are now set for the workmen to come back a week from tomorrow(Monday)and cut/install all the crown and baseboard mouldings.
Then to touch up the wall paint we redid and we are ready to decorate, buy furniture and hang curtains.

#2 on the list had to be completed this weekend, because next weekend we can't do this project, and by the following weekend(in October), it would just be too late for the task.

The project is to make and can my Family Secret Pepper Relish Recipe.
It calls for lots and lots of red bell peppers and if you end up having to purchase those at the grocery store it's ridiculously expensive!  So I only make this relish if I can get red bells for cheap, which means either growing them yourself(I've never been able to grow enough of them successfully in a season to have enough to make a batch of the relish)or you can buy them straight from a farmer.  I know of one local farm that grows this variety and they ripen in early September here so you have to time your relish making with the short window of ripe opportunity.  And you have to hope other farm stand customers don't buy them all before you get there!

This window of time is usually the 2-4th weekend of September.
This weekend was weekend #3 so prime season.
So we hit the farm stand yesterday.

 The little pumpkins were already out in bins. In a week or two their Pumpkin Patch will be in full swing.  I hope to get back for pumpkins in October.  I don't have room for lots of puree in my freezer but I can get a few gourds.....

Here is an artsy shot I took....

A close-up of a bin of larger pumpkins.  I may be the whitest woman on Earth but those albinos are the whitest pumpkins on Earth.......snort

And for Tanner, a photo of her farm "buddy"......I know you miss her......lol

I didn't want a shot of these people but they just kept getting in my way, both while trying to get photos of the critters and while trying to get veggies at the stand.  Honestly, they were obviously "city slickers" and I could have sworn from the way they talked and the way they acted that they were from New York or Jersey(sorry if you are from NY or NJ).  They were obnoxious, pushy and acted like they were the center of the universe.  You know, the stereotypical "goombah"....

Was I surprised that when we left I noticed that their car at PA plates. lol  Obviously transplants.  How I wish they'd "go home".  We don't need behavior like this in PA(got enough of it already).  NYers who know how to behave in public are appreciated and welcomed. 8-)

 

Another shot of one of Tanner's "stubborn" buddies scratching an itch on the fence......

And a gratuitous chicken porn shot for Linda .......I swear this chicken refused to show her face.  Every time I hoisted the camera to my face, she turned her backend to me.  Is this how a chicken gives "the finger"? lolz

A  shot on the way home of the now clear cut cornfields.   Corn season is long gone......sniff......

Saturday afternoon I began the relish making process.

Some of the spoils of our farm stand excursion........

We got 26 peppers(a combination of green and red and many that were both green and red)for $6.00
And these were BIG peppers, not the tiny things you get in the grocery store.  Peppers here run regularly $3.49 or higher per lb.  Even on sale at .99¢ per lb. these peppers would have costs me $26.00!  Holy bell pepper Batman, that's way too much to spend on only 1 ingredient for relish!!

 

Prepping the veggies.......

After going through the food processor and a good deal of hand chopping by moi we got this......

After salting and draining and making the sauce we jarred the relish up and put them into the canner.....

And after 30 minutes of boiling(x 3 since w couldn't fit all the jars in), we ended up with this......

We got 308 ounces of relish, or 2 gallons, 1 quart, 1 pint and 4 ounces.  8-)

All told 308 ounces of relish cost me $15.75 for the ingredients(not counting any jars I had to buy).

Peppers             $6
Onions              $4
Sugar                $3
Secret Ingredient  FREE ;-)
Vinegar           .75¢
Mustard Seeds  $1
Celery Seeds     $1

That comes out to approx. .61¢ per 12 oz. jar.
Add another .67¢ for the jar if I had to buy it.

A good price for something homemade.

My sister in-law is addicted to this stuff.  She puts it in/on everything and even eats it out of the jar with a spoon.
I should rename this stuff  "Crack Relish".   lolz

I'm calling the weekend a success since we got both of our Projects completed.

So what's on your plate this weekend?

Sluggy