Garden Update

Here's what has been harvested since my last update.....

a Squash and a Zucchini on 7/28.......

Our first tomato on 8/1.  It's a Black Krim variety.

On 8/3 there were two more yellow Squash.......

And three tomatoes, 2 Amish Paste and another Black Krim.......

I know Hubs picked something yesterday but I haven't gotten downstairs yet to see what and to update the weights on everything that's been harvested.

He says the tomatoes are starting to ripen fast and furiously now.  If so, I'll have lots of work to do soon.
I am sure the Basil needs picking as well since Hubs hasn't been paying any attention to it I am sure.

I think my foot is well enough to try the stairs now.  After 3 days in my bedroom I am getting a bit stir crazy. 8-P

What's your garden producing?

Sluggy

CT MOM....Last Update

Ok, here's the deal.
This Friday will be the last day to contact me about getting access to CT MOM.

Just so you know, CT MOM is NOT posting on her blog at the moment.
She has decided to start a private group on Facebook.
So if you ask for an invite it will be to that Facebook group and not her blog.
Only time will tell if she continues to blog again on her Blog.
If you don't "Do" Facebook I am sorry but for now, CT Mom has decided a F/B group works best for her needs.

If you are reading this after Aug. 10th, Friday, you can go to Facebook directly and search for the group "CTonabudget" to join.
Please don't email me after Friday about getting access to CT MOM's blog/Facebook group.

thanks,

Sluggy

2018 July To-Do List....Update

Let's see how we did on our July To-Do List...........

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid, nothing deferred and no interest paid.

*  Read 1, 2, 3 Books  2.5 DONE  I read 2 books last month and got halfway through #3.
First I read this.........

First in a series of Huguenot themed books called "Cousins of the Dove".  Part historical/part fiction this was an enjoyable read, especially to me given my Huguenot ancestry.
From Amazon's website...."France, 1685. Catherine Gillet knows her brother, Jules, wants to protect her from the sinister threats of the French crown. But Jules is involved in a potentially deadly enterprise, one connected with an encoded document. When his actions put the whole family at risk, will Catherine find a way to save them?

Virginia, present day. Renee Talbot, a direct descendant of Catherine's, is fascinated by the document that's been part of her family legacy for more than three centuries. Certain its pages hold hidden secrets, she takes a closer look—and makes a shocking discovery. But when memories of a childhood trauma are rekindled, she's forced to seek answers of a different kind. Inspired by the faith and bravery of Catherine, can Renee find the truth and face her deepest fears at last?

And I read this one..........

A series of short stories from one the more celebrated short story writers of our day.

A few were good a few were "WTF?" and a couple I couldn't get "into" them.  He knows his craft but some of his subject matter isn't my bag.

*  Organize the Garage  OFF THE LIST  I did some organizing/straightening in the garage but I am taking this off the list since we really can't do much until the Daughter moves out and takes all her stuff, some of which is stored out there, with her.

*  Order Birth Certificate  DONE   Ordered and it arrived quickly albeit somewhat crumpled.....

*  Get Photo Done  DONE  It took two attempts due to Rite-Aid not doing it correctly the first time(I did that refunded)but it got done.

*  Fill out Application  DONE

*  Apply for Passport  DONE  It took 10 days to receive my passport.

It was a LOT quicker than I was led to believe it would take.  My birth certificate on the other hand just arrived back on Monday Aug. 6th.  Almost 3 weeks after I handed it over at the PO.  I was starting to get concerned since the PO lady said that would take a week for the State Dept. to get it back to me. 8-(

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE  

*  Mail Giveaway  DONE  And it's been received by the happy winner. 8-))

*  Plan Possible 2018 Travel  WORKING ON IT  I am waiting to here back from my travel companions before I make any reservations as things/dates depend on their flights.

*  Work on 2018 Goals  PASS  Of my 10 Goals, 3 are done for the year(sell house, password book, cull stockpile), 4 are ongoing(weight, gardening, travel, selling stuff)and 3 haven't happened yet(genealogy, sewing, list of repairs on house).  Good progress and I'll take it. ;-)

We are making progress but not at a frantic pace.  It works for me.

Did you tackle anything in July?
Tell us all about it.

Sluggy

Grocery Shopping Last Week

I didn't do a whole lot of food shopping last week-a trip to the Shursave Market, the Restaurant supply store and Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!).
First the restaurant supply store.......

I got in on a "group buy".  Every so often they send out an email for a special deal.  The only catch is it's usually a large quantity of something.  This one was a deal on a 10 lb. box of breaded chicken tenders(not nuggets).  $9 for 10 lbs.
Being one of ex-college boy's favorite foods(and a "go to" if he needs a quick snack/meal)I jumped on this buy.
I also picked up some items we were out of--2 dozen eggs for $1.59 each(of course the Shursave started a .99¢ sale on eggs today!), 3 cukes for $1.99, a hunk of liverwurst for Hubs and a 2 lb. bag of shredded mozz for $3.99(at least half the price of reg. retail around here).
$20.68 OOP for this trip.

I picked up a few things at Shursave Market as well.  My local Shursave doesn't take IPQs so while I was at Maines there is a Shursave over there that DOES take them AND doubles them up to $1, so I bought this........

3 boxes of cereal on sale for $1.98 each, used 3 x .50¢ Qs that doubled to $1 so each box was .98¢.

I also happened upon 2 dairy instant discounts-4 packs of Oikos strawberry greek yogurt were on sale for $1.99 per pack and these ones had $1 off instant stickers on them making them .99¢ per pack. The sell by date was coming up quickly but I have found that yogurt keeps months past it's sell by date(ssshhhh, don't tell!).
Those tubs of French onion dip were $1.39 after .50¢ instant discount stickers and are good to have when folks here want something to dip their salty snack in.
I also bought 6 strip steaks at my local Shursave store last week as they were $4.99 per lb.
$33.87 OOP for both these Shursave trips.

I didn't set foot in Weis(PMITA)Markets last week which is highly unusual!  There ads have been very small(really, a 2 page ad!!)and not much that's worth stocking up on, let alone buying any loss leaders.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Well I Did It Again!" Edition--

I messed up my ankle again. ugh.  Seems this happens every year or so, I overdo and then can't walk for a few days.  Hopefully it isn't the return of my nemesis, Mr. Blood Clot.   I am confined to the upstairs for at least today so the meal plan may veer waaay off since Hubs will have to be cooking(or, as is his wont, when faced with cooking, ordering in).
sigh to both the painful ankle and the ordering in......

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Lemon Pepper Chicken and Zuke, Rice

3. Tuesday--Grilled Steak, Grilled Zuke and Squash

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--Pork Ragu over Pasta, Salad

6. Friday--Tacos
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Grilled Steak, leftover Squash Casserole

3. Tuesday--Lemon Pepper Chicken and Zuke, Rice

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--Chinese take-out

6. Friday--Pork Ragu over Pasta, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of Take-Out or Eating Out.  We took the opportunity of the Daughter being out of town and Ex-College Boy at work to get Chinese take-out on Thursday night, so Tacos didn't happen.  They get moved to this week's menu.

We had some food waste this past week.  Mostly it's due to the Daughter going rouge and making food and then not finishing it.....do I count this as mine?

Trips to the Restaurant supply, Ollie's and the Shursave Markete brought the weekly food spending to $60.44 and the monthly total to $60.44.
I have 25 days left in my shopping month for August and have $340 left in the food budget to spend this month.

My savings percentage last week was 52.56%(without Rite-Aid trips)and August's monthly savings total comes to 52.56% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......1 helping of Zucchini Risotto, lots of Pork Ragu w/pasta and Zucchini, Chicken and Rice.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, leftover Macaroni Salad(Hubs can handle this)

2. Monday--Pizza, Fried Zucchini(If I can get ex-College Boy to make the zuke)

3. Tuesday--Tacos or Taco Salad(Hubs can handle this)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers, Squash and Onions(Hubs can handle this, at least the leftovers part)

5. Thursday--Chicken and Dumplings(If I am well enough to traipse downstairs)

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--?

This week will see 3-4 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY, 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out and 1 night of ?

What needs buying for this menu?  Only the pizza if Hubs opts out of cooking tonight.
Yeah, this is a half-assed plan due to circumstances beyond my control. ;-)

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  I haven't even looked at the ads for this week and may not be in a condition to shop anyway.  Oh well....life is like that.

Sluggy