Haphazard Gardening at Chez Sluggy

Between unexpected trips this Summer and unexpected critters reeking havoc in the yard you've managed to put in a decent garden showing so far.

Unexpected was the Celosia we grew last year coming back(they are the light green plants).  None of bloomed yet so there is that to look forward to.

We planted striped petunias and coleus but we only got the one colorway as we were late to the nursery this year.

In the background is a decorative kale plant near the tomato plants.  We got green and red tipped ones.

This particular green one has really dwarfed everything else!  It's got to be 18 inches across, a monster!!

And at the back of the flower bed is a line of various types of tomatoes, doing well and getting heavy with fruit.

More Coleus and Petunias around the unknown shrubbery.

We have two half barrels in the back by the deck.  I found a violet plant that wintered over in the back garden bed so I moved it here when we planted the back bed.  There was some lettuce(since picked)and the Morning Glories then started expanding and taking over in here until the deer found it and have munched nearly everything down to the soil. sigh

Fortunately Hubs put a wire cage around the other barrel since I had moved my lavender plant from out front to here.  Some red lettuce came back from the seeds it shed last Summer and of course, the Morning Glories started expanding and overrunning everything.  Hubs ended up putting a netting over the barrel too as the deer found the lettuce and are eating everything that extended above the netting. lol

The lavender plant didn't bloom at all last Summer but it did in early June as you can seen above.  It smelled so great too.

Since the chipmunks dug up all the broccoli plants(making Chester exceedingly sad)the only thing in the back deck garden are tomato plants and morning glories.  The glories just started their never ending blooming late last week and we had about 6 in bloom this morning.

In the backyard garden one lone marigold has survived, along with lots of weeks and a few straggly green beans plants.  There will be no close-ups of the green beans so save Anne's sanity. ;-)

In the other bed the cukes are hanging over onto the walkway in their and the zuke plants are climbing the fence believe it or not. lol  My version of "Where's Waldo?" this Summer is "Where's the Zuke?"

If you look closely you'll see two almost ready to pick.  sigh. sigh. sigh.  Planting more than ONE zucchini plant should be against the law....am I right?  

This pot of min-petunias I bought Spring of 2020.  When Fall came I had Hubs put it in the garage in a garbage bag, thinking I'd reuse the pot next Spring.

Well we go to get it out and the plant was still alive!  I trimmed it back some and we kept it watered until the rains hit and it's growing mini-petunias again.  You can't see the color well in this shot but it was a nice surprise!

That's about all that's growing around here.

How are your gardening efforts going?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Garden is Finally Producing!" Edition...

Here is a massive jar of pickles I made on Friday using the first 4 cucumbers we got out of the garden.  We are up to our ears in Zucchini now...gave 2 away to a neighbor and 1 to Ex-College boy when he came over for dinner on Friday.  I used 2/3 of another zuke for dinner I night but we've still got 2 more zukes plus that 1/3 of one left.  Time to take out all those zucchini recipes! lolz

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Sissie's "Mustgo" dinner(leftovers)

2. Monday--?

3. Tuesday--?

4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?

6.  Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Sissie's "Mustgo" dinner(leftovers)

2. Monday--Homemade Chinese Food(soup, eggroll, fried rice)

3. Tuesday--Chinese Take-Out(I had Hot/Sour Soup)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or Cherries(Hubs leftover Spaghetti, me Cherries)
5. Thursday--Tempura Zucchini(Hubs also had leftover rice and beans)

6.  Friday--BBQ sandwiches w/Cole Slaw

7. Saturday--Salmon, Au gratin Taters, Green Beans(from garden)

What got put into the freezer last week....

* nothing?

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

* 2 bags of Smoked Pork

* 1 hunk of Salmon

I spent a whopping $128.95 on food/toiletries/HBA last week.  This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $433.12 for July.   Over my $400 limit.  Oh well....

There are 5 shopping days left in July.

I've earned $259.10 on Ibotta in July.

I've earned $10.00 on Checkout51 in July.

I've earned $27.43 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in July.

I've earned 16,054 points from shopping on Fetch in July which equals $16.05.

I've earned 4749 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in July which equals $18.99.

I've earned 4,210 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in July which equals $42.10(I returned something because they denied my receipt so I deducted those points.)

That's $296.53 in rebates(not counting the ShopKick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $433.12 in grocery spending so in reality it's $136.59 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count until I cash out on the other three apps.

My savings percentage for last week was 46.70%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for July and the monthly savings total for July comes in at 52.61%.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....1 piece of salmon, 1 helping of green beans, cole slaw, au gratin taters, 4 tempura zuke strips, 2-3 helpings of bbq.

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

1. Sunday--Subway or Leftovers

2. Monday--Pizza, Salad

3. Tuesday--Roasted Chicken, Veg TBD, leftover 

Taters

4. Wednesday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits
5. Thursday--No Clue(Hubs night to cook)

6.  Friday--Leftovers or Chicken Salad Sandwiches

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Potatoes is all, and Hubs wants hot dog rolls(for lunches).  That's it.  Maybe I can stay out of the grocery stores this week(except for the rotisserie chicken).

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?  

Sluggy

 

And the Winner of the July Giveaway Is....

Sorry I didn't get this posted on Saturday but life......

So I used Random dot org to pick the winner and that would be......

Jen G.!

Jen G.July 18, 2021 at 8:39 PM

The pool is finally set up and so far a few inches of water! I’m turning the hose off soon but will continue filling tomorrow.

Jen G.

Congratulations Jen.  You have 48 hours from the time stamp when this post goes live to email me your full name and mailing address.

Thanks to everyone who played this month and I'll have another giveaway up early in August.

Have a great rest of your Weekend!

Sluggu

Frugal Friday.....the July 23rd Edition

 Some frugal stuff went down this past week and here are a few of the wins.....

*  Sissie her hubby and I went to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)as we found there was one pretty close to where they live.  I had earned a 10% off coupon so I shared it with Sissie and she loaded up on cheap stuff she needed. ;-)

*  There was no drive-thru Mickey D's Iced Teas after last Friday nor on my ride home.  I had brought single bottles of iced tea with me so I made sure to ice a couple down the night before I left for home.

*  I purposely stopped for gas(had just under a half a tank when I left Sissie's house)before I hit PA as MD gas is cheaper due to our outrageously high gas taxes in PA.  I used Gas Buddy and found the cheapest gas($2.95.9 per gallon)at a 7-11 in Thurmont, MD right on the road I took home.  Not a big savings as my fuel tank is tiny but it was .30¢ LESS per gallon than what we pay at home!

*  I found money!  Or rather "we" found money.

I got out at the drive-thru at Mickey's while Sissie drove the car up to the window.  I found this change before the window where you pay in the drive-thru lane.  I found another coin(a nickel I think?)by the window so dropped that one into their charity slot. 8-)

On Monday Sissie and I found all this........

Sissie found 2 pennies at the PO and I found 1 penny at the Giant grocery and then 2 pennies at the Aldi.  Sissie gave me her winnings.  I know Kim is hollering, "No Fair!" as she reads this....hehehe

Total Found This Week... .37¢

Total Found This Year...$12.46

*  After the Ollie's stop Sissie and her Hubby wanted to go to a neat old place to celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary so I was the 3rd wheel.  They insisted on treating me so who was I to decline? ;-)

*  And Kim made an appearance outside the restaurant........

She is the red one in the middle in this shot....*snort*

*  Sissie loaded me up with goodies before heading home.......excess pantry goods, she gave me a loaf of lemon pound cake for my Hubs and a container of peanut butter rice krispy treats.  Plus BUD the cat, my dear feline friend, gave me a bag of Peach Ring candies which are one of my favs(though I'll have to ration them out if I want to continue to lose weight).

* I stopped at a Rite-Aid on my way home and got all this.......

Spent down the Bonus Cash $8.92 and converted $20 to cash.

*  I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Thursday to pick up a few things, including some Buddig lunchmeat packets and got this Catalina.........

After coupons and Ibotta rebate each packet cost me .15¢ or .75¢ for all so this Catalina makes my cost for those lunchmeats free.  woot!

That's about all for the past week from Chez Sluggy and Chez Sissie........

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?  Let's here all about them!

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Shopping This Week

* Just a reminder that the latest Giveaway ends tomorrow evening, July 23rd.  Go HERE to enter and make sure I have a way to contact you as well. *

 I hit Rite-Aid on my way home on Tuesday and bought this........

2 x Always discreet=$10.70
3 x Vaseline extreme(one is missing from photo)clearance=$12.42
2 x Big Win Seltzer on sale=$2.00
1 x Colorista L'Oreal clearance=$2.62
3 x Nyquil ZZZ kid's Melatonin clearance=$7.47
1 x Centrum gummies vitamins clearance=$2.37
2 x Pain Relief pills clearance=$6.98
4 x Soft Soap hand soap BOGOFree=$6.58
2 x Vaseline lip balm clearance=.88¢

Sub Total...$52.02

Coupons Used
1 x $10 off $50=$10.00
1 x $5/2 Always discreet=$5.00
1 x $3/2 Vaseline=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Vaseline=$1.00
2 x .50¢ freshness peelies on the seltzers=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Peelie Qs Pain Relief pills=$4.00

Coupon Total.....$24.00

$52.02-$24.00=$28.02+.90¢ tax=$28.92

Used $18.61 in BC and $10.31 on R-A gift card.
Earned back $4 in new BC, $13 from Ibotta($5 Always, $2 Colorista, 3 x $2 Nyquil)and $3 from Coupons dotcom for the Centrum.

So I spent down the BC by $8.92 and converted $20 from BC/Gift Card into Cash.
Now I have 1 card at Zero BC and another at $4 BC.  Slowly divesting myself of all my BC.

Sluggy