Frugal Friday

We moved to our new home on December 21st in the middle of winter in north Central New York.  So needless to say, I've not done much exploring outside besides walking between the parsonage and church.

However, this week the temperatures warmed up and I'm finding all sorts of little jewels hidden here or there.  The previous pastor's wife, whom I knew from school, was a gardener.  There are many flowers planted all around the house and I can't wait to figure out what they are.

I also discovered that she had a little herb garden next to the house and I can already see the sage and dill from last year.  There is a large garden bed behind our shed and though it's smaller than what I usually plant, it's a start.  I also found that she planted strawberries behind the shed and am looking forward to picking those.  There are also a number of blackberry bushes in the field behind us.  Can't wait until they are ripe and I can make some jam. 

There are so many possibilities here.  She also had an enclosed ompost pile and now that the weather is warmer I can start that up again.  Just seeing the sun and feeling warmer temperatures makes me feel like I'm coming alive.

Here are some of the frugal things I've done this past week.

$ I went to a ladies retreat last weekend and the theme for our group this year is "Let's Have Coffee."  The tables in the ballroom were decorated with a simple decorations and one of them was a mason jar full of coffee beans with battery powered candles.  The person in charge of decorating asked if I would like the coffee beans when we were done.  Ummm......YES!  There were 36 tables.  I ended up with 4 gallon sized bags full of beans, as well as the small bag they originally came in.  I shared 2 with a fellow pastor's wife.  The rest are in my freezer to be used here or at church.

$ I also came home with the squares of burlap that were also used to decorate the table.  Some crafty things are floating around my brain.

$ We received a tax refund which allowed us to pay off four hefty medical bills.  We had so many wonderful plans with the rest of it but alas, because my husband is a pastor and considered self-employed, the rest went to pay our quarterly taxes for 2014.  Grrrrr!!!!!

$ Curtailed a major urge to go out to eat and made delicious meals at home.

$ Had a craft and book table at the retreat and did very well there this time. 

$ Cut my husband and son's hair.

$ Order DVD's from the library.  Just to interject here.  We don't have cable hook-up and get no stations here.  We do have a DVD player and will get a few favorite shows or movies from the library. 

$ My husband is a pastor but also tutors for the local school system.  His student's mother sent him home with a gallon sized freezer bag of frozen garlic bulbs the other day.  We use garlic in EVERYTHING so this gift made me smile.

 

Those are my frugal offerings today.  For more inspiration, go check out Rebecca's blog!