Frugal Friday

I realized this morning that it's been a week since I've posted anything here. That mostly been because of a combination of busyness and just lack of inspiration. Writer's block is a real thing. 

I love this time of the year and this year the changing colors have been spectacular. Dan and I went for a walk the other day and the views were beautiful.

I grew up in a time and in a family where canning was just part of life. My grandparents on my dad's side of the family were farmers and I have fond memories of cows, creameries, hay lofts, and big old farm kitchens. My paternal grandmother practically lived in the kitchen. 

My maternal grandmother worked a full-time job, but I remember trips to local farm stands when we would visit and hours spent putting up peaches and whatever other goodies she would procure.

So I tend to gravitate to all things homey. I love working in my kitchen and putting up food to have for winter months. My biggest excitement this past week was the purchase of a pressure canner so I can do more than just water bath can foods. Of course, I'm afraid that I'll blow something up, but I'm always up for a challenge. 🤣

Some of things I've done this week are the following.

Brandied apples. Now not everything is a success. The apples ended up floating to the top of the jars and then soaked up a ton of the liquid. It didn't seem as if they would last very long as they refused to stay under the liquid. 

I ended up taking them out of the jars and turning them into applesauce. Since they were brandied, I will save these jars for delicious cake. 

Not every fail is bad as I was able to repurpose them into something else. 

I also made regular applesauce. 

I had leftover sugar, water and brandy syrup which I canned. It has a vanilla bean and cinnamon stick in there and will be delicious as a glaze for ham or a glaze for a fruit cake. 

I went grocery shopping the other day at a local farm market and they had raspberries for $.99 a pint. That was an excellent price and so I bought a case of them. Some were for eating and I made jam with the rest. 

I went out and cleaned up my herb garden the other day and brought some of the pots of herbs I had into the garage. I put them by a window and will water them as needed. I did that last year and it worked well and they survived the winter.

I dug up some of the herbs that were planted in the ground and repotted them and brought those in the house to use for the winter. So far they are doing well. The only one that seems a bit sad looking is the rosemary and I think it was dying off anyway. Maybe I can get it to perk up.

I did some sewing projects over a week ago. I love these potholders. I made them a bit larger and they are well insulated. I'm hoping to do a bit more sewing.

I'm trying my best to not purchase unnecessary items. I was frustrated because I was vacuuming the other day and the vacuum died on me. It was only about 7 months old and I was fuming that they do not make things well anymore.

I did some research and thought it might just be a clogged filter or hose and took it out to work on it. However, when I plugged it in, it came right on. So perhaps it was just overheated or something. I was able to use it with no problems yesterday. I was just happy that I don't have to go purchase a new one. 

Some other ways I've saved this week:

$ I cut Dan's hair yesterday which does save us some money. 

$ I saw that Aldi has whole frozen turkeys on sale for $1.59 per lb. which is cheap. I am going to go back and get one today since I now have the pressure canner. I can bake the turkey and then can it to have for soups and meals during the winter.

$ Before I got the canner, I made up some chicken broth with a chicken carcass and vegetable scraps I had in the freezer. The only issue I have with chicken broth is that I had to store it in the freezer and that the containers take up a lot of space. However, I had a great idea the day I was doing this and froze the broth in ice cube trays and then popped them out and into a freezer bag. 

I don't have large containers taking up space and can just put in however many cubes I need when making something that requires broth. Now that I have the pressure canner I can just can the broth.

$ I'm trying to eat a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables and one way I'm doing this is by purchasing what I need for a few days at the local farm market. This way they aren't going bad and I'm not wasting them. I'll just shop every few days. Because it's much cheaper then shopping in a grocery store it'll save us money in the long run. 

$ This next one isn't really about saving money, but I'm working on decluttering my house. If I haven't used something in a long time and it's just sitting in a closet, taking up space, I'm donating it. 

Simplify is the name of the game. 

It was a full and busy week. I'm thankful that I am able to get a bit accomplished each day. I was able to catch up on emails and get both church and district ministry done. I taught two Bible studies this week. 

When I came home the other night, this sight warmed my heart. There is no place like home!

“Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.”