The days are getting cooler and gradually shorter yet we try to stay as productive as possible. Autumn planting is finished in our veggie garden and we look forward to a bountiful crop of blessings Each day we are grateful for the small home we live in that allows us to have a decent sized backyard for a garden. We are grateful for our careful planning all those years ago when we thought a veggie garden and fruit trees would be fun to have.
Here are some of the frugal tasks we've completed this week -
* I gratefully received TVP ( textured vegetable protein ) from a friend a couple of months ago. We've been adding it to our mince meat meals like lasagne and spag bol to help stretch the meat further. With meat prices almost too dear for our budget, the TVP has been a real blessing.
* Made a batch of pumpkin scones using pumpkin I bought for 99 cents a kilo ( which is cheap for this time of the year ). We are hoping to grow our own pumpkins next Summer.
* Darren picked bunches of flowers from our garden to brighten up our home.
* I planted out broccoli and mini cauliflower seedlings I'd grown from seed.
* Froze lots of leftovers from our dinners. When we get too many in the freezer we write them into the menu plan for easy nights and very little cleaning up.
* I did my monthly grocery shopping on Monday and had $40 worth of vouchers from completed online surveys. Combining these with the 10% off offer at Woolworths ( from our insurance ), my total shop was reduced to $19.95. This included a $12 tray of sausages.
* Enjoyed two dinners out this week. One at Megan's place and the next night at Jessica's. Gotta love it when our grown daughters offer to feed us.
* Saved the shower warm up water and the grandbabies bath water. All of it was poured into the washing machine.
* Made a jar of gravy powder using flour, beef stock powder, herbs and a little bit of store bought gravy powder I'm trying to use up.
* I forgot to mention last week that we received some meat leftover from Luka and Bryson's birthday party. Some of the meat we received were 4 bbq sausages. I turned them into a sausage casserole in the slow cooker. I was able to get 6 generous serves by slicing the sausages thinly.
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| Darren loves color under the pergola |
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| From the garden |
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| Making pumpkin scones |
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| Pumpkin scones for afternoon tea. |
Gorgeous flowers Wendy,thanks for sharing. Have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteThis week I saved nearly 50 cents a litre on fuel. I have also bought some marked down meat. That was very welcome. I bought some fabric at an outlet shop. Quilting fabric at $6 and $8 a metre is cheaper than the local quilt shop.
ReplyDeleteI have sown courgettes, salad and leeks, and hope they will grow.
ReplyDeleteWe are clearing out the garage (that is to say, I take out a box or clear a shelf and then husband tries to persuade me we need to keep everything... We are renovating soon! We need to get rid of stuff!) and I found the frame of an old greenhouse. The flexible plastic cover has gone and could not be ordered, but I had kept the frame 'just in case'. I have now rebuilt it, but not as tall, and have added netting, and now it's a fruit cage!
We have two Woolworthes near us. The new one is in a new complex and quite expensive compared to the older one which is a little further away but not that far away it costs more to drive too. There does not appear to be a pricing standard.
ReplyDeleteIn Greater Sydney it is incredibly expensive at the moment and with homes around us on less than quarter acre blocks going for well over $800 000, I often wonder how the younger ones survive.
I only have potatoes and sweet potato growing at the moment with some spring onions. Our mango tree did rather well this past season and the tree's owner (my youngest son) was rather grateful! Nothing from our strawberries though so we had to buy them.
With working fulltime and me studying plus all the kids various after school activities, I find it hard to get out in the garden. However, I think it is a matter of altering my priorities. Rather than being consumed with the indoor cleaning and tidying, my focus should be on the outside activities. Sounds simple.... We still have mild days here, hovering around the mid 20s which is beautiful weather. The nights (this week) have dipped to about 10 degrees C, so cool but not cold.
I love the tubs Darren has his pot of colour in.
Last night I attended a meeting at Church and have had my commitment to attending Mass reestablished. As much as life is exxy at the moment and things do not always go according to plan, we are truly blessed to have fulltime employment, afford groceries, have our children attend schools of our choice and sleep in comfy, warm beds at night.
Victoria
Victoria, I love the way you appreciate your blessings.
DeleteWith the gardening, although I don't work full time, I only spend 10 - 15 minutes at a time in the garden. About once a month I might be outside digging, planting, pruning and weeding for a couple of hours.