We've had another busy week at The Gower Abundant Cottage. Our 3 grandchildren were dedicated in church last Sunday. I must say it was a proud Mumma and Nanny moment to see our family following Jesus and being embraced by our loving church.
Both Darren and I had busy work weeks, church gatherings to attend and family and personal errands to run. I'm pleased to say that I also managed to keep up to date with the housework.
Our veggie garden is looking a little unkept but I did manage to pull out the dead tomato plants and stakes. I also did 30 minutes of weeding.
Here's how we saved money this week -
* I planted about a dozen sprouting potatoes into our large raised garden bed. Some of these potatoes are supermarket ones gifted to us and the others came from our last crop. I'll be digging up another crop in the next day or so.
* We used solar lantern every night in our loungeroom.
* I mended a pair of Darren's favourite socks.
* I cleaned the kettle using citric acid and water.
* I baked wholemeal bread with extra goodness. We use this as toast for breakfast every morning with my homemade jam on top.
* We had a few last minute visitors come on Sunday afternoon. I was able to pull out a few logs of ANZAC biscuit dough and bake them to have with a cuppa.
* I found a medium sized punnet of mushrooms on a clearance trolley in the supermarket for $2. I weighed the mushrooms when I got home and they were 335g. That works out to about $6kg which is a bargain. They looked pretty good too.
* I picked beans, pears and feijoas from our garden.
* I baked wholemeal rolls for Darren's work lunches.
* Our grandchildren Luka and Bryson had a sleepover last Saturday night. Darren loves to make pancakes ( with extra goodness ) for their breakfast. This time he made a double batch and all leftovers were frozen ready for the next couple of sleepovers.
* On Monday I needed to go to the shops for a milk, fruit and veg top up. I always check the prices at the fruit and veg shop before looking in the supermarket. I used the 10% off discount to get things cheaper at Woolworths and bought a cauliflower and a piece of pumpkin from the fruit and veg shop. I'm not brand or supermarket loyal. I always try to buy at the cheapest price. For just under $14 I got all the fruit and veg we need for over 2 weeks plus milk.
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| Some of the fruit I bought for the next 2 weeks |
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| Pancakes for Luka and Bryson |
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| Leftovers for the freezer |
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| Our grandchildren being dedicated. |
Hi Wendy. You often mention baking bread with extra goodness and I am not sure what you mean by this. Do you buy special fortified bread flour or do you add something extra to ordinary bread flour? I'm intrigued, since we often make our own bread and are always open to new ideas. Thanks a lot. Tracy x
ReplyDeleteThe extra goodness is chia seeds, linseed meal and oat bran. It's extra goodness you can't see so the kids can't complain. All the ingredients I include is in the recipe in the baking section.
DeleteGood morning Wendy! Congratulations on your lovely family. I am assuming that this service is similar to baptism, gorgeous children and one proud grandfather! As we do not live very close to affordable shops, every time I am near the bigger supermarkets or a green grocer I check my list of our regular items for specials. It must add up over the year. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny. A baby dedication is a bit different to a baptism or christening. Yes, the children are dedicated to the Lord but the parents are asked to dedicate themselves to raising their family in a Godly way and to bring them to Christ. The church is asked to support and pray for them. We practice full emersion baptism at an age of understanding just as it is in the Bible. I hope I've explained it well.
DeleteThe week here was an exhausting one that really highlighted for me just how being too busy can impact on time to do things frugally. I still did all my usual frugal things, like homecooking instead of takeaways etc., but I felt so tired doing them and it was a bit of a battle with myself not to opt for convenience after long work days. This all reinforced the importance of being organised for me!
ReplyDelete* made large pot pasta sauce with lentils, grated carrot and zucchini + garlic chives and basil from garden
* baked choc chip biscuits and cinnamon scrolls for lunchboxes
* picked lettuce from garden for sandwiches and salad
* packed picnic lunch for day out watching our son play sport
* used 10% off at supermarket
* bought mandarins and avocados at per bag prices - cheaper than loose fruit- at local greengrocer
* bought reduced price tub of yoghurt (close to use by date) and marked down apples reduced to clear.
* baked 2x apple tea cakes using these apples and basic ingredients in my pantry. One cake was for Mothers' Day dessert.
* bought cellophane wrap, boxes of discounted crackers, dental floss, a little garden ornament, small box of Roses chocolates, goat milk soap at discount stores. Used chocolates soap and ornament in Mothers Day gift, tied up with cellophane and ribbon from my stash.
* handmade a tag for a birthday gift with cardboards and ribbon I already had.
* patched pair of my son's long pants - used piece of an old sheet
Today, I am going to make some pancakes. Darren's look delicious!
Meg