It's Raining In The Basement!

 The summer squash is still producing from our fall planting, so I decided on a whim to make some stuffed squash. I went downstairs to get a jar of spaghetti sauce when I heard this sound that shouldn't be down there. It sounded like it was raining. Sure enough, one of the pipes sprung a couple of leaks and water was spewing all over the place. I ran upstairs to get hubby (interrupting his work meeting) to let him know of the leak. He left the meeting ASAP and turned off the water as much as he could. It appears that the gate valve does not close all the way any more. Another fix. 

We put buckets around then hubby went to Lowes and got all the supplies needed to make the fix. It took us three hours to get it done, but there is no longer any leak and things look good. I can't even imagine how much a plumber would have cost to do the job (probably a lot faster). Hubby used to work in construction back in the day, and learned how to fix so many things. It's been a blessing to have him be able to take care of all the issues in our last home - from the roof being replaced, to all the issues we had with so many other things that went wrong. Sadly, now that we are close to retirement age, he can't do the things he used to do. The roof being one, and guess what needs replaced soon. A family member that lives in our area just had one installed on a small home and the cost was $14K!!! I guess we will be shelling out at least that much in our near future. I still can't wrap my head around that amount. I really took advantage of what hubby could do in the past, and now that he can't, I never realized how much money we saved by doing so much ourselves - from cooking, canning, preserving, fixing vehicles, gardening, to home repair. As time goes on, more and more has to be done by someone else, and it HURTS to cough up all that money! 

Having to have someone else do what we used to do on our own, makes me realize how much we did on our own and how much we saved over the years. It also amazes me how many people no longer know how to fix things that, we as kids, took for granted. I sewed the kids clothes, cooked from scratch, preserved, knit sweaters, socks, etc., crocheted household items and some clothing for the kids as well, made blankets, etc. Hubby took care of the mechanical side of things by fixing our cars, house repairs, small engine repairs, maintaining a garden, building things from scratch, etc. He was amazing - but then again, most guys could do those things in our childhood locale, since they grew up on a farm or had some type of rural life. It was expected.

We were lucky to grow up during those times. We learned a lot and used a lot that we learned. 

Happy 1st Day of Autumn!

I cannot believe that Autumn has arrived! It's my favorite time of the year, with the lovely greens, reds, oranges, yellows, and browns all mixed together to make a lovely palette that only nature can create! The mornings have a chill that warms up to beautiful afternoons, and OH, the smell! Nothing smells like autumn - a smell I wish I could bottle and keep!

Well, I'm still anxiously awaiting the autumn colors. The leaves are falling a bit, but no color changes to speak of yet. The temps have dropped though, with the daytime having 60's and night temps in the 50's, but I see a few 40's in the forecast, so we should be seeing something happening soon.

The stovetop will see lots of soups from now on and breads baking in the oven. I don't make much for cookies anymore since the kids are gone - the same with pies, cakes, etc. It's probable best that way, as the waistline doesn't need them. Funny though, although we don't eat sweets really any longer, the waistline doesn't seem to reflect that. Oh, it's a bummer getting older! LOL

My son's house is coming along nicely. He has almost all his painting done and with the furniture and everything he has done to it, it really looks like a home. So much different than when he purchased it! He did have a lot of issues with the plumbing and heating. That's pretty much been taken care of. Then a new roof, etc. It now looks like a different place, going from an "as is" purchase to one that I bet he could easily sell, but he is far from interested in that at this point. He's so pleased with how it has turned out! I can see why! We are both so proud of his accomplishment.

The garden has been a disappointment. The tomatoes got blight, so no real harvest from them. Yes, with heirlooms, it happens. Then the weather, the downburst that took out most of our corn and the groundhog. We had a bang-up crop of summer squash though and the potatoes still look great, so maybe....  But husband is talking of no more gardens, and his downheartedness is something that is real now, but by next spring, he will be itching to plant again! Gardening is difficult and can break a gardener's heart, especially with all the work that goes into the garden, just to see other forces take that garden and destroy it. Next year will be a new year and hopes again will surface and drive him to plant another year.

How I Beat Grocery Costs

 

Grocery prices seem to get higher every time I walk into the grocery store. What makes it even more difficult is buying for special diet needs for my husband that is medically necessary and not by choice. No noodles, rice, beans or potatoes that could nicely stretch the grocery bill, but a protein rich diet with quite a bit of meat. It makes things a little more interesting when it comes to stretching that paycheck! 

I went to the store yesterday after doing a few errands. It is quite disheartening seeing the cost of meat, especially when I can remember it so much cheaper - and not that long ago! It's hard seeing burger at the cost of what I used to pay for certain cuts of steak when it was on sale! It certainly makes for challenging shopping these days!

I hit the sales and got 3 different types of sausage, chicken, and even some prepared meatballs (never had them before, but they were 60% off on last day date on package). Even on sale, I spent $39 on meat alone. Then, because we are in a state that regulates prices on fluid dairy and select dairy items, milk ran $5.08 (just for the store brand), a block of cheese for $10 and a couple other items - all on sale, and and necessary, and I've spent $74!!! 

I never buy anything that is not on sale or unnecessary. No chips, soda or anything sweet anymore. The budget won't allow it. That's ok, as we don't need that stuff. Shoot - the only reason I got the meatballs was because a pound cost less than half the price of burger! 

I'm always watching adds for sales. I get a part of a cow from a local farmer and supplement veggies from our garden and try to have a decent amount put away for winter. That's not going to happen this year. Between the wildlife and weather, etc., there's not much to put up. It's really disheartening - especially with prices where they are. But we will make it through and hopefully next year will be a more productive season. 

This all keeps life interesting!

How Much Do I Really Need?

I had been "on the wagon" for a good bit of time when it came to not buying yarn. I love yarn but I think I became more a collector than a user. All the pretty colors and the hand-dyed ones were drop dead gorgeous. One thing I was realizing though, was that I would purchase a beautiful hand-dyed yarn online, but by the time it arrived, I was lacking the same enthusiasm that I had when I put it in my basket and hit the purchase button. What happened between the day I purchased it and the day it arrived? I really have no explanation, but that's when I decided to stop buying for awhile. I had not bought a single skein in over 2 years, but decided I would hop off the wagon and get a few solid skeins from Hobbii. With these, I could use them for anything I wanted to make. I find that the hand-dyed (although gorgeous) limited me on how they could be used.

Don't get me wrong. I think hand-dyed yarn is gorgeous, but many of the patterns I have cannot be used with them. It took me forever to realize that. The same with self-patterning commercial yarns. I see many older patterns on Ravelry that are nice but you cannot really see the patterns until they are knit in a plain color or something that is quite subtle. If you have noticed, many of those patterns have only a few projects made, and I assume it's from not being able to see the beauty of the how the pattern was designed - only the yarn patterning. If you look through the few projects, on will find that when made in solid colors or tonals, there's a difference, and the beauty of the pattern stands out.

It's funny how that all came to light while I was not buying any yarn. But the wildest thing is, it has spilled into other areas of my life as well. I look at things differently now. I'm no longer buying things, putting things away for someday or buying just because it's on sale. I don't stock up on many things now. Clothes last forever as long as I chose carefully. Gone are the days of buying cheap clothes that I bought on a whim. Same with practically everything else in my life. 

We do hit grocery sales and stock up when the price is good - but we don't overdo it. Same with other household needs. Only buy when the price is good and when we NEED it, not WANT it. 

It amazes me that by just stopping getting on item for a bit a time, that my whole perspective has changed. I has come at a good time, too, because of the economy. Prices keep continuing to go up, but not our paychecks. But what I think amazes me the most is all the stuff I don't buy any more! I look at things that I like and think, "Do I need it or do I just want it?" and almost all of the time, it doesn't come home with me. 

Yes - the Wagon was a GOOD thing!

Downburst Damage

Sorry for the bad pic - best I have.

 Remember that garden pic I posted just a bit ago? You know, the one with the lovely and tall corn? Well goodbye to most of the corn. We had a downburst that it wiped out about 85% of it. All my plans for freezing, drying and eating are gone. We'll have some for fresh and maybe a bit to freeze, but that's about it. Not only did we lose our corn, but it laid down on top of the peppers and couple of tomatoes - damaging them as well. That's what is still holding the corn up a bit in the photo. We are both disappointed, but that's nature - harsh and unpredictable. 

Air Plant my daughter gave me.

On a more upbeat note, my daughter bought me an air plant while she was here. I had some a few years ago, but the then kittens ended up destroying them - so I decided not to have any for a while. She bought me a nice sized one with purple tips and said it was a rare one. It was lovely, but upon closer inspection, the purple tips were only on the outside leaves and look suspiciously like they had been spray painted. All the newer ones are the plain green. I hope not, as I'm sure she paid a lot for a "rare" plant. Either way, I'm thankful for this plant and that she loved me enough to think of me when she saw it.

Hubby's version of a latte.

I always look forward to the weekends - not because we can travel and do things (although I like doing that) but these are the two days hubby makes me his version on a latte. He has an espresso maker and he just LOVES making the weekend espressos and lattes. He foams up the milk as high as he can and then pours the espresso down the middle, topping it off with a sprinkle of sugar. It's not the way I learned how to make them, but he likes putting his own twist on things. His lattes are the highlight of my weekend!

Cheaper Cuts & Nice Find!

 I never posted my thoughts on the cheaper cuts of meat. I did test it a few times just to make sure the outcome was correct. When one purchases a cheap cut of meat, expect it to be a tough cut. That's not a bad thing, but you really need to treat it differently. Depending on how you are going to use the meat in a meal, you will need to treat it differently, from marinating to low and slow cooking. The extra attention that the tougher cuts of meat need are well worth the effort with the money savings. You can shave quite a bit off of your monthly grocery bill by using them!

I use my crock pot for a lot of the roasts, although I've tried oven roasting - but one really needs to keep the temperature low and cook it for hours. Probably why I do it in the crock pot. I tried it for 8 hours, but found that 10 hours is better on some cuts. I also cook with veggies - especially tomatoes. They act as a natural tenderizer.

Hubby prefers to use the smoker and has great luck with that method. The cuts always come out nice and tender. And one always loves great smoked beef. 

I love to collect cookbooks - especially those put out by the Farm Journal from back in the 1950's to the 1970's. I've had to repair them over the years, because the bindings didn't hold, but the information inside is like gold to me. "The Thrifty Cook" was my go to. My aunt was cleaning out her cookbooks and gave me that as well as a couple other Farm Journal cookbooks. That was the beginning of my obsession with them and it hasn't changed. I love those books! So much so, that I have been picking them up recently to try to finish my collection.

Nice additions!

I was browsing eBay the other day and came across a set of 3. I had one, but it was a mass market paperback which is OK but the hardbound was a larger print and a larger book which means I'll be replacing the paperback with a nicer edition. The other 2 are new to me. This was a really nice find! I cooked my first recipe out of them called "Mixy Burger" which was pretty much a sloppy joe type meal. The buns were toasted, served open faced and were to be eaten with a fork. It was actually quite good, and hubby said he'd definitely want me to serve it again. This was an inexpensive meal - especially on homemade buns and a side of home grown veggies. The most expensive part was the meat, which was one pound of burger and it made 8-10 servings.

The House Is Back To Normal

 Our daughter flew home and the house is back to is usual quietness. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the peace and quiet until all the kids were gone. Don't get me wrong, I love having them here, but the level of energy was through the roof! She's the type that wants to go, go, go, and that's not us anymore. Our son entertained her a lot - both being close to the same age. He took her hiking, around the town he lives in and catered to her whim of wanting to go to an arcade. I know he misses her a lot, so when she came, he wanted to do a lot with her, so it all worked out. Unfortunately, he wouldn't go to Pittsburgh with the same opinion about the city as we have. The city life is not for us!

Speaking of my son, he's had a streak of bad luck lately. He had a hard time finding the sewer leak in him house, but finally, after lots of drywall removal, it was located. Then, the wall and ceiling work was done, along with painting. Then, the roofer that was going to do his roof, pulled out at peak roofing time and finding a new roofer wasn't the easiest. Sadly, he had a time frame to get his new roof on, and the insurance company cancelled his insurance. He was on top of all this, and contacted the mortgage company when the roofer cancelled. The mortgage company worked with him to find a new company and he found another roofer that will be installing the roof this week! Then, while entertaining his sister, his transmission died. They didn't know if they were going to make it back, but they did and he got quotes only to find they exceeded what he paid for the car. So, after a lot of research and many visits to car dealerships, he came home with a Subaru! It's used, of course, but was certified from the dealership. I haven't seen the car yet - he's coming today, so I'll get to see it!

Have you seen the Kaleb Cooper Tour on Prime Video? I enjoyed it, but my husband thought it was boring. Kaleb told his life story and I was amazed at how much he has done in his lifetime! There's a person that deserves to succeed! He's a true hard worker.

Fall grown potato plants

We've had so much rain lately, that I can't get into the garden to hill the potatoes. I never expected them to do as well as they are doing, so they need hilled badly - but I don't think they would appreciate mud clumps. This is frustrating, especially when it rains overnight every night. 

Heirloom corn over 10 feet tall!

There's nothing in the garden that the groundhog likes. We planted tomatoes, peppers, corn, potatoes, and squash, so he's leaving everything alone but he does like the carrots, beet, etc. in the frames. That's our next issue to solve - keeping him out of the frames! Next comes the battle of the squirrels and racoons. The racoons love our corn and we find ears eaten and stalks knocked over, but they always seem to leave more than enough for us. LOL The squirrels on the other hand LOVE tomatoes! The take bites out of the green ones, but the red ones... those tomatoes can be plucked off the vine and end up half eaten in the dirt or even still on the vine. When we were upstate, we didn't have these problems. There were deer and rabbits, but they didn't damaged out garden as much as the pests here! There's also more bugs here. We live in a different growing zone and gained about a month more for growing. We were so excited to have a month more - but the pests are much more destructive here!