This Week in Our Home: It's Raining so I May Mop the Floor

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It's been raining all night and morning so there will be no wagon or stroller rides today with the grandchildren.  I may just mop the floor!  I'll have to think about it, that sounds like too much work.

Yesterday, I spent a wonderful day with friends canning!   Yes, just like the Amish we got together and canned peach jam.  Just like the Amish we didn't take one picture! Maybe next get together I ask if it's okay.  


While we were there we also experimented and fixed some grape jelly that didn't jell.  One of us got the information on the fix from the internet and we tried it out.  Worked great and it jelled perfectly.
  
I need them to come to my house all the time when I can. It was fun to talk and work a little.  The thing I can't figure out is how her kitchen just stayed so spotless through it all!  

These two ladies are a blessing to me.  Such good friends to get in touch with every month.  We make an effort to make a date and tell everyone that sorry we are busy that day.  Every month one of us decides what do and we just have fun.  We talk about our health, family, and God.   Yep, just makes me want to cry how these two women put God right in the middle of our conversation.  It comes effortlessly, it doesn't feel forced or preachy.   Just talk about how God is in our everyday life   Oh what a blessing!  Okay, sniff sniff time to go on with the rest of my night.

I went to Aldi's and found strawberry's on sale for a $1.00 a quart. I came home from our canning party to make strawberry jam last night.  About the time it started boiling in the water bath it started to thunder and lightening.   Listen, after reading The Divide this last week I was beginning to worry about the lights.  I decided in my head if the lights went out my husband would just have to build a fire for me to finish cooking! Thankfully though I was able to finish without a problem!    

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I've cleaned the shelves for the jars this morning and rotated the jars (sorry about the dark picture).   So, now my last years jars are up front and will be used first.  I'm good on jam now for quite awhile.  Today,  I see a strawberry pie and strawberry muffins in our future.  😀

You guys have a blessed and wonderful day!   

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Book Review: The Divide by Jolina Petersheim

The Divide (The Alliance) by Jolina Petersheim

From Amazon:

In this gripping conclusion to The Alliance, nearly six months have passed since Leora Ebersole's Old Order Mennonite community fled to the mountains for refuge after an attack destroyed the power grid and altered life as they knew it. Since then, Leora has watched and waited for news of Moses Hughes, the young Englischer pilot who held off invading looters long enough for everyone to escape. Unsure Moses even survived, Leora has begun to warm to the affections of Jabil Snyder, who has courted her patiently. But she struggles to see herself as the bishop's wife, especially when she learns that Moses is alive and has now joined a local militia.

An unexpected encounter in the woods deepens Leora's crisis, as does a terrifying new threat that brings Moses' militia into the community's shaky alliance with the few Englischers left among them. When long-held beliefs are once again put to the test, Leora wrestles with the divide between having faith and taking action. Just how much will her shifting landscape change her?

My thoughts:

I was drawn into The Divide by the description of a world gone hay wire.   Post-apocalyptic novels seems to draw me in lately.  This one had a little twist for me as it involves an old order Mennonites.   Somehow I always thought they would have no problem if the lights went out.  My thoughts were that they are self reliant and wouldn't need any outside help. What I didn't count on though was the total mayhem that this scenario might cause for everyone. 

This book had great action and romance but in parts was a little drawn out.  I also had trouble in the beginning realizing who everyone was.   Maybe if I had read the first book I would have felt on top of things.  

A great read!  

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My Frugal Ways this Past Week 6/18/17!

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy here. Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

Here are the ways I've saved this past week:  

Made the teacher appreciation gift for my grandson's teacher.  Total cost was .50 cents.

Used my first harvest of rosemary and thyme from my herb garden on the baked chicken.   Also used it in eggs.  

Won a Free Hillshire Farm smoked sausage product at Kroger playing their Summer is Delicious game.  I also took the Kroger survey for more fuel points.  


I made an ice cream cake for Father's day.  So much cheaper and we love it.  It only cost around $8.00

I bought discounted deli meats at Walmart early one morning.

Redeemed my swagbucks for a $5.00 Amazon gift card. 

We picked up a slide along side the road last year and the grandson had a lot of fun with it yesterday.  Granddaughter on the other hand was not having any of it.  

I was given radishes at the volunteer garden.




What was on the dinner table last week:

Monday         Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday         Homemade Pizza

Wednesday     Baked Chicken (made with fresh rosemary and thyme), and salad.

Thursday        Hot dogs/potato chips

Friday             Frugal date day: We went fishing up north and stopped at KFC for their $5 meal deal.  We also stopped by an Amish Bake stand along the way for some snacks  (he knew he had to turn around).   We didn't catch any fish but it was fun.  

Saturday         Hamburgers on the Grill

Sunday           Husband requested take out Stromboli for Father's day.



My goals for this week


Wash the other half of the living room walls.


Keep working in the garden.  It's been very hot so I have been going out in the  garden when its cool either morning or evening.  


Blog:

Read and review a book.


What ways have you saved this past week?


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This post has been linked to The Art of Homemaking Mondays, The Prudent Homemaker, Modest Mondays, Making a Home-Homemaking Linky, Thrifty Thursday, Financially Savvy Saturday, 

Frugal Teacher Appreciation Gift: A Plant from Your Garden

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy here. Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

This year we wanted to make sure our Grandson's teacher knew how much we cared for her.  She has been a wonderful teacher and great role model for this growing boy.  His love of reading has just exploded under her wonderful teaching.   So I didn't want the last week to go by without acknowledging her in some way.   

About 2 weeks ago I transplanted some of my hens and chicks to one of my pots.  There are so many of them in my strawberry pot I could supply the neighborhood!  

It was just a plain red pot until I  remembered the pot sox I bought last year.   It made the pot look so much better.  A little secret:  I didn't buy them from Amazon I just wanted to show you what I was talking about.  I bought mine for  .50 at the end of the gardening season last year at our local gardening center.  I even washed mine that I used the previous year and they came out great for my garden.  

I had the potting soil, tag, and twine already in my stash so that was free.  Total spent .50!  Grandson was so proud to carry this plant into his teacher.  He kept asking the name so he could tell her. Priceless.

It's great to look around the home and garden to find a gift!     

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Book Review of The Promise Bride plus an Ebook giveaway of Come Fly with Me!

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy here. Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

The Promise Bride (A Montana Brides Romance)- release date is August 29, 2017- you can preorder now!  

From Amazon:

In a booming frontier town, a heavenly match may be in store for mail-order brides seeking a fresh start . . . women of strength and spirit who embrace the challenges of life and love in the wild Montana Territory.

Determined to save her father and siblings from a crumbling Chicago tenement, Emilia Stanek becomes the long-distance bride of a Montana rancher. But when she arrives in Helena, a rugged lawman shatters her plans with the news that her husband is dead—and deeply in debt.

County sheriff Mac McCall can’t afford to be distracted by the pretty young widow, not with scandalous secrets emerging as he investigates his friend’s suspicious death. Mac’s gruff order that she leave town at once only spurs Emilia’s resolve to take ownership of her late husband’s ranch and face his debtors. But as her defenses soften, Emilia begins to accept Mac’s help, feel compassion for his own wounded heart—and learns that trust means taking a leap of faith . 


My thoughts:

The Promise Bride is full of wonderful history.  With great descriptions I'm taken back in time to how it must of felt for the poor to live and work in Chicago during the 1800's.  How you dream at night of finding a way out for you and your surviving family.

Emila spoke to my heart with her hardworking and never give up attitude.  She was smart enough to gain as much knowledge as she could while she was waiting for just the right chance to leave the squalor of Chicago.

I loved the twists and turns that are filled with surprises in this book.  Then add in the romance and mystery and you have a wonderful read!


Giveaway!     over!  



Come Fly with Me 


Gina Wilborn would love to giveaway an ebook of her first book in this series Come Fly With Me!  I know I'm hooked and will be reading this one soon!  

Lucky for us she will be back in September to giveaway a copy of The Promise Bride when it releases. 

You can enter the giveaway 4 ways by (do one or you can do all):

1. Leaving a comment 

2. Visit my Facebook page

3. Follow me on Twitter

4 Follow me on Google plus
.  
You can do just one or all.  Please leave a comment for each thing you do!   

I will pick a random winner next Thursday June 22, 2018. Make sure there is a way to reach you on your profile or leave it in the comment using (at) and spaces to help protect it.   

This book was given to me by the authors. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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My Frugal Ways this Past Week 6/11/17!

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy here. Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

I had a Garage Sale on Friday.  Many things were against us, we had it later than normal, it rained, and we didn't have really any big stuff.  We did okay though. I was able to save back $15.00 of the money we earned for our vacation this summer.  Not a lot but it will help with the food bill or something.  

I was able to hang out clothes many times this past week.  

Meijer sent me two $10 off $40 coupons and some other great coupons this past week.  One coupon was for free milk.  Helped the grocery bill a lot.  


One of my friends gave me moon flowers!   I can't wait till they bloom.  The grand kids will love them!  

I accepted Spinach from the vegetable garden I volunteer at.  I put it into our salad this week.  



What was on the dinner table this past week:

Monday        Fried Chicken,

Tuesday        Spaghetti and garlic bread

Wednesday   Pork chops (frozen meal), Baked potatoes, and corn

Thursday      Cheeseburgers and potato chips

Friday           Whatever we could find (garage sale)

Saturday       Out to eat with friends

Sunday          Turkey and Dumplings  (made with turkey slices that I froze)


My goals for this week

Wash living room walls.

Weed the garden (They are coming in fast!)

Blog:

Read and review a book.  I'm currently reading The Promise Bride by Gina Welborn and Becca Whitham.  They are also going to give a copy away this week to one of my lucky readers!   But....

just look at how I've treated it.  I hurried to cover everything at the garage sale when it started raining and left it out there when I ran back inside.  Then, yesterday as I lay in bed with my old lady aches and pains (and feeling sorry for myself), I spilled pop on it.   It's been with me through thick and thin!  That just proves I guess how good it is!   

What ways have you saved this past week?

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  This post has been linked to The Prudent Homemaker, Share the Wealth Sunday, The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Modest Mondays, Thrifty Thursdays, Financially Savvy Saturdays, 

Is Gardening Worth It? Total Amount Spent so Far

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Is gardening worth it?  The initial cost every year of putting it in can sometimes shock you. This year I kept all the receipts and decided to keep track on how much it has cost to put in our vegetable and fruit gardens.  I know I could start my plants indoors but really there isn't much room to do that at our house.  Then we have a cat and I think if I found room it would be a constant battle. So I help support our local greenhouses house every year.   

So here is a breakdown of the money I've spent putting in our Vegetable and Fruit Garden this year:
.

Vegetable plants

$12.99 for vegetable flat

$ 14.99 for vegetable flat and a few flowers

Herbs-oregano, thyme, chives and rosemary -$16.97.  I decided last year to put the herbs at the back of the garden because we thought the garden was too big.  They all rotted because it stays wet too long back there.  They are now in my mother's old wash tub.
This year we've decided the garden was just the right size!  We are always changing our minds about something!  

Fruit-I bought one apple tree and my youngest bought the other for me for Mother's day -$24.00.   I always ask for flowers or plants for the garden for Mother's day!  

Paid $20.00 for mail order strawberries.  This is the cheapest way to buy strawberry plants.  They are planted in my flower garden. 

Seeds- I used seeds that I have saved, some packages I bought extremely discounted at the end of the last year, and I have even won some seeds!  -maybe $2.00

I bought onions, seed potatoes, poles for bean tepees and other things I can't remember - $35.00

Total -$125.95

I more than likely will get this back many times over this harvest season. Even with our worst garden harvest we've made it back and more without a problem.  I'll be keeping track of my harvest this year again and see how much the garden brings in.  In the future months I hope to compare the cost of putting it in compared to the cost of buying it out of the store or farmers market, and buying the plants/seeds..

How's your garden growing?  

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This post has been linked to Financially Savvy Saturday,  The Saturday Sharefest, Share the Wealth Sunday, The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Wasteless Wednesdays, Thrifty Thursdays,