The Price of Everything and Free things this Week!

I finished the pillowcase for my Mother in Law and sent it off on Wednesday for Mother's day. The cost of mailing everything of course as risen ($34.00 for the large box).  She is worth it though and we are so blessed to have her.

Price of gas rose very close to $5.00 a gallon on Wednesday night here in Michigan...

Anyway, we  had decided to go on Tuesday morning and filled up two cars with $1.00 off a gallon at Meijer.  We saved $30 that day ...it would have been more if we had waited.  We find that the money off gas is the best deal on MPerks.  There are other deals to buy with the mperks but the gas to us is the best deal.

We also bought a lot of the $7 for 7 deals last week.  The apples and corn was our favorite deal...4 corn on the cobs for $1.00 and 2 lbs of apples for $1.00.  By the way, the same deal is running this week.

Free things this week (kind of)

I made a big spring salad with lettuce, green onions, and radishes from my greenhouse.

I also picked some asparagus and chives in the garden.  Not sure what to do with just 5 stems but I was excited!  

We stopped at some M15 sales that were out early on Thursday.  I picked up these egg cartons for free plus a few other things. Egg cartons are running around .74 each so I love it!

We are going out again this morning to see what we can find.   M15 garage sales in Michigan are 67 miles long this first week of May.  Although we have to figure in the price of gas...hopefully we can find something that will make it seem like a deal that we went. 😃

 

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Finding to a Way to Get it all Done and Make Dinner Everyday?

 

Spring has sprung, the rains have calmed down, and now the outside chores seem overwhelming.  I have a list a mile long to complete outside as well as cleaning house and making dinner (I'm sure everyone has this problem).

Here is a sample of my outdoor work:

Clean up front yard garden

Plant the rest of the Herb ladder

Set up my worm bin I bought for $25 at a sale (seemed like a good deal).

Trim peach tree as well as hydrangea bushes

Plant onion plants

and that list gets added to everyday!

The husband has his own list...I see him running around all the time fixing and cleaning things (I know he is secretly praying that I don't break anything else).

Dinner Everyday? 

Pile on the indoor work of cleaning, laundry, etc. making dinner everyday can be exhausting.  Monday was a cooler day with just greenhouse work, I made lasagna and garlic bread.  Then we had enough to have leftovers on Tuesday.  

With the warm spell on Wednesday and a husband who does a great job on the grill, we had enough dinner for 3 days ..it included hamburgers, hot dogs, and hamburger steak.  I work on the side dishes like salad with lettuce from the green house, cornbread, wilted lettuce, green onions, and baked potatoes.  Today (Friday), we are on our third day.  

I have a great goal for his grilling on Saturday marinated chicken and grilled rosemary pork chops.   I need to get it out of the freezer to thaw today.

Planning as far ahead as we can helps a lot.  Working together is priceless.

**Thanks so much for helping to support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! As a Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage when you purchase items from one of my links (the item doesn't have to be what I have linked here).  

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Gardening with Prayer!

When the floor/wall man called and said he was ready to do our kitchen,  I looked at all my plants and knew the only solution was to move them to the unheated greenhouse.   There was just no other way.  I worried and prayed  the whole time he was here but I seemed to have been blessed with good weather and no frost.  They might have grown faster inside our house but they have survived.

As you go into the greenhouse I have two Greenstalks....one each side of the door.  One is growing lettuce that is just about ready!

On the other side I have one growing herbs, radishes, and green onions.

When we finally get the kitchen back together I will take a picture.  It's so nice.  The floor is level, the walls are paneled, and the house is a mess but it will get back together soon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

**Thanks so much for helping to support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! As a Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage when you purchase items from one of my links (the item doesn't have to be what I have linked here).  

Be sure to follow me on Facebook,and Bloglovin where I share my frugal list, gardening, recipes, and more!  You can also sign up for my email list on the top right hand side of the blog.

Renovations and What to do about Dinner!

 

Our kitchen floor is being redone and it's a mess, as most jobs are. My cat Smokie is guarding the work.

People still have to be fed though so here is my struggle so far in that department.

Wednesday:  You think well we will just eat out for 4 days.   So day one I spent $67.00 on hamburgers and fries for everyone from Wendy's (5 people) and oh yeah around $10  for Mcdonald's breakfast for 2 and coffee.  Man you can't keep that up plus it's not good for you!  

We do have a coffee bar set up in living room. 

Day two..  I can go into the kitchen while handy man is not here -so I was up early again trying to get things done -  I defrosted wraps from freezer (refrigerator is in the living room) and scrambled eggs with onion in the microwave (in the kitchen)  put some cheese in them, wrapped them up,  and we have breakfast (wrapped up husband's in aluminum foil for later-he will put some kind of hot sauce on them probably)

I racked my brain about dinner - too cold for grill so I used my crockpot that I set up in the living room. Hamburger stew sounded good...granddaughter loved it!  

Friday:  I made enough wraps for today's breakfast also...so I'll just heat them in the microwave this morning. 

Beans and sausage with some bread sound great.  Just some cans of pinto beans with cut up summer like sausage in it.

Saturday:  I'm thinking lasagna in the crockpot tomorrow but I don't know if I'll have the energy.  We'll see.

It will be all done by Sunday...I'll rejoice in the morning!  

**Thanks so much for helping to support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! As a Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage when you purchase items from one of my links (the item doesn't have to be what I have linked here).  

Be sure to follow me on Facebook,and Bloglovin where I share my frugal list, gardening, recipes, and more!  You can also sign up for my email list on the top right hand side of the blog.

Seed Rolls worked! Other Gardening News, House cleaning and Cooking!

Today it's all about gardening and cleaning up the house for Easter dinner..

So, after seeing seed rolls in quite a few reels and vlogs I decided to give it a try.  I planted flower seeds and put them in my small greenhouse and tried my best to remember watering them from time to time.

Then one day I went to water again and the flowers had sprouted!  Yippee!  

So far everything I planted has come up...the daisies, bachelor buttons, and baby's breath. Can you see the little green?

What happens next?  I'm going to let them grow and maybe wait a week or two after Easter to up pot them up.  

Today I hope to do some Marigold seed rolls.

 Other gardening news:  

I moved the compost bins up by the garage to make them easier to use. They were in the flood zone LOL.

Grandson cleaned out the coop and we put the manure in one of the empty garden beds.

We pruned the cherry tree that was growing too tall.  Ok husband did but I guided him and moved the branches to the same empty raised bed.

I started tomato plants in the house.  

The cabbage is coming up and a few onions from seed.

House cleaning and cooking:

Yesterday, we carried out all the boxes that were by the fireplace for the recycling man to get.  I also cleaned out all the ashes and spread them in the garden.

Well that stirred up the dust so I polished most of the furniture.

I put the frozen turkey and ham to thaw in the refrigerator. 

Today I hope to finish polishing the furniture and we plan on getting rid of the huge potting bench in the greenhouse so we can replace it with a smaller one.  We do have a problem...it was so big we decided to build the green house around it...yep we probably have to saw it in half to get it out.  Should be a interesting day for sure!  

How's your week been?

Happy a Safe and Joyous Easter!  

**Thanks so much for helping to support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! As a Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage when you purchase items from one of my links (the item doesn't have to be what I have linked here).  

Be sure to follow me on Facebook,and Bloglovin where I share my frugal list, gardening, recipes, and more!  You can also sign up for my email list on the top right hand side of the blog.

Gardening, Taxes, and Deals!

 

I planted these seed rolls with flowers yesterday and cleaned out the small greenhouse to put them in.  It's an experiment this year ...I'll let you know how they go.

We had our taxes done at the local senior citizens place with AARP.  We have done this for a few years and love it.   It's free and they are very knowledgeable.  I'm glad that's all filed away and over with.  

I bought 7 packages of Dearborn beef franks 16oz hot dogs for $4.34 each and froze them for summer grilling from Flashfood.  When we have the grandkids over hot dogs go fast!    I also bought 5 -1 lb packages of ground beef for $4.50 each.  

While we were at Meijer's I picked up a large scarf for someone for Christmas on clearance for $2.00.  Husband also picked up a winter vest for $3.00.   No telling how much this stuff will cost come this next winter.  

The wind was quite strong this past week and blew down a big tree  down the block, on to the corner of a house.   Doesn't look too bad but of course that's never good.  

I was so glad for the quiet again when the wind stopped.  I believe it also blew in allergens because all three of us have been battling sinus issues since it came. 

Taking a lead from Annabel from The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm  I decided to let the parents give the candy for Easter and I bought them things they needed.  The pretty girl needed wanted new pjs, crocs, and she also wanted socks like me (they are very soft).  The tall boy will get shoes and maybe some money for his games.  I will still give them some candy but not too much.  

Pretty girl stayed overnight with us (she wakes up pretty) ...She wanted pancakes with fruit.  I happened to be out early and bought the pancakes at McDonald's.  She never knew, she just thought I could make perfect pancakes.  

One day I'll show you tall boy...oh my he has grown.  He is coming over to clean the coop for me this weekend.  I'll also have him help me move the compost bins out of the flood plain and up by the garage.  It will help a lot when we clean the coop and put other compost in there.  Right now it's very hard to walk back there.  Not sure why I never did this before.

How's your week been?

**Thanks so much for helping to support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! As a Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage when you purchase items from one of my links (the item doesn't have to be what I have linked here).  

Be sure to follow me on Facebook,and Bloglovin where I share my frugal list, gardening, recipes, and more!  You can also sign up for my email list on the top right hand side of the blog.

 

It's Mud Season, Seed Starting, and Make-Ahead Breakfasts,

Our backyard looks like a small lake, it's definitely mud season.  Walking through this is like sinking in quicksand. You try to step as quickly as you can but if you stop....  One morning I got my boot stuck.... I pulled so hard my foot came out then landed in the mud.  What a mess.  I can laugh now.

I wish the lattice walkway we put down to get me to the chicken run extended further.  I know we have more but we can't get to it...

More rain today!  I think about the people who have had tornadoes and this is small stuff. 

I've planted more onion seeds, strawberry seeds, and cabbage to get started in the house.   I bought this repotting mat on Amazon...saves a lot of mess on the table.

Out in the greenhouse I've planted the greenstalks with lettuce, radishes, and green onions.  I noticed the lettuce is coming up already.

While I was out there I started these seed snails.  I have been seeing these on youtube and thought I would try.  I think I will plant flowers in them.

I'm not motivated in the mornings to make breakfast.  I found that if I make some ahead like waffles, boiled eggs, and overnight oats it helps.  Husband is more happy with a fried bologna or a ham sandwich.  

I bought this dash waffle maker at a sale. This last year, I've also found a dash pancake maker, cupcake maker, bundt pan maker, sandwich maker, and donut one, all at sales.  I tend to use the waffle one the most.

How's your week been?

**Thanks so much for helping to support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! As a Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage when you purchase items from one of my links (the item doesn't have to be what I have linked here).  

Be sure to follow me on Facebook,and Bloglovin where I share my frugal list, gardening, recipes, and more!  You can also sign up for my email list on the top right hand side of the blog.