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Half way through the month– hooray!  I did end up going to the store today, and got most of the odds and ends I mentioned yesterday.  I spent $14, so that brings my total for the month to $202. Am feeling more optimistic about making it to the end of the month under budget...
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I am an utter limp noodle this evening. Of course I did tug a bunch of kids through the school day, made 8 pints of pumpkin butter, canned 13 quarts of tomatoes, and cooked 2 meals. So maybe I have a reason to be tired. But this is an unnatural sort of tired, and...
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Ever wonder what you are actually paying for ‘time-savers’? Here’s a great article about the cost of convenience. ======= I suppose that all year long we are the recipients of little ‘windfalls’ that meet our needs in unexpected ways. But I notice those blessings more when they come during a month in which I...
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When I went to the grocery store yesterday, which ONE item did I buy? The first person to guess correctly gets a signed copy of my book Family Feasts for $75 a Week. Ready, set, guess!
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Today we celebrated my daughter’s 14th birthday. The company was excellent: grownups chatted and kids raced all over outside and in, playing capture the flag and half a dozen other things. The coffee cake turned out delicious. And the game of Signs at the tail end of the party was fun to watch as...
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Today interspersed with math and history and reading and handwriting, we picked a few dozen pumpkins, tried our hand at toasting sunflower seeds, canned a few more tomatoes, and picked the last raspberries (only a few of which made it indoors). MEALS TODAY Breakfast: Granola and milk Lunch: Leftover lentils, chicken soup, and sliced...
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Our 9 hens are laying about 3 eggs a day so far. They’re young so they’re not in full swing yet, and I’m sure that figuring the per-egg cost would be distressing at this point. But we should be getting more eggs soon. Even now our 4 year old is having a fabulous time...
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We had a great weekend, hanging out in the mountains with most of our kids, including our married daughter and her husband. I’m tired tonight, but wanted to get the three days of menus written out while I still have them in my head. And remember– in the morning I will be announcing who...
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Today was a record breaking day in the canning department: 41 quarts of tomatoes and 15 pints of salsa. We’ve never done that much in one day. We started at 9:30, and most of us worked almost all day. The kids escaped at 6 to go play soccer, but I didn’t pull the last...
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