Rescuing disposable containers and knitting in color (not at all related)

This time of year, I begin saving those disposable containers that look like they have good gift presentation potential for fall birthdays and Christmas/New Years.

Here are two sizes of containers that I recently rescued. The larger ones had some bakery stuff from Costco in them. I rescued those from our church's monthly tea. I was thinking they might make nice boxes for "spa day" kits, with hand-knit spa cloths, some hand-crafted soaps, some bath tea and maybe a spa candle. I'm thinking I could nest all of the items in a bed of shredded pastel-colored paper (great use for used wrapping paper that may look too shabby for reuse).

The smaller containers are sized about right for some hand-formed truffles. Again, these might look nice nested on a bed of shredded paper.

Not for gifts, but rescued nonetheless. These next two plastic containers should be good for packing lunches. The smaller one on the left is just the right size for a handful of sunflower seeds and raisins. And the one on the right is a coffee jar. Remember when those were made of glass? Well, now they're plastic, which is good and bad. The bad, plastic doesn't look as pretty for kitchen storage. The good, plastic is lightweight and non-breakable, which makes it a great item for packing someone's lunchtime salad for a backpack.

As an avid coffee drinker who never bought into the Keurig equipment, I also acquire a fair number of coffee cans. Fred Meyer's cans now have silver lids. I can see these cans decked out in white, silver and blue gift wrap, and holding a homemade batch of some snacky giftables, like Teresa's candied popcorn.

And the unrelated bit . . .

After knitting several natural-colored spa cloths, my knitting life was beginning to feel like it was all too neutral. The knitting version of living in black and white. I switched over to my lavender-colored yarn, and not only did the knitting take on more beauty for my eyes, but I swear I could smell something perfumey, from time to time, while I knitted away. Funny how our brains can do that to us. Anyways, spa cloths look nice in colors, too.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for mid-August

Lazy lasagna before baking

Friday

peanut butter sandwiches
apples
bananas

Saturday

Vegetarian Mexi-lasagna
Apple wedges
Garden green beans

Sunday

Leftover Mexi-lasagna topped with enchilada sauce
Green beans
Fruit salad of blackberries, apples, pears and dried cranberries in jelly "dressing"

Monday

Herb-crusted pork roast
Pasta with marinara sauce
French bread with pesto
Green salad with homemade vinaigrette
Fresh blackberries

Tuesday

Black bean, brown rice, cheese burritos, with leftover enchilada sauce in place of salsa, rolled into homemade flour tortillas
Garden green beans and carrots
Fresh blackberries

Wednesday

Kale frittata topped with mozzarella and homemade marinara sauce (using some of the eggs I froze when I got a great deal in batches of 6, garden kale, onion and garlic powder)
Homemade French bread (fresh and soft!)
Rhubarb and blackberry gelatin

Thursday

Lazy Lasagna
Garden green beans
Leftover rhubarb and blackberry gelatin

I've been making French bread for our daily bread, this month. It's faster and has fewer pans to clean up than my sandwich loaf. So I can make bread on days when I will only be home for part of the day. I can start a batch at 3 PM, and have fresh bread for dinner at 6:30 to 7:00. I do 2 loaves at a time, and this is enough bread to get us through about 3 days. French bread is a good homemade bread for busy days/seasons.

Another time saving thing I've been doing for busy days, lately, is throwing together casseroles in the morning, then baking in the late afternoon. On Saturday, I had an event to go to during the afternoon, so I knew I would walk in the door and have to get dinner on the table with little time. In the morning, I made the Mexi-lasagna, which was leftover rice mixed with cooked black beans, some seasonings and oil, then layered in a casserole dish with corn tortillas and cheddar cheese. It was quite good, and I'd made enough that there were leftovers for the next night. On Thursday, I got to go to the zoo with one of my daughters. Her employer puts on a family day each summer, at some venue in the Seattle area. This year, it happened to be the zoo, where my other daughter works. So, first daughter and I spent the afternoon at the zoo and met up with the second daughter when her work day ended. It was a super fun day, but I also knew I'd have to put dinner on the table in a matter of minutes, after coming home, so I made a lazy lasagna casserole in the AM, to be baked when I walked in the door in the evening.

How did your week go? Is summer winding down for you? Are you busier than normal? Or is summer still at it's usual pace? I feel like we're cramming in every last bit of summer fun and work, these days. So, not a lot of spare time.

Have a great weekend!

The herbs I grow, harvest and dry for making tea throughout winter

In summer, I drink my herb tea, iced. But in winter, I love a cup of hot herbal tea, sometimes with fruit or black tea added, sometimes with lemon and honey, and sometimes, just as is. In any case, using the herbs which grow in my own garden saves money in our grocery budget. And, it may have some healing benefits, to boot.

Herbal tea has long been thought to promote good health, and chosen as a good alternative to high caffeine beverages. There is now growing research to support the health claims. An example, sage tea may be beneficial for people with diabetes (study at University of Minho, Portugal, 2006). And this, thyme tea may prevent age-related changes in the brain (study by Youdim and colleagues, published 1999, "Biochemical and Biophysical Research").

Most garden herbs are very high in antioxidants. Using them in cooking is a no-brainer way to add health benefits to our everyday meals. Drinking herbs as tea concentrates our exposure to these benefits. The different herbs each have their unique benefits.

(It should be noted, that you should consult your medical provider before dosing yourself up with any substance, natural or chemical, that would be a change to your ordinary routine. Herbs as teas can be contra-indicated, in some circumstances, such as pregnancy or while taking some prescription meds.)

Some of these herbs, you may not think of to use in tea. Their flavor might be quite pungent, when made strong, but when made as a weak tea, often with a little honey and/or lemon, they are quite delicious, and can fill a medicinal need.

My herbs

These are the herbs that I've harvested from my garden this year. I've included the web address to livestrong.com, for more information on specific herb tea health benefits.

My herbs are grown without pesticides. All I need to do is wash, then dry them. With the smaller-leafed green herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary), I leave the stems on for tea. With the larger-leafed herbs (sage, black currant, lemon balm, mints, basil), I remove the leaves. The larger woodier stems are not as pleasant in tea. With lavender, I also remove the flower buds, and discard the stems. Once dried, I store each herb in its own airtight container.

Thyme
Thyme tea is an enjoyable beverage in its own right. When blended with honey, ginger, lemon and cinnamon (as in this recipe, here), thyme tea is an excellent beverage for cold and flu season. The key ingredient thymol, as stated above, is known to inhibit age-related changes in the brain (it could possibly help in the prevention of Alzheimer's, researchers are hoping -- current studies going on). In addition, Thyme tea is used in Europe for treatment of bronchitis and coughs.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/258910-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-thyme-tea/

Rosemary
Rosemary has long been reported to increase memory. Simply inhaling the fragrance of rosemary was said to enhance memory. As a tea, rosemary is believed to be a powerful antioxidant, protecting the body from heart disease and cancer, as well as benefitting digestion, and enhancing cognitive abilities.
Rosemary tea, made with 1 teaspoon herb to 8 ounces of boiled water, and steeped for 5 minutes is refreshing sweetened with honey and a slice of lemon added. The flavor of rosemary also lends itself to combination with black tea and lavender buds.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/22621-benefits-rosemary-tea/

Sage
I have two types of sage in my garden. Common Sage and Golden Variegated Sage. Variegated sage has a milder flavor. So this is the sage I cut for tea. When I make a tea for pleasure, I like it mild (about 1 teaspoon dried sage leaf to 1 cup of boiling water), and a little honey added.
Medicinally, sage has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. It's good as a tea or gargle for sore throats.
For a sore throat tea, steep 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon dried sage leaves in not quite boiled water for 10 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice. Strain. Also good for mouth sores.
One of sage teas most interesting uses, could be in helping to manage diabetes. More research needs to be done, but so far, it looks like it lowers blood sugar in mice.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/96369-health-benefits-sage-tea/

Oregano
Oregano tea has been in the news recently for its possible effect as a weapon against colon cancer. It's also an antiseptic and may be effective at slowing the growth of malaria and candida -- yeast infections. Taken as a tea, it's pungent and slightly bitter. Best with some sweetening. Use 1 teaspoon dried leaves to 1 cup of almost boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes, then remove leaves and sweeten.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/547478-oregano-tea-benefits/

Black Currant
Black currant leaf tea is an anti-viral, and said to help fight influenza. Its also an anti-inflammatory. It could be beneficial to many of the -itis diseases, like hepatitis and arthritis. Made as a tea, I prefer it with a hint of other berry flavor, some orange peel, and a bit of black tea. I like to add a teaspoon of dried cranberries, roughly chopped to 1 teaspoon of dried black currant leaf, a pinch of orange zest, and a small bag of black tea. I steep this tea in a mug of boiling water for 5 minutes, then strain. Black currant tea is one of my favorite herbal teas. I am harvesting as many leaves as my shrubs will produce.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/254266-what-are-the-benefits-of-black-currant-tea/

Lemon balm
Lemon balm tea has long been said to be a sleep aid. It helps with relaxation. Lemon balm has calming effects, and may decrease anxiety and improve memory in Alzheimer's patients. As part of the mint family, lemon balm tea is also excellent for upset stomach. As a tea, I like lemon balm with peppermint, lemon and sweetening. I use about 2 teaspoons dried leaves to 1 mug of almost boiling water, and steep 5 minutes.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/123817-benefits-lemon-balm-tea/

Peppermint
Everyone knows that peppermint tea is good for upset tummies. But it's also good for increasing mental focus (kids have exams coming up? make them a cup of peppermint tea while they study). In addition, mint is high in menthol, which as most of you know is an ingredient in those decongestant rubs used when you have a cold. Peppermint tea can help break up congestion and is very helpful when you have a cough or head cold. And if this isn't enough to make you want a cup of peppermint tea, its a great all natural breath freshener. I like it just plain.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/263229-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-mint-tea/

Spearmint
For drinking hot, I keep all my mints separate. I like them mixed with different ingredients. Spearmint is not as strong as peppermint, and I like it brewed with black tea, then blended with orange juice and a little sugar. Medicinally, spearmint tea is effective with upset stomach. It may also be beneficial in balancing hormones in women, and be useful as an anti-inflammatory.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/338231-spearmint-tea-benefits/

Pineapple mint
Pineapple mint is my favorite mint to mix with lemon or lime juice and sugar, in a tea. It has a hint of pineapple flavor to it. As with all of the mints, pineapple mint contains Vitamins A & C, as well as traces of manganese, calcium, potassium, copper and iron. And pineapple mint is also good for indigestion and stomach upset.

Lavender
Lavender tea is another of my favorites. I make it somewhat weak (about 1 tsp. of buds to a mug of water), and drink it plain. It is lightly sweet on its own. It has a nice, clean taste.
Medicinally, lavender tea is good for relaxation, reduction of migraines, and digestive issues.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/252384-what-are-the-benefits-of-lavender-tea/

Basil

Sweet basil tea, not to be confused with Holy Basil tea, is often used for headaches, anxiety and digestive issues. The fragrance from the oils in the basil are said to have a calming effect on the body. It's also delicious made as a beverage. 

Brew basil tea, along with a strip of lemon peel and some black tea. Strain and enjoy. Or, try a ginger-basil infusion. Steep 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves with two to three thin slices of fresh ginger, in 6 ounces of boiling water for 5 minutes. Fragrant and warming. 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/556899-how-to-use-dried-basil-for-basil-tea/

Those are my herbal teas for winter. It's a nice variety. And many of the herbs have practical use in cold and flu season.

Do you know why I make such a big deal about saving money on groceries?

Last night's dinner: black bean/brown rice/cheese burritos, with leftover,
homemade enchilada sauce, rolled up in a homemade, whole wheat flour tortilla,
garden green beans and carrots, and foraged wild blackberries,
with a dressing of melted crabapple jelly.

Groceries are one of just a couple of necessary household budget items that we identified as producing a significant savings, when reducing our spending, which could be carried out throughout our lifetime. We estimate that we save about $400 to $500 per month, every single month of every year.

Additionally, these were savings that we could feel the impact of immediately, when we implemented new grocery shopping techniques. In September of 1988, we went from spending $70 per week, to spending $30 per week on groceries, in the span of 7 days. I credit a magazine article that I had read, that very week with the changes in our spending. That was 28 years ago, next month.

Today, we spend about $45 per week. Back in 1988, we were a family of 3. We're now a family of 5. The USDA's food spending charts would have us spending $195.40 per week, on the Thrifty Plan, that's about $845 per month. And do you want to know something? I think our family eats healthier now, than it did back in 1988.

The dinner we had last night really drove home the point, to me, on how advantageous it has been to cut our grocery spending from the first year of our marriage, and on.

Gifts for the dudes

Some men are extremely hard to find gifts for, that is gifts that don't bust the budget. You can hardly craft or thrift a new iphone, tablet, or sports car. But you can find some appropriate gifts in places like pawn shops. Not that I am frequently pawning possessions, but I've been in a pawn shop or two. What I did see (that could be a good gift for a man in my life) are chainsaws and other tools and fishing equipment, at good prices. Most merchandise will sit a while in a pawn shop, so you can write down specific info on the items, go home and do some research to see if the price is fair, before plunking down your cash.

Otherwise, gifts on a budget, for the dudes, can be much more of a challenge than for the dudettes.

Edibles

My husband is always happy with edibles. Christmas is a good time to make a couple of items that are particular favorites of his. For instance, I don't care much for Rice Crispy treats, but he LOVES them. So a container of his very own Rice Crispy treats is always appreciated. My husband also loves, loves, loves salsa. Normally, I just make the regular tomato salsa. It's good, he enjoys it, but it's nothing special. For Christmas, I'm planning on making him a small batch of a special salsa, like this roasted pepper salsa, from from onetomato-twotomato.com:

I can make the salsa late this summer, and keep it hidden until Christmas. And with a large bag of tortilla chips, he'll be a happy muncher.

Other years, I've made a large coffee can filled with homemade poppycock/cracker jacks for my husband.

Sewing/knitting projects

I've used this pattern to make cotton boxer shorts for my husband, in past years. I had the fabric on hand, and only needed to buy the elastic. 

This year, I'll use the same pattern to make some lounge pants for my son. (Hubby's got all the lounge pants/pj pants and boxers he can use for now.) I'll extend the legs on the pattern, for his height, and use some elastic that I have leftover from making boxer-shorts. My only cost will be about 2 yards of fabric -- probably fleece. 

Last winter, my husband lost the fleece hat that I'd made for him, several years ago. Soooo, guess who'll be getting another hat this Christmas? I'll check my supplies for making one, here at home, then price supplies to make one from fleece or yarn. If I can make one for under a dollar, then I'll make it. However, Dollar Tree always has a large selection of hats. If it looks like I can buy a hat from DT for less than making one, I'll buy one. It could be that I'll have enough fleece leftover from making the lounge pants for my son, to make a hat for my husband. BTW, fleece hats are super-duper simple to make, no pattern required.

Manly soap-making

Hand-crafted soap is not just for the ladies. I'll also be making some soap for my guys. Only for them, I'll be making soap-on-a-rope and shaving soap/cream. 

Remember all of those Christmases when you gave dear old dad a soap on a rope? I've given my son SoaR a couple of times. It's kind of a novelty, but also very practical for those who only shower. The soap can hang from the shower head or faucet, and not sit in a puddle of water in a soap dish. 

I'll have some soap base leftover from making almond-oatmeal soap, so no cost there. I'll add some sandalwood fragrance oil, for a manly-man scent ($3.99 for a .5 ounce bottle at Michael's, with a coupon, as little as $2). I won't buy a mold, but will use a container from home. The rope or cord doesn't need to be anything specific. I'm thinking bleached, used shoelaces, with the capped ends cut off, should work fine. My bars of sandalwood soap-on-a-rope should cost about $1 each.

I'm thinking the soap on a rope will turn out something like these two, with the soap poured around the rope:

and

or, this, with a hole drilled after the soap is made:

For the shaving soap, I'm not sure yet, if I'll make a hard disk of soap, using my soap supplies and an empty chip can as a mold (then slicing), like this:

Or a creamy shave soap, in a glass jar, like this:

One more consumable, inexpensive gift for men

A couple of years ago, I put together a shoe-polishing kit for my son (blogged here). He wears dress shoes every week day, as does my husband. He likely needs some "refills" for that kit, more polish, and clean flannel cloths. My husband probably also could use some refills. The cloths I make from fabric I have at home, and the tins of polish are inexpensive (under $3 at Wal-Mart).

What's the difference between homemade gifts and hand-crafted gifts?

presentation

A homemade gift is shoved in a box with no afterthought to how it's presented. But a hand-crafted gift is "finished" with a nice label, a cute wrapper or nice tie/ribbon, and it might just look like something you'd pick up at a craft fair. At least that's my definition.

Presentation indicates the time, love and thought put into the gift.

As I'm finishing making something, I start to plan in my head how I'll put the final touches on the gift. how I'll package it, will I put a label on it or just a nice ribbon, what kind of ribbon do I have on hand to use, or will I need to "make" my own ribbon -- those kinds of plans.

Remember the dish cloths for my step-mom? Here, they are, finished. I made a set of 3 dish cloths to go with other items, for her. I could have put the 3 into a gift box, maybe with tissue paper. And that would have looked okay, not bad, but okay.

Or, I could take just a few minutes and "finish" the gift, with a nice presentation.

I didn't have a ribbon I wanted to use, so I made my own.

Yes, you can make ribbon!

I used a 3-inch strip of fabric, long enough to wrap around the bundle of wash cloths. I sewed the fabric scrap into a long tube, turn it right side out, and pressed smooth. After tying this new ribbon around the bundle of cloths, I clipped the ends to length, and tuck the raw edges into the tube, finger-pressing the edges nicely. Took all of 5 minutes to make, but it really adds to the presentation of the gift.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers with a full garden

Friday

Grilled cheese sandwiches and apple wedges

Saturday

Black bean and chicken soup, topped with
Broken tortilla chips and cheddar cheese
Fresh blackberries

Sunday

Kale, olive and mushroom frittata smothered in marinara sauce
Brown rice
Apple wedges
French bread and butter
Blackberry pie

Monday

Bean burgers
Garden potatoes, pan-fried
Beet greens and Swiss chard sauteed with shallots and garlic in bacon fat
Apple and pear salad
Leftover blackberry pie

Tuesday

Leftover bean burgers
Lazy lasagna
Apple wedges
Cole slaw
Chocolate cake squares

Wednesday

A church dinner and speaker -- we had a chicken and pasta dish, green salad and garlic bread

Thursday

Black beans and rice skillet dinner
Sauteed garden kale and cabbage
Pickled beet salad
Steamed carrots
Fruit salad


It's been another week of lots of garden produce. I used cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, garlic, shallots, beets, carrots, apples, pears, blackberries, green beans, potatoes, and various herbs from our garden this week. This means I've not done much in the way of grocery shopping, in over a week. I've spent just under $50 on food, for the month of August, so far. The only difficulty is harvesting and cleaning the garden vegetables. They don't come out of the ground all clean and perfect!

I'm also quite busy these days. Some days, dinner isn't all that much. I try to make up for it by cooking lots on the other days.

I hope your week went well, and you're enjoying lots of summer produce. What was on your menu this past week? Do you have any favorite August fruits or vegetables?


(if you're not following the prices comparisons for making hand-crafted soap -- have a great weekend, and just skip the rest!)
More on gift-making, for the soap:

While the goats milk melt and pour soap was best priced at Michael's with a coupon, I've found some honey almond fragrance oil at Hobby Lobby, which is cheaper than either Michael's or Amazon. It's $3.99 for 1 ounce. There's a Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon online, good through tomorrow, Saturday, August 13. Hobby Lobby is in the same complex as Trader Joe's, on my errand route, so no extra stop for me. 40% off, leaves me with a cost of under $2.50 for this fragrance oil.

Otherwise, Michael's is a good deal on the fragrance oil, if using a high value coupon. Michael's almond fragrance oil is $4.99. In comparison, Amazon has Barnhouse fragrance oils, priced at $2.95/bottle, but there's a $2.94 shipping charge, bringing the final price up to $5.89. It's actually a few cents cheaper to go directly through Eternal Essence Oil's website. Eternal Essence Oil's price is the same as Amazon's, but their shipping is only $2.89.

So, Hobby Lobby, with 40% off coupon, best price in my area. Michael's, next best, Amazon's price the highest on this ingredient.

Also, for anyone wanting to make large quantities of melt and pour soap, like 100 bars (I'm thinking wedding favors, sort of quantity), there are a couple of sources for melt and pour goats milk soap at a decent price (better than Amazon's prices in that quantity). Brambleberry.com has 25-lb blocks that sell for $39 plus about $20 shipping, for my area (shipping charges likely vary according to destination). I have been thinking about large quantities of melt and pour soap, to use as favors, at a future event. For me, @ $60 for the soap base, which would yield 100 bars of soap, my cost per bar would be about 70 cents, once the extra ingredients were factored in. Just an FYI, in case large quantities of melt and pour soap are what you're interested in making.

More gifty stuff, this time some bargain shopping

Yesterday was yet another one of those very busy days. The morning found me running errands for several hours. While I was out, I stopped by Kohl's to use my latest $10 off coupon.

Here's what I bought:

In the back, that's a candle lantern. It was originally $39.99.
To the left are 2 7-oz Lindt milk chocolate bunnies, originally $9.99.
And to the right is a lavender-colored pair of women's panties, originally in a package of 4 for $26, so $6.50 for the one pair.

After discounts and coupon applied:

The lantern became 70 cents, the Lindt bunnies became 9 cents each, and the pair of panties became 9 cents. What I love about the receipts, though, is this:

The lantern may become a gift at Christmas. With a candle inside, I think it would make a nice hostess gift. Or, I may use it in our own decor. The chocolate bunnies, I may keep as is, and use in Easter baskets next year, or I may use the chocolate in candy for gifting during the holidays (like on English toffee). At 18 cents for 14 ounces, that's a steal for good quality milk chocolate. A cheap 12-oz package of chocolate chips is about $2 in my area, on sale for $1.50, at best. And the panties -- I needed to spend 3 cents to reach my threshold to use the coupon. I decided a check on the lingerie clearance rack was in order. A dollar is a great price on a pair of undies. This pair will go into one of my daughters' stockings, at Christmas. The other daughter will get a pair of knee-hi socks I got on clearance a while back. All works out evenly.

Also while out, I stopped by Michael's to use my 40% off coupon. I bought the goats milk soap base that I plan on using for gift-making. It is regularly $9.99. With coupon, the price came down to $5.99, for 2 lbs. This is a better deal than Amazon for melt and pour goats milk soap, in every size package. So, if you plan on making soap, as I am, you could save a lot of money on the soap base by buying at Michael's or other local craft store, using a high value coupon, such as 40% off. Of course, check your prices against Amazon's, yourself.

That's the progress I made on gifts yesterday. I've got a couple more posts on gifts that I plan on making, that I'll share early next week. 

I hope you're having a lovely August week. The sun feels like it's shifting already, here. It's lovely.

Do you keep a gift closet?

It doesn't have to be a full closet. It can be a dedicated shelf in a closet or cupboard, or a storage trunk, or a box under the bed. Just a place where you stockpile gifts as you buy, receive free, or make.

My gift closet is a small section of my bedroom closet. In it I have items suitable for birthday, Christmas, Valentine's, housewarming, weddings and bridal showers, and group gift exchanges. At Christmas, I raid the gift closet for stocking stuffers for my kids. And at Easter, I do the same for basket fillers. In my gift closet, I also keep components of a gift, such as jars that I plan on filling with something yummy, to use as a gift, or containers that I'll use to nicely package a hand-crafted gift.

When I have specific items for specific people, I put those items into plastic shopping bags, with handles, and hang them from a hook on the inside of the door to that closet. Just a way to insure I don't accidentally gift something intended for one person, to another, or for me to check my bag for a specific person and see if I'm about done and ready to wrap and box for shipping.

Which also brings me to this, I collect shipping boxes  and mailers, year round. Mostly I'm looking for small and lightweight boxes or mailers, trying to match the size of box as closely as possible as the gift, itself. And in some instances, when I have all the components to one person's gift, I wrap, pack and label the box, ready to drop at the post office near the occasion.

I often shop, long in advance of an occasion, for specific people. When I find a great item on clearance, for someone in particular, I pick it up, even if I won't be gifting it for close to a year. Last year after Christmas, I picked up several Christmas gifts for this year. Those items are in the gift closet.

I also have several people on my gift list with spring birthdays. I shop for their gifts in the after Christmas clearance sales, too. It's a real convenience to have their gifts already bought and waiting for the actual birthday. The bonus is that I make fewer trips to stores to buy gifts. I buy for several birthdays at a time. And then I don't need to even think about it until I'm wrapping the gift.

Sometimes, this backfires on me. Like the sweater that I bought for my dad, planning on gifting it to him the next Christmas. But he passed away the June before. It still sits in a box in the closet. If I don't give it to someone this next year, I'll donate it to our church's giving tree (you find an unnamed person -- someone in need that year -- on the tree branch, with info like male/female/what they need/want, then buy their gift, and a group from our church delivers all of the gifts). But most of the time, when I find I no longer need a gift that I've pre-bought, I simply choose to gift it to someone else.

Maybe this all sounds too planned, and takes the fun out of gift shopping. But, for me, it helps me to just relax and enjoy special events and occasions.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! The spa collection

This spa cloth took me about 6 hours, like the kitchen dish cloths

Over the summer, I've been perusing sites, checking books at the library, making up my list (and checking it twice) and generally being in the thought process part of planning for Christmas gifts.

Today I wanted to show you some of the inspirations for my gifts-to-make list (and keeping fingers and toes crossed that no one on my list will figure out who is getting what).

The spa cloths. Yesterday, I was asked if a spa cloth was the same as a washcloth. Yes! But doesn't "spa cloth" sound so much more, um, gift-like? So, if anyone on my list receives a washcloth from me, it's not that I think you need bathing, but more along the lines of pampering. Also, as either a knitted or crocheted cloth, it has more texture than a terry cloth, better for exfoliating and invigorating the skin.

The tabs on my lap top are filled with pages that have images of what has inspired me. Here's the spa cloth inspiration:

Looks really, really lovely, right? 4 spa cloths and 3 bars of homemade hand-crafted soap. The spa cloths in the photo look crocheted, to me. I was going to try to learn to crochet just to do these. But the learning would take extra time. And I figure I should play to my strengths, and not weaknesses, with putting gifts together.

So, here's one of my finished spa cloths (and they're not all ecru, I bought some colored yarn, too):

I knit the cloth following these directions: from ravelry.com, the pattern by Anne Mancine. It's a waffle knit pattern.

I used a worsted weight cotton yarn (sugar n cream by Lily), in Ecru, on size 7 needles. I amended the pattern for worsted weight, size 7 needles to casting on 41 stitches, and after knitting rows 1-4, repeating that pattern for 13 repeats -- total of 14 sets of the 4 rows of the body of the pattern. The finished size is 10 inches by 10 inches. (I first knitted this following the creators directions for casting on 44 stitches. It was looking too wide/big for a knitted spa cloth, hence my sightly smaller version.) 

Other than that, the pattern knitted up perfectly. I measured after 13 repeats, and it was perfectly-sized for finishing off with the repeat of rows 1 & 2, then seed stitch edging.

Although there are more rows and stitches to knit than the dish cloth, it knits slightly faster, due to a couple rows in the pattern being quick to knit (almost all K or all P for a row).

Aside from being slightly larger than a dish cloth, it's also slightly stretchier, which I think is more appropriate for a bath/spa cloth.

The cost of one spa cloth is under a dollar, with yarn bought on sale, using slightly less than 2 ounces of yarn.

This soap looks like cold process soap. But I will do a melt and pour soap, something that looks like this:

Like I said, I will do a melt and pour soap base. I'll be making goat's milk, honey-almond-oat, skin-soothing bars. I'll use a goat's milk base, along with ground oats, camomile tea, sweet almond fragrance oil, vitamin E oil, and honey. I'll combine several different recipes to get the skin-soothing product that I'm after. Instead of buying a mold for the bars, I'll pour the melted soap into a cardboard box, lined with waxed paper. Then I'll cut the soap slab into bars. Melt and pour soap doesn't require the long curing phase that cold-process soap needs. So, I can take my time accumulating the ingredients.

Which brings me to this -- these gifts would not at all be frugal if I just tooled on down to the craft supply shop and paid full-price on every ingredient. I'm using coupons and sales to accumulate all of the ingredients, one by one. And that's why it's been so important for me to begin the Christmas planning so early. So, I can take my time accumulating the ingredients, as well as time for the actual crafting. I've got a 40% off coupon to Michael's right now, and will get the soap base this week. A 2-lb block of soap base will yield about 8 bars, if poured into a small-ish snack cracker box, then cut. (Looks like we'll have to eat a box of Dollar Tree snack crackers -- oh, the sacrifices!) I'll check out their fragrance oils at the same time. but if I can't get that at Michael's, I've found something on Amazon that is a good price.

I expect my hand-crafted soap to cost about $1 per bar

In addition to the spa cloths and soaps, I'm planning to make soothing bath soaks, whose finished product will look something like these:

or, these:

I'll use the large-size, empty tea bags (available through Amazon, at about 6 cents per bag, bought in 100 pack), and fill with a rose petal, milk and colloidal oat blend. I've been drying and saving rose petals all summer. Colloidal oatmeal is simply oats ground to a fine powder -- I can do that in my spice grinder. And I'll use either powdered goat's milk (in the powdered milk section of the grocery store, or in bulk from a natural foods store) or ordinary cow's milk powder. By putting this into steeping bags, the tub doesn't get so messy (as opposed to a jar of tub tea/soak). The Amazon bags are biodegradable/compostable, as they are simply paper tea bags.

The cost per filled, individual bath soak bag should be around 30 to 40 cents, depending on extras that I decide to add, like rose fragrance oil, and if I splurge for the goats milk.

These are all small gifts, no liquids, and easily shipped. They make great girlfriend gifts, teacher's gifts, daughter/mom/sister gifts, stocking stuffers, as well as bridal shower favors. And I can make all of the items, fairly frugally.

In addition to these spa items, any one of them could be supplemented with a loofa or bath brush from Dollar Tree, hand-crafted bath bombs/truffles, or this nice crochet bath scrubber:

Anyways, this is my start on the spa collection for Christmas gifts this year.

Very busy weekend, and the beginning of my next Christmas gift

It was a jam-packed weekend, to be sure. But I found some time late Sunday afternoon to begin my next Christmas gift. I finished my dish cloths. And now, I've begun some spa cloths. A spa cloth is slightly larger than a dish cloth. 

I'm using a different pattern from the dish cloths. But also another good one for a relative beginner. I'll post a link to this spa cloth pattern, along with the changes I made to it, in a day or two, when I've finished this first one. I can give you the finished measurements, then, too.

I also finalized my Christmas gift list, for the gifts that I'll make. I think I've got everyone covered, including a couple of manly gifts. I'll give you that list this week, too.

I hope you had a great weekend. 

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for early August (with a garden in abundance)

Friday

Cod cakes, made with some frozen cod, poached and flaked, then combined with bread crumbs, parsley, Bay seasoning, an egg, lemon juice and salt
Cole slaw with our garden cabbage
Apple slices
Cheddar Bay biscuits (the Red Lobster knock-offs, made with homemade Bay seasoning)

Saturday

Fire-roasted hot dogs
Home-bake buns
Cole slaw (again with garden cabbage)
Fruit salad of blueberries, blackberries, apples, banana
S'mores

Sunday

Rice and black beans
Sauteed kale and mushrooms
Fruit salad of blackberries, apples, banana
Blackberry pie

Monday

Kale and shallot frittata
Oven-roasted purple and white potatoes
Apple wedges
Pickled beet salad over fresh lettuce
Blackberry pie

Tuesday

Herb-crusted pork roast, crusted with rosemary, thyme, garlic and lavender buds from the garden, plus cracked black pepper and sea salt
Rosemary, garlic and shallot potatoes (both purple and white potatoes)
Cole slaw with cabbage from the garden and the last of the pickled beets, added
Fruit salad of apples and blackberries in strawberry and blackberry jam dressing
Home-bake French bread and butter
Vanilla cupcakes

Wednesday

Black bean and chicken taco salad with lime-cilantro dressing (lettuce, celery, black beans, chicken, canned corn, cheese, olives, homemade dressing of tomato paste, lime juice, oil, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, garlic, sugar, salt)
Freshly fried tortilla chips
Leftover cupcakes

Thursday

Chicken, rice, kale and mushroom casserole (with celery, onion powder, garlic and thyme)
Fruit salad (once again blackberries and apples in jam dressing)
Cupcakes


So, even I have to admit that some of our meals this week have bordered on gourmet, for our family. I've been playing a little game with myself, in trying to use as many different items from our garden as possible. And, yes, my family is lucky to have me!! ;-)

And then there was Thursday's dinner. One of those slapped together casseroles that made me happy that my kids are past the must-have-everything-separate phase. The inspiration was a combination of cleaning out the fridge, and needing to be simple. It worked.

That's it! Another week of suppers at home.

How were your menus this week? Any thrown together casseroles on your table?

Have a great weekend!

First Thursdays

Today is the first Thursday of the month of August. Do you know what's so special about first Thursdays?

In many cities, Seattle included, the first Thursday of each month means free admission to various museums that normally charge an admission fee.

So, here in Seattle, there are several major art museums, the natural history museum, the Museum of Flight,  a museum dedicated to railways, the Museum of History and Industry, and a maritime museum -- that are free today. 

On top of free museum admission, many cities have an art gallery walk on First Thursdays, in the evenings, sometimes offering free parking.  For example, in Seattle's downtown Pioneer Square area, from 6 to 8 pm, tonight, almost 3 dozen art venues open their doors to visitors. It's a walking tour of the various galleries, museums, shops and small restaurants, with free parking in a few select parking garages in Pioneer Square. 

Some cities choose a different day for free museum admission, sometimes the first Friday or first Tuesday of the month. In some cities, it's referred to as "residents free day". It's worth a google, to see what's available in your area, if museums interest you.

Anyways, these free days make for great outings for me, and the opportunity to take in some of my area's wonderful cultural exhibits, without breaking the budget.

Does your community offer any First Thursday art walks, events or freebie admission?

A mid-summer bouquet and a summer collection

The lady at our church, who does the table arrangements for the fund-raising teas, made pretty bouquets of white daisies and giant violet-blue hydrangea blooms, a couple of weeks ago. I thought they were quite pretty, the white daisies adding just that pop to liven up the hydrangeas.

A few days ago, I put together my own bouquet for our kitchen table, fashioned after hers.

In the bottom of this vase, I keep my collection brown and white, washed, sea glass. Whenever I go to the beach, I look for sea glass.

I'm partial to the blues, greens and whites. I've collected these pieces, above, over the last 25 years. I keep them in a bowl on display in the living room.

I have other nature collections, from the other seasons, on display in our home, also. Collecting from nature is not only frugal, but I think trinkets from the outdoors are some of our loveliest home decor pieces, connecting us to the natural world, each time we look at them. And while these pieces of glass were once man-made. It's their life in the sea that has given them their character and beauty.

Making caramel topping to use as dip for apple slices

The apples on our early apple tree are ripening fast and furiously. I had been picking one or two at a time, directly from the tree. Then every morning, picking up and using all of the apples that had fallen in the night.

Over the weekend, the fallen apples had multiplied, significantly. I got out the taller ladder and began harvesting that tree, filling 2 drawers in the fridge with good, unbruised apples. I suspect we have enough apples for fresh, daily eating to carry us through the month of August. I can skip buying bananas or other fresh fruit, for the time being.

After some hard work, yesterday afternoon, I decided it was time for my dessert from lunch. I had thought to just make enough caramel topping to dip my own apple dessert. Remembering how much my other family members love apples and caramel dip, I decided to make a half-pint, to keep in the fridge. It really doesn't take much extra effort to make a half-pint over 2 tablespoons.

I didn't follow a recipe, but cooked some white sugar, molasses, water, corn syrup and salt in a small saucepan, until it was nearly sheeting off a spoon. Then turned the flame off, and swirled in vanilla extract and butter. (Those last 2 ingredients are what give the caramel topping it's old-time, candy store aroma.)

Anyways, a nice reward for all of the up and down on the ladder picking apples -- a plate of apple slices and some caramel dipping sauce.

For a little price comparison, 8 ounces of caramel topping costs about $1.25 to $1.50 at Wal-Mart. My 8 ounce batch of homemade caramel topping cost about 30 cents, and I got to lick the spoon!!

July 2016 Grocery Spending Journal

July 4. Dollar Tree for graham crackers to make s'mores. $1 It's not a big box, but about 9 oz, I believe, plenty enough for s'mores for all of us. As I can't find graham crackers for under $2 a lb in the larger boxes in regular stores, this is a good deal.

July 9. Coming home from a day at the farmer's market (and no, I didn't buy anything at the market, but enjoyed the atmosphere, had samples and got some good ideas), we stopped at WinCo, mostly for the bulk bin items. I bought a pound of milk chocolate chips (for making candy this week), at $3.11/lb, about 2 pounds of raisins, at $1.79/lb, about a half pound of chopped dates (to add to overnight oatmeal), at $2.14/lb, a half pound of instant milk powder, at $4.19/lb (breakfast shakes and peanut butter balls), about a half-pound of soy beans, at 85 cents/lb, a pound of raw, whole almonds at $5.99/lb (for making candy and non-dairy milk), 1/10 of a pound of unsweetened coconut (for adding to homemade soy milk, adds flavor and fats), at $3.15/lb. I also bought another 72-ct package of corn tortillas for $2.18, and 9 bananas at 48 cents/lb. I received a 6 cent credit for bringing my own bag. Total spent -- $20.69

July 9. Next stop on the highway coming home, I ran into Cash & Carry, primarily for all-purpose flour (50-lbs for $11.68), but also bought a 2-gallon box of 2% milk for $4.40, 10 lbs of carrots for $3.89, a 3-pack of celery for $1.67, a gallon of mustard for $4.19, and 12 oz of onion powder for $3.71. Spent $29.54

July 13. Dollar Tree for ketchup. I am making some sloppy joe filling for a church supper, and I was given very specific instructions for making it (no modifications to the recipe). So, while I might ordinarily make my own ketchup substitution, I couldn't for this night. Fortunately, it only cost me $1, which I think I can handle in my budget. Spent $1

Total spent for the month, so far -- $52.23. I'm doing okay for the month. We're almost halfway through and I've spent under 30% of the budget. Cheddar cheese is on sale again at Cash & Carry, so I may pick up a few 5-lb bags, later this week or next. And I need milk, always.

July 15. Fred Meyer, mostly to get milk, on sale, and pick up my 3 Friday freebies from the last couple of weeks. What I bought -- 5 half-gallons of whole milk, 99 cents each, 1 half-gallon orange juice, 99 cents, 5 bananas, marked down, 49 cents/lb, 1 lb of organic mushrooms, marked down, $2.39, 1 package of hot dogs, 89 cents, and the freebies, 1 2-liter of cola, 1 46 oz bottle of cranberry, cherry and blueberry juice, 1 Gatorade snack bar. I spent $10.11

July 21. Cash & Carry for the sharp cheddar on sale, $8.98 for a 5-lb bag, I buy 3 bags, plus 15 bananas, at 42 cents/lb. Spent $29.91

July 22.  Fred Meyer, for the coffee on sale. I find 1 can of Folgers 1/2 decaf, 1/2 regular for $4.29 on clearance, and buy 2 cans FM brand reg, a 1 can decaf, at $4.99 each. I also find organic mushrooms on markdown for $2.30/lb, and I get my freebie, a can of Mt Dew Kickstart. Spent $21.65

Total spent so far -- $113.90

July 29. This should be my last grocery shopping of the month. Went to Fred Meyer for 5 half-gals of whole milk and 1 half-gal of orange juice, all 99 cents each with coupon. Also stop by produce markdown section, and buy 2 8-oz packages of mushrooms (99cents each), and 6 red-tape bananas, at 49 cents/lb. Next I head to the meat marked down section, and buy a 14 oz package of chicken Italian sausage (5 links), reduced from $4.99 to $2.49. And finally, I go to the clearance rack in the back and find almond paste for filling pastries, 8-oz containers for $2.69, I buy 2 and will save these for a special almond-filled pastry. I also got my Friday freebie of a 17 oz bottle of peach sparkling iced tea. Spent $16.76

Total spent for the month of July -- $130.66

Coming in to the month of July I had a surplus of $239.89. Add that to my budget of $190, and I have $429.89 available to spend on food this month. I underspent by $299.23. That will be my surplus going into August, which when added to the monthly allotment of $190, will give me $489.23 that I could spend, if I find good enough deals to want to stock up.

What I bought:

Produce

2 pounds raisins
1/2 pound chopped dates
35 bananas
10 lbs carrots
3 pack of celery
12 oz onion powder
1 gallon orange juice
2 lbs organic mushrooms
1 lb whole mushrooms
46 oz bottle of cranberry, blueberry, cherry juice (Freebie)

Meat
1 8-count package of hotdogs
14 oz chicken Italian sausage link (5 links)

Pantry

1 pound milk chocolate chips
1/2 pound soybeans
1 pound raw almonds
1/10 pound unsweetened coconut
72-ct package corn tortillas
50 pounds all-purpose flour
1 gallon yellow mustard
1 bottle ketchup
2 liter of cola (Freebie)
1 Gatorade Fuel bar (Freebie)
4 large cans coffee/decaf (25 to 29 oz each)
1 can Mt Dew Kickstart (Freebie)
1 bottle sparkling peach ICE tea (Freebie)
16 oz of almond paste for baking

Dairy

1/2 pound instant milk powder
2 gallons 2% milk
10 half-gallons whole milk
15 lbs sharp cheddar cheese



Mid-month, we were given enough sandwiches and produce to last through 2 family dinners. Also, several of us attended 2 church dinners, eliminating the need to provide for those meals. Our garden continues to provide most of our produce. Every morning, I slip outside to pick an apple from the tree to have with my breakfast, and my daughters take salads and fruit from our garden in their lunches each weekday. My son still gets all his weekday lunches provided at work, gratis.

I didn't find any stellar deals on meat this past month. It's just as well, as I've got the extra freezer unplugged for the summer, and we're still using up meat from prior purchases.

In going through my supplies, I've noted that we're running low on butter. I'm down to about 9  1/2 lbs. of butter. At our regular usage, this amount will last us until the end of September. Awesome butter sales aren't found, much, until around Thanksgiving (in November for U.S.). That leaves me with about 6 to 7 weeks either without butter or having to pay a lot more for it. So, I'm having to do some sneaky things, like keeping the butter in the fridge, all of the time. And not putting the whole stick into the butter dish at one time, but only half. When it's kept out, in a dish on the counter, we seem to go through the butter much faster.  So, I just keep popping it back into the fridge, and that slows the consumption down. And by limiting how much goes into the dish at a time, it seems to nudge people into using just a little less. I know it works for me. I'm also going to return to making our own soft butter (that post, with instructions, here). Utilizing these strategies, I should be able to stretch out our butter supplies an extra month. Also, this week, Fred Meyer has butter on sale, with coupon, for $2.50/lb, limit 2. $2.50/ lb is not an awesome price. However, this week is the week with the Senior Discount shopping day on Tuesday. So, I'll take my coupon on Tuesday, and buy my 2 lbs of butter at $2.25 per pound. That will help. And I'll keep a watch on prices around town for deals on butter.



One thing to keep in mind, if your family spends a whole lot more on groceries, than mine: all 3 of my kids have their own earned money, if they want packaged snacky foods, they buy them. So, I'm not spending any money on those things. I save a lot by practically never buying prepared snacks like chips, packaged cookies or breakfast/snack bars, boxed cereal, and sugary drinks (other than a couple of bottles of juice per month). Instead, we snack on fresh fruit, raw veggies, popcorn, nuts and seeds, raisins, toast/bread, peanut butter, muffins and homemade cookies. And I've shared with you our available beverages -- iced herb tea, homemade lemonade, orange juice, smoothies, milk, black tea/coffee (hot and iced) and water. The bonus is, snacking/eating the way that our family does, is so much healthier for us.

There are times when one of my kids would like some of the packaged stuff. And they're all free to buy what they want, with their own money, or they can try to replicate the item they crave, with a homemade version. Last weekend, one daughter really wanted a milk shake, and was lamenting the fact that she didn't have lots of spare money (most of both daughters's earnings goes towards tuition). She said that if she did have more money, she'd go buy a milkshake at McDonalds (was this a hint for me to buy a shake for her? Oh well, hint not taken!). I told her how I used to make myself milkshakes/frosties with milk, chocolate syrup and ice cubes, in the blender. She tried it and was thrilled to have made a shake for herself, for free. Same daughter had a pot-luck to attend at work, on Friday. She was asking what she could bring that wasn't dessert, as there were already lots of sign-ups for dessert. She didn't want to use her own money to buy something. So she came up with a batch of scratch biscuits. And then, the other day, she really wanted a couple of cookies. Not enough to bake a whole batch, just a couple. She found a recipe online that made 1 large cookie. So that's what she did. She's learning! I'm proud of her for finding and trying ways to make a substitute for an item she wants.

It's been important to me, to not only teach my kids how to cook for themselves, but also to learn how to accept a substitute for something they might want. Sometimes, our career choices are less than lucrative, but profoundly fulfilling in other ways. I want my children to be able to live free of the pressure to have everything that everyone else has. Most of us won't get to have everything we want, and accepting substitutes is a big help towards living with that reality.


Whelp, that's it for grocery shopping in July.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the end of July

Friday

Chicken, vegetable and noodle skillet dinner
Fruit salad -- apples from our tree, blueberries from our garden and a banana in a dressing of plum liquid from stewed plums and homemade strawberry jam

Saturday

Homemade mushroom and black olive pizza
Fresh blackberries
Celery sticks

Sunday

Chicken soup, made with the leftover chicken and stock from Friday
Crackers and toast
Bananas

Monday

Vegetarian enchiladas, filled with rice, black beans, beet greens, garlic, onions and seasonings, topped with cheese/olives
Snow peas and carrots from our garden, raw, with homemade dip
Apple jello, made with old green kool-aid from pantry, lemon juice, gelatin, sugar, and added chopped apples from garden (apples that had been knocked off trees by squirrels. I cut off the bruises and chopped)
Blackberry cobbler

Tuesday

Leftover enchiladas
Leftover apple jello
Tossed salad
Leftover cobbler

Wednesday

Dinner at church, we had a taco bar and cookies

Thursday

Kale frittata topped with marinara sauce
Brown rice
Fresh apples, from our tree
Hot fudge pudding cake, topped with blackberry sauce (wild blackberries picked on our property)

Again, this week, I planned for an easy night, with making twice the amount of enchiladas that I normally make. Doing so gave me time to work on my knitting!

As I was watering the garden yesterday, I realized that we can get quite a lot for our meals, just here on our property, for the next 6 weeks. This should free up some of my grocery budget for stock-up items at Cash & Carry. For this month, I'm still below my budget. Of course, I still have some shopping to do later today. We'll see how I do by the end of the weekend.

On Wednesday, I worked in our church's kitchen helping to prepare the taco bar for about 100 members. I was working with 5 other ladies. It was interesting listening to them talk about some of the meals and foods they like to prepare. And it really drove home the truth that some folks cook frugally while others cook expensively. How we spend our money is an individual choice. As you all know, for me, I choose to cook frugally so that there is more money in other areas of our budget.

I hope your week went well, and you were able to keep cool. What were your favorite meals this past week? If you have a garden, what are you able to harvest right now? I'm still a few weeks away from tomatoes, but maybe we'll get green beans in a week.

Have a great weekend!