 |
| 14 free pumpkins at the home and garden center |
Thanksgiving weekend is now behind us, but Christmas is just around the corner! It was a busy weekend here. The Thanksgiving gathering of friends and family. The post-Thanksgiving clean-up, early Friday shopping, playing chauffeur to teen daughters for their various projects (the university quarter is coming to a close and they are scrambling to get it all done), church on Sunday morning, and friends coming over in the afternoon to make gifts together -- all totaled to a very busy weekend.
 |
| gifts some friends and I made -- knit headbands, bags of cider/wine mulling spices, tin of lemon-rosemary finishing salt, and gift tags |
Friday, we did go out for a bit of shopping, as I'd said we'd planned. Can't beat half-price socks and free donuts and juice. In addition to this stop, we swung by the home and garden center. Every year, just after Thanksgiving, this store puts their pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks out for free. Now that's my favorite price! They had a large mountain of free pumpkins, so I was able to get 14 small ones. 7 of the small pumpkins had lost their stems already, so I immediately began cooking them up. Each pumpkin yielded about 2 cups of cooked puree (enough for a pie or double batch of pumpkin bread).
Saturday's mail yielded one more freebie -- another $10 gift card to Kohl's. I'll use this for a gift for a family member. I'm actually getting quite close to being done with my Christmas shopping. Now I feel that I can focus more on the true meaning of the season.
It was one busy weekend, but full of fun and fellowship. What were the highlights of your weekend?
Looks like you and your friends did a great job! The items looks great! I love the finishing salt. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Katie!
DeleteThe finishing salt was so easy to make. More about making it will be on my blog tomorrow morning!
That's awesome about the free pumpkins! I need to get to work on making my gifts - can't believe it's December already!
ReplyDeleteHi Liz,
DeleteI hope for these free pumpkins every year. There's always the chance that they'll be all gone by the time I get there, or that they'll put them out a day or two earlier, and I'll miss them entirely.
We are about half way through the first week of December already. I've got to get packages in the mail, before the long lines at the PO.
Pretty yarn in your headbands! You were productive!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you got all those free pumpkins. Score!
We had a good time in Illinois. I really needed to get out of town and not be the "responsible one" for a few days. All the kids had fun playing together and I had lots of good conversations.
Glad you had a nice holiday!
Hi Kris,
DeleteI'm so glad that you could get away to Illinois to see family, not have to deal with kitchen decisions, and have built-in playmates for your kids. I always loved it when all the cousins would get together. We had so much fun!
You know, I know other people who get those $10 coupons from Kohl's, but I never do. I shop there as often as they do and have a Kohl's card but I never score one. Not sure what that's about.
ReplyDeleteOur local farms and businesses donate their leftover pumpkins to the schools. The third graders do a whole unit on them involving carving, counting seeds, cooking, etc. It's a long time tradition.
Hi live and learn,
DeleteI have no idea how I got on Kohl's mailing list. I don't have a card to their store. I only shop there when I have a $10 coupon. I've never done anything to put myself on a list. I just assumed that everyone in the neighborhood was receiving one.
Could you inquire about a mailing list? It does seem like you're a shopper that they'd like to reward.
That's a good use for the surplus pumpkins, that your area has. The other thing I like to see them do with the pumpkins is take them to the zoo.