The Last Big Push to Get Everything Harvested

Our weather turned much, much colder this week. Next week, we may have snow and rain mixed. Some items (like cabbage, kale, Brussel sprouts, turnips) will hold in our garden through a light dusting of snow and no prolonged freezing temps. But there's the more tender produce that needs to come in. I got the last of the green beans harvested, as well as the last of the carrots. I want to use the carrot tops as well as the roots, and I wasn't sure how snow would affect the tops. They're harvested now, the roots are stored and the greens are washed and wrapped in a tea towel in a plastic bag for me to chop and freeze tomorrow. All of our squash and pumpkins (the few there were) are in now, too.

I'd been putting off harvesting the crabapples this year. Our cool spring meant a late ripening. This morning I noticed the leaves were beginning to turn yellow on that tree and the crabapples looked as ripe as they were going to get.

Everyone was home this morning, so I sent out an all hands on deck. It took 4 of us 1 and 1/2 hours to pick them all. If it had just been me, I would have spent all day harvesting crabapples. Once they were picked, I processed the first half of the batch into crabapple sauce and crabapple juice.

I made some hot spiced apple cider with some of the juice, some regular apple juice, part of a cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves and a little sugar to compensate for the tartness of the crabapples. I froze several quarts of crabapple sauce and 2 quarts of juice. Tomorrow, I'll process the other half of the crabapples.

These are long and tiring days. However, there's an element of satisfaction that makes it all worthwhile. 

Refreshing My Fall Wardrobe on a Budget

I recently bought 2 new-to-me tops from Value Village to refresh and recharge my casual and nice casual wardrobe for the fall season. In addition to shopping at thrift store prices, I also snagged the 30% off Senior discount for being 55+. Currently, it looks like Value Village stores across the US are offering this discount every Tuesday. I couldn't confirm this on their website, but the cashier at the store and several "savings" websites indicated this discount is available US-wide. So you may want to give your local VV a call to verify for your location. 

Anyway, both shirts were originally priced at $6.99 each. The discounted price as a senior 55+ was $4.89. So, for a total of $9.78 I now have a new-to-me casual knit top and a new-to-me blouse.

I wear the dark teal knit top around the house paired with black leggings. It's tunic length and trimmed in machine crochet lace at the hem. Most importantly, as a knit, it moves with me and is very comfortable.

I wore the new floral print blouse the day we attended the play in which my daughter had a role. 

I paired it with the cashmere sweater that I bought at St. Vincent de Paul's for 99 cents a few years ago, my black jeans, and my trusty, favorite short boots. I'm a big fan of Ann Taylor Loft and have picked up several tops and sweaters at Value Village by this brand. The blouse is more loose fitting around the middle than I find flattering. However, I remedied that with the sweater buttoned mid-waist for a few buttons.

I used a gift card from one of my daughters to pay for both tops. There's still some balance on the card, which is good, because I have a couple more items to find on my list.

I love shopping thrift stores for tops, sweaters, and lightweight jackets. I can get several items for the price of one brand new one. I'm pickier about the fit of pants and jeans, so I buy those in traditional retail stores.

How about you? Do you ever shop thrift stores for clothing? Do you have some items that you prefer to buy brand new but others that you're willing to do thrifted?