Frugal Friday Week #9

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I always feel like I post many how-to’s and not many “real lifes”. Although I do try and incorporate that into my newer posts, I’ve often thought that it might be even more helpful for my readership to get a better glimpse inside of what our simple/homestead/from scratch/frugal life really looks like.

Cat in the baskets
Find the kitty! He was lazy this week, not wanting to be outside because of the weather.

Frugal Friday Week 9

So I’ve started a new series called Frugal Friday and need your help. My idea for this series is to share some of the projects/recipes/things we worked on this week and, in general, just what life looks like.

I need your help because I’ve tried something similar before, and I gave up after a while. I got bored, felt like no one was reading it or cared, and I moved on to other projects. So what I need you to do each week is to share what your week looked like in the comments section. I think it could keep us ALL accountable and may serve as an encouragement to others!

So let’s dive right into this week!

Meals We Ate

I stuck with simple meals this week, including a big batch of stir fry that we ate on for several days. It’s funny how when you are a kid, you dislike leftovers and find them boring, but as an adult, they are the best thing ever because it means a night off from cooking!

Breakfasts – 

Lunches – 

Suppers – 

  • Beef Stir Fry x 3
  • Fried Chicken Thighs
  • Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Leftovers
Bottle Lambs
The bottle lambs that we picked up this week.

Shopping I Did

There was a great deal on Muir Glen Tomato Sauce on Amazon this week, so I ordered that. (No longer available). Just FYI, I’ve been posting deals like that on my Facebook Group.

I also ran to town to replenish a few things before we got more snow again. I haven’t done many big shopping trips since we had our Pantry Challenge the last few months, so some things we use often needed a restock, like facial tissue, tortilla chips, etc. I also picked up a few things for Easter.

I also won several items at a local auction this week: some crock bowls, cookbooks, and older wooden cabinets.

I bought a bottle lamb for $25 (and was given two others). So that was also money spent. They are doing well, though!

Meadow
We had a day almost without snow so I took the dogs out for a walk in the meadow. I snapped a pic because I thought it looked like rain…nope…it started snowing before I even got back to the house.

Outside Projects We Worked On

I planned on working on the tunnel greenhouse, but with continual snow days, it’s just not happening. We picked up a few more supplies needed to finish building it once the snow reaches a manageable level.

We used the somewhat nice days in between the snow to work on cleaning up the yard and putting some things away. Hopefully, we have some nice days after this next big snow because we have a mini excavator rented for a week soon and need to be able to put in a second campsite and dig up dirt for the garden. More on that later!

Eggs
SO many eggs from my hens this week! I’ll be selling all the extras this weekend.

Inside Projects We Worked On

I re-potted more plants this week and planted my flower seeds. I’m not very good at growing flowers, but I want to try and get better. I’m not off to a great start, though…I thought I was planting in my 24-count planters so I planted 3 trays of flower seeds. It didn’t occur to me until I was finished that they were the 50-count trays so I actually planted 150 flower starts. Oh well, I guess! We will have nice big pollinator gardens if everything germinates.

I need to re-pot some of the tomatoes, but I’ve run out of potting soil. Hoping to get that done next week.

I also worked on cleaning up my dining room/school room. It’s been an ongoing project of mine to clean out the cupboards, and I’m about halfway through. It’s funny how they get disorganized so quickly! A large portion of the mess is school books which need to get put away soon anyway. I’m projecting that we will finish most of our schoolwork at the beginning of May.

Finally, I put away a few more things for longer-term storage in Mylar Bags. I bought some Mylar Bags from Wallaby and they are BY FAR the best bags I’ve ever had. I asked them for a coupon code just for my readers because I loved them so much. You can use the code LHLIVING to get $5 off your purchase (plus they have free shipping over $25!).

Books I’m Reading

I’m still diving into my Off Grid Homesteading Bundle! I went through several of the ebooks and want to work on some of the courses. This is going to keep me busy for a long time. The bundle is only available through April 1st if you wanted to grab a copy too!

I’ve also started digging into a few cookbooks I bought at an auction this week. The first one I’m looking at is called Trail Boss Cowboy Cooking.

Homemade Peeps

Blog Posts I Wrote

  • How to Store Chicken Broth – This blog post is about the 4 different methods I use to store chicken broth after I make it.
  • Homemade Peeps – If you want to make your own Marshmallow Peeps (yes, the Easter candy!) you will want to check out this easy recipe!
  • How to Prepare for Difficult Times – I updated this blog post this week that I wrote back in 2020. It’s truly filled with timely information so please give it a read if you haven’t already.
  • Old Fashioned Amish Meatloaf – This is an easy supper recipe I shared this week.
  • Off Grid Small Kitchen Appliances Worth Owning – I’ve been wanting to write up this blog post for a while now! It’s filled with a big list of all of the “off-grid” small kitchen appliances and gadgets that I own and love.
  • Pimento Cheese Spread – This yummy recipe is from my mom. It’s easy and fun to make this cheese spread!
  • Brown Sugar: Everything You Need to Know – I did this research article this week all about brown sugar…how to make it, how to store it, and how to substitute it for other sweeteners.
Kitty
There’s the kitty (from my top pic). He loves sleeping in my rag drawer right now. 🙂

Looking Ahead to Next Week

Next week they are forecasting over a foot of snow so I’m thinking that most of our week will be dedicated to dealing with that. I’m hoping very much that after that we will get a nice big thaw and some warmer weather…my cabbage is ready to be planted!

So tell me….what did life look like for you this week? What did you do, make, or plan to do?


Me and KadyMerissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to the 100-acre farm and ministry on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.


 

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26 Comments

  1. I’ve finally gone through enough of the food in my pantry and freezers that I can see a difference in what’s in there. I found a good deal on grass fed ground beef this week from a local farm and got a few packages of that since I’ve been out for a while. I’m going to pay for my meat CSA this week, and that will stock me up through the end of next winter. I never buy meat from the grocery store, unless it’s something specific that I want.

    I got two garden boxes and I’ve ordered plants and bought garden soil. I’m going to get my beds ready to plant in a few weeks. I need to stock up on jars, since I want to can my produce this year.

    I only cooked twice this week. Earlier in the week, I cooked chicken in salsa to make chicken tacos. We had that a couple days, and then I cooked a pan of chicken legs and country style pork ribs that we’ve been eating with different veggies. I think we have one more night of that and then I’ll have to come up with something else.

  2. We are not homesteaders but I still enjoy reading your posts and I get many good recipes and ideas from you so keep it up!
    This week, I cooked most nights making chicken breasts, “breakfast for supper” (scrambled eggs, bacon and toast). I found a recipe for simple goulash (ground beef, onions, garlic, tomatoes and macaroni). It made a huge amount! There are just two of us, my husband and me, so we will have leftover goulash for at least two more meals. To make it a little different for the next meal, I added more tomatoes and a can of chili beans in mild sauce.
    I have been making a list of outside chores to work on this spring. My husband has had medical issues the last two years so we have gotten behind on so much, so our list is very long, but he is finally healed and doing well. To keep from being overwhelmed, we have prioritized the list into the most immediate needs, small jobs that can be done in a few hours, cost versus no-cost jobs, and so on. We will have a very busy spring and summer! I have a small vegetable garden where I grow green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and whatever else I fancy. I’ve had raised beds for years but they started rotting and falling apart so we took them out last fall. With lumber prices so high and being on a fixed income, we decided not to build more boxes. Im not sure I will like having to crawl around on my hands and knees but I’ll for sure get more exercise.
    Once of my extravagant things is taking our poodle to the groomer and she always puts a cute little neck scarf on him. The patterns often match the season or holiday. I had collected quite a few and wanted to do something with them. I am not a very crafty person but I decided to try to make a small “piece” quilt for him to lay on. I have the top finished and just need to sew the batting and back to it. It won’t be fancy but I am happy with how it turned out!

  3. Last week I cleaned out my freezer and canned tomatoes and chicken broth made from saved bones and veggie scraps. I also soaked and canned pinto beans. I am at a completely different stage in life but I love reading your blogs. They make me see that someone else values the same lifestyle.

  4. Good morning Merissa! Been a busy week but a fun week to start off the school where i work had its week of spring break FINALLY!!!! GOT A LOT DONE ,HAD A NEIGHBOR COME AND DO EL BAR IN THE SPARE BATHROOM, FIX MY PANTRY DOOR KNOB WHICH WAS VERY LOOSE AND WAS GOING TO HAVE HIM REPLACE MY DOORHANDLE ON MY OUTSIDE DOOR BUT iGOT THE WRONG SIZE DOOR HANDLE SO HAD TO RETURN IT TO MENARDS FOR THE RIGHT ONE got the windshield replaced on my car after a wad of ice/snow flew off the top of a moving semi. Went to my grandaughters school wednesday and had lunch with her and today will go in to lunch with grandaughter #2 . Had 2 new calves this week one on wednseday and one yesterday. Made another batch of Merissas oatmeal packets this morning(they are so simple to make and are good) Did a little pantry cleaning yesterday, so thats my week!!

  5. Hi Merissa, The lambs are super cute! This week I made a delicious soup….chicken, wild rice and mushrooms. I love left overs, but usually not days in a row of the same meal. but in this case, it was so good, we had it 3 or 4 meals and still have another meal or two that we’ll freeze. It’s now my favorite soup to make! I think that’s all the cooking I did this week as I had several days in which I had an appointment and usually don’t feel like doing much when getting home from that. I finally got to undecorating our Christmas tree. We’re still getting snow so I feel like Christmas in March is OK! I’ve never been one of those who take the tree down as soon as New Years Day hits. Today, we are off to the Home Show, so gotta run.

  6. I love your frugal Fridays. Keep it up!
    This week I continued with my freezer, clean out and ate five or more soups, salmon patties, and a variety of beans that I had cooked from dry. I too had to do some shopping and replace things that I was missing.
    I hardened off a tray of spring veggies, and will plant them today. I potted up some tomatoes, and ran out of containers. I’ve decided to use the red solo cups, I already had from a party.
    I enjoyed working in a light rain and pulling out some weeds and succulents that needed to go. It looks so much better, time for Mulch.
    How could I forget? first seeds popped up in the garden, Arugula, snap peas, turnips, radishes, and beets.

  7. For our frugal week, we made a recipe using items on hand that we needed to use (still doing the pantry challenge). Had some potatoes that needed to be used up and some canned ham, so we made cheesy ham potatoes in the crockpot. Everyone liked them, which was a surprise to me.

    Here is the recipe:
    (1) can of ham cubed and fried crisp
    (1) onion fried until translucent
    About 8 russet potatoes cubed
    1 lb. velveeta or other melting cheese (cubed)
    About 1 cup of cream or milk (we used cream)
    1 can of cream of celery soup
    A couple tablespoons of flour
    Salt and pepper to taste
    Johnny’s seasoning to taste

    Grease a slow cooker, layer the potatoes, cheese, ham and onion.
    In a small bowl, combine soup and milk, whisk in flour and seasonings. Pour over potatoes. Cook on low for about 6 hours or so.

    I also made a copycat bean Fritos bean dip that was SUPER easy, because I didn’t want to drive to the store and our daughter was craving bean dip. Just take a can of refried beans, 6 jalapeño slices, 2 tsp jalapeño juice 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp. paprika, 1/8 tsp garlic salt, 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper. Then just process it all in a food processor. We doubled the recipe. Was better than canned.

    Also made homemade hummus. I used to buy it prepared all of the time until we moved and COVID struck at the same time. Now, I make it and it is fresh and costs about half the cost for double the amount.

    Excited because our daughter wants to go back to being a vegan again, and I really felt good when we were vegans. Liked the food we ate. Saves on meat costs as well, although my husband is a hunter.

    I went to our local thrift store and found some flowers in the free box as well as a little bowl that I liked. Went inside and found five books for a dollar. I know I should use the library for free books, but I personally like to have the books on hand when I want them and I like having my own library that I can read at my own pace and not have to return at a specific time.

    Has anyone else noticed or is it just in our area? The thrift stores don’t seem to be getting very many nicer donations lately. I wondered if it was because of inflation and people holding onto their furniture, clothing, etc because of the cost to replace.

    Donated some food that I had purchased in a panic during COVID that we will never use. That felt good. I didn’t waste. I did feel bad that I had purchased something we aren’t using, but was happy to donate it to someone that might.

    Was able to get a senior discount on a few items I needed at our local store and saved 5%.

    Did most of my shopping online, because it is so much less expensive, and I don’t make impulse purchases as often this way. I can also price compare. Usually, I have Walmart, Target and Amazon open and check prices as I am ordering.

    Ran all of my errands at the same time to save fuel.

    Have been walking with my husband for exercise and was able to get out and do some weeding, but we have a winter storm coming again, so it looks like more snow this weekend.

    Have been trying to use things that we have…Needed copy paper and dug around the house
    and found 6 reams that I had tucked away…I had almost ordered a box (which is $50.00 now). Glad I looked around.

    One of the best things for our family that Merissa shared was the water filter. We don’t purchase bottled water anymore. Has saved us and the planet. Thank you Merissa!

    Our power bill has still been high due to the long, cold winter we have had. I have throws in all of our chairs and couches and we don’t have the heat on at night. I also use power strips and turn them off when not in use. If anyone has any other suggestions on how to lower a power bill, would love to hear them. Thank you.

    Trying to decide what to do about my wardrobe…I have too much, but am hesitant to get rid of any of it right now…Thought about having a garage sale this summer, but we don’t really live in a place that is easily accessible.

    Anyway, that is our week…Not too much exciting here. Working on invoicing for our business today and maybe I will tackle my closet this weekend.

    Hope everyone has a great weekend.

  8. I’ve done so much it’s hard to remember it all, but my husband and I both work full time jobs, so other than work, we’ve been prepping around the house (mostly cleaning and organizing) for guest to come over to our house for our baby shower, we live in a hanger home (as me and my husband are both private pilots-it’s our hobby), so kind of like a barndominium but instead it’s a hanger shop for our plane and cars, then a small house attached, which is a 2 bedroom, small but good for us, as initially we lived in a tiny home (200 sq ft) that my husband built for the first 3 yrs of our marriage, helped us save $ and live on our land, so we are grateful for our larger home and hanger. Anyways, lots of cleaning and organizing this week, ans prepping food menu’s/food for my husband’s family that will be staying over the weekend since the live 4hrs away. We have mowed, cleaned, food prepped, and we are have purchased plane #2 so trying to work on that and get it home before baby comes in early May. Things that did not get done, spraying the other half of the pasture weeds, prepping for hay season (just our 2nd time doing this), and planting our garden, I keep needing to do this but being so busy and the wind have prevented this, but hopefully a weekend soon!

  9. I love reading about your week!
    We have been getting lots of eggs too. We switched up the chickens food and added black sunflower seeds. Seems like as soon as we added them, all the chickens were laying.
    We have tons of snow in northern Minnesota. We are to get more snow today.
    Our meals this week was:
    Breakfast
    Scrabbled eggs and toast
    Avocado toast
    Baked oatmeal
    Yogurt and homemade granola
    Banana muffins
    Lunch
    We don’t eat lunch
    Suppers were
    Black bean burgers with all the fixings
    Lintel soup and salad
    Taco bowl with black beans and all the fixings
    Loaded sweet potatoes with leftover black beans, and all the fixing that you would put on taco bowls. Good way to use up all the leftovers from the week.
    We eat a plant base diet.
    I’ve been working in my homeschool area too this week. Getting rid of all the things we don’t use. I have a high schooler and a middle schooler. My oldest daughter will be graduating this year!
    My week wasn’t very busy, it was productive!

  10. Wow! What a week you had. Thanks to the wildly weird weather up here in Southwest WA… spring is not quite here yet (today is in the early 40’s, pouring rain and windy). Our seedlings are struggling even with heat mats and the plastic cover over them. The lettuce, however, is digging the cooler climate and growing like wild. We somewhat failed on the bell pepper seed starting front. Only have one that actually germinated. We are going to try again from seed once the weather stays a bit warmer and when there is actual sun. Win some and loose some. Tomato seedlings and jalapeno seedlings are all going great… now to get the soil ready for all to go outside when it stops being false spring then winter here! As for pantry – we did have to do a huge run to Costco for all the non-fun stuff (toilet paper, paper towels, parchment, foil, vitamins… groan). But are working our way through the remaining canned tomatoes, soups, jams, and broths. Pretty soon will have to do a bulk order for flour, oats, sugar, pinto & great northern beans…. but holding off on that for as long as we can. Off to go make some homemade granola (the little elves here have been eating it faster than I can bake a batch!)

  11. We had 2 honeybee swarms last week, and we were able to catch one, giving us a total of 4 hives now! I can’t wait to try the granola recipe! Thanks for sharing!

  12. Hi Merissa!
    I love Frugal Fridays. Keep them coming!
    This week I got ready for Spring and cleaned up odds and ends. Took down another garden bed and made solid arrangements for help to relocate my old ones. It’s a job too big and difficult to do without a crew; we have very rocky soil (glacial moraine).
    Coincidentally with your post about storing chicken broth, I made a big batch this week using chicken bones, onion odds etc. that I had in the freezer. I also pickled some surplus jalapenos before they ended up in compost. I also made three batches of nut-free granola bars from recipes I dug up; I now have a lot of granola cereal. Next time I’m using your recipes.
    I’m glad you mentioned buying the potting soil. I have my compost bin and have bought some/made some organic amendments for my raised beds, and need to buy raised-bed soil. I can’t stand buying soil. Each time I buy it, I feel a twinge of inadequacy for not creating my own “perfect” soil. Now when I write that down, I can see how ludicrous that is.
    I wish all a healthy, happy, productive week.

  13. The lambs are adorable!!
    I have been making my own brown sugar for a few years now and it’s so good, like candy! I use pure cane sugar and molasses. Good article :0)
    I look forward to making the Amish Meatloaf. It sounds great and mine is just so-so.
    I started some tomato plants and herbs this week.
    Thank you for the post!

  14. Hi,
    My husband has been making maple syrup for a month now……for gifts and for topping ice cream and other foods.
    For grocery shopping, my husband studies the ads of two stores. One cashier is amazed as my husband saves a lot. Chicken thighs and spiral ham 99 cents per lb are our favorite deals. We raise beef cattle. Just wanted to say I love your blog!

  15. Thanks for asking! This week I finished helping an autistic adult get ready to move into an apartment. Now that I am done with that, free to do other things. Worked on garden prep with my husband and son today. Earlier in the week, did some meal planning. I stocked up on frozen vegetables this week. I have plans to walk more outside this week in a nearby arboretum. I also signed up for CSA produce through the arboretum. I have some poison ivy to kill this week. I also have to learn how to drive the lawn tractor.

  16. Transplanted tomato seedlings into 4 inch pots, then they will go into gallon pots. I buy my soil at the end of the season for 75% off (in November) and store it in the tool shed for spring planting. I cut out a quilt kit for a new quilt for the remodeled guest room. The remodel was super simple: removed carpet and floor trim and shoe moulding, painted floor with exterior paint + primer benjamin moore gal for $7.99 from the scratch and dent store. Bought clearance LVP flooring for $10/box and a gallon of “limestone” paint for the walls also $7./gallon. I placed a large wool rug that I picked up at a moving sale – they gave it to me as they were closing the sale.
    Added an extra light found at the local thrift shop for $10 and the room was complete, out of pocket = $57. Quilt is scraps from a local quilt group. I recycle their scraps using worn out pillowcases, stuff the scraps and sew shut and donate the beds to a no kill shelter in a neighboring town.
    We ate stir fry this week, leftovers for lunches, meatloaf dinner, then patty melts the next day,
    grilled salmon from the freezer and then salmon patties.
    I made a new spring wreath for the front door using silk flowers picked up at a church rummage sale. So pretty that I made a few more for friends who live in assisted living.
    Began cleaning out cupboards and drawers to get more organized and donate those things we aren’t using to the next church rummage sale.
    Helped a cousin reorganize his shop and assemble heavy duty shelving, he gave me his lighter weight shelving to use in my shop.
    Love the lamb pics, I used to raise lambs years ago and love their sweet personalities.

  17. Hi Merissa:
    I got a fair bit of spring cleaning done. The main chore that is left is to clean the windows but that will wait until we get more consistent warm weather. I have lots of garden plants started indoors. My tomatoes are growing quite quickly and will need a second transplanting very soon. I need to get more potting soil first. I also have some herbs, celery, and flowers started soon. The snow piles are still over two feet deep in my back yard, it will be quite a while before I can get set up for the new gardening season. Still, a girl can dream.
    I have a sweater that I started knitting a few months ago that needs to be finished. I have been teaching myself Fair Isle knitting patterns. I hope to get back to that this week. As part of my spring cleaning I sorted out my yarn stash and realized that I have enough for a couple of sweaters or afghans. The challenge will be figuring out which colours to put together depending on what I decide to make.
    I read a really interesting book this week. It is called “The Rooted Life” by Justin Rhodes who lives with his wife and 5 kids in North Carolina. They live the homesteading lifestyle and this book is a great resource for those wanting/needing guidance for gardening, and raising chickens. Even though I’m an urbanite with a much smaller garden space than his and have no plans to do chickens, I found his information a great addition to all I have learned from your posts.

  18. This week we made a huge batch of waffles for the freezer. It should last the kids a week or 2. For dinners I made chicken fajitas, pizza subs, tacos, and a few others I can’t remember. We eat leftovers for lunch each day. We went into town and picked up the pieces to make a hoop house/greenhouse from cattle panels. We will be putting that up in a week or so. I started some more pepper plants, hollyhocks, lavender, tomatillos and celery. Our big event of the week was buying a vehicle. We paid cash but it’s scary making such a big purchase. Having 6 kids makes it difficult to find the right sized vehicle as well. I enjoy reading your update each week.

  19. Thanks again for a great Frugal Friday Post! We had a busy week as well, spring is on its way so the kids and I spent a few days spreading manure and getting the gardens ready for their first round of tilling. We found a few forgotten carrots in a row that were trying to re-sprout so they were happily picked and fed to the chickens by the kids. I was completely off my meal planning, so we flew by the seat of our pants for meals, but it all worked out (Thank Goodness!). My other half is busy clearing ground for his new saw mill shed and dreaming of plans to tap trees next year for maple syrup. It sounds like we may have a busy year ahead. I scooped a few of your Easter Recipes and I hope to try them out on Easter weekend.
    Happy April everyone!

  20. I’ve started a pantry challenge this last week. My freezers and stockpile are sooooo full, haha! I’ve made hashbrown waffles, toasted italian subs, canned ham hash (we had a lot of potatoes to use up!), bbq chicken, first time on the bbq this year yay!, and naan bread pizzas using up frozen pepperoni and cheese. I did place an online grocery order for filling in gaps like fresh fruit, sweet chilli sauce, milk and toilet paper. But I collected $20 worth of points for it, so I call that a frugal win!

  21. Wow! More snow for you! I’m hoping and thinking it’s done for southwest Pennsylvania. This week I continued to work on building the beds and pathways for my Shaker style inspired garden bed. It’s not totally medicinal, but along those lines and some tall cosmos will be planted along the front edge which is directly behind my wildflower garden (which is mostly purple coneflowers). I’m really excited about this garden bed! I’m placing well rotted barnwood from our old barn that collapsed many years ago, the old stacked planks had been weathered for years, and I wanted to reuse them in a lovingly way, so they are the base for the new garden beds!! As far as your snow, it has to end soon, hang in there!!

  22. Hi Merrisa! Last month we started implementing some of the suggestions contained in your blog titled “5 Ways to Begin Switching to Solar Today.” Some of the changes we made were simple and some were a little bit more complex (like putting a timer on our water heater so that it only turns on during the “peak use” periods of the day). We also bought an indoor clothes drying rack (as you suggested) and then we ordered some motion activated night lights from Amazon that we have now placed throughout the house to cut down on unnecessary lighting in the evening. The combined cost for the timer, drying rack, and night lights was about $120, but we have already recouped a third of that by saving $40 on our most recent gas and electric bill. Meal planning was a winner this past week. We roasted a whole chicken on Monday and served it with Cuban black beans and an avocado-grapefruit salad. Tuesday we had homemade alfredo sauce with linguini and stemed broccoli. On Wednesday we used some of the leftover white meat from the chicken we cooked on Monday and made chicken tacos and served those with the leftover Cuban black beans and then rounded out the meal with salsa and chips (the salsa was made with the same hand crank food processor that you recently purchased). After we finished supper Wednesday night, we pressure cooked the remainder of the chicken and used the resulting meat and broth for making chicken and dumplings on Saturday. Thursday we had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with a homemade lentil and vegetable soup recipe that we found on the website “Living Well.” Friday it was salmon patties (which we added fresh lemon zest to the recipe for extra flavor). These were served with fried potatoes and corn on the cob. As far as outdoor projects go, we snatched up several bi-fold closet doors that a neighbor had thrown out and we cut them down to size to use as added shelving in our storage shed. Lastly, we decided to plant our peas along the south facing side of our house (the backside) with the idea of having them climb a simple chicken wire trellis which which will hopefully create some extra shade this summer and keep our house cooler. Well, that’s it for now. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.