Friday!

  I am living for Fridays this year, by Thursday night I am beat!  I have to go teach a class this morning and I don't want to.  It is on Provident living for my church.  I don't know how many will be there and I will not put a lot of work, money and effort into a subject I think is dumb!  Making inexpensive Holloween costumes for your kids.  If you don't have any money you don't get a costume.  Or how about, buy the costumes the year before out of the $1 bin at Wal-mart.  Or go to the $1 store.  End of subject.  It is not that I don't have a ton of ideas but they all cost money and most of these young women don't have it!  I also have to realize that my kids are raised and I am not so into Holloween,  do like the candy:)

      When I went grocery shopping with B the other night I was so shocked.  I know that food prices are up, but I really don't buy many groceries.  We eat out of the garden, which is at an end.  I make almost everything from scratch and have a huge pantry that I rotate.  For instance we were getting low on canned veggies and beans.  But a store had a case sale two weeks ago and I bought 2 cases of corn, peas, french green beans and several cases of different beans,  This was about $80.00 of last months grocery budget. I do buy cake mixes when they are on sale.  The cost of a scratch cake to a mix is almost triple.  But I wait until they are under $1.
     Where was I going with this?  A loaf of bread......( and this was the least expensive store in the valley) was just under $3.00.  They were small loaves.  I will only eat heavy 100% whole wheat bread.  I mean when did this happen?  I guess I am so busy with my life that I don't pay attention.  So today after I finish my class I am going to make 2 large loaves of bread.  I will do this every week.  My kids love home made bread and will eat anything I make instantly with their friends in tow.  But they are no longer here so I might actually be able to make a couple of loaves last more than a day.  I have wheat and a very nice grinder.  It only takes about 10 minutes to whip it up, the mixer does the kneading, I let is rest and come back in 1.5 hours, put it in pans let it rest again and bake.  I can sew in between steps.  We go through about 3 loaves of bread a week.  This is not much of a saving but even $7.00 adds up and it is so much better for you.  No preservatives tastes wonderful.  I can really see how food is such an issue with many families.  I just have lived broke for so long that food was the only area where I could cut back and learned to do without a large grocery budget.  That has never changed even as things became better.

Out My Window:  Hubby finally has the yard mowed.  He actually finished in the dark last night so I wonder what it looks like?  I will go harvest the rest of the brussel sprouts today and pull the stems.  We are still getting a few tomatoes, and we will leave the potatoes to dig as needed.

     I have a bout $100.00 to get me through the weekend and I have to get an oil change in the car, no I don't let H do this, I could write you books on his attempts to be a mechanic and all are tragedies.

Have a great and productive day!

Kim