Thanks you to those who commented on the funk yesterday. I love to bake for the holidays. The last three years we have had a huge baking here for mom's Swedish open house and this year I will bake alone. I have not even made a batch of cookies since her death. It will be hard. So I am going to invite a friend or two over when I bake to help me take my mind off my mom. Also it will help them learn the traditions my mom passed down to me.
I was able to get a couple of loads of laundry done yesterday, and also quite a bit of sewing. Although I have had many sets of Army uniforms come in for a ball Dec 1st. I have to get a bridesmaids dress hemmed today and a few other things and then I am going to cut out 8 ball gown costumes. Once they are cut out the sewing is just assembly line. I have a friend coming to help me I think?
Groceries can be very expensive in this part of Idaho because we live on a truck route that ends here with not much to take back. So truckers have to dead head home or to the next load. We do get potatoes, onions,toilet paper, legumes very cheap here or free but that is it.
This is why I really shop the loss leaders and keep a well stocked pantry. I make as much from scratch as possible. Really for a Thanksgiving dinner I would just have to buy the turkey and some whipping cream. So I had to laugh when I saw our main stores turkey deal. FREE turkey with a $150.00 purchase. Now when have I ever spent $150.00 on groceries for any holiday?
Let's see......?
Turkey: I will buy
potatoes: no have on hand free pick up
stuffing: Saved my bread ends, have celery, use giblets, free onions, canned milk from storage, butter from freezer, spices from cabinet that I dried, Olives canned from storage.
Sweet potatoes: Have on hand purchased in bags of 10lbs on sale from farmer
Green beans: Purchased 3/1 last January, plus butter on hand and mushroom soup on hand purchased a case when it was .50 a can, crunchy onions, I have two containers bought after Christmas last year on a mark down.
Squash: grew my own all the trimming with it, I have in storage
Rolls: I will make
Moms cranberry salad: I have the nuts in the freezer purchased on a close out, I have the jello again purchased on sale and I have a case of cranberries I purchased 2/1 after the holidays last year.
Pies; I have crusts in freezer home made by my sissie, I have my own pumpkin puree frozen, canned milk in storage, eggs, from chickens, I also have pie filling purchased on close out for .99 a can. Also fruit in freezer.
Relish tray: Have olives and pickles in storage, plus all the fresh veggies in fridge.
SO I just don't really buy $150.00 worth of groceries.
How about you?
Kim
I saw someone on FB post that grocery 'deal' and had to laugh. Really? $150 to get a cheap turkey for free? That is crazy.
ReplyDeleteSame here, I got the turkey at the store - but pretty much everything else I had here.
You are the smart one!
It baffles me. I guess if you buy all your trimmings ready made that would add to the cost but $150.00?
DeleteI'm glad you'll have friends over when you make the cookies. As I just commented on your last post (sorry, I'm a day late!) that first year after my mother died, the holidays were very difficult. Not just Christmas, but all the other holidays. I cried in the store when I saw the Halloween decorations with R.I.P. written on them! I didn't do anything for Thanksgiving. I barely decorated for Christmas and did so only because I felt I should make an effort for my daughter.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are all prepared for Thanksgiving, with just about everything you need already on hand! Just the turkey to be bought! Well done!
I have been invited to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving. I offered to bring cornbread as my contribution. I have almost everything I need to make it, just have to buy some eggs.
I am sure that is why I am a little blue. It is hard.
DeleteIt is the same thing here--some sort of bargain if I buy $50 worth of groceries! I might over a ten day period buy $50 of groceries, but not all at the same store and only for very good sales at several stores.
ReplyDeleteHaving friends over to bake cookies will be fun, distracting, and certainly take some of the labor out of your marathon cooking sessions.
Don't you get eggs from your chickens?
I know I wn't even spend $50.00. So Since I am having Thanksgiving at my sister's I will buy a turkey on sale after the holiday. Yes I still have chickens for my eggs.
DeleteI don't host Thanksgiving, but I will probably buy a turkey somewhere along the line just because. Even taking away the super cheap deals for buying a lot of groceries at the big stores they're still a good bargain at Aldi's
ReplyDeleteI will buy a turkey or two for the freezer. the freezer likes turkey.
DeleteI don't want the $150 deal. I want 3 of the $50 deals, so I can have 3 turkeys for very inexpensively. I will get a 4th if I can. I have been planning for this time of year, with all the wonderful sales. I have been building up my Ibotta account, and my Bottle Drop account, and will likely use them all, along with my normal, modest budget. I am after at least 4 hams, have 2 so far, and will get the last 2 at Safeway on Friday, as part of what will take me up to the $50. They are on the lowest sale I've seen so far, $1.29/lb. Another thing that has helped me achieve this, is that my mother and sister both gave me some money towards Thanksgiving as I am hosting. So, part of the $50 I spent today was their money for paper plates and napkins, and I got a $10 top for my daughter to wear. (That's the beauty of Fred Meyers, they have things other than food and it all counts towards the $50.). Another thing was that I got 3 more boxes of hot cereal from the mark-down rack for $1.59/box and they had a $1.50 Ibotta rebate, so ended up 9c/box. I got seltzer for $3/box with a $1 mark-down, and will use them over the holidays, or to add to a gift I'm putting together that includes a beach bag, a towel, and some drinks like seltzer. I got one more gift, as well, marked way down.
ReplyDeleteOn Friday, I will get Chex cereal for party mix over the holidays, ww bread for 99c/loaf since I don't make mine anymore because I'm so sensitive to wheat but the rest of the family eats it, the ham, one more turkey, and likely a few more sale items, plus salad stuff as my husband eats a head of lettuce every couple of days since he's losing weight like a trooper.
Over 20 people will be joyfully crammed into my little house, so we do buffet-style with paper plates. I don't have a dishwasher. People end up perched on the couches eating from TV trays, at a large table in the garage, at a table in the middle of the tiny living room with the fire out or very low as the table is right up next to it, and once, there was a card table in my daughter's room! They all bring side dishes, desserts, rolls, and whatever else they want to cook. My friend from Africa will bring African food and make coffee (a ceremony and made from roasted coffee beans she roasts). My husband will bbq a turkey, we will make ham, some kind of potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes of some kind, and whatever else I feel like making next week while I watch my nephew. 2 or 3 of the relatives are coming to help me clean the day before, to be nice, since my nephew is a bit of a tornado and I will have him for 3 days at the beginning of the week. I think I have my shopping list figured out for Friday, then I will be broke, but extemely well-stocked:)
Well at least you can eat, What a good idea 3-4 $50.00 turkeys.
DeleteThe first year after losing a loved one there are so many new traditions required-but they can be wonderful as well. I'm glad you are having friends join you for baking.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam. My mother loved to decorate for Christmas. She was CHriatmas crazy and I am sure this is the reason.
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