Monday, Money Saving Madness

     It was a nice weekend here.  I was busy doing things that made me happy.  I know, I know I have so much work that needs to be done, but sometimes a girl just has to do a few fun things.

     Mom spent Friday night with Lil sis.  I slept in Saturday morning and then went to help the new studio owner story board Scrooge.  I received a call from lil sis that mom had had a bad  potty accident in a rest room at K-mart.  Mom was mortified, lil sis was mortified and felt so bad for her.  She called to tell me that she had dropped mom off at the house and that she needed a shower. 

     Great so I rush home and try to get her to shower but she just wants to sleep.  I can see that she is very, very depressed and upset.  I felt that letting her nap for a while was good and Hub's and I went on a bike ride while she slept.  When we returned home she was still sleeping.  Hub's went to play in the pit and mom woke up about 8 p.m.  She was hungry and wanted to go out.  I told her she had to shower and clean up.  Then we drove all over and nothing was open.  We ended up at Shari's.  It was the worst meal ever.  I just had water as I wasn't hungry.  But we laughed all the way through the courses as each one was worse than the one before.

     The coffee was so black it was sucking in planets.  Then the tomato soup so salty it was inedible.  The cracker packets were stale, like hard tack.   The baked potato was stone cold and old.  We did have them re heat the old potato but it was still rock hard and awful.  The shrimp was all breading.  Then her pie had no bottom crust and looked more like a plop of pudding.  Our waitress was lovely and we felt sorry for her trying to serve such bad food. But we have retold our bad meal story with some good laughs.

     I am trying to get mom over her incident, she feels like she is now house bound and is afraid to go any where, but I will not let her wallow.

     My spare time was spent working on an art pillow for my sister's bedroom.  I have the front done and will assemble it some time today if I can find the time between house work and the shop.

     Money Saving madness:

1. following Anne in the Kitchen on her using what was in the pantry, has helped me realize just how much good food I really have at my finger tips.  try cooking out of your stockpile for the week and see what you can do!
2. Ate the last of the pasta sauce on Monday, fed three of us sewing and mom and Hub's
3.  Pulled a left over ham bone out of freezer, added onion, carrot, split peas and made a large delicious pot of soup.  Again fed 3 seamstress's and mom and hub's with left overs for lunches.
4.  Only shopped for milk, fresh veggies at store but found ground beef on sale again so could not pass it up and bought about 20 lbs and took it home and refroze in small batches.
5.Ate only at home except for mom's meal out which she paid for.
6.  Fed lots of scraps to chickens.  No food waste here.
7. reused plastic bags and containers
8. Made a wedding dress for one of my dancers.  Total cost $187.00 (they paid for materials)
    a. 10 yards of beaded lace with double trimmed edging at $34.99 yard.  Use Joanns 1/2 off coupon,also $3.05  zipper  with coupon.

    b. Purchase 3 wedding dresses at goodwill on $1.00 wedding dress day.  So $3.00
    c.  Use under skirt and lining from one.  Beautiful thick bridal satin with long train. Cut it and use as pattern on lace yardage, piece and put back together, now you have a perfect expansive thick under skirt for you lace.
    d.  Use three slips from under dresses and combine them to make a huge under skirt. Attach to a piece of lining and add and a drawstring waist.
    e.  Cut lace edging of yardage giving us 20 yards of beautiful heavy lace trim.  10 were used on the dress.  I get to keep 10 yards to use on someone else s dress and I will make good money on this!
    d. pulled boning stays out of one used dress for new dress, also bra cups, and pulled 100 bridal buttons off one of the dresses.
    e.  Cut bodice and under linings for bodice out of other  used dresses.
    f.  Used scraps from lace layer to do all the endroi embroidery on the bodice.

9. Made a beautiful art pillow for sister with just scraps from her curtains and things in the shop.
10. Used many veggies out of our garden for cooking and eating.
11. Went on a thrift store run and purchase a nice gift for youngest daughter  $9.99,a beautiful hand crocheted lace table runner $1.80, and a beautiful fall table cloth, that can cover my table twice so cut it in 1/2 for cloth and napkins $1.77.  Also a pair of brand new dansko clogs. $12.50

So I called it a good week.  Well I have plenty to do and I am going to get mom upstairs to make a large batch of sour cream cookies.  Gotta keep her busy and useful.

Made a large roast from freezer so,left overs today.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim