A Great Bargain

Today while shopping at Wal-Mart I came across some girl’s tights that had been marked down from $3.96 regular price to a clearance price of $1.50.

Elizabeth loves to wear tights in the winter to keep her legs warm so each time I find tights marked down I try to stock up on them. I am pretty pleased with what was found tonight; especially since our current stash was getting low.

Evening Sunset

Jonathan went out for an evening run and promptly came back into the house for the camera. This is what he wanted to photograph;I never get tired of looking at the sunset!

A Fun Quilt Along

Each morning before everyone wakes up I enjoy surfing the web and reading blogs. One of my favorite blogs to read is Crazy Mom Quilts. I love seeing and reading about all the wonderful quilts she makes.

Last year she began a quilt along that I enjoyed watching but did not participate in. Beginning this week Crazy Mom Quilts has begun a second quilt along and I have decided to participate this time.

The quilt will be constructed of Star Blocks. When I think of stars I think of the flag so I decided to make my blocks from red, white and blue calico fabrics. I love working with calico fabrics, there are so many pretty designs and colors to choose from.
When working on a quilt block I love how putting together the pieces is like putting together a puzzle.Here is my first completed block; this quilt along is going to be so fun!

A Few Trees

Each year we have been planting trees around our house, both fruit trees and pine trees. The pine trees have been placed in 3 rows and spaced so they will grow together as a wall to help block the wind.

This peach tree is loaded with small peaches! I hope the birds and wasp will save a few pieces of the fruit for us to enjoy.
Elizabeth loves animals; here she is with Hally, short of Halloween. Hally was given to us as a kitten and was the ugliest kitten I had ever seen! Now he is pretty and gentle and a wonderful pet

A Perfect Day

Yesterday was such a perfect day for drying sheets outside; sunny, breezy and warm.

Biscuits and Gravy

I love a bargain and I love to cook! Recently I found 2-pound sausage logs marked down for 99-cents each; this sausage sells for almost $5 at regular price. On the same day and at the same store I found whole milk, which was to expire in two days, marked down to $1.50 per gallon. I purchased a total of 11 sausage logs (22-pounds) and 2 gallons of milk. Now I had the makings for a lot of sausage gravy!

Bright and early the next morning I began cooking the sausage, 4-pounds at a time. I turned this into gravy and set to the side to cool. I then started the next 4-pounds of sausage to cooking and continued this until I had cooked a total of 3 batches. As the gravy cooled it was put into zip lock bags for the freezer.

Now I am well stocked in gravy for quit some time and the other sausage logs were put into the freezer for cooking into patties or for using on pizza.

When it is time for breakfast I put the biscuits in the oven to cook.

My frozen gravy is put in a pan with a small amount of water to thaw.

If the gravy is too thick I simply add a little milk until it is the consistency I like. Homemade biscuits and gravy just can’t be beat!

Thrift Store Bargain

Today while in town I decided to visit a couple of thrift stores since I hadn’t been in awhile. My favorite is a Goodwill that is called “The Pound Store”. This store sells items for 65-cents and 85-cents per pound. Everything is put into very large boxes that are about 4-feet tall and 4-feet square. Nothing is organized in anyway; you have to dig to see what is in each box.

What I like most about this particular thrift store is the bargains you can get. One time I found 5 blouses and paid less than $3 total.

Well, today I found the ultimate bargain…

Today I found an American Girl Doll!
She came with a skirt, sweater and white panties.
The only thing wrong with her was the hair; it is still shiny and soft but someone cut it to the shoulders. She weighs 1 ¾ pounds and she was 65-cents per pound so I paid only $1.14 for her.

Oh how I love a bargain!!!

Stormy Weather

Today we had storm clouds roll in, thunder filled the sky, the wind blew and the temperature dropped low enough to bake.

So, what does one bake on a cool day? Cookies! After mixing up the dough and putting them on the cookie sheet ...Bake for 10 minutes in a 375* oven.
Now cool on the pan and then cool on the rack….
Now get your tester ready, what will she think? Perfection!!!!!
Want the recipe?
Just check out the back of the package.

Today's Lunch

Yesterday after I finished cooking all my taco meat it reminded me I hadn't had a ground beef and potato burrito lately.

So, today for lunch I made one and boy was it good!

The best thing, aside from the taste is the price, it is so inexpensive to make burritos and they are so versatile.

Another Summber Capri Outfit

After my day of cooking I managed to get into the sewing room last night to make Elizabeth another Capri outfit. It turned out darling and cost me less than a dollar to make since I purchased the fabric at the Goodwill.

The top is a style similar to the "Pillowcase Dresses" that are so popular right now.
I wasn't sure I liked the pants since they reminded me of a pirate and they also remind me of pajamas, but after the outfit was finished I think I like them after all.

My Unexpected Day

Today began with me planning on doing more sewing for Elizabeth and ended instead with me cooking in the kitchen.

Yesterday after church I was able to purchase marked down hamburger meat at $1.15 per pound. I ended up buying several packages to put in the freezer for future use. This morning I discovered the freezer door did not close all the way and I had several packages of meat and a chicken that needed cooking right away! So, today I have been cooking taco meat and boiled chicken.
For the taco meat I simply added all the hamburger meat into a stock pot with a little water until it was browned. After draining the meat I added water, jalapeño peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper and salt and let it cook down for a couple of hours. Once the meat was cooled I put it into zip lock bags and labeled them for the freezer.
The chicken was boiled in water with onion, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes and salt until tender.
Once cooled I took the meat from the bones, strained the broth and now I have cooked chicken for enchiladas this evening. I sure am glad I discovered the freezer before anything had a chance to go bad; now hopefully I can get into the sewing room and start on Elizabeth’s outfit.

Roof Top View

Today my son, Jonathan, climbed on top of the house to snap photos.
I really love these two pictures.

Summer Capri Outfit

While de-junking and cleaning Elizabeth’s room a couple of months ago she became upset because I wanted to give several of her summer Capri outfits to the Goodwill. I assured her I would replace them with new ones very soon.

I began with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
I took the jeans, which I purchased at the Goodwill for $1 and cut the legs the length I liked. I next added a ruffle at each leg using Alexander Henry’s Apples and Pears from my scrap box. Once the ruffle was added I next appliquéd some of the apples and pears on the pant legs.
The first thing I did with the t-shirt, which I had purchased on clearance for $2.50, was to cut about 5-inches off the bottom and added more ruffles; next I appliquéd two green apples and one pink pear to the front.
This entire summer outfit cost me $3.50!
You just can’t beat the savings when you make it yourself or the excitement Elizabeth had when the outfit was finished!

The Windmill Frame

My mother asked me today the following question,

“What is that ugly tree in your blog header photo”.

Because I needed to resize my header photo to fit the template I had to crop some of the photo.

In our front yard we have a very old windmill frame that stands taller than the trees.

It is covered in vines which green up during the spring and summer and has pretty Trumpet Vine flowers which will soon cover it.

I have always loved this windmill frame and so do the birds. Several of them have nests throughout it and at the very top is a nest I think may be as old as the frame itself.

Indoor Garden

In November of 2007 my husband decided he wanted to begin tomato plants indoors so we could get an early start on our 2008 garden.
The plants have grown so quickly that they are taking over our porch/greenhouse! But that's OK, we are already eating fresh tomatoes and will be for quit some time.

One variety we are growing is Roma.

And we have Cherry tomatoes;

And a variety I am not sure of but from the taste I think they may be a tomato used for tomato paste.

If all goes well we should be moving the plants to the great outdoors very soon.