In The Refiner's Fire

Last week of Summer Vacation! Lots of veggies in the fridge this week, both from our yard and the CSA.  I seriously had three shelves full in the fridge of vegetables.  So, lots of vegetables this week! John brought home part of a meat and cheese tray and about a dozen sandwich buns leftover from a church lunch and a parishioner gifted us with a dozen delicious cookies.  We're so spoiled! We did buy milk, strawberries, apples and spinach as well as some toiletries this week. We didn't need to buy much. Sunday, August 27, 2017, Sunday      Breakfast: Toast and Jam      Lunch: Pasta with Sautéed Vegetables      Snack: Popcorn, Cookies      Dinner: I honestly don't remember 😊 Obviously something exciting! Ha, ha. Monday, August 28, 2017, Monday:      Breakfast: Oatmeal with dates and walnuts      Lunch: Sandwiches, Spinach Salad with strawberries and cucumbers      Snack: Cookies      Dinner: Baked Perch, Fried Zucchini, Strawberry-Apple Salad August 29,

We played board games a few times this week. My children received Harry Potter Clue for Christmas last year and it has been a hit!  After spending the first part of summer teaching, the middle part working to get my health and energy back, I've been spending the last few weeks catching up on all the things that needed to be done.  I feel like we have been terribly busy.  I know that's not necessarily true but it feels that way.  Since I haven't posted a Frugal Friday for quite a while, I am going to just start with this past week on frugal things we've done. Here we go! * Ate all meals but one at home. * Attended a taco buffet pot luck for one meal.  We brought shredded cheese from the freezer. * Harvested tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peppers from the garden this week. * Hemmed five new pairs of pants for my son for school this fall. I found that if I order them on clearance sale in June unhemmed, I save a large amount of money and I can hem a double

Apple Pie! John's Favorite!  I'm so surprised that August is already halfway gone! This summer is sizzling by in a blink.  The zucchini and cucumber plants are trying to take over the garden and we're heading toward school starting yet again (we start 'late' here - September 5).  We spent $40 on groceries this past week and collected our CSA box, which included Swiss chard, cucumbers, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, peas, carrots and onions this week.  We still have kohlrabi, beets, and cabbage from previous weeks.  I have to admit that I'm really feeling quite blessed that we get to have home-grown veggies most of the year thanks to our CSA! All the work branching and freezing for later is definitely worth it! Anyway, here's what we're eating this week: Sunday, August 13:      Breakfast: Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Apples, Strawberries, Cherry Tomatoes and Sliced Cucumbers      Snack: Po