In The Refiner's Fire

Roses, iris and peonies.  I'm loving my flowers! Happy mid-to-end of June!  I'm so excited that we're heading into full blown summer here - the garden is growing and the flowers are blooming and the weather is starting to heat up.  We were super hot for here (over 90F) a few weeks ago and then cooled off to more normal temperatures (right around 75-80F) and now we're starting to creep up - which is exactly what we should be doing!  The sun is peeking out today after a week's long absence and I'm planning on enjoying some time working in the garden.  We have had a lot of rain lately and the garden is growing like mad. Tomatoes are starting to set and so are the bell peppers and the bean and peas are starting too.  I am thinking that by the end of next week we'll have radishes - those are late since I planted the seeds late.  We are still harvesting lettuce and rhubarb.  I feel like we didn't do much in the way of frugality this week, though...

  Our CSA Box for this last week - two kinds of lettuce, chard, garlic scapes, asparagus, herbs, and strawberries. We're eating on a tight budget this week - lots of bills out and not much to spend on groceries.   That's okay - we have a lot of items in the pantry and freezers so we will still be eating just fine.  We bought milk, Smart Balance, spinach, grapes, apricots, and ground beef this week; staying well within our budget.   We are also harvesting rhubarb and lettuce from our garden and I'm hoping the first radishes will be ready this week.  We have a very, very busy Sunday this week so we decided on a picnic lunch at a nearby park or in the fellowship hall at church if it rains. John asked specifically for the pretzels you see on the menu (I purchased them with our gift money) and I made peanut butter cookies, which are his favorite.  I'm looking forward to a relatively low-key celebration, which is exactly what we need these...

Iris in my garden. My goodness, my flowers have been making me super happy this summer!  I think I say this every single year, but it definitely is something that I enjoy so much.  I've had peonies and iris on my kitchen table for the last three weeks. The scent of the peonies makes me smile every time I walk into the kitchen! The last few weeks haven't been particularly frugal - we have received several medical bills totaling $1600 and a plumbing issue required bringing in a plumber, which was another expense; though thankfully, a budgeted one.  We already had several large bills due before the 25th of June, so I feel like all I've done lately is make payments!  I spent quite a bit on groceries this last week so I need to keep it tight this week and I think we're going to manage that.  I'm grateful that we have options!  I am well aware that many do not. Here are some of the things that were frugal at our house this last week: * Made biscuit...

Flowers and candles on my kitchen table - the peonies are open and so are the mini-irises! I'm so pleased! We received our first true box from our CSA this week with more asparagus and rhubarb, lettuce, kale, thyme, oregano, green onions, and strawberries!  I was so excited!  We also bought corn on sale this week 4 ears/$1 (we bought the limit of 8) and a few things for the children to take for lunch this week.  Our garden has lettuce, rhubarb, and basil ready for harvest and several things that will be ready in a couple of weeks - radishes, tomatoes, beans, and maybe peas (those may take a bit longer).  I am really enjoying the fresh lettuce.  We spent our allotted $40/wk plus another $20 on groceries this week since there were some good sales and we were short on a few things.  That leaves us with $20 plus some change for next week. We have several baking potatoes leftover from a church event (the potatoes were uncooked and were going to be thrown...