In The Refiner's Fire

 From our family to yours, Merry Christmas! See you in 2021! Lea

Salad Lunch! YUM!   This week starts December - wow!  In some ways 2020 has gone so fast; in others, so slow.  This Saturday we will start the Christmas baking - shortbread cookies this weekend.  Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent so we will start with the Christmas Decorations.  We will be putting the tree up early this year, since we need to have it down by January 4.  We typically leave it up until the 6th (Epiphany) or a bit later but this year we need it down for the construction on the house to continue. Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, November 29, 1st Sunday in Advent:          Brunch:  Egg Bake          Snack: Popcorn          Dinner: Taco Soup, Tortilla Chips Monday, November 30:          Breakfast: Eggs and Toast          Lunch: Leftover Soup          Snack: Yogurt     ...

A beautiful sunrise earlier this month!  This week the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving - a holiday dedicated to giving thanks for everything good from the last year.  I am so grateful for a day to rest, a day with my immediate family, phone calls with others, and lots of good food to eat!  I am grateful that we have everything we need, some of what we want, reliable housing and transportation, and jobs we can still do.  I am grateful that I was able to work from home two of three days this week and that my husband was able to have the minor surgery he needed this week.  I am grateful he is recovering well from that surgery and will be back at work soon.  I am also grateful for the ability to help others and to call and write (email, text, and letter) those we love when they cannot be with us in person for the holiday. We have been enjoying not doing much this week: we have done a  lot of staying home and watching movies and reading.  It has been heav...

New dirt in our garden bed - the two baby tomato plants did not make it through our freeze, unfortunately.  Our weather has been so up and down here.  Today we are in the high 30's F (~5C) for temperatures but we have a "stiff" wind today.  That makes it seem much colder when outside!  After a few days of sunshine the clouds today make it feel like real winter, even though it's not quite there yet. We found out that the new windows for our remodel project are a couple of weeks out so we are on hold with everything for a couple of weeks.  I am okay with that.  It gives us more of a chance to clean things out and work from home.  Once they get started on the windows, we have three to four weeks where we will not be able to work from home easily each week.  I am grateful that we do not need to change things up yet again for a few more weeks. Here are some things we have done the beginning of November that we felt were frugal: *  We continued to ...

  Roasted Veggies are a staple for dinner around here! This fall seems to be flying by so quickly!  We have had up and down weather here in Minnesota - something very normal for this time of year.  Last week it was lovely, mild weather with lots of sunshine and this week started out with cold and snow and ice.  I am so grateful for a warm, safe, sturdy home and the ability to cook warm food when it is cold out and make something cool when it is hot out. So many are not so fortunate! The garden is done for the year (and currently under snow and ice), but our freezer, pantry and refrigerator are very full.  Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, November 8:          Brunch: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Yogurt          Snack: Popcorn          Dinner: Chicken Divan Casserole, Whole Wheat Buns Monday, November 9:          Breakfast: Eggs and Toast, Bananas   ...

Our garden produce from the 13th of October.  The weather is so weird here - last week I was harvesting garden produce, today we received about 4 inches of heavy wet snow! October snow of this magnitude is not common in Minnesota, though a "dusting" is not unheard of.  It should melt and be warm enough to stay snow-less for the next week or two.  I am sincerely hoping to have no significant snow until after Thanksgiving again!   We are working on eating the things in our freezers that need to be cooked in the oven or on the stove top as we are heading toward a time when we will not have a working stove top or oven for up to six weeks.  I have several things that can easily go in the slow cooker and we have an electric skillet.  We will need to be creative!  In the meantime, I am enjoying the food we are making! Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, October 18:           Brunch: Eggs, Toast and Smoothies   ...

My entire 2020 Carrot harvest. Ha!  We have had lovely, lovely weather this week!  It has been right about 70F (~21C) and sunny.  The fall colors on the tree leaves are amazing and I have been trying to spend as much time as I can outside.  We started the fall yard work for the year - raking leaves, cleaning up flower and vegetable beds and turning and adding compost and fresh dirt.  We have two beds completely done and the first round of leaves raked.  John and I and Buddy and I have taken several walks this week and John and Missy have been running regularly.  I have also enjoyed many a cup of coffee on my patio while doing email or reading.  It has been lovely.  I am hoping it lasts a few more weeks!  This week I harvested the winter squash and my three lonely, tiny carrots you see above.  I planted an entire package of carrot seeds this year, thinking I would get enough to can.  Most never came up.  I was going to repl...

  Man, this week was a rough week.  A lot of the overtime at work has caught up with me and I had the worst PHN flare I've had in almost two years.  I knew things were getting stressful but I did not realize how much.  I don't know about you, but I feel like 2020 has been a year of three steps forward, two steps backward, and then something veers right or left or up or something.  I am sure some extra sleep will help, as will taking an evening off but the truth of the matter is that my workload currently is unsustainable.  I have several co-workers who are "retiring" or choosing not to renew at the end of their contract or the school year or the term.  Next term could be a real mess if enough people do not continue.  While tempting, I still have more days when I enjoy my work than not.  Until that changes, I will push forward.  With my PHN flare and all the work this week, it seems like we did not do much that was frugal.  We did do...

Angel Food cake batter - Missy loves making these! This was a busy week - things going on with the remodel, having my cousin, Diane, here overnight at the beginning of the week and then few days into this weekend due to a medical procedure (she lives quite far away from the hospital here), the first full week of programming at church (mostly virtual or take-home) and first exams for both of my classes at work. Whew!  I'm grateful that it is the weekend. We did not do too many things this week outside of the ordinary due to the number of things we had on our plate this week.  Here are some things we did this week that we counted as frugal: * We made all our meals at home this week or packed lunches to take with.  I even sent some snacks to the hospital with Diane.  Meals included two types of soup,  stir fry, soft-shell beef tacos, and baked chicken.   * I repaired a fallen hem on a skirt. * We harvested tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce and green beans fr...

  We made spaghetti and meatballs at the cabin we rented this summer.  I often "cheat" and buy our favorite store bought meatballs when they are on sale - so much less work and cheaper than buying the ingredients for homemade meatballs.  We do prefer the taste of homemade meatballs, but these are good most of the time. We still have garden produce coming in right now - tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, eggplant (aubergine) and winter squash (acorn squash this year).  I am hoping to can salsa this week some time - I received a cookbook on small batch canning for my birthday this summer; it is perfect for our little garden!  John loves their salsa recipe so I will can some for him to eat later this year. Here is what we will be eating this week: Sunday, September 20:         Brunch: Egg Bake with Potatoes and Spinach; Blueberry-Banana Smoothies         Snack: Popcorn         Dinner: Roasted Chicken, Salad M...

  Everything is back to a new "normal" this week. I am always grateful for getting into a routine.  I find routines very comforting and calming.  Our routine is certainly different right now - work and school look so different than before and with our remodeling project continuing, each day looks a little different.  It is all good and we are so looking forward to the result!  Here are some of the frugal things we have done this week: * We cooked all but one lunch at home.  For breakfasts we ate homemade lemon poppy seed muffins, eggs and toast, overnight oatmeal, cold cereal with milk, and fruit and yogurt smoothies.  Lunch was leftovers, pulled pork sandwiches, or noodles with pan seared veggies and cheese.  For dinners we made pork stir fry with rice, sloppy joes on buns with cut veggies, breakfast for dinner (pancakes, bacon and eggs), pork loin with couscous and a spinach salad, spaghetti and meatballs, and homemade pizza.   * John ...

Whew!  We're all back in school now and things are starting to fall into a routine.  The first week or two of school is always chaotic and this year is particularly chaotic with all of the additional things needed for (hopefully) preventing the spread of Covid-19.   I think we are back into a routine for the time being!  We started on our big remodeling project - I am SO excited about this!  The rain has slowed things down a bit but we should be back on track soon. Here are some things we have done since the beginning of September that we consider frugal: * We have made all but one meal at home, including two types of soup, pizza, overnight oatmeal, fried eggs and toast, bagels with cream cheese, egg bake with spinach and sweet potatoes, BLT's, fried fish, roasted veggie couscous, chicken lasagna, pasta with meatballs and marinara sauce, hamburger gravy over rice with a tossed green salad, chicken with potatoes and carrots, and for Labor Day we grilled with...

  Roasting Marshmallows! We have an abundance of tomatoes and peppers this week!  I am hoping to make more salsa and can that this week.  We will see how time plays out. Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, August 23:       Breakfast: Cereal and Milk       Lunch: Leftovers       Snack: Almonds or Yogurt       Dinner: Pork Chops, Corn on the Cob, Applesauce Monday, August 24:       Breakfast: Eggs and Toast       Lunch: Salad with Walnuts and Craisins       Snack: Yogurt       Dinner: Baked Chicken Legs, Roasted Zucchini and Sweet Potatoes Tuesday, August 25:        Breakfast: Lemon Scones, Sliced Peaches        Lunch: Salad with Leftover Chicken        Snack: No Bake Energy Bites        Dinner: Pasta Salad with Tuna, Corn on the Cob Wednesday, August 26:   ...

Our Anniversary dinner - salmon, pasta salad, and zucchini.   August has flown by so fast!  I am just amazed by how quickly it has gone. We were so blessed to get away for our Anniversary weekend with the children to a rented cabin in Northern Wisconsin.  We spent 5 days relaxing, enjoying the sound of the loons singing, reading, hiking, drawing (the children), writing (John) and doing embroidery (me).  The children went swimming and/or paddle boarding every day while we were there.  We stopped to see my cousin and her husband on the way home; it was so nice to visit!  We stayed outside (socially distanced with masks) and enjoyed a picnic dinner of hamburgers, cut veggies and grilled beets (beetroot) straight from their garden. Wonderful! Here are some other things we have done since the beginning of August that are frugal: * We made most meals at home including soups, roasted meats and vegetables, eggs (scrambled, fried,  baked) and home-baked bread. ...

Our Garden Harvest this past weekend. Yum! We started this week with my Birthday!  I turned 45 years old this year.  It was a good day and it was a good way to start the week.  We end this week with our Anniversary - the first week of August is always a big week for us. We're starting to get full size tomatoes and peppers from the garden.  The beans and the peas are flowering again.  I always feel like I have won the lottery when I find fresh produce in the garden!  I try to harvest daily, even if it is just a handful of items.   Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, August 2, My 45th Birthday:      Brunch: Egg Bake      Snack: Crackers and Cheese      Dinner: Take Away (Birthday Treat) Monday, August 3:     Breakfast: Bagels and Cream Cheese     Lunch: Leftovers from Sunday     Snack: Yogurt     Dinner: Soft Shell Taco, Spinach Salad Tuesday, August 4: ...

Green Tomatoes! Happy Monday everyone!   I hope your last week in July is off to a good start. Here's what we're eating this week: Sunday, July 26, 2020     Brunch: Orange-Cranberry Scones, Blueberry-Banana Smoothies     Snack: Popcorn     Dinner: Pizza and Salad (my In-Laws are visiting and bringing dinner!) Monday, July 27, 2020      Breakfast:  Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Salad with Walnuts, Peaches and Cranberries      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Shrimp with Veggies and Rice Tuesday, July 28, 2020      Breakfast: Overnight Blueberry Oatmeal      Lunch: Salad with Walnuts, Peaches and Cranberries      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Stuffed Zucchini, Fruit Salad Wednesday, July 29, 2020      Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Blueberry-Banana Smoothies      Lunch: Leftover Stuffed Zucchini     ...

Zinnias in my front flower bed this week. This was a relatively quiet week.  My course ended for the summer, the children and John are still working their normal schedules and the garden is starting to produce!  After a gap in blooms, we started having more flowers blooming as well.  The weather was absolutely lovely this week and I was able to get a lot of weeding and other yard work done.  Today, grades have been submitted to the Registrar's office and I get to take a bit of break before starting to get ready for fall semester. Here are some frugal things we have done this week: * We made bagels with cream cheese, blueberry-banana smoothies, banana-mango smoothies, scrambled eggs and toast for breakfasts this week. * We also made baked salmon with potatoes and salad, scalloped potatoes with ham, roasted chicken and vegetables, soft shell beef tacos with sliced apples, and pizza for dinner this past week. * We ate meals at home for lunch as well, including sandwiche...

One of the few zinnias that made it this spring - I'm so grateful! We're starting to get "garden truck", as my Grandmother would say!  We had beans from the garden in the roasted vegetables this last week, blueberries in pancakes, and tomatoes and cucumbers for snacks.  I love the taste of home grown vegetables.   I did go to the store on Friday morning and purchased groceries - mostly dairy, but I also bought bananas, spinach (which has never grown well for me), and sale meat - ground beef (beef mince) and chicken legs. I will be harvesting cucumbers, tomatoes, peas and green beans from the garden this week.  Here's what we are eating this week: Sunday, July 19, 2020:        Brunch: Blueberry Pancakes with Walnuts, Scrambled Eggs        Snack: Cookies        Dinner: Scalloped Potatoes with Ham, Spinach Salad with Strawberries        Dessert: Cream Puffs (leftover from a church event...

Some of my flowers this month - cone flower (echinacea) and lilies. We had what is becoming here a rather routine week - work for all of us part time from home, part time at the office and the rest of the time doing things mostly from home with a trip to the store for groceries and a trip to the fabric store.   Here are some things we did this week that were frugal: * We made all meals at home this week:  Blueberry pancakes with scrambled eggs, Blueberry-Banana Smoothies, Oatmeal with Peaches and Walnuts, Leftovers, Baked Potatoes with Roasted Vegetables, Meatball Soup with Cornbread, Shrimp with Spinach and Mushrooms and Rice, Hard Shell Ground Turkey Tacos, and Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Noodles. * The children and I went to the fabric store and used a coupon to purchase on sale fabric for a concert outfit for our daughter and fleece pants for our son.  I also bought notions for my Mother, since she cannot got to the store right now and needed a few things...

   My first garden harvest this season that had vegetables - cucumber and a few green beans. Yum!  Blueberries in the bowl - the tail end from one set of bushes. We are starting to get some vegetables from the garden! YAY!!  I have harvested four cucumbers so far They are pickling cucumbers, so they are short-ish. Right now they are very round because we have had a lot of rain.  The next few coming in do not look so round.   We had enough green beans to add to stir fry one night for dinner last week and we had picked just enough blueberries last week to make blueberry pancakes.   I will be eating green beans, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from the garden this week.  I am hoping that we can have enough cucumbers and tomatoes this summer to can pickles and tomato sauce!   Here is what we will be eating this week: Sunday, July 12:        Brunch: Baked Oatmeal with Peaches and Pecans        S...

Homemade Ice Cream - we still have about a pint in the freezer. I had a couple of days off this week and was so grateful for the break!  Back to work on Monday, but I did get some time to get my vegetables weeded and to get a bit ahead at work so it won't be quite so crazy for the next two weeks. Then I am off until September! Yay!  I am ready for a break. Here are some things that we did this last week: *  We made the following meals at home:  Blueberry pancakes, Beef Roast with Mushroom and Onion Gravy with Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Smoothies, Roasted Veggie Couscous with Tortilla Chips, Stir Fry with Rice, and a lot of leftovers.  * John brought home leftovers from a meal packing session at church and we ate those one night. * We harvested cucumbers, green beans and blueberries from the garden this week.  We also picked the first tomato! * I purchased notebooks for school for the children on clearance sale. * We picked up several requested books ...

Pizza for dinner one night - "Supreme" on the left and pepperoni and ham on the right. When it is hot and humid like it is this week, I am always somewhat stuck for what to make for dinner every night.  I do not like heating up the house with the oven and I do not like just having salad for two meals a day, seven days per week.  It is a struggle in my mind! Using the stove top and the crockpot (slow cooker) help a great deal and we are so blessed to have a variety of options for both food to eat and ways to prepare it.  So many are not so fortunate! Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, July 5:      Brunch:  Bagels with Cream Cheese, Strawberry-Banana Smoothies      Snack: Popcorn      Dinner: Beef Roast with Onion and Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower Monday, July 6:      Breakfast: Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Baked Potatoes with Leftover Broccoli and Cauliflower, Butter...

My "fairy lilies" on my patio right now.  So pretty! It is hot this week - our temperatures are running about 90 F (32 C) this week with about 90% humidity.  I am not big fan of hot and humid (part of the reason I live in Minnesota!) but the vegetables are loving this weather!  The eggplant is growing well and everything else - tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, summer and winter squash - are starting to set fruit.  I am very excited!  We should have cucumbers early this next week already.   I have today off and John and the children had to work today so I had a quiet house all day today.  I am so grateful for that!  The quiet and lack of schedule today is a very welcome change.  I do not have much left for summer session and I am grateful.  I am tired and need a rest or at least a change.  There is so much that we need to do this summer and I need some time to do those things as well. Here are some frugal things we did this pas...

My butternut squash plant with SO many blossoms! How is it becoming July already this week?  Wow!  I feel like time has it's own pace these days  - "Is it really only Tuesday?" "Oh, wait it's already Friday!"  Seriously, All of a sudden, July is arriving!  I thought it was still March....  okay, maybe not March, but April....or something. It is Independence Day this weekend in the U.S. - "July 4th!", as it is sometimes called.   We will have a quiet weekend at home.  Neighbors have started setting off some (illegal) fireworks already and we have been treated to several impromptu shows.  A nearby park had a show last Friday and we enjoyed that from our back yard as well.   The warm weather has arrived just in time and the squash are setting blossoms, the tomatoes, beans and cucumbers are setting fruit.  We harvested lettuce and blueberries this past week.  I am thinking we may have cucumbers by the end of this week....

A rainbow over our backyard!  It looked like the "pot of gold" was in our neighbor's yard. It was a week with a lot of "normal" happening this week - I am still teaching summer session, John is still doing his typical work and the children are working two days a week, exercising and taking voice music lessons.  In some ways I feel like all I did was work this week! Here are some of the things we did this week that were frugal: * We cooked most meals at home - bagels with cream cheese, PB&J toast, fried eggs on toast or smoothies for breakfast; lunch was mostly leftovers or salads; and dinner was roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots and onions, beef and vegetable stir fry served with rice, chicken noodle soup (made with the roasted chicken carcass), chicken pot pie with corn on the cob, homemade pizza, and a sheet pan dinner using sausages, carrots, onions, potatoes and Brussels' Sprouts.  * John and I each enjoyed one meal provided by our work places. ...