In The Refiner's Fire

Individual Chicken Pot Pies.  We made these for dinner last week - YUM! We are finally all back to some type of regular schedule now and I am very grateful.  It was getting a bit chaotic without a schedule and I appreciate the feeling of normalcy that routine gives us. We are eating from our pantry and freezers, as well as having picked up some fresh dairy and produce this week.  John also brought home some produce and a couple of treats that were left at church for us - asparagus, Brussels' sprouts, celery, and blackberries as well as tortilla chips and blond Oreo cookies.  On Sunday he brought home two packages of ground venison and a package of venison sausage left by a parishioner who cannot pay a tithe right now due to a layoff but wanted to make sure he gave something!  We love venison, so that was appreciated!  Since Minnesota is under stay-at-home orders, we are doing our best to only go to the stores once per week.  It has not been so...

We are now under a Stay-At-Home order from the Governor as of yesterday, Saturday, March 28.  I've been working from home for over a week anyway and the kids have been too, so it is really just John who is affected.  He has been going in a few days a week and can still go in three times per week, because the local food shelf is running the pick up point out of our church building (logistics - there is no good drive up point at the food shelf itself).  I am grateful for so much right now.  I am grateful that we are all healthy.  I am grateful we have a large yard (garden) to be in once the weather is sufficiently warm, giving us some outside time without having to be in close contact with anyone outside of our family.  I am grateful that my parents have wonderful neighbors and things like pharmacy delivery and grocery delivery and plenty of projects at home to keep them busy during this time. Here are some of the specific things that I am feeling ver...

This cute little rock next to the walking path near our home - I love this idea! Well, the state of Minnesota is officially under Stay-At-Home orders!  We started today (Saturday, March 28), though we have been under partial stay-at-home since the middle of the month.  I am grateful we have internet access, the yard (garden) to be outside in, and plenty in our pantry and freezers.  I am grateful that we, my parents and my husband's large family are all well and able to continue working for the most part.  There is only one branch of my husband's family that is dealing with unemployment, and that only partially.  We are very blessed. Here are several things we did this week that are frugal: * We ate all meals at home this week or took lunch.  John is still going in three days per week and I went in one day this past week.  We made corn and potato chowder, Falafel, stir fry, stuffed cabbage leaves, pizza and chicken pot pie this week. * We also...

Cleaning out old photos and found this!  One days harvest from our little garden in August last year - beans, tomatoes, watermelon and a couple of sugar snap peas.  YUM! We keep spending more and more time at home. Not a bad thing right now but we are starting to get a certain amount of "cabin fever".   We decided to try a couple of new-to-us recipes to help keep the spirits up.  One we had put on the menu last week but didn't actually get to make it - Falafel. So, that is on the menu for tonight!  I am excited to try it.  Our yard was covered in a light snow this morning but now that has all melted.  It is so strange to look out the window and see brown rather than white!  Typically, we have snow cover until early-April at the earliest.  We will see!  I am grateful for the ability to go for a walk at our neighborhood walking path or just outside without being inundated with snow.  I appreciate that! Here is what we ar...

My Dad sent me this photos this morning - lovely!   Well, this week has really changed just about everything for the US, hasn't it?  In terms of day-to-day life for most of us and for the spread of Covid-19 too.  I am grateful that I can work from home, the children can school from home and John can mostly work from home as well.  I've been working on a list of things we can do at home so we are not feeling so contained and frustrated.  Hopefully it will work! Here are the frugal things we did this past week: * We ate most meals at home.  I am still going in to work three days per week and so is John.  We made a sheet pan dinner with sausage, potatoes and carrots, pulled pork sandwiches with lettuce salad, a fend-for-yourself dinner where we ate leftovers, homemade pizza, pasta with meatballs and garlic bread, soup and something else that I can't remember right now.  John and I took leftovers, cheese and crackers and peanut butter an...

Our daughter made another Angel Food Cake from scratch this past week.  YUM! As a co-worker said on Friday last week, "We live in interesting times."  So very true.  Here in Minnesota, almost everything has been shut down.  I am not worried about being bored or not being able to do my work.  I am more worried about so many things my children have been working toward this past year not coming to fruition because of the closures.  We will see.  One day at a time. We have plenty of food in the house and we are so very grateful for that.  We are eating well in spite of everything. Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, March 15, 2020:     Brunch: Biscuit Sandwiches (Church was canceled)     Snack: Popcorn     Dinner: Monday, March 16, 2020:    Breakfast: Yogurt and Bananas    Lunch:  Sheet Pan Nachos    Snack: Cheese and Crackers    Dinner: Meatballs a...

My basil plant last year - this silly plant came back in September last fall.   We have a fairly quiet week this week.  The children have Spring Break from school this week.  After such a busy February, they are so grateful for a bit of quiet to get homework caught up and rest. Our son grew another two inches in height between January 1 and now, so rest is something that is so good for him. I have one evening meeting with a meal served and John had Lenten dinner at church this week.  We also used a gift card for lunch and then ate our evening meal at church after a Funeral on Sunday.  Other than that, we are eating at home or taking lunch with to work.  Here's what we are eating this week: Sunday, March 8:     Breakfast: Toast with Peanut Butter     Lunch: Out with a Gift Card     Snack and Dinner: At a Funeral Monday, March 9:    Breakfast: Cereal and Milk, Bananas    Lunch: Leftover Roa...

Arches, ready to be assembled. I had exactly zero intention of vanishing from this space for a month, but it happened!  We had an insanely busy February - only one day on the calendar that did not have an extra activity the entire month.  I am so grateful that March is here and we can slow down a bit.  Part of the busy-ness of February was the school musical.  Both of our children participated, including building set pieces, one of which you can see above.  The arches were part of a "stone" promenade.  They had a marvelous time and we had free entertainment for four performances - we bought tickets for closing night and volunteered for the rest.  That meant we got to see all four performances!  They did a wonderful job. I am skipping the frugal adventures from February, since I really can not remember most of them right now.  So, I am starting with what we did this past week. * We cooked a shrimp, potatoes and corn sheet pan dinner,...