Anglynn's Diary

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

Today was my spend day for the week. I went to 2 groceries. There were no pink stickers, but I took advantage of coupons and sales. I got grapefruit for .50 cents each. Very good price. Also celery for .89 cents and a head of lettuce for .99 cents. Yogurt was 1.00 each (2) and Cherrios (cereal) ended up costing $1.50 for 12 oz. after a sale and coupon. This is my back up cereal when I'm lazy and don't want to make oats. Chicken breasts were .99 cents a pound, too.

I made cookies yesterday and cooked up half of the dough with the other half put in the freezer. So the grandchildren will have a goodie when they visit on Sunday. My son in law called to say he wanted to take his wife to a movie. (We have 1.00 movies here.) He asked me to watch the kids. Gee, I don't know.. Well, of course I will!

I also went to a charity shop and found a Nine West (very expensive) never used purse for 4.00. I'm thinking of selling it on Amazon. I never have sold on there before, so we'll see how it works out. I have 2 purses. One for winter and one for summer. I need no more than that. And to think purses use to be a weakness for me.

Well, that's it for today.

Stay safe.
Scrambled
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by Scrambled »

Very well done - it's very satisfying to get a bargain )t'
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

Two of the grandchildren visited today. We celebrated the 8 year old's birthday. (It was really yesterday) Since he's a 'big' boy now he tasted graham crackers. He loved them. We also made cookies and ice cream with sprinkles. We had fun, but it was also good when they went home and the dog and I had a rest.

The frugal thing today was the sprinkles were bought last year after Valentine Day for 75% off. Tee hee hee. I can use red or pink sprinkles any time of the year I choose to. The ice cream was buy one, get one half off. I get it for when the kids visit.

Stay safe.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

Today there is quite a bit of snow on the ground. I live in 'The South' so this is most unusual. There are no snow or ice clearing equipment in our area so everything shuts down. Even the stores and businesses. Yesterday afternoon it was 54 F out and beautiful no coat weather. An hour later the cold started coming in and this morning we have a chilling 14 F. Poor pup went out to do her business for a minute and came in shaking from the cold. She's all wrapped up in a cozy afgan now to get warm.

Before the weather turned yesterday I went out with my daughter. I had coupons for fresh produce and grabbed up an artichoke, a pepper, 5 lbs. of potatoes, an orange, spinach. I saved $2.50 and will have no need to go to the store next week. I have been eating out of my freezer for 3 weeks with more to come.

Stay safe to all.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

Yesterday was a no spend day as will be today. The area was closed yesterday too. The ice is still on problem on the roads. Today the city opened up, but it is still cold, cold, cold. So I will stay home and keep cozy.

Now that I think of it, I did get a milk delivery last night. So I did spend yesterday.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

I spent a few hours yesterday watching my favorite lady on yootoob. I learned quite a bit. I'd like to try making candied orange peels. They look good. I also hung the laundry on the drying rack in the bathroom. I hand wash tops so it saves me using the washing machine so often. I squeezed out 6 lemons and got 1 cup of juice. So far 3 no spend days this week. More to come. I watched a couple of shows on pbs.org for entertainment on Sunday.

Another unusual snow storm is on it's way to my area. We are expecting 6 to 10 inches of snow. This is unheard of in the South. I'm stocked up, but pray the power does not go out. I would have no heat source. My plan would be to close the bedroom door and light a few candles for heat and light. We'll see.

Stay safe.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

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Today was a mixed bag. I made a loaf of date nut bread which turned out yummy. I loved it as a child, so when I saw the recipe, I went for it. A friend send me California dates for my birthday last year, so I had those in the pantry. The recipe called for orange peel and I had that, dried, in the pantry, as well. So I have snack for a couple of weeks.
Leak in the roof showed up. Yuk. The area is still closed up, so I have to wait for a repair. There's no way to remove snow on the roads.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

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This week I gathered together all of my dried veggies and 'made' veggie soup in a jar. I had enough for 3 quart jars.
I also made dishwasher soap pods. I wash most of my dishes by hand, except when the family comes for a meal. I got 25 pods for about $1.87. This is a good savings, I just don't know how much because I forgot how much they cost.

I mended an afgan that my late husband's grandmother made for me about 30 years ago. I think I will make slippers with the rest of the yarn. Because I'd like to make most of my Christmas gifts this year, I will begin now to make sure I have them done.

The only other thing I can think of is I went to the dollar store (everything is sold for $1.00) and got a loaf of oat bread and 3 solar lamps to use at night so I don't have to flip lights on. This week I will go back because I have $1.00 coupons for toothpaste so I can get 2 free.

I dried my clothes on a rack for this past month and saved 8.00 on electric. I'm trying to do better this month.

Stay safe.
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jackian
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by jackian »

We have £1 stores here where a lot of the items sold are a lot cheaper than the normal supermarkets but you have to grab them quick as a lot of the stuff on sale is a one off and never seen again .
I was interested in your dried food .It is not something that we do here a lot .You can buy dried fruit e.g . apricots,prunes apple sultanas , beans etc., but not vegetables and we certainly don't dry our own even though we have two allotments . Most of our left over vegetables are frozen ,made into meals for freezing or any spare cabbage leaves given to the chickens .

Jackie x
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom.
2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby.
Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

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Hi Jackelan. ( I hope I spelled that correctly. I wasn't wise enough to check the spelling before I came here to post. I have a dehydrator that I use, but some things I put in the oven after it's turned off to utilize the heat that remains after cooking. This method is for the people who have patience because the item has to stay in after a couple uses. Since dried foods last for ages, it's good for me because I can't eat enough before things get freezer burned or rot. I also store 10 gallons of water, which is more than enough to get me through any power outage. Plus we live in hurricane country, so a good back up to have.

Yesterday I got 10 cans (tins?) of spaghetti sauce for 6.00. I also got 4 boxes of spaghetti for 50 cents a box. The tuna tins were also 4 for 2.00. That's all I bought because I have fresh foods. I've been eating fresh celery for snacks and this bunch is real and delicious. No GMOs in it. I can really tell the difference. Whatever you do, fight for no GMO foods in your country. They say we are fat in this country. Well we weren't before the 1960s. In comes GMOs and our bodies can't process them so fat is stored. Thankfully I am not one of them. I have been very careful and go without if I have to. I also poo pooed packaged foods when feeding my family. If I can't pronounce the ingredients, then they didn't get it at home. Enough of the rant. I feel very blessed that I can tell the differences. It's only because I am old enough to remember foods before GMOs.

Stay safe.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

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Today - as well as yesterday - is a no spend day on myself or my home needs. I did purchase a NABI 2 for my grandson. (online) I normally don't spend over a set amount on the grands, but this was needed for a variety of reasons. My two major concerns are food and education. I will help, if asked, in those 2 categories.

I made chili earlier this week and ate it for 3 meals. I also made a pineapple upside down cake which (1/2) went on the floor when I tried to flip it. Then I shared it with my daughter, and finished off the remainder myself.

My wash was hung on the indoor rack, as well. I have no plans to spend money for the rest of the week.

Stay safe.
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jackian
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

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I can also remember when food had very little additives .Which is why I think that people now in the UK (and the rest of the world )are so unhealthy.
We never had any packaged food and every thing was freshly made and we certainly had no freezer..We also had a load of home made stodgy puddings and pies and loads of sugar !!! but it was all natural foods and we at school had plenty of exercise ..like walking to school 5 miles there and back a day and plenty of sport in school .
After bringing up 4 children and at one stage being a single parent I learnt a lot from my mum about making do (although she was a rubbish cook {rofwl} ) but my kids now all adults and left home don't seem to bother too much as long as it is quick and easy.

Jackie x
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom.
2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby.
Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

I learned how to make pasta from a Jamie Oliver video on yoo toob. I can't believe it's so simple. Flour and eggs. I don't have a pasta roller so I rolled the dough by hand. The first batch was too thick as the pasta swells when boiled. Today I rolled the dough thinner. Just right! I added some cheese and the grandkids are lapping it up. They were my taste testers.

I'm beginning to see my skills as a hedge against inflation. My last frontier is bread. I have not had much luck with it, so I need to work on it until I do master it.

Stay safe.
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

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jackian wrote:I can also remember when food had very little additives .Which is why I think that people now in the UK (and the rest of the world )are so unhealthy.
We never had any packaged food and every thing was freshly made and we certainly had no freezer..We also had a load of home made stodgy puddings and pies and loads of sugar !!! but it was all natural foods and we at school had plenty of exercise ..like walking to school 5 miles there and back a day and plenty of sport in school .
After bringing up 4 children and at one stage being a single parent I learnt a lot from my mum about making do (although she was a rubbish cook {rofwl} ) but my kids now all adults and left home don't seem to bother too much as long as it is quick and easy.

Jackie x


We had 4 children, as well. All grown with one more to marry in June. When I was a kid the veggie man would come around with fresh foods. The milk was left in a box on the side of the house. And, grocery stores were corner stores. I know we can't bring those things back, but I don't think it's too much to ask for genuine healthy food.

I planted seeds yesterday in egg cartons. I'm saving toilet (loo) rolls to transplant the seedlings when they pop through the soil. I have parsley, lettuce, tomatoes, beans and peppers. In the garden I planted spinach and radishes. O had to replant the spinach because the pup knocked over the container. I love when you say, ' Who did that?' and they hang their head in shame. But, I noticed yesterday she was scared to death when I said that and was shaking. She's a rescue pup, so I can imagine what happened to her with her previous owner when she heard those words. I'll never say them again to her. I felt so sad for her. She has a good life now, but I can see she has not forgotten her previous life. For the most part these days, she owns the house. At least the blankets and pillows!
Illona has gotten me motivated from her projects on her blog. I started crocheting a pair of slippers for a friend's birthday. I use to crochet all of the time. I really don't know why I stopped.

I also learned how to make a candle for heat and cooking with a tuna can, cardboard, and wax. I'll be trying this this week. One more thing I learned was how to make ricotta cheese from milk and lemon juice. So I will try my hand at ravioli this week, as well.

Stay safe!
anglynn
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Re: Anglynn's Diary

Post by anglynn »

Today - for the first time in 35 years- I had success with making bread. I made 3 loaves of French bread. Just flour, (unbleached), yeast, salt and water. Super cheap. Enough for a month if I don't give it away.
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