Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Second-Quarter Thrift Plan

Somehow this post (that was originally planned to be published towards the end of April) ended up buried in the list and was never published at all. Being as I discovered it today, I am going to go ahead and publish it as originally written. Forgive the delay. The dates are off, but the information is the same.



As we move in to the second-quarter of 2023 (April-June), I want to fine-tune in the area of finances. I got a nice raise, effective the end of March, for which I am very thankful and I want to be a good steward of all that the Lord blesses me with. Here are some of the thoughts I have about second-quarter finances...

- I plan to be working extra hours during the months of April, May, and June. My plan is to deposit as much of the extra money into my savings account as possible. That will be after using some of it to complete, at least, one of the bigger projects on my Spring Bucket List.

- We became debt-free back in April of 2020 and, since then, even though I still use a credit card for some things (especially online purchases), I am careful to pay it off each month, in full, so as to avoid interest on even the smallest of purchases. I plan to continue paying off, in full, each month.

- There is plenty of food in the house, so, other than fresh items along here and there, I don't have to worry about that. I will continue to focus on using up the oldest stuff first and not replacing until absolutely necessary.

- The propane tank is full. I had it filled mid-March and, unless next winter is a bad one, I probably won't have to have it filled again until late-winter or early-spring of 2024. 280 gallons usually lasts me a year.

- I will continue to roll every cent of change received and put back for trips, Christmas, or whatever. We've done this for decades. When the children were young, our rolled change went towards Christmas every year; after the children were grown, our rolled change provided money for annual trips and get-aways for the two of us. Now, even though John is gone, I just keep putting it back. Someday I'll do something really special with it. 

- The main thing that I want to focus on during this second-quarter is using up odds and ends on-hand...almost empty bottles of cleaning supplies, almost empty bottles of health and beauty aids, etc....combining like-products into one bottle when possible, cutting down on shelf and storage space. I will replenish these items in late-summer or early-fall.

What about you? Do you have any financial plans or goals to share as we go into this second-quarter of 2023?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, May 8, 2023

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - May 8, 2023

The day is nearly over and I am just now getting a chance to sit down and work on my Monday post. How was your weekend?

Peony

Mine here was good, but, man! It pretty much went from cold to hot overnight and, now, here we are... 😰🔥🧨

Latest Mystery Iris

Saturday, in celebration of 'the man from Missouri', I worked Truman Days at the Harry S Truman Birthplace State Historic Site in Lamar (May 8th is his birthday).

Harry S Truman Birthhome

My job was to aid site visitors in making cornhusk dolls and other historic crafts.

Cornhusk Doll

That evening I watched the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla on Youtube. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of either one of them, but, I sure did enjoy watching all the pomp and circumstance! Magnificent!

King Charles III and Queen Camilla

Sunday afternoon my cousin from Colorado called and we visited for quite a while on the phone; Sunday evening Amber, Audrey, Mercy, and I met Amanda and Alysia for supper at Freddy's in Nevada. Unfortunately, we had to leave before Kayla arrived, so we didn't get to see her this time. 

Pink and Purple Iris

This morning I went with Nicole to her prenatal appointment. Afterwards, we stopped by the nursing home to see Pat. Then, we ran a few errands. 

We stopped by the Amish greenhouse to pick up vegetable plants and soil. I had about decided not to do a garden at all this year, but, after thinking about it further, I decided to try something completely different...gardening in five-gallon buckets! Our last stop of the day was to stop at Walmart to pick up the buckets and topsoil.

Roma Tomato

After we got home, Tony helped me drill holes in the bottom of the buckets, then I filled them with dirt (topsoil in the bottom; good growing dirt on top). I planted onions in one bucket, Yukon Gold potatoes in two of them, Roma tomatos, green peppers, sweet banana peppers, and yellow crookneck squash in each of the others. I have one bucket left and I am saving it for zucchini plants...which was what I thought I had grabbed, but it turned out to be the crookneck instead...but that's okay. 

My Five-Gallon Bucket Garden

Anyway, I planted the vegetables, then arranged the buckets in a row on the old stepping stones that the girls helped the grandlittles make for my birthday back in 2009. At the time there were only seven grandchildren; now there are twenty-two (soon to be twenty-three) and the oldest is expecting a baby of her own. 

Stepping Stones  - 2009

The pretty paint washed away years ago, the pictures have faded to white, the grandchildren have grown, and Papa is gone, but the love that the old stepping stones generate in my heart, lives on. I think this is a great way to repurpose them. 

Stepping Stones - 2023

Oh, and I got an oregano plant to fill in that last space in the herb wheel, so it's full now, too!

Oregano

Herb Wheel

Well, it's thundering and lightening and threatening to storm (I hope we get some rain...we need it so badly) and I'm running out of time here, so I'm going to go ahead and get started on this week's post. Won't you join me?

Irises in Bloom

This week's master to-do list...

- Clean house
- Do laundry
- Go with Nicole to prenatal appointment
- Visit Pat
- Purchase garden plants
- Pick up buckets and soil
- Plant garden vegetables
- Plant aloe starts from a friend
- Plant rest of marigolds
- Go to the bank and post office
- Pay bills
- Get tires on van
- Work

Northern Bobwhite Quail

This week's menu plan...

Will be focusing on fresh items and items on-hand that need used up this week.

- Homemade pizza
- Oven-roasted chicken, baked potato, fresh asparagus, and corn-on-the-cob
- Turkey burger and oven fries
- Butter and garlic pasta with mixed vegetables and homemade French bread
- Pork chop with fried cabbage, peppers and onions, baked potato, and corn-on-the-cob
- Breakfast for supper
- Leftovers

Dame's Rocket

Well that's it for today! I hope you've had a nice day and I wish you an absolutely fantastic week ahead!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

P.S. - By the way...it's RAINING! ☔💧💗

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Friday, May 5, 2023

Flowerful Friday

I work most Fridays, but, due to school group arrangements, I worked Thursday this week instead of Friday. It was sure nice having a Friday off for a change!

I spent this morning cooking and baking to have meals ahead for the freezer; I spent the afternoon planting flowers and herbs. 

I got most of the flowers that I got last week at the Amish greenhouse in the ground . 





I still have a dozen marigolds that I need to put somewhere, but I was running out of steam and the battery in my digger needed recharging, so I'll figure that out later. 



I got the empty spaces in the herb wheel worked up and planted...basil, rosemary, and thyme. I have one space left. The next time I'm out and about, I will look for one more herb to fill it. Any suggestions?



Here is the next mystery iris that is getting ready to bloom. I have a feeling that it's going to be spectacular!



Well...that's it for today. I need to take a shower. Am working Truman Days in Lamar tomorrow and need to start moving towards bed. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Thursday, May 4, 2023

Thursday Things - Three Firsts

The first (and maybe the only) taste of morel mushroom this spring. The boys found it when mowing this week. 

Fried Morel Mushroom

A summer favorite has returned! I spotted the first dickcissel of the year on my way to work this morning!

Dickcissel

The first bloom of one of the new irises that a visitor at the park gave me last year. It's so pretty! And there are three more varieties yet to discover!

New Iris

Short, sweet, and to the point! That's all for today!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Tuesday Tidbits - Around The Yard, Making Progress, and More

It's late in the day, I know, but I was really hoping to get another post out before going back to work tomorrow. 

How has your Tuesday been? Mine here has been good! All of the plant photos in this post have been taken this afternoon.


Yellow Iris Blooming in the Garden

Last night I was invited over to Patrick and Amber's for Chinese food and a movie. Amber made general chicken with lo mein noodles and crab rangoon. Everything was so yummy! I love Chinese food and Amber's homemade is the BEST! 

After supper we watched the old Disney family favorite Hot Lead and Cold Feet with Don Knotts and Jack Elam. 



The movie came out in 1978 (back in the days when Disney was still family friendly and worth watching), but I hadn't seen it since my kids were little. If you like westerns and are in the mood for something totally ridiculous and hysterically funny, then Hot Lead and Cold Feet comes highly recommended! Ha-ha! 😆


Last year's sage and chives are doing great, but I need
to work on my herb wheel. Hopefully, it will be
warm enough in a few days that I can get it worked 
up and plant the basil, rosemary, and thyme that
I picked up at the Amish store last week.

This morning I did a general house cleaning (did dishes, dusted and polished the furniture, cleaned the bathroom, vaccuumed, mopped,) and got the laundry finshed. 


The hostas are looking pretty this year!

I picked up a hanging basket and potting soil at Dollar General yesterday, and, this morning, potted the petunias and pretty, little, white flowers that I bought at the Amish store last week. 


Petunias in Hanging Basket

I figured out a few years ago, that by putting the baskets together myself, I save 50% (or more) over what I'd pay for baskets already made.


My peonies are doing better than they ever have and are
absolutely loaded this year! They will be blooming soon.

This afternoon Tony went with me to get another load of stuff from the shed. We're making progress, but, man!!! Why in the world did we move all this junk down here anyway??? It's ridiculous! 

The bad thing is, it's slow going. If I had a bigger trash dumpster, I could really dig in and get stuff done, but, the way it is, I can only accomodate going through a few boxes each week. Little by little, though, it's coming along. I can hardly wait, however, until the day arrives that this job over and done with! 


This robin was pulling worms up out of the ground
while I was taking pictures. There was a pair
of the, actually, and I think they have a nest nearby.

Well, it's time to make supper and get on with my evening chores, so I guess that it's for today! I hope that your Tuesday is going well. Have a great rest of the week!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, May 1, 2023

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - May 1, 2023

It's an absolutely glorious mid-spring day here on the tallgrass prairie of southwest Missouri! The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and God's love, care, and provision is evident and abundant on every front! Happy First Day of May 2023! 

Photo Credit

How was your week and weekend? Mine was good here...super busy...but all in a good way! 

I worked on Wednesday. That morning we had school groups; I worked on program-planning in the afternoon.

Thursday morning daughter-in-law, Angie, and I got together for our regular, quarterly breakfast date. We've done this for I-don't-know-how-many years, but, in recent months, we've added a pre-breakfast drive through the park to see what can we see. This time we hit the jackpot! 

Coyote

It was cloudy and some of the more nocturnal-type animals were late heading home to their dens. We saw two raccoons, a coyote, an opposum, several deer, four bull bison, and all kinds of birds...red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, wild turkeys, barn swallows, American goldfinches, a great white egret, and more! 

Native Sparrow

Afterwards we had breakfast at Mary's. It was a great morning!

In the afternoon, Carla rode with me to Nevada (the city, not the state of). I had to stop at the vet's to pick up Revolution Plus for all three cats. After that, we went to the grocery store, had lunch at Freddy's, then went to Walmart. Our last stop of the day was at the Amish greenhouse where we spent waaaay too much money on flowers, but it was fun! I got a few herbs and a hen and chick, too!


Flowers and Herbs From The Amish Greenhouse



I worked Friday and Saturday. I took the following photo of a big, ol' bull Friday morning. He was magnificent! And, oh! So majestic! Absolutely gorgeous!

Magnificent Bull Bison

After church on Sunday I worked on wiping out a variety of little, odd-and-end jobs that had been left undone all week...cleaning the water pitcher and replacing the old filter with a new one, opening the new bag of cat food and refilling the self-feeder, putting away books, papers, and other items that have managed to pile up here and there over the past week, etc. I visited with friends and family members on the phone, took a nap, then finished reading another book. Amber and Esther came over in the late afternoon and visited for a few hours. It turned out to be a great day all the way around! 

I was enjoying working and getting caught up on things around the house so much that I didn't end up going to bed until almost 3 o' clock this morning. I figured I'd sleep in, but I didn't. I was up and back at it by 8:30 this morning and have accomplished quite a lot today, for which I'm thankful! 

I should be getting on it with it though. The day is getting totally away from me now and I still have much to do before joining family for supper. Let's take a look at the week ahead, shall we?

Irises Blooming in My Garden

This week's master to-do list...

- Clean house
- Do laundry
- Get gas and check fluids in both vehicles
- Figure May's budget and bills
- Go to the bank and post office
- Visit my neighbor
- Deliver flowers for May Day
- Purchase postage stamps
- Answer a few letters
- Pay bills
- Plant flowers
- Print program materials
- Work
- Get in a short visit with Amanda and the girls 

Tallgrass Prairie View

This week's menu plan...

- Cauliflower nachos
- Oven-roasted chicken with baked potato, fried cabbage, and corn-on-the-cob
- Taco salad
- Homemade pizza
- Breakfast for supper
- Out
- Leftovers

Periwinkle
(Not a native, but still pretty.)

Well, that's it for today! I hope your Monday is going well and that your week is off to a great start!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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