Category Archives: Square Food Garden

Sunday Catch-up

Posted on by
Reply

October has historically been one of the two busiest months of the year for us.  This year has been no different. I did make the decision last June that we would not continue piano lessons after the summer.  This has freed up one evening a week but I honestly miss hearing the kids practice. Hopefully maybe even next summer they will be interested in resuming but time will tell.  I am the only one who is missing it. The kids all had a teacher work day last week so they feel like they have gotten caught up on sleep which is great for them.

Zach has been playing baseball. Last week due to rain we had three games Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Each game started around 7:30 which gave us time to eat as a family but most night we got home around 9:45pm.  This week we have games only on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Lily chose not to participate in the Youth Theater but she is going to youth group on Sundays and also helping with the nursery on Wednesday night. She has complete her first 9 weeks of both high school and college.  I know she has been spending alot more time on school work than in the past . I am also very proud and excited to say that currently she has a 4.0 average!

We continue to sneak in an hour or so each Saturday to work on the green house. I am disappointed in how long it is taking to actually get plants started in there but once we get everything working properly it should be well worth the trouble.

Last weekend we purchased a travel trailer/ camper. We have spent several hours getting it all cleaned up and also trying to get it set up the way we want. Currently we are expecting to take ownership of the Tahoe toward the end of the month. We are starting to plan a couple of small trips to make sure we have everything we need. First we plan a 3 day trip to Asheville to visit the Biltmore house right before Christmas.  In January we hare headed to Myrtle Beach to shop and go to a show. This will be a longer 4 day trip as well as a longer drive pulling the camper as well.

I have been working in Guam several nights a week. My goal is to reduce my hours again to around 7 hours a week and a maximum of 2 nights.  I actually have only 1 night this week but it is a VERY long night!

Hopefully more updates and picture will be posted this week!   I am looking forward to slowing down and having more time at home in the next several weeks.

5 Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. We have been slowly working on the greenhouse since we got the plastic roof on!  Today we have finished the watering path. We ended up purchasing a pump to place in a old trash can that will be used as a rain barrel.  I wanted to have 4 separate watering zones. One is specific for the shelf that will hold tomato plants in the spring.  Matt needs to construct the platform for the final zone. He has plans to add electricity to the greenhouse tomorrow!
  2. I am struggling with work life balance yet again. I ended up working 30 hours in Guam after decreasing my caseload to 4 schools approximately 20 students.  I am going to have to learn to say no and stick to it!   October should be slightly less around 20 hours is where I want to end up.
  3. The girls and I are headed to Durham tomorrow to go wedding dress shopping. Haley has already started her count down.
  4. Food prices are on the rise!  I am working very diligently to keep us on budget. I do have plans to stock up on a  diet coke sale this weekend but the goal for October is the keep the budget under $300.
  5. We have final turned off the air. We are still having days in the low 80’s but between working and baseball games, we have managed to survive a full 2 weeks without air conditioning. I would love to go the entire month of October without heat or air but I seriously doubt that is possible!  My current goal is October 20th!

5 Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. We don’t have any set plans or goal for the weekend!  This is very exciting for me as I have been really really tired the last couple of days!  We also will start AAU baseball in 2 weeks which means an end to Saturdays at home.
  2. We have decided to add electricity to the greenhouse, this will make it much easier to heat and cool as well as adding a watering system.
  3. Matt’ is beginning to receive some of his inheritance from his father. We are staying very quiet about this and plan to use to make some updates and upgrades that are needed.  We have spent many hours discussing what we want to do and will share some things in the upcoming weeks.
  4. Lily has decided not to participate in Youth Theater this fall. She did not feel that she was given a fair chance at auditions. She also did not want to devote the next 2 months to it.
  5. The weather remains really really hot. 2 days in the next week are predicted to be over 90.  At this point I am ready for fall and some cooler weather to stay around at least so we can open the windows soon.

Saving on Saturday- Upcycling a Playhouse

Posted on by
Reply

The project for this weekend is to upcycle the old playhouse into a greenhouse.  The playhouse is at least 30 years old if not older. The kids are all to big for it.  It is very small inside so I wanted to make the most use of space available.

Before pictures….

The inside..

First thing was to remove the roof….

Stage One complete…

Next we added planters and shelves to the inside…

A shelf for new plants and for storage was also needed…

Finally we added plastic to cover the top..

We have spent $0 at this point on the green house. The plastic and wood to secure the plastic were purchased with swagbucks gift cards that we earned. Matt and I decided that we we go ahead and purchase a watering system to use. We already have the rain barrel and by using rain water only we will basically save the cost of the system within a couple of year!

Can you tell how excited I am?

5 Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. Everyone except for Lily has a 3 day weekend. Lily is working all three days. The next scheduled holiday or break from school is Thanksgiving.
  2. Our project for the weekend is to convert the old playhouse to a green house. We will be removing the roof and replacing it with plastic. Adding shelves and a watering system. We are hoping to reuse most of the materials. The plastic has already been purchased with a gift card!  I will plan to share pictures this week.
  3. Zach has officially started baseball practice. We have agreed to let him play both rec ball and AAU team. The AAU team is only going to travel in state and hopefully less than 2 hours away.
  4. The weather has finally decided to start to cool down a bit. We have been at or above 90 degrees for most of the month of August.  Fortunately we have no more 90 degree days in the forecast but I expect it to be close to the end of September before we are able to turn off the air conditioning.
  5. This week we are having a drive way addition installed. It will also include cement around the garden boxes that we bulit in the spring. I can’t wait to have a finished product!

Saving Money

Posted on by
Reply

It feels like forever since I have been focused on saving money! I looked back on the blog and realized that in May we started survival mood which meet cooking without an oven. Our new oven did not arrive until after vacation in July. Exactly 2 weeks later our air conditioning went out. This was honestly one of the hardest times for me.  But I am very thankful to say that we have both a working stove and working air conditioning.  I also want to get a good handle and feel for our budget but this will also be changing in the next month.   I will post details once we have things finalized and money in hand!

Now to our ways of saving:

  • Using items already on hand to help improve the square foot garden. Today we placed the contents of my shredder on one of the garden beds. We also added the coffee grounds from the week and topped with a good dose of water from our rain barrels. We have also placed banana peels in water before pouring on the garden as well. Hopefully we will be able to improve the soil for the next year.
  • Ordering from Amazon-  I continue to shop for deals on subscribe and save!  We are expecting to be stocked up on soups by our next delivery date.  I am also watching for “deals” on any item that we use on a regular basis. This week I found “magic erasers” for fifteen cent each.  My goal is to eliminate the need to purchase items not on sale.
  • Making meals at home- We have eaten at home every day since Tuesday with two exceptions, Matt purchased Bagel  on Saturday morning and we enjoyed Sunday lunch with friends.  We are currently in the best financial position we have been in for many years so these small treats will remain part of our regular budget. Just not eating out every day and some times 2 times a day!
  • Packing lunches and making sure we have some convenient items on hand for lunches. The kids can eat lunch at school but for Zach this usually means more stomach issues and Kendall simply does not like most of the food.
  • Eating items from our pantry and freezer. Although I have spent $234 this month for groceries we are starting to look at and plan ahead for most meals. I have also added some treats that the kids enjoy!
  • Saving electric by turning off lights, using both the dishwasher and dryer at night so as not to add heat to the house.

What have you been doing lately to save money?

5 Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. We were without air conditioning for a total of 8 days.  I only worked one of those days. We were blessed to borrow a portable air conditioner for 4 days to use. With this we were able to sleep at night.
  2. Our August electric bill came in as the exact same amount as our July bill. I am anticipating that it will be extremely high in September. This electricity was used in an attempt to keep us cool.
  3. I have managed to cook or produced a meal every evening since the air was fixed. Although our budget for August is so far over, this should mean a minimal to no spending month in September.
  4. The kids have all finished their first full week of school with mask being optional. I anticipate this will change next week. As quarantining rules stated that if both students are wearing a mask even with close contact the exposed student does not have to quarantine.  This makes sense to help keep the kids in school.
  5. I finally have a squash bloom. I don’t anticipate that I will actually get a squash but I am continuing to work on improving the soil for next year!

5 Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. Today starts our last full week of summer break. Next week will be filled with last minute appointments and some extra fun if we can arrange it.  Braxton will also be with us for the entire week.  Today is a pool day so we plan to spend most of the day at the pool.
  2. I had a huge food waste fail this week- We had an entire watermelon that had not been cut go back and spilled on the floor. I have definitely become a little bit more aware of our food following the clean up.  I did manage to make half a squash casserole with the remaining squash.  I am also beginning to use dill and basil that has been previously frozen in dishes.  I had forgotten about these treasures until we attempted to organize the freezer. Since I was unable to grow either this year, I am thankful to find them.  I did cook our first official meal this summer that include several items.
  3. Tomatoes are continuing to produce.  I had hoped for much more but I do realize that this summer has not been the best for tomato growing.  We have been able to freeze enough spaghetti sauce for the year in addition to eating several times. I should be able to continue to make a batch a week which means at least 4# of tomatoes.
  4. I talked with the neighbor and will start using goat manure to improve the dirt in my square foot garden. I am hoping that with this and more worm casting next year it will support and grow a garden full.
  5. We received our school supply list. I am excited that we need only to purchase a couple of notebooks and clear water bottles. I have been trying to stock up on items as they have been on sale. I anticipate less than $50 for all supplies for all 3 kids!

Five Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. No Monday Menu will be posted this week. Next week our church is hosting Vacation Bible School from 6 to 8 Monday thur Thursday and a pool party on Friday. Dinner is provided for workers and their children.
  2. Our new oven has arrived!  I have been experimenting and getting use to it over the past couple of days. So far I am very impressed!
  3. With only 3 weeks left of summer vacation, I have established a couple of goals that I want to work toward which will make my life easier in the fall. First- prepare easy to heat and eat meals as much as possible. This week we have focused on making pizza dough. We have all the ingredients but it takes around 2 hours to make the dough. Kendall has made 12 this week. This will make for easy pizza in the fall. Simply unthaw the dough in the morning and add toppings. We also made 2 additional cheeseburger pizza toppings to add to the dough. Second- Stock up and organize the freezers and pantry.  This is also close to completion. I will be adding a couple of cookie, bread and cake mixes during the next week. Finally-enjoy lots of down time by sitting by the pool.
  4. Square Foot Garden- we are making plans to add cement to complete this area but I am also continue to try and figure out how I can improve the soil for next year. We are fortunate to get tomatoes but I am so frustrated that the money I spent on soil is basically worthless this year!
  5. July has turned out to be one of the most expensive months EVER but we are still holding our heads above water. I am ready to start reaping the benefits of all my bargains and saving.

5 Things Friday

Posted on by
Reply

  1. No menu plan for this week for a couple of reasons. First we are on week 6 of no oven.  Scheduled delivery is 2 weeks away.  I wanted to use up a lot of the fresh ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator as well as left-overs. And the final reason… I was just too tired.
  2. Made the first batch of spaghetti sauce from the garden this week. IT was awesome.   Unfortunately, we have discovered that the soil that I purchased from Home Depot was not good. We have been working to salvage anything by adding lime.  We were able to harvest some snap peas and some tomatoes. The tomatoes beds were over half full with dirt that I had already been using so they are at least producing a first harvest. I doubt it will be enough to fill the freezer this year but at least I can make a few batches of spaghetti sauce.  The sweet potato bed which is all old dirt seems to be doing the best so maybe I can salvage a few of those as well. My plan is to continue to add lime a bag a month until we get the beds close to where they need to be. Ugggh  I had high hopes and expectations this year!
  3.  We are headed on our beach trip soon. Not going to share all the details but this will be a totally new experience for us. We are planning a trip to Oak Island. I have never stayed on a NC beach!
  4. Lily is really enjoying her job as a lifeguard. She is actually working much more than she hoped and is enjoying spending the money as well.
  5. My summer is officially half over. I return to work in 6 weeks.  I have actually completed all the items on my summer to do list except stock the freezer. I am hoping that the next 6 weeks are at a much slower pace than the last 5!