January Goals

With our new addition comes changes to our home, so I've been thinking that some attainable  monthly goals may be more beneficial this year than a long list of lofty ones.

With that in mind, here is what I hope to accomplish in January:

1. Create some simple homemaking routines.  Baby schedules are forever changing but some simple routines will help to keep our home in order. Routines will also help with my daily productivity.

 These leftover food items from the fridge became a yummy stir-fry one night this week.

 2. Do a Pantry Challenge this month. This is helpful to save money and use up lots of odds and ends we have in the pantry, fridge and freezer. I do this annually and it's always a good time! My goal is to spend $100 or less on groceries this month.

3. Sew for my baby! I am itching to dust off the sewing machine and make some things. While I feel she does need more dresses in her life, my main goal this month is to try making her a winter hat. I have some leftover fleece to use for this.

Making zucchini noodles with my new spiralizer- a Christmas gift.

4. Get back to eating a mostly low-carb diet. I've experienced some health issues in the past year or so and have found I feel so much better eating lower amounts of grains, sugars and dairy. This (understandably) went by the wayside when we brought Ilona home but I am getting back on track. And the Christmas cookies? They are finally almost gone!

Without realizing it, these four goals are all different categories: Home, finances, fun/creative, personal/health. A good balance and should keep me busy all month long. ;-)

Do you have any goals for January? 

 My main goal is lots of snuggle time with this little beauty!

On This Day After Earth Day

Earth Day was yesterday. I stopped at the local health food store after church for some bulk spices. I took a reusable bag along for extra points on my rewards account.

At checkout, I was offered a free packet of heirloom tomato seeds in honor of Earth Day. Yes, please.

Some folks are big into Earth Day and loving the earth the other 364. Some folks scoff. Some folks like me, are somewhere in the middle.

I compost. I use reusable water bottles instead of buying bottled water. I use cloth napkins and real dinnerware. I cook from scratch, am careful about food waste, line dry some of my laundry, use reusable lunch containers and shop second hand quite often. I'm careful about the use of chemicals in our home.

Part of my cloth napkin stash. These have been going strong for around 3 years now. They're starting to show some wear from repeated washings. I usually get 3-4 years out of a stack of napkins. When they're worn out, I make new ones.

I grew up on the West Coast where things are just different. Overall, people tend to live a little greener. I hate styrofoam.

I also use some paper towels and paper plates some days. I use some ziploc baggies. We buy packaged food sometimes. I shop at Aldi where the produce is highly packaged but the price is right. Sometimes (like most of last year), I'm just too tired to recycle.

In spite of growing up in Oregon, I'm not a tree hugger. But I can't swing so far over to the extreme where I have no interest in caring for the environment.

This is where we live.  The Earth is one of God's gifts to us. As with all of God's gifts, I wish to be a good steward of what He has given.

On this day after Earth Day, can we all agree to be good stewards of our resources?

• To be intentional with our choices?
• To create more than consume?
• To conserve more than we waste? 
• To save more than we spend?
• To think before we act?

 A "green" smoothie.

Maybe you are full out "green". Or maybe you're like me and make small choices each day to minimize waste and maximize health, both for ourselves, our finances and the environment.

I cannot do everything but I sure can do something.

Maybe I can turn the lights off when I leave the room. Turn off the water instead of letting it run.  Save those veggie scraps to make stock. Walk somewhere instead of drive. Hang those clothes up to dry instead of running the dryer. Plant those tomato seeds already. Just this once.

And tomorrow, make some of the same choices again. 

Little choices add up to create a big impact. 

What will you do on this day after Earth Day?

**You may be interested in another Earth Day post I wrote "back in the day": Kermit, It is Easy Being Green.

Catch-Up Week: Day 5

Hooray! It's Friday! Do you have any great plans for the weekend?

We're hoping to get the grass mowed for the first time this spring. A few things around the house and hopefully a movie!

What I accomplished today:

• Prepped dinner--Oven Fajitas. This dish is one of my faves for being budget-friendly and easy to prep ahead and just slide into the oven.
• Washed a load of towels. 
• Cooked some chicken breasts for a new soup recipe I'm planning to try tomorrow. 
• Wiped down refrigerator shelves. 
• Cleaned the bathroom. 

I've been able to get the house into better shape this week. Of course, there's still more to be done but at least some improvements have been made. I will keep working on a few things each day.

Talk to you next week! Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Catch-Up Week: Day 4

 A picture of cute Willie to add interest to this post!:-)

Today wasn't quite as productive as yesterday.

I took the liberty of sleeping in a bit and finishing another library book! So my routine was a bit off. But that's ok sometimes too. ;-)

Here's what I accomplished this morning:

• Hauled trash and recycling to dump.
• Folded and put away all laundry from yesterday's washing. 
• Collected a pile of papers/junk mail and threw them away. 
• Made fruit dip. Today I mixed some leftover cream cheese frosting with some freshly whipped cream and it turned out very tasty. Andy was excited about it!

I meet with a friend on Thursday nights to share our insights from the week's Bible reading so did that tonight. No other housework tonight besides cleaning up kitchen and running the dishwasher.

I just got back from walking Willie and am ready to shower and go to bed.

Have a good night, everyone!

Catch-Up Week: Day 3

Hope everyone has had a good Wednesday!

I did three loads of laundry first thing. I've been hanging up most of our clothing to dry instead of running the dryer. I have a rod for clothes on hangers in the laundry room, then the rest go on two free-standing drying racks. I keep one of the drying racks in the tub of our guest bathroom! It's out of the way there and we don't use this room much on a regular basis. I also hang stuff on the shower curtain rod in there. We had an extra shower rod so I put that above the tub and I can hang laundry there too. Today I put the second drying rack in the guest bathroom too. As you can see, it was full but did the job!

We had a birthday luncheon for a coworker today so we all brought some kind of food to share. Another coworker and I did a fruit tray together as our contribution. She brought cantaloupe, pineapple and strawberries and I brought apples, grapes and fruit dip. I whipped up this "real food" fruit dip from Heavenly Homemakers. The bowl was scraped clean and the small amount I left at home for Andy to eat was also gone by evening! So I guess it was a hit. I have enough ingredients left to make another batch of fruit dip tomorrow as we have some leftover fruit to eat it with.

Other accomplishments today include:

• Calling to cancel an appointment for next week. 
• Placing an online order.
• Vacuuming all the floors. 
• Dusting.
• Spending 10 minutes picking up trash around the house, including breaking down some cardboard boxes to go to dump tomorrow.
• Organizing my shirt drawer--it was a mess but took just a few minutes to straighten it up again. 
• Cooking a quick but healthy meal for dinner--baked fish, sauteed zucchini and mushrooms and steamed asparagus. I prepped the veggies this morning so getting dinner on the table tonight was super fast!
• Making a batch of yogurt in the Instant Pot. 

 Willie isn't as impressed with vacuuming as I am.

Wednesday was productive! What did you do today?

Catch-Up Week: Day 2

Happy Tuesday! I hope you lovely people had a great day.

My mornings start out the same nearly every day--at my kitchen table to spend a few minutes in God's Word.

My big chore of the day was grocery shopping. I headed out to Aldi early--our store now opens at 8am which I love. It works so much better for shopping on weekdays than when they opened at 9am. I only stopped at one store today and got most everything we'll need for the next two weeks. I will make a quick trip to Food Lion another day to get a few things Aldi doesn't carry and take advantage of some sales.

It's piled up pretty good so every item can't be seen but will give you a good idea of what I bought!

A friend from church had surgery last week and I was scheduled to take him a meal today. I started cooking as soon as I returned from the grocery store. It didn't take too long to make sloppy joes, cut up raw veggies, make some dip, and cut up some fresh fruit. I bought hamburger buns, potato chips and a package of sliced cheese to send along as well. It was a very simple meal to make and since I made a big pan of sloppy joe meat, I had enough for our dinner as well. Win, win! We delivered the meal after I came home from work this evening.

Other household accomplishments today:

• Did two loads of laundry.
• Changed sheets on our bed. 
• Made Breakfast Pumpkin Custard for tomorrow morning. We really like to eat this cold. A pan of this will make several breakfasts for the 2 of us. I have made a number of changes to the original recipe by now. :)
• Read a few chapters in my current library book. 

I was hoping to do a few more small tasks tonight but it has been a busy day and I am tired. The same chores will be there for me  in the morning.:)

Have a good night, everyone!

Catch-Up Week: Day 1

As I mentioned earlier today, my goal for this week is to catch up on housekeeping after a very hectic week last week.

I work half-days outside the home right now, so my home hours are limited and a bit split up over the course of the day. With careful diligence though, I am able to keep things in some semblance of order.

This morning, I planned to work around the house before going to work but that changed yesterday when Andy discovered an adult trike for sale on Craigslist. It turned out that we could go look at it this morning--on the other side of Charlotte.

He has been looking for a trike for a long time and had the cash put aside. Because of some physical challenges, he has never been able to ride a traditional bicycle. The trike he found was nearly brand new and was at least half of the price he was expecting to spend (based on others we had seen listed).

So we headed up the interstate, looked at the trike, bought it and brought it home. He is so happy with it and with a couple minor modifications, should be a good fit for him. I hope it works out great for him!

"When I recover from surgery, I want to go to Captain D's", said Andy after his big surgery last August. 

So we stopped there for lunch on the way home today. Our town doesn't have a Captain D's so we waited until we were near one. Andy had been waiting for this for 7+ months! #Goals #WeDon'tGetOutMuch #Finally

By the time we got home, it was time for me to go to work.

This evening, I've been able to do a few things:

• Emptied trash cans.
• Emptied compost bucket.
• Put a few things away that were setting out where they didn't belong. 
• Brought potted plants in from outside as we expect a frost tonight--in April!
• Jotted down a 2 week menu plan and grocery list so I can get groceries tomorrow. 
• Finished a library book!

 I'm trying a 2 week shopping trip this time. 

It's been a good day! 

What did you accomplish today?

A Week Of Catch-Up

Last week was crazy!

The first two days started out pretty good then from Wednesday on, my days rather hectic. I worked a full day on Wednesday then between Thursday-Saturday, the dog had his yearly vet appointment, I had a special baking order to fill (I have a small baking business on the side.), we had a yard sale and this month I am teaching the children at church so I needed to prepare my lesson for Sunday.

I was tempted to postpone the yard sale but we had already postponed it for at least three weeks due to cold and rainy weather. The forecast for this past Saturday was perfect so we forged ahead with our plans even though it was a little nuts. Sometimes that is just what you need to do! We had the yard sale, it was successful, now it is over!

Yard sales are almost always worth it to me. We live in a great location for it so all I have to do is set our stuff out on tables in the driveway, put some signs out by the main road and we get traffic as long as the signs are out. Early spring before the South Carolina humidity sets in is the best time for our sales. It seems like people buy more when yard sale season is just beginning!

Anyway, we sold at least 75% of our stuff and the rest went right to our community thrift store!

Sunday was filled with church and getting ready to go to a surprise 50th birthday party for one of our dearest friends. It was a full but good day.

Now I'm ready for a week with more down time and some serious housework! Time to get back on track!

I always love reading about what other homemakers do on ordinary days at home, so I'll be posting this week about my progress.

Talk to you again soon!

Clearing The Kitchen Counters

I'll be really honest here. Cleaning and keeping the house decluttered has been a huge struggle for me, especially in the past 3 years.

I hit on a cleaning routine that works and it is great. Until it doesn't. Then things just get a little out of control. I've always struggled with paper clutter.

In being intentional with my life this year, one of my goals is to build in some gentle routines for home-keeping. It is important to me that I am a good steward in caring for my home and the people in it. I also feel very anxious and stressed when I see surfaces in my home being constantly cluttered and messy.

It's vital that we understand that life is not always neat and clean. Some days and seasons are more messy and cluttered than others. It's important to have correct and realistic expectations for the season we find ourselves in. This past year as we walked through cancer treatment for my husband, it was all I could do to keep up with the minimum--just enough to keep us going and the house livable. So I understand first-hand how we need to adjust our expectations with the seasons.

But at the same time, I realize that by building in some small routines, I can start to experience a home that is closer to what I have in mind when I picture a clean and uncluttered home. I am starting with my kitchen and the bathrooms as those are the biggest problem areas for me at this time.

I had the day off from work yesterday. I ran errands in the morning and in the afternoon, my goal was to clean off the kitchen surfaces.

It looked like this:

Something piled or out of place on every surface. Maybe not the worst it's been but still messier than I'd like.

I began by hiding my phone so I wouldn't be tempted to waste time looking at it. Then I began taking things off each surface. I started with the table. The boots were on the table to remind me that one of them needed to be repaired. ;-)

As I removed items from each surface, I put things away in their proper place or threw stuff in the trash as needed. A few items were put in my donate/yard sale pile. Then I cleaned each surface with Mrs. Meyers all-purpose spray and a soft cloth.

Each clear surface made me smile.

After about an hour (and after dinner when the crockpot was put away), the kitchen looked like this:

So much better!

One routine I have been practicing for years and has made keeping up with dishes so easy, has been to fill the dishwasher as I go throughout the day then run it at night after dinner is cleaned up. First thing in the morning, I empty it and put everything away.

Sometimes I hand wash bigger items and set them out on a towel to dry. Often I will leave them for morning, then put them away at the same time I am emptying the dishwasher. It works and is not a big deal. But last night, I had probably 8-10 hand wash items so instead of leaving them for the morning, I decided to see how long it would take me to dry them and put them away. It took a whopping 3 minutes. Seriously! Three minutes and my counter top was clear!

Sometimes, I fool myself into thinking I don't have time to do a task when in reality it takes very little time. By doing it right away, I get it done and don't have to play catch-up later.

My homemaking routine for this month is to do my best to clear and clean the kitchen counters and sink each evening after dinner. It should take only about 10 minutes if I keep up with it daily.

Do you have a cleaning routine that works great for you? Please share in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Weekend and Monday Happenings

Thanks to all who left comments on my last post. I certainly appreciate the encouragement and prayers!

Andy was scheduled to start his first week of chemo today but because the cancer center will be closed on Good Friday, his first week was postponed to next week (17th) instead. The first week of each cycle is five full days so a four day week would not do. So we have one more week before chemo starts!

Andy's parents came last Wednesday for a visit and stayed through the weekend. We had a good time together. 

Andy's dad ended up at the ER on Friday morning with chest pains/pressure. He was tested and observed all day but nothing showed up as being wrong. He has scheduled a doctor appointment with a cardiologist back home for follow-up and a stress test. We are glad he seems to be ok! 

Our toaster oven gave it up this weekend so I toasted bread on the griddle this morning. It worked great! We don't make toast that often and the toaster oven doesn't see a whole lot of use on a regular basis so I think I'll wait and see how it goes without a toaster for a little while rather than rushing out to buy a new one. 

I had a trunk of donations to take to our favorite thrift store on Saturday so my  mother-in-law and I went on a little thrifting trip! According to my husband,  it is the "circle of life" to drop things off at the thrift store then go in and buy more. LOL! 

Sometimes I find nothing but on this trip I found this nice pair of Sketcher's shoes for $4, a cookbook and a craft book for 50 cents and two cute glass storage bowls with lids for $3. 

The yellow bowl already has food in it! (My food. Not the thrift store's. Hahaha)

I really like Mollie Katzen's cookbooks-- they are pretty and fun to read. The craft book has patchwork projects that use scraps. I thought these would be fun to peruse!

Today, I made new foods out of some leftovers from the weekend. The leftover sausage and roasted veggies from this sheet pan dinner was made into a rice salad. Leftover roast beef, potatoes, carrots and gravy was made into a pot pie. I used this recipe for an almond flour crust which turned out really good. 

Jeremiah 29:11 has been a favorite verse of late. I found this burlap canvas board for 50 cents at a yard sale recently. Using white paint and a black Sharpie marker I already had, I copied an idea I found via Pinterest to make this sign. It's quite imperfect but I love it! 

I hope you have a great week! 

Applesauce Week

Last week was quiet in this space as I was spending my mornings making applesauce!

We made a quick trip to the mountains the weekend before and purchased 4 bushels of apples. 

In years past, I've calculated that one bushel of apples yields approximately 13 quart of applesauce. We go through 40-50 quart in a year's time. So 4 bushels of apples= 52 quart. Seemed simple. Some years I purchase 5 bushel of apples because I also make several batches of apple butter. But we still have plenty of apple butter on the shelf so I was just planning to make applesauce this year.

Well...I got a new sauce maker this year ( Yay for birthday and Christmas money!) and it is so much more efficient, cranking out the applesauce much more quickly. Plus I don't have to core the apples; just wash, quarter and cut off any bad spots. 

I did 1 bushel of apples each morning. The first day I was pleasantly surprised to end up with 20 quart of applesauce from just 1 bushel! The next 2 bushels yielded 21 quart each. 

The applesauce with the new sauce maker is a bit finer consistency and a little thinner but I'm good with that! 

Needless to say, 3 bushels gave us 62 quart of applesauce (60 quart canned) so  we should be good to go for the next year and possibly longer than that since it keeps longer than 1 year and I still have a few jars of applesauce left from last year! 

So since the 4th bushel doesn't need to be made into applesauce to can, we've been eating apples fresh, I'll make a batch of applesauce to eat fresh plus some apple pies to freeze. I may even make a few other fun things with them! 

We thank God for His bountiful provision!

For past apple sauce making posts:

• 2007
• 2008
• 2013 
• Where we get our apples 

Clean On Tuesday

Continuing with revamping my homemaking schedule...

After determining that Monday would be my main Laundry Day, I chose to clean the house on Tuesday.

The main reason for choosing Tuesday was that I really do not care that much for cleaning. {However, I do love a house that has been cleaned. Just saying.}

There are things in life that are not our favorites but still need to be done!

I knew if I left housecleaning until Friday or Saturday, it would be more likely to not get done. I try to clean earlier in the week and then do a little more as needed toward the end. 

On Cleaning Day, I focus on very basic cleaning. I clean the bathrooms, dust, vacuum, clean kitchen surfaces, etc. My goal is to complete the basic cleaning in 2 hours or less. I don't always manage that but it is a goal. If surfaces have become cluttered, it takes longer. I try to put things away each day which helps Cleaning Day to run more smoothly.

Typically, the tasks are broken down something like this:

• Clean bathrooms--20-30 minutes for both using this method. 
• Dust--maybe 15 minutes? 
• Vacuum all floors--this takes a good 30 minutes for hardwood floors and carpet. 
• Clean kitchen: sinks, counters, microwave, wipe down all appliances--at least 30 minutes.
• Windows and mirrors--as needed. I estimate about 15 minutes spent on these. 

Any deep cleaning or organizing is done in other small pockets of time throughout the week. 

Vacuuming floors and cleaning kitchen surfaces are done multiple times each week. 

I know there are some who are surprised that our house gets dirty with only two adults living in it. But it does! Someone is home almost all the time, we cook and eat most of our meals at home, we wear shoes in the house and we have a dog. In other words, we really do a lot of living in our home! 

Cleaning Day is one of my least favorite but such a great feeling to work a couple of hours and have a fresh smelling and sparkling clean house at the end! 

One thing that makes cleaning more enjoyable is using a cleaning product that smells nice! My current favorite is Mrs. Meyer's Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner in the Basil scent. This cleaner can be used for many surfaces in our home. I like that it actually works and is a cleaner I can safely use and not have respiratory problems the rest of the day. (Unlike when I use most chemical cleaners.)

Tell me about your cleaning schedule. What are your favorite cleaners to use? 

Fall Porch

Nothing like a home study visit to motivate me to clean up our porch and give it a fresh look for the fall season!

Aldi had mums for $2.99 and other plants for $4.50 so I bought a couple things to inexpensively add some pretty. A few pumpkins from the farm market instantly added some fall flavor! 

Almost anything looks better than pots overgrown with weeds...ahem! 

A good sweep of the porch, a quick wipe down for the table and chairs and some glass cleaner on the door and everything was looking fresher and more homey! 

Our wreath has been up for a couple of years and needs a refreshing so I took it down and made this little decoration from burlap, an embroidery hoop and a black Sharpie--all items I had on hand! 

Looking at the clean porch and touches of fall puts a smile on my face! 

Happy fall, y'all! 

Wash On Monday

In the past few months, I've been making a conscious effort to streamline some of my household tasks. I had gotten off track so it was time to get things done again!

One area I revamped was laundry. Over the years, I've tried different laundry schedules and all have worked for those seasons.

Previously, I was doing a load of laundry pretty much each day. Which worked well and I really like doing laundry. But I did feel that we wore the same clothes all the time because they were clean. That isn't a problem but I think they do wear out faster that way! Also, it just seemed to make better sense to do laundry a little less often during this season.

I decided to go back to the old-fashioned way of doing things and have a Laundry Day. Now I do laundry on Monday morning. Because I really like doing laundry, I look forward to this day. Really. I do.

I sort the clothes Sunday night when we get home from our church leadership meeting if I'm organized. If not, I sort in the morning. But it really does help speed things along if I can get everything sorted the night before and a load of towels/kitchen linens soaking in the wash machine.

I know some folks don't sort laundry. I am not particular about it and I do mix up colors from time to time. But I still like to sort.  However, this step takes very little time and I find it easier to wash certain things together.

I don't usually hand wash but I have some maxi skirts and camis that I always put in a mesh bag to wash. I have one bag so I empty it after washing and refill with the delicates from the next load. I set these items to the side of the pile when sorting so I can wash them in the bag. Things in the mesh bag also don't go into the dryer so that is a good way to not accidentally dry something I shouldn't.

On Wash Day, I start the first load as soon as I get up then just keep it moving throughout the morning. I'm usually done with laundry by around 10 am. 

Anything that doesn't go in the dryer gets hung on the shower rod and drying rack in our 2nd bathroom. It's out of the way and then I just fold and put away those items either that evening or the next morning. 

I usually do a load or two of laundry on Thursdays if we need anything and also to keep towels/kitchen cloths from setting too long and getting stinky. Sheets and dog bedding are usually washed later in the week too. 

Overall, having a designated Laundry Day has been a positive change to my homemaking schedule! 

What is your laundry style? 

Drying Apples and Tonight's Supper

While supper was baking tonight, I took the time to get a bag of apples ready to dry.

We love dried apples for a little snack, especially for travel. They're like candy--so sweet--but with no added sugar. Just one ingredient: apples! 

I just peel, slice and core the apples and place them on the dehydrator trays to dry. Usually takes about 8-10 hours or overnight. 

So easy and much cheaper than buying a little bag of dried apples from the store. 

For supper tonight, I made a Ham and Cheese Puff Pancake that I had pinned on my Breakfast board. 

It. was. delicious. So so so good! I had to exercise great self-control to save some for tomorrow's breakfast and not gobble it all up tonight. I served the puff pancake with veggies & dip and clementines. 

Seriously, if you like cheesy hammy food, you must try it! 

At Home This Week

It's March Madness time! 

Last year was my first time filling out a bracket. I had no idea what I was doing but it was so much fun, I did another one this year! 

It will be interesting to see how it turns out. Andy and I picked the same champion of the whole tournament but different ways of getting there! ;-)

Last week went well. I accomplished most things on my list. Just not the deep cleaning. In fact, due to a pretty hectic schedule the next few weeks, I'm putting that on hold. I am still decluttering and putting things aside for our yard sale though. 

On tap for this week:

Gather tax info

Tax appointment

Dehydrate bag of apples

Take dinner to friends one night

Small grocery trip

Trash to dump--done!

Pick up dry cleaning    

Sew 4 kitchen towels--done! Actually made 6 yesterday. 

Cut out and sew 4 aprons. 

This list is in addition to my work outside the home and basic housekeeping (meals, laundry, cleaning, etc.). 

What's going on in your home this week?

Homemaking This Week

I am back to part-time hours at work. Yay! I am so happy to be home more again. A lot of things have needed my attention. :-)

This is my 3rd week working part-time. I'm starting to get a good morning routine going again. Last week, I did a lot of subbing. I am on call as an extra if needed. I don't mind some additional hours if  I don't have another obligation or something pressing to accomplish at home. 

We are also on week 3 of the Whole 30 which is a 30 day nutritional reset/cleanse. Today is day 23, I think. :-) After a while, the days run together. We did a Whole 30 last winter as well. It gives our digestive systems a break from carbs and processed foods and helps to get us back on track with balanced healthy eating. We always feel much better when we're done. Bring on the meats, veggies, fruits and healthy fats! 

Our daffodils popped up over the weekend so I picked a couple bouquets to bring inside. So springy! 

I'm preparing for our annual yard sale in a few weeks. My plans are to clean and declutter one room/area each week in preparation. I set out a box in the kitchen so I have a handy place to deposit things I find to sell.

I've been collecting things all year but there may still be a few things left we can declutter. This won't be a huge yard sale; maybe it will be more manageable.  ;-)

I've decided to get rid of my coupon binder! I still coupon but not to the extent I once did. My coupons now easily fit in an envelope in my wallet. 

This week I hope to do some deep cleaning tasks in the kitchen. The plan is to finish 1 or 2 each day. It may take me 1 week. Or longer.... We'll see!

I shipped an Etsy order out this morning. Yay! Also cut out one apron to sew. 

My Etsy goals for this week are to list a couple children's aprons already made and some vintage patterns I have. Also to cut out and sew 2-3 more aprons.

Other things on this week's to-do list:

• Change all the clocks.
• Hand wash skirt.
• Look at drugstore deals and make a plan.
• Get started on a gift for a friend. 

One of my new routines is to designate a morning for errands. This also includes stopping at a thrift store or two while I'm out. It's something fun to do and also a good way for me to look for good deals on things we are needing. I keep a running list so I know what I'm looking for!

Thrifting may not happen every week--it didn't last week because of the extra hours I worked--but it is a goal to try to hit most weeks if possible. 

This week's errands are:

• Library--return book.
• Dollar Tree--some household items.
• Get glasses adjusted.
• Drop off dry cleaning.
• Thrift store.

Already shaping up to be a busy week! What are your plans?

Verses the Lord brought to my mind this morning, which I wrote out and put in my kitchen window where I can meditate on them through the week are Philippians 4:6-7 which say,

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

I pray that you will find great peace no matter what your situation is this week!

Finishing Fall Stuff & Cranberry Apple Preserves

I felt like I needed to finish up fall before I could decorate the house for Christmas!

We got our apples for applesauce late this year so I had to push it to get them done by Thanksgiving. But I made it-- around 42 quarts. Whew! 

I'd also purchased a bushel of apples for a friend who is learning to make and can applesauce this year. She wasn't able to get together until last week. So those apples are done now too--around 15 quart for her. 

I saved 3 apples from all our applesauce, jelly and dried apple making to make Cranberry Apple Preserves. I had some cranberries in the freezer and a coworker offered me a couple oranges she wasn't going to eat. I had just seen the recipe in the canning book and put an orange on my shopping list--I had all the other ingredients on hand. So the oranges came in perfect timing! 

This smelled wonderful while cooking. Everything cooked down nicely and made a lovely red color.

I got 6 jars of preserves. I will use some of these for Christmas gifts. 

Cranberry Apple Preserves                                                         Printable Recipe
 Recipe from The Ball Book of Canning
 Yield: about 9 half-pints

2 pounds cranberries
3 green apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1 orange, seeded and chopped 
3 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup honey

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil gently almost to gelling point. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. process in boiling water canner 15 minutes.

Our fall pumpkins needed to be cooked. I like decor that can do double duty--pretty to look at and yummy to eat later! 

I used this method again for cooking whole pumpkins. It's so easy! Just wash your pumpkins, poke them several times all over with a knife and bake for about 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Let cool a little before handling.

Ended up with a huge bowl of pumpkin puree to freeze. I froze it in freezer bags in 2 cup portions. Yield was 16 cups--equivalent to 8 cans of pumpkin.  

Now that those things are checked off, I'm ready to move on to Christmas!

After Thanksgiving

This is what Rock looks like after his party weekend at puppy camp. 

In fact, I kind of feel that way myself after Thanksgiving! 

My mother-in-law graciously sent the HUGE turkey carcass (with lots of dark meat still on, which we love) home with me. So I'll be making broth and soup this week. I'm scouring my soup cookbooks for a good and maybe more unusual turkey soup recipe. If you have a good method or recipe, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

I made this Turkey Dinner Soup a couple of years ago which we enjoyed a lot. 

These are setting on my counter after a jelly making session right before we left for Thanksgiving. This apple jelly was made with apple peelings and cores from some dried apples I made earlier. Waste not, want not!

I got the idea from Wendi's blog and then followed the directions for apple jelly included in my box of pectin--I used Certo.

Have a great week and enjoy the first week of December!