Monday Message

"Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget. Store seeds and have sufficient tools on hand to do the job." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

If you don't have the equipment to can or dry food, then freeze what you can. But continue to try and get the equipment that you can and while you are trying to get these things, learn how to use them and you will be ready when you do get them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsY6HdtrJb8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQqhUiJ5BZ0&t=1s

Here are a couple of ideas on how to make your own solar dehydrator and maybe this will help you come up with your own version.

https://www.freshoffthegrid.com/dehydrating-food/ - here is good info on dehydrated food.

https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/ways-to-rehydrate-dehydrated-food/ - this gal has tons of wonderful info.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2022/08/monday-message_15.html - here is more things I do.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/07/monday-message.html - more info.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2020/08/monday-message_31.html - more drying.

It really helps the budget to use your excess veggies and fruits.

Look at yard sales and thrift stores and even look for sales online for dehydrators and other equipment that can help you put up food.

I tell you, I get my groceries once a month and so far no relief in the prices. I am glad that I am getting produce out of the garden.

I was given this cute ice chest. It's perfect for making my yogurt. I have some going in it even now.

https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2023/12/monday-message_11.html - you can scroll down to see my yogurt and yes, it is that thick. The recipe is just above that picture. I make two quarts at a time. When I open the last, then it is time to make more. I like this the best over any I have ever had, so I keep it in the refrigerator all the time as we have it daily.

This last week I moved my tea cart to the other end of dining room. When my sister and I were little (I was five, she was three) we lived in Wyoming. We went walking out on the prairie. We were told to stay near the fence line, which we did as it was a vast prairie. On our walk, we saw a wooden box on its side. We went to investigate and inside were the most beautiful dishes. They had flowers on them. We loved playing with them. We never knew why they were there... They looked like they fell there. It had that shredded packing material. We were too young to even question where they came from or what became of them. 

That was 63 years ago but that was a very wonderful memory of the two of us playing with those beautiful dishes. So on my cart are those same kind of dishes with pretty flowers around the plates, each invoking that memory from a walk on the prairie on a sunny day in Wyoming so many years ago.

I finished cleaning and organizing the basement. When faced with a huge project like I mentioned before, I will work an hour a day till the job is finished and that was this week for the basement.

I was given a needle punch kit...

I look forward to working on this and learn more about punch needle this is a pillow kit complete with everything.

Here I am in one of the dresses I recently made this dress cost time and skills as the rest was free... so skills are important to have.

Every year we have two love birds come back to our house. Well this year they have offspring. Aren't they cute? You will hear a parent cooing to let them know they are near.

How are you doing at building your skills? Are you trying to learn something new? Share what you have picked to work on in the comments.

A few things to keep in mind... Christmas is coming. I know in this awful heat where I am it is hard to think of, but do a little now and then to be ready. You can spread out the cost or be working on gifts.  The kids will soon be back in school. This will help you have more time to work on things.

Keep looking for sales to stock up.

Missy says find time to rest a little as you work so hard at being frugal.

Tippy Longstockings says keep thinking of what skills you are wanting to learn- you can do it!