Monday Message

"Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meo4qk0jaeE I saw this, it is orderly, no fighting, shoving, and they don't have much in their carts. It's a different scene than what happened here last year when everyone was fighting over toilet paper.

Now is more important than ever that we help each other.

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/pasta-fagioli-homemade-soup-mix.html - love this gal. Scroll down to see other mixes. We love the scone mix.

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/scone-mix-recipe.html - frugal and glad to have on hand.

It is at this time of the year I am wanting to have mixes made up for winter.

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/from-scratch-pumpkin-doughnut-holes.html - these are easy to make.

https://www.littlehouseliving.com/non-food-gifts-in-a-jar.html - she has gifts in jars.

https://kristineskitchenblog.com/classic-biscotti-recipe/ - this has great varieties of biscotti, could be great gifts.

https://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/homemade-brown-n-serve-rolls/ - this is always easy, just pop them in the oven when your meal is almost ready.

It is great to have the bread mixes made up ahead. Also, you can give them as a gift in a jar or a bag if you know the person has a bread machine, even if they don't, they can stir the bread together. Here is a link to the RECIPE. It was first made to dump and stir, such a great way. We just do plain and then you decide what variation you want from the mix. You can make rolls or hamburger buns or cinnamon rolls, it is really endless with just this mix.

This week our dryer went out. Suffice it to say I know more inside that dryer than outside now. It took three days and a couple parts but it is back to going again - yay our team! We used YouTube but they showed replacing a thermostat, there are three and none were it but those helped when we got to the bad part. It takes $100 just to have a repairman drive ten miles and ring the doorbell. Then it is $90 for every half hour. So that was our frugal deed this week. I am glad it worked out. So think about repairs you have to make. Can you learn how to do them on YouTube?

Our weather is turning colder. Missy and Gus love magazines and books, they both say to make sure you have good things to read on those stormy cold nights.

The garden is still winding down. We picked the last watermelon and since it is so close to Halloween I drew a face on him...

It looks like there will be some shortages so be prepared for that. Now is the time to stretch things a little further. With the holidays coming, it's time to make new traditions! Look for ideas to make them fun but frugal to fit your budget. The holidays may seem different this year than your family is used to but we can still make them special anyway. With a little more effort it could be the best one ever.

Gus and Missy say please keep being safe as flu season is going to collide with Covid. Wash your paws. Missy says let her know if you need her to show how to demonstrate the proper way again and Gus says keep wearing your masks and please be safe.

Monday Message

"Included in the year’s supply of basic foods should be life-sustaining foods that store well for a long time: grains (wheat, rice, corn, or other of the cereal grains); dried milk, dried fish or protein vegetables such as beans and peas and other fresh, canned, dried, or pickled fruit or vegetables; sugar or a sugar substitute such as honey; some form of fats; salt; and water. Fresh taro or sweet potato, and live pigs, chickens, or fish might be considered as a supply in some areas of the world where it is difficult to store food. Remember that regular use of whole grains is important in building a digestive tolerance for roughage." (Barbara B. Smith)

If you store grains, do you have a grain mill? You should work on getting one... This always makes me think about the book, The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. They had to use a coffee mill to grind wheat and this took long days of grinding. They said they must never stop, so they had enough to make what they needed per day. I am thinking what a miracle it was that the little coffee mill did not break down. Imagine it being purchased in our time. Most everything is not made very well and breaks down quickly.  

I remember my sister-in-law worked in a factory and they asked her to go faster and she said it was as fast as possible already because of each thing that needed to get done. They said no, keep it going, if it doesn't get done it will be tended on the other end - meaning you buy it and discover it doesn't work and have to go through hoops to get one that is correct. Hmmm for how long? 

I don't know what company she worked for but it makes me think how hard it was for us to get a microwave. We had to keep taking them back after not having them a full day, grrr. When we took it back the last time we bought a whole other brand but we had to pay more for it. When we were there the lady helping said this was happening a lot with that brand. I can't remember the brand but it was hard, heavy work to unpack and rearrange counters to find out it did not work then to pack it back up to go all the way back an hour round-trip and longer in the store all during a pandemic. If I were a store where people were returning a product over and over I would stop carrying it.

So that was a long winded way of saying if you store grains, you need a grain mill. If you have an electric grain mill you need one that is not electric as well for just in case. While we have that one, I hope the day never comes that I have to solely rely on it. That said, it makes the best ever cracked wheat. Just something to think about.

I am drying the last of the parsley from the garden. I still have the beans I am drying for seed, a few green tomatoes, and a watermelon left in the garden. Fall is here. The squirrels are burying walnuts that they never will find causing me work next year when walnut trees start to grow. Are you squirreling away food for the winter? And beyond?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9lAFTdJdF0&t=3s - powdered milk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaUoiyj5reA - make your own freezer rolls.

With prices going up this is perfect - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnhFAhtmEUw. I hope you are paying attention to all her tips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVFKQj3iimw&t=125s I love finding organizing tips, she has a lot here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih1XIyg3-f4 - how to make the magic mix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGKaqxjh1dI&t=2s. This is using the magic mix to make chocolate pudding.

I tried to pull a variety out of her videos that her site had, there are many more great videos on her site though so be sure to look through them. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtVdjcMKTZOyw-MwEJfA7CQ. She is one of my favorites.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 c. cinnamon

1/4 c. ginger

2 Tbsp nutmeg

2 Tbsp cloves

I put this in small canning jar, shake and label. I keep this on hand at all times

Pumpkin muffins are one of our favorite fall recipes! Tip: I mix all the dry ingredients the night before for a head start in the morning.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

I mix and set aside the topping:

1/3 cup flour

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp cold butter

In bowl, mix well:

1/4 cup soft butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup milk (I add tsp of vinegar to it)

2 eggs

1 Tbsp molasses

Then, don’t stir again until all dry ingredients are measured in.

2 cups flour

1 tsp dried orange peel

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (recipe above)

1/4 tsp salt

Then, stir well and fill 12 regular muffin cups. I use liners, but it's not necessary.

By spoon, divide topping over all evenly. Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Delicious!

Missy says stay safe, only go out when you know you are taking safety measures.

Gus says he wants you to keep wearing masks and be safe.

Monday Message

"Store a provision of food which will last for at least a year wherever it is legally permissible to do so. The Church has not told you what foods should be stored. This decision is left up to individual members. . .From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. 'There is more salvation and security in wheat,' said Orson Hyde years ago, 'than in all the political schemes of the world' (in Journal of Discourses, 2:207). Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

Finally the garden is coming to an end for another year and the weather is finally more fall-like...I love the fall.

We have gotten our booster shot and flu shot. It is so sad the loss of life due to the pandemic.

It has been a busy week for me as I have wanted to finish this sweater...

I finally finished it and I'm so glad to have it done. It has been staring at me from the basket for way too long.

I also did some deep cleaning in my sewing room which was a good thing.

I made some crocheted flowers...

I haven't decided which I like better the six petal or five petal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi9ybokrfqM&t=26s here she will walk you through making them. I mostly wanted to make them for the cuteness, I love how they look with my older sewing machines.

She also has how to make a granny square pincushion here...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qrlpekL0AQ I think knowing how to crochet a granny square is such a good way to learn crocheting and a good skill to learn and have.

I discovered a watermelon yet in the garden so that is a nice thing.

Does the end of harvest season mean the end of drying and canning food? No, this goes year round so I keep my tools close at hand.

At the time I am writing this it's October 1st. This coming weekend will be General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love watching that. Our tradition is chili and cinnamon rolls so that will be had - yum! You can go to https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ they replay it if you are interested. It always is my favorite thing that I look forward to.

I made these up as they will help me with different projects. The little ones will be great for tatting projects. They are found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO-fosn6Yfs&t=61s...once I started making them, it was like "give a mouse a cookie" style... :p

I made a new cover for my small ironing board.  It sure brightens up the sewing room and only took a short time to make. I just turned the ironing board upside down on the fabric and cut around it leaving lots of room to turn under and to have a casing to draw the string through...this is how I do it on the frugal.

Missy says that just to be sure she is demonstrating how to wash your paws.

Gus says he wants you to be safe and oversees paw washing.

Monday Message

"Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future." (L. Tom Perry)

I just heard Costco was putting limits on the things that were in shortage at the beginning of the pandemic...hopefully you have been getting a little in each week.

Along that line, you know how to slow the toilet paper roll - you step on it and squish it so that it just won't roll freely. Also, to find out how fast you use the toilet paper put the date on the inside of the roll. When you switch out the empty one, check the date to find out how long it was. Do this to all bathrooms and that should tell you how much you need to stock. Do you have people in the house who never use the last of the roll but get out a new roll? Get one and start adding those last bits to it and one day set it out for the new roll.

This is frugal. Look for ways to do things that save money, find ways to save and stretch...I am thinking there could be more limits over time

I know when I do a Walmart pick-up order lots are limited.

Check out Tightwad Gazette from your library and read it. If you already have it, well, now is the time to reread it.

I noticed prices have gone up so we all need to learn to make do with less because it will happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJjtqCdf0BY&t=2s - Tessie has some wonderful ideas here in case you don't can. She does a lot of canning, if you do can she still has great ideas in this episode.

I remember when we lived in New Hampshire I was in line to check out and the lady behind me said don't you just love all the choices they have at that store. I thought hmm, not as many as Iowa. She was from some parts way north, she said they did not have as many choices. So while I was thinking not as many as what I was used to this lady had way less. I started to see some things start to disappear, off-brands that were a cheaper brand were discontinued a while back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdrb-8OXNDk&lc=z23uvfshkqnix1ustacdp433oozabmqzcw5vfbglfvpw03c010c - lasagna soup. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbOUdxwrUWA - crockpot lasagna.

They do thirty favorite soups in September, then in October they do favorite crockpot recipes.

So you might want to follow along.

I then watched this where she walks you through crocheting flowers, and how to cover buttons, and how her daughter makes a key chain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi9ybokrfqM

So here is what I came up with...

She gives you a good lesson. Even if you haven't crocheted before you can learn by stopping and starting and reversing the video as you go and eventually you would get this. Sometimes it is just fun to have a small project to brighten the house and cheer the mood. A frugal skill to learn. While I was getting my crochet hook out to do these flowers I got the hooks back in order. Years ago I got some cigar tins, each would hold one cigar but they were ten cents and I got them. Each holds the hooks in a certain size and I keep these in a short coffee pot type container so those all got tended before starting the flowers.

The weather has been, so wonderful. At the time I am writing this, tonight will get down to 38 degrees. Brrrr!

I have been spinning as I can and I'm almost done with this fiber. My plan is to chain ply it.

My hope is to do some dying of fiber before it gets too cold.

The garden is almost done. I have green bean seed yet to pick and another watermelon that was hiding. I hope you will try your hand at gardening.

Soon it will be time to put the hose to bed for the winter.

I find myself thinking what needs to be done before winter hits.

Tomorrow we will have the last of our tomatoes to make an open face sandwich.

Zucchini Sandwich

In a frying pan take a couple Tbsps of butter, when it melts, I sprinkle garlic salt in the bottom and add diced zucchini  and diced tomatoes, what ever you want. Then I sprinkle more garlic salt and dry onion flakes over all. Stir every now and again. When it is mostly cooked, sprinkle fresh parmesan cheese on and cook till melted. Serve on hamburger buns that you have spread with butter and sprinkled garlic salt and toasted in another pan. Scoop the mixture over those grilled buns, it is so wonderful - one of our favorites!

I knew these were buttonhole cutting scissors. I noticed for the first time a gear imbedded in the one scissor handle. I looked this up and what you do is pull this out, choose one of the notches, and the other handle has a pin so when you go to cut the buttonhole it will only cut so far and not through the buttonhole. So I learned that this week which was fun. They came from a yard sale long ago with other sewing stuff. I had never noticed it before and just started to look it up on the computer. I knew by the shape that it must cut buttonholes but back then there wasn't so much information as now.

Keep building your skills and your storage.

Missy says be friendly and helpful to others, don't be disrespectful that is not the way to be...spread kindness wherever you go for people and critters need it more than ever.

Gus says find some time for nice warm sunshine. Social distance like I am doing in the basket and wash your paws, wear your masks, and get the booster when you can.

Monday Message

"Our bishops storehouses are not intended to stock enough commodities to care for all the members of the Church. Storehouses are only established to care for the poor and the needy. For this reason, members of the Church have been instructed to personally store a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. By following this counsel, most members will be prepared and able to care for themselves and their family members, and be able to share with others as may be needed." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

This quote packs a lot in it. We all could benefit from following this example.

Trying to have things on hand will bless our family and others.

Now with fall coming on it is time to think about what lies ahead and planning for it like I mentioned before, are we prepared for winter??

Some things we know are coming and some things we don't.

So being prepared the best that we can is SO helpful. We all have been through so much this last while. Our ancestors faced hard times just like we are now. They showed how strong they were and how, no matter what, they pressed on doing the best that they could and finding happiness along the way. We can as well. Nothing is ever so bad that it can't get worse. So we can set an example for others. We see Covid numbers going up, we went through this last year so we know what to do.

I talked about this shirt last week and how I made a pattern off a shirt I liked for comfort. Learning this skill helped me with this...

I got this shirt used years ago. Once, putting it on I knew they had sewed two back pieces together in construction. I carefully picked out the front neckband from shoulder to shoulder only in the front. Then I folded the front in half and cut the neck like it should have been and reattached the neckband and it worked wonderfully. Being able to sew and learning skills has been very helpful. I think on any t-shirt if you wanted to even just change the shape of a neck you could do the same process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnTwT-ifLkU - this is a fantastic sewing machine tutorial, I love this gal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM_B5_I_Rkk - here she takes you through making a pattern and making a gathered skirt, she shows beginning to end.

I am trying to learn more on sewing skills myself  I have been blessed by knowing how to sew and it is a good skill to build on.

Building our skills helps us to be able to stretch our budget.

These are a few more things I do that stretch the budget. The more we can do ourselves, the more we save.  Learn those skills, it makes a difference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htT0wwBLpB8 - this gal shows her storage.

https://preparednessmama.com/basic-food-storage/ - this has some good info.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-start-a-food-storage-on-138765 - here she tells more.

https://preparednessmama.com/food-storage/kitchen-tips-2/ - helpful ideas here, she has kitchen tips plus more info near the bottom.

Missy says to try and do something you enjoy everyday.

Gus says please be safe.

Monday Message

"I wish to urge again the importance of self-reliance on the part of every individual Church member and family. None of us knows when a catastrophe might strike. Sickness, injury, unemployment may affect any of us. We have a great welfare program with facilities for such things as grain storage in various areas. It is important that we do this. But the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N624MhSpPgo - she shows getting storage ideas.

I have been working a lot outside this week but worked on the t-shirt that I traced off of an already made t-shirt. I liked using a tracing wheel so this skill building was a win.

It fits just like the original, a great skill to learn. I learned how to make a pattern from an already made shirt with a tracing wheel.

I learned how to make t-shirts when my kids were little. I would applique fun things on the front. Back then we used ribbing for the neck. This was my first one using the same fabric the shirt was made from. I really like the look and it was a savings to boot.

I made a soap sack this week to hold the bits and pieces of soap that get leftover. I wanted to make this to stretch the soap farther for when I don't use these ends for laundry soap.

https://www.crochetwithmarybeth.com/learn-the-iris-stitch-for-charity-free-crochet-pattern/ - here is the pattern, it's free.

https://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/homemade-liquid-laundry-detergent-plus-a-free-printable-label/ - this is the laundry soap I like. I have found just any bar soap works...so none of my soap goes to waste.

I also finished this knitted elephant girl I’ve been working on. The cats approved!

So that is what I learned and finished this week.

Gus wants to know what skills did you learn this week?

Every little thing adds up whether you are growing food storage or growing your skills.

Missy asks are you building a food storage binder with recipes and information you would need?

With prices going up on, well, everything, we will need our skills and storage now more than ever.

The more we can do for ourselves, the more we can save.

Gus says don't stick your tongue out at being safe, keep wearing your mask.

Missy agrees and adds for you to be sure to social distance and wash your paws.