Welcome to another
Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage!
Each week I share ways I've saved money, my thrifty and frugal projects, and my blessings from God.
I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight!
Please say hello! I'm always looking for new blog friends!
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Dear Reader,
We've had the most wonderful low temperatures for August that I can remember. I've enjoyed spending a little time outside. On Monday, I even went for a short walk with my friend Laura. She visited me along with her daughter this week. It was so fun to spend time with them.
I feel better this week. That's to be expected as I get closer to my next chemo date. This time it will be the 15th. As always, your prayers are appreciated. I truly believe the prayers of the saints are making this much easier for me. I also fully believe that I will be completely cancer free and live out a long life with my high school sweetheart. We started dating way back in 1981! Oh, just had a flashback to big hair. Oh my! I wouldn't mind having some of that hair now. Tee hee!
I hope you're squeezing all the fun possible out of these last days before school starts. I'm looking forward to fall more than ever. When the calendar shows the change of season, I'll be done with this chemo. Praise God!
God bless!
Laura
UPDATED 11/17/2017: This week I was declared cancer free "rare, total remission"! Praise the LORD! God has been with me all the way.
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A Verse for You“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I could certainly use some strengthening right now.
How about you?
We just need to ask Daddy God.
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Here's my thrifty week including blessings I received.
- I always save by shopping at Aldi.
- My friend Joyce gave me some Colloidal Silver and Bentonite Clay to treat an infected cut on my finger. I saturated a cotton ball with Colloidal Silver and put lots of tape around the cotton and my finger to hold it on. The next morning, the results were miraculous. I put on the clay, and by that evening, it was much better. It was healed the next morning. Those are miracle products! I had been thinking about having a doctor look at it since I'd tried healing it for over a week. Joyce saved me a doctor visit. Thank you Joyce!
- My friend, Laura, visited me from St. Louis. She brought along food to make two wonderful dinners and breakfasts, too. She made Chicken Alfredo over zucchini noodles and Meatballs Parmesan. Both were delicious low-carb meals that fit into the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle perfectly. No. I'm not following THM right now. I must wait until after therapy to lose weight on purpose. Doctor's orders.
- Laura also gave me a denim skirt. Thank you Laura!
- In the last couple of weeks I've received a couple of generous gifts in the mail. Thank you Vickie and Karla!
- I bought some good quality hand towels, some washcloths, a couple pillows and pillow cases, and some kitchen towels with a gift card I received for Christmas. Part of it was for a hat I returned that was just like one I already own. I didn't buy the cheapest towels. I bought towels that were a step up from the bottom in hopes that their thicker material will make them last longer. The pillows were priced as here and now pillows, but I needed them and had to work with the credit I had.
- My father came to take my girls to his house for a grandpa and granny visit. He brought me meat for the freezer and three totes of fabric and laces for us girls from Annie. Thank you Dad and Annie!
- We've saved lots of money since we didn't need to run all three of our air conditioners.
- I bought some thin pork chops at a good price and made homemade breaded tenderloin sandwiches.
- My husband made a video to teach my friend and I how to make pie crust from scratch.
That's my thrifty week.
What are you doing in your home this week?
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ღLauraღ
...doing what I can with what I've got
where I am on a short shoestring budget!
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Sounds like a lovely week. Continued prayers for complete healing.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Cheryl!
DeleteHappy Friday, Laura! We've been having the same wonderful weather! Regular rain, cool mornings, aaaahhhh!
ReplyDeleteOur grass is all green and not its normal August crunchy.
I hope it lasts until October and then we roll into a cool fall.
I'd say we had a pretty frugal week. I kept a close watch on every penny and we didn't go without. :) I consider that a good week. We're moving into a tough financial time for us. All the activities are starting. Faires, fall festivals, picnics, & church things. That means busier schedules and more discipline. When we get too tired, it's so easy to says, "Let's just go get Subway." So, I'm hoping to put together some of those Shoebox Dinners that Terri at Blue House Journal talks about. I can keep them for those tempting nights. Since everything needed for the whole meal is in there, there are no excuses!
Enjoy your cool weekend. We have a non-fun DIY weekend ahead of us. That means required maintenance and not something to enjoy lol.
Hi Miss Debby,
DeleteI googled Shoebox Dinners at Blue House Journal. Those are a good idea. I don't know that I'd use one often, but sometimes a pantry meal is just the ace in a hole that you need. Hmmmm...I wonder what "ace in a hole" means? Maybe I'll google it.
My Spicy Can Opener Soup would work well for that. It was published in a Gooseberry Patch cookbook! I believe they called it Spicy Pantry Soup. Here's the link on my blog.
http://harvestlanecottage.blogspot.com/2010/03/spicy-can-opener-soup.html
Enjoy your weekend!
Laura
Our biggest savings was likely all the vegetarian meals we have had this week. We tried lentil sloppy joes last night and this lentil hater is converted! They were delicious and 1 1/2 cups of lentils plus other ingredients made enough for 4 meals. I have three meals of them in the freezer for another day. I have been plagued with making terrible bread for a couple of months. I have tried and tried to figure out why our bread was good one day and terrible the next time I ran the bread machine. As I was loading the machine on Wednesday I noticed that I needed to refill my little salt keeper. I looked around for the canister of sea salt and remembered that I had run out and been filling it with kosher salt. Light bulb moment! That is what changed. I used Himalayan pink salt and we are back to delicious bread. I have to go to Sam's and get some sea salt for baking and bread flour since we are running low. Sam's had a one day sale last weekend and sheets were super low priced so we bought a spare set for our bed and put them away. We can never find a good price in an immediate need situation. We have had a lot of rain so every day Hubby says that God watered the plants for us. We have enjoyed meals in the screen porch with the rain coming down. This morning we picked up two free sausage biscuits using coupons and brought along coffee and juice for a breakfast picnic at a nearby lake side park. Of course lawn service was there doing the grass! Part of the adventure!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have new towels and pillows! It just makes one feel good! Praying for you to have a great weekend as you prepare for your next treatment. I love that your husband is your pie crust maker. I will be praying for you on Tuesday and as you go through the week. Hugs!
Dear Lana,
DeleteI am so very glad you figured out your bread problem. My husband recently went through a stretch with his cinnamon rolls not turning out right. He didn't figure out what went wrong.
My husband knows if he makes a crust, I'll fill it. The practice crusts we just sprinkled with butter and cinnamon sugar.
I love using lentils. Cheap cheap! We went four months without income during the winter of 2016 after my husband closed our cafe. God provided in miraculous ways, but my cooking skills and thrifty ways were really put to the test. Beans, lentils, and soups really made things stretch.
Will you share your sloppy joe recipe? I'd like to try it.
Be blessed dear Lane. God will provide! Thank you for your prayers.
Sincerely,
Laura
I was my Mom's pie crust maker. I rolled them and put them in the pie plates and she did the rest. We often made as many as 10 pies at one time for holidays. Good memories!
DeleteThe Lentil SL=loppy Joe recipe is from here. http://healthygirlskitchen.com/2012/06/lentil-fest-2012.html I sauteed the onion and peppers in 2 T oil instead of the water and added a teaspoon of salt. I forget to add the chili powder and did not miss it so I will not add it in the future. I am not really fond of the taste of it anyway. I hope your family likes it, too!
That's a lot of pie crusts! I don't think I ever made more than six or seven. Everyone seems to love pie though.
DeleteThank you so much for sharing the recipe.
A few years ago, I discovered Sierra Trading Post online and ordered some thick bath towels. They were at a great discount, still more than I normally pay, but we've used them for six years and they are in amazingly good shape and will give us many years of use! Just a thought for down the road for you. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteOne day I'd like to get some nice thick bath towels in brown or tan. Someday. ~smile~
DeleteThanks for the tip.
Laura
New towels are a treat, aren't they???
ReplyDeleteAnd like you, I get the better ones.
No savings with the least expensive ones if you have to replace them all the time!
I also now use only white towels and wash cloths. I used to have separate ones for us and the kids. Now...I throw them all in and I'm done!!!
So glad you had a nice visit with your friend. That is always good for the soul. Keep healing. I'll keep praying!
Thanks for doing your part Billie Jo! ~smile~
DeleteTonight my friend's son will come for the weekend.
Good thing I am feeling good.
Be blessed!
Laura
I'm so glad your feeling a little better. I love and miss Aldi's.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs. Chrissy.
DeleteI'm so glad you had a better week! Praise God!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a visit from friends, made your week better I'm sure!
My prayers continue, I've gone quiet again for a few days, sorry.
Be blessed, find some peace in your soul. With you in spirit as always, Laurie
Thank you so much Laurie!
DeleteBe blessed. Not to worry about going quiet. I've been doing it, too. I hope all is well with you. I feel peace in my soul. Holy Spirit is taking good care of me.
Hug,
Laura
Hi Laura! I'm glad you had a nice week! And go, husband!, for making pie crusts! Sounds like a keeper! *grin*
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice for him to make the crust. I really need to perfect my own skills, but haven't done it yet. I'd like to learn to make hand pies. Maybe over the winter when I heal a bit more from the surgery and radiation.
DeleteBe blessed!
Laura
I watched your hubby's video twice. I'd forgotten you had owned a restaurant so was at first puzzled that he was teaching you! I'm happy for you that chemo will be ending soon and praying you make a fast recovery. Just think how special Christmas season will be this year. You have so much to look forward to as we all have when we appreciate what God has gifted us.Just reading one of your posts wipes out all the crazy negative news from the media. I'm loving your quilt and will be reading that post over and over until I finally get it. Loved the applicants you added. I dreamed the other night about putting roses on a quilt..must've been visiting you in my sleep.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Which post are you referring to? I cannot remember writing about a quilt recently.
DeleteBlessings,
Laura
We are having the cool August weather to and rain.. So unusual. But, I am happy with it.. Proud your friend got to come visit and you got to enjoy her company.
ReplyDeleteLove it---"Daddy God".. My prayer today is that Daddy God will strengthen you and give your courage and help with each step of this cancer treatment.. Such a wonderful verse.. So comforting.
Praying for you.
Thank you so very much Judy. It will be a long journey, but he will be with me. Friends like you make it easier, too. I don't feel so alone.
DeleteI'm sorry you have cancer. It's not fair. I hope you get better. As a non-believer I was unsure about reading the blog, but my perceptions about you are so wrong. You're really ok.
ReplyDeleteThank you Treey. I visited you. I will live and not die and declare the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
DeleteI'm glad you were okay with the reading the blog.
L
This weather is so very nice! I am loving the 68 degrees today. Glad your week has been so blessed.
ReplyDeleteIt hard to believe it's August.
DeleteBe blessed!
L
Hi Laura, I have popped over from Patsy's A Working Pantry blog. Best wishes for your treatment this week.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
DeleteIt went well. Now to recover!
Hug,
L
Been a while since i visited so thanks for posting an update. Prayers your way for your chemo.
ReplyDeleteOh Lux, it has been awhile. I'll be over in a few minutes for a visit. The chemo went well today. Now to recover!
DeleteBlessings and thanks,
Laura
Thank you Laura Lane for visiting my blog. You have a beautiful name. Sorry to have taken so long to reply. You have a lovely blog. I have to tell you a funny story though. When I first visited your blog and heard the singing birds, I jumped up, thinking there was a mockingbird, or maybe two mockingbirds outside the window. I ran to the back door and quietly went out on the screened-in porch. I listened and listened and the birds were gone. I must have scared them away when I opened the door. Only when I got back to your blog did I realize these were your birds doing all that singing. I had to laugh. I've just read about your cancer treatments. Oh Laura, I wish you the very best! You sound like a strong person, and I truly believe that prayer changes things. Love, Henny
ReplyDeleteOh you did make me laugh Henny Penny! I read your comment to my husband who thinks I need to remove the birds. He just smiled and rolled his eyes. Each time I think about changing the birds, someone tells me they enjoy them, or their cat or dog did something funny, or something cute like what you did. ~smile~ I need to google an image of a mocking bird now!
DeleteThe joy of the LORD is our strength Henny Penny. I lean hard on him through this. He is strong in our weakness.
Be blessed, let's be friends!
Laura
I believe you're right Teri. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteHappy week!
L
So thankful you are getting a reprieve, dear friend. Trusting God to help you through the next round all the way to the end, and yes, I look forward to the day when you are cancer-free, in Jesus' name!
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteWe started earlier today, so I'm not quite so tired tonight, but it will be early bedtime for me!
Talk to you later,
L
Gift cards are great, aren't they? New towels are even better. I admire your attitude about the cancer. I know you're a testimony to many people. I'm adding you to my prayer list. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteHi Joyful, Gift cards are great. I bought a few hand towels this time. I think I might try to get two or three more for the rotation. I am happy with them.
DeleteIf I have to go through this cancer journey, I want to do it in a way that glorifies Jesus since I'm completely dependent on him to get through it!
Be blessed,
Laura