Do You Think of Christmas in July?

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Have you started thinking about Christmas yet?

Christmas in July ~ Handmade Gift Ideas

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Laura Lately ~ A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #181

My grandkitten Ursula who just moved out with her mommy.

Lots of changes this past week. 

Here's  a quick update since last time.

In the Kitchen

• I continued feeding my sourdough starter.
• Cooked primarily from what we had on hand.
• Lots of organizing and passing things on to my daughters. 

In the Home

• Lots of decluttering
• I gave many things to my daughter to set up her apartment. 

In the Workbasket

• I'm knitting a blue and gray second sock. It's for one of the men in my family. I hope to give each of my family members something hand knitted for Christmas.  I finished knitting my daughter's Christmas socks. 

• I made knitting progress on a DK weight sock. I'm trying a new pattern that my friend Virginia suggested. It is her new favorite. It's called Travel Sock by Diane Lyles. It's available on Ravelry.

Books and Such

• I am still reading The Songs That Could Have Been by Amanda Wen. Click here to enter the giveaway. It's a free review book, too. 

• I am listening to a few books on Scribd. I am bored with Spanish Verb Conjugation, but I haven't given up. I'm not sure how helpful it is without a written book to see. It's designed to use in the car while commuting.  I added a few more books to give me variety.  The Art of Neighboring is challenging.  Hand Made, and The Five Second Rule are educational like the Spanish book.

• I finished The House on Foster Hill. It was clean, and had a good pro-faith message while being quite mysterious. It is definitely an adult book due to the subject matter. 

Out and About

• I joined the local fiber guild. Since I joined mid-year, the dues were only $5.00. It will be nice to meet once a month with others who enjoy old-fashioned skills including tatting, weaving, spinning, crochet, fiber dying, and knitting. 

• We attended a free concert given by a local community symphony group.

• Knitting with friends on Tuesday night is inexpensive fun

• While visiting my dad and Ann, we went to a really nice thrift shop. We found lots of things for Emily's new apartment. 

• They also blessed her with supplies for her apartment. 

Surprises

• Nothing this week, but who knows?

I close with a quote from Pablo Picasso.

  "I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money. "

I'm sorry for the lack of photos . It was a bit of a chaotic week with two kids moving out over the weekend.  My nest is nearly empty suddenly.  We still have one daughter who technically lives at home, but she's not here much except to sleep. It's very quiet. 

I'll take some photos and get back on track soon.

I wish you all well ladies, do what you can with what you've got where you are! 

Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage, 

Laura

Laura Lately ~ A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #180

 A little late but....

Here are some things I did  this past week.

In the Kitchen

• Cut up a few apples that were past their prime, added cinnamon, brown sugar, and a little orange juice. I simmered it down to make an oatmeal topping.

• I made sourdough waffles again.

• I kept feeding my starter "Doughy".

• On the way home from church, we saw a boy selling blueberries at a stand in his front yard. We bought 4 pints for $10. I didn't realize what a deal that was until I saw blueberries for $5 a pint in the store!

• I was out of all purpose flour, so I ground fresh wheat and fed it to Doughy.

• I bought 12 lbs of butter for the freezer. I paid $3 a pound. I think that's the best I will see this summer. Milk was $4.59 a gallon at the same store. Yikes! I paid it but skipped $3.49 a dozen eggs.

• I made a refreshing blueberry lemonade.

Dinners

• Saturday - salmon patties

• Sunday - bison burgers made by my Lowell (They were a gift.)

• Monday - beef burgers on the grill (This meat was a gift, too.)

• Tuesday - macaroni, hamburger, and tomatoes 

• Wednesday - Baked ham and carrots

• Thursday - ham sandwiches 

• Friday -date night... shared one meal at a nice restaurant... paid with a gift card 

In the Workbasket 

• I cut up a beyond repair towel and made 15 cleaning rags. I just zigzagged around the edges. I used vintage thread from a wooden spool.  They will help my Emily get started in her new home.

• I rehemmed a dress. It will last another year or more.

• My knitting needles were busy with gift socks.

Books and Such

• I downloaded a couple new audiobooks from Scribd— All Through the Night and The Healer's Apprentice. 

Out and About

• Knitting with friends on Tuesday nights is a highlight of my week. Instead of buying a meal for dinner, I ordered a cup of queso and chips. I brought a cup from home and drank water, too.

• I avoided getting out and about, because the heat index has been over 100 all week. The air conditioner in my 1989 car can't compete.

• I made one early morning trip and did all my errands.  My daughter came along and I drove her car. Blessing!

I hope you had a terrific week!

Laura 

As you can see, I use Scribd a lot. You get unlimited ebooks and audio books plus sheet music, articles, and other reading materials for just one low price. $9.99 a month. You don't have to pay per book. It's all included in the one price. It's the best money I've spent this year!

If you use my link, you'll get a 2 month free trial of Scribd, and I will get a free month as well. I'm not an affiliate, it's just a neat perk that they have for their subscribers who tell their friends. I've earned 510 free days just sharing how much I love their service! You can, too.

Laura Lately ~ A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #179

Hi y'all,

I hope you're enjoying a nice long weekend if you're in the United States or just enjoying a nice weekend if you're elsewhere. We're planning to barbecue bison burgers for supper Monday night. Then we'll head out to watch fireworks at the city park.

 For today, I have spent most of the afternoon in bed with a bad headache. I've had quite a few lately, but I'm hoping the chiropractor can help me. I see him again on Tuesday. Nevertheless, this has been a good week. 

I always feel like I should be doing more to be thrifty, but when I write things down I find that I've been more thrifty than I think. 

I think the key is changing the little things we do. Sometimes it's the little things rather than big things that really make a difference. 

I realize that, although I've tried to limit the amount of negativity and news that I'm exposed to, it still trickles through. All around people are feeling more tense. Some people press into Jesus during these times. Some people, even if they know him, don't see him as their ever present help in times of trouble. My heart aches for people who do not have hope or who are overwhelmed with anxiety right now. It's easy to see the bad around us, but I want to be one who sees every spark of joy, every glimpse of Jesus, the favor of God, the provision of God. It is around us. I know it's in me, and it's in my own home. 

I encourage you to seek God and his kingdom. All you need will be added to you. He will take care of us. One way he does that is by giving us creativity and the ability to work in our homes and to love others.

Here are some things I've done this past week.

In the Kitchen

• I continued feeding my sourdough starter. 

• I made sourdough waffles for the first time. Oh yum! The recipe made 8 waffles. It used 2 cups of starter. The starter was made with half water half flour. That means 8 waffles were made with one cup of flour!

Dinners

• Saturday we ate a pasta dish Emily made with leftover chicken and other items we had on hand.

• Sunday we ate leftovers.

• Monday sandwiches

• Tuesday Fend for Yourself... We have evening meetings on Tuesdays that we often eat at.

• Wednesday was not frugal. We were out late and ate Chinese carry out.

• Thursday I traveled to see my parents. Emily went with me. We stopped at Taco Bell for $5 boxes.

• Friday I borrowed Emily's Instant Pot and made baked sweet potatoes.  They were perfectly tender. I may have to put an Instant Pot on my wish list!

In the Home

• I replaced only my thumb nail Lily and Fox polish strips. This was to extend the wear of my current manicure a few more days. A set of strips is only $2.99 shipping included, but I like to try to make them last. I also use Sally Hansen Miracle Gel over them to make them shiny and make them last longer. It's just a brush on polish protector. This is a thrifty version of Color Street nails. 

• When it came time to redo my nails, I used some hot pink OPI polish called Toying with Trouble. What a silly name! I've had it for a couple of years. I used the same gel top coat. I hope it will last for awhile. No cost since I had it all on hand. (It started chipping the third day.)

In the Workbasket

• I'm knitting a blue and gray second sock. It's for one of the men in my family. I hope to give each of my family members something hand knitted for Christmas.  I finished knitting my daughter's Christmas socks. I just need to block them now.

• I mended our kitten's toy mouse and my husband's suit jacket. I still need to go through towels to see which ones need mended.

• I cast on a DK weight sock. I'm trying a new pattern that my friend Virginia suggested. It is her new favorite. It's called Travel Sock by Diane Lyles. It's available on Ravelry.  It's frugal, because the pattern was free, and my friend, Laura, gave me the yarn. Her love language is knitting! I'm making good progress after getting some help from my knitting friends Tuesday night. Thank you Jane, Virginia, Jill, Gloria, Jean and Laura!

• I cut up two worn out t-shirt to make rags.

• My husband cut up one of those rags to tie up tomato plants.

• I mended Amy's sleep pants.

• I mended the kitten's mouse again. This time I sewed the ear back on.  

• I also altered my daughter's blouse by hand sewing the back closed. I didn't finish my mending, because little Miss Ursula decided my mending basket was perfect for a cat nap! 

• I cut up a beyond repair towel into squares. I will zigzag around the edges to extend the usable life again.

Books and Such

• I am still reading The Songs That Could Have Been by Amanda Wen. Click here to enter the giveaway. It's a free review book, too. 

• I am listening to a few books on Scribd. I am bored with Spanish Verb Conjugation, but I haven't given up. I'm not sure how helpful it is without a written book to see. It's designed to use in the car while commuting.  I added a few more books to give me variety.  The Art of Neighboring is challenging.  Hand Made, and The Five Second Rule are educational like the Spanish book.

• I finished The House on Foster Hill. It was clean, and had a good pro-faith message while being quite mysterious. It is definitely an adult book due to the subject matter. 

Out and About

• I joined the local fiber guild. Since I joined mid-year, the dues were only $5.00. It will be nice to meet once a month with others who enjoy old-fashioned skills including tatting, weaving, spinning, crochet, fiber dying, and knitting. 

• We attended a free concert given by a local community symphony group.

• Knitting with friends on Tuesday night is inexpensive fun

• While visiting my dad and Ann, we went to a really nice thrift shop. We found lots of things for Emily's new apartment. 

• They also blessed her with supplies for her apartment. 

Surprises

• Nothing this week, but who knows?

I close with a quote from Pablo Picasso.

  "I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money. "

I wish you all well ladies, do what you can with what you've got where you are! 

Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage, 

Laura