A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #41

I am just amazed at how quickly the weeks pass here at the cottage. Life is not quite so hectic since most of the 4H classes have been completed. Still, I don't think I'm going to be seeing the "lazy days of summer" for a long while yet!

• First month at Y was prorated and saved us several dollars. We had to pay only the start up fee and a day's payment. Check with your local Y and see if you may be eligible for a scholarship to pay part of the monthly cost. With one income and three kids at home, we qualified.
• Two friends brought groceries.
• I called the bank to verify a payment I'd made to the doctor's office last year. The office didn't credit my account, so I'm going to send copies of the payments. Hopefully, they will stop billing me for the $35 I already paid. 
• I take my children to the library in town every week. They check out books, use their computers, and sometimes look at the microfilm. They even use the inter-library loan program.We pay $20 a year since we live outside the city limits, but we find it's worth it for us.
• I received The Pirate's Code, a Mickey Matson movie for free for review.
• I received a CD by Superchic for just $.49 plus one credit from Swap a CD for my girls.

• My husband and kids turned a patch of grass into a little garden plot and put in a few herb and vegetable plants. 

Well, that's about it for now. 

Have a great week!

Laura
~~~~~

Our Family with Grandpa Lane and Uncle Robin

My Daybook June 1, 2015

Read other Daybooks.

FOR TODAY June 1st...

Outside My Window... 
green grass, blue sky, still air, 58°
That's unseasonably cool and wonderful in SW Missouri in June.

I am thinking...

I want to make time for sewing.

I am thankful for...

a faithful husband for 29 years and counting.

From the kitchen...
I'm going to make a batch of my Trim Healthy Mama Shrinker this morning. I also need to make another batch of sweet tea for the family. Leftovers for lunch and a salad for me.

I am wearing...
my tan skirt and a navy short sleeve knit shirt, and my black Crocs. I feel like I may need a sweater to continue sitting by this open window!

I am creating...
a plan to help my kids finish the school year.  It looks like summer school for us this year.

I am going...
to take my husband to work...
to pick my son up from work...
to pick my husband up from work...
to my Beauty by the Book class tonight.

I am reading...

 Trim Healthy Mama.

I am hoping...

that the cool weather continues.

I am hearing...

birds, a lawn mower, traffic on the highway, my daughter singing in the kitchen. Actually, by the time I finished writing this, she was quiet again. ~smile~ My children will break out in singing and Disney movie quoting at any moment.

Around the house...

it's quiet except the click of the keys as I type. My husband and son are at work, my elder daughter is sleeping in, my younger daughter is reading.

One of my favorite things...

the first M & M.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Catching up on school paperwork... school with the kids... cleaning... sewing... cleaning... driving everyone everywhere... and decluttering. I'm having second thoughts about the sale.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Thank you Judith!

The beautiful Lilla Rose Flexi Clip I won from Judith Knowles at Whole Hearted Home.

From the Board Room...

Follow Laura's board Beautiful Places on Pinterest.

A Favorite link...

You can read more Daybook entries at our hostess Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman.

God bless!

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Happy at Home

A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #40

Hey Y'all!

Did you enjoy your Memorial Day weekend? We celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. I guess you could say it was thrifty, because we had to cancel our weekend getaway. Our van started making a noise (just had to be this weekend), so we had it looked at Saturday morning. It was something big in the wheel. Nothing thrifty about that! We had to cancel the getaway. We couldn't get it fixed until Wednesday.

• I paid $10 extra for high mileage oil. Yes, it was more expensive, but we have over 200,000 miles on our van. It's our only vehicle, so it's worth a bit more to keep it running. I want it to go at least 300,000. I speak life to it in Jesus' Name! The Scriptures say that all things are held together in Jesus. That includes my van!
• I received three review movies in the mail. Thank you, Edify! 
• I bought the Trim Healthy Mama book on Kindle. I already had it on my shelf, but it's over six hundred pages long. I thought the $15 to make it easy-to-read was a worthy investment in my health.
• I received a book, Married 'til Monday, by mistake from a review company. It's not my normal genre, so I contacted the company. They told me to keep it. I was happy not to pay postage to return it. They are going to send a copy of the correct book. 
• I ordered a review book.
• A couple of friends brought food to share... eggs, bread, peanut butter, tuna, apples, oranges... lots of good things. Thank you Ellen and Laura.
• My friend gave me a salad spinner. I've been needing one!
• Check out the free homeschooling coupon download in my sidebar.

Well, that's about it. I hope you have a very enjoyable weekend. It's been rainy but beautiful here in Southwest Missouri. How are things in your neck of the woods? What thrifty things have you done this week?

God bless!

Laura

Blessed to be a Blessing

~~~~~

May I suggest?

40 Ways to Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without

~~~~~

My Daybook May 25, 2015

Join us at The Simple Woman!

Dear Ladies, 
Hello!  It's a beautiful morning. My my it's been raining and raining and raining! It's actually flash flooding in my front yard down at what the kids call 'Coon Creek. I think they saw a raccoon down there when we first moved to the property, and the name stuck. I'm trying to keep a happy attitude about the rain. I would like it better if it would stay outside my house! It is sunny this morning. I hope it stays that way for awhile.
May God grant you the desires of your heart as you delight in Him.
God bless you!
~~~~~

For Today... May 25, 2015

Outside my window...

sunshine mixed with shadows covering my lawn and circle driveway. The trees have grown so much, I can barely see blue sky and white clouds peeking through. I want to enjoy it. The rain is supposed to return all week.

I am thinking...

about my rumbly in my tumbly. ~grin~ I'm going to make some Trim Healthy Mama pancakes as soon as my daughter's done fixing regular pancakes for the kids.

I am thankful...

for some sunshine after so much rain. 

I am wearing...

a red knit dress.

I am creating...

My husband bought me some beautiful fabric for our anniversary. If I have time, after finishing the laundry, I'll put it in the wash to prepare it for cutting. I always prewash fabrics that I will use for clothing. In fact, I still prewash nearly all the fabrics I use. Old habits die hard. ~smile~

I am going...

not far today. I may go help at the cafe if it gets busy. With such a pretty, sunny day after all this rain, it may. This weekend is the beginning of tourist season at Precious Moment's Chapel.

I am wondering...

if I can resist the coconut pie in the refrigerator. ~grin~

I am reading...

I am hoping...

that we'll be able to plant the garden this week. It's been so rainy, my husband hasn't got it in yet.

I am learning...

about the healthy way to combine protein, fat, and carbs.

In the homeschool room...
we're trying to finish things up for the year. Some subjects will carry on into summer.

A favorite quote for today...

 "The only man who makes no mistake is the man who does nothing."

~Theodore Roosevelt

A peek into one of my days...

Yes, I've been driving a lot lately. We saw this old house in a little town called Mindenmines. One has to wonder what would cause this as well as why it would be left that way.

One of my favorite things...

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

From the board room...

Follow Laura's board Paint It! on Pinterest.

We're planning to buy some of that color changing ceiling paint for the girls' room.

A Favorite Link

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Have a wonderful week!

Laura

Happy at Home

~~~~~

You may enjoy...

A Few Ways to Enjoy Homemaking

~~~~~

A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #39

Green Milkweed at Prairie State Park
© 2015 Amy Lane Photography

Dear Reader,

Oh what a week it's been! I've been on the go so much. It's just the season of life we're in. I'm struggling to keep a happy attitude about being away from home so much. My husband reminded me tonight that I choose my attitude. Yep, I was frustrated about having to go out and drive tomorrow again. I wasn't very respectful in my response. I know he's reading this today. I'm sorry Honey.

Well, anyway, I haven't been home very much, so I haven't done very much at home. Here are some of the thrifty things I've done lately.

• Mended a pair of shorts and a pair of slacks 
• I cut an old t-shirt in strips and braided the strips to make a dog toy for Penny.
• I shopped at Aldi for sale items.
• I bought two pretty dresses for Emily for a few dollars each. You'll probably see them in one of her Pretty Thrifty posts soon.
• I helped my Lowell find chicken breasts on sale for $.99 a pound.
• I said no to an optional medical test that would have cost hundreds of dollars. The doctor didn't think it was essential at this time.  God has healed the problem. 
• We attended an excellent program at Prairie State Park about nature journaling. Rebecca of Rebecca's Hearth and Home was the speaker. She put on an excellent program. My daughters and I  were given lovely nature journals and drawing pencils, and Rebecca explained how to use them to make journal entries. I even drew a little Indigo Bunting. They're tiny brilliant blue birds that look like they flew out of a Disney movie!  I sometimes see them while driving my husband to or from work.

My little dog is nudging me for my attention, so my time is about up. I do pray that you will be blessed by God to be a blessing to others, in Jesus' Name.

   

ஐღLauraღஐ

My Daybook May 18, 2015

Read other Daybooks.

FOR TODAY May 18th...

Outside My Window... 
green grass, blue sky, still air

I am thinking...

I do wish the children wouldn't bicker.

I am thankful for...
children who get along well most of the time. They're best friends for life.

From the kitchen...
I'm going to go make a chocolate muffin in a mug from the Trim Healthy Mama book.

I am wearing...
my polka dot dress. It's light and cool.

I am creating...
I haven't had time to create anything lately.

I am going...
to do my normal Monday driving.

I am reading...

Beauty by the Book, Whispers on the Dock, and Trim Healthy Mama.

I am hoping...

that the cool (for May '70's) weather continues.

I am hearing...

birds, a lawn mower, traffic on the highway.

Around the house...

the girls just finished the dishes. School books will come out in a few minutes.

One of my favorite things...

Dasani water is my favorite bottled water.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Catching up on school paperwork... school with the kids... cleaning... sewing... cleaning... driving everyone everywhere... and decluttering for a yard sale.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

My favorite sandwich at my husband's restaurant.

You can read more Daybook entries at our hostess Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman.

God bless!

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Happy at Home