A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #146

Welcome to Harvest Lane Cottage.

I invite you to enjoy a cuppa and browse through hundreds of posts on faith, family, thrifty homemaking and encouragement. 

Hello dear reader,

  It's getting nice here in Southwest Missouri. Finally we are enjoying some early fall temperatures.  It's hard to imagine the leaves changing in time for our Maple Leaf Festival here in Carthage, but we can hope. It's been a quiet week for me. I spent most of my time around the house. It was strange to have a rainy day and no one to bake cookies with.

  I met another one of my neighbors today. We exchanged our phone numbers and our spouses' phone numbers just in case. It's good to know and look out for our neighbors. So far, I have met neighbors from five houses on our street. Now that it's cooling off, I hope to meet more. Do you know your neighbors? Have you exchanged phone numbers with them just in case? I hope you do. We all need to be friendly and make the places we live as much like Mayberry as we can. ~smile~

• I saved $5 with a discount and two coupons when I went to Knit Night and bought queso and chips. I was able to take some home to the family, too. They were happy to enjoy the snack. Tuesday nights I sometimes splurge and go off my Trim Healthy Mama Plan.

• I'm knitting socks for my husband's birthday with yarn that a friend gave me when she went through her yarn stash. Thanks Shelly. 

• Shopped at Aldi.

• We bought ground chuck and ground sausage for $1.99 a pound at Worden's Meats

• I saved money by staying home and not spending money this week. 

• I answered several surveys with Swagbucks. I am saving up for Christmas.

• My husband helped decorate the house for fall with things we had in storage. No new decorations so far. 

• My daughter, Amy, made an amazing Butternut pie that tastes just like pumpkin pie. My friend, Joyce, grew it in her garden and gave it to me.

  Thank you for visiting, I value your comments and opinions. I've made lots of friends here that have been so encouraging and kind. God bless you all!

Laura
Redefining Laura

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Please consider making a donation to help me purchase a computer. 

You may use this PayPal link. 

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Or you may sign into PayPal and send your donation to lauraofharvestlane@gmail.com. 

Thank you so much!

I look forward to blogging more regularly when I get a computer again.

I've lost over 25 pounds so far with Trim Healthy Mama.

You might be wondering about the Amazon links I include. The truth is, I'm trying to make a little money to pay for Christmas and for my daughter's dual enrollment tuition at the community college. It would help me greatly if you'd stop here and use my link at the top of my sidebar when you go to purchase something at Amazon. The earnings are a very small percentage, but every bit helps. It doesn't cost you anything extra to use my link. Thank you so much!

Laura

A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #145

Welcome to Harvest Lane Cottage.

I invite you to enjoy a cuppa and browse through hundreds of posts on faith, family, thrifty homemaking and encouragement. 

Hello dear reader,

  

  Contrary to last week, it does not feel like fall this past week. We've had a couple of nice days, but we can't turn off the ac for any length of time. It's supposed to be in the high eighties again this week. But, before we know it, we will miss warm days, so I'd better enjoy it while I can. Here are some of my thrifty acts lately.

• Ham and beans and cornbread from scratch is always a money saver. I bought one pack of ham hocks for about $5, and I put two of the four into the freezer for another meal. I figure the whole meal for six cost less than $5. That's pretty thrifty.

• Shopped at Aldi. That's the best way I know to save on groceries.

• A kind young barista at Starbucks gave a free cup of tea. Why? I don't know. I just accepted the blessing with a thank you.

• I used a $2 coupon on my salad at Moe's on knit night.

• I mended two dresses. They will last another season.

• I've decided that I will wait a bit longer to shop, because I've been losing weight with Trim Healthy Mama. I might as well buy a smaller size next time! So, maybe that's thrifty, too. I'm doing what I can with what I've got where I am. ~smile~  

• I received a free refill on my iced tea.

• The big deal this week is that I have cleared, with the help of my husband, a lot of real estate in the garage. I finally felt well enough and it cooled off enough to tackle it. We still have lots of boxes that I haven't unpacked and a lot of miscellaneous junk that shouldn't have been moved in the first place. So over the last two Mondays, we've filled our large trash can twice and now have a trunkful of things to deliver to the rescue mission. I estimate that we have cleared about fifteen square foot of clutter so far. You know how I count that. Yes! Real Estate Investment!

• My Lowell bought 80/20 ground beef at $1.99/lb from the butcher. Terrific sale. He bought ten pounds. They were frozen in one-pound packages. We also bought 2 pounds of sausage from the same butcher.

• I used one pound of beef to make spaghetti using a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, mad hatter peppers, fresh basil and oregano from the garden, some dried herbs, and jarred garlic. The family used the last of our spaghetti noodles, and I ate mine over some riced cauliflower to keep it Trim Healthy Mama friendly.

• I fried a sliced banana pepper from the garden, scrambled some eggs, and added the leftover spaghetti sauce on top. Sounds crazy I know, but it was delicious!

• Eggs and oatmeal stretched our budget.

• Someone gave my daughter a scholarship to the Christian college student retreat this weekend.

• Eating at home saves money. 

  Well this weekend, I'm going to get my husband to pull out my Fall tote. Maybe if I decorate, Fall will come. ~smile~ I'm hoping to try some new recipes this week. If I find some we really like, I'll share them. In the meantime, check out my Home Cooking. You'll find recipes for some of our favorite soups and other delicious dishes. 

  Be blessed and focus on the good God's put in your life.

  "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Laura
Redefining Laura

You might be wondering about the Amazon links I include. The truth is, I'm trying to make a little money to pay for Christmas and for my daughter's dual enrollment tuition at the community college. It would help me greatly if you'd stop here and use my link at the top of my sidebar when you go to purchase something at Amazon. The earnings are a very small percentage, but every bit helps. It doesn't cost you anything extra to use my link. Thank you so much!

A Thrifty Week at Harvest Lane Cottage #144

Welcome to Harvest Lane Cottage.

I invite you to enjoy a cuppa and browse through hundreds of posts on faith, family, thrifty homemaking and encouragement. 

Hello dear reader,

 I'm here at the library making use of a free hour of internet. My computer seems to be losing its will to live. ~smile~ We received it as a gift way back in 2011, and it was a few years old then. My thrifty side, as well as my budget, has required that I use it as long as possible. Now the time has come to part with it. It will not remain functioning long enough for my daughter to do her college math on-line or for me to write a blog post. I tell you this for two reasons. First, there's nothing wrong with using something up. You know I am a believer in use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without as a way to save money. It's good for the environment, too. Second, it is my rather flimsy reason for my sporadic writing. The good news is that I am trying to sell things to save up the money to buy a used laptop. It's not in our regular budget with my daughter's dual enrollment bill due in a couple of months at the college. I'm considering putting a donation button on my blog to help cover costs. I'd be interested in your opinion in the comments if you'd be so kind.

 We had a lovely cool night last night. It was a joy to keep the windows open and save a bit on the air conditioning. It's just a teaser though. We are to have temperatures in the high eighties and nineties next week. Fall will come though. Let's get ready. Let's grasp the last few days of summer for all the fun they have as well. I still have a few things on my Summer Bucket List that I haven't done yet. ~smile~

• Bought iced tea when I went out to Starbucks with my friend, Deborah. It's much less expensive in money and in calories than a fancy coffee or chai tea latte.

• Free refill of iced tea at Starbucks for signing into Starbucks app and showing my phone to the barista

• $.61 eggs. Yep, bought a couple more dozen. I've eaten more eggs lately than a black snake!

• Shopped at Aldi. 'Nuf said.

• Well, maybe a bit more on Aldi. Although the eggs went up to $.87 over the last few days, the manager pointed out that they have reduced their prices on hundreds of items for the foreseeable future. It made up for the extra I paid for eggs.

• I signed up for Dollar General app on my phone and clipped a coupon for laundry soap. I saved $1.50. I need to spend a little more time looking into how to use the app. 

• We enjoyed a tea party with friends at home. I offered a choice of six teas and tea cups. My favorite tea is Constant Comment by Bigelow.

• I made a half batch of Joy Filled Eats' recipe Bacon Chicken Ranch casserole. Since only three of us were eating last night, I decided that it would be wasteful to make a 13x9. Some things I will make extra of, but I don't have freezer space, and I knew they wouldn't want it two days in a row.  I was able to save enough bacon to flavor a second meal. The recipe was Trim Healthy Mama, KETO, and low-carb friendly.

• I made banana cake for a party with frozen bananas my son bought for $.19 a pound! It was Trim Healthy Mama friendly, too!

• I sold my Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 for $50.

• I sold my Teaching Textbooks Geometry for $50.

• I sold Notgrass Government books for $25.

• I used some of the money for a birthday gift.

• A couple weeks ago, I finally delivered some charity baby blankets that I made with squares that Cheryl Smith sent to me a few years ago. I think I made four or five. Thank you Cheryl. 

• My Lowell found ground turkey for $1.19 a pound. I mixed a couple pounds of turkey with a pound of ground beef bought on sale for taco salad.

• I'm still making charity hats with leftover yarn.

So tell me, what have done lately to save money, prep for colder months, and such?
Also, what do you think of me adding a donation button to help cover expenses such as a computer?

Thank you, I value your comments and opinions. I've made lots of friends here that have been so encouraging and kind. God bless you all!

Laura
Redefining Laura

You might be wondering about the Amazon links I include. The truth is, I'm trying to make a little money to pay for Christmas and for my daughter's dual enrollment tuition at the community college. It would help me greatly if you'd stop here and use my link at the top of my sidebar when you go to purchase something at Amazon. The earnings are a very small percentage, but every bit helps. It doesn't cost you anything extra to use my link. Thank you so much!

Shared at:
Classical Homemaking

Tea Time with Friends

Hey y'all!

 I've got something a little different for you today. One of my dearest friends is Joyce Morris from Morris Patch of Heaven Homestead. She's been making lots of videos about her homesteading life here in Southern Missouri. Joyce, her daughters Caitlynn and Avonlea, and her son Jedediah came to my house for a little tea party yesterday. While we were enjoying ourselves she and her son took some video. So if you've ever wondered what I sound like, here's your chance!
The photo below on the beginning is my buffet and our teacup and tea choices.
Enjoy! Be sure to check out Joyce's YouTube channel.



If you cannot see and play the video above, here's the direct link to the video. It opens with my friend, Joyce, talking.
https://youtu.be/P0HrwPyfhmk

Shared at:

Classical Homemaking

On My Needles and What I'm Reading... September 5, 2019

 On my knitting needles... on my Scribd app... on my book pile! Knitting and reading in my free time and little bits of snatched time are two of my favorite ways to enrich my life.

  How are you all this fine September day? I am enjoying the warmth of the last days of summer. I can enjoy it, because I have central air in our new home. Praise the LORD! Our cucumbers are finished, we're eating the last few tomatoes. My friend brought me gourds this morning. All good signs that fall is on its way! 

  I have finished my socks. I only need to sew in the loose ends. I think that I will do that and share them with you next week. I am so pleased that they fit me well. I used the Fish Lips Kiss pattern and find that it worked well for me. 

Dotty Beanie

  My poor Dotty Beanie has actually shrunk. I pulled out nearly half of it last night. I found that I'd made some errors and my dots weren't falling into place like they should. So, I rip rip ripped. Oh well, I like the Malabrigo yarn, and I don't mind knitting it again.

 I've finished a toddler beanie in the brown yarn that was left over from Penny's sweater. I used a knit 2 purl 2 ribbing followed by stockinette stitch. I've started another since I still have more yarn left. This one has a knit 1 purl 1 rib band and will be finished in stockinette. I cast on 72 for each beanie. I think I enjoy the knit 1 purl one repeat much better. My hands just get into a better rhythm, and I don't have to think about it so much. These are charity toddler hats. They will either go in the Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes at church, or they will go to the infant clothing shop that my step-mom's church runs.

 I finished listening to Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado with Scribd.  I also just finished reading Thimble Summer. It's was the 1939 Newbery Medal book by Elizabeth Enright (Rinehart).

 I recently began listening to The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay. It's our book club selection this month. It's a bit hard to follow, but I'm hoping as I get further in I will enjoy it more.

Well, it's time to think about supper. There. I thought about it. Tee hee! Have a homemade, handmade, heartmade thrifty week! 

Laura

P.S  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.

Laura Lane

on Goodreads

2019 

57 Finished Books

Goal 50 60

HarvestLaneLaura 

on Ravelry

Joining with Yarn Along and Crafting On

What Do YOU Want?

I'm bumping this post up to give others a chance to respond!

Hello blog friends!

Over the years, I've written about a lot of things. I've written about homeschooling, homemaking, my love for Jesus Christ, God, Holy Spirit, recipes, A Day in the Life type posts, reviews, my cancer fight, and I'm sure any number of other things.

Since I've been at the new house, I have not had internet for my computer. That's made it hard to write, and it has also put blogging the back burner. I'm learning to write on my phone and my husband's laptop now.

It seems like a good time to think about what I'd like to do with the blog. Please help me.


What types of posts do you like to read best? Please answer in the comments and tell me all you're interested in. Think of something else? Add it. I'm trying to determine where I want to go from here.


Faith
How to
Seasonal
Household Tips
Books
Writing
Knitting
Sewing
Cooking
My journey back to health
Trim Healthy Mama
Homeschooling
Homemaking
Decluttering
My Daybook
Happy Homemaker Mondays
What's on my needles and what I'm reading Wednesdays
A Thrifty Week
Laura Lately
A day in the life...
anything else you'd like me to write about.

Please, I really want to know what you like.

Thanks so much!
Laura
Redefining








Shared at:
Tuesdays at Our Home

Thrifty Things Lately at Harvest Lane Cottage #143

Welcome to another thrifty week at Harvest Lane Cottage. I am glad you've found me! Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways of saving money, frugal cooking, and my blessings from God. 

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Thrifty Things Lately at Harvest Lane Cottage!

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Hello everyone! Can you believe that Labor Day weekend is past?  This has been such a fast summer. I haven't finished my bucket list, but I have two or three weeks as we transition into fall. 

Here are some of the thrifty things we've done lately.

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

~ I stayed home almost all week. That saved gas, and I didn't spend money while I was out and about.

~ Lowell won a drawing for a $25 Visa gift card at a business meeting.

~ Eggs sixty-one cents a dozen at Aldi! I've been making lots of egg scrambles. I've used all kinds of things with the eggs—even cabbage.

~ I received free movie ticket codes for sharing about Overcomer.  We went Monday night and loved it. While we were in the theater, there were loud noises from the theater next to us. I thought it was a war movie. Turns out that it was thunder. There was a bad storm while we were in the theater, and we didn't even know it!

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As you can see, we've had many blessings again this week.
God is so good.

Praise God!

What have you been up to this week?

Laura

Blessed to be a blessing

Do you like my blog?
Please share!

This post has an affiliate link for Amazon. 

#thriftythingslately

#athriftyweek

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