Monday, October 8, 2012

N.S.O., Week 1

Well, let me think for a minute.  I was going to say that the first week of No Spend October (NSO) went swimmingly, but I did end up make a few purchases.

$4 on a winter jacket for Rhiannon
$2.19 for ingredients for a cake (for a fellow firefighter who's retiring)
$4.50 on books at the library book sale (beekeeping & homeschooling)
$10.50 on a goat medication

$21.19 for the week.  Not bad.  Not really a "no" spend week though either.

I'm also going to have to spend some $$ on garlic today.  I've got a fridge full of already-cut-up green tomatoes and one of the recipes I want to make includes garlic, which I have none of.  So we're only six hours into the second week of NSO and I'm already planning on spending money.

It was a busy weekend.  We had the annual Pig Roast for the fire department so both Friday and Saturday were pretty much filled with off the homestead work.  But I made up for it on Sunday.

Not only did I cut up all three overflowing bags of green tomatoes (which are sitting in the fridge, staring at me every time I open the door), but I made a batch of yogurt - which DID set up! - started making jelly, successfully make a batch of mozzarella cheese, cleaned out the chicken pen and I'm almost finished putting the berry garden to bed for the winter.

Today is going to be spent in the kitchen canning something with green tomatoes in it and finishing up the jelly.  And maybe a loaf of bred.  Or soup.

8 comments:

  1. It sounds like you are doing great! I'm not doing as well on the no-spending as I had hoped, but at least way better than the usual!

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  2. What do you to for your berry garden? We have been watering them still but this morning its 30 degrees outside with frost on the ground.

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  3. Stop, stop, you're exhausting me with your productive weekend! After the pig roast celebration, you deserved to collapse on Sunday.

    Ya know, not matter how much you spent last week, I think it's a good exercise for all of us simply to show WHERE and HOW MUCH we are spending. That, in itself, could be very enlightening!

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  4. Very productive weekend!!! We're starting our no spending on the 15th of this month.
    How about some green salsa with those tomatoes or maybe some fried green tomatoes, YUM!!!!
    Give sweet Rhiannon a hug and stay warm.
    Don't work to hard :-)

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  5. And why, pray tell, do you not plant your own garlic? I tell you, it's the only thing you can plant in the fall and then completely ignore most of the year - AND you can get three crops from it, if you plant enough: 1) Garlic scapes, 2) Spring/early garlic and 3) Garlic garlic. Buy some extra heads and plant thee some, young'un.

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  6. Geeze Louise, and I thought I was busy ;-)
    Susan is right, time to plant garlic.

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  7. Erin, every little bit helps!!

    Kelly, technically my "berry" garden is more vegetables than berries. But I've cut down on watering the grapes, blueberries and strawberries, not to the point of the ground becoming dry, but maybe once a week now. Not sure if I'll continue that throughout the winter though; guess it depends on the weather.

    Mama Pea, no matter how many times I go back up to look at your comment for today's post, I immediately forget what you said when I look at your new picture. What's up with the pot??!!

    Sandy, I've thought about fried green 'maters, but I don't think Paul likes them. Oh well, more for me.

    Susan, I know, I KNOW!! Up until this year, we DID have wild garlic up the road, but somebody (Paul) mowed them down and they never came back! Is grocery store garlic ok to use?

    Nancy, OK, OK!! I get it! I'll plant some garlic :)

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  8. I HAD to go back up and look at Mama Pea's picture!! LOL!!
    One of these days, maybe I'll be able to get a batch of mozzarella to work...(sigh)

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