Finances on Friday

Every Friday, here at Renaissance,  I post about my frugal endeavors and financial inspiration to keep my head in the game.   As a single income family, I am constantly trying to stretch, save and strategically spend our pennies to make this household not only work, but thrive.  But sometimes you just want to give up.  So I started Finances on Friday, a way to re-inspire myself and push myself to keep on keeping on.  Join me?

I was happy to see that the hydrangea I pruned REALLY hard a few weeks ago (and thought I may have killed) is in fact, not dead at all.  Hydrangea tree~ here I come!

I can see now that I haven't planted nearly enough asparagus.  (oops)

columbine from a neighbor

all the brassicas are in

blueberries!

Thanks to a weird placement of bushes last year and a different layout plan for that area of the yard, the blueberry bushes had to be planted in such a way that it turned out to be in a horseshoe shape.  Weird, but whatever.  :-)

sad and weedy strawberries

I tried to overwinter a few shade plants from last years' hanging basket.  I forgot all about it until about February and then began watering it.  I am amazed that it survived, even scraggly.

horseradish

Frugal Accomplishments for the week~

~ planted cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts in the garden.

~ bought six blueberry plants from the Amish nursery ($5.50 each) and planted them with the other two berry bushes I planted last year.  Eight total now!  (We'll see how that will fare us.)  I am very excited for all the fruit we were able to put in this year...one of my goals for the year!

~ mulched them from my free mulch pile

~ made a double batch of homemade granola

~ sorted through several bags of good stuff given to me on Sunday

~ harvested wild violets to eat

~ went scouting for wild leeks again-but to no avail.  Rats!

~ no peas and only a very few onions have come up from my plantings a few weeks ago and I have no idea why.  No rhubarb came up from last years' plantings either- which I am a bit miffed at.  I was looking forward to rhubarb!  The garlic is looking good though.  That makes me happy.

~ planted lots of flowers given to me by my neighbor who is clearing out her flower beds...mostly columbine but also a spotty pink and purple flowering plant whose name I have now forgotten.  She asked that I come and clear her out some more in the coming weeks as she needs to clear out completely two of her beds.  Why yes, I will absolutely help you clear out your beds! :-)

~ started sorting/purging/cleaning/organizing the Granary.  This is my big huge project of the year as the upper half holds all our clothing storage and the bottom half is so full of junk from when we have moved (and stuff that was already here when we moved) that you can barely walk.  Matt said the whole Granary can be mine (ALL MINE!) if I clean it out.  So.  Big, huge, terrible job ahead of me this spring/summer.  I consolidated five bins and took four large garbage bags of clothes to the donation shed.  A drop in the proverbial bucket- but a start.  Set aside two bins worth of the nicest clothes for a yard sale.

~ took the straw off of the strawberries~ my strawberry patch doesn't look too hot this year. I hope it perks up!

~ helped Matt fence off the rest of the pasture.

~ spent hours outside weeding, mulching and doing garden chores.

The Menu:

(I didn't do too hot on the Use-It-Up challenge this week because I was working with Matt so hard and for so long, that by supper time I was exhausted.  No stellar meals this week~ they were as fast, simple and as throw-together as I could possibly make them.  Needless to say, I wasn't particularly interested in finding clever and inventive ways to use things from the canning cupboard and freezer.  Never the less, if it is blue it is from the freezer and red is from the canning cupboard.)

Saturday:
breakfast~ eggs, ham, toast, cheese
supper~ leftover stew (using leftover kielbasa, chicken, pasta and beef stew from last with added peas), leftover cornbread.  The stew sounds pretty gross typed out but it was actually really delicious, as most leftover soups are.

Sunday:
breakfast~ cereal
supper~ marinated chicken drumsticks on the grill, sweet pan chili, coleslaw, fruit salad with violets, SKOR cake for my father-in-law's birthday.  (We had company over.) (venison)

Monday:
breakfast~ oatmeal with raisins
supper~ sub sandwiches, leftover coleslaw, chips

Tuesday:
breakfast~ yogurt and granola
supper~ grilled kielbasa sandwiches, pickles, beans, salad

Wednesday:
breakfast~ scrambled eggs with cheese and raisin bread toast
supper~ BLT's, pickles, pea salad, french fries, smoothies (using leftover popsicles, grape sorbet, huckleberries, peaches, and ice cream that was frostbit from the freezer)

Thursday:
breakfast~ pancakes, eggs, cheese, toast.  (I got breakfast in bed!)
supper~ Matt took me out for my birthday and children were fed by my in-laws! (Made egg salad and chocolate oat zucchini cookies today and pickles at lunch.  As you can see, Matt loves his pickles.  And so do the children.)

Friday:
breakfast~ dippy eggs, apples and leftover rolls with cinnamon butter from last nights' birthday dinner out.  (Texas Roadhouse Rolls- the kind I try and try to copycat but never can get it *just right*)
supper~ Pizza night!  with lots of carrot sticks on the side.

As for the Weekend:

I am sure the weekend will be full of gardening chores and outdoor work (the kind of work that, after a long winter, my tired body needs to become reacquainted with)  so I am all the more thankful for this drippy, soaking day today.  Today the absolute only thing I have planned to do is listen to Pandora crooning as I haul out my sewing machine and do some much needed sewing. My mending pile is ridiculous.  And plus, I just have the urge.  And tonight- I am starting a new crochet project for a friends' womb baby who will be arriving any day.  I found just the color of cotton yarn I wanted by some perfect fluke and now I am super excited to get it started.  If I happen to finish it BEFORE the baby arrives, that will be a first for me!

No matter what- today will hold a relaxing bit of making.  Thank you, Lord, for the rainy days too!

How about you?  Any plans for the weekend?

Do you have anything financial/inspiring to share this week? 

 Link up!  

As always~ PLEASE link to your SPECIFIC blog post, not your entire blog. It could be ways you saved or stretched or strategically spent those pennies...or, if you prefer not to be so personal, even inspiration you found online, articles or quotes... but please link to a post about SOMETHING financial! Lastly, please link back to my blog so maybe others would like to share!