Late Night Cooking

Crashing on the couch after several hours of shopping and cleaning. The house is going off the rails again. There were sheets, towels and tablecloths to be washed; art supplies and puppy supplies to be put away; library books and kitchen ware to be returned to their owners. Dishes, countertops, sweeping. Grocery shopping at Sprouts and the farmers’ market. A lot of cleaning remains but I need reinforcements and it will probably have to wait til tomorrow.

About to return to reading Prairie Fires. Listen, everyone, whether a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan or not, should read this book. What a great history of an interesting time period. Not to mention it won a Pulitzer Prize. Read it!

The book, with its depiction of unscrupulous people promoting land for settlement (e.g., lying about Florida, saying there was no malaria when in fact it was rampant), has got me revved up again about advertising and the many, many people and institutions out there who would like to part me and my money. Combine that with an influx of bills (see below), and I had a pretty frugal, penny-pinching week. I packed lunch all three days and went off on a rant when Tom dared to take down our cloth shower curtain, throw it away, and replace it with a plastic one from Target that cost $15 (rather than wash it). He also bought a slew of plastic cups from Target. Highly disappointing.

At the farmers’ market, we bought probably our biggest haul of the year so far: corn, tomatoes, blueberries, lettuce, garlic, zucchini, goldbar squash, green beans, three empanadas, and a bag of pierogies. N. was with us so we could carry more. It was gray and humid, and started raining as we left. But it’s cool enough that I have left the AC off so far today.

I skinned and froze the five garden tomatoes I’ve harvested so far, and will do the same with the ones from the market. The beans have buds — most of them. At least one plant seems to be dead. I can’t really even see what’s going on because the area where the tomatoes and beans are growing next to each other is a jungle. Not smart to put two prolific, vining species close together in the one bed area that I can’t physically fully get to. Luckily, the extra bean plants that I planted in pots near the fence are budding and easy to access.

Speaking of things I didn’t expect in the garden, the marigolds continue to bloom their hearts out and tower over everything. I had no idea tall marigolds existed. I never looked at the seed packet; I assumed they were the short type I’ve always had.

The “ever-bearing” strawberries are finally producing fruit again and I picked two the other night. Attractive specimens on the outside; a teensy bit sour and a little mushy on the inside.

I cut a little bouquet this morning.

I started lettuce inside and it quickly sprouted. The seeds I planted outside still have not. I think it must simply be too warm.

I also cleaned more of my seed cups and started thinking about building more beds for next year. Tall raised beds that the dog can’t get into are what I’m thinking, lining the fence in the sunniest part of the yard (adjacent to my current fenced area).

Meals this week:

Sunday: a scrounge night: rotisserie chicken wrap with Mexican cheese mix, salsa and Romaine lettuce for me, after the pool.

Monday: baked chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, corn

Tuesday: scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast

Wednesday: I had a turkey sandwich; they had Chick Fil A

Thursday: pizza from Nick and Joe’s

Friday: scrounge; I had leftover pizza plus chunks of P-R and carrots.

Lunches: another Mexican rotisserie chicken wrap on Tuesday; a leftover chicken thigh and mashed potatoes on Wednesday; tuna sandwich on Friday

Some wins:

My $100 rebate card arrived (from my contacts purchase).

I earned points on my credit card and immediately used them to reduce the balance ($35 so far in July).

Got some pretty tile free on Facebook and am playing around with ideas of what to do with it.

I remembered to freeze the remainder of the rotisserie chicken.

Losses

I have used the rebate card to buy Thursday lunch for F. and N. at Wawa and a Coke and chips at work on Friday. Not good choices. Why couldn’t they just send me cash?

My “new” car needed $700 in work (see: credit card). Mechanic says Carvana lets  the cars sit around and the engines get gunky. Not sure yet if I am eligible for any reimbursement.

Kid #2 started with orthodontic work this week.

I owe the dentist $113 for fixing my cracked tooth, my AAA is up for renewal (about $150), and the August water and sewer bills are looming. Plus our next electric bill is bound to be sky high.

Now it’s later. T and I went out for dinner. Afterwards I picked some giant basil leaves and made pesto, to use in a recipe tomorrow.

I also roasted carrots, potatoes (from the garden), garlic and green beans, to keep in the fridge for tomorrow. Saturday night cooking with the windows open and a bit of a breeze, late July crickets… a nice way to end the day.