Summer Reprieve

Wrapping up a very quick trip down the Shore. Getting in the last beach and boardwalk time of the season (maybe, you never know). We stayed one night at the Tahiti Inn, which was serviceable for $240. N, F and N’s friend stayed at the house my parents are renting. Good times with the extended family. Also got to see my friend L briefly, I’ll take what I can get! While I enjoy spending $3 for bottled water and $60 on pizza for two, we’ve got to get home and get back on track.

Yesterday I processed a ton of tomatoes, resulting in about 56 oz of tomato sauce. Yet the kitchen is still full of tomatoes. I picked 13, so far the highest daily total, on Labor Day.

I also froze some corn that I cooked the night before, and dried some marjoram from the garden.

I might try my hand at salsa next since I already have so much sauce.

The green beans continue to come in at a pretty good clip, and I ate some Friday night.

I processed tomatoes earlier in the week as well.

The transplanted broccoli and Brussels sprouts are looking good for the most part — one seems to have been badly nibbled. It feels good to keep the gardening going! I have some new carrots and cilantro sprouts too. I have also been picking more of the spring carrots, to make room; some have been a bit woody but some have been pretty good.

I didn’t spend too much this week but I did buy F a new lunch bag.

It was a busy week workwise for both Tom and me, and N and F went back to school on Thursday. I did manage to do a little decluttering, but meals suffered.

Meals:

Monday: dinner at mom and dad’s

Tuesday: scrounge; PB&J for me

Wednesday: Ellio’s pizza

Thursday: Door Dashed Panera

Friday: chicken strips and sauteed green beans

Saturday: Mac ‘n Manco’s pizza

Lunches: bought twice; brought a turkey sandwich and nectarine on Friday. Made quesadillas on Saturday.

Couple small wins:

• Saved $4 at Acme on Monday due to rewards on their app

• Started using Fetch; we’ll see if it’s worthwhile
• I bought much-needed leggings at Pact for 50% off
• F got a free gift from Sephora for her birthday and didn’t buy anything else while there (amazing)
• Figured out that our blender was not broken; it was just refusing to spin because of crumbs on the bottom of the base (the blender has to sense that everything is attached properly before it will spin). Kind of sad that at first, I was willing to accept that a Ninja blender about two years old was just breaking down and would have to be replaced.

So very tired right now. I didn’t sleep all that well at the Tahiti. This week N has a bunch of appointments and I took off on Wednesday for one of them, plus I’m going to try to squeeze in an appointment of my own. I have not worked a five-day week in a while. Hopefully now with that last burst of vacation out of my system, we can really (I mean it this time) get back to meal planning, using up food at home, expanding the garden, and anticipating future expenses.