Today's efforts

So the alarm went off at 6:15am. I got up, threw my clothes on, twisted my hair into a bun, walked G to his bus stop, and climbed into the Jimmy. 6:38am. I made a quick trip to Kroger to deposit the money Steve made yesterday. Then headed to Walmart to shop for groceries. EBT refilled this morning. By 9am, I was home and groceries were put up. The sugar I bought was like gold to me this morning!

Yesterday I cleaned all the cabinets, sorted the pots and pans, cleaned under the sink and screwed canning jar lids to the underside of the top cabinets. I placed 8 jars – one each for bread crumbs, powdered milk, corn meal, flour, sugar, brown sugar, irish cut oats, and grits. I love how it looks. I made oatmeal bar soap.

I’ve boiled half a chicken and made a wonderful broth; and there are spinach noodles laying on plastic ziploc bags (for want of a sheet of plastic lol) drying. I sectioned my dough into 4ths and didn’t realize how to cut it until the last quarter! lol A pizza cutter is the way to go – NOT a boning knife! Oh the effort I’d of saved myself! (I poured the spinach cooking water into the chicken broth.)

I have my dehydrator soaking for a thorough clean. Not quite sure what I’ll do with it, but it feels like I need to get it ready for something.

We had BLT’s for lunch. I bought a big tomato and we had salad greens to use. Since neither of us ate breakfast, we cooked 5 slices of bacon and made 3 sandwhiches on fresh sliced french bread. YUM! The rest of the loaf is sitting sliced and uncovered to get stale for a bread pudding I have been craving. My UK friend Naomi told me how to make it and I can’t wait. Like I said, that sugar is gold!

I’ll make a nice chicken and vegetable soup for tomorrow. Tonight we’ll have spinach pasta with onions and peppers and chicken. I think I’ll make a parmesan cream sauce to drizzle over it. I don’t have enough to drench it in fetticcini sauce, but I’ll be darned if what I make is lacking! It’s gonna be awesome. My god this is nice even though it’s simple fare. We’ll get 4 meals out of that one chicken.

I splurged and got a pkg of pizza rolls, oreos, and a lunchable for Geoffrey. I bought a gallon of vanilla ice cream. No soda, no premade anything. I got salt pork to add to beans and collards. I got 2 lbs of gr beef, a pkg of chicken livers, 1 whole chicken, a pk of 3 cube steaks, a pk of 4 boneless pork chops, a Smoked Beef sausage, a 1lb pk of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, and 1 small pk of cheap bacon. I had a small roast in the freezer already that I was hording. I bought 10 cans of tuna, 2 cans of chunk chicken, and 3 cans of Vienna Sausage. I got a big block of cheese and 2 pks of lunch meat.

It sounds like so much to spend $260. 3 yrs ago I was spending that much every week and not even thinking twice. Now I check my receipt, check off each item, stretch everything as far as possible, and even hide things my guys will go through in the night time hours that I haven’t planned for. I’ve got a menu made up. I’ve got a revolving grocery list. I’ve made our laundry soap, bath soap, dish soap, dog treats, and even shampoo. The fall garden is planted.

Everyday I wake up thinking Goddess help us save our home. Every night I go to bed whispering the same thing, Goddess help us save our home. I know we are out of work. I know there is no work here – it’s so hard to let go of every plan we made for our home just because the economy is shot. I know, pack and store our things so we can sell the house… that’s the plan – but it still sucks. This is where we wanted to live. Surely something can still unfold?

Please Universe?