Archive for May 28, 2013

7×7 Tent for only $37.25

Camping season is just around the corner….Amazon has this 

Mountain Trails Twin Peaks 7- by 7-Foot, 3 to 4-Person Sport Dome Tent for only $37.25 (regularly $49.99).

  • Lightweight sport dome tent that sleeps up to 4 people
  • Shock-corded fiberglass frame with pole pockets for easy setup
  • Large mesh roof vents and windows provide excellent ventilation
  • Large D-style door; patented hooped fly frame adds rain protection
  • Stow ‘n’ Go duffel system; measures 7 x 4 x 7 feet (W x H x D)

And if you are in the Pacific NW, don’t forget a tarp (or two)….

Texsport Reinforced Rip-Stop Polyethylene Tarp (Camouflage, 8 x 10-Feet) $11.08

  • Heavy-gauge polyethylene laminated on both sides
  • Double stitched
  • Rust-proof eyelets
  • P.V.C. bag/insert

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Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Wii Game $9.65

Amazon has Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Wii game for $9.65 (Regularly $19.99)
  • Exploration – Players will explore familiar locations filled with interactive LEGO objects and encounter more than 70 memorable characters
  • Combat – The LEGO Caribbean is full of danger! Intense sword fighting moves give the LEGO minifigure a brand new pirate flavor
  • Puzzles – Players will need all their pirate cunning to find the hidden LEGO treasures and discover the game’s many secrets
  • Two-Player Co-op – Players can join a friend or family member in the same room for two-player drop-in/drop-out cooperative action
  • Freeplay – Building a collection of characters throughout the game, players can then use their distinctive abilities to gain access
Ships FREE with prime membership or $25 qualifying purchase.

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The Garden – Things are Growing!

Its gardening time…FINALLY! We had such beautiful weather a few weeks back that I was chomping at the bit to get everything planted. This is what the garden looked like a few weeks ago…(that green patch in the middle is Sweet William, a flower).

And this is what it looks like now…

What a difference a few weeks make.  I can hardly wait to see what its going to look like a month from now!

Here’s what’s growing:

Onions
Beets
I’m growing lots and lots of beets this year.  I’ve been on this beet kick lately and can’t get enough of them.  Suzanne’s neighbor, Bernie the Saint, makes the most delicious canned beets in the universe, and being the saint that she is, she gave Suzanne her recipe. I’ve never canned beets before, and I think I’m more excited about the beets maturing than anything else in the garden! 
Spinach
I harvested a small bowl of spinach the other night to throw into our green salad.  Its the first thing that we’ve eaten out of the garden so far.  I planted another whole row last weekend.
This is either collard greens or kale
ditto
Spring mix lettuce
Pea pods
Tomatillos
I’ve never grown tomatillos before.  Actually, I’ve never done anything with a tomatillo, but my goal is to make some salsa verde.
Green beans
I actually don’t really even care for fresh green beans too much, but I love the height and depth they add to the garden when the vines grow up the poles and fill in the teepee.  I might try making some canned dilly beans…we’ll see.

Red potatoes in the potato tower
The tower on the right is the red potatoes,
 the one on the left is Yukon Gold

Last year I didn’t get one stinkin’ potato out of my potato towers, but I think its because I used regular store bought potatoes that were sprouting.  This year I bought seed potatoes, and just to be safe, I planted some in the garden as well.  The idea behind the potato towers is the same as the old tire concept that my parents used to do, where you start off planting potatoes in the lower portion, then as they grow, keep covering them up with dirt and adding another tire, eventually all the way to the top. Apparently, it never occurred to anyone that there would be some nasty chemicals leeching out of those tires and into the dirt. These towers are made with wire fencing, straw from the chicken coop, and potting soil.

Tomatoes

Aw, my beloved tomatoes! The whole reason why I started gardening in the first place. Home grown tomatoes are like no tomato you’ve ever tasted.  And when the little cherry tomatoes are ripe and still warm from the sun….heaven! I planted a Better Boy, Sweet 100’s, a Roma, an Heirloom and I still have to plant the Early Girl.  I’m growing my tomatoes in pots this year in the hopes of avoiding black spot/blight/whatever its called. I heard the bacteria/disease can live in the soil and my tomatoes got it last year.  So I put fresh potting soil into their pots and am hoping for the best.

What isn’t pictured, but is growing in the garden is:  carrots, flowering sweet peas (I love mixing in flowers with the veggies), cabbage, cilantro (that is coming up all over the place, all by itself from the seeds from last year’s plants – I love that!), red and green peppers (to make my mom’s famous pepper jelly), jalapenos, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, iceburg lettuce, zinnias, pumpkins and rhubarb.  I also have a flat of basil that is growing in the house.

THE ENEMY!

Does anyone know what this plant is? It has a bamboo like look and grows like a giant magic bean stalk. I pull it up all the time.  Please take my advice and put weed block down before you make your garden beds.  I have no idea why we didn’t and I’m considering at the end of this growing season emptying out at least the one bed that is rampant with it, putting down weed block and refilling it.

How is your garden growing? Do you grow in raised beds, directly in the ground or in pots on the patio?

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.  Happy Gardening!

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Horton Hears a Who only .98 cents

I love having a gift shelf. Every time I see a great deal on a potential gift I get it and put it away.

This way I’m never caught off guard when I’m in need of a gift and don’t have to run out and pay full price.

There’s a $4 off promo code right now making this $4.99 movie on .99 cents!

Sounds like a stocking stuffer or birthday present to me!

Here’s the link.

Coupon clippers

People often ask me how I get so many coupons when I do a really big shopping trip for the food bank.

I use a coupon clipping service. They generally cost 5 to 10 cents per coupon, but when I can get a product for nearly free, I go for it.

I will use every coupon I have available to me then order the remainder from a clipping service. I did this when I ordered 1000 boxes of cereal for instance.

You really have to make sure you order from a service that can get them to you right away because you don’t need them after the sale ends. But when I spot an item that will be free with a coupon, I will get as many as I can. It also takes a cooperative Store Manager who will be willing to work with you on placing the order and ringing it up. Which they generally are happy to do. It takes a bit of coordinating, but pays off big.

If you want to coupon, but don’t want to buy the paper and cut them out, this may be the answer for you.

Here is a link to a clipping service.

Have fun!.

Costco Savings

 
Here’s a few things Costco can REALLY save you some money on.  A gigantic, 101oz can of S&W tomato paste costs $3.69 (which equals .033 cents per ounce).  I used to buy the little 6oz size cans at the grocery store until I compared unit prices.  That little .95 cent can actually costs $2.53 per ounce. Yikes!  

A ginormous    oz can of Festival mushrooms costs $     , that $   per ounce.  The 7oz cans at the grocery store cost .89, thats $3.56 per ounce!

What a savings!  Even after the costs of the baggies I used to divide everything up and freeze it I was WAY ahead.


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Sun Worshippers

Everyone is loving this amazing northwest weather around here…even the chickens. Look at these sun bathing beauties. 

They lay on their sides and spread a wing out to enjoy the heat.

We fenced off a portion of the yard down by the chicken coop that they can now call their own.  We used to let them have free range of the entire yard, but they wore out their welcome by leaving too many chicken bombs around and were tearing up my flower beds.

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