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Sunday, November 22, 2015

SNOWFALL

Hello dear friends!   Hope this post finds you all warm and safe!   We got our first measurable snowfall of the season.  Hurray!   I hope I never grow too old not to find wonderment in the first snow.
That's a picture of grandson, Felix, at my son and daughter-in-law's farm in southeastern Michigan.  They got about a foot of snow.  We weren't so fortunate, only about an inch, it snowed all day but was too warm and it melted as soon as the flakes hit the ground. The lake giveth and it taketh away!  There's a lot of traditions involved with the first snow; we get out our mugs that have Grandma Moses scenes on them and have a cup of our ultra-indulgent cocoa, we listen to this song, we also have a fire , go for a hike, and make soup.  If we get enough snow, we make snowbears.  Homemade traditions are the best!

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

Did you know that thirty-one percent or 133 billion pounds of the food available in the United States goes uneaten every year?  That's shocking!   Not at our house!   From that one little six dollar turkey we got twelve meals and several snacks.   First we had the Thanksgiving meal, then since no one was very hungry later in the day, we just nibbled on some of the turkey for dinner.  The next day we had leftovers. I always make a potpie from all the leftovers; layering the stuffing and potatoes, then the vegetables and meat, then top it off with some cranberry sauce and gravy.  This goes into the freezer for sometime in January.  Makes the best meal.  After two days of leftovers, we are ready for something different and by then the potatoes, stuffing and green bean casserole are usually gone, so I make turkey burritos or King Ranch casserole.  This is enough for two meals.  We always make broth from the carcass by throwing the bones, some celery, carrots and onions and a splash of vinegar (it leaches out the calcium in the bones) in a big pot water and boiling the living daylights out of it. (That's directions for making broth that you won't find in a Martha Stewart cookbook!)  I throw in any leftover gravy too.  This makes several quarts of broth and there usually quite a bit of meat to be culled from the bones. Enough for a batch of turkey noodle soup and one pot of white chili.  Again each is enough for a couple meals. Plus we put some of the turkey in the freezer for topping on our barbecue chicken pizzas.

Nothing gets wasted at our house, not even the cranberry sauce.  We made cranberry English muffins with some.  Ended up with sixteen hefty muffins. We froze half.  Cranberry English muffins and orange marmalade is the best breakfast ever!  It tastes like the holidays!  

I also baked a cranberry gingerbread from the leftover sauce.  The pie never lasts long in our house so everyone was looking for something sweet after a few days.
This is a very nice light gingerbread.

Cranberry Gingerbread

1 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. sugar
1/3 C. whole berry cranberry sauce
1 egg
1/2 C. molasses
1/2 C. hot water

Grease and flour an 8-inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the dry ingredients; set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together.  Beat in the cranberry sauce and egg. Blend in molasses.
Gradually stir in dry ingredients, alternating with the hot water.  Stir until smooth.
Pour into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

I made a thin icing of powdered sugar and some of the leftover eggnog from making the pie, but this cake can be eaten plain or with whipped cream.  BTW, I used up the remaining eggnog making French toast.

DON'T BUY IT, MAKE IT

I'm sure some of you are curious about making English muffins.  Homemade ones are very economical plus you can customize them however you want.  I'm thinking date and walnut would be tasty!

English Muffins

2 tbsp. water (105-110 degrees)
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 C. water
1/2 C. milk, scalded
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 C. flour
3 tbsp. oil

Dissolve the yeast in the  2 tbsp. water.  Put aside until it becomes bubbly.
Combine the water, milk, sugar, salt, oil and yeast together. Gradually beat in 2 C. flour.
Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
Knead in remaining flour.
Pat dough to a 1/2" thickness and no thicker!   Or they muffins will be too thick to cook all the way through.
Cut into circles.
Let stand on greased cookie sheets until dough has doubled in size.
Transfer muffins to a low to medium heat  well-buttered griddle.Cook until light brown, turning them once. 
I found that it is hard to get them cooked all the way through without burning the outsides so I finish them off by baking in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes until done.

BTW, did you know one of the secrets to baking good bread is having one of those probe thermometers for baking?   You can insert them into the center of the bread to tell that it has reached  190 degrees, insuring that your bread (or English muffins) is cooked  on the inside.  One of the perks of living with a chemist! He brings science to the kitchen.

CRAFTING

I finally finished Ran's vest. 
Six, well actually twelve, covered buttons to make; the pattern called for  1/2-inch buttons but after I made them I decided they were too dainty for a man's vest, so I  made 3/4-inch ones.  Six hand-sewn buttonholes. Jeepers!  Next time I'll make something with a zipper!   It's a very heavy and warm vest, made from wool flannel on the inside and out.  All told, it cost less than $10 to make, having found the fabric at the thrift store.  We study history books and documentaries on how to live a simpler and more frugal lifestyle.   Vests were an important part of a man's wardrobe over a hundred years ago and are just as practical today.  They add an extra layer of warmth but allow your arms to be unencumbered.  I have several for myself, also. A t-shirt, a vest and a cardigan is a very cozy combination.  I even add an undershirt  when it gets really cold for an added layer.  Layering is the key to warmth.  The heat is bound to get trapped in one of those layers!

We feel like the shoemaker's brownies around here.  While I was busy sewing, Ran made this knife for our honey man (doesn't everyone have a honey man?), Shane.  He had given a broken knife to Ran, knowing that he loves to remake them.  So Ran polished and reshaped the blade and made a  new handle for it.
Then as a little added special touch, he woodburned  a little bee skep on it complete with the bees.
Hope Shane likes it!  The two became friends over their love of knives and hunting and all those manly type things. Sorry about the crumbs in the picture, I didn't notice them while taking the picture!   We only have about fifteen minutes of good light for picture taking this time of year, so we have to work quick.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I am grateful for what I am and  have. My thanksgiving is perpetual."
~Henry David Thoreau~


COMMON SENSE

The other day we picked up two pounds of Swiss cheese at the grocery store for $2.50 a pound.   It was on the reduced-for-quick-sale  rack because it had reached it's expiration date.  So of course the grocer had to discount it. The thing is, people have become so foolish about these expiration dates on things, they've completely lost common sense.   Anyone can see that the cheese was still good.   There was no mold on it, and cheese is supposed to age, the longer the better.  This is going to sound terrible to you younger people, but growing up, people never threw out cheese because of a little mold, we just cut it off.  Never heard of anyone dying from cheese mold back then.  On the whole we were a lot healthier, I think.  Long before expiration dates on food, when you had to use your nose and eyes and good old-fashioned common sense to tell you if something was good or not. We have a family friend that throws out all her canned good on the day they reach their expiration point.  The day before it was fine, but the day after, it's poison to her.  So silly!  As if those canned goods have little micro chips in them telling them to rot precisely on that date!  Oh well!  I suppose it's good for me that everyone doesn't think as I do or there would be a lot more competition for discounted cheese!

The other thing that people turn up their nose at, is the cheap cuts of meat like the ham hocks, oxtails, and pork necks.   We just made a wonderful batch of soup from eighty-eight cents a pound pork necks.  There was a lot of meat on them.  What difference does it make what part of the body it came from.  Why is a neck  less desirable than say the rib?  If you're going to be squeamish about it than why eat meat at all?   After all, meat is not pretty.  Of course one of the reasons is because so many of us are so far-removed from the farm, we haven't got a clue.  I dare say, if you raised an animal and butchered it and only had what you raised to live on, people would be singing a different tune. It all goes back to that wasted 133 billions pounds of food.  Bet people living in third world countries would be glad to have a nice meaty ham hock and expired cans of peas!

THRIFTY THING WE DID THIS WEEK

Well now, I'll come off my soapbox to finish this post!

Bought two pounds of Swiss cheese at $2.50/lb.  Shredded and froze it.

Made turkey broth from the Thanksgiving turkey.

Had lots of leftovers.

Attended an estate sale where I purchased some graniteware for $1 and several beautifully bound books for $1 each.

Made soup from 88 cents/pound pork neck bones, potatoes carrots and onions from the root cellar, herbs from the herb garden and a jar of tomatoes from the pantry.

Made 16 hefty English muffins for about 1/4 the cost of a eight store bought ones.

Found a wonderful movie on YouTube called The Good Fairy with Margaret Sullavan, very Ernst Lubitsch-esque. I love old movies and there's a treasure trove on YouTube for free!

Finished sewing Ran's vest from thrifted fabric.

Skyped with the North Carolina grandchildren.

Filled up the cars with $1.87/gallon gasoline.  Can you believe how cheap gas has gotten?

Well that's it for this week!  To my American friends, I wish you a lovely Thanksgiving filled with joy and love.  To my friends in other corners of the world, I wish you peace and joy and safety!

Have a good one!
Jane


 









25 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving Jane! I'm listening to that Doris Day link...ha! Very pretty snow picture!
    Those meats (such as a neck) are very nutritional. When I first moved here...my neighbor used to always boil her finished turkey for soup. This brings back memories.
    I see your husband has talents equal to your cooking/sewing talents! Very nice knife (and vest that you made). The bee skep is a nice touch (I just learned what that is called...a skep..ha.)

    A Costco rotisserie chicken can last my husband and me all week. (They are plump and meaty). Isn't it amazing how we can stretch food once the kids are out of the house! (You still have one at home though...I have one during college breaks).

    The cranberry gingerbread looks so good and moist. So true about the "sell by" and expiration dates. I heard on the news that much food is wasted because of those dates, and the food is really still good for long after. When I was young we never had dates and never worried (and never fell ill from our food!) Andrea

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    1. Hi Andrea! Glad you are enjoying Doris. I can appreciate her a lot more now that I've gotten older.

      Isn't it funny how little food two people can live on? Jamie isn't a big eater, so as long as we have something to make a sandwich with and some fruit, he's happy.

      Never heard of E coli or salmonella growing up. Our big fear was ptomaine. Remember that? I always remember my sister scaring me about it because I left a knife in the pan of fudge. Gosh! Isn't it funny how times have changed!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    2. oh, fudge! ha...fudge probably has enough sugar to keep it safe for a very long time.
      And back then we could eat cake batter and raw eggs (such as in the Rocky movie)!
      I know there is a reason with how they process them now that their permeable shells can let in germs or something. And I suppose fresh eggs straight from people's chickens might be safer then store-bought!

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    3. Maybe that's the secret, Andrea! Eat more fudge! I remember one time my friend Georgeanne and I were going to make chocolate chip cookies, but we ate so much of the batter we only had enough dough for about three cookies. Good thing we never knew about salmonella back then or we would have been sick for days!

      Have a fun Thanksgiving!
      Jane

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  2. Merry Sunday, Jane! I wondered how much snow you had; we were promised a skiff, but only got wind and 32-degrees temps... Makes for a cold feeding time; thank goodness for my Cuddle Duds (bought in May at 75% off!) and insulated bibs! Brrrrr...

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your English Muffin receipt. I can't wait to try it! I have two pounds of cranberries to bake for Thursday dinner and will use the leftovers for the muffins. Thanks, too, for the tip on how to be sure they are done! Your chemist is as useful as my electrician! LOL

    Ran's vest is lovely! All those buttonholes by hand? You are fearless! I can't do them on the machine; thus, I know I could not do them by hand with any reliability! As I was reading about layering to stay warm, I thought about a great little book I read a few years ago called, simply, "Fireplaces." It was a history of how fireplaces evolved in the U.S. and how people adapted to the changes (yes, I am a nerd)... One of the key points was that people in Colonial times were used to living very close to the fireplace in the winter and mastered the art of "turning" themselves to stay evenly warm. They wore many layers all winter long, seldom changing the ones closest the body. (Phew!) The author said it wasn't unusual for water to freeze on a counter across the room from the fireplace! Imagine! How cold it must have been and how adaptive people were to live with that range of temperatures...

    Your snow ritual is a lot like ours; the movie of choice for us is "The Snowman" and we have snowman cups for our hot cocoa!

    Have a joyous week! Hugs! M

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  3. And a merry Sunday evening to you too, Matty! Hope your insulated bibs are working. Cold tonight around 23. Why couldn't it have been this cold when it was snowing? The weather is very fickle this year!

    Well if you're a nerd, so am I. I love to read things like your fireplace book. There's so much to learn. People were truly remarkable back then. My mother tells me that they would have to break the ice in their water bucket (no inside plumbing) when she was a little girl. Just the heat from the cookstove. Cold doesn't bother me as long as I have lots of woolens and down. We walk even when the temperatures dip below zero. Of course, I grew up in very Northern Michigan, so any weather around here is mild in comparison.

    Hoping you get to enjoy your snow ritual soon!

    Hugs
    Jane

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  4. Wow, that is a lot of snow already! That snowman is bigger than your grandson.
    Thanks for the recipes. I love gingerbread. I have never made english muffins before, but yours look so good. Great job on the vest! And I love the bees on the knife handle.
    Our homesteading attempts don't always work out...our bees and chickens died after a few years, but I so want to become more self sufficient.
    Would love to hear how you were able to retire at 55. Did you save as much as you could before retirement? My husband is 48, and we paid off our mortgage last week. Yay! Still have 2 teens at home, and we hope to help them with college, but I know my husband would like to retire before he is 67. Any tips would be appreciated.

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    1. Hi Kathy! Yep they got about a foot of snow.

      First congratulations on paying off your mortgage! That's such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment isn't it? There should be a Hallmark card for it.

      We always had two goals from the very beginning of our marriage. One was to pay for our children's college (we didn't have that luxury and started off married life broke) and the second was for my husband to retire at 55. We saved every penny we could, even if it was only $100 some years. We treated all bonuses and "found" money as if we never had it and stuck the money right in the bank. I don't know if your husband's employment has a 401K plan, but if they do, always avail yourself to it and put in the max amount. You'll barely notice any difference in your income, as the contributions are taken out before taxes, thus lowering your tax load. And put it in the safest fund. It's still better than what the banks are offering for interest.

      We were fortunate to live when real estate was good, and made profits on the sales of our homes. We bought fixer uppers. When it came time to retire, we knew we wouldn't be able to afford where we were currently living because of the property taxes. We sold our home and with the profit bought this little cottage in a cheaper-to-live area.

      We have two small pensions from two different companies (my husband has been working since he was 14) that puts our income just above the poverty line, yet we take no public assistance, except for Obamacare, which we are forced to do and is completely useless and we still have to pay all our medical out of our own pocket because it has such an incredibly ridiculous deductible. So I'd say, first make sure you are really healthy before retiring, because healthcare is not in within the grasp of your average pensioner. (Unless you are really poor, then you get everything for free).

      We grow almost all our own food, eating a mostly vegetarian diet, spending about $150 on food a month. We can't have chickens, rabbits or bees within the village limits. Besides, if you figure the costs of those things, you realize that they are not as cost effective as you think. We find it is easier to just do without and just occasionally buy meat. So I'd say, start now getting used to that lifestyle. BTW, you really don't need a lot of land to live quite self-sufficiently. The more land just means more taxes.

      Basically, it's save, save, save. Make sure you are debt-free. Fortunately, it sounds like you'll have time to pay off your teens college before retiring. We sold many of our personal items to get a big enough nest egg. In the end, the question was do we want the things or to retire.


      If you plan to stay in your home, do all the things that need to be done now, while you have an income. Before we retired, we tried to think of everything we would need. We put in a new furnace, woodstove, bought a new car (unfortunately a lemon), even things like a new pressure canner and a rocket stove. Because once you retire the money probably won't be there.

      Study homesteader's and thrift blog and vlogs. Put the knowledge you learn from them into action. We make it a goal to learn something new every week, whether it's foraging or how to make a heat plant from and old burn barrel , there's always something new to learn.

      Another important thing to do before retiring is to make a good assessment of the lifestyle you want to live. Many people say they want to be self-sufficient, but they don't want to give up trips or dining out or nice cars. Not everyone is cut out for the lifestyle. For many it's a life of deprivation, but for some crazies such as myself and my husband, it's so much fun! We get as much of a thrill finding Swiss cheese for $2.50/lb as others would get from winning the lottery!

      Hope that helps! I try to write some thrifty tips every week, so I hope you'll continue to keep reading!

      Jane




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    2. Awesome!! Congratulations! You are so inspiring, and I am glad that you were able to meet your goals for your children's college education and your husband's retirement!! I love reading your thrifty tips and ways that you save money. Great deal on the cheese! :D
      We do have a 401k, and will be increasing now that the mortgage is paid off. So maybe we will work towards my husband retiring at 59 1/2. Healthcare is the biggie though...
      Anyway congratulations on making your dreams come true. And thank you for taking us along on the thrifty adventure. I do love reading your blog.

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    3. I wouldn't worry about the healthcare, Kathy. By the time your husband is retired there will probably be a national healthcare system like they have in Canada and Europe.

      That's right. Keep your spending at it's current level and pretend you still have a mortgage, except instead of sending the money off to the mortgage company, put it into your savings. I would caution not to put it all into a 401K but to keep some in your own personal savings account. 401Ks are tied to the stock market after all. Roth IRAs are good too. Plus since they are paid post taxes, you don't have to claim any withdrawals on your taxes. Diversify, diversify! But the best investment is whatever you can do to make yourself self-sufficient.

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  5. Hi Jane! So nice to see your snow pictures; we haven't had much besides rain around here, and a frost that made pretty "frost flowers" on our dittany plant (do you know what those are?). I love Ran's vest that you made, and I love wearing vests, too (they're modest if you are not in the mood to wear foundation undergarments, if you know what I mean! I didn't know that Ran likes to remake knives, but I'll bet your honey man will treasure his remake. He could sell those! I agree about the sadness of wasting perfectly good food, especially that's canned. What happened to common sense?

    Love and blessings to you,

    Marqueta

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    1. Hello dear Marqueta! I've missed you! Hope all is well with your wonderful family.

      Never heard of dittany. Have to look it up. So much to learn! If I should live to be 100 (which I very well may do) I'll never have enough time to learn all that I want. Enjoy your youth, dear girl, time passes much to quickly!

      I think common sense is out there somewhere, just got to get people off of their phones and Ipads for a while so they can go outside and rediscover the world!

      Hugs to you and please tell your family Happy Thanksgiving for me!
      Jane

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  6. Hi Jane, just popping in to say I'll be back after Thanksgiving to read & enjoy this post as we have family staying with us right now.
    Have a great week!

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    1. Have a very happy Thanksgiving, Toni! Enjoy your family time!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  7. I'm like a kid when it snows too...and when the first conkers of the season fall I rush to stuff them in my pockets just like I used to gather them in my school hat...I don't think I'll ever grow up with those lovely seasonal things. I love your snow day traditions...they sound so cosy and homely.

    Your turkey recipes sound scrumptious. I made turkey breast stir fry for Saturday supper with meat that cost 99p because it was the expiry date. I took it home and put it in the freezer until I needed it. It was yummy.

    Your cranberry gingerbread sounds amazing. Two of my favourite things. Thank you for sharing all your recipes

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    1. Hi Debby! So sorry about replying so late. Had a family emergency. Stir fry is another great thrifty way to use up turkey. Between your "found" potatoes and expiring bargains, you are beginning to sound like me. Ha! It is fun, though, isn't it? Why squander money on such things, when you could be spending it on more fun things like a certain book?

      I pass on the compliment to my hubs. Thanks!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  8. ps...that knife is amazing...what cute little beehive. Clever husband.

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  9. Dear Jane, I enjoyed your post, and I enjoyed the comments and your replies just as much- lots of interesting and good info.
    Your grandson, his snowman and their home are all just wonderful!
    My husband likes the wear a down vest instead of a full coat- your Ran will enjoy his vest so much. You did a great job. Your from scratch buttonholes remind me of a chapter in a Little house on the prairie book. Before Laura married, she worked in a sewing business and I don't remember how many shirt buttonholes she could sew in an hour but it was more than anyone there could.
    I will show Ran's beautiful knife to my husband. He just made a few knifes, his first ever, for Christmas gifts. He used Oklahoma red cedar for the handles and he bought the knife blanks from Amazon.
    We are just recently officially retired at 58 and 59. My husband is a veteran and that gives us a monthly income and takes care of our healthcare. Early retirement can be done but takes planning and work to get those financial ducks in a row.
    I wish you were closer, I know you all would help harvest pecans. The land owners can't get anyone to come pick, even in a beautiful orchard and picking up on the halves. I'm not sure how many pounds we of pecan meat we will net but we are going to keep working at it. The pecans seem to us like food being given straight from God.
    I got 2 bunches of celery for 37 cents a bunch. When I washed and cleaned it, I saved the leafy ends to boil with our turkey carcas. Thanks for the reminder about turkey soup :)

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    1. Hi Rhonda! Oh the comments! I have a great circle of blogging friends. Some I've known for over a decade.

      Sounds like your husband and mine have a lot in common. He has bought blanks for the knives in the past, but then got interested in finding old ones and re-doing them. Told him it's time to move on to a new hobby, because now we have enough knives to last us several lifetimes. Ha!

      When we first retired, we could afford a catastrophic health policy, which is all we'd use anyway. We rarely go to the doctor. Just once a year. But then after Obamacare was passed we were required to get a more comprehensive policy, which would have cost us about half of our pension. So we were forced to get a healthcare subsidy. We paid the penalty but couldn't afford to do that any longer. What a waste of the tax payer's money! The only one it's helping is the insurance companies! For $900 a month we get a deductible of $13,000 and then after that the insurance picks up the tab of 60% of the bill for up to $100,000. Which isn't very much at today's rate. I'm disgusted with the whole thing! Whenever we go to the doctor's office we just tell them we'll pay outright, since we will never meet the deductible anyhow. They're usually happy to give us a discount, since the get paid right away and don't have to go through all the paperwork. And we don't get any cancer screening done because we couldn't afford the medical bill anyhow. Which being the cynic I am, believe that was the entire purpose of the bill all along. Kill off the middle-aged people so they don't have to pay out any Social Security. Sorry about the rant! Makes me angry everytime I think about it!

      Oh, it would be lovely to get the free pecans. Can you believe people won't stoop to pick them even for free? I've discovered this with my own garden. I tell my neighbors to come and pick whatever they want, but they won't. But if I pick it, clean it, and deliver it to there door, they're more than glad to take it off my hands. Some of these people are in dire financial straights, so you'd think they would be happy to have a garden to access. Guess it's easier to collect their food stamps. This country is going to be in a mess. the day the money runs outs.

      So many good food buys this time of year. I'm stocking up on butter. Well, have a happy Thanksgiving!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  10. What a great use for leftover cranberry sauce! I've made homemade English muffins on my electric skillet but have never added anything to them. Hope I'll have plenty of leftover cranberries! I do like to stock up at this time of the year on cranberries. I freeze them and use them throughout the year in scones.
    I've shared the pictures of your husband's knife with my husband. He too has crafted his own knives/handles. Well done!
    I too grew up in a home that just cut the mold off of cheese and carried on. I've also cut the mold off of old bread and either toasted it or baked it for croutons. Hey, and I'm a Gen. X-er. Don't worry there's sensible people in every generation. In fact there is a huge movement to stop food waste. Grocery stores are being encouraged to donate old food to homeless shelters. And many gardeners are encouraged to donate extra produce to food pantries. Some pantries even cook and puree the bruised tomatoes and fruit for freezing.
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

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    1. Hi Leslie! Happy Thanksgiving! Oh dear! I hope you didn't think I was referring to only the younger generations that have a lack of common sense. Oh no! I see it in every generation, including my own. The lady that I was referring to has lived through the Depression and should know better.

      Our local food pantry won't accept food unless it's packaged. Such nonsense! There's a lot of farmers and gardeners around here that would be glad to donate their fresh produce. I leave mine in a box by the road with a sign "free" on it. It's usually gone by the next day. If nothing else the deer hunters take it.

      Oh yes! The world's your oyster when you make your own English muffins. Leftover bananas are great too. Only thing, they are so much more substantial than the store bought, that I can only eat one half at once. Takes forever to go through a batch! I'm anxious to try date-walnut. Experimenting is always fun!

      Well, you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  11. I am new to this blog and absolutely love it. Thanks so much for sharing your life, your ideas on thrift etc. My husband and I live on 5 acres, just got our house paid off, are believers, raise chickens and a big garden, do a lot of canning, are both now eligible for social security :). My husband still works a full time job at a nursing home as the maintenance director and hopes to do that for 5 more years so we can become totally debt free and save some money up. He was a self employed remodeler up until 2 years ago and our savings are minimal. Anyway keep writing. I need your encouragement. We have 2 children, both married and 5 grandkids. One lives close and one lives far away :( Nannie

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    1. Hi Nannie! Sounds like I'd be preaching to the choir! Anytime you have a thrifty idea please feel free to chime in. We're all in this together. Let's all learn from each other. Thanks for stopping by and leaving such kind words!

      Jane

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    2. Jane, there is always something new to learn from others :) nannie

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  12. Wow, that is a lot of snow, we rarely get enough for a snowman, only every few years, we have only had snow in the mountains so far around here, and lots and lots of rain. I do have a feeling we may get some good snows this year year though. I just stocked up on local honey at a craft bazaar, I try to buy it like that every year. My son informed me a couple of weeks ago he wants to keep bees when he has a home of his own, so he is really into trying out different local honey. Your cranberry gingerbread sounds yummy, gingerbread is one of my favorites.

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