What did you do to save $ today?

[freemotion]

They make great dog toys. We tie a pair together with a big knot so the pooch will know which socks are his. But he is a poodle so he is extra smart! He loves his sock toys. He pulls the stuffing out of store-bought stuffed toys and chews the facial features off....nose, eyes, ears. Keeps the world safe from teddybears! But the socks give him a soft toy that is free so I am not annoyed if he destroys it. He is my first dog so there was quite a learning curve....

My advice now to people looking for their first puppy: Never get a dog that is smarter than you!

What I did to save money today: Took catnip out of the dehydrator and put in some oregano from the garden, and salted a few more scallions for my mom. I have some broth to skim and put up, leftover from making catfood. The hens got a third of the bones and scraps, the rest went into the freezer in baggies for when bug season is over.

My parents came down from ME for a funeral yesterday and brought me some local barley and oats, which were quite cheap and I can't even get barley here, and the oats are expensive here and scrawny. I filled all my barrels, yay! I'm going to plant some oats for my tea project.

I am off to make the HONEY SURPRISE recipe from another thread as part of my tea project. Then it is off to my favorite plant place, which just opened yesterday, so will be mobbed. But I need to snag any herbs that I did not plant from seed this year, before they are gone.

 

[lupinfarm]

They make great dog toys. We tie a pair together with a big knot so the pooch will know which socks are his. But he is a poodle so he is extra smart! He loves his sock toys. He pulls the stuffing out of store-bought stuffed toys and chews the facial features off....nose, eyes, ears. Keeps the world safe from teddybears! But the socks give him a soft toy that is free so I am not annoyed if he destroys it. He is my first dog so there was quite a learning curve....

My advice now to people looking for their first puppy: Never get a dog that is smarter than you!

What I did to save money today: Took catnip out of the dehydrator and put in some oregano from the garden, and salted a few more scallions for my mom. I have some broth to skim and put up, leftover from making catfood. The hens got a third of the bones and scraps, the rest went into the freezer in baggies for when bug season is over.

My parents came down from ME for a funeral yesterday and brought me some local barley and oats, which were quite cheap and I can't even get barley here, and the oats are expensive here and scrawny. I filled all my barrels, yay! I'm going to plant some oats for my tea project.

I am off to make the HONEY SURPRISE recipe from another thread as part of my tea project. Then it is off to my favorite plant place, which just opened yesterday, so will be mobbed. But I need to snag any herbs that I did not plant from seed this year, before they are gone.

Our dogs will use anything as a toy. they especially enjoy plastic bottles, pieces of wood, and mosaic tiles... though we have kongs and a jax toy we fill with peanut butter... it keeps em busy for hours. marrow bones are good too, even the cat likes them.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I generally don't darn socks either. I also try to buy larger quantities of the same ones, even pretty socks (not just white ones), so rather than buy one pair in pink, one in purple and one in green, I'll buy three pair that are identical. They are still pretty, but if one gets lost or a hole, I'll still have the others to match.

Our dog must talk to yours freemotion. She does the same stuff. I also go to the goodwill outlet store and get stuffed kid toys for around $2.00. We just watch for the parts that come off too easy, like eyes that she could swallow. Keeps her busy for one evening..
Those long men's cotton socks work great for dog toys. I once put a squeaker from a torn up dog toy into one....didn't last long!
I also use old sock for making baby and neck warmers. I fill them with rice and tie a knot around the open end(s). Put in microwave for a few minutes and you have a nice neckwarmer, great for certain pains in the neck, doesn't work at all on others.
I'll put it in for chicks, kittens, puppies and sick animals. Sometimes I'll cover it with the sleeve of an old sweater to make it cuddlier.

I never did any darning last night. Cuddled kittens instead and fell asleep early. Again

Right now I'm off to a farm "stand" to get some more organic acv and other goodies, will also be looking for grains to plant and a possible source to sell our produce.
It'll be a nice drive in the country.

 

[hennypenny9]

I went by the grocery store on the way home from work to pick up the weekly ad, with coupons. It's free, so I saved money by seeing the sales and getting coupons, and by planning ahead I will get less junk.

 

[Okiemommy]

great for certain pains in the neck, doesn't work at all on others.

 

[VT-Chicklit]

I had an oportunity to go into the Big City (45 miles away) with my mother and sister. I opted to stay home instead and plant peas, carrots, parsnips, and lettuce. I also cleaned the hen house.

 

[freemotion]

I picked another bucket of nettles and a pail of raspberry leaves. They are drying on my dumpster-dived trays in dh's car!

I made a combo-hydroponics-and-soil container today from a five-gallon pail and put a newly purchased spearmint plant in it. I cut the pipe for a few more, and will finish them when I scrounge the pails. I want to put my mints, lettuce, spinach, and lemongrass in them. I used them years ago during my apartment years and they work great. I will use them now to keep those invasive crops contained, keep slugs out of my lettuce and spinach, and be able to bring my lemongrass in and try to winter it over inside.

I am canning the last of the broth now.

 

[Okiemommy]

We didn't go grocery shopping today

And guess what? After all of my meal and grocery trip planning that I have been doing, we still have food left for both dinner and breakfast!! I could probably get creative on lunch and figure something out for that too

 

[FarmerDenise]

I froze a batch of snow peas yesterday. I put them in layers, so I can separate them easily and then food saver them in small batches.

It is raining here, a good hearty rain. We got the buckets out collecting as much rainwater as we can. This will more than likely be the last rain to amount to anything until fall. So we may as well gather up as much as we can now. some day we will set up a rainbarrel and storage system. At least we are on well water, so we don't have to deal with being charged extra, because we are in a drought like most. We still don't want to overdue the water usage thing. We have mostly drought tolerant plants in the front yard, so we only have to water about once a week.

I used a 40% off coupon to buy a book I've been wanting for about 25 years. I got Carla Emery's book "Country Living" for $20.00 (with tax) instead of $30.00. I borrowed it from the library about 20 years ago and read it cover to cover and loved it. Now I finally own it and can refer to it any time I want to. But first I'll read it cover to cover again. so you might not hear from me for a while

I'm going to cook in order to heat up the house. We already put extra clothes on, but the baby chicks and the kittens need more heat and my fingers and nose won't mind either. I took out frozen blackberries from last summer, so I can make a pie. Am going to try and make a bread with real whole grains in it. I have beans soaking for minestrone soup (which uses loads of vegetables that we either have in the freezer from last summer or fresh in the garden). Mmmm, I'm getting hungry.

 

[Okiemommy]

got a recipe for that pie?

I have some from last summer too, though they are just in a bag...I may have to give them to the chickens cause they might be freezer burned.

So is the food saver a good investment? I have heard it mentioned here and there, but not seen a thread on it..