Two of my grandchildren stopped by this afternoon to spend some time in the pool with Grammy. Afterwards, I had my granddaughter crawl up on the bathroom counter so I could wash the chlorine out of her hair. I was holding her head in my hand and as I washed her hair I kissed her sweet face. She looked up into my eyes and said, “I love your face, Grammy!” I said… “Oh, thank you sweet pea!” and then she said… “And I dont think you look OLD at  all!”     

My heart is thankful  for so many things today…

1. I’m thankful that I stand righteous before a holy God. Not because of anything I did but because of what Christ did 2,000 years ago! He took the punishment I deserved on that cross!!

2. A helping hand from my son..

3. A pastor who is willing to call sin SIN even at great personal cost..

4. Answered prayer concerning a tragedy this year….

5. Airconditioning…

6. Being told I’m missed by a grandchild….

7. A husband who works to the point of exhaustion to provide for our needs …

8. Good health… ( including our children, their spouses and grandchildren..) 

9. A parking spot in the shade…

10. Enough money to meet all our house expenses this past month…

Okay, so I’m a few days off!

I’ve been keeping a list of what I’ve been doing to cut back on our expenses so I could share it with you. This is working!! By God’s grace ALONE I have money set aside in our savings. I’m finding that I have to invest my time in order to save money. I’m washing my car instead of having someone else wash it. I’m cooking my own meals and eating out less. I’m hanging my clothes on the line instead of using the dryer. All these things take time but at this point in our life I must do everything I can to cut costs or otherwise I’ll have to go to work outside the home.  So, I would rather work at home than have to leave the house and find a job elsewhere. Not, that it might not come to that but my husband is not willing for me to do that unless we are in dire straights. And so far the Lord has enabled us to get by. Our house has been on the market for nearly a year and still has not sold but God has met the payments. It amazes me! I am in awe at His provision. We continue to do all that we can to be good stewards by stretching what He does give us. Staying out of the stores and shopping less has helped tremendously.

So, here are some of the things I’ve been doing this past month:

1. I have a Swifter Duster that uses reusable dusters. I soak the dusters in a sink of warm water and dish soap for just a bit and then rinse them and hang them dry. They’ve held up just fine for several washings.

2. My vacuum cleaner needed a new filter which normally costs $25.00. I washed the old one in a sink filled with warm water and soap. I used a toothbrush to gently scrub it. I really made sure it was DRY before placing it back in my vacuum cleaner. It worked great!

3.  I’ve been getting rid of a lot of stuff that we no longer use since we will be downsizing to smaller home. I’ve posted a ton of things on Craig’s List and sold over $1,000.00 worth of items. It’s been simple and worked great for us. I update the list each week. I just make sure my husband is home unless I am dealing with a woman and have peace about it.

4. I started using the LIGHT WASH on my dishwasher with no heat. I rinse my dishes first (in cold water) before I place them in the dishwasher so the light wash is working just fine.

5. I purchased a HUGE bag of lint free car towels at Costco to replace my paper towels. I placed one under each bathroom sink with the windex bottle. I also use the towels for drying the car. I rarely have to buy paper towels now. They even work great for the windows. The towels cost under $10.00. I think you can purchase similar towels at Walmart or any parts store. Just make sure they say “lint free” and wash them by themselves and not with other rags.

6. I used to purchase bottled water so instead I bought a Brita Pitcher for $5.00 on sale. This has saved me paying $1.75 for bottled water along with not having to haul it back and forth from the store.

7. Walgreens occasionally will offer FREE products. You purchase them and then they refund you the money. I’ve been using this service for quite a few months. I opt to use their plan which puts the refund back on a Walgreen’s card. That way I get an extra 10%. It’s like they are paying me  to try their products. I’m saving the money on my card until this winter when our work may slow down.

8. FoodMax sells roasted chickens. I discovered that across from the hot roasted chickens in the meat case I can occasionally find cold ones that are marked down to only $2.99. I bought 3 of them this last month and popped them in the freezer. I can get 3 to 4 meals out of one chicken which means my meat cost is only $1.00. Great savings! Plus, I don’t have to cook the chicken first.

9. Miss Emma Lee taught me how to make my homemade ice cream for less money. I start saving my ice about 2 weeks before I know I’m going to make ice cream. I put the cubes of ice in a plastic grocery bag in the freezer. I’ve discovered it takes 2 very FULL bags to make two batches of ice cream. (Miss Emma Lee freezes her water in milk jugs and then used a big mallet to break it up.) She also told me to save the ice (drain it first) from the first batch to use in the second batch. Once you pour it back in just start layering your ice and salt again. I can make 2 batches of ice cream and only use a little more than one box of salt and it hardly takes anymore ice. I buy my whipping cream at Costco for a fraction of what I’d pay for it in the grocery store. Since it’s hubbins and I at home now we don’t drink that much milk. I will purchase 2 gallons of milk at a time (since they offer a better deal) and freeze the second jug. I pay so much less for that second jug.  

My granddaughter made the ice cream this last time. She is becoming a GREAT little cook!

I had two ‘taste testers’ from our little church.

Miss Emma Lee (second picture) gave her stamp of approval. Tammy (in the first picture) let her husband know that she was eating homemade ice cream so we ended up sending him home some, too. I’ll post the recipe below with the rest of the pictures. This is my husband’s grandmother’s family recipe. It’s very good!

10. I have a ‘gift closet’ where I store gifts that I pick up for future birthdays,etc. These are normally items that I find inexpensively or at the dollar store. My granddaughter just had a birthday and I had so many items that I had picked up here and there over the past few years that I didn’t need to purchase anything new for her birthday. I made her two new dresses for school and then filled a basket full of all the items and wrapped it in cellophane. It really helped out on our expenses this month.

11. I started working on Christmas gifts 3 weeks ago.

12. I’ve been trying to make as much as I can from scratch to stretch my grocery bill. Here are a few of things that I’ve tried this past month.

Ranch Dressing by Crystal Miller (http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com)

1 cup mayonnaise

½ c sour cream

½ cup milk, buttermilk is fine too

1 T lemon juice

1 t. onion powder

½ t. (slightly heaping) minced garlic, I buy the kind in the jar

2 t. parsley

dash dill weed

½ t. salt

½ t. seasoning salt

dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Allow to sit in fridge for a little while to thicken and allow flavors to blend.

*~*~*

Homemade Mayo by Laine (http://www.lainesletters.com)

I put one egg into my food processor and turned it on.

Then I slowly, very slowly drizzled one cup of canola oil into the processor, keeping it running the whole time.

I then added salt and lemon juice to taste.

I did not care for this on sandwiches but it worked great in making the ranch dressing above.

*~*~*

Refried Beans by Laine

* I freeze these in portion sizes. On Saturday evening I’ll pull out one packet and defrost them in the fridge for hubbin’s favorite Sunday meal which is Shrimp in butter/garlic sauce, refried beans, spanish rice. I make everything I can up ahead of time so all I have to do is cook the shrimp in the butter/garlic sauce and reheat the beans and rice. It saves us eating out on Sunday’s and I don’t feel like I’m slaving in the kitchen all afternoon.

Crockpot Beans
3 c. pinto beans (cleaned and picked through)
1/2 an onion chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves chopped
2 T. canola oil

I put all this in my crock pot and fill it to a couple inches from the top with water. I set it on high and let it cook about 5-6 hours until the beans are tender. Then I add about 1 1/2 T. of salt at the end of the cooking time. (Salt must be added last or the beans will toughen up.) I also use this recipe for black beans if I want to make refried black beans.

Refried Beans

2 c. beans and bean juice

I put this in a small black iron skillet with a little oil on the bottom and heat up, mashing as I go with a potato masher. Then I add a little shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese to melt through. I cook until the water has evaporated a little giving me the desired consistency.

*~*~*

Garlic Flea Biscuits

I read that fleas do not like garlic. I went ahead and bought some flea medicine but I’m going to try and give these to my doggies daily in hopes that I can stretch the flea medicine.

• 2 cups unbleached flour (I used bleached flour)
  
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
  
• 1/2 cup brewers yeast
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 1 cup chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil two or three baking sheets.

Combine first four ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic and oil. Slowly stir flour mixture and stock alternately into oil and garlic, beating well, until the dough is well-mixed.

Shape dough into a ball. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1 to 2-inches thick. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or knife cut dough into rounds.

Transfer biscuits to prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are well browned. Turn off heat and allow biscuits to dry in oven for several hours.

Store in refrigerator or freeze.

• Yields: 26 cookies
  
• Preparation Time: 30 minutes

*~*~*

Grandmother Brock’s Homemade Ice Cream

4-6 eggs
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1/2-1 pint of whipping cream
2 Tablespoons of imitation vanilla or 1 Tablespoon real vanilla

Beat eggs until frothy. Slowly add sugar and beat until light. Add rest of the ingredients. Pour milk up to the ‘fill line’ in your ice cream canister. Use ice cream maker directions.


HEAVENLY FUDGE SAUCE

1/2 c. butter
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate
3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tall can evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler. Add sugar, salt and milk.
Cook on low heat until sugar dissolves. Add vanilla. May be used for
fondue with fruit or over ice cream.

*~*~*

One thing that I believe the Holy Spirit convicted me on recently was to not hold onto my money TOO TIGHTLY. The purpose of frugality, for me personally, is to remain at home by stretching my husband’s income BUT I also want to be able to have EXTRA to help those in need or to use my money to bless someone. So, I’m watching very carefully over my heart. If a situation comes up where my first reaction is to cling to my money in an ungodly way then I’m really evaluating that situation closely to see how I can bless someone else. I don’t want to become Mr. Scrooge just because our finances are tight. Those in New Testament times who had much sold what they had to give to those who were in need. I think that is a great example of not CLINGING to our STUFF.  Acts 4

This past week a few of us ‘younger women’ visited Miss Emma Lee at her home so that she could teach us how to make some of her famous goodies.  Miss Emma Lee has gone to our little country church for more than 40 years and has made some wonderful memories for the younger girls. She often rewarded the girls when they memorized scripture by bringing homemade cream puffs to class. I’ve also heard stories of how she used to get up before the crack of dawn so that she could make cream puffs for everyone in the church to have with their coffee at fellowship time.

Josie, one of her Miss Emma Lee’s previous sunday school students, LOVED Miss Emma Lee’s cream puffs so we thought it might be fun if Miss Emma Lee showed her how to make them.  So, we asked Miss Emma Lee if she would be up to teaching her (and the rest of us) how to make cream puffs and she gladly agreed.

Miss Emma Lee gives instruction to her attentive young friends.

Miss Emma Lee taught my granddaughter (the little girl in the apron) to crack her eggs into a small bowl one at a time before she puts them in the batter. My gd loves to bake and has been cracking eggs for a while but I think this is the first time she was told to put them in a small dish first to look for shells.

These are what the cream puffs look like once they are baked. We cut the top off and then Miss Emma Lee put them together.

She made strawberry and lemon cream puffs. Yummmm! Aren’t they pretty? And they were SO easy. I never tried making them because I thought they would be difficult.

Marie,the mother of the older girl in the picture, came by to watch and take a few pictures, too.

Next, we made caramels. They put See’s Candy’s caramels to shame. We finished by making roasted almonds which were so good!

We had such a great time of fellowship. We’re so thankful for Miss Emma Lee’s willingness to open up her home. She gave me permission to share that she has 4th stage stomach cancer and so she is never sure when she’s going to have a ‘bad’ day. She has been an inspiration to many of us at church for her determination to continue ‘living’ while fighting this life threatening disease.  She rarely misses church and comes even when she is not feeling well. I’ve learned much from watching her example. Please remember Miss Emma Lee  in your prayers.

A few of the ladies wanted to learn how to make homemade ice cream so this Thursday we’ll come back to my house after bible study and I’ll make a couple batches of ice cream for my granddaughter’s birthday. It will be fun to have ‘taste testers’.

Here are Miss Emma Lee’s  recipes:

Emma Lee’s Cream Puffs

Double Boiler: 1 cube of butter, 1 cup of boiling water (pour over butter) and 1/2 tsp. salt

When this mixture is melted, dump 1 c. flour into pan and stir until the mixture clings together in the shape of a ball. Cool it to room temperature. You want it cool enough so that the eggs won’t curdle when you add them.

Add 1 egg at a time to cool dough and beat with mixer. You’ll use 4 eggs total. Then beat on high and mix thoroughly.

Heat over to 375.

Drop dough by medium spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Make sure they are all the same size so they’ll all cook evenly. Then drop a small spoonful on top of each medium spoonful. This will be the ‘top’ that you’ll cut off later.

Bake until lightly brown. Start checking them after 15 minutes. Cool. Cut off tops.

Beat a couple cups of heavy whipping cream with 2-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla  until stiff peaks form.

Filling ideas:

Chocolate: Instant chocolate pudding with shavings of Ghiradelli chocolate. Make the pudding according to pie directions. You could also use lemon  or banana or coconut instant pudding mixes and add bananas or coconut or butterscotch pudding with butterscotch chips.

Strawberry: Slice strawberries and sweeten with sugar. Add strawberry glaze and a little almond extract.

Assemble: First put the filling on the bottom crust and then a  BIG dollop of whipping cream  and then place the top crust on top. Drizzle with Hershey’s syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Place a cherry on top and it’s ready to eat. They were wonderful! They don’t ‘last’ for long periods of time so don’t assemble them until you are ready to eat them.

Emma Lee’s Caramels

(Emma Lee came from a large family and lived on a farm. She has memories of both of her grandmothers making these caramels whenever they came to visit. Emma Lee was given the job of scraping the cream off the top of the milk)

These take about an hour and a half to make. Most of the time is spent stirring so willing helpers are appreciated.

In a saucepan:

2 cups of sugar (level)

3/4 cup white Karo Syrup

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cube butter (not margarine)

Stir constantly over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly. After ingredients are melted and dissolved pour another cup of cream into the saucepan drizzling it in slowly so the mixture won’t stop boiling.

Put in candy thermomotor. Cook the mixture down until it turns a light brown. When the thermometry reaches 220 start stirring more and watch it closely. You want it to get to 242 for soft caramels and not above 250 for firm ones. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. (Emma Lee says that ‘real’ vanilla is best)

Pour into a buttered 8 x8 square pan and let it cool. Or you can use 2 loaf pans and add nuts (chopped walnuts or pecans) to one pan and leave the other plane.

Don’t tip the pan or the mixture will wrinkle. Also, Miss Emma Lee said to not make this candy when it rains. The moisture in the air will ruin the candy. Once the mixture is completely cool you can cut it in small long pieces and wrap each piece in saran wrap.

Roasted Almonds

Put almonds in saucepan filled half way up with water.  When the almonds were added the mixture filled about 3/4 of the pan. Boil till the almonds skins wrinkle. Put down newspaper on table and ‘squirt’ almonds so the skin comes off.

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and layer almonds on tray. Bake at 225 for 30-45 minutes until lightly brown. Drizzle melted butter over almonds and then sprinkle with salt. They taste similar to the way that cocktail peanuts.

“So, then, be careful how you live. Do not
 be unwise but wise, making the best use
 of time, because the days are evil.”
    (Ephesians 5:15-16)

 

This little inch of time!

(James Meikle, “The Traveler” 1730-1799)

“Time is short.” (1 Corinthians 7:29)

Time is precious–though misspent, though
thought little of. Oh! what great things are
to be done in this little inch of time!

Think much on death–that you may not be
too much charmed with the ‘vanities of life’.

Remember the deceitfulness and uncertainty
of riches–so shall you neither be puffed up
with their possession, nor pained at their loss.

Think much on the unseen world, and let the
certainty of that which is to come, dispel the
‘delusion of the present’–which so quickly
passes away.

Eye God’s glory in everything, and prefer the
approbation of God and your own conscience,
to the applause of men. Better be the object of
man’s ridicule, than the subject of God’s wrath.

Beware that you live not for yourself, or the world.
But live above the world, for eternity, and to God.