Stocking up the Pantry/Freezer

 If you are looking to stock your pantry/freezer this might be the time of the year to start. We have some great sales going on this weekend for meats and staples. Here is part of my haul from this morning. I forgot to take a photo until after I had put away most to the noodles and tomato juice.

 One super deal was on rice. Scored 9 pounds for $5.47 from the close out shelf. A quart size mason jar will hold almost 2 pounds of rice. I like to tape the cooking instructions to the side of the jar, I seem to be having more and more brain toots as I age. Rice is a great long term shelf stable food. I also keep lots of instant rice on hand for quick meals when I find it on sale but regular white rice gives you a whole lot more bang for your buck!!

 Another good deal was BOGO on black and green olives. I use a lot of olives during football season and the upcoming holiday's in different recipes for dips, appetizers and even soup. I try to keep 8 to 10 jars put back when they are on sale. Want to try a GREAT football season recipe? Check out Paula Deen's Taco Soup, oh my!! We love this recipe, its crock pot friendly, gotta love that, and super good. Our family likes it as a topping on nacho chips instead of soup. The recipe makes a ton so you better invite friends and family over for the big game. BTW Bama plays at 5:30 EST today, Roll Tide!

 Whole beef tenderloins go on sale a couple of times a year, seems to run on 4th July and Labor day in my area. The everyday price for tenderloin steaks run $19.00 a pound. A whole tenderloin is $9.99 a pound this weekend. Time to stock the freezer. I had the butcher cut up 2 beef tenderloins for me this morning, got a total of 24 nice thick steaks to vacuum pack.

 The end pieces I use for veggie beef soup. I know it looks nasty in this photo but once it's cooked up the yucky fat just falls off so you can remove it from the pot.

 I pack most of our meats for just hubby and I, two steaks per pack works for us. If the family is cooking out with us I just pull out the right amount for the day. So the math on this deal is 24 tenderloin steaks for just under $6.50 per steak, heck you can't buy a good hamburger for that price if you were eating out! The two packages for soup is a bonus for free.

 When you fill the freezer a MUST DO is to rotate food!! Yes it takes more time but you are less likely to lose bits an pieces if you keep the freezer organized. Using up the oldest first insures you are always going to have a nice piece of meat. Our beef shelf is looking pretty good.

 Pork loins were also on sale. I kept the butcher busy this morning!! I knew we were in pretty good shape on pork chops so I only bought one. Once I tucked them in the freezer I realized we could use some pork roast so I will run by later today to pick up another pack or two for roasts.

One loin worked out to 20 pork chops, price per chop. $.95 each.

I had a surprise day off today as Kara's Daddy had a rare Saturday off. Whats a Nanny to do? Meet up with friends for breakfast and an extra cup of coffee, Ahhh.  My buddy's headed off to some estate sales, me...my favorite place to shop, the grocery. Its a toss up between the grocery and fabric shops as to which is my favorite, groceries won out today. I have WAY TOO MUCH fabric.

Lots of great deals were to be had today at the grocery. Store brand Tomato juice was $1.02 for a 64 ounce bottle, I bought 8. Why 8 you ask? We like tomato juice for drinking but it would take forever to drink up 64 ounces, however my veggie beef soup recipe calls for 3/4 of a bottle. The leftovers are the perfect amount for us to quench our tomato juice craving. Does 8 bottles still seem like a crazy amount? When you get in the habit of buying ONLY on sale you sorta know how much you need of an item to see you through until the next sale. I know we will for sure have at least 8 pots of soup this fall/winter, humm now that I think about it maybe I need more! Ha The shelf life on tomato juice is 2 years. No way will I ever have to worry about it going bad on us. BTW the name brand of tomato juice is almost $3.00 and only 46 ounces per can. I pays to give the store brand a try, in the case of this juice there is NO difference.

Another nice surprise sale was on noodles. We are some noodle eating fools, or pasta eating fools if you want to use the correct term. I make up a few gallon baggies of home made noodles over the fall/winter for the freezer but store bought noodles have their place in the pantry. Today's surprise sale was 2/$3.00 or $1.50 each. Regular price is $2.89, can't pass up a deal like that now can you?  The package's are 12 ounces each. If the gang is all here it takes a full package for whatever side dish/soup I am making. For Hubby and I maybe 1/4 of that amount. I picked up 10 packages. Seem like a lot? Na, not for us when you break it down to how many meals I will make with it. The shelf life? Now that is an interesting question, this particular brand had no use by date. Generally you can figure 2-4 years for packaged pasta. Let me assure you the only thing that lasts that long in our home is fabric. (maybe dust as well)

This is really a good time of the year to stock up on some staples for the pantry. Grocery stores seem to run pretty good sales at the beginning of the school year. Makes me wonder if they have to run good deals this time of year to get families in the store after they have spent so much on clothing/school supplies. Keep your eye out for some of these super deals during September to build up or beef up your own pantry. I know this month will be a spending month as far as the grocery shopping goes for us but the savings can't be beat. My weekly shopping trips during the spring/summer tends to run under $50.00 a week with some weeks as low as $10.00-$15.00. Milk, eggs, OJ, and banana's pretty much is all that's on the list during summer months. The pantry and garden are my go to store's during the summer. Since this summer was a tea total bust in the garden I figure our yearly grocery spending well be more than usual, gotta watch the sales even more closely!!

Lots more BOGO items that I paired with coupons. Nothing went in the buggy that wasn't on sale here's the damage.
Total bill $354.41 - GULP!!!
Total coupons/sales - $149.43 BINGO
Total spent - $204.98 - Much Better.

Long Hot Weekend Ahead

 6 Pounds of broccoli ready for some soups or casseroles this fall

 Along with 6 pounds of green beans

 The little girls are the only ones who have any interest in working in the kitchen on these hot days

I think I have the only dog in the world who won't eat off the floor. You must hand AJ the beagle her snacks.

It's HOT!!! The past 2 days have been the worst of all summer long :( This heat drains my mojo!! It won't be long now before I am back in the century of central air conditioning, to say I am excited would be an understatement.

After picking up the little girls yesterday morning we made a stop at the park to run off some energy, by 9:30 we were all dripping in sweat. Time to head to the hot house. Karsyn is such a talker, the girl never stops. On the drive home she starts in with Kara

Karsyn - "Kara we so happy today the Mommy's are gone"
Kara - Just glares at her
Karsyn - "Kara it's happy day, we got no Mommy's"
Kara - Continues to glare
Karsyn - "Lets hold hands and be happy"
Kara - finally smiles as they hold hands
Karsyn -"Nanny stop this car, we so happy we need to dance"
Me - "We are almost home Karsyn, you can dance then"
Karsyn - "Nanny we de boss of you remember, you gots to stop dis car"
Me - "Not now Karsyn"
Karsyn - " Nanny turn on the rock and roll, we gonna rock out"

After arriving home they did just that. By 2:00 the heat finally caught up to them too. Thank goodness for fans, Popsicles, and cartoons!!!

I only have one more contractor to deal with before we get started on our VERY expensive September. We will be getting an estimate on refinishing the kitchen cabinets. Be still my heart!! The preliminary estimate was $2,500.00 if he really can do it at that price I will be over the top happy. Turn on the rock and roll we need to dance. I am not getting my hopes up yet as the estimate seems way low to me. We are still waiting on the finally numbers for new windows, at that point we will have to decide if we will do them all at once or work it in stages. Its been a long hot summer of crunching numbers. I am ready to be done with it all.

Time to get a shower and prepare to pick up Kara for our Friday schedule. Breakfast out followed by a romp in the park then on to the bank and grocery store. As wild, crazy, and fun it is to have all the grands together I LOVE when I can have them one on one.

DIY in September

 Here is block #2 of my "Cake Walk" quilt.

 Sew much fun and ZERO spending

 The last row has been sewn on this UFO teen charity quilt, on to the backing, sandwiching and quilting.

 I have been so depressed over the massive amount of money we are spending on updating/repairers here at home. AC, new windows, and a roof are all necessary things that need to be done before retirement but they sure are not pretty to look at. DD#1 has been DIY crazy this past year. Seems like once a week she forwards me something that she needs me to whip up that will finish off whatever it is she is working on. When she offered to help me update our powder room on a budget I jumped all over that! Ha I am sick to death of the color on the walls and the outdated vanity.

SIL#2 will be doing any plumbing that's involved for free. I am gonna cash in on all that babysitting I've done over the past 3 years! Ha  Hubby's dear head........well we would both like to see it go, however hubby might have a fit when he gets home to see it's missing. I must say this dear has been quite a conversation piece over the years. I'm just not sure if it should stay or go. Feel free to share your thoughts on hubby's pride and joy.

 

I have felt lazy as a slug all day long. Every single thing I have completed has seemed like a real chore, so not like me. To heck with it, I am gonna call it a day and hope for a whole lot more energy tomorrow.

 

Carla will be hosting a No/Low spend challenge for September if anyone would like to join in. As much as I would like to participate and NEED to participate I will have to pass on this one as September will be a BIG spend month for us!! So darn many home repairs and updates :(

 

The one thing other than the new "Cake Walk" quilt I am looking forward to around the house is gutting the powder room with DD#1. I have set a budget of $600.00 to do the deed. That might seem like a lot of money but there is a LOT to do.

 

Step #1 is to refurbish the vanity. I can't find a new cabinet that will fit the footprint I have to work with unless we destroy and replace the tile floor. That is not going to happen!! The tile is in great shape, it needs to stay. I had an estimate done years ago to have the  kitchen cabinets refaced. The cost was ridiculously high and I don't want a covering placed on solid wood cabinets. The only other option is to refinish the vanity we have. Anybody in the mood to come over and sand? I will be happy to do the cooking! Ha   DD#1 likes to paint, I don't, sooooo I will be doing the sanding she will do the painting. All of the hardware will be replaced, new counter top and sink installed by SIL#1 if I can find something to fit, and he will replace the fixtures for us.

 

The work starts tomorrow. I am not sure how long the sanding will take, I have set a goal of September 6th for this step. I am thinking it should be the hardest and longest to accomplish.

 

 We shall see how this is going to work out. Having no central air is going to be a bugger to work in!!!! Anyone else doing any DIY projects around the house?

 

 

Yummy Cake Walk

 I have been yearning to start this quilt for a long time. Don't you think it is as sweet as can "bee"? This pattern is by Lori Holt, Check out her blog for some serious eye candy!! You can order a copy for yourself by going to the top of her page under patterns.

 I am going to do my "Cake Walk" quilt from scratch. What does making a quilt from scratch mean you ask? Instead of purchasing the fabric suggested on the pattern I am going to use my scraps and stash for each cake block. I might have to purchase more white for the background and of course some backing fabric but that's it!! I am going to "Make Do" for everything else.

 Am I the only one who always ends up having to do trimming with each step?

 Once I got the cake block put together it was time to frost/decorate it. A dear friend sent me this tool awhile back. THANK YOU Val!! It claims to seal the ends of ribbon so they won't fray. What the heck, no instructions? Oh well I will just plow forward, it can't be that hard can it? Dog gone when I turned the thing on it wouldn't work :(

 Sometimes the easiest things seem to trip me up. If you put batteries in this handy dandy tool it springs to life. The missing instructions? They were tucked in the battery hole. After having a good laugh at myself I gave it a try. Works like magic!! Not sure if the ends will hold up in the wash, time will tell, but its perfect for other craft projects.

 Here is the first from scratch block pieced and frosted. I like it!

I might not be getting any scrap booking done these days but I am sure enjoying the stash of ribbon and buttons I have on hand. For my frosting I added cherry ribbon to the top and bottom layer, embroidered on leaves from scraps, zigzagged on the stem, last but not least two cherry red buttons.

Anyone else old enough to remember the good old days when schools and church's would host cake walks at festivals or fundraisers? My Grandmother, Aunts, and even I would knock our self out to donate the perfect cake for these events. When our girls were in elementary school lots of times each classroom would come up with their own idea for games, activities, face painting and such during the fall festival. One of my favorites to do when I was the Room Mommy was to have a cake or cupcake walk. Those days are of course long gone as schools won't allow home baked goodies in the school house doors :(  This generation of kiddo's are missing out on so many fun simple things, what a shame.

SEW here is what I am thinking. Anybody want to have a virtual cake walk. Sort of a cake walk, sew along, Quilting Bee? If so make sure and leave a comment sew the rest of us can follow along on your progress. Here are the lose rules.

1.) Purchase your pattern from Lori. I picked mine up at our local quilt shop some time back. I won't be doing a typical step by step tutorial for this quilt block. I try to share free patterns I run into often on this blog but NEVER EVER would I want to steal a designers hard work. :)

2.) NO SHOPPING for the cake, cake plate, or frosting!! I know its gonna be hard to resets but we all need to have a little stash busting ever now and then. This pattern is layer cake, fat quarter friendly. Pull out some of those oh sew cute fat quarters you just couldn't pass up that are taking up space you could use for some NEW stuff.

3.) Each Monday for the next 6 weeks Post (2) Cake blocks on your blog. Make sure and leave a link to your blog in the comment section sew we can all follow along!!!!

Simple right? The hardest part of this virtual cake walk will be NO SHOPPING!! Do not let this quilt block intimidate you!! Lori's directions are wonderful, if you can sew a 1/4 inch straight seam you can do this.

Last but not least I am in NO WAY affiliated with "Bee in my Bonnet" company. I just enjoy sharing cool stuff other ladies have worked hard to design and develop. Sew whats in it for me? Accountability!!! I need to have this quilt finished totaly completed in 7 weeks for a VERY special Birthday gift. Ya'll gotta keep me on track!!

Down Time

 Can you believe this jar is holding 12 pound of carrots? Amazing. Busy bee Miss Kara was my company for the day

 And...12 pounds of okra. Our family loves fried okra, a real summer treat. I have never tried to use dehydrated okra battered and deep fried but I am thinking it might not work out. What it does work great in is soups, jambalaya, and stewed tomatoes.

 This might be interesting. Here are frozen bags of green beans headed to the dehydrator. They would take up a whole heck of a lot of space in the freezer as well as being prime targets for freezer burn.

 First tray ready to pop in the dehydrator

 Here is the same tray after spending around 18 hours in the dehydrator. I still need to jar up the rest of the 12 pounds but a nap is next on my To Do list.

I am thinking after my nap I might just work up a few more of these cute pin cushion. I've already gifted the ones I had made.

Kara and I had a wonderful day yesterday getting out and about. Our weather has been amazing! Nice comfortable low humidity, with temps in the low 80's, along with a cool Canadian breeze. Thank you CANADA!! A play date in the afternoon with one of my buddies and her girly, girl grand. We can dress out grand girls up all girly girl but the Tom Boy always comes out. They are now very into tag team wrestling, nice.

Breakfast group this morning followed up with a visit to a good friends house.  Quick trip to the grocery for a super deal on bottled water then on to use my 50% off coupon for a spool of thread. Whats up with thread sales lately? I am almost out of the good stuff, nobody has had a sale in sew long.

AJ the beagle and I will be spending the rest of this beautiful Sunday doing NOTHING!!! With school starting back tomorrow the big girls need to get their ducks in a row. We have been together a whole lot this week, therefore everyone is on their own for Sunday dinner.

Any body else enjoying a simple Sunday? What a wonderful way to start the week off.

Sew Fun

 12 pounds of Lima/Butter beans done!

 Along with 12 pounds of sweet peas

 Mommy picked Kara up early yesterday leaving me with some free time. I coulda, shoulda worked on some of the many UFOs hanging around but instead I pulled out some scraps to give a cathedral pin cushion a try.

 Didn't have time to finish the third one last night, once I get the stuffing finished and the button added I think it will be my favorite.

How cute are these? Don't they look super hard? Don't you think I am just oozing with talent? Ha. I made these guys up in less than an hour, I kid you not!!!! Check out this tutorial at Moda's Bake Shop they are sew easy, the instructions are great

Wouldn't these pin cushions make cute little gifts for your sewing pals? I super happy with how they turned out, fast, easy, cute, and using all scraps. I will for sure be making more of these. That is after I finish at least one UFO!!!!

Cool air is soon to be back in the house!!! Thank goodness! Hubby and I both really wanted to go with a local  small company that has taken a beating during this downturn in the economy. Unfortunately his bid was $1,000.00 more than the big boys :( We were honest with him in letting him know we really did want to give him the contract but $1,000.00 was just too big a price difference for our pocket. After he made some calls, reworked his proposal, he let us know if we wait until after September the first he could bring the price down by $960.00 due to new rebates that will be coming up. HECK yes we can wait. I have been without downstairs central air since July 10, a few more weeks will be just fine. Well just fine is an overstatement as it's hot as HELL right now but I will survive. Grand total.....$16,532.00 OUCH!!! We will get back $2,600.00 in rebates two to four weeks after the installation which helps a lot.

Before DD#3 married her hubby who is a plumber we used the above company for a few odd plumbing jobs. They have always been prompt, friendly, courteous, and reasonably priced, of course local is a big selling point for us as well. How can you not want to go with a company that has the following printed right on their business cards

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, and not for men. Col 3:23

SOLD!!! You got the bid, I am done looking around. Somebody hand me a big glass of ice tea, and a cold rag to keep on my neck, two weeks seems like a long time! Ha

Off to reload the dehydrator for the day, shower before Kara arrives, run AJ the beagle out of the bed so I can get our room in order before going downstairs to face the heat.

12 Pounds of Corn

 Dehydrated veggies from the garden or frozen veggies on sale at the grocery can save you a whole heck of a lot of money. Another way to cut down on cost is to recycle glass jars. We like and use this brand of spaghetti sauce. The empty jars along with small canning lids and rings work perfect for storing dehydrated foods. NEVER EVER use this sort of jar to water bath or pressure can !!!!

 You should NEVER reuse lids to can with!!!!! But.......they are just fine to use on dehydrated food jars. I put a big X in permanent maker on used lids. I don't trust myself to remember whats used and whats new. Seems silly to throw away the lids that can be used for lots of other things

 Here is one of the cool things about the Excalibur dehydrator. The screens that sit on the trays can be removed and are flexible. Just roll it up, use a funnel and pour right into the jar. No need to use food grade gloves, (more money saved)

 TA DA, Here is what 12 pounds of corn looks like dehydrated. Pretty cool right?

 I dehydrate lots and lots of veggies and herbs.  Most of the time its from the garden but this year I will have to use frozen when I can find a good sale.

 There is lots of chopping, dicing, slicing and blanching when using fresh from the garden food. Frozen food is ready to pop right on the trays, all the work has already been done for you, so easy.

12 pounds of Lima/butter beans are in the dehydrator today/night. Not sure how long this batch will take as I overloaded a few trays, my bad.

So what do you think about my 12 pounds of sweet white corn? If I figured right were are talking a cost of  $7.20. I will see if I can dig up the info on price per pound for frozen(now dehydrated) verses store bought canned veggies. I do know with canned foods the weight includes water that the veggies are packed in. You are also paying extra for the can itself, added salt, sugar, and in some cases preservatives.

 For the most part I store dehydrated things in recycled glass jars but if I have an over abundance of things from the garden I will use the Food Saver bags then restock the jars from those bags. Seeing as how we won't be getting anything extra from the garden this year the food saver won't be needed!

Let me see if I can answer some of the questions that have come up from comments and e-mails regarding dehydrating.

I use the Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator. This gal is a whole lot more costly than anything you will see in the big box or department stores but it is worth every penny. I know its sold on lots of different sites and/or blogs but I figured I would just refer you to the company site. Remember I AM IN NO way affiliated with this company!!!! I have never tried making jerky or dehydrated meat yet, nor do I think I ever will so I can't share any experience with that sort of thing. I have done lots of different fruits with OK success however, I don't care for the texture of most dehydrated fruits. Maybe I am just doing it wrong.

The very best site I have seen on How To dehydrate is "Dehydrate2store" This lady rocks her dehydrator. The recipes I have tried are really good, her video's are wonderful, lots and lots of great information on her site. I am crazy over the top picky about food safety. Tammy the host of dehydrate 2 store is right on track with food safety. AGAIN I AM NOT affiliated with Tammy's site in any way!!!

As we have a glass top stove I can not pressure can anything, dehydrating has solved that problem when putting up low acid foods. I do water bath can on our glass top stove (when the garden doesn't drown) and have had no problems at all. I use the Ball flat bottom stainless steel canner I purchased from "Lehman's". She is a beauty to look at and a real work horse!!! I am being lazy tonight, in order to take a photo of my canner I would have to drag it in from the garage and dust it off. It's too stinkin hot for that (remember no central AC) The Lehman's link will take you right to the one we have. As with many of my kitchen appliances I try and buy the good stuff. Nothing aggravates me more (other than being hot) than paying money for something that only last a year or two. If you have never seen a Lehman's catalog or visited their site you are in for a treat if your into old fashion kitchen gadgets, home remedies, garden stuff, and lots of non electric items.

Well by golly I do believe I have hooked you up with lots of cool sites that will keep you up late tonight!! Ha Before I got into preserving food I spent tons of hours searching sites, books, blogs, any information I could find. While my sister and I grew up around gardens, canning, and preserving food there is a heck of a difference when you are doing the real work and not just hanging on your grandmothers apron strings. I hope you find the sites I have included full of good safe information on food preservation. If your lucky enough to have a garden that is alive and well give preserving a little something for the winter a whirl., Be forewarned it is addicting!!!

JUST so we are very CLEAR, I am in no way connected to any of the sites/products I have linked to this post. The only sponsor I have is my hard working man!

Taking stock

 Since our garden is a tee total bust this year I don't have a thing to put up this summer. We are lucky to even get a few fresh things here and there.  I planned on cleaning out the pantry, freezer, and back pantry today after I made a quick trip to the grocery. Low and behold they were running a managers special today on frozen veggies, BOGO. I jumped all over that deal and might just go back later today once I see where we are on dehydrated food's. Check it out, 40 pound of frozen veggies at a price of $21.92. Works out to $.62 cents a pound. That's a deal too good to pass up.

 After dusting off the dehydrator I got busy working up the corn. Talk about easy peasy work up. Cut off the top of the bag, dump the contents onto the tray's, shove it all in the dehydrator. Then wait.

12 pound of sweet corn loaded in the Excalibur. In 12-14 hours this corn will be preserved for up to 30 years. I try to keep back a years worth everything we like to eat just in case we have a bad year in the garden. Once this load is finished I will store it in glass jars. It is AMAZING how much will fit in the jars after its dehydrated. Check out my very favorite site on dehydrating, dehydrate2store.

I try to stay crazy busy on day's hubby is on the road. I'm not much in the mood for quilting or sewing yet but organizing in the kitchen would do the trick.  How can things get so turned upside down beats me. The kitchen pantry I can understand since one or more of the grands are always digging around looking for a treasure (or leaving one, found a Dora plastic action figure today) The back pantry, freezer, and all the rest is on me! Ha

For those of you new to this blog the reason I dehydrate lots, and lots of veggies is I can't pressure can since I have a glass top stove. PLEASE DO NOT pressure can on a glass top stove even if you have a buddy who is doing it. Not only can you ruin your very expensive stove you could be putting yourself in a dangerous situation. I don't want to fill the freezer with a whole lot of veggies that takes up room I can use for meats I find on sale or from our local farm, and frozen veggies can go bad from freezer burn pretty quickly. Dehydrating has turned out to be just the ticket. They take up very little space and can last a heck of a lot longer than we would ever need.

If you enjoy preserving food from the garden or what you find on sale, grab a cup of tea and enjoy all the video's at dehydrate2store. BTW, I am in NO WAY associated with dehydrate2store or the Excalibur dehydrator. I am just sharing what I have experienced.

Off for now to try and finish up the mess I have made of things. Tomorrow I should be able to share what 12 pounds of corn looks like after being dehydrated.

Money, Money, Money

 38 years ago hubby slipped this ring on my finger. It has stayed right where he placed it for all these years. Never once did I remove it. But as you can see problems began to develop. The swelling I could stand but the pain from the nerve damage it was causing had gotten to be too much.

 Yesterday hubby and I went to a jeweler to have it removed. Ouch, it was pretty painful but the pain in my heart was the worst.

 I'm not a jewelery person at all. My watch and this wedding band is all I have ever needed or wanted. That ring is was so much more than just a ring. The swelling should go down in a few days but I hope I will have this indention in my finger forever.

 

My poor sweet hubby, if all these workmen throwing estimates at us is not enough he had to put up with my melt down yesterday over my wedding band. He said and did everything right, go figure!! Ha. Yesterday just wasn't a good day. I think I have drained out all of the tears for now (I hope) Once my Dr. gives the OK I will have the ring resized and have hubby put it back on where it belongs.

 

Today was another day of getting prices on where all that hard earned and saved money will be going. Windows......We have 22 windows, not all of them need to be replaced. The back of the house is in really good shape but the front and side windows have taken a beating from all this southern weather. Hubby wants to replace everything, I am OK with just the 12 that must be taken care of. Thus far we are looking at $800.00 per window, the price could go up if they run into any wood rot. Hopefully we doing the updates before the wood rot has set in. At the minuman we are looking at $10,000.00 for the windows that must be replaced $18,000.00 to take care of everything. UGHHHHH

 

We still have a few more estimates to come in for windows but I figure they will all be in the same ball park. Holy cow. The totals are adding up fast and we haven't even gotten started. As everyone knows there are always some expensive surprises along the way when you working with an older home. Our goal is to have all the bids in by the end of the month so we can get the work started in September. Roofers are next on the list.

 

As is normally the case, Hubby has been called back to the project early :( He will be on the road first thing in the morning. Dog gone it!!! I am thankful he was at least able to be around to talk with the men giving us bids for the AC units. I don't have a clue when it comes to anything involving electricity. We were also able to get my car into the shop for the repairs that will thankfully be covered by the warranty. One funny thing in regards to that. The dealer put me in the same model as I already have but the NEW improved 2014. Lots of talking with me over going ahead and trading up to the NEW 2014!! Ha, dream on, we are doing home repair's. I will drive the car I have until she hits 250,000 miles or more.

 

Now to finish packing hubby up for his long trip back. We know more now than we did last week as far as what we are going to have to pull from savings. We have had the time to talk over the brands and companies we both feel most comfortable with. The most important of all he has had time to visit with the grands and big kids.

 

Sweet little Mason man told his mommy last night when she tucked him in "Nanny and Papaw, love you" Ya, more tears. Oh how we love what God has seen fit to bless us with.

A Time to Save and a Time to Spend

 And the summer of break downs continue. Crock pot  knob broke off when I lifted the lid yesterday. New pot will run just under $40.00. Hubby thinks he can replace the knob with another for next to nothing,. Sure hope so!!

 Having some help in the kitchen from Kara with preparations for Sunday dinner was nice . Not really, ha but sure is fun to have a cute little helper who is intent on mixing.

 All the grands hitched a ride with Papaw for a Sunday drive

 Karsyn waiting patiently for a turn with Papaw on the tractor

 Ditto for Kara

Hubby decided it was time for Tyler to learn how to drive on his own. I totally disagree!!! Tyler just turned 7, HELLO!!! Of course the blade is never engaged when the grands are around but still. Even with Daddy on one side and papaw on the other as Tyler learned the ropes, this Nanny  was not happy!!

We have had AC companies in and out for most of this pouring down rainy day. The prices are ranging from $13,500.00-$10,000.00 OUCH!!!!! We still have one more company (my favorite) that has to get back to us on a price quote.  You gotta do what you gotta do, having air conditioning and heat are must do's. Knowing that much money will be spent in one shot kills me. We don't keep such a large amount of money in our EF account, gonna have to dig into the long term savings :(

We have window contractors and roofers still to deal with as far as estimates then picking which one seems like a good fit for us. Once we know what we are looking to spend it will be time to load up the checking account and start writing checks. SO DEPRESSING. We figure all the other smaller ticket items that have bit the dust this month should come in just under $3,000.00. Some things can wait others can not.

We saved all this money one step at a time, day by day, month by month. I am just going to have to put a smile on my face and keep on keeping on. We will build it all back the same way as before, little by little day by day. I need chocolate. Wonder if I have a coupon for that!!