Ingles Trip Update

Here's the lowdown on my recent trip. What we kept (baking powder, tomato sauce, grape jelly, brownie mixes, noodles, pasta, powdered creamers, Chex mix, Ziploc bags, and Puffs tissues) cost me $24. I was paid $73 for the rest of the items, which I sold to a local salvage store. So I profitted $49 from the trip. Definitely worth the time, don't you think?

Another great grocery shopping day today. I don't know if I can ever go back to my old way of shopping again.

~Joan

Valentine Potatoes

This is not a post with a recipe for Valentine potatoes--this is about the potatoes themselves! My youngest son was helping me peel spuds for mashed potatoes for tonight's evening meal. After he peeled the one in the middle, he said, "This must be a Valentine potato. It's heart-shaped." Sure enough, there it was...then we looked in the bag, and the next 3 all were heart-shaped.

Talk about putting a little love in your cooking!

~Joan

Ingles Triple Coupon Grocery Trip

Ingles is probably my least favorite grocery store to shop in. Nothing personal--it's just the truth. They only double up to 50 cent coupons, and you need to spend $10 for every 3 coupons you can use. That is daunting, and usually makes for a not-very-profitable trip.

We needed some basics since we just got home from a nearly week-long trip. I heard through the Bette-grapevine that Ingles was doing triples this week. I nearly missed it! I decided I'd do my stocking up (mostly dairy and meat products) to get my total up, then use as many coupons as possible.

Thank the Lord, my old camera finally arrived home. I didn't realize it until after I took the above picture, however.

Pictured are (with my cost)

4 baking powders 20 cents each

12 boxes of Cap'n Crunch 50 cents each

16 tomato sauce (15 oz.) 38 cents each

2 grape jelly (32 oz.) 28 cents each

4 Betty Crocker Supreme brownie mixes $1 each (for charity desserts)

1 Domino sugar (4 lb.) $1.08

7 Betty Crocker icing tubs 18 cents each

2 No Yolks noodles free

2 Wacky Mac free

8 powdered creamers (my DH's preference) 18 cents each

4 Chex Mix 50 cents each

8 Ziploc bags 80 cents each

8 Puffs facial tissues 23 cents each

16 Manwich sloppy joe and BBQ mix 25 cents each

5 Rotel tomatoes 30 cents each

5 Treasure Cave Bleu cheese 28 cents each

10 Glory honey carrots 13 cents each

12 Minute Rice 52 cents each

The cashier and baggers had a fun time ringing up and bagging my order. The receipt is over 10 feet long...I measured it! I paid 56% of the original price, but that did include a ton of meat and dairy. I'm a happy camper.

All but some of the baking powder, all of the tomato sauce, creamer, Chex Mix, Ziplocs, and tissues are being sold tomorrow. So my total will be even lower! I'll give you a total after I see how much the items sell for. Betcha can't wait!

~Joan

Always Room For One More

Always room for one more! My mom said that so many times after I was married and started my (now) large family. I'm not sure she remembers ever saying it. Buy, boy, oh, boy, does it apply to our family now. Above is a wonderful pic of my children, my sister's children, and...wait! Who is that one non-child on the right? In the back?? The one with the GRAY hair?? Well, it looks like my DH, but I'm sure he wouldn't try to ruin an otherwise great picture.

Think about feeding this bunch for a meal, or two...or eleven. That's what my mother, sister, and I did in PA. I think I would be quite happy cooking morning, noon, and night. But who would do the teaching, shopping, laundry, etc.?? Any volunteers? I didn't think so! I did come back with a couple new recipes. Thanks, Diane!

Check back soon to see the results of my great Ingles triple coupon outing from today.

~Joan

One More Snow Picture

We arrived home last night after spending a few days up north with my parents, sister, and her family.

Above is my DH and youngest daughter as they slid to a stop on a sled. The snow was plentiful and enjoyable, but I'm glad to be home where they just THINK it's cold!

When I was at a store today, the manager commented that he hadn't seen me for a while. I told him I'd been out of town and just got home last night. He said, "you missed all our snow." "All our snow" was a two-flake thick layer in areas that were still in the shade. Up north, "all our snow" is 2 feet thick and doesn't go anywhere!! It was snowing off and on the whole time we were there. I think it's so peaceful to watch. It makes coming in from the cold to a warm kitchen and inviting cooking aromas that much more "homey". It's only 35 degrees here now, but there is no snow.

My DH, two youngest boys, and I stayed in a former barn. The upstairs had been converted into 2 large finished rooms and a bathroom. The door leading up to the stairs hadn't been sealed well. So we all stayed in the room farthest from there. We put a blanket under the door to keep the room we were going to sleep in warmer. It was so cold that night that the water pipes all froze...no toilet, no shower, no sink water in the morning...

We found out later that it had gotten down to -21 that night. Silly me--it only felt like -19. Seriously, though, it was so nice to have a space of our own. Four of my children stayed with my parents and 2 stayed with my sister.

This was possibly the best visit we ever had up there. Yes, it was freezing. Yes, it snowed. Yes, there were 23 of us (at least) in the house at one time. But it was great...good visit, great family.

I love being really useful. My sister had pieced and machine quilted a table runner for herself. She wasn't satisfied because where it wasn't quilted at all it was poofy. So I was able to hand quilt those areas!! I loved doing that. She unquilted my Christmas quilt that I'm un- and requilting. I got a lot of it finished on the drive up there and back. The end is in sight.

~Joan

Snow City, Baby!

We are visiting my family in PA and OH for a few days. The weather is slightly different up here! Emily (R) and Claire (L) were having a big time sledding on my parent's hill. A good time has been had by all.

More later...

~Joan

If Everyone Lit Just One Little Candle...

...what a bright world it would be! Is that how YOU finished the title for this post?


Tonight as supper time approached here at the Parker ranchero, I wasn't hearing any supper-making noises going on. So I decided to start one of my favorite suppers...meat loaf (with Secret Sauce), mashed potatoes, green beans, and home made dinner rolls. While Isaac (9) and I were preparing the meat loaf for the oven, I lit the candle pictured above and placed it on our kitchen table.


There is a light fixture in that part of the kitchen, but it was not turned on. It was very dark over there. There is also a light above the island where we were working, and that adequately illuminated the work area. Isaac asked how such a small candle could light up such a large area. I explained to him that it was because it was so dark where the candle was placed. If we had the same candle in front of us, it wouldn't seem so bright. Gave me much to ponder as I prepared the rest of the meal. BTW, Isaac's first attempt at meat loaf-making turned out wonderfully.


I started thinking back to when women worked by lamp or candle light. The day's work had to be very different! I'd imagine cleaning lamp chimneys and dipping candles were a priority. Life was simpler in many respects when eating and living indoors took up most of one's time. I doubt many people were wondering what to do with all their free time.


Another thought that came to mind was someone's life being a "shining light" for righteousness. My children will sometimes ask questions about ethical matters. I grasp those opportunities to remind them that they should always do the right thing, even if it's not convenient or comfortable. If we are careful about all our small decisions and try to do right, chances are that we won't make big mistakes (at least not consciously/premeditatively). When we hear about someone that got caught doing something wrong that is huge, I will ask the children, "do you think that person ever meant to_____?" I like to think that using real examples of someone's unfortunate decisions will influence them to make good decisions. Please don't burst my bubble if I'm wrong!


~Joan