The Back Garden in October

 

The Back Garden

I thought I'll do a quick tour of the back garden as it looks at the end of October.

Seedlings in the Raised Bed

The seeds that daughter and M planted in her raised bed are starting to sprout.  Arugala at the top end, kale at the bottom.  The branches and trellis on the top are meant to keep the garden cats out.  They have a tendency to treat the garden plants as lounging areas or worse!  

Moo on a Bed of Irises

The garden is mostly brown and dusty, but, here and there, we have some color:

Hibiscus

Rose

Gazania

Parts of the garden are dry and brown.  Other areas are quite overgrown with weeds.  M is slowly making his way around the garden, weeding and tidying, but, it's a slow process.

Roses and Gazanias Among the Weeds

There are flowers on the calamondin tree:

Calamondin Flowers

They are a type of citrus and the flowers are very fragrant:

More Calamondin Flowers

The avocado plant, which had looked more dead than alive during the summer, seems to have recovered a little:

New Leaves on the Avocado Plant

The nectarine tree, which was covered in flowers in the spring, disappointed us by producing just one fruit, this summer, but, it's one of the few trees in my garden that has leaves that change color:

Nectarine Leaves Turning Color

I hope you enjoyed the quick tour of the back garden in October.  

On Sunday

 

Plant Picks

Daughter made the two plant picks above, with polymer clay, for her new raised bed that she and M planted with kale and arugula.  

Daughter's Raised Bed

.  

We set up the raised bed in the middle of the corn patch as most of the first planting of corn had finished producing, it is close to the backdoor for easy watering, and the wire mesh fencing deters the garden cats from going in the raised bed.  Daughter and M planted kale seeds on one side and the arugula seeds on the other side.  We are looking forward to harvesting the leaves over the winter.

On Sunday, daughter had a day out with several of her friends, doing escape rooms and having lunch out.  Her friends picked her up and dropped her off so I didn't have to drive her anywhere.

I spent a quiet, relaxed day at home with Dancer.  The only productive thing I did was a load of laundry.  The rest of the day, I watched videos, called my aunt C and cousin N for a chat, and did a crafts project.  I took a short nap, too, which was very nice.

After daughter came home, we chatted a bit, catching up on each other's day, and had leftovers for dinner.  She is now doing one of her cross-stitch projects while I write my blog post.

On Sunday, I am grateful for:

- Daughter had a fun day with her friends
- I had a relaxed day at home
- Being able to chat with my aunt and cousin
- Time to craft
- A sunny day

Sunday's joyful activity was crafting.

Plans for Monday include waiting for the technician from the gas company to do a safety check on the furnace (any time between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.), taking the trash cans out to the curb, watering the back garden, watering the indoor plants, putting away laundry, and meal planning.  

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday? 

More Groceries

I ordered and picked up more groceries today. from the supermarket.  They had some good deals this week, including chicken for $0.99/lb. and a dozen eggs for $1.99 on Saturday and Sunday only.  I waited until Saturday to order the groceries, in order to get the eggs at that price.  Unfortunately, the eggs were not available when I ordered the groceries!  By the time I was getting ready to pick up the groceries, the store texted me that the tray of chicken thighs I had ordered wasn't available, either.  They offered to substitute a more expensive variety of chicken, at a higher price, but, I declined. * 

Edited to add: When I came home, daughter unpacked and put away the groceries for me, and, apparently, the store had included a package of the more expensive chicken without charging me!  I'm not sure what was going on, but, I'm not complaining!

No pictures today, because daughter started to put away the groceries almost as soon as she had helped me to bring them in.  But, here is the receipt:

---

Order Summary

Original Item Total$96.94

Item Coupons/Sales-$24.64

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.40

Sales Tax+$1.17

Order Total$73.87

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Item Details

28 Items

Bauducco® Chocolate Wafer Cookies, 5 oz$3.00

3 x $1.00 $1.59 each

(the store substituted 1 package of vanilla wafer cookies)

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

CA Redem Val$0.10

1 x $0.10 each

Fancy Feast Gems Pate Cat Food Mousse With Chicken and a Halo of Savory Gravy Cat Food, 2 oz / 2 ct$4.00

2 x $2.00 $2.49 each

(Non-grocery item; will deduct from total)

Farmer John Maple Pork Sausage Links, 8 oz$4.98

2 x $2.49 $2.59 each

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$1.97

2.86 lbs x $0.68 each (approx.)

Fresh Strawberries – 1 LB Clamshell, 1 lb$2.49

1 x $2.49 $3.99 each

Kroger® Butter Sticks, 16 oz$14.95

5 x $2.99 $4.79 each (approx.)

(Stock up price; I bought the maximum allowed, which was 5 in preparation for holiday baking)

Kroger® Half and Half Quart, 1 qt$3.69

1 x $3.69 each

Kroger® Original Saltines Crackers, 16 oz$2.19

1 x $2.19 each

Kroger® Plain Bagels, 6 ct / 18 oz$2.79

1 x $2.79 each

Kroger® Traditional Favorites Frozen Peas Green, 12 oz$1.50

1 x $1.50 each

Kroger® White Sandwich Bread, 20 oz$1.99

1 x $1.99 each

Nestle La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 oz$4.98

2 x $2.49 $3.69 each

Ralphs® Vitamin D Whole Milk Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$2.99

1 x $2.99 each

Simply® Pulp Free Orange Juice Bottle, 46 fl oz$3.50

1 x $3.50 $5.29 each

Smart Way™ Granulated Sugar, 10 lb$7.99

1 x $7.99 each

Sparkling Ice Lemonade Variety Pack, 12 ct / 17 fl oz$7.99

1 x $7.99 $14.99 each

---

Other Fees

$0.40

Bag Fee$0.40

4 x $0.10 each

---

I paid a total of $73.87.  

Of which, $4 was for Dancer's cat food, which is not included in my grocery budget.

My groceries, CA redemption value (bottle deposits), and sales tax came to $69.87

My October Budget = $250

Spent to date = $165.04 + $69.87 = $234.91

Balance left = $15.09

I honestly don't think I'll need to buy any more groceries during the rest of this month, but, I'm glad to have $15 left in the budget, just in case I do want to pick something up, next week!  If not, that $15 will be added to November's budget.  I'm sure it will come in handy when shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping and budget?  Are you finding that the advertised specials seem to run out before you can get to the store?

On Friday

The Front Garden in October

Another View of the Front Garden in October

On Friday, our high was 81F.  

Dancer had an appointment at the vet clinic for his monthly arthritis injection in the afternoon.  I gave him his sedative an hour before we had to leave and this time, daughter accompanied us as she had the day off from work.  She sat in the back seat with him in the carrier, petting him through the opening on the top of the carrier and that kept him calm during the journey both to the clinic and back.  There were no accidents or mishaps going or coming, which was lovely!  

After we came home, I made French toast for our brunch, vacuumed the bedrooms, and did a load of laundry.  

Later in the evening, M arrived to tend to the garden and he watered both the front garden and the back.  One of his other clients had given him some fruit and a freshly baked loaf of bread that was still warm from the oven; he shared some of the fruit (a guava, a dragon fruit, and a pomegranate) and half the loaf of bread with us, which was very generous of him.  

We had a very relaxed evening.  Daughter did some cross-stitching and played the piano, I watched some videos, the news, and a couple of the news programs I like to watch.  

For dinner, I heated some of the frozen parathas I had bought on Thursday and we had them with chicken curry.  I had chocolates for dessert; I don't think daughter had any dessert.

On Friday, I am grateful for:

- Access to vet care for Dancer
- Daughter was able to accompany us to the vet clinic and keep Dancer calm
- A drama free trip to the vet clinic and back
- M sharing what he received from another client and his help with the garden
- Working appliances

Friday's joyful activity was tending to the garden.

Oh, and the past couple of nights, we've had a new visitor to the back garden:

A New Night Visitor

Meet Blossom!  I was going to call it Flower after the skunk in Bambi, but, I don't want to infringe on any copyrights!

Blossom

Apparently, my backyard is an urban wildlife sanctuary!  Who knew?

October Grocery Shopping - Week 3

 

Groceries (October 23)

On Thursday, I went grocery shopping at the Armenian grocery store.

I bought some bread rolls ($4.29), a 5 lb. bag of russet potatoes ($1.49), yams ($0.69/lb), and a package of frozen parathas (a type of flat bread; 30 for $10.99):

Bread Rolls, Potatoes, Yams, Frozen Parathas

I bought a few vegetables: Green Beans ($1.49/lb.), Persian cucumbers ($1.29/lb.) and Brown onions ($0.50/lb.)

Green Beans, Persian Cucumbers, Brown Onions

Lots of fruit plus two cans of coconut water (@$1.19 + $0.05 deposit):

Bartlett Pears ($0.69/lb.), Honey Crisp Apples $0.69/lb.)
Pomegranates ($0.99/lb.), Fuyu Persimmons ($1.99/lb.),
Hachiya Persimmons ($1.99/lb.), Satsuma Tangerines ($0.99/lb.)

And, finally, I bought some beef; three pieces of chuck steak at $5.99/lb:

Beef Chuck Roll Steak

My total came to $43.27:

Receipt

My October grocery budget (for food only) = $250

Spent to date = $121.77 + $43.27 = $165.04

Balance left = $84.96

I am still planning to order and pick up some groceries from the supermarket this weekend to take advantage of their weekend only specials.

As always, I am grateful for the availability of a variety of food, for weekly specials, and being able to purchase the groceries I want.

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping and budget so far in October?

On Wednesday

 

Succulents in the Front Garden

Wednesday was sunny with a high of 75F.  Daughter woke up early with a migraine headache.  I woke up with her, but, went back to sleep a little longer as I had had only 3 hours of sleep.

On Wednesday morning, the latest batch of 15 bags/boxes of donations were picked up.  That makes a total of 45 bags/boxes of donations picked up in one month (15 bags on September 22, 15 bags on October 13, and 15 bags on October 22; they will only pick up 15 bags or boxes at a time).  However, they had declined to take three decorative cookie tins, so I brought them in, again.  I will put them in the recycling bin, I guess.  I still have another 6 or 7 bags of items to be donated, but, I'll wait until I have another 5 or 6 bags collected before I schedule another pick up.  Things are definitely leaving this house!  

In the afternoon, I went for my consultation with the oral surgeon.  Daughter had already requested time off to accompany me and she claimed her headache was better, so she went with me.  I think the consultation went well and the oral surgeon was very receptive to my concerns.  He will confer with the prosthodontist and we will take it from there.

We picked up some fried rice from our favorite neighborhood That food place on the way home, although there was plenty of food at home.  We wanted to do our bit to support our local restaurants.  We were sad to see that their menu has shrunk, as a cost cutting measure, I suppose, but, we're glad that they are still in business.  

We enjoyed our fried rice and I did some vacuuming.  Afterwards, I felt tired and took a nap!  Daughter took a nap, too, as her headache, while better, was still lingering.

Daughter and I had a relaxed evening and I caught up on a few blogs.  There was leftover fried rice for dinner, which was nice.  

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter was able to accompany me to the dental appointment even with her headache
- The consultation went well and the oral surgeon was very receptive to my concerns
- A safe drive to the dental office and back
- Being able to pick up some Thai food on the way home
- Donations being picked up

My joyful activity on Wednesday was taking a nap!

Plans for Thursday include a trip to the grocery store to pick up some fruit and vegetables; more vacuuming, and perhaps a load of laundry, as well.  I also need to catch up on another couple of blogs as I've fallen behind with my blog reading and commenting!

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

October Meal Planning: Week 3 Review and Week 4 Options

Salad, Pork Chop, Savory Rice and Green Peas

These were my meal plan options for October Week 3:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice✔; Cold cuts sandwiches✔, Pancakes or Waffles with leftover chicken curry gravy and/or bacon and syrup/blueberry compote; Drop biscuits with butter and chives✔; leftovers from dinners✔

Dinners:  Rice, chicken curry, sauteed moringa leaves, okra, and tomato chutney✔. Pork chops with rice or pasta and vegetables✔, Baguettes with chicken curry; String-hoppers (indiappa) with chicken curry, dhal, and seeni sambol, Mac & Cheese with tuna pulled pork and salad, Soup (?); Leftovers✔

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit (pomegranate from the garden, tangerines, a couple of apples)✔, Sri Lankan sweets and snacks✔, Japanese snacks; cake, maybe an apple or peach pie?

On Tuesday, I picked up an order of groceries; on Wednesday, we stopped at the French bakery and picked up a baguette and some snacks from the Japanese store, as well; on Saturday, neighbor S brought us leftovers from her daughter's birthday dinner - a container of pulled pork, several slices of beef tri tip, and a piece of birthday cake!

So, here is how the week's meals worked out:

Monday:

Brunch:  Scrambled egg and toast; orange juice

Dinner:  Leftovers from previous dinners (daughter); cold cuts sandwich (me)

Snacks/Desserts: Tangerines, Sri Lankan sweets, Cuban pastries

Tuesday:

Brunch: I skipped brunch as I wasn't hungry; daughter had leftovers

Dinner:  Chive drop biscuits with butter and/or cold cuts (me); chive biscuits and rice and curries (daughter)

Snacks/Desserts: Chive biscuits, almonds, banana

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Chive biscuits with beef cold cuts (me) or with chicken curry (daughter)

Chive Drop Biscuits with Cold Cuts

Dinner:  Baguette sandwiched with chicken curry

Snacks/Desserts: Japanese snacks; strawberry matcha ice tea (daughter), bananas

Japanese Snacks

Thursday:

Brunch:  Cold cuts sandwiches

Dinner:  Pork chops with boxed wild rice mix cooked with green peas; side salad 

(half way through cooking the rice mix in the rice cooker, I added a handful of frozen green peas and two of the already cooked pork chops into the rice) 

Snacks/Desserts: Bananas, peanut butter and peach jam on crackers (me), Japanese snacks; Sri Lankan sesame candy

Friday:

Brunch:  Chive biscuits (me); the last guava pastry (daughter); orange juice

Dinner:  Indiappa or string-hoppers, chicken curry, dhal, seeni sambol (from a jar)

I didn't take a picture of the dinner, but, it was the first time I've tried dehydrated "instant" string-hoppers from a box and I was quite impressed.  You immerse the dehydrated string-hoppers in boiling water, leave for 3 minutes, leave to drain for 15 minutes (which was a little too long in my opinion as they were cold by then) and they are ready to eat!  Much easier than making from scratch!

Dehydrated Stringhoppers

Snacks/Desserts:  Cheese crackers, sesame candy, tangerines

Saturday:

Brunch: Cuban pastries (potato balls and meat pies - daughter, at her friend's place); the last chive biscuit with beef cold cuts (me) 

Dinner:  Leftovers from Thursday's dinner; samples of the tri-tip roast beef (delicious) and pulled pork (a bit too sweet for me), both compliments of neighbor S

Snacks/Desserts: Cake (compliments of neighbor S)

Sunday:

Brunch:  Leftovers from Thursday's dinner

Dinner:  Boxed mac and cheese with pulled pork (daughter) or without (me)

Snacks/Desserts: Leftover cake

Well, I went off the plan a few times, especially where the dinners were concerned, but, I am okay with that.  

Moving on to October Week 4 (10/20 - 10/26), here are my meal plan options:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice (Monday - this seems to be a regular Monday brunch, lately); Cold cuts sandwiches; Boiled mung beans;  Pancakes/waffles/French toast; Cereal and milk; leftovers from dinners

Dinners:  Rice, chicken curry, sauteed green beans, okra, and tomato chutney,  Pulled pork with rice or  potatoes or pasta; Salad;  Stringhoppers with fish curry and seeni sambol; Ramen soup noodles; Leftovers/Planned-overs 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit (need to buy more fresh fruit); sauteed apples (apple slices cooked in a bit of butter with sugar and cinnamon); smoothies made with frozen fruit; crackers; granola bars; cereal and milk; maybe bread pudding?

Of course, there's a possibility that I might go off the plan, too.  

Once again, I am grateful I am able to have a variety of food available from which to meal plan and for generous neighbors who share food with me.  

Are you making a meal plan this week?