Starting May

 

Jacaranda Tree in Bloom

The merry month of May as some refer to it.  I celebrated the start of a new month with milkrice and seeni sambol for brunch and a delivery of groceries.  M was unable to tend to the garden as he got delayed at another client's house and he called and asked if he could do my garden on Saturday, instead, and I said yes.  Daughter tidied up the family room and I baked two of the frozen pot pies and a bread pudding for our dinner and dessert.

On Saturday, M tended to the back garden, tidying it up, planting some cucumber seedlings he shared with us, and watering.  I watered the front garden.  

Later, I tidied up the dining area and I sorted through one of the kitchen cabinets.  I have decided that the kitchen will be my "room of the month" in May.  The cabinet I sorted through is where I store my stand mixer and crock pot, plus a basket with extra kitchen supplies such as parchment paper, cling wrap, sandwich bags, and sponges, etc.  I took the opportunity to update the list of extra supplies I keep taped to the inside of one of the cabinet doors.  I plan to sort out the divided drawer above that cabinet. next. I keep things like the currently in use box of foil, cling wrap, and sandwich bags in one side of that drawer and the other side is my "all purpose a.k.a. junk" drawer.  It's been a while since I last sorted through it.

In the afternoon, the phone company technicians were here to install an upgrade to our internet service. Our neighborhood just received high speed internet as our current internet services are being phased out.  We are hoping that this upgrade will enable my daughter to participate in work meetings from the spare bedroom rather than the family room and/or dining area which is what she has been doing.  If the reception is good enough in the spare bedroom, we have plans to turn that room into a home office for her.  Then, she can close the door and do her work without being disturbed by me doing housework or cooking, etc.  Currently, I do mostly quiet activities while she'sworking because I don't want to make any noise and disturb her.  Of course, that will mean I will no longer have any excuses for not doing housework!  LOL.  

Brunch was leftover milkrice and seeni sambol.  For dinner, I cooked a chicken curry (and daughter put the rice to boil).  We had rice, chicken curry, kale mallung, broccoli, and sauteed cabbage for dinner and bread pudding for dessert.

Looking ahead, I have a dental appointment, some lab tests to be done, and an appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner scheduled for this month.  

At the start of May, I am grateful for:

- My daughter's help with all the work involved in switching over to a new internet service
- Helpful technicians
- M's help with the garden
- Water for the garden
- Working appliances

Joyful activities have included piecing my quilt top, gardening, spending time with my daughter, and watching videos.

What are your plans for May?

April Groceries - Part 4

April Groceries Part 4

I ordered the last lot of April groceries on Thursday, April 30 and they were delivered on Friday, May 1.  But, that's okay, because I'm thinking of this week as the last week in April, as far as the grocery budget is concerned.

My last grocery shopping delivery was on April 17.  I had planned to get a grocery delivery on April 24, too, but, didn't feel the need to and so, didn't.  As a result, I had $89.51 left in my April budget, which felt good.  

Once again, I tried to order things that were on sale with digital and personal coupons.  One or two items I ordered (frozen green peas, regular cucumber) weren't available, but, I had specified substitutions (store brand frozen mixed vegetables for the green peas, English cucumber for the regular cucumber) and that worked out well.  The store brand chicken drumsticks and the fresh salmon fillet I ordered weren't available, either, but, I didn't want substitutions.  The dozen extra large eggs were free with a Best Customer coupon!

Here's the receipt:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$93.17

Item Coupons/Sales-$24.58

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.60

Sales Tax+$1.23

Order Total$70.42

---

Item Details

43 Items

Broccoli Bunch, 1 ct$2.99

1.2 lbs x $2.49 each (approx.)

CA Redem Val$0.60

12 x $0.05 each (approx.) (on the sparkling water)

English Cucumber, 1 ct$0.85

1 x $0.85 $1.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.40

Fleischmann's® Original ActiveDry Yeast, 3 ct / 0.25 oz$4.98

2 x $2.49 each

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$1.93

2.79 lbs x $0.69 each (approx.)

Kraft Classic Catalina French Salad Dressing, 16 fo$5.98

2 x $2.99 $4.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Kroger® 80/20 Ground Beef Tray 1 LB, 1 lb$5.39

1 x $5.39 $8.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$3.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.60

Kroger® Cage Free Extra Large Grade AA White Eggs, 12 ct$0.00

1 x $0.00 $2.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.99

Kroger® Frozen Super Sweet Corn, 12 oz$1.50

1 x $1.50 each

Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$5.79

1 x $5.79 each

Kroger® Meal Ready Sides Frozen Vegetables Mixed, 12 oz$1.00

1 x $1.00 $1.50 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.50

Kroger® Pink Lady® Apples – 3 Pound Bag, 3 lb$3.99

1 x $3.99 each

Kroger® White Sandwich Bread, 20 oz$1.49

1 x $1.49 $1.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.50

Kroger® Whole Vitamin D Milk 32 fl. oz. Bottle, 1 qt$2.49

1 x $2.49 each

Mountain High™ Plain Yogurt Tub, 32 oz$4.04

1 x $4.04 $4.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.95

Pearl Milling Company Syrup Original, 24 fl oz$3.49

1 x $3.49 $5.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.50

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Smart Way™ Granulated Sugar, 10 lbs$7.99

1 x $7.99 each

Sparkling Ice Zero Sugar Black Raspberry Sparkling Water, 17 fl oz$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Sparkling Ice Zero Sugar Classic Lemonade Sparkling Water, 17 fl oz$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Sparkling Ice Zero Sugar Classic Lemonade Sparkling Water, 17 fl oz$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.66 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.66

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.66

Sparkling Ice® Peach Nectarine Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.66 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.66

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.66

Sparkling Ice® Peach Nectarine Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Sparkling Ice® Pink Grapefruit Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.67

Wrapped Iceberg Lettuce, 1 ct$2.09

1 x $2.09 $2.49 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.40

---

Other Fees

$0.60

Bag Fee$0.60

6 x $0.10 each

---

My total came to $70.42.  I had saved 26% on my original total of $93.17 due to coupons and sales.

My April grocery budget was $250 - $3.70 March overspend = $246.30

Total spent to date = $59.53+ $57.18 + $40.08 + $70.42= $227.21

Balance remaining/carried forward to May = $246.30 - $227.21 = $19.09

I would have spent at least $17 of that balance remaining if I had received the chicken and the salmon I had ordered.  But, since they were out of those two items and I chose not to get substitutes, I can carry the $19 forward into May.  

I am already planning my May grocery list!  I opened a new 10 lb. bag of rice, today, so I want to buy another 10 lb. bag of rice to replace that.  I am out of potatoes (and have been out for a couple of weeks, now), so I'd like to buy another bag of potatoes.  And I would really like to buy more chicken before long!  

How about you?  Do you have a grocery budget?  If so, did you keep to your grocery budget in April?  Did you come under?  Did you go over?  Do you carry over any remaining funds or deduct any overspending from the next month's budget?  Or, do you draw a line after each month and start over with a new budget at the beginning of each month? 

Monthly Photo Challenge - April: Spring

The theme for this month's photo challenge, hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days was "Spring".  Here are the pictures I took for this theme:

Spring is the season fo flowers:

Asian Pear Flowers

Feijoa/Pineapple Guava Flowers

Pomegranate Flowers

California Poppies

Cherry Blossoms

White Lilac

Irises

Spring is also the time for Easter candy:

Easter Cupcakes

Jelly Beans and Robin Eggs

And baby chicks:

Ceramic Chick

And Spring fruit:

Blueberries

Pineberries

Spring can also be these coils of wire:

A Spring on a Ball Point Pen

On a Hair Clip

The Spring for the Garage Door

On a Flashlight/Torch

Thank you, Eileen, for hosting the monthly photo challenge.  I enjoyed participating.

The theme for May is "Cutlery" if anyone wishes to join in.  The rules are simple - a minimum of five, no maximu, must be current photos taken during the month and must be taken by the person posting.  All are welcome to join in.

Errands on Tuesday

Brunch: Boiled Mung Beans and Lunu Miris

On Tuesday, I boiled mung beans for brunch.  I had put the dried mung beans to soak the night before.  In the morning, I rinsed them, covered them with cold water, and boiled them until they were soft, for about 30 minutes, or so.  I ate my serving with a spicy relish of chilies, onions, salt, and lemon juice, called lunu miris.  

In the afternoon, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a medication refill that was ready.  That was my only errand for today.  

I spent the rest of the afternoon sewing on my quilt top and watching videos.  I also put some water to a few of the plants in the back garden, including the newly planted zucchini seedling.  And I brought the trash cans in.  

The new grocery ads were out and I looked through them.  I didn't order any groceries last week so I have the rest of April's grocery budget to spend on this week's groceries.  Prices go into effect on Wednesday.  

For dinner, I took about a third of the ground beef mixture I cooked on Monday and added some frozen corn and frozen green peas and a little ketchup.  We had it with rice:

Dinner: Ground Beef and Vegetable Mixture with Rice

We had apple pie for dessert.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- A sunny day
- The availability of medications
- The car started
- A safe drive to the pharmacy and back
- A relaxed day

Tuesday's joyful activities included spending time sewing and being in the garden.  

Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M.  

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

End of April Meal Plan Options

 

Some Luncheon Menus

Some luncheon menus from one of my cookbooks:

Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book

Additional luncheon menus from the same book:

Additional Luncheon Menus

If you are looking for dinner ideas, here are some simple dinner menus, also from the above book:

Simple Dinner Menus

Last week's meal plan options worked to a certain extent with some tweaking and substitutions.  I cooked pork chops instead of a pork curry and didn't cook the fish curry I had planned to cook, for example.  But, we enjoyed some delicious meals and that's what matters, isn't it? 

Rice, Breaded Shrimp, Broccoli, Chutney

Moving on, here are this week's meal plan options:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs, fried ham, homemade bread (on Monday); boiled mung beans with lunu miris (or sugar); cold cuts sandwiches; fried rice; waffles with bacon and syrup; milkrice and seeni sambol and/or jaggery (on May 1); leftovers

Dinners:  Rice with the last pork chop, carrots, broccoli (daughter; on Monday); rice, breaded shrimp, broccoli, tomato chutney (me; on Monday);  Rice with broccoli and ground beef mixture; Pasta with ground beef mixture and pasta sauce (me) or pesto (daughter); Rice, chicken curry, mallung, and chutney; Leftovers.

I did a bit of meal prep on Monday night, cutting up some vegetables:

Carrots, Onions, Celery (Stalks and Leaves), Broccoli Stalks

Then, I browned one pound of ground beef (from the freezer) and added the vegetables to it:

Ground Beef and Vegetable Mixture

This meal plan might change as the week progresses, of course.

I am grateful for being able to plan for a variety of meals.

Are you making any meal plans this week?

On Sunday

 

No Knead Bread

It was another overcast and cool day on Sunday.  Cool enough that daughter put the heater on for a little bit.  I thought it would be an ideal day for a bit of baking.  So, I mixed up the dough for a loaf of no-knead bread and set it in front of the heater to rise.  I am still using the expired yeast, proofing it each time before I add the yeast to the flour mixture and it has been working quite well.  

While the dough rose, I mended a small hole on a pair of sweatpants, sewed on my hexagon quilt, and watched online videos.  I have misplaced my thimble, which is a bit annoying.  I hope to find it in the next couple of days.

I cleaned out one of the crisper drawers in the fridge and decided to make an apple pie to use up the three apples that were there, one of which was developing a bruised spot.  Daughter cut up the apples and added the sugar and spices to the apples, going a bit heavy on the cinnamon, while I prepared the crust.  Once the bread came out of the oven, I baked the apple pie:

Apple Pie

Brunch was French toast with leftover breakfast sausages.  Dinner was freshly baked no-knead bread with the last of the chicken curry.  For dessert, we had apple pie:

Apple Pie for Dessert

A scoop of ice cream would have been delicious with it, but, I didn't have any ice cream in the freezer and I didn't feel like making any custard, either.  Maybe I'll make some custard on Monday.

After dinner, I ran the dishwasher and watered the indoor plants.  Daughter had watered the back garden earlier in the day.  

On Sunday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter watering the garden for me
- Water for the garden
- Homemade bread and apple pie
- Working appliances
-  A relaxed day

Sunday's joyful activities included sewing and baking.

Plans for Monday includes  some housework, meal planning for the week, taking the trash cans to the curb, and putting away laundry.

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

On Saturday

 

Nasturtiums

There will be no shortage of nasturtium seeds, this year, to plant again, next year!  I am looking forward to scattering them in other parts of the garden to see if they will grow.

Saturday was a cloudy, overcast day. The forecast called for rain showers but we only received a little drizzle which didn't do anything for the garden.  

The white pigeon was gone and since there was no pile of white feathers anywhere, we are hopeful that it flew away, safe and sound.

We had a rather relaxed day on Saturday.  Daughter and I walked outside in the driveway for 10 minutes and then, we strolled around the front garden and the backyard.  She did her laundry and cleaned her bathroom.  I shredded and cooked the kale I had picked yesterday and froze it for later.  

For brunch, I cooked a package of breakfast sausages (from the freezer) and made French toast.  For dinner, I cooked some pork chops(from the freezer), with onions, the rest of the carrots we picked from the garden, some celery from the garden, too, and boiled some frozen corn.  We had some leftover rice with it:

Saturday Dinner

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Walks with my daughter
- Garden produce
- Working appliances
- Good food
- Another relaxed day

Saturday's joyful activities included spending time in the garden with my daughter.

Plans for Sunday include more of the same - time spent in the garden, maybe a load of laundry, maybe some baking.

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