My daughter and son in law rented a city park for the day so all of the excitement can be let loose in the great outdoors. My contribution to the food will be a macaroni salad, potato salad, and baked beans.
I got a five pound bag of potatoes a couple of weeks ago for .99. The mayonnaise was on sale for 2.00 each with a coupon. The eggs I'll use are the ones I get from the milk man, so they are a bit more of an added cost. A dozen goes for 3.29 and I used eight for the two salads. The baked beans were on sale for 1.67 for a large can. With my senior discount the savings was .07 a can. Since two large cans went into the cart the cost was 3.12 for the pass around dish. I'll add a bit more brown sugar to sweeten them up a bit. The pasta was .49 a box, so I got a good deal on that, too. So a total of approximately 6.50 plus a few stalks of celery and carrots which were also purchased on sale.
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| I had to put the macaroni salad in two containers because there was so much of it.. This turned out super good so I brought some home. |
Let me interject a word of wisdom here. If your celery or carrots become a bit limp while being stored in the refrigerator, place them in a bowl of ice water for about 30 minutes to re - crisp them. The only reason they become limp is the moisture was being drawn out. This stands only if the color is still intact. Brown veggies are rotting veggies.
I started this post on Friday and got side tracked. Today is Monday so I can report that the party went well. All the kids had such fun with water guns and empty water bottles. The day was perfect - weather wise - so the water that soaked their clothes quickly dried them. There's nothing like a gaggle of boys running around acting like boys! The laughter was infectious and so nice to hear.
I didn't realize I could have brought the pup with me if she was on a leash. Next time we go there, I'll do that and let her check out the lake. Who knew there was a large lake tucked in the center of our city.
I like this city, even though I have always preferred a rural setting. The tallest building I have seen is the City Center building which is four or five stories. Needless to say it sticks out like a sore thumb. Our buildings are no more than two stories and the city is sprawled out like a big suburb with lots of green space and beautiful flowers everywhere. Small forests are tucked between housing plats for an added touch of nature.
The city is also clean because residents take great pride in the area. I have seldom seen litter and when I do, I pick it up just like others do.
After I left the party I was close to the Dollar Tree so I stopped in to check things out. I only
bought four items; shelf liner, Lysol wipes, labels, and computer paper. I watched a video where the poster used rubber shelf liner in her refrigerator door to prevent glass bottles in the door shelves from shuffling around when the door was closed. Great idea since my milk comes in glass bottles and resides in the door.
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| My dollar store finds this week. The labels will be used to identify what goes in the clear containers in the refrigerator. The wipes are for the vehicle and the paper is just because I have a 'thing' for good paper. I know I'll find a use for it. |
1. Planted four bean plants. Since the spinach is going to seed, I'll plant more beans when the spinach is pulled out.
2. Washed all of the bedding and scrubbed the bedroom. It's time to wash it again today.
3. Scrubbed the kitchen with home made orange cleaner. I love this concoction on the stainless sinks in the kitchen. It removes the film that accumulates which no one can see.
4. Watched videos on organization.
5. Put back all of the items I had to put up when the carpet cleaning man came to clean the rugs upstairs and in the master bedroom. I let the upstairs wait until I had time to replace things and go through them to sort what I wanted to keep and donate.
6. Did a small grocery haul.
7. Went to dinner with the family.
8. Weeded the garden.
9. Watered the garden on the days it didn't rain.
Other things I can't remember!
Stay safe.
But now I do need an explanation: What does it mean" rented a city park"? Do you have to pay for entering certain areas?
ReplyDeleteAnd what is a senior discount? Is this for all seniors or must you have a special pension book? Yes, when residents take pride
of their area it´s great and it makes life so much more agreable. Your maccaroni salad looks so appetizing with the egg slices
nicely sprinkled with sweet paprika powder, I suppose.
Oh, that Dollar Tree! Must be a real treasure chest. I wish you many more good findings. Greeting from Christel
Our city has a Parks and Recreation center. We have camp grounds, play parks, and pavilions in our parks. The parks are maintained with tax dollars so going to the regular park and play parks has no charge. There are grills and picnic tables under the pavilions. We can rent these for a nominal fee to have a group for a party. The camp ground sites also have a fee attached to them. Boating on the lake is free as is the dog parks and all other activities. I hope this answers your question.
ReplyDeleteA senior discount is offered by the grocery stores one day a week. It is 10% off every item. Since I live in a heavily military area there is another day of the week that military families are offered a 10% discount. I qualify for both discounts.
Yes that is paprika on the salad. Children won't eat it because of the look of the paprika, but adults know it's a treasure.
Thank you for the kind words.
I'll have to try that macaroni salad! We were going to rent park space for a picnic on the Friday before my son's college graduation (too many people for our small house), but now I'm hoping and praying for a vacation rental opening for my side of the family that includes 3BR/2BA and a kitchen. The hotel rates are insane. Just the park/picnic rental is $51. Hotels would run... NOT joking... $1700 for the weekend nights. If I can secure a vacation rental (home), it will be a lot less overall.
ReplyDeleteThe salad is plain and simple. No yuppie ingredients in it! LOL Seeing the price of a hotel, I hope you can find a vacation rental for your family.
DeleteThank you, Angie, again I´ve learned something.We do not have such an 10% arrangement in Germany.But there are so-called "Tafelläden",shops where poor people (and of course pensioners with a very low income) can get a big bag with groceries (dairy products, bread, vegetables etc.) for just one euro once a week. That´s donated by super-markets and
ReplyDeletebakeries.Groceries that are no longer sold because they are not in top condition, but 100% okay. Unfortunately more and more
countries in Europe are confronted with the poverty problem. It was also quite interesting what your reader Elise wrote.
Poverty in this country has risen dramatically, as well. We have food banks to help people in need where the food is free. I believe there is a limit on how many items a family can receive and they are not always the good for you foods. My biggest worry is people not eating. With all of the wealth in the world. no one should go hungry.
ReplyDelete