marymargaretripley

Food Costs and What We Ate Last Week-July Week 1

Have you ever noticed that food seems to be the biggest monthly expense? It adds up quickly doesn’t it? Part of my goal is to bring our food bills down which will give us more money to do the things we want to do and also re-route some of that money to pay off debt.Continue reading “Food Costs and What We Ate Last Week-July Week 1”

Ripley Victory Garden Week 6

It’s been a while since I last updated but boy has the garden grown! Here are a few shots I took this last week: I also dug up 2 of the raised bed frames and made one large bed that I sectioned into 4 with pallets. I planted buttercup squash, carving pumpkin, pie pumpkins andContinue reading “Ripley Victory Garden Week 6”

Not Impressed with our Debt Back at Week 1

I have two main goals with our money going forward. One obviously will be paying off debt and two is increasing our savings at the same time. For us, savings is more of a way to have money for unexpected repairs and expenses but hopefully we can save above and beyond what I have beenContinue reading “Not Impressed with our Debt Back at Week 1”

Ripley Victory Garden Week 1

Although I have been working in my garden for the past month I am going to label this update as Week 1. Let’s start this series of posts with what a victory garden really is. Copied verbatim from Wikipedia: Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residencesContinue reading “Ripley Victory Garden Week 1”

Not Impressed with Our Debt – Back At It

When I originally designed a plan to pay off our debt I had a steady paycheck. Unfortunately in life things happen to derail our plans and like many during this pandemic I lost my full time job. If you know me personally then you know that I am resilient and weren’t surprised when I jumpedContinue reading “Not Impressed with Our Debt – Back At It”

SAL Fraktur Hex #25

I finished Fraktur Hex! I did it! Such a huge happy dance over here folks! I spent yesterday finishing the last three birds. Before I frame it I want to stitch our initials and date but other than that I am moving on. It has been almost a year and a half and a hugeContinue reading “SAL Fraktur Hex #25”

New Walkway from Old Material

We installed our side walkway in the summer of 2018 and after a couple of years it has settled in and looks like it’s been there forever, which is a good thing! We used the bricks from our old outdoor fireplace that was destroyed by a fallen apple tree and re-purposed them into this walkway.Continue reading “New Walkway from Old Material”

SAL Fraktur Hex #20

I got a little bit more stitched this last three weeks! Here is where I left off: And here is where I am now: I have 1/4 completely finished! Please visit the other stitchers in our SAL. They are doing wonderful pieces. Thank you to Avis for continuing to keep us on track and organizingContinue reading “SAL Fraktur Hex #20”

From Pumpkin to Pie

Another frustrating item missing from the shelves this fall has been pumpkin puree. The kind of pumpkin used in sweet breads, pies and cookies. The shortage is not due to the pandemic but due to the wet growing season last year. While waiting for pumpkin supplies to replenish in the grocery stores I for theContinue reading “From Pumpkin to Pie”

SAL Fraktur Hex #16

I have worked pretty consistently on Fraktur Hex these past three weeks. Here is where I left off last update: And here is where I am now: I got more done on the center and still working on the last corner! Please visit the other stitchers in our SAL. They are doing wonderful pieces. ThankContinue reading “SAL Fraktur Hex #16”