Stock Your Pantry in 52 Weeks

One of the many things that my parents did well was stocking their pantry. They had multiple pantries depending on what they were storing. By the kitchen, there was a hallway closet that held an overflow of canned goods. On the other side of the hallway was another closet that held our coats and boots. There were two overhead shelves that held toiletries.

In the basement, we had a storage room where there stored canned goods, onions that were tied in pantyhose (this kept the onions good for the winter), and sometimes carrots packed in sand in bushel baskets. They didn't do the latter often because eventually the carrots would get soft and we no longer would want to eat them.

At any rate, I saw on Pinterest some plans to stocking your pantry - little by little - throughout a year. Some plans said that you could do this on $5 a week, others said $10 a week. The goal isn't just to amass these items, but use them when you run out of them. Then you would replenish what you use as needed.

It is so convenient to have items on hand when you need them, when there's an emergency (especially when there is no water, which has happened to us multiple times thanks to issues with our well), or when you run out and don't want to make a special trip to the store.

There wasn't one list on Pinterest that seemed to fit our needs, so I looked at a variety of lists and created one just for our family. I may modify it as I go along. When the week's item is purchased, the cost will be added to that line and the week number changed to bold-face and italics.

The items on the list are just the non-perishable ones. I did not do a plan for the freezer (which my parents also did exceptionally well at stocking and keeping track of the items).

Stock Your Pantry in 52 Weeks Plan

Week 1 – 10 gallons of water ($7.80)
Week 2 – 5 cans cream of chicken and/or mushroom soup (I did a combination of both types of soup and chose Campbell's Healthy brand since the sodium level was about 300 mg less than regular soup) ($6.65)
Week 3 – 8 pounds of sugar ($2.84)
Week 4 – 8 cans tomato soup (I already had four cans on hand, so I only purchased 4 more cans of soup) ($2.00)
Week 5 – 6 pounds macaroni ($5.88)
Week 6 – 10 pounds all-purpose flour ($2.36)
Week 7 – 1 pound regular salt; 1 grinder salt; 1 ice cream salt ($3.32)
Week 8 – 7 cans tuna ($10.01)
Week 9 – 1 can vegetable spray and 2 packages taco seasoning mix ($3.46)
Week 10 – 9 packages yeast (the jars of yeast were out because of people stocking up in preparation for Corona virus spreading in the U.S.). Because supplies were also getting low, I got items that we use and didn't want to be without: Dayquil, BC Powder, 4 containers of hot chocolate mix, 3 packages Kleenex, 4 rolls paper towels, 2 boxes cat litter, 1 box dishwasher soap, 12 rolls toilet paper (1 container), 1 bottle vitamins, 1 bottle Vitamin C, 2 bottles aloe vera gel (since anti-bacterial cleanser is out-of-stock now and it recommended to make your own), 2 packages Wet Ones, 3 packages anti-bacterial wipes for cleaning, 32 quarts powdered milk (this was more expensive because powdered milk was out at Walmart due to people stocking up for a potential Corona Virus outbreak in Minnesota), 3 packages of coffee, cleansers with bleach for handles and toilets ($159.21)
Week 11 –  6 jars spaghetti sauce (different varieties) ($11.04)
Week 12 – 1 box rice, 1 package Lysol wipes, 3 packages paper towels, 15 pounds cat litter, 1 container ketchup, 1 soy sauce, and 1 can wasabi peas, 2 Pho bowls, Bisquick, Nestle chocolate drink mix, hand soap, 2 molasses, 1 peanut sauce, 2 cooking oil, 2 drink/punch mix, panko, 2 jars of peanuts, 1 dish soap, 1 plastic wrap, 3 boxes of BC powder, trash bags, pop, 2 bags dog food, 2 Lysol sprays, 1 Clorax toilet bowl cleaner, 1 bottle Vitamin C, beef jerky, Clorax clean ups, 20 quarts of dry milk, 40 pounds of BBQ pellets, baby wipes, facial wipes, toilet paper ($257.48)
Week 13 – 2 bottles Vitamin C, 1 jar Miracle Whip, 1 container cashews, 1 jar dill pickles, creamer,  and 2 packages toilet paper ($76.28)
Week 14 – Peanuts, big bag flour, hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows ($14.69)
Week 15 –  Toiletries (toothpaste, floss, shampoo, conditioner, razors) ($16.49)
Week 16 – 10 cans of beans (variety) ($10.84)
Week 17 – 1 bottle of vitamins ($8.03)
Week 18 – 1 container of oats and 2 containers shortening (free - through food program) 
Week 19 – 5 pounds of rice (variety of types) ($4.92)
Week 20 – 2 containers cooking oil (free - through food program) 
Week 21 – 5 cans of vegetables (e.g., mushrooms) ($7.01)
Week 22 – 2 jars peanut butter (free) and wasabi peas, ($4.43)
Week 23 – 2 jars peanuts, 5 jars spaghetti sauce, and hot chocolate mix ($23.70)
Week 24 – 5 containers of dry soup mix ($5.24)
Week 25 – 5 pounds corn flour (free - we have plenty on hand from a recipe that Olivia made in
                  April)
Week 26 – 2 boxes trash bags (2022 - we have two boxes of trash bags that we acquired in 2021)
Week 27 – 4 pounds sugar (2 each of powdered and brown)
Week 28 – 1 box baking soda and 1 container baking powder
Week 29 – 2 jars salad dressing
Week 30 – 10 jars of homemade canned tomatoes (will do in 2022)
Week 31 – 10 jars homemade pickles (will do in 2022)
Week 32 – 2 jars vinegar  
Week 33 – 2 boxes crackers
Week 34 – 5 jars of honey and 2 jars molasses
Week 35 – 3 bottles of hand sanitizer ($8.91), 2 bags of white sugar ($3.20), chocolate drink mix ($6.98), 2 boxes of cat litter ($16.74)
Week 36 (1st week of September) – 5 cans of soup and 2 jars Miracle Whip
Week 37 – 1 box of laundry detergent and 1 container of water freshener  + 1 box of laundry dryer sheets 2 boxes cereal
Week 38 – Natural cleansers (Thieves, hand soap, dish soap)
Week 39 – 5 cans fruit
Week 40 – 5 cans vegetables
Week 41 – 2 containers pancake syrup
Week 42 – 2 pounds dried fruit (e.g., raisins)
Week 43 - 1 jar each of rose water and orange water
Week 44 – 5 jars of spaghetti sauce
Week 45 – Juices (lemon, lime, apple, grape)
Week 46 – 2 cans cooking spray
Week 47 – 2 boxes stuffing mix and 2 boxes dry potatoes
Week 48 – 5 cans vegetables and 2 containers hot cocoa mix
Week 49 – Condiments (mustard, BBQ sauce, ketchup)
Week 50 – Condiments (soy sauce, parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce)
Week 51 – Snacks (popcorn, granola bars)
Week 52 – Toiletries (toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex)

My Favorite Photos - August 2018

As I look back on August, here are some of my favorite photos. None are artistic shots, rather they represent things I did with others or memories of experiences that stand out for me.

On August 1st, Sophia, Olivia, and I - along with two senior friends, Mary and Art - went to the local county fair. We all did well on the projects we entered. Olivia was especially happy to receive a Grand Champion award for an etching she did and have her work featured in the display box in the creative arts area.

On August 3rd, Sophia and I went on the quilt shop hop bus tour. We visited eight shops in the metro area - each having a specially-designed pattern using Minnesota-theme fabrics. We are standing by the quilt that features all the patterns that were designed by the participating quilt shops throughout Minnesota.

On August 10th, Sophia and I spent time at the humane society doing music and one-on-one therapy with three dogs waiting to be adopted.

The next day, we went to the Minneapolis Farmers Market and got a lot of produce to can and preserve. A quick stop at Wal-Mart to get a few canning supplies, showed us some new animal heads that people could purchase - including this panda head that Olivia put on.

The girls asked to make pickles so we bought a bushel of pickling cucumbers. They washed, scrubbed, and sliced the cucumbers; and put the garlic and slices in the jars.  They put the hot pickling solution in the jars; and I handled the sealing of them as well as transferring them to and from the hot water bath.

By mid-August, the hibiscus flowers were in full bloom. This is a tri-braided hibiscus tree that has yellow, red, and orange flowers. It's beautiful.

One of the rose bushes was doing well and had about a half dozen roses on it.

On August 21st, I took Olivia to target practice for 4-H Shooting Sports. This is the first year that she participated in trap shooting and target practice with a .22 rifle.

The rifle belonged to my dad and my brother inherited it. He let Olivia use it which made the photo below even more meaningful knowing that my dad - at one time - had used the rifle. He never hunted, so I'm not sure why he had the gun.

Building on the garage began during the third week of August. In only a few days, the structure was up which was amazing. There's still a lot of work left to be done on it, but it's coming along.

There was a beautiful rainbow on the night that we came home from Olivia's target practice. This is the view on the road in front of our home.

Looking the other way (to the west), the sun was setting.

The next day, August 22nd, the flowers looked so bright and colorful.

Olivia and I took a pottery class together at a local arts center. During August, she made six bowls and two vases.

I made four bowls, the bread basket (shown below), and started work on four slab bowls or plates.

On August 28th, we went to the State Fair. This year, the girls humored me and stood behind several of the face cut-out displays. The one below is my favorite one.

Olivia did very well with her photograph in the Photography project area in 4-H. She also won a blue ribbon on her presentation about caves and cave exploration.

Sophia gave her presentation on bunions and their surgical removal. She included rather graphic photos of what a bunionectomy looks like. Surprisingly, the more graphic the presentation got, the more people gathered around. I guess people like to look at surgical photos.

 The girls continued to humor me at the State Fair by standing by various sculptures. This one was one that we hadn't seen before. We noticed that the cow and Olivia kind of matched.

We also are starting a special project for Sophia's graduation that will be in May 2019. Olivia is taking photos of Sophia each month and will put them together in a book that both celebrates her senior year and will highlight special things from each month.

One of the highlights of the fair this year was going on the giant Ferris wheel.

Something like 17 semi-trucks come in with the parts to this ride.

They assemble it at the fair.

It's an impressive structure and the views were outstanding - especially when the sun is setting.

So, those were my favorite photos from August. It was a month filled with lots of activities and good memories. It was a great way to wrap up the summer!

Fall Bucket List 2017

This year, I made a Spring Bucket List and an ABC of Summer Fun list. I was able to do quite a few things I wanted to do on the Spring Bucket List and all but two on the ABC of Summer Fun. It's good to set goals so we can make the most out of each day and season.

Below are some things that I would like to do this Fall (both fun and practical things):

- Go to an apple farm and get apples. (Done - September 18, 2017.)

- Seek help from Senator Amy Klobuchar to see why there is a delay with getting Sophia's Certificate of Citizenship (even though she is legal, U.S. citizen) (In progress - letter granting permission for Senator Klobuchar/her staff to work on this issue sent on September 19, 2017. Sent second permission form from Sophia on October 3, 2017.)

- Go to Olivia's oath ceremony so she can get her Certificate of Citizenship.  (Done - September 21, 2017.)

- Make apple pie. (Done - September 25th.)

- Help Sophia with getting the frames off the beehives. Harvest the honey and put it in jars. (Done - September 30th.)

- Take two jewelry classes. (Done - October 19th Sophia, Olivia, and I took a metal-stamping jewelry class; and on October 21st, Sophia and I took a mandala necklace class.)

Olivia's bracelet.

Sophia's necklace.

Sophia making the mandala necklace with beads.

Sophia wearing her mandala necklace on the day of her oath ceremony.

- Participate in the Well Together program and track progress (and hopefully see positive results at the end of the 12-week program). (In progress - Started on September 16th. Have been doing Pilates two times per week, walking the dogs more, doing the Whole30 program, met with a doctor, did blood tests, and met with a nutritionist.)

- Go to Sophia's oath ceremony so she can get her Certificate of Citizenship. (Done - October 26th.)

Sophia taking the oath.

Olivia and Sophia with their certificates of citizenship.

Olivia's ceremony was in September and Sophia's was in October.

- Take photos of the girls in raked-up leaves.

- Go on a fall picnic.

- Go to at least one Fall festival.

- Do a bonfire in the backyard. Get the big pile of wood burned before winter. (Done - on Thanksgiving.)

- Open all the windows, sit under a blanket, and read a book.

- Take a drive to look at fall foliage. (Done - did this weekly from September through October when the bridge between Minnesota and Wisconsin was closed for repairs.)

- Enter an item in the art show at the local center for the arts. (Done - Olivia entered a photo of beach plants that she took. I wanted to enter a photo from Arizona, but couldn't find the disk to print the image. Olivia's photograph is in the "Black & White Art Show" during October and November.)

Olivia's photo that's in the art show. 

The photo I took that I wanted to entered.

It's the roof and bells at a mission church

on a reservation in Arizona.

- Make hot apple cider. (Done - did this many times throughout October while on the Whole30 program. It was my alternative to hot chocolate in the morning.)

- Take a walk with the dogs and enjoy the changing leaves. (Done - did this many times throughout September and October.)

- Go to a pumpkin patch.

- Carve pumpkins.

- Toast pumpkin seeds.

- Bake pumpkin bread.

- Make pumpkin pie.

- Make and can applesauce.

- Try a new soup or stew.

- Make chili using the tomatoes I canned.

- Bake cookies. (Done - made two different types of cookies for Thanksgiving. One was a chocolate cookie with a mint cream filling and the other was a molasses cookie recipe from my Grandma Oliva.)

- Roast marshmallows around the fire. (The fire that we had on Thanksgiving was too large and hot to roast marshmallows.)

- Try rosemaling. (Done - Sophia, Olivia, and I took a class in October. None of us enjoyed doing rosemaling, so we didn't go back for the second class.)

- Do Christmas Prep Days in November and December.

- Celebrate Olivia's Adoption Day. (Done - celebrated it on November 17th.)

- Celebrate Sophia's Adoption Day. (Done - celebrated it on November 26th.)

- Try two new healthy recipes around Thanksgiving.

- Host Thanksgiving dinner. (Done. Enjoyed having here at the farm for Thanksgiving.)

- Make Christmas gifts. (In progress - working on six quilts that my mom started, but never finished.)

- Celebrate St. Nicholas Day. (Done - St. Nick visited during the night of December 5th. We saw what he brought us on December 6th.)

- Read a Christmas book. 

- Watch Christmas movies.

- Listen to Christmas music. (Done - we listen to Christmas music each time we are in the car driving somewhere.)

- Do two sessions per week on the Pilates Reformer machine from September until December. (In progress. Did two sessions per week from the beginning of September through the end of October so far.)

- Attend at least 90% of the Living Well classes that run from October through December. (In progress. Attended 2 out of 3 classes so far.)

- Go to at least one Winter/Christmas festival.

- Write a Winter Bucket List for 2017-2018 by December 21st when Winter begins.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - August 23, 2017

From this Side of the Pond

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts?

Sophia, Olivia, and I went to the Minnesota Zoo for part of the day; and watched the solar eclipse there. As it got closer to the peak of the eclipse, we went outside and enjoyed watching the snow monkeys.

It was cloudy, yet we were still able to see the eclipse.

There was a notable change in the amount of light in the sky (even with the cloud coverage) and the temperature dropped quite a bit. 

This final picture shows the amount of the coverage that was visible in Minnesota.

We were very happy with where we saw it. It was fun to combine a visit to the zoo with the solar eclipse.

Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?

A Sunkist orange would be my ideal snack. Fresh fruit is always refreshing!

2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon?'

One of the things that I'm very happy about and enjoying is trying new recipes using fresh vegetables from the farmers market and CSA.

I made a salad with fresh raspberries, pears, macadamia nuts, and dried cherries. The dressing was homemade - a raspberry vinaigrette with honey.

Sophia made roasted potatoes that were lightly covered with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, and rosemary from the garden.

Something we don't do often is see the Minnesota Twins play at the stadium in downtown Minneapolis. My sister is a nanny for a family who has tickets to the Delta 360 Club.

The seats were off of third base and under an overhang which was nice - so we were in the shade when the sun came out.

We had a great view of the game.

Indoors, there's an air-conditioned lounge with a variety of places to get food. This one had wood-fired pizza which we had. It was very good.

There were cases with Twins memorabilia.

We had a fun afternoon and enjoyed being in the 360 Club. It made that outing even more special.

3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?

Wildlife is something that interests me. I feed that interest by going to the zoo, visiting nature centers, and spending time outdoors - either in the backyard or at state parks.

At zoos, sometimes I am able to observe animals that I have seen in the wild (like black bears) up close and in a safer way.

At other times, the animals bring back memories of ones I've seen when I've traveled - like the kangaroos and wallabies that are at the Minnesota Zoo now.

I learn about how some animals are endangered and what people can do to help save the remaining animals of a particular species.

At a recent visit to the Minnesota Zoo, the girls and I sat down or spent an extended period of time at a few of the animal enclosures so we could watch the animals for more time and see what they do. This grizzly bear was sitting in the shade and watching man-made geysers and water fountains.

We watched the sea otters for a long time and there was one who kept coming right up to the window and looking at us. This is the otter swimming past us cleaning its arm. Another time it found a shell (food) and came swimming by with it - almost as if to show us what it had found.

We watched a morning feeding time in the shark tank. These are all carnivorous fish and aquatic wildlife. Although that stingray looks like it has eyes and a mouth on its underside, the two "eyes" are actually ways that it smells food on the floor of the ocean.

This past year, I was fortunate to be able to also visit two national parks. A highlight was seeing elk at the Grand Canyon.

Olivia and I had never seen elk before, so it was exciting seeing these two eating leaves near the road and then another group of elk with three babies further back in the woods. 

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

A good memory: I remember getting new school supplies and clothes. It was always exciting get a school box that could be filled with new pencils, Elmers paste (when I was very young) or liquid glue (when I was in elementary school), and crayons.

Getting new clothes was also very special because we only got new clothes three times a year: at Christmas, on our birthdays, and when school started. Otherwise, we made do with what we had which was fine. It made getting new clothes - especially for that first week of school - such a joyous time! We couldn't wait to wear our new clothes to school.

A bittersweet memory: I do remember getting a small box of crayons - 24 colors at the most. I wanted to have the 64 crayons, but my parents - who were on a limited income - couldn't afford them. They said 24 colors was a sufficient amount.

Source

It made me sad to see the other kids have the big boxes or crayons with all the colors. I loved to color and used all the crayons in the box they bought for me. I often wondered what I could have created if I had more colors to work with, though.

The smaller box of crayons also reinforced the fact that we were poorer and had limited resources than the other kids did. I didn't notice it when we lived in the inner city. It was only when we moved to the suburbs - a move that my parents made to provide a better life for us kids and them. It was a very good life.

It was just when I was at school that I noticed how much my parents had sacrificed to give our family a nice, safe home on the lake.

It wasn't extravagant or excessively large like homes nowadays. We used all the space and were so grateful for the opportunity to live where we did.

I never mentioned my disappointment to my parents because I knew they were giving us everything they could provide. In my heart, I knew I couldn't - and shouldn't - ask for anything more.

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

Family - because they are with you for the long-term and support you when you need it.

Home - the place I feel most comfortable and want to be.

Nature - a place of inspiration, comfort, and discoveries.

Compassion - an essential character quality for those who are in my life and who I choose to spend time with (in all aspects of my life).

Creativity  - something that sustains and challenges me. 

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

We are in the middle of canning season now. The last time that I did a lot of canning was 2014 and early 2015 - before my mom died. After that, I didn't do much of any food preservation like I had done in the past.

This summer, I resigned from being the leader of the 4-H club I started; and it has freed up a tremendous amount of time for me to do things that I once enjoyed doing - including canning.

This weekend, the girls and I went to the Minneapolis Farmers Market to get a variety of produce to can and freeze.

We were happy to see that we did not miss the cucumber season. They have both been asking for homemade pickles. The last time I made them, the girls enjoyed them so much that we ran out of pickles by December.

This time we bought a bushel of cucumbers of varying sizes. They all needed to be scrubbed, the blossom ends cut off (otherwise the pickles would be soft), sorted by size, and then cut (either slices or in lengths). Both the girls did this part of the canning process.

Sophia stayed to help with putting the dill, cloves or garlic, and vinegar-mixture into the jars. She also helped with putting the lids and bands on the jars.

Putting the jars into the water-bath and taking them out is still my responsibility.

Before and after the pickles, I was working on the stewed tomatoes. My mom used to remove the skin from the tomatoes. I don't do that. I just take out the part of the tomato where the stem grew, cut the tomatoes into chunks, and put them in a big kettle to cook.

When they are done cooking, they are transferred to quart canning jars along with two tablespoons of lemon juice in each jar. Tomatoes take a long time to process in the water-bath - about 45 minutes. So, this is a rather long time-commitment once you start with the tomatoes. (In contrast, the pickles only take about 15 minutes of processing time.)

We made 20 quarts of pickles (kosher dill, polish dill, bread & butter, and a homemade dill); 11 quarts of tomatoes (for chili and goulash); and froze lots of peppers (green, red, and jalapeno) and onions.

Today, I have the remaining bushel of tomatoes to can (probably another 11-12 quarts) as well as peaches (two boxes).