Grocery ponderings and scenes from my scrapbook journal

It's a busy day today! I drove Christopher to his class this morning since I wanted to stop by the Super Target near the college (even though it meant I just had to peruse cooking and decorating books in the library for an hour as I waited on him... how difficult!). :) His CAD class lasts for three hours (or more).

Thankfully, most of the organic products at Target have not gone up much (butter, eggs, and organic Smucker's preserves are the three I purchase the most). They continue to be very close to the price range of non-organics. Otherwise, I just can't afford them and from what I've been reading online, other families are quickly getting to that point, too. I also bought half-half cream and organic lemons that were marked down for quick clearance since they were near their "use by" dates. I made certain at the cash register that they showed up on clearance (having learned long ago that computers sometimes have not been informed of price drops).

I can't stock up much at all this month. I bought six cans of tuna since they had the tuna packed in oil on a huge sale. I read a recommendation recently by a guy who is a tuna fishermen. He said the prices in the store will probably be going up a great deal as the cost of fishing is skyrocketing. He said if we can buy tuna for 65 cents a can... stock up. (That's about how much this was.)

I'm with Julia (Child), the tuna packed in water doesn't have much of a taste if you are using it in a recipe. If the circumstances were different this month, I'd purchase fifteen cans since most of the time they are on sale it is for the water packed tuna. We take life as it comes. :) I also purchased three family size cans of Campbell's veggie beef soup for the pantry. It was on a big discount, too. I prefer making soup from scratch but it is always good to have a back up.

That's about it for stock up this month but I was able to do more than usual the past two months. We'll be using some of our pantry items this month but I'll notice carefully what we use so we can replace it.

I'll continue with Recession Proofing and Stocking Up posts but I'm slipping in these scenes from my scrapbook journal. Next week I'll show how I organize the pictures and such. This has become such a source of joy for me. It gives me a "place to go", where I can write out lists... and prose... and prayers... and Bible verses... all kinds of good things.

I know there are others who have shown their journals but it was Jewels' beautiful pictures that got me started. I miss you, my friend!

Click on each picture to enlarge...

These pages contain favorite Bible verses

These pages were about the Graduation Open House menu
and two recipes that went over very well at the Open House

These two pages have a few different lists...
from my stock up lists to my packing list!

These pages are where I record "Favorite Things"
as I think of them
as well as a few quotes I thought beautiful

Another of my Springtime lists
My Summer Reading List
of which I am quite behind in updating

Just a little tour... a journey so to speak... to inspire you as Jewels' gave inspiration to so many.

Furniture with storage in mind

This picture was taken last year but for new readers...
this is what the outside of the pantry looks like

Top two shelves...
(new picture)

Bottom two shelves
(new picture)

I inherited this old, yellow pantry from my mother-in-law. I love it even if it is more shabby than chic. :) Old things remind me of stability... and roots... things that stay the same in the midst of trials and tribulations. It has been in my husband's family since... forever.

I know it went through the Depression, WWII (perhaps WWI!)... up through today. As I've mentioned before, my brother-in-law has the "twin", which hubby restored to near perfection back in his college days. I prefer this one.

I don't know what I'd do without this old pantry. It holds most of my baking supplies (all of the small stuff), herbs and spices, my mild olive oil (I pour the oil into a smaller decanter on the area of the kitchen counter where I do most of my work), vinegars, etc.


I bought this at Goodwill last year for just a few dollars. It needed minor repairs, which took my husband only a few minutes to make and then it was "vintage perfect". It gives me a lot of storage space in my small kitchen. Oh, that red bookcase I showed yesterday (and you can catch a glimpse of here)... I've mentioned before that it was from my husband's childhood bedroom. I've always loved the color... you'd never guess, right?

Let's see if I remember some questions asked... The jars came from Target, using a a surprise gift card that I was given... what fun! I've stored my flour in food grade plastic containers and in the pretty (vintage reproduction) tins on the red bookcase. My whole wheat flour I've ground is stored in an old Tupperware container in the frig. Although it was brand new and in style when I bought it too many years ago to count. My Tupperware is harvest gold and orange... does that age it?

Right now I have five or six 5-lb. bags of flour in the garage, sitting in a large plastic tub but without a lid. I'm taking a bit of a gamble with mice by doing this but it is on a higher shelf (and I have mice poison on the shelves behind the food). I have a couple of pails of wheat left but I really do need to order more. That won't last long but wheat is now expensive (it used to be so cheap).

I'll chat more about finding places for "stocking up" later but I thought you'd like to see these pictures today. Perhaps they will spark some creative ideas for our own storage. :)

I'm still not feeling well but much better than I was a few days ago. Thank you for the prayers.