For any of you who garden or spray your yard or plants with whatever . . not meant to be a debate about organic, non-organic, pesticides or whatever . . if you use it, I’d recommend trying to get it now.
I do spray my garden once a week with Miracle Grow liquid feed so I ordered enough for the vegetables and enough for the flowers and fruit trees for this summer. We had a massive invasion of bag worms in our evergreens last year and we have to spray for them in the spring so we went ahead and ordered what we need to stop them before they create a bag worm commune in our trees again (although they were kinda fun to stop on and squish).
Also, if you’re a canner, you probably never stop looking for lids and jars but also think about pectin and other things that are used in canning and preserving food. Buy what you need when you see it. The days of waiting til the day before the tomatoes are ready to think about buying canning lids are probably over!
With all the shortages, we all need to do our best to stay at least one step ahead of everything. Having said that . . anyone finished with their Christmas shopping yet? 🙂 That was a joke.
During the summer of 2021, Addie was head over heels in love with some kind of dolls. It wasn’t American Girl dolls and these weren’t as expensive but they weren’t cheap. We were in Walmart a couple of weeks before her birthday. I had already bought her birthday present but she saw one of those dolls and she just went nuts. She had ALWAYS wanted that one . . with the purple hair. I told her “I’m not saying yes and I’m not saying no but IF I were to get it, it’s going to be for Christmas!” OK . . that was fine but she informed me that they were hard to get because EVERYONE wanted them and there was that ONE at Walmart so I should get it. Nope . . wasn’t going to do it but I did order it from Amazon, knowing it would come when she wasn’t at our house.
That was probably in July and by October, she hardly had anything to do with dolls. She wasn’t playing with her American Girl dolls, she wasn’t playing with Barbie, she didn’t ask for doll clothes but I had that darned doll so I still wrapped it and put it under the tree.
So . . I’ve learned my lesson about buying too early and definitely about buying fad things that she thinks she HAS to have.
Teri says
I always check for wide mouth lids when I go to Wal-Mart — never with any luck. Will pectin keep?
judy.blog@gmail.com says
It usually has about a year’s “best by” date. If you find it now, it should have a date that extends well past the 2022 fruit season. I have used it past the “best by” date and never had a problem but I’m not recommending it.
Pomona’s Pectin is said to last for quite some time so long as it doesn’t get wet.
Teri says
Thanks! Do you know if it can be tested before adding it? Or is it just a gamble?
judy.blog@gmail.com says
No. I usually use Pomona’s but I always keep a few boxes of regular pectin . . just in case. I’ll usually buy a couple of three packs or two packs and keep it a year after the best by date before tossing it. But I never toss the Pomona’s.
Helen says
If I am making (sewing) for someone for Christmas, I can do that ahead. But my family doesn’t know what they want until closer to the big day. When my girls were little, there would be some things you KNEW they wanted and sometimes you really had to scramble to get them.
Also, as your grandchildren get older, their gifts become more expensive. I try to fill in with cute socks, sweatshirts and their favorite treats.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Yes, and that’s when she will get one or two things instead of a dozen or more little things under the tree. I always hated giving gift cards because, to me, that feels like “I don’t know what you want and don’t want to take the time to figure it out” but she LOVES to shop so I’m thinking gift cards next year – Claire’s, Old Navy, Bath & Body Works, etc. I can walk through the mall in early November and buy gift cards and be done. I’ve already ordered a set of books and it came a couple of days after Christmas. She had no idea what was in the box. Vince said “What’s that?” I just looked at him and Addie said “Probably something for my Christmas for next year!” Yep – I didn’t admit it but that’s what it is.
Donna in KS says
Nosy here! Little House books? I still have that set! Goodness, I still have too many children’s books. There were books the grandchildren took home and others were read when they were here. Some will begin to find new homes at their homes! Also have books about horses on some island off [I believe] the Carolinas. They are like new, didn’t interest our sons nor grandchildren!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
She has the Little House books. She has quite a few book collections because Nicole had a lot of them when she was little and her mom saved them, an aunt or someone in the family gave her some too but this is the collection I ordered for her: https://teddekker.com/products/young-reader-collection-10-book-bundle
Donna in KS says
Thank you! I was not aware of these. They will be good additions to someone’s shelves!
Laura Haynes says
I’m reading Ted Dekker’s Circle series (four books). First one was published in 2005. I can hardly ‘put them down’ (and I’m getting so many scrap blocks sewn while listening). There are interesting parallels to this season of Covid with the threat of a worldwide virus running through the storyline. The fourth book (or series?) won the 2010 INSPY Literary Award for Speculative Fiction. I didn’t even know there was such a category of fiction, but it makes sense. I would suppose that George Owell’s 1984 would also belong in that category. (It’s on my yet-to-read list.)
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Pretty amazing, aren’t they. I need to go back and re-read them now that so much has changed.