The secret to saving money?

Don't spend it!  This week we really didn't buy much out side of gas and groceries.  The one thing we bought was a water bottle for the youngest at a scout event.  I hate buying bottled water, especially when you can fill your own for free.  We have good water, and really, most bottled water is tap anyways.  If we lived in a large city that might be different, although when I was teenager we did, and my dad just put a filter on.  That was still cheaper than buying bottled water. 

I have come to the conclusion that grocery shopping with a conscience maybe more trouble and money than it is worth.  This maybe because of where I live, or the size of the family, or the amount of time and money I have to spend on it.  Take honey, a fairly basic thing.  I can go to the supermarket and buy a plastic honey bear made who knows where for round about $4.  Or I can get locally produced honey at the local grocer for $8.  Maple syrup is another one.  My hubby is a "food is food" person. He just doesn't care as long as what he buys is edible.  He buys the generic version of Mrs. Butterworth's.  Corn syrup and food coloring, but it's only $3.  Me?  I like maple syrup. Real Maple syrup. Which is $20 for a bottle.  And the bottle is so much SMALLER!  And I have yet to find a locally produced maple syrup. Admittedly, I haven't searched that hard, because, hi! we live in the northwest.  Not known for maple syrup production.   I may just start making fruit syrups, since i have the berry bushes!  That maybe something to do next year.  

Last time I posted I had made my first batches of cordials.  Here is what they look like now.

Everyday the berries get whiter and whiter while the juice gets darker and darker!  And they are just so pretty to look at!  I can't wait til the holidays when they are all done! Yummy! Oh, and the magazine the recipe came out of was Hobby Farm Home, I think last summer.

New things to do!

So I have been picking up a magazine about farming at the grocery store lately.  Last year, I actually managed to successfully grow some of our own veggies, as a project with S2 for Scouts.  I am blessed to have a wonderful friend who does a lot in her yard.  It is amazing!  She has been doing DIY since before there was DIY!  Thanks to her help and support, we had carrots, lettuce, peas, blueberries, and enough strawberries to snack on.  So this year, we did it again.  We didn't have as much variety, and the weather has been bad for food gardening.  We did peas, beans, onions, strawberries, blueberries, and marionberries.  But not enough berries to DO anything with. Our reason for the berry bushes is primarily to make jam.  With 6 people, that's a huge chunk of the groceries every week! 

So, anyways, what to do with our berries?  Back to the magazine.  Last summer, when I had enough berries to throw on french toast, I had picked up an issue that had how to make your own cordials in it.  Sounded yummy.  The best part? With good planning, you only have to buy the vodka!  Now, we didn't do proper planning, and that's okay.  We're working on it. And one of my favorite local stores is making a lot of money off me for 1 gallon glass jars right now!  And they should be ready just at Christmas time!  I like the fact that I can start with growing my own raw ingredients, add a couple of store bought ingredients, and have the whole process go from start to finish in my own yard and kitchen.  And the kids can still help, but they aren't going to be taste testers for this! LOL...one more step in the right direction, I think.