It is September, and I am doing Shelftember again. My cooking style is very different than the woman who organizes this, and I include all our household supplies and animal supplies in my grocery budget, but I do like to try to eat as much from our freezers and pantries, and save money at the beginning of all school and co-op and dance and all of that. Plus, we have to buy both snow tires and regular tires for my van. This will give us more cushion for that, too.

Since we belong to that wonderful gleaning club I mention here so often, though, we are still flush with produce. Also, I have a pretty big Fred Meyer reward rebate that we will be using in a couple weeks, which I don't count against our lowered budget. Normally, we spend about $1600 a month on our groceries, including toiletries, paper products, cleaning products, and animal feed/supplies. This month, I have reduced that to $550 and we are eating out of what we have here. With the way prices have gone up, though, I think it will be a little harder to do this year even than it was last year. When I went to the grocery store for my bi-weekly trip, many prices that have been stable for a long time had gone up significantly. Thank God for our gleaning group and friends at the Grocery Outlet.

We have had a few changes this past week. One of those is that the local Orthodox Mission has set up Divine Liturgy twice a month, and the first was yesterday. We were able to join them, and will be going every other week. Rich will still be leading the Anglican Evening Prayer service Sunday nights, so I think we will just be alternating which weekends we go to either the Catholic or Orthodox Church in the morning. It has been the biggest challenge since we have come here not to have a home parish. We love each of these churches, but we miss our own. However, it is beautiful and our boys, especially, love the Orthodox liturgy, and they are so glad to be going. It has been good for our youngest girls, as well. They see the icons and ask about them, and they "read" the history of our faith in them. That has been wonderful. We are always trying to see the great blessings God has given us here in our desert place.

It has been downright cold in the mornings here. I'm trying not to complain, but instead be grateful for our warm house and bed, but it is hard. Also hard is that Alexander finally moved out on his own this weekend. It is time and we are happy for him, but it is hard, too. I imagine, he will find some things harder than he expects, also, because while he won't have to work around nine other people or do dishes for nine other people, he also doesn't have those nine other people doing all the things they do for him here. He's still in town and working here, too, so we will see him; he goes to church with us, and he already plans to be here for some dinners and such, but he is the first to leave the nest.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Blackberry Pancakes (Gluten and dairy-free for Jerome) with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Borschty, Egg Noodles (Gluten-free pasta for Jerome), Sour Cream (Cashew Cream for Jerome), Green Salad, Sliced Peacock Melon
• Monday
  Breakfast: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy (Gluten and dairy free for Jerome), Cantaloupe, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Kofta, Turkish Ezme Salad, Fried Tomatoes, Quick Pilaf, Sliced Watermelon
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Vanilla Yogurt with and Diced Peaches (Strawberry Coconut Milk Yogurt for Jerome), Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lubia Polo with Beef, Persian Salad, Sliced Watermelon
• Wednesday - Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Blueberry Peach Jam on Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Loaded Vegetable Nachos with Salsa and Cheese (Vegan-alternative for Jerome), Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday - Feast of the Parents of the Theotokos, Joachim and Anna
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Peppers, Onions and Corn Chips (Dairy-free Sausage Gravy and Gluten-free Toast for Jerome), Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Leftovers, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Ful, Moroccan Olives, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, Toast (gluten-free for Jerome), Nectarines, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Quesadillas (Faux Cheese for Jerome), Sliced Peppers, Salsa, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Yogurt (Dairy-free for Jerome) and Toast (Gluten-free for Jerome), Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Shared Meal after Vespers

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Menu Plans, Shelftember, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen