Thrifty Thursday

Leftovers.

I know, when we had teenagers in the house, we didn't have a lot of leftovers. When we did have them, it was because whatever I made was just so bad that nobody wanted to eat it.

But now, we find ourselves with leftovers that we can't finish before they go bad. Even worse, when I make them into something new, the something new isn't getting finished before things go bad.  What to do? What to do? 

Enter my giant freezer. I have been making a roast of some type on Saturday night. Sunday finds me taking the leftovers and making them into other things, and then freezing these things into smaller portion sizes that will feed the two of us.  So, when I would have made a 9"x13" pan full of chicken and dumplings, I am now freezing two 8"x8" size pans.  That's enough for us to have dinner, plus leftovers for lunch for a couple of days.

The huge pot of chili?  (I honestly don't know how to make a small pot of chili.) I'm freezing leftovers in quart size containers that we can take out and easily reheat for dinner on a busy night.

But what about the odds and ends of meat? Meat is getting too expensive and needs to be saved up when you have it. I've been taking those weird odds and ends of meat and then tossing the meat into a food saver bag before I suck all the air out of it and toss it in the freezer. I'm not positive what I'm going to end up doing with that meat, but I do know that I just bought myself some time to figure it out.  Pot of soup? Stir Fry?  I will figure that out on the day when I pull it out of the freezer and need to make something with it. 

Believe it or not, this has actually made a huge dent in our bottom line.

Fruit.

I've gotten absolutely obsessive about fruit lately.  I'm making a point of pulling out what I know we can eat and then freezing the rest. I'll have a lot of frozen fruit for my yogurt, muffins, and oatmeal this fall and winter. 

Veggies.

I've been freezing and dehydrating extra veggies as they come in. I'm putting the dehydrated veggies aside for soups this winter.  My goal is to eventually mix them all into the portions I'll use for soup. But for now, I'm saving the veggies in separate bags until I have enough to put together a bag for one pot of soup.

So, what kinds of things are you doing with your leftovers? How are you stretching out your food budget?

Picture Books

This was harder to put together than I thought it would be. These are the covers of my favorite picture books.  All of them are beautiful stories with amazing images that pull the reader into the book.

 

A young girl harvests sweetgrass to make baskets with her grandmother.

 

 

How do you wear a sari? What happens if you put it on your own way?

 

 

Amira doesn't want to miss school for the Eid ceremony because it's picture day.

 

 

 Find out what it takes to harvest the salmon that you eat.

 

 

A mother sings a love song to her baby.

 

 

 

A little girl discovers how wonderful her family is when she talks about their wonderful eyes.

 

 

Help Mel!

 

Noah makes a seal out of sand on the beach.

All images are from worldcat.org

Chapter

I highlight books for older readers on my blog Books for Teens.  I have a few of the books here that I talked about with the kids in 3rd-5th grade. The great thing about chapter books is that they can be enjoyed by older readers as well as read out loud to younger readers. I'm going to attempt a short summary for each of these titles, or else my post would be forever and a day long.  I'm going to highlight the ones that would easily cross over to older readers on my book blog over the next few month.

image: worldcat.org

Fans of Harry Potter will love this book!

Amari Peters finds herself at the Magical Institute studying to be a magician after her brother mysteriously disappears. Convinced that he is alive, Amari looks for clues to her brother's disappearance while studying to be a magician. Shunned by many of the students because of her tremendous power, Amari struggles to find friends that she can trust to help her in her dual quest.

*This is ones of the books I'm having trouble writing only one or two sentences about because I loved the book so much, and there's just so much that I want to say!

image: worldcat.org

 This winner of the 2021 Newberry Award is based upon Korean Folk Lore.

Lily makes a deal with a magical tiger to save her Halmoni. As Lily works to meet the demands of the Tiger, she discovers more about her family's history. An enchanting tale that shows the power of love across generations. 

I'm having trouble containing myself on this post. I'll have a review of the book up on my book blog soon.

 

image: World Cat

 A first person point of view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. This compelling story captures the uncertainty that the residents of the areas around Chernobyl felt in the days and weeks surrounding one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.

 Link to my review on my blog is here: The Black Bird Girls

  

Spending the summer on the reservation with his grandmother means no electricity, no running water, and no video games. But Nathan's summer takes an unexpected turn when he finds a sick water monster on his grandmother's farm. Healing the Water Monster involves a journey that has great risks as well as rewards.

Riley Oh is a non-magical person (Saram) who lives with her parents and adopted sister. Her sister hatches a plan to share her magical powers with Riley. But when the plan goes horribly awry, Riley finds that not everything as it seems, and that she, herself is faced with the task of saving her sister.

From Kate DiCamillo comes this wonderful story of a girl named Beatryce who is being sought by an evil king, for she holds the keys to his ability to remain in power forever.

I have a talk about this book on my book blog here.

I reviewed Charlie Hernandez for my book blog a while back. You can find it here.

 

Unless noted otherwise, these images were taken by me, LibraryNut.

Graphic Novels / Graphic Novel Crossover

I love graphic novels so much! These books tell smart, intelligent stories in an appealing visual format. Many parents complain that these books aren't "real" books.  I would put to you that these books draw kids in, teach them to use context clues for new vocabulary, and encourage critical thinking and making predictions.  How?  Because of the white space.  That space in between the picture panels... it forces readers to make predictions and draw conclusions based upon what they read in the previous panel and what is portrayed in the second panel. Bonus points for increasing reading fluency and enhancing vocabulary.

Not every kid is going to love every book. But in the summer, kids get to choose whatever they want to read. And if that book encourages them to read through 10 or more books in a series and it encourages development of the higher order thinking skills that teachers spend all year teaching - what a great, painless way to reinforce what they just spent the last nine+ months working on!

As a parent, I am a fan of anything that my kids willingly pick up to read. The job of the school is literally to teach my kids how to read and understand what they've read.  MY JOB is the best one - I get to teach them to love reading!

And so, I present to you my favorite Graphic Novels and Graphic Novel Crossovers for this summer! If you've never read a graphic novel before, I think these are a great place to start!

image: worldcat.org

This book! I read this book first, and enjoyed it so much I went back and read the entire rest of the series! These crime fighting gators are dueling against the Rock Mobster (a lobster) and his evil crew as they work to find out what is happening to the glowing rocks? In order to efficiently move from location to location the gators travel through toilets. The puns!  Both visual and printed, the puns made this book an absolute gem!

 

 

Maggie keeps a D-20 die in her pocket. She rolls it every time she needs to make a decision. Everything from whether to make new friends to answering questions in class - it is all determined by a roll of the die. As Maggie settles into middle school, she joins the RPG club and makes a wonderful new group of friends from all over the school who love Role Playing Games as much as she does.  But, there’s a monster stalking the grounds of Lilac Middle School. A mysterious monster that is rustling around the school grounds and eating bicycles. 

As the monster draws nearer to the school, will Maggie be able to conquer her fears and track down the monster?

Note: I had this book with me at an outreach event. Kids were so interested in this book that they were asking questions about the book and having their parents taking pictures of the book cover so that they could check it out. There was a hold list on the book when I returned my copy last week after finishing up my book talks.

 

                                                                    Image: worldcat.org

 

Ruth is a young journalist who is determined to uncover a secret that threatens her town. When she discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood, She decides that she needs to investigate. Encouraged by her parents and teachers, Ruth investigates everyone,  including the owner of the country club, who she believes is responsible for the pollution. Between the teasing from the friends at school, and a sudden viral spotlight on social media, Ruth discovers how difficult it is for a journalist to take a stand for what's right

                                                                    image: worldcat.org

Ben is your average, ordinary 8 year old who loves eating noodles more than anything else until that fateful day that he opens a fortune cookie that says “live each day as if it were your last.”  Ben is now convinced that he has just one day to do everything he has ever wanted to do. So, he makes a list.  A list that includes things like “Finish putting together my 1,000 piece model of the Taj Mahal.  Make a cake.  Play Clair de Lune all the way through without messing up, and “Jump over Mr. Hoggenwoff’s prize winning hedge.” 

Ben’s quest to finish everything on his list in just one day leads him on a hysterical, slightly terrifying journey that just might end up being the very worst day of his life. 

                                                                        image: worldcat.org

 Portico Reeves is a real life super hero named Stuntboy.  At least, in his head he is.  He works hard to keep his friends and his family safe.  And like every super hero, he has an arch nemesis who is determined to prove to everyone that Stuntboy is not as wonderful as he thinks he is. But, when his parents start fighting, Stuntboy faces his biggest challenge yet: to keep his two biggest heroes (mom and dad) safe.

How can you not love a book written by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Raul the Third?

Unless otherwise noted, these images were taken by me, Library Nut.

My Favorite Series Books for Transitional Readers

 A transitional reader is a child who is working on moving from learning how to read to reading independently on their own. They are beginning to decode words and recognize more words when reading. They can read for longer periods of time, and they are beginning to make inferences and predictions. 

These are my favorite books for transitional readers for 2022.

This charming series of books is set in Colombia.

I love that the stories are told in English, with lots of Spanish words used liberally throughout the books.

Mindy and her father have moved to Orlando after her mother passed away.

Starting over in a new place is difficult, but Mindy and her Dad make new friends in their quest 

to adapt to life without their Mom and still hold true to their Korean heritage.

Sadiq is originally from Somalia, but his family now lives in Minnesota.

He enjoys STEM activities, and he and his friends are always finding new things to explore together.

Note - I love that the Somali Language is tossed in throughout the book.  There is a glossary/dictionary in the back to help readers understand words that are new to them.

This is not a series book, but it is an awesome book of very silly poetry!

The Bad Guys. I can't say enough good things about this series. 

I've been sharing this book with young readers since the first books came out.

In the series, Mr. Shark, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha and Mr. Snake set out to change their reputation as Bad Guys and set out to do good deeds everywhere.  The book cover I  have here is from Book #11. (The only one on our shelves.)

Mo loves to play sports! He might not always be the fastest or the best, but he always tries to do his best!

Flubby is a stubborn cat who does what independent cats do best --- whatever they want!

Katie Woo and Katie Woo's Universe.  I love the stories of Katie and her friends!

Sydney and Taylor are best friends who try new things together.

When one of them gets scared, the other one helps them conquer their fears.

Dear Beast. OMG. I found the first book in this series days before we shut down in 2020.

(I pulled it off the shelf and checked it out as I was leaving the library from my very last shift.)

I fell in love with Simon the cat who was protesting the arrival of Baxter the dog and kept sending him formal letters of protest via a snail (snail mail, get it?) The writing is smart and funny and the illustrations are warm and wonderful.

I keep checking out new additions to the series as they arrive!

My perennial favorite.

I read this series aloud to my kids when they were in preschool/early elementary.

We still find ourselves quoting these books.

Junie B is a smart and spunky kindergartner who keeps getting into the craziest mishaps... much like every kid ever.

(And me. I related to a LOT of these stories - both as a mother and remembering my own childhood.)

Note: All of these images were taken by me.

Book Talking

  I'm going to spend a few minutes talking about my life as a librarian here.  I'm also going to copy this post onto my blog "Books for Teens". Believe me, it's all related.

One of the most important parts of my job is getting kids fired up about reading.  As a person, I want to live in a well educated society. I want the kids we raise to be smart, intelligent critical thinkers who are capable of making inferences, drawing conclusions, and making great leaps and discoveries that will benefit all of mankind.  All of that begins with the library. My professional/personal philosophy is that kids spend 9-10 months a year being taught how to read. The summer should be all about parents helping their kids to love reading. 

How do we do this? We encourage our children to find books that they enjoy reading. Whatever those books may be.  Whether they are above or below grade level doesn't matter. If the kids are tearing through a pile of books that you think may be "too easy" for them, they are increasing their fluency and comprehension. Those skills are critical for school success come fall. When they finish the current series that they are working their way through, they will find another series.

As one of my teachers says "Life is too short to read books you don't love. If you don't like the one you're reading, find another one."  

I spent the last week of May and the first week of June talking with the kids at our schools about summer reading. I introduced them to books that I love and that I think will appeal to them. I talked about the summer reading program at our library. And I encouraged them to come in and find books that they love. 

I talked with the elementary grades.  Children in grades K-5. 

I want to share the books that I found with you.  I think they're awesome, and I hope you will love them as much as I do.

I wanted to post this today, on Monday. Each day this week, I'm going to post a different list.

If you have favorites that you feel belongs in each category, feel free to add them in the comments!

 

A New Lawn Mower

About 5 years ago, our riding lawn mower quit working. It was well over 40 years old. There comes a point when no matter how much maintenance you perform on a lawn mower, it's just not going to work.  We were well past that point. 

We live on almost an acre, and for the last 5 years, husband has been mowing that lawn with a push mower because "he was able to do that when he was a kid and lived in that house."  Keep in mind, he was in his teens then, and it's been at least 30 years.  

For the past 2 years, I've been fussing at him so much because I thought it was too dangerous for him to keep that up on 100* days at his age.  So, he took to mowing the lawn on days when I was at work.  

For father's day this year, I got together with the kids and we bought him a new riding lawn mower. It was delivered on Saturday and that man has been so happy ever since!  Unfortunately for him, it rained all day Saturday. But Sunday afternoon after the grass had a chance to dry, he couldn't wait to get out and mow the lawn.

While he had complained non-stop that the kids thought he was too old to mow the lawn the "old fashioned" way anymore, he couldn't stop singing the praises of that lawnmower.  What had been a week long rotation of "I can cut this much and then the mower runs out of gas" was complete in an hour.  ONE HOUR!  We were actually able to eat dinner together!

It might not seem like much, but after 5 years, it really is a big deal.

Thrifty Thursday

 Maintain your car. 

When I was growing up, I remember hanging out with my Dad over the hood of the car. Most Saturdays would find him tinkering with the engine in some form or another and me watching eagerly, waiting to see what new wonder I was going to see. (You would honestly think I would have become a car mechanic instead of a librarian...)   

I also remember one time when Dad rebuilt the carburetor and had pieces leftover when he was finished. That car broke down on his way home when we were in Virginia. If I remember correctly, that was well over $200. I mention this because if he’d taken it to the mechanic instead of attempting to fix it himself, it would have cost less than $50. I remember this because Mom kept mentioning it when they were arguing. 

I mention all of this because it’s actually really funny that when I was in my teens my dad kept telling me (nagging me) about how a car needs to be maintained and why. 

If a car is not fully maintained, it will be more likely to break down. Breakdowns lead to costly repairs. Repairs that could have been avoided if you had paid a measly $40 for a new part two months ago instead of the $400 now.  (Like that time we broke down on a highway in Texas hours after he had worked on the engine, and he had to walk 2 hours to get to a gas station to find a tow truck to come and pick us up. Funny now, kind of funny then.) That repair ended up costing over $700 in 1970’s money, and 2 extra days of his leave while the car was fixed before we could head home. 

Tires. Your properly inflated and rotated tires ensure not only a longer life for your tires, but they also increase gas mileage. Not sure what pressure your tires should be inflated? On most cars, there is a tag with that information around the frame of the driver’s side door. In some cars, it is just inside the door frame, below where the latch is located. On others, it is on the door frame on the floor. Your foot crosses over that tag every time you get into the car.  

As an adult, I have always maintained my car on a schedule. Oil changes, tire rotations, belts, etc.

I have an excellent relationship with my mechanic. One that involves him not talking down to me or telling me why I'm wrong or what I don't know. I tell him when something isn't quite right with my car and he will find out what's going on. I am well aware that my mechanic is a gem. I found him after trying 3 other places that did not meet my standards. (Talk to ME. Don't try to sell me things I don't need. Don't ask me when my husband will be in.)

I bought my first car in 1989. It was a Honda Civic. We have owned 3 Honda Civics in total since that time. You could lay that on the engineering of the Honda Motor Corporation, but our second cars have always been used. We've bought 3 second cars since 1990. Kia, Honda, and Mercury. We tend to drive our cars as long as we can because new cars are expensive and maintenance is cheap in comparison to the cost of a new car.

Seriously, this is the one area that makes a big difference in your bottom line. Maintain you car.