I suppose one of my favorite days of the week is today, Tuesday.  Sounds strange because it is the day the grocery ads/Free Press/Shopper come out in our area.  Sales start on Wednesday, so I like to get them and look them over.  Hy-Vee often has "Specials" for Thur-Sat, and often a 20 cent/gal gas discount if you spend $40 in the store.

 Is anyone else stocking up on food when it is on sale.  My MIL is so worried about food prices, it is about all she talks about.  I will share a few things with you that I have been doing, and maybe other people can also share some tips!

-A while back, eggs were 99 cents/dozen for XL eggs.  I bought about 6 dozen.  I broke them, 6 at a time, into my big Pyrex measuring cup, beat them up, and poured them into Ziplock bags.  Then I lay them flat on cookie sheets and froze them.  When frozen, I stacked the flat, frozen bags in piles in my freezer.  For our family, 6 eggs (and a little milk/water, and cheese) is perfect for making scrambled eggs for after-church breakfast.  I just take the bag out of the freezer before church, and let it thaw on the counter until we get home, or the night before in the frig.

-We hit the bread discount store when we are in Quincy, and buy about 6 loaves of our favorite bread because it is half there what it is at the store.  We freeze that, also!  It doesn't take long at all for a loaf to thaw, and the bread doesn't taste any different. (But...frozen pieces of bread are good when making a sandwich to be packed until lunch.  Keeps it cold!).  That way, we have fresh bread whenever we need it, and we pay a lot less.  Plus, I have one of those Rubbermaid things you put your bread in, and we keep it in the frig.  to prevent mold.

-I found a deal on gallons of milk a while back for 99 cents!  But the expir date was soon, so I only bought two.  I wanted to try freezing the milk.  It worked fine!  Just a note:  make sure you use about 1/4 of the milk before you freeze it, or else the jug will crack when the milk expands in the freezer.  Dethaw in the frig, and make sure to shake it up to get it all mixed back together.

-Check with local farmers about buying beef.  You can usually buy anywhere from 1/4 to the whole thing.  Last year, we did that (we shared 1/2 a beef between us, my MIL, and my SIL) and it was nice to always have meat in the freezer.  HOWEVER, you still have to check prices.  This year, I found it to be a better deal to buy bulk steak and hamburger from local merchants than to buy the beef (after paying for the processing, etc).  And that way, you don't end up with stuff you don't use a lot of, like liver and soup bones.

-The last thing I can think of is to really look at the economy size food area of your store.  I know WalMart has one.  If you use a lot of ketchup, bbq sauce, peanut butter, etc. you can save some money by buying the 4 lb bottle.  Also, it is economical and environmentally friendly to buy the large cans of pork and beans, etc for family reunions, parties, etc.

-Use coupons and keep an open-mind about store brands

 I hope other people have some hints/tips they would be willing to share.  I am a weirdo in the way that I enjoy grocery shopping, and you can often see me in the aisle, calculating cents per oz.  LOL

There is just not much occuring in "Amish Country" this month.  While it makes putting this section together challenging, it's kind of nice to have some quiet after a year of hearing about Amish-run puppy mills, custody cases run amok, and a slew of buggy-car crashes.

This story is probably only of interest to anyone who lives or travels to "The Space Coast" area of Florida (one of my favorite parts of the state).  "Amish Market & Deli" has opened near Melbourne.  You always have to go in to these types of stores with a skeptical eye, because so many "Amish made" goods have very tenuous connections to the community, if any.  That said, I'll give this place the benefit of the doubt. Sounds like a decent store to get some Amish-made goodies in an area where these typically wouldn't be available.  If anyone has a chance to check out the store, let us know what it's like.

Also, a horse galloped into the path of an oncoming car in Manheim Township, PA, putting a woman in critical condition and killing the horse.  Now, the article says nowhere about there being an Amish connection, but it's a pretty fair bet.  The last name of Zook is a very common Amish last name in SE Pennsylvania. Horses running loose can be very scary if you are near one.  I was hiking in the woods last spring when all of the sudden I heard shouting.  Apparently someone's horse got loose and it was running rough-shod through the forest.  I could hear the horse, I could hear cracking and crashing branches very close, but I couldn't see exactly where it was.....I almost scrambled up a nearby tree, but luckily the owners were able to somehow corral it.