Don't feel bad. I'd never even heard of doing this. Google apple jelly made from cores/peels. Tons of recipes will come up. I can't remember which site I used. Basically add water to peeles/cores; simmer awhile; let set in fridge over night. Strain, and I can't remember what comes next. I can't tell you how easy this was; plus basically free. You can do this w/other types of fruit as well. I've made pear honey as well. I know Google is your friend.

Got a sisal rug off FC. It's in really good condition. Except, the back is some kind of rubber that's come off and is sticky. I don't know if that's bad because it lays so well because of that. If it comes to it, and I have to put something on back; what do I use? Is there some kind of spray rubber? It really is nice; that's why I want to keep.

To make apple jelly from peeling and cores, simply simmer peelings and cores with just enough water to half cover, then let stand overnight and strain through cheese cloth. Measure juice and proceed as usual for jelly.

Last fall, a group of friends wanted a canning lesson so I told each of them to come over with a pound of apples and a potato peeler. They peeled and cored apples and we proceeded with making and canning apple sauce. We had enough so that each friend could take home a jar. I then turned the peelings and cores into juice and froze it until cooler weather and made each friend a 1/2 pint jar of their own apple jelly from the peelings and cores.

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Wishing you enough.

Cindy: Can you try to explain using two forks with the rivels, please?
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Saw a great tip where you use colored dots on outlets and circuits in the breaker box to see which one is out.
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After I spent the time canning pear sauce, it dawned on me that I'd do better timewise to just can them and add sugar later. Sometimes the pears come out mushy anyway. I like them on cottage cheese in the winter for lunches.
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For back to school shopping: I see coupons for aeropostale 50% off tops sale and for shoe carnival
RetailMeNot: Coupon Codes, Coupons, Promo Codes, Free Shipping and Discounts for Thousands of Stores

Also see 12% off 50$ on half.com which is a good place to get textbooks.
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This week, Walgreens is offering 25 free 4×6 prints with the purchase of 25. Use the coupon code 25PRINTS25 at checkout for the discount to be applied to your order. Make sure you opt for in-store pickup so that you do not have to pay shipping charges.

This offer is valid through August 4, 2012.

MTM - the dough will be so sticky that you can pull up a small piece with one fork but you'll another to break it away from the rest and scrape it off the first fork. It's a two handed process but really easy!

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"Never stop questioning - curiosity has its own reason for existence." Albert Einstein

"The way to wealth depends on just two words, industry and frugality." Benjamin Franklin

This Saturday, Ace Hardware is giving away a free quart of paint with this coupon:

Create Your Own Sale at Ace Hardware

GMB: I'm not sure about the compounds in river cane. I'd have to ask my friend how she cooks the shoots.
The one thing that's definitely important is asking permission to forage on other peoples land. Most folks are happy to share if you just ask. People would rather have someone pick things that are going unused than have it go to waste. It's even better if you share anything you make with them, they'll gladly let you pick and forage if you do that!
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Our neighbor's garden has produced so well he's giving away veggies and his wife is selling the extra at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. He brought us some more tomatoes last night - yahoo!!
I told him to let his wife know about the FM in a bigger town where I work - they have their market on Wednesdays too, so maybe she can set-up there and sell even more veggies.
I've been eating the tomatoes on everything and even eating a few by themselves in the evening. I love fresh tomotoes! YUM!
DH made a veggie & chicken soup last night: chicken breast, zuchinni, yellow squash, tomatoes and rice with a milk base w/seasoning. It was really good.
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I covered all our west windows with tablecloths just to make it darker and cooler in the house and hopefully allow the A/C to shut off more often. It's in the triple digits here and the A/C is working overtime. Fortunately it shut off last night and the house stayed cool. My DD's A/C went out on Sunday and she's waiting on repairs today. It's so miserable to lose your cool when it's that hot outside during the day!
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I bought DD some of the "Magic Mesh" (Bed,Bath & Beyond) for her patio door. She said it works great keeping the flies out and allows the kids to go in and out easily. Of course, she hasn't done that in the past week or so, since it's too hot outside for the kids to play in the middle of the day.
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Lavendar Oil for burns - I burned my fingers on the stove Saturday and once again Lavendar Oil has proven to be a great burn remedy. I lathered the fingers in the oil and held a baggie of ice on them for about 15 mins. My fingers never blistered. I reapplied the oil a few times. The skin healed within 24 hours. I love that oil!
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Thanks for all the tips this month, everyone!!!

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Vickie

I'm sure lots of people already thought of this, the light bulb is always late turning on for me.

It is tripe digit heat here and I just don't want to use the oven, so I thought I would try my large electric roaster to cook cornbread, etc. It works great and doesn't heat the house like the oven. I could do even better, if I would put it on the porch. I just put the bread, or whatever, in the pan as I usually do and set the pan into the roaster. So far I have used it for cornbread, sheet cakes, and biscuits and it does just fine.

That's a good idea Trixie! I think I will give that a try.

I tried a small batch recipe for pickled zucchini today. (Made 5 half pint jars.) If it tastes good, then I will have a good way to use up my excess zucchini. We also freeze it grated and chopped up for soups and casseroles. Small recipes like this don't take long, and are perfect to make when you're canning other things anyway and the water is already warmed up.

I have been using waste water to water all of my front porch veggie containers, have barely had to use tap water for this at all. The water used for blanching vegetables for freezing is perfect for this once it cools, and adds a little nutrition to the plants. The water in the canner goes on plants too, after it cools.

I have been pureeing my basil with a little olive oil, then pressing the mixture into the bottom of muffin tins and freezing it. They pop out easily and are stored in a plastic freezer bag. Easy way to add flavor to soup or pasta sauce. I have also been making herbal vinegars for homemade salad dressings.

I color my hair. Usually buy at Walgreens; have a sale once a month; I never use all of it. Have found I can use again; next month. Trick is not to mix everything together at one time. Just mix 1/2 at one time. Walgreens usually has Revlon Colorsilk for $2.50 once a month.

Those Ace hardware free cans of paint go really quickly, so go early if you want one. Think projects, painting a shelf, baskets for Christmas, etc. You can get any color they have.

We had to pull out the carpet in the center room of the house because of our swamp cooler springing a leak, so today priced finished and unfinished wood to match what is in the kitchen. Wow, more than twice as much for the wood that is already finished. Guess we'll do it ourselves as we did the kitchen. I figure I can do enough to cover the walkway and bathroom hall in the garage and let it dry out there, so we won't have to worry about Mom trying to get to her room or bathroom on sticky flooring. I was racking my brain to figure out how to do it, and that seems to be the best way so we don't have to move the heavy furniture too many times.

Pickled zucchini is really good! I'm working really hard not to waste any of the freebies we get. The round zucchini that are past their prime get dried and fed to the goats as treats when milking time comes around. They love them. I cut some and cook it with meat scraps and rice for the dogs, or put in extra eggs when we have them. I've raised baby chicks again without buying chick starter. Just grating up multi grain bread (which we buy by the truckload for 10.00 at the thrift store), and add a little grated boiled egg for added protein. They do well.

We needed a piece of carpet for a new scratch post for the cats. We went into our local flooring store to buy a remnant. The owners said "no way. Just go out back to the dumpster and pick out what you want." Apparently when they lay carpeting there are always cut off pieces varying in size. We took enough to make the scratch post and redo it once the beasts shred it. I so love free! and if we ever need carpeting or rugs we will go there. Nice people.

AUCTIONS!!!!!

DH and I go to auctions almost every week to buy inventory for our antique shop. But aside from the antiques, there are awesome housewares-type items to be had for incredibly cheap prices. Couches, chairs, lamps, bedroom sets, dining room sets - you could literally outfit your entire home for less than $2,000 including soft goods by attending auctions.

When I go to an auction and see a NICE brand name couch selling for $80 it just blows my mind -- and I think of all the times I paid $500 and up for the same thing, and even something of much lesser quality. Never, never again!

Auctions scare some people, but they shouldn't -- just go to one and watch, if you're shy and want to learn. Then at the next one, just set a limit on what you're going to spend on a certain item and stop if it gets beyond that point. Sometimes you get really lucky, other times not so much, but at the next event you might be luckier. Auctions are awesome.

Peacock, I love auctions! Another piece of advice I would offer, is to go early and really check over the items you are interested in. Print off the auction listing or pick one up if offered in your area and highlight the things you are interested in. You never know what you'll find. I bought a box of misc stuff once, for two dollars. I knew the two wall decorations were worth way more than that. Sold them each at $25 when I got home. Another man bought a golf putter for $3, wish I'd thought to outbid him, but he'd been looking at it on his phone on ebay and knew it was worth $400. I don't have a fancy cell phone, no interenet access on it, so wasn't able to determine it was that good.

In South Carolina I attended an auction often. When picking up a beautiful carved sideboard, the man from the auction house assiting me with loading told me they had sold a sofa bed the month before that was so heavy. The people called back later and told them inside the 'bed' part were several antique rifles! He wanted them back, but they weren't obligated to do that.

I've been canning more items with an eye to the state fair, have to get my entry form in today or tomorrow, so I'm gone!

I love auctions too.

For the beginner, it is very important that they set a limit on the price they are willing to pay, and not get auction fever.