Our Haul...Plus an Unexpected Find!

A few days ago the kiddos and I went to our monthly natural foods co-op.  This co-op pick-up is every 4th Wednesday.  I'm on the distribution team, so we get there a few hours earlier than most other members.  We pack a picnic lunch and make a day of it:  me helping to distribute all the items (with G on my back in the ergo), the kiddos playing with all their little friends.  We all love co-op days!

Here is a picture of this month's haul:



12 gallons of raw milk
2 - 101oz tins of Zoe Extra Virgin Olive Oil  (I usually buy one every other month, but it was on sale!)
5 lb. Organic Rolled Oats
2 lbs. Raw Walnuts
3 pkgs. Cascade Organic Frozen Green Beans
24 oz. Organic Light Brown Sugar  (I normally only use Evap. Cane Juice, but this was on sale and with holiday baking coming up, I thought I'd get some)
2 lbs. Organic Dried Cranberries, sweetened
5 lbs. Organic Russet Potatoes
9 lbs. Organic Gala Apples (I usually buy 15 lbs, but we still had some left from last month.  I just store them in the fridge, they last all month)
1 organic pomegranate (we l.o.v.e. pomegranates...I wish they weren't so expensive!)
3 whole natural chickens  (totaled 11 lbs.)
8 lbs. Andrew & Everett Salted Butter, hormone and antibiotic-free
1 pkg. Applegate Natural Uncured Beef Hot Dogs
3 - 5 oz pkgs Applegate Natural Uncured Pepperoni (love this on our Friday night pizzas!)
16 oz Organic Valley Sour Cream
13 dozen Cage-free Eggs
16 oz. Organic Valley Cottage Cheese
3.64 oz bottle "Simply Organic" Garlic Powder
16 oz. Cinnamon Powder
50 oz. container Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid
8 oz. "Life Flo" Pure Magnesium Oil
2 tubes Burt's Bees Multicare Fluoride-Free Peppermint Toothpaste
1 lb Alfalfa Leaf
1 lb Dandelion Leaf
1 lb Catnip Leaf & Flower
1 lb Stinging Nettle
1 lb Spearmint Leaf
1 lb Saw Palmetto barries
1 lb Ashwagandha Root Powder
32 fl oz bottle Vegetable Glycerin

Some of these items will last us for a while (cranberries, olive oil, cinnamon, herbs), but actually, almost everything else are things that I order every month.  And then some months I have to order other items that we just weren't out yet this month (quinoa, brown rice, peanut butter...to name a few).  The last 8 items on my list (the herbs and the glycerin) I ordered to try something new:  making herbal multivitamins for Jas and I.



And then.....

On the drive home we passed a home that had a few (5-10) items spread out in their front yard along the road.  Jas and I joke about "Garbage Sales"  (yes, that is "garbage" instead of "garage") because that is what we usually see.  But this time, my eyes went directly to a book shelf.  I heart book shelves.  And I will whip the Silver Bullet around to check out a book shelf that I see for sale on the side of the road (like I did here).  I told myself, "I will not pay more than $10 for that."  Steeling myself.

The woman only wanted $5 for it.  Ummmm, let me think a minute....OK!

It is so not beautiful...but it is sturdy.  There are several places around the house (and in the utility room) that we could use this...but Elisabeth wants it (with a new coat of paint) in the girls' room (which will necessitate moving out the bigger shelf that is there now, and that will move to the playroom).

All in all, I would say we had a very productive and successful Wednesday!