Frugal Friday File 2018, week 32...

Successes:
1.  We were going out to a place we like for a late lunch/early dinner (not frugal) on Wednesday.  I remembered before we left home that they have put a Little Free Library out front of the cafe.  The first time I saw it, I didn't feel right about taking a book since I didn't have any to leave in exchange.  Today I picked up a couple of books from my already-read pile before we left home.  

I love the idea of little free libraries, and I want one, but we live in a semi-rural area and on a cul-de-sac to boot, so I don't think it would see much traffic if I had one.  I happily deposited my two donation books today on my way into the restaurant.  And the frugal part of this story is that on the way out of the restaurant I found a mystery paperback that caught my fancy to take home with me.

2.  Aestivation - prolonged torpor or dormancy of an animal during a hot or dry period.  As opposed to hibernation.  That's what I'm doing.  Hiding from the heat.  Staying home.  Watching free craft tutorials on Youtube.  And movies on Netflix (which may not be free, but at least I'm getting my money's worth on the subscription).

3.  Getting a head start on Christmas gifting/crafting.  I'm making plans and lists.  I've requested an all homemade gift exchange among the family this year...not sure all will want to do that, but it's okay to mix it up.  My quilt group is also doing a handmade exchange this year, so I'm working on that as well.  A good portion of all gifts will be done with supplies on hand.

4.  Using free printables to replenish Yahtzee! score cards.  We play Yahtzee! often, lately at every family supper.  And last week we were down to using the remains of a pad from the 1960's.  My kids were amazed as they handed me a partially used score sheet, all foxed and somewhat brittle around the edges, with my maiden name written in elementary cursive.  :)  I don't need to make a pad out of the ones I'm printing, but I have plenty of free chipboard and a jar of padding compound from when I made these, so I might as well.

5.  Vacation planning.  Keeping it as frugal as possible.  Meal planning and pet arrangements are a major consideration in the process.  Can't we just stay home?

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  *Tex-Mex
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  Bacon Ranch Tortellini Salad
Tuesday:  leftovers
Wednesday:  *dinner out
Thursday:  leftovers
Friday:  *burger

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

I haven't been reading anything lately, and have been wanting something to spark the desire again.

Susanna Kearsley is a favorite author.  While I haven't loved all of her work, her The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden are favorites and are on my read-again list. 

Bellewether is her newest book...just out this week...and long awaited as there were some delays.  I paid full price for the Kindle version and started it immediately.  

Saturday snail mail...

Just checking in to document a couple of cards I made this weekend.

Card #1:

This is a shaker card filled with coins in the 'jar'.  It's a belated birthday card for one of the boys.  I included a check inside the card.  When I give them cash, check, or a gift card, I try to put at least a little imagination into the presentation.  

To see a couple of other ways I've presented them with cash as gifts, see here and here.

Card #2:

Caitlyn needed a card to take to a birthday party tomorrow, so I made this one for her to take.   I was multitasking when I was making it, and I'm not 100% happy with it, but she thought it was fine. 

Frugal Friday File 2018, week 31...

Successes:
1.  I was out of multi-purpose cleaner in the master bath.  I could have gone and made some, or retrieved some from another part of the house, but there was a container of a liquid hand soap that I don't really like sitting on the counter, so I poured some of it in the toilet bowl and brushed as usual.  Soap is soap, and the ones I don't like for one purpose  get used for another.  

2.  I scheduled 7 new days of work locally for next month.  

3.  The pantry needs reorganizing desperately.  Rotating some of the lingering stock out will  help neaten things up as well as be frugal.  Tonight we will be having salmon croquettes.  Maybe in the next few days there will be tuna casserole, tuna salad sandwiches, some kind of curry to use up the bottle of curry sauce (and fading vegetables in the fridge)...  

4.  Staying home shutting out the heat.  I don't glow.  I sweat...copious amounts of sweat.

5.  We have a water well.  That means that there's no water bill climbing when Carey waters the trees by non-stop slow drip to try to keep the stress of this dry heat from causing damage.

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  leftovers
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  *chicken
Tuesday:  egg on toast
Wednesday:  Chloe's b'day supper at Kasey & Beau's
Thursday:  Taco Salad
Friday:  salmon patties, sweet potato fries, green beans

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

I fain would gain the coastal plain...

...where the rain falls oft with the heat of a summer afternoon, and cares drift away on the gulf breeze.

Earlier this week I made a trip from our home in the Texas hill country to the gulf coast near my hometown.  I found my heart lift as the land leveled, and I could see for miles in every direction clear to where the bright azure sky meets the earth.  The highway is wide and flat and flanked by the last of this year's cotton crop.  No curves.  No hills.  And the legal speed limit is enjoyably increased.  

When I was young, I made a trip to the mountains, and I discovered that I suffer from geographical claustrophobia.  I enjoyed the beauty, but as snow moved in, an anxiety settled around my heart that I would be stranded, unable to leave.  On the return trip home, I felt such a sweet relief of homecoming.  I experienced a palpable sensation of anxiety shedding off of me like water poured out on the flat ground; instantly its residue too thin to even be observed soaking into the landscape.  I felt that again this week.  

And then in my inbox today, I received an email from Etsy with this photo of an artisan's work that I found very beautiful.

shop this artist on Etsy at OnceAgainSam

But I realized that my own amulet would have to look more like this:

Frugal Friday File 2018, week 30...

Successes:
1.  Refilled prescriptions.  I am SO thankful for prescription coverage!

2.  I had a sleep study last night.  I am SO thankful for medical insurance!  (But my share was still expensive.)  

3.  Last night as I was trying to fall asleep in a strange, uncomfortable bed in the city with electrodes stuck to my face, scalp, neck, chest, and leg (and starting to get hungry from skipping dinner), I was promising myself that I could pick up breakfast on the way home.  However, when checkout time came before sunrise, all I wanted to do was get home and get some real sleep in my own bed.

4.  My sister has a great-grandchild now, so she stopped by to pick up a family heirloom rocking horse that I've had possession of since our grands were toddlers.  Since sis lives 500 miles away, I was glad that she was able to work it into a trip, and nobody (me) had to make a special trip or try to ship it.  :)

5.  A co-worker called Carey about an electrical problem at the house they use while working.  Carey fixed it at zero expense by having the correct supplies on hand (and a lifetime of practical know-how).  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, he is a frugal guy to have around.

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo
Sunday:  Sunday family dinner at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  *Tex-Mex
Tuesday:  *hamburgers
Wednesday:  meatloaf, baked potatoes, corn on the cob
Thursday:  late lunch, skipped dinner
Friday:  breakfast for dinner

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Sunday dessert...

My mother was a great baker.  Kasey fondly mentions my mom's cinnamon rolls occasionally, and how they were the best.  I've been meaning to make a batch for a long while.  

They were a big hit at Sunday family supper.  And Kasey looked as happy, and messy, as she always did when mom made them.  :)