What I'm still reading Wednesday...

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

A week in and have only made it to 37% (thank you, Kindle, for letting me know that).  Love the writing and the characters...or hate the characters, as the case may be...but the topic is distressing.

Frugal Friday File 2018, week 43...

Successes:
1.  No takeaway meals this week.  We are going out tonight though.

2.  We cancelled our vacation plans.  Instead of one long trip, we may take a couple of different 2-day trips during Carey's three weeks off.  The main reason for this is that our plans for dog sitting fell through, and I just don't want to kennel Rudy for two whole weeks.  (The kids offered to handle things, but Jared works such odd hours, and Kasey has enough pets at her house as it is.  

Truth be told, I wasn't really excited about taking a trip this year.  (We just took a long trip last year, and the planning and logistics were a lot of work!)  The first clue should have been whenever anyone asked me where we were going on vacation this year, my answer would be something like, "Oh, I'm not really sure.  I just can't get excited about anything."  I'm much happier continuing to sock away vacation savings, and plan a special trip for next year.

3.  I just picked up 4 quilts from the long-arm quilter.  While it isn't cheap, she is very reasonable as long-arm quilters go, and she is wonderful to work with.  Now I just have to get them bound in time for Christmas gifting.

4.  I was in the city this week, so I made a trip to Costco while I was there.  I avoided impulse purchases.  (I actually looked at pre-lit Christmas trees...our current tree is losing lights by the strand every time we plug it in...but I walked away.)  No movies, no books, no calendars, no gift wrap.  I bought apples, oranges, pears (the pears are YUM!), bananas, deli turkey breast, walnuts, salsa, and dishwasher detergent.  I avoided the giant bags of lettuce, as those would go bad before we could use it up.  I wanted the pack of small individual cups of hummus (I have trouble with portion control when it comes to hummus), but I have an open container in the fridge that needs finishing before it gets replaced.

5.  Health insurance!  I've had two medical appointments this week, and a third was postponed due to an issue at the facility.  Today I spent a good hour and a half getting a pint (half a liter) of blood drawn.  I have to have this done about every six months.  It doesn't usually take quite that long, but they tried letting it drain into a bag this time, and I just don't give it up that easy.  :)

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  Frito Pie (I had mine with very little Fritos & cheese)
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  leftovers
Tuesday:  Chicken Curry
Wednesday:  leftovers
Thursday:  Shrimp Scampi served in Roasted Spaghetti Squash
Friday:  *dinner out

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Small Great Things  by Jodi Picoult

Today is cool and wet, raining all day, and though there are a million things that I should be doing, I finished up the last book and started this one.  

Frugal Friday File 2018, weeks 41 & 42...

Week 41 Successes:
1.  Worked two days this week.

2.  Quilt retreat is this weekend!  We are a pretty frugal quilt group.  Instead of eating out or paying for catering, we bring our own breakfasts and lunches, and usually snacks to share.  For dinners we pair up, and each pair shops for groceries and cooks dinner for the group on an assigned night.  

3.  Filled up at my favorite low-price station when I found myself nearby on a work day with an almost empty tank...36¢ less per gallon than stations closer to home.

4.  Packed all works in progress to finish up at the retreat.  No new purchases of fabric, patterns, etc.

5.  Carey's time off coincided with the retreat, so no having to make special arrangements for Rudy while I was gone.

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  Baked Stuffed Sweet Potato w/ grilled corn & black beans
Sunday:  Sunday family dinner at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  *sushi
Tuesday:  *Chinese
Wednesday:  late lunch, skipped supper
Thursday:  *dinner out with the hubs 
Friday:  * dinner out with retreat peeps


Week 42 Successes:
1.  There was a misunderstanding on the quilt retreat center fee.  We had submitted a check for the 2018 price, but because we booked it in 2017 we should have paid 2017 price.  They refunded the difference.  My share was $15 back.

2.  I worked one day this week.

3.  Rainy weather makes for wonderful stay-home days.

4.  Cooler temps means the A/C is turned off.  No need for heater either; it's comfortable in the house during the day, and the down blanket makes nights cozy.

5.  Completed a customer survey for Sonic to get a free iced tea.  

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  retreat eats
Sunday:  retreat eats
Monday:  retreat eats
Tuesday:  Winter Vegetable Stew
Wednesday:  *Tex-Mex
Thursday:  *Schlotzky sandwich

Friday:  late lunch so smoothie for supper

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

I finally finished the last book that took me weeks...and it wasn't even worth the trouble.  

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Currently I'm reading another library ebook, and I'm enjoying it so far.  A hypnotherapist begins a relationship with a nice man.  The man happens to have a former girlfriend stalking him.  And the stalker makes an appointment with the hypnotherapist.

Home again, home again...

The fall quilt retreat was very productive for me.  I took a lot of projects that I had started at other retreats, but just hadn't ever quite finished up.

#1

This black and white starburst was pieced at a previous retreat.  This year I added the black border.

#2

This one is called Tag Team and is a Missouri Star pattern.  It has been sitting in its project box mostly done, but with a few rows of pieced blocks to be sewn onto the top.  This retreat I finished that up, and I added the two borders.

#3

This Meadow Mist 2016 Mystery Quilt has also been sitting in its box waiting for me to make a decision about borders.  I took it with me determined to just get it done!

#4

This jelly roll race I had done on a library quilting day awhile back.  It was smaller than I wanted, so this retreat saw it getting cut into two pieces (zip zip!) and I added the strip of blue with lighter squares pieced into it.

#5

Same issue with this jelly roll race, which was completed at a previous retreat in a 'race competition' (which I didn't win...ha!).  For this one I cut a narrow strip off of one side and then used a seam ripper to separate the top portion, and then inserted an aqua stripe, the portion that had been cut from the side, and another aqua stripe.  Not sure how I feel about this one, but i think after it is quilted and has an aqua binding added to it that it will be okay.

#6

This Irish Chain was started and finished yesterday, then I added the borders this morning.  The pieced top looks a little washed out in this photo, but it is very pretty in person.  It may be my favorite.  :)

#7

I think I finished this half-square-triangle top at the first retreat I went to.  All it needed was to have a piece of flannel pieced to fit for its backing.  That little chore is now done.

I have already called the long-arm quilter and made an appointment to take all of these to her for quilting.  Six are intended for Christmas gifts, and I will have to hustle to get them all bound.  The #7 is a throw intended for our sofa.  

I am SO excited at having these ready to quilt!  I'll be even happier when they are bound, wrapped, and under the tree!

Yesterday...

Yesterday was one of my busy days that are necessitated by my procrastinating ways.

I started early getting onions in the slow cooker to cook for 13 hours.  The Beef & Winter Vegetable Stew (which I'm making at the quilt retreat on Sunday) calls for 2 cans of condensed French Onion Soup.  But since one of our group has a pretty severe gluten allergy, and since the canned/condensed isn't one that Campbell's certifies as gluten free, I decided to make my own.  The onions are now cooked and stored.  I didn't add the broth, as I figured it would be easier to transport it packaged from the store and add once we get to the retreat location.

I also browned the stew meat, vacuum sealed it, and put it in the freezer to keep till needed.  I froze it pretty much in a single layer so it will thaw quickly.

I chopped the vegetables for the retreat soup and vacuum sealed those as well.  Now MOST everything is ready to just assemble in the slow cooker once there.

I did laundry.

I changed the bed.

I decided on what projects to work on at retreat, and all the individual project boxes are stacked and ready to put in the car.  I decided to work almost solely on WIPs (works in progress) and will  hopefully come home with several ready to take to be machine quilted.  Finishing that last little bit to make them ready to quilt is another thing I procrastinate on...therefore I have a lot of WIPs to take with me.  All should be fairly quick things, like putting on borders and piecing the backing fabrics.

I went to the city to drop off Goodwill donations that have been in the back of my car waiting to be dropped off for far too long.  I wasn't about to take the several boxes and bags of donations back into the house, and really needed my car empty so I could pack it with sewing machine, projects, and groceries.

While I was in the city, I purchased a few things I needed for the weekend...bobbins and needles and threads...oh my!  I want to have lots of bobbins already filled so I can just change them out as I empty one without having to stop and refill one at a time.

Today I am working, so I won't be doing much prep work at all today.  Maybe run to the grocery on my lunch hour to pick up some apples.  And then maybe I'll get those bobbins filled this evening.

Nine random thoughts on the 9th...

1.  I have so much to do, and I have been doing pretty much nothing all day.

2.  Rudy likes tv.  He loves the commercials for pet supply companies, and jumps up and runs to stand in front of the tv, sometimes standing on his hind legs to get a closer look or show his enthusiasm.  :)  So today I have the tv on in the background and not paying much attention to it.  A news-type show comes on, and they put up a photo of a man recently making headlines for killing his wife and children.  Rudy turns and begins walking toward the television...and GROWLS.  That was creepy.

3.  It has been raining for the last few days.  Pretty gloomy.  Kind of surprising how much rain we have been getting lately.  I think last month was the wettest on record.  But the sun is out at the moment, and very welcome.

4.  About a month ago I joined WW (new branding for Weight Watchers) online.  So far lost a little over 10 pounds.  It's very user friendly.

5.  I need to make a sign and hang it on the wall so I see it first thing every morning.  It should say, "For the time being, I am not accepting jobs out of town," as a script for me to have at the ready when the phone rings.  Either that or, "Just Say No."  I promised I wouldn't whine about this any more, so I apologize.  But I already went back on my resolve, and simply because I forgot to say no.

6.  It worked out in my favor, as my car was extremely low on gas, and the job took me near my favorite low-price station at just the right time.

7.  I have recently developed a big knot on my left hand.  I'm assuming it is a ganglion cyst.  It isn't painful, but it isn't attractive.  My kids think it looks awful, and Jared called it my 'hump'.  I told him it was funny he referred to it as a hump, because I had decided to name it Igor (in honor of Young Frankenstein).  :)  If its size doesn't decrease, I suppose I will go to the doctor about it eventually.  It's right over the area of my hand that was crushed in the car accident, where the new bone is always tender, and I just don't look forward to pushing and prodding in an exam of it.

8.  I love October!  My birthday is coming up.  I tend to round up my age, and then I start forgetting that I round up and start believing I'm already older than I am.  Then eventually it dawns on me that I'm younger than I've been thinking I was.  LOL

9.  It's a lot harder to think of nine random thoughts to share than it is seven.  I resolve to circle the 7th on my calendar every month so I don't forget.  Because, you know, my random thoughts are so share worthy.  :)

Frugal Friday File 2018, week 40...

Successes:
1.  Apparently I inadvertently signed up for Kindle Unlimited in September.  Luckily I noticed it before being billed in a few days.  Saved that $9.99 per month.

2.  Rudy LOVES frisbees.  He uses them as a skate board to slide around our patio.  He also likes to completely flatten one, and then run up the ramp with it to the tree house and drop it through the slats in the floor into the sand box below, then run down and play with it in the sand digging and being his crazy dog self...then he does it all over again.  :)  It's hilarious to watch.  I've had trouble finding the cheap kind of frisbees that he likes best for his purposes.  (Odd, I know.  I spent too much money on a nice indestructible one, and he ignores it.)

We usually order take-out Schlotzky sandwiches at least once while Carey is off.  Yesterday was the company's anniversary, and they've been advertising that to celebrate they would be serving sandwiches on frisbee 'plates' like they did when they first opened for business.  Well THAT caught my attention.  This week instead of taking out, we went and ate our sandwiches in the restaurant on the designated day.  We were each served on a frisbee plate.  As we were eating, I saw some people throw their 'plates' in the trash, so before leaving I snatched a couple of clean ones from the top of the bin.  Granted we had to eat out to get the four 'free' frisbees, but we would have spent that money there anyway, so we got a bonus (and made Rudy so happy) by going on the designated day.

3.  Picked up more free eggs from our POA-unauthorized rebel egg wrangler.

4.  At dentist appointment this week received free toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss.  Perfect sizes to pack for upcoming vacation.

5.  Enjoying fall mantel decorations from ye old seasonal-decor storage closet.  They get reused every year, sometimes in a different configuration.  Reusing allows me to enjoy the brain exercise of amortization of assets' original sales prices; probably down to about 50¢ for 'new' vingette.  :)  I don't really recall the original prices, but I do enjoy a seasonal revamp for zero current outlay.  

Frugal From the Kitchen This Week:
Saturday:  Beef & Winter Vegetable Stew, cornbread
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey's
Monday:  Dublin Coddle
Tuesday:  Roast, potatoes, broccoli
Wednesday:  Breakfast for supper
Thursday:  omelette and sauteed squash, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes
Friday:  late lunch, so smoothie for supper

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

No time for reading Wednesday...

There's been a little bit of this...a very little bit...just trying to learn how to use the new machine which I finally took out of the box!  It's the new version of the Singer Featherweight.  I haven't heard great things about modern Singers for years, but a very talented friend who teaches sewing techniques purchased this model within the past year, and she has been pleased.  Since I wanted it to be portable enough to pack around for quilting group and retreats, I went for this one.  (Plus my very talented friend will be available for any questions.  LOL)

There's been a lot of this...on a couple of different projects.

A little progress shown here...you probably can't tell what it is yet.  I'll show you...eventually.  :)

 

Then there's been some of this.  The white beads are seed beads.  I have no idea what fresh hell those teeny-tiny red beads are named for...poppy seeds maybe...or celery seeds...so very tiny.  And when I finished separating those...

...there were more...so very many more.  And these are the kinds of things I choose to undertake at 3 a.m....the dark of night...on black background.  Yes.  I'm crazy that way.

Ah!  All sorted and contained.  

And that is why I haven't been reading much.  It's hard to read when your eyes are strained!