Frugal Friday File 2019, week 35...

Successes:
1.  It is SO hot and dry here.  Kasey and Beau are having issues with their well as water levels drop, so my mind has been on conserving water.  I've been taking work clothes off and hanging them up as soon as I get home, if they can be worn another day.  

2.  I'm making sure washer and dishwasher have full loads before running them.  (Which pretty much means I am putting off doing laundry and dishes as long as possible.) 

3.  And does it count that I overslept today and skipped showering before work (since I was going to be there alone today with no one nearby to offend their senses).  LOL

4.  I've said for years that dust is just a protective layer for furniture.  Lately I've decided what's good for the furniture is okay for the car too, so it's not been washed in...awhile...a long while...I think it still has Michigan dust on it!

5.  Okay, you may have guessed from the above sad entries that frugal efforts have been rather halfhearted-to-nonexistent around here lately.  But I have managed to show up for work all five days, and let's just say it has not been my best week. 

Saturday:  leftovers
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  sandwich
Tuesday:  *Chinese
Wednesday:  *burger
Thursday:  *Schlotzky sandwiches
Friday: ?

Number of individual servings made and frozen for work lunches this week:  0

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Proof that even spam is occasionally right on...

I received quite a few comments today on a post from quite awhile back.  When you get many comments on the same post a long time after you publish it, you can bet they are spam.  Some are nice, some are rude, some are scary.

Still, one of the ones I received today was a horse of a different color.

"Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the
last few posts have been kinda boring? I miss your tremendous writings.
Past several posts are just a bit out of track! come on!"

LOL  I couldn't agree more!

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & The Fire That Saved America by Timothy Egan

Working all week.  Too tired to read much.  It's time for me to go read a couple of paragraphs and fall asleep.  This may take awhile.

Saturday snail mail...

A few card have been made and mailed recently.  

This list is actually incomplete, as there are a couple of birthday cards that were mailed, but I don't want to show until I'm sure they've had time to arrive.

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 34...

Successes:
1.  I worked two days this week at my home branch.  I also totally went back on my resolve to turn down more work for awhile, and I've accepted at least two days a week for the first three weeks of September...and possibly a lot more.  The newly scheduled days are at a brand new branch that just opened, and it is less than five minutes from my house.

2.  More books from the library...checked out for me...bargains from the Book Nook (used donations) for Carey.

3.  The freezer is once again full of home-cooked meals for Carey to take to work.  We have filled every last freezer container that we own.  :)

4.  I've been staying home (and out of the heat!) as much as possible, while keeping the thermostat at a responsible setting and using ceiling fan in whatever room we are in at a given time to stay comfortable.

5.  We haven't purchased a car for Carey yet...he has a buyer for his truck that is willing to wait.  Gasoline prices are down.  Bills paid on time.  

Saturday:  baked pork chops, yellow squash casserole, broccoli
Sunday:  No-Peek Chicken and Rice, corn
Monday:  *TexMex
Tuesday:  *Italian
Wednesday:  Monks' Bowls w/ salmon & roasted vegetables
Thursday:  leftovers
Friday: leftovers

Number of individual servings made and frozen for work lunches this week:  11

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 33...

Successes:
1.  Made a pan of brownies from supplies on hand for Sunday's dessert.  Really yummy if I do say so myself.

2. We have been so hot!  I just paid our electric bill, and out of curiosity compared it to last year's Aug bill.  Surprisingly, current bill was down $30 from the previous year's.

3.   Staying home and reading library books to avoid the heat.

4.  Working on a scrap quilt for a library donation.  No new fabrics purchased for it.

5.  Working today at a local branch.

Saturday:  sandwich
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  Frito Pie
Tuesday:  *burger
Wednesday:  Chicken Alfredo
Thursday:  *Schlotzky sandwiches
Friday: waffles, eggs, bacon

Number of individual servings made and frozen for work lunches this week:  0

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm Reading Wednesday...

I've been a busy reader this week.  And actually got a few chores done around the house too, as most of these were fairly quick reads.

Hanging Ruth Blay by Carolyn Marvin

Interesting fact-based story of the pre-Revolutionary New Hampshire trial of a woman who gave birth to a child out of wedlock.

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

Not so interesting story of a woman who escaped her abusive policeman/husband with the help of a network of volunteers.  I was expecting maybe something along the lines of Sleeping With the Enemy, but this had very little in the way of tension.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

 This was a YA novel.  The first half was okay, the second half was cheesy, and the end was unimaginative and irresponsible.

The whole novel was a little outside the comfort-reading zone because it was all written in verse.  Well, they called it verse.  It was really mostly in complete sentences that were just formatted to come across visually as verse.  Not my cup of tea, but with so few words on each page, its 530 pages were a quick, one-day read.

And now I'm reading:

Bitter River by Julia Keller

Just a few chapters in so far.  It's the second in a series of books about a female county prosecutor in West Virginia.

How's that for variety?

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 32...

Successes:
1.  Booked 3 weeks of work between now and the end of the year.  Barring emergency at my home branch, this is about the maximum work I want to accept for the remainder of this year.  I am stating that in print to hold firm to my resolve!

2.  I cooked in large quantities this week in order to restock the freezer with meals for Carey to take to work.  And when I was making meatloaf, I made and cooked two, and one is wrapped and in the freezer for an easy thaw-and-heat supper in the future.

3.  I found a penny.  Okay, it was just a penny, but that's the first change I've found locally on the ground in AGES.

4.  I phoned about an incorrect charge for an online purchase.  Now I will continue monitoring until I see the correct amount applied...in 5 to 7 business days.  Sometimes I long for the days of face-to-face cash payments.  😒

5.  I reserved two library books, and picked them up while passing the library after picking up one of the girls from a sleepover...actually I talked that girl into running into library for me.  😊

Saturday:  goulash
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  meatloaf, twice-baked potatoes, corn
Tuesday:  roast, potatoes, carrots, squash
Wednesday:  leftovers
Thursday:  *Mexican
Friday:  breakfast for supper

Number of individual servings made and frozen for work lunches this week:  13! (and surprised Carey with a batch of oatmeal cookies [his favorite] to take with him too)

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thought I would show an updated map of my progress on the 2019 reading challenge.  I've completed a book set in each of the shaded states on the map above...31 completed out of 51 (51 = 1 for each state + the District of Columbia) is roughly 61%, and we are 60% of the way through the year, so on target.  

I am dying for a little diversity now, so I am reading this rather short book about a Canadian...I know, Canada isn't far removed.  :)  I had started this one awhile back, and thought I'd pick it up again since it should be a quick read.

Fred's Funeral by Sandy Day

It's about a recently deceased elderly gentleman.  He is still hovering nearby, and is aggravated that his annoying sister-in-law is the one in charge of funeral arrangements and is getting things all wrong in his opinion.

Maybe it will help me get back to the challenge to take a very short breather.  I almost gave up a month or so ago, but I'm adjusting my knickers and am carrying on...I like to see a thing through...that's why they call it a 'challenge' after all.

Frugal Friday File 2019, weeks 29, 30, & 31...

Successes:
1.  Shared vacation with a friend, splitting fuel and lodging and didn't eat out much.  Saw a part of the country I've never visited before, and enjoyed a lovely week of cooler temperatures.

2.  Didn't spend on touristy things.  Enjoyed sitting under tall trees brushed by a soft breeze, and read.  After the last month's work schedule, that is all I wanted to do.

3.  Packed snacks from home for the extended time in car.

4.  I found a dime at a gas station on the long drive.  This affirms for me that the reason I haven't found dropped change in my usual daily routines is not because I don't keep my eyes open for it.  

5.  Once back home, I returned library books before due date.

6.  Batched errands to save fuel.

7.  I ordered an auto-refill prescription for Rudy's allergies from the lowest-priced source I could find.  The monthly total came just barely under the amount required to get free shipping.  When it dawned on me, I immediately phoned back to edit the order from 30 pills per month to 32.   Saves the monthly shipping cost, and in a year and a half or so, I will get to skip a monthly shipment when those extra pills per month have amassed to 30.

Saturday:  wings & fries in the air fryer
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  *Chinese
Tuesday:  big lunch, snacked for supper
Wednesday:  *barbecue baked potato
Thursday:  *road eats
Friday: supper prepared by the other Kathleen

Saturday:  *road eats
Sunday: sandwich, chips, apple
Monday: sandwich, chips, carrots & hummus
Tuesday: sandwich, chips, apple & peanut butter
Wednesday:  manicotti
Thursday:  sandwich, chips, apple
Friday:  *road eats

Saturday:  *road eats
Sunday:  *road eats
Monday:  coconut shrimp (frozen), spicey noodle salad
Tuesday:  'Bowl' w/ kale, rice/quinoa mix, roasted onion, beets, mushrooms, and salmon
Wednesday:  leftovers
Thursday:  *Schlotzky sandwiches
Friday:  Dublin Coddle

Number of individual servings made and frozen
for work lunches in this three week span:  2
Between my working so much and then being gone, Carey's stockpile of home-cooked meals in the freezer is pretty much gone.  I will be trying to build it back up before he has to head off to work again.

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)