Thankful, grateful, blessed, week 5...

So very blessed to live within a mile of our children and grandchildren; close enough to bake them Monster Cookies for Halloween and drop their treats by their house.

When we sold the ranch to move near them, it was hard.  And I'm not going to lie, we still miss living on top of our hill.  But sometimes blessings involve sacrifice too.  We love sharing meals weekly, and games, and the occasional school pick up we are asked to make, the sleepovers we have had, and taking the opportunity to teach them the letter writing that has made their great-grandmother so happy.  So many memories we have made!

I was chatting with a friend online last night.  She is in the middle of uprooting her home and job to move over a thousand miles to be near one of her children and grandchildren.  I think it's a pretty safe bet to predict that she will love it too.  :)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Aaaaack!  No. Time.  To.  Read.  Sigh...maybe on the weekend.

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 43...

Successes:
1.  Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go!  I applied for a full-time position with my current company.  I was offered and have accepted the job.  It is at the new branch office that is SO close to my house!  :)  We still have to finish out the hiring process before I 'officially' start, but since I am an employee of the company that fills in where needed, I am able to work the new job in my on-call capacity, so have worked all week, and will continue to do so until the official start.

2.  I am using less gasoline as my daily travel path has decreased.

3.  Carey's workplace is a little understaffed at the moment.  He got called in on his days off to work a couple of days.  Mama likes overtime!

4.  I paid all bills on time avoiding any fees.  Though I have to admit I came close on a couple, as I need to adjust my routines with the new schedule the daily work has added.

This hasn't been a very frugal week.  We ate out a lot.  I'm working on a menu plan and shopping list that I think is workable for the decreased home time and energy I am experiencing at the moment.

Saturday:  I cooked, I just don't remember what
Sunday:  Sunday family dinner at Kasey & Beau's.
Monday:  *Chinese
Tuesday:  *Tex-Mex
Wednesday:  *birthday dinner out
Thursday:  *burgers
Friday: ?

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

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Thankful, grateful, blessed, week 4...

Today is my 62 birthday.  And I am thankful, grateful, and blessed to be here to celebrate it.  And I do celebrate it!

I've had some really close calls (in 2008 there was the car accident, and then, in January of 2009 there were the pulmonary embolisms), and those were some excellent educational experiences.  

Each morning is now another chance to wake up and say 'thank you for this extra day.'

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Good Morning, Young Lady by Ardyth Kennelly

This is another one that I read when I was very young.  It's interesting going back and rereading a book, seeing what you still love, or find you have outgrown one and wonder, "What was I thinking?"  I haven't gotten too far into this one yet (it's out of print, so I had to order a used copy, and the print is pretty tiny), but I am enjoying it, and it's because I love the characters, and the author's writing style is very interesting.

This one is set in Utah.  Notice anything on the map?

Yep!  Utah is the ONLY state left!  Woohoo!!!

I don't have much reading time lately, so this one may take me awhile to wrap up.  I am very happy to have gotten to this point in the challenge, however, and I am looking forward to reading some books set a little further afield.

Frugal Friday file 2019, week 42...

Successes:
1.  I worked four days this week.

2.  I paid off my car loan!  Yea!!!  From now on that amount will be going into savings for next vehicle.  Carey has been talking about replacing his truck for awhile now, so it will be coming up soon, I'm sure.

3.  I've been doing some online window shopping for clothes, but was able to hold off on purchasing.  There's a possibility that I will need some things, but I decided to stand strong in the face of the SALE siren's song and wait until I have all the facts.

4.  Used very little gasoline this week, since worked very close to home.

5.  It's cooling off...FINALLY!  The electric bill was down just a bit this month, and am looking forward to it to continue dropping until we need to start heating.  I'm about to put the warmer linens on the bed...same ones we've had for years as all are still in good condition.

Saturday:  Frito Pie
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  leftovers
Tuesday:  roast, potatoes, carrots
Wednesday:  *Schlotzsky sandwiches
Thursday:  *chicken
Friday:  ?

Number of individual servings made and frozen for work lunches this week:  2

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Thankful, grateful, blessed, week 3...

Thankful for the rain we had Tuesday night / Wednesday morning.  It was a long, dry summer.  

I'm not excited to have had dripping in the attic, but grateful that we could hear it, and do something about it before it does too much damage over time.  Carey went in the attic, and was able to ascertain that it was the seal around the chimney that is leaking.  He attempted to get on the roof yesterday while I was at work, but quickly realized that the roof pitch was too steep for him to climb about safely.  Thrilled that he accepted his limitations and contacted a professional with the equipment and experience to access the heights.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

I'm still plugging away on the challenge books.  In the past week, I've scratched off North Dakota, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Dakota Dawn by Lauraine Snelling

I rate it 7/10

We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg

I rate it 8/10

The Devil in Canaan Parish by Jackie Shemwell

I rate it 5/10

And now I'm reading:

Maud's Line by Margaret Verble

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 41...

Successes:
1.  I purchased one souvenir on the entire trip...for a total cost of $1.01...at Niagara Falls.  Yes, one dollar and one cent.  LOL  I put four quarters and a penny into one of those machines that press and elongate a penny while stamping an image into it.  It took up no space on journey, and I didn't have to worry about it breaking.  I think this will be my go-to souvenir in the future, and I can start a penny charm bracelet or necklace.  Since returning home, I have found a website that indicates machine locations, so that as I plan vacations, I can be sure to find a souvenir press.

2.  I also came home with other treasures gifted by friends and family along the way.  My friend, the other Kathleen, has been downsizing while moving to a smaller house.  We stopped by to see her new house, and she gifted me with quite a few silver-plated (?) trays, which I have been collecting to make a wall display.  And several months ago Carey's sister offered us a quilt that was made by their grandmother (circa 1930), so we stopped at her house on our way home for a visit and to pick up the quilt.  Coincidentally Carey's sister and her husband are heading to Niagara Falls next week.

3.  Looking at the charges, it seems we came in under our planned vacation budget.  We did decide to come home 2 to 3 days early, as I wanted to have some downtime for laundry, etc, before I had to work again, so that cut costs.  Leftover savings will stay in the account and be built on for next trip.

4.  Carey and Jared worked on our water-well storage tank today.  It has had a leak for awhile, and the patch they tried previously seems to not be doing the job.  How is this frugal?  They know enough, and are able, to try fixes before calling for repair or replacement.  Carey is at the point that he is going to have to call for professional help  (professional storage-tank help, not the kind of professional help you may have been thinking of, LOL), but he knows the right questions to ask when he calls without getting the runaround. 

5.  I'm working today...and for the rest of the month.

Saturday:  *road eats
Sunday:  *road eats
Monday:  *road eats
Tuesday:  *barbecue
Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken w/ Broccoli
Thursday:  *Tex-Mex
Friday:  leftovers

Number of individual servings made and frozen for work lunches this week:  1
There are quite a few meals stockpiled for him to take to work, so Carey asked me to stop preparing freezer meals for awhile so he can use what is there and defrost the freezer he stores them in.

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Thankful, grateful, blessed #2...

So very thankful to have arrived back home safely from a low-stress ten days or so on the road.

We had a very nice trip.  We went to Niagara Falls.  We saw no change in the seasons, as it was unseasonably warm in New York when we arrived (though it did get cooler while we were there).  When we started home, a quick Google search let us know that there was a small pocket of two counties in Pennsylvania where the leaves were at near peak fall colors, so we made a slight detour to enjoy just a bit of fall foliage.  And heading further south in Pennsylvania, we found ourselves too close to Gettysburg to resist stopping for a bit.

I think in all we passed through 15 states, though we didn't stop to see sights in each one.  It was a very relaxing trip, with no formal planning or schedule.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Boy, did I get a lot of reading done on vacation.  Since I have finished the first five, I also showed how I rate them.

To Live by C. G. Cooper

I rate it 8/10

The Good Sister by Leanne Davis

I rate it 5/10

The Resurrection of Tess Blessing by Lesley Kagen

I rate it 5/10

Perfect Peace by Daniel Black

I rate it 7/10

The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau

I rate it 6/10

The one I am now reading (so as yet it is unrated by me):

Dakota Dawn by Lauraine Snelling

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 40...

Successes:
1.  Carey wanted something to listen to on our road trip.  I perused the library website and downloaded a selection of books that I thought we both might like.

2.  Packed high protein snacks from home for when the hungries might strike in the car.

3.  I had considered renting an RV for this trip so we could bring Rudy with us, but decided the rental cost (plus pet deposit), plus the extra fuel it would require, and additional camping site fees would vastly outpace the cost of taking our car (with its good gas mileage) and staying in hotels.

4.  Jared is keeping Rudy for us.

5.  Though I'm not really a breakfast person, we are both taking advantage of free hotel breakfasts.  I'm making sure to choose healthy servings of fresh fruit and oatmeal to make up for less healthy choices later in the day.  The big breakfast is holding us through lunch and then we are just having an early supper, so one paid meal out per day. 

Saturday:  *road eats
Sunday:  *road eats
Monday:  *road eats
Tuesday:  *road eats
Wednesday:  *road eats
Thursday:  *road eats
Friday: *road eats

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

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Road trip, NY journey...

Trying to blog from my phone, so will keep it short.

We are in New York.  It was unseasonably warm when we arrived yesterday, but rainy and cool today.  We got out this morning, and found our way to Niagara Falls.  Sadly, the lack of cool temperatures until now means that the leaves haven't turned yet.  The falls are still impressive.

As we have travelled north, the Sonics have gotten fewer and further between.  But we found one here near Buffalo so had to stop.

Y'all know how I love my magic Sonic ice.  :)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Pioneer Women: Voices From the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

I keep reading letters and journal entries of female pioneers.  They absolutely amaze me.