Frugal Friday File 2023, August 25...

Use it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do, or do without.

1.  Sometimes I'm really fed up with the "make it do" part of the old adage above.  Our living room furniture is wearing on my last nerve.  The sofa was one I found on Craigs list over ten years ago.  We bought it because it was in great condition, a neutral and classic style, and, if I remember correctly, because my mother-in-law was coming for an extended visit and our previous sofa was very deep and hard to rise from.  But the shallow seat depth and the very-firm frame makes it not too comfy to curl up on to watch a movie.  It still looks fine, so we continue to 'make do.'

2.  The recliner was given to us by Kasey, because she didn't like the recliner look.  She takes after her mother, because I don't like the look either.  But at the time I was having some surgeries that the recliner made it easier to get comfortable.  Now it has developed a large hole on the back.  I recently resorted to finding a similar shade of duct tape and mended it (if you are familiar with The Red Green Show).  It matched better than I hoped, but it is what it is.  And we continue to 'make do.'

3.  Carey came in this afternoon holding his left hand with a towel to staunch blood.  The man is a walking accident.  He said he had punctured his palm with a screw driver and two of his fingers were numb.  !!!  I was geared up for an ER visit, but he cleaned it thoroughly and irrigated it with hydrogen peroxide.  The feeling is back in his fingers, so ER expense averted.  (Don't worry, he is up to date on his Tetanus shots.)  It is a little alarming to me that the wound transects his life line, but his concern is nil.

4.  Did really well on the home-cooking front this week, and cooking once to eat twice put duplicate meals in the freezer to avert some takeouts in the future.

5.  Reading library books, trying to conserve water in this drought (so well doesn't go dry) & electricity (to try to avoid the power company needing to institute brown outs), and not using much gasoline as we are staying home to avoid the heat.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  pork chops, squash casserole, green beans --one for Saturday/one for freezer.  (This was supposed to be Friday's supper, but i fell asleep, so had to do something quick that night instead.  Luckily I had added a quick-fix sub to the grocery order.)

Sunday:  Smoked/grilled ribs, potato salad, beans (Kasey's A/C is out, so she brought supper to us that Beau had grilled/smoked)

Monday:  Meatloaf, twice-baked potatoes, leftover squash casserole--one for Monday/one for freezer

Tuesday:  Taco Salad

Wednesday:  Jambalaya 

Thursday:  takeout pizza

Friday:  Beef Stroganoff

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

This is what I'm reading at the moment.  Really enjoying it so far.  I do love a good horse story.  Two of my previous favorites are Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand and The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

Somehow, I have forgotten to be posting what I've been reading.  I don't want to go back and list what I've been reading here on the main page, but if you are ever interested in what I've been reading or what I thought of it after I finished it, please visit my Reading List page under the blog title photo above.  I list my reads as I finish them, and include a rating and a short opinion.

Quote of the day...

If we only love the neighbor who looks and thinks like us, then we really only love ourselves.                                                                                                              Unknown

Frugal Friday File 2023, Aug 18...

 

1.  One hundred nine degrees Fahrenheit.  Staying home with curtains drawn is the only sensible thing to do.  They say it will be this way through the middle of next week.  Sincerely hoping the power grid isn't overwhelmed; if there's one thing worse than the power going off in a freak winter ice storm, it is the power going off in an extreme heat event of Texas summer. 

2.  This week was horrible on the menu front.  Too hot to cook.  Too hot to think about cooking.  I finally made a menu and grocery order on Thursday.  So the order has been picked up, and the kitchen is now restocked.  

3. When I did cook, I planned ahead.  Making chili for Chili Frito Pie, meant leftover chili with which to make enchilada casserole.  This grocery order and menu plan leans toward meal prep will be cook once/eat twice by putting 2nd meal in freezer for future.

4.  Last year at this time, I had still not met my medical insurance (employer's group) deductible.  Next week I have a medical test that has to be done at a hospital.  It's a pretty easy test (just an hour or so), but I had no idea how much it might cost.  The hospital just called to let me know that the out-of-pocket portion of the cost will be $19.  Such a difference from last year's coverage...YAY!

5.  I cancelled a couple of subscriptions that have been underused now that I'm not working.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout burgers

Sunday:  takeout Tex-Mex

Monday:  takeout chicken

Tuesday:  Chili Frito Pie

Wednesday:  takeout BBQ sandwiches

Thursday:  Enchilada Casserole

Friday:  hot dogs

Making it Monday...sewing kit...

Here's what I worked on today.  Pardon the poor crewel work, but the thumb on my right hand is hurting today.  This is a small needle book for my little Chloe Bee.  I was going for a very primitive look...yeah...that's it.  ;)  

The inside is also "primitive".  I glued tiny magnets to keep it closed.  Today was all about getting it done, not fancy needlework.

Both Chloe's and Caitlyn's needle books were made using the felt I purchased last week.  I was going to put all of the sewing kit contents in an altoid tin, but I saw these that are the same size, and the button print just said "sewing kit" to me.  

The needle books just fit inside the sewing kit box.

The contents of each sewing kit were 4 bobbins with various thread colors, folding scissors, a mini seam ripper, a thimble, various sizes of safety pins, and the needle book.  This should help out in wardrobe emergencies.

As per my usual, I forgot to take photo of Caitlyn's needle book and sewing kit.  Her needle book had a simpler design on front; just a threaded needle done in a backstitch.  I was in a rush to get it done before she left for school.  I may make her another one with a ladybug on the cover...but not today.

Frugal Friday File 2023, (on Sunday) August 13...

Again I couldn't get this posted on Friday.  It was kind of a busy week.

1.  Rudy had a vet visit on Tuesday.  At seven years old, he is now considered a senior dog.  He doesn't act like one, though he is getting a little gray around his face.  Vet visits are not cheap, but keeping a healthy dog healthy is frugal.

2.  I hemmed two pair of slacks for Caitlyn before she left for college.  Always happy to do something that can make her happy...especially when its free!  :)

3.  This week I had to be in the neighboring town for a doctor appointment, so while I was there I went to Hobby Lobby to look for pieces of felt.  I was thrilled to see that they had them and that they were only 34¢ each.  I bought 4 colors/sheets, and that is all I purchased.  With tax it came to $1.47.  That is definitely the cheapest I have ever gotten out of that store!  

4.  I made a needle case out of the felt to complete a mini sewing kit for Caitlyn to take with her to college.  (I've mentioned her moving to college twice in this post, and it puts a lump in my throat.  They moved her today [Sunday]).

5.  Finished one library book.  Will pick up another when I go pick grocery order tomorrow.

On the menu this last week:

Saturday:  grazed the fridge

Sunday:  Sunday family supper @ Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Spanish Rice

Tuesday:  subscription meal (frozen from a previous order)

Wednesday:  subscription meal (frozen from a previous order)

Thursday:  Mexican Cornbread

Friday:  takeout pizza

Frugal Friday File 2023, August 4...

 

Why can I not seem to get this posted on Friday...sigh.

1.  Reserved library books.

2.  Spent a lot of time at my craft desk making cards.  Not necessarily a frugal hobby per se, but since the supplies have been purchased, it is only responsible to actually use them and mail them to people.  ;)

3.  The extreme heat events we've been having made an appearance on this month's electric bill, but not by as much as I feared.

4.  The pump on our water well went out, and required professional replacement.  Chaching - $3,000.  Frugal living meant that we had the funds available to write that check.

5.  Paid off all vacation spending with savings that had been earmarked for vacation.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  late lunch on the road, skipped supper

Sunday:  Sunday family supper with Kasey & Beau

Monday:  Tuna Salad, fresh tomato, crackers

Tuesday:  omelette, watermelon salad

Wednesday:  Quiche

Thursday:  Takeout baked potatoes w/ bbq brisket

Friday:  Fried Rice

The one where we returned from vacation...

 

Watermelon Salad served with Omelette

We've been out of town for a couple of weeks.  We got home this past Saturday. I didn't want to announce to the internet that we would be gone beforehand, so I'm just mentioning it now.

Since we have had our fill of non-home cooking for awhile, and thus took the hit to our wallet, I'm back to cooking, and trying to shop the pantry and freezer rather than the supermarket.  Yesterday I made tuna salad and served it with fresh tomato slices and crackers.  Now that is a cool summer supper!  (I have to add here that several days of our trip we were fed great home cooking by our hostess, and I came home with a new recipe.)

Today we were out of bread and needed milk, so Carey went to the store for those, and I asked him to pick up a watermelon.  For the first 64 years of my life I hated watermelon!  Every few years I would try a bite, because it looks so good, but never could manage more than that bite...until last year.  It is odd how palates change over the years...many, many years.  :)

This afternoon I cut up the melon to have it ready-to-eat in the fridge.  I thought I could make a salad with some of it, so I looked at recipes on the Web, and then adapted them to ingredients I had on hand.  I ended up using watermelon, red onion, cucumber, hominy, and added a dressing with white wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, and Tajin seasoning which has chile and lime flavors.  I strained the watermelon, so it wouldn't be too much liquid, and waited till the omelette was done to toss everything together.

Preparing the omelette gave me a headstart on tomorrow's dinner, as I sauteed extra onion and bell peppers so that I would have some for the quiche I have planned for tomorrow.  You may think that is a lot of eggs to be eating this week.  Well, the friendly POA non-sanctioned chicken wrangler has been getting a bounty of butt nuggets from the hens lately and sent us home with a dozen and a half to add to what were already in our fridge.

On another note, while we were gone, we decided to leave Rudy inside all day giving him the run of the house due to the extreme heats we've been having.  The kids came by several times a day to let him out and feed him and play a little.  Bless him, he didn't get into any boredom mischief!  That was a nice surprise.

Oddly, though we were the ones doing a lot of eating out, he was the one gaining weight.  I walked in to a visibly chunkier dog, and his collar was too tight!  I think he was given more generous servings in our absence!  Well, that and hanging out in the A/C all day instead of his accustomed extended backyard exercise time chasing squirrels and deer. 

It's great to be home again.