2024 Frugal Friday File, April 26...

 

1.  I have a trip coming up to visit an old friend.  I haven't flown in at least fifteen years (in fact my last flight may have been to visit this particular friend).  Luggage rules have changed in that time.  Since I fly so rarely, and my current luggage works for the car trips we usually take, I will be borrowing carry-on luggage from Kasey instead of buying.

2.  Last night Carey was eating leftover pizza.  I wasn't starving, but I wanted something.  As I looked through the fridge, I saw the remainder of the blueberries (that Carey said he would eat, but he hadn't eaten all week).  I had a bag of lettuce mix, I added the blueberries, some pears from the pantry, some pecans from the freezer, some feta, and I mixed up a quick Honey Dijon dressing.  It was all things that were needing to be used up and/or hanging out waiting to be used.  It took all of five minutes (opening the can of pears was the hardest part).  It was fabulous.  

3.  A week or two ago I had some blood work done.  The lab was in a building that was nearly impossible to find.  GPS sent me to a weird dead-end roundabout and down an alley.  I pulled over and Googled two more times and drove back to a known starting point twice before I found it.  Originally, I had felt stupid for leaving an hour early, but thank goodness I did, because I arrived barely on time.  

This morning I am having a mammogram at a different provider than I have gone to in the past.  Guess where it is located...same building!  I won't waste time and gasoline finding it this time.  It is burned in my memory!

4.  I will pick up a reserved library book on my way home.

5.  Tax refund arrived!  I have squirreled it away into four different subaccounts: some for emergency cash, some toward money waiting to pay our long-term care premium at the end of the year,  some toward property taxes also due at end of the year, and some in a long neglected account to go toward our next vehicle (I'm really hoping we won't need one for a long time, but really need to keep socking away for that purpose when I can.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Leftovers

Sunday:  leftovers

Monday:  Sunday supper at Kasey & Beau's

Tuesday:  No Peek Chicken

Wednesday:  Homemade Pizza

Thursday:  Carey leftover pizza - me **salad

Friday:  ?

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday

Things to Look Forward To: 52 Large and Small Joys for Today and Every Day

by Sophie Blackall

This was an ebook impulse buy from Kindle Deal of the Day email received this week.  I paid $1.99. The short essays and the author's illustrations are delightful.  I read it in one sitting, and I will go back to it again...and maybe again...on repeat.

I want to buy a hardcover copy of it and tuck things like movie ticket stubs, old photographs, and postcards into it.  I've also ordered a hard copy of it to give as a gift.

The Alienist by Caleb Car

This one caught my eye on special price for Kindle.  I briefly thought about buying for $1.99, but, as always, I checked the ebooks at library instead, and they had it available for checkout.  

I haven't seen the Netflix program, but am aware of it...I've currently started reading another book that I want to put off reading for awhile...I'm waiting on reserve to come up for one I really want to read...so I thought I'd give this one a try.  Hardly a ringing endorsement, but then I haven't started it yet.

Sunday desserts, 4/21/2024...

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake from realhousemoms.com

 

On Sundays we have supper with Kasey and Beau and family at their house.  We've been doing that for around ten years now.  We usually have something from the slow cooker if Kasey is doing the cooking, or something from the grill if Beau is doing the cooking.  From the start I've been taking a dessert almost every week.  I never missed in the early days, as I never wanted to disappoint my sweet grandchildren.  My youngest grandson asked me one Sunday, "How do you think of a different dessert every week!?"  (Thank you, Pinterest, for making me a super Grandma!)

 Aside from delighting the grands, it is also a way that I still get to prepare desserts without Carey and I having to eat the whole thing on our own.

This week I had those yummy free blueberries in the fridge, and in the springtime I always crave something lemony, so I searched for Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake, and this one popped up.  Thanks to realhousemoms.com for the recipe, and I've linked to their recipe above right under the first photo.

The lemon flavor and generous blueberry ratio make this delicious.  The ease of preparation makes it a keeper.  I should have taken it out of the oven about 10 minutes sooner, but even so, it is moist and yummy!

About the time I took it out of the oven, Kasey texted me that they need to postpone Sunday supper till Monday this week.  I'm sure it will still be delicious tomorrow, but I shouldn't be held responsible if there are a number or slices missing by then!  :)

What I'm reading Wednesday (on Saturday)...

The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake

Finished this one on Tuesday.  When the main character is orphaned during a cholera epidemic, the doctor takes her home with him to figure out what to do with her.  The doctor's housekeeper insists they keep her.  She's bright and interested, and he trains her to help in his practice.  I liked it, and would rate it 7 out of 10.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Inspired by an actual midwife in 18th century Maine.  I love a good midwife story, and this did not disappoint!  I would rate it 9 out of 10.  The Author's Note and Acknowledgments were very interesting, and are worth a read after finishing the book.  I had to wait several months for this library ebook, but so worth it.  I couldn't put it down, and finished its 450 pages in 3 days. 

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

For a change of pace I will be starting this one next.

2024 Frugal Friday File, April 19...

 

1.  Planned the menu for the week, placed grocery order.  Our grocery does a fantastic job getting orders correct, but there were quite a few errors this week.  I first noticed when I came across an 18 oz container of fresh blueberries which I knew I hadn't ordered, along with a pint of half & half which also had not been on my order.  Then I decided I'd better check everything on the order, and I found four missing items totaling about $18. 

I phoned customer service and was completely honest about what was missing and what was included which I was not charged for.  They pleasantly reimbursed me the $18, and told me to keep the items that they sent out in error ($8 value) free of charge.  

This is the second time in the past month or so that I've had to call about a refund; the last time was about a damaged container that had leaked a lot of its contents.  I have been ordering online and picking up since the pandemic started...four years now?...and these are the only errors I have been aware of in all that time!  Customer service is so friendly and helpful, that even with the errors the process is much, MUCH less stressful than going in store and 'hunting and gathering' myself, not to mention standing in long lines.  And no impulse purchases!  :)

2.  I cancelled a monthly subscription for Britbox that was set to renew tomorrow.  as I wasn't using it.  I am also subscribed to Acorn, and was going to cancel it as well; however when I clicked cancel, it asked if I would keep it if I could get 3 months for half price.  I chose that option, but if I don't watch it regularly between now and then, I'm canceling at the end of that period.

3.  We did not buy each other anniversary gifts, not that we often do.  I think I mentioned that I told Carey what I would dearly love was for him to get his own library card, which he did.  

4.  Received the paycheck for the days I worked last week, and I booked another day for next month.

5.  Other than for food, it was a no-spend week!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout fried chicken

Sunday:  Sunday supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Spanish Rice

Tuesday:  Vegetable Fried Rice

Wednesday:  anniversary dinner out

Thursday:  Quiche

Friday:  Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Corn

**designates meatless meal

And they said it wouldn't last...

Forty-eight years ago today I was skinny, Carey had hair, and we tied the knot...even though I had to do it on crutches.  (And seriously, one of my own sisters said it wouldn't last, because I was interested in nothing but pretty clothes.  Guess we showed her!  LOL)

Tonight Carey and I went out for an early supper at a favorite restaurant, and we were literally the only customers in the place.  We were seated, and it was so quiet, but that was a very good thing as we could hear the soft music that they had playing.  The song that was playing when we were seated ended, and the next song started playing...it was the song that we had requested to be played at the wedding!  A forty-eight year old song that the number of times I have heard it played on the radio over the years could be counted on one hand.  I almost thought that Carey had called ahead to request it, but no, it was serendipity.  It was a lovely surprise.

 

This is the wedding photo that cracks me up.  The Baptists are smiling.  The Methodists are glum.  Can't speak for my pastor, but I was just wanting to get the shindig over so I could sleep off the Valium I took to get me through the day.  

I always say I was the bride from Sixteen Candles.  Not being a party person, and hating to be the center of attention, I begged my doctor for something to help me not have to spend the entire event hiding in a bathroom somewhere...the whole crutches thing put my stress level over the top.  Since Doc was elbow deep in plaster and had just given me the choice of going down the aisle on crutches or in a wheelchair, he took pity on me.

Did the bride think that just maybe she should take one pill ahead of the day to see what kind of timing to expect for it to work?  No, she did not.  She waited till right before leaving for church, and since it seemed not to be helping, she took another one.  That did the trick.  During the vows, I got tickled when I had to say "in sickness and in health."  It was apparently not an inaudible giggle, because in the reception line guests kept telling me how funny it was when I laughed out loud.

Good times.  Good times.  :)

Happy Birthday, Disco Baby...

I was SO excited to come across this mirror-ball plant pot.

Kasey says that she hates disco, but being born in 1977, I call her my disco baby.  She is also about the least bling-y girl there is.  

When she and I went to visit my mother-in-law awhile back, there was a car in the parking lot with a rhinestone steering-wheel cover, and Kasey commented on her distaste for it.  I filed that away till we got home.  Then I set to work gathering every bling-y car accessory I could find and held on to it till her birthday.

While she and Beau were busy with prom stuff with Chloe, Carey, Caitlyn, and I set to work.  Carey put on the rhinestone-covered license plate cover.

There were also tire valve caps for him to put on all four tires.

Caitlyn and I did the inside with rhinestone drink-holder coasters, console cover...

...steering-wheel cover, ignition ring, radio-button rings,  and gear-shift cover.  There's one or two things that I don't think she will find for awhile, so I won't name them here in case she peeks.  

As we were working, Caitlyn said, "Mom is going to hate this."

I said, "I KNOW!  I'm SO excited!"

She has already texted me that she is on to me. .' She referred to her car as being 'bedazzled.'  LOL

This was a very satisfying birthday surprise for my disco baby!  I can only imagine that the majority has been or very soon will be dismantled, but it was totally worth it.  :)

 

2024 Frugal Friday File, April 12...

1.  I filled in two days this week at my previous branch.  Good thing, as I had mandatory training due by the 18th.  Money in!

2.  Kasey finished doing our taxes (bless her, she is the good child this week for sure!)  We were pleasantly surprised to be getting a nice refund this year.  We weren't sure which way it would go since this is the first year we are both retired, and were kind of experimenting with how much withholding we set up.

3.  Jared's car went into the shop for repairs on Wednesday, so he borrowed Carey's truck to drive to work that day.  Then yesterday, though he was off, they were having a going away party at work for one of his co-workers that he wanted to be there for.  He borrowed my car this time, as I wanted nothing more than a stay-home-and-read-all-day kind of day.  How was this frugal for us?  He filled both the truck and my car up with gasoline as a thank you (and mine was really getting low).  Maybe HE'S the good child this week.  ;)

4.  An old friend of Kasey's lost her dad this week.  I asked Kasey if I should take some food over.  She said Beau was barbecuing to take them a meal, so she suggested maybe I could make a dessert to go with it.  They even picked it up to deliver for me.  

I had everything on hand to make my favorite sheet cake recipe.  I never like to deliver a meal in a container that will have to be returned; and though I didn't have a large foil cake pan, I had two of about half the size of a 9" x 13" sheet pan.  I split the batter between those two, and iced each. Now if they had a lot of meals delivered, they can freeze one or both, or share with her brother's family.

5.  Tomorrow is Kasey's birthday.  I've had her birthday gift planned for and purchased months ago.  Not extravagant, but a little work intensive.  Hope we can pull it off and keep it a surprise.  I'll try to remember to snap a photo or two.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  leftovers

Sunday:  Sunday family dinner at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  takeout Schlotzky sandwiches

Tuesday:  frozen Bertolli pasta meal from the freezer

Wednesday:  takeout Tex-Mex

Thursday:  Smoked Sausage with Roasted Potatoes & Butternut Squash

Friday:  leftovers

What I'm Reading Wednesday...

 

The Strange Courtship of Kathleen O'Dwyer by Robert Temple

I completed this one over the weekend.  I liked it.  Sort of an unconventional love story, with a lot of feminine self-reliance, horseback riding, fighting, shooting, and hunting that moves the story along.  

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

I've been waiting on the ebook of this one to be available from the library for months.  I just finished it last night, and loved it.  Indigenous Canadian family crosses the border into Maine to pick blue berries year after year.  And one year their four-year-old daughter disappears on the first day of picking.  Couldn't put it down.  (If you enjoyed the Little Bird series on PBS, you will want to read this one.)

Death at a Scottish Wedding by Lucy Connelly

I'm about to start this one, but it will have to wait until tonight as I am working today.  This is the 2nd in the Scottish Isle Mystery series by Lucy Connelly.  It is newly acquired at our library, so of course I jumped on the reserve list.

I am having a heck of a time keeping up; trying to finish each read before the next on my reserve list is ready.  :)

2024 Frugal Friday File, April 5...

 

1.  Picked up my grocery order, and a 24 ounce container of sour cream was split and leaking.  Luckily it was in a bag with just one other item that was able to be wiped off.  Phoned the grocery help line, and was cheerily refunded the $3.62 without having to return the damaged item.  I had taken a photo of the damaged carton that I offered to send, but they didn't need to see that either.

2.  Batched an errand with the grocery order pickup, and drove through the library parking lot to return the book I just finished.  Seven miles to town is a trip you don't want to have to repeat unnecessarily.

3.  Carey finished building one of two floating shelves for the half bath located in the craft room/office.  Then decided that he wanted to paint the bathroom before putting the shelf up.  He found a gallon of paint from the guest room re-do a few years ago.  I was happy to have that color in that bathroom as well.  Painting completed, and the shelf was installed.  He's built the second shelf that will go above the first, and will install it soon.  I'm tickled pink, as it all turned out even better than I had asked for at very little expense!

4.  Spent a lovely evening last night with our friends visiting from Canada.  I made homemade lasagna and salad.  They brought a bottle of wine.  We enjoyed a relaxed evening, not having to talk over poor acoustics in a restaurant, or an expensive tab.

5.  This morning, another two reserved items became available at the library.  One of them was for Carey.  He said he would pick them up while he was out, but would need my library card.  I asked him, "You know what I want for our anniversary this year?  For you to get your own library card."   Our anniversary is in a couple of weeks, so he bit at that; he picked up the library books using my library card, and got his own library card while he was there.  I'm very, very happy, considering that I have been asking him to get a card since we moved here fourteen years ago!

     He reads a lot, particularly in the winter.  But since he has always worked away from home so much, he didn't like to take library books out of town with him in case they got left somewhere, etc.  So he's always preferred to peruse the library's used book nook and purchase from there, then re-donate them when he was done.  He's retired now, so he doesn't have to worry about losing books, and the general library selections are greatly more varied than the used donation book nook.  I think he will be happy...and not just with the free anniversary gift!  :)

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout salad (me) & Philly Cheesesteak (Carey)

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Chili Frito Pie

Tuesday:  Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday:  Lasagna, Salad, and Key Lime Pie

Friday:  leftovers

**designates meatless meal

This project has been waiting for YEARS...

These are the tracings of silver trays, and they are taped to the wall as a template to see if I liked this arrangement.

I've been collecting silver bread trays forever, and always intended to hang them someday.  The impetus, finally, was a few larger additions to the silver collection.  My friend, the other Kathleen, was downsizing, and she was trying to decide what to do with two very large trays, and three medium size trays.  I told her to hang them, that's what I was going to do with mine.  She said, well why don't I just give these to you?  😮

They have literally been on the floor of my craft room/office for a year and a half.  That room has finally reached critical mass (pronounced: MESS), so I figured there was no time like the present to get these hung.  Also the other Kathleen is coming to visit this summer, and I wanted to shock surprise her by having it done!

 I've been polishing and attaching hangers for the better part of a week.  I didn't try to get every bit of tarnish off, as I kind of like them to show a little vintage wear.  (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.)  Carey put all the holes in the wall this morning...some nails...some screws for the heavier trays.

Once the trays were up, it looked a little top heavy with that largest tray at the top, so I tried switching it out with the round tray in the middle.

Ah...I like this better.  The middle tray overlaps the light switch plate a bit, but the switch that it partially covers controlled an outdoor pond pump that is no longer in use anyway.

There are a couple of trays that I couldn't hang, and one that was just so big and heavy that I put it on a stand on a nearby shelf instead.  Most are silver plated.  One is gold plated; it was a gift to my parents on their 50th anniversary, and I wanted it in the group.  A couple of them are vintage hand-wrought aluminum family pieces.  But taken as a group, I think it looks pretty cohesive.

So what do you think?  I'm just SO glad it is done at long last.  

2024 Frugal Friday File, March 29...

1.  Made the menu for the week, and placed grocery order.  I am very pleased that the new grocery plan for shopping more intentionally and using the grocery-specific credit card  has earned us back almost $50 in 5% back on store-brand items just since the first of the year!  I still prefer a name brand product for some things, but our grocery has awesome store-brand items in general, so the 5% back for those really adds up (plus 1.5% back on all other purchases).  I feel like I'm earning CD interest rate without tying up money in a CD.  :)

2.  I've been working on a couple of projects, and came to a point where finishing up required a trip to Hobby Lobby.  I needed some hardware for hanging some items, and I also needed some E6000 glue, a wooden clock base, and some white acrylic paint.  Some other items totaling about $35 found their way into my cart as well. Thankfully I came to my senses before I reached the checkout, and returned the impulsive wants to the shelves they came from, and kept only what I absolutely needed today.  I may go back for the rest at another time, but I will watch for them to go on sale first.  That's the thing about Hobby Lobby, they rotate items on sale regularly, so it is a rookie mistake to get something not on sale unless it is an immediate need.

3.  I continue to declutter and cycle decor items into use, into the seasonal decor closet, or into the donation box.  Easter decor will go back in the closet on Monday, and be replaced with non-holiday-specific items.

4.  I scored another newly-released book that has just been purchased by the library by watching their email about new library purchases.  It's not made it into circulation yet, but I am first on the reserve list, so expect to have it in my hot little hands within a few days.

5.  Having friends over for a meal next week instead of going out.  It will be comfortable and easier to visit.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout fried chicken

Sunday:  Sunday family dinner at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Pork Chow Mein

Tuesday:  Spanish Rice    

Wednesday:  takeout sandwiches

Thursday:  Carey had a meal from freezer, I had leftovers

Friday:  takeout baked potatoes w/ brisket

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Crafts (edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.)

Just finished this book that is believed to be the first novel written by a black woman in the U.S.  It is a novelization of her experiences in the antebellum South during her slavery and escape.  (Dr. Gates purchased the manuscript through an auction; the manuscript had been previously owned by a prominent librarian who had researched the authenticity of the manuscript and its author, and Dr. Gates expanded that research after he obtained the manuscript.  He later published it.)

I am now reading:

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

2024 Frugal Friday File, week of March 22,

1.  My daughter does our taxes for free.  She does her kids', her m-i-l's, ours, not to mention her own.  This is yet another way she is like my mother. Mom always kept up with tax law changes, and would call her friends when she knew something new could effect their returns.

2.  I went to Costco and didn't buy any snack foods (though I really wanted chocolate), baked goods, prepared foods, bath mats, or a printer to replace my non-working one...all of which I looked at, maybe even thought about, but managed to resist.  I bought spices, pecans, ribs, and...my one impulse purchase...a new laundry basket.

3.  I've been cleaning and decluttering.  While cleaning out a drawer, I found 2 sets of 100% cotton cloth napkins.  They were still in their packaging, never been used, and had been purchased in 2004 when I was in Ireland.

4.  Saturday I placed my only set of placemats in the donation box.  I wasn't a hundred percent sure I wouldn't get them back out again, but I continued cleaning while I thought about it.  My husband...the king of do-it-now philosophy...took the donation box to Goodwill before I decided.  Oops.

     So Monday I went to JoAnn's to buy some fabric to make new placemats.  I chose fabrics that will match my new...old...new napkins (see #3). While I was waiting for the selected fabrics to be cut, I updated my JoAnn's app, and downloaded the coupons.  I also needed some Command picture hanging strips, and found what I needed before heading to the checkout.  The coupons applied to my purchases equaled the exact cost of the Command strips give or take a few cents.

5.  I'm in the midst of (taking a little break from at the moment actually) extending the sofa covers to make them better fit our very long sofa.  I bought 3 readymade covers in the longest size I could find; and I'm using one to cut each end off to extend the length of the other two.  The first one is done and on the sofa.  The second one is on the sewing machine, and the break is due to language so blue that I'm letting the air clear.  :) 

I'll end up with two covers that fit, so I always have a clean one to put on the sofa while I'm laundering the other.  This is so Rudy can be on the sofa with us.  His shed hair is highly visible on the sofa's upholstery, and his nails may or may not leave scratches, but I'm not willing to find out.  

Being able to sew has saved me a mint over the years.  Of course, it wouldn't if I had to put money in a swear jar.  ;)

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout hamburgers

Sunday:  Sunday family dinner at Kasey and Beau's

Monday:  Chicken & Veg Marinara over Spaghetti Squash

Tuesday:  Pork Boneless Ribs, Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans

Wednesday:  takeout Schlotzky sandwiches

Thursday:  Pork Fried Rice

Friday:  leftovers

**designates meatless meal 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

Coffee table redoux...

This is the coffee table last week.  It was purchased about twenty years ago from an ad on Craigslist.  I'm sure I didn't pay more than $50 for it.  It was exactly what we needed at the time, and it was then in pristine condition.  It has suffered a lot of wear since it came to our house.

When we were ready to begin, Carey removed all the drawers and lifted the wooden part of the table off of it's metal base, and he took it to the workshop.  He then removed the drawer hardware and sanded all surfaces.  You may recall, from a previous post, that we tried three different stain colors on it, but it didn't take any of them well, so we chose a paint color that appeared to be a base tone of the new furniture in the room, and Carey painted all of the table's exterior surfaces.  

I then mixed a little of the base color with a little of the darkest stain (they were both latex) and added a little water to thin it out.  (Instructions said not to thin with water, but I had very little to lose, and so far it seems to have worked acceptably.)

The three tools above are what are used to apply a faux wood grain.  I tested using them on a piece of scrap wood that had been painted the base color.  You use a pulling and rocking motion with the handled semi-round tool.  When I felt comfortable using them on the scrap wood, I began on the actual table.

With the paint/stain mix, I painted each side of the table, one at a time, and used the tools to add the 'wood' texture.  Then I did the same to the drawer fronts.  Once I had gained some confidence on the smaller areas of sides and drawers, I painted and fauxed a strip running the length of the table.  I then painted a strip next to the first and repeated the process until the top was finished.  The picture above was taken after I completed all table surfaces.  I have no idea why the side at the bottom right corner of the photo looks so much lighter than the top; it must have had to do with the lighting in the workshop.  Carey was happy with it the way it was at this point, but I didn't like the distinct light and dark of the two colors.  We left it overnight to dry thoroughly.

In the morning I used a cloth to rub the surfaces, a section at a time, with the dark stain in the direction of the 'grain' then used a clean cloth to remove the extra stain until the light color was toned down somewhat.

In case you can't see the differences, here's a close up before and after this step.  The arrows point to  the same spot (a faux knot if you will) before and after applying the stain to blend the colors a little.  It's subtle, but I think it definitely makes a difference, but maybe it's an IRL thing.

These are the drawers, and again, the lighting in the workshop makes them look different than the table top, but they are very close in reality.

After letting everything dry overnight, we added a coat of polyurethane, and let it dry overnight again before bringing it in and putting it all back together.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

Here is a different angle closer up, so you can see more of how the faux grain turned out:

We'll leave it for awhile to cure before setting anything on it.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  It's not perfect, but it blends much better in the room now, and it still holds all my memories of the kiddoes visits when they were little.  (Background story linked here if you missed it.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

A sweet friend gifted me her mother's collection of Belleek Pottery.  She knew that I would enjoy it, since March 17th has always been one of my favorite days of the year.  This year I just set out these few pieces.

And the reason it's always been a special day to me?  My father was half Irish, and my mother was a St. Patrick's Day baby.  This is my pretty mama about twenty years before I was born.  I am so grateful that I received many of her skills and qualities, but her self-motivation and career focus skipped a generation...she would be so proud, as am I, that Kasey inherited that from her.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

2024 Frugal Friday File, March 15...

1.  We made our monthly (approximately) pilgrimage to the recycling center.  Not a hugely exciting trip, but we always stop for ice cream on the way home.  Yesterday we took Rudy with us.  He had so much fun with the trip in the truck AND licking the ice cream cups.  Can we count this for date night?  :)

2.  We've been working on the coffee table.  I didn't get around to starting the faux painting technique until yesterday, and since the humidity is rising with spring, I left it to dry overnight.  Today we will decide about another step to add what we used to call 'antiquing' back in the day.  Really just trying to get close to the other wood tones in the room.  I'll show the process and end result in a post soon,

3.  I haven't made a grocery order in a month!  We have been eating out more than usual, as we've been pretty busy, so it was kind of necessary.  Even so, our grocery/meals-out total so far is pretty low.  When I do have time to cook, I've been able to pull meal ingredients together from pantry and fridge.  Carey has done small grocery shops for just bread, milk, etc.

4.  Jared was on vacation this week, and chose to stay-cation and catch up on car maintenance that has been somewhat put off to get through their busy season at work.  Carey helps/advises as asked.  I'm so impressed with what Jared can do on his own.  He never seemed terribly interested in it when he was younger, but has grown really adept.

5.  Beau called Carey about dark one evening this week when their electronic gate opener went on the fritz.  He is very able to fix things around the house on his own, but being that it was so late, and he would have kids trying to get through the gate as they came home, he needed another pair of hands.  I love that the 'boys' feel free to ask Carey for help, and I know he does too.

#4 and #5 aren't really frugal wins for us this week per se, except that it is so nice to have a little tribe of knowledgeable handymen in the family and all close by.  They can truly get things done!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  leftovers

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey and Beau's

Monday:  out for Chinese food

Tuesday:  Tuna Sandwiches

Wednesday:  Sausage w/ Rice, onion, bell pepper

Thursday: Pasta Alfredo w/ Chicken

Friday:  leftovers?

**designates meatless meal 

Highs and Lows...

The hardest things for me to do with my bad knees and shoulder are climb up high on a ladder, and kneel or sit on the floor, to do cleaning tasks.  This week I have had a wonderful gift!

Caitlyn is home from school for Spring Break.  She had been hoping to work for her previous employer while she is home to bulk up her savings that have been helping pay for school expenses.  During Christmas break she was able to work quite a bit for them, but when she called before Spring Break to see if she could pick up some shifts, she was told that they had everything covered.

I told her I could use her help, and would be happy to gift her school money when she heads back after her break.  She was willing, and far more able than I, to do some of the jobs that I had put on the list I made recently of things I wanted to accomplish at home over the next few months.  

Things like emptying bookshelves, dusting them top to bottom, and helping me downsize the contents before refilling the shelves.  These days my knees just don't hold out for long when the job at hand calls for multiple trips up and down a ladder, so jobs take me longer. 

On Saturday she started in the playroom which contained the few toys and many, many books I've kept since my kids were little and the grandkids came along.  I texted all the kids and grandkids to ask if there were any books they especially remembered and would like to have.  Kasey took some that were favorites and that she will save for her future grandchildren.  Caitlyn took a few as she was working.  Bobby came and packed a boxful to use in his work with special-needs children.  The rest of the books are now boxed up to donate.

Once Caitlyn had those first shelves spic and span, she moved to the guest room and did the same in a similar sized bookshelf in there.  I didn't have a huge amount of books in that one, as they have been culled before, but there were quite a few photos and decorative items, and the tops and high shelves hadn't been dusted for far too long.  That was true of all the open shelving units in our house.  

On Sunday afternoon she took the ladder and vacuum to the laundry room.  I had already dusted and reorganized the shelves over the washer and dryer, but forgot to clean the top of the cabinet.  Caitlyn had that done in no time.  Then she moved on to floor-to-ceiling shelves that house bins of dog food, Rudy's replacement toys (I order some of his favorites in multiples so as his current ones wear out they can be quickly and easily replaced), tools, batteries, and cleaning supplies, etc.  She also cleaned out Rudy's kennel and his feeding mat.

Monday she started on the dining room's built-in shelves, and then emptied and dusted my great-grandmother's china cabinet.  Between the dining room and kitchen we have a large antique kitchen cabinet (bottom photo) that had originally been built into the kitchen of the house I grew up in.  Caitlyn cleaned it top to bottom, inside and out.  And finally the open shelving (top photo) on both sides of the window in the kitchen was also thoroughly dusted and restocked.

 

This has ticked lots of boxes from my to-do list, and jobs that would have taken me weeks have been done in a long weekend thanks to young muscles, joints, and energy! Now Caitlyn is off to the beach for a few days.  She has promised to come back for one more day of cleaning before she heads back to school.  Now that the hard jobs of ladder climbing and floor-level deep cleaning are done, my job is to get as much done as I can in the next few days to ready more projects that she can help me with.

I'm a lucky grandma.  I miss them being little, but I'm reaping the rewards of them being grown!

2024 Frugal Friday File, March 8...

 

1.  Today makes five days I've worked this week.  Money in.  And it was HARD!  :)

2.  I finished my library ebook, and picked up a just-out book (Hero) by a favorite author (Thomas Perry).  Man I love that the library sends out notices of new arrivals now, I can jump on the reserve list like a bird on a cricket!  This is about the 4th book in the last couple of months where I've been its very first reader at our library.

3.  I saw an Instagram post at lunch yesterday that said if you want to lose $10,000 all you have to do is mindlessly spend $27.40 a day for the next year.  I did the math; it actually does total $10,001.  Now, I don't spend $27 a day every single day, but I am guilty of this more often than I want to think about.  It's so easy to do.  

I bought several houseplants in the past week that we could have lived without.  On the other hand, I've had zero houseplants since I left the two I've been caring for over the past four years at the office when I left.  So I've gone quite awhile without replacing those...and they will improve our inside air quality at least a little...and they are aesthetically pleasing.   See how I can justify?

Guilty of buying meals out when we have groceries at home, though we're doing a lot better than pre-retirement.  And I can definitely cave on impulse craft supply purchases that I really, really need want.  

Heck I have filled my Amazon cart with half a dozen items over the past couple of days totaling $128.  After I started thinking about it, I realized we do need some of the items.  I deleted two items after checking supply closet and found virtually the exact items, only nicer, that have never been used.  I deleted another item when I got realistic about why I wanted it.  That brought the total down to $101.  I remembered that I had a $50 gift card that I had left from cashing in credit card rewards points late last year.  So with tax it came to $59 out of pocket.  At least now I'm sure it wasn't mindless or duplicate spending.

4.  Carey has been working on our coffee table.  It is a very sentimental piece that I wrote about here back in 2010.  (The preceding sentence is a link that you can click on if you are interested in reading about what is so sentimental about the coffee table.)  Its yellow pine color doesn't coordinate well with the new living room, so I was about ready to donate it...until Caitlyn asked, "Does this mean I won't get surprises in my drawer any more?!"  She's almost 20, but that's all it took.  

So Carey has now sanded the entire thing, drawers and all.  We bought three different colors of stain (one at a time), and it just didn't take any of them well.  So he sanded again.  Now we are trying a paint and faux finish.  (He's painted this week, I will try to do the faux finish in the next few days now that the work week is almost over.  Those stain rejects got expensive, but I will donate them (barely used) at the nearest Re-Store.  Fingers are crossed that the project will turn out well in the end.  Not exactly a frugal win, but cheaper than buying a new coffee table, and its special-ness is priceless...at least to me.

5.  I'm writing this on Thursday night, and it is getting late, and I have to work in the morning.  So I'm going to keep the list at four this week.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  dinner out

Sunday:  Sunday supper at Kasey and Beau's

Monday:  subscription meal that has been languishing in the freezer

Tuesday:  homecooked meal from the freezer - Jambalaya

Wednesday:  takeout Barbecue Baked Potatoes with Brisket

Thursday:  homecooked meal from the freezer - Beef Stew

Friday:  out for favorite Tex-Mex

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

Finished this one in a few days.  It reads as sort of a campy screenplay set in Edwardian England.  A little Jane Austen.  A little Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

Hero by Thomas Perry

From the description, it sounds like the protagonist may be the Jane Whitefield of the 21st century.  Jane Whitefield was the character that this author based a series on, and they were some of my favorite books ever.  She helped people in trouble to disappear, but it got harder and harder as the world started using facial recognition and security cameras everywhere.  I'm really excited and hopeful as I start this one to see how the new character overcomes these challenges.