2024 Frugal Friday File, June 28...

 

1.  Phone (land line)/Internet/Cable bill usually runs $230 a month.  =O  We receive Ph/I/C through a co-op. Once a year they return capital credits; we've been customers for twenty plus years so get a nice chunk...still not enough to pay the whole bill, but this month's bill totaled only $10.38.  Yes, I know that $230 a month for the rest of the year is too much to pay, but we are kind of over a barrel, in that the community's contract with the co-op makes the co-op the SOLE provider of internet service in this area.  Note to self:  Call co-op to discuss price for ONLY internet, since we don't use landline, and maybe we can do without cable.

2.  Thanks goodness the book I showed on What I'm Reading Wednesday was free, because it is really not my cup of tea.  I won't be finishing it.

3.  Still haven't gone for a haircut.  It doesn't look great, but surprisingly it doesn't look horrible.  

4.  Is continuing to put off laundry a water saving measure?  If yes, then I'm rockin' it!

5.  FAIL:  After dinner on Thursday I packaged the leftovers for a meal for the freezer, and set it out to cool.  After watching the debate, I completely forgot about putting it in the fridge.  Realized my mistake about midnight.  I was afraid to risk eating it, so that was a huge waste.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Chicken Spaghetti Especiál

Sunday:  Sunday Supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Easy Enchilada Casserole

Tuesday:  leftovers w/ non-leftover sauteed squash

Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday:  Italian Baked Chicken, Seasoned Rice, Green Beans

Friday:  takeout Tex-Mex

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Blank by Zibby Owens

I got this book for free from Amazon.  It's a new release by the author.  I have not started it yet.

****

Last week's book (A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas) was better than I expected.  It is a beauty-and-the-beast story, and was well written and has likable  characters.

****

Today Carey and I went to see the movie Thelma.  It's an action/comedy about aging.  Great cast.  I love June Squibb, and she is my hero for still acting at 94!  Richard Roundtree was great too and he was 81, sadly he has since passed.  Carey and I both enjoyed it.

Last Week in Pictures...

Card for oldest longest-time friend (since we were 10)

Wordle in ONE!

Homemade Chicken Quesadillas

Rock, Paper, Scissors loser...Bwahahaha!

He wanted me to wear that hideous jewelry; 

we played, he lost.

I love my son-in-law!

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille.

Amazing what Rudy will do for cheese.  :)

 

2024 Frugal Friday File, June 21...

 

1.  The plumber was supposed to come this morning, but had an emergency visit elsewhere.  We haven't heard from them since then, so we are still waiting.  Ours is just for replacing parts on some leaking faucets, so I'm willing to wait.  The replacement parts had to be ordered, as the identical faucets throughout the house are a really good quality, but parts are not readily available for them these days, and we have several that have small leaks .  It reminds me of the time we had an issue with the kitchen faucet in our very first house.  It had been built during the 1940s when all metal was going toward the war effort instead of more everyday uses at home; when the house was built, things like faucets were few and far between.  Our kitchen faucet was not made for a kitchen, it was made for a scientific laboratory.  That makes me smile today.  I loved that house, and I loved the plumber for telling me that story.

There is really nothing frugal about this #1, except maybe putting off writing the check to the plumber for another day or maybe next week.  Unless you consider home maintenance as falling under "a stitch in time saves nine" adage.

2.  I completed a menu plan and grocery order, and I picked the order up this morning.  Sadly there were no great deals going at the market this week, but having groceries to cook at home is better than eating out.

3.  I heard on the radio this morning (while I was picking up grocery order) that the 'creative reuse' shop that I like to make donations to and occasionally shop (think Goodwill for craft supplies) has an upcoming class on mending.  I thought they said darning, so I thought it might be worth attending.  When I checked their website, the class was $35 and was for visible mending, like patches, yes, but embellished to have a funky vibe.  From the photos of projects, I decided it wasn't really my interest, so kept that money in my pocket.  And I continue to be forever grateful to my sewing mentor, who taught me for free how to mend as a young mother whose son went through knees of jeans like they were made of the finest silk rather than sturdy denim.  :)

4.  When I got home and put away groceries, I immediately put a chicken from the order into the slow cooker.  I'm about to go get it out and debone.  I will have chicken cooked and ready for meals later in the week as well as for tonight's supper.

5.  I woke up in the wee hours this morning to a HIGHLY realistic dream of there being a fire somewhere in the house with smoke swirling visibly.  It took me a few minutes to awaken and realize that I didn't smell smoke, and that the wisps were disappearing.  I was unable to return to sleep for hours just in case it was really smoldering silently somewhere.  It wasn't.  But I am so very thankful that it was just a nightmare and not a reality.  Not having your house on fire is definitely frugal!

On the menu this week:

**Saturday:  leftovers

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey and Beau's

Monday:  Homemade BLTs

Tuesday:  Homemade Pizza

Wednesday:  takeout Chinese

Thursday:  Frito Pie

Friday:  Homemade Chicken Quesadillas w/ grilled onion & bell pepper and guacamole

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (first in its series) by Sarah J. Maas

I'm not a big fan of fantasy.  I have never read any of Hunger Games or seen movies (or wanted to).  But Caitlyn assures me I will like this.  And it has her reading for pleasure, so I want to encourage that, and be able to discuss.

Easy and Quick Thin-Crust Pizza...

Here you go, Juhli.  Sorry it took so long!

I spent hours looking for the original source of the thin pizza crust recipe before I gave up.  I apologize it took so long to post here, but I wanted to have photos to accompany.  Carey likes pizza, but not too often, so had to wait awhile before making again. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup of water

1 Tablespoon plus 3 Tablespoons of oil, separated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, yeast, sugar and salt.

Add in the water and 1 Tablespoon oil to the dry ingredients, and mix together using your hand until dough clings together in a ball.

Once the pizza dough forms a ball in the bowl, add in the remaining 3 Tablespoons of oil and mix so that oil just coats the outside of the pizza dough ball.

Notes:  

• After adding in the 3 Tablespoons of oil, the dough will look very oily which is normal.  The dough will not taste oily once baked.
• For easier spreading the dough out on the pizza stone, make sure your fingers have a little oil on them.  (I run my fingers over the sides of the dough bowl, and then rub my hands together to oil surfaces before moving dough from bowl to baking sheet.

Let dough rest in the bowl until oven is fully preheated, and then press into desired shape/size on a pizza stone or baking sheet with your hands.  (Dough may have small tears as you press it out.  Do your best to keep them small, but don't fret...as dough pre-bakes it will rise a bit that will close small holes.)

Pre bake crust in oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, top pizza crust with desired pizza sauce and toppings and bake for another 15 minutes.  ( +/- depending on oven and personal preference)

I had no pizza sauce, so I just used part of a jar of spaghetti sauce.

I was hoping to make half pepperoni and vegetable, and the other half bacon and pineapple.  But after searching the pantry, I found no pineapple, so just threw everything I had on the dough: sauce, a little shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and cooked bacon, sliced mushrooms, sliced onion and green peppers, and topped with more shredded mozzarella cheese.

Buon Appetito!

2024 Frugal Friday File, June 14...

 

1.  I worked one day this week.  Money in.

2.  My sister-in-law sent home several sheets of Forever postage stamps with Carey that his mom had not used up.  Several years ago I built a kind of lap desk / mail organizer for her, and had included postage stamps among the pens, cards, and return address stamp.  Not sure these are all ones I had provided to her, but I can promise they will all get used now.

3.  I've been in the craft room (again/still) using up large-ish scraps of paper that are just too pretty to toss and dies cuts that were extras from another project.  I have a few more ready-to-send cards in my stash now, which is a good thing as this fall will see two grand girls in college rather than just one.

4.  I canceled the Acorn subscription.  I just wasn't watching it often, and didn't want the price to revert after the promotional period.  I also cancelled the Starz subscription.  I had subscribed at promotional price of $1.99/mo for 3 months to watch Outlander...watched some of the most recent season, but got bored.  I didn't want to risk forgetting to cancel later.

5.  I confirmed a week of work for July.  It's hard to work a whole week at a time; retirement has spoiled me, but I'll be happy to see the check boost the savings.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  leftovers

Sunday:  Sunday supper at Kasey and Beau's

Monday:  Mexican Cornbread, Avocado & Cherry Tomato salad

Tuesday:  leftovers

**Wednesday:  Pasta w/ Roasted Vegetable Sauce, Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday:  takeout  Barbecue Baked Potatoes w/brisket

Friday:  dinner out for sushi

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers

Henrietta has a new job at a cancer drop-in center, interviewing patients and transcribing the stories they tell her.  I've barely started this one, but it seems promising so far.

Critical thoughts...

 

I'm still at it.  Today I searched out boxes in the craft room that needed to be emptied and broken down for recycling.  (You know, Rudy is looking forward to the next recycling trip!)

One of the above boxes was the large one that the Ikea shelf came in last week.  I was so proud of myself that I got the shelf picked up from the store, put together, and put into use in the craft room (as well as returning the original shelf back to my closet and put back into use there) all before Carey made it back from his same-day, round-trip to his uncle's funeral.  So it took me a few days to break down the box; I cut myself some slack.

After breaking down the boxes, I put my feet up and checked email.  In my inbox was a message from Julie Hage from whom I receive an email subscription to her website Filling the Jars.  I don't always read the whole thing, but was glad I did today as it resonated with me.

She was discussing decluttering after age 50 (exhaustion, health issues, inherited items from departed family, etc), and boy can I relate!  She suggests being clear with yourself on your reasons for decluttering by writing it into a mission statement.  

That stopped me in my tracks.  I have not been clear with myself about why I'm decluttering.  Yeah, yeah, I want things to be neater, more organized, but I want more than that as well, yet I have never put it into a clear thought.

After mulling it over while I cooked and did a few other chores, I set out to get it down in a honest and concise way that I can refer to when I need a gentle reminder as to why this is important to me and the ones I love.  I've had some experience writing and updating mission statements at work, and know that concise is important, as is clear language that states your intent.  I wasn't as concise as I could have been, but mission statements evolve, and I can declutter IT when the time comes.

My decluttering mission statement:

My critical goal is to decrease the superfluous items in our house, and to live in a home that welcomes us and others with peace;  a home that shows off the objects that are special to us, instead of having them be lost among the crowd of unimportant  possessions; and to live with the knowledge that I have done all I can to make my eventual absence as easy as possible for my loved ones to settle.

I chose the word critical, after referring to a definition to be sure that it imparted what I wanted to say.

Critical : 

• Inclined to express negative or disapproving comments
• A meticulous analysis of literary, music, or artworks
• An extremely close examination of a situation or problem having a high likelihood of becoming dire or turning into a crisis

I liked that the first definition hints at the negative talk that I too often have in my head as I declutter...why did you let this...you're just like...you wasted so much...and that negative talk should be the first thing dispatched!  The second definition reminds me to make an honest and meticulous analysis as to why or why not things should stay or go.  The third is a reminder that the time is now.

As I am focusing mostly on the office/craft room at the moment, I wrote a separate mission statement for it particularly.

My Creative Space Mission Statement:

My aim is to have a safe and peaceful place to create with joy, and where order and beauty reflect my gratitude for the blessings of space, skill, artistry, and satisfaction.

I am curious if others set down the particular reasons for personal action, and if so, in what manner...journaling, mission statement, self-reflection?

2024 Frugal Friday File, June 7...

 

1.  Several months ago I tried moving a shelf from my closet to the craft room.  It works adequately in the craft room, but I really miss the flow my closet had with it in there, so it is going back into closet service.  I've ordered an IKEA shelf for the craft room which I will pick up this morning.  Happily it had a recent hefty price reduction, and I ordered it for pick up at the door, so I won't have any impulse purchases.  I'm happy that I experimented with using what I had before buying.

2.  A talented friend recently sent me an incredible card that I wanted to try my hand at for someone's birthday this week.  My friend alerted me to the fact that it was kind of finicky to deal with all the measurements and cuts, and that after making one, she bought a die that cut out the pieces.  I looked for the die, and it was $35, which after making the card I would say is a fair price.  But I'm happy to have completed mine without the expenditure...though I may budget for it in the future.  It folds flat and fits in an envelope, so I'm happy.

my version

3.  Carey is attending another funeral several hours away today.  He is making the round trip in one day avoiding a hotel bill.

4.   The heat has set in here, and I was up for a change in wardrobe.  I reached deep into the closet, and pulled out a pair of capri slacks.  Capris aren't my favorite look, but these were purchased for a trip several years ago, and worn very, very seldom since.  Carey saw me in them and said I looked cute.  Using what I have.

5.  Continuing to work on clutter reduction.  Making an effort to put things where they belong or rehome.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  leftovers

Sunday:  takeout chicken

Monday:  Baked sweet potato with grilled sausage and onions

Tuesday:  Chicken Curry w/ rice

Wednesday:  Chicken Fried Steak w/ Cream Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Corn

Thursday:  leftovers

Friday:  leftovers

Beloved Texas traditional fare...

Last night Jared and Diego were both available to come have dinner with us.  Jared is off of work this week, and Diego is housesitting nearby.  Diego has always been the grandson who is most like his Uncle Jared (in so many ways).

They both love chicken fried steak, so I knew I could lure them over for it.  I hardly ever make it any more; it's a lot of work and a lot of clean up!  These days I don't often have the majority of burners going as well as an assembly line of ingredients lined up on the counter.  

It was worth it for the hugs and satisfied smiles.  They even stuck around for a game of Scrabble afterword.  And there is enough steak left over for sandwiches (my favorite thing about doing all the work is the sandwich the next day), so they are invited back for lunch today.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

Picked this one up from the library about women volunteers in World War I.

 

Monday musings...

 

The cupboard is getting bare.  But I did have four sweet potatoes that were starting to sprout.  I cleaned them up and put them in to bake.  While they were in the oven, I grilled some sausage and onions.  When potatoes were done, I sliced them open, added butter to each, added some grated parmesan and grated mozzarella, and then topped with the grilled sausage and onions.  They were yummy, and we have two left over.

I cleaned out the fridge.  I won't lie, there was some food waste, but since tomorrow morning is the trash pickup as well as my grocery order pick up, I threw away  some way outdated cottage cheese and some chicken that got pushed to the back a long time ago, but that was about it.

I've not been reading.  I had to return my last book to the library today unread.  

I have continued to work a bit every day in the craft room...decluttering and organizing.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

My mother-in-law has still not been buried.  Repeated heavy rain in the area of the cemetery, and they can't dig without risk of damage to adjoining filled plots and/or headstones.  Hoping maybe next week.