A lovely visit and back home...

 

I was gone last week to visit my friend Debbie.  We laughed, and made cards, and laughed, and ate, and laughed.  I was able to attend a book group with her, and also tour the inside of their beautiful Orthodox Church.  

The photo above is of me and her cat...talk about a balancing act!  I bent over to get some stamp supplies out of my case, and he jumped up on my shoulders.  :)  I would have shown a photo of Debbie and I together, but since I didn't ask permission, I figured I'd stick with the cat.

We worked on Christmas cards.  I made five or so prototypes, but haven't settled on one that I will mass produce to send out.  Debbie is aiming to make one hundred cards to mail out!  I will be making well less than that (if I get them done at all).  I've got to decide and get busy, as I want to mail them the end of November.

I made my menu for the week, and ordered and picked up my groceries.  The tab was high, but there are planned overs included into the menu plan, so will restock the freezer with homecooked meals.   My order included a turkey since they were on sale; it is in the freezer to use later.  I also bought a large package of beef boneless shoulder ribs, which I cubed for stew meat.  I put half into the crock pot with vegetables, and at six o'clock tonight I will be thanking myself for the supper already being done.  The other half of the cubed meat I vacuum sealed and put in the freezer for another future meal.

The girls will be home this weekend, and we will be making pizza together.  They are both good cooks, but haven't tried their hand at pizza dough yet, so I thought I'd share the quick and easy method I've been using for awhile now.

I put up the Christmas tree on Tuesday.  I don't like to do it before Thanksgiving, but with Thanksgiving late this year, and me having to work all of Thanksgiving week, I wanted to get it done.  I haven't added the ornaments yet, but hoping to later today.  I have presents to wrap and get under it too.

So that's what I've been doing.  How 'bout you?

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt

This one is an ebook checked out from the library.  I've been reading it for awhile, I'm maybe a little less than halfway through.  Been busy.  Good thing it's on my super old Kindle Keyboard on which I can turn off the Wifi...my library books get returned from my Amazon account, but they stay on the Kindle Keyboard till I turn Wifi back on.

2024 Frugal Friday File, November 8...

 

1.  Back when I was cleaning out the garage, I loosened my purse strings to pay for a month of Audible, so I could listen to a book while working in the heat.  I immediately cancelled the subscription when its purpose had been completed.  Since then they have been sending me "special" offers, which were not special enough to get me to subscribe again.  But the night before I left for retreat, my email inbox had an offer of 99¢ a month for three months along with 1 free book credit per each of those months.  So $3 for 3 months and 3 free books.  Yeah, I can spring for that!

2.  I paid right at $300 for 3 1/2 days and 4 nights at the quilt retreat.  It was very reasonable for what we received.  Each full day that we were there, we received a continental breakfast, and lunch, dinner, and desserts cooked on site.  The rooms were shared; I was in a room for 3, but only 2 of us were in there.  My roommate is one of my favorite people, and it was like a long slumber party with lots of laughs, and someone to share the nervous energy during the election returns.  The meals were very good, and all we had to do was come to the table when we were called.  That meant we had as much uninterrupted sewing time as we wanted.

The retreat also arranged for a car detailer and a massage therapist to come in for those who booked and paid separately.  And there was a wine tasting by an independent winery who came to the retreat.  I did not book any of the extras while I was there, but thought it was awesome that they were available for those who chose to.

We've already reserved dates for next November.

3.  I worked on UFOs (UnFinished Objects), so no new fabric was purchased.  I thought I might have to buy fabric to add binding to the table runner I took (it was finished ages ago, except for the binding).  I had picked up a small scrap as I was packing of what I hoped to use, but wasn't sure it would be enough.  It was enough, barely, so crisis averted.  

4.  Carey was able to feed himself from the homecooked freezer meals in the freezer while I was away.  He had two smallish servings of Dublin Coddle thawing in the fridge when I got home.  Thursday I made a fresh batch of cornbread to stretch the meal for two.

5.  I finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) my library book shortly after getting home.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie:

A Flavia de Luce Novel

by Alan Bradley

This is one I picked up from the library a couple of days ago.  It's the first in this mystery series, and I put it on reserve after seeing the series in Juhli's post about her book store wish list recently.  It is a hoot.  A mystery whose main character and sleuth is a precocious eleven years old who is a chemistry whiz.

I'm scheduling this post on Friday night (for posting on Wednesday) and I'm only about 1/4 of the way into it.  I'm not sure if I will have much time to read while I'm away at the quilt retreat, so finishing it is up in the air at this point.

Since I cancelled my Audible subscription after the first month (and my garage clean out), the company has been emailing me 'special' deals.  Today (Friday 11/1) they sent one I was totally on board with.  

In case there is election talk at the retreat that I want to tune out, I have charged my ear buds and downloaded this Audible book:  

Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth

I believe it is about a megastar author who is behind getting her next book finished, and is hiding the fact that she is starting to suffer the onset of dementia.  She enlists the help of a superfan of her previous work to keep her on point with past story details.

Quilting by hand is something that doesn't take a lot of concentration for the most part, so there is nothing I love more than being read to while I do it!

Those are my books for this week.  I'm not sure how much time I will have to spend with either of them until I get home, but surely some, even if it's only in the car.  The Audible way...I don't read while I'm driving!  :)

2024 Fall Quilt Retreat, part 1...

This is a photo of the quilt I worked on at our 2021 Fall Quilt Retreat.  I haven't attended since then due to the retreat logistics, work, etc.

But, it is that time of year again, and I'm retired now (for the most part), so off I go!  Our fearless quilt-group leader has scouted out a new retreat that is all on one level, so no pesky stairs to maneuver.  Yay!

What am I taking to work on this year?  You're lookin' at it!  I will take this again, and may work on it only.  Someday I will get it finished.  I only promised it to someone 24 years ago!  

This quilt top was made by the grandmother of my bestest childhood friend, and when we attended her 25th anniversary and vow renewal in November of 2000, she took me into a spare bedroom and handed me the top, saying I was the only person she knew who would know anything about finishing it.  

Oh, how I LOOONNNGGGGG for the day I can hand it back to her done, and not have it on my conscience any longer!  On the other hand, I absolutely adore the bow-tie pattern and working on it.  It's very difficult to hand quilt at home, because I don't want Rudy under my feet and laying on the corners, etc.

I'll be back in a few days...hopefully with some progress to show! 

2024 Frugal Friday File, Nov 1...

1.  I worked a full day.  It was my last day working at my old full-time branch, as I have given notice that I am not accepting any more days this year, and not working at all after the first of the year.  I still have two weeks worth of work at another branch before the end of the year, but no more at my much-loved home branch.

2.  We live on a street that has no trick-or-treaters, so I skipped buying candy.  I got a ton of chocolate for my birthday, so we are about candied out here.

3.  Cue the lone bugler playing taps.  My magic ice maker died this week.  It gave me 8 wonderful years.  ;)  Some may call it nugget ice, or Sonic ice, or chewable ice, but I call it magic ice, and my husband told me to get another one.  (He doesn't even use ice, but he spoils me.)  Even our refrigerator's ice maker has stopped working, so we had to do something.  I was shopping online for another one, and couldn't decide whether to get the same brand or risk a cheaper version.  

Then I got a Costco add in my email, and the exact brand and model was $150 off this week.  I tried to log online, but my membership had lapsed so I couldn't see member prices.  I called Kasey, and she logged on, and ordered it for me.  Yes, it is expensive.  But hey, it was priced less than Amazon, and I didn't have to renew my membership.  I also asked her to pick up some gallon-sized Ziplock bags for me next time she goes to do an actual shop there.

Since we bank at the same bank, I was able to immediately (and with ease) transfer money for the icemaker from my bank account to hers for free.

4.  I made thank you cards and mailed to granddaughters to express my great joy at being able to share their first voting experience.  Then today I received a very sweet text from my oldest grandson thanking me for the Halloween card I mailed to him and his partner last week.  He received it today, and said it was a nice pick-me-up after a long work day to find happy mail in the mailbox.  His text made my day.

5.  I've been reloading the freezer with homecooked single-serving meals from leftovers.  Since I'll be away from home for about ten days total this month, it's nice to have meals ready for Carey.  He doesn't cook, and he doesn't much like eating out.  

He has long told me that if I die before he does, he will be one of those spouses that dies soon after.  I tell him, of course he will, because he will starve to death!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  pot pies

Sunday:  Jambalaya

Monday:  Chicken Pot Pie Soup (new recipe I won't make again)

Tuesday:  Carey had leftovers, I skipped supper 

Wednesday:  Dublin Coddle

Thursday:  pot pies (I know, we've been eating these a lot lately)

Friday:  went out for Chinese

**designates meatless meal