2025 Frugal Friday File, April 4...

 

1.   Found the motivation to make a menu and a grocery order.  

2.  Prepared a full 6-quart slow cooker full of Rudy food on Tuesday, refrigerated it overnight, then packed it in containers for the freezer.  We mix it with his kibble, so it lasts about six weeks.

3.  We did our research and went car shopping.  Found one we wanted, but made the mistake of sleeping on it.  Called back the next morning at nine to ask them to get it ready for us, but it was gone.  I take complete responsibility for this.  If our car didn't have a valid reason that it can no longer be counted on to be reliable, we would not even be considering replacing it right now.  And I've just not been in a place to deal with the insanity behind, and the results of, tariff panic right now.  But as a result, still no money plunked down for a car.

4.  At medical appointment this week, my weight was down another five pounds.  That's about 40 pounds down since I retired two years ago.  I still drink one or two sodas a day.  We almost always have ice cream in the evenings.  I am not dieting. No pharmeceuticals.  I'm just not eating convenience foods five days a week like I did when I was working.

5.  This week I was unexpectedly invited to join a book club for their April brunch next week.  I was told I didn't need to read this month's book, but I wanted to understand the gist of discussion, and the book was Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister which has a time travel element (which I love when it's done well).  I looked online for a cheaper copy, and also checked the library without luck, but I didn't want to cut it too close, so I splurged, paying $11+ for ebook on Amazon. 

    I'm trying to be more social, and this book club is one a current friend has been a member of for many years.  She's having the brunch at her house, so I shouldn't be too anxious about walking into a new location.  I'm counting the cost of the ebook in the 'self care/personal growth' column of the budget.  :)

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  homemade meal from the freezer - Enchilada Casserole

Monday:  frozen pot pies

Tuesday:  out for fried frish & shrimp

Wednesday:  Sushi (grocery store) and Asian Cucumber Salad (homemade) 

Thursday:  Shepherd's Pie

Friday:  Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Seventeenth finish of the year.

I stayed up all night reading to finish this one without even getting drowsy.  May not be for everyone.  There were a lot of tears, but there was a WHOOP of laughter that I don't think I will soon forget.

Best book of the year...so far.

Eighteenth finish of the year.

Told in verse is not my favorite kind of reading, so I didn't have any in my personal collection yet to be read.  I looked at my library, and on Amazon.  I was able to borrow this one through Kindle Unlimited.  It is YA (Young Adult) which I usually don't read.  I thought it was very good.  There was a surprise towards the end of the book that I was not expecting.

It is listed as having 253 pages, but being in verse they were not densely-filled pages, so it was a relatively quick read.

Now I have started on...

First quarter progress...

Prompts that have been completed are preceded by a black dot.

Can you believe that a quarter of the year has already gone by?  I feel pretty good about my challenge progress so far.  Quite a few books, that have been on my Kindle for such a long time, have now been read.  A lot have also been borrowed and read.  

Keeping in mind my original goal of reading down my backlog of books has worked wonders at keeping me from buying books!  I won't say I've bought none, I bought two just yesterday for $1.99 each, but they were two copies of the same book that I bought for a friend and I to read and discuss.  The topic interested me, and the  forward of the book is by an author that both of us like.  I'm not sure either of us will read it soon.

I have been struggling a bit lately (haven't we all?), so reading has been an escape.  I need to get a handle on some things, and I've reached out for some help with that.  

I'm doing okay with 2025 goals. I keep them in daily sight by writing the entire list at the top of the page of my weekly to-do list.

• + I deleted time wasters from my phone, but put Sudoku back on.  I tried using a paper Sudoku book, but found it took me longer to look for it, and find a pencil, and play a game, than to just play one game on my phone.  And I do keep it to just one game.  In times of stress, I have added solitaire, but then uninstall again when I feel calmer.
• + I've baked bread twice.
• -  No quilts finished yet.
• + Book challenge already addressed.
• + I've worked on both Storyworth and Ancestry a little.
• + I am volunteering at the library weekly.
• -  No Canasta for us yet.
• +/- I've had the Featherweight worked on, but it needs to go to a pro, so I'll take it soon.
• +  I've found date/time/location of farmer's market, so hope to go next time they are open.
• -  I'm behind on the 52 letters, but will make it up.

2025 Frugal Friday File, March 28...

I can't.  I just can't this week.

 

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Saturday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  takeout BBQ baked potatoes

Monday:  homemade meal from freezer: Pork chops/Squash Casserole/Broccoli

Tuesday:  takeout Schlotzky sandwiches

Wednesday:  homemade meal from freezer: Roast/Dumplings/Broccoli

Thursday:  Meatballs, Au Gratin Potatoes, Cranberry sauce

Friday:  Who knows?

**designates meatless meal 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Fifteenth finish of the year.

At just eleven pages, this wasn't really long enough to count as a book, but I'm going to, because it's been on my Kindle for a loooong while waiting to be read, and because it was delightful!  We all know the story, but Diane Setterfield (whose books I have really enjoyed as well) added her usual quirky vibe to the classic fairy tale.  Loved it!

It's only available on Kindle, and it's FREE.

Sixteenth finish of the year.

Very interesting book, written by an autistic boy, Naoki Higashida, in Japan when he was 13 years old (he is now 32).  Each 'chapter' was headed by a question that people have about autistic children, such as "Why don't you make eye contact when you're talking?"  He painstakingly constructed his responses using an alphabet grid.  The book was translated from the Japanese by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell (author of Cloud Atlas).

Refuge by Dot Jackson

Now I am reading Refuge.  It has been on my Kindle for almost five years.  If I had known how good it would be, I'd have read it right away.

Mary Seneca Steele is born in Charleston in the early 1900s.  Her father is a kind and intelligent man, who delights in his daughter and playing his fiddle.  Sadly, when she is still a young child, he dies.  Her mother is somewhat distant, and 'Sen' ends up marrying into a neighborhood family, and her abusive husband depletes her inheritance and keeps on spending.  The very day in 1929 that he came home in a new car, she waits till he is asleep and escapes with their two children in the new car.  

She drives to find her father's family in the Blue Ridge Mountains that she knows only from her father's stories.  

I'm about a third of the way through, and loving it.

I am SO FRUSTRATED...

Is anyone else having issues with Google and/or Chrome?  It is a never-ending battle every time I use my laptop.  I've had updates switch settings before, but I am ready to just toss everything.

I used to have just one Google account, the one that my blog is attached to.  When I got a smartphone, I did not want to have my blog and home email attached to my phone gmail account, so I have a separate google account for that.  For years it was not a problem.

Now I have to log on to my original (blog) account every single time I turn on my laptop.  And it wants to sync all my devices.  I am a compartmentalist!  I do not want all my devices synced!

It has been a nightmare since this all started.  First I couldn't get my home email, and that took forever to figure out.  Then I had to keep a link in a word document to  get into my blog's post pages to make any changes other than just viewing the blog.  Now all of my favorites disappeared from my Chrome home page.  I get some of them back, but then they disappear again.

I am BLEEPing PI$$ED!

In trying to find an answer I came across an article about AI issues makes it important to switch from using passwords to using passkeys.  Oh, joy!  Yet another thing I don't understand.  I can't keep up.  If you don't hear from me, it means either my head has exploded or I've gone offgrid self-preservation mode.

2025 Frugal Friday File, March 21...

 

1.  I was able to make it through the week without needing a major grocery shop (I think Carey went to pick up few things he wanted).  Our batch of Dublin Coddle from Monday covered three meals, and we like it well  enough not to turn down its leftovers.

2.  The two monsteras that I got last spring are still thriving in our living room.  Jared was here recently.  We were watching something on tv that showed a monstera, and I said something about the one on tv looking artificial.  Jared gave me a funny look, that made me realize he thought mine were artificial.  He couldn't believe it when I said they are live plants.  I guess he hasn't noticed that they are bigger than they used to be, but still I was tickled that I have kept them so healthy and hardy for a year now.

3.  Glad that reading can be a frugal hobby.  I've been sticking with my resolve to fill the challenge prompts with books already owned by me or free.

4.  I have not shelled out for a new car...yet.

5.  FRUGAL FAIL!  I caved to the lure of Joanne Fabrics.  I just felt the longing for a last visit to say goodbye.  The prices were not great, but I knew I would cave to the beauty of the fabrics and not be able to leave it behind.  I did spend too much, but if I stretch it over a year, it only works out to $1 a day.  ;)

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Saturday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Breakfast for dinner

Monday:  Dublin Coddle & Irish Soda Bread

Tuesday:  leftovers

Wednesday:  takeout burgers

Thursday:  frozen pot pies

Friday:  Carey leftovers / I skipped supper

Thanks for the honey-done...

We've lived in this house for 14 years, and I've never been crazy about the shower in the master bathroom.  It is very small.  It has a weird showerhead set up.  The cold and hot water controls are backward.  And the shower head could not be swiveled, so in order not to have it come straight down on my head, I had to hug the perimeter of the shower (and curse that bleeping showerhead) during the entire process.

For years I made do.  Then one jet got blocked (that vinegar soak would not dislodge), and there was no way to avoid either water on my head or water spraying cockeyed right into my face.  I did not suffer in silence.  I finally quit taking showers, and only took baths, but that's a lot of water, and my knees are not happy with climbing and lowering into the bath.

We have talked about remodeling the bathroom to make the shower larger and handicap accessible (wider entrance and lower threshold as well as built-in grab bars), and also adding a walk-in bathtub.  (I think there is space to do both of those projects if we decrease from the giant tub we have now to increase the shower space.)  Those are expensive projects, and something that we can continue kicking down the road.  

Carey is such a Johnny-on-the-spot fix-it guy, that I just didn't understand why he could not change the shower head.  I think it just confounded him, and it didn't bother him, so it wasn't a priority.

This week he undertook the job, and completed the change out in very short order.  The first time I took a shower, I left him my review (photo above).  I think he liked it, as he hasn't removed it from the shower door.  I always try to make sure he knows how much I appreciate all the tasks that he is able to do to save us paying someone to come  in and do it.  This particular fix deserved more than a verbal thanks.  I heard him laugh out loud when he saw the "2 thumbs up" rating at bottom left.  :)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirteenth finish of the year.

Good but challenging.  I had intended this one for another prompt, but a couple of the stories were a little difficult for me to keep track of the thread due to what I would understand to be stream of consciousness narrative.  If I am wrong about that, then I don't want to know, and I don't want to read any more of that this year.  :)  But I have to say this really was good, and really got me worked up about politics then (1930s) and now.

Fourteenth finish of the year.

This was a new ebook available at the library through the Boundless App, and I thought I'd give it a try for the 'Includes Latin American History Prompt.'  I couldn't get it to download to my Kindle, so I had to read it on my phone, which is not my preferred method of reading, but it was okay, especially since this is a compilation of a dozen short stories rather than one continuous novel.  I enjoyed the stories and their diversity.  Some took place in Guatemala, others were about Guatemalans in the U.S.  One was about a Hollywood movie being filmed in a Guatemalan village.  The Maya religion plays a part in some of the stories; others refer to conquistadores and colonization with Catholicism converting the indigenous people.

Belated birthday wishes, Mom...

Hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick's Day.  We enjoyed Dublin Coddle and Irish Soda Bread for supper.

Yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, would have been my mother's 109th birthday.  (Why, yes, she was 71 when she gave birth to me.  LOL  Okay, okay, she was really 41.)  So in memory of her and my dad, I would like to say a little about federal employees.

This is my mother in a photo taken in Washington D.C. (circa 1940) where she started her Civil Service career during the build up to World War II.  She and my father moved from small-town Nebraska to the big, over-crowded nation's capital, which was stretched to the limits with the influx of citizens coming to do their part.

Before Mom and Dad married, my mother had taken a civil service test responding to the nation-wide call for clerical workers to fill the vacancies left by men who were leaving to join up or otherwise assist in the war effort, as well as to staff the new offices preparing for global war.  The offer of employment was mailed to her grandparents' home (where she was raised), and her grandfather thought that since she was married, she had no business going off to the Nation's capital, so he did not forward it to her.  The first time she and my dad went to visit her grandparents and picked up her mail, she was crushed that the respond-by date had passed.  But she was not one to give up easily, so she responded anyway, and was told when and where to report.  

(Now, I like to say that my mom was ahead of her time...she made more money than my dad, she had a lot of respect in her workplace, heck, on at least one occasion I remember, she helicoptered to a business meeting...in the 1960s!  But I have to give my dad his due here, because he was ahead of his time too, in signing up for a badass wife and not letting it get to him...most of the time.

So Mom worked for the government in Washington, D.C. throughout the war.  She lived and worked as a single mom while my dad went off and did a U.S. Army gig called the Battle of Okinawa. (He was pretty badass too.)

When the war ended, and the war work in D.C. started decreasing, Mom and Dad  moved to Texas.  On the gulf coast of Texas (Gulf of MEXICO, that is), the U.S. Navy trained pilots.  My dad went to work on one of the bases' fuel farms supplying jet fuel to all those planes.  My mother went to work in the comptroller's department keeping the base fiscally on target.

A very common occurrence for me, was being awakened in the middle of the night to the smell of coffee and the sound of Mom's adding machine preparing payroll.  Not too often, but not uncommon, were trips to work with her on weekends.  As the civilian supervisor of the department (working under the authority of a Naval officer head of department), there were times that things just HAD to be done.  The comptroller department was located in the same building as the parachute 'loft' and they shared a bathroom.  A trip to the bathroom on the weekend meant walking through a huge dark empty room full of large tables, and being warned not to touch, because touching anything could possibly cause a parachute to malfunction and cause a fatality.  

Did she claim all the overtime?  Doubtful.  

The part of the job that affected me the most was rarely having my mother there when I was home sick from school.  I would get farmed out to a neighbor.  What kid wants to lie on a couch at a neighbor's instead of being home in their own bed with Mom bringing in tea and toast?  I hated it so much that I was hell bent on not subjecting my kids to it, so we became a one-paycheck family pretty early.  

All this to say that federal employees are not slackers, and they quite often work hard enough to be a detriment to their family and/or personal lives.  Is there government waste?  Undoubtedly, but it is not going to be found by rank newbies to the intricacies of what it takes to keep a country running safely, healthily, and successfully.  

So this is my song of love and thanks to all of the misunderstood and underappreciated people who work for you and me...the lawyers, the accountants, the people who process our taxes and Social Security, the custodians, the doctors and nurses, the scientists, inspectors of our food supply, and park rangers...and so many more.  I pray this crisis of craziness and upheaval does not cause any permanent damage.  Unfortunately, I am not hopeful of that.

2025 Frugal Friday File, March 14...

 

1.  I've successfully made it through the Amazon blackout (3/7 - 3/14).

2.  Did some thrifting at Goodwill.  I bought men's 100% cotton shirts; all but one was XL or XXL, and two were the half-price color tag.  Brought them home and laundered them.  Next (or eventually) I will remove seams, and store the raw fabric for future quilting projects.  I mean Joann Fabrics will be gone...I still haven't gone for the chaotic closing tour. 

One of my granddaughters has a phobia of Goodwill (her very first time inside one was at the 'Bins,' and the chaos and the glove requirement freaked her out).  Now I keep telling her that I'm going to get her Christmas and birthday gifts from there from now on.  She'll never suspect that a Grandma-made quilt (or at least the raw materials [pardon the pun]) could be from Goodwill.  :)

While at Goodwill I also picked up a new-in-box set of twelve wide-mouth quart Mason Jars for $9.  And another vintage square jar with original lid (about 1/2 gallon size) for $3.  

3.  I volunteered at the library used book sale section without buying any books. 

4.  I didn't buy a new car yet.

5.  I didn't get a haircut.

In other words I pretty much stayed home and did nothing but read.  :)

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Chinese takeout

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey's

Monday:  out for Tex-Mex

Tuesday:  Roast, Dumplings, Carrots, Broccoli

Wednesday:  Homecooked meal from freezer/Ham and homemade Mac&Cheese

Thursday:  Breakfast for supper

Friday:  late lunch, skipped supper

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Eleventh finish of the year.

Amusing heist story.  A group of five friends, who are discontented with the downhill trend of the quality at their assisted living facility, turn to a life of crime to make some money for better food and living it up a little.

Twelfth finish of the year.

I like to read a book or two set in Ireland during March to mark St. Patrick's Day.  

This one is about a Chicago police officer who, in a difficult time with both his job and marriage, decides to retire and move to Ireland.  I've read a lot of books about women who move to Ireland or Scotland, but I think this is the first I've read about a man who does it, and it totally worked.  There is a sequel, which I have reserved at the library (and I'm 12th in line for it).

2025 Frugal Friday File, March 7...

 

1.  Aside from one meal out to try out a new local restaurant (which Carey loved so much, it was totally worth it), we had a really frugal grocery week.

2.  I've been feeling kind of iffy this week, so except for a trip to the library and chiropractor, I've been staying home and spending no money.  

3.  I've avoided checking for possible close-out clearance deals at Joann's.

4.  Carey picked up some tomato and pepper plants...fingers crossed!

5.  Sadly, Carey has found an issue with our car for which the repair costs would not be smart to invest in a ten-year-old car.  He's been doing mechanic work since his teens, went to school for it, did it professionally for awhile, and has taken really good care of all of our cars.  So I trust his assessment, and I'm super thankful for all the repair costs he has saved us over the years.  Still, I'm less than excited about car shopping.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Saturday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  leftovers

Monday:  Meatballs, Scalloped Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce

Tuesday:  out to try a new Italian restaurant

Wednesday:  Tuna Salad Sandwiches

Thursday:  Carey: Twice-baked Sweet Potato, Me: skipped

Friday:  leftovers

Twice-baked Sweet Potato to the rescue...

 

(This is a very poor photo...apologies.)

I had a late lunch, so I needed to come up with something for Carey's supper. 

While I was out today, I was talking to a friend, and the subject of Tajin seasoning came up.  I told her that the newest thing I add it to is the Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes that I've been making this winter.  She doesn't care much for sweet potatoes, but tries to keep them in her diet for their healthful benefits, and she asked me how I made them, because she had a single sweet potato at home.  I realized that I also had a single sweet potato at home, so Carey's supper was decided, as I decided I could use the opportunity to write the recipe down for her and post it here.

Bake a sweet potato until tender.  Scoop out most of the flesh (leaving a little in the skin of the potato); place the removed flesh in a bowl, and mash it.

Add*

1 Tablespoons of butter

2 Tablespoons of sour cream

1 Tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, grated (I just used Kraft)

1 teaspoon Hidden Valley dry dressing mix

1 teaspoon Tajin seasoning

1/8 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

1 strip of cooked bacon, crumbled

     *these amounts are for one potato, increase accordingly.

Mix well, and return the seasoned flesh back to the potato jacket.  Top with a protein of your choice.  I have used shredded chicken, as well as chopped barbecued brisket.  Tonight I had neither, so I baked a few slices of bacon, while I was baking the sweet potato.  I set aside a few bites for Rudy, and laid the other strips across the top of the sweet potato, topped with a little more grated Monterrey Jack cheese, and baked for another ten to fifteen minutes at 350° F.

For those not familiar with Tajin, it is found in the seasoning aisle.  It is a combination of mild chili peppers, lime, and sea salt.  I put it in on fresh fruit, shake it on deviled eggs, baked sweet potatoes obviously, sliced tomatoes, tomato juice, makes a great rim salt for a Margarita, as well as lots of other things.

I'm not sponsored by Tajin, I just really like it!

What I'm reading Wednesday...

From now on, I think I will just post my finished challenge books on What I'm Reading Wednesdays.  Yesterday, I was too excited to have finished Moby Dick, so I had to share immediately.  :)

Eighth finish for the year.

I have not read all of the books in this series (Cork O'Connor Mysteries), but have enjoyed the few that I have read (and the author's stand-alone novels are wonderful).  When I saw that this prequel was available, I definitely wanted to read it to fulfill this prompt.

Wasn't disappointed.  I read it every chance I got, and worked my way through it very quickly.

Ninth finish of the year.

Glad I stuck it out.  Personally I think it could have lost about four- to five-hundred  pages for the current-day audience.  But as I was thinking about it, when it was published, there weren't a lot of forms of personal entertainment, and books were expensive, so I suppose the hours and hours and hours of story were welcome.

And I learned a lot about whaling and sperm whales.  Then, just today, I was sad to see that a sperm whale was entangled in ropes from fishing boats and washed up on the Isle of Raasay (between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland) where it died.

image found at animalspot.net/whale

Check out the size difference between the Sperm Whale and the Killer Whale that we are used to seeing at Sea World!

Tenth finish for the year.

I really love Elizabeth Strout's work.  The way she writes auxiliary characters is the best.  They come, stay awhile, and go.  And then in another book or two they drop by for another visit or at least a mention.

I almost gave this 5 stars, because I could happily read it again.  In fact, I wouldn't mind starting with the author's first book and reading them all again chronologically.

It is 4:00 a.m., and I came to say...

 

I SURVIVED MOBY DICK!

Woohoo!!!

Now I just realized that I am supposed to be quilting at the library in a short five and one half hours, so off to bed I go.

2025 Frugal Friday File, February 28...

 

Frugal things that are easy for me, and make others feel special.

1.  A couple of months ago a friend mentioned to me that she was wanting a serger.  I told her I wished I had known sooner, as I had donated one after the garage clean out...but wasn't sure it was one she would have wanted anyway, as it was from the 1990s back when they were really complicated to thread (at least that's what I heard, though the serger had never been out of the box since my mother had purchased it a little while before she died).  Friend assured me that she would have been happy to give it a try, too bad it got away.

Fast forward to now.  I was out in the garage, and saw the serger in its box with some other things I had planned to donate, but never had.  I texted my friend that it was still hanging around after all.  I'll meet her at the library to get some volunteering done together and hand over the serger.  So excited my procrastination paid off for a change!  LOL

(In my defense, the creative re-use center where the serger and other items were to be donated is in an inconvenient part of the city, and they have very limited donation hours.)

2.  My son-in-law (Beau) phoned me the other day to tell me he was texting me a photo that he wanted to discuss.  The photo was of the cuff of his jacket where the Velcro was failing due to design flaw, and he asked if there was a way to save the jacket.  He loved that the cuffs could be tightened as needed, but due to the poor hook design of fastener, they did not stay tightened.  

I love that he doesn't hesitate to ask my opinion on something I have more experience with than he does.  I love that he wants patches/fixes rather than replacing.  I love that he is comfortable enough to ask me for a favor.  And in this case, I love that it is an easy fix with supplies I have on hand, so I said a quick yes.  Now we'll see if we have any more cool temperatures this season.  He may or may not get it back in time as I am having a sewing machine malfunction that I need to get figured out first.

3.  The dessert I made for Sunday family supper was something that Caitlyn had asked me to make next time she came home from school.  Well she came, but she had to head back to school before Sunday family supper.  So I made it the night before, and I separately packed serving for her to take with her.  Then I texted her a photo with a "Come get this out of my fridge before you leave."

4.  I text Kasey things that I know will make her smile.  This week a photo of an orange dog toy with a note that I was considering buying one for her dog and mine just for the ten minutes of watching them destroy it.  I didn't because I was leery of how it would alter the ads that pop up on my screens.  :)

5.  And on a separate note, today I am participating in the NO SPEND DAY you may have seen across social media.  RESIST!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Breakfast for dinner

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Enchilada Casserole

Tuesday:  **out for Tex-Mex

Wednesday:  Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes w/ Brisket

Thursday:  Veggie Loaded Fried Rice

Friday:  leftovers

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger

Reading Challenge - Book 7 finished...

Elizabeth Strout consistently delivers hours of enjoyment to me.  I definitely want to read this one again.

Reading Challenge - Book 6 finished...

Somewhat of a struggle to get through this one, but I did finish it a couple of days ago.  Turns out it was the fourth book based on this case that I have read:  three novels, and this non-fiction study of the investigation.  

The three novels were: The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott, Avery's Knot by Mary Cable, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Reading multiple books on this topic/case was totally unintentional.  Women moving into the work force of the industrial revolution has always interested me, as have the changing religious leanings in Colonial America.  This book spoke to the burgeoning freedoms of women in both the factories of New England and in the tent-revival religiosity of Methodism moving away from the Puritan ways of worshiping.  It also spoke to the bias and discrimination they had to deal with.

FYI, I am still plugging away at Moby Dick.  Finally in the final quarter of the book.

2025 Frugal Friday File, February 21...

1.  I baked bread with some of the sourdough starter a friend gave me last week.  The recipe I chose to try (because it was easy to remember) was called the 1,2,3,4 Bread.

• 1 cup of starter, 2 cups of water, 3 teaspoons of salt, & 4 cups flour.  Mix together, and form loaf.
• Let rise 7 to 9 hours.  Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; lower temp to 375° for 15 more minutes.

Three teaspoons of salt seemed like a lot to me, but I thought I would try it as it was written for ease of memorizing.  It was too salty...so I think I will change it to 3 half-teaspoons of salt.

In the meantime I have a whole loaf of bread that I don't want to throw away.  I cubed up some of it, spritzed it with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder...baked it for 5 or 10 minutes...tossed them on baking sheet and continued baking till toasted...croutons!  (They added interest to our leftover slaw/kale salad.)

I'm letting the rest of the slices dry out some, then I'll make bread crumbs to put in the freezer for future use where I can cut added salt elsewhere.

2.  Staying home.  Sounds boring, but with a warm pup snoozing on my lap, a book in my hands, and a log on the fire, it is the loveliest place to be on these cold, damp days we've been having.  (I consider them a bonus, as we thought they were over.  Happy to have a little more of my favorite days before the thermometer jumps back up to 100°F.)

3.  Watching a lot of YouTube videos, for quilting, card making, news replays, almost anything.  I have to say, the paid subscription to watch without ads is THE best value I've ever received from a subscription yet!

4.  Put another subscription on 'pause' as I haven't used it much lately.  May cancel if I don't miss it.

5.  I've been enjoying cooking for cold weather.  While I was at the library yesterday, I picked up two cookbooks for $1.50 each in our Book Nook area (used books for sale).  One is very succinct recipes.  Got no time for complicated ones, and I know as the weather warms I will want quick and easy.

     I'll copy any recipes I really like, and then I'll re-donate.  

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Salad..slaw mix, kale, black beans, chicken, orange, avocado, cilantro dressing

Sunday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  leftovers

Tuesday:  leftovers

Wednesday:  Tortilla Soup

Thursday:  Homemade Chili & store-bought Tamales

Friday:  Pork chops, squash casserole, green vegetable

2025 Frugal Friday File, February 14...

 

1.  Made menu on Tuesday for part of this week and next, and picked up grocery order.  Came out at less than $150, which I thought was pretty good (compared to the last grocery order anyway).

2.  Thursday found me getting creative to use up bits and pieces that have been lingering in the kitchen, so that they wouldn't go to waste.  Small bits of different cheeses in the fridge, a partial package of grape tomatoes that had gotten pushed to the back of fridge a week or two ago, but were miraculously not wrinkled or mushy, a spaghetti squash that I've put off cooking due to energy or time constraints.  I put some chicken breasts in slow cooker to use for the spaghetti squash tonight, but also to go in a salad and another meal.  

I think Four Cheese Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables, sounds a lot classier than the use-it-up-or-toss-it-out ingredients that went into it.  :)

3.  Since putting the planning into the 2025 Reading Challenge, matching books currently on my Kindle to the challenge's book prompts, I don't believe I've bought a single book, even from the Kindle special-deal emails.  

I even remembered to take a book with me when I knew I was going to a business that had a little free library out front, so that if I found something to borrow I'd have something to leave...but I didn't find anything.

I've borrowed a few from the library...just remembered I did buy two used books from the library book nook for $1.50 each.  I forgot about those, as I didn't have any cash, so Carey paid for them.  :)

4.  I window shopped (online) for window coverings.  I have an idea for a change in the guest room.  It is a very tall window with an arched top.  Currently there are only old fashioned, metal Venetian blinds in the non-arched part of the window.  They were here when we bought the house.  I am not in a hurry, and styles and/or my plans may change before I actually come across what I want at a price I want to pay.  It's never been a priority.  Still isn't.

5.  Last Saturday I was out running errands and purchased some extra heavy weight cardstock for making cards while it was 40% off (about a $7 savings).  After the purchase I was running some other errands, and I found myself near an Office Depot.  I took the cardstock into Office Depot to inquire if they could cut it in half for me while I waited.  I watched her place the entire package into their "industrial" paper cutter, and in one "zip" the entire ream of cardstock was cut into the size I use for card bases.  The employee handed me the cardstock, cut to the size I requested, and said there would be no charge for the single cut.  

So I saved on the original price of the package of cardstock, the price of having it cut to the size, all of the time it would have taken me to cut each sheet one piece at a time, AND probably half a dozen cutting blades for my paper cutter (as cutting really heavy cardstock dulls blades quicker than lighter papers).  

This was my favorite frugality of the week!  I'm ready to make cards!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout BBQ baked potatoes 

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Sausage, Onion, Kale, and Cheddar Quiche

Tuesday:  Salmon, Wild Rice, and Broccoli

Wednesday:  leftover quiche

Thursday:  Four Cheese Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

Friday:  Italian Meatloaf w/ Smashed Parmesan Potatoes

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

The Sinners All Bow:

Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne

by Kate Winkler Dawson

This is a recent release by the author, and I saw it available on our libraries recently-acquired list.  The author hosts a podcast that I listen to occasionally, and since this book's  real victim may have been the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, I thought I would give it a try.  

I'm not loving it.  For one thing it turns out I have read two other previous novels based on the event (in addition to The Scarlet Letter which I read ages ago), one of which leaned heavily on the transcripts from the trial of the accused.

Also this author keeps referring to her "co-author."  In actuality she's talking about a woman, who two years after the event ( which occurred in 1832) wrote an account of it.  For some reason, this annoys me; probably because it was so sincerely and often stated, that I took the time to research why this "co-author's" name was not listed on the cover of this current book.

Anyway, I will give it another chapter or two before deciding if I will finish it or not.

2025 Frugal Friday File, February 7...

 

1.  Changed the planned menu when our weather was in the eighties on Monday.  We were going to have tortilla soup, but I just wasn't in the mood for soup.  I had shredded cabbage, cooked chicken, and kale in the fridge; peeled a couple of oranges and tossed them in; made a peanut/soy/honey dressing; topped each serving with some chow mein noodles from the pantry.  Easy, health, filling, and not half bad.  And since the cabbage and kale hold up for a couple of days even with dressing on them, we had the leftovers for another supper on Wednesday.

2.  Quilted at the library.  Selected some fabric already in my 'collection' and figured out a pattern I could improvise to make a baby quilt...or maybe two.  No babies on the horizon, but my intent is to have baby quilts ready and waiting, so that when they are needed there will be a selection to choose from.

     This is frugal because I had everything I needed without any purchases.  We meet at the library, so no rental for the space.  No dues for membership.  

3.  Received two checks to reimburse part of my chiropractic costs.  Only fifty-ish dollars total, but every little bit helps.

4.  Oops...I lost #4 when I tried to paste something in here.  Can't recover it, and I'm too tired to try to start from scratch.  

5.  Still haven't gone for a haircut.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  leftover spaghetti casserole

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Asian Chicken Slaw

Tuesday:  Spanish Rice

Wednesday:  leftover Asian Chicken Slaw

Thursday:  Breakfast for supper

Friday:  out for late lunch / early supper