2025 Frugal Friday File, May 30...

 

1.  Made (and divided into 12 oz containers) a big batch of Rudy food and put it in the freezer to take out as needed.

2.  In lieu of going on a statin (which I do not want to do), doctor and I compromised on me having a CT scan to determine my Cardiac Calcium Score before making a firm decision.  He warned me that I would probably have to pay out of pocket for it, but it wasn't terribly expensive.  I had the scan done a couple of weeks ago, and I had a follow-up appointment with doc this week.  Anything below a score of 100 was acceptable; my score was really low...like really low.  So YAY no statin prescription, AND my insurance covered the cost of the scan with no OOP expense.

3.  I was able to reserve two books at the library, and I picked them up when I went to volunteer there this week.  Both are for the 2025 Challenge, and one of the two is also for July's book club selection.  YAY for lending libraries, and also for combining two trips into one!

4.  Yesterday I made another big pasta salad.  This one with bowtie pasta, orange sections, red grapes, apples, blanched broccoli, celery, carrots, cucumber, red onion, chicken breast, and mayo whisked with Italian dressing to dress it...to the individual servings I added feta cheese and pecans also.  There is plenty for the two of us to have tonight, and probably another day.  Thank you, yesterday's me, for putting in the work, so today I don't have to.

5.  Carey just got home from another week with his sister and b-i-l.  They are both improving since their car accident.  I'm so glad he could help them out.  He was invaluable when I was injured in my rollover car accident back in 2008 (?), so he has had practice.  Another brother was able to help them in between Carey's visits.  And I'm also glad that he took our old car which gets much better gas mileage than his huge truck.  Now whether it's wise to be paying insurance for all three vehicles we now own...we will have to get that figured out.

On the menu this week was:

Saturday:  we shared a takeout sandwich

Sunday:  grocery-store sushi

Monday:  grazed

Tuesday:  Spanish Rice

Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday:  Pasta Salad

Friday:  Leftover Pasta Salad

**designates meatless meal

What I am reading Wednesday...

Thirtieth challenge finish of the year.

I started this one in 2024, but with the news cycle of the campaigns and all, I had to put it down; I was just not in a place where I could deal with the topic.  (There were a couple of other books that I had to push to the bottom of the pile also for similar reason.)

Once I got back to it (for the 'Climate Fiction' prompt of the challenge), it took FOR. EVER.  I read it in ebook form, but the hard cover and paperback both indicated 576 pages; and reviews indicated the font size on those pages was very tiny, so no wonder it took forever to get through. Long.  Long.  Looooooong  Like Moby Dick, it seemed as if the author got paid by the word.  Also like Moby Dick, I had to resort to reading a few chapters of it in the morning, and then read other books the rest of the day.

It started out strong with a traumatic fictional heat event that killed millions.  But after that, it kind of wandered off course.  It jumped around, and the characters weren't really well developed.  It gave a TON of scientific information which was over my head.  Sometimes I read reviews of books after I finish them just to see what other people thought of them.  One review mentioned, "as a story it gets 2 stars, but I added another star for the subject matter."  I can completelty agree with that statement.

 

Thirty-first challenge finish of the year.

As the title indicates, this book IS actually about a feather thief.  A young American man who has an obsession with tying fly-fishing lures, burgles a natural history museum in England to obtain a lifetime supply of feathers that are illegal to obtain on the open market due to wildlife conservations laws, and also to sell some of them to raise cash.

Very interesting, and I read it within two days.  I kept stumbling over the word 'tiers' which I heard in my head as TEE-ers (like the levels of a structure), but which in this case is pronounced TIE-ers.  Turns out that is the preferred spelling for those who tie fly-fishing lures.  

Does anyone else stumble over word pronunciations while reading silently?  Don't even get me started on unusual name pronunciations!  (Dr. Zhivago took me forever to get through.)

Looking forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.  He did a good job with the literary non-fiction (blends historical accuracy with compelling narrative).  I love authors who do a great job with this genre...Tracy Kidder...Erik Larson...Brian Hicks...to name a few.

Tuesday treasure...

Singing with the boy!

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 23...

 

1.  While Carey was helping out his sister and b-i-l, among other things he helped out with, he harvested what was ripe from their garden for them.  They made him bring home chard and kale.  The kale was so young and tender.  I made a big salad with kale, chard, and a lot of stuff I found in the fridge: apple, red onion, carrot, celery, cherry tomatoes, chicken, and homemade honey-mustard dressing.

2.  Spent a lovely couple of hours (sarcasm) trying to track down our tax refund.  Jumped through their hoops.  Proved who we were.  And as per the finish notice, we should see it within the next NINE WEEKS!  Grrrrr.  Can't help it; feels like DOGE trouble to me.

3.  Social Security checks (his & mine) were deposited.  Every month now I hold my breath fearing that something will go wrong with it.

4.  Waited till my volunteer day at the library, to pick up a book that I reserved.  No special trip.

5.  Adjusted my subscription for laundry detergent sheets.  It was set at one box every two months, but we ran out.  Setting it for every six weeks was not an option, so I bought an individual box to get us by, then set subscription for 2 boxes every 3 months.  

On the menu this week--     

Saturday:  out for breakfast for dinner at IHOP (Carey's choice)

Sunday:  Big Salad

Monday:  me: leftovers,  C: frozen pot pie

Tuesday:  shared a takeout sandwich

Wednesday:  Quiche w/ Garlic Green Beans

Thursday:  Chicken Burgers (frozen chicken patties)

Friday:  leftovers

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Twenty-seventh challenge finish of the year.

I do love Louise Erdrich's work.  This one is set in a small farming community in South Dakota where sugar beets are the money crop, and the pesticides and growing practices are damaging the land and wildlife.  The characters are so well crafted, so multi-faceted.  

Twenty-eighth challenge finish of the year.

This is the sequel to Moloka'i, which was about a child (Rachel) who spent her life in the leper colony on the Hawaiian island.  The sequel follows the life of Rachel's daughter (Ruth) who was manditorily separated from Rachel shortly after her birth to keep from passing on the leprosy to the baby.

She lived in an orphanage until she was five, and then adopted by a very loving Japanese family.  Eventually they moved to the mainland, and suffered the internment of the Japanese during WWII.  The racism and removing of families to camps brought current events to life for me.

 Twenty-ninth challenge finish of the year.

Another one that has been languishing inside my Kindle waiting to be read for at least a couple of years.  This book is the next to the last in this cozy mystery series.  Generally I'm not a fan of the cozies, as they are usually pretty formulaic, hence the authors can pump them out regularly.  This is the only book I had in my Kindle stash that fit the prompt, that the author has released more than one book per year.  Originally this series caught my attention because they are about a group of quilting friends.  Easy read.

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 16...

 

1.  I made a tortellini salad that I love, but Carey doesn't.  Since he was out of town, and I was home cleaning and not wanting to have to think about what I ate, I prepared the salad with tons of fresh vegetables, so I could eat it multiple times and still get in lots of veg.

2.  Purged my closet!  Work clothes be gone!

3.  Mostly stayed home this week.  Only ventured out to make drop offs at Goodwill and to volunteer at library.

4.  Reading, reading, reading.

5.  Looked up directions for a medical test tomorrow in the city, and while I was at it researched to make sure there wasn't any special prep to do.  

Paid credit card bill on time so no interest incurred.

Hung out with the dog.

Watered the garden.

Didn't place any online orders.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Mother's Day Dinner at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Grocery Store Sushi

Monday:  takeout tacos

Tuesday:  Tortellini Salad: red, yellow, orange, and green peppers, pickled banana peppers, cucumbers, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onion, feta, tortellini, Italian dressing  **

Wednesday:  leftovers **

Thursday:  leftovers **

Friday:  frozen pizza

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-sixth challenge finish of the year.

This one is an audiobook that I started last November at the quilt retreat, and then never picked back up.  Till Monday.  

I'm doing a closet purge, and emptied everything out, then listened to the audiobook as I sorted through every item, and boxed up donations.  

It really wasn't my cup of tea.  Storyline:  an author who writes wildly popular YA novels of a fantasy genre (think maybe JK Rowling-esque) is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and resorts to using a young super-fan to help her finish the series remembering backstory events, etc.  Not believable.  No characters that I could really like or empathize with.  Two stars.

Still reading The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich.

Tuesday Treasure...

 

The cherry tomatoes are ripening!  I harvested these two this morning, and in the late afternoon noticed that three more were ready.

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 9...

 

1.  When the cat's not on scene, the mice will clean!  Last summer it was the garage.  (Which I never did take 'after' photos of, sorry.)  This time I have a closet purge planned...everything will be out and gone through.  I've already donated winter coats...apparently I love to buy winter coats, but I don't like to wear winter coats...and we hardly even have a winter here!  I will also be donating work clothes, since I'm no longer working.  I will keep a couple pairs of nice slacks and tops, but the rest is going.

2.  I'm returning one of the pair of shoes I bought last week.  The Birkenstocks are fine, but the White Mountain ones have zero support; disappointing as others of that brand worked great for me.

3.  Girls are home for the summer.  They will be looking for jobs.  Until they find work for other people, I hope they will come help me accomplish a room reboot.

4.  I am feeling really good about getting old books on my Kindle finally read!

5.   I'm about to leave to head to a friend's house.  I will leave my car at her house, and ride with her to the city to attend book club.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  out for Tex-Mex

Sunday:  leftovers

Monday:  Stir Fry w/ tofu

Tuesday:  takeout baked potatoes w/ bbq brisket

Wednesday:  Chicken burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday:  Pot pies

Friday:  Sandwiches

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

Dual timeline.  I could have done without the current day one.  It was a just a romance story, and not a great one.  But the past timeline was about Johanna Van Gogh Bonger, the wife of Vincent Van Gogh's brother Theo.  It was beautifully written and seemed to be well researched.  I gave it three stars only because I've about reached the end of my patience with dual timeline stories.

And I'm about a third of the way through this one currently.  Love Louise Erdrich.

Tuesday Treasure...

The jury is out, but this is a major purchase that's been on the back burner for awhile, and I hope will prove to be a treasure.

My old, small SUV has been a great vehicle, but Carey did not want to take it on long trips anymore (without putting $ toward maintenance in it that we didn't want to put into a 10-year-old car).  We've been shopping half heartedly for a couple of months or so.  An extended family situation came up that needs our assistance and will require a long trip to get to them.  It made us decide that now was the time to bite the bullet.  We went to look for a specific car this morning, and found a way better deal on this one, and it's still under warranty.  It was a loaner at the dealership...one year old, and only about 1,000 miles on it.  They had put their whole 'fleet' of loaner cars on the sale lot this past weekend, and sold five of them already.  Today we still had ten to choose from, so got a color I like.  

What I'm most excited about (in addition to getting a newer model with way less milage, for basically the same price that we were willing to spend on the one we ended up not getting...oh, and the fact that the tires are basically brand new) is the built-in technology that can be linked to my phone, and having the maps be on larger screen and hands free.  

Funny story.  Today I had Carey drive the new car home, because I had a big box to donate at Goodwill in the back of our old car (we're keeping old car).  I wanted to drop it off on my way home.  I was following him on the road home, and decided to call a friend.  Because they had already linked my phone to the new car, and because we were still traveling very close together, when I dialed it connected in the new car, and my friend was talking to Carey without realizing that I wasn't even in the car with him...and the call wouldn't hang up till we got some distance apart from each other, at which point the call dropped.  Pretty weird.

I'm just hoping that it is safe and as good a car for us as its predecessor.

Delayed gratification for the win!

2025 NOT VERY Frugal Friday File, May 2...

 

1.  I ordered two pair of shoes.  One pair was lightly-worn Birkenstocks on ebay.  Including shipping they were $30 (retail new would have been $100+).  The other pair is similar in style but is White Mountain brand, which I have had good luck with in the past.  They were on sale for half price so my total cost was $32.  

Ninety-nine percent of the time I am in Birkenstocks, from the time my feet first hit the floor when I wake up in the morning until the time I take them off when I'm getting into bed at night.  I have high arches, and was told decades ago (by my reflexologist, after a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis) to wear Birkenstocks.  I have never had any further pain from plantar fasciitis.  I am a firm believer that the human body is not meant to walk & stand on cement slabs as much as we do.  I was raised in a house built in 1902 with a pier-and-beam foundation and wooden floors.  Ah...that was the life!  I despise modern home construction in Texas...no basements, just concrete slab.  I blame my bad knees on it.

Anyway, I've worn all of my current shoes for several years now, and even good-quality cork footbeds flatten out somewhat over time and constant wear.  I thought I should find some replacements before any problems set in, and in case tariffs do go into effect.  

2.  I accompanied a friend to a quilt fabric/supplies market in a nearby town today.  The vendors being those who have cleaned out their stash and selling.  I spent $39, and got some things with specific projects in mind.  I also got another $38 of backing fabric which was new and cut to size for me.

3.  I doubled my annual gift to my local NPR station.

4.  I tried to double my annual gift to my local PBS station, but it will have to wait, as I couldn't get logged on.

5.  I did not buy any Trump crypto make-believe funds.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Pasta Salad w/ Chicken

Monday:  leftovers

Tuesday:  grocery-store sushi

Wednesday:  King Ranch Casserole

Thursday:  Pork chops, Stove Top, Cranberry Sauce

Friday:  leftoverws

**designates meatless meal

I've fallen down a rabbit hole, and I can't get up...

 

image source:  behindthetower.org

I started wondering if the UT Clock Tower shooting was the original school and/or mass shooting.  Turns out no, it was not.

You may not be able to probably can't read the small print in the image above, but the article it accompanied can be found here if you are interested:  http://behindthetower.org/a-brief-history-of-mass-shootings  

From the timeline in the image, I of course remember the UT Clock Tower shooting, and the ones listed after 1980, but I did not realize there were so many others.

It's not going to magically stop.  What is it going to take?  Will we ever figure this out?