Thankful, grateful, blessed...

 

So much to be thankful for.  

• Thankful the power is back on.  
• Thankful that even though we won't have running water at our house for awhile, we do have drinking water, and also water to flush the toilets with.  
• Thankful that sweet daughter lives close and DOES have water back on, and that she invited us to come take showers!
• Thankful that Carey can work from home for a couple of days before going back.
• Thankful that my wonderful boss says stay home.  
• Thankful that I live so close to office, as I did go up to work for about an hour and a half this morning to make sure that I had things in order for some money transfers for clients.
• Thankful to make it back home safely on snowy roads, and the house is still warm.

I stopped on the street to get a photo of our house while it was snowing.  The snow from a few days ago finally melted yesterday, so this is new as of this morning.  (This was about 10 a.m.)  I haven't been near a window to see how much more has accumulated since then, because I don't want to disturb the warm puppy that is sleeping across my legs (whom I am also thankful for).

Falling snow always reminds me of my mom.  She loved to tell about the first time I saw a  snow flurry as a toddler.  We were visiting my great-aunt in Iowa for the holidays, and it started snowing.  When I saw it out the window, I exclaimed, "birdies!"  Lots and lots of tiny birdies.  :)  So very thankful for the memory of her telling that story over and over with love.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Little Comfort by Edwin Hill

I started this book Tuesday.  The cover looks a lot like my yard (minus the blood trail), and this is south Texas.  I understand from friends that the cold weather we are having this week, along with the problems it has caused, has made the national news.  I wouldn't know; no TV.

All the things that I had planned to get done on the long weekend ground to a screeching halt when our power went out .  No cooking, no baking, no sewing.  And unfortunately no laundry.  Nothing that required electricity.  And since our house is all electric, that meant the heat also ground to a halt.  The temperature has been in the 40s inside our house.  Carey and Rudy and I all just stayed under the covers.   And since we have a water well, for which the pump runs on electricity, we have no water either.  Without the pump running the pipes between water storage tank, pump, and house have frozen underground.

Electricity was out for something like 38 hours.  As of now it is back on, but I am writing this Tuesday night, and from what I understand we are expecting more sleet, snow, and ice tonight, so I would not be surprised if the power goes out again.  As for the water, it could still be days before we know for sure if it will be a major problem.  I am very thankful that Carey was home, so all the preparations were done properly (draining water lines in the house etc before those froze).

I know how easy we have it.  I am sick thinking of people that are homeless, and worried about linemen that have been out working on power lines.

None of us have been able to go to work.  I'm not sure when I will get to go back...going to have to figure out a way to get a bath before then!

The Frugal Friday File 2021, week 6...

Successes:

1.  Twelve days into February, and I'm still holding strong on not placing any online orders.  I did place a grocery order for curbside pick up, but I said at the beginning that I was not going to count groceries.  I did waver on a Kindle book, but when I was looking at it on Amazon, a popup informed me that I already own it.  Whew!  :)

2.  I predict we will have a large electric bill next month.  Today through this weekend is COLD, and Monday has a predicted low of single digits and a high in the low 20s.  Brrrrr.  But we will be hibernating at home for the weekend and Presidents' Day holiday with home cooking...homemade pizza, soups, and casserole are on the menu...maybe even some baking to help warm the hearth and home.

3.  A few months ago I ordered what I thought was a mask kit, but was instead a large cut of washable mask lining material with static charge to better hold on to airborne particles in the fiber so there's less chance of it getting through.  Since we don't have any vaccine in our foreseeable future, and since they are encouraging double masking with the new variant that is now in our local area, (and frankly I imagine mask use is likely long term) I think I will be making more masks this weekend putting my past inadvertent purchase to good use.

4.  We were due to have our water well's 3000 gallon storage tank replaced this week, but the weather put the kibosh on that for now.  We will have to dish out the money eventually, but not this week.

5.  Planned overs.  Last night I made chili for homemade Frito Pie.  The leftover chili will make enchiladas for supper in a day or two; the leftovers of which will make a meal or two for Carey to take to work.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

I've barely started this one.  From the Amazon description:  "'For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that ‘the Ripper’ preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight..."

Saturday snail mail catch up...

The photos of cards have been stacking up...

I love this flower set, but does the center (which I also used for the background) remind you of anything?  Maybe it's just me.

Here's one that uses a different fold and the Darling Donkeys stamp set.  I CASEd this one from Kelly Acheson.

This one, as well as the next six, use the December 2020 Paper Pumpkin.  The card bases that came in the kit were so gorgeous, but they looked way too sophisticated to go with these cartoon-like images to me.  So I made all of these using orphaned papers and scraps I had lying around for more kid-like designs.  

We needed some sympathy cards to have on hand at work, so I came up with this one last night.  It's a larger card, being about 5" x 7".  Though I like how it came out, it is a single layer card.  I think I will do the stamped design on a separate sheet and cut it out, then pop it up.  Still simple, but a bit more 'special sauce'.  :)

This one is from an old Paper Pumpkin...last year?...the year before?  It is the first Valentine I've made this year.  I love how it turned out.  I'll probably make a few other designs as well.

Now I'm off to start weekend chores.  If I get everything on my to-do list done, I can stamp some more!  :)

 

The Frugal Friday File 2021, week 5...

 

Successes:
1.  Self control.  I haven't ordered a single thing this week!

2.  Enjoying something new with zero current output.  I found a new pair of Birkenstocks in my closet.  I ordered them last summer on ebay for a really good price; and since they are closed toe, they got pushed to the back to await cooler weather.  I'm so happy I came across them before it's summer again!

3.  DIY doggy pedicure. I snuggled, cajoled, bribed with treats, wrastled Rudy into a death-grip submissive posture (don't worry, that just means he was cradled in my left arm...him on his back...my left hand holding his paw) long enough to get all his front toenails trimmed and filed.  He's perfectly happy lying that way, he just hates being maneuvered into the position.  Thankfully his back paws stay filed down by his repeated jack-rabbit starts going after squirrels off of the concrete patio .

4.  Another month has gone by without a haircut.  It may just be back in a ponytail this summer.  The salons are open, I'm just not comfortable going.  Lots of people around here don't wear masks, and almost every day we hear about someone else in the community who has come down with Covid-19.  So we are staying cautious and vigilant.

Because...

5.  You know what the most frugal thing of all is?  Avoiding astronomical hospital bills or funeral expenses. 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Jumping from a sweet book last week straight into Stephen King.