February at a glance...

Feb 1 - attended a funeral at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery with full military honors.  Very moving.

Feb 3 - Sunday family supper and Yahtzee!

Feb 8 - More banana bread...this time with chocolate chips.  One piece eaten, the rest individually packaged for freezer for Carey to take to work.

Feb 9 - What do you mean it's too cold to play outside?  It doesn't seem to be bothering the squirrels!

Feb 10 - late night crafting

Feb 14 - Chocolate-covered strawberries...mmmmmm

Feb 17 - Sunday family supper and Yahtzee...again.

Feb 20 - Shrimp Alfredo in spaghetti squash bowls

Feb 22 - filling out passport renewal application

Feb 23 - Gorgeous day with interesting clouds

Feb 26 - prices going up, but this station still lower than any others

Feb 27 - my friend Debbie in Seattle sent me a box of goodies for Valentine's Day.  It included some specialty chocolate bars.  They all had lovely wrappers, but one was so beautiful that I used it to make her a thank you card.  She's a card maker too, so I'm pretty sure she will see the beauty as well as the humor in this.  :)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Still plugging away...

Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

I'm barely over 50%...52% to be exact.  I just went to Amazon to check number of pages...almost 900!  Note to self:  check book length before selecting a book for challenge.  These long ones tend to slow my progress on annual goal.

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 8...

Successes:
1.  Lots of staying home and reading.  

2.  Warmer temperatures means less heating.  We actually got into the mid 80s this week; I've even seen the first bluebonnets of the year.

3.  I got my hair cut this week.  Even though I have a short cut, my stylist's cuts look good for quite awhile, so I can get away with going longer between cuts.  I didn't make an appointment for the next visit, as I will wait until it starts telling me it needs it.  Although I occasionally still miss my natural original hair color (which I can no longer achieve naturally), I am okay with the gray and saving the big budget color jobs.

4.  I've been altering recipes and making substitutions rather than making trips to the grocery.

5.  Had our annual review with financial advisor.  Filled up with lower-priced gasoline while in neighboring town on a required trip.  I found the ultimate bargain ($38!) on a brand-new Ninja slow cooker for Kasey for Valentine's Day as she had just broken hers, which she used all the time.  Paying bills on time, moving money into savings for annual premiums so it's there for due date, and money into savings for emergencies.

Saturday:  breakfast for supper
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  Dublin Coddle
Tuesday:  *Chicken Fried Steak
Wednesday:  Shrimp Alfredo w/ spaghetti squash
Thursday:  *chicken
Friday:  chili

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Last Wednesday's book, Once Upon A River, is almost finished.  I didn't want to take time away from the last 50 pages of it to write this post, but I did.  You're welcome.  I am loving it!

Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

I will probably start this one tomorrow.  It was a Kindle deal of the day yesterday, and it will fill in another state on the 2019 reading challenge map.

Making it Moday...

A couple of cards today using up scrap papers.

No school today, and Kasey was tied up in the city.  I went over to see if the girls wanted to hang out for a little while.  I took them out for lunch, and then they came home with me to dash off some notes to their great-grandmother.  I didn't have any cards made up for them, so I had them write in blank card bases, then made the card fronts after I delivered them back home.

I would have had them make the cards, but it had to be a very short visit.  Beau had yard work chores for them to help with at home.  We were lucky I could rescue them for even a little while.  :)

Frugal Friday File 2019, week 7...

Successes:
1.  I wanted to create new decor for above the fireplace to include some large wooden letters.  The chunky letters that I had in mind were too pricey for me.  I purchased some that are about 12 inches high, but only about 1/4 inch thick.  To create a more substantial appearance, I hot glued just two used wine corks to the back (one at the top, and one at the bottom) so that they stand out from the wall and have the appearance of depth.  I'm happy with the look.  A big plus:  the combination of thin wood and corks are so lightweight, each hangs securely on just a straight pin that I hammered into the wall.  No noticeable nail holes will be left when it's time to change decor again.

2.  Beef & Winter Vegetable Stew was on the menu.  Stew meat was $4.99 a pound.  I searched the meat case for another cut of meat that I could cut into cubes myself.  Boneless beef rib meat was $2.99 a pound, so I thought I would give it a try.  It was already cut into lengths of a convenient size, and since it was boneless, all I had to do was slice into chunks.  The rib meat cooked up very tender and flavorful in the stew.

3.  Though the meat was very lean for the most part, I was left with a small amount of scraps that I had trimmed away.  I tossed the scraps into a Ziplock bag, labeled the contents, and tossed the bag into the freezer.  When I have accumulated enough bones/meat scraps, I will make a pot of beef broth.  

4.  I'm working today; and locally so no commute.  Yea!

5.  Earlier this week, I had used almost all of my survey coupons for free drinks at Sonic.  (I only get drinks at Sonic; rarely food unless the girls are with me.)  I start getting nervous at the thought of no more free drinks.  :)  I diligently check my receipts to see if it has a survey offer, and this week I was rewarded with two.  Yea!  My favorite visits to Sonic are when I use a survey code for a free drink, and they hand me a receipt that indicates $0.00 due...and it has a survey offer for another free drink at the bottom.  LOL  

Saturday:  leftovers
Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's
Monday:  hummus, crackers, and vegetables
Tuesday:  *Chinese
Wednesday:  *sushi
Thursday:  Beef & Winter Vegetable Stew
Friday:  *Tex-Mex

(*not-frugal takeout or dinner out)

Happy Valentine's Day...

Blurry photo...sorry

I want to send out some love on this Valentine's Day to all of you who visit the blog.  I love reading your comments, and count the blog friends I've come to know over the years as friends in real life too.  

I found this wreath and unpainted letters at Joann's recently.  I've been wanting to do something different with the mantel decor for awhile, so I splurged.  (Though, of course, I used coupons and made the most practical choices possible.)  I actually bought more letters than just these, and will show soon when I take down the 'love' at the end of the month.  I already had white paint to paint the letters.  

The wreath is an artificial boxwood wreath.  The white flowers on the wreath are ones I use frequently in lots of ways.  The greenery on the wreath is so dense, that I just tucked the flowers in among it and they stayed quite securely without glue or being on picks, though probably not well enough if I was hanging it outside subject to wind.  This way, though, I can quickly and harmlessly remove them later to change out decor.

The potted hydrangea was a Valentine gift to us from Kasey & Beau (along with some yummy chocolate covered strawberries...mmmmm).  The little Westie on the left end is a vintage cast iron door stop that a sweet friend gave me years ago.

Do you change household decorations seasonally?  I get bored looking at the same thing for too long, and start yearning to gather objects from around the house to create a new vignette.  I mostly stick to the mantel.  

As retirement looms in the next few years, I have been thinking about downsizing.  Looking at house plans that are smaller, but still have storage that would allow decorations to be easily accessible to the living space (among other things that are subjects for a whole other post).