Frugal Friday Wrap Up 5/29/24

 

                                 When the kitty steals your new bed...

    Jeff is recovering from orthoscopic knee surgery and has to be off his leg for at least 3 weeks.  The first week was pretty rough, but we are now in the second week and the doctor prescribed some meds to help him relax so he can heal faster.  He is trying to help me with the household tasks and amazes me with what he can do without putting pressure on that leg.  That being said, I am still having to do the majority of the things he usually does around here.  With my own problem knees, back, hip and fibromyalgia, this has not been easy and I am exhausted but it has to be done.  Luckily our kids and neighbors are helping out with mowing the lawn, and doing other household tasks that I cannot do.  Prayers for my sweet hubby are appreciated and welcomed.

   This is a conglomeration of my frugal doings over the past month or so.  My memory is not the best, but I will try to list all I remember.  

~I'm back to making bread again.  I had taken a break for about 3 weeks, and both Jeff and I missed my homemade bread.

~Jeff got my back screened in porch furniture all take out of the shed and back where it belongs.  This was before his surgery.   I love sitting out here while I type up my blogs along with eating meals and having coffee (or cocktails depending on the time and the day).

~Jeff and I went to an estate sale and I found lots of nice quality named branded clothing in both my size and his, some were even new with tags.  I got us all stocked up for the colder weather months again.  I also bought a gorgeous crystal bud vase and a book.

~Yard sale finds included 2 sterling silver rings for $3 each and some more books.

~Thrift store finds were a caftan, some small shaker style jars to store seasonings in for the camper, and women's bible study book for me and a nice sweatshirt for Chris.  We also found some shorts and shoes for Jeff at a second store.

~I went to JoAnn Fabric on one of their last days and bought interior paint for the pop-up tent trailer at 80% off and also got bra extenders for under $1 per package.

~I put together my own hanging baskets of flowers for a fraction of the price of premade ones.

~We were able to use the ramp that goes over the back steps onto the porch that we use for pellets for Jeff to be able to use his walker to get into the house after his surgery.  I am so glad he built that thing and that we have wonderful friends and neighbors who got it set up for us before we got home.

~I found Hershey's chocolate candy for .79 cents a bar on clearance.  I bought 20 of them to use for making smores when we go camping (okay, there is one less chocolate bar now since Jeff and I split on a particularly frustrating day).

~We have a local to our town Farmers Market.  I went down to it for the first time this season on Sunday.  I bought some rhubarb blueberry jam and some homemade goat's milk soap for my hubby that a dear friend makes.  They were also giving out some food leftover from our town's commodities distribution.  I got a 4 bags of powdered milk, 2 bags of lentils, 2 bags of split peas, a bag of pears and a bag of apples for free.  This will really help with the food budget.

~The garden has been planted out with 5 tomato plants, radishes, spinach, lettuce, 2 1/2 beds of potatoes, 1 raised bed of beans, and I have cucumbers and zucchini started in the greenhouse.  Once the spinach and radishes are done, I will plant the cucumbers there and trellis them.  The zucchini will be planted out in another spot in the garden.

~Our new Home Depot opened and I was able to find 2 medium sized planters with pink Dalias in them for $8.00 each. They are now on either side of my bench in the front of the house walkway.

~I'm cherry picking the deals again at the grocery store and found pork loins for $3.00 each after my discount and the half off sticker.  This made 3 servings. I also found thinly sliced round steak that I turned into some delicious stroganoff with the addition of a package of sliced mushrooms.  This made 5 servings when served over baked potatoes.  I also got 2 more cans of baking chocolate so I can make homemade hot cocoa mix for Jeff to have in his coffee.  It is much cheaper for me to make it that buy the premade stuff.

~Our neighbors had bought a big watermelon and had too much for just the two of them so they gave us part of it.

~Our son Jaysn, along with our Rachel and grandson Steven came over and got the swamp cooler up and running for us.  This was really sweet of them since Jeff is in the second week of his recovery from knee surgery and still cannot put any weight on it or bend it.  We had pizza for dinner, along with some watermelon and had a wonderful visit with the 3 of them.

~I got the lighter weight quilts out that my mother made for the bed and the smaller ones for the living room to cuddle up under when the nights are cooler.  The heavier feather duvet got folded up and the duvet cover got washed and put away for the season.

~While making the guest bed (which is where I sleep), I put 4 hand embroidered pillowcases on my pillows.  These are ones that I found at previous yard and estate sales and compliment my mother's quilt that I put on the bed.

   Next week will be a rough one for our family with Jeff's siblings, his aunt, one of his cousins, and our kids and grandkids having a graveside service for both Jeff's parents.  Following that, we will be scattering his Aunt Helen's ashes up on the mountain where her parents' ashes are.  Given the family dynamics, well, we will see if everyone can just focus on paying our respects to our beloved family members who have passed.  We are looking forward to seeing Jeff's aunt and cousin and visiting with them, along with getting to spend a bit of time with our Josh who is coming up for the service.  As you all know if you have been reading this blog for awhile, family is our personal treasure here on earth.

   

   

Surgery for Hubby and Other Things

 

   Jeff was finally able to get his much-needed knee surgery.  There was more damage than they thought, but all in all it was the best outcome possible.  He is now having to keep his knee totally straight for two weeks and not put any pressure on it. Week three he can start to bend it and we will see at that point if he can start to put any pressure on it or not.  The doctor figured that he would be off work for about 6 weeks and then can go back but be careful with his knee for a bit more time.  Getting around the house with his walker (which he decided yesterday that he was done with and switched to crutches which he had me retrieve from Chris and Heather) was wearing him out, especially the getting up and down part.  I know he thought the crutches would be easier, but sadly, that is not the way it turned out.  Between the surgery on Tuesday and expending all that energy, he is exhausted and taking multiple naps a day.  We are staying up until 11p.m. for him to take his pain pill before bed, and then are back up at 5:15 a.m. for another pain pill.  Of course the fur babies all think that they are starving at that point, so I get all of them fed, coffee going for Jeff and I and then get him something to eat.  By 9 a.m., both of us head back to bed for a bit.   Now, if I were a normal and healthy person, this would not also be taking a toll on me so much, but you have to remember that I have fibromyalgia, along with hip and back problems.  I am doing my best at trying to take care of him, the house and yard, but let me just say this...some things are definitely slipping through the cracks.  I will be enlisting the help of my oldest grandson Bradley next week to mow the yard and possibly get Jaysn over here to work on the swamp cooler this long weekend since the temperatures are supposed to get up in the high 80's.  YUCK!

   Before Jeff's surgery, I tried to get as much done as I could and get stocked up on everything we needed grocery wise except for the fresh produce and dairy products.  I did get some apples, since the last longer, but Jeff loves to have a banana a day, so I will have to run into the grocery store at some point for that.  Since Jeff will be without a paycheck for about 6 weeks, I told him we are just practicing for when he fully retires.  I will be getting a very small SS check starting in July, but we are going to try and save half of it and use the rest to pay for windshield replacements on both Jeff's car and the truck, and get the rest of the things Jeff needs to fix some other things on his car.  We are waiting to see how much his Medicare/Medicaid will pick up in costs, since we will have to pay off his knee surgery also.  At this point he is saying he wants to retire this Fall, but he also wants to make sure we get these other things done and paid for first.  I get where he is coming from.

   We are hoping our garden does well this year.  I have spinach, radishes, lettuce and potatoes already coming up.  My tomato plants have been living in the greenhouse and will be planted out tomorrow.  I have 5 different plants of different varieties.  I wanted everything from cherry tomatoes to pear tomatoes and onto big slicers.  I didn't pick out any Roma plants this year or grow any from seed because I still have bags and bags of them frozen from last year that I still need to process.  I started zucchini and cucumbers last week in the greenhouse and am waiting for all of them to come up and get a bit more established before I get them planted out.  Beans will be directly seeded this coming week and I am hoping I get lots of them also.  Jeff and I love green and yellow beans, and I'd like to blanch and freeze at least 15 bags of them this year in addition to eating some fresh.

   There really is not much else going on around here at the moment.  Other than going to the doctor for Jeff's knee surgery checkups and doing the occasional grocery shopping, we will pretty much be home bodies for the next 6 weeks or so.  Steven will be joining us on Fridays in early June, so that will be a much needed and delightful distraction for both Jeff and I.  He just celebrated his 8th birthday and lucky for me, is still cuddly.  ;)

  

I hope you all have a nice Memorial Day weekend.  Please take a moment to remember the reason for this long weekend and send up good thoughts and prayers for the families of those who have lost loved ones who served.  Please also pray for those currently serving and for their families also.  With the way the world is right now, our brave men and women can be put in harms way at any moment.  This is coming from a mom who lives with this knowledge and possibility every single day.  Thank you and God Bless!

   

   

Yes, I am still here.

 

   Yes, I am still here.  Things got crazy busy in our lives again and I needed to just focus on our family, friends and home.  It has been nice to take a break from blogging, even though I do love sharing my life with all of you.  My priority is and always will be, my family.

   Baseball season is in full swing for our oldest two grandsons Bradley and Isaiah.  Jeff and I are trying to make sure that we get to go to as many of their games as possible.  They are playing in different leagues this year so we are having to figure out which games to go to when and keeping things as even as possible.  We look forward to their games and being able to see our older kids too. ;)

   We recently got back from Utah where we spent a week with our youngest two grandkids, Peyton and Tate.  Josh and Lauren had an out-of-town commitment and needed a short few days of vacation, so we went down to take care of the kids.  We had a lot of fun watching Tate play soccer and doing some fun things with both he and Peyton.  Grammie here finally has a little girl to do her hair and dress up, and I had a wonderful time doing just that.  We took our dog Maggie with us down there and she enjoyed being part of a pack.  She also got a new bed out of it, which she absolutely loves.

   This coming weekend we are going to celebrate both Mother's Day and our middle grandchild Steven's birthday a little early. It has been a bit since the whole family has been able to get together.  We have all been stretched in different direction and trying to find a time that works for all of us has been a challenge. 

   The garden is taking up a lot of our time, but it is very worth it!  I found some great deals on plants and will be making hanging baskets soon.  I also need to get the lettuce, bok choi and spinach seeded in.  Jeff has done an amazing job getting the raised beds ready for me.  I just need to get out there and get er done! ;)

   These next two weeks are going to be busy with medical appointments and surgeries for our family.  I have my regular quarterly doctor's appointment so I can get my medications monitored.  I have bloodwork to do and luckily already had my mammogram which looked good.  Jeff has his pre-op appointment for his knee surgery next week, followed by the actual surgery the following week.  Our Rachel tore her ACL and is going to be having surgery to repair that during this same time period.  Her sister, who has the most beautiful heart, is coming up to help her and Jaysn with Steven and to help their mother if she needs it.   We had joked that if Jeff and her had surgery close together, that I would give up my recliner and they could watch movies together while they both healed.  Well, they are having their surgery within a few days of each other and the offer is still open.  ;)  I have a feeling that both Rachel's sister and I are going to have our hands full trying to keep these two resting and not going stir crazy.  LOL!  Yes, they are both not ones to rest much and tend to focus on all the things they think need to be done right then.  And yes, Rachel, I know you will read this and giggle because I am spot on.  Love you!

   I need to leave this here now since I need to take a shower and get ready to go to Isaiah's game.  Today has been a busy day for me already and I have gotten a lot done despite being tired.  Be blessed all!

   

A Big Thank You and Catch Up

 

   I want to thank everyone who has commented, prayed and kept our family in your thoughts.  It has not been easy.  I did not realize how much it was affecting me until I hit day 4 of not showering and just staying in the same pajamas.  I knew I had to claw my way back up and out of the depression spiral.  I can "mask" things pretty well with a smile, concentrating on helping others, etc. all the while slowing being sucked down myself. Not even my sweet hubby knows how deep the hurt is until I finally open up and tell him.  I then find out that he is hurting very deeply also.  So today, I finally took a long shower and tried to scrub away the pain.  Did it work?  No, but I am clean now and am able to post here again, so I would say that I am moving in the right direction.

   Jeff and I have been working on projects around the house, trying to get things back in order after almost a year of just not having the energy physically or mentally to do "all the things".  None of the projects are huge, just time consuming.  There has been lots of cleaning, purging, reorganizing and making lists of other projects that need to be done.  I'm sure many can relate to this.

   Jeff and I did go on a real "date" last Friday.  We went to one of our favorite breweries for their Saint Paddy's Day dinner.  Well, I ordered the traditional corned beef dinner, Jeff had a burger and then finished the rest of my dinner because there was just so much food! They also had green beer in very tall pilsner glasses and it was really good.  Dessert was Green Velvet cake with vanilla bean ice cream.  YUM!  Jeff and I shared that because it was a huge piece.  We waddled out of there happy and came home to our recliners and watched Moana 2.  

   Earlier this week I got a message from our son Josh who said that our youngest grandkids wanted to talk to Grammie and Gpa.  I got the computer all loaded up and we Facetimed with them.  First thing our little Miss Peyton says is "Where's Gpa?" since he was turning on a light and was not in frame.  Yes, she is Gpa's girl!  She then modeled her Snow White princess dress for us.  Tate, who is Grammie's buddy, decided to take the phone from his father and give us a "tour" of the cool new vacuum that  his mom got.  LOL!  This is a boy who loves cleaning gadgets and was very excited about them having a new one. ')    Those grandbabies, along with our other 3 older ones, are helping motivate me to come up to the surface once again. :)

   There have frugal doings around here too.  I cut up, sugared and froze 4 pints of strawberries. I made Belgium Waffles with some mix that I found in my pantry that I had forgotten about and served that with homemade maple syrup along with some cherry syrup I made with some of my mom's homemade cherry jam.  Jeff used up the last of the syrup, so I made more to have on hand.  We got in on a really good chicken deal.  I got the chicken hindquarters for $1.57 a pound with $1.00 off the package.  Apparently, they had a lot of chicken to sell quickly, so they also had a buy one family pack, get one free deal.  I froze one of the packages and made shoyu chicken with the other.  We had shoyu chicken over rice for one meal and I then froze the rest for another meal.  I love having fully cooked meals I can pull out of the freezer and just add a side dish to it.  The leftover rice was used for 2 meals of chili and rice. Cabbage was on sale, so I bought 3 of them.  I used half of one to make coleslaw, and will use the other half in another dish.  The 2 remaining cabbages will be used for a cabbage salad, while most of it will be blanched and the dehydrated so I can add it to soups, stews, etc. at a later date. I made a nice dinner with broiled asparagus and lobster ravioli.  I also made another nice homemade alfredo pasta dish and served that with a nice crisp salad. We ordered another hose online for Jeff's cpap machine saving ourselves about $40 there.  I have been using decor that I have on hand here to change out my Winter decor and bring our some of the Spring stuff.  Jeff found some watercolor prints from Hawaii that I will be framing and putting up in our guest bathroom.  They are bright and cheery and remind me of happy times in my life growing up.  I finally found a pair of jeans that fit me and Jeff found some lounging type pants at the thrift store.  Oh, I also found more new canning lids and rings.  I love to have lots of these on hand.

   I had better go and figure out dinner for tonight.  Be blessed all and thank you once again.

   

   

More Deaths in our Family

                                                                             😭

   We sadly have lost two more family members this past week.  We lost my Uncle Gary (my father's youngest brother) and my hanai Auntie Toots.  Both of them were so important to me and shared nothing but unconditional love, support and laughter.  I was sure when my mother gave me the news about my Uncle Gary, that she was calling to tell me that my Uncle Ed had passed away.  Uncle Ed is still holding on though, and is back in the hospital once more.  It is hard to be losing so many people that we love so close together.  Jeff and I were hoping this would be a good year for us, but it seems to be off to a rough start.  Prayers would be appreciated for my family.  There are so many people hurting right now.  Thank you.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 2/21/25

    

Hello all, I hope you have had a good week.  It has been a productive one around here with little projects getting done.  Jeff is also finally processing his father's passing away (he died at the start of January).  I knew it would take him time to really come to terms with it.  My husband tends to hold things in and put them away in "little boxes" in his mind.  I understand this all too well, as I also do the same thing.  I am glad that he is able to talk about some good memories and some things that he cherishes that his father gave him when he was still allowed to have a relationship with him.  We talked about how we are breaking that generational curse with our own children and grandchildren.  And now, onto the savings this week.

~Saturday Jeff and I took a quick trip into town to both get me out of the house for a bit and to pick up a few things.  We found some great deals at the grocery store and ran into one of our neighbors there. 😄

~The snow came in over the weekend and Jeff got the driveway and walkways shoveled out.  He also got the lower driveway of our shared driveway with the neighbors done and shoveled out a walkway for the to their back door.  The have a baby and Jeff is always trying to find ways to make their lives easier and safer.  How I love that man of mine!

~For Valentine's Day (one day late), I cooked up some lamb chops, red skinned mashed potatoes from scratch (using up the rest of my half and half that needed to be used) and green beans.  I made a double batch of both the lamb chops and potatoes so that we could have them again on Monday.  The lamb chops were bought on sale a few months ago and frozen until they were pulled out again for a treat like this.

~We watched several movies over the weekend in the comfort of our home and recliners.

~Jeff and I cut each other's hair.  It feels so good to have my hair short once again.

~More bread was made.  Jeff loves my homemade bread.

~I took the bones from the lamb chops, added some celery, onion and parsley, along with some seasonings, put them in the slow cooker, and set it on low for 24 hours.  It made a very rich broth.

~We do not take Maggie to the groomers to have her claws clipped.  We did them ourselves on Thursday.

~Jeff reglued the joints on my larger antique rocker that has been in my family for generations.  It is an old Windsor style and I absolutely treasure it.  I put a pillow on the seat of it to help protect it and a sheepskin on the back to keep the drafts off your back in the cold weather months.  I brought it out here for extra seating for humans, but the cats have taken it over.  At least it is being enjoyed on a regular basis, right? 😉

~I used my Trac Phone rewards to cash in for a $25 Applebee's digital gift card.  I also was able to get 2 free digital magazine subscriptions, including Magnolia magazine.

~Jeff and I talked to Bradley and Isaiah about G-pa (Jeff) teaching them some basic car repairs on our little car that the boys will be getting within the next year.  Chris is too busy to do his own car stuff and takes their cars to a mechanic, so the boys have not been taught these skills.  We will pay for all the parts and things, and they will help with the labor.  Jeff will also be teaching them how to drive a stick shift (which is what this car is).  Both boys were very excited and both want G-pa's car.  They do have another car from Aunt Helen, but it is not "cool" like G-pa's car.  LOL!  It looks like they are going to have to take turns.  

~We have so many CDs.  I am trying to play them and see which ones I want to keep, and which I want to try and sell.  We are trying to do the same with some of our DVDs and Blu-ray movies.

~I received 2 refund checks in the mail from our doctor's office.  They had charged me for 2 office visits, both which should have been free.  These happened months ago and to be honest I had forgotten about them.  The checks added up to about $60, so that was a nice surprise!

   I'd better go and get the dog's tennis ball back from Patchy cat.  She and Midgey like to steal Maggie's toys and play with them, much to Maggie's dismay.  I have put extra balls out, but Maggie has a favorite ball and the cats seem to love that one too.  Go figure!  Have a great weekend and stay safe and warm.

   

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 2/14/25

 

   I was watching a video on YouTube the other day that really made me think deeply about life and "stuff".  The YouTube channel is Pinball Preparedness, and I really like his direct no nonsense approach to life, even in some of the few instances where I did not agree with his point of view. 😉 Anyway, he was talking about how we work so hard to accumulate "stuff" over our lifetimes, and want the bigger how, the latest "thing", car, etc. and go into deep debt doing so.  We then come to our retirement age and if we still owe on the house, cars, and stuff, we may not be able to retire when we become eligible to do so.  He quoted the  average life expectancy and how in reality, we don't have a lot of years left to enjoy our retirements.  It made me so thankful that our home is paid for and that we are paying off my car.  When Jeff fully retires (or maybe sooner), we will be giving the oldest 2 grandsons his commuter car.  We will then  have my car and the truck (which we need to haul the pop up tent trailer and bring home pellets for our pellet stove, haul yard waste, etc.).  Since we live in a smaller home and have a nice garden, and live a frugal life, our bills are pretty low by comparison to many around us.  However, we can do better and that is my goal!  I want to have us in a position where Jeff can fully retire.  I really do love having him home with me!

Here are some of the frugal things we have done this week:

~I took down the last of the Poinsettia garlands and put up new decor including the bronze statue of the Hawaii Io (hawk) that my parents gave us for Christmas. I continued the bird theme by setting out a gorgeous Asian vase with white peacocks on it.  I replaced the picture in our bathroom with one that has hummingbirds on it, also in the Asian theme.  Soon I will be putting the needlepoint picture that my grandmother made for me, which features an Asian pheasant, back up in the living room.  I also put up my beautiful Asian themes watercolor painting that used to belong to my grandparents, up in the living room.  I rotate my art by the seasons and yes, I do love Hawaiian and Asian themed art.  I grew up with these and they remind me of Hawaii and the people and places I hold dearly.

~Jeff got the pantry all cleaned and organized for me.  It makes it so much easier to go in there and pull things for dinner.  For example, Wednesday night I pulled cream of mushroom soup, enchilada sauce, tortillas, and canned chicken out of there.  I added some leftover rice and sour cream, along with some seasonings, and was able to make creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner.  It was great comfort food on a bitterly cold day and was absolutely delicious!

~Jeff had his appointment with the orthopedic surgeon about his knee.  He definitely has a torn meniscus, along with bone spurs, and will need orthoscopic surgery.  His surgeon told him that he will not do unnecessary whole knee replacement, like the insurance company insisted on with his other knee.  We are now waiting for the approval from the insurance company so that he can have it done in late April/early May.  This way he will have it after our trip down to help with our youngest grandchildren and be healed up before camping season goes into full swing.

~It has been so cold here with temps dipping down into the below zero range.  I have been bundling up while at home and wearing cozy socks.  I have not gone outside much because the cold makes my muscles contract and is very painful for me (it's a fibromyalgia thing).

~My 11-year-old grandson Isaiah has a school project where he has to interview someone and he chose to interview me because he wants to know more about my childhood through today.  It has been great fun with him sending me questions via email, which I then answer.  We have kept this chain of emails going to make it easier for him to have all the info on hand in writing so that he can then type up the completed interview.    I love this boy so very much!

~Rachel and Jaysn surprised me with some lobster ravioli from Costco.  All our kids spoil us rotten. :)

~Jeff and I have been enjoying our blankets that my mother made for us.  They keep us nice and cozy warm when we are in our recliners.

~I've been reading some of the many books that I have here at home.  I take great joy in getting lost in a good book.  It is the perfect little escape as I sip on some hot tea while I read.

~Jeff and I have been missing meatloaf, so Jeff pulled some ground venison from the freezer, and I made a teriyaki meatloaf and served it with rice and corn.  We had enough left over for another serving the next day.  I did use half an onion in the meatloaf and cut up the other half of the onion and froze it.  I would usually use green onions, but I did not have any on hand.

~Jeff and I watched several movies over the weekend.  I made up a cheese and sausage platter to have for a snacky dinner one night and popped up a bunch of regular popcorn to have with another movie the next night.  We do love popcorn in this house and it really does not take much time to pop some up from scratch.

~Our Ethan Allen headboard on our bed had cracked across where it had been glued together when it was made.  I have no idea how old it is because my parents bought it used when they were first married and then gave it to us when they got a new Koa wood four poster bed.  Jeff managed to get it glued back together.  He did have to buy some longer clamps for this project, but he will use them for years to come on other projects.  He also got them at the employee discounted price.

~I went into our subscription account for Maggie's CBD tincture that helps with pain and nervousness and changed it to every other month rather than monthly.  We are finding that we are already ahead by a month.  This will save us about $30 a month.

~Snow came in Thursday night and will continue for days!  It honestly is a welcome relief after the below zero temps that froze up our hot water in our master bedroom bathroom.  I had Jeff pick up my prescriptions and a huge bag of dog food for Maggie Thursday since it is his bowling night and I really do not want to go anywhere in the snow.  I am more than happy to make it a movie marathon when he is home.  It also saves us gas money and unnecessary spending.

~I went through more of my books and made a stack of the Jason Bourne series that I have not read yet.  I really want to get to those.

~Jaysn got ahold of us and asked if we could watch Steven this coming Monday.  Jeff is working that day so I will have my bubby here to keep me company!  Yay!!!!

~I have lots of beautiful cut glass pitchers, bowls, vases, trays, etc.  I got one of the pretty little creamer pitchers and put a battery powered tea light in it.  I love the way the cut glass looks at night when the tea light is on.  I am going to try to use my pretty things on a regular basis and not just have them stored away in our buffet.

~There were only 3 items on my grocery list for this week.  Jeff picked them up for me before his bowling league on Thursday night.  All of the items were on sale at Safeway and I cashed in some of my reward points and combined that with a sale in the bakery so we could buy a small cheesecake.

   I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!  Stay warm and safe.