Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/21/2020 and the week ending 8/28/2020

  


  

Here we have the two week version of my Frugal Friday Wrap Up.  I am still thrown off by Caesar's death a few weeks ago now.  Trying to adjust to losing him and then Jeff going back to work has been hard for me.  Nights are the worst.  I'm back to sleeping well only when Jeff gets home in the morning and don't even head to bed until around 4 a.m. because I will just toss and turn anyway and I get frustrated with myself.  I am trying my best to have a good attitude and be thankful for everything that we have been blessed with, but that sadness still creeps in although it is happening a bit less often over time.  

The covid 19 cases continue to explode in our area so I am NOT making trips into town to do my shopping.  I have found other places and ways to shop to avoid the plague.  Both college towns are showing huge increases in numbers like we have never seen before in our area and with this holiday weekend, there will be more partying from those college students and the cases will continue their steep climb up.  I have a friend who worse as a contact tracer and she has warned me to expect many many more cases.  The public schools around here are also starting.  Some in person and some with hybrid models.  Our elementary schools will be giving parents the options of in person or distance learning but the junior high and high school will be online only for the time being.  This decision was just made last night and the poor teachers are scrambling.

Onto the savings and frugal doings:

Week 1:
Saturday:
~I made a big pasta salad and added slivered ham, red peppers, broccoli and cauliflower to it.  Jeff loved it and he HATES cauliflower.  Now I know how to get it in him. 😉
~Jeff ripped down a bunch of warped lumber to give to our neighbor and Chris for kindling for their wood stoves.
~We watered at sunset since it was so hot during the day.
~I picked some raspberries...they are getting few and far between now.
~Even though it was a scorcher of a day here, we were still able to wait until about 6:30 to turn on the swamp cooler.  Until then we were able to make due just with some fans since we got it cooled down well in here overnight and kept the windows and doors shut, along with the curtains closed, until then.
~Jeff watched another movie that Jeremy gave us.
~I got caught up on my "trash TV".

Sunday:
~It was a scorcher of a day!  We were under an excessive heat warning. I made an iced coffee and out it in one of my favorite iced drink glasses.  Oh it tasted wonderful and so cooling.  That was my breakfast.
~I marinated some thinly sliced round steak in teriyaki sauce and Jeff grilled it up for a late night dinner.  We had rice and watermelon with it out on the back porch once the sun went down and things cooled off a bit.
~We stayed home...trying to save money on gas here.

Monday:
~It was still hotter than Hades so I hung the freshly washed sheets out on the line to dry...it did not take long for them to be totally dry either.
~Horrible day for Fibro flare...my legs kept buckling on me so I spent most of the day in bed watching videos on YouTube.
~Meals were sandwiches for dinner and a big green chef's salad for lunch.

Tuesday:
~Jeff and I gave each other haircuts...much needed and boy does it feel good to get some of that weight off my head. ;)  It was too hot to blow dry it so I just let the curls take over. ;)
~I baked two loaves of bread.
~I worked my points programs.
~Jeff started working on a ramp up to our back porch.  He has to wood here to build it with.  This is make getting our wood pellets for our stove easier to get up and stacked on the back porch.  The ramp itself will be removeable so he can store it when not in use.
~Lunch was teriyaki rice bowls (made with leftovers from earlier in the week).
~It was too hot to go out into the yard to hang things on the laundry line to dry so I stuck things on hangers out on the back screened in porch.  Everything dried quickly due to it being close to 100F there at the hottest point of the day.
~I called our internet provider since our internet keeps going up and down.  They are coming out next week since they said there seems to be a problem in the line.

Wednesday:
~We picked a bunch of apples off our Summer Apple tree.
~Jeff and I ran into town to get some new shoes for work for him.  They were on sale and it saves us about $30.
~Jeff was able to install a new driver's side door handle on my car.
~We went to Goodwill and found a cute mug, a shirt for me and a cute brand new jacket for the newest grandson.
~We picked up 2-pound blocks of cheese (3 total) for $3.99 each and pears for .86 a pound.
~Jeff returned a part to the auto parts store that was NOT the right one for what we needed and got that credited back on our credit card.

Thursday:
~I finished making the raspberry gin and vodka.  Both are so good and the raspberry vodka makes a darned good screwdriver!  Just saying.
~About half of the apples picked on Wednesday were made into some delicious applesauce.  More to come this weekend.
~The guys came a fixed our internet earlier than expected....problem in the line.  I think they are really trying to get things done before the school year starts here since the kiddos are doing online learning for the foreseeable future.
~Jeff enjoyed watching another movie that we got for free from my cousin when he closed his store.
~We got the apples that have fallen off our tree into the compost pile...free compost is a good thing!
~I made chicken salad sandwiches with some canned chicken.  Jeff had his plain but I added craisins to mine.  The cats enjoyed the broth from the chicken can as a special treat.

Friday:
~Jeff was cleared to go back to work!!!!  Good thing too since he took our car in and it needs $400 worth of repairs.  YIKES!  He goes back tonight.
~I made 2 loaves of bread...yes, we went through the previous 2 loaves that quickly since Jeff loves his toast and sandwiches.  Plus, with going back to work tonight, he needed some for even more sandwiches to take with him.
~Jeff picked up some lettuce on his way home from his doctor's appointment so I can make chef's salads again for dinner.
~Taco soup has been sounding delicious lately so I made a huge batch of it for lunch (and have lots of leftovers).  I served it with shredded cheddar cheese and some crushed up tortilla chips from the bottom of the tortilla chip bag.  Big hit with the hubby!

Week 2:
The following week is just a compilation of what I remember since I forgot to write anything down:

~Jeff and I defrosted our upright freezer in the garage and found all kinds of stuff in there.  We threw out some things that were freezer burned and organized the rest so we now know what we have.
~We went to the commodities giveaway and got at least $400 worth of food for free.  They had so much and were amazed the people were not taking things like fresh produce and canned beans or the whole bean bags of coffee.  They loaded Jeff up big time!  We are now stocked up with coffee, fresh produce, canned goods, frozen meats, cheeses, breads, grains, cereals, juices, etc..I am feeling so very blessed! ❤
~I made another batch of homemade applesauce.  We had some fresh, I gave half of it away and I still managed to freeze about 8 cups worth for future use.
~My hanai sister picked up a 50 pound bag of flour for me and would not let me pay her for it...she got homemade applesauce, blackberries and cherry tomatoes as a thank you.
~I've been harvesting tomatoes, blackberries and apples.
~Uncle Bob gave me 2 cucumbers from his garden.  I made quick pickles with them.
~I made 4 loaves of bread.

~Jeff picked up a few things we needed from the grocery store in the town he works out of for me on his way home.
~Jeff and I found that someone had made 2 deposits into our money mover account at the credit union.  We finally found out that it was Jaysn and Rachel...they wanted to surprise us and help us after the big expense of Caesar's vet bill.  It honestly made me cry...so very thoughtful and sweet of them since Jeff had not been working when they did it.
~I made us a lovely dinner of lamb chops with a rosemary and butter sauce, baked potatoes and veggies.  I found the lamb chops when we defrosted one of our freezers over the weekend.
~I ordered two 30 packs of toilet paper and a large bottle of naproxen sodium from Walmart.com and am having it shipped to us.  Cases continue to skyrocket for covid-19 in the towns we shop in regularly and neither Jeff or I want to be anywhere near them.  It was actually cheaper for me to order it online since the price was good, I got free shipping and I don't have to use gas and make a 60 mile round trip to do my shopping in person.
~One night this week I quickly put together a chicken spaghetti using a homemade sauce, canned chicken, noodles from the pantry and some fresh thyme from the garden.  It was so good!
~Found out our car is going to need an additional $800 worth of repairs.  Luckily we can put that off until we catch up on other bills.

~Friday night I made breakfast for dinner...pancakes, sausage patties and strawberry topping that I had made in the past and frozen.  YUM!
~My mother made Jeff and I both 2 more masks.  These were personalized with the logo from the resort that my father used to manage and where I grew up.  The tsunami took the resort out years ago and they are still trying to rebuild it.  So very special to us.
~I got a coupon for free chewable vitamins in the mail.  I may give it to Rachel since they are chocolate flavored and she might be able to get Jaysn to take them that way. 😉
~I have been looking up more recipes to find some the utilize what I have on hand here.  Jeff and I both like lots of variety and I am trying to recreate our favorite treats that we normally would buy premade and also some of our favorite restaurant meals.
~It has finally cooled down enough here this week at night so that I only have to run the vent and not the water cooling part of the swamp cooler.

   Hopefully I will be able to stay on top of things this weekend and coming week.  I am trying to get back into a regular (well as regular as I can manage) schedule with Jeff now having returned to work.  At least I have been able to keep up on the cooking and the laundry so that is progress right?