Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/21/2026

    Hello my friends!  It has been quite the week here.  We had record heat that literally made me sick and sent me into a huge fibro flare.  I have basically been a slug for part of this week. I took naps, watched lots of Fall themed YouTube videos (helps me "cool down"), and was very gentle with myself.  My hero hubby, Jeff, took care of the yard and helped me pick apples and blackberries on the days when I had some energy.  I struggle with the heat and really cannot wait for Fall.  Despite the health setbacks, Jeff and I did manage to get some frugal things in this week: 

~Jeff and I went to Goodwill. I found some comfy Sketchers sandals.  They are not a style I usually wear but I decided to give them a try for $6.99.  I also found a soft lounge wear top by the brand Felina, which I love.  Along with these, 4 beautiful glass coffee mugs were added to my basket.

~Grocery Outlet was having their huge 80th Anniversary sale with wine at 25% off, large avocados and mangos for 80 each, along with bags of potatoes and apples for 80 cents each also.  I picked those up and bought some bags of cucumbers for $1.50 each.  We picked up 2 6 packs of the Liquid Death drinks for Chris at his request since he was not going to make it over there.  Jeff found Oreos for 50 cents a package and bought 4 of those.  Oh, they had 1 orange honeydew left on only charge me 80 cents for that also.

~We sold a large landscape painting for $20.

~We sold a sliding miter saw for $50.

~We sold the dining room chairs for $30.

~Jeff and Bradley worked on Bradley's car (formerly Jeff's car) and it now lives at Bradley's house. Jeff included many "new car parts" that he had salvaged off his old car of the same make and year.  Bradley is a very happy and appreciative new car owner. 😊 Heather graciously fed us lunch that day. Oh yes, Jeff also gave Bradley another driving lesson since it is a stick shift.

~Jeff and I picked a bunch of summer apples off our tree.

~Jeff is scheduled for a colonoscopy next week. The pharmacist at Walmart in Pullman, WA went online for Jeff and got a manufacturer's coupon code to bring the price for the prep pills down from $200 to $60.  We also were able to schedule the colonoscopy for the same morning as my doctor's appointment to get bloodwork done and go over how I am doing on my meds.  This is saving us a trip over to the hospital at another time.

~I got out some thinly sliced top round beef that I had previously bought on sale and marinated it in homemade teriyaki sauce.  We had that, along with rice, for dinner on Wednesday night.

~I've been picking blueberries and blackberries, along with a cucumber and cherry tomatoes, from the garden.

~Another trip to Goodwill.  Jeff got a really nice shirt and I picked up a soft Soma pajama gown, 2 soft loungewear tops, and a soft cotton dress.  Unfortunately, the dress was way too big on me once I tried it on at home.  I will have to take it back and get store credit.

   I hope you all are staying cool and spending time with family and friends.  It is so important to surround yourself with people you love!

Be blessed!

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/13/2026

 

   Thank you all for the warm welcome back to the blog-a-sphere (is that even a real word).  I know it had been a bit since I had last posted.  It just seemed like time got away from me with everything going on.  Along with the things I shared in my last post, the garden took up a lot of my time as we got it ready, weeded, amended and planted all out.  Now we were just trying to keep things alive as the heat and smoke have taken a heavy toll in it.  Anyway, there will be no pictures in this post because I still have yet to figure out how to import photos from my phone onto my computer.  If anyone can help me in that area, I am all ears.  I have an android phone.  Anyway, onto the money saving things that have been going on at our house.

~Jeff and I recently went up to the Habitat for Humanity Resale store in Hayden, Idaho.  There we found a large and long Basset brand dresser to use as a credenza in our dining room.  Cost $100 If you research Basset furniture you will see that we got a screaming deal on it.  Jeff also found 2 hollow core interior doors that match the ones in our home that needed to be replaced.  He got them each for $40.  That is a huge savings over ordering them new.

~I moved most of our china, including multiple sets of Christmas themed sets, Fall sets, our wedding set, etc., cloth napkins, trivets, and other odds and ends into it.  This cleared up space in my built in china cabinet, which is now filled with all my crystal bar glasses, wine glasses, martini glasses, glass wine decanter, and 2 gorgeous glass pitchers.  It also now houses my small bar along with the smaller barware that goes along with said bar.  It looks so pretty and I can now access everything!  The biggest job was actually hand washing all of the glassware so that it was sparkling clean and ready to go.

~We were not using our dining room table and chairs, nor the hanging swag stained glass lighting fixture, along with a dresser, so I put them up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.  I have sold the lamp and dresser already after just 2 days and have someone who wants the chairs.

~I harvested tomatoes, a cucumber, blueberries, some squash and my first blackberries from the garden this week.  Jeff and I need to start working on the summer apples later today.

~Our neighbors smoked some pork belly and gave us some of it. I sliced it up like bacon and fried it up.  Yum!

~Even though the weather is hot and smoky, I pulled some homemade Zuppa Toscana out of the freezer for dinner one night.

~We went to Marshall's and they had their big clearance sale.  Jeff found some jeans for $6 (it is really hard to find jeans that fit and are not tight around his muscular thighs), and some flavored coffees that he wanted to try.  I found a set of long thin brushes for washing out bottles and vases, along with a new set of long handled strainers (the ones I have are old and starting to fall apart). I also found some cute cat themed kitchen towels that were not on sale, but were too cute to leave behind.

~Jeff bought a universal remote control at Ross since he somehow misplaced the one for our blu-ray player.  It was on sale, so score!

~Jeff worked on some furniture repairs and installed some seat belt guides into his little car that is going to Bradley.

~We gave each other haircuts.

~Our passports came in so I gave all the information to my sister who is booking the flights that I found at the best prices and with longer layovers so we can get through customs and still have time to spare in case we have a flight delay.  It also leaves us time to grab something to eat in Seattle and/or Los Angelas.  We are so excited to finally be going to Tahiti later this year.

~I started Tai Chi walking in my home and doing some 5 pound weights to firm up my arms.  I found the Tai Chi walking on YouTube so my exercise program is all free.

~Fall is in the air (at least in my home because I am done with Summer 😉) so I have pulled out my Fall decor and am having fun decorating the house with the abundance of choices that I have at my hands here.

A Long Overdue Update

 

    Yes, I have been quiet over the past months.  We have had lots going on in our family and I needed to focus on my kids and grandkids.  The first order of business is that Josh, Lauren, Peyton and Tate moved to Germany for the next 3 years.  That is them in the above picture at a castle with their swords and shields.  They are loving exploring castles and forest trails near their new home.  Before they left, we met them in Montana at my parents' place in May.  We had a wonderful visit with them, my parents, and my brother Fritz.  We also celebrated my father's 88th birthday complete with an applesauce cake made with homemade applesauce from our apple tree here at home.  We made wonderful family memories and brought home Peaches, their cat, to live with us, and Nala, their Golden retriever, to live with Chris, Heather, Bradley and Isaiah.  

    We flew down to see them near the end of June to help them with the last push for their big move and to bring home Josh's truck, lawn mower, trimmer and a few other bulky things to stay with us for their 3 years overseas.  It was so hard to say goodbye to all of them.  I know that they will have great adventures, but still, it is difficult to know that we cannot just get in the car to drive down to them.  We are planning on going to visit them in Germany and do some traveling in Europe within the next 3 years.

   

   Bradley celebrated his 14th birthday in March.  He will be able to get his driver's permit here soon so he and Jeff have been working on getting his car ready (Jeff's car that he is giving to him).  Only a few more things for them to do together, a few more driving lessons (it's a stick shift) and it will go home to live with Bradley.  Bradley is very excited about having his own car and is so appreciative of us gifting him with his first car.  It's funny to think that I started this blog before he was born to celebrate my joy in becoming a grandmother for the first time.  Now here he is, a teenager (and a very nice one at that) and soon to be legal driver!

   

 

   Bradley, Isaiah, Chris and Jeff finally got the long-promised treehouse built at Chris and Heather's home.  Chris had told the boys they would build one, but other things got in the way (like Chris' very hectic life).  One Spring day it was decided that they were going to get it done.  Jeff was there to help with the framing and part of the flooring, and then Chris and the boys took over from there.  They have really been enjoying their treehouse and I know that Isaiah and one of his cousins had camped up there on at least one occasion.

 

   Our Steven turned 9 years old!  He is getting so tall and is a pure delight to have around.  He loves exploring and snakes, yes snakes!  As far as this grammie is concerned, that is his only flaw (just kidding, I really do not like snakes, but this kiddo adores them and even cuddles them.  As long as he keeps them far away from me, it is all good).  Steven spent the night with us 2 nights ago and we really enjoyed our special time with him.

   Our Isaiah is now officially a teenager at age 13.  He loves to hunt, fish, camp, garden and spend time exploring.  He also has his own Youtube channel and has added a weekly bible verse to it.  He finds the verses and shares them, along with some music.  This boy just amazes me with his heart for the Lord.  He also gives great hugs!

    For those of you wondering, we do live south of Spokane Washington that was hit so hard with the fires wiping out neighborhoods.  Please pray for the people up there, as well as all the fire fighters from all over the world that have come to help us.  We had 2 fires closer to us within the past few days and had our emergency plan in place just in case.  Luckily they were able to get those under control and are now doing to mop up and putting out hot spots on one while still working on back burning and things on the other.  Only a few structures have been lost down our way, but I do know at least one was someone's home.  This has been a horrific fire season so far and everyone is on edge.  The smoke has been bad and there have been times that alone has sent me into a huge fibro flare.  Jeff and I have been relying on fans to keep us cool since we cannot run the swamp cooler when the air quality is really bad outside.  Our poor gardens have suffered as well from the heat and the air quality, along with a flea beetle infestation.

   Other than spending time with our family, Jeff and I have been busy cleaning things out and either selling or donating things we no longer need.  I have already sold a vintage hanging lamp and table within the past hour.  We took out our dining room table and replaced it with a large credenza which gives us more storage and opens up our small dining area.  We were not using the dining table and chairs, so they, along with a dresser, were put up on Facebook and currently awaiting new owners.  Jeff and I have become one of those old couples who eat dinner in their recliners, or, in good weather, we eat out on the back porch on our table out there.

   Be blessed all and I will try to update more frequently.

  

Daddy -Tate Golf Date

 

   Tate got his Daddy-Tate golf date and absolutely loved it!  This kid is already an avid golfer and practices at home a lot.  They played a round of golf, hit balls at the driving range and then got lunch.

   The day started off cool, so Josh got the kiddo bundled up so that he would not freeze.  Nothing was going to stop Tate from golfing though.  This kid is obsessed with the game.

   He really does have good form and can hit it pretty far for his age.   Do I think we have the next Tiger Woods on our hands?  Nope!  What we do have is a kiddo is learning golf at a young age and doing something that e enjoys very much.  Hopefully this will carry on into his adult years so he can enjoy many more games of golf with his parents.

Peyton and Tate's Daddy is Finally Home and Peyton and Daddy's Date

 

   Our son Josh is finally home after 6 months serving overseas in Japan.  He has missed so many birthdays and holidays while being deployed in the lives of his young children.  It has been so hard on him, the kids and Lauren.  Lauren has been an absolute rockstar holding down the fort at home during these "work trips" as they are called in their home.  In the picture above, taken yesterday, our Josh had a daddy-daughter date day with Peyton.  The went to see the movie Hoppers.  He is going to have a daddy-son date day also with Tate, taking him golfing.

   

 

   The grandkids had signs ready to greet their daddy at the airport when he flew in last week and our son said it was so special to see the signs and his kiddos holding them.  Our Lauren made sure to make things as special as possible to welcome her hubby home!  All is right in the world again now that they are all together once again. 

   They now start the process of sorting through things that they are going to store and things they are going to take with their move to Germany coming up in July.  We will be heading down spend some time with them in the near future and bring home Josh's truck, some of their items that they want to be here with us, and to bring their cat home to live with us also.  There is a lot to do within the next few months and some big decisions to make.  Hopefully everything will work out the way they hope and the move will go smoothly.

   

And The Treehouse Finally Gets Started

 

   Bradley and Isaiah have been asking for Treehouse forever.  Well, Gpa, along with Chris and Isaiah, took advantage of a beautiful day and got started on it.  The plan is to add the floor, railings and then a roof at some point.

   Apparently, the boys could not wait for the official floors too get on, so they improvised with some wood they found in the shop.  It was another beautiful day outside, so they decided to do their schoolwork in their treehouse.  Our Heather, their mother, knows our grandsons, aged 14 (yes, Bradley is now 14!) and Isaiah (who will be 13 soon), realized that they would be so distracted if trapped inside to do school, let them just do it outside.  Smart lady!  This is one of the many advantages to homeschooling. 😁

   Hopefully Jeff, Chris and the boys will be able to do more work on the treehouse as funds allow.  This has been a wonderful project and the boys have learned so much about building and all the measurements, making sure things are well supported and safe, and patience.  I have loved seeing them all work on this together.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up a Day Early 2/19/26

 

     Isn't God the most amazing artist?  I woke up really early this morning and was greeted with this beautiful sunrise.  I quickly grabbed my phone and took picture after picture trying to capture the awesomeness of it all.  Truely breath taking don't you think?

   I know this post is technically a day early, with this being Thursday and not Friday, but my husband is off at work today and I find that since he is home on Fridays, I have not gotten around to posting much.  I'm not saying that having him home on Fridays is a bad thing, quite the opposite.  I really enjoy spending time with my husband and I don't want to ever take away from my first priority which will always be my family.  I know that everyone who reads this will understand.  

   

   Our son Chris took myself and one of his friends fishing last week.  His friend Jim is 90 years old and is the person that sold Chris's boat to him (and gave him a great deal on it).  I had been looking forward to this day for a long time.  Yes, it was cold, but the sun was out and it felt glorious on my face.  The sun reflected off the ripples in the water and reminded me of the days I would spend at the beach growing up in Hawaii.  I felt totally at peace and I even caught the first, and the largest fish of the day.  Chris took it home, filleted it out for me, and it is now in his freezer awaiting my drive over to pick it up and to drop off some things for him.  The whole day was just what I needed since I had been struggling with SAD due to there having been way too many gray days leading up to it.  Jim and Chris were wonderful company and my heart was filled to the brim with calm and love.

   While I was out fishing with Chris, Bradly, our oldest grandson who will be 14 in 2 weeks, came over to spend the day with Gpa (my husband) and change the struts out on the car that he will soon be gifted.  We had made this promise to both Bradley and Isaiah, that when Gpa retired fully, that they would get the car.  Originally, they were going to have to share the car, but then Aunt Helen gifted her car to the boys before she died.  Isaiah has decided he wants Aunt Helen's car, which made Bradley very happy since he wanted my husband's car.  The boys live out in the country and needed a way to get to and from work.  The deal we made with the boys had been that when we gifted them the car, that they were going to have to work to pay at least part of their car insure (on their parent's plan) and their own gas.  I know my oldest 2 grandsons well and that they would be more than willing to do this to have a car of their own.  So, Jeff and Bradley got the struts changed out and spent the rest of the day having pizza and watching movies before they set out to buy a Valentine's gift for me that I had seen and picked out earlier that morning.  This leads us to a list of some of the other frugal doings over the past few weeks...

~Jeff bought me a one-of-a-kind gorgeous antique stained glass hanging lamp.  It has metal work on it over each lower panel of glass that depicts a lake scene, complete with the shorelines, pine trees and a little cabin at either sunrise at either sunrise or sunset.  Each panel's glass is unique.  It originally was $295 but Jeff walked away at first and she brought the price down to $200.  Jeff rewired it for me and it is now hanging in our living room.

~We have been searching for a recliner that would actually fit my hubby and his extra-long legs. ;)  This search has been going on for months now since his recliner that he did have at that point was so low to the ground, making it hard for him to get up and out of, and was too short for his legs.  We even (gulp), looked at furniture stores, but the one that came closest to fitting him cost over $1000.  That was not something we could afford.  On a hunch, I asked my husband if we could go to the grand reopening of a thrift store near us and guess what we found...yes, the perfect sized recliner for my hubby (and his long legs) that is also the right height for him to get up out of easily.  All in, we paid a little over $100 for it.  That was a savings of $1100 over what the other one at the furniture store would have cost and it fit him even better!

~Our neighbor was gifted 2 apple pies and she gave one of them to us.  It is delicious!

~Our pellet stove control panel went out (luckily, we do have a furnace as a back up source of heat).  Jeff had me go on line and order a new control panel for it.  Cost was $382 after taxes and shipping.  It sure beats the cost of a new pellet stove and Jeff can install the new control panel himself.  Savings over $2000 for the lower end priced pellet stoves.

~I have been trying to cook more from our freezer and pantry.  A few of the meals I have made lately are a rich elk burger soup that used a Bear Creek Beef soup mix along with a pound of cooked elk burger.  So delicious on a cold day!  Homemade Fettuccini Alfredo using linguini noodles since I was out of fettuccini, along with the last of my half and half, and some Parmesan-Roman cheese that I had previously bought on sale and thrown in the freezer.  This is one of Jeff's favorites.  Air friend Panko breaded chicken with Colby-Jack cheese melted on top served with a green salad and rice pilaf.  A sheet pan dinner of baked Italian Sausages (served on buns) and sweet potato wedges.  This was served with homemade applesauce that I had previously made from some apples from our tree and frozen. A shrimp and cabbage Asian style salad with shrimp that I had bought on sale and thrown in the freezer. Teriyaki meatloaf made with venison burger, served with rice and green beans.

~We donated so many bags of things to the thrift store while we have been slowly going through things that we no longer need.  For each donation, we get a 20% off one item coupon.  We use the coupons on bigger ticket items.  We mostly shop on Mondays since that is Senior day and all of our items, except the half off color tags of the week, along with the new merchandise, are 20% off.  I stocked up on some nice Land's End cap sleeved dresses for the warmer months since I practically live in dresses when it is hot.  I also found a long short-sleeved dress which is also perfect for the hotter weather and works great as a beach cover up too.  Jeff found some comfy lounge pants and shirts.

~Jeff and I gave each other haircuts.  He cut mine way shorter than he normally does and I now look more and more like my mother with her short haircut.  I have to say, I kind of like it!  I have always looked like my mother when it comes to our eyes and expressions (I even sound like her), and thus also look like my great grandmother (my Tutu) in the eyes.  Now I look like her hair-wise too. :)

~Jeff got us restocked on another ton of pellets for our pellet stove.

~We took Maggie to the do-it-yourself dog wash in town.  She desperately needed a good bath!  She likes the blow dryer on the low setting there and will even come into the bathroom at home now on occasion when I am blow-drying my hair to get her turn in too.  Silly dog!

~I put away the Christmas decor and have now replaced it with Winter decor that I already have.  

~I picked up a few more classic movies and musicals on DVD.  We really enjoy these!  And yes, I got them at another thrift store.

~I made Jeff a loaf of banana bread with some over-ripe bananas that I had peeled and put in the freezer for such a time as this. ;)  Food is one of his top love-languages and boy did he feel loved!  He was making happy sounds while he was eating. 

   So there we are once again!  Oh, and by the way, my shingles are healing up nicely now and I don't think I will have any scarring at this point.  I still have some nerve thingy going on in some spots, but that is to be expected.  Be blessed and have a wonderful day!