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!

Coming to You from Shingles' Central

😒😩😧😪😫😡

   No actual picture for this post because ain't nobody want to see my Shingles rashes.  They are all up and down my right arm and even a spot on my back.  They are ugly, painful, angry things and have brought with them their cohorts fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and itchiness. I did go and seek medical help and am on antivirals, which do seem to be helping.  I chose not to get the vaccine for Shingles because it could make my Fibromyalgia go into a really bad flare that could last for weeks, months, or even years.  That was a chance I was not willing to take.  So...I will get through this and hopefully never have them again!

   Jeff has, as usual, been my knight in shining armor, taking off from work to get me to the only available opening to see someone at one of the clinics in our system here.  It was the furthest one from our home.  We got to the small town about an hour earlier than we thought we would.  We had left early because you never know what you are going to run into on these farming route roads.  The drive there only took us about 45 minutes.  We had not been to this particular town in years and a lot had changed.  There were some new shops open, including a thrift store, which thrilled me to no end.  We took a quick look in there and ended up getting some brand-new Fall themed fabric napkins.  We also met lots of really friendly people and one of the ladies actually makes the drive over to our little town every Sunday for church.  She is good friends with one of our dear friends and carries honey from the farm of one of my former students.  Such a small world!

   I don't know how many disaster movies Jeff and I have watched to keep my mind off the Shingles blisters.  My dear hubby knows that I am a natural disaster movie fiend.  I know, it is strange, but it relaxes me and I get a kick out of how bad some of the special effects are on the, shall we say, lower budget ones. ;)  I've taken numerous naps and have had some sleepless night.  I am finally getting my appetite back.  Jeff is going to have to make a grocery shopping trip for us tomorrow before he comes home from work since the gastrointestinal issues are keeping me homebound.  Yep, having IBS is not helping either.  

   Jeff is working another 3 days in a row week (he usually only works 2 days a week) since they are moving into the new expanded area of their store at work.  He has been really busy with that and comes home tired and sore.  I have been missing him while he is gone.  I can do the 2 days a week, no problem, but you throw in an extra day, and well, I just get to missing him so badly.  You would think I enjoy spending time with the man or something. ;)  I can also see that that extra day tends to take more of a toll on him also.  I wish he could fully retire, but there are still bills to pay, car repairs to be done, savings to get built back up and unfortunately, our social security checks alone do not stretch far enough to do it all.  Hopefully once he gets the repairs done on his little car, we can give it to our oldest grandson as promised since he will be able to legally drive within this year.  Bradley is going to have to get a job to help pay for insurance on the car and gas for it.  Hopefully he can get one at the grocery store that his uncle manages.  That will still leave us with my car and the truck.  We will also have Josh's truck here for 3 years come this late Spring, so we are going to need the space in the driveway.  

   Anyway, I wanted to check in.  Be blessed my friends and I pray you never get Shingles!

   

  

Only a Few More Days

 

   It's only a few more days until Christmas is here.  My tree is decorated, gifts that needed to be sent out in the mail have either arrived or are on their way. Gifts for the youngest two grandkids, Tate and Peyton are safely tucked away at their home now, along with gifts for our Lauren.  Hopefully Josh's gifts will arrive in Japan soon so that he has gifts to open on Christmas too.   We have done our annual lunch and shopping trip with Bradley and Isaiah (it was so much fun).  I love spending time with the two of them!  Steven will be coming over this coming Monday, and we have a Christmas craft of painting a snowman mug (or we could use permanent markers which may be a better option and then bake it on in the oven).  If time allows, there will also be cookie making with my "King of the Sprinkles" grandson. 😋  All that is left to do now is bake the cranberry-orange bread and get Steven's gift wrapped along with the finishing details on the family gift bags for Jaysn and Rachel, and Chris and Heather.    

   Jeff has a dental appointment tomorrow and a doctor's appointment for his knee Monday.  The plan was to go and fix the damage at Jaysn and Rachel's home from the huge windstorm that hit our area on Saturday.  However, our Chris went over today and fixed the shed and the house roof for them.  He also took over a gas-powered generator to run for a few hours to keep their freezer stuff frozen and he took them a propane heater.  They have been out of power since yesterday.  Jaysn did take time off work to be there to help Chris.  Chris let Jaysn know that they were going to need a new roof soon. That is going to be a huge expense.  Luckily, Jaysn and Rachel are very good about budgeting for big expenses and paying things off as quickly as possible.  I am forever grateful that my kids are all amazing at helping one another out.  It takes a lot of pressure off of Jeff, who whether he will admit it at times, is not as young as he once was.  Things take a bit longer to fix now that he is getting older and the arthritis, degenerative disc disease, along with some other issues, make it harder on him to do what he once did for everyone.  He is still there as a wonderful guiding and teaching source though.  If he can't figure it out, there is always YouTube.  LOL!

   If I do not post again until after Christmas, I do wish everyone who reads my blog a very Merry Christmas!!!

Everybody Needs a Giggle

 

    

   I know, it has been about three months since I last posted here on my blog.  Life has been busy as usual, and to be perfectly honest, I have been dealing with some rather heavy things emotionally and just have not had it in me to post anything here.  I try to keep my spirits up, but there are some days when it is hard.  This time of year can be especially hard for those of us who are dealing with the loss of loved ones whom we have passed within the past year or even longer ago than that.  It is also hard knowing that this may be the last Christmas you have with someone you love.  And while typing this, I just got a phone call from a dear friend who is in the ER.  Depending on how things are looking, I may be heading in to see her as soon as Jeff gets home from watching our Isaiah sing at church this morning.  I did not go because I am having a Fibromyalgia flare and I knew that sitting in the hard pews or standing up for any length of time was just not possible today.  Please pray for my friend, she is dealing with so much and we love her dearly.

   Now you understand why I needed a giggle, and I found it in Mortimer, or Morty for short.  Morty is my "emotional support snail". ;)  As soon as I saw Morty in the making, I knew he must be mine.  Morty is part of a family of snails that our Heather's father Bruce carved and painted.  He is a very talented man who has rediscovered his love of carving and does amazing work.  You can see some of it on his Facebook page Gods Country Art (10) Facebook   If the link does not work, you can find it on Facebook by doing a search.  Bruce was selling some of his carvings at a local Christmas Craft Fair and I was so relieved to see my Morty still there.  No, Bruce had not named, him, but I sure did!  Some of Morty's siblings had already been sold, but there on the table was my buck toothed boy just waiting to bring me immense joy, and lots of giggles.  So yes, I happily bought him and brought him home with me.  Morty is the second carving that I have that Bruce has done.  The first one was a custom-made gift from Chris, Heather and the boys.  It is a honu (turtle) with special meaning to me.  I wish I could share it here, but there are personal reasons that I cannot.  So, everyone meet my Morty and may he bring you giggles too!

   And not to be outshone by Morty, it is our grandson Tate's birthday today.  He is now five years old!  He is our bundle of energy and way too smart for his own good at times who also has us in giggles.  One of Tate's latest escapades was when he loaded up his golf club set in the back of his little battery powered truck and drove across the cul-de-sac to the play park, unload his golf clubs, pick out just the right one and proceed to smack the golf ball hard with his driver. That kid has quite the golf swing and his accuracy rate at putting is amazing for his age.  Since his daddy is overseas at the moment, our Tate is practicing so that he can beat him when Josh gets home and takes him golfing at the course at Hill AFB.  Tate loves golfing there with his mom and dad.  Peyton likes the snacks at the snack bar.  LOL!

   Wishing you all a holiday season filled with love, joy and yes, lots of giggles too!

   

   

I Took Some Time Off

 

   Yes, I took some time off.  It has been another busy season in our lives.  In addition to dealing with all the garden produce, we were enjoying some much-needed time with family.

   Josh, Lauren, Tate and Peyton came for a visit and it was the highlight of our Summer.  Josh timed their visit to be able to spend his and Chris's birthday together.  This is a big deal for the two of them, being twins and all.  That bond is so very strong.  It was wonderful to see the grandkids all playing together and for the 2 youngest to have a sleepover with their oldest cousins while their parents got to go to a WSU football game. Another day we all spent part of the day on the river and some of us went fishing or just for boat rides in Chris's boat.  Tate caught a fish with Isaiah, Chris, Josh and I cheering him on in the boat!  Peyton got to drive the boat and was thrilled to bits.  Steven played keep away in the river with his uncles and older cousins.  That boy has turned into a fish!  Bradley amazed his cousins, along with his aunts and uncles, with his agility and acrobatic skills and strength.  One afternoon I took my 3 beautiful girls out to happy hour at Applebee's while Jeff took the guys and the grandkids bowling.  This was our gift to all of them.  We want to build memories with all of them.  There was lots of good food, laughter, love and family bonding as we celebrated Chris and Josh's birthday along with Jeff's birthday, which is a few days after theirs'.  

   Lauren and the kids are now back in Utah and Josh has deployed to Japan for about 6 months.  Before he left, he got great news!  They had put in a request for their next duty station to be Germany and they got it!  They wanted so badly to be stationed somewhere in Europe so that Lauren and the kids could experience living there and so that they could travel around Europe seeing so many wonderful places and soak in the history of it all.  It is going to be a great adventure for them all as Josh has been stationed at this same base in the past and had the time of his life exploring Europe.  Jaysn had even made a trip over there to see his brother at the time and experience Europe for himself.  Josh was a great host and thoroughly enjoyed showing his big brother around, along with being able to spend time with him.

   With the start of the school year, it has been harder to spend time with our kids and grandkids here.  We have been squeezing it in when we can coordinate it.  Yesterday we popped in to see Heather and the boys (Chris was at a training) since we were in the area having a lunch date and hitting up a thrift store and antique store before that.  It was so good to see them and Isaiah sent us home with zucchini, a pumpkin and spaghetti squash from the garden and Heather gave us some eggs from their chickens. I felt like we hit the produce jackpot!  Tonight, we are going over to Jaysn and Rachel's to spend some time with them and Steven.  Rachel messaged me this morning and invited us over.  Of course, we said yes!  Jeff and I were just talking about how we wanted to make plans to spend some time with them and then this morning, we got their invitation for dinner. :)  

   Later this month, we will be heading over to Montana to see my parents and brother Fritz.  Mom and I are already planning on making some special treats together.  We have also invited our hanai son #5  Ben to come up for lunch while we are there since he lives at the lower part of the lake.  My parents love him, and he has been to their home a few times now.  They watched him grow up with our boys, so it has been a long relationship with them also.  We are so excited to see him before he heads to California for the cold weather months to play music gigs down there. This is our son who was on "The Voice" and was on Team Blake.  Ben really is a very talented musician and songwriter.  Yes, proud hanai momma here. ;)

   I suppose I should get myself together and get a few things done before we head out later for dinner with Jaysn, Rachel and my bubby Steven.  Jeff has been busy winterizing the swamp cooler and changing the oil in the car.  Me, I have been a slug up until now today.  Yep, typical for me after the busy but fun day we had yesterday.  It takes me at least day to recover from too much fun or from doing too much.  You should have seen me the week after Josh and family were here.  I spent the next week recovering since it was go, go, go the entire time they were here.  Do I regret it....not one single bit!  Be blessed!

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/15/25

 

   It has been a strange week weatherwise.  We went from hot to very cool and will be heading back up the thermometer to "I'm gonna die" temps this coming week.  Upper 90's and Fibromyalgia do not mix well for me.  Maggie however is not happy with cooler temperatures and either wants me to cover her up with her blanket, or I will find her on the couch.  I swear she would be happy living in a dry sauna.  Friday found us running lots of errands and both Jeff and I were exhausted by the time we got home.  The only thing that made me able to keep on going that long was the cooler temperatures.  So we ended the week on a good note!

~I put the chicken carcus into the crock pot, added some vinegar to draw out the calcium from the bones and cooked it overnight.  It made 2 bags of rich chicken bone broth, along with lots of chicken meat.  I froze these for future meals.

~Jeff picked 3 plums for me from the wild plum trees that grow along the gravel road just up over the hill from our house.

~We went down to our  little Sunday Farmer's Market here in town and got the following free:  3 yellow squash, a bag of potatoes and a  bag of pears.

~I made a big pot full of homemade elk burger casserole using ground elk from the freezer, a small bag of macaroni noodles, spices from the spice cabinet, and 3 cans of V8 vegetable juice.  I cooked it up just like you would hamburger helper.  It made for 2 meals for my husband and I which was perfect since the temperature outside the following days were brutal.

~I picked lots of tomatoes off our plants.  Unfortunately, the big slicer tomatoes have now developed blossom end rot and are no longer usable, but the other tomatoes are still doing well, especially the cherry tomatoes. I also picked our first cucumber from our plants.

~Snacky type lunches and dinners have been a big thing for me this week.  I usually have a cheese spread, crackers, cherry tomatoes, green olives, and some kind of fruit.  I do small portions of each but going heavier on the tomatoes since we have so many of them.  Perfectly simple and perfectly delicious.

~Jeff and I stopped at Home Depot so he could look for something he needed.  They did not have it in stock in the store, so we will order it via their website.  I, on the other hand, found pony packs of petunias for $1 each and bought 3 of them to replant into my now empty half whiskey barrel where I had potatoes growing before.

~I found a sale on corn on the cob for .25 each.  I bought 4 because that is a reasonable amount the Jeff and I can eat before it goes bad.  I know I could have blanched and frozen some for later use, but to be honest, I just did not have the energy to do all that.

~Jeff fixed the middle bamboo blind on the back porch so we now have even more shade out there in the afternoon.  It also offers us more privacy, which I enjoy.  We can still see threw it to our garden and can keep an eye on Maggie and Ginny.

~We watched the movie "The Day After", which my cousin Jeremy had given to me years ago.  Talk about sobering.

~We did the grocery shopping on Monday.  My goodness, the prices have gone up since about 2 weeks ago.  Thank goodness we shop the sales and found marked down items.  We did splurge on a watermelon at .48 a pound at Winco, but it was a huge treat for us and we will get lots of fruit to eat from it.  It still came out to under $7, so I will call that a win.

~Jeff fixed the hanger on one of my large pictures.  I changed out the pictures in the guest bathroom with that one and a Bev Doolittle print that we were gifted from Jeff's aunt before she died.

~I cooked up a pot full of rice and will used it in meals for the rest of the week..  If we can't finish it in time, I will freeze some for later.

~I have been enjoying the squash we were given in several different forms.  Jeff  does not like  squash so I get to enjoy more of it for me. 

~I mixed up some Ranch dip with plain Greek yogurt, mayo and Ranch seasoning mix.  This was used as a dip and also as a topping for some of those potatoes that we got at the Farmer's Market.

~Jeff and I had a lunch date at the bowling alley and then he bowled for the first time is his knee surgery.  He did pretty well and I am so pleased for him.

~So... we went to Goodwill to look for a few things and found a self-inflating blow up mattress for the other bed in the trailer..  We now have all the bedding and mattresses we need.  We also found a few books for the grandkids, some beautiful Fall floral pics for $1.99 that retailed for $7.98 and $14.98 respectively, a brand new pink fuzzy robe for me, some black jeans that fit me well and have been on my wish list for a few years now and a cookbook for me.

~Jeff and I had a lovely phone call visit with my parents.  We are pushing our lake cruise to next year.  Things have been crazy for them and for us.

   I know our life sounds horribly boring but honestly, we are homebodies for the most part.  We do greatly enjoy visiting with our family and friends.  Traveling is limited for us due to health and finances, but that is ok.  We do what we can, when we can. 😉  As  long as we have our family, that is all that really matters.

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/9/25

 

Blogger is being weird so please forgive the formatting on this post.  So, it has been another week of rollercoaster weather.  We had hot, cooler with some rain (praise God, it was desperately needed) and are not climbing back into the "it feels like we are living in an oven" temperatures.  Not my favorite by a long shot and I am craving Fall with the cooler temperatures and the gorgeous turning of the leaves into vibrant reds, yellows, oranges and speckled green.  The burning bush plant next door is already tipped with some red due to cooler night temperatures this past week and I am here for it!

Now, onto the frugal doings:

~More tomatoes were picked from the garden.  I am enjoying them on sandwiches and just snacking on the smaller cherry tomatoes.

~We were given 2 huge zucchinis by our grandson Isaiah and 2 smaller ones by one of our neighbors down the street.  She and I had a rather nice visit too. :)

~We visited with Heather, Chris, Isaiah and Bradley on Thursday.  I helped them pick beans and snap peas in their garden.  Bradley and Jeff played chess and the rest of us played wild rummy.  I am slowly learning all the quirks to that game and loving it.  I also won!  They sent us home with a moose roast,  some steaks, and lots of ground venison.

~I have only been shopping the sales for things we need.

~Jeff found a pair of high top tennis shoes on clearance at Walmart for $5.  He had been looking for some for over a month now and there they were just waiting for him.

~Jaysn and Rachel invited us over for dinner on Friday.  We were bringing Steven back from spending the day with us.  They had burgers, hot dogs, salads and cookies waiting for us when we arrived.  It was all yummy and the company was great!

~I found 2 books, along with a cute apron from Hawaii at Goodwill.  One of the books is a cookbook that looked really interesting and the other one was an in depth look about the people that came over on the Mayflower.  It covers exactly what was happening in England at the time that made them leave, their voyage and what they faced once they landed and tried to establish a colony here.  Given that my family on my mother's side is descended from someone who came over on the Mayflower, and a grandson who wants to get into family genealogy, I thought this would be a good book to learn more of our personal family history.  I spent under $6 for the books and the apron.

~We bought two cooked chickens from the deli at Walmart that were marked down.  I put one in the freezer and we ate off the other one.  The carcus will be used for soup.  I am throwing it back in the freezer.

~Jeff changed the brake pads on his car.  That saved us about $350 in labor cost.

~Jeff mowed our neighbor's lawn so that they would come home from their trip to a nice lawn and not an overgrown one.

~I made bread and bagels this week.  I was trying out the Greek yogurt bagel recipe that I have been hearing about all over the internet.  It was good!

Well, that is about it for this week.  Jeff and I are going to enjoy our lunch out here on the back porch for at least a week since the high temps hit us big time tomorrow.  Be blessed.