Saturday, August 5, 2017

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/29-8/4 2017

   


   We sure packed a lot into this last week.  Between taking care of baby Steven, community yard sales, a trip to Spokane, more disturbing news concerning my husband's parents and siblings, and just life in general, I am worn out. I did not keep a running list this week so I am going to do my best to remember everything.  As I sit here typing all of this out, we are surrounded by smoke from fires in the area and from smoke coming down from the big fires in British Columbia, Washington and Montana.  My heart and prayers go out to the firefighters and the people who have lost their homes and for everyone who has breathing problems.



~Saturday's community yard sales in our town were wonderful!  I was able to find things on my needs list and my wants list.  I picked up 2 sets of brand new towels and a single kitchen towel (.10 for that one). One set is for the bathroom (.50 for a set of 2) and one set if for the kitchen ($4 for a set of 4).  I also picked up books for .25 each, some needed picture frames, a sweatshirt for Jeff, and some jewelry for $1 each.  Two of the earring sets are Sterling Silver! A friend had also gotten rid of her hot tub and sold me her brominating tablets for $2.  That stuff is expensive and I was so glad to get it at that price.
~Saturday we also stopped at a community thrift store and found books for .25 each.  Most of the books are for gifts from the grandboys.





 ~We bought more of the bar soap that was on sale for .79 for a 3 pack.  We are set for a long time!
~Sunday we checked into the hotel in Spokane for 2 nights.  I had a voucher for 1 free night and our breakfast was included for both days.
~I took our little 4 cup coffee maker that I had got for $2 with us along with some coffee and some snacks.


~We stopped at a Grocery Outlet store near the hotel and bought a few more things for dinner in our room since it has a microwave and refrigerator.  The only meals that we ate out and paid for separately were lunches.
~We enjoyed the pool at the hotel.


~While in Spokane, we hit a few thrift stores and found some beautiful Haviland china that matches some that I already have, a big honu (Hawaiian green sea turtle) mug, some shirts for Jeff, a shirt for me, shorts for Jeff, some cds, books for the little boys, new sippy cups for Steven as he gets older  and some small plastic containers.  I almost forgot, I found a beautiful hard bound book on the history of the college that I went to.


~I hired 2 teenaged girls to watch our fur babies and water the gardens for us while we were gone.  They did a fantastic job and I will be giving them a $10 tip in addition to their pay.
~Tuesday we had to run and pick up Jeff's paycheck on our way back from our short vacation.  We were both tired since we had been up with the fire at the hotel the night before so we stopped at Walmart and I bought 2 large marked down sandwiches to have as meals for that day and the next.  I also picked up a few other needed items.


~I harvested a cucumber, a small yellow squash, lots of tomatoes, green onions, a handful of blueberries and a few raspberries from the garden.
~Wednesday Steven came to stay with us for the day. :)  He just makes my heart so happy and provides lots of entertainment for both Jeff and I.
~I've been watering when it is cooler.



~Working on my points programs has been a priority this week.
~I dried Jeff's work clothing out on the laundry line.
~Thursday I cooked up a bunch of ground elk and made it into taco meat for us to use in salads, tacos, nachos, etc.


~Friday I had another Fibro Flare along with a CFS crash.  I spent most of the day doing things like folding laundry, doing some watering in the garden and other things that were not too taxing on my body and took lots of rest breaks.  I kept entertained and learning new skills while watching youtube.
~I disputed an unauthorized charge on our VISA bill put there by the hotel that we will never be staying at again.  They said they will refund the money and I already disputed the claim with our bank.



   It's now Saturday morning and although there are town wide yard sales in the next town over, I am staying home.  The smoke is really thick in the air and is making it hard for me to breathe.  I also worry about Caesar having to be outside when we are gone and I don't want to have him out there breathing this stuff either.  I'm having to run the fan at night in our bedroom and not use the Swamp Cooler since it brings in air from the outside so that is making sleep a little more difficult for me right now since I need it really cool so sleep well.  I am hoping that this all clears out soon.  We went through this last year too and it was miserable.  I'm really glad we got away earlier this week for our short getaway before all the smoke moved in.



 
 

 

 

 





16 comments:

  1. I am sorry the smoke from the BC fires has made it all the way to you, even though I live in BC on Vancouver Island we have mostly not seen any of the smoke until this week and know exactly what you mean. My hair smells of smoke just from taking the dog for a walk! We have our house closed up tight and AC on and I am ok with paying more for not tasting/smelling the smoke in the house as we have a heat wave right now as well. Great finds at the garage sales!

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    1. I'm sorry you are dealing with all the smoke too. It is miserable. I can't even let the dog out for too long because our air quality is in the red zone and I don't want to risk his lungs either. I'm just glad we have Netflix since we are spending a lot of time watching movies right now. ;) Be blessed!

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  2. Hi Debbie,

    So sorry about the smoke situation. I hope they get those fires out soon. You did great at the yard sales and thrift shops. I love the towels. Books are my favorite yard sale finds. On Friday, I walked our neighborhood which was having one and found a Danielle Steele book that I hadn't read and a book for the grandchildren for $ .25 each.

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    1. Good Morning! :) I love to find books too. Our twins old bedroom has become my own personal library with books pilling out all over to other areas of the house too. My dream is to have a home with a real library room, a fireplace and a nice comfy recliner and couch to curl up in while I spend the colder months reading away in my own little retreat. :)

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  3. I'm sure the smoke situation is horrible. Stay inside and stay safe. Your little Steven is so cute; aren't babies wonderful? I enjoyed reading about your bargains. I found three books yesterday for .49 each for myself to read. They are devotionals and Bible studies; I thought I had hit the jackpot. How did teenage girls handle the fur baby situation? Did they stay at your house or just come over? We used to use a house sitter, but since we've moved, we haven't found anyone we could use to do that here.

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    1. Thank you. The smoke has cleared a bit this morning and although it is still hazy, it is not that chocking kind so I was able to open up the house and get it cooled down this morning before the heat comes on. I too love finding devotionals and bible study books. :) The girls did great taking care of the house and the fur babies, they even did all the dishes they used and vacuumed. They did stay here at the house since our fur babies freak out if they don't have someone here with them. We are blessed that both girls love our Caesar and Doofy and the feeling is mutual on the fur babies behalf also. Since the girls did such a good job I gave them a $10 tip on top of their pay.:) I will have them taking care of the house and fur babies again next month for a few days also.

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  4. What wonderful finds! You did great.
    Prayers going out to those affected by the fires. That is just so sad.
    Take care and get some rest.
    Blessings

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    1. HI Cheryl, thank you for the prayers. We had more fires popping up around the area yesterday. This morning the air is not as thick with smoke so I am able to be outside for a bit and get the house cooled down before the day heats up. I am really glad that my Chris was on vacation when these fires started or he would have been out fighting them too. Every rural fire department in this area has been called out to fight the various fires at one point or another until the state could come in and take over. Chris told me about the bad fires in Montana that they drove through and how Montana would be out of their entire wildland fire fighting funds within 6 days...that was 4 days ago. :( Please pray for drenching rain for the Pacific Northwest...it is dry as a tinderbox here. Thanks.

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  5. Oh how dreadful about the fires and the obvious pollution they cause as well. It must be so frightening to be aware of them being so close by. Do take care...

    As the others have said - well done on bargains! We don't really seem to have much around at bargain prices, although today we did do a household shop - soap, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, anti bac to put in washing machine - and 4 boxes of cat food - all at half price - so I am well pleased! Mind you, we needed petrol for the car and at £1.11 a litre, that works out at a lot to fill a tank ( one litre is 0.2 of a gallon). Necessary though.

    I haven't done any of my usual preserving this year, but it just means I have more fruit and veg to give away. Our chickens have gone into sudden moult and have stopped laying - they are just enjoying eating and sunbathing - and why not!

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    1. HI Blossom, you did really well on finding all those bargains at half price! I have heard that your gas prices are much higher than our's are here.

      I have not done a lot of preserving either. I am realizing that the heat makes my fibromyalgia flare up big time so it makes it difficult to get those things done. I am freezing fruit though and hope to make jams and syrups later when the weather cools down. I would love to have chickens but we have many neighborhood cats whom I am sure would torment them beyond all reason. ;)

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  6. Hi Debbie, I'm so sorry about the awful smoke and fires.
    You found some great thrift purchases. I use so many kitchen towels, I never understand why people get rid of perfectly nice ones. Your new ones look pretty and like new.

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    1. Hi Rhonda, all the towels were brand new! The red towels were bought from a friend of mine who said they did not go with her kitchen and she only wanted towels that matched her decor. We got through at least one towel a day in the kitchen so I just want ones that will do their job. ;)

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  7. Sorry to hear about all the smoke from the fires. Wise decision to stay home and indoors.

    You had some great finds as always! Love the towels you got!

    Thank you for sharing the picture of the baby. He is looking so cute! Give him a cuddle from me, please.

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    1. Hello Bless! The smoked finally cleared a bit so we were able to be outside today for short periods at a time and the best part was getting to spend time with our grandson Steven for a few hours today. :) Tomorrow the little boys are coming over and I can't wait to see them. They have been on vacation seeing their great grandparents, including my parents, and both the 4 and 5 year old learned to kayak from my mom. :) I am excited to hear all about their adventures!

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  8. I got home yesterday. I flew into Vancouver via Seattle. Both Seattle and Vancouver were choked with smoke. A lady on the plane to Vanc had flown up from Portland and said the smoke was there as well.
    Hope your flare is calming down. I haven't crashed, per se, from my return trip but I'm taking it easy today. Oh, how I wish I had someone to stay with my dog. He went to a kennel and had a blast though. If the measure of a happy dog is how dirty he gets, he had the time of his life. I wasn't so excited when I found lots of mats on him however.
    My trip was amazing - will write more later. But just wanted to check in and say Hi. You had an awesome week!
    SJ

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    1. I'm so glad you had an amazing trip and I can't wait to hear about it! Praying you do not have a crash. I was doing better but today is a rough one again. I'm going to just be kind to myself and take it easy. I'm amazed that the kennel did not brush your dog before you picked him up.

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