Here it is the end of another frugal week. That goodness we paid off our home because we have a bill from last January (yes a year ago) from the hospital that finally came in and has to be paid in full now. That leaves us with under $100 for the next 2 weeks after all the bills are paid. I am very thankful for a deep pantry and 2 big freezers full of food. In other news, I got the results of my blood work back and I don't have Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis, but did show signs in the high "normal" range of inflammation (due to Fibromyalgia so that was expected) and I am also PreDiabetic. I have been there before and can get my numbers back down through diet and walking. Coming off the holidays where I over indulged in way too many sweets and rich foods, this also does not surprise me. Onto the frugal doings...
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| Scrapple and apples. |
~Saturday morning I really needed to get out of the house for awhile so Jeff and I decided to go and do something on our "bucket list". He had not been to Palouse Falls before even though he was raised in this area. We stopped at Subway, bought 2 of their $4.99 footlong sandwiches and headed out. We had a very cold picnic overlooking the roaring falls and even made friends with a groundhog.
~After being out in the cold, we wanted to get some coffee to warm up so we headed to Dayton, WA to a bakery there. They closed early so we decided to just head down to Walla Walla, WA and went to the Goodwill store there. I found another pair of my favorite brand of jeans, 2 shirts, a Wedgewood plate, and Jeff found a shirt and a golf club cover for his driver.
~We stopped at a convenience store on the way back home and grabbed some coffee and something to eat out of the hot deli case.
~Sunday we stayed home for the day and napped...oh it was lovely!
~We watched the movie "Old Dogs" that we already had here on DVD.
~Hot tubbing was a really nice way to round out the night.
~Monday Jeff and I headed into town to buy a new kitchen faucet to replace our's that was leaking. Jeff found one on sale and got it installed before he had to to to bed in the afternoon.
~I picked up a few items at the Dollar Tree while Jeff went to the pet store to get more cat food for the kitties.
~Caesar and I managed to get a short walk in.
~Jeff was in need of more bread for sandwiches so I made 2 loaves for him.
~Scrapple has been on the menu for weeks now and I finally got around to making some.
~I'm layering up even in the house since the weather has gotten really cold again.
~We had leftover meatloaf and corn bread for dinner. It really hit the spot and I needed the room in my refrigerator. ;)
~Tuesday started off as a beautiful sunny but cold day. I got the hot tub maintenance done so that we could enjoy a good long soak later.
~We were running low on my homemade pancake mix so I got more of that made.
~I had not planned on washing all the living room throws, but Patches decided to hack up a rather large hairball on my favorite throw (which I found when I went to cover myself up with it...YUCK) so all the throws went into the washer.
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| Lamb chops and roasted russet and sweet potatoes. |
~I got the last package of marked down lamb chops out of the big chest freezer to thaw for dinner on Wednesday night.
~With us expecting a big snowstorm to hit in the early morning hours Wednesday, I tried to renew a movie I borrowed from the library (that was due Wednesday) online. It did not allow me to do that so I threw on a long winter coat over my nightgown, some shoes and drove down the 5 blocks to drop the movie off in the drop box so I did not get any late fines. Luckily I live in a very small town where the sidewalks roll up early on school nights so no one else was out and about.
~Thursday was Valentine's Day and I wanted to do something special for Jeff. I got a beautiful card out of my card stash for him and then made a really nice dinner of lamb chops, a Romaine salad (he actually threw that together for me) and roasted garlic russet and sweet potatoes. Neither one of us likes to go out for Valentine's Day because the restaurants are noisy and packed, and they frequently raise their prices with their "special menus" for that night. I can make us a really nice dinner that we enjoy for a fraction of the cost and hassle.
~Jeff took my car to work that evening because of the road conditions. We did not want him to get in an accident or slide off the road.
~I again worked on my points programs.
~Thursday I had the leftover roasted potatoes, along with some cheese for lunch.
~Jeff picked up my thyroid medication and it is finally back down to just $4 for a 1 month supply. Yay!
~Friday it snowed again so I spent the morning enjoying that and working on laundry and watching videos on YouTube from Our Half Acre Homestead. Bev has wonderful videos on how to make tons of stuff from scratch, gardening, home butchering, and lots of other ways to live frugally. She also has Fibromyalgia so I can also relate to her on that level too.
~I went through my piles of free magazines and got caught up on some of my reading.
~One of the Facebook groups that I am on, Fibro Society, recommended a movie on Netflix called "Unrest" that documents the lives of people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I could see so much of myself in it and was also very thankful to live in a country where we are not forcefully removed from our homes and put in mental institutions because people mistakenly think it is a mental disorder.
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| Shrimp Yaki Soba |
Not many pictures this week because I was being very lazy about taking any. Sorry about that.
So happy to hear no Lupus or RA!!!!!!!!!!!! I know you will get a handle on the rest.
ReplyDeleteI love the movie Old Dogs - it is so funny! great group they put together for that.
Sounds like a lovely and frugal week.
Take care my friend!
Hi Cheryl, it is one of our favorites. I think we will watch the movie "Wild Hogs" here soon also. :)
DeleteNo Lupus and no RA! Yippee! I hope this comment gets to you as it seems several others I have made have not. Bluey has RA and it comes and goes and changes places through his body. There are days when just putting one foot in front of the other is all he can do. Knowing you already have terrible pain I was hoping this wasnt going to be added to your load.
ReplyDeleteI dont know how you cope with the level of cold that the snow would bring. Mind you I have been thinking it might be nice to have snow as right now we are in the middle of a nasty heatwave. The humidity is the killer. A storm would be welcome if it would just bring a bit of cool weather with it. No air con in this household so we deal with the heat with ceiling fans.
You sound like you are feeling a little better. I do hope this is the case.
Thank you Jane and I am sorry that Bluey has RA. About the comments, I have had several that I have posted to other sites disappear also and noticed that one the someone posted here did not make it but did show up as having been here in my email...strange.
DeleteIt is bitterly cold here tonight. It's currently 0 F but feels like -8. I think we may break records tonight for cold temps. I remember the heat and humidity growing up in Hawaii. It was awful and I always felt "sticky". Praying you get some cool weather soon.
Glad you got some good news this week. Love your photos, as here, Australia, its very hot but I prefer it to your snow covered landscape. I had to look up what scrapple has, definitely not common here. Sorry for the extra work your cat made for you but I wouldn't be without my pets. They are a source of comfort. I take thyroxine, its $28.40 for a 60 day supply. I like reading about the differences in daily life in different countries. Take care. Erin.
ReplyDeleteHi Erin. :) I grew up in Hawaii where it was hot and humid and then moved to this area that has a very dry heat during the Summer. We got even more show after I took that picture. We spent the last 3 days driving on bad roads and today had to plow through snow drifts...not my idea of fun. It is pretty though!
DeleteDebbie, I am so happy to hear the blood test results were so good. It sounds like you had a very good week. I hope that cotinues. Wow, look at all that snow! We are supposed to get a "cold front" in the next few days, but what that means is daytime highs of low to mid 50s. All quite relative, isn't it? Stay warm and hope you have another good week.
ReplyDeleteHi Bless, mid 50's in your area is really cold! Praying all is going well for you!
DeleteHi Debbie!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you don't suffer from Lupus nor Ra. One thing you can do to substitute sugar, is to use honey in your coffee or sweets, instead of sugar or sweeteners.
It's healthier.
I hope you have a blessed week, my friend!
:)
Thank you Paula, I was thinking about swapping out the sugar for honey. Great minds think alike! Praying for you and for your book!
DeleteI am glad you got good blood work results, my friend!
ReplyDeleteLoved hearing about your week...
We had snow too!
Now...we have rain.
Hugs!!
Hi Billie Jo. :) The weather has been really strange this year hasn't it? Right now we are dealing with frigid temperatures...0 F as I type this reply.
DeleteBe blessed!
I've got $73 until Mar3rd. Should be enough especially if I go to the nonprofit grocery store. While diving into my chest freezer I 'found' two cornish game hens that I had bought for Christmas. One is thawing in the refrig and I'll try it in the IP. Told you more in email.
ReplyDeleteI also am washing dog towels and bedding today. But not because of any surprises...just normal chores for the week.
Cheers, SJ
HI SJ, I know you can make that $73 stretch! Have you ever made soup with the cornish game hen carcusses? I would think they would make good soup too. :)
DeleteSo happy you are not going to deal with lupus or Ra. But what you do have is bad enough. I could not beleive how much snow you guys had up there.
ReplyDeleteI know, it is ridiculous how much snow we have! The snow drifts were really bad today as we drove to my doctor's appointment this morning. Scary drive over and back!
DeleteAround here, everything shuts down with an inch of snow or less! I've never learned to drive on it, but at our previous house, which was a little higher in elevation, I was starting to learn. Now, we are down in the valley again, so that project is back on hold, because there is very little snow. Most other people here don't know how to drive on it, either. So, we stay home when it snows. Or Rob drives, since he knows how. (People from places like where you live laugh at the rest of us:)
ReplyDeleteWe are choosing to have a bit of a tight month, as well. Even though I worked more last month, and got paid extra, I received a larger than expected bill, as well. I'm thankful that I can pay it, but had been looking forward to putting extra in savings. I also think I can pay off the rest of Patsy's braces if I suck it up in the grocery area. There's not much left on that bill. So, I don't love being careful at the store, it's much more fun to just spend without thinking. But, I'm glad I know how, and I have a lot of food stocked, and I think it's time to stop stocking up, and just use some of the pantry food up, and pay these 2 bills in full. I'm excited to think that I am close enough to wipe out that orthodontia bill. Since she's the youngest, I have high hopes that I won't ever have to pay for braces again:). We have gotten off easy, though. Only 3 out of the 8 needed braces, and the State of Oregon paid for the top braces as it was a medically necessary event, and I only had to pay for the bottom half. AND, we had insurance for the first time ever, so it wasn't as much as it would have been. So, lots of good in this situation. I also have to put a little back into savings, due to some I used last month. I won't have a ton to put in there, but it's time to start building that back up for months where I don't make as much.
I'm sorry you are having a flare. I hope it passes quickly. I'm so glad you could spend time with the baby. I'm sure the baby was as good for you as you were for him. There's just nothing like a baby:). Have a great week:)
HI Becky, that is wonderful that you are so close to getting Patsy's braces paid off. It will feel so good to have that bill out of the way! As for the other bill, I'm sorry you got hit with it but glad you have a way to pay that off as well. I hear you about having to rebuild your savings account...Jeff and I need to do that also and save for our trip to Las Vegas in the Fall to go down and see Josh and his girlfriend along with some of my old friends that I grew up with who now live there.
DeleteI think this weather is really contributing to my flares. I can feel the changes in my body as new storm systems start to build and come in. Last night was not a good night and I did not sleep well due to pain. Such is my life but it's not fatal, just painful and annoying. ;) Be blessed.