I'm trying to get back into some kind of posting rhythm again and get back to doing a Frugal Friday Wrap Up post. However, I have not been good about actually getting on the computer daily and making notes of what we have been doing frugality wise around here lately. So......I am going to try to remember some of the things we have done over the past few weeks and share those here.
~We have been harvesting squash, tomatoes, cucumbers and blackberries from the garden.
~Since I caught Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease and am unable to eat anything acidic, I have been freezing the blackberries to use later.
~Jeff grilled up 3 large elk steaks that I marinated overnight. I cooked up some beans that Rachel's mom sent up and also made a 4 grain side dish that was delicious (it was a mix I picked up at the Grocery Outlet)
~Jeff and I have had some great luck at the thrift stores lately. We bought a jacket for Steven for .25, shoes for me at $2, lots of books, a talking Elmo doll, some pants for Jeff and wait for it....a Berkey Water Filter system for $8! It came with the filters and everything. That is something that I have had on my wish list for years and years!
~Jeff had been fixing up a second bike for Isaiah to ride here. He found some pedals that he needed at the thrift store.
~We had been talking about getting a area rug for the living room for the colder months to make it more comfortable for everyone. Jeff found one for $20 on sale at Walmart. Yay!!!
~I have been trying to have us eat mainly out of our pantry and freezers and only buying fresh produce, some baked goods and dairy products for the most part.
~We have been watching shows online and on Netflix and YouTube.
~Since the weather has gotten so much cooler, I am back to enjoying a cup of herbal tea at night or in the afternoon. It warms me up, soothes me and helps me to stay hydrated.
~I have pulled out the Fall throws and blankets to cuddle up under in the living room.
~My leave in hair conditioner was almost empty so I mixed up a new batch using a sample packet that came in the mail via PinchMe along with some warm water.
~I was able to get some free mayonnaise with a coupon I recieved.
~Winco recently had coupons in one of the local college newspapers that allowed me to get some terrific deals.
~Bradley and Isaiah got a lesson in how to lay bricks to build a strong wall from Jeff while they were here one day. They love building anything and the pile of bricks proved irresistible to them.
Well the plan was to come back to blogging on a regular basis and go and visit my friends "homes" here in blogland, really it was. However, as life often does, it sidelined me once again. In addition to my "normal" health struggles and issues, I am now dealing with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. My youngest grandson Steven got it, then his Mommy Rachel got it from him and now it seems, it is my turn.
My symptoms are mainly centered in my mouth. I have blisters and sores on my tongue and all around the inside of my mouth. It makes eating and drinking most anything difficult at the moment. I just finished a cup of coffee with creamer in it and that hurt. However, if I don't have my coffee, we will be dealing with a whole other problem of caffeine withdrawals and nobody wants to be around me if that happens. 😉 I do also have a few spots on the rest of my body also.
In order to try and keep my hubby from getting this too we have taken measures to try and stop the spread of it. In addition to frequent handwashing, I am sleeping in a different bedroom than he is at the moment. We also threw away his toothbrush and got him out a new one, got a seperate water glass and even a new tube of toothpaste for him. He is keeping his stuff in the guest bathroom, way away from mine. I'm not cooking much this week because I am afraid of my germs getting onto the food...well that an my energy level is nilch at the moment. With that said, my hiatus from blogland my be a bit longer than I had planned. For now I am going to go and lay down for awhile. My brain is way foggier than my normal everyday fog and I have a bad headache. Praying that no one else ends up with this...it is no fun!
I want to start this off by telling you all how much I appreciate the sweet comments and thoughts that you have left me here on the blog and via email. All of them have touched my heart so deeply. I'm still needing to respond personally to each one and I hope to be able to do that tomorrow. :)
I have taken some time to really reflect on things and focus on my family. Both of my oldest grandsons ended up with a nasty flu like virus and then the baby ended up with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Now my sweet Rachel has the same virus the older grandsons had. I have been trying to help out where and when I can and the baby has been spending time up here or I have been going down there to play with him since he can't be around many people until he is over this. I was able to spend some quality time with the older two grandsons too and that was wonderful!
Chris and Josh turned 29 on Friday and Jeff celebrated birthday # 59 on Monday. We celebrated by going bowling with Chris, Heather, Bradley and Isaiah (they were finally feeling better), and had dinner with Jaysn, Rachel and Steven up here at the house the next day. Steven is still sick and we are trying to keep the grandboys away from each other so they don't keep passing things back and forth. Josh also paid for Jeff to go golfing on Monday.
Jeff has been helping Chris build his home whenever he has a spare moment. This past week he was unable to help much but spent Saturday morning and Sunday morning helping him. Now they are just waiting for the trusses to come in so they can get those set.
Saturday I found out that a friend passed away the day before. I have known both Greg and Linda since I first started college and even dated Greg's brother for awhile. Greg and Linda wished their oldest son John a Happy Birthday earlier in the morning and a few hours later Greg had a heart attack and passed away. Linda and I were really close in college and I attended her and Greg's wedding and was thrilled to see two people I loved get married. The last time we saw Greg and Linda in person was about 2 years ago when we had dinner together when they were up visiting one of the kids in college and Greg was saying how he was counting down the last 6 years before he could retire from teaching. Both he and Linda are amazing teachers. It breaks my heart that he never got to have that chance to enjoy retirement and that Linda has lost the love of her life and her best friend. I feel so bad for their kids, especially John, who lost his father on his birthday, and the grandkids. I also know that his brother Jeff is having a really hard time too with all of this. They were very close. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
I was able to finally spend some time with my hanai sister Shannon today and to say that I have missed her is a huge understatement. Since we got rid of the landline phone and our cell phone reception is spotty, we have not been able to have our normal phone calls. It was so good to share hugs, pick some cherry tomatoes from our garden and just be able to get caught up with each other again.
Jeff and I ran into another friend over the weekend that I had not seen in ages. She also has Fibromyalgia and shared with me that she is taking Methyl Vitamin B 12 at 2,500 mcg dose daily and it has really helped with her pain. I've read some studies that support this. I am not a doctor and am not I offering medical advice. I'm just passing along information and you need to do your own research and consult your own doctor. As so often happens with Fibromyalgia, CFS and other chronic invisible illnesses, what works for one person may not work for another. I am trying it and am really hoping it helps. I am also hoping that if it reduces pain levels, that will allow me to sleep better. I'm still struggling with that even with the medications that I am on.
Life has been busy for us lately with lots of things going on and will continue to be this way for awhile with helping with the building of Chris and Heather's new home (not that I can help much with that but I can provide food and help take care of the grandkids while Jeff helps with the actual construction), the opening of my cousin's new store and sourcing things for that, and trying to get the house and yard ready for the much anticipated and appreciated colder weather. It is already cooling down at night into the 40's and we even hit 38F one night. The leaves are starting to turn on the bushes and trees around here and the apple orchard opens up tomorrow for picking. Fall is here a bit early and I am loving that! Life is starting to look a bit brighter again. 😊
