Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/20/21

   

   

   It's Saturday afternoon and I am finally able to sit out on my back porch again since the rain and wind knocked down the smoke from the wildfires, at least for the moment.  Patchy cat is desperately trying to get my attention and crawl unto my lap for lovies.  I give her some lovies and she finally settles into the chair next to me.  At the moment I feel like I am living in a scary and  hazy semi dream world as I mourn for the people of Afghanistan who are facing their worst nightmare with the Taliban back in power.  The images are absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking that I am seeing on TV.  My heart aches for them.  I cannot even imagine the desperation of the people there.  It makes everything else that is going on around me pale in comparison.  Please, I beg of you, say a prayer and/or send good thoughts to those who are still stuck in Afghanistan and for our military who are doing all they can to help those left behind.  I have friends and hanai kids who have people they love there right now.  Thank you.

Weekend:

~We  harvested more berries, tomatoes, squash and beans from the garden.

~As per SJ's wonderful ideas (thank you!) I cooked up a bunch of squash and onions from the garden, mashed them up and then froze them.  I got 9 cups total, so 3 bags worth for future squash casseroles.  Yay!

~Jeff and I watched some movies.  He was feeling under the weather this weekend.  It sounds like the same thing that hit the rest of our family here.  Our grandson was tested with the same symptoms Jeff has and came up negative for Covid-19 thank goodness since some of the kids at his daycare got the dreaded Covid  and two of them had to be airlifted to Spokane last week.  Please pray for them and their families.

~I found two frozen hamburger patties with cheese in them and cooked those up for dinner one night.

~The next night I made cheese tortellini with a pesto sauce and added some yellow and red peppers to it along with some freshly diced tomatoes from our garden.  So good!

Monday:

~A basket of mushrooms got sautéed and frozen.

~I picked some blackberries.

~Jeff is not feeling well so his work told him he needed to get a covid-19 test.  Thankfully we were able to get one for him tomorrow afternoon but that still means a day off work and I don't think he has much in sick leave available to use.

~We watched two of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  I think it was "Deadman's Chest" and "At World's End".

~I pulled a homemade Mexican rice casserole out of the freezer and we had that for lunch.

Tuesday:

~Got Jeff tested for Covid and it was negative.  YAY!  He is also starting to feel a lot better.  They sent us home with a test kit we can send in IF either one of us feels like we may be getting it.  The testing is all free.

~We stopped at the Grocery Outlet on our way home from the testing and found some great deals there on pepperoni, chips, mashed potato mixes, dried minced onion (the one thing I had gone in for), cream cheese, fish oil (supplement), sourdough bread and a few other things.

~Jeff made us pastrami sandwiches for lunch.

~I picked more squash and found more growing cucumbers and cantaloupe while watering.

~Jeff picked his car up from the mechanic here in town and it was way less than we thought it would be.

~I trimmed my hair.

~Jeff and I both had a big bowl of cantaloupe and I added blackberries from the garden to mine.

Wednesday:

~Beans, squash, tomatoes, apples and blackberries were all harvested.

~I got my huge crockpot filled with apple slices from our tree and made applesauce.  This will taste so good in the colder months.

~Dinner was meatloaf, russet and sweet potato hash, green and yellow beans from the garden and rolls.

~I cut up and froze 4 yellow and orange sweet peppers.

~The squash plants got a good trimming back because it helps them produce more.

~I cashed in my rewards points earned on my debit and credit card for a $25 Marshall's gift card. I may end up putting this away for a Christmas gift for someone.

~I did do the watering of the garden earlier in the evening while Jeff picked more apples from our trees.  We then had an unexpected rain later in the night.  The sound of the rain was heavenly!  We have been in a serious drought so any rain is much appreciated.

Thursday:

~I did not get much done since I did not sleep at all during the previous night so I slept for most of the day instead.

~It had rained the night before so I did not need to do any watering of the garden.

~I washed my hair and then let it air dry.  Since I trimmed my bangs, I can once again do this without looking like a shaggy dog. 

~The living room fan was put into service later in the late afternoon/early evening.

Friday (the 3 hours of sleep edition):

~I got some laundry going.

~The blackberries were picked.  They are producing a bowl full a day now.  

~I did not need to water the gardens because we had a deep and drenching rain Friday night.

~Jeff and I had leftover meatloaf, potato hash and fruit for dinner.

~Chris took Jeff out to lunch while they were both on their lunch breaks.  I'm so glad they got to go and have some father/son time.

~Obviously, with a lack of sleep came very little energy for me so I caught up on the news, learned new skills via YouTube videos and had a nice visit online with my Aunt Susie and my cousin Tim D's daughter Ally and also with my friend Missy. 

~The hot tub somehow reset itself (must have been a minor power surge with the thunderstorms that came through) so I had to go out and reset it back to where I wanted it.

   Now to answer some questions:

~Yes, Covid-19 cases are on a steep trajectory upwards in my state (Washington) and the indoor mask mandate is back in place once more.  Schools, health care facilities and public employees are requiring that everyone be masked up and vaccinated.  This has led to huge protests and people being told to either comply or lose their jobs.  I really do not like the direction this is headed nor do I like seeing my community so divided.  Our small town has had a large uptick in cases and I have friends that have had it.  Luckily they were vaccinated and were able to get through it but others sadly were not. :(  I still support everyone's right to decide whether they get vaccinated or not but I have no problem with being asked to wear masks again, as uncomfortable as they may be, to try and protect others.  I remember being told that I needed to get a flu shot by my employer but the health department nurse told me NOT to get it due to my own health issues.  Luckily my employer did not push the issue upon learning this.  I have friends that are being told now that even though they have severe allergic reactions to things, that they still MUST have this vax or they will lose their job (this is happening in Texas).  What is a single mom supposed to do?  She has to take care of her family.  I hate seeing people put in that position.

~Hospitals are filling up fast and elective surgeries are being put on hold once more.  I am being told by a friend that works in a hospital in Spokane that this particular variant (Delta) is causing pneumonia in patients that lingers after the Covid-19 virus itself clears the body.  She is begging us all to be on the lookout for this.

~Yes, I have family and friends who have decided not to get the vax.  I have reached out to those that live close to us and offered to do their shopping for them if they need something and that particular establishment is NOT allowing anyone who is unvaccinated in.  This is becoming a growing issue in our area.  

~Yes, I am seeing food shortages in our area on certain items.  I am also seeing huge price increases on things like meat.  We have relied on venison as our "red meat" that our son and DIL have hunted, but the deer wasting disease has hit the areas surrounding us so I am thinking that we may not be able to get venison this year.  So many families depend on hunting to provide meat for their families and this is going to be a huge blow to them (some of my own kids and grandkids included).

 I think that was it for the questions...if I missed something that you wanted to know, please remind me or ask in the comments section.  My brain has been mush lately...Fibro is kicking my behind big time memory wise, emotionally and physically.  Such is life and things could be worse.