Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/1/25

   

   Jeff was finally ready to return to work 2 days a week.  He is working Monday and Wednesday and going to physical therapy on Tuesday and Thursday.  Wednesday they were especially happy to have him there since the other 2 people in his department were both out.  He ended up working a half an hour longer than normal so he could help close up the store at the end of the day.  He is coming home really tired, but I know that he is also happy seeing so many people he knows once again.  He does still plan on fully retiring this Fall though.

~We had our town wide yard sales on Saturday and Jeff and I decided to go to them.  We scored some good stuff.  We found a large tote on wheels for $10.  We had been looking for one to put in the back of our truck for when we go camping.  We also found the following all the following for $12: sterling silver earrings, another cute pair of earrings, a large 31 brand insulated bag (I had been wanting one since our last one broke), 2 Ruck for the Fallen shirts, 1 Ruck for the Fallen hoodie, a like new quilted flannel jacket for my hubby, a nice reversible leather belt for hubby, and one other item that I cannot remember at the moment.  

~We had some nice visits with our neighbors that day.  One of them is going to be retiring soon and had lots of questions and concerns about how to transition from working full time to being fully retired and how I managed it.

~Lots of raspberries were picked along with more tomatoes, blueberries and the barrel of potatoes was harvested with dismal results.  We think it was due to the heat and us being in a drought since everything was drying out so quickly.

~We ate lots of salads this week with lettuce and tomatoes from our garden.

~Jeff changed the alternator in our truck.  The battery is now holding a charge!

~Jeff cleaned out the chest freezer.  Wen found all kinds of stuff buried in there.  I need to keep a better eye on things.

~We had leftover pancakes for 2 more meals.

~I cooked up a pork loin for dinner one night and it gave us 2 dinners and 1 lunch

~Jeff picked up bananas at the grocery store while he was in town.

~More hummingbird food was made, and the feeder was refilled every 2 days.

~Jeff got one of our bigger bills payments changed to come out after his social security check comes in each month.

~We had several nice telephone calls with my parents.

~I found chicken thighs for $1.29 a pound and bought a family pack of them.  That gave us 8 thighs.  I had one and Jeff had the rest over several more meals.  He loves oven baked chicken!

~I have been trying to us up some of the mashed potato, rice and pasta mixes from the pantry as side dishes.  I do not want any of those things to go bad.

~I did break down and have Jeff bring home Panda for dinner on Wednesday.  It got up to 101 F on our back porch and I really do not do heat well.  The last thing I wanted to do was heat up the kitchen.  We had leftovers that I morphed into another meal adding a few veggies to it.

~I went through my buttons stash and found buttons to sew onto and fix 2 pairs of Jeff's shorts.  He is happy to have the shorts fixed again.

~I made a grilled cheese on sourdough with sliced tomatoes (from our garden) and Colby Jack cheese for lunch one of the days that Jeff was at work.  It was so good and the perfect comfort food.

~I have been enjoying listening to Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar on YouTube.  It reminds me of my childhood growing up in Hawaii and hearing it played at night at the resort my father managed. It is one of the things that I can always count on to calm my soul.

~I gave Jeff a haircut.

~We picked the summer apples off our tree.  So many were lost early due to the heat.

~We harvested the two remaining raised beds of potatoes and got about half of what we did the previous year.  Still, I am grateful for what we were able to harvest.

~I made a large venison meatloaf, and it gave us 3 meals with sides added.

~I uploaded Safeway's digital coupons to my card.

   We had to cancel having our Steven out on Friday to be with us for the day.  There is something going around at Jeff's work, which we did not want to expose him to.  That is the last thing Jaysn and Rachel need to worry about with her still recovering for her ACL surgery.  It turned out to be for the best anyways since the weather was a bit stormy and a very lovely cool temperature.  It was not however conducive to swimming at the pool.  Jeff and I spent the morning in the garden and rested in the afternoon.  I have discovered that this slower pace of life is starting to fit me better and better.  I am not feeling the pressure to get everything done at once and pacing myself helps with the pain levels.  I can always tell when I overdo it...my body just screams at me.  Stupid Fibromyalgia anyway.  

   So there we go.  That was our frugal week.  This next week will also be a frugal one.  I will not be going to the next town over town wide yard sales.  I will be baking bread, working on making applesauce with those apples and am hoping to be able to get one more picking of them if the wind does not shake them all down.  Jeff will be working on car repairs and he and I will work on some inside projects that desperately need to be done.  Be blessed!