Frugal Friday Wrap Up a Day Early 2/19/26

 

     Isn't God the most amazing artist?  I woke up really early this morning and was greeted with this beautiful sunrise.  I quickly grabbed my phone and took picture after picture trying to capture the awesomeness of it all.  Truely breath taking don't you think?

   I know this post is technically a day early, with this being Thursday and not Friday, but my husband is off at work today and I find that since he is home on Fridays, I have not gotten around to posting much.  I'm not saying that having him home on Fridays is a bad thing, quite the opposite.  I really enjoy spending time with my husband and I don't want to ever take away from my first priority which will always be my family.  I know that everyone who reads this will understand.  

   

   Our son Chris took myself and one of his friends fishing last week.  His friend Jim is 90 years old and is the person that sold Chris's boat to him (and gave him a great deal on it).  I had been looking forward to this day for a long time.  Yes, it was cold, but the sun was out and it felt glorious on my face.  The sun reflected off the ripples in the water and reminded me of the days I would spend at the beach growing up in Hawaii.  I felt totally at peace and I even caught the first, and the largest fish of the day.  Chris took it home, filleted it out for me, and it is now in his freezer awaiting my drive over to pick it up and to drop off some things for him.  The whole day was just what I needed since I had been struggling with SAD due to there having been way too many gray days leading up to it.  Jim and Chris were wonderful company and my heart was filled to the brim with calm and love.

   While I was out fishing with Chris, Bradly, our oldest grandson who will be 14 in 2 weeks, came over to spend the day with Gpa (my husband) and change the struts out on the car that he will soon be gifted.  We had made this promise to both Bradley and Isaiah, that when Gpa retired fully, that they would get the car.  Originally, they were going to have to share the car, but then Aunt Helen gifted her car to the boys before she died.  Isaiah has decided he wants Aunt Helen's car, which made Bradley very happy since he wanted my husband's car.  The boys live out in the country and needed a way to get to and from work.  The deal we made with the boys had been that when we gifted them the car, that they were going to have to work to pay at least part of their car insure (on their parent's plan) and their own gas.  I know my oldest 2 grandsons well and that they would be more than willing to do this to have a car of their own.  So, Jeff and Bradley got the struts changed out and spent the rest of the day having pizza and watching movies before they set out to buy a Valentine's gift for me that I had seen and picked out earlier that morning.  This leads us to a list of some of the other frugal doings over the past few weeks...

~Jeff bought me a one-of-a-kind gorgeous antique stained glass hanging lamp.  It has metal work on it over each lower panel of glass that depicts a lake scene, complete with the shorelines, pine trees and a little cabin at either sunrise at either sunrise or sunset.  Each panel's glass is unique.  It originally was $295 but Jeff walked away at first and she brought the price down to $200.  Jeff rewired it for me and it is now hanging in our living room.

~We have been searching for a recliner that would actually fit my hubby and his extra-long legs. ;)  This search has been going on for months now since his recliner that he did have at that point was so low to the ground, making it hard for him to get up and out of, and was too short for his legs.  We even (gulp), looked at furniture stores, but the one that came closest to fitting him cost over $1000.  That was not something we could afford.  On a hunch, I asked my husband if we could go to the grand reopening of a thrift store near us and guess what we found...yes, the perfect sized recliner for my hubby (and his long legs) that is also the right height for him to get up out of easily.  All in, we paid a little over $100 for it.  That was a savings of $1100 over what the other one at the furniture store would have cost and it fit him even better!

~Our neighbor was gifted 2 apple pies and she gave one of them to us.  It is delicious!

~Our pellet stove control panel went out (luckily, we do have a furnace as a back up source of heat).  Jeff had me go on line and order a new control panel for it.  Cost was $382 after taxes and shipping.  It sure beats the cost of a new pellet stove and Jeff can install the new control panel himself.  Savings over $2000 for the lower end priced pellet stoves.

~I have been trying to cook more from our freezer and pantry.  A few of the meals I have made lately are a rich elk burger soup that used a Bear Creek Beef soup mix along with a pound of cooked elk burger.  So delicious on a cold day!  Homemade Fettuccini Alfredo using linguini noodles since I was out of fettuccini, along with the last of my half and half, and some Parmesan-Roman cheese that I had previously bought on sale and thrown in the freezer.  This is one of Jeff's favorites.  Air friend Panko breaded chicken with Colby-Jack cheese melted on top served with a green salad and rice pilaf.  A sheet pan dinner of baked Italian Sausages (served on buns) and sweet potato wedges.  This was served with homemade applesauce that I had previously made from some apples from our tree and frozen. A shrimp and cabbage Asian style salad with shrimp that I had bought on sale and thrown in the freezer. Teriyaki meatloaf made with venison burger, served with rice and green beans.

~We donated so many bags of things to the thrift store while we have been slowly going through things that we no longer need.  For each donation, we get a 20% off one item coupon.  We use the coupons on bigger ticket items.  We mostly shop on Mondays since that is Senior day and all of our items, except the half off color tags of the week, along with the new merchandise, are 20% off.  I stocked up on some nice Land's End cap sleeved dresses for the warmer months since I practically live in dresses when it is hot.  I also found a long short-sleeved dress which is also perfect for the hotter weather and works great as a beach cover up too.  Jeff found some comfy lounge pants and shirts.

~Jeff and I gave each other haircuts.  He cut mine way shorter than he normally does and I now look more and more like my mother with her short haircut.  I have to say, I kind of like it!  I have always looked like my mother when it comes to our eyes and expressions (I even sound like her), and thus also look like my great grandmother (my Tutu) in the eyes.  Now I look like her hair-wise too. :)

~Jeff got us restocked on another ton of pellets for our pellet stove.

~We took Maggie to the do-it-yourself dog wash in town.  She desperately needed a good bath!  She likes the blow dryer on the low setting there and will even come into the bathroom at home now on occasion when I am blow-drying my hair to get her turn in too.  Silly dog!

~I put away the Christmas decor and have now replaced it with Winter decor that I already have.  

~I picked up a few more classic movies and musicals on DVD.  We really enjoy these!  And yes, I got them at another thrift store.

~I made Jeff a loaf of banana bread with some over-ripe bananas that I had peeled and put in the freezer for such a time as this. ;)  Food is one of his top love-languages and boy did he feel loved!  He was making happy sounds while he was eating. 

   So there we are once again!  Oh, and by the way, my shingles are healing up nicely now and I don't think I will have any scarring at this point.  I still have some nerve thingy going on in some spots, but that is to be expected.  Be blessed and have a wonderful day!

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!

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 5/29/24

 

                                 When the kitty steals your new bed...

    Jeff is recovering from orthoscopic knee surgery and has to be off his leg for at least 3 weeks.  The first week was pretty rough, but we are now in the second week and the doctor prescribed some meds to help him relax so he can heal faster.  He is trying to help me with the household tasks and amazes me with what he can do without putting pressure on that leg.  That being said, I am still having to do the majority of the things he usually does around here.  With my own problem knees, back, hip and fibromyalgia, this has not been easy and I am exhausted but it has to be done.  Luckily our kids and neighbors are helping out with mowing the lawn, and doing other household tasks that I cannot do.  Prayers for my sweet hubby are appreciated and welcomed.

   This is a conglomeration of my frugal doings over the past month or so.  My memory is not the best, but I will try to list all I remember.  

~I'm back to making bread again.  I had taken a break for about 3 weeks, and both Jeff and I missed my homemade bread.

~Jeff got my back screened in porch furniture all take out of the shed and back where it belongs.  This was before his surgery.   I love sitting out here while I type up my blogs along with eating meals and having coffee (or cocktails depending on the time and the day).

~Jeff and I went to an estate sale and I found lots of nice quality named branded clothing in both my size and his, some were even new with tags.  I got us all stocked up for the colder weather months again.  I also bought a gorgeous crystal bud vase and a book.

~Yard sale finds included 2 sterling silver rings for $3 each and some more books.

~Thrift store finds were a caftan, some small shaker style jars to store seasonings in for the camper, and women's bible study book for me and a nice sweatshirt for Chris.  We also found some shorts and shoes for Jeff at a second store.

~I went to JoAnn Fabric on one of their last days and bought interior paint for the pop-up tent trailer at 80% off and also got bra extenders for under $1 per package.

~I put together my own hanging baskets of flowers for a fraction of the price of premade ones.

~We were able to use the ramp that goes over the back steps onto the porch that we use for pellets for Jeff to be able to use his walker to get into the house after his surgery.  I am so glad he built that thing and that we have wonderful friends and neighbors who got it set up for us before we got home.

~I found Hershey's chocolate candy for .79 cents a bar on clearance.  I bought 20 of them to use for making smores when we go camping (okay, there is one less chocolate bar now since Jeff and I split on a particularly frustrating day).

~We have a local to our town Farmers Market.  I went down to it for the first time this season on Sunday.  I bought some rhubarb blueberry jam and some homemade goat's milk soap for my hubby that a dear friend makes.  They were also giving out some food leftover from our town's commodities distribution.  I got a 4 bags of powdered milk, 2 bags of lentils, 2 bags of split peas, a bag of pears and a bag of apples for free.  This will really help with the food budget.

~The garden has been planted out with 5 tomato plants, radishes, spinach, lettuce, 2 1/2 beds of potatoes, 1 raised bed of beans, and I have cucumbers and zucchini started in the greenhouse.  Once the spinach and radishes are done, I will plant the cucumbers there and trellis them.  The zucchini will be planted out in another spot in the garden.

~Our new Home Depot opened and I was able to find 2 medium sized planters with pink Dalias in them for $8.00 each. They are now on either side of my bench in the front of the house walkway.

~I'm cherry picking the deals again at the grocery store and found pork loins for $3.00 each after my discount and the half off sticker.  This made 3 servings. I also found thinly sliced round steak that I turned into some delicious stroganoff with the addition of a package of sliced mushrooms.  This made 5 servings when served over baked potatoes.  I also got 2 more cans of baking chocolate so I can make homemade hot cocoa mix for Jeff to have in his coffee.  It is much cheaper for me to make it that buy the premade stuff.

~Our neighbors had bought a big watermelon and had too much for just the two of them so they gave us part of it.

~Our son Jaysn, along with our Rachel and grandson Steven came over and got the swamp cooler up and running for us.  This was really sweet of them since Jeff is in the second week of his recovery from knee surgery and still cannot put any weight on it or bend it.  We had pizza for dinner, along with some watermelon and had a wonderful visit with the 3 of them.

~I got the lighter weight quilts out that my mother made for the bed and the smaller ones for the living room to cuddle up under when the nights are cooler.  The heavier feather duvet got folded up and the duvet cover got washed and put away for the season.

~While making the guest bed (which is where I sleep), I put 4 hand embroidered pillowcases on my pillows.  These are ones that I found at previous yard and estate sales and compliment my mother's quilt that I put on the bed.

   Next week will be a rough one for our family with Jeff's siblings, his aunt, one of his cousins, and our kids and grandkids having a graveside service for both Jeff's parents.  Following that, we will be scattering his Aunt Helen's ashes up on the mountain where her parents' ashes are.  Given the family dynamics, well, we will see if everyone can just focus on paying our respects to our beloved family members who have passed.  We are looking forward to seeing Jeff's aunt and cousin and visiting with them, along with getting to spend a bit of time with our Josh who is coming up for the service.  As you all know if you have been reading this blog for awhile, family is our personal treasure here on earth.

   

   

A Big Thank You and Catch Up

 

   I want to thank everyone who has commented, prayed and kept our family in your thoughts.  It has not been easy.  I did not realize how much it was affecting me until I hit day 4 of not showering and just staying in the same pajamas.  I knew I had to claw my way back up and out of the depression spiral.  I can "mask" things pretty well with a smile, concentrating on helping others, etc. all the while slowing being sucked down myself. Not even my sweet hubby knows how deep the hurt is until I finally open up and tell him.  I then find out that he is hurting very deeply also.  So today, I finally took a long shower and tried to scrub away the pain.  Did it work?  No, but I am clean now and am able to post here again, so I would say that I am moving in the right direction.

   Jeff and I have been working on projects around the house, trying to get things back in order after almost a year of just not having the energy physically or mentally to do "all the things".  None of the projects are huge, just time consuming.  There has been lots of cleaning, purging, reorganizing and making lists of other projects that need to be done.  I'm sure many can relate to this.

   Jeff and I did go on a real "date" last Friday.  We went to one of our favorite breweries for their Saint Paddy's Day dinner.  Well, I ordered the traditional corned beef dinner, Jeff had a burger and then finished the rest of my dinner because there was just so much food! They also had green beer in very tall pilsner glasses and it was really good.  Dessert was Green Velvet cake with vanilla bean ice cream.  YUM!  Jeff and I shared that because it was a huge piece.  We waddled out of there happy and came home to our recliners and watched Moana 2.  

   Earlier this week I got a message from our son Josh who said that our youngest grandkids wanted to talk to Grammie and Gpa.  I got the computer all loaded up and we Facetimed with them.  First thing our little Miss Peyton says is "Where's Gpa?" since he was turning on a light and was not in frame.  Yes, she is Gpa's girl!  She then modeled her Snow White princess dress for us.  Tate, who is Grammie's buddy, decided to take the phone from his father and give us a "tour" of the cool new vacuum that  his mom got.  LOL!  This is a boy who loves cleaning gadgets and was very excited about them having a new one. ')    Those grandbabies, along with our other 3 older ones, are helping motivate me to come up to the surface once again. :)

   There have frugal doings around here too.  I cut up, sugared and froze 4 pints of strawberries. I made Belgium Waffles with some mix that I found in my pantry that I had forgotten about and served that with homemade maple syrup along with some cherry syrup I made with some of my mom's homemade cherry jam.  Jeff used up the last of the syrup, so I made more to have on hand.  We got in on a really good chicken deal.  I got the chicken hindquarters for $1.57 a pound with $1.00 off the package.  Apparently, they had a lot of chicken to sell quickly, so they also had a buy one family pack, get one free deal.  I froze one of the packages and made shoyu chicken with the other.  We had shoyu chicken over rice for one meal and I then froze the rest for another meal.  I love having fully cooked meals I can pull out of the freezer and just add a side dish to it.  The leftover rice was used for 2 meals of chili and rice. Cabbage was on sale, so I bought 3 of them.  I used half of one to make coleslaw, and will use the other half in another dish.  The 2 remaining cabbages will be used for a cabbage salad, while most of it will be blanched and the dehydrated so I can add it to soups, stews, etc. at a later date. I made a nice dinner with broiled asparagus and lobster ravioli.  I also made another nice homemade alfredo pasta dish and served that with a nice crisp salad. We ordered another hose online for Jeff's cpap machine saving ourselves about $40 there.  I have been using decor that I have on hand here to change out my Winter decor and bring our some of the Spring stuff.  Jeff found some watercolor prints from Hawaii that I will be framing and putting up in our guest bathroom.  They are bright and cheery and remind me of happy times in my life growing up.  I finally found a pair of jeans that fit me and Jeff found some lounging type pants at the thrift store.  Oh, I also found more new canning lids and rings.  I love to have lots of these on hand.

   I had better go and figure out dinner for tonight.  Be blessed all and thank you once again.

   

   

Fresh Start February

 

   As we waved goodbye to a very sad and stressful January, we also welcomed in February with open arms.  We hope and pray that this month will be much kinder and gentler to us.  God knows that we need that in our lives right now.

   We are so very grateful for God's love and mercy, along with answered prayers.  One of my beloved uncles was hospitalized, fighting for his life.  The news was very bleak at first, but then came along a doctor who was able to help him at least get to the point where he was able to go home again.  My uncle is battling cancer and my sweet aunt has been there with him throughout all of it.  Please keep them both in your prayers.

   I have been battling some health issues, along with a very bad bout of the flu.  The flu is gone now, and I am trying to deal with the other things.  It has given me time to really rest, think, and realize that I have to take better care of myself and also give myself grace.  Superwoman I am not, and that is something that I have to remember. 😉

   Jeff and I have tackled some long overdue projects.  We are slowly getting our house back in order and doing more needed purging of things that we do now use or that have no sentimental value. We are also getting back into a routine once again and trying to get my sleep schedule back on track.  It has not only gone off the rails, but also took off on a vacation.  It likes to do this when I have been under a lot of stress.  It is both fibro related and another bad learned coping mechanism for me. 

   We are continuing to fill our box of things for our pop up tent trailer.  We have added a mini Ninja blender (gotta have that for adult beverages, along with smoothies and slushies for the grandkids) given to me by our Rachel, a coffee maker, paper plate holders, a really nice afghan that I got for $1.99 at the thrift store, food storage containers that with fit in the small refrigerator, cups, thermal mugs, plastic plates, forks and knives, and some other items.  I will continue to add to the big box as we go along.  I have made a list of all the items I want in there and luckily we have most of them on hand here at home.  There are just a few more that I need to purchase and I am looking at thrift stores for them.  I just cannot wait for camping season to start!😊

   Josh called me today and told me my youngest grandson has been sent home from his preschool on base for the 4th day in a row.   Apparently, they divided up his class and the teacher he really connected well with and would listen to, went with the other half of his former class and he had all new people there.  He has been running out of the room after his favorite teacher left  in order to get some of his energy out, which is an automatic "send the kid home" for the rest of the day rule.  Josh and Lauren understand that this is a big change for Tate and that he does not understand how to handle all of this at once.  They have been trying to find ways to deal with his behavior at school.  He does not act out in this manner at home (where he feels secure).  Tomorrow there will be a whole new group of teachers in his room and we hope it goes better with them.  Josh and Lauren are meeting with the new teachers and the counselor on Monday to come up with a plan to help Tate release some of that pent up energy he gets when he is not engaged in an activity.   Tate and I also had a talk about how it makes teachers sad and that they sometimes cry when kids are being mean to them.  I told him I used to be a teacher and that sometimes I would cry to because I tried so hard to be kind, understanding and teach the kids in my classes.  That really got to him, knowing that Grammie used to cry, and Josh helped him make the connection to how sad it made his teachers when he acted out.  Praying here that tomorrow will be a better day for everyone involved.  I did offer to come down if needed to help because I know my grandson well and that change is hard for him, along with him being way too smart, having lots of energy, and needing to be engaged in things.  I have worked with kids like him in the past and even have some of my own. ;)

   We did get some snow here in the last few days and I am enjoying the beauty of it.  Add about 3 inches to the picture at the top of the post and that is what I am currently looking at.  Jeff ended up taking our truck, with the four-wheel drive to work yesterday, just in case.  There were school closures and delays all over this area.  I have been more than happy to stay home, bake bread, make soup and other filling meals, and have Jeff pick up anything that we may need from the store.  Luckily for us, our pantry is well stocked and organized, so we do not have to pick up much.  While I was sick with the flu, I had Jeff pick up a Stouffers frozen lasagna, which I have not had in over 20 years now, and will never be buying another again.  It was awful and just ick!  It tasted like "fake" food to me.  I guess Jeff and I are just spoiled since I usually make my own here at home.  Anyone else have that experience with Stouffers?

    Well, the fur babies are trying to get my attention, so I had better get going.  They are cooped up here in the house along with me, and I know they want to be out on the back porch and the dog wants to be left out in the yard.  It is way too cold for that at the moment.  Be blessed my sweet friends and try to stay warm.

    

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Thoughts, Thrifting and the Start of Healing

 

   Yes, I am finally popping my head back into my sweet blog.  It seems that this blog has been a long journey of emotions for 13 years now.  There have been such highs as we added our beautiful girls to our family and were blessed with 5 amazing, funny, smart and loving grandchildren.  If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you already know what the lows are and how that took a huge toll emotionally and even financially on our family and health-wise also for me. Throughout it all, our kid, grandkids, my brother Fritz and my parents grew even closer.  We were so blessed to have had my sister come for a visit several years ago, which meant everything to both she and I.  Now that she is battling cancer once more, it means even more to us.  We have strengthened our relationship and she has been blessed with a beautiful daughter who married into her family and a adorable granddaughter of her own.  She is now experiencing the same joy that I have been for all these years.  Grandchildren are the best!

   I am starting to finally let go of the pain of losing both Jeff's parents, his aunt Helen, and my cousin Jeremy.  There are still moments when I see something and hear something that reminds me of my dear cousin and I want to pick up the phone and call him.  I know that is not possible, so I remind myself that I get to enjoy it for the both of us and that he would want me to have that giggle, stare in awe at a beautiful piece of art soaking it all in and continue to love on and enjoy the antics of Maggie Mae.  It has taken me a long time to get to this point and to also not shed a tear when I think of our one-of-a-kind Aunt Helen.  I am so very thankful for that short time we had with her.  As for Jeff's parents...I realized that I had been so worried about my husband and kids losing them that I had not taken the time to personally grieve for both his parents.  Jeff and I had many long talks, and I realized that I needed closure.  I think I finally got it by going to his grandparents' gravesite where his parents' ashes will be interned.  I had not been there is over 40 years, but I made a promise to his mom that I would make sure that Jeff and the kids would always know where it was.  It helped me to let go of the hurt and anger that I had towards them and let the love and good memories (and there were many of them) take their place within my heart.  It feels like a huge weight had been lifted off of me.

   Jeff and I have done some thrifting lately and have found many cool things.  We found the pair of pillows pictured above that will be a perfect birthday gift for our fishing and hunting crazy grandson Isaiah.  His room is decorated in that style, and I checked with Heather and she told me she thought he would love them.  So they shall be his!!!!  We also found some really good kneepads for Jeff, a brand new large soft and fuzzy throw blanket, a blender, a large coffee maker to keep in the tent trailer, a gorgeous planter, some clothing, a pretty basket, some picnic plate holders (again for the tent trailer), a small lantern that puts out a tremendous amount of light and an Ethan Allen decorating book.  I really enjoy that style and I think it may be genetic since that seems to have been something that even my great-grandmother loved.

   Jeff and I have been talking about how he wants to fully retire within the next few years, as soon as he can get his full retirement amount.  I have to look into when I can also start taking retirement and what time that will be to make the most of it.  We talked about what full retirement will look like and ways that we can save even more money as to make it possible sooner.  We have been thinking of side hustles, how to make the most of our garden and help it be more productive.  All of these things are very important for us.  We are getting better about not eating out at much.  I'm trying to make sure that we have some quick to make meals here on the ready at home.  Today I made two loaves of bread and took some homemade chicken noodle out of the freezer to make for dinner.  I also threw an acorn squash in the oven too bake so that I have that ready for another meal.  There are two bags of raspberries from our garden thawing on the counter and I will use them to make some raspberry infused gin (a huge favorite of mine and Chris').  It also makes great gifts for loved ones.  I had bought the bottles for it from Amazon awhile back and have also been collecting larger bottles with stoppers on them for keeping it in here at home.  I still have lots of fruit to use in this manner for both gin and vodka.  I would like to get it all made and ready for this year.  Between the blackberries and raspberry stash I have in the freezers, I should be able to make enough for a while year for myself and others.

   I hope that things are going well for all of you who read my ramblings.  As you can see, I am in a much better headspace now.  It has been a long time coming, but the sweet relief now that it is here is incredible.  Thank you to Jesus for your healing and to my amazing family and friend for loving me through it.  Be blessed all.                   

   

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up (including the past month) 11/1/24

 

      Thank you all again for your patience with me.  Lots and lots still going on dealing with Aunt Helen's death and the aftermath of all the legal stuff that we are still dealing with.  Now I know what you may be thinking...what does the picture above have to do with frugal living...well I will tell you.  Our son Chris is receiving an award for going above and beyond in helping evacuate people and coordinating saving lives in a recent fast-moving fire.  Since he is also a firefighter, he knew exactly what to do and how to coordinate agencies.  We are so very proud of him!  Now here is where the frugal living comes in.  Chris was homeschooled as many of you know.  We lived on a small single income for many years to make this possible.  It allowed all of our boys to get the best education possible and for them to pursue their individual interests.  Chris happened to love firefighting and being an EMT.  Fast forward to today, Chris and Heather are living on a single income (his), homeschooling their boys, both are volunteer EMTs for their community and Chris is also a volunteer firefighter.  Heather helps to bring in some "fun money" by selling delicious homemade treats.  It allows them the freedom to go fishing, hunting, hiking, camping and to travel to see family when time allows.  They grew a very productive garden this year and Heather blanched a froze lots and lots of beans.  They also had tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and all kinds of other things.  Using well-rotted chicken poop, tilled into their garden, made things grown quickly.  The chicken poop was from their chickens.    Now that is what I call frugal and I could not be more proud of them.  Oh yes, Isaiah (our grandson #2) shot a deer the other night when he and Chris went out hunting.  More meat for all of the family!

   Now here are some of the things that I have been doing over the past month in no particular order:

~Steven and I went to an estate sale here in town and I found a beautiful brand-new tote bag with a watercolor picture of a hummingbird on it.  My mother loves hummingbirds and this will be part of her Christmas gift.

~Other finds from the state sale were two cookbooks, one a local community cookbook from 1983 that has recipes in it from so many of the people that welcomes us with open arms and hearts when we first moved here, and the other a sourdough cookbook.  My other fun find was a handmade broach with a beautiful slice of agate.

~I have been going to the thrift stores and finding Christmas and Fall decor for pennies on the dollar.  Some of my finds include 2 ceramic partridges, some high-end poinsettia garland, a cute straw deer that Steven absolutely loves, and some crystal vases along with a few Christmas mugs. I also picked up a bag of tennis balls for Maggie since she loves them and destroys them pretty quickly.

~I found a brand new with tags jacket for $5.99 and used a 20% off coupon to bring the price down even further.  I found out that it retails for $100.  Score!

~Jeff and I love lamb chops, but they are so expensive.  I found 3 packages marked at half price at Safeway.  I got all they had and repacked them with my Food Saver.  These will be delicious that coming holidays!  What a treat!  I also found ground beef on sale there for $2.97 a pound so I bought 3 pounds of it and repacked it for the freezer.

~The ice built up in our upright freezer and forced the door open.  Luckily we caught it and only lost a few things from the shelves on the door.  Jeff unpacked the whole freezer and defrosted it, the repacked it all.

~We have been enjoying pears and tomatoes that we grew as they ripen up in the house.  I am freezing lots of tomatoes too!

~Jeff and I have slowly been going through Helen's belongings and found lots of unopened health related products like mouthwash, dental flossing picks, toothbrushes, etc., that we are adding to our HBA cabinet.  It is hard to be going through her things as we still are mourning her.

~I'm still cherry picking the sales at the stores to stock up our pantry.

~We have been watching lots of movies lately thanks to Paramount, Disney, Peacock and YouTube. Have you seen the prices of movie tickets at the theater lately?  Even with our senior discount, we would still be paying a lot.  I'd rather be in my recliner at home watching them.

~Jeff and I both did a major purge of our clothing that we no longer use and donated it to Goodwill.  We shop there a lot so it is easy to just drop it off there and run into the store.  On one of those trips, I found an item that has been on my wish list for over 30 years.  I found a Fenton flow blue plate.  Luckily, they had just brought out a cart of new items and I snagged that and a tiny Victorian style ring box.  Right place at the right time I would say!

~Rachel's mom moved up closer to us all.  It was so nice to see her on Friday when I stopped by with Steven.  Steven had made her a turkey decoration earlier in the day at our house.  I am looking forward to spending more time with her.

~Jeff and I met with a court advocate who helped us fill out forms that we need to be able to access Helen's account so we can use that money towards her cremation. She also called some other advocates to help us figure out if we could get some financial assistance with Helen's cremation costs. Apparently, the county she died in will give you a loan, not a grant as we had been led to believe.  Jeff and I now have to foot the bill for the rest of the cost beyond what is in her account.  We are talking close to $2000.  UGH!  We will have to put it on our credit card and then pay that off in 3 payments with Jeff's checks from work.  If he was not still working part time, this would sink us financially.

~I trimmed my bangs as they were getting too long.

~Jeff and I have been trying to mostly eat out of our pantry and freezers.  There are times however that we still grab something to eat that is ready made from the grocery store.  It is still cheaper than going out to eat.

~Maggie has been a nervous wreck since she got home from the kennel.  I ordered her some CBD oil to see it that helps calm her down.  I feel so bad for her.  I think she may have thought that we were abandoning her.

   I think I will end this post here.  With all the stress of setting Helen's affairs, trying to get ready for the cold weather months, purging the house of so many things and the weather changes, my fibromyalgia and arthritis are acting up big time.  My sleep habits have been thrown into a tizzy also.  Not a good combination.  However, life must be lived to the fullest.  I have grandkids to love on, along with our kids, friends and other family members.  I'm looking forward to getting back into some kind of routine again and having more sleepovers here with the oldest three grandboys.  Steven spent Thursday night with us and it was so much fun!  There are also upcoming fishing trips with Chris who is buying a bigger boat from a friend.  I love to go fishing, so this will be a lot of fun for all of us!  

   Be blessed my friends and I pray that there will not be any more unrest or acting out in our country with the upcoming election this Tuesday.  We experienced first-hand some shady stuff in our county with the post office in Spokane processing our ballots, and sending them out, yet only a few made it to our town, ours's were not among those few.  Our county auditor has launched a full-on investigation with the postal service over this and we were able to get replacement ballots.  Much love to you all, be safe!

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 4/26/24

   Jeff and I have been super busy this past week.  We took a trip up to see his aunt on Sunday and to start cleaning out her home and getting the things out of there and down here that she wanted to keep.  Chris, Heather and the boys came up to meet/visit with Aunt H and she was delighted to see Chris as a grown-up man and meet his family.  We went over some care and legal matters with her and Jeff was named Power of Attorney, with Chris being a backup if needed.  Jeff is Aunt H's favorite nephew and Chris knows the medical side of things, so they were both the best options in my opinion.  

   Chris and Heather were an amazing help getting things out of Aunt H's place.  She has some great artwork pieces from other artists, as well as some that she did herself.  We also took her computer, the rest of the family pictures, some furniture that she wanted to have us keep for her, financial documents, the television set, and some nick-nacks that mean a lot to her.  She gave us a list and we followed it and then picked out more things that we were sure she would want out of there and added those to the bins that we took up to store it all in.  The biggest item, her car, was given a good jump start.  She gifted the car to Chris and Heather so that the boys, Bradley and Isaiah, could share it when they got their driver's licenses.  What a generous thing for her to do and we were all very touched by it.

   Other frugal doings:

~We stocked up on baking supplies before the prices go up again.  We had been down in the valley and found that prices at Winco are cheaper there than up by us.

~Jeff and I ran into a dear friend that we had not seen in years!  Years ago, she and her husband ministered here in our town and our kids got to be good friends.  She and I became very close friends too and it was hard when she moved away.  We are able to give each other hugs, get caught up on each other's lives, and share great memories.  What a blessing it was to see her once more since I had been wanted so badly to see her and had just been thinking about her moments before.

~I bought 4 beautiful Geraniums on sale for $1.99 each and am going to try my hand at propagating them.

~Meals were eaten here at home, or, if we were out, we bought a sandwich to share from Winco.

~I found a Ninja Turtles walkie talkie set on clearance at Walmart.  This is a gift for one of our hanai son's birthday. I also found a gift bag to put it in at a thrift store.

~Jeff and I went to watch Bradley and Isaiah's baseball game on Wednesday.  We took popcorn and our drinks with us.  Jeff also gave Heather's dad a box full of some screws that he can use.  He was blown away by how many there were and only took one of the two boxes full.

~Jeff also found someone who wants to buy some of the drywall screws that he has here from that pallet of screws and nails he bought for $50 from work.  He is going to charge them $25 for them which is a great deal for them and gets Jeff back half the money he spent.

~Jeff bought a new taller toilet from work and of course got his employee discount on it.  We needed to replace the toilet in the guest bathroom.  He will be installing it this weekend.

~I bought some steaks on sale and will be repacking most of them and freezing them for meals at a later date.  Steak is something that we can rarely afford, so when I saw the amazing price on these, I jumped on it.

   Now, an update on Remmie, or Miss Hiss, as I have nicknamed her. 😉 She is settling in more and more each day but cannot be left without supervision.  She tried to jump up on the curio shelf with my grandmother's teacup and saucer set...um no, that is not happening!  When we leave our home to go somewhere, Remmie has to go into the guest bathroom where her food, water, liter box and her cat bed are.  She is not happy about this arrangement, but sadly, it has to be done.  She is getting more and more loving with both Jeff and I, but will hiss at us when she is told no or just randomly.  He and I are learning to ignore her when she does this since we are sure some of it is attention seeking behavior.  She still gets lots and lots of lovies from us both and is slowly learning what the rules are in our home since she basically ruled the roost in Aunt H's house.

   Be blessed all and have a great weekend. 

    

My Oh My!

 

   I am beyond exhausted and just want to find a warm spot in the sun and take a nap!  So much has happened over the past few weeks, and I have felt like I was in either "push it to the max" or drowning mode.  We have had medical emergencies including a late night run into pick up Steven from the emergency room where Rachel was for the second time within a 24 hour period (it turned out to be a very nasty and painful stomach virus that mimic gallbladder trouble, she is fine now thankfully) and bring him home with us and then get him back into his town for school the next morning.  We have had horrible news about our car and how much it would cost to fix it.  The fix is more than the whole car is worth, so we had it towed home and decided we would contact a salvage company to come and get it.  Jeff and I have both been battling sinus issues and our backs have been really acting up but gardening season is upon us, so we could not let down.

   

   We finally decided to bite the bullet and start test driving cars.  The first two we test drove were not our favorites and Jeff did not even fit well in either with his long legs.  The salesmen there tried every high pressure gimmick they could though to get us to buy one of them though.  We walked away from them and their nefarious ways!  I saw a Subaru Forrester that I thought would work for us so we went down to see it and before we could even get the keys to test drive it, Jeff saw the Chevy Impala above.  Jeff was sold on it!  We took it for a test drive, they took our Ford Flex in for a trade in (and they are going to pay to have it towed), and we also put some money down, so our payments are around $200 a month.  That is more than doable, and we will be throwing extra money at the payments to pay it off early.

   

   I've been trying to stretch the money like I stretch a chicken!  Above its meals 4, 5 and 6 off a roasted chicken that I got from the Walmart deli that was marked down to $3.32.  The first two meals were chicken legs, thighs and one of the chicken breasts.  Oh, I also made a chicken salad for sandwiches, so that would be meal three.  I then took the remainder of the chicken and put it in a shallow crockpot along with some water and a little chicken seasoning and let that cook overnight.  That gave me a rich broth that I cooked the cheese tortellini in while I picked the chicken off the bones and put most of it back into the pot.  I did save some and put it in the freezer to add to some soup later.  I also made some udon soup with green onions from our garden and made Jeff some crispy chicken sandwiches for dinner another night.

   Jeff and I stripped out our strawberry bed in the side garden and since we had to cancel our trip to see my parents because of all the car issues, I put out a post on Facebook that I was looking for some ever bearing strawberry plants.  A dear friend said she had some and that I could have all that I wanted.  Upon our arrival at their home I was met with the cutest little dog who wanted nothing more than to love on us and at least 12 raised beds of various types of strawberry plants.  We got ever bearing for the side and are trying some June bearing in the front around the bird bath.  Luckily Jeff had our side garden bed ready for the plants and he was I both worked on getting them in after I got dinner started.  We had a 30 minute window to get them planted and watered in while dinner cooked and we just made it!  We were both really sore with our backs aching and mine having locked up to the point where Jeff had to help me stand, but we did it and hopefully will be rewarded with at least a small crop of strawberries this year.  I am dreaming of more fresh strawberry topping for pancakes, waffles and Angel food cakes. 

   That is about it for now, I need to get the taxes all signed, copied and sent off in the morning after having finished them today.  I have a feeling that today was a rough day for Jeff at work and I did not want him to have to help me again with them tonight.  Anyone else think doing taxes is a real pain? 

Happy Holidays and New Year's Goals

 

   I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is about to have a very Happy New Year!  We had a lovely Christmas Eve day brunch with Rachel's mother and the rest of our family. We did it potluck style and had crepes with both sweet and savory fillings, sausages, fresh pineapples and both homemade huckleberry and strawberry fillings for the crepes.  It was wonderful to spend that time with our kids, grandkids and Rachel's mother who came up to spend Christmas with Jaysn, Rachel and Steven.  She has had some health challenges and I think this meant a lot to her, as it did for us!  Does that mean that Christmas is over?  Nope, we like to stretch things out around here so we are doing our family Christmas on New Year's Day in the late afternoon.  We will be doing an appetizer dinner and the sliced apples with sauces and topping again like we did for Thanksgiving.  Everyone loved that so much and asked to do it again!

   

   Jeff and I spent a quiet day at home on Christmas.  I made us a very nice Christmas dinner with ham, loaded potato casserole and green bean casserole.  All of these things are huge favorites of Jeff's and I really like them too.   Plus, I love the leftover ham!  Jeff spoiled me with a collapsible bucket cart that I can haul around the chairs, drinks, food and blankets that we will be using this Spring when Bradley and Isaiah are both playing on different baseball teams.  I got him a gift card to the bowling alley and a bag full of some of his favorite treats.

        Jeff had been hit with some kind of virus hard the day before and was still a bit weak on Friday morning, so he took both days off.  He was feeling better in the afternoon, so we ran into town.  Our first stop was at our Credit Union where we paid off our personal loan and our credit card in full!!!  Yes we did!  We still had more money left after paying those off with the retirement payoff for Jeff that we had been waiting for.  That got put away in savings.  Our teller was our hanai daughter Tiffany and she was so excited for us!  We shared hugs and got caught up on each other's lives.  On our way out, we ran into another one of our hanai kids and she got us caught up on what has been going on in her family too. :)  Such fun!

  

   Our following stops were to Walmart where we hit the after Christmas sales, got some things for the cars, a Seal a Meal for me to use to help preserve our food better and protect it from freezer burn and picked up a few grocery items including another marked down ham, some marked down salad kits and some marked down bakery items.  Safeway was another stop where I cherry picked the deals.  Our last stop was at the thrift store where all Christmas items were 75% off.  I found a few Christmas items and also got some books and magazines since it was B1G1F.  My very lucky finds there though were a Bodin Coffee Press for $2.99 and some gorgeous Haviland dessert plates for .69 each.  I was also able to finish off my gift baskets for the kids and grandkids here.

   Jeff and I spent this morning going over our budget and setting some goals for a no spend January (other than necessities) and some for the year.  Our January goals start with trying to get more organized by cleaning out our clothing closets and taking things to a local consignment store, along with some baby items that we have had here for the grandkids who have now outgrown or don't need then anymore.  Anything they do not take will be donated and will not be returning home with us. 😁  We also want to get the windshield replaced on Jeff's car.  It has horrible cracks running through it.  Our third goal is to get everything set up and in place so Jeff can semi retire and only work 3 days a week and also start drawing his Social Security.  The last goal is the most exciting one for us!

   Some of our yearlong goals include paying off our last debt (a loan taken out against my life insurance policy to pay for a surgery years ago for me), putting money away each month in a vacation fund and building up our emergency fund.  Jeff would also like to clean out the garage and reclaim that space so he can work on projects in there.  It will officially become his Man Cave. We also have a plan in place to pick one bigger thing each month to either fix, replace or add to our lives.  These are tangible assets like tools, vehicle repairs, etc..  

   As I close this out, I have the ham bone from the first ham cooking away in the crockpot with all the rest of the split pea soup ingredients.  It smells so comfy cozy in our home.  The new sheets that I bought 2 years ago on sale and put back are all washed up and ready to go on the bed.  The older sheets will be used for projects and in the garden to help protect tender plants.  Jeff hung up some family pictures for me and got the floors swept.  The next few days will be spent cooking and putting the second ham in the freezer and also freezing the ham bone for a future big batch of soup.  We will also spend our family Christmas together, something that I am really looking forward to.  Be blessed my friends, and stay prayed up and prepared for what looks like a rather rocky road ahead.

Crawling Out of my Cave to Say "HI"

 

Homemade broccoli, potato and cheese soup, along with a nice glass of wine, sure hits the spot on a cold and wet evening.  The potatoes are some that we grew in our garden, the broccoli was marked way down, and the cheese was on sale.  The boxes you see in the background are holding some of the treasure we found at an estate sale last weekend.

   Yes, I am still here.  I have had to take a break and just take care of my mental health for a bit.  I have still been doing money saving things around the house while dealing with backed up kitchen sinks, being worried about friends and family members serious health issues, and living in a constant state of stress while my baby boy Josh is in the Middle East sandwiched between 2 countries that hate the United States and have been actively attacking our military bases in the area.  

   I've made bread, sourdough crackers, and made a serious effort to eat from our pantry, fridge and freezer for the most part.  Loads upon loads of laundry have been done and I have gone through my clothing so see if there is anything that I need since so many things do not fit me or that I really do not like anymore.  This has led to a search for flannel shirts that I can wear as is or over other shirts. I have also been seeking out fun and oversized sweatshirts that make me giggle because of what they say on them.  I've taken bags of clothing, shoes, and appliances I don't use anymore to the thrift stores and have gotten 20% off one item coupons for doing so.

   Jeff and I went to an estate sale and he found a rolling rack thingy to extend his table saw when he is using larger pieces of wood for building projects.  I found big pillar Christmas candles, Christmas ornaments including some from Hawaii, 2 seasons of McHale's Army, some other DVDs, some full slips for me (I have had a horrible time finding any), and some owl mugs and stuffed animals.  Jeff and I have really gotten into the whole Harry Potter series, which we can stream here, and I want to do some of kind of old worldy library theme for this Winter after Christmas.  I think it will be fun and cozy.

   We've slowly been purging things that we no longer use, including those items that hide in the shadows under the sink.  I love seeing the progress and the opening up of space under there.  I'm starting to use a better system to make sure I rotate our food in the pantry and so far it is working out well.  

   One of my childhood friends had open heart surgery this morning and they almost lost her a couple of times according to her mother who is there with her.  She had suffered a stroke a few years back and she has some severe heart issues.  I am so thankful that she has pulled through and I pray for healing for her.  I know she has a long journey ahead of her.  She and I have reconnected and have rebuilt our friendship over the years and I would hate to lose her just as she is starting to heal emotionally from things that she is just now coming to terms with and learning to stand up for herself and set healthy boundaries.  I am so proud of her for doing those things!

   I chatted quickly with my sister this morning and she gave me some wonderful news...they found a bone marrow donor for her!  She had a doctor's appointment this morning and they are doing more testing to make sure they have everything in place and ready.  She has been told to rest as much as she can and save her energy.  My sister's heart is not the strongest anymore and I am praying that everything works out with this donor because I don't think my sister's heart can take much more chemotherapy or radiation treatments.  Jeff and I are waiting on some money to come in so that he and I can get our passports and I can be ready to fly down to be with her.

   As for our Josh, I try to keep in close contact with him on a regular basis.  Sometimes it is just a quick few lines on Facebook messenger and other times we do a video chat.   He vents to me when he needs to and other times we laugh at silly things and tease each other.  We have always had a tight bond and can both be very sarcastic....we just get each other. :)  Jeff and I are also keeping in close contact with Lauren and the grandkids and recently had a video chat with them as our now 1 year old Peyton opened up her birthday gift from us.  She loved the washable soft stuffed bunny we got for her and immediately started hugging it.  We also got Tate a indoor putting green set up since he loves golf and his daddy bought him a set of gold clubs.  When Lauren gets that all ready to set up, we are going to video chat then too.  He has no idea yet that we got it for him.  He is going to be very surprised and happy!

   Now, as a Public Service announcement, I give you this:

 Ruptured Natural Gas Pipeline Near Pullman Repaired

November 10, 2023 Evan Ellis News

The natural gas pipeline that was ruptured North of Pullman on Wednesday afternoon causing the regionwide outage has been repaired.

Williams Pipeline was able to fix the line on Thursday. The repair means that Avista Utilities can begin the relighting process which could take between three and five days. Avista is hoping to begin the relighting process today.

AVISTA RELEASES TIMELINE AND MAPS FOR NATURAL GAS SERVICE RESTORATION: Avista says almost all customers have already been shut-off in preparation for restoration of natural gas services, and Avista’s distribution system has been repressurized. Avista has released these maps for each region, along with zones which indicate the order of restoration and a window of time crews are expected to be in each zone. Relight sequencing times are based on geographic location of the infrastructure. However, critical customers, such as hospitals and medical facilities, are being prioritized.

The rupturing of the gas line affected many communities, was spread over a large area and left thousands of people without heat. They are hoping to get everything restored by this Wednesday. We have friends that have been affected by this and many businesses, including restaurants, had to shut down. Schools were also closed, including the one my grandson Steven goes to. Hopefully he will be able to go on Monday. Stores sold out of all their heaters and were scrambling to get more ordered and shipped to them. One of the hotels still has heat, but their water heaters, the swimming pool and kitchen all depend on natural gas. They slashed their prices and brought in a whole truckload of portable hot showers for their guests to use. Since there are so many without heat in our area, they were trying to do this to help the community. Here is the reality of the situation, so many people absolutely panicked. They did not have electric heater as a back up source of heat and were stumped at how they would cook for themselves. Luckily there were kind people on hand who gave them ideas like using their microwave, crockpots, air fryers and instant pots, along with gas grills (outside) to make meals. Many of the restaurants around them shut down, and they had no clue as how to cook food for themselves. Yes, this happened in the two college towns that I live near. The lesson that we should all take from this is to make sure we have an alternate source of heat or a way to power our pellet stove in my case (we have a generator and lots of gas), a way to cook if we lose power to our homes, flashlights and lanterns, extra blankets, candles, matches, canned and ready to eat foods, water, and pots that you can use on your grill or even over an open fire in your firepit or rocket stove, or have a camp stove with plenty of fuel to use.

On a more "smelly" subject, please also have an alternative way to use the bathroom because the water pressure may go way down too. We have several heavy buckets on hand and thick bags to line them with. I still need to get a foam pool noodles and cut it to fit around the edges of the bucket to make it a bit more comfortable for using in an emergency.

On that note, I will close this post out since Jeff will be home soon from work. I hope you all have a blessed weekend and stay warm and dry. My love to you all!

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