Staying Home and Saving Money

   Well, the start of this week was a bit scary, but it all turned out to be okay.  Jeff had been having pain in his upper leg and with the family history of blood clots,  he and I both thought it would be best to get it checked out.  They ruled out a blot clot, but thought it might be a hernia.  Since he had taken a fall at work, they also did an extra, which did not show a break thank goodness.  Then, they did an ultrasound later in the afternoon, and found nothing there either.  So it was decided that it was just a severe strain.  Thank the Lord above!  He is feeling a bit better and is back at work and doing heat treatments on it in the morning and when he comes home.

   While he was getting all of the things done at the doctor, I was home taking inventory of just about everything.  I wanted to make sure that no matter what, we would be fine if he had to take time off from work if surgery was required.  This was after he told me they thought it might be a hernia, but had not had the ultrasound done yet. I also decided that I would not be going anywhere in my car unless absolutely needed, or had a prior commitment.  I need to save money on gas anyway.

   Since I have so much time on my hands, I am trying to get some projects done around here.  I mended a seam in the loveseat before it got any bigger.  Thank goodness I have a huge array of colors of thread so that I can match just about anything. I started to seriously work on getting the pantry organized.  This is an ongoing project.  I've been trying to keep track on the temperature in the greenhouse.  It should be really interesting given that we will be going into the below zero temps at night here soon again.  

   I've been baking our usual sandwich bread and am go back to making our own mock sourdough bread again.  It is a recipe that I have used before in my bread maker.  I think I will do the English Muffin bread again too.  Homemade tortillas are on the list also to try next week.  

   While going through the pantry and cleaning out the refrigerator, I found things that needed to be used up.  I made a menu based on that and lasagna is now baking in the oven.  I will also be baking up a ham this weekend complete with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole since those are some of Jeff and my favorite sides to go with ham.  The meat sticks and cheese from Hickory Farms that my baby brother sent us are now put away in the "goody and treats" area of our pantry.  Those are so nice to have on hand to make a movie night into something special here at home.  They also come in handy if we have company.

   Hopefully this week Jeff and I will be able to get each other's hair cut.  We are both looking a bit "shaggy".  We had planned on doing it a few weeks ago, but Jeff got sick and then he hurt himself.  We are going to Bradley and Isaiah's dance recital on Saturday night and want to look nice for that.  Either before or after the dance recital, we will pick up some of the grocery items we need and try to see if we can get more free buckets from Safeway.  I use those buckets for so many things, both inside and outside of the house.  This will be my one trip outside the house this week and I want to make sure to get everything done that I am able to fit in before either Jeff or I get too tuckered out.

   Well, I should go and check on the lasagna.  It is smelling divine and I want to also get a fresh salad or something made to go with it.  Be blessed my friends and keep stocking your pantries with those sale items and keep your homes cozy and inviting.

   

   

   

I'm Making a List and Checking it Thrice

 

                                                                               📝

   My living room and kitchen are awash in a sea of boxes and bags at the moment.  I've been reorganizing and inventorying our pantry, along with putting away new purchases.  As I am going along (slowly...so very slowly), I am also checking and making a list of things that I need to fill in the gaps that I am seeing.  I need to make this list for another reason...I am now the proud owner of two new bottles of paprika seasoning and it is something I don't use that often.  I do not need to be wasting money buying things that I already have enough of.  This muddled brain of mine needs to be reminded of what I already have on hand.

   Seeing as how I over bought in some areas and underbought in others, I headed to the medicine cabinet to see if there were any gaps there.  I get distracted easily and I honestly think I needed a break from trying to get the pantry done.  I'm honestly impressed that I have gotten this far without freaking out at the enormity (to me at least) of the task at hand.  Anyway, I found gaps in there and added a few more OTC items and some HBA items to my list.  One thing I do not need to add to my list for a few years at least is body wash...somehow I have a glut of those!

   I went back to my list and divided it by store.  Some other items, like solar lights, I will add to the Dollar Tree list.  These are great for lighting up our stairs from the driveway up to the house and also for having on hand if the power goes out and I need light in the house other than candles.  Just stick those puppies in a jar or glass to hold them upright.  I also like to pick up their packages of 2 and a 1/2 gallon zip lock type bags.  I used those for holding 2 loaves of homemade bread and they are also great for keeping emergency supplies dry and together in each of our cars.  Oh, another item on the list is a shovel to put in whatever car we are using at the moment in case we have to dig ourselves or someone else out of the snow.  Very useful tool and one that we have not had in the past but are going to add to our winter driving preps.  This we will have to pick up at another store.

   Hopefully I have not forgotten anything that I needed to add to my many lists.  Since I am still adjusting to the new meds and also hate to drive anywhere in the snowy and icy roads time of the year, even when my brain is not as muddled, I need to be as prepared as possible so I feel safe.  This is the time of year where I just want to be home, snuggle in, and cook hearty meals for Jeff and I.  My lists help me to be able to do this and not freak out (as much) 😉. 

  

This is Why We Need to be Prepared

 

   Over the weekend we had a huge pike in Covid-19 cases all tied to WSU in Pullman, WA.  There were 30 cases Saturday and 39 cases Sunday while the partying along Greek row continued. 😠  Today there was only 1 cases reported but I have heard from people working the testing sites to expect more...much more.  After this weekend's parties, I believe them.  We are already seeing the effects of this as certain city offices are shutting down to in person visits to try and keep their staff safe.  Classes at WSU are all online this semester so there was really no need for all students to return in person at this point.  Some were locked into leases already but many living in Greek housing, has the option to stay home.

   This is a huge problem for many people since businesses will be further restricted, just as they were starting to reopen with restrictions in place.  We do all our banking in that town along with some of our shopping and 2 of our kids work there also. 😔  Honestly, I think that things are going to get much wrose again for awhile and businesses that were barely hanging on might close permanantly with these latest numbers.

   I fully expect panic buying to take place once again as people realize what is coming down the pike for us.  At this point the last place I want to be is in a grocery store where so many people may be carrying this awful virus...thus I am so glad that I followed my gut and stocked up big time on HBA and groceries.

   Jeff and I are also coming off a time of no income after his surgery and recovery (once his sick leave and vacation leave were used up).  He did return to work this past Friday night and is happy to be able to work once more but it is taking a toll on him since he has to get all his stamina back.  I am being very protective of him and making sure he takes at least one weekend day off from big projects around here so that he can rest.

   This past Saturday, Jeff and I defrosted and cleaned out our big upright freezer (we still have the chest freezer to do).  I was amazed at all the frozen fruit and applesauce we had in there.  I am also in the process of making a bunch more since our tree is producing abundantly right now.  Seeing what we have and getting it all organized helped me to be able to make meal plans for months out.  Sunday night we enjoyed lamb chops (found in the freezer) with a butter and rosmary sauce , baked potatoes and beans from our garden for dinner.  The night before it was homemade mac and cheese (also from the freezer).  

   Our refrigerator and pantry are also stocked.  We hit a sale on cheese for $3.99 a pound when we had to run errands early last week and bought 3 of them.  I may have Jeff pick up a few more on his way home from work in another town that also has them but where the college students are not. 😉  Jeff goes through cheese at a phenomenal rate and yet his cholesterol numbers remain good...unlike mine.  The pantry shelves are full  of shelf stable grains, canned meats, fruits, vegetables, soups, condiments and baking goods along with cereals, crackers, pasta, etc..  Oh my seasonings are also stocked up.

   Having things stocked has given me great peace of mind knowing that we will be okay throughout Jeff's recovery and time of no income along with the uptick in the Covid-19 cases here recently.  In another month or so, we will do another big stock up trip at Winco and be fully masked up.  Hopefully at that time I can stock up for another 2-3 months so that we do not have to do a huge stock up again.  I could go without doing that though if needed, but I want to have a 6 month or more supply on hand of anything and everything we use on a regular basis.  None of us knows how this Fall and Winter will be with  Covid, the flu and the unpredictable weather patterns that we are experiencing.

   Our big goals now are to pay off Jeff's medical bills, pay off Caesar's vet bill 😢, get the wood pellets restocked for the heating season and get my car fixed (ball joint going out).  In order to do this, we have to continue to keep the rest of the bills down as far as posssible.  Our well stocked pantry is a huge asset in this process.  Hopefully Chris and Heather will be able to get enough meat while hunting to once again share with us.  That has been a huge blessing for years now.  I supply them with apples for applesauce, raspberries and blackberries from our garden and they bless us with meat.  It has worked out well and everyone benefits. 😀

   On another note, I do want to thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts for Jeff and I both with his surgery and for the loss of our beloeved Caesar.  It still seems unreal for him to not be here and I am constantly finding myself calling for or looking for him.  Last night Jeff and I finally took a walk in the evening...something that I have not been able to bring myself to do since Caesar's death.  That was our "thing", to go for walks in the cool of the evening during the Summer months.  With Jeff now back at work, I am trying to adjust to being able to sleep without both him and Caesar here with me.  Caesar provided me with such a sense of security and so much unconditional love and laughter.  I still am missing my huge shedding like crazy speedbump of love.

   


   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/7/2020 and Starting to Freak Out a Bit

   Yes, I realize the picture above is from July 27, but I forgot to share it then and we had leftovers during this past frugal week so there ya go. 😉  The above meal is Char Siu chicken thighs, cilantro lime rice and coleslaw with craisins.  I call it my Multicultural Plate. 😋  It was really good and it definitely is comfort food, which Jeff and I both needed.

   So here is why I am freaking out a bit.  Jeff and I had planned on putting my expensive health insurance premium payment on the credit card since we have to pay the whole amount out of pocket for the month of August.  Jeff cannot go back to work until after he is cleared by the surgeon at the end of the third week in August at the earliest.  So that makes 1 possible week of work in August IF everything goes well.  That check will have the first half of my insurance for September taken out of it so it will be a very small check that will have to stretch big time.  Well, we found out that his employer was not able to do it that way so we had to pull the cash out of savings to pay it and that leaves us with very little left to pay the middle of the month bills that are coming due.  UGH!  We had been hoping that the government would be sending out more of the pandemic stimulus checks but it is looking like that is not going to be happening now.  Things are going to be scary financially until Jeff is able to get back to work now and we do not want to have to resort to using the credit card again if possible.

   Anyway, now that I have had my freak out moment, here is what we have been doing to save money this past week in no particular order.

~Jeff and I took a drive down to the river and took Caesar with us.  Jeff packed us a wonderful lunch.  Caesar and I went swimming and then we let him dry off for a bit.  While we were doing that, a little girl got into trouble in the water and luckily I saw her and started running down the beach to help her...she was starting to drown.  A teenager on the beach saw what I was doing and asked if the girl was really in trouble...when I said yes, she jumped up also and ran much faster than I can and got out there and hauled her in.  That teenager is a hero in my book!  Parents really need to keep an eye on their kids at all times and have them stay in the actual swimming area and not where the current can take them out.
~We got another movie from the library.
~Lots of raspberries were picked and frozen.
~Jeff and I did one more stock up trip for nneded things since the Covid -19 virus has taken off and we are now in the red zone.  Things will be shutting down even more now.  Hopefully we will not have to go into town for a least another 3 weeks.
~While at the Dollar Tree picking up big bottles of conditioner and a few other items, we noticed a sign that said all the hand sanitizer stuff we had bought there was recalled.  I spoke to the manager about it and they said to bring it all back in and they would refund my money.  That money will be used (once we bring it back) to buy milk and fresh produce later in the month.
~I found some marked down meats at Walmart along with marked down bread.  I used one package of marked down Italian sausage to make pizzas with a huge loaf of marked down Italian bread.  I took the leftover homemade pizza sauce and added half of the cooked Italian sausage (that was not used on the pizza) and mixed it together.  I will be making a casserole with this in the next day or so and will serve it with the other marked down French bread loaf that will be made into garlic bread.
~Another meal we enjoyed this week was marinated venison steaks that I cooked up and served with green beans from the garden, squash and some wild rice mix.
~More make over meals were roasted potatoes and meatloaf served with a big green salad.   The next round, for another two meals, was the leftover meatloaf that was then broken up into smaller pieces and some brown gravy, corn and beans were added to it. This was served over mashed potatoes.  Another big hit with Jeff.
~Jeff built slide out drawers on our bottom shelves under the cooktop.  Our cabinets are really deep and things get lost back there.  I was able to organize things better and I purged a bunch of stuff too.  Jeff had everything he needed on hand.
~We have watched more movies online.
~Jeff cleaned out the back guest bedroom and I got it ready for the grandkids to be able to come and stay with us.  I want to do this soon before things get too bad with this virus again.

   Again, I know there is much more but I was not good about keeping track and I have been dealing with a pretty bad Fibro flare again.  At least the weather has cooled down though, so that is a wonderful thing to be thankful for.  Be blessed!

   
   

Frugal Friday Wrap 6/20-/6/26 2020

   Well folks, Jeff's surgery date has been moved up to this coming Tuesday, June 30th!  It has been  a whirlwind of activity around here trying to get things done since we just found out about the change late Thursday afternoon.  UGH!  I am so glad he is going to have it done this coming week though because things, they are a changing.  My next blog post will be all about that.  Anyway, that being said, I don't think I will be doing a Frugal Friday Wrap up for this coming week.  I will be busy with being at the hospital with Jeff and then taking care of him once we get him home.  I am desperately afraid all of this will throw me into an even bigger flare since I will be doing all the daily chores that he usually takes care of to keep this house running as smoothly as possible.  Onto the savings for this week.


Weekend:
~We got what I hope was the last of our stock up before Jeff's surgery done.
~I found two ground cherry plants at the nursery and bought them.  I grew up eating this wonderful fruit in Hawaii.  My oldest two grandboys love them too and call them "Grammie's Hawaii Fruit".
~We refilled the propane tank for the BBQ grill.
~My parents are giving away their huge BBQ grill.  This is super fancy but just too hard for my father to move around anymore, so they bought a lighter one.  Hopefully Chris will have room in his truck to bring it back for us after they head over for a visit this week.
~We will offer our BBQ grill to a friend and if they do not want it, we will sell it cheap.
~Father's Day, we picked up some food at Panda Express (Jeff's choice) and picnicked in the car under a shady tree.  I still had a bunch of my food left, so I brought it home and had it for dinner later that night.
~I made a homemade version of Chik Fil A's sauce...it was really good!
~We found a perfect gift for Lauren at Marshall's and I picked up one of their huge tote bags for .99.  it will be perfect for hauling towels and things in when we go to the beach or transporting things back and forth to the kids.  I picked one with a fun flamingo on it because it was so bright and cheery.
~We returned an item of clothing to Goodwill that did not fit and got in store credit for it.  Jeff found a pair of pants that were $9.99 that he needed (he had been looking for a pair like them for about 6 months and finally found some).  Between the in store credit and a 20% off coupon we got when donating some items, his pants came out to $5.  He was happy!

Monday:
~We stayed home and worked on projects around the house.  Jeff got mulch around the plants in the front garden and helped me plant the ground cherries.  We then watered everything in well.
~We also did a deep soaking watering on the other gardens since Tuesday was going to be a scorcher of a day.
~I made some pork chops and rice casserole.  It is one of our favorites.  I made sure to make enough for at least two meals so we could have some again later in the week.
~Josh blessed us with Disney + so we can now enjoy that also for entertainment.
~I picked a bowl full of strawberries from the garden.
~The sheets were washed and hung out on the line to dry.  Oh they smelled so good when I crawled into bed.

Tuesday:
~Jeff got the HUGE 50 pound bag of flour we bought into airtight buckets and containers so it would not get "buggy".
~He and I worked on organizing the pantry again.  It had become a dumping ground full of bags of shelf stable groceries that we had not put away.
~I used a Sterilite 3 drawer container and organized our extra spices, baking supplies and bagged coffees into that.  It is much easier now to find them then to try to look way back on the lower pantry shelves.
~I picked some green onions out of the garden and used them, along with some dill from the garden, to make a huge tuna pasta salad.  It is one of our favorites and so good on a hot day.  Caesar enjoyed the oil from the tuna over the top of his dog food.
~I also cut up two cucumbers into slices so that I would grab those as a snack instead of junk food.  Well, that is the plan at least.
~Jeff realized that we were almost out of the smaller coffee filters for our coffee maker so he stopped at the grocery store on his way to work in the evening to pick some up.  Hopefully that is that last trip we have to make to a store for about a month.
~I did get a bag of food items ready to go down to our town's little free food pantry.  These are easy to make items that I thought other people might like and are not things that we usually eat on a regular basis.
~The swamp cooler is running for most of the day now.  It just got too hot too soon and I literally got sick from the hot temperatures outside.  I usually switch it over to just vent the cool air in at night but it was still too hot to do that tonight.
~Our governor announced that starting this Friday, it will be mandatory for everyone in this state to wear a mask if they are inside a business or around people where it is hard to social distance.  We may have to pick up a few more masks since we have 4 here right now along with the one Jeff has for work.  They have to be washed after every use so I want to get a few more of the kind Jeff has for work for him anyway.

Wednesday:
~I unfortunately had a massive and very painful Fibro flare which had me in bed for most of the day.  Luckily we had leftovers in the fridge, so that is what we had for lunch and dinner.
~I was able to pick a few strawberries from the garden.
~Jeff got more weeding done and mowed that lawn.

Thursday:
~I chatted with my mom and she is making us a few more masks and will send them in the mail to us.
~Jeff went down to our town's commodities giveaway.  We got about $200 worth of food again.  his turned out to be an even bigger blessing than we could have imagined...more on that next.
~The surgeon's office called and they want to move Jeff's surgery date up to next Tuesday!  This is a big blessing because Covid-19 cases are on the rise again and the sooner we can get it done, the less chance of them having to cancel again.
~Jeff grilled some sausages for dinner.
~We watered the gardens and hanging baskets when it got cooler in the evening.
~I dumped out Caesar's bucket of water outside onto the flower beds and got him some fresh stuff.

Friday:
~We had a long day of running around doing all the preop stuff for Jeff's now moved forward surgery.  Leftovers for dinner saved the day!
~I watered the gardens in the evening.
~I found some hummus marked down at Safeway.  I love hummus.


   If you are inclined to pray for Jeff or send good thoughts, we both would really appreciate them.  Help that we had lined up for the original week of his surgery is not available so we have been scrambling.  Luckily Jaysn and Rachel have really gone out of their way to help us and I am so very appreciative of them.  Be blessed and please also pray for Becky's husband Rob, at Beckyathome, who is having hip replacement surgery on Monday.  Tis the season for replacing body parts at our ages. ;)

We Need to Talk

"Hey Mom, We Need to Talk."

So Caesar and I had a long talk the other day.  We do have the best discussions and he comes up with some absolutely wonderful ideas!

He shared with me that this whole social distancing thing was getting to him too.  He can't play with the grandkids, no one is coming up and petting him when we go on walks like they used to and we have not taken a trip down to the river yet either.  Poor dog is going through social withdrawals. Even his kitty sisters are fighting more with each other and it is getting on his nerves because they want him to pick sides. Everybody is a bit on edge, including the humans.

So...we had the dreaded talk.  No, not the birds and the bees one, but how things in the world had changed and was going to be "different" for awhile to come.  Caesar was not pleased but he agreed that we needed to brainstorm some ideas together to make this all more bearable for us all and to keep us all as happy and healthy as possible.

Caesar was worried about grocery stores running out of things and if his kibble would be there for him.  I reassured him that we had bought extra bags for him and his kitty sisters and that I would be doing this on a monthy basis to get ahead...just in case.  I also share with him that Jeff and I would be trying to keep our shopping down to once a month if possible for all people food and supplies and that we were stocking our pantry with basics like flour, sugar, yeast, salt, oil, canned veggies, beans, and things of that nature.  We were also getting fresh produce that would last a long time.  We would be using Imperfect Foods for fresh produce, cheese, nuts and other things in between shopping trips when needed.  Another thing he was worried about was meat for Daddy.  Daddy loves his meat and Caesar overheard us talking about meat shortages.  I reassured him that I had been stocking up on those too and putting them in the freezer.  We were also going to eat less meat and we going to be sourcing some of it locally directly from farmers and ranchers here who have a deal with the local butcher.  That should keep his Daddy happy and the bills as low as humanly possible while helping keep our farmers, ranchers and local butcher in business.

Gardening...Caesar loves to watch us garden and wants to help us "dig" at times.  I told him the garden would be in full swing this year so it would provide him lots of entertainment.  He has been supervising me already getting seeds started in pots and in the garden (the cold weather crops have been directly sown into the garden soil).  We were given a huge amount of free mulch, so we are using some and are sharing it with friends and neighbors also.  Everyone needs to work together right now to get through this thing.  We were given permission to dig up some plum trees from a public right of way in our town and will be doing that this weekend and getting those planted.  We also have some volunteer prune plum trees in our yard which will be replanted in another location so that we can utilize the area they are in now for a compost pile.  One of those prune plum trees is being given to a friend who wants to start a mini orchard in her yard also.  We are sharing seeds and will be doing a lot of trading and bartering in the near future as things get even tougher.  The plan for now is to provide as much food as possible for our family and for friends and neighbors as will as preserve some for the future.  This will cut costs and provide us with healthy foods for us and others.

Speaking of cutting costs.  So many people are out of work and trying to get through to unemployment is nearly impossible here.  It is a mixed blessing that Jeff still has his job (for the moment at least) since it provides us with income and the ability to have health insurance.  He is doing everything he can to keep healthy, maintain social distancing and keeping things disinfected while he works.  Poor guy has been having a huge amount of anxiety about possibly bringing this virus home to me.  Anyway, we are preparing for the worst case scenario money wise (the future is not looking bright at the moment) so we took the following steps...
1.  We paid off our yearly property taxes in full with our stimulous check.
2.  Paid off a hospital bill with more of that check.
3.  Banked the rest of the check in an emergency fund.
4. Trying to use less electricity by hanging most of the laundry out to dry on the line when it is nice outside.
5.  Not turning on lights until they are definitely needed.
6.  Me not blow drying and styling my hair most days.
7. Being careful to try and not waste food.  If fruits or veggies go bad, they are added to the compost bin or buried directly in a corner of the garden to self compost over time.
8.  Doubling or tripling up on recipes so that I can freeze some for a future meal.  This cuts down on food waste, energy, time and money.  Let's face it, having a yummy lasagna in your freezer is reassuring and can also be given to someone who needs a meal for whatever reason.
9.  Reaching into the depths of the pantry to see what needs to be used up ASAP before you use the newer items.  I took inventory of our pantry and found a whole other 5 gallon bucket of rice in there.  SCORE!!!!
10.  Taking inventory of our HBA items to see what we do and don't have and trying to make sure that I don't overbuy or underbuy what we need and go through on a regular basis.

Now, more than ever, it is important to make your home a haven and a happy place to be.  Caesar saw that gleam in my eye when I started to talk about this.  He knows me well.  Some of the things that we are doing or plan to do are to grow a bunch of flowers from seed this year.  I was able to get the flower seeds for .25 a package.  I love flowers and Caesar loves to stop and smell them.  I also transplanted volunteer Columbines to other areas of the yard that needed more color and cheer.  Columbines are some of my favorites.  They and they sunflowers that come back year after year make me so happy and require little to no work on my part.  Jeff is also going to be rebuilding the deck with some free rough cut lumber that he has been collecting and planed down to make it smooth.  We bought the screws needed for the project and will be getting some deep charcoal grey deck paint to finish it off with once it is built.  The plan is to start the build next weekend.  I will then get to decorating it with pillows on the porch swing, a fun candle lamp and a few other items.  

Speaking of redecorating, I love to change things up by the season and have been pulling out framed pictures and switching out the Winter decor for Spring decor.  We have picked up several pieces of free furniture from the curbside here in town that people are getting rid of and they will be cleaned, painted and repurposed here at home.  One smaller freestanding cabinet is going to become my baking center to free up counter space.  It will also allow me to have most of my baking supplies within easy reach at all times.  Another is a old hutch which will go into our front bedroom turn pantry and craft room, to store things more efficiently and get things up off the floor.  I am excited about that also!  The fleece blankets will soon be going away and the more Spring/Summer like throws will be coming out.  The Fall /Winter cloth napkins will also be put away and out will come the Spring/Summer ones.  My mother made quite a few of them for me so they bring back wonder memories of her and of my brother who gave us a gift card that I used to buy all the material for them.  Some furniture will be rearranged and moved to new rooms giving everything a fresh look.  I am excited about these changes!

I am looking forward to revisting with some of my favorite books and reading new ones that I have here.  Our library is currently closed, but I have a huge library of my own.  Jeff and I are also enjoying watching movies we have on hand and Caesar is enjoying being able to share some old fashioned popped popcorn with us when we have a movie night.  Caessar definitely thinks we should do these more often.

The hardest thing for Caesar, and for us, is not being able to spend time with our family.  Caesar misses the family, especially the grandkids who are his buddies, as much as we do.  We try to do video chats with them and my parents on a regular basis.  We also have a running story that we send back and forth with the older grandkids with us each adding a small part to each time.  It has become a fun activity and the grandboys love getting mail so it is a win win.

Hopefully they will find a way to stop this thing and protect us all.  My prayers and thoughts are with all the front line workers, medical staff, and individuals, friends and families who are dealing with this illness and/or loss of loved ones.  I am hearing first hand how bad things are from a dear nurse friend who is working with FEMA at a hospital in the Bronx.  What she is sharing is absolutely devastating and breaks my heart.  Please keep her an all the other people working with patients in your prayers.

Homemaking Goals for 2020

   Jeff and I have been talking about our goals for this coming new year as it pertains to our home.  There are things that need to be done to make sure our home is safe and easier to function in as we get older.  We also have some gardening goals to get done to help us as we reach retirement years for Jeff and will need to grow more of our own food to help offset the drastic reduction in income that we will be dealing with.  Jeff is also worried about his possible knee replacement and having to take time off for that within the coming months.  He is really starting to stress about things and I really need him to calm down a bit so we came up with a plan.

Outside:
~Jeff will continue to take advantage of free lumber that is offered to him and bring it home for either our use or for our kids to use for projects that they may need to do.
~Jeff needed to replace the decking on our back porch and will also be adding a ramp to replace the stairs down into the back yard.  The ramp will make it possible for him to just use his hand truck to haul the wood pellets for our pellet stove up onto the deck from the area by the garage where we store them.  In the future, it will also make our home wheelchair accessible if that ever becomes a need.
~He is also going to replace the front stairs coming into our home.
~He will enlist the help of our kids to do the two major projects above.
~We will be moving 2 plum trees from the back yard into the front yard.
~We are making 2 compost pile bins with free pallets and scrap wood so that we can make our own free compost that we know will be free of chemicals.
~If time and money allows, we will also be building a small greenhouse to start seeds in and to extend the gardening season.
~Jeff is going to continue to pick up free wood pallets.

Inside:
~We are converting the front bedroom into a combo pantry and craft room for me.  We already have the pantry in there, but will be taking the bed out and giving that to Jaysn and Rachel for Steven.  We'll add shelves and cabinets for storage and keep my big crafting table in there.
~I will continue to add to my pantry with shelf stable items.
~I'll be making homemade vanilla for Christmas gifts next year.
~If I can find one at a great price, we will be replacing one of the couches in our living room with a hide a bed couch.  We will then sell the larger of the two couches we have now.  This gives us another larger bed so that we can have 5 guests stay with us at the same time.  It also makes it possible for me to be able to use it when I am not feeling well and still want to be able to watch TV while Jeff is in our bedroom sleeping.
~I'm going to recover the seat cushions on the dining room chairs.
~My hope is to do more canning and dehydrating of garden produce this coming year.
~Jeff wants to get my kitchen cabinets rebuilt for me with slide out shelving.  He did this to one set of cabinets already and it has made a huge difference since our cabinets are really deep and it is hard to reach things in the back.

How we are going to finance things:
~Jeff will be building benches out of pallet wood that he will be selling.  The ones he has made for our family have been a huge success and people love them.
~He may be building more cornhole games to sell since that is another thing that people seem to really love.
~I will be listing more things on consignment at one of the consignment stores that I do business with.
~I'll be selling more raspberry plant starts in the spring and possibly some iris and columbine plants too.
~Jeff is going to go through the garage and try to sell some of the things out there that are just taking up space and that we do not use anymore.

Ninja Skills (as my youngest grandson Isaiah would say) Frugality

  

Bread dough rising on the pellet stove.

   Jeff and I had a long talk this morning about our finances this month due to the unexpected Emergency Room bill from the  hospital that finally showed up here 9 months after the services rendered and after we had been asking about where it was for months.  They demanded payment upon receipt.  We also had to buy another ton of pellets since we were down to 6 bags and that is what we use in our pellet stove to heat our home.  We had budgeted for the pellets but not for the bill from the hospital which was higher than we had originally been told because someone fell down on the job and did not bill out for professional services or something like that in a timely manner and apparently just found those charges and sent them to the insurance company months and months after the fact.  Personally I think someone should lose their job! 😡

   Anyway, those 2 expenses alone took up most of the money that we have left after paying our monthly bills.  Time to use my mad ninja frugal moves for this month!  I am pretty frugal for the most part, but we do still go out to eat, have fun shopping at thrift stores, and maybe go out to see a movie.  Not this month!  This month we stick to a bare bones budget and cut spending down to a minimum.  You can't spend what you don't have and we need to avoid using the credit card.  So here is what we are doing.

   We contacted our Credit Union and did their skip a payment service on the credit card for this month.  We did incur a $15 fee but it could not be helped.  Our bills had already been high this month with taxes due on a loan we had to take out on my life insurance policy several years ago for a horribly painful and scary breast biopsy that I had to have done.  By being able to skip credit card payment and taking some money out of our savings, we were able to pay the Emergency Room bill that just arrived.

   Our grocery budget has been slashed dramatically this month.  I have 2 grocery lists going.  One for the things that we absolutely need and another for things that I need to restock but that can wait until we have more disposable income. Things on the needs list are milk, cheese, fresh fruit, and veggies. Things on the restock list are liquid smoke (I just used the last of it), certain spices, etc. and can all wait awhile to be restocked. We are also shopping our pantry, fridge and freezer.  I have been making our bread and looking for new recipes for things like English Muffins, which we really enjoy, that I can make at home.  Back to back baking sessions will be used so that I don't waste the heat of the oven. I went through a local Hawaiian cookbook that I bought at a local thrift store a couple of months ago and an finding lots and lots of recipes that I grew up eating.  Many of these recipes use things from your pantry that have long shelf lives because almost everything has to be shipped in by huge boats.  I have most of these things on hand because my pantry is well stocked with these items.  I grew up with a mother who knew the value of a well stocked pantry since a storm, longshoremen's strike or damage to a harbor could delay shipments getting to the stores. I will never forget the toilet paper shortage, along with other needed items like milk, that happened when the boats could not get to us in Hawaii and the stores had no backstock.  I now have a stockpile at home of toilet paper because I know what it is like to go without...not fun!  We are using all the fresh produce and things with a close experation date first and then going to canned and frozen produce.  Luckily I took having a well stocked pantry to a much higher level than my mother ever imagined so we are set for months!

   We have at least a year's supply of  shampoo, conditioner, body wash, liquid dishwashing and hand soaps on hand.  We also are well supplied with OTC medications, antiperspirants, feminine hygiene items,  toothpaste and just restocked our vitamins and supplements, so we will not have to worry about those for awhile. I made at least a 3 month supply of laundry detergent so that is taken care of as well.  I also just used a Walmart gift card that I earned through Swagbucks to buy a huge bag of dog food for Caesar that should last us through the month and I have enough of Doofy's expensive cat food to last the month.

   Entertainment this month will be borrowing movies and books from the library and watching lots of movies and shows through our Roku that we bought for $25 as a Christmas gift to each other.  That was money well spent since we do not have cable or satellite anymore.  We also will be getting together with family and friends either here or at their homes and sharing meals and lots of laughter. If we go out to eat, we will be using gift cards given to us for Christmas.  More board and card games will be dug out and played near the warmth of the pellet stove.  I plan on reading some of the books that I have here in my own personal library that I have meant to get to but have not yet.  Of course we will continue to use our hot tub which is a luxury that we love but keep it on economy mode when not being used.

   I will be limiting my using of my car as much as I can.  I do have work 3 times this month as well as a doctor's appointment and a medical procedure that needs to be done so the plan is to combine those with any other errands I may have.  I'm sure we will be going to see the grandkids and can use my hubby's little commuter car to do that if the roads are good.  My car has 4 wheel drive where my hubby's little car is only front wheel drive.

   Since my husband works nights and sleeps during the day, I will keep the thermostat down on the heat as much as I can and dress in layers.  I never thought I would be thankful for hot flashes, but I must admit that it does help to have my own "internal thermostat" turned way up this time of year. 😉  We dress in layers, wear warm socks and house slippers in the house and also snuggle up under cozy quilts and throws.  I make good use of the curtains to hold heat in and open them to let the sun in to warm the home during the day and I close doors to rooms that we do not use.  He does bump the heat up when he is up and about, but I can handle it a little cooler when he is not.

   So that is the plan for this month's Frugal Ninja Skills test.  Hopefully we will not be thrown any more financial challenges this month.  I think our plate is full enough already.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/1/16

   


   

All in all, this has been a very good week for us frugally speaking.  We did have one major expense when we had to get new tires for my car, but we even managed to save $500 there.  Yay!  God is so good!  Onto the savings!

~The grandboys spent the night with us on Saturday.  We pulled a large cheese pizza out of the freezer (bought at the Walmart deli previously when it was marked down to half price) and had miniature cupcakes that were marked at half price today for dinner.  The boys had previously filled up on raspberries and strawberries from our garden.
~The grandboys and I picked lots of raspberries and filled a large clean yogurt container full to send home with them.
~Our hot tub is a favorite of the grandboys, so we wore them out playing in it before dinner. ;)

~Our local Ace Hardware store was clearancing out their outdoor plants at 75% off.  We bought 3 tomato plants at $1 each and  2 6 packs of marigolds for .75 each.
~My car got a flat tire so we took it in to get fixed.  That tire was shot and needed to be replaced and so did another one.  They found us a set of 4 previously used tires that were still in great condition for under $300.  We kept the 2 other tires that were still in decent tires to use as spares.  New tires for my car would have run us about $800.
~Jeff found season 5 of "How I Met Your Mother" for $6 at the thrift store.  We also found some great school books for the grandboys, a devotional for new moms (saving this one for my DIL Rachel for a future gift when she and Jaysn have a child), some clothing, and some household goods.  I filled up my store loyalty card.  I will get $20 off on my next shopping trip there!

~I used a coupon when I bought a huge pack of toilet paper.  I got $1 off and will get 10 points from Swagbucks for using it.
~We took the grandboys down to the park to play.
~On Sunday I started a jar of raspberry gin http://www.mountainmamaonline.net/2016/05/the-easiest-thing-i-do-to-prepare-for.html#more that Deborah shared awhile back.  We had a glut of fresh raspberries and luckily I had enough gin left on hand to get a batch of this started.  Thank you Deborah for sharing the recipe!
~Sunday also found me making a double batch of homemade laundry detergent.  I watched videos on youtube while I worked on this out on the back porch.

~I got a sample box from PinchMe.com.  It had a large sample of cat food (we sent it home with the grandboys for their kitties since Rufus can't eat that kind), a coupon for the cat food and a sample of zzzquil.
~Jeff picked lots and lots more cherries!
~We were given a sample of one of Tide's new liquid laundry detergents when we were at Safeway.
~I picked up 4 pound of butter at Safeway while it was on sale.
~One of Jeff's favorite sleeveless shirts that he wears all the time started coming apart at the collar.  I mended it so that he could still use it and wear it out in public. ;)

~I found several things marked down at Walmart including a cheesecake!  I'm going to freeze at least half of it for treats for us later.
~I returned a watering can that was leaking and got a refund on it.
~I stopped at the Dollar Tree and got some sunscreen, aloe gel and some medicated powder that my husband uses. I also picked up some spices and treats.
~Safeway had their brand of 2 liter Seltzer water on sale for .89 but I had a coupon loaded on my Safeway card that brought it down to .69 each.  I bought 6 of them to make more Italian sodas with. :)

~Walmart's clothing clearance can be hit or miss but today I found a really nice and airy shirt for $3.  I was really happy with that
~The heat really hit us on Monday.  It was 93 F in the shade by 3 p.m. Luckily I had already harvested lettuce and strawberries in the morning before the heat got too oppressive.
~I scored 8 sets of coupon inserts from the recycling bin at the post office. :)
~Our dear friend gave us some fresh trout for dinner one night this week! What a wonderful blessing!

~My hubby stopped by the grocery store on the way home and bought 2 dozen eggs @ .49 a dozen.  He is the only one that eats eggs in this house so that will last him for a few weeks.
~I have been working my points programs like a crazy woman!  I need to get another $25 Walmart gift card so I can do some stocking up in July.  July is one of the months where we have major bills come due and we also have my hubby's emergency room visit and lab work bills to pay off ASAP.
~Jeff and I worked together to destem and freeze 2 gallons of cherries.  I did not pit them yet because I did not have the energy to do so...I can do that before I use them later.

~I made Bourbon Honey Chicken salad with lettuce and snap peas from our garden, a carrot and tomato and some previously marked down cooked and frozen chicken.
~I used up 4 leftover hot dog buns to make 3 cheese "breadsticks" to go with the salad.
~It was so hot on Tuesday and I was hurting so I got in the cool hot tub and turned on the jets and bubbles.  It did help ease some of the muscle aches.
~I picked a gallon of raspberries on Tuesday.  Those bushes are sure prolific!

~Wednesday Jeff and I stopped by our favorite thrift store and spent our $20 credit there.  We found some household things, a pair of shorts for Jeff on the .10 clearance rack, a shirt for Jeff, a pair of shorts for me, a cookbook, 2 brand new candles (those went in my gift closet), a large heavy duty bucket, clear plastic drinking glasses in a smaller size that are perfect for the grandboys, some stuffed animal patterns and craft kits (these will go to my DIL who loves to sew), a brand new box of pickling salt (you never know what you will find there) and a large picture frame with a nice mat in it.  I will be taking the picture out of it and relocating the hanger so it hangs vertically and put face shot of my grandmother on her wedding day in it.

~Jeff brought home half his dinner from when we ate out the other night.  He had teriyaki pork and chicken katsu.  I will be adding a homemade Chinese noodle dish to it and it will feed both of us for another meal.

~Thursday night I made a large taco salad for dinner using lettuce from the garden, tomatoes, some grated cheese, venison taco meat, and some crushed up tortilla chips.  I mixed it all up with some thousand island dressing.  We had cheesecake for dessert.
~This week I made 3 loaves of sourdough bread and 4 batches of croutons.
~We took Caesar for walks in the evenings when things had cooled down.

~My hubby built a custom shelving unit in our bedroom for all this clothes.  It holds more than his dresser did.  He used lumber that we already had. :)
~We watched some TV shows online.

~I have been reading stories about how people lived through the Great Depression in a book that I bought at the thrift store.  The stories always inspire me but at the same time make me wonder if people would have the skills and the gumption to make it through another Depression.
~I cashed in some points at Pinecone Research for a $10 check.

   With the holiday weekend upon us, I am still looking for ways to save and will be stocking up at the grocery store on the amazing sales that are going on.  I hope to buy enough of certain items that we use that are at rock bottom prices now to at least get us through the Summer.  We are also planning on going ot the Farmer's Market tomorrow and maybe even hitting a few yard sales.  Be blessed and be safe!

Friday Frugal Wrap Up 2/5/16

My "assistant" helping me with my big pantry organization project.


You will have to excuse the layout of this post.  Blogger is doing strange things tonight and not allowing me to do the kind of layout that I would like to.  :P  I'm also sorry that I am getting this posted so late.  It has been one of those days when my motivation to do much of anything was severely lacking.

My big project this week, and one that will save me the most money is trying to get my pantry organized.  My plan is to move all the crockpots, waffle iron, blender, etc. off the bottom shelf.  That will leave more room for me to group things in a more logical way and keep track of what we have better.  The appliances will be finding a new home in our converted hallway coat closet.  The shelves in there will be adjusted to house all the appliances along with the kitchen linens.  I am hoping that this will make life easier for all of us.

Here are some other things I did this week to save us money in the long run:

~made my hubby's favorite tuna pasta salad and bulked it up with some chopped celery

~I also made my favorite Italian veggie and pasta salad with some small cheese raviolis that needed to be used up

~we had the grandkids here with us over the weekend and we took them to McDonald's for breakfast and ordered off the value menu

~the grandkids enjoyed playing for about an hour at the McDonald's Playland

~we had a family dinner with Chris, Heather and the grandboys here on Saturday night serving pizza and pie (that I had gotten marked down and then froze them) followed by hot tubbing
~my hubby, our grandboys and I all cuddled up in our bed to watch a movie
~cut up a bunch of junk paper to make lists on
~the grandkids used scratch paper to draw on

~found multiples of things in the pantry and got them organized in bins so that I do not overbuy products

~received free samples of dog food, cat food, sleep meds and a coupon for a deep discount on wine in the mail

~signed up for a free magazine for my DIL Heather

~got 2 more free magazines in the mail this week

~made 2 loaves of sourdough bread

~used one of my crockpots to make venison burger stew since I had carrots and potatoes that needed to be used up, this was over rice

~borrowed another book and some movies from the library
~bought the grandboys 2 winter coats, a pair of pants and some shoes (they looked like they had been worn only a few times) at the thrift store and luckily for us they were marked at half off
~also found a pair of pants and a blu ray/dvd combo movie for my hubby at the thrift store and another blu ray movie at the Dollar Tree

~was able to find and buy Cinderella and Inside Out from Redbox for $5 each
~working on my point and surveys programs 
~cashed out for a $25 Walmart Gift card via Swagbucks
~found a code online for free shipping on my supplements order from Puritan's Pride and also went through Swagbucks so that I will get 6 points per dollar spent
~bought some books that I have been wanting, the hardback books were $1.99 each and the paperbacks were .50 each

~used SKYPE to talk to our son Josh in Maryland
~received some free kids toothbrushes and toothpaste in the mail
~the thermostat went out in my car so my hubby bought the parts and a repair manual and will be fixing it himself this weekend
~bought some car touch up paint to paint over where our car got hit by another car and scratched up
 ~got caught up on some of my favorite TV shows that we don't get with our DISH package by watching them online
~our youngest grandson had an accident and wet the bed so I washed the featherbed in the big deep bathtub and then my hubby set it up over some portable sawhorses to dry in the house

I'm still doing all the normal everyday stuff like keeping the heat turned down at night and using extra blankets on the bed.  I did manage to get the dog out for a walk this week so that was free exercise for both of us and it was much needed.  I know it looks like I spent a lot this week, but in the long run, these things save us and our kids money.  Be blessed!