I Took a Much Needed Break

 

   The picture above is from last year, but it is the same thing that is going on in my home for the past few weeks, with  yet more to come.  Apples, apples, everywhere.  What I am not making into applesauce from our tree, I have been getting from the local apple orchard for eating fresh.  We took Bradley and Isaiah up last weekend to pick apples for us and for their family since they had spent the Friday night with us.  I've also bee trying to keep up with the glut of fresh blackberries, squash and tomatoes that are coming out of the garden at the moment.  I must admit that I am failing miserably at it though.  So much produce, so little energy to deal with it all.

   Today I did make it out into the garden, despite being exhausted and sore from picking a gallon of blackberries yesterday, to harvest herbs to make my homemade herb salt.  I love this stuff and I use it as gifts too!  I also picked more apples off our tree, the ones that I could reach (I do not do ladders), to make yet another batch of applesauce tomorrow while Jeff is at work.  The herb salt is now going in the dehydrator and I have meatballs in mushroom sauce going in the crockpot for dinner.  I will just boil up some noodles and quickly stir fry some fresh green beans to go with them for dinner.  The kitchen is a disaster so Jeff will clean that tonight so I can bake bread tomorrow also.

   I'm currently sitting out on the back porch and there is the combination of smoke from the wildfires and the damp from the incoming rain (praise God for rain!).  The sky is getting darker and darker and the outside temperature is quickly dropping.  I am LOVING this.  Hopefully the rain will knock the smoke from the sky and put out any fire starts along with any ongoing fires.

   Today is the funeral of the former fire chief in Colfax, WA who our Chris got his fire training under.  Chief Krouse was an amazing man who helped so many young men and women get their starts as firefighters and EMTs.  After he retired, he continued to volunteer as a firefighter until his death of a heart attack while pulling line on a fire.  It was his 4th call that day.  His fellow firefighters and EMTs tried to save him, but they sadly could not.  He did go out the way he wanted though...fighting fires and helping in his community.  Our Chris is at the funeral, sitting with some of the men and women from his original crew that he worked with at the start.  Chris is now the interim fire chief for his local community and is taking this hard.  There is an outpouring of love and respect from all over the state and from other states as well.  Our governor even ordered that flags across the state be flown at half mast for Chief Krouse for his life long service.  Many firefighters and EMTs across our state and others got their starts under this remarkable and caring man.  Our family and community owe this man so much!

   The covid-19 numbers in our area continue to climb and Northern Idaho is in crisis care mode now.  The national guard, Pentagon and other agencies, along with a call for volunteers, have been called in to help.  Conference rooms have been turned into covid units at one of the hospitals about an hour north of us and even that is filling up quickly.  New federal and state mandates and restrictions are now in place in Washington state also and we are seeing events being cancelled right and left.  The day before the newest mandates were announced, I did a HUGE stock up shopping trip.  And yes, I wore my mask the entire time!  It's not just covid causing issues and shortages, but supply issues as well, so I wanted to get the things I needed while they were still there and before more panic buying occurs.  Luckily I have been stocking up all along, but they were still some holes in my pantry and HBA cabinets that needed to be filled.  The last thing on my list is to go and get bloodwork done so I can get refills on al my meds and hopefully they will do a 3 month supply for me on one of them and then just send the the one they can only refill monthly through the mail once more.  My prescriptions are totally covered under my health insurance so I don't need to worry about paying for them out of pocket.

   My task this upcoming week is to organize the pantry once more and continue to harvest and process the fruit and veggies from our garden.  Hopefully I can also get in to get that bloodwork done ASAP also.  The weather is cooling way down to more Fall-like temperatures, so that is a huge blessing when I am trying to get things done.  Regulating my body temperature is a HUGE problem for me with Fibro and the cooler temps do help with that.  Jeff will also be picking up some items that I did not find or forgot to add to my cart when I was out earlier in the week, so that will also help.

   I'm going to head inside and check on dinner in the crockpot and on the herb salt that is going in the dehydrator.  I think I will also lay down for a bit as I am really sore at the moment.  Be blessed, stay safe and stay healthy!

   

   

   

   

Frugal Friday Wrap UP 8/27/21

 

  

   There is a definite nip in the air at night now and my hydrangea bush, which struggled for years to grow and produce flowers, finally is thriving in the spot above.  This is the first year it has produced flowers, which are starting to turn pink with the colder nights.  The burning bush plant in my neighbor's yard is also turning and I noticed the maple trees in Moscow, Idaho are doing the same thing.  I would be lying if I said I am sad to see Summer starting to fade.  Yes, it was a rough Summer filled with record high temperatures and so many wildfires that inundated our area with choking smoke and kept our son Chris busy fighting some of those fires.  My gardens are still producing well and my prayer is that the cantaloupes and cucumbers all ripen before a killing frost comes. I'm starting to feel like I should be "nesting" as the temperatures fall and I am trying to get at least a few projects done in the house each week towards that "homey" Fall settled in ambiance that I love so much.  This week that goal was not met, but hopefully I can make up for it this coming week...Onto the frugal doings!

Saturday:

~Jeff and I headed down to the valley to Clarkston, WA (sorry Kim, it was a last minute decision or I would have tried to figure out if we could finally meet up in person) to buy some tires for his car.  It was $300 less to get them at Walmart than anywhere up here.

~We then headed next door to the Chef's Warehouse or whatever it is called.  I found a huge package of linguica sausage on sale.  There were 12 of the large sausages in the package so it came out to about $1 per sausage. That is a screaming deal!  I will freeze them individually for using later.

~Goodwill in Lewiston was the next stop.  We found a perfect sign for our oldest grandson.  It had to do with sarcasm, something he excels at!  LOL!

~Winco was the next stop where we picked up a few things we needed, along with a large sandwich from the deli.  The sandwiches are footlongs and $3.99 each.  Jeff and I split the sandwich on the way home.  I had not eaten all day at that point and it was already 7 p.m..

~I Facetimed with Josh, Lauren and Tate.  Tate is determined to walk (he just started crawling) and was busy pushing his "truck (which is also a walker) around the living room.  He is starting to really interact with me over the phone and computer now. :)

Sunday(busy day at home):

~Jeff worked on doing some of the much needed weeding in the yard and he helped me pick about a liter of blackberries.

~I washed and froze the berries.

~I also harvested cucumbers, tomatoes, squash and herbs from the garden.

~Some of the tomatoes, along with a cucumber, found their way into a delicious tortellini salad for later in the week.

~I froze 2 half quart bags of homemade applesauce.

~Two loaves of bread were baked, followed by a dozen chocolate chip muffins and then I threw in a large pork roast surrounded by potatoes and carrots.  We had the pork roast with the veggies, along with some applesauce and cantaloupe, for dinner.

Monday ( I did too much the previous day so not much got done today):

~I did not have much energy and has massive brain fog so I had the tortellini salad for all my meals.  Jeff took lunch with him and then made grilled cheese sandwiches for his dinner.

~I managed to get the watering of the gardens done.

~We are expecting some overnight lows in the low 40's so Jeff covered up the tomato plants in the front with a sheet.  I am praying it does not take out any of the other plants.

Tuesday:

~Heather, Bradley and Isaiah came and picked me up and took me to my eye doctor appointment.  My eyes are healthy and the eye doctor thinks that my eye problems are related to my eyes getting too dry so I now have eye drops to help with that.  I did buy Heather, Bradley and Isaiah each a donut as a thank you for taking me there.

~Bradley and Isaiah picked blackberries from our garden to take home and make some blackberry topping for over pancakes.

~My gardens survived the cold overnight temperatures thank goodness!  It was 37F when I headed to bed in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

~Dinner was leftovers supplemented with some mashed potatoes.

Wednesday:

~One of our sweet neighbors gave us a big bag of freshly picked green beans.  It was a huge blessing because our beans have not done well at all this year.

~I managed to pick blackberries, squash, tomatoes, a few yellow beans and a cucumber from the garden.  My back did not appreciate me doing this, but it had to be done.

~I uploaded digital coupons onto my Safeway card.

~Although I did manage to get some laundry washed and dried, I had to wait for Jeff to get home to help me fold the 3 loads.

~For lunch I thinly sliced a very ripe tomato from the garden and put that on top of a slice of sourdough bread, then melted 2 thin slices of swiss cheese over the top.  YUMMY!

~Dinner was a favorite around here...Lemon Chicken Pasta.  I added squash, green onions and herbs from the garden, some mushrooms and orange pepper from the refrigerator and some lemon thyme compound butter from the freezer (that I made last Fall).  It was so good and easy and there is enough left for another meal for both Jeff and I.

~I refilled my large glass canister with flour from the bigger storage buckets.  This makes baking so much easier for me and keeps the rest of the flour fresh and airtight.

~Jeff mixed up and baked some brownies as a treat. :)

Thursday:

~I cleaned out the refrigerator and the pantry.  It helped me see what we needed and what we did definitely did not.

~My shopping list was not large at all.  I did however notice that some of the things that I was looking for, like dried tortellini, was nowhere to be found in 3 different stores I looked at.

~We bought more pesto (a staple in this house), along with Q-tips, at the Dollar Tree.

~I picked up sweet peppers for a fraction of the price that they were at Walmart.  We also picked up Zinc supplements there.  They are hard to find at other stores right now.

~Leftovers were for dinner...and yes, we love leftovers!

Friday:

~We had been having trouble finding dry tortellini in most of the stores but Jeff surprised me by coming home with a 3 pound bag of them from the bulk section at Winco!  We are set for quite awhile now!  He also picked up bagels, which were also on my shopping list. I love that man of mine!

~I harvested tomatoes and a squash from the garden.

~We watched the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie on Disney Plus.

~We filled up the gas tank in my car at the cheapest station in town and noticed that there is still a shortage of gas and at least half of the pumps were closed down.

   As the world goes crazy around us and my heart aches for all those trapped in, killed or injured in Afghanistan and people I care about continue to get this horrible virus, I am left feeling like all I can do is pray and be there to support those who are hurting.  My anxiety levels and yes, my anger towards certain cowardly and uncaring politicians, have been extremely high this week and it has affected my physical and mental health.  I am trying to find ways to turn that over to God and just pray, but it remains a struggle.  Sometimes being an empath really does suck.

Rough Few Days

   

       Fibromyalgia is a Royal Pain!

   Not going to even try to sugar coat it... it's been a rough few days.  I tried to get myself back on a "normal people" sleep schedule and completely forgot how sleep medications affect me.  They leave me even groggier and more brain fogged than normal.  That left Monday as a complete wasteland with me not being able to do much at all.  I only slept about 1 1/2 hours Monday night into Tuesday morning. 

   Heather and the  boys came to pick me up Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. to take me to the eye doctor, which was a huge blessing!  Even before they dilated my eyes, a migraine came on fast and furious.  Luckily I had some pain meds with me and they quickly got me a glass of water to take my meds and did my eye exam before things could get worse.  Thankfully my eyes are healthy and we think we solved the mystery of why they were having problems...dry eyes.  I now have eye drops for that.  We stopped on the way home and I bought Heather and the boys donuts as a thank you and then the boys picked blackberries here before they headed back home. I took a short 2 hour nap in the afternoon and still felt like crap.

   Tuesday evening found me still hurting, so we had leftovers for dinner and I headed to bed around 9 p.m..  I COULD NOT SLEEP!  I bounced around from bed to bed to recliner back to bed and finally fell asleep around 4:30 a.m. and then headed back to my bed (I fell asleep in the guest bed) around 7 a.m. and slept until about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.  Headache still there and I ached all over.  I forced myself to get some laundry going, collapsed in my recliner, finally got something to eat then switched out laundry, collapsed again in the recliner and then repeat the do something in the garden then collapse several more times. I also finally took more pain meds for my headache, but they do nothing for the body aches.  

   I am really hoping that I can get a few more things done before Jeff gets home later and I am praying that the neighborhood kids who are screaming at the top of their lungs quiet down soon.  It seems to me that they are just thrown outside with no supervision based on what I hear coming out of their mouths.  I am really hoping that once school starts that at least some of them are in school for the day...there is a large group and I am not sure if they are running a daycare or not.  No matter what is going on though, I sure wish that the kids were more closely supervised and NOT allowed to yell and scream at the top of their lungs for hours on end.  UGH!

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/20/21

   

   

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

Weekend:

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

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

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

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

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

Monday:

~A basket of mushrooms got sautéed and frozen.

~I picked some blackberries.

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

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

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

Tuesday:

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

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

~Jeff made us pastrami sandwiches for lunch.

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

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

~I trimmed my hair.

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

Wednesday:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday:

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

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

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

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

Friday (the 3 hours of sleep edition):

~I got some laundry going.

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

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

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

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

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

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

   Now to answer some questions:

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

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

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

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

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

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/13/21

 

   It has been another week of smoke filled skies here with just a few short and welcomed breaks.  My heart goes out to all the firefighters and those who have lost their homes and livestock, along with some of their pets.  The fires continue to burn all around the Pacific Northwest and with the winds whipping up again, I fear they will spread even more.  Family friends have been out making fire lines hoping to save their towns, homes and crops.  Please join me in sending prayers and good thoughts to them all.

 

   Jeff and I have continued to try to fill our pantry and freezers with food and also stock up on HBA items.  We wanted to try to get ahead of the crowds with all the college students returning and the Covid-19 cases once again rising very quickly in our area.  Each day I have been tracking the number of new cases and we are once again seeing more deaths from it in our area.  We are also trying to get some other things taken care of before prices go up on things like tires.  Yes, I will admit, I am "that person" who tracks things like this.  I want to make sure that we are as prepared as we can be and get the best prices in the process.  Now onto the frugal doings for the week:

   

Weekend:

~Jeff and I stocked up on things at Walmart and the Grocery Outlet.  We got reduced priced meats, Asian noodles, cheesecake (yes a very welcomed treat), fruit, jeans for me at $4 a pair, and some HBA items.

~I packaged up the boneless skinless chicken breasts that I got on sale into individual packages.

~Jeff and I had some cheesecake once we got home from shopping.  I topped mine with berries from our garden and Jeff topped his with some caramel sauce.

~Instead of eating in town on Saturday, I made taco meat and cheese quesadillas for a late lunch.

~Our kitchen sink drain was continuing to give us problems, so Jeff borrowed a 25 foot drain snake from our neighbors.  It is not perfect but it is draining more quickly now.

~I harvested berries, tomatoes, our first cucumber and squash from the garden.

~Jeff was given a Cabela's gift card years ago for Christmas and never used it.  I asked him if I could use it to buy some cast iron skillets.  He said yes.  I got free shipping on my order and after the gift card and taxes my total order came out to $6.02 out of pocket.

~We are selling our large couch to one of Jeff's bosses who is in desperate need of one.  He is paying us $50 for it so I told Jeff to keep the money to use as he wanted since I used his $50 gift card from Cabela's.

~We were able to watch our hanai daughter get married as they streamed the ceremony and the reception on YouTube.  Our twin boys were able to make it down to be with her on her special day and she was thrilled to have her "brothers" there with her.

~I got really stressed out when Jeff tried to fix his car and instead made it undrivable so we are going to now have to tow it and have it fixed.  UGH!  I put on the Hawaiian Slack Guitar Festival on Youtube and listened to that to help calm me down...

(1) 39th Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival "Waikiki Style" - YouTube

~Jeff and I hot tubbed on Sunday night.  It felt so good to finally be able to sit out there without smoke filled skies.

~I made a big pot of broccoli/potato cheese soup.  I had broccoli and some potatoes that needed to be used up ASAP.  I topped mine with homemade croutons...Yum!

~Jeff  watched a Star Wars movie on Sunday night on Disney Plus.

Monday:

~Two more loaves of bread were made.

~I froze some raspberries and some taco meat.

~Seeing a huge pile of yellow squash, I made another squash casserole.

~More tomatoes, squash and another cucumber were harvested, along with some blackberries.

~Jeff and I found several cantaloupes forming on our cantaloupe plants.  YAY!

~Jeff was finally able to go golfing and got a senior discount when he did.  I have been encouraging him to get out and do it for some time now since he really enjoys it and he works so hard for our family.

~Jeff picked a big bucket full of apples off our tree.

~Jeff grilled some bratwurst for us for dinner.

~Jeff also stopped at Winco on his way home to pick up some hot dog buns and said it was a madhouse in there with people filling up their carts like crazy.  I asked him if they were students and he did not think they were.  Panic buying?

Tuesday:

~I harvested squash, swiss chard, tomatoes, beans and blackberries from the garden.

~I had squash casserole for lunch.

~Leftovers were on the menu for dinner.

~We watched some HGTV shows in the evening.

~I was looking for a way to corral all our rice and potato mix packages and found a box that was just the right size to do so.  Free!!!!

Wednesday:

~I found that my Safeway "Just 4 U" app had a $50 off a purchase of $50 or more coupon.  It also had a $4 off a $40 or more coupon.  Apparently they are changing the name of the stores or something and are rewarding their loyal customers.  I downloaded the coupon and am making a list of groceries that are on sale so that I can stretch the $50 as far as it can go!

~Update on what I got for $8.68 after the discounts, coupons, sales and the rest of my gift card at Safeway. And yes, the manager had to manually enter in the $50 off coupon because it was not showing on my card but I could describe what it said Many people are reporting that it disappeared on their cards too after downloading it.  12 pack of cranberry/raspberry sparkling water, 6 pack of paper towels, huge package of TP, 8  pounds of cheese, half gallon of milk, 2 packages of dinner rolls, 2 packages of sausages to grill, 11 large bottles of PowerAde, a package of tortellini, 2 bags of coleslaw mix, 4 pounds of baby peeled carrots, and 3.24 pounds of bananas.

Thursday:

~I made a large tuna pasta salad and added a bag of the coleslaw mix to it...really good!  I love the added crunch and nutrition.  I also added some tomato to mine right before eating it.  Jeff is not a fan of tomatoes, so I add these to my own bowl.

~I froze the remainder of the broccoli/potato cheese soup to use as another meal for both Jeff and I.

~I worked on my points programs.

~It was horribly smoky outside because of all the wildfires so I stayed inside as much as possible until I had to go out and water the gardens in the evening.

Friday:

~Tire prices are reported to be going way up in price soon so Jeff took my car in to get some new tires on it.  We were going to wait a few months more until we read about the continuing price increases.  These increases are due to flooding issues in China, rubber shortages, oil prices rising, increase in shipping rates, etc.. Jeff was able to find a deal on the tires too!  Thank goodness because tires for my car are really expensive. 

Goodyear and Cooper Consumer Tire Prices Are Going Up | Modern Tire Dealer (ratchetandwrench.com)

~One of Jeff's co-workers had their last day at work so they were sending her off with a celebratory and "thank you" lunch.  Jeff did not have to take lunch with him.

~We have been greatly enjoying all the videos that Josh and Lauren are taking of Tate.  He is now crawling and can stand on his own without holding on to anything.  Slow down baby!

~The squash is going nuts!  I harvested 5 more today.  I also got more cherry tomatoes and some blackberries.  I was outside for about 10 minutes and that was all I could handle between the heat and the dangerous air quality.

~I took a bag of squash and tomatoes from our garden over to our hanai sister Shannon.

~Jeff and I had leftovers for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

   Be blessed my friends and I hope you all have a wonderful upcoming week!

Stocking Up and some Observations

   

  Jeff and I have been noticing more and more empty shelves and spaces at some of the grocery stores.  Walmart was especially glaring.  I was worried that with the students coming back, that it would be absolutely horrible to find anything.  However, this weekend the WSU students were hitting Walmart hard and I noticed something interesting.

   Some of the shelves that had been empty were being filled up again...but the produce had obviously been sitting around for awhile and was not very good.  One of the ladies that worked there said they had lots of fresh produce in the back room, but, again, it was not looking it's best.  They had brought a lot in because of the students coming back...however, don't count in it staying well stocked.  

   We found some marked down meats and bought those.  Meat has been hit or miss there for awhile.  We also found packages of plums marked down to $1 each.  They had been sent way to many of them and needed to move them fast.  I bought 2 packages.  HBA items have also been on the lean side for awhile, so I got what I needed to build up my stock a bit more.  I had also been looking for a few more pairs of soft jeans for over a year.  I am very picky about my jeans because so many of the fabrics and/or the buttons, hurt me.  I finally found two pairs on clearance for $4 each.  I have capris in the same fabric and I love them!  These jeans should get me through a few more winters since I mainly wear them when I go somewhere outside of the house and then rest of the time I wear soft leggings at home.

   Jeff and I also went to the Grocery Outlet to try and find some of the jalapeno and cheese snacks that I love.  They were out of those but we did find some more amazing deals.  We picked up 2 racks of cooked and frozen ribs for .97 each...yes you read that right!  I would have bought them out except that I don't have the room in my freezer.  They also had boneless skinless chicken breast that were marked down so I bought a package and came home and divided it up and then froze each breast separately.  Each of those will make a meal for Jeff and I.  Crescent rolls were on sale for 6 for $1.  I bought 3 of them.  Another great deal was their Asian noodles.  They came in 2 packs for .99 each.  I got 4 of them to make stir fry or Asian style soups for Jeff and I.  Way cheaper than going out to eat and satisfies my cravings!

   We are also noticing gas shortages here.  We went to fill up our car with gas only to find that most of the pumps at the lowest priced gas station in town were totally out of fuel.  Luckily there were still 3 pumps with gas so we were able to get some there.  I am going to make sure that Jeff and never let the tanks go below half from now on.

   Covid-19 cases are on the rise here once more and I am noticing that more and more restrictions are coming back into play.  Vaccines are being required not only at some work places for employees, but also if you are a customer.  Colleges here are requiring that you be vaccinated if you are an employee or a student, K-12 are also requiring vaccinations for staff and that masks be worn at all times regardless of if you are vaccinated or not.  Masks are required at grocery stores if you are not vaccinated and the employees are being required to wear them all the time now no matter if they had the jab or not.  I am hearing rumors that some of the grocery stores will soon not be allowing people who are not vaccinated to shop period!  That should scare the pants off everyone!  Looks like we will be doing the shopping for our family members who have not got the jab and don't plan on doing so.  They have their own reasons for not wanting to get it and I totally respect that.  I think everyone should have the right to make their own medical decisions.  Jeff and I did make the choice to get the shots ourselves after weighing the pros and cons and I am glad we did.  I don't think that people who have chosen not to should be vilified though.  Do I worry about those relatives...yes, but again, it is their choice to make, not mine or anyone else's.

   I am fully expecting more restrictions to come into play on the state and national level this coming week.  Things are just moving way too quickly and with all the fires, droughts in this area, flooding in others, coupled with transportation shortages, and this virus making a comeback, things are getting worse.  Looks like time is getting way too short to stock up while you can before the panic buying starts once more.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/6/21

 

   Well folks, it's been another rough week with yet another friend passing away.  That makes 4 in a 2 week period. My heart is aching for the families and friends of all of them.  Sleep has been eluding me for the most part and the smoke from the wildfires and the intense heat have not helped at all.  I have been doing my best to stay upbeat for the most part, but it really has been wearing heavily on me.  I love being able to go out and putter in my garden, it brings me great joy, so I have been out there whenever the heat and the smoke clears enough to allow it.  Other than that, I have been spending lots of time indoors trying to get some projects done while attempting to stay cool.  Here are my frugal doings for the week:

Friday Night 7/30/21

~I made two huge salads for Jeff and I and we added lots of chicken and some of our favorite toppings and add ins to each of our salads.  I added cucumbers, olives, green onion, halved cherry tomatoes from the garden, carrots, homemade croutons and then tossed it all with some Olive Garden salad dressing.  Jeff added shredded cheese, carrots, lots of homemade croutons and Thousand Island dressing to his.

Saturday:

~It was our town wide yard sales.  It was not well advertised and many people here in town had no idea it was even going on so there were not a whole lot of sales.  I did manage to find another sled for Jaysn, Rachel and Steven (got that for free) and I got the Christy series on DVD for $1.  It was good to be able to visit with neighbors and see some of my old students too. :)

~I picked raspberries while it was still cool in the morning.  I could not be out long though due to all the wildfire smoke in the air.  After having a huge coughing fit, I came inside, had coffee and made some phone calls.

~Jeff and I went to Winco and stocked up on things that will be going way up in price here soon due to crop failures.  Get that coffee now!

~We also went to Dollar Tree to pick up some things there like cleaning supplies and a few food items.

~We Facetimes with Josh, Lauren and Tate.  So much fun!

~Jeff stopped by the clothing consignment store that we had some things at and picked up what had not sold and also picked up our earnings from what had.  $56 is not bad from things that we no longer use or want.

Sunday:

~We had the chicken soup over rice for dinner.

~We stocked up on a few more things at Grocery Outlet and Walmart.  We also stopped at Safeway and picked up 2 packages of cheese for .77 each and a 12 pack of tonic water.  Since I used our gift card at Safeway, we got it all for free.

~I picked more raspberries and a few more squash from the garden.

Monday:

~I froze 2 packages of Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup.

~I also froze a package of cooked rice.  I love having cooked rice on hand to just thaw and use.

~The squash plants got a good trimming back and I found 3 more squash in the process that I picked.  I also picked a handful of beans.

~I took the last of the cooked chicken and made enchiladas with it for dinner.  Since I felt the chicken filling was "bulky" enough, I added some finely diced yellow squash to it.  Extra nutrition and it takes on the flavors around it.

~My hanai sister/neighbor Shannon came over to pick some raspberries and we had a nice visit.  She had been gone on a trip for a little over a week and I had missed her.

~Jeff ordered a new regulator hose that goes from the BBQ grill to the propane tank.

Tuesday:

~I did a bunch of hand washing of clothing and hung it up in the bathroom to dry.

~I did some more "purging" from my closet.  I will try to sell what I can at the consignment store and will donate the rest.

~I used some of my points at Recycle Bank to get two 20 month magazine subscriptions for free.  I will read them and then donate them to our town's library.

~Dinner was a cheeseburger and tomato macaroni skillet dinner along with a big side salad of Romaine lettuce, yellow bell peppers and carrots.  I added some black olives to mine since I already had some in the refrigerator that needed to be used.

Wednesday:

~Jeff took leftovers for his lunch at work.

~I rearranged the furniture in the living room.  It gave it a whole new look.  Jeff just has to help me move the big couch out now.  We are either going to sell it or give it away.

~I watched some Garden Home shows on Roku.

~More squash and tomatoes were harvested.

Thursday:

~Huge taco salads were on the menu for dinner.

~Jeff stopped and picked up some bananas and mushrooms at a produce sale that one of the stores was having.

~We watched some videos on YouTube.

~The raspberry bushes are winding down but I still managed to find a handful to pick.  I also picked a few more of the ripening blackberries.  I also found a few more squash and picked those too.

~Jeff took leftovers for lunch.

Friday:

~It was a much cooler day so I did not have to run the AC.

~I made a list of things I need to pick up at the Dollar Tree the next time I am in there.  Does anyone else use clothespins to close up things like chip bags?  I find these have worked great over the years.  I have no idea where all the ones I had inside the house have gone so it is time to buy another bag.

~I had a nice online visit with one of my hanai daughters that is getting married tomorrow and one of my hanai sons, who is planning a trip home soon.

~While going through some framed pictures, I found one of a honu (Hawaiian sea turtle) that I love and switched it out with another picture in the guest bathroom.  Yes, I switch up décor in the bathrooms as well as the rest of the house.

~Jeff and I went out to dinner and then did some shopping.  I needed to pick up a few things at Dollar Tree.  We also stopped at a yard sale and I got some kitchen cooking bags for .50.

~Jeff and I watched one of the X-men movies on Disney.  Don't ask me which one because I have no idea.  Jeff likes to watch them and I was on the computer part of the time.

   Midgy wishes you all Sweet Dreams!