Frugal Friday Wrap Up 10/7/22

 

   Another week has gone by.  Gas, electric, insurance and food prices continue to rise.  I saw a news report that all of this combined, along with rising interest rates, is costing an average of over $7,000 per family here in America and it continues to rise.  So how do we deal with this?  Some of us cut way back on our spending, try to pay off debt, and others continue to live like they did and put things on their credit cards. 

   Since Jeff and I are saving up for our trip to see our little granddaughter Peyton and her big brother Tate, we have cut back a lot in order to have cash for our trip.  Every decision we make impacts how much money we will have for that trip because we are paying for half of the ticket price (Josh and Lauren gifted us the other half and already bought the tickets as a wonderful surprise).  We are also paying someone to take care of our home and kitties while we are gone.  In addition to that, I really want to have some spending money for while we are there because we would love to treat our kids to a meal out as a thank you, have breakfast with a dear friend of mine and have some additional spending money so I can go to Ikea and pick up a few things there.  At the same time, we are paying down debt and stocking up our home for the long winter ahead making sure we will be warm and well fed.  That means that even on days when the pain is great, I need to be out in the garden harvesting and then processing produce.  There are a few days that I have missed, but for the most part, I try to push through.  Jeff works hard at his job and then comes home and helps me with things along with trying to keep up on the weeding, lawn mowing and fixing things around the house.  I really do love and appreciate him so very much!  I know that some people would say that we should cancel our trip, but here is the thing...with the world being what it is today and with Josh becoming eligible for deployment again in March, and Lauren being in the reserves, anything could happen that would take them away from us and from their children.  We need to build memories while we can because tomorrow is never guaranteed.  We have to continue to live our lives but do it in a financially responsible way.

   I have other friends who live by the motto of "you can't take it with you, so spend it all now and heck, put it on those credit cards too".  They continue to live ABOVE their means, getting deeper and deeper into debt.  They could easily live within their means but choose not to do so.  It breaks my heart because Jeff and I lived that way in the past and it took us years to climb out of it and retrain our minds to think differently.  I don't want them to go through the pain that we did.  That whole "we'll pay it off later" thing was how we (and now our friends) justified that reckless spending, never even considering that something might happen that would or could prevent us from being able to earn enough to actually pay things off quickly.  Hard lesson to learn and even harder to live through.  Been there and continuing to pay things off from having to live off one income instead of two and having some high medical bills.  We borrowed against my life insurance policy to pay for my medical bills up front since they hospital needed that money before they would do the surgery I needed.  We are in a much better position now though because we did pay off a bunch of other debt.  

   So here are the frugal doings for the week...

~We picked more blackberries, froze some and gave some to our neighbors, who were thrilled to receive freshly picked blackberries.  I have also been adding them to my cereal and snacking on them fresh.

~Jeff and I went up to the local apple orchard here in town and picked apples.  They are still just .50 a pound, which is an amazing deal!

~Jeff fixed Jaysn and Rachel's lawn mower that we are borrowing.  He was then able to get our lawn mowed.  Jaysn told him to just hand onto the mower since they now have a riding one.

~I had a lovely visit with Uncle Bob.  We had coffee and he shared some of his memories of his childhood.  In all the years that I have known him, I had never heard about how hard his childhood was on him before.  It really did explain why he values family that way he does and why our family is so special to him, as he is to us.

~I made a large batch of herb salt and it took me 2 hours of hands-on time since I had to strip the rosemary and tiny little lemon thyme leaves off their branches.  It was so worth it though because now I have enough to last me for another year and to also give some out as gifts.  My mother requests it every Christmas now as her gift from me, so she also will be set for another year. 😉

~Jeff and I did the grocery shopping over the weekend and were very careful with what we bought.  We noticed that prices are going way up, but that there were still deals to be found if you looked carefully.  We pretty much stuck to the basics like cheap produce like a 5-pound bag of carrots, a 10-pound bag of potatoes (both of these were much cheaper per pound to buy them in these quantities), milk, creamer (ok, this is a splurge item, but something I use on a daily basis), hot cocoa mix (another splurge item, but Jeff loves it and uses it daily), store brand cereal, ketchup (it was on sale and had a long out use by date), store brand crackers ($2 less per box than the named brand stuff), brown sugar on sale and a few other items.  I had offered to do the shopping on my own, but Jeff did not want me to do that with how crazy people have been acting.

~We watched several of the Mission Impossible movies here at home on Paramount channel and made popcorn to snack on.  Fun evenings and frugal too!

~More bread was made.  I am just appalled at the price of bread in the grocery store.  It is so easy to make yourself at home and so much cheaper and better for you!

~I used the leftover rice to make jambalaya for dinner on Monday night.  The tomatoes and onion I used in making it were all from our garden.  The smoked sausage was bought previously on sale and tucked safely into one of our freezers.  Celery was bought on sale a few weeks ago, although I do have some that is still growing in size in my garden.  The seasonings are ones that I always have in my pantry.  This is one of our favorite and very easy meals to make and a great way to stretch out meat since You don't have to use a lot to get all that yummy taste.

~I made some chocolate chip cookies with some cookie dough that I had bought on clearance and had frozen.  It was cheaper to buy it on clearance than make it from scratch.  It made for a very nice surprise for my sweet hubby that had a very long and frustrating end to his day at work.

~One of our sweet neighbors, that we gave some blackberries to, baked us some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  They were delicious!

~Our hanai son, Benny Weag, is on the TV show "The Voice".  It is so wonderful to be able to see him pursuing his dreams!  Now we have to teach our youngest grandson Tate to say "Team Blake". 😊

~I was able to harvest more squash and tomatoes from the garden.

~A major fibro flare hit again this week.  Jeff made us pastrami sandwiches for dinner one night (I had bought some pastrami at a good price a while ago and froze it) and another night I made a quick 4 cheese pasta and pepperoni casserole using only pasta, spaghetti sauce and cut up pepperoni.  I had everything I needed here at home.  A well stock pantry is a huge money saver.  Sure, I would have loved to have Jeff bring home Panda Express for dinner, but that would have cost about $20 or more.  

~We skipped going to the thrift stores over the weekend while we were in town doing the grocery shopping because although I have things to donate, the temptation to go in and "browse" usually ends up with me buying something.

~Thursday nights are Jeff's bowling league night so I am on my own for dinner.  I made a salad for dinner using cabbage, carrots, celery, and sliced almonds.  So yummy!!!

~Friday night I made lemon chicken pasta with the lemon juice from the lemons I zested for the herb salt earlier in the week, some homemade frozen compound herb butter that I made last year, 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast sliced thinly, 3 cloves of garlic, about half of a Walla Walla Sweet onion, a red bell pepper, farfalle pasta and some sliced up zucchini from the garden.  It was so good, easy and is one of our favorite meals.

~Jeff and I got caught up on watching "The Amazing Race" on Paramount Plus.  It is something we both enjoy, but comes on to late for him to watch during the week.

   So that is our week in a nutshell.  We did learn Friday night that Uncle Bob had a heart attack and is in the hospital for observation.  Please keep him in your prayers.  If he is not home by tomorrow, we will head over to see him.  The last time we had a visit over at his house, he told me he did not think he would be around for much longer...just the thought of losing him breaks my heart.

Thoughts a Swirling Around in my Boggled Brain

 

   Go ahead, laugh at the title of this post...I did! 😉 This brain of mine is very rarely NOT boggled.  And yes, I do question if it is a result of my Fibromyalgia or if it is a result of dealing with PTSD.   Either way, it is what it is, and I am blessed to have a husband that understands and supports me, as well as grown children, who also understand.  My grandkids have never known me any other way, so to them, this is Grammie's "normal".  So what if they think I am a bit crazy...they know I love them with all my heart and that is all that really matters right?

   I have the oldest two grandboys, Bradley and Isaiah, coming to spend the night this weekend.  We are going to do homemade pizzas and I made sure to get the toppings that they love best to put on their own pizzas.  Bradley is my pepperoni fiend, while Isaiah is all about the Canadian Bacon and pineapple.  We may head up over the hill and go to the apple orchard while they are here to pick some more apples, both for here and for them to take home.  It is something we have been doing since they were babies and had become a tradition.

   I am really missing my Steven and need to make a sleep over date with him here soon also.  Maybe we will work it into the first of November when he is coming to spend the day with me since his school has a day off then.  He was such a big part of my weekly life this past Summer and I miss my time with him so very much!

   Our little Tate is growing so quickly and is still trying to master my name.  We have made progress, and I am now called "Dammie".  Hey, I'll take it and we can work on changing the d sound to a gr sound when we go down to see him and his brand- new baby sister Peyton at the end of November.

  Our Lauren is still thinking that baby Peyton will come before her due date.  Knowing our Lauren, she is most likely spot on with what she is thinking.  It is finally really hitting me that yes, we are having a granddaughter!  I was looking through my jewelry the other day and picking out special pieces for her that were my grandmother's, my mother's and some of mine.  She will get them when she is older on special occasions like graduations, her wedding and, as for my wedding ring, upon my going to heaven.  Other pieces will go to my girls, Heather, Lauren and Rachel, with a request that they be passed down to their granddaughters and or great granddaughters.  If I am blessed to still be around when my grandboys get married, some will go to their spouses also.  It just occurred to me that I have some sterling silver hair barrettes that were my great-grandmother's.  I always had super thin hair, so they did not work for me, but if Peyton has her mother's hair, they will work for her.  Yippee!

   All this leads me into the thoughts that have been plaguing my brain...what world are my grandbabies growing up in and will they remain safe and have happy lives?  

   The world as we know it today is a scary place, economically, politically, spiritually and physically.  Although our kids are doing their very best to give their children the best childhoods possible, I worry that with the world being what it is, and getting worse, that my grandkids are going to face hardships in the future beyond anything that we, or our grown children, have ever had to go through.  I keep praying that saner heads will prevail with the whole Russia, China and North Korea mess and the threats of nuclear war.  I pray that people will find ways to stay warm this winter and that there will be enough food to go around worldwide.  I pray that evil people will stop messing around with biological weapons.  I pray that economically people will start to realize that government handouts/bailouts ALWAYS come at a high price that eventually has to be paid.  I pray for people to come to realize that there are dark forces at work trying to pit us against one another and if we play into their game, we all lose. 

    Yes, I pray a lot!  For now, all I can do is try to be as prepared as I can to take care of my beautiful family and to make my grandkids childhoods the best they can possibly be.  I pray for my two kids, Josh and Lauren, who are either active or reserve military, and for my son Chris, who is a police officer.  They are all in jobs that can or do put them in danger's way.  We have made contingency plans in case we have family that needs to move in with us since our home is totally paid for, where some of our kids' homes are not.  We've been reaching out more to our neighbors and trying to bless them with produce from our garden because we know that everyone is facing some scary times and we want to bring a smile to their faces and for them to know that we do care and appreciate them.  

   Uncle Bob made a very keen observation the other day when I was visiting him and said that we are pretty safe here in our small town, but go 40 miles in any direction and you might run into more trouble.  Uncle Bob is one of the last of the "older generation" of people that welcomed us when we moved here 30 years ago and I trust him with my life, and that of my family.  That man is full of wisdom and lots of "spit and vinegar".  LOL!  Sometimes I do have to try to rein him in a bit because he will say what he thinks before realizing that it may cause him some issues in the future. 😉 I scolded him the other day (in love and he knows it) for something he said to someone (that could have led to a fight or worse) and told him that it would look bad if Chris had to come bail him out of jail.  He gave me that sly smile of his because I know that he would not want to put Chris in that position since Chris is a police officer and he loves Chris dearly.  Anyway, there is a lot we can learn from the "Uncle Bobs" of the world and we need to.  They survived the Great Depression, multiple wars, and have so much wisdom to share if we only take the time to sit down, have a cup of coffee with them, and listen.  I learned to can and garden from the "grandmas" and "grandpas" that took me into their hearts and homes when we moved here.  They lavished their love, wisdom and shared their skills, knowledge, plants from their gardens, stories and even taught me how to hand tie quilts.  Yes, we still had quilting bees when I moved here and I now have one of those quilts.  I am forever grateful to them and am looking forward to seeing them again in heaven one day!  

   I guess the point of this post, which I know rambled a bit, is that we need to learn the skills to make it through what is coming.  We need to do everything we can to honor those that came before us and who are filled with knowledge that we all MUST learn in order to survive and thrive.  We need to do everything we can to give our children and grandchild a great childhood to the best of our abilities while still preparing them for what is to come.  We need to reach out to others and form a strong community and watch out for one another.  Most of all though, we need to pray and try to lovingly lead people to Christ who do not already know him. 

   Be blessed my sweet friends and know that you are in my heart and prayers!

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 9/30/22

      Patchy is loving the warmer days to bask in the sunshine and then cuddle up at night.  I frequently have her on my lap and Midgy right by my legs on the recliner in the evenings.  It's comforting and something that I really love about the cooler nights.  Now onto the frugal doings...

 ~We had some lovely warmer weather at the beginning of the week, along with clear skies, so I took advantage of it.  I hung the sheets, cloth napkins and sheets out to dry on the laundry line.  Oh did they ever smell good!

~Jeff and I went to 2 thrift stores and found some books for the grandkids (I love giving them special books), and a squeegee that he wanted for his car.

~Walmart had been having some amazing clearance items.  I got a long-sleeved shirt for $1 and we found a ratchet strap set for a little under $13.  I thought it would make a nice gift item since Jeff did not want at first to get it for his own truck.  We have 2 other kids with trucks.  However, in the end he decided that yes, it would be a good idea to have some for his truck since he does haul a lot of stuff around.

~Say it with me gang...more blackberries were picked!  Lots and lots more. 😉  Jeff took a 2 gallon container of them to work with him on Monday to share with his coworkers.  We try to send in special treats and even plants to share on a semi regular basis.  We have been abundantly blessed and it just feels good to share those blessings with others.

~We were very good and only bought bananas at the grocery store.  I am trying to get through the last week of the month NOT buying anything else there.

~Monday, I had a lovely phone visit with my cousin Jeremy.  He just put an offer down on a house and I am praying he gets it. It has been a long journey for him to find another home to buy after selling his home up in our area and then moving to be closer to his mother. Update:  He got it!

~My sister Leonie and I were finally able to have a nice video chat.  She is currently in New Zealand undergoing more treatment for cancer that has returned.  She is hopeful, but also shared with me some of her fears.  Overall, our chat was a very positive one though and I am so glad that we were able to actually see each other over video as we talked.  I miss her so very much!  I will be forever thankful that we did have a chance to visit when she came up here and finally met a good chunk of my family. Praying that she can make another trip up when she beats cancer again!

~So we have a beautiful calico cat (I named her Ginny), that has been hanging around our place and Shannon's next door.  She had some awful matting on her fur, so I cut the mats off and she seemed so relieved.  Both Shannon and I have been feeding her and she just wolfs down the food.  She is super affectionate, and she seems to have adopted us as her people.  I am going to have Jeff make her a warm little house, that is protected from the wind and snow, for this Winter.  That way if she continues to stay here with us, she will have a snug, warm and safe place to be since she is an outdoor cat, and my kitties are NOT fond of any other kitties in their home.  Update:  I found out who Ginny's owner is and that her name is actually Kat Kat.  Since she responds to "Ginny" and continues to hang around here, I will continue to feed her with her owner's blessing.

~I made a large container of chicken salad with lots of crunchy celery in it.  It made 2 meals for Jeff and I.  Of course I added some sliced fresh tomatoes from our garden to mine.  YUM!

~Looking at all that is happening in the world and with our economy here in the USA, Jeff and I made some changes to our money management system.  I am starting to get a little freaked out about things again....not going to lie.

~A sweet friend from Hawaii sent us a package in the mail with 2 bags of Kona coffee from their coffee farm on the Big Island and lots of other goodies.  One of the bags of coffee is for my mom and will be sent with their Christmas package.  Oh the memories of my childhood growing up in Kona just came rushing back.  Did I ever mention that my father bought a coffee farm shortly after we moved there?  He got it dirt cheap and later sold it to help buy our first nice home there.  We also lived on another coffee farm at one point.  The only safe drinking water came from a tap outside the house.  The rest of the water was rain catchment.  This was all before my brothers were born.  Once Grandma saw where we were living, she and Grandpa bought a house and rented it to my parents so that we would have a nice place to live.

~Rain, glorious rain!  We finally got some much needed deep and drenching rain on Thursday.  Oh it just made me so happy!  I stayed in my jammies and robe all day long.  Looking at the plants outside on Friday morning made me smile because I can see that they loved it too.

~Some nights I have cereal for dinner...Thursday was one of those nights. 😉  Jeff was at his bowling league and I just did not have the energy, nor the desire, to cook anything.

~Our lawn mower decided to stop working and nothing that Jeff did fixed the darn thing.  He called Jaysn to borrow their lawn mower and Jaysn said to just keep it as long as we needed it since they bought a riding one.  Our lawn needs at least one more mowing before the frost comes and kills it.

~Craving some comfort food, I made a meatball and mushroom gravy casserole.  I added a diced up Walla Walla sweet onion from our garden to it while it cooked.  I served it over rice and it was so yummy!  We had enough leftovers for several meals.  I also cooked up way more rice than we needed so that I could use some of the rice in a meal for this coming week.

   Be blessed my beautiful friends, stay safe and please, be prepared for anything that may come your way.  My heart goes out to all the people who have suffered losses from this horrible hurricane Ian.  The devastation there is just unimaginable. 😢 I have kept in touch with friends there and some of them have damage to their homes, but nothing like those in the hardest hit areas.  Please keep all the people there in your hearts and prayers.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 9/23/22

   This is going to be in list form since I was horrible about trying to keep track of what I was doing each day.  Major Fibro Fog due to high stress levels just took me down yet again and I am slowly rebuilding my stamina.  This is something I have learned that I cannot rush or it is a "one step forward two steps back" kind of thing.  I'm trying to keep my sleep schedule semi normal, but there are still nights that despite taking medication to help calm me, I still have a multilane freeway going on in my mind.  Such is life and I cannot stress about the fact that it just happens, or it makes it worse.  This is NOT a "feel sorry for me" post, just the opposite.  It is an acceptance of what my life is and it feels good to finally be able to not put more pressure upon myself.  😊 It has taken me a long time to finally get to this point (many, many years) and I am proud of myself for finally getting here.  Yes, I still get frustrated at what I cannot do, but I no longer beat myself up about it.  There is always going to be stresses in life, but I no longer add to it by feeling guilty about that stress affecting me...does that make sense?

   Anyway, that is not what this post is really about is it?  😉 It's about how we have been trying to save money and live a frugal life.  Is it just me or has anyone else noticed how much grocery prices are jumping up more and more quickly?  Oh my goodness, I was shocked at my bill at Winco the other day.  I paid at least twice what I did for the same items just a few months ago!  Not only that, but my coffee, the Winco house brand, not only went up in price by $2 a can, but they also shrank the can.  Seriously, I kid you not!  I am trying to get ahead of the holidays and stock up on things that we need for those celebrations, along with getting all the gifts for the grandkids.  Anyone else doing this?  Anyway, onto the frugal doings...

~I found some Sesame Street board books for our little grandson Tate.  He loves Sesame Street!  I found the books at the Dollar Tree.

~I stocked up on 40 pounds of flour.  It was cheaper to get it in the 10 pound bags than any other way.  I got them all emptied into washed out food grade buckets with tight fitting lids that I had previously gotten free from Safeway.

~Jeff and I picked all the pears off the trees.  We got a bucket full this year, which is more than we have gotten in previous years.

~I went to Jeff's work for a free BBQ lunch and also got some beautiful robin egg blue paint for half price to paint our front door with.

~I sent some tomatoes to work with Jeff for our friend Dee.  I have an abundance of tomatoes and I wanted to bless her.

~The green larger tomatoes were all picked since the bugs were starting to really get to them with the weather getting colder at night.  They will slowly ripen here in the house.

~Blackberries, blackberries, blackberries!  Oh we have so many!  Jeff and I have both been picking them like crazy.  Most of them are being frozen for me to make jams/jellies, pies and syrups.  I have also been gorging myself on them fresh!

~We finally used up the last of our Montana Huckleberry potatoes.  They were delicious!  We did find that they are not good "keepers" for storage, so we know that we will need to grow some additional good "keeper" type next years also.

~We skipped the county fair this year, even if it was free to get into.  One of the customers that came into the store Jeff works at said that he spent $400 😬at the fair for food and rides.  He also said it was so crowded and they waited for an hour per ride.  Now Jeff and I do not do the rides, but I also do not do huge crowds!  It will send me into a panic attack, and nobody needs that.

~I froze some over-ripe bananas to use later for bread.

~More loaves of my homemade bread were made and quickly consumed.

~I have been planning meals around what we have and needs used up in the fridge and freezer.  Some of the meals we have had were a Sloppy Joe noodle casserole, Little Smokies sausages in the BBQ sauce, grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, broccoli cheese soup and pulled pork sandwiches.  I served these with side dishes of carrot sticks, sauteed squash from our garden, sliced crisp apples, green beans, and coleslaw.

~Kitty TV once again entertained my indoor cats.  I love YouTube and apparently, they do too. 😉

~My dear friend/sistah Roni (also known as my boys "other mother" and I am know as the same for her girls) came over for a girls' night.  We had soup and she brought carrot cake and macaroons for dessert.  Delicious and so good to have some time to just sit. relax and catch up on each other's lives.

~We have been waiting for the new "Rise of Gru" Minion movie to come out on one of our streaming services and it finally did!  Jeff and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

~Jeff fashioned a blackberry picking container out of an old coffee can and a bracket.  He hangs it on the fence as he picks.  Genius I tell ya!

~They had lots of leftover frozen burgers and chips at Jeff's work so they have been BBQing burgers for lunch for the employees and having them bring home some of the chips.

~I thought the microphone on my computer had pooped out on me and tried for hours to figure it how to fix it.  I talked to Josh about it and he offered me his old Macbook to use so we could still do facetimes with Tate.  I did finally figure it out and restored my computer's microphone, but Josh still wants me to bring home the Macbook just in case.

      So that is what we have been up to.  The garden is still producing more cherry tomatoes, squash and blackberries.  The acorn squash continues to grown and I am still praying we get some before the frost hits here.  Jeff has been working on winterizing our house, hot tub and buying more wood pellets to heat with. I've been puttering around and slowly changing out the pictures and flowers over to Fall themed ones.  Soon the new rug will go down in the living room after this (hopefully) last heat wave we are due to be getting starting today.  I am happy for the slower pace of Fall and the shorter days and longer nights.  It just makes me feel more comfy cozy. 😊Be blessedf my sweet friends!

Fall is Finally in the Air and some Thrifting

 

  Fall has finally made its way into the Pacific Northwest and I could not be happier.  Last night we had some rain that knocked down some of the smoke from all the wildfires burning around us.  The air felt crisp, clean and clear as I let the cats out into the back porch this morning.  I decided to join them there and have my coffee while enjoying the cooler clean air.  I breathed in deeply, something I have not been able to do while outside for what seems like an eternity.

   After my coffee, I got the sheets into the washer.  I also made plans for switching out the quilt on the guest bed to one in green tones that my mother made.  I love handmade quilts that hold memories and make you feel like you are wrapped up in the hugs of some of the precious people that spent their time in making them.  I think I will also change out the extra blanket in there that I always keep on the bed to a green one to match the quilt.

   Yesterday Jeff and I went into town to get me out of the house for a bit and pick up a few groceries.  I asked him if we could stop at two of my favorite thrift stores.  I was looking for some decorative plates in a Fall theme that I could hang in my kitchen.  I have been having a wonderful time switching out plates per season, but I had not had any luck finding some in the Fall like colors. 

   Upon my arrival at the first thrift store, I found two matching plates that were perfect for my Fall plate display.  I shared a picture of one of the plates above.  It was made by Johnson Brothers and I just love it.  I got my new to me plates put up in my kitchen now and am enjoying them immensely.  

   The second thrift store I went to is where I found a blanket that I had been eying for over a month now finally marked down to half price.  It is in what I call the "lumberjack" red and black wool pattern.  I had been wanting it to add to my winter cozy and cuddle up decor and for people to be able to use when they came to visit.  I also found a silk scarf that I am in love with and will be taking with me on my trip down to Las Vegas later this Fall.  I love silk for its beauty, softness, warmth and its breathability.

   Habitat for Humanity's resale store is where we really scored though.  I had been unhappy with a lamp we bought for the dining room since it gave off a "buzzing sound" and was not exactly what I wanted.  We stopped in and were greeted with big hugs from one of Jeff's former coworkers, Mike, who is now the manager there.  We found the light fixture that I wanted for $20 and also found fuses for our garage's fuse box (it takes the old screw in fuses).  Mike gave us the fuses for .25 each!  We got all that they had (5 in total) and an electrical adapter that we also needed.

   Now for the grocery shopping, I found a package of 2 rather large, marinated pork roasts marked down to $7.33.  This was an amazing deal!  As soon as we got home, I got both the roasts put into my slow cooker and set it on high.  They completely filled the crockpot.  I flipped them over a couple of times while they were cooking and then, when done, shredded them both up and then put it all into the refrigerator. I now have a very nice meal for us tonight of pulled pork sandwiches, along with leftovers. There are some hamburger buns that I needed to use up ASAP, so the pulled pork will go on them and I will serve it with homemade coleslaw and homemade applesauce on the side.  I also packaged up and put away 2 bags full for other meals.  Quick meals in the freezer are such a blessing since I can just pull them out for us or for someone else that may need a meal.

   Well, that is it for now.  I have things to get done before the hubby comes home later after work.  Luckily, because of the rain, watering can be taken off my "to do" list for today.  Since Jeff picked blackberries for me yesterday, I don't have to do that today either.  We have already frozen a bunch and we are just at the beginning of the harvest season for them.  I'm going to make more blackberry infused gin or vodka, since that came out so well last year.

   Be blessed my sweet friends!

   

When Your Heart Yearns for Things Unseen

 

   Lately my heart has been yearning for something...something unseen.  I can't quite put my finger on it other than I want that feeling of peace, comfort and safety.  I used to feel safe in this little town that I love, but it has changed, and not for the better.  I keep my doors locked even during the day because I am afraid someone may come barging in.  I am also afraid of what may happen due to the "extracurricular activities" of some people who live near me.

   The feelings of not being safe started when Uncle Bob's son came into my home in a rage and was threatening me.  I have not had anything to do with that awful man since then and I hope I never have to.  I do know that Uncle Bob read him the riot act for what he did to me though.  He "apologized" because his father told him to.  He also made excuses for his behavior, so it was a non-apology in my books.

   I have known of the drug activity taking place in our little town and have seen first-hand the comings and goings of certain individuals.  These people are all connected to other people that my son Chris, the police officer, has dealings with on a regular basis.  The other day I heard a police car siren and it stopped here in town.  I just found out this morning that it was because of a home invasion and armed robbery.  The robbery took place due to money being owed for drugs.  The people who committed the robbery were arrested when they got back to Pullman, where they lived.  I know the person who's home was robbed, along with his family.  His ex-wife and I are friends and I taught his kids, along with one of the kids of his current girlfriend.  My heart breaks for all the kids (who are now adults).  They have gone through it with the drug addiction and selling of drugs by their parents.  

   This is a small town with a population of a little over 600 people.  Most of them are decent and hardworking.  They want to raise their kids in a "safe" environment, or they are like Jeff and I... getting into our retirement years.  I also see the pain and destruction that a few "bad apples" have and continue to cause.  It also puts me into a constant stage of high alert, which is not healthy for me.

   I want to feel safe and calm.  I don't want to have to worry about my home being broken into because someone needs "drug money" and thinks they can find things here to sell to get that money.  I don't want to have to worry about seeing a well known drug dealer's car in my neighborhood at all hours of the day and night.  I don't want to see people under the influence of drugs driving their children and grandchildren around either. 😟 And yes, the police are well aware of what is going on.  They have been for years and years now.

   I yearn for a place where I am able to relax and not have to worry about all of the above.  I yearn for a feeling of calm, peace and safety.  Unfortunately, we are not in a position to be able to move out into the country like both Jeff and I would like.  It is like that unattainable beautiful dream that you long for instead of the nightmare that you find yourself trying to wake up from.  That is the best way that I know to describe how I am feeling right now.

   Praying for all of my sweet friends that read this and I do apologize that it is not a bright and cheery post.  I just needed to put down in words what I am feeling right now, at this very moment.  Be blessed, stay safe and know that you are all amazing!

   

   

   

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 8/26/22

 

~We shopped at the thrift stores and found some prepackaged quilt batting (I will give them to my mother who is a quilter), lots of interesting books, a picture frame, some china (one with my Scottish Campbell clan crest and tartan pattern on it), a nice basket, and a few other items.

~Always on the lookout for great deals, I found packages of pork and beef tamales on sale for $7.99.  These are the good ones in the corn husks.  I brought them home and repackaged them into 4 meals for us and then popped them in the freezer.

~Sunday I surprised Jeff with a day that was just all about him.  I made him promised that he could not say "no" before I told him that we were going to take him to the bowling alley so he could practice and try to see if he could bowl with his other hand since he was having pain in the one he usually bowls with.  It worked!  It was so much fun to watch my hubby so excited and figuring out how to "tweak" this approach and positioning of the ball.  We did go out to lunch, again his choice of places.  It was a fairly cheap "date" since we went out to lunch and not dinner and I picked something inexpensive but yummy from the menu and Jeff got league rates for his bowling games. Once we got home, I gave him a haircut. We then settled in with a snacky kind of dinner and watched a few of our favorite shows.

~Monday, I made Pasta Primavera with produce from our garden.  It made for a very frugal and yummy dinner!

~I did not hang the sheets out to dry this week.  With the flea beetles being so bad, I did not want to risk the possibilities of them getting on my sheets.  The "ick factor" overruled the frugal factor.  LOL! 😉

~I'm continuing to harvest tomatoes, squash and the last of the blueberries from the garden.  I noticed that the blackberries are starting to ripen, and I am very excited about that!

~Jeff's cousin's wife Janine and I had a wonderful talk over the phone.  She is an amazing, kind and caring woman and we have so much in common.  It just made my day!

~Tuesday's dinner was teriyaki chicken and pineapple meatballs in teriyaki sauce that I added half of a yellow onion all cut up, and a small cut up zucchini to help "bulk it up" and add some more nutrition to our meal.  I served this over rice and had carrot sticks and crisp apple slices on the side.  Yummy!

~Steven and I went out to our garage and dug out my backpack so I could get it all washed up and ready for our trip later this Fall. 

~Wednesday Steven and I went to the swimming pool.  It was $4 for the both of us.  Not a bad way to spend the afternoon on a hot day.

~Leftovers were for dinner Wednesday night.

~Steven brought his puppy Gus over to play on Friday when he came to spend the day with me.  It was so nice to have Gus around.

~We went next door to "Auntie" Shannon's to see the frogs.  Steven had been patiently waiting to see the tadpoles turn into frogs.

~Jeff brought home dinner for us from Panda Express on Friday.  It had been a long and emotional day for me and I was just spent.