I cut roses from the garden to enjoy inside.
I enjoyed spending time in my garden.
I went to several community garage sales one morning with my parents.
I found some costume jewelry for 50 cents each.
I found two baskets for $1 each and a free basket in someone’s free things.
I found eight new in the box cobalt blue glass votive holders that have stars on them which I plan to use for a party.
I found a crystal star-shaped bowl and a crystal vase for $1 each. I will use the vase as a gift with flowers from my garden. I will use the bowl for salad at parties.
I bought a pressed glass pitcher, a pressed glass candy dish with a lid, and a glass tray with a gold rim for $1 each.
I bought 5 children’s books for $1 total.
At one place, they had a large amount of free items. I got a large ream of paper, two brand-new paint brushes, three paint stir sticks, a container of air compressor oil, and a couple of screwdrivers.
I found a brand-new picture frame for $5, two brand-new pillow covers for 50 cents each, and some brand-new jewelry for 50 cents to $1 (some of which I will give as a gift to a friend).
I attended the Philharmonic for my birthday. I bought a ticket in the least expensive section. The usher asked me what row I was in, and them told me I could move up four rows to a more expensive row, as they hadn’t sold any tickets in that row.
What did you do to save money last week?
Thank you for your support of my site!
Visit My Amazon Storefront Here for all my recommendations
What a wonderful gift from the usher. The dress looks beautiful on you and matches the beauty of the garden.
I planted as much as I could right now, and would be ok if the temps dipped a little bit yet. One more week before it is safe to go full planting mode.
Collected warm up and unused water to water the plants above. Also used large tomato stakes that have been taking up residence in my garage to mark herb identification on to make it super easy for the Mister.
The Mister repaired block walls and a drainage issue over the weekend.
I asked for gifts that can be spared (ie – strawberry plants) and a family hike that will be nearby for my birthday celebration this year.
I found a vintage book at a thrift store – the title is the name of our cat. For 50 cents, inside there were lovely hand written notes, recipes and drawings pushed in between the pages. It was such a delight.
I wanted to monitor calorie intake, using a little notebook and pen and with the help of the internet, calorie count that way and lost 5 lbs.
Hope everyone has a calm and pleasant week!
You are beautiful! Gas was $3.03 gallon at SAMS today. I did my usual of cooking at home and walking in the neighborhood. My son made several repairs to his house and to mine that would have been very expensive to pay for. I only paid for the materials.
Good Afternoon!
1. I went to the store for the last time this month. I had $8.00 left in my $200 a month food challenge. I bought 2.5 pounds of discounted organic bananas, a large bag of spinach and a large bag of dried cranberries for 8.27. Success. I will make spinach, bleu cheese, cranberries, and home grown roasted pecan salad with balsamic vinegar for dinners this week. The bananas will go in the final batches of use it up smoothies. At some point I was overzealous in buying powders – kale, protein, matcha, etc . . . It won’t happen again.
2. I sold a rather expensive silver and coral necklace on Poshmark. Rather than keep the balance as credit, I had Poshmark Venmo me the 139.00. I put it straight into the travel budget for the Antartica Cruise. I also put in an extra hour of sub pay I taught for a friend.
3. It is Mom’s bday on Friday. I am going to cook dinner and bring it to her. I have a happy birthay Cake hat I used when I taught elementary. I will make her wear it while we sing and eat homemade molasses cookies. I can make cake because I am out of sugar. All I have is molasses and powdered sugar. Ideas?
4. I was sort of hitting a wall this weekend. I have spent over $350 LESS on food this month. I have been hyper focused. But then I had to eat some expiring dishes and forced to throw a few things away. Then I undercooked the pizza ( it has been a long time since I had homemade pizza. ) All of the sudden, everything was so hard, too hard. Today I feel much better. I ate the leftover pizza which today is delish. I have cut up homemade apple cake and hardboiled eggs for lunches and I love that. It takes much determination to stick to intentions day by day. The blogs I read help so much. I don’t think I could do this without them.
Make cookies! I recently made a cookie recipe that only used powdered sugar, so I imagine there are several out there.
Good Idea. I’ll search for a few recipes.
Gingerbread
Gingerbread is a great idea and I’ll use Jane’s idea of weight for the powdered sugar. I did a little research that the cornstarch in the powdered sugar might throw things off a little but in the recipe I have it is only 1/2 cup.
Hi Mary Ann, perhaps use an English or Australian recipe. They use weights for ingredients instead of cups. A cup of powdered sugar is more than a cup of granulated sugar but the weight will be equivalent and therefore accurate. I hope your mother has a fun birthday x
Hi, what cruise company are you going with for your Antartica cruise? I have always wanted to do one but never seen one that was not too expensive.
Shortbread aScottish biscuit uses icing sugar which I believe is powder sugar.
Wow you’re doing amazing on cutting your grocery bill by that much !You should still be able to make cakes using icing sugar,just use less than the recipe calls for because icing sugar is regular sugar that’s been blended finer or what about making a gingerbread cake that uses molasses?You can sprinkle some icing sugar on top when it cools or use a paper doily for a pretty design if you have one.
It has been a beautiful week, though I have been slow because of a cold. My husband drove 4 hours to help our oldest daughter move into her first owned house. While he was away I ate very simply and didn’t drive far. He treated to kids to In-n-Out one day (probably the cheapest fast food around there) and he bought 2 pizzas from Costco to feed the friends that also helped with the move. Our daughter did not have to hire movers or even a U-haul because she had so many friends help.
I have transplanted calendulas and guara that self-seeded. Love free plants. I also potted 5 blackberry starts that had sprung up in unwanted places. Once they are rooted I will plant them where I want them. I also potted 2 thyme cuttings, which I use for little gifts once they have grown fuller.
We had our roof replaced 2 weeks ago and I have kept on the company to come back do the finishing work. They came today and I hope they are done. This is a big expense and I am determined to get the whole job that I will be paying for (not paid yet, and won’t be til it’s inspected).
I picked up a dual window fan for free at a yard sale and have it listed on FB marketplace. It just needed a little cleaning. I also bought a pair of flannel Hanna Anderssen pajamas, which I will sell in the fall. I’m really embracing flipping as it is an income stream that I can still do despite my chronic illnesses.
I’m trying to clean a little bit each day, and to pull some weeds. We have a few cooler days forecast and I’ve made a list of garden jobs I’d like to get done in them.
Beautiful roses Brandy! What wonderful garage sale finds. Love you got a seat upgrade at the Philharmonic!
**Since I’m on leave from work at the moment, I have been staying at home save for Dr appts. We have been cooking at home using items from our pantry.
** Was supposed to begin chemo on Friday but my insurance still has not given authorization to do so as of yet. So VERY frustrating! I have called them numerous times.
**My employer sent a lovely bouquet of flowers that included roses, carnations, tulips & daisies.
**I received a box of cancer treatment items from a charity that included a no-tie fleece blanket, a knitted beanie, a notebook, a deck of cards, a Bible, a water bottle, toothpaste, lip balm, a toothbrush, tissues, and unscented hand lotion.
**My MIL made me a no-tie fleece blanket with the pink ribbon on it to bring with me on chemo days & had leftover fleece to also make me a matching pillow.
Wishing everyone a great week!
Wishing you all good things Kelly.
Sending hugs and prayers to you during chemo!!
Kelly you are in my thoughts and prayers. Insurance has us over a barrel, but keep calling.
Kelly, every state has an insurance regulatory agency. If they don’t respond, I would call and explain that your next step is to file a formal complaint with the insurance regulator. Make sure to get the name of the person you talk to, as well as the time and date. Their delay impacts your recovery from cancer so it may be time to go to the next level. Most insurance companies do not like dealing with the regulators. Good luck in that and with your treatment.
Kelly, prayers for God’s healing energy for you.
Hello, frugal friends from the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia! And Happy Birthday to you, Brandy! Lovely post again this week. I am afraid things have not been too frugal the past 2 weeks. I landed in the hospital with a highly contagious intestinal infection brought on by the wrong antibiotics. I spent 5 days in hospital. I was released to go home a week ago today. I am not allowed to return to work for another 3 weeks, which puts me at the last week of school…so my part time job lasted 3 weeks, but the principal and staff could not have been nicer. I have been told they will use me next year at the start of the year. Because of being in the hospital a lot of food went to waste. Mr. Fix It stayed at the hospital all but the last night. He drove home once a day to shower and check on things or pick a few things up for me. Once we knew I was coming home Mr. Fix It went to the grocery store and bought lots of expensive cleaners and foods. The man is a genius when it comes to fixing things but I hate sending him to the grocery store “unsupervised” as he always comes home with a lot of unnecessary and expensive things. He spent $178 on cleaners and a few groceries! But he bought things he thought I would eat which was sweet. I lost 8 pounds in a matter of days and I am already on the thin side. So I let it go and thanked Mr. Fix It for looking out for me. Now that I am beginning to feel better I am trying to make up the difference by using what we have in the pantry and freezers, etc. Our neighbors have been great helping us with the dog and gifting us with homemade bread and soup. Our volunteer lettuce has kept us in salads and we have gotten a little asparagus as well. The green onions I planted before all this have sprouted and are looking good. I am also very thankful for the great insurance we have. I am on Medicare but also have Tricare for Life through my husband’s military career. All those lonely days and nights and months somehow seem worth it now that our health has started presenting some challenges. Hopefully we will be able to avoid any further hospital stays for a while. Having this blog to read with all the frugal friends commenting really helped me when I was in hospital last week. Your photos perked me right up as well, Brandy. My view from the window in my isolation room was a brick wall and large air conditioning unit. Your pictures were much more pleasant and reminded me that spring was here. Thanks for everything!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the pictures!
Your garden is looking especially lovely. What fun to find so many things at the community garage sale.
One of my neighbors brought over two boxes of items from her pantry. There was so much her cousin, who lives in an apartment in her house, had to help carry it. My neighbor had been cleaning out her pantry so she could paint it, and was getting rid of things beyond their Best Used By date, but still within USDA guidelines. There were cans of soup, baked beans, mixed beans and kidney beans, packets of cauliflower rice and some mixed grains, herbal teas, hot chocolate and instant cappuccino, and dishwashing liquid. There were also some other miscellaneous items, like elastic bandages.
I was not the only person who benefited from this pantry clean-out. Her cousin, who is very recently unemployed, a friend, and her mother also got boxes. She kept saying, “I’m only one person. I can’t eat it all.”
I’ve been through the items to read dates and ingredients, and decide what I would use, and then found places to put them near the front of my pantry. There will be some quick lunches, extra ingredients for casseroles and soups and hot drinks to enjoy. The teas will probably make some nice cold drinks for summer as well. A premium brand of raspberry hot chocolate that I know is a little like unsweetened chocolate has gone into my baking section. I think it will be a good replacement for cocoa in some chocolate cookies when fall comes around. A few things are not staying, such as sugar replacement and coconut milk, and a brand of hot chocolate with a crazy amount of saturated fat.
We’re having beautiful weather this week, after a few cold days last week. The whole house is full of sunshine.
What a great way to celebrate your birthday. You look beautiful, Brandy. And I love the photos of your flower arrangements.
My mom’s birthday was last week as well, and my sister and I brought her a homemade lunch to celebrate. The owner of the group home where my mom lives also planned a small celebration with a birthday cake. So, after our lunch, all the residents and my sister and I all gathered around the big table and had cake. I thought it was really nice of the owner to do this. For a present, I gave my mom a small tote from the dollar store with several useful things: rubber bands, paperclips, scotch tape, and some post-its. My mom loved it and I think I only spent about $4 out of pocket.
I have a black and white printer, but I needed few pages printed out in color. Our library system offers $1.50 worth of printing/copying per week free of charge, which equals 3 color pages or 10 black and white pages. I needed 5 color pages printed out, so I did 3 pages last week and then 2 this week (the total resets on Sunday).
Other frugals:
– Recycled some old electronics and a printer cartridge at Staples. Also had one printout laminated, and the staff member helping me gave me a discount on that.
– Swapped some food with my sister.
– Found three home office items I needed at the thrift store for $2 each, much cheaper than buying them new.
– Donated several items to a Free Little Library, and selected a book to enjoy.
– I recently did some testing through my new dentist and his office provided me with the written report of the results. The receptionist told me I could come in to discuss this with the dentist, and let me know it would be a $129 office call charge. I explained politely that I had already spent all of my dental budget for the year ($2000, spent at their office). I then asked whether it would be possible to have a five minute phone call with the dentist – at no charge or a reduced rate – so he could give me a quick synopsis of the results and his recommendations. (Note: This is a small private practice, and the front desk staff is extremely nice). I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Well, the dentist actually called me and gave me a brief rundown of the results and what he recommends. I thanked him for his call, and also let the front desk staff know how much I appreciated it. I personally have worked in several small medical offices and have, on occasion, done things like this for certain patients when there was a need. I would always go above and beyond for patients who were pleasant and treated me with respect. So I always strive to be this kind of patient too.
Hope everyone has a great week.
Hmm. I wonder if ours offers color printing.
Great finds at the yardsales! Prices at ones here are crazy for used stuff.
Was kind of a slow week around here, my allergies went into a sinus infection, so I was just trying to breathe most of the week, lol.
I did redeem a couple more birthday freebies…I got a free farmhouse sandwich from Einstein Brothers, then a cookie from another place.
I received $50 on my check for doing a health risk assessment at work.
I only have three more paychecks this school year. I need to make a list of stuff I want to buy before summer gets here. I have money saved back to cover the bills I pay for June, July, and August, but lll only have a tiny amount of extra for anything else.
My new phone decided to quit sending and receiving texts. I went to Verizon and they think it’s a software issue. I’m waiting on it to get updated. If it doesn’t work, they’ll replace my phone.
There are always high-priced sales too.
I walked away from a sale where the woman had high prices and wouldn’t come down even a little bit when I was willing to buy a lot of items from her. So, I bought nothing at all from her.
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful roses with us. And way to go on the garage sale finds.
This week I harvested lettuce, chard, and arugula from the greenhouse.* I wanted zippered bedding (Beddy’s) for the RV beds, but it would cost close to $400 purchased new. I watched a video online that showed a woman making her own. I had everything I needed except some snaps. The $10 on snaps was all I spent – plus two full days of sewing. But they are going to make our camping lives so much easier. (The beds were a pain to make up and never looked neat.) *This was an expensive week, in that we paid our annual property taxes, annual checkups for both dogs, annual dental insurance, and the repair fee for my sewing machine. I’m thankful we had money set aside for all of these, though, as usual these days, everything was more expensive than I had budgeted, so we had to take some from other savings. But I know it will work out. * Organic strawberries were on sale, so I purchased 4 pounds and made 6 jars of jam, a strawberry shortcake, and froze about a pound for future use. Strawberry jam is our favorite.
I have a white Beddy that is full size. We had a camper and I used it on that bed. We went out twice and then sold the camper. It is On Cloud Nine Luxe Minky- white chenelle with Minky backing. $100 with set with sheets. comforter, and 2 shams. If interested contact me at dhdearmon@gmail.com. I can get photos.
I ordered two new peach and one new cherry tree to add to my “orchard.” I also ordered 20 more asparagus spears. I had a 10% off coupon for the nursery. I bought twelve strawberry plants that were on sale at a local farm store to add to my beds. I also ordered a new galvanized steel raised bed that has a greenhouse cover. I had been eying one for a while and it finally went on sale. It was a little more expensive than building one, but not much. And it should last longer and be more pest resistant.
It was customer appreciation day at a local grocery outlet store. It’s a store associated with a large food shopping company in our area. We got free lunch and some good buys. Some of our best deals were 48 yogurts for $1 (they expire next week, but even if we only eat a few it is still cheaper than grocery – but I’ve found yogurt is usually fine for several weeks past expiration), 1.5lbs of walnuts for $1.99 (super excited to have these for baking again! I bought several bags and popped them in the freezer), 3lbs of M&Ms for $5.00, boneless skinless chicken breast for $2.33 per pound (I bought 6 pounds – that’s the price I usually pay for bone in around here!), snack size packs of trail mix for 10 cents each, and a 5 pound bag of cereal for $3.99.
We have been wanting to buy a trampoline for my son for his birthday. I saw that a local sporting goods store had one listed online for $100 off. You had to scan an online coupon to get the deal. I downloaded the coupon and headed to the store. When I got there, the store had already marked them down $25. I thought the coupon would just take off another $75, but it actually took off the full $100 – making it $125 off! It came with an enclosure and a basketball hoop. I think he’ll love it!
I picked up two extra evaluations at work this week. It takes longer to get paid for them than regular sessions, but I make about $250 per evaluation when I finally do get paid – so that’s an extra $500, eventually!
We were sick last weekend – so we didn’t go anywhere or do anything.
There is a website called : Eat by Date. It is a great reference to foods for me.
Brandy! Your garden is incredible! Daffodils, magnolia trees and the cherry blossoms have finally bloomed here – but – it was still very cold over the weekend and I was even walking in some snow flurries while out on Saturday! I love those blue earrings – what good buys!
It was a very spendy week for me. I finally decided to buy a few pieces of furniture from IKEA so everything has been delivered and Task Rabbit will show up tomorrow to put everything together. I had the money and these are things I’ve been thinking about for ages – although I did change my mind about one item and saved myself nearly $500. It would have been nice but not necessary at this point in time. In order to get ready for this I’ve been moving things around and cleaning as I go so that is a positive – although it has been tiring.
I also spent quite a bit on groceries – both food and non food items. I was worried about a transit strike (its been settled) so wanted to be well supplied. I’d earned $60 in Loyalty Points so also spent that on the way home from church on Sunday – went to the fancy store and bought some nice “extras” and treats to add to the pantry but used the points. I think my next big purchase will be a small chest freezer – with drought in some countries and too much rain in others its already looking as though produce prices will go up even more so a freezer would be really helpful. It will probably be the end of May or June before I have the funds but that’s ok – one thing at a time.
I did do a quick pantry inventory and moved a few more items into the kitchen to use up over the next week or so. I used a can of Costco’s canned chicken to make a big chicken salad which I’ll have with salad over the next few days. I also made a quiche which was lunch today and will be breakfast for the next few days. I have a lot of appointments and zoom meetings this week so it’s nice to have some meals already prepared. I’ll probably keep it simple and just make some kind of pasta later in the week to finish things off – there is a lot of pasta that needs to be used up!
Have a wonderful week everyone.
My husband fixed the truck (again…different part but, ug I am so over it and we’re still paying on it)
My husband found a huge pallet box made with 2×6’s for free and brought it home for me so I can expand the garden further. I had his cake he requested in the oven and couldn’t go with to help – thankfully the person was willing to help but he still spent the next couple days in more pain than usual.
I started seeds for tomatoes, peppers, lemon grass, rudbeckia, lovage, savory, marigolds, hollyhock, dune grass, asters, rue and thyme.
I spent 2 days digging up my garden – I had rebuilt my strawberry beds but couldn’t find where the septic tank lids were….we thought there were 2 which is on the papers when we bought the place. However, I found 4. I spent 2 days building boxes out of scrap wood to go over each cap so I’ll never have to do this again. Each box has a cover that I can put potted annual herbs and flowers on so the space wont be wasted.
We picked up a truck load of potting soil at a fraction of what the store charges. Hopefully this will improve my bucket gardens production this year.
I spread all the chicken manure/bedding mixed with the compost and dug that in to the dirt I’m using to fill my new garden box.
We purchased 5 chicks at clearance prices. We plan to do this each year so we always have some younger hens producing.
We used our tax refund to get a (different) part for the truck and the labor for the garage to put it in – it wasn’t something my husband could do. We also re-stocked the pantry canned goods and got some freeze dried foods. We also bought more socks (husband is diabetic – good socks and shoes are a must have)The rest unfortunately had to go to property taxes that had been screwed up by the county drain person 🙄
We accepted clothes, toys and diapers our neighbor was getting rid of for our grandson.
Apparently, tulips like if you accidentally dig them up and scatter them. We didn’t know there were so many even planted here but we are loving the spring color!
We ate all meals at home but did get a ice cream treat 2x – it’s a sign the winter blah is over when the shop opens back up 😀
Have a good week everyone!
I have never heard of chicks going on clearance. Here, they are sold out within 1 to 2 days of arriving at the store. It has been this way for at least 15 years.
$1 a pullet. It’s how I’ve gotten almost all my birds. It just took patience and willingness to deal with different age chicks to get all the breeds I wanted.
That’s wonderful! It’s almost impossible to get chicks here at any price.
I saw diabetic socks at my Dollar Tree today.
Brandy, I LOVE the vintage jewelry!! And your roses make me jealous. So Beautiful! We are still having frost overnight here in central Minnesota. My tulips, daffodils, and rhubarb are starting to peek up! Spring has sprung!
-I placed and picked up my Azure bulk order-I got organic cane sugar, a case of organic peas, raw milk cheddar cheese, raw milk mozzarella cheese, organic cornstarch, unbleached cheesecloth, and organic rice flour. Only other groceries was a head of lettuce, half and half, and milk.
-We bought 3 metal raised beds and they have been delivered. With my neck surgery, doing in ground planting has to be kept to a minimum. I will plant potatoes, onions, and tomatoes in ground and mulch them for weed suppression. Hubby will be in charge of that portion of the garden. The rest of the seeds will go in the raised beds and I will weed and harvest those. We are still 4-5 weeks from last frost.
-Meals this week were Swedish meatballs (meatballs were from the freezer) with mashed potatoes, and canned Brown sugar carrots (this made 2 meals); grilled venison steak with salads; grilled brats, hash browns, and home canned green beans; tacos using home canned salsa and salsa verde; and chicken breasts marinated in home canned salsa verde and grilled with home canned corn and baked potatoes (done in the crock pot)
-I am making it a priority to use home canned foods to empty jars for this summers canning.
-There is a rummage sale soon at church. I have been decluttering to send stuff there to be sold. The proceeds will be used for the kids mission trip this summer.
-I moved all my overflow canning from the basement up to my pantry. My husband was happy to have his shelf space back.
-We finished our 2022 beef. I moved the 2023 1/4 beef to the bigger chest freezer. My small chest freezer is almost empty. I will try and rearrange stuff in freezers this week (we have 3-a small apartment size chest freezer, a medium chest, and an upright) and shut down the small chest freezer until we start harvesting from the garden and get our 1/4 beef this fall.
-Not much else as I have been home most of the week so little money spent.
Have a great week!
I ran away from home this week. My daughter works 12 hour shifts and rarely comes home. On my way to her place I stopped at all my favorite dumpsters. I have a crate of turnips , lemons ,tomatoes, and chicken. I’m going to try making pasta sauce. I thought I had thighs but they are wings and chicken backs. I have the most incredible batch of bone broth simmering. I find that drinking the broth helps several issues I have. I’m going to gift the turnips and need to Google recipes for the lemons. By body doesn’t bend as well as it once did. But I can be tempted by the right dumpster. I found cases of water, ocean spray cran grape, catfood and a tiny dog food . But , there were 20 forty lb bags of dirt. So ,u0 ,over and in ,I went. I tossed everything out ,loaded car ,and went home. My neighbor was attempting to repair my lawnmower. I think that’s a failure for another day. But his wife was ecstatic to have the dirt for a flower bed. Works been slow and I know they are really hurting financially. They took the juice and dirt and I stocked my supply of water. Their son cut my grass and weed eated the yard. I’m grateful for backup help. I had asked another neighbor with a lawn business to cut my grass and he never showed up. Those struggles annoy me. I bought about 125.00 worth of meat at Kroger for 30.00 . I’m going to cook the meat and freeze it. I made a happy visit to Goodwill. I spent $15.00 on one dollar items. I love the books I got and the clothing items were all needed. The elevator was out. I carried the box of chicken up to the next level to catch a different elevator. I’ve injured my back and tucked up in bed with appropriate self care. I collected a jackpot of goods from the Homegoods store. There were several candles ,a hoodie and some of those large glass jar dispensers. Like serving lemonade? I won’t use them but I imagine my daughter will. She has girl parties a few times a year. Birthday and bridal/baby shower types. The 1 hour drive to the city pretty much filled my car up. I hope everyone is having a good week. My head is feeling a lil wonky and I often wonder if my writing makes sense.
My lemonade recipe uses a lot of lemons. Do a search for it on my site.
I juice lemons from my tree and freeze them in ice cube trays, then bag. I also zest and freeze that too. Great for quick meal prep.
Lilliana
That was quite a haul!
Hi Brandy and everyone
I love seeing your garage sale finds! I love a bargain and I enjoy yours and those of everyone here too. The jewellery is lovely and I hope we will see photos of the vases etc in due course. You looked beautiful going to the concert and how kind of the usher to upgrade your seat. Thank you for the stunning flower photos too.
I have done some personal spending this week, new swimming goggles in a sale and replaced my straw tote which was beyond repair with one from TK Maxx with leather reinforced corners. I bought greetings cards on an offer. I try to always have a stock in the house of cards which are regularly needed, plus postage stamps. We live rurally and I don’t want to keep dashing into town.
I made bits and bobs veg soup and stirred in the end of a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto. It fed us for two meals. I made ice cream using homemade vanilla essence.
We have sown runner beans and french beans, planted out sweet peas and potted on celery and rudbeckia. We’ve eaten Swiss chard and purple sprouting broccoli from the garden and cut tulips for the house.
Sadly I attended a friend’s funeral and carpooled with friends. Her husband asked everyone to wear blue, her favourite colour and I had a suitably formal outfit in blue in my wardrobe. Not everyone is formal at funerals these days but I’m old school.
A young friend has a 3D printer and made us a couple of ‘ tube squeezers’ . They work brilliantly and we’re getting the very last bit out of toothpaste tubes.
A friend decided to give up flower arranging as a hobby and offered me the pick of her supplies for free. I gratefully chose some lovely things like coloured wires, ribbons and pearl headed pins etc to supplement my own supplies.
Stay safe everyone.
We are cooking at home. I have been watching cooking videos on YouTube. We made a package of chicken last a week for all three of us, just adding in veggies, rice and beans. My husband thought he was going to need to fix our tractor. It started though. We were so happy! I was able to buy peppers 4 for a dollar! We made stuffed peppers. I also got some sweet potatoes , 4 for a dollar. The week before peppers were $2.98 each!
Of course they needed used right away.
Hi Tammy,
I’ve been following your posts. It sounds as if though money is tight you are doing really well. You mentioned
picnics last week and I think that’s a great idea. Events like that are fun and will be remembered by kids all their lives.
Keep on keeping on. Ann
Ann,
Yes, money is tight. But we are doing good. I think you are right. I still remember picnicking with my parents and grandparents. It was a wonderful time! I remember having my grandkids all day and so went on a picnic for several meals. They were so happy to eat outside! I want to do as many fun very cheap or free ideas I can do with them. I hope you are doing well. Thanks for writing!
Tammy
Just want to thank you for the lovely site and inspiration. I so enjoy reading what everyone is doing to be frugal. This week I received a coupon from a local garden shop and was able to pick up carrot seeds and a flowering begonia for my patio table for free. I’m gathering ideas for spending time with the grandchildren this summer without spending too much (art projects, hikes, gardening), and they’ve each chosen something to plant in my garden. Thanks again, Brandy and readers!
I saw an idea for outdoor time with children that was so easy I couldn’t believe I’d never seen it before. Have them find four sticks, lay them on the ground in the form of a frame, and make a picture with found objects. Could be fun to leave behind on a trail or at the beach.
Your garden looks lovely! Thanks for your advise a while back on my rose bush. Being a young plant; I did not trim back the canes and it is growing bigger and looking nice as spring has arrived.
I am spending a lot of time researching soil. My plants stay alive, but do not thrive and do not produce much. I hope to change that this year. I have also been weeding and tilling the dirt. Another month before I can plant outside. On my kitchen window seal my son started some daisy and cone flower seeds.
We continue to reorganize what we have. We purchases a bunch of shelves and containers that fit on the shelves with credit card points. Already, the kids are having fun playing with toys they could not get to and we are using items we have found.
I have found that adding composted, weed-free (sterile bagged) manure has really improved my soil and helped my plants grow better.
Thank you Brandy. I am adding adding more sterile bagged composted manure. After your story of what happened to your garden, that is the only way, I am going to buy it. I have discovered my soil has too much clay. Three different resources has said to add more compost.
We received some pantry staples from dear daughter who cleaned out her storage locker. I have been collecting on a few odds and ends that are owed to me. I spent $1.50 on flash food limes but when I went to pick them up they didn’t have any so need to get a refund. I complained about construction noise at a hotel in Feb and will be getting $220 back so well worth my time. I arrived at a whale watching tour last week which was cancelled so waiting on that refund as well. They said all the whales were gone but managed to find 2 with another tour operator who was cheaper. I saw the solar eclipse too which was a bonus. I had to see the doctor for an allergic reaction while away and will submit that bill to my travel medical insurance-so lots of paperwork this week but should save $.
Welcome home, I. You picked a great time to go to a lovely, warm place. Ann
Happy Birthday! It sounds like a lovely way to spend it. Last week, I harvested asparagus, lettuce, and arugula. A grocery bag of nettles was gathered, and delivered to my potter friend, who recently gave me her extra vegetable seedlings. I mulched the carrots, beets and swiss chard. Something chewed the lid of a birdseed bucket enough to make it leak, so most of the seed had molded. As I couldn’t use it as feed, I worked up a plot of ground in the main garden, in the area which has the poorest soil, and spread the seeds. I’m hoping there will be enough viable seeds to give us many sunflowers, and also stalks we can till in to improve that area. We had a major frugal fail. Our large stand up freezer door was not fully closed, and not found until the next day. Of course, everything defrosted. Much is being composted. Some is being fed to the dogs and chickens. A few things will be tried before deciding, such as GF bread, which I think will be fine. At least I’d been working on clearing it out, so there was less in there than often is. My husband & I divided and planted the hostas my sister and BIL gave me. A number of wintersown containers were ready to plant out, including rudbeckia maxima, bachelor buttons, black knight scabiosa, borage and marigolds. I got them in the ground Saturday, before a forecast of rain, along with the golden alexander I bought at a pottery several weeks ago. Lantana and penstemon were transplanted to sunnier places, and creeping phlox that had spread out was moved to several new places. My husband planted seeds of lima beans, green beans, cucumbers, yellow, zucchini and tromboncino squash in the garden, and three gifted cucumber seedlings. I planted basil, nasturtium, portulaca and zinnia seeds. A volunteer parsley was transplanted into a bed.
Happy Birthday! Your roses are beautiful. I saw on one of mine with a rose bud this morning. You look fabulous in that red dress. What garage sale finds. I am not finding much at the ones I have been to this year. The extension office had a class on compost last week and I went and I am now starting some bins. My husband built me 2 bins to start with. My FCE group meet last week and our activity was rock painting. It was so much fun, but an artist I am not. My office had a meeting on Friday so I received a free lunch. We had a frost last night, so my husband and I covered the garden as best as we could. Every sheet I had was in the garden. We mowed and weeded the church yard yesterday. Our grandson has a t-ball game tonight, we love to go and support the teams. We clap and yell for all of the kids playing on each team. My niece and her husband are in Washington DC this week on vacation and so I am responsible for her two cats, they are like children to her and they are so funny.
Brandy, your yard is beautiful and I love all the vintage jewelry you were able to get at garage sales.
I went to a thrift store to look for summer dresses. I prefer wearing them during the day when it’s hot as it keeps me cooler. I found two–one for $5 and another for $6. They will likely get me through at least two seasons. I also modified two dresses I bought last year for $6 each. They had tulip hemlines, which I think are a bit dated. I cut the hemlines to be straight and I like them better.
My super find at the thrift store was three small organized boxes of embroidery floss. The person who owned them wound the thread skeins onto plastic bobbins. The bins were $2 each, so I spent $6 for about 200 skeins of floss. I don’t do much embroidery, but perhaps it’s time to take it up! I also alerted friends who embroidery to let me know when they need more floss.
I finished a pair of knitted socks and started another one from my stash.
I won a bouquet of pussy willows at a bingo game.
I listened to “The Last Bookshop in London” by Madeline Martin while working on tasks. I had read it about a year ago but am reviewing it for a book group discussion.
I am moving summer clothes to my closet, discarding a few items along the way. I am also washing and removing the pills from my handknit sweaters so they will be ready for the fall.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
What a deal on the embroidery thread.
Your photo of your yard looks like a formal garden, it is so beautiful! What amazing yard sale finds! I love going to yard sales, I am hoping the big annual one near me is on for this spring, I always find books and clothes for my grandkids for gifts!
*My neighbor dropped off two bucket loader fulls of manure(aged)! I am thrilled to have more. I weeded a corner of one garden bed for wild flowers, they will be beautiful and help with pollination hopefully! I saw volunteer marigolds and a few cherry tomatoes so that is good news! My green beans are starting to pop up and the spring veggies are doing well. I use my chard for swapping with a friend when her figs come in.
* E had a family reunion at my sisters which is 2 hours away. 5 of the 6 of us siblings made it and several of the nieces including one of my daughters. She requested several of my flowers and so I was able to give her those! I love that we get to share flowers, my parents would be so happy! My sister sent us home with 2 chicken salad sandwiches, that my husband had for dinner. I made chickpea chocolate cookies that tasted like brownies that I took as one of my sides .I gave my brother some salve as he lives on a farm and immediately one of his grandkids got a bite and we were able to use it. My niece asked if I would show her how to make it. So I will make the 2 hr trip in June and several of the family want to come, my brother is supplying the beeswax and I will bring the infused herb oils. I give my salves for baby gifts in the family along with books.
* I have brand new looking but used books for a baby shower this weekend.
* I am working hard not to waste food or garden produce. With my boxes of marked down produce I haven’t needed to buy hardly anything this month!
Good morning. You look lovely in your red dress. The flowers are beautiful too.
This is for two weeks, as I did not post last week.
It was the end of tax season, but I will still be working until the end of May. Then I am retiring. I turned 70 in April and have decided it’s time.
My children, spouses and granddaughter, all came home over the weekend close to my birthday. We all enjoyed the pool at the hotel, went out to dinner, and then we kept our granddaughter at our house, and gave the parents their first night on their own since she had been born 16 months previously. We all had a lovely time.
I made a double batch of lasagna, a batch of Italian seasoning from our home-grown herbs, Italian sausage and gnocchi soup, tostadas using homemade refried beans from the pinto beans we grew, homemade pizza and homemade chow mein.
On April 15th, I joined my co-workers to celebrate the end of tax season at a dinner paid for by the bosses.
I purchased our seed potatoes and onion sets on a Wednesday, when the garden center gives 10% off most things purchased. It at least covers the sales tax, as well as a little more.
Took some homemade salsa out of the freezer to thaw and then gave to our son to take home.
I shelled more pinto beans, getting near the end now. Planted lettuce in our trough. It may be too early still but thought I would give it a try. My DH trimmed some trees that were overgrowing and shading the garden too much.
I picked a few chives and a little bit of lovage. My thyme died over the winter but will plant more as we really like it.
Did all the usual – wore outer clothes more than once if they did not get dirty, changed out of work clothes when I got home from work, read books and listened to books on CDs during my commute – all from the library, didn’t go shopping for entertainment, brought breakfast and lunch to work on the days I was in the office and ate at home on the days I wasn’t. All in all, a relatively normal 2 weeks (other than kids visiting and a birthday).
Hope everyone has a great week ahead.
Happy birthday. You look amazing. I love all of your garage sale finds.
Hubby and I, with another couple went upstate for a 4 day weekend. We stayed at my sister’s best friend’s lake house. They offer it to family and friends to use except May-September. We are happy to go off season. We brought food with us and cooked everything except 2 meals out(1 was on the car ride home). I made coleslaw, carrot cake and banana nut muffins to take with us. I had onion soup for dinner out and some of Hubby’s fish and chips. We have been to this restaurant before and Hubby swears they have the best fish and chips. It is huge so he is happy to share. We both drank tap water too. We used the crock pot for dinner 2 nights to make it easy on us. They ask that you either pay $200 cleaning fee or clean yourselves. We spent about an hour cleaning before we left. We are not messy people so it was basically laundry, garbage, wash dishes, vacuum etc. We have done it before and it has never been a problem. Several people do not have this option anymore as they don’t know how to clean properly.
All activities were free, we rode their Gator, walked by the water, watched Paramount plus(we don’t have this), sat by the fireplace , went in the hot tub, played games and read books. As a thank you gift I made a gift basket up from my sale/thrift gifts. It was 2 board games, a candle, a fluffy blanket, 2 pairs of fuzzy socks, and a few snacks. Our friends gave us 2 bottles of wine to add to it.
Now back to reality.
A question for the more experienced corn bread bakers. My husband loves it, not the sweetish kind but the more savory versions. I read that you could use saved bacon grease instead of butter for the recipes but I hesitate to try that in case it is terrible and I end up wasting all those ingredients on something inedible. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do you substitute the bacon grease for the full amount of butter or part or what? Thank you for any help—if I can use bacon grease it will make the cornbread even cheaper to make.
Mable, I have made pie pastry with bacon grease. Any fat can be used for various purposes; just depends on your attitude. Trust your instincts and wing it!
I would start with a 1/4 of the amount the first time and work my way to the full amount. I have never done it but now I will try it. We use bacon fat in so many things.
Mable, I do. It’s really not that strong a flavor in the cornbread itself. And you’re getting Vitamin D in that fat too which makes it nutritionally good for you.
Our cornbread is a simple recipe- self rising cornmeal and milk. I heat oven to 425⁰, then add bacon grease to an iron skillet and put on the eye of the stove. Enough grease to cover the bottom with a little extra. Heat that very hot and test it by sprinkling some dry cornmeal and see if it sizzles. Then sprinkle bottom with cornmeal and pour in the batter that is the consistency is a brownie or cake batter. ( generally half the milk to cornmeal in the mix, but it is by feel for me) Bake until it starts to brown. When you take it out,immediately flip onto a plate.
It’s good, go for it! You can use all or half depends on you!
This is how my father makes cornbread – the traditional southern version, not sweetened, baked in a cast iron skillet. It’s delicious with the bacon fat.
I love the poppy photos these are my favourite flowers, they make me feel spring is on the way.
I made chicken stock from the carcasses of 4 chickens and canned it to make more room in the freezer. I have been defrosting ufos and using them for supper. The freezer is looking better. I defrosted some blackberries to eat with yoghurt I made over the weekend.
I have sown peas, beans and beetroot, I mulched the potatoes that are just showing to protect them from the frost.
We are still getting a lot of rain but by picking the days I am drying the washing outside .
We haven’t done any shopping and have only taken the car out once, so a little money spent here.
We had our covid boosters on the NHS free as we are over 75. My arthritis seems to be getting worse making gardening more difficult. I am hopeing the warm weather will improve things.
Keep safe everyone.
Chris
Lovely photos, Brandy, per usual! * The bridal shower I threw for my friend’s daughter went well. Lots of people came but we still had some fruit and veggies left over so we have been happily eating them the last few days. Sent some home with my daughters. * I have a decorative tiered tray that I change up monthly. This month’s theme is spring (and will stay up til mid June). I used only things around the house that I already had and it looks lovely. I love it when I can perk it up around here for no out of pocket. *Took advantage of some sales for some yarn and fabric. Fun to have something different to work with. * My husband went to Sam’s club last week and brought home some fresh flowers which was so kind. 10 days later and they are still going strong. It was an assortment of many kinds of flowers. As one gets droopy, I just take it out. I foresee myself switching what is left into a smaller vase this weekend, but they have sure lasted and I’ve gotten so much joy from this bouquet! *I friend wanted to go to lunch, but I suggested breakfast instead, since it’s less expensive. Plus I ordered from the 55+ menu, and drank water, so I got out of there for less than $10 and enjoyed the visit with my friend as much as if we would have gone to an expensive lunch place. * I finished another library book and got another delivered. Boy, I love the library! * April starts birthday season around here with four of our children, two of our grandchildren and my husband’s birthdays in April and May. We give cash to our children (adults). It’s not necessarily inexpensive, but it is easy and then they can buy what they want or put ours towards something bigger. We celebrate those in town with a dinner at one of our homes.
Your photos are lovely, Brandy and a belated happy birthday! We have been trying to keep things as frugal as possible again this month. Gas has shot up to $1.75/liter so we are definitely keeping driving to an absolute minimum. My son is eligible to use the paratransit service in our city for $10/year with a free attendant and I am looking at using this more frequently as gas prices skyrocket.
I returned alcohol containers last week that I had picked up on recycling days and used this money exclusively for groceries last week. I needed very little and find going early and using the produce clearance rack at our local Giant Tiger helps. I got a 2lb bag of carrots for .99#, a head of lettuce for .50# and 1lb of asparagus for .99#. It helps a lot in making affordable meals.
We continue to be blessed by our local free groups. In the last couple of weeks we have received a large, unopened box of cereal, four frozen bananas, a package of scones, a picture frame, a light fleece jacket and dress for myself and a brand new sweatshirt and three t-shirts for my husband and son. My husband and I also popped by a free garage sale on Saturday morning close to home and picked up two Essie nail polishes, a Bath and Body Works spray, a beach towel, some dental floss, six plastic hangers, a pair of shorts for myself, an extension cord, a puzzle, two binders and a planter.
We have eaten all meals at home except for Saturday night when we went to our church for the ham and scalloped potato dinner but we were given free tickets for this so it didn’t cost us anything. We have been using the library for books, DVDs and magazines. As the weather has been getting better, laundry has been dried outside.
Hope everyone is having a productive week.
You have an excellent eye, Brandy. It takes talent to find beautiful items at a garage sale and know exactly how to use them. I, sadly, have no such talent.
On the frugal front:
I bought a clearance loaf of French bread for $0.60 at Walmart. We enjoyed French Toast with maple syrup made by my SIL and French bread pizza using leftover sausage and frozen garden veggies.
I read The Ritual Effect by Michael Norton, Automating Inequality: How High Tech Tools Profile, Punish and Police the Poor by Virginia Eubanks, and The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn on my gifted Everand App.
I used the “Compare to Other Sellers” feature on Amazon to save $10 on a pair of shoes (purchased through Brandy’s link, of course) and selected slower shipping to earn digital credit.
My friend gave me a royal icing cookie decorating kit. I invited a few friends over to my home to decorate the cookies. We watched a You Tube video to learn the basics. I served homemade caramel popcorn and drinks leftover from our Easter brunch. The cookies were no where near professional looking, but not bad for beginners!
I look forward to reading everyone’s frugal feats.
This week was a lot of using home canned products – one night I made both an apple pie and a chicken pot pie with pie crusts I found on clearance for .97 for two. I cleaned them out when I saw that – I’d spend at least that in butter to make my own. My husband and eldest son went to a Scout camp out, they did not need to buy any equipment. The day they left my husband had accepted about half a box of bananas from an event hosted at his job. I kept a few bunches for us to use in smoothies and made banana bread with my youngest and sent the rest to the Scouts!
A large branch must have hit our roof during the tremendous storms we had 2 weeks ago as we found a small hole in the roof last night. I knew there was water as there some peeling ceiling paint. My husband has moved the new (sob) insulation aside and put a bucket under to catch the rain that is expected. A family friend who is a roofer is set to come in 2 days and hopefully can help us. This is why we are frugal! We are worried but capable of handling the curveballs life throws our way!
The roses look beautiful.
I saved money by using physical therapy exercises I have learned in the past, to treat my back pain. It comes from spending too much time sitting at my desk for work, so exercise and stretching is the best medicine.
I did not order takeout last night when I was exhausted, but found an easy dinner I could make with what I had.
I have been eating down the pantry and stretching out the time between grocery purchases.
I am using a free Kroger Boost subscription (promo for using the store card) to get free delivery when I order groceries from Kroger. I combined coupons and sales to get some good deals last werk on groceries and cat food.
I placed a few bulk orders to get discounts on vitamins, household items, and pet supplies.
I hope everyone has a good week!
I have continued to work my way through the older things in my freezer. Now that I’m nearly done with that, I’ve moved on to going through my pantry. Some items have passed their best buy date but are still safe per the website of canned goods online. So I’ll start being creative with those things. Yesterday I mixed up expired gelatin and added in a can of drained mandarin oranges that had also expired. I don’t know if anyone else is aware but here in the southeast, there has been a major muck up with the postal service. They closed some distribution centers and opened new ones in other areas and have rerouted mail. The result: mailings are often late. I mailed two bills last month extra early and neither arrived until well after the due dates. A bill that was sent at the same time from a company, finally arrived last week, two weeks after the due date. Needless to say, this has been problematic. I called one company yesterday and they reversed both the late fee and the interest they charged us. I have done very well sticking to my grocery budget this month. I placed an order with Walmart last week getting several clearance items and saving way more than I spent. I only bought things that were on my list of needs. I’ve been doing a complete household inventory so I know what we have and when we need to reorder certain things. Best buy of late from Amazon specials was a 24 pack of tuna packed in water for 56c a can. It doesn’t expire until December 2026.
I’ve been adding perennial flowers each season to my landscape. We got 20 bags of mulch on sale for $2 each and I got all my beds mulched. My irises have been beautiful this year, and multiplied. I have a bare spot I want to fill if I can find 3 on sale.
* We built 3 grape trellises on the slope of the yard. I got 4 Concord grape vines, and 2 Niagara green grapes to plant
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Cbl8GRmWC/?igsh=MTQ5Mjc3N3JwMmw0OQ== We dipped to 38⁰ the last 2 nights and then should warm up so I’ve waited to plant the garden beds. I’m going to get things planted this week.
* I went to community sales. There were 10 neighborhood sales. After 3 it began raining so that was cut short. I got 3 canning jars, a Pampered Shelf jar opener, books, 2 J Crew tops, a floral pitcher, a half gallon Mason storage jar with wire gasket top, new looking Adidas for $1. At a thrift store I got a Martha Pullen heirloom sewing book for $1. It has the local shop sticker and sold for $45. It has heirloom patterns, how to tips, smocking patterns, etc in it.
* We got a quarter beef and I will can some hamburger vegetable soup and beef stew for my son and DIL. I continue to use up things I find in the pantry and freezer. Last night I used Stove Top I had bought on clearance for $.99, canned cream of chicken, canned cream of potato with broccoli I got on clearance for $.10, chicken, and made a casserole. I didn’t know how t9 use the canned cream of potato with broccoli and was worried it would be weird, ut it was fine in the casserole. I got 8 cans so I can sneak it in casseroles and soups.
* We had a garage sale and I donated a carload after the sale. I only made $118, but it was cold that day and I got things cleaned out. I have a pile of things I want to sell online. I’m working to list them little by little.
* I water the garden plants with my rain barrels. I trimmed the grapevines as I planted, and stuck thebcanes in a bucket if water to see if they will root. I will see if anyone wants them or maybe offer for sale for a couple of dollars.
Your Martha Pullen book 😍
Those roses! And wow, what great garage sale finds!
My frugal week:
– I redeemed $20 in groceries from one loyalty program and $10 in groceries from another
– I fixed my daughter’s toy by gluing it back together. A neighbour had given me that toy and another one, as her child had grown out of it, and both my kids are enjoying it.
– I mixed up another batch of my homemade granola, and packaged some up to give to colleagues as a thank you
– I made my Garden Veggie Cream Cheese Spread (https://approachingfood.com/garden-veggie-spread/) using a container of the cream I had bought on sale for 99 cents after sale and coupons a few weeks ago, plus some home-dehydrated peppers I made when I bought a few on sale last week.
– I mixed some of my homemade veggie cream cheese spread with mayo and yoghurt to make a dip. My kids enjoyed it with fresh veggies, and I loved the price point!
– I made a list of meals I can make from my existing groceries, to see if I can skip grocery shopping next week. I think I only need to buy eggs and a bit of fresh produce. I had a very large household repair bill this week, so I’m trying to save where I can.
Looking forward to learning from everyone else as always!
You are so lucky to find earrings! I have nickel allergy so I can only buy nickle-free earrings. Maybe usual earrings can be covered with smth to make them wearable for allergic people – if so, please let me know! Thanks!
Some people cover them with a layer or two of clear nail polish.
DD2 also has trouble with metal earrings. I bought a set of 50 plastic earring hooks on Amazon for $9 and replaced the metal hooks with the plastic hooks. I also tried making earrings with plastic posts and backs, but they were much less durable. She is not allergic to the plastic and is thrilled she can wear earrings again.
Thank you for this! My best friend is allergic and I will tell her about these.
Lovely photos, great garage sale finds and belated Happy Birthday!
I spent $7 on groceries for the fortnight and have made it to 2.5 years with no fast food/takeaway/restaurants/cafes. This is one of the things we have done that has made it possible for us to move to France later this year.
I continue to clean and declutter.
I am actively looking at European accommodation and activities as we will have one month of travel before we settle permanently. I am noticing prices have decreased, despite the exchange rate being unfavourable (we lose over 40% of every $1). Just need to settle on where we wish to go during that month. It is proving more challenging than I thought as I balance cost, family friendly, minimising flights and trying to stay in neighbouring countries as opposed to here, there and everywhere. Another contributing factor will be our flight path to central Europe. If we transit through Dubai we will stop there for a holiday. If we go via New York we will go straight to Iceland, which puts us in Northern Europe so could then do England and make our way south. It also depends on the best price/best route too.
I’m also noticing prices differing greatly on the same websites, but for different countries so the VPN is very worthwhile to take advantage of booking through the country with the cheapest price. I have noticed price variations of up to $5,000 for the exact same thing!
I received a 4% pay increase which I am grateful for.
Lot’s of fishing so lot’s of fish, crab and prawns being eaten. Mandarins are ripe so we are harvesting and eating an abundance. Also kiwi fruits and tomato. Traded mandarins for six dozen eggs and freshly made bread.
Hosted a baby shower in the back yard, serving marinated prawns (that we caught locally), basil pesto gnocchi with homegown tomato, fruit platter (all home grown), gingerbread cookies and two jam and cream vanilla sponge cakes. Lemonade (using homegrown lemons) and water for drinks. Used decorations, serveware, napkins and tablecloths I had on hand (I borrowed some extra plates, cups and cake forks from a relative that attended). I used 3 vases I already own and arranged flowers in them that I gathered from my garden. Invitations were free on Canva and I sent them digitally. We played Molkky, an outdoor game which we own and use often, and enjoyed long chats, laughter and good company on a sunshine filled day. Total out of pocket costs were approximately $35 for 21 women. I made large quantities of everything due to a high number of attendees. I had so many prawns and they were all eaten!
Brandy,
I love all of your flower photos but the bee on the poppy photo was incredible.
I wrote late last week about the 2021 new computer I’m buying. One of my friends doesn’t like her iPad and I offered to buy it from her but instead she gave it to another friend. She said she’d have to pay for lessons to learn how to use it and could not be bothered.
I did mention to her that Apple has free lessons on how to use their products but that didn’t make any difference.
I gave one of my calendars that our printer made with my photos to a different friend. As a gift to her grandsons, she went through it and marked all of their special occasions. One of the birds in the calendar was photographed in her yard and she said her grandsons were so excited! That brought a smile to me.
I spent a not so small fortune on food last week. I replenished my pantry supply of canned soups. I bought them at No Frills for $1.87 on sale from $3.50. I bought cookies for a dollar a box (sadly they were eaten – but enjoyed). Safeway had a great deal on pasta — tortellini. If you bought a 1 kg bag for $9.99 you got Boursin dip for free. I couldn’t eat the pasta but I had been given $10 for the 24/7 pantry at the community centre so I used the $10 to buy the pasta for the community food pantry and kept the freebie dip.
Our city is usually very windy but we had a terrible windstorm about a week ago. I didn’t get any sleep all that night. I heard a sickening sound on my roof. It turned out that the wind had ripped a small section of fascia board off. As it was high off the ground I didn’t think that a roofer’s ladder would even reach that high. I had been planning on getting a certified roof inspector to inspect my roof so that if anything happens in a future storm I could prove to my insurance company the roof had been in good shape. Given the fascia damage, I decided I should have it inspected to see if any repairs were needed. The good news is that there was no damage to the actual roof. Also, it was an easy fix for the roof inspector to nail the fascia board back on which he voluntarily did (once my neighbour gave me two small nails). I must have sounded desperate when I phoned him because he said there was just something in my tone of voice that made him come today. I have to admit that I felt very overwhelmed. Roof inspections aren’t cheap (about $375) but given that many roof companies will tell you that you need a new roof when you don’t it is good to get an inspection by a certified inspector, who is independent of any roofing company.
Now all I have to do is get a plumber, an electrician, a tree company, etc. Lots of expenses ahead.
It’s not too high.
They put a ladder on top of the roof to get to the higher roof.
They will do it on a four-story house on the third level, even.
This is what my husband is now doing for work.
It’s super dangerous, especially when the pitch of the roof is very steep.
Though I don’t know him, I feel that he is a very special man who loves his family. We need more of those!
Thanks Brandy. Before I knew it, the inspector leaned over the edge of the roof and hammered nails in to fix the fascia board
into place. In front it is one storey but with a walkout in the back (so very high). Not, however, as high as a two or three storey house and it has a flat or low slope roof. It was such a minor repair but tricky to find someone to do it. I felt truly blessed to have contacted this man.
Yes that is really dangerous! will hold your husband in my thoughts and prayers.
It never ends does it Ann? So glad that the roof was ok. We are barely above freezing here at the moment but its due to hit 23C by Sunday and stay there for a couple of days. I believe we have the west to thank for the heat but I hope we don’t get the windstorms as well!
Happy belated birthday Brandy! Your garden is beautiful as usual. You continue to be an inspiration. I have spent more time in my garden transplanting what I have and sharing what I can with my daughters. I have been visiting some estate sales in hopes I find what we need.