This Week In My Home: A New Month, Time to Find New Savings

                              My 'new' wreath.  Winter's wreath with a few Spring picks.

Saturday:  I made a fairly big breakfast this morning.  We went to Athens and our arrival was going to coincide with an immediate need to leave to go to a baby shower for Katie.  No time for lunch for us and while the shower would have finger foods, politeness demands we be polite and not eat like we were starved.  I figured a big breakfast would hold us over and it did.

Mama paid for dinner that evening.  We put gas in her car.  I think it was about an even swap.

I took water along with me, enough for all three of us.

I was just longing for a cup of coffee by the time we got back to Sam's.  Fortunately my son and Bess are coffee drinkers and happily made a pot.

Sunday:  I made oatmeal and toasted leftover muffins from yesterday's breakfast.

We took off trash and picked up bread and a paper while we were  out for church.  John also bought chicken though I had a meal ready to heat once we got home.

We didn't make a big meal.  We threw nutrition to the wind and had meat and bread for both meals.



Monday:   Made french toast from bread in the freezer.  I'm down to a mere handful of items with yeast in them and am thinking how I can use them all this week.  While I do enjoy participating in this Feast of Unleavened bread, I also enjoy the frugal challenge of using products I have on hand, rather than give away or toss them in the trash.  It keeps me on my toes.

Ran water in the pan I cooked sausages in.  This gravy went on pet food.

John washed a full load of sheets and towels this morning.

I washed a full load of dishes.

I used leftover water from one of our travel bottles to water a plant.

I used a cracked teacup to mask an unsightly small pot that held an African violet.

I re-used some frames I had on hand and filled them with vintage ads or reduced size vintage ads.

Reheated leftovers for dinner, adding new side dishes.

Moved a piece of furniture which gave much needed light to one area of my kitchen.

We had leftovers for supper too, and another dish that had yeast in it was used.

Tuesday:  Packed John's work lunch.

Made him breakfast.

Ate leftover muffin for my breakfast.

Changed the air filter on the AC/Heat intake.

Balanced the check register.

Got bills ready to pay.

Used up a leftover for my dinner today, as well as some meatballs that had breadcrumbs in them.

Ate Saltines with peanut butter for supper.  That and a cup of milk was just right.


Wednesday:  Sat down this afternoon and worked on my second quarter budget.  I was really pleased to note that with a few small changes we've covered all but $60 of the Medical insurance expense.  It is dependent on a strict grocery budget but I think we can manage.  And if we can figure out a few more changes we'll be doing just fine.

I clipped the ivy on the mantle in the living room.  I set two pieces in a glass bottle to root.  The plant on the mantle was a cutting I potted last summer after rooting.  Ivy roots very easily.

Went into town to pay bills.  I took trash to the dumpster on my way.  I dropped off the bills and went to the grocery and the banks.

At the grocery I bought a turkey breast on sale.  $1.69/pound is the lowest price I usually see.  I may go buy another before this week's sale goes off.

I fixed my computer mouse.  It stopped working and nothing seemed to help.  At last I just took out the battery and popped it back into place and it worked!  Nothing else had helped in the least.

Opening mail this week I acquired address labels and a book mark.

I made a hearty breakfast this morning.  I cooked hash browns and added the last bit of onion soup mix to it.  Yeast extract is a flavoring used in this soup.  The onions and beef broth added nice flavor to the potatoes.

John had someone bring dinner in to him last night.  He'd already eaten supper so he put the food away and brought it home.  We shared the dinner tonight for our supper.

Earlier today I joined 'Blogging for Books'.  I've chosen my first book and it is being sent to me.

While at the grocery today I picked up two six packs of Dianthus.  I've promised myself this year that I shall pick up perennials.  Although I suppose the purple and white petunias I bought last year are annuals they usually will reseed, so I tend to think of them as perennial.

Thursday:  Grocery day...and I thought my list complete but at least three items were forgotten and two were absolute necessities.  No, we'll not be going back to the store for those items.  In fact, I'm going to do my best to not go back to the store at all until next weekend when our feast of unleavened bread is over.  We will miss the forgotten items but we've food enough to make up for it, that's for sure.

I used a portion of my vacation money at Publix.  I spent $40 to get a $50 Visa card.  I told John it's like earning interest on our savings, lol.  I did have to make a $50 purchase at Publix in groceries, but that was no hardship.

My listed purchases came up to $60.  I 'saved' $40 over regular prices combining sales and coupons.  I was proud to point out to John that I'd saved 2/3 of the money I might have spent on those items.

We stopped to wash and vacuum the car and they'd lowered the price by $1.  Our car was super messy this time and covered with a thick yellow coat of pollen.  John laughed as they used a water hose to rinse the car first and then they washed the windows.  John pointed out that typically we just get windows washed.  "How dirty is the car that they wash it before it's washed?" he asked.  I suspect it has everything to do with the sticky quality of pollen, but he did make me laugh.

I was over my cash at the grocery and didn't dare use my allowance since we're traveling to see our Kingsland grands.  I hate using more cash than I've set aside for groceries, but what would I put back?  Truth is that I had nothing fancy or extra.  In fact, I'd cut back hard at both stores today despite a lot of wants.  Well I bought it and I'll figure out how to adjust over the month.    I'll do my utmost to stretch and stretch to make things last.

Friday:  Packed a bag of snack foods, fruits, and frozen juice/milk/water bottles to go on the road trip with us.

There was no savings for the hotel room.  This is a heavy travel month per the concierge at the hotel and this weekend in particular was an especially busy one.  Our room cost 1/3 more than it usually does.  I did reserve the room through Swagbucks Shop and Earn which will at least net me a little extra in Swagbucks points.

We'll have Shabat at the hotel after our visit tonight.  Katie showed me the neatest little 'Shabat Travel Kit' a few years ago and I replicated it with a dollar store box that is not much larger than a recipe file.  In it I have two tea lights, a small box of matches, a small sherry glass, a silver plated coaster that serves as bread dish.  It cost me nowhere near what that fancy little Travel kit cost either.

There's sulphur water in Kingsland and I do not like to drink it.  I usually take along water bottles and then buy more while visiting.  I bought a 24 pack of water bottles at Aldi for less than the cost of a single bottle at the store.

Living Well

We knew it was a very good possibility...so there was no surprise this week when the phone calls came in one behind the other.  Our youngest son and his family are off on a new adventure, a new season of life.   They are moving to the west coast of Florida.

My sweet V and B closed on a home in Texas and moved in on the same day this week.

My oldest son will be heading to California in June.

Kate will be a mother in May.

Oh it's a season of change for our family, for certain sure.

John and I sit here at home and look at one another.  We've been itching for a change in our lives and circumstances for the longest time but we seem to be the ones who must remain at the center, stable while the rest of the family wheels around us.  Well so it goes.

I had another letter from lovely granddaughter Josie, in which she said "I wonder what this year will hold for me?  I won't know until the end what it will be..."  Well my wise little girl is so right.  I am pretty sure these are just the beginnings of many changes to come.  And I won't know until the end of the year what they all will be.

A new season, a season of change...