Saturday: I didn't have a real meal plan today. I took out a roast to thaw and planned to put it in the crock pot and there my brain stopped. John suggested I make sandwiches, something I typically would not do twice in a single day but today we did. We lived. I have a good bit of roast leftover. Enough to have sandwiches and another meal or two.
We had leftover chicken rice soup for supper.
Made John's work lunch for tomorrow.
Pulled grapes out of fridge and sat them down next to John and I. This meant we ate them instead of letting them languish in the fridge.
Washed a full load of dishes. I used a shorter cycle.
Sunday: Sent John off to work with a good breakfast and his packed work lunch.
There's a reason why we set the manual clock alarm...because sometimes John's phone alarm and the clock radio alarm fail to go off. No clue why. The clock radio has become a useless piece of equipment in our room really and I should just toss it. However, we needed that manual alarm clock this morning and so we were up on time, since nothing else was on the job this morning.
Washed a full load of laundry on short cycle. Hung all to dry.
Gave myself the benefit of a spa morning. Did a full pedicure.
Cleaned the cabinet fronts and counter tops really well in the kitchen this morning. I noted that the burners on the stove looked bad. I used the steel wool on them and they now look glossy and black as they ought to have looked.
Decided the very best thing I can do today is stay home. True I am out of a few things that I consider necessary but we can certainly manage a day or two until grocery day rolls around.
Ordered new pillow covers to replace the handmade ones. They look well enough but the newer ones are only about $3 each, very well priced and much more in line with the color notes I want to use in the living room.
Finally unraveled what has puzzled me with our budget. I knew that I wasn't overspending and yet we never seemed to have anything extra. Ta da! Not.
Cleaned the casseroles cupboard and relined it with fresh contact paper. I reorganized things as I put them back. It looked pretty. And it seems to function better this way.
Ate leftovers I'd stashed in the freezer for dinner. Had a toasted cheese sandwich for supper.
Worked up the bills for pay day tomorrow.
Worked on October goals list.
Monday: I am out of butter. How do you make breakfast without butter for a man who has worked all night long? I decided to make cheese grits and a breakfast sandwich. No butter needed for either.
Packed up books and the contents of the top drawer of the file cabinet. It really is beginning to feel like moving.
Made dinner. I slightly altered my menu due to the lack of items but it worked out all right. Glad that tomorrow is grocery day. Still...I'm kind of proud of myself for overcoming the lack of some pretty basic grocery ingredients.
We went down to pick up the paycheck. Went by bank, dropped bills off at the mailbox. We took off trash and picked up mail. John insisted on taking his car which gets better mileage than mine. His reason was that my car was just filled and he wants it to stay that way, while his is still well above half full. Typically his shifts each month only require a half tank of gasoline.
John hung wainscoting in our master bath.
Hung out John's work blanket and his cool weather jacket and coat to freshen.
Propane gas delivery today. Always a sign of autumn! Even if it doesn't feel like it, lol.
John washed a full load of laundry and hung most of it to dry.
Tuesday: Oatmeal with raisins for breakfast this morning and peanut butter toast. Made it through these four days with no butter or onions in the house.
Made out a quick grocery list.
Spent a little more this week on groceries and I did it on purpose. For one thing, I'm tired of running out basics (produce, bread) and the subsequent running into the grocery and picking up that and a few other items. I am positive that by spending a little more heavily today I can actually save money in the long run.
I stocked up on sales items. Diced tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato soup, boxed mac and cheese. I have a few more areas I want to stock a bit more heavily but I'm very pleased with the slow push to rehab this 'emergency fund' of mine.
We bought lunch at the deli. $4.49 for a sandwich, 1.19 each for unsweet tea and chocolate milk. We think it was well worth that since we each saved some of the sandwich for supper.
One thing we didn't do today was batch a further errand on to our day even though it was in the same area and that's because we had the car pretty well loaded with the groceries. We will go back tomorrow but this also works in my favor as I have a list of my own I thought I was going to have to deal with on Thursday. Now we can batch those two errands and I can spend time on Thursday finishing jobs instead.
I bought daffodils and grape hyacinth bulbs at Aldi. They were $4.99 and $2.99. I paid for these out of my pocket money.
Wednesday: I didn't think we'd get much done today. We lolled about after we got up, taking coffee in a very leisurely way on the front porch. It was nice outdoors and we were enjoying it. Then we had a leisurely breakfast. Everything we did was kind of weekend slow this morning!
We finally left home and went to Goo Goo to wash John's car. Boy did it need it! We had it washed and then we dusted, wiped, vacuumed for at least a half hour. It looked almost like new once more, so well worth it. Considering it's one of our assets it pays to take care of it.
From there to Home Depot. I had money set aside to buy what was needed to finish up the flower bed (mulch and blocks) and paint for the dining chair and a new spray bottle so I can finish the back porch. Plans for tomorrow are to finish all that stuff up, so I can call September done.
We did not eat out today. We snacked on a burger from the local diner (Think Krystal sized burger) and granola bar and banana at various times throughout the afternoon.
When we came in John used the materials he'd bought to finish off the wall of wainscoting in the bathroom. This is something we've wanted to do for a long time, but it was also done to cover a bad spot on the wall that had broken. This was an area weakened by a leak we had in the roof. The water ran down inside the wall when we'd have torrential rainstorms. The new roof stopped the leaking long ago but the drywall was damaged. We still need to paint it but it looks so much better.
I made John's work lunch and made up a very good supper from a variety of leftovers.
Ran a full load of dishes in dishwasher.
Thursday: I was off and running this morning. I earned points on Swagbucks until 7am. I unloaded the dishwasher of clean dishes from last night.
I packed John's work lunch and made him breakfast.
I washed a full load of clothes, all slipcovers from the living room, and hung to dry on the line.
Got the last dining chair sanded and primed. While primer dried I laid four bags of mulch and the ten block I brought home yesterday. I figure I need 14 more to finish that line of work on the flower bed. Perhaps I'll get it next Friday which is my next alone day.
I put the first coat of paint on the chair. It is definitely NOT the same color as the rest of the chairs no matter what the cap/color says. I shall have to buy more paint, but to all intents and purposes it at least has paint on it!
I washed off the outside railings and rafters of the porch. I scrubbed the algae off the end of the house, too. This job was not quite completed to my satisfaction but by this point I was doggone tired. I came indoors and showered and got ready to run errands.
Mama called to remind me that I was to go by her house to pick up sheets she didn't want/need. I thought they might do well for making slipcovers. I knew if I went by her house I'd get no more done today though I was going to run several errands. Guess what? I got no more done today. She wanted to go out to lunch and since John is off on Monday and I'll have just one hard work day next week I told her I'd go out to lunch if we can call it start of October. It was very pleasant and I really needed that nourishment and the time to sit and do nothing but wait on someone to wait upon me. Lovely!
This weekend my mom is moving into a mother in law suite in my brother's new home. It was our last time for riding the country roads in this direction/area. I took the longer way home and we enjoyed ourselves. However, I was more and more convinced I'd done plenty for the day.
Mama gifted me, besides the flat sheets, gently read magazines and some little cups of basic herbs and ginger. I don't need these at the moment, but I will put them on my pantry shelf for future needs. There were three old books with the stuff, tiny little books. One a Primitive Baptist song book, another a songbook that was given to my great grandmother, and a little devotional book dated 1746. August 22-September 3 are missing but otherwise it appears to be intact and in pretty good shape. I was planning to look for a new devotional book, had even put it on my list of goals for October. I think I've got it. I can find the missing pages in print online, as it's apparently a very popular old book.
Came home and brought in the dining chair and slipcovers from the line.
Made myself a cup of coffee. I really enjoyed that this afternoon.
My supper was light and easy: yogurt, a pear, whole wheat crackers.
Friday: This was our first cool morning. I made biscuits and sausage gravy. I set some biscuits aside (unbaked) to use later this weekend.
John washed a full load of clothes. For some unknown reason he insists on putting my tee shirts in the dryer. I'd mentioned earlier this week that the white tee was getting too short to wear. It went into the dryer again this morning, so I moved it to the house drawer.
Went online to Zulily and ordered two new shirts for $5 each. One was a white tee...
John asked me to order bed risers earlier this week. They arrived today. It was quickly apparent we needed just the one two-piece set and not the second set I'd ordered. I will return those. In the meantime we split the two piece set between the guest bed (higher lift) and ours (lower lift). Turns out our bed has a second set of supports under it though it is a queen bed The frame is constructed in such a way we cannot put a second set of lifts the same height as the others under that section. After we'd tried various remedies we removed the lifts period and called our bed good enough as is. I'm sure we can find a use for them amongst someone in the family.
Long session in the kitchen this morning. I did a quick scan of the fridge. I needed to use up some roast beef. I cut four slices and put them in the gravy in the dish for a hot sandwich this weekend. I used the rest to cube and make the filling for a Shepherd's Pie. I'll mix up some instant potatoes and use to top it off and heat in the crockpot while we're at church this weekend.
I made spaghetti for dinner. I used up some frozen marinara and meatless spaghetti sauce and a pound of ground beef. I cooked a whole package of whole wheat spaghetti and used up leftovers along with some cottage cheese I needed to finish off to make a layered pasta dish for the freezer. This was a generous amount an should feed at least four.
Our AC didn't start coming on until afternoon. Lovely to have it off for so long (over 12 hours).
I have a meal plan for weekend meals. I am not able to do more prep today, but having a plan is always half the battle in my opinion. I will not be at a loss this weekend when it comes time for meal prep.
I took a small apple pie from the freezer for desserts this weekend. We should get six slices from it.
I made egg salad as a second sandwich filler.
That's been my frugal week. How was yours?
Finally unraveled what has puzzled me with our budget. I knew that I wasn't overspending and yet we never seemed to have anything extra. Ta da! Not.
Cleaned the casseroles cupboard and relined it with fresh contact paper. I reorganized things as I put them back. It looked pretty. And it seems to function better this way.
Ate leftovers I'd stashed in the freezer for dinner. Had a toasted cheese sandwich for supper.
Worked up the bills for pay day tomorrow.
Worked on October goals list.
Monday: I am out of butter. How do you make breakfast without butter for a man who has worked all night long? I decided to make cheese grits and a breakfast sandwich. No butter needed for either.
Packed up books and the contents of the top drawer of the file cabinet. It really is beginning to feel like moving.
Made dinner. I slightly altered my menu due to the lack of items but it worked out all right. Glad that tomorrow is grocery day. Still...I'm kind of proud of myself for overcoming the lack of some pretty basic grocery ingredients.
We went down to pick up the paycheck. Went by bank, dropped bills off at the mailbox. We took off trash and picked up mail. John insisted on taking his car which gets better mileage than mine. His reason was that my car was just filled and he wants it to stay that way, while his is still well above half full. Typically his shifts each month only require a half tank of gasoline.
John hung wainscoting in our master bath.
Hung out John's work blanket and his cool weather jacket and coat to freshen.
Propane gas delivery today. Always a sign of autumn! Even if it doesn't feel like it, lol.
John washed a full load of laundry and hung most of it to dry.
Tuesday: Oatmeal with raisins for breakfast this morning and peanut butter toast. Made it through these four days with no butter or onions in the house.
Made out a quick grocery list.
Spent a little more this week on groceries and I did it on purpose. For one thing, I'm tired of running out basics (produce, bread) and the subsequent running into the grocery and picking up that and a few other items. I am positive that by spending a little more heavily today I can actually save money in the long run.
I stocked up on sales items. Diced tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato soup, boxed mac and cheese. I have a few more areas I want to stock a bit more heavily but I'm very pleased with the slow push to rehab this 'emergency fund' of mine.
We bought lunch at the deli. $4.49 for a sandwich, 1.19 each for unsweet tea and chocolate milk. We think it was well worth that since we each saved some of the sandwich for supper.
One thing we didn't do today was batch a further errand on to our day even though it was in the same area and that's because we had the car pretty well loaded with the groceries. We will go back tomorrow but this also works in my favor as I have a list of my own I thought I was going to have to deal with on Thursday. Now we can batch those two errands and I can spend time on Thursday finishing jobs instead.
I bought daffodils and grape hyacinth bulbs at Aldi. They were $4.99 and $2.99. I paid for these out of my pocket money.
Wednesday: I didn't think we'd get much done today. We lolled about after we got up, taking coffee in a very leisurely way on the front porch. It was nice outdoors and we were enjoying it. Then we had a leisurely breakfast. Everything we did was kind of weekend slow this morning!
We finally left home and went to Goo Goo to wash John's car. Boy did it need it! We had it washed and then we dusted, wiped, vacuumed for at least a half hour. It looked almost like new once more, so well worth it. Considering it's one of our assets it pays to take care of it.
From there to Home Depot. I had money set aside to buy what was needed to finish up the flower bed (mulch and blocks) and paint for the dining chair and a new spray bottle so I can finish the back porch. Plans for tomorrow are to finish all that stuff up, so I can call September done.
We did not eat out today. We snacked on a burger from the local diner (Think Krystal sized burger) and granola bar and banana at various times throughout the afternoon.
When we came in John used the materials he'd bought to finish off the wall of wainscoting in the bathroom. This is something we've wanted to do for a long time, but it was also done to cover a bad spot on the wall that had broken. This was an area weakened by a leak we had in the roof. The water ran down inside the wall when we'd have torrential rainstorms. The new roof stopped the leaking long ago but the drywall was damaged. We still need to paint it but it looks so much better.
I made John's work lunch and made up a very good supper from a variety of leftovers.
Ran a full load of dishes in dishwasher.
Thursday: I was off and running this morning. I earned points on Swagbucks until 7am. I unloaded the dishwasher of clean dishes from last night.
I packed John's work lunch and made him breakfast.
I washed a full load of clothes, all slipcovers from the living room, and hung to dry on the line.
Got the last dining chair sanded and primed. While primer dried I laid four bags of mulch and the ten block I brought home yesterday. I figure I need 14 more to finish that line of work on the flower bed. Perhaps I'll get it next Friday which is my next alone day.
I put the first coat of paint on the chair. It is definitely NOT the same color as the rest of the chairs no matter what the cap/color says. I shall have to buy more paint, but to all intents and purposes it at least has paint on it!
I washed off the outside railings and rafters of the porch. I scrubbed the algae off the end of the house, too. This job was not quite completed to my satisfaction but by this point I was doggone tired. I came indoors and showered and got ready to run errands.
Mama called to remind me that I was to go by her house to pick up sheets she didn't want/need. I thought they might do well for making slipcovers. I knew if I went by her house I'd get no more done today though I was going to run several errands. Guess what? I got no more done today. She wanted to go out to lunch and since John is off on Monday and I'll have just one hard work day next week I told her I'd go out to lunch if we can call it start of October. It was very pleasant and I really needed that nourishment and the time to sit and do nothing but wait on someone to wait upon me. Lovely!
This weekend my mom is moving into a mother in law suite in my brother's new home. It was our last time for riding the country roads in this direction/area. I took the longer way home and we enjoyed ourselves. However, I was more and more convinced I'd done plenty for the day.
Mama gifted me, besides the flat sheets, gently read magazines and some little cups of basic herbs and ginger. I don't need these at the moment, but I will put them on my pantry shelf for future needs. There were three old books with the stuff, tiny little books. One a Primitive Baptist song book, another a songbook that was given to my great grandmother, and a little devotional book dated 1746. August 22-September 3 are missing but otherwise it appears to be intact and in pretty good shape. I was planning to look for a new devotional book, had even put it on my list of goals for October. I think I've got it. I can find the missing pages in print online, as it's apparently a very popular old book.
Came home and brought in the dining chair and slipcovers from the line.
Made myself a cup of coffee. I really enjoyed that this afternoon.
My supper was light and easy: yogurt, a pear, whole wheat crackers.
Friday: This was our first cool morning. I made biscuits and sausage gravy. I set some biscuits aside (unbaked) to use later this weekend.
John washed a full load of clothes. For some unknown reason he insists on putting my tee shirts in the dryer. I'd mentioned earlier this week that the white tee was getting too short to wear. It went into the dryer again this morning, so I moved it to the house drawer.
Went online to Zulily and ordered two new shirts for $5 each. One was a white tee...
John asked me to order bed risers earlier this week. They arrived today. It was quickly apparent we needed just the one two-piece set and not the second set I'd ordered. I will return those. In the meantime we split the two piece set between the guest bed (higher lift) and ours (lower lift). Turns out our bed has a second set of supports under it though it is a queen bed The frame is constructed in such a way we cannot put a second set of lifts the same height as the others under that section. After we'd tried various remedies we removed the lifts period and called our bed good enough as is. I'm sure we can find a use for them amongst someone in the family.
Long session in the kitchen this morning. I did a quick scan of the fridge. I needed to use up some roast beef. I cut four slices and put them in the gravy in the dish for a hot sandwich this weekend. I used the rest to cube and make the filling for a Shepherd's Pie. I'll mix up some instant potatoes and use to top it off and heat in the crockpot while we're at church this weekend.
I made spaghetti for dinner. I used up some frozen marinara and meatless spaghetti sauce and a pound of ground beef. I cooked a whole package of whole wheat spaghetti and used up leftovers along with some cottage cheese I needed to finish off to make a layered pasta dish for the freezer. This was a generous amount an should feed at least four.
Our AC didn't start coming on until afternoon. Lovely to have it off for so long (over 12 hours).
I have a meal plan for weekend meals. I am not able to do more prep today, but having a plan is always half the battle in my opinion. I will not be at a loss this weekend when it comes time for meal prep.
I took a small apple pie from the freezer for desserts this weekend. We should get six slices from it.
I made egg salad as a second sandwich filler.
That's been my frugal week. How was yours?
5 comments:
Nice post. I enjoyed reading.
I had a nice frugal week. Well, except for buying the 3 - 4# bags of sugar that weren't on sale. That wasn't frugal at all!! I made my grocery list on the sale flyer and I didn't specify brands. I grabbed the sugar near the sale sign and didn't even think about it. At the checkout I try hard to watch but it's a small town and there are ALWAYS people who want to chat. It seems rude to not chat. I checked the grocery tab when I got home and was not too happy with myself. It's my fault. Oh well, thinking on the bright side ... it amounted to less than $5; I had the money and I didn't go over budget and it's the only unfrugal thing I did all week. Smile.
No AC or heat needed all month. This should be a lower electric bill again. Used the crockpot, toaster oven or skillet for cooking instead of the oven. I hung all laundry outside to dry. Used cold water and short wash cycles for most of the clothes. Hot water and longer wash cycles for hubby's grubbies.
I've been catching up on yard work. Weeding and watering perennials and trees so they are well hydrated and ready to go into the winter. They are saying frost here next week. The trees have their autumn dresses on, so pretty. I look across the fields and see all the autumn colors that so delight my soul. Our trees are few and far between but the grasses and the fall crops provide all the reds, yellows, oranges, browns and greens one could want.
I picked a few last tomatoes and chili peppers from the garden today. I'll stuff the peppers with a cream cheese and cooked sausage mixture and bake them. Yum! We have lots of potatoes and butternut squash in the garden yet but for the most part the garden is done. It needs to be put to bed - hoses taken up and the electric fence taken down and the ground tilled under.
Pam
You are sure getting many projects done!!
We now get the Aldi ads. The last few weeks they have had the best ads!! I got a few bags of mixed bulbs too for $2.99 from one ad. We have been making sure we have the basics on hand in case anything gets weird in the area. Who knows anymore. I am glad for the fall...if it ever gets our way. Roasts and breads and such. Yummy!
I am getting a few things planted for fall in the garden and redoing some older plants and such. More of what I have been doing. It is starting to look good though.
I heard that they sell bead board made from PVC are now for the bathroom use. I had no idea they did.
I love bead board. I know a couple who but Pecky Cedar boards as wainscoting in their bathroom and it looked and worked great for years. So pretty. Years later they moved and redid another house and I never got to see it. Always wondered how they redid that one as the first was so pretty and all done by the couple. I love to watch fixer Upper on HGTV but wonder what happened to the couple's own furniture and accessories ? They put all new stuff in the one they redo!! :) I forget the name of the other show. The women has long blond hair and is tiny. she redoes homes a lot in Detroit where she grew up. I like how she tries to reuse things too. So many ideas ...to little house to use them in here !! ...!!!!.... :-))))
Maybe i should not watch and just do things!! Sarah
Proud you got your chair painted..[sorry that the paint didn't turn out the same color..That is so frustrating...]
Hope your mom enjoys her new living quarters [with your brother]. Will you still be close enough to have your monthly outtings/ Hope so..
Can't wait to see your bathroom.. Know it will be pretty..
Have a blessed weekend.
You have been so busy and accomplishing so much. Oh, how I wish I could still go to lunch with my Mom. She's been gone about 30 years now. My Mom has been on my mind all day today as I was getting a few plants ready to come inside for the winter, just as she always did.
You were my second reminder today to go and get some flower bulbs for the spring. The first reminder appeared in my Farmers Almanac note to myself when I was checking ahead to see what October might bring weather wise. I write notes to myself for memory joggers in the margins of my Almanac from year to year. There was a big note to myself to "Get a lot of daffodil bulbs to plant where you can see them from the window. You'll be glad you did." Last year I planted one small area with a few daffodil bulbs, and they were so cheerful and made me happy last year. I think I'll buy my bulbs on Sunday, as we have my grandson here on Saturday.
I have a tendency to put off buying flower bulbs until it is almost too late. And then planting them even later when it has turned off so cold that I freeze my fanny off while getting them in the ground. One year, I was planting tulips on Christmas Eve Day. They bloomed just fine that Spring despite their late start.
I'm not sure, but I think I read a hint somewhere to save some paint from your old can of paint to mix in with the new can so the color blends/matches better, because even though paints are supposed to be the same color they often vary from can to can by a couple of shades. Of course, if you're using spray paint, you have to trust what they say on the can for color.
It is really feeling like Autumn here near St. Louis for the past couple of days. This morning it was very chilly and drafty in the house, to the point that I turned the furnace on for a little while to warm things up in here so I could shower and get my hair washed without fanning around and getting chilled. It only ran a short while and made a big difference.
In the past, we used to make ourselves wait and wait to turn the furnace on for the first time in the season. We may have saved a bit of money doing that, but in the long run, I think not, because we would usually catch colds right about the time the first cool spell came, and ended up spending our small savings from not running the furnace on Vicks and cold remedies.
Happy Autumn! Isn't it refreshing!
Was the apple pie you pulled from the freezer, homemade? If so, would you share your recipe?
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