...changed my blog motto for 2018...Did you notice? I knew this was something I wanted to do, but just like last year, I had to wait for it. It gives me a new twist to work with all through the year. "Bringing riches from an ordinary life."
Really my mottos are all just variations on a theme but at present I'm in a place where what we need to do in our home requires big (as in BIG) bucks. It would be really easy to get downcast because although we are saving for these jobs it's slow going.
We just got a quote from a contractor to do our windows. OUCH! We'd saved quite a chunk of change for that job but according to this guy we're nowhere near the spot we need to be on. Now it's easy to think we can't do that job but I've learned to get a number of quotes from various sources. This guy told us it didn't matter that our windows varied in size, they had one price for all their windows yet when I asked about getting a sliding window (sort of like a drivethru window might have) the price was higher than their 'one price for all sizes'. Even when we said that it was a good deal more than we'd thought it might be, he told us, "Well I did quote at the higher end..." but he did NOT quote on a lesser priced window. We were not impressed for all that the company does have the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Meh.
But my point is that we might easily have said "Gee we can't afford to do that job. Guess we can't afford to ever do anything." And all that working to save would easily seem futile and limiting rather than helping us to reach a goal. So what can I do to add riches to ordinary (saving oriented) life?
I don't know if any of you follow The Prudent Homemaker on Instagram but she recently posted a picture that blew me away. It was a simple, inexpensive dessert she'd made for her family, mostly using things from her garden. Meringue cases topped with lemon butter that she'd made from homegrown lemons and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and chocolate mint. It was stunning. Serving simple food beautifully is one way to add richness to an ordinary life. Taking time to make a covered ottoman look nicer by reusing material to recover...adds richness. Stopping work to watch a gorgeous sunrise or sunset does the same.
So that's my focus this year, to bring riches from this ordinary life.
Really my mottos are all just variations on a theme but at present I'm in a place where what we need to do in our home requires big (as in BIG) bucks. It would be really easy to get downcast because although we are saving for these jobs it's slow going.
We just got a quote from a contractor to do our windows. OUCH! We'd saved quite a chunk of change for that job but according to this guy we're nowhere near the spot we need to be on. Now it's easy to think we can't do that job but I've learned to get a number of quotes from various sources. This guy told us it didn't matter that our windows varied in size, they had one price for all their windows yet when I asked about getting a sliding window (sort of like a drivethru window might have) the price was higher than their 'one price for all sizes'. Even when we said that it was a good deal more than we'd thought it might be, he told us, "Well I did quote at the higher end..." but he did NOT quote on a lesser priced window. We were not impressed for all that the company does have the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Meh.
But my point is that we might easily have said "Gee we can't afford to do that job. Guess we can't afford to ever do anything." And all that working to save would easily seem futile and limiting rather than helping us to reach a goal. So what can I do to add riches to ordinary (saving oriented) life?
I don't know if any of you follow The Prudent Homemaker on Instagram but she recently posted a picture that blew me away. It was a simple, inexpensive dessert she'd made for her family, mostly using things from her garden. Meringue cases topped with lemon butter that she'd made from homegrown lemons and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and chocolate mint. It was stunning. Serving simple food beautifully is one way to add richness to an ordinary life. Taking time to make a covered ottoman look nicer by reusing material to recover...adds richness. Stopping work to watch a gorgeous sunrise or sunset does the same.
So that's my focus this year, to bring riches from this ordinary life.
...worked:
Oh boy did I work this week! I started with the beds and baths on Sunday and then did the living and dining room on Monday. Tuesday I tackled the kitchen and Wednesday I worked on the laundry and our closet. Thursday I cleared the porches and Friday I enjoyed the fruits of my labors and spent the day out with John looking over the DIY stores for bathroom reno stuff. We walked miles and miles.
Set up a new round of outfits and sorted and straightened my closet while I was at it.
Sewing: hemming pants (three pairs) and making a chair cover, a new pillow cover and a new cover for an ottoman from an old cover.
It all looks like little enough but it filled the week nonetheless.
Set up a new round of outfits and sorted and straightened my closet while I was at it.
Sewing: hemming pants (three pairs) and making a chair cover, a new pillow cover and a new cover for an ottoman from an old cover.
It all looks like little enough but it filled the week nonetheless.
...made meals:
John took me out last Saturday evening. I was pretty pleased. We went to our favorite restaurant and enjoyed a great meal.
on my own. I ate leftovers from the freezer.
Roast Chicken, Mashed potatoes, Green Beans, Rolls and Apple Cobbler
Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Apple Cobbler
on my own
Brenda's Polish Sausage Casserole, Green Salad, Apple Cobbler
leftovers
Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Apple Cobbler
on my own
Brenda's Polish Sausage Casserole, Green Salad, Apple Cobbler
leftovers
...saved money:
Continued using up the milk that 'turned'. It was not spoiled, but it definitely tasted off. It's been great for cooking. Made pancakes and cobbler with it on Monday.
Put aside a meal for one in the fridge of leftover chicken, potatoes and green beans. I'd have had more leftovers but Sam stopped in to have dinner with us that evening.
Made two loaves of Challah and a half dozen rolls from one recipe of Challah dough.
Put the chicken carcass and pan drippings in the freezer.
Made apple cobbler with apples that had gotten older. John wouldn't touch them because they looked bruised. In reality it was a surface blemish but I could not convince him of that. Nevertheless, each apple has cooked up beautifully and I'll finish them off in that way.
Did not buy groceries this two weeks...Feel I should amend that to read that I didn't buy a lot of food this pay period. I bought bread, milk, cheese and mandarins on Sunday. The rest of the money was spent on paper products and decaf coffee. I went into a store on Wednesday and picked up 6 pounds of cheese. Yes, I wrote 6 pounds. It was a far better price per pound than Aldi's best price, over .50 a pound cheaper and buying six not only got me the best price, but it worked out to savings enough to make the sixth pound free.
We are not ready to start any renovation work but we are gathering prices on what it will cost to redo our bathrooms. One BIG savings area was compromise on my insistence that we have a tiled shower area. In looking at the displays I realized that a standard shower enclosure suits me just fine with really nice glass doors, a simple compromise that will save upwards of $3000. Yeah. I can definitely do that savings when we reach that point!
I have planned for some time to make a chair cover using the single curtain panel that was formerly used in my guest room. I'd cut the panel in half to use either side of a lace panel last year. Only after I'd tossed it across the back of the sewing room chair did I realize I could make a nice chair cover with it. It looks good enough. It's a loose slipcover at best but it adds something to the room. I also made a pillow cover from the last of the remnant which effectively used up ALL of that curtain panel.
Took the material I'd used to cover the second ottoman and made a better ottoman cover than I'd had. I'm not terribly pleased but it looks considerably neater than it did and that makes me happy.
Started a free course on Prayer at Chabad.org I am suitably impressed. There is a hand out to print out and a video as well as a quiz to take at the end of each session. I am so pleased with how thorough this course is.
Ate leftovers for lunch on the day we had an appointment to change oil in the car, as well as another day this week.
John printed out a $15 off coupon for a synthetic oil change. I asked him to give it to the clerk right away so we wouldn't forget to use it.
We were given a quote for two jobs on the car that need to be done in the future. It's a hefty chunk. In talking with a seasoned mechanic John knows well we discovered that the work really isn't necessary on either score. Quite honestly, I'm disappointed in the place that told us the work was needed but it was a younger guy, not a mechanic with years of experience. The older mechanic told John exactly what signs to look for that these two areas needed work, none of which our car shows at all. I couldn't help sighing deeply as it was a big worry off my mind about channeling a lot of our sub-account funds to this area instead of prebuilding our sub-accounts for 2019 as we use the funds set aside for 2018.
Ate leftovers for lunch on the day we had an appointment to change oil in the car, as well as another day this week.
John printed out a $15 off coupon for a synthetic oil change. I asked him to give it to the clerk right away so we wouldn't forget to use it.
We were given a quote for two jobs on the car that need to be done in the future. It's a hefty chunk. In talking with a seasoned mechanic John knows well we discovered that the work really isn't necessary on either score. Quite honestly, I'm disappointed in the place that told us the work was needed but it was a younger guy, not a mechanic with years of experience. The older mechanic told John exactly what signs to look for that these two areas needed work, none of which our car shows at all. I couldn't help sighing deeply as it was a big worry off my mind about channeling a lot of our sub-account funds to this area instead of prebuilding our sub-accounts for 2019 as we use the funds set aside for 2018.
...had fun:
Hosted a Fast and Furious party on Facebook. This is work believe me but it was fun because it's a new format recently being introduced in direct sales party circles. It requires just a couple of hours rather than a whole week of commitment on the hostess' part. I really enjoyed working with this format and hope to do more parties in the near future that are equally as fun.
Started reading The Solitary Horseman and looked up some historical references. One I was particularly interested in was the development of the Elberta Peach which was actually grown near here in the years following WW1. I love history anyway. When a book I'm reading touches on something that is also a local history factor it's that much better I think.
Watched two long episodes of PBS 'Victoria' without touching the computer or phone throughout the airing. This is unusual as I tend to multi-task. I also watched an episode of "House Hunters International". I love when they are in Europe.
Swapped out the January vintage magazines for February issues.
6 comments:
That's a great new subtitle! I love it:)
I didn't shop at all for 2 weeks, so bought a lot this weekend. I was expecting over 20 guests this weekend--both Saturday and Sunday, plus my niece and nephew, so I loaded up for that. Then, the flu struck, and only the niece and nephew ended up being here. So, we have a lot of food now:). So, I will not need any more for a couple of weeks, again, unless I run out of milk or something. Now, if I can just escape without catching it....
I got almost another bin of twigs and branches pruned off, which is my goal each week. I wasn't sure I would make it this time, because the niece and nephew keep me pretty busy when they are here. I started on the raspberries, but didn't finish those.
It was interesting reading about your window replacement estimate experience. This winter during the long cold snap in January, my husband and I started thinking about the possibility of having the large picture window in our living room replaced. It is the type of window that has a large pane of glass in the middle section, with a glass storm window over it and two sashed smaller windows on either side. The sashed windows have sliding glass/screen storm windows on them. It gives the effect of one large picture window. It needs to be replaced badly. Drafts leak in from it and the large pane of glass transfers cold or heat right into our home.
The thing is, we don't want to replace any of our other windows. I don't know how high pressure the techniques are going to be to sell us on doing that, and the other windows do not cause such a great loss of heat, or in summer, coolness from our house. The thought of dealing with salespeople in our home is a mild dread for me, but it is one that we need to do.
A few years ago we had a siding salesman here for an estimate, and we almost couldn't get him to leave. Two times he supposedly called his supervisor to see if they couldn't do a better price. Then he became rude when we wouldn't sign to buy right then. It was almost two hours before he left. By the time he left, I didn't have one more minute of civility left in me. I felt like siccing 8 lbs of Pomeranian fury on the guy. Of course, we bought from another company in the end. I don't like a bunch of bargaining, double talk, baloney, or rudeness from sales reps. Tell us the estimates, show samples, and then good bye, we'll let you know.
I enjoyed the retro illustrations in your post today. I always do. My husband and I had a pink kitchen in the apartment we moved into when we were first married. Pink electric stove, pink refrigerator, pink dishwasher (that didn't get the dishes clean). By 1974 pink kitchens were already quite dated, but to me, I thought it was the most beautiful kitchen I had ever seen because it was ours.
You are doing so well with the frugal life! I am impressed. Be careful of any contractor with a seal from a major outfit. We had one that came through home depot and it was a disaster. Find a person who has personally dealt with a contractor before you hire one. Love the retro pictures.
Terri, I really applaud your getting several bids on jobs you want done for the house (or car.) Getting bids has saved us thousands in the course of our marriage. Again and again I speak with friends and acquaintances who only see one contractor and then take their word for it. And I know it's because nobody likes to ask for bids knowing that contractor might not get the job.
But you will be stunned at the differences in prices, although that isn't the ONLY thing to take into consideration, of course.
We even interview three realtors whenever we buy/sell our house.
Becky, sorry to hear about the flu. Glad it was all useable foodstuffs!
Susie, I think I met that siding salesman. About the worse thing for any one who comes out to estimate for us is getting through John's constant chatter and questions, lol, so I let him handle things but I am the 'ugly' part of the couple if it comes down to need. This guy could have cared less about giving us a quote really. We had the impression all along that he didn't really think we were 'big' enough for him. Oh well.
Anne, oh yes, we'll get several quotes. We learned that with our flooring! and we did save big bucks overall just by being patient.
Out My Window, I wasn't impressed with the GH seal...Nor the BBB affiliation, lol.
I love reading the prudent homemaker. From going to a substantial income to a very low one she sure embraced it and makes every penny work. The was a great birthday "cake" she made her son. Why is doing something that should be exciting, such as remodeling, never is? You and John are smart to make thw improvements tbat you want in your home before retirement.
The biggest car dealers in our town arw the most dishonest. Why? The best place to take our car is a dumpy little garage that is honest and does great work with fair prices.
Awake early today, 4 a.m. the phone rang. Robocall telemarketer wanting to refinance my mortgage! Gramma D
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