Thrifty Thursday: Work Harder, Smarter and Produce More

 

Thursday:  Last night when John made breakfast for supper, he used the last eggs, save one.  He said to me, "We'll go shopping tomorrow and get more."  I noted to myself that I was low on lettuce, Caleb's yogurt was very nearly done, and we were getting low on cheese, fruit and a few other things.   It does seem that just about the time I'm thinking it's time to cut back on groceries, I realize we're out of a LOT all at once.  And it's never near a fresh pay period, nor while the budget is full.   It's just life, isn't it?  I realize I'm extremely blessed that I can afford to go to the grocery when I need something instead of having to wait.   But I'm also conscious of the fact that once upon a time, I wasn't able to run to the grocery just because we were out of something.  There were many a week that went by without a purchase, or we had to borrow from money we'd set aside for an upcoming bill...Oh yes, I remember those days too well!

Anyway, John said, "We'll go shopping," without taking notice of Caleb who was in the room and that child has memory like an elephant.  First thing this morning when I came out of my room, "I get shoes.  Go shop."  

Goodness gracious!  Turns out John had decided to mow and thought we'd go 'later', but that later was not clearly defined in terms of time, and I knew once he'd finished mowing our lawn, he was going to be done for the day regardless of what his plans might be.  

Memorial Day sales on condiments, beans, hamburger were a siren call to go to the store anyway.  I found mushrooms marked down.  Caleb lobbied hard for an orange bell pepper of all things.  Though I do know he will eat bell pepper happily, I felt $1.50 each was a bit much for something to snack on.  He also spied tomatoes and plopped a huge, lovely thing into the buggy.  I envisioned tomato sandwiches and let it stay there, lol.

I found some marked down 73/27 ground beef.  I only got two packages and regretted it after I got home that I didn't pick up the other two.  Also found a package of boneless skinless organic chicken breasts marked down.   Organic meat for less than bone in regular stuff on sale was pretty good in my opinion.

I bought 10 pounds each of flour and sugar.  Eggs happily were nearer in price to what I wanted to pay.  I got 60 large eggs for $7.50 (more or less) and butter was low enough to warrant stocking up on as well.

I won't go into what I spent overall.  It was a lot, and it's not even a routine shopping period but then again, I didn't spend frivolously.  The only snacky item in the lot was Caleb's  Dum Dum lollipops.  He doesn't get one every day but it's one of the few candies he actually likes, and it makes a terrific reward/bribe at times when I need to encourage him to do something and especially things that he finds new and therefore scary.  

I picked up another plant for the yard.  It says it is a dianthus but darned if it looks like any I've ever seen.  I thought it was phlox or perhaps a Penta.  I'll have to see if I can do a search with a photo of it.  It was not expensive and will help fill in the pot where the pineapple sage had been and is no longer.  I don't think the pineapple sage, Angelonia, nor the plumbago made it through this past winter.  It's hard to say since we're still a good bit cooler than is typical for this time of year.

This evening I ran up to Sam's with a portion of our lemon cake in hand and swapped him for a good twenty or so onion bulbs.  He said he'd bring the white eggplant over on Saturday.

Friday:  I worked in the house all morning long today and was weary by the time I put lunch on the table.  I made up a batch of taco nachos for our lunch, using a Jalapeno dip I'd purchased on clearance to drizzle over my nachos.  That dip is spicy!  I didn't mind it one bit, but I know John wouldn't have cared for it.

I made bread this morning.  I should have made bagels today but forgot until later in the afternoon.  

The whole bunch of bananas I bought yesterday that were just nicely yellow were spotted brown this morning.  John wouldn't touch them and I knew they were going to ripen even more in the next 24 hours so I went ahead and peeled and sliced them, then flash froze.  These will do for Ice cream for Caleb or smoothies.  The peels went right into the plant pots to compost and fertilize things.

I looked up the plant I'd bought at Kroger yesterday and it is a variety of Dianthus, but actually goes by the name Sweet William.  It's not the variety of Sweet William I'd planted in the past but it's pretty and I'm glad I purchased it.  I've got it soaking in water now to moisten up and then I'll plant it in my whisky barrel in front of the back porch.

John did laundry today and dried about half of it on the curtain rod in the laundry doorway.

Taylor's birthday gift failed to arrive in the mail.  I am so glad I have that stash of sale purchased gifts.  I put together a nice package of presents for her and doubt seriously I've spent $10 total on all of it.  I'll give her the 'real' present, too, since we chose it together, and I know that she really wanted it.  I just didn't want her to not have a gift from us for her party day.

I pulled a frozen entree from the freezer to cook for supper tonight, which I heated in the toaster oven.  And that is about the only meal I made this week that 'practiced' my kitchen reno cookery.  I'll definitely have to practice this a bit harder next week!

John ordered mower blades and a new back porch light fixture.  I've been lobbying for years to replace what we have and thought I was pretty close now the old one has broken but he ordered another just exactly like what we have.  At least it wasn't pricey.  The mower blades were.   Not complaining.  We're saving enough on monthly mower repairs to more than pay for blades and gas, too, this year.  

Saturday:  I'm waiting on everyone to arrive for the Birthday party.  Everything is about ready to go except putting the hot dogs on to cook.  I'm boiling first then going to slip them into a hot oven to crisp and brown a little.  Sounds unconventional and probably is, but I wanted something more than just a boiled hot dog and since I've neither propane nor charcoal, it's this or nothing.

I had paper plates, sodas, pink lemonade mix, condiments, chips and plastic cups already on hand.  Katie bought a dozen cupcakes the other day.  We froze them and I took them out last night to thaw.

I don't expect today will be one of our costly Saturdays.  We won't go anywhere today.

Sunday:  Something I've been meaning to share all week and keep forgetting.  

I've been ordering checks from Bradford Exchange for the past two years.  The last two orders, I've gotten a bill, after my check has cleared the bank, asking for additional money.  Both times the accounting on the bills has been all wrong.  Last time I called. I corrected their error in amount paid and asked for them to refigure.  Well, they insisted I had added things up wrong and owed them an additional amount of money.  Okay.  I made a mistake...

So this time when I placed my order, I was sure to add carefully and wrote a larger check than last time.  Last week I got a bill saying I owed them more money.  I called, corrected the amount they said I'd paid (I'd paid nearly $20 more) which put me over the total amount they'd listed but they insisted I still owed them more money.  I pointed out that at that rate I was paying over $35 a box for checks.  I asked for them to refund my money and cancel the order.  

No refunds could be issued, I was told, but they'd refigure the extra that I owed and give me a discount.

Frankly, I was ticked off and said so.  But still no refund and I was told if I wanted my checks, I'd have to pay the amount they said was due.  I told John that they had me this time, but it would be the very last order I place with them.  Neither time have I spoken to anyone who spoke clearly.  Each time I was asked to send the extra money to a totally different address. I refused both times and have sent it to the main office where Bradford Exchange receives their funds.

However, I wanted to give anyone else a heads up.  I'll be changing the source of printing my checks from here on.  I do realize that checks aren't cheap, but I have a feeling that there is a scam working at this company now and that it's not in the same hands it was once upon a time.  

A little late in the game I admit it, but in peering closely at my dishwasher, I realized I could change the wash settings and not have quite as long a wash cycle as I've been using these past two years.  I also have the option of turning off the heated dry cycle as well.  I haven't noticed a bit of difference in the wash overall.  And of course, it's a savings in electricity.

Speaking of electricity, last bill came in with a lower kilowatt usage.  Less than last month and about 250 last than last year.  I've no complaints with that.  We've finally shut off the heater, even though it's been cool enough mornings to rate a little heat usage.  

I watched two or three videos last night about the Nesco canner.  I was especially interested in this video from vlogger Rebecca at Stocking My Pantry that answered quite a few questions I had about using the canner safely.  I know some of you have kindly warned me of studies showing that the canner isn't safe.   I think everyone who is concerned should watch this video and then settle the question of whether or not it's safe within your own minds.  I'm comfortable with the idea of using this both as a pressure cooker and canner.    Now to start practicing.

Monday:  It's been a very long day.  I was awake quite early.  I've actually started waking nearly every morning naturally at around 6am, as it's so light outdoors.  I can't say I especially wanted to be awake, but I was and I ended getting up around 6:30.

We went to visit Mama today and I can say quite honestly that the day was not cheap.  We took her out to eat for her birthday, bought her flowers, a card and a slice of cake as well.  She seemed to enjoy herself, was complaining happily about how full she was from her dinner.  We all three had plates of leftovers from our meal so the meal might have been costly but in the end, it worked out nicely.  John, Katie, Caleb and I all had some of the leftovers tonight for supper and we'd eaten heartily from the dinner when we bought it anyway.  That was a total of six servings from our two plates alone.

Katie had mentioned giving up a sugar laden energy drink for sparkling water and said she could buy some on sale at the grocery.  While I was in the store to purchase Mama's flowers, cake and card, I passed a clearance rack with a variety of sparkling flavored waters marked down to a pretty good deal.  Katie was well pleased when I brought them home this evening.

After lunch we went to Lowe's.  While there we bought the kitchen sink and drain.  Priced the blades we'd just ordered that seemed so pricey and discovered we'd gotten a real deal.  The place we'd ordered from sold them in sets of three which is what is needed for about $86 with shipping.  At Lowes the blades were packaged as two blades meaning we'd have to buy 2 sets and they were $90 for the very same brand!  I'm glad that John knows how to properly sharpen them so we get longer usage of them.  

I picked up a variety of seed packets.  I'd been planning to order some from a site that both Oregon Cottage and Mavis Butterfield recommended but was pushing back my order date.  The longer I put it off, the more was sold out.  I picked up all that I wanted today at Lowes.  

I picked up a few rescue plants that were discounted and we bought 5 bags of mulch while the big sale is on.

It was so humid and hot and we'd walked the length of the store and parking lot twice on a full stomach.  I told John, "I really want something to drink.  Please let's stop on the way home and get some water."  By the time we'd gotten the mulch loaded and we were pulling off, John said, "I want an ICED drink.  Just pay for the fountain drinks and fill my glass FULL of ice!"  I was shocked when I went to the register and the total for two HUGE drinks was only $1.68.  I asked John, "Why are we buying drinks for $2 or more each when we can get these so much cheaper?"

When we came home, I had to print off some things for Mama.  I've just bought printer ink.  The WRONG printer ink as it turned out.  I'm so glad I noticed this before I opened that box!  I knew I could return it to Amazon.  I decided John and I had better try on the shorts and capris I'd ordered.  Sure enough, the second pair of capris was a touch too small.  If I'd paid attention to brand, I'd have known not to order the size I did and to size up because that brand always runs small.  Both items will be returned to Amazon for FREE, and I'll get credit for them.  

Tuesday:  I've got my second loaf of bread in the oven as I'm typing this out.  I've already made a cinnamon raisin loaf and the one in the oven is an oatmeal bread.  I haven't made the oatmeal bread in nearly 3 years.  I think I'll have to adjust the recipe again.  I definitely could use less liquid because the dough was very sticky and very soft.  It should bake into a lovely loaf.

I mixed up the ground meats that were in the fridge and have made it all into meatballs.  We'll eat some tonight and probably end up freezing some for a future meal as well.

I noted in the compost pile that the tiny tomato of two weeks ago is now a good-sized plant.  I will transplant it to a pot this afternoon, if I can scare the eastern fence lizards out of the way long enough to pull it out, lol.  They aren't scary but they skitter and that always startles me even when I know it's them skittering about.   Something has decided to come up in the other compost can and I'm wondering what that will turn out to be.  I'm going to rescue all the plants that come up in either bucket this year.  

Sam came in with four bags of groceries packed to the gills.  He'd just received 10 bags from the school system, all meant to feed the two boys two meals a day.  This is something that every household gets delivered to their door every summer, one of the government programs for these poor rural counties.   

I sorted it out and had cereal cups, cereal bars, packets of dried fruits, juice, applesauce, little baggies of broccoli and cauliflower that I've popped into the freezer, Uncrustable sandwiches, sausage biscuits, doughnuts, corn dogs and cheese sticks and lots of baked chips.   I am so very grateful for it all!  

Wednesday:  We went to Mama's last night to take her paperwork that I'd printed off for her.  Yes, it was a long drive and yes, I am the only family member with a printer, so I have become the Printing Office for all family.  Had mama not needed the paperwork to go out as quickly as possible, I would have mailed it to her but it was vital that it be filled out and put in the mail right away.

I haven't much to say about the evening yesterday.  I made meatballs from the ground meat in the fridge and ended up with enough meatballs for supper and some to spare.  I'd chopped up Feta, spinach and dried tomatoes to add into the meatballs along with oregano, garlic and onion.  I thought they were good.  As usual it was a 3 out of 4 for likes.  

This morning, I went outdoors to prune things: rosebushes, rosemary, lantana.  I spread the mulch about the older Turkey Foot Oak tree.  I only needed three bags, so I have two to spread elsewhere.  Given the amount of mulch I need, I'm glad I have two to start the next project with.

I will trim the rosemary cuttings and try to start some new plants from the new growth tips.  The rosemary had truly gotten out of hand.  It dragged the ground so that I felt it was encouraging snake and other critters to hide there.  I don't really need to root rosemary, but I figure if I can perhaps I might be able to offer them to someone for their own home or perhaps I could resale?  I don't know.  It just seems such a waste not to try and root some.  I have plenty of room where I might plant more.

I reused the bougainvillea trellis from last year in the rescue rosebush planter.  I have given up on bougainvillea.  I don't have a sunny enough location to suit it as none of my areas face South.  

Yesterday in the shed, I pulled out the bag of toys I'd put aside, and Caleb is now happily playing with the bowling set as well as the shape sorter.  A year ago, both of these were just out of his skill set.  I'm happy he can figure it out now and has the patience to do trial and error when he doesn't succeed right away.

I've mushrooms to use up.  I'm going to make a traditional Stroganoff tonight with those.  I had some thin sirloins in the freezer and packaged them up into meal-sized portions. I let them partially thaw and then sliced into the strips I wanted for the Stroganoff.

It's necessary to replace the shade in the guest room.  That was one of the last cheap vinyl thin slatted shades.  I reckon it's been up at the window now for going on 18 years.  I plan to replace with the same 2-inch faux wood slatted blinds I have put in all the other rooms of the house (save the kitchen window).  

And so, ends another frugal week in my home.  How as your frugal week?  Was it productive?