Shhhhh...You Don't Want to Startle Them

 

Frugal Hits & Misses: June Report

     Oh my...what a month. I worked hard to tidy up and put away things, and clear away several appraisal reports. The Brick worked hard to finish up the stairs on the back deck (see below) and get the car ready for a long trip. Which we took -- with our dear friends. Twelve states (including D.C.), 2 1/2 weeks, thousands of miles. We got home at midnight just before June ended -- and are still recovering a bit.

     I'll give you hits & misses on the trip next month. Meanwhile:

   Our Brickhouse Rose is loving all the water and special attention paid to it.

FRUGAL HITS

(some of these may be from late May)

The Brick got 20 cents a gallon discount for the last truck fillup. Normally, it's 10 cents at Love stations, so why 20?? We have no idea...but he didn't get any discount with the last visit. Maybe they were making up for it. Considering the total was $110 (yes, you read that right), we were grateful. During our trip this month, he got 13 cents a gallon off -- when we could find a Love's.

Homemade stuff:  iced tea,  potato salad (with a lot of leftover condiments used up), chili, apple crisp, a sort of apple pie/tart/crisp, peanut butter bars, pickled mushrooms (from the May mushroom haul). I also froze two pounds of sliced strawberries, and enough sliced apples for a pie.

Found money:  The Brick came bouncing out from Walmart -- he'd found a dime in the change machine! ("I was in Customer Service anyway," he said.) The kids borrowed the truck -- and left $3.81 in change in one of the cupholders. (They say to keep it -- they did it on purpose. But I wonder... :

Finished more appraisal reports, plus a few extras.  This month has been quiet -- totally normal for summer months. It's helped me catch up.

Two dozen fresh eggs every week. I pay a reasonable price, and it helps our friends, as well. We have enough for ourselves, and the kids, too. You really can't beat the taste of farm-fresh eggs. (I get an extra dozen now and then from them -- so kind. They also said I could have some manure for the garden beds.)

Got a Walmart order of deodorant, mouthwash, wipes, etc. -- that we didn't order! (They said we could keep it. Thanks, Walmart. Shared it with Daughter #2 and Son #1.)

Girls day out with friends to La Veta. The breakfast was a bit on the pricey side, but delicious. I made up with it, though, with DVDs  (including Monk seasons 3-5 -- $2 each!) A few packs of napkins, 50 cents each...and a painting in a Walsenburg store I just could not get out of my mind. 

     We went back the next day -- and couldn't find it. I honestly wondered if I'd imagined the whole thing. So I went back the day after that -- and there it was! Right environment, wrong store. I got a $10 discount, which was nice.

      And here's the painter's other paintings. And her prices.   I paid $55.

Did a trip to Trinidad with friends. (This time, with the guys included.) We had a yummy Chinese 'family dinner' from Wonderful House, spent some time at the animal rescue thrift shop, and toured the Space Cowboy exhibit that Dundee and Lee released. The leftovers from the restaurant made supper the next night, and an appetizer the day after that. 

Watched Freya. Then the kids watched Tiger and Bo while we were on vacation. 

Here she is with Tiger, back in February.

Threw away a bunch of chewed blankets. (Courtesy of Tiger and Bo, who thankfully seem to be past this.) Tidied up other areas, and put things away. That in itself makes a huge difference.

Used greens from the planting beds on the deck for soup a few times. (Little secret: some of the greens were lamb's-quarters which are technically a weed. They tasted good, anyways.) We also started a new garden bed down by the stacked firewood, lining it with cardboard before shoveling in the dirt. Then some buckets of rich soil from under the trees. 

Free food:  a free gallon of milk from the kids, who also shipped a package for me. (And wouldn't let me pay for both.) They've also been bringing up meat from their freezer for our corporate use.

Grocery buys :  half-price snow peas, broccoli and carrots; BOGO sour cream, plus a free one; strawberries for $2/lb; chicken breast, 88 cents/lb (Safeway). Marked-down purple cauliflower (King Soopers/City Market).  Sadly, I paid full price for milk for most of this month, but am happy to say I can actually see daylight in my freezer. Grocery costs in general are definitely higher -- something that's a bit scary. True, we still have our $54 x 2 debit cards from Devoted, but they can only be used at certain stores. 

Finished the steps. Added lights (sale priced, naturally - $24.), plus wedge lights. They worked so well that we added some to the front steps, as well.

Aren't these great!! The Brick, Cousin Phil and Son #1 did a terrific job. 

Book buys:  4 haunted books plus 8 for research -- buy 3 get 1 free, free shipping. (The haunted books are for research too, actually.) One more research book, full price: $6.99 plus free shipping. Add this to the dozen or so books I found at the Goodwill bins for 25 cents each, plus the batch from the Trinidad thrift shop -- and now you know why I needed to tidy up and restock our shelves.

     I also sent a batch of books to the Brick's brother and wife...a sort of early Christmas present, before the postage hike.

Thrift Shop Deals:  A silk Caribbean-style shirt for the Brick ($7.50), plus a rare Colorado history book - for our pastor, who loves this subject, too -- a half-gallon blue canning jar ($10.50) and antique painted bowl ($17.15 - worth way more), plus 10% senior discount and free bread  (Treasures in the Park, Castle Rock). Millenium-themed fabric, Goodnight Moon fabric (!!!) and a $1 quilt pattern; 50 cent Fourth of July pinwheel and a package of tiny flags -- 50 cents for each (Nazarene Thrift Shop, Monte Vista).  Lovely 50-cent books, many of them on Western history for my research shelf (yayyyy!!); a half-price swag bag, with many expensive items inside; $3.50 plaid throw (Animal rescue thrift shop, Trinidad). We walked away from a $50 down coverlet, similar to the one the Brick found in the bins, and a $35 partial set of hand-painted dishes. I half-wish we hadn't.

My luxury swimming pool.  It's great for keeping cool -- only I can't get the dogs to try it yet. (They do drink out of it, the stinkers.)

Little Caesar pizzas - 2 for $5.95 each. Tasty, and a nice change from cooking. 

Two Fourth of July banners -- one for church (below) and one for home. About $12 and $25 each, respectively, with free shipping. (The company accidentally sent me three of the big ones, and said to keep them. So I did!)

Church

Home. 

This will become a quilt back when the celebration's over!

Best offer on some cool photos and fabric -- including this intriguing shot of Leadville, CO's Tabor Theater. (I wonder what the play was?)  These were buy 2, get 1 free on Ebay, plus free shipping. Plus a few discounted ones purchased separately. 

For Father's Day, the Brick got a case of his favorite Monster Mango Loco drinks, a book on the Adams Diggings...plus a new robe. (He's been wearing his old navy one since before we married 44+ years ago.) Those dogs -- they know how to spoil their dad!

Played and sang on Worship Team -- and set up snacks for class one Sunday. (I'm on the roster now, once a month.) The Brick taught a Sunday School class, then led music that same Sunday. I helped out at the potluck afterward. And once everything was cleaned up... we went home and took a nap.

Turned down a music gig -- just too many other things to take care of this month.

Rediscovered the Complete Tightwad Gazette.  (It was in the trailer...in the bathroom. Of course.) I've read it so often that the cover was tattered and worn. So I taped the heck out of it. Yes, it's in the bathroom again. This is one of the BEST frugal living sources ever. 

And if you're curious how the Dacyczyn kids turned out, here's a link to 2013 interviews with all three daughters. Jamie's is especially interesting.

FRUGAL MISSES

Wasted a dollar on the Devoted OTC allowance for CVS -- $59 versus my $60 quarterly allowance. (Yes, I know I'm being silly, but a dollar is a dollar.) We use this for toothpaste, aspirin, etc. (The Brick managed to use all of his allowance, by the way.)

Truck license renewed. Brickwork LLC renewed. Both were important. 

More than a thousand dollars of tires ordered and installed. The plus side: they're supposed to help keep mileage up on the Highlander, do well in snow and rain (if we ever get more!) and are warrantied for 60,000 miles. And this was the best price the Brick found, after extensive research. Otherwise -- ouch.

Last month's report is here.  The 2025 June report is here.  And the year before that: here.  Hopefully we can keep the heat at bay in July...otherwise, it's just going to be HOT.

The Brick, cleaning off the platform leading down to the steps. 

Another Great One Is Gone: Jennie Veldt

    Jennie Veldt died last week, June 24. She was 93...and we loved her. 

    Her husband, Don "Doc" Veldt, was on staff when I (and Brother and Sister-In-Law) attended Grand Rapids Baptist College. (Now called Cornerstone.) We developed a close relationship with him and Jennie over the years -- which only grew deeper over the months the Brick and I played/sang at the church, North Chester Baptist, that Doc and Jennie pastored. (One of the few positive results of that long period we spent in Michigan during The Mama's sickness and death.) 

     Jennie was kind, sharing and simply an elegant woman. I admired her very much.

Her service last Friday is below. 

Here's her obituary:

Genevieve “Jenny” Veldt age 93 of Casnovia, MI died Wednesday, June 24, 2026 peacefully at home. She was born February 8, 1933 in Amber Township, Mason County, MI the daughter of the late Nels Peter and Agda Margarita (Westin) Knudsen. She graduated from Scottville High School in 1951, completed a certificate in Biblical Studies at Grand Rapids Baptist Bible Institute (now Cornerstone University), and received her Elementary Teaching Certificate from Western Michigan University. She taught elementary school in Kent and Kalamazoo counties until their first child was adopted. In August, 1957 she married Donald Veldt, of Kalamazoo, who survives. Also surviving are her daughters, Loralene M. Veldt of Rockford, Lynnette E. (Patrick) James of Goodyear, AZ, Kristina K. (Keith) Kutzli of Sparta, Kathleen D. (Ray) Weidmann of Belmont; daughter-in-law, Karen Veldt of Comstock Park; 15 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son, Peter James Veldt; sisters, Elsa M. Morris (Rex), Barbara A. Knudsen; and great grandson, Easton David Kutzli.

Jenny enjoyed being a mother, a grandma, and a great grandma. We will all feel her loss deeply but know that she is now without pain and discomfort and in the presence of her precious Lord. Read these words she wrote for you: “I want to thank the Lord for the wonderful family He gave me. They will all join me some day in heaven. I have now met my Savior face-to-face and fallen at His feet to worship Him. And then, I expect to embrace my son Pete, my sisters, and my parents. I look forward to that “forever” time to renew relationships with so many friends. I hope all of you will be there too.”

In addition to her family and teaching, Jenny thrived in serving the Lord in multiple ways as a Sunday school teacher, AWANA leader, camp counselor, teacher of women’s Bible studies, and in many other ways along with her husband in the churches where they were members in this country, and in mission churches and schools overseas. She especially loved the trips to Europe to assist individual missionaries, churches and schools from 4 weeks to 12 months at a time. The family would like to thank Faith Hospice for the wonderful care Jenny received.

The family will greet friends 10:00 am Friday, July 3 at North Chester Baptist Church, 23231 16th Avenue Casnovia, MI where the services will follow at 11:00 am. Officiating Pastor Don Veldt. Interment Algoma Township Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Jenny’s honor may be made to Shalom, Inc., PO Box 265, Kalamazoo, MI 49004 or to Women At Risk International, 2790 44th St SW, Wyoming, MI 49519.

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Recovering from the Fourth

     It was fun watching the 'State Fair' celebration on tv, particularly the flyovers. We recognized several places we'd just been to a week or so ago. But did I want to be on hand for all the hoopla? NO WAY.  It's been hot and muggy enough here. 

     Both the Brick and myself have been feeling wornout since we got home earlier last week. Maybe it was the hours and hours of driving...or the hot weather...or the 11 states (plus D.C.) and thousands of miles we did. It always takes some time to re-adapt to the altitude. (We live at roughly 8600 ft.) I probably compounded the fatigue by asking friends over to celebrate the Fourth -- but we (and they) enjoyed ourselves.

     A dear friend died a few weeks ago, and we could not go to her funeral on Friday. That felt terrible. We've had several fires, not close to us, thankfully, but close enough to darken the sky and give the air an irritating effect. Some, like the Aspen Acres Fire, are only an hour or so away. 

     Fortunately, I have a few days beffore the next appraisal sessions. I'll take those to catch up on some writing/editing, clothes washing, etc. Maybe a nap or two, as well.

P.S. The U.S. lost to Belgium in the World Cup. Darn.

No fireworks for us this year -- the fire danger is too extreme. 

Meanwhile:

A Bicentennial time capsule opened!    Now they're looking for contributions to the next time capsule...

Forty thousand pounds of Frank's RedHot Sauce blankets the interstate in Ohio.  Where's the mac and cheese??

A very rare printing of the Declaration of Independence...discovered in a British ship's papers!

'Lightning Kills Makeup Mogul's Yak.'  Nope, I'm not making this up. Says Jeffree Star (who is a bit of an oddity himself), "He was more than just a yak."

Homemade toaster strudels.   While you're at it on her site, check out the "how to stay cool without air conditioning" post. We're all going to need it this summer. (Thanks, Little House Living.)

Some fascinating ancient artifacts...including this church, with a curved 'St. Andrews Cross' effect. (This shows up as a setting in quilts, as well. Know what it's called that? Because St. Andrew was martyred on a cross shapred like this.) 

Have a temper tantrum because a Denver BBQ restaurant plays the national anthem every day... and has been doing so for years.  (Be sure to march out, protesting loudly -- then afterwards, admit that they have the right to do this. See what happens.)

Hey Girl posts from yours truly, collected over the years:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

(I know. Pathetic.)

Gabby Barrett, the country star who says she slept in a car before American Idol changed her career.

"And it's really just like, you know, the author has not given us the script for everything," Barrett continued. "We don't have the blueprint of life right in front of us. And so we just have to trust God even in those uncomfortable circumstances… I've had uncomfortable circumstances, I'm sure, like we all have. And I've gotten past them as time moves on. And then I look back, and I actually can peel some valuable things, even though it didn't feel good at the time, I still made it through. And so, just again, trusting, having faith that God has a plan for your life that's bigger than you can see right now."   -- Gabby Barrett

Have a good week. 

A Prayer from Our First President -- For the Fourth

 

Happy 250th, America!

 

They're probably surprised we made it...but we did!

Dead Beat and Plum Tuckered Out

     Back in the saddle again...but tired.

    We've been on vacation with our dear friends: 12 states in a little more than 2 weeks, including Gettysburg, Washington D.C. and Williamsburg (which was a bust). We left D.C. on the heels of people flooding in for the Fourth...what a madhouse that is going to be!

We finished up by visiting the Ark Encounter in Kentucky.  The last day was a 15 1/2 hour drive to get home. The Brick and yours truly (our friends, as well, I'm guessing) are putting away things, and catching up on sleep. 

More to tell soon. Glad to be home, loving the puppies up and sleeping in our own bed.