I have rarely felt so ambivalent about a month. In some ways, February's felt like three months. The first part: icy cold, putting things away from the holidays and working on appraisals. The second: warmer, with a slug of flu. And the third? A last-minute cruise...and struggling to get at least some things done before we left. Update: we're back, but brought a Very Bad Guest with us. More on this in a bit.
Welcome to February -- ever-changing!
I did go overboard on some purchases for the business (shamed face). So I reminded myself to behave by reading back posts of Katy's The Nonconsumer Advocate. She keeps me on track, frugal-wise. Fortunately, we have a ton of food in the freezer and fridge, and our general necessities are good. March should be okay.
FRUGAL HITS
(Some of these are from late January)
*Slightly -- and I mean very slightly -- warmer outside for a good chunk of the month. Which I'm grateful for. Cold floors and icy steps are no joke -- though we sleep a lot more peacefully under the down comforter. We keep the house pretty cool, compared to many people, and use the woodstove regularly. That's probably why our Excel bill this month was still quite low. ($51 and change)
*Dickens of London -- a five DVD set on Charley's life and writings that's always been way out of my reach, $$-wise. Found a set for a bit more than $12, including shipping, thanks to Best Offer. (The set usually starts around $36.)
*Bought a handkerchief, and a photo or two, as well. The latter will be for upcoming books/articles.
*Valentine investments: a $1.50 heart-shaoed wreath, a wallhanging of a Thomas Kinkade painting ($1), cards ($1.25 ea)...a marshmallow heart, plus a box of Dove chocolates and a loving-themed cup (25 cents), for my dear Brick. I also got friends a large heart-shaped box of peanut butter cups from Amazon's Warehouse Deals. (I'd already gotten Valentine chocolates for the kids.) Our Valentine's supper: ribeye steaks (on sale at City Market), baked potatoes and stuffed mushrooms. Yum. Plus a private showing of P.S. I Love You.
*Found money: zippidy-doo-dah, so far.
angel found 1936 standing Liberty half dollar in Coinstar machine --
*Now planning for a roadtrip in the summer, with our friends from the Europe trip. They want to visit as many baseball stadiums as they can -- we want to finally see Gettysburg. Researching is half the fun!
*Bought 80 Bigfoots. No, I'm not making this up. They'll come in handy for a future project. (More to come on that soon.)
*Thrift Shop Buys: a board game (50 cents); several antique and other books ($2 each); note and greeting cards (25 cents each); a skirt for the cruise ($3) and a lovely moleskin shirt ($7, but brand new and worth far more) plus Valentine items, all free! (Nazarene Thrift Shop, Monte Vista). Two of the antique books had loose covers, but were easily glued.
I got some bargains at Treasures in the Park (Castle Rock) -- mostly half-priced books, plus Ticket to Ride ($6!!!) two leather picture frames ($4 each). As usual, 10% off for being a senior, plus some free bread they offer to store customers, which I shared with several different people. Someone asked if I was 'stealing' from the Food Bank clientele when I did this -- I'm not. Treasures only offers bread to thrift shop customers when they have extra. Which they usually do. But I do appreciate being able to take extra back to Fort Garland, and share it with friends who are on limited incomes. Which I usually can.
*Played and sang at church. We've been doing this steadily since October, with only one exception. (Our fellow Worship Team partners have been in Michigan or Florida since early November.) This was mostly by the Brick; the flu -- and my voice -- have come and gone all month.
We also went to dinner and a concert in Alamosa with our friends. (In true form, made a second meal from the leftovers.)
*The dogs celebrated their first birthday. Here they are, when we first got them:
Bo, looking noble: "Let's see... what kind of deviltry can I get into next?" Tiger (looking at Ruby): "Who the heck are you??" Ruby: "Ummm, Mom...who ARE these animals?"
And here Bo and Tiger are now, in all their long-legged glory:
Still a few accidents and 7-8 hr disappearing acts (thank God they've come back) -- but by and large, they're starting to grow up.
*A wireless 'dog fence.' adf kj;
*
*A true Hawaiian pikake quilt top -- $200. It's basted and ready to stitch. True Hawaiian quilts easily go into the thousands. I can show this, as well, while I'm finishing it. That may take a while...and yes, I used Best Offer on Ebay.
Grocery deals: Bags of salad mix: $2.07 each; $2.70 for a large bag of green beans; shank ham, 89 cents/lb; Bananas for 47 cents/lb; a $1.50 mesh bag full of ginger root; BOGO snack tacos, beer-battered fish, beef taquitos, Korean meat dumplings (bulgogi); and a free pound of butter -- yay, coupons! (City Market). Boxes of shelf-stable firm tofu, $2 each -- a good source of protein (Amazon). I've been watching a lot of my new buddy, the Japanese Salaryman, on Youtube, and craving Asian food, as a result. The ginger went into a quart jar filled with sherry -- it will keep for years this way. (Really.)
*Took care of Granddog Freya, while her folks were manning a booth at February's monthlong gem show in Tucson. The kids brought containers of meat scraps and broth for her food -- which the puppies have been enjoying, too. They also left Mom and Dad a few items from their fridge, including mandarin oranges.
giftcard from solar program?
rolltop desk?
Safeway freebie -- tub of sour cream
*Free birthday burger from Red Robin
*A trip to Denver -- had to go by myself, but stayed with the kids, plus a second night with friends. (Brought some goodies as a little thank you, and bought lunch for the kids and an old friend.) Stopped at the thrift shop in Castle Rock (25-cent kids books for the Little Free Library!), and shared a few slices of little Caesar's pizza with friends before bringing the rest home to the Brick.
*Worked on a book I'm editing -- and did some appraisal work, as well.
*At the last minute... did a Mexican cruise with the Brick! This was a 'hit' -- really. Specifics will be shared in the March report.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Our food debit cards are working -- but only after several bobbles. Our Medicare B plan allows for $54 monthly for each of us, which is wonderful. But first, I didn't understand how to use them -- which meant I ended up paying on the regular credit card. And then I didn't realize that they can't be used at certain stores -- like Safeway, of all places. (The regular card gets pulled out again.) And THEN I didn't realize it wouldn't be easy to add up totals while I shopped...so spent more than I'd planned, and the debit cards allowed. Which meant pulling out the credit card for the overage.
Finally, I did it right...but bought not only extra food, but some items I wouldn't have. Ah well. It's nice to know that I can try again, with March's installment.
*Property taxes are looming: a necessary evil. That's what we get for buying a house. At least, thanks to our protest, we didn't get nailed for considerably more than we paid for the property.
*A snowglobe I ordered from Amazon arrived frozen and leaking. And no sound, movement or light, either, poor baby. Fortunately, Amazon replaced it for free. (I returned the damaged one.)
The Brick had to return a shirt that arrived in the wrong size, as well. Returns are generally rare for Amazon -- at least for us.
*Xcel cranked up our electric bill for December -- then just as suddenly cut it back in January. (February's okay too, considering.) They just replaced our regular meter with a digital one -- did they mess up? The pole next to our barn was also replaced.
*Bought fabric -- and STUFF. I have a few gigs coming up that this will come in handy for. I also waited to charge them, plus the Hawaiian quilt, until the credit card bill's next-month payment posted. That gives me an extra month to pay -- with no interest charged. One of the perks from paying our credit card bills in full every month!
I also bought a few groups of antique blocks I could afford -- but didn't actually NEED. No matter - they are rare enough that I'll make my money back, I think. Nonetheless, considering property taxes are looming... I am a bad girl. Here's one set -- it's charming. No idea who the designer was, but I'm researching to find out.
*A few spoiled veggies -- and a little meat. Sigh.
*I discovered something: I do not like asiago cheese. Guess that tells you often I've had it before this. (Too much like blue cheese...grimace.)
Last month's report is here. February 2025's report is here. And here is 2024's version. Enjoy.
ad kj;
