Is it really Spring??
The first dandelions bloomed by the trailer. (I'm assuming our daffodils are blooming at the old house too...but our friends here at the ranch never planted any daffs. I plan to do so for them this fall.) The robins are here -- and I heard our first hummingbird this afternoon!
It may be sunny, but the wind's cold -- and brisk. And we got a sprinkle of snow to go with the bit of rain we received.
I guess that means it's here.
After the relief of finally making it back from Michigan, we've been busy sorting and putting things away. Meals with friends are a special pleasure. So is being able to go back to church and other familiar spots...including the Colorado ranch that we have grown to love.
*Chamberlain's Charge at Little Round Top: a beautiful limited edition Gettysburg print: $15.99 at Sally's (Salvation Army). Got it home -- and dinged the top of the frame. Maybe I can minimize it, at least. True value? Ranges from $200-1150! (Here's an unusual tale linked to the charge.)
*A 'new' leather-topped folding chair, to replace one of our chairs going wobbily: $5.24, also at Sally's.
*Purchased seeds in bulk online. That way, we could share seeds with cousins and the girlies, at roughly the same price as if we'd bought smaller packets. (I did buy some of those, 4 for $1.25, at Dollar Tree.)
*Picked up the 'European mount' elk skull, which has been waiting for us. Turned out beautifully. (This is the same elk the Brick harvested last fall.)
*Sent cousins a surprise package -- sent another one (Curious George videos I found at the library booksale for $2 each) to our dear nieces and nephews.
*Five dollars from Venmo -- for being a good kitty?? I have no idea.
*Sent a box of Heath candy bars for a friend's birthday - and a case of mandarin oranges for another friend's retirement -- via Amazon Warehouse.
*Did some appraisals. Sold some books. Always nice.
*Got our taxes finished -- just in time. A refund on both state and federal, something that hasn't happened in YEARS.
*Bought Kit and Ben, an early 20th century 'poor kids make good' novel for $10 on Ebay. (The sequel to their story was given to The Mama as a Bible school prize when she was a kid...and snagged by me to take home. I had to find out how the kids' story began.)
*Got three Franklin Expedition-related photos for less, plus reduced shipping. Note: If they're offering it, ALWAYS offer less than the original 'buy it now' price. If they turn you down, you can always pay the higher amount.
*A stack of $2 videos from the library's used bookroom, including Foyle's War and three seasons of Waking the Dead. I love it when the library whittles down their BBC offerings!
*Found some Christmas/birthday presents at the thrift shop -- at 20% seniors discount. (Tuesdays) Not much free bread this time around... darn it.
*Dark chocolate bunnies from Daughter #2 and Son #1 -- thank you, Dears! So didn't buy any Easter 'pogey bait' for the Brick this year. I did get a lovely bouquet of carnations from him.
*Ended up making my own Easter cards. (No access to storebought cards, thanks to the truck being in the shop.) Sadly, the people I normally send these to are dying off. (Like The Mama.)
*Found in a Walmart Coinstar's return -- $1.10 in change! Someone was VERY careless...but I wouldn't have necessarily thought to look, if Donna Freedman didn't suggest doing it now and then.
*Figured out ways to use up food in the fridge and freezer, combined with canned goods. Since the truck was in the shop, I didn't go to town much. Which meant very little shopping for groceries...or anything else. Sorted through what was in storage at our friends', and refreshed on what we have. (Besides elk meat...) A situation at the ranch limited our access to the freezer, as well.
*Minimized freezer and canned purchases. Bought a large bin to keep by the trailer door -- put canned goods in there to keep handy this summer. Inventoried ALL of the canned and jarred goods stored in our friends' basement and garage...and started eating through them. This should help a lot with food costs this month. (I just have to keep reminding myself not to 'save them for later,' and eat them NOW.)
*Kept Karmie, our granddog, while Daughter #2 and Son #1 went on a working trip. (They kept us for an overnight visit, after they got home.)
*Borrowed friends' vehicle while the truck was in the shop. We used it the bare minimum...or just stayed home.
*Lunch with a friend -- and she covered it. (My turn next time. Lunched with another friend -- and covered it myself. We also went out to lunch in late afternoon-- at a buffet that would have cost us $5 more, had we waited another hour or two. (It covered us for supper, as well.)
*Put stuff away -- and discovered a surprising number of items that kept us from needing to buy them. I also passed on things from The Mama's estate for the kids, as well as birthday and Christmas presents we were unable to give to them back then.
*Got another DVD holder...keeps things tidy around here.
*Washed clothes at friends' house -- we weren't able to use our normal method. This worked...except we had to deal with damp hanging clothes for a few days. (They're put away now.)
*Grocery Buys-- Safeway: Pizza for $2.77 each -- plus half-price milk and eggs. (Which made those prices what I USED to pay.) The best, though, was their $5 deal (meat, rolls, Swiss cheese and a bell pepper -- for roughly the cost of the meat alone.) Now, if they'd only have everything in stock! If they don't, you must mention the special, or you'll get charged the items' individual prices.) Safeway is notorious for this -- and not always giving you the coupon deal. I may have gotten the $5 special -- but had to make a return trip to get the proper price for milk: $1.77 vs what they charged me: nearly $4.00. (Our local King Soopers will give you the item for free if they mess up -- Safeway is not as generous.) Safeway made up for it some with free coupons/rewards for potatoes, sour cream, cottage cheese, and green onions. I guess I'll have to forgive them for cranking up the price on their eggs...
Amazon Warehouse: Ginger at 20 cents/oz (the next best price was about 50 cents), individual servings of diced peaches (38 cents each), Knorr chicken & dumplings soup mix $10 per 23 oz. package. Not only will this make a lot of quality soup -- it will keep long-term. And of course -- free shipping.
Now that I'm away from Daily Deals (it's a Michigan chain), and Denver's Fri/Sat store is closed (snif), this is my best source for lower prices. And it's clear -- food prices are not going down any time soon. (Other bloggers are seeing the same thing. Bet you are, too.) If you know of a good grocery 'consolidation' store in the Denver/Colorado Springs area, please share!
*Ended up checking out books I hoped to read, from the library -- rather than ordering them from Amazon. I also found a few books at the used bookroom, including a dollar copy of Nathaniel Philbrick's The Last Stand. (One of the very best books on Custer.) I found more books to savor in the boxes we brought back from Michigan, as well.
*Ebay purchases: used my allowance to get two budget cookbooks I've been reading about: The New Pauper's Cookbook and The Austerity Cookbook -- each much cheaper than anywhere else (including Amazon), plus 5% off and free shipping.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Paid off the bills from the Michigan-to-Arizaona-to Colorado trip. Gas costs alone were more than $2,000. Thank you, kindly Government Leaders! (And Putin. Don't forget Putin.)
*Had trouble dealing with The Mama's estate sale. I knew it had to happen...those items needed to go elsewhere. We didn't have room to take everything back; in fact, we left some of our items there for the sale, too. But it felt very, very strange to see people snapping up glassware, quilts and other paraphernalia The Mama had treasured. (A cousin nabbed a plane and some bowls I had second thoughts about -- thank you, Joanie.)
*Took the USPAP update class online: $230, considerably more than the last time I took it. But it's required, to keep my status with the American School of Appraisers (ASA). The best part: it's DONE, for another two years. (I don't have to recertify with my other membership, the American Quilter's Society, or AQS, until 2023.)
*Stayed home -- a lot. Dealt with some issues at the ranch that we did not anticipate, including the weather -- it has been very, very windy.
*Five dollars to help a little girl buy clothes for her dance team. Not sorry one bit...and I did get a candy bar out of it.
*Dislodged a crown. Serves me right, for biting into a Rice Krispies bar. The dentist said I had a cavity to fix, too. Oh goody.
*Saw two of our friends test positive for Covid. Fortunately, they both have mild cases. We both had a bit of flu -- but it wasn't Covid.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Here's last year's report...and last month's. Hey, even the year before's report. It is hard to believe -- but I've been writing these for more than seven years now.
Life -- and spring -- continues.
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