For anyone looking in on life this month, it probably seemed quiet. "Tranquil," one cousin called our photos -- only it wasn't. However, the situation causing much of the turmoil in our life has ended. (Sort of.) Which is a huge relief. I am very grateful for friends, cousins and a wonderful husband through all this. They've been such an encouragement.
It's been very dry, incredibly windy and far hotter than we're used to, this time of year. We have been coping by slurping down iced coffee and lemonade, running fans and the air conditioning, and opening windows to the cool nighttime air. That's the wonderful thing about being close to the mountains -- you can be sweating during the day, but it cools right down after dusk. Ruby, with her thick fur, is especially grateful. (So are we.)
The Brick kept our friends' grass cut, worked on maintenance jobs, and did some paperwork. I watered plants and weeded, washed windows, tidied up and did some work, as well, including appraisals and paperwork for The Mama's estate. What can you say -- we lead an exciting life.
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Weird stuff seems to be happening at Amazon. Its Warehouse Deals section for groceries (which I normally revel in) is either almost empty -- or crammed with deals that aren't that memorable. Or the prices veer from Really Great (rare) to Yawn --Slightly OK (much more common). What's going on??
FRUGAL HITS
(Some of these are from late May)
*Growing Updates: Helped Daughter#1 put in her garden, using seeds from Dollar Tree, as well as the packets I'd ordered online. Our greens are doing beautifully, thanks to the Brick finding (and installing) our friends' drip hoses...except for a huge mining kettle out front, used as a planter. Since no one was watering them while we were in Michigan, the luxurious batch of seedlings in the kettle from last month's plantings mostly died. The ones planted in the garden bed, on the other hand, did fine without watering -- go figure. Some of the perennials I babied last year came back, too. (Whew) A few beans and zukes are also slowly growing. It gets hot out here, and we've only had a few drops of rain lately. Our last real soaker was May 31st. Careful watering is about the best I can do. It does help.
*Geraniums on the folks' grave, and in the urn by Grandma's grave. I moved the artificial flowers I'd left before to our uncles' and aunts' graves, instead. This was important to my mom. I feel a sense of relief that I could help, thanks to our quickie trip to Michigan.
*Herbal pot: $14.99 (usually $34.99), brought home from Michigan. It has extra plants I'll gift to a friend, plus Daughter #1. I cut my first batch of pesto from it (for the freezer); we'll eat the next batch fresh.
*Some books and videos from the library's booksale room. Videos: $2 each. (They used to be $1. Sob) Books: $2 and $3 each. I can handle that. One memorable day, I visited just as they had a BOGO sale -- whoo hoo! Several videos, including Frozen, went in the shopping basket for our nieces and nephews.
Also used some of my allowance to buy two volumes of Charles Dickens' letters on Ebay. (Free shipping). I bought more books with a 'buy 2, get 1 free' special: less than $10 each batch, also with free shipping.
*Buys from 'Sally,' Salvation Army in Boulder. I just happened to visit on a hats/scarves/gloves sale day. Got some for presents, plus a lovely Indian silk scarf and a pair of fur-edged velvet gloves for myself, Downton Abbey-style. (Fann-say.)
*The Rifleman -- a partial season's worth for the Brick's Father's Day present.
*Went to an international rugby tournament in Denver -- another Father's Day surprise! (And he was. Surprised.) Tickets were only $10, plus a couple bucks in fees. (Next time, we'll just pay at the door.)
*A few giftcards arrived -- rebates on purchases like tires. The Brick checked my healthcare account: more than $250 on my debit card to spend!
*Got $10 off monthly by direct-paying our phone bill, instead of putting it on the (cancelled) credit card.
*Father's Day supper at Duke's Steakhouse, thanks to Daughter #2 and Son #1. (Thank you, Dears!) The leftovers made us two breakfasts, as well.
*Started shopping for the main Christmas presents we'll be giving the kids this year -- lots of parts! (Will explain this toward the end of the year.)
*Stayed home. A lot. Sometimes out of necessity,** sometimes to save. (Gas is still REALLY expensive around here.)
*Sirius FM -- yes, a luxury, but we love it -- from $22 to $6 monthly, just because the Brick asked!
*A REALLY good free movie on Youtube: The Great Raid. You'll find this docudrama on an incredible rescue from a Japanese POW camp in WWII very memorable.
*Red Robin buys: $10 in bonus cards, because I bought $50 in giftcards. (Gave one as an anniversary present - and kept one for ourselves.) Enjoyed their $10 special twice (burger, plus unlimited fries and drink).
*No real grocery savings this month. A free couple of cucumbers from Safeway, and finally some $1.77 gallons of milk -- that's about it. I started to order from Amazon's Warehouse Deals -- then closed the page, and said forget it. (I was trying to 'work it' too hard.) I did get a few food items from AW for gift-giving.
*Ruby stayed with Son #1 and Daughter #2 during our Michigan trip. (Our granddog Karma kept her company.)
*Tickets for Pirates of Penzance: $27 each. (Actually cheap for a major performance.) Daughter #1 loves Gilbert & Sullivan as much as we do, so she and her partner will be going. (He said suspiciously, "Is this a musical?" Yep, Buddy. It is.)
*Some appraisals done, including updates.
*Library checkouts: We indulged in more Doc Martin (Seasons 8 & 9). Two more wonderful movies seen: News of the World and American Underdog. But skip The Eternals, in my humble opinion -- far too long and, like Prometheus, too obsessed with its own Significance. (Too bad - the photography was beautiful. Some of the fights were fun, too.)
I also went to see the new Downton Abbey movie with friends. (Senior discount) It was okay...I dozed off twice. My friends loved it.
*Stocked up on cookies, cleaner, and a pair of flipflops for $1.25 each at Dollar Tree -- plus another pair of flipflops for Daughter #2.
*Rescued some stained clothes, by soaking and re-scrubbing them. Mended tears and a split in our pleather loungers with superglue. The Brick mended my sandal with same.
*A 'Midsomer' celebration at IKEA. Way less than the 'prancey' celebration the ad promised, but we got bags of cookies, fizzy pear juice...and a chance to be with our good friends. Plus some plates of Swedish meatballs for cheap, and four more bags of cookies thrown in for free before we left.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Renewed the truck license. (sigh)
*No income tax refund. Yet. Weird, but not uncommon right now.
*Cleaned out both freezers. The basement one was my fault -- I put a gallon of milk in the door and it popped open the freezer slightly. (Facepalm) Fortunately, the stuff lost was mostly a few years old. Freezer #2 (in the fifth-wheel) just needed cleaning. Also a bunch of old, freezer-burned items needed to be tossed, along with a few refrigerator items. (Ruby 'rescued' a few meat items.) Shame on me.
*Took friends out to a Japanese buffet to celebrate their anniversary -- our treat. (They're wonderful...it was a pleasure.)
*Paid full price for two antique postcards on Ebay. Both are needed for a book on Michigan curiosities that I'm collecting for. I did get the seller to dial down the postage, at least.
*Rented a car for the Michigan trip. Airfare was incredible -- it would have cost us between $570-1200 EACH to fly. Actually the price for the rental vehicle was a 'hit:' $150/week (around $186 total), in part because we picked up the car in Denver, rather than DIA. (The Brick checked out all the possibilities. We didn't get the high mileage car we'd hoped for, but did okay, nonetheless.)
It's no fun paying gas for ANYTHING now -- but we did get 5% back from Discover. And we definitely got better mileage than if we'd taken the truck. Not to mention:
*Drive shaft repairs are needed on the truck.** A bit more than $1200 -- IF the Brick installs it himself. Oh goody.
*Lost money in stocks. Bought some more, anyways. I truly believe they'll come back up -- some, at least. Now is the time to buy, if you're following Warren Buffet's advice to be 'greedy when others are afraid.' I use Robinhood, which NEVER charges a fee. Cool! Go here to find out more.
*Flower, herb and vegetable plants: $235. Fortunately, several of these are perennials, so should come back next year. But WOW, these were expensive. (And I was not only careful in my choices, but bought them at Walmart! The Brick wasn't happy about the cost -- but they were for Daughter #1 and our friends here on the ranch. What can you do...)
*DEF purchases: these are necessary for the truck, especially when pulling any weight. Markup, since we last purchased some 3-4 months ago: ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. Groceries are a similar markup around here, making me extremely suspicious when anyone announces there's no recession...
Yep, there's no inflation. Ok, maybe a little...
*Michigan expenses, while we were there: food, flowers, gift cards, etc.
*A box of fried chicken -- because I couldn't stand it any longer. (You try craving the stuff!)
*Six months of insurance, paid all at once. Fees were saved, but DOUBLE OUCH.
And finally: the Brick did NOT buy me the amphibious drone I coveted! (Darn)
Here's last month's report. June 2021's doings. And just for fun -- the 2018 report. (We'd just hosted Daughter #2 and Son #1's wedding that June ...zany.)
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