November, the keep-life-going month, with equal parts of cold, snow...and sun. (The latter is one of the best parts about winter in Colorado.)
The Brick kept the fifth-wheel repaired and comfortable. I did more appraising this month than I usually do this time of year. Ruby the dog did her share of guard-dogging the deer that show up nearly every afternoon. And we Did Our Jobs. At month's-end, our friends suggested we move into the house, rather than staying in the fifth-wheel for the winter. This will be different -- but nice, too.
The freezer is full of bargains. I'm thankful for a pantry stocked with sale bargains. This will really help with groceries -- food prices have taken another jump in recent months.
We had a peaceful Thanksgiving with our children -- the first in three years. (We spent the last two in Michigan.) I love to see their animated faces, and listen to them laugh. (And argue!) Unfortunately, there's flu going around; the Brick left with a sore throat, and it's getting worse. He *kindly* shared it with me, too. We had weekend plans, but I cancelled them all. Better to stay home and rest.
This report is a bit early -- but I had time to do it. Back to work.
FRUGAL HITS
(Some of these are from late October)
*Kept our heat down -- and used the electric fireplace more. (Our heat is powered by propane, but electricity is part of our rent.) We don't keep many appliances plugged in when not in use, either -- it saves, too.
*Four Fred Astaire movies for less than $5. Follow the Fleet was actually what did it...
*Free Veteran's Day specials: The Brick's six year-stint in the Navy entitled him to free meals at Rodizio Grill and Red Robin (plus 25% off my burger). A free haircut at Great Clips and meal coupon at Freddy's rounded things out. While at Rodizio, I filled out a contest form, and...
*Won two free dinners at Rodizio Grill, plus a bottle of wine! We'll redeem this to celebrate our anniversary next month. (P.S. I almost deleted this message, thinking it was just a group advertisement. Glad I looked.)
*Supper covered -- by Daughter #1. (Thank you, Honey...) Also -- a free steak dinner at a luxury restaurant with a friend, plus an investment talk on dealing with uncertain markets.
*Some $2 videos, from the library's used booksale room, including (ironically, since I posted this) Yankee Doodle Dandy, Spiderman, Venom, The Train Robbers, Operation Petticoat and The Buccaneer. (Yul Brynner -- lots of swashing and buckling!) Plus The Green Knight...ewww. (Returned that one.)
*Worked two days for the election -- including a grueling 14-hour stint during Election Day.
*Borrowed a vehicle for working the elections...the Brick needed the truck for his observing job that week. (Thank you, friends!) Returned it with gas to cover my use.
*Took home leftover cookies and bags of potato chips from the election room.
*Mugs for an engagement present. (Plus a copy of The Princess Bride, so they knew why.)
*Donated candy bracelets, necklaces and lollipops, plus an assortment of toys, notebooks and coloring books, for a Mexican orphanage and pastors conference our friends will be visiting in December. (Buying the candy together actually produced a discount. Yay!)
*Instead of filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, we donated to their parent organization, Samaritan's Purse. (For some reason, our church didn't host the program this year.)
*Donated a bag of clothes, from the winter stash. (I didn't need as many.) Found a beautiful black turtleneck ($5) plus a Santa candle ($1) and Christmas cards (5 for $1) at the thrift shop. Plus a 20% discount on top of that. (Senior day)
*Supper with friends a few times. Once they paid for us -- other times, we brought food.
*Picked up friends at the airport. (Our other set of friends took them there.) The Brick also drove for the Brokentree church.
*Did a bunch of appraisals, including collection reports -- difficult with lots of research, but very interesting. Sold some books, too.
*Some more photos purchased at discount on Ebay. For future books and columns.
*Found a silver basket for a Christmas gift ($5.99), plus tv tray tables ($12.99 for four) at Sally's in Boulder. Love that Salvation Army.
*Grocery buys: 10 pounds of potatoes, a pound of asparagus, packages of Swiss and cheddar cheese -- all for 97 cents each; 97-cent/lb ham; shrimp ($4.50/lb); 3 pounds clementines ($1.97); free green onions and lunch meat, plus a free can of pumpkin (Safeway). Didn't buy much on Amazon Warehouse, except for some cans of clams. (We were pretty heavily stocked up.) A few other sale items, but not much. Milk and eggs were NOT on sale this month; sale milk stashed in the freezer got us through. I did get extra eggs, anyways, for baking. (Daughter #2, up in the mountains, tells me that a dozen eggs there are a teeth-gritting SIX DOLLARS a dozen.) Not on sale, that is, until just before Thanksgiving, when I found 18-egg cartons at Walmart, unadvertised (and no signs -- so no one knew!) for $1.30. Astonishing.
Also from Wally: three-pound bags of onions ($1.58); canned pears in juice (96-cent clearance); cans of green beans (50 cents) and frozen vegs, including peas and broccoli (88 and 98 cents). Only the green beans had signs. I actually went back and got more...and the Brick picked up more eggs, as well. Is this the new trend -- don't bother to post signs by the really good deals?? Both Wal-Mart and Safeway did it...
I didn't get a turkey this year. Too much meat for the two of us -- and just too dang expensive. Daughter #1 and her partner cooked one for Thanksgiving dinner.
*Another Tostitos special -- almost as good as the Safeway double-special, but not bad. I used coupons received for a bad bag to cover two bags of chips -- and got two more free!
*Stocked up on some hard-to-find items we finally located -- like Pepto Bismol, marshmallows, and dried peas. I am not sure why the scarcity -- but we're glad to have extras. Especially the Pepto.
*No major repairs this month. What a relief. No new clothes, either, except for the turtleneck, from the thrift shop. Gloves and a leather coat I got earlier in the year at a thrift shop sale came in handy, starting this month.
FRUGAL MISSES
*Found a number of things in the fridge I'd forgotten about, including a pepper, the Brick's sandwich meat and Swiss cheese. (I love Swiss cheese.) Managed to use these up, plus some threatening-to-go mushrooms, before they went bad.
*Two spoiled packages of cabbage. (I should have known better.)
*Watched one of the stupidest movies we have ever seen: The Green Knight, with Dev Patel. Great costumes, landscapes...and some of the silliest plot moves ever, including an obsession with heads falling off. We waited endlessly for the explanatory climax - which came literally a minute before the end. That made sense... sort of. But it was too late. Boooooo....
As the Brick said, "Well, that's two hours I can't get back." I'm including this review, so you don't make the same mistake.
*Loved having all those tortilla chips -- and ATE those tortilla chips.
*The Brick worked free as an "Observer" for three very long days during the Boulder County elections. It was still worth it.
*No elk or venison meat. Yet.
Last month's report is here. Last year's is here -- and the year before. Now on to one of the fun months of the year!
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