The first part of the month was filled with the usual -- work, chores, etc. But toward the end, we took a scouting trip to southern Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, looking at land/house possibilities. Found some, too -- but we need to sit down and figure out how much we can afford. Or should we just buy land, and build? That's July's assignment.
It's been more than a little cold, rainy and dreary. Even though we often have a few days of 'monsoon' weather this time of year, this has just felt like an extension of an extremely wet spring. I'm not griping; it certainly has made life more interesting in a 'high desert' environment. But it meant that my beans took ages to come up. The squash never did -- or they may have been shortlived, thanks to the deer. Unless Ruby tells them to get lost, they enjoy munching in the garden. But it also may have been grasshoppers -- I have never seen so many. Who knows.
The odd part: our friends in Castle Rock, about 15 miles away, will get completely different weather. And our friend said they've barely seen ANY grasshoppers, whereas we literally have hundreds hopping around -- and getting bigger every day. Go figure. The chances are good that I will get little if anything from the garden this year. At least the marigolds look nice, and some of the tomatoes in pots have survived.
And now the heat has started.
Although we ate out a lot more than usual this month because of the scouting trip, I find that we're coming home to eat more often, instead of going out. I can still make the food that we crave -- it often gives us more than one meal for much less. The Sam's Club drink-and-a-dog special for $1.50 can be a pretty satisfying snack, too, although the Brick is not a big fan of the Rockies Special. (I am.)
Ruby's new nickname is 'Ms. Hairball.' She seems to be shedding constantly. I sweep up drifts of fur in the trailer, and the Brick can get as many as six or seven brushfuls outside. (Looks like an early snowstorm.) I'm just glad if we can keep the excess hair mostly outside. But I've been shedding quite heavily, myself. (The Cumings women -- including yours truly, one daughter and The Mama -- are known for their thick hair. Wonderful in the winter -- a huge pain in summer..)
FRUGAL HITS
*Checked May's grocery bill -- it averaged out to under $35/week! One week we only used 3 eggs -- because I forgot to get some. But we managed just fine. (Egg prices have moderated some, thankfully. Now milk prices are going up.)
P.S. With only one exception, I haven't used grocery bags since Jan. 1, when Colorado law made them 10 cents each. And it's worked just fine, thanks in part to piling items in the cart -- because I tend to absentmindedly forget the reusable tote bags we keep in the truck. I've been noticing that nearly everyone is doing the same thing. How are the plastic bag companies staying in business?
*Got the Rockies Special at Taco Bell -- and met friends there for supper. They also invited us for supper one night to watch the Nuggets beat the Heat during Game #5 of the NBA Finals. (They did.)
*Donated a batch of kids' books to our local Little Library. The Brick dropped them off on his way to Sports Camp. (See that mention shortly.)
*Thrift shop buys: Complete series of both JAG and Doc Martin, two of the Brick's favorites, for $4 and $30 respectively, for Father's Day. (That was ten years of JAG, and six of Doc Martin, plus two movies. WAY less than online costs.) So grateful for these. A huge collection of Shirley Temple movies ($8), a four-pack of cowboy movies ($1, including our favorite, Lee Van Cleef); a multi-yard fabric pack ($1); three shirts ($1 each); a carryon backpack with wheels ($4), a specialty afghan ($10) and a few birthday presents. Why such reasonable prices-- 20-50% off came off most of the original prices -- because I'm a senior.
*FOUR pairs of new jeans: one shiny dollar each. Thank you, Wal-Mart! (I needed these badly, and they fit!)
*Some $$ from the Mama's bank account -- the last of her estate. (Brother and I split the total.)
*Worked on appraisal reports -- finished some up, added a few more.
*About $30 refunded by Lowe's -- they didn't give me the sales price for garden plants. (Thankfully I caught the overcharge. Be sure to check!) Held back from looking at the garden center -- and buying more!
*The Brick got a cow elk tag. So did his hunting buddy. These are hard to get in Colorado -- especially this year, when fewer tags were issued.
*$10, from a survey taken by the Brick.
*Oriental Trading: $20 giftcard AND free shipping. (Only one Bigfoot item -- so I ordered zombies, too. And skeletons. Think of them as embellishment possibilities.)
Here's something weird: I picked out four each of the zombie and skeleton figures to keep on my desk. Each morning, however, the skeletons are upright -- while the zombies are flat on their faces. Are they fighting it out when we go to bed?
*Speaking of -- we used our week in hotels (see below) to catch up on the Walking Dead sequel, as well as other movies, including the Mission Impossible sequels. At home, we watched a number of the videos I'd borrowed or bought from the library, including multiple years of NCIS: New Orleans (one of our favorites). We're looking forward to more Jack Ryan episodes, too, via Amazon Prime. (Which we share with Daughter #2 and Son #1.)
Of special note: Albert Lin's Lost Cities series.
*I let my hair grow longer - it does save on haircuts. The Brick did, too, from lack of opportunity. (We'll fix this in July.)
*Found more things that had gone 'missing' since we moved back into the fifth-wheel...including my old purse, and my finances book. (I keep track monthly now of our income and expenses. It helps.)
*Continued to use things up -- particularly flour, rice, storage veggies (potatoes, carrots, green onions) and canned entrees (stew, tamales, fruit, soup). The freezer lost its share of meats and cheese. Partial jars of pickle relish, mustard and other fridge items went into potato salad and casseroles. (I did run out of flour partway through the month -- we limped by without bread because of it.)
*Wrapped some presents with leftover Christmas paper. It's not too holiday-y (deer in the forest), but I am determined to clear this out before I get more. (The presents were for a housewarming and a graduation party -- no cost, because I'd collected them beforehand.) Also wrapped the Brick's Father's Day presents in the same paper. The girlies' birthdays in August should finish it off.
Dropped off and picked up friends taking a cruise -- in Europe. They discarded cheese balls, a tomato and some green onions our way before leaving -- and brought us Italian panforte and an endearing freezer magnet when they came back. Plus a handful of Euro change.
*The Brick did some repairs for our household -- and our friends. He mowed the lawn (three times), helped work on the tractor and made a few garbage runs. I defrosted the freezer, cleaned toilets/sinks (and floor areas) and watered plants.
*The Brick did safety and first aid for Sports Week; I worked on reports and did some errands while he was working. We shared rides with friends to get there.
*Father's Day: one set of kids had Covid, so that meant no visiting. The other set were heading to the Renaissance Festival, which the Brick is not fond of, due to horrendous traffic. So we spent a quiet day here, sleeping in and watching movies. Steak, too, for dinner & breakfast -- and he got some presents from his little redhaired doggie. We also took advantage of a gift card (thanks, Daughter #1!) and Red Lobster's unlimited shrimp special.
*Appetizers and drinks at Elway's for the Denver chapter meeting of ASA: free margaritas and appetizers at one of the most expensive restaurants in town. (Plus a few burger sliders to take home.) This is one of my two appraising credentials -- the American Society of Appraisers -- as a 'senior personal property appraiser.'
*Made chicken enchilada soup for our poor sick Covid-ites. Delivered it after I dropped off some appraisal reports not far away. (We had some, too.)
*Grocery buys: Thick-cut brown sugar cured bacon, approx. $3.50/lb; Sweet Baby Ray barbecue sauce, 97 cents (King Soopers). Gallons of milk and pound boxes of butter, $1.97 each; a free pizza and a pound of baby carrots (Safeway). Found a birthday present - half-price (Sam's Club).
Meat prices have skyrocketed around here, and I'm not sure why. Even hot dogs (hot dogs!!!) were $3.49/lb. ON SALE. (Last year, they were closer to $1.80, which I thought was high then, Not now...) Fruit prices are also marching up -- even the 'sale' fruit is $1.50-2 more per pound than last year. This gives me more incentive for an August/September trip to Palisade -- maybe even pick our own fruit this time.
*Garden seeds - 40% off! Plus 10% off on shipping. Some unusual seeds, too, like Lakota Winter Squash (photo below), a staple for the Lakota tribe, at Botanical Interests. You'll like this seed company.
I used some seeds now, and will keep the rest for next year, particularly the onion and leek seeds. Hopefully they'll do better in 2024. The bean seeds have finally sprouted -- either the squash didn't, or were quickly nipped off by the deer or grasshoppers. Grrrrrrr....
*Put away a LOT of stuff, which made for a huge pile of cardboard for the trash run. (It's free -- but the bags of garbage get charged individually.)
*Bought all our cleaning supplies, liniment (we've both had aching shoulders and knees) and cookies at Dollar Tree. Saves a lot.
*Talked myself out of several 'treats:' Starbucks and sushi, specifically. It wasn't easy, either.
*Amazon Warehouse Deals (and otherwise): 8 bucks -- both for the Brick's Father's Day present. Free shipping.
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