It's a lovely day in the neighborhood... and I feel 'deadbeat and plum tuckered out,' as the Brick likes to say. We're still having truck repair issues, although at least it's drivable now. (And no resolution on the Wheel Claim, either. See below.)
I've had more appraising, teaching and work gigs than I usually do this month. Which is good.
And we've had several visitors, which is also good.
We've had way more rain than usual, according to our friends here.
And much to our mutual astonishment, our income almost covered our expenses. In spite of several extras -- and an investment I made.
Mustn't grumble. Except for the truck business, these are all good.
So on life goes.
FRUGAL HITS
(some of these are from late May)
*$25 gift card awarded to the Brick for getting a physical. (He needed it to renew his CDL, anyways.) Yes, I need to do this, too. (sigh)
*Free Rockies game (and a hotdog!) for the Brick (who paid for parking). Courtesy of friend Thom.
*Two beautiful antique quilts -- traded for several hours of appraising.
*Iced coffee is back on the menu, using leftover morning coffee. Iced tea is making an appearance, too.
*Found money: 7 pennies and a mystery coin (another penny?) from the Coinstar at the Alamosa Safeway, plus 2 pennies ( same spot) during an earlier visit. Whoo hoo -- 9 cents!! (Can you hear the Brick laughing?)
*It RAINED. And rained some more! We so appreciate moisture in this dry climate.
*A $6.50 check from Colorado's Great Payback - via the Missing Money site. Have you checked this yet, to see if you're owed something?
*The Excel electric bill was nearly half of what it was last month. Hey, every $ counts.
*More buy-3-get-1-free books from Second Sale on Ebay...plus free shipping. Frugal living, a quilt book, plus a Dickens book I've been wanting to read, Dickens and Staplehurst. I found another Dickens book marked way down from another seller -- Dickens and the House of Fallen Women. Update: I finished the Staplehurst book -- very well-written, and answered some questions I'd always had about this part of Dickens' life.
*Postcards -- many at deep discount, including pioneers, Thanksgiving -- and several for an upcoming book we're collecting for. Reasonable shipping, too.
*Finished two long-overdue appraisal reports. Thank God.
*An Augustus Egg letter -- made a very lowball offer -- and they accepted! (See the post on this.)
*Did some appraisals. (Actually, way more than usual for this time of year.)
*Picked the first of our tomatoes. I planted two 'indeterminate' (whatever the heck that is) and two 'Early Girl' plants. Our climbing beans are coming up nicely. I planted more beans and some zinnias in another bin -- and dumped in the very smelly contents of our compost can before adding more dirt. I also planted the peppermint I'd nursed from Sedalia, seeds for greens, and the Jerusalem artichokes. These were put in by the drainpipes off the roof -- hopefully that will give them extra moisture.
A friend has offered some baby plants growing under her perennials -- I'm thinking I'd like to start planting these on the slope behind the house. Hopefully they're grow and spread.
*Thrift shop buys: Man vs Wild ($4) and District 9 ($2) videos, a new white shirt and a few dishtowels with London scenes on them ($2 each) -- plus 20% senior discount. From the Nazarene Thrift Store in Monte Vista: a plaid workshirt ($4), some lampshades ($1.50-2.50) and some cream patterned curtains I used for 'tablecloths' at the pastors lunch ($8).
*FINALLY got the Tabor refund: $1600 to the good, but it sure took a while to get here. It arrived just in time to cut back on the money we had to take out of the emergency fund for truck repairs.
*The Brick put up a quilt hanging system! And did a terrific job of it. You're seeing hooks and electrical conduit painted white. Simple, elegant -- and easy to switch out quilts, too.
Catered a lunch for the regional pastors association -- The Mama was a caterer, and I've done several events in the past. This one was small: I planned for 30. (We actually had less.)
*Ordered four poundcakes from a friend -- she makes exquisite ones, using her grandma's "secret recipe." (I think I talked her into sharing it!) Used these for the pastors luncheon...and helped her earn some extra cash, as well. (She donated one, which was nice of her.)
*Food for the pastors lunch: approx. 24 cents an ounce for Cheez-Its and Doritos, as well as plantain chips.(The latter were a big hit.) Individual bags meant we easily kept what was left. Hand pies (wonderful Amish pastries) were donated by a kind friend, basil and poundcake by other friends.
I made semmel Austrian hard rolls, and filled them with sliced ham ($3/lb at Sam's) and shaved chicken ($5.65/lb at the Amish store). Swiss cheese (from the bargain wheel) was available, along with dill pickles, mayo and mustard from a previous Amazon Warehouse Deals order. Two kinds of homemade soup (loaded potato and chicken noodle), along with a platter of baby carrots (97 cents from Safeway) and celery completed the offerings, along with coffee, lemonade and ice water.
Nearly everything I used was either on sale, or pulled out of our current stock. People LOVED the food. Hooray!
*Several meals from leftovers -- gained from the trip to Denver, and the pastors' lunch. (A number of goodies went home with my helpers, too.)
*Took care of Freya, Daughter #2 and Son #1's dog, for a few weeks. (They took us out to breakfast as a thank you. Sweet of them.) The Pup Pup will be staying with us more, as Phenomenal Gems has several booths in various shows this summer and fall.
*Sold the stocks in my account. I felt I needed to take the profit now. It wasn't major $$, but still...
*Two books ordered at discount -- appraisers research (Ebay). A third antique book of Dickens and others' letters and speeches -- for a buck! Plus an 1863 book of Western photos that includes one on Fort Garland -- $36 and change, way under what other sellers were asking. (Yes, I'm working on a new book.)
A complete set of Frasier DVDs at deep discount for the Brick (Father's Day present). Also ordered: Nutter Butter cookies at discount -- these are terribly addictive, but at least I got them on sale, thanks to Amazon's Warehouse Deals. (They weren't cheap, though.)
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