Another odd month in a series...but things did get accomplished. Sadly, I am too tired to remember much...but the Hits & Misses explain a lot. Some purchases made for Christmas -- but I tried to cut back, in order to pay for more truck repairs. (sigh) November -- sometimes memorable, sometimes not.
Don't buy stuff you can't afford?!? A strange concept.
FRUGAL HITS
*A $50 bookcase, thanks to Marketplace. Cleaned up, it looks great in my office -- and solves the piles of stacked books I had hanging around.
*Flowers from the Brick - including a dozen yellow roses he got for $1.40!
*Baked a pumpkin. I scooped the pulp out, mashed it ith the immersion blender and it became part of our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Also made: a pecan pie (using Amish grocery pecans) and ''Dutch envelopes,' featuring our friend's apricot jam. (Recipes coming soon)
*Tried hard to use up leftovers -- and did better. The Brick used some for his Monday night suppers, and Ruby took care of the rest. (Spoiled dog.)
*Free wall calendars from several sources. I also snagged a Monet blank journal ($1.50!) for use as my calendar book for 205.
*Donated two Operation Christmas Child boxes, using thrift shop buys and stuff from the present box I already had
*Used a Jeep loaned by a friend -- the truck got me to Elections until it got stuck...and broke down. (sigh) So grateful for this friend's willingness to do this. (See Misses for more on this.)
*Used up a bunch of 'good stuff' from the freezer, including steak, shrimp, peaches, etc. I have a bad habit of letting the luxuries get freezer burn, while I'm focusing on saving beans, bread, etc. Trying hard not to stuff the freezer so full -- I can't find anything when I do!
*Found money: a quarter in the Costilla County parking lot, a penny in the grocery store change machine, 2 pennies in the laundry room and 49 cents left by one of our hunters. (He said it was my 'tip.' Booger.) Another hunter left us $50, hidden on the cushion of 'his' chair. Thank you!
*Elk steak and burger from friends. Jars of apricot jam and a loaf of zucchini bread from another friend. Thank you!
*Watched a bunch of Extreme Cheapskates episodes on Youtube. (The Brick is afraid I'm 'getting ideas.' Well, sort of.)
*More Ebay purchases, including Christmas presents, some fabric and silk thread. (The latter is invaluable for restoration.) I also bought a huge roll of cotton batting from Joann's. (All of these were on sale or discounted -- the batting was 50% off.) Books and DVDs from my favorite seller, Second Sale -- buy 3, get 1 off, with free shipping.
*Some lunch and snacks from Eleections - it served for supper when I got home late that night. Made banana cake, using a banana from there, plus extras.
*Found a Colorado history book for my research shelf -- plus an early Colorado recipes book (Best Offer), for discounted shipping. (Found the same history book on Amazon for less... shame on me! That copy went to a fellow Western history-lover.)
*The usual potluck at church (yum). I managed to expand leftover chili from that event into another meal, as well. Served friends who came over 'surf and turf' (see above) -- they brought blueberry cobbler, japaleno cheese bread and a salad.
*Free evening at Cherokee Castle (courtesy of Lord & Richards). A very nice meal in a beautifully-decorated hall, plus a tour of their painting collection. A string quintet charmed us, not with classical music, but rock standards from the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith.
Some friends kindly put us up for the night, the lovely people. Took them out for breakfast next morning, as a thank you.
Thrift shop buys: dozens of videos, books, music books and CDs -- all for half price! Also: four pairs of nice pants ($7 each), Christmas garland ($4) and a small decorated tree ($6), wrapping paper ($1 each)...and other Christmas goodies, from $2-4 each. An additional 10% off for being a senior. (Treasures in the Park/Castle Rock). And 5 free packages of rolls and bread!
*Lunch at Calvillo's -- finally! Every time we get a little extra $, we'll say, "That's a fifth of lunch toard Calvillo's..." I know-- it's silly. But it's a nice part-time goal.
*A box of books arrived a blogger friend at One Hundred Dollars A Month, for the Little Free Library. Thank you, Mavis! The LFL is almost ready to set up; paint is needed for the roof, and a clasp attached -- then it can be put up on a post.
*Got the Elections check - which was very welcome. Most of it immediately went into a large payment on the house loan.
*Thank you notes with gift cards -- to both the Costilla County Clerk and my immediate boss, the Elections Director.
*More appraisal work. Navajo rugs were very big this month, for some odd reason. I also 'did' some other reports. December should be more peaceful -- I don't intend to pick up any extra.
Grocery buys: Canned kidney and black beans (36 cents and 14 cents respectively -- a steal), Kona coffee (about $9 a pound), Dinty Moore beef stew (less than $2/can), strawberry candy straws (24 cents/oz), Amazon regular and Warehouse Deals. Dried cranberries (99 cents), pecans (for the Thanksgiving pie --$3.29) and turkey sausage links ($1.00/pound), Australian black licorice (yuck -- but the Brick loves it -- 99 cents), SLV Amish Grocery. Butterball turkey (74 cents/lb), sweet potatoes (88 cents/lb), ham ($1.29/lb), asparagus (97 cents/lb), Safeway. Butter ($2.99), butterflied shrimp ($7.99/2 lb), City Market (King Soopers).
Very few buys in milk and butter -- and there were signs at City Market that warned of an upcoming shortage in eggs. Prices reflected that, too. I bought extra, to make sure I had enough for holiday baking. You should, too!
*Used the McDonald's $5 special several times. This is one of the best buys out there: 4 chicken nuggets (usually Ruby's bailiick), a double burger, small fries and a Coke. McDonald's plans on extending it into next year. (You'll need the app to access it.)
FRUGAL MISSES
*Pinon nuts -- but just a handful. Pinon trees are on our property, but I found out too late to do much about it. (These came from one of the hunters.)
*Gave away 4 books to fellow Election judges...plus a 5th one (Dead Men Do Tell Tales). Two were especially kind, suggesting someone who could pull the truck out.
*An Amazon order that went kerfluooey. (They eventually credited me, but it took a while.)
*The truck got stuck up in the mountains. The Republican judges had a 'guy' to call. And he pulled it out for no charge! The Brick said it was very difficult...yet they got it out safely. A very kind man.
*More truck repairs -- including fixing the four-wheel drive and a coolant leak. (sigh)
*Fed the hunters multiple meals -- they left a few groceries as a thank you
*Bought a table and chairs - $175 on Marketplace. Couldn't pick them up in time -- so got the money refunded.
*A blizzard shut down several travel plans. It is what it is. As one friend said, "Maybe God doesn't want you to take this trip right now?" Apparently not.
*No Veteran's Day freebies. No restaurants close by, and we didn't feel like trudging to Alamosa.
*Repeated trips to/from the Elections office, hunting, etc. We really piled the gas mileage on this month and last, and had a Jeep on loan from a friend part of the time. (They'll get paid back...so grateful for their kindness.)
*Covered breakfast, lunch and supper for various friends, as a thank you for putting us up. (Or putting up _ith us, as I accidently stated.)
*I was a bad kitty, and bought characters from an Italian Nativity scene. (To my credit, that total was $61 and change, including shipping, for 57 characters.)
Last month's Hits & Misses is here, and Nov. 2023's version is here, as well as 2022's report. Keep on plugging -- that's my motto at present.
