Mee-YOW!

I have no idea why this guy enjoys belting out opera and popular songs -- 

          while his cat shows his obvious displeasure. 

It's funny, anyways. 

(If you like this, there's plenty more on his Youtube channel.)

We're Working on This for Ruby...

 

Frugal Hits & Misses: The December Report

 Well.  A more cheerful month than the past few, in spite of a horrendous auto repair bill, and plenty of cold weather. We somehow kept our bills paid, thanks to God's grace and the emergency fund. But it's time to pull our belts in and replenish that fund. I have a stuffed-full freezer, fridge and storage area, which will help with food. Our firewood pile is still going well. And I've got plenty of new books to read, thanks to a wonderful Christmas. 

    We had visits from both sets of kids -- but not at the same time. Which meant TWO 'Seven Fish Dishes,' which was a little freaky. Dear friends from Castle Rock finally made it here for a visit, which was lovely. And we're finally starting to feel better, after a week of flu. All good things. 

    Upward and onward for the new year. Here's hoping it's a happy one!!

FRUGAL HITS

(a few of these are from late November)

*Processed the 'harvested' doe. Ground up pork roast for taco meat, while we were at it.

*Cleaned and returned the Jeep (and meat grinder) our friend graciously loaned us. 

*Made Christmas cake,  Sachertorte, sugar cookies, 7-layer cookies (a favorite of the Brick's mom) and pecan tarts. I've been baking at high altitude for decades now, but 8600 feet is still quite a bit different than our previous 6500. A friend here recommended using a bundt pan...which was a big help. So has been using even more flour than I had before. So 'one cup of flour' is really 'one REALLY heaping cup.' Cooling the dough in the fridge for a while also helps.

*Appraisal reports worked on -- and a few new ones. 

*An 8.5 foot Christmas tree -- cut from our property. It's a bit sparse in the ornaments department; the bulk of our holiday decorations are still in the Michigan storage trailer. But lots of lights and some tinsel make up for it. 

*$20 coupon from Oriental Trading Company:  used for candy,  ornaments and some Valentine projects. Plus free shipping.

*Found money:  a quarter the Brick found in the church parking lot, and 81 cents, plus Mexican peso and 50 centavo coins, at the City Market change machine in Alamosa. A second visit, on the last day of 2024, yielded 24 cents. Whoo hoo!

    This makes $13.47 total for the year -- way more than 2023's ($1.54) and 2022's ($2.32) totals. Plus: a 20-cent Euro; 20 Chinese 'something;' 20 and 50 British pence, respectively; a Canadian quarter; 2 pesos and 50 centavos; a Russian ruble...and a bunch of old Mexican currency found in the 5th-wheel. Plus two tokens. And this total doesn't include $13.50 in half-dollars and $45 in bills found cleaning the fifth-wheel...plus a $20 bill that floated out of the dryer. I feel rich.

*Post-Christmas buys:  Candy, cookies, Pez, Christmas decorations and some future presents -- all at 75% off. (Wal-mart) Virgin of Guadalupe candles (60 cents each) and dollar pine-scented large candles, regularly $8.99 each. (City Market)

*Thrift Shop Buys:  some wonderful books and videos ($2.50-3.50 each), a pretty patchwork hanging ($4.00), Christmas velvet ribbon ($3.00 for 30 yards), coffee mugs ($2-6) -- all at a 20% seniors discount -- then 50% off most of that. Hooray! Also -- more Christmas CDs (including Elvis and Frank Sinatra - $1.50 ea) and heavy rolls of Christmas paper, some which can be used year-round, for a buck each (Treasures in the Park).  A new Wilton bundt pan ($3.99), drinking glasses ($2.99 each), a Texas Starbucks mug ($2.99), some new heavy crystal Bohemian wineglasses ($1.99 ea), a designer cape ($7.99), and a large print of an Irish seashore - $7.99. (Goodwill).

*Half an order sent, instead of a complete one -- but cheerfully refunded. (Thank you, Amazon.) I also found some History Channel documentaries at an excellent price, a present for friends in Michigan.

We both love history...and tend to collect friends that do, as well.

*Tried to make the most of our Medicare benefits before the year ended. I refilled meds (no charge), cleaned out my Over The Counter allowance ($500 -- but missed out on a dollar), and got a $25 giftcard before year-end. (If we don't use the funds -- they disappear.) The Brick got a $20 giftcard and cleaned out his OTC fund, as well.

*My big decorating splurge: used the ribbon from the thrift shop ($1.50 for 30 yards!) to decorate a wreath for the front door -- and a ribbon bow by the driveway.

*More Ebay books, buy 3, get 1 free, plus free shipping. (I got refunded on one book, but received the three I wanted the most.)  Late in the month, I also got a buy 2, get 1 free special, also free shipping.

This was one purchase - a wonderful book.

*Started supporting a new missionary in the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF).

*Making a monthly payment, instead of an annual one, for my ASA membership has been a real blessing. (No extra fees or interest, either.)

*Messiah tickets to the local symphony and choir: $10 each. Really enjoyed it.

*Out to eat at Lu's, a local diner - and had our lunch paid. (Thank you, Steve!).  Also used the McDonald's $5.00 special after the Messiah concert, plus a hot fudge sundae -- and got a 50-cent double cheeseburger, too. (It's in the freezer.) And a 3-for-me deal at Chili's got us great burgers, with leftovers enough for breakfast. (Hey, you eat your breakfast choices -- I eat mine.)

Safeway savings: I barely saved my monthly points from disappearing (45 min. to go!)...and got a free bag of carrots out of it. (Tip: if your reward points are expiring, put in for something -- quick. It is still usable the next month.)     Then I earned $10 off my $50-plus purchase, plus 10x points because I spent more than $100 on that shopping trip. (On bargains, but don't tell Safeway that.) Those accumulated points were enough to shave off 60 CENTS per gallon on our next fillup. At 24 gallons, that really adds up. 

Grocery buys:  less than $1.30/lb pork roast (I plan to grind it up for 'burger'), triple romaine heads, plus three salad kits ($1.99 each), a package of salad greens I got paid 80 cents to buy (!!!), gallons of milk ($2.47 ea), two-pound pkgs of cheese ($5.77 each -- and a $1.50 coupon off one, as well), BOGO petit sirloins, a bunch of 50%-off frozen goods and five pound bag of black beans, 2-for-one Marie Callender pies, with a free Reddi-whip thrown in (Safeway). The only bad part this month: the wonderful meat deals advertised at Christmas disappeared in the blink of an eye. No rainchecks, either.

A surprise check (for leading and playing music at a church in Monument). Much appreciated.

Except for the Nativity figures, some thrift shop greenery and ribbon and one ornament, no extra purchases for Christmas decorations. I did buy extra butter (on sale) and eggs (not on sale) for holiday baking. Eggs, when you can find them, are up in price again: the cheapest was $4.99/dozen for mediums. Egg prices here in Colorado haven't stabilized -- and the cold cases were nearly empty.

*My big decorating splurge: used the ribbon from the thrift shop ($1.50 for 30 yards) to decorate a wreath for the front door -- and a ribbon bow by the driveway.

*Candlelight concert. We used tiny electric candles I'd gotten months earlier (on sale). The band included our good friend Bert, who helped out on guitar. It got jazzier than I'd thought...but went well. 

*Some wonderful presents, including books on Navajo rugs, Baby Doe Tabor -- and Michigan's Dogman! A beautiful scarf from Prague, a tiny Nativity (Czech Republic), goodies and a tiny cuckoo clock (Germany) from Daughter #2 and Son #1. (They spent a month in Europe on their honeymoon this fall.) Heavy whiskey glasses and a decanter from Daughter #1 and Adopted Son #2, as well as a photo frame. (The Brick will have fun with this one.) Teabags, cookies, mugs and some 'solar dancers' from the Black Sheep party at church. Rummikub and Ticket to Ride games from friends. Plenty more, too. 

FRUGAL MISSES

*My 'w' and '2' keys have been out of commission (except occasional use) for weeks. The Brick ordered a keyboard to fix the computer...wrong size. This week, he got a replacement keyboard...still wrong size. Aaarrrghgghghghghghgh. This has meant relearning a new computer -- and precious little access to previous reports, photos, etc. I try not to complain -- because the Brick is frustrated, too.

*Wrote a letter to Experian, after they decided to bill us every month for a so-called 'free' credit report. Still waiting for their answer.

*Some food spoiled, particularly produce. I was just too out of it to preserve them -- shame on me.

*The truck's latest repair bill:  $2200 and change. Double aarrgghgghghghg.

*Didn't use our Medicare dental/vision allowance for the year. I stopped by Walmart's Vision Clinic on Dec. 31, hoping they'd fit me in -- no dice. It's my fault; I should have done this weeks or months ago. Turns out the Brick hadn't used his allowance, either. We are bad kitties.

*Will the Social Security Fairness bill be signed?? This would restore lost income that has been punishing the Brick for working in the public sector -- he put in 'only' 28 years in the private sector, instead of 30. To his surprise, the bill passed in both the Senate and House. Now it's waiting for President Biden's signature. It would mean a substantial boost in income for us -- and many others.

Last month's report is here; last year's December report is here. Plus the year before...

A very, very Happy New Year to you.