It is hard to believe, but our puppies are no more.
Instead, we've got half-grown dogs with puppy hearts. Fortunately, they're not peeing in the house as often, but they're still chewing and getting into trouble. (I lost a pillowcase last week, thanks to Tiger. He wanted a snack.)
Here Bo and Tiger are as pups, along with their 'niece' Freya. March 2025.
And here they are now. This photo was just taken a few days ago. Oh my!
What a hot, dry month -- we kept the south windowshades drawn most of the time, and I was forced to water pretty much every day. Thankfully, most of our plants -- with the exception of a lavender plant, which the dogs rolled on -- survived. Temps in the 100s for Denver most of the month? Yup, and in the 90s for our mountain home. No fun.
It was a relief, toward the end of August, for a little rain and lower temps to roll in. I am REALLY looking forward to autumn.
FRUGAL HITS
*Stopped by Dollar Tree before the rumored upcoming price rise. We are big fans of their frozen Korean dumplings ($3) and chocolate-covered grahams ($1.25), in particular.
*Made $2 on a survey,and earned a $5 Swagbucks giftcard, as well. (Which I promptly spent on corned beef hash. Hey, priorities!) It's easy to earn points toward giftcards, just by shopping and/or doing your regular searches. Go here to find out more.
*Found money: a quarter from the Walmart change machine; two dimes and a penny by the washing machine (though I suspect one dime is a return traveler); 89 cents from Safeway's change machine and 21 cents from City Market's (on the same day!); another penny at City Market. $1.57 for the month -- not bad!
*ALord and Richards zoom meeting helped reinforce how we've been doing financially. We also signed up for a special 4.2% interest rate from one investment -- provided we deposit a set amount every month. (So far, we have.)
*Thrift shop bargains: an armful of fancy label leggings ($4 each), a new fan ($10), and several dollar DVDs, including Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist (Nazarene Thrift Store, Monte Vista). A $7 pair of jeans for the Brick, and four 'new' Blue Willow and English blue-and-white plates ($4-6 each). Plus a 20% seniors discount, and 6 loaves of free bread! Some got eaten, some went in the freezer...and the last loaf went out for the birds (Treasures in the Park, Castle Rock).
*Plants, courtesy of a sale at Lowe's: $2 chrysanthemums (the pots said $4.98!), Russian sage ($2), snapdragons ($1)...and a big pot of lavender -- 3 plants inside worked out to $5.33 each. (I really hope the dogs don't roll on this batch.) We considered adding some fruit tress, but held off for now. I also found a large tomato that had fallen off a plant; "You can keep it," said the clerk. Delicious with a slice of Swiss, some bacon -- and a thick slice of free olive bread.
*The Brick got a scholarship: for the upcoming national conference in September for the Convention of the States (COS). It will cover his hotel and travel bills -- hooray! He also volunteered two days at the COS booth during the state fair. (I stayed home and watched the dogs.)
*Unpacked more of the Michigan trailer. Making progress, though slowly. Daughter #2 and Son #1 took out a bunch, as well.
*Continued to stack the firewood we bought last month. Ordered propane to top off the tank, after we'd researched several companies. (We use propane for the dryer, the stove and hot water.) The best price: $1.59/gallon, though we were quoted prices much more than that. So what, you'd be tempted to say. What's 42 cents difference a gallon? Well, since we'll be needing at least 400 gallons..at least $168.00!
*A trip to Denver -- a full day of appraisal appointments, and an overnight with Daughter #1 and Adopted Son. (Several errands run, too.)
*Bought more books. I love books -- did you notice? But I especially love buying frugal living books, well, frugally. Second Sale, one of my favorite Ebay sellers, announced they would start charging for shipping in September. No problem -- I just ordered three batches of 'Buy 3, Get 1 Free' books now, including some Christmas presents. Free shipping, as well.
I also edited out books from our collection to add to the Free Little Library in progress. (The LFL is done, but still needs to be set up on a post on the church lawn. Sigh.)
*Sold my Red Robin stock again -- and made money. Yes, I buy and sell this stock off and on. We love their burgers, after all. I also saved a few bucks by purchasing RR giftcards from Safeway.
*Grocery deals: ground turkey, $2.67/lb (Walmart). A quart-sized container of vanilla yogurt - $1.99; jalepeno/cheese smoked sausages (about $2.30/lb); cups of red grapefruit sections in juice, about 25 cents each (SLV Amish Grocery). Half-gallons of milk ($1.27 ea), bacon ($4.47/lb), crunchy peanut butter (16 oz., 99 cents) and gallons of apple juice (also 99 cents), blueberries $3.77/lb, and $10 off $75 purchase (Safeway). Palisade peaches -- the best! -- for $1.77/lb; crunchy peanut butter (16 oz., 99 cents) and gallons of apple juice (also 99 cents), a dozen roses for $3.32 (City Market). Dried cranberries, 16 cents/oz -- WAY less per oz than usual; cans of Armour corned beef hash (15 cents/oz), a basic standby. (Amazon).
Daughter #2 and Son #1 also bought us groceries -- the dears.
*Babysat our granddog Freya most of the month -- so Daughter #2 and Son #1 could work at various rock/gem shows throughout the state.
*Two gray longer v-neck t-shirts, found on sale on Amazon: $6.99 each. That's close to the $5-7 I usually pay at thrift shops now -- and they're new!
*Took advantage of Chili's 3-For-Me specials: chips & salsa, drink and burger/fries for $10.99. Yes, we brought home partial burgers for a second meal.
*Two free meals out: one from our black-spot friend (more on this soon), and one for listening to a talk on cellular therapy treatments for our arthritis. (Hey, if the latter gives us a nice dinner at a quality restaurant, I'm all for it. We stretched the leftovers into a snack and second meal, as well.) Plus -- we linked the second meal to a leisurely day trip we'd been wanting to take along La Veta's "Highway of Legends."
*Stayed away from the stores much of the month. We also watched free movies, including some from Daughter #2 and Son #1's Roku.
*Finished up some appraisal reports. Did some research for other clients - who decided not to proceed.
*The Brick put in an outside faucet for watering on the back deck. I don't have to carry pitchers of water outside anymore! A handy man is a wonderful person to have around.
*Started an editing project; this will take several months. (More as it progresses.)
*A few belated bills were paid by clients, which helped a lot.
*Two free Rocky Ford cantaloupes from a friend at church. THE BEST MELONS, bar none -- even better than Michigan's 'muskmelons.' (A third melon, bought at City Market for $1.99 -- not so good. Hmmm.) He also gave us a few mini-watermelons. If there's anything Colorado does well, it's melons -- and Palisade peaches.
*Gave souvenir tote bags, stuffed with goodies from the European trip, to both daughters, Son and Adopted Son. Cheesecake (4 slices only) for Daughter #2's birthday cake. She loved it, and we didn't waste one bite. Also dropped off Daughter #1's birthday presents, and took her and Adopted Son out to celebrate. (Happy Birthday, Jess and Angel!)
FRUGAL MISSES
*A 1 1/2 hour trip to Safeway was a huge waste of time. After we'd filled a shopping cart with bargains (er, groceries), the store clerk informed us that the computers were down. After being hustled out, the store closed in our faces. Ironically, this was the same day, on the way out the door, that I found a bunch of change in their machine. (See 'found money.')
*Allergies ran amuck all month, aided by smoke in the air from faraway wildfires. It was a choice of feeling dull from the allergies -- or feeling dull from the medicine we had to take in order to deal with the allergies.
*And, of course, we had an extra-large credit card bill to pay off, thanks to the European trip. (But we had planned for that, thankfully.)
A quick trip to Denver this week...and the Brick will be volunteering a few days for the COS (Convention of the States) during the Colorado State Fair. Plus more work -- and celebrating Daughter #1's belated birthday. I guess we've all been busy.
At least it's cooling down a bit. I wish our allergies would do the same.
A suprisingly good 1939 Howard Hawks movie: "Only Angels Have Wings." A ton of good character actors, led by Jean Arthur and Cary Grant. You need to see this, if you can. (It's on Tubi's CinemaVault.)
We've got a day trip on the "Highway of Legends," a Zoom meeting with Lord & Richards...and a lunch with someone I never expected to meet again. (More on this later this week.) Plus a bunch of appraisal reports to finish up.
Here we go...
AI 'book slop:' a frustrating and frightening problem for authentic writers. I'm not terrified of this...but I am wary.
Everything you've wondered about the Bayeux Tapestry.We were within miles of this...and couldn't get there. Now it's going into seclusion for at least a year while it's being restored ('Nope,' says a spokesperson -- but it would be surprising if it wasn't) -- and stabilized.
One curious update: a small piece of the Tapestry was stolen -- by a German scientist the Nazis assigned to measure it. That was only discovered a few years ago, when it turned up in the scientist's estate. Hmmm.
The criminal cat -- why it was arrested and got a mugshot. Plus pawprints.
We know what the menu for the Trump/Putin meeting (that never happened) would have been, Trump's planned gift, aides involved in the planning...and plenty of other things that should never have been publicized. Our source? An 8-page memo left in the printer at an Anchorage hotel. (Some secretary or aide just lost their job.)
"I was under contract to Columbia Pictures at the time for $150 a week and all the respect that that implies. I was called into the office of the head of the new talent program, and he told me that I had no future in the business, which was OK," Ford told Variety.
I meant to do more posts last week. I really did. But a combination of a bad cold (thank you, Tommy!) and getting used to the altitude just took the starch out of both of us. An attack of allergies didn't help any. I wonder -- did we get hit so hard because we were somewhere else for two weeks? I really don't remember being this sneezy last summer. Our eyes are swollen and aching, as well; that may in part because of several forest fires in Colorado and Canada. Nothing close to here, but the smoke carries for miles and miles.
I'll do better this coming week. I really want to tell you about Madrid, Paris and Amsterdam in particular -- plus finish off some appraisal reports.
The first half of the month was spent dealing with the heat, finishing up various deadlines, buying tickets and doing research, appraising at the Black Canyon Quilt Show -- and taking off two weeks of our life to head to Europe with dear friends. We got back late on the 30th, with only a few hours of sleep, and spent the last day of July snoozing or petting puppies. (Yelling at them for pee accidents, too. Sigh.)
We did save some money, in spite of visitng three different countries. I'll be doing up a separate report of Hits & Misses on that, so the rest of the month can finish up.
It's been a bit crazy. Then again, Life gets that way sometimes. Especially with growing puppies.
"I like being crazy. I do it so well!"
(Bo -- pre-abscess.)
FRUGAL HITS
(Some of these were from late June)
*Approx. four cords of scrap firewood, brought by truck and dumped in a big pile: $468. That's a steal in our area. Now to stack it slowly throughout August...and gloat.
*Friends for the Fourth -- they brought dessert and cauliflower salad. We added shrimp salad (with fresh greens from my deck garden beds!) and grilled steak. A good time was had by all.
*Stopped by late for the fried chicken special at Safeway, when the fried chicken was nearly gone -- and got offered extra 'leftover' pieces, plus an extra side, when the rolls were gone. Okay by me! (This happened a second time, too...lucky, lucky. The deli guys are very kind.)
*Went to a shindig at our mountain neighbor's ranch. Listened to some great music, and met some new people.
*Did a survey/study on chick feed -- and earned a $50 Amazon giftcard!
*Rewatched Turn: Washington's Spies, thanks to Netflix. It's a great series for around the Fourth, full of suspense and real people. My only question: why isn't the final year (Season 4) available on DVD??
*Movie popcorn and some other goodies from Daughter #2 and Son #1, who are starting a long round of rock shows. (We're keeping Granddog Freya while they work.)
*Money found: 22 cents at a Walmart change machine -- then 63 glorious cents at the City Market checkout. Plus a round cell battery. Then, toward month's end: a beat-up penny from the Safeway change machine; a dime from the washing machine; a nickel from the Denver International Airport's security line; a 50-cent and 5-cent Euro (courtesy of the Brick, who found them on the sidewalk and in a cab); and two quarters from the return slot cart stand at DIA. (Why is it that every European airport had free carts -- and DIA, among other places, charges a few bucks? You do get 25 cents back when you return one, but many people forget to check.)
*No removing shoes anymore at the airport. (Thank God. What a hassle, even when you wear sandals.) What was strange -- the DIA security people still make a huge fuss over liquids, but European airports? Not so much. You're not allowed to bring certain items between countries, either. We knew about the preserved meats from the Tapas Incident...but the Brits will not allow any dairy, either. Including Holland's wonderful Gouda cheese. Hmmm.
*Did a few appraisals -- and finished up a bunch more. I also was the Black Canyon Quilt Show's pet appraiser -- those reports will keep me busy in August.
*Bought a Horace Gilmore painting on Ebay. He was a student of Harvey Dunn, whose 'plainsman' style I've admied. And Dunn was a student of A.R. Mitchell, whose Western paintings I've admired, as well. I can't afford either Dunn's or Mitchell's work -- but thanks to a 'Best Offer,' I could invest in Gilmore.
*Used up several jars of juice, jam and salad dressing...including tipping them upside-down and scraping everything out that I could. Strawberry jam bits, mixed with milk, are delicious. We had a moldy jam jar from a King Soopers jaunt -- that will be returned.
*Hung clothes out to dry. Only used the dryer once or twice. (The clothes smell better, anyways.) Washed the blood out of a quilt -- successfully.
*Two hefty boxes of electrolyte powders, on sale at Amazon. Several packages went with us to Europe, just in case. (The kids use these regularlywhile vending at rock shows, which are often out in the heat and dust. They say it helps them power through. NOTE: It did.)
*Ate our first homegrown spinach omelet, with plenty of greens for salads for weeks after. They've pretty much bolted now, thanks to the heat. But the zucchini's getting ready to bear!
Popeye would be proud of us.
*Recertified for my American Quilter's Society (AQS) certification. (The USPAP one for ASA, the American Society of Appraisers, is good through 2026.)
*Hollyhocks, catmint and penstemon perennials from a dear friend. I watered them daily to keep them going, though -- it's been REALLY hot around here. I also managed to keep the Brickhouse rose alive, though my lavender has disappeared. (The kids say the dogs rolled on it.) I also planted $2.00 clearance petunias and marigolds, and doused both with hot sauce to keep off the chipmunks. (Not sure if it will work or not.)
All of the zucchini seeds I planted -- both times -- eventually came up. I moved some seedlings around, and gave a few to a friend. Will I regret this, after we're inundated with zukes? Will we have to move??
*Checked on friends' house while they were on vacation. We were lucky -- Daughter #2 and Son #1 stayed at our house and watched the dogs while we were on vacation.
*Grocery buys: Petite sirloins, $4.47/lb and T-bones for $6.67/lb -- it's getting pretty sad that this is a deal, but it is; black cherries, $1.97/lb; 73% lean frozen beef patties, $2.60/lb -- and surprisingly delicious (Safeway). Eggs , $5 and change for two dozen (Costco). Free pound of butter; 24 oz Portabella mushrooms (2.69), red mesh bags (now $1.50, darn it) of 2 red/orange/yellow peppers each; 88-cent sour cream and cottage cheese (City Market/King Soopers). Cucumbers, 3 for $1 (Walmart). A gallon container of 'instant' scalloped portatoes - $1.99; pepperoni, 99 cents; ranch dressing, 79 cents; big bottles of ginger beer, 99 cents; and a few cans of Spindrift sparkling water, 3 for $1.00 (SLV Amish Grocery).
*Our property value was adjusted! Instead of a $100,000 increase, it was only $3,000. That will certainly help with property taxes. Whew. If you ever have this happen, ask an engineer to write the protest. The Brick had all sorts of diagrams with circles and arrows on the back of each one. (Shades of Alice's Restaurant.) Even I was a bit confused -- it was very, very thorough.
*Pur off a batch of appraising appointments until August -- so I could actually enjoy our European holiday. This was smarter than I initially realized: less pressure. But also less income.
*Didn't renew our Costco membership -- and called to cancel when they automatically renewed for us. ($65 saved.) We made one more visit before the card expired, and used up a giftcard that has been waiting. Don't ever think you can't do this!! The Brick had a Duolingo subscription jump the gun on renewing, as well -- a quick e-mail refunded nearly $120.
*Dealt with the heat by keeping the windows open -- and the south curtains closed. We moved a small fan around, room to room, and kept the ceiling fans going. (Iced coffee helped, too.)
Hot...and Spicy??
FRUGAL MISSES
*Freya and the Costco Chicken: first, it was there...then, when we went back for seconds, it wasn't. A search found it under the dining room table with Freya, who was preparing to chow down. Chicken is chicken -- and I wasn't going to reward her for being such a stinker! So I washed it thoroughly, then simmered it overnight in the crockpot. Result: two meals of chicken and gravy, and a very disappointed dog.
*Changed over the Brickworks bank account -- which was a huge hassle. I had to come up with the original paperwork for the EIN (from the 1980s) and various other items...or no account. It's in place now, but aaarrrgggghghhgghgh.
*Bo banged her head somehow, and got a huge swelling. (Ever see a dog that resembles a duckbill dinosaur?) We had to drag her into the vet's...then after minor surgery to lance the abcess, she was more than happy to race out to the car. (The vet said, "I don't think she likes us much.") At least we got a veteran's discount.
Poor puppy.
*Not only did Bo got a bighead, but the puppies had several peeing and wandering-off episodes. Freya ate a pillow -- no, TWO pillows -- and someone helped by munching on others. Fortunately, they could be stitched up. (Okay, one pillow was a goner.)
*One night at the emergency room. A second night at the emergency room. Kidney stones will do that to you. And it happened just a few days before we left for Europe.
*Missed out on an opportunity I applied for. On the plus side, though, it would have taken a lot more time and energy than I had to give, considering other projects currently in the hopper. I think this was definitely a time when God said, "Not now." He does that.
Days after we got home late Wednesday night, we're finally starting to feel like ourselves again. (And we mostly sleep through the night. Sort of.) This traveling in three different countries, with three different languages, was harder than I'd thought. But worth it.
More soon. Meanwhile, I have appraisal reports from the Black Canyon Quilt Show to finish up -- and schedule some new ones that have been waiting for us to get back.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
