We had a July?!?
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.
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 regularly while 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!
*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.)
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.
*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.
Last month's report is here. July 2024 is here, and the year before that is here. The July Frugal Hits and Misses for the European trip will be out shortly, too.
On to one more month of hot summer...with thoughts of a cooling Fall.
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