September is one of my favorite months -- except this year, a big chunk of it felt like we were still in August. Then suddenly toward the end of the month, Winter was breathing down our necks! No frost or snow. Yet, that is.
Serves me right for griping about the heat.
Actually, I love Fall. The colors, the cooler temps -- what's not to like. It may have come a bit late -- but it's definitely starting.
Bo and Tiger are still growing -- and giving our granddog Freya a run for her money. Here they are this month, sandwiching her in. (Freya's 6 -- the kids are teenagers at 1 1/2.)
FRUGAL HITS
(Some of these are from late August. In fact, this report is a bit early, but I won't have time at month's-end.)
Lots of rain... well, a lot, compared to what we usually get here in southern Colorado. It was desperately needed; the nearby reservoir is all but dry. The creek near here had bushes literally growing in the creekbed. Hopefully that will change soon.
Tidied up the storage pantry -- which reminded me that I did NOT need to buy more Stuff. Our freezer was a little bare, which helps -- I can see more of what I've actually got! We tried to just use the Devoted $54 debit card allowance for food... and except for Bargain Mart and the Amish grocery, largely succeeded.
No trip to Palisade for peaches again this year -- but Daughter #2 and Son #1 picked up three boxes for us while on a separate trip to nearby Parachute. These were the very last of the season, and a little green in consequence. But time and patience helped that. Some went into the freezer. We gave away some. And we have just glutted ourselves, eating some every day. Thanks, Dears!
Foods made (other than the usual): fried oysters, plus several batches of fried zucchini; chili; burger and refried beans on Navajo fry bread; grilled steak; roast turkey and hot turkey sandwiches; peach crisp...and about a zillion smoothies.
Found money: 2 pennies on the garage floor; a dime in the City Market change machine; $XXX in the beverage cup of the truck. (The kids borrowed it for the Denver Gem Show.)
A small raise for the Brick's pension. Every little bit helps.
Little Caesar's pizza special: two for $4.99 each! Pepperoni and sausage. This fed four of us, plus a second meal. Pizza: breakfast of champions. We also used my free birthday burger at Red Robin, and took advantage of McDonal's $5 breakfast special.
A stunning Buy-2-Get-1-25%-off deal : books from my favorite Ebay store, World of Books (formerly SecondSale). I wasn't going to get anything this month...but two Rusty Wilson Bigfoot books, for $3.40 EACH, including shipping?? Plus a new frugal retirement book, for less than a dollar more? I couldn't get my credit card out fast enough. I also bought a Christmas present, something on flow blue for my research shelf -- and another frugal living book I've been wanting for months. Ironically, two of the three had just been reduced in price. Okay by me...
All I can say is: somebody messed up at the warehouse.
Vehicle DIY: the Brick replaced a headlight and the transmission fluid on the truck. (What a guy!) He did some wood-stacking, filled up the woodrack (I helped him with that) and fixed a few items here and there outside. So far, we've stacked 9 wheelbarrow loads of wood.
First snow was noticed on the way home from the Blues train trip -- but on one of the far-away mountain ranges. (There might have been a sliver of white on the Blancas, 'our' mountains.) We had our first fire in the woodstove, other than burning trash, on the 14th. No frost yet -- but it's coming.
Thrift shop deals: a boatload of half-price books ($1.50-2.00 ea), plus a dozen hardback Clive Cussler novels for 50 cents each. (I later discovered that several are first editions.) Two oriental hall runners -- $12 each -- plus a 20% senior discount (Treasures in the Park, Castle Rock).
Also a light-up table Santa, two wreaths, some pans and an office chair, from an estate sale in Blanca. (The kids paid for everything, the sweethearts. They said it was my birthday present.)
Found some intriguing shows: Extraction I & II were both surprisingly good, albeit a little far-fetched. (How many people can one professional dispatch at one time??) Series: Legends (terrific, whew - renewed) and The Boroughs (fascinating and a bit wacky, but cancelled - darn).
Planted spinach in late August. Harvested some cherry tomatoes, greens...plus a rutabaga! Planted the rose and blueberry bushes that have been living on the back deck, so they can settle in before the first freeze. I'll put dogfoot bags on these later in October, for protection.
The Brick got a potato harvest job! Two weeks of driving truck gave us a nice addition to the nest egg -- and hopefully some free potatoes. It has meant getting up and making him breakfast and lunch extra-early. But as he pointed it, it will also be useful $$ for some house projects we're considering.
The first day he came home with a potato that had gotten stuck in a corner of the truck. We had fun teasing Daughter #2 and Son #1 that was his pay for the day.
Replenished the hummingbird feeders -- until they left later in the month.
College football!! Instead of going to Chili's or elsewhere to watch the games, we bought a subscription to Fox Sports via our Verizon account. The Brick researched like crazy, and this was the best buy: $13.25 per month. Since we spent more than that at Chili's per visit, we'll come out way ahead. (And our tv screen is bigger than theirs, quite frankly.)
Went to the Colorado State Fair --- I haven't done this in years, but a friend wanted to mark it off on her bucket list. It was REALLY hot. The exhibits were fun...and seniors got in free. I had a slopper -- it was Pueblo, after all, and these are trademark dishes. We split a Navajo frybread taco; both were delicious.
Did I enjoy our time at the fair? Yes...because my friend was with me. Food was overpriced, but that figures. A 'Test drive a RAM truck' experience was fun, though. And I got a free t-shirt for the Brick out of it!
I have a new job: vice president of the ASA Denver Chapter. This is the American Society of Appraisers, the national appraisers group I belong to. As The Mama would say, "That and fifty cents will buy you a cup of coffee." (Except it won't.)
Watched friends' property while they were on vacation. They've done the same for us, so it was nice to help out. A bonus: I was told to help myself to their garden items! (The sweethearts)
Made a very long trip to Denver -- surgery for one friend, illness for another -- and supper at Red Robin with a third group of friends before we headed home. Plus a trip at a thrift shop and the Bargain Mart. We were both exhausted when we got home.
This isn't my 'hit,' but Daughter #2's! She found a 1846 jacquard woven coverlet while scouting out a local estate sale. How much did she pay? One seller: oh, you can have that blanket for $10.' Seller two: 'wait, that's old! $20.' Whoa, what a buy. Excellent condition, by the way.
Free things: tomatoes and (humongous) zucchini from a friend; a pretty lemons/roses arrangement from a dinner guest; gallon of milk from the kids (plus the estate sale goodies); a gas station Coke from Friend (who also drove) during the State Fair foray; Fast Break candy bars from Amazon! Son #1 pointed out that the package was torn in one corner, as if someone had helped themselves. He was right -- two bars were missing. Amazon, bless their little hearts, refunded the entire price and told me to keep the candy. We were able to give peaches, zukes, summer squash, plus a dozen eggs, to friends.
Took friends out to lunch twice. We asked another group of friends over for Sunday dinner, cooking a turkey that has been in the freezer for a while, and enjoyed the church potluck on another Sunday. I also supplied snacks for two weeks at our church, Calvary Blanca.
Finished off some appraisal reports. Did a few more. (Appraisals, that is.) Sold a book. Gave away several more books.
Pinon nuts. Finally learned how to get cones at the right stage, and harvest the nuts. It's still a bit of a picky process, but they're tasty. Turns out we have a bunch of pinon trees on our property -- I was looking for nuts far too late in the season.
Used up the OTC allowance from Devoted: ibuprophen, lotion and some other basic items. If you have this benefit through your account, be sure to mark the expiration date in your calendar. Otherwise...if you don't use it, you lose it.
Found a $5.00 house solar lantern for myself -- then one for Daughter #2, who liked it, too.
Sold a few shares of stock. LPG doubled itself, so it was time. The rest of my stock portfolio is not doing that well, quite frankly.
Grocery deals: Bananas (reg. 50 cents/lb, brown 24 cents/lb); (Walmart). Reese's Fast Break peanut butter candy bars, 62 cents each; Walker shortbread Christmas tins, $6.53 each (Amazon Warehouse Deals). Frozen potstickers, $1.75; 150 paper napkins for $1.50; chocolate-covered grahams, coconut caramel fudge, mint fudge and windmill cookies -- still $1.25 each! (Dollar Tree). Ten pounds of ground chicken for an astonishing $11; provolone (24 oz pkgs) for $2.50 -- plus BOGO; cherry and apple pies for $1.25 each -- really (My Bargain Mart, Colorado Springs). Bulgogi potstickers, $1.99; teriyaki sauce, 99 cents; shrimp chips (a sort of shrimp-flavored potato chip) for 79 cents; large cans of baked beans, $1.59 each; $1.29 family-sized hard/soft taco kit; 5 pound jar of red licorice, my favorite - $4.99 (SLV Amish grocery). Mandarin oranges, 5 lbs/$5; marked-down packages of broccoli, salad, mushrooms, melon and apples -- plus $5 off $20 of produce (City Market/King Soopers). We also maxxed out our Devoted food debit cards, which continue to be a real blessing.
FRUGAL MISSES
Finished savoring the last of a large watermelon. (The Brick does not care for it, having grown up in melon-rich North Carolina...and it takes a lonnnng time to finish, if you're the only one munching away. But I love it.)
Fought some flu... headache, lots of sinus pressure and ennui. Oh goody.
Used some Amazon points to buy a Kindle version of this book. It sounds scary-fascinating, right?? Nope. Tons of hype about "what I saw," but few actual descriptions. Don't bother. P.S. They DON'T. Hunt humans in the woods, that is.
Had to transfer money from savings to cover transmission fluid, headlight lamps, etc. for truck repairs. (See above) The Brick estimates that doing these jobs himself saved us about $500 from the dealer's price...and I'll bet he's right. But in order to make sure we didn't overdraft, I had to 'borrow' money out of our interest-bearing account. Hopefully I can put it back at month's-end. (Update: I couldn't. But at least I won't have to repeat this in October.)
Here's last month's report. September 2025's report is next -- as well as the one for 2024.
Maybe life's not that exciting right now -- but we're making hay while the sun shines. And that's important, too. Upward and onward. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go put on a sweater.
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