Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Baseball and Politics

Just got back from the last Rockies game of the season. They lost...but in spite of a brief period in the 9th inning when everything was tied up, no one really expected them to win. So it made for a cheerful crowd leaving the stadium. (At least the Broncos won down in Tampa.) They headed to the bars for "oh well" drinks; we headed home to borrow a friend's truck and pick up our new trailer. 
     I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the traded insults, half-truths and dishonesty that both Trump and Clinton continue to display. Can we endure this election mess for another month?

     Lots of work to do this week. In spite of that, I AM making progress. 
     Had better get to it.

The latest AP poll is out for college football.  Michigan's #4. (We figured that.) But trundling up at the #21 spot is... Colorado!  The Buffs haven't broken the top 25 list for years. Wow.

A knife-wielding thief steals the bags from a room of people...who turn out to be cross-country runners from the University of Arizona! He takes off. They promptly chase him down and nab him.


A vandal gets an unwelcome shock, trying to steal a 'Trump for President' sign. He's not the only one...

Speaking of politics:

Ten dark secrets about Hillary Clinton. And...

Ten dark secrets about Donald Trump.   (Thanks for creeping us out, no matter what happens, Listverse.)

Where did the ancient Polynesians originate from? DNA suggests seafarers from Taiwan, instead of New Guinea, as previously thought. (Interesting, since Polynesian DNA showed up in a Brazilian tribe. According to scientists, it shouldn't have been there, either!)

How to have a fireplace, when you think you can't.  Or just like the look. (From Domino)

The Temple Mount Sifting Project's 'find of the month:' a mother-of-pearl piece. (See here if you're not sure what I'm talking about.)

Ten weird facts about JonBenet Ramsey's family members. And they're not good ones, either. We lived not far from Boulder, where JonBenet was murdered all those years ago. I can tell you that I've not heard about 95% of this before, in spite of reading extensive newspaper and other media reports. (From Listverse)

Lost in the ocean for 29 hours. Without a raft or life preserver. Wow.

Week 40 of 52 -- a checkup on 2016 goals. This blogger's fierce insistence on checking herself --and being willing to share the results with us -- is inspiring.  (From One Hundred A Month)

A barrel of gold flakes stolen off the back of an armoured truck.  Value: about $1 million.

The back story behind a guy who found 82 pounds of gold bars. Fascinating. (If you liked that, go to the general 'hidden caches' page -- there's more.)

Could the Chicago Cubs win this year's World Series -- after more than 100 years of trying?


Have a great week.

This is a Colorado autumn...it's nearly done in the high country, and past peak down here in the flatlands

Frugal Hits and Misses: The September Report

Another installment from the Department of Frugality, done Brick-style.  Not too bad, considering -- and a new development.

Before I start, though -- Go Buffs!  Colorado beat Oregon State.  And:

                                       Go Blue!   Michigan beat Wisconsin.      All right, guys!

     We haven't had this much dual excitement in years.

Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Little things first:

*We used up every one of those luscious peaches - and the chickies got any bad spots. The chickens are wonderful for converting spoiled items, stale leftovers and such into eggs-- and thanks to the molting season passing, they're actually laying again. (Our older chickens are starting to die off, though it doesn't seem to make any difference in egg production.)

*The chickens continue to produce enough eggs to pay their feed costs -- plus a bit extra. We sell 3 dozen to customers weekly, with an additional dozen elsewhere now and then. (Or given away to good neighbors.)

*I donated two large bags of stuff to Disabled American Veterans. (More planned in October.)

*Bought 50 pounds of Great Northern beans for $20. Whenever things get uncertain in the political or financial world, buying beans makes me feel better. (I know -- weird.) We're almost out of popcorn; found it in bulk at Sam's Club for about 25% of retail. That's my next purchase.






*More good food buys:  Six months' worth of our favorite coffee beans from Sprouts - $6.99/pound. Sliced Swiss cheese at $2/lb. (Thank you, Safeway...even if the price went up slightly.) Some free item coupons, thanks to King Soopers. A trip to my beloved Friday/Saturday store yielded a bag of free grapes and plenty of other goodies. (At the same place: 40 pounds of chicken wings at $20 for my friend.)
       By the way, milk prices suddenly jumped more than 20% in our neck of Colorado. Have you noticed a similar price increase?

*Bought two pairs of NEW jeans -- half-price, plus free shipping from Old Navy.

*Found a beautiful black turtleneck, plus newish leather gladiator sandals, for a few bucks each. (Thank you, sister Lori -- and the half-price sale at Mission Thrift.)

*Got an armload of zucchini -- for free. (We only got one small one from our own plant.) We love these sliced, dipped in egg and cornmeal/flour and fried. Ummm.
     In spite of the late season, the beans have been doing very well. We'll have lots of (green) tomatoes, too.

*Missed out on using Red Robin's 'free birthday burger' offer. Asked if I could have another week to try, and got a $20 credit to be used within 60 days. All right, Red Robin -- thank you!

*Wrote a compliment letter to Blue Bunny on their amazing 'birthday' ice cream sundaes -- and received an envelope full of coupons!

*Listed a book for sale on Amazon. I didn't get five items listed, per my goal -- but got one, at least.

Even the lemons count...

Now the bigger things: 

*Didn't spend too much on going out to eat...at least I didn't. Sadly, the Brick did, while I was in Michigan. (sigh) Back to austerity in this area.

*We got paid for a boatload of extra work. Including dogsitting, singing at a wedding, playing piano/keyboard for church. (Not ours -- elsewhere.) Plus appraising.

*The Brick got a new part-time job! He's a relief driver (substitute and field trips) for the Palmer Lake school district. Even a few days a week will help.

*I got an offer as an elections judge in October/November. The pay's crappy, the work's boring -- but everything helps.

*Swapped dog/chicken-sitting deals with someone else. Saved us at least $5 daily in fees...but no eggs on those days, either.

*Spent $78 for a roundtrip plane ticket to Chicago. (And promptly messed it up.)

*Didn't pay for checked luggage during that trip -- just took a tote bag with a few days' worth of clothes, instead. (And kicked myself in the long run, because it was so heavy to drag around. Maybe the Brick's IPad is a better idea than a laptop.)

*Got the fabric I needed in Michigan on sale. A quilt sample for an upcoming class -- with a second quilt made by The Mama. Part of that cost was covered by cash birthday gifts, too. (Yes, I dragged the quilt top back, stuffed somehow in the tote bag. Ouch.)

*Didn't make any big purchases -- except one. (See below.) Few visits to the grocery store, either, which helped.


And the bad stuff:

*Forced to buy an extra plane ticket -- because I was a doofus. Plus a very expensive taxi ride ($53) to O'Hare. Fortunately, the ticket was cheap: $89. But still...

*Paid for a brake job on one car. Another $340 gone. Why does the extra money get sucked away so easily?
     Both vehicles really should have their windshields replaced soon, too.

*No apples. Turns out their price per pound was very similar to what we would pay here. And I did NOT want to carry any more weight from Michigan.

*Got behind because of the drama in Michigan. I hope to catch up some this weekend.

Major changes coming:

We took a big step toward our eventual plans -- we bought a 29-foot trailer! It's not new, but it's in good shape, well-designed, fitted for all-weather use...and the Brick bargained the already-reasonable price down another $550. (Enough to cover sales tax when we register it on Monday.)
     It's beautiful. 

Tons of storage, a kitchen that's better planned than our current one, and plenty of windows. Once we figure out all the bells and whistles, it should be easy to maintain, too. (Could we possibly rent it out, airbnb style, to help pay for it? Hmmm....)

Our next action: find a reasonably-priced truck with fifth wheel capabilities to tow it. For now, the Brick will borrow a truck to haul it to the area the guys plan to hunt in this month. (Another problem solved -- our current truck camper is in tatters, and just wasn't up to the challenge.) I've made the guys promise to put down tarps on the floor, and cover the couch. At least they can cook and sleep in comfort this season.

We had to take out a loan. (And I hate, hate, HATE debt.) But the interest rate is minimal, thanks to our good credit, and the whole shebang will be paid off in less than a year.

          When we sell our current home.

                 And start living in this new one. 

          More on this in the future.

Happy Weekend!

Feeling better...
     spitting on my hands for a fresh grip on everything. (Gross, but you know what I mean.)


Hopefully yours is going well.

Monday (that's right, Friday) Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Retrenching

That's what Jane Austen's heroine's father said, after being presented with his list of debts.

      "You must retrench," says his kind neighbor in Persuasion. She then mentions moving to the town of Bath. Interesting things are going on there, including plays, lectures, blah blah -- including the plain truth that he could put distance between himself and his creditors. 
       Dad pauses, thinks...

      "I am for...Bath." (says he)

Boy, I wish I was 'for Bath.' (England, that is) We don't owe big bucks to anyone, but it would be soooo nice to retrench.

I'm now HOME. For a while, at least. I had to take a taxi in the Chicago rain to make the plane. (Amtrak was late.) And we had to pay extra. But I don't care. I can pick my own beans, snuggle up to the Brick, pet Charley (okay, the Brick, too) and pretty much do whatever I want.

Sort of.

A bunch of little tasks must be completed by this weekend. A quilt top for class needs to be finished up. (coming soon at the John C. Campbell School of Folk Art in North Carolina)

But at least I can be HOME while I'm working on them. And with the Brick...who's going with me to his home state. (He'll take a woodworking class while I'm teaching quilting.) And I don't have to leave him again for a long, long time.

Only a few Monday Stuff items -- next Monday will be better.

A no-bake peanut butter cup pie that looks absolutely amazing.  (SHAME on you, Crazy for Crust!)

Was your child still young when your spouse reached retirement age? They may be eligible for $$ through Social Security.  (From Liz Weston)

No-sew fall pillows -- for $5 or less.  (From Cleverly Inspired)

Nasa has decided that they, and only they, should add a THIRTEENTH Zodiac sign: "Ophiuchus." (pronounced "O-few-kus." Not even sure I spelled it right.) According to them, there's always been a thirteenth constellation to correspond-- the Babylonians, shame on them, ignored it. So if your birthday is between mid-November through mid-December, good luck.

Eight comfort food classics. (Betty Crocker, you temptress.)

This very funny look at a Big Mean Dog.

This one, too...

Easy ways to shop online -- and save even more. (Thanks, Apartment Therapy)

Elon Musk has a spaceship capable of -- and ready to -- send people to Mars in 80 days. Wanna go? "Then be prepared to die." Now, THAT'S an incentive!  (From Slashdot)


And life goes on...
     hope it's going well for you.

Headed Home

    Caught Amtrak in plenty of time this morning, thanks in time for The Mama's predilection for being anywhere Early. As in Really Early. When you're talking a 6 a.m. departure, that translates out into getting up at 4:30 a.m. Fortunately, they go slowly enough (!!!) that there's plenty of time for sleep.

     The good news: my plane leaves hours earlier than I'd planned.

     The bad news: it's not the plane I had a ticket for. 

I couldn't understand why, last night, Frontier wouldn't let me print out a boarding pass. They were showing I had a seat.

Called the Brick to tell him I was on my way today. He said, "What do you mean, 'Wednesday?' You're supposed to be flying home right now. I was just heading to DIA to pick you up."

My ticket was for TUESDAY. Not Wednesday. Ironically, I'd just survived a long, bicker-filled day with The Mama, who made it abundantly clear that she wasn't happy with me, or any ideas connected with me. I'd spent the entire day wishing that I could go home.

And I could have. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

So the Brick booked another plane fare. (I'd already paid for the Amtrak ticket to Chicago.) It's not as much as it could have been, but it's money gone. I will throw myself on the mercy of Frontier when I get home, and hopefully get a credit. To use on the next flight to check on The Mama.

Who, no doubt, will appreciate the effort just as much as she did this time. 

I've been praying, asking God for wisdom in dealing with her. What's next? What should we do? I guess I need to ask God for wisdom to know how to deal with me, as well.

 I feel exhausted.

Dog tired, I guess...

Monday Stuff Has To Wait

    I'm still here... how about that.

I leave from Grand Rapids (MI) tomorrow via Amtrak at 6 a.m. (groan) Into Chicago before noon, and wait until 8:30 p.m. for a flight home. To the Brick and the dogs...
          And home.

Can you tell I'm looking forward to it? 

The Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff feature will happen on Thursday. Sorry to keep you waiting -- it's coming.

   I'd love to make smart-aleck comments about the presidential debate...but quite frankly, we didn't watch it here. Too nauseating.



Talk to you soon.

Welcome to Fall

   I'm in Michigan with The Mama...her health hasn't been that great lately. She is having increasing problems walking and standing for any amount of time. Which worries me.

    So far, though, she wants to live on her own. The time will come soon, though, when I'm not sure that will work.
     For now, we just watch...and wait.

The Mama enjoys quilting, so she and I have been working on a project together. She doesn't like my fabric choices, and gripes about my suggestions. I sew and cut...and listen to her fuss.

Don't be surprised if you don't hear much on this blog for the next few days. The Mama doesn't believe in the internet, so I have to make special trips to post. And that can't happen often.

More soon.