Categories
Every Day

Update: A Little of This and a Little of That

I have missed all of you. We are spending our days running to doctor appointments for me. I am still being tested and it is getting very old and very annoying. I can’t drive per doctor’s orders for my safety and others. So anytime I have to go anywhere, Hubby takes me. He has been wonderful and never complains except when I ask him to take me to the grocery store to get the loss leaders I need each week. I usually run all the errands in this family so he is not used to it. Plus he has always hated grocery shopping. But he has stepped up and takes me when needed. I try to get in and out quickly. If I am going to be more than 20 minutes, he waits in the car. Otherwise he comes in with me and bags all the groceries at the checkout. So I try to only get the real loss leaders to get in and out quickly.

He also has been doing most of the cooking which is giving me a break. Today he is going to make a large pot of chili using up about 2 lbs. of organic ground beef that I purchased months ago at Aldi’s on a sale. It has gotten colder here and I have been craving it. I can almost smell it cooking all day while I write this. We will eat this for a few days and then save some to use on hot dogs so that we can get those out of the freezer for the winter. The last couple of days we have had bacon cheeseburgers and pork chops with Hubby’s Waldorf coleslaw that he makes. So yummy!

I have been puttering still trying to declutter around here. I take a nap almost every afternoon because I tire easily. So things are getting done a little at a time.

I am looking forward to watching Tony and Ziva on Paramount Plus today. It has been a long wait. My Buffalo Bills play on Sunday so we are excited for football season.

Keeping a list of the things we are doing around here this month to save a few bucks is my #1 priority. I will end the month giving you that list. Hubby and I have also been discussing our budget for next year. I have been making a list of Thanksgiving items I hope to purchase when they go on sale. We are trying to eat out of our freezer to empty it a bit to make room for turkeys. Hopefully they will be a good price this year.

We are loving the cooler weather so we try to get outside each day even if it is only sitting in the yard. I told Hubby I am sick of being at home. So to get me out, we are going to a new local restaurant near us that opened a few weeks ago for lunch one day next week. They have some great prices on specials.

Eloise is getting so big. She has her first vet appointment next week for her annual checkup and has three shots to get. Hopefully, the vet bill won’t be too expensive.

I take my last testing device to my doctor in two weeks and then get the results the beginning of October. Then hopefully I can get back to normal activities. Time will tell. I am really stir crazy because you all know how active I usually am. I want my life back. If any of you pray, I could really use a few prayers. Thank you.

Precious

Categories
Every Day

Cutting Costs

These are the things we have been doing to cut costs the past couple of weeks.

I have been using AI to find coupons for groceries and coupon codes for other purchases. That has worked out well getting me a Tillamook ice cream coupon for $3.00. I also got one in my e-mail. I ended up buying 2 containers on BOGO for $ 5.49 after coupon. I will use up the other coupon soon.

I also picked up some loss leaders: a big pack of BS chicken breasts for $2.29 a lb. using a Super Coupon. It was limit 1 but I will be going by the store again and will quickly run in and get another one. I got some corn on the cob for $.44 an ear to cut and bag up to put in the freezer for future meals.

While I was at Top’s, I filled the car up with gasoline using my gasoline points for $ .30 off a gallon. Gas has gone way up here. It was $ 3.159 a gallon before the $ .30 off so every little bit helps.

I picked up 1 script for a 90 day supply at a cost of $ 2.19 and another script for a 90 day supply for free after insurance. Walmart Pharmacy has great prices.

I renewed a CD at the highest interest rate. I have another one coming due just before the Fed meeting in Sept. That I will also renew at a high rate. But I expect that the Fed will lower interest rates right after that.

My cable company is giving us 4 different streaming services for free. They are included in the price we are already paying. They are Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, and Peacock. I already have Paramount+ through Walmart+ but I activated the other 3.

I will be making my pasta salad to take to a party on Saturday. It is delicious and refreshing in this heat. I am praying that the heat breaks for that day. The party is usually outside.

I found a small gift I needed marked down from $ 18.99 to $10.00 and got free shipping.

I ordered some food and some cat litter using a $30.00 gift card from Chewy. I had to pay about $20. more to get free shipping. That is not a problem because I always buy everything for Eloise there.

This will be my last post for over a month. I have a medical emergency that has to be taken care of today and next Monday. I hope to be back by mid-September.

Categories
Every Day

Organizing and Decluttering

This kitchen pantry is where things are kept that are the oldest in my stockpile so they get used first. As you can see when I am not feeling good, things get all disorganized. So I spent a bit of time the past couple of days getting it back in order. Since it was garbage day yesterday, I threw out some really old flour and a bag of potatoes that got delivered with my Walmart order. I opened them and found almost all of them were rotten. Walmart is crediting me the $ 4.74. But that left me without potatoes again. So after our doctor’s appointments yesterday, Hubby took me to Top’s where I picked up a 5 lb. bag of potatoes on sale for $ 2.99, some green grapes for $1.88 a lb. to make chicken salad, and 3 salad kits for a total of $9.00.

What a mess! Eloise was happy to help me. 🙂

This is much better since it is neat and organized. Hubby can find what he needs.

The basket on the bottom shelf holds all of my seasoning packets. The overflow is in the extra white egg container from my old refrigerator. I put them in alphabetical order so that I can pull out what I need quickly. The basket on the floor holds all of our salad fixings except the produce. The red 5 gallon buckets hold flour, sugar, and rice.

This basket holds Eloise who climbed in to it when I set it down there. She has gotten so big that she can barely fit. I tried to take it away from her later in the day and she was having no part of that. She has 2 $50. beds in two different rooms and she sleeps in this! She also steals my disposable grocery bags. She cuddles up in them to take a nap too.

I hope I have motivated you to clean and organize your pantries. If so get moving!

Categories
Every Day

Junk Food Tuesday

We have not bought a lot of junk food the past few months so our pantry is almost void of any of it. So when I asked Hubby what he wanted to add to the grocery delivery order from Walmart, many junk food items went on the list. The ice cream was my idea so that I can use up the last of the cones before Fall hits. The rest he came up with as you will see in all of these pictures. I am not going to give you individual prices because anyone can look up the prices on Walmart.com I will give you my total at the end of this post.

I got two Half & Half because I was on my last half gallon. Since they are dated way out, I am comfortable when I have three. I had not purchased the Premier Protein in a long time so I got 4 for me. Some days I just like to get more protein. I got 2 packages of BBQ Corn Chips and some Twizzlers for Hubby. We like to make Mc Muffin breakfast sandwiches. The turkey is for Club sandwiches for a dinner. We were out of both the provolone and pepper jack cheese slices that we like on hamburgers and sandwiches.

You know what they say about the best laid plans. I was going to go to Top’s today because it is senior discount day. I chose not to because I have not felt well the past two days. My neuropathy is back with a vengeance. Thank the Lord, my doctor gives me meds to keep on the shelf. Hopefully. I can get off of them in a few days when the inflammation goes down.

We needed food. My Top’s list only had 4 items on it. The most important one was a Caesar salad kit to use with the leftover chicken that we grilled two nights ago. So I placed the Walmart order instead, got other things I had on that list, and hoped they would have the kit. They did. So I did not place a delivery order from Top’s. The other three items we could go without. There will be other sales and other senior discount days so it was no big deal to miss it.

We got one Caesar salad kit, a 5 lb. bag of russet potatoes for baked potatoes and roasted potatoes, 2 packages of broccoli florets and a package of brussels sprouts.

Hubby now has two packages of chocolate chunk cookies and some turnovers. I do not bake in the summer. I also picked up a 60 count package of eggs. It is nice to see the price down from the high. I had 7 eggs left. Too low for comfort especially since my son and West are back from their two week vacation- one week on a cruise in the Caribbean and one week at a resort in the Dominican Republic. We will go through about a dozen eggs this Sunday.

I also got 2 cartons of ice cream and a pot pie and quick lunch items for when I don’t feel like cooking. Lastly, you see the bottom half of a cherry limeade clear water bottle, I buy this by the case, so I got 12. This is my guilty pleasure.

I have Walmart + so no delivery charge. My total was $ 118.81 plus tip.

Did you do any grocery shopping this week?

Categories
Every Day

Lots of Leftovers To Use Up

We have so many cheeses and ham for sandwiches leftover from Chris’s visit. I diced up some of both to make an omelet for breakfast yesterday. I added an avocado to my plate and I was a very happy lady.

This morning I pulled out most of what was leftover to see where to begin this weekend. I don’t want anything to spoil. Waste not, want not.

We had turkey club sandwiches the night they left. That used up all the turkey and some bread. But now I have about 3/4 of a very large beefsteak tomato to use. That will probably go into a tossed salad tonight since the lettuce will only last a day or so. I also have a loaf of bread to use up that is not pictured here. It will be used for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for a lunch and then the ham will be gone. I also see French toast and 3 cinnamon raisin English muffins in our future for breakfast. I froze two blueberry pancakes and four sausages that were leftover from a breakfast while they were here. Hubby will enjoy them one morning.

The stale French bread leftover from making the onion soup will get cubed, baked, and made into bread crumbs. I will do that when I get up tomorrow morning when it will be cooler. The gruyere cheese could be used on a salad or Hubby could make some more soup. I don’t have a clue how to use it otherwise. Any ideas?

The pepperoni will top a homemade pizza for dinner tomorrow.

The bananas will be used in a banana salad to go with grilled ribeye pork chops and the tossed salad for dinner tonight. Some will be leftover so I will freeze them to make banana bread this Fall.

Hubby grilled the chuck eye steaks for dinner last night. They didn’t even come close to being almost as good as ribeye steaks. Hubby does not like tough meat. So I will continue to buy ribeye steaks and filet mignon going forward. He would not even finish the piece he had so he gave it to me. I served it along side two eggs over easy for breakfast this morning.

Fortunately I love omelets and cheese on crackers for snacks so that is where the rest of all those wonderful cheeses will get used. The avocados will get eaten with more eggs.

Lastly, this will not last more than two nights for dinner. It is chilled and I can’t wait to open it. It was a gift from Chris and Her Hubby. I will think of you guys while I sip it. Thank you!

There is very little grocery shopping to do this coming week except for a few sale items at Top’s. That will happen on Tuesday since it is senior citizen discount day(6% off). Bottles need to get returned for deposits too.

I used up a lot of eggs this week, so I will stop at Walmart and get a 60 count box and two half and half for my coffee since I am on my last carton. I also need to pick up a prescription.

I was hoping today to work in my pantry but other things like three loads of laundry and some cleaning needed to be done. So the pantry will get done tomorrow.

Check your refrigerator! You may have leftovers that need to get used up.

Categories
Every Day

Gas and Electric Bills

We got our one month gas and electric bill for mid June to mid July. It was for 33 days. We used 774 kwh’s and 3 therms of natural gas. The kwh’s were mostly A/C because it has been hotter than heck here. The therms were only hot water. We have an on demand water heater. The bill was $214.22.

Last year’s bill was 786 kwh’s and 3 therms of natural gas for the same month but it was only for 29 days. The bill was for $ 176.60.

So this year’s bill was $ 37.62 higher for a little less usage.

I believe that our bills will just keep going up. Our company has asked for a rate increase to recoup the money to upgrade infrastructure. I believe they will get it but not as much as they have asked for. Our infrastructure is in bad shape. It is old. I think everyone in the country will be seeing higher bills because of it. Now that I can finally see what my appliances are costing me in real time, I can keep better track of it. It took them long enough to show us.

We tracked our year over year bills. The past twelve month’s bills totaled $2603.64. The year before it, the twelve month’s bills totaled $2197.89. So in one year, our utility bills have increased by $ 405.75. That is quite a chunk of money!

So we will do whatever we can to try to keep our usage low because there is really nothing else we can do about it.

What are you doing to keep your usage down?

Categories
Every Day

A Fantastic Time

Sorry that I haven’t been on here in a while. Chris, who I met online at the beginning of my first blog way back in AZ many years ago, came to visit with her husband. They came last summer too and we just loved both of them. So we invited them again. They are quite a bit younger than us so they drove to us again.

They arrived on Sunday and we stayed in because it was so hot outside. Every day they were here it was the hottest it had been here all summer. On Sunday evening, my Hubby made his famous onion soup(he won a contest many years ago in a competition with it). They loved it as we did too. Then I made a very large Caesar Salad with chicken strips. It was the perfect dinner for such a hot humid day. For dessert we had carrot cake. We stayed up until midnight chatting. We have so much in common. Chris and I like the same things and our husbands are both engineers. So they get along so well.

They again brought us gifts: different beers made in her state, a bottle of blueberry moscato wine, a homemade rub that her husband made for us to put on chicken, many cheeses and many chocolates that they got at a big market in Cleveland on the way here, a large bag of vidalia onions that I have trouble finding here, another pretty grocery bag, a toy for Eloise, and 2 toys for my Hubby that her Hubby made on his 3D printer, etc. I told her not to bring anything but she didn’t listen. She says she enjoys doing it.

After a good night’s sleep. I made breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage, avocado, and English muffins with my homemade peach jam. Then we left to go to Seneca Falls( 2 and 1/2 hour drive one way) to the Women’s Rights National Park. The first convention for women’s rights was held in the Wesleyan Chapel next door. We were happy that we didn’t live back then. But very thankful to those women for fighting for our rights that we enjoy today.

After we spent a couple of hours in the museum and the chapel, we walked down the main street in Seneca Falls(cute town with many little shops) to:

https://parkers-on-fall.res-menu.com

The name of the restaurant is Parker’s on Fall. The food and service was very good. I was happy that they had a Beef on a Weck which is a WNY specialty. Chris’s Hubby tried one and liked it too.

It was a full day for us because we didn’t get home until almost 5pm. Since we were stuffed from lunch, we had a late dinner. I made a charcuterie board of the cheeses that they brought, some of my cheeses, pepperoni, olives, turkey and ham, and French bread, etc. That way we could just pick what we wanted according to how hungry we were. Then we had some of the chocolates for dessert. It was off to bed early because we were so tired. Heat and humidity just wears us out.

We decided we would have a lazy day when we got up. Hubby made blueberry pancakes and I cooked a pound of bacon for breakfast. I took Chris and her Hubby to my Niagara Produce market. They were surprised at all they had in there. Chris picked up some chocolates for her grandchildren and a couple of other things. I grabbed some chuck eye steaks. I had been looking for months and was quite surprised that they are butchering them now. They are just one step below ribeyes and sit right next to them on the cow. Since ribeyes are now $20. a lb. here, I want to see if these will be as good. I also got two big beefsteak tomatoes and picked up 2 containers of Hershey’s ice cream.

We ate turkey and ham sandwiches for lunch with chips and pickles.

We chatted all afternoon until we went to dinner at:

It is our newest brewery in the city north of us. Hubby and I went there a few weeks ago and wanted to take Chris and her Hubby because he likes beer too. We had the best service and the food was so delicious. They make the best fries in the city or the town. Their smash burgers are to die for.

The four of us from the left: Chris’s Hubby, Chris, Me, and My Hubby.

Chris and I, windblown hair and all, before we dig in. When we got home, we dug into that ice cream that I bought earlier in the day.

After we got home, we again chatted the evening away. By 10pm, we went to bed so they could get a good sleep to leave after breakfast in the morning.

Eloise hid from both of them the first day or so that they were here. But finally on Tuesday, she came out to greet them and even let them pet her. She was very happy with the cute mouse toy they brought her. After they left she was in the guest bedroom they stayed in looking for them.

I made eggs, sausage, and English muffins with my homemade peach jam for breakfast before they left. I also sent them on their way with turkey sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water for lunch. We miss them already and can’t wait to see them again. I am going to have to check out plane tickets. Don’t worry Chris. that won’t be anytime soon.

Chris and her Hubby took a side trip on the way home so they didn’t get home until late today. That is why I am just posting this today instead of yesterday. I never let anyone know when someone isn’t home.

I am off to catch up on the comments. I should have a small post tomorrow.

Categories
Every Day

This Week’s Meal Plan

I have a busy week. So yesterday I went down to the freezer and brought up all the protein I needed for 7 days. Then I scoured my refrigerator and pantries for the other items that I need for sides. All meals will be eaten at home. Here is my meal plan:

Sunday: Choice of Salmon/or Haddock grilled, applesauce, tossed salad

Monday: Cheeseburgers with sauteed onions, sliced tomatoes, and choice of provolone or pepper jack cheese, strawberries and blackberries for dessert

Tuesday: Homemade chicken soup using chicken and chicken broth that I canned last year

Wednesday: Leftover soup because Hubby needs something soft since he is having an old filling replaced

Thursday: Mojito lime ribeye pork chops, baked potatoes, applesauce and or steamed broccoli

Friday: Shrimp cocktails and tossed salad

Saturday: Grilled chicken on Caesar salad

We will drive to the town south of us twice this week for appointments. Those will be the only days we will use gasoline. I have no intention of grocery shopping this week since we are using up what we have in our home.

Decluttering inside my home is done for now. I do have two very large file drawers in the office that need it. But that will get done in August. We will be getting rid of any papers that we no longer need.

Laundry was done yesterday using cold water and hanging clothes to dry.

Just a quick side note. I have removed a subscriber to my blog. Her negative comments were quite nasty. Since I own my blog, it was easy for me to delete her. A relative said to me she will just use a different e-mail. She can try but she will not get in. Our son has his own server which we use. He has blocked her IP address so the firewall will not let her in. So if you are new here and read comments, I have removed all comments that she has written since the beginning of the blog. If any responses in the comments don’t make sense, just know it was because of the removal. Negativity has no place on this blog. That is all I have to say about it.

Have you made a meal plan this week? I would love to hear what you are having. Sharing helps all of us.

Categories
Every Day

Cutting Costs

Even though we are decluttering. we are still cutting costs when we can.

We have leftovers today from the other night when we had the rotisserie chicken. So I will be using those to make a chicken salad for dinner using some of the green grapes in it along with celery and mayonaise. It will be an easy dinner that I will prepare this morning. Waste not, want not!

I have been going through a lot of garbage bags and they as you know are very expensive. So I have been packing them as full as I can.

A piece of trim had fallen off at the bottom of the cupboards where they meet the hardwood floor. It didn’t take Hubby long to realize that they glued the trim on and didn’t nail it. So hubby used some heavy duty glue that we already had to put it back where it belonged.

Hubby is going to take some time today to fix the button that popped out of our dishwasher panel. This happened a while ago but eventually Hubby gets to things especially when I make him a to do list. It will be time consuming because he has to take the entire panel apart.

Hubby is done going to physical therapy so that will save us $50. in copays a week and gasoline for a 24 mile round trip twice a week . They have done all they can do for him and it has really helped. He will continue to do the exercises at home.

The black plastic part of the top of the key for the riding lawnmower broke. Superglue worked like a charm.

Hubby has been keeping up with all the trimming of flowers and weeding the gardens but we have so many that it is hard for him. So he is looking for a gardener not a landscaper to maintain them all summer. This won’t be cheap but this is why we have been frugal so that we can afford help when we need it.

Hubby wants me to hire a housekeeper to clean our home every two weeks. That won’t work because I am a perfectionist and I will just end up firing them. We have tried this twice before when my sons were babies and when I worked. They did not clean the way I did and I couldn’t stand it. So this is one of the reasons why I am decluttering. It will make it easier for me.

I found a basket in the basement to use to corral all of Eloise’s toys. I pick them up before I go to bed and in the morning I find she has taken a lot of them out overnight and put them under a chair where I sit at my computer in the kitchen. It is her way of telling me she wants to play. I already have a small caddy for things like her brush, nail clippers, and battery chargers for some of her water things and birds and a duck that makes noises.

I have been taking soda and beer cans back when I get one bag’s worth and I am running errands. If I am going to Top’s, I use their new return room. They have 3 machines that take plastic and cans that are super fast and if I go when it opens at 7am there is no one there. This way I don’t have bags of them piling up in our garage. Then I just cash in my receipt for them against my grocery bill.

I continue to scan my receipts into Fetch. I am almost up to where I can get another Walmart gift card which helps defray costs when I get delivery orders.

We still have our A/C on because this summer has been so hot and humid. But we are keeping the temperature at 74 instead of 72. We can’t go any higher because the humidity is so bad here. Our utility company has just asked the state regulating agency for a a 33.5% increase in natural gas delivery rates and a 23.7% increase in electricity delivery rates. As if our bills aren’t high enough now! They say they need it to upgrade critical infrastructure upgrades. They probably do because the grid is aging. But this is going to hurt on top of how high the bills are now. So more cutting is going to be necessary. UGH!

I am already trying to make cold simple meals for dinners as much as possible to keep the costs down this summer. We use the outside grill when we can. If it is really humid outside, we can’t tolerate that so we have used it less than other years.

We were able to not use our sprinkler system until about mid June. But we haven’t had much rain recently so we have had to use it.

I submitted $10. in rebates this week.

Lastly, we had an unexpected savings last night for our anniversary dinner at a local restaurant. It could have been a disaster but they made it right. I almost always order the Queen size prime rib for dinner there. They have always been quite delicious. Not last night. I ordered it done medium and it came well done. Not only that but it was only about 1/2 inch (if that) thick which is extremely unusual. I tried a piece and it was unchewable(so tough). I mentioned it to the waitress and she said I see a little blood on top so try it and walked away. When I realized how tough it was, I pushed the plate off to the side of the table and ate the French fries that came with it. The waitress came back to check on it again. I said to her you know I get prime rib every time we come here for the last 15 years. I told her this is the worst prime rib I have ever had. It has always been fantastic before but this time I don’t even know if it is prime rib. She agreed that I always get it I should know. She took the plate of it and asked me if I would like a 6 oz. filet mignon instead. I said sure. It did not take them very long to cook it to perfection. It was one of the best filets I have had. I realized there was a difference in price. The prime rib was $31.99 and the filet mignon was $27.99. They charged me the filet price and they also took a draft beer off the bill. The draft price was $6.00. So our anniversary could have been a disaster and they would have lost a customer but they did the right thing. Yes, we will go back again because we all make mistakes. But next time, I will order the filet mignon.

I am off to declutter a lot more things because tomorrow is garbage day. You guys have a good day!

Categories
Every Day

Grocery Hauls The Past Two Weeks

Here is last week’s Top’s haul. I needed one more bottle of Italian dressing for my large pasta salad that I took to the 4th of July party. It was $ 2.50. I was almost out of Bubba Burgers and they were on sale for $14.99. I only got one because I am going to a Grocery Outlet soon and they are much cheaper there. The Kraft singles were on sale B1G1F so they were $3.00 each. We only use them for grilled cheese. So one got frozen. The sour cream was on sale for $2.00. My total was $ 25.49.

Today I went and got a rotisserie chicken on sale for $6.99. It is in the crockpot on warm until we have it for dinner. I will serve green beans and salt potatoes that my neighbor gave me with it. All I have to do is warm them. Ignore the large bag of rice. I took it out of the closet when I was decluttering it. I still have to get it into a food grade bucket and put it away.

I purchased tomatoes for $ 2.47, seedless green grapes on sale for $4.50(we love them in chicken salad), and a carrot cake for $12.99 to celebrate our 58th anniversary tomorrow. That is all we needed this week. So I spent a total of $26.95.

The sales have not been remarkable lately so I don’t have much desire to get a bigger shop.

The decluttering is going well. I filled another garbage bag and a 1/2 of a bag with stuff as I continue along this journey. I now have 3 and 1/2 rooms done. I am hoping to have 5 bags worth by garbage day on Thursday. It is also our bulk pickup day so a large artificial plant is going since Eloise keeps knocking it over along with anything else I can find.

I did not tell you about this when I was talking about our goal money a few posts ago. Drill Baby Drill! That is what President Trump has been pushing. It is paying off for us because we own property and mineral rights in Texas. This is money we were not expecting. We did well during his first term but then it all dried up during Biden’s term. Now the spigot is open again so we should reach our goal a lot sooner than expected.

That is it for today. I am going to do some more decluttering until dinner and then I will chat with my baby sister for a while tonight.

What are you guys up to?