We have been busy with family and enjoying every minute of it. My youngest son turned 50 this past week. He was gracious enough to drive to us so that we didn’t have to drive an hour and a half each way in the dark. We met them at the NY Beer Project for a celebration dinner. That is where my son wanted to go. We had some new beers we hadn’t tried before and delicious appetizers and entrees. The service was phenomenal.
After dinner he and his wife went home to watch the Buffalo Bills game. We brought West home with us. That gave them a few days of staycation. We have enjoyed West’s company. He is so tall now and is in 10th grade. We had a wonderful chat about the AP courses he is taking and all the other ones. I can’t believe that he will be 16 in January. He will be getting his learner’s permit so his parents can teach him to drive.
Let me tell you about what he did for me on Friday. My freezer had really built up some ice. Probably from it being open that time I spoke about. I always empty and clean the freezer myself. It usually takes me an entire afternoon. I asked West if he would help me empty it and get all of the ice out. Everything needed organizing too because while I was dealing with heart issues, things just got thrown in there. It was a mess! He was happy to help me. When it was all done, he told me it was fun. I joked with him that it will need it again in 6 months. He said he would be happy to do it again.
He emptied everything into disposable grocery bags by category as he took them out of the freezer. I went through each bag and checked dates so that the oldest are on top and will get eaten first. We only had to throw out a couple of meat items that had become freezer burned and were from 2020. How I missed them when I have cleaned the freezer before is beyond me.
After it was empty, he left me sitting in a chair to continue my organizing into bags. He had unplugged the freezer before be started emptying it so the ice had begun to thaw. He got all of the ice off all of the walls with a blow dryer and plastic wallpaper scraper. He used a bucket to dispose of all the ice and water. Then he used some heavy old towels to dry it really well. Next, he put most of the turkeys that we would not use at Thanksgiving in the bottom of the freezer. He then put the bags in where I could easily find things and plugged the freezer back in. We had a lot more chicken and beef than I thought. We also have plenty of pork, a bit of salmon, shrimp and haddock. We will continue to eat from this stockpile until all the meat is gone. Then we will restock it as we see really great rock bottom prices. I think Camillo’s is where I will probably get most of my meat when I do a restock. I was amazed at how little time it took us. In one and a half hours, the freezer was all done. He also broke down many cardboard boxes that were stacked in the pantry and took them to the recyclable can. He was such a big help! I did thank him and gave him some cash that he did not expect. I told him it is for his gasoline fund when he starts to drive.
West loves fish so we ordered fish fries with French fries for dinner from Chiavetta’s on Friday night. He liked it but we were very disappointed. The fish fries are now half the size they were last year and have gone way up in price. The fish fries were mushy and the French fries were cold. We will be looking for a different place to get good fish fries especially starting Fat Tuesday.
Last night I cooked us hamburgers with everyone’s choice of cheese, onions, and mushrooms. I do not like ketchup so I put a slice of fresh tomato on mine. Dessert which was eaten later in the evening was Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for two of us. I was too full from dinner to eat any.
It is now Sunday morning and my son will be coming out to pick up West today. He is coming early enough so that he can do a few things for Hubby. We are grateful.
When they leave I will be starting to get food ready for Thanksgiving. I think the turkey has to go in the fridge today. We have family coming to enjoy the holiday with us and stay this week. I am very excited because I have not seen them since last December.
All that said, I will be enjoying my time with them because it could be another year before I see them again. So I won’t be back on here until the Monday after Thanksgiving. Then we will do some more grocery savings for 2026 series posts and start talking about 2026 Budgets. Until then, you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with family.
