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Writing

June 7th, 2021 at 04:39 pm

Apparently I'm one of the few people who still writes letters and sends cards through snail mail. I have a couple of older friends who I know enjoy it, and although the majority of the people I know have email or Facebook, I still will sit down and write a letter or send a card. 

As I look at some genealogy stuff, I think, we will have a generation of people who will not have those letters or cards to leave behind. My great aunt and her husband would write letters to each other since he traveled a lot. Some were sweet and tender. Others were desperate -- one had him writing he hadn't heard from her and he was upset and sorry if he had done something to upset her. I never met him, but I feel like I've gotten to know him through some of the letters he wrote. 

During the Pandemic, and even now, I am still writing and sending cards. I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I sent a fan letter to a British actor I like just to say I enjoyed his work. I'm 60 years old and I wondered if I was acting like a teenager. But maybe he just needed to receive a handwritten note. At least that is my hope. 

I have a friend who is fighting cancer. I've mailed cards and packages to her in hopes of keeping her spirits up. She responds through email to thank me and that is sweet, knowing how she is struggling. 

A few years ago the local sports director of the local station made a comment about taking up knitting. I challenged him to come to our group at church and he did and did a sweet story. We became friends. The funny thing is I don't care for sports, but I cared for him. Every so often I would send him a note or letter and sometimes I would hear from him and sometimes I wouldn't. I didn't care. I just felt the need to write him. He left last fall to go somewhere else and he said that he may not have always told me, but those notes or cards always came at a time when he needed them most. I was truly touched. 

Hopefully you have someone in your life touching you in a way whether it is a note, card, email, phone call, or conversation. 

This and That

April 7th, 2021 at 08:56 pm

Yesterday was a very spendy day for me. A couple of years ago when I renewed my driver's license, it was just the same way as always. A couple of months later, the state decided to institute the "real id" and it was to be done by October 2020 if you wanted to fly and didn't have a passport. Well, Covid struck, DMVs were shuttered, and so we waited for things to open up. Last fall, the DMVs opened up, and DH had to renew his license, and so we got the documents together and he got the real id. I was waiting for things to calm down since there was so much catch up, but then our governor shut down the state again and so I waited. Yesterday I decided it was time. I had a free afternoon. Darn good thing, because it took the whole dang afternoon.

I had read online what I needed and I headed to the county clerk's office to get a certified birth certificate. Cha ching...$23. So, went to the DMV to stand outside for over an hour and then 20 minutes inside before I was getting to see a clerk. I laid out all my paperwork only to be told that I needed a certified marriage license. So back to the county clerk's office and another $23 plus parking. Then back to the DMV to wait in line again. I guess I sort of understand why we need all this stuff, but to be honest, $46 for two pieces of paper to prove I am who I say I am, and it kind of makes me wonder if someone is getting a kick back or something.  Oh, well. That's done and I await my new license coming in the mail. 

We had a quiet Easter. We did attend Easter service and DH told me what he wanted for Easter dinner. We were fortunate to find a very small ham, and I mean very small. That being said, it still made for 4 meals, the last was today. DH likes ham a whole lot more than I do. It is OK, but I think from years before my gall bladder surgery of ham and pork making me sick, it kind of reminds me of that. Anyway, we finished up the last of the Easter leftovers today. We did our grocery shopping this morning and other than the normal stuff we buy each week like eggs, dairy, bread, and fruit, we did not need much. That is always good. 

I continue to work on making scarves for our church's knitting group. I am about out of yarn and will need to get some. I have some leftover pieces of skeins that I plan to use to crochet dish cloths. Last year we donated over 200 dish cloths for Christmas baskets for a food pantry. 

For my last birthday, a friend was generous to make us breakfast. That was better than any other gift I could think of because I certainly don't need anymore "things." So, I have a friend who is having a birthday tomorrow and I'm baking him a cake. He is helping take care of his mother so I doubt if anyone will think of a cake. I already checked with him and he said that would be great. 

 

A Catch Up

March 8th, 2021 at 08:54 pm

Yesterday was frustrating. I read many of the blogs, but the site would not allow me to comment, told me try later, only after going through what seemed like a zillion of those recaptcha images. Egad.

The weekend wasn't an adventurous one by any means. Basically stayed around home. DH is a clothes horse. I noticed he has been wearing the same few pairs of slacks over and over and I know he has quite a stack. Well, he said he didn't want to disturb the pile by getting them down off the shelf. But, he has two shelves in his closet and he's tall enough he could be putting stuff on the top shelf. So, I suggested we go through his slacks and then put some on the top shelf. He tried on every pair. He found some don't fit or he doesn't like the way they fit. I will wash them and we will donate them. He had a bunch of balled up shirts he uses for his yard work, so I washed them all and folded them. His closet looked so much nicer and he can now wear other slacks because he can get to them. Of course that made me look at my closet. I went through it and pulled some things to wash so I can donate them too. I threw away three blouses because I had been using them to work around the house and they were just plain nasty. I think straightening the closet always makes me feel like I accomplished something.

We had our first small salad with our Aerogarden lettuce on Friday. I teased my husband it couldn't get mush fresher -- I picked it, washed it, dried, and tore it in smaller pieces for the salad and we ate it. 

 

 

I have been working on a small quilt project. A few months ago I bought a quilt top that had to be hand embroidered. I finished that and have been working on hand quilting it. I have not quilted before so it was a learning experience. It is a throw, so it isn't huge. I finished it and even with the mistakes, I'm a little proud of it. But, I'm glad it is finished because I want to go back to making hats and scarves for the knitting group at church. 

 

 

Rainy Sunday Potpouri

February 28th, 2021 at 08:52 pm

It rained over night and we needed it. Our lake is low so this precipitation is a good thing and I'm a happy person it isn't snow or ice. We had warmer temps this past week -- in the 50s -- so I think people are getting spring fever.

We had to have the plumber out and am awaiting that bill, but we have the money to pay. Other than that, just keeping up with the day to day expenses. My credit card bill was lower this past month and I think part of it is because we haven't spent as much on groceries. I have been trying to use a lot of what we have and making things stretch. Tonight is the third seating of the huge pot of vegetable soup. It started out with a beef roast and potatoes and carrots for the first meal, then after we had that, I used the leftover beef, broth, carrots, and potatoes as a starter for vegetable soup. What we have left from tonight will go in the freezer. The roast was kind of expensive, but if we get five meals from it, I think we did pretty well and it is far cheaper than eating out. Maybe even far healthier. 

I have been trying to learn to quilt. I started this project a few months ago. It is a throw and you embroider the top, then quilt the thing.  Although I have enjoyed it, it's been long enough that I'm sort of getting tired of working on it. Because of the close work, it tires my eyes and makes my fingers sore. I will be glad when and if it gets finished. I hate to not finish it and go on to something else because I don't want it sitting around taunting me. 

I keep checking online to see if there are canning lids in our local stores. I think I have enough for our own perosnal canning, but I normally give things away too, and if I don't have the extra lids, I don't think that is going to happen. Right now some of the stores have the cases of jars with rings and lids, but honestly, I do not want to buy more jars. I have plenty as it is. 

My church is doing this Red Letter Challenge. It is a workbook that has something for the 40 days of Lent and challenges. The Red Letter is about the red lettering of Jesus' words in the Bible. One of our projects (I skipped ahead) is to collect items for our local women's shelter. There are two places that house women and children who are either homeless or need to find a short term place to stay due to domestic abuse. One of the items requesteed was underwear. When I heard that, I thought, why didn't I think of that? Who would want to get used underwear, even if it has been washed? So, I'm trying to search out places to find reasonably priced underwear that we can buy that will be easy to take care of and sturdy. 

Last summer we found an Aerogarden at a local thrift store. It had one box of 3 pods with it unopened. It was for herbs. After our garden herbs froze, I decided to start these. Well, I guess the seeds must have been too old. Nothing happened. So, I used some leftover lettuce seeds and they went to town! I purchased three more pods to put with it, and if they grow as much as the original ones, we should be doing well for lettuce for some small salads. I'm kind of excited because that was the real reason I wanted the Aerogarden in the first place. So, all in, not counting the leftover lettuce seeds, I have less than $30 invested. I looked online and the same one lists for over $100 new. 

As you can see, this is one of those posts that has a lot of this and that. 

Cold, cold Sunday

February 14th, 2021 at 10:31 pm

It's darn cold. And then another four letter word is also in our forecast: snow; they issued a winter storm warning for 6-10 inches.  I'm not a winter person, especially when it is this cold and then snow on top of it. Just hoping everyone stays safe. I'm scheduled to give blood tomorrow and I can predict if we get more than a few inches of snow, I will not be going. I know they need blood, but our road crews have not been good about keeping the roads cleared and I don't want to get stuck out somewhere on the way. Extreme cold and extreme heat bother my asthma. 

I may have mentioned that DH and I really like British mysteries. Awhile back we subscribed to the streaming service Acorn TV and have really enjoyed quite a few of their programs. I was looking the other day and I found one that wasn't a mystery, but look intriquing. It is called "Wartime Farm." It is a documentary by two British archeologists and one historian who live for a year as if they were running a farm during WWII near Southampton. My parents grew up during the Great Depression in the United States and of course told me about the war shortages and ration books here; well, after watching some of these episodes, the U.S. had it made compared to the English. The English before the war were having to import 2/3 of their food so when the war came and food supply chains were cut off, the English farmers were told to step up and grow more. Many had to get rid of their pigs and beef cattle because you could feed more people with plants than animals. The government stepped in and basically told the farmers what to plant and how much and if the farmers didn't meet the strict standards, they could lose all or part of their farm. I could go on and on, but it has been fascinating. I have one more left in the series, and I can honestly say I have really enjoyed it. I learned a lot. If you don't have Acorn TV, you can also find these on YouTube. There's also a book I guess. My library doesn't have it so I won't be getting to read it, but just an FYI. 

The interesting thing is I went to the library and checked out a murder mystery, British of course, and as I was reading, they mentioned "Lumberjills" which were women who cut trees in England since many of the men were off fighting the war. I had just seen an episode of "Wartime Farm" and it talked about the Lumberjills. 

One thing I really am enjoying is the creativity people had to use to make use of things that were originally cast off.  I think our world would be a better place if we recycled and reused more things. DH laughs at me because I'm always saving glass jars for this and that, but although I can recycle them, I really like having them around. I know I'm probably nuts, but I always thought soft drinks taste better in a cold, glass bottle, and I think milk does too. 

It's Valentine's Day and hopefully you have been greeted and remembered. DH and I exchange cards. I'm fixing a pasta dish and baked garlic bread to go with it for our Valentine's Day dinner. The beauty is these will probably make an encore performance later this week in some form. 

If you are in the path of bad weather, hope you are safe, warm, and cherished. 

You Deserve It?

January 4th, 2021 at 12:49 am

Looks like 2021 has finally gotten here. 2020 was a challenging year on so many fronts and I think most of us hope that the new year is far healthier. 

One thing I noticed before Christmas were so many of the advertisements and emails and messages is how many claimed people deserved to buy this and that because "you deserve it" after the year we've had. I wonder how many succumbed to the persuasion. I have a friend who does subscribe to that theory, and has for years and then complains how he's running out fo money. 

I don't know if we deserved it or not, but we did trade cars. We felt we were treated fairly and got far more for our 8 year old car (only 35K miles) than we expected. We got a three year loan simply because we owe for nothing else and wanted to help our credit scores. 

That was the big news as far as finances for us. We continue to eat at home -- we really don't have a choice since Illinois only allows take out and to be honest, as much as we would like to help the local restaurants, after you order, go pick it up, bringing it home, reheat it, and then clean up, it just isn't worth the expense and trouble. 

My birthday is Tuesday and to be honest, it is going to be a little bit of a challenge. I'll be 60. It's weird, 40 and 50 didn't bother me, but for some reason, 60 is. One of my friends who has self taught herself on baking and decorating cookies brought some she made over; what a pleasant surprise. A far better one than the two we had this morning -- 6 inches of snow (we were to get a dusting to an inch) and no power for a few hours. Fortunately we did regain power. Hopefully the snow will melt in the next couple of days. 

Let's hope that 2021 is a wonderful year for all of us!

Busy Sunday

December 27th, 2020 at 10:44 pm

Two days after Christmas and well, you wouldn't know it to see our house. Yesterday DH took down his live tree. It had been up 3 weeks and it was starting to get dry and wasn't taking up much water. This afternoon I took down my tree and put away the rest of the Christmas decorations. I am going to miss the little twinkle lights on the trees; they seemed to make the rooms a little nicer on those gloomy days, but I wasn't going to leave stuff up. We put my tree in the sunroom and I had to pick a day where it was sort of warm to take off the ornaments and lights and garland so I wouldn't freeze. It's done and the house seems a little bigger.

One sad note is I broke an ornament. It wasn't valuable to anyone but me, but it was one my mom bought me years ago -- remember when Campbell Soup would let you buy an ornament and a calendar each year? Oh, well. Life goes on.

I paid some bills and noticed our electic and gas bill had gone up. I think it is because we had some colder days and the heat ran more, but I also think all those lovely twinkle lights probably contributed towards it. 

Leftover ham tonight for sandwiches. Then the rest will be freezer bound so I can make ham and beans at a later date. 

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are happy and healthy!

It's here!

December 24th, 2020 at 09:00 pm

Merry Christmas to you and yours. As I type this, it is Christmas Eve. We are looking forward to Christmas Eve services -- we had to make reservations since we have a limit of how many can attend and we will socially distance and of course wear masks and use hand sanitizer both coming in and leaving. But, at least we have some sort of normalcy and can attend church. Easter just didn't seem like Easter when we had to worship online. 

We have two couples are friends with and this year we made homemade stuff for each other. I gave them banana bread and some jellies and jams. We got candy and a pumpkin pie from one couple. One couple gave us huge loaves of homemade bread. One was wheat and one was dill. I went to town finding ways to use these breads just to change things up. We sitll have part of a loaf in the freezer. But, what great gifts -- something we can use and enjoy and everyone used their talents.

Hopefully we will end December on a positive note financially. Last month was a good one for our investments, Hope December is likewise. 

DH and I have a Christmas Club account and we put money in it every month and then we have cash to spend. We do go all out since we pay cash for stuff. We ask each other what we want and I try to surprise him with other stuff too since he usually just says he wants clothes. I know I'm getting a couple things to replace some things in my kitchen -- I have a Crockpot that is about 25 years old. It still works, but the handles on the outside are starting to break. I looked into replacing them, but they don't make them anymore. So, I picked out a new one in the same size. I am also getting a counter top oven to replace the toaster oven and counter top oven that I have which are old and beat up. The counter top oven I bought to use at school when I baked with the kids and other classes borrowed it as well. Well, it looks like it has been well used. So, shiny and new is coming my way. 

Hope you and yours have a lovely Christmas!

Another cloudy day

December 18th, 2020 at 09:29 pm

Another cloudy day in Central Illinois. I think this is what makes winter so difficult, the gloominess. We won't mention the cold and the frozen precip, but...

I guess the cloud cover tends to make me feel a little blue. I have no reason to feel that way. 

The past couple of weeks have kept me busy delivering stuff for our church's group. In the past we went as a group to deliver hats to schools and non profits, but this year, I did it solo. I delivered hats and scarves to a school, then delivered dish cloths to a food pantry as well as some food and some hats, baby hats to a local hospital, baby and kids' hats to a health care group that works with those in high poverty, hats to our local cancer center, fidget sleeves to a nursing home, and cup cozies, candy, and beverage mixes to our local police department. We didn't make as many hats this year due to not being able to meet, but many of the ladies continued to work at home. Our totals are as follows:

Hats: 1089

Scarves: 291

Baby Hats: 132

Dish cloths: 210

Cup Cozies: 72

Fidget Sleeves: 18

I also dropped off some presents to some of our friends. Most were put on their porch. I delivered them when the weather was milder so stuff could sit out for a bit. I finished wrapping DH's gifts yesterday. He loves Grape Nehi in bottles and our local Cracker Barrel had 4 bottles in their gift shop. I will admit, I chickened out. I put them in a gift bag. But they and a few other items are under the tree. 

It's hard to believe Christmas is a week away.

November Already

November 8th, 2020 at 11:51 pm

It's hard to believe it is already November. A friend and I were discussing this at church this morning; it seems like this year has been so strange. I feel like my life has been on hold as we wait for the Pandemic to disappear and it hasn't and there doesn't seem like there is too much to look forward to as the holiday season approaches. Illinois' cases have been going up in staggering numbers. It is depressing to say the least.

I am glad that the election is over. Some of my candidates won and some did not. Just hope they all do their best for the good of our city, state, and country. 

As we have more mitigations due to the infection rate. , there are fewer things we can do. I've been cooking even way more than I had been since the choice is that or going to get food and bringing it home. That's OK, but not my favorite and it doesn't seem as good. So, I guess at this point I'd rather cook. I've been watching Barefoot Contessa shows, some on demand, to get ideas. I found a recipe on her recent tomato episode where she takes tomatoes and onions and puts them on the bottom of a roasting pan and then takes a lamb roast and puts it on top and makes a Rosemary and Dijon mustard topping. We don't eat lamb, but I thought, maybe I could use it on a pork loin roast. I've made so many of those lately, I'm kind of tired of our old way of making it. I tweaked a risotto recipe she made and used butternut squash and ground turkey instead of peas, asparagus, and sausage. DH loved it and we have enough for another meal. 

Are you planning on a big get together for Thanksgiving? We normally do not have one. The last couple of years we've invited another couple, but they are staying in due to health issues and I can't blame them. I wonder if Thanksgiving will be the big travel holiday it has in the past.

So, November is here. I'm trying find positives. Each day I post something on my Facebook account for which I am thankful. I really do have a lot to show gratitude for, it just seems sometimes life gets a bit challenging. 

Looking forward to election day

November 2nd, 2020 at 03:49 pm

Let me point out this is not a political post. 

That being said, I'm looking forward to election day because I'm simply tired of all the nasty political advertisement and social media posts. I want to tell them all, go back to kindergarten and learn how to play nice. It's not just one side, it is both sides. Egad. 

In other news, DH picked the last of the herbs and the leeks and green onions. We did a third planting of onions and they are small, but hey, food is food, right? I plan to use some of the onions and leeks and roast them with potatoes and bell peppers as part of our supper tonight. 

We had a nice time on Halloween. We put a bowl of candy in the middle of the driveway and sat in the opening to the garage door and instructed the kids to take two pieces of candy. It was fun seeing the kids dressed up and the kids and parents were very polite. We have quite a bit of candy left over. I have some cookie recipes on using it up, so I may put the candy in the freezer and then make Christmas cookies with the leftover stuff. 

Last week the stock market wasn't very good. Sure hope it rebounds. We haven't spent as much as usual simply because there isn't a lot we need or want. Almost all of my Christmas shopping is done. Just waiting on DH to tell me about a musical CD he wants so I can order it. I may start thinking about addressing Christmas cards in the next few days and will need to buy stamps. I guess I'm old fashioned. I like sending and receiving cards. One of my friend's daughter just started college and I have been mailing her a card each month and her mom visited her dorm room over the weekend and said she has the cards tacked to her bulletin board and was so happy to get "real mail." 

Hope your day is a good one.

Reaching Out

October 26th, 2020 at 03:29 pm

Years ago AT&T had a slogan, "Reach out and touch somebody." Of course the company wanted you to call and keep them in business. 

However, I think we need to stop and take this slogan to heart. As we still struggle with the Pandemic, there are an awfully lot of lonely people out there. For example, a lady at church asked about our looming group. She wanted to know if she had to come and make hats. I said no, come and visit with us. We sit over 6 feet apart and wear masks and have windows open. She got teary eyed and said she has been so lonesome and would like to come and talk with others. 

Another lady who had been with our group recently died. The sad fact was she took the sheltering at home to the point she didn't get her prescriptions refilled and therefore did not take her heart medicine for months. She was found dead at her kitchen table. I regret that I didn't message more; we weren't real close, but still, I feel maybe I could have offered to go pick up meds for her. 

I don't think it just has to be phone calls (sorry AT&T), but emails, letters, cards, messages, texts, or even a "Hi, ya" from a distance. Most of us are social beings and we need that interaction. 

So, as nice as you are all, hope you spread a little sunshine to those around you.

Life Lessons from Church Choir

October 11th, 2020 at 06:23 pm

I have always loved to sing. When I was in eighth grade, I was asked to join the church's adult choir. I was beside myself with joy. Usually that was only for people starting high school and beyond. I didn't realize it then, but I learned some valuable life lessons.

1. The choir is made up of different talents and personalities. Hopefully they all add something to the music.

2. There is one goal -- to make beautiful music.

3. Teamwork is important. There's at time and place for soloists, but the ultimate goal is to blend together.

4. You cannot judge someone by how they look. It is their voice that counts.

5. Not everyone likes the same music.

6. Not all music is appropriate for everything.

7. Some songs are far easier than others.

8. Some are more gifted than others -- I was always envious of those who had perfect pitch.

9. Some of the best musicians don't read music.

10. Don't forget to have a great time!

So, what does this have to do with finances?

Well, in money matters, some people are risk takers while others are not. Some just can make money easily, and others have to struggle. Good choirs have wonderful conductors and for most of us, those with good financial efforts have had someone conducting us along the way, giving us the hints we need. Just like not all music is appropriate, not all investments are appropriate. And there are swindlers out there, sad to say. Church choir really did give me some great examples for life, even finance. I was not the soloist, but I enjoyed the team work. I liked learning new songs and different pieces. I just loved to sing.

Past tense. Asthma has stolen my breath in order to be able to truly sing, but it has taught me other things. I need to enjoy life as it comes, even in those bad times. When a hard piece would be introduced, it would have been easy to give up, but there's just something glorious about learning and mastering a new piece. Same with life and even finance. OK, that fund is hard or boy, putting money aside is difficult, but what a sense of accomplishment when something is mastered.

Hopefully I will continue to learn and use these life lessons. One thing I will admit that is even if cannot be in the church choir anymore, I can still enjoy music. So maybe that is the best lesson of all.

Tomatoes and Teeth

August 2nd, 2020 at 09:11 pm

No crystal ball needed here...I can see more tomato canning in my future!

Not that I mind. It sort of gives me a little bit of security knowing I am using some of our garden to provide for us this winter. I also use some of our canning as presents at Christmas. Fortunately I have some friends who like home grown, home canned produce. After awhile, what do you honestly give to people who basically buy what they want? Especially when they offer to buy some of your canned goods from you? I would never accept money, so I often wrap up some for Christmas and they are happy and so am I.

DH has given away tomatoes to 6 different families just this week. He wound up planting more than he usually does. Due to our shelter at home early this spring, he prepared his garden a little earlier and some of his plants were nipped by frost although we covered them. He then bought some others to make sure the original ones were to be replaced, except they did OK once he cut away some of the nipped parts. He planted the new ones too and I guess we are in tomato heaven!

July was a very expensive month for us with DH's tooth problems. Two regular dental appointments to figure out which tooth was the problem and what to do, a root canal, a temporary crown, and soon to be permanent crown. I have already told DH he may be crowned, but I am not practicing my curtsey nor am I referring to him as "his royal highness. " OK, a bit of levity there, sorry! I also had my regular check up as did DH so our young dentist should be getting some extra help with her school loans from us!

I worry as I see our Covid cases starting to rise again in Illinois. We wear masks everywhere. My hands are so dry from washing them so much and using hand sanitizer when we are out. I hope the cases will plateau, but then, they are testing more people, so I'm sure there will be more cases as more are tested. Some friends who were sick in January and February with respiratory things now wonder if they had been some of the first to have had the virus. We can pray that things will soon get better.



Photographs and Memories

July 19th, 2020 at 10:28 pm

When I was a little girl, my dad would take me to Fairfield, Iowa, to visit my great aunt during the summer. I would stay a week with her. She lived in this old house that had been made into three apartments. I remember loving that old house with the huge glass in the front door, the beautiful woodwork, and the light fixtures. Huge evergreens flanked the driveway. My aunt's apartment had a turret and that was her bedroom closet. The people who lived on the first floor had a huge apartment with a side porch. It was a nice time and a beautiful house. Sadly I only got to visit a few summers until she got very ill.

One of the projects since I've retired is to go through photographs. When I was a classroom teacher, I would invite people to come and speak to my class and take photographs. When I retired, I went through these photos and mailed them to the people who were in them, some from 30 years before. I figured they might enjoy seeing them.

Anyway, I ran across the 4 photos I took during the summer of 1970. I would have been 9 years old that summer I spent with my great aunt. I had taken two photos of the outside of that glorious house and two inside. One of the ladies who lived on the first floor and this one showed the lovely fireplace mantle and vintage chandelier. The other was one I sneaked of my aunt in her apartment; she wasn't happy with that. These photos were taken with an Instamatic? Remember those? So, a 9 year old with an Instamatic, not exactly quality shots, but still a little remembrance. I wasn't allowed to take many photos when I was a kid because it was expensive to develop film.

The other day I decided to Google the address to see if the house was still standing. To my amazement, Zillow had it, said it was a single family home, and had a recent photo of the outside. I was pleased it still looked nice.

I decided to be bold and I wrote a note addressed to the owners of the address and included the photographs and wrote about my staying there with my aunt and the two ladies who lived below my aunt's apartment. I started the note with "I am not wanting or expecting anything so please take the time to read my note." I explained I was 9 when I took the photos, but I talked about how lovely I thought the house was even then and I was delighted to see it was a single family home. I expected nothing in return.

I received a pleasant surprise. The owner wrote back and talked about how they love the old house, that the woodwork is still intact as is the vintage ceilings and light fixtures and how much they love the home. She thanked me for the photos.

I realize this has nothing to do with finances. However, it made me remember some good times of my youth and how happy I was to learn about the house and that it is still faring well. I think sometimes we need to stop and think about things in our lives and how they can bring us satisfaction or happiness.

Sunday, Sunday

July 12th, 2020 at 07:01 pm

We had quite the storm last night -- high winds, hail, rain, all in a matter of minutes. Due to the storms, many were without power in our area. We were fortunate that ours only flickered a couple of times, but just a couple of streets over, they were without power for hours. DH was absolutely worried about his garden. I think most of it fared well.

We went to church. Some could not make it due to the storm damage. One couple was blocked in their own place due to a fallen tree. I guess some of the streets were blocked and people had to go around or stay home. We are only having a limited number of people attend anyway, skipping every pew, have to use hand sanitizer when we go in, and wear masks throughout. Nevertheless, it is wonderful to be able to worship in our sanctuary and visit from a distance.

DH is out cleaning up some of the storm debris. Lots of leaves were torn from trees. Some leaves are from trees that are not ours so we wonder how far they came from.

I continue to make softer foods for DH to eat as he awaits having a root canal the 27th. We had chili last night. I made a big pot and after he said, we can just have it again tomorrow night -- this worked great. Fine with me. I'm using tomatoes I canned last year and onions and herbs form the yard. Figure it has to be fairly healthy with all the vegetables.

Our garbage bill went up a dollar. They had been warning us the prices would probably go up so I was pleased it was only a dollar. This is for every two months so I guess 50 cents a month. It seems like everything else has risen and in far greater leaps than this.

It's going to be a busy week for us. I'm seeing the allergist for my yearly checkup and we have hair cuts scheduled. This is our second hair cut since our state has allowed it. I'm sure the stylists and barbers are happy to be making money again. I'm not a person who spends a lot of time my hair and since we have to wear masks, my gal suggested we do something very simple because the mask would probably negate anything I would do as far as straightening my hair. For awhile I didn't do anything since we didn't go anywhere.

Hope you have a good week.

Happy Friday!

July 10th, 2020 at 10:30 pm

The week is starting to wind down. DH is out in the yard. He's mowing since it is a tad bit cooler and less humid. We had horrible heat and humidity last weekend and most of this week. He spent some time watering his garden before the mowing and we had a few tomatoes to pick! Most were cherry, but homegrown is homegrown, right?

There's something gratifying about going to the garden and getting a few things to use. I pulled up some onions that I'm going to use for a meal. I will be getting some herbs to add the spaghetti sauce tonight. It's my canned sauce, but I think fresh Basil tends to add to it although when I made it, I had cooked it with Basil.

Yesterday the looming group church met for the first time in months. There was a small group, we sat at a table each so it was like more like ten feet apart, we wore masks, used hand sanitizer before we sat down and used it again on the way out. The church hired a lady to come in and sanitizer the tables and chairs for every group that uses the room. But, it was so fun to catch up and visit with people. Many have been working on hats and scarves and they brought them. Our totals are as follows:

Hats: 585
Scarves: 223
Baby hats: 54

I don't think we will make as many hats this year as we did last year, but we aren't in a contest nor are we trying to break records. Another church had brought us a huge amount of dish cloth cotton so two of us have been making dish cloths. We are going to donate the lot to a local food pantry to put in their Christmas baskets. This year I think we will have enough for every basket to get one. I know it's not a big thing, but I would think if I were on the receiving end, it would be nice to get a little surprise like that.

DH has had some tooth problems, so we are trying to have foods that don't aggravate his tooth. Lots of soft stuff. Glad I canned applesauce and tomato sauce last year. I know any money we are saving on food now will be more than taken and then some as he has a root canal and a crown, but that's why we save on other things.

I went to the Chobani site and did the "contact us" and asked for coupons. They are very generous with coupons and encourage me to write in each month. Talk about wanting to keep customer loyalty.

It's been great that our library has opened up. Not entirely, but I can still go and pick out books. I missed reading when the library was closed. I hate to buy books for my personal reading. I tend to read a lot and don't want to buy books that I will only read once. I finished book #58 last night.

We went to some thrift stores. I found a box of nice greeting cards for next to nothing. They were older, but that is fine. Made in the U.S.A. Yay!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. DH is almost done with the yard and I have the biggest share of the house cleaned. A good way to start the weekend off!

Going From Broke

July 7th, 2020 at 04:15 pm

It's hot and I don't handle heat well. DH went to the mall to walk so I actually had control of the TV remote. I was messing around and saw a show about paying off debt on Crackle. Crackle is a free streaming service so I figured I would check it out.

It was pretty interesting. Kind of reminded me a little of Gail Vaz Oxlade's "Till Debt Do Us Part." I wanted to check out the host who is CEO of Chegg which I had never heard of before. Apparently Chegg is some sort of educational resource for folks so it makes sense the person wants to help 20 some year olds with their debt, especially those with student loans.

Here is the website for the show and it looks like there are different sites to help people with information: https://www.goingfrombroke.info/?fbclid=IwAR1DHCSs9TemEo58GMFlpMX2FoRlIfplR6yOKhlXhohc1vVHrd6jHDTQgZA

Other than that, not much new or exciting. DH has been seeing the dentist and there is a root canal and a crown in his very expensive future. I'm reading book #58 so far this year besides doing the crocheting and looming for church and keeping up with housework around here. We've had a few cherry tomatoes from DH's garden and some onions.

Thought I'd say howdy!

June 10th, 2020 at 09:53 pm

I haven't blogged for awhile because I simply don't have too much to report. Just doing stuff around here and sheltering in place. I finished everything on my initial to do list so I'm starting another. Many of the things on my original list were things I had to do outside. I don't like working outside due to allergies and I get sunburned very easily, even with sunblock. So, when I finished everything I needed to do outside, I was ready to celebrate. It included painting the shed door, painting the sunroom door, and of course cleaning my car which I wrote about earlier.

I have my year's worth of green beans canned. I do it every April and May. Usually I can get fresh green beans on sale, but not so this year. Only one week did the grocers have them on sale and that was when things were still wild, so I didn't want to buy too many and look like a hoarder.

I have continued to crochet and loom scarves and hats for our knitting group even though we haven't been able to meet. Hopefully things will calm down before long and we will be able to meet.

I've come to the point where I make a bunch of lists. Maybe it's because I need to feel like I've accomplished something.

Our library finally decided to offer curbside pick up, only books they have, no interlibrary loan. I checked out 6 books last Friday and have read 4 of them already. I missed being able to read because I had basically read through what I had at home.

I wish I could report we are saving money big time, but it seems like groceries have gone up. Plus, when we do get something curbside, DH wants to give a bigger tip because he knows the restaurants and servers are struggling. We aren't going broke by any means and we figure they need the extra money.

I have only ordered once online for something and it was frustrating because it was to be shipped in 2-3 days (I paid for shipping) and it took over 2 weeks. Fortunately it wasn't anything that would spoil, but it was discouraging.

Our thrift stores opened up about a week ago with limits to how many could come in and we have to wear masks. We went through the 4 that were open. I did score a brand new case of wide mouth canning jars for $6 (name brand) and thought that was worth it. DH found a like new shirt he wanted. So, that made it fun at least that we found something.

Well, just thought I'd pop in and say howdy! Hope you are all doing well.

Happy Easter and Are You Planning a Garden?

April 12th, 2020 at 10:35 pm

Happy Easter!

We watched our church's Facebook streaming service. I will say our Pastor and his helpers have done a good job trying to keep things normal and uplifting.

I haven't really had much to write about. Just the day to day stuff. We've been staying around the house like everyone else. Grumbling about the neighbors who don't follow the shelter in place orders who are running and visiting and doing whatever they darn well please.

Like many, DH has been working a lot in the yard. We bought this house about 22 years ago this month. So, sometime after that he planted what were labeled "dwarf" burning bushes. I tease him it's a good thing he didn't buy full size ones since they are over 7 foot tall. Well, one of his projects has been to trim them down. What a chore. I helped him as much as I could. Due to allergies and the fact I sunburn so easily even with sun screen, I don't usually do much outside. But we got both trimmed and the branches cut up and put in lawn bags. Then we had a wind storm with big branches and DH had to deal with those. I'm sure the lawn waste guy wasn't happy to come by our house. But we are not allowed to burn, so this is the way we have to get rid of these items.

I planted some lettuce in two different pots, two different plantings. Both have come up and if we had decent weather this week, I bet one would be ready to use. But we are supposed to get really cold weather this week with a chance of snow. I covered the pots up this afternoon because there is a chance of storms and then possible freeze.

DH planted onions, radishes, and lettuce almost two weeks ago. His radishes and onions are starting to peep through. Hopefully we won't have extreme temperatures. He's worrying about getting tomato and bell pepper plants the first of May. Hopefully the place where he does will have them and be open.

I read that many folks who haven't planted gardens are thinking about it due to food shortages. I see Miracle Gro has an ad about gardening and suggests planting a "Victory Garden" like people had during World War II. Are you planning to plant a garden this year?

Just an update

March 26th, 2020 at 06:41 pm

The weather here in Central Illinois has been nothing short of gloomy until yesterday. We actually had an afternoon of sun after a morning of pea soup fog. DH got a chance to go out and work in the yard which delights him. He found two baby bunnies in the front yard. They've since moved which is good. He will be planning his garden and hopefully when it warms up, planting a garden and he doesn't like bunnies to use it as their personal buffet.

Illinois has been ordered to shelter in place since Saturday night. Two days ago I suggested to the Facebook group that our subdivision has that maybe we could do a zoo with stuffed animals for kids to see in windows since yesterday was supposed to be nice. One lady took the suggestion and ran with it so to speak...she made a list with street names and which animals, and it was nice seeing families going out with the checklist looking for the "zoo animals." This was not my original idea; I saw it online somewhere else. The best thing was people who normally never say anything would shout a hello if you were in the yard.

I guess one bad thing is I can see some neighbors who are not following the shelter in place order. People can still go to work if their place of employment is considered essential and that's not what I'm talking about. It's seeing people going to other people's homes and having people over or going shopping for non essential stuff. It angers me because it means they are doing this and however many other folks are doing it which is going to extend the outbreak as well as the sheltering in home.

I've kept busy doing cleaning and some crafting. I don't have the ability to make masks. So, I've worked on other items for donations later when this passes.

I think our grocery spending has increased some as some items have sort of increased. Last week there was so little bread at the store we wound up paying $4.50 for a loaf of organic. Granted, it was tasty, but, that over $2.50 more than what we would pay for a loaf. Last week the grocery stores were slammed and there were empty shelves in so many areas. When we went this week, there were many items there that were not there last week, including toilet paper. We didn't need any so we passed. Figured let those who were without get it. It was weird seeing the yogurt aisle riddled though. We eat yogurt for breakfast and although we found some for our breakfasts, not the kind we normally get, but oh, well. Guess it means we are having to be more flexible. As we walked by, we saw the ice cream case was pretty empty. I wonder if many of us will have put on weight once this is over. LOL

Hope you are all staying safe.

My Perspective

March 19th, 2020 at 08:48 pm

I shared this on Facebook this morning. I'm not a sage by any means, but to be honest, I'm a little tired of the complaining and negativity as well as the panic on the news.

I was thinking about our situation and then remembering something in the past. In 1978 I was in high school. That year we had missed so many days due to bad weather. Either a snow day was called or we had early release since many of the students at my school district lived in rural areas. We were supposed to have a longer spring break, but the board of education decided to have us go to school on all those days except Good Friday to help make up some days.

However, on Good Friday we had an ice storm. Power was knocked out in many areas of our county. Sadly, the school board had to close schools for the following week. Like many, we did not have power so we had to rely on a battery operated radio for any current news.

We basically had the phone to keep in touch. My dad went to work, and life went on. We didn’t have the money to go shop. We played Monopoly at night with candlelight and we used the fireplace to keep some heat in the house. We ate what we had at home. My mom found some dry ice to put in our freezer so our frozen stuff didn't spoil. This went on for over a week.

Right now, we are very blessed we have electricity, heat, and water. We can still turn on the television, computer, or phone. There are so many things we can access online and we can order things to be delivered. God has blessed us with so many wonderful things. We need to keep things in perspective. Maybe we can’t go out and meet with friends, but we can still contact them.

Look beyond yourself. If you are feeling lonely, think of the many people who live with this every day. Do something for someone else. Write a letter. Write an email. Give someone a compliment. If you are crafty or handy, make something for someone else. Pray for someone. This may be a way for us to be creative in helping one another. Look at history, so many people have suffered so much more in things beyond their control. Having to sit home isn’t that bad if you have a home. We aren’t living the miserable life of captives in concentration camps. Find some kindness and share it!

It feels like Illinois is closing down

March 15th, 2020 at 09:16 pm

Our governor just had a news conference and closed all restaurants and bars as of Monday evening through March 30th.

Last week all schools were closed starting Tuesday until March 30th.

Most churches are suspending services and those that can are going to streaming. No activities for two weeks.

Lots of panic shopping going on as far as the news reports -- cleaning out supplies of all kinds.

DH wonders if the governor will suspend travel in the state as well.

I normally keep a few items on hand. Last week when we grocery shopped, other than hand sanitizer and facial tissue, everything was basically stocked. I guess that isn't the case. I just feel with this new announcement of closing restaurants and bars, I bet the food hoarding will get even worse.

I'm hoping to keep busy around the house. I have some projects to work on. I hope DH doesn't go stir crazy. He likes to be out and about and he normally goes to the mall to walk.

Well, here is my state update. It feels surreal.

What do you reuse?

March 8th, 2020 at 08:04 pm

I really like the show "Home Town" on HGTV. I guess one reason is the hosts seem like nice people. But another reason is they work with a variety of budgets. And both Erin and Ben seem to be the kind to not only use new stuff, but reuse and repurpose other things. I like watching that kind of thing and it seems I am spending a lot of time looking for ways to do just that.

As many of you know, I belong to a knitting group at my church where we loom knit hats and scarves and give to schools and other non profits in our area. We gave to 4 schools last year as well as the hospital for the preemies, and then a bunch of baby hats for one of the clinics here in town as well as a social services group and a woman's shelter. One of the things I do with the smaller bits of yarn is crochet dish cloths and I made and donated 125 of them to a local food pantry.

Besides that, I've been making those market bags and giving those away to my friends as a way to use up bigger pieces of yarn that there isn't enough for a scarf or hat. It keeps me busy (and off the streets LOL). Seriously, I just like making sure I can use up the things we have.

I saw on Pinterest how to fold newspapers and make bags so I've made a few of those too. Our comics section is printed on heavier paper and I'm thinking these would make great "gift" bags for thinner things.

I recycle what I can, but I also reuse as much stuff as I can. I seem to have a fetish for glass jars; I have all different shapes and sizes. I like them for storage as well as for leftovers. Plus we won't even mention my love affair with canning jars.

I make my own laundry detergent and have been using the same plastic jug to store it in. I figure I'm saving money as well as not contributing to using more plastic bottles. I also have smaller glass jars with some of the extra laundry detergent in it.

We eat a lot of chicken around here and one thing I do is pound the chicken breasts to tenderize them and then flour them. I hate using a new bag each time, and read a suggestion about using a bread bag. What a great idea. Granted, it is still using plastic, but I figure using them for something else helps.

I'm collecting those mesh bags that fruit and vegetables come in to make a scrubby. I don't have enough yet to make a decent one.

I reuse envelopes that mail comes in. Some I make lists on, and some I just use to store things in. We collect cancelled postage stamps for a mission at my church so I keep an envelope with those in it. We also collect coupons from the paper inserts to send to some military folks and I use one of those reply envelopes for those.

For years I've used cloth napkins and I go through a ton of kitchen towels. I do use paper towels for stuff like raw meat, but I have cut down on the paper towel use a lot. Most of my friends as well as my hubby know if they want to give me something for Christmas or birthday, a kitchen towel is appreciated.

I continue to search for ways to reuse things. We shop at thrift stores a lot for things. Most of my kitchen dishes and plates were bought preowned. I figure I'm saving money not only by doing that, but also by not using one use items like paper plates. I have a couple of cast iron skillets that I use frequently. I have one of those splatter ware lidded pans that is oblong that I use for a lot of baking and cooking. It was my grandmother's.

So, what do you you reuse or repurpose to help save money as well as our environment?

So much for a no spend day

February 25th, 2020 at 03:21 pm

When we purchased our last vehicle three years ago, we bought a package that provided so many oil changes, so many detail jobs, free tire rotation, and points to save up to get cash, plus the privilege of a loaner if we needed it. A few months ago I had an issue and was pretty upset and the guy at the service department said since I didn't want the loaner, they would bring me the car when it was done. It's a nice service and we paid for it upfront and have gotten what we feel is our money's worth.

Well, today we were supposed to take my husband's vehicle to the place for a detail. No money out of pocket since it was part of the package. Except, when we got there, they were looking over the vehicle and pointed out that we had a nail in our tire so close to the sidewall that it could not be repaired. It has to be fixed, of course. I'm not doubting that. But so much for a no spend day.

In Illinois we pay extra gas tax and it is supposed to be used for fixing our roads and maintenance as well. Well, I'm not seeing a lot of fixing or maintaining and there's always a lot of junk on the roads. It's one thing to pay an extra tax for something and get something back, but I don't feel like we are getting our money's worth. Grrr

Using up, making do

February 23rd, 2020 at 09:17 pm

I've been trying to use up stuff from the freezer and pantry and only buying things we use each week like milk, eggs, fresh fruit, and bread. I know it has made a big difference in our past few grocery bills plus we are using what we already had. Once a week it is what I call buffet night where we have a little of this and little of that from previous meals. I just hate to see food go to waste so it's a good way to clean out the fridge.

Although we don't live in a flood plain, we bought flood insurance last year and this year's premium came due. So, I'm trying to cut back on spending a little bit on other stuff so it doesn't make our checkbook balance go down far too much. DH read that so many places have had floods that have never had the problem before and regular home owner's insurance doesn't cover it. I really feel insurance poor some days, but hopefully we will never have to use any of it.

I continue to work on hats and scarves for my church's knitting group. We haven't been able to meet for the past couple of months because every time we have a meeting planned, we've gotten snow or ice. So, I work on stuff at home. Another church gave us a bunch of crochet cotton so a couple of us are also making dish cloths. I made 125 of them last year to donate to a local food pantry for them to put on their line for people to take if they wanted them. I used leftover yarn for them and someone had given me some crochet cotton too. Hopefully with the three of us making them, we can have about 300 made for Christmas baskets this year. I know it isn't a big thing, but a new dishcloth is kind of nice.

I had purchased some yarn and it is very thin. My fault -- I didn't look closely. It would take three strands to make a hat or scarf. So, I've sort of put it to the side. Well, I was browsing Pinterest which I swear is dangerous. I saw a knitting loom pattern to make a market bag which is one that isn't totally solid. So, I followed the pattern and have made two, using up this thinner yarn. I am thinking maybe I can make these for gifts to add to packages for Christmas. They go quickly and don't take a lot of storage so maybe this is something someone could use. Plus, another use for the yarn.

I did crochet myself a doily out of some crochet thread I had purchased a few years ago at at thrift store. I have made 4 book marks out of the remainder of the thread. One more thing I used up.

And an update: A couple of weekends ago I talked about the neighbor girl and her mom letting her play sports with a 103.5 fever. Sadly, the girl wound up in the hospital for almost a week not only because of the fever, but she couldn't move her arms and legs and ached all over. She's home now, but I can't even imagine the pain and expense that caused. Plus, the fact she could have infected everyone else she came in contact with.

Go away, snow!

February 16th, 2020 at 08:43 pm

It's 40 and sunny. The snow we received earlier in the week is starting to melt so we can see the brown, crunchy stuff we call grass.

Yahoo!

It's been sort of a tough winter here in Central Illinois. We've had snow, ice, and below zero wind chills. Then there is the gloom.

Fortunately we have not had the snow storms I remember having in the 1970s. A couple of times they had so much snow pile up, our three lane street in the downtown became a two lane one as they plowed the snow into the center lane as a large wall because there wasn't any place to put it. In high school I think we spent more time at home a couple of years than we did going to school We either had a snow day or early dismissal. I honestly don't miss those kind of winters.

A friend asked me last week, why do we stay here in Illinois? Good question. I can't imagine living anywhere else. I grew up here. I met my husband here. We own our home and have our friends, church, doctors, etc. here. Unless the Illinois legislature continues to add more taxes, the cost of living is probably pretty decent. They've been tax happy and we've had quite a few added. Hopefully it won't get much more expensive.

I'm just glad we didn't have enough bad weather to cause us to lose power, be homebound for weeks, or get in an accident. The beauty of being retired is we don't have to get out to go to work and if it is slick we often choose to stay in until the roads are better. We figure those people who have to be out don't need us clogging up the streets and getting in their way.

The ongoing joke is when the weather forecasters call for snow, the grocery stores are mobbed, and we have had photos showing the empty racks of bread, milk, and eggs. Seriously? I could see if we were going to have a storm that lasts days, but lately we haven't, and I don't get the whole milk, bread, and egg rush. If you aren't using this stuff normally, why the zealous desire for it now? I can only imagine they are making a lot of French toast or something! Perhaps the grocery stores pay the weather folks so they have a "run" on stuff.

Well, I'm glad that white stuff is going away. I know in the movies it's always magic when it starts to snow. What would be magic is having someone come shovel my driveway when it builds up.

So, go away, snow!

A Sports Rant

February 9th, 2020 at 08:29 pm

I'm starting this with a disclaimer...I'm not a sports person. Don't beat me up over this, OK? I know people like different sports. I think in many cases sports can be a great thing. But it seems like it is being taken to an extreme.

OK, now that I've explained that, this is my rant. I know people like sports. I get that is interests them and it is entertainment. But I worry that sports has taken over.

I grouse often on the weekend because a sports program will run over and the program I want to watch is either delayed or not shown at all. We only get two local news on Saturdays and Sundays, one at prime time, and then one at ten. Heaven help us if there is a sports program on in the afternoon and another in the evening and then there is no news. Yes, I know, I can catch the national/world news online. But our local station doesn't broadcast theirs online if there's a sports program.

Then there's the issue of how sports events seem to take priority over family things. A friend's mother died and her daughter-in-law and granddaughter couldn't attend the funeral because there was a game the granddaughter played in. The athlete's mom is now bragging how her daughter is playing with 103.5 fever. I bet the other players and parents are thrilled to hear that. Why has sports become so all consuming?


My husband likes to watch sports. I do not. I don't deny him that pleasure. I get that people like to watch, participate, and talk sports. A number of years ago a pastor at a church we used to attend would bring up a sports reference in every sermon. I nicely told him that not everyone cared for sports and perhaps he should vary it to keep the interest of those of us who aren't interested. Being the know it all that he was, he said everyone liked sports. There were times when he referenced something in a football game that I had to ask my husband to explain after church. Needless to say I didn't get much out of that sermon.

It's like sports has become a religion. Guess I'm a nonbeliever.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Birthday Musings and Benefits

January 5th, 2020 at 07:58 pm

Today is my birthday. I"m 59. I'm sitting here thinking I had no idea what my life would turn out to be and how incredibly blessed I am.

DH is going to treat me to a supper tonight at a restaurant we rarely frequent. I'm looking forward to it. Yesterday we went shopping. Clothes shopping is not something I enjoy, but did find a few things that fit that I liked. That was my birthday.

I don't go into detail about our investments and such, but growing up, we didn't have much. My folks worked hard, but most of the jobs didn't pay squat. When I started out, I worked two or three jobs to make ends meet until I could resort to one. My dad constantly drilled into me, get an education and if someone offers to teach you something, learn it gladly. All these things paid off for me. I look at some of the people I went to high school with and they had better opportunities and many didn't take advantage of them. I don't want that to sound like a snob, because I don't mean for it to be that way. Just that some had parents who would have paid for them to go to college and they didn't, and now complain they don't make enough money or that life is unfair. Anyway, we are comfortable. I can basically buy whatever I want and as I grow older, there isn't really a whole lot I honestly want because I have so much now.

One of my friends gave me water color pencils and a book to journal and color in as I read the Psalms daily. Neither of these things I would have purchased for myself, but I'm sitting here thinking, what a thoughtful gift and I'm going to enjoy using these items.

Amber was talking about her credit cash back and I recently had $150 credit cash back on my credit card. I was waiting to get it up to a decent amount and then applied it to the bill. I'm getting ready to use some Ibotta credit at Kohls to buy some new sheets to replace some that have worn out. I was thinking about how old these sheets were and I know one set has to be at least 10 years old. I think we got our money's worth out of them. The other set I'm not sure and I've mended them a couple of times, but the stuff keeps ripping out. I'm using one of the sheets as a cover for DH's chair when he comes in all dirty and sweaty from working in the yard so he can sit and rest before going back out. There' something exciting about cashing in these items that are found money. Like CB I pay off our credit cards each month so we don't owe any interest. I prefer making money instead of giving it to credit card companies.

Having read LivingAlmostLarge's entry about Saving Advice folks being friends as we share our ups and downs, how exactly correct that is. I feel like I have shared many things with so many of you. What a blessing.

Well, I've probably written more than I should, so I think you'll find me coloring!

2019 into 2020

December 31st, 2019 at 09:49 pm

Sitting here reflecting a little.

Twenty years ago there was such fear because of the Y2K. Looking back on it, we were told to be fearful since the changing of the year could damage computers, cause power outages, etc. Glad none of that came about.

2019 was a good year overall. Some ups and downs, but overall, very blessed.

Glad to see the market closed up today, the last day of 2019. I'm hoping our investments did well this month. Last year this time we lost money the last few months of 2019.

It's been great that DH's cataract surgeries were both a success. Fortunately neither of us had any big problems health wise.

I think I've spent more money this year than last, but not because I was being crazy and spendy. Certain things needed to be fixed or replaced. But, it is wonderful that we had the money to do so.

We spent some time going through some things and we made our last donation to the thrift shop we donate to. I had received some things that were brand new, but I knew I would use them. Perhaps someone else can get some good out of them. I should get rid of more stuff, but sometimes it is difficult to let go. I need to work on that.

We plan to meet a friend and eat out tonight and be home early. We hope 2020 is a happy year for everyone and a prosperous one as well.


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