Overall, I cannot complain too loudly on my losses, although I'm not sure I have too much to credit myself.

Wins:

Saved money by canning/freezing. We eat many meals at home.

Christmas was paid for with cash -- no outstanding debt. I made quite a few gifts.

We had a couple of home improvement projects which we had saved for and paid for in cash.

We still live below our means.

House and second vehicle are paid for.

Fortunately we did not have to touch any retirement savings or emergency funds.




Losses:

The only thing we owe for is DH's vehicle. We chose to get a low interest loan because our FICO scores were starting to drop. We have about a year left of the 3 year loan to pay.

I did not put away as much in savings because I changed cholesterol medicines and insurance will not pay for it. I am paying for it out of pocket because the previous medicine raised my blood sugar to almost diabetes range. My insurance wants me to try three other kinds before they will consider helping pay part. However, after 9 months of this medicine, my blood sugar has dropped some and we feel that it is better to pay the extra instead of going into diabetes.

My goal of reading 100 books was not met. I am in the middle 80s. Most of the books were borrowed from the library, but when the library had some issues and we couldn't park close, I bought books at thrift shops. I donated them back. When this was going on, I was having some major foot problems and couldn't walk very far.

I blogged earlier about crocheting some clothes for a friend's granddaughter's Barbie. Well, they were a big hit, and it seems the dress that has some glitter to it was a favorite. Seems the Elf on the Shelf even wore it one morning to greet the little girl.

Friday I found two skeins of yarn that had a silver cord running through each of them. One was Christmas red and the other was white. I found them at one of the thrift stores we frequent and the cashier asked me what I was going to use it for and I told her for a Barbie, she took off a dollar so I got both for $3. I made 6 dresses for Barbie and apparently that Elf is going to go "shopping" and surprise our little friend. What a hoot. I guess the lavender dress was not the right color for the elf according to our little friend so hopefully the Christmas colors fill fit the bill. Of course I have taken some verbal abuse from the grandmother asking me if I wanted to keep these clothes and play Barbie. All in good fun.

A few weeks ago I found some baby bibs that can be embroidered so I have been working on them. One of the young ladies at church is expecting her second child and I thought I would finish these and give them to her. My only complaint is who in their right mind would decide to have 5 different shades of pink on a pattern? Egad.

Tomorrow night a friend is coming over for his birthday dinner. He was given the choice of our meeting him some place of his choosing or eating here and he said he really wanted a home cooked meal. So, I need to bake a cake for his birthday and he requested meatloaf. It should be a fun time.

We did spent quite a bit at the thrift stores this week. Well for us we did. I think we spent close to $15. Some of that was for yarn for the hats. Plus the yarn for Barbie clothes. DH found a couple of kids' books he wanted for his personal library. He reads to 5 classes and he likes to keep an assortment besides the ones he get from the library. I'm sure if we had purchased these items at retail, it would have been far more.

I did order a music CD for DH for Christmas. We tried to order it from a local CD place here in town, but he said he couldn't get it. I prefer shopping from brick and mortar, especially if they are small business, to support them. I kept checking Amazon and they finally got the CD in. I had some cash back money on my Discover card so I wound up paying $3.50 for part of the postage. My shopping is completed. Yay!

Like CreditCardFree, I finally got to $20 on Ibotta. It seems to take forever since I don't buy a lot of the stuff they give rebates on.

I found 14 cents in a parking lot yesterday. It goes in the wooden box DH has for change. We usually take the majority of the change in in the summer and apply part of it to Christmas and part of it the home improvement fund.

I haven't blogged for awhile because life has been busy.

My doctor's office called and said that my insurance had told them they would no longer pay for a cholesterol medicine I have been on. The medicine is over $300 and they were paying about $100 and I was picking up the rest. So, I spent a lot of time going to pharmacies asking what the cash price. I have found around here trying to call pharmacies is crazy because they put you on hold and then may or may not get back to you after 20 minutes or more. Anyway, I found the pharmacy at Kroger had the cheapest price in our city. I then was researching to find coupons or whatever to lower my cash price. Good RX had a decent coupon, but the drug company offered an even bigger coupon of $75 off. It brought it just under $300 for a month's supply. The generic stuff the insurance company wants me to take had a bad side effect -- it raises my blood sugar to the point where I am pre diabetic. Although the doctor's office explained why I was put on this other medicine, the insurance company wants me to try three other ones that have similar side effects before they will even consider paying what they were paying. At this point, we think my health is worth more than gambling with this.

I know this isn't the end of the year according to most calendars here in the states, but we are ending our hat making year at church because we want to deliver hats to the kids before the weather gets super cold. So, I spent time going over poverty rates for the local public schools, then presenting this to the ladies in the knitting group and decided on the schools we would "adopt." In the mean time I was also fending emails from a church member who graciously lined up funding to buy gloves to go with the hats. Once we decided on the schools, I contacted principals. Two were easy and responded. One I had to contact over and over. I know they are busy, but it shouldn't take more than a minute to say yes or no and if yes, how many students? Then to line up dates when we can drop off the hats, scarves, and gloves.

I also purchased facial tissue and hand sanitizer for each classroom. Then came the actual counting and sorting of the hats. Last week we delivered hats to three schools and then to two individual classrooms to people who are affiliated with our church and who teach in the public schools. The remainder of the hats will go to a neighborhood organization that helps in a high poverty neighborhood. So, we are cleaned out of hats for this year and what a glorious ministry it has become. We made 1202 full size hats for the schools. We also made a good number of scarves. Plus, every kid who got a hat got a pair of gloves. Good thing, because things are getting cold this week. Here is a photo of some of the hats, gloves, and scarves:



The local paper came out and did a story on one of our schools that we dropped off to:

https://herald-review.com/news/local/education/mount-calvary-lutheran-s-stitches-of-love-delivers-more-than/article_7af09cb1-c288-5be1-94d2-d9c47e2a1926.html?fbclid=IwAR1wECcBbYYSr_ikcjK6ICLazbYOgpr7Wo9eIRmZ-XsmIeRasLjkIInfmP4#1


The neighbor is helping her mother-in-law declutter her craft room so she brought over some cotton to make dish cloths. I have made 36 dish cloths to donate to one of the local food pantries. I can honestly say I'm seeing dish cloths in my dreams. Here are some of the dish cloths:



Our church is having a Christmas tea for the ladies guild and they are collecting baby items for a local non profit that helps moms. We have been asked to donate baby items so we are now making small hats for this. I don't think my life is going to get any calmer in the next few days, but that is OK. I'm blessed to be able to do all this.

My last entry was about found money so to speak. I received a debit card from the hospital that overcharged me $200 almost two years ago. As a couple of you mentioned, they should have paid me interest because If I had been two years late in paying, I would have paid interest. No kidding.

Well, yesterday DH and I took the debit card to our bank which happens to be the bank the debit card supposedly was issued from. I wanted to put th money in savings. There is a branch manager we deal with and he is a good guy. He asked if I had activated the card and I said yes. Well, long story short, I had to use an ATM to get the money. We don't use ATMs so he had to help us with that. And then we were charged $2.50 to get the money. Even he was surprised at that. He said the hospital uses these debit cards instead of using checks, but somehow it really isn't affiliated with their bank. Grrr. I emailed the hospital this morning expressing my distaste for this, between the lost interest and the cost of using the ATM. Honestly, I was afraid of using the card to purchase things because I was afraid I would be at the grocery and it would get rejected or something.

DH and I went to a book sale run by friends of the library on Monday. We didn't find any books. DH parks in what we call the back 40 because he doesn't want to get his car dinged or dented. Well, it most certainly paid off. As we were taking our stroll, I found a folded up $20 bill in the parking lot away from all the cars. I had the bank manager check it yesterday to make sure it was legitimate and it was. So, besides the money from the debit card, we put that $20 in the savings too. So that was a good thing.

Yesterday's mail had a surprise. It was a prepaid card that said that I had overpaid at a local hospital to the tune of $200. I checked it out and it seems legitimate. I remember I had a procedure two years ago and remember thinking that I was overpaying since a friend has the same insurance and he said that he never paid more than $100 for these things and I was billed $300.

Of course it took over two years for them to realize this, but hey, it is found money in my book. On Tuesday we are going to the bank and cash it out and put the money in savings which is where it would have wound up to begin with if we hadn't had to use it. So, it was a nice surprise.

I feel like I've hit the bonanza the past couple of weeks in thrift store shopping.

I write 3 ladies each week. I try to have different cards and stationery because I think it adds to the experience. Two of the ladies are 95 and one is 88 and they like getting mail. I found 4 sets of brand new blank cards and envelopes for 50 cents each and some stationery also for 50 cents. So, I'm set for a little while on that.

I have almost finished most of my Christmas gifts for this year. I have a couple of things to crochet, but have been on the lookout for some other items to start for 2019 birthdays and Christmas 2020. At one thrift store I found a bag of cross stitch items for $1. There were two hot pads to cross stitch on and 5 bibs. Well, I didn't need the bibs, but for a buck, I figured I can work on them and donate them to the church bazaar. I gave two of them to another crafter so she can work on them. I found another brand new craft kit for $1 for hot pads, and a new kit for a table runner that you cross stitch on complete with thread for $1. I also bought two towels that you cross stitch on (kitchen towels) for 50 cents each. Fortunately awhile ago I bought a bag of embroidery floss for 50 cents and it has a lot of different colors, so I should be set. Just need to find some patterns for them, but I think I can find some free ones on Pinterest.

I have also found quite a bit of yarn for the hats I make with the knitting group at church. So far, I've made 7 hats from the yarn, and because one place had the new skeins of yarn half price, I think I paid $1 or less for the skeins. I still have quite a bit of yarn to use. I try not to stash too much because I have limited space and I don't want to have drawers and bags full of stuff not being used. Our knitting group met last week and we have 831 hats made so far this year. Our goal is to have 1000 and hopefully "adopt" three schools this year.

Being a plus size gal, it is often difficult to find clothing at thrift stores in my size that isn't worn out. I did find a nice blouse for $4.99. It was a name brand blouse and didn't look it had been worn a lot. It is a summer one and as warm as it has been, I'm sure I'll get enough use of it before putting it up for the winter.

I did score a small plastic thread holder yesterday. It is just an oblong box with spools sticking up and a lid. I have thread in a drawer and it is difficult to see what I have. For $1.50, it will help organize some of the thread.

DH found some like new kids books at a couple of the thrift stores. He reads to elementary classes throughout the year and although he often checks out books from our library, he likes to have some at home in case he doesn't get to the library. Most of the books were a quarter each. He also found some like brand new Wimpy Kid books to donate to the library of the my former school. They replace the worn ones with these books he finds. We figure it helps the school's budget by doing this and we aren't out much.

One of my friends teases me I always find great deals at the thrift stores. I tell her it is entertainment for me to go through stuff and look closely. Sometimes people go for the bling of things that are out in the open. I like to paw through some of the stuff and find things. I know I found some Christmas stuff awhile back that was reasonably priced to begin with and then they were having a sale for half off. My kind of deal!

Twenty years ago we bought this house and even then the driveway was cracked. It has gotten worse. Our home was built in 1979 and it is the original driveway.

Today, the driveway guys came to start the tear out. After he got it totally torn out, he told DH that there's a reason our driveway was so bad -- it was only 2 1/2 inches thick in spots. It is supposed to be a minimum of 4 and ideally between 5-6. He said the sand underneath had washed away and if any heavy vehicles had been on it, it certainly didn't help.

So, it is both exciting and frustrating. It is exciting because we will have a new driveway and two pieces of sidewalk replaced which will make our home look better and it will be far easier to shovel this winter without hitting the places where the concrete were different levels. But it is frustrating that yet again someone did not do the proper job and years down the way, we have had to suffer the consequences.

We have been saving for the driveway so we will be able to pay cash when it is completed. That's a very good thing.

Guess it is official, I'm a bag lady!

We usually hit the thrift stores on Fridays. There are 4 we go to each week and then there are a couple others we hit every once in awhile. Anyway, I found some lovely canvas bags that were brand new. I thought that they might make good gift bags -- a two for one sort of thing. I can put a gift in them and the recipient gets both the gift and a reusable bag.

Anyway, I decided to decorate them. I found some iron on transfers. And then I crocheted a couple of things and had some things I could sew on.

I have about $1.50 or less invested in each bag. Here are the results on the photos below.

Today is our 28th wedding anniversary. We are going out for supper and that should be nice. We get each other a card and have a great meal and we are satisfied with that. At this point in our lives, we basically buy what we need and want so a gift is not needed.

Last night we went out with friends. Egad, two meals out in two nights...well, we were supposed to have gone out over two weeks ago, but we had an out of town funeral and then they had an out of town wedding so it kept getting postponed. We were celebrating a birthday of the other lady. Two of us are retired educators. Our retirement system in Illinois sent out an email that there was an article about certain people in Illinois getting over $100K in pensions and how so few actually get that much. So, we were discussing that and the article said the the average pension is $54K. I know he makes more than that in pension and he was carrying on about how he couldn't believe anyone would get that little as a pension. I quietly said, I get less then $50K a year for pension. He didn't know what to say. I agreed to it so I could retire early. It was totally worth it to me. DH retired from the public library and his pension is less than mine. He does also get Social Security which helps, but neither of us make huge amounts.

But are we poor? Not really. My friend has made lots more money, in fact he probably made more than what DH and I made for many years. But he is so poor in handling money that is almost ridiculous. He lives for now and then grouses when he can't do things because he owes so much money. I think it is a balancing act each month when he and the wife pay bills. They have, in the past 4 years, taken two huge vacations, both of which they borrowed money for. They have a home here and a small residence in a Southernstate. They eat out every day. He has all sorts of expensive collections and is continually adding to them. His home isn't paid for because he continually borrows from the equity. He has personal loans. I rather doubt if his place in the south is paid for. He keeps throwing up to us that he has this second place and how it is they vacation during the winter months.

It all came to a head the other day. We take bus trips, most of them day ones, and an upcoming one is to see Carol Burnett. It is in St. Louis and we are going to have a meal at a restaurant on The Hill, and then see the program. It costs $249 each. I asked DH if he wanted to go, he said he did, and I immediately wrote out a check to pay for it and secured our spots. I told our friends and his response was they can't even think about it right now. In other words, they are so overextended it isn't possible.

It really doesn't matter how much one makes if one doesn't know how to handle it. He may draw far more than I do, but spending every penny isn't helping him because the wants keep him broke. I know when he found out that I don't make what he makes pension wise, he was shocked. I could see him thinking how in the world do they do what they do?

We do it by cutting back on other stuff. We do eat out, but not every day. Often times we eat out at lunch -- cheaper, less crowded (we go early), and we don't do a huge meal, usually soup or a sandwich or if early enough, breakfast. I cook. A lot. Most of it from scratch. We buy an incredible amount of our groceries at Aldi. I can tell you he wouldn't be caught doing that. He prefers Wal-Mart and Sam's. He especially loves Sam's to buy in bulk. I make things we have and we buy things at rummage sales and thrift shops. I found two curtain sheers, new in a package, that I just knew would look great with DH's curtains in the den. I had white sheers, but these were tan and his curtains were brown. The sheers were $1 each. I ironed them and hung them and they matched great. When I mentioned doing this, he looked at my husband and said that I must not care for your because I spent so little on the sheers. He then went on to brag how they spent $1500 for two valances and 4 tiers for their kitchen windows...they were custom made! I recently made two sets of cottage sets for my bathroom and kitchen windows. The material was $9 and I made other things with the leftover material and I still have material left. I'm sure my friend would turn his nose up at this. I liked the material.

So, I might make less, but I think we get more bang for our buck.

Had a nice surprise and a disappointment today. DH had what looked like 6 cherry tomatoes almost ripe. He said to go ahead and pick them so I bent down and did...2 of the 6 had already been bitten by a chipmunk. Oh, well, at least not all of them have. They should be full ripe by tomorrow and we will enjoy them with our supper.

We have ar

Yesterday we had a high of 65. Yay! Some rain and since we are in almost drought conditions, no one seemed to mind the rain considering it is February and it could have been snow or ice. The temperatures have dropped so it is chilly, but I did see the sun peek out for a bit.

Credit Card Free shared her Ibotta link in a previous post and I finally got signed up. The first day the site was having issues, but I got in just in time to do my Kroger shopping yesterday (after our Aldi run, of course). After I did what I needed to do, it says I have $3.50 in credit. Not bad for a few minutes work. That was after I also did the digital coupons and a paper coupon too.

Friday night we normally eat out and we are being joined by another couple. That is something to look forward to!

I have my menu planned for other meals this week. One of my friends says I'm rigid, but how can I effectively shop if I don't know what I'm going to fix?

Saturday night - cod, mashed potatoes, green beans
Sunday night -- chili
Monday night -- pork loin roast with carrots, roasted potatoes
Tuesday night -- chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wednesday night -- leftover pork roast, baked potatoes
Thursday night -- scrambled eggs or omelet. This is usually the night I clean out the vegetable drawer to put with the eggs.

The chili will use the tomatoes I canned and a friend gave me some beef for Christmas so I plan to use some of the "free" hamburger. The green beans are from the pantry where I canned last summer too.

Today seems to be the day to use up things. Lunch was leftovers from a couple meals. DH and I had different things for lunch, but that was OK. He wanted leftover soup and I had two different things that there wasn't enough of either to make a meal. There is still enough soup for another lunch if we put a sandwich with it.

Last night I made a gallon of laundry detergent. A friend gave me some stuff to make some a number of years ago and I was so impressed, I bought the Borax, washing soda, and back then Fels Naphtha to make it. Now, I don't use the Fels Naphtha, but use Dawn instead. But what a reasonably priced laundry detergent and it gets stuff clean. I keep a little in a squirt bottle to pretreat stuff.

I was looking on Pinterest and saw a recipe for homemade Febreze. I made some this morning and I really like it. I haven't bought any in years. I happened to have saved the bottle thinking I was going to use it for something and I did use it for this. (I am notorious for saving bottles and jars.)

It's funny how some of my friends react to these things. One friend, the one who originally had me make my own detergent is all about saving things and making things and saving money wherever possible. She and her husband eat leftovers. And she is a good one for a bargain. It's like we are two peas in a pod.

Another of my friends thinks I'm crazy for making stuff and doing all the leftovers and such. She is all about getting stuff new. I don't think money is an issue at their home.

Yet another friend would never think of making detergent or anything and won't eat leftovers. Money is an issue as you can imagine.

I imagine the latter two think I'm simply crazy about thrift shopping. I have bought so many things at our local thrift shops -- we are fortunate to have quite a few and they have some really nice things. Lately I've been buying material and sewing things with it. I've made 3 table runners, a set of curtains for my bathroom, and one long panel for a sunroom door and material and thread together I think I've spent less than $16. I buy most of my greeting cards at thrift stores too. I like sending cards and letters, but I hate, hate, hate spending so much on greeting cards. Very few people save cards. I save ones from my husband, but I don't save any of the others; I recycle them. Giving a quarter or less for a card only makes sense to me, but maybe I'm weird.

So, that's what I've been doing today. Using stuff up, made a few things. No thrift shopping -- I'm cleaning instead. And of course eating at home. I am going to make crab cakes and we will have enough for another meal. And so the cycle continues.

The first four letter word is what it is doing right now as I look out the window: snow. Yuck. Ever notice how in the movies and on television that suddenly everything is wonderful when it starts to snow. Guess I missed the magic of it because I worry about shoveling, walking, and driving in it.

The second is the mother of all...the f word. No, I'm not using it, but when we did our thrift store outing on Friday, DH looks at all the kids books because he uses a lot of books when he volunteers and reads to classes. He gets the bulk of his books at the library, but there are some he likes to own since they are seasonable and sometimes he has difficulty getting them. He showed me one book that was on the shelf and said he was taking it to the cashier to show her since he bet they didn't want it on their shelf. This is a thrift store run by a church. The title was "Get the "F word" Asleep." It looked like a kid's book with the graphics on the front and the illustrations throughout, but it had all sorts of cuss words in the story. I am not lily white when it comes to my language and to be honest, many words don't really phase me unless it is taking God's name in vain, but I personally think a book like this shouldn't look like a kid's book. Someone had put a sticker over the title so I imagine someone putting it out didn't notice, but what if a child had picked it up. I am all for keeping stuff like that out of kids' hands. Anyway, the cashier agreed and immediately disposed of it. If people want those sort of books, fine with me -- just don't let them look like a picture book for kids. Mark it some how so it doesn't get confusing.

Pulled some soup out of the freezer and put it in the Crockpot to warm up for supper tonight. I tease DH about if he wants to go out to eat and he always says no. He likes saving money and apparently likes my cooking. So, maybe I'll add a third four letter word: save.

This afternoon will mean lots of moving and shaking going on. Well, at least moving. We will be moving furniture out of one of our spare bedrooms.

A number of years ago we replaced the carpeting in this room. We saved up and bought good stuff and an extra thick pad. It's a neutral color so we hoped it would be something that would last and last. We call it the bear room because for years I collected teddy bears and I have a shelf of bears in it.

Well, about three years ago I noticed that the carpeting was starting to stretch. And it has gotten worse. Before Thanksgiving I called the guy who owns the carpet cleaning company we have used to ask if he knew someone who could stretch the carpeting back. He gave me a name and I called and there was no response. I waited a few weeks and called again. The number had been disconnected. I guess I'm glad I didn't get this guy if his number was disconnected. So, talked to the carpet cleaning guy again and he said he had someone else and they would call me.

Well, here it is January and no one has contacted me. I looked at Home Advisor and they had no names for anyone to do this. I Googled carpet stretching and basically got nothing.

So, old school here we come...I went to a phone book. I found one listing and called and a very nice lady answered. She said yes, her husband did that work and we made an appointment for the next morning for him to come out and give us an estimate.

Let me digress a bit here...we have had such bad luck in the past when we call and make appointments...so many people are either late or don't show for said appointments. DH said he wondered if this guy would even show up.

The appointment was for set for between 8 and 8:30. Our doorbell rang at 8 a.m. sharp. A neatly dressed man introduced himself, and we showed him the room. He gave us an estimate and we agreed to have him do the job. He was polite, mannerly, and friendly.

We had almost gotten to the point of thinking we would just have to replace the carpeting since we were having such trouble finding someone.

So, we are spending $100 to stretch some carpeting instead of replacing. I'm glad. I like the carpeting and I'd prefer not to tear it out. I'd prefer to spend the $100 instead of hundreds of dollars. I've gotten to the point where if I can afford it, I would prefer not to settle for the cheapest just because it costs less. I would prefer buying the quality product if I can afford it. Plus, I don't think we've damaged the carpeting yet so it is salvageable.

I'm not thrilled about moving furniture, but it is a price to pay and I'm trying to reward myself with the thought of rearranging the room. I like to move things around because then it looks like it is new or different. Strange, I guess, but it is all about tricking my brain. Heaven knows I don't need anything new.

It's Thursday and it means two things: we grocery shop and we have eggs for supper.

Yes, I'm a creature of habit. Fortunately hubby likes "ruts" as well as eggs.

The fridge is starting to look bare. We had lots of leftovers last night: turkey, chicken and noodles, green beans, and gravy. I added a little mashed potatoes and some creamed corn since there wasn't enough green beans. For a cold night it was a warming meal.

I learned recently that some friends of ours don't shop on a regular basis. I'm surprised because he is always talking about growing up and being on a strict budget and saving money. I can't imagine shopping before every meal. As we had this discussion we realized two things -- they don't plan meals very well and look for bargains and I am a big planner. DH informed him I was probably the most organized person he knew. I wouldn't go that far, but there is a comfort to being organized and having things planned. I also learned that this couple would often go to the only warehouse store in our city on the weekend and graze so they didn't have to cook. Very interesting.

I have another friend that we label "cheap." He is. He goes way beyond frugal. It is sad because he has the funds to do far better. We wonder if spending money truly pains him. Then we have another friend who claims to always look for a bargain, but I honestly think he and his wife have no issue with cheating. By that, I mean, when Panera had styrofoam cups, they would order iced tea and then get coffee because the tea was a few pennies cheaper. She will always ask after a meal if the restaurant will give her a cup of coffee on the house. They are always trying finagle a way of getting something more or something for nothing. They run the servers ragged for this and that and then leave a paltry tip and a religious tract saying their souls are more important than money. Yet they are these folks who claim they are stalwart Christians. I feel cheating is stealing. Between the two, I will stick with my cheap friend instead of a cheating one.

Hoping after our grocery shopping adventure, I can finish the bathroom curtains. I'm using the curtains I have for a pattern.

It is hard to believe 2017 is almost history. DH always gives me a new calendar for Christmas and I was copying birthdays and anniversaries to it from the old one, I also noticed all the other things I had written on it. DH and I had the privilege to do a lot last year in day trips and even a couple of other trips. We went to Tybee Island and stayed in a condo last January. That as amazing because after being a teacher for over 30 years, a vacation during the school year is not possible. Well, if you follow the contract it isn't. And, I'm a rule follower.

We've been blessed that we have been able to live on our pensions and Social Security (DH's) and not hit any of our retirement accounts.

I was thinking the other day at how fortunate I truly am. Although DH and I buy each other Christmas gifts and we tell each other ideas, there really wasn't anything that I was so desirous that I would kill to have. When I was younger and struggling, it seemed like there were always things I just had to have. Looking back, I realize how silly that was. Maybe with age comes contentment.

it's been bitter cold here in Central Illinois. It's supposed to continue for the next few days. We did get out and hit the thrift stores yesterday and I felt like we really rocked them. One store had Christmas gift bags that looked like new...9 cents each. I bought over 15 of them. They had a crocheted stocking for 9 cents. It looked like new too. I bought it for the pattern, but will be able to use it as well. All Christmas stuff was 50% off and I bought some small dessert plates to use for cookies and fudge for next year. I washed them when I got home and will store them until next year. I also found three pint canning jars with rings and they were half off so they cost us 60 cents for all three. At another place I found some greeting cards for 15 cents each. I bought a bunch of birthday cards, some Valentine, Easter, and sympathy. I guess I'm not a card snob. One friend says he only buys name brand ones. Good for him. I buy nice ones and try to write something appropriate in them. I figure no one keeps the cards anymore. I know i don't. I read them, appreciate them, and recycle them. DH reads to classes at two schools and he scored some children's books. Allin all, I think we spent less than $20 and felt like we hit the jackpot.

Last summer we were thrifting and I found a kit that had a pattern and medium weight yarn to crochet kitchen towels. It was $2.50 and supposedly had enough materials to make two towels. I took a break from hats and made a towel. I felt it was a success. I made a hat and then made the second towel with the kits. For grins I decided to look up the company. Seems it is a company that you buy a yearly membership in for $9.99 and then each month they send you a kit for a project at the princely sum of $19.99. As much as I liked the kit, there was no way I would have paid almost $20 for it as well as the yearly fee. I felt like I had a good deal. So, one towel will be part of a friend's birthday this spring and the other is a Christmas gift. Guess I've already started my Christmas shopping for 2018!






Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

A number of years go we would peruse Pier 1 and there was a set of dishes I had my heart set upon. I really, really wanted them. They were made in Italy and I thought they were simply beautiful. But, alas, we couldn't afford them. I finally gave in and bough one plate. I hung it up on our wall so I could enjoy it.

So, fast forward way over a decade. I still have that plate on my wall. I take it down every so often and wash it and put it back up. I still like it.

Just about every week we go through four thrift stores around us. The past two weeks I've seen a set of these same dishes. It's funny, I still like them, but I have no desire to own them. I think that waiting probably showed me I could live without them. And now I could buy that set from the thrift store. I will admit, I was tempted. Then I thought, where would I put them? Would I really get a lot of use out of them? A number of years ago I donated the fancy China I had simply because I rarely used it. I have the blue willow dishes that I really like and I use them for everything. Plus, We don't have fancy dinner parties. I'm not a gourmet. I cook simple nourishing meals and they are served just fine on my dishes I have.

I am amazed at the kinds of things that we find in the thrift stores. Sure, there's the glass vases that everyone seems to donate. But, I'm talking the good stuff. At least the stuff I like. Most of my blue willow has come from thrift stores and second hand places. All of our drinking glasses come from there. Why pay big prices for a drinking glass when I can get them for 25 or 50 cents and if I break one, I'm not out a lot of money.

Anyway, I tell DH that I guess waiting has taught me a number of things. We see things that I had wanted years ago and couldn't afford...wait a few years and it pops up at thrift stores for a lot less and then I can decide if I really needed it or not. Instant gratification isn't very frugal is it?

Not a whole lot to report. I've kept busy doing this and that around here. Today I'm doing some cleaning. I have a tea pot collection. I like blue willow and through the years I have been given tea pots and we have bought some. I have them displayed on a shelf over the sliding glass doors. I asked DH if he would get them down so I have them washed. They weren't really too bad, but I like to keep on top of things so they don't get really dusty or dirty. As I washed them, it made me think about the lovely designs and where they were made and what company. I had forgotten that one of the more unique ones was designed in England but hand painted in the Philippines. Pretty cool

I also starting addressing Christmas cards. Yes, I know it isn't even the first of November. I just dread addressing them. I know they are an expense and the postage keeps going up, but most of the people we send them to are not online. For some they are our annual catch up time. Anyway, I feel better having started them. I found a couple of boxes of new cards at thrift stores this year for little to nothing. I feel that helps with the cost. I have been crocheting small ornaments to put in each card. The ornaments are basically free other than my work. I am using crochet thread I already had. I will need to iron and starch them, but I have enjoyed making them so hopefully people will enjoy receiving them.

Other than a few items for DH for Christmas, I have the bulk of any shopping finished. We do give tips to the gals who cut our hair. I buy a few gifts for friends, but supplement them with either things I've canned or made so it keeps the cost down. I enjoy doing this sort of thing and hopefully the receivers enjoy getting them. We have a Christmas club so whatever we spend, the money is there so we don't go into debt. I just can't fathom going deep into debt for Christmas. I like being generous, but I don't think I could handle seeing a big debt.

It's a cool, dreary day here. Just the right kind to make me want to clean so our home feels cozy.

It seems like this week flew by. Not sure where it went and looking back, I'm not sure what kept me so busy, but I was. I got behind on reading blogs so hopefully I have caught up today. I feel like I miss out on everyone's lives when I get behind.

One thing that kept me busy was planning for a fifth grade to meet the police that they are adopting this year. My friend, the teacher and I worked through this and I scheduled their visit as well as the local newspaper to come out and cover it. I unfortunately had to miss it, but here is the article if you are so inclined to read it:

http://herald-review.com/news/local/education/south-shores-elementary-fifth-grade-adopts-police-for-year/article_5041b6a4-1d56-5ad3-ac40-cdbb57baf02e.html

I have been busy knitting hats. I took our new pastor to meet the principal of the school. The principal was telling the pastor how much the hats meant to the kids last year. So, this spurred me on to getting more hats made in addition to the other ones I have been working on. In between the hats, I have been crocheting dish cloths out of the leftover yarn. I took in 31 of them for the church's bazaar that is coming up.

I also have been working on PR for the upcoming bazaar and learning to do the church's web page. I already update the church's Facebook page.

Wednesday was DH's birthday. I spent a big part of the morning baking a cake from scratch. We went out to a local restaurant that is pricey, but the food is exquisite so we felt it was worth the expense. We don't eat there often so it is a real treat.

I have also canned a few more things to add to the pantry.

One couple called and asked about going to lunch for DH's birthday. We haven't heard from them in over a month. We wound up changing some plans so we could meet with them. One thing that absolutely drives me nuts is the fact they are almost always late. The place where we were going to meet is on the other side of town for us -- it is far closer to them. But, it doesn't matter. They are usually late and this day was no exception. I guess they feel if they call and say they are on their way, that makes it OK. Yet, we have noticed they can get places on time and even early for others. It just hurts that I feel we are being taken for granted. Because this was the only time they could meet with us last week, I gave up seeing the kids and officers meet and I didn't get to attend the knitting group at church. I guess I could have been less flexible, but I know DH wanted to see his friend since the visits are getting fewer and far between.

One of my other friends was talking about the end of the month being tight for them, so we were exchanging ideas on how to try to keep this from happening with the new month. It's kind of fun brainstorming this way. It makes me rethink about some of the things we are doing and realizing I have gotten a little lax on a few ways to save money.

We had a heat spell this week and many of DH's tomatoes ripened. He brought in some yesterday and some bell peppers. I made spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, basil, and oregano from the garden and added mushrooms to the mix. I have one quart and two pints to add to the pantry.

One of our local stores had penny pincher coupons with some of what I call loss leaders. I bought some pasta (especially since i have spaghetti sauce) as well as some other items for the pantry that were far less than regular price. My pantry is getting well stocked.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

I cannot count the number of Frugal Chef parties I have been invited to in the past 20 years. Because people know I cook, they think I'm just overjoyed to be invited and expect me to buy tons and tons of stuff. Boy, are they ever wrong.

One look at my kitchen would tell them otherwise.

I have a few of my grandmother's things like some Pyrex and pots and pans. I have a couple of my mother's items as well.

Most of the things in my kitchen have been purchased second hand. I have quite a few Pyrex dishes in different sizes and shapes that I use constantly. Vintage stuff. Not made in China. I enjoy using it, and feel I am not only cooking more safely in stuff that is tried and true than the stuff that might have problems down the road. Plus, in my small way, I am recycling.

I have 5 Crockpots. They are all different sizes. Two are about ten years old or older. One is 3. My newest two were purchased at thrift stores. They were clean and work perfectly.

Don't get me wrong, I do buy some new things, but why spend big bucks if I can save some money and buy used? We went to an estate sale a couple of weeks ago and found a set of stainless flatware. It was vintage. The nice thing about vintage stuff is it has a bunch of the extra pieces. We paid $16 for the whole set. It wasn't my first choice in pattern, but hey, for $16 I have an extra set. I have a set I bought over 30 years ago and some of the pieces are missing. Not sure where they went to -- maybe the same hiding place as socks -- and we did buy a new set about five years ago, but there wasn't enough to get through without hand washing some stuff in between. I don't like to run the dishwasher unless it is totally full. I could hand wash stuff, and I did on occasion, but having the extra stuff is helpful and it even had pickle forks. I like pickles with my lunch so that was an added benefit.

Anyway, I was perusing Facebook and there is a site talking about saving money by buying used kitchen stuff. Guess I'm finally chic! Anyway, here is the URL for the story:

http://rootsy.org/low-cost-kitchen/

The tomatoes are coming on. Yay! DH also has bell peppers, onions, and herbs. I made a fantastic marinara sauce to serve over spaghetti the other night by cooking down some tomatoes with bell pepper, onion, mushroom, basil, and oregano, and adding some shredded Parmesan. I paired it with a small lettuce salad (lettuce, tomato, pepper, onion) for a delightful meatless meal. I thought DH would be upset over the lack of meat, but he wasn't and said it was delicious. I had purchased the pasta on sale, so I figured besides using up some of the fresh stuff we had, I made an economical meal. Oh yeah, served on some of the plates we bought second hand.

It is hard to believe today is the last day of July. The garden is going gangbusters which is good. Tomatoes! Lots and lots of them are coming on. I spent some time canning them Saturday. I looks like I will be canning some more this afternoon. No complaints about it either! I know it was sure nice this last winter to open up a jar of tomatoes and taste that fresh tomato from the summer. We have shared some tomatoes with some friends and they keep commenting on how good they are and they are.

My pie safe (where I store most of the stuff canned is starting to fill up. This past week I have canned some green beans, tomatoes, made sweet pickles, and made mixed berry jam. I buy fresh fruit every week to make a fruit salad that we have some once a day. With the extra fruit (some of the packages are larger due to it being in season) we can't eat it all so I put it in the freezer. When I get quite a bit saved, I then cook the berries together and make jam. I enjoy the jam, but I also plan to give some away at Christmas time. I make up baskets of goodies to some of my friends. Most of us don't exchange purchased gifts per se since we basically have what we need or too many knick knacks.

The garlic looks like it is about ready to be harvested too. I usually pick it and then clean and mince it and store it in olive oil in the fridge. We don't get a ton, but enough to use it throughout the year and have some extra cloves that we plant for the following year.

One of my husband's friends seems to have a problem with my husband's green thumb. It is almost to the point of jealousy. I don't know why. This person is very talented in so many areas and can do so many things. DH, and I love him dearly, isn't mechanically inclined. We usually have to outsource many jobs. But the lawn and garden are his speciality. As DH says, no one can be good at everything. Just wish his friend wouldn't have such problem with his ego and appreciate what DH can do.

Our pastor is retiring in two weeks. We will miss him dearly, but his replacement appears to be a good guy as well. The church had a retirement luncheon yesterday and a short presentation to thank our pastor for his service and caring for the congregation. It was very touching to see all the lives he has touched. I took my camera and took photos of and then uploaded them to the church's Facebook page. I then created a video to put on my page since I put in things I wanted to say.

We went to the Beef House on Wednesday over in Indiana. It is well known around here for good food and these amazing rolls. We actually did this on a bus trip and saw a play in addition to the meal. I just couldn't get over the feeding frenzy some of these people were a part of with the rolls. They are huge. Bigger than a large fist. Of course like most bread, they will bring out as many as you want. Well, so many at our table wanted to take some home. Not just one, but 2 or 3. They were snippy with the servers who didn't bring enough bags the first time. These servers were high school students donating their time in hopes of getting tips. Anyway, the ladies at our table were fawning over these rolls with that glint of greed in their eyes. The rolls were delicious when they brought them out...warm from the oven or warming drawer and very fresh. But white rolls tend to get stale very quickly. Guess these folks thought they were getting something for nothing. I wonder how many really ate those rolls or threw them out when they got home. Most of the people on the trip weren't poverty stricken, so I guess the offer of something free was too tempting. I didn't bring any home. I'm not above eating leftovers, but couldn't imagine even a few seconds in the microwave would make the rolls soft and good again. Plus, I'm trying to cut down on the carbs a bit.

After reading Livingalmostlarge's post about the spending, I would say we often find ourselves in the same situation at times. For example, last fall we decided to fix up the hall bathroom. We ordered a new vanity and medicine cabinet. Of course a new countertop and faucet. While we were at it, a new light fixture and of course a new shower curtain and liner. Oh, don't forget the new shower rod and towel holders. Then we realized the ceiling really needed to be repairs and of course we didn't have enough touch up paint and...well, you get the picture.

Today we had someone come out to give us a quote to do the same in the "master bath." I do the quotes because it is tiny. Our house was built in the 1970s and although we are delighted to have a second bath, it's cramped. But, here we go again. We have the new vanity, countertop, faucet, medicine cabinet, light fixture and to really throw a monkey wrench into the mix...exhaust fan with a light. We've been here 19 years and this is the exhaust fan that was there when we moved in. I would like one with a light because it is sometimes dark in the shower with just the light bar over the sink.

It wasn't a no spend day either because it was a trip to the chiropractor. A $20 copay which isn't horrible so I'm not complaining and my back feels better.

Yesterday we had barbecue chicken sandwiches made with the leftover chicken from a supper last week. Saturday night we had chicken and noodles from the said chicken and so we basically got three meals from one chicken. I don't think that's too bad. I still have some chicken broth leftover and I used part of it for the turkey tenderloins I'm fixing tonight. Tomorrow night I'm doing some chicken recipe in the crockpot with potatoes and will use the remainder of the chicken broth. I would say I most certainly got my money's worth out of a chicken bought on sale for $4.31. Truly a winner, winner, chicken dinner.


When there was a scare that we might not get our August pension checks on time, I didn't put as much money into a couple of savings accounts because I didn't want the checking account to be short. Well, since there is now a state budget, that scare is over. We went to the credit union and put the rest of the money into the savings accounts.

I have one pillowcase finished that I was embroidering. I chose colors that friend likes since that is who I plan to give them to for Christmas.

Friday is the day we usually make a day of it. We eat lunch out and go to thrift shops and garage sales. I have been trying not to buy anything at the thrift shops for awhile since I really don't need anything. But, I succumbed at two of them. I bought two jelly jars with rings for 55 cents and at another one I bought some metal Christmas ornament hooks in a sealed package and a ceramic mini loaf pan for 53 cents. I bake sweet breads and give them away at Christmas. Last year I found enough of these ceramic loaf pans to give quite a few of them away and although I'm sure people would be OK with foil pans, I just think it makes it look nicer. I refuse to pay retail for these and most of the ones I pick up at thrift stores still have the price stickers on them. I originally had picked up a couple of greeting cards, but put them back trying to use up what I have at home before purchasing any more cards or stationery. Oh, at another place I bought 4 packs of brand new pencils for $1.32. I give them to a teacher friend since he can't keep pencils and the kids don't seem to think they need to bring them after they bring a few at the beginning of the year. I didn't spend a lot, but I can't claim I'm Uber Frugal either. Darn it.

I went to the knitting group yesterday at church. We are closing in on having almost 500 knitted hats so far. One of the ladies brought zucchini to give away so I brought one of them home and can I say I was delighted. I know there's the joke about neighbors leaving zucchini on doorsteps, but we never seem to have that problem. Wish we did. We like zucchini and if we can't eat it all before it goes bad, I shred it and put it in the freezer to bake with bananas for sweet bread.

Holy Cow, it's hot. And humid. The weather forecaster says if we get to 94 it will be a record. Whatever it is, it is hot enough for me. I'm not a fan of extreme anything and heat makes it so hard for me to breathe.

It has been a NSD so far. Hopefully it will remain that way. I have been doing some housecleaning. That silly maid never ever shows up. I wound up washing some walls and dusting and mopping. I would like to do some laundry, but I don't want to tax the electrical system any more than I have to with the heat and humidity. I'm just happy we have a/c. I grew up without it and believe me, what a lovely thing to have.

Yesterday I fixed a chicken in the Crockpot. We had a delightful meal with it and I have enough for some other meals. Tonight is leftover pork roast. I was going to bake sweet potatoes, but I think I'm going to peel and boil them instead and then mash them because I would prefer not heating the oven. I don't care for them microwaved.

A friend was telling me how he didn't like leftovers. Heck, so many of our meals are made up leftovers. I can't imagine not using them. It is difficult to just make enough for one meal. My chicken that I fixed yesterday was caught on sale and I got it out of the freezer. It was a decent sized one and cost $4.31. Between the meat and all the broth, it will provide more than a couple of meals. I freeze the extra broth so I have it when I fix noodles or make soup. I use some vegetables, garlic, herbs, and a few spices when I cook it so the broth and chicken are well seasoned.

We are starting to get some tomatoes. Yesterday we had a salad with DH's lettuce, onions, pepper, and tomatoes. I just love getting fresh stuff.

Hope you are staying comfortable.

July in the Midwest is usually very hot and very humid. Today is no exception to this. Our a/c has run more than I wish and we did turn it up a little so it wouldn't run as much.

I had planned to grill turkey tenderloins for supper tonight, but to be honest, the idea of standing over a hot charcoal grill doesn't sound like fun. I don't handle heat well. So, I brought out the countertop convention oven I purchased a number of years ago. I actually bought it when I was teaching and would use it with my classes to bake stuff. I store it on when I'm not using it because it is pretty large, but I use it a lot during the summer when I want to bake something so I don't heat up the house. My plan is to get two meals out of the turkey tenderloins we bought at Aldi. I try to get more than one meal out of the meat we buy, not only for saving money, but also for health reasons. I went out and picked onions and used a larger one to cook with the turkey and vegetables and then we will have the smaller ones for the table to eat with salt. I had to buy radishes, but we like eating them with our meal too and I figure you can't eat too many root vegetables.

No big plans for the Fourth. I know this makes me sound like a little old lady, but it just isn't worth it to us to fight crowds and traffic to go sit on a blanket and wait for some fireworks that in the past haven't been all that terrific. We watch the Fourth of July program on PBS. So much crime has happened in our town lately, even during broad daylight; that is another reason we choose not to go out after dark, although some shootings have happened during the day. My mom used to have a police scanner and she would say the news didn't tell half of what really went on.

Hope you have a good Fourth. Other than paying bills that were already budgeted for, it has been a NSD for me. I have worked around here and enjoyed the afternoon with a book from the library.

Every year we take our change into the credit union. We are fortunate that they have a change counter, but you have to have an account there for them to use it. This year we had $162.49 in change. DH uses cash for just about everything so he has far more change than I do. I use some cash, but often I'm paying for things like groceries or stuff at the home improvement store so I use the credit card. If I find change I put it in our trusty pickle jar. I was cleaning the other day and moved a chest and found a penny so you know where it wound up. We would have had more change, except we used quite a bit of quarters in January when we went to Tybee Island - Savannah. You pay for parking everywhere and according to the locals, the meters are strictly enforced. We also did laundry there since we were there almost two weeks. We put the money in our Christmas Club Account from our change jar. This gave us over $900 in our Christmas Club account.

Speaking of Christmas, I'm happy to report I've bought two gifts this week. Yay, me! LOL I have also made a few gifts so far. Plus I bought a gift in January too when we were on Tybee Island.

The knitting group I belong to at church has over 300 hats made so far. Most of us are making hats outside of the 4 hours a month we meet. Our intention is to give them to classrooms in high poverty schools in our area.

I used to enjoy doing crafts like crocheting, embroidery, cross stitch, etc. Then for awhile between work and my hands going numb, I gave it all up, even after having surgery on each hand. I started crocheting again a couple of summers ago -- I made star ornaments out of crochet thread for every staff member at my school for Christmas. Our mascot was the Super Stars so I thought it was appropriate. I discovered if I didn't overdo, my hands didn't hurt. So, I again have found the pleasure in crocheting and now knitting on the round loom. My goal for this Christmas is to crochet a small ornament to put in our Christmas cards. I do one or two here and there, but I have a ways to go. We send out a lot of cards. I thought it would be something nice anyway and keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

I found a brand new package of pillowcases at our church's rummage sale. These are the kind you embroider upon. I'm looking forward to working on these. I know they aren't popular, but for $3 and my work, they will do. Some of those sites on the Internet talk about how out of style Baby Boomers are. Guess I fit that bill. Who needs to be in style anyway?

Do you read those messages on your receipts from some of the stores that tell you how much you saved by shopping there?

Our public library is now putting that on the bottom of the checkout slips. Last week I checked out some magazines and some books and at the bottom it told me: "You just saved $89.89 by using your library. You have saved $513.71 since April 14, 2017."

Pretty cool!

It's Sunday afternoon. The outside temp is hot and it's windy. Glad we have air conditioning and can afford to run it.

I've paid bills and updated a few things. I'm getting ready to enjoy a book for part of the afternoon. I know I certainly get my money's worth from the public library. DH has watered some of his vegetables that are in pots that have dried out so quickly. I picked a little lettuce and washed it and put it in the chill chest for tonight's cold supper of sandwiches.

I was doing a little research the other night. I'm not dedicated enough to actually buy a subscription so I just search for stuff that I can find that is free. Just for kicks I typed in the name of a great uncle who died in World War I. I knew very little about him other than his name and that he died in the war. Well, I discovered that he is buried in a cemetery in Iraq and that he fought for England. I knew the family had come to America in 1902, but didn't realize he was in the English military. I also didn't know there was a cemetery in Iraq for casualties of World War I and World War II. Unfortunately the cemetery isn't in very good shape due to folks looting and tearing it up. That's unfortunate, but it isn't limited to Iraq. Why people feel the need to desecrate cemeteries is beyond me.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I hear that book calling!

It's Sunday afternoon. The outside temp is hot and it's windy. Glad we have air conditioning and can afford to run it.

I've paid bills and updated a few things. I'm getting ready to enjoy a book for part of the afternoon. I know I certainly get my money's worth from the public library. DH has watered some of his vegetables that are in pots that have dried out so quickly. I picked a little lettuce and washed it and put it in the chill chest for tonight's cold supper of sandwiches.

I was doing a little research the other night. I'm not dedicated enough to actually buy a subscription so I just search for stuff that I can find that is free. Just for kicks I typed in the name of a great uncle who died in World War I. I knew very little about him other than his name and that he died in the war. Well, I discovered that he is buried in a cemetery in Iraq and that he fought for England. I knew the family had come to America in 1902, but didn't realize he was in the English military. I also didn't know there was a cemetery in Iraq for casualties of World War I and World War II. Unfortunately the cemetery isn't in very good shape due to folks looting and tearing it up. That's unfortunate, but it isn't limited to Iraq. Why people feel the need to desecrate cemeteries is beyond me.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I hear that book calling!

I'm not as good as some of you about getting snowflakes, but I did get $2 for filling out a survey on television watching. I discovered we are creatures of habit and kind of boring as well.

I'm expecting a rebate from Miracle Gro -- there was a $2 rebate on each bag up to $20 and I sent it in for the soil we bought. It was also on sale. We actually bought more than that, so I saved the extra receipt and gave it to a friend with the rebate form and suggested she put the money in her granddaughter's savings or college fund. It was for $12 more. She offered to just give me the money back, but I thought the granddaughter could use it -- she is 3 and her folks are savers too.

I don't know why, but usually in May and June we tend to spend. A lot. Part of it when certain bills fall. Part of it is we just tend to spend. It's not like we don't have the money, we do, but sometimes it just hurts to part with the money. I hope that doesn't sound too weird.

One expenditure was not totally unexpected. I knew it was coming. We have a water softener. We've had one in this house for 19 years. Our water is incredibly hard. We put the one in 19 years ago and it has started to really go bad. The guy came to look at it to see if is was fixable and he said because of the age and the mechanism that handles how the salt is distributed, it wouldn't be worth fixing. So, alas, we put out the cash for a new one. Hope we get 19 years out of this one.

We are still purchasing materials for the bathroom remodel. I ordered a light yesterday. Our local Lowe's didn't have it nor did any other places around here. I looked it up on Amazon and they had it and then I thought maybe i should look at Lowes.com. They had it and it was $10 cheaper. It's my $10, so I ordered it from them. I wish I could have gotten it delivered to our Lowe's, but that wasn't available.

We have been watching a couch at a local furniture store. There was one I really wanted. It went on sale, but it still seemed to be more than what we wanted to spend. They were having a floor sample sale this weekend and we went in and he originally said the same sale price as before and i told him we were in here before and thought it was too much. He came down more so we bought it. The one we have is a sad one. We've had it for a number of years and it has two recliners. Well, the middle cushion isn't a recliner and it has sagged. Then the bonded leather started peeling away. I don't know why because we aren't hard on furniture. I had it covered up with a throw as much as I could, but the area is getting bigger.

We had a little scare last week too. A few months ago we bought a new car and traded in a car. When we went to transfer insurance, we thought it was all taken care of. We get the premium notice on what should be the new car (we paid the premium on the car we kept, or so we thought.) Anyway, seems they cancelled the policy on the car we kept and kept it on the one we traded in. I have been driving without insurance for almost two months. I was just nauseous thinking about that and all the things that could happen. We went in and got it straightened out last Monday morning, but they kept telling us they had it fixed to begin with. There's a reason I don't trust folks. Anyway, as soon as they send the premium notice, we will pay that as well.

We have visited with two different couples and they ask us what we are up to. I guess we are boring because other than volunteering and living day to day, we haven't done anything spectacular. One couple has to tell us about all the places they have been running to and shopping they have done. The other couple was telling us about the trip they are going to go on to the ton of many thousands of dollars. Funny thing about both couples, neither one has the money to do any of this. It is either put on credit cards or using loans. I will admit, after hearing about the grandiose trip, we kind of wondered what we were missing out on for a bit. Then we realized we really don't like to do lots of major traveling nor do we want to spend the money on a trip right now. We had a minor pity party and then realized we are happy with our lives at this point and we really aren't missing out on stuff. I think we forget that people like to brag about this and that to make themselves feel important. I'd much rather lead the boring life we lead, save money and have it when we have spend times. Then when we do something out of the ordinary, it remains special.