Last night we had our "Gone with the Wind" dinner. We had planned for it to be earlier, but life gets in the way. We had a delightful time and the food was great. Our final menu was:

fried chicken
mashed potatoes with pan gravy
green beans
fried cabbage
cornbread
blackberry cobbler
sweet potato pie

I looked up some trivia and we had a lot of laughs over some of these isolated facts such as there were 1400 actresses who auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara.

One of the things that was brought up was how fun it was to host these dinners and how having everyone bring something meant the host didn't have to spend all day cooking a full meal, but just the main entree. It certainly is more reasonable than going out to eat, that's for sure.


We did our first hat drop off to one of our schools. I invited the local weather man from the TV station and he came with us and talked to some of the kids about the importance of wearing hats and gloves in bad weather. I took some photos of him with the classes and he showed them on his weather segment that night. I was pretty elated after we left and one of the teachers sent me a photo of the kids with the hats. We have two more schools to take hats to. One is tomorrow and the other is in a week. We also want to give hats and scarves to a woman's shelter as well as veterans.

With the colder weather, we tend to have more soup. We usually eat out on Friday nights as our date night. Guess we didn't date the past two -- I pulled soup out of the freezer two weeks ago and made soup this week. There's enough soup from Friday's batch to have at least one more meal. With DH's eye surgery and the fact it gets darker so quickly, he was happy to stay home. I don't mind either. There are only a few places we will even frequent because some of the restaurants in our town have had bad reviews from the local health department. And it isn't just once...some make the same mistakes over and over and they are major. I had food poisoning from a restaurant a number of years ago and I never want to repeat that experience.

It's a windy, rainy day here in Central Illinois. A perfect tea drinking day in fact. I like these kind of days as long as there is no storms and no flooding. I think they make me appreciate the really nice days. I have a beef roast in the Crockpot with potatoes and carrots and it is an especially good day for such a meal.

Life has been busy. DH had cataract surgery on Tuesday on his right eye. It's been an adventure since he has worn glasses for over 67 years and seeing distance has been so bad, that he could barely read the alarm clock next to his head. He could read it the next day standing 4 foot away. He cannot read close up and the eye doctor doesn't want him to wear his glasses so his left eye is still weak and he struggles with that. He has surgery scheduled in less than three weeks for it and I imagine he will wind up getting reading glasses, but wow, what a miracle this surgery is.

A couple of weeks ago I made some apple sauce and some apple peel jelly. Usually when I try a new recipe, I always follow the recipe exactly. I just thought it would be fun to try something that you make from something you would not use anyway. Anyway, I gave a jar of it to a friend as well as a jar of apple juice. He criticized the jelly because it wasn't rock solid. Well, it isn't. If I make it again, I will include more pectin. But, it is still usable and I have been eating some one my toast. It really hurt my feelings that he had to find fault. DH said not to give him anything else.

We had our last meeting of the knitting group at church before we start giving away hats. Our totals are as follows for 2019:

Hats: 1731

Scarves 157

Baby hats: 137

Not a bad total for a small group! We have three schools we are "adopting" and will give the schools enough hats for all the students plus some extras, and a few of the scarves. One of our church members purchases gloves that we include so each child will get a set of gloves. We have also given some hats to the Cancer Care Center. We plan to give two teachers who go to our church enough hats for their classrooms as well as hats, gloves, and scarves for our church's preschool. Another Lutheran Church is making Christmas baskets with food, and we will be sharing hats with them to include. We have a homeless shelter for women and their children in our town and we will be giving them a bunch of hats and scarves, and then the remainder will be going to a case manager at Lutheran Child and Family Services for Christmas. What a wonderful project that started 3 years ago with about 4 people. We have around 11-12 who come to our bimonthly meetings and it has been such a blessing that we have had people donate money or yarn to help us out.

So there is a mixture of what's going on in my life. Between eye drops for my husband and getting some things done around here, I've stayed occupied.

This morning I was just nosing around Pinterest. I am having to take a break from knitting and crocheting. I was crocheting last night and my fingers started to hurt and then later my shoulder was sore which is my body's way of telling me I've overdone it. Usually if I take it easy for a day or so and don't knit or crochet, I'm OK.

Anyway, I was looking at Pinterest because I had already read all the current blogs and saw a small recipe for Lavender Jelly. We just happen to have some lavender plants that DH hasn't gotten rid of yet (they are in pots) and I asked him if he minded if I cut off the blooms to make some jelly. He said no, he was going to get rid of the plants anyway. I had used some earlier to make all purpose cleaner with vinegar and Dawn so he's used to me using stuff.

Anyway, I have four small jars of jelly. Hope it turns out. It didn't seem like an overwhelming activity and I had the jars, sugar, pectin, and lemon juice.

Today was an expensive day. We replaced the tires on my car. Ouch. But, they needed it. The car is paid for and a couple of months ago we had some big bills, and now the tires, but far better than a pricey car payment every month. I had hoped to wait a couple more months, but the forecasters are thinking we might have a bad winter so I decided to spend the money anyway just to be safe. Plus, DH is going to have cataract surgery in the next few weeks and in between the surgery and post op appointments, I may find it hard to get in and get new tires.

Also had to pick up a prescription. It is asthma medicine and this is one of the worst times of the year for me. Sadly, when I called in for the refill, they didn't have it and had to order it and I guess because it was near the weekend, it took longer to get. Good thing I don't wait until I'm out to refill.

Other than that, I spent the morning canning. I think I'm done for this year except I may make some jam later on closer to Christmas. I refuse to buy any more jars so I'm using what I have. I tried something different this time -- I was making and canning applesauce and I saw on Pinterest a recipe for apple scrap jelly. What it is is basically taking the apple peels and cooking them with water, then running the juice through cheese cloth, and adding pectin and sugar. It has a pinkish tint to it. I followed the recipe, but I don't think it called for enough pectin because it seems fairly runny, but oh, well. It tastes good. Just a good way to use up something and I like trying new stuff.

I talked with our financial advisor about something and told him about my canning. He's such a nice man and has been a friend as well as advisor. When I finished canning and came back from getting new tires, I dropped off a pint of spaghetti sauce, a half pint of the apple scrap jelly, and a quart of apple juice. You would have thought I had given him gold or something. He kept thanking me and said he knew the jars really contained love. It is nice to be appreciated.

We have a new weatherman for our local station and I think he believes he is entertaining. I do not need to be entertained when watching the weather...I want the forecast basically, but he likes to think he's clever. Well, Mr. Clever kept saying we were not going to have a frost Friday night. DH happened to go outside Friday evening and came in and said he believed it would frost. So, here we are out with a flash light so he can pick bell peppers and Rosemary in case it did frost. I picked a few tomatoes that were starting to ripen just in case. Fortunately we had picked a majority of the herbs earlier that we wanted to dry.

Well, it did frost. It wasn't a killing freeze, but some of the herbs got it as well as some of the other plants and flowers. DH normally pulls up stuff when they predict a frost because he doesn't like dealing with the plants that get kind of soft and slimy after. That stupid weatherman was wrong and he assured us in the viewing area we would not have a frost. Glad DH was smart enough to go check.

We did go to an outdoor market yesterday that is about an hour and half away from us. It is in Morris, Illinois, along the Illinois-Michigan Canal. We also like to visit the downtown of Morris and go through the shops. It wasn't a huge spend day. We bought an acorn squash from the Morris FFA for $1 and some cinnamon rolls for our breakfast this morning as well as a cupcake from the local bakery to enjoy there. I had taken a Thermos of hot tea with us since it was a bit chilly and that was a nice treat. It was basically just a trip to get us out and about. I liked looking at the booths. I noticed that some had some knitting and crocheted items and I like looking at them.

When we came home I took some vegetable soup that I had in the freezer and heated that up for our supper and made herb cheesy biscuits. Not a super big spend day and we had a nice time.

I noticed that someone had posted that Christmas is 74 days away as of yesterday. I'm already thinking about all the cookies I need to bake for our church bazaar the first Saturday in December. Yikes! Most of my Christmas shopping is finished. DH picked out some clothes from Lands End that he wanted and they sent an email with a huge percentage off just that day so I took advantage of it.

DH will probably be pulling up the rest of the plants this afternoon. It supposed to warm up later this week, but you never know when the frost will be, especially with this weather man!

We took some things to one of the thrift stores to donate. DH had some lighthouse lamps that have been sitting on a closet shelf and never seemed to remember to get them out, but he did yesterday. He collects lighthouse stuff, but he never really liked the lamps -- they were gifts -- and he felt like that was a good thing to give away because they still worked. Maybe someone else can enjoy them.

We also had some other things to donate and it is easier to give a few things at a time...sadly the place we take them you have to climb up steps to take donations so it is a pain. Most of the volunteers are older than I am, so I don't feel like I should ask them to help either. So, doing it more often with less stuff each time seems to be the answer.

We went to our usual round of thrift stores on this cool, windy, rainy day. Did not find a thing we needed or wanted, but had a nice time looking. Of course when we donate, it makes me think how little we really need.

Yesterday I canned some applesauce and apple juice. Over the past couple of years I had given a friend some jelly and jam and had repeatedly asked that he return my jars and rings. I don't think that's much to ask -- just return them when he was done. Well, he didn't. Then he hinted he wanted more jelly. I made a comment that canning isn't free and besides paying for the stuff like fruit, sugar, petting, jars, lids, and rings cost money too. So, he made a big deal by going and buying some new jars. He bought a package of 6 and gave me three. I know this will sound like a snob, but they are not name brand. I've tried using generic jars and have not had good luck with them. I'm almost afraid to use them. I canned a jar of apple juice to see how it would work. They do not feel as heavy as my Ball or Kerr jars so I don't think I would want to use them more than once.

In other news, my knitting group at church met yesterday. We have over 1600 hats made. We are going to meet again in two weeks and that will determine our total for 2019. We will start in November knitting for 2020. We have chosen three schools, a preschool, the cancer care center, two classrooms of folks who attend our church, and a homeless shelter to receive our hats and scarves and we have a donor who buys gloves to go with the hats and scarves. I've contacted the three schools and have arranged dates to drop off the hats and show the kids the looms we use to knit. I know that is the teacher in me -- I think it never hurts to who kids how things are made.

First, I want to thank everyone who responded about my last entry. I appreciate the support. I guess I'm sensitive, but it really bothers me when someone posts hurtful comments. One thing I wonder is, does this person or persons realize that those of us who wrote the blog can see their email? And if so, do they know you can research who they are by the email? Anyway, I appreciate the support of those of you who kindly responded.

It was an expensive week last week. My headlight went out and knowing how car places work, we made an appointment to get it replaced. I guess with modern cars, you almost have to take the darn thing apart to get to the headlight. It was high density and the cost was $455 for the very expensive bulb and the hour and a half it took to replace it. Yikes! We had the money in savings so that wasn't the case, but it sure is hard to part with it. A friend teased me I could have just opened the car window and used a flashlight. Now, that would have been a sight, and I'm sure the police would not have found that a bit amusing.

Also in the expenses was the home care insurance policy for DH. Fortunately we have not had to use it, but It seems the spring is fraught with lots of insurance since we have homeowner's, home care, flood, and then both car insurances coming due. Again, we have the money, but it is tough seeing it go out at such a fast pace.

We did get our taxes done. We didn't have to pay either the feds or the state, but not sure about next year. I say this every year, but I honestly feel like if you live below your means and you save and are honest, the tax laws really zing you.

One thing that wasn't as expensive was groceries. We bought some fresh fruit and vegetables and some milk, but we ate from the freezer and pantry which helped a lot. We tend to have a couple of weeks of large grocery bills and then a couple of weeks of cheaper ones. I like it when Kroger has a buy one get one free when it comes to meat because I take advantage of it and then freeze one for later consumption. Guess it evens out. Tonight I'm going to use some chicken and I'm going to trim it and use it and some chicken I have in the freezer that I did the same with and make some chicken broth. I like keeping it on hand to make chicken and noodles as well as soups.

DH and I continue to make good use of the library. I have read 24 books so far in 2019. According to the library receipt, I have "saved" $855.27 by using the library. It looks good at least. I know we get our tax money's worth out of the library anyway.

It looks like spring is finally coming here in Central Illinois. It has been a harsh winter. DH spent part of the weekend working in the yard cutting back stuff that he didn't get to in the fall. He said all the garlic he planted is starting to come up and some of the herbs that come back each year are showing they want to come back. Yay! I'm ready for homegrown stuff. I know we have enjoyed using the stuff I canned this winter.

Hope you have a delightful week and can find some economical ways in your days!

It snowed this morning. Again. OK, I know it is winter, but I'm tired of it. We had been told by the weather forecasters rain with a chance of dusting snow. Well an inch later of snow, and it was slick because the city crews have not been out.

Oh, well. We came out of church and our vehicles were covered. I brushed snow off of our car and then did a couple others for some of the older members. Two ushers said they would get the cars for anyone who didn't want to walk across the parking lot. I think when these things happen, the goodness of people shine through.

Seems like on the money front a lot is going out. We have decided to invest in flood insurance. We don't live in a high flood risk, but with the chance of a possible flood (experts call it a 500 year flood) and homeowners not paying for flood damage, we feel it is better to save the money. We also have a couple other things coming up such as DH's long term care insurance.

I did decide to spend some money on household stuff. I wanted a new cutting board and some new towels and rugs for the bedroom. Kohls had a coupon for so much off, then $10 off if you spent over $50, and everything was on sale. I had a $20 Ibotta refund, and then I also had some money on a gift card from a return I made after Christmas. I looked at the bill...before sale prices and coupons, the total would have been $165.93. After coupons, sale prices, Ibotta credit, and gift card, we paid $31.01 for one cutting board, 2 rugs, and 2 bath towels, one hand towel, and one wash cloth. I know I spent money, but I sure liked saving some as I did it. Hopefully that will be it for spending for awhile.

I pulled some chili out of the freezer for supper. Cold, snowy days make me appreciate chili so much more!

What an interesting week!

Monday I went to Kroger to pick up my prescription. It is the one medicine my insurance doesn't cover and they have the cheapest price. I have a coupon from the manufacturer for money off, but still have to pay over $250 for it. I had to wait a bit so I decided to pick up a couple of things while I waited and holy cow, did things get crazy. I bought my items and took them to the car and came back and in that short bit of time, the parking lot went from calm to crazy. People were circling looking for places. I went back in to get my prescription and while I waited, there were people who would get a card and almost run, throwing things in the cart. Really? Nothing was happening yet weather wise. The Polar Vortex wasn't even on our doorstep yet! Egad!

DH and I did a few errands on Tuesday and came home and stayed there until Thursday. Tuesday night the weather got colder and Wednesday wa the extreme below zero wind chills. Fortunately we did not lose power or have pipes freeze. We were happy to be home and safe and felt sorry for those who had to get out in it.

I've been looming and crocheting trying to use up yarn that I have purchased for the hats and scarves I'm making. DH and I cleaned house on Wednesday so that kept us busy and gave us some exercise too. DH normally goes to the mall to walk, but he didn't want to get out with it being so cold. So, not the same exercise, but better than sitting around.

We have been enjoying our Netflix subscription. I turned to DH last night and said who would have thought 20 years ago we would "stream" movies in our house. I remember thinking the VCR and tapes was pretty darn cool years ago and now you just sit home and the movies come to you.

We did spend some money today. We took our cars to the place where you wash them yourself. We did both cars to get the salt and grime off until the next go round. We also went to a flea market and I found some things to use as Christmas gifts and they were either 50% or 75% off. Last year I collected lots of little items and wrapped them up individually and gave them to a friend so she had 25 gifts to unwrap from December 1st to the 25th. She really liked it so I wanted to do it again this year. I don't want to give her junk just to give her a gift, but things she might use. She likes Curirier and Ives stuff and I found two trivets that were still in the containers. That will be two gifts and she can use them on her table for hot stuff. I found a box of Christmas mugs like new and it was 75% off.

I'm still doing the Ibotta thing and it is slow going, but hey, it is free money. I guess doing most of our grocery shopping at Aldi keeps me from cashing in a lot, but we also don't buy a lot of the things they give you cash for.

We had our weekly date night last night. We had gone to the bank and DH doesn't carry money in his wallet, but all those plastic cards like his license and loyalty cards. I saw he had a Cracker Barrel gift card and I suggested he use that when we ate out. He said he didn't think there was much money on it and I said well, whatever it is, it isn't helping him by staying in his wallet and even if it is 50 cents, that 50 cents. We went there and ate and when he ran it through, there was $4.70 on it. For a $22 meal, that was $4.70 he didn't have to spend out of his pocket.

The other day we were watching one of those daily programs where they have snippets of different things to improve your life and this one gal was talking about organizing your pantry. I always perk up when those things come on because my pantry is overcrowded and I clean it out and try to organize it, but it never looks wonderful. Anyway, this gal was talking about getting these containers and doing this and that and when she showed the pantry, there were like 4 or 5 things on a shelf. Really? Yeah, it looked tidy, but not a whole lot of cooking going on there. That's how she wanted it to look. I'm going to say it out loud, my pantry will not be looking like that.

I saw an article claiming January was the best the DOW had since 1987. I'm not really sure of that, but guess we will see when we get our financial statement.

Awoke this morning to a water main break in our subdivision. As cold as it is, I guess it shouldn't be a shock. We did make it to church, but decided to spend money and eat out since we weren't sure if/when we would get water. We tried a place for breakfast we had never eaten before and it wasn't bad. Not planning on making a habit of it, but it was something different.

We were supposed to get 4-7 inches of snow yesterday and we got a light coat of freezing rain. After last weekend's snow, it was a nice break, but sorry for those who had to be out in the mess south and north of us. We stayed in because we weren't sure how the roads were and we didn't need to get out. Instead of we cleaned house and I pulled some stuff out of the freezer for lunch.

I am trying to use up small amounts of yarn before I start new skeins. There's not enough to a hat or scarf, but I've made a lot of dish cloths as well as small facial tissue holders for one's purse and then two Barbie dresses. My two little friends are going to have quite a wardrobe for their dolls. Maybe I should start playing with my Barbie too. I bought one at a thrift store for 75 cents to use as a model.

I'm not as good as many of you about just eating from the pantry and freezer, but I have been using things from both. I usually keep some soups and chili in the freezer and we used both in the past couple of weeks. I have stuff canned and I've been using some of it as well.

We did have to go to the store, well, maybe "had to" are not the operative words, but we did go to the store and bought some hamburger, beans, and ground turkey. I wanted to make more Italian wedding soup and some chili to restock the freezer. If the last few days have been any indication, I think we are going to have a long, cold winter. We had 9.5 inches of snow over the weekend and then we had freezing drizzle last night and this morning. There's a chance for more snow tomorrow night as well as the weekend. Yesterday we went to the store to get the meat and beans because I thought that would be a good afternoon project today since I had my eyes dilated this morning and watching television or reading bothers my eyes for many hours afterwards. So, I have one huge pot of Italian wedding soup simmering and I'm getting ready to add some pasta. I found the pasta in the clearance section of the store a couple of months ago...29 cents a box. I guess I'm not a pasta snob. Dry pasta is dry pasta and for 29 cents a box, I couldn't turn it down. I bought two boxes and I think we have had at least 5 or 6 meals from those two boxes.

During the summer I canned tomatoes and canned spaghetti sauce and when I ran out of jars, froze some tomato sauce. I also dried herbs that DH grew. Whenever I buy a whole chicken, I always make broth with the carcass so I had chicken broth in the freezer for the soup. I also wanted to use up the onions, celery, mushrooms, and zucchini I had in the fridge and what better way than to use it in soup? I had chopped bell peppers and froze them so I used some of them for the soup too. Probably not the real Italian wedding soup recipe, but DH loves it, so I'm not going to complain.

Tomorrow night will be use up leftovers in the fridge night. I fixed a small pork loin roast last night with carrots and potatoes. Tomorrow night will be the rest of the pork roast and the carrots. I also have some leftover peas that I will heat up and about a serving of green beans. I'm saving the leftover potatoes to cut up with some onions and herbs to serve with scrambled eggs. DH loves eggs so we usually have them on Thursday with cut up vegetables.

Yesterday we received over 9 inches of snow. A neighbor graciously used his new snow blower to clear our driveway. I'm so glad because I was really wondering how that was going to play out. We did get some snow last night and DH and I did manage to clean it off today. I don't want him shoveling much and I am asthmatic so it becomes a worry, but I think we did OK.

Many of the churches cancelled services, but ours didn't. We could get out and go and it was nice after being home yesterday. Not that we had any place to go, but I think sometimes when you can't go somewhere, you just want to go somewhere.

I pulled chili from the freezer for yesterday's lunch and made Italian wedding soup and homemade bread for last night's supper. I will be freezing the rest of the soup for another meal.

Alliecat79 blogged about trying to realize how much stuff was bought. I really understand that because I struggle with this issue, especially when it comes to Mason Jars. I guess I'm an addict. I really like them and in all sizes. I can so I use a lot of them. But I also use them for storage for other things. Friday we went to the thrift stores and there was a brand new case of them, unopened and I am ashamed to admit that temptation was strong. Brand new. Still in the plastic. Jelly Jars with lids and rings. It was only $4.50 which is cheaper than new. But, I'm proud to report other than picking them up to look at them (they were amber and I wasn't sure what color they were), I left them on the shelf. I don't need any more jars and it was silly to even consider buying them.

Besides cooking yesterday, I worked on looming and crocheting. I have bits and pieces of yarn here and there so I made some baby hats to donate to a local agency for preemies, crocheted some dish cloths, and then crocheted a Barbie dress. I also made a regular size hat for my group for church. We have made 252 hats so far for 2019. I have also been making scarves to go along with some of the hats. I won't ever have as many scarves as hats, but it also gives me a break from making hats. I have plenty of yarn, I just hate to waste any of it. So, I don't need to buy any, that's for sure.

I'm supposed to volunteer first thing in the morning at a school, so I'm going to get a pork roast with potatoes and carrots and put it in the Crockpot to put on before I leave. I have an afternoon appointment too so that will make supper easier when I get home. I know many of you are singing the praises of Instant Pots, but I think I'll stick with my Crockpots since I'm retired and really don't have to rush to get supper done.

Tonight another couple is joining us for a casual dinner. I'm making goulash which is basically ground beef, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomato sauce mixed with elbow macaroni. We have garlic bread sticks and a vegetable and they are bringing dessert. It is far cheaper than going out and we enjoy being with each other so it should be a pleasure. She is already planning on what she is going to fix when we go over their house. I like this because we can have a nice time visiting and not spend a lot of money.

Speaking of spending, this weekend was sort of spendy one. It was my birthday. For Christmas we had received a gift certificate for a restaurant so we used that for my birthday dinner. DH gave me some money to buy some clothes so I did do that. I have lost a little weight and have gone down a size or two and some of my clothes are really looking big. I'm still wearing some, but I did buy a couple of things in my new size for when we go to church or I volunteer at school. I was fortunate that we had nice weather -- it was nearly 60 degrees and sunny. In past years we have had cold, cold weather and even a blizzard on my birthday so the weather was certainly a much appreciated gift.

Some of the larger items we donated to a thrift shop. Hopefully I will continue to lose weight and can declutter my closet more.

A couple we know has a trailer in a warm climate and they go there for 3 months. I'm glad for them if that is what they want to do, but his messages are what I call a brag fest -- "it was 77 today and sunny and I wore shorts and a t shirt and this is why we do this." I'm not jealous. I have no desire to have another residence nor do I want to spend extended times away from our home. Financially, they really can't afford it -- they live on loans and credit cards and his favorite hobby is shopping. In the past he has tried to make things a competition and I guess he feels this is also a competition, look what I've got and you don't. At this point, we could probably buy a small trailer outright and go there too, but I don't want to. I like my home, my friends, my church, and my community. I like going to the library and checking out books and visiting with some of the people who work there and catching up. And I most certainly would not do this to brag about what I have.

We are dreading getting our statement on our investments this month. The stock market rock and roll ride last month was crazy. Just hope we didn't lose too much.

I went and bought extra stamps since they are raising the price at the end of January to 55 cents a stamp. I know I'll eventually pay that, but I'm putting it off as long as I can. I did score some greeting cards at thrift stores last week. One place had a package of ten for a dollar. I bought 3 packages. A couple I couldn't use -- you couldn't mix or match. One is a birthday card for a son and I don't have a son. We have a box at church where we can put unused cards and they go to the women's prison here in town for the ladies so I bet someone can use that card and a couple others. I think we spent around $6 on cards, but I have birthday, anniversary, get well, sympathy, and a couple of anniversary cards for the year.

A couple other things I did to keep busy was to cut all the coupons out of the coupon flyers in Sunday's paper. I could use a couple, but most I could not. We collect the coupons and a couple sends them to some place for the military to use, even if they are expired. DH bought a Chicago Tribune last Sunday and they had lots too so I spent quite a bit of time cutting out coupons. Hopefully it can help some military families save some money.

I also cut out used postage stamps. Our ladies group collects them for some mission. I dropped the stamps, cards, and coupons off at church today when we went to fill the oil in the altar candles.

DH wasn't happy yesterday when he picked up some prescriptions. The news had been saying some prescriptions were going to go up and unfortunately some of his did. Not a huge amount for his copay, but it all adds up.

So there it is. A mish mash of activities so far in 2019.

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.

It's funny how the little things tend to mean a lot.

Yesterday, my coffee maker died. I make coffee every morning. I wasn't happy. DH said he would buy me a new one for Christmas and my immediate thought was what I would do between now and then? I guess I'm addicted to my cup of coffee in the morning.

I then remembered that there was a box in the garage with an old coffee maker. My mom who has been gone 12 years, bought this one and used it a few times and then decided she didn't like it. So, she gave it to me and I have had it in the box in the garage ever since thinking I would use it if mine died. So, I got it out, cleaned it up, and made some coffee. Fortunately it works. I'm not one of those with the fancy coffee makers.

It's funny how something as simple as a cup of coffee means so much to me.

Yesterday I took some cranberry walnut bread over to a shut in. She had mentioned last summer it was her favorite bread. I had made some loves for our Christmas bazaar and had mentioned to one of her sons our bazaar had it, but he couldn't be bothered. She had wanted to support our bazaar and I thought he could then give her the bread, but guess not. So, night before last I made her two small loaves and took that over with some fudge. We had a nice visit.

Such little things, but they do mean something.

Looking out in the yard it seems bare. DH has spent the last two afternoons pulling up all the garden plants. It is getting more and more chilly here and there is supposed to be a freeze on Tuesday. We spent Thursday picking anything worth picking since there was a chance of frost then. We lucked out, but it's coming.

My counter was full of bell peppers and tomatoes, either ripe, almost ripe, or green. Last couple of years we have put them all together on the counter and they eventually all ripen. We tried the newspapers in the box, but it didn't work real well or else we didn't check it enough.

We shared some peppers and tomatoes with friends. So, hopefully nothing goes to waste.

It's kind of sad to see everything gone. It was a good gardening year overall and we ate very well. Guess we'll have to look forward to next year.

Here in Central Illinois it has been way above average as far as temperatures. Hot and muggy in fact.

But that is supposed to change starting tomorrow with highs in the 50s and some lows in the upper 30s. DH has been starting to pull up garden plants. Yesterday I asked him to pick all the remaining red bell peppers and I washed and chopped them and put them in a freezer bag to use throughout the winter in soups and casseroles.

I have been working on drying herbs. All that was left was Thyme and we did that yesterday. I used to dry them in the microwave, but now I just have them sit in the sun room. It takes longer, but I think the flavor is better.

It's funny listening to people. We truly are never happy, are we? When spring was coming we could hardly wait until the heat came. Now we are wanting fall temperatures. One of my friends keeps wanting snow and a lot of it. I hope she gets a little for her own sake, but I am not enamored with it. It is funny how in movies and TV how when it starts snowing people get all misty eyed and wondrous. They never show the shoveling and slick streets, but I digress.

Fall may be coming. At least i have my canning and preserving completed.

It certainly hasn't been a thrifty week.

However, the spending was planned. Tuesday was Senior's Day at Walgreens. I was waiting to buy different things that we use like allergy medicine to get the 20% off. I also used coupons. So between the regular priced stuff that was 20% off, and the stuff on sale that I don't get 20% off, and the digital and paper coupons, I saved over $80 and spent over $200. I hate to see that big number, but the stuff is what we use each month so I would have bought it anyway.

DH's car insurance was due and once he turned 70, the premiums really went up. But, at least we had the money to pay for it.

A couple of months back I bought some material at an estate sale. The downsizing sale was at the home of a quilter and she bought premium material. I pulled some of it out yesterday and made some napkins and two potholders. I can't even describe the beauty of working with good material. I also cannot understand why people don't hit up thrift stores and estate sales for material...far cheaper than buying retail. I've found so many craft items that way. Granted, I could afford to buy them retail, but DH says I like the thrill of the hunt, and I think he's right.

For Christmas last year I asked him to get me the cheapie Singer that was on sale for $69. I'm not an excellent seamstress, but I can sew a little. I have used it so much and have enjoyed using it. My friend is an excellent seamstress and her machine cost way more than $1000. She can afford it and I'm sure it gives her great pleasure.

Today is Thursday and is grocery shopping day. Last night was clean out the fridge supper. Last week I think I spent less than $30 on groceries total. We didn't need much and I was just buying stuff we use each week like bread, milk, fruit, and chicken. I made a couple of meals from the chicken and lots of broth besides. I used up stuff we had in the freezer and we had a couple of meatless meals too. Today's shopping isn't going to be horrible, except we are buying some extra stuff for the church's food pantry.

It has been pretty warm and humid here in Central Illinois. Yesterday it was around 90. Today it is supposed to be in the 70s before it goes back up. It should give the a/c a break for a day, anyway.

I'm not talking about the Glenn Miller piece either!

It's funny how so many things revolve around how we feel about something. I know I have really been in the mood to can and fill up the pantry with home canned items as well as things that are on sale. I know by the middle of the summer when stuff starts coming on, I really am in the mood for canning.

I have also been working on Christmas gifts. I like to have them finished before Christmas. I'm not a person who handles working under a deadline that is stressful. I've finished all mine and I'm making some for a friend for her stocking stuffers.

DH is starting to clean up the yard and garden for winter. He surprised me today by cleaning the siding and the windows. He normally doesn't notice stuff like that, but he did. I do think "moods" truly effect many of our actions.

Tomorrow is garbage collection day and I've already planned on decluttering some things that cannot be recycled or reused. I'm in the mood for a tidier spot, that's for sure.

So, what motivates you?

September is half over, and I continue to stay busy.

I feel really blessed to be retired. It enables me to have time to do a lot of things I wouldn't have had time to do.

We are still getting some tomatoes and bell peppers. I made and canned some more spaghetti sauce. I had given some to a friend for her pantry earlier.

Last year when I was making hats for our church group, I had leftover yarn that there wasn't enough to make another hat from, so I crocheted dish cloths. I have donated them to our church rummage sale. I know this may sound petty, but it kind of hurt my feelings when they only put a quarter each on them. I don't think they are worth tons, but at least 50 cents. But a quarter? The local thrift stores sell smaller ones that are just a mish mash of colors for $1 and I at least try to make mine pretty. Well, I decided this year I'm just going to make them for friends. That way I don't get my feelings hurt. I asked a couple of friends who like them if they would like some for stocking stuffers and they were grateful. So, I feel like I'm using up the yarn and it still does some good.

I have a bunch of rubber stamps. I decided to get them out and start using them again. I bought a blank ink pad and then stamped a design and then colored it with colored pencils. I can say I don't care for the stamp pad. It didn't really ink the stamp very well. Anyone have some suggestions?

We did spend some money, but hopefully it will benefit us in the long run. We paid a guy who does guttering to replace our downspouts with larger ones and to put gutter guards to hopefully keep leaves and debris out of the gutters. We had the money saved so it wasn't a debt inducing project. I called a company to come out and give us a quote on mending the ceiling in the family room where we had a leak a couple of months ago. They will have to patch it. We have popcorn ceilings and there is a small hole so it just isn't painting.

After a few weeks of extreme heat and then a couple of days of rainy weather, we have gotten a nice break of lovely weather. It is around normal temps 70s and the sun is out.

It was nice to see so many of the neighbors out working in their yards yesterday due to the incredible weather.

DH mowed after he picked up sticks and branches. We had some rain and some wind a couple of days before. I started cutting herbs to wash and dry them. It takes awhile to let them air dry, but I'm in no rush. It's nice having them to use all winter too.

I know some folks are not anticipating good weather with Florence. Hope you all stay safe.

I've concluded I'm a grocery market snob.

I'm not saying that I only shop fancy stores. Hardly. Aldi is my number one store and Kroger is number 2 with Dollar General and an Amish bulk food store filling in for different things. Plus DH raises tomatoes, lettuce, onions, bell peppers, and herbs.

Actually, I think I'm just a food snob.

A couple of years ago DH and I went to Dollar General to buy some cleaning supplies and we are standing in line with my fistful of coupons behind two women who each have a cart full of 2 liter soda pop. They pull out their SNAP cards to pay for them. All I could think was what a waste of money and nutrition.

Don't get me wrong. I am not totally against drinking soda. My dad worked as a warehouseman for Coca-Cola for 22 years. Of course, when I was growing up, having a bottle of pop was a luxury, not something you did all the time. Back then you had either a 6 ounce real glass bottle or a 6 1/2 ounce bottle and you paid a deposit on the bottle. It was made with real sugar. Granted, it still wasn't the healthiest, but one wasn't slurping down 32 ounces at a sitting. I've noticed in the store that there are small cans coming about and I wonder if it is because people are realizing that huge bottles and glasses aren't the best. At our local gas stations they have something called "Polar Pop" and I asked someone what the draw was and they said it was because it was cheap and you got a lot. I guess it is a huge styrofoam cup with your choice of soft drink. I can admit I've never bought one. I drink mostly three things: coffee, tea, and water.

As for the snob part, there are certain teas I really like. We found a cinnamon tea with citrus added that makes a wonderful iced tea that tastes a bit sweetened without sugar. Yesterday I brewed 5 quarts of it to have in the fridge to enjoy with our lunches.

I also look at what people buy in their carts at the grocery store. One person I know brags about only shopping once a month. I was wondering how that could be until I saw her cart. Cases of beef stew, pork and beans, and bags, and bags of chips and cases of soda pop. Not a canned or frozen or fresh vegetable in the mix. I guess it is more reasonable to buy all this, but I just can't imagine it is very healthy.

I've been reading more and more about eating a mostly vegetable diet and all the benefits it can provide. I'm not sure DH and I are ready to fully embrace that, but we do have a few meals (besides breakfast) that are meat free. Although I cringe when I have to buy fresh produce at the store, but think it is cheaper in the long run if it helps us keep healthy.

So sadly, I have to admit that I do sort of think I'm a snob when I see someone who only has junk in their basket. I'm not talking about the one or two item folks who just run in to get something to fill in. I'm talking about the basket full folks who have all processed foods and very few nutritious choices. I'm not talking the poor who fill up on starches. I get that. I'm seeing people who make a good wage. I just wonder if they are doing the best for themselves when do buy the cheap stuff.

So, I'm a grocery market snob. Hopefully a healthy one!

We have stayed busy.

On Saturday we took a bus trip to a city about two hours away to go through thrift stores. We visited 7 shops. Four were actual thrift stores and 3 were consignment shops/antique malls. But it was a fun day. The trip also included a box lunch and it was really good. There was a choice of turkey and cheese, chicken salad, or ham and cheese on a croissant, and then pasta salad, a bag of chips, fruit salad, brownie, and a small peppermint. The lady who runs the travel agency also provides water for us as well throughout the trip.

DH and I did find a few things, but we were not the big spenders on the trip. I think we spent less than $20 total on our purchases, but it was fun to look around. We were on a different bus than what the travel agency normally uses. Sadly, the bus company she had been utilizing suddenly shuttered after 75 years. Two years ago the owner sold the company and the investment group that bought it ran it into bankruptcy. I just hope this doesn't make this travel agency owner also have financial problems because she had paid for many of the trips in advance.

The funny thing about the trip was the fact we were on a bus, but these folks shopped. At the end of the day, there was a church pew, a rocking chair, a couch (yes, a big couch), an end table, a floor lamp, and a child's ride on motorcycle toy under the bus besides all the boxes and bags. At the last stop, the antique mall folks said they would stay open past their closing time and they had bags of popcorn, cookies, and water for us. Pretty nice gesture, for sure!

Yesterday we had church and after we came home and had brunch, DH watered his garden and then picked tomatoes. Finally we are starting to get more tomatoes. He also picked bell peppers. I used a bunch of the tomatoes and peppers to make a spaghetti sauce. I canned that today and realized 2 quarts and a pint of it.

Our knitting group met last week and we are up to 895 hats. Our goal if 1000 seems attainable. We have had some problems though with people bringing donations of yarn. I am trying to think positive, and hope they are just being nice, but three of the last four donations of yarn were really nasty. One smelled of mildew and the yarn was filthy. Another smelled of smoke. The last one just smelled and the white yarn had yellowed. You would hope people would realize no one would want to work with the yarn in this condition and hopefully they didn't use this as a means to dispose of it. I would hope not. But, yuck.

It's really hot and humid here in Central Illinois. Many of our schools had early dismissal today and plan to do the same tomorrow. I no longer work in those schools, but I'm glad for the students and the staff because I remember how miserable it was working in those conditions.

Last week seemed like a spendy week and this one, well more of the same. We did find out where our leak came from and fortunately it wasn't the roof, but a PVC pipe in the attic. It has been fixed, but we now have to repair the ceiling. We have that popcorn ceiling all over the house and there are a few areas where the nails have come through in other rooms so we figured we might as well have the person give us a bid on fixing the family room ceiling and those little areas. We do not want to go through the trouble and expense of having it all scraped off. Personally, I can live with the popcorn ceiling, although all the HGTV folks would probably have a fit. Guess I'm showing my age -- it doesn't bother me that much and why pay to have it all taken down?

I have had my ongoing struggle with our normal plumbing company. A couple of years ago we wanted the water spigot moved. For whatever reason, the builder had it inside the garage. So, if you wanted to use the hose or water something, you had to either squeeze between the wall and the car to get to it or move the car. I asked a plumber, he said he could do it for less than $300 and I said fine, when? He said he would call me. Four months went by and in between I called and asked again and was told he would call me. He didn't. Long story short, a friend of his mom's told the mom and finally it was done. A week ago Friday I had called and said I had two jobs in the same bathroom and would they please come out next week. I was told they would call us. I hate that. Why not say, such and such day either morning or afternoon? Well, this Friday I called a different plumber and the guy offered to try and work us in that day and I said no, Monday would be fine. So hopefully the new plumber will show up and do what we need done. We have a small leak in our toilet and we need something fixed on our shower. I just want it done. Sheesh. I've concluded so many companies don't want to deal with small jobs anymore -- they want big ones.

Our local Bergner's is going out of business like all the others in the country. We stopped by yesterday. I did wind up buying a couple of things at 70 percent off. I bought a new nonstick skillet, a new Dutch oven, and a new cutting board. So this morning after brunch I went through and got rid of 3 pans and I'm throwing out my very well used cutting board. I do feel guilty for spending the money. It's not like we don't have the money -- we do. But DH said as much as I cook, I should get decent pans. I haven't had a new pan in over ten years. I try to take care of what I have, but eventually, many things wear out. Except my cast iron. That will probably outlive me.

I found a small amount of green beans on sale. I canned them. They will be part of a birthday present for a friend. I also made some spaghetti sauce this week.

And, DH and I went to see the sequel to Mamma Mia -- the locally owned theatre has what is called "Tightwad Tuesday" and ran the show for $5 each. We enjoyed it. We haven't been to the movies in years so it was a nice treat.

I have kept busy the past few days working around here.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon doing some canning. Nothing big like bushels of anything, but small portions of things.

DH has had quite a few tomatoes come on and since he prefers larger tomatoes for slicing, I had quite a few cherry tomatoes. So, I juiced them and realized a pint and a half pint of tomato juice. I so enjoy tomato juice during the year.

A friend gave us some black cherries, but we weren't eating them quickly enough, so I juiced them and then made jam. Only realized two 1/4 pints, but they will be added to the gift stash.

I had some grapes that I wasn't sure how much longer they would be good. Again, not a lot of them, but thought, why not juice them. I realized a half pint and 1/4 of grape jelly. Another addition to the stash.

I had made apple juice and DH couldn't drink it all in a timely manner. So, apple jelly came about to the tune of 1 pint, 6 half pints, and one 1/4 pint.
Yep, you guessed it more stash!

I also made sweet pickles yesterday -- 1 pint and 2 half pints.

Between the green beans I've canned and some of the spaghetti sauce I made, the pie safe we use as a pantry is full. And I'm not complaining. Some of these items will be consumed here at home, but others will be gifts at Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I have also been working on items. I use a Swiffer duster and I just hate the waste of them. I was looking at the handle and I think I figured out a simple pattern to make my own using the oblong knitting loom. Between using a very soft yarn and then crocheting a piece for the handle, I think I figured it out. I showed it to a friend of mine who thought it would work. I didn't tell her I planned to make her some since I know she uses the duster too. I crochet the Swiffer mop pads out of leftover yarn when there isn't enough to make hats and she says she loves the fact she can use it and throw it in the wash. So, the same will be true of the duster.

I have a bunch of crochet thread in different colors so I have been crocheting ornaments to try and use it up. I was thinking of a friend who has a small apartment and thought if I could find a small table top tree, it would be ideal for his apartment. One of the thrift stores had all their Christmas 50 to 75 percent off so I scored a small tree for a quarter. It was like new.

I also finished a scarf in the Cubs colors for a friend to match the hat I made him over a year ago. He had picked out the colors. I thought this would be a nice Christmas gift.

I have also found a few items here and there on sale and have been squirreling them away for Christmas.

So, are you getting ready for Christmas?

I have been in Christmas mode. By that, I mean I have been trying to work on things for Christmas gifts. I do not like to procrastinate.

Yesterday I canned a few items, some of which will be gifts. DH's tomatoes are starting to come on. When given the choice, he would prefer slicing larger tomatoes than eating the cherry ones. I juiced the cherry ones and made tomato juice and canned that yesterday. I realized a quart and a pint for our pantry.

A few days ago a friend gave us some black cherries. We were not eating them fast enough and I didn't want them to go bad. So, I juiced them and made black cherry jam. Only realized two 1/4 pint jars, but they will make a small gift.

Each week I make a fruit salad and we had more grapes than I could use. I wasn't sure how much longer they were going to be good, so again, I made grape juice and then made jelly. There weren't a lot of them, but I realized 1 half pint and 1/4 pint of grape jelly.

I also made apple jelly out of some apple juice I had. It was from the juice I made. I have to add extra sugar because when I make the juice, I use very little sugar. So, there are 7 half pints and one 1/4 pint of apple jelly.

I also made sweet pickles. 4 half pints of those went into the pantry. We use a pie safe for most of this and with the green beans I have canned, and a couple of jars of spaghetti sauce I made last year, it is full. What a great problem to have.

I have been crocheting simple Swiffer mop covers for my friends. I use leftover yarn from the hats I knit when there isn't enough yarn to make another hat. Some of them are in odd colors, but they are used for the floor so who cares. Anyway, I often use a Swiffer duster and I just hate using them and then throwing them away. I was looking at the oblong loom thinking I could make a cover. I figured out a pattern and it takes both the looming and then a little bit of crocheting for the handle to fit in, but I'm thinking I can use these for gifts for a couple of people since I know they use the dusters. I showed one to a friend and she admired it. I didn't tell her I was going to make her some for Christmas, I just wanted to see if she thought it was a good idea. I have a bunch of white yarn that I bought at thrift store so I can make quite a few of them for very little money.

One of the thrift stores had a huge sale this week. Everything Christmas was 50 to 75 percent off. I have been crocheting small ornaments using crochet thread and I was hoping to find a very small table top tree. I found one and the total price was a quarter with the sale. It was in nice shape. I have a friend who has a small apartment so I thought this might work and wouldn't take a lot of storage after Christmas.

I finished crocheting a scarf for a friend in the Cubs colors for Christmas. I had made him a hat last year in these colors that he helped pick out.

We had our knitting group at church last Thursday and we are up to 644 hats. We probably would have had more except a lot of our members are on vacation. One lady at church said she wished she could join us, but she babysits the grandchildren on the days we meet, so I offered to teach her how to use the knitting loom at a time convenient for her. She said that would be wonderful and she would work on hats at home and give them to us for our mission.

DH brought in quite a few tomatoes this morning. I'm excited because two of them were heirloom. We aren't to the point where I need to can, but I can hardly wait until we are. I am going to make more juice this year because I have really enjoyed drinking homemade tomato juice.

The first batch of onions are about gone. DH says he will put in another planting.

How are your gardens going?

We were the happy recipients of some free food. Our friends were leaving on vacation and she didn't want it go to waste and asked me if I would like to have it. Of course I said yes!

6 ears of sweet corn
broccoli
brussel sprouts
cherries
3 containers of Greek yogurt


We have had two ears of the corn. It is grown locally and it was delicious. I have consumed two of the yogurt and added some of the cherries to the fruit salad I make each week. I'm going to have stir fry tomorrow night so the broccoli will be part of it and I'm thinking of making a salad with the brussel sprouts by shredding them.

Some of DH's tomatoes are starting to ripen so we are enjoying them as well. Not free, but pretty darn good.

It's the first of the month and it means our pensions come in and so do the bills. The checking account was a bit thin this time because I paid the property taxes and DH also got new glasses. But, I'd rather have a smaller checking account than having to take from savings. I wanted to try and see if we could do our regular monthly bills as well as save a little in the checking ahead of time to pay the taxes and we did. It's a nice feeling that we are paid up and I didn't have to deduct from savings. It seems that when we take from savings it goes out faster than we can replenish it.

It's been incredibly hot and humid here and it makes us want to stay in a lot. We did do a little running yesterday just to get out and get moving. We hit an estate sale, a thrift shop, and a flea market. We had a good time looking, but purchased nothing. We didn't need anything and there wasn't a thing there that called our names.

DH is starting to get ripe cherry tomatoes. I've been purchasing them year round because we think his eating some at meals has helped his PSA scores. So hopefully this will be the last week we will have to purchase any for awhile. We did enjoy his first regular size ripe tomato last night for supper. There was one before it, but a chipmunk ate the bottom of it. We did wind up buying some netting to put around the tomato plants to try and keep the chipmunks away from them. He's used it in the past with success.

Yesterday I had some fabric pieces left over from some things I had worked on. I thought that maybe I could repurpose these pieces and I made two very simple small bags. I thought I could use them as gift bags. They aren't sturdy enough to carry anything. It got me to thinking about our reliance on plastic bags and plastic itself.

We take our own bags to the grocery stores and use them when we shop. When we go to the thrift stores, unless I buy a lot of stuff, I normally request they keep the bag. There was a story on the world news last night about a family in Illinois trying to live without plastic. Even then, they have to use some plastic because of the way some food items are packaged. But, they use metal cups, glass bottles, dishes, containers, etc. But, I thought, wow, I remember reading something that went around the Internet a few years ago about some lady at the checkout and the gal was talking about recycling saying that the older generation didn't know about recycling and then the lady commented about reusing stuff, drinking soda pop in bottles and paying a deposit and then returning the bottles, and things like that. I miss those glass bottles for stuff. I guess with everything, there's good and there's bad to it.

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