This is just a mish mash of thoughts...

This spring when people were hoarding things and panic shopping, one big ticket item that people were desiring was a freezer. I thought, well, if they want freezers, then this summer canning supplies may be in short supply. I made sure I stocked up on lids (I have the jars and rings) so I would have what I needed for this year's canning. So, turn the calendar pages a few months and a friend asked me if I knew where she could get lids and rings (she found jars at a thrift store) because every store in our town was out. We were going to a bulk food store in an Amish community so I looked. They also were sold out of all canning supplies. Wonder what will be next!?! My prediction will be flour, sugar, butter, and other baking things. Unless things change drastically, my church will not be having its Christmas bazaar and a lot of people go to these to get cookies and sweet breads and pies so I think they will bake at home. I plan to pick up an extra bag of flour and sugar this week to have in case the rush starts.

I have slowly been working on my stock pile of things. Yesterday we picked herbs and I washed them and prepared them to let them dry in the sunroom. We also picked bell peppers and I washed and chopped them to freeze them in freezer bags to have to cook with. Other than applesauce my canning is done for the year. I'm waiting for apples to hopefully go on sale. I have picked up an extra can of this and that when we go to the grocery so I don't feel like I'm hoarding, just preparing.

My dishwasher died over a week ago. We went to purchase one and the sales person reassured me they could get the particular model that we picked out. A week goes by and I get a call saying they aren't delivering it because they can't get it. I call and try to talk to the sales person who conveniently isn't working when I call only to find the thing is on back order under November 1st. I was not happy. She said the warehouse had it! The new sales person asked if I would be willing to consider another model. I finally said yes. Hopefully it will be delivered today. I feel the person who did the original sale should have called and told me that instead of making me wait almost a week before finding out. Customer service is a joke most of the time. This is just one reason I hate shopping.

We hit the thrift stores last Friday. One had new boxes of stationery for $1.50. It is name brand stuff. I got a few boxes. I write letters and I like nice stationery, but I refuse to pay $7 and $8 a box. I felt I got a bargain.

Hope everyone has a great week and stay safe and healthy!

It's August and before we know it, fall will arrive.

At least I hope we have a fall. It seems like the past few years we had summer, a day or two of fall, and then wham, winter! Same thing with spring, winter which lasted like forever, a day or two of spring, then summer.

DH's garden is slowing down. For a few weeks we were getting tomatoes galore. It was amazing! I canned and canned. At first, DH said maybe I should wait, and I said wait for what? We have the tomatoes, we want them this winter, so I need to can. He gave away tomatoes too. Well, it seems that was the big influx and now things are slowing down. As long as we still have some for the table, I'm happy. I'm just glad I canned and made spaghetti sauce.

Today we dug up the first planting of onions. I have used quite a few already so there were not many still in the ground, but we dug those up, and planted the last of the onion sets. I know we won't get any big enough for slicing, but we will have green onions into the fall. Although DH works the soil and has put down top soil, it was still kind of clay like. I think we are going to have to invest in some sand to loosen the soil up. I put egg shells, tea bags, and coffee grounds throughout the year to help replenish some nutrients and DH uses Miracle Gro granular fertilizer. Anyway, that was hot, dirty work to get the soil ready to plant the rest of the onion sets.

I think I have spent more time outside this year than I have since we married. I don't "do" outside due to allergies, but with DH's garden, I felt I needed to help him. He planted more tomatoes this year. I also helped him when he was trimming bushes earlier this summer.

The last few weeks our grocery bills have really gone down. I have worked to make things that we get from the garden. For brunch today we had tomato-basil omelets since we had a bunch of cherry tomatoes and plenty of basil. Last night we had chicken stir fry. I used onions, and bell peppers from the garden and mushrooms I had in the fridge. I normally also have zucchini and celery, but we didn't have either, so I just added more pepper and onion. It was delicious and hubby was happy to eat the fruits of his labor, so to speak.

I thought I did pretty well as far as the chicken. I bought a package with two chicken breasts. We had one chicken breast sliced in half long ways for supper Friday night, Last night was chicken stir fry with rice. So, one package of chicken and two meals. It sure helps with the grocery budget.

I have started picking and cleaning herbs and putting them in the sun room to air dry. Hopefully I will get the bulk of this done before fall arrives instead of rushing to finish like I normally do.

DH's bell peppers are really starting to come on. I normally chop a bunch up and freeze them so I have them for soups and casseroles during the winter.

I thought I'd post what our menus were this past week:

Sunday brunch: scrambled eggs with onions, bell pepper, Avocado, mushrooms, and oregano, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad

Sunday supper: Italian wedding soup (from freezer), applesauce

Monday lunch: Salad with cherry tomatoes

Monday supper: tuna cakes, risotto, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad

Tuesday lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sliced tomatoes

Tuesday supper: Leftover beef roast from the previous week, mashed potatoes, carrots, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad.

Wednesday: sandwiches with thin sliced chicken and cheese, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, applesauce

Wednesday supper: spaghetti with homemade spaghetti sauce, green beans, cottage cheese, fruit salad

Thursday lunch: we went out!

Thursday supper: scrambled eggs, toast, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad

Friday lunch: Deli meat sandwiches, sliced tomatoes

Friday supper: thinly sliced chicken breast floured and seasoned and browned in olive oil, mashed potatoes, bell pepper, sliced tomatoes, peaches for dessert

Saturday brunch: we went out to a local restaurant

Saturday supper: chicken stir fry with rice, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad.

Yesterday was a busy shopping day, masks included. We decided to eat lunch out. I ordered a salad and although it was expensive - over $9, I brought half of it home so I had a second lunch today with it. While we were out in the north end of town, I decided to do some shopping. DH was surprised when I said I wanted to do some shopping because other than grocery stores and browsing thrift stores, I rarely want to go anywhere to shop. However, I had some things in mind that I was looking for.

Being a retired teacher, I still like using notebook paper. Staples had it on sale. While we were there, I noticed they had a 3 pack of Kleenex on sale as well so we bought that as well as some ink refills for a pen. I received a coupon for $10 off our next purchase of $20, so I think I may have to go back and get more Kleenex. DH has bad sinus problems and he goes through a ton of Kleenex besides using cloth hankies.

Our next foray was Joann Fabrics. I wanted one of those foam ink pads. I had another one that wasn't foam and it seemed to have dried up pretty quickly. I looked at yarn not because I wanted any, but I was nosy. It looked like someone had bought a lot of yarn because there were empty bins in some of the more economical yarn. I also wanted some elastic. Since I think we will be wearing masks for awhile, I wanted to try and make some masks. However, other than the really wide stuff, they were out and the clerk said people were in over the weekend shopping like mad for elastic and yarn. No kidding. The stamp pad was on sale. Yay, another savings!

We hit Walgreens to pick up a prescription and they had grape juice and peanut butter on sale. We drink a small glass of grape juice with supper since we are not wine drinkers. We have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch many times so figured we might as well stock up. I bought some of those elastic hair holders to use instead of elastic. They let me use my Balance Reward points for $20 so I spent $11 and some change there after they took off the $20. All in all, I spent less than $100, but felt like I had gotten some good deals and have worked on my stock pile of food and paper products. Plus, I had a couple of things that were wants: the stamp pad and the ink cartridges. Yes, I can use the free pens, but I really like the Cross pen I was given in 1979.

I spent part of the afternoon stamping some cards. I had found a new package of blank cards and envelopes at a thrift store for a quarter a couple of weeks ago so I thought I could stamp them with some designs. I have had the stamps for years and years. I had a red one and green one already so the black one just added to my collection. It was something fun to do.

So, that was it for my shopping trip. I was pleased with my results and shopping on a Monday later morning, early afternoon meant few crowds. No one to ask, "Who was that masked saver?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After a cool, dreary week, it has been nice to see the sun yesterday and today. Well, so far today. It's supposed to get cloudy as a cold front moves in with a chance of showers, but right now it is bright and looks springy.

DH is impatiently waiting until the chance of frost passes so he can start to plant part of his garden. We picked up some bell pepper and herbs as well as a few tomato plants before the governor has said lawn and garden places can only sell online or do curbside service. So, we move the plants inside on cold nights and then take them back outside when it is nice. We are getting our exercise anyway by doing this.

I'm impatient about the lettuce I planted way over a month ago. It's been so cold and gloomy that it has come up, but not much else. I have been covering it at night when it gets cold trying to keep it from getting frostbitten. It will probably surprise me and get big all of a sudden and I'm looking forward to when that happens.

We received our stimulus money and we let it sit in our checking account a couple of days and then moved it into savings. Right now we are doing OK money wise. I did order some whipped honey online this week and did a small Kohls order for underwear, but other than groceries and paying the regular bills, haven't been spending a lot. Other than these items, we haven't need anything. Just waiting and staying home, hoping this will soon pass.

We've seen things get a little better at the grocery stores the past couple of weeks. We shop at Aldi and Kroger. It's funny though, Kroger was totally out of flour and sugar last week. We didn't need any, just happened to go down that aisle to get something else and noticed the bare shelves. But Aldi had both. Kroger honestly had regular size packages of name brand tp too and Aldi had no tp. So, I guess it depends on the store and clientele as to what is available and what isn't. I was happy to be able to buy the loaves of bread we like. We haven't been able to for about 4 weeks.

Hope everyone is doing OK in the SA community. Hope you are all hanging in there!

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

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

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

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

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

Hope you are all staying safe.

Wednesdays are normally our grocery shopping days. Mostly because I am retired and I don't have to shop on the weekends or evenings, and also because Wednesday is when the ads come out for the new sales. We usually go about mid morning before there is a huge crowd except during holidays and snow forecasts where people panic.

Well, I'm wondering if panic is the operative word as far as the Coronavirus. Yesterday our Aldi was really, really busy. It normally isn't when we go. Kroger wasn't as busy, but did have a few more than usual. I had my list of our regular stuff we buy every week at each store. I did need another item that made us go down and aisle at Kroger that I don't normally frequent. It wasn't for hand sanitizer or wipes, but it was the same aisle. And there, at Kroger, was an empty shelf and the labels indicated it was for hand sanitizer. A friend in a state over from us said she was at a Dollar store and the lady in front of her had cleaned out the shelves of cleaning supplies. Another friend who is visiting a friend out east said the stores were empty of cleaning supplies and toilet paper.

Yesterday the market was doing well and they said Campbell Soup was showing a gain because people were buying lots of soup and also canned goods.

I sort of wonder about folks. Do they like reacting to drama? I'm not discounting the seriousness of the flu or the Coronavirus, but seriously, do these people not have anything at home? I think most of us at SA buy when things are on sale and stock up. I know I do. Plus I did a lot of canning last summer and fall so I have things in reserve. I buy hand sanitizer when it is cheaper and usually keep one on hand simply because I'm like that. I'm certainly not going to run to the store and buy them out. Then Kroger put in their website that due to demand, only 5 cleaning items and cold and flu items per order. I wonder if that drove up demand at all.

Sometimes I think the fable about the grasshopper and the ant rings true yet again. Who wins? Probably the retailer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I haven't blogged too much lately. I guess I haven't had much to share. I've tried to keep up with reading the blogs.

Like many of you have posted, my Christmas shopping is finished. In fact, I have purchased some craft kits to start on things for next Christmas. I gave a lot of canned items away as well. My Christmas cards have been sent. I do have a little more baking to do, but not a great amount. I always give some sweet breads to some of DH's former coworkers and I'd like to do that this week. For my birthday last January, a friend gave me some holiday ceramic loaf pans because she knows I like to do that.

We had our Christmas bazaar at my church last weekend. I baked lots of cookies and some sweet breads for it as well as made a few things to donate to sell. This one of two fundraisers for our ladies' guild and after expenses, profits are used for missions both locally and worldwide. I do the publicity and I think I have figured out the best ways to get free PR.

On the financial front, we seem to be doing OK. We have a Christmas Club account that we put money in each month and then in November, draw it out and use it for Christmas. So, Christmas is paid for and we won't owe. I was glad to see our investments showed an improvement for the month of November. Like Disney Steve wrote when he said theirs reached over a million, it doesn't change anything. Same with us. We continue our frugal ways. We had a CD come due and our financial guy called us and wanted to know if we wanted some of the money to spend and I said that I knew he had to ask us, but no, what did we need? He laughed and said he wished more of his clients were like us. He doesn't get rich off of us, but I'm sure every little bit helps. He finds better interest rates than what we can get around here and at this point, we aren't ready to do online investing. We prefer brick and mortar banks.

Just about every Friday we hit the thrift stores. We don't usually buy a lot. I have a couple of people who have given me wish lists of things to look for and that's something we do. Well, just want to report I was the big spender last Friday. My total was $1.62 and tax beating DH's total of 40 cents.

It has started snowing and the weather forecast is calling for 4-7 inches. I'm not thrilled. I hate shoveling snow and in a subdivision full of kids, apparently none of them want to make any extra money. We keep some cash on hand just in case we would find someone to shovel when it gets deep.

Hope you all have a wonderful full week before Christmas.

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!

Each month, when we get our pension checks, I write a check to one our financial institutions and put money away for different things. One is Christmas Club, another is vacation. And another is just a regular savings account and we use it for home improvement.

Well, that account is going to be going down because as I tease DH, we've watched way too much HGTV this winter!

We ordered a new storm door for our front door. Ours is old, doesn't latch, and we wanted to update the look. It has a better window in it so it should provide a little more protection from the outside temperature.

Our front door is also older and had been stained to look like wood. It has faded and become blotchy so we are having it primed and painted to freshen it up.

We have decorative bricks on the lower half of the front of our house. We are getting them painted. When we bought the house, the siding wasn't very old, but we couldn't figure out why they chose gray siding with bricks that are more reddish. So, we are getting the bricks painted and will continue to save for siding down the road. Fortunately our siding looks OK right now and isn't chipped or broken.

Finally, we are getting an area in our bedroom patched. We have a crack in the drywall. It is on both sides and I think it is from the house settling. So the painter is going to patch and repaint the wall.

DH keeps going around saying the new paint is going to make the front of our house "pop" and be whimsical and playful...and oh yeah, "spark joy."

I better get that remote away from him before he OD's on HGTV!

Usually on Fridays we hit the thrift stores. We found some great finds yesterday. One had everything 75% off. I found 3 craft things I wanted. I had seen them a couple of weeks before, but refused to pay the price on them. One is an apron that you embroider. I thought that would be a nice gift for a friend. It was still in the package and had the embroidery floss. We paid 63 cents and tax for it. I started it last night. This year I started something and that was to give a friend a gift for each day December 1-25. Most are just simple things that I either picked up very cheaply or made. I look for things all year. She enjoyed opening something up every day. On Christmas the gift was a little more substantial, but I don't think I spent any more than I normally would have. I've already made a couple of things so far and I think this apron will be appreciated.

DH found a like new polo and then he found me a new pair of Keds for the summer. I'm glad because the shoes I wear during the summer have started looking pretty ratty.

I'm trying to get used to taking my own bags with me. Glad I made a few. I was telling the lady who was checking us out at the thrift store that we would soon be paying for bags and she hadn't heard that the governor is hoping to pass that tax on plastic bags.

We went to a home show in a small town near us. We like it better than the one we have in our city because of two reasons. One is there is no admission. Second is they have Amish made stuff and we like looking at it. Other than getting a couple of free pens, we didn't purchase anything and had a delightful time looking. We had some other errands to run in the small town -- funny how they have things we don't have where we live -- and then came on home. We hit a thrift store and I found a package of Easter sticks unopened. I am making an Easter basket for a friend's granddaughter and she likes stickers. S I was happy to get out of the wind and rain and brew some tea.

My folks were great bargain hunters and could often find things used at a very reasonable price. Hopefully I've picked up some of their talent. DH has no qualms about buying secondhand -- he says he likes the thrill of the hunt.

For some who live in towns and even states that already do this, it won't be a shock, but I guess Illinois is going to have a new tax of 5 cents for plastic shopping bags.

I get why. As a state we need money. And hopefully it will help with the fact there are all these stupid plastic bags littering so many places. Although I imagine people will still litter.

I already have a stash of cloths bags we use when we grocery shop in my car. DH said he needed some for his car so we can get in the habit of using for more than groceries. I looked at the stash of material I have and decided to make some bags.

People who sew often buy material and I hate to admit, I've done this, but mine is basically from thrift stores and estate sales. I bought some to make curtains for our bathroom and kitchen windows and I have some left. I bought some to recover some hot pads. Plus I bought some to recover some seat cushions. I'm not a great seamstress, but then again, I'm not selling my stuff nor am I putting in for a home decorating show, so I'm just using things and reusing things. So, it only makes sense to use the material I have. I had to get creative on a couple of bags, but they are for use, not show.

Anyway, I was busy for a couple of days making bags and I decided to give one to a friend since she has been collecting bags for her grocery shopping. It was kind of nifty material and she put it on her arm and said, "Thanks. They will see me coming at Aldi with this bag!"

That really tickled me!

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!

Yesterday I blogged that I hoped to go shopping and get a new coffee maker. I had chased in $20 from Ibotta for a Kohls' gift card. I had looked up on line and the one I wanted was on sale for $34.99, originally, $44.99. We get there and cannot find the box with the coffee maker. We finally ask someone and he uses his computer and says they don't have any except the one that was on display. He said I could buy it, but there would be no directions and no box. I asked if it didn't work, could I return it and he said yes. I also asked if they would mark some off since the decorative plate had a little bend in it. He said yes and walked it up to the cashier, explained I was to get 15% off, DH had a 15% off coupon, we used the $20 Ibotta gift card and my new coffee maker cost me a little over $7 cash. I had just returned a blouse and had a gift card so it basically cost me nothing out of pocket.

I brought it home, washed everything, and ran some water and it worked great! Just hope it continues!

If you know me, that is a rarity. Other than nosing around thrift stores and the weekly grocery store run, I don't usually go shopping very much.

But today is the day!

My coffee maker died before Christmas. I'm using an old one my mom had and gave me because she didn't like it. And believe me, I know why she didn't like it. It makes decent coffee and works, but my mom has been gone over 12 years and she gave it to me a few years before she died, so I figure it won't last that long. It's a good one to have in reserve though.

I've had my eye on one at Kohls for the past few weeks. Well, the new ad came out so I checked online and it is marked down $10. I had one like this and used it frequently so I think it is pretty dependable. I just want a simple coffee maker that shuts itself off because sometimes I forget.

I have been doing the Ibotta app and can get $20 credit. Then there is 15% off. Plus, someone gave me $20 for my birthday so I'm going to use that to pay the difference. It's not like I'm going to spend a ton of money. The coffee maker was originally $44.99. It has been marked down $10.

I could just buy the darn thing outright, but it has become a game with me. How can I save money without spending a lot and still get what I want?

A friend also gave me a tablecloth from Kohls. She must think I have a huge table because it is 60 x 120. Even if we had the leaves in, I don't think it would fit. So, I hope to exchange it for one that fits. So, that's another Kohls stop.

I'm sure I may need a nap after all this shopping.

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.

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.

DH and I hit thrift shops each week. We have 4 favorites, but there are some others we try to go to once a week. And we are fortunate that most of our thrift shops are really nice and reasonably priced on most items. This last week we only purchased a couple of items for a friend and she paid us for them. We didn't find anything for ourselves, but it was fun looking.

I have a friend who sort of turned her nose up buying stuff at thrift stores which I thought was weird since she would buy stuff at flea markets and antique shops. But, I guess she's come over to my side. I found some brand new, unopened craft items and she was thrilled to pay me for them.

Last week we went to a small town and stopped in the thrift shop and I found a brand new pair of flats for $6. Decent shoes that should hold up and I was pleased to get them. I have worn some sneakers this summer I snagged for around $10 last year. They were like new. I'm not going to buy shoes just for the sake of buying shoes, but if I find something decent and affordable, I am going to get it.

I have really found some amazing craft items. I snagged a pair of pillowcases last year for 69 cents that they had tucked the embroidery floss in with them. I embroidered them and they are on my bed as I type. I found another set last week that hadn't been opened for $1.50. That will be a nice winter project for me and I still have some of the original embroidery floss left over. I get a lot of the yarn for the hats I loom for church. It is brand new with the sleeve still on it. It works great since it is usually one skein of this color and one that -- not enough to make anything big, but great for hats.

DH found an amazing shirt the other day for $2.25. It is a dress shirt and in excellent shape. He is a clothes horse so I can't complain when he finds a good deal like that.

Some of our friends have given us a list of things to look for and about what they would like to spend. It gives us something to look for and helps them out too.



I sometimes struggle with buying stuff I do not need. So, I am really working on that. I am not saving money if I buy something that I don't need. I'm would be just shopping for the sake of shopping and I do not want to do that. I have to have a place for something or a use for it before I can buy it. I had gotten rid of a bunch of shoes at the beginning of summer that were worn out, so I didn't feel guilty buying the shoes. The yarn goes for the hats so I don't go crazy buying it, and I take the hats to church every two weeks to add to the stash when we meet. I have some pillowcases to replace so once I get these new ones finished, the old ones will either go in the trash or maybe I can recycle them into bags. I saw something on Pinterest. We keep cloth bags in our cars for grocery shopping.

But, each week it is like a treasure hunt at the thrift shops!

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.

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.

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!

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?

Here in the U.S. it is Independence Day. We are blessed to have so many freedoms. Hope your day is a great one!

I've been keeping busy. On Monday I wanted to crochet so I tried to find something on the television to watch and found a run of Extreme Couponing. I watched 3 hours of it. I know they are older shows and I also know that there is no way we could ever do the deals they get. Our newspapers coupons are pathetic. I didn't realize that there are actually different coupons depending on what the paper purchases. We used to get the Chicago Trib on Sundays (long story, but can't get it by subscription and our Walgreens doesn't get copies or get enough). It would say the same brand of coupon flyers like Smart Source or Red Plum, but there would be far more coupons in those than the ones in our local paper. Plus, none of our stores double coupons. Anyway, It was interesting to watch. I'm not sure I would want to make a full time job of coupons and I look at the shelves of things they have and wonder if they honestly use all the stuff they swear they got for free. I mean, how many toothbrushes does one really need in a year?

I did get one scarf crocheted and I crocheted a dish cloth. We went out to eat with friends at Olive Garden and it was a belated birthday celebration. The dish cloth was part of her birthday gift. I had crocheted a hand towel that hangs over a drawer or stove handle, I made the gift bag, and the card was from a set of cards that I bought for $2 at a thrift store. All in, I had less than $3 for her gift. Sadly, if she knew that it wasn't an expensive gift, she probably wouldn't like it, so I didn't share that.

I did hit Walgreens yesterday. The first Tuesday of the month is senior day and they give 20% off of things not on sale. It doesn't cover prescriptions, but we didn't need any so that was OK. I made my list, took a few of the coupons, did some digital coupons, and did my shopping. Between the 20% off, the coupons, the sale prices, and the $50 rewards credit, the original $127 plus bill was $53.78 out of pocket. I didn't think that was too bad. I can't do that every month, but then again, some of these things I don't need every month.

Today is supposed to be, as they say, "hot as a firecracker" here. The forecasted temperature is 91, and the humidity is supposed to make it feel like 110. I don't think I will be doing much outside.

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.

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.

It seems like I've been spending a lot lately. Well, more than seems. I have.

As I blogged before, we bought a new fridge and new freezer. We had the money so no biggie there.

Yesterday I bought clothes. A lot of clothes. And normally I wait for big mark downs, but I bought them anyway. The store is going out of business and although I supposedly got 20% off, I don't even know if that is true. But the reason I bought them is I struggle finding clothes that fit that aren't too young for me or too wild. At Christmas I picked out some clothes and DH bought them at this store -- they were on sale and they are conservative. I'm overweight and the last thing I want is something that is super wild or bright or shows more skin than I care to show. Lately, this is the only local store I have found clothes that fit that category. I don't go for huge wild patterns or neon colors. And I want stuff I can wash, not dry clean. I don't like buying stuff online because I want to try it on. So, I was trying to buy local, even if it was chain.

We used to watch "What Not to Wear" and every time they had an overweight gal on there, she would try to shop and wind up in tears. I felt her pain because that is often how I feel when clothes shopping.

So yesterday, I bought some slacks and some blouses. Mostly to fill in for the summer since so many of my summer outfits are worn.

I just hate clothes shopping. So, if I find something, I usually wear it until it is so disgustingly worn. I spent a lot of money. I normally feel really guilty over it, but not this time. I won't be buying clothes for a long time between what DH got me for Christmas and what I purchased yesterday. So, that is good.

As well as hating shopping, I also hate hemming. Being short means I hem just about every pair of pants. I was pontificating to my husband how unfair it is men can buy pants to basically match their inseam, but not so with women. It's funny -- I enjoy embroidery and cross stitch, but despise hemming. Go figure.

In other news, we are having vegetable soup I pulled from the freezer this morning and put in a Crockpot to heat. I really, really like our new freezer. It has a light and it is a little bigger so things are easier to see.

Last night I tried making shrimp and grits. I love this when we in Savannah and Charleston and I was thinking, this is silly. I can make this. And I did. I will admit the shrimp wasn't as good as the shrimp I had out there, but I think it was freshly caught shrimp and mine wasn't. But overall, it was pretty good. And I will try it again.

Back to normalcy around here and no more shopping for awhile!