DG's frugal journal

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Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Wednesday

Wow, time flies. Wednesday already. The winds abated by noon and I got outside to survey the yard and decide what needed to be done in what order. Watering and then transplanting. Did that until dark.

Today is the day before the trash pickup, so I need to finish processing the chicken breasts and send the bones to the garbage. I would like to get a can of leaves out for pickup as well. I don't need any more at this time. And I have plenty in my leaf bins. Also gather the limbs from the recent winds. Sounds like a pretty full day. Watering as well. Walk later.

I watered yesterday using the rain barrels, so that was frugal. More of that today. I use that water up in just a day or two. So I will have to start watering with the hose soon again. I cut down all the green brier I could find crawling along the fence. The surinam cherries have plumped out thanks to the rain. See if I get any when they ripen. I encourage the walkers to pluck any off on the outside of the fence and it looks like they have. Meanwhile the grapes along the fence really liked the rain and there are many bunches growing. I have many tomatoes, but they are all still green. I hope to get some, sometime. Pick some green peppers soon, I think. Green onions are ready too.

One week from now, the family will come to visit. I am trying not to panic. The yard is a mess by their standards and the house also. But I can't see doing a lot for a 4 hour visit. Young people do not understand that old people get tired often and a lot of cleaning is not a first priority. Well, next week should be interesting.

In clearing out the cabinet beneath the sink, I discovered several empty spray bottles. I need to figure out how to use them. Thinking on that.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Thursday

I did get the brush cherry planted. It was not happy in the pot. Now it is in the ground, in rich soil. I hope it does well. It grows in zone 9, but does better in zone 10. I am on the edge of 9 and 10, 9b. I also planted the last of the plumbago. I messed up a little on the spacing, but I will not change it because I would disturb the gladiolas.

I went around the yard and marked several wildflowers for transplanting today. I want them moved before mowing time. Maybe transplant today. To be frugal, today I will buy eggs and give them only to hubs for breakfast and I will eat something else. The eggs will then last twice as long. I am not diabetic and can eat other foods. Hopefully not gain any weight.

I have just a little water left from the recent rains for watering. Today, I will run out of rain water and rain is not expected until Sunday. I estimate that I caught and used at least 50 gallons of rain water from this last rain. Water that I did not suck from the aquifer. Not evaporated. Did my part.

Hubs nags me about mowing. I repeat that I am waiting for all the wildflowers to sprout. He is annoying that way. I will give the flowers a few more weeks. Meanwhile I have 2 lovely milkweeds(host to Monarch butterflies) to dig up, several vinca, a lot of spiderwort and surinam cherry bushes.

Having steak for dinner over the fire. The wood fire is not consistent, so I add a few pieces of charcoal. The charcoal was cheap because it was not bricket formed. By doing just an add rather than the whole thing in charcoal, the bag has lasted a year now. I get a nice fire to look at and clean up the yard at the same time and then a hot fire to cook over. The fire starter is paper sacks for meds(free, no waste), the wood is free, no waste and the meat was on 50% discount from a sale price. ;) Frugal all the way. Tastes better that way.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Friday

The steak was surprisingly poor. Maybe it didn't freeze well. Well, it is a chicken night, so I will get a couple of filets out to thaw. I bought eggs yesterday and they turn out to be recalled. Hubs said the stockers have not removed the bad ones yet. I am annoyed.

The car situation, I described in my daily report. As soon as I finish this, I will see what I can see to determine the situation and make a decision. I am considering taking it to a local shop because I was disappointed with the last repair from the dealer. But I am thinking on that.

I will rent a car for the time. Sometimes the dealer has loaners, but not always. Yes, that would save money if they have them, but is it enough to justify their less than stellar service? These are tough decisions for me.

I have decided to get a new car. That is final. We will see how this falls out over the next few weeks. Not in the original plan for the inheritance money, but if I can get the safety features I want, money well spent. Time to evaluate the car.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Saturday

Car passed my inspection. Hubs thinks a sensor is going. It will not be the first. I have a speaker that doesn't work most of the time and no turn signal sound. Also a tire sensor that is out and the trunk won't open using the inside button. Has to be manually opened. Another nudge to get a new car.

Today, I will buy turkey breasts on sale. Hubs likes them. I have to prepare them in the slow cooker and I don't enjoy the clean up. But I did find some sugar free cranberry jelly last week. He will enjoy having cranberries with his turkey.. whenever I fix it.

Get more plants planted before the expected rain. This is the dry season, so rain is a big deal. I figured out how to use the old track from the wardrobe door that hubs broke. I will use them to hold up tomato plants. :) I love to recycle. Another recycle is using the big plastic bags from the shoe purchase for a trash bag.

Today, I need to get more tomato plants planted. They just continue to pop up here and there. Considering that I spent money to buy tomato plants that froze in the unexpectedly cold winter, all these tomato plants seem surreal. I also want to finish tossing the saved flower seeds in several places. I am not into those plants this year, so I can see if those flowers want to grow here. I see quite a few volunteers already. They have reverted to less attractive flowers, but the bees and butterflies like them. I also dug up a few more wildflowers and potted them. After a few days or a rain, I will put them in my wildflower garden.

Without eggs, we have been eating nut meats for breakfast. Hubs seems happy with that. It sure would reduce my kitchen time. Maybe we will go to nut meats and yogurt for breakfast more often. Interesting.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Sunday

It is nice to get stuff that might just get tossed. I got a plastic flower bowl, a bag of topsoil and a huge box of miracle grow fertilizer. Also some screens and some metal baskets that go into a chest freezer. I guess the freezer had been replaced. I didn't ask. I passed on the glass flower vases. Glass and I don't mix anymore. I am clumsy thanks to my bad eye and glass is a mess to clean up. I thought I had figured out a way to use the metal frame off of the wardrobe mirrored door that hubs broke, but it didn't quite work out. I did use the two smaller pieces to set up a trellis for the tomatoes. I know I will be able to use the rest someday. I love frugal and recycling.

Got a lot of plants planted and then the rain yesterday. Very nice. I even got some of the south fence line mulched. I had planted hardy vinca along that fence in a couple of spots a while back and they are blooming nicely without care. I mulched then and did a bit of weed pulling. I have surinam cherry bushes growing along the fence, here and there and I have many little ones now. No mowing there for awhile. I will transplant them later when the rains are more certain. I just don't have time or energy to water there. I also threw some 4 o'clock seeds down there along the fence. See what grows. They would be pretty there. I dug up a bunch of butterfly milkweed flower volunteers. I potted them and in a few days, plant them in my butterfly garden. I also dug up some vinca volunteers. I planted some of marigold volunteers that had stabilized in their little pots. I am sure the rain was appreciated. I have a lot of spiderwort volunteers to dig up and replant. The bees love them and they are pretty blue next to the volunteer pink lantana in the butterfly garden. I have volunteer morning glories along the northeast fence. Odd they are all pink. I also planted some moonflowers there. Should be interesting. I potted the 2 native holly I got free for Earth Day. I am not a holly fan, but I will make an effort to keep them alive. I have a spot picked out for them in the future. A spot far back in the yard where the old dock was. Hubs can't walk that far now and it is just weedy now. But there are 2 lovely live oaks growing there and it gets some nice sun. Later, I will box the trees in and add the holly plants to the little garden. I am not a live oak fan, but they are far from the house and survived to be a skinny 6 ft tall. They block the view of a neighbor down along the pond. That is always a plus.

Today will be housework and more housework. I will fix a beef roast tonight and by tomorrow, the turkey breast will be thawed out. I am tempted to delay that until Tuesday when my military son arrives. Think on that. This is a stay home day and watch for the promised rains. April showers brings.... a lot of volunteer wildflowers. :)
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Monday

I already did a bit of walking and I can tell the weather change is coming. Knees ached a bit. I went a mile + with a neighbor and then about a half mile with hubs. I pushed him to double the distance from yesterday. Walking is frugal exercise.

I changed the tablecloth. Hubs wears tablecloths out where his arm rests. It usually take a month. I stopped buying expensive ones because I hated tossing them so soon. I have a good one underneath and a dollar tree cloth backed one over top. He wore out one side of the striped one. I cut off the ruined part and put the good part away for fall. I put on a summer leaf patterned one in green. It covered most of the table. The oblong ones, when I can get them, are the best fit. The table is about 8 inches longer than that. I center it. The neutral colored one underneath makes it looked planned. ;)

I will only have to feed the military son 3 dinner meals. He arrives tomorrow and plans to grab "real food" at the airport. Dinner will be turkey breast. Wednesday, we eat out at the steak house for hubs birthday meal. We have cereal that hubs can't eat now and almond milk. So son can eat that or eggs. I called Walmart and they said they pulled the bad lot immediately and the ones I bought are fine according to Sandra. Thursday night, we can have burgers etc. Friday morning he leaves. This should be easy and food is already here. We will find out.

I used the big bag the shoes came in for a garbage bag. It isn't strong enough to use as shopping bag, but it was useful this way. I also used one of the starbuck coffee bags for additional trash. I got the camping chair down so people would have more chairs to sit on. So we have 2 porch chairs, 2 table chairs, and 2 roller chairs and now the camping chair. And a fold up chair somewhere.

I will pick up hubs prescription and maybe get the $5. Then we will transfer the scripts over to CVS across the street. Also, I will go to the Target vision center across the street to get my glasses adjusted. Should be educational. If everything works out, I will reduce my time in the car significantly. A frugal decision. I will not look for a new car until next week after all the family is gone. No gardening today. No watering either.
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