Five Frugal Things -- Free Movie Tickets & a Sewing Bee
1. I went onto the Multnomah County Library's website to see if they had any new "cultural passes" and lucked out. Normally passes are only available at the beginning of the month, but they actually had a few to choose from.
I was able to score a pair of free passes to a screening of Project Hail Mary, which'll be a fun diversion. It's not until next week, but it's something to look forward to. (I can't remember when I last saw a movie in a theater!) What best is that that it's at a theater with loads of free parking, which is the cherry on top of my free sundae.
2. My friend Lise recommended the show The Great British Sewing Bee, which enjoyably streams for free on the ROKU channel. The first season is just four episodes, so I'm already on the second one. I don't really sew, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy watching people exercise their creative muscle while being polite with one another.
3. I started listening to Destroy This House through the library's free Libby app. I don't remember who recommended it, but I think I'm going to enjoy it.
4. My husband and I are attending a birthday dinner for a friend this weekend and have started a conversation about how we'll clarify the check ahead of time. Of course we'll chip in to cover the birthday boy's bill, but will request a separate check for ourselves. We're not the type to order appetizers, multiple drinks and desserts that inflate the cost, and don't want to ruin the evening by falling into an awkward "let's split the bill" scenario with people who do.
Communication and a plan are key to a successful meal out with friends.
5. I thought we were getting low on bread and considered heading over to the Franz Bakery Outlet. Luckily I thought to have a dig through our basement chest freezer, where I found another loaf of sliced multi-grain bread, as well as a sleeve of English muffins. I paid a buck apiece for them, which makes this extra satisfying.
Thank you, past Katy!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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I would love to hear more about how you handle the bill for your friend's birthday dinner. It is one area of frugal living that can be hard (for me) to navigate, seeing that it involves lots of people and a potentially awkward situation.
I'll let you know afterwards, it does the potential to go sideways as I don't know anyone at this dinner.
I ask the server for a separate check ahead of time, and either bring cash or Venmo someone for the shared expense. With strangers, I'd bring cash.
Not necessarily
frugal for me but for a younger coworker who is new in town: I let him in on all the good secondhand furniture places and the best thrift stores around here. Also recommended he frequent the same, and also drive around campus housing and apt. complexes and rental houses in neighborhoods around campus, from now until mid summer. That's because many wealthy, spoiled and over-privileged college kids simply toss this year's furnishings and start from scratch next fall. Some donate to charities but others just leave stuff at the curb or dumpster. He couldn't believe anyone would be so wasteful, but I told him the kids and their wealthy parents don't want to be bothered bringing a truck to our city and carting away/ storing all that stuff. They have so much dough they just buy anew. Personally, I'm eagerly awaiting Hippie Christmas, as someone called it, to find new-to-me household goodies extra cheap if not free. Lamps, curtains, trash cans, office supplies, rugs, clothes, pretty flower pots...all kinds of useful stuff.
I had to abandon many of my belongings as a scholarship student humping every ounce on a long train trip. Storage space, truck rentals and time/labor aren't free, and many students are working flat out until they have to leave.
Is it possible to enjoy the bounty without the harsh judgment?
You were in the minority of those unable to schlepp belongings. Fru-gal Lisa's post was not harsh, just reality. Which begs my question how did you get said items to your dorm?
Younger kiddos college had a spot on the "quad" to leave items you were not bringing home. No sooner than better half and kiddo brought the bunk beds (originally purchased from an organization that taught developmentally disabled kids to build them) and the circa late 1960s desk that was originally mine, both were snapped up quickly.
I stand by my comments. "Wealthy, spoiled and over-privileged" is a profoundly judgmental evaluation that ignores the real cost of logistics. Moving a toaster oven across the country twice a year by air is not fiscally responsible for anyone.
How did I get stuff to my dorm? I hope that wasn't meant as a gotcha. The first year, a family car trip, which cost my parents days of income and demonstrated just how costly and time-consuming lugging everything back and forth would be, and which we could not afford to repeat, so I lost what I couldn't carry at the end of that year. I certainly hope it benefited someone who could use it, and like to think that person did not find it necessary to snark about the source. From then on, I brought what I could carry and rebought the rest. The only thing that separated me from higher-income students was going without what I couldn't immediately afford.
Nicely said
For those of us who have kids out of state, it's pretty challenging to navigate how to handle belongings that they accumulate/need during college. For us, we purchase at a thrift store & are likely to re-donate, but most universities also intentionally have set up areas on curbs and in bins for students to leave our. The universities then collect the items, and sell them as a thrift shop right before school starts, reducing waste & earning scholarship money for the school, which I think is awesome.
The logistics of college transportation & lodging are really tricky. I'm sure there are wasteful people out there, but a lot of folks are just doing the best they can to get their kids home with the least amount of expense. A checked bag costs $40, and most furniture can't exactly go on a flight.
I wish more schools did this, but the quantities and logistics can be overwhelming. Our local university can't spare the space to store what's recovered, and student-led sustainability groups have struggled to create a durable model. Penn State's sale fills the football stadium and features thousands of dorm rugs alone every year. Where is all this mostly low-value flotsam supposed to live for three months out of the year?
It's a real problem, agreed. I'm thrilled that DS18 got into a 9 month apartment (no housing for post freshman year, given a lack of on campus housing), but it's largely furnished, minus kitchen items. I wish more places had the option of furnished, which I'll happily pay a bit more for. The furniture itself tends to be quite similar to what you would see in a dorm, but holds up well & can be used for many renters, reducing a lot of waste.
I am spending another day inside, as the Windy City is very windy indeed today, and according to the forecast, it will continue late into night. No spending, no gas usage.
I had a lovely phone conversation this morning with my unemployed son. He has had a few interviews -- at last -- and he seems to be keeping himself in good spirits. I sent him some gas money -- so I guess I did do some spending! Nah, more like sharing.
I am reading Dan Brown's latest. Two more holds have come in at the library. I'll pick them up tomorrow.
I spent nothing on groceries this past week. I'm starting a list of things to buy, but so far it's pretty small. May shop tomorrow or Sunday. I plan to keep it down to necessities.
Yesterday I had a long phone conversation with my BFF, who lives in another state. I took a moment to appreciate the fact that we used to have to pay through the nose for long distance! But on the other hand, phones used to be essentially free, since they belonged to the phone company. Different times.
Fingers crossed that one of your son's interviews pans out, Beth!
1. I harvested an exceptional amount of Swiss chard. I kept a bunch for myself and took a bunch over to a friend. I chopped the greens from my bunch, then looked up recipes to use the stems. I ended up making a modified 'benas and greens" recipe with the stems. It used navy beans which I'd already cooked from dry and stored in the freezer, and homemade tomato sauce made at home from tomatoes I grew. I even grew the herbs that went in it, so out of pocket for that dish was the cost of salt and pepper. Perhaps a penny?
2. Dried a load of laundry on the line each day. Laundry is washed in cold water and I recently put a measuring spoon with the laundry liquid so that certain people in the house were more careful about how mutch they used!
3. The friend who received my chard gave me a bag of lemons and three items for me to sell and keep the money. I definitely lucked out on that exchange. She loves chard and hers doesn't grow well. I don't love chard and mine grows prolifically. But clearly it is a good currency for barter!
4. Reordered the laundry liquid, I want to keep good stock on hand right now. I also want to restock bike tire inner tubes.
5. Thank you for the sewing bee recommendation on Roku
Today, I've done 2 loads of laundry and hung them out to dry.
Yesterday I made 3 meatloaves. I'll freeze 1 for later.
My focus is on reducing our electric bill and shifting to off-peak use. Our last 3 bills have been painful!
I want to clean out and unplug one of our deep freezers.
Dh received two, good sized, union stickers. They will go on our mailbox, probably via a placard of some sort.
Gas is 2.99 so I filled the car and the 4 wheeler while I was in town for other errands. I suspect fuel will get higher but at least im full for now.
I hope the universe sends me a suitable compost bucket when I take the recycling in. Ours blew away, I think???!!!
Hopefully, tomorrow, I will make it to the cheapo grocery store after I check cows.
There are no new calves to report. The current ones are doing very well.
We are in the same place with power usage, Laura! I have the schedule on our fridge, and it's a good reminder to always check. Probably the easiest swap (and, duh for why we didn't do this before), was setting the dishwasher onto a delayed start. I feel sad for all of that waste before we clued in.
And the washing machine too! Game changer!
I put these on delay years ago as an ADHD hack - habit stacking around emptying the dishwasher - but I've never done the math on the savings. Maybe it's time.
Katy, will you update on how "will request a separate check for ourselves" part went? This isn't taken very well with groups usually, and you'll likely be labeled stingy and may not be invited for group events in the future. How do you feel about this risk?
I bet Katy doesn't worry about this one bit.
I think it depends on the type of people you're dining with. If I'm with those who judge me based on that... Ehhh I'm not too worried about developing any relationship with them down the line.
I think there's an equally good chance that handling this gracefully will model it for others who may not have found the right approach yet.
I loved the Project Hail Mary book, I hope the movie is good!
1) Going to a beach cleanup this weekend. The kids think it’s so fun plus it’s free and helps our environment.
2) The kids don’t have school today but I had to go into the office. My husband works at home today so they are with him but he often has back to back meetings so they are somewhat on their own. I let them know I made two bean burritos this morning that I left in the fridge that they could microwave and moved the jam to a lower fridge shelf and loosened the lid so they could make pb&j. My husband did end up coming out at lunch time and told them he was going to take them out to lunch. They responded “no, mom left us some burritos in the fridge and we want those for lunch” Frugal kids in training, choosing food at home over takeout.
3) I went to Safeway on my lunch break today, a snack my kids really like was on the clearance shelf. Unfortunately I walked there from work and it was in a large box so I could only buy one as I couldn’t carry more than that. Better than nothing though!
4) I stopped shopping at Target over a year ago now. I hop between various other shops to get what I used to buy at Target. Recently I’ve been trying to figure out CVS. Their prices seem a bit high on some things but they also offer a lot of money off coupons in the app. I had about $9 off through various coupons so I was able to buy some candy for Easter Baskets.
5) I’m going to my parents this weekend (an hour drive). My husband isn’t coming but I’m going to drive his car since it’s electric. I usually always drive mine even if his is available, but I think it makes sense to use his as much as possible now (I mean it probably would have made sense even before the latest gas price increases but now there’s even more incentive to use his)
There are lots of coupon masters who share their secrets for CVS. I follow Torok Coupon Hunter on FB AND IG, and she details the transactions out perfectly.
I love your #1. "...the kids think it's fun, it's free and it helps our environment..."You hit the triple jackpot on that one. Good for you Lisa! Plus it was at a beach...a plus for any activity.
Good luck on figuring out CVS! I find their regular prices terribly high, and our store is very poor at re-stocking or having enough sale items or having two instead of just one when it is a buy-two items.
Their loss leader sales can be excellent; I just don't like to go there and search for them, especially when they don't put sale stickers on the shelves. Not sure how much this is specific to my understaffed store.
If you use enough of their products to make it worthwhile, the $48/year membership gives you $10/mo in credit, plus free shipping. I use most of the credit for the adult kiddos, watch the sales and if there are no deals we need that month, have a list of basics to backstock.
Free shipping would be an excellent perk with their annual program.
I enjoyed Destroy This House immensely. The family had an interesting if not unusual way of life.
1. Not frugal at all except it encourages me to not use more heat or hot water than I have to, it being we got an oil delivery yesterday to the tune of $4.66 a gallon. It has been a particularly cold winter here in New England and we are on a 12 month budget plan but I told DH when it renews in May it will probably go up between the cold winter and the war.
2. I watched one of my favorite old movies on TCM last night which I still love but have decided I dislike the character Stanley Kowalski more than ever. Abusive to everyone around him including his wife. If I were Stella, the New Orleans police would have been called...often.
3. I have a lot of overripe bananas and a free day tomorrow during which I am not leaving the house since it's supposed to be cold and windy. When I have this many bananas (7), I double my banana bread recipe, spread it in a 9 × 13 pan, bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes and frost it after it cools. I call it Banana Cake.
4. The cat has shredded the ends of our couch but we won't buy a replacement as long as we have him because he will just do it again. I still love him though!
5. Batching errands, cooking at home, eating leftovers, wearing warm clothes around the house to keep the heat down, driving under 65 using cruise control, keeping up with oil changes for our one car, shutting lights off...all the usual.
Re: your #4, Christine, I too love animals better than furniture. In fact, I have a coffee table I can't get rid of because our previous two dogs teethed on it and Betty cat's five predecessors left claw marks on it. Call me a sentimental idiot, but...
I get into cold sweats about splitting the bill. I don't order drinks, desserts or appetizers. I once went to dinner with college friends and we split the bill, my share was $84 for a $24 meal. Good grief! Could I afford it? Yes. Did I ever do that again? Nope. Now we buy or pack lunches and meet at the Arboretum.
I did go to the bakery outlet this week. I had a list for family and neighbors, plus they had $1 boxes of maple doughnuts, mom's favorite. I spent $20 for everything on the list and it filled 2 large canvas bags. I picked out 2 gluten free breads for the freezer from the free rack.
I cleaned and conditioned the ancient leather furniture in the family room. I steam cleaned the showers.
My childhood friend and I watch Project Runway together when it airs, we'll have to try the Sewing Bee!
As a young couple on an extremely tight budget, we were invited by older family friends to a "Middle Eastern place" that turned out to be pricey nouvelle fusion. Excellent, worth it, but not at all in our budget. We split an app, had a glass of wine each, and when I attempted to pay our portion, a tipsy friend scolded us for being "cheap." It's difficult because nobody wants to think about money at the end of a wonderful meal - that's kind of the point of meals like that - but it's good practice, and while I was a little embarrassed, I knew it didn't really belong to me; the grown adults present should have taken our youth and penury into account.
Since then, I always ask for a separate check with a group if I'm unsure how splitting would go. Because you ask upfront, it's not happening at that cozy moment at the end of the meal. For meals with a lot of sharing, I open my tab at the bar and add to it from the table, so at least alcohol is separate.
I haven't watched The Great British Sewing Bee, but I definitely recommend a book by one of the hosts (Patrick Grant)! Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish: How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier. It was so great. It talks about how low quality our stuff has become, and how you used to get quality with brand names, but now you are just paying for the name.
Katy,
Several years ago I went to a friend's birthday dinner as he was celebrating his 40th birthday. There were several people there. I believe 15 of us. Before we even ordered we Informed the server that we would all be on separate tickets and they did not have a problem with that, the only thing was they added a 20 percent gratuity since the party was so large, so I did not leave an extra tip. I hope it works out in yours and your husband's favor and you dont have an expensive bill!
1. I walked an hour this evening in my neighborhood.
2. I packed my breakfast and lunch to work and ate lentil casserole for supper.
3. I filled up with gas at the cheapest gas station for $3.24 a gallon, which still bites me but it is what it is. I drive two hours a day to and from work.
4. I just realized I didn’t eat out at all in February and so far in March. I can’t remember about January but I am thinking not.
5. I intend to go to bed early bc I am exhausted.
Those of us who are seniors likely remember the mid 1970's when the oil embargo occurred. You could get gas on certain days and you waited in a long line to fill up. I am grateful to not wait in a line even though the price is more. I have always driven fuel efficient cars. When I see those monster sized SUVs I am happy I don't have to fill that tank. I have a commute on Monday & Tuesday. My car gets 32 to 35 MPG on the highway. Not too shabby.
1. My colleague from work is giving me a full set of stainless flatware. Her parents moved to a facility & she was cleaning out the house. A complete set of flatware is hard to thrift. Usually half the pieces are missing.
2. Colleague is also giving me a quilt rack that better matches my decor. I will donate the quilt rack I currently have.
3. Going to get a new electric toothbrush w/ my Medicare Advantage OTC credits. I will have to wait until April to have enough in my account. The nice ones are crazy expensive IMHO.
4. Got a one way ticket on AA for 84$ to fly to Fort Lauderdale in May. I had miles to use but not a good value if the ticket is so cheap when you buy it.
5. Bought some Weed & Feed fertilizer in the fall at Restore & glad I did. Fertilizer is predicted to go up in price. The Weed & Feed was a good price when I bought it. Likely to be an even better price when I use it this Fall.
I remember waiting on gas lines too. My workplace at the time allowed us to take lunch at any time to wait in the lines. Of course without gas for our cars we couldn’t get to work.
Electric toothbrushes seem to go on sale in December-- perhaps they are a holiday present for someone who is hard to shop for?
And if you've had one, you know to shop for one that is likely to have heads available for many years to come.
Senior citizen here! I remember the lines at gas stations. No fun at all. I also remember only being to get gas every other day according to if the first? last? digit of your license plate. Mondays were even numbers, Tuesdays odd numbers, Wednesday even numbers and so on. Hope we don't get to that point again.
1. I helped my daughter cancel her ACA insurance since she's covered through work. I also provided moral support while she filed her taxes using a free tax site.
2. My mom gave me a set of flatware that matches my own. Since I was missing a lot of pieces (how does that happen anyway) I was able to weed out all the mismatched pieces and avoided a purchase.
3. A pair of jeans I bought my daughter at an estate sale fit her perfectly. They were even hemmed to the perfect length.
4. The wool blanket I purchased in the Goodwill bins and hand washed turned out beautifully.
5. My daughter and I ate leftovers for dinner. I finished another library book on my Kindle. I uploaded all my receipts to Fetch. I listed an item on Ebay.
I am curious about how you handwash a blanket. In the bathtub? Or perhaps you have laundry tubs?
Beth, it was a throw blanket and I have a very large bucket that fit it perfectly. Apparently you shouldn't agitate the wool. I just let it soak and stirred it a bit before I rinsed it. The hardest part was squeezing the water out.
I've successfully washed wool on cold delicate cycle in a front loader. For large wool blankets that seem risky in the machine, washing in the bathtub using an old sheet on the bottom to hold the weight protects the fibers. Depending on the yarn and weave, a stiff brush can be used to tap stains firmly from the rear onto a scrap of white towel to dislodge them without felting the wool.
When I was a young women I clearly remember a group dinner with acquaintances who ordered multiple drinks, appetizers, dessert- as I carefully ordered much less, which was what I could afford. They asked to split the bill evenly, and I sheepishly agreed. I swore it would never happen again! So when in a larger, uneven cost split group, my policy (then, before cash app, etc) was to have a mix of bills- $20, $10, $5, and five $1’s. I’d calculate my meal, tax, a generous tip, then I’d put my money in the bill holder announcing “this covers my meal with a nice tip”, then I removed myself from the check conversation drama
Very smooth!
I went ahead and put that book on hold, even though the description of it mentions that Dax Shepard likes it, and that’s not something that inspires confidence.
I have a question for the frugal hive. I got gas at Costco today, and the Costco parking lot was INSANE. Why? It was 2 pm on a Friday. Are people panic buying?
Not sure why, Li, but is there a sale at Costco?
Is Spring Break about to occur in your town?Perhaps they were getting supplies for their trip.
Or maybe they are buying for St Patrick's Day or Easter, prom, graduation or other upcoming holidays/events.
Or, as you suggest, they figured prices are going to go sky high and the are stockpiling needed items.
It was so crazy that I’ve been checking Google, but I’m coming up empty. They had employees outside directing traffic. Weird!
Maybe a payday?
Here it is very common to get separate bills, even for large groups. We recently has a family birthday dinner for 18 people at a restaurant, and there was no problem at all giving everyone separate bills, I think they expect it. I wouldn't be happy paying for others' wine, etc when I don't drink myself, luckily, it's not common here to just split the bill equally, not matter what you have had.
I had an at-home day, which usually means no spending but I bought a $10 sewing pattern off eBay that includes a dress, blouse and slacks. Went through my sewing supplies and pulled out stuff I will never use and made up little bags of it to donate to a local thrift shop that aids the homeless. This led to organizing the sewing thread drawer, which is frugal because I know what colors to replenish. A shirt I was donating had a mend on it in thread that did not quite match, so I picked it out and redid in the right color.
Finished reading this month's selection for the banned book club (Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo), which I enjoyed. Had to buy the book this time, but it was on sale at Barnes & Noble and I had $3 in reader's points to put toward.
Anyone looking for a free movie to watch should try "Listers" on YouTube. It's about bird watching and quite entertaining.
Thanks for this recommendation. Sounds fun and a perfect choice to watch with my 93yo father.
1. Found a piece of unused sandpaper, a funnel and a microfiber cloth on our walk. All are coming back to Minnesota with us.
2. Saved $17 on one grocery trip just for signing up as a Safeway member.
3. Friends had us over for personal pizzas made in their pizza oven, and they gave us leftover mushrooms and marinated olives.
4. Improvised a sour cream cinnamon coffee cake recipe using available ingredients and baking tools at our Airbnb.
5. Spent a shocking 70 cents more per gallon for gas, up 25 percent. Even less thrilled that we'll be driving 1,800 miles home when gas prices are higher.
Update: When we left our Airbnb this morning, gas was up another 40 cents per gallon! So ridiculous.
Would love to hear how you ended up handling the bill splitting conversation. This is a big challenge in bigger groups!
I think the "pay cash" as one reader suggested is a good plan. When I (occasionally) go out to eat w/ friends I pay w/ a CC. One of them prefers to pay w/ cash. I put the amount on my CC to earn the points. The others give me the cash for their food & tip. If I was in a group I did not know well I'd feel comfortable paying for my part w/ cash. Easy peasy.
Oooh, I wonder if my library has free movie tickets? I should check.
1) Tried to order DS18 a meal on his flight home (pre-paid is the only way they do it these days) & they didn't deliver it to him! Filled out a refund request form.
2) Wisely defrosted leftover pizza from my parents visit, knowing the hungry college student would soon be home. Since he hadn't eaten, he ate a bunch of that last night, which worked out well.
3) I paid $4 to park &pick him up, but much cheaper than a ride share. I stayed up late (for me) like a big girl to get to see him & drive him home.
4) I'm signed up for two classes this morning at the Y. The classes are included with my membership, and by going to two in a row (one is more of a cardio class, the other is a Pilates style, so I won't be exhausted or anything), I'm maximizing my usage. Especially as I didn't make it to the Y earlier in the week due to a work conflict.
5) Drove my electric car to the airport to save on gas, set the dishwasher on delay to take advantage of lower power costs, had DH charge my car when he was leaving at o dark thirty for the same reason, etc.
1. Today is Pi day. 7/Eleven has their whole pizza pies on sale all day for $3.14 each. It says limit 2 with the app. Both my husband and I each have our own account so I got 4 today for $12.56. I threw them in the freezer for quick emergency meals in the future.
2. Used my Family Dollar app to get $5 off a $25 purchase. This is where I get my cleaning supplies and my daughter’s shorts and sweat pants. So 2 pair of shorts and 6 bottles of cleaner for $20.
3. A friend brought me naan bread she had leftover. I defrosted some Indian food to go with it for lunch today. Yummy!
4. Got 3 really really ripe bananas from the little free library to make banana bread.
5. Hens are finally laying again!
Julia, smart move for stocking up on frozen pizza!
SO excited to see Project Hail Mary next week! You're lucky you got free tix for it. I read the book and just loved it so much, especially the ending. Been waiting months for this one to come out, and we rarely go to movies these days. It's definitely been getting rave reviews so far!
1. Baked bread with a sourdough starter that my friend gave me months ago and that I thought had died in the fridge. Apparently not. My children loved the bread, think I've finally found a method that works and that doesn't seem too onerous. My friend and I recon it costs about £0.50 to bake this bread - an artisan bread from Gails costs £5!
2. Went for a walk in the park with friends and our dogs. We all brought coffee so £0 was spent
3. Found an unused (!) dog poo bag which was handy as I was all out
4. Tidied my small greenhouse where I overwinter plants. Took cuttings of the pelargoniums which will make new plants.
5. Bought train tickets for a trip from Marseille to London via Paris which was, surprisingly, much cheaper than a flight from Nice. This way I get to take the train, which I love, instead of flying, which is just a bit boring, and I stop over in Paris to visit a friend. Win win win.
Nice score on the free movie tickets!
My daughter loved the book and is excited to see the movie.
We're taking a cruise for spring break, but keeping it frugal by:
Purchased during an amazing sale almost a year ago, a balcony room, 3rd person sailed free (during spring break!),which worked out to less than $100 per person per day. I can't even get a hotel room for 3 people for $100, much less all our entertainment and food.
We live 5 hours from the port, so we'll leave early and drive straight to the port and get on the ship, saving on airfare and a hotel stay the night before.
Friends are on the same cruise, and riding with us in our SUV. We split the cost of parking and gas, and my friend always brings breakfast for everyone.
Knowing we are leaving for a week I've been working on using up perishables, and freezing whatever I can. I made fried rice to use up veggies and some leftover cooked meat, and sliced up carrots and celery and put them in the freezer for soups. Any bread left tomorrow morning will be going in the freezer as well.
Hit the library and stocked up on some books for the trip. Looking forward to relaxing, catching up on some reading, and not having to cook for a week!
My math was not mathing, sorry about that! Meant to say I can't even get a hotel room for 3 people for $300 during spring break.
1. My Mom's CT Scan went quickly, and then I took her to get her favourite bread at Cobs. It is costly but she loves it, and it was part of an 'outing' to keep her brain engaged. While there, they asked if I wanted to pick up my 'half birthday scone' (!!) which I gladly accepted. Then we investigated mom's Cobs Bread account where she had been offered a birthday cinnamon bun, but I hadn't been down to collect. We were well past the cutoff date, but I did have Mom with me and she can pull off the pathetic old lady look with ease, the gal behind the counter said “well, I can just give it to you anyway” and I, for sure, said “YES!”. Mom was very impressed with my perseverance, and we delighted in sharing the sweet during our lunch.
2. On the way home from Mom I dropped in to Costco, and thanks to this group who have described how to determine how long before the Costco Chicken will be ready, I was able to both collect two birds AND teach another 'waiter' how to read the ovens. One chicken was deboned for a few future meal ingredients, the other was cooled, wrapped in a larger ziploc bag, and placed in the freezer whole for future Teri. I have done this before and been very thankful it was there.
3. I got inspired to be out in the garden when #2 son asked if I could hang with his lovely girlfriend while he went to commiserate with his friend who had just broken up with HIS girlfriend. We put on our overalls (she had those and boots with her, as her masters degree includes pulling sensors out of creeks) and proceeded to fill a lot of pots with 'leftover' soil, dumped out last fall when I was emptying finished garden displays.
I had some spring bulbs to plant, some neglected fall bulbs to plant and pray for, and had 4 big bread trays with drying canna lily corms. We managed to plant the corms from two trays (a big job) and got them under lights in my grow room. Still two trays to go, and I need to go get some dirt to make that happen.
4. I mushed up the last languishing black beans from the fridge, spread them on tostada shells, sprinked with cheese, toasted in my toaster oven, then garnished with minced red onion that came from a languishing onion half on my counter. Yum, as always, and several scrapings of food used up.
5. I emptied the fridge of a few too-old-to-eat bits and bobs, sadly lost behind the NEW! EXCITING! Foods I had made last week. I need to remember to pull the older stuff out and put it in front of the NEW so the grazers and grabbers help use them up. Not much waste, but still annoying. The chickens were happy.