Five Frugal Things -- I've Made a New Enemy
1) I'm a bit more than halfway through reading The Book Club for Troublesome Women, by Marie Bostwick. This book centers around a group of suburban women who form an accidentally subversive book club in 1963 and I'll likely finish it today. Like many of my library holds, I don't actually remember how it came on my radar, (books can take quite awhile to come in) but I'm glad that it did.
Book good. Katy like book.
It's reminding me of my word of the year for 2025.
2) I'm continuing to work my way through leftovers, including the lemon chicken orzo soup that I made earlier in the week. At this point the novelty has worn off, but I know from multiple previous experiences that it'll be even less appealing should I throw it in the freezer.
When will my empty nest brain remember that it's just the two of us and to stop cooking such enormous amount of food? Never? Oh, okay . . .
3) I went for an evening walk through the neighborhood and came across a couple of "free boxes," although I didn't end up bringing anything home to keep or resell.
I was kind of tempted by the Orla Kiely ceramic canister, but left it behind as it had a small crack.
I actually did a couple of eBay searches on the things in this box that were still in their original packaging. It's very easy to scan a barcode with the eBay app.
Here's an example, although it's just my library book. Not that you asked, but this book currently sells for about $9 on eBay.
4) I also came across this adorable makeshift stand where a child was selling Japanese maple starts. They were free, but also "Excepting Donations." (So cute!) I actually would've taken one, but didn't have any cash on me.
I love an entrepreneurial kid and it reminded me of when my children would set up lemonade stands. Always a fun activity on a summer afternoon.
5) Not necessarily a "frugal thing," but I tried to do a Good Deed by letting a woman know that the intersection where she paused for an extended period to look at her phone was actually a very dangerous spot to stand. That a car had just passed and had they been turning left (which they often do) would have actually hit her.
To clarify -- she's standing still while looking at her phone in the street. For quite awhile.
Also, it's an intersection with an elevated roundabout that makes it hard to see what's on the other side.
Reasonable, right? WRONG! This seemingly normal looking woman around my age decides that I'm the enemy and aggressively screams at me to "Mind your own effing business!" (Although she didn't say "effing," which I'm sure I don't need to clarify.) She then stomps away down the middle of the street while continuing to yell at me.
Enter a third woman who's also taking an evening walk and obeying the normal rules of the road. (That rule being "Don't stand stock still in the middle of the road to look at your phone.") She clocks the entire interaction and we are now trauma bonded.
I introduce myself with "Hi, my name is Katy and I'm a normal person." which elicits a laugh and she shares her name with me. We debrief the interaction for a few blocks and then go on our own ways.
Anyway, I've now made a new friend and a new enemy.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
With those types of interactions I've come to the conclusion that I have no idea what has been going on in their life, and I'm likely just the most handy target for their anger/ frustration/ impotence. It still sucks.
My frugals for today:
1) I'm wearing a vest I bought 33 years ago. The fit is different, but it still works.
2) I'm wearing a skirt I made from a thrifted sheet and pattern a few years ago. I enjoyed inspecting some details this morning to remember how I made it.
3) Brought my lunch- leftovers of a dinner salad that I made from the oddities in the fridge.
4) Took the bus to work, made my coffee and ate breakfast before I left.
5) I helped my son pack for an upcoming adventure. We're close enough in size that he could borrow some of my gear instead of buying more. If he grows any taller he won't have that option!
I'm feeling weary so I decided to "eat the frog" first thing today. I've made some gluten free scones to take on my weekend trip, as well as a batch of quinoa granola. If the oven is going on, I want to make 2 things. I've watered my houseplants and partially packed for my trip. I've also put the bins out from collection tomorrow.
We're planning a picnic in the park for Father's Day/remembering MIL who recently died. Hosting a picnic while traveling is a challenge. Thankfully Aldi is close to hotel, I'll hit the hotel ice machines for ice and I'll serve whatever I find at Aldi.
When people react in an aggressive manner, it’s most likely due to embarrassment, they know they are in the wrong, but don’t like being called out. Really it’s a pride problem
The enemy is probably schizoid and does not remember your horrible and thankfully brief encounter. Go find yourself another good book, Frankie say R E L A X.
Bad things come in 3's. The power company shut off my power because it was in my late husband's name only. Thank goodness I spoke to a understanding rep. All fixed.
The satellite system did a huge reset, lost all settings... Ugh.
I'm not going to go borrowing trouble, so hopefully that is enough for today!
Marie Bostwick used to live in Sisters on the same road as my aunt. She has the sweetest dog.
I was working at the free clinic yesterday and a guy brought in his dog who was a rescue pitbull who had been used in illegal fighting. She was the sweetest dog! Her story brought tears to my eyes and I am so happy she now has a loving family.
I picked 2 quarts of strawberries, a mess of snow peas and 4 heads of butter lettuce for dinner. I am marinating chicken thighs to grill. O e variety of blue berries are almost ready to pick.
I listened to The Bookclub for Troublesome Women as an audiobook and LOVED it!
1. My husband took our kids on a walk to pick up a package. They would have walked longer but there was a heat warning and the 5-10 minutes they were out was mostly just to keep them from going completely stir crazy.
2. We're trying to take advantage of having an airbnb with a small kitchen and actually use the kitchen rather than just order in or eat out (currently on vacation in Europe). I made our meal plan and bought groceries before checking the weather, so today I made pot pie and granola bars while it was 85f+ and we are in a unit with no AC or fans. I may be an idiot but I'm a determined idiot.
3. We signed up for a train pass that will save us money on future train rides. Our kids have really enjoyed the three rides we've taken and we hope to do some exploring so this will end up being a savings. It's $6-$8 for each of us I believe but will probably start saving us money the first time we use it so I think it's money well spent.
4. I borrowed Pride and Prejudice and The Boyfriend before we flew here but forgot to download them before we had to put our phones in airplane mode and was NOT going to deal with signing up for the wifi on the plane. Finally got the chance to slowly listen to both while cleaning the Airbnb. Somehow I had never read Pride and Prejudice before!
5. Our kids are finally *slowly* adjusting a bit to the time zone shift (it's about 8-9 hours different from Oregon) and we told them that if they can go to sleep early tonight (read- their usual bedtime back home) then we can get up early enough tomorrow to go for a walk before the heatwave sets in and we'll get a pastry. It'll be worth the $6 bribe if we can actually get some quality sleep at a reasonable time tonight. Gotta do what ya gotta do.
Those kinds of encounters always rattle me even though I know I'm entirely innocent. As my brother would say, People!
I was planning on going to the grocery store this morning but decided to put it off till tomorrow and do a little housework instead. What is wrong with me?! Well, the Astound technician is coming and I looked around and noticed I did need to do a little sprucing up. Tomorrow I will combine errands -- grocery shop, Goodwill, library, and get quarters if I can. The banks are probably closed but Jewel used to provide rolled quarters. Maybe they still do.
I found good places for the sofa pillows I found in the alley and moved around some of my others. It all looks better, and it was free!
I ate leftovers today and I'm planning to make chicken black bean soup tomorrow.
That woman’s reaction said more about her than it said about you.
During my recent Goodwill bins trip, I found a t-shirt in a brand and size that work for me. It was a lovely shade of pink. When I washed it, it turned white! I guess someone washed it with some red things, saw that it had turned pink, and donated it to Goodwill. I’m disappointed, but I could use a white shirt. This one is thick enough that you can’t read my bra tag through it. I’m wearing it now. I’ll call it a frugal win.
I weeded the garden this morning, and I’m excited to see squash, beans and tomatoes that are set. One of my blueberries has berries that are almost ready to pick!
In regards to your new enemy - I'm getting a feeling that people, generally speaking, are not ok right now. There was someone on my work campus screaming and ranting into the abyss on Monday. My mom had a similar experience to you with a person, but she was idling in her car in a dangerous and disruptive spot. And a friend was at an amusement park last week with her family (young daughters) and a 16 year old came up to her and slapped her across the face, right in front of her husband and kids....people are not ok. For those of us who are hanging on to our sanity, be kind and gentle to everyone. It is rough out there, folks.
1. Staying home all day today. WFH, not going out socializing. Reallllly enjoying it as this is not my norm. Also saving on gas and probably a few dollars spent.
2. Boring but frugal standard meals: smoothie for breakfast, celery and homemade dip (this time its tzatziki made with greek yogurt, it is usually something protein heavy like hummus or cottage-cheese herb dip) for a snack, sandwich for lunch (although typically I have salads for lunch - my favorite bologna and favorite wheat bread were on sale this week), and leftovers for dinner (baked sweet potatoes, black beans cooked in my IP, and toppings).
3. Reading and listening to books from the library for entertainment.
4. Using my matcha set that my partner got me for Christmas and the matcha powder that my mom got me to make a delicious matcha latte at home, no $8 lattes for me.
5. Planning a frugal day off for tomorrow - I have a cafe gift cert and a vintage store gift card that I received from friends for my birthday back in December. I'm going to make a day of it and go on some frugal adventures. I'll try and throw in a hike if the weather cooperates.