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 agree that when someone "blows up" it is generally the situation and not to take it personally. As a nurse, dealing with people/families at what they perceive to be the worst possible and vulnerable moments of their lives, I learned to just let it go and be grateful that my day is going better than what they are experiencing. Although sometimes I did want to say that if they wanted to attempt to insult me, please try to at least be a bit more creative. (My siblings always tell me I am an opinionated b---h. My response is that I would agree with that and don't forget that I am also fat, ugly, stupid, rude - maybe I could give them a thesaurus so that they could come up with some new and more creative words, at least make an effort). You can't control what other people say or do, but you can control your response.
I like to say "Jesus loves you!" in situations where someone doesn't respond well to a kind intention.
Then one day I saw a bumpersticker- "Jesus loves you but everyone else thinks you're an a**hole."
I try to say the 2nd part in my internal voice.
That's now 1 of my 2 favorite bumpersticker-seen witticisms, the other being "Why am I in this handbasket? And where am I going?"
I like that. Another favorite from a protest march - "Stop this nonsense now, or I will tell my Dad on you. Jesus."
I have the handbasket button on my jazz fest jacket.
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.
In this day and age in his name only? Only IRAs and one T-Bill (with beneficiary) are in one name only in my household.
A woman in the small town where I grew up got divorced circa 1969/1970. Her dad (couldn't be her mom) had to basically co-sign for her to have utilities in her name.
When I was 18 I consigned for my mom to get a phone. She had recently divorced my father. She was so mad, but back then 1978, everything was in the husbands name
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.
"I may be an idiot but I am a determined idiot." LOL. I recognize myself in that statement! Thanks for the chuckle.
It's never too late to read Pride and Prejudice, believe me. Welcome to the Jane Austen world!
Is it a quote from Pride and Predjudice? If so, I need to get on the bandwagon. It's always a good thing to have helpful quotes to get us through these crazy times!
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.
Sometimes I wonder if people who show themselves to be unpredictable are under the influence of some substance, be it alcohol or drugs. Or maybe they weren't treated respectfully and kindly as children. Or maybe they're just a-holes...
Or d) all of the above!
Three cheers for entrepreneurial children. I have recently had neighborhood boys offer window washing and garbage can cleaning services. Last summer there was a boy offering poop patrol for your yard. These are all good services that don't require too much investment, mainly labor. What other services have you seen offered by children in your neighborhood?
Car washing by the 3 pre-teen boys in our neighborhood
People can be so weird. But at least you met another normal person!
1. We are having monsoon like rains with a tropical system so I have stayed home today. I did manage to get my one hour walk in very early this morning before nature decided to downpour!
2. The farmer’s market was cancelled bc of the weather… sniff. So I just ate what I had on hand. Fresh tomatoes would have been nice though. I made a tuna fish sandwich with dried dates, and apple, mac and cheese, and a bagel with the last of my tomatoes, and eggs. I also ate the last of my cut watermelon for breakfast but, thankfully, I bought another watermelon yesterday.I don’t like running out of tomatoes or watermelon in the summer.
3. No air is on because, although we are under a tornado watch, the air is surprisingly cool with this weather system. I periodically open and shut the windows depending on how much wind is blowing with the rain. Also, I don’t have to water my plant in front yard since back yard is completely flooded and the front yard is not looking very spiffy either. Drenched would be the description.
4. My fridge is slowly dying but
I am refusing to get rid
of it while the freezer section still works. Yes, I am cheap like that.
5. I am reading library books in between answering emails.
My fridge seems to be dying but we had to unplug it to get the frost out of the freezer. It's working now that I am not sure how long.
I'd suspect a mental health issue for anyone standing in the middle of a road! A bit ago we saw someone turn the wrong way down a one way street and honked to worn them but they kept going. We did see that they made it to the proper street without a head on collision thankfully. They were driving erratically before that too.
1. We have family visiting and decided to have a use up what is in the fridge-make your own lunch. Lots of small leftovers now gone.
2. We are taking care of our son's and DIL's garden/house plants while they vacation. Frugal for them.
3. An inadvertent frugal saving - The dog's grooming was postponed 3+ weeks due to groomer illness and he was very fluffy & hairy. Just a few dollars more than usual. I might add at least a week between future grooming appointments.
4. Totally enjoyed attending the musical The Lunchbox at a nearby theater last night courtesy of my neighbor being given free tickets and inviting me. We took Bart using our senior discount cards and only had to walk 2 blocks.
5. I didn't paint a pool using a no bid preferential contract spending $14 million taxpayer dollars just to have it peel of within a short time.
I have been out and about so often lately that I have not sufficiently cleaned my house the way I would like to. So I spent an exorbitant amount of time today, dusting and vacuuming and picking up and putting away. And then, I decided to take apart my bathroom ceiling fan to clean it. OMG. They make those things so difficult to clean. I was using an old toothbrush, but it didn’t fit the fins deep enough, so it didn’t really help. I tried using a little grout brush, that didn’t help. So I resorted to using toothpicks and picking away at each fin to pull the dust out. Brushes, toothpicks, and a vacuum.I don’t know what I was thinking. It took… forever. Then I cleaned the cover and started the process of putting it back together. After 20 or so minutes of swearing, and even a few tears, I took a picture, sent it to my neighbor and said “help“. He came over and said “I don’t even take mine apart anymore because it’s such a pain to put back together, I just vacuum the outside of it.” And after about five minutes, he finally got it put back together. It’s the last time I’m taking it apart. But I’m very grateful that I can send a help text to my neighbor, and I will receive help.
That’s it. That’s enough for today.
Ohhhh, for those of you on IG, TikTok or Instagram, there is a creator by the name of B. Dylan Hollis. He takes old recipes and tries them out, and he has taken some fantastic recipes, and created two books. I sent him a few recipe books that I found at an estate sale and also sent him a button crochet kitchen towel and, a crocheted egg (and I had to die the yarn yellow with yellow food coloring because I couldn’t find the right color) I put magnets on the back of the egg and it is now on his fridge. If you watch his latest clip, you will see my egg and towel. 🙂
I love that you sent the fella the recipe books and a towel etc + you are now a feature in his videos! He must have been tickled to receive them.
His thank you letter was so sweet. And then a few days later, on his TikTok live, once he realized I was watching, he stopped cooking and said “everyone needs to see this. Look at the detail. I am absolutely blown away that she made this for me“. He’s really sweet.
1. My handy husband took the dishwasher apart to try and figure out what was causing The World's Most Foul Odor. Seriously - it smelled like a stinky pond. It took him two hours, but he got the smell out!
2. Thursdays when I teach 7 students and we're all over it is the day we make chicken fingers, off brand Tater Tots and peas out of the freezer for dinner. No take out for us!
3. Full shopping ban is on now as I work seriously at losing some of the weight I gained during the most stressful year. I promised myself a trip to the sale racks/thrift store when I get the first 10 pounds off.
4. Heading to our provincial park on Saturday to use our new blow up kayak/paddle board!
5. Going strawberry picking this weekend too. It has been on my bucket list and I'm going to load up on the gorgeous Ontario strawberries and make some jam while I'm at it!
You are using the term "trauma bond" incorrectly.
No: We've both experienced similar trauma and have bonded over our shared experience.
Yes: I was kidnapped by someone and my brain dealt with the trauma by tricking myself into thinking it's not traumatic and bonding with my kidnapper instead, no longer thinking of them as a bad person....Stockholm Syndrome is a form of trauma bond. Generally, any person being abused, usually long term and not able to escape, forms a bond with their abuser to cope with the trauma. Have you ever known someone in a relationship with a terrible person but that someone just.doesn't.see.it??? That's a trauma bond.
I visited the oral surgeon about the tooth that needs pulling and was pleasantly surprised that the cost won't be as much as I had feared. Not cheap but lower than I thought. BTW, the doctor told me that dental insurance is not as good as medical insurance; he said to think of it as a coupon.
Got a 30 cent can of soda pop from our store break room vending machine.( Why pay full price?)
Went outside on the patio this morning reading my latest LFL book, A Promised Land by former President. Obama. Great book but my eyeglasses kept fogging up from the humidity! Per TV weather report, our 9 pm temperature feels like 108...the actual temp is 94, but the humidity ups it. However, it was not quite that bad this morning, but...
You did your job as a concerned citizen but you can't fix stupid. Upside the non-stupid won 2-1. I just hope the not a lick of common sense has nor will ever have children.
1. I picked up 2 mystery shops on my 2-hour commute from work to my parents' house (where I'm staying part of the week to be a companion to my dad while my mom is in a nursing home/rehab). Both were grocery stores, which allowed me to buy some food for dinner on the road, get $25 worth of groceries, and $20 pay out.
2. I listened to an audiobook from the library and Money for Couples via my free (but with ads) account on Spotify during my commute.
3. Tonight, I took dad on a mystery shop for dinner, and I only had to pay $2 out of pocket. (He also is completely entertained by the idea that we can do this - he is the OG of frugality). We were then going to go to the racetrack, but they cancelled the races due to expected rain (4-hours after the event, we are still waiting for the rain!), but we saved $24.... and instead came home and watched a movie.
4. My partner gets to bring home both a free CSA box and any boxes that subscribers don't pick up. For the second week in a row, someone didn't pick up their berry share, so we got 3 11-ounce containers of local strawberries. Since I'm not home until Sunday, I had him freeze them all, which he will use in smoothies. (People pay $23 for these berry shares each week!!).
5. Since mom is stuck in rehab, on the way to visit her, dad and I stopped in at CVS to use her Carebucks (or whatever it is called when she gets $10 each month to spend). I found a large bottle of Dove body wash for $11.00 so it was only $1.
I like to say "Jesus loves you!" in situations where someone doesn't respond well to a kind intention.
Then one day I saw a bumpersticker- "Jesus loves you but everyone else thinks you're an a**hole."
I try to say the 2nd part in my internal voice.
That's now 1 of my 2 favorite bumpersticker-seen witticisms, the other being "Why am I in this handbasket? And where am I going?"
Are you a normal person though? LOL
Glad you had someone to commiserate with afterwards. I find that helps take the sting out of unpleasant interactions.