Five Frugal Things -- Pumpkin Pies & Saying Goodbye to Zelda
1. put up a post offering bundles of fresh rosemary for the neighbors in my Buy Nothing group, but only one person has taken me up on the offer so far. I'll refresh the listing when we get closer to Thanksgiving.
2. I drove to Costco and picked up two of their enormous $5.99 pumpkin pies and stuck them in the freezer for Thursday. I was a bit worried they'd be sold out, (especially when I saw that there was a line to even enter the store!) but they had hundreds upon hundreds of pies available for purchase. I normally make these from scratch, but I'm running on maybe 17% of the energy I normally rely on. The theme of this year's Thanksgiving feast is "short cuts!"
3. I got cash back after using my debit card and used it to fill up my gas tank. Saved me 25¢/gallon and that's worth the extra step in my book. I try to keep enough cash in my wallet for spontaneous fill ups, as this specific gas station tends to have long lines. This way I can hit them up when I notice a lull.
4. My husband used one of my 90¢ Dented Vegetable Store stuffing mixes for a turkey meatball recipe. (Work potluck.) No problem though, as I always have a loaf or two of $1 bread in my freezer from the Franz Bakery outlet.
I chopped this loaf of sourdough bread into cubes, which I then baked at a low temperature until they were nice and dry. I'll go ahead and combine them with the remaining box of stuffing mix for Thanksgiving.
5. Our beloved cat Zelda passed away yesterday after 17 years, which is a nice long life. (Here's the blog post from when we got her!) We then had the kids over last night to bury her and come together as a family.
I was extra tired from being unable to get back to sleep after discovering her during my 2 A.M. bathroom break, so I picked up a box of frozen Kirkland Signature frozen cheese pizzas, which I doctored with random sautéed veggies.
My husband and I realized we haven't been without a cat or kids in the house since 1991, which makes the house feel extra empty. Luckily we still get to enjoy occasional visits from Mama's Little Meatball for company, but for now we'll just take the time to mourn Zelda properly.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy-- so very sorry to hear about your fur-baby. My sympathies.
I'm so sorry to hear about Zelda. Our pets become little human family members over time and I too know what the loss of one is like. It's different, they are the little people in your house who can't speak, dont talk back, and want virtually nothing from you but love. I'm sorry for your loss.
My heart goes out to you as you are already mourning your father’s passing and losing Zelda so soon after must make everything seem raw. If ever there was a year to use shortcuts, this is it. Good bless you.
Betty and I send our condolences to you and yours on the loss of Zelda. DH and I have had six cats and two dogs; five of the six cats and both dogs have crossed the Rainbow Bridge; and it sucks *every*single*time.* (I don't even want to think about what a basket case I'll be when Betty, who is now 13.5, goes.) And I agree that it's proper to observe a period of mourning before deciding what to do next.
Not much other frugal news. I did get my tuchus to Wegmans this morning and picked up two bags of Tuscan kale for the kale salad I'll be taking to NDN1's CF's Thanksgiving spread. (I used to grow the kale myself before Bambi got in on the act.) And while I was returning my own NY State deposit containers, I noticed that someone had dumped several bags of very dirty containers in the return area. I ran $1.10 worth of these through the machines before reaching my limit on dirt.
So sorry for your loss of sweet Zelda. Take the precious memory of the first time you saw her, multiply that with the constant supply of kitty antics and sweet cuddles and you have a good life lived.