The Memorial Day weekend just came and went. And although I should have tales to share of all the wonderful frugal activities we participated in, the truth is that I worked on Sunday and lazed around for the most part. I could blame it on the iffy weather, but the truth is that I really wasn’t in an adventurous mood.
However, I did rouse my lazy-tuchus self and browse a couple of thrift stores yesterday. There wasn’t anything in particular that I was keeping an eye out for, so my haul was minimal. I did bond with a vintage magazine stand whose sculptural qualities tickled my fancy. You could say I took a stand. (Nyuk, nyuk.) It was priced at $3.99, but everything was half-off, so the sticker shock was under control. I also snapped up a sturdy cooling rack to replace one of my flimsy ones, which at 75¢ was decidedly pain free. It’ll need a bit of a scrub, but I’m willing to put in the sweat equity.
On a sad note, I dropped and broke an enormous jar of homemade organic freezer jam. It was the last of last summer’s jam session, and because it could have been full of glass shards, none could be saved. I am super bummed to have to resort to store bought jam, as there is simply no comparison.
Please observe a moment of silence to honor the jeweled beauty that was my sweet, sweet jam.
Sniff.
How was your weekend? Was it it chock full of frugal adventures? Please share your stories in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
We spent the weekend at my parents’ cabin in western Maryland – free! We splurged a bit on one fun thing for the kids – a sort of gravity-powered mountain coaster thing – but mostly it was frugal. We even got some books at a charity shop set up in an old train car. The frugal fail for the weekend was the meatballs I’d made, frozen, and schlepped a few hundred miles only to taste them and find that something was horribly wrong with them. Hubby had eaten them and not said anything(and didn’t get sick, thank goodness), but I had to chuck them when I tasted them. Boo. No one was sad to have to eat the back-up dinner, though – organic kielbasa. 🙂
That sounds like so much fun! Bummer about the meatballs though.
Boo!
Katy
Ohhhh, that IS very sad about the jam.
You’ll have strawberries soon, though, right? And you can make another batch.
I think we’re about a month from strawberry season here.
Katy
I am humming a little bit of taps for your sad jam crash. I understand your pain. Thank goodness we are close to jamming season again. Strawberries are already being picked around here (MA), so it is nearly time to set to work.
I actually just wrote a post about our “more frugal than planned” weekend. We chose the hotel less traveled, and had a blast! It’s awesome how the less expensive alternative can often be the better option! http://slightlyscatteredsupermom.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/the-benefits-of-the-frugal-choice/
Thanks for the inspiration you’ve been giving!
I’ve lost some weight, so I took myself to a number of thrift shops over the weekend and got some “new” clothes. Used, cute clothes make me so happy and thankful that I live in a place where they are easy to procure. If I had to buy a whole new wardrobe every time I lost a size, it would bankrupt me. We also did some yard work on Saturday when the weather was nice, and had a back yard fire pit date with some friends. I love three day weekends.
We worked in the garden. Looking forward to fresh veggies. I picked strawberries. I already have seven boxes in the freezer and eight jars of jam made. Made me sad to see your broken jam jar. Been there and done that. Painful! Wish I could share mine–sure would if I were closer. We also were invited to two potlucks over the weekend. I love those as you get to make something —nice to try out new stuff then–and you get to try others yummy cooking. But it is so economical and that is my favorite way “to eat out:)”. Did quite a bit of relaxing also.
I made granola from scratch for the first time. The recipe called for baking the dried fruit with the other ingredients, though, and every piece of dried fruit is covered with carbon. Next time will mix the fruit in after the other ingredients are baked and completely cooled.
We worked in the yard. Harvested yellow and zucchini squash from the garden and started looking at squash recipes. I almost always feel blindsided by too much squash. We had a cookout with our son and his family on Sunday. Mostly we just stayed home and enjoyed reading and crossword puzzles. (Here in NC strawberry season is almost over, but, boy, have they been good this year!)
I am SO sorry about your jam. One year we opened a cupboard and an entire shelf of homemade salsa and tomato sauce fell. I can’t remember how many broke, several. My sister quickly went to clean and told me not to look! She knows I cried the year I had to chop down tomato plants because of disease.
This last weekend I went camping with my family and some friends. Twelve of us stayed in a park we heard about from the department of forestry. By getting up early we got a roomy campsite near a creek for the whole weekend for free. We cooked over a fire built with wood from a friend’s farm, washed in the creek with soap one of us made and ate venison from a doe my sister’s boyfriend got. We spent Sunday fishing, kayaking and swimming in a local river. Having no electricity, cell service or running water turned out to be surprisingly relaxing for everyone.
*lol* need your list of “best” Portland thrift shops, cuz we didn’t find a thing when we were up there a few weekends ago.
What?! Insanity.
🙁
Katy
Only a blogger would stop and take a picture of broken jam! I hate breaking jars of anything because of the cleanup, but home-canned food is a real taste loss! Can you make jam from some other fruit until strawberries are in. I did less than you on Memorial Day.
True. Broken jam jar? Quick, grab the camera!
Katy
I swear I got a whiff of strawberries when I looked at that picture 🙂
Sorry about the jam. 🙁
Monday we spent most of the day sorting and organizing. We’re moving soon and so we’re getting ready for a garage sale. I was pleasantly surprised how many of my hubby’s tools he’s willing to sell!
Still wiping the tears from my eyes. And it takes so much time to make homemade things, whether jam, clothes, etc.
Our Memorial Day weekend? Lots of at-home socializing, plus I updated my perenially popular post on How To Save Money On Gas. I tend to forget which side of our car the gas tank is on, I fill it up so infrequently.
Take a peek at your fuel gauge, AW, Generally you’ll see a fuel pump and an arrow pointing towards side with the gas tank. I used to travel a lot and drive lots of different rental cars. This tip came in handy. Also nice to note that if you fill up at Costco, their hoses are extra long so you can fill up from either side. I always laugh when the line for left-side tanks is way longer than the line for right-side tanks. I’ll take the short/no line side, please and a smidge more fuel economy.
PS – Here’s another Costco gas tip or two – They price shop in a one-mile radius. So a Costco that’s near a cheap gas station will often have much better prices than a Costco that doesn’t have a cheap station nearby. Not worth a trip, but if you have a choice, you could save more. Not to mention the Costco rebate. I believe it has a 3K gas limit, but for most folks that’s plenty.
Just realized I left off my web address in the above comment (in case anyone wants to see my gas-money-saving tips). I think I included it this time.
Katie,
Your headline made me laugh until I realized it was referring to a tragedy. I am so sorry for your loss. Have you any idea why your beautiful jar chose to commit suicide? Was it unable to handle being the last one on the shelf? I hope this season’s strawberries arrive at a location near you soon. Perhaps if you make extra, the last jar will not have to cope with debilitating loneliness next year. So sad.