2025 Frugal Friday File, February 28...

 

Frugal things that are easy for me, and make others feel special.

1.  A couple of months ago a friend mentioned to me that she was wanting a serger.  I told her I wished I had known sooner, as I had donated one after the garage clean out...but wasn't sure it was one she would have wanted anyway, as it was from the 1990s back when they were really complicated to thread (at least that's what I heard, though the serger had never been out of the box since my mother had purchased it a little while before she died).  Friend assured me that she would have been happy to give it a try, too bad it got away.

Fast forward to now.  I was out in the garage, and saw the serger in its box with some other things I had planned to donate, but never had.  I texted my friend that it was still hanging around after all.  I'll meet her at the library to get some volunteering done together and hand over the serger.  So excited my procrastination paid off for a change!  LOL

(In my defense, the creative re-use center where the serger and other items were to be donated is in an inconvenient part of the city, and they have very limited donation hours.)

2.  My son-in-law (Beau) phoned me the other day to tell me he was texting me a photo that he wanted to discuss.  The photo was of the cuff of his jacket where the Velcro was failing due to design flaw, and he asked if there was a way to save the jacket.  He loved that the cuffs could be tightened as needed, but due to the poor hook design of fastener, they did not stay tightened.  

I love that he doesn't hesitate to ask my opinion on something I have more experience with than he does.  I love that he wants patches/fixes rather than replacing.  I love that he is comfortable enough to ask me for a favor.  And in this case, I love that it is an easy fix with supplies I have on hand, so I said a quick yes.  Now we'll see if we have any more cool temperatures this season.  He may or may not get it back in time as I am having a sewing machine malfunction that I need to get figured out first.

3.  The dessert I made for Sunday family supper was something that Caitlyn had asked me to make next time she came home from school.  Well she came, but she had to head back to school before Sunday family supper.  So I made it the night before, and I separately packed serving for her to take with her.  Then I texted her a photo with a "Come get this out of my fridge before you leave."

4.  I text Kasey things that I know will make her smile.  This week a photo of an orange dog toy with a note that I was considering buying one for her dog and mine just for the ten minutes of watching them destroy it.  I didn't because I was leery of how it would alter the ads that pop up on my screens.  :)

5.  And on a separate note, today I am participating in the NO SPEND DAY you may have seen across social media.  RESIST!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Breakfast for dinner

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Enchilada Casserole

Tuesday:  **out for Tex-Mex

Wednesday:  Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes w/ Brisket

Thursday:  Veggie Loaded Fried Rice

Friday:  leftovers

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger

Reading Challenge - Book 7 finished...

Elizabeth Strout consistently delivers hours of enjoyment to me.  I definitely want to read this one again.

Reading Challenge - Book 6 finished...

Somewhat of a struggle to get through this one, but I did finish it a couple of days ago.  Turns out it was the fourth book based on this case that I have read:  three novels, and this non-fiction study of the investigation.  

The three novels were: The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott, Avery's Knot by Mary Cable, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Reading multiple books on this topic/case was totally unintentional.  Women moving into the work force of the industrial revolution has always interested me, as have the changing religious leanings in Colonial America.  This book spoke to the burgeoning freedoms of women in both the factories of New England and in the tent-revival religiosity of Methodism moving away from the Puritan ways of worshiping.  It also spoke to the bias and discrimination they had to deal with.

FYI, I am still plugging away at Moby Dick.  Finally in the final quarter of the book.

2025 Frugal Friday File, February 21...

1.  I baked bread with some of the sourdough starter a friend gave me last week.  The recipe I chose to try (because it was easy to remember) was called the 1,2,3,4 Bread.

• 1 cup of starter, 2 cups of water, 3 teaspoons of salt, & 4 cups flour.  Mix together, and form loaf.
• Let rise 7 to 9 hours.  Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; lower temp to 375° for 15 more minutes.

Three teaspoons of salt seemed like a lot to me, but I thought I would try it as it was written for ease of memorizing.  It was too salty...so I think I will change it to 3 half-teaspoons of salt.

In the meantime I have a whole loaf of bread that I don't want to throw away.  I cubed up some of it, spritzed it with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder...baked it for 5 or 10 minutes...tossed them on baking sheet and continued baking till toasted...croutons!  (They added interest to our leftover slaw/kale salad.)

I'm letting the rest of the slices dry out some, then I'll make bread crumbs to put in the freezer for future use where I can cut added salt elsewhere.

2.  Staying home.  Sounds boring, but with a warm pup snoozing on my lap, a book in my hands, and a log on the fire, it is the loveliest place to be on these cold, damp days we've been having.  (I consider them a bonus, as we thought they were over.  Happy to have a little more of my favorite days before the thermometer jumps back up to 100°F.)

3.  Watching a lot of YouTube videos, for quilting, card making, news replays, almost anything.  I have to say, the paid subscription to watch without ads is THE best value I've ever received from a subscription yet!

4.  Put another subscription on 'pause' as I haven't used it much lately.  May cancel if I don't miss it.

5.  I've been enjoying cooking for cold weather.  While I was at the library yesterday, I picked up two cookbooks for $1.50 each in our Book Nook area (used books for sale).  One is very succinct recipes.  Got no time for complicated ones, and I know as the weather warms I will want quick and easy.

     I'll copy any recipes I really like, and then I'll re-donate.  

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Salad..slaw mix, kale, black beans, chicken, orange, avocado, cilantro dressing

Sunday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  leftovers

Tuesday:  leftovers

Wednesday:  Tortilla Soup

Thursday:  Homemade Chili & store-bought Tamales

Friday:  Pork chops, squash casserole, green vegetable

2025 Frugal Friday File, February 14...

 

1.  Made menu on Tuesday for part of this week and next, and picked up grocery order.  Came out at less than $150, which I thought was pretty good (compared to the last grocery order anyway).

2.  Thursday found me getting creative to use up bits and pieces that have been lingering in the kitchen, so that they wouldn't go to waste.  Small bits of different cheeses in the fridge, a partial package of grape tomatoes that had gotten pushed to the back of fridge a week or two ago, but were miraculously not wrinkled or mushy, a spaghetti squash that I've put off cooking due to energy or time constraints.  I put some chicken breasts in slow cooker to use for the spaghetti squash tonight, but also to go in a salad and another meal.  

I think Four Cheese Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables, sounds a lot classier than the use-it-up-or-toss-it-out ingredients that went into it.  :)

3.  Since putting the planning into the 2025 Reading Challenge, matching books currently on my Kindle to the challenge's book prompts, I don't believe I've bought a single book, even from the Kindle special-deal emails.  

I even remembered to take a book with me when I knew I was going to a business that had a little free library out front, so that if I found something to borrow I'd have something to leave...but I didn't find anything.

I've borrowed a few from the library...just remembered I did buy two used books from the library book nook for $1.50 each.  I forgot about those, as I didn't have any cash, so Carey paid for them.  :)

4.  I window shopped (online) for window coverings.  I have an idea for a change in the guest room.  It is a very tall window with an arched top.  Currently there are only old fashioned, metal Venetian blinds in the non-arched part of the window.  They were here when we bought the house.  I am not in a hurry, and styles and/or my plans may change before I actually come across what I want at a price I want to pay.  It's never been a priority.  Still isn't.

5.  Last Saturday I was out running errands and purchased some extra heavy weight cardstock for making cards while it was 40% off (about a $7 savings).  After the purchase I was running some other errands, and I found myself near an Office Depot.  I took the cardstock into Office Depot to inquire if they could cut it in half for me while I waited.  I watched her place the entire package into their "industrial" paper cutter, and in one "zip" the entire ream of cardstock was cut into the size I use for card bases.  The employee handed me the cardstock, cut to the size I requested, and said there would be no charge for the single cut.  

So I saved on the original price of the package of cardstock, the price of having it cut to the size, all of the time it would have taken me to cut each sheet one piece at a time, AND probably half a dozen cutting blades for my paper cutter (as cutting really heavy cardstock dulls blades quicker than lighter papers).  

This was my favorite frugality of the week!  I'm ready to make cards!

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  takeout BBQ baked potatoes 

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Sausage, Onion, Kale, and Cheddar Quiche

Tuesday:  Salmon, Wild Rice, and Broccoli

Wednesday:  leftover quiche

Thursday:  Four Cheese Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

Friday:  Italian Meatloaf w/ Smashed Parmesan Potatoes

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

The Sinners All Bow:

Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne

by Kate Winkler Dawson

This is a recent release by the author, and I saw it available on our libraries recently-acquired list.  The author hosts a podcast that I listen to occasionally, and since this book's  real victim may have been the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, I thought I would give it a try.  

I'm not loving it.  For one thing it turns out I have read two other previous novels based on the event (in addition to The Scarlet Letter which I read ages ago), one of which leaned heavily on the transcripts from the trial of the accused.

Also this author keeps referring to her "co-author."  In actuality she's talking about a woman, who two years after the event ( which occurred in 1832) wrote an account of it.  For some reason, this annoys me; probably because it was so sincerely and often stated, that I took the time to research why this "co-author's" name was not listed on the cover of this current book.

Anyway, I will give it another chapter or two before deciding if I will finish it or not.