Friend just posted on FB yesterday he was looking for a certain bit of dive gear if anyone had one to sell. I had one in my spares box. Friend is picking it up tonight and I’ll have $150 cash. That will pay for quarry entrances fees for diving for a while.
Sold a couple more bits dive gear for a total of another $150ish.
Nothing is frugal about my life right now. Last week our water pump (the one that gets the water out of the catchment system and into the house so we have running water) went out, this week we are getting the last third of the roof replaced so the monsoon rains later in the summer don't have us running for buckets. I also just got a $212 bill for my latest MRI, and I owe about $2200 in other medical debt.
The good news (I guess?) in all this is that I reached my out-of-pocket limit on my health insurance last week so I don't have to pay any more co-pays or anything the rest of the year and that we are somewhat able to absorb some of these unexpected expenses. We were also able to get out a small loan to help pay for the roof.
My life is so much more complicate than it used to be before I got married and helped buy a house, but complicated in a good way. We are so lucky we bought the house when we did (6 months before the pandemic hit) when housing prices and mortgage rates were much more reasonable. We would never be able to afford anything in the area now, and there is such a housing shortage that it would have been difficult to find a reasonable rental.
I keep having to tell myself that money is but a tool for things, and that its flow rate waxes and wanes at times in your life. Right now it feels like it's all flowing outward though...
It seems as though great minds are thinking alike on the frugal fountains. Alan, good luck to your wife in attracting hummingbirds. This will be my third year of putting out a feeder, cleaning it and replacing nectar as recommended, and no action, although my flowers will occasionally attract one for a brief visit. Herbgeek, I have the same type of fountain. The rocks are just for looks, so not necessary. After fiddling around a bit, I came up with my current setup. I have a wire column in the middle of the pot about 7" in diameter, so the fountain piece can float and stay with the water level without drifting to the edge (so that the water doesn't shoot out of the pot). Then I filled the area between the wire cage and the edge of the pot with rocks. It was also kind of funny that I was working on finding the best way to plug up the hole on this pot, while also drilling holes in some other pots I was using for flowers. I ended up using a wine cork to successfully plug the hole in the fountain pot. My husband was also pretty incredulous that I paid for a bag of rocks and called it frugal, lol.
fountain.jpg
Rosa your fountain is so beautful!
Yesterday a hummingbird flew right up into my fave and hovered there for a bit. I was wearing a hot pink shirt. I think she liked it and wondered if I was a giant pink flower. She has been hanging around the peony bushes.
We bought a new car yesterday, and we are officially those old people who paid as much for their car as for their first house.
Rosa, I love your fountain! Watch out when it's windy, though, that the water doesn't all get blown out and burn out your pump. We had have wind-fountain problems in the past, so just sayin'. I did a partial water change in my tiny pond yesterday, and I think the fish are happier. Not sure about the frog, he seems to really like muck. Over the years the pond (plastic, pre-formed) has shifted in the ground and I'd like to reset it but I'm afraid if we dig it out, it will crack and leak, and I don't want to pay for a replacement. I can't find the exact one I have, so replacing will involve even more digging, more expense, and more time with my fish in a different tub. And it may traumatize Edwin the frog. And sometimes when I ponder over why I don't accomplish the things I'd like to have done, I ask myself - do other people agonize over stuff like traumatizing a frog????
Yeah, that's us at the moment. I feel for you, SQ! And like you, I'm so grateful that we are in a place where we can weather the storm, even if not entirely comfortably. AND we are taking on some more, temporary expenses, to assist an ailing friend who has no one else to lean on. We've had car repairs (the "expected" unexpected, lol), medical tests not entirely covered by insurance, plumbing expenses that we thought were handled already. And emergency dental bills for our second adult child who struggles with many emotional/mental health issues. They are currently living with us and are not gainfully employed, for many, various, and difficult reasons. they DO help a lot here, but are unable to financially contribute right now. So, that said - I am trying very hard to not spend money without thinking long and hard about it. We ARE going to take some friends out for dinner tonight because it's the right thing to do. Ditto with the ailing friend issues. So while I'm not BEING frugal in all senses, we are trying hard to hang on to all dollars that are not allocated for important, thoughtful purposes, lol.Nothing is frugal about my life right now
Sorry for using the frugal forum to work on my own mental health this morning, but it's where I am, so.....
We're those old people too. Tuesday we signed a contract on a new in-ground pool to replace the 20 year old above ground which is finally falling apart. The new one is almost exactly twice the cost of our first house.Originally Posted by iris lilies
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
Ah, yes, we bought a truck that cost twice as much as our first house...50 years ago, though. My frugal is making my own yogurt. I decided to do it mainly because I have trouble getting the Stoneyfield plain whole milk that I like, so decided I can make my own in a canning jar...heat the milk, cool the milk, add the yogurt starter from a bought tub of yogurt and let sit in the stove for many hours. It's very close to the Stoneyfield in texture and flavor so i am well pleased to not have more plastic tubs for the recycling. I know I will need to buy some for refreshing the starter, but I am saving some money and recycling!!!
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