May Frugals

[iforonwy]

We managed to turn the heating off yesterday and we are getting more than enough hot water from the solar. The tumble dryer decided that it did not want to work the other day and as it was a little showery I decided to hang it in the conservatory. It dried in next to no time. The last two loads have been hung outside.

[flowerseverywhere]

DH needs to do some rehab with weights. Instead of going out to buy some we weighed his wrenches, hammers etc. and found the exact weights he needed. Called a hotel near where a special event is that we are going to. The online prices were very high, but when we called booked a room for much less than any deal we could find online. We will drive and pack food so our costs will be relatively low, plus they serve breakfast.

[Kat]

Thanks, Rosemary! I have not been "officially" diagnosed yet, but my doctor thinks it might be on its way to developing. My blood pressure was a little high last time, and my feet and legs swelled up enormously almost over night. So I am just being closely monitored for now.

Yesterday was much more frugal--a no spend/no drive day. We ate at home for all three meals and took DD for a wagon ride in the afternoon. I got caught up on laundry, too, and cleaned the house a little. Read a couple of free books on my Kindle, too. I had hoped to just stay home today, but it looks like I may need to take my cat to the vet and also go out to eat with DH's out-of-town family tonight. So I guess the crock pot meal I had planned will have to wait until tomorrow.

ETA: Okay, so I am kind of on a roll today! I processed a return and sold a few things via Amazon's trade-in program. Shipping is free for both, and I was able to re-use packaging I had sitting around as well. I also arranged for the post office to pick up my packages tomorrow so I can save on gas. DH needs me to stop at the bank and withdraw $10 for a plant for a co-worker whose father died, so I am going to stop at a nearby store and return a belt that did not fit him. So when it is all said and done, I will have $16.74 back in my account and $13 and change in the form of an Amazon gift card. DH mentioned that he found a home for our bookcase, so I will see if we can't sell a few more books once he empties it.

[bke]

Flowerseverywhere- I got the biggest grin from hearing about you and dh weighing his tool to find the correct size for rehab. That is totally the way my dh would do things. Excellent idea!

We did the weekly shopping yesterday and bought the guys some much needed shoes/shorts while we were out. Sales saved us over $13. A coupon printed out at Kmart that saved us 30 cents a gallon on gasoline.

I received a coupon for a free container of coffee creamer in the mail today.

I've started saving the leftover brewed coffee at work again now that its warm. I enjoy drinking it cold and it would go in the garbage if I didn't consume it myself.

Today should be a no spend day.

[chrissieq]

Did some grocery shopping with DD at Trader Joe's this AM - she is taking a train trip and wanted to get some healthy snacks for the trip.

After I dropped her at work, I was going to run errands but looked at my schedule for the rest of the week and will pass all those places when I am out and about for meetings/haircut.

Instead I took a nap, opened up the screen porch and started cleaning out a garden space.

[rosarugosa]

Frugality on behalf of others: One of my employees is a relatively recent homeowner and is trying to build a bit of a garden, so I potted up 3 small Bleeding Hearts from my garden and brought them in for her. Now another employee would like some. No cost to me but a little bit of time; I'm happy to share

[Rosemary]

I love bleeding hearts, rosarugosa. So dainty, and early-flowering.

Today was a no-spend day AND I postponed my planned grocery shopping by 2 days... stretching the freezer, because the fridge is pretty bare.

The fruit plants I ordered back in bleak February arrived today so I dropped everything to get them in the ground. It's looking pretty springlike here considering the ground was pretty frozen just 2 weeks ago. Those fruit plants should save us a lot in the coming years: apples, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. Also some American hazelnuts, which may or may not produce nuts worth bothering with - we'll see.

I had planned to hire someone to remove the rock from our front landscaping bed but I started it myself today... will see how far I get this week and if I still think I need to hire someone. It's tedious, and slow, difficult to use a shovel so I do a lot literally by hand. It would just be a couple hours of work for someone with a bobcat, probably... but I think we'd lose a lot of soil, too.

[fidgiegirl]

It's tedious, and slow, difficult to use a shovel so I do a lot literally by hand. It would just be a couple hours of work for someone with a bobcat, probably... but I think we'd lose a lot of soil, too.

And, as you so kindly pointed out in the other thread, it wouldn't be nearly as meditative, either! Jealous of your fruit plants. We could maybe do some fruit, but it would have to be very well planned and using espaliers, etc.

I bought a few plants at a fundraiser sale at Century College today. Got a whole flat for $20, including 9 packs of impatiens, 4 pepper plants and 4 perennials. I was pretty happy with that. If anyone is interested, the sale is going through the 10th from 10-4. Get off 694 at Century Ave and go north. Turn right in the first drive to the college, which is far before the light . . . right past a clump of trees before you see the college from the road. Take the first right available and continue back to Horticulture. There's a big sign on Century about the plant sale. It's mostly annuals, though they do have tomatoes and peppers and a smattering of perennials. But I thought the price for the annuals was super compared to the greenhouses in town.

[fidgiegirl]

Did some grocery shopping with DD at Trader Joe's this AM - she is taking a train trip and wanted to get some healthy snacks for the trip.

After I dropped her at work, I was going to run errands but looked at my schedule for the rest of the week and will pass all those places when I am out and about for meetings/haircut.

Instead I took a nap, opened up the screen porch and started cleaning out a garden space.

Ah, a nap today, glorious day for it!!

[fidgiegirl]

Frugality on behalf of others: One of my employees is a relatively recent homeowner and is trying to build a bit of a garden, so I potted up 3 small Bleeding Hearts from my garden and brought them in for her. Now another employee would like some. No cost to me but a little bit of time; I'm happy to share

One of my fave plants. So kind of you to share. A coworker of mine pulled up a bunch of ground cover sedum for us a few years ago and it is going strong; I think of her every time I see it.