May Frugals

[early morning]

Wow, miss a few days, and there are 5 pages to read - way to go, everybody!! Kat, thinking of you and sending good vibes - take care of yourself! bke, I didn't think you sounded terrible, just hadn't seen the posts on the open board- now I know what you were referring to, lol. I lost my oldest kitty today and I'm taking her to the mortuary in the morning for cremation, about a third less than our vet-provided service. We'll just scatter her ashes anyway, why do I want an urn or fancy wooden box? We will miss her terribly, but don't feel the need to spend a lot to memorialize her.

[Rosemary]

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!

...yes, I did note this morning that it was an activity that required a meditative mindset... but I don't know if I need quite that many hours of meditation this month!

[rosarugosa]

Early: So sorry about your kitty. We'll be facing similar decisions soon with our older guy. It isn't easy.

[Kat]

Thanks for the well wishes, earlymorning. So sorry to hear about your kitty. The loss of a pet is always so hard. Hugs.

rosarugosa--a bit off topic, but how exactly do you go about dividing bleeding hearts? Do you just dig them up and break the plant up into smaller sections? And can you do it any time of the year? Sorry if those are dumb questions, but I have never done it before! I need to, though, since I have some that are now too big for the space they are in. My dad started them for me from seed, so I am really nervous about doing it wrong and killing them off!

We did okay on the frugal front yesterday. We ate breakfast and dinner at home and then went out to dinner with our in-laws. My FIL ended up paying for everyone, which was very kind but unexpected! Then when we got home, DH and I took DD for a ride in her wagon and then put her to bed using the new hooded towel I made her yesterday (I also got around to mending one of DH's work shirts).

This morning I got started pre-treating some stains on DD's clothes and crib sheets. She is quite the little neatnik and VERY picky about dirt and stains. If she thinks something is "dirty," she will not wear it/use it. So I am hoping I can get these stains out. :-) I usually have good luck pre-treating with Tide/Dawn dish soap and then washing is very hot water with a laundry booster. So we'll see.

I am planning to stay home today. I am going to put dinner in the crock pot and maybe take DD outside to water her flower pot and sweep the deck (this kid loves sweeping!). I have a recipe for homemade weed killer (all natural, so safe for people and animals) that I want to try, so maybe I can get that made up and sprayed, too, so we can weed tomorrow.

[rosarugosa]

Kat: I have a small forest of Bleeding Hearts, so I didn't divide them; I just potted up a few youngsters. Sorry that I'm no help on that one. Someone else just recently posted about putting something out in the sun to remove a stain; I keep meaning to try that, it sounds like it's very effective.

[Blackdog Lin]

rosa: you mentioned stain-removing. I have today's frugal to report on that subject.

The dog started bleeding (heavily!) Sunday evening from her foot. Some sort of wound around her dew claw. We thought we got it staunched, but I got up the next morning to 2 large heavy blood stains on the old cheap chenille bedspread on my bed. Double bummer, as it meant she was still in bad shape.

(1) saved money on a vet visit by just giving her a good bandage. Gauze and tape around her little paw, she's doing pretty well with it (though I did catch her a time or two this morning with gauze hanging out of her mouth). We forgot Neosporin - we'll do her a new bandage tomorrow morning with plenty of Neosporin on it. It's looking like it's going to be okay.
and (2) I had recently had great success using Dawn as a stain-remover on a hoodie that I had treated (twice!) with Era. Butter stain. sigh. I treated it twice with Era - still stained. Tried Dawn - stain gone in one treatment. So today I took the chenille bedspread out, treated the blood stains with Dawn and let it set in the sun on the patio for 4-5 hours. Washed in cold water. Could still see one of the big stains. Rubbed again with Dawn, let set on the back porch for 2 hours, then washed again. Dried in the dryer, and.....blood stains are all gone. Freakin' amazing to me.

I will be using Dawn, along with sunshine, more often for stain treatment.

So today's frugals are using Dawn dishwashing detergent for stain removal; and not running to the veterinary in a panic for bloody baby wounds.

[chrissieq]

Kat: Like your daughter, I prefer to sweep - very calm and meditative.

Saw a recent post somewhere that Dawn with some hydrogen peroxide is the best stain remover. Have some vintage tablecloths that could use some stain removal - figure that it's worth a try!

[fidgiegirl]

Big score on the non-vet visit, Lin. It's a hard line to walk, but when it's not life threatening, it can work out. Glad it did!

We are going to take Gus to the discount pet shots at Petco this year. Corky needs more extensive blood work at the regular vet to OK him for his Rimadyl prescription, but Gus is a spry little guy and can get by on the maintenance appointment at the discount clinic. We save about $50 by using that service, and their heartworm meds are cheaper, too.

[Rosemary]

Early Morning, I'm very sorry to hear about your kitty.

Fidgiegirl, I was just pricing cat vaccines because 2 of our cats are due. I recall that, last year, each cat was about $100 for exam, rabies, and distemper. This year they don't need rabies as it's a 3-year shot. I called Petco and their distemper shot is $36 - so I don't think we would actually save much by going there. Maybe their dog vaccines are a better deal.

Got through one more day with a nearly empty fridge and dried laundry outside.

[JaneV2.0]

Kat: I have a small forest of Bleeding Hearts, so I didn't divide them; I just potted up a few youngsters. ... .

I'm guessing that's one flower missing from Iris Lily's garden.