2025 Frugal Friday File, May 9...

 

1.  When the cat's not on scene, the mice will clean!  Last summer it was the garage.  (Which I never did take 'after' photos of, sorry.)  This time I have a closet purge planned...everything will be out and gone through.  I've already donated winter coats...apparently I love to buy winter coats, but I don't like to wear winter coats...and we hardly even have a winter here!  I will also be donating work clothes, since I'm no longer working.  I will keep a couple pairs of nice slacks and tops, but the rest is going.

2.  I'm returning one of the pair of shoes I bought last week.  The Birkenstocks are fine, but the White Mountain ones have zero support; disappointing as others of that brand worked great for me.

3.  Girls are home for the summer.  They will be looking for jobs.  Until they find work for other people, I hope they will come help me accomplish a room reboot.

4.  I am feeling really good about getting old books on my Kindle finally read!

5.   I'm about to leave to head to a friend's house.  I will leave my car at her house, and ride with her to the city to attend book club.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  out for Tex-Mex

Sunday:  leftovers

Monday:  Stir Fry w/ tofu

Tuesday:  takeout baked potatoes w/ bbq brisket

Wednesday:  Chicken burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday:  Pot pies

Friday:  Sandwiches

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

Dual timeline.  I could have done without the current day one.  It was a just a romance story, and not a great one.  But the past timeline was about Johanna Van Gogh Bonger, the wife of Vincent Van Gogh's brother Theo.  It was beautifully written and seemed to be well researched.  I gave it three stars only because I've about reached the end of my patience with dual timeline stories.

And I'm about a third of the way through this one currently.  Love Louise Erdrich.

Tuesday Treasure...

The jury is out, but this is a major purchase that's been on the back burner for awhile, and I hope will prove to be a treasure.

My old, small SUV has been a great vehicle, but Carey did not want to take it on long trips anymore (without putting $ toward maintenance in it that we didn't want to put into a 10-year-old car).  We've been shopping half heartedly for a couple of months or so.  An extended family situation came up that needs our assistance and will require a long trip to get to them.  It made us decide that now was the time to bite the bullet.  We went to look for a specific car this morning, and found a way better deal on this one, and it's still under warranty.  It was a loaner at the dealership...one year old, and only about 1,000 miles on it.  They had put their whole 'fleet' of loaner cars on the sale lot this past weekend, and sold five of them already.  Today we still had ten to choose from, so got a color I like.  

What I'm most excited about (in addition to getting a newer model with way less milage, for basically the same price that we were willing to spend on the one we ended up not getting...oh, and the fact that the tires are basically brand new) is the built-in technology that can be linked to my phone, and having the maps be on larger screen and hands free.  

Funny story.  Today I had Carey drive the new car home, because I had a big box to donate at Goodwill in the back of our old car (we're keeping old car).  I wanted to drop it off on my way home.  I was following him on the road home, and decided to call a friend.  Because they had already linked my phone to the new car, and because we were still traveling very close together, when I dialed it connected in the new car, and my friend was talking to Carey without realizing that I wasn't even in the car with him...and the call wouldn't hang up till we got some distance apart from each other, at which point the call dropped.  Pretty weird.

I'm just hoping that it is safe and as good a car for us as its predecessor.

Delayed gratification for the win!

2025 NOT VERY Frugal Friday File, May 2...

 

1.  I ordered two pair of shoes.  One pair was lightly-worn Birkenstocks on ebay.  Including shipping they were $30 (retail new would have been $100+).  The other pair is similar in style but is White Mountain brand, which I have had good luck with in the past.  They were on sale for half price so my total cost was $32.  

Ninety-nine percent of the time I am in Birkenstocks, from the time my feet first hit the floor when I wake up in the morning until the time I take them off when I'm getting into bed at night.  I have high arches, and was told decades ago (by my reflexologist, after a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis) to wear Birkenstocks.  I have never had any further pain from plantar fasciitis.  I am a firm believer that the human body is not meant to walk & stand on cement slabs as much as we do.  I was raised in a house built in 1902 with a pier-and-beam foundation and wooden floors.  Ah...that was the life!  I despise modern home construction in Texas...no basements, just concrete slab.  I blame my bad knees on it.

Anyway, I've worn all of my current shoes for several years now, and even good-quality cork footbeds flatten out somewhat over time and constant wear.  I thought I should find some replacements before any problems set in, and in case tariffs do go into effect.  

2.  I accompanied a friend to a quilt fabric/supplies market in a nearby town today.  The vendors being those who have cleaned out their stash and selling.  I spent $39, and got some things with specific projects in mind.  I also got another $38 of backing fabric which was new and cut to size for me.

3.  I doubled my annual gift to my local NPR station.

4.  I tried to double my annual gift to my local PBS station, but it will have to wait, as I couldn't get logged on.

5.  I did not buy any Trump crypto make-believe funds.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Pasta Salad w/ Chicken

Monday:  leftovers

Tuesday:  grocery-store sushi

Wednesday:  King Ranch Casserole

Thursday:  Pork chops, Stove Top, Cranberry Sauce

Friday:  leftoverws

**designates meatless meal

I've fallen down a rabbit hole, and I can't get up...

 

image source:  behindthetower.org

I started wondering if the UT Clock Tower shooting was the original school and/or mass shooting.  Turns out no, it was not.

You may not be able to probably can't read the small print in the image above, but the article it accompanied can be found here if you are interested:  http://behindthetower.org/a-brief-history-of-mass-shootings  

From the timeline in the image, I of course remember the UT Clock Tower shooting, and the ones listed after 1980, but I did not realize there were so many others.

It's not going to magically stop.  What is it going to take?  Will we ever figure this out?

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Twenty-second challenge finish of the year.

('Found family trope' is defined as characters who choose to make unrelated people [characters] their family.  You may know this already, but I had to look it up.)

This was very good.  I enjoyed this sequel every bit as much as its predecessor.  And I was really excited to see that the author has decided to make this a trilogy.

Twenty-third challenge finish of the year.

('Breaks the fourth wall' is defined as one or more characters breaking from the story to address the reader directly, ie Jane Eyre saying, "Reader, I married him."  You may know this already too, but my friend, the PhD, didn't, so I thought I'd mention it also.)

This was my new book club's May book.  I'm counting it for the challenge as well, since I was able to borrow it from the library.  

I was a bit perplexed by what prompt to put it under.  Google says it does not break the fourth wall.  I disagree, as I felt that the character of Marcellus was always talking to me directly.  :)  When I saw that another challenge participant also listed it as 'breaking the 4th wall prompt,' I decided I could too.

I really liked this book so much.  The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I don't believe I will go back to it to read it again.  But if the author ever comes out with a sequel, I will definitely read it.

Twenty-fourth challenge finish of the year.

Again, I really enjoyed this book.  The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I doubt I will go back to it to re-read.  

It doesn't exactly have a diary entry, but it reads like one.  Having only 66 pages, it is a fast read.  The forward, illustrations, and editorial comments add to it.

It has been on my Kindle since 2014, so I am elated to have given it its due by reading and appreciating it finally.

Tuesday treasure...

I think I'm going to be doing a new post for Tuesdays.  Just about the best things I find or experience on Tuesdays.  That is usually the day I volunteer at the library, so often it may be about books.

I was looking through some recently donated books while I was working there today, and was SO excited to see this one.  They Call Me Ranger Ray by Ramiro "Ray" Martinez, retired Texas Ranger.  He is a bit of a legend in Texas, and he lives in a nearby town.  I was filling in at a business in that town when he came in with his wife, and both of them are incredibly personable and pleasant to talk to.  We chatted about the small town where Carey and I obtained our marriage license at the courthouse where Ranger Ray Martinez worked on a big political corruption case.  At the time, I had no idea that he was famous for a case that had nationwide coverage.

And what makes it an extra special treasure?  It's an autographed copy!  I mean not to me, but still.  LOL

Just thumbing through the book, I wanted to read it cover to cover right then.  But I have some other must-do priorities at the moment, so will have to wait awhile.  If I was a loving wife, I would let Carey have first dibs on it.  No promises.  ;)