Category: Frugality
-
Birdie Birdie
Finally seeing some birds at my feeder! I think the blizzard made the food and shelter attractive! Today we had dark-eyed juncos, white-throated sparrows, and Carolina wrens visit! I honestly can’t tell you how excited Tom and I were when we woke up to the photo notification. We are getting old. We also woke up…
-
Fon-Didn’t
My frozen yard and my cold heart both melted a little this weekend. Temps close to 50 on Saturday started the thaw. I went out back to enjoy the mildness and lay eyes on the garden. I hadn’t been in the yard for weeks. It was heartening to see some creeping thyme, perfectly alive under…
-
Literally Dreaming of Spring
Maybe we should have bone-chillingly cold weekends more often. Being stuck in the house made me very productive. This weekend I have made meatballs, gravy, stuffed shells and banana bread. I have all the ingredients for pasta fagioli and was contemplating knocking it out, but will push that to tomorrow night. I’ve done three loads…
-
Hearts and Flowers
The random urge to craft struck me again this weekend. I was taking down our remaining Christmas decorations and wishing for something to replace them with. Inspiration struck in the form of the Baker Creek seed catalog. I had wanted to make a garlands of hearts for the fireplace mantel, but had no red paper.…
-
Snow, No Pho
It’s been sleeting here for hours. We definitely got more sleet than snow, and knock on wood, it looks like we will escape the ice. Today was a nearly perfect snow day. All five of us shared the shoveling. The kids learned early on that they won’t have school tomorrow. I busied myself baking chocolate…
-
Pho and Snow
Happy three-day weekend to those who are so blessed. I have many small fulfilling things to report this week! Perhaps the most important is that I refinanced my car loan yesterday. Now my interest rate is more than 4% lower and I also shortened the term. It told me how much I was saving —…
-
Hold Still and Hope January Doesn’t Notice You
Seriously, no sudden moves, no bold proclamations. January is a trickster. Everything is going pretty good, the weather warmed up a bit, it’s still a little light out at 5 pm, you’re feeling cautiously optimistic and then BAM! someone spikes a high fever. And it pours rain for 12 hours straight. Am I envious of…
-
Plans for 2026: Garden, Travel, Scrimp, Party!
My goal was not to be sick on Christmas, and I wasn’t. But most of us had strep throat this week. I guess it’s better than a cold or flu since once you get the meds it goes away. I resent having to pay $135 to urgent care so far. (But grateful for urgent care…
-
Cozy Christmas
My homemade, handcrafted holidays are finally over, though I’ve still got time off coming up to enjoy. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I was on my feet a lot, and definitely had moments of “never doing this again.” Two of the kids were sick and thus I didn’t have a lot of help in terms of…
-
Solstice Night
Now comes the time of the holiday season when I veer between rash, “Christmas comes but once a year” decision-making and “nope, I’m done” cost-cutting. This week, I had to chart a course through the middle, as I still had gifts to buy, and I had to start planning for hosting Christmas Eve. I should…
Garden State of Mind 