tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post5091515331300204275..comments2024-03-26T19:10:34.328-08:00Comments on The "Make Do" Homemaker: When Life Gives You Lemons...: Frugal Sunday: Money Saving Weekly RecapErika, "The Make Do Homemaker"http://www.blogger.com/profile/09303208981550053539noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post-33962604285472882142018-06-12T00:35:38.943-08:002018-06-12T00:35:38.943-08:00If you wrap your celery in foil it will last for w...If you wrap your celery in foil it will last for weeks longer than usual. Trim away any questionable parts first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post-7174453875459560602018-06-06T05:03:34.855-08:002018-06-06T05:03:34.855-08:00I'm afraid the "broken bug" has hit ...I'm afraid the "broken bug" has hit our house, too! Things seem to be breaking right and left. It's not convenient, because I am in the midst of a super busy season. There are graduation parties galore, plus one I'm giving for our daughter. Then, I'm working more hours, as my autistic niece is done with her school program, and needs more hours covered. The yard is getting whipped into shape, as is the garden, but both still need tremendous work. There is still cleaning to be done, and a back porch to clean off before Saturday, plus food to cook. <br /><br />In the midst of that, I have been having some car trouble, which is unsettling for me, as I drive miles and miles each day. After the 2nd episode yesterday, my husband rescued me, hopefully fixed the problem, and we think/hope the car will be ok for a while more. <br /><br />We are still under the cloud of the school district not telling my husband if he has a contract next year or not. He is on a 1-year contract each year. The main issue for us is whether or not we will have insurance during the summer or not, or even if his position will exist next fall. There are rumors that they are restructuring things. It's very stressful. But, one way or another, he will be out of school next Wednesday, so it will be nice to have him around more.<br /><br />I've been trying to shop carefully, as I am needing so many things right now. There are 4 birthdays in an 8-day period that need to be shopped for, and I have exactly 1 child taken care of out of that 4. We have not been able to find a dress for my daughter's actual graduation, which is tomorrow. Hmmmm. I feel more than a bit pressured. So, my plan is to tackle one thing at a time, and see what I can get done today. Since I'm home quite a bit today, with only one appointment, and my niece with me here for a few hours with no activities of her own today, I can get some things done. She likes to help fold laundry, and it's a skill for her to work on, so I'll give her a basket to work on. No matter if it takes 45 minutes to an hour per basket. It's win-win for everyone!Beckyathomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11105835394158145451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post-57959448439029734172018-06-05T22:20:36.347-08:002018-06-05T22:20:36.347-08:00Glad to hear your week has gone well :) Be good to...Glad to hear your week has gone well :) Be good to yourself and keep your menu plan flexible. From reading your posts, I feel you are a creative cook and can often find a menu plan restrictive xxAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028729995857639529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post-85268232619868977112018-06-05T12:53:39.719-08:002018-06-05T12:53:39.719-08:00You seemed to have quite a busy week. Over here, ...You seemed to have quite a busy week. Over here, we have been in the throes of renovations - with gusto- the past 2 weeks. Although we've been working on our house bit by bit the past couple of years, we've gone into overdrive the last 6 months. We're nearing the end of these renos and are planning on putting the house up for sale soon. Then starts the house-hunting in the new city we'd like to move to. It's been a very exciting but tiring time for us - and a little melancholy to move out of our comfort zones of trusted friends and neighbourhood. But it's time for a change.<br /><br />As I've posted over the past few months, we've been eating down our pantry and freezer so we'll have less to move. That practice didn't happen over the past 2 weeks because we were working on the kitchen and it was difficult to prepare meals when everything was covered in plastic and/or drywall dust, so it was just easier to purchase take-out. From a frugal point of view, it was more costly than usual, but from "a keeping your sanity" point of view, it was necessary. But now that the kitchen is back in order, cooking meals at home is back on the agenda.<br /><br />On Sunday, my husband had to replace our garage door and replace the track. Although he's very handy, he's never done one before so he recruited a friend and family member to help. Between the 3 of them, they managed to get it done in a timely manner, and without much frustration. For all their assistance, they were treated with home-barbecued steaks and all the fixin's plus desserts. And it was finally nice to relax at day's end and enjoy a pleasant meal. Again, not the most frugal meal to serve but for all their hard work, hot dogs would NOT have been appreciated, I'm sure. Steak was the way to go.<br /><br />With all the renovations we've had to do, only 3 things have not been done by ourselves. We had soffits, fascia and eavestroughs hired out, but it was through friends and so there was still a discount; windows were installed (both of these things were done by others because my husband's not fond of heights); and carpeting a set of stairs. The rest of the work involving framing, carpentry, plumbing (except one emergency incident when hubby was out of the country), drywalling, plastering/painting, tiling, electrical etc. was done by us which saved us a ton of money. It may have taken us longer, but it certainly was easier on the wallet!! So, although we've had to spend money on the renos, we've tried to keep the expenses of parts and labour on the frugal side too.<br /><br />So close to being done. Yay!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post-215836873029816842018-06-05T08:34:11.200-08:002018-06-05T08:34:11.200-08:00Glad to hear you have a better insurance agent. Ou...Glad to hear you have a better insurance agent. Ours was great, but when he retired we got a new one that was lazy and frequently unavailable.I didn't want to change companies so just had my agent changed to the guy in another town. You get to choose who your agent is, not the company.I did get some push back from Lazy Guy, but I just told him he failed to meet my needs as a customer and I was looking for an agent that was a better fit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536514511090897212.post-82294399365607800442018-06-04T19:29:03.129-08:002018-06-04T19:29:03.129-08:00My week was lovely, thanks. You will enjoy the Eng...My week was lovely, thanks. You will enjoy the English Heritage Channel--I really like to watch the cook make the different dishes of the Victorian era.Mama Said Nohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17308677020217781633noreply@blogger.com