Spring...it's official

Looks like spring is here although we could get a night or two below freezing still.

The weather is fantastic this year.  I am trying to be outside to enjoy it.

I drove into Carson City for the BIG shopping trip.  We have been very conservative with our grocery dollars.  After awhile, it gets a little dreary.  I splurged and got the 4# bacon pack.  We have had some Del Monte green beans in a can to use up and I must say I don't like the flavor.  We don't eat a lot of canned goods but since we need to be stocked up in case of an emergency, we do have some.  That means trying to use them up every once in awhile. This time of year there aren't many fresh veggies at the store so now is the time.

Anyway, I am going to do some bacon and almond with green beans to see if I can spark those canned green beans up to a more edible level.

I love bacon on my venison burgers.  This venison has a stronger flavor than some and the bacon is a good counterpoint.

I also bought frozen shrimp.  Yep, decadent at $12 for 2 pounds but hey, you only live once:) And we will get two dinners out of that.  I got the small ones even though I like the big ones.  The big ones were $19.   Out here in Nevada, I prefer frozen seafood.  You know it isn't fresh when you buy it at the store.  We live hours  from the ocean.


Today I have lots to get done.  I bought pansies and snaps to put in the new barrel set up out front.  Oh, and some Dahlia roots for the summer.  Should look great!

Get 'er done!  Looks great.  I must get a photo.  I also got the automatic drip water onto the barrels.

I need more rocks so that I can keep filling in this area.  I need to finish the end of the front area.  It's about 7' by 6' so I will lay newspaper down to smother the light and the landscape cloth on top of that.  That should take care of the weeds.  Then, rocks to hold it down and protect the landscape cloth from the wind and the sun.

I really must start seeds indoors today!  Petunias, peppers and tomatoes.  The greenhouse is still a bit cold overnight but doing much better.

The list goes on!!!

Got the baby onion plants in and the water running on them.

Hotter than the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July was a beautiful day.  If you were in the shade it was in the nineties and it didn't feel too hot although I wouldn't have run a marathon in the sun or hoisted hay bales or anything like that.  We ended up going to a neighbor's place for a rib cook off.

The last two days have been ridiculous hot.  104F yesterday and 100F today.  I had to go to town for some groceries and believe me I was sitting at the front door when Costco opened.  Fortunately, they opened at 9:30 which is half and hour early.   They do that when it is going to be ridiculous hot out.  Yeah!!!!

Of course, even though I said I was on a tight budget, I saw something I couldn't live without as I came in the door.  A four slice toaster.  When I looked at toasters at Christmas time, I didn't buy one because they were around $80 for a four slice toaster.  WTF? You say. Yeah, that's what I said, too.

Well, a Kitchenaid toaster was $40.  Our old four slice toaster has been a two slice toaster for quite some time now.  Like a year.  So, like any frugal person, I said, "Hey, so it is a little inconvenient and one person has sort of cold toast, bagel or bun by the time I get done with two sets of bread."  Not anymore:)

Hubby likes that protein powder but it has gotten to the point where I don't know if I want to buy it anymore.  A bag was $50.  I am not kidding!  It has more than doubled in price since he started drinking it several years ago.  The good news is that he drinks it for breakfast and it does last a couple of months.  Since he has to wait a full hour after taking his thyroid medication, this has been the best way for him to eat breakfast on the way to work.  So efficient and cost effective on that level.

Since it has gotten so hot I picked up some easy and fast to cook foods.  I got laundry soap and automatic dishwasher soap.  Bagels and ham for sandwiches.  Cheerios and milk for breakfast.  TP because if I have less than a two month supply I seem to go into panic attacks:)    Nothing too fancy this trip.  

No 7-up sodas.  I have been mixing up the lemonade from powder.  Not only is it not fructose, I drink less of it and it is cheaper.  Trying to lose weight or at least not gain anymore.  Now if I could only cut back on/quit smoking.

I bought a bale of timothy and it was $18.75 but it was a little over $20 with tax.  The last bale of orchard grass I bought was pretty crappy.  Rocks in it and weeds with large stick stems.  I don't want the mini horse eating that.  I'll feed the rest of that bale of orchard grass to the goats.  They think they are getting a treat.

Naturally, the absurd price of timothy at the feed store motivated me. When I got home, I got back on Craig's List.  We had two twine hay lined up in Washoe Valley for $7 a bale but that fell through.  I called on the eighth since they were supposed to be baling on the seventh.  She got really weird, asked me how I found out she had hay.  I told her Hubby called her from CL and she said she would be baling on the seventh.  She said the equipment broke and don't call us we'll call you.  Okay??!!!  I get it, you are getting a better price or you are just paranoid.

I called on some hay in Washoe Valley that is $10 a bale but it is fairly heavy two wire bales so at least as good a deal as the other stuff. It is grass hay with a little bit of alfalfa mixed in.  He feeds it to his horses.  I like the smaller bales better than the big ones because they are easier to move around.  He said call him tomorrow morning and come get it tomorrow evening.  Looks like he will help Hubby load.  Let's hope this works out since even if we pay $50 in gas it will be $12.50 per bale instead of $20 per bale.  I'll still need to pick up some alfalfa but it looks like I might be able to get that for a better price this year.  One load of hay at a time, I suppose.

A Day Off

Today was a day off.  I went to Wally World for about 3 things.  I used that darn self checkout that I hate so much.  I decided not to buy the anniversary photo world addition of the royals since it was $10.  The girl looked at me like I was a moron not being able to figure out the five screens with 8 options on each screen to cancel the item.  Geez, cut me some slack.  Honestly, I've never worked at Walmart.

The I went to Cost-I-spent-how-much?-co.  I bought some new wash cloths and a couple of pillows.  I can't seem to get a pillow I like.  We'll see how these down alternative pillows work out.

.I then went to the freezer section where I couldn't seem to contain myself.  Lobster Ravioli, I'll take it.  Hey, only $7 a meal.  Rib eyes wrapped in bacon, I'll take it.  Hey, only $5 per meal.  okay, those aren't complete meals but I bet they taste fantastic.  Mini Chicken Tacos, on sale.  Gotta have it.

I bought a number of things that don't take much cooking since I get tired of cooking.  Add a veggie and/or a fruit smoothie and we are done with dinner.

I bought the miniature horse a large rubber mat to put under his food dish.  I am trying to keep him from eating too much sand.  I also bought him a couple of horse toys.  One is a ball with a handle on it and the other one is like an exercise ball.  You buy the cover separate.  I think he looks bored, then he wanders around eating bits and pieces off the ground, thereby ingesting a fair amount of sand.  I am hoping to keep him a little busier.

After all of that, I went to the Olive Garden for lunch.  Soup, salad and bread sticks.  Delish. I had two kinds of soup. Chicken with potato gnocchi and the one with the potatoes, sausage and greens.  Both wonderful.  With the tip, it was $15 and worth every dime.

Last, I went for my haircut.  She did a great job.  I tipped her $7 which is probably a lot but she blow dried and everything.  She is a nice gal.

IPhone

We finally got new cell phones a couple of weeks ago.  We should have done this a lot sooner!!!!  My old flip style phone had a bad battery and would barely hold a charge.

We went to the phone store in town. 

I had no idea how much I would like being able to access my email by phone.  Really fun!   Although I went into sticker shock on the first bill - we had to  pay $18 each for changing up -  AT&T was really great. We git the new phones for 1 cent each plus we had to sign up for two years of service.  The guy helped us keep our old cheapy phone plan and just add the new data plan to it.  It is $30 dollars more [$15 each] per month but Hubby found out at his job that he gets a discount so the whole thing doesn't end up costing us that much more!

The new phones are called 3G.  Frankly, I'm not sure I understand what the G thing is about but I think it is great. 

The big question is:  Should I get rid of the home phone?  It is $25 per month to have a home phone and 90 percent of the calls are telemarketers.  We like being listed in the phone book so friends and neighbors can find our number but is it worth it.  Yes, we do not publish our address in the phone book!  Safety first.

I have 23,000 free books available and I am already using that feature to read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.  It is nice to know that when I am bored and waiting for Hubby to come out of the chainsaw shop or auto parts store I can sit there and read.

I can also access maps.  This is a pretty handy feature.  I have been doing this old school for too many years.  We were able to send the truck buyer a link to the casino we were meeting at and they found us no problem.  No trying to 'splain it over the phone.

I can also access Craigslist and keep up on the most recent sale items.  If you want a good deal you have to stay on top of that.  I am hoping the horse of my dreams will show up on there one day.  I found a deal on horse wire but I have to drive too far to make it worth it.

This phone holds a charge for a long time - like a couple of days.  If you use the phone a lot on line it seems like it uses a lot of batteries but I still don't have to charge it up everyday.

So, should the home phone stay or go?  What do you guys think?

Tired but proud

I am tired but proud of the work I did today.  I picked up that new cleaning job and am happy to have gotten it.  I think they are a lovely family.  It is a big house and there are two dogs but I will do my very best to get it shining around there.

I ran to Costco since I was halfway there anyway.  We had some ham in the fridge that wasn't opened yet and it had blown up like a balloon.  Did not seem safe to eat that is for sure.  They took it back, no problem.  I got some milk, some cheese slices and some replacement ham, some apples and, my favorite, a Danish.  Oh yeah, they had the pepperoni pizza on sale for $3 off so we are having easy eating tonight!!!!!

Make Over

Well, the living/dining room/hallway make over saga continues.  Having gotten a fantastic chandelier for the dining room, I decided that the hallway light was not up to snuff so back to Carson City after cleaning a house today.  I got a two pack of bronze looking flush mount lights for only $14.95.

The current hallway light has a flying saucer look to it.  The new light has a much more elegant look.  The light fixtures only hold one bulb instead of the current 2 but I figure its a hallway and a short hallway at that.  I'll put a nice bright florescent bulb in.

I also got a lovely fan by Hampton Bay for $79.  It is oiled bronze and has a tea stain glass globe under mount.  Our current fan is brass and really doesn't have the nice look for our new stove, slate hearth, Florentina chandelier and black curtain rods with white antique door knob finials.  This new fan will fit in nicely.

The fan in the bedroom is atrocious.  It goes wop! wop! wop!  Every time we turn it on we say "Saigon, 1972".    That fan can be taken down.  The one from the living room can be transferred into the bedroom.  The new fan will go in the  hole created by moving fans:)

Well, I got to thinking.  Why get a new fan for the bedroom when it is the living room getting the make over?  We don't care what fan is in the bedroom as long as it doesn't go wop, wop, wop!

Guess I better get to scrubbing the last of the ceiling since scrubbing and painting is my department and needs to get done. this weekend.  We need to mortar the hearth by Sunday so we can grout by Monday so we can pick the stove up and install it next Tuesday and Wednesday.  Doing it ourselves is keeping this whole thing cost effective but boy is it a lot of work:)

Shopping

I drove back into town today since we are on a mission to get this living room/dining room/hallway done.  I got the mortar we needed.  Mapei II  in grey color.  They fortunately had a small bag.  The other Mapei product was said to be a somewhat better choice but it only came in giant 50 pound bags.  Aaarrgghh, no way am I wanting to have a huge amount like that sitting in the long shed for years.  The smaller bag and the fact that we used Mapei II in the kitchen and the kitchen has turned out fine pushed me to the Mapei II.

I got a gorgeous Hampton Bay Florentina hanging chandelier with 5 light amber colored glass globes that point upward and a wheaten finish with hints of black for $50.  It is a bit grand but I think it will look fantastic.  I only hope Hubby agrees since I already took it out of the box:)  I looked it up and that light fixture was going for $250.  Wow, such a deal!!!  I have been searching for the right dining room lighting fixture for quite some time.

I got curtain rods in black,  1" for the tab curtains.  The finials are an old-fashioned door knob shape and they are white with black accents.  I like them and they were half the price of all the other ones I didn't like so much.  Again, hope Hubby likes them as well.  I guess I will find out pretty soon.  He'll be home in an hour and a half.

Yes, I was gone for 5 hours doing shopping.  Hope I am done!


Darn it.  I didn't think of it when I was at the store earlier today but the other light that goes with the chandelier would be great for the hallway where I have the fairly ugly "flying saucer" light fixture.  While I could live with it, it certainly would be nice to replace it at these prices.  The other light was a pendant but smaller and flatter than the chandelier I bought today.

Hubby thought the chandelier I bought was fine.  He liked the one I took a picture of better [I liked that one too] but thought at less than half the cost and no special bulbs needed [unlike the other light fixture I took a picture of]  he could live with this one.

Hubby really like the curtain rods so that was great!!!!

Payback

Payback is a bitch and I am now paying the price for getting so much done yesterday.  I am sore and tired.  I think I will drive into town and see about my wall paint, 2 curtain rods, mortar to put down the tile, a couple of snazzy spare tiles and a dining room light.

The old dining room light is butt ugly,  Maybe we can change it out before I paint that half of the ceiling.

Shopping

Went shopping for the forthcoming hunting trip.  Got the beef jerky, cashew clusters, dry roasted almonds, brie cheese, club crackers, fun stuff to eat on the go.  Also, some hard candies to go in the pockets and some gum for going over mountain passes or for when the mouth is feeling a little scummy:)  And Payday canndy bars with the peanuts for an easy boost with a little protein in it.

I bought some plastic egg holders since I have eggs coming out my ears and we can cook those up pretty quickly.  Plenty of bacon, too.  Ham and havarti cheese for lunches and quick dinners for when we get to camp after dark.  Forgot the split pea soup in a can.  It's the only kind Hubby likes for a quick hot meal with the sandwiches.   Of course, there will be oatmeal.  We like the old fashioned kind.

I bought some new bins with the snap close handles to put some of our gear in.  Some of the old bins are just plain old and I like the kind that have the snap close handles that don't keep trying to fly off in the wind.

We have a friend staying at the house and she will keep an eye on the pets.  This will be a mini vacation for her since she had to move back in with her mom and she needs a break.  Her dog loves playing with our Aussie.

Froze up a large watermelon, 2 Eel River melons and 2 swan Lake honeydew style melons.

I pulled all the onions yesterday and left them laying on the ground.  When I got back from shopping it looked like rain so we ran out, cut the tops off them and threw them into milk crates.  I hope they harden up okay.  I'll have to try to trade some for eggs this fall and winter.  I have yellow, purple and white and we can't possibly eat that many.

I think I will start picking the acorn squash tomorrow.

I pulled two more non producing summer squash since the frost will be here a little after October 1.  This way the goats get to eat the vines which are really hard to compost since once they are in the compost pile they make the compost pile hard to turn.

I also need to pull some of the finger potatoes and then put straw over the main rows of them to keep them from freezing before we can get around to eating them.

Watered the front thoroughly this evening.  Watering the Northside Windbreak over night tonite.

Went to the state nursery and got my 3 Jeffries and 2 Austrian Pines to replace what died.  Then I saw a new plant called winterberry.  They had big five gallon ones for $8 so I got 5.  They get about 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide and they have really cool berries that hang out on the trees all winter.  Have to get these ten plants total in this week.  Mostly won't need to add water lines but maybe a few.

Shopping

I went online to Johnnys Seeds and it turns out there is no winter rye available so I searched the internet and wasn't having much luck.  The prices were really high and shipping was outrageous.  So, I ordered a winter cover crop mix from Johnny's  that I am supposed to be able to put in in the fall.  I hope this works.  It was pricier than Johnny's winter rye but I still did better than buying winter rye on another site [although I would have gotten a lot of winter rye it was $70.  I cannot spend that kind of money on a cover crop] . I will have to seed the winter mix kind of thin but at least I will have something out there holding my dirt down and improving the soil.

Shipping prices have gone through the roof.  I ordered the wheels I need for the rolling barn doors on the infamous shed.  The price on the wheels was great.  They were on sale for $27.95  but so that was $111.80 but then the shipping was an outrageous $48.30.  The total was $160.  Still, at least this project will be done.  Honestly, that is probably about the price I would have paid at Meeks so....

I tried to get the wheels through the local lumber store but the guy at Meek's couldn't seem to get them ordered and it has been two or three tries for me to buy the twelve foot wheel bar for the large barn door.  I decided to wait on the bar since the bar we had shipped by Gardeners Supply a few years got a bit bent but now I will have to go by and tell him not to worry about ordering the wheels since I have done that.

Shopping

Today was a shopping day.  Nothing glamorous but I got the gallon of base coat I needed.  I got a few of those disposable paint trays.  I ran by Costco and got cereal, bacon, milk, Havarti cheese [they don't have the real Swiss cheese anymore, just that Lite crap], Danish [yes, I buy those every time I go to Costco, shame on me].  A few other assorted items.  Oh yeah, and one of those 14 pound pork shoulders.  Hubby is going to BBQ half of it on Saturday and I need to freeze the other half this evening.

I also got a new curtain rod for the guest bedroom.  The old rod was for a different style of curtains and it wasn't hung very well.  It has come down so now I have the left side with a curtain on it propped up on the center holder thing and the right side is sitting on the cabinets.  Privacy?  Well, we do live in a sparsely populated area but when someone drives by at night and the light is on they can definitely see in.  Can't have that, now can we?

I asked Hubby to help me hang the curtain rod since this is a skill I can't seem to develop:)  The curtain rod is one of those kind that goes straight across, has finials and sets into a bracket on each side of the window.

I went by Meek's lumber yard.  The guy was really nice.  They didn't have the 12 foot bar I wanted but I found out it is ladie's night on Sept 22 and I get 20 percent off anything in the store.  Yeah!!!!!  I am going to get the barn door bar and roller wheels for my project that night.  Can't beat 20 percent off.  On top of that, we get to build a bird house and I get to use the nail gun.

Other than that, I got the cleaning supplies organized for tomorrow.  Refilled bottles and got the gear loaded into the truck for my little cleaning job tomorrow.  Got the chores done like feeding the goats, the dogs, taking out the compost, cleaning up the lunch dishes, watering the back zone.  Still need to turn the North Windbreak Zone on in an hour or so.  That's it.  I am resting up for the rest of the evening.

I have a Danish and a cup of coffee with my name on it.  Bye now.

Shopping

Went to Home Depot and I got my money back from the extra box of screws they charged me for.  I also, of course, bought some 2x4's, caulking, expandable foam and 5 bags of fence post concrete.  Prices are up at the home improvement store but what can you do?    At least I am just about done with this project.  Maybe I should start calling that the home impoverishment store?

I stopped by Costco and got some bacon and some provolone cheese while I was in town.  I decided to get the memory foam  mattress topper after all.  Yes, it is almost $100 with the coupon off but the lady I talked to last time I was there was satisfied with the product.  It is a lot cheaper than buying a mattress especially since the only thing wrong with that mattress is way too hard.  Mom and Dad gave that mattress to us several years ago so I call the topper a bargain if it makes the bed usable.

I would kind of like to try sleeping in that room in the summer since you get a breeze right on you from the window.  The room we are sleeping in now has an East facing window and no direct airflow  and it feels hot in there.  Also, the fan in that room sucks.  It goes whomp!  whomp! whomp!  We like to say "Saigon, 1972" It is funny but....  I am looking into replacing that fan as I think we have put up with it long enough.  If I keep my eyes open maybe I can get a deal.

Watering the East Side Windbreak overnight.  Watered Back Zone for 2 1/2 hours.

Shopping and more!

Went shopping and got some new bath rugs and, of course, new towels to go with the new bath rugs.  The old rugs were totally falling apart after the last washing so it was time to make the effort.  I went around the aisles several times and starting thinking about what we have had in the past.  I thought "Way too tasteful"  Chocolate brown, light tan, sage green, mossy green - so this year I looked at blue!

So, I pick out the blue towels finally after rejecting yellow as too matching the yellow walls and orange as just going too far on a brighter color scheme.  Spring green intrigued me but in the end blue won.  So, I get a lovely shade of true blue, not too bright, and then I see a shower curtain.

Yes, our old shower curtain is, well, old.  Time to change it up.  So then I had to put back all my true blue towels and get the "teal silk" blue towels.  Believe me, there is no silk in them, that is just the name of the color.  Shopping is hard work!  No wonder I put this off for so long.  At least I didn't need new accessories like a trash can and a toothbrush holder.  I would have been there for another hour!

I couldn't resist the salad spinner at Costco.  Last week they were $18 and I thought "Have you lost your mind"!  This week they are $14 and I had to have one.  Go figure.  Hubby was thrilled since he had to dry the lettuce in a linen towel today.  I have been using paper towels.  It should be a great item for the kitchen.  Now I have to find a spot for it in the cabinets.  Should have though about that before I bought it since I haven't got a clue as to where I will find the room for it.

Hubby picked the bok choi for the stir fry since I was running late from my shopping.  I did manage to stop by and get two more bales of hay.  That is about all that will fit in my little Toyota truck.  So, I now have five and I want to have about 12 of them.  Have to pick some up every time I go by there for several weeks.

Today was a lot cooler in the mid eighties,   Nice!!!  Watering the West windbreak overnight tonight.

Shopping

It certainly is a joy to live in America where you can shop for so many different thngs.  I have to drive an hour to do real shopping  Today I went to Meeks, Lowes, Walmart, got gas and went to Costco.  Like everyone I know I think carefully about my purchases and I try to stay on budget.  Seems like the groceries always want to go over budget.  A few packages of meat and the bill goes through the roof.  I am always glad I get to eat.  Times have been much harder in the past and today is very good to me.  I have food and a nice little place to call home.

The bank actually owns our house but one day we will pay it off and it will be all ours.  Except for the property taxes, of course.

It was cloudy and only 82 degrees.  The wind has come up considerably and I may go feed the goats while the wind is only a breezy 25 MPH as I here it will eventually be gusting to 40.

Watering tonight.  Fruit tree zone, of course.

Reading Nomad by Aayan Hirsii Ali.  Good read.  Maybe I'll have to blog about it a bit.

Grocery Shopping

Living a good hour away from the major shopping means that yesterday was spent going to town.  Lowes to return the battery powered hedge trimmer that only lasted four days.  We  shopped for other alternatives and left our options open.

Then, lunch at Ming's.  You get a large plate of really tasty food and a drink and it is sit down dining and the cost for 2 people is about $20.  Yes, it is extravagant but what the heck, no dishes and no cooking later.  Snacks for dinner.  

Starbucks where Hubby has a discount and a free pound of coffee.

On to Costco where we spent too much money.  That is sort of normal.  I would like to think we can run the household on less than what we can run the household on:)  Finally, Walmart and done.  An hour  and fifteen minutes later and we are unloading and putting away groceries. We left at 11am and weren't done until 4:30pm.  I think I miss living in the city when it comes to shopping.  That is probably the only time.

It Monday night and we woke up to a nice wet world again this morning.  This is pretty unusual and makes me wonder what kind of a summer we might be having.  Oh well, I have dedicated this summer to straightening out the last few major projectsI want to get done around here.  Next spring I want to spen hours sitting in the shade reading a book!  We'll see.