August 2023 Frugal Chatter Thread

[SassyAshley]

Things are moving along, my last load of bedding is going. Mom's bed is stripped and ready to be washed. Not sure I will get the couch Blankets done but there is always tomorrow.

I am trying to find that balance of getting things done but also resting and relaxing with this time I have off because I am feeling very run down. Also, this is a pattern I am trying to break because usually when I take time off unless going on a family Vacca it is because I am trying to tackle something at home which isn't a bad thing. But, I am really not good at resting and relaxing so I go-go-go when I am off and go back to work feeling just as tired.

Kitchen is clean, kind of, groceries from yesterday are put away, the dishwasher has been emptied and reloaded, and the hand dishes are done. Still need to clean out the fridge and do the floors. Thinking floors will be tomorrow's task when I wash the couch blankets I will vacuum the couch and do the floors.

[coupon girl]

Evening girls went home at noon,i popped over to library and got 3 books to read i had on hold.I then popped into sobeys to get luncheon meat and fresh bread ,had sandwiches with salad for supper.

I fell asleep this afternoon for an hour ,ahhh life with little grandkids .I love it.The girls are gone for a week so no babysitting ,maybe i can plan a few things for myself.

[harbie]

Does anyone find since covid ,somedays i just dont have the get up and go maybe its my age early 60's .

I’ve always been a bit of a homebody anyways. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t stay home but I’ve never been super social. I’ve always been a shy kid and when I got older I had a lot of people around me that would talk down to me like I was a kid and not respect me so I tended to not want to be at those functions (it was REALLY bad with Dh’s dad and stepmom and his stepdad). The only good thing about Covid was the isolation from people with the exception of my parents. Luckily they are only 4 doors down from us so it wasn’t too bad.

[harbie]

TGIF long weekend .

It was a super hot day at work today and I’m so ready for the long weekend. Just making some dinner and then Dh and I are either going for a walk or a ride after it cools down.

Enjoy the weekend everyone

[walkonby]

Does anyone find since covid ,somedays i just dont have the get up and go maybe its my age early 60's. I need to plan 2 luncheons with different friends and i havent yet,doing the driveway was really hard on us,but it sure saved us a bundle in cash .

Ahem... @coupon girl I think you may have answered that question through your various posts. Age has something to do with it naturally BUT, as a Gramma you step up! I don't think you have ever refused to watch the 3 g-kids, AND entertain them with trips outside to the park. ( not just plopping them in front of a tv. ) Then in your down time you pave driveways and stain whole backyard decks!? Not to mention the dashing around you do going to various stores to grab deals.
Have I brought up the day to day housework?
Imho, you're supposed to feel a little tired after doing all of those things.

Now enjoy your long weekend!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Well, another fun weekend.

About a week ago, oddly I found a wasp in our bathroom, I did not think much of it but did let Mom know just to be careful.

Then a couple of days ago when I was doing Laundry I found a dead wasp on our basement floor again weird but didn't think much of it.

Yesterday I was in the basement washing the bedding, and when I was sorting the sheets, I saw something on the pile of sheets and for whatever reason my brain said "Oh a spider." I grabbed a paper towel to dispose of it, only to discover it was a wasp, weird but I kept doing what I was doing.

Before I came up I went to move some sheets and there was another wasp, ok what is going on? I went into the other room in the basement to get more paper towels only to find about 6 wasps on the window. Okay, this is not good.

When I came back upstairs I went to look at the front of our house. There has been a lot of work going on out there, Bell is bringing in new internet lines, and they have been digging and working on sump pumps. Sure enough, there is a hole in my house I do not remember seeing before it looks like someone drilled a hole and the wasps are going in and out of the hole.

So I found out online wasps hate peppermint, vinegar and cloves. So Mom made a clove and vinegar solution which we soaked a paper towel in and put in the hole. So we stopped them from getting in.

This morning I was making my tea and saw a wasp on the wall coming up from the basement, not surprised, I figured we would find a few this morning as obviously, they have been living in the wall. So I went down to the basement to look, I do not have a few wasps in my basement I probably have about 50 to 100. Honestly, no clue how I am going to deal with this.

But, for the time being, all I know is if I can keep them in the basement and not on the main floor that would be good. But we do not have a door to the basement so I found an old sheet and hung it in the doorway. It is not airtight so for extra insurance, I have sprayed it with vinegar.

I found online it says to spray them with dish soap and water, might try this. Of course, to make this more fun the room they are in is a disaster because all of the stuff from the laundry room is still in there from the hot water tank being replaced. UGH, cleaning that room was on my to-do for this weekend. I was actually planning to go down today and clean up the stockpile room and then tackle this room, that will not be happening now.

Happy Saturday

[coupon girl]

Ahhhh thanks walkonby for the nice words .

Sassy what a problem hope you can tackle it,last year we had yellowjackets trying to get under our siding at one side of the house .We notice they didnt come back this year ,hubby handled that with a wet vac and a bit of dishsoap in it and sucked them in then caulked all around the siding .

One more bedding to wash today spare room maybe that is all on the plan for today.

[SassyAshley]

So not sure if they have all gone back in the wall but went downstairs and now there are only about 20 wasps in the window.

Mom wanted to tape off the door to that room to try to contain them.

But once we got downstairs she decided she would prefer to take around the windows as she thinks that is where they are coming in. So we cut up a bunch of garbage bags to make a tarp and have tarped off the window. We will see if that contains them.

On the internet, it said if you spray them with a solution of Dish Soap and water it will kill them as it clogs their pours. Mom was making fun of me and asked if I was going to stand there and spray them, I did not, turns out Mom enjoyed spraying them. The only bottle we had was homemade Oven cleaner which is Dish Soap, Water and Vinegar we diluted it and it worked perfectly. They are not joking within about a minute, maybe two minutes tops of spraying them, they are dead.

Now we will wait and see if that is how they are getting in or if they are getting in another way.

I have to admit after all of that "fun," I am feeling very done with today. Thinking it might be movies on the couch and working on my Bullet Journals type of day now.

[harbie]

Good morning everyone.

@SassyAshley ! That freaks me out! I hate bugs but especially the flying kind .

It’s going to be a long key Saturday. Of course it’s bedding wash day. It’s 9:14am and I’ve done 2 loads of laundry, bedding stripped/washed and currently drying, cleaned up my garden bed by removing some plants and giving it a deep watering, stink/squash bugs are out so my mom helped me get rid of some of those .

Plan to vacuum/dust and wash the floors and maybe the bathroom but most likely will leave the big clean for tomorrow.

The only groceries I need is Nextmilk (on sale at Safeway) and I think that’s it. I’ll price get a few veggies like iceberg, mini cucumbers for a salad. Also on the hunt for a pasta deal. I should have tripled my haul when Safeway had it for 88C for a 900gr pack

Just about time for the AC as the humidity is getting yucky.

Enjoy the weekend

[coupon girl]

Hubby and i went for a small ride donated 2 small boxes of kids clothing and my daughter-in-laws to a reuse store.

Then i went in and shopped 2 tops for me 50% off today i paid 2.00 each a tank with 3 domes and a bohemian type cotton top that just flows nice with 3/4 length sleeves=4.00
one puzzle 1.00 so spend 5.00 in total (i reuse to pay talize 5.29 -6.99 a puzzle for used )

BBq hamburgers tonight for hubby and i.

[HermanH]

Good morning everyone.

@SassyAshley ! That freaks me out! I hate bugs but especially the flying kind .

Worse yet, I tend to inhale the flying kind when I run.
I average one per run and they get stuck at the back of my throat. Can't spit them out and can't swallow hard enough to get them down (until I arrive and sip some water.) I hope that they are only mosquitos.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
I had such big plans for today but now I have very little ambition.

I need to take my spray out front and see if the bees are now getting in somewhere else. I see now that we plugged the hole they are all swarming around the plastic pipe going into our house and I cannot tell if they are getting in there or not.

Last night I killed 7 more wasps in the basement but have not checked this morning, to be honest, I am a bit afraid to look. I just really want a wasp-free day.

Last night we made Chicken Parm for dinner, oh my so good. That used to be my go-to when we ate out because I felt like it was so hard to make at home but honestly, it wasn't that hard.

But now we are left with the question of what's for dinner tonight. Maybe I will go on Pinterest and see if anything jumps out at me.

Happy Sunday

[SassyAshley]

Good News, I went down the basement and did not see a single wasp *fingers-crossed* I did not jinx it. But, I have not gone outside to look there yet.

One of my tasks for today is clean out the fridge and take out the garbage so when I do that, I will check the outside wasp situation.

Making a Blueberry Dutch Baby for Breakfast.

Then I think I am going to pre-prep a few things for the week to come. I will make a Cucumber Spread I love although I hate the official name (Cucumber Crack) so think I will make that for Breakfasts or Lunches this week. This Cucumber Spread on a Bagel or on the new Breton Everything Breakfast Crackers, OH MY.

Since I will only be making a half batch of my Cucumber Spread since only I eat it. I will have half brick of Cream Cheese left so, I think I will make a Half Batch of Spinach Dip, because you can never go wrong with Spinach Dip.

Pinterest brought me no inspiration so, still need to figure out dinner. But, Mom says her Tummy is feeling off so, will have to see what your tummy wants.

[harbie]

Worse yet, I tend to inhale the flying kind when I run.
I average one per run and they get stuck at the back of my throat. Can't spit them out and can't swallow hard enough to get them down (until I arrive and sip some water.) I hope that they are only mosquitos.

And that’s why I prefer the treadmill

[harbie]

Fingers and toes crossed for you @SassyAshley


I was up at 5am as usual. I had to wait until the sun was up to water my garden plus the stink/squash bugs aren’t out when it’s colder like the mornings.

Did a quick run to Safeway to get my Nextmilk and bananas and a cucumber for my home tzatziki I’m making later today.

If the humidity stays away we will head out for a ride later.

Have a great Sunday everyone.