Frugal Friday - The End of September 2020
Man, this week was a rough week. A lot of the overtime at work has caught up with me and I had the worst PHN flare I've had in almost two years. I knew things were getting stressful but I did not realize how much. I don't know about you, but I feel like 2020 has been a year of three steps forward, two steps backward, and then something veers right or left or up or something. I am sure some extra sleep will help, as will taking an evening off but the truth of the matter is that my workload currently is unsustainable. I have several co-workers who are "retiring" or choosing not to renew at the end of their contract or the school year or the term. Next term could be a real mess if enough people do not continue. While tempting, I still have more days when I enjoy my work than not. Until that changes, I will push forward.
With my PHN flare and all the work this week, it seems like we did not do much that was frugal. We did do a few things:
* We made and ate all meals at home or packed them to take with us. We had a beef roast with potatoes and mushrooms, spaghetti with meatballs and sauce, roasted chicken with squash from our garden and brussels sprouts, and leftovers for the evening meal. We took leftovers or ate salad with chicken or beef for lunch, and made eggs and toast, smoothies or oatmeal for breakfasts. We snacked on fruit and cut veggies and the children snacked on ramen noodles as well.
* We harvested the last of the green beans and lettuce from the garden. It is forecast to have a hard freeze this weekend so we will either cover the tomato plants or pick the rest of the tomatoes green, depending on how cold it will get.
* John brought home a package of ice cream bars and the brussels sprouts from church. They were leftover from the weekly community outreach meal (currently packaged to go and picked up, rather than served and eaten at the church). Both would have been thrown away if he had not taken them. We enjoyed them both!
* I have a relative that is a professional artist (painter). Missy has been painting a lot this year, and one of her paintings reminding of something my relative painted. So I sent him a snapshot via email of her painting several weeks ago, just to share and for him to enjoy. This week a package arrived on our doorstep for Missy. My relative had sent two types of paint the appropriate papers and canvas for many, many practice sessions! He is so thrilled she is painting and included an offer to mentorship and painting time together when Covid is less of a risk (he is in a high-risk group). Missy was thrilled and is looking forward to some painting together at a later date.
* I used some items I already had on hand to make "mask leashes" for my parents. A co-worker gifted me with a "leash" and it's been wonderful! Most of the time, I wear a mask at work, but when I am in my office by myself I do not need to wear one. With the "leash" it keeps my mask handy (hanging around my neck by the ear-straps) and it means I do not have to hunt for one when someone comes in (my mask would typically end up under papers or something and I would have to hunt for it). I can also easily replace it on my face one-handed if need be. I thought they would be a useful gift for my parents!
I think that is all I have for this week.
What did you do this week that was frugal?
