April 10th update 209

We have power to the breaker boxes in house and barn

Including one live outlet at the breaker box. That is really for the guys that will be installing the furnace and AC next week in the basement and there is one in the barn also for those that are needing to cut something they can plug in instead of running a generator and charging the gas to us...cheaper for the electric bill.

Monday we meet with the head electrician as there are some things we wanted that isn't going to be possible but he has suggestions to deal with it. Since I had a friend build their own home I know even when you build it yourself there will be things that don't work as you thought they would.

Our one contractor replaced a door handle that he had to hack off because they locked the keys inside and thought that was the only set of keys(we have a set also but we are an hour away) and he was glad to tell us that you can NOT kick our doors in because he tried at every door. We thought it was funny because they gave us a lock box for the keys to be on the handle and it was on the handle without any keys. Glad to know you can't kick our doors in. You can't get the windows unlocked either as he tried those. He used to be in law enforcement.Offered to recheck house for security when we go to move in . He was limping a bit the next day with a sore foot but he didn't break his foot.

We picked up the last lights for the bathrooms.  Hubby found 2 doors online at Menards he really liked for the barn doors for the bathrooms so we ordered those also  ...11% rebate at Menards is back on.

Pretty much what is left on the to buy list or pay off list in set for May.

I did order new pots and pans for the gas stove as I have the same set as Son2 had that warped on his ex girlfriend's gas stove. The pans were on sale with free shipping. I even ordered a wok, something I used to use on my gas grill 20 some years ago but had a kid (none would admit to who did it) ruin it  by hitting something with it and put a hole in the bottom. They come in at the end of the week.

Blessed Be

209 update

The entire roof is now under new felt(replaces tar paper and can be used without shingles for 2 yrs without leaks)  Shingles ordered are to be delivered Monday, but we won't have them put on until the metal chimney's are out and all the stink pipes etc are in.

The backer board is up, meter,disconnect box for house and disconnect box for barn installed... they forgot to install security light on pole and had to come back to do that.Power from road is now on to this pole

The back yard is a series of trenches for electric lines to be buried... regretfully it started raining right after these were dug, then we had 4 inches of snow and then over 5 inches of rain. They are hoping they are down enough to start working again on installing the electric lines the 5th.

This is the pump house, when they checked the pump had been totally removed (we figured on a new pump anyways) but so had the electric because at the time it was put it they didn't bury wires. SO we had an option, either dig a new well and put everything in the basement or dig another trench and run wires and move the bladder and whole house water filter to the pump AND add a small propane heater to keep it from freezing when it's cold...We chose redoing the pump house as we know that is the lower of those 2 bills.

We still continue to buy stuff for the house. The big list was completed and under budget about $13,000. SO we decided to go ahead and get new exterior doors, storm doors, new clothesline and more fencing. We still waiting for sales and or rebates from Menards.

Some days I get "bored" because this more hands off than I am used to and then overwhelmed with the paperwork I am having to keep up with and contacting our ins guy and rehab loan guy to keep things on track.

If the weather would straighten up and give us a couple good dry decent temps with light breeze , things would be great...right now we are looking at  3 decent days to dry out and then starting another  5 day of rain/snow.

Blessed Be

April to buy ...groceries/nonfood

Milk

Celery

Onions (maybe)

Potatoes (maybe)

Mushrooms

Bell Peppers (maybe)

Carrots (maybe)

Yogurt.(maybe)

Salad lettuce or spinach or mix.

Broccoli

Cauliflower.

Asparagus.

Eggs

Apples

Avocado(maybe)

Lots of maybes due to not knowing where we will be each day... like today which we thought we would be home in the afternoon and then last night had one of the contractors ask us to go over to 209 and check on things as his crew wasn't in there yesterday or today. AND with the rain they want to make sure the roof isn't leaking again AND if the power got turned on yesterday to the pole at the house.

I bought dog dentalstix on line at Chewy.com, got free shipping and $15 off my order PLUS the dentalstix was on sale. I won't have to think about it for a couple months now. AND that is all I have found of non food that needed bought.

Every day.... choices

It's Sunday, what is usually my day of rest ...but since I know I am going to spend a day mid week with my dad and in laws I thought I would do a little prep work.

I was sick this morning so Hubby had cold cereal for bfast.

We had a bowl of soup and crackers for lunch and 2 cookies for 2 pm tea snack time.

Hubby went to a meeting and texted me that one of the guys gave him a gift card for a take out restaurant that he wasn't going to use so Hubby is bringing dinner home for free.

We opened the doors , turned off the heater and let the house air out. Charlotte loved running in and out which pretty much helped us to choose a dog door for 209. The husky in her definitely comes out.

I decluttered 4 boxes that was sitting in our bedroom tossing about half of what was there.

I baked 3 pounds of chicken breasts for wraps and chicken salad for this week.

I put 1lb of beef cubes in water to  roast while the chicken breasts baked so make beef and broth for noodles for this week.

I watered the tomato plants I have under the  grow light in the front room along with all the house plants.

I started packing for our move this summer. We can store things in the barn as it locks up tight. I packed 6 boxes and we made some choices of wheither to keep all the curtains even though we should have extra or get rid of them now. We decided to pack them and decide later as we also have  Daughter4 moving this summer also and she might need curtains. I put these packed labeled boxes in a room that is empty (except needing the curtains flipped out to sheers that was hanging when we moved in 8 yrs ago) and I am down to the closet in another room to be gone through and packed....one down , 17 to go LOL Doing one room a week.

Contractor decided to use a barn door on the one bathroom as a regular door would cause a problem if I was in a wheelchair and coming out of the bedroom when someone came out of the bath...we looked at the other bathroom door and if the contractor says it will work we will be putting a barn door on it also... I found the railing for 50% off and Hubby decided to make the doors himself. He found the wood that matched what we were looking at and it will costs less than $200 total for each door where if we bought it  at the store it would be over $1000 for each door and that didn't include the railing or recess handles.

My son sent me pictures and measurements of his bathtub and what his shower head was, I really really like his tub and shower. I passed that info along to our contractor as I already had bought the shower head and he said he had just installed the same tub for his parents so he knew right where to go get it. Now I don't have to start checking out tubs , saving gas money and time for me.

Monday
I started fluffing the pillows and bedding as soon as I let Rascal and Charlotte out at 5:15 am. It will help with the allergies flaring which means less OTC meds being bought.

I filled out the 2 Menards rebate forms, made copies of them and then have them ready to go out in mail.

I did the Kroger's survey for the 50 fuel points.I am "short" $22 of having another 10¢/ gal off and that's only because they were out of Wendy's gift cards.  We have found if we use gift cards for eating out we stay in budget. Actually we spend less as I have found 3 gift cards we haven't used. We did get another Bob Evans hoping that Daddy will get well enough to go out with us. Brother said he seems to be getting better physically...not so much mentally.

Uploaded Kroger's receipt to Receipt Hog.

Used leftover biscuits for egg sandwich for bfast.

We had a late lunch early dinner as Hubby was gone all morning and then had to turn around and leave for a refresher class as a weather spotter. Both of us had fruit later in the evening as a snack.

Tuesday

We had bagels for bfast

We had to take a check to our IRA guy that Hubby's old employer sent , we took the shortest way to and from . Coming back the Ford's ABS light came on so Hubby called our mechanic and it will go in Wed night to be looked at first thing Thurs. morning..He allows us to make payments if we can't pay in full and he doesn't require it to be paid off to have your car back. Few and far between on mechanics that way.

We had homemade and canned beef veggie soup with tortialla chips for lunch

Chicken fajhatis for dinner using the chicken I cooked  on Sunday. The rest will make chicken salad.

It's been a rainy and windy day to stay inside once we got back home.

Wednesday
Hubby got up and immediately went to get his blood work done.

We had bagels and cream cheese when he got home.

We priced the exterior doors along with storm doors which included the debate of one or two doggie doors.

We went over the "to buy" list for 209, changed the style of fencing to keep the dogs in the yard to the cheapest we could find with the thought of changing to what we decide on later. We hope to reuse some of what is there but move it to suit the dogs as it was put up to contain goats.I decided to make wood shutters and then decided to make these to cover the bottom half of the window. I think I found them on pinterest and followed them to here http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Pallet-Wood-Vertical-Blinds/

I will use the "left over wood from the barn doors Hubby is making for the bathrooms.

We had wraps for lunch and beef (cooked on Sunday) noodle over mashed potatoes with salad.

Thursday.
We had bagels for bfast

I had yogurt and fruit for lunch and Hubby had beef noodles (no potatoes)

We finalized what we still had on the to buy list for 209, and made a withdraw from the retirement fund.I ended up with the shakes , it was about half of what we thought we would end up pulling but still.

We ordered the compact tractor that came with a front bucket and back hoe and Hubby ordered a mower to attach also . Since it was a cash purchase we got a discount of 25%.

That cushions the fact our mechanic let me know I have only a couple more months left of driving my Ford Explorer. I have ran the wheels off more than once I mean ACTUALLY ran the wheels off. I've had it 15 yrs and would just LOVE to have it another 15 yrs.It's just not worth the thousands it would take to keep it going. SO that is a big look for on my to do list.

We went over to check on 209, good thing we did as the roof was leaking at the chimney, not bad at all and no damage done because we caught it. We did what we could to protect things and let the contractor know who was sending someone ASAP. Hubby thinks the chimney cap got knocked loose some when they were roofing and the rain today came in at the right angle to cause the leak. Better NOW than later AFTER the ceiling and floors was done.

Topped off gas at a little gas station that was 30¢ cheaper than everywhere else.

We had left over beef noodles over mashed potatoes, cottage cheese (Hubby topped with Apple butter)applesauce, pickled beets (for me only) and biscuits for dinner.

We called it an early night with the constant rain and cold wind blowing even the dogs called it an early night.

Friday
 We went back over to 209 and checked on things (Contractor had already let us know they took care of issue of leak) And showed Son2 the house as he meet us there. He walked through, made a few suggestions and then stood on the kitchen porch and put his finger to his mouth for me to be silent...I couldn't figure out what he was trying to hear and then he looked at me and said... I need a chair so I can sit here and listen to the birds. He walked in to the dining area and we asked him what he thought,,, his words were "I am committing both of you to Shady Pines (Golden Girls reference but there is one in Florda for real) I asked him why, his response was "I want this house".

We all met up with friends at Hong Kong... no coupons but Son2 hasn't seen friends in a couple months and won't again until summer so we sucked that up.

We got gas at Krogers using my fuel points.

Saturday

We went over to see Daddy...doing better physically, even taking himself to go look outside at the front door (they have a seating area for people to set and look outside) He is eating good and starting to flirt with the ladies...that is definitely normal. He knew who I was, asked about where we were at on the house, talked about the Reds opening game with Hubby. IS eating good and starting to make friends.

Then we went to see Hubby's parents. His Mom is having trouble walking up and down stairs, know she's going to have to have both knees replaced but she has to lose weight...and that's hard when you can't hardly walk to begin with and do not swim. His Dad is still having trouble with breathing but is at least able to get up and move around some. He is back to going to church. They had been over to see the house and was talking about coming over to visit and help with stuff.

We stopped by 209 on way home since we drive within a mile of it coming home. Measured the clothesline... Hubby and Son2 said it was 50 ft, I said it wasn't. It's is .... 46 ft...with only 3 lines. I use a 50 ft with 4 lines. We won't talk about it needing to be moved.

EASTER

We had a quiet day, ate chicken salad and broccoli salad for dinner. A close family friend died last Thursday and her viewing is Monday with funeral Tuesday. She was the 3rd death for us this year.

Blessed Be

What I have done to save $$$ this week

A new Casey's General Store was put into a village we drive through between 209 and home, we stopped to check it out and get milk as it was the ONLY thing I needed and I knew if I went to a regular store I would be tempted to buy sale stuff. We did pay HIGHER for the milk , but saved time, gas and what ever I would have spent on sale stuff. 

I cooked a corned beef , ate half and saved the other half in the freezer. I pulled it back out last night for todays dinner.

I cooked 3 lbs of chicken breast, had that one night, some of it in a chicken cordon blu soup the next and put the rest in the freezer. Looking at possible chicken salad this coming week. We had the last of that soup with lunch meat wraps for lunch.

We ate out 1 night because a group of Hubby's ex co workers was at the local restaurant celebrating a person retiring and they let us know. We got the special of the night and brought home half of each of our meals to eat the next day. I still have 1 baked potato that well be a twice baked potato to go with the corned beef tonight.

We had scrambled eggs and biscuits last night even though neither of us was hungry...can't growl at Daddy for not eating and taking meds if I do it myself.

I ordered construction paper in the colors of the rooms of 209 to use for labels on the packing boxes. Was cheaper than buying ink for the printer.

Daughter2 has given us ALL the boxes she had used  and unpacked from her move with the comment we shouldn't have more to pack than she did...until we pointed out how many black trash bags and 14 suitcases that was also packed  😛not touching what the boys all carried out that was theirs and took to where ever they were staying.

I mentioned going to Menards and immediately the dogs got excited... yeah we take them when we go to Menards LOL

Cooking stove was finally in for pick up, Hubby needed to pick up lights for the barn, electrician told him how many and it's 11 % rebate and I needed rubbermaid totes (18 gal) plus we needed ideas and prices for a couple things. I didn't get the totes as I wasn't willing to pay that price but we got tons of ideas and prices for the rest along with the lights and finally my stove.

I found the same rubbermaid totes online at Home Depot (we don't have one close) and ordered them for 1/3 rd of the price even with shipping.

I usually check prices on line before going to buy. Right now the search is for barn doors for the bathroom...think that is going to be a make it your self project.

On the menu

Bfast 

bagels/muffins

waffles , as we haven't had them in a long time

eggs sandwich choice of bread/bagel/wrap/English muffin

cream of wheat or oatmeal

egg burrito 

Homemade Egg McMuffin

omelets/muffins

Lunch

lunch meat wraps

grilled cheese and baked beans

grilled cheese with lunch meat

soup of choice with bread or crackers

soft taco/bean and cheese burritos

chicken or egg salad

beef veggie soup (homemade and canned)

Dinner

leftover corned beef with leftover baked potato as twice baked  and green veggie pears

quiche with 3 bean salad,  fruit cocktail

chicken(leftover) salad or hot chicken wrap with salad, mango

Fried G & R bolonga with pickles and cole slaw and sweet potato wedges,pineapple chunks

Sausage patties on thin bagels,cottage cheese and beets/pickles, pineapple rings

beef noodles on mashed potatoes and cole slaw and applesauce

pasta with loaded veggie sauce, tropical fruit

creamed turkey over biscuits or waffles cole slaw and pumpkin custard

Snacks

fig newtons (Aldi)

choc Chip cookies (Aldi....went to go get these for Daddy and grabbed some for us to carry to 209, no more can't take meds because I forgot to bring food )

lemon bars

granola bars 

Will make a couple different muffins... for bfast and snacks that can be carried ... probably spice and apple  along with oatmeal cranberry 

Grocery list with this menu

milk

bread

hamburger buns

cole slaw mix 

bananas

 assorted veggie appetizer that can be baked...that is anywhere from poppers to eggrolls.Hubby is craving fried foods and if I put it on the table as baked 3-4 times he will get past the craving. 

Blessed Be

When your Daddy stops eating and taking his meds

for a week and almost dies and ends up at  the doctor's office as an emergency(cousin is nurse and it got him faster treatement going through herand his doctor) and gets put in the nursing home because of it and  THEN cleans every single plate they put in front of him including of food he SWORE to you he couldn't eat and swallow and takes his meds , even asks for them.....GRRR...SIGH.

Still I realize he is roaming around at night, to the point my cousin thought he saw him out in the middle of the night when it was in the teens in his underwear but by time my cousin got dressed and over to the house (they are neighbors) he couldn't find Daddy and the house was dark and doors were locked as he checked but there was bare footed prints in the snow. Nursing staff said he is not sleeping during the day (20 min nap at 3 pm, been doing that for 70 yrs) and maybe 4 hrs total during the night as he sleeps 2 hrs , up and then sleeps another 2.  They are wondering if his meds are doing it and are looking at changing them.Hopefully it will get figured out and he will be able to go home. He is going to be 91 on May 3rd.

On the way home,Hubby and I talked about his parents, they don't eat right, too much snacks,candy and pop along with not eating veggies and fruit, maybe one meal a day at that plus just sitting all day and napping 2-4 and then can't sleep at night....His dad actually got a doctor's order to GET up every 20 min and walk for 10 as he was having troubles breathing and it was from nothing more than sitting too much.

THEN we talked about ourselves...sigh...Hubby 98 % of the time takes his meds as soon as he gets up. ONCE IN A GREAT while....he will miss, usually when he has blood work and forgets to take them when he gets back.

 I on the other hand miss a lot of mine, Not my Crohn's meds or heart meds, I get those EVERY day. but the others .... I take meds 4 times a day and what I have found is I miss the 2 pm and the dinner meds if we are NOT home for dinner. So I found a small glass jar I had that I can put a day's worth of meds in and carry with me so I can take my meds. I have to eat with them so I will also need to start carrying something with me all the time.

EATING... we both suck. I have meds I have to take first thing in the morning, I can't eat for 2 hrs after, by that time I'm off and running with the day and not stopping until lunch.Lunch is a 50/50 ...if not at a place I can stop like the other day when I was gutting somethings on 209 to clear it for the crew that was on their way there or if I didn't pack anything , lunch gets passed. IF I miss lunch I eat something at 2 pm (along with meds) which is usually just a couple fig newtons or granola bar for my meds.Dinner is depending...big lunch, no dinner, no lunch, good (probably too much )dinner. 7 pm I crave candy....to get pass that part I have switched to tea and going to bed to read, which really works as then I am asleep by 9 and the dogs get me up at 4-5:15 am....I actually have an alarm that tells me to PUT THE BOOK DOWN as I would stay up ALL night reading.

Today shocking to both of us since we were late getting back in what was to be  an hour round trip to pick up new stove came in because a 3 hr trip, they couldn't find the stove, I came straight in and fixed lunch and told Hubby to wait to unload until we ate.Had 2 fig newtons for 2 pm meds and not sure what we will have for dinner as NEITHER of us are hunry since lunch ended up at 1 instead of 11:30.. BUT HEY I haven't missed any meds.

Maybe scrambled eggs and biscuits for dinner?

Blessed Be

Being frugal at 209

Our contractor looked over the 203k rehab loan and noticed there was a contingency part that was set aside. If not used, it reduces the loan but does NOT lower our payment. Said with the deducting the stuff we purchased out of pocket, he was pretty sure the money we saved him from buying it (listed in the loan) and the contingency part would pretty close pay for the extra work we wanted but was going to put off. His men being  already there so that saves us time and work on our side. He will now be painting ceilings, walls and woodwork of the colors of our choice and refinishing the wood floors AND replacing a section of the barn roof while they are there since they have the construction dumpster. Let's us keep our money invested to make those payments.

These are storm windows the seller made as the windows are single pane. He offered to make us more if needed (he thought all were there) for the cost of materials if they aren't there.

His wife had a drying wheel.

We ordered our French patio doors and asked about installation charges. They wanted $500 more than our contractor so our contractor got the job of installation.

We tore out several shelving units and a closet unit to reuse through the house. Need to paint them but still saved us $1887.00 . Part of what I tore out...

IF I hadn't need a bathroom with a tub I would have left this the dry goods pantry. His wife has a bike rim  to hang socks from to dry.She offered to connect me with the person that made hers when we moved to 209 

hers also has hanging clips to put socks on and she had the baby's clothes hung on the inside circle.

Our appliances are in that we ordered and so is the sink but got a phone call last night that for what ever reason the stove wasn't in and they are pushing to have it before the end of the month... the 1953 Crane sink fell through 😕, I don't know who was more disappointed me or my contractor.  

UPDATE, when we picked up the appliances that was in and  the 11% rebate was on so we got the wood for the electic back board (it's a wooden board, think bill board, that is close to the electric pole that will be up at the house that the meter goes on, there will be 2 boxes " think breaker box without the breakers, one for the power that goes to house and barn (which will have breaker boxes)and one to hook the generator to so we can build it a "shelter" and leave it in place. Helps me not have to move it as it is VERY heavy to the box and Hubby don't have to have it at the barn.We got a new mailbox as when we get the mail to take to the Sellers we noticed the mailbox was rusted pretty bad.This one has a flipper that comes up when someone opens the box so you can tell if you have mail. We might have to add to it to be able to see it from the house.We also got a new grill , smaller that is just big enough for the two of us but okay if we only have one of the kids and their family over. We also got a electric smoker that uses wood chips (we have PLENTY of wood chips) The grill is a one piece grill and smoker. Was great when we had kids still coming around regularly but not now as they don't and we understand it as we are over an hour away from them and will be still when we move to 209 especially with them in low paying jobs and the price of gas. We try to go to them and see all or most of them at one time. That's also hard to do as they all work different shifts and their kids are busy with activities on weekends... I remember my parents telling me that would happen unless we all lived in the same area... kids are definitely CITY, couple of them BIG city and we are still just old country folk. THE BEST NEWS at Menards was when ... we checked out and it came to over $500.. and we paid ZERO.... yep ZERO as I had saved up enough rebates. We will still get around $50 in rebate.

We are going to take our grill over so we can heat coffee, water, food up on it. Hubby plans to put it in the barn were we can move it to use and yet store it.

Hubby found cheaper fencing to make a temporary dog area so the dogs can go with us  so they are not cooped up in the house or Charlotte in a cage. We should be able to reuse the fence around the garden...not to keep deer out as it isn't high enough but to keep Wilbur out as he thinks plants is where he needs to do his business and Charlotte who thinks anything plant is a toy.

Sellers let me know there are Asparagus , rhubarb and just remembered there was also strawberries.  We told them they could come get some of all of it to start those at their new home as I have strawberries and rhubarb I will be bringing myself.

I mended a pair of pants.

Hubby darned 3 pairs of socks.

I dried 3 small loads of clothes on the drying rack.

I got the electric down my $70 by insisting Daughter2 pay anything over the budgeted amount. Surprising how she changed how she was running the electric heater in her room.

We have ate leftovers that was shoved in the freezers for most of the week, I have a nice white spot in the kitchen frig freezer. I will refill it from the other freezer. I am going to have to get milk today or tomorrow.

We use gas buddy to find the cheapest gas and are still under budet for that with running back and forth from 209.

We took a break with our friends who needed a break as they are repainting their entire inside of the house on their own at the local Chinese restaurant I had a $5 coupon off 2 dinners.

Have a blessed Day.

stop spinning circles and

staying on task... can't remember if I am remembering everything LOL
Solution

I usually use scrap paper or regular notebook paper. I might even put it on my calendar on my phone. I have found that my calendar on the phone sometimes does not remind me or I don't hear it even though it's up all the way because I don't carey the phone on me or I forget it just went off and didn't look to see what the notification was.

So this spiral notebook goes with me. I list what the priorities of the day are, cross off what got done and transfer what did not get done to the next day. On the back of the page I put the notes of things needed to bring the next day or take care of when we get back home.

I was making a breakfast we can eat as we drive the hour to 209, that is still staying in the routine . BUT since we can stand at the lp propane buddy heater and still see our breath INSIDE the house , we are eating our lunches out instead of packing. It's actually so we can get WARM. We found a good but cheap Chinese buffet that does a lower price for lunch. For $14 that included 20% tip (food servers and most bartenders only earn $4.08/ hr, tips is what they live on) and our drinks AND got warm before going back to work on 209.

On this list was going to see my Daddy. He is not doing well at all. My brother and sister in law are now living with him until they have jumped hoops to get help in.We always take Daddy to Bob Evans for his sausage gravy and biscuits. SIL warned us he wouldn't want to go but probably would be okay if we went and got it for him as they hadn't been able to get him to go anywhere with them for over a week. I asked him if he wanted to go and got a "no". Hubby asked him if he was ready to go get his sausage gravy and biscuits and the man almost fell out of his chair trying to get up to go...somethings remain the same.LOL.  Get in restaurant and SIL was "he'll need the menu read to him as he didn't bring his glasses, he'll want coffee...NOPE he takes water in a coffee cup no ice , large bowl of the gravy with 2 biscuits either apple butter or honey(that floats) and it will take him an hour to eat it...YEP. She was amazed

Got him home and she's just standing back watching and I ask Daddy if he needs the bathroom and he says yep and goes (he forgets as he has dementa) and then I told her both him and Hubby will take naps ,not always at the same time but they will take a nap)...YEP. 

We got him 2 slices of 2 different pies like always and told her he would eat 1 slice mid morning the next day and 1 slice at lunch. He doesn't eat sweets after 2 pm . She already texted me and told my Brother got chewed out for eating one of his slices of pie and had to get another slice for him to calm Daddy down.. GOOD for Daddy as Brother is a diabetic and isn't suppose to be eating that anyways.

We keep finding quarks in 209. Couldn't figure out why there was a patch in the middle of the kitchen/dining area wood floor, thought breeze way before the garage was converted...NO the seller tore out a wall there (Ibeamed the attic) and that was the only wood he had. The area had been the kitchen not the breeze way.When the garage was converted they move the kitchen to back side of that area and left the old kitchen as a dining room. Said trying to heat that area was horrible so he took it out. I thanked him because if it had still been there...we would have taken it out ourselves because it definitely would have cut up the house to small rooms.

Today I am packing the last of Daughter2's stuff that she left here with plans to come back the very next day.. bad weather nixed that and then she found she needed Hubby to go down to her place and fix a couple things that her and a couple others have tried to fix and she just knows HER DADDY can fix it, so to save her gas money and time he is taking her stuff down to her tomorrow when he goes down to fix it.

Blessed Be

IT'S OURS

We went to 209 right after the closing where we signed our life away. Hubby is taking a picture of me.

I am taking a picture of Hubby at the same time.

We all have writers cramps from signing 50 million times. Had extra papers to sign and the electrician found that he couldn't use any of the electric so besides the mortgage for the house, the rehab loan we had to come up with more out of pocket.

By time we finish (FINGERS CROSSED) it will be another $125,000 out of pocket and slightly over $391,000 Good thing we budgeted $400,000.
Even so, the new truck and new car will be postponed until I have enough saved up again for them.

Right now our money is making over 10% so we are letting it make the payments instead of drawing the cash as the mortgage is 4.5%. That way we are still earning 5.5% on that money.We will have to pull the $125,000 as needed. Our contractor said he would pay everything out of the loan hoping that we can save in the other areas and not have to draw so much cash at the end.

We meet our Amish neighbor as he saw the car and came over to make sure who it was and since it was us he introduced himself , he is the brother of the seller. AND he owns the little strip of land to the south of us along with his home north of us. So we worked out a deal that he would take care of the 3 acres behind us so that's off our shoulders and he said any area we don't want to mow he will let his calves graze to keep the grass down (we have an acre to the south of us) and the house sits on an acre. He will help us redo the one section of the barn roof. He is also the person that helped the Englisher that built the house 20 yrs ago build the house. He helped the Amish family that bought it from the Englisher as it was his wife's brother, then the seller was his own brother. He had a lot of details that you usually don't get until you have lived in the area for 3-6 months, sometimes never about the house. He told us about the widow that lives the next house over south of us. AND we now have the seller's address so they can show us where the 100 plus asparagus plants is. The rhubarb is under the grape harbor. I need to get some neem oil as Brandy as The Prudent Homemaker uses on her grapes.

We go over Monday,okay we will probably go over every day just not sure if it will be both as we need to put the fence up for the dogs... anyways side track there, the electrican is coming in Monday to make sure where we want outlets,switches and boxes for ceiling lights as we will be doing the actual installation ($$ saved) of the light fixtures.

dinner needs made
Blessed Be

Planning to be frugal

Usually I post how I have been frugal...this one is how I intend to stay frugal as we start driving 2 1/2  hrs a day to work on 209 . Part of the time we will be taking the dogs and that will allow a longer work day if we both go. Charlotte, white dog which is the 9 month old puppy doesn't hold her potty

after 7 hrs so we really try to not push it with her at this time. Rascal 5 yrs and Wilbur  soon to be 8 yrs are good for up to 12 hrs and that's more than we like for them to go (9 is about where I get antsy). I will take food and water for the dogs also.

TO stay frugal as we will have high fuel bills with driving that distance I have chosen to do the following...

Take a trash can with trash bags to 209...and bring that bag when full home to put off adding trash service. One month of trash service is $17.

Fix bfast sandwiches or bfast burritos the night before to eat on way over taking our own coffee (thermos until we get electric in then we can take the spare pot)

Water cooler that we can fill with ice and water that we can bring from home (have a black trash bag of paper cups given to us so construction crew can have water also) for on site.

The outhouse will be put back on the septic to be used until the bathrooms will be put in (save on port a john and outhouse connects to the septic tank so no messy hole to deal with when we remove it.) but until it is I am borrowing a bedside potty from Daddy and will put it in an area that can give some privacy. We can dump it directly into septic tank.

Lunches of tortilla wraps with lettuce, lunch meat,with cheese with a fruit and some veggies etc will be fixed the night before to be packed in morning into cooler.

I will make 2-3 different snacks to pack the night before as I have to eat something when I take my meds.

A pillow and blanket incase I need a nap in the truck.

Dinners will be either casseroles that can be fixed in microwave or slide in to oven while we shower, crock pot  and  meals that are ready in 30 mins without lot of work to get it done.

 I will be making a list of Emergency meals  (GoodCheapEats.com https://goodcheapeats.com/2012/08/meal-planning-101/) so I can check to make sure we have everything already here as I don't plan to have any major grocery shopping to do for at least a month if not 3 months. I would like to think I could fix a big meal on Sunday and make plan overs but I really don't think I will be up to it but I will make that list also.

Hubby "cashed" in some of his Speedway points for a fuel card to help pay for the $100 of gas. He has been "racking" them up for 5 yrs.

I have enough Kroger points to get 30¢ off a gal.

We know it will 10 gals to drive over and back in the truck. Gas prices are up ato $2.56 but the moving budget is set at $4/gal. I figured worse case scenero... $4/gal for gas 1800 miles of driving every day for 180 days(6 months) is $7200 TO help that it will be take what ever we can while driving over to work on it to bring that amount down. THIS IS NOT taking in discounts from Krogers or the Speedway card.

 We will need to get a discount card from the local gas station at 209 because they don't have Speedway.

We close today so I need to get around. 

Blessed Be

update on 209

We close Friday at 2 pm and leave with keys in hand.

We paid for the house ins a year in advance , pretty big bite but we were expecting it as our ins agent warned us before we made an offer on the house.We have a vacant policy to be in place until we get moved in which is also expensive but covers things just encase the worse happens.

We will make a stop to check on everything but the main thought is to figure out how to fence the dogs in so they can get out but can get in the barn and not get loose until we get the major fencing around for their area because we want to take them with us when we work on the house .They can't be in the house with contruction crew etc. Plus we need to decide what is going to be their area. I want the gardens blocked off from them as Wilbur is well known for using garden plants to hide his business in.Not the type of manure I want in my gardens.

I fell coming up the outside steps to the back door and I broke my big toe in 2 places...the base is where I had a stress fracture 2 yrs ago... LUCKY it was Sunday the day AFTER we did the massive move for Daughter2 and maybe if I stay off it a bit it will be healed enough when we start working hard on the house

This is our land. YES it looks like big foot has stepped there.It's the pond(fenced according to insurance) with everygreens planted around it. The back 3 acres is still unknown about what we are going to do with it. It's planted in hay. Hubby is going to ask the Amish gentleman that is selling us the house if he would like to harvest the hay in exchange for mowing if for us this year since we aren't doing anything with it and don't want to have to start mowing it to keep the weeds down.The barn looks to have a white roof. We think there is part of a fence south (bottom of picture is south. Driveway is north, barn west and pond east) of the barn that we could finish off that would let the dogs run but let me use that area for gardens outside that fence ... and then when we move in just connect the fence to the fence that runs to the side of the house.The thoughts right now is letting the dogs out the back door or patio doors and keeping them south of the driveway and only in the back and not in front so when someone is coming up the driveway  to deliver something I don't have to hurry to haul them in or have someone worry about Rascal clawing up their car like we do here.

 I plan to read OLD WORLD FARM GARDENS Raised Row gardening (Jim and Mary Competti) book that I bought and is on my kindle on how they did their gardens without using a tiller. Something to do to keep me off my foot?

I measured the cabinet area of the china hutch I bought last year and need to refinish and fix. I have a 2 tier organizer for my plates now and want to continue to use it. I found I can use a 2 tier on the bottom and 1 tier on the top of each of the cabinets of the top part of the hutch. My silverware drawer is built in here so I also  measured what I needed to replace for the silverware. I ordered what I needed from Amazon using the last of my swagbuckes and Pinecone research gift cards. NO out of pocket

 The Hoosier cabinet I will have to refinish will have my mixing bowls and the baking pans I use the most.

I know there will be areas I will need to figure something out... I know I am going to have to find a cabinet for my spices and herbs.Those might be stored in the mudroom in a cabinet there when I find one.I do have a shelving unit Hubby built that could be enclosed (I keep my spices and herbs in the dark) with little or no cost. I need a place to my oils and vinegars and I plan to make a shelf out of the porcelian table top I got when I bought the Hoosier.

We went back through the to do list of extra projects and decided what needed to be done BEFORE we move and what we actually could do later or even next year. SO we are on the same page. I have a lot of furniture needing refinished, fixed, what ever LOL , that is going into this house so it's a priority that I need to list and then start on what is the most needed...like china hutch and Hoosier.

Daughter2 gave us some twin beds for the loft bedrooms, one of them needs fixed and it's a simple fix plus matresses . She thought I might want a place to take a nap while working .

Back to propping the foot up

Blessed Be

moving day for daughter SORT OF

The sort of is the person that lived there more like stored stuff in the rental but lived elsewhere did NOT have the water on so instead of reading a meter and transferring water to Daughter2, they have to come out and turn it on at the street  and read the meter and make sure the meter is working etc which is a different dept.So she won't have water until Monday or Tuesday (WHICH IS NOW WED and there is still NO water) which means she can't stay there without working bathroom though thankfully there is a gas station within 3 blocks of her we used while moving her stuff.

But it ended up a dump and go type of move as she really couldn't put anything away before it was cleaned and couldn't clean until the water is on... BUT the weather was going to turn nasty this week so it's was do it now. Now her OCD and depression are running full force, we all just keep reminding her to think about WHAT is done and not what is left to do. As of today Hubby was helping her remove appliances (Daughter4 taking) and a cabinet (us to convert to "closet') and the trash to the garage where landlord is going to have it hauled away next week... she's okay with where the stuff is as long as she gets the water on by tomorrow.

This is 1/3rd of the 26 ft truck we rented which thankfully had a lift so we aren't hauling stuff up a ramp. This is also 7 hours of us ...Hubby and me, loading her stuff that was here. She still have the stuff in her bedroom but if she is sleeping here there is no point moving it yet.  Hubby picked up all her stuff in the 10X20 ft storage unit and part of the stuff at Daughter4s before he ran out of room. I went in the pick up and got the vacuum Son2 was holding for her and the rest of the stuff from Daughter4s. Bad enough dealing with a 12 inch curb and stairs EVERY WHERE in the house.


What have we learned so far...to keep in our minds when we go to move.

A dump and go only works if you are really super organized like Daughter 3 (4 kids also) Daugher 4 (3 kids) and Son2 (single, no kids, his computer crap makes up for at least 1 kid LOL)

Make sure the 2 wheel cart is in good shape. Last move of Daughter2 in downpours and tornados around us the old cart broke. I had my small folding one that wasn't the best but we were down to boxes so it worked out okay.New cart was a blessing.

DO NOT count on anyone to show up and help. 4 friends didn't show up, two of her sons had other things to do and had to leave after a couple hours and then SHE had to leave to go get one of the sons because her ex's wife got sick (flu) and was in the ER. END up just Hubby and one grandson and myself for the last 3 hrs...he asked how we could do it as he was struggling to keep up...mentioned something about us pushing 50 and then we let him know we are pushing 60. He almost fell .. except he was already sitting on the floor exhausted.

 Rubber maids, sturdy plastic containers for decorations etc instead of cardboard boxes.

Trash bags are great for blankets, bedding, pillows as you can fill in the empty places with them. BUT paper grocery sacks and trash bags for breakables NOT good.I ask who packed it and my darling Daughter2 admitted she did and which I made it clear she was NOT packing anything of mine except CLOTH items. HEAVENS.

MEDIUM cardboard boxes. Large ones weigh too much if you fill them up (unless with soft light stuff) and are bulky to lift even with light stuff and your entire body will let you know it the next day.

You don't don't need every single keepsake your four kids have had since birth.You also don't need to find what you gave them when they moved out back in your storage area buried under your own stuff which I shoved right back into her home because I found it before I left to go to her house.She hasn't spoke to me in two days even though she is still living here which is actually Sleeping here.At least we are not fighting which was her teenage mode so she has matured ?? LOL

You don't need 20 pairs of pants (actually there was 50)and 50 shirts (100) when you wash every day and basically wear the same clothes during a 2 week period. NOR do you need 60 pairs of shoes,especially the ones that are missing it's mate...all of this was just ONE SON.Grandson not really happy with his Nonna (ME) at the moment but he did love it that he could find his favorite clothes right off the bat when he was looking for them. AND I put his dress clothes on hangers and hung them up and the rest that he does not even wear was left in the bags for yardsale this summer by his Momma. AND she told me she buried them under other sacks for the garage sale as he is not one to go dig for ANYTHING ... LOL

LABEL LABEL LABEL... I even have color coded the labels. Unless I flip the purple color for the dining room and blue for the bedroom the colors match the rooms, you will be able to look at top or sides of boxes and know which room it goes to.She had nothing labeled where the boys did label all of the boxes they packed for their rooms. Guess whose stuff is already put away and who is digging through the rest.

PUT THE CELL PHONE AWAY. Check it on breaks, not everyone should take a break at the same time unless it was meal time. Breaks are less than 15 min not 30 when you get sucked into Facebook, snapchap etc

Have food and drink... lots of water Daughter2 did get a lot of pizza (had coupons and lunch time special combo) had 2 slices left but I didn't eat at all and some chips for the kids but didn't have enough drink. Grandson grabbed more when he went to gas station to potty and we even ran out of the water again. It was in the low 50s so it's wasn't really hot.

March groceries 2.24.2018

PLAN TO BUY

milk

heavy cream

half and half

sour cream

cottage cheese

Greek yogurt (we don't eat enough to make it worth my making myself)

lettuce Romaine for sure possible living bibb as it last longer than others for me

lunch meat (on sale and with coupon)



MAYBES

broccoli

celery(if we finish what we have)

whole chicken if below $1/lb

AND ON 2.25.2018 my main 26 cubic ft frig took a crap. The good news on this is I caught it before I lost all that was in it's freezer but lost a lot out of the frig. Two and half hours of working on it, ice was at the fan and had stopped the fan from circulating the air. Something that had happened three times with this and the last time we had a friend who makes his living doing appliances repairs show me how to deal with it. SO we dealt with it... then another 2 1/2 hrs to cool it back down and put what didn't get tossed back in (2nd frig and 2 coolers loaded to save what we could)

Today I went to the store armed with grocery list, coupons and sales.
$257 later I have restocked with saving $68. 25 in coupons and $15 by buying what I could at Aldi's before going to Krogers.

I got
DAIRY
milk, heavy cream, half and half, cottage cheese(coupon and sale), sour cream(couponand sale), chip dip(coupon and sale) and yogurt(coupon). I got 2 free cheeses also(coupon and sale).

MEAT
ham lunchmeat (Aldis save $1.20)
turkey lunchmeat(Aldis save $1.20)
frozen chicken breast (Krogers 3 lb bag normal price $9.99 on sale for $5.37 and had $1.25 coupon)

PRODUCE
apples,pears(coupon and sale),asparagus (sale),spinach(coupon and sale), mixed baby lettuce(coupon and sale), bibb living lettuce, romaine lettuce,roma tomatoes(sale), avocados, cherry tomatoes(coupons and sale), lemons(sale), limes(sale), cutie oranges(coupon and sale), mushrooms (White and portabella) (coupon and mark down)baby carrots(coupon made them free), celery, colored bell peppers,strawberries,bananas,broccoli and a free Nourish bowl of brussels sprouts mix.

FROZEN
Icecream (coupon and sale)
potstickers (coupon and sale ...that night's dinner)
eggrolls (coupon and sale ,,,that night's dinner)
fried rice (coupon and sale , that night's dinner)
2 stirfries (coupon and sale, that's night dinner )
caulflower (coupon and sale)
corn (coupon and sale)

DRY GOODS
4 cans of corn that normally are 89¢ a can and the 4 pack was $1.99
bagels(coupon and sale)
English muffins(coupon and sale)
potato chips, fritos and puffed corn (on sale and coupons)
granola bars for Daughter2 to carry in her purse for when her sugar drops so she doesn't have to get fast food and me to carry when we start working on 209.

I knew if I didn't buy something at the store we would be ordering out or eating out and the Asian food not only did that night dinner but lunch for the next day (okay I ate eggrolls for bfast, Daughter2 ate potstickers for late night snack) and dinner tonight. I might have enough to mix together and put in freezer to have in a couple weeks.

Blessed Be

Staying frugal

This is my old wringer washer that I finally replaced with an automatic as I was down with my Crohn's and looking at surgery(which did not happen) I kept this washer...yesterday Hubby pulled it out of storage and rigged it so I could use it BECAUSE he has dumped garlic buttter sauce from 50 wings ALL over his good coat,good jeans and new shirt...I feel like I have to remind him like a child to change into "play"clothes. SIGH... I had washed the clothes and coat 4 times with stain remover and nothing got better. In one last try before they got replaced, I used the wringer washer. No pretreatment just regular homemade laundry soap and hot water and IN WATER for 45 min and it was out. The water looked like yuck so I washed a another time in the wringer which the water looked "clean" and tossed it in the automatic to drain and spin as the coat would not have went through the wringer. BUT will not be replacing the coat and clothes and I will be telling Hubby to change in to play clothes LOL.Savings is $275.

I did not go to store and I am not planning to going this weekend as Daughter2 might be moving out by next weekend (figures are crossed).She was planning on this weekend but the owner couldn't get her stuff out due to the down pours of rain. Which we won't be moving Daughter2 in pouring rain...did that and not going that way again. Daughter2 did research for a moving truck *Hubby has CDL and thought she found the best. Hubby saw a moving truck she had not mentioned checking so he did and we can get 3 days at this place instead of only 1 day where she was going to rent from for cheaper than the 1 day.PLUS he didn't input our AARP discount.

We ordered the appliances for 209 at Menards today, all was on sale plus they have their 11% rebate so we saved almost $1000 between the two.

I did swagbucks goal 4 times this week.

I did 2 pinecone surveys.

I used the drying rack every day as Daughter2 is starting to wash some stuff that was in storage that she will need in her house.

I shut the furnace off the day it was 70 outside, aired out the house. Closed house back up when sun was sitting, closing curtains and such. Realized the next morning when it was chilly I had forgot to turn the furnace back on and Daughter2 said she hadn't turned on the space heater either.

We had to take Wilbur and Charlotte back in to get their stitches out, Charlotte had one get a little infected but instead of giving her pills the vet suggested we clean it 3 times a day, use people antibotic on it and then a coating of vaseline... 3 days later no infection, Since we were in there we had Rascal's nails clipped.

I have been coughing since the beginning of Feb when I was sick with what I thought was a cold or allegry attack... went to the doctor, Nope I was getting over the flu.... he was surprised I wasn't down in the hospital thinking it was a Crohn's attack (I was nausated but never threw up) ANYWAYS... I am ran down HA HA from it so I now have meds for the cough and orders to rest or I won't be in any shape to work on 209 in a couple weeks. If the cough doesn't improve in a week I will be back on steriods (SIGH).

 In exchange of some work Daughter2 is doing for me I am stocking some of Daughter2's pantry from mine. She is working on getting the "dry" goods before she moves in and then the persishibles when her frig is up and running.I know I am getting the better end of the deal as I priced out gettting the work done and the lowest bid was $200 and she's not "taking" $200 worth of pantry. She said it's worth it to her as she won't have to spend time going to the store.

The dreariness of the rainy days we are having to turn lights on, so we have taken to trying to sit together in one spot to only have on 1 light.

I have been looking to replace the white 10 inch cornelle plates. The last of my set from 30 yrs ago just shattered. Even though I have a set of 4  Iris cornelle I miss the 10 inch white ones.They fit my serving bowls as lids besides being my serving platters. I've been without since last Nov and just wasn't willing to pay the price I was seeing. I found them on sale onsite, had a code to save even more, got swagbucks and ebates also and got four including the shipping for 50% off, 4 for the price of 2 I can handle.

I bought Daddy a new cane using my Walgreen points to pay for it.

I filled out the survery for Bob Evans after taking Daddy there and got another $4 off if we use it in the next 30 days. Which we will of course.

I have done the normal routine, open and close curtains, turn furnace down (or off LOL), printer and computers turned off when not in use. Power strip to coffee pot off when not in use. . Sensor used on dryers or drying rack instead of dryer. Cold water wash with homemade laundry soap and white vinegar for softener. Water added to shampoo,conditioner, body soap,hand soap, dish soap, lotions etc.Use scrap paper from mail, paid bills  etc. Make sure I do my Krogers and Menard receipts so I can get my points from Krogers for fuel and the rebates from Menards. I've also been uploading receipts to Receipt hog for credits. I try to remember to look at Ibota and checkout 51. Mobisave doesn't work for me.When we get out meds from CVS I make sure Hubby uses the CVS card as I have the pharmacy rewards on my card. My fitbit is connected to Walgreens so I get points for walking and sleeping, two things I do anyways. Washed baggies , foil and bx inserts.

My tomato plants I started from seed I saved from last year are still alive. Some look decent while others I wonder when they are going to just die.  Still ever one that grows and produces a tomato is a freebie.

Can't think of anything else at this point .. Need to start writing it back down daily like I have in the past.

Blessed Be

209 update

We have the appraisal back...that was about $10,000 more than we thought it would be let alone needed it to be.

We have the house inspection back and we had actually covered everything needing done when we went over it with the contractor. SO nothing added there.

The underwriter had some questions (they always do) and I already had that paperwork around incase they asked so that was dealt with within 30 min...

Now it's just sit and wait 12 days for the closing.

We played a bit and plugged some things into the program Hubby is using for free. The door to the left of the green door is the east front door (or house 2)

The green door by the stove is actually a 4 x 8 green pegboard I hang my pots and pans on . The program didn't allow just green boards LOL. This is the south side of the kitchen and it going to be the cooking center. The little table is a 24 x 30 inch porcelian top I just found that I will make into a table to be by the stove. Hallway goes to the bedroom(blue)bathroom(orange) and laundryroom (lime green)The gray cabinet with white top is suppose to be our French door frig and the dark box is a blue metal cabinet that was my late husband's grandmothers. While looking at this I noticed I will need to have something to hang the onions and garlic from by the stove and a shelf for the hot pads.

This is looking at the west wall that is the kitchen and dining area. Outside those French doors will be a deck and a huge red barn. The Hoosier cabinet we hope will fit here , the round table will actually be my retangle porcelian table (we made it round because we only could do round and square)that was my parents that came from their landlord's family when my parents married. This is going to be my "baking center". The cabinet on the far right of the purple wall is my china hutch (I know it fits there because the lady that lived there had hers there), square table is our dining table...the door at the china hutch goes to the mudroom.

First door which is actually the middle door of north wall goes to the staircase. The other door going to the red room is the front room. The purple wall is on the east side. I might put a bookcase between the windows to hold my cookbooks. Microwave and the roll cart it sits on is at the end of the penisula that my white kitchenaid mixer is on (blue one is also with a blender but doesn't show well) The roll cart holds the Lifetime wear cooking pans my Daddy bought Mother for Christmas after they bought their house...and two weeks later he was laid off when the company he worked for closed.They remind me that even in really hard times it can be okay.

This is the east wall. The dishwasher might be moved to the penisula since I am not willing to go without it and the contractor was having a issue getting it in the cabinet with the Crane sink. The penisula will be my prep area. I can see us eating breakfast and lunch there if it is just one of us.Hubby said it might let him be in the kitchen with me without me telling him to get out of the walk way LOL.  It can go unsaid that this is the cleaning area of the kitchen. I am thinking of hanging this on the wall where the coffee pots are sitting (on dishwasher).

I might put a bar like this also by stove for hotpads...something to think about.I am pretty sure we have dowel rods in the garage here.


I already got the curtains for the purple area(I did have to buy 1 set as I had 2 sets but they were half price so that was fine) I have a couple different curtains I can use at the sink if I feel that need as the porch is right there and it is roofed so I might not need one. I haven't figured out where to put the trash can but if Wilbur is still with us I am bungie cording it to the wall as his late mommy the beloved Weebles taught him to knock it over and take the lid off so she could eat the trash as she wasn't big enough to do it.It's not something we have gotten broke completely with him.

Tomorrow we go to Menards and order the range,frig,dishwasher and a dryer since everything is on sale AND they have the 11% rebate. It will save us over $1000. By ordering it, it won't be in until after closing so we don't have to deal with it sitting here amongst Daughter 2's stuff.

She was suppose to be able to start cleaning her new place this coming weekend but due to pouring rain the owner wasn't able to get all her stuff out. Not sure how that is going since owner is getting married out of state on Saturday. Frustrating on this end for Daughter2's family and us but can't blame the owner for not wanting to get her stuff soaked as we did when Daughter2 moved out of the last place.

Blessed Be

update on 209.

This is a Hoosier cabinet. Hubby has decided to build me one some what like this one. Our contractor actually ran across a flour bin in the trash and snatched and is GIVING it to us with the condition he gets to see the final cabinet. I'll be having it sealed to make it food safe.I don't think it's an original and neither does the contractor but still. Porcelian tables are not made any longer (I have an actually table that is about 100 yrs old) so Hubby is going to do butcher block of the table part.Hubby is looking to put cedar inside the cabinet to help keep pantry moths at bay.

I've been looking at kitchen layouts from 1900-1930s . I found the following pictures at kitchen apartment therapy. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/   I love this site.

1929 apartment ... looks like yellow and green are common kitchen colors through the decades.

1920s kitchen. yellow and blue. Love the china cupboard.

This is Hubby's favorite as it has the Crane sink and the large Hoosier style cabinet. 1929 back to green and with yellow and orange in the flooring and accents on doors

1900-1920... this reminds me of what was there when we first looked at the house and its my favorite
the bump outs remind me of 209, it's the reverse of ours but still... Some green and orange in this one.

Being frugal with dealing this house (even if we didn't have the money going out for electric, heat, plumbing etc we would be frugal) is time consuming at times. I research for the best deals from my need to buy list, get used or on sales or with rebates. Tracking what we buy is necessary for when we sell it (or the kids do after we die) to lower the capital gains tax. We are pretty much at the point of having to wait to we can start working on the house (after closing). We also look at this as a 30 yr investment and already had set the payment with taxes, ins etc to be BELOW what social security would pay if we took it early at age 62 so we wouldn't be stressed about paying medical ins and the house or having to go back to work like several we know.Some are thinking we are nuts with what is going on with the stock market and being retired and then spending a small fortune on a home but we planned for this expense 10 years ago and still are remaing under budget (shock there). A close friend said something about being on a fixed income and I reminded them that they were working and on a fixed income as they are on salary AND could be laid off tomorrow without benefits. Nothing is certain ever except we live and die.He went home and told his wife he was retiring out and they needed to figure out what to do to stay in the home when they got older.

The home inspector has went through and the HUD appraiser also has, so now it's wait for the paperwork and the final amount we need for down payment and closing costs.

Sometimes it is overwhelming with appointments and shopping and decision making, other times it just drags forever.

The new expensive clothes/frugal/dogs

Daughter 2 took this picture for me, right after she cracked the joke she plans to inherit this hoodie in about 20 years.  Definitely warm as I only had a tank under it and didn't need my coat with it being 10° outside and I ran around without a coat.

This is the skirt, really comfortable. The only negative I found was I had to carry a lint brush with me as Charlotte's baby fine white fur stuck very well to it.  I wore it when we went to Basil's on Market for our Valentine's day dinner. Early but we got the all you can eat crab legs with house salad and truffle french fries for $30/each . It's not a meal on their menu.  Each time they brought out more crablegs for us( we ate 4 claws (4-5 "fingers") each their brought out more truffle french fries... I have enough french fries for a meal for the 3 of us if not more.Top it will chili, sour cream and cheese and call it done.I did notice that even though you could order a drink, appetizers etc plus the special. every single person that was getting the crab leg special was only ordering water to go with the meal.

We decided since there is Valentines day and our anniversary(I made reservations for this meal at Basil's on Market) and we wanted to eat out at a nice sit down restaurant we would not get any fast food this month .We will be taking Daddy to Bob Evans but we have a coupon and gift card for that and Daddy pays the tip.

We have been eating from the pantry, have not been to the grocery store since Jan 31s Someone is going to have to stop and get milk/ half and half/ heavy cream probably Monday.I used all the half and half and the heavy cream and custard pie is on the menu as I use a 1949 recipe.

Daughter 2 got excited as I opened the beef veggie soup I had canned last fall. She is the only one that eats it in her house. She got a new place and will be moving March 1st. I will have to vacuum my own floors SIGH  well I won't when we move in new house ... HA HA.  Next time I can Veggie soup, I'll can some pints for her.

I see empty spots in the pantry and freezers which is good though part of me wants to refill it...not doing that so don't have to move it.Lots of sales right now and I just started pitching the ads directly into the burn trash so not to even think about it.

I washed baggies, box inserts,and foil.Daughter 2 brought home some plasticware that someone had left at work and didn't claim. She washed it out and brought it home. Hung delicates on drying rack, washed heavy clothes first so if they weren't completely dry they went in with second load for dryer. Cold water, homemade laundry soap and vinegar for the softener.

Mixed water with dish soap, hand soap, body soap, shampoo and conditioner. Used orange peel vinegar to clean floors.

Turned off coffee pots, laptops and printer when not in use. Daughter 2 said she is down to running heater in her room 6 hrs if that.

Reloaded the medications, toilet paper, paper towels and dog treats from storage in upstairs.

Reloaded dried fruit and M&M s from storage upstairs.

Didn't go anywhere as Charlotte and Wilbur got fixed from Wed to Friday...Vet said she wasn't pregnant as I had him make sure before surgery, yes that was an unnecessary expense  but I feel better about the choice of surgery at this time. They are doing fine, Charlotte is recovering faster that Wilbur due to her age even though her surgery was more than his.

Her favorite place to sleep even though she thinks she's hiding (under a glass dining table) and is now too big to curl in the middle.

Wilbur was goofy. He slept most of the evening and then got up and did this

Yes he is totally asleep standing with his head on the couch by Hubby. Hubby picked him up and laid him on couch.

I transplanted the tomato seedlings I had started.

Blessed Be