Clothes, Cooking & Cars!

While ‘out and about’ yesterday I happened upon the most glorious thing – a wondrous garage sale! Wondrous because the ladies running it were just having it to ‘get rid’ of ’stuff’, which was very much to my benefit. They had a sign which read: “Fill a bag for $1.00″…this was on their clothing items and, Momma, did I make a haul! Let’s see if I can recall the total number of items: 2 very nice Spring/Fall jackets, a winter hat, 2 boxes of very nice stationary (something people don’t use much these days), 3 ‘every day’ tops, 2 sweaters, 5 embroidered sweatshirts, and 7 (all white) fancy church blouses with varied embelishments like lace, pearls and/or embroidery. I made my ‘pile’ then asked “How much for all this?”  They responded: “How about $3.00?” After trying to convince them it should be much more, I gave them $4.00 and went home a very happy woman! There was a story behind all the very nice white blouses: it seems their mother worked as a Supervisor at KMart and all supervisors were required to wear white tops; all I can say is, their  Mom had some very nice taste in tops! This garage saling adventure was also spurred on by a comment last Wednesday from a friend who, after observing my casual clothing, said: “Pam, you’re going to have to invest in some new clothes here…the ones you’re wearing are way too big!” (and she was right). I had been in a bit of a hurry and grabbed a top and matching cotton slacks and threw them on; I thought they went together well, albeit they WERE too large. Even my husband commented that I needed to find smaller clothes. Yes, I’ve lost another 5 lb. but am not ‘working at it’ like I was 3 years ago when diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic (at that time I lost 50 lb.). I’ve still got quite a ways to go, now weighing 180 and could probably get down another 25 lb. to a healthier weight and size, but it’s kinda nice to know that you need to wear smaller clothes. I’ve always been ‘large’…and at times, XLarge (size 22; am now between 16-18). As I used to joke: I was born at 175 lb.!  Anyway, I digress…me thinks I’ll be looking for more garage sales in the near future-hey, it’s almost the end of the ‘garage sale season’! It’s not often you find a place like the one above mentioned, though…or find nice clothes at really reasonable prices; it was definitely a blessing!

Just so you don’t think I’m just rambling on about anything that comes to mind, I thought of you and found another easy recipe which works nicely when you need something quick to ‘make and take’ to a breakfast/luncheon, etc.

Bubble Nut Ring

1 loaf frozen bread dough (or 36 count frozen dinner rolls)

1 small pkg. butterscotch pudding mix

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. chopped nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon (or more)

8 T. melted margarine

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place melted margarine in a small bowl or pie tin.  Pull off pieces of bread dough and roll into 2-inch balls, making approximately 32.  Mix all ingredients together (except melted margarine) and place in a separate bowl or pie tin.  Spray Bundt pan (or Angel food cake-type tube pan) with non-stick cooking spray.  Place melted margarine in a bowl or pie tin. Dip dough balls into melted margarine, then into dry mixture. Place balls into bundt pan, evenly layering as you go. Sprinkle any remaining dry mixture over top and pour extra melted margarine over top.  Let rise until doubled in size, then bake 20  minutes. Let cool before turning out onto a plate and serving.

(This was another of the simple recipes I taught the homeschool cooking class a few years ago; they loved the ‘end result’ of this one.)

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It’s Saturday, a ‘day of rest’ around here, so I’m going to ‘take it easy’ and probably finish a book I started yesterday, one in a series by Debbie McComber. This one is her latest “Knitting Group” book; the series catalogues the adventures and lives of members of a knitting group; to say that my knitting group loved the series is putting it mildly – we ALL love her books. Also planning on arranging more squares into future afghans; got a lovely email yesterday from a friend in my old knit group. She detailed that some of her friends are still knitting squares for me and ‘would I be so kind as to meet her at their church to pick up 3 paper bags and a garbage bag full of squares?” You bet! How neat! I wrote her that their ‘gift’ comes at just the right time, as my collection of squares is growing rather thin. (It usually does around the end of summer, as most people don’t knit in hot weather; the packages should pick up soon.) She made me feel like some sort of celebrity by saying that there is an 80 yr old lady in her church who knit most of the paper bag squares and she would like a picture of me with her squares; how nice, eh? Still working on #203; this one is taking a little longer as it is “a little longer”. This particular afghan (and one other I’ve already completed) consists of 7″ X 9” squares (my required size is 7 inches by 7 inches). Because these are rectangles instead of squares, I laid them on their long sides, 4 squares to a row and am sewing them together that way. The end product is a nice afghan, just not the same as the others but I’m sure the child receiving it will not complain that theirs is different; they all accomplish the same results . . . keeping someone warm and cosy.

It’s a grey, cloudy (and a bit chilly) beginning of the day – around 60 degrees; am hoping it warms up sufficiently later.

OH! Almost forgot to share our GOOD news! Middle son (he of the “multiple car troubles” episodes) has purchased a “new” (to him) vehicle: a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am…red with really ‘cool’ racing tire rims, black interior. Later today he’ll be selling his ‘free/gift’ Neon for $300, to a local dealership (it’s beginning to show signs of major problems – needs some sort of a seal, as it’s leaking oil big time). We’re thrilled for him (as a Mom, I’d have preferred a less ‘racy’ car, but he’s a guy and you know their attitudes on cars…Vrooom, Vroom!). It’s been an almost 2-week ordeal with him going to various dealerships; he’s checked out 2 foreign car places and the insurance was just too much for his age and budget, several (what I would call ’shady’) older car dealerships and I thank heavens the one deal fell through…I really didn’t trust the place OR the car! We kept telling him: “Go to a respectable dealership and ask for a used car with a warrantee”; he FINALLY listened and is very happy. That dealership even was able to locate an insurance company with much lower rates (but still in his requirements for the car), so he’ll be able to afford the loan, the insurance and still be able to afford paying for college classes; now THAT’S a blessing! He is now the proud owner of the NEWEST car in our entire family, older son included!

That’s the latest news around here; hope you have a great weekend! Remember to take a little time for yourself!

Hugs;

Pammie

You Know You’re Getting Old When…

you don’t see the things around you in the same way/manner others do. Let me explain: I am NOT a person who likes to go shopping at large malls but yesterday my youngest asked if I would take him to our local gigantic mall and we went.  I don’t know about you, but I was inundated with the continual feeling of being ‘just plain OLD’! Mind you, I haven’t been to this mall in probably 4-5 years (I hate malls, remember? It’s the agoraphobia-’fear of large places/crowds’ thing-I end up having a panic attack … not pleasant, for sure!).  We walked around and through several of the areas and stopped in several clothing stores to purchase youngest’s clothing (earnings from his job). I was totally amazed; no, guess that’s not the right word…shocked would fit better here, at just how much the ‘world of merchandising’ appeals to the younger (teens to 30’s) group. My last impression of this mall was ’spot on’ with yesterday’s: shoe stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, more clothing stores, etc. I’m not a ‘clothes horse’ at all; give me a good garage sale find and I’m happy, so you can imagine my feelings at having all this ‘junk’ stare me in the face. My family says I’m ’sheltered’…I guess in this instance, they’re right! For example:  we were at American Eagle clothing store and youngest picked up a pair of jeans . . . these were the ‘distressed’ look: very faded blue jeans with what I would describe as ‘wear marks’, holes all down the front of both legs and some on the back. This pair of ‘new’ jeans sell for $49.99!!! (he didn’t buy them…thank Heavens!). Next store: Hot Topics; a very ‘trendy’ teens store full of more (JUNK!) items to appeal to the younger set. In this store he picked up a pair of turquoise high-top tennis shoes which sold for, you guessed it, another $49.99! (we went to PayLess shoes and found a black pair of high tops for $29.99…with my $5 off coupon, they were just his price!). I know I’m getting older, but just looking at ‘what’s fashion in the teen world today’ made me sick to my stomach! Walking around the mall I had feelings of being WAY out of date (I kind of knew that, but maybe not as much as now); I was wearing a knit top, blue jeans and sandals. All around the mall were various ages of women with several things in common:  all were wearing tight fashion jeans with a leather belt, most were showing some skin at the waistline, and various kinds of shoe wear, all very ‘in fashion’ and, I’m certain, very expensive.  I’m not criticizing them, just making an observation. Do I feel less ‘chic/hip/in fashion’ after this experience? NO! A little ‘old’ because I’m certain I didn’t ‘fit in’, but really if you get down to it,  my body was covered, I was comfortable and the clothing I was wearing was totally affordable for me, therefore I declare:  I’m JUST FINE in my own skin! It’s sad to know that others feel the necessity to spend such exsorbitant (definition: “exceeding the customary or appropriate limits in intensity, quality, amount, or size”) amounts on ’skin coverings’; I’ll get off my soap box now…

Went to the office supply store today and saw an item I didn’t know existed: print them yourself bumper stickers! They come in a package of 6 for $9.99; you put them in your printer -  interesting idea! (yes, I do see that they ‘could’ pose a problem for those who decide that the world needs to know their inner secrets or where they think YOU should go or where they think you should stick things, but I’ll leave that to your imagination … grin)

Lately I’ve been immersed into the world of organizing a fund raiser for our special needs group. It’s been decided that we’re going to have a baked potato dinner with silent auction.

My job, so far, is to research the costs involved food-wise and design tickets (my fun project!). We’re shooting for the third week in October and 100 guests. Our silent auction will consist of donated ‘baskets’. Years ago we did a bowl-a-thon and had baskets; they were a hit so we’re hoping to do this again. I’m making two: a “Baby Shower” basket which will have a hand-knit baby blanket, three coordinating baby hats, a pair of crocheted ‘Mary Jane’ baby shoes for a girl and a crocheted pair of ‘high topped tennis shoes’ for a boy (my very talented friend Kim did the shoes for me). Also in the basket is a large, very soft stuffed cat. I haven’t decided yet whether to add a few small infant toys (like teething rings) to it. We’re hoping each basket will have a value of around $25-50. The other basket I’m putting together is a “Pie Time” arrangement consisting of a Pampered Chef pie dish, pie roller and flour/sugar sprinkler and then I’m still working on the rest of the items. Thinking maybe a set of measuring spoons, measuring cups, perhaps an apron or linen dish towel…who knows. We’ve composed a list of basket ideas and are in the process of asking people for donationed baskets. (Don’t worry…I’m not hitting you up! These will be to the ladies of the church where we meet). Our ultimate goal is to raise $300-400, which will cover our expenses for about a year. In years past we held garage sales (my favorite) but the other two ladies on the board felt we were not getting the profits and expending far too much effort for our work, so hence the potato dinner idea. We’ll see how this goes; if it works well we might do it again next year.  There are only three of us doing all the organizing/work, so you can see why we’re trying to conserve energies and get the most for our efforts.

That’s about ‘it’ for me lately; just got back from the chiropractor and he said that my back is now ‘better than when I first came in’; I’m feeling ‘well’ and it’s down to 2 visits a week for the next week then he’ll see if it will become once a month (YAY!). It’s not as painful to go through the manipulations, which I’m very glad of!

Next up is getting my organizing skills working towards tonight’s “Gym Night” for my special needs group. Once a month in the fall/winter months we hold a Gym Night for our kids. From 6:30-8:30 we have a meal (hot dogs, chips, pop and cookies tonight…I’m the hot dog cooking queen), a short Bible devotion, then the students are free to play basketball, bowl (using sets of childrens plastic bowling pins), color, do jigsaw puzzles, or just chat with their friends. We also host another church’s special needs group, so we’re expecting a total of 35-50 people tonight; ought to be fun!

I was listening to a gentleman at the chiropractor’s office talk about  now that he’s retired all he does is golf and rest and he only golfs twice a week; the rest of the time he just rests. My thought on that was: I’ve been retired now 26 years and I’ve NEVER been as busy in my life as I am now; guess it’s all in how ‘old’ you feel, eh?

On that note, I’ll close. It’s a wee bit chilly here today: in the 60’s, overcast with brief bits of sunshine (it’s supposed to rain today).  I’m not letting the cold air bring me down…still looking for the sunshine!

Enjoy your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

Oh how I love a bargain!

Part of today has been spent doing the ’school supplies’ running; you know, when you hit all the great bargains at all the stores! Not the big ticket stores like KMart and Target…NO! Smart shoppers know that the best bargains for those things are at the…DRUG STORES! Yes, that’s what I said…drug stores! Had a great time hunting down their ‘get you in the store’ sales (can’t remember the exact technical name for those…it’s been a good 27 years since I took Marketing classes in college!). Walgreen’s had great sales on things like index cards for 25 cents ea, limit 2 (I paid $1.70 something a few months ago for one pkg!); college rule filler paper 10 cents a pk, limit 3…that’s just a few of the sales I remember there. Then it was on to Office Max (yes, I know it’s not a drug store, but they had great sales, too!) like: 2-pocket folders 1 cent ea.limit 5; 12 inch wooden ruler 1 cent;12 pk. #2 wooden pencils 10 cents, limit 3; composition books 50 cents, limit 2…yes, I had a good time shopping! CVS has some good sales going on their school supplies, also. Tomorrow is KMart for their mechanical pencils and a backpack for youngest son.

When we were at Office Max the clerk gave me a coupon good for $5 off a purchase of $25 or more at Pay Less shoes; THAT came in handy because youngest & I went there, too! He got sandals and new school shoes and I found a great pair of those backless tennis shoes ($10) AND we got $5 off on the total purchase! It’s my lucky day!!!

It seems to be a week of shopping for school and this upcoming missions trip for youngest son. Still have to get a pair of sun glasses ($5 off at CVS!) and a wallet with chain (there are no lockers or places to store any valuables where they’re going).

Just glad to be sitting down right now and resting my feeties; I have another ‘adventure’ tonight and tomorrow with middle son. Will be blogging about this one, I’m SURE! Stay tuned to the further adventures of this ‘constantly running’ Mom.

Hope you’re having a great day! (It’s a mild day out, something like 70 degrees and a little sunny…not our typical August weather but I’ll take it!)

Hugs;

Pammie

Driving, Groceries & Goodies

I’m kind of  ‘holding my breath’ while applauding the resourcefulness of middle son in asking for rides from his friends to get him to college and the midnight opening of the latest Harry Potter movie. Yay, son! Also youngest son volunteered to have the church bus pick him up for vacation Bible school (he’s working as a Teen Volunteer, escourting younger kids to and from events), thus freeing me up completely for my ‘fun event’ tonight: our Knit Group’s Movie Night! Yes, we get together to knit almost weekly, but this is a step-above that.  One of our members has a lovely condo complete with basement refinished into what she lovingly calls a “Man Cave”. That’s a basement furnished with those huge theater seats: reclining leather connected seats, cup holders, little built-in side tables, the whole bit! A built in bar and counter area and also several tables & chairs round out this total MOVIE THEATER experience. Did I mention Surround Sound? It’s got that, too.  Add to that opulence a pot luck dinner brought by our members and you’ve got a complete Ladies Night Out! We bring our knitting, eat great foods and watch a current movie…what more could you ask for? Tonight is Taco Night and I’m bringing “Triple Chocolate Mess” dessert with French Vanilla ice cream, just to be decadent. (I posted that recipe on a earlier post, just in case you might be interested). The movie is: “A Beautiful Mind” which I’ve been assured is a tear-jerker but very good … I’ll let ya know, later.

Managed to get my running done early today: Post Office (checking to see if there might be a box of knit/crocheted squares…nope), Library to pick up a free one-day pass to any of our county parks courtesy of the Library (that includes our local beach! YAY!) The pass is good for 8 days and I’m looking at my calendar and scoping out this Thursday (as long as nothing ‘else’ gets in the way…like sons with car problems). Did a quick run to the grocery store for THREE items: Kleenex, bacon, and Pierogies (I know…what an unusual grouping of things, eh?)…ended up with several ‘other’ items, like chicken legs & thighs on sale for $7.90…they were in a big bag and after cleaning and re-bagging there were enough for 2 dinners (1 leg/thigh each, for 4 people) and 2 extra leg/thighs left over. I looked over all of their various offerings of chicken parts and noticed that even if I only bought one package of one type of chicken part (like legs or thighs or breasts) I’d still be spending at least $7. 00 and getting less meat in the deal, so this seemed to be a good deal:  10 rather large legs & thighs for $7.90!  Also noticed beef cube steak  (hey, it just called to me! “Hey! Buy me! I’ll make a tasty dinner for ya!…I heard and complied), so much for my little foray for only three items.

It’s a beautiful sunny July day (in the 80’s); my ’schedule’ is relatively free (at the moment)…think I’ll go knit for a few. Enjoy your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

Stitchin’ in the Sun!

It’s a gorgeous Monday afternoon around here; 84 nice, sunny warm degrees, slight breeze…what’s a girl to do? Why, enjoy it while she can, of course! As you remember, I’m no “Sun Goddess”, so there’s SPF 30 on me, my trusty (goofy looking) sunhat on my head, a nice icy glass of tea to keep me from getting parched and I’m ‘good to go’! As nice as it was, I only lasted about 20 minutes…just too darned hot for me, but it’s a start!

Like my dear friend Momma, today was another ‘get things done’ day except it became get them done EARLY! Have 3 loads of wash done, folded & put away (another one in the dryer and 1 in the wash…that should just about finish my laudry chores for the day.) Got the dishes cleaned up, fridge cleaned out, house straightened up and made a big ole’ batch of Macaroni salad for dinner tonight.  Actually, the salad was a big help in me cleaning out the fridge; the salad has leftover sliced up ham, cucumbers, green peppers, celery, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes and leftover black olives from Saturday’s dinner of Nachos. I, personally, like to cut up small chunks of Cheddar cheese in it but the rest of my family has requested I not do that, as it’s not their favorite (I suppose I could just cut up chunks in MY bowl…now there’s a thought!). Along with this salad we’ll be having grilled chicken breasts on the George Formann; my kind of night-a cool salad and meat cooked on a grill which doesn’t heat up my kitchen-win/win situation here!

As I’m working on this post my youngest son is ‘rocking out’ to Guitar Hero 2; he’s an enthusiast of the more hard-core rock music and I’m not so we’re working out a solution to this (soon to be) problem. I let him have the livingroom tv and ‘rock’ to his heart’s content while I’m on my computer or outside…away from the NOISE! When I can’t stand any more of the ‘music?’, we sort of trade spots in the house. Our house is small and today begins the countdown to end of school for the summer (2 more half-days to go), so a solution needs to be achieved BEFORE Mom totally loses it. I think this will work….for now.

Hope you have a great day…remember to not OVER-DO whatever you’re up to today.

Hugs;

Pammie

Poppies & Pigging Out

It’s been a relatively quiet weekend here; the poppies (as you can see) are going crazy nodding their bright faces in the breezes and smiling at the sun. Husband mowed the lawns a little earlier this evening and I just saw a big red-headed woodpecker really enjoying the bugs that were stirred up by the mower; he was really pecking and pecking at the ground in search of tasty morsels.

Speaking of tasty morsels, last night middle son brought home some leftovers from his work: most of the fixin’s for fajitas. We pigged out on fajitas for lunch, then tonight’s dinner was “Clean the Fridge” (ever have that at your house?) so it was a virtual plethora of delights.  Husband chose beef stir fry over rice (we had a large batch of that), middle son had last night’s dinner: fish, corn and hash browns. Youngest son chose leftover homemade pizza and I, once again, pigged out on more fajitas! We are all pleasantly stuffed, the fridge is much lighter in leftovers and now we’ve all settled down to our favorite ‘light enjoyment’: Husband is playing “World of Warcraft” on his computer, middle & youngest sons are playing/watching a boxing video game and I’m doing a little ‘catch-up’ with you.  All in all, it’s been a nice, quiet weekend. I finished another afghan (#178) and got several more squares knit so I feel like I’ve accomplished something (that is, besides the laundry and dishes which are a given…sigh).

It’s been a rather cool/chilly/cold weekend, dipping to the 50’s and warming up to not much higher than around 65 during the day (might even have been colder at night; I didn’t check outside thermometer). Knowing that, it will just make the coming hot weather in June that much more welcome, right?

Enjoy your days & nights; stay warm and hopefully pleasantly filled with good foods.

Hugs;

Pammie

Another Compulsion…

Socks.  Knitting Socks.  Me knitting socks…do those words actually go together? I’ve been trying to figure that one out now for a good 2-3 weeks. You see, most of the ladies in my knit group are knitting socks! They all ooo and awwwww over all sorts of various balls of, you guessed it, sock yarn. They spend tons of time chatting about the various colors, combinations and attributes of sock yarn. They share patterns and observe each other knitting socks. Have you ever had something that sort of intrigued you but you almost felt like it was beyond your abilities?  That’s me and knitting socks. Here are the facts:  (1) I absolutely HATE knitting in a circle! (2) ditto on the using 4 needles at one time (3) ditto on using teeny-tiny needles (4) ditto on using yarn that should be used for sewing on a button, it’s so thin!  Now, you ask yourself: “WHY, if she’s so adamant about NOT liking all these things, would she even consider trying to knit socks?”  You’ve got me there…I don’t know!

Let’s put this in perspective: I’ve gone to JoAnn Fabrics (craft store) at least 2-3 times specifically to purchase sock yarn and start this thing.  Now I know I’ve told you I’m (1) Scottish by descent (2) very frugal (3) very stubborn.  THOSE attributes are what jump to the forefront when I’m faced with thinking about purchasing sock yarn. Did I mention that even on sale, sock yarn runs a good $5 a teeny-tiny skein and it would take a good 3-4 skeins to make a pair (not counting the cost of buying those 4 teeny-tiny needles?) Yesterday was another of those days where I visited the shop and spent a good half hour trying to actually leave the store with yarn and needles…(I know, I’m pathetic in this area). Oh…there’s one other facet of this process…I haven’t, as yet, found even ONE yarn I like in the sock colors/combinations! To me they’re all UGLY! I really tried! I picked up skein after skein and said to myself: “What about this one? It’s light blue, it’s soft…sigh…it’s ugly!” I guess I’m just a creature of habit; I’m that person you see wandering around stores: She’s had the same purse for years at a time, the same pair of shoes for years at a time, she wears white ankle socks…that’s me: PLAIN JANE!  To me, socks/purses/shoes are UTILITARIAN! I don’t really CARE what they look like: THEY’RE THERE JUST TO SERVE A PURPOSE! Do you get my point? I have 2 pairs of Sunday ‘church’ shoes for winter- both black and both almost the same shoe (the same for summer, only it’s one pair of white shoes); one black purse that I’ve had since I bought it at a garage sale about 3 years ago (I patch it up when it springs a small seam tear, but it’s served me well!); and probably about 8 pairs of white cotton ankle socks.  Colored socks? Nope. Fancy-dancy colored socks that took me at least 2-3 WEEKS to knit? Nope!

I guess that actually answers my question: should I knit socks? I even have 2 books on hold at the local library: “Getting Started Knitting Socks” and “Easy Knitted Socks: Fun and Fashionable for the Novice Knitter“.  I think I’m just going to turn those back in, unread. Even explored the idea of crocheting socks, but crochet and I aren’t the best of friends. I’m getting tired just THINKING about this project! Let’s see: if I DON’T knit socks I’ve saved myself both tons of time, stress AND MONEY! It’s a WIN/WIN situation all around! Let those other ladies revel in their sock knitting…I’m going to be content with my little squares knitting and get over it! Whew! I feel better already!

Who knew an compulsion could feel so good…NOT doing it!?

Ah, life…it’s great if you don’t let it get you down!

Have a great day!

Hugs;

Pammie

A Good Day

Today is one of those days where you just sort of sigh and say to yourself: “This is a GOOD day!” The sun is shining brightly, there are little patches of white, purple and yellow beginning-to-bloom crocus flowers dotting the lawn, it’s in the 40’s for temperatures (that’s getting warmer, for us!).

I spent part of the day hunting bargains for a fun event we’re hosting tomorrow evening for my special needs group. The other lady who’s my ‘partner in crime’ has decided that since it’s our last gym night for this season, we’re changing things up a bit and holding a carnival atmosphere! We’ll be having several different games the kids can play: basketball toss, bowling, knocking over plastic milk bottles, and a bean bag toss.  We’ve acquired lots of nice prizes for each of them, so they will play the games and at the end of the evening everyone will go home with a prize of some sort.  We’re starting with dinner: hot dogs, chips and pop then a short devotional, then the games.  At the end of the game time, we’ll have popcorn and ice cream cups.  It’s a very fast 2 hour evening: the kids love it and so do we.  With that in mind, today found me scouting out 80 hot dogs, 80 buns, chips, popcorn and ice cream in little cups (the kind with the little wooden spoons). Along the way I found a great deal on really nice heavy plastic plates; these were silver and also had matching dessert plates. The great part? They were getting rid of them, so packages of 25 plates were marked down to $2.00 for the dinner plates and $1.00 for 25 dessert plates! What a bargain! I immediately called my ‘partner in crime’ and now we have enough really nice plates for our special needs group’s Christmas dinner! (I bought 125 of each kind; dinner plates and dessert plates!) I love a good bargain; got 8 hot dog buns for 88 cents a pkg…that was a better deal than any of our other discount stores around (these were at Kroger).

After getting all the ‘loot’ out of the car and stored temporarily until tomorrow night’s event, I settled myself in my recliner and finished another great read. This time, I’ve discovered another great mystery writer: Daniel Silva.  I’m working on book #4 of his “Gabriel Allon” series. The man can definitely write a chair-gripping world-scope mystery.  Having checked out his total writing list, I think I have something like 8 more books before I’m up to his current writing. Now I have three favorite mystery writers: Silva, Willam Bernhardt and Steve Berry.  Today I also visited the library and picked up the latest Steve Berry book: “The Charlemagne Pursuit”. He wrote this one in 2008 but it’s taken me until now to be able to get a copy to read; his books are also in vast demand. I love a good read; one that immediately plunges you into the depths of it’s action and compels you to keep reading to the end…nothin’ like a good book!

Tonight is a quiet night (I hope…at least it is SO FAR!). Dinner will be pork ribs, oven-roasted potatoes and tossed salad.  I’ve been working on trying to restrict my diet a bit and have lost 5 lbs. The next step is to get back into walking again. When I was first diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic (diet and exercise controlled…no meds) I made it a habit to walk around the block at least once per day and try to lift weights as well. After the weather got cold, I sort of dropped off the exercise part and haven’t returned to it in over a year (yes, I know…not good, Pammie!). The blood numbers are still staying in a good range, so at least I’ve got that under control for awhile…have to get back to the old exercise regimen!

That’s about ‘it’ around here today; I love a nice quiet day that sort of meanders by. Tonight is my favorite tv watching (I’m not a tv person): Gray’s Anatomy.  Yes, I know…it’s like a sort of medical soap opera, but for whatever reason…I like it! There! Now you know my vice!

Have a great day…take time to see if you can see some of the signs of Spring popping up! (I spotted my first robin a few days ago in our yard-this was a very skinny, rather pale looking bird, but HEY! It’s a ROBIN non-the-less!).

Hugs;

Pammie

The Calm Before the Storm

Today finds me enjoying the peace and quiet; youngest son is playing a video game, middle son left for work, husband’s at work. It’s just the cat and I and he’s ‘eyeing’ my huge ball of yarn while I attempt to make it into a hand-wound manageable ball or two. He pounced, once…just once, before I let out a yell. It seems his pounce was more than just a pounce…a little later on I discovered a wet ‘end’ where he not only pounced, but bit! Oh well…such is the excitement of a bored house kitty.

Outside it’s cold (in the 20’s) but sunny; almost all of our snow has melted. I noticed that we’ve lost the huge mounds of snow/ice that seemed to be at the entrance/exits of all driveways, be they your own house driveway or somewhere at a store. The down side of that is: we’re under another “Winter Snow Warning” and they’re predicting 5-7 inches between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. tomorrow…oh, joy (sigh). You’d think I’d be more than used to this, having lived in glorious Michigan all my life. How I’m longing for my favorite time of year: Spring!

What’s new around here, you ask? I’m winding the yarn to begin another baby afghan. We’re in the planning stages of putting together a fund raiser for my special needs group. Our idea is a “Baked Potato Dinner & Silent Auction”. In years past we’ve done donated ‘baskets’ and raffled them off. This time we thought a silent auction might be fun, all items being donated. I’m thinking of doing a “Baby Shower” basket: knit afghan and several baby hats, teething ring, perhaps a beginning baby care book, baby wipes…you know – all the stuff you’d stick in a baby shower gift, except in a basket! In years past we’ve had some really cute ones: “Movie Night” with popcorn, candy, big bottles of pop, several movies; “Tea Time” with various teas, tea biscuits, a china cup (or 2), some nice candy (also “Coffee Time”, same idea); “Italian Dinner” with pastas, sauces, bread sticks, red checked dinner napkins, pasta ‘fork’, all sorts of things to go with that theme. You get the idea: baskets made on a theme. It’s fun trying to think up ideas; we’ve done a “Mexican Fiesta” basket, “Games”, “Gone Fishing”, “Bath Time”…the list goes on and on. I thought the idea of the Baked Potato Dinner was an interesting one; a friend in my knit group said her church had that along with a movie. In our case it would be the baked potatoes and all the things you could put on top, for instance: shredded cheese, chili, sour cream, shredded bacon bits, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, etc. I remember back in the early 70’s there were small places in malls around here that only featured baked potatoes and all the ‘works’ – it was a kitschy idea and worked, for awhile.

Last night was our Ladie’s Fellowship at church and the theme was “Frugality in the 21 st Century”. You asked if I would pass on any tips I learned: mostly it revolved around cutting coupons and doubling their worth by combining them with a ‘in store’ special, thus more than doubling the total savings. Also, making use of a particular drug store’s savings program (like CVS, Rite-Aid, or WalGreen’s) along with using coupons in conjunction with those deals. One area I hadn’t really investigated much was ON LINE coupon companies. There are several available which are FREE to join and will help you organize your savings:

http://www.moneysavingmom.com

http://www.afullcup.com

http://www.couponmom.com

http://www.refundcents.com

http://www.fatwallet.com

http://www.dealseakingmom.com

(I am not endorsing these, as I’ve really not checked them out, but they came recommended.)

The one site which was recommended which does have a cost for membership, was:

http://thegrocerygame.com

This site ‘is great for quickly matching up store sales and coupons in your area”. They have a 4 week trial package for $1, after that the cost is $10 for 8 weeks (per store you list) and $5 for each additional store.

I’m really into trying to save money, but sometimes all this ‘effort’ seems more of an EFFORT than it’s worth. I might check out a few of the sites, but in general, I’m probably just going to stay doing what I already do: match up coupons with stores and their featured savings for the week. I already shop 3 grocery stores in my local area, plus one drug store for cleaning & drug store products, so I don’t foresee me doing much more. Perhaps YOU will find a savings in the above sites that will help you!

That’s about all that’s going on around here at the moment. I’m just glad that my week is finally winding down; it was nice to be able to go and do all the events I mentioned in an earlier post, but today I’m just glad to stay home and knit, read and catch up. Dinner is leftovers (homemade beef pot pie) , so even THAT is easy! .

Enjoy your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

Basketball and Babies

2/14/09 “Friends Group” Basketball game

This Saturday found me cheering my little voice out for my “kids”-the special needs group I volunteer with every Wednesday. Once a year, one of the dads arranges a game between our group and volunteers for what is known in our group as: “THE Game”. This year we had a great group of college kids from Rochester Christian College who played a great game; of course, our kids won…that’s sort of a ‘given’, but we all had a great time. In this game, extra tries are expected-if you’re in a wheelchair and can’t reach the basket, the other team hoists you up until you CAN make a basket! If it takes you 8-10 tries, that’s fine…sometimes a little extra ‘help’ at tipping the ball in the basket happens. Our kids just love the whole experience and the crowd loves watching it. I’m so proud of our kids and these wonderful volunteers.

Along with basketball, I’ve been doing a rush job at completing more baby hats for a friend’s new grandson. You see, she’s in the same ‘boat’ as I was two years ago-her son announced that his girlfriend was expecting (in her case, it was only a few days from delivery!). Just finished two little hats -  one blue, one green (am SO glad I learned how to loom knit…it’s soooo much faster for me!).  Along with the hats, I put together one of those flannel blankets (not sure what you call them). You buy a piece of flannel material and make cuts all around the edges, then tie the cut strips together (two at a time) and it makes a really cute sort of fringe edging. In this case, I had purchased about a yard of “Tigger” patterned flannel for my grandson two years ago…then never made the blanket. Being the frugal person I am, this came in just right for completing my present (along with a few other items). Didn’t take a photo…sorry.

This week is proving to be another busy one: did grocery shopping today (2 stores), tomorrow is a dentist’s appointment for youngest son (flouride coating) then Knit Night with my ladies. Weds. is my special needs group and a board meeting. Thurs. night is our church Ladie’s Fellowship dinner/meeting and the subject will be “Frugality”…I’m psyched! The ladies that organized this  sent out questionaires to each of us two weeks in advance, asking all sorts of questions about how each of us saves money. Most of the questions dealt with grocery shopping, but there were also areas to fill in asking where you find other great deals/sales, etc. I had fun filling out the form, so I’m sure the meeting will be very informative; in these trying times we can all use a little help in saving $$$.

Our weather has been clear and sunny, but cold. Today it got up in the 30’s; the roads are clear and there’s not very much snow left on the ground (from Friday night’s surprise dump of about 1 1/2 inches!). I’m very grateful we have clothes on our backs, a nice warm house, food for our tummies and we’re almost all healthy here…the Lord is good!

Hoping you’re safe, healthy, warm and enjoying your day;

Hugs;

Pammie

ps: Of my two sons who were sick, the youngest is doing just fine-middle son is slowly getting better now that he’s on antibiotics.