letters from the wilderness
Last week, I washed the covers on one of our sofas to remove the dog hair and slobber. I like to do this every few months to keep the sofa nice. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had accidentally slid the pull tab off the zipper. And, I lost the pull tab afterward. I tried to... Continue Reading →
I've been quiet here thanks to my new job at Kohl's starting in November 2024. During the holiday season, I juggled 30 hours weekly with trips to Pennsylvania, holiday preparation, and normal family stuff. It was a lot, especially the physical side of the job. While being an Associate is not physically taxing, I did... Continue Reading →
Thanks to taking a seasonal position at Kohl's, I haven't had much time to post here in a few weeks. Let's catch up. Pay down credit card debt on 2 credit cards - We had an expected expense and quite a few unexpected expenses this fall which we decided to put on our credit cards.... Continue Reading →
Even though we've had quite a few expenses recently between a funeral, car repairs, and medical stuff, I'm focusing on saving where I can. Recently, a financial newsletter I read weekly talked about saving money as the skill of spending. I really liked that! Not buy Starbucks or Joe Beans coffee; made coffee at home... Continue Reading →
After dealing with super high electric bills for 3 months this summer, I'm challenging myself to use almost no electricity this Christmas while keeping the mood cozy. I also wanted to make the outside of our home more vibrant during the daytime. And, I wanted to use what I had with just a few purchases.... Continue Reading →
I'm trying something new this winter - growing black cherry tomatoes indoors in my basement greenhouse. To this date, the only expenditure in this experiment is electricity and a few plant supports. Everything else was already purchased or recycled. As I mentioned in my frugal Friday post, I transplanted my tomato seedlings this week into... Continue Reading →
Using stuff up in the fridge - We have a somewhat empty fridge this week. Now that I think about it, I like having a somewhat empty fridge because it pushes us to get creative with our cooking. We arrived at this status thanks to a trip to Pennsylvania for 3 days for a funeral.... Continue Reading →
I circled back to knitting this fall. I knitted a lot when my kids were younger. Mostly socks which were interesting enough yet short enough as a project to keep me interested. Hmm, I operate the same way when it comes to fitness. I guess I like to keep moving when doing stuff. We had... Continue Reading →
A few days late.... Grow cuttings from the garden for next year - I've been having some success starting cuttings from my garden for next year. Generally, I dip the cutting in rooting hormone and pop it into the soil. I saved the containers from plants I purchased this year to use for this purpose.... Continue Reading →
Only 4 things to report! Make chicken and beef stock for my dogs - Our dogs cost as much as our kids. Seriously, both dogs receive heartworm and tick medication and an antihistamine supplement. One dog, Winston, is on Apoquel for his allergies. Tobey is on Glycoflex for his hip and elbow dysplasia. I decided... Continue Reading →
2 dogs and a house 