We've had heavy rains all evening--the aftermath of a very muggy day.
It was a no-spend day here, and I picked up the CSA veggies, some of which went into our pasta tonight along with the garlic scapes. We have a lot of lettuce, so salad on the menu for tomorrow. I need to find ideas for the salad turnips that came with the CSA box. I'm busily dejunking my home office, and scads of paper have made it to the recycling bin. Barclays has raised their savings rates to 1.15% which will help make us a bit more cash. And I cashed $25 out of Swagbucks which went to the UK House fund. Between that and reading a few capstone projects, it's been a quiet day.

A struggling strip mall near us just got a Kohl's Off/Aisle store. I'd not heard of them before but they are a sort of Kohl's outlet/overstock/return store. We popped in there a few days ago and I bought two black tees for $4 each and a summer top for DD for $6. I thought they were quite the bargains, but when I got some I found a rip in each tee--and one wasn't sized correctly. They allow exchanges, but no regular returns, so we went back today and got a pair of decent looking Lee shorts for DH and some baby socks for a gift.

I hope they make it; it was all summer seasonal things now, and while I don't see myself buying much there, it was typically Kohl's middle/low range semi-disposable clothes. The shorts for DH will be fine as will some summery tops for DD, but probably not for me.

Yesterday was a NS day; I brought snacks for during my teaching hours, and we ate fridged leftovers for dinner. I bought taco ingredients for tonight as we dodged the rain drops this morning. I plan on an easy day of reading and a little cleaning. Maybe a walk later. Time to enjoy some summer.

Oh, the shock it--I spent NOTHING yesterday. DD and I went for a hot walk, ate our semi-successful mason jar salads ( PSA: Use a wide-mouth jar unless you want to wear that salad), did a library run, and then I taught/counseled/urged/cheered on/goaded my evening class. Two more class nights left, and still my ex-con student is my clear favorite. Last night's line after trying to teach APA citation: "I'm going to stay here tonight, Miss, until I get it. If they have to throw me out of the building, I'm going to figure this out." We won't discuss the one who left with his work undone.

I've been again running Swagbucks in the background while I read papers. They're starting to add up again. Anyone have a good tip for high online savings rates? I see Barclay's has 1.05%, but I read somewhere that some online rates are as high as 1.25%.

It's been a busy week, but I said goodbye to two of my classes this morning. They're so weary, but they were both good classes. I still have some grading to do for both of them, but they're the easy one. My health science writing classes will end tomorrow. I still have an avalanche of their papers to grade, and will spend the rest of today on those.

Tomorrow should also be full. After my classes there's the department award ceremony and I'm humbled to say I won the teaching award. I'm pleased to say it comes with some cash. It remains to be seen how much cash, but I'm happy about it no matter what.

We've sort of been coasting around here until my grading is done. I did cash $75 out of Swagbucks and put $50 in my 100K fund. we'll have 97599.32 to go. Little by little, I guess.

And a sunny one at that. My MW classes are working on a big project, so I'm there mostly to give feedback. The Tuesday/Thursday ones are still getting modified lectures, and we're building in some time to work on their projects. My students are really really tired. With four weeks left of the semester, they seem to have hit the wall. I think they'll need some love--probably in the form of doughnuts next week.

I was about to splash out on a coffee during my office hours today, but found one lonely little orange teabag in my work bag, so made a quick cup of tea through the magic of the electric kettle instead. Chalk up a $2 savings.

Our theatre building at the university had a serious fire on Sunday causing over a million in damages. But the local community has been very generous offering us space, extra materials, and cash to rebuild.

Something a little strange has happened with my DH's job prospects. He's heard from a source that his old job may be interested in having him back. I think if they offered him a non-contract job, he'd go back, but we'll talk it through tonight and see how steady it is.

I have indeed deposited $1300 in my new account toward the $100k goal. So, I'm 1.3% of the way there! This may be painstaking progress, but I'm eager.

It's spaghetti night here. Do you all have a regular taco/spaghetti/pizza or something night?

This has been a glum week in my academic department; we've issued "none renewals" to seven people, some of whom have been here for more than 15 years. Demographics are hurting us, and it's going to be a bleak few years. I've spoken to several of them, and we're trying to figure out what we can do for people. My decision to go for what I'll call alt-tenure a few years ago was, in retrospect, very wise. It seemed to have no reward at the time and took months to complete, but we're only hiring two people without it in the fall.

Faced with their situations, we're still in modified frugality around here.I've spent nothing since Sunday, and tonight was an amazing variety of leftover made a bit more exciting by crudites and dip. Eat it all, as my friends the Frugalwoods say. DH is still toting his lunch as is DD. I gratefully accepted a coffee from the textbook peddler who came to visit me during my office hours.

I'm very glad Monday and Tuesday are done. The rest of the week is busy but easy. I'm starting the cash transfer toward the $100K goal tonight.

I've had way too many late nights this week editing a dissertation for a local nursing student. English is her second language, and her grammar and phrasing needed a lot of work. But it was an interesting project, and despite my issues getting her tables to merge into the original copy at 1am this morning, we're finished! She had the original tables, so all is well. I took the dog to have her stitches removed this morning, deposited some rebate checks, came home, and took a nap. Two hours later I felt like a human again and started cleaning the kitchen, catching up on laundry, and grading quizzes. Inspired (as always) by CCF's idea of a new savings goal, I'd like to try to save a big chunk alongside our regular retirement savings before DD heads to college and we consider moving to the UK. Ideally, I'd like to shoot for $100,000, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. The more reasonable figure is $50,000 but I'm going to aim big. Maybe I'm loopy on sunshine. So far it's been a NSD as the stitches removal was free.

Y'all know I have a traveling bug, but I just turned down a weekend in NYC with friends--partially needing to make up for the one-salary stint, but also it's too tight a weekend for me in May. I'd have to leave the last day of the semester, and by then, I really need downtime more than a big city jaunt.

I had a weird "visual anomaly" for the past two nights that I was worried might be a retinal tear, but the opthamologist now says is a migraine event. I've never had what I'd consider a real migraine, but after the exam yesterday and pupil dilation, I had a whopper of a headache.

I haven't spent a dime since Saturday, but DD had a dental co-pay today that DH paid. I'll get that cash back from flex. I am going out with friends for drinks tomorrow, and although he's committed to the job offer, DH has another interview tomorrow.

Bruegger's Bagels was celebrating their birthday this morning, and I popped in for three free bagels. I (really) ate one in the car on the way to the university but saved the other two for DD who loves their Asiago bagels. Such a simple thing but a nice little treat for still very-frugal me.
My non-frugal office mate scolded me for not going out to lunch with DH while he's unemployed telling me I had no bills. Excuse me? No mortgage maybe, but plenty of bills still.

I had very good classes today which is always fun, and best news of all, my adjunct university offered me a summer class. It's composition--not my favorite subject, but still. That means I'll have summer cash when my regular university salary is over. That gives us a lot more breathing room and we could probably make it even if DH doesn't get a job. But I think he will. Still, a relief.

Here's some good things that have happened today.
DH had a lunch interview with a company that has branches in LONDON! He said it went very well. They want to see him again next week.

I spent nothing today. Again. I may have officially kicked my coffee shop habit (at least for a bit), and love my kettle.

I stopped at CVS hoping to use some coupons, but they didn't have what I wanted. I did pause briefly at their moisturizers as it is cold and dry--but walked out without spending a cent.

DH made oatmeal this morning, and it boiled it all over the stove top which made the burners all spark continually. I thought we were due for another expensive repair, but he managed to fix it.

I got an e-mail from a textbook publisher asking me to review a new book for $150. Yes, please.

Last night I made chili, and it's all ready for heating up tonight. Gees, that makes me so happy.

The congestion seems to be sort of clearing from my foggy head. And I'm halfway done with my teaching week.

We've been oh so darn frugal. And I'm pretty darn sick of it, but that's just too bad. Yesterday was a no-teaching day, but did have one long and trying meeting. Perhaps my tremendously stuffed-up head didn't help. Anyway, I've got a new opportunity at the university which I'll detail as it proceeds. It's not what I would have wished for, but it could be pretty interesting.

Yesterday I made turkey broth with the remnants of the turkey breast. We had three dinners and two lunches from that lovely thing--and now the soup to come. Since I have frozen potstickers, I think we'll go Asian and add some bok choy, edamame, and some red cabbage. I've got a couple Asian-themed meals planned for the NY celebration. There's a bottled stir-fry sauce and some water chestnuts in the pantry. Like CCF, I have rice that I'll make into fried rice. Looks like the weekly grocery trip will be on for today. I mostly need fruit and veggies as we're still plowing through the freezer.

Yes, the freezer still has a long way to go as does the pantry. I made bread from a mix yesterday, and we made a pizza from the remnants of the stuff in the fridge. I fried up mashed potatoes into patties for lunch with some eggs. The pizza was good, but not sure about my potato patties. But we ate them.

DD starts a swimming unit at school on Monday and needs a one-piece swimsuit. I guess that probably means Target. Just glad I don't have to buy one myself--especially after our uber-frugal (and uber-starchy) meals of the past month. I'll use the Redcard and should look for coupons before we head out.

I've started a new book, The Essex Serpent, which I'm liking, and have a day full of laundry, budget totaling, and course planning to do.

Still uberfrugal and today was a NSD. My classes went well despite oncoming cold. DH has had it for a week so I guess it's inevitable I'd get it.

Yesterday we got a refund of $147 from the dentist which went into the bank this afternoon. DH had a good phone interview and lots of other leads. I think things are picking up for him. We'd love to see a job offer.

No other news to report. No BBQ sauce spills. I should turn the turkey breast bones into soup and should bake some pumpkin bread. We'll see how much zip I have left.

And speaking of eating it all up, somewhere along the line DH bought a bag of frozen lima beans. Honestly, I'd have to be in some desperate straits before I willingly ate lima beans, and all the recipes I see for them have cream of something soup or ham bones or something like that in them. Anyone have ideas? Should I just combine them with canned baked beans and have him eat them? You're all invited over for a lovely ladies lima lunch.

Sorry,NJDebbie,but there is lots of joy in Wisconsin this morning after that amazing Packer game. And we didn't even eat all the game time snacks because we were too nervous during that last quarter. But, they will be out for next Sunday's Atlanta game.

Except for the church offering, it was a NS day with new movie titles from the library and several new books--including--to my delight, the Colson Whitehead book that has received such raves. I love the library, especially now as we're being uberfrugal.

Speaking of uberfrugality, I may need to have one day with a little leeway. We're planning to head to western Wisconsin this weekend to watch the eagles feed on the river. It will be a good day for a lunch out. Maybe I can use the cash from the boot/skate sales.

Meal plan for the week is done. It's going to be a meatless Monday with a quiche for dinner--leftovers to DD's lunch this week. Taco Tuesday and spaghetti Wednesday as per usual.

We finally got the Christmas tree down, and I've chosen some unloved ornaments to go in the donation bag. I'm also making granola bags for my buddies without full teaching loads. I have lots of oats and dried fruit, so no outlays there. In other exciting plans, DH and I will clean the carpets, and I have meetings at school beginning tomorrow.

Happy MLK day! We're spending some time today to act on his words: "The time is always right to do what's right."

Let's start with the good news, eh? My presentation went very well. I had dozens of people at my session and got excellent feedback. They also fed us breakfast, coffee break snacks, lunch, and more coffee break snacks. DH dropped me off so I wouldn't have to pay to park in the ramp or walk on our ice-coated sidewalks.

Now the bad news. Two of my friends got more teaching sections cut due to poor enrollments. They're going to be really pinched financially. To add insult to injury, my boss has hired a new lecturer while cutting sections for others. This is really out of line and a tremendous morale depletion. I'm fine: fully booked and fully enrolled. He certainly has the "right" to hire who he wants, but it's tremendously insulting and, I think, morally wrong. I am debating complaining to the department chair.

Hopeful news? My DH has had conversations with a potential employer, and we're hopeful he'll have an interview soon. A friend from his old firm has also dropped off his resume with another possibility. And remarkably, it was a no-spend day.

Yep, that's my blog these days. I have another couple hours of organizing my conference talk and am ruing my choice of the hour-long option rather than trying harder to find other participants and do a panel.

Guess what we ate for lunch? Leftovers! I pretty much always eat leftovers for lunch, but somehow serving them to DH makes them seem pretty mundane.

It's Wednesday which is always spaghetti night here, and we've had freezing rain. Perhaps my mood can be ascribed to not being out of the house since Sunday. But I'll be at the conference all day tomorrow. Or the mood could be blamed on it being the first January since 2012 that I haven't been headed for London. Let's not even discuss that.

No spending. Indeed nothing but working.

I spent all morning working on my upcoming conference talk. I still have lots of work to do on it, but the bulk of it is laid out. DH went to an early networking meeting and applied for a few jobs. We spent nothing and ate leftovers. I'm really boring, but I did get half my class admin stuff ready for next semester--spending hours--as usual on the details of the syllabus and learning platform. I got an e-mail offer from a textbook publisher to take a quick survey on their classroom simulations for a $10 gift card which should arrive next week. Still waiting for the Chicago seminar reimbursement and the accuracy checking money from another publisher.

I'm still cabin feverish, but it's so icy here I don't see myself going out until Thursday. It took me 10 minutes to walk to the end of the drive and back for the mail.

All my family is home now; child sniffling on the couch, husband rooting around, dog happy that everyone is home. And it's very cold here with negative numbers for the wind chills. As directed by the Frugalwoods folks, I'm clearing out the pantry. I've got bean soup on the stove with bits of the NY ham and tomatoes and chiles from the pantry. I've made some wild rice which will be stuffed into the remaining CSA butternut squashes.
Every bit of laundry is done, and now I either/all need to face the office, the Christmas boxes, the basement, and school planning. Or escape to Costco with a friend for an hour or so. I honestly think it will do me good to get out, and I raise my right hand and promise to spend no more than $5. We need milk and spreadable butter. I spent nothing yesterday. I made my SB goal. I should go out.

Well, three days into uberfrugaldom, and so far, so good. I met university colleagues today for coffee, but brought my own to our university coffee shop which adjoins the library. Everyone brings their own food there, so it didn't seem out of place. We've had lots of bad news on enrollments, and while I appear to still have a full teaching load, many of my colleagues will be cut back to 75 percent or even less. I'll need to be a frugal evangelist to them. After doing some work, I deposited my adjunct paycheck and bought some necessary toiletries for DD with CVS extra bucks. Total outlay 17 cents, and I got $1 in Extra bucks back. Teeth cleaning was free with my dental plan, so today's spending topped out at that 17 cents. It's turning cold here tonight, so I'm watching the heating bill closely.

We are busily eating our way through the refrigerator's contents, and I've made bars for DD's lunchbox this weekdays. I wish she had a few more days off; we've enjoyed the down time. I've also been a whirling dervish decluttering and picking up. It's been good and there's so much more to do. Tomorrow I'm heading to the university to start planning spring semester and work on an upcoming conference talk.

We had a lovely NYE. Rather than sacrificing our rather modest tradition of pizza, a movie, and a jigsaw puzzle by the fireplace, we went ahead with it. We saw the Dev Patel movie, Lion, which I recommend although the more cynical among us may find it sentimental. In my current mood, I thought it was very good.

I did some bargain grocery shopping on double coupon day yesterday, and the freezer is well stocked. Lots of pasta bargains, the usual chicken breast markdowns for the dieters and some freebies.

In an unusual situation at our church, they had no volunteers for the nursery this morning, and they sent out a call for paid help. DD was interested, so she made some spending money, and I tagged along. They tried to pay me as well, but that's silly, and I refused. Through both services we had one very charming little boy who played with toy cars on the playroom rug. We came home and made pumpkin pancakes which were delicious, I must say. We've now used up the non-carryover part of our flex spending, we gave some time to church, and (!) I sold my ice skates for $12. I hate to admit it, but I think my 50+ years of skating are done. My fear of falling has overcome all the joy I used to get out of skating. I'm happy to have them out of the basement and happy to have the $12. Now to find some more crud to declutter--especially if it brings in some cash.

Hello SA-ers!

It's time for me to return to scrupulous savings since two weeks ago my DH got his notice. His company has outsourced 100 of their local contractor jobs to India, and they've undergone massive belt-tightening. It's time for us to do the same. Tomorrow is his last day, and prospects are neither merry nor bright.

On balance, with some juggling and budgeting we can manage on my income for a while without withdrawing money from savings. We are mortgage-free, and I've just paid the property taxes. We don't have a car payment either, but our nasty scenario would be to have to replace one of our aging cars.

Our health insurance is from my job, so that's covered. We are trying to figure out unemployment since neither of us has ever filed for it. I have a full teaching load for spring (Hallelujah!) unlike some of my colleagues. I just finished my adjunct class, so they still owe me for a month there. Another adjunct class begins in March. I've already started to drive DD and DH crazy turning down the heat, but that's going to be the drill. Christmas will proceed as usual, but it's going to be leaner but still lovely. And yeah, I have Swagbucks videos running in the background. :-)

Any advice is welcome.

I spent yesterday cooking for my recently hospitalized friend--making pulled pork and coleslaw and baking brownies and banana bread. We ate the same for dinner, and besides returning some library books and doing some laundry, didn't do much else. Happily it was a no-spending day as I hope today will also be.

I can't quite believe it's June 1. June always sneaks up on me as February or March never seem to do.

Today is office cleaning day, a bit more laundry, and packing for my weekend trip to the Twin Cities. I'd be a very happy gal if I can get the office straightened out, some pictures hung, and everything cleaned up in there.

Things are winding down for DD's last days at middle school, and DH is starting to prep for the trip to the UK. On the financial front, I've been in contact with the Education PhD candidate whose dissertation I've been editing. He's ready to go ahead, and although I think it's pretty weak, I'll just be doing the language edits and citation issues. The student's first language is not English which always complicates things. But I need the cash, and it's interesting work. I've also been offered a fall composition course at my adjunct university. I don't much like teaching composition, but again, we need the cash. If our five-year plan is to move to the UK, get the kiddo through the university, and have a two-continent retirement, there's lots of savings to be done.

It's been a lovely few weeks in Londontown, punctuated by a trip to Nice with my girlfriends. I'm really trying to relish every single moment. It's going to be tough to go back to real life in six weeks.

Amazingly Nice didn't cost too much. It's off season, and I shared a room with my Minnesota girlfriends who flew over to join me. Six nights with breakfast and a balcony overlooking the Med cost less than $300 each. With the flight under $100 (thanks to my BA Avios), and the wonderful bus system there, it was just dinners and some misc. spending. We went back to Eze on a day trip, also Villefranche and the fabulous Rothschild villa and gardens, and Antibes and Vence all on the bus. A seven-day bus pass cost 15 Euros (less than $20), and with the enormous breakfast buffet, we rarely ate lunch--just coffee or wine and pastry.

I've had two no-spend days since coming home Sunday, but am off to the National Theatre tonight and will have dinner there too. Next week my students are coming here for dinner ( I think), so there will be a little more grocery spending. They are such super-nice girls; my best group ever.

They were in Scotland while I was in France, and one of the California students slipped at a castle and had a compound leg fracture. She's still in the hospital there. Ugh.

In my very charmed life, I'm trying to decide whether to go to Rome next weekend with a friend. Hotel and airfare is about $500, but I came home with a cold and I'm kind of tired. I'm also fretting a little about money--though I don't think I've spend much--certainly less than in previous years. May all decisions be so nice. I'll post a photo from Eze--a hilltown outside of Nice.

I walked down to Camden Town yesterday and mingled with crowds of people and hundreds of shops and stalls selling all sorts of things and food. I didn't buy a thing and decided there is just way too much junk in the world. I estimate I saw 5000 tee shirts for sale in all those stalls. There was so much stuff it really put me off buying anything. My original plan was to walk down there and take the bus back, but I felt up to even more walking so cut through Primrose Hill and walked all the way back home--and miracle of miracles, without getting lost. No spending!

I taught one class this morning, but came home for lunch and work, then out for another stroll. I see a trip to Hampstead charity shops happening perhaps tomorrow--maybe after classes and my meetings? Two no-spend days? I didn't think it was possible.

My spending today was all about necessity. My new phone was dead as dead can be, and although I tried to charge it for hours last night with the computer, it was still dead this morning.

I took my class to the Imperial War Museum today for a little lesson on WWI. My doctoral research was done there years ago, so it was sort of like coming home. After class I bought a wall plug with a USB slot as I'd read it charges about five times faster. And indeed, in an hour, my phone was up and working.

I got a free cup of coffee from a lovely lady in front of Le Pain Quotidien on Tottenham Court Road and headed home to work. Normally I'd go to the galleries or museums on these short days, but the wind has been awful, and I have a lot of prep for my new class. Horrible gales and slanty rain tonight; I'm happy to be inside.

But now that I have the photos going, how about one from the sunny day of our Parliament tour?

That would be me falling off the NS wagon with a loud clunk. I knew Bath would pose some temptations, and I knew exactly what they would be, Three years ago I bought my favorite ankle boots at a shoe store; they're hands down the cutest most comfortable boots ever. And Bath is full of lovely shops as it's such a luxury area. I guess, in retrospect, it wasn't all that bad. The day trip was paid for, the baths were fabulous even though it was sixth time through them, I had planned for 11GBP for lunch and spent 9 and ended up taking half my lunch home for dinner. But the clunk was the boots.

They're so cute, less than half price, super soft and so comfortable. They were 65GBP which is about $95. Today I've got the rugby match which will require topping my Oyster transport card. After rugby I'm going to stay in and work and have plenty of groceries for the weekend--although I could use some muesli and fruit. Who knows? Maybe I can shave expenditures down the next few weeks to make up for it. But I love them.

And man, am I tired. I don't teach Thursdays, but needed to check out the show at the Victoria and Albert before I take students over. Then I had to go with students to the Museum of London. I enjoy the Museum of London, but this must be my sixth or seventh trip there. Some of my colleagues opted out as this is a field trip for their British Life and Culture class, but I feel strongly student take the cue from us, and it's helpful to have me there.

So two huge museums today with no stops for coffee or sweets despite my almost caving to temptation several times. I came home with over 22,000 steps on my Fitbit, sore feet, and an aching back. But spaghetti, salad, and a large coffee later, I feel somewhat better. And glad of the no spending--and I really enjoyed the Julia Margaret Cameron show at the V and A.

Tomorrow we're off to Bath. I do need to buy a birthday present for a friend and lunch too.

Some solid planning helped my NS Day. I met students in a coffee shop first thing, but had made a travel cup of coffee and a thermos. They ate snacks and drank coffee; I had oatmeal before I left and coffee from my travel mug. The shop doesn't care as all the students were drinking and eating.

I had three classes and managed to eat my ham sandwich, crisps, and clementine between the first and second. The coffee in the thermos helped propel me into the final class. And I was proud of students who packed their lunches.

Things are pretty dire at my home university--another reason to save where I can.

Yesterday's spending =0!
I taught all morning, came home for lunch, and then went for the faculty wine evening. Plenty of good food and plenty of wine, so I spent nothing.

Today was a bit different: I spent 6GBP on two candles and a travel mug for coffee. I hadn't planned on eating lunch at school, but had a 2:30 meeting, and I hadn't packed a lunch. I bought a roasted vegetable salad, but got a free coffee for 2.36GBP. I needed a connector cable for my laptop, and the computer store sold me something for (eeek!) 50GBP. I about freaked out. I went back to school, conferred with more people, and returned it, bought a different one on ebay for under 4GBP. Phewww.

More meetings then off to the grocery store. For 28 GBP I bought easy things to prep. That's important as I have limited kitchen space and not a lot of pots and pans or time. I need no-fuss healthy meals that I can make when I come home late after a full day of teaching and field trips. And I need fast and easy packable lunches. Here's what I got to add to my veggies and fruit at home. Coffee, new potatoes, breaded cod, hamburger patties, meatballs, mustard, milk, beetroot for salad,6 large rolls for sandwiches, two packages tortellini, ketchup, two packages of biscuits (cookies) for class treats, tomatoes, spinach, onions, lettuce, 6 pack of crisps, ham for lunches. I think I have more than enough for the week--especially since I have butter, oil, eggs, and fruit and some veggies and oatmeal. With all my cords, candles, and the mug, I'm at 39GBP. That should be 11 GBP left for lunch in Bath on Friday. Hoping for a no-spend tomorrow!

I've been in London just over a week now;mostly things have gone very well. A student lost her passport and other minor calamities too, but all is well and I've been in the classroom for a week. DH and DD came over for his dad's birthday and left yesterday. It's been a bit of a whirlwind. They stayed in five places in six nights, and the hotel stays and meals out have added up as has the transportation.

They flew Aer Lingus to London via Dublin while I flew with students. We ended up in a London hotel the first night as my flat had tenants, then we were off to his hometown for the birthday. The coach fares were half the price of the train fares, but the ferry was pricey. And DH has a habit of treating his whole family to meals as a gesture of his affection, which I would not, but I figure that's not my business. His dad has moved to a care facility, so we thought we could stay at his house, but because the family was there from all corners of Europe, we stayed in a hotel two nights, had the party and various celebrations, then I returned to London while they stayed with DH's brother.

They came back to London midweek, and we toured Parliament with the students, had various meals with friends, and went to the George, a pub in Southwark because we'd read a book (Shakespeare's Local) on it over the summer, and I'd had fun times with colleagues before at the same pub. So, although we ate in a couple of nights, it's gotten bit expensive. This leads to my budget decisions. I'm trying to sort out how much an ordinary weekly expenditure would be for me. Meals out are very expensive as there's that nasty 20% VAT, so I've bought food for breakfasts and some lunch supplies, and have leftovers. We had a lovely proper tea at the British Museum with students, and I ended up taking mini quiches and some scones home--all of which are in my freezer now. So I'm thinking with most meals in, I can probably get by with 50 GBP a week. Although I can hear Scotish Girl laughing at my indulgent budget, I' hoping to fit theatre tickets and all meals out of that.

I have a few more things to buy: another pillow, a wall poster, computer cable, and some sofa pillows, The flat is lovely, but it's all black and white, and I need some color. It's eleven more weeks after all! This week has a day trip to Bath which is paid for, but I'll need to buy lunch that day. And it's too busy for the theatre this week, so if I can find some nice cheap seats either at Leicester Square or day tickets at the National, I'll spring for that next week.

I've also had to buy a phone as our UK old phone is pretty knackered and we find we need two. In previous years the university and our partners here have lent us phones, but that's not happened. I spent 65 GBP (about 90$) on a cheap pay as you go smart phone. It has some frugal apps, so I'll be trying those, especially the special offers on free coffee and 1 pd Monday lunches. Today I came home for lunch after classes, but am headed out tonight for faculty wine evening--my favorite night at a fancy wine bar with free nibbles for dinner. It looks like a no-spend day in London. How's that for a good start? I'll post photos on Thursday when things settle down. Happy February to all of you!