My English Castle's Personal Finance Blog

I cannot believe it's been that long, but apparently yesterday was my lucky 13th Blogoversary. What? No card? No flowers?

Because I'm pretty sentimental I thought about all the folks who have traveled through this blogosphere like that lady from Atlanta, Retire at 50, the guy who was living in his car for a while, and another really funny one. Someone help me remember some of the others!

I've been determined not to go to the grocery store for another few days so we've had some slightly unusual meals. Last night's burgers were accompanied by kohlrabi fries. I just need to figure out what to do with the huge cabbage in the fridge. Maybe I'll try that eggroll in a bowl again. Or resort to store cupboard enchiladas for dinner.

In other mundane but satisfying news, my DD voted for the first time yesterday. I voted absentee, but am a dedicated voter, and hope she emulates that behavior. She was proud of her "I voted" sticker. And I cashed $35 out of SB and MyPoints to add to my big goal

I also did a usage test on some crackers, sampling three kinds they sent. For that I gained a $10 Amazon card that went for a wallet for DD. No other news--hard at work prepping for classes!

We had a friend over for dinner last night--socially distanced and on the patio. She lives alone, her law practice is suffering, and she's lonesome.

I initially thought I didn't have "nice" enough food for a company dinner but we had pesto farfalle with green beans, French potato salad, grilled zucchini and pineapple and pork tenderloin. I think we finally got grilled pork tenderloin right--it was delicious. I also made Julia Child's blueberry clafouti in a cast iron skillet, and I hate to brag, but it was wonderful.

Our guest is also a Brit, so we talked a long time about whether/how long we'll stay here or go. Her daughter lives in London and although her elderly parents are local now, she's thinking a lot about moving. It was a good talk. And I'm tickled not to have spent extra on groceries yet come up with a good dinner. The CSA veggies are the stars of most of our meals these days.

Lots of meetings today, and if it's hot tomorrow and DD is at work, I'll spend the day structuring my class web sites. I've done another session on accessibility readers and formatting, so much to think about.

No sign of the passport or CAS number for DD yet. We still wait on all that.

I've updated the sidebar with our big goal number. The increase is due solely to a couple of surveys and discussions. I'd sure like to see that at $10,000 by the year's end, but lots of expenses coming up.

I'm spending every morning this week and next in sessions for improving online learning. I've taught online occasionally for more than a decade, but there's a lot of new technology and all sorts of tips and tricks to learn.

I had to laugh at myself today as I was somewhat astounded how many students access so much of their course material through their phones rather than laptops. "Who could use their phone as a primary learning device?" I asked my DH at lunch. He just stared at me and reminded me I access Duo Lingo every day on my phone for my language lessons.

Although I'd much prefer to be in the classroom, I'm looking forward to video commenting on papers, and some of the fancier parts of our learning management systems.

Today was a NS day. We ate up lots of leftovers for lunch, and although my DH was convinced there was nothing for dinner, I made a very good veggie-filled mac and cheese using up the last bits of leftover cream cheese, some questionable Brie, and subbing evaporated milk for the heavy cream. There is something so satisfying up using things up.

DD and I took our usual 40-minute walk today and for over five minutes we were accompanied by 5 turkeys. They followed us down the street and got a little too close for my comfort. But it was very funny. Another small joy for the day!

Several of the online banks have dropped their interest rates below 1 percent. I expect they'll stay low for a long time as the economy struggles, but it's hard to scrape together any interest these days.

We're still waiting on the CAS number from Edinburgh here. DD has noticed in her online FB group of incoming Edinburgh student, less than 1/3 have their numbers, so we're not alone, but it does make planning frustrating.

In other frustrating news, our internet was down for two days meaning neither DH or I could get any work done. He hopes to make up some time over the weekend, but that's hundreds down the drain. I've been existing on cell data alone. So let's tighten the darn budgets some more? But where?

The dentist called and said we have a credit. Would we like it applied to future bills or a check? Check on its way. Our food budget has been slim, but the CSA veggies have been great and the garden is doing well--not like Lucky Robin well--but plenty for us. It's time for a fridge inventory.

I blanched and froze kale and expect to get through the week with no new purchases. And since it's turned cooler (Hooray!) the a/c has been off. I've been loving the NYT "At Home" section, and see that they want me to clean the stove this weekend. I think I'll take them up on that.

I see lots of banks have been sending us bonus offers to switch checking or savings. We really like our local bank, but would move some savings $ to get a few hundreds in bonuses. Time to consider that!

So cleaning, cooking, and thinking on the agenda for the weekend--especially if DH is working. We have a drive-by birthday celebration tomorrow night for my work BF. Might be fun.

It started out cool and lovely this morning, but it's turned into a hot day. At 5, I gave in and cranked up the A/C. Without it the old dog lays on the tile floor and looks at me like I'm making her suffer.

Still no news from Edinburgh, but our DD's drive-through graduation is tomorrow. She's so done that I had to talk her into participating and decorating the car. Lured by the prospect of a Culver's sundae later, she's agreed.

I'm also in a summer cooking slump. I made soup with a large head of cabbage and cooked down some marginal fruit to top my DH's bowls of oatmeal. Dinner tonight was a grilled sandwich and salad. I'm busy prepping for fall classes and spent ZERO again today. I feel like an extremely boring human lately, but I suspect I'm not alone.

Three darn zoom meetings today--all with lots of bad budget news. I'm safe from more cuts besides the mandatory furlough days, but I've lost more staff.

The drips are small but good drips. Another $5 will go into my big goal from a MyPoints payout. And we got another load of CSA veggies today which made a nice veggie pasta tonight. I'll freeze some kale later for winter soups.

And still we wait for DD's CAS number from Scotland.

Lovely and cooler today!

I've noticed that if I get up and go for a walk for about 40 minutes before sitting down to work, my day goes so much better. I've been walking with DD almost every day, but that morning walk alone seems to clear my head and give me much more energy. And two walks a day seems like a good idea, right?

I've got a document to edit this morning for a university committee, and will also have to face some decisions about class cancellations. My dept chair would like to drop two more classes, and I'll have to decide whose will go. I'm asking him to just drop one, but our budget is dire for the department and university as a whole.

Lots of veggies from the CSA to use up. I made veggie enchiladas a couple of days ago, and the recipe made about twice the filling needed, but my DH is the king of leftovers, so he's been filling quesadillas with it. I've got my first cherry tomatoes and lots of peas from my planter box vines. I've never grown peas before, but they've done well in wheeled planters with a makeshift trellis repurposed from ancient tomato cages. And they have the added advantage of acting as a patio screen from the neighbors who must get sick of me hanging clothes and talking to the birds.

The big goal has been updated with some cash from Swagbucks and MyPoints. I seem to be able to hit those sites regularly now without papers to grade and while watching rom-coms and documentaries with DD. If you haven't seen "The Biggest Little Farm" on Netflix, I recommend it. It's a lovely film about a young couple trying to start an organic farm.

Wishing you all a lovely sunny cool day like we have here!

I keep hearing John Mayer singing, "waiting on the world to change" in my head. Right now we seem to be waiting so we can take the next step and wait some more.

Our biggest wait worry is for DD's "CAS" number. I think (I'm foggy lately) I wrote that she's decided after all to go to Edinburgh for university. Her AP scores were excellent--all 5's--and she had an unconditional offer. But we need that number from the school so her visa can get started. Then we'll wait for the visa. Then we'll find a place for the mandatory two-week quarantine after arriving in Scotland. And flights, and packing. I'm going with her for the quarantine period and for a few more days. The university would provide isolation facilities, but we'll get an airbnb, order groceries in, and wait it out. I can't say I'm looking forward to that flight, but the infection rate is so much lower there, I'm happy she can get out of here.

I can teach online--and all my classes (and all my colleagues' classes) are online, so one of our airbnb requirements is great wifi and some outdoor space.

This will all be mightily expensive so we're saving and scrimping. And I'm learning all the rules for college spending. And I'm getting my classes as ready to go as possible. Waiting but busy.

I'm not one to complain about paying my taxes. I support the necessary work of the government, but I knew, given my DH's better hourly rate this year we could be hit hard. And we were. My adjunct job has horrible bookkeeping and their withholding is always screwed up, so that made it worse. But heck, we had enough in the checking account to pay it, so onward.

Spending today was limited to selling my DD's AP prep books on ebay. One sold and we pocketed $5.80 after shipping. And her AP results came today--she's a superstar. Three 5s. Very proud mom here.

Now must do some minor belt tightening to make up for the tax bill. My adjunct university will probably not be in my plans this years. I'm too busy at regular work, so that withholding issue will be gone.

I'd love to turn off the A/C but it's rained buckets tonight and feels like the jungles of Brazil out there. Ugh.

Spending some time this week getting DD ready for university and looking for some ideas. She has a debit card, but I wonder if she should have a secured credit card? Or if we should get her a card on our account? It seems the secured card would help her build credit, and there are several with no fees. We'd link it to her checking account and pay it off every month.

Any advice? Ideas?

Though June seemed to last forever, maybe Paul Simon is right, and July, she will fly?

We started the morning picking strawberries at a local farm. We went early to avoid the heat, and picked just one flat. I'll make freezer jam tonight, but freeze others for smoothies and maybe a strawberry margarita or two. There'll be some for desserts and lots for just eating.

Got the news that DD's UK adult passport app has been received so that's good news. And we've switched our Friday summer lunches out to Wednesdays, so went to a cute nearby town on Lake Michigan for an outside deli lunch. Very hot here inland, but as usual, cooler by the lake. I've updated so saving figures, and need to make some appointments this afternoon. We're watching Neal Oliver's BBC History of Scotland which has been really interesting. Will do some university work tonight while DD is at her grocery job. I still can't get over the fact it's July.

I'm am certainly in need of some oomph. While I'm getting some things done, I am certainly lacking focus. I've always been a person who works better with fewer distractions, and the distractions of the house are starting to erode my focus- along with all the underlying issues going on in the world. But I guess all you can do is keep on keeping on.

I made a list last night that includes a walk, the treadmill, a visit to a framing shop, and the garden center as well as several hours of work. I bought gas and dog food as well as posted DD's British passport application. We also went to the very empty library where I was impressed by their protocols. It was great to get new books which I hope will improve my focus. Laundry done too as well as a new dish--kohlrabi fritters. What to try today? Oomph updates as we go.

What a beautiful June it's been. My garden is doing well and the greenery is so gorgeous. I love June.
We had a quiet weekend, and today our DD has gone back to her work as a grocery checker at the small convenience store near us. She hasn't been in since March but it seems they have good safety guidelines in place, so she was eager to go back. Just four hours today.
I bought a few books, but we still have a lot of food, especially with the CSA delivery. Not much else new.

I need to do some serious work this week planning for fall. Happy Father's Day to all the dads in your lives!

Our state university system has made a big fanfare about how campuses are re-opening. Yes, we're moving students into dorms in the fall. Yes, some classes will be held face to face. How many? I don't have a hard figure yet, but I would be surprised of the hundreds of classes offered by my department if more than one or two are face to face. It has to be this way. We don't have enough room to make socially distanced classes across the board. We will have a very hard time monitoring student behavior. But we've got to keep the machine running. Everyone I know has been sharpening their skills to teach online--classes, seminars, practicums. I seem to be both relieved and disappointed at the same time. This will be the first fall in over 20 years without me saying "Welcome to English..." in front of a classroom. But there's work to do, and we'll do the best we can.


In other news, I cashed $10 out of Mypoints which went into the UK house fund. I picked up the first CSA delivery which was heavenly. We now have wonderful greens, maple syrup, green onions, and the first darn kohlrabi of the season. No spending for days here.

Enjoy another lovely--though plenty hot--June day.

I spent some cash at a friend's online Pampered Chef party. I don't know her all that well as she's really a friend of a friend,, but she's a single mom who has been furloughed from her job. And I like nice kitchen things so I googled "Best Pampered Chef" products and bought a few things.

We also spent about $100 yesterday on getting a new British passport for our daughter. And she's going "up north" with friends for a few days to a friend's cabin before she starts working again next weekend.

I always read the unclaimed property listings in the paper hoping to discover a windfall, but I did find a good friend's name listed. I messaged her, and to her great surprise she had $77 coming from a phone refund. She's promised to buy me a patio margarita when the check arrives.

Still no word from the university, but I expect to hear plans this week.

We're having a quiet Sunday and cool beautiful weather. We had dinner with a friend last night. I was hesitant but I think we did it mostly right. We did have shared food, but she lives alone and we ate and sat outside on her deck. She is an attorney in private practice and I don't think she's seen anybody in months. I hope it was ok, and it sure was a mood lifter.

Today was supposed to be our DD's high school graduation so it's a bittersweet day around here. We've ordered a cake for tomorrow, and will be celebrating in bits and pieces all summer, I guess.

After a big Costco shop on Thursday, we're set for a long time. I'll be glad when the CSA starts as mostly I'm buying produce and eggs and milk.

Not a lot of money news; we've been donating to food pantries and social service organizations. Some things I ordered online have been delayed including live plants, so I expect that will be a mess to untangle. This should also be an interesting week for work; I expect some sort of announcement from the university about fall classes. Better grab the peaceful Sunday while I can. Wishing you all the same.

Not a lot of real money news, but we've been good on the decluttering front. DD and I watched some Marie Kondo videos and sorted though most of her clothes. One big box went to the charity shop today as well as a big plastic bin. I found a place about 20 minutes south of us that recycles refrigerant so we dropped off the broken dehumidifier there, then masked up and went into Kohl's with a load of plastic bags for recycling. I boxed winter sweaters for the out of season closet, found some lavender soap given to us by the French exchange student last year, and stored them together.

DD had her "fake" graduation pix taken this morning. Every senior had a five-minute slot for the cap and gown photo. They're still trying to schedule something for July.

I see a Costco trip for fresh fruit and veggies tomorrow. We need a half dozen more things as we're still feeding us all 3X a day. Lots of food!

It is a day in June! Who knew we'd still be here in June?

Tackling that list is the focus of June here. Last night I listed and sold one of my DD's toy boxes. Are you saying, "Hey, isn't that kid graduating from high school?" Well, yes. But the $35 can go right into the college fund. I have another to list today, but it's a mere plastic bin, so I don't expect much for it.

My DH had an errand this morning at the university, so he's just packed up two boxes with old clothes and the contents of DD's toy boxes (with the exception of a teddy bear or two), and taken them to the contactless Goodwill drop off. Two boxes and a toy box gone is a triumph of bulky junk leaving.

When scouting around for paint in the basement, I found some old dried up cans of latex paint which apparently can go right in the garbage and recycling. I managed to pry the paint out of both and rinsed out a jar with more latex in it.

It's cool today so the focus will be upstairs. I'll have a couple hours of university work every day too. We don't expect an announcement on fall classes for another two weeks, but that will be a big job when it happens.

In further money news, I see my online savings interest rate has dropped again, now to 1.15%. I think staying steady and stable through all that's going on is the best we can do.

One of the items on the summer to-do list was paint the mailbox. I thought I had leftover spray paint downstairs, but it was nearly empty. And I'd been meaning to drop off some old tables at Habitat once they re-opened so DD and I had a surprisingly good outing on Saturday.

We dropped the furniture off curbside at a Habitat site, then headed for Menards. I normally dislike Menards and all those big home stores, but we did very well. They were requiring masks and restricting entrance to adults, as well as enforcing good distance guidelines. We bought a much-needed specialty light bulb, the spray paint, dog treats--and oddly enough--baking powder, fettuccini and peanut butter in their much-expanded grocery section. On our way out, I spotted herbs in their garden center so picked up the thyme I'd wanted. It was amazingly easy, and I'm glad we could fill in some needs.

That $30 was all we spent all weekend. Who knew shopping at Menards could be so good?

Today was my daughter's last day of high school. It was, as expected, very anticlimactic. They'll take cap and gown photos next week. She started the process for an online summer class at my home campus, transferable to her university this fall. Once the paperwork goes through, she'll be set.

I participated in an online focus group about online education for 90 minutes today for which I'll receive $100. It was fun and interesting to meet with nine educators from all over the country. We all have the same concerns, so it was reassuring to be together with people who understand the situation and are doing their best to serve their students and institutions.
That $100 will go into my big goal fund which is looking more and more like my UK home fund.

I cleaned my closet yesterday with a goal to get rid of 20 things which I hit on the nose. Today's community service goal was to remember to drop off some canned goods at the church food pantry which thankfully got done. DD and I went for a long walk admiring the flowering crab trees and lilacs. I'm also admiring my carrots and radishes which are all enjoying the sunshine. My peas are up, and we've located several old tomato frames which we're repurposing into a trellis for them. Next goal--soup from various fridge bits and pieces.

It looks like a nice weekend. Onward.

It's been a nice weekend--the first in months without full drop boxes of papers to read. We had a family meeting yesterday morning and created a rather large list of summer projects. I have to laugh; my DH is not one for change and thinks our bedroom color is just fine. It was last painted 17 years ago when we moved in. It's a long list, but it will be a nice balance between prepping for a probably all online fall semester and doing lots of home projects.

I think our DD will likely take a summer class online too. Just something easy to knock off a GER.

DD and I masked up and spent a good part of the afternoon at Costco. Costco itself did a great job with safety, masking their employees, wiping down the carts, and installing plexiglass at the register. But old habits are hard for people to break and I think one-way aisles at all stores for now would be a great idea. We bought a lot, so I'm glad we won't be going back for a while. It was the first time I've been in a store since March 13.

On to good news: my semester is over, my daughter took her final AP exam today, it's spring, and summer awaits. It's not the summer anyone planned on, but I have projects, and a nice list of things that can be done.

Does that headline sound naughty? I think I could give y'all 100 guesses and you wouldn't come up with what I spent $7.99 on. What? You guessed Monopoly houses and hotels? Gees, you're smart!

My DD and I are fed up with my DH's cutthroat Monopoly playing. He plays so hard to win and tries to buy up all the houses, never changing to hotels just so we can't buy more houses. So I've bought a secret stash and will surreptitiously add one or two to the total number every few days.
If this isn't a sure sign that we've been cooped up together too long, I'm not sure what is.

In other news--one of my staff got her promotion file passed (hooray), now on to the dept approval tomorrow. I'd rather NOT think of the meeting tomorrow as they've scheduled (gulp) 2 1/2 hours on Zoom to unroll all the bad news. I may have to turn the camera off to hide the wine bottle.

I participated in an online focus group tonight for $20. I like these little side hustles. Graded projects most of the day and evening. Will be 1/3 done tomorrow, I swear.

But yikes, so busy at work. It's like digging a hole with a teaspoon trying to get to the end of my dropboxes. One of my people is up for promotion, and I had to review/rewrite half of her file. She's got kids at home, trying to teach four classes, and if we can get her file through this teeny window before things get cancelled at the university, it'll be such a relief. So I spent half the day on that.

But we do have some financial news. Our DD has won some sort of an academic scholarship at her high school. It's likely to be small, but hey, every little bit. She took an online AP test today, and I graded for hours and hours.

It's darn meetings and darn grading all week while fielding excuses from students. Some of them are very valid and almost heartbreaking; others "kind of forgot about class" and want extensions. Sheesh.

Yes, it's that time. I'm deep into the dropboxes and digging them out. I'll also have a lot of late work to handle as some of my students have really struggled with online learning. It's great for the happy, bright, and motivated. It's not so great for the worried, sad, and struggling. But we'll do what we can to get them out as unscathed as possible.

I've decided it would be a swell idea for DD and DH to each make one dinner a week. I'll provide instructions, but there is zero reason for me to do it all. Last night DH made a lovely combo of spaghetti with meatballs and roasted broccoli. Ok--so it's frozen meatballs and jarred sauce, but I'll take what I can get very happily.

We had another Instacart order this morning. I've decided to alternate Costco and the local market for the best balance of quantity and selection. I'm a big tipper, so it's not cheap, but we spend nothing else and I'm buying fill ins for the food pantry at church.

The news is discouraging with ignorance and hate, so I'm taking a few days off--although I did listen to the queen again. Thinking about VE Day is sobering and puts things into greater perspective.

My wonderful daughter and I have started a big project. Our United Way is sponsoring a huge appeal for disposable masks. Yesterday we picked up the kit for 700 masks. It's four gigantic rolls of paper which you fold, hole punch, and attach rubber bands for behind the ears.
Because we're a bit slow on the uptake, we had to watch the video instruction about a dozen times, but then got into the swing of it. They're due back Friday so we'll have some busy evenings.

That was our only outing yesterday as we had the "pneumonia front" pass through on Sunday dropping our temps 20 degrees. Before that we had a great hike in a county park followed by Culver's drive-through custard.

This is the last week of "instruction," and I think we did as well as we could through all of this. I read a blog on a FB group of teachers titled :"Not Crushing It," which is kind of how I feel. We got through it. Of my 100 students, about six have disappeared from online access. The university is trying very hard to find them and get them back--and is being very generous with incompletes and a credit/no credit option. I'm probably the kindest grader I've ever been.
Then there's DD's college plans. Her Scottish university seems also in panic mode--encouraging her and other foreign students not to give up on them. But it all seems like a (bag) pipe dream at this point. She's confirmed at Wisconsin-Madison without turning down Minnesota or Edinburgh. And with the university system in such financial panic, we'll need a lot more funding from the state. And I worry about my pension plan and seemingly everything else at 3 am. I think this is the lowest I've been since this began; I hadn't realized how much I care about the institution I love/hate/love.

Sorry for the big whine. I need to re-set, keep folding masks, and live with the uncertainty that we've all had to live with. My husband loves this isolation; he's not nearly as social as me. I get a lot of energy from going out, seeing students/friends etc. So glad our daughter is home; she's the best company and one great mask folder.

Not much detailed financial news. My seeds are sprouting, we have a lot of food to use up including another magnificent pot of bean soup, and I've reverted to my bag lady behaviors of moving money around and running stupid Swagbucks while grading.

We got another Costco order today, dropped some things off at the church food donation, and I wrote course proposals and graded homework.

That's about it in my world.

I saw this story and thought about Keeping it Frugal, Laura. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/us/new-mexico-town-lockdown-coronavirus-trnd/index.html

A friend from Minnesota has an elderly mom in a care facility there where now 17 people have died of COVID, while another's mom is across town where another 18 have died. The numbers in those care facilities are just staggering. Please keep these folk in your thoughts and prayers while the arguments for and against quarantine continue.

We spent nothing today, and my garden seeds have arrived. Tomorrow the hair scissors come. I'm busy busy teaching and trying to keep my mind clear for students and spirits up for them and my family.

After updating classes and grading papers, my DD and I decided to drop off some pansy bowls I'd planted with the remnants of the pansy flat I bought earlier.

Since of our pansy recipients was a co-worker who lives close to the university, we decide to walk around campus. It seemed like a good idea; I haven't been there in well over a month, the flowers on campus are usually cheery, and it offers a lot of things to see. But instead I came home almost in tears. It seems so sad to see campus completely empty. All of those buildings should be bustling with students, and friends, and colleagues. The coffee shop should be full, and the library should be open. Instead of a good idea, it seemed like a bad bad dream.

Then I came home and cooked a big dinner, but faced with yet another stack of dishes, I think I just spiraled down. One of my dear co-workers is ill, so I did some of his grading and stayed up too late.

I need to find something else to help raise the spirits. Maybe, like CB, I need to paint something. Or maybe just a book and a nap. Ugh.

My wonderful daughter and her friends held a virtual senior prom last night. One of her friends decorated their whole living room with lights and all three of their girls and the parents dressed up. They had big "Class of 2020" signs, and then zoomed six more girls in. It was a lot of fun as they laughed, chose dance numbers, and just enjoyed hours of teenage chatter and dancing together.

I'm plugging away at classes, seemingly cooking all the time, and trying not to think too far ahead. Our university chancellor held a virtual town hall meeting on Friday outlining four possible scenarios for next year. They all involve furlough days (read paycuts as furloughing from teaching is impossible), and some combination of online, hybrid, and maybe some face to face teaching. Our deficit has doubled because of the refunds for dorms and food service and other expenses.

It sort of made me want to cry, but like so many of us, we are incredibly lucky. DH and I continue to work, our house is paid for as are our cars. We have food, lights, heat, telecomms, health, and each other.

So, in more uplifting news, I thawed some forgotten puff pastry which should use more of the (damn) ham with swiss and spinach for a puff pasty something.

So onward! At least to the kitchen!