Quiet weekend with household chores punctuated by an unfortunate run-in with yellow jackets. Friday we got fed up with them as they've found their way into my DH's basement office, so the bee man came out and sprayed.

We also found a DIY solution that knocked off another couple dozen of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FhifTGKtUQ&feature=youtu.be
They are yellow jackets--not bees or we would have chosen a more gentle solution.

In a bit of financial news, I sold four books and made $12. Every little bit helps!

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.

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!

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!

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?

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.

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

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!

Like most of you, we're still home, still on three computers in three different rooms with one coding, one learning, one teaching--and one barking to liven things up.

Groceries are being delivered--for the most part for which we're grateful. We're walking, playing monopoly, and cooking a lot.

I planted spinach, we raked the yard, and my CSA guy delivered three pounds of spinach today. We like spinach.

In decluttering efforts we've given away plastic Easter eggs to local families looking for some. I'm going to take another swipe at parts of the basement today.

Happy for what we have been privileged to have. Realizing how much we have taken for granted.

We'd been two+ weeks on just what we had at home, and I ordered a few basics and some extras yesterday. I think in the lost world, they would've totaled to about $50, but they were almost $100. Yet that's a small price to pay for safety for everyone. We tipped the delivery person $15.

School work is quiet, DD is done with her classes for today, and DH is working away in MY home office.

Mt DD's school trip to France in June has been cancelled, and I'd sure like that money back. I understand the company is trying to negotiate with everyone for refunds, but it will be nice when that arrives. And it's been so slow here that I've even completed my Swagbucks goal for the month; I think that's the first time in years.


Wishing you all well!

All of our university has closed down for two weeks when we all switch to online for a while--and maybe until the end of the semester. DD is out of school for a month with her HS switching to online.

I had a meeting today with our instructors trying to get everyone ready. It's a strange strange time.

And just a note to all of you out there--please don't yell at the store clerks because they're out of TP. Three nasty folks yelled at my kid tonight for that very reason. Patience, kindness, compassion, community.

It was a no-spend Sunday--except for the offering plate.
And for me it was almost exclusively a work day, but I think I've rounded the corner with my employee evals.

And this is the last week of my adjunct class which I will not miss--except for the paycheck which got deposited today. I'm behind on my grading and would like to spend tonight catching up. I've updated my big goal with some new figures and am 6.2 percent there.
I'd planned on putting the last adjunct paycheck toward that, but think it will go into DD's new Roth IRA.


This sunshine sure helps the mood.

It's March re-set time around here, a day early. DD's university choices and their payments are looming, DH's contract job, though safe now, usually wavers with the stock market, and I'm not teaching any adjunct classes for a while. Today we got the bill for DH's ear surgery. I love when the insurance company says they'll pay for it all, and then it ends up still costing another $1000. On the positive side of that, his hearing is great. Except for some tinniness which is waning, he hears almost perfectly.

But the $1000 will have to be paid as will DD's school fees. It's time to dial down. Back to freezer excavation and back to more mindful shopping. And the freezer still holds many delights. Today's dinner was balsamic pork tenderloin with roasted veggies, and a cranberry apple crisp.

DD is being super helpful. She went with me to the grocery store today where she spotted 79 cent packages of pie crust--three of which are in our freezer now. Looks like quiche, instant pot lentil or tosacana soup, and our favorite sweet potatoes with black beans are on the menu this week.

Happy March, everyone! Stay healthy!

It's super-busy at school, especially with the admin responsibilities. Nothing like reading thousands of handwritten course evaluations to brighten up your time.

I've known this week and the next few would be jam-packed and so have been streamlining everything from food prep to laundry. So far, it's been great.

Our DD is busy too--college decisions still looming and a funny role in "Little Shop of Horrors" as the plant. And DH is busy with his class. How many days to spring break?

It was a work-laden weekend. I read more instructor evals than I'd care to admit and wrote four evaluations/summaries of them. Three of them were outstanding, but it will be a difficult conversation with the fourth. I'm scheduling it for next week.

I had a great breakfast with my work friends on Saturday. Nothing like six women--all with complicated lives to take up two hours of talk time. But so so happy my friend with MS is doing so much better.

In other news, DD is busy busy with work and theatre and school. DH is busy with work and school, and well, you heard how work focused I am. And yes it is 28 days until my spring break.

DD had the day off for Presidents' Day so we went out to lunch and to Costco. On the sidewalk outside of Noodles, I found a $20 bill. How's that for fun! And on my way out of a class observation this morning I found a cool one cent. $20.01 in one day!

A brand-new Aldi opened near us last week. What do you like best/least at Aldi? I've occasionally shopped Aldi before but now it's on my regular route home. I'm mostly a Costco/local grocer shopper, so curious about Aldi favs.


My NS streak has ended with a haircut and some greeting cards purchased. I normally don't buy many cards, but some of these were for folks who needed some cheering up, and a cute one for my BF's birthday.

A surprise $20 check arrived in the mail from a survey I took somewhere. I hope to get it into my Big Goal fund.

First week of the semester down. My classes seem good, but I'm doubting whether taking on that adjunct class on the movies was a great idea in addition to my regular load. The good news is that it's just an eight-week class, and two weeks are done.

I've been continuing to mostly feed us from the freezer. I think we could go another month. Tomorrow's delights will include a 13-bean soup in the Instant Pot.

My DH gets the packing out of his ear tomorrow, so we're hoping his second ear repair has gone well. The first one was such a rousing success. In other medical news, out old dog is getting her teeth cleaned tomorrow. I'm reluctant to put her through general anesthesia at her age, but she's had such problems. I'm more nervus about that than DH's ear!


It's been a snowy day, and it's so beautiful. I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Wow--I cannot believe how the years slide by.

I am so grateful for all of our blessings: healthy happy child, warm house, too much food, wonderful friends and family.

Off to pay property taxes today, buy some necessities, feed a friend's cat, then to dinner and a movie.

Thankful also for all the SavingAdvice gang. I feel like I know some of you so well, and have been so lucky to have you in my life.

Here's to a great 2020, friends!

Lots of bits and pieces today: DD worked on a school project called Generosity Feeds both last night and today assembling soup kits for school counselors to distribute as needed. And I did laundry, pickup, grading and more and more of that. It was very cold here too, and while I toyed with the idea of holding off on the heat, I thought, the heck with it. It was 35 this morning. Too cold to mess around.

Yesterday afternoon I brought in my potted herbs and cut some chives. The chives usually go into a freezer pot to be used as needed throughout the winter. They grow so well outside I can't see much point in digging them up and bringing them in.

Much more to think through, but that can wait. Time to take the darn ironing board down. Exciting Saturday nights here in my English castle, eh?

Long day at the university today, but I spent nothing. Long talk with a colleague about money; she's the only sensible one of all my university colleagues, but she noticed I was eating a salad from home while she'd got one from the Farmer's Fridge vending machine. I also had coffee from home and had to leave briefly to move my car.

Sometimes we all spend money to make our lives a bit more smooth, but I had to laugh when she estimated she spent $20 today vs my zero outlay.

Some of my more intensive financial focus came from the news my adjunct class (and the paycheck) was cancelled for low enrollment. No adjunct work until January. Bleah, but also hooray.

I was hoping to throw that cash into DD's college fund, but have a bit more time and energy to attempt some other money-saving ideas. Penny saved and all that.

My spring break is ending, and DD's is starting. I always wish they were the same week, but they never seem to overlap.

In financial news, we've been looking at the totals for DD's France trip when she graduates. She's aiming to pay 25 percent or more and have some spending money. We'll chip away at it with the installment plan.

It's been a cheap-ish break for me. I went to Minneapolis last weekend to see my BF, but got a great deal on a hotwire hotel. Parking for the weekend cost more than just about anything else. BF and I went to see a band we like, toured a model home, and planned our trip. I also got a couple hours to visit with my brother and his wife.

DD has a lot of work hours this week as they're teaching her to frost cakes. Sweet, huh?

I'm also teaching my night class which is a good source of extra cash, but I am so tired the next day. I've thought a lot about giving it up, but will teach through June.

I cashed in some Swagbucks, mostly earned from online shopping and put it toward my big goal.

Seven weeks left in the semester and seven weeks to France.

There was a fair amount of spending today, mostly on necessities. DD spent the morning at ACT prep, but headed to Target with me for khakis for her new job. They also wanted brown shoes, so DSW had a comfy pair. And then groceries. All in all I think we spent over $200 on the combination. Little bits of savings with red card and coupons, but not much.

I'm headed to brunch with my university friends. I'm eager to see them and catch up. I haven't been AT work since last Tuesday--and that was the only day last week with the snow and cold cancellations. I'm going to drop off the results of my decluttering either this morning or tomorrow.

I'll have lots of errands this week and need to plan easy portable meals. DD is working after school from 3-7, and DH is out two nights. Sounds like me and the dog will become besties for a while.

I thought I might run Swagbucks this month as it's a short month, but after 20 minutes on their site, I may just not. Not enough bang for the buck.

Enjoy the Super Bowl, folks.

We've paid both visa bills completely,so our travel bills are all accounted for. It's going to be a bit tight for the next month as my contractor husband won't get paid for while we're gone.

I haven't taken many steps toward frugality since we've been home, but we could take some steps towards eating through the freezer. Instead we've been doing some cleaning and decluttering. We thoroughly cleaned our fridge, have worked our way through the closet, and I'm cleaning the office and downstairs closet later this week.

Next weekend I'm off to Minnesota for a weekend with my best friends. One, a friend since second grade, has recently bought a house on the north shore of Lake Superior and is working half time in the Twin Cities. So we're all headed up north of Duluth where the temps should be below zero all weekend. I'm cold just thinking about it.

In the interest of frugality (ha), I've used gift cards earned from textbook reviews to buy a new jacket. I'm going to need it if we're snowshoeing this weekend!

I also need to load in 2019 goals. Many of them will be unaccomplished 2018 goals. It was that kind of year.

Ok, it may be raining right now, but what a lovely time we're having.
We arrived Wednesday, found the airbnb with no problem, got settled in, went for a walk by the Regents Canal and got some groceries. It's quite a spacious two-bedroom in a nice area of London, but I do mss the "old neighborhood."

Thursday, I had lunch with a study abroad friend, we did a little stint at the British Museum, than a dinner at home to recoup a bit.
We tried to see the WinterWonderland in Hyde Park, but it was just too crowded. Friday we were off to see the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, catch up with some friends, and then headed to the Southbank to see their European Christmas Market--which was much less crowded, free, and fun. Friday night was
the Barbican to see Macbeth. Meh--but worth it to see Eccleston, at least for me.

Really fun day with a long walk in St James's Park with family yesterday, lunch, a chance to see the new great nephew too. DD and went to the National Theatre to see Hadestown--her Christmas present. It was wonderful--and walked and walked on Bond Street and through Piccadilly to see lights. Very fun day.

Today we mt friends for lunch in Hampstead, did a long walk, and came heme stuffed and suitably tired. The airbnb has been good with both a washer and dryer. We've spent little except on food as the theatre tickets were all bought ages ago. We;;, maybe a few books at my favorite bookshop.

I've also managed to keep up with the project grading I took n to help pay for all this. It's fun assessment, and so far, not bad at all.


Happy Christmas to all my SA Friends!

Our bank balances are looking better. DH and I both got paid on our regular jobs and my adjunct job too. We're still going to have to juggle a little, especially with Christmas and the London trip.

I finally see some light at the end of the term. I should be finished grading everything except final projects by tomorrow. And I plan on a very early night tonight.

We had a comforting meal of leftover Swiss steak tonight. It's one of my childhood favs, and it seemed perfect on the cold wet weekend. Glad I made enough for leftovers. Soup on the stove for tomorrow.

There will be a dentist bill in the near future. I have a troublesome tooth that needs dealing with and I hope to get it taken care of this week.


Oh--almost forgot our big fun news: My DH has been working on a masters in history. There's no economic justification for it, but it's been a part-time thing for several years. The big news? His paper won the best graduate paper of 2018 complete with a $400 prize. Very proud of him.

Oh man, it's been 21 days since I've posted?

Here's a short (?) summary:
We bought a new-to-us car. We'r big believers in quality used cars, and this one is a fancier, newer version of my wrecked car. I love it.

Shelling out the difference between the blue book value from the wrecked car and the cost of the new car has made things a bit tight around here. We paid cash, but I've emptied many a pot to find that cash.

The semester is over in 2 1/2 weeks.

We stayed in Cheeseland for Thanksgiving and had dinner with my office best friends--and her boss,, the undergrad chair, and an assortment of others. Wow--meeting people's partners is always interesting.

Need to do some London planning--by the end of the week. I've already booked two plays and a Christmas carol sing-along at Albert Hall. And a family event. And a lunch with London colleagues. Maybe I don't need to book more? But I want to!

I've taken on an odd assessment project that I'll learn more about on Thursday. It's a limited amount of work for $1500. I'd rather not, but hey, we need to dig out of the car situation.

More soon!