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Thursday, May 31, 2018

My Adventures at the Hospital

Sorry I've been MIA mostly this week.
I spent yesterday walking around the hospital downtown while Hubs had out-patient surgery.
He had a growth on his neck removed which I've been nagging him for YEARS to get looked at.

And I also got to use my Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.....



I sat out in the waiting room for an hour before they let me go back and sit with Hubs while he waited to be wheeled into the OR.
And we sat.
and sat.
and sat some more.

An hour and a half after he was suppose to be operated on one of the staff came in and apologized for the long wait and gave me 2 vouchers good for $8 in the cafeteria and/or the gift shop.  Since Hubs was about to be cut open and wasn't going to be able to eat I took both vouchers and at 11 am they finally wheeled him off.

We'd been there since 7ish am so I wandered off to find the cafeteria.  I ended up at the end of a hallway at one point(the signage was almost none existent sometimes).   This hospital was bought by the big corporation healthcare system around these parts and this building is old and has been renovated/added onto haphazardly(like most every other building downtown here)over the decades.
Hallways end abruptly and elevators open in the front or the back and some elevators only go to certain floors such that it seems like Daaedalus' mythological labyrinth at times....I felt I was going to find the Minotaur around a corner at one point! lol

Finally arrived at the "Southside Cafe" at 10 minutes of 11 am to find it closes between breakfast and lunch time and reopens at 11. sigh
So I parked myself in the vending area which was open and read some of my book.  After the "Cafe" opened I went in and grabbed a tray and tried to find something to eat for $8.  Of course the place wasn't laid out in any kind of methodical, logical way and no cafeteria employees were anywhere to be found.
I stood there with a tray and was awash with hospital employees flooding past me to grab food/drinks and queuing up at the register to pay and beat it back to their departments.  I walked around and found their offerings(no listings of what they serve/specials anywhere in one place).  The only sandwich(anything on bread)you could get was an Italian Hoagie which didn't sound good to me.  They did have a tuna salad served in a wedged tomato(came with a pickle wedge)so I got that along with a bag of multi-grain "chips"(some sort of healthy chip in a bag product).  The only drink products were bottles of diet soda(nothing regular), diet or unsweetened tea, water and diet Powerade.
My lunch came to $8.01 but they didn't make me give them one penny that it was over the voucher.

You could get hot coffee or tea but there were no sugar packets in the place.  There was also no ketchup in the joint(even though among the daily hot meal offerings was french fries?).  Evidently as I sat and read the signage in the dining area they only offer low/no-sugar/diet items so I guess ketchup is a no-go here. lolz
I haven't had the opportunity/displeasure of eating in a hospital cafeteria in many, many years so I don't know if this is the current trend in hospitals or just our corporate comglomerate healthcare system's idea.

So having kept down lunch(lolz)I started wandering back to the other end of the hospital where the surgery suite waiting room was located.  I got lucky and didn't end up down any dead ended hallways this time. Go me!
I passed by the gift shop and thought, "What the hell!  I've got time to kill so why not wandering around in there and spend the other $8 voucher." so I went inside.  Everything was overpriced and/or meaningless tchotchkes nobody needed so I figured I'd get $8 worth of cold drinks to take home for later.

Then I rounded a corner and spied a 75% clearance sign on a basket of Vera Bradley items.
EEK!

I scored a brand new tagged $54 VB wallet.


Came to $14.31 after 75% off.


After applying the $8 voucher I paid $6.31..........

Now I love me some Vera Bradley but I don't need another wallet so this baby will either go into my Xmas gifting box for a few months or may go up on eBay where I can get $25-$30 easily for it.  8-)))

I made it back to the waiting room avoiding the Minotaur with my VB prize intact just in time to see "The View" was signing off for the day on the tv there.  I timed that excursion into the bowels of the hospital labyrinth well to avoid Whoopee and her gang. lolz
And the surgery board said that Hubs was still in the OR so I pulled out my book and read for about a half hour before the surgeon snuck up behind me and grabbed my shoulder and I about shit my pants he scared me so badly.
What medical school do they teach that technique in??!
Geez.....
So he had me go into a room so he could tell me how it all went(which was fine and you don't need nor want all the gory details I was made privy to).


The nurses called me back about 30 minutes later after Hubs was coherent and able to talk.
We sat until he didn't feel woozy anymore and he drank something and they began unhooking him from the IV setup and going over the discharge stuff.
We got him dressed while I told about my journey into the center of the beast/building and pretty soon he was raring to go........


As soon as they found a wheelchair to wheel him out to the car since he was still unsteady on his feet and I just knew I'd be under the hospital in the dark parking lot alone trying to pick him up off the ground if he tried to walk out of there and passed out.

Got the patient home about 2 pm., put the dogs out, made Hubs some coffee and toast, ran up to Rite-Aid for his 4 Rxs, got him medicated and up to bed for a nap and then I sat and put my feet up for awhile.  I did no cooking last night(it was bad enough I had to do the dishes!)and ordered Chinese take-out and Ex-College Boy picked it up after he got home from work.
Hub is fine and home and on the mend(as long as I don't end up killing him because he is stubborn as HELL!)
Case in point, they had to intubate him for this operation so his windpipe is sore and swallowing food is rough.  He decided he needed a spicy food with big chunks of meat in it for his Chinese take-out even though I told him he probably wanted to get soup or something like it.
I think he ate two bites and decided this dinner wasn't happening and he had applesauce and ice cream later. lolz

Sitting in a hospital waiting for half the day is exhausting......who knew! 8-)



Sluggy
at 17 comments:

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Another Giveaway Winner

Since I still have so many items left after Gerry filled her giveaway box I've decided to pick another winner to fill a box in May!
Yes, a Surprise Giveaway!!!

So if you entered the Giveaway and your entry was valid you are also eligible to win this giveaway.
Here is the photo of goodies you can pick from to fill your box..........I might also be persuaded to add an item or two besides what is pictured if you know you want something and I have it.  ;-)


110 valid entries left and Random.org picked this one to win.......


My granddaughter loves hairbrushes, she is 2 and love to brush hair.
Mary G.
g.mariellen@gmail.com

Congratulations to Mary G!
Please email me Mary from the email you supplied on your entry within 48 hours of this post going live. My email is arcure(at)ptdprolog(dot)net. I need your complete name and mailing address and in order of preference which items you want in your box. (I bet that hairbrush in #1 on your list. lolz)

Sluggy


at 7 comments:

Food & Toiletries Spending .....May 2018

Onward to May's food spending report.......



Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2018.

I have posted May's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in May.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3-5(4 at home this month). No "kids" under 22.

*****************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $18.50
Value  $59.66
Savings  69%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $40.12
Value  $67.87
Savings   40.89%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $16.00
Value  $31.66
Savings  49.46%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $46.47
Value  $74.66
Savings  37.76%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $28.62
Value  $68.88
Savings  58.45%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PP/BC  $815.68
Value  $815.68
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $28.06
Qs/Ads  $26.42
Value  $54.48
Savings  48.49%

WEIS MARKETS
OOP  $253.45
Qs/Ads  $168.33
Value  $421.78
Savings  39.91%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet  at 69% and Ollie's at 58.45%.  My worst savings rate was from Maine Source at 37.76%.

I shopped at 8 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for May..........$596.99
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales...$544.92
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$1,141.91
TOTAL Savings of ................................47.72%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for May.....$596.99
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$1957.59
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.........$1360.60
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items........69.50%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
May was a frugal challenge here.  Between good stock up deals, company coming and Daughter's "diet" my food budget got sunk.  I was $196.99 over what I like to spend per month.
On a whim I bought 11 lbs. of T-Bone steaks at half price to put into the freezer so that when we get a hankering for a good hunk of beef this Summer we have it to throw onto the grill.  The steak alone was $44.54 of that overage I spent. 8-(

But not to worry, we have the cash to pay for it all so I'll just dust myself off and begin anew in June to stay below $400 per month on food spending.
And after all, I am feeding 4 adults on that amount which even in a good month is a challenge. 8-)))

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 5.42% in May 2018 to 69.50% compared to April's 74.92% savings average.
The free stuff from Rite-Aid skewers my averages but without R-A I am at 47.72% savings.  So even without R-A we are doing well on the "savings" front.

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $2219.41 on food/toiletries in 2018 which is a 74.38% savings rate for the year so far and averages out to $443.88 spent per month in 2018.  We were almost at $400 per month average spending last month but my overshooting the food budget in May blew that goal up for now. lolz


LOOKING AHEAD To June.......
Keeping with that $400 food budget for June. If I can stay under $400, more's the better.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in May?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?
*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy
at 2 comments:

Monday, May 28, 2018

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Remembering the Fallen" Edition--

Bernard J. Wingo
Sept. 25, 1892
Oct. 7, 1918
Supply Co. 323 Div. 81
Died in France while in the service of his county.
Greater love hath no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I took this photo for Find A Grave while in Drakes Branch VA photographing my 2 x Great Grandparents headstones a few years ago.  After I added this World War I veteran's headstone to the FAG database I did some research on him--
Bernard Jackson Wingo served in the US Army as a Wagoner and was part of the American Expeditionary Forces in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive(also known as the Battle of the Argonne Forest).  He was part of the US Army's 81st Division of the 4th Infantry(the famed NC Wildcat Division), in Supply Company 323.
He was KIA 7 Oct 1918, just 33 days before the Armistice was signed. Bernard had turned 25 just 13 days before his death.
Bernard was a farm boy from rural South Central VA who according to his WWI registration card was the support of his mom and dad before he was shipped out to Europe.
Bernard was not interred at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery near the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in Meuse, France, like over fourteen thousand of his fellow patriots who died there, but was brought back to his home in Virginia to be buried near family.

Coincidently I did find out later that Bernard Wingo is related to me by marriage.....his sister Alma Lee Wingo married two of my cousins-Pascal Lee Holt(3rd cousin 4 x removed)and when Pascal died, Richard Hammersley(4th cousin 4 x removed).

Remembering all our veterans who perished during service today.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Chicken Tenders, Pear Gorgonzola Salad
2. Monday--Catfish, Cole Slaw, Sweet Potato Fries
3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Stuffing, Asparagus, Cranberry
4. Wednesday--Ravioli, Salad, leftover Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--Pork Roast, Green Beans, Garlic Mashed Taters
6. Friday--Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage or Fend For Yourself
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Chicken Tenders, Pear Gorgonzola Salad
2. Monday--Catfish, Cole Slaw, Potato Fries
3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Stuffing, Asparagus, Broccoli, Cranberry
4. Wednesday--Ravioli, Salad, leftover Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--Graduation/Birthday Dinner Out
6. Friday--Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage or Fend For Yourself
7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

 Pretty much the meal plan went off as planned except the sweet potatoes went bad so we had regular old french fries.  The roast pork wasn't needed so moves to this week's plan.

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  
2 grocery trips to Weis, 2 trips to Dollar General(for a butt load of chili for the menfolk), a trip to the Bread Outlet and a spur of the moment trip to Price Chopper for steaks brought the shopping to $217.40 for the week and brought May's food spending total to $596.99.   
I am in about as much shock as you are over this!lolz

I've got negative $196.99 left in the food budget for May and 3 days left in my shopping month.   Yes, I am over by almost $200 for the month.  EEK! 8-(

My savings percentages last week was 48.13%(without Rite-Aid trips)and May's monthly savings total so far is at 47.72%.

Leftovers going into this week.......potato salad, garlic bread, turkey, stuffing, ravioli, red beans w/sausage, rice.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself
2. Monday--Burgers, Hot Dogs, Roasted Veggies
3. Tuesday--Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Pork roast, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Green Beans
5. Thursday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself
6. Friday--Marinated Beef w/Broccoli, Rice
7. Saturday--Chicken Fajitas, Refried Beans

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu?  Some fresh Veggies to roast(getting today). 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy
at 7 comments:

Sunday, May 27, 2018

A Little More Rite-Aid on Saturday

I went up to Rite-Aid on Saturday because the Mentholatum Ibotta rebate was back in my account($1.50)and it was the last day R-A was having it on sale($3-a Monthly Deal)and it gave $2 back in BC.
They also, surprisingly got a big load of the cheapest Visine back in stock in their Friday shipment so I could finish doing the Spend $40/Get $10 in BC Deal on it.  I had already bought 2 Visine earlier in the week.............


7 x Visine($4.63 w/20% Wellness disc.)=$32.41
2 x Suave deodorant on sale($1.19)=$2.38
SubTotal..........$34.79

Coupons Used
7 x $2/1 R-A In-ad Q=$14.00
3 x $2.50/2 Visine CatalinaQ=$7.50
1 x $1/1 Visine ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total......$22.50

$34.79-$22.50=$12.29(no tax due).
I paid with $12.29 in BC and earned back $12 in new BC($10 wys $40 Visine, $2 wyb2 Suave).


I also did this on my Daughter's card........


4 x Suave deodorant on sale $1.19=$4.76
1 x Mentholatum on sale=$3.00
SubTotal......$7.76

No coupons were used.
$7.76+.30¢ tax=$8.06 paid with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $6 in new BC(2 x $2 Suave wyb2, $2 Mentholatum)
$20.35 spent on these two transactions in BC, $18 new BC earned back and $1.50 Ibotta cash rebate earned so .85¢ short of being totally free.  ;-)

After BC earned, sale price, Qs stacked with In-AdQs all 9 bottles of Visine bought this week "cost" me $2.17 in BC.
And all that Visine earns toward the $20 Allergy Reward so that card is at $66.62.  Only $8.38 to spend on qualifying products to earn that $20 BC.

I need to concentrate on rolling the BC on my card in the next couple of weeks.


Sluggy

at 3 comments:

Friday, May 25, 2018

Frugal Friday.....the May 25th Edition

Let's see what frugal wins we had this past week......

*  Got the Weis(PMITA)Markets Friday Freebie last Friday........


Of course the digital Q didn't come off so I paid .50¢ for this.  I made Hubs get my money back when he had to go up to Weis later that day.  Hubs seems to have a way with the Customer Service lady....lolz

*  I already recounted the Rite-Aid porn.......


I spent down $5.38 in BC and earned back $1.25 in cash rebates from Ibotta for all this.

*  Here are my best grocery deals this week.....



8 cans of small size pineapple products.  On sale at Weis earlier this week for $1 each so $8 subtotal.  I had .65¢/2 Qs that were set to expire next week, which doubled to $1.30 off on 2 cans, making them .35¢ per can after sale/Q.  Nice.


I also made a rare trip to Dollar General this past week as I had a "$5 off $25 spent" Q that was good until Monday.  We needed a few household type things(drink pitcher, grill brush, coffee filters, camp chair though I didn't get the chair)so I combined those needs with a 12 pack of wet dog food for Chester $5.21(+ a $2 off Q for that one too), a bottle of  Gator-Ade for CB .48¢(+ a digital Q for that), 3 bottles of Snapple for CB to take to work($2.17)and 2 bags of candy for him for .86¢ ea., 2 cans of baked beans($2.58), 4 cans of canned spaghetti products($2.60), and 3 cans of Hormel chili($3.44).  I saved $11.75 on this $24.18 trip.
Even without a Q the Hormel was a very good deal at $1.15 a can. That's even cheaper than the Weis brand chili on Tuesdays when I get the 10% senior discount on it.  I may go back Saturday with another $5/$25 Q and load up.......the guys here go through a ridiculous amount of chili. lolz

*  I earned $2.00 back in Ibotta cash rebates for various items bought this week.....not the bigger rebates for buying certain name brands but just the little .25¢ here, .25¢ there type of cash back and $1 for the light bulb I got at Rite-Aid.

*  We finally got a chance to do Hubs birthday meal out.  We combined it with a Graduation dinner out for ex-College Boy. We've been trying to get this done since April but nobody's schedules aligned just right on a weeknight until now.
Ex-College Boy started his new job last Monday and he was tired(sure looks tired in this photo)but that didn't keep him from scarfing down his meal. lol
We went to Red Lobster....some place I rarely go to these days.  I bought gift cards for there last Fall on a Rite-Aid deal so the $ was already accounted for in last year's spending.
I printed off and used a Q for $4 off 2 adult dinners(like that hardly paid the sales tax on this meal!lol).
After the Q was applied the bill came to $80.71 for the 4 of us.


Gift Cards applied and I've got $19.29 left to spent there.
Of course I had to pay the tip out of my WAM but hey!, I hardly spend any of that so I had plenty left to cover it.


*  And finally...........

This was the best thing this week.  We received a bill for another year of insurance on the LA house.
I guess the billing department didn't get word in time that we don't own that house anymore.

$900+ I don't have to pay ever again!  WOOhoooo!!!



What good frugal things happened in your week?


Sluggy

at 10 comments:

Thursday, May 24, 2018

When Things Go Terribly Wrong-A Genealogy Post

When I work on genealogy for my family tree macrame, I don't just work on my direct family lines.  I have been known to fill out my tree branches of the direct family of siblings and the families of folks who marry into my tree.
Because of this my tree has grown exponentially over the years and is the size of a California redwood rather than a spindly birch sapling.
I have been known to get lost in side branches and the branches of those who are related by marriage.
And sometimes a person you find, you just can't shake thinking about them and their life story.

Another thing I am a member of is Find A Grave.  This is a site where people walk graveyards(or access cemetery records)and record online where the dead are buried(or create cenotaphs or 'burial unknown' memorials for those cremated, lost at sea or who's burial place is unknown).  Find A Grave aka FAG can be another helpful source of information when official records are unavailable to you.  FAG can also confirm or help you sort out confusing information in your genealogy research.

A fellow FAG member contacted me a couple of weeks ago.  They had been to a cemetery in VA and had photographed the gravestone for someone I created a memorial for and whom I had placed in a different cemetery.  Their death certificate had listed them buried in the graveyard I placed the memorial info into, but it turns out they aren't buried there after all.


This family is actually related to me through a cousin(we've both done the DNA thing to confirm it and on paper it's 6th cousins)by marriage into her direct line.  Her father's sister married into this family. Cousin's aunt married Carl Anton Lipp.

Carl Lipp's parents were John Lipp and Minnie Urech.
John and Minnie were born in Switzerland and immigrated separately to America-Minnie in 1893 according to Passenger lists and John either in 1881 or 1893 depending on which census he self-reported this information on.
At any rate they both ended up in Nebraska by 1897 and were married there in Columbus on the 29th of April of that year.
In the 1900 census they have one child, Mary, born in 1899 and are living in Columbus, NE.  John incidentally is a farmer.

By the 1910 census John and Minnie have removed to Newville, Sussex County, Virginia and their family has grown to include 5 children-Mary, Frank, John Fred, Bertha and Lillie Olivia.  And John is still farming.

Another daughter was born in Sept of 1910, Rosa Lipp, and a son arrived in 1918 named Carl Anton Lipp.

Sometime between 1910 and 1918 Mary Lipp, John and Minnie's oldest daughter, married a man named Peter T. Piatka.  Their marriage license has not been found online yet but later evidence leads me to believe that indeed they were married.  The marriage probably took place in one of the counties in Virginia were this family lived-Sussex or Prince George county, both of which are south of Petersburg Virginia.

Mary and Peter Piatka had a daughter, Louise Virginia Piatka born on 18 June 1918.

In the 1920 federal census the household of John Lipp contains these family members--Mary Lipp Piatka, John Jr., Bertha, Lillie Olivia, Rosa, Carl Anton and Louise Piatka(Mary and Peter's daughter).
John's wife, Minnie is gone and Mary Lipp is not living with her husband and the father of her child Louise, Pete Piatka.
John Lipp is listed as a widow so I turned to the death certificate records, finding Minnie's certificate and made this discovery........


Minnie Urich Lipp died on Sept 23rd 1918, only 2 months after giving birth to her youngest child Carl , at the age of 46.

Here's a close up of the important part the "Cause of Death".........


"Murder by shot gun in hands of Pete Piatka".
WTF???

I then went to find Pete Piatka's death certificate.


Peter T. Piatka died on the same day as Minnie Lipp, 23 Sept. 1918.
Cause of death...."Suicide by shotgun."
Wow!  A murder suicide in the family.

Here is as much as I can find about Peter Piatka from official records.
He was from "Bogaw" Austria according to the ship passenger manifest.  I believe the place name is Burgau and it wasn't written correctly as there is no Bogaw in Austria.  Burgau is in the eastern edge of present day Austria near the Hungarian border.
Peter arrived in American in the port of New York on board the "Caroline" on 13 Feb. 1910, 4 years before the start of World War I in Europe.  He was 18 years old at that time and listed his occupation as a shoemaker.
On his WWI draft registration from June 1917, it states his birth date is 29 June 1892 and he is 25 years old.  He is stout of stature, medium height with dark hair and blue eyes.  He was working at that time as a machinist in Waverly Virginia in a garage and is single.
By June of 1918 he is married and a father and by Sept. of that same year he is dead from a gun shot.

If you are like me, your mind wanders to questions about what went wrong in these people's lives.

Why did Peter come from NY to settle there in this part of VA?
Did he speak only German(or Hungarian)and found a community of German speakers who were culturally similiar in this small town outside of Petersburg, VA?
Did he or a relative in the Austria know someone there?
With the timing of his immigration, was he fleeing the Austrian-Hungarian Empire because he foresaw political/civil unrest and the coming of a war?
Was he a "hot head" who pissed off someone important or did he have a dysfunctional family and was running away from something?
Was there a lack of employment and opportunity for him in Europe?
Was he discriminated against due to his ethnicity?

So many questions we'll never know the answers to.

And then last week this little gem of a newspaper article popped up in an online search.......


From the Washington Post under their "Maryland and the Virginias" section-

"KILLS HIS MOTHER IN-LAW
          ----------------
Virginia Farmer Ends Own Life as Climax of Quarrel

 Special to the Washington Post
  Petersburg, Va, Sept. 23---P T Piatka, a farmer residind about eight miles from Disputanta station on the Norfolk and Western Railway, last night shot and killed his mother in-law, Mrs. John Lipp, and then took his own life.  The tragedy is said to have been the outcome of a quarrel between Piatka and his wife.  Mrs. Piatka went to the home of her parents, a few miles from Disputanta, and there the killing of Mrs. Lipp occurred.
  After the killing(of)Mrs. Lipp, Piatka went into the woods a short distance and fired a bullet into his head.

So mystery solved, at least the bare facts of it.
Either it was a rather large issue which led to this quarrel or Peter Piatka was a bit unhinged.
Either way, two infants were left without a parent and two spouses were left widowed.

Mary Lipp Piatka went on to marry James Walter Bailey sometime after 1921 as they had a son in Aug. of 1922.  Helen and John Bailey were also born to this couple in subsequent years.
Mary Lipp Piatka Bailey lived until 2003, dying at the age of 104.

        Photo taken by John Whitt for F.A.G.

Peter and Mary's daughter, Louise Virginia took the surname of her step father James Walter Bailey.

Louise married George Franklin Blackwell in June of 1936 in Hopewell, Virginia.  They had a daughter in 1939 and then three more daughters.  Between the birth of the first child and their deaths the family moved to South Carolina.  Both Louise and George would die in South Carolina, in 1966 and 1981, respectively.

       Photo taken by Danny & Judy Ard for F.A.G.

After I made a memorial for Peter Piatka on Find A Grave I contacted the people who maintained both Louise's and Mary's memorials to link the daughter and wife to Piatka's memorial.  The "owner" of Louise's memorial had a problem with me linking Peter's memorial to hers.  I told him that I wouldn't post the death certificate nor the details of his death and his part in the murder of Louise's grandmother, Minnie.  He declined to link saying that this father info wasn't in her newspaper published obituary.
I don't see the problem with saying out loud what really happened since all the players have long since passed away.
This sort of shoving unpleasant facts of life into a closet is why people become disconnected from their past.  Yes, this is a sad outcome or even a family tragedy if you will.  I believe this was a tragedy as two infants lost a parent each and two adults lost their spouse and one her mother as well over a momentary situation that wasn't diffused in time.
 I don't think it does anyone any good to hide from our pasts, even the bad stuff in it.  If we aren't trying to hide from the bad things in life they can't define us.


Sluggy


at 8 comments:

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Rite-Aid This Week

I did all my Rite-Aid transactions in one day for this week.......

All this was on three different cards/account.

6 x Colgate toothpaste on sale($2.99)=$17.94(2 tubes per card)
2 x Mitchum deodorant 20% Wellness disc.=$7.18
2 x Visine 20% Wellness disc.=$9.26
1 x GE light bulb on sale=$7.99
1 x Nivea lip balm 20% Wellness disc.=$2.71
SubTotal......$45.08

Coupons Used
6 x $1/1 ColgateManuQ(from Dentist office)=$6.00
2 x $1/1 Mitchum ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Mitchum RA In-AdQ=$4.00
2 x $1.50/1 Visine IPQ=$3.00
2 x $2/1 Visine RA In-AdQ=$4.00
1 x $5/1 GE LED lightbulb Load2CardQ=$5.00
1 x $2/1 Nivea lip balm RA In-AdQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$26.00

$45.08-$26.00=$19.08 + .30¢ tax=$19.38 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $14 in new Bonus Cash(6 x $2 Colgate, $2 GE)

After sale and Qs-
* The Colgate toothpaste was a .01¢ moneymaker per tube.
(Tip-Check your dentist if they give out Qs for toothpaste.  I found $1/1 Colgate ones to use on this deal when the Sunday Insert Qs were only .50¢/1.)
* The Mitchum deo was .59¢ per stick.
* The Visine drops were $1.13 per bottle.
* The GE light bulb was .99¢.
* The Nivea lip balm was .71¢.

$5.38 spent down in Bonus Cash, nothing OOP.
I earned .25¢ cash rebate for buying the eye drops and $1 for buying the light bulb at Ibotta.
And the Visine tracks toward the Allergy Reward too. ;-)

Sluggy


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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

And the Giveaway Winner is......


There were 111 valid entries for the May Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway.

Random.org picked this entry to win........




Watkins lotion

Gerry T
merlinsfamily@outlook.com

Congratulations Gerry T!!!

You now have 48 hours from when this post goes live to email me your full name and mailing address.  Please also let me know which items you want in your box, in order of "most wanted" to "least wanted" so I can start packing all your winnings up.

Thanks to everyone who played along as always.  Another giveaway will be coming up(maybe sooner rather than later). ;-)

Sluggy

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Monday, May 21, 2018

Last Day to Enter the Giveaway!!!

I almost forgot that today is the last day to enter the May Giveaway.
Go HERE.  Closes at 11:59 pm ET tonight.

You could win from your choice of all this, whatever will fit into the mailing box........


You want girly stuff? done.
You want light bulbs and men's toiletries? done.
You want chocolate and tampons? done. lolz

If you entered already make sure I didn't leave a comment on your comment that I don't have your contact info(email addy).  If I can't contact you, you can't win.

Sluggy
at 3 comments:

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Always Makes Me Laugh" Edition--

When I'm having a bad day Chester always seems to make me laugh or at least smile.
Here he is eating his dinner last weekend......on three legs. LOLZ  He stood like that for three minutes with his face buried in his food bowl.  One time he had both legs off the ground while he was eating.
Silly dog.....

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Steaks on the grill, Green Beans, Corn on Cob(Daughter is cooking)
2. Monday--Ribs and Pork BBQ, Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, Mac Salad, Beans, Pie(Company's coming!)
3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself
4. Wednesday--Not Sure Yet/Something in the Freezeer
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Fish, Cole Slaw, Sweet Potato Fries
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Steaks on the grill, Green Beans, Corn on Cob(Daughter is cooking)
2. Monday--Ribs and Pork BBQ, Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, Mac Salad, Pie(Company's coming!)
3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself
4. Wednesday--Hamburgers, leftover side dishes from Monday
5. Thursday--Leftover Spaghetti/Meatballs/Garlic Bread, Salad
6. Friday--Fend for Yourself
7. Saturday--Primo Hoagies(used a gift cert.)

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

1 grocery trip each to Weis, Maine Source, Dollar Tre and Shursave Markets brought the shopping to $140.01 for the week and brought May's food spending total to $379.59.   

I've got $20.41 left in the food budget for May and 10 days left in my shopping month. I know I am going to go over budget this month since I did some shopping over the weekend and this total doesn't include that.  If it happens once in while I am ok with it.

My savings percentages last week was 34.48% and May's monthly savings total so far is at 47.48%.

Leftovers going into this week.......potato salad, garlic bread.  That's it.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Chicken Tenders, Pear Gorgonzola Salad
2. Monday--Catfish, Cole Slaw, Sweet Potato Fries
3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Stuffing, Asparagus, Cranberry
4. Wednesday--Ravioli, Salad, leftover Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--Pork Roast, Green Beans, Garlic Mashed Taters
6. Friday--Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage or Fend For Yourself
7. Saturday--?

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 0 nights of leftovers/FFY and 1 night of ?.
No leftovers means I get to cook a lot this week...yay me! lolz

What needs buying for this menu?  Salad Greens and who knows what else.  The Daughter has decided to follow a Keto diet so this mucks with my plans. sigh

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy
at 5 comments:

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Lots More Rite-Aid Friday & Saturday

I got all this at my Rite-Aid in 3 different transactions on 3 different cards on Friday but will list it all together........


6 x Suave deodorants on sale=$7.14
3 x Hydralyte on sale=$3.00
1 x Schick razors on sale=$5.99
1 x Cover Girl lip pencil on clearance=$2.07
SubTotal......$18.20

Coupons Used
1 x .25¢/1 Suave deodorant L2CardQ=.25¢
3 x $2/1 Hydralyte IPQ=$6.00
1 x $4/1 Schick IPQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Cover Girl items IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$12.25

$18.20-$12.25=$5.95 + .55¢ tax=$6.50 paid with BC
$8 in new BC earned back(3 x $2 Suave, $1 Schick, $1 Colgate)*
So I bought a tube of Colgate but the L2CardQ didn't come off so I returned it right away but I still got a $1 BC-if you return something the BC doesn't come back off your account.  I didn't do this to get a "free" BC, I wanted to buy the Colgate but when a L2CardQ doesn't come off, I am not going to keep it. lolz
Even without the "bonus" $1 BC this was a .50¢ moneymaker.

The Cover Girl purchase triggered a $3/2 Cover Girl purchase Catalina Q.  There was a $5 wyb $10 Cover Girl/Sally Hansen Deal last week and I had $2.06(even though the item was $2.07...hmmm)tracking on that Deal.  More on this later.

So Hubs let me stop by a different Rite-Aid last week while we were running errands downtown so I picked up this there..........


They didn't have any of the Suave deodorants(the monthly Deal items)or the Lever 2 packs of soap which were a moneymaker after BC back but they had 1 box of Hydralyte and I did the monthly Doan's/Vivarin/Midnite on my last card.

The Midnite was free after $1Q and $8 BC it gave.
The Hydralyte was $1 moneymaker after sale/Q.
$7 spent in BC, $8 in BC earned back.

On Saturday I was in the town South of us and stopped by a different R-A and bought all this on two different cards.......


4 x Barlow's men's dry shampoo 30% off F/S special offer=$19.56 *
3 x Hydralyte(1 bottle/2 tablets)on sale=$3.00
4 x Suave deodorants on sale=$4.76
1 x Schick razors on sale=$5.99
4 x M&Ms Kings size on sale=$4.00
SubTotal........$37.31

Coupons Used
3 x $2/1 Hydralyte IPQ=$6.00
1 x $4/1 Schick razors IPQ=$4.00
4 x .50¢/1 R-A stickerQ=$2.00
Coupon Total......$12.00

$37.31-$12.00=$25.31 + $1.51 tax=$26.82 paid for with BC.
$26.00 in new BC was earned on these transactions(4 x $5 Barlow's, 2 x $2 Suave, $1 Schick, $1 Candy wyb 4 King size), meaning I "spent down" my BC by .82¢.

After sale/Qs/BCs earned the razors "cost" .99¢ plus tax, the deodorants .38¢ for every two plus tax, and the candy was .25¢ per bag.

* All the men's Barlow products give back $5 each on a Monthly Deal(limit 2 per card).  With the 30% off promotion from Fri./Sat. for all Wellness Gold members these $6.99 reg. retail items were $4.89 so a small .11¢ moneymaker when purchased.

I also went back up to my R-A on Saturday to roll the Cover Girl Deal using 2 more $3/1 Cover Girl IPQs I printed off late last month and that $3/2 that kept generating another CatalinaQ on two different cards.......


2 x Barlow's dry shampoo 30% off special promo=$9.78
1 x Arm and Hammer toothpaste(rain check)=FREE
2 x CG mascara BOGO50%=$14.23
1 x CG pro mascara clearance=$1.57
1 x CG trublend clearance=$2.32
1 x CG trublend powder clearance=$2.64
1 x CG pro mascara curved 20% Wellness disc.=$5.03
2 x CG eye shadow palettes BOGO50%=$9.33
1 x CG lip pencil clearance=$2.07
1 x CG liquid makeup stick clearance=$2.07
SubTotal.......$49.04

Coupons Used
2 x $3/1 CG mascara IPQ=$6.00
4 x $3/2=$12.00
Coupon Total.....$18.00

$49.04-$18.00=$31.04 + $1.75=$32.79

$12.86 in the last of the Plenti Points on my card and $19.93 total in BC(from both cards)was used to pay.
I earned $30 back in new BC(2 x $5 Barlow's, 4 x $5 CoverGirl-2 on one card/2 on the other card).
I "spent down" $2.79 in BC on all this in the last photo.

Total Spent this Week at Rite-Aid(including Wed. stuff I posted about earlier in the wk)...$95.94 in Bonus Cash
Total new Bonus Cash earned back........$95.00 + $2.00 in Ibotta cash rebates.

I have finally used up the last of my Plenti Points. rah.
The plan going forward will be to slowly spend down most if not all of the BC on two of my cards.  With this 60 day window to roll them all and not being able to view "how much expires and when exactly" I am over it.
Right now I have $163.01 in Bonus Cash spread out over 3 cards.  Trying to keep these many balls in the air(and not have BC expire on me)requires me to "buy" too much stuff and then find ways to use it all.  That's more work than I want to do. 8-(  I just want to buy what we all need here, what I can give to family and friends and things to put into Giveaways.

Sluggy




at 4 comments:

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Another Royal Wedding....Oh Goody!

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you are aware that today was the day Prince Harry of the UK married American actress Meghan Markle.

Yes, this is an interesting event as not only is Harry marrying a commoner but *gasp* an American!
I am not an anglophile personally nor am I a Royal Watcher but being the whitest white woman on Planet Earth, and also having been researching my ancestry full-bore for the past 9 or so years, you probably know that I am related to the English royal family.

Prince Harry(and his brother Prince William)are my 19th cousins.  Interestingly, we are cousins through both his father, Prince Charles' and Princess Diana's ancestry.  Charles and Diana are BOTH my 18th cousins 1 x removed.(Charles through his maternal lines and Diana through her father's lines.)



I relate to Prince Harry through our shared ancestor George de Neville, 1st Baron Latimer, through his father, Ralph De Neville on both his parents' family trees.

And as it turns out I am also related to Meghan Markle.  She's my 21st cousin 2 x removed.
I also relate to Megan Markle through George de Neville, 1st Baron Latimer, but through his mother, Joan de Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland.
Meghan and I are also direct descendants of Edward III.

                             Good ol' Edward III

So this means Harry and Megan are also related to each other via many different lines of ancestry but nothing too close.  I believe their closest shared ancestor is Ralph Bowes of Streatlam 1480-1516 which would make them 15th cousins.

Since my invite never arrived(I am "family" after all, right?) I will assume that the English postal system or USPS lost it somewhere along the line. sniff*sniff*

And all this other talk about this union being so historic as the Royal Family is having someone of African ancestry marry into the bloodline?
It's true that Meghan is bi-racial, her father is "white", her mother is "black"(actually her mother is bi-racial--not black as many of her direct ancestors are listed as "mulatto" in federal censuses) but this is NOT the first instance of ethnic ancestry being injected into the English Royal Family.

I posted about Queen Elizabeth II having a direct ancestral connection to the Profit Muhammad back in March HERE.
This line of descent connects her(and me)to various Spanish Royals so there has already been much Hispanic blood flowing through the veins of English royalty.

The first known royal with "African" ancestry was Queen Consort Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who married King George III(the monarch we colonies revolted against).


This is one of the portraits of Charlotte painted by Allan Ramsay painted in 1761 when she was 17 years old not long after her marriage to George III.  There are eye witness descriptions of her looks that allude to her African genes.  If you look at the genealogical records you will find that Charlotte was descended from a branch of the Portugese family through Alfonso III.  Alfonso's armies captured the Moorish town of Faro and demanded the Governor's daughter as a "spoil of war". The Governor's daughter, Ouruana, went on to have three children by Alfonso III.  Martin, one of Alfonso and Ouruana's sons married into the de Sousa line.  This noble line also held African ancestors so Charlotte owed her ethnic roots to both her paternal and maternal lines.

Interestingly enough, at the time of Charlotte's wedding, the question of slavery and it's abolishment was swirling around England(and also the civilized world).  Allan Ramsay, the painter of many portraits of Queen Charlotte, was an ardent abolitionist on this issue.  He was married to the niece of Lord Mansfield who ruled in 1772 that slavery within the British Empire should be abolished.
Allan Ramsay was also Uncle by marriage to Lord Mansfield's grand niece, Dido Elizabeth Lindsay.
Dido's father was Sir John Lindsay, the brother of Margaret Lindsay, who became Allan Ramsay's second wife.  John and Margaret's mother was the sister of Lord Mansfield....got that?


Portrait of Dido and her cousin Elizabeth Murray, painted in a Zophanian style, now attributed to English artist David Martin.

You may have seen the feature film they made about the life of this child of naval officer and nobility member Sir John Lindsay and a captured slave from the West Indies named Maria Belle called "Belle" back in 2014.


And it seems fitting that Meghan will take her vows and become Princess in the very same place that Queen Charlotte is buried-St. George's Chapel in Windsor Palace.

If you want to see the pedigree of both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and how they are related(at least their closest connection)go HERE.


Sluggy



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