Food Spending.....the April Report

Onward to April's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2023.

I have posted April'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 April.  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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

CVS

OOP  $1.99

Value  $27.86

Savings  92.85%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $27.30

Value  $37.65

Savings  27.49%

KROGER

OOP  $314.76

Qs/Ads  $258.69

Value  $573.45

Savings  45.11%

SHOPPER VALUE

OOP  $62.16

Qs/Ads  $81.89

Value  $19.73

Savings  24.10%

WALMART

OOP  $146.32

Qs/free Gift Cards $38.21
Value  $184.53
Savings 20.71%

*********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at CVS at 92.85% and Kroger at 45.11% .  My worse rate was at Walmart at 20.71%.  Too bad that is the closest store to me.

I shopped at 5 different stores in April.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in April................$552.53

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$492.27

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,044.80

TOTAL Savings of ............................47.12%

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....another less than stellar month for food spending.  We spent more in April than in March. Lots of cherry picking deals for the freezer but prices still on the rise so YIKES! it was a lot of money spent.  We won't have a garden this year(not enough time to get one prepped and planted with us starting here from scratch)so I'll have to find a/some farm stands around where the prices aren't "artisanal-ly" priced.  As our first year here somethings come with a steep learning curve. 

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 12.22% in April 2023 to 47.12% compared to the March's 34.90% savings average.  Even still, spending was up but we got more bang for our buck in April.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,882.46

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,080.74

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,198.28

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................38.90%

The average per month amount spent is $470.62 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to May 2023....We are going on a cruise this month so we'll be eating down any refrigerated items like dairy(which can't go in the freezer)and fresh produce.  We won't be buying food unless a screaming deal or a necessity before the trip and nothing during the trip.  I am hoping this reigns in the food spending.  No clue how much will be spent but it sure as heck had better not be $470.62! lolz

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 April?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  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

What's Been Happening Around Here Lately

I had an appointment with our dr. on the 14th of April to get a neurology consult and to let her know what is going on with my possible knee replacement plus she wanted fasting blood work done.  So Hubs and I show up and the office staff was pretty nonchalant about telling us they had canceled our appointments. Huh?
Plus they never texted us beforehand about the cancellation.  Hubs was madder at the office person than a wet hen and we stormed off(well Hubs stormed out and I hobbled behind him).  We come to find out later that our dr. had Covid.   I'll just say that this medical clinic office staff is a freaking disaster(the doctors there are independent from the clinic)so even though I like my dr. I may be forced to find a new healthcare provider.  I NEED a neurologist consult a year ago(took 6 months in PA to get an appt. with one there but we moved 2 months before it was to happen)so I am still waiting for testing and a diagnosis about what I have.  It could just be Essential Tremors(which are quite common)but since we have neurological issues on my paternal side(father had MS, my cousin(my father's sister's daughter)died from ALS 2 years ago in June I really am afraid of what they may uncover and I want to know yesterday what is going on. sigh
I'm also late for mammo, pap, sleep medicine appts. and need those done.

So on Wednesday Hubs gets a letter from said clinic to confirm his appointment for May XX-which HE NEVER MADE!  So I texted our NP to ask WTF is going on??  She was on her way back from her clinic day in another town and we talked a long time about this clinic.  Hubs got on the line and told her he is going to find a new heath care provider because he can't stand their incompetence anymore(even though we both love our NP)and he was very few issues so moving to a new dr. isn't a big deal for him.
Then my NP and I discussed moving ahead with my health care needs.  I'll be taking Hubs supposed May XX appointment(after double checking this coming week in person at the clinic that it's an actual appt.)   Getting health care down here has been just short of a nightmare!

After Hubs cooled off we headed up to CVS for Covid booster shots I had booked.  My last booster was September the week before we headed down here but it was right before they had Omicron protection and Omicron is the big threat now in Europe and as we will be in London and then doing excursions all over the UK on the cruise I thought it best to get a current booster especially with my suppressed immune system.

While sitting in the shot area in that CVS I saw something shoved behind their machine where you can check your blood pressure.  I used my cane to dig it out.......

It was 2 cans of chicken noodle soup.
WTF?

After we got our shots we went down to the place we get catfish dinners and ate an early dinner.  After we got back in the car to come home I got this text on my phone........"CVS vaccine: Due to unforseen circumstance we've had to cancel your appointments  We apologize and encourage you to reschedule(then a link to do such).  1.5 hours AFTER we got our shots. lol  Does anything work correctly anymore??

Last trip to Walmart we wheeled by this end cap display and I about had a full blown PTSD episode....

Folding hard plastic step stools.  Barely a month past my 3 month wound care ordeal. *shudder*

If you don't live somewhere there is a high water table then this will be something different that you've not seen........

a lump of mud in your yard.  Usually crayfish live in brooks and streams but down here when you have a yard that resembles a bayou(that's Louisiana speak for a swamp)like this.........

You find mudbugs(Louisiana speak for crayfish or crawfish)take up residence in your yard.  Heck there is a house we pass when leaving to get out to the major highway and for the last 4 months it's been basically a trailer sitting in a pond.  Now their yard where the pond use to be is filled with mudbug burrows/holes.  The guy who lives there cut his grass and now the towers are shorter but still there.

They even hold a major festival "Mudbug Madness" here and the minor league hockey team is called the Mudbugs.

We will miss the Festival this year however.  Nothing nastier than sitting by a trashcan filled with mudbug shells and leavings on a hot day. lol

I have been plagued by skin tags since a young age.  I paid to have a dermatalogist freeze them off once back in PA.  Then I found the "tie a thread around the base and choke off the blood supply method" and used that.

I have since getting here found that you can put tea tree oil on them and they fall off in a day or two.  I should have put this in my Fugal Friday post since I had a bottle(gotten for free at Rite-Aid!)so I used it.

We were behind this pick-up truck in late March.........

The name of the person(which I removed mostly)is the same name as my oldest son's father in-law.  I sent son this picture and said it made me think of his father in-law(it's funny as hell if you know him as he is so the opposite of this saying and this vehicle).

Dumbasses strike again!  I noticed as I posted on FF that the "change the  air filter" light in our fridge was on.  As part of tracking down the replacement filter I opened up both fridge and freeer compartments to find any parts number on it and found this.....

An accordion pleated charcoal impregnated filter.  After a bit more research these filters come in a paperboard/thin cardboard holder with a perforated opening you remove to expose the filter.  One is suppose to slide the holder with the FILTER STILL INSIDE into the compartment to change the air filter.  This house is only 5 years old and the original owners only lived here max of 2 yearrs before moving and renting it out for the last 3 years they owned it so I know it was changed at least once(and probably only once, probably when the owners lived here)because it would have come with the fridge/freezer in the holder.

There's a store here called Southeastern Salvage so we decided to check it out as mentioned  in a previous post for things like lights, ceiling fans, etc.  You know replacements for non-functioning or missing parts in this house.  They also carry an oddball assortment of "art".  Here are things I found instersting, weird and/or funny..........

Doesn't everyone want a giant purple gator picture in their living room??

 

Younger son had a fascination and love of all things VW when he was little.  I think the VW bus bar with the VW painting hanging over it would make a statement in his house!

I was amazed(or was it amused)to see this wall art of Virginia.  They also had 2 marble chacuterie boards there-one in the shape of Texas and the other in the shape of Virginia.  VA is nowhere near Lousisiana!lol

Of course I had to get a photo of this sign.......dark beer is the only beer worth drinking if you want a beer IMHO..........

This reminded me of the portrait of Bill Murray at "The Southern General"  restaurant on St. Johns Island, SC.  

   Here's my shot of that painting with Hubs trying to replicate the pose. lol

                                                       

Some cool deep sea diving helmets.........

Me playing the Wicked Witch of the West with the hourglass.............

Nah, I think Margaret Hamilton did it better..........but maybe if I had the green body paint?

An interesting Steam Punky looking wine cabinet.

And to end this too long nonsense post here is the trailer from a movie I'd like to see once it's released in June.....

I love me some Dame Maggie Smith. 8-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the April 28th Edition

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week......

*  I was well enough now to go get my handicap placard.

 In PA your doctor filled out the form and you mailed it in to Harrisburg and they mailed you a tag and a little flimsy paper ID card.  Here you have to make an appointment, go into an OMV location, turn in your doc paper and get your hangtag or special license plate.  I thought, "Oh gosh, this is going to take all day!", because I KNOW what it's like to have to go to the OMV(it's Office of Motor Vehicles here not DMV).  We either hit it lucky at the location or time of day because it went quickly and we were out of there in 20 minutes.  I had to pay a whole $3.00($2.50+a .50¢ processing fee)and they took my picture and issued me a driver's license quality ID card to carry as well as a hangtag like the one picture above.

*  I noticed the air filter light was on in the ginormous fridge in this house.  I jumped online to scope out what we needed to buy to replace them and Mr. Bezos brought them quick as a quarter note and at the best price.  Disaster averted.

*  Went to Trivia at the burger joint but we didn't win a gift card(again).  But we did have the gift card from the week before last and still got free burgers for dinner(and they have a free pickle bar!).  

*  I went to a brewery with Daughter for their trivia night on Wednesday. (The Office themed trivia.)  She is an "Office" aficionado!  Hell I birthed all 3 of my kids at a hospital in Scranton, PA. lol  I think I got 3 answers right but she had us in 3rd place going into the 3rd Bonus round.  She didn't know the last Bonus question so we finished out of the gift card money.  She only missed that question and 1 other one in the other rounds.   8-(

She did buy me a beer however.  Gosh 2 glasses of alcohol in one week!  I am turning into such a lush. lol

*  One of the teeth I had dental work on over the last 3 months was having an issue so I got an appointment on Thursday at the ass crack of dawn to have it looked at before we lose our dental insurance on Sunday.  It could be 3 possible issues, the best outcome is that just it's taking time for the tooth, filling and liner to "play nice" so they did no additional work on it for now.  Worst case scenario, if it turns out to need a root canal/crown they will apply what we paid on the filing to reduce the cost of that procedure. whoopie.  If that comes to pass I'll get dental insurance before we schedule for that work.  So just a small co-pay for the "Look See" appointment on Thursday.

And yet again I'd like to thank my father for giving me the genes that make my teeth such a problem.*  I like to say I got all my interesting ancestry from my mother and my crappy teeth from my father. 8-)

*  No grocery shopping this week.  Eating from what we have and no food waste so far.  Yippee!

*  I found money!  

My only find was this..........

Two pennies at the brewing on Trivia night I went to with my daughter.  Found on the floor there.

Total Found in last Week.... .02¢
Total Found this Year.......$1.67

That's all for this past week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

What's on the Dining Table

The "What Price is It Really?" Edition.....

While in Walmart last week  I saw this rather large container holding bottles of seasonings/spices.  Notice on the tub it says "$1.00" but on the sign above it says "$1.12".  WTF?  I am seeing a lot of this sort of thing in stores lately.  Figuring out what something really costs can be annoying.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned.......

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Burgers at Trivia

3. Tuesday--Chicken Teriyaki w/Veggies Stir-fry

4. Wednesday--Fish, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, a Green Veggie TBD

5. Thursday--Leftovers or FFY

6.  Friday--Leftovers 

7. Saturday--Veal Parmesan, Brussels Sprouts

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Burgers at Trivia

3. Tuesday--Fish, Mixed Veggies

4. Wednesday--Lasagna, Tossed Salad

5. Thursday--Leftover Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms(We split the last piece), Squash, Mashed Potatoes

6.  Friday--Meatloaf, Broccoli

7. Saturday--Veal Parmesan, Brussels Sprouts

No Stir-fry and we didn't have the Sweet Potatoes with the Fish-both move to this week.  When I made meatballs last week I put together a meatloaf and put that into the freezer so just had to bake it off on Friday.  I cooked too many noodles for the lasagna(I just made a mini one w/4 servings)so put the leftover cooked noodles in the freezer(maybe I can do lasagna roll-ups and add chopped spinach and/or zucchini to the cheese filling for those).  I'll think about that another day. 8-)

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  1 package of Beef Liver

*  1 package of Cookie Dough

*  1 Pork Shoulder(for smoking this Summer)

*  1 pack of Breakfast Sausage Patties

*  Leftover Lasagna Noodles

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  Fish(cod)

*  box of Mixed Veggies

*  a Meatloaf

*  a bag of Broccoli

*  a Veal Parmesan

*  a bag of Brussels Sprouts

Last week we spent $257.94 on 2 shops at Walmart and 1 item(the pork shoulder)from Kroger.

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $552.53 for April.  For us this is high but we cherry picked some deals, had to restock some staples and we bought some meat we weren't expecting to.  I am ok with it as I can put all my rebates I earned toward my grocery spending.

There are 6 shopping days left in April.

I've earned $135.56 on Ibotta in April.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in April.

I've earned $26.50 on Coupons dotcom in April.

I've earned $13.00 on Shopmium in April.

I've earned $17.50 on Kroger Cash Back in April.

I've earned 9,163 points from food shopping on Fetch.

I've earned 11,465 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in April.

I've earned 341 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in March.

That's $192.56 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $557.94 of grocery spending so in reality it's $365.38 in food spending after the 5 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 32.85% and the monthly savings total for April comes in at 47.12% so far. 

Leftovers going into this week...lots of  Chicken Marsala gravy and mushrooms but no Chicken, Mashed taters, some cheese sauce from making Mac and Cheese, Meatloaf and some Broccoli.  Hubs will most likely have the Marsala sauce with mushrooms over taters for a lunch and I'm making Broccoli Cheese soup with the Broccoli and Cheese sauce leftovers(we've also got milk to use up before it turns.)

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

1. Sunday--Lasagna, Spinach soufflé

2. Monday--Burgers at Trivia

3. Tuesday--Chicken Teriyaki w/Veggies Stir-fry

4. Wednesday--Leftover Meatloaf, Veggie TBD

5. Thursday--Leftovers or FFY

6.  Friday--Salmon, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, a Green Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--No Clue yet

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Not a thing.  Unless there's a screaming good deal on something we use(or a rebate that makes it free and we can use it)I don't plan on grocery shopping this week.

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 deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday.....the April 21st Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are a few Frugal wins this past week......

*  One of the improvements we need to make to this house is adding ceiling fans to two bedrooms. A third bedroom has a fan but the light kit doesn't provide enough overhead lighting.  We went to a Salvage Store looking for fans but none of them came with light kits so we found an acceptable fan at Walmart back with the regular priced ones.  When it rang up instead of $59 it was $34 on clearance though it was not marked thusly.  We went back and got the other one that was left on Thursday. 8-)

*  As mentioned above we did purchase some items at that Salvage Store--2 towel rings for the Master Bath($33.14 online somewhere/$16 at Salvage Store), a door mat for the front door(online someplace $16.99/$3.99 Salvage Store) and 3 light bar/kits for over the three sinks in the two bathrooms($287.28 online somewhere/$117 SS). 

I neglected to snap a photo of the one on display and the picture on the box doesn't do it justice.  It's brushed nickel finish with patterned glass globes.  A vast improvement over what is here now!

Still on the hunt to replace the farmhouse kitchen sink at a decent price.

We also picked up RealTree brand dog treats, 1 lb. bags for $5.00.  Walmart/Tractor Supply/etc. sells these for $19.99 a bag!  Need to pick up more of those the next time we get out that way. '-)

*  Went to Trivia at the burger joint but we didn't win a gift card(we finished 4th).  but we did have last week's gift card and still got free burgers for dinner(and they have a free pickle bar!).  

*  Went to CVS and got Omicron Bivalent booster shots last Friday, no charge.

I also had a $4 off anything in store Q for CVS I combined with a cereal Q and picked up 2 giant boxes of Cheerios(forgot to take a photo).  After Qs they cost me $1.99 OOP so $1 a box.

Then I got a $4 Extra Buck on my receipt so I picked up this.........

I love peppermint patties and they are small things for when I get a chocolate craving and need a cheat.  These were on sale for $4 so free!

*  Did some grocery shopping and cherry picked some deals.......

At Walmart on picked these items with Ibotta rebates(plus a 12 pack of diet Lipton green tea not pictured).  I received $31.10 in rebates with bonuses there, $24.00 in Coupons dotcom and Shopmium rebates, $8.38 on Fetch and $2.20 on Shop Kick.
Spent $70.54, got back $65.68 so all this cost me $4.86 OOP.

*  Another trip to Walmart on Thursday for these Ibotta items.........

With bonuses I received $36.96 back in rebates on Ibotta, $12.50 between Coupons dotcom and Shopmium, $10.06 on Shop Kick and $2.23 on Fetch.  Total before rebates was $67.23, rebates totaled $61.75 so $5.48 OOP for all this.

*  I found money!  
Last Friday was a bang up coin finding day......

We went out for lunch for Catfish and I found a dime in the parking lot next to the car.......

Then I found a penny in the restaurant and another one back out in the parking lot when we went to leave

We hit a nearby grocery store to cherry pick some deals and I found 2 dimes in the register line........

Then on Monday I found a penny in the parking lot on the way into Trivia at the burger joint..........

And on Tuesday while in Walmart shopping for some ceiling fans I found a nickel by the pharmacy counter on the floor.........

Then again at Walmart on Thursday I found a dime by the drink cooler next to the self-checkout machine we used.........

Total Found in last Week.... .48¢
Total Found this Year.......$1.65

*  I also found a ring back when I got the free cookie dough.....

Yes, I turned it in to Customer Service after waiting what seemed like eons for someone to  come over there.  I also played Walmart employee and made change from my wallet for the women in front of me who needed change.  I also rang up my own groceries so where is my paycheck Walmart?? lol

That's all for this past week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

For Lana's Hubby & MIL

 OK, since you commented on my genealogy post on Herndons, Arthurs, Pinkertons and James' I went down another genealogy rabbit hole about Jacksons.

Jonathan Jackson and Julia Beckwith Neale were the parents of 3 children, including Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. Seems Jonathan Jackson, an attorney, died young of typhoid after nursing their child Elizabeth(who also succumbed to typhoid)and left his wife, Julia Beckwith Neale Jackson, a widow at the age of 28.  Julia gave birth to their 4th child, Laura Ann, the day after Jonathan died in 1827.

Julia and her children, Warren, T.J. and Laura were left destitute and in 1830 she remarried to another  attorney named Captain Blake Baker Woodson.  Mr. Woodson was like many men who don't wish to raise another man's children and he made his new wife sent her offspring away to live with assorted family members(Grandmother and unmarried Uncles and Aunt).  Then Blake and Julia had a son together named William Wirt Woodson in 1831 and Julia died of childbirth complications shortly afterwards leaving her three older surviving children orphans.

Blake Baker Woodson is my 2nd cousin 7x removed and his son, William Wirt Woodson is my 3rd cousin 6x removed but also the half-brother to Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. 8-))

This is a photograph of William Wirt Woodson as a young man.  It is known that Stonewall Jackson and WW Woodson had some sort of relationship even though they weren't raised together as brothers as Stonewall talks about Wirt in letters. Stonewall wrote letters that survive to this day to his sister Laura and mentioned Wirt often.

Wirt's father Blake and his black heart got his in the end as he died in early 1833 when William Wirt was only 1 year old putting his "real son" in the same circumstance as when he had forced his late wife Julia to abandon her three older children.
So my third cousin was Stonewall Jackson's half-brother?   

           Stonewall Jackson as photographed by Nathaniel Routzahn  in Winchester, Virginia , 1862

Awesome!

BTW--
There use to be a restaurant called "Lee's Retreat" at the Blue and Gray Brewery in Fredericksburg, Va.  They brewed a stout beer called "Stonewall Stout" and the bottle label had the slogan "I'd give my left arm for a Stonewall Stout!" hehehe  And if you know your American history you will "get it".

And yes, I have visited Stonewall Jackson's arm buried near Guinea Station outside of Fredericksburg, VA.

And Wirt must be a family name passed down the Woodson line as my maternal grandfather's given name was Wirt. 8-)))

Sluggy

To-Do List....Outcome for March

Let's see how I did with the To-Do List in March........

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything was paid off on time or early as usual.

*  Go to many Dr. Appointments  DONE  My last wound care appointment was March 22nd and those were weekly.  I also had biweekly home health care nursing every week until March 24th.

*  Do Taxes 3  2 Out Of  3 DONE  Since Hubs retired he's been handling doing the taxes but I do help with downloading and printing out forms, etc.  He got the Federal and the PA state finished and submitted.  We owed on both of those to the tune of approx. $400 total. Boo!  The LA state taxes aren't due until sometime in May so Hubs waited on those for now as we will owe them as well. 8-(((  Between moving expenses and taxes 2022 has been an expensive year!

*  Clean and Organize stuff in House  PASS  While I was still not able to walk around much most of the month I did as much as I could when I could.  While not able to finish much I did spend time thinking about what needs doing and writing a list to prioritize what needs doing.

*  Buy Stuff for House  PASS  While we aren't done purchasing stuff we have got some items acquired.  But as we get around to different rooms I know more purchases will pop up and decisions will have to be made.

*  Clean out Insert//Coupon Envie  DONE  As the months go on this is becoming more and more a non-chore.  I don't buy coupon inserts, we can't find a local paper that carries inserts that we don't have to drive a distance to get and I don't print many coupons any more.  I use mostly digital Qs now as that is the way the coupon world is headed.

*  Edit more Photos  PASS While this seems a never ending task I don't make as much progress as I want.  I suppose if I were to just STOP TAKING PHOTOS I'd catch up faster.  sigh

*  Post About Old Trips  PASS  While I haven't  posted much in the way of trips I have been working on editing photos, uploading video and working on posts but in March no posts got finished and to the point of posting them.  It's a process people.....

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE  Well this activity is always on going and will never be finished but I do work on it, at times it seems incessantly! lol  So many ancestors and so little time.

*  Go to Dentist x 1  DONE  So in March I had an appointment to have the first of two permanent crowns installed and they piggybacked another filling onto that visit and the work on the second crown.  More Novacaine, yippee!  At least this time due to the location of the tooth that needed drilling my nose didn't go numb and I didn't spew water or other beverage afterwards when I had a drink of something.  No more Hannibal Lecter impersonations. 8-))

*  Organize Clothes  FAIL  Didn't get around to working on closet organization in March.  The only progress was purchasing another box of hangers and moving a few items of clothing into the sewing room as they need altering.

*  Find a New Bank  FAIL  Well I only had a week in March at the end of that month to get out to do anything besides wound care visits so this didn't get accomplished.  We did phone or go online to research where to put the money and have decided on a local credit union so are ready to get this checked off the To-Do List in April.

*  Cash Savings Bond  FAIL  Again a big fat fail.  See item above as to why since our current bank will NOT cash or let us deposit US savings bonds, which I find so weird.

I'm giving myself a thumbs up for March due to circumstances out of my control(or rather stools out of my control). ;-)
I'm trying to get more things under control here but it's a long uphill road.

How was your March?  Did you make any progress on your "What I Want to Do" list?

Sluggy

The Pinkerton Line in America & My Ancestry Intersect

 If you are a student of American History you will recognize the surname of Pinkerton.

Allan J Pinkerton, born in 1819 in Glasgow, Scotland, was a cooper by trade who left Scotland for America in 1842.  The timing of his departure from Scotland may or may not have had anything to do with his participation in the Chartist Movement in the United Kingdom at that time as he was a young man during it's heyday.

Pinkerton was a rather sloppy detective, playing spy among his ring of undercover information gatherers for the North during the War Between the States.  He went on after the war to form what would become known as the Pinkerton Agency and was working on a centralized criminal database at the time of his death that the FBI maintains to this day.  It is said that he died of gangrene having fallen on the pavement/sidewalk and thus nearly biting his tongue off, which became infected, leading to his  demise.  May be true or not(others feel a stroke did him in)but he died nonetheless.

As I've talked about before, I am related to Ellen Lewis "Nell" Herndon.

Post about her HERE.  Ellen was married to Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st POTUS but she died before he was the 20th VP under James Garfield and ascended to the Presidency when Garfield was assassinated.  However Ellen did give birth to three children before passing away-William Lewis Arthur, born 1860 who passed away from convulsions at age 2.5 years, Chester Alan Arthur II who lived 1864-1937(my chihuahua is named after Chester II's son Chester Alan Arthur III)and Ellen "Nelllie" Hansbrough Herndon Arthur who lived 1871-1915.  "Nelllie" Arthur is my 7th cousin 3 x removed........

• Ellen Herndon "Nellie" ARTHUR 1871-1915
  7th cousin 3x removed
• Ellen Lewis HERNDON 1837-1880
  Mother of Ellen Herndon "Nellie" ARTHUR
• William Lewis HERNDON 1813-1857
  Father of Ellen Lewis HERNDON
• Dabney HERNDON 1783-1824
  Father of William Lewis HERNDON
• Joseph HERNDON 1737-1810
  Father of Dabney HERNDON
• Edward HERNDON 1702-1759
  Father of Joseph HERNDON
• Mary Elizabeth WALLER 1674-1727
  Mother of Edward HERNDON
• Dr. John Roberts WALLER 1645-1750
  Father of Mary Elizabeth WALLER
• Thomas Waller 1610-1682
  Father of Dr. John Roberts WALLER
• John Thomas Waller 1652-1688
  Son of Thomas Waller
• Susannah WALLER 1680-1758
  Daughter of John Thomas Waller
• Major WEATHERFORD 1710-1774
  Son of Susannah WALLER
• Rev. John William WEATHERFORD 1743-1833
  Son of Major WEATHERFORD
• Elizabeth "Betsey" WEATHERFORD 1778-1854
  Daughter of Rev. John William WEATHERFORD
• Sarah "Sallie" MASON 1805-1854
  Daughter of Elizabeth "Betsey" WEATHERFORD
• Mary Agnes DRISKILL 1837-1894
  Daughter of Sarah "Sallie" MASON
• Robert William HARPER 1881-1961
  Son of Mary Agnes DRISKILL
• Wirt Ross HARPER 1909-1968
  Son of Robert William HARPER
• Carole Frances HARPER 1934-2000 
  Daughter of Wirt Ross HARPER
• ME

To bring this back around not quite full circle, "Nellie" married a man in 1907 named Charles Downing Pinkerton(1871-1974).

"Nellie" Arthur Pinkerton died at age 44, leaving no heirs.  Charles remarried to Sarah Hunter Harrison in 1918 in Bel Air, Maryland.  First off  this second wife of Pinkerton is also my cousin as was his first wife, 
"Nellie" Arthur...

• Sarah Hunter HARRISON 1893-1967
  9th cousin 5x removed
• Edmund Pendleton Hunter HARRISON Sr. 1857-1935
  Father of Sarah Hunter HARRISON
• Peyton Randolph HARRISON III 1832-1861
  Father of Edmund Pendleton Hunter HARRISON Sr.
• Peyton Randolph HARRISON Reverend 1800-1887
  Father of Peyton Randolph HARRISON III
• Mary RANDOLPH 1773-1835
  Mother of Peyton Randolph HARRISON Reverend
• Thomas Isham RANDOLPH 1728-1778
  Father of Mary RANDOLPH
• Isham, of Dungeness RANDOLPH 1685-1742
  Father of Thomas Isham RANDOLPH
• Mary ISHAM 1659-1735
  Mother of Isham, of Dungeness RANDOLPH
• Henry ISHAM I 1627-1675
  Father of Mary ISHAM
• William ISHAM 1588-1630
  Father of Henry ISHAM I
• Ensley Euseby Isham 1486-1546
  Father of William ISHAM
• John ISHAM 1550-1595
  Son of Ensley Euseby Isham
• Mirah Dorcas ISHAM 1587-1670
  Daughter of John ISHAM
• Richard FORSTER/FOSTER 1619-1681
  Son of Mirah Dorcas ISHAM
• Robert Foster 1651-1716
  Son of Richard FORSTER/FOSTER
• Dr. Thomas Foster 1696-1769
  Son of Robert Foster
• Thomas Garnett Foster 1718-1786
  Son of Dr. Thomas Foster
• Robert FOSTER 1750-1814
  Son of Thomas Garnett Foster
• Thomas Henry Foster 1770-1817
  Son of Robert FOSTER
• Berryman A FOSTER 1809-1889
  Son of Thomas Henry Foster
• Wesley Baxter Foster 1837-1917
  Son of Berryman A FOSTER
• Luretta "Lou" FOSTER 1858-1941
  Daughter of Wesley Baxter Foster
• Lucy Ellen Baker 1888-1973
  Daughter of Luretta "Lou" FOSTER
• Lillian Grace VASSAR 1914-1967
  Daughter of Lucy Ellen Baker
• Carole Frances HARPER 1934-2000
  Daughter of Lillian Grace VASSAR
• ME

This second wife and Charles Pinkerton's were 2nd cousins(haven't found the exact pathway yet there)and his second wife Sarah Harrison was also a cousin to Benjamin Harrison the 23rd POTUS(again, I don't have the exact pathway mapped out for their cousinry).

Here's a much younger portrait of old Ben Harrison.  Currently my line to his is showing up as thus.........

• Benjamin HARRISON 1833-1901
  grandnephew of wife of 2nd cousin 6x removed
• John Scott HARRISON 1804-1878
  Father of Benjamin HARRISON
• William Henry Harrison 1773-1841
  Father of John Scott HARRISON
• Benjamin Harrison V 1726-1791
  Father of William Henry Harrison
• Sarah Colier "Sallie" HARRISON 1770-1812
  Daughter of Benjamin Harrison V
• Dr. John MINGE 1770-1829
  Husband of Sarah Colier "Sallie" HARRISON
• David MINGE 1746-1803
  Father of Dr. John MINGE
• John MINGE JR 1712-
  Father of David MINGE
• Mary HUNT 1695-1763
  Mother of John MINGE JR
• Susanna Allen 1732-1803
  Daughter of Mary HUNT
• Martha "Patsy" SUBLETT 1752-1829
  Daughter of Susanna Allen
• Elizabeth "Betsey" WEATHERFORD 1778-1854
  Daughter of Martha "Patsy" SUBLETT
• Sarah "Sallie" MASON 1805-1854
  Daughter of Elizabeth "Betsey" WEATHERFORD
• Mary Agnes DRISKILL 1837-1894
  Daughter of Sarah "Sallie" MASON
• Robert William HARPER 1881-1961
  Son of Mary Agnes DRISKILL
• Wirt Ross HARPER 1909-1968
  Son of Robert William HARPER
• Carole Frances HARPER 1934-2000
  Daughter of Wirt Ross HARPER
• ME

As I have a metric ton of FFV(First Families of Virginia)Harrisons in my maternal lines I am sure there is a more direct pathway from Ben Harrison POTUS to me but this is what I have right now.

But I digress.......

Back to the Pinkertons.  I have done pretty thorough research and the conclusion is that the Pinkerton that married my Arthur and my Harrison cousins is NOT the same line of Pinkertons that Alan Pinkerton is from.

Charles Downing Pinkerton's surname line goes back to Ireland, not Scotland.

But in a twist of fate(irony perhaps?)there is a connection between Alan J Pinkerton and my ancestry.

One of Pinkerton's greatest failures which haunted him through his last years was his inability to track down and kill one of my other ancestral cousins, Jesse Woodson James, after Jesse shot and killed one of the Pinkerton agents.  Pinkerton had what seemed like a personal vendetta against Jesse James since when the company that was paying him to pursue Jesse stopped paying him for his services he continued to chase him at his own financial expense.  Talk about holding a grudge! lol

But Jesse James, my 5th cousin 4 x removed, is another story for another time.

Sluggy