Random Stuff with Photo Porn

Just some stuff that's been happening around here this week or so.

*  I picked the first "real" tomato from the garden on Monday.  "Real" meaning, not miniature sized, not buggy and/or didn't rot immediately after picking.  It had started turning so I beat the deer to the punch and plucked it before they fount it.

*  You will also notice in the photo above I colored my roots on Monday in preparation to going to the Family Reunion.  That's about all the fancying up and prettifying I do for it.  ;-)

*  This month has been crazy expensive with eating out.  Between having company and taking folks out for meals and the take-out food we've been buying while I was unable to stand to cook we've spent $280.62 on eating out/take-out at this point in September. bleh.  But then again I've only spent about $125 on groceries so far this month. lolz

*  This PT is doing nothing for my foot.  What helps is elevating it during the day and putting heat or ice on it and wearing shoes all the time(hate that!).  It feels better with good support.  It's probably something that will heal up on it's own with tender loving care.
Despite the PT I am off the cane now and bicycling shall resume next week, albeit wearing shoes.  rah!

*  I've paid all the bills for the month(besides one crazy ass bill the eye doc sent that makes no sense....their billing system is SO screwed up!)and have closed the books for September(except for any interest that will show up on non-retirement accounts on 1 October).  Even with assorted medical bills and the school taxes being paid in September we'll have a nice hunk of cash leftover to throw into savings.  Next month is the 3rd paycheck month(yeah!)but all the medical co-pay bills for the medical testing and other nonsense that happened in September will be arriving, as the EOBs from the insurance company have already been streaming in. ugh.  Other than that and credit card spending(some vacation charges coming up in October)we have no large bills left this year to pay.....just the usual suspects of utilities, medical drug co-pays, etc.  Of course Christmas is coming in 3 months so there is that too, although we don't go hog wild spending at the Holidays and we certainly don't put anything on credit that can't be paid off in January!

*  I have been doing a fair amount of sewing the past 2 weeks.  Already completed are 4 pairs of pajama pants for various offspring. 

These are projects that have ben languishing in my sewing piles for years now!  They still need elastic in the waist and hemming but I need the bodies here to measure and cut the hems and adjust the amount of elastic for that.  These bits are easily done.

On the top is also a flannel nightgown I made for myself.  It's got 3/4 sleeves even though it's flannel because I just HATE long sleeves! lolz

*  I found my cousin Melanie on F/B yesterday and sent her a friend request.  I've been trying to track down my cousins for 2 years now since I had a phone call from my aunt in late June of 2013.  She wouldn't tell me and never wrote back to me their mailing addresses or phone numbers and of course my girl cousin got married so I couldn't even find her name now! lolz
But due to my mad genealogical detective skillz I found her last name, etc. and 2 of them are on F/B.
We were never close with my only cousins growing up partly because we lived in VA and they lived in MA.  This photo is from one of the only time we visited them up in MA at their house.  I don't even know the year but it's around the mid 1960's.

*  After PT the other day I went to Rite-Aid to get some free/cheap stuff...........

2 Transactions(1 on each card).  The body wash was free after IPQ Qs and In-Ad Qs were stacked.
The Watkins lotion was also free using up a rain check from a Black Friday deal last year(they finally got it back in stock!lol).  The Mentos were $1 for all 4 after earning $1 in Plenti Pts.  The single chocolate candy was because the Qs brought me into the negative at the register so it's a filler item.
Total spent OOP .30¢.
I used $2 in Plenti Pts. on the Mentos transaction, earned $1 back so 1 card has $11 in Pts. the other has $21 in Pts.

*  We finally hauled a load up to Salvation Army on Sunday as well.  Here are a few shots of some of what left the house............

Hubs had a fair number of "guy" things to take since he cleaned out/organized his garage workbench this month.  I had some odds and ends and a small stack of fabric to contribute, as well as clothing from his mom that's been in the garage for years now.

I tell you, it's getting very difficult to find stuff to declutter at this point.  Spending 12 years decluttering your life in conjunction with not buying new crap to take it's place for a large number of years kind of has that affect on your life. lolz
There IS more left to get rid of but not the sheer volume like before.  I am so glad I am not waiting until I kick the bucket and leaving a big mess for my kids to deal with.  8-)

*  We'll be going to the family reunion very soon.  This is the group shot from last year's shindig courtesy of Cousin Gary's daughter(sorry I don't know her name!).  I hope the weather is good again for the upcoming get together.  Then we see my mom's cousin's family from her dad's side for dinner that same evening.  This year my son who lives in Fredericksburg is coming too so that will be nice.

If you are a Baker/Vassar/Foster/Snead/Hamilton/Hudson/Womack/Redmond/Etc. come on down!

Sluggy

Happenings at Chez Sluggy Lately

Let's see what's going on around here this week, other than hitting up Rite-Aid for almost freebies and going to the grocery store.
Boy, do I lead a dull, dull life.......

Here's the biggest news this week.

Going......

Going......

GONE!

Another vehicle bites the dust.

We'll save approx. another $800 a year on our car insurance having this van gone.
Yay!

From a high of about $2,800 a year for insurance to $1,340 a year now.
Sweet.
My van insurance was roughly the same I now pay for the Sonic(since it's new) but unloading the Hyundai Elantra and Dodge Minivan will save us $1,460 a year going forward.
Plus all the repairs, gas and taxes/fees.
Plus we'll get a small partial refund on the car insurance bill I paid last month.

#2 Son will either have to be happy to drive the purple car when he is home for breaks or he will get a lot of exercise walking places. lolz

In other news........

I didn't sleep well yesterday because I am stressing out over--

A.  The repairman coming back today to fix the a/c and heating units.  He left here 2 weeks back and couldn't tell me what was wrong with them.  He had to call for technical support to a guy in India...WTF?!?  I have little confidence that this will be fixed today.  At least we aren't paying for a service call or parts as we got an extended warranty on the thing.

B.  Someone bought a boatload of fabric from me on Etsy 2 days ago.  She didn't pay me enough so I am waiting on more shipping $ at Paypal to come through.  This stuff doesn't leave until I am FULLY paid.

The daughter paid us the first installment of the loan we floated her to buy her house.
Yay!
Only 119 more to go.
I hope I live long enough to get all this $ back. lolz


Not feeling so great this week, besides the not sleeping.  I have some naggy ailments happening, things that pop-up every so often.  Annoying and make me grouchy.

I also have to schedule a mammogram, a CT scan(for a final check on a scar on my lung to make sure it isn't a tumor)and I need to get to the eye doctor before the end of the year.  That "baby cataract" that wasn't even large enough to mention really last Fall is now causing me eyesight problems.  I dread having a surgery but I need to get this taken care of before I head off on any more driving trips.  I just don't feel confident driving long stretches with my vision as it is now.

Speaking of trips........

                         photo credit S Walker


Next Friday we head out for the Vassar/Baker Reunion down in VA.  This is a shot of last year's attendees taken by my 1st cousin's(once removed) wife.  I'll be more mobile this year since at last year's event I was still recovering from a blood clot in my ankle.

I hope people hang around longer this year and don't just eat and run like last year.  Between that and not getting around well I didn't get to talk to/get to know hardly anyone there. 

I also want to go visit a cemetery while we are down there and take some photos of my 2x Great Grand headstones.
Later on the evening of the Reunion we'll have dinner with my mother's cousin & her husband, from her father's side of the family.

I hope to stop at Berky's Restaurant outside of Lexington for early dinner or late lunch on the way down.  Never been, always wanted to go there.  The fried chicken is to DIE FOR!
I haven't had fried chicken in ages.......

What else--

*   I got an old ragged nightgown ripped up with the seam ripper so now I can use it as a pattern to make some more gowns.  I loved that gown and it hurt to have to let it go....sniff, sniff......

*  Paid bills.  It looks like we are going to end September with $2K+ for the Savings Challenge so we are on track for this month.  We are, however, behind for the year at this point in the game.
But never fear because October is our 3 paycheck month. 8-))

*  I mostly piddled around and didn't get much done besides canning the relish.  Now I have to find a place to put it all! 8-)

Not much else going on here.
How about you?
What are y'all up to?

Sluggy