What's Happening This Week at Chez Sluggy

Stuff on tap this week around here.....a trip to Ollie's(to use an expiring 15% off flyer), a trip to Walmart(because we'll be near there at Ollie's), a trip to CVS(to use an expiring ECB), a trip to Panera, and a trip to Rite-Aid to try to get an Rx ordered early for my trip plus get some Home Depot gift cards(for stuff we need to buy soon)which will earn me some Bonus Cash.  Oh, and I'll be getting organized to leave on our NH trip.  

Any readers free on June 23rd along our drive home, between Wilkes-Barre PA and Lancaster NH who want a quick meet-up? I promise Hubs doesn't bite(unless you are made out of pasta)and I bathe regularly and we are delightful(in small doses....just ask Kim!lol)  Shoot me an email because you never know, you could be the lucky recipient of some free toiletries as well since I am known to travel with spares! 8-)

 On the blog we've got the end of that Ancestor's Survivor Store, an exposé on having a retired spouse, the start of another giveaway and the first of my 2017 Western Road Trip installments. 
Yeah, I know I am a bit late on recounting that one but I wanted it to "marinate" in my head first before retelling it and then life got in my way and *poof*, it's close to two years later.

So I am off to run some errands this morning while I still have enough "spoons" to do so

I see Anne is frantically cleaning her B&B inn *snort* and reader Jen G. is on her way to Hawaii-the land of $9 creamers?!? with her sister and Kim is chained in her dungeon doing "Wedding Hell Sewing Alterations But She Really Wants to be Playing Outside in the Dirt"(what's new there, right? lolz).


What's on everyone else's agenda this week?


Sluggy

The Good & The Bad Around Chez Sluggy Lately

Here are some updates on things going on around Chez Sluggy that aren't a full post worth.

* The Senior Recital was good.
The stage was decorated for the Holidays.

College Boy before his first piece.  He was so nervous....can you tell? lolz

This is his friend Emily, who he had his recital with.  Performance majors get a solo recital but tech and ed students share a recital.

Here is College Boy and Emily performing one of their duets.

Preparing to take their bows with the accompanist Linda.

Relieved it's all over with finally!!!

College Boy with his flute profession/teacher, Mrs. Christine Moulton.

Another photo of the performers.

College Boy and Emily.

Another pose with a borrowed flute(I bet he would have sounded even better with his own flute)but it needed repairs.

 The proud mama......

 And the proud papa......

* Hubs got a phone call from his brother in SC yesterday.  It's only been two weeks since his sister moved there and there is already trouble in paradise.  They are butting heads.  The brother isn't helping matters by telling her "I told you so" about decisions she had in the past.  And he is being not very compassionate with her otherwise.  It's two old people(68 and just shy of 61)who are set in their ways and use to having their own way and living alone having to make concessions.  Hubs told them they need to work it out.  If the brother throws her out she'll have to go to social services and/or a homeless shelter.  She has problems beyond getting along with her brother(a touch of ungratefulness for what folks have done for her)and she can't come here.  Our plate is full but I can't help but have a worry in the back of my mind that things will get ugly before they get better(IF they get better).

* Christmas is quickly closing in on us.  Hubs picked up College Boy on Thursday(another long ride in a cargo van for him).  Daughter finished up exams Friday evening and now her back is giving her problems again.  She is trying to fit an injection in before the end of December(which would be better on our insurance than having it done in January).  This means more medical bills for us. 8-(
I still don't know when the eldest son will be arriving to spend Christmas with us yet.  Next weekend or ???  This will be the first time since 2012 I think since all three kids have all been here for the Holidays.  Daughter moved in 2013 and I don't think eldest has been home for Christmas since then either.

* I haven't made any cookies yet for Christmas!  Last year I went on a cookie making binge and made 7 different types........

Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies
Coconut Macaroon Cookies
Peanut Butter w/PB M&Ms Cookies
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Italian Ricotta Cookies
Butterscotch Cashew Cookies
Chocolate Chip w/M&Ms Cookies

So many cookies and I ended up throwing out so many!  I guess we aren't big cookie eaters here......well, Eldest wasn't home so that was one less muncher to take care of them.

Last year's Cookie Tray.

* I hit Weis(PMITA)Markets on Friday and Lord!, there goes the December budget. lololz  I don't think I can face tallying up my food spending for the month now.  It's probably not as bad as I think it is(or not?lol).  At least I have my rolled coins, rebates and post coupon envelopes to add and offset this extra spending.  I did pick up a few deals.....Eight O'Clock coffee after stacked Qs and BOGO were $1.24 a bag, more Hershey's Crunch Layer candy for $1 a bag, 2 lb. Hatfield slow cooker roasts were on sale $5(Reg. $8 each)and two that had Tuscan Herb marinate in them had $3 off instant stickers so those cost me $2 per roast($1 per lb.).  I also got a "special deal" on a bag of Huggies diapers....on sale for $6.99 this week and I had stacked $3 in Weis bookletQ and ManuQs so suppose to be $3.99.  I guess I had clipped a digital Q on Weis' website because that came off too(and explains why the register wouldn't take my ManuQ and she had to manually put it through), so another $2 discount making them $1.99 OOP.  I can sell these for $5.50 locally so a few extra bucks to throw at the food budget when I do.  Woohoo! ;-)
I also got baby back ribs for $3 lb.(half price for us locally)which I am cooking up tonight for dinner.

* The cards for Sonya are starting to roll in.  Not too late to contact me and send her a note still.  I want to get these boxed up and sent our the day after Christmas I think, so she gets them in time for her Birthday. 
Consider sending her a cheery note your Christmas Good Deed.  You just don't know how much doing this will help until you've been in a dark place yourself. 
Email me for the address where to send a card.

Ok, I need to go check on dinner and put Chester out.  That dog is turning out to be a snow demon....he LOVES racing through the snow!!

When he isn't sound asleep upside down in his doggy bed......... ;-)


Sluggy

Random Goings-On at Chez Sluggy

Well the HVAC compressor is on order.....lovely......
Anybody want to lay odds when our new heating system is actually operational?

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

Here's my daily eating regime lately.....

Trying to keep hydrated and the mucus thinned out as much as possible.
Add in doses of Vitamin C and lots of hot tea, lemon and honey too.
I haven't lost my voice yet but glands are still swollen and the throat sore.
Can't wait to see what happens next....

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

Hubs car died....yes, the new-to-us since June car.  So I am stranded at home until next week probably.  He has out of town business tomorrow and is having his car towed to the shop on Friday.
Who knows what is wrong and how long until it's fixed? 
So much for the excess cash at the end of this month to put toward furniture if this is a costly repair.  Sigh.

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

I am continuing to sell a couple of pieces of fabric a week.  The good thing about Etsy is that it's only something like .40¢ per item to list it and it's online for 4 months.  Ebay charges about that but you only get 30 days of exposure to potential buyers.
And a buyer there sent me a note with cash in it.  Seems I mismeasured the fabric length I sent her and it was double the size I had put in the listing.  She can use the extra so just sent me some more cash for it.  She could have kept the extra and not said a word since I was clueless.  Nice to come across an honest person, isn't it?

I'd love to sell this fabric quicker but a slow steady drippy stream of pieces leaving the house will work. ;-)

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

eBay is still sucking eggs.
I've had quite a few potential buyers outside the US asking about shipping overseas.
I use to sell A LOT of items overseas, but that was before the USPS raised their international rates to criminal levels(see highway robbery).
Now I don't know why I bother to answer these "how much to ship to XXX?" inquiries.  The prices I have to quote are ridiculous.

Yesterday some guy in Argentina offered me an amount for a toy with a Best Offer feature that I accepted.  Not a half hour after I sent him an invoice he emails that he's changed his mind.
Asshole!

And then I get a "Question to Seller" from eBay and here is exactly what it said.....

Dear slugmama,

есть ли у вас доставка в Россию и сколько она будет стоить?

WTF?? LOLZ

Honestly, don't go on an English speaking platform and try to do business if you can't speak English!  You don't see me trying to buy stuff on a Russian language board.....that would be a ridiculous thing for me to do.
I don't know....maybe I am just getting too old and cranky to deal with people on eBay.  8-)

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

The now dead car has this load in the trunk that was suppose to go to Salvation Army this week.  It won't get to go now until the weekend.....

This load also includes some hair coloring and women's plus size clothing that got forgotten in past loads.
Plus I have another full load here in the house just waiting for room to put it into the car.
So I am hoping to drop off two full loads to Sallie's this weekend.

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

Oh!, I almost forgot.  I went to get something out of the fridge in the garage last night and the fridge wasn't running.
Terrific.
Turns out the outlet is dead so now I have a heavy duty extension cord running from my den into the garage so we don't lose the food in that fridge. Oh, it's always something here, isn't it? grrrrr

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

Ok, I am off to go through more boxes from storage and decide whether to list any of what's in there. Then I'll finish writing up Part Two of the Summer Road Trip to post.....and you KNOW you don't want to miss reading that! ;-)

Sluggy

What's Going On at Chez Sluggy?

Just a post of Random Tidbits from my life lately.

* We had a good productive couple of days last weekend.  I got 2 pair of pants hemmed.  Hubs and #2 son raked the leaves up and the town carted away 31, yes 31! large bags of leaves yesterday.  I also worked on getting another load of clutter together for charity.  And I FINALLY changed out all my summer clothes to the winter stuff....just in time for a week of temperatures in the high 60's here.
Ugh.

* I sold 3 more dolls on the tag sale site.  Hubs is delivering them today after work.  11 more to go....sigh.....

* #2 son started up flute lessons again.  He is super psyched with this teacher and finally is putting some effort into learning his piece for the Districts audition.  He is playing in the pit orchestra for the school musical next month, finishing up Marching Band season this month, playing the electric bass in the jazz band, playing flute in the concert band and he was just recruited by the music director to play the contrabass in the String Ensemble because the only bassist graduated.  He's never played the contrabass but he plays the electric bass and there is no one else in the band who plays well enough so he got elected.
I feel he is tired and too busy but he is enjoying it.  His grades are doing well so far so I am not impinging on his pursuits.

* #2 son's best neighborhood friend moved away this week.  The stepdad took a job in Alabama & they just sold their house.  They had the closing on their house on Monday and left the state.  # 2 son is in the dumps over losing his friend.

                    ***this is NOT my old house***

* Just by chance I discovered that the home we owned before moving into our current home is for sale!
I found the listing and it was a sad sight to see what they have done to it.  It's bordering on the verge of "fixer-upper" now.  I told Hubs we should buy it back since they are asking only $7K more than we sold it to them for.  It's a steal, really!   I loved that little house in the woods.....

* I reopened my eBay Store for the Holidays on Sunday.  The next couple of months are the busiest time of the year for sales on eBay so I jumped back into the water.  I'll be spending the next few weeks getting my Store stocked with goodies in time for Black Friday when things dramatically pick up....or at least I HOPE THEY PICK UP!lol  I have ALL my remaining boxes of eBay inventory in my living room.  Have I ever mentioned I have NO FURNITURE in my living room?lol
I'll weed through, as I go through the boxes to list stuff, and send some more of it to Salvation Army I am sure.  I have already sold 7 items....go me!  I've put a link to my eBay Store on the right sidebar.  Feel free to browse around it if you feel the need to buy overpriced old toys and crap. ;-)

* I am cleaning out the freezer this week.  I need to find room for the turkey I have to buy in the next couple of days so we are eating down the contents as well as pulling out old stuff to mix into the dogs' dinner bowls.  I have no doubts my dogs will "heart" me this week.....

So what's new in your neck of the woods this week?

Sluggy