Busy Day, No Time to Post Much

The Relish making has commenced!

No time to post anything much beyond this photo today.
Once the relish making begins it is full steam ahead until it's completed.

It's a good day to be inside with the a/c on here too.

Hope your Saturday is fine.
Mine will be spent creating a disaster in the kitchen.....but that's only temporary thankfully.

More later,

Sluggy

A Meme for some Friday Fun

Blogging buddy Meredith over at grape writes posted her answers to a fun poll that another blogging buddy Urspo over at Spo Reflections had posted from his friend Karen from Facebook.

Ok, with all that out of the way, here are my answers to the Poll too because you just can't ever know enough juicy tidbits about Sluggy now, can you? ;-)

1. ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?   Yes, sort of. My father's younger sister, my Aunt, named her first baby Denise.  She was born in June of 1957 and lived but two short days.  My mother asked my Aunt's permission upon having me if she could use the name Denise.  I don't know if it was to honor that baby and my Aunt(they were friends growing up)or if mom just liked the name(plus it fit in with her and my father all naming us kids first names beginning with the same letter).
I didn't learn about cousin Denise and this story until last month on a visit with my Aunt and her kids.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?  I am not a crier really, I am more of a sulker and/or a yeller.  I did cry a bit when I learned that cousin Hilda had died(months after the fact).

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?  I had better, after attending Catholic school for the first 12th grade years where I had nuns hover over me with rulers ready to whack your knuckles if your penmanship wasn't exemplary.
Or should I say I used to like my handwriting until I got old and now I either tire after writing a few lines or my hand shakes.  Getting old sucks.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?  Roast Beef or Smoked Turkey.  I have been known to enjoy a good Liverwurst and/or Lebanon Salami(it's a sweet style PA Dutch Salami).

5. DO YOU HAVE ANY KIDS?  3  What can I say?  We didn't learn our lesson after 1. ;-)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS?   Yes I am jolly good fun....when I am not depressed.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?  Sarcasm is my second language.  No, really!!  How can anyone survive in this world without it is beyond me.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?  Yes but I am missing my appendix....has anyone seen it lately?

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?  Not without being high as a kite and wearing a diaper....ask me then.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?   Multi-Grain Cheerios and Rice Chex but I have been known to eat Cap'n Crunch or Reese's PB Cup type, or most any cereal with nuts.  I really just should eat a bowl of nuts in milk as that is the better part of cold cereal.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?  I don't wear shoes with laces.  Haven't for years.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU’RE STRONG?   Depends on how you mean strong.  Physically? Not so much.  Mentally?  I've survived my life so far so yeah, pretty strong.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?  3 favs-Black Cherry w/Chocolate Chunks, Pistachio, and Mint Chocolate Chip-in descending order.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?   Their attitude, whether they are open and friendly or not. Oh and if they have a big dick(both literal and figurative).

15. RED OR PINK?  I wear red sometimes and pink hardly at all.  Neither colors are favorites.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF?   Well if it's the least favorite then it really wouldn't be something you like, right? lolz  I'd have to say that I seem to get my feelings hurt easily as I have never developed a truly thick skin.

17. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW?  I am not wearing pants nor shoes.  Barefoot and in a nightgown is how I roll most days when I don't have to leave the house.  I am a nudist at heart. 8-)

18. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?    a Serving of Chicken Pot Stickers and a Romaine Salad w/Home Grown Maters and Greek Dressing. Nom Nom

19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?  The a/c blowing across the room. Ahhhhhhhhhhh

20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?   True Purple or some tint of the same.....or a nice Green shade like Lime.....or both.

21. FAVORITE SMELL?   Gardenia, Wisteria or Cinnamon.

22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO?   My Daughter's dog.  Oh we have some great conversations. lolz

23. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?   Watching most sports bore me.  The exception being when I was watching a sporting game one of my kids was playing in.  I don't get this whole devotion to sports in our culture.  I'd rather watch a play or music concert.

24. HAIR COLOR THATS REAL?  Sort of.  I was born with a full head of jet black hair.  It promptly fell out as an infant and came in red.  After I turned 3 or 4 it turned mousy brown.  In high school I had a streak of blond for awhile and when I hit my 30's I started dying it reddish auburn as the grey started appearing.  Nowadays I mostly can't be bothered to dye it anymore so it's various shades of grey.

26. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?  Never.  I started wearing glasses at 10 for nearsightedness.  After cataract surgery in 2015 I now no longer need glasses for distance but use "cheaters" for reading.  The last year has been an adjustment.

27. FAVORITE FOOD?   Anything that is fresh and prepared well.  I like most foods with the exception of peas and lima beans and head cheese.

28. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?   Neither.  I like a good drama or a documentary as real life can be just as compelling as fiction.

29. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED.  I watched "The Big Short" online.  The last movie I saw in a theatre I believe was "The Imitation Game" 2 Summers ago.  I wanted to see "Florence Foster Jenkins" but it isn't playing close by so I'll wait until it's available for rental.

30. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?  No shirt.

31. SUMMER OR WINTER.  I'd have to say Winter every time over Summer.  I grew up in the South and NEVER got use to the heat/humidity, even as a child.  I much prefer the shoulder seasons of Fall and Spring.

32. HUGS OR KISSES?  I am a Hugger if I believe the intended Huggee is amenable.

33. FAVORITE SWEET FOOD?  Cheesecake, Cannoli or Salted Caramel Apple Pie.

34. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?   "Growing Up" by Russell Baker.

35. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?  A PITT mouse pad my Daughter got as a freebie when she visited their campus in 2011.

36. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST?  Shameless on Netflicks.  Broadcast TV would have been a PBS cooking show as everything I like to watch on network tv(what little there is)is either off the air or in reruns.

37. FAVORITE SOUND?  Water or deep-toned wind chimes.

38. ROLLING STONES or BEATLES?   Never been a big fan of the Stones.  Was inculcated into the legion of Beatles fans as a young child by my older brothers.  The Stones never had a chance with me.

39. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE TRAVELED?  Canada, Mexico, California, Florida and Maine.

40. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?   I have the brain of an absent minded professor.  I pick up odd bits and pieces of information and retain it, so after 50+ years of this I would probably make a very good Jeopardy or other trivia game contestant.
I am also very good as saving money.

41. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?  In Norfolk, Virginia, a couple/few weeks after Alaska became a US state but before Hawaii also joined the list of US states later that year.

So if you want to play along, post the questions and your answers on your own blog.

Sluggy

September 1st Net Worth

We are actually up $17k from July 1st's net worth overall(only liquid cash/investments, as I don't count housing or car values).  The retirement accounts were up $12K+ for September 1 from July's calculations and the cash reserve/non-retirement accounts were up almost $5K.
I didn't calculate an August 1st Net Worth as we were on vacation then so September 1st's net worth is two months worth of gain, not one.

We are up $86,178.38 from one year ago, in the September 1st of 2015's net worth snapshot. 

Once Hubs retires I will miss these little monthly look backs, when we move from acquisition mode with money to spend-down mode. ;-)

Sluggy

And the Deals Keep Coming.......

I just keep finding instant discount sticker meat deals lately......not that I am complaining about that! lolz
But it does mean I've spent a lot of time hopping over to the stores for groceries this week-Target, Weis, the Bread Outlet, Panera(Tuesday discount bagels), Malacari's Produce, Dollar Tree, Weis again, and Weis yet again again. And that was only from Monday to Wednesday!  ;-)

A few of the highlights--

I went up to Weis on Monday for steaks to grill out and stumbled upon this Deal on some Pork Roasts......

Center Cut Pork Roasts were on Buy One/Get One offer so I picked these two up for the price of one, $11.78.
Each of them had a $3 off instant Sticker on the packages so they cost me $5.78 for 4.70 lbs. of meat.
That's $1.23 per pound.  Much better than the package price of $4.99 lb.

One package will be sliced up into chops for tonight and the other goes into the freezer for later.

I also picked up a long weekend special at Weis..........

A large pack of chicken thighs for .75¢ lb.  Half of these will be grilled and teriyaki-ed this week and the other half, into the freezer they go.

I had to run to pick-up some onions and mushrooms Wednesday and picked up 9 cans of baked beans at Weis.

Weis had them for $5 for 3 cans and we were totally out.  I like to keep baked beans on hand for easy dinner sides(when I can't make my own from dried beans).

I had a $1/2 IPQ for the Grillin' Beans variety so this lot cost me $12.34 out the door with that $1 off Q.
But.....I already earned a $1.10 cash rebate on Checkout51(.55¢ wyb2 Grillin' Beans and another .55¢ wyb2 other varieties of Bush's), so I'm now $11.24 OOP.

And in about a week I'll get another $3.00 cash rebate from SavingStar for purchasing over $12 in Bush's bean products, so I am looking at $8.24 for all 8 cans.  Not spectacular but at $1.03 per can which is almost half price off what these go for($1.99)at regular retail around here I'll take it.


I plan on sitting home today to cook, and maybe I'll clean and ride the exercycle too.
Tomorrow I'll be running over to Weis(PMITA)Markets again as the new sales ads starts today and I need to pick up Panko for cheap.
Then to the Farm Stand to get pepper relish making supplies-red and green bell peppers + maybe another large bag of onions(if the price is right).

What homemaking activities are you partaking in this week?

Sluggy

August To-Do List......Update

Here's the update on my August To-Do List.  I post a To-Do list on the side bar of my blog's homepage every month.
Let's see how ol' Sluggy did this month on her list, shall we? ;-)

* Pay Bills  DONE  
Everything got paid and on time, as per usual.

* Bike Something  FAIL  
Well I did do 1 mile. lolz  Must get back on this in September.

* Read 2 Books  DONE
Finished the first book and read another one.  Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  First one was good, the second one was excellent.

Me reading Olive Kitteridge while in Maine, so apropos.....lolz

* Pick Produce and Use it  DONE
Besides the tomatoes we've eaten raw off the plants in salads and sandwiches I made a rustic tomato sauce with the bulk of the maters(2 x gallon Ziploc bags full)and used half of in the Manicotti I served for dinner on Tuesday.  I'll use the other half to simmer my homemade meatballs today.  The zucchinis have been used up(or grated and frozen for later).The acorn squash is in the root cellar mellowing and waiting until cooler weather to roast them.

* Go to Farm and buy produce to can  DONE
I only processed and froze 5 lbs. of green beans this Summer.  The farm no longer has PYO tomatoes so the price is too dear to buy canning tomatoes.  

* Can Produce  DONE Sort of
No canning since I froze the veggies.  I will be canning my Pepper Relish in September.

* 1 Doctor's Appointment  DONE
Waited 3 months to get that appointment with a specialist.  Lots of rx changes ensued.  The jury is still out on whether this will help.

* Pack College Boy  DONE
I was minimally involved this year and thus, CB forgot some items but not many.  Next Fall is his last Back-To-School so I hope I can just step back and he can handle it all himself.  Perhaps he'll heed my advise to make a list in 2017. ha!

Hubs does the actually "taking" in the rented cargo van.  I get to pick Hubs up from the rental location when he is done.  This year I got caught in a massive traffic snarl trying to get him.  The Rental place is right near the Arena and a Jehovah's Witness Convention was letting out at that time from that venue.
Thanks Jehovah!

* Take College Boy back to school  DONE
CB is back ensconced at college....after an hour delay locating CB's wallet.  His shirt is appropriate as I was about to "launch" this child after an hour of searching for his wallet.

* Sew Something  FAIL
Nope didn't have the urge to sew in August.  Perhaps September will see me pull out the supplies and have a go at making a shirt.  I really need to.....

Only 2 items I didn't get to.

On ward and upward to September!

How did you do with your To-Do list for August?

Sluggy