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