This Week on the Dining Table

The "Glad to Hear from JRE" Edition.....  

I'm happy reader JRE made a comment last week on how she is doing with her TKR post surgery.  I was just about to post something to ask her to give us an update.
I am now 7+ weeks out, still doing PT 3 days a week and am off the walker as of a week ago.  Because of my back/coccyx issues and some neurological issues(causing balance problems)it took me a bit longer to transition to a cane from that blasted walker(plus makes some balance type exercises more difficult).  Off the "good drugs" for a couple to 3 weeks now and just on OTC Tylenol plus Flexeril for my back.  Had the lower back MRI on Saturday at 8 am and waiting to hear something from the dr. on that and where we go from here.  Still no response from my neurologist.  It's been just shy of a month since I failed the EMG test they did.  NO surprise since it took a month of pestering him to get him to respond to me after the brain MRI I had back in August with any information a lay person could understand. sigh

This is day 176 of the new "diet".  Down 52 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 60 lbs.).  

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday--Faux Thanksgiving at Daughter's House

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No  Clue

4  Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

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

1. Sunday--Faux Thanksgiving at Daughter's House

2. Monday--BBQ Brisket slice, Baked Sweet Potato

3. Tuesday--Meatloaf, Teriyaki Green Beans

4  Wednesday--Lunch out-Wendy's, no Dinner

5. Thursday--Bowl of Rice Chex, Leftover Meatloaf, Teriyaki Green Beans

6.  Friday--Yogurt w/Granola, big Zalad from Zaxby's, no dinner

7. Saturday--2 Chicken Pot Pies

No going back to old habits and eating patterns for me!

What got taken out of the freezer last week...

*  a Turkey

*  a Hunk of Brisket

*  2 lb. of Ground Beef

*  1 bag of Green Beans

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

*  sliced up Brisket after it was smoked

Last week we spent $157.53 on grocery shopping for November.  

Grand Total shopping comes to $306.08 for November.   

There are 27 shopping days left in December.

I've earned $209.16 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $19.49 on Shopmium in November.

I've earned $0 on Alexa app in November.

I've earned $24.05 on Kroger Cash Back in November.

I've earned $46.76 on TaDa in November.

I've earned $9.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $13.96 on Aisle.

I've earned 4,832 points from food shopping on Fetch in November.

I've earned 2,648 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.

That is $298.36 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $308.06 of grocery spending so in reality it's $7.72 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 55.97% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 64.41% spent.  Nice percentages since we used what was left on that travel stipend card last week.

Leftovers going into this week....a hunk of Meatloaf, 2 small pieces of pumpkin pie(Hubs is eating that), most of 2 pans of homemade rolls(will go into freezer)but no other turkey day leftovers as we didn't bring anything home with us from Daughter's house.

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

1. Sunday--Beer Bratwurst on Roll, Zero Sugar Baked Beans

2. Monday--Veggie Lasagna

3. Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

4  Wednesday--1/2 Tuna Sub, Salmon, Spinach Soufflè

5. Thursday--1/2 Tuna Sub, small bit of Ice Cream

6.  Friday--leftovers

7. Saturday--No Clue

No menu planning for me now, mostly things Hubs can do.  The meals may not happen on the days noted but they will happen this coming week.  I have earned the right not to, in my mind at this point.  I am giving up control of meals to Hubs.  I will put in requests now and then.

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?  

I may post sporadically after this one or I might not, depending on drugs and stuff. 

Sluggy  

Just a Little Bit.....

Well we started the process of dragging all the Christmas tubs out of the closet in the guest room this past week.

After going through the tub with the boxes of Xmas cards in it here is what I found........

 This above are FOUR stacks of boxes of Christmas cards, TWENTY FOUR BOXES(not all of them full)of unused Xmas cards.

I blame Rite-Aid....well I can't blame them since we moved but before then, since I was always in that store after Christmas poking through all the discounted Xmas merchandise, and the boxes of cards always seemed to be in great supply once things got discounted to 90% off(and I'd conveniently forget that I already had many, many boxes of unused cards at home in my stash, I'd pick up a few more boxes for 10¢ on the dollar.  sigh
I am sure my kids won't be fighting over who gets what is left once I die.  More like they'll fight over who has to take them so they can pitch them in the garbage once I am gone. lol

Hi, I'm Sluggy and I am a Christmas Card Hoarder.  If there were support groups for such people, this is what I'd said at the meeting. 8-)

It's too bad sending physical Christmas cards are going out of style.  This younger generation(pick whichever one you want)isn't into writing in a physical card and mailing it when they can email, text or call.  More's the pity....

Sluggy

The November Food Spending of 2023

Onward to November's Food Spending Report.....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for November 2023.

I have posted November'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 November.  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).
****************

KROGER

OOP  $84.31

Qs/Gift Cards $336.92

Value $421.23

Savings  79.98%

OLLIE'S

OOP $9.76

Value $15.98

Savings  38.92%

SUPER 1 FOODS

OOP  $4.88

Value  $7.77

Savings  37.00%

WALMART

OOP  $207.13

Qs/Gift Cards $207.86

Value  $414.99

Savings  50.09%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart with a savings of 50.09%.  My worse rate was at Super 1 Foods with 37.00%.  

I shopped at 4 different stores in NOVEMBER.

TOTAL Spent in November......$306.08

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$553.89

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$859.97

TOTAL Savings of........64.41%

This closes out the NOVEMBER food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....The leftover travel stipend  monies helped pay for some food after we got home.  I also made strategic purchases with rebates as is my want.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 26.62% in November to 64.41% compared to October's 37.79% savings average.  The big factor is such a great difference in the savings rate came from that leftover stipend money from the trip to Ohio and catching some good deals.  Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people)I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 11 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,460.35 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$4,460.35

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$7,757.88

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,297.53

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................42.51%

The average per month amount spent is $405.49 in 2023 at this point.

LOOKING AHEAD TO DECEMBER......December will be a crapshoot.  We have plans to travel to see family for part of the month so there should be less food spending than usual.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Coupons dotcom, Shopmium, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that.

At the end of the third quarter of the year, I'd accumulated--$962.99 in Ibotta(most in my bank account as I don't like to leave Ibotta monies on the platform), $309.40 in Paypal from Shopmium ,Coupons dotcom as well as an odd rebate or two from another source, $43.35 in Kroger Cash Back I haven't spent, $36.78 in Shop Kick, $62.20 in Swag Bucks to redeem, $16.75 on Alexa for Amazon gift cards and some points on Fetch that aren't even worth considering at this point.  Without counting the Fetch that's $1,431.47 in cash or scrip total to put toward the grocery spending in 2023 which lowers my OOP on food spending to $2,342.73 give or take at that point.  I'll add in what rebates where earned in the fourth quarter too once 2023 is in the books. 8-)

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in November?

*  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 versus 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

Frugal Friday.....the December 1st Edition

There are very few Frugal wins this past week so here goes....

*  I went to PT 3x this past week.   Good thing I've hit all my deductibles and co-pays so I'm not shelling out cash for this service.

*  We got Covid Booster shots on Wednesday.  No cost.

*  Grocery shopping this past week--

We went to a different Walmart on Wednesday and I got all this, mostly dog stuff and cleaning products plus 2 stocking stuffers.  The only "food" was 2 bags of salad toppers.....

Cost OOP was $107.36   I used $35 in gift cards earned with points which brought it all to $69.88.  Then I earned $50.15 on Ibotta, $1.76 on Checkout 51, $1.50 on Shopmium, $6.50 on TaDa, lowering the total to $9.97.  Then I got full refunds for the Would body wash($8.98) and the CleanCult cleaner($4.98), which made this all a $3.99 moneymaker. 8-)

Plus I got 800 Shop Kicks so $3+ closer to earning another free gift card there.

*  I found 2 receipts lying on the ground outside of Walmart.  Submitted both to Fetch and 1 to Ibotta and earned $2.75.  Don't leave money lying on the ground folks!

*  Took advantage of the cruise line's Black Friday sale and booked a trip for next year. Woohoo!

*  I found money!

Nope, skunked again.

Total Found in last Week.... .00¢
Total Found this Year.......$3.47

That's all I got.

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

Blogging will be taking a backseat to getting me healed so there might not be many posts here for the foreseeable future.8-)

Sluggy   

The Great Road Trip 2017.....Part Twenty One/Day Seventeen

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

So we left off with the Buffalo Bill Cody exhibit last time.

Back out into the common area was a Kentucky Flintlock .45 Rifle.

My 7 x Great Grandfather, Robert Baker, and his brothers were the developers of the predecessors of this muzzle loading long rifle that was the stock and trade in the frontier of America from the time of the American Revolution onward.

They were awarded a patent from King William to produce these firearms outside of Philadelphia and once the Revolution happened they turned to producing weapons for the rebelling colonists. I am related to these folks through my maternal Great Grandmother, Lucy Baker.

Then Hubs and I both went into the extensive Native American exhibit.

Lots of examples of pottery and items of daily life of the Plains Indians.

A teepee set up like the one we stayed in on the trip West.....

A tanned hide with pictoral detailing, probably a ceremonial cape.

Plains Indians were a nomadic peoples, following the food supply to hunt.

A beautiful example of a ceremonial chief's headdress

More tools made from metals available.....

A buffalo headdress fir ceremonial and spiritual occasions.  Only elite males of the tribe wore these.

Various weapons used by Plains Indians.  Once they had contact with and traded with the English the "shooting sticks" became a popular item.

A War Lodge.  When traveling through enemy territory these were temporary shelters for Plains Indians.  Being sticks they didn't draw attention to whom might be inside.

Some examples of weaving and an early photo of a native family wearing hand woven garments.

A bone breastplate or chest armor was a popular ornamentation worn by warriors.  They were made of hair pipe bones(from buffalo or birds), attached around the neck with leather thongs and were often decorated with beading.  I bet this was a powerful visual being worn by a warrior(and offered some protection to the chest area).

A bead embellished handmade horse saddle blanket.

A Plains Indian on a horse pulling a litter of goods and an infant strapped to the back in  cradle.

A decorative spear.

An example of pictography, an animal(buffalo?)carved into a rock.

If you ever read "The Revenant", you know this is a type of boat described in the book.  It's a frame in a round basket shape.  I've seen it referred to as a piroque, which is a type of Cajun boat still used in Louisiana today.  It's similar to the bamboo constructed round boats still made and used in Vietnam.

An elaborate fur, bone or claw? and beaded neck piece.  That thing must weigh a ton!

More decorated lances.

Another decorate hide.

A long woven tapestry decorate with feathers, dye and eagle motifs.

More examples of decorative, wearable arts.....

More Native decorative arts.....

A colored depiction of a buffalo hunt made on a tanned hide....

Then the exhibit got into the sad stuff......

Native children removed from their homes and sent away to schools to become "civilized"......

We all know these many years later how this story ends.....so depressing.

Sure gives creedence to the old saying, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." 8-(

We ducked into their gift shop on the way out.

Other than buying a couple of pencils we didn't bring anything else home as it was like the Archway place in Nebraska and way overpriced.

After spending most of the day at this museum we hit the road heading East again.

The next installment when I get around to it. ;-)

Sluggy