1. I got some cat freebies on Buy Nothing
Someone was giving away a few cat toys, and since Chiquita is very good at playing with toys, I picked them up.
Getting toys for Shelley is risky because she is not nearly as playful! Chiquita always knows what to do with toys, though. 😉
Some of that is due to her being younger, I think, but also she is just a very playful cat. I doubt Shelley was bouncing off the walls when she was Chiquita’s age. 😉
2. I fixed a hole in a sweater
This sweater has a very loose knit, and one of the loops came undone.
I am no knitter, but since the texture is so loose, it was easy to use a needle and thread to sew the spot shut.
And now we’re as good as new!
3. I got a free pumpkin bread slice at Starbucks
I mentioned that I’d hauled myself to Starbucks last week to make myself finish my educational brochure project…well, while I was there, I noticed I had 100 Starbucks stars that were about to expire.
Don’t get me started on how annoying it is that these stars expire. Starbucks is rather stingy with the stars anyway, and then to make them expire on top of that??
ANYWAY.
100 stars is not enough for a latte, but it is enough for a slice of pumpkin bread, so that’s what I got. 🙂
4. I got a mason jar with a pour-top lid for free
The Buy Nothing group strikes again. 🙂
I didn’t exactly need another Mason jar, but I was interested in this lid (which sells for just under $10 at Amazon). It’s a wide mouth, so it’ll fit my short wide mouth jars as well.
It’ll be handy for cold brew coffee, or also for times when I make salad dressing in a Mason jar.
5. I used dry bagels to make a French toast casserole
I usually keep some bagels on hand for Zoe, and I recently bought a bag of the small cinnamon raisin variety from Aldi.
But they were disappointingly dry, so they were sitting around, uneaten.
I considered trying to make some sweet croutons with them, but then it occurred to me that they might be good in a French toast casserole.
So, I made a half recipe of the Pioneer Woman’s overnight French toast, and it worked out fine.
(Over the years, I have used almost every kind of bread known to man* in that casserole, and it’s always been delicious!)
Now the bagels are gone, and Zoe and I enjoyed a sweet treat.
Win-win!
*to be clear, I would not recommend garlic bread. Or sun-dried tomato bread. Or jalapeno cheese bread. We have to exercise common sense here.
Fru-gal Lisa
Tuesday 3rd of December 2024
1. As per my tradition, I put up my frugal Christmas wreaths today. I have a double front door so I have to have 2 wreaths/door decorations, and this can get costly. But one year, I found a matching pair of Christmas wreaths. Like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, they were fairly dilapidated so I added some package decorations to both. Each time I get some kind of really good holiday decorations, pine cones or artificial flowers, greenery or red holly berries, I stick it into the wreaths. It's gotten to be a running joke, my wreaths sometimes have stuff falling off of them, but they were cheap and they make me laugh. Even as I stick the decorations back on and try to shut the door gently so they won't drop off again. 2. Went ahead and worked a last-minute substitute teaching job today. Put off my errands until later in the week. 3. Frugal fail: didn't check on when the HEB (supermarket chain) "Feast of Caring" was. I had already eaten supper when I found out it was tonight and missed getting the free supper. (Topic of a future forum: Is it ethical to go to HEB's free supper when you mostly shop at Aldi and Walmart and not at HEB?) 4. Checked on coupons for medications I use. Some expire Dec. 31 so I will be stocking up. 5. Found a very nice and suitable present for the Christmas party via my regifting closet. It cost a dollar at a thrift store a couple of years ago, and had just been donated there by a major store. It's a useful household item that I'm sure someone will like. Plopped it in a gift bag and I'm good to go. (And, no, I'm not trying to hoodwink someone into thinking I got it at the fancy dept. store.)
Selena
Tuesday 3rd of December 2024
My cat gets frustrated and mad as Hades with the ring with ball we have. We'll put it away for a while to keep her sane. Jalapeno cheese bread french toast casserole doesn't sound bad to me - I'd skip the vanilla however. Maybe topped with some sour cream or cream cheese or with Huevos Rancheros instead of tortillas.
Julia
Tuesday 3rd of December 2024
I read that cats, being predators, get bored once they have “killed” their toy and that it’s good to rotate new toys in and out. Maybe folks with cats. Could trade toys back and forth as they cats get tired of them. 1. Picked up a bag of clothes that was set out as “few.” A few things will fit my DD, two flannel shirts for guys I know who work in food freezers, others will go to a friend to look through. I kept a few t-shirts that were stained to cut into rags. 2 Curb picked another flannel shirt for the freezer guys and a small Christmas tree to use out front in one of my pots. 3. Having fun with secret shops. It’s Tuesday and I’ve done 5 shops already. So far I’ve gotten a hamburger and fries meal from a sit down restaurant, $30 in gas, $30 in chocolate, some snacks and two pizzas. And some $. I have one more shop scheduled this week that I’m signed up for. Friday will be free pizza night!
Jon
Tuesday 3rd of December 2024
You can also use that jar lid for pancake batter.
Kristen
Tuesday 3rd of December 2024
Ohhhh good idea!
Beth
Tuesday 3rd of December 2024
Our kittens would love that ball tower! What a great find!
Work supplies filtered water to all, so I fill my reusable bottle at least twice each workday.
Treating myself with some new-to-me clothes from Thredup (they haven't arrived yet). Hopefully at least some of the pieces will be winners but all are returnable.
Sewed a few tears in my favorite winter gloves that are no longer available to buy. They're leather with shearling liner and a gortex liner between leather and shearling. SOOO cozy and I'm really fighting surrendering them so I keep sewing them.
Continue reading only library supplied books/ebooks/audiobooks.
Medical deductible is paid through next June, so getting on all of those needed medical appointments.
My husband got out the woodbins, kindling basket, and made the first woodstove fire of the season. Because it's a seriously efficient stove, the house can get incredibly hot, so Mr. Retired warms it up during the day and then backs it off so by the time I get home from work things are just comfortable instead of way too hot. Although contributing to particulate matter pollution, we do need to heat the house and our other option is our oil furnace, so it's sort of a toss up. At least this way we'll have about 4 bills for oil in the $150 range rather than the $500 range. (Water heater is electric/heat pump.)
And here's a gem from way back years when kids were young. We used to have an oil burner that also heated our water. The kids knew they had a 5 minute shower limit. Once they hit 5:30, I would knock on the door to warn them, and then flick off the switch for the oil burner and they'd only have the water left in the pipes which cooled quickly in New England--very effective method of teenager displacement from a shower :)