DG's frugal journal

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Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Thursday

The front yard garden project is coming along. Eventually, I would like most of it to be gardens, but I am grateful that I can make these right now. The landscape timbers are laid out and I put down the used plastic bags as walkway weed barriers with mulch on them. And stepping stones. These gardens will be in reach of my garden hose, so I can keep them watered and growing. The garden layers are free used cardboard as a weed barrier. A thick layer of fallen leaves. A thin layer of store bought soil and a final thick layer of mulch. Typically, the first year, the garden is ok, but not great. Then it gets better and better.

Now it is time to work on the kiddie pool gardens and the white fence gardens. They need more mulch. This is the time of year to work outside. All too soon, it will be too hot.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Friday

The last cold front with frost potential is passed. So now to get planting. I have learned a lot about starting from seed and I will certainly do it more in the future. Now I can directly plant seeds which I will do with a lot of things. My planting table got wind blown by this last cold front with my little planters and stuff flying all about. I will have to prepare for that better in the future. I am disappointed in some of the seeds. Poor germination rate. Educational.

When my new driveway goes in, the guy is going to spread the old shell around to improve drainage. There is a bit of a drop in one spot and I want to make sure water is discouraged from going that direction. I bought what I hoped would be a barrier, but it turns out the area is very uneven and I will have to find another way to stop water. I have waited to go out because I want to be frugal with my driving trips and we are expecting another check from the estate. I want to put it in the credit union which is next to Lowe's going northeast. It was expected yesterday, but hopefully today. I need to go east today for gas, eggs and cat food, so it would be a bonus if I could add those stops in.

My birthday coupon from ACE expires on the 31st. Tomorrow, Winn Dixie has a weekend sale on beef. Both are south. It is a frugal driving trip. My birthday shoe coupon is good through April 11th. The shoe place, due north, is next to the bulk food place and we will need more fresh nut meats by then.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Saturday

I don't like returning things because I have done accounting and know it is extra work. And it means I didn't buy smartly. Still I had to return an 8 ft piece of edging to Home Depot because I did not take the uneven ground into account. I also have to return a concrete block header because it is just a little too big for the purpose. (sigh)

I knew I needed to do something to manage the height disparity between the back and front yards since I am having the old shell driveway spread over the front next to the porch rather than hauled away. I don't want water to wash into the backyard. It turns out that I had a couple of solid concrete blocks that I can use to block any potential water flow. It looks ok. I can't use wood 4x4 because I can't have wood next to the house. I extended the edging along the fence dividing the back and front with a free piece of vinyl fence panel. It won't show, but it will keep the dirt/shell in place. At least, I hope.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Sunday

I am a little frustrated that the window guy tried to pull a fast one, "all money up front, by the way". That is not normal business practice. It is hard to believe that a company like Lowe's would employ what I call deceptive business practice. :x Luckily, I said that I needed several days to read the contract before signing because I have visual problems and it is hard for me to read. Interesting how a devastating health problem can turn out to be such a good thing.

Meanwhile, there is a little crack in the new front door frame caulk. The guy warned me that might happen if he had to do the frame edging the way I requested. I had expected it to last better. It is not structural, so no need to call on it, but I will watch it.

The produce stand had green peppers 2/$1. Some were no longer in great shape. I bought only six. I sliced and froze 4 and the last two were still nice. Hubs ate one fresh last night and I will fix the last one tonight. Ate most of the free tomatoes from a neighbor. I will eat the last one today. Asparagus is all gone. The bags it came in are very nice and I will reuse them. I have a large reuse bag collection now. Strawberries are on sale. Some of the farms are saying they will be closing down for the year at the end of the month. I will get more Florida berries.

I am growing several different peppers. They aren't working out. They seem to take longer to grow to size. I am going back to ordinary bell peppers. I do like the little yellow tomatoes though. Ripen fast, taste good. never too old to try new things.

I sure am glad our electric bills are low. Now to make sure they stay that way.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Monday

I am making progress on the gardens, transplanting and yard stuff. There is so much to do, it is hard to know what to tackle first.

I save grease off of cooked meats. The easiest way is to save it in the skillet I will use it in the next morning. So I cook ground beef at night and let the grease in the skillet cool then refrigerate the skillet until morning. Let it sit out and warm up and then cook eggs and bacon in it for breakfast. It is frugal and doesn't waste my time cleaning what I am going to reuse right away.

I am annoyed that the local butcher has raised the price of beef suet from 50c/lb to 99c/lb and he says I am getting a deal. This is stuff he has to throw away, so I figure he is getting the deal that I even buy it. I am going to ask at another store and see what I can do. I can get ground beef on sale for $1.79 and that is mostly meat and the fat is good. I also want chicken skins, but most stores get their skinless chicken already skinned. Well, I will keep looking.

I have 6 more green peppers to slice and freeze. This should cover me until my plants produce or close. I am ok with 2 for $1. I have 2 jars of pickle juice right now. Hubs loves that he can eat pickles now since his doctor changed his diuretic. He eats them with every ground beef burger. The juice needs to be used. Thinking on it.

I have reduced the amount of garbage I throw out. The pick up is twice a week and right now, I only have one small bag once a week. That feels good.

Well, the morning will be used up with shopping, but I hope this afternoon will be available for the yard. I feel better if I can work myself tired by the end of the day.
floridacatlover
Posts: 8056
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:21 am

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by floridacatlover »

You may be able to switch to once-a-week trash pickup. That’s what we’ve had at mom’s house for many years. Saves money.
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