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 »

Monday am

After being annoyed with hubs about turning up the heat and the furnace noise waking me up repeatedly during the night, last night he left the setting alone and I slept well.

We didn't do our paperwork yesterday. For my part, I was busy getting the property ready for the bug spray. There are a lot of leaves on the ground thanks to the Friday storm and I had to resist the urge to clean up the leaves. I had to stay focused on just getting them away from the house. Then our military son called and talked a long time. It had been a busy week for him. We touched on his trip down here to bring his truck and hotel arrangements while he was here. Then I made chili for hubs. I had the last of the chicken for myself.

I have done thinking about the dance classes. I like the samba class, but I am not crazy about the bachata. Normally, I would just think of it as exercise, but the bachata has a lot of lady spins and I don't think that my knee is ready for the twisting. So I think I will skip it from now on. I am sure it will be offered some time in the future. I hope by then my knee will be stronger. I need to take baby steps. Hubs has been urging me to go to the gym more often. I am thinking that I will add another day to my workout schedule.

There is one more night of cool weather predicted for the area. Friday night. But I will take down the winter storm windows from the north windows this week. I took down the wind breaks already. I still need to fold them up for storage. That was a good idea and very successful. It feels good to be creative and solve problems.

Old dance partner has not forwarded the motel arrangements for the April Cajun trip yet. However, I don't intend to contact him about it for awhile. I have other things to focus on.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Monday-thoughts on climate and energy

Watched a program on climate yesterday. It was an honest program. A very unusual thing these PC days. As a trained geologist, I know that most of the hype about climate change is just a desperate effort to control something man cannot control. We are in the end of the ice age as we geologist know but most are now afraid to say. Man developed in the ice age and it may be mankind is not suited for the warm period that is coming.

The hype about climate is going to make some people very rich and perhaps it will drive the world to adopt better energy policies and frugal habits. Based on a couple of surveys, most people have no idea what less available energy means. They just want governments to fix it. One of the interesting evolutions is the development of mini-power stations driven by nuclear power. These mini-stations can serve a small town. The current huge grid is a very risky proposition given the vulnerability of computer run systems all hooked together. All it takes is one virus and an entire country goes down. The mini stations would not be vulnerable to that. China is leading this effort. This has many advantages for China. It is a country that is mostly small towns and the mini stations are isolated from computer attack. It also greatly reduces its dependency on coal or any foreign oil. It also reduces pollution a lot. Those in the cloak and dagger security community know China is preparing for a change in world order, but not the one Western Europe expects.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Tuesday am

I am sure glad to get that money out of that loser account and into a better choice. I checked on this new investment and it is highly rated for safety by the rating agencies. The projections are that the impact from the corona virus factory shut down in China will hit the stock market in a month. There may be a brief opportunity. I need to spend some time preparing.

Hub's thermostat bump up and the cost of his dishwasher use will hit on the upcoming electric bill. I hope it won't be too bad.

I feel things are finally getting back in order. I have increased my vegetable intake which is important and I can graze the garden for tiny red tomatoes almost every day. I am disappointed with the peppers, but hopefully this batch will sprout.

I wish I had more time to work in the garden, but the leaves must be attended to. I also need to seal up a hole where wasps are getting into the screened porch. It is supposed to be cool on Friday when hopefully they won't be very active.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Wednesday am

I am pleased that I am finally getting into the increased vegetable and increased exercise habit. I expect the broker to call me today and confirm receipt of the documents I sent on Monday. I had a good talk with my walking neighbor yesterday. Hubs wants to do something romantic for V day. I don't really. I am not interested in going out for dinner. And we can't have sweets and wine is dubious since it upsets his tummy. I mentioned this to my neighbor while walking and she urged me to do something romantic while I still had him. I was able to say that having to take care of him exhausts anything romantic. Same thing happened with the cat. She was sick all the time and I was focused on taking care of her. She really couldn't give anything back. She couldn't play and rarely even purred. I think the reason I loved my kids is that they could laugh and do fun things. And they were responsive to me. It has been an educational moment to realize that.

I found some steaks on sale, so we will do steaks and risk some wine, well maybe.

The furnace has stayed off and of course, I try to keep things as frugal as possible. The yard guy is cheap and even though he is rough on things sometimes, I can't be sure more money would buy a better guy.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Thursday am

Wednesday was a good day. Yard guy got more accomplished. I gave him extra money because the work is hard. I talked with the credit union financial advisor and set a phone appointment with him for next week. He prefers a sit down to get to know me, but I pointed up that I could answer his questions better with my computer in front of me at home. So he agreed with the phone call. Meanwhile my broker called and he did get the UPS paperwork. We briefly discussed the next move and I asked him questions. He will watch some things for me and contact me if things move the way I want.

I talked with old dance partner yesterday at his email request. I asked him why he was suggesting we go to this workshop in Louisville in mid May when he had said he wanted to go without me(old ball and chain). We chatted about it and other things for almost an hour. He visited his heart doctor and will get another monitor test today. He is very nervous about his heart. He is also a bit scared about the hiking trip in April. I gave him as much reassurance as I could. I was carefully firm that I was not coming in for the Louisville dance workshop and I urged him to go alone if he wanted. I suggested we consider a dance cruise in late October. I said it would give my knee another 6 months to heal up. When dealing with him, it is important not to blame him for anything. It makes him upset. It is easy to take responsibility for these kind of things after all, it is half true. He has as much on his plate as he can handle right now.

Hubs legs felt poorly yesterday, but he says they are no worse today. I told him that I don't think he should go the gym anymore while he is off his medicine. He agreed. My walking neighbor just called and said she went walking early with snowbird neighbor. Snowbird has a bad hip and I was happy to hear that she was able to walk. Walking neighbor was afraid I saw it and thought she was "cheating" on me. Sometimes, things seem strange. I just don't have those kinds of emotions about walking. Walking neighbor put out bags for charity pickup. If the bags are still there when I get finished with stuff, I will add to them. If not, ok.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: DG's frugal journal

Post by Dgflorida »

Friday am

Today should be a good do something day. This week was a good week. My bad knee has been quiet for 2 days now and it is always nice when there is no real actual pain.

My garden is starting to seriously produce and that is frugal. Gardening is frugal because of exercise and healthy food. It also feels good to see things grow and be pretty.

No heat or ac required right now. Open windows. A great time of year. Hubs thermostat bump earlier raised the electrical usage by 2 kwatts per day. He was surprised. Like so many, he doesn't see the invisible costs until the bill arrives. Of course, our usage is still quite low by most standards.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the leaves that I have to gather up. But I also know that I can do this. It just feels like there is so much to do. I also know that I need to get the leaves off the roof as well. sigh.

As luck would have it, there are now 2 adult ballet dance opportunities and I have a bum knee. Grrr.

I went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. He was very happy with me. I am glad. I don't brush and floss as often as I imagine I should, but apparently I do enough. I really like getting my teeth cleaned. I do use a metal "pick" occasionally and I chew sugar free gum which really seems to help when I can't brush and floss after meals and snacks.

Today, I will get wine and hub's cottage cheese and yogurt. He loves his dairy. Last night, I gave him broccoli and melted cheese for dinner. He was very happy. Tonight's meal will depend on the weather. If it rains as predicted, we will use up the rest of the riced cauliflower. I am thinking stir-fry with lots of vegetables. We need to eat more vegetables. If no rain, the steaks with braised Brussel sprouts, riced cauliflower with peas or with sautéed onions/mushrooms.

I am very happy that it is warmer weather. I just get random aches and pains when it is cold.
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