Moving On!

I have decided to start a new blog for this new chapter of my life.  Going forward, anyone who is interested in my musings will be able to find me at Mrs. Murphy's Microcosm -- where I will be posting about my life in retirement.

This blog was getting difficult to maintain so I've decided it's had a good enough run to retire along with me.  I want to thank everyone who has followed my adventures (and misadventures), whether lurking or commenting -- I've learned a lot and appreciate your all! 

The new blog probably won't be all that different, but will give me a chance to change some of the areas I focused on in the past.

I'll keep this blog up for a short-while just as a way to direct traffic to the new blog, but may eventually delete it.  For those of you whom I visit going forward, rather than seeing comments from Alex M, you'll just be seeing Mrs. Murphy.  I'm changing my address but not going away!

White Tile

I hate the white tile on our kitchen counter.  We used to have it in the bathroom -- luckily it's gone now.  There is no way I will ever use white tile in a kitchen -- this was here when we bought the house, and I have been struggling to keep it clean ever since.  TBG did a good job of cleaning it a few weeks back, but he did it quickly and this is how it looked this week.

Z Bread

 I had two left-over zucchinis from our farm-stand hall the weekend before last.  This time of year, it's easy to over-buy them.  They were cheap and they were tasty -- but it wasn't possible to eat four in a week.  What is a girl to do? Of course, make zucchini bread.  One batch was made in a baking dish, the other was in a loaf pan.  We've enjoyed the baking dish version all week.  It's  breakfast, desert, and snack. No guilt either as I made it with oatmeal and whole wheat flour.  It's been yummy.

Working for the Weekend

It is nice to have time to cook ahead for camp.  We have a small fridge so storing multiple ingredients is out of the question.  This weekend, one meal with be a chicken coconut curry.  The cheap factor is that I am using a package of sauce that was a "Special Today" mark-down. The pans were end-of-season mark downs too.  These are drip pans for grill -- the perfect size for a toaster oven.  For ingredients: chicken breast, slaw mix, yellow pepper, onion, black beans and a packet of sauce.

Culinary Tools

I have needed a potato/tomato masher for some time.   There is probably one in a box in the garage that I have yet to unpack, but that doesn't help me now that it's summer and I am making fresh marinara.  Rather than heading to Target, I knew I'd do better at a thrift store.  I ducked into Amvets last Thursday and found this one for 79 cents.  The saute pan was a separate purchase on Saturday.

Chicken Again

It was chicken for 79 cents a pound this week -- again. I realize that a lot of people would be kind of grossed out to fully dismember a bird -- removing the skin, back and wings is a slimy job. It does take time and without a pair of kitchen shears, it would be impossible.  But I am always willing to get in and butcher a bird because it's one of the best ways to save money.  I like to dump the parts in a bowl, then rub them with oil and seasonings, prior to roasting it.

Switching ISP/Cable Providers Sucks!

So we have broken away from Time Warner/Spectrum -- and am glad we did.  However, transitioning over has been a real nightmare.  The biggest hassle was changing email.  We've wanted to ditch TWC for quite some time but because I had been looking for work at various times, we didn't want to change our email address.  Now that I am done working, I don't really care.

Summer Score

 There is plenty of summer left, so I was happy to find another bathing suit and a pair of shoes suitable for the water.  At this point, I can't have too many comfortable bathing suits.  I wear one almost every day at home and at camp.  Having this suit means I don't have to pack one for camp -- I will leave this one there.  I will also leave these shoes there, rather than bringing the pair I found last week back and forth.  The convenience will help a lot since the shoes are rarely dry on Sunday when I need to bring them home.

Welcome to Retirement!

 Even in semi-retirement, I was keeping the bathroom clean.  The big difference now is that I don't have to rush through it after my morning shower, because I don't have to  be anywhere!  I've also added a few extra steps onto the task that I didn't often get a chance to do each day -- like cleaning the outside of the glass of the shower stall.  I'm also going to start sweeping the floor every day.  Woo hoo, do I know how to have fun or what?

I now have time to hang laundry out to dry.  One thing I like about having more time to do laundry, is that I can wash our bathroom towels more frequently.  They always smell fresh -- not always the case when we were struggling to get it done even once a week.  How gross is it that I just admitted that?

Wednesday is Thursday this Week...

We are hosting a river cruise tomorrow night for TBG's best clients, so no dinner at home.  That is OK, I used left-overs to make dinner tonight and it's just like it would be if it were Thursday.  I had stock from last week, and a jar of marinara from last night.  TBG left a half a pepper in the fridge from his chicken wrap at lunch.  Add in half a zucchini,  pearl barley & red quinoa, onion, celery, the tail-end of a bag of cabbage/carrot slaw, and diced chicken breast from Monday, and you have a thick soup made with summer veggies.

Marinara

 There is a farm stand down the road from our camp.  They have great produce but also stuff they hold back as "Seconds" because the product is not perfect.  Well, not perfect is fine when you want to make marinara.  Four quarts of fresh tomatoes set me back four bucks and this afternoon, I cooked it all up.  These two jars are destined for the freezer.  A smaller jar is in the fridge for another meal this week.

Hair of the Dog

 We have been doing very well dealing with Teddy's tendency to get hot-spots.  Knock on wood, but we have not had a single spot all summer.  Her allergy pills are expensive.  At the vet, they are well over three bucks per pill.  I had a large refill from an on-line pet pharmacy this spring for $2.49.  This time, I found a source for them at $2.24.  I will look for a lower price next time around.  I am so thankful for Internet pet pharmacies!

Because I am always aware of side-effects and also want to keep costs down, I've got her on a  minimum dose that seems to be working.  She gets a half pill (8mg) every other day.  On the off days, she gets either a Benadryl or Zyrtec.  Both are safe for dogs.

Rainy Day Bargains

We went to camp this weekend and it absolutely poured on Saturday, so we decided to go to the outlet mall.  I had needed to replace my water sandals. They are probably five years old and the soles are coming off. I will try to re-glue them, but am not optimistic.  I have also wanted a pair of basic black flats that I did not need to wear socks with.  The pair I have is too big unless I wear socks -- not the best for summer.  Famous Footwear and a BOGO-1/2 price sale.  My water sandals were $20 and the ballet flats were half of their sale price of $15.  I was so glad to find both on sale as they are normally fifty to sixty bucks a piece and I just was not going to pay that.

Thursday Objective Met

My Thursday dinner goal is always to finish up whatever is in the fridge and to make dinner without buying any new ingredients.  It was a success again this week.  Of course it was a given that pizza was part of the plan since I made up three batches of dough on Tuesday.  Then I rummaged through the freezer this morning and found a snack-sized zippy back with small chunks of cooked Italian sausage.  There was also very small amount of chicken thigh left, and a third of a log of mozarella.  I've been going through a small can of Hunts tomato sauce (courtesy of the Dollar Tree) all week, and that was finished tonight too.  The  pizza was delicious!

Jammin'

I made "refrigerator" jam this afternoon.  Pup and I swam and went for a short walk after work, which took an extra hour or so out of the day.  Even though I wanted to do some housework, I've been wanting to make fresh jam.  Last week, blueberries were uber cheap, so that was what I thought I'd use.  Well, they weren't on sale, but strawberries were.

Chicken, Day Two

It was the second day with the chicken I cooked up yesterday.  We both had a wrap for lunch and then once that was done, I set about to start prep for dinner.  It was Taco Tuesday at Chez Petite.  The Ortega shells came from Dollar Tree, so they were cheap.  They are a slightly higher fiber/grain version.  Although by higher, it's 2g rather than <1g of fiber.  We had the shredded cabbage/carrot mix from pierogi night and I had purchased three red peppers.  These are the misfits that Price Rite sells for cheap ($1.49 per pound).  We were out of cheddar so for cheese, it was Swiss and Assiago.  Someone actually forgot to pack the package of Swiss and I found it in a cart I picked up at Aldi.  So I just dropped it in my car.  That wasn't stealing as someone paid for it but just forgot it.  The sour cream is actually cut 50% with plain Greek yogurt.

My Life of Inconvenience

I took advantage of yesterday's sunshine and scorching heat, and dried my laundry on the line.  While TBG doesn't like his clothes stiff from the line, I do.  As a result, I did a load of my clothes and then hung them out.  When I do loads with his clothes, I give them a quick tumble to soften them up.  However, I prefer saving energy by using the power of the sun.  It's a lot more effort than just throwing the washed clothes into the dryer, but it's economical and environmentally friendly so I am up for the extra work.

Free Food!

Jimmy Jam gave us this pound of ground venison quite some time ago and I'd never gotten around to using it.  Since it's been in the freezer a long time, I decided I wasn't going to make anything for us with it, but it would be just the thing to make a batch of dog food out of.  The large yam has been taking up counter space for a while too.  Even if food is free or it doesn't cost much, I am still loath to let it go to waste.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday in a Single Post

I made a blueberry pie on Wednesday after work.  Since I was so rushed for time, I bought the crust.  A store bought box of crust in the refrigerated section is around $1.99 near Thanksgiving, but for the rest of the year it is $3.99.  That's OK, because I filled it with fresh blueberries which were $1.29 per pint -- it took two.  Around Thanksgiving, blueberries are around $4.99 a pint.  So I'm fine with what I spent.  Had I purchased a pie made fresh with fresh blueberries, it would have cost twice as much -- if not more.  That's why I'm willing to "cheat" on the crust if I have to.   You will, however, rarely catch me using canned pie filling -- too much sugar (or worse, High Fructose Corn Syrup) and too many additives!

Getting Smaller

I am starting to cut back even more on what we spend on food.  More to follow on that later in this post.  The basis for tonight's dinner was a whole fryer (chicken) that I got for .59 cents a pound at Save-a-Lot.  I bought the bird for $3.02 on Monday and got to work on it as soon as I got home.  Before putting it in the oven, I cut off the back and wings, then cut off all of the skin.  That provided two big meals for the dog.  I roasted the meat and then pulled it off the bones.  The bones then went into stock.  We did not have chicken for dinner on Monday as I had pork from the weekend, so I made that into burritos.  Dinner for us both and three lunches!

Back from Camp

There hasn't been much exciting to post this week.  Teddy and I went up to camp early, a day ahead of TBG.  We got up Thursday night, relaxed and swam on Friday.  TBG got up later on Friday so we back-tracked to Pultneyville and grabbed panini's at the Pultneyville Deli Company.  The Village of Sodus Point was too crowded and we'd have to wait for a table to eat anywhere there.

Wagon Love

This is why I love my station wagon: I was looking out the window at work while my coffee was re-heating in the microwave.  One of the buildings on the street next to our office had a growing pile of trash.  Once it was time to take Teddy for her morning spin, I scoped out this stand I had my eye on.  Once I determined it was worth grabbing, I went back and got my keys, stashed it in the back -- along with an iron magazine rack.

Small Garden Adventure

It is Buffalo's Garden Walk weekend, so we decided to view just a few areas near downtown.  You can be near to the heart of downtown and still find pocket neighborhoods with small secluded gardens.   We just wanted to walk for two hours and picked the "Johnson Park" neighborhoods, off South Elmwood Ave.  We were just blocks from City Hall.

Jewelry Mish-Mash

These three Alex and Ani bangles were a nice garage sale find today.  At two bucks a piece, I figured I couldn't go wrong -- even if they were somewhat bereft of charms.  I can't believe how much people spend on them new -- so that was never an option for me.  But I knew I could fix these up just fine.  There were actually five of them, but I took a pass on the other two because the charms were religious -- which I am not!

To Tell the Tooth

We have been using a Cybersonic ultrasonic electric rechargeable toothbrush for years and years.  The first one was close to a hundred bucks.  We stopped being able to use it because it didn't hold a charge and the top wore down enough that the brush heads wouldn't stay on.  I found the replacement at Tuesday Morning for $39.

Summer Spaghetti

A large tray of boneless skinless thighs was a little over five bucks; $1.99 per pound, six thighs.  They were slowly cooked in the Sous Vide -- 150 degrees (f) for an hour.  I put them in a freezer zippy with oil, fresh lemon, and a "Renaissance" rub.  Three were set aside for dinner tonight and three were set aside for tomorrow.  We only actually needed two and a half.

Swimmies!

Teddy and I had a fabulous swim today.  The weather was very warm, the water felt great and there were hardly any people at the park.  We swam for a half an hour then did a short walk.  I have no shame -- I am chubby (OK, fat) but am willing to take a walk in my bathing suit.

Plastic Update

This business of giving up plastic is not as simple as I thought.  Well, I didn't really think it would be easy.  I am making a point to buy liquid items in glass jars whenever possible.  But then there are some items you just can't find in anything but plastic -- like laundry and dish-washing liquid, hair products, deodorant, etc.  Unless I am at  a farmer's market, most berries are in a plastic container.  I would probably have to say my use of things like bagged salad and frozen veggies is also a fail.

This week, I mixed up peanut, cashew and almond butter to make my nut butter mix.  All of the containers were plastic.  That is all they had at the store I shopped at.  I will have to try better and check at Wegmans. The English muffins I eat for breakfast come in a plastic bag.

I will still try to buy as much non-plastic packaging as possible, but it sure is hard!

Basil in the Kitchen

Neighbor Dave gave me a fist-full of basil this afternoon when I went over the let him know I was putting the sprinkler on.  He suggested I freeze what I couldn't use -- but I intended to use it all.  Once I got it inside and cut the flowers away from the bunch, I decided they were too pretty to go to waste.  Now that I've done that, I have decided to do it more often.  I go out in the yard and cut the flowers off the basil all summer just to help keep the plants as leafy as possible. Generally, I just let them drop to the ground.

My Dormitory Styled Life

As I have mentioned before, we are three years away from our master bedroom renovation.  Too much needs to be done to make it worthwhile to spend any real money or put any substantial effort into it now.  The totally blank walls, however, were driving me a bit crazy so I decided to drop a few bucks to hide at least one of them.  This hanging map blanket/tapestry will work for me for the next couple of years.  I would like to be industrious and paint the room, dressers and night stands, but I just don't have the gumption to take on that sort of project. If there is any money left over after we tackle the exterior of the house, we'll ask our contractor to paint it.

In the Garden

 

Well, this isn't technically in the garden.  It's in a crack between the driveway and a rocky/rough area near our back door.  I now understand why dill is called "Dill Weed."  I did not plant any dill this year but some came back from last year in unexpected places.  I have been using it! I love fresh dill.

Shiny Succlents

It started out with some clear glass floral beads from Dollar Tree in the Aloe Vera pot.  They were left-over from a craft project gone-wrong and I thought they might add some twinkle to this otherwise dry planting.

Farmers Market

I drove up to "NT" (that's North Tonawanda to us Buffalonians)  for their farmer's market this morning.  There was an Estate Sale that lured me in on the way -- a total waste of over-priced time.  Once at the market, I was thinking about plants and maybe tomatoes.  Well, I was lured over to one of the honey stands instead.  Just like at camp, I could not resist a jar of creamed honey.  We love it and the other jar is at camp -- honey doesn't go bad so we wanted to enjoy it there.  This jar was five bucks -- that was with the seller giving me a dollar discount because the jar was sticky.  She cleaned it up anyway!  We will see how Niagara County honey compares to Wayne County. I expect it to be delicious!

Garage Sale ROI

The Steve Austin doll which I picked up for a buck at a garage sale this past weekend has already realized a full return on investment.  He was welcomed into his new home with great enthusiasm and immediately put to work.  The Six Million Dollar Man is now partnering with "Nitro Man" and is the celebrity endorser for the Nitro Turbo-Torch.

Adventures in Stain Removal

 This pale version of tie-dye is my attempt to obliterate a stain that I could not wash out.  There was a grease stain from either something I dribbled or that splattered on me while cooking.  No stain removal technique worked so I decided to play with rubber bands and bleach.  I succeeded in getting rid of the stain and fading the shirt and while it's not perfect, it basically saved the shirt.

My Idea of Popularity

 

I am such a city girl.  The corniest things excite me when it comes to the country.  This is my best goat friend, whom I call Buddy.  He lives in a pen at Burnap's Farm on Lake Rd and Maple Ave.  Burnaps is a produce stand (and farm) that has a cafe.  We ate there on Friday night with friends.  I made sure we got there 15 minutes early so I could spend some time with Buddy.  I pick the clover flowers and feed them to him.  Of course, since he'll eat anything, I will just pick up straw or grass and give him that too.  I could buy a small handful of food they sell in a bubble gum dispenser, but I prefer to give him flowers to eat.

From Garage Sale to Garden

 My best camp tag-sale buddy and I went out on Saturday and brought along a special guest -- the owner's wife.  She was brave to come along with the two of us as we get out of control.  Maybe it was a good thing that all our driving around the back roads only turned up one garage sale.  Luckily, it was a very well-priced sale and I went as far as to thank the guy for that.   I spent four bucks and found two blue glass bottles with stoppers.  These were fifty cents a piece!

America Needs Immigrants!

 On the tails of our most patriotic American holiday, I want to say "thank you" to those who have come to our country and continue to try to do so in order to start a new life. I don't believe we should only open our borders to the highly educated.  Our country needs good people who are willing to work.  People like the farmers I bought my fruit and veggies from at the Sodus Farmer's Market last Wednesday.  The farms in Wayne County depend on immigrant labor -- and many of those workers end up becoming farm owners themselves.

Garden Inspiration

Does your city or town have an annual Garden Walk?  Buffalo's is, I think, the largest free event in the country.  People visit from all over the US and beyond.  I don't go every year, but will be walking around this year since it won't be a camp weekend.  The entire tour is too big to do in the two days the event spans.  There are just too many gardens and there is too much to see.  Each time I go, it's with the same friend.  We get a map in advance and then work on our itinerary.  You can't be too ambitious because it's often very hot! This walk takes place the last week of July.

Patriotic Pup!

Soup Indiscretions....

Tomorrow is "Souper Tuesday" at work, but my soup is taking a pass.  The boss takes everyone out to lunch the day before a holiday.  Since I started making things for the soup on Friday, I'm going to bring it all in and we will freeze it.  We can thaw it next Monday and it will be on site and ready to go next Tuesday.

I have a confession to make about my soup.  It is a Frankenstein monster of ingredients, based on what is either cheap or left from something else in our house.

Full Frontal

 We've spent the past two days working on the small grounds of Chez Petite.  It never ceases to amaze me how such a small house and yard can require so much work.  Here is how we are looking up front.  While we plan to have the entire exterior replaced this summer, I still do not have the formal plans in hand.  The architects and designers at work are tied up with paying projects, so my freebie takes a back seat.  Our plan was not to put in too much time and effort up front because the yard will get trampled and it's likely the front bed will have to be moved forward.  However, it was past the point of looking nice, so we decided to work on it.  Maybe now that it's been addressed, reverse luck will deliver the plans that will require us to destroy it!

Convenience and Comfort!

Another one of my current convenience hacks, is to buy a small container of guacamole and one Haas avocado.  I'll chop and mush up the avocado, then mix in the pre-made guac.  This saves me from wasting at least half a bunch of fresh cilantro -- as no matter what I plan, I can never use it all.  This Little Salad Bar tub was $2.49 and the avocado was a buck.  Last week, avocados were on sale for fifty cents!  I buy these at Aldi along with their Simply Nature multi-grain tortilla chips.  As far as junk/snack food goes, this is a pretty healthy snack.  I also cut down on the cost and sodium in the pre-made mix.  The avocado comes out to two bucks per pound, while the tub of guac is $2.58 per pound.  So I am also saving a little bit of money too.

Embracing Convenience

She who used to refuse to buy salad in a bag, has drastically changed her opinion of salad convenience.  Not only do I now buy salad in a bag, I am buying salad kits, which I thought was something I would never do.  I have embraced not only the convenience but the ability to make a healthy meal that tastes fresh and delivers nutrition and fiber.

Beach Blanket Buy

I was lucky enough to score a beach blanket at a flea market this weekend.  This is something I'd wanted for the backseat of my car.  When you drive around with a wet dog in your car every day, you start to realize the value of decorative seat protection.  This one set me back just five bucks, so I figured it was worth it.  I'm driving our 2003 Malibu right now because the Benz is in the shop.  I think she likes it there, where she sits beside another vintage Mercedes and an older Jaguar.  My guess is that she either has a blown fuse for her glow plugs or it's the glow plug relay.  So for now, I am driving the car that we had previously made a dog-free vehicle.

My Life of Pottery

 So, I've decided to indulge myself.  While I won't go over-board decorating with objects, I've decided I want to use a little bit of pottery to accessorize the living and dining rooms.  This "Black Betty" style teapot seemed to fit the dining room.  I can use it for flowers too.  I found it at a flea market this weekend for five bucks.  It is in perfect condition.

Tranquil Time?

I had really hoped that I would have more time to relax once I started working part time.  Yes, I imagined I would decompress more at camp, read and sip wine in my backyard, and just slow things down.  Alas, that has not been the case.

It seems that no matter how much extra time I think I have, there are chores, tasks, obligations and the like that seem to fill it all up.  In my fantasy world, I would get to spend time here and there at home in comfortable, clean clothes, sipping wine or tea, reading a book or playing my guitar.  Invariably, I am up and down the stairs, trying to time a load of laundry for optimal time efficiency while I run out to the store to grab what I need to make dinner.  I get dirt and spills on my shirt in the course of it all and turn into a housewife slob.

Quick Cheap Meals

I try to make our meals from scratch, and also make them healthy.  Then there are times I am a hypocrite.   Mostly, it's because I am cheap.

On days where I have not had a chance to gather and assemble dinner, we'll order a pizza or some other form of take-out, or we'll eat out (generally at a diner).  Regardless of which we choose, it is rarely a healthy meal.  That's why I decided to buy a few "cheat" meals that I can make in a pinch.

Inside-Out I Clean it All!

We have a deal at Chez Petite.  Inside is my domain and outside is the responsibility of TBG.  There are two exceptions. Anything of a construction/maintenance nature inside falls to TBG (although I do fix things too), anything outside related to accessories/outdoor furniture is for me.  We do share sometimes -- like putting new stuff together, etc.  This weekend, we both toiled in the hot sun to clean up the back yard.  There was a ton of weed-whacking and blowing to be done.  The ground between the slate has pebbles but weeds are a big problem.  It took a lot of time to address that.  Some weeding got done in the beds, but not much!