Some Good News For My For My Dad

It seems that he has a tumor in his ribs, but, the doctor thinks he can radiate that thing out of existance in 10 days. There's still the tumors in his liver, but, we are daling with that as well. As I told you, my dad put out 72 tomato plants last week. He will definitely have to live long enough to harvest the crop and sell them at the flea market!

I haven't come up with any incredible recipes lately. I'm surviving on what is at hand. I'm thinking of using Rick's recipe for the Suddenly Salad. I have packs of crab meat and I'm sure I have paprika on the shelf. It was fantastic and I hope I can reproduce it in my kitchen.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and thoghts for my dad. He has lived over a year since he was supposed to die from this ailment. He doesn't show signs of slowing down anytime soon. After all, he has a tomato crop to harvest.

I Learned Of Some New Ways To Prepare Common Foods

I was invited on a picnic last Sunday. The gentleman did all the cooking. All I had to do was eat! Anyway, he made a great dish out of a box of Suddenly Salad by adding a bit of mayo, some Caesar dressing, crab meat, and paprika. It was fantastic! He also made a marinate for sliced avacados.

My problem with cooking? I have no chemistry background. Cooking is chemistry. This goes with that and that goes with the other thing. I guess I just don't have much imagination in the kitchen. I'm trying to learn new things to be able to use more of my stockpile.

We saw the doctor on Monday. Dad's cancer has now spread to his lung and the liver lesions are growing. The doctor is trying to come up with a different chemo med that might extend his life a bit longer. He says it's worth trying because Dad is "high functioning." I mean, the life is draining out of the man and what did he do last week? He put out 72 tomato plants, mowed the yard and seeded the lawn. It takes him a long time to get it done. He says that he makes one pass across the yard, has to sit and rest, then makes another pass, sits to rest and get his breath back, on and on.

I don't know why this blog layout won't work anymore, so, I'll keep giving my totals in the body of the posts until I can figure out something else.

$142.68 Spent
$413.44 Coupons, etc.
74% Saved

Finally! Spring Is Here!

I spent a couple of hours today just lounging in my hammock chair outside. It's hard for me to just set my brain on "idle," but, I was able to do it for a while and I feel so refreshed.

There is something wrong with this blogspot. I cannot update my totals in the right column. I crash the system every time I try it. That said, here's where I am for the first 3 months of this year:

$134.05 Spent
$408.93 Coupons, etc.
75% Savings

I am averaging $45 per month. If I can keep that up, I'm going to make my goal with plenty of room to spare.

Someone on freecycle.com gave me 3 boxes of Gevalia coffee today. That's about $25-$30 worth of premium coffee. I was awfully appreciative to get it. In return, I gave someone else some bricks today. I'm not all that active on freecycle, but, I've given away quite a bit of stuff that way. I think today is the first time I've actually received anything through that site.

You ought to see my dad's tomatoes! They're about two or three feet high. He started the seeds in January in the basement under the grow lights. We'll have tomatoes by the first of June, I think. As sick as he is, I half expected that he would forego tomatoes this year, but, I guess he's just too stubborn to stop doing things. We see the doctor on Monday to see where the cancer is or isn't. I fear the worst.

Sorry I've Been Absent For A While

Between being out of town and being "dawg-sick" for a week, I haven't posted in some time. I've tried to update my totals, but, the system keeps crashing when I attempt it. Here's my totals to date:

$115.93 Spent
$373.25 Coupons, etc.
77% Saved

Needless to say, with being out of town and being so sick last week, I haven't been able to keep up with my "3-a-day" rule. I doubt I've used 3 stockpile items in a week!

There is one thing good about being sick for a week. I lost 10 pounds in 4 days. I know, that's not the recommended way to lose weight, but, I could afford to lose it.

Spring is so crazy. Last Saturday was 70's, yesterday, it snowed. Tomorrow it will be in the 70's again. And I live in the south, for goodness sake!

I received my (4) $6 Purina checks several days ago. Just in time, too, because the food bucket for the outdoor cats was empty. Every now and then, my favorite store has Purina cat chow on special for about $2.50 less than usual. Now, I have some "extra" checks and I can snap up a few when they are on sale.

Some time back, I made a batch of stew. Remember when I was begging for a recipe? Well, I have some still in the freezer. I'm feeling like I could eat some of that today. I've been too sick to eat anything that heavy or seasoned. I still don't feel well enough to get in the kitchen and whip something up, so, this is just the ticket today.

I've Done Well For A Couple Of Days

For two days, I've been able to adhere to the "3-a-day" rule. I'm really trying to use up stockpile as best as I can. I made a huge dinner yesterday and used some freezer stew today with cornbread. I can see some headway in my freezer lately. It doesn't seem so packed. I still have a few items in my dad's freezer at his house, most notably a turkey and some ground beef.

My dad is failing fast. I can see a serious decline in the past 4 days. My mother is in therapy after her quad bypass surgery. I've tried to talk to them about home health care, but, they are resistant. There's really very little I can do for them. I feel so helpless.

I saw your comments on having waffles for dinner and making baked spaghetti. I think I can do both. I tend not to eat much in the evening. I eat during the day mostly. At any rate, I've taken your suggestions under consideration. I may have waffles and sausage for dinner one night soon. I have a "goo-gob" of sausage in the freezer. You all know what a "goo-gob" means, don't you? It's one of my grandmother's words. It means you have more than you need.

I got a new heat pump installed today. I am so excited. I've been living with a single heater for 3 years. Now, I can have a warm house or a cool house now, as I please. It's wonderful.

I've got a couple of free coupons for Excedrin to redeem in the next few days. I also have some BOGOF Qs for Michael Angelo's dinners. I guess I will spend a few bucks on groceries for the next few days. I don't think it will hurt my percentages much.

I'm On A Roll!

Look at my totals for the year. If I can keep my spending at $83 per month, I will easily make my goal for the year. As it stands right now, I'm about a month "ahead" of myself.

Yesterday, I was able to do the "3-a-day." The only problem is that it makes so much food that I eat leftovers for a few days. I just can't quite keep up with the "3-a-day" rule, but, I'm really trying.

I had a brainstorm this morning. I have leftover mac & cheese and pinto beans. I also have some taco seasoned ground beef in the fridge. How about mixing some ground beef into the mac? It's already nicely seasoned and would punch up the mac & cheese.

I've had a really big mess in the house for a few days. I have some shelving that snaps together and I have had it up for years, storing my food in the open shelves. Well, I had some work done on my house a few days ago and one of the workmen needed to get to my heat/air vent in the floor. The shelving was just barely on the edge of the vent. He tried to push it over, and because these are "snap-together" shelves, the whole thing just collapsed! He did not tell me what he'd done and I only found the mess after they were gone. I've been working since midnight last night to put the shelves back together. Of course, I had to remove all the groceries, putting them all over the house, until I could get the shelving back up. I've been working for more than 8 hours and still not quite finished with the work. This time, I made sure that the shelving didn't cover the vent so that when he comes back, he can finish the work on the vent. One of the advantages of this problem is that I've been able to get a good look at all the food items on the shelf.

Cat food alert! Someone sent me enough Purina cat chow weight circles to redeem for (4) $6 checks on future purchases. That is such a gigantic help to me. I have two cats in the house and about five outside and in the basement. It fluctuates from season to season and whenever females are having babies, but, it has held steady at five for quite a while now. I've been missing a cat for about 3 months, which is about the time I first saw the coyote that apparently lives on my property. I see him all the time. We came face to face in the yard one day. I was frozen. I couldn't move, couldn't get away, and didn't want to spook him into attacking. He finally decided to trot away. You may think I live out in the country, but, no, I live less than 2 miles of the courthouse in a city of 200,000. I mean, lots are 50 feet wide and the whole street is lined with houses. I have some wooded area behind my house and I have seen his trail into the woods. Here's the kicker; the Wildlife Resource Agency will not come out to kill a coyote and if I kill him, I will be cited to court for discharging a firearm in the city limits. How's that for a "Catch 22?" Not to mention that all I have is a snub-nosed .38. I'd have to practically be close enough to kiss him to hit him with a little thing like that. I do use hollow-point bullets, so, if I hit him, no problem, he's down. It's just getting close enough, and besides that, who walks around with a gun in their hand all the time?

One more thing. I'm going to beat this into your brain. Do you have a wallet full of gift cards? CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES!! I almost lost $30 at Office Depot this weekend. I "found" it yesterday and it expires today. That's much too close for comfort. You save up your MyPoints or other survey sites and redeem for a GC. Then, you forget you have it!

Geez! The Groceries I Have!

Due to some work on my house this week, I had to dismantle some of my grocery shelves. I didn't realize how much Hamburger Helper I've got and I have so much ground beef in the freezer. I have enough elbow macaroni to feed a small army. It's so easy to overlook what's on the shelf when there is just so much.

I have a lot of pancake mix. I guess I could make waffle mix out of it. I so rarely eat breakfast that I just forgot about all this stuff.

Anyway, looking over all this stuff that I've had to relocate in the house, I see that I can eat for a year off of stockpile. Yeah, I know, I just ate off stockpile for a year already.

I promise to get back on the "3-a-day" stockpile rule soon. I really try. I just ran across a bag of Christmas presents I received and there were 7 bottles of body wash. Oh, yeah! Like I didn't have enough!

My daffodils are coming up, although, my January jasmine didn't bloom at all last month. I can't wait for spring. We've had more snow here this year than we've had in the past 3-4 years total. You know, when you live in the south, you expect a mild winter. This has been awful.

O.K. Besides mac & cheese, what else would you do with elbow macaroni? I have a bag full of bread crumbs in the freezer. I hate to throw away those stale pieces of bread, so, I grind them to make crumbs. Your suggestions are appreciated.