Thursday, March 1, 2018

On the First of March

Daughter was already up and working, when I woke up, today, and had my cup of morning coffee.  I spent the day "recuperating"!  I did respond to one work email and called the office to take care of one small matter related to the move to the other building.  But, otherwise, I responded to blog comments, read a couple of blogs, and played a lot of sudoku!

Brunch was one of the curry puffs from yesterday.  In the afternoon, daughter made tea for us.  After she finished her work for the day, we went grocery shopping, as we needed more milk, bananas, and tangerines.

At first, we thought of going to one of the usual regular grocery stores, but then, we decided to go to a warehouse type store that doesn't require membership, mostly because daughter likes their tiramisu cake; it's one of her favorite cakes and the one she wanted for her birthday.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any of their tiramisu cake, today.  I even asked the cashier and she called one of the managers and they looked in the stock room, but they didn't have any.  All they could say was they were expecting another delivery tomorrow and maybe try again, later in the day, tomorrow.

So, instead of the tiramisu, we bought a chocolate fudge cake ($3.99) because I insisted we bought a cake (daughter was willing to buy some mini cinnamon rolls instead, but who ever heard of a birthday cinnamon roll?) and ice cream  (because birthday cake needs ice cream; 2 kinds for $3.49 and $3.99) and gelato ($2.25) because she likes it; she was going to put it back in the freezer when I got the cartons of ice cream, but I bought the gelato, as well, because I was in the mood to indulge her. 

We bought the milk ($2.79), bananas (@$.57/lb = $1.48), and tangerines (3lb. bag @$2.49), a package of frozen tamales ($5.29 for 5 tamales), a bag of sweetener (Splenda) for daughter to take back with her ($7.99), and a container of Cafe Mocha flavored iced coffee ($4.99).  I also bought a big package of toilet paper (36 rolls for $17 and Dancer's cat food for $9.80).  And I bought two Amazon gift cards for daughter, as a birthday gift - she can buy whatever she likes with them.

I also bought 3 boxes (that was all they had on the shelf) of the brand of tea bags that R likes, because she had said she forgot to buy her tea when she went shopping the other day.  Afterwards, we called R and asked her if she could come down to the gate of her apartment building in 15 minutes time, drove there, and gave her the bag of tea boxes.  She was so happy!    

When we came home, daughter put away the groceries before I could take a photograph of it.  I spent a total of $172.12.  But the groceries came to $38.75, not counting the toilet paper (Household Products budget), Dancer's cat food (Pet Care budget), daughter's gift cards and the boxes of tea bags (Gifts budget).

I think I will count it as my February Week 4 grocery shopping, since I went grocery shopping only 3 times in February (other than the raspberries and grapes bought earlier this week; $5 for that):

February grocery budget = $75 + $17.23 carried over from January = $92.23
Spent = $7.03 + $27.44 + $13.35 + $5 + $38.75 = $91.57
Balance left in the budget = $92.23 - $91.57 = $0.66

I will start March with a new grocery budget of $75.

I drove again, today, for the first time since last Friday.  I covered the scar with a gauze pad, to minimize being rubbed by the seat belt (which goes exactly over the scar), but I think I really didn't need it.  
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After we came home, we sampled some of the iced coffee we had bought from the store - it was a little strong tasting for me, but I added a little of my creamer to it and it was just right!  

For dinner, I cooked some fresh rice, pulled out a bunch of curries from the freezer (fish, dhal, cashew, green beans, cooked greens) and opened one of my jars of tomato chutney:

Daughter's Plate 


It was a good dinner; what daughter calls "a proper Sri Lankan meal".  She likes having several different curries with her rice.  There are leftovers in the fridge for another meal. 

Later, I ran the dishwasher and handwashed the pans from yesterday.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- Another day of recuperating
- Being able to drive again
- Being able to reciprocate my friend's kindness
- Being able to splurge on some treats at the grocery store
- A working dishwasher!  

It has been a very good day.  Twenty five years ago, today, I was at the hospital, in labor, awaiting the birth of my daughter.  It was a long afternoon and night, I remember.  

How was your day?  Did you have a good start to the month of March?

12 comments:

  1. Snow, and quite a lot of it was my start to March. More is forecast for today and it soooo cold here. Despite having he heating on full, I'm sitting typing with a blanket over my legs. Fortunately I did a mammoth shop last weekend so we can saty well fed even if we're unable to get out. Actually, the main roads aren't too bad but getting out of our road is always a difficult task as the front of the house is north facing so the ice takes ages to clear from our road.

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    1. Eloise, I had read that there was an Arctic blast expected to hit Europe and Great Britain, so I suppose it has arrived? Good thing that you stocked up! Icy roads can be so treacherous. Stay warm and I hope the snow melts soon. Spring will be on its way, soon.

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  2. That was so kind of you to get the tea for your friend! She must have been thrilled.

    Amazon gift cards are so useful, aren't they? One can almost get anything on there. I always send electronic Amazon gift cards to my nephews in France for their birthdays and Christmas. It's also very convenient and saves me a lot of aggravation looking for something that they might like and time and money by not having to mail gifts!

    I love tiramisu! Sorry they didn't have it in stock :( But you made up for it with all that ice cream! LOL. I never associate ice cream with cake (or even pie) myself, but I recently saw a blog post with a recipe for a bourbon coffee baked alaska and now I really want to make one! Maybe to celebrate having lost 50 lbs? I still have 30 lbs to go, lol.

    Have a great day Bless, I hope it's nice and warm despite the rain you had said was predicted for today. Your plants will love it, though. I'm spending my day on the patio, again. It's only supposed to get up to 76F and right now it's quite lovely at 10:15 a.m. I wish the birds would show up though!

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    1. Nathalie, my friend was very happy with her tea. She had called me when she went back to her apartment and realized there were 3 boxes of tea and left me a message - I heard the tail end of the message as I was coming in, but I didn't call her right away and she called back, 5 minutes later, again, to thank me! :D

      My daughter prefers the Amazon gift cards because she can use them without giving any credit card information online and for anything, whereas with store gift cards, she has to go to that specific store. I am also thinking of getting her a gift card to the 99Cents store she likes to go to for her groceries. I think that will be another useful gift!

      Ooh, baked Alaska! Well, if you continue to lose an average of 10 lbs. a month, as you have done during Jan. and Feb., you'll be having that 50 lbs. celebration at the end of May/beginning of June! Sounds like something to look forward to!

      It rained last night/early this morning and it is still drizzling at noon. I am not complaining because the garden really needed that good soaking.

      We are now trying to figure out what to order from our favorite Italian restaurant for lunch. Daughter wants to bring it home and eat, rather than go to the restaurant to eat. I am fine with either.

      Hope you are enjoying your garden and the birds are out, singing.

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  3. Happy Birthday to your daughter. It's fun that you got to spend it together.

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    1. I conveyed your wishes to her, Live and Learn, and she says thank you. :) It is lovely to be able to spend her birthday together. We are planning what to order for our lunch (we'll order ahead, pick it up, and bring it home to eat, as that is her choice). We'll have cake and ice cream, afterwards and just spend the day, relaxing.

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  4. Just want to wish your amazing daughter a very happy birthday!

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    1. She says thank you for the birthday wishes, Bushlady. :)

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  5. Oh I really e joyed your happy upbeat blog today. I so relate to you wanting to provide your daughter with some of her favorite treats. I think it is a mother quirk. My own mum would send me a parcel and always include some rolls of fruit gums and pasties because she knew I liked and missed them.

    What kind of tea does your lovely friend R drink?

    Enjoy your birthday celebration lunch and cake with ice cream and pass on another "many happy returns of the day" to your dear daughter.

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    1. Sandy, I conveyed your birthday wishes to daughter and she says thank you. "Many happy returns of the day" is exactly what we used to say in Sri Lanka, too, so she knew exactly what you meant. One doesn't generally hear that phrase here, does one?

      It is a pleasure to be able to provide her with a few treats. When she was growing up, I was determined NOT to spoil her, because I didn't want her growing up as a spoilt brat, thinking she was entitled in any way. I wanted her to know when a treat was a treat. But now, I think I can relax my guard and spoil her, on occasion, because, I know she truly appreciates it.

      R's tea of choice is Tetley's English Breakfast. :)

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  6. Best Birthday wishes to DD. oh my I remember your planning her sweet 16th BD party. Snow started here around 8 AM and hasn't stopped yet. As some points the winds blew up and swirling snow blocked visibility. We couldn't see across the street. Sorry store didn't have favoured Tiramisu cake. Possibly note their phone number on your cell phone and call when you decide to travel there, asking availability.
    You might want to get one as a special surprise for her next visit.

    You didn't mention, does your port site seem to be healing? You will need to be watchful, no irritation or infection. It's time to concentrate on staying healthy

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    1. Daughter says thank you for the birthday wishes, Hon. Oh, yes, her sweet 16 BD, with the basket of roses cake that I baked! :)

      That's a good idea to surprise her with a tiramisu cake on her next visit! Thank you!

      Yes, the port site seems to be healing. The incision seems to have healed, nicely. There is no pain or bruising where the port itself was, just a little tender to the touch ("So don't touch it, Bless!" LOL). I go on Wednesday, next week, to get the stitches removed.

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