Errands and Groceries on Tuesday

It was another chilly morning, today, and I finally turned on the heater!  What I have is a natural gas wall heater, not central heating.  It is set into the wall between the living room and the passage way that leads to the bedrooms, with one side facing the living room and the other side opening to the passage way:

Heater - Living Room Side

Since the house is open plan, the heat diffuses from the living room and passage way to the other rooms (there is no fan to circulate the warm air).  When the heater is on, the living room is the warmest room, the family room and bedrooms are always cooler, and daughter's corner bedroom, with two outside walls, is the coldest!

This morning, I sat in the living room, in front of the heater, until both the house and I warmed up!  There was a call from my oncologist's clinic as they needed to reschedule my appointment, because the doctor will be out due to the holidays.  They also raised the issue of my insurance coverage as my former coverage as an employee has ended; the new coverage as a retiree is supposed to have gone into effect as of November 1, but I haven't received any information about it, including a card or member number.  I will give them another week or so and then, call to find out what is happening.  In the meantime, the oncologist appointment has been rescheduled for early December and, I might need to call and reschedule the podiatrist appointment to December, too.  I am not too bothered by this as both these appointments are follow-up appointments, but, I can't go without evidence of medical insurance coverage for too much longer! 

After having a slice of cold pizza for brunch, I drove downtown to my former office.  I had received an email stating that my unused vacation time (and part of my unused sick time) pay out check was ready for pick up.  Since I no longer had my parking permit, I parked in a public parking structure and walked the few blocks to the office.  It didn't take long to sign for and collect my check; I didn't linger to visit former colleagues as the parking meter was running! 

On the way home, I stopped to put gas to the car.  I had half a tank of gas when I left to go downtown and the gas level had gone down a little bit below half a tank by the time I came back.  I like to keep the tank at least half full, just in case there is an emergency, such as a fire or an earthquake, and I need to evacuate.  After hearing the news stories about all the people who were trying to put gas during the fire evacuations and gas stations being unable to operate due to lack of electricity, I know having a tank full of gas is important.  Gas was $3.49/gal. and I put $34 worth of gas to fill the rest of the tank.    The last time I put gas to the car was on October 12, when gas was $3.65/gal. and I put $40 worth of gas.  At the time, I had hoped that the tank of gas would last me for two weeks, instead, it lasted me a whole month!  For now, I will keep the budget for gas at $100/month (it used to be $200/month when I was working).  But, maybe, from January, 2019, I might be able to reduce it even more. 

Then, I went to the bank to deposit my check.

After that, I went to the grocery store for a few items.  I didn't take a photo, today, but I bought:

1 gallon milk = $2.99
1 box pancake mix = $1.99
3 lb. bag clementines = $3.99
Bananas @$.59/lb = $.62
Total = $9.59

11/13 Grocery Receipt

The clementines are a little treat for my daughter who loves them.

November grocery budget = $100
Spent to date = $20 + $6.47 + $19.86 + $1.50* + $9.59 = $57.42
Balance left in the budget = $42.58
* $1.50 for the loaf of bread I bought on 11/11

While I was at the grocery store, I did a little price checking.  Since daughter was able to find pure almond extract (1 fl. oz.) at the dollar store, I wanted to see how much they cost at the grocery store. 

Brand Name Extracts and Flavors

They didn't have the name brand almond extract, but they had the store brand:

Store Brand Almond Extract

$6.00 for a 2 fl. oz. bottle, which comes to $3.50 for 1 fl. oz.  More than 3 times what my daughter paid for the 1 fl. oz. bottles she found!

I also saw this can of apple pie filling, regular price of $3.69; on sale now for $2.99.  A bargain!  Except, I bought a similar can (same brand, but the label on the can I bought said "Wilderness" and not "Comstock") for $1 at the dollar store! 

Canned Apple Pie Filling

When I see price variations like that, I feel like buying the entire stock of the items I find at the dollar stores!  LOL! 

By then, it was 4:00 p.m. and I was getting hungry.  It had been several hours since I had my slice of pizza for brunch!  I was craving a hamburger, so I bought one for $1.78 (with tax), on the way home; came home and ate my hamburger and drank a cup of tea. 

Then, I returned phone calls I had missed because I had been out all afternoon. 

Dinner was a bowl of soup and a slice of toast.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter, who was feeling a little achy after her flu shot, yesterday. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- The pay out check
- Being able to put it into savings
- A working heater
- Bargains at the dollar store
- Phone calls from family and friends

I haven't posted any To Do Lists, lately, and it is starting to show!  Time to start posting them, again!  Posting them keeps me accountable!

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Do the dishes
- Clear the kitchen counters
- Water the indoor plants
- Tidy the family room
- Change bed sheets and chair covers
- Do laundry
- Renew or return my library books

There is some shopping to be done, too, but, my daughter asked me to wait until she comes home, because she, too, wants to go shopping! 

How was your Tuesday?