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| March 5 Groceries |
Then, I brought in the trash cans. My neighbor M was also taking in her trash cans, so I went over to say hi to her and ask her how she was. M is actually my neighbor S's mother-in-law. We tend to have rather interesting conversations since she is Armenian and speaks hardly any English and I don't speak any Armenian! But, we manage to converse. Then, I helped her to take her trash cans in.
The mail had been delivered by that time, so I brought in the mail, including this week's grocery ads. I tossed most of the ads, kept the ones for the three stores I shop at most often, and put two statements that came in the pile of mail to be filed, later!
Then, I made breakfast, as I was getting hungry! I made milk rice (rice cooked in milk) to use up some leftover cooked red rice, and ate it with some leftover salmon and the last bit of the gravy from the mackerel curry.
In the early afternoon, I put gas to the car (I was at half a tank, so I topped it up; it came to $28.45; I budget $50 per month for gas for the car).
After that, I went to the grocery store across the street from the gas station to do this week's grocery shopping. I went mostly to buy their eggs at $1.49/doz., as today is the last day for that sale and I have come to my last two eggs (although a different Kroger affiliated store is having eggs at $1.49, starting tomorrow; I could have waited, but I didn't want to procrastinate!).
They were also having asparagus on sale for $.99/lb., which was cheaper than green beans ($1.49/lb), so I bought some asparagus, too, since I needed another vegetable besides what I have in the fridge (1 cucumber, 1 zucchini, 1 lettuce, some carrots, 1/2 cabbage, and some shriveled up beets!). I am aware that by the time I trim the asparagus, it would come to cost about as much as the green beans per pound, but, I am hoping I will be able to cook the trimmed off sections of the stems to make asparagus soup. Whether or not I like asparagus soup remains to be seen! LOL!
I also bought six gallons of bottled water to replenish my earthquake supplies. I now have 12.5 gallons of drinking water in stock for an emergency.
I bought:
1 doz. eggs = $1.49
1 bundle asparagus @ $.99/lb = $.91
6 gallons of bottled water @ $.79 + $.10 deposit = $5.34
Total = $7.74
Just in case anyone is wondering where the rest of my groceries are, the above was all I needed for this week. I have a piece of cooked salmon in the fridge (which needs to be eaten in the next day or so); cooked chicken breasts, roast beef, and a package of ground beef/zucchini burgers in the freezer, along with the makings of another batch or two of tomato soup and various other items that I shouldn't eat a lot of, such as garbanzo beans, edamame, corn, and puff pastry; I have some vegetables in the fridge; a whole pineapple, two bananas, a large apple, and several oranges still on the tree for fresh fruit; and plenty of canned stuff. I generally don't make a weekly meal plan, but, I think there's plenty to choose from to come up with meals for the week, don't you?
Just in case anyone is wondering where the rest of my groceries are, the above was all I needed for this week. I have a piece of cooked salmon in the fridge (which needs to be eaten in the next day or so); cooked chicken breasts, roast beef, and a package of ground beef/zucchini burgers in the freezer, along with the makings of another batch or two of tomato soup and various other items that I shouldn't eat a lot of, such as garbanzo beans, edamame, corn, and puff pastry; I have some vegetables in the fridge; a whole pineapple, two bananas, a large apple, and several oranges still on the tree for fresh fruit; and plenty of canned stuff. I generally don't make a weekly meal plan, but, I think there's plenty to choose from to come up with meals for the week, don't you?
I also bought a 16 lb. bag of cat food which cost $9.99 + $.95 sales tax = $10.94. Anytime someone spends more on food for the stray cats than for herself, you know she's a crazy cat lady! LOL! Dancer got some organic broccoli leaves for his treats, but they were free! My entire bill for groceries and cat food came to $18.68, but I don't include the cat food in my grocery budget.
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| 3/5 Grocery Receipt |
My grocery budget for the month of March is $75 for food, only (does not include household products, toiletries, cat food, etc.).
I had spent $1.79 of the March grocery budget on February 27, when I bought 4 bananas @ $.59/lb. = $.79 and one bag (12 oz.) of frozen corn for $1.00, as I had spent all of my February grocery budget at that point.
So, March groceries, spent to date = $1.79 + $7.74 = $9.53
Amount left in the March grocery budget = $75 - $9.53 = $65.47
I'm glad I got the grocery shopping done when I did, because, it started to rain a short while later and it has been raining on and off ever since!
Even though I had eaten before I went grocery shopping, I was hungry after I came back! So, I finished the leftovers from the Thai beef salad. Then, I boiled the last two eggs from the old container to make egg salad and ate egg salad on a slice of whole wheat bread at tea time, with a cup of tea. Then, of course, I wasn't very hungry for dinner! I had planned to have some of the salmon steak I had in the fridge, with vegetable, but, instead, what I felt like having was soup! So, I made a very quick soup - a cheater's version of vegetable soup: 1 can of chicken broth and 1 can of mixed vegetables, heated together and sprinkled with a generous grinding of black pepper!
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| Cheater's Vegetable Soup! |
It was just what I wanted! There's more soup leftover for tomorrow, too!
I hand washed the grey sweater after tea; I rolled it in a bath towel to absorb most of the water and then, spread it out on another towel on the clothes drying rack to air dry. After that, I did the dishes. Then, I watched evening news and knitted a bit. I felt lazy, after that, and didn't really want to tidy my bedside table! But, I told myself I shouldn't procrastinate.
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| Tidied Bedside Table |
Then, I spent a little time doing some paperwork, tearing up stuff I no longer needed to keep, etc. Dancer, being the helpful kitty he usually is, decided to do some shredding of his own:
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| Dancer Helps with Shredding! |
Except, he chose to shred a facial tissue that he pulled out of the box I keep near my chair...
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| Dancer "Helping" Mummy! |
Thank you, Dancer, you've been a very helpful kitty! Fortunately, the waste basket was right there!
Dancer pulling the tissue reminded me of the time when my daughter discovered that she could pull the tissues of the box and proceeded to pull them all out, one by one!
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| Daughter and the box of tissues! |
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| "Look what I did!" |
Sorry, the quality of the photos aren't great and the chandelier lights are reflected on the bottom photo.
Today, I am grateful for:
- The sunshine we had in the morning
- The rain later in the day, watering my garden for me
- Being able to run my errands before it rained
- What I was able to accomplish, today
- Old photos
To Do List for Tuesday:
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE; helped neighbor M with her trash cans, too!
- Mail the gas bill payment - DONE; took the easy way and put it in the mail box for the mail carrier to take!
- Put away the dried laundry - DONE
- Handwash the grey sweater - DONE; it is air drying now
- Tidy my bedside table - top and 2 drawers - DONE!
- Buy eggs - DONE
- Put gas to the car - DONE
- 30 mins. of paperwork - DONE
- Do dishes - DONE
Wednesday's To Do List:
- Tidy the top of my desk
- 30 mins. of paperwork
- Clean 1 bathroom
- 30 mins to 1 hr. of tidying in the 3rd bedroom
- Clear/wipe down the kitchen counters
- Sweep and mop the kitchen floor
How was your Tuesday? Have you gone grocery shopping in March, yet? What is your grocery budget for the month and for how many people? Do you include household supplies, etc., in your grocery budget?
Very cute photos of your daughter who does quite pleased with the trick she just figured out. :) And good for you for going ahead and cleaning off your nightstand when you didn't feel like it. From my experience, that was a hard thing to do.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. I also have photos of her "helping" to "fold" the laundry, where the laundry ended up everything but folded! LOL! You know, once I got started on cleaning the nightstand, it was fine. It is always the getting started part that is hard for me to do.
DeleteOh your daughter was such a cutie!
ReplyDeleteI found out today it is possible to buy frozen asparagus so I may give that a try. I only like it occasionally and now I live alone, the fresh bundles are too much for me and end up in soup, which I always feel is a bit of a waste.
Thank you, Eileen.
DeleteIf you like the frozen asparagus, then, that would be a good thing. You can use just what is needed and not have to worry about wasting any. :)
Yum.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Regine. :)
DeleteHi Bless, Yes, I did my grocery shopping for March. I have most everything I need. I will probably buy some fruit and lettuce a couple of times this month. I budget $250.00 a month for groceries, for one person. I know, it's so much more than you spend! That includes cleaning supplies, like baking soda and white vinegar. I think I eat two or three times as much food as you do. Plus, I buy gourmet coffee beans, Belgian chocolate, gelato, and organic blueberries. I am thinking about reducing what I spend on groceries. I only use one tank of gas per month, though, and that runs me about $35.00. You've got me paying attention. I am very impressed with your discipline. I also buy organic chicken and grass fed meat. I am in perfect health, though, so maybe it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteI gather that you do a main monthly grocery shopping and supplement it with fresh produce as needed? That is a good way to shop, but one that I haven't quite mastered, yet! I like the weekly shopping to take advantage of the week's specials.
DeleteYour grocery budget seems quite reasonable to me, especially since you buy specialty items and it includes cleaning supplies, etc. Your good health is a very good indication that you are obviously doing something right! Good health is worth everything! I am becoming more conscious of what I am ingesting, so, maybe it is time for me to reconsider what I buy when I grocery shop. I have got too used to buying the lowest priced items; out of necessity, at the beginning, when finances were tight, but now it's become a habit! I find it hard to pay more even when I know it is for better quality things and I can afford it. I don't like to spend money! Maybe I've become a miser!
I don't eat a lot at one time, but, I find myself wanting to eat every 3 hours or so! Enjoy a piece of chocolate for me, please. :)
Your daughter looks so pretty in those photos! What great memories...her being like Dancer..lol. So nice she visited and you celebrated her birthday. You eat and cook wonderful on your budget! Andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea. We had a lovely birthday celebration when she visited. I do think I eat quite well on my budget, but, I shall think about including better quality meat, and so forth. :)
DeleteCheater soup looks really yummy. I embroidered a tea towel at Christmas which read "If I have to stir it, then it's homemade". I think you may have had to stir that soup a few times, didn't you? Good for you not buying the pumpkin pie. That is also one of my favourites. Of course, you could buy the pie to enjoy a single slice as long as you could gift the rest of it to a neighbour.
ReplyDeleteRight now as I type this, outside my window.....I have a small brown rabbit digging in the snow for his dinner. He is pruning my perennials and fertilising my flower beds. Ha,ha.
Your daughter was a little cutie patootie and she looks so very proud of herself for a job well done. Dancer?...not so much.
The cheater soup was not too bad! Of course, freshly made from scratch soup would have tasted better, but, yes, I did stir it (not to mention open cans!) and, therefore, it is homemade! LOL! I had a bowl of it for my lunch, today, and there's enough for tomorrow's lunch, too. Considering I spent $.50 for the can of broth and $.50 for the can of mixed vegetable, it comes out to $.33-34 per serving.
DeleteYou know, I did consider buying the pie and sharing it with neighbor T. She'd have been fine with something like that. But, I would have had a hard time having just a slice, so, I didn't buy it. Maybe if I hadn't had birthday cake over the weekend, it might have been different! Maybe the next time I see a good deal on pies!
Aw, you have a helpful gardener friend in that brown rabbit! Yes, Dancer will lose out in any contest for cuteness with my daughter as a baby, although he comes a close second! :D
The photos of your daughter with the tissues are so precious, aren't they? Happy memories! Sometimes I used to wish I could have my son both as a little fellow and whatever age he had grown up to. Now it is a similar feeling with granddaughter, once a wee child who would pat the floor for me to get down and play with her, now a lovely girl almost my height!
ReplyDeleteI did a fair bit of grocery shopping yesterday and picked up a little more today in another store. I managed to find quite a few bargains to stock up on. I have plenty of frozen fish and lots of eggs but not much meat right now, and I seem to be low on pasta, so I guess I will be shopping again this month.
Yes, those childhood photos are very precious, capturing moments that might otherwise be forgotten. :)
DeleteSounds like you have most everything you need, but, yes, another shopping trip for a few other items, later in the month would be a good thing. I have to go to the pharmacy today to pick up a prescription refill and both the dollar store and the grocery store are in the same mall, so, I might have a look to see if there are any bargains to be had!