Today, I ran a couple of errands in the afternoon. I went to the bank and then, to the warehouse type grocery store across the street from the bank. Unlike a lot of other warehouse type stores, this one doesn't require you to be a member and pay a membership fee to shop there.
There were a few items I needed to stock up on - sugar, cat food, and toilet paper, mainly. I had been using my previous stock of sugar for everyday use, to make jam for gift giving, and, finally, the love cake. I don't like it when my stocks run low, because I want to be prepared just in case we have a major earthquake or other emergencies, when roads may be damaged or closed, grocery stores might be closed due to structural damage or lack of electricity, or new deliveries can't be made due to damage to the infrastructure, etc.
Today, I bought two 10 lb. bags of sugar for $5.79 each; advertised as a "weekly special", regular price was $5.99, a 30 roll package of store brand toilet paper (when did they start calling it "bath tissue"?) for $16.99, two bags of cat food for $9.99 each, and a bag of a different brand of cat food for $10.99. That was my stocking up part of the items I bought. In addition, I bought a frozen pizza for $3.99 and a frozen cheesecake for $5.99 as a special treat!
Finally, I also bought a candy thermometer, that was on after Christmas clearance, for $1.00; regular price was $3.99. Now, I've made different kinds of candies all my life without the benefit of a candy thermometer, and none of my traditional candy recipes have any specific temperatures listed, but, it's one of those kitchen gadgets I've always wanted, but, didn't want to pay full price for one. I figured that, for $1.00, I couldn't go wrong. The only problem is, I am supposed to be decluttering and, already, I've acquired two new kitchen gadgets!
My total bill came to $74.73 with sales tax. The sugar, pizza, and cheesecake will come from my grocery budget. The other items will be paid from household/toiletries and pet supplies budgets.
Speaking of budgets, I need to redo my budget for the new year. My earthquake insurance went up and the piano lessons are a new expense.
After I came home, I baked the pizza for a very late lunch/early dinner, chatted a bit with M who pruned the rose bushes (we reminisced about the time when it would take him at least four visits to prune all the rose bushes!), fitted a few more pieces in the jigsaw puzzle (with the "help" of Dancer!), and practiced the piano (for 30 minutes - I played through all the beginning pieces and played the one piece where I stumbled a few times; as I progress, I will increase my practice time).
Later, of course, I video chatted with my daughter.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Family and friends calling to check up on me
- Being able to stock up
- M continuing to help with the garden
- The car started without any problem!
- New gadgets for the kitchen!
Today's joyful activities included doing the jigsaw puzzle, eating cheesecake, and playing the piano!
How was your Friday? What are your plans for the weekend?
I purchased a sugar (candy) thermometer ten years ago in a sale. I have used it far more than I expected - for making Marmalade and jams (jellies) for heating sugar for icing (frosting) for some biscuit (cookie) recipes, and for warming milk for yogurt making. The essential thing is to wash it very carefully, promptly, after use. Dried on melted sugar is really hard to shift! Enjoy your new gadget (but try to discard one old thing to make space for it) I hope I have got my UK /USA translations correct!
ReplyDeleteYou did very well with your translations, Angela! :D The blurb on the package says the thermometer can be used for testing oil temperatures when deep frying as well. So, we shall see. I shall go through my kitchen drawer where I keep the smaller kitchen gadgets and see what I can get rid of!
DeleteDid the candies you made not need to reach a certain temperature or did you use the method of dropping a bit of the cooking mixture into water and seeing if it formed a soft ball or a hard ball?
ReplyDeleteMy candy recipes generally say, "until the mixture thickens", or "is very thick", or "until the sugar begins to harden on the sides of the pan". There is no testing in water mentioned anywhere in the recipes, although, I've done that with some of them (after reading about it somewhere).
DeleteMost of my jam recipes say, "until the jam will set" or "is very thick". When I make jam, I usually use the "sheeting" method - letting the mixture drip from the side of the spoon to see if it forms a sheet. Occasionally, I use the cold saucer method, dropping a bit of jam on a saucer that has been kept in the freezer, to see if the jam sets. All a bit "hit or miss" and that's when I wish I had a candy thermometer!
Very good shopping! I need a candy thermometer...I always just guess but it is sill to do so! Andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea. :) Maybe you will find a candy thermometer on sale, like I did! Or, if people ask you what you want for a gift (birthday, etc.), mention the candy thermometer. :)
DeleteOh, new kitchen gadgets are akways welcome at my home, love them, but I don't have so much space to collect them ☺
ReplyDeleteYou'd probably use them, too, Natalia, with all the cooking you do! But, yes, storage space can be a problem.
DeleteWe own two candy thermometers which DH bought in his enthusiasm for trying to make maple candies. Being a scientist he also has to take into account the weather, humidity, pressure and goodness knows what. I just use a thermometer to get the syrup to roughly the right temperature and then use the old fashioned methods to test when making taffy on the snow, dropping syrup into ice cold water for example, to see if it is ready for pouring onto snow in a pan. It is handy to use both gadget and the old methods in combination.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'll have to do will be to make the candy according to my very unspecific recipes and, when I feel the candy is ready, test the temperature with the thermometer, and then, write it down on the side of my recipe, so my daughter will have an idea, should she ever want to make those candies, herself. She's generally not that fond of candy as she finds them too sweet!
DeleteGlad you stocked up. I don't like my food supplies to get too low either, even though we do not have huge worries about earthquakes, but we always have the possibility of tornados
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. Tornados can be just as bad, if not worse, than earthquakes! It's good to be prepared, isn't it?
DeleteYou are a great shopper,Bless. I need to be better and not do impulse purchases. That is a problem for me.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy that cheesecake- xo Diana
Thank you, Diana. I usually do well with grocery shopping, etc. I have a budget and I generally stick to it. If I go over, one month, I try to make it up the following month. Sometimes, I do buy things on impulse, but, not too often!
DeleteThanks, I will! :D
You are wise to keep a stockpile. I'm sure you will work out the budget.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. I have a few other items I want to stock up on, but, I will wait until there's a sale. Yes, the budget is being worked on! I feel blessed to be able to increase the budget, if necessary, without feeling too much of a pinch. It means a little less will be saved, but, I'm OK with that.
DeleteOh, shopping ... I LOVE to shop (this probably reveals things about my character that I need to address!)
ReplyDeleteWe are not enjoying winter here (yes, in this part of Texas we do have some form of 'seasonal weather' although we don't get ice or snow on a regular basis) as it seems this year the weather cannot make up its mind- yesterday was in the 70s and tonight we expect to go below freezing- no matter how we dress in the morning, by afternoon we are completely inappropriate ... wearing/carrying layers must be the answer-the one sure thing is that there will be mud and puddles-
Enjoy the rest of your weekend- I send, as always, my fondest wishes-
Barb
Ha, ha, I guess you are helping to keep the economy afloat! I enjoy grocery shopping, but, have to be in the mood for other kinds of shopping.
DeleteThat's quite a bit of temperature fluctuation, you are experiencing, isn't it? Yes, layering is the way to go - but, then, you end up having to carry the extra layers, when it warms up in the afternoon. I don't envy you the mud and puddles!
Thank you for the good wishes. I wish you and yours the same.
That's a good price on sugar for your stocking up.
ReplyDeleteI need to get a few things too - I have a list going for tomorrow.
I redid my budget for the new year. Mine is not as precise as yours .
(for instance I combine food and household supplies). But I did add a Christmas budget this year lol instead of just taking it out of the extra money I always have in my checking.
I like budgeting and doing the little things I do to make sure our money runs smoothly for our life.
I have had times where money was a worry and I'm thankful that we have lived in a simple & frugal way to get to a place where we have the money we need to live the life we want.
A few years ago when the company I worked for for years was sold I dreaded looking for a new job at 59.
And then I realized I could just retire.
So I did :)
Thank you, Debra. I try to stock up on sugar when it is $.50 or less, per pound, but, I was so low on sugar that I decided to pay $.57/lb.
DeleteWell done on adding the Christmas budget! This year, I've combined my all occasions gifts budget (birthdays, etc.) with the Christmas gifts budget; $25/month for the new combined category!
That sounds like a very good reason to retire, Debra. What a blessing that your years of careful stewardship of your finances enabled you to have that option! Well done!