Thursday morning, I went to my appointment with the podiatrist. My original appointment had been scheduled for early May, but, I had been postponing it, due to my reluctance to venture out during the pandemic. Today, I finally kept the appointment and went in. The podiatrist was concerned about my big toe that I had hurt when I slipped in the the shower, back in July, but, eventually decided that I hadn't broken or torn anything and the toe didn't need to be X-rayed. Even so, he told me I should have come in to have it checked, when I first hurt it!
My appointment was at 10:30 a.m., but, by the time I was seen and drove home, it was already noon. I had some milk and cereal for brunch and rested a bit.
The grocery store texted me to say that they didn't have some of the items I had ordered and offered substitutes for some of them (a different brand of frozen battered fish fillets to the store brand I had ordered and a four-cheese pizza instead of the pepperoni pizza I wanted); I accepted the substitutions, as they don't charge extra for the substitutions. Other items I ordered, including the shrimp potstickers and the store brand mango fruit cups, were simply unavailable and they could only give me two cans of condensed milk instead of the six that I wanted. Oh, well. That was a stock up item and I will order them from another store or try again at a later time.
My pick up slot was between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. I got to the store a few minutes before 3:00 p.m., but, that was not a problem. A few minutes later, a store employee brought out my groceries and put them in the trunk of my car. There is normally a $6.95 service charge for online ordering and pick up, but, the store has waived it during the pandemic, so, it was free of charge!
I called friend R from the grocery store parking lot and said I'll be coming over directly - I had a tray of chicken and a bag of curry leaf sprigs that she had wanted. In exchange, she gave me two packets of the tea that I prefer and a packet of mustard seeds that she had obtained for me, as well as some disposable masks (worth their weight in gold, these days!) and a new winter jacket that someone had given her last Christmas, which was a little too snug for her, to be given to my daughter!
Then, I came home and disinfected everything and put away most of the groceries. I didn't put away the frozen pizza and decided to have that for my dinner, instead. It has been 6 months (or more) since I last had a pizza; that's the only reason why I turned on the oven on a day when it was 100F! LOL. I ate nearly 1/3 of the pizza! The rest of the pizza was sliced into four pieces, individually wrapped in foil and frozen for another day.
I didn't take any pictures of the groceries I bought, today, as I was trying to get it all in the fridge before the frozen items thawed and the ice cream melted even more!
But, here's a list of what I bought:
Frozen battered fish fillets, 10 count = $5.99
1 frozen cheese pizza = $4.99
3 trays boneless/skinless chicken breasts @$1.67/lb ($6.36 + $6.71 + $6.08) = $19.15
3 lb. chub ground beef = $11.97
1 loaf sliced sandwich bread = $1.49
1 loaf French bread = $1.00
1 jar sweet relish = $3.29
1 cantaloupe = $1.50
4 large peaches @$.99/lb = $1.91
4 bananas @$.59/lb = $.97
2+ lb. cotton candy grapes @$3.99/lb = $8.62
2+ lb. red grapes @ $1.99/lb = $4.70
1lb. bag carrots = $.99
1 cucumber = $.99
1 iceberg lettuce = $1.29
1 zucchini @$1.49/lb = $.60
1 broccoli crown @$1.99/lb = $1.45
1/2 gal. whole milk = $2.29
2 cans condensed milk, @$1.99 = $3.98
1 container orange juice = $2.99
1 container vanilla ice cream = $2.98
2 boxes cereal @ $1.79 = $3.58
5 bags ground coffee @$4.99 = $24.95
1 bag tortilla chips = $2.99
1 doz. eggs = $2.99
Total = $117.65
One of the trays of chicken was for friend R and the coffee is for my daughter (for whenever she comes down for a visit; she will take some back with her).
I put my two trays of chicken and the chub of ground beef in the fridge for today. Tomorrow, I will portion it all up and freeze, or maybe cook some of it and then freeze.
My pre-Covid grocery budget used to be $75 for the month plus another $25 for eating out. But, I've gone over that during the pandemic, as I no longer grocery shop in person at the ethnic stores where I used to get really good deals and I have been stocking up. Since I am no longer eating out (or getting take out food), I decided to add that $25 to my grocery budget and raised it to $100 per month. But, I think I will increase my grocery budget to $125, this month, since I have already spent $5 earlier in the month for milk and grapes and I spent almost $118, today. Of course, I didn't grocery shop in August and some of the items I bought today are for stocking up (and others were treats!).
I rested in the evening, practiced the piano, called neighbor T to check on her, washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, a little bit.
On the To Do List for tomorrow: water the indoor plants, process the chicken and ground beef, and do a load of laundry.
Today I am grateful for:
- The appointment with the podiatrist went well
- A safe drive there and back
- Being able to order groceries online and free pick up
- Friend R getting me my tea and sharing some of her masks with me
- Being able to increase the grocery budget as needed
Today's joyful activity was visiting my friend, even if very briefly.
How was your Thursday? What are your plans for Friday?
My grocery budget has definitely been blown out of the window and I need to sit down and try to work out a new one. I can save money if I shop in person but, even though infection remains very low in this area, I still don't know that I want to take the risk. I'm using my 'entertainment/social' budget to top up at the moment as that's not being used at all.
ReplyDeleteI will book another supermarket delivery for asap later today - the north of the UK has a lockdown of sorts imposed and I want to top up supplies in case that happens here.
I'm enjoying a coffee while I wait for the new gardener to arrive ... fingers crossed it works out.
Hope you have a good day today.
I am using the unspent portion of my budget for gas for the car to make up the grocery budget shortfall! It all evens out, in the end, I think. I am just very, very grateful that I am in a position where I can accommodate the increase in the grocery budget.
DeleteGood idea to stock up on groceries, Eileen; with Covid on the rise in various places and weather-related disasters, one can only assume that things will get pricier and harder to get as winter approaches.
Hope the new gardener works out!
Thank you; hope your day is going well, too.
That's good that you're stocking up, Bless. You sound very organized and prepared.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. I'm trying to stock up at the best possible prices; several of the items I purchased, yesterday, were on a "buy 5 or more participating items and save $1" deal. Plus, I am trying to have enough on hand so I don't have to inconvenience anyone else by asking them if they can pick up something or the other for me.
DeleteHope all is well with you and you are safe from the fires.
Glad you got another appointment taken care of. I think you are doing very well with you covid shopping budget. Glad you were able to stop to see a friend too, that's especially nice these days. Hope you have a great day and a nice weekend :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. Hope you have a good day and weekend, too.
DeleteIt's always a bit of a stress to get the frozen stuff into a freezer as soon as possible, isn't it? One reason I don't mind the cooler temperatures is that I can transport frozen items without too much concern, provided that I don't decide to take a massive detour!
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I had to really bundle up for our coffee meeting by the river this morning. A strong wind was blowing across the river and the slightly sheltered table we sat at was not enough and we migrated up to the town to a sheltered gazebo. I went grocery shopping again, still stocking up and also picking up what was not there on Monday. I keep thinking I may have to go back to infrequent visits if we enter a new lockdown in winter. But no point in worrying now.
Especially when the groceries are in the trunk of the car on a 100F afternoon! LOL. I have a couple of styrofoam boxes in the trunk, but, the person loading the groceries didn't place the cold items in the boxes and I didn't take the time to rearrange everything when I was at the parking lot.
DeleteI am glad you were able to find a more sheltered spot to enjoy that cup of coffee! I hope you will still be able to visit your friend during the winter, but, you might have to find an indoor location which can be complicated. But, yes, cross bridges when you come to them. :)
I'm glad your toe injury was not more serious. My sister hurt one of her toes once and didn't go in for a while. By that time, there was permanent damage done that still causes her problems. The doctor said if she had come in sooner, they could have taped it and had much better results. I think about her experience and hope to learn from it. Luckily, I haven't hurt my toe recently.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn; I hope you won't hurt your toe, at all! :D
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