August Week 2 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 3 Options

 

Chinese Take Out on Friday

These were my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches:  Protein Shake (Monday; me - after dental work getting a tooth ready for a crown); hamburger (Monday, daughter); Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (Tuesday); Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris (daughter); French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; leftovers

Dinners: Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; Monday, me); Scrambled eggs and rice with chicken curry and peach chutney (Monday, daughter); Rice, chicken curry, cauliflower mallung, and moringa curry; Stringhoppers (me; daughter prefers rice) with kiri hodi (coconut milk curry) with or without eggs and/or chicken curry and seeni sambol; leftovers; Chinese take out (Friday treat); Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry, sauteed kale, peach chutney (impromptu dinner party on Thursday)

 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, flan, ice cream

Here's how that turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Protein shake (me; after dental work); home cooked hamburger (daughter)
Dinner:  Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; me); scrambled eggs, followed by rice, chicken curry, and peach chutney (daughter)
Snacks/Dessert: Ice cream

Tuesday Brunch

Tuesday:

Brunch: Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote
Dinner:   Rice, cauliflower stir-fry (with turmeric, curry leaves, mustard seeds, Sri Lankan spice blend, and lemon juice), chicken curry
Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt (me); strawberries (daughter)

Tuesday Dinner

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Leftover pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (me0; tortillas with scrambled egg and lunu miris (daughter)

Wednesday Brunch for Me

Dinner:   Rice and chicken curry with cucumber salad
Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt, strawberries

Thursday:

Brunch:  Protein shake (me); bread and chicken curry (daughter)
Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry, sauteed kale (not quite kale mallung since I didn't add grated coconut), peach chutney (daughter's friend A and her fiance came over to have us taste test wedding cake samples and I decided to have an impromptu dinner party!) 
Snacks/Dessert: Wedding Cake Taste Testing - 5 varieties of cake/frosting combinations!

Friday:

Brunch: Rice and leftover smoked sausage stir fry (daughter)
Late Lunch: Chinese take out (my first meal of the day; eaten around 5:30 p.m., after my doctor's appointment and trip to the post office!)

Dinner:  Leftover Chinese take out
Snacks/Dessert:  Protein shake; yogurt, last of the strawberries

Saturday:

Brunch: Sri Lankan rolls - crepes filled with curried  and potatoes, breaded and deep fried

Dinner:  Stringhoppers with chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt

Sunday:

Brunch:  Garden salad, pasta salad, mini croissants filled with chicken salad, fresh fruit skewers, berries, cake (Bridal Shower Party):  

DinneRice, Leftover Chinese take out
Snacks/Dessert: Iced shortbread cookie from the bridal shower

And there you have it!  I didn't follow the meal plan to the letter, but, I mostly selected from the options I had listed with some changes.  

On to this week's meal plan options!  Here are the options for August Week 3:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and toast (Monday); French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; Waffles or pancakes with bacon and blueberry compote; leftovers

Dinners: Stringhopperswith  chicken curry and garbanzo beans (chick peas) curry;  Rice with chicken curry, kale, moringa curry, and garbanzo beans curry;  Burritos (from the freezer); Tortillas and chicken curry; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, ice cream, cookies

Those are the planned options.  We might stick to these options or go off them, depending on how things work out.  I am planning to order some groceries mid-week (just waiting to see what this week's specials will be, before I order anything).  The meal plan options might change based on what I buy, too.

As always, I am grateful for being able to make meal plan options and being able to go off plan as the mood strikes me.  It's truly a blessing to be able to do so.B

How about you?  Are you making any meal plans this week?  

August Week 2 Review

Bridal Shower Card

The second week of August has been a rather busy one for me.  

When I posted my August Week 1 review, I mentioned that I was posting it on Sunday afternoon and my plan for the rest of the day included accompanying my daughter when she went to her gymnastics session.  I did accompany her and it was a very good thing that I did because, apparently, she landed awkwardly on her final flip, rolling her right foot under her and hurting her small toe.  It's the same foot that she sprained, earlier.  As a result, she was unable to drive her car home so, since I had accompanied her, I drove us home.   She thinks she might have sprained her toe. That was Sunday, August 9.

On Monday, August 10, I had a dental appointment to fix a broken tooth and get it ready for a crown.  I was fitted with a temporary crown and was given an appointment for the end of the month, to return for the permanent crown and more work on the adjoining tooth.   My daughter went with me for moral support more than anything else.  The dental procedure took a little over two hours and I was told that the next appointment would also take about as long.  

It was my aunt C's birthday on Monday.  I sent her a message through her daughter, my cousin N, as Aunt C is no longer able to speak on the phone or do anything much due to her advanced stage of Alzheimer's.  

Daughter made a card to send to Aunt C:

Birthday Card

It opens up to reveal...

A Bouquet of Flowers

On Tuesday, August 11, I rested and recovered from my dental work.  My daughter was kind enough to water the garden for me, but, afterwards, she needed to ice her foot.  

On Wednesday, August 12, I continued to recover from the dental work and tried to figure out what I wanted to do about a border from my hexagon quilt.  Thank you to everyone who commented on it and offered suggestions.  

On Thursday, August 13, I had a follow-up appointment with the dermatologist.  My skin irritations have cleared up and we decided that I don't need any further follow-up visits.  Earlier in the day, I spent about 30 minutes tidying up in the garden.  Then, I picked some kale and cooked it, stir-frying it with spices.

Around 5:30 p.m., my daughter received a phone call from her friend A (my late friend A's younger daughter) who is engaged to get married in approximately six weeks.  A wanted to know if we would like to taste test wedding cake samples to help her choose the cake.  Of course we said we'd love to help!  She said she'd bring the samples and come around 7:45 p.m.  About 10 minutes before she arrived, she asked if it would be okay if her fiance came over, too, and we said yes.  My daughter quickly tidied the house a bit and, although not a word was said about dinner, I cooked a pot of rice and warmed up some curries.  I was very happy that I had packages of chicken curry and moringa curry in the freezer and that I had picked and cooked the kale earlier in the day!  We had rice, chicken curry, sauteed kale, moringa curry, and peach chutney for dinner, and samples of five different types of cakes (there were two mini cupcakes of each different flavor) to taste test for dessert!  All the cakes tasted good to me, but, we all agreed that one particular cake (lemon and raspberry) was better than the others.

Later in the evening, daughter managed to stub the same toe she hurt during gymnastics, so she was back to square one where that toe was concerned!  

On Friday, August 14, I had an appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner.  My appointment was at 1:00 p.m., but, I left the house 10 minutes before 12 noon to allow time for traffic congestions on the freeway.  I arrived at the clinic by 12:45 p.m.  I was called in and weighed, my pressure checked, etc. around 1:30 p.m.  Then, I had to wait until an examination room was available, which didn't happen until 3:00 p.m.!  Then, there was another 15 minutes or so until the nurse practitioner actually came in to exam me (with a trainee accompanying her; with my consent, I was examined twice!)  It was 3:30 p.m. by the time I left the clinic and 4:30 p.m. when I got home!  

I hadn't eaten all day (although I had a granola bar with me), so, as soon as I got home, I had half a bottle of a protein drink and then, I drove my daughter to the post office so she could mail a work-related package.  

On our way back from the post office, daughter suggested stopping by our favorite Chinese restaurant; I reminded her that we had food at home, but, she said she wanted to treat me, so, we picked up some Chinese food for a late lunch/dinner.  

Later in the evening, gardener friend M returned from his week of vacation and tended to the garden.  He brought us a pomegranate from his garden, which was very nice of him.

On Saturday, August 15, friend R came over in the afternoon to pick up some packages that had arrived for her.  She brought us some stringhoppers and snacks and had tea with us.  We gave her some eggs and curry leaves to take back with her.

Also on Saturday, I made the card shown above.

On Sunday, August 16, we attended A's bridal shower.  It was at 11:00 a.m. and went on till just after 2:30 p.m.  After we got home, I took a long nap as I was tired.  

August Decluttering - Week 2:  In the second week of August, I decluttered 3 glass bottles/jars and 2 plastic containers that I had been reusing to store items in the kitchen, 2 blouses (daughter took one of them), 2 stems of silk flowers, and some dried up glue sticks and other crafts supplies (counting those as 1 item), for a total of 10 items, which brings my monthly total up to 36 items..  

In the first week of August, I was grateful for:

- Access to dental care
- Access to medical care
- Having medical insurance
- My daughter treating us to Chinese food
- M's help with the garden
- Garden fresh eggs (the chickens are making sure we are not lacking for eggs!)

The week ahead is a slower one.  I have no medical appointments, although I need to schedule a bone density test.  We have one visit scheduled for Monday evening to visit one of daughter's friends, but, other than that, it should be a relaxed week and I should be able to catch up on my blog reading.

How was your week?  What are your plans for August Week 3?

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt Top

 

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt Top

This is the quilt top that I have been sewing for several years, now. 

I first posted about it over 11 years ago, here.

Then, an update the following year.

Plus, this post about a certain kitty "helping" me with the quilt - he was such a helpful kitty and we miss him so much!

I have finally finished sewing all the flowers, with three left over!  I might use those leftover flowers to make cushions or, perhaps, on the back of the quilt.

Now I am wondering how to do the border.  The pattern leaves scalloped edges, especially on the two long sides.

Top/Bottom Edges of Quilt Top

One of the Side Edges

Originally, I had planned to put half flowers in the bigger spaces to make it a straighter edge.  Then, I thought I'll add a second row of solid green hexagons all around and consider that as the border and leave it scalloped.  It would still be difficult to bind.  But, I might need fewer hexagons to sew together.  So, I started to cut out more green hexagons.  I cut out 35 yesterday; I am going to need around 120 hexagons, give or take a few!  At this rate, I will take at least the rest of the year to piece the top!

I also considered the option of sewing rectangles in different hues/shades of red and brown fabric to make "bricks" to edge the quilt, like a brick path around the flower garden.  I do have a long enough piece of a solid red fabric to make a border, but, I don't have enough different hues/shades of red or brown fabric in the stash.  There are fabrics with brick patterns for sale, but, that's cheating and they are not exactly inexpensive!  I will not pay full price for any fabric I buy for a quilt.  

I did consider a quicker alternative, where I'd sew the top down to a wide piece of fabric to make a straight edge and border, and tried out the idea with three different pieces of fabric from my stash:

Red and White Stripes

I like this, I think it brightens the quilt top, but my daughter thinks it looks Christmas-y.

Bright Green

My daughter likes this, but it is too much of green for me.  I could, however, see it as a narrow border or binding for the quilt.  

Lilac with Yellow-Centered White Flowers 

Daughter said the green and purple/lilac combination is very me!  LOL.  She also pointed out how the yellow centers of the flowers on the fabric match the yellow centers of the flowers of the quilt top.

I also looked at leaf patterned fabric, but, again, I am balking at paying full price, especially when I have all the fabric I bought when the fabric store was going out of business, at the end of 2024 and spring 2025.

Fabric Bought in December 2024

Fabric Bought in March 2025
(Spot the red & white striped and the bright green fabric!)

Which option would you choose for the border?  Another row of green hexagons and leave it scalloped?  Half flowers to fill in the scallops to make a straight edge and bind?  Sew down the top to a wide piece of fabric from the stash to end with a stright edge?  Splurge a bit and buy newleaf patterned or brick patterned fabric? 

August Week 1 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 2 Options

Smoked Sausage Stir Fry with Kale and Chives

These were my meal plan options for August Week 1:

Brunches:  Milkrice with seeni sambol and/or chicken curry (Monday)✔️; Cold cuts sandwiches✔️; Tortillas with eggs and lunu miris;  Pancakes with blueberry compote and/or syrup; Leftover Chinese food✔️Peanut butter toast

Dinners: Hamburgers (for lunch)✔️ with cucumber salad; MilkRice and chicken curry with moringa leaves curry and dhal (daughter)✔️; Fried rice ✔️or frozen burritos✔️; Leftovers✔️Rice and chicken curry (daughter); bread and chicken curry (me)

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit✔️, protein shakes✔️, garlic bread✔️, lava cake✔️, ice cream✔️French bread with dhal (me), Japanese snacks, dates, aloo puri

Here's how it turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Milkrice, chicken curry, seeni sambol (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner:  Fried rice and one leftover sausage (me); Leftover Chinese food (daughter) 
Snacks/Dessert: Protein shake; apple slices

Tuesday:

Brunch:  Milkrice with seeni sambol and jaggery (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner:  Fried rice (me); milkrice with dhal and sauteed moringa leaves (daughter)  
Snacks/Dessert: French bread with dhal, some Japanese snacks, dates

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Fried rice

Dinner:   Bread and chicken curry (me); rice and chicken curry (daughter)
Snacks/Dessert: Aloo puri, apple slices with peanut butter, dates

Thursday:

Brunch:  Peanut butter toast (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner: Rice with smoked sausage/kale/chives stir fry
Snacks/Dessert: Japanese snacks, honey garlic bread sticks, apple slices with peanut butter

Friday Dinner: Rice, Smoked Sausage Stir-fry, 
Dhal Curry

Friday:

Brunch:  Banana, French bread with chicken curry gravy and dhal
Dinner:  Rice, smoked sausage stir fry, dhal curry
Snacks/Dessert:  Banana, strawberries, yogurt, flan

Saturday Brunch: Fried egg and cold cuts sandwich

Saturday:
Brunch: Fried egg and sauteed cold cuts sandwiches
Dinner:  Frozen burrito (daughter and I shared one) 
Snacks/Dessert: Banana, strawberries, yogurt, flan, Japanese snacks

Sunday Breakfast: Banana and Peanut Butter

Sunday:
Breakfast:  Sliced banana and peanut butter (me); daughter had bananas without peanut butter

Lunch: Half a hamburger (daughter had the other half)
Dinner:   Rice, chicken curry, cucumber salad, peach chutney
Snacks/Dessert: Strawberries, yogurt, flan, honey garlic bread sticks

Well, that turned out about the way I expected it to!  We somewhat followed the meal plan options I had listed while adding and subtracting  as we went.  Which is fine, actually.  It was a hot week with temperatures going up to triple digits on some days.  I didn't feel like cooking on some days and I didn't feel like eating what I had listed on other days.  Daughter had her own meal preferences and we ate different things on some days and I didn't always keep track of what she ate (I had a hard enough time keeping track of my own meals!) But, it worked out well enough for us.

Moving on to this week...here are my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches:  Protein Shake (Monday; me - after dental work getting a tooth ready for a crown); hamburger (Monday, daughter); Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (Tuesday); Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris; French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; leftovers

Dinners: Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; Monday, me); Scrambled eggs and rice with chicken curry and peach chutney (Monday, daughter); Rice, chicken curry, cauliflower mallung, and moringa curry; Stringhoppers (me; daughter prefers rice) with kiri hodi (coconut milk curry) with or without eggs and/or chicken curry and seeni sambol; leftovers

 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, flan, ice cream

That's the plan.  We might or might not stick to it!

As always, I am grateful for the blessings of:

- Enough food to eat
- Plenty of variety
- A well stocked pantry and freezer
- Garden produce
- Fresh eggs from the chickens (who've been with us for 3 weeks for today!)

What about you?  Are you doing any meal planning this week?

Ten on the 10th - August

I'm joining blog friend Joy to take and post ten photos on the 10th of the month.  My photos were all taken in and around my garden:

Rose - a bit crispy around the edges

Plumbago

Pomegranate

Calamondin

Niwatori

Henny Penny

Backyard Chickens

Garden Cats: Fluffy (Mama) & Mochi (Kitty)

Mochi

Fluffy

Thank you Joy for organizing the ten on the 10th photo challenge.

August Week 1 Review

 

Mirabilis/Four O'Clocks

Already, the first week of August is behind us!  The days are flying by, aren't they?

I thought I'd do a quick review of the first week of August, just so I can look back and remember what took place (if anything).

Saturday, August 1st: Marked the one year anniversary of my daughter coming home to live with me.  I made milkrice in the morning as I usually do on the first of the month.  Daughter's friend V came over to spend some time visiting and crafting with daughter and daughter ordered pizza for lunch.  Later, neighbor S and her mother brought us Chinese food for dinner, which we enjoyed over a couple of days.

Sunday, August 2nd: We had a relaxed day at home.  Daughter had her usual weekly phone call with her friend J who lives in Hawaii and I spent some time sewing on my hexagon quilt.  I started that quilt many years ago and have been sewing on it, off and on, over the last several years.  I am determined to finish it this summer!

Monday, August 3rd: I took the car in for a required smog test to a local smog test center.  I've gone there twice before and when I mentioned it to the guy running the place, he waived the $5 fee he usually charges to file the test results electronically with the DMV!  Now, that's what I call good customer service for a repeat customer!

Afterwards, I drove to the gas station and put $50 worth of gas to the car.  Gas at this particular station had come down in price from $5.96 to $5.46 per gallon and I was able to put 9.1 gallons for my $50.

The kitchen is my "room of the month" in August, so, after I came home, I swept the kitchen and wiped down the counters.

In the evening, daughter took the trash bins to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, August 4th: I brought the emptied trash bins in and went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills that were ready.  While there, I redeemed a $4 off coupon and a 25% off coupon to buy a box of granola bars for $0.52 cents.  After I came home, I cooked some red lentils (dhal) and sauted some moringa leaves that I had picked from the garden:

Moringa Leaves

In the evening, I accompanied my daughter when she went to her gymnastics session.  I stayed in the car and read while I waited for her.

After we came home, I paid the car registration fee online.  

Tuesday marked two weeks since Niwatori and Henny Penny arrived.  I get up early now, often at 7:00 a.m., occasionally at 8:00 a.m., to let them out of the inner coop into the bigger enclosure and give them breakfast.  Daughter cleans the coop and enclosure around noon, gives them fresh water (with a frozen bottle of water in their water container to keep the water cool during our hot summer afternoons), and collects any eggs they might have laid (they are doing their best to keep us supplied with fresh eggs).  Daughter also tends to them in the evening when they are put back in the inner coop.  I usually go with her when she does that and sit and watch "chicken TV".  Niwatori has taken a liking to perching on daughter's shoulder when she goes to tend to them in the evenings.

Wednesday, August 5th:  Gardener friend M was here and he found some grub worms in one of the pots of rose bushes; we fed them to the chickens who enjoyed them, much to M's amusement.  By the way, we found out that the chickens didn't like their first taste of moringa seeds, but, they like snow peas, although not as much as they love blueberries!  

Thursday, August 6th:  I had a fairly productive day.  I dusted the living room, continued with my kitchen cleaning (scrubbed and bleached the dish drainer and the sink and, later, scrubbed under the burners on one side of the stove).  I also made a batch of yogurt and a flan to use up some milk that needed to be used up before it went off.   I picked some kale, Asian pears, chives, and tomatoes from the garden.  I picked even the tiniest tomatoes as the tomato plants are not doing well in this heat.  I used the kale and the chives in a stir-fry with the last smoked sausage I had in the freezer.

Thursday's Garden Harvest

The chickens are not too interested in kale leaves.  But, we hung a small bunch of them in their coop for them to peck at if they feel like it.  

Thursday was my late neighbor T's birthday and I texted her daughter K and chatted with her a bit.

I also ordered some groceries to be delivered on Friday.

Friday, August 7th:  The groceries were delivered in the morning by 9:00 a.m.  I received everything I ordered, except for some pork chops as the store was out of them.  I put everything away and started a load of laundry.

I had a blood test on Friday, in preparation for an upcoming medical appointment.  In the afternoon, I took a long nap as I was feeling tired and woke up feeling groggy!  Later, I folded and put away my share of the laundry.  Daughter has asked me not to fold her laundry because she has her own way of folding them and when I fold them for her, she has to unfold and refold!  LOL.

I also picked more moringa pods:

Friday's Harvest - Moringa Pods

Saturday, August 8:  After I tended to the chickens in the morning, I peeled, cut, and boiled the prepared moringa pods with a little turmeric.  After they had cooled a bit, I packaged them and froze them.  Later, when I want to have some moringa, I will add the other ingredients such as onions, curry leaves, and milk to make moringa curry.

I took another nap in the afternoon, but, this time, I put the a/c on in my room at daughter's insistence, in addition to the fans!  It was pure luxury!  

I finished sewing the last hexagon onto my quilt top.  I now need to figure out a border for it.  But, that will be a separate blog post.

It's Sunday, just past noon, now.  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and tended to the chickens, opened the doors and windows to air out the house and get some cooler morning air into the house.  It is currently 91F (but feels like 100F according to the weather report and there is a heat advisory in effect).  The high today is supposed to be 93F (a bit cooler than Saturday's high of 98F); the doors and windows will be closed as soon as I finish this post, before the really hot afternoon air comes in.  I want to make a chicken curry before it gets too hot, too.  

Plans for the rest of the day include accompanying my daughter when she goes to her gymnastics session in the evening.

August Decluttering - Week 1:  In the first week of August, I decluttered 8 mini foil pie pans, 5 expired OTC medications (things like Tylenol which I always keep on hand and I am thankful that I didn't need to use the entire bottle before it expired), 6 glass bottles and 6 plastic containers that I had been reusing to store items in the kitchen (I am not counting things like empty peanut butter jars and food containers  that I regularly recycle once the contents are used; just the ones I've been reusing to store items in the fridge or cabinets), and 1 mixing spoon, for a total of 26 items.  I am very pleased with that weekly total.

In the first week of August, I was grateful for:

- My daughter being home again
-  Backyard chickens laying eggs
- Being able to order and have groceries delivered
- Garden produce to supplement the groceries
- Water for the garden
- The car passed the smog test
- The availability of gas
- The room air conditioner and electricity to run it

I hope you are having a lovely Sunday. 

August Grocery Shopping - Week 1

August Week 1 Groceries
(milk and half & half not pictured)

I ordered groceries, yesterday (Thursday, August 6) and they were delivered this morning (Friday, August 7).  By selecting the next day delivery option (and by ordering the minimum of $36 worth of items), I get free delivery.  Since I very rarely need anything delivered right away, the next day delivery works quite well for me.

I needed half & half for my daughter's coffee and regular milk (I used up the last of the old half gallon of milk before it went bad to make yogurt and a flan, yesterday).

I checked my pantry cabinets and decided to stock up on condensed milk (we use it in our tea, instead of regular milk; I usually drink one or two cups of tea a day and daughter usually drinks one; we put one teaspoon of condensed milk per cup and a can will last us 10 days to two weeks, depending on if I drink a second cup of tea each day), sugar, baking powder, and a box of pancake mix (I now have two boxes of pancake mix, including the one I am currently using).  All of these items were at their regular prices.  I usually try to stock up when things go on sale, but, these items haven't gone on sale recently and I decided to go ahead and stock up on them now, while they are still available at today's regular prices, instead of waiting because future regular prices are likely to be higher!  

The bananas were at their regular price, but, the strawberries were on sale and I had an additional digital coupon to save $0.80 on two containers of strawberries.  I had a $0.40 off digital coupon for the cucumber, as well.  I love cucumber and I've tried to grow them in my garden, but, I've never been successful.  The poor plants die before they produce a second set of true leaves due to the heat!

Boneless pork chops were on sale for $3.99/lb. and I ordered a pack (about 4-6 pork chops per pack, according to the store website), but, the shopper texted me to let me know that there were no pork chops available at the store!  I almost didn't order the tray of chicken drumsticks because I still had a tray of them in the freezer and I was ordering the pork chops as well.  But, I thought I might as well buy another tray of chicken drumsticks while they were still priced at $5 for a 4.5 lb. tray.  I'm glad I ordered them, because I didn't get any pork chops, after all.

Here's the receipt:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$51.21

Item Coupons/Sales-$4.20

Order Coupons-$2.00

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.50

Sales Tax$0.00

Order Total$45.51

---

Item Details

14 Items

Cucumber, 1 ct$0.09

1 x $0.09 $0.49 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.40

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$1.63

2.36 lbs x $0.69 each (approx.)

Fresh Strawberries – 1 LB Clamshell, 1 lb$4.18

2 x $2.09 $3.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.50

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.80

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.50

Kroger® Baking Powder, 8.1 oz$2.99

1 x $2.99 each

Kroger® Complete Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, 32 oz$3.49

1 x $3.49 each

Kroger® Fresh Uncooked Chicken Drumsticks, 4.5 lb$5.00

1 x $5.00 each

Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$5.49

1 x $5.49 each

Kroger® Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 oz$13.16

4 x $3.29 each

Ralphs® Vitamin D Whole Milk Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$3.19

1 x $3.19 each

Smart Way™ Granulated Sugar, 10 lbs$7.79

1 x $7.79 each

---

Order Coupons

-$2.00

Store Coupon-$1.00

Store Coupon-$1.00

---

Other Fees

$0.50

Bag Fee$0.50

5 x $0.10 each

My grocery total came to $45.51.

In addition to what I bought today, I also spent $0.52 at the pharmacy on a box of granola bars on Monday when I went to pick up my prescription refills.  I had a $4.00 off coupon and another 25% off on any regular priced item coupon.  The granola bars were regular priced at $4.69, but, with my $4 off coupon and the additional 25% off coupon, I got the box of granola bars for $0.52.  I was quite happy with that.  

My August grocery budget (for food, only) is $250 plus $8.95 carried over from July = $258.95

Spent to date = $0.52 + $45.51 = $46.03

Balance left = $212.92

I'm pleased with my grocery spending so far this week.  

As always, I am grateful for:

- Being able to order groceries online
- Being able to have the groceries delivered
- Being able to stock up as needed
- Digital coupons and other offers
- The availability of groceries

Have you done any grocery shopping yet this month?  Are you finding some good prices?  Do you have a budget?  If so, are you able to keep to your budget?

August August

 

Pinata Rose

The august month of August!  August has often been a month when I've experienced some major life changes over the years.  For example, it was August when I left my country of birth in 1973; it was August, the following year, when I arrived in the USA; my last visit to Sri Lanka was in August 1990; I've never been back since then and I doubt very much if I ever will; it was August of 2014 when my daughter left home to go to grad school (I bought my current car that August and I just renewed the registration!) and it was August of last year when daughter returned home to live with me.  There were other changes, too, that took place in August; the exact year might have been different, but, the month was August.  Of course, not every change took place in August; there have been other impactful changes that took place in other months, throughout the year.  But, over the years, August has been a month when many of these changes took place.  

My religion teaches that change is the only constant, as contradictory as that might seem.  My mother used to tell me that change was good.  I am not someone who goes looking for changes; in fact, I don't like changes all that much, but, when changes do take place, I try to accept them and embrace them.   

With that in mind. I am anticipating some changes taking place this August, too, and at least some of them will take place because I want them to happen.

Some of those changes will be health related.  I have an appointment with my oncologist scheduled for next week, after which I will be taken off one of the medications I've been taking for the past ten years, since August 2016.  Another, somewhat health related change will be more dental procedures that are scheduled to take place this August.

Another change I would like to see is an improvement in how my house looks.  A few things need to be updated and I really need to do another round of decluttering.  To that end, I've set myself a goal of a minimum of 31 items decluttered by the end of August.  

How about you?  Do you like changes?  Are there any changes you'd like to make this month?