My Two Cents

Saturday, April 8, 2023

April Grocery Shopping - Part 1

I ordered groceries this morning and picked them up in the afternoon.

The store from which I order was having a sale on chicken for $.99/lb. again and store brand butter on sale for $2.99/lb. with a digital coupon, which is a good stock up price for butter these days. Plus, it has been three weeks since I last grocery shopped and I was out of bread, carrots, cucumbers, and bananas!

I bought:

1 tray/family pack chicken drumsticks (3.97 lb.) @ $.99/lb. (reg. price $2.49/lb.) = $3.93

1 doz. large eggs (store brand) = $4.99
(I was hoping eggs would be on a good sale this week, for Easter, but, this was the best price for a dozen large eggs)

1/2 gal. milk (reg. price $2.79, store brand) = $2.39

4 lb. butter @$2.99/lb. with digital coupon (reg. price $4.79, store brand) = $11.96

1 plain Greek yogurt (5.3 oz. container, store brand) = $.88

1 pkt. American cheese slices (24 slices; Kraft) with digital coupon (reg. price $6.99) = $3.99

1pkt. cream cheese (8 oz., store brand) = $2.39

1 pkt. plain bagels (6 count; non-store brand; store brand was out of stock, the price was the same) = $2.99

1 loaf sandwich bread, store brand = $1.79

3 bananas (1.21 lb.) @ $68/lb. = $0.83
6 apples (1.79 lbs.) @ $.99/lb. with digital coupon = $1.78

6 tomatoes (1.65 lbs.) @ $.99/lb. = $1.63
1 cucumber = $.79
6 carrots (2.09 lbs.) @ $.99/lb. = $2.07

(The joke was on me with the carrots - I didn't see any 1 lb. bags of carrots on the website and didn't want to buy a 2 lb. bag of carrots for $1.99 because I thought that would be too much; so, I picked the loose carrots and thought 6 carrots would be about 1 lb. But, they turned out to be huge carrots, most of them over a foot in length!)

Long Carrots!

There was a $0.10 charge on plastic grocery bags, which was reinstated effective January 1 of this year (the bag fee was waived during the Covid emergency, but, the state of California declared that the Covid emergency was over effective April 1); today was the first time they actually charged me and they only charged me for three bags (although they packed my groceries in 6 or 7 bags!) I have my reusable fabric bags in the trunk of the car, but, of course, since I pick up the groceries, they are bagged for me in reusable/recyclable plastic bags by the store staff.

My total for groceries plus the bag fee came to $42.71

In addition, I bought five 4.2 oz. tubes of toothpaste, on sale for $.99@ with a digital coupon = $4.95 + $.47 sales tax on non-food items. This does not come from my grocery budget, but, rather, from the $10/month household/toiletry budget.

April's grocery budget is $100.

I spent $42.71 today.

Balance left in the budget: $100 - $42.71 = $57.29

I froze the butter and I now have a good stock of butter on hand. I am also well stocked on toothpaste!

Have you gone grocery shopping in April yet? Are you finding any good stock up prices?

Friday, April 7, 2023

Sunny Thursday

View of the Back Yard (Thursday)

Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments on March Balanced Life post.

Another View of the Back Yard (Wednesday)

The weather is improving and we are having sunny, warm spring days. Often, though, the house feels cold in the mornings and I have started sitting outside in the sunshine to read my morning prayers. Depending on where I place my chair, I have a slightly different view.

Today, I spoke with former neighbor T in the morning. Afterwards, I walked in the driveway for 15 minutes.

Later, I did a bit of weeding in the back yard and picked some snow pea pods and lettuce.

Garden Lettuce Salad

I've been enjoying salads with the lettuce I pick. Today, I called neighbor S to ask if she'd like to have some lettuce and she said she'd like some. So, I took her a head of leafy lettuce I picked this morning and she gave me some cookies and candies in return!

Cookies and Candies from S!

Yum! She also said that her mother was cooking Easter dinner and she will bring me a plate! How kind is that?!

In the afternoon, I continued to repair the quilt. I have replaced all the obviously torn pieces and yesterday, I washed the quilt and dried it. Then, today, I inspected it, again, and noticed that there were a few other pieces that had small holes and obviously worn out areas. So, I have cut out additional pieces of fabric to replace those worn out pieces.

In the evening, I watched news and knitted. I have finished knitting the front and back of the sweater; need to start on the sleeves, next.

After dinner (leftover stew), I called friend R and we chatted for a bit. Daughter is experiencing disruptions to her internet services so we spoke on the phone instead of video chatting.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Sunny, warmer days
- Having a garden
- Sharing food with neighbors
- Phone calls and emails
- Quiet, relaxed days spent sewing and knitting

Flowers on one of the Succulents

Plans for tomorrow include ordering some groceries and tending to the garden with M.

How was your Thursday? What are your plans for Friday?

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Balanced Life Monthly Goals - March Review and April Goals

It's time, again, for another monthly review of how balanced (or not) my life has been!

As mentioned before, my monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes of a wheel, with the length of each spoke representing my satisfaction in that area of my life from 1 to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied. Ideally, all the spokes are of equal length and the wheel will roll along smoothly. If the spokes are of unequal lengths, then, the resulting wheel will be lop-sided and wobbly. My ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses, with the beginning of the month ratings in (black) and the end of the month ratings shown in (blue).

These are the individual areas of my life and their ratings for March:

Spiritual (10)(10): The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
I continued with daily prayers, meditation, etc. I have also been watching online videos about religion, which have been quite interesting. I didn't go to the Temple in March, but, I feel that I am living a spiritually meaningful life in accordance with the teachings of my religion. I am happy with this area of my life.

My goal in April is to continue to live a spiritually meaningful life.

Daughter (10)(10): The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her:

Daughter and I continued to keep in touch by phone and video chats in March. We celebrated her birthday in early March, although I was disappointed that she couldn't come home for her birthday. But, she would have had to fly down in order to do so and she didn't want to expose me to any germs that air travel might expose her to, she said; I appreciate her concern on my behalf.

My goal in April is to continue to have a close relationship with her.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10)(10): The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

Another area in my life that continues to get a high rating. March leisure/crafts/hobbies, etc., included repairing the quilt top. participating in the photo challenges, and knitting.

Looking forward to a month of leisure activities and crafting in April, too.

Finances (10)(9.5): The goal is financial security:

I continued to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose, in March, too.

However, I wondered how does one aim for financial security when the financial institutions, themselves, don't seem very secure, with at least some of them failing! One might be frugal and build up an emergency fund, but, what happens when one can't access that emergency fund? I know that bank accounts are federally insured up to a certain maximum amount, over here, so, there are some safeguards in place and things seem to have settled down, somewhat. I also know that worrying about what might happen doesn't help. Nevertheless, that sense of financial security I had earlier slipped a notch.

My biggest financial accomplishment in March was getting my taxes done! Other, smaller, accomplishments were keeping to my grocery budget and lowering my heating bill.

I will continue to budget and spend mindfully in April, too.

Garden (8.0)(8.5): The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week

- Focus on the winter vegetable and fruit plants

We continued to receive above normal rain fall in March and the garden is thriving! I've been harvesting snow pea pods and/or lettuce on a daily basis and most of the fruit trees are showing signs of new growth. M has been thinning the peaches, fertilizing the fruit trees, and weeding.

April garden goals include continuing to plant summer vegetables (M has already bought me two packets of green beans to plant) and keeping the plants watered now that the rainy season is coming to an end (no rain in the forecast for April).

Family/Friends/Community (8.0)(8.0): The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends and be involved with my community:

- Regular phone calls and emails, etc., to keep in touch

- Participate in the blogging communityq

There were plenty of phone calls, texts, emails, etc., with family and friends in March. Several family members and a couple of friends had birthdays this month, so, cards were mailed, birthday wishes were texted or emailed, and phone calls were made. There were no in-person visits, however, and while that's not ideal, it's what I'm comfortable with for now.

I have merged the Community area with Family & Friends as there wasn't a lot of community involvement in March, other than participating in the blogging community, phone calls with neighbor T, and food exchanges with neighbor S. Again, it is not ideal, but, it's what I am comfortable with for now.

Goals for April will remain the same.

Health & Well Being (8.5)(8.0): The goal is good health:

- Focus on continuing to improve my health through diet, hydration, adequate sleep, etc.
- Attend my medical appointments
- Continue to take my medications as prescribed

- Continue to take necessary precautions against viral infections

Improving my health through diet, hydration, etc., is an on-going effort! I don't feel I have been doing enough, although, I've been eating more salads because I've been harvesting lettuce from the garden and although I didn't lose any weight, I didn't gain any, either! My sleep schedule is completely out of whack and I know I haven't been getting more than 5-6 hours of sleep per night. Plus, the leg pains I had earlier in the month was a symptom of being dehydrated and I haven not walked consistently, either. I've reduced my satisfaction rating, accordingly.

I didn't have any medical appointments in March, I continued to take my medications, and I continued to take precautions against viral infections by staying home for the most part.

Health goals for April will remain the same. I need to walk more consistently and that will be my area of focus.

Time Management (8)(7.5): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:

- Spend time purposefully, mindfully

- Continue to focus on making my schedule work for me

- Procrastinate less

Time management was a bit of a struggle for me, in March. I need to find a good balance between leisure activities and housekeeping/paperwork, etc.! However, important paperwork and filing taxes were done in a timely manner and I didn't procrastinate on that!

The goal in April is to be more efficient with my time.

House (7.0)(7.0): The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:

- Clean - Clean the house as needed
- Organize - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"; implement daily and weekly cleaning schedules
- Decluttered - Continue with the decluttering process

The house has been kept clean and maintained for the most part although I haven't been consistent about it and I've let a few things pile up. However, I did a big tidy up at the end of the month and started April with a relatively clean and tidy house.

Once again, I didn't reach my goal of decluttering 31 items in March and I didn't get any of the repairs done (although M tried his best with fixing the garage roof).

April's goal is to double up on some of the household tasks I need to do!

March wasn't a bad month, but, I feel that I could have done better in some areas and I struggled to find balance. Well, April is a new month and I have the opportunity for a fresh start! What are your goals for April?

Monday, April 3, 2023

Meal Plans: March Week 5 Review and April Week 1

These were my meal plan options for the last week in March:

Brunches: Sauteed garbanzo beans (Monday)✔, banana muffins✔, scrambled egg and toast✔, salad✔, frozen burrito, milkrice with seeni sambol and mackerel curry (on Saturday, April 1)✔, leftover milkrice and mackerel curry✔, bread pudding, cornbread

Dinners:
- Smoked sausage/vegetables stir fry with rice (Monday)✔
- Beef ~~pot pie~~ stew (using canned beef stew)✔
- Turkey and vegetable soup; biscuits
- Leftovers✔

Here's how it worked out:

Monday:

Brunch: Sauteed garbanzo beans, banana muffin
Dinner: Smoked sausage/vegetables stir fry with rice
Snack: Cereal with milk; raisins

Tuesday:

Brunch: Banana muffin

Dinner: Salad, smoked sausage stir fry and rice, canned pineapple for dessert
Snack: Crackers with peanut butter and apple/cranberry jam

Wednesday:

Brunch: Scrambled egg (1 egg), toast, apple juice
Dinner: Canned beef stew with frozen green peas added.

Thursday:

Brunch: Bara Brith bread pudding
Dinner: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice, another piece of bread pudding for dessert

Friday:

Brunch: Salad (lettuce from the garden, grapes, bottled dressing)
Dinner: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice, bread pudding with custard for dessert
Snack: Canned beef stew

Saturday:

Brunch: Milkrice, mackerel curry, seeni sambol

Dinner: Pancakes, mackerel curry, bread pudding with custard for dessert

Sunday:

Breakfast: Cornbread

Lunch: Milkrice and mackerel curry, apple juice

Dinner: Scrambled egg (1 egg) and toast

Snack: Apple

Well, that didn't turn out too badly, did it? I followed the meal plan for the most part.

I didn't make the pot pie, but, ate the stew as a stew because it was easier (and I probably didn't need the extra calories from pastry, anyway, especially since I had made bread pudding and custard, etc.) There is a little more stew left, so there might still be a pot pie, next week!

I also didn't make the turkey and vegetable soup because I didn't feel like having soup, this week.

Moving on to April!

I start the first full week of April with lots of leftovers and they will dictate the meal plan options!

Brunches: Leftover pancakes (1 serving), leftover milkrice (1 serving), leftover mackerel curry (at least 2 servings), a leftover piece of cornbread, salads, frozen burritos, boiled mung beans

Dinners:

- Leftover beef stew (1-2 servings; maybe I will make that pot pie, after all?)

- Chicken curry, rice, dhal, broccoli

- Battered fish fillets (frozen), rice, snow pea pods
- Turkey and vegetable soup
- Leftovers

Desserts/Snacks: leftover bread pudding (about 3 servings) plus a bit of leftover custard, fresh fruit (apples and mandarins), canned fruit, baked chicken wings

At least, that is the plan. How things will actually work out will depend on a number of factors including if I will put in an order for groceries during the first week of April or not! The above meal plan is made based on what I currently have on hand.

How about you? Did you make a meal plan for the last week in March and if you did, did you follow it? Will you be making a meal plan for the first week in April? If you are celebrating Easter, what will you be having for Easter dinner?

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Starting April

Jasmine Flowers

The jasmine vine is flowering! I have written about this plant before, but, it is an offshoot of a plant my mother planted in the front garden, which had to be relocated to the back yard when I had to replace the main water pipe bringing water to the house from the mains. My mother wasn't happy about having to move the plant to the back, but, it did well there until it died during one of the multi-year droughts we've had (fortunately, it happened after my mother had died). I was sad that the plant died, but, with the on-going drought, I didn't want to replace it. However, a couple of years later, after a very wet winter like the one we've just had, I found a small jasmine vine growing near where the old plant had been growing in the back yard and M potted it up for me and we eventually planted it in the front and trained it to grow up one of the trellises. Since then, every time it flowers, it makes me feel happy!

Yesterday (Saturday) was the first of April. We have completed the first quarter of this year and have started on the second quarter! Can you believe it? As usual, I prepared milkrice for the first meal of the month (along with mackerel curry; I didn't make any seeni sambol because there was some purchased seeni sambol in a jar that needed to be finished). I also picked three bunches of jasmine flowers to place at the altars and on the mantlepiece. The house is pleasantly scented by their fragrance. Later in the night, I tidied and cleaned the house.

Today (Sunday), my daughter's friend A (who made the cinnamon rolls, earlier) brought me some cornbread that she had made:

Cornbread from Daughter's Friend A

She was returning the container in which I had given her chicken curry (when she brought the cinnamon rolls) and collecting the baking dish the cinnamon rolls came in. I served her a container of milkrice and a small bag of snow peas to take back with her. My daughter is very amused that I am now exchanging food with one of her friends. I had a piece of cornbread for my brunch.

In the afternoon, I changed the dust sheets on the family room sofas and did a load of laundry. The washing machine's light came on indicating that it needed cleaning, so I ran the cleaning cycle. I will do do another load of laundry tomorrow. I also did a little cleaning in the kitchen, scrubbing under the stove burners, etc.

This weekend, I'm grateful for:
- Sunny days
- The jasmine vine is flowering
- Receiving cornbread from daughter's friend A
- Working appliances
- Chatting with friends and family

Joyful activities have included watching videos, harvesting pea pods and lettuce from the garden, and video chatting with my daughter.

Lettuce from the Garden
(the edges of the leaves are bronze colored)

Plans for tomorrow include doing another load of laundry and tidying the family room.

How was your weekend? What are your plans for Monday?

WPSH - Final Selections

Eileen at A Bracelet of Days hosted the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt, which ran from December 1 to March 31. There was a list of 20 items and 3 alternatives to find. These are my final selections for this scavenger hunt (some of which have already appeared in the WPSH 1st link up and some which did double duty and appeared in the March Monthly Photo Challenge, as well).

#1 Seeing Faces Everywhere: I struggled with this prompt, which surprised me because I am someone who often sees faces when I look at various things.

#1 Seeing Faces Everywhere: Sri Lankan Demon Masks

#2 An Essential Item: We get two for the price of one, here! My eye glasses resting on top of my laptop which is fast becoming an essential item!

#2 An Essential Item: My Eye Glasses resting on the laptop

#3 Shadows:

#3 Shadows

#4 A Sporting Life: The Superbowl - one of the biggest sporting events in this country

#4 A Sporting Life: The Superbowl

#5 A Peek Inside - Peeking inside a broccoli plant to see the broccoli head forming!

#5 A Peek Inside: A Broccoli Plant

#6 A Religious Item or Building: The Stupa (a structure enclosing relics)

#6 A Religious Item or Building: The Stupa at the Temple

#7 Water: A puddle of water in my driveway (thanks to the rain!)

#7 Water: A Puddle of Water in my Driveway

#8 Upside Down: Another one I struggled with.

# 8 Upside-down

#9 Wildlife: Urban wildlife in my garden! One of the visiting raccoons.

#9 Wildlife: Raccoon

#10 Winter Berries: I was unable to find any ripe berries to photograph, so, these still green baby blueberries will have to do:

#10 Winter Berries: Baby Blueberries

#11 Hand or Foot: I took a couple of photos for this prompt, including the hands on the clock and my hand, but, this photo of a foot was my final choice; just look at those impressive claws!

#11 Hand or Foot: How About a Hind Paw?

#12 This Season: Winter and Christmas

#12 This Season: Winter/Christmas

#13 Point/Pointed: I guess I could have gone with the upside down arrows for this, but, how could I resist these pointy ears?

#13 Point/Pointed: Purrfectly Pointy Ears

#14 Keeping Warm: Dancer says the best way to keep warm is to take a nap in the sunshine in front of the heater!

#14 Keeping Warm - Dancer Shows How He Keeps Warm

#15 The Oldest Thing You Own: This carved wooden elephant is supposed to have come from my father's childhood home and he is supposed to have sat on it as a child. I don't know how true that is, but, the poor elephant is certainly old and battered, having lost his tail and one of his tusks (the other tusk fell out, but, I have it and keep meaning to glue it back in) and the lacquered finish peeling off.