FRUGAL FRIDAY

Today I was thinking that I have saved money this fall by staying out of stores. I go the places that I have to go and try to work all my errands around those trips. I am sometimes tempted to stop at a favorite store just to "look around" with no specific purchase in mind, but have resisted those temptations lately.

Lately, I have been trying to evaluate purchases more carefully and determine if they are "have to" purchases or "want to" purchases. There is a distinct difference and I believe I have saved a bunch of money by resisting those "looking around" stops and avoiding those "want to" purchases that might not be totally necessary.

The Elections

I have become quite overwhelmed by the number of conversations about the elections that I have encountered lately. Seems like that is all folks are focusing on.

However, I did read an interesting comment on Elyse's genealogical blog where she states the following: "The bottom line is this: Maybe you should be considerate to your descendants by making sure there is something that is saved that shows how you felt about this election - and maybe even how it changed your life. Maybe save that newspaper editorial you wrote or print out the blog post you wrote about your favorite candidate. You could save your yard sign or pin. Even a simple letter that explains your feelings on the issues would work."

I must admit that I am so close-mouthed about my political views that I rarely enter into conversation about such matters with anyone. But Elyse's blog did catch my interest and made me think that I need to record my feelings somewhere--maybe a journal entry or a story in my folder for future reference.

Write how you feel about this year's presidential election. Do you have a favorite candidate? Have you been open in campaigning or discussing your feelings with friends and/or family? How will your descendants know about your political views in this historical election?

Whee! Finished the Picture Today!

I finally finished the white flower picture today and I am dancing in excitement! I am quite pleased with the finished project. The covered bridge picture is ALMOST dry enough to work on and I am working on two more with a limited palette--just using three colors. That is interesting.


I will share the new pictures with you when I get a little farther along. I also planned a water lily picture and the teacher wants me to do a triptych or threesome with a large square single flower in the center and two other pictures on either side. I am not sure about that. I might be sick of water lilies by the time I finish, but will definitely do the center picture and see where I go after that.

Busy Days!

The past weekend went by in a flash! On Saturday and Sunday I helped with a Story Circle Writing From Life workshop. It was a wonderful experience with about 20 participants exploring "the women we were," "the women we are," and "the women we hope to be." We also learned more about writing Legacy Statements or Ethical Wills. Some recommended sites for more about writing Legacy Statements can be found at http://www.ethicalwill.com/examples.html and http://www.yourethicalwill.com/.

Sunday evening we had a neighborhood gathering and birthday party for one of our neighbors. It was a beautiful evening and we had wonderful potluck food and a great time visiting. On the left is a picture of the "birthday boy" with a marvelous cake that his daughter and wife made for him!

We tried for a group neighborhood picture and it was interesting and challenging as we tried to get that many people still and paying attention at the same time.

And, finally, our big buck came in for a bit of food this morning. He was very rude because he used those horns to run off all the females who were also heading in for a late meal. The ladies did not argue with him much, except Bossy Mama, and she got poked in the side. She only tried to eat with him once and then moved on.

Frugal Friday

This morning I had to wash a load of white clothes and it occurred to me that one of my cardinal rules around here is to only wash a load of clothes when I have a full washer. Day before yesterday I put my white clothes in the washer but it was only half full so I waited until I had a full load today. I also only use cold water unless my husband has a lot of dirty, greasy work clothes. That saves on the energy needed to heat up the water.

And, of course, I am still hanging out my clothes on the clothesline to dry, although this morning it was 46 degrees outside and that was a bit cool--my hands were really cold! However, it is supposed to be in the 80s this afternoon and very low humidity, so things should dry quickly once the sun begins to hit the clothes.

I am the same way with my dishwasher. I do not run it until it is chock full of dishes. I use the sanitizing part of the cycle when one of us is sick or we have had a lot of company, but I keep it turned off when we are well. I do use the dry cycle because our dishes spot if the hard water is left on the dishes and I hate to take things out when they are still wet.

And I have begun reading the grocery ads more thoroughly now to seek out items we need that are on sale and to comparison shop for things that we use on a regular basis. For a long time we only had one grocery store nearby, but now we have two in my regular travel pattern, so that gives me more choice in where I buy my groceries.

It is amazing how this financial crunch has made me so much more aware of ways to save our retirement dollars! And I am appalled at how much money I might have been wasting because I was not paying attention. Guess I needed a wake-up call!

Oil Painting Frustrations

I am still enjoying my oil painting classes but I am a bit frustrated with two of my paintings. During the summer I began a beautiful white flower on a rather large canvas. The dark background and dark green leaves went in nicely and, in a few days, I was ready to add in the white flower petals. I painted them and began the shading in one day and it has been about 5-6 weeks since I put that white paint on the canvas. It is still not dry enough to work on the flower petals and center after all that time! I am very frustrated! I also painted a white covered bridge and, of course, it, too, is still not dry enough to put in the details of the bridge and paint a couple of tree branches over the side of the bridge. I am so impatient for both paintings to dry so I can continue working, but I might as well bide my time because they tell me white paint takes A LONG TIME to dry! Phooey!

Meanwhile, today I began another painting that has fog in it. It is an ocean scene with mountains running right down into the water. I put the dark mountains in and a green area of growth at the bottom of the painting. I have not done the sky or the water yet--and guess what? They have a lot of white in them! For the fog I will learn a new technique on this painting--AFTER the white dries! It is called scumbling and I have been reading about the process but cannot yet visualize exactly how it will work. Guess that is why I am taking painting classes!

I finished a sunset painting several weeks ago, but am dissatisfied with the colors in the sunset. The clouds are just too bright and garish for my taste. It grabs my eye when I look at the painting and keeps me from seeing the landscape. Today, in class, we talked about ways to mellow the sunset colors somewhat and I will probably work on that next week while I am waiting for all the whites in my various paintings to dry! I will either put a glaze over the color to mute it somewhat or just redo the sky.

Or maybe now is the time to begin that lovely water lily painting that I have been considering?

Frugal Friday

In an attempt to be more frugal in the past saved my pocket change each day and put it into a jar at the end of the day. By the end of the month or when the jar was full, I added it up and deposited it into my bank account. It is amazing how much accumulates that way.

Another thing I have done is to write down everything I spend each day. Often, I will hesitate buying something just so I won't have to write it down. It is interesting at the end of the week to go over the list of things I have purchased and to note things that I REALLY did not have to buy. It helps with impulse buying.