Monday Musings..

Please note that by the end of the day I'll either have Google comments only or moderation, not sure which. I'm getting repeat comments from our boomer hating friend and I cant be here all the time. I'm honestly beginning to wonder if it's a fellow retiree who regularly posts anon, rather than a non boomer.

Just a quick note for all who used to follow Linda at Practical Parsimony. She's back and with a new blog until (and if) she can log into the old one. I'll try and link to it today or tomorrow!

1. As part of my experiment in events in my WOCA (Women of a Certain Age) group, today we had a ten thirty am coffee and conversation meeting. I expect this won't continue, but we'll give it a months trial each week and continue. I'm also going to try a couple afternoon coffee get together things. These are more low key and have less people than lunch, which is probably why I like them so much.

2. Today,  just to prove that I can cook when I need or want to, I'm making this recipe, with a pork shoulder and regular mushrooms. I mean pork, seasonings, and mushrooms, what's not to like. I don't do gravy, so that will come in a jar. But the weather went down from the seventies to rainy forties for a couple days, and a little comfort food (served with mashed potatoes) sounds good. See, I can cook (in a manner of speaking) if I have to. I just don't particularly like to. But I needed leftovers for tomorrow, and this sounded like the best option at the time.  

Her photo worthy finish with gravy and my poorly lit photo showing right after I put in slow cooker and poured on (splashed on) the broth!

3. I'm well back on track with my knitting, now that I am paying attention. This week I plan to do at least an hour a week, if not two hours on this project-and have to decide what TV shows to watch during said knitting. I'm thinking about starting on White Dragon if anyone has checked that out. My other big project is to actually sit down and do the math (I hate math) to figure out the designs for the T-shirt squares for my daughter. The figuring is the hard part, and then I can get to sewing which is the good part.

4. In two weeks my daughter will be here with her future husband (and my grandpuppiess) to go to son's graduation-and talk with him about the idea of moving to Texas and looking for work there (see below). While they've gotten their own Airbnb, between son's schedule, my handicaps and sister's schedule, this house is in poor shape. Her visit will hopefully get me to do all I can to get our old abode up to par, and to perhaps get a cleaner for half a day.

5 As mentioned above, the weather has dropped from from seventy five to forty for a couple days, with some rain and maybe a two hour snow flurry. While I was not happy to pull out sweaters designated for the cleaner's for the season, Colorado can always use the moisture....and after the warm weather, the trees are in bloom, and the grass needs to be cut.

6. Since I'm traveling the last half of September/first half of October for a month, and looking to schedule that train trip to Chicago, I'm trying to have a fun summer with little cost. So I spent my Sunday afternoon listing all the day trips and cheap overnight trips that I can do/take within my geographic circle if you will. Since I'm behind on sharing all the "exploring the local stuff" on the tab above, I'm going to write out the list and we'll see how many places I can go to/things I can do between now and September. Now to start looking for deals and steals on the most expensive.

7. I made a little spring and summer goal list which I'll post later that has to do with personal things I want to do or learn between now and the fall.

8. I live on a street that dead end's sort of  into an elementary school (not a true dead end, there is a cross street). Mainly good, and on those few snowy/icy days of the year we are the first to be cleaned off. On the other hand, we are also a major high school feeder street. This morning as I listen to the jeeps, small trucks and cars speed over our speed "humps" and screech at the corner., I pray that their parents are making them pay maintenance costs and insurance, because those shocks are gonna need replacing. Sooner rather than later.

9. My son is struggling. Emotionally, financially, physically and otherwise. This is not the kind of thing  the frugal retiree shares, but I'm trying to decide if he needs a life coach/therapist and if he would go to one (this is not a failure to launch issue, this is a stress and self image issue that has not gotten better, but consistently gotten worse). I'd like to believe that a geographic move to Texas and spending time with his sister and her husband are all it would take, but I am no longer sure. This is hurting my heart. I mention this so that if I am distracted or post less, you all will know why. I really cannot post more than that here while respecting his privacy. 

10. In the interest of putting things out there as the Frugal Retiree, I'll be sharing some monthly expenses, past expenses and things like what we spent and what we ate posts at least every couple of weeks. Some of you will be bored, some not. But I did promise to get back to more of the fixed income living stuff as some folks asked, so there we are.

That's all I've got, this Monday afternoon. How about you?