Sunday, June 17, 2018

This and That

Meanwhile, post outraged rant, back in the retirement zone....what's been happening since my last summer update, what was it now, two weeks ago?

1.  My group has had three coffee meetings and this week we met for breakfast at a Cajun restaurant. Two different weeks we had about eight at coffee and conversation and for one just three or four-which is peachy. The idea for this is that no one has to RSVP, but rather show up on Fridays (we may move locations around). We had four for breakfast on Tuesday and about six committed to lunch at a brewery restaurant next week. Officially, there are probably twenty five or more on the email/facebook list, but that's fine. We all have lives and volunteer gigs and such and the goal is for people to come when they can and not worry about when they cannot. We're now looking at an evening or day time semi crafting type get together. And I have to beg out last minute of the walking group tomorrow, as I completely forgot that my two years past due eye exam will include dilation-oh joy!

2. We continue to try and eat out once a week whenever we can. I still have my Red Lobster gift certificate put away, and last week we went for the first time to the restaurant where my son cooks. I wanted to see it once, and it is very good food (and many craft beers) but the manager always feels the need to discount for "family" apparently, and I don't want to take advantage. Gift cards from passive earnings and other methods tend to fund this. 




3.  My church Bid 'n Brunch was a huge success, it sounds like they raised a little less than twenty thousand dollars. I had planned to make a couple breakfast casseroles and coffee cakes, but the entire week leading up was in the nineties, so I cheated and bought quiches and baked goods as my contribution. I offered up five trays of holiday cookies and a T-shirt/Memorabilia quilt.  I bid on a few things (knowing I would not win, or I would have been in trouble), including a Tappas meal at a friends house (which I lost) and a patio dinner at a nice downtown restaurant by hosted by friends, which I won. I do not tithe or donate every week to the plate at my church, so these kind of things tend to be my charity donations as well as donations in kind.

4. I tend to go up and down and around as to what I do creatively in my sewing/crafting studio and this month it seems to be completely sewing.  Having said that, let me say to the quilters in the bunch that I expect free motion quilting is not my thing-and I have been playing around for the last month. Which means I'll go ahead and send my vintage quilt out to be done (it will have bright blue around the edges) when I have the funds or can swap for it, and continue to come up with fun lined and curved designs all my more modern type quilts  
Taken once the clouds had come in, I'm afraid!

This month I'm working on my goal to get one Christmas project or gift done a month, by finishing this large Table runner. While everything else recently has been made from fabric on hand,  I needed (wanted) something bright after my vintage quilt and another not so bright one. I (admittedly impulsively!) chose this fabric and pattern, and instead of white, the solid color spaces will be the yellow below.  As I said, bright! And finally, I don't have enough of the blue shown to finish my t-shirt quilt. So I'm looking for another bright blue and white fabric to fill in the empty spaces. Sale fabrics only, as I am in no rush, this is a Christmas gift and I have plenty of time.  





5. In a fit of organization that is completely out of the norm for me, I spent an afternoon listing all the things I wanted to and could reasonable make for fall and winter, including the two promises above. This is so very much not me, but my goal is to limit my self to one of each kind of thing (quilt, paper project, knitting thing) except of course for the many, many many trays of cookies. This means that fewer people will get handmade gifts, because most  of these things are for me and my walls, which is as it should be.

6. Except for travel account and winter clothes account (weight loss truly is a double edged sword my friends), I have been relying on passive earnings, gifts, discounts and my extreme couponing skills for dining out and entertainment and most other expenses not bills or food. My son just learned that his financial aid has run out (he went to a proprietary school, then had to do a full undergrad cause nothing transferred) for his last semester. Colorado has an extremely expensive school system in comparison to most states, so we'll be paying close to six thousand out of pocket here soon. Yes, I know, those loans, those loans, for which I am not in a position to help as much as I would like, but for now I want him to finish without taking out a much higher interest loan one way or the other.

7. I've been, well, reading. And reading. Mainly outside on that swing when it's cool enough. I tend to reserve which book is available and has the shortest waiting list. Although I've moved to the dark side and prefer Kindle, this week all four that arrived were hardbacks. I have none left to read. And I have to say, I read three really good mysteries by a new author last week, so I continue to believe that for now, kindle unlimited is a justifiable expense in my frugal life.  
No one said my reading was intellectual. After all, for that I have my Great Courses classes.

8. I'm continuing that goal of entertaining myself with all the free stuff available to me. That includes my local city museum and art gallery, an outdoor arts museum, the Irish festival coming up shortly, various art and fourth of July events, as well as free concerts. We're also planning a "pottery painting girl's day out" (I plan to make succulent pots for my daughter) and a trip across the mountains Glenwood Springs in the next month as our two spendable events. Thanks to my movie rewards, discount cards and senior pricing, this week's day trip is to see the movie Book Club and then go to happy hour. 





9. Into every retirement summer a little rain must fall, only in this case it was the toilet over flowing. For whatever reason, it did not stop filling. Thankfully, I am a light sleeper, and the drip, drip drip from the potty overflowing (thankfully with clean water) woke me up. Albeit after some time, and I literally used quilts, coverlets and bath sheets to cover the floor in the bathroom and the hall after I turned off the water. Some still got to the bathroom immediately below, but in our hot dry weather, everything seems to be okay. There is one very large blanket still in the yard to be washed but everything else was taken care of!  This again reminds me that I am so VERY thankful to be renting, and the the landlord and I have a good relationship.I texted said landlord, and in this case he said to call someone as long as the service call wasn't over 90 bucks and just get it done. I did so, and will include that receipt along with the cash difference in the next rent. 




10.  In order to feed my brain, I am trying to do a Great Courses class every day, since there is no summer Olli (and even when there is, the good ones seem to be in the morning, when I am an afternoon type of girl.  My current class?  The History of Eastern Europe!

And now, it's in the seventies today and I promised myself along walk..........only it sounds like I waited too long, and the rain is coming in. Hopefully it will pass!

12 comments:

  1. You did all this stuff in a week? You make my head spin with all your activities. I'm really impressed with money your church raised at the Bid and Brunch. Sounds like a fun event.

    Love the updates on your Facebook group. My group does do RSVPs in the winter months just because we don't want anyone sitting alone waiting in a restaurant, if the roads are bad and only one or two people ventures out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It just occur to me that I have not done the right thing since when my husband came back to me, I am on this blog to give thanks to whom it deserve, Some couples of weeks ago my life was in a terrible shape because my husband left me and I never believe that I was going to get him back, But through the help of this powerful spell caster called Dr.Ekpen my life is now in a joyful mood, I must recommend the services of Dr.Ekpen to anyone out there that they should contact Dr.Ekpen through these details below: ( ekpentemple@gmail.com ) or whatsapp +2347050270218 because through Dr.Ekpen assistance my marriage was restored.

      Delete
  2. Closer to two weeks I'm thinking since my last summer update ...yesterday doesn't count!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm curious how many people attend the Bid 'n Brunch and how it works. Yes, I want to steal it for my church. :-) We have an evening fancy auction with catered food and drink that costs $35 per person. That's always been too rich for my blood. The person who has organized it all is stepping down after many years and nobody else wants to do it.

    Your fabric is always so lovely. Glad the toilet overflow wasn't too bad. Don't you love Osher classes? I thought every university had them, but found out this weekend when visiting a university town in my state that they don't. Before I found that out, I thought I could live in that town. Nope.

    Sheila

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    Replies
    1. Hi Shiela. We are a just a moderate sized church. Im honestly not sure how many people attended the brunch, somewhere between fifty and a hundred, considering that we have two services would be my guess. This has no entrance fee. People offer up things (honestly more services and experiences than things-concert tickets, dinner at their home, game night at their home). In years past (this is the third year of this I'm pretty sure) we've also had a bake sale. We do it after our second service but depending I suppose it could be done between two services. We do this in our basement and the child minister has stuff for the kids. We have brunch food, and drinks and because we're Episcopalians we also have wine, lol (for contributions to the church). Some people cook, some people buy like I did. We have tables in that back for sitting and eating and the front of the basement is all the bid sheets and matching posters (the people offering up do the posters). I will try and attach it, but our offerings incdluded mountain condo weekends, condo tickerts, offerings of dinners in their homes, offering of dinners out for a small group, a picnic and a hike, a dog friendly brunch at someone's home, a zoo picnic (someone works at the zoo), a pub trivia night at someones home and so on. Each person says how many people they can host and the top (in the case of my dinner six) people win the auction. In the past we have had people offer to do a thrift shop ohop. there are also small things that dont cost much and some second hand things like artwork and such, but the bottom line is that every one can come and have a good time, no one feels obligated to bid if they cannot afford it, they can just hang and lool, and I overestimated, we made right around sixteen thousand dollars.

      Let me know if you want more information.

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    2. Reading this post makes me want to retire right now,such a lovely busy week.

      Delete
  4. I like the idea of the group you started and how it is loosely organized. Send out a group email and come if you can. I might start a group like that. You are very busy. I am fixing up/decorating my house bit by bit which is satisfying and takes a lot of energy.

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  5. I wish we had more free things to do here. But living in a very small (to you it would be tiny and not a city at all) the free things are very limited.

    I started a prayer shawl ministry at my church and there are three of us that attend regularly. Hoping more join as time progresses. The three of us are having a great deal of fun though.

    God bless.

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  6. I think I’ve asked this question before here or thought it — what do you do in your spare time? ;-). I’m very much into casual loosely knit groups, flexible in attendance. I’m finding others getting involved sometimes seem compelled to inject more structure and rigidity into a group.

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    Replies
    1. I actually stay home two full days a week, plus Sundays after church and those days I do whatever I want. Which, honestly tends to be sewing, reading and playing with the dogs. I am at home much more than many people seem to think. However, I am a "doer" at heart. When I am not sitting on my butt watching tv or reading, that is, lol.

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  7. You might inspire me to start a breakfast group ... it's a great idea. Btw, what are those things at the outdoor arts museum? Dinosaurs or something else?

    ReplyDelete
  8. It just occur to me that I have not done the right thing since when my husband came back to me, I am on this blog to give thanks to whom it deserve, Some couples of weeks ago my life was in a terrible shape because my husband left me and I never believe that I was going to get him back, But through the help of this powerful spell caster called Dr.Ekpen my life is now in a joyful mood, I must recommend the services of Dr.Ekpen to anyone out there that they should contact Dr.Ekpen through these details below: ( ekpentemple@gmail.com ) or whatsapp +2347050270218 because through Dr.Ekpen assistance my marriage was restored.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!