My Tireless Retirement - Week 19

 

Sunday morning was so nice and cool I got outside early and worked in the yard a bit.  My main goal was to start some new compost.  I turned the "outgoing" compost pile and topped it up with the "incoming" compost from the other side, turned it again and thoroughly watered it since we really haven't had much rain to speak of.  In the "incoming" side I added an Amazon box, the stuff from my kitchen collection bucket and the yard debris I collected that morning.  Then I gave it some water and topped it with some of the established compost to get it all started.  I am amazed at how much compost I've made this year.

 

My first shopping trip this month

Monday was another super hot day with temperatures over 100°.  I decided to head out early that day and do a quick produce run to Fred Meyer.  However, when I got there I was not impressed with their meager selection of fresh vegetables or the quality of what they had.  The prices were terrible as well.  I think it is the first time I've ever left there without purchasing anything, but it was that bad.  I decided to make the drive to Winco and was very glad I did.  Not only was the produce beautiful but the prices were more in keeping with what I used to pay a couple years ago.  That made me quite happy.

 

A nice full crisper drawer in my fridge

On the way home I stopped to put my monthly budgeted amount of fuel into the truck.  Last month I paid $5.16 a gallon so my $25 didn't go very far, but I did end up with about two thirds of a tank of full one the 4.85 gallons was added in.  This month I went in with just a hair under a half a tank of gas, paid $4.76 a gallon and left with just over three quarters of a tank of fuel in the truck.  My plan next month is to put gas into the car which is currently sitting with half a tank of fuel.  I know a monthly $25 gasoline budget isn't much right now, but I'm making it work.

 

These burritos were amazing

I created meals for the week using up leftover beanless chili from the week before which I added a jar of home canned black beans to.  I made Spanish rice to go with it and served it up for burritos for four meals and rice and beans for two.  I also made tuna salad for sandwiches to break up all the rice and bean meals.  Later in the week I used up a half pound of breakfast sausage I had in the freezer to make a breakfast hash with potatoes, eggs, onion and red bell pepper.  I used some of that same sausage to make a pesto pizza for two with green salads as sides.

 

I made a half recipe of my pizza dough (I can share that recipe if anyone is interested) and divided it in half to make two small pizzas.  I ended the week with another pizza to use up the dough and used a small container of reserved marinara sauce I had in the freezer.  Along with all of these delicious meals using up items I had squirreled away in the freezer I was able to use up leftover salsa, pesto, vegetables, hot sauce as well as the leftover chili from the previous week that were hanging out in the refrigerator.  My fridge is looking much less cluttered right now and I can kind of see some space opening up in the freezer.

 

She loves her little hutch I made for her

I tidied up the chicken coop and cleaned their water buckets.  I cleaned the bunny enclosure and washed her blankets.  I washed kitty dishes and ordered cat food that was on sale at Amazon so they are all stocked up for winter now.

 

The new printer is working quite nicely

I took inventory of my computer and laptop situation, made some decisions and ordered pieces and parts to extend the life of my current equipment so it can continue to be useful.  I am not quite ready to buy anything new right now.  I redeemed my Fetch rewards points for a $10 Amazon gift card to help shave some off the cost of these parts.  Also, I ran out of ink in my HP printer and it is no longer available (it won't accept generic or refilled cartridges) so I went ahead and set up the new printer I got last summer.  I was able to get it for free with a COVID grant I received from the school district along with an extra one year supply of ink cartridges.  I knew the HP was destined to no longer be viable, but the ink I already had for it lasted much longer than I anticipated.  I really expected to be setting the new printer up this past winter.  It is very nice and I hope to get as long out of it as I did the old one, we shall see.  I had the HP for over ten years, but I understand the Brother printers are pretty good.

 

I made some miniature toilet paper

I had a busy little week doing a lot of odd jobs around the house eating some great meals in the process.  I hope you all enjoyed a great week as well.  I'd love to hear what you've been up to.