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Weekend Roundup

May 26th, 2015 at 06:59 pm

Came to work this morning; updated all my spreadsheets, and then BOOM! The power went out. All the power. Generators came on giving us emergency lights. So we sat in dimness for a couple of hours until the the power surged back on -- only in some buildings, but mine was one of them. All my spreadsheets were okay; they had been autosaved.

Now it's pouring down rain (not unexpected). I don't think the power loss was related to storms, but we are going to get some.

Now for the catching up.

On Friday I applied for Social Security online. I hope and pray I did it right. I got a couple of emails saying they got my application, and they will be in touch if there are questions.

In the process I realized I was figuring my Medicare Part B payment wrong. I was assuming the cost of the supplement would be my total cost, but it is ON TOP of the basic Part B payment of $105. Adjustment was made to the spreadsheet. What this means is that my budget is a bit leaner, but my practice spending is still within boundaries. I'll just be running a tighter ship than I thought. At this time, I've spent 95% of the "new" budget for this month.

On Saturday, I went downtown to see the "free" play. It was very good, but I'm glad I didn't have to pay $48 for the ticket! Even with a validated ticket, the cost of parking was $15. I probably should have taken the El, like I had planned, but on the other hand, there are safety issues when taking the El after dark. I feel safer on the Metra, my usual rail transportation. But it didn't go where I needed to go.

I was very, very thirsty when I got there, so I shelled out $3 for a bottle of water. But that and the parking were my only expenses because dinner afterwards was picked up by the board treasury. The board president and I DID do a lot of discussing of board issues. (And I took home a doggy bag, so the board also paid for lunch today. Smile)

I had a lazy day on Sunday, mostly just lay around fighting my allergies. (Zyrtec finally took hold and made me feel better today).

On Monday I went to a family cookout. I had promised pasta salad, but on Monday morning I realized I was short on some ingredients. I stole some pasta from a box of Kraft mac & cheese, blended some dressings, and made do with broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic on the veggie side. It actually turned out quite good and I got compliments on it. So there you go. You can't really mess up pasta salad. And I didn't have to run to the store.

During the weekend I did my laundry ($3) and my grocery shopping ($41). My ten items were: toilet paper, popcorn, Greek yogurt, eggs, sherbet, frozen mixed veggies, chicken, fresh broccoli, wine and Zyrtec.

I actually bought a box of wine. It promises to be good for 6 weeks and I like chilled wine anyway. (Also cheap wine!) It is much cheaper than buying bottles. I'll see how I like this plan.

I bought a whole chicken and baked it. I had the legs for dinner one night. The rest of the carcass is in the fridge now. I'll cut some meat off for sandwiches and so forth and then I'll make broth when the carcass is mostly stripped.

I also made gravy (yielded about a cup and half) and fed the boiled giblets to the cats.

Possible dinners this week:

Chicken & pasta salad
Chicken sandwiches
Chicken Manhattan w/couscous
Carrot soup
Broccoli cheese soup

And then there are the old standby's: omelets, grilled cheese, pbj, and peanut soup.

When I made the pasta salad, I also chopped up the broccoli stems and made broccoli slaw to have at home.

No answer from the museum lady. Utterly typical!

I did manage to extend my no-spend days through Friday, and I'm working on another one today.

Found .27! Two pennies and quarter. I am within two cents of surpassing the $60 mark! Not bad for just picking up what's on the ground!

2 Responses to “Weekend Roundup”

  1. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1432694411

    I would go for spending money on parking rather than riding on public transportation after dark myself .. safety is priceless.

  2. My English Castle Says:
    1432703805

    I agree with Laura. Better to be safe, but man, I hate paying for parking.

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