QFC Grocery Basket 8/1

I was checking out my "This Day in History" gadget today and noticed that the cute guy playing the drums, and you know how I like cute guys who play the drums, is having a birthday today.  You would have to be my age or older to know who this group is.  If you guessed Gary Lewis & the Playboys, you would be correct.  Their big song that I remember is "This diamond ring for sale" and I had no idea that they had an accordion player or that Gary is the son of Jerry Lewis.  Who knew??

Anyway, Miss CutiePie follows a blog that she has shared with me and I thought you might want to take a look.  The post I read had to do with taking care of your produce and it is a good one.  Who knew that bananas wouldn't ripen so fast if you took them apart??  Here is the link:

http://www.mythirtyspot.com/2011/09/how-to-store-fruits-and-vegetables-so.html

I took a fast trip up to the Post Office today because Tuesday is the day the grocery flyers come out.  I get really irritated when they don't put one in my box and I have to dig through the trash by the door.  The ad for QFC starting tomorrow is kind of a yawn but there are a few worth mentioning.  I still can't believe that they aren't having gobs of sales on produce.  If not summer, then when??

Blueberries - $4.99/2lb (Good deal, Lucille.  Freeze 'em for winter smoothies)
Northwest Peaches - $ .98/lb
Kiwi - $1/3
Zucchini or yellow squash - $1.29/lb
Olate Corn - $1/3 (3 day sale, F,S, Sun)
Chobani Yogurt - $1/ea 6 oz
Almond Breeze Milk - $2.99/64oz
Kroger Medium Cheddar - $4.99/2lb (3 day sale)
Ribeye Steak - $5.99/lb
Fresh Wild Sockeye - $9.99/lb
Betty Crocker Brownie Mix - $1/ea (Listen up, Dave)

Cruise Update:

It looks like Costco is the winner!!  We are going in September 2013 and it is going to cost us a grand total of $3333.00 for the two of us, including port fees, taxes and a complimentary credit ($285) to be used on board.  We will be sailing on Holland America with a balcony room up the Inside Passage to Glacier Bay.  I'm saving for a minimum of $2000 and I currently have $878.38 in my fund, so it might just be doable.

Reminder:

You have until midnight tonight to get your comment(s) in for the drawing of the $30 Macy's Gift Card.  Some of you have taken my advice by leaving numerous comments.  Good thinking.  I can't wait!!  Oh, since the guy from Seattle won't be here tomorrow, I'm taking the hat over to my neighbor, Tina, and she will draw the winning name.  She doesn't know this yet, so it will be a surprise.

Macy's Shopping Trip 7/28

On Saturday, we had to make an emergency trip down to Silverdale because the guy from Seattle was out of nicotine patches and Miss KnowItAll was out of Elizabeth Arden's Blue Grass perfume.  I've mentioned before that if you are trying to give up smoking the best deal on patches is the Target brand, but still it's going to set you back $60 a month.  If you smoke a pack and a half per day as the guy did, it would cost close to $360 per month!! so $60 seems like a screaming deal to me.  Quitting smoking is a hard gig, but getting off the patches doesn't look like a picnic, either.

As far as the Blue Grass is concerned, Elizabeth Arden hit the daily double today, so the only way to get a deal on your favorite department store perfume is the daily double.  The way I work this deal is stock up on my favorite, which is Estee Lauder Youth Dew, and get free shipping.  You can also work this deal through Macy's, Nordstrom, etc., any of the department stores when they hit the daily double on ebates.

Anyway, while I was picking up the Blue Grass at Macy's I thought I would wander over and see if the Ralph Lauren shorts had come down to a decent price.  You do remember that I didn't notice that I had pollen from the above pictured offender on my favorite pink shorts and washed and dried them without pretreating them, thus ruining them.  I wear shorts all summer and really like this brand but they go for $65!! a pair, so I wait.  Last time I checked, they were 20% off.  On Saturday, they were 50% off, so with my coupons, I ended up paying $22 each for two pair of Ralph Laurens, which seems to me to be a more sane price.

I took a few snaps of some of my favorite plants in my flower beds and I thought you would like to see them.  My flower beds are an ongoing work in progress and now that I'm retired, I have big ideas with a small budget.  The first picture is my hydrangea, which was given to me by my mom 15 years ago.  It was a particularly nice one, sometimes having different colored flowers, until some idiot decided to prune it when I was having problems with my health, so I didn't notice it.  I'm here to tell you that it has taken a long time to get it back from shock land.

I've fallen in love with barberries.  You know, the parking strip plant.  There are so many varieties and I think that they are beautiful and add a lot of interest.  Here are a couple of mine:

This one is a lime green hardy fuchsia.  I had to replace it three times before it finally lived through a winter and took hold.  It is just starting to bloom:

And the last one is a sedum which is also starting to bloom.  We always think "Autumn Joy" when we hear sedum, but I found out that the sedum family is quite large.  This one is a mounding ground cover which is beginning to spread in its second year:

Notice the itty bitty Shasta Daisy in the background.  He's gonna take off and be just what I need to set off all the other beauties.  It never ends with the dividing and moving.


Errata:

The Costco coupons end on the 5th, not the 15th as MMP stated earlier.  Sorry.  I do try to be accurate.


Food Waste Update:

Is this disgusting or what??  I knew these were in there but I haven't been cooking soups and stews lately.  I was going to roast the carrots with potatoes from the garden on Saturday and this is what I found.  Gross!!  What a waste.  Those were expensive organic carrots.

Cha Ching:  $3.00


Reminder:

The drawing for the $30 Macy's Gift Card is midnight tomorrow (the 31st) so get those comments in.  I'm very excited and can't wait to see who wins.

QFC Shopping Trip 7/27

Miss MoneyPenny is thrilled!! to be writing to you today after going ass over teakettle at TJ MAXX yesterday, thoroughly embarrassing myself and scaring the bejesus out of Miss Maggie May.  I noticed that they had a display of office furniture and I spied a chair that I thought would work in my home office, so I sat in it.  Since it had rollers, it flew off of the display backwards with me landing on my back with my feet sticking straight up in the air, taking most of the display with me. 

MMM thought that somebody had dropped something and turned around just in time to see my feet sticking up.  We quickly got the display put back together after determining that I was only shook up, not actually hurt, but totally embarrassed.  When I woke up this morning I felt like I had been run over by a very big truck, who then put it in reverse and backed over me.

But I did run up to QFC and take advantage of a few deals, including a Shasta Daisy for $5.99, which is not the greatest of deals but I NEEDED it for my flowerbed.  This is the end of the month and I am still living on July money, so it is getting tight.  I spent $37.92 after sales and coupons, including the daisy, for a savings of 30%.

I bought the cherries, lettuce, and Tillamook Cheese that were on sale and noticed that they still have the blueberries for $4.99 for a two pound container, so I got that too.  It pays to take a quick look around because there are always things on sale that are not in the flyer or online.  I also picked up some Romas for $1.49 a pound.

You might be wondering why I bought lettuce when I've had it in my garden.  I ate it all and the new stuff is not ready yet, but the arugula is just about ready to pick.  I did take the two salsa peppers out of their fancy pots and put them in the garden because they were actually sitting in water.  They are going to have to make it or die, which is what usually happens.  The dying part, I mean.


Cruise Fund Update:


Old Balance = $872.24

                     +         .80 (Applebees senior discount)

                     +       5.34 (CD sold on Amazon)

New Balance = $878.38


Reminder:

The 31st is Tuesday and you have until midnight to leave your comment(s) for the $30 Macy's Gift Card drawing.  Thanks for the nice comments, you guys!!

QFC Grocery Basket 7/25

Miss MoneyPenny was thrilled to see that Social Security had made a deposit in my checking account, right on schedule, the 4th Wednesday of the month.  What is up with that date? but I'm not complaining.  This was the last piece in my retirement income to fall into place, so now I feel that I can breathe and relax.  To celebrate I called up the Hair School and got my toenails painted.  The students take longer than a salon but they are thorough and for half the price.  And the gossip is fabulous.

Okay, on to the QFC ad.  I was pleased to see that Tillamook cheese (house cheese) is on sale because I'm almost out, and cherries are $1.99.  Better get 'em before they are done.  Here is what I consider to be of interest:

Rosarita Refried Beans - $1/ea
QFC Butter - $2.50/lb
QFC Sour Cream - $1/16 oz
Tillamook Cheese - $5.99/2 lb
Colgate Toothpaste - $1/4.6 oz (coupon for $ .50 S/7/08 making it $ .50 each)
Draper Valley Whole Chicken - $ .89/lb
Northwest Cooked Shrimpmeat - $4.99/lb
Fresh Wild Sockeye - $9.99/lb
Fresh Rockfish - $5.99/lb
Angel Soft Bathroom Tissue - $1/ea
Leaf Lettuce - $1/ea
Mangoes or Hass Avocados - $ .99/ea
Northwest XL Cherries - $1.99/lb
Olathe Sweet Corn - $1/3
Walla Walla Sweet Onions - $1/lb

Reminder:

The days are ticking down to the 31st.  Get your name in the hat by leaving a comment(s).  The prize is a $30 Macy's gift card.

P.S.

If you are heading for retirement and trying to get your ducks in a row, I wanted to mention that I applied for Social Security in March and here it is July before it happened.  Just sayin'.

Crazy Ass Weather

Well stated by my neighbor, Tina, who is a lady who does not mince her words.  Today has turned out lovely, but I don't trust it.  The weather has been so crazy this summer that if I woke up tomorrow and there was a foot of snow on the ground, I would not be surprised.  I guess this is all due to a dying hurricane off of Baja going by the name of Fabio - oh, baby!! who thought he would come up here and die.  I hope he is good and dead and we can get on with our summer.

Where am I going with this?  I come from a family of loggers on one side and farmers on the other and I'm a gardener.  My sister and I talk about the weather like it is a real topic and it is because she is not only a gardener extraordinaire, but a backpacking fool!!  Surely we didn't come out of the same womb.  Anyway, in case I haven't mentioned it before, the Fabio information came from Cliff Mass's blog - you know the guy on the Friday morning show on NPR, and you can link to it here http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/.  If you are interested in the weather, this is your guy.  Trust me.

Product Comparison:

I mentioned a few months ago that I would get back to you with the verdict on the Costco dog food.  I believe it is a superior product because my dogs look and feel great.  Poppy's coat is so glossy that she looks like greased lightening.  No throwing up or gaining weight.   I've been buying the Nature's Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato grain-free 35 pound bag for $33.55.  This is what it looks like:

This is how the figures look:

15 pound bag of high end dog food bought locally - $29.99 (not grain-free) = $2 per pound

35 pound bag Costco Nature's Domain                       33.55                          = $ .96 per pound

The figures speak for themselves.  The only drawback is where to put 35 pounds of dog food.  I've got mine in the laundry sink.

Reminder:

You guys are doing a good job of leaving comments.  Keep doing it because you increase your odds of winning the $30 Macy's gift card by leaving lots of comments.  Deadline is July 31st.

Costco Shopping Trip 7/21

On Saturday, we headed out early for Silverdale.  Miss MoneyPenny has an arthritic neck so we were on the hunt for one of those fancy dancy neck pillows that one of her friends had told her about.  These babies are not cheap at $99, but would be so totally worth it if it helps.  I've only used it for two nights but I have hope because my neck feels so much better already.  I'll keep you posted in case you might be interested in a Tempur-Pedic neck pillow and have some money to burn.

You remember that I mentioned in an earlier post that my old Hoover from the 80's was having issues.  I had noticed when I was going through the Costco coupons that they had one for $15 off an Electrolux Ergorapido cordless 2-in-1 stick vacuum and I wanted to see what they cost.  Normally they are $80 at Costco, so with $15 off, it was $65, and it was purple!!  What can I say?  I'm a real sucker for purple.  I love this thing!!  I had no idea that vacuum technology had come so far.  This is what it looks like:



It sits on a charger just like my IPod, and that round thing in the middle is a removable hand vacuum.  All very cool.  This thing is light as a feather and has that roller ball technology that makes it easy to get in the nooks and crannies.  I will keep you posted on this one also.

We are coffee drinkers and even with the sales and coupons, the cost of coffee is going through the roof.  We decided to look while we are Costco to see what they had on offer.  We decided on the five pound bag of Pleasant Hill Farms and it looks like this:

I divided it up into freezer bags when I got home and promptly made a pot to see what we thought.  We decided that it was excellent "house" coffee just like Tillamook medium cheddar is excellent "house" cheese.  The guy from Seattle drinks his coffee black, so he is a better judge than me.  I use Coffee Mate in mine, so as long as it is strong, I'm thrilled.  Also, all five pounds are ground, unlike most of the coffee at Costco.  Oh yeah!! the price - $22.49.

On the way out, we grabbed a rotisserie chicken.  Costco has the biggest and best tasting birds for only $4.99.  There is so much that can be done with one of these chickens, and it is a budget stretcher, as it were.  Stretcher - get it?  Anyway, after having it for two dinners and a couple of sandwiches, I'm having a big salad tonight with chicken on top.  Then I will pick the rest of the meat off the bones and stick it in the freezer.  The carcass and the rest go in the Crock Pot for broth.  This has the sought after MoneyPenny seal of Approval.

Reminder:

July 31st is just around the corner.  Get your name in the hat for a $30 Macy's Gift Card by leaving a comment(s) before the deadline of 12 midnight (not that Miss MoneyPenny will still be awake.)  We are celebrating Miss MoneyPenny's one year anniversary month in style, so get on the stick.



QFC Shopping Trip 7/19

Miss MoneyPenny is crazy about Perrier.  I know, I know, its just water with some bubbles, but you can't beat a big icy bottle on a hot day like today, for instance.  Since QFC had it on the Buy 10, Save $5 promotion and I had an ecoupon, I ended up with three bottles for $2.50.  I just finished the first one off and it really hit the spot.

Anyway, on to the shopping trip.  Between the sale, promotion and assorted coupons, I paid $37.02 for my weeks groceries for a savings of 46%.  Pretty sweet, if I don't say so myself, and I do.  I took advantage of the loss leaders and picked up the blueberries, cherries and zucchinis.  The cherries are almost over, so I got a nice sized bag of the little jewels.

As for my stock pile, I added two bottles of Pantene.  They were on the promo and I had a $3 coupon.  That brings my stock pile to five bottles which should last me at least six months.  I have long hair and wash my hair often, so I really go through it.

My weekly budget for groceries is $50 and that includes things other than food, so I try to really stretch it, as it were.  I noticed that last week, including my trip to Trader Joes, I only spent $26.57, which makes sense, as I had been spending just a hair over $50 for a few weeks.  I can't decide if this is because I'm home more and on top of things, or if it just summer and the produce is abundant.

I'm planning on cooking the salmon that is on sale this weekend, but I'm waiting to see if the guy from Seattle will spring for it.  I'll just wait him out.  He'll get hungry.

With the salmon, I'm going to dig some more potatoes and cut some chard.  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  Fresh, fresh, fresh!!

Darn!!  I was hoping that the stain that I got on my favorite pair of Ralph Lauren shorts would show up so that you could see what happens when you put on your gloves and go fight the blackberries and not change into gardening clothes.  But in my defense, I had the guy from Seattle at hand and I didn't want him to get away.  He's a city boy and thinks working outside pulling weeds is fun.  Go figure.

You are probably asking yourself what sane 63 year old woman would wear pink shorts.  Good question, but I really like them.

Reminder:

Time is ticking away for the drawing for the $30 Macy's gift card.  You have until the 31st to get your name in the hat, so let's have some comments.  You don't need to write a book report, just say "I want that card!" or "Hi."  Just give me a hint who you are if you go anonymous.