Sam Squared

      I've been noodling and drafting this post for a while. As I haven't posted for a few days as a bit of an accident has me slow, I'm just doing a quick edit before hitting publish.  Photo from Pexels.com      The ripple effect of the Iran war, high gas prices, lingering tariff BS, is hitting in just about every expense American's have. I'm sorry to my international friends that you're caught in this as well. We all know, with the exception of gas, once prices on consumables go up, they do not go down. I love how stores market "new lower prices" by cherry picking a few items as loss leaders, hoping folks don't get too frustrated overall. Humans need food, clean water, gas to get to work or school/public transport options, and dare I say the occasional indulgence to feel like we're living not just surviving.      My family is not hurting too much. Our needs are covered and we're enjoying things in our free time. However, knowing there...

                                                   Feedback appreciated as the Friday Fiscal Wellness check to me seems the dullest of all my regular topic posts. This is probably because its more about my own reflection and accountability and not really a way to have conversation. Let me know if this should be kept hidden, and I look for other things on Friday, keep but shorten, or keep as is.       For my Friday posts, I copy the previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This helps me add as the week goes on.I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing. Since I haven't done one of these for several weeks, I'm just grabbing a few things I remember. April was expensive but I'm looking forward to a low spend on regular life things in May...a slow down month, though theres a few timed bi...

Last years unexpected sunflower.      Remember this lady from last year? Two years ago I planted a single sunflower seed that was part of a tiny grow kit from the Target dollar section then replanted in a big pot and it took off. Then last year, unexpectedly, a new plant sprouted in the place, but in the ground, where old plant had been. I took those dried flowers and shook the seeds out in the same area, plus in a rectangular planter. Maybe just maybe I'll have gifts this year.      The free from my local Buy Nothing peony from last spring is sprouting. It's small, so not sure how long before it grows enough to flower, but I didn't kill it! The chive clumps from the same woman are starting to sprout again in one of the pots, but the other is bone dry. I'm not sure yet if the hostas she also gave will flourish...there's early signs that are promising but I have to carefully weed/ mow around them so as not to clip. My SIL's hosta gifts from 2020 are coming u...

      N ow a big life update and another explanation for my blog absence. I toured a few homes with my son in mid April. He wanted me with as he's not really lived in Minnesota (before coming back) since he was 19 and he's never owned a home. After a winter of snow, a spring so far of cold, and rain, and employment opportunities that require flexibility, he shifted his search to low maintenance living.       He almost put an offer on a beautiful condo with all his buttons checked just across the main road from my neighborhood. He paused though, realizing he doesn't want to settle down in our town but rather move to one of the twin cities. I'm much less familiar with Minneapolis but aware areas he'd probably like were a tad out of his pric e point. I know St Paul pretty well so was of more help. We proceeded to tour a few condos in St. Paul. A great two bedroom, two bath, while needing updates, was a top contender. Still, something was missing though lo...

          Photo from Pexels.com free to use, and this one made me think of my own multiple screen use.        I appreciate the messages and comments on old posts checking in. Everything is good. I unintentionally took a blog break last week and most of this week for no real reason at all, just living life, and just wasn't putting things into the computer. I've read many of my regulars sporadically, but apologies for infrequent comments. I don't feel my regular rotation of posts are or have been very interesting either so can't imagine no blog posts for a bit were missed; I put myself to sleep, but haven't had new ideas to blog about since my Lessons post. I guess I gave myself a bit of a social media break in general or at least minimized. I'm weeks behind watching a few favorite YouTube channels, and other than messenger and for a couple groups, I've ignored Facebook.       Part of being less screen time active is the we...

                                                 For my Friday posts, I copy the previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This helps me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, April 10 to Thursday, April 16. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Use it Up/Avoid Waste  Even with theoretically doing Cheryl's challenge on how long could I go before shopping, I still felt things were maybe hidden. I found another significant portion of sloppy joe meat in freezer and used for a beef, cheese, and tomato pasta bake. Despite buying quite a bit of staples, I'm in Use it Up mode as I want it easier to clean all food storage places, pantry, fridge, freezers, fully- tomorrow's entertainment. Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs  Did the quarterly Sam's Club stock up ( not everything every...