Small Economy, Grocery Shopping, Church Program

As you know, or maybe you don't know, I never pay full price for Christmas cards. I buy them on sale, rock bottom reductions, at yard sales and at thrift stores. They cannot be musty.

Well, Tommy's niece has a small economy I would never even think to use.

She used a PANTONE color chip to send him a birthday greeting. One side is blank. So, she wrote "Happy Birthday the L*******S", his address and her return address. And, there is a postcard stamp.

I think this small economy is very clever. Now, I would never just collect free color chips to do this, but, nonetheless, it is clever. These chips are postcard sized, not the tiny chips I usually see.

Clever and thrifty? In my book it is.

I used a $.75 coupon on Ronco Spaghetti. It is my favorite brand and the brand we had at home growing up.

Ragu spaghetti was bogo at Publix, so I got only two.

I had a $.75 coupon on two half gallons of a2milk. I have another to use later.

I think I saved $5.46 at Publix.

The European cucumber was cheaper than elsewhere--$2.50. I need it for the cucumber sandwiches after church tomorrow. Tommy said he wants me to go, so I am.

I have never had Nutella. I may be the last person on Earth who has not tasted it. I found a tiny 1 oz. bottle for $1. Even though I am allergic to hazelnuts, I will try a bit of this. It is the first time I have tried a nut that I am allergic to since I found out about my nut allergies. It is several hours later, and I am not having a reaction. I do have a headache on my eyebrows, but that is allergy-related but not from nuts, just dust.
and took the bread from the freezer. Tommy had some of the European cucumber in his dinner Saturday night. When I went to bed, I told him to wake me at 7:30 so I could put the sandwiches together.

He woke me after 8 am on Sunday, and I had been awake until 4 am. I had him slice the cucumbers for me--1/8 inch. Well, he was slicing them thicker than 1/4 inch so he "would not slice his fingers." I had him slice the thick ones in half, and I told him to be careful. The butter was not soft enough to spread, so I had to microwave it. He spent the rest of the time using a fork on the cream cheese mixture to get it soft enough to spread.

I no longer have a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter. So, I spent time in Publix scouring the shelves for something with a narrow diameter to use to cut bread into circles. I settle on Beechnut Baby Food in jars. I know a glass makes a good biscuit cutter, but this glass jar was wide glass even though the jar was tiny. So, it was really hard on my hands and fingers to cut the bread. Plus, the circles seemed rough.

We needed to leave at 9:30 am to get to Sunday School by 10 am. But, at 9:40 I finally got the sandwiches on a dish and covered and in a bag. I hurried though my preps and we got to the church by 10:30.

As it turns out, the church provides the fried chicken and sliced ham. I cannot eat much at one time, so I brought home my ham, cheese, and a roll. I noticed Styrofoam boxes had been brought from the kitchen. All the women were getting meals for themselves, mothers who could not attend, and for themselves. I brought a chicken breast for me and a thigh for Tommy. He also wanted more ham, so he has that, too.

There was no preaching service, just the choir singing and then lunch. We have been eating Kisses and Miniatures today and watching Christmas movies.

Tomorrow is his birthday and I have gotten him nothing! He changed his attitude Saturday night. He finally took me to stores. So, tomorrow will be spend shopping for him and making him a dinner from the leftover turkey legs and chicken breast. They need to be eaten tomorrow. So, he loves the casserole with Stovetop Stuffing, cream of chicken soup, eggs, and dried cranberries. My dehydrated cranberries are in the dump and I will not use Craisins. I might make a green bean casserole since he loves that, too.

At his church there is a board with slots and everyone's name. It is for Christmas cards. That way, there is no postage. I was going to get ours because our names are together on one of the slots. He told me to leave them there until the Sunday before Christmas. So, I put them back. A woman walked in and did not hear what he said. She brought the cards to me. I asked him in front of everyone who heard him make me put them back if I could keep them. He said I could.

At home I got into my box of cards. It was a chore finding envelopes that fit the cards. I need about 30 cards and have found 17 matches between envelopes and cards. I have more here because I brought them with me. None of my cards were purchased full price. So, this is not costly. First, I took out cards for three bloggers, and some bloggers whose addresses I know, and for my children. My goal is not to buy cards until they go on sale. Dollar General always has had cards marked down 25% before Christmas. They are some of the prettiest cards I have bought.

I need to go to bed because I am exhausted.

Do you like cucumber sandwiches? They are labor intensive to make, although simple.