Thoughts, Swears, and Female Glares

I'm glad February is over.  It's just a cold, dark month in general, and this year with all the crap going on in the US, it's even worse.   But on to any stuff-buying we did in February!  This doesn't include groceries, household items that need regular replacing, the occasional eating out we do, or regular bills.  I've decided to start including vending machines as of this month.   *I sent in 4 rolls of 35 mm film I found when I brought my mom's photos over to my house to organize.  They went to a company in CA, and it cost $58.95 to get them developed, sent to me digitally, and the negatives sent by mail to me.  It was fun looking through family photos that were taken around 20 years ago.   *I bought a diamond painting kit at Michaels for $32.76.  I'm still enjoying this craft, and it's a mindless distraction from the world. *We bought a Costco membership.  We live over 2 hours from the closest store, but we travel fairly frequent...

This year I'm hoping to keep spending on "stuff" low, both because I want to spend less money and because I want to put less stuff out into the world that will eventually be trash.  And so here we go with January. $9.54--I made one trip to a thrift store.  I dropped off a carload full of donations, and then I went inside and bought 4 small baskets.  Two my sister asked me to get, and then I got two small ones for use at my home. $19.00--I bought two diamond art paintings.  I need a distraction right now, and this fits the bill.  Zero regrets. $21.84--At the beginning of January, I spent $21.84 at Amazon.  That will hopefully be my very last purchases at Amazon, as we broke up.  This was 2 kitchen storage containers (for flour and sugar) and a pepper grinder. $20.88--My husband bought a charging cord from an online electronics store. $146.05--Two sets of scrubs for my husband.  His department will be requiring a certain color of scrub by next year....

What I Read in January  You'd think maybe with all that was going on in this country, I would have escaped to reading all fiction books.  That would be a reasonable response I think.  But somehow I was on a non-fiction kick, and I still am.  I do have a cozy mystery started, but I've been more interested in my non-fiction than fiction for whatever reason.  Maybe I just need to feel more informed about......EVERYTHING!  The way I've been choosing non-fiction is pretty simple.  I'm doing it blindly, at least for books that I own.  I'm reaching up to the shelf, and which ever book is next on the shelf, I'm reading it.  If I decide I'm just not interested in reading that book, it's going straight into the bag that will go to the used bookstore next time we are in the big city.   And here we go: The Comfort of Crows:  A Backyard Year (Margaret Renkl) Libby  Story of the Peace Garden State (Erling Nicolai Rolfsrud) Owned.  ...

There are a few things I hope to keep up with this year on this blog.  First off, decluttering, as I've already been doing.  I also would like to keep a monthly report of what I've been reading.  I love to read!  Thankfully, so does my husband.   Another thing I'm hoping to keep up with is reporting on a low-spend year.  When I say low-spend, I don't necessarily mean low dollars.  What I do mean is I hope to spend very little on things I don't really need.  Vet bills, groceries, medical bills, yes.  I'll be spending the money that's needed there, although I am being mindful about what I pick up at the grocery store.   I'm mainly concerned about eating out at restaurants/getting carryout and just overall buying "stuff".  I want to be very mindful whenever I purchase random things.  I've had a few purchases this month, and intend to report back soon on how my January went.

Did I get rid of more things from my house?  Sure did!   *Snowglobe train set *Coffee grinder *Travel toiletry bag *Decorative item my husband was given from his sister's funeral  *Condiment bottle *Two shirts *Baby blanket *Pet water fountain filters *Ornament we will never put a photo in *Random notepads, pen and music CD from VFW  *Attachment to vacuum I no longer have I clean my mil's apartment every 2-3 weeks.  She is a hoarder (which she knows) and also has dementia.  A few years ago she moved from a house to an apartment, the majority of her hoard was either disposed of or donated, and now I keep her apartment as free from clutter as possible. It is difficult to keep your thoughts organized if all you see is piles of junk everywhere, so every time I clean I cull her things.  *3 magazines I had left out for her to read for a few weeks *A trinket box that served no purpose other than to take up space where she needed more. *A random spoon.  S...

To say my house is full of worry about the person now in charge of our country is an understatement.  I'm just working on controlling what I can right now.  Fighting back how we can.  I won't be compliant and I won't be quiet.    I'm not one of those people who can still be friends or have relationships with family who think their beliefs should be imposed on everyone.  I have a few people I put up with in my family because I know it would hurt my mom if I didn't.  When people support someone who thinks I shouldn't be able to vote because I didn't procreate, I'm not going to associate with those people.  When people believe a felon and rapist should be the leader of the country, I'm not going to associate with those people who voted him in as long as I can avoid it.  There can also be no "agree to disagree" on scientific facts.   I can only hope some people eventually feel remorse as they realize they contributed to trying to take down a...