Thursday, April 30, 2020

Thrifty Thursday-It's About Time Edition

     No, I'm not saying anything has changed from last week when I titled this, It's about time, but that my thoughts since Monday have been about time. Time is the commodity that no matter what a person does, it never can be earned back. It might also be a commodity that is truly over thought as wasted or taken for granted. I don't want to see one more article about making the most of stay at home or quarantine. I appreciate ideas, but do not want to be lectured about what a "perfect" time this is for DIY, or cleaning out a closet. I do appreciate seeing and hearing what folks are doing-sharing with me (or the reader, the watcher), not telling what should be happening. However each of us are spending our days and nights is OK. If you've done a top to bottom house clean, that's great. If you've binge watched an entire series of Criminal Minds on Netflix, that's great too. My post is just what I've been doing lately, and the things I have appreciated spending time on.


Time


  • Last night could not have been a more perfect evening. While the day started cooler than it looked and had a bit of a bite, by 6:00, the wind had died to nothing, and the sun was still shining. DD2 and I met DD1 with pup and went for a very long walk, by the river, downtown, and through an older neighborhood. We walked to my in-laws old house, of which DD2 has seen, but she was born after they moved to the townhouse. It was a different pattern to our walk as we could tell from seeing cars parked farther down the park the regular route would be filled with walkers. Ours was pretty isolated and peaceful-lots of new smells for pup.
  • I had the picture of our Saturday fire, but I'll recap again as a definite favorite part of my week.

Resources


  • No food waste week. From the large batch of refrigerator soup made last Friday, I froze a few portions for an easy lunch, and sent some with DD1
  • I re-potted a plant. From a big basket of green plants received at my father-in-laws funeral, two of them survived. I've been taking pretty good care and both have been re-potted before, but this one was overdue for a bigger pot. I made due with what I had already.
  • I did a bit of multiple meal cooking-a pork loin that was eaten as is one night, and then shredded for carnitas for another. Chicken parcels used for us all, and then planned leftovers for DH for curry night. Cooking felt less burdensome this past week, and we didn't even get take out. 

Money
  • I added one more $5 Target gift card with Microsoft Reward points.
  • My nephew turned 13. We gave him a gift (safely distanced) purchased after Christmas, plus cash that he'll use towards his ski pass, making it an economical, useful  and under budget gift. 

     It wasn't a big money saving week, other than we're not spending. I'll have gas points to redeem when one of us actually needs to put gas in a car, but not yet. So anything you have done a bit differently? Are you using any spare time for different types of activities?  Are you mixing up your days and nights with productivity and real R&R?

15 comments:

  1. I will say I haven't slept well in weeks and if I binged watched criminal minds I wouldn't sleep at all. That show scared the crap out of me.

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    1. Oh my gosh! I know what you mean, but it's my daughter an my guilty watch.

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  2. I've been continuing with my mix of activities each day (productive, fitness, & mental wellness) & it's helping. I also cancelled & rebooked flights (who knows if we will take them, but if we do, they will be a lot cheaper) for later in the year & put a car in storage, given they've extended our lock down.

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    1. I don't even know what to think or plan for travel. We are supposed to go to Las Vegas the endish of November. I think concerts will be off the table and that is our main reason we were going. Who knows what another 6 months will look like.

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  3. I would have been out in the garden during this period anyway. I'm almost always home, so I haven't had to change much of anything. But, I agree with you, time once spent can never be earned back. What you spend your time on may seem an incredible waste to me, and vice versa, but it's our time, and we alone determine how to spend it.
    ANYWHOOO...if you want a binge suggestion..."The Royle Family." It's hilarious. You can't currently get it on a stream service, (It was on Netflix about 2 years ago) so I watch it on "Daily Motion." Do a Google search for "Royle Family," click videos, and voila. I have to get my fix in the wee hours before kids awake, or before bed, as during the day the current demands on our internet are too great for me to watch. As such, I have decided that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video must be kicked to the curb. We sit around 7 p.m. or so to watch something, but more often than not this past month, it won't load, so we've given up trying. I don't think anybody will miss it.

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    1. My binge watch list is long enough already! We had another internet glitch as my daughter was completing her Spanish essy/final on line. We broke the stay at home and she went, masked, and with disinfectant, to her sisters to finish. If I can shop and deliver to my MIL, I figured her doing her paper at her sisters would be safe.

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  4. Good idea to do a different walk, you stop noticing things when it becomes a routine, I might have to take a leaf out of your book tomorrow!
    I never have a plan for my lockdown time, it's weather/mood dependent, it's so refreshing just to go with the flow rather than be regimented. x

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    1. A different walk was exactly our intent. There are a couple other places I think might be less busy. We noticed an old B&B, the way a school play ground was set up and the sad tape around the climbers.

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  5. I have spent my time doing everyday stuff I usually do, plus dealing with Tommy's low blood sugar, my new heart issues, and the garden. No, I do not want people telling what I should do with my time or life.

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    1. What each of us get out of this time is going to be different. I know my work is important and I have helped a lot of people, and that feels good. I am mentally drained though at days end.

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  6. Isn't it satisfying to save a plant that was otherwise going to die? Not that I manage it too often but when my ex left his rental I took the plants that I could and managed to save a couple. Very satisfying.

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    1. they are loving their new pots! I bought a plant for my daughters dorm room that never made it there. It is time to separate that as well, and hopefully she'll have two plants to move in with in the fall.

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  7. It used to be days ran into each other and now it is weeks running together. I will be so happy when this is over. But then will it ever be?

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    1. It won't be over, but will evolve-little by little. I miss the seeing of other people, and am ready even if small, for some social interactions.

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  8. thank you for reading. I will pop over and take a read. I love meeting new to me bloggers.

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