News flash.
Just when tired of hearing about Halloween candy, along comes a deep discount candy deal at Walgreens and local grocery stores the morning after Halloween.
When stalking these bargains, we usually head for the good chocolate and those brands we love most - Snickers and Butterfingers.
We freeze almost all of it in a little sack in the back of the freezer. When we get a hankering for sweets, the Cowboy and I pull out a frozen treat and make a cup of coffee. Then we relax in an easy chair and enjoy.
Truth be told, we still have some Fannie May leftovers from Christmas. Fannie May is absolute a great candy maker of chocolates and caramels.
My Aunt Nell and Uncle John would get a two-pound box from my Uncle Harry back in the day, tell no one and treat themselves all year from their stash. The joke was really on my sister and me as Mom also got a two-pound box.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Halloween Tree Witch
Here is a cute idea for next year. Use old, flashy witch-style clothes, a wig and a broom. Arrange on tree. The story goes that the witch under the darkness of night aimed for local trick-or-treater, missed and crashed into the tree.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Discount Bread Store
Once a month or so on a Tuesday, I make a trip down 44th to a discount bread store. I get multiple loaves at a good price plus a couple of freebies.
If you are going to do discount bread, too, make sure you like their brands of bread. It isn't a bargain if it gets moldy or feeds the birds or ducks (neither should eat bread).
On Tuesday, they have double punch days. That fills up your card faster for more free bread. Occasionally, we will cash in our cards and donate the bread to a local food bank.
Because we like variety, we supplement our discount bread buys with bread from our local grocery's mark-down rack as discussed in a previous post.
If you are going to do discount bread, too, make sure you like their brands of bread. It isn't a bargain if it gets moldy or feeds the birds or ducks (neither should eat bread).
On Tuesday, they have double punch days. That fills up your card faster for more free bread. Occasionally, we will cash in our cards and donate the bread to a local food bank.
Because we like variety, we supplement our discount bread buys with bread from our local grocery's mark-down rack as discussed in a previous post.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Completing the Circle - Rims for our Tires
Finding the correct rims is not easy. Luckily my cowboy had been through it before.
We watched Craigslist for Saturn Vue rims with five lug bolts for a couple of weeks. No luck. However, we did find reconditioned ones at a junk yard for $640 for four. Too much.
We needed Plan B. Hubby went to this rim-conversion site. Click here to see what other vehicles take the same rims as the Vue. The conversion chart is somewhat hidden as one must scroll down to see it. I added those vehicles to our lists of potentials.
Theresa, a mechanic friend of ours, gave us a bolt circle template, and we fit that over one of the existing rims and measured the distance between lug bolts. See picture below. We wrote it down. We plan to take it with us when we looked at prospective rims.
Finally, some rims became available that were on our secondary list. Were they 16-inch? Check. Did they have places for five lug nuts? Check. Did the patterns of lug nuts match our pattern as per our template? Check. Did the rim bolt to the car at the proper place so the tires wouldn't be too far in or out? Check.
We met the seller at his place of employment where he had the rims stored. We double checked the above list in our minds, and his rims met all our requirements. The only difference was that they had the GMC logo on them. Logo, smogo, we didn't care.
We bought the four for $265 - we like this price much better. And they came with one good tire, and we could probably use on one of our trailers.
We brought the rims home, and hubby put one on the Vue just to make sure. And they fit. If they hadn't, we would have put them back on Craigslist and continued to look.
Last Saturday, we loaded the rims and new-to-us tires up and went to the tire store. We got the tires mounted, balanced and put on the Vue. We also had the vehicle aligned. Since it would take awhile, we left the Saturn and took our other vehicle for more errands.
Then something unexpected happened. The tire store called, and the Saturn needed a front brake job. As we have almost 70K miles on this vehicle, we weren't too surprised. Since we hadn't spent all of the money we had allocated for the tires, rims and alignment, we could have the front brakes done that day.
Having the brakes fixed now saved us time and money. We didn't have to spend another Saturday fooling with the Saturn, and the brakes were not at the dangerous or cost-us-a-huge-bundle stage.
Sure it took us some time and effort, but we feel our effort was worth it. When winter is over, my hubby will take off the winter wheels and tires and put on the summer wheels and tires.
We watched Craigslist for Saturn Vue rims with five lug bolts for a couple of weeks. No luck. However, we did find reconditioned ones at a junk yard for $640 for four. Too much.
We needed Plan B. Hubby went to this rim-conversion site. Click here to see what other vehicles take the same rims as the Vue. The conversion chart is somewhat hidden as one must scroll down to see it. I added those vehicles to our lists of potentials.
Theresa, a mechanic friend of ours, gave us a bolt circle template, and we fit that over one of the existing rims and measured the distance between lug bolts. See picture below. We wrote it down. We plan to take it with us when we looked at prospective rims.
Finally, some rims became available that were on our secondary list. Were they 16-inch? Check. Did they have places for five lug nuts? Check. Did the patterns of lug nuts match our pattern as per our template? Check. Did the rim bolt to the car at the proper place so the tires wouldn't be too far in or out? Check.
We met the seller at his place of employment where he had the rims stored. We double checked the above list in our minds, and his rims met all our requirements. The only difference was that they had the GMC logo on them. Logo, smogo, we didn't care.
We bought the four for $265 - we like this price much better. And they came with one good tire, and we could probably use on one of our trailers.
We brought the rims home, and hubby put one on the Vue just to make sure. And they fit. If they hadn't, we would have put them back on Craigslist and continued to look.
Last Saturday, we loaded the rims and new-to-us tires up and went to the tire store. We got the tires mounted, balanced and put on the Vue. We also had the vehicle aligned. Since it would take awhile, we left the Saturn and took our other vehicle for more errands.
Then something unexpected happened. The tire store called, and the Saturn needed a front brake job. As we have almost 70K miles on this vehicle, we weren't too surprised. Since we hadn't spent all of the money we had allocated for the tires, rims and alignment, we could have the front brakes done that day.
Having the brakes fixed now saved us time and money. We didn't have to spend another Saturday fooling with the Saturn, and the brakes were not at the dangerous or cost-us-a-huge-bundle stage.
Sure it took us some time and effort, but we feel our effort was worth it. When winter is over, my hubby will take off the winter wheels and tires and put on the summer wheels and tires.
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| bolt circle template |
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| new tires |
Friday, October 21, 2011
Estate Liquidators Web Site and Email List
Many professional estate liquidators have web sites and email blasts advertising their next sale.
If you like the personnel, what they are offering (limited junk) and their prices, check them out.
Mid-week, I got an email from a liquidator my hubby and I met in Golden a couple of weeks ago. they were advertising their next sale's location, starting dates and times and featured items.
I had signed up for their emails, and they added me to their list. One could do the same thing on their web site. Many have business cards, too.
Some estate liquidators who also have a store must charge sales tax in this state.
The friendly email was just a reminder. My question: "Is it worth my time?"
If you like the personnel, what they are offering (limited junk) and their prices, check them out.
Mid-week, I got an email from a liquidator my hubby and I met in Golden a couple of weeks ago. they were advertising their next sale's location, starting dates and times and featured items.
I had signed up for their emails, and they added me to their list. One could do the same thing on their web site. Many have business cards, too.
Some estate liquidators who also have a store must charge sales tax in this state.
The friendly email was just a reminder. My question: "Is it worth my time?"
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Comparing Light Bulbs
The CFL's (compact fluorescent lamp) annual cost is $1.69 compared to an incandescent light bulb (old style - ones used for years and years) cost of $7.23, and the light-emitting diode is $1.45 for the same amount of light according to the Denver Post, US Department of Energy, Wall Street Journal and D&R International.
A couple of years ago, we replaced most of our easy-to-reach and frequently used light bulbs. So we wouldn't go too crazy over the rest of the light-bulb thing, here is what we do. Since the light-emitting diode was $30-40 per bulb, we pass on that style - not cost-effective enough.
As for the more efficient and cooler CFL when an old-style bulbs burns out, we replace it with CFLs whenever possible. Not all our sockets can take a full-sized CFL, so we bought a few shorties. And a few of our sockets cannot use CFLs (our outdoor lights on remote sensors don't work right with CFLs, so we replace them with the old-style. And when we replace those old and hail-storm damaged remote-sensor lights, we will search out those that are CFL friendly.
When one of our long-tube florescent lights or a CFLs burn out, we take them to Home Depot or Lowe's for recycling.
Don't know how many old-style bulbs we have left to replace, but the electricity portion of our utility bill is under 400 Kwhs. You could say either we are energy efficient or live in the dark.
A couple of years ago, we replaced most of our easy-to-reach and frequently used light bulbs. So we wouldn't go too crazy over the rest of the light-bulb thing, here is what we do. Since the light-emitting diode was $30-40 per bulb, we pass on that style - not cost-effective enough.
As for the more efficient and cooler CFL when an old-style bulbs burns out, we replace it with CFLs whenever possible. Not all our sockets can take a full-sized CFL, so we bought a few shorties. And a few of our sockets cannot use CFLs (our outdoor lights on remote sensors don't work right with CFLs, so we replace them with the old-style. And when we replace those old and hail-storm damaged remote-sensor lights, we will search out those that are CFL friendly.
When one of our long-tube florescent lights or a CFLs burn out, we take them to Home Depot or Lowe's for recycling.
Don't know how many old-style bulbs we have left to replace, but the electricity portion of our utility bill is under 400 Kwhs. You could say either we are energy efficient or live in the dark.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Interesting Benefits of Estate Sales
You can tell from my blog, my hubby and I like to go to garage or estate sales. We especially like estate sales as we get to see some interesting real estate - garages, basements and backyards.
The one in Golden recently was on a high point across from South Table Mountain and uphill from the Coors Plant. The colors were changing and the view was beautiful. The estate liquidators said they had seen deer wandering the property early in the morning.
My husband especially likes to see what creative and time-saving innovations the previous owner devised. His father was quite handy, and I am sure he came by this appreciation through him.
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