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It's amazing what you can accumulate in a home after 15 years. I moved into this home with only the bedroom set I had in my parents' home. I have accumulated so much stuff, some that I didn't buy myself & never used. Such as a silver gravy boat. I don't even make gravy & if I did, I wouldn't serve it in silver! So that has been my life the past 3 weeks. If anything will cure me of my love of shopping it's weeks of having to give things away. 🛍 
I hope to get repairs...
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I have a friend who has traveled to visit me virtually every year since I moved back to Pennsylvania from Vermont in 1999 (with two exceptions: last year due to COVID and 10 years ago, the year my mother died).  We met because we taught at the same small (now-defunct) college in Vermont, she as an English professor with a special interest in the medevial period and me as a Psychology professor, and both of us owners of Basset Hounds.  A local college sponsors an annual...
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Hmmm.  No one has made an entry since mine three days ago.  I wonder if people are having trouble on the site again, or are people losing interest in posting?  I hope not!
Yesterday I went to Sam's after my gym session and bought probiotics for $9 and apples for $8.  Then I stopped at Burger King and bought an Impossible burger lunch for $10.  Variables are at 62%, which is good.  However, a large chunk of money went to my semi-annual auto insurance...
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I decided to get my driver's license renewed this morning.  It took all morning.  I had to stand in line outside the facility for about an hour -- they are not letting in as many people at a time as they used to.  Once I got in, it took a couple more hours, but most of that time I could sit.  The fee was a whopping $5.  I assume that was a senior benefit in action.  I got the Real ID license, even though as a passport holder, I don't really need it. ...
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I got back from a long weekend in Chicago the other night.  It was so good to spend time with my bestie, and see her new home (she purchased a condo this spring). 
It was a SPENDY trip though....still waiting for final numbers, but looking like ~$2kish.  Oh well.  It was definitely needed, and I'm going to go ahead and say definitely deserved as well.  We had a great time, and ate some amazing meals, so I don't regret any of it.
While I was away, I received...
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So as of 6pm tonight our state is in a 7 day lockdown....we have 5 cases of the new delta strain in the community so we go into complete lockdown except for essential services and shopping, getting covid tested...all school closed and most people will work from home...fun times...NOT!!, lets hope we get on top of it and if everyone is using the QR codes then it should make it easier to contain...and then hopefully in a week we can open back up.
What is hard is that not many are...
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$16,459.87 Starting Balance
+__,160.19 Amount Added
------------------------
$16,620.06 New Balance
 
This brings net worth to $113,827.73.
 
 
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I made a run to Aldi's this morning, spending $34.  Variables are at 42%.  In the afternoon I went to the library and checked out 8 books.
Tomorrow is a gym day, and then I'll go to Sam's and pick up some cough drops.  
Wednesday is a baseball day.  The game is not until 5:30, and I'm toying with the idea of getting my license renewed in the morning.  But it might be a long day at the DMV, and maybe it would be best to wait for a day when nothing...
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A few of you expressed interest in the flourless, sugarless chocolate zucchini bread I recently made. Here it is.
2 cups quick oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1.25 cups banana (about 3 lg bananas)
1 medium shredded zucchini (moisture squeezed out!)
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1/4 cup millk of choice
1/2 cup chocolate chips of choice
Combine all but the chocolate chips in high speed blender or food processor. Blend well, until a very...
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I had to purchase a new phone.  My phone has not been holding a charge.  I will charge it in the evening and turn it off and by morning it is down to 44%.  Turning it on trying to use it, would see it turn itself off after 20 minutes.  So the only way I could really use it is if it was plugged in all the time, which kind of defeats the purpose of a cell phone.  It was also getting really hot all the time, which we later found out was the battery. ...
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For once, the weather was beautiful.  After many days of gray skies and rain, and, alternatively, blistering heat, we finally had a day that was cool, breezy, sunny and fresh.  Loved it.
I went to the gym in the morning and then to Sam's to buy dishwasher pods ($22).  While there, I found a baseball hat with a bee logo and "Bee Kind" written on it.  I love bees, and I loved the hat.  It's a pretty butter yellow.  I paid $11 for it, and wore it to...
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So our US taxes have finally been processed...we were suppose to get around $1800, but we ended up getting $67, not sure why, I tried to call the irs to find out why but the guy I spoke to said basically they were charging us for one of the stimulus payments that we didn't get...but that doesn't make sense and it wouldn't be $1800 they haven't made payments that high....so going to try and call them this week again and see if I can find out more as not sure how long it will take...
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Today, I...
1. Tidied up the bedroom.
2. Planted several liriope that someone gave me.
3. Rode my bike around the block twice to help rehab my knee.
4. Made chocolate zucchini bread with zucchini from my garden. It's a no-flour, no sugar recipe.
5. Picked wineberries.
6. Did my knee exercises.
7. Remotely deposited my paycheck and the refund from my former home/auto insurer...sure got it fast.
8. Read the paper.
9. Made dinner, which was spiralized zucchini, chickpeas,...
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I finally received my federal tax refund! It was e-filed back in early March. I received $5919.34, and of that the IRS paid me a whopping $37.34 in interest 😊. I also received the remainder of the last stimulus payment for $336.00. Because they initially based that payment on my 2019 tax return, I didn’t receive the full amount because I was still working in 2019 and my income was too high. They recalculated...
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Today our whole block is under a parking ban -- cars will be towed if they are parked on the street.  Not sure what's going on -- some kind of public works/construction thing, but no action yet.  I found a spot last night further down the street, where there is no ban.  Hope this doesn't last too long.
Yesterday the little fan I use in the bathroom to fight condensation gave out, so I ordered a new one on Amazon.  $15.  Variables are now at 32%. 
I...
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So been a busy week...hubby got his first covid vaccine on saturday...we didn't like that one as it can cause blood clots but its the only one that he can get...he gets the next one in 10 weeks...so far he has only been really tired from it but you can get symptoms after a month...so we will keep an eye on him and hope for the best...my daughter and I can get the pfizer one, she had her first shot today and her next one in 3 weeks...I get mine on the 31st then 3 weeks later...so...
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Yesterday, after my workout at Planet Fitness, I went to Sam's, which is in the same plaza.  I bought a bulk package of Kleenex -- 12 boxes -- for $15.  They did not have my preferred cube shape; instead, I settled for flat boxes.  I assume it is another one of those supply chain issues.  
Variables are at 30%, and I'm approximately halfway through the month.  That's good, but with the huge semi-annual auto insurance payment, the monthly total will...
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DH and I were discussing what it would cost and whether we should put in a/c in our place.  We moved in 2017 and didn't do it when we did a major remodel of our house.  We had a furnace and I had a few HVAC guys come and talk to us.  They said our furnance was old and would have to be replaced within 5 years.  It was 20+ years at that time.  They said if it were them they would wait and do it later because we were spending a lot and why not just wait until...
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Over the years I have had investments in a number of things.  Home, pension, brokerage, IRA, 457, HSA, DRIP, Savings Bonds, CDs (maybe more?).  Anyway, as I get closer to retirement I realize that in some things fewer is better.  Or at least that is the case in this point in life.  
I've come to this realization through a number of things I have seen lately.  One of them has been working with my mother.  She has (and I have helped from time to...
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Two more baseball games, and they were both amazing.  One was a decisive win, 16-1, and the other was a close win, 9-8, an incredible comeback -- and my grandson made the winning run.  I tell you, this free entertainment is the best!
Today I made an Aldi run and spent $37, then popped over to PetSmart and bought cat food for $15.  This is another attempt to get Iggy to eat wet food.  This time I bought Friskies packets with gravy.  If he won't eat it,...
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