I didn't grocery shop this week like I had planned to do. Friday evening, a friend called desperate to find some freezer space for some of her food. She came home from work in the afternoon and found her fridge/freezer had stopped working. She had thought this might happen soon, but was hoping it would be later rather than sooner. She went to Home Depot and ordered a new fridge/freezer. But it couldn't be delivered for almost a week (Thursday of this week). My friend lives about 5 minutes from my house, so she called asking if I had freezer room to spare for her frozen foods. I knew I could make this work for her. I shifted some of my frozen food around and made enough space for her frozen foods. I also lent her my hard-sided picnic cooler and all our frozen ice packs, so she could keep her refrigerated foods safe to eat for several days.
Anyway, without my cooler I can't make yogurt. That left me with one extra gallon of milk (which had been set aside for yogurt) that my family can drink for the rest of the week. Which means, I have no real need to go grocery shopping just yet. And I didn't even order anything, food or otherwise. So I spent zero on food this past week. If you're keeping track, it's now been about 2 1/2 weeks since I grocery shopped last. We are out of bananas and down to the last few apples, but we're doing fine on produce despite this. And I have plenty of eggs still. Milk, produce, and eggs would be the motivating purchases which would prompt a grocery trip. We'll get by for a few more days. And I'll have my picnic cooler back by then so I can make yogurt with newly purchased milk. So, big story just to say I didn't go grocery shopping this past week.
Gas for the week
Gas prices are still inching up, but not by as much this past week as previous weeks. In my town, unleaded was $5.83/gallon at 7-11. Last week, I posted that gas at this station was $5.79/gallon, so it's up 4 cents a gallon at this station. The Shell station currently has unleaded at $5.69/gallon cash or $5.79/gallon credit, which is what it was last week. If I drive one town over, where the Costco is located, lowest octane is $5.33/gallon at Costco. In this same town, I found gas for $5.39/gallon at an ARCO station. So, the benefit for buying gas from Costco is a savings of 6 cents per gallon this week. Not nearly as remarkable of a savings as last week. Gas prices seem to be see-sawing their way up, going up at one station before the rest, then the others catch up somewhat. It pays to shop around, using one of the gas comparison websites or apps, such as gasbuddy.com.
I haven't shopped for two weeks either which is rare for me. I normally go on Saturday with my husband but we were rather busy last Saturday so this Saturday will be two weeks. I am low on fresh items but we had some good meals from freezer stuff and the last of our fresh produce. Gas prices are about $5.19 the last I checked and I filled up last Friday because the gas station was running grand re-opening and I could get a $10 gas card if I filled 10 gallons. Plus free car wash and free beverage. I did that deal.
ReplyDeleteThe only driving I do is to my dad's house (4 miles) and to the library. Dad's strawberries have been amazing this year! Mom would have loved the strawberry patch this year! I have frozen so many of them (for my daughter who returns home on the 26th and loves them in smoothies) and I made several batches of jam for my husband who loves jam and some for my dad along with many loaves of homemade bread for both of them as well.
Alice
Hi Alice,
DeleteI'm glad you could get that special grand opening deal at the gas station! Every little bit helps.
How wonderful that your dad's strawberry patch is producing so well. I'm sure you're right about how your mom would have enjoyed all of the strawberries. Did she have anything special she liked to do with them? Your daughter will enjoy all of those smoothies with her grandparents' strawberries.
How nice that you had room in your freezer to help your friend. And I'm glad it will only take a week for her to get her new one. A year ago, appliances were taking at least six months or more to get in most cases. I guess some of the supply chain problems have eased a little.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI was glad to be able to help. I hope the supply chain issues are being resolved. It might still be a YMMV sort of thing, though. My brother is still waiting for parts to 2 of his appliances from a long while ago. But yes, to be able to get a new fridge in 1 week sounds pretty good right now. It just sounds like a horribly long time if the fridge and freezer you're waiting for will be your only working one. We're fortunate to live in a time with refrigeration so common.
A week for a fridge isn’t too bad. My son ordered all new appliances because he’s redoing his kitchen. The refrigerator and microwave came within a month. It was about 2 months for the stove, but he’s still waiting on the dishwasher and it’s been like 4 months.
ReplyDeleteI actually did finally grocery shop last weekend. I had been just picking up a couple things here and there as we needed, but we bit the bullet and went to Helena last Saturday for a Costco and winco run. It was my turn to pay for gas, and I gave my dd $45. It used to cost around $20-$25. It was $4.89 on Tuesday. It is what it is. No sense worrying about it. Tuesday I did all my errands in town-7 of them, which is more than I prefer to do in one day, but I figure every trip to town uses about a gallon of gas, so combining everything into one trip makes sense right now.
Diane
Hi Diane,
DeleteI wish your son luck with getting that dishwasher. As I mentioned above, my brother is having a really hard time (super long wait, over a year on 1) getting parts to some of his appliances.
Good job on combining all of your in-town errands on one day. I know that can be exhausting. But you got them done, and saved on gas in the process!
About a year ago I suppose I tried getting someone to fix my washing machine. We only have 2 people in town, and I called both. The soonest I could even get an appointment was 4-6 weeks, and then she told me I’d likely have to wait for parts. That wasn’t going to work so I had to go buy a new washer. My Dh can’t work on these newer ones. He was able to fix our dryer, and my daughters, and luckily all the needed parts were available online.
DeleteDiane
Diane, your situation with the new washers being items that your husband can't work on makes me think of this quasi-joke. Two engineers are talking about their latest product. One says to the other, "the only problem I see is the owner won't be able to repair their own gizmo." The other replies, "that's not a bug, that's a feature!"
DeleteI hope your newer washer lasts you a long time.
Gas prices have dropped a little here this week--I saw it for $5.09/gallon yesterday. We are driving to Illinois to visit family this weekend, so that's good news.
ReplyDeleteWhen you need a fridge or freezer because your current one dies, you need it quickly! You did a super helpful thing for your friend, and the bonus is that it sounds like it resulted in you saving a little money.
Hi Kris,
DeleteIsn't that the truth! It's so handy to have a lot of frozen food stashed away. But if the freezer quits, all that food could be lost. And forget about keeping milk drinkable in summer without a cold place to keep it.
Have a wonderful time with family! I'm glad you're finding gas prices to be a bit lower. That will help with costs for the drive. Have fun!
Gas at our local Sam's club on 6/15 was $4.98. I agree that gas prices are easing, so are lumber prices. However, rice is going up in price, and because we are a state that lives on rice, it made the local news. I think as demand softens, due to higher interest rates, we'll see price stabilize.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day,
DeleteLaura
Hi Laura,
DeleteI had heard rice might be one of the foods that we see world-wide shortages in, and hence higher prices. that's good to know that lumber and gas prices are easing in your state. We need structural repairs on our roof (from the tree that fell on our house last fall), and so far all the bids have reflected very high prices on materials. Our roof is patched for the time being, and we can wait out these super high lumber prices.
Have a beautiful rest of your day, Laura!