We went to a few garage/estate sales yesterday. One of our finds was this box of Yahtzee score cards for 50c. They were from the 1950’s, if the copyright was any indication. They didn’t even have extra boxes to give a person 100 extra points for extra Yahtzees rolled. We just marked the bottom when that happened. (When you play with my niece, Michaela, if happens more than you would think!) It made her very happy when I brought them to her today. She loves that game and often has me play 5 or more rounds with her in an afternoon when I’m spending time with her. Lately, on Sundays, when we go back to her house with her and work on the noon meal, while her parents help with the high school class, she’s been roping Rob in for games.
She’s very persuasive and got him to play 4 or 5 games with her today. I played part of them, but not all. Seriously, she will play for hours with those score cards–worth 50 cents, for sure.
I also got a Tupperware container for a quarter for Rob’s lunches, another lunch pail for when his bites the dust, some knitting needles for Ja’Ana for 10c/set, a game for Patsy and a few books. Jake was with us, and scored some toys from the free box at one sale. He was happy. I got a few skeins of floss, and an already hand-embroidered set of pillowcases for just a few dollars. Since the entire pile we got was $6, and my pillowcases were only part of the haul, I’ll say $3 or $4 for the set. I got a very new-looking air popper for the camper for only $3.
I went to Costco and bought bulk items, including ziplock bags (3 sizes), 25 lbs of sugar (for $12 something), t.p., shredded cheese, lemon juice, a rice/quinoa blend, butter, 1/2 and 1/2, and some more groceries. I like buying in bulk. Then, I finished up at Winco with things like a bag of potatoes, some produce, etc. I could have bought large bags of produce at Costco, but I no longer have room in my fridge and camper fridge for the huge bags of lettuce when I add that to the other items I purchased.
We made lots of good meals at home, including tuna/hard-boiled egg salad sandwiches, Teriyaki chicken for Sunday dinner (using up all the frozen odds and ends of chicken pieces in various bags together with 1 pack of hindquarters I bought at Wince), roast beef, and muffins.
The girls planted this lovely pot for Alissa’s Mom’s birthday gift from the family. We used a pot we had and the girls chose the plants from a local farm store.
Tonight, as I type this post, I have 3 teenage girls sleeping in the living room. Ja’Ana, Alissa, and friend Kim are all going on a hike with the youth group in the morning, and decided to start the fun tonight. We had Jake all afternoon, but got the added girls after church tonight. Jake is asleep in Lovana and Ja’Ana’s room, and Patsy in her own. Michaela wanted to stay home. She likes her home, own bed, etc. very much. We got some of the $5 Little Cesar pizzas and they were all delighted and acted like we’d sprung for steak and lobster (in fact I think they were more pleased with pizza than they would be with the lobster, anyway!). I love activity in the house, and we love kids, so…… (I also love to cook for a crowd, but this was quite impromptu, so hence, the pizza) It makes me happy that it takes so little to make a kid happy.
Lovana has a new job and it involves staying 5 nights a week there, and 2 night a week here. She is helping with in-home care for an elderly woman. She is trying it out for 1 month to see if it is too much, or not. We will all know in a few weeks.
I took Jake and Patsy to the library. I checked out books for myself and returned some so as to not incur fines. (Let’s just say fines are something I happily pay when I forget–it’s a good cause, and sometimes I get busy and forgetful–but I’d rather be prompt and turn things in).
Rob got a set of sheets for our bed at Bi-Mart for only $15. We don’t expect them to last very long at that price, but it’s been difficult with only one pair. It’s lovely to have a set in the washer at this moment, while Rob is asleep in the bed. We know we have at least one more set, but it’s still nowhere to be found. I’ve not done well with my goal of unpacking one bin every weekend. I want to get back on track with that, as there will be a rummage sale at the church in June, and I can donate extras to a good cause, or have a garage sale in the spring if I get to it–I probably can do both.
I started putting some items in the camper for future camping trips. If I freeze a few items, or put non-perishables in there now and then, it’s not such a sticker shock when we get ready to go camping. Often when we camp, we don’t shop while we are there. Occasionally we do, and it’s usually to replace a often-used item if we use up the last bit.
Rob got the bulk of the tax information gathered and will drop that pile at the accountants after his dr. appointment, several errands, etc. When he gets a day off, he fills it with all those things he never gets to. He also is taking the small car, and combining several errands to save gas.
I hope you have a great President’s Day. We plan to!
Sounds like a terrific week! I’m with you, I always pay a library fine with a smile and “keep the change.” I don’t often have them, but the library saves me thousands of dollars (and space!) a year.
I feel the same way–I know that the fines are buying more books, so….
We love to play Yahtzee. I just copy the score cards at work when we are running low.
My niece sure loves it, too! Sometimes they run them off on the computer.
My mom and a neighbor used to play Yahtzee for hours when I was a kid! I can remember falling asleep to them talking and rolling the dice some nights. LOL I really should pick it up for my family; my son would really enjoy it too. UNO was the other big one from my childhood, and he loves to play that. He plays chess and checkers with his dad, but I don’t know how to play those.
I hope the new job works out really well for Lovana! Sounds like hard work but a much needed service.
I know Lovana will be good at the job, it just seems like an awful lot–she’s “on” around the clock. Good thing she’s young! So, we’ll see how it goes. This is her 3rd week, and so far, so good.
We like to play Yahtzee with our grandchidren because it works for so many ages. Even the littles can roll the dice even though they do not understand the strategy.
The flower pot gift is lovely girls!
Thanks, Lana. I have been playing a bit with Jake, too, even though his level of understanding is not the same. I think it’s good for him and he enjoys if for a short time.
It always looks like you all are having so much fun. A house full of children is a blessing for sure. We play a similar game to Yahtzee called Yamslam. We have a regular board game night here. Have fun! I’m sure you will!
Hugs
Jane
Thanks, Jane. I’m sure you are enjoying cooking with all your ingredients after your challenge last week! Have fun feeling “rich” with ingredients!
Becky, it sounds like your household had one lovely week!
To save money on the Yahtzee sheets, you could laminate a set of cards and use washable markers on them for marking the scores each game. Once the game is over, just use a damp cloth, paper towel or tissue to wipe it off for reuse!
That’s a great idea!
Great yard sale finds.. Love the yard sales.. Know the girls had fun camping out early in the living room and getting pizza..
We got our taxes done.. so happy that is done …
Have a blessed week.
I can’t wait until ours are done. Rob has been scurrying around gathering papers and such, and has turned quite a few into the accountant already. I think there’s a few to go. This year is a little complicated with moving and all.
Oh I’m so glad we no longer need use an accountant for our taxes! How I dreaded sorting aall that paper work , lol. Sounds like a great week. I love that Michaela got such a kick out of the Yahtzee cards.
We played another 4-5 rounds this afternoon! I guess it’s a good thing she likes to play something. It’s good for her social skills and her arithmetic, and it makes her happy. Because she’s autistic, she tends to want to go in her room and look at videos on her phone a lot, so we are always happy when we find something that keeps her engaged with people.
I’ll bet you are glad to be home. I’m happy for you that your grandson is doing well.
I loved to play games when I was Michaela’s age. Yahtzee was a favorite too. As I think of it now I wonder what game playing satisfied. I was not an aggressive player. I don’t remember being upset if I lost a lot but we played so often and sooo long it must really satisfied something. I’m going to think on that some more. Interesting. Brings back great memories.
I’m glad you got some good memories:) Michaela likes to play for hours. She always wants a Yahtzee, really, really bad, so one reason she wants to play so long is because she wants to play over and over until she gets one, or more. She doesn’t seem upset if she loses, though. On Friday, she didn’t win once, but was satisfied when she got a Yahtzee–it seems like that is winning to her.
I haven’t thought about yahtzee in years! I will have to dig out the set and check the columns. My husband’s mother used to enjoy playing it with the grandchildren.
We were at the farm store today. Nothing out yet in the garden area. We are back to normal temperatures now at 16F and new snow. We had had a freak week of
57-62F and it was not good. The sap started running early so so my husband had to run over and help the family. Every one helps. My daughter the nurse spent one of her days off helping her cousins wash hundreds of buckets.
I hope Lovana likes her job. My middle son is a social worker and he works mostly with the elderly. His special friend Christie is an RN and she has started her own small home health agency. With an aging population and more and more of the disabled living independently this is a really growing need.
I’ve always been interested in maple sugar making. I’ve read about it, but we don’t do that here in Oregon. That’s a lot of buckets!
I know Lovana will be good at taking care of someone. She starts her 4th week tomorrow night. Then they will all talk about it and decide if the people are happy and she is happy–if it’s a good fit or not. I also hope it works out for her. It is enough money that she can take a lot more college classes if she sticks with it for a while. But, since she is the one who has to do the work, I want her to be satisfied before she agrees to do it for a longer period of time–time will tell.
They have a lot of trees with two to three taps per tree.
That sounds like a huge job–washing, collecting, etc. Do they process (boil down) the sap as well?
One of my favorite children’s books about the maple syrup process is Miracles On Maple Hill.
Oh yes, they do it all. It’s a family business.
Like myself, growing up on a farm as I did, I’m sure they have their super busy times like this, and then some times with a little more quiet. The maple sugaring sounds very labor intensive to me, but a very cool thing to do. I’m sure you get to enjoy tons of awesome maple products!