I know that I said last week that August was dragging by, but now it feels like the past week disappeared without me even really knowing it happened. Lots of time out in the garden and quite a bit of work, but time passed in a blink. Perhaps my brain is simply fried from some extra hot weather much of the week.

I can’t decide if time going quickly is good or not. On one hand, that means we’re closer to whenever this COVID situation is over, but on the other hand, it feels pretty terrible to be wishing away time, summer especially. I don’t know. 2020 is a weird one for sure.

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Friday’s Frugal Five

1. I finally, finally remembered to use the QFC (Kroger) coupon at the grocery store – the one that gives $5 off $50, $10 off $75, or $15 off $100. I’ve remembered it a couple of times, but those have been trips where I haven’t spent that much, and then when I do spend that much, I forget it. I know that isn’t a huge amount of money, but it particularly irks me when I don’t use a coupon that is that straightforward.

My order originally rang up at $46, so I ended up going back for a splurge of the fancy Quest bars I enjoy as a quick breakfast which cost upwards of $2.50 each, making them essentially free. Granted, as soon as I left the store, I ended up giving them, along with an extra-discounted Kombucha, to a local homeless woman, so I didn’t exactly *save* that money, but I don’t regret the switch.

2. We had a coworker over for a socially-distanced dinner, and I was able to prepare the meal essentially from what I grew in the garden, along with a few other choice Washington grown ingredients – specifically, camelina oil, and San Juan Island lemon salt.

While as long as we don’t have any chickens (and no space for other livestock), what I can provide at a dinner is fully vegan and relatively limited, but it sure feels good to grow as much as we do, and then be able to fill in the gaps with mainly local fare. Listening to Vicki Robin’s Blessing The Hands That Feed Us is definitely inspiration along these lines, as well as my last re-read, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

3. We actually got our stimulus check! Initially, when I looked online, there was an error whenever I tried to put in our information, so I decided to just wait until we had filed our taxes and put in our direct deposit information. A month after we’d filed, I still hadn’t seen it, so I went back onto the IRS website and was finally able to put in our bank information. A month later, we finally got that money deposited into our account.

We’re lucky to not need that money, but it took a very long time. Here’s to hoping that the people who needed it sooner got it much sooner. For us, that money will be used to be put back into the local economy: take out, local shopping – and hopefully supplies for chickens and a greenhouse. $500 of the stimulus is because we have a child, so my thought is that *some* amount of that money will be for the kiddo to decide how to spend himself.

4. My parents were gone for a couple of days this week, so I went over and planted their fall garden for them. They do love having a garden, but they haven’t set one up fully since moving into their house a few years ago – too many deer. That means they’re limited to what they can grow in large pots in and around their deck, but I’ve wanted to make sure they’ve had some now before they have the time to set up a full deer-proof system.

Considering my mother and grandmother have watched the kiddo at least once a week since the first month of his life, it feels right to be able to give back to them in some way – this time, by spending time transplanting, planting, fertilizing, weeding, and watering.

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5. The Plutus Awards nominations were announced this week, and I am finalist for three categories this year: Blog of the Year, Best Financial Content for Women, and the Community Builder Award. For those of you who have been following along here for a while, I actually won Best FIRE Blog last year (and was nominated for Blog of the Year), which was a total shock and a highlight of my first in-person FinCon experience.

This year, watching the awards ceremony from my own home and without so many of my friends surrounding me will be a wholly different experience, but I am so, so honored to be nominated again this year, for three awards, let alone one. Thank you to everyone who nominated me and has supported me on this wonderful journey in the personal finance community.

Exercise Update

The kiddo ran with me again this week on Saturday, but declined when I wanted to go on Thursday on my day off. Since the roommate is still off work and home, he hung out with him at the house and I was able to get a run in on my own. Otherwise, this week was kept to walking and gardening in the very hot weather (it almost hit 100 degrees!), other than the ten sets of lunges I did after the run on Saturday while the kiddo climbed a tree.

How was your week? How are you feeling about summer coming to a close?