Oh the joy of new babes!! the baby Cardinals have arrived! Little pink mouths!
Cardinals Three
Three dear little mouths opened wide,
for Mama Cardinal to put food inside!
How lovely to have a cradle in a tree,
rocking with the wind so free!
Bless all the little furry heads
whose eyes are not open yet.
But Mama and Daddy Cardinal
will seethat all their needs are met.
So that they will grow to be
a noble and royal red
And fly away when they have
outgrown their bed.
©Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart 4/30/2011
Don't forget to go to Beverly's for Pink Saturday links! Fun to see all the pinks and meet new blog friends!! http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/
My back has improved and Hubby's nausea is a tad better. I made a mistake with his appointment date and he does not go for a check up until Monday afternoon.
We find it harder and harder to live within the confines of Social Security as our only income and try hard to think of ways to save. Groceries are a very large expense for us every month as we live in a tourist area. All food prices are higher here because tourists need food when they are camping or renting condos in the area. Back in our hometown of Auburn, New York that we left 22 years ago, the price of groceries there now today are about 1/3 the price of what they are here!! When we have gone back to visit we are amazed at what the prices are there!
What are some of the tips you other seniors have for finding ways to be frugal on a shoestring budget?? I have clipped coupons but the coupons are not always what we like or can eat. Yesterday, I took 8 old phone books and turned them into the phone company. In return, they recycle and send a donation to local schools. Love that! But also, they give me 3 coupons free food or service (miniature golf, Wendy's frosty or sandwich) for EACH one I returned! And I chose my grandchildren's middle school for the $ donation. Cannot beat that deal-ha!
I order meds through AARP mail and save a good deal on RX's there!
But with no raise in SS for 2 yrs now and their cutting back on what they will pay for in the way of doctor visits and tests, it has become more of a burden for everyone. My last yearly chest X-ray was not paid for! It always had been before so I was shocked.
What can we seniors do to help ourselves? We can go back to work which is not an option for me right now as I am caretaker for my hubby so I take minor alterations in at my home (hemming pants, jeans, shortening sleeves, blouse bottoms, etc.) and only charge a small fee, half of what the dry cleaners would charge so that I can give my friends and neighbors a little savings, too. I have tried selling my crafts on line but although my things are of quality, they have not sold well. But I have a stash to use for gifts so it is still a savings. And I will try to sell on Etsy again when I have made some new things...
I would dearly love to have you share your ideas, tips, suggestions for saving some $. Hope you have a wonderful Day and please check my other blogs that I have updated today: Kerrie's Korner,SC with new critter pictures and Kerrie's Home Journal for a new post of my Praise song and encouragement.
I took pictures from the TV screen, not too shabby, LOL!
♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours...
Thank you for visiting today and do come back soon!!
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5 comments:
Your T.V. picture is good! Please let me know how the doctor appointment goes. I am so glad your back is doing better! The babies are adorable!!! I went to the periodontist for a check-up and cleaning this week, and that is all they did, $295.00!!! Now they say that they will file with our insurance, but they are not sure how much of it they will pay, and meanwhile they wanted the whole amount on that day! Then we would be reimbursed by insurance. And I'm sure your doctor problems are even worse. Your tips are very good. Wish I could be of some help. If you put a link to Amazon on your blog sidebar, everyone who goes to Amazon through your link and buys something, you get a portion of the money. So that is not really like advertising. A blog friend of mine has this and it works well. I order from Amazon and like them because you can choose the cheapest price from anywhere. Sorry that's all I can think of, but do consider getting that link, it is not invasive at all. I can ask her how to do it, and I can send you a link to her blog so you can see it.
Oh, Kerrie, I know so many are suffering because of all these so-called-government changes in EVERYTHING! Tragic that anyone would have to worry over such simple needs ... I say this loosely ... meds, foods, etc. Scares me.
Such adorable pinks ... & 3. Did you name them?
Glad you are doing better ... know I think of you & pray for you both.
Love you my precious friend ~
Have a beautiful PS weekend ~
TTFN ~
Marydon
Hi Kerrie,
I'm sorry you hurt your back. I know how that is...from time to time I move just the wrong way and I suffer for days...my husband does the same thing with one of his knees.
I, too, live in a tourist area and I know that we must be paying higher prices for food...but the option for traveling around to find better prices would be gobbled up with the cost of GAS that we would use! There just doesn't seem to be a break for us anymore.
We feel the same fears you've mentioned. We are both focusing on our creative side to hopefully fill the financial gap a bit...but all I can say is that what we thought we'd have for our future has been lost in the stock market in 2008 like so many millions of others like us...just a crying shame the way people are being treated these days. I want the America I know and love BACK! I know you do too.
The medical care is a whole other story! I can't even get started on the cost of our insurance right now. It makes me want to cry.
So nice chatting with you..do drop by to visit. I love the photos of the baby cardinals..just so adorable.
Pink Sparkles for your day,
Stephanie ♥
How lovely to be able to get so close to those babies. It will be nice to watch them grow. I'm glad you & your husband are feeling a little better. I would like to be able to make helpful suggestions but our system works differently out here. Your clothing alterations are a good idea. I sometimes write for a magazine here, with articles on home hints. Is there something like that where you live?
Hi there Kerrie, How wonderful to have baby cardinals and actually get to SEE them. I know that must have been very exciting to discover. :o)
Wow--about trying to save money on a fixed income. I know that has to be very difficult especially in a 'resort' type town.
I'm afraid you are probably already cutting corners as far as can be cut. I know we are but there is much we can economize on that probably is not even a regular expense for you.
I know the best way that we have saved money on groceries is to buy in bulk and shop once a month. I pick 8-10 meals rotate them three times to get through the month. I shop at Sam's club and am able to buy in bulk that way.
We save money by making everything from scratch. Flour, sugar, canned tomatoes, paste, pasta, barley etc. don't cost that much and are much cheaper than buying anything out of a box. It's a lot more work..but less money. We rarely buy new clothes, cut our own hair (up until this week), use Netflix for movies, dropped our longdistance and changed to SKYPE which is free. (Had to get far away family started on skype too and then we could call for nothing. We quit driving to the point of almost nothing when gas was 5.00 a gal. There are a million ways to save, but it sounds like your real problem is medical expenses.
The real problem with Etsy I think is that to make any money, you have to make things that people REALLY want..and make a LOT of them in the easiest way possible for the lowest cost.
Doing really pretty things that require a lot of work are hardly worth selling because we have to charge so much to make it worth our time.
I did have a friend with eight kids who start making t-shirt dresses. She bought the t-shirts (nice simple ones from Wal-mart and using $1.00 a yard fabric or what ever she could get on clearance or from thrift stores, she sewed on skirts and perhaps a bow or fabric flower. She did them in all sizes and they sold like hot cakes on Ebay.
Whatever you sew has to be a sort of 'hot item' I think. The hard part is figuring out what people want.
Have you tried selling on Ebay? Etsy has SOoo much competition I think. (I don't sell on Etsy so I'm no expert.)
I wish I could help so much. :o)
xo
Donna
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