Runaway Ruth + Homage

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

On Thursday Donny took our little rescue kitten out into the backyard with him. Not unusual because she she loves to be carried around. He named her Ruth, and like her Ozark namesake, she is a little spitfire. Well, it’s almost like she recognized where she was because she started fighting to get down, jumped out of his arms, and ran into the neighbors that are catty corner behind us. We immediately went to the fence to see if we could see her with no luck. We drove around to their house and began calling for her and looking in everyone’s backyards on that street. Since it was so hot outside we figured that she was asleep somewhere under something in their yard. They weren’t home so I couldn’t go ask if I could look around. When it was later in the day, Jackson and I drove around to see if we could see the litter that she came from. No luck. That’s when I started walking around our block, with my binoculars, looking like an absolute creeper.

By this time we were all getting very worried because she is just so little. When it became dark I walked up and down our street looking for any sign of her. We had all given up. Then at 11:17 I decided to give it one more shot and went outside. I heard this chirp and when I looked down she was hopping around the patio. What a relief and we all cheered when I brought her in. Donny had said that she would eventually find her way back, but with all of the nighttime predators I wasn’t so sure. She got another bath and then happily snuggled up with Donny.

They like to watch videos together.

She slept curled up under Donny’s chin last night. The other cats are starting to warm up to her finally. She definitely brings happiness to our family.

Just because we have 2 newer cats doesn’t mean that we will ever forget our sweet babies that have passed on. I didn’t want the other cats to forget them either so we did a homage to them. I put them above the cats food station and I have caught Milo looking at them.

I still miss them so much.

On the Hunt

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

I love watermelon. It’s definitely my favorite fruit. I had picked one up from Aldi and it was not good. I find that most seedless varieties aren’t. I googled produce near me and it turned up a produce shop right down the road. Donny and I had actually tried to find it last year, but Google maps took us to a completely wrong place. I found it this time.

They had all of their plants outside.

It’s a very rustic place with uneven floors and no air conditioning, but they sell a lot of jarred goods and they produce looked amazing. I honed in on the watermelons that were in the back of the store. That’s where I found my seeded one. I chose one and put it by the register and decided to go look around for anything else that might tempt me. Now here’s the clincher; there are no prices anywhere. There were a few people shopping and I chose my items and got in line behind another woman. She had a small box, not filled all the way, and the cashier told her that her total was $115. Excuse me? I thought I must have just misheard. I didn’t. This is what I purchased at it was $41.

My beautiful toddler sized watermelon.

5 peaches, 2 tomatoes and a bag of fresh butter beans. That’s it. I will say that everything was delicious.

I had one of the tomatoes for dinner.

I love them with fresh basil, feta, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I’m still debating if $41 was a little too high for what I purchased. I guess you pay for higher quality. I will go back for more watermelon though, unless I can find a truck selling them.

We also had a surprise last night. Donny was going to lock the chickens up when he heard a noise coming from the laundry room. He looked in and a little face peeked around from the back of the dryer.

She’s a sweet little girl kitty. I think she is from a litter that we have seen on our street. Donny went out a got some kitten milk and wet food which she devoured. I gave her a bath this morning because she had fleas on her. So far she is doing really well. We just need to come up with a name. I’ve noticed that when we lose one cat, another one just shows up. We lost Bailey and O’Malley showed up. We lost Queso and this one shows up. What are the odds?

Retail Fatigue

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

I do not like shopping. I find this ironic because I worked in retail for so many years. For many years I worked as a retail manager/buyer for a large company. I knew how much the actual cost of an item was and how much we actually sold it for. It would blow your mind to know what the actual margins are. I honestly could not wait to get out of that job. When we would get large orders, the off gassing of the dyes in the clothing would give me sinus issues and headaches. One time we got a shipment of specialty shirts and they smelled so bad, like dead fish. I called the company and they told us to just spray them with febreze and let them air out. Like what??? They sold after about a month of airing out, but I can’t help but think of what awful chemicals were uses to make these garments.

This past week I had to go out shopping for Donny’s father’s day gifts. We don’t really do anything big for each other on these days, but I did want to get him something. I knew he needed tshirts because his were looking a bit scruffy so I headed to TJMaxx. When I walked in it was SO crowded and the place was a mess. I turned around and walked out. Burlington is in the same strip mall so I walked down there to see if I could find anything. It was surprisingly clean and I did find a Tshirt and some snacks. That was enough for one day. I was exhausted just from going into 2 stores. Jackson and I did finish his gift buying in Walmart which wasn’t too bad.

He ended up with 2 tshirts, a ceramic coffee mug and some snacks.

Now here’s the funny part. I can go to thrift stores and estate sales all day long. Doesn’t matter if they are crowded or a little messy. I’m 100% up for it. I’d say that 95% of my clothes are thrifted. I just feel better knowing that I’m recycling and these garments aren’t ending up in some land fill. Jackson and I are working on a little project and needed some 4X6 frames. I headed to the big thrift store around the corner and picked up two for 3 dollars total.

I never look through the clothes at this one, but I had a little extra time and decided to see what they had. I found these super cute Kancan boyfriend jeans for 4 bucks.

I’m still looking for some denim shorts. I saw some cut off shorts at Walmart for $24.98. People, please!!!!! Buy thrifted jeans and cut them off yourself. That’s over 20 dollars you’ve saved.

I also found this cute vintage vest that I can wear over a tank top. I will always and forever buy my tshirts and thrift stores and estate sales. This one says “for everything there is a season” and It’s in excellent condition.

If you want to pay full price, that’s your choice. I saw a quote that really spoke to me. It said, take a look at everything in your house. That was once money.

Garden Growth

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

We did not do a big garden this year. I got the seeds started late, but I am proud to say that everything I am growing is from seeds. Not a big flex to anyone who gardens, but it is for me because I’ve never been able to do that before. Everything I’ve ever tried to start from seeds, except the cantaloupe last year, has died.

This squash is in the enclosed garden. It should be ready in a few days. I’m embarrassed to say that this garden is half empty. We do have tomatoes, tomatillos (they came up from the crop last year) and cucumbers. I finally got around to weeding this area last week because it was a mess.

This is the before.

And the after.

I do love my little front bed, but it doesn’t get as much sun as I would like. The cucumbers are starting to flower along with the tomato plants so that’s encouraging.

Donny planted this butterfly plant a few years ago and this year it has really taken off. I can’t wait for the hot pink flowers to really open up.

I have always bought a basil plant every year. This year I decided to try seeds and they are actually growing.

We even have a corn stalk. A piece of corn from the bird feeder must have fallen down and sprouted. I thought it was funny so I just left it to grow.

Our hostas that did not do very well last year, and we even thought they had died off, are going crazy.

I decided to plant some avocado seeds and I guess now I have a mini orchard.

We had some sunflower seeds that we had harvested from one of our giant sunflowers a couple of years ago. Donny planted them in the backyard and they are doing their thing.

I’m still trying to work on the back corner, but we’ve just been getting so much rain lately, I haven’t had the chance. I did make a little bell wreath for the patio on one of those rainy days.

So that’s the outside update. Fingers crossed that everything grows.

Months ago Jackson asked me to get these two cat pictures from a thrift store. I loved them so it was a yes. Last night we realized that they reminded us of Queso and Bailey so I guess it’s like a little tribute to two of the best fur babies there ever were.

King Queso

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

I HATE writing this post. Saturday night Queso and Monkey did not want to come in the house. It’s not unusual for them to be outside. Queso was my daughter’s cat that we took in when she moved to the Hill Country. Donny and I both fell asleep in the living room watching a movie. I got up about 1 am and since he looked so comfortable I let him sleep. He later told me that at about 3 am he heard a cat ruckus outside. This isn’t unusual because we have a very cat friendly street and there are a lot of strays that we feed. He went outside to look around to find Queso and Monkey to bring them in. He couldn’t find them.

Sunday morning Milo woke me up to go outside at 6:10. I always start the coffee and then go outside to make sure the cats have food and fresh water. When I walked out onto the patio I saw Queso laying under the big table. I called him but he didn’t respond. I got closer to him and realized that he wasn’t breathing. My heart broke. I went inside and woke Donny up. We picked up Queso’s body to see if we could see anything that would explain what happened to him. Nothing. Not a scratch that we could see. He had looked like he was just sleeping. We wrapped him in his blanket and buried him in the backyard.

This was the last picture I took of him. He was the coolest cat. He weighed 15 pounds and would not take no for an answer. He loved HARD. His favorite place to sleep was on my pillow with his arms wrapped around my neck. He loved to give kisses. He wanted all the other cats to be his friend. He would stand guard on our cars or the trash cans. His favorite place to nap outside was the plant shelf.

Taken during a thunderstorm.

His favorite napping spot.

Always wanting to help.

Late night snuggles.

Loving any basket, bag or box.

He and Milo were best friends. They always wanted to be near each other. Milo is having a hard time with Queso not being here. He wants to be in the same room as I’m in and if he’s not he will loudly meow. We are all going to miss Queso so much. He was definitely one of a kind and it felt like he was always more human than cat.

P.S.

We found some coyote tracks in the ditch mud so now we believe that he tried to fight off a coyote and when he howled he scared it off. There must have been damage that we couldn’t see.

Chatgpt

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Room UpdateLeave a comment

I had heard so much about chatgpt and how it could give a person suggestions on decor style. I decided to give it a try. I took two pictures of our living room and asked what my style is.

Chatgpt told me that my style was Eclectic Bohemian with Folk Art Influences. That is completely correct. Here is the picture that “spruced” it up. I love the look, but our front door is off to the left and doesn’t really work with the mock up. Also, I’m not changing the stereo stand, but I totally get what it was going for.

wp-17488026199062381828284743879000

Because I do love string lights, but they aren’t practical where chatgpt suggested, I pulled the ones our cat had knocked off that we had under our TV. Unfortunately, they no longer worked. I remembered that I had picked some up at Big Lots before it closed. They were candy corn colored and meant for Halloween, but I decided to go ahead and give them a try. I was also sick of the frosted covers I had put in the glass front doors of our entertainment center. I swapped the frosted look for the same fabric as the runner that’s on top. Don’t tell anyone, but they are placemats.

It looks really cool at night because of the orangey/yellow glow it gives off.

We’re watching the series Dark In case anyone was wondering what in the world that screenshot is from.

I love the way the clown looks in the light.

I’ve also had this painting for a while. I love it and wanted to use it somewhere so I just decided to add to the gallery wall behind the rocker. I also made the art of the two waiters that I think complements the painting so well.

It’s always fun to get ideas and switch things around in your home, don’t you think?

Whataweekend

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Frugal LifeLeave a comment

On Friday Jackson graduated from high school. I cannot believe how fast time flies by. I know that he will cherish his time at East Texas Charter School and that him going there was the best decision ever. Small class size, teachers that truly care and an amazing superintendent that kept the school in tip top shape made for an amazing 4 years.

The students get to pick their first and second choices of who to stand up and speak about their time at ETCS. Jackson picked his favorite teacher Mr. Damoude.

It’s so interesting to hear about each graduating senior. I’ve never been to another school that does this. There are no valedictorians. Each student has a chance, if they choose, to speak after the teacher gives their speech. Jackson did not want to.

There were a whopping 29 graduates this year.

Group shot before the hat toss.

A proud dad who unfortunately had to go back to work right after this was taken.

Proud mom and sister.

Jackson’s best friends. Two of them will be also heading off to Kilgore College in the Fall.

We have a tradition that when it’s your birthday or another special event, you get to pick whichever restaurant you want to have dinner. Jackson’ picked Rotolo’s. I loved it because they have cauliflower crust pizza. That was the last meal I have eaten because I got sick.

Right before we were about to leave I started having floaters in my eyes. The headache came right after we got home so I went to bed early. Saturday morning I woke up and felt like I couldn’t get out of bed. My body felt like it was made of lead. I still had a horrible headache. I ended up sleeping all day.

Sunday I was feeling a little better so I made a quick Aldi run. When I got home my stomach and back were cramping so badly. I was also coming down with a UTI. The fatigue was also back in full force. I asked Donny to pick up so AZO and cranberry juice. He knew that I was not eating sugar so he picked me up the only zero sugar he could find. I highly recommend NEVER getting this juice. My whole body puckered and seized up. I tried diluting it with water and stirring in some honey. Nope, that didn’t work at all. Hannah didn’t know that it was awful and had the same reaction.

I went to bed early on Sunday night and by Monday I still wasn’t feeling well. Now let’t throw in a sore throat and my TMJ acting up. It’s like my body’s check engine light came on. I slept most of the day, again. Today I feel like I’m at 75% which I’ll take over the previous days.

To make matters worse a skunk sprayed a possum right outside our patio door on Sunday night. If I hadn’t known better I would have sworn it had sprayed in our kitchen. It made Donny so sick to his stomach and gave me another headache. So that’s how the weekend ended.

I am ready for some good days ahead that’s for sure.

Blue Dog x2

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Longview, txLeave a comment

If you ever come over to our home you’ll probably notice that I have a thing for Blue Dog. If you aren’t familiar with Blue Dog, it’s George Rodrigue’s most famous subject. I first saw a Blue Dog painting while I was in New Orleans having dinner. There was a huge painting hanging in the restaurant. I had never seen or heard of this artist before, but it was love at first site.

When we first heard that the exhibit was coming to Longview we were so excited and last week we finally got to go. Hannah was busy so Jackson and I decided that we would go check it out and it did not disappoint.

I mean, c’mon, I got a smile out of him. He rarely smiles in pictures.

We now have two fine arts museums. This is the newest and it used to be a bank.

We took a picture at the selfie stop.

Hannah was disappointed that she wasn’t able to go so yesterday she and I visited.

Both Hannah and Jackson picked this picture as their favorite.

The saddest picture was the one that George never finished. He died of cancer and this was left on his easel. You can see the sketch lines.

After we finished touring this museum we decided to head a street over to see this exhibit at the main art museum. It’s called six degrees of separation because each vignette is connected somehow. We found several pieces that we really liked.

This was my favorite.

This was Hannah’s.

We both liked this one. The background are Splenda wrappers.

It was such fun days taking each of the kiddos separately to hear their take on all of the art.

I also couldn’t leave without buying a poster and a decal.

Jackson and I ran by the thrift store on the way home to see if I could find a small frame for the decal. I found the almost perfect one. I just had to paint the back of it to compliment Jackson’s Picasso rendition.

Hangry Cat

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Medical stuffLeave a comment

I’ve mentioned the stray cat that found us who we named O’Malley. Well, O’Malley had really wanted to come in the house all the time. That was great, except that unless you watched him like a hawk, he would spray. I felt bad having to keep him outside so I made an appointment to get him neutered.

We kept him in the house the night before the appointment. Now the funny thing about this cat is that he stress eats. Whenever you pet him or even just talk to him, he has to run to the food bowl and eat. It’s like his comfort thing. We were told by the vet to take his food up at midnight. The morning of the surgery he came into the kitchen and I was petting him. He will always roll over on his back to have you scratch his belly. This particular morning, while I was doing just that, he identified as a gator and chomped down on my hand. I felt his teeth sink into my skin and blood started pouring out of the wounds. He, realizing what he had done, jumped up and ran to the now non existent food bowl.

I immediately washed the bites and sprayed hydrogen peroxide on them. My whole right hand was throbbing, but I couldn’t miss the appointment, so into the makeshift crate he went. I do actually have a cat carrier somewhere I just can’t find it. It had poured the day before and I had only a bit of time to search the stacked up with totes to the ceiling shed. I had to just make due with what I had which was two laundry baskets, a Bungie cord and hair clips.

It was a little embarrassing walking into the vet with so many people in line staring at my “carrier”, but you do what you have to do. Six and a half hours later Jackson and I went to pick him up. He was supposed to be crated for 2 days, but that wasn’t working. Milo was very curious about his friend.

After about 8 hours he seemed fine so I let him out. He ate and used the litter box. We did keep him in for about 2 days and he was fine with that. It seems like he has taken to house life because he now is in more than out. This was him today and now he’s curled up on the bed with me.

I, on the other hand, was not fine. I didn’t want to tell Donny about the bite, but my hand started swelling, getting red and was still oozing. There was no way in hell that I was going back to the bougie ER and luckily I had a doctor’s appointment the next day. It was just the twice a year appointment to go over my labs, but I was definitely going to ask for antibiotics.

The bite was Wednesday, the appointment was Thursday. He did give me a prescription for antibiotics, but by Friday I was so sick that I stayed in bed all day. I couldn’t eat anything, but Donny got me a vanilla shake so I could take my medicine.

img_20250509_1008567148974922406325212251

I felt lousy. We don’t know if it’s cat scratch fever or if I developed cellulitis but whatever it is it is taking its own sweet time healing. It’s not as swollen, but still has a hard area around both wounds. The antibiotics make me nauseous and give me zero appetite. Next pic is gross, but it was taken this morning.

I guess we’ll just take it one day at a time. Geesh, the things we go through for our pets.

Holey Hell

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Medical stuffLeave a comment

Monday started off great. I got the front yard mowed. We had grabbed some honeysuckle off our trail 2 years ago and this year it has finally vined.

Some of the plants are growing back from where the neighbor butchered it bald. We still have plans for our cozy corner, but rain is heading our way for the next few days so all of that will have to wait.

Then, while I was mowing the backyard, my foot slid into the infamous hole. I had marked it with a faucet cover the last time I mowed, but apparently it had fallen in. This is what the hole looked like.

img_20250428_1014029838685406934514349133

I KNEW it was there, but in the heat of mowing, I completely forgot about it. It’s about 14″ deep and my foot slid down pointed and I jammed my whole foot.

After falling to the ground and yelling some not so nice words, I kept mowing. It hurt. Bad. That, however, didn’t stop me from going on to my next project which is our shed. That poor thing was chipping and the wood needs tending too. I got our some wood screws and tightened the panels.

Next I sanded and scraped the loose paint off. Everything looks better with a tan so I used the brown storm coat paint I already had.

By this time my foot was killing me so I only got the front done. I have more plans for it but had to stop for the day. My foot was swelling and bruising. I iced it that night but it couldn’t sleep well because of the pressure the covers put on it. The next morning we were concerned that I might have fractured it so off I went AGAIN to the bougie ER.

After the x-ray it was determined that it was just a really bad sprain so they sent me home with this beauty.

It actually does help stabilize my foot, but I am so ready to be fully functional again. Rain is supposed to let up by Saturday so I’m planning on at least finishing the paint on the shed. Fingers crossed.