Off to a good start

I have a few more days of vacation left and am determined to get 2013 off to a good start. After dropping the teens at school (our district went back today) I headed down to the Cleveland Clinic for my scheduled followup appointment on my elbow. With temps in the very low 20s and a brisk wind blowing and a nasty head cold and cough that I am fighting my oldest son who accompanied me and I agreed that it would be wise to spend the extra $4 and get valet parking. Parking is a nightmare at the best of times down there and expensive even in the Clinic self park lots. Add in the cold windy walk and the head cold and this was the smart thing to do.
After getting x-rays and meeting with the doctor I got the all clear to go back to my normal levels of activity, with of course the proviso that if it hurts I should dial it back a bit.
Once the appointment was over and the son and I parted ways I headed out to run a couple of errands, I had a Christmas gift check to deposit in my account and I have been on the lookout for some way to corral the bags of potatoes, onions, etc. that seem to pile up on the steps leading to our side door (which is the entrance we use the most). Last week while out with my daughter I spotted an over the step basket at a local craft store that was on clearance. After debating this I decided to go ahead and return to the store to get the basket as well as a needed nightlite for the kitchen (the only lighting in there is the overhead florescent light which I hate leaving on all the time) and a small lamp to replace one that no longer works in the living room (I saved the shade from the old lamp so knew I needed to buy something that would fit this shade).
At the store I discovered they were having a basket sale (glad I didn't buy that basket last week),not only did I get my stair basket on clearance I got a second basket I can use for onions FREE. I like free. My basket is very similar to this one.  I found a simple nightlite for under $3, and a nice candlestick style lamp that my shade fit nicely. Total expenditure of $47.25 and points on my VIP card that mean future savings!

The remainder of my day was spent putting away all the Christmas decorations and getting the everyday stuff back out. It is almost like a new home since this stuff has been packed away since early September! Two loads of laundry got done and I still had time to run daughter to work and get two chapters of my current murder mystery read.

Dinner was also very frugal, I took the remaining turkey carcass out of the deep freezer and got it going with some carrots, celery, onion and garlic in the slow cooker before leaving for my doctor appointment. By 5 pm it smelled delicious and had the depth of flavor I was looking for. Youngest child voted for noodles instead of the planned on white and wild rice I was going to use so we went with his idea although we had turkey-noodle soup last week. Two yummy bowls of soup were dinner for son and I. And I have enough left over for middle son and  youngest daughter when they get home from work and some for the freezer as well!