Saving Money Pays Off

I carry around a folder with all kinds of food coupons. I bring it to work with me. Previously I would just go to restaurants at lunch and purchase from the regular menu. Now I tend to use my coupons instead.

Today I went to Arby's. They have really tasty chicken tenders. I am coming from work, so I am really dressed up. I felt a little funny pulling out my coupon. But hey. Money saved is always a good thing, even if you dress like a million bucks.

I ordered chicken tenders, fries, and a side salad. No need for a drink. I had my own 12 ounce can. The salad came up immediately. The cashier checked on my chicken and found some trouble. It would take a while for my meal to arrive.

The cashier gave me a free drink, and told me she would bring the food to my table when ready. She arrived a while later. But she upgraded my fries to a larger size. None of this probably cost the company any real money. But it bought a lot of goodwill.

Now when the boys ask me where we should eat, I will recommend Arby's. I will probably still be brining my coupons with my though.

Man Versus Nature

I have been noticing the deer a whole lot more around the house this fall. Normally they stay out of the yard. The entire back yard is fenced. I think the deer used to stay out just because the fence marked our property. It is not like they can't jump over the fence. The back fence is only four feet high. A deer jumping over that fence is like me stepping over the curb.

Maybe the deer are getting hungry. We have a bunch of nuts that fall from the trees onto the back yard lawn. I frequently see the deer on our property just behind our fence. We only have the inner part of our land fenced.

The weirdest thing happened this week. I went outside. A deer was behind the fence. Normally they run away when they see or hear me. This one just stood there. At first it was hard to see because it blended in with the environment. But I did see it. It remained still. I stared at it for a minute or two.

Eventually the deer started stomping its front feet on the ground. It was as if it wanted to charge. Now the deer was slender. But I bet it was strong too. Bare handed I would not want to take on a charging deer. What? Do I need to carry around a stick or other weapon to defend myself?

Eventually I coughed, and the deer must have taken that for a sign of aggression or something. The deer grunted but decided to run away. Very strange indeed. I think it is time to save up some money and fence in the whole back yard. Got to up the fence height too. Maybe six feet or even eight.

Given a running start, and enough determination, a deer could probably jump over high fences as well. Especially since half the back property slopes down into our house. Great. They can jump in but they can't jump out. I only hope that a higher fence will further signal that we don't want any animals in the back yard.

Or perhaps it is time to invest in some deer-be-gone spray.

Going the Distance

I have noticed that nobody in the house wants to go further than our own town to get something to eat. This is very strange. My family used to drive all over the place when we dined out. I also used to be an avid driver when I lived by myself. Now people complain if I want to eat in the next town to the North.

So today we made the first of what I hope to be extended trips past the city limits to dine out. Momoko chose the venue. She also drove. That meant I had to pay. Momoko's GPS told us to head North to the next big city up there. Then we headed east, and cut back down south a bit. The place was not hard to get to.

The parking lot for the place was another story. This seemed to be a prior private residence turned into a diner. There did not seem to be any marked parking spaces. There was also little space to park. I advised Momoko to hurry up and take one of the remaining places to park.

We got inside and found a small room that was crowded. We did sit at a tiny table for two. The side dishes did not look appetizing. Therefore I did not order an entree. I tried to order a crabcake sandwich. However they were out. I got some random chicken sandwich instead.

On the way home, I told Momoko that we should not use the GPS to direct us. It would add to the adventure. We drove a long ways North since it was the easiest direction to exit the diner. Then we saw some major crossroads. I told Momoko to get on the major beltway.

We chose the direction opposite the bridge. Seemed like a good bet since the bridge led away from our house. Turns out it was the right choice. The beltway led us to the major highway that deposits us right by our house. Good thing the kids were out on an adventure of their own today. They would not have been able to sit with us.

Next week I might do the driving. Perhaps we shall head downtown into one of the major cities that are near us. Yeah. That sounds like a plan.

Just in Time

Last weekend I did my normal yard work. It is grueling but needs to be done. Towards the end I cleaned up the patio. Some water dripped on my head. I figured it was Little Kat's window air conditioning unit. It tends to drip a bunch of water. However the water was coming down too far from Little Kat's window. I looked up and saw a bad sign...

The water was coming out of the rain gutter. Darn. The rain gutters must have been filled up with leaves and such. This is treacherous because the gutters are 2+ stories high in the back. Plus there is no level ground to steady the ladder back there. I did not even bother climbing up to survey the trouble. I called my window cleaning team.

I never actually have the window cleaners polish the windows. They are my rain gutter cleaners. They run up on top of the roof, scoop out all the debris from the gutters, and use the hose to wash out any extra dirt. It is a real life saver. I need to call them a couple times a year. But they are well worth it.

I got real lucky. After the guys came and cleared out the gutters, the rain really started to fall. We got a whole lot of rain. When the gutters are blocked up, bad things happen when it rains. Bad things as in the water might come into the house. Disaster averted. I got to put a rain gutter check into my weekly routine during the autumn when the leaves fall off the trees.