Dog Days of Summer

I'm catching up on relaxing here in Fairbanks by visiting and eating with friends and family. I helped Sue paint her kitchen on Tuesday and I'm wearing the splotches proudly. I finally visited Brian, Stephanie and their new baby girl. (see the link to Brian's blog on the right). Today is Bev's 63rd birthday and I made tomato basil soup, tea eggs and cheese and crackers. The gals are all bringing light fare and it will be fun to hear about all the summer events.

Last night, my brother and his wife were over for Taiwanese food. At least, food we ate in Taiwan. This is the first of many "international" dinners I hope, as Leah and I will take turns. Our husbands are both still working so we'll treat them. I made Xiao Long Bao (steamed pork dumplings), Beef Noodle Soup, Ny Ja (milk tea) and cantaloupe/banana smoothies. It tasted amazing good considering I was guessing on quantities and had many flavor substitutions. I was unable to get "gourmet" seasoning, pork skins and pickled mustard to name a few.

The garden is looking good. I'll be baking a rhubarb custard pie or two this afternoon and heaping up dirt on the potatoes who are really reaching up. The rainy days are interspersed with hot and beautiful and I try not to miss those moments.

I'm back riding the "saving money" horse again. My brother told me that I could get $330 on a gift card at Fred Meyers for only $300 if I had a Rewards Card. Low and behold, he was right. Until the end of July, you can buy up to 4 of the cards. So,....I use my air miles credit card to buy a gift card to buy gas and groceries, thereby saving 10% on everything. That means that the $4.37/gallon gas is now less than $4.

Other strategies that I'm trying to employ are using manufacturer's coupons. I'm still exploring sources, but I'm also trying to be cautious because most are on-line and I really resent giving access to my computer and emails. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing, but I think one key is to never pay full price on items that can be stored and to buy food that can be used in multiple ways or as leftovers.

Tomorrow we will be investing in an iPhone. This is huge for us because we have never had a cell phone. This new iPhone has a GPS, internet and chat capabilities and is also a camera. Unfortunately, a new buyer must also sign up for 2 years of service. I wonder how that will work for us.