I got mugged on my way to the first-ever Financial Blogger Conference last week. Fortunately that was not a portent. Can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun.

The robbery occurred in downtown Seattle, as I took the escalator to the light rail tunnel. A trio of young knuckleheads, one of them quite physically imposing, were involved. It took three of them to take down a tired middle-aged woman. Some heroes, huh?

I’ll be writing about this in greater detail for an MSN Money column. Suffice it to say that they got a little over $80 in cash and that by the time I got Citibank on the phone they’d already bought themselves sandwiches.

Suffice it also to say that I hope all three of them get bleeding piles.

I’m presenting a talk at the Financial Blogger Conference this coming weekend in Schaumburg, just outside Chicago. My plane lands early Friday morning. Can anyone recommend a good breakfast place? And does anyone want to join us?

My phone provider, Qwest, is now called Century Link. Today a customer service rep phoned to see if I am getting the best deal possible. Turns out I am, but the lovely and talented Jason suggested a new frugal hack.

I mentioned that one of my upcoming trips might last as long as seven weeks. He said, “Then you’ll be turning off your phone, right?”

I didn’t know you could do that. Some frugalist I am.

Farm chore of the week: spreading fertilizer around 1,600 young Christmas trees. Dad and I did some today and some yesterday. More await us on Friday. Yay.

The late-summer sun felt plenty warm to me, and the humidity had it beat by a couple of percentage points. My bandana got quite a workout; not only did I wipe my face fairly often, I used the blue hanky to mark my spot in a row. When I walked back from the fertilizer cart, I always knew which was the last tree I’d surrounded with 14-7-14 granules.

That bandana cost me a buck several years ago, and has been in my backpack ever since. Who carries a pocket handkerchief any more? I do, and you should, too. It’s incredibly useful for a number of tasks.

The weather at my dad’s has been crummy all week: torrential rain alternating with overcast days so humid I felt as though I were swimming instead of walking. Today the sun came out and the breeze picked up and I had the chance to do something I rarely get to do: