I don’t bring this up to make you nervous about shopping. Instead, I want to point out that we all have choice about how – and whether – to buy.
Donna Freedman
Like losing my mom all over again.
Aunt Bea died this morning. Chemotherapy had tamed the stomach cancer for the past year, to the point where she was getting around with a walker and even eating a little bit again.
But a few days ago she was suddenly unable to rise from a chair. She started sleeping almost all the time. When my cousin e-mailed this on Friday, I knew I probably wouldn’t see my aunt again on this Earth.
On Saturday, my cousin put the phone up to Bea’s ear so that I could talk to her. All I could say was that I was thinking about her and praying for her, that I loved her, and that I thanked her for everything she’s done for the family. I heard her struggling to reply, but ultimately she couldn’t.
After hanging up, I spent the day struggling with memories of my mother’s death, back in August 2003. Losing Bea is like losing Mom all over again.
A surprise among the spam.
I had a delightful surprise last night, courtesy of my junk-mail folder. And no, I didn’t click on one of those f**kbook ads.
Share a pint with someone you don’t know.
A pint of blood, that is. Tuesday, June 14 is World Blood Donor Day 2011. I’m just putting the idea out there, although I don’t expect everyone to rush the bloodmobile van all at once,
In fact, I think you shouldn’t donate tomorrow.
A real armpit of a place.
Last evening we visited the Forget-Me-Not Nursery in Indian, Alaska, then got a guided tour of plantings at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. Really, though, it was just an excuse to enjoy a sunny summer-evening drive along beautiful Turnagain Arm.
All that scenery made us hungry. On the way back we stopped by a local eatery, the Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ. I haven’t had that much fun since downing the Salmon Dill Dough Pizza up in Talkeetna.
Frugal Festival Food 2011: Fun, facts and, oh yeah, food.
Julia Scott, aka the Bargain Babe, believes in showing her gratitude. That’s why she organized the Frugal Festival in the Los Angeles area – to thank her readers.
This year, even non-L.A. readers can attend. Virtually speaking.
Giveaway: A $25 Office Depot gift card.
You know you want some office supplies. Let me hook you up.
The bank of girlfriends.
Since I got to Anchorage a couple of weeks ago my hostess and I have been paying it both forward and backward.
She’s ready to fly the friendly skies.
Or, rather, she’s ready to put her husband on a plane. Cindi, the winner of the TSA toiletries bag, notes that her significant other travels a lot for business.
Stay tuned for Friday’s giveaway, which will be either a PF book or a gift card (but not an Amazon one).
The $9 airline ticket, and other frugal travel hacks.
My current piece at MSN Money won’t show up in the RSS feed. That’s because it’s a slide show rather than a column.
“$9 airfare and 9 other travel hacks” offers the skinny on things like “news flash” alerts (e.g., a $9 flight from Boston to New York), ways to get a free flop anywhere from Anchorage to Amsterdam, and how to spend just $1 to journey from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia.