GOING DIGITAL

Spent the last forty-five minutes on the phone with a knowledgeable and courteous gentleman representing our daily newspaper.  Rather than wrangle any longer with the delivery problems, we're opting for digital newspaper.  Yup, we're giving up the hand-held daily newspaper.  Another old way of doing things down the hatch.  

Have subscribed to the daily for many years.  Full yearly cost of the postal-delivered newspaper is $473.20.  That price brings a paper to us every day of the year, except the days that weather interferes with the delivery trucks.  

Here's the deal.  If we read the newspaper on our Chromebooks, we can save $306.80 a year.  That also eliminates walking downstairs for the newspaper every morning and taking the newspaper down to the recycle room.  In order to accomplish this transition, I put a call in to the subscriber support line.  The guy who took my call was very helpful, and we even managed to toss a little humor back and forth.  We set the digital account up for automatic withdrawal every 13 weeks, or quarterly.  Won't have to fiddle around with that bill anymore. 

So it is that we've accomplished one more balancing act in the inflation frenzy.  When one thing goes up, we try to balance that by bringing something else down. One has to simplify by making less work, rather than more.  Otherwise, life has a leash on us, instead of the other way around. 

A ham bone with a bag of 15-kinds of beans just went in the crock pot.  We add fresh celery and onions.  By suppertime the soup will be bubbling ready.  When we were kids, our family added a little vinegar to bean soup.  Kicks the flavor up a notch.  Plus, I add pepper to my bowl of soup.

There are two kitchen appliances I wouldn't part with.  One is the crock pot, the other the electric wok.  Love making fried rice and Oriental stir fry.  The wok is used to make other foods, as well.  When I make homemade chowder, I'll saute the ingredients in the wok before adding to the roux-thickened milk.  We have an electric skillet, but the heating element isn't heating like it should. 

Imagine if we'd have to give up the microwave.  Boy, that would be a kick in the pants.  I like the Smart Ones meals, and it takes only three or four minutes to get one ready to eat.  My faves are the spaghetti, the lasagna, and Oriental Chicken.  For $2 each, it's an easy-peasy meal.  

Guess I've successfully made myself hungry, so will close for today.  Still no snow.  Drat.