The Occasional Nomads

The changes we made at the beginning of the year, including the way we shop and having more meals with leftovers, are starting to pay off. We budget $500 a month for groceries and for the first three months of this year we’ve been able to stay under that amount.

One BIG change I inadvertently made at the end of January was menu planning for the entire month of February versus just two weeks at a time and it made a big difference in our spending. I still started out still by shopping the pantry and freezer when I created menu, then added in dishes I could create from a Costco chicken, and finally filled in with other dishes. Menu planning this way had me looking even more closely at what was on hand in the pantry, fridge, and freezer, and being more creative in figuring out how I could use what we already have. It also helped us shop for items that could also be used or extended into the following month. For some reason, the whole-month process seemed to work and the result meant we enjoyed a good variety of healthy, tasty meals without overspending on food.

The photos below were taken from our two shop-a-thons in March to show what we bought and how much we spent:

Total spent at Costco: $196.68

Total spent at Aldi: $61.70

Total spent at Whole Foods: $30.36

Total spent at Publix: $50.69

Total spent at Target: $6.89

What we bought the second shopping trip in the second week of the month:

Total spent at Costco (Round ll): $69.76

Total spent at Aldi (Round ll): $14.19

Total spent at Whole Foods (Round ll): $20.94

Total spent in March: $451.11. The only impulse items above were the Cadbury creme eggs (my favorite candy) and the Dave’s English muffins – they were regularly $5.99/package (big no) but the day we shopped were BOGO, and $3 each was a good price for a quality product. Otherwise, every other item was on our list. We spent a bit more than planned on the chocolate-peanut butter pie, but we really wanted to try it and they sell out quickly.

The meals planned and eaten in March were, in no particular order, (items already on hand are in italic): Swedish meatballs w/cream gravy and roasted potatoes (2 meals), farmers’ market pasta (2 meals), chicken and dumplings (2 meals), slow cooker chicken adobo with bok choy, chicken noodle soup (2 meals), air fryer beef fajitas (2 meals), pasta with baked feta (2 meals), chili-stuffed sweet potatoes, slow cooker brats & sauerkraut (2 meals), stuffed peppers (2 meals), pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza, ravioli lasagna (2 meals), spinach quiche in gluten-free crust (2 meals), Korean-style beef with rice, bulgogi fried rice, chicken Alfredo, and noodle bowls with chicken & vegetables. We ate dinner out on our anniversary and ate dinner for free at our hotel for our overnight getaway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I’ve pretty much given up snacking in the afternoons and instead have a five-ounce glass of wine in the early evening. Brett and I still enjoy a small piece of dessert each evening after dinner – the desserts pictured above will took us through the entire month of March. It all fits into the budget.

Buying Costco $5 roasted chickens to incorporate into recipes has made a big difference as has my return to cooking once again and planning meals with leftovers – I enjoy having a second day of meals that only need to be reheated. I try to stick to gluten-free products, but they are expensive so we shop very selectively for those. Costco can also be a real drain on the budget, but we look for affordable products that can be used in several meals over time to get a bigger bang for our bucks. We added in trips to Whole Foods this month for a few items, but we strictly limit what we buy there – it has to be for something we typically can’t find somewhere else. There were no trips to Trader Joe’s this month because we’re still using the items I stocked up on before I quit.

I’ve already gotten this month’s menu done and we’ve already gotten through the first round of shopping and are well under budget. All in all I am very please with how the planning and dining has been going this year, and how much we’ve been able to stay under our budget.

Feeling quite dejected after figuring out our full-time national park trip wasn’t going to happen the way we dreamed because of the expense, and honestly not wanting to have to buy a trailer or camping gear for some of the trip at all, Brett and I decided to have one more go at figuring something out for our post-Tennessee life.

For weeks nothing we proposed to each other caught our imaginations. We admitted to ourselves that maybe we should move to the northeast after all and learn to deal with those bitter winters.

But then a sort of amazing thing happened. What, we thought, would happen if we got away from this all or nothing mindset we seemed to have gotten ourselves locked into? What if we kept what was meaningful and appealing to us but divided up the year?

What happened was that we came up with a very good plan that includes everything we want and love to do, in places we want to do them. There are no poison pills, and we can afford everything as well as continue to save.

When our time in Tennessee is over we will (tentatively) move to New England, to a location near our daughters. We’ll again rent an apartment and establish a home base. We’ll take advantage of the sightseeing and camping in the area, and spend the holidays with our kids and grandkids. We’ll be close by when and if new grandkids arrive, and can set up health and dental care to see us through to the end.

But those winters? Brett, Kaipo, and I will become snowbirds and head for warmer weather January into March. We can choose one place to settle in every year or we can see the world and go someplace different: Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico, Greece, the south of France, and southern Italy all enjoy mild winters. It’s summer that time of year in Argentina. Or, we can stay in the U.S. and head to Arizona or Southern California or even back to Hawaii.

And what happened to seeing the national parks and getting those checked off? In September and October of each year we will go west in the car for around four to six weeks and visit a few national parks, tent camping some of the time to mix things up. We can see and do a lot in that time period and it won’t break the bank. We’ll be back in New England in time for leaf peeping, the fall holidays, and Christmas.

We again seriously and in-depth asked ourselves whether we should buy a trailer, but realized we a) would rather have a home base, and b) the cost for the trailer we want, new or used, would cost more than we’re willing to spend at this time of our lives. By dividing our travel into two parts during the year we can travel more efficiently and spend less over all. We still enjoy camping, although for short bursts, and will invest in a good tent and camping gear and include some camping in our travels out west and during summers in New England.

Doing a little of everything has it all: family, a home base, adventure, and travel, all without built-in poison pills. Each part works, is affordable and doable, it easy to adjust as needed, and makes everyone happy . . . especially us!

When our son and family headed off to Florida for spring break week, Brett and I found ourselves with some time on our hands and decided to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a long-held goal for us. We checked weather forecasts for the week and chose what we believed would be the best possible day for a visit, made a reservation to stay at a hotel in Knoxville the evening before, and off we went.

Our goal was to visit Cades (pronounced kay-dees) Cove, the most popular area of the park and the most accessible location for us, just an hour’s drive out of Knoxville. A cove was, in the language of the area, a relatively flat valley between mountains or ridges. Cades Cove was a farming community, with a population of around 125 families in 1900.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park was established in 1934, although the work to create the park started many years before that. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is renowned for its biological diversity, the beauty of the ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture. It is America’s most visited national park.

The current paved one-way loop road around Cades Cove was once an 11-mile two-way unpaved road for residents, with entrance to the Cove available on five narrow unpaved roads. Today only one entrance exists.

Views of the park from around the loop. We crossed loads of rushing streams as we drove around.

We could not have picked a more beautiful day to visit. The skies were clear and blue, and the temperature cool without being cold. Visitor numbers were light as well. When we picked up our guidebook at the beginning of the tour we were told the loop tour would take us around 45 minutes or so, but we stopped at several places along the way and spent around two hours overall in the Cove before heading out of the park and home (the driving tour can take over four hours in the summer and fall when visitors are at their peak). Wildlife is abundant in Cades Cove year round, and we saw geese, elk, and flocks of wild turkeys (but thankfully no skunks or snakes). Even with visitors and cars moving along the loop we could also hear large birds calling in the distance, but weren’t sure what they were.

Cades Cove contained small mountain communities where farming was done. Sorghum was a typical crop, and the tools used to process it in one community have been preserved as well as a grist mill and its mill run, two barns (cantilever and drive-through), the smokehouse, some homes, the blacksmith’s shed, and more. The last resident of Cades Cove was Kermit Caughron, who died in 1999.

National parks are mostly all about the natural world, but Great Smoky Mountains NP does a wonderful job of showing human respect and care for the nature they co-existed with. Long before white settlers arrived indigenous people lived in Smokies for thousands of years, but all lived in the mountains with apparently little impact on the natural world that surrounded them.

Our little pup had the time of his life in the park, either being outdoors, running through a meadow, or just hanging out the window to observe and sniff the air. We enjoyed a picnic by a rushing stream before we left Great Smoky Mountain NP, Brett added to his national park t-shirt collection, and I got to scratch another national park off my poster. All in all, an absolutely wonderful visit!

The book has closed on our fourth annual anniversary Day of No Cooking, and we had another fabulous day eating and celebrating.

Breakfast at BBB

We were exited to try Big Bad Breakfast, a casual place just down the road from us that focuses on Southern-style breakfasts. It’s a franchise begun in Nashville by a James Beard- winning chef, with restaurants now all over the south. Brett wanted a biscuit and ordered a simple sausage and cheese biscuit; I played it safe with a gluten-free “Jack Benny”: eggs Benedict on a potato hash cake with sautéed spinach. Service at BBB was friendly and efficient, and both breakfasts were filling, but they were both lacking when it came to flavor. We gave the restaurant 6 out of 10 possible points, and don’t think we’ll be going back.

Lunch was to have been at P.F. Chang’s, but it turned out we did not have an actual card, just instructions and codes to send off for an actual card. Oops! So, we headed to our original choice for lunch, Bishop’s, for a meat and three. Brett and I had a meat and three for lunch in downtown Memphis right before we got married, and hoped Bishop’s would be as memorable.

Lunch at Bishop’s

It definitely was, and Bishop’s earned an 10 out of 10 for their delicious southern-style food, served cafeteria style. Brett got fried catfish with hushpuppies for his meat along with two sides: macaroni & cheese and mashed potatoes. I chose Hattie B hot chicken tenders and added green beans, carrot soufflé, and macaroni & cheese for my sides. The portions were huge; I ended up bringing home two of the three hot chicken tenders as well as leftover green beans and carrot soufflé (the mac & cheese helped cut the heat of the chicken and I ate all of it). We also had dessert – banana pudding and peach cobbler – that we switched halfway through so we could enjoy some of each. For the record, I am now officially a carrot soufflé fan – it was different and delicious.

We were both extremely full after lunch so came home to rest, digest, and enjoy a cocktail before heading out to Nashville for dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

A wonderful dinner and dessert at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse

From start to finish, everything about our time at Ruth’s Chris was superb. We were seated at a table strewn with rose petals – very romantic! I ordered the petite filet, but mentioned to our waiter that I felt sad the broiled tomatoes were no longer on the menu . . . and the head chef made them for me!! Brett ordered crab cakes with a mashed sweet potato casserole on the side and our waiter brought out vanilla ice cream to go with the potatoes – very, very yummy, and something neither of us would have thought of. And, at the end of our meal we were presented with a yummy cheesecake to share! We were pretty full at that point but managed a few bites and brought most of it home. It was an absolutely wonderful evening from start to finish, everything we expected and more, and the gift cards we received helped us enjoy a truly memorable evening.

This was our best Day of No Cooking yet, and I don’t know if we can top it. Even the less than stellar breakfast couldn’t drag it down. There will be lots of research to do this coming year to figure out where to go next year, but we’re looking forward to the challenge!

We had a wonderful month in March with lots going on including an overnight getaway, a national park visit, a long visit from our son, travel plan updates, and a couple of big purchases.

There’ll be more about the big purchases later, but we finally decided to replace the awful mattress and sofas we bought when we arrived here in 2022. We did a lot of research beforehand in order to get top quality at the best possible price, and ended up with exactly what we wanted along with big discounts. Our backs have been very grateful.

The weather has been lovely for the most part this month outside of several rainy days. The first BIG thunderstorm of the year arrived the middle of the month and we know it’s only the beginning for the season. The storms here manage to be both exciting and frightening at the same time.

Here’s how March happened:

• Keep grocery spending under $500. We spent $451.11 this month on food.
• Aim for zero food waste. Another month with no food thrown away!
• Have one full no-spend week. We didn’t spend on anything from March 17 through March 24.
• Have four no-drive days. We have nine no-drive days this month! Our total was helped by our son being here and taking care of the kids’ drop-offs and pick-ups on several days.
• Try one new recipe. I finally got around to making the viral baked feta dish – we loved it (recipe coming)! But otherwise we stuck to old favorites and to dishes that used what we had on hand.
• Walk at least 40 miles. I walked 50 miles this month! My beloved blue HOKA’s, purchased in 2022 after we arrived in Tennessee, gave up the ghost this month with the top separating from the sole but a new pair (black/gray/white) arrived in record time from HOKA so I could keep walking. The old pair put in a lot of miles during my time at Trader Joe’s, – the only part of me that never hurt were my feet.
• Visit one natural or historical site in the area. Brett and took an overnight getaway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park!
• Read four books. I read six books this month: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett; Messy Minimalist: Realistic Strategies for the Rest of Us by Rachelle Crawford; The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food by Andrew Friedman; The Bee Sting by Paul Murray; Small Mercies by Dennis Lahane; and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.
• Study Japanese every day for 30 minutes. I did both a grammar and kanji lesson every day again this month, but Duolingo has become quite problematic. They are pushing the Super version, and so the current (free) program is now running very slow and also has strange grammar questions without any introduction, and the same with vocabulary. It causes a lot of mistakes and I have to frequently stop and wait until the next day to go on (while you can make as many mistakes as you want with the Super version). It’s VERY frustrating! I’m searching for a new online program but haven’t found one yet that’s a good fit. I have moved up to Level 3 in the kanji program but I am now often completely baffled by which pronunciation of the kanji to use in which words – so confusing and so difficult to remember (each kanji has at least two different pronunciations; the one used depends on the word). Achievement has definitely slowed down.

Funds going into our change/$1 bill jar in March totaled $34.92, a little better than last month.

March’s goals remain the same as before:

• Keep grocery spending under $500. This will be a challenge in April as we’ve used up many basics and need to replenish.
• Aim for zero food waste. 
• Have one full no-spend week. 
• Have four no-drive days.
• Try one new recipe. I still have all those Instagram recipes to try.
• Walk at least 40 miles.
• Visit one natural or historical site in the area. We’re aiming for a hike in nearby Smith Park this month – there’s one trail left we haven’t done.
• Read four books.
• Study Japanese every day for 30 minutes.

We’ll celebrate Brett’s birthday in April – no plans yet, but we’ll come up with something special, even if it’s only burgers at 5 Guys. Otherwise we’ll enjoy what we hope is a rather low key month, although we’ll be back on full-time grandkid duty once again.

Bits of news too small for their own post:

• My tickets have been purchased for Japan! I will be leaving mid-June and returning at the end of July. I’m already excited, but Meiling & YaYu are going to come to Japan for two weeks mid-July, so now we’re excited together and making lists of all the places we want to go and things we want to do (with K) during our time together. It looks like we’ll mostly be eating our way through Tokyo LOL. Summers in Japan are hot and humid (and miserable), but I know we’re still going to have a wonderful time.

• Our son has been here for three weeks this past month, beginning with the grandkids’ spring break (they all went to Florida). We still had to pick up the kids a few times because of his work schedule, but all in all his visit gave us a much-appreciated break from grandkid related duties and a chance to spend time with our son. M leaves in a couple of days and we’ll be back at our regular schedule again next week. For our grandson’s birthday this year we gave him “A Day of Fast Food,” and took him out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the fast food joints of his choice, a treat for him (Brett and I only ate at one place though).

• Spring has definitely arrived in middle Tennessee. The weather has been variable but warmer overall, up into the mid- to high-70s some days (but down in the 30s on others). We’ve had quite a bit of rain this month as well. So far, my allergies haven’t bothered me too much, but flowering trees and such are not the main culprit for my suffering; summer grass is.

• The wait is over: our fierce girl YaYu was accepted into every grad program she applied to (including two Ivies) but will attend Villanova University with a full scholarship AND a monthly stipend. The award was a surprise – she had applied to the fellowship by mistake when she applied for regular financial aid and didn’t think she stood a chance of being considered, let alone chosen for it. She has been saving for grad school since the moment she graduated from Bryn Mawr two years ago, but will now be able to buy herself a car. We’re all super happy and excited for her, and proud beyond measure.

• We will end this month with only two gift cards left: half of what we started with on our Starbucks card, and the World Market card. This past month I found two tops I liked (on sale) at J. Jill, we’ve stopped twice at Starbucks, and we will use up our P.F. Chang’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House cards this weekend. Our son and DIL surprised us with a second Ruth’s Chris card for our anniversary so our costs there should be fairly low!

It’s that time of the year again! Brett and I will be celebrating our 45th anniversary on the 30th with a day of no cooking, going to restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day. The only things that will be prepared at home will be coffee in the morning and cocktails in the evening.

Choosing where to eat wasn’t the challenge it has been in earlier years thanks to the gift cards we received, but we did have to add in the availability of gluten free options.

We’ve chosen Big Bad Breakfast for our first stop of the day, a restaurant just a few miles down the road from us. We’ve heard good things about it and have been wanting to give it a try. The portions look huge though, so we may end up sharing an entry and then adding a side or two.

We had thought we’d go to Bishop’s for a “meat & three” for our lunch, but have decided to return to P. F. Chang’s with our gift card in order to save some $$ for dinner because . . .

. . . Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Nashville will be our dinner location and we know upfront it’s going to be expensive (even with our gift card). I have no idea what Brett will order, but I know I’ll be having their petite filet mignon, a wedge salad, and mashed potatoes. I really would love to have their broiled tomatoes again, but sadly they are no longer on the menu.

One thing we don’t plan on doing is ordering dessert anywhere, although we may stop at Gigi’s again for a couple of their yummy cupcakes.

As always, we’re looking forward to our big day, and we have a budget and do our best to stick to it!