More Alice Munro Love: The Beggar Maid

I've read everything by Alice Munro--newest Nobel laureate--but probably the first story I read that simply blew me away was Royal Beatings. This was in the New Yorker. I stole some time from my graduate studies (not much time for recreational reading in grad school) and read it over and over and over. Later, I discovered the story in a book of interlocking stories called The Beggar Maid. I was at my first year in a "real" job and the book rep let me pick 5 books FOR FREE! I was so excited.

I still have my yellowing copy of that book. Somewhere. As the subtitle indicates, the stories center on Rose and her stepmother Flo. But the character of Royal Beatings who is most poignant is Rose's father, a poor working man, taciturn, abusive, and yet with a beautiful sensibility. Rose hears him recite lines of poetry as he works. One--the cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces--is from Shakespeare's Tempest. This is easily findable nowadays with Google. But when I read it in grad school, I was thrilled to be able to identify it myself. I was such a serious student.

I Love Alice Munro

Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature! You can read about her in lots of places. You can--as of this writing--get some of her books from paperbackswap.com. You can--again, this may change--get her books used for supercheap on Amazon (as of this writing, the book pictured below can be had for a mere penny plus shipping). Or frugal fans: go to the library.

Here's what I love about Alice Munro, whom I discovered in a borrowed New Yorker as a college freshman: she is a wonderful, wonderful writer, but not at all difficult to read. And because she writes short stories, anyone can find a bit of time to read her.

I am someone who reads the Brothers Karamazov for fun. I even wrote about it. But it is a huge time investment, not to mention an emotional one. Same for another group of favorites: the late novels of Henry James.

I often say that the hardest type of literature to find is something that is good--very good, excellent--but not too intellectually or emotionally draining. I loved the title story in this collection. I read somewhere that a movie is in the works.

Why I Don't Like to Spend A Lot on Clothing: A True But Not Tragic Story from Serbia

While I was conflicted about wanting/not wanting half-price Eileen Fisher, an opportunity that appeared in my inbox one day, I got this little piece in a chat. Miss Em is in Serbia. Before she left, we took a load of clothing to the Buffalo Exchange. We mostly took cash, but she took a bit in credit to get one of those Eileen Fisher silk tees that is always touted as travel clothing par excellence. This new with tags shirt was only $12 at the Buf and it had been there a while. Perhaps it was too staid for their hipster clientele.

Not only did the shirt get damaged, but Miss Em was a bit disillusioned about its travelworthiness. This came under the title of Tragedy: Mini. Please excuse the no-caps style in which Miss Em and I--English majors both--conduct our rushed chats on-line.



i ruined my purple eileen fisher shirt :(
thank god i paid $12 for it and not $117
because i thought the container of bleach was laundry detergent--because it was on top of the washing machine
i can still wear it--but the fabric feels horrible and stretched out
no more of that great fall to it--though honestly it was not so good anyway because it was always wrinkled! even though it claims to resist wrinkles
i blame it on CYRILLIC


To me, having expensive clothing is stressful! For good reason.

Always Do the Math: Saying No to Bargains

I generally feature all my little frugalities as I wend my way through Big Lots, Goodwill, and similar venues. Nevertheless, I am full of material desires. Usually frugality wins out. That's good, because I have too much. Like many women of my age (middle) and class (middle), I yearn for Eileen Fisher clothes. But--and here's the frugal side--I don't find them a good value (your call may be different) and--sorry--I can't spend so much on a rayon tee shirt. It just bothers me.

Out of the blue, two weeks ago, I got an offer from the tempting catalog Garnet Hill--spend $100 on full-priced items and you would receive a $100 gift card to buy whatever by the end of October. Miss Em--who received the same offer and one with only a $50 gift card--urged me to do it. She said "Get some of the stuff you've been mooning over."

I didn't do it, however. I figured that--at best--unless something great was put on sale, I would be getting two items for half off--and that didn't count the shipping costs. Naturally, on Friday a new offer popped up: 40% off knit shirts, including two desired Eileen Fishers!! The perfect use for the gift card! Oh I felt sorry for myself. Miss Em emailed from Serbia, "I can't believe you turned down free money!"

So I did the math and now I feel better. To start, I would have bought an Eileen Fisher tee shirt dress for $100. With my gift card, I would have bought two EF shirts at 40% off, totaling around $130. With shipping, I would spend around $260 minus $100, for a total of $160.

Is that a great deal? The retail on the three items is around $320. So, really, even with the sale on the second set, I would have saved 50%. Good, but not great. I also would have bought 3 items, instead of the one (a long top) I really wanted.

Miss Em has the Eileen Fisher tee shirt dress and I've worn it a few times in her absence. She got it for $10.00 at Twice as Nice, a much-missed resale store in Alabama. I can wear it, but it's a little small (it's XS). When I showed Miss Em the math on the offer, she said the deal wasn't as good as it first seemed. And then she said, "You can have the tee shirt dress. I've got other black dresses."

I still kind of yearn for the EF pieces, but doing the math made me feel better. Also, I really don't need the items. I always do the math. Do you?

And, dear Miss Em, thanks for the beautiful dress. I love it.

P.S. No links. To keep you from temptation.

Cooking in the 'hood

From Serbia, Miss Em sends a link, "Mama, you could cook in the 'hood." Great advice for everyone on saving time and money, while eating for health.

Major Declutter Results: $750 from Buffalo Exchange and Tradesy

Miss Em (leader, very decisive) and I (assistant and general pain) completed a major clothing declutter before she left for Serbia. I overbought during the past year
(at my beloved thrift shops) and she both overbought (see mom) and overspent (see Nordstroms and Garnet Hill). She's learning.

Since she couldn't bring that much to Serbia and because all her clothing will be a year older when she returns, we decided to do a declutter. Mostly we donated, but I told her that if we sold anything, she could have the money for her RETURN TO USA fund. She will probably not acquire much in Serbia. We set a goal of $1000 for the RETURN TO USA event and hope it will cover a year's worth of stuff.

So we carted many boxes to our much-loved Buffalo Exchange: $500 in cash! And that doesn't count what we took in credit (two Eileen Fishers for Miss Em, a small fall wardrobe for Frugal Son).

Then Tradesy: so far, around $250.00.

Tips for Tradesy, which is fairly new. As with Ebay, people search by brand. So list things that people will search for (hint: no Walmart). We sold a few clothing items (very few), but 90% of our sales were for shoes and bags. This is because bags are one size AND because people know what size they take in shoes. Here are some of the brands we sold: Frye, Dansko, Ecco, Michael Kors. We priced things very low. Or lowish. Our best sale: Frye boots for $70--a good price for both buyer AND seller.

I hate selling on Ebay and haven't done so in years. Tradesy is easier and--other than the Frye boots--we average around $20 per item.

I have hopes for a few more sales. Maybe we will hit our goal. Thanks Miss Em for helping with the declutter. We miss you so much.

Frugal Travel Accessory: Prescription Bottles!

We're helping Miss Em get ready for her year-long stay in Serbia. More to the point: we are watching Miss Em, world's most organized and least procrastinating person, put the final touches on her packing. Mr FS contributes a family tip for travel. It's the ultimate in frugality, since it's FREE.

Do not throw out those orange plastic prescription bottles. They make great travel companions. The tops are secure. Obviously, you can take your vitamins in them. But Mr. FS realized a while back that you could take greasy stuff in them, such as my beloved petroleum jelly, great for lip balm and general dry skin relief.

A few years ago, we refined the idea. Mr FS packed instant coffee in one. That way, we could have our caffeine fix on the road. (We carried a small empty water bottle to effect the alchemical process).

Now Miss Em is taking the idea a step further, with PEANUT BUTTER!

It's so nice when you are en route or in a new place to have a little something to pick you up, especially when you are unsure of the currency or the language. Poor Frugal Son arrived in his new home in France with a growling tummy and a single granola bar: all the stores were closed on Saturday night and would remain closed on Sunday. Who wants to explore in a state of exhaustion and/or hunger? Coffee and peanut butter: what could be better?