Accounting for the spending

We've spent some more of the car sale money on 2 more things.  DH finally found a good used John Deere lawnmower.  We spent $1400 for it (better than $4500 new!). It even came with a neat little trailer that can pull behind it. It was advertised on craigslist for $1350, but was over an hour drive away and we don't have a way to pick it up and haul it here, so DH asked if they would deliver it. They said for an extra $50 they would, but they also brought with them the original blades (hardly used, as they had put on some other type of blades) and a 5 gallon gas can filled with gas.  DH mowed with it yesterday and said it works great and is happy with it. It just needs a bit of cleaning up, but he can do that easily enough.

Another thing that has been on DH's want list for some time is some kind of security system or camera system for our house. DS did some research for DH and we ended up purchasing a camera system from Costco for $500. Originally, the one DS recommended in our $500 price range was a 4-camera system. When DH showed it to me, I had remembered seeing camera systems at Costco and briefly looking at them in passing, when DH first mentioned he wanted a system. I got online with Costco to check out their systems and prices and they had an 8 camera system for the same price. I had DS take a look at the specs and he said get that one instead. It has 8 cameras and a dvr system and we can view it remotely from our computers here at home or the kids smart phones. I was really nervous with having DH figure out how to set it up, since tech geek DS isn't here to do it. It was a little tricky figure out the computer part of it, but thanks to me finding my inner computer geek (I sent her away when DS got so good at computers, LOL) it works. DH hooked up the cameras in their spots yesterday and it's all working. 5 cameras outside and 1 inside. With our open plan house it pretty much sees quite a bit of inside of the house. We'd need some longer cabling to put up the other 2 cameras on the other side of the garage towards the street, so eventually we'll probably do that, but for now the 5 cameras pretty much cover seeing if anyone was trying to break in. If nothing else, maybe the cameras all around will act as a deterrent to thieves. We've never had any problems with break-ins (knock on wood) in 24 years, but the past few years our neighborhood has really taken a dump in the quality of people who have moved in, so DH feels a bit safer now. And we got a good laugh when DH went out to adjust some of the camera angles with me on the phone next to him and DD on the phone at the computer screen so she could tell us if the angle was right. As he's trying to adjust she says "tell Dad I can see up his nose". LOL

So, we have about $800 left and still need to buy the trim for the flooring (I estimate $75-$100 on that). DH also ordered a set of plans to build a garden arbor. He went all in and got plans for one with a swing bench in the middle of it. He's never really built too much of anything in his life (other than our shed and a dog house) but it should keep him busy with a project this winter and maybe next spring/summer we'll have a neat arbor to add to our yard. I will totally love this!