Menu Monday

 

Another week of menus and since the weather is supposed to be cooler and rainy I plan on getting Harvey to BBQ whenever possible.

Monday

Smoked sausages, mini potatoes (got the bag finished now) and some kohlrabi in a tinfoil package. Those are both going on the BBQ. I have also made a salad.

Tuesday

Soup and sandwiches. I think I will make a potato soup and have tuna melts with.

Wednesday

I pulled the last container of chili from the freezer downstairs. We will have this with toast and use up the remains of the salad.

Thursday

I am going to try my hand at some stuffed eggplant. I am thinking of doing the kind of stuffing I put in peppers, but using the eggplant meat instead of rice. 

Friday

Perogies, fried onions and sour cream.

Saturday 

This could be a beef brisket if Kris is home done on the smoker. Serving with coleslaw, and probably a potato salad to use up some more potatoes and the eggs that seem to have multiplied in the fridge.

Sunday 

Kris will probably be heading back to his home so I will make spaghetti and meat sauce. This will mean changing the menu for the next week a bit, but I will still be using leftovers to make other meals.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

It has been a mostly quiet day here on the Phillips homestead. We did travel to Torquay and put flowers on our daughters grave, a few days late but so very necessary. The graveyard has been kept up this year so we did not have to really trim much of anything. 

The rest of the day has been spent picking things from the garden, working around the house, trying to use things up and just breathing. 

I think I might need more of those types of just breathing days. Taking things a bit slower, working on just a few projects, and spending time with God.

On the way back from the village graveyard in the place Harvey grew up, and all our children were baptized by the same priest, Harvey said that next year we should work on house maintenance. I quite agree. The siding on our home is very faded and has a few broken areas. We can save the old siding and give it to Kris to use on his garage. There is painting to be done both inside and out, and the deck needs to be either painted or stained, or better yet tiled with small squares of wood that lock together and have spaces to drain water. I know there are windows that need painting in the basement and the kitchen window needs that as well. This is mostly because of the odd window shapes. 

I will still work on saving on groceries to try and pay off the range purchase. It didn't work last month, but with the garden producing and my foraging of fruit I should be able to save on groceries this month. At least I hope to do that. So keep your fingers crossed for me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

 

It has been awhile since I have shown any of my projects. I have also been busy getting harvesting done as well. I thought it might be time to show all of you what I managed to accomplish over the last little while.

I am not sure if I showed you my tea towels once they were completed on the loom.

They still need to be cut apart, pressed and hemmed another task for this month.

Crab apple jelly made and ready to be labelled and put into the pantry.

Starting the rug for Kris. I have managed to get more done today.

The last two firepit quilts were sandwiched and are sitting with the other two . I probably will only get two of them completely finished this month.

Some of the harvest so far this week.

More harvest this time the handful of jalapeno peppers and the three kohlrabi. 

The ten pairs of the next size mittens, done and dusted. I started the smaller size right after this and have two pairs finished and am working on the third pair. 

The dried cherries to be used over the winter.

Lots of herb dehydrating, but no pictures. 

Raspberry jam made and put in the pantry as well.

I did make cherry jam as well, but no picture of that drat. Slowly filling the pantry with lots of goodies for the winter.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Stocking Up, Using Up, Living A Simpler Life

 Well, I think I might be a bit glad that I started to stock up a little bit during the last shop. I am not sure how prices will react to the last tariff news, but better to be prepared. 

I am also glad that Harvey decided to extend the garden a bit, and next year I think we will plant more food in containers as I have plenty of those lying around the side of the house. I enjoy the processing and harvesting, even though it takes some time. It also saves us a bit of cash when all starts to come in. Though it would be nice if the cucumbers didn't all come in at once. 

Living a simple life means using what you have and I am doing just that. Weaving rugs and tea towels from yarn in my stash, using bits and bobs of the same yarn to knit mitts for the children at Kurt's school. Old clothes were cut up and now I am using that fabric to make quilts, just like those that came before me. 

Hanging clothes on the lines to dry and keeping those same clothes in good repair. Though Harvey has a few t-shirts he needs to cut into rags and I have a few things I would like to refashion. 

Darning socks in the evening, and doing some embroidery whenever I get the chance and the light is good. 

Slowly getting through those projects that have lain around for awhile.

Sitting on the deck enjoying a morning coffee, listening to the birds (and the barking of the dogs in the neighbourhood). I even get to wear my pj's outside as there is no one to really see me at 6 in the morning. I even get to work on my computer some mornings outside. 

Things are a bit rushed right now as I am trying to get things completed before we go on holiday. Still I have slowed down and am enjoying the summer season a bit more this year. 

I was asked a question awhile ago about the Lux soap. I have probably had it in the basement storage for about 20 years. I am actually amazed that it is still useable and in such great shape. So far it is working very well for handwashing and not leaving a soap scum at all. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

  Thrifty and Frugal 

I need to apologize for not visiting you all yesterday. I fell asleep at 7 pm. Pretty much after I got the table cleared and dishes done. Slept straight through until 10, got up put on my pajamas, crawled into bed and slept straight through until 7 this morning. 

I am quite happy with my thrifty and frugal past times this week. Perhaps there are not as many as last week, but every week will be slightly different as the season progresses.

1.  Dehydrating cherries to use in muffins and loaves. Dried cherries are pretty darn expensive so hopefully I get enough to last for a few baking days.

2.  Baking bread a couple of days a week and putting the loaves into the freezer to be used as we run out. 

3.  Washing done for the most part in cold water and three loads hung to dry.

4.  Using up items in the fridge freezer to make meals this week and probably part of next week.

5.  Ham broth used to make two containers of pea soup for the freezer downstairs. Meals for when I am too tired or sore to cook.

6.  Using up some cotton yarn I inherited from my mother to warp the loom. 

7.  Fixed a hem on one of Harvey's shirts.

8.  Put $3.05 in the change jars, and added $85.00 to my savings envelope. The envelope is used to purchase any clothing I need, trips to the fabric store, and any thrifting or garage sales I do.

Now while I did not really save on the budget for groceries this month (shopped the first week, the third week and the fifth week) I still did not go over my budget by much. This, however means that I did not add to the paying down of the range. Hopefully next month and perhaps part of September will be much better. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek Thoughts And Plans

 The last Wednesday of the month, and I am really trying to stay calm. It is getting very close to Christmas and I am not at all ready. 

Today has been rather tough. I did not sleep well last night, and that was probably due to the doctor phoning me today with the results of my Echocardiogram. 

I finally got the call at around 3:30 pm. All is fine. In fact Dr. Norma used the word "perfect" a number of times. So that is one health concern out of the way. I do have another CT scan in December to check and see if the nodule in my lungs has grown at all. If it has I am pretty sure she will be sending me to a specialist as soon as is possible.

Harvesting has been continuing here on the old homestead, and my neighbour said I could go and pick crab apples. Which I did at around 7 this morning. 

Baked bread, started dehydrating the cherries (which will probably continue overnight), deadheaded some of the flowers, finished off what I could on the tea towels, finished the second pair of smaller sized mitts, started the third pair of smaller mitts, brough out yarn for mitten knitting and watered the plants that were protected by the eaves during the rains we have had. 

I have not finished my list of tasks for today, but with the garden being pretty wet still from rain the picking of the garden can wait until tomorrow.

My shrimp pasta salad did not look very nice, so I pulled out some lentil soup that we were going to eat a few weeks ago and will make some grilled cheese/ham sandwiches to go with.

I was asked how I make my herbal salves and they are very simple. Usually I use a dried herb, crushed and have poured a carrier oil over to cover. The carrier oil can be olive oil, grapeseed oil, or any cold pressed oil. I usually let that sit in my front window in the sun for at least three weeks, shaking daily or every second day. I then pour the oil through a fine sieve to remove the herb, and place the resultant oil in a double boiler. To that oil I add commercial grade wax pellets (the amount depends on how much oil is in the double boiler) and sometimes some shea butter or vitamin E cream. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 We have once again had rain for most of the day. It started to rain pretty much after I got in from the errands this morning. Poor Harvey had to take shorter walks between showers, which at times were very much downpours. 

The sun is out now, but I am not going out to pick apples right now as the mosquitoes will be out in full force. I don't need to be covered in insect bites right now as I have finally gotten rid of one bite behind my knee. The itching drove me crazy for almost a week, and I used lots of Plantain salve to keep it at bay.

Harvey decided we needed some flowers in the house today and as the hydrangea was looking a bit waterlogged, I said go ahead and pick a small bouquet.

This lovely display is on my table now. 

Grocery shopping was so-so. Many of the so called sale items were what the regular prices used to be. I did purchase a beef roast, and about 3 pounds of hamburger. Still costs continue to rise, but at least there is more Canadian content available in the fresh vegetable and fruit area. Cherries are still on sale so I grabbed a bag that is just over 2 lbs. Of course bananas as well. Funny thing is considering they come from South America now the cost is the one thing that has never changed for the last 6 years. Still relatively inexpensive.

My phone needed an update and it seems to be taking much longer than usual. I don't like the way it seems to be changing things on my phone and how long things are taking. It is like my internet WIFI is being extra slow.

I need to stay home a bit over the next few days in order to get some fruit processed and herbs dehydrated. The cherries we picked off our trees were going to be dehydrated, but if going through the pitting for that, I think I will make cherry pie filling instead. 

Then my neighbour said I could pick crab apples so I will do that tomorrow morning early and perhaps get some crab apple jelly made as well. 

I am a bit worried about the Air Canada strike (well if the strike happens) as it would be right when we would be taking our trip. However we do have travel insurance so should be okay if things happen. Still I hate the idea of missing this trip. 

Off to visit with all of you and then to work on a mitten pair.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.