Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

The weeks are passing by so very quickly even though I have been staying in due to road conditions and the cold I seem to have developed. The cold is mostly located in my head so I have been blowing my nose, and taking Tylenol for the sinus headache I seem to have developed over the past couple of days. Still I do seem to be on the mend for the most part. 

First of I would like to apologize that a few replies to my posts were not showing up. Blogger has been moving many to the spam folder, and a couple did not show up until much later in the day or in a couple of cases not until the next day. Strange. Still I think I managed to get all of them up and posted. 

So other than the usual frugal and thrifty past times here on the old homestead, what have I been up to?

1.  I have gone no where so the car was started once this week. I really will need to go and get the mail tomorrow.

2.  Finding new uses for the decor I used on two trees. The house is beginning to look very festive. Each day I find a new use for some of the ornaments and get a bit more joy in seeing the house transformed. I have also been finding ribbon, wreath forms, and other items which uses up some of my stashes and gives those items new life. 

3.  Making the best use of leftovers that I can. I am cutting back on the amount of meat in a casserole and Harvey doesn't even notice that lack. 

4.  Using microfiber cloths to dust and clean much more often.

5.  Saving the water to water the few indoor plants I have, while waiting for the water to warm up for dishwashing.

6.  Lights are being turned off when the room is not in use.

7.  Hand stitched/darned a small hole closed in a sweater that I love.

So there are the things I can remember that are new. I am also back to using my toaster oven and other appliances a bit more.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Midweek Yet Again

 

We had a few power flickers last night, but the power stayed on which was a very good thing as with the wind it was very cold. Today has been dark and gloomy, perfect for staying inside cleaning, baking and working on projects. Though I have been kind of scattered about the project part. 

Some of the peppers I purchased a week or so ago, were starting to get soft and wrinkled so I chopped them up and put them in the fridge freezer. 

Redid my menu plan to use up as much from the fridge freezer as possible before Kurt and Kris come home for Christmas, and I believe I will be hauling some containers out of the chest freezer downstairs to make some room for turkey and a few other items for over the holidays. I just cannot believe how much I have accumulated once again in both of those freezers. Not wasting anything sure adds up.

The book I am reading is titled 

minimalism

The Path to an Organized, Stress-free and Decluttered Life by Gwyneth Snow

Now I am not too sure I will totally embrace the concept, but there are definite areas in my life that I will be using some of the ideas in this book. I am about half way through and she keeps stressing that baby steps are what is necessary so as not to fall back on a life of consumerism. It is definitely baby steps happening here at this time. I am starting with the decluttering and working towards the organized. 

Part of my decluttering is using up what I already have. I spent good, hard earned cash and just will not give it all away. Especially if it can be used by me to make something to help others or give as gifts. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

How to describe today? Just plain miserable I guess, at least weather wise. 

I woke up to freezing rain and the news that most of the highways around my city in southeast Saskatchewan were closed. In fact I am not even sure they are open as of yet. Still others a bit further north and west travel is not recommended at all. 

Now the wind has picked up, the temperature has fallen and the city is seeing blowing snow over top of the ice. A few intrepid drivers are out on the city streets, but me, I am glad to be home and not have to worry about others. 

We do have to worry about a power outage though as probably many of the powerlines are covered with ice and the wind could cause them to become broken or downed, and considering the wind and road conditions Sask Power will not be sending crews out to fix them. 

I have gone over the candle situation, and pulled some extra quilts onto one of the beds for easily locating. I will also ask Harvey to bring up the camp stove and a cylinder of fuel, just in case. Though I am hoping to get supper made before anything happens. 

I had ordered some sewing items that I am unable to find here from Amazon which were supposed to come today. I opened my drapes this morning and noticed someone had been in the driveway. Here my parcel was sitting on the steps and had gotten pretty wet. Good thing most items were also in plastic wrap. The only thing that got wet was the box my wax tailor pencils came in.

The box is pretty much dry now so I will be putting the pencils back in. I can never find tracing paper for the markings on my patterns so the sheets will come in handy. The other package is going to be used to help me with keeping seams and curves straight when I sew. 

I took another day off from baking as I am still blowing my nose an awful lot and thought I would concentrate on getting projects completed so I have something to show all of you on Saturday. Still need to figure out a way to put the lights around the windows, and make a wreath. 

A new book was started last night. This one on minimalism. So far it is very interesting. I am hoping to learn a bit more on this pathway of living.

Off to get supper started and once that is done I will stop in and visit all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

 

Menu Monday

There is a storm heading our way. It should be here overnight or early tomorrow. Snow, rain, and wind almost what could be considered our first blizzard of the winter. I am glad it is happening now, rather than the week of Christmas (but who knows what will happen in a couple of weeks). 

Lots of food in the house so no worries there. I have the ability to make some meals without power if the rain freezes onto the wires and the wind whips them around causing power outages. It may mean changing the menu but I will do that if it becomes necessary. 

Monday

Macaroni and leftover meat sauce from the fridge freezer. I have leftover salad to eat with it and will make butterscotch pudding for dessert.

Tuesday

Leftover chicken from the fridge freezer made into a casserole probably with rice and some frozen broccoli.

Wednesday

Small sausage casserole served with a salad.

Thursday

Soup and sandwiches.

Friday

Fish fillets, frozen peas, and mashed potatoes. Probably leftover salad.

Saturday

Leftover small sausage casserole. Lots of veggies in this so if I don't make a salad we will still get our share of veggies in.

Sunday

Pork roast, roast potatoes, and roasted carrots.

Still lots of leftovers that need to be cleared out of the fridge freezer so I will be concentrating on removing more bits and bobs to make meals.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

We got snow today, in fact at one point it was coming down fairly heavy. The next few days are going to be snowy if the weather pundits are correct.

I had trouble sleeping last night, might have managed 3 or so hours so hopefully tonight I will be able to get some rest. I don't dare sleep during the day, as I have learnt from experience that makes sleep at night very difficult if not impossible sometimes.

I managed to get most of the tasks done today, even one that I did not get done yesterday. I might actually get an extra task from tomorrow completed after supper.

I have been lax in using some of my kitchen appliances so today I pulled out the toaster oven to make the Christmas squares, and will use it again to make our supper. After all two Chicken Parma do not take up much room in the oven. I am still considering a hotplate type appliance so that I do not have to use the stove as often either. We shall see, perhaps a Christmas present to myself. 

It was the Second Sunday of Advent today, so the second candle in the wreath was lit.

The waiting for Christmas is half over. This week we concentrate on the peace Christ will bring to each of us and the world. Something desperately needed now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

My week has been spent cleaning, trying to get Christmas treats made (this last has fallen by the wayside the last couple of days), decorating, and setting up the budget for the next year. 

With the economically inclined folks saying prices will be rising next year on groceries, I am trying to plan for those increases. Loads of fun.

I have also been working on those projects that I started at the end of last month and hopefully I will get those done by the end of next week. I really want to get some of the new projects started and finished. Mind you one of the goals for this month was to get the house decorated, plan Christmas Eve dinner, plan Christmas Day dinner, and bake those Christmas goodies. All of which are well underway or actually finished (in the case of the dinners). 

I am so looking forward to actually perhaps managing to get all the projects (plus a few I have added, but not written down) done this month. 

The tree we put in the back alley has disappeared. Harvey hopes the family a couple of doors to the west of us managed to snag it. They have three children and I know money is tight for them. Keeping my fingers crossed that is what happened. 

Once again no pictures happening as nothing has really been completed. Most of my baking has been pictured on my blog in previous years. Simplifying has meant that really nothing new has been done in that area. 

Kris sent me a text today asking if I had heard anything about my sewing machine. I told him I planned on phoning either Monday or Tuesday to see if there is an update on the repair. I certainly hope that I will get it back by the time Kris comes home for the holiday.

I am enjoying the time leading up to the holiday this year, life is finally slowing down and allowing me the time to take in all that this season of Advent means. I manage a study in the mornings while having a coffee, and I get to enjoy the lights and the joy of working on those things I really like to do. I have seen people that I have not seen in many years and enjoyed a conversation with them, even if it means my shopping time is a bit extended. 

Life is moving in exactly the way it is supposed to as I age, and that is absolutely wonderful.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Simplicity

 As I move towards a simpler life, or at least what can be achieved in this modern age for a simpler life, I can feel peace descending a bit deeper into my soul. 

By using what we have decluttering is occurring. It might be at a snails pace, but we are definitely downsizing. Today Harvey took the older tree and placed it in the back alley for anyone that wants it. We could have sold it, but there could be someone who really needs a tree that can't afford to purchase one. 

My pencil tree does not hold many decorations so those that are leftover will be used in another area to make the house look festive. We don't decorate the outside of the house so I will be looking at ways to dress up the inside for the holidays, that will really surprise Kurt and Kris when they come home. Simple does not mean bare of decor, it just means everything is loved that is used. 

We have a whole tote of lights (unless Harvey moved them outside as well) which I am thinking of hanging around the windows in the living room. I had lots of ribbon which I cut and plan on making a ribbon garland with to hang between the kitchen and the dining room. The ribbon is all cut and I will be finishing that tomorrow and hanging it up. 

Life is meant to be enjoyed and not a constant rush. We are slowly working our way towards just that. It is not meant to be spendy either, simple decor using what you have, making do, and using things differently can be a wonderful way to extend the life of what you have. 

The beginning of the the decorating other than the tree has begun.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.