Sunday, September 30, 2018

Sunday Ramblings

Still pretty darn cool here on the Canadian prairies, but at least the sun shone for most of the day.

I headed to Mass early today as I was the Mass coordinator (a new position that has mysteriously appeared since our new priest arrived) but of course for some reason I seemed to arrive a bit late. Still I did manage to take care of the duties that were involved.

The homily today centered on how we as Catholic Christians should be attending Mass every week and not be judging those who do ministry in the church. We shouldn't say only the chosen should be lector, communion ministers or hospitality ministers. Everyone has a talent (or two) and it is our duty to share them with the community. This when I have been thinking about drawing back and just being at Mass. I am probably the longest holder of the ministries of lector and communion minister that is left. Most of the parishioners that took the training with me have withdrawn by moving or just by "being". I think that it is about time I did the same, it is really hard when things seem to change each and every week without fail. Perhaps the new year will see me leaving the ministries for good.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Saturday Roundup

This week has been one of catching up. Still have a ways to go, but I am feeling much more organized right now.

Putting up the harvest, cleaning house, working on prayer shawls, reading, decluttering and cooking have taken up much of my awake time.

Today we started to put away the outside furniture and more of the lights. Hopefully the snow we are supposed to get tomorrow will not be sticking around for long. Also hopefully there will not be sudden snow falls that keep Kurt and Kris from making it home for Thanksgiving.

I made my menu plans for next month, and my goals for the month as well. Hopefully I haven't over burdened myself with things I want and need to get done. Lots of sewing and knitting needs doing before Christmas (I always try to start early and end up racing to finish everything by Christmas).

I have been wracking my brains this past week trying to figure out what to get our sons for their birthdays this month. I think this year I might just buy cards and stick some cash in them.....

The weather has been cold, dark and windy so today when the sun actually shone for awhile I went for a nice long walk, something I have not done this past week. I loved it. Not looking forward to our winter and the fact that Harvey does not want me outside walking. I don't blame him as I know he does not want me to hurt myself again (although he says it is because he does not want to do the household chores for 8 weeks again). Guess the treadmill and I will become very good friends during the upcoming season.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Frugal Friday

It has been a fairly quiet week on the old homestead. I have tried to be as frugal as possible, which is a good thing considering we got our water bill today. Wow, just wow.

1.  Using wool from my stash to knit a prayer shawl for the church.

2.  Cut up jeans and some old shirts to use for quilting fabric.

3.  Picked the remaining green tomatoes as well as the remaining peppers.

4.  Cost of the groceries this week was kept to a minimum with the help of sales and a couple of coupons I found online.

5.  Got a free trim from a friend who is a stylist as she wanted the practice.

This is more a time saving item than a frugal item, but saving time is a big thing in my world.

6.  Chopped and froze onions, also chopped a bunch for the fridge and we are finding it wonderful just to reach in the fridge to add them to our meals.

7.  Bought my turkey this week for $0.89 a pound, the cheapest it has been in a very long time. Got one that is big enough to feed the four of us our Thanksgiving meal, give the boys some meat and still have lots leftover to make other meals for Harvey and I.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Thursday Tid Bits

Still not the warmest of falls, but at least the rain has stopped for awhile. This has enabled me to pick the remaining peppers and Harvey to finally get the garden worked up and ready for the winter. Still we have to get all the furniture stored for the winter and a couple more pots of flowers emptied.

I spent much of this past week cleaning house. More or less getting caught up on household tasks that I let slip by me while on vacation and visiting the aunts. I think I am pretty much caught up now, just a few small tasks to be completed tomorrow along with my regular household tasks.

Slowly but surely we are getting ready for the winter. Air conditioners will be either removed or covered over the next few weeks. Harvey has changed the oil in the snow blower and made sure it is running smoothly.

I am still trying to eat down the freezers before we make a stock up trip sometime next month and we are very low on a few items. Bacon being one of those items. I might actually have to break down and buy some the next time it is on sale. 

Garden produce is slowly being processed (slowly because I am waiting for tomatoes to ripen) and plans for Thanksgiving are being made. 

At the end of this week I will be entering numbers into the budget and already know that there was a bit of over spending on our holiday. Really trying to keep other costs down where possible.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Something New

Today I tried something I have never made before. Lemon Chicken!! Wow is it simple to make.

My basis was a recipe that I found online with a few changes and substitutions. Mainly because I did not have all the ingredients and being on a use up what I have kick right now, I refused to go shopping.

Harvey pronounced it delicious, which is pretty high in his books.

This is a picture of the recipe I kind of switched around. It is from Delish.

Lemon Chicken

1 cup flour
coarse salt (they had Kosher salt)
ground pepper
1 tbsp. dried oregano leaves

In a bowl or shallow pan mix the above ingredients together.

1 lb boneless chicken breasts

Add the chicken to the flour mixture and coat well, then set aside.

2 tbsp. EVOO

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through. About 6 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate to hold.

1 cup chicken broth (I used dry powder mixed with one cup water)
1/2 stick of butter (I used 1/4 of a cup)
2 cloves minced garlic (I used some ready minced garlic, about 1 tsp)
Juice of 2 lemons (I had no lemons but I had lemon juice and after looking up subbing I added 6 tbsp. of the bottled juice)
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon sliced (I used a red onion cut in quarters).

To skillet add chicken broth, butter garlic, lemon juice, wine and season with salt if necessary. Bring to a simmer add lemon slices (I added the 1/4rd onion) and return chicken to the skillet basting with the sauce. Heat through. Serve with pasta.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Thrifty Tuesday

The weeks are whizzing by. I can not believe how far into September we have come.

Just a few thrifty moves this past week.

I made tomato soup out of the ripe garden tomatoes. Forgot to get a picture of the jars and they are no residing in my freezer.

We had an excellent onion crop this year and to prevent losing some over the winter I decided to chop and vacuum pack them for the freezer.

Six bags of Spanish onions chopped and put in the freezer. The red onions were done and I managed to get 4 more bags. Next up the Walla Walla onions.

Some of the crop was put into my onion storage upstairs and some in the fridge downstairs. It looks like we will have onions for most of the winter.

Next I thought that I would cut the usable material from the holey jeans and shirts that Kurt sent home with me.

Buttons and zippers were removed to be used in other projects and the clothing disassembled. This fabric is what was salvaged and will be cut into 4" squares suitable for making quilt blocks as soon as the garden is completely harvested.

The usual mending and darning of socks took place as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.



Monday, September 24, 2018

Menu Monday

Well I think I am back to normal with my menus. Took awhile, but it sure is nice to feel organized once again.

Monday

Stuffed Chicken, leftover potatoes from our roast meal last night, and a salad.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef made into a casserole of some sort. Served with the leftover salad.

Wednesday

Lemon chicken, noodles and a mixture of peas and carrots.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night.

Friday

Salmon casserole served with raw veggies and dip.

Saturday

Baked pork chops, mashed potatoes, and beans. I might make a salad here as well.

Sunday

Roast pork, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and any leftover salad will be used.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Saturday Roundup

The last few days I have been unable to sleep past 5:30. I have given up lying in bed and trying to fall back asleep. It just does not work.

Without looking at the temperature I went out for my daily morning walk. Brrrr. I should have checked the temperature before venturing out. I made my round about way in record time and was very glad to get back into the warmth of the house and cradle a cup of hot coffee in my cold hands. 

All I could think about while fighting the north wind was the old poem most of us learned as children.

"The north wind doth blow, 
and we shall have snow.
And what will poor robin do then,
poor thing.

He'll sit in the barn, 
to keep himself warm.
And hide his head under his wing,
poor thing."

The temperatures don't look very good for the next week, and some areas of the province are getting snow. I guess we have joined our neighbours to the west as Alberta has gotten snow off and on all week. This weather did stop me from emptying more than two large planters, so I do hope to get out and do a bit more at some point.

I left a bunch of ripe tomatoes behind when I went to visit my aunts. So some of these were whipped up into a chunky tomato sauce.

I packaged this up into containers for the freezer. They are residing in the fridge right now, but will be labeled and placed in the freezer now that they are nice and cool. 

I still have lots of tomatoes left to process and I am leaning towards trying to make some tomato soup to freeze. I have heard good things about homemade tomato soup and I am itching to give this a try.

I haven't baked bread since we went on holidays so it was time to whip up a nice crusty loaf.

Kind of an odd shape this time around, but it still tastes wonderful. 

I finished one novel and started another that I had picked up at a garage sale. I think I have read it before, so I got online and downloaded some free books onto my ereader. Got to love free (I do have some gift cards to spend on books, but I want to make sure of what I want to spend that cash on).

I sandwiched Kurt's quilt and will start to quilt it tomorrow after Mass. I am now working on a prayer shawl for our prayer shawl ministry. I would like to have the next ball added before our next meeting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.


Friday, September 21, 2018

Frugal Friday

Well since I have only been back home a few days I don't know if I will be able to list 5 frugal things I have done this week.

1.  Picked all the larger green tomatoes and pulled the plants.

2.  Cut some stems from various vines to make starter plants. I have them rooting in water right this minute.

3.  Made tomato sauce from most of the ripe tomatoes. Still more to use up so I will probably make tomato soup to freeze.

4.  Used an old sheet as the backing to the quilt I am making for Kurt (not sure he will like flowers, but that is what he is getting).

5.  Baked a loaf of bread today.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Thursday Tidbits

I am back from my visit with my aunts and a couple of my cousins. I almost thought I was not going to get away. It seems that my oldest aunt is very lonely even though she has one son that lives in the same town as her and usually drops in every day. Nights are the worst she told me, so I promised to come again for another few days. As she says have a lovely sleep over.

We went grocery shopping, clothes shopping, and visited the other younger sister in the hospital. I also tried my hardest to get things on her Ipad that she never got to see, like the Family group page. I also showed her how to put her pictures on Facebook. Doubt she will remember, but hopefully someone else a bit more knowledgeable about the use of an Ipad gives her a hand. 

My younger aunt seems to be doing very well. However, she really wants to get home and so is at times over doing it. The family was meeting with the doctor and therapists to find out what she needs to do to be able to live in her house. I know a ramp will need to be made or found in order to get her into the house.

It poured rain today so I was unable to pick the rest of the tomatoes. Hopefully the weather clears tomorrow and I can empty containers as well as pick all the larger green tomatoes. Wish me luck!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Saturday Round Up

I am typing this up early today as Harvey and I will be heading into the city for the football game this evening. It is going to be a chilly and wet one. We will pick up Kris and head out for a meal before we hit the stadium.

Thought I would share a few pictures of our hike on the last full day we were in Jasper. We did the Valley of the Five Lakes trail (and a bit more, because we got mixed up on our directions)

Map of the hike at the trailhead.

Ignore the finger in the bottom corner. I am afraid that I am still working on getting my picture taking with my phone down. This is the Fourth Lake

A picture of the Third Lake. Notice no finger in this one.

Still the third lake. I took this one sitting in the red chairs they have in all of our National Parks. Believe me at this point we needed a bit of a rest. Seems as if some of the way was almost straight down. I needed Harvey at a few points to hang onto as there were no close trees.

The Second Lake. 
The First Lake. This one had a dock we could wonder out on and gaze at the scenery around us.

Now you may notice something. All these lakes look eerily similar. In fact I told Harvey here on the prairies going by size alone we would probably consider them ponds. However, with such clear water where we could see the bottom even at the end of this dock, Harvey decided to use his hiking stick and see how deep it was..... Needless to say when he put the stick in the water he could not reach the bottom. So about 20 ft. out the depth was well over 4 ft. Harvey said he could see where the hiking stick ended and the floor of the lake started and guessed he had another at least 3 ft. before he would be able to touch.

We made it back to the cabin, had a rest and then headed into town. There I bought some bath salts to soak our weary bones in.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.





Friday, September 14, 2018

Frugal Friday

I am feeling much better. Still not 100%, but better none the  less.

1.  Used tomatoes, peppers, and onions from the garden to make tomato sauce.

2.  Both the air conditioning and furnace have been off for thee last three days.

3.  Cut up 5 pairs of jeans given to me by Kurt to make squares for quilting.

4.  Clothes hung on the line to dry.

5. Raining today so no watering of plants or the garden.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. God bless.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Wouldn't You Know

We are home from our holiday and wouldn't you know that I would come down with some sort of cold or other such thing. So much to do and all I really feel like doing is curling up under a banker and drinking copious amounts of tea or other such liquid.

To make matters even more stressful I will have to make a trip to Yorkton, a town three hours north of us to visit one oof my aunts. She broke her femur and is in the rehab center there. I only have 3 living anuts so I feel it is important to show I care.

Just a few pictures of our holiday.

This is the cabin we stayed in while in Jasper.

The lodge campfire where a few of us would gather each evening for wildlife talks, to make s'mores, or have a sing along.

The wonderful view from our cabin deck each and every morning.

I will share more pictures tomorrow of our adventures.

Everyone have a wonderful evening. God bless.

Monday, September 3, 2018

Let Our Holiday Begin

Well the first leg of our journey is done. After 7 hours of travel (we were actually 2 hours closer by staying in Regina after the football game) we made it to Kurt's place.

He made us a lovely supper of salmon and asparugus.

Now we are watching the second football game of the evening. Guess Harvey is getting in his football fix for the upcoming week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. God bless.