Midweek

Well we are half way through our delivery of Meals on Wheels. It is all down hill from here and the weather while cold will not be the snow storm I delivered on yesterday and hopefully there will be no mix ups like there was on Tuesday.

Mix ups with meals do not happen often but when they do it is usually a big one. One lady who we had a meal for said she wasn't supposed to get one until next week. So since we were short a meal for another gentleman we decided to use that meal for him (both were regular meals) and explain what we did when we got back to where we pick up the meals. Well, I stood in the snow, and wind knocking on the gentleman's door for around 10 minutes and there was no answer. Turns out he was upstairs in the Dialysis unit and the girls in the kitchen took his meal up to him. Forgetting to take his name off our list..... While I know the kitchen staff work wonders getting all the meals made, it takes a matter of seconds to scribble out a name.

I have started to move bits and bobs into the living room. All our DVD's, music CD's, and cassette tapes are now put away. Still lots to do but we shall get it all completed very soon. Our new furniture should arrive within the next couple of weeks. All set to hold Christmas for everyone. I just have to find a new chair for myself and we are done.

Next will be new flooring for the kitchen. The lino is as old if not older than the carpet and the lovely shine when it was new is now worn off. I am really liking how things are coming together.

Last night was one of my sleepless nights. I did fall asleep very well, but woke up at 1:30 am and couldn't fall back asleep. So rather than toss and turn I got up and read my library book until 4 in the morning. Crawled back into the spare bed and might have managed another hour of sleep. Right now I think I just might be running on empty though.

I have a few chores that have been carried over that need to be completed tomorrow and they will be. Sewing has not been done so I hope to get a bit of that done as well. Pictures to be posted soon.

Tomorrow is Halloween and I hope we get a few ghosts, goblins or super hero types knocking on our door.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

This is not going to be a particularly thrifty or frugal week. The carpeting has been laid and tomorrow I need to go pay for it. Then we are running the car everyday delivering Meals on Wheels.

Still a few thrifty happenings since the last time.

I took in a pair of pants for myself, repaired a zipper using zippers I inherited from Mom, darned a pair of socks, and cut up a sock into rings to be used next summer to help hold up our plants.

Still using up those bags of frozen meat in the fridge freezer.

Saved the thick elastics that are used to hold veggies together.

Saved the twist ties on packages to reseal other packages.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I have had a pretty busy day so far. Harvey and I delivered 15 hot meals to shut ins for their lunches. Then we have spent the better part of the afternoon moving furniture out of the living room and lifting the last remnants of the carpets out.  Just a few last minute removals early tomorrow morning, before the carpet installers arrive.

On with my up coming menus this last week in October and the first few days of November.

Monday

Date night so dinner out. Would be pretty difficult to cook right now.

Tuesday

Leftover bag of frozen baked ham from the fridge freezer. Paired with the leftover mashed potatoes, some leftover peas and the puff pastry. I see some pasty meals coming up. 

Wednesday

Leftover bag of chicken from the fridge freezer. I will be making Chicken a la king. Might just serve it on some buns from the freezer downstairs.

Thursday

Leftover ham pasty meal. We should have enough left from Tuesday to fill us up tonight.

Friday

Breakfast for dinner. Tonight we will have pancakes.

Saturday

Leftover Chicken a la King. If not enough I do have a container of chili in the fridge freezer we can have instead.

Sunday

I will break down and make a roast pork loin today, along with roasted potatoes, and roasted carrots.

As you can all see I am still trying to clean up the fridge freezer, and each time I do so I always say that I will keep things in order and fail miserably. But at least we are saving money over the last couple of weeks (including this one) using up what we already have.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

Well the Bible study on Prayer is now over. My Thursdays are once again my own!! It will be so nice not to be constantly in and out on that day and I will be able to get back into my regular daily pattern of cleaning and then working on my projects. I have decided I am more a hands on type of person. I would much rather be knitting my prayer shawls, knitting scarves for those that need them, or just plain delivering meals for shut ins. That is my type of service and prayer.

I have also decided that whatever is bothering my priest is not my fault, and just practice "being". After all he will probably be leaving in a few years and we will be getting a new one, with other ideas and foibles. I just have to breathe and practice my faith in my usual manner. I will be meeting with my spiritual director a bit more often, and perhaps will with her help and guidance be able to withstand all that could be put in my way.

I have been busy sewing this week and have managed to finish off 4 of the cut out patterns that have been lying around just waiting for me to get started. Two new skirts, a pair of pants and a top are now residing in the clothes hamper to be washed and pressed. I only have the dress to do now and I hope to get it finished tomorrow.

Harvey's Christmas sweater vest is coming along nicely. I should be done that by the end of the month as well.

Yesterday Harvey decided to go out and get a couple of pictures of the snow geese on Rafferty Dam.

Thousands of them along with Canadian geese use the water as a resting place during their journey south. Even sitting in the car we could hear the beating of their wings as they approached the water to land.

The challenge of using up those bits and bobs in the fridge freezer is coming along nicely. I can already see a big difference in only a few days. I will be continuing this for at least another week. That means no roast meal tomorrow, but I doubt Harvey will mind in the least.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

This has been a strange week. Not only the weather has been strange, but the overall feeling has been different. I will post about that later.

I will list what frugal things have been happening here.

1.  Got a free travel coffee mug when buying my groceries.

2.  Managed to save $8.29 on my groceries this week (just on sale items alone).

3.  I have been using up the bits and bobs from the fridge freezer and I think I can get another weeks meals from everything in there.

4.  I sewed two skirts (though one needs to be hemmed and they are both blue) and am hemming the pants I finished sewing. I will post pictures once everything is hemmed, washed, and pressed.

5.  Started to bake bread once again and will continue to do so.

6.  Opened the drapes on those lovely sunny days to take advantage of the production of solar heat. 

7.  Went to the library for some reading material.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Cleaning Out the Fridge Freezer

I am making a concerted effort to clear out the bits and bobs in the fridge freezer as I have previously posted.

So far I have used up a bag of frozen baked ham, and a small bag of what I think was frozen chicken but was probably frozen turkey (yours truly forgot to label them, I do that quite often). One of these days I will pull something out that is a big surprise.

Tonight I made something called Dump and Bake Alfredo Casserole. I cut the recipe in half as the first time I made it we were eating it for three days. It doesn't freeze very well either (I discovered this with the third serving).

The picture was found online and looks a great deal like what I made. I didn't have rotini pasta, so I used penne and it turned out very well. I will give you all the recipe that I cut it down to. Just double the amounts for a regular recipe.

8 oz rotini pasta

11 oz jar of Alfredo sauce

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup diced chicken

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat oven to 425*F. In medium casserole stir together all ingredients except for the cheeses. Cover and bake 30 min. or until the pasta is al dente. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on top and bake uncovered 10 min. Garnish with Parmesan.

Enjoy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Another week has drifted by. Amazing how time flies.

Thrifty moves for this week are more hemming of my pants, turning a collar on one of Harvey's work shirts, and starting the use it up of all those bits and bobs in the fridge freezer.

Speaking of those bits and bobs, I have a funny feeling we will be eating on those for awhile. Sure will be nice to have low grocery costs once again this month.

Another thrifty move is having big south facing windows. This means that our furnace does not cut in much on sunny days. It ran for awhile this morning until the sun hit those windows and then after heating the house all day I pulled our thermal drapes closed and have been keeping the residual heat inside. Still no running furnace and the temperature has dropped with the dropping of the sun. Got to love when you can heat your home for free.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

First off I would like to say thank you for all the responses for my last posting. I talked to my old spiritual advisor and she said much the same as all of you. With her help I hope to get back to my old faithful self. I will not be posting the replies, instead I will keep them to read and ponder. Special thanks to Mary who emailed me. Your words were very much appreciated.

For the next little while I am going to use up all those bits and bobs from the fridge freezer. There is so much in there things keep getting lost.

Monday

Leftover sausage casserole.

Tuesday

Leftover ham made into a ham and scalloped potato casserole. Cucumber salad as a side.

Wednesday

Leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies. I will use up the remains of the cucumber salad as well.

Thursday

Leftover ham and scalloped potato salad. Tossed salad as a side.

Friday

Tuna casserole and leftover salad.

Saturday

Soup and sandwiches using up some of the bone broth from the freezer.

Sunday

Leftover roast beef, mashed potatoes, salad and corn.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Mass was extra long today, the children were being enrolled for First Communion, Reconciliation, and Confirmation. Lots of little people (since we are now celebrating Confirmation when the children are in grade 2). Most of Father's homily was based on not just coming to Mass for the Sacraments, but to become regular attendees. Perhaps a few will come, which will be absolutely wonderful. However many have gone through the sacraments with their other children, and won't be attending unless they have another child to get "done" as some say. I do hope this changes, but I doubt I will be there to see it.

You see, church and my faith has always been something that brought me happiness and peace. Not so much any longer. I am not sure if there is something about me that our new priest finds offensive, or if I have done something wrong. It seems as if he always seems to pick me out of a crowd to make the center of attention, and most times that center of attention is not something good. I have been humiliated, and talked down to. I have had a finger shook in my face, and lectured on how I should be attending Parish Council all the time. I have been told to get a committee together when there is really nothing that having a committee would be a benefit. I am tired and upset, and I think I need to speak to my old spiritual advisor. Perhaps getting this all off my chest will help, so far praying has not. I am finding it very hard to get the quietness of heart and mind I find necessary to have that intimate conversation with God.

Sorry for venting, but I think I needed to clear my mind and heart of all the negativity.

Promise I will be more upbeat and back to my normal self.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

In reality it has been a very quiet week around the old homestead. 

The remaining annual flowers have been pulled out of the flower beds and placed in the trash.

Both Harvey and I have been busy decluttering, him in his workroom and outside, me in the sewing/craft room.  I have the car loaded to make a drop off at one of the second hand stores here in the city.

I have pulled out patterns that were cut out, rethreaded my sewing machine and hope to get started sewing tomorrow. Making a concerted effort to get all those items crossed off the goal list from previous months, and get all the Christmas makes completed.

I promised you all a picture of the scrappy quilt so here it is.

Still have threads to clip, but it is done and dusted.

Knitting wise I have got the back of Harvey's Christmas vest completed and am working on the front. It is nice to keep my hands busy in the evenings.

I am upping my steps to 11K for the next two months. Hopefully I will be able to meet that goal. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

1.  Stuck to my shopping list and with sale prices and a few coupons saved $9.56. My total spend was less than $90.00.

2.  Using up leftovers from Thanksgiving.

3.  Only drove the car a couple of times and combined errands.

4.  I have been decluttering as well as Harvey and we have managed to reach 468 items leaving the house.

5.  Still walking for frugal exercise. I  am managing the 10k steps so think I might up it to 11k.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Quiet

Our house is so very quiet. Our sons have only been gone for 2 days and I already miss their noise and presence. I am sure though that Christmas will bring them both home once again.

I managed to finish the embroidered tea towels.

Each tea towel has a duck doing a different job. They sure look nice in the kitchen drawer.

The denim quilt. I made the mistake of taking it downstairs for Harvey and Kurt to see.... Needless to say Harvey has claimed it for the basement and his use.


The other quilt was finished as well. Silly me forgot to take a picture. Will do so tomorrow.

Our oldest son who decided to try and use the evil eye on me. It doesn't work. His 43rd birthday is tomorrow.

Our youngest hid on me until the family picture. His birthday is today and he is now 38.

Our first family picture in a number of years. Kris figured out the timer on our digital camera and it was his idea to try and capture all of us together. He did a not too bad job.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Lots of little thrifty things have been happening around the old homestead over the past while.

I managed to hem three more pairs of pants (I think I only have 2 or 3 left to do).

Our Thanksgiving turkey was cut up and the extra meat put into freezer bags to use in other meals. The bones, skin and neck were also bagged and put into the freezer so I can make bone broth and pick off any meat that was left behind.

The two quilts were finished. Harvey claimed the denim one right away so I guess in a couple of months I will make another one for outside on those cool spring and fall nights.

I went through the 4" squares and have more than enough to make another quilt or two.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Kurt and Kris are in  their own homes now. They left within a half hour of each other so the house is very quiet once again.

Monday

Soup and sandwiches.

Tuesday

Leftover turkey made into a casserole. Probably turkey tetrazzini along with the leftover salad.

Wednesday

Pork chops, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies.

Thursday

Leftover Tetrazzini and salad (probably a cucumber salad).

Friday

Tuna casserole.

Saturday

Sausage casserole, salad.

Sunday

Roast ham, rice, and pea. I know there will be salad left so we can finish that off as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is the Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. I want to wish all my Canadian readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Off to visit with Kurt and Kris. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Here it is the second week of October already. I just don't know where time or the days disappear.

1.  Saved $28.57 on groceries this week with sale prices and coupons. Love how my favourite grocery adds a line to their bill stating how much you saved.

2.  Had a free coffee at the Bible Study this week. I usually stick with water, but it was so cold on Thursday.

3.  Since I did not have a piece of fabric large enough for the backing of the denim quilt I sewed a couple of odd ball pieces together. It is going to be used outside so who really cares what it looks like.

4.  Made two brand new meals out of leftovers this week. Neither Harvey or I enjoy eating the same thing a few days in a row.

5.  I have been walking my 10K steps everyday this week. Some days it is a bit more than that. 

6.  Pumpkin pies made using a pumpkin given to me by a friend.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Much Too Early

Today the weather pundits predicted snow, and quite a bit of that white stuff to boot.

I thought to myself that since bad weather was coming, and Thursdays are very busy now, I would head out early today to get my errands completed.

While I did get the errands done, I did not beat what Mother Nature had in store for us. As I stepped out of my vehicle in one parking lot, I was blasted with wind. Now it wouldn't have been too bad if the weather could make up it's mind on whether to snow or rain. It felt like needles hitting my face and hands (note to self, get gloves and mittens out) as I quickly moved to get into a building.

After my first stop, I drove as quickly as possible on wet, slushy roads to my next destination. At least by now it was snowing and not sleeting.

I left this destination in the midst of thickly falling snow, which let up a bit when I got home. Harvey and I hurriedly brought in the groceries and I put them away.

By now the snow had started to accumulate on my vehicle and the front step.

This is what it looked like by noon.

As of tonight there is at least twice that amount and my driveway actually has a nice coating of white. While this should disappear tomorrow (at least I hope) the weather forecast is calling for yet more snow on Friday (the day Kurt and Kris come home) and Saturday. I think winter just may have decided to give us a good taste of what is to come.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrify Tuesday

We have been continuing with our usual thrifty moves. 

I have sewn together some larger pieces of batting for the scrappy quilt and done the same with the backing. After all I will be the one using it when I need the extra warmth on a cold winters eve.

Hemming was once again on the to do list. It seems that I am shrinking at a rapid rate, or rather that I am wearing shoes with little to no heel in my advancing years. Those longer pants are beginning to bother me. In fact I think I may be hemming a few more over the next while.

All leftovers are being used up either to make a new meal or as lunches.

Still walking outside for exercise, but as we are supposed to get snow overnight and into tomorrow (up to 10 cm) I can see that I will be using the treadmill more often.

Reading books from the library. Soon I will need to get another 4 or 5 to keep me occupied.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Well into October now and getting colder. Though today it is really beautiful, but with some snow in the forecast later this week. I sure hope the roads are good for Kurt and Kris to make it home for Thanksgiving this weekend.

Monday

Spaghetti and meat sauce along with a salad.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef made into hot beef sandwiches, served with homemade fries, and the remainder of the salad.

Wednesday

Baked Spaghetti and garlic bread/buns.

Thursday

The leftover baked spaghetti and a salad.

Friday

Glace, which the sons can heat up once they get home.

Saturday

Hopefully Sausage casserole.

Sunday

Thanksgiving dinner which will be turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, buns, pickles, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

Things are not moving too quickly on the finishing projects front. I must say that I kind of under calculate how long a project will really take. 

However, I have been managing to keep up with the garden produce. Today it was cabbage and I used up another one of the cabbages making Lazy Cabbage Rolls, along with getting a few more tomatoes ripened. I may just have enough to make more soup and even a few for freezing. That will be accomplished right after Mass. I also hope to get a bit more done on the embroidered tea towels and one of the quilts sandwiched and ready to quilt on Tuesday. The denim quilt will just have a fleece backing as we will be using it outside around the firepit in the spring and fall. Hopefully I will have pictures very soon.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Other than last Saturday, this has been a very frugal week.

1.  Under budget again for the month of September.

2.  Saved $16.67 on our grocery bill buying on sale items and still spent enough to get our turkey for 0.99 a pound (believe me in Saskatchewan that is a great price).

3.  Filled the vehicle before the price jumped once again.

4.  Harvey is building new shelves and a potato bin out of scraps from the basement workroom.

5.  Found some clothes that were a bit too small now fit perfectly. This means I am safe from trying to talk myself out of buying anything new.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Unfinished Projects

Over the last few months, I have noticed a distinct lack of progress on most of my listed goals for the month. This has lead me to make a decision.

This month I am going to play catch up. Which means there will be no new projects for me until I manage to get those many projects left from the last few months done and dusted.

So how am I doing this first week of October?????????

I am almost finished the embroidered tea towels and I have gotten a handle on those two quilts that were supposed to be finished last month (probably be done over the weekend). Then I will move on to sewing those projects I have cut out and stored in project bags. I am hopeful of finishing those by next weekend.

After that I will start on the quickest projects to complete and move on from there. I really hate feeling like I am so far behind that I will never catch up.

Perhaps the only new project/goal will be moving my spring/summer wardrobe out of my closet and drawers to be replace with my fall/winter wardrobe.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

I have been busy adding to my stock pile of canned and frozen food over the past week.

Three more bags of frozen tomatoes rest in the freezer. Made my condensed cream of tomato soup and got that in the freezer as well. Still have lots of tomatoes ripening in the house. So more soup is going to be made and more tomatoes frozen before I am done.

Dehydrated some more sage, mint, and oregano.

Worked on getting the household cleaners to a manageable level.

Today was mending day and I fixed a hem, sewed on a button or two, did some work on my quilt and even squeezed in some darning of socks. I don't understand how Harvey can wear so many holes in his socks.

Harvey has been building me a new potato bin using bits and pieces he had saved in his workroom and outside.

What even makes this week better is our budget. We managed to come in under our total budget which is always a good thing.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.