Menu Monday

 

I managed to quickly do up a menu when we got home for the month, and of course as is usual changed a couple of days already.

Monday

Leftover chili and toast. 

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef, probably made into a stroganoff type meal. There will more than likely be leftovers to have another night.

Wednesday

Homemade pizza.

Thursday

Leftovers from Tuesday.

Friday

One of the packages of frozen Lazy Perogy Casserole.

Saturday

Porkchops, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots. Since we have so many tomatoes I will slice some up as another side.

Sunday

Roast pork, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots.

I have also figured out something to use as an inventory keeper on the fridge freezer. Hopefully that will enable me to keep up with all the bits and bobs in that area. If it works I will do the same for the two freezers downstairs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

More Travel

 After our trip to and overnight stay in Niagara we headed toward The Thousand Islands for our cruise and then onwards to Ottawa.

Our rest stop was at a place called The Big Apple. As the name suggests there were all sorts of apple products available to purchase inside. Of course there were other items as well.

Then it was on to the cruise around some of the lovely cottages in the Thousand Island location.

A small lighthouse, but what really drew our attention was the castle built on a heart shaped island that was never finished. AKA Boldt Castle. Here is a link to more information on the Castle.

Boldt Castle - Wikipedia

We arrived in Ottawa fairly late, checked into the hotel and found a place to have our supper. Then it was to bed for our early wakeup and tour of the city. 

Oh, yes we were on a bus tour to all these historic places.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Catch Up

 I thought I would give you a break from the vacation pictures and fill you all in on what we have been trying to catch up on.

We got home to an overgrown garden, which at any other time would have been a blessing. Yet when one has a sore arm it causes a multitude of problems. Meaning I am unable or at least was unable to rest the arm as much as I probably should be doing.

The afternoon we arrived home I notified those lovely neighbours looking after the yard we were home and quickly with Hubby's help watered the plants. 

The next morning it was out into the garden for the two of us. I was out first and picked the peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes. Harvey came out a bit later and helped me pick the beans. So many beans, so many tomatoes. 

Over the next two days I managed to get all the beans processed and in the freezer and then moved on to the tomatoes. Those are now done as well.

Harvey dug up the potatoes, and the onions. They are now dried and stored for the winter (I do have a couple of pails of potatoes upstairs some of which I will dehydrate slices of probably tomorrow).

Rain arrived late last night and all day today, so I did not get out to pick more peppers, jalapenos and the remainder of the eggplant. Not much eggplant this year so no parma for the freezer. 

I did the budget inserts for the month of August today and we are under budget which really is surprising. Pretty sure I counted lots of September spending (vacation) under last month. Filed all paper work as well. I need to go back and check last month's spending though as something seems slightly off.

One day this week I made my project list and my extra cleaning list for the month. I have kind of cut both back this month due to being away and the stupid injury to my arm. 

So that has been how our time has been spent so far this week. There are a few more appointments I need to make, but I really need to try my best to spend as little as possible over the next few months.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Day Three Niagara Falls and Niagara On The Lake

I don't know why my pictures are not in Gallery. If they ever show up I will fit them in. 

We headed to Niagara falls early in the morning of our third day. Arriving in time to take pictures of the falls, some of the lovely plantings and then needed to get ready for our ride on the boat to the bottom of the falls. 

Most of the boat was filled with what I called youngsters who would whoop and holler every time the spray would come over the sides and front of the boat. By the end of the trip I was very glad to get away from them and kind of dry off. 

We trooped up the hill and got back on the bus, this time heading to Niagara on the Lake, a place I had never visited before. We walked down the streets looking into the various boutiques (and believe me there were lots of them). I even got pulled into one where they were selling facial items after accepting some slivers of handmade soap. They couldn't talk me into purchasing anything and I got out of there as quickly as possible. 

Lunch was in a family style restaurant that was just packed. Probably one of the least expensive meals we had on our trip (if you don't count A&W in Montreal). 

We returned to Niagara Falls and got to see the falls lit up after a lovely supper in a restaurant overlooking the falls. 

Ended up having a really good sleep. Once again we had to get up very early the next morning for the next stage of the journey.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

PS Got my pictures of the day kind of uploaded, but not really. I emailed them to myself, and then had to look hard through various files to find them. Crazy.

Day Two Our Tour of Toronto

 

Our first visit of the morning was to a small park across the waterfront. This park gave us a wonderful view from the opposite side of the area around our hotel. In the final photo there was a plaque explaining the name of the park. I hope that if you make the photo bigger you can read what it says.

The we drove past various sites in the city. If I have one complaint it is that we didn't get enough time to take pictures of Hospital Row, the University and other such sights. Part of the reason for that could have been because of construction. 

We finally managed to get a stop at Nathan Phillips Square after some big circles around it.

A picture of the Peace Arches.

I just love the way this is called "New City Hall" considering it was built before I moved away from Toronto.

All the people there were attending a Unifor speech before heading out to march in the Labour Day Parade. 

Next a few pictures of things we whizzed by.

Old City Hall. I think it has much more character than the newer one.

A couple more from Nathan Phillips Square.

We were then taken to the CN Tower for lunch. Loved seeing the landscape change as the restaurant rotated.

You can just make out Billy Bishop Airport on the right side.

After this we were on our own for the afternoon. We ended up taking a long walk on the boardwalk, walking down Yonge Street and doing some window shopping.

Thus ended the first real day of the tour.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Home Sweet Home...Or Is It?

 

Well we are home once again from our travels. I am going to spend the next couple of days catching up with all of you and catching up with all the garden produce. This really was not the time to go on vacation, but we did have so much fun. 

Hopefully the garden will be finished with in the next few days and I can get back to regular posting and also fill you in on all our travels.

Right now I am going to start trying to catch up on all of your posts while we have been gone.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Toronto

 We have spent the last few days in Toronto, the place I more or less grew up. I lived in Scarborough from the time I was just over 3 to 17. This is home to me and it was so nice to be able share the city I loved as a child and teenager with Harvey.

While he has loved seeing the city, he has already asked me numerous times how on earth I could live in a place that was wall to wall people. I did tell him that while there were lots of people here when I left, the city has grown so much over the years.

What was really lovely was we got to spend a couple of hours with relatives that we would visit back and forth with.

Me, my Auntie Bev and Uncle Art. Bev is one of my Dad's surviving siblings.

Myself and my cousin Darlene. She is actually the age of my sister, so a bit younger than me.

All of us together.

Darlene, her mom and her stepdad.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. Pictures of our tour starting tomorrow. 

God bless,

First Stop

 

A city awakens. Now I get to take Harvey on a trip through the city I more or less grew up in. He is already saying too many people, and he needs some space. This is going to be an experience as all the places we are visiting will be pretty big compared to what he is used to.

Oh, and my arm still hurts a great deal.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Ouch, Clumsy Jackie

 

Yep, today I took a massive tumble when leaving the bank. Because of my osteoporosis we took a quick trip to the hospital. My wait time really wasn't that long, just a bit less than two hours. I am just glad it was early enough that no one saw it happen.

Nothing broken according to the x-rays, just some deep tissue damage. Man this actually hurts worse than my two wrist breaks, and I can do about as much work as when that happened. To make matters worse it is my right arm and I happen to be right handed. Not able to use the left hand and arm as well as the right. 

This means things I wanted to get done today haven't been done, and that working on the binding of the firepit quilt was shockingly hard. I wanted to get the garden weeded, but that may just have to wait, or I will just do a so-so job of it tomorrow.

I hope it starts to feel better soon as I have lots that need to be done. However cleaning out the fridge of items that need using up can still be accomplished, and some easily done extra cleaning in the sewing/craft room as well. 

I will try a bit of knitting tonight and hopefully get the second mitt of the pair done. Perhaps if it isn't too bad I can get a bit of the next pair started as well.

It does mean I will need to take a shower instead of my usual bath tonight as I need both arms to lift myself out of the tub. This is going to be interesting to say the least as I usually get water all over when I take a shower. 

It also meant a slight change in supper plans, nothing drastic but I am hopeful it will turn out okay. The potatoes will be mashed and fried with some onion (need to use that up) and then I will add the leftover pork roast. 

 Anyway, off to get supper made and then cleared up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. I will try and visit, but don't know how much I will comment. Typing with one hand isn't fun. 

God bless.

Work, Work, Work

 

Mixing things up this week as I am not following my menu plan. Instead I am using things up as I come across them, and trying to save others by making a meal for later and putting it in the freezer downstairs. 

So far I have added Cream of Celery and Cream of Chicken soups to the freezer. I used up the celery and some chicken strips from the fridge freezer to make them. 

Later tonight after watering the garden I will see what other items I can make and perhaps get one of those started. I want the fridge as clear as possible by Friday. Will give it a really good cleaning before we go.

I am also picking as much as I possibly can from the garden and processing it. There will probably be more potatoes to make into fries or cubed hash browns before we leave as well. 

Tonight for supper we are having a package of frozen ham warmed up, creamed potatoes, sliced cukes and a mixture of green beans and broccoli.

Tomorrow it will be a package of frozen pork, mashed potatoes, fried cabbage and some carrots. 

After that who knows what I will find in the fridge freezer to make our meals with on Wednesday and Thursday. I just know that I will be clearing things out and I have made a promise to keep better track from now on. I can't have that big a build up again. Perhaps a list on the side of the fridge would help.

Off to get the garbage out to the road so as to check another item off my list.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sharing A Recipe

 I was asked about my Lazy Perogy casserole recipe so I will share what I do to make this. I got the main idea from a Company's Coming Cookbook so the recipe is very simple, using ingredients that are easy to find.

Lazy Perogy Casserole

First you need to make your filling which is potatoes, and any kind of cheese you wish. Boil the potatoes until soft and mash adding shredded cheddar, cottage cheese (those are the ones used most often) until thoroughly mixed.

While the potatoes are cooking take lasagna noodles and cook those as directed. You need to cook as many noodles as to cover your casserole dish and to make a few layers of filling. Once cooked drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.

Melt butter, place some in the bottom of the casserole so the noodles don't stick. Dice some onion and sauté in the remaining butter.

Place the noodles in the casserole, trim if needed. Put on a layer of filling, cover with noodles, make as many layers as you would like. I sometimes just make a layer of dry cottage cheese on top of the cheese and potato mixture. Top casserole with the butter and sautéed onions. 

Bake at 350F for thirty minutes or so covered. Let sit for 5 mins and serve with sour cream. 

Harvey actually likes these better than regular perogies. And I like that I can freeze them for use later.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Saturday Roundup

 

I spent quite a bit of the first of the week wondering if we would actually get on our trip especially after the letter we got from Air Canada. I now know that this letter was sent to everyone and I should just ignore it as it was just meant for those who had already been cancelled and made to take a different and later flight. 

So I know we will reach our destination and am not to worried if the attendants vote not to accept the new contract as we are coming back from our trip with a flight that is not included in that union. 

So what have I been up to this week. I have been trying to get things under control in the garden and in the house. Tring to clear out the fridge of items that can be made into something else and store in the freezer, or use up little bits so I don't have to worry about them spoiling while we are gone. 

Finished the mittens and put them in the bag for Kurt to take back and started the next size. Planning another 10 of the size 8's. 

Trimmed the fringe on Kris's rug, cut apart and hemmed the tea towels (they need a bit of a press now). Moved on to making something different with the leftover apples from the neighbour's tree.

First time ever making apple chutney. 

I have gotten one quilt almost bound and will work on the second one tomorrow.

Making various items to use up bits and bobs from the fridge. I will show pictures of that later this week. Making soups, flat breads, and casseroles to use up whatever I can. I do want a very empty fridge when we leave. Nothing should be available to spoil. I think there will be lots of soups made and stored in the freezer for use later. 

Made perogies, and the leftover filling was put into two Lazy Perogy Casseroles. Recipe to follow tomorrow as I was asked for it. 

I have a feeling that the menu for next week will be changing dramatically as there are many bits and bobs that need to be cleared out, and lots of items need to be cleared out of the fridge. 

Wish me luck on getting everything done, as not only fridge clearing is necessary but gardening and processing will continue.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Catch Up Friday

 It has been rather cool and cloudy today which made working in the kitchen over a hot stove rather nice. Even nicer the air conditioner isn't working overtime. The next few days are supposed to be cooler so I should be able to get all the processing or baking done in relative comfort. 

I have spent most of today working on the finishing touches for many projects and processing garden produce that was brought in the last couple of days. Heck, I finally got the Apple Chutney made and those apples have been lying around for a length of time. 

Project wise I cut apart the tea towels and hemmed them. Moved on to trimming the fringe on the rug I made. Then I pulled down the 2 1/2 strips and I hope at some point tomorrow to get the bindings on both firepit quilts started. I also finished off the first pair of size 8 mittens and cast on the start of the second pair. Slowly but surely getting those projects for this month completed. Won't get the embroidery done, but I will work on that along with other unfinished projects

Did a bit more dehydrating today as well. I may yet have time to go in and do some more tidying of the sewing/craft room, but that is doubtful. I need to move some of the items from the fridge freezer to the freezers downstairs and dice or slice 6 green peppers for the freezer as well.

I will not be making yogurt this week as I won't have time to finish it before we leave, so I will make some flat breads and put them in the freezer.

I decided not to make Eggplant Parma, instead I will make scrambled eggs (using up some onion, and a red pepper that is on its last legs) served on toast. The eggplant will be grilled tomorrow along with the hot dogs and I will make some stuffed jalapeno peppers wrapped in bacon as well. Clearing out the fridge is the main goal the next bit of time before we leave. 

It looks like we might be able to pick some beans by the beginning of next week and get those processed for the freezer. 

Little things being done which will add up to getting lots completed before the winter. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

Since it has been so very hot out things have been pretty thrifty and frugal here on the old homestead. This is especially true as I try to clear things out of the fridge and fridge freezer. Hopefully lots more will be gone by the time we leave. That is if we actually get to go on our flight. Tomorrow I will talk about an email we received from Air Canada this morning that sent me on a hunt for an answer.

So what frugal things have I been busy with.

1.  Made my own fries for the freezer, and researched how to dry potatoes so as to store them for a longer period of time.

2.  Made 36 perogies for the freezer which will give us three meals. I will probably make more when we get home and harvest more potatoes.

3.  Made 2 Lazy Perogy casseroles for the freezer downstairs. 

4.  Hung clothes on the lines outside.

5.  Worked on decluttering and found another 25 smallish items to donate. 

6.  Using up bags of food from the fridge freezer to make meals this week. 

7.  Trying to use up as much of the fresh produce we have picked as possible. 

8.  Reading a free book I downloaded onto my ereader.

9.  Still using up the leftover smallish balls of yarn and orphan balls knitting those mitts for Kurt's students.

10.  Made a grocery list of items to put in the pantry or freezer as it is our Co-ops big sale over the next week. Not purchasing any perishables as we would be unable to use them up before we leave. 

11.  Once again combined errands and paid all bills online.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek Ramblings

 It is very hot here again today. Right now it is 34C and feels like 42C. I am so glad I got outside to do my little bit of gardening today. Much too warm for man or beast to be outside. Our poor air conditioning is running pretty much constantly again today. 

I have been busy trying to get as much done as possible processing the garden before we leave next week. Also busy making lists of what I need to pack, and what I need to do to leave the house, fridge, and garden in good shape. 

Trying to eat down the fridge, or get things in the freezer is taking a bit of time. So much to use up or give away before we leave.

I have managed to get through all (or pretty much all the potatoes in the house), I made fries for the freezer and perogies. There is enough filling to make some lazy perogy casserole and I think that will be done tomorrow along with the Apple chutney. 

Tomatoes are ripening faster than we can eat them, so I think in a couple of days I will do some freezing of those. 

Picked two eggplant today so I will be able to make the eggplant parma on Friday. Also lots of green peppers to use up as well, what can't be used I will dice or cut in strips and freeze. 

Still not sure what to do with all the cucumbers when I don't need pickles or relish. Any ideas out there?

Off to make supper and get the table set.

Tonight will be spent getting things into the big freezers downstairs and working on those mittens.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 Off, then on, then off and now on once again. It seems that Air Canada is in the air once again. So it looks like our trip will be happening, provided we don't get bumped. So for the next 9 days I will be doing my best to process food, get the perennial bed in some kind of order, and probably end up washing clothes a couple more times. The clothes washing to make sure Harvey has enough to last for the 10 days we will be gone. 

There is lots to do inside as well, projects to be finished, the sewing/craft room cleaned, as much used up in the fridge as is possible, and me notifying Nielsen IQ that I will not be sending in scans for the the first two weeks of September. Last time they missed my notification so I am going to make sure and send it early enough that they get it on time or even before time. 

As all of you know I am a big list maker and those lists will be made over what is left of this week and the beginning of next week. 

It has been very warm the last couple of days and that will continue into tomorrow. Supposed to be even warmer than today and believe me the temperature here in the city reached 34C, and felt like 38C. It is supposed to cool off for the weekend which will be welcome and allow me to get out and do deadheading, and weeding. 

The last thing to be organized in the sewing/craft room is the closet and I hope to make a trip and purchase a shelving unit to take care of that. Pretty sure there will be room on the side to put my reeds and embroidery stand. 

That's enough of my ramblings.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

A new week and another heat wave coming in. This means a bit of a change in menus that I had planned for the week. It could mean more main dish salads, cold plates, or more BBQ. 

Monday

Leftover pasta salad from Saturday.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef which I will make into a beef salad. It is 30C here right now, and even warmer tomorrow. So salad it will be.

Wednesday

Schnitzel, mashed potatoes and raw veggies and dip.

Thursday

BBQ hamburgers, and tinfoil potatoes/onions.

Friday

Eggplant Parma.

Saturday

BBQ hotdogs, baked beans, and raw veggies and dip.

Sunday (hopefully a bit cooler out)

Roast chicken, roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts. 

So some items used out of my fridge freezer, fridge, garden pickings, and hopefully I will have a cooler house as well. 

I might change Wednesdays meal to a chicken Caesar salad just to keep the house cool. Especially since I could be putting up garden produce or dehydrating herbs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Sunday Ramblings

 

It has been a quiet, get things accomplished day here on the old Phillips homestead. I have been pretty achy today, which means I have been moving a bit more and changing position a great deal. Also using lots of my mint salve to keep the pain down. I don't like using pain meds unless absolutely necessary.

Now our trip is up in the air once again. It seems the striking workers are refusing to go back to work. Probably not a smart thing to do as the fines are very high for both the workers and the union the longer they refuse. Even if they get their wage increase (which they were offered) I doubt they will be making enough to pay said fines. I know they want to be paid for when they are boarding passengers or waiting between flights, but the only airline that does that is Delta in the US. Being offered a 35% increase in wages with the first year being a 25% increase is darn good. We will continue to keep our fingers crossed that things change and that we will actually be on a plane in just under 2 weeks. 

I got the 10 pairs of the smaller size mittens done, and I will begin sewing up the side seams tonight. I even managed between changing positions, get quite a bit of the firepit quilt hand quilted. I may actually be able to get it done by late tomorrow and that means sewing on the bindings, and machine hemming the tea towels tomorrow. 

As far as getting the floor cleared up in the sewing/craft room, that is moving along very slowly. I really need a shelving unit in the closet for another storage solution. I am promising myself (or at least I hope to) not to purchase any more yarn or fabric until I manage to clear out more of what I already own. The mittens are helping to use things up, but I think after these are done I will make some scarves for the students of Kurt's school. I can use some up in weaving projects as well. 

Working very hard on trying to get the garden produce put up for the winter season. This week I have made apple pie filling, I did a double batch today, and will probably get a single batch made tomorrow. Yogurt is started and I hope to get that draining overnight. Of course lots of dehydrating is happening, and I think that tomorrow and the next day I will be making fries and perogies for the freezer. I may even manage to get some flat breads made and put in the freezer as well. 

The next two weeks (just in case we actually get our trip) will see me trying to keep the fridge as cleared out as possible. This probably means a few fridge smorg meals and a redo of the menu plans. Not a bad thing if it enables us to use all our food to advantage and keep our bills down to a minimum if at all possible.

I hope that all of my readers are having a lovely day and finding the joy in the simple things. Hubby said he watered my round perennial bed yesterday and our resident bunny popped out. So far no damage to the garden, most times they seem to eat the weeds or the grass in the yard.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Slowly but surely completing those monthly projects and the gardening harvest. Though, what on earth am I going to do with all the cucumbers we are getting? 

I got all the blueberries frozen for use over the winter. Of course I also got lots of herbs dehydrated and into the jars as well as some frozen. 

The mint extract has been started, and put into a dark/cool cupboard for the next month or so. Picture of that once it is ready to be put into the containers.

Some of the peppers that I washed and put one to a bag after dicing or slicing for the freezer. Lots more to pick over the next few weeks.

Cherry tomatoes are being picked even if not completely ripe. One of the branches has broken off as it was so heavily laden and I have been picking many more off that branch as they begin to ripen.

Kris's rug just before I wet it down to block and get the weave to close up a bit.

One of the smaller of the four firepit quilts has now had a bit of hand quilting done on it. I have pulled the next one that is about this same size and I hope to get that one hand quilted by the end of next week. 

Next week will be filled with more harvesting from the garden, finishing up the tea towels, trimming the fringe on Kris's rug, and sewing the binding on the two quilts. I will also be able to finish up the mittens as well. I am working on pair number 10 for this month and tomorrow will start sewing up the side seam. 

Next week will also be filled with making lists of what needs to be accomplished before we go on our trip. It actually seems like that might actually happen as the Federal government is forcing the attendants back to work and both sides to binding arbitration. Keeping my fingers crossed that things still go according to plan. But there is so much that I need to finish before we leave. I am so looking forward to this holiday even though we could actually have traveled through most of Europe for much less cost. We have such beauty here in Canada and it really isn't fair that it costs as much as it does to see our own country. 

Slowly but surely downsizing of the wardrobe is happening. I really don't need as much in the way of clothing any longer and have made the decision that if I bring an article in or make an article, something needs to leave.

As I am trying to organize and declutter the sewing/craft room I have realized that I have enough yarn to last for years, and enough fabric to see me through at least a year. I need to use as much of those items up as is possible over the remainder of this year and as far as yarn into next year. There are a few projects running through my mind to use up both in the new year. Lots of weaving projects in store as well as simple knitting projects like dish cloths. 

I must admit that I think I could be a craft supply hoarder!

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Simple Living

 

My extra cleaning today has consisted of whittling down my wardrobe of sweaters. I am trying to get back to the way things were when we were first married and I had all my clothes to hand for every season. Just have to go through my dresses and such for fall and winter. I will try and put them all in our bedroom closet and then as I wear them or at least try them on and decide whether to keep them or not. I am really simplifying my wardrobe this summer. 

The next thing I plan on doing is simplifying my sewing/craft room by adding storage to the closet once it is emptied. Having storage, or rather the correct storage will really help me know where all is located. 

It has been a very slow and simple day. I froze some small turnips, the kohlrabi, dehydrated oregano and sage, picked in the garden, went for a very short walk, baked bread and picked in the garden. Got in a little visit with a bush bunny that has taken up residence in the backyard as well.

Harvey finished cutting the free firewood we got last year and it now resides with my help in the woodshed. Hopefully we get to have another fire in the firepit very soon. 

Doing slow stitching as well. I am almost finished hand quilting the small quilt. I might be able to finish that tomorrow and pull out the second one to start. Simple quilting happening here, nothing fancy at all. 

There is going to be a change in the menu tonight. I will make the pasta salad tomorrow, tonight I will use a gift card that I was given as a gift and purchase a pizza. Easy supper as I still have things that need to be completed and am tiring out. Even though I have started to slow things down a bit, there are still things that need to be done for the smooth running of the homestead. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

It is another lovely and smoke free day here on the old homestead. I had a visit to get my teeth cleaned at the dentist this morning so along with the middle of the month bills a bit of cash has been spent. 

So what thrifty and frugal things have been taking place here on the Phillips homestead.

1.  I hung two loads of clothes on the lines downstairs as Monday was slightly drizzly.

2.  Had a free coffee at a friends one day this past week.

3.  Combined as many errands as possible to save on fuel, plus wear/tear on the vehicle.

4.  Picking veggies from the garden rather than purchasing. 

5.  Dehydrating herbs, freezing various veggies as well.

6.  Got free apples and plums from the neighbours trees when looking after the yard and house.

7.  Shopped using a list and stuck to the list. Things have gotten a bit more expensive but I am doing my best to keep things under or at budget. 

8.  Using up what is available here at home before putting it on the list.

9.  Got free toothpaste, free floss and a free toothbrush at the dentists. 

10.  Will be putting $75.00 in the savings envelope and $9.55 in the savings jars this week.

So what frugal, thrifty things have you been up to this week?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek, Midmonth, Oh My!

 

I not only have to keep calm that it is midweek already, but one my as well say it is the middle of the month as well. Time is slipping past on wings.

Last night we had a date night and went out to our live theater's second show of the season (also the last). It was hilarious. Loved every minute of it. The acting, the singing, the jokes were amazing. Now it is done for the summer.

Our next date night will be our trip. That is if we actually get to go as Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are now probably going on strike. Air Canada Jazz is not included so we could get home from Montreal, just not get to Toronto for the start of our trip. I told Harvey that we may have to see if we can change our carrier. Could be slightly more expensive, but man we were so looking forward to it. 

I have been working in the garden and in the house, decluttering a bit, and downsizing my wardrobe. I am trying to move my clothing all into one area for a change. Back to trying to live with fewer clothes, and really watching what I purchase or make. Garden produce is being frozen or dehydrated. I did forage some apples this morning so I will try and get those made into pie filling tomorrow, after my dentist appointment. The blueberries have been frozen, as have seven green peppers. I may try to get some kohlrabi frozen as well. 

I have also finished the rug for Kris. I need to work in the ends of yarn, and block it. I might have to trim the fringe as well. Working on the next pair of mitts, and will pull out the first firepit quilt to work on tomorrow. 

I have heard through the grapevine, okay the news, that the weather this winter according to both Farmer's Almanac's is supposed to be very cold and lots of snow. So I am going to try and stock up as much as possible. I hate trying to get through lots of snow, almost as much as I hate driving on ice all winter. Of course I can get Harvey to drive but the less we have to travel on ugly roads the better I will like it.

I am also going to tell the boys to stock up a bit on a few canned goods so they don't have to face nasty weather. 

Just a bit of a heads up to other Canadians right now. My less expensive K cups from Walmart, just went up another $2.00. And don't ask how much chocolate chips have gone up. I almost fainted when I saw the price of the Co-op brand, never mind the brand name variety. Still I managed to get sweet and sour cut ribs on sale, a cryovac package of eye of round to cut into roasts on sale as well. Not much else meat wise was on sale except for some sandwich meat. I did get loads of veggies and fruit on sale. A few canned goods for the pantry as well. Bit by bit I will beat the cost of living going up.

I was asked about the fake crab. It is not shellfish. It is Pollock that has been flavoured a bit. Not sure if it really tastes like crab or lobster, but it really does not taste like fish.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.