Why Oh Why

We are entering another weekend and once again are under a snow/freezing rain advisory. It seems as if almost every weekend since the beginning of the year has been this way.

Frugally this could be a good thing, but moral wise it is the pits!! Kris was going to come home again to actually go fishing this time, and now can't. We are all hoping for better weather for the long weekend which starts next Friday.

We may have to be extra frugal over the next month in order to pay our electric bill. The electric company here estimates for two months and gives us a reading of the meters every third month. Well this months estimate is super high. I don't think we have ever had a bill this high, in fact it is over half of Harvey's pension, which has never happened before. Electric is usually the major portion (after groceries) of our budget.

To off set this we will be closely watching what we spend throughout the month and rethinking some of the things we take for granted.

I have been very good at using things up this past week. In fact I have started to pull out and use the hair conditioner samples once again. I find I can get at least two uses out of each small bottle, sometimes three.

I have also been using up the mouthwash samples in the mornings. Since there are many sample sized toothpastes those will be put into use as well.

Harvey pulled out a thermostat he bought for one of the base heaters and installed it today (after the shock of the electric bill). It is programmable so hopefully this little frugal step will help control the heating costs. He plans on turning the heat in the family room down at night when no one is downstairs.

I have spent the last week making sure lights are off in rooms not in use, and thinking of ways to change the menu so that the oven and stove are not in use as much. Many things I planned on making can be done in the slow cooker and I may pull out the portable roaster oven to use for roasting and baking.

I will let you all know in two months if this has made a dent in our energy consumption.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

Also known as "The Hole In the Wall".

At first there was just this hole in the wall.

Kind of ragged and not looking like much at all.

Harvey cut the hole larger and evened out the sides.

He added some bracing around the hole and made sure it was the right size.

Today he installed the inside frame, the hinges and did some mudding around the opening.

It is beginning to look like something. Tomorrow he will sand around the opening and perhaps a coat or two of paint if things move along properly.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

I tried a new recipe yesterday that I want to share with all of you. It is a very simple take on Shepherd's Pie.

Leftover Pork Casserole

leftover pork (I used 2 1/2 cups diced pork leftover from Sunday)
1 package frozen mixed vegetables (I used about 1 cup of frozen corn, 1 cup of frozen green beans and 1 1/2 cups frozen carrots)
1 can mushroom soup
leftover mashed potatoes

Cook vegetables. Mix with leftover meat and soup. Place meat mixture in a casserole. Top with the leftover mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 degree for 45 min to 1 hour.

This was hearty and filling and I even have leftovers for tomorrow night.

This is what was left from our meal, I did not manage to get a picture before Harvey decided to dig in.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

It has been a snowy day here on the old homestead. I did manage to get my walk in so free exercise and lovely fresh air. Mind you I looked a bit like a snow woman when I got back home, but I dried out quickly.

Leftovers were made into a lovely shepherds pie type meal. Harvey really liked it and I got to use up a few items in the fridge, the remainder of a bag of beans, remainder of a bag of corn, and a small bag of frozen carrots from the freezer downstairs.  I also used up 4 small potatoes making the mash to go on top as well as a bag of frozen leftover roast pork. This will definitely be made once again.

Yesterday was laundry day, but because things are hung on the lines downstairs I don't usually finish until today. Saves at least three loads going into the dryer.

I also did some more decluttering, working towards that 100 items out of the house by the end of the month.

The two bags on the right are what I have found this month. January's total was 289 items. So far this month I have found another 9 items to join them. These will be put in the back of my car and dropped off at the Salvation Army tomorrow on the way home from work. Combining trips to save on gas and driving time is my way of cutting expenses.

I started the Dragon cross stitch project and can see why it has sat idle for so many years. The stitches are extremely tiny and I go cross eyed working on it. I can only do a few stitches at a time.

I will however get it completed, if not this month, next month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

February is here, that means only a few more weeks of winter weather (at least I hope).

Monday

Homemade Pizza.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork Roast, just not exactly sure made into what.

Wednesday

Leftover Pizza (if there is any). If there isn't Spaghetti and meat sauce. I will freeze the leftovers to be used a day next week when I am working.

Thursday

Leftovers from Tuesday.

Friday

Tuna Casserole.

Saturday

Chili and toast (leftovers will be packaged up to use next week)

Sunday

Roast Chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn or peas.

There you have it my plans for this week. Lunches will be the usual leftovers or sandwiches, with the occasional egg breakfast brunch thrown in.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Playing Catch Up

I have fallen a bit behind posting so first off I will post some pictures of my on going projects.

My cross stitch angel is now finished, I just need to hand wash and press it. Then comes the framing which Harvey will do for me. Matting will be left up to me.

Two more pairs of tiny mittens.

Three pairs of slippers. Two x-small and one small.

I have a pair of pink slippers on my needles now.

Moving on.......

This will be an update on my goals for last month.

1.     Organize kitchen. I have to move things around to have room to store my new appliances.  Partially done, will continue once Harvey gets the cupboard doors up in my new storage area.

2.     Work on unfinished projects (this seems to be a reoccurring theme).  Worked on the angel cross stitch and completed it.

3.     Copy and organize more recipes. Slowly but surely all those binders of recipes is disappearing and a nicely organized recipe shelf or two is evolving.  Done.

4.     Work on scanning all those loose pictures in containers and files.  Not even started as painting seemed to take up much of the space I needed (the scanner was not hooked up).

5.     Work on at least one quilt. (notice the "at least one", gives you a hint that there could be a few more that need working on.... More of those unfinished projects).  Worked on during the cloudy days, but need to continue with this.

Hmmm, not to good this month hopefully next month will be better.

Goals for February are as follows.

1.   Scan those pesky pictures.

2.   Declutter at least another 100 items from the house.

3.  Work on dragon cross stitch (another unfinished project from many, many years ago). There really isn't that much left to do and I got all the floss ready to go. Except for the white, I may need to purchase this as for some reason I used it all up on the angel.

4.   Work on quilt and get the top finished.

So there you have them. I hope to get everything completed this month. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Frugalities

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday, but I had a conference call for a committee that I am on. It took forever to get everything settled and we had to postpone the big meeting until March due to the chairperson being gone when the date was first picked.

It has been a fairly frugal week, other than my visit to the dentist. I was to get my teeth cleaned and while undergoing that procedure....they found a cavity or two that need to be looked after as well. Why does this always happen?

Harvey has moved on to his next project on the house. He has decided that I need an easier access to the shelf over the stairs and this is his solution.

Right now and probably for a few days I will be living with a hole in my hall wall. He plans on cutting right through, extending the shelf and putting some lovely doors up. This will give me much easier access and the ability to store a few more small appliances. The best thing of all. He has all the items necessary to complete the project, nothing else will be purchased!!! Frugal fix.

I hated the sight of all the cords we use to charge the various phones, tablets, cameras, heating pad and camcorder lying around the one end table in the living room. In my mad decluttering I found a lovely basket.

Now the cords are in one container and not scattered all over the place. The twist ties do not seem to be working to gather the cords together so I am on the hunt for the bag of elastics I bought awhile back. That should do the trick nicely.

I also used two partial balls of navy to knit two pairs of slippers. I am trying very hard to use what I have and not waste anything. I hope to have pictures up tomorrow.

Used up all the leftovers in the fridge over the week. Really was lovely not to have to cook one night, just pop the leftovers into the microwave and supper was ready.

It was nice here this past week (not including today and yesterday) so the solar heat of the sun through our front window heated the whole house. Sure was nice not to hear the furnace running constantly. Saved a bit on heating and electrical costs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.