Saturday Roundup

 

No real pictures this time around as nothing was really finished. I did manage to get all my supplies out for this month's projects and that is a very good thing. Means no running around trying to find what I need. I will need to get out the safety pins when it comes to sandwiching the quilt. Hopefully I will get that done tomorrow.

The snow has started, but at the moment it isn't too bad. The wind is very strong from the east and so is more or less blowing down the street and not really sticking anywhere. That will probably change as the snow finds the small cracks in the pavement and begins to build up over time.

I have been doing some reading in my Simpler Living book. The author talks about how this isn't a new fad but one that is centuries old. He talks about the Puritans and there simple life, then about the Quakers and their simple lives. 

I love this passage in the book; "Today the movement is so widespread that the term simplicity means many things to many people. Among the many definitions are the following: more time, less stress, more leisure, fewer bills to pay, less clutter, less to clean and maintain, greater peace of mind, and spirituality. Your quest for simplicity may encompass one or all of these notions."

Just goes to show that simplicity means different things to different people. I also think that what stage of life you are in would be a big factor.

What does simplicity mean to you?

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Storm Warning

 

I woke up this morning to dark, cloud covered skies and got my behind in gear to get all the errands done before the storm hit. Managed that quite nicely and here it is mid afternoon and no storm as of yet. 

Still the temperature has dropped 7 degrees, putting us below freezing, and the wind is really picking up. After checking the weather app on my laptop, turns out that the storm is not supposed to start until Saturday and continue through Sunday as well. The amount of snow we could receive has now doubled. This storm is coming up from Montana and we know it won't miss us this time around. Never does if it comes from Colorado or Montana.

I did get my household tasks completed, and got all the budget lines filled in. We were under budget on all expense lines which is lovely. I was really happy to see we were under budget for groceries as well. However, todays shop has scared me about how we will do this month. I can see stretching happening, and I am hopeful that my next trip will not be quite as expensive. We shall see. 

Once home (and before checking the weather again), I checked the candle supply and extra blankets in case the power disappears. I am also making sure that all electronics are fully charged and will continue to make sure into tomorrow. I also made sure the flashlights all worked and have batteries handy just in case.

I have checked to see if the camp stove is in the same place and that we have fuel for it. Using it means opening a window slightly, but warm food makes up for that slight inconvenience. Tomorrows meal is chili a perfect meal for a camp stove. Might not get toast to go with, but if I am up early enough tomorrow I will bake some buns.

March is always an up and down month here on the Canadian Prairies. We just need to remember to be prepared and plan ahead if at all possible. 

I did manage to get all my goals done. Well mostly. I didn't get the cough drops made. That was mainly because my glass jar is full of Hall's still. I guess I will leave those until next fall.

It is time to list my goals for this month and I am hoping to finish most of them, if not all of them.

1. Counted cross stitch angel. Plan on getting as much done as possible.

2.  Sandwich the baby quilt.

3.  Finish the first lapghan.

4.  Start the next lapghan. 

5.  Make pantry book.

6.  Make freezer books (I want to get two books done, one for the meat freezer and one for the chest freezer).

7.  Copy at least 14 recipes of the ones we have tried onto index cards. Add them to the recipe album.

8.  Cut out a top.

9.  Cut out a pair of shorts.

If there are some days left there are a very few other items I would like to get started this month. I am trying to get everything that I need to done before gardening starts.

Everybody have a wonderful evening, and if you are going to experience any storms stay safe.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal 

The last day of this month, and it turned into a sunny and fairly decent day. However, that being said I am heading out to the grocery, bank, and pharmacy tomorrow as we are once again under an extreme weather watch starting Saturday. According to the weather pundits we could get up to 5 inches of snow by the time the system moves out of the province. We shall see as the last time we got absolutely nothing. Hope to have a good haul for a reasonable cost (whatever that is in these times). 

My frugal and thrifty past times this week, for the most part, have been sticking close to home, looking through the grocery flyers to make my grocery lists, and using up items in the freezer and pantry to make our meals. There has been mending, using up leftovers for our lunches, baking bread, baking muffins and making a lovely pumpkin cake (that's a recipe I plan on keeping and using more often).

Time has been spent making next months cleaning list, planning my goals and projects for next month, and putting in some new contracts for our phones and internet online (boy that worked in the blink of an eye). 

I have had free coffee with a friend, and took advantage the days that it wasn't freezing out to take a bit of a walk outside for free exercise. 

Sent in my reports to HomeScan, and did a survey on that site to get even more points. 

Today the craft supplies from this month were put away for a bit, and the items needed for next month brought out. If lucky to get all those completed I will be starting another quilt top out of all the 4" squares I have cut out and put away. 

Continuing to read the Back to Basics book (well at least those chapters that fit into our lifestyle) and have read a little bit in the Simpler Living book as well.

It has really been a laid back week, and to tell the truth when I was feeling so rotten yesterday, I was very glad that it was. Couldn't imagine what a jam packed week of cleaning and projects would have done to me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Last Midweek of the Month

 

As many other bloggers have mentioned this month has gone by very quickly. 

Tomorrow I do up my monthly budget spend and keeping my fingers crossed that I managed to same some cash or at least come in under in some of the budget lines.

Over the last week I pulled some books from my frugal library to read over this month. Especially as I am contemplating purchasing a loom.

These are the two books I am going to peruse first. I want to go through the first steps to becoming self-sufficient and making my life a bit simpler. Both are really interesting, but in the first one I am just going to work on household things crafts and such. Man I read a bit about warping a loom and am really scared now. Warping a loom is slightly confusing.

I woke up feeling a bit under the weather (okay pretty sick feeling today) so I crawled back into bed and slept for a bit longer. I now feel not too bad. 

Once up I managed to get most of the household tasks completed and even baked a pumpkin cake.

Harvey wanted a brown sugar glaze, so that is what I made once supper was cleared up.
 

In my quest to use appliances to cook a bit more today I used the two air fryers I own to make supper. When I went to the second hand stores I saw many of the Actifryers sitting there waiting for someone to purchase them. So I decided I may as well keep mine until it totally breaks down. Why put something in a donation bin when there are 14 waiting to be purchased.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

A regular day here on the Phillips homestead. I did household tasks, dug through my yarn stash and found yarn for the next lapghan, and some thinner yarn to make some tanks for myself to wear in the summer. Really working on the shopping at home first, before I even think about adding new items to my yarn stash. Now, I just need to put those yarns into project bags and plan on when I will be starting those projects.

With rising costs, old fashioned ways of saving money and cutting costs is pretty much a must for those of us on a fixed income. Housing prices here have dropped rapidly, what we could have gotten for our home a few years ago has been cut by probably 25% at least. Our city depends upon oil and coal, with some farming and ranching factored in as well. People are leaving for what they consider greener pastures in other areas of the province. 

So this will be a year of make do and mend, a few more meatless meals in the month, making my own salves and lotions, cutting back on wants instead of concentrating on needs, growing more veggies/herbs and perhaps finding a second source of income. It isn't that we have to do this, but if we ever move to the bigger center near us home or condo purchases will be that much higher. I will still probably purchase a loom as I have been saving for one and could use it to make our own small rugs and other items to either sell or gift. 

The other rather major purchases we will be making is new flooring for the hallway, paint for the ceilings, and paint for the hallway. Must keep the house looking fairly decent for when we put it up for sale. Buying on sale will help keep the costs down even if we have to hire someone to do the ceiling painting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Last week of the month is here, and it looks like winter will be sending us another blast. Today has been cloudy and windy, but none of the forecasted snow has hit. Clouds are building up though so we will probably get something later on.

Still having hearty winter type meals here and that will more than likely continue through most, if not all of next month. Winter never seems to leave the prairies too early lately.

Monday

Smoked sausages, baked beans, and leftover noodles.

Tuesday

Soup and sandwiches.

Wednesday

Chicken wings, onion rings, and green beans.

Thursday

The container of stew that is in the fridge freezer.

Friday

Lentil Curry and rice. I may try to make some flat breads to go along with this.

Saturday

Making a big pot of chili so I have some to take to Kris's when we go up for my appointment.

Sunday

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, and roasted carrots. I may make a salad as well which will last us for a few days.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

First off, before I forget, Maebeme asked if my sweater pattern was online. Yes it is a free pattern that can be found on the Yarnspiration/Red Heart yarn site. They have lots of free knitting patterns as well as crochet. 

It has been a very quiet day here. We went to Mass this morning, where I hate to say it, I could only understand one word in probably 4. Saying the parts of the Mass our new priest has no problem being understood, but his sermon can be a problem. I think I managed to get the gist of it at least. 

I did some baking today, muffins, and a pie shell which will be filled with something lovely, just not too sure about what at this point. 

A cloudy, windy day out. It seems like the weather improves for a few days and then we get a storm or a touch of a storm coming through. Starting tonight we are supposed to get rain and then have it switch to snow. It will clear up for a bit and then by the end of next week, the usual March snow will happen. According to the weather pundits by the end of next Sunday we could have almost 7 inches of the white stuff once again. Really, this is a very different winter than others. 

As it is almost the end of the month I am actually darn happy with my shop at home first challenge to myself. I have managed to either use up what I already have, or done a bit of substitution on ingredients that are not in my fridge, pantry or freezers. Loving the savings, and the clearing out of items very close to their use by dates. There has been very little waste this month. 

I have added a new frugal habit this month and that is using an apron as much as is possible. Really they do keep clothes much cleaner. No stains means less stain remover being used, and washing is much easier. I will keep wearing them.

March's new frugal habit is going to be using plastic bags over once again. While I have been using some bags over again, I can really do better at this. I promise not to reuse any bags that have held meat. I do store lots of baked goods in Ziplock freezer bags and those things are pretty darn expensive, unless you get them on sale which I really try to do. 

So that's my ramblings for today and they are very rambling today.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.