Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal 

I am hoping for a really good thrifty and frugal November. Of course I do all the regular things that I do all the time, but I am hoping to find some new ways of saving those pennies.

1.  Making doubly sure that lights are turned off in rooms not in use.

2.  Asking myself more often is something is a want or a need. The curtains were actually a need as they keep the cold air out of the house. Just one more set to purchase and all windows will be covered with insulating curtains. 

3.  Looking up new recipes to expand on my winter meal plans. Using more beans and lentils. This will probably mean more batch cooking but that is a very good idea during the cold days of winter.

4.  I am back using my cloth wipes again when going to the bathroom and will be making a few more come the new year.

5.  Using up leftovers from the fridge freezer as well as the containers of soup I have in there.

6.  Still making my own yogurt and for the first time used some of my yogurt to start a new batch. It is the thickest yogurt I have ever made. So will make sure to keep 4 tbsp. to make the next batch.

7.  Darned 4 pairs of socks, did some seam repairs and fixed the zipper end on one of my coats (by hand). 

8.  Put my leftover allowance in the savings envelope.

9.  Printed out some free patterns for holiday crafts that I will do in December when I don't want to pull out a machine to work with.

So there are my thrifty and frugal practices for this week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Ramblings

We are the middle of the first week in November already. I have a feeling that this month is going to pass by just as quickly as the previous months. Scary how fast the time is moving by.

My Chicken Quiche turned out very well yesterday, and was quite tasty. There will be a few tweaks to the recipe the next time I make it. 

These two pieces are in the fridge and should give us another meal each. Really not a whole bunch of cooked chicken went into this recipe either. We had some sliced veggies and dip as the side. 

I will be going through my cookbooks and finding more ways to stretch bits of leftover meat. Next up will be some leftover brisket that really can't be made into a pulled meat kind of meal. 

There are rumours that chicken prices will be rising due to the fact that more people here in Canada are choosing poultry as their meat. I find chicken to be pretty expensive right now and watch closely for sales. 

Because of rising meat prices I am looking into more lentil and bean recipes as a protein replacement. I am very glad that Harvey is willing to at least try my concoctions. The next lentil recipe I think I will try is Lentil Tacos or wraps. 

Still decluttering here, but right now it mostly seems to be my wardrobe. I tried on two tops today and hated the way they fit. Those hit the donation bag, however this is making me think that come January I am going to have to make some tunic tops or find some at a second hand store. The finding at a second hand store could be a problem as larger sizes really disappear quickly around here. Making could be the solution. I just have to wait and see how many I have left after trying things on and either donating or trying to figure out how I can refashion the items. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

Today I managed to complete a few small tasks that have been lurking in the back of my mind for a number of days. 

When I went shopping this week I picked up a new liner for the bathroom shower curtain. Today, while catching up on household tasks that were missed yesterday I hung it up. The old one was badly stained and so was tossed, though now that I think about it, I might just have figured out another use for it. 

I, also bought some insulated drapes for our bedroom that actually go with the colour scheme. Those have been hung as well and the old ones that suit the hallway better will be hung tomorrow taking the place of the lace curtains that make me think of my Grandmother's house many years ago. Those will be saved and I will figure out another use for them. 

Attacked the open bags of baking supplies as well and got what I could into airtight containers. I could use a few more of those to really tidy the baking cupboards. 

Slowly but surely getting a bit more organized and clearing things out that need to be cleared. 

This has also been another day that I have stayed home and just enjoyed the simplicity of working on household tasks, nesting, and of course working on Christmas gifts. 

While I am still a bit anxious over what the world is heading for I am hopeful that all things will work out. I really think us frugal, thrifty people will be just fine, but I am not too sure about those who haven't learned to live withing their means. This includes some of our extended family, there are a few sister-in-laws that are very high maintenance and like to spend money.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Only a few weeks left in this year. Time is flying by and soon enough a new year will begin with lots of chances for me to move to even more meatless meals, and even more ways to simplify our lives.

So here is the menu for this week.

Monday

Leftover Sweet and Sour Ribs, salad, and I decided not to make rice using up the leftover noodles and some potatoes to serve the ribs over.

Tuesday

Leftover Chicken made into a casserole. Will serve with leftover salad as there is bound to be some of that.

Wednesday

Soup and Sandwiches. I think I will use one of the containers of brown lentil soup and make some egg salad to go with.

Thursday

Leftover Chicken Casserole from Tuesday and carrots.

Friday

Perogies with fried onions and sour cream.

Saturday

Round Steaks in mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, peas.

Sunday

Roast Ham, mashed potatoes, corn and perhaps fried cabbage though I could make the fried cabbage to go with Thursday's meal. 

So there is the menu for this week. Nothing really surprising and nothing that will tax my brain or sore hand (just a bit sore from the fall). 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Strange weather today we started off at 10C, fell to 8C and rose again to 10C all within a few hours. The wind is howling and leaves are blowing all over the place. Inside the furnace has not cut in since early this morning, with the sun shining in our south facing picture window it is almost 24C inside the front half of our home. 

Harvey made us brunch today after Mass and it was wonderful, even if I had to do the clean up. Got that done quickly and actually pretty easily. 

I have been adding to the grocery list. I really have let the pantry go down over the last while. I have also let our meat go way down in some regards. The next while I will be looking for sales on beef as we have very little of that left in the meat freezer. Still have lots of chicken and pork, but I know Harvey will be wanting beef. Over the last few months I have been well under budget for groceries so I think a bit of a splurge will be okay this time around. 

Staying home more is enabling me to get things finished and work on those little things that will enable us to live a simple and organized life. It will allow me to work on things I enjoy that make our home one we are proud of. Fixing the little things so that selling when the time comes will be easy. I do know that eventually we will need to move and so downsizing and using up what we have is becoming so much more important.  I turn 70 in December and Harvey is already 75. Time is becoming a challenge to our staying in our home. 

More of a challenge than I would like as I once again fell today. This time in my home stepping down from the dining room. Nothing broken, and nothing bruised (or just a bit bruised) but something I need to watch out for. 

Off to get the table set, then visit a few of you before peeling potatoes and carrots to put in with the chicken. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

 

The first day of November started off below freezing, cloudy and windy. We have now managed to reach 10C, the sun is out and the wind has definitely gone down. Still I am glad I had nowhere to go today really and could stay home and work on projects.

Well, I was unable to get my good sewing machine working properly (by good I mean the expensive one) and so I pulled out the Walmart Brother machine that Kurt got me for Christmas one year. Yes!!! That one worked and so I managed to get Harvey's pajama bottoms sewn. One project already completed for the month. This needs washing and a bit of ironing before I take a picture, so expect that in next weeks round-up of projects.

So what did I get done this week?

I finished the 6th rose block and decided that to make a decent quilt I need nine of these blocks. Number seven was started yesterday.

The two double oven mitts were finished just before my machine decided to act up. These need a bit of ironing as well.

My orange cleaner was finished so I put it in a mason jar and will soon mix some of this with some water to see how well it cleans.

This is one of the small jars of mint extract that I got after decanting off the mint leaves. I managed to get four of these jars and a jam jar full. I need some of these smaller containers to finish this off. They are in the fridge and will stay there until all used up.

I did some work organizing and straightening out the baking pantry and pasta pantry shelves. I haven't taken a picture yet as the baking one needs some more work done. I hope to finish that off during the next week. 

Not a great deal done in the grand scheme of things, but enough that my project list for October was completed. 

Off to visit with you all, get supper started and then settle in with some knitting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Happy Halloween

It is cold today, and I am not sure if we will get any visitors tonight. I am ready for them though.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.