Rough Day

Today was perhaps the roughest of days I have ever had subbing.

The morning started off well and then all of a sudden bam!! The student I was working with pulled a Jeckle and Hyde on me.

He started playing badminton with his eraser and pencil and when I left him to stick my head in the door three feet away and get the teacher, took off and hid in the bathroom. The secretary and I finally pulled him out of where he was hiding under the sinks and started to take him to the office. Well he started hitting, trying to bite me and then hauled off and did this.....

Yep, that's right kicked me right in the ankle. I am now hobbling around and getting an ice pack ready to take the swelling down.

To think I have to work with him again tomorrow! Hope it goes better than today.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday for April 29 to May 5

Monday

Leftover roast pork from the fridge freezer made into Spanish Rice.

Tuesday

Leftover beef roast made into Beef and Onions in gravy. Served over mashed potatoes. The sides will be frozen carrots and a salad.

Wednesday

Leftovers from Monday and Tuesday and leftover salad.

Thursday

Slow cooker Beef Stew.

Friday

Soup and egg salad sandwiches.

Saturday

BBQ Hot dogs, and baked beans from the freezer.

Sunday

Roast Chicken, corn on the cob, rice, and a salad.


These could change a little bit, but not much. I am trying to get everything used up and save on the grocery bill as well. Meat prices are sky rocketing and we must get a handle on this before too long.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

While today was not as nice as the previous two, I still went out for a walk. After all its free exercise and as I did not sleep well last night it woke me up for the afternoon.

I am slowly but surely getting close to the end of the embroidery project. I now realize that I will not be finished at the end of the month, but bit by bit it is getting done. I am looking forward to seeing it on my table. Right now I am on the center portion and using up lots of embroidery thread I inherited from my mother.

My next project will be getting the afghan and dishcloths done for the family reunion. We have a Silent Auction that raises money for the next reunion. Cuts down a bit on what we need to spend as a family.

I have two days of work lined up for next week, one as an aide and one as the secretary. Should be an interesting week. Hopefully I will do a good job.

Harvey and I are going to have a movie night tonight. Should be interesting as usually we don't watch movies at home. He wants to watch Django Unchained. I am not a big western watcher, but this is what he likes. Perhaps he will let me watch a "Jackie type movie" next time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Gorgeous Spring Day

Well most of the snow is gone, just a little bit still hiding in the shady parts of the yard. Hopefully it will be all gone by next weekend, provided Mother Nature does not pull a fast one on us.

I did get out for a short walk this morning, but the rest of the day was spent using this object a lot.

At noon I had a telephone conference with my priest and another lady from a different parish. We set up our next big Deanery meeting and it went quite smoothly. All the worrying I did about this type of conference is no longer bothering me. However one of the executive did not get in on the call and the other member was out of town. This saved me gas and the time it would take traveling to where ever we would have the meeting. Money in the bank so to speak.

Next during breaks from trying to finish my novel and almost falling asleep a few times, I was trying to get our youngest son Kris to answer his phone. He finished off the job he has worked at for the past 6 years and has moved on to a new position with a new company. This Monday he starts at Kramer Tractor in Regina as a Business Systems Analyst. He sounds very excited about the whole thing as he will be working on setting up a whole new computer program and system for them.

When he finally phoned back, just as we were going to eat all he could talk about was the shopping trip he went on to Tip Top Tailor's where he bought some dress shirts, dress pants and sports jackets. He was over joyed with the fact that he bought so much for $600.00. In fact he was extremely happy with the purchase of one of his sports jackets. It was regularly $300.00 and he got it for $70. I think he may finally be developing a frugal streak!!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

New Idea for A Project

While cleaning out my drawers a couple of days ago I got the bright idea for a new project (save me from bright ideas for new projects, especially when have a white board full of unfinished projects).

I took a bunch of the t-shirts that I was going to give to the church rummage sale and cut them up. I got quite a bit of material from them as you can see. Soon I will be cutting the pieces up into 1 x 5 inch strips. I will use these strips of material on this.

I got this rug hooking mesh on sale a few years ago thinking I would take up rug hooking. Hmmm, not going to happen anytime soon, however weaving strips of old t-shirts through the mesh is doable.

I am going to need many more t's in order to get this done so it will be an on going project over the next year. I am thinking blues, creams, blacks and pinks would be a good colour combination.

Here is hoping that I can get started on this project very soon.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friends and Recycling

I went to visit a friend for coffee this morning and she had been cleaning out her husbands closet. Just Look at what she gave me to recycle into quilting material.

She gave me five pairs of jeans and a pair of jean coveralls. Hope her husband does not miss them.

I spent part of the afternoon taking them apart and got lots of material to cut into quilting squares.

I ended up with quite a stack. I foresee a busy weekend ahead of me.

I also cut off the pockets to make small purses with for gifts for the youngsters in the family.

They will need to be trimmed and sewn into pouches. I have lots of ribbon to smarten them up.

Recycling is so much fun. I keep things out of the landfill and make something useful out of whatever I can.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday for the week of April 22 to April 28

Here we are at another Monday and a new week of menus that may or may not get changed around due to circumstances beyond my control (not really but I have always wanted to say that).

Monday

The last of the leftover turkey from Easter will be used. I plan on making Turkey Tetrazzini and using up the cauliflower and broccoli as the sides for this meal.

Tuesday

Spaghetti and meat sauce. I make my sauce with lots of onions, celery, grated carrots, and mushrooms so we should get at least a serving of vegetables here. Adding lots of vegetables allows me to cut down on the meat a little bit. Making lots so I can make Baked Spaghetti later in the week.

Wednesday

Pork chops, rice, and mixed peas and carrots.

Thursday

Baked spaghetti. I work this day so this will be quick and easy to prepare when I get home.

Friday

Salmon Casserole with lots of added veggies. A meal in a dish type item.

Saturday

Leftovers. There is bound to be some from the week that needs to be used.

Sunday

A wonderful Beef Roast with mashed potatoes, carrots and side salad.

So there it is, what I have planned for the week. These meals will be made from leftovers, my shopping, and what I have in the freezers and cupboards. Making use of all leftovers and getting your monies worth is what life is all about. Our grocery budgets are where we have the most control over our spending and being frugal it is what a person looks at first.

I have found that by prepackaging leftovers for the freezer in what I need to prepare another meal we no longer munch on that extra 2 lbs of roast beef until it is gone. Instead I can pull out a package of frozen beef and use it to make another wonderful meal for the two or three of us (depending if the boys are home or not). Thus saving money and time.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Still Saving Money and Keeping My Sanity

Nothing drives me to distraction and to almost pulling out my hair as grocery shopping!!!

One way I seem to be able to overcome the frustration is to shop with a list.

I pull out all the sales fliers and start my shopping at home. I plan my menus around what is on sale and what I already have in my freezers, cupboards and fridge. Good planning and knowing where everything is in the store also helps. My time is worth money so I usually only shop one or two stores.

As I make my way down the aisles of my grocery store, my cart sort of looks like this.

I cook from scratch most of the time so you won't see too many prepackaged things in my cart. As I make my way to the checkout I quickly add up what I have spent (rounding things off of course as I don't have a calculator for a brain....as much as it could come in handy).

I go through the checkout and of course realize that I have forgotten one very important item.

My reusable grocery bags!!!! Oh well I can always find a use for those plastic ones!!! My store hasn't started charging for them as of yet.

Lastly I get them into the car, home and put away. There goes a good 2 hours of crafting time. Yet Harvey and I will be very well fed for the next two weeks, perhaps even longer.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Happenings

I have spent the last two days subbing as an EA at one of the Catholic schools in my city. It has been a long time since I worked with the children in the age group I am with, but I seem to be doing okay.

My Aunt had surgery today and I am still awaiting news on how everything went. Her Pancreatic cancer was in stage 2 so she could under go this surgery with some hope. Since I lost an uncle to this disease (exactly the same type of cancer) all of us are hoping the surgery and what follows is a great success.

Hope to have good news by tomorrow and perhaps a more upbeat post.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mend and Make Do

Another way I save cash is to mend our clothing.

Today I needed to do a bit of mending on Harvey's favorite pj pants and jeans.

This is what the pj pants looked like before I fixed them.

And this is what they looked like after.

I extended the wear on these by at least another year, perhaps even longer.

The jeans were a bit harder to fix as the tear was very close to the seam and another repair I had made previously.

I cut a small piece of denim from one of the recycled denim squares (I cut up old jeans and such to make quilts), pinned it behind this tear.

Then I continued with my mending by doing a zig zag stitch over and over again across the rip and the backing material.

This is what it ended up looking like

 I noticed that I have to fix a corner of the other pocket yet but I will do that next week. Right now these jeans are good enough to wear around the house.

After I fixed them and showed them to Harvey, he offhandedly mentioned that he was going to throw them out (by that he meant give them to me to recycle). Hmmm, don't think so dear.

Saved a bundle today doing this as new clothing for him to replace these items would have cost close to $40.00. Total cost to mend them was about 30 minutes of my time and some thread that was in my stash.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday April 15 to April 21

Here are my menus for the upcoming week. I have found myself changing things around a great deal this month. Lots of leftovers that need to be used up are taking the place of the planned meal sometimes. Not a bad thing, but then I have to rearrange the other meals.

Monday

Harvey gets his own supper as I am in Yorkton working on my Dad's estate with the accountant. There are lots of leftovers so he will not go hungry.

Tuesday

Tonight I pull out leftovers, cleaning out the fridge.

Wednesday

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

Thursday

Smoked Sausage, onions and peppers, pasta and baked beans (homemade of course).

Friday

Baked Fish, rice, and carrots from the freezer.

Saturday

Leftover Ham made into a casserole with rice, mushrooms, celery, onions, peppers.

Sunday

Roasted Pork Loin, roasted potatoes and carrots.


So there, they are my menus that I really and truly try to follow every week. Things do change though, especially if I forget to take something out of the freezer, or am just too tired to make anything.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Simply Sunday

Well today has been much the same as every other Sunday this winter. I answered emails, spent some time on the Frugal Living Forum and got a bit of work done around the house.

I am so tired of the dreary weather that we have been having. It is either cold and windy, sunny and cold, or snowing (more of this is supposed to arrive sometime tonight or tomorrow).

While at Mass today a group of the youth were selling tulips to raise money for a trip. Guess what I brought.

Some lovely yellow to bring a bit of sunshine into the house.

The second bouquet was this lovely creamy white.

They have brightened my day and made me feel that spring is just delayed for a bit.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. God bless.

Saturday and a Great Luncheon Out

Today I met two of my former students for lunch.

Tyler, the young man in the middle, contacted me on Facebook and asked if I would like to go out for lunch with him and 2 other students. Of course I said a resounding yes!!!!

One of the boys was unable to meet as he was busy doing something with the Scout troop here in the city so it was just Tyler and Connor who were there.

Here is Connor.

I spent three years helping out in this class and the class was one of my best overall. All of the students in this class have a big place in my heart.

The lunch was fantastic and I got to catch up on everything that had been happening in their lives.

The rest of the day was spent reading, doing a bit of embroidery and making baked beans. I use my slow cooker for the beans and they turn out every time. These are twice as good as those bought in the store (so Harvey says) and cost much less.

Here they are bubbling away in the slow cooker.

Here they are cooling in freezer containers. I see lots of beans in our future meals.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Cold and Damp

Well today dawned cold and snowy and while the temperature has come up a bit, it is still a miserable day. Just another one of those it is best to stay in and vegetate days.

I have spent some of this morning trying to get my errands done before the so called storm hits, but in doing so have ended up with a chill that I just can not find a cure for. Cups of hot tea and curling up in a blanket are doing no good what so ever. Guess I will just have to suffer the chill for awhile longer.

One of the teachers at the school I subbed at this week mentioned that we have had snow on the ground for 6 months.....I think it might just be the year that spring never arrives, hopefully we will move into summer with a bang as I do not think that my fellow Saskatchewanites are ready for a year round winter as of yet.

While moving around clothing last week I came upon some clothing belonging to our youngest son. I have sent an email off to see if he wants any of it as most of the items are at least 7 or more years old. I may just get the chance to recycle more clothing into usable quilting material. Or at least I hope so.

The tablecloth I am embroidering is moving along slowly but surely. I will post a picture when it is completely finished. It will make a fine addition to my limited amount of table linens.

Earlier this week I cleaned my curio cabinet. Wiped all my angels and rearranged them on the shelves. Thought I would share a picture of them with you all. Each one has a story and holds a special place in my heart.

I have a few others scattered around the house and garden, but these beauties stay inside.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Renonovations Starting Up Again

Harvey figures Spring has sprung and it is time to start sprucing up the old homestead once again. This time at least, the project is a bit smaller and more easily managed.

He has decided to spruce up the stairwell into the basement. So for the last two days he has been mudding and sanding the dry wall. Luckily we had all the items he needed to do this.

Once all the mudding and sanding is done we will be painting. I figure we will go with white once again as the lighting is not the best going down the stairs and the white reflects what light we have. By doing all the work himself not only are we saving cold hard cash, but keeping busy and doing something that will add value to our home down the road.

Sure hope that when we move on to putting windows in the family room and installing a new energy efficient furnace (and hopefully the duct work to get rid of the electric heating in the back) this small reno project is not ruined.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Well, here are my menus for this week (well at least the dinner ones). We usually eat leftovers for lunch. You know those little bits that aren't enough for the two of you to have a meal, but good enough for one.

Monday

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup and Chicken Salad Sandwiches using up some of the leftover chicken in the fridge freezer.

Tuesday

Leftover Ham from the fridge freezer made into Ham and Scalloped Potatoes (I can do this in the microwave and it will not take long to get on the table....subbing this day).

Wednesday

Hotdogs, oven fries and corn on the cob.

Thursday

Leftovers, there is bound to be enough for a meal. I may switch Wednesday and Thursday plans around.

Friday

Tuna Casserole

Saturday

Perhaps out for supper using a gift card.... or  I will make Sweet and Sour Beef with rice and a salad.

Sunday

The Baked Ham that I did not do the previous Sunday as Harvey was not feeling up to eating ham....used up some of the leftover turkey in the fridge freezer instead.

Sunday Ramblings

Well the beginning of the second week of April is not starting with the nicest of weather here in Southeast Saskatchewan.

It is a misty, sleeting kind of day. You know the type. A day that is best spent in doors relaxing and wrapped up against the chill of the day.

So after lunch I headed to the library to exchange my books. Came right home and made a pot of tea, picked out a book from my selection and settled in to do a bit of reading.

A pot of tea, a good book and an afternoon to myself.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Aquiring More Fabric for Quilting or Rug Making

I decided to clean out closets this week and after my trip to the Salvation Army thought I would recycle the material from my cotton tops myself.

First I cut off all the buttons, you never know when you will need a button, right?

Then I dismantled the portions that I can use for quilting or making rag rugs (I found a neat one on Pinterest, rug I mean, that I would like to try.

I also cut up two pairs of blue jeans that no longer fit me properly. They shrunk (I did not put on a few extra pounds over the winter). The denim I will use on quilts.

Here is my stack of almost free fabric.

I am quite happy with what I ended up with.

Hey, I even found some old shirts and such that belong to Kris. If he doesn't want them, they are going to end up being used like this.

I feel very frugal today and very happy that I have some new scraps of fabric to play around with come the summer.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Bedding Plants Growing By Leaps and Bounds

About a week ago I posted pictures of some bedding plants I started in the house. My word have they ever started growing.

I have thinned the herbs out a few times, but it looks like I could do so once again.

Here are some photos of the plants as they looked today.

The Moonflowers are taking off nicely and those that weren't popping up have started to. My Basil is getting pretty tall, and the parsley is starting to get the curly leaves.

My Oregano is slowly but surely growing.

The Thyme and Sage are growing very well and thinning mus be done once again.

I am really looking forward to getting these out into their pots this year. The plants I started last year did very well on our sunny front patio. I hope they do as well this year.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Prayers For My Aunt Please

I found out a few days ago that my Aunt has just been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. I don't know what stage it is in, but I am asking all my blogging friends to pray for her and her family.

Aunt Kathy lived with us for awhile when I was very young and she had gotten a job with a bank in Toronto. We became very close during this time.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts, they are so greatly appreciated.

God bless.

Unfinished Embroidery Project

I am sure that many of you have those unfinished craft projects put away for a rainy day. I have decided that this year is that rainy day for me.

I pulled out the table cloth I had started years ago (back in 2008 I believe) and have slowly but surely working on getting it done. It is a lot of work, and there are times I want to bundle it back up and put it away, but this project will be completed.

Here are a few pictures of it.

I am working on the third corner of the cloth, just one more corner to go after this one is done. I seem to be slowing down a bit though.

Each corner has 2 bouquets, one a bit smaller than the other. Then there is a small bouquet in the center of each side.

Here is a picture of one of the finished corners.

This is a picture of one of the small bouquets on each side.

Now it wouldn't be too bad if I only had these to do, but in the center......

There is this large oval of even more flowers to embroider!!!

I hope to get the whole cloth done by the end of the month, this after a month of working on it already.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Here are my dinner menus for the week of April 1st to April 7th. They are subject to change as I may have more leftovers then I planned on.

Monday

Smoked Sausage, Green Beans, Pickles, and Leftover Mashed Potatoes fried with some onion.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork Roast made into a casserole with celery, mushrooms, onions, peas, some type of pasta and cheese.

Wednesday

Leftover Smoked Sausage sliced thinly and served with thinly sliced onion, rice, and thinly sliced green peppers from my freezer.

Thursday

Leftover Pork Roast casserole and a salad.

Friday

Perogies

Saturday

Leftover Turkey from the freezer made into Turkey Tetrazzini and some raw veggies and dip.

Sunday

Roast Ham. Scalloped Potatoes, Peas and Carrots mixed.

I will see if I have time to make a couple of desserts. If not there is always fresh fruit.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.