Menu Monday

Monday

Leftovers from Saturday nights supper.

Tuesday

Sweet and Sour Ribs made in the slow cooker, rice and sliced cucumber

Wednesday

Smoked Sausage, leftover noodles from Monday night, corn.

Thursday

Leftover ribs and rice for Hubby. I will end up grabbing a sandwich or something as I need to be at the Formation room by 5:30 to meet with one of the participants from RCIA.

Friday

Cod fillets (not sure what I am doing with them yet), oven fries and asparagus.

Saturday

Steak in mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Sunday

Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and a salad.

So there is my line up for the week. Sure hope everything goes as planned.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today I had my eyes opened at Mass with something I have never thought of before.

The gospel was about the blind man that Christ healed and Father Brian talked about how the healed man went through three stages of healing. The first stage was the physical healing of his blindness, and how the man just saw Christ as a man. The second stage was when the healed man saw Christ as a prophet and the third stage was when the man recognized Christ as God on earth.

Father Brian went on to say how even those of us who can see are still blind. Blind to the wonders of God around us and blind to those people who bring Christ into our lives. Makes one wonder if they are bringing Christ into the lives of others.

I went for a bit of a walk this afternoon and took this picture.

This condo complex went up in a matter of days. The ground work and now the roof trusses seem to be taking longer than the construction. The units were preassembled in Idaho and brought to Estevan on flat bed trailers. Once they arrived they were lifted into place by large cranes and fastened together by the workers. Not sure how big the units are, but there are 55 units for sale starting at $178,000.00. Not too bad a price considering the cost of housing here in the city.

I also did all the marking for my next sewing project.

I am making the one on the right so I don't have to worry about getting the crossover just right. It will be made out of one of the knit fabrics I bought in the fall (spring fabric was on sale then). I know I won't get it totally completed this month but after finishing 5 sewing projects when I only planned on two I still feel I accomplished a great deal.

I also finished off the cream yarn making the cord for the rug. Didn't quite get the burgundy done as planned but I think I over estimated what I could really do. Here is a photo of the rug a week after my last picture.

It might not look like it has grown much since my last photo, but it really has according to my measurements. You should be able to see the burgundy very soon. One thing I have noticed is that it is taking much longer to sew the cording together. Today I spent 2 hours sewing the cream around and around.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A Wonderful Start To The Weekend

I had a wonderful start to the weekend. The weather was great (except for the rather large rain drops whilst we were cleaning the Enclave out), I got to talk to Kris for a bit (he seems to be doing wonderfully) and even messaged back and forth with Kurt.

As far as working around the house (and by this I mean working in the sewing/craft room) things went really well.

I finished the little sun dress I started on Monday. Here's a photo.

It is a bit wrinkled and needs a good ironing. I also need to learn how to tie a proper bow. While this will be a dress, I think the pattern is also suitable to make a summer nightie or two out of. Hmm, wonder if I have fabric in my stash suitable for a nightie???

Then I also tried two new recipes for supper.

The first was a Greek Salad (can't believe that I have lived for 58 years and never made this).

Lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, thinly sliced onions, sliced green peppers and feta cheese. All smothered in a lovely dressing. Yum. To make things even better we have some for our dinner tomorrow night as well!!!

I also made this chicken casserole. I got to use up a package of the leftover chicken I had packaged up for the freezer.

It was very creamy and had a nice tang to it. However I think when I serve the leftovers I will make some noodles to serve it over.

I also worked on the rug project for awhile and plan on doing some more tonight. I am hoping to get to the burgundy yarn again by tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Another Week Gone

It's Friday once again. Why is it that the older you get the faster the days speed by?

I started entering my receipts into the budget spread sheet today. These are the only ones I have left to do.

These are the hardest ones as I have to break them down into their categories. Most of them have purchases that have to be split apart. These are the ones I really dislike doing. However once they are done I will be able to see if we are over or under budget. One thing I like is that we were under for groceries and household products!!! Love it. Don't know if I undercut the budget by 5% but I have my fingers crossed and will figure that out tomorrow.

We also took our taxes in to be done. We should know very soon if Harvey gets any back. I do know I will end up paying something (not too much I hope).

Hoping to show you a finished sundress tomorrow and perhaps a start on the 6th pattern I cut out (and the one that looks the most difficult).

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Not All K Cups Are Created Equal (Thursday Tid Bits)

I discovered a week or so ago that not all those packages that say their product fits in a Keurig actually do.

I finally found one of our favourite coffees in what was advertized as being able to be used in our machine. So I snatched up a package.

I decided to try one out yesterday..... To my very great surprise they don't work!!!!

What to do? I am not one to like to waste anything so.....

I carefully pulled the plastic off each little cup.

And poured the coffee into our coffee canister.

Now I have enough coffee to make another pot or two in the morning. Minus the convenience of the Keurig of course. At least I did not waste any and I learned that even though those little cups only make one cup of coffee through the machine..... They sure make more than one cup when poured out and added together to use in our drip machine.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Week and Moving Along

Today I started my 5th sewing project this month. Really, not that many compared to many bloggers who seem to make 6 or 7 complicated patterns a month.

This is what I am doing now.

A very simple 4 piece sundress. The straps are ribbon that is strung through a casing in the back and front and worn over the shoulders. I am making the bottom one on the right. I should be finished it sometime tomorrow if everything goes just right.

I have also spent the last couple of nights making muffins. Some for us here at the Old Homestead and some to serve at the Dogmatic Theology lesson tonight.

Blueberry muffins and some that were made with dried cherries from the backyard trees.

A new to me flavour.....Apple and Cinnamon.

I missed taking a picture of the Banana Muffins, but believe me when you have a couple of over ripe bananas these are a given.

I plan on taking 6 of each to the meeting and the rest will stay home to be eaten for breakfasts or just as a snack.

Well off to prepare for the class.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Mondays

Menu's for this upcoming week.

Monday

Steak, baked in mushroom soup, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork Roast made into something new and exciting I hope. Hopefully some type of casserole.

Wednesday

Leftover chicken made into another something exciting (do have an idea on this one may be a chicken pot pie).

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night.

Friday

Soup and sandwiches.

Saturday

Cabbage Bread otherwise known as Birokes in my family.

Sunday

Roast Beef, roasted potatoes and some carrots from the freezer.

So there they are, I sure hope I can stick to them this week.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

The third Sunday in Lent and more things to ponder. This journey is making me so much more aware of what my faith means to me.

This past week during Dogmatic Theology we learned about the Trinitarian Spirituality. In this weeks gospel Father Brian told the story of the Samaritan Woman at the well. He said the living water that Jesus spoke about to her was in fact the Holy Spirit. This is one area of the Trinity I find very hard to focus on. How does one focus on breath or the wind...... The analogy of water I can understand and grasp so Father Brian's homily struck me at a time when I needed it. Living water....the breath of Christ. How absolutely wonderful.

Perhaps I can now visualize the Spirit in connection with water and be more open to allowing the Spirit to move me during my daily prayer life. After all I feel a connection already to the Father and the Son so allowing the Spirit to enter into my prayer should not be difficult.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Slowly But Surely

It has been a lovely Saturday. I have spent it visiting a friend and working around the house. Well truth be told not doing that much work, rather I have been working on my projects.

If you all remember I cut out 6 patterns at the beginning of the month. I have now finished 4 of the simpler ones and will be moving on to some more difficult ones tomorrow.

Today I finished a simple sleeveless dress. One that I can slip on to work around the house, wear outside, or if I slip a jacket or sweater over top even to work.

It drapes wonderfully and will be nice and cool on those hot summer days.

I have also been working on my rug. It is slowly growing and I thought I would share with you all what it looks like now. It has been almost a week since I posted a picture of it so I hope you all can see how much I have managed to do.

I still have a long way to go but every time a sew a bit more cord on I get a feeling of accomplishment. I hope to at least get started on another circle of the burgundy before the end of the month. Not quite finishing my goal for this month but at least getting a good start for next month.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Ahhh, Friday At Last

Four days of not leaving the house except for Mass on Sunday......Love it!!!! Especially since it has gotten very cold once again. In fact last night saw us getting snow and rain mixed together, but not too much stuck on the roads so at least when we went shopping today we did not have icy roads to contend with. Icy, bone chilling winds however were something we faced in store parking lots.

Kept the shopping to a minimum and hopefully will not be over budget for the month. I did get an umbrella type clothes line, and now we can get rid of the other line that seemed to be fighting with our cherry trees for space.

The rest of the day I spent reading and finishing off a sewing project.

Here is the coat I made.

This was made out of a light brushed flannel. I have some lovely heavy wool that I may use the next time I make this. Not sure if I will use a button closure the next time but I will think seriously about it.

I had to add word verification to the comments. While I do love the automatic spam detection of blogger, and seeing that I have 200 views a day, I have finally realized that most of those views are spam and spending my time deleting them is just not worth it. Hopefully I can remove it shortly.

I am off to do some corking or spool knitting as others call it. I want enough cord made to spend some time adding it to the rug.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

I have started a new way of getting my hours in at the church this week and so far I am loving it. I picked Tuesdays to work all day (well 6 hours worth any how) and then the other 6 hours are put in on Wednesday and Thursday nights when I give the classes (supervise the classes). So far I am loving the extra time at home. Mind you it is only the first week and this could easily change, but I doubt it very much.

I have been putzing around the house and doing a bit of sewing. Nothing to really show you on the sewing front as of yet, but perhaps tomorrow. I just have to put the sleeves in and I am procrastinating as it always seems like I have to rip one out at least twice before I get them to go in properly.

This week for the first time ever I answered a Garage Sale ad on Facebook. Surprisingly enough I managed to buy what I offered for at the price I wanted to pay.

This lovely bag of yarn for $12.00. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, but it is soft and all the colours coordinate beautifully. Perhaps I can turn it into an infinity scarf or two.

Then I decided to clear out some of last years rhubarb crop. I used up three bags of frozen rhubarb to make 2 rhubarb cakes. Yummy.

Here they are ready to go into the oven. I used some of this as part of our refreshment at my meeting last night.

As I was cleaning up after the meeting I noticed a package on the counter just down from the refreshment area. There was a card with it that read, "4 U 4 next winter." Hmmm, what could it be??? I opened it up and found this.....

This lovely sparkly scarf!!! I had admired one of the ladies scarves at last weeks meeting and so she crocheted me one as a little gift. I love it.

Tonight I have another class and then I am done until next week. Since some bad weather may be heading our way I get to enjoy 4 days safely ensconced in my home (well I do have to go out Friday night and set up for Stations of the Cross, and of course there is Mass on Sunday....but other then those two things I won't be heading out at all).

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I had to do some quick changes last week, but as I had all the supplies (or none of the supplies for what I had planned....bad planning on my part), we managed just fine.

Monday

Baked Spaghetti, sliced cucumbers and perhaps sliced yellow pepper.

Tuesday

Leftover Sage Chicken and Potatoes.

Wednesday

Soup and Egg Salad Sandwiches (mainly because this is one of my class nights).

Thursday

Hamburgers, and oven fries.

Friday

Tuna Casserole

Saturday

Either clean out the fridge or Smoked Sausage, pasta and green beans.

Sunday

Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, and carrots.

So there they are, my menus for this week. Hopefully I will not have to change things around this week.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today we had a baptism during Mass. How to describe it? Something wonderful beyond belief. The child in question had 5 god parents and belonged to one of our new immigrant Filipino families. This is part of their tradition in the Philippines. Seeing the glow of those 7 candles helped me to realize that we all have to share the light of Christ during not only these 40 days of Lent, but throughout our lives.

We need to reach out to everyone and share the love of God. Showing each of the people we meet that they are truly deserving of His love and forgiveness. This is something I, myself have a problem with and will work on over this Lenten Season.

I made a new recipe today and Harvey loved it. This will go in our regular rotation as well.

We were supposed to have roast chicken for supper, but when I went to the freezer ....... none to be found. So I searched through cook books to find a recipe similar to a roast chicken and found this. It enabled me to use up a couple of packages of chicken from the fridge. I did not have any carrots either (my am I getting low in supplies) so I cut up celery and put that in to roast as well.

To my surprise this is a very tasty meal and does taste like roast chicken and stuffing (must be the sage in the recipe).

I will keep the celery in it and add carrots the next time I make it.

Sage Chicken and Potatoes

Cut up chicken weighing about 1 1/2 lbs
3 unpeeled potatoes (I used 4 small ones) cut up into 3/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
1 jar of gravy (I made my own)
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp dried sage leaves (I used ground sage)
1/2 tsp garlic/pepper blend (I used 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp garlic powder).

Spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven at 400 F. In baking dish, arrange chicken potatoes and carrots. In a small bowl mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken and vegetables. Spray some foil to cover the dish (sprayed side down) and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until juices run clear.

The best thing is I have enough leftover from tonight that we will be having another meal sometime in the upcoming week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

End of the Week and Thursday Tid Bits

It seems as if my busyness is keeping me from blogging. I missed my regular Thursday post.

Thought I would share with you all what I have been busy with (something I usually do on Thursdays) and how my monthly goals are progressing.

First off a photo of the light khaki jacket I made.

 This was a very easy pattern to make. There are a very few changes I would make the next time I use it. I do plan on making another darker green khaki jacket very soon (perhaps next month).

I finished the infinity scarf I started to use up some odd balls of yarn.

This should keep me nice and warm during those cold, seemingly endless winters we have been getting lately.

Next, I took that new yarn I bought. The yarn with the material added to it and made this.

Two balls of yarn and only about 1 1/2 hours knitting and I have an extremely fancy scarf!!! Love it.

As far as monthly projects go I have already finished two of the three I planned for this month. The first was to sew two garments, which I have completed. I hope to get 4 more garments done this month. We will see how that goes. I also set as a goal to organize my magazine recipes. Why save the magazine as it just takes up space and makes clutter. That goal has been accomplished as well.

Now the goal I am still working on is the rug. Slowly, slowly it is taking shape and I am darn happy with it so far. I hope by the end of the month to have much more completed on it.

Here is the newest photo.

I will update you on its progress next week.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Mondays

Monday

Mushroom Meatballs, egg noodles and carrots.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork Roast made into a casserole of some kind. I need to find a new recipe to use this up.

Wednesday

I may have a clean out the fridge night. If there is not enough in the way of leftovers I will make Spaghetti and meat sauce.

Thursday

Lazy Cabbage Rolls, and some pickles to go along with.

Friday

Lazy Perogy and a salad.

Saturday

Either the Spaghetti I was going to make on Wednesday or Baked Spaghetti if I did make it.

Sunday

Roast Ham, mashed or scalloped potatoes, and mixed veggies.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today has been a very busy day.

Starting off with Mass and a wonderful homily by Father Brian as usual. He always gives us so much to think about.

Then it was home to a quick lunch and back to the church offices to give a catch up class for RCIA. I also found two more registrations for Dogmatic Theology, looks as if we will be moving to another venue whether I want to or not. This means a bit more work for me, but that is okay. I do hope that everyone gets along with each other during the class though.

Add in to this getting a bit of work done around the house and my day was full. I did not get to do any sewing today, but there is always tomorrow and the next day.

I said I would share a few pictures of my deals from yesterday so here goes.

One of the stores we visited was Micheal's. I just love going there as I find new kinds of yarn every time I go.

The black yarn in the front is a ruffle type yarn. The cool thing is that it has some animal print fabric added to it. I am hoping to get started knitting on this very soon.

The goldy brown yarn and the variegated brown yarn is going to be used in a Christmas gift for this coming year. Kris would like a rug for his living room and that is what it will be used for.

I also found some green and gold ruffle yarn, a cookie scoop, a roll of clear wrap for baskets, and a silicone bunny pan. Everything was bought on sale at a greatly reduced price.

Next I visited Fabricland.

I managed to find some fabric at great deals. Two pieces were at 70% off and the other was at 50% off. The thread for both sewing and my embroidery machine were bought at 30% off and the other items were at 20% off. I could have bought some serger thread at a greatly reduced price but I don't really need any right now.

I am hoping that we can get back to Regina in another 2 months as I would like to find some of the fabric I could not find this month. This time I am going to be looking for more spring and summer type fabrics.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Lots and Lots of Bargains

No pictures tonight, I will share our bargain photos with you tomorrow. Just thought I would let you all know our trip to Regina was a big success!! I managed to get thread, fabric, yarn and other goodies at drastically reduced prices and I love it.

The best part of all was spending time with Kris.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

End Of The Work Week

I did a bit of running around for work today. Not much, but every little bit counts for hours. This did cause me to fall behind in my sewing, so there is no finished jacket to show you. I am hoping to get it done by late on Sunday though.

I have been working on my rug project however and as of tonight this is what it looks like.

Notice I have started to sew the next circle of colour on, and I can see it getting bigger and bigger. Here is hoping that I at least get the cream done this month!!

Tomorrow we head for Regina to do some shopping and visit with our youngest son Kris. It will be nice to stock up on a few items, especially those that are hard to locate here in Estevan.

Everybody have a great evening.

God bless.

Got To Love Spam ..... Not

Just a quick note that I am loving Bloggers spam removal. I miss a few, I think, but it is so great that many are found even before I start to look for them.

Back with what will hopefully be a longer post later this afternoon. Perhaps even a finished or close to finished jacket to show.

Thursday Tid Bits

Since I will be working tonight I did not go into the office today (well at least I hope to be working tonight as the weather is unpredictable to say the least), and spent most of the day working around the house. You can't really tell though as I seem to be flitting from one thing to another.

Yesterday I finished one of the patterns I cut out.

 I finished this rather simple skirt. I have made this pattern so many times I think I could do it with my eyes closed.

Today I started on a light weight khaki green jacket. I hope to get it finished tomorrow. That would mean I met my sewing goal for the month, but considering how many patterns I cut out I am actually hoping to exceed this goal.

I am also getting very close to finishing off organizing the recipes from my stash of magazines. Seems as if things are moving along just too perfectly and something is going to happen to stop me from finishing.

I am working on the cream yarn spool knitting, but something tells me that this might be the only colour I get finished this month. Oh well as long as I keep moving forward I will be happy.

Over the last few days I have learned of the death of two of the students I worked with at St. John's School back in the day (meaning I was way younger back then). One died of a stroke at the age of 30 and the other passed away from cancer at the age of 35. Both way too young to have left the world. My heart goes out to the parents of each of these young men.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

What Was I Thinking Of!!!

Late Sunday I pulled out and set up my cutting table in the sewing/craft room and proceeded to cut out the patterns I had chosen for my goal for this month.

As I was pinning the final pattern I started to look around.....

So many patterns to chose from, some not even opened yet!!!

Then looking further, so much fabric. Drawers and drawers full of lovely colours and types.

I already had the cutting table set up..... I think you know where this is heading.

By the time I was finished cutting I had 6 patterns cut and ready to sew.

Each cut out pattern is in its own bag to keep the pieces together. Once these are done I have more fabric picked out and will start another batch. I think I am feeling guilty about wanting to go fabric and yarn shopping on the weekend. Either that or I am a glutton for punishment.

Today I started a skirt that will hopefully be done by the evening.

All this on top of working on the rug project, knitting an infinity scarf and organizing my recipes. I think I might have a very busy month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 I actually had to rearrange my menu already. It is Ash Wednesday this week, the beginning of the Lenten Season and one of the days we fast from meat in this house. So I hurried and changed my menu to soup and sandwiches. Saved.....

Monday

Pork chops, rice and beets with perhaps a pudding for dessert (providing I can get my butt in gear).

Tuesday

Leftover Roast Beef. Hmmm, what to do as I would like to try something different. I found a recipe for stroganoff that is a bit different so I may try that.

Wednesday

Vegetable soup and egg salad sandwiches.

Thursday

This needs to be quick and easy to clean up so I plan on making hot dogs, oven fries, and a salad.

Friday

Fish fillets, rice, and coleslaw.

Saturday

We will be visiting and shopping in the city so supper will be out.

Sunday

Roast ham, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and carrots.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

The days are flying past and I don't know where they are going. Lent will be upon us in a very few days and then the highlight of Easter!!! Where oh where do the days go. While I am still loving the longer periods in a day of sunshine, I am wondering when spring will arrive in all its glory. Our temperatures over the past week have been horrendous. Cold and more cold, sure hope that changes very soon.

I spent some time in my sewing/craft room today cutting out patterns and plan to cut a few nice skirts out as well. I know I only planned on doing two sewing projects, but I am afraid my ever expanding body needs some new clothes. I am adding some skirts, a dress and another jacket or two to the mix. They are very simple patterns and should take no time to sew as long as I am keeping my mind on what I am doing. This summer I plan on wearing more dresses and skirts as shorts just don't cut it sometimes.

I do wish that my sewing room was slightly bigger, however I will make do with what I have. It sure beats bringing everything to the dining room table!!!

This coming weekend we will be traveling to Regina both to visit Kris and stock up on items we can not find here (like fabric and a good selection of yarn). I am hoping to get some great deals at Fabricland and restock what I have used up over the winter. Not that I really need to stock up, but I would like some new colours and fabric to work with. Perhaps even take up a new craft!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

March Monthly Goals

A new month and some new goals.... Well at least two new goals and a continuation of a goal for this month.

Goal #1

I am going to start organizing my recipes again. This time I am going to go through some of my magazines and copy the recipes that I am likely to try.

 It isn't a large stack of magazines, but they do need to be looked through and then recycled once I have the recipes copied. Decluttering them to the church (my office to kind of make it a bit more homey or perhaps to one of the schools).

Goal # 2

I need to declutter some of the fabric I seem to collect (can not turn down a good deal on fabric, after all it will always be used). I picked two patterns from my stash and some material and plan on getting these two items sewn by the end of the month.

I plan on using up the remaining fabric from a dress pattern to make an unlined jacket to use with the dress. I also have a lovely knit fabric that just screams spring that I am going to make the dress out of. I have a funny feeling there will be a bit of knit fabric left to use in another project later.

Goal # 3

This is the continuing project. Hopefully it will be done in time to start the continuing cross stitch projects.

 As all of you know I am working on a rug for my dining room. These are the next two balls of leftover yarn that I hope to get used on the project this month. I managed to finish the sage green ball today and add the cream, so things are moving along.

Now don't let this picture of what seems like a beautiful, sunny day fool you. Yes it is sunny, but it is not beautiful. We are under a severe wind chill advisory right now. The temperature when this photo was taken this morning was -33 C with a wind chill that made it feel like -55 C. Not nice out at all. Just what us prairie dwellers want, temperatures that can freeze flesh within 10 minutes.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.