Monthly Update, The Last Day Of The Year

Here it is the final day of 2015. It seems to have crept up on me so very quickly.

This year I went with monthly goals instead of yearly goals which are always so hard for me to achieve. My achievement of the monthly goals on the other hand went wonderfully well. I have decided to continue doing this, even if I fall behind I usually manage to get the goal completed the next month.

So here is my monthly update for December.

1.   Get the tree up and decorated.  Done

2.   Make a quilt for the ladies gift for our family party.  Done

3.   Get the Christmas baking done.  Done

4.   Cut out sewing patterns.  Done

5.   Continue decluttering project.  Done

6.   Make up my monthly calendars and daily to do list pages.  Done

7.   Work on embroidery.  Done

8.   Start some of those unfinished sewing projects.  I have started this, just today. I did manage to finish a skirt.

9.  Get the gifts wrapped.  Done

10.  Try for 18 no spend days.  Done and I actually made 19 days of no spending.

11.  Knit a sweater for me to wear for our family Christmas party. Not done, but just a few more days should see this task completed. I have added it to next months goals.

By the end of the month I had actually removed 755 items from my home. I sure plan on continuing this next year. I did more then the 500 I had hoped to remove. Now I just have to think of how much I want to remove next year.

I will post my new goals tomorrow.

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

All Gone

Everyone has left now, Kurt a few days ago and Kris at around noon today. Sure seems quiet around the old homestead now. I think that I had gotten used to cooking and cleaning for a crowd, and now that we are back to normal things could be a bit confusing for awhile.

Thought I would post a few pictures from the last few days.

Kris, relaxing upstairs on Christmas Eve.

Harvey, during the day on Christmas Eve looking over some woodworking books and soaking labels off wine bottles.

Kurt, with the usual happy expression on his face when having a picture taken. Like me he would prefer to not have his picture taken.

My gifts this year. I got everything I asked for and more. Kurt got me the mini pie maker for Christmas and the cupcake maker for my birthday. Kris got me the lovely stock pot for Christmas and the android tv box for my birthday.

Kurt and Kris loved their handmade gifts and started to use their quilts almost immediately.

A picture of all the Phillips boys at our Christmas gathering.

Two of Harvey's five sisters were here as well.

They decided we needed to take a picture of the in laws with the sisters...... Like Kurt I would much rather have been the picture taker.

Our youngest family member with her Grandma. Brea was such a good baby, smiling at everyone and not making strange at all.

So another family Christmas finished with and kind of looking forward to the next (as long as I can stay out of the pictures).

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

The house is fairly quiet once again, and I am even managing to get on to the blog. Yippee!!!

As usual my menus are subject to switching around, which will more than likely happen a great deal the next week or so. I find it very hard to either cook enough or I cook too much when Kurt and Kris are home. When both are home...whoa, do I go to town.

Monday

Leftover appetizers (so many of them from the family get together). They need gone from my freezer, so we will be having a mixture of sausage rolls, spring rolls, samosas, mozzarella sticks, cheese and crackers, and whatever else needs out of there.

Tuesday

My birthday, so hopefully ordering in or heading out for dinner.

Wednesday

Leftover Stew and perhaps some dumplings.

Thursday

Either a clean out the fridge night or leftover turkey soup.

Friday

Salmon cakes, rice and peas and carrots.

Saturday

Porkchops, leftover rice, and corn.

Sunday

Roast Ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

I will not be shopping for food this week (well perhaps some milk and cream) so hopefully will be well under budget for this month. Trying to see where we can cut and where we need to add to the budget. Could be fun next year as fixed expenses are rising but what we bring in is staying the same. This could take some creative reworking of the budget.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Shhhh.....

All is quiet here this morning, nothing is moving,well except for myself and the cat who has crawled back into her little tent for a few more minutes of sleep. There are no cars moving either!!!

Today Harvey's family descends in earnest upon us. I am a bit worried about a couple of items. One that no one has said what they are bringing to share and two Harv's family is very conservative in nature. Some of the younger generation have become more Liberal or even NDP in thinking, me well I teeter between those two and everybody knows that.

Sure hope that politics does not enter any discussions today.

Now that I have vented a small amount, off to get ready for the day.

Everybody have a wonderful Christmas celebration.

God bless.

Christmas Wishes

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas. May the peace and joy of the season be with you all.

God bless.

Three More Days

It is hard to believe that Christmas is only three days away. I am at a point in my knitting where I realize that unless I stay awake for a full 24 hours it is just not going to be finished. Perhaps in time for New Years!

The snow has been coming down for most of the day and I am loving the wonderful white coat that the outside is wearing. Pretty sure though that some of the family is not liking this weather at all. Roads are not nice to drive on, especially after the bit of a melt we had yesterday.

On my early morning walk I actually slipped!! No injury, but it woke me up to the fact that I have to be a bit more careful. I am not telling Harvey as he would be upset and want me to use the treadmill instead. That can wait for those really cold days we are sure to receive later this winter.

Kurt and Kris have gone to watch Star Wars and the house seems very quiet. Kurt will be leaving on the 27th to visit friends for a week, Kris will be staying a bit longer. I guess I should be glad that they still love to come home and spend time with the parental units, but I do miss them terribly when they are both gone.

We got our third Christmas card today. I am beginning to wonder if the expense of sending cards is worth it. Perhaps this is just an off year and more cards will be arriving in the next couple of days. I do love keeping in touch, but Facebook seems to have taken over in that area. I think perhaps one more year and then I will just send ecards like everyone else.

Slowly but surely the house is being cleaned for the influx of company. I am hoping to get most of it finished tomorrow and just have a few touch ups on Christmas Day. Thank heavens for tall sons that can reach those corners that I can no longer manage. I am afraid the day is past for me to climb on the top of the fridge to clean the far corner of the top. My arms just are not long enough to reach that one small spot and I am certain if any of the men in my life came upstairs to see me sitting on top would be sure to give me what for. I am not even positive that once up I could make my way down. It's not easy for me to realize that I can no longer do things I found very easy to do even a couple of years ago. Aging is not for the faint of heart!!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I had a bit of a change in last weeks menu. I just switched today's meal with that day.

Monday

Bacon Wrapped Fillets, baked potatoes, coleslaw and green beans.

Tuesday

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots. Perhaps the leftover slaw.

Wednesday

Leftover pork roast (stir fry), and rice.

Thursday

Slow Cooker Beef Stew, and fresh bread.

Friday

Lasagna, and garlic bread.

Saturday

Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberries, stuffing, salad, and gravy.

Sunday

Leftover Turkey made into hot sandwiches, served with homemade fries and the leftover salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Are They Really Lost?

I have been reading on a few blogs how all the old ways to save money are slowly being eroded. Fewer, and fewer people are following the old ways. For some reason the phrase "old ways" does not sit well with me. I think I would rather call them the thrifty or frugal ways of our parents and grandparents.

Cooking from scratch being one that is mentioned often. While I don't grind my own flour, or mill my own sugar cane I do cook from scratch almost every single day. I have even started to make my own bread, using a bread machine of course (bit lazy when it comes to kneading). I would really like to make my own pasta and that is something I am going to look into next year.

The fact is most of the people I know do cook from scratch for the most part. We all get help with things like pasta, crackers, and pudding mixes from time to time, but really the people I talk to find mixes to be extremely expensive and some of them don't taste the best.

I have noticed on the other hand fewer, and fewer people planting gardens. Yes they can be a great deal of work, but fresh food is beyond compare. Even if it is just a few tomato plants in containers money is saved. Kurt and Kris both use container gardening and pick plenty of tomatoes, peppers, and even lettuce during the growing season. I have been trying to convince them to grow a cucumber plant or two as well.

Over the years our garden has not only given us great satisfaction, but saved us money over the summer and well into the winter.

Preserving the bounty from our gardens can take many forms. Canning, jam making, freezing and dehydrating to name just a few. I learned how to do many of these from my mother. She in turn learned from her mother and trial and error (especially the freezing). I don't like to waste and so all my garden produce is either frozen, canned or dehydrated for use in the winter. Any fruit that I am lucky enough to get I make into jam or pie filling.

My sister, on the other hand, does not garden and often tells me that preserving food is a waste of time and effort. Hmmm, and she is the one married to a farmer.

I have always mended our clothing. Putting in a new zipper, sewing on a button or two, darning socks, patching pants, redoing a hem, and fixing a seam are second nature to me. Extending the life of our clothing was something that came in very handy during Harvey's job loss when we were first married. I continue to do so each and every week.

Sewing your own clothing can be a bit more expensive than buying the inexpensive items in say Walmart or Target, but the quality can not be beat. I know of very few people that sew their own clothing any longer. I usually save money doing so by using the pattern over and over again, buying the fabric on sale, and refashioning clothing items I already own.

So do you think these thrifty, frugal ways are lost? Or is there a whole new generation just waiting to learn frugality?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Overall, this has not been a frugal week as far as spending goes. However a few frugal endeavors did take place.

Along with the regular frugal habits I have tried my best to add a few new ones.

Many of our meals were leftovers from other meals on previous days. This not only saved me having to cook, but cleaned out the fridge as well.

I managed to get all the scrap material cut into usable quilt squares, and the remainder of the pieces either put in bags to use for stuffing or smaller yet quilt squares. Some did get thrown out, mind you into the recycle bin.....

I managed to get a walk in every day. However this morning Harvey gave me a bit of grief. You see when I walk it is still dark out, and he is a bit afraid of me getting hit by a car. His response to my telling him I walk on the sidewalks and very carefully check for on coming traffic when crossing the road is not one I would repeat. Since I won't change the time of my walk he decided to buy me this.

Yep, I will be walking in the morning with a bright yellow toque. It is better than the reflective vest he said he was going to buy. Better yet, he purchased it with his pocket money.

I cut out some patterns to sew and replace articles that I had to remove from my wardrobe due to shrinkage. I refuse to say that I grew in ways that no one wants to grow.

Made a shopping list and stuck to it.

Reading free or very inexpensive books picked up at yard and rummage sales.

So while spending I still managed to save a little bit.

Kurt (our oldest) messaged me on Facebook and said he probably would not make it home tomorrow as all the sweets and cookies his students have brought him have caused him a few umm problems. He figures it might be safer to drive the 9 hours on Sunday. So I will be putting off our first family meal of the Christmas season until Monday when both of the boys are home.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Month Update.... Just A Bit Late

I am a bit late with my mid month update.

1.   Get the tree up and decorated.  Done

2.   Make a quilt for the ladies gift for our family party.   Done

3.   Get the Christmas baking done.   Done

4.   Cut out sewing patterns.   Done

5.   Continue decluttering project.   Working on this continually.

6.   Make up my monthly calendars and daily to do list pages.   Done.

7.   Work on embroidery.   Put aside until the sweater is finished.

8.   Start some of those unfinished sewing projects.   These will be started after Christmas (I hope).

9.  Get the gifts wrapped.   Done

10.  Try for 18 no spend days.   Working on it. I am at 9 no spend days, today would be 10.

11.  Knit a sweater for me to wear for our family Christmas party.   Working on this every night even if only for an hour or so.

So things are slowly being completed, and hopefully a few more will be completed by the time the end of the month rolls around.

I have added another 27 items to the pile of items that have left or are leaving the house. Getting very close to that 750 mark.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.
 

Small Steps

Today after shopping I spent some time cleaning sewing machines and storage containers. Everything is nicely dusted now.....

I also took that scrap material off the top of the storage containers and started cutting that material into quilting squares.

I still have many more to do, but things are gradually looking much better. At least I have room to work which is a very good thing.

I also pulled out the Caramel Slice.

I am going to slice this up tonight and put it into containers.

I feel a bit down as I talked to Kris tonight and he will not be coming home until Monday. I can understand as he wants to clean up his apartment a bit before he comes home for two weeks, but I was so looking forward to both boys being home at the same time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday And A Tidy

Today was a mending and cleaning (or should I say straightening) day.

I tackled that small mountain of socks to be darned. Cha ching...... Money saved as now I don't have to shop for socks.

I even managed to get the underwire in one of my favorite bras back into its pocket and sewn to hold it in place. I can get some more wear out of it now. Those things are expensive and finding something that fits and feels great is tough.

We went to our Financial Planner today and managed to get some of my small RRSP's combined. The interest rate is the pits, but at least with the combination there will be a tiny bit more. We will have to go back in April, as more are coming due (as well as some GIC's) and I hope we can do the same thing.

Supper tonight was once again leftovers. The few ribs and bit of rice left has been packaged up and put in the fridge for Harvey's lunch tomorrow.

I got a text from Kris a bit ago and it seems that I did not break Harvey's cell phone beyond repair. Kris took it to a place in Regina and had the screen replaced (I cracked it badly when I fell a couple of months ago). He says it works like a charm now. We paid nothing for the phone (it was Kris's old one) and the replacement screen was pennies when compared to buying a new Blackberry. Cha ching, more money saved.

I spent much of the afternoon working in the sewing/craft room.

Harvey got the extra support onto one of the cabinets so my serger is back up and ready to use.

Please excuse the blurry picture. With the extra support the leaf is not bending and I will be able to use both these machines. Tomorrow I will be cleaning up my Mom's old machine and getting it threaded to use.

I still have a bit of cleaning up to do around the other two machines. That will be done tomorrow after a bit of shopping and baking.

The tops of my storage containers have been cleared off. Now the scrap material is easily found and later this week will be cut into usable quilt squares.

The fabric and yarn that the storage drawers contain have been gone through. The fabric has been folded, and the yarn put into like groups to be used in other knitting projects.

All of my craft books have been gathered together and placed in this bookcase. Now I can find them a bit easier. I do think there are a couple more I need to locate.

There is still more to do, but those baby steps are certainly working right now. Keeping me out of trouble and out of the stores.

Hope to have some more pictures of the room tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Well, this weeks menu has changed from when I made it up at the end of last month.

Monday

Leftover Lazy Perogies.

Tuesday

Leftover Sweet and Sour Ribs, rice and brussel sprouts.

Wednesday

Left over spaghetti and meat sauce, served with coleslaw.

Thursday

Chili (container from the freezer) and toast.

Friday

Fish Fillets, home made fries and coleslaw.

Saturday

Our sons will be home so we will celebrate being together with Bacon Wrapped Fillets, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots.

Sunday

Pork Roast, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and hopefully some more coleslaw.

This should clean out the fridge nicely, all will be ready for more leftovers  the coming week.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

The temperature rose today to above freezing. This has made our roads sloppy and by the morning after the nights freeze will make them sheer ice tomorrow. I am glad that there is no where I have to be.

It is the Third Sunday of Advent and our time of preparation and waiting is almost finished. While this is not the most important time in our faiths year, I feel the same happiness and joy that I do at Easter. A baby!!! God on earth as a human man, come to save us and give us eternal life. What could be more wonderful?

Blogger is not allowing me to upload pictures right now. So until it does......

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

It is still snowing so I pulled out my boots for my walk today. The temperature is decent, and there is no wind so my walk was just lovely.

I did a bit more baking today.

Cinnamon buns for breakfasts over the holidays. Of course Harvey and I had to have a taste before I packed them up to put in the freezer. I will be making one more batch once I have more bread flour.

I then spent a bit more time cleaning up the sewing/craft room.

I finally opened up Mom's machine. It needs to be cleaned up but soon enough it will be available to use.

Harvey is going to add some support to the side of the machine and I will be able to put the serger up there as well. I have been using it much more the past while and like to keep it out and ready to use.

My quilting machine and my embroidery machine are set up and ready to go at a moments notice. I even have some quilt blocks ready to finish up and sew together once the rest of the room is cleaned up.

Hopefully more pictures tomorrow on the remaining organization of this room. I also have two more machines that I need to get set up and ready to use. I know, I know, I have too many sewing machines, but if one breaks down I have a replacement to use while the other is being fixed. After all one never knows when the sewing bug will hit. So much to do and so little time!!!!

There is one more item I would love to have in here and that is a laptop. I would have access to more embroidery patterns and even more fun using them. Oh well, perhaps in a few years.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Overall this has been a fairly frugal week overall.

I have done many of the same frugal things that I usually do as habit.

Used up all the extra food in the fridge, eating leftovers for lunch and making new meals out of other leftovers.

Cut out 7 sewing patterns to use up fabric from my stash and to replace items donated in my wardrobe.

Going for my frugal exercise of a walk every day.

Reading free books on my ereader instead of buying a book.

Getting free recipes on line to try.

Only washing dishes once on three days to save on the water bill.

There is a list of questions making the round in blogland and I think I will take part this time.

 1) Do you eat blue cheese?

      Love Blue Cheese and eat it whenever I get the chance.

2)  Have you ever smoked?

     Yes, but quit about 8 years ago.

3)  Do you own a gun?  

     No, and I will not allow a firearm in my house.

4)  What flavor of Kool Aid is your favorite? 

      Not my cup of tea any longer. Drank it when I was a child.

5)  Do you get nervous before dental appointments?

     Yes. I hate the dentist, but do go.

6)  What do you think of hot dogs?

      I like hotdogs, especially off the BBQ or cooked over and open fire.

7)  What's your favorite Christmas movie?

      It's A Wonderful Life. I cry every time I watch it. 

8)  What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

      Coffee.

9)  Can you do push-ups?

      Nope, and I don't care to start doing them.

10)  What's your favorite piece of jewelry?

        All my jewelry is precious to me, but especially my wedding band.

11)  What's your favorite hobby?

        Hmmm, I don't have just one favorite, it would be really difficult to chose. I guess fiber arts.

12)  Do you have A.D.D.?

       No, but I do have a bit of OCD.

13)  Do you wear glasses or contacts?

        Glasses, but I just got actual glasses instead of readers a year ago.

14)  What's your middle name?

        Lou

15)  What are your thoughts at this moment?

        I have had a wonderful day, but I am wondering if our youngest son is ignoring my texts or is      feeling depressed once again.

16)  Name 3 drinks you regularly consume. 

       Coffee, tea, and milk.

17)  What is a current worry of yours?

        The economy of my country and whether or not both our sons will be able to weather the storm   ahead.

18)  What do you currently hate?

        Hate is a very strong word, there might be things I dislike, but nothing I really hate.

19)  Where is your favorite place to be?

        My favorite place to be is home with my family.

20)  What do you plan on doing on New Year's Eve this year?

        We plan to be safe at home celebrating the beginning of another year.

21)  To where would you like to travel?

        I would like to travel to Greece and Italy.

22)  Name three people you think will do this questionnaire on their

        blog.

        I have no idea. I do hope it continues though.

       

23)  Do you own slippers?

       Yes, but perhaps the better question would be do I wear them.

24)  What color shirt are you wearing?

        Actually the only time I wear a shirt is in the spring or when I am going out. Right now I am wearing a blue sweater.

25)  Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?  
       Never slept on them so can't answer this one.

       

26)  Can you whistle?

       No. 

27)  What is your favorite colour? 

       My favorite colour is black.

28)  What songs do you sing in the shower?

        The only place I sing is church.

29)  Would you be a pirate?

        No, cause they didn't bathe often.

30)  What's in your pocket right now?

        I don't have pockets right now.

31)  What's the last thing that made you laugh?

        Harvey teasing me at supper tonight.

32)  What vehicle do you drive?

       A GMC Denali Terraine.

       

33)  What's the worst injury you've ever had?

        Broke my wrist playing softball when I was 40 years old. My first and only broken bone.

34)  Do you love where you live?

       Of course, but I would love any place that Harvey and I lived.

35)  Would you change your first name if you could?

        Not a chance, it suits me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

       

Thursday Tid Bits

I took a break from Christmas baking today to go shopping as well as get a couple of other projects underway.

I had piles of fabric stacked on top of the plastic storage drawers I use for some of my yarn and fabric stashes and decided I needed to do something about it.

So after shopping and bill paying I began another one of my goals for this month.

Out came the scissors and pins. I cut out 6 patterns and placed them in a fabric container. As soon as Christmas is over I will be starting to sew them up.

I still have this selection of fabric to choose patterns for and cut out.

I hope to have another day where I can get these ready to go as well.

Please excuse the blurry pictures, my tablet camera seems to be acting up in a very strange manner.

Back to baking tomorrow, and back to knitting right now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Ahhh, The Smells Of Christmas

I am in the holiday baking mood once more.

The caramels are cut and wrapped. The Bavarian Mints are cut and packaged. Both these packages are now in the freezer away from Harvey's wandering fingers.

English Shortbread, Whipped Shortbread Cookies and Surprise Toffee packaged and put away for when Kurt and Kris get home.

Tomorrow I will have a bit of a break from baking and do my weekly shopping and biweekly bill paying trip. I should also be able to cut out two more sewing patterns, and get a bit of decorating done upstairs. Baking will start up again on Friday when I hope to get some more cookies made as well as some squares.

Slowly but surely getting things ready for Christmas.

The tree is set up in the basement and twinkles every night for Harvey's enjoyment.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

The Collins Canadian Dictionary defines thrift as: economical management; the habit of saving.

Harvey and I have not always had a habit of saving, and I have not always economically managed the household funds to the best of our advantage.

It took Harvey being laid off of work for almost a year and trying to live on unemployment for the light bulb to go off.

Ever since that time I have purposefully watched what we have spent, taking the time to price things out to get the most bang for our buck.

Over the years since then we managed to pay off our house in 12 years rather than 25, and pay cash for each of our vehicles. It has also enabled us to pay off our credit card in full each and every month. Now I know some of you are shuddering over the credit card thing, but we do get money back each and every year. In fact with my credit card I buy groceries and since I buy them from the Coop that I am a member of we get twice the money back. This enables me to actually get probably close to a months free groceries every year.

I always save all the change from my wallet every two weeks, and any cash that is left from my biweekly spending money gets stashed away as well.

Old clothing is donated if it is in good shape, if not, zippers, and buttons are removed (they can be used over on other items) and the clothing is cut apart either into rags for cleaning or into usable quilting materials or patches for other clothing.

When I make meals leftovers are saved and used for another meal. If the food isn't frozen (such as leftover roasts, leftover chicken, turkey or ham), it is stored in air tight containers and used within a few days. It is amazing how many wonderful meals a person can get from a Sunday dinner (always our big meal of the week) and then the carcass of a chicken (or two), or a turkey can make lovely stock and still more meals.

Rather then buying lots of tupperware or expensive plastic containers I have been know to collect ice cream containers, soft margarine containers, yogurt containers and the like specifically for storing all those lovely leftover in the freezer.

Through saving and thrift we are having a wonderful retirement with enough to see us through and even take a trip or two every year. Perhaps not big trips, but nice relaxing holidays.

It has even enabled us to help Kurt and Kris.

Will we continue to be thrifty? Of course, it has become a habit now and one the two of us enjoy immensely.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Monday

Chicken breasts served with rice and green beans. Not sure how I am going to cook the breasts, but I hope to figure out or find a new recipe to try.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef, made into a type of hash.

Wednesday

The container of Turkey Soup from the freezer, along with Grilled Cheese sandwiches.

Thursday

Leftover hash.

Friday

Lazy Perogy casserole.

Saturday

Sweet and sour ribs, rice and peas.

Sunday

Roast Chicken, roasted potatoes and carrots. Serving with a tossed salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today Father Brian spoke about preparing the way. One of the ways he spoke about was Reconciliation. This is something that I need to really think about and make time to do. As a convert to the Catholic faith it is the one Sacrament that I have a problem with. Father Brian says it is supposed to make a person feel more at peace, while I feel as if I am the worst person on earth whenever I take part. I need to pray about this Sacrament more, and realize I am not being judged and found wanting.

This was the start of my Christmas preparations. I started my candy making today and hope to finish it tomorrow.

Today saw me making......

Almond Bark.

and Peanut brittle.

I hope to make much more tomorrow between my regular household chores (laundry being the biggie).

Last night I pulled out the ham bones I have been saving in the freezer and made Pea Soup

It was scrumptious and served with egg salad sandwiches more than filled us both up. I even managed to put a container in the freezer for a meal later on when things might be a bit hectic.

And here is the ladies gift for our Christmas day exchange. Turned out not too badly really, considering that I used mostly fabric scraps that I had made into 2" strips. I was going to try something a bit different but with time being at a premium, went with the straight strips instead.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Hmmm, Frugal Friday is here once again.

This week we processed and froze sandwich meat and bacon for our future use.

I continued to use up items in the fridge freezer to make room for Christmas baking and more leftovers.

Instead of running out to buy a new top to wear at our family get together on Christmas day I found a free knitting pattern on line and the yarn in my stash to make a new top.

Made my ladies draw gift for our Christmas get together. I used up 2" strips from my stash, some backing I had in my stash also. The only purchase I made was some batting. Nice change from running out and buying something.

Went for my daily walks each and every morning.

Watching British TV series on Netflix.

Baked bread.

Used up leftovers in the fridge.

Hung up three loads of laundry in the basement once again.

Not a bad week at all.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

Quiet day around here again.

I spent most of the morning shopping for those bits we did not pick up while in Regina on Saturday. My cupboards are now filled and we should be good until I need to pick things up for when Kurt and Kris arrive as well as when we have our Christmas party with the family.

The afternoon was spent working on the quilt top. I am hoping to finish it off tomorrow, or at least get to the point where I can begin quilting.

Harvey set the tree up in the basement "man cave" and I hope to get it decorated in the afternoon. At least I hope to. Seems as if everything is needed to be done at the same time. Oh well, I will keep plugging away and things will soon be completed.

We are now up to 24 people here on Christmas day..... Help!!! I am pretty sure we don't have enough seating for everyone. Perhaps buying a few more folding chairs is in our future.

I hung up our first Christmas ornament.

This Jingle Bell Wreath. It was made by a blogging friends grandson and he did a wonderful job. I love it.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Processing And Freezing

When Harvey and I went into Regina we stopped by The Great Canadian Wholesale Club after our stop in Costco.

This is where we buy sandwich meat much like what you would buy in a deli (I am sure they get the sandwich meat from the same place).

We bring it home and using our meat slicer, slice each chub and package the meat for the freezer. The number of slices in each package numbers or in some cases weighs the same as what we would buy at our local groceries deli.

Yesterday we spent a couple of hours getting this done and placed in the freezer.

Here is the sliced roast beef and chicken breast packaged and ready to put in the freezer.

This is the pile of Summer sausage ready to freeze.

And lastly the Salami, which I seem not to have gotten a picture of.

The total cost of the meat was around $80.00. The cost to buy the sliced meat according to the number of packages we ended up with would have been closer to $185.00. So an overall savings of just over $100.00. A great deal all told and we will have sandwich meat for a very long time. I will be looking for an on sale ham that we can slice up and add to the mix.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.