Thrifty Tuesdays and Update on Months Goals

Perhaps the thriftiest thing I did today was not leave the house except for a couple of very frugal walks for exercise. This means I did not spend anything at all. Every month I set a number for the days I will try not to spend anything. This month I set 20 no spend days as my goal and I am happy to announce that I actually made 23 days without spending. Very, very, thrifty!

When we went on our stock up trip I mentioned buying sandwich meat in large rolls. Sunday and Monday were spent slicing and packaging it up for future use.

This is the summer sausage sliced and packaged.

Here is the ham, sliced and packaged for the freezer.

The roast chicken breast was next to be sliced and made ready.

I don't have photos of the bacon and the salami, but we got 6 1 lb packages of bacon and 6 packages of salami.

Total cost to buy everything was $100.00 and by slicing it all we managed to get what would have cost us over $300.00 at a grocery store presliced and packaged!! We saved over $200.00 and have sandwich meat and bacon to last us months. All it took was a bit of time.

Now an update on my goals for this month. I am sorry to say that I did not do as well as usual.

1.   Continue with the cross stitch dragon.  I have been working on this and can see the end in sight. It isn't done yet but getting very close.

2.   Work on using up those odds and ends of yarn.  I have put this aside for now as I need to get working on some other projects, but I did manage to get a few of those odd ball pieces used up

3.   Declutter the house.   I managed to keep on doing this as I spring cleaned rooms and will update you all on "Project Declutter" tomorrow.

4.   Scan pictures and burn DVD's.   I am getting these done as fast as I possibly can. I do believe that this will be another ongoing goal for the year. I am about 1/3 done and getting much faster. Hoping for only another month or two on this project.

5.   Start bedding plants.   I did get this goal completed. I have started my Moonflowers, some more ivy and some tomatoes.

So I did manage a few things but not as much as I would like to have gotten done.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Menu Monday

Another lovely week is here. The sun is shining and very soon if this keeps up we will get to use the BBQ for grilling more often.

Here are this weeks menus. Remember I can and do move them around often.

Monday

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, crusty buns, and perhaps some pudding for dessert.

Tuesday

Leftover Roast Beef from Sunday. I think Roast Beef Sandwiches (can use up the leftover gravy that way) coleslaw, fries, and the leftover pudding for dessert.

Wednesday

I work today so once home I will be using up the leftovers from Monday and making Baked Spaghetti.

Thursday

Steak in Mushroom Sauce, mashed potatoes, and the remaining coleslaw if I haven't used it up. If the coleslaw is gone I will make green beans.

Friday

Some of the cod we bought on our stock up trip, along with fries and a salad of some sort.

Saturday

Our big Easter meal as youngest DS will be heading back home tomorrow. We will be having Ham, Potato Salad, carrots, pickles, cheese, and probably a cake and ice cream for dessert.

Sunday

Leftovers from our meal last night or if they are eaten at lunch perhaps something lighter like soup and sandwiches.

So there you have it. What we plan on eating for the next week.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

It is Palm Sunday and the Passion was read in church today. I was narrator for the first time and by the end of the Passion my knees were shaking. I was so worried that I missed a page and made a fool of myself, something that I should not have worried about as I was helped by the Spirit. Makes one realize that everything is in God's hands.

Reading the Passion also enabled me to enter into the story in a way I never have before. Christ gave up his life so that we could have life. He opened our way to God by tearing the veil to the Holy of Holy's in the temple. This was the main thought behind Mark's Passion story. It enables us to have a direct contact with our Lord.

The rest of my day was spent scanning pictures, processing the meat from our stock up trip (putting things in meal sized packages, slicing the sandwich meat) and just enjoying this perfect spring day.

Thought I would share a few of my stock ups with you all.

I went to Micheal's and bought sale yarn. Not like I don't have enough to start up a small store of my own.

As I said all the yarn I bought was on sale. I also purchased some embroidery thread that I was close to running out of. The round cake pan was not on sale, but I have the largest round pan and thought buying another round pan could make me think about making a tiered cake. I am hoping to do that for Harvey's birthday this year. Kind of a family celebration as he turns 65.

I also made a stop at Fabricland.

Once again everything I bought was on sale using my Customer Card. I picked up a lovely patterned knit to make a skirt with, some stretch denim that I am thinking of making a skirt with (I could use a denim skirt) and a burnt orange to use in a quilt.

I also picked up some more sewing machine needles. One never knows when they will come in handy.

The spools of thread are embroidery thread for my embroidery machine. I am trying to build up a good selection to use in projects.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

The snow is disappearing and the temperature is climbing. So far our trip to Regina is still on. That is unless another storm system happens to move through the southern half of the province.

I have been trying to get more work done around the house to make up for the fact we will be gone most of Saturday. The sewing/craft room is slowly taking shape once again and very soon I will be back in there working on my various projects. Until that happens, I am busy knitting dish cloths. Mindless knitting that I will take to the Family Reunion this summer. The ones I made last year were snapped right up!

The plants are slowly but surely appearing. You can't really see the tomatoes in the brown peat containers, but they have started to come up as well. I can hardly wait to be out in the fresh air putting the Moonflowers into their pots and I know Harvey is looking forward to getting into the garden once again.

I used my Actifry to make supper tonight. This recipe needs a bit of tweeking, but it was filling and did not take long to make which is a big plus in my books.

Another plus was that it only took 1 whole chicken breast!! Really quite frugal, however next time instead of the tomato based sauce I am going to try more of an Oriental based sauce.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

I have a Rhubarb Bread recipe to share with all of you today. I pulled my last loaf out of the freezer and thought to myself that this would be perfect for this time of year. Rhubarb should be one of the first things harvested from gardens here in Canada.

Avondale Rhubarb Bread

2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups diced rhubarb (I usually just thinly slice mine)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (I leave these out sometimes)
1 cup oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 loaf pans. Combine dry ingredients. Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy and smooth. Stir in dry ingredients all at once, just until moistened. Stir in rhubarb and nuts. Spoon into pans. Bake 55 - 65 minutes. Cool 10 mins. Turn out of pans and cool completely.

Enjoy!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Today I woke up to this.....

Heavy, wet snow. It seems that winter has not quite left us, but this does make being frugal and thrifty much easier as I am not tempted to venture outdoors, or drive any where. The snow is continuing which means tomorrow will be no better.

Today, Harvey got the first coat of paint on our bedroom walls, and should be finished painting tomorrow. The drapes were taken down washed and hung on lines in the basement. Pictures and light fixtures are ready to be cleaned and put back up once the second coat of paint dries. I plan on doing those early tomorrow morning. This means I can cross off another room being spring cleaned.

I also worked on getting the sewing/craft room straightened out.

Earlier this week (like yesterday) I cut strips and fabric squares to use in my quilts. The fabric all came from either scraps left from other projects, or some old sheets that were no longer fitting our bed.

Lots of fabric to play around with and make a couple of quilts to perhaps use at the Family Reunion Silent Auction this summer. I need to get sewing very soon.

I also packaged up some fabric to start some more sewing projects.

This will make it much easier for me to grab a project and get started. The first one I will work on is the red jacket. It has been cut out for months now and I need to get it done!!!

I even found a couple of items to add to the donation bag. I hope to add more tomorrow when I got through my craft magazines.

Meals have been simple and I am using up items in the freezer, fridge and cupboard. I want to do a stock up trip this weekend so things will be used up as much as possible. No shopping until then!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Still fairly cold, dark and damp here so the meals reflect that.

Monday

Leftover Pizza from Saturday.

Tuesday

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and the remaining asparagus.

Wednesday

Leftover meatloaf, leftover rice, and leftover corn from Sunday.

Thursday

A recipe made in the ActiFry using chicken breasts.

Friday

Pancakes or gone to Regina and will be eating out.

Saturday

Pancakes or gone to Regina and will be eating out.

Sunday

Roast Chicken (missed making this last Sunday), roast potatoes, roast carrots.

Lunches will be leftovers or sandwiches.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Another quiet day around the old homestead. I managed to recycle the sheets into usable 2" strips, visited a friend for coffee, and even squeezed in a bit of cross stitch.

Mass, was interesting to say the least. Father Brian based his homily on dying to this life and becoming resurrected to new life in Christ. He spoke about how one should do something because it is right and good, kind of like parents who will look after their sick child with no complaints. Or who sacrifice so that their child can participate in sports, or dress well, or join in school activities. A parent does so with no thought as to what they are giving up, they just want the best for their child. He then went on to say it worked the same way in a parish, that change brings about a new vitalization, a new way of doing things and we must all work towards that. He also said the way things are always or have always been done is not always the best and one should be open to and accepting of drastic changes.

Is it going to be out with the old and in with the new? I don't know and I am a bit scared when considering these "drastic" changes.

Hopefully they will not totally discard all us "old" members and totally rely on "new blood" cause I don't see people coming out of the woodwork to take on positions.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Simple Pleasures

I know that this is the day I usually update everyone on my ongoing projects, but this week my projects do not seem to be moving along at the usual pace. It could be because I have been busy cleaning the house.

That's okay as today was filled with simple things. Things that give me pleasure and add to a simpler lifestyle.

Putting fresh sheets on the bed, drinking a lovely cup of coffee, taking a walk in the afternoon, recycling fabric into usable quilt squares and strips, getting more fabric prepared for making more 2" wide strips for quilting, knitting and playing on the computer. Just the kind of day a person needs every once in awhile to prepare themselves for the rush to a family holiday.

That is not to say I am not working on all those ongoing projects, rather that I am taking the time necessary to be ready to tackle them with greater regularity in the coming weeks. I hope to have some finished or almost finished projects to share with you all next week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Frugalities

Ahh, the end of the work week, not that it matters much on the old homestead. Still for most people the weekend looms with all its many possibilities.

It has been a frugal week here, we have managed to use up many leftovers and my cooking overall has been extremely frugal. I have used what is available in my cupboards, freezers and fridge. It is amazing what a person can come up with in regards to making meals that are filling, healthy and hearty out of what is available.

I have been busy this week straightening and cleaning my sewing/craft room. Slowly but surely it is coming back together. Yesterday I gathered up partial balls and single skeins of yarn and got them wound and put into storage.

Today I gathered up all my scraps of leftover fabric from various projects (why do I wait so long) and started cutting them into quilting squares or making fabric strips. I always promise to keep up with this, but somehow never do and end up having to spend hours getting things prepared.

So far this is what I managed to get done this afternoon. The black and blue fabric on the left is a knit and will be used when I fashion a rug sometime in the future. I still have a great deal more to get through and I am hoping to be finished it all by Sunday afternoon.

I made some new rags out of old nighties and saved the buttons from said nighties to be used in other projects.

While out shopping today I came across this winter coat on sale.

The winter coat I have been wearing for the past 6 years was starting to loose its down filling. Little feathers keep peeking out, and plucking them does not seem to help. I have had my eye on this coat for awhile now and just had to buy it at the price that it was on sale for today.

Regularly it was priced at $79.00 and it was on sale for $19.00. A brand new winter coat for under $20.00 was not to be passed by.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

Drawing close to the end of the week, a rather nice week really. The weather is changing as well and not for the better. This means our stock up trip might have to be put off until later. Tonight we are supposed to get rain, turning to freezing rain and then snow. Up to 3 inches of the white stuff could fall overnight and into tomorrow morning. Then a slight respite before we get another inch or two. The snow does not bother us, it's the ice under the snow and all the curves on the highway from here to Regina!! Guess we just have to play a waiting game.

I spent much of today straightening up a portion of the sewing/craft room and sorting knitting patterns I had downloaded from the internet. My goodness I can now almost see the entire floor, good thing as that is where I sit to pin together my quilt blocks.

I found a few more items to donate and I hope to find even more tomorrow, tossed a few items, and recycled some patterns that were doubles and only printed on one side into note pad sized pieces. I always need scratch paper beside the phone to take messages or to copy down a phone number or two.

I hope to finish off the floor and my sewing machine cabinet tomorrow. Perhaps even cut a few quilt squares and make some strips out of an old bed sheet that I have folded and put away for this purpose. I have lots of scraps that need something done with them and if I gather said scraps tonight and put them on the table I will have no choice other then to get them looked after.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

Today I made buns using my bread maker to make the dough. My hands and wrists can no longer punch and knead the dough like I used to, so this is one way we can get fresh buns and bread.

But what to put on those buns as I wanted to incorporate them into our evening meal along with the leftover frozen pork from Sunday. Hmmm.

I have never made Pulled BBQ Pork so decided to give it a try. Harvey has never liked when I cook meat in regular BBQ sauce so I made my own.

Here is the pot of BBQ mixture I ended up with.

There was enough for each of us to have two buns filled with this mixture and I still have lots leftover. I have the remainder in a container cooling and will be popping it into the freezer to use later on. I actually have enough leftovers for our meal tomorrow without serving this.

I really don't have a recipe for my sauce but I will share what I did with all of you.

I first put the pork slices in the pot and added ketchup to almost cover the slices. I then added a bit of water so that the pork was covered. To this I added about 2 tbsp of brown sugar, about 1 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce, a heaping tbsp of prepared mustard, and a good shake near the end of liquid smoke. As it cooked I tried to pull the pork apart as much as possible.

Harvey loved this and I did as well.

I also spent a bit of time doing this.

I have started my bedding plants. I just hope I did not start them too soon.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

It has been a quiet day here on the old homestead.

Harvey has been busy fixing the wishing well planter. He was lucky enough to find enough materials to complete the project in his work room. Thrifty because he did not have to purchase anything and I now have a renewed planter for the spring.

I cleaned out some old items from my drawers about a week ago. Some were pitched and some were put aside to make into rags. So this evening I sat down and started to dismantle them

This is what I ended up with. A nice little pile of rags to replace the ones that are no longer usable (yes rags to wear out) and a small pile of buttons that can be used once again for other items, some are suitable for baby sweaters or clothing. Perhaps even doll clothes (if I ever become a Grandma).

I have also spent time scanning pictures. Last night I removed all the pictures from the remaining albums. This should mean I don't miss any that should be in a certain folder!

Meals have been using things up from the fridge freezer over the past few days. Saving us cash and me time. It is much easier to make extra and freeze it one night and serve that meal a few days later.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Oh my, it is that time of the week once again. I have a feeling that my menus are getting a bit boring, but I am still trying new recipes and those that work out will be added to the rotation and pulled out to give our menus some snap.

Monday

Soup and sandwiches. I have the remaining soup I made a few weeks ago frozen in a container in the fridge freezer. Time to get it out and used up. I think I will make grilled ham and cheese sandwiches to go with.

Tuesday

Pulling out the remaining stew and making some dumplings to go with.

Wednesday

Leftover pork roast. I found a new recipe I want to give a try so we will see how this turns out. Or...I might make BBQ pork and some home made buns. A side of coleslaw would be wonderful with this.

Thursday

Homemade pizza, I do have everything we need. Hmm, I may make panzarotti.

Friday

Tuna casserole, and the remaining coleslaw.

Saturday

I am hoping to be up in the city for a shopping trip and a visit to youngest DS. This would mean an early supper out.

Sunday

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, roast carrots and a salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today was a joyful celebration at Mass. We had a baptism and it is always a celebration of joy when parents make the decision to raise their child in their faith. Mass was a bit longer, but no one seemed to mind.

Our new priest (well one to help Father Brian) was there and proclaimed the Gospel. He did an excellent job!! 

I have decided just to go with the flow, enjoy what ministries I am involved with and stay out of the political manoeuvrings of some parish members. I just hope that what they are trying to accomplish is for the best in our Parish.

Now for an update.

I forgot to list my goals for the month (at least I can't find them), so I will list them now and let you know how far I have gotten.

1.   Continue with the cross stitch dragon.  I have been working on this and can see the end in sight. I really think this could be done by the end of this month.

2.   Work on using up those odds and ends of yarn.  I knit a bit every night and slowly but surely am working my way through those single skeins and small leftover balls of yarn.

3.   Declutter the house.   Yep this will be an ongoing task, but I think I am finally making progress.

4.   Scan pictures and burn DVD's.   I am getting these done as fast as I possibly can. I do believe that this will be another ongoing goal for the year.

5.   Start bedding plants.   Not done as of yet. I have some seeds soaking and hope to complete this early in the week.

I have completed a few goals that I did not have on the list; the tunics for the Roman soldier costumes are done. Just have to make the leather look skirts to go on top, two prayer table cloths, and a couple of blocks for my quilt sewn. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.     

Saturday Update

Slowly but surely the projects I decided to work on this month are being completed. Some will take longer than this month, some I will not even begin to tackle (seems like my intentions are good, but my time is limited).

So far this month I have been working on projects for the school. Not quite done the second set of projects for them, but getting very close.

Since Kris was home last weekend he went home with his TV dinners I make so I have started to get a few more of those ready for the next time he is home.

The tinfoil container is Kris's stew meal. The rather large plastic butter container is for Harvey and I at a later date. You see I try to cook rather large basic meals and then have some to package up and freeze. These are used at a time when I am busy or too tired to cook. We get a homemade meal, and the expense of ordering out is avoided.

I have been knitting with some variegated yarn from another project.

The three small balls I had would not knit a sweater, or vest so I decided to knit it up into a lovely infinity scarf. I hope to be finished this by the end of the month. Then I will pull out my rug project and continue working on that. Still using up small balls of yarn in other words.

Most of you know that I have been scanning pictures and then burning them onto DVD's. I have managed to finish all the children's pictures and will be starting those old pictures of Harvey and I next. Things are moving along, but it is going to be a project that goes on and on.

I am cross stitching when I have time and will show you all the dragon when it is done. I told Kris I was thinking it would make a lovely pillow as he really does not need anything on his walls (according to him).

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Frugalities

Ahhh, home from the subbing gig and I am definitely exhausted. I really don't know why, but I think this cold is taking more out of me than I thought. The day was not taxing in the least.

On to the weeks frugal happenings here.

I made a grocery list and stuck to it (well for the most part). Asparagus was on sale so of course I had to buy some.

I stuck to my meal plan and used a great many items up.

Drapes and blinds were opened to take advantage of all the lovely sun we have been getting this past week. This causes the furnace to run less and our power and gas bills to drop. Got to love this!!

My lunch today was packed leftovers from other meals.

We celebrated a birthday at the school today so my morning snack was free and absolutely delicious!!

I mended a bra for the first time.

Laundry was done as frugally as possible.

I found fabric in my stash to make the Roman soldier costumes.

Best of all I have had (including today) 5 no spend days!!

Thursday Tidbits

I did not get much completed today as I went to visit my friend that is bedridden.

This picture of Judy and her husband was taken many years ago. Now Judy has problems leaving her bed. Her back pains her so much she can not even attend Mass one of the things she loved to do.

Judy was Kris's Grade 2 and 3 teacher, that was how we met. Years later we attended Lay Ministry Formation classes together and a strong friendship formed.

She does not get much in the way of company other then family and that is becoming rarer the longer she is bedridden.

I spent 4 hours visiting with her today, the time whizzed by, we had so much to talk about. I had meant to get home earlier and finish a few things, but I am so glad that I spent this day with her. I needed this time to realize that not everyone in my parish is involved with the politics that seem to be happening, that there are still people out there that follow the faith, perhaps in a different manner, and yet still believe that good is more powerful.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

I made myself a pot of lemon ginger tea when I got home from my morning of subbing. The reason being by the time I arrived home I was not feeling at all well. I am sneezing, my nose is plugged and according to Harvey I am running a fever. I think I may be coming down with a cold. It will be a nice soak in the tub for me and an early night as well. Hopefully I feel much more like myself tomorrow.

Sharing the leftover ham recipe from yesterday with you all.

Pineapple Upside - Down Delight

1 small onion chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 cups ground cooked ham
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp chili sauce
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp tabasco
1/4 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 slices canned pineapple
3 maraschino cherries

Heat oven to 350 F. Brown onion lightly in a medium skillet in the first amount of butter. Combine with the ground ham, eggs, bread crumbs, ketchup, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, mustard, salt and pepper. Melt the second amount of butter and brown sugar together. Pour this over the bottom of a 9" square pan. Lay the pineapple slices over top and place a cherry in the center of each slice. Pile the ham mixture on top and smooth out. Bake 40 minutes. To serve, invert on a platter. Makes 6 servings.

This is a picture of what it looked like before baking.

I think if I made this again I would add some chopped green pepper to the onions while browning.

It actually tasted better the second day. I had some for lunch and it was very good.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesdays

Today was a wonderfully thrifty day!!

Harvey and I went out this afternoon to pick up paint for our bed room. Surprise it was on sale and we had a gift card that made the purchase cost us nothing. That is wonderful as paint (at least the ones we like) are expensive.

It was a beautiful and sunny day so our drapes were wide open to take advantage of the natural light and heat from the sun.

It is absolutely amazing how the sun warms the entire house and causes the furnace not to run throughout the day. More money in our pockets as we are not using electricity or gas when this happens.

It was also a day of using things up. I managed to use up an onion and 4 fairly thick slices of cooked frozen ham for our supper. This is the second time that I have managed to stretch a small amount of meat into at least 2 meals for each of us. There are a few things that I would change with this recipe and because I substituted ingredients I am sure that the taste was a bit off. It wasn't bad, just not tweeked enough for our tastes.

I also mended a bra..... You know those silly underwires that seem to work their way through the end of the pocket. Well gone are the days that I would toss it as being of no earthly use to me any more. I pushed it back into its home and slip stitched the opening shut. I should be able to get a few more months wear out of the darn thing.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the drawers and shelves in our bed room. I managed to remove a few items. Some of which will be recycled, some of which were tossed, and some put aside for donation.

Worked on my cross stitch, read for a bit (finished one novel and started another) and am going to be busy this evening working on my knitting.

Ahhh, the perfect day. Frugal and fun.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Ahh, another week of March will soon be done. It seems the older I get the days seem to just whiz right on by. Except for those days leading up to a dental visit.....

Monday

Leftover roast chicken made either into this interesting recipe I found or into my old favorite for those days when I need something quick and easy Chicken a la King on toast points. The last of the cucumber will be sliced and used as a side.

Tuesday

Leftover ham made into a casserole. I have just the recipe in mind.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night. Should be a great deal to choose from and since I work 1/2 day this will be quick and easy.

Thursday

I am going to use up a package of small sausage links making something that is new to me. I am going to try and make Toad in the Hole. Not sure what sides, but probably peas or green beans.

Friday

Maple Glazed Trout, rice, and probably carrots.

Saturday

Slow cooker stew.

Sunday

Pork Roast, roasted potatoes, peas & carrots mixed.

We did not have the pork roast on Sunday past so I will make it for this week.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Thought that I would share with all of you the cast and crew behind our musical endeavor. I am in the second row see if you can find me......

It is the Third Sunday of Lent already, the time is flying by. Still struggling with things that are happening in our parish. I learned today that our part time secretary has been dismissed and would really like to know why. I also learned today that there is a great deal of the back room political moves going on, and they are not what I would think appropriate for a Stewardship church. It seems like the main movers are holding the screen door, kicking a few in the butt and saying, "Good bye, don't let the door hit you on the way out." I realize change is hard, but throwing out those who have worked so hard is just wrong. I will be spending a great deal of time in prayer to decide what God is calling me to do. This is causing a great deal of hard feelings right now, and shaking my belief in a church that I have spent a great deal of my adult life serving in different capacities.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Today was thrifty in the best possible way.

Our income tax is now in the hands of the accountant. Both Harvey and I should be getting money back. Always nice when that happens.

I did not spend any money today, and managed to cancel our OnStar subscription. That was costing us almost $45.00 a month. We switched to CAA which costs us a great deal less a year.

I also got a phone call about a ring I had taken in for repairs. I thought it would cost at least double what it will and I will have a brand spanking new one with all the claws tightened and a diamond replaced!!

Supper was made out of items that were either leftover or needed to be gone from the fridge before spoiling, and there is enough left from that to have for supper another evening this week when I am in a rush.

I forgot to mention at the end of last month a total for my decluttering.

Another 91 items were either donated or tossed because they were of no earthly use to anyone.

This brings my total for the first two months of this year to....drum roll please..... 380. It might be easier than I thought to get 500 items out of my house.

I will be MIA for the next few days. The church musical will be on and since I am a stage hand I just don't know how much time I will have to blog. I will see you all when it is all over and done with.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

The beginning of another week, and more menus planned for the month (I do a monthly menu plan and then post my weeks dinners). Once again I hope to use up a few more items from all the freezers.

Monday

Chicken wings made in the ActiFry. Think I will make a mix of peas and carrots to go along.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork from the freezer made into something interesting and filling (also need a big enough batch to serve again on Thursday).

Wednesday

Leftover Chili pulled from the freezer along with some toast or served on pasta (I will be eating very early as dress rehearsal for the play starts at 5 and we need to be set up). Salad for the side.

Thursday

Leftover pork casserole (or a clean out the fridge night). I can leave a bit later as things should be pretty much set up for the performance tonight.

Friday

Perogies (performance again tonight, but once again I can leave a bit later as we will have set things back in motion the night before).

Saturday

Sweet and Sour Ribs (getting them ready to cook in the morning), rice and a salad.

Sunday

Pork Roast, roast potatoes, green beans and if there is any leftover salad we will have that as well.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

We are already into the Second Sunday of Lent. Today the homily that Father Brian gave was all about dying to be resurrected to new life. He stressed that if a parish did not practice new life, dying to the old life it became stagnant and start to die. He said we all had to be open to the spirit in order for true change to occur. God does not force this on us rather he wants us to accept it willingly.

This is hard for me, change while sometimes for the better does not always lead to good feelings among people. It sometimes makes those of us who have given everything to the church feel used and then tossed to the side as not being able to make those changes.

I need to pray on whether I am doing what I am called to do for the glory of God or if people see me doing what I do for my own glory.

I am a stagehand for our church musical this year and am beginning to get a bit frustrated. The back drops are not all finished yet so changing them or at least the method we will use to change them is something we have not accomplished as of yet. Hopefully everything will be ready on Wednesday for the dress rehearsal and things will go a bit smoother. Seems like I will be the only one there for the start, the other stage hand (the one in charge) will not be there until way after it starts. Another frustration for me as I like things in order. More prayer necessary for patience I guess.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.