Sunday Ramblings

I really meant to do a post yesterday but something came up.

Remember how I said my days kind of drift in to each other with nothing really exciting happening. Well I guess I spoke too soon.

Harvey and Kris took off fishing early yesterday morning. Me, why I decided it was the perfect time to weed some of the flower beds in the yard.

First I did the Hosta bed.

Nicely cleaned up and ready for some more mulch once the new fence is put up.

Then I moved on.

The Coleus planter was next. Pretty easy to weed, but with all the elm seeds blowing in it could be a never ending job.

Next was the perennial bed.

Slowly but surely fewer and fewer weeds are popping up in here. Now if I can just keep on top of it.

I moved into the house next and baked a loaf of bread for Kris to take home with him when he left today and after a bit of a break to peruse the internet started on my Rhubarb Sponge Pie. I got the pie into the oven and started it baking. The pie was to bake for 40 minutes, but usually gets too brown in that length of time so I shortened the baking time.

Sat down at the computer to input some numbers into the budget spread sheets and managed to get about 1/2 done when the phone rang.

"Hi, we're stuck. Want to come and get us?"
"Oh."
"See if the tow rope is in the car."

This had me running out to the car to check on a tow rope. Nope, nada, nothing.

"No tow rope. Are you sure it isn't in the truck?"
"No, it isn't there. Come and get us and we will figure something out."
"Okay, give me some directions as to where you are."
"Go 2 miles east on the highway, turn west at the alpaca farm, and then go three miles, turn south and go about a mile. We are in the middle of the road."
"Can you give me sight directions rather then miles?"

I navigate by directions such as turn right at the large elm, go until you see the house with the large barn and turn left sort of thing. Not only that but my vehicle distance is measured in kilometers and not miles. Driving is not conducive to figuring out the difference as you go.

"Okay go past the weigh scales, go past the pulse plant, turn at the farm with the white fence. Go past two roads and turn at the third. There is a house with a red roof that you should be able to see."
"Give me 10 more minutes as I have a pie in the oven that I need to get out first and I will be there."
"Ahh, Jackie remember your cell phone, just in case."
"Why, are you worried I might get lost?"
"There is a chance."

So I locked the back door, the pie was taken out of the oven, and I was on my way. I managed to find my way to the house with the red roof, but took a chance turning as Harvey did not tell me which way to turn.

There my men were lodged in a nice deep rut in the road. I picked them up, and they traveled home covered in mud, dropped me off and went to find a sturdy tow rope.

On the way home Kris kept picking ticks off his clothing and dropping them out the car window.

For those of you that don't know what a tick looks like this picture shows you the blood sucking monsters!! The deer tick can carry Lyme Disease whereas the wood tick just enjoys digging in for a good meal of blood from a warm blooded host.

I think he picked 8 off his clothing on the way home and I picked one out of his hair when we arrived at home.

This morning I was scratching my lower back and I felt something. I asked Kris to take a look, and sure enough a tick had started to bite. He pulled it off and we gave it a burial at sea.

Soon after this he left and the day progressed as a usual Sunday does. That is until supper time.

I happened to look down and there was another tick crawling up the front of my t-shirt. Harvey grabbed it and disposed of said tick.

I really do hate when my men bring unexpected guests home.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

It has been a fairly frugal week around the old homestead. Since all garden spending was done previously we had a few no spend days this past week. Love those no spend days.

Decluttering has started up again. This time with my spring and summer wardrobe. I managed to fill two bags to take to the upscale second hand store this week.

Hopefully I will have two more bags to take very soon. Slowly but surely I am getting close to that elusive 1000 items. At the end of this month I will have an update as to how close I am getting. I could have listed these items of clothing on our city garage sale site and made a bit of money, but the second hand store I took them to uses the proceeds from sales to support various women's charities in our city. I feel it is important to support what they are doing and this is one way to do so.

Grocery shopping was kept to a minimum this week. I am trying to eat down the pantry and the freezer.

Monday was a beautiful day and I managed to get all but one load out on the clothes lines to dry this week.

I am happy that we managed to use up all the leftovers for meals this week. Sometimes we fail on this and end up wasting food.

I have baked two loaves of bread this week. Strange, as we seem to be using less and less bread every week.

The air conditioners have only been on once this week. I have been opening the windows in the evenings and the house is nice and cool come morning. It stays that way for most of the day.

I have also been using up yarn from my stash, got to love a good stash!!

Kris is home this weekend to help his Dad remove a fence and go fishing. Male bonding time and time alone for me. Something I need every once in awhile.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

The day started off very quietly. I went for my early morning walk and quite enjoyed the peace and quiet. I love walking early in the morning, there are very few cars out and no people what so ever. The quiet gives me peace and allows me to plan my day.

I spent a bit of time working on decluttering my closet. I managed to get through my trousers, skirts and jackets. I still have dresses to go through and hopefully will be adding more to my donation bag.

This afternoon I worked on my cross stitch for a bit, and then settled in to read. I do enjoy my Kobo ereader and all the free books I get to download.

The late afternoon saw the wind pick up and rain start to fall. The temperature is supposed to drop drastically tonight. There is even a risk of frost, so I spent some time this evening covering my flowers. Harvey on the other hand is going to chance it and not cover any of his vegetables. Sure hope the forecast is wrong.

My days just seem to flow one into the next. Nothing too exciting, just life lived simply and quietly.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

Today I think I will share with you a recipe my mother-in-law made every spring.

Rhubarb is a spring fruit staple in Saskatchewan, heck the whole prairie region of Canada!

I try and make this rhubarb cake two or three times a season. It is always a big hit as you can tell.

Rhubarb Cake

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup shortening (or margarine)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups chopped or thinly sliced rhubarb
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda in 1 cup sour milk

Mix and put in a prepared 9 x 11 pan.

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp softened margarine

Mix and sprinkle over the top.

Bake 35 min at 350 F.

Cool and enjoy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Summer Is Here

Warmer temperatures have arrived, bringing with them the joys of planting and watching everything become green or flower.

My transplanted bedding plants seem to be perking up a little bit, though I did lose a few in the transplanting. The ones that are left will slowly fill out and I won't even miss the ones that didn't make it.

Just because it is summer does that mean I stop knitting? No way, not with an addition to the family coming late next month.

I have become a bit tired knitting baby blankets so pulled out some yarn from my stash (bought on sale) and have started this....

A tiny blue sweater, and since I don't know the newcomers gender I will need to knit a second one in case it is a girl.

It has been a very long time since I knit a tiny sweater and had forgotten how much I enjoy creating them.

I am still working on some of my unfinished projects and hope to have a few of them done over the next while. I think my problem is I get bored with what I am working on and need to move on to something new. Do need to stop doing this or I will have so many partially finished projects I will never get them completed.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Rolling into this last week of May. Where does the time go?

Monday

Chef's Salad. I will be using up some leftover chicken in the freezer as well as the remainder of the eggs in one container. I hope to add just a touch of ham as well.

Tuesday

German noodles, potatoes, and onions.

Wednesday

Pork chops on the BBQ along with tinfoil potatoes and perhaps some tossed salad.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night (hopefully there are leftovers to clean out).

Friday

Soup and sandwiches I hope, if not I will make a Tuna Casserole.

Saturday

Chili and toast.

Sunday

Roast beef, potatoes, salad, and a veggie of some kind (just not sure what as of yet).

These are subject to switching around, though I hope I do not have to do that this week. I am a bit concerned over the leftover night I may change that to Monday (today) as I know I have leftovers available for use as tonight's meal.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Pentecost, the tongues of fire, hearing foreign languages and understanding what is said. I know many people believe in speaking in tongues, I am not sure, as according to the Acts of the Apostles everyone understood what was being said. Those that I have spoken to about "speaking in tongues", said there needed to be someone to translate what was being said. Not at all what the Word says.

Father Brian spent most of his homily speaking about the Holy Spirit. He said we are gifted with the Holy Spirit at our baptism, and it is up to each one of us how we use this gift. We can squander it and do nothing or reach out to others and share whatever gifts the Spirit has given us.

I want to reach out to others and share what gifts I have been given. Sometimes, though, I just do not know how to do this. Faith is nothing unless you can walk the walk, and talk the talk.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Wrap Up

The weather has been absolutely wonderful the past few days. I have been busy planting all my flowers. They do seem a bit worse for wear however, so I do hope they manage to come back. I think part of the reason was they had to stay in the house for so long again after buying them. Once they take off a bit I will share pictures with you all.

I do however want to share a picture of how I have been spending my evenings. While sitting and relaxing after hours of planting, subbing, or working around the house I knit. I have managed to use up a bit of my yarn stock over the past week by knitting scarves.

I am hoping to add to these, but only after I manage to get a couple of baby sweaters knit. You see we will be having a new addition to the family shortly and I would love to get a sweater or two done to give to the new arrival.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

It has been a quiet day on the old homestead. Not that we haven't been busy, we have, but we have also had a bit of a set back as far as the budget goes.

Harvey took his truck in for an oil change and recall today, then found out that there was more that needed to be done. This after our youngest son Kris found out he probably needed some wheel bearings changed on his vehicle. The quote we got from the dealer on the truck repair are almost 4k!!!! Guess we will be budgeting a bit closer to the bone over the next few months.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Two Days Of Heating

On Sunday evening our hot water heater decided to quit.

Harvey changed the thermocoupler twice and while it would heat one tank of water after that the pilot light would go out and we would be without hot water once again.

We ended up calling a plumber yesterday. Mr. Plumber came overrode one of the 2 safety switches (you really only need one) with what Harvey figures was a fifty cent piece of hardware, and 10 minutes of his time. We now have hot water once again.

No more

Boiling water on the stove or in my electric kettle so I can wash dishes.

You never know what you will really miss until it is gone.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Month Update (A Bit Late)

 Time to update everyone on how the monthly goals are being completed. So far so good.

1.     Copy and declutter 2 binders of recipes.  Done

2.     Go back and complete some goals from previous months.  Working on

3.     Change my wardrobe over from Fall/Winter to Spring/Summer.  Done

4.     Plant flowers and the veggie garden.  Not Done

5.    Spray some pots with the Glow In The Dark Paint.  Done

6.     Finish the scanning of pictures.  Done

I would have had all my flowers and veggies planted if the weather would have cooperated. We have had miserable weather, snow, freezing temperatures, and cloudy days. The weather is supposed to improve as this week progresses, so I am hopeful of getting everything done by the end of the week.

On to the 

I have managed to divest myself of a few more things. Mostly bathing suits that no longer fit (I am sure they shrunk) and books. Another 55 items will be or have left my house. I am sure there will be more leaving as I try on my spring and summer wardrobes.

I will fill you in on the excitement we had the past few days tomorrow. I kind of learned what life was like back when my parents were young.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.
 

Menu Mondays

Sorry for the hit and miss in posts lately, but things are very different when one of our sons are home. It is so nice to visit and much harder to get on the computer.

Anyways here are my menus for this week in May.

Monday

Cream of Mushroom Soup and crackers (no sandwiches this time around).

Tuesday

Leftover Chicken that I am going to try a new casserole recipe with.

Wednesday

The last remaining package of Cabbage bread from the freezer.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge.

Friday

German noodles, potatoes, onions and eggs.

Saturday

Smoked Sausage

Sunday

Leftover ham with scalloped potatoes and a salad.

There you have them. I am ready to face another week of cooking. Well, ready to face cooking once my hot water heater is fixed..... More about that tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Frugal Fridays

I have been very scatter brained today, unable to concentrate on anything for very long. So this will just be a list of my frugal accomplishments for the past week.

I went walking every morning for my frugal exercise.

Used up leftover food and all the toothpaste in my tube this week.

Sewed myself two pairs of palazzo pants at a fraction of what it would have cost to buy them.

Used up leftover yarn knitting myself some dish cloths.

Using up various balls of yarn knitting scarves and other such items.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

So Very Sad

Today I lost my favorite Aunt.

Aunt Kathy lived with us for awhile when I was growing up. She could always make Mom and I giggle as she could get Dad so mad that he would stutter and stammer, not able to speak at all. This was something we could never do (at least and get away with it).

I have also been told over and over again how much we looked alike. My sister sometimes says that I looked more like one of Auntie Kathy's child than her children did.

Two years ago she was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Aunt Kathy underwent surgery, but refused the chemo the doctors wanted her to have. She said the operation was pain enough.

Three months ago her husband Uncle Ed died after suffering from Alzheimer's for a little over a year. Today she went to join her love.

Rest in peace Aunt Kathy, I will miss you so very much.

God bless.

Changeable

Changeable is the right description of our weather right now. We went from lovely sunny, warm days to sunny cooler days with very cold nights, and now we are back to windy, cold, dreary days. I should have known better than to move my winter wardrobe into storage!!!

These last few years it seems as if spring never arrives, we move into a short cool summer and winter hits us once again.

 Today has been relatively quiet. I have spent time in the sewing room, and even managed to get a bit of sewing accomplished. I just have about 30 minutes left of sewing on the second pair of palazzo pants. Guess this means I need to start on that coat/jacket I have been procrastinating over.

With the weather being so unpredictable instead of being out in the evenings working on flower beds, weeding, and getting my baskets and pots done, I have pulled out the yarn once again.

I needed some new dishcloths.

I made these using up the white/black flecked cotton yarn I had bought to make Kurt his rug at Christmas.

A bright pink ruffle scarf. Not too sure what I will do with this, add to my collection of scarves or try to sell it.

I had this ball of rather different yarn and so today I thought I would use it to make another scarf. Kind of "funky" as Harvey says.

As long as the weather stays miserable I guess I will be spending my evenings knitting and my days sewing.

Both are thrifty ways to save money and keep occupied!!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Welcome to another week of menu plans.

Monday

Leftover stew and dumplings.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork roast made into hash, corn as a side.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night.

Thursday

Chicken breasts with mushroom rice. Green beans and a salad.

Friday

Salmon patties, rice, and peas (or if Harvey managed to catch fish we will have that instead of the salmon patties).

Saturday

Hamburgers on the BBQ along with tinfoil potatoes and carrots (if not nice out we will have the same thing only done on the inside grill). I will stick a salad in here as well. Kris will be home for the long weekend and loves a salad.

Sunday

Roast Chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and corn mixed together as well as a salad.

Another week down in this month, only two more after this.

Sunday Ramblings

First off I would like to wish all my female fellow bloggers a very happy Mother's Day.

Today at Mass, Father Brian spoke a great deal about "agape" love, and it struck me how much this type of love is what a mother feels for her children. We love them no matter what, through thick and thin. Even if what our child does is not loveable. Much the same as what Christ feels for each and everyone of us.

Do we always deserve Christ's love? Should we love everyone around us regardless of whether they seemingly deserve our love or not?

These are questions that each of us need to answer. I know I am going to work on loving every single person that comes into my sphere of influence.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Trip To The Greenhouses

Today was our annual trip to the greenhouses in Regina. Did not too badly, but not as good as other years.

Here are some photos of what we managed to pick up.

This first one though is of the plants I started in the middle of March.

Lots of vines and Moon Flowers this year.

Here is our haul from the trip. Right now our hallway looks like a greenhouse as well.

And to think I still need a few more to make sure that I have enough!!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Fridays

This week has gone by awfully quickly. Still keeping my frugal on however.

I packed my lunch for work, and even used leftovers to make it up.

All laundry (and I mean all laundry) was hung on the outside clothes line. Good thing it was nice and warm with a bit of a breeze. Next week I might not be able to do this.

Leftovers have been used to advantage. In fact we have managed to have two full meals from leftovers twice this week (bit of a change up on the menu plan).

I have been busy sewing using fabric from my stash to fill in a few holes in my spring and summer wardrobe.

Managed to have 5 no spend days this week.

Found twenty cents on my daily walk and added it to the change jars.

Enjoyed a free walk every day this past week, except for the day I was subbing. Quite fine though as walking up and down the long hallways at work more then made up for it.

Still using up, wearing it out and making do.

Tomorrow will not be frugal, but very precious. We are heading up to Regina to go to the green houses there. Kris will be joining us. Buying plants for summer colour is a big thing here. I have my list and am ready to go.

Hopefully lots of pictures to share tomorrow or Sunday.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

In The Sewing Room

While I have not managed to work on any of the undone sewing projects I have spent time in the sewing room.

My warm weather wardrobe had a few gaps and I decided it would be best to fill those first, before going back and getting those pesky unfinished sewing projects done.

So far this week I have managed to sew three simple knit skirts.

First I will show all of you this light denim knit skirt.

This light knit skirt is actually a lighter blue, almost a turquoise colour.

Lastly this jungle print knit (well it really isn't a jungle print, but I don't know what else to call it). I have already worn this one to work and gotten quite a few compliments on it.

Now I am going to try my hand at palazzo pants. More knit material, but quite a different sewing project.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Rain, Work and More Rain

We are getting the first real rain of the spring season and I am loving it. Nothing, but nothing greens a lawn as quickly!!! Just wish it would have been warm enough to plant my flowers this week.

Today I spent subbing in one of our schools. It has been a couple of weeks since I have been in the school and I really enjoyed working. I was in the older grades which I love. I even got to listen to the various groups in Grade 7 and 8 present their Science Fair projects. Wow there are a great many new ideas and the thought behind them all was amazing.

Yesterday I visited my bed ridden friend. Once again I was there for a very long time and had to rush home to make supper. Still was wonderful to see her and to see her starting to be able to move a bit more.

This weekend we plan on heading up to a greenhouse 2 hours away. Time to buy bedding plants and veggie starters. We will also spend time with our youngest son. Hopefully we will be able to get everything we need, must make list tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. I am going to enjoy watching the rain.

God bless.

Menu Monday

A bit late posting today, but I wanted to get the laundry started early and then the blog kind of slipped my mind until a few minutes ago.

Monday

Chef's Salad using up the leftover tossed salad with the addition of leftover ham, eggs, and small cubes of cheese.

Tuesday

Spaghetti and meat sauce served with some more salad.

Wednesday

Jambalaya with smoked sausage.

Thursday

Baked Spaghetti.

Friday

Perogies

Saturday

Clean out the fridge night.

Sunday

Roast Pork, roast potatoes, roast carrots, and green beans.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 Today we celebrated Confirmation. While at times I may stumble in my faith, seeing the bright, shiny faces of the Grade Two's as they proclaimed their faith and wish to become fully members of the church always makes me want to do better and gives me impetus in my own faith journey.

Father Brian spoke about us being branches and Christ being the vine. How everything we do leads back to Christ. Christ holds us together just as the vine holds the branches.

I distributed the hosts today and everyone was so very happy to be there celebrating this next step in a "lifelong adventure of faith". The smiles made me realize that not everyone is jockeying for political place, rather that the majority of parishioners just want to practice what they believe. Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Yard Is Taking Shape

I mentioned yesterday that I would share a picture of the seating and lighting around the fire pit with all of you today.

We have room for seating all the way around the fire pit which will be wonderful when we have company. Those top blocks can be taken off so everyone has access to the heat.

Harvey also managed to finish repainting the very long planter he made for me a number of years ago. I plan on using it for my herbs this year..... Unless Harvey buys or makes me a raised bed to stick in one corner of the garden.

Thought I would also share a picture of the lighting in the perennial bed.

I do love having lighting in the back yard. It seems to deter unwanted visitors.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Frugalities

Time to list the frugal things I have accomplished this week.

Reading free books I downloaded onto my Kobo.

Using up fabric from my stash to make some new clothing for this summer.

Phoned Kurt while my package made the phone calls free.

Hung three loads on the line in the basement.

Used my stash of yarn to make silent auction items.

Only bought food items that were on my grocery list.

Used up all leftovers in the fridge for another supper or for lunches this week.

Baked bread.

Not too bad a week if I say so myself.

As I said a few days ago, Harvey finished the new fire pit area and I thought it might be nice to share some pictures with you all.

The view of the new area from the steps of the deck.

The view from the yard.

We actually have lots of seating area around the pit and I will show you that tomorrow as late today we are going to place the seating around and the remaining lighting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.