Saturday Roundup

A few long awaited goals and projects were finally completed today. So nice to be able to cross these off the goal list. Still there will be a few things carried over next month as I just can't seem to get everything completed.

This quilt has been in the making for well, almost 4 years.

It was way too large to fit my machine so I hand quilted it. This is something I have not done for a number of years. Mistakes were made, but all things considered I am happy with the result.

The above cross stitch has been featured here before. It languished in a drawer for about 3 years. I finally figured out that foam board bought in the school supplies section along with some spray adhesive could take the place of regular mounting boards. It is now hanging in our bedroom and I am ready to start another. I just hope it does not take as long as this one to be up and hanging.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

I am losing track of days. Most of this week I have thought we were a day ahead. I think part of the reason is because I went shopping a bit early this week. Hopefully I will get my mind back this coming week.

1.  Reading free novels from Book Bub on my ereader.

2.  All leftovers were used either for a new meal (which kind of made some changes to the menu plan for the month) or for lunches.

3.  Went for middle distance walks while the weather was nice (this added on to my usual morning treadmill routine).

4.  Saved $9.39 on groceries this week.

5. Harvey used some leftover moulding to make a picture frame for my cross stitch angel.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

Well I finally finished the hand quilting. It isn't as good a job as I used to do, but at least it is done. Now just the binding and the project is completed!!! One project more to be crossed off the goals list. Makes me smile as I have carried that one over for a number of months. Now just to get a few more done in the next few days.

I have started a new prayer shawl which I hope to complete quickly, or at least before the end of next month. The more we have to be blessed the better.

I am down 1.3 lbs (total for weight loss is 18.7 lbs over 5 months with about a week of not being able to use my treadmill) and hope that it improves my cholesterol count I am also really liking how some of the clothes that were a bit tight on me are now much looser. I will have to do some alterations, but I am feeling so much better. I am hoping to be down at least 25 lbs by the time we have our family reunion (which I am not really looking forward to) the long weekend in July.

Looking forward to a long soak tonight as I am a bit stiff and sore today. I upped my distance and time on the treadmill and that always causes me a few problems the first little while.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Something I Love

During the past few months I have been trying to make more meatless meals and finally pulled out a recipe that we really enjoy but haven't had for awhile.

This is a picture of our leftover Moroccan Red Lentil Soup after our evening meal. I got to use up a few bags of items from the chest freezer, as well as some leftovers in the fridge making it.

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger

6 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 tbsp. tomato paste

2 peeled, cubed potatoes

19 oz. can tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup sour cream

Heat oil in Dutch oven and cook onions, garlic and celery until softened about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and ginger. Cook, stirring often for another 2 minutes. Add water, lentils, tomato paste, potatoes, and tomatoes. Break up tomatoes with a spoon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 35 minutes. Add peas and simmer until veggies and potatoes are tender which is about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Put a dollop of sour cream on each and serve. 

This made enough for the two of us to have three meals each, plus there will probably be leftovers for lunch.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Today I visited the dentist for my every 4 months cleaning and since I was out and about decided to do all my errands as well. This will help with my trying to save by not spending, and wear/tear on my vehicle. Also because we will be having a carbon tax added to various items it will help save fuel. In fact I am seriously considering buying one of those collapsible shopping carts so I can walk to get groceries every week (this would help with weight loss as well).

Planted some seeds for starters this week. Some are even breaking through already.

Found some more yarn to use in the making of prayer shawls for the next couple of months. Slowly but surely the yarn stash is disappearing. Hopefully I will have it under control very soon.

Making my own salads instead of buying the bagged salads. I get way more and am enjoying them a great deal.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I am already making a switch around in order to use up some items in the fridge today.

Monday

First switch around. Today we will finish off the ham/scalloped potato casserole I made on Saturday. Served with a salad and it should fill us right up nicely.

Tuesday

Mushroom meatballs served over noodles with peas and perhaps a kale salad.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. I may just make the lentil soup I have been craving for awhile.

Thursday

Leftover meatballs and noodles along with salad.

Friday

Tuna casserole and a tossed salad.

Saturday

Leftover ham warmed up. I think I may just make a potato salad to go along with it (not the season really for potato salad but I would really like some).

Sunday

Beef roast, mashed potatoes, and corn. May as well finish off any of the salads that are left as well.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

It was a quiet day, even Mass seemed to be a bit quieter than usual. Perhaps it is because it is Lent and a time of reflection and hopefully spiritual growth. Father is pretty much back to normal, I think his trip home (India) tired him out a bit. Now he is back to being his joyful self. However there are a few things that have been happening lately that have me a bit worried. I will need to pray on these things to see if I can find some resolution or at least peace about them.

I have always loved the reading from Exodus where God says "I am who I am".  That Moses saw a burning bush that wasn't consumed and actually spoke to the Lord fills me with hope and love. In the world we live in today we need more of this kind of faith, we need to hear God say "I am who I am" and believe with all our hearts and souls.

I have finished a few projects over the past week. I do hope to get a couple more done over the remaining week this month. Seems as if there are never enough hours in a day for me to get done what I want done. How did I ever manage when I worked?????

The weather is supposed to be a bit colder over the next few days and wet snow is forecasted for tomorrow. I wonder if it will happen, sure hope not as I have a dental appointment on Tuesday for a cleaning and I hate driving in that kind of weather.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Well I hope I can come up with 5 frugal things this week. Some of these will be repeats.

1.  Solar lights back out on the deck.

2.  Using up all leftovers as quickly as possible. I managed to get 2 extra dinners (suppers) for Harvey and I this week.

3.  Blinds and drapes open during the day to take advantage of all this lovely sun.

4.  Found a frame for a cross stitch picture in my collection of frames. I will be mounting and hanging it later this coming week.

5.  Reading a free novel on my ereader.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

It's been a funny month so far. My goal list is as long as it was at the beginning of the month. Nothing completed as of yet, a couple of things close to being completed though. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a few of them done. 

The fact is with the nicer weather I am on a cleaning and decluttering spree and that is taking up a great deal of my time. I still get to knit in the evenings and even manage a bit of hand quilting during the afternoon. But and it's a big but I am just not in the mood. 

Plans are whirling around in my head and Harvey even agrees with some of them. That is totally amazing to me, but I think he has been worried about me over the past couple of months and now that the results we have been waiting for are near, he wants me to be a bit less anxious. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that whatever the results we will both meet them head on. 

Since the days in February were cloudy and cold Harvey's depression really hit him hard. Now it is sunny and he can get outside and work things are much better in that department as well. The fact that his doctor left and he needed to find a new one was another obstacle to hurdle. Amazingly the doctor he went to today accepted him as a patient. I just hope this one sticks around until they manage to find a few more doctors to fill the areas we are short in here. 

I overheard while shopping today that we could have snow again next week. It is March and the weather is nothing if not unpredictable this time of year. One great thing is that if it does snow, the white stuff will not stick around for long.

Well off to do a bit more knitting.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

What with the trip to Regina this has not been the most thrifty of weeks, but I did have a few thrifty happenings.

Harvey managed to fix my treadmill for a fraction of the price of a new one or a gym membership. I am a happy person now that I can once again do my walking every morning.

I have been making my own sweet kale salad instead of buying the prepackaged mix. The salad lasts longer as well.

A friend took me out for coffee today. We had a lovely visit and hope to get together again very soon.

Next month the government imposed carbon tax will be taking effect here in Saskatchewan. I am hoping for many lovely sunny days so that I can have the blinds open and use less natural gas or electricity generated by coal. The less we use the less we will have to pay. This month so far there have been very few days that the sun was not shining and the temperature decent.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

For some reason one of my widgets on Blogger is sending a message to my antivirus saying it is contaminated with something or other. This has never happened before and having the message pop up every time I go to visit one of you is annoying. I will need to figure this out very soon.

I did not do the roast meal yesterday. Instead we cleaned out the fridge of all and I do mean all leftovers. Made for very interesting eating to say the least.

Monday

The frozen pre made Turkey Tetrazzini along with asparagus.

Tuesday

There is a bag of leftover pork that will be made into a stir fry and served over rice. I might use some more asparagus up here as well.

Wednesday

Chili and toast (leaning towards trying a veggie chili and will see if we can sneak it by Harvey).

Thursday

A package of leftover ham made into a casserole. Served with salad.

Friday

Maple glazed salmon fillets, rice and leftover salad.

Saturday

Leftover stir fry, rice and salad of some sort (we are really liking kale salad).

Sunday

Roast Chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and the remaining salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

It has been a lovely day here on the Canadian prairies. Melting snow seems to cause ice build up at the end of our street, so even though by the end of the afternoon water is everywhere morning brings icy conditions. Still a person can finally see the beginnings of spring and the new birth of everything around us.

I am still taking it fairly easy, but am hoping that by tomorrow I will be back up and getting things accomplished. Not that I didn't get things done today, more that none of it was very active. No extra cleaning was done for the last few days so that list needs some work.

I no longer hurt at all, still bleeding a bit though. I am also keeping a close eye out for any symptoms of infection. That is the one thing that really scares me as I would need to contact the specialist and probably make a trip up to Regina in order to combat it. No temperature, no heavy, foul smelling discharge as of yet. I do hope that keeps steady and clear. I am not nauseous, or have any other indication of infection.

Goals are slowly being accomplished. Just not as quickly as I had hoped. I will do a post on that later on. I will be carrying a few things over, but I will be crossing a few things off the list. That makes me happy.

Harvey and I discussed getting a smaller computer desk and moving this one into my sewing room. I could actually have all my machines out if this set up was in there. I would have to sell the sewing cabinets, but that would be a good thing. We just have to figure out the correct configuration for the office area. Perhaps an L shaped work station with a small bookcase.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

Yesterday I had my appointment in Regina with the specialist for my cervical biopsy. 

This was not a pleasant experience, as I told Harvey I would much rather break a bone or give birth to 12 babies in a row than go through that again. It hurt (I have a very high pain tolerance)!! I could feel every snip of tissue being removed and there was lots of snipping.

I am not sure if I want the biopsied tissue to be cancer free or not...… It seems that if it is cancerous removal would be preferable to having to go through this every six months or every year (that is if it is one of the diseases that could turn to cancer and they need to keep an eye on it).

Left the room very much in a haze of pain. When I got out to the waiting room Harvey took one look at me and asked what was wrong. I told him I wanted to go home, which meant no visit with Kris. The remainder of yesterday I had major cramps, today they seem to have gone. However the bleeding has not really lessened, and I am busy watching for signs of infection. Hopefully that will not happen and tomorrow everything will be back to normal or at least as normal as it can possibly be.

I need to phone the specialists office on Monday and set up an appointment for 4 weeks. I should know what if anything will be done (or if anything needs to be done) at that point. Four weeks of waiting this time around will be a breeze.

In other news I have almost finished hand quilting the blocks I only have two left and then I can start on the slashing. I may just be able to mark this project off the to do list this month. This means I could almost start another quilt or two to use snuggling into in the living room. Could also mean lots of other sewing getting accomplished as well.

The cleaning and using up of the chest freezer is moving right along. Amazing what a person can do when they put their minds to a task.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Sorry for being MIA but hopefully things will be better as far as me posting for the next month or so.

Frugal happening here are as follows:

1.  Using spools of matching older thread to hand quilt.

2.  Still walking, but doing so outside. Not going as far or as fast as on the treadmill but until the new drive belt comes this is the best I can do.

3.  Hung another load on the lines downstairs. I am now up to three loads.

4.  Using up the food in the fridge and freezers.

5.  Used a coupon to buy our lunch when we went to Regina today for my appointment.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

It was another beautiful sunny day. The snow is melting like crazy and since tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same, perhaps the roads will even be clear of mud and water. So looking forward to spring and all the lovely fresh air I can get when I take a bit of a walk.

Now on to thrifty happenings around here the past week.

I turned the collar on one of Harvey's shirts. 

Cut up a sock for ties (the good one is put on the dresser for the next time socks of the same colour meet this fate). 

Using up bits and bobs from the fridge. Making sure nothing gets pushed to the back.

Combined the dregs of same cleaners into one bottle. Now the under sink areas are nicely organized.

Used up a spool of thread hand quilting. Actually used up every last bit.

Now while the next item is going to cost a bit, it would be way more if Harvey wasn't handy. My treadmill has been acting up and this last time there was no way some spray and cleaning was going to help. Harvey found the drive belt needed on Amazon, ordered it and will be installing it. Hopefully this will work for a very long time. Drive belt less than $20.00, to buy a new treadmill....$900.00. 

While the treadmill is out of commission I am using YouTube and following a walking routine. The one I am using is more of an aerobic work out, but I am just walking to the beat. Not doing the fancy step outs or almost dance movements. It will work while I wait for the treadmill to be repaired.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Wow, it is the middle week of the month. Once again time is flying by on giant wings.

Monday

I will be removing two of the small individually wrapped meatloaves from the freezer today. Served with mashed potatoes (leftover gravy from the hot beef sandwiches) and a salad.

Tuesday

Leftover ham, will be made into a casserole. Just not sure what casserole, or if it will be a new one.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. I am trying to decide if I will pull out stock and make a new soup (so I can freeze some) or use up the mushroom soup in the freezer.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night.

Friday

Not too sure about what we will have. I really don't think we will be home in time for me to cook anything. Could be we have both lunch and supper in the big city. Just have to wait and see.

Saturday

I will make soft tacos. Something we have not had in a very long time.

Sunday

Our usual roast meal. It will be roast pork along with roasted veggies. I need to make a salad as well. I think kale will be best today.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

This is the First Sunday of Lent and we thought about Christ in the desert and all the temptations sent his way. He was grounded in his knowledge that God, his Father, loved Him and would protect Him no matter what was sent his way.

Lent to many people is considered a time of giving things up, in other words depriving our selves. Instead I like to think of it as becoming more firmly rooted in our faith, whichever faith we are. To make time for prayer, and reading the Bible. In other words, trying to become more what God would have us be.

It has been a quiet start to this Lenten season. I am trying very hard to let go of my anxiety over my upcoming tests. What will be, will be. I know God will not give me more than I can handle and will be with me through whatever comes my way. I need to hold onto that and just relax into the season.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

The end of what used to be our work week. Poor Harvey is getting a bit confused over what day it is lately. All day he thought it was Thursday and not Friday. 

The weather has improved greatly and along with my treadmill work out I managed two shorter walks outside today. It was getting pretty slushy out by the time I took my last one.

Now what have I done in a frugal manner this week.

1.  Used coupons to get one free meal the day I was at the hair stylists.

2.  Used up all leftovers in the fridge for our lunches. A bit of salad left tonight which I shall have for my lunch tomorrow.

3.  Solar heated the house for the past few days. Love not having the furnace running all day.

4.  Watching free old series on the television this past week as well as getting caught up on a few series I have missed episodes of.

5.  Downloaded free reading material again this week.

6.  Using up all the bits and bobs of hand and body lotions I have collected over the past.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

Really not that much has been happening around here.

Yesterday I cleaned and organized what was in the chest freezer. My goodness, after not so thrifty removal of items that were way too old to be used things look lots better. I should easily be able to find and use up items the rest of this month. 

Cold winds today, which made things a bit nippy out there, but the sun was shining and that did help with the winter blahs.

I got my package from the doctor in Regina for my appointment. Must remember that I can not have any product with ASA or acetylsalicylic acid in them for three days before the test. Headaches please stay away or be susceptible to Tylenol. I also was surprised to read that I could be staying for up to 2 hours in the Women's Health Care Centre. Hopefully the time spent will be much shorter.

Talked to both of our sons this week. They are both doing well and have told me they want to know immediately the outcome of the tests. I don't know how much, if anything, I will know but I did promise to phone or text them on the way home.

I am trying to come up with a 40 days of Lent Challenge to myself and really haven't been able to come up with anything. Harvey thinks that perhaps we both should put money aside to be given to our Food Bank at the end of Lent and I am leaning that way. Or perhaps picking up a few extra pantry items every time I shop and dropping them off at the Food Bank. I will think on which will do the most good at this point in time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

And So It Begins

This begins our 40 days of Lent. 

I hope all have a fruitful journey.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

This hasn't been the most thrifty of weeks. More than likely due to me finding lots of items that needed to be tossed in that darn chest freezer. I am amazed at how I let it get away from me, but can place some of the blame on having broken my wrist last year. Surprising myself at how well it looks right now even without using a great deal from it. All those 3 and 4 year old frozen baked goods and frozen cherry pie filling (as well as some old veggies) have cleared out a great deal of space. Now just to defrost, reorganize and start using things up.

I had a hair stylist appointment today very late so Harvey decided that I wouldn't have to cook. He grabbed some coupons and got us some burgers and fries for our supper (so Shrove Tuesday was easy peasy). Tomorrow since it is Ash Wednesday I will be switching a few meals around. I will probably do the soup instead and since it makes a big batch well some will be going in the freezer. It will be joining the Cream of Mushroom soup already in there.

Paid for the cut and style with my allowance so no money out of the account. Cha Ching. 

I did do a bit of mending, just a seam or two. And decluttered a bit more.

I hope to have more thrifty happenings here next week.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Ahhh, the first full week of the new month and perhaps a change in the weather situation arriving very soon (or not). I think that perhaps what is getting to most of us here on the prairies of Canada is the warm up slightly and then overnight almost back to well below the temperatures we are used to. Our usual winter weather consists of a week or so of these seriously cold days, and then a gradual warm up. Oh well, we will survive.

Monday

Time to do some clearing out of the freezer. I plan on bringing up a container of stew for our supper. Served over slices of homemade bread. Would make dumplings, but not sure if I really want to.

Tuesday

The leftover beef roast will be made into hot beef sandwiches and served with homemade fries and a salad.

Wednesday

Pulling a package of leftover chicken out of the fridge freezer and having it for supper. I might make Chicken a la King and serve it over toast points.

Thursday 

Lazy perogies (or if I want to be fancy deconstructed perogies). Served with sour cream and leftover salad.

Friday

Soup and sandwiches.... I might just make some Moroccan Lentil soup here. It makes a big batch so some will need to be frozen.

Saturday

Clean out the fridge night. Sure to be lots of leftovers to choose from.

Sunday

Baked Ham, rice, mixed veggies and salad.

I am hoping to use up a few items in that freezer during the week. I have some rhubarb and think a sponge pie would be just lovely. I also see some muffins that I might pull out for snacks during the week.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless. 

Saturday Roundup

Well, this week is drawing to a close and the weather has turned cold once again. Heck one could say we are back in the Polar Vortex once again. Supposedly these temperatures will only last a few days and then perhaps a bit of a warm up is to occur. We shall see.

I have managed to notify most of the family (the ones I feel are important at any rate) that my next tests will be on the 15th of this month. I am hopeful that we will have an answer quickly on whether or not I have cervical cancer. If I do things should move along very quickly after the diagnosis.

Now on to showing you how last months challenge went. I do think I managed to make some headway on getting the fridge freezer in line and I promise myself to never let it get that unorganized again.

Top shelf before:

Top shelf after:

Bottom shelf before:

Bottom shelf after:

Really quite a difference. I can actually see what I have in both drawers as of today.

Now on to this months challenge. 

I have two freezers downstairs in the basement. The one upright that I keep meat in (which is actually pretty darn neat right now), and an old chest freezer that holds veggies from the garden, frozen fruits, baked goods and meats that don't fit in the other freezer easily.

It is very hard for me to share how messy I have allowed the chest freezer to become and so my challenge this month is to use up what I can during the month and try to get some semblance of neat going on.

Here is the before picture...

Today I pulled out some frozen onions and some apple pie filling. The pie filling was used to make a crumb topped pie and the onions put into the fridge to be used making supper on Monday. I am really going to make an effort to get this mess under control this month. It will be a challenge, but one I think I might just enjoy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday and Goals

Friday, and the beginning of a new month. 

I am going to try and come up with 5 frugal things I did this week.

1.  Saved $16.52 on groceries this week.

2.  Came in under total budget for the second month in a row.

3.  Came in under budget for groceries this month.

4.  Opened the front drapes the last few days to take advantage of solar heating.

5.  Worked hard on using up everything that I cooked, or set aside for meals. This did change my menu plans but I can do a work around on most items.

Here are my goals for next month. There are a few that I am getting a bit tired of moving to the next month.

1.  Work on temperature blanket.

2.  Work on quilt and hopefully finish it this month.

3.  Knit cardigan sweater for myself.

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.

5. Work on unfinished embroidery projects.

6.  Continue to make meatless meals (at least 8).

7.  Continue project declutter.

8.  Sew another infinity scarf from knit fabric remnants.

9.  Sew three new projects for myself for both fall/winter and spring/summer.

10.  Plant starter plants.

11.  Income tax to the accountant. 

If you notice there are a few simpler ones that I hope to complete relatively easily.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.