Frugal Friday

End of the month of May. Time is just flying by,

My Frugal five (hopefully) for this week.

1.  Windows open over night to cool down the house.

2.  Saved $6.43 grocery shopping this week with sales. 

3.  Add another $4.25 with the use of coupons.

4.  All laundry hung on the outside lines this week.

5.  Used up a couple of strangely threaded bobbins on the quilts.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Rhubarb and More Rhubarb

The rhubarb is growing by leaps and bounds. I have managed to make 2 of our favourite pies and I still have enough left over to make a cake and muffins tomorrow.

Thought I would share our favourite pie recipe with all of you tonight.

Rhubarb Sponge Pie

3 tbsp. butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 heaping tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 pie crust

Soften butter and stir with sugar, egg yolks, flour and salt. Beat whites until stiff. Add rhubarb to first mixture and stir until mixed. Fold beaten egg whites into this mixture. Fill pie shell and bake at 400 F about 50 min or until top browns.

Tomorrow I am going to make this rhubarb cake.

Rhubarb Cake

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup shortening or butter
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda dissolved in 1 cup sour milk

Mix and put in 9 X 13 greased and floured pan.

Mix together
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. softened butter.

Sprinkle this over top.

Bake 35 minutes at 350 F.

The cake will be used when I have the prayer shawl ministry ladies over on Monday.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

This week has been one of using things up. All those little bits and bobs that seem to accumulate in my fridge and freezers.  I have also been using my pressure cooker a bit more over the last few days and cooking larger batches so that we are able to eat twice with just a warm up. 

I had a bit of a problem with my favourite sewing machine. First I broke a needle and then when I took the plates off to get said needle (it fell through and seems to have disappeared) I saw how lint and dust bunny filled it was. Gave it a good cleaning, put it together, and then it developed another problem. The thread kept bunching up on the bottom.

I was worried that I would have to take it in to the sewing machine hospital (which just happens to be two hours away). Left it overnight, and mid morning after getting my laundry started, pies made, and a few other chores done, decided to give it another go. Seems there was a few threads that were loose, caught in the bobbin feeder that were causing the problem. I got those cleaned out and gave it another go. It is humming away perfectly right now and I hope that continues. 

Tomorrow I get back to quilting that 2nd quilt I have sandwiched. Hopefully finishing it in a couple of days.

I used up another small leftover ball of yarn making those squares. Still not enough to do anything with but I will continue to work with the finer sport weight yarn as I find those orphan balls and little bits of leftovers.

Picked rhubarb from the garden and made two pies today. Used up the frozen pie crusts I had made awhile back. 

Planting and walking for my exercise.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

Wow, we are almost into June and hopefully much nicer temperatures.

Monday

Sweet and sour ribs (making a big batch so we get a second meal out of them), served with rice, and a big salad.

Tuesday

Leftover roast chicken added to the salad along with boiled eggs and perhaps some small amount of ham. Chef's salad is on the menu for tonight.

Wednesday

Leftover ribs, and rice. I will add some peas as a side, and raw veggies and dip.

Thursday

Soup and sandwiches (more than likely salmon salad sandwiches).

Friday

Tuna Casserole served with a Kale salad.

Saturday

BBQ time. I think hotdogs, potatoes and carrots in foil packets sounds just lovely (as well as quick and easy).

Sunday 

Roast beef, and roasted veggies. 

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Mass was very long today. Lots happening and lots of people speaking about the happenings in our Parish community. It was also the last week of the rosary before Mass. It was because of this that we did not have the prayer shawls blessed and will have to pick another day.

Because of all that was happening at church our priest did not give a homily. I imagine that Mass would have been twice as long if he had. We had a talk about faith formation and evangelization instead. This was given by our chair person for that particular committee (who really does not have a committee). The Faith Formation portion I understood very well and see how it fits into parish life. Evangelization not so much.

We will be getting air conditioning in the church over the next few years. One of our families offered to buy the units (we will need at least 2 or 3 large ones as our church is very big), but Father was asking if families could give to help with venting and installation costs. It would be lovely to actually be cool at Mass as during the summer it can be very hot.

It has been a cold and cloudy day. No rain is forecast but a frost advisory has been put in place. I was outside covering plants (some had to be brought in, and Harvey covered all his veggies. Strange to have a frost warning so late in the season. It makes me happy that I did not get other plants into the ground (still have perennials and a few annuals to get in, next week hopefully).

I was working on my quilt and my machine has started to act up. I will take it apart in a couple of days to see what is happening. Hopefully it just needs a good cleaning and nothing is wrong. If there is something seriously wrong with it I will have to take it about 150 miles away to be serviced. Good thing I have other machines that I can use, it is just that I love this one for quilting and I am not to sure if the others will work as well. The thread is bunching on the bottom and not feeding through. This only happens when I stop work to straighten the fabric. I did manage to finish this quilt and hand sewed on the binding to the back.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

It has been a fairly quiet week. I have worked around the house and yard, so just a few frugal practices.

Blinds and drapes open to take advantage of the natural lighting and the solar heating.

Clothing hung out on the lines to dry again this week.

We got rain today and so the rain barrel is about 1/3 full (it is an almost 300 gallon tank). Hopefully more rain coming so it fills up the rest of the way.

Garden watered by rain instead of the hose (rain barrel was empty until today's fill up).

Used up some more of those finer small balls of yarn making squares.

Used up some leftover bits and bobs from the fridge freezer in making meals this week.

Watching free TV.

Downloaded some free reading material.

Saved $3.99 on my groceries this week, plus got some free hamburger buns.

All in all not a bad week, though savings on groceries could have been better.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

My cold is getting better. Still stuffed up and have a slight cough, but the temperature and headache have now disappeared. 

Managed to get outside and plant two more pots up. All I now have left is the items that will be put into the perennial bed and I need to replant my coleus and find that missing sage. 

I did not go shopping today, figured another day of sticking close to home would be best. So I tidied my curio cabinet (holds my angel collection), did some decluttering, worked on one of the quilts (hopefully will finish it tomorrow so I can work on the second one), and have been knitting. All between bouts of sitting in my recliner drinking hot tea and lemon. All in all a perfectly wonderful day. 

Harvey did get some more of our solar lights out and we have placed them in the garden. I sure hope they all work, it gets pretty black out there at night.

I did some phoning today and the pre-op paperwork is at the specialists so I can expect a phone call re my operation in a short time. At least I hope in a short time, but after I have gotten rid of this silly cold. 

Shopping will be done tomorrow with my list in hand. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Plumb Tuckered Out

Yep, after a whole winter of not catching the flu or a cold, I have come down with a nasty stuffed nose cold.

I find I can only do a bit at a time before I need to sit and catch my breath or my energy. 

Still even doing things in fits and starts I have managed over the last couple of days to get most (if not all of) my to do list done. 

I even managed to do a bit of extra cleaning. Just little chores, but enough to make me feel as if I have actually cleaned my home. I still have some larger extra cleaning chores to do so hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow.

Off to have some hot tea and lemon. But first I need to visit everyone.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Another week has rolled by quickly. What thrifty things have been happening on the old homestead?

I found some fabric I had picked up at a church rummage sale awhile back. It is the exact material I need to make myself some new tea towels. No spending there, just a bit of hemming and some decorative touches (may just use my embroidery machine for this project).

Grew some of my own fillers for the baskets outside. Lots of savings there and I had a lovely mass of green on my table over the cold month of March.

Veggies are planted and potatoes are even starting to pop through the soil. Our garden has gotten smaller each year, but still there will be enough to freeze or put in the cold room for winters usage.

Used up the last of the dried sage. Well, I ground it up and got it into the container. Next will be the dried parsley, the dried basil and the dried oregano. Got to get ready for the coming harvest.

Still keeping busy using up the small balls of fine yarn. I have two left to make squares from not including the one I am trying to use up right now.

Other partial or orphan balls are being worked up into the temperature blanket. 

I would like to welcome all my new readers. It is great that you stop in for a visit and I will be checking out your blogs over the next little while.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Sorry that I have been missing in action over the past couple of days, but our youngest came home for a visit and that is what I have been doing. He is sleeping right now which gives me a few moments to talk with all of you. I will be back later to visit.

So close to the end of the month that it is scary. I really need to get working on those goals for the month.

Monday

BBQ hamburgers and leftover salad. I may do some tin foil potatoes as well.

Tuesday

Some of the leftover ham from the fridge freezer. I plan on making a casserole, or perhaps a main dish salad of some type (provided the weather warms up).

Wednesday

Sweet and sour ribs, rice and a salad (more than likely a kale salad).

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night.

Friday

Soup and sandwiches. I think I just might pull out the Moroccan Lentil soup from the freezer (or perhaps the Cream of Mushroom). Almost a no cook day for me that way.

Saturday

Pulling a bag (last one) of the leftover turkey from the freezer and making something new and exciting hopefully.

Sunday 

Roast chicken which I must remember to add to the grocery list for this week. Served with salad, roasted potatoes, and roasted mixed veggies.

There you have it and as usual lunches will be leftovers or sandwiches. In my case it is usually some yoghurt or hummus and melba toast with a chaser of a handful of almonds.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

It has been a cold and windy day today. That has stopped me from doing any planting. In fact it is highly doubtful anything will get planted this weekend as temperatures are to drop just to freezing or even lower. I don't want to have to replace all my plants so they will be staying in where it is nice and warm. In fact it was so cold this morning, that even though we turned down the thermostat on the furnace it kicked in. Thank heavens for shawls to wrap up in!!!

I managed to save $11.43 on the grocery bill this week.

I needed some small trellis's to go into my pots. I could not find any at Walmart for under $10.00 each, so I traveled to our Dollar Tree and managed to pick up 4 for less than 1/2 the cost of the one.

I was going to use fabric to cover those pattern binders I have left, but then realized that I would probably need that fabric (it is an outdoor type) to make a few more cushions for the various seating on the deck and beside the firepit. As I was in Dollar Tree already I took a look at their paper rolls. Found 4 of the same pattern and grabbed them as they were on sale (marked down) 2 for the price of 1.

All laundry was hung outside on the umbrella line dryer. So nice to have everything finished at once!!

Leftovers all used up either as lunches or made into a new meal. 

Still working on using up all that finer wool, then I will start on the worsted. These blankets will be used outside to wrap up on those cold evenings.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Clutter, Clutter, Clutter

As I have mentioned before I am on a quest to get things straightened up an reorganized in the sewing/craft room. Since I can not do more decluttering of fabric until I get my sewing mojo back (hopefully this weekend I will be able to look at the patterns I have cut out and get at least one or two finished up), I decided it was time to go through the binders of patterns for crafts, knitting and sewing I had saved over the years.

Two days later I had removed all the double patterns I had printed out (at least I hope so) and managed to cut out 6 binders. Yea me!!!

Then I looked at all the cross stitch pattern books I had bought over the years. Lovely magazines just filled with patterns that I was going to do. Did I do them? Not a chance.

So I pulled them out of the bookcase and put them in groups of 10 listing them on our garage sale site. No takers as of yet, but I will leave them up for another couple of days. Then if they still not taken I will load them up and take them to the Salvation Army.

I thought I would share a picture with you of the miniature that Kurt brought back from the UK for me many years ago.

I went a bit cross eyed completing it.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Really only one thrifty move this week that is different from other weeks. 

I always save the sheets that no longer fit our bed due to shrinkage or worn areas. I do this for backing on quilts, making small gift bags or new pillow cases. I had a lovely blue set of sheets that got too small to fit the bed any longer a few years ago, and put them away for use later. 

Then one Christmas Harvey wanted a lighter pair of pj bottoms. Guess what part of those sheets became. Yesterday I took the last bit and made curtains for our basement bedroom from them. Managed to use up most of the top sheet on that one. The bottom sheet will be used as backing on the blue striped quilt top. It feels great not to be adding to the surplus of fabric and clothing that is/might be sent overseas where if they can't use it will be burned.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Sorry for no posts this weekend, just too busy enjoying the lovely weather (well at least yesterday) and talking to friends about what I feel is both positive (there are a few things) and negative happening in our parish. I have a few things I need to sort in my mind before I make my decision on whether or not to draw back from certain things and individuals in the parish.

Anyhow, on with the weeks menus.

Monday

Baked spaghetti (made from the leftovers), salad (once again leftover from another meal) and probably the asparagus that needs using up in the crisper.

Tuesday

Smoked sausages along with rice and mixed veggie. If there is leftover salad we will finish that up here.

Wednesday

Finishing off the leftover baked spaghetti.

Thursday

A package of turkey out of the freezer and perhaps a new recipe tried (youngest son Kris could be home tonight). I will make a tossed salad to go along with the main course.

Friday

Fish fillets, homemade fries and another salad.

Saturday

Stuffed Chicken, mashed potatoes, peas. and the remaining salad (if there is none I will make another). 

Sunday

Kris will be heading back home so we will have our regular roast meal. I was going to have a ham, but I think I will make the pork roast that was not cooked yesterday. Served with roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and any remaining salad.

Change ups in menus coming soon. I can hardly wait to eat main dish salads once again.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

My frugal 5 for the past week.

1.  Used some rain water to water a couple of plants indoors.

2.  Purchased larger plants rather than a couple of small ones to use in the big planters. Cost was actually less when I did my calculations.

3.  A friend gave me some stabilizer to use in my embroidery of the labels for the prayer shawls, and there is enough to use for other projects as well.

4.  All meals made at home with products I had on hand.

5.  Worked on knitting those little squares from leftover small balls or orphan skeins of yarn.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

The weather has slowly been getting nicer. Still not nice enough to play in the dirt for very long, but still nicer temperature wise from last week.

I have been busy on many little projects, decluttering, cleaning the house, and trying to get ahead. I want to get as much done as possible before my surgery date, which could come up quite quickly after the doctor gets all the paperwork back in.

I finished the very small cross stitch and pulled out another to start at some point next week. I have also finished many more little squares, pictures to come tomorrow.

I have weeded the perennial bed, but due to the many seeds on one of our maple trees, once again lots of little trees are popping up. I hope to get out again tomorrow.

No weight loss this week (well perhaps a few ounces), but I am maintaining very well. My daily walks are helping this out.

Grocery shopping was held to a minimum, which makes me happy. We also got full months carbon tax on our bills this month. The electric bill added a whole $2.47 to the total (put we don't have to pay provincial taxes which would have added close to $7.00) and the gas bill was a bit higher on the carbon tax at $5.41 (once again no provincial sales tax which would have been close to $9.00 more). I think we might be making a bit of money over all. This will also give us an incentive to cut our power and gas usage next winter.

No more news to impart.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A Gift

A few years ago, Harvey bought me a wicker rocker for Mother's Day. Every fall we bring it in for the winter months. This past winter Harvey has decided that it is his favourite chair and will not bring it back up.... This left us (well me) with no comfortable seat on the deck.

So today Harvey decided to get me my Mother's Day gift a bit early and came home with this.

I must say this is a very comfortable chair. Perfect for curling up with a good book  or knitting the afternoon away. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

I made a few thrifty moves over the past week.

I hemmed some pants that were too long for Harvey.

Hung an extra load of clothes on the lines downstairs.

Found some fabric as I was decluttering the sewing/craft room that will be perfect for making some curtains for the downstairs bedroom. Using up the stash is a big plus in my books.

Blinds and drapes were opened to allow the sun to heat up the front of the house. As long as it is sunny it seems like no matter what the temperature is outside those big picture windows allow lots of solar heating.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Another week of cooking lies ahead. I can't wait for the weather to improve enough that Harvey is willing to stand outside and BBQ. Until that happens I guess I am pretty much the chief cook and bottle washer here.

Monday

Making a big pot of chili and serving it with toast. Hopefully freezing some for a meal later on (when I need something already made) and having enough for leftovers on Wednesday.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef made into a casserole. Served with a kale salad and asparagus.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night. Need to use up what is left of the asparagus as well.

Thursday

I am going to make a big pot of soup and freeze some for a meal later. Served with egg salad sandwiches.

Friday

Glace, or as some people call it deconstructed perogies.

Saturday

Spaghetti and meat sauce. I shall make a salad here to serve along with the meal.

Sunday

Our usual roast meal, this time pork roast along with a mixture of vegetables thrown in a pan, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roasted beside the meat.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today the archbishop was coming to parish for confirmation. I find it a bit hard to believe that children in grade 2 are ready for confirmation, but will go with the flow. Some people have said that by confirming these children they are more likely to stay in the church... Don't know how true that is as 3/4 of the children that I have seen confirmed since the age change do not come to Mass after.

I looked around at the lovely decorations in the church today, and then looked at all the new things this priest has decided we need. We had a lovely Easter Candle that we just added a container of oil to every so often, plus we only needed to replace the stickers on this candle every year, now we have a regular wax candle (which will burn irregularly) and will need to be replaced every year. This at a cost of $800.00 compared to about $300.00. A new set of pitchers and goblets were bought as well. We only bought new sacred vessels 5 years ago (actually they were donated), and the cost of these new vessels (which we really did not need) was $2K. Then my glance fell on the new Holy water container. I, myself (and I have overheard others saying the same thing) think it is a bit over the top and the price was ridiculous....5K.

This does not include the new vestments we have bought (yet again) at a cost of 25K and a myriad of smaller items. We then have a priest that knocks on doors and tells parishioners that they are not giving enough, or should leave money to the church when they pass on.

I am beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by what is happening in our church as far as spending is concerned. I am also worried about this "team" approach that is always being spoken about. It seems as if some people are more members of the "team" than others.

I think it is time for me to step back and re-evaluate what I really want to be doing in a church that seems to feel some people are more important than others (at least from what I can see). While I have loved being a lector and communion minister I think it just might be time to give those up, and while I really believe in the Ecumenical movement within the church, I feel others should either back off and let me do what is necessary, or take over (which they probably want).

The things that bring me joy as far as ministry within the church right now are few and far between. I love the Prayer Shawl ministry I started, love working with those that need help in any manner and love singing in the congregation. I think perhaps it is time that I stopped talking about doing only those things that bring me joy, and actually do those things.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

This week has been one full of decluttering, organizing, and as is usual at this time of year, spring cleaning. Oh yes, I must not forget starting to work on brand new projects for this month.

As far as spring cleaning is concerned I just have the walls to wash in one bedroom, cupboards to straighten up and wipe down, and floors to give a really good scrubbing with a brush to get into all the nooks and crannies. Tomorrow I plan on getting the last of the walls washed. Next week should see the end of spring cleaning.

Decluttering a few things from the sewing /craft room. Today it was some fabric that I bought from garage sales but probably will never use. Tomorrow after wall washing I will be back in there and doing a second cull, plus a refolding of some pieces. I might even pull some to cut out a couple of pairs of shorts.

I am typing this on my tablet and it is doing strange things (missing letters or changing the words I am typing), so I will cut this short. I hate when auto correct decides they know better than I, what I am trying to say.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

All the usual frugal happenings this past week. I do have some new frugal ideas (well a combination of frugal/recycling/no waste type things. Any way along with the usual frugal habits, here are a few new things I have done.

1.  I made a wall washing pad to go on the end of my Swifter floor duster and I have been using it to wash my walls.

2.  Watching free movies and series while knitting, sewing and mending.

3.  Have 6 ivy type plants started, and 5 Moon flower pots started as well.

Can not think of anything new right now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

GOD BLESS.

New Month, New Goals

It is a brand new month, bringing with it all that a fresh new beginning happens. I have my list of goals for the month.

1.  Cut out four more patterns.

2.  Sew all cut out patterns.

3.  Knit squares from leftover yarn (ongoing until I have enough for a blanket).

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.

5.  Work on the temperature blanket (year long project...I will post a picture of what I have gotten done.

6.  Sew tool caddy for under the Cricut.

7.  Continue with declutter.

8.  Start one cross stitch project (just a small one that I have had for a number of years).

9.  Buy bedding plants, and plant them all.

10.  Get two more large planters.

11.  Sandwich and finish 2 or more quilts.

My big project for the month in the sewing/craft room will be consolidating two sets of storage drawers of fabric into one.

The clear ones are the ones I will be working on this month. Hopefully I will get everything straightened up. I think folding the fabric properly will help the process immensely. Plus of course using more of it up making some necessary clothing and a pair of curtains for the bedroom downstairs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Update on Goals From Last Month

1.  Knit cardigan for me. This has been put aside for awhile.

2.  Sew three projects for myself. Not done as my sewing mojo seems to have left me high and dry.

3.  Alter skirts.  Done.

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.  Done

5.  Decluttering. Added to my total. I am now up to 162 items gone from the house.

6.  Work on temperature blanket. Working on this year long project.

7.  Sew 2 new quilt tops. Done, actually made more that the 2 tops.

8.  Mount and frame more cross stitch.  Mounted more cross stitch now Harvey needs to make me some frames.

9.  Tidy up sewing/craft room again.  Done, but could be done again.

10.  Cut out 2 more patterns. Done.

11.  Make up stock up list. Done.

12.  Swap out wardrobe for spring/summer clothing. Done.

13.  Use some of the smaller balls of yarn to knit squares for a blanket. Done and still being worked on in the evenings.

My big goal for the month was cleaning out one of my sets of storage drawers...

Remember this

Well that has been used up for the most part and any extra yarn or quilting items have either been used up (in those quilt tops, the strips at any rate) or put in other storage boxes that were almost empty. 

There are a few items I have to clear off the floor, as you can see, but the main part is cleared out.

So my goal for this month is to continue with the decluttering of my sewing/craft room, perhaps even get rid of another set of storage drawers (they are piled 2 high) and work on going through my craft books and culling them (that will be difficult).

I am having a problem with some posters, so I am going to do something I swore I wouldn't do and add comment moderation to my blog. I don't want them bothering all of you as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.