Nothing, Nada, I Need to Practice Patience

 Still no call from the doctor, no call from the office either to set up a new appointment. I suppose that can be construed as kind of good news. Mind you the week isn't over yet so who knows what will happen. 

I need to figure out a way to hang my yarn wreath up either on the door of the sewing/craft room or on one of the walls in the room itself. I may need Harvey's help with that though. Not a good hammerer of nails or other such things. I seem to hit my fingers instead of the nail. 

I sewed another 4 patches on Kris's quilt, only two left to go and I may just leave them until for another day and work on doing the yarn ends on the dish cloths and sewing...which of course I procrastinated on once again. They take a very short time to sew, so I hope to get those completed tomorrow.

Frugally, well I baked bread, washed and hung some of the quilts and took a couple of walks. I brought the meats up for the main courses of our suppers this week and truth be told probably some of next weeks meals as well now reside in the fridge freezer. 

I have also made my list of projects for April (probably will add to them as the month progresses, just a slight habit I have) and I will share them with you tomorrow along with how well I did on this months "crafty" projects. I might even add a picture or three.

Tomorrow I plan on trying a bit of batch cooking between other tasks (just soup, pizza dough and the making of said pizza) and getting things cleared up a bit more in the sewing/craft room. My that room seems to get overwhelmed at times with projects started and projects finished and projects in the planning stages. I really need to learn how to organize things a bit better or at least not get so carried away. I started a bit of an organizing spree today, and will continue with that tomorrow. I just might even find a few things to declutter along the way.

We had a visitor to our yard this morning.

This was taken out the window you can enlarge it (at least I hope). While we often have pheasants visit us by walking down the street or on the edge of the valley, this is the first time we have had one visit our front yard. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. I will visit you all shortly (well after supper). 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday and More

 

Not sure how thrifty this past week was but here we go.

I found fairly inexpensive fabric to repair Kris's quilt.

We had the wind behind us on our trip to the city and our gas mileage was awesome...Not quite as good on the way back.

Kris made us a wonderful supper on his BBQ on Sunday. I brought the cake I made for our dessert and left it with him as thanks for the place to stay and the meal.

Used up leftovers making new and hopefully exciting meals, also made a couple of tinfoil meals to take to Kris. 

Lots of walking done this week as the weather was just lovely.

Now on to the more......

While at Kris's we hung the bedroom door, and put together his coffee and end tables. 

I did some cleaning for him (top of stove, counters and if I could have found something to clean the sinks with would have done that as well, next time). 

I went to my appointment on Monday morning (the reason we were in the city) just to find out there had been an emergency at one of the hospitals and my appointment had been cancelled. I am hopeful that all I need is to have a telephone appointment. However the receptionist couldn't give me a time or day other than sometime after 5:30 pm sometime this week. That is unless he needed to see me and then she would be phoning to set up an appointment. Not a happy camper here.

I also got a text from Kris saying that he had been rear-ended on the way to work. His bumper is a mess, but I asked if he had been injured and he said no. The car is still drivable, and he is taking it in to the Kia dealer on Friday for an estimate on repairs. Hopefully everything works out. 

I am also reworking my menu for this final week of the month. After going to Costco and showing Harvey how much prices have risen, he is even more with me on trying to get more meatless meals in a month. I also have lots of items that need to be used up before too long. So no menu plan for this week other than to say we are having lentil curry on rice today, mushroom soup sometime this week, as well as that homemade pizza I was going to make last week. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Tomorrow we head to the city and will stay the night with Kris as my appointment is early Monday morning. After which I hope to be in the mood to go to Costco and do a bit of a stock up. All depends on my results.

As far as this doctor letting me know if there is a problem...not going to happen. He did not let me know anything the last time when it was discovered that my "bad non cancerous cells" had in fact become cancerous until he saw me. I have the feeling that this is his usual method. Oh well, what will be, will be.

I have spent the last couple of days working on items to take up with us to Kris's.

Here are the cushions and the covers I made for him.

 I have also been working on the quilt, which will not be done by the time we leave tomorrow. I made all the patches yesterday and started hand sewing them on today. Still have quite a way to go on that part of the project.

Looks pretty funky, and I do hope he likes it. I did use fabrics that more or less contained the colours in the original. The white background stands out more than I like. 

I also finished the yarn wreath. Now just to figure out how to hang the dang thing.

Other than finishing some dish cloths and doing a bit of cross stitch my days have been pretty much the usual. Same frugal habits, same thrifty doings. I think I just might have to find some ways to up my game. Things are getting way too expensive.

Off to get supper started (another change in menu plans, but I am using something I had planned on using up last week). Hopefully I will manage to visit you all tonight. I have been a bit remiss in that regard.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Mid Week Blahs

 Not really feeling upbeat and with it right now. I think it is probably worry about the weather (March here in Saskatchewan is nothing if not unpredictable), what is wrong with Kurt's vehicle, and how Kris is doing after the first full month in his new home and probably his first mortgage payment, power, phone, cable, and gas bills. 

Part of it could also be a bit of worry about going back up to Regina to see the specialist for the results of last month's tests. I hate having to wait for a month before getting results.

I have been working on my various projects, and am slowly but surely getting a few of them completed. However just like last month I seesaw between projects and don't seem to be able to concentrate on one for very long. 

This is what I have gotten done so far.

The one pair of socks done and put away.

The yarn wreath was finished this morning. I just have to figure out a way to hang it and where I want it hung.

I knit three scarves, and knit the toque.

Working on cross stitch about 2 hours a day when it is sunny. 

Matched sewing patterns to fabric.

What I haven't got done,

No sewing of shorts (hope to do that on Friday).

Projects I added to the month cause I didn't feel like sewing those shorts.

Knitting more dishcloths (I am on number 3).

Sewing cushion inserts for some cushions for Kris.

Sewing cushion covers for the inserts above (need to make them so they can be removed for washing).

Planning on the patching of Kris's quilt. I may work on that as well since we could take it up to him this weekend.

Who knows in my inability to keep working on one item at a time, I may just be able to add a few more items to my list for the month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

A new week and one of the weeks that I have actually planned at least two meatless meals. 

Monday

Vegetable Soup and egg salad sandwiches.

Tuesday

I will make the pork roast meal that was planned for Sunday, but after brunch Harvey and I were full for most of the day.

Wednesday

I will be using one of the bags of leftover roast meals today. I am going to use up a bag of chicken. I think a chicken casserole will be lovely (and give us some leftovers for another meal). I will probably make a salad to go along.

Thursday

Homemade pizza. I am not sure if I will buy a crust or throw one together in the bread machine. This will use up some sausage, ham and some onion (may buy a pepper or two while shopping). It should also use up the open bag of Mozzarella cheese in the fridge. Served with what is left of the salad.

Friday

Lazy perogies, along with some sour cream.

Saturday

Either the leftover pizza or leftover chicken casserole, depending on what there is the most of.

Sunday 

We will be heading to Kris's as my appointment is in the early morning on Monday. I think I will take a bag of leftover ham with us and make us some kind of casserole. Or we could order in.....

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 We went to Mass this morning, and while I have gone a number of times by myself this was Harvey's second trip. There are still many missing from the congregation though and I think that it is still going to be awhile before people feel comfortable returning.

I thought I would share some pictures of what I have been working on this week.

First off some of the projects I have actually managed to complete.

A toque out of the last of the gifted yarn.

Three scarves to start off the collection to give away next winter.

Three pillow inserts for Kris. I will be making the covers this week and doing them in such a way that he will be able to remove them for washing.

The yarn wreath is almost completed. I am going to have to figure out a unique way of hanging it as overall the wreath is heavier than I thought it would be. I have a few more balls of leftover yarn inside, and I need to fashion some smallish balls to fill in a few spots.

And last but not least....

Just a bit more done on the cross stitch. Hopefully even more will be added this week.

Now I need to think of something to keep my hands busy with at night. Perhaps some more dishcloths. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Really not too much to report this week. It has been a wash, rinse and repeat kind of time.

I am going out walking a bit more as the temperatures and weather are more conducive to that past time. In fact this afternoon I took a 20 minute stroll. One still has to be a bit careful because under the melted ice, ice still lingers making it a bit slippery in certain areas.

Worked on projects and hopefully will have some pictures tomorrow to share with you all. I didn't finish much just the scarves that were on the plan for this month. Perhaps tomorrow a bit more will be completed. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

The weather has been absolutely beautiful this past week. Sure there have been days of overcast sky, but the temperatures have been wonderful and the snow is melting quickly. Our gravel driveway is almost completely cleared off and the ice chipping has been going great guns. 

So what frugal things have been taking place on the old homestead this week.

1.  I have taken one or two walks every day this week.

2.  Got a free bottle of water and some small chocolate bars at the Bible study this week.

3.  Using up and refashioning leftovers has actually given us extra meals this week. I will probably be carrying over a few of this weeks meals into next week.

4.  Harvey made fudge last night and while I had to do extra clean up of the kitchen, that fudge sure hit the spot. Also it is much less expensive than buying chocolate bars.😋

5.  Working on projects to use up my various stashes (yarn and fabric).

I was asked where I found the frugal books. Well I have a Kobo ereader, which is put out by Chapters/Indigo here in Canada. They have an online store where you can purchase books or download free reading material. Harvey got me a gift card a couple of Christmas's ago and I am still working on using it up. He got me more this year so I have lots of credit. I have now been checking out simple living books and will more than likely be downloading some of those as well. Then I will move on to some knitting books. 

Now what has been not so frugal on the old homestead. 

While this meant spending some cash it is to replace something we have had for close to 20 years. Our cordless phones bit the dust. They are used daily both upstairs by me (cause I can take the phone into the sewing/craft room) and when Harvey is downstairs it is convenient not to have to run a phone down to him. So we went out and purchased a set of two. I think we will be removing the old wall phone as well. One more item to donate and remove from our home. 

There will be a few other purchases this year to enable us to stay in our home just a bit longer. 

Harvey is having trouble raking the yard in the spring to de-thatch the grass so he is thinking of purchasing an electric de-thatcher, plus a battery operated self propelled lawn mower. Whatever makes life easier is wonderful. While probably not frugal in the moment, they will be frugal as the years progress.

I may have a way to fix Kris's quilt thanks to a lovely reply. Now I just have to figure out an artistic way of doing it, and see how much purple fabric I can locate. I will be haunting the second hand stores over the next little while.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

It's the beginning of another week and as March is half way over the weather has improved. While the sun only breaks through for a few hours a day, the temperature is such that the ice and snow are melting. Now just to hope that this continues and Mother Nature is not playing a trick on us. 

I brought Kris's favourite quilt home to try and repair it. Turns out that will not be happening. I figure that when I get a chance I will make a new top, sandwich the layers together and add another binding to it. It may take awhile to get enough of the colours he loves but I am determined. 

Meals are becoming a game of stretching and using everything up. Slowly but surely I am enjoying finding new recipes online and in one of the many cookbooks I have. 

I made soup using the broccoli stems and it is in the freezer. 

Baked bread twice this week.

Using more appliances to cook our meals whenever possible.

Downloaded some inexpensive frugal tip books from the Chapters/Kobo store. I am hoping there is a frugal tip or two that I can use in my quest (or should I say game) of trying to cut expenses. I used a gift card to do so and still have some cash left on it. I may check out some organizing books next.

Since the weather changed I have managed walks outside over the last few days. Looking forward to more fresh air.

Once again I saved the twist ties, and small plastic bags to reuse when I go shopping again for produce.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

New week, new plans. 

Monday

Spaghetti and meat sauce, served with the remainder of the salad.

Tuesday

Leftover pork roast made into pork hash. I will make peas to go along with the meal.

Wednesday

Chicken strips, dip and a salad. 

Thursday

Baked spaghetti and salad.

Friday

Fish sticks, salad and fries.

Saturday

Sausages, fries, and hopefully brown beans.

Sunday

Roast Chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots.

Thursday will be a bit tricky, but I should be able to get started on the meal early so I can get to Bible study on time.

I will visit you all a bit later, got the laundry to hang right now.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Just thought I would send you some pictures of the projects I am working on.

Only a tiny bit of the cross stitch completed. We have had very few sunny days, and I had way too many colour changes.

One of the scarves completed (looks pretty blue here though in reality it is blue green).

The beginnings of another scarf.

A pair of socks.

The beginnings of my yarn wreath. Lots of colour here.

I didn't take a picture of the shorts I cut out. Waiting until they are sewn.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I was in a great deal of shock today when I went shopping. Prices have risen once again. I was very surprised at how much higher certain items were. Eggs went up over a dollar for 18, flour (the least expensive) and already risen two dollars for a large bag. Never mind the cost of meat. I am worried at how those that don't know to budget or have a stocked pantry are going to be able to eat. I know I am lucky in that Harvey pretty much eats whatever is put in front of him, and is willing to try new things. 

This uptick in prices will make budgeting an adventure, but one that I hope to excel at eventually. Also looking forward to getting our garden in and producing.

The week has been one of going over costs, trying to find ways to save a penny here and a dollar there. Small savings add up.

Now that the sun is shining more our gas bill should go down, and that will be fairly large savings. Today however the sun just came out at 4:00 pm so the furnace ran a few times even though it is fairly warm out. 

I finished a scarf this week, started the second one (about 3" completed now), worked a bit on my cross stitch, baked an apple strudel using up more of the frozen pie filling and the remainder of the phyllo pastry sheets. Bread has been baked twice this week and a package of store bought bagels eaten (one left in the freezer that had been bought on sale, but the new price is one that makes me want to try making them at home). 

No real waste this week, and tonight I will use up the remaining mashed potatoes making potato cakes tonight to go with our porkchops and salad. 

I have checked out the Kobo store and there are a couple of frugal living books that are fairly decently priced, so tonight I will download those onto my reader and see if I can find any new tricks.

As far as grocery spending today, not all of this is for food stuffs. I bought some supplements, candles, some stuffing for cushions and a sheet set as well. In Canadian funds I spent $461.13 total. Changed into American funds that is $361.95 and in pounds it is 277.65. While this might sound pretty outrageous, this is for two weeks and in some cases even longer. Some of the supplements I will not have to purchase for over a month. Still I plan on working this down even lower over the coming months. We really do not have great sales here in my city and finding coupons is very difficult. Hence why I try and cut other bills in some fashion. 

Tonight I am doing some appliance cooking once again. Our porkchops are being baked in the toaster oven, salad is resting in the fridge (should be enough made to eat on it for a couple of days), the bread machine was used to make the bread and even bake it (makes a horizontal loaf). I will have to use the stove top to make the potato cakes, but that is only for a few minutes. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 Wow has this week ever passed by quickly. Things are going well here on the old homestead. Perhaps too well, however I need to check on something as our combined TV/phone/internet bill seems to have jumped by $20.00 over the last few months. Must check into why when I thought we had taken a lower television package. Perhaps it is time to get rid of the landline after all. 

Fuel took a twenty cent jump this week and it looks as if it will continue to rise. It is a good thing I don't go to work any longer and for an SUV our vehicle gets darn good gas milage. I am hoping that this next trip is the last we make to Regina until the weather improves. 

So what frugal happenings have been going down here on the old Phillips homestead.

1.  Laundry done in the usual frugal manner. I am wondering if we can manage to go an extra day or two between washings. Might give that a try this week. It could mean more hanging up on the lines downstairs but that is just fine.

2.  Only turning on the dishwasher when it is full, I wish that could be more than every second day but I seem to fill it after two days.

3.  Baking bread at least twice a week, and planning on trying my hand at homemade bagels, hamburger buns, and hotdog buns. Though the old fashioned slices of bread still work around here right now.

4.  Nothing going to waste. Extra food is frozen for another meal, or made into a tinfoil dinner for youngest DS. Really working on using all food and other items up. 

5.  Extending the meat portions of meals by using more vegetables. 

6.  Getting together recipes for personal products. I love the scrub I made and will be making more, plus other bath items as well.

7.  Added another two meatless meals a month. 

8. Using appliances to cook more of our meals.

So what frugal things have you been up to this week?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

 

Just a very short post today. I didn't get the time to post yesterday for a very different reason.

In the middle of the afternoon, I got a text from the lady who runs the Bible study, asking if I could lead the session tonight. Being as I am the only "leader" that was not doing any sessions, I thought it was best to say yes. So that meant spending the evening frantically preparing. It really isn't up to my usual standards (I like knowing and beginning to prepare weeks before), I have done my best. I have now developed a headache which is because I don't feel well prepared.

Yesterday Kris had the company come in to service the boiler in his home. Turns out the boiler is on it's last legs and will need replacing shortly. Hopefully it lasts the winter. A company rep is coming on Friday after hours to discuss options with him. I think he is going to go with replacement with what is called a combi boiler (combined water heater and boiler heat) and even renting the unit instead of buying it outright. There are advantages to both owning and renting, but cost is a big factor right now.

I have been cross stitching, but man it is slow going. I have a feeling that this project will not be finished this month. I have also added a couple of projects that hopefully will get done as well. 

We have been looking for a new table and chairs, but nothing is calling to us. I think we might try refinishing the old table and just purchasing new chairs that match as closely as possible. Harvey says that could be his spring/summer project this year. 

The days are getting longer and I am loving it. While I couldn't go for my walk today (windy and cold) I am enjoying the sun shining in our big picture window.

That is all the news from around here. Off to try and visit a few of you before my early supper and the Bible study.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

It's been another pretty darn thrifty week here on the Phillips homestead. I have even managed to get out and walk for some fresh air and thrifty/frugal exercise. However today was a struggle to even get out to pick up the mail. It is snowing and blowing like crazy here and we have some not so lovely drifts building up at the end of our road. 

On to thrifty happenings.

I saved some more twist ties from various packages. I use them to close my bread bags after the bread has cooled down.

Found some lovely patterns for knitting and cross stitch online.

I am trying to figure out how to mend a quilt for Kris. It is one of his favs, and it seems like his washer and drier decided to eat it a bit. It is going to take awhile to fix.

Darned another pair of gloves.

Collecting a few coupons for this biweekly shopping trip. 

Working on using every little bit of food up. This sometimes means changing the menu a bit, but it is well worth it.

Baking bread and looking into making my own bagels at some point. I have a few recipes now just have to work up the courage to give it a go.

At the beginning of the pandemic and what was the Great Toilet Paper Shortage, I had made some reusable wipes for number 1. With the cost of things rising I may just make a few more from the scraps of flannel I have and start to use them. Just need to find a container to put the used ones in until I wash them. We go through lots of tp here for some reason.

I am planning an at home date night with Hubby. Think it is time for a movie and popcorn, or nachos. We will do this Friday and Sunday since the movie we want to watch is a long one. Much less expensive, and safer than going out on the town.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

What started out as a beautiful, sunny day has degenerated into a stormy winter's day. The snow and blowing snow is making it difficult to see down into the valley. I feel for those who are in open spaces on our highways. 

I did get to do a bit of cross stitching though and while not much was accomplished (due to the constant rethreading of different colours on my needle), I still feel like I did manage to get a bit done. 

Now on to the menus for this week.

Monday

Pancakes tonight as I did not get them made on Shrove Tuesday.

Tuesday

Leftover beef made into a casserole. I have some broccoli that I want to use in it and that will clear out the crisper. Well there is some celery left to use. May make cream of celery soup on soup and sandwich day.

Wednesday

Pork chops, potato patties (using up the leftover mashed), and peas.

Thursday 

Leftover beef casserole.

Friday

Soup and sandwich night. Pretty sure it will be the cream of celery soup served with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Saturday

Chicken legs with back on, served with hopefully a salad, and egg noodles.

Sunday 

Pork roast, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and the remains of the salad.

So there are my menus for this week. Now I am off to fold laundry and will visit with you all when that is done and the table set.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

The sun came out today and so I actually got to work on my cross stitch for about 2 hours. Not many stitches completed though as I had to spend some time looking for one of the colours. Turns out I was frantically searching for the wrong one. I am hoping for sun tomorrow in order to do more work on it. 

I think I have found another way of helping Kurt's friend. If she takes commissions I am going to get her to do a drawing of our beloved Shania. It may not give them enough to pay the missing mortgage payments (they are losing their home) but perhaps added to other donations or help could perhaps free up extra funds to make a payment or two. I am madly trying to think up other ways that we can help as well. My mind is spinning with ideas and I hope Kurt has come up with a few as well. If any of my readers have some ideas they would be greatly appreciated.

Since the sun was shining and the light had changed so I couldn't work on my cross stitch I went for a walk. So nice to be outside in the fresh air. It has been much too long. Still I had to be careful walking as there is fresh snow sitting on top of ice, so my pace was none to fast. 

Tomorrow I just may go out and shovel off the back deck so Harvey can blow the snow away to keep the melt away from the foundation. Don't want to have flooding in the basement again. Mind you that happened after we got about 6" of rain in about an hour, don't have near enough snow for that to happen. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Saturday, and another snowy, overcast day. So plans changed a little bit. 

I did some organizing in the spare bedroom to see if I could get my toaster oven on one of the shelves. I don't know about you, but I am way more inclined to make use of something if it is readily available. Going downstairs to collect it off the shelves is not really my idea of being easy to find and use. 

I have decided to donate the two items of Christmas décor that I still have out. If I can't find a place for them to be stored, well I guess they are not really important to me any longer. So they are now bagged up and ready for donation. I have some books I need to go through and see if there are any that I am willing (notice I say willing as I have a hard time letting go of my books) to donate as well. 

I sent in my shopping scans this morning and I am up to almost 30,000 points. Not sure what I am going to use them for.

I have been getting lots of emails for survey's from the two other survey groups I joined. I think I just might have to spend some time doing those again. Right now I think that every little bit will help over time and with those I can get Amazon gift cards or Visa gift cards. Visa cards are probably the best bet for me as I use my Visa card for shopping (pay it off every month) for the extra money I get back at the end of the year.

Instead of baking today I pulled out a bag of applesauce muffins from the freezer. We may as well finish those off first, before I add anything. 

I even did some extra chores like washing down the freezers, washer and dryer in the basement, and I washed the floor in our bedroom. 

Harvey is getting ready for the next step in making his red wine, and did some snow blowing as well. Mind you the snow blowing will more than likely need doing once again tomorrow.

Gradually working on my Dreams, I managed to get a bit more done on the yarn wreath, and have been knitting on the scarf (almost finished the first ball of yarn). Sewing the shorts will happen tomorrow as I have a feeling there will be cloud cover once again. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 The snow stopped at some point last night and no more has fallen as of yet today. Still the sky has been cloudy, no sunshine peaking through at all. Instead of being able to work on my cross stitch I have worked on other things. I finished working in the ends of the yarn on the sock so those are now completed, cut out the shorts I hope to get made this month, and done a few rows knitting on the next scarf. 

Now on to the frugal happenings on the old homestead this week.

1.  No shopping done this week, but I have been adding to the list for next week (hopefully what I need will be on sale somewhere or other).

2.  Used up all the leftovers in the fridge for lunches or other meals.

3.  Working on my various projects using what I have instead of going out and purchasing other items.

4.  Added another $70.00 to my savings envelope, and $4.35 to the change jars. 

5.  Working on using more of my appliances to make meals instead of relying on the oven. I am going to see if this really does save electrical costs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

 

I should be greeting people as they arrive for Bible study tonight, but I am not feeling the best. I am tired, headachy, and have a slightly sore throat. It is also blowing and snowing out and just going to get worse as the night progresses. I texted Father and emailed the other lady in charge and told them I just was not feeling well. 

So I will be sticking close to home curled up in my chair, working in the ends of the yarn on the pair of socks I finished today. I may even manage to cast on a scarf to be knit in the evenings. 

Tomorrow I get to pull out my cross stitch project and perhaps cut out the shorts I want to sew as one of the projects for this month.

That reminds me I need to let you know what projects I have planned for this month.

Not going to call these goals anymore, instead I am going to call them dreams.... Cause I am dreaming I can get the projects all done.

1.  Yarn Wreath.

2.  Knit or finish knitting one pair of socks.

3.  Knit three scarves.

4.  Cross stitch angel.

5.  Sew shorts.

6.  Match patterns to the fabric I want to get sewn for the spring and summer.

That is it, not that many at all and a few more days this month to actually work on them.

I was asked what I meant by re-cycled cotton yarn and will try to explain here. I had a cotton knit throw that no longer matched my décor so I took it apart, washed the yarn, straightened it (that was fun, not) and rolled it into balls. This is what I am using for my dish cloths and hopefully a couple of market bags eventually. 

Kris's house was rented out for awhile, and the renters were not the best to keep the house up. Turns out they had 2 cats and a dog or maybe it was 2 dogs and those animals ruined the blinds in some of the rooms. They were also the ones who removed some of the doors of which some seem to be missing. Still he got an excellent deal on the house and lots of the things that need to be done re the house inspection are cosmetic and not too costly. We always give the sons money for their birthday's and Christmas so I have a feeling that Kris will be using his cash on fixing the house. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Back From Appointment, Caught Up on Household Chores

 Just a few things tonight. We got home yesterday, but I was tuckered out and had lots of things to catch up on around the house.

I saw my specialist, and had some tests taken. Now I have to go back at the end of the month for the results. At least now we don't have to rent a hotel room when I have an early morning appointment. Kris has said we are welcome at any time. Of course we will help with those two or more people jobs he needs done while we are there, and there are many of them that he will need help with.

I thought I would share some pictures of the house with all of you.

The front of the house.

The living room. One of the housewarming gifts we bought was a real area rug for the living room floor. Which me, being me, did not get a picture of.

The kitchen, once again missed out the closest end with the door leading to the covered deck and the area where the table is located.

The bathroom, which is actually quite spacious and has a great deal of storage. He did bring the bamboo over the toilet stand with him from his apartment.

The smaller of the two bedrooms, and the one I used for sewing and sleeping. My lord I am bad at taking photo's.

A slightly better photo of the same room. I think he plans on making this into a home office at some point.

His room. Don't mind the mess he is still in the midst of unpacking.

The double car garage. The previous owners or tenants left behind a mattress that he needs to get rid of once the snow disappears. There is also a great deal of things stored in the ceiling that need going through. Could even be a few things he can use later.

The garden shed. He says there is a weedwacker in there that he hopes works.

Looking back at the house with the very large covered deck. He is so looking forward to being able to use it. Kris plans on visiting a few yard and garage sales in order to furnish it. It needs painting and the deck boards need staining first. 

Buried somewhere in the backyard is a firepit and the beginnings of a garden. Kris talked about planting some fruit trees and some grape vines as well. 

I got the curtains sewn that he wanted, I would have made more but he said the sheets he had up in the basement windows were good enough for now and the blinds on the bedroom windows were sufficient for now as well. 

Harvey and he fixed the fan light in his bedroom, and got the screen doors so they shut properly. The inner doors still need some work so they fit properly. He also has to hang a few inside doors as well. The room I used does not have one and neither does the kitchen from the basement.

The next time we go up we will work on some of those (there is one door downstairs we can use), fix one plug in, and work on getting the outside doors to go right up to the weather stripping. 

There is lots of work to be done in the basement as well. Walls to be rebuilt, a tub surround to be put up, flooring to be installed, and the stairs need to be carpeted or tiled or something. He also needs to install hand railings. 

I think he is going to be busy saving and working on his home for a very long time. 

The good thing is Kris is only 4 minutes drive from his office and he is now thinking of getting a bike so he can bike on nice days. In fact he might even be able to walk sometimes...though I think a bike is a better idea for him. Major savings on fuel for his vehicle. 

I did up our budget sheet for last month and amazingly we are under budget over all around $800.00. I was even underbudget for groceries. 

Off to get supper on the table. I will visit you all after our meal and dishes are done.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.