Frugal Friday

 Another week has passed by, and I am trying very hard to be frugal once again. After 2 weeks of not being frugal it is time to put on the frugal belt and pull it a bit tighter.

1.  I have been watering the few plants left with the rainwater in the barrel.

2.  Following the menu plan once again and making sure all is eaten or frozen for use later on.

3.  Started to make a pantry list and will hopefully finish it tomorrow.

4.  Put $70.00 in the savings envelope and $5.60 in the change jars.

5.  The windows have been open to cool off the house on the days it hasn't gotten too hot out. Closed when the temperature rises too high. The air conditioner only turned on once this week and not at all the previous weeks. The mornings are slightly chilly, but I layer up and am nicely warm.

6.  Baked buns and bread and did so at a fraction of the cost of ready-made.

I think I have made a good start at getting back on the frugal trail.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 Well, with the help of a power outage and my handy, dandy book of passwords, I am up and running once again. Though the downloading of pictures might be a bit screwed up. Only time will tell.

Lots of what I did in the past couple of weeks has been both thrifty and frugal.

First off, I was busy harvesting the garden. Mostly tomatoes which were frozen.

I usually put them in the fridge freezer first and then when I have lots, carry them down to the chest freezer in a large shopping tote. Saves me running up and down the stairs.

I repotted my lemon trees and brought them into the house for the winter. I also did so with my hibiscus plants and some English Ivy cuttings. Any little bit I can save to replant outside is something I try to do every year. I will take a picture of the hibiscus once I know they are going to make it. 

I am letting the gladiolus dry out so I can dig them up and put them downstairs until next year when they will be replanted.

I also spent some time spreading the gravel that Harvey moved to areas around the yard. We widened the driveway, added some space to the firepit area, and filled in a weed infested area by our front steps. By doing this on our own we saved a bundle and there is still some gravel left to use once the areas settle in and perhaps need new added.

Harvey dug the potatoes, and while the harvest was not the best we did get a 5-gallon pail full. That should do us until Christmas or a bit thereafter. Right now they are hardening off on the deck.

The pumpkins are all harvested and there are enough fully ripe ones that perhaps this weekend I will start making pumpkin puree. 

I have also been using up the bits and bobs of yarn in my stash. Add in a few orphan balls and I have made knitted blankets to add to Kurt and Kris's birthday gifts.

I have started another as it seems I have lots of leftover yarn bits from other projects. Some of which were done many years ago. Guess I am a yarn hoarder after all. 

They are kind of funky but will only hopefully be kept in the vehicles to be used in the case of an emergency. Eventually I am going to find small, zippered bags at one of our secondhand stores and make emergency kits for their cars. Lots of little things can be put in there that I can fashion from items that I have around the house or can pick up at an inexpensive price.

I tried my hand at making Falafels. I didn't mind them, but Harvey turned up his nose after trying them.

I even tried my hand at making flat breads. Not too bad for a first attempt and both of us enjoyed these.

Spent time adding to the quilt top as well. It is taking a bit longer than I thought as I am not that good at figuring out what brick I should start the row with. Oh well today I managed to get three rows done, hopefully the same will be completed tomorrow. I really would like it done before Kurt and Kris get home for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Other thrifty happenings here have been using up as much as possible in the fridge and freezers. 

I fixed a rip in Harvey's shirt seam, sewed on a button that had gone missing from one of my shirts, and watered with rainwater twice this week.

Hopefully all of you have had a great thrifty week or two as well.

Oh yes, we got the delivery of the fabric garage yesterday in the early afternoon. Sooo..... of course, since Harvey can never wait, he started to put the frame together. So far, I have avoided having to help, but tomorrow he will definitely need my assistance.

I think I have convinced him to wait until Kurt and Kris are home to pull the fabric over the frame.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Problems

 I am working on my phone right now as after the last Windows update there are a few problems with my laptop and working with anything on that. If things improve. I will add pictures of what has been completed during the last couple of weeks.

Something seems to be happening just not what I want.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbit

 

Things are slowly getting better, though today we did get news that another distant relative of Harvey's has suffered a brain aneurism. Vince has had an ongoing struggle with brain cancer for the last 5 years. He goes into remission, and then a couple of months later it reappears. He had just started a new round of treatment and now this happens. Vince was a fighter; I would see him on my walks every morning we would wave, walk together for a bit and then he would go his way and I would go mine. My prayers are with the family.

We have pretty much gotten the entire garden cleaned up. There are a few more tomatoes, the potatoes, and the occasional green pepper or eggplant that I hope grow a little bit more.

The gravel is moved, and I am once again parking in the driveway. We are awaiting the arrival of the fabric garage tomorrow. In case you are wondering what this will look like here is a picture from the Wayfair site where it was ordered.

Now Harvey kind of thinks that we will be able to set this up on our own. Some how I don't really see that happening.

I have done a bit of work on the quilt top. Two more brick strips have been added. I hope to get at least three done tomorrow. I do not have any meetings so it could be done.

Knitting is being done as well. No yarn used up yet, but as I am trying to make this with a bit of continuity the using up of those leftovers could take a little time. 

Hope to have some pictures of a few of the things I worked on the last two weeks or so and actually finished.

The day has been restful, and easy. Just the way I like them.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

After a couple of weeks not following my menu plans, rather just skimming along using leftovers, and quick cooking (well except for the falafel recipe) I hope to be better at this for the remainder of the month and for next month.

Monday

Leftover lentil curry served with rice and what seems to be an unending supply of cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef made into stroganoff, served over leftover rice. I will use lots of mushrooms, green pepper slices, and onion in the beef mixture. Once again cherry tomatoes as a side dish.

Wednesday

Chicken strips (I have a bag that needs using) along with some Samosa's I purchased awhile back. Between the two I should have enough to fill us up nicely. Served with homemade fries, and corn.

Thursday

Leftovers from Tuesday but if there is nothing left, soup and sandwiches. My small container of leftover veggies from various suppers is full, time to empty it out and make more room in the fridge freezer. 

Friday

Tuna casserole.

Saturday 

Moussaka to use up the eggplants in the fridge.

Sunday

Steak, baked potatoes, and a salad.

Hopefully this time around I will stick with the plan. I need to get a bit of work done around the house right now. Harvey's cousin died on Thursday and the funeral is today. It has not really been a good couple of weeks here. I will visit you all a bit later.

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

I'm Back

 It has been a couple of busy weeks here. A load of gravel was delivered at the beginning of this week (just when I was going to start posting again) and I have been busy helping Harvey take up sod, level the area and while he moves the gravel, I level and spread it. Takes up a bit of time as we both need to rest a bit more than we had to when younger. Guess age has caught up with us.

Add in getting the garden produce is a never-ending process this year it seems. It is starting to slow down now even though there are still tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and potatoes to harvest. I am so glad that the weather has been conducive to letting things grow for a bit longer. 

The week before last was a bit harder emotionally. The 19th of this month would have been our daughter's 44th Birthday, it was also the day we buried my father 8 years ago, and then add in the funeral for the only Queen I have ever known, and I spent much of the week in tears. My 96 year old Aunt fell in her garden as well. Aunt Isabel is the oldest of my late mother's sisters and is perhaps the most like my mom in personality and looks. I was very worried about her as well and spent lots of time on the phone talking with her and making sure she was okay. We actually even did a video call which was lovely.

So that has been my last two weeks. Hopefully things have calmed down now and I can get back to posting regularly.

Thanks, Maebeme for checking up on me with Kurt. He called tonight and wanted to make sure I knew you were concerned. Pretty sure he will DM you that I am fine. Just a bit overwhelmed for those missing days.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

We attended Mass today for the first time in what seems ages. I think we should change the time we attend as Father kept us for almost 1 1/2 hours. Way too long to listen to him talk about money, and how much more we need as a parish. Not the best way to encourage people to give more.

Then we went out for brunch and the place was packed. I will definitely be testing in a couple of days.

Since we had a rather large brunch neither of us was very hungry for supper. This means my moussaka plan has been changed to tomorrow. I had a few leftovers, and Harvey had an orange and some crackers. Now I just have to rinse things out and put them in the dishwasher. 

I did head out to the garden and picked more tomatoes, and get rid of a plant that was dead. I just couldn't keep it watered enough. 

Other than that I finished a small shawl, and cast on for another worsted weight knit blanket. I also did up the to do lists for next week.

All in all another rather lazy day on my part.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I pretty much told all of you what I have been up to this week. So don't have much to fill you in on today. 

I am enjoying the cooler start to each day, and am almost looking forward to winter's arrival. This year for some reason I am fondly thinking of snuggling into blankets and drinking hot chocolate or tea in the afternoons. 

I need to let someone know whether I will be taking a leadership role with the others for the Bible Study this year. Many a time things are decided before I even attend a meeting so I feel a bit left out. I probably shouldn't feel that way, but I do. We have our first meeting on Wednesday of the upcoming week so I will need to make a decision before then. If I feel the need for a study there are plenty online that I can follow. There are also lots of books in my bookshelf that I can use once again and see if I can get a new perspective on. Actually I think I just might need a break.

There are also lots of things that need to get done around the house and so many projects that need working on. In trying to downsize, I think I might just have made things a bit more complicated for myself. 

I visited my friend and neighbour that moved into an apartment/condo last June and got a tour of her home. Lord we will need to do major downsizing if we move. I just can't see us moving into something that size with such a small balcony and no place for flowers or veggies. Or the room inside for me to have my sewing machines, or other crafting items. I am worried about this for the two of us. My friend is a widow and the size of the apartment is perfect for her. This is going to take some planning and realizing that we can not take everything with us.

Now to answer a few questions or expand on previous posts. 

We have two freezers. One is an upright and I store meat in that one. It has four shelves and 4 in the door slots. Each shelf holds a different meat. Beef is on top, chicken is next and then pork. The only shelf that is mixed is the last one which holds various roasts, and large hams. Whole chickens and turkey is put elsewhere. 

The other freezer is our old chest freezer (probably getting to the end of it's life, but I hope not). In here I keep frozen fruit, pie fillings, turkey, whole chickens, veggies, bread products, baking, frozen soups, frozen extra meals (if they don't fit in the fridge freezer) and anything else that can be frozen. 

This works for us, and most of the time everything gets used and used promptly....There are times though that items slip through the cracks. I really have to get better at keeping track of what is in both freezers. 

What I don't really have is pantry space. That is scattered between cupboards and closets. One of these days I do hope to get things organized in that area as well. Perhaps this winter.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

Another week is zipping by. 

So what frugal things have I been up to this week.

1.  Windows open most nights and the last couple of days kept open. Love not using the air conditioner.

2.  Used up all the leftovers in the fridge from when Kris was down visiting. Now I have added a few but those will be easier to use up.

3.  Walked most mornings as it has been cool out and much easier to move along quickly.

4.  As usual I made all meals here at home using what was on hand.

5.  Harvested the garden and processed it for the freezer.

6.  Using up some of the finer yarns (think baby type yarn) to make a couple of shawls.

7.  Stuck to my list when shopping for the next 2 weeks.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

I am not going to go into how I feel now that the suspect in the stabbings on the James Cree Nation was caught and is now dead. I will say that now answers as to why may never come. That is one thing I am sure the families of the victims wish could have happened. Still they are sleeping without fear now and healing can begin.

Then to read of Queen Elizabeth's death on top of this has caused me to realize death can occur at any time and to hug those you love as much as you can.

My thrifty this past week has been centered on getting the garden in.

I have dried herbs.

Trays of sage, rosemary, and basil were done yesterday. I had done basil, sage and parsley the day before.

Eggplant Parma was made. One pan for us to eat and 5 for the freezer. This was the first batch I made. The second batch of 2 trays was made the next day.

Tomatoes were blanched, peeled and frozen. Next time I am going to dehydrate the peels and grind them into a powder to add to various meals.

Bell peppers that were getting a bit wrinkled in the fridge were chopped and put into the freezer.

More jalapeno's were picked.

Green beans picked, snapped, blanched and frozen for winter's use. This was the last of 14 bags I did up over this past week.

I did not get a picture of the bucket pickles I made, or the zucchini I shredded. 

It was a good week for processing the garden. 

I took today off from harvesting, but will be back at it tomorrow.

I also managed to put $70.00 in my savings envelope, and $17.45 in the change jars.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

Saskatchewan is still under an alert. The second and third alerts are no cancelled, just that one dangerous offender who stabbed all those innocent people. I do hope they catch him very soon. It is very wearing on ones nerves. 

I have been busy harvesting the garden. Today it was cucumbers and tomatoes (need to pick even more of these). Yesterday was beans and eggplant. The beans are frozen, pickles in a bucket made, eggplant washed dried and in the fridge. Tomatoes and the zucchini I was gifted will wait until tomorrow morning when I will shred the zucchini, and freeze the tomatoes or if I have enough make salsa. While I love having a full freezer and lots of fresh produce I sometimes wonder why everything has to come ripe at the same time. 

Tomorrow morning I will pick beans, bell peppers, and jalapeno's. There will be cherry tomatoes to pick and probably hidden tomatoes that I missed yesterday. 

I did my shopping a bit later than I like, but it is done and I don't have any intentions of entering a store for the rest of the week. Good thing as I think I might be a bit busy processing the garden.

Garden processing has kind of put working on the quilt on hiatus for a bit. I can still knit at night and once this second shawl is completed I can even work on Kurt's rug or some Christmas ornaments. I could gather the things necessary for Kris's quilt as well. Might as well be as ready as possible to get that done. 

Working our way through the leftovers in the fridge. The two small salmon fillets have been turned into a spread for sandwiches, the eggplant chickpea stew was eaten for supper tonight. There is a portion of eggplant parma that I will have for my lunch tomorrow and hopefully Harvey eats the last leftover smoked sausage. So we are doing well on the using leftovers up front. I may do another switch and make stuffed peppers for supper one day this week. Got to use those up as well. Whatever is left I will chop and freeze. 

It is also time to start taking cuttings from various vines, and perhaps to bring in those plants I want to overwinter. According to the weather reports we will be getting pretty close to freezing temperatures overnight late this week or early next. This also means it is close to the time we need to start winterizing our home. Busy time on the old homestead as the seasons change.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 Kris headed back to Regina early this morning. He knows how worried I am (even though one of the suspects has been found dead on the reserve where the stabbings took place) so he is actually keeping his phone very close. 

However, there was another Alert. There was a shooting incident on another reserve further north. Those suspects (I believe 4 of them) are still at large. 

I just do not know what is happening in the world. 

Now as far as menus are concerned, I am having to redo the plans I had written out. I really need to learn not to cook so much.

The salmon fillets however will be made into a sandwich spread and that will be used to make sandwiches to go with our soup meal. 

Monday

Harvey and I could not finish our steaks last night so that along with the leftover potatoes and the remainder of the cucumber salad made our meal.

Tuesday

Soup and sandwiches (using up those salmon fillets).

Wednesday

Leftover Eggplant Stew. I am thinking that when I go shopping of trying to pick up some Naan to go with it.

Thursday

Small Sausage casserole to use up the carrots. 

Friday

Glace and eggs. 

Saturday

Leftover Sausage Casserole.

Sunday

Moussaka to use up the eggplants I picked.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Quick Post

 Not sure how many of you listen to Canadian news. Today starting at 7 am we have been under a province wide alert.

Two men went on a rampage starting at a reserve near Prince Albert and it continued to a small town outside the reserve. A total of 25 people have been stabbed so far. Ten are dead and 15 injured. 

They were last sighted in the capital city of Regina on Arcola Ave. This was at about noon, but no sightings since then. 

Our province notified Alberta and Manitoba and now it is a three province alert. 

Our youngest son, Kris lives in Regina and is home this weekend. However he needs to head back to the city tomorrow. I am so hoping that these guys are apprehended very soon. I am worried about him going home as his house was empty and I have already told him I want multiple texts to let me know he is okay, and the house is empty and safe. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Still here, but Kris is visiting so I will not be on again until he leaves.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

Wow the beginning of a new month already. I never ceases to amaze me how fast the days and months are whizzing by. 

So what thrifty things have I been doing this week.

I needed to fix the elastic in a couple of pairs of capris so I did that. 

Cut down the rug backing and found I can make 2 rugs out of the backing. 

Used up all the leftovers in the fridge for either lunch or supper. 

There was a bit of ham leftover from our meal and that was packaged up for Harvey to make his sandwiches for lunches. I ate most of the other leftovers for my lunches. Today I finished off a package of sandwich meat.

Used up some leftover yarn and some of the odd embroidery floss (by odd I mean not DMC my preferred brand).

Cut up some old clothing into rags or fabric to be used in quilts.

Harvey ordered a fabric garage today as he is very worried about hail. This one is thicker fabric and has really good ratings. Like he says getting a vehicle fixed after hail damage is a pain and this will protect the vehicle a bit. Fixing the vehicle would cost much more than buying this protection.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.