Frugal Friday

 

I am still feeling a bit rough, but I tested and it isn't Covid so I am hoping it is just some crud I picked up because the temperature is fluctuating so much. Now I see we could have snow over the weekend. Glad I am stocked up.

Now what are my frugal 5 for this week.

1.  Used the lines downstairs to not only dry a couple of loads of clothes but the sheets and the rags. 

2.  Using up all leftovers either as lunches or as new meals. 

3.  Came in under budget for groceries this month and also under total budget. 

4.  Harvey made 14 bottles of Raspberry Chocolate Wine (kind of a Port) for about 1/2 the cost of purchasing it. He also used some old fancy bottles he has been saving. Cleaned and sterilized they look very expensive.

5.  Finished the black mittens for Kurt's elementary teachers, now started on the green mitts. I am hoping this clears out a great deal of the orphan balls/skeins and bits and bobs of yarn. This should enable me to empty some totes eventually. I also need to work on some knitted blankets. 

So that is about all I can remember. I hope you all have had a frugal week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

Still not feeling my best, but at least I am not aching all over today, and while I did not have the best of sleeps last night, I still managed to rest.

So what thrifty things have been happening here on the Phillips homestead. 

Mostly just the usual with the added walking outside a bit more.

I have also been saving the unwritten portions of mail we receive once again and stapling them into note pads to use with phone calls. They usually aren't big enough for my biweekly shopping trips but are great for using by the phone. 

Hubby always leaves a bit of water in his glass and I have been using that plus a bit more to water my plants once a week. I save the water in a jar throughout the week.

I cut up some old unmatched pillow cases that were slightly worn into rags. 

Still using up bits and bobs of yarn. This time making mittens for school children.

Chopped up some celery that was getting a bit old and put it in the fridge freezer.

Used the ham bone to make ham broth.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek

 

Just a quick pop in to say I am not well. Headache, aches, coughing and a slight sore throat. The one good thing is that I tested negative for Covid. Will test again in a few days.... Hopefully clear as I have a dental appointment on the 5th of April. I do not want to miss or rebook this one.

Heading to bed after a hot drink. I will visit you all tomorrow when I hopefully feel better.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

Just a bit of a back story on the embroidered blocks. 

Years ago when my Mom was living, she loved to embroider. Many a western shirt was done for Harvey and for my brother-in-law. She also loved to embroider tablecloths, dresser runners, and linen dish towels. In fact when she passed away and I went through all the craft supplies and yarn Dad brought me from her stash, I found a set of stamped dish towels that she was probably making for my niece for her wedding shower. Finished those off and made a set for me as well.

I have slowly been making my way through the yarn (mostly baby yarn, so lots of sweaters and blankets made for new additions to the family) and I am pretty darn close to using that all up. I have also slowly been making my way through the pre-stamped tablecloths and dresser runners. 

I have even managed a baby quilt from the pre-stamped kit she had. Well not really I still need to do a bit of work on it. One of these days it will be totally finished and handed on to a new member of the family.

One day Mom and I were shopping and I saw these blocks in what used to be McLeod's in Swan River, Manitoba and happened to mention how pretty they were. I went home and never thought about my remark again. That is until I was going through the items I had put away... Mom went out and bought 3 sets of 15 blocks, probably just before she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which eventually lead to adrenal cancer and her death. 

At the time she would have purchased these kits there were 3 females that were in the family, my sister, my niece and myself. Now there are a few more, but I will make the kits up and decide what to do with the finished quilts later. Might take me a very long time, but eventually I will finish them in memory of my Mom.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

The last week in the month of March, and it is only a partial week really.

I have been changing my menu around a bit this week, as I didn't really feel like cooking tonight.

Monday

Sweet and Sour Meatballs from the chest freezer. Served with rice and mixed vegetables.

Tuesday

Chicken a la King on toast, served with peas.

Wednesday

Baked Spaghetti, using up the leftover spaghetti and meat sauce from Sunday. I think I will make a salad to go with and perhaps some garlic bread.

Thursday

The remains of the Baked Spaghetti and salad.

Friday

The salmon patties I did not make last week. Served with mashed potatoes, and corn.

Saturday

A container of stew from the freezer downstairs. 

Sunday

Stuffed chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, green beans.

So there it is and hopefully nothing more will get switched around.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Just some pictures today to catch everyone up on what I have been doing.

This is what I woke up to this morning.

Frost covered trees and a drop in early morning temperature of 2 degrees.

I have talked about the blocks Harvey made for me to raise my cutting table to help with my back. Here is a picture of them.

They raise my table by about 4 inches. There is a cut out in the center that the legs of the table fit in.

The sweater which is actually a bit too large, even though the gage was correct. I would go down a size if I ever knit another one. I might even consider adding a few inches and making a dress rather than a tunic.

Harvey came home with an Easter Lily for me. If I can keep it alive I will be planting this outside in the perennial bed.

Last but not least how far I have managed to get on that first of fifteen embroidered quilt blocks. This is going to take awhile and to think there are even more. Enough to make 2 more 15 blocks each quilts. Need to keep working on these.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

It's that day of the week once more, and while this hasn't been the most frugal of weeks there have still been a few frugal saves.

1.  The last few days have been very sunny so the drapes and blinds are wide open. Taking advantage of the heat and light from the sun. My furnace has only been running during the night, late evening, and early morning. The rest of the time the sun beating in the front windows keeps things warm as well as well lit.

2.  I have read two books for entertainment. One of which was downloaded free, and the other was 80% off and I used a gift card I got for Christmas 2 years ago to pay for it.

3.  Used all the leftovers in the fridge, and part of a meal was frozen to use later. 

4.  Did some more decluttering to continue with the simplification of my life. I am trying to simplify my wardrobe and things that just don't fit right or I haven't worn in a certain length of time are being donated or cut into usable fabric if not good enough to be donated.

5.  I pulled yet more orphan balls of yarn (large ones) to make mitts for the younger students at the school Kurt teaches at. 

6.  The rotisserie chicken I purchased yesterday will make us another meal or two this week, so actually quite frugal overall.

7.  Free coffee at a friends place this morning.

I hope to have some pictures for you tomorrow of some finished projects or projects I am working on.

I am also going to get around to visit all of you. I fell into bed last night almost right after supper, just so tuckered out. I think probably from stress.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless

Thrifty Thursday

 

Another week has gone by, and the weather has improved. Things are melting and temperatures have risen. Could it be that winter is letting it's grip go on the prairies of Canada?

Before I talk about thrifty moves here on the old homestead I need to tell Patty that she did not overstep with her question. I love explaining how things work around here. It took me a very long time to get to where I feel comfortable, and sharing how I do this makes me feel wonderful. 

The second thing I need to say is that I got the results of my test today and I am still cancer free! Which is awesome as for some reason I was really concerned this time around. I can breath a bit easier now.

Now what thrifty things did I manage to do around the house over the past week.

I got my sweater knitted from leftover yarn. Even managed to use up some of the stash of bits and bobs doing so.

Meals were made mostly from leftovers from the freezer. 

Got another net bag so a bit closer to trying to make a scrubby from them. 

Wearing my clothes for more than one day.

Using an apron when cooking.

Now what wasn't thrifty....

I bought a ready cooked chicken tonight because I am just too tired to cook. Since I was purchasing the chicken, I also got potato salad and an adult beverage to celebrate another year of being cancer free.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

I think perhaps an explanation of why I have been trying to eat down my fridge freezer.

I have been using this freezer to put leftover roasts, chicken, turkey, ham, the bones from chicken/turkey, leftover gravy, leftover pan drippings, leftover bones from ham or beef. 

I found that I was amassing many bags of leftover meats from cooking and that I was not using things up in here in a timely manner. Hence the clean out the fridge freezer, now I can see everything that is in there and when I make up my monthly menu it is much easier to use up those bits and bobs.

I have two freezers down in the basement. A chest freezer which I use to store baked goods, garden produce, soup stock, fruits made into pie filling and fruit just plain frozen. I also put the larger meat items in here like turkey or ham. I also use it for my bulk cooking meals like Eggplant Parma, soups, meat sauce, chili, meatballs and meatloaf, things of that nature.

Then there is the small upright freezer that contains all our meat. I have one shelf for beef, one shelf for chicken, one shelf for pork, and one shelf for various smaller roasts. 

The door slots hold sausage, hotdogs, the occasional stuffed chicken products, sandwich meat if I manage to hit a great sale, and sometimes a whole chicken if there is room.

I hope that explains my eating down the fridge freezer, now I have room in there for ice cream, and the baked goods I want to use up for desserts or breakfasts. 

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

My whole day got turned upside down. Once we were home from the funeral I was just tuckered out. Laid down and had a nice little nap for about 30 minutes. Almost broke down and ordered a pizza, but I pulled some Cabbage Buns/Bread from the freezer. It is now in the oven.

Monday

Cabbage Bread, pickles.

Tuesday

Leftover Pork roast made into a casserole. Or perhaps Pork Supreme.

Wednesday

Leftovers from Tuesday

Thursday

If we come back home instead of spending the night with Kris, it will be soup and sandwiches. If we stay at Kris's we will probably go out for supper or order something in.

Friday

Salmon Patties, rice, and green beans.

Saturday

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (will pull a container of meat sauce from the freezer downstairs). I may try my hand at making a cheese/garlic bread to go along with.

Sunday

The package of Sweet and Sour Meatballs from the freezer downstairs. Served with rice and peas.

I have pretty much cleared out the fridge freezer except for the ham bone waiting to be made into soup, one small chicken carcass (need one more to get decent stock), some fake lobster, and some appetizers. I think I may purchase a couple more appetizers and one meal next month will be that. 

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

The end of what used to be my work week and now that I am retired just another day I suppose.

What frugal things have we been up to on the old homestead this week?

1.  I line dried my sheets for the first time. Turned out not too badly at all. 

2.  On the lovely sunny days we had this week I kept the drapes and blinds open to take advantage of the solar heat and natural light.

3.  Using up all the leftovers in the fridge and some of the items from the freezer. I even managed to use up some crisper items.

4.  Used up some more of my yarn stash.

5.  Finished cutting up the scraps of fabric. 

6. Doing a bit of decluttering. I have too many clothes, some of which I haven't worn in a very long time. Those are being donated if they are in decent shape. If not I will cut them up into fabric to be used in my quilting projects.

7.  Walked 5 of the 7 days this week. Some were very short walks, but I will be working my way to longer ones.

8.  I put $150.00 in my savings envelope and $2.45 in the change jars.

We got news late last night that Harvey's last living Uncle passed away on Tuesday. I notified the rest of Harv's family (though some never check our family page on Face Book, or perhaps I should say never check what I post, their problem not mine). Then today I got a call asking if I would do one of the readings at the funeral Mass. Of course I said yes. This uncle was always wonderful to us and we would have a lovely visit if we happened to see each other while shopping. This is the least I could do for our aunt and the rest of the family.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

The sun came out and things are melting once again. Slowly but surely there is bare ground in some areas. I didn't sleep at all well last night and so have been forcing myself to stay awake. I will have a lovely hot soak tonight and crawl into bed with a book a bit early.

So what thrifty things have been happening on the Phillip's homestead this week. 

I saved a net bag from the sweet onions I purchased a few weeks ago, and a net bag from the oranges I purchased at the same time. I am going to try and make those into dish scrubbies. I found some directions online and will give them a try.

Hung clothes on the lines downstairs, and today hung the sheets up down there as well. I had planned on washing and hanging up the rags but didn't get that far. I will do so tomorrow.

Using up more yarn from my stash to knit that sweater (I may actually finish it this week). 

Cut more scrap fabric from other makes. I will be busy making quilts for awhile. They will keep us warm and toasty on those cold prairie winter nights.

Turned down the furnace during the day and will turn it up before bed. 

Combined errands, but did take the car out twice. I had a bag full of donated clothing and got rid of it right away. I am not tempted to go through and take things out now.  

Making new meals out of leftovers, and saving those for another meal.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek

 

Oh dear, one can not only say this is the middle of the week, but the middle of the month. Time is rushing by and I am hopeful that spring will be here soon.

The city has gotten all the streets cleaned from our storm. I finally know how much snow we got during that storm. According to the airport weather station we got 35 cm. Way too much for this time of year really.

Today the skies darkened and we got another dusting of snow, and in looking at the long range forecast we could get more yet. 

I have been relatively lazy the last couple of days. I got the household tasks done as well as the shopping and bill paying, but other than that I have curled up and knit most of the daylight away and last night as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this sweater will be done soon. Then I can work on embroidery and other projects. 

I did have a few pictures to share, but Harvey has my card reader and hasn't brought it back upstairs. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

It is sunny and above freezing today, so I decided to do my shopping a day early (cause things will freeze overnight making the roads skating rinks). I only bought two sandwich meat chubs no other meat and still my bill was $200.59. Everything except some salad items were on sale. This is shocking to me. My cart wasn't even full!! Some purchased items will go in the pantry to be used later and others are in rotation to be used in the following two weeks. Definitely going to be thinking of other ways to save a bit, perhaps buying a wagon to pull behind me to hold all the groceries (though those are high priced as well). Good thing we are trying to cut back on meat at meals.

The days are quickly slipping by. Hopefully spring arrives soon. That would be lovely. Open windows to let in the fresh air, sunshine, spring flowers, line drying all my clothes. My idea of paradise. I can even get my hands dirty in the garden and planting up my pots. 

Diligently (okay not quite so diligent) working on my sweater. Which with any luck at all will be finished next week. Then my afternoons will be spent embroidering those quilt blocks, while the evenings will be spent knitting mitts. I hope to soon be able to sit outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun while working on my projects. 

The deer are still appearing in the front yard. Poor things are very hungry but having them invade our yard (usually 5 or 6 now) makes me worry for our fruit trees. 

Harvey is deciding what he will plant in the garden this year and I am thinking of ways to fill my pots and baskets with lots of colour and flowers that attract Hummers. Any ideas out in blogland for that?

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

A new week means a new menu. Still using things up either in new meals or for lunches during the week.

Monday

Leftover ham made into a casserole (last package of frozen baked ham). 

Tuesday

A package of the leftover roast beef made into stroganoff and served over the leftover rice. Green beans from the freezer to give us another veggie.

Wednesday

Leftover ham casserole.

Thursday

Leftover stroganoff and if there is no rice leftover I will make noodles. Serving this with corn.

Friday

Tuna casserole, and biscuits.

Saturday

Chickpea curry from the freezer downstairs.

Sunday

Roast pork, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots (might see if rutabaga are on sale and have that instead of roasted potatoes).

So that is the menu for the week. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 The storm past by at around 6 last night, the sun even tried to peak through the blowing snow. Of course that meant we would be digging our way out very soon.

Sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures made it easier for me to shovel in the places that Harvey couldn't take the snow blower. Now if we couldn't do it on our own, we would need to hire someone to do it for us, or rely on our very much younger neighbours on both sides. They do offer to help out in any way we need them to. 

Harvey then decided that if I didn't need the car tomorrow he would move the truck in the driveway. He is hoping that the city makes a few passes down our street either today or tomorrow.

Once the dig out was finished I cut more scrap fabric into 4" squares and saved the smaller scraps that can be cut into 2" squares. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can get those completed tonight.

I pulled the bits, bobs and orphan balls of yarn to make those mitts for the school Kurt teaches at. I am hoping to get those started right after I finish the sweater I am knitting for myself. I will work evenings on those and get started embroidering the quilt squares again now that I got all the threads and the sun is shining (the embroidery will start once I get the fabric scraps settled). 

We couldn't get to Mass today as the roads are still filled with snow except for one lane down the center of the road. No parking really available. Our priest put the service online for all of us, to keep us all safe. Lent is moving along at breakneck speed it seems this year. I have a bagful of items I need to drop off at the Food Bank and will be starting another this week. 

Continuing the using up the fridge freezer this coming week, but the pickings are getting pretty slim. Mind you after todays supper there will be a bag or two of leftover roast beef added. Hope to use those up quickly as well as the few things in there still. 

Off to visit all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 I have sat (well worked I guess) through a major blizzard here in Saskatchewan that once again shut down surrounding highways. This time however we were even asked to stay off city roads as drifts in some areas were well over 4 or 5 feet. Right now I think we have about a 3 or 4 foot drift behind the car shelter, and probably close to a 5 foot drift blocking our back gate.  

This is what was in front of our door this morning and what greeted me as I gazed out the window.

Harvey had fun digging his way out and down the stairs. He could have almost this amount to do once again, now that things have settled down a little bit. 

I have spent the week getting a few small household and project tasks done. 

I used up some rhubarb from the freezer making two loaves. The loaves are now residing in the freezer.

Today I made a Dutch Apple Pie. Why is it storms make me want something sweet to eat?

Instead of sewing I decided that I should do a bit of cutting scraps of fabric left from clothing I pulled apart (mainly a pair of Harvey's old jeans) and scraps of the fabric I had used to cut out patterns. 

I even cut smaller 2" by 2" squares. My fingers are glad I am done for now. Lots of small nicks from the rotary cutter, but no massive blood loss this time around.

You can just barely see the 4"x4" squares I managed to cut as well. Filled up that box nicely.

I did some work around the house, the monthly cleaning chores are pretty much caught up, and a bit more work done in the sewing/craft room to neaten things up.

Used up more items from the fridge freezer and I hope to get even more used and out of there this week. I think I will be making split pea soup for the freezer. 

Kurt sent me a text yesterday saying that some of the elementary school teachers were asking if there was a chance of mittens next year. Yes!!! Another way to use up those bits and bobs in my yarn stash. I will start on those very soon. Hopefully I will have quite the selection when he comes home this summer to visit.

Funny thing happened. I got an email yesterday that I almost deleted, but thought I should look at first. I was one of the winners of a $500.00 Visa card on HomeScan this month. Filled it out and emailed it to the people that needed the info. I did a bit of a happy dance and am looking forward to spending that. They do this drawing every month and after 10 years I have finally won something.

Off to get supper started, and visit a few blogs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

I am sitting here waiting for our storm to hit. It has been snowing lightly pretty much all day and that snow is being blown down the street with the stiff winds we are having. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we do not get as much snow as being predicted. I think the next few days are going to be very thrifty and frugal around the old homestead.

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

Mostly the usual keeping lights off in rooms not in use.

Cutting up scraps to work into quilts. I have even started cutting 2" squares....  I refuse to go smaller as my fingers are taking a beating doing these (not to mention my back). 

Still using up bits and bobs from the fridge freezer. It is getting pretty cleared out which makes me happy. 

Saved some plastic bags to be used when the grandcat is here to do the daily kitty litter sweep. 

Saved twist ties to use with the mesh produce bags I made.

Still using yarn from my stash to knit that sweater, which seems to be taking forever.

I decided to try to make crab cakes from those packages of imitation crab I bought on sale about a month ago. The recipe will make 8 so that means two each for supper tonight and the remainder froze to be used later. 

Kurt's good friends that were going to lose their home if they couldn't come up with the $8K the bank said they needed to pay (which they couldn't come up with as Hubby just got back to work) have now gotten that amount. Kurt called all his contacts, I put in $1K (money from my savings envelope, allowances that I didn't spend) and an anonymous doner gave $7K. 

Now this family helped so much when our son was doxxed by far right Neo Nazi's and he was so depressed that he actually thought at times death would be easier. This was something I did not know when things were happening (of course he always told me and his Dad he was just fine...he wasn't), so whatever I could do to help I would do and will continue to do. 

I am now friends on FaceBook with the female head of household and am really enjoying that contact.

This is another reason I am frugal. To help those that really need the help.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

Pretty much the usual thrifty past times happening here. I am doing pretty good on the no waste part of the business. There are only a few items left in the fridge freezer and they will slowly disappear over the next few weeks. 

I am going to start cutting the smaller scraps from my wild and wooly pattern cutting into squares. I may even manage to cut a few smaller squares (like 2" or so). I now need to hunt down a storage basket for those smaller squares. I might just try my hand at a postage stamp quilt sometime in the future. It would be pretty darn scrappy though.

I baked a loaf of bread yesterday, and plan on making some cookies for the freezer at some point today. 

Mending took place, just a seam and a hem this time around.  I do think the zipper on my coat will need replacing before the winter is finished here. 

Harvey used up bits and bobs of wood in his workroom making bird houses and another bird feeder. He is also having fun making two different types of wine. 

No shopping this week and no errands needed doing. We do need to get the car in hopefully next week for a service. 

We are supposed to be getting a big snow event coming our way. It snowed a bit yesterday and is snowing right now. Starting on Friday and carrying through the weekend we are to get (supposedly) up to 20 cm of snow when finished. I hope this is March going out like a lion. It also means that my shopping could be hampered next week....I will not drive through that much snow and risk getting stuck.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Midweek, The Ups and Downs of Life

 

I feel better about how I live my life today. I, really, just never realized that my way of living a frugal life did not measure up to the expectations of some people. That it could be they did not consider me to be frugal enough, that I would not accept other's tips on being frugal, that as a couple Harvey and I had too much money to actually be considered frugal (duh, we have that money cause we are frugal). 

It really bothered me that someone could belittle my way of life so easily, and say that if I wasn't picky in what I purchased and only purchased sale items I could cut my grocery budget even more. There are certain things I need to purchase for health reasons whether they are on sale or not, the rest of my list is on sale items with the occasional treat thrown in. 

We rarely eat out, and only order in on a date night once a month. No bar hopping here, and when the weather is cold we hunker down at home and sit it out. 

The fact is, costs in Canada vary greatly depending on where you live. We live off the beaten path in a small city of about 13,000, with no city supplied transportation, which means driving is necessary. Mind you to drive across the city only takes about 10 mins. Walking would be a bit longer of course, it can be done, but carrying groceries could be a wee bit of a problem. 

Because we are stuck down in the corner of the province we are not near the Trans Canada Highway which is the main route for trucks. They need to take a mean detour south for about 180 miles. This adds costs to our groceries over and above what living in the middle of the country adds. 

So, while we don't have lots of coupons or things like Waggs deals, all of us here do the best we can with what is available. I belong to Neilson IQ (used to be HomeScan) and I scan in all my shopping for points. I use those points to purchase gift cards that I can soothe my book ownership fetish. I love books, and now while this does not give me the real book in the hands feeling, it does help. I also get lots of books free from the site where I get my ereader books from. Use Bookbub and I highly recommend it for book lovers who use an ereader.

Most people I know here use up all they can food wise. I have tried the eating of the broccoli stems, I think that could be an acquired taste, but will keep working on that one. More and more of my friends are planting vegetable gardens, and planting fruit trees or berry bushes. 

I sew most of my own clothing and have even branched into sewing a few things for Harvey. Old clothing that is beyond repair is turned into fabric for quilts, or if it is really bad, rags for cleaning. Scraps of bought fabric are also used in quilts, or some pretty colourful cushions and even clothing if the pieces are big enough.

I knit sweaters, blankets, shawls, scarves, mittens, and socks. I darn and mend what needs it. 

What serves as frugal for one, might not be frugal for another but the conclusion that I have come to is that my frugal life suits me perfectly, and just because I am lucky enough to have saved enough to make my retirement easier does not mean that I am not frugal or ready to try something new on this journey.

So life for me is back to normal for the most part. I will live my frugal life and let others live theirs. My frugal life suits me perfectly, and if anyone has any ideas on how I can expand my frugality (is that even a word). Keep right on putting them on your blogs for me to read.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

A very quiet day here on the Canadian prairies and so a vey quiet day here on the old homestead.

Things are getting cold once again and we have had a few snow flurries. It has been a day to curl up and stay close to home. 

I got all my household tasks completed and did a bit of knitting while curled up in my chair. 

I have been asking myself a few questions over the course of the day and while I have come up with a few answers, there are still a few running through my head with no real end to them. No real conclusions.

 Someone has made me question my frugality, is it real? or is it just something I am hoping is true. Am I faking it?

These are things I will need to consider moving forward. Will it change the way I blog? Perhaps. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Well, here I thought I wouldn't have to change menus around until later in the month. Changing things around already here. But at least I am using things up like I wanted.

Monday

Roast Chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and the leftover coleslaw.

Tuesday

Leftover stir fry on rice (I may add a can of mushrooms to the stir fry when heating it up).

Wednesday

Steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Thursday

Leftover chicken made into a casserole. Served with a salad.

Friday

A package of fake crab made into a chowder or a small casserole.

Saturday

Using up the leftover chicken casserole and the salad.

Sunday

Roast beef, roast potatoes, roasted carrots.

I hope to use up some of the appetizers I have for lunches through the week.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Today will just be a few pictures of a visitor that came to our front bird feeder last night. Someone we would prefer not be eating the bird seed.

Harvey has really been enjoying his trail camera. Between the birds and now our friendly neighbouring deer I am afraid he will be forever taking pictures.

Otherwise it has been a quiet day here on the old homestead. I cut out Harvey's robe and I think that tomorrow I just may start sewing.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

It has been a week of trying to use things up, and we actually managed to do so. 

Harvey made a bird feeder (another is in the works for Orioles this time around) and a Hummingbird house. All were made with things he had in his workroom, or in the wood box outside.

First off the bird feeder....

I should say he had to purchase some plexi-glass but that will be used for many more projects.

Next up the Hummingbird house. This was made from a medium sized branch from our woodshed. He should be able to make a couple more from that branch (well at least one more). He wants to hang three from our tree in the backyard by our deck.

I have already been told that the flowers on my deck need to be attractive to Hummers.... 

Me, well I have been pulling fabric and cutting it out. So far this is what I have done. Some of the shorts and tops are double cut (meaning there are two different sewing tasks). These will be going into the project bags tonight. I still have a few more items and pieces of fabric I need to use up. 

I also did some baking to try and use up a few things in the chest freezer. Trying to get it ready for spring pickings and the fall harvest.

I did have a bit of a mix-up today. I forgot to take the leftover pork out to make stir fry. However, I do have leftover Sloppy Joe mix so that will be used up and I will make the stir fry tomorrow for supper. Because of the mix-up, though I also got to use up the remaining cabbage and made a slaw.

So how are all of you doing using things up?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.