Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal 

The last day of this month, and it turned into a sunny and fairly decent day. However, that being said I am heading out to the grocery, bank, and pharmacy tomorrow as we are once again under an extreme weather watch starting Saturday. According to the weather pundits we could get up to 5 inches of snow by the time the system moves out of the province. We shall see as the last time we got absolutely nothing. Hope to have a good haul for a reasonable cost (whatever that is in these times). 

My frugal and thrifty past times this week, for the most part, have been sticking close to home, looking through the grocery flyers to make my grocery lists, and using up items in the freezer and pantry to make our meals. There has been mending, using up leftovers for our lunches, baking bread, baking muffins and making a lovely pumpkin cake (that's a recipe I plan on keeping and using more often).

Time has been spent making next months cleaning list, planning my goals and projects for next month, and putting in some new contracts for our phones and internet online (boy that worked in the blink of an eye). 

I have had free coffee with a friend, and took advantage the days that it wasn't freezing out to take a bit of a walk outside for free exercise. 

Sent in my reports to HomeScan, and did a survey on that site to get even more points. 

Today the craft supplies from this month were put away for a bit, and the items needed for next month brought out. If lucky to get all those completed I will be starting another quilt top out of all the 4" squares I have cut out and put away. 

Continuing to read the Back to Basics book (well at least those chapters that fit into our lifestyle) and have read a little bit in the Simpler Living book as well.

It has really been a laid back week, and to tell the truth when I was feeling so rotten yesterday, I was very glad that it was. Couldn't imagine what a jam packed week of cleaning and projects would have done to me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Last Midweek of the Month

 

As many other bloggers have mentioned this month has gone by very quickly. 

Tomorrow I do up my monthly budget spend and keeping my fingers crossed that I managed to same some cash or at least come in under in some of the budget lines.

Over the last week I pulled some books from my frugal library to read over this month. Especially as I am contemplating purchasing a loom.

These are the two books I am going to peruse first. I want to go through the first steps to becoming self-sufficient and making my life a bit simpler. Both are really interesting, but in the first one I am just going to work on household things crafts and such. Man I read a bit about warping a loom and am really scared now. Warping a loom is slightly confusing.

I woke up feeling a bit under the weather (okay pretty sick feeling today) so I crawled back into bed and slept for a bit longer. I now feel not too bad. 

Once up I managed to get most of the household tasks completed and even baked a pumpkin cake.

Harvey wanted a brown sugar glaze, so that is what I made once supper was cleared up.
 

In my quest to use appliances to cook a bit more today I used the two air fryers I own to make supper. When I went to the second hand stores I saw many of the Actifryers sitting there waiting for someone to purchase them. So I decided I may as well keep mine until it totally breaks down. Why put something in a donation bin when there are 14 waiting to be purchased.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

A regular day here on the Phillips homestead. I did household tasks, dug through my yarn stash and found yarn for the next lapghan, and some thinner yarn to make some tanks for myself to wear in the summer. Really working on the shopping at home first, before I even think about adding new items to my yarn stash. Now, I just need to put those yarns into project bags and plan on when I will be starting those projects.

With rising costs, old fashioned ways of saving money and cutting costs is pretty much a must for those of us on a fixed income. Housing prices here have dropped rapidly, what we could have gotten for our home a few years ago has been cut by probably 25% at least. Our city depends upon oil and coal, with some farming and ranching factored in as well. People are leaving for what they consider greener pastures in other areas of the province. 

So this will be a year of make do and mend, a few more meatless meals in the month, making my own salves and lotions, cutting back on wants instead of concentrating on needs, growing more veggies/herbs and perhaps finding a second source of income. It isn't that we have to do this, but if we ever move to the bigger center near us home or condo purchases will be that much higher. I will still probably purchase a loom as I have been saving for one and could use it to make our own small rugs and other items to either sell or gift. 

The other rather major purchases we will be making is new flooring for the hallway, paint for the ceilings, and paint for the hallway. Must keep the house looking fairly decent for when we put it up for sale. Buying on sale will help keep the costs down even if we have to hire someone to do the ceiling painting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Last week of the month is here, and it looks like winter will be sending us another blast. Today has been cloudy and windy, but none of the forecasted snow has hit. Clouds are building up though so we will probably get something later on.

Still having hearty winter type meals here and that will more than likely continue through most, if not all of next month. Winter never seems to leave the prairies too early lately.

Monday

Smoked sausages, baked beans, and leftover noodles.

Tuesday

Soup and sandwiches.

Wednesday

Chicken wings, onion rings, and green beans.

Thursday

The container of stew that is in the fridge freezer.

Friday

Lentil Curry and rice. I may try to make some flat breads to go along with this.

Saturday

Making a big pot of chili so I have some to take to Kris's when we go up for my appointment.

Sunday

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, and roasted carrots. I may make a salad as well which will last us for a few days.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

First off, before I forget, Maebeme asked if my sweater pattern was online. Yes it is a free pattern that can be found on the Yarnspiration/Red Heart yarn site. They have lots of free knitting patterns as well as crochet. 

It has been a very quiet day here. We went to Mass this morning, where I hate to say it, I could only understand one word in probably 4. Saying the parts of the Mass our new priest has no problem being understood, but his sermon can be a problem. I think I managed to get the gist of it at least. 

I did some baking today, muffins, and a pie shell which will be filled with something lovely, just not too sure about what at this point. 

A cloudy, windy day out. It seems like the weather improves for a few days and then we get a storm or a touch of a storm coming through. Starting tonight we are supposed to get rain and then have it switch to snow. It will clear up for a bit and then by the end of next week, the usual March snow will happen. According to the weather pundits by the end of next Sunday we could have almost 7 inches of the white stuff once again. Really, this is a very different winter than others. 

As it is almost the end of the month I am actually darn happy with my shop at home first challenge to myself. I have managed to either use up what I already have, or done a bit of substitution on ingredients that are not in my fridge, pantry or freezers. Loving the savings, and the clearing out of items very close to their use by dates. There has been very little waste this month. 

I have added a new frugal habit this month and that is using an apron as much as is possible. Really they do keep clothes much cleaner. No stains means less stain remover being used, and washing is much easier. I will keep wearing them.

March's new frugal habit is going to be using plastic bags over once again. While I have been using some bags over again, I can really do better at this. I promise not to reuse any bags that have held meat. I do store lots of baked goods in Ziplock freezer bags and those things are pretty darn expensive, unless you get them on sale which I really try to do. 

So that's my ramblings for today and they are very rambling today.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

So unbelievable that we are so close to the end of the month of February. Only 5 days left after today. 

Well what projects or goals have I completed so far this past week. Quite proud of myself really, considering how tired and not myself I have been.

This is actually the start of one of next months projects. A lapghan for the family silent auction in July. It is moving along very nicely and I will certainly finish this early next month. That will give me time to start another one.

This is the downloaded embroidery pattern I tried out on my machine (one of my machines I use solely for embroidery).

I needed to see if the downloaded patterns actually worked, and since they do I will be downloading more. Sure the machine came with some simple patterns but it is time for me to expand its capabilities. Looking forward to be doing much more with this machine. Hmm, at some point I may make a bunch of squares using this pattern in different colours forming a small quilt. Only time will tell.

I also managed to finish this sweater (used this pattern a number of times now). It is a deep plum colour and so very soft. I now have to just knit myself a couple of tank tops for summer wear and am trying to find a pattern I really like.

I finished the second of the hand embroidered quilt blocks and once I finish another 10 I will give them all a good pressing and decide what I will use as slashing. 

The flimsy for the hand embroidered baby quilt from many years is completed as well. I was only going to do the cutting of the strips for the slashing this month, but as I had the sewing machine out, I went for it. Next month I hope to get it at least sandwiched at some point.

So that is what I have worked on rather than doing lots of household tasks. Did manage to keep the house fairly tidy though.

I hope that you all had productive weeks as well.

Everybody have a wonderful afternoon.

God bless.

Recipe Friday

 

I think I will be doing my shopping a little earlier this week. It seems we are under a weather advisory for snow and freezing rain starting on Sunday night (if not before). Guess winter is not over at all as of yet.

Thought I would share a simple soup recipe with you all today. I am sure many of you already make something very similar.

Cabbage Soup

1/2 lb hamburger

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

4 cups tomato juice

10 oz. condensed beef broth

1 cup water

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp granulated sugar

5 cups shredded cabbage, packed

Scramble fry the hamburger in a frying pound until brown. Put next nine ingredients in a large pot. Add the browned hamburger. Bring this to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Serve. This should make enough to freeze some for later. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty/Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal 

Another beautiful, melting day here on the prairies of Canada. I have a feeling that it won't last, but will take advantage of it while I can, even if that means just curled up in my chair in the brigh Bt sunshine.

So what thrifty and frugal things have been happening here on the old homestead.

I am pretty much finished doing as much organizing and clean up in the sewing/craft room as can be done right now. I did find a few items more to add to the bag for donation. Bit by bit, inch by inch. I will now be considering what to do next in that room to make it easier to get around or plug things in.

Tried one of the free downloaded embroidery patterns on my machine. It turned out lovely, mind you it seems that one of the patterns I downloaded without Kris watching over me has magically disappeared from the thumb drive. But at least I know they work.

Drapes have been open the last three days letting in the lovely sunshine, which in turn heats the entire front of the house so no natural gas being used except in the early morning and at night.

Used my credit card to pay for the dentist, and will be getting money back on it at the end of the year. Usually the money back is enough to pay for one grocery trip.

Used up all leftovers in the fridge for lunches.

Baking bread and buns once again.

Mended another seam, this time on one of Harvey's t-shirts.

Reading free books on my ereader. 

Used my air fryer twice, the microwave 5 times, and the toaster oven once making some of the meals for this week. I have also used my bread machine to bake the loaf of bread this week.

Hung clothing on the lines downstairs.

Used rags for cleaning more.

Paid bills online thus saving gas and wear/tear on the vehicle.

As usual combined errands to save on gas.

Using up the bits of fabric and yarn making items to wear or give away at the family reunion.

So that is pretty much what I remember. I can also say not feeling well enough to do any shopping is helping the frugal living part of our life. Now, if I could only get Harvey to stop ordering things off Amazon without checking stores here first to see if there is a less expensive option, things would be perfect.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Yet Again

 

We are into the last full week of the month and the weather has turned once again. Nice and actually sunny as well as warmish. The snow is melting once again. Grass is starting to appear and the dirt road at the end of our street is getting muddy once again. Has spring sprung, or is this our 2nd false spring of this year.

I made it to my dental appointment this morning, and that is now done for another 4 months. No fillings this year so that is great, spent way too much on the dental health budget line last year and in January of this year. Still if I want to keep my teeth this is a necessary evil.

I am still fatigued for most of the day, but when I crawl into bed I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. This means I get up a bit later than I like as well. 

Rested up most of yesterday because of the dentist appointment. I finished sewing up my sweater, and started on a next months project. Today I have tried out one of my embroidery patterns I downloaded and it seems to have worked. However, pretty sure I downloaded three free patterns, but only two are showing up on my thumb drive. I will need Kris here to make sure I am moving them onto it properly. Now, that it works, there will be some paid for designs downloaded as soon as possible (like at Easter). I have an idea for some new tea towels (something desperately needed as the ones in the drawer are getting pretty tatty).

There has been a bit of a change in the menus for this week. Tonight we will finish off the hamburgers that were our meal on Monday and the soup will be moved until Friday, so no Tuna Casserole this month. 

Off to get supper on the table, and then hopefully visit all of you after the clean up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Feeling about 80% better today. The tummy isn't twirling anymore, but I am very tired. I am only doing enough to keep the house running smoothly and making darn sure to rest in between the small tasks I am allowing myself to do. Still at some point in the day, I just want to lay down and sleep. Binge watching lots of BritBox over the last couple of days as well. 

I better feel better before Wednesday as I have a dental appointment that morning. 

Anyhow, here are the menus for this upcoming week.

Monday

Hamburgers, onion rings and peas (Harvey can't have anything with seeds in it for awhile yet).

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef made into a casserole.

Wednesday

Homemade chicken vegetable soup (should be able to add some corn, and beans at this point. Extra soup will be frozen and used for another meal later on.

Thursday

Leftovers from Tuesday and I am going to make a salad. 

Friday

Battered Fish and chips. We shall have the remains of the salad as well.

Saturday

Stuffed chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies.

Sunday

A bag of leftover ham from the fridge freezer. I hope to feel up to making pasties tonight. Those contain the ham, some potato and some peas, along with lots of curry powder.

Everybody have a wonderful afternoon.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Sorry folks not much of a roundup today. I had hoped to have at least a couple of finished projects/goals to share with you. I am not really feeling well today and so have actually gotten very little done. I haven't even completed my household tasks for today. Perhaps by tonight I will feel a bit better and at least get those household tasks completed. 

I have spent more time on the computer than is healthy, but I did print out some recipes to try, between bouts of severe stomach pains (and you all probably know what happens with that). Most are meatless or using cheaper cuts of chicken and beef. I hope to try them out next month as this month is already planned. 

Off to have a bit of a lay down. I will try and get over and visit you all off and on over the course of the evening.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Friday

 

So what money saving recipe do I have for you today....

I thought I would do something a bit different and start off with a baked goods one. If you grow your own rhubarb this is a wonderful recipe.

Rhubarb Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk (you can make your own by adding a tsp of vinegar to 1 cup regular milk)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb or 2 cups frozen (drain some of the liquid off the frozen)

In a large bowl combine flour, soda and salt. In a separate bowl blend sugar with oil, whisk in the egg buttermilk and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients along with the rhubarb just until flour is incorporated. Spoon into paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool and remove from pan. 

These make a lovely breakfast.

Most recipes for rice pudding use uncooked rice. One day I had lots of leftover cooked rice and looked all over for a recipe that used cooked rice (I really like rice pudding).

Rice Pudding

2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup raisins (I have been known to leave these out..not a big raisin fan here)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

2 lightly beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease baking dish. Mix rice, raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon in the baking dish. Combine eggs with milk and pour over rice mixture. Bake 40-50 minutes until top is lightly browned and pudding is slightly firm to the touch. Serve warm.

I hope you enjoy these.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursdays

Thrifty and Frugal 

I thought I might as well start this post off with what I have gotten done on my Goals so far for this month.

1.  Finish the block of embroidery and start another. Almost done

2.  Sew the dress I cut out. Done

3.  Cut the strips I will use for the sashing on the baby quilt flimsy. Done

4.  Cut out skirt. Done

5.  Sew skirt. Done

6.  Try one downloaded free embroidery pattern.

7.  Finish the sweater I am knitting. Done, will sew the seams tonight

8.  Use appliances to cook more meals. Ongoing challenge

9.  Pull yarn for my next knitting projects. Done

10.  Knit some mug cozies for the silent auction. Decided to do something else

11.  Cut out and sew 2 aprons. Done, in fact I made three.

12.  Fix chair cushions. 

Still time this month to get a few more of these completed. I might even get the flimsy sewn as well. That is moving along very nicely.

So now what thrifty and frugal practices have taken place here on the old homestead.

It has been pretty sunny for the last 4 days, so the drapes are open to take advantage of the lovely solar light and heat.

I have used my air fryer and the instant pot to cook meals this week. Hopefully I will pull out the toaster oven for some warm ups in the next few days. The microwave has been used as well by Harvey for his lunches.

I have decluttered some items in my sewing/craft room. These will be dropped off tomorrow, when I go and finish my shopping.

Hung 3 loads on the lines downstairs.

Using up leftovers in the freezer over the next couple of days.

Shopped sale items at the grocery today.

Still turning off lights in rooms not in use.

Gas and electric were lower than last year for this month.

Fixed a seam on a pair of my pants.

Darned a pair of my socks. 

Went for a couple of short walks. It is icy out so I don't travel too far.

Harvey was at the hospital for his procedure on time. The doctor however had an emergency surgery and there was someone in before him. This meant he wasn't out until after lunch. As they found a polyp or two he can not eat any "roughage" for the next few days. There goes the idea of the salad tonight. 

Kris called and his surgery went just fine. The doctor hopes that he managed to get all the capsule and so is Kris. He says he doesn't need us to come up, which is probably a good thing overall. I can get more cleaned and worked on here at home. We also found out he slipped on his steps up to the deck and banged his ribs pretty bad. He got to sit in the emergency department for 13 hours that day. They are bruised a bit, but he says feel almost back to normal today.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek And Enjoying The Sunshine

 

Perhaps I should have a picture stating "Keep Calm it's Midmonth Already". I actually can not believe that this is already the middle of the month. Even with the yucky, snowy, cloudy days, this month is passing by full tilt. Tomorrow I will post how I have done with my projects for the month so far.

It was sunny first thing this morning, and it is still sunny. This means with the drapes open and the sun beating in the south facing windows the furnace has not cut in very much. I do feel a slight chill now, so the heat will more than likely be coming on shortly. Just love when we can save a bit on natural gas costs. 

Harvey is on the liquids only part of the diet and I will not eat in front of him. Hopefully he does not get too hungry..... He will have to drink that terrible stuff as well tonight and tomorrow morning.

Kris gets to go in tomorrow and get the capsule (?) of the cyst that keeps coming back on his upper back surgically removed. Probably will phone him later tomorrow night to see how it all went.

I did get the few household tasks done today and made a grocery list for tomorrow. When I drop Harv off at the hospital, I will continue on my way, get the shopping and banking done as well. I cleaned the fridge, and boy did it need cleaning, dusted, cleaned out the email and then did a bit of organizing/decluttering in the sewing/craft room. I am hopeful of getting more done tomorrow. I have a bag of donations in there as well that if I can finish filling tonight will drop off tomorrow as well. 

Then it was working on projects. Since I had a bit of time before lunch I finished sewing the fabric around the baby quilt blocks. I hope to iron them tomorrow and then start sewing them together the next day. I did some embroidery next, but stopped when I felt the first twinges of a headache starting. Tonight I will be knitting. Working on three projects at once (four if you count the organization of the sewing/craft room) is something totally foreign to my poor brain. But things are moving along with each of them, so something is going right. Might even manage to finish them all before I know it. I want no carry overs into the next month. 

Off to perhaps make myself a sandwich for supper. I think it just might be a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a few cucumber slices. Poor Harvey gets stuck with broth and apple juice. I did tell him I would walk up to the grocery and get some jello, but he said not to bother.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

How horrible the shooting at the Superbowl Champion festivities in Kansas City.... This has happened way too many times. I feel for all those injured and the family of the person who died.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

The day started off cloudy, windy and a bit of snow was still falling. During that darker time I managed to get the household tasks completed, my mending done, a bit more work in the sewing/craft room, and some sewing done on the baby quilt.

As I was sewing, I noticed the room getting brighter and brighter. A glowing orb had appeared in the sky. The sewing was quickly finished and I gathered my embroidery threads and started on the block. I worked for about 2 hours and have once again developed a bit of a headache. So embroidery has been set aside for another day. Working on three projects at one time is going to take a bit of juggling, that's for sure. 

I even managed to get the fronts of the kitchen cupboards washed down before the sun came out. One of my larger extra cleaning tasks this month. 

So this day has been much the same as most days around the old homestead. Household tasks, projects and coffee right now. Makes a day pretty darn perfect. 

Everybody have a wonderful afternoon.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Another sunny day here, and I am loving it. I did however develop a bit of a headache while stitching, so did not get as much done as I had hoped. Tomorrow is snowy and cloudy, so other projects will be worked on.

On to menus for this week.

Monday

Skinless Chicken Breasts, and rice (Harv's special diet starts today....actually we started it last night)

Tuesday

Fish Fillets, and I am going to dig through the potatoes and hopefully find enough for fries done in the air fryer.

Wednesday

Harvey will be on clear fluids so I will make him some broth probably a couple of bowls. I will also see if I can find some yellow or green jello in my stash and make that as well. Probably early in the morning so he can enjoy it all day.

Thursday

Pretty sure I have some leftover beef in my fridge freezer, so will make a casserole and serve it with a salad.

Friday

It will be tuna casserole with the remains of the salad on the side.

Saturday

Chicken Legs with back attached, corn, and potatoes (or perhaps some type of noodle). 

Sunday

The roast beef I did not make on last Sunday due to the start of the diet. Roast potatoes and roast carrots will round off the meal. I may add some celery to the roasting pan as well.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

The sun is out, the sun is out. So instead of doing any sewing today (was going to start working on the quilt flimsy), I pulled out my embroidery and worked on that for a couple of hours. I managed a bit of headway on that project, not as much as I would have liked, but enough to feel pretty good. It is supposed to be sunny for a couple of days, and with any luck at all, and some diligent stitching, I should be able to finish this block. 

Switched some menus around for Hubby's diet this week. The same things will be made, only in a different order to take advantage of what things he can eat right now and what I would like him to eat closer to the time he needs to change to the full fluid diet. 

Harvey went out for a bit and chopped some ice away from the house and the front steps. However, it is melting and more water is piling on the steps, which of course means more ice will form overnight. 

I really am leaning towards buying a heddle loom, I just need to make room somehow in the sewing/craft room for something that large. No organizing or decluttering took place in there today, but Tuesday is supposed to be a bit snowy, so you can all guess what I will be doing on that day. Once fully organized I will be making more labels. I don't want to purchase more clear storage containers so my white boxes need to let me know what is in them, so as to find what I need easily. There will still be more than I can use in a number of years, but at least everything will be tidy, and easily found.

Off to perhaps at least get some of the sashing pinned to the baby quilt blocks. That way if the sun disappears for a few days once again, I can get those sewn up.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

. 

Edited to add

I was asked if I ever model my clothing makes. The answer is no, as I really do not like my picture being taken. I see a camera at family get togethers and I walk in the other direction. Most family functions do not get a picture of me unless I am forced to take part. Getting wedding pictures done was absolute torture for me. 

Saturday Roundup

 

The sun is trying to break through the clouds, but so far has not been able to. Good thing I have other projects to work on and not just the embroidered quilt blocks. Though I would like to get at least one done this month, still getting other projects completed is giving me satisfaction.

I actually have some pictures to share with you.

First thing this week I sewed my summer dress.

There is probably enough left of this fabric to make a tank top or a pair of very light weight shorts. I think a tank top would be the better choice though.

I then moved on to another cut out sewing project. Hey when it is dark and dreary, sewing can and does (well usually) improve my outlook.

Remember the bolt of batik fabric (11 meters) that I ironed a bit ago. Well part of it went to make this skirt. I love this pattern as it is a fake wrap skirt and such an easy pattern. 

There is quite a bit of this portion of the fabric left as well. Not sure what I will fashion out of the larger piece, but shorts and what Mom called a pop top (cause you just pop it on) could be the next items made. Which, will still leave me a good amount of fabric left over.

Lastly, I managed to get not just 2, but 3 aprons made from leftover bits of fabric. Used up some thread as well, since these will only be worn around the house, the contrast of the thread colours doesn't bother me at all.

After all this year is about saving money, using up what I have, and shopping at home first.

Next week I hope to get the cough drops made, the baby quilt flimsy done, my sweater put together, and perhaps some knitted mug cozies made as well. All will be using what I already have in my home. Oops, forgot I want to get at least this embroidered block done as well, so wish me luck on that project.

Everybody have a wonderful evening/afternoon.

God bless.

Recipe Friday

 

I was asked about my Salmon Patty recipe. So today I thought I might share it with you all. Really it isn't very hard, but something we really enjoy eating at least once a month.

Salmon Patties

1 tin of canned salmon (if there are more than the two of us I will use 2 cans)

1/4 cup chopped onion (we like our onions in this house)

a good sprinkle of Old Bay

1 egg

a bit of lemon juice

enough bread crumbs so all holds together

Drain the tinned salmon (I usually don't drain it totally). Some people remove the bones, but as they are soft I usually leave them in for more calcium. 

Add the chopped onion (tonight as I have lots of green onion to use that is what I am going to use)

Give a good sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning (or you can use a good sprinkle of dill instead)

Add the egg and a bit of lemon juice.

Mix in enough bread crumbs to make the patties hold together well.

Fry in some oil or spray your pan with cooking spray.

Enjoy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Once Again A Combination

 Thrifty and Frugal

I have such a hard time separating thrifty and frugal habits here on the old homestead that I decided last week to combine them into one post. I hope to continue doing this over the year. 

The snow is still falling, and since the temperature really isn't that low (it is -2.5 C right now) things are a bit melting and then turning to ice. Harvey went to pick up some framing materials and said the roads are not nice at all. So glad that there is no where I need to be until the beginning of next week, and later in the week when I take Harvey to the hospital for his colonoscopy.

This has once again been a week of working on using items up, and perhaps doing a few substitutions with meals. Harvey can no longer eat anything with seeds and as I have some lettuce to use up our salad will consist of lettuce, grated carrots and some green onion over the next couple of days. As of Sunday that will even be cut out as his low fiber diet starts in earnest. 

I have been sewing, knitting, and cleaning the sewing/craft room. 

As far as sewing goes I used most of a piece of fabric I had for awhile to make a dress (there is a piece left that might just make a pair of knit shorts), and some bits of leftover fabric have been cut into aprons. 

Knitting wise I am using up some yarn that I have had for awhile to make myself a new sweater. More bits and bobs have been pulled to make some mug cozies for the family silent auction. Once the sweater is done that will be my next evening knitting project.

Lights are continuing to be shut off in rooms not in use. While the electric and heating bills are lower than last years, I can still work on them even more.

I baked a loaf of bread this week and then some buns.

All meals this week were made from scratch with what I have in the house.

There has been no spending on my part. I did use the card I won to purchase some clothing but this was not money from any account.

I am wearing an apron when working around the house and cooking. Sure does save on clothing.

Still hanging clothing on lines downstairs to dry.

Wearing slippers more around the house to keep my feet warm.

Making more of our snacks and sweets/desserts. 

Fixed a seam and darned a pair of Harvey's socks (rather than mine). 

So that is about all that is happening of a frugal and thrifty nature here on what I call the old homestead.

I have been very careful to only look at things that have great ratings on Facebook, and checked out their home pages. The seed company I am considering getting some kiwi vines from is a well thought of Canadian seed company.

The kiwi vines I am considering purchasing are suitable for Zone 3 which we are here in the southeast of my province. All the companies that sell them also tell how to even grow them in lower temperature zones. These only grow the size of grapes, but give wonderful flowers, scent and great coverage. We shall see I am still thinking and not too sure what I will go with.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek

 

It is hard to believe that this month is already 1/4 gone. Does this mean we are closer to spring?

If today is anything to go by spring is still a ways off. This morning I woke up to freezing rain and sleet, then the sleet turned to snow.

This is what the roads here in the city looked like when it got light enough to actually see them.

Now with snow on top, things are going to be miserable driving around the city.

I pulled something out this morning to be used this afternoon.

Yep, since the weather is going to be miserable the next little while, and I don't enjoy driving on icy streets. my afternoons and perhaps a few mornings will be spent sewing. I hope to have lots of pictures of finished projects to show all of you very soon. I did get my sundress sewn today and tomorrow I hope to do the skirt and perhaps an apron or two.

I would probably have gotten more done, but I did some kitchen things like....

Making bone broth out of some items in my freezer.

Baking some buns since Harvey can't have brown bread due to the seeds and such, I made some white bread buns. He will enjoy them. In fact we are going to have some with our potato soup tonight. 

I also made a lemon meringue pie, which still needs the meringue so no photo. Figured Harvey could use a bit of a treat for the rest of the week. 

Also the tidy/declutter of the sewing/craft room is ongoing. I have managed to clear off a few surfaces, but there is much more that needs doing. I have even put some of my projects into bags for this month and once my clothing sewing is completed I plan on bringing another project bag out. I am happy with how things are getting straightened out and will hopefully stick the course.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.