Saturday Roundup

 

I really have not gotten that much done on my list this past week. Little bits done on many different things and only one thing completed that I could check off.

My gift jar soups are done and all the spice mixes, drink mixes, and soups are labeled and have the directions added. Just a couple more gifts for the baskets. Those are getting pretty full and I hope to finish them off very soon.

Weaving, embroidery, and knitting are happening and while the items are slowly but surely getting completed I really have nothing much to show for my efforts. I honestly think that sometimes I just try to do too much at one time and might be able to finish more if I worked on one project at a time. Now that would be slightly boring.

I have been working on getting the house ready for winter, new drapes have been purchased and others moved around to be used in another area. Still have a bit to do in this area, and now that we received snow (not a great deal), I will be concentrating a bit more in this area. 

Some easy knitting, sewing, quilting, and cross stitch patterns have been downloaded and printed. I am doing some research each day on good old fashioned cooking and looking for recipes to use beans more and not just in salads or baked. 

Decluttering is slowly taking place and I am finding it very true that once retired the wardrobe does not need to be so extensive. I no longer need to try and keep up with those who love to be dressed to the "nines" (and believe me I have a few SIL's that believe just that), and what I have is just fine.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Moving Towards Simplicity

 

My quest today on the way to simplicity was to get more room on my rather small kitchen counter. This was not an easy task as everything on it at this point in time is used or in the case of the jars of dehydrated herbs will be used whenever needed. 

I did manage to get a bit more room by moving the KitchenAid mixer on top of the portable dishwasher, and by getting all the spice mixes, and soups in a jar labeled and into the gift baskets. There is still way too much on one side, but slowly things will be used up and the area cleared. I really need to make my way through all my teas as that would clear up a great deal of room. I do wish that I could set up a coffee/tea station, but I just do not have the space for that. 

Next move towards a simpler life will be going through the drawers in the kitchen once again to see what I can declutter and perhaps make room for other items I have stored away and really do use almost every day.

Still more winterizing must be done inside. Nothing too expensive, but I do need to get those insulated curtains for my sewing/craft room and figure out what to do with the lace curtains I replaced. They are still in very good shape and I wonder if in the new year I could make some produce bags from them. I would love to hang some heavier curtains over the front and back doors to cut down even more drafts from entering the house, but those may have to wait until next year. 

Harvey had his truck into the dealership today for an oil change and a check of the block heater. Turned out to be a bit more costly than we thought as the truck needed a new block heater and a new plug in cord. Still we were quite happy that the total cost was a bit less than the one quoted, it was enough though. As Harvey says now we have a new battery and plugin on the SUV and a new block heater and cord on the truck, should be set for the winter for sure. That will definitely make life much easier and simpler over the winter. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal 

I am hoping for a really good thrifty and frugal November. Of course I do all the regular things that I do all the time, but I am hoping to find some new ways of saving those pennies.

1.  Making doubly sure that lights are turned off in rooms not in use.

2.  Asking myself more often is something is a want or a need. The curtains were actually a need as they keep the cold air out of the house. Just one more set to purchase and all windows will be covered with insulating curtains. 

3.  Looking up new recipes to expand on my winter meal plans. Using more beans and lentils. This will probably mean more batch cooking but that is a very good idea during the cold days of winter.

4.  I am back using my cloth wipes again when going to the bathroom and will be making a few more come the new year.

5.  Using up leftovers from the fridge freezer as well as the containers of soup I have in there.

6.  Still making my own yogurt and for the first time used some of my yogurt to start a new batch. It is the thickest yogurt I have ever made. So will make sure to keep 4 tbsp. to make the next batch.

7.  Darned 4 pairs of socks, did some seam repairs and fixed the zipper end on one of my coats (by hand). 

8.  Put my leftover allowance in the savings envelope.

9.  Printed out some free patterns for holiday crafts that I will do in December when I don't want to pull out a machine to work with.

So there are my thrifty and frugal practices for this week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Ramblings

We are the middle of the first week in November already. I have a feeling that this month is going to pass by just as quickly as the previous months. Scary how fast the time is moving by.

My Chicken Quiche turned out very well yesterday, and was quite tasty. There will be a few tweaks to the recipe the next time I make it. 

These two pieces are in the fridge and should give us another meal each. Really not a whole bunch of cooked chicken went into this recipe either. We had some sliced veggies and dip as the side. 

I will be going through my cookbooks and finding more ways to stretch bits of leftover meat. Next up will be some leftover brisket that really can't be made into a pulled meat kind of meal. 

There are rumours that chicken prices will be rising due to the fact that more people here in Canada are choosing poultry as their meat. I find chicken to be pretty expensive right now and watch closely for sales. 

Because of rising meat prices I am looking into more lentil and bean recipes as a protein replacement. I am very glad that Harvey is willing to at least try my concoctions. The next lentil recipe I think I will try is Lentil Tacos or wraps. 

Still decluttering here, but right now it mostly seems to be my wardrobe. I tried on two tops today and hated the way they fit. Those hit the donation bag, however this is making me think that come January I am going to have to make some tunic tops or find some at a second hand store. The finding at a second hand store could be a problem as larger sizes really disappear quickly around here. Making could be the solution. I just have to wait and see how many I have left after trying things on and either donating or trying to figure out how I can refashion the items. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

Today I managed to complete a few small tasks that have been lurking in the back of my mind for a number of days. 

When I went shopping this week I picked up a new liner for the bathroom shower curtain. Today, while catching up on household tasks that were missed yesterday I hung it up. The old one was badly stained and so was tossed, though now that I think about it, I might just have figured out another use for it. 

I, also bought some insulated drapes for our bedroom that actually go with the colour scheme. Those have been hung as well and the old ones that suit the hallway better will be hung tomorrow taking the place of the lace curtains that make me think of my Grandmother's house many years ago. Those will be saved and I will figure out another use for them. 

Attacked the open bags of baking supplies as well and got what I could into airtight containers. I could use a few more of those to really tidy the baking cupboards. 

Slowly but surely getting a bit more organized and clearing things out that need to be cleared. 

This has also been another day that I have stayed home and just enjoyed the simplicity of working on household tasks, nesting, and of course working on Christmas gifts. 

While I am still a bit anxious over what the world is heading for I am hopeful that all things will work out. I really think us frugal, thrifty people will be just fine, but I am not too sure about those who haven't learned to live withing their means. This includes some of our extended family, there are a few sister-in-laws that are very high maintenance and like to spend money.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Only a few weeks left in this year. Time is flying by and soon enough a new year will begin with lots of chances for me to move to even more meatless meals, and even more ways to simplify our lives.

So here is the menu for this week.

Monday

Leftover Sweet and Sour Ribs, salad, and I decided not to make rice using up the leftover noodles and some potatoes to serve the ribs over.

Tuesday

Leftover Chicken made into a casserole. Will serve with leftover salad as there is bound to be some of that.

Wednesday

Soup and Sandwiches. I think I will use one of the containers of brown lentil soup and make some egg salad to go with.

Thursday

Leftover Chicken Casserole from Tuesday and carrots.

Friday

Perogies with fried onions and sour cream.

Saturday

Round Steaks in mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, peas.

Sunday

Roast Ham, mashed potatoes, corn and perhaps fried cabbage though I could make the fried cabbage to go with Thursday's meal. 

So there is the menu for this week. Nothing really surprising and nothing that will tax my brain or sore hand (just a bit sore from the fall). 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Strange weather today we started off at 10C, fell to 8C and rose again to 10C all within a few hours. The wind is howling and leaves are blowing all over the place. Inside the furnace has not cut in since early this morning, with the sun shining in our south facing picture window it is almost 24C inside the front half of our home. 

Harvey made us brunch today after Mass and it was wonderful, even if I had to do the clean up. Got that done quickly and actually pretty easily. 

I have been adding to the grocery list. I really have let the pantry go down over the last while. I have also let our meat go way down in some regards. The next while I will be looking for sales on beef as we have very little of that left in the meat freezer. Still have lots of chicken and pork, but I know Harvey will be wanting beef. Over the last few months I have been well under budget for groceries so I think a bit of a splurge will be okay this time around. 

Staying home more is enabling me to get things finished and work on those little things that will enable us to live a simple and organized life. It will allow me to work on things I enjoy that make our home one we are proud of. Fixing the little things so that selling when the time comes will be easy. I do know that eventually we will need to move and so downsizing and using up what we have is becoming so much more important.  I turn 70 in December and Harvey is already 75. Time is becoming a challenge to our staying in our home. 

More of a challenge than I would like as I once again fell today. This time in my home stepping down from the dining room. Nothing broken, and nothing bruised (or just a bit bruised) but something I need to watch out for. 

Off to get the table set, then visit a few of you before peeling potatoes and carrots to put in with the chicken. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

 

The first day of November started off below freezing, cloudy and windy. We have now managed to reach 10C, the sun is out and the wind has definitely gone down. Still I am glad I had nowhere to go today really and could stay home and work on projects.

Well, I was unable to get my good sewing machine working properly (by good I mean the expensive one) and so I pulled out the Walmart Brother machine that Kurt got me for Christmas one year. Yes!!! That one worked and so I managed to get Harvey's pajama bottoms sewn. One project already completed for the month. This needs washing and a bit of ironing before I take a picture, so expect that in next weeks round-up of projects.

So what did I get done this week?

I finished the 6th rose block and decided that to make a decent quilt I need nine of these blocks. Number seven was started yesterday.

The two double oven mitts were finished just before my machine decided to act up. These need a bit of ironing as well.

My orange cleaner was finished so I put it in a mason jar and will soon mix some of this with some water to see how well it cleans.

This is one of the small jars of mint extract that I got after decanting off the mint leaves. I managed to get four of these jars and a jam jar full. I need some of these smaller containers to finish this off. They are in the fridge and will stay there until all used up.

I did some work organizing and straightening out the baking pantry and pasta pantry shelves. I haven't taken a picture yet as the baking one needs some more work done. I hope to finish that off during the next week. 

Not a great deal done in the grand scheme of things, but enough that my project list for October was completed. 

Off to visit with you all, get supper started and then settle in with some knitting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Happy Halloween

It is cold today, and I am not sure if we will get any visitors tonight. I am ready for them though.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal 

This has been pretty much what it was like all day. I did get out and put the remainder of the plant pots and stands away, but it hadn't started the drizzle as of yet. 

So what thrifty and frugal things have I been up to over the past week.

1.  Trying hard to add to the no spend days and I am happy to say by the end of the month I should reach 22 no spend days. I am going to see if I can get close to that next month. We do have some expenses that will need to be paid on days that I am not running errands unless I switch things around a little bit..... We shall see.

2.  Baked bread this week and am keeping my fingers crossed that the bread flour I use will be going on sale very soon. Man has that gone up in price.

3.  Using up all leftovers to make new meals or for our lunches.

4.  Hung 3 loads of washing on the lines downstairs to dry.

5.  Used an old flannel sheet for the material to make Harvey's pajama bottoms.

6.  Walking in the house, climbing stairs and a small ladder for exercise.

7.  Reading free books on my ereader. 

8.  Saved some small plastic bags to use for kitty litter patrol when the Grandcat comes for a visit.

9.  Planning some more meatless or very little meat meals for next month. I have added two more meatless which means I am up to 6 in a month. 

10.  Added a nickel I found on the floor by the washer to the change jar.

This rain we are getting is supposed to turn to snow so I am really thankful that I will once again be sticking very close to home. I will be out shopping on probably Monday or Tuesday but things should clear up and dry up by then.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek And No Panic This Month

 It has been a lovely month. The beginning of the month was pretty warm, though it did cool off over Thanksgiving. It then seemed that the temperature went up and down. We had rain with the threat of snow that did not arrive, and lots of wind. 

A month to begin the nesting process, which has been moving along now that my arm is so much better. Yes, finally in the last week and a bit I have gained all the motion back, but will have to work on building up some strength in the wrist, hand and arm once again. It is lovely not to have to call Harvey to bring up the clean clothes, or open a can for me. I can even use a pen a bit better (well when the trigger finger does not act up). 

Since I have been staying home more I am managing to get more done. My hall is clean and tidy, the area around my desk is the same (the desk top is the neatest it has been in years) and I have started on straightening out my pantry a bit. Today I filled containers and over the next few weeks I hope to continue that process. A jar takes up way less room than a bag and has the added benefit of me being able to see what I have. I worked on the pasta cupboard and the baking cupboards today, and while there is more to be done things do look much better. 

I have even kept up with my goals and projects for this month and it actually looks like I will get them all done. Knock on wood. Got the pajama bottoms cut out and may even work on getting them sewn before next month. Well that is if my sewing machine decides to behave. I may be pulling the other one out to use. I am thankful every day that I have the number of machines I do.

Made my list of projects/goals for next month and will share them with you now.

1.  Sew pajama bottoms.

2.  Weave Kurt's rug.

3.  Sew rubber backing on the rugs to keep them from slipping.

4.  Knit some mitts.

5.  Embroider another block.

6.  Make spice/soup mixes for the baskets.

7.  Bake for Christmas.

8.  Stock up where possible.

9.  Keep on decluttering.

I plan on staying home much more this upcoming month, and so things should be completed. Many of my goals and projects are one day or less to do. 

I am hoping to stock up a great deal more, just in case we get a really nasty winter and take advantage of hopefully lower prices before the new tariffs hit.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 After promising myself I would stay home, I decided to go out for a quick cup of coffee. I don't know why I keep doing it to myself, but I went out for coffee to my friend's place. The one who likes to argue with me, and of course after being less argumentative has gone back to her usual angry self. I think I could say one thing and she would automatically say I was wrong even if she knew I was right. I think it is much better for my mental health right now if I just stay away for longer periods of time, that actually seems to help.

It stayed pretty cool today and the wind was fairly strong and has picked up as the day has progressed. Supposed to be even cooler tomorrow. We got a bit lazy today and decided to wait another day before heading out and doing the last of the leaves and putting away a few more pots and such. 

Worked on my projects today, and the sewing machine decided it was going to act up a bit. I could have gotten a bit more completed if I hadn't had to clean the throat plate out as often as I had to. Perhaps the machine needs a bit of a rest???? If that is the case I will perhaps cut out Harvey's pajama pants tomorrow and work more on the embroidery. Right now I am leaning more towards needing 9 embroidered blocks. Just to make the quilts wide enough to at least lay at the end of a bed. The rubber backing needs to be sewn on Kris's woven rug so I could get that done as well. Thus giving my machine a bit of a rest and me getting rid of some frustration over the cleaning of the throat plate. 

Could also make a few more spice mixes for the gift baskets, and figure out what to do with some rather tough kale. It is a bit hard to eat it in a salad, but today the last of that shall be eaten. 

Simplicity wise, my hall is nice and clean. Much easier to keep clean now as well. Next up is to work on what is under my desk. The top is pretty good as I did go through lots of the papers and removed or filed them away. The drawers could use another tidy as well.

Off to get supper started as Harvey needs to watch the ball game tonight. Hopefully the Blue Jays win this one, though after 18 innings last night both teams could be plenty tired. Hope to get some of you visited as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

The last week in October and the beginning of November. Cold weather is beginning to settle in, or will be setting in very soon. Time to plan some rib sticking meals and time to stretch what I have in my pantry.

Monday

Lentil Curry served over rice and a kale salad as the side.

Tuesday

Leftover chili served over pasta. The leftover kale salad will be the side dish.

Wednesday

Hopefully there will be some leftover lentil curry and that will be served over leftover rice along with sliced cucumber. If there is not enough for a meal I will figure out another meatless meal.

Thursday

Chicken Veg Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Friday

Fish, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I will make coleslaw.

Saturday

Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, peas, and rice. Probably the leftover coleslaw on the side.

Sunday

Roast Chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots. Whatever meat that is left will be packaged up and frozen. The carcass will be frozen as well.

Will be checking the flyers this week closely and trying to get a couple of roasts either pork or beef if I can find some on at a really good price. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 Slowly but surely Harvey and I are getting the old homestead ready for the winter. There are still a few things to do as I got a bit carried away working on those last projects for the month and just getting the tasks done for today, leading into next week. 

I am actually quite happy with what I have accomplished on those projects today and foresee a finish to at least one of them before too long. 

I have been reading some of the family Facebook posts and I laugh at how hypocritical some of those who live in Alberta are. Let's put it this way. Many of them thought D. Smith was the best of all provincial Premiers. Talked about how great she is and were all gung-ho over how wonderful the things she was doing were. Fast forward to now and since one of them is a teacher (her entire family was Smith supporters) and things have changed. Our niece and her family can't stand the Premier now and it is mainly because L is a teacher and they are being legislated back to work come Monday. I just wonder how long this about face will last with this section of the family. We shall see. 

My hallway is almost completely cleared now just from picking things up and putting them in their proper places. The craft pile beside my chair is dwindling, and the sewing/craft room is clearing up nicely. A bit here and there makes a difference and surprisingly enough makes me very happy and contented. 

Yesterday I did the filing of recipes, and patterns and cleared out a great deal of paperwork that was very old. I also got rid of some very old appliance manuals. My desk area is almost as clean as I would like, just a bit more needs doing and that will also be completed this week. There are a few item to be gone through under the desk and put in their proper places as well. 

Enough of my rambling.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

 

Saturday Roundup

 

Thought I would share what I have gotten done so far this past week.

Just one bag of the Cabbage bread I made this week.

The batch of lentil curry for the freezer, and the stew of which after having a meal the rest was put into the freezer.

Some dry mixes for the Christmas gift baskets.

The finished dishcloths to take the place of those I put in the Christmas gift baskets and those that replaced the ones I use for dishwashing.

The embroidery, and the beginnings of the double oven mitts. Well the first double oven mitt. I am hopeful of getting those two projects done by the end of the month. 

Forgot to add my new mantra for the rest of the year and probably into next year as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Shhhh

I don't want to jynx myself but I seem to be actually getting things completed this month. Shocking, I know, but I am pretty sure it is because I did not list quite as many projects as I usually do.

There are only two items left on my project list and those could hopefully be completed over the next week. This would be the first time in I cannot remember how long that this could happen. I may just have to limit projects for awhile and if I actually finish one add another to the list. Kind of did that this time with the dishcloths.

I am also very happy at how tidy things are becoming here with just an "Oh that does not belong here, let's put it where it does." attitude is going. When I head out of a room I glance around and if there is something out of place I grab it and take it to the room it belongs in. Then while in that room I see if there is anything I can put away or move to where it belongs. Some items automatically end up in the donation bag, or in the case of papers the recycle bin. 

Really the only slightly untidy area in the main part of the house is the area beside my chair as that is where all my project bits and bobs reside. As I finish them what is left over is taken and put away so gradually the pile disappears. I have even gotten to the point when I enter the sewing/craft room with the leftovers from said projects I put them away immediately. 

The sewing/craft room is coming along. As things are used up and items put away I can actually walk around the room. No more little piles all over the place, and as things are used up there will be even more room to move around. 

I am still trying to devise a way to have more counter space as that is very limited in my kitchen. Makes cooking difficult at times, but does make me clean up after baking or cooking so as to have some room for the next batch of whatever I make. I really miss all the counter space I had in the mobile home we first lived in. 

I am trying to hit more no spend days this month and next month to make up for the rather spendy September and August. I do not spend more on the days I do spend. Spend days are groceries, allowance day, gas/fuel, and bill paying and I really try not to overspend on those days. I found out they are raising the cost of banking (not too sure as of yet how it will affect us) so I have talked to Harvey about instead of using the debit card so often, he should use his credit card as that is only one payment out of the account. I really don't think it will sink in until he actually sees how much it's usage is costing us. 

Life is getting much more expensive for everyone.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal  

It has been a strange week. One minute the heat needs to be on and then the next day the sun is beating in the south facing picture window and heating the house nicely.

So what frugal and thrifty things have I been up to this week on the old homestead.

1. Found $0.45 when out walking so added it to the change jars. 

2. Walked both outside and in the house for free exercise.

3. Hung 3 loads of items on the lines downstairs.

4. Moved some old dishcloths into the rag bag and added some new ones from my stash.

5. Used up some of the cotton yarn knitting dishcloths to replace the ones in the stash I removed. 

6. Using scraps of batting to make the oven mitts.

7. Managed to position the fabric for the oven mitts in such a way that I have enough to probably make a third double oven mitt for myself. 

8. Made some spice mixes for the Christmas baskets as well as some hot chocolate mix. 

9. Replaced the buttons on one of my shirts using buttons from my extensive button collection (LOL).

10. Using up leftovers for our lunches.

11. Did some batch cooking this week and used my slow cooker as well.

12. Shopped using a list and stuck to said list unless something we could use and would use was on sale. 

13. Once again combined errands so as to save on fuel and wear/tear on vehicle.

14. Saved some plastic bags that my veggies and fruit came in as well as the twist ties. Also saved some elastics from other veggies.

Pretty sure there were more, but I have forgotten them. This old mind is not at all like it used to be.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Musings

 

I am not sure why my sleep has been off and on the past week and as the days mount up that my sleep has been interrupted I am becoming more and more exhausted by the end of the day. Today along with the feeling of tiredness I have developed a headache. I sure hope I manage a decent number of hours sleep tonight. 

The weather is warming up again and so we should be able to finish off cleaning up the yard this week as well as covering and moving the deck furniture. One more task finished before the winter hits. I do need Hubby to go and purchase some weather stripping and door sweeps to install. The older weather stripping and door sweeps are getting a bit worn. Must get things done before it turns cold once again. Which of course could happen here in less than a day. 

Most of today was spent making the Cabbage Bread, perhaps I should call them Cabbage Stuffed Buns. No soup tonight even though it is on the menu, instead we shall feast on some of the buns I have made. They really turned out very well for a change and I am very happy. Tomorrow we can have soup, and then we shall see what needs to be changed for the rest of the week. 

I am slowly picking up and putting away, making things to be used later on (using up what craft items I have in stock) and trying very hard to stretch our dollars out even more over the next few months of the year. It is surprising how quickly this year has passed by, and how much life is changing here on the old homestead. 

Things are slowing down, plans are changing and life is getting simpler as time goes on. 

I will share pictures of all that I have managed to get done this week. It isn't as much as I hoped but what will be will be.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

Pretty cold this morning with temperatures well under the freezing mark. There was frost for a lengthy amount of time on the various vehicles parked on the road. It has warmed up slightly, but nothing to get excited about. 

This meant I stayed home (yippee) another no spend day and one where I did manage some batch cooking. One batch will be eaten tonight, but the curry and the remaining stew will be frozen and eaten later on. 

I was asked by a few of you what Cabbage Bread is. Well think of pizza pockets but made with bread dough, filled with a mixture of cabbage and ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper. The bread dough is rolled out into squares, the filling put in and the edges pinched together in a square bun shape. These are baked and when cooked put in a large pot for a bit to soften the crust slightly. I then package them up for the freezer. This is also something my German grandmother made. 

I am actually considering making my own pizza pockets in a similar manner only using a pie crust type of covering. We shall see what I end up doing.

Planning happened today on the oven mitts. I just need to figure out how I can manage to get 2 pairs of double oven mitts out of this fabric, and find my bias binding. Once the planned layout is fixed in my mind I will do the quilting and then cutting and sewing of them. With any luck I may be able to get those done by the end of the month and another project off my list. 

Lately, each time I go into the sewing/craft room I do a little pick up. Gradually things are being put away and plans made for next months projects are taking place as well. I might even have a few planned for December. Slightly smaller ones that do not take up a great deal of room and can be done quickly while getting the last minute Christmas baking completed. 

Bought this little lantern at the beginning of October and have just got it working.

It works like a charm and I am going to purchase another one or two the next time I go shopping along with more small propane cylinders for the camp stove. Probably a few more candles as well. Candles can be used for heat as well as light. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

After going to the store shopping today, I am realizing that there are people in this city that can't afford to eat. Or if they can it is without eating meat. I am going to go back to purchasing a bag of groceries for the food bank once again. It broke my heart to see an older lady putting various meats back after looking at the prices. The chicken was relatively inexpensive but she put that back as well and when she turned away from the meat department I was sure she was almost crying. 

I am really going to try and use up all that I can and even I had to put a few items in the meat department back and make a different selection. 

Things are going to be stretched as much as possible as with prices rising and not going down, it could be us that eventually can not afford to purchase meat. 

Monday

Warming up two ham pasties and serving them with salad.

Tuesday

Slow cooker stew. There should be enough to freeze as well.

Wednesday

Chicken veggie soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Thursday

Quiche to use up a bit of ham. Not using Swiss Cheese, but cheddar.

Friday

Salmon patties, rice, salad.

Saturday

Leftover quiche and salad. 

Sunday

Chili and toast. I will make a big pot so as to have leftovers to warm up later in the week.

Sometime this week I will make the Cabbage Bread (hopefully tomorrow) and get those into the freezer. I am also tempted to try my hand at making some homemade pizza pops to use up a few items in the fridge. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saying No

 

This is perhaps the hardest thing I have had to learn over the past few years. I am a people pleaser to nth degree and saying no is not something that comes easily to me. 

I have gotten better, though I do find it very hard to say no to people I like and care about. It is amazingly easy to say no to things that do not interest me, or to those that I feel just use me (we all have those types in the periphery of our lives). 

Another place I have problems saying no is to fabric or yarn that people want to give me..... I always figure I can find a way to use even the smallest scraps of anything. Which of course means the sewing/craft room gets slightly crowded. Must definitely work on that one.

Oh, and books. Books are just wonderful ways to travel to unknow places, or solve a mystery. 

There are those things that I have always said no to though, like overspending the budget (it happens once in awhile here), or purchasing something just for the sake of keeping up with the neighbours. 

I also find it very easy to say no to people who ask for money on the phone. I used to say please send the information via the mail, but since the vast majority never did, a simple sorry no on the phone works very well. 

Saying no to something that does not fit my morals is also easy and always has been since I was a child. Thank heavens as this kept me out of a great deal of trouble growing up. 

Saying no can be difficult but it can be done. I am a work in progress on this, and I can see as I learn to say no my life getting so much simpler. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

We have had lots of rainy days this past week. This means that outside work was done between rain showers. Still lots to do out there and I am just hoping to get it all done before the snow falls. We did a bit at the beginning of the week getting the solar lighting in and the garden decor. Today we put up some of the cushions on the patio furniture to hopefully dry and then tomorrow we will be covering and moving said furniture. One more step towards winter yard prep. 

I also need to get Harvey to give me some paint and get at least one coat on some of the windows, especially the basement ones. One coat would give them a bit of protection against the nasty winter weather. 

With Kurt and Kris home, I didn't get as much done on my projects as I had hoped. Still working on the embroidery and knitting of dishcloths. Pretty sure I will be done the knitting by the middle of next week, and will start on the oven mitts. 

I found some ties for my loom and ordered two sets. The cost of postage is extremely high and I am not too sure those will actually cost as much as they say to mail. I will search for a less expensive way to get these the next time. I may even try the heavy string through the holes as I see others do. 

I am getting caught up slowly on my YouTube channels. My goodness there are some prolific vloggers out there. I don't think I could ever post as much as many do, and do I want to allow people that much entry into my daily life? While I am pretty much what you see is what you get on my blog, vlogging seems to take way too much time and allows too many people to say you are doing things wrong. Fact is everyone manages their lives and money in their own way, there is no one way only and no one should say the way you do things is wrong. Much nicer group of people here on Blogger (well most of the time and I have been lucky not to have many trolls). 

Off to get supper made, and then visit all of you over the course of cooking and after dishwashing if necessary.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Simplicity By Baby Steps

 

I have just taken another step towards simplifying my life. Most of my bills have been paid online for years which made it much easier to take care of most of our payments, there was one that I hadn't gone paperless on..... Isn't there always one?

I would need to wait until said bill arrived in the mail then go online to the bank app and pay it off. At the end of last month I made the move to paperless. I am loving it and can print off said bill myself using much less paper for my records. The impetus was the postal strike.

Now all our bills are listed online on and are much easier to track. 

My next move towards a simpler life was culling my wardrobe down. I can now fit everything I own in my bedroom closet and the drawers to my bedroom suite. There will be more culling of clothing items happening as I find items I no longer enjoy, do not fit properly, or the style is something off putting. 

Decluttering is making more room in my sewing/craft room as well. Since I no longer use the closet for clothing I purchased a set of inexpensive shelves and have put them in there. I have now gotten much of the floor space back (though right now you would not believe that, Christmas gifts and baskets are taking up the cleared space). Those shelves have made it easier to find my batting bits and bobs as well as the pillow stuffing. I also managed to put some yarn on it as well. I truly have way too much yarn.

I plan on continuing with decluttering and downsizing. Especially this winter. If it no longer gives me pleasure or suits our living style it will be gone. I can see a few rather large drop offs of donations. I could probably have a yard sale in the spring, but really I do not want to hang onto things that long. 

The next step I am going to take is planting more perennials to see if that will crowd out the weeds in the perennial bed. It might not, but then again it just might. I am also going to plant things that can be easily looked after and yet relatively inexpensive. It could mean me starting a few items from seed or tuber, or rhizome. It would probably be simpler to purchase the plants, but man we found them to be very expensive this year for even fewer items than I have purchased in other years. Time to plan ahead even though we do not have lots of room to put plant starters. 

So that is my steps taken or steps that will be taken to have a simpler life. One where I can enjoy the outdoors a bit more and one where I can slow down and do the things I love.

Pretty sure there will be more steps and I will probably fall back into old ways every so often, but hopefully there will be more steps forward than backwards.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal 

While it seems as if this week has moved along quickly the usual frugal and thrifty things have been happening on the Phillips Homestead. I actually started something new, and will finish something new this week as well.

So let's see what I have been up to this week.

1.  Harvey has been having fun working on a jigsaw puzzle he got for Christmas from Kurt. Soon he will need a new one to work on.

2.  All clothes have been washed in either cold and rinsed in cold, except for the load of really dirty items which were washed in warm and rinsed in cold. 

3.  Once again I hung three loads of laundry on the lines downstairs to dry.

4.  Using up leftovers either in lunches or made into entire new meals.

5.  Making my own orange cleaner with orange peels and vinegar.

6.  Made my own mint extract.

7.  Using up the cotton yarn making dishcloths as Christmas gifts, some for my use, and some for the family silent auction.

8.  I actually managed to get three days of dishes put in the dishwasher instead of two. I am hoping to do the same with the next loads. That would cut down on dishwasher tablets, and water usage.

9.  I have had a few no spend days over this past week. From last Friday until today there have been 5 no spend days. I had to pay bills one day, and today I got our two week allowances out of the bank. I hope to add many more as so far this month I have 11 days of no spending.

10.  Mended a couple of seams on one of Harvey's shirts and darned a pair of my socks. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.