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.

 

Midweek and Midmonth

 

As is usual lately the days and months are whizzing right by. Lately I find myself wishing that things would definitely slow down, I need more time to simplify things and prepare for winter's cold and snow. 

Today all I did was the few tasks on my list, and the extra cleaning listed was putting away all the solar lighting and removing the garden decor. 

After doing that I really needed to warm up as there is no sun, a cold wind and a misty rain. After a cup of coffee I pulled out the embroidery and did what I could on that. Putting that aside I watched a few things on YouTube, and then brought out my knitting. I seem to be starting the "wanting to work on something new and exciting" part of my crafting cycle. It is becoming very difficult to continue with these two projects. Yet if I want to get things completed I do need to work on these and no others for awhile. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be finished the knitting project soon and can move onto some sewing projects again. 

Sent care packages home with both the sons, and I am hoping that the one I sent back with Kurt keeps him in food for awhile. Striking with no pay is not great. He also got a gift card from Kris for his birthday which will probably help pay for some of his gas on the return trip today.

My menu plan will be changing a little bit as I made lots of Turkey Tetrazzini for last nights meal and so will be eating that tomorrow instead of what I had planned. The Ham Pasties will be moved to probably Saturday, and leftovers from that on Monday. Then Monday's meal leftovers. I should be back on track by Tuesday (fingers crossed). 

Sales should be starting very soon on items I need for Christmas baking (which will be hid on Harvey), but I don't think I will make as many treats this year as other years. For sure Harvey and I don't need them, and I have noticed that our sons don't eat as much of that type of thing as they used to. Still there are family favourites that I will make. 

Off to get the table set, and the soup on. Once that is done I will be trying to visit most of you before supper.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

The days have been cloudy and cool, the long range forecast does not seem to see an improvement in weather conditions. I guess fall and the lead up to winter is truly here now. 

We still have lots to do in the yard, and I hope to get more done tomorrow after Kurt leaves for home. 

Even while Kurt and Kris were home I worked on decluttering, finishing off projects that in turn are using things up from my various stashes. This will make life simpler in the long run which is definitely what I am striving for. The less clutter and the less "stuff" in the house will definitely give us more room and definitely less stress. 

We will be getting our flu and Covid shots this week. Thus making sure we will be healthy for the winter. I do know there are some that do not agree with the Covid vaccine, but really considering the millions that have had the shots, and continue to receive them I think the chances of dying from them are pretty small contrary to what some post.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

  

Menu Monday

 A new week, and one that is much cooler than before. Still a great deal to accomplish outside and we hope once things slightly dry out tomorrow to get the vast majority of those items done.

Since it is cooler our meals reflect that once again.

Monday

Jambalaya and leftover tossed salad.

Tuesday

Turkey tetrazzini, and tossed salad. Got to clear out the lettuce before it goes bad. 

Wednesday

Butternut squash soup and perhaps egg salad sandwiches.

Thursday

Leftover ham made into pasties.

Friday

Fish, homemade fries and peas/carrot mixture.

Saturday

Leftovers from Thursday.

Sunday

Pork cutlets, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy.

So there you have it. I decided to forego the roast meal this week as we have eaten so heartily this week. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Happy Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers. It is a day early, but since Kris will be leaving tomorrow, our feast is today.

I will visit you all tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I had better make this post while I still have a bit of time. Supper prep will be taking place very soon and then there is always the clean up after. 

Having Kurt and Kris home is wonderful, but now I have to get used to cooking for 4 once again. Knowing me I will be cooking so much more than I need to as well. Lots of leftovers ahead I guess. 

Found out that Kurt's mortgage payments are $1.8K a month so hopefully he gets back to work very soon. 

Shopped at home today and made my own chili sauce and dry onion soup mix. Hopefully this tastes great on the brisket.

So what projects did I manage to complete this week. Well, mostly baking (some of which I did not get photos of). I made two pies, made my version of an apple strudel, made buns for each of the sons to take home, unbaked cookies as well as those flatbreads. 

I also made lots and lots of soup.

I also finished off the 10 pairs of mitts.

The mitten yarn is put away now and I am working on the binding of the last firepit quilt, and some knitted dishcloths, as well as the embroidery. I am finding it very difficult to get through the backing on this firepit quilt and because of that can only do a little each day. 

I hope to get as many projects done as possible since I want as little carry over as possible this month. After all there is Christmas baking to do as well as more gifts to make. 

Kris got Harvey's camera working on the drone and now there is another play thing in the house. That will keep Harvey occupied for awhile. Playing around.

Off to set the table, cut up the pickles and cheese. Hope to get to visit you all shortly.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal

Thrifty and Frugal 

This should have been the post I put up yesterday, but for some reason I lost track of the days going by. So you get my thrifty/frugal practices for this week today.

1. Hung three loads on the lines downstairs. 

2.  Combined errands once again.

3.  Using up the items in the fridge for making new meals or to make soup.

4.  Batch cooking and baking where possible. 

5.  Windows open to cool off the house, no air conditioning at all this week.

6.  Furnace on just to take the chill off the house in the morning.

7.  Free coffee at a friends.

8.  Researching reusable K-cups so as to be able to make my own instead of purchasing. 

9.  Shopping my craft supplies for fabric and yarn to continue making Christmas gifts.

10.  I pulled out my regular cotton batting and will end up stitching some together in order to make the oven mitts, but I will not waste batting under any circumstances. This is very expensive and I will use up all I possibly can.

11. Starting to make my own cleaners. I am making some orange cleaner right now.

So these are what I can remember right now. I really need to add some new frugal and thrifty ideas. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Household Chores

 

We all want to spend less time cleaning and doing household chores so that we can spend more time doing the things we enjoy. This could be taking a walk or hike, sitting outside enjoying the fall colours, working on our hobbies, or even cooking and baking. 

I don't know about the rest of you, but I sort of follow what my mom did. Certain days are for certain tasks around the house. However, I can remember Mom removing wax build up on our kitchen floors late at night so as to keep us kids safe from the ammonia she used. Even with windows open one could smell it. She would be on her hands and knees applying the ammonia mixture and scrapping the old was off with a knife. I swore I would never, ever do that. Kept that promise too.

I keep a diary and every day there are certain tasks I do on that day. I also write down any appointments in there as well. 

Once I have those written in I add the extra's like shopping, baking, working in the garden (in season), doing up the monthly budget and any extra cleaning tasks that need to be done. 

Sure I do not get all things done every single day, but I have added a category called "unfinished" to some days that take care of those tasks.  

Sometimes I even write down what the weather is like. That usually happens in the winter or when we have a heavy rain or strong wind. 

By doing this most afternoons or late mornings I can take a walk or work on my hobbies until it is time to start the menu planned supper.

I am not sure if this would work for everyone, but perhaps you could try it out and see how this idea would work for you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Fighting Against Rising Prices

 

Costs in Canada, and I believe around the world are rising and many are wondering how they will heat their homes, pay for medications or put food on the table. 

I know in Canada many of the food banks can not keep up with the growing requests. Some from what I have read have even shut down. 

Yet there are ways to save and even thrive during these hard times. We are lucky in that we, or rather I have always been frugal and over the last 15 years I have finally managed to get Harvey onboard. It took him retiring however to really get him onto the frugal path. 

One of the best ways to thrive in this uncertain time is to plan your menus and leftovers are always to be kept and made into another meal or two. I have gotten very good at the planning ahead and using things up. Today with a couple of slices of leftover roast beef I managed to make two containers of Beef Barley soup for us and a smaller container for Kurt (he will probably need more help than Kris right now). I still have 5 slices of roast beef left which will make sandwiches for a number of days. Out of a butternut squash that cost me $1.49, I made two containers of soup for the boys, and a large container for us. That large container will give us two meals stretched with crusty bread (made at home) or a sandwich. 

All bones from chickens, turkeys or ham are saved and I make broth from them. Saves not having to purchase broth from the store. One of these days I will try my hand at using peelings and such from veggies to make veggie stock. Just not too sure about doing so yet.

Eggs are still one of the least expensive forms of protein so breakfast for supper is awesome and very filling. 

There are lots of recipes out there for cleaning products and now that I have some spray bottles I will start doing that. Right now I have some orange peels in vinegar to make an orange cleaner. 

Purchase in bulk when you can. I do this for dish washing soap and save a few dollars. I also buy larger packages of hand soap, shampoo, and toothpaste (the ones that are two, three or four packages). These work out to be much less expensive than individual packages.

I try to never spend full price, but as all of you know, sometimes it is unavoidable but I always make sure to get the best deal that I can.

Old sheets become the backing for my quilts, sometimes even pajamas for either Harvey or I. Old clothing is cut into rags or into useable quilt fabric. I am even contemplating using those usable squares as fabric to sew clothing. I already make totes from some of them. 

Whatever jobs around the house we can do on our own we do. As we age however things are getting a bit tougher and so we will be searching for the best people to do the tasks we can't. 

As far as entertainment we only go to the live theater here in the summer. No movie theater for us, it is much too expensive. We do have a television package, but really it is the only source of entertainment we have and is well worth what it costs. 

Those are just a few of the ways we are saving money during this expensive time. I hope we can save even more as I figure out ways to live a bit more simply, frugally and thrifty.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.