Thrifty and Frugal Thursdays

Thrifty and Frugal 

Cloudy once again, in a way that is a good thing for my frugal heart. It means no air conditioning, no watering, and the rain barrel being slowly filled.

So what frugal and thrifty things have we been up to this week. 

1.  The usual frugal and thrifty things that I do all the time. Lights off in rooms not in use, most meals made here at home, shopping the flyers, combining errands and repairing clothing.

2.  I am still trying to use up all that I can food wise and craft supply wise.

3.  Exercise is taking place by walking, and working in the garden. Next month I will be adding exercise by washing walls and all the light fixtures in the house. Spring cleaning, beginning in earnest.

4.  Fixed the wifi so that we can once again watch some streaming channels that were not coming in very well at all. They are coming in perfectly now.

5.  Reading free books that I have downloaded onto my ereader.

6.  Making sure I am washing full loads, both of clothing and dishes in the dishwasher.

7.  Found $0.35 in various pockets and have put that in the change jar.

8.  Used my gift certificate when I purchased fabric while at Kris's. 

9.  Decluttered a few items I no longer want or use. Someone else can probably use them.

10.  We bought a couple more berry bushes while at Kris's. While they will not produce fruit this year, we hope to get a bit next year. Saving us more grocery purchases in the future.

11.  I have decided to make both Kurt and Kris decent sewing kits and will search through my extra's to see what I can share with them. Kris already has a pin cushion, some decent pins, a few buttons (he will get more), a measuring tape and small scissors. Oh and some decent sewing needles. Should save me a bit of cash when making these up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 I am not moving very quickly right now, it seems that grocery shopping is becoming more of a Survivor type challenge for me. It hurts a bit more, takes a bit longer, and finding items on sale is becoming something my frugal Mother would have been proud of. One thing that bothers me is why are the sale items (the BBQ sauce that was on sale) always located on the bottom shelf which makes me contort my body to reach them. But for $0.85 a piece I was bound and determined to grab what I could, which wasn't that much. I didn't take all of them.

After a three hour shopping trip I made it home to put everything away. Today's problem wasn't only the search for savings, but meeting people who wanted to talk.... There are times I wish I could wave a wand and become invisible, but then I wouldn't get caught up on some friends lives. 

Life while actually becoming a bit simpler, can actually take a great deal of time. I love talking to people (Harvey says I talk to complete strangers, which is true sometimes), finding out how their lives are progressing, what their children (many of whom I had in Youth Group or worked with them at the schools) are up to. It is wonderful to hear how well they are all doing, and really I do miss the kids so very much at times. 

I did not get my entire list done today, but there are more days this week that things can be done. Considering we are supposed to be getting lots of rain over the next while, I will have lots of time to get things done in the house. Perhaps even finish a few of the smaller projects. 

Since it will be so dull, the sewing machine will be out and the jacket sewn, as well as some of the cards made. 

Harvey planted one of the Goji berry bushes but we need to find a space for the other one. I am thinking a corner of the garden that gets loads of sun. 

I couldn't find any grape vines (Kris is going to look some more when he goes and picks up his plants), so the goji berry bushes could be the only fruiting bushes or trees we plant this year. That's okay as I will need to convince Harvey of where I want the grapes planted.....

Once everything dries up a bit I will be planting flowers and such. Not as many as usual since we will be gone for two weeks (this is killing me) but enough to hopefully add colour and joy to the deck and firepit area. I have told Harvey that I will mainly be concentrating on the perennial bed this year and I will do just that. I am hoping to eventually have a riot of colour during different parts of the seasons. I started some Shasta Daisy plants, and some delphinium and will look for some lupines and perhaps scatter some annuals that will seed for the next year. 

Other plans for the summer are painting the railing on the deck, and around the basement windows. Both of our wooden chairs around the firepit need to be painted as well so I hope to get that done. 

The rest of the time will be spent working on projects hopefully on the deck when I can, working in the herb garden and looking after the flowers that I do get to plant. There should be time to sit by the firepit as well enjoying family time and alone time as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Menu Monday

 There will be a slight change in menu plans for this week. We had a rather large meal at lunch time and so I will not be cooking tonight. It will be a forage for yourself type of meal.

Monday

Forage through the fridge for each of us to have a rather smaller supper.

Tuesday

Hotdogs, baked beans, and the fries I never made with the fish.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. I have got Cream of Mushroom out of the freezer and will add some egg salad sandwiches to be eaten.

Thursday

Leftover chicken made into taco meat, served in soft tacos. Sour cream, cheese, lettuce and tomato as well as salsa from the fridge. The salsa definitely needs using.

Friday

Not really sure, I might make a lentil curry, or we can have glace and eggs.

Saturday

Leftovers from Thursday.

Sunday

BBQ hamburgers, and foil packet carrots, potato and onion. 

Off now to get some more unpacking done from our visit with Kris. We had a lovely time and man where Dutch Growers moved their greenhouses to is absolutely amazing. Harvey has said we will need to go there next year to get our plants.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Simple Living On the Phillips' Homestead

 

The dandelions are coming up great guns, flowers all over and the weather has not been nice enough for me to get out and pick. I want to make dandelion salve this year, or I may try my hand at making a hand cream as I am running low on that. Simple to make and very low cost as well.

Harvey and I enjoyed a few afternoons/evenings on the deck this past week. We listened to the birds, had wonderful talks and made some plans regarding the yard. Not so much the house, but at least the yard. I told him that this year I would be concentrating on more fruit producing plants as well as perennials. He seems to be fine with that. Also told him I would probably be trying to forage a bit more, and would love to have him join me. I got a shoulder shrug on that one, we shall see. 

I would love an orchard type yard, but I believe Harvey would miss his garden a great deal. I love the produce, but not so much the picking and processing for winter's use. Perhaps this year I will dehydrate a bit more and freeze a bit less.

Decluttering has slowed down, and I hope it picks up. There are a few more summer type dresses and pants that need to be worn to see if I still like the fit, and the comfort. I am leaning towards more skirts and dresses as I age. I find them way more comfortable and easier to wear now. They are much easier to sew as well and believe it or not, if I can find fabric on sale much less expensive to sew than purchase lately. They are also better made. 

With rising costs around the world, we all need to stop and think about what is important to us. In my case it is family, especially my immediate family and our health and well being. It isn't that we could not afford to do anything we really want to do, rather it is a leaving behind of things that no longer really matter. I would love to help our boys more, make our home an oasis of joy, love and simplicity, as well as just be more of who we really are. This is what I am going to strive for, and those in this extended family that think I am turning into a hippy or a radical can stuff it.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

  Thrifty and Frugal 

It has once again been a quiet week here on the old Phillips Homestead. Not quite as thrifty or frugal as I would have liked, but one manages the best that they can.

1.  The weather was so nice, or at least sunny most days this week so I managed to keep all lights off for most of the day.

2.  Decluttered a bit more in my closet. I tried on a dress and while it does fit I just do not feel comfortable in it. I put it on the pile to be refashioned or made into reusable fabric of some kind (squares to be used in fashioning fabric).

3.  Found thirty cents in pockets and put it in the change jars. 

4.  Eating as many leftovers from the fridge and freezer as humanly possible.

5. Chopped up mushrooms and celery before they went bad and have them in the freezer. 

6.  Added to the veggie scraps to make more veggie stock in a few weeks.

We are having one heck of a windstorm right now. At one point the wind gusts reached 110 km per hour, so almost 70 miles an hour. The dust is moving across the valley and at times I could not see the other side. 

Hopefully, I have downloaded the right video. 

This is what the wind is doing to our neighbour's shingles.

The wind seems to be going down now, but I think it will be pretty bad for the rest of the evening and into the night.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

The weather has been very nice the last two days. However we did have very strong winds yesterday in the afternoon and evening. Dust was blowing all over. Hope the farmers still have dirt in the fields.

I have spent some time outside working on the flower bed. I only have one but it is a two tier round one and man was it tough getting the weeds and grass out of it. I will need to go through it again very soon and see if I can manage to get more cleared. I also made the mistake many years ago of planting Creeping Bellflower. So now I am consistently pulling that out. It has even taken over some of the grassed area. I do what I can to keep it under control, but at times it is a losing battle.

Since the days are so lovely, I put away the sewing for awhile and have been working on the quilt block embroidery. May as well get what I can done on that while the sun shines. The sewing (and any major mending) will take place next week. We are supposed to get rain on a couple of those days, so planting and embroidery will wait. 

One spring cleaning item is crossed off the list. I managed to get all the window frames washed down. Now, when the screens are removed I will clean the bit of frame in those windows. Next up on the spring cleaning list is the curio cabinet and the dining room hutch and cabinet. Could be a few items getting decluttered as well. I hope to get the walls and light fixtures done this week as well. 

I am adding another 1k steps to my total this week. I find it easy to get lots of steps in on Mondays, it's the rest of the week that tests my ability to do so. Especially on those days where I am weeding, or planting. Not many steps are involved in those past times. I went over yesterday, so if I am under by a little today I figure that is okay (not really, but I will take what I can get). Just want to get in a bit better shape before we go on our trip. There are days when we will be doing lots of walking.

Harvey has managed to block of the area of fence that a rather small bush bunny was using to enter our yard. We have had other little bunny visitors, but this one seemed to want to eat the plants that were in the garden. This was a first as all the others just nibbled on the grass. 

Today, the truck was used to pick up my soil for my boxes and pots. Not that I am going to plant as much as I usually do since we will be away for almost two weeks. Harvey does not want to bother anyone to look after the garden or my flowers. I am supposed to ask Kris if he would come done one weekend when we are gone and give everything a good water, especially if we don't get any rain. 

I think I will concentrate more on the perennial bed and a few pots. Of course the lemon trees will be out and hopefully well watered before we leave.

Stretching out the time between shopping trips as well. If I can manage it I only want to shop every 2 1/2 weeks or even three. There is just a slight problem as Neilson's wants a scan every week. It will take a bit of juggling for sure. 

Over the next few years we will be trying to make this house a bit more elder friendly. I plan on getting a chair for the tub, or at least a well made stool. I use a foot scrub and can't do that in a shower. I am just too worried about losing my balance. I think we should put up some bars as well. I am planning on having more electrical things on power bars as well. Too many octopus connections in this house.

I will also be trying to cut down on grass areas by planting more fruit bushes. Probably grapes as well. I don't think we can plant anymore fruit trees, but if Harvey wants to make the garden smaller, we could fit a couple across the back against the fence. 

Lots of plans, I just need to get Harvey to agree. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

I have already made a few changes to the menu for the week. Mainly because we won't be going up to visit Kris until Saturday, and the pork strips I removed from the freezer did not look in the least appealing. Lots of freezer burn.

Monday

A bag of leftover pork thinly sliced, added to some stir fry vegetables and I decided to use the plum sauce instead of stir fry sauce. Served over rice.

Tuesday

Soup and sandwiches. I have some chicken vegetable soup and will make some tuna salad sandwiches, or tuna salad buns.

Wednesday

Leftover Stir Fry and leftover rice.

Thursday

Leftover ham warmed up and homemade fries. I will probably make peas to go with and perhaps some cuke slices and the remaining cherry tomatoes.

Friday

Salmon patties, noodles, and green beans.

Saturday

At Kris's place for the next couple of days. 

So there you have it, and with the weather finally warming up I am hoping to get some main dish salads, and more BBQ meals into the rotation.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Happy Mother's Day

 Wishing all mothers out there a

Happy Mother's Day.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

A Simple, Frugal Life

 

I was watching one of my vlogs awhile ago and was slightly shocked when the woman who does it, said they were living an antiquated lifestyle by being frugal, living simply and mindful.... What!!

I have never thought that way as doing those things, while second nature now, I still am considering myself a beginner on the journey. It really seemed to me like she was not aware that being frugal, living a simple lifestyle and being mindful of what one spends is making a very dramatic comeback. 

There are lots of news agencies now posting ways to save your hard earned cash, ways to cut expenses and not feel deprived, and ways to make sure we are looking after mother earth. 

I am really not too sure of what she was getting at. She kept on and on about living in the same house since 1987, planting a garden since 1990, wearing secondhand clothes and decorating their home with mostly secondhand good. At one point she mentioned that their table was 40 years old... The one I am using now was Harvey's Mom and Dads and bought in 1979, I love the table and since Harvey refinished it, wow. 

There is often a thought in my mind that many people think that living simply and frugally is doing without, or trying to one up another person. I feel that we can all learn from each other and believe me there is always something we can learn. 

I had never realized that living simply actually took a great deal of organization and planning. I don't mean planning when and how to go down to beat our clothing on rocks to wash them, but planning how to downsize, what is a need and what is a want, and planning maintenance on our homes and yards. I have learned to organize my pantry (need to do so once again), small maintenance tasks that I can do on my own, and even how to store dried goods and frozen. 

Learning how to use things up, mend, and substitute in recipes when necessary. These are not easy things to do each and every day, but all of us do them mostly without thinking about it. 

Take today for instance. You all know my back often gives me grief when I work and today Harvey wet down the perennial bed to make it easier for me to pull quack/crab grass and other weeds. Let me tell you the whole bed is over run with weeds and grasses of all types. While I relished getting my hands into the soil and actually getting them dirty, I found I could only manage about 30 minutes of work with rests in between bouts of pulling weeds. This means I only got about 1/3 of the bed completed, but I so enjoyed that time out doing something. Simple and fulfilling. 

I came in, had some leftovers for my lunch and after resting a bit, decided to finish sewing the skirt. Got that done and started on a dress. I did have to get up and walk around, but the pleasure I found in the hum of my sewing machine was wonderful and eased the fact that I am slowing down task wise. Guess I need to learn to be frugal with what I expect to accomplish.

I, made my way around the garden and one of the pear trees (the oldest) is blossoming, the cherries are budding out and the haskap bushes are putting out flowers. Our garden is awakening and that brings me a great deal of happiness. The kiwi isn't putting out feelers yet, but will be soon. 

Noticed lots of dandelions starting so I may go out and forage this upcoming week to make some dandelion salve. I learned recently one should add some Vitamin E oil as a preservative to those homemade salves and lotions.  

As usual I have had a frugal week doing all the regular frugal things. Tomorrow I will wash off my umbrella clothesline and perhaps on Monday I will be able to hang clothing outside thus saving more on electrical costs. 

Using up leftovers and cooking from scratch (well except for the day I was so sore and tired that Harvey said order in but we got a free add on of dry ribs that would usually cost us $16.00).

Sewing to use up bits of fabric leftover from other projects made previously.

Working on the embroidered quilt blocks from Mom to make a second quilt.

Cut up some old socks to use in the garden to tie up plants. These socks are so darned I would be darning over darning.

Baked bread, made desserts, walked to pick up a prescription. 

I will be walking to the bank later next week (we live in a very small city of 10K and during daylight hours there really isn't much to fear) and picking up my script. 

I am pushing off shopping a few days once again as we are going to go and visit Kris next weekend. Probably won't go shopping until perhaps Tuesday which is about 3 days instead of 2 later. 

So that's how my week has been, and my thoughts on living an antiquated life style. How do all of you feel about that designation.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

  

Saving Money On Gas

 

I think that the days of just hopping in a vehicle and heading out for a Sunday drive are gone for a while. The cost of fuel is crazy, and there is really no end to how much higher it will get. 

Today I thought I would share some ways of saving and getting the most milage from your tank of gas.

1.  Plan your shopping so you only need to go out every two weeks.

2.  Walk to those places close to you. I will be starting to walk to the bank, and to pickup our prescriptions as those errands are close and I will not have to carry anything heavy back.

3.  If you see a light getting ready to change to red, or already red,  slow down well before and you might not have to stop and idle wasting fuel.

4.  Do not do hard accelerations.

5.  Consolidate trips/errands to be done on one day.

6.  Make sure the engine air filter is clean.

7.  Maintain proper tire pressure.

8.  Use cruise control on the highway.

9.  Do not let your speed fluctuate. Try and keep it steady.

Those are the ways we save on fuel costs. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

A New Beginning

 

The sun was shining today and even though it is cooler than spring should be, I felt joy when the sun warmed my face as I stood by the window sipping my coffee. That joy has followed me through my frugal, but simple day. 

First on the list of to do's was to put the clean dishes away and clean out emails from overnight. Neither of those took very long, and soon I was in the basement taking the clothes off the lines downstairs and getting them folded. 

I started the dough for two loaves of bread for the freezer and while that was going on cleaned the bathroom, swept my floors (I really need a new broom as this one is getting pretty worn out), did the ironing and collected those items that need to be mended for the mending basket (will do that next week). 

Simple things to keep the house running smoothly really. Nothing too difficult or time consuming. Those things seem to happen on a Monday.

Checked the fridge to see what needs to be used up in the crispers or at least processed so it does not spoil. I have some green onions that will be chopped up and used on our supper tonight as well as some cheese. Must get that grated and ready very soon. 

Then I got to play. I pulled out the small sewing table so I could watch some free shows that I enjoy and started sewing. I am afraid that I can no longer sew as quickly as I used to, as I must get up and walk around every so often to ease the pain in my back from sitting. 

Frugally, my sewing projects are using leftover pieces of fabric from other projects. The only one not is a knit dress and I bought the fabric a few years back at a deep discount at Fabricland. I am really trying to use up what I can and the smaller pieces are going to be saved and used in quilts or makeup remover pads/toner applying pads. While those you purchase in a store are not really expensive, they do seem to be climbing in price.

Still I did manage to get a pair of capris sewn, and start on a pair of bermuda shorts. Those I should be able to finish tomorrow and even get a pair of shorts done. Not as long a to do list to complete on Wednesdays so more time to play. The weather is still going to be cooler and so I do not plan on spending time outside other than a bit of a walk for some fresh air and exercise. 

Supper will be using up some leftovers. I made chili a little while ago and some was put in the mold to freeze and store for later, there was also some just put in a glass container in the fridge to be used tonight. Harvey likes chili and toast, but is willing to let me have chili on pasta for our second meal. A little change, but it really makes a difference. 

When I went shopping I did my usual $10.00 purchase for the pantry. I got 4 cans of tomato soup at 77 cents a can, and three cans of cream of mushroom for the same price. Those are used in cooking as I would much rather make my tomato and cream of mushroom soups for eating. I then bought some corned beef to bring the cost up to the mark. We do love a good corned beef hash. 

No money spent today, using things up, and enjoying the sunshine and the house smelling like freshly baked bread. Could anything be better?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I am working on how the blog will be set up from now on. I think I will probably post Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. There could be a weekend post if something exciting happens, or if I have any news.

Other than Menu Monday, I am still not sure what the other days will hold. I do know there will be frugal tips, frugal cooking ideas, project completions, and my journey towards a simple life. 

I was asked why I make so many mittens for the school my son teaches at. It is a K to Grade 12 school and it is in a rather depressed area of Alberta. Yes, there is oil but there have been many layoffs over the years, and lots of the coal mines shut down many years ago. This is one reason and the other is after having worked in schools here, children are always losing their mittens up to a certain age. I want their little fingers to stay nice and warm.

I am also amazed that so many of you read my little blog and have given me a reason to keep on blogging. At one point I was considering taking a long break, but now I figure 4 times a week will be enough for awhile. Perhaps once I have reached a point where I have reached that simple life, I will go back to blogging a bit more often.

On to menu plans for the week, and considering we had a few snowflakes meandering down from the sky this morning, I am pretty happy I did not plan on any BBQ meals this week.

Monday

Hamburger soup, and buns or crackers.

Tuesday

Leftover chili served over pasta. 

Wednesday

Leftover Roast beef slices made into a casserole. Served with a salad.

Thursday

Leftover beef casserole from Wednesday along with leftover salad.

Friday

Salmon Fillets, rice, and mixed veggies.

Saturday

Chicken Pasta Bake. This is a ready meal pulled from the freezer downstairs. I think we will probably have some green beans with this. The weather should be better and I hope to get the perennial bed dug over and some of the weeds out. 

Sunday

Baked chicken thighs, homemade fries, and peas. 

As you can all see I am still making my way through various bits and bobs from the freezers. Also anything left over will be frozen to be used later in another meal, or perhaps taken up when we visit with Kris to share or for him to have for another meal when we are not there. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

 

Thoughts and Plans

 

As life and living becomes simpler, I am considering changing up my blog. I will probably keep my menu plan Monday, and the thrifty and frugal Thursdays, but the rest of my posts just might be changing just a tad. 

Don't worry, I will always follow a frugal and thrifty lifestyle, but times are changing. I will perhaps be adding more shopping tips, working on project tips (clearing out our stashes) and how to live a simpler life. 

The other thing is I might not be posting every day anymore. In entering a simpler life things are changing in my world and some of them really are not at all very interesting, or something I care to blog about. 

While I have been open about my lifestyle and spending, over the years I have found that not as many people are interested in a day to day lifestyle. People would much rather see things about decluttering, saving money, or living a much simpler life style. 

Forgive me if I miss a few posts over the next while, I will be working behind the scenes to get things to the point where I don't feel almost forced to post, and figuring out what my readers really want.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Friday, Moving Towards A Simple Life

 

I am loving that most of my days move along smoothly and simply. I get to take walks, not only do big things to get our lives in order, but do those little things that just make life a tiny bit simpler. 

Whether it be having a ready meal to pull out of the freezer on those busier days, or forming buns to bake in the oven. Each small step or increment moves me that much closer to enjoying life even more. 

One of the ways I have made our lives a bit simpler is only going shopping every two weeks. My back might cause me angst after the shopping trip, but one day out of 14 or more is not something that I can't live with. 

Having to rest after serious cleaning is awesome. It gives me the time to enjoy my home, or the outside. And really that 15 minute rest helps me concentrate on getting little things straight in my mind. 

The weather is warming and soon we will be planting outside. I am a little sad that not as much will be planted this year, due to us going on our trip and not wanting to bother anyone to, well water the garden and flowers. I may ask Kris if he would be willing to come home on the weekend and water all for us, and I might have figured out a way to keep many things watered, but we shall see. 

Life is good, and even with costs rising, one can find joy and pleasure in a sunrise, a sunset, sunshine throughout the day, smiling at strangers, and just taking the time to be grateful.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.