Sunday Ramblings

 I really don't know what it is about this winter, but I have been ill or not feeling 100% more than ever before. Heck I even managed to get through Covid times without being ill as often. 

Then once ill it seems to take me longer to get over whatever it is I have managed to come down with. Today was a tummy upset that kept me up most of the night, and tied me to the house. Bummer as it is Palm Sunday and I really enjoy this Mass. I will need to make a trip to the church to see if I can get some palms at some point this week. 

Now I was asked what we use to spray on the Maple bugs/Boxelder Bugs/Halloween Bugs so I will answer here just in case more are interested in that. We mix dish soap and water and that seems to help keep the infestation down a bit. A person needs to keep up with the spraying.

I was also asked about my mini computer. It can in fact be used as a desk computer, but you would need a monitor and a keyboard or mouse to make it work. I have mine hooked up to the television (that acts as a monitor) through an HDMI cable. Kris purchased a wireless keyboard for me to use with it. When I travel I take my Notebook computer from the desk and the mouse/keyboard combination. Or sometimes just the mouse. I have never taken the mini on a trip. 

Off to do a bit of knitting while the potatoes and carrots roast in the pan with the beef. 

I plan on visiting all of you after supper.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Questions

 

I have been asked about the molds I have been speaking about, the past while and thought I would share the ones I have purchased over the past year.

The ones directly in the front of the picture are very small ice cube trays. Each section holds approximately 2 teaspoons. 

The yellow ones each have 4 sections and each section holds two cups if filled totally. I use these to the 1 cup mark for things like the lentil taco mixture I made. 

The longer blue/turquoise ones hold 4 cups. I have not used them as of yet, but figure they will be excellent to use for broths when I make bone broth from carcasses or roast and ham bones. 

The turquoise ones at the very back are the ones I use most often. They also hold 4 cups but usually I only fill them to the 2 or 3 cup measure. Perfect for a soup meal for the two of us with a bit leftover for a lunch. 

I would really like to get a few more for summer sauce making days. So much easier to freeze, pop out and put in a bag.

Got my new keyboard and mouse. Loving the ease of typing now.

Yep, it's pink and I love it!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Still in the deep freeze here so I am glad to have things to do around the house and projects to keep me busy. Today should be the last of the really cold days, and then we will gradually have a warm up. 

I brought beef broth and chicken stock upstairs to make into soup this morning. I plan on doing a batch cook of soups one day this week. The only soup left in the freezer is Pea and Harvey really does not care for that. So I will make beef vegetable, beef noodle, chicken vegetable and chicken noodle to restock. I even plan on using my molds for this task. I will let you all know how that goes. 

First I think I must clarify something. Our Co-op give a yearly percentage into our accounts on what we purchase, and from that we get a small percentage back. The most I ever got was $110.00. The rest is put away until we are 65 and want to remove it. We could take it all, or a portion of what has accumulated. We can also remove the total amount if we move and close our account, I did this when Harvey was transferred to Shaunavon many, many years ago.

There are also a few questions from the last post I should answer. 

I was asked if I dehydrate fruits and veggies. The answer is yes, though I am more inclined to freeze them. I do dehydrate lots of herbs and have been known to make jerky.

I was also asked if I ferment veggies. While I do pickle lots of different vegetables I have not tried fermenting them. I often think I would love to make sauerkraut when cabbage is on sale, but have never gotten around to that. Instead I make Birokies (or what I call Cabbage bread), Cabbage Rolls, or Lazy Cabbage Roll Casseroles. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursdays

Thrifty and Frugal 

Life got a bit less frugal today as I stocked up on sale meats, which I guess will turn out to be frugal in the long run, just not for total cost today.

I purchased 2 large cryovac eye of round roasts (approximately 9 lbs. each). One was cut into two roasts, the other cut into 8 steaks and two 1 1/2 packages of beef cubes for stew. The roasts were $5.99 a pound so all were a savings of at least another $5.00 to $15.00 a package.

I purchased a whole pork loin for $2.49 a lb. and made two large pork roasts. A savings of about $15.00 for each roast. The loin cost me $21.65 in total. 

I bought a Steelhead Trout fillet for $17.00 regularly $29.00 and it will furnish us with two meals each. 

Then I purchased 3lbs of ground beef that was also on sale. Eye watering sale, but sale non the less. 

All meat has been cut up, bagged and put in the freezer.

This should keep us in meat for a very long time, considering I have pork chops, ham steaks, lots of chicken and sausages. I also have burgers and hot dogs. 

I am hoping that all I will have to purchase in the way of meat next month is a turkey, and some canned meats and fish. That could mean my groceries for next month will be much lower.

I finished up a few bits and bobs of yarn making the smaller mittens, and now have pulled out some orphan balls and larger bits and bobs to make the next size of mittens. 

I am using up some Christmas yarn to make the runner for on top of the fake fireplace to brighten up that area. 

Used up all leftovers in lunches since we have been home.

Hung clothes on the lines downstairs to dry.

Will be making yogurt tonight. 

Found some partial spools of thread and wound them onto cards to use to sew on buttons or fix hems.

Changed the menu to use up items in the fridge freezer. 

Did a bit of decluttering, and removed things from the hall, and kitchen putting them where they belong.

Thanks for all the ideas in regards to make items more available to me in the pantry. I am going to see if I have any baskets that will fit, and I will keep a flashlight near to hand. 

My cupboards are in fact oak. The ones where my pantry are have been redone by Harvey and I want him to redo the others where my other kitchen items like plates, glasses and pots are held. That can be a job for him this winter as he can do them at his own pace. They need to be sanded, re-stained and a protective easy to wash coating put on them. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Midweek Once Again

 

I noticed something on my last post. Strangely my type went from the black that I always wanted and can not seem to find, to the grey that it always shows up. I wonder what today will show. 

Once again the weather is cool and rainy. Things should be letting up later tonight and I could probably get the flowers out of my hallway tomorrow. It will still be cooler than normal, but plants do need to be hardened off a bit more. 

I thought I might answer a couple or questions today. 

First off, yes we did purchase our tickets for the Highland Gathering before on Eventbrite, but you could also pay at the gate. Really, $10 for a senior ticket was not bad at all for an entire day's entertainment. 

It was a bigger event than we thought, loads of people watching, and people from across the province and Manitoba taking part in the various events. Regina has been hosting this for I believe 35 years. Before that it kind of went back and forth between Regina and Moosejaw. 

Both Kurt and Kris love to garden, perhaps Kris a bit more than Kurt. Both have lots of garden raised beds, though Kris has more now. Kurt is more into herbs, but it seems like Kris is talking more about growing these as well. Kris is the one who grows veggies hydroponically during the winter in his basement. He also starts many of his own bedding plants. This year he concentrated on veggies and plans on purchasing more flowers or trying to grow from seed outside. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Questions Answered

 I thought perhaps I would answer a few questions from my last post here, rather than each individually. If anyone is like me, I sometimes forget to go back and see if there is an answer to my question on a post. So here goes.

1.  I have never even tried to make my own microwave popcorn, but that sounds like a very good idea. Next time I shall pick up some lunch bags and regular popcorn to give it a try. After all I make my own bread, spice mixes, and yogurt this would be just another arrow in the frugal arsenal. 

2.  I know that Walmart and Costco are American stores (so is Home Depot) but Walmart carries lots of Canadian goods and does have a head office here in Canada. I kind of hold off on allowing Galen Weston (owner of No Frills, Loblaws, Super Store and so on) from becoming richer than he already is. He also price gouges. So purchasing a Canadian product in Walmart will still be helping a business in this country.

3. The nearest Giant Tiger is approximately 2 1/2 hours away from us. Perhaps the next time we go to Regina we will pay that store a visit. I did visit the one in Yorkton when we went to visit the Aunts (that is 3 hours away) and liked what I saw.

4. I will probably charge a nominal amount if this knitting class goes ahead. What I gather is that most of the ladies (and gentlemen) that would take it have no knitting experience whatsoever. That could be a challenge. While I have taught girls in the Guiding movement knitting, never have I taught an adult.

I think that what I thought could be tea towels on my loom are going to end up becoming placemats. The fabric just seems slightly too thick to make a good absorbent tea towel. I will be on the lookout for slightly thinner cotton yarn for the weft in order to make those tea towels a bit later on. Pretty sure the next thing I weave will be some kind of fabric to make a belted wrap, or perhaps a poncho, or perhaps another rug for an area in the basement that needs one. So many ideas and so little time. 

In my decluttering I found an old ball point pen that was given to me as a graduation gift from Grade 8 (so very long ago). The inner refill has been gone forever so I decided to see if I could find one in town. I did, but at almost $8.00 I am going to search online for the next one. I purchased the refill and have even done a bit of journaling with it today. So nice to be able to use it once again even with the cost. Oh, yeah, the refill came from France!!!!

I won't be finishing any more of this month's projects. I could perhaps do so if I did not work on the loom or embroider and just stick to knitting, but my hands and back need a change every so often. Hopefully at least the knitting will be completed very soon into February. 

Off to visit you all as supper is cooking and I have time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Questions Answered

 

It has been awhile since I actually answered any of your questions, so I thought today would be a great time to do so.

I was asked how the microwaveable potato bags work and since that was one of the first questions from quite awhile ago I need to give you all an answer.

You put your washed, punctured with fork potato in the bag and then microwave on high for two minute stretches checking to see if the potato is cooked after each stretch. You all know how sometimes a microwave baked potato has a tough skin, well the bag keeps the moisture in the potato and the skin stays soft.

Another suggestion was that we should check into the Canadian Dental Plan that was just started this year. Harvey did get a letter from the federal government about this, but there are some hindrances to him being able to apply for it. Between the two of us we have just over the amount of yearly income, and we also have private insurance. Our private insurance does cover regular dental work such as cleanings, fillings, x-rays and extractions. It does not cover bridges, periodontal work, crowns, root canals, or dentures. I suppose we could move to the next level where those things would be covered, but man, we pay enough for what extra we have. Our insurance covers prescriptions, private rooms in hospital, ambulance, massage, physical therapy and a few other items that I just can't remember right now. 

Another question I was asked was about my Cabbage Bread. Just think of Hot Pockets. Mine however are stuffed with a mixture of cooked cabbage, ground beef, onions, salt and pepper. This is something my German grandmother made (her mom did as well) and the recipe (if you can call it a recipe) has been passed down through generations. 

Hmmm, can't think of anymore of the asked questions. I do hope to make this kind of post a bit more often in the future, but first I will need to remember to write down all the questions.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

It has been a so so week on getting projects completed and starting new ones. Still it has been a good week. Cloth napkins cut and sewn, the dress cut out to start sewing tomorrow, baking done, bread made, and I finally got my mint salve made. 

Also cleaned up outside (all those little sticks from the trees), covered and moved the deck furniture, and moved the one lavender into the perennial bed to see if the plant will last the winter. 

I washed all the stuffed toys, and mended an outdoor cushion as well as our daughters Cabbage Patch doll. Darned a pair of my socks as well. 

Even managed to get out and have coffee with friends a couple of times this week. While I do love visiting, I am finding that staying home a few days a week enables me to get much more accomplished. That is a "very good thing" as Martha would say. 

My wardrobe has been switched to fall/winter clothing and all the spring/summer items are away now. While doing so I managed to declutter a few more items from my clothing. It was then I noticed that I really could use a few more winter type tops and a few pairs of sweatpants.

Found a few interesting places in Regina that are reasonably priced and some of the condos are actually quite nice. The HOA fees aren't that bad either. When I told Harvey that most only have one parking space, he mentioned leaving the truck at our sons and having it become a joint use vehicle. I have a feeling that Kris would be using it much more than we would unless we purchased a small home. 

I have made my menu for November using the basics we already have in the house. I also picked the days that I will be doing batch cooking. The first day that I plan on having soup and sandwiches for a meal will be my big batch soup making day. Then a bit later there is a day I want to make chili, so that will be my big ground beef batch cooking day. I have also picked a day to use up all those bags of frozen leftovers in the fridge, and that will be a casserole making day. I am hoping that this will simplify cooking around this house. I can pretty much count on both hands and two toes the days we order in, and when we do there is usually enough for at least 2 more meals if not more. 

One of the replies on my last post questioned why basements are never included in the square footage of a home as that would double the amount of space a home has. In this home's case our basement is really only suitable for storage since the windows are not the right size to escape through in case of fire. We did put a larger window in the room Kurt uses when home, but even that one may not be the proper size. Harvey does have his mancave down there, but since it is only used when he is awake that is okay according to the fire department. Even if we add in that square footage we would still be under 1400 square feet. 

Next week I will post pictures of what I have accomplished since my last photo drop. 

Off to visit with all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits And Stuff

 

Another warm day here on the Canadian prairies. Today I stuck close to home and managed to get a few things accomplished. Still there is a bit left on my daily task list, but I really hope to get a couple more tasks completed. 

I have been asked a few questions and thought today would be the day to answer them.

I am loving the weaving, even though I still make an error every so often. Still no one is perfect and they aren't too noticeable so I am going with the flow. The learning curve is pretty steep and one thing I need to work on a bit more is getting the warp a bit tighter when I work on a larger project. 

I was also asked if the rug I am working on is a gift for someone. In a way it is a gift for Harvey. He really needs another rug downstairs in order to keep his "man cave" a bit cleaner. I will need to figure out a non-slip backing for it though.

I have been processing the garden today. I have done up three bags of tomatoes for the freezer, dehydrated some basil, picked more cucumbers, eggplant, beans, green peppers and jalapeno peppers as well. I will be making some parma on Friday so of course the menu has changed once again for this week. 

I got the labels on the salve I made (put that off way too long), and washed and dried some light grey fabric (cotton) to add to the quilt. Still need to iron and cut this though. 

I did another stripe on the rug and finished off a pair of mittens to rest my shoulders and neck from the weaving. 

On average I am saving 2 rolls of toilet paper each week by using the cloth wipes for my tinkles. It also feels so much softer. I vaguely remember using some type of cotton pads after the children were born. I do need to purchase a larger container to add water/bleach to in order to store them properly once used. 

Once I get a few other projects out of the way I am going to try my hand at making reusable paper towels. I should be able to get rid of a bit more of the fabric I have in my stash that way, and I need to make more cloth napkins and some more placemats (I do have the fabric to make most of these). 

I would also like to make some placemats for Kurt and Kris. Cloth napkins would be lovely as well. I have a few plastic clear Christmas ornaments that I will use to make little gifts for the family when they come for Christmas. Got to clear out more of the things in the sewing/craft room. Kind of decluttering with a purpose really. 

I am really looking at apartments and condo's in the city and man are they expensive overall. Really afraid that we have been spoiled as we have been mortgage free for probably 35 years. Still I will keep searching and perhaps something will jump out at me as just about perfect.

Off to get supper started and then spend a bit of time visiting you all.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

As I have said before, this has been a relatively quiet week, so before I do a roundup of what has been accomplished, I will answer some questions.

HomeScan is a survey site and a site that you enter your shopping. I have a hand held device and with that I scan the barcodes on my shopping. The company also gives you a book with a barcode for each item you might purchase for fruits, veggies, prescriptions, eating out, fast food, or ordering to be delivered to name a few.

Points are added to your account and then before they changed the catalogue a number of items could be purchased for the points. Now you can only purchase egift cards. Some of those are Visa, Google, Apple, Indigo, UberEats, and each time I check there seems to be a few more added. The number of points you are willing to spend determines the amount on the gift card. 

To gain extra points every so often they have surveys which range in time from 10 to 25 minutes. 

I was also asked by Maebeme, how many pots and such I fill. This year I only did 29 various sized pots, baskets and planters. I finished those up today and I hopefully won't feel sorry for any leftover plants in the store and purchase more (I do have pots that I could use if that happens). These are scattered between my front, side, firepit area, and deck. Harvey figures I should cut down and was quite surprised when I told him I had. LOL. Our spring/summer and fall are so short, I love being surrounded by colour. I promise to post pictures of everything one things are cleaned up and the furniture put back in place. That is the task for tomorrow afternoon.

Harvey has gotten the trellis up and bought the paint, so starting next week I have the task of painting it and then hopefully the kiwi vine will be planted. That will be the last yard/garden beautification project for this year other than getting the solar lighting out once again.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless

Once Again A Combination

 Thrifty and Frugal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Still hanging clothing on lines downstairs to dry.

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

Making more of our snacks and sweets/desserts. 

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

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

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

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

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 Brr, it is cold outside this morning. It is -16C, but with the wind chill it feels like -24C. We are also continuing with the snow. The amount of snow to fall today has decreased though.

I was asked if I could change my mammogram appointment to another day if I was still under the weather. I guess I could, but that would probably mean going through the doctor and getting an appointment at the private clinic in the city. They do so many tests for the Health Region while doing the tests that some people are willing to pay for. That could take months to get in to as well. Pretty sure this mobile clinic is filled up as it covers the entire south east corner of the province so finding a new date and time would be very difficult.

Still feeling slightly ill, but the sore throat is not as bad this morning, and while my nose is plugged and I still cough a bit things are beginning to look up. I will wear a mask while getting the exam just to keep whatever I have to myself.

Now on to this weeks menu plans.

Monday

Eggplant Parma. I might try and make some garlic bread using slices of my homemade bread.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef package from freezer made into a beefy, cheesy noodle casserole. Served with raw veggies and dip.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. I plan on making a big pot of Moroccan Lentil Soup and serving that with either salmon or tuna sandwiches. Got lots of lentils in the pantry as well as tins of fish that need using. The extra soup will be packaged up and put in the freezer.

Thursday

Leftover roast beef casserole with a veggie on the side.

Friday

Fish fillets, rice and mixed veggies. The rice could be changed to some warmed up potato patties (need to make those and freeze them today).

Saturday

Sweet and Sour ribs, rice, and peas.

Sunday

Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and corn or perhaps baked beans. 

So that is the plan for this week. I should end up with a few packages of ham in the freezer, and a bit less in the freezer drawers over all.

I bought some sausage meat on my last trip on very deep discount and I hope to use up the remaining puff pastry sheets making sausage rolls for the freezer. Just need to find a good and easily followed recipe and I will get those done today while the eggplant is warming up in the oven. I really am trying to plan ahead and get meals ready for those days I just am too tired or sick to cook. As everyone says, those are the days you get delivery or take out and I am trying to cut back even more on those days.

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

Midweek Update

 

Just one question this week again. 

I do freeze some of the cookies to be eaten later. Probably within about 6 months. Most though I give to the sons to take home with them for treats.

All I am posting today will be a few pictures of what I have managed to get done over the past couple of days.

I fixed the edge of a pillow case by using some binding.

Made the Butter Tarts (only 2 1/2 dozen this year), that took quite a while in the toaster oven.

Almond bark is made and will be put in the freezer to be used at Christmas.

I got the insides made of the snowball chocolates (always a big favourite), just have to roll them in icing sugar.

Another Bits and Bobs knitted blanket finished as well. Actually this one was finished last week. 

I am off to work on some hand quilting (the gift quilt) so I will try and visit you all tomorrow morning. Right now I can see lots of what to me will be late nights trying to get those two gifts finished.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Questions & Answers Plus a Couple of Pictures

 

It's Wednesday and time to answer any questions I have been asked over the last week.

I was asked what kind of rotary cutter I used. Well, I use a Fiskars, that seems to work the best for me. I have tried a few others and they just do not cut as well. 

Only one question this week so I thought I would show you all a few pictures of what I accomplished today.

I managed to get the center three small squares of 8 more blocks sewn. I them moved on to some pinning.

Enough of the denim squares pinned to finish off the 8 blocks. 

I have been working on the rug, but not getting as much done as I had hoped. Barely got one more stripe done.

Christmas is coming much too quickly so I need to ramp things up a bit. Still have cards to do, and of course the baking that the guys expect. Wish me luck!!!

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless 

Mid-Week Once Again

 

I thought that perhaps from now on I would use Wednesdays to answer questions that you all have asked me. I am hoping that by doing so I can more easily remember to answer them.

First off Ms. Goose asked if it was a Nintendo Switch that Kris was charging in the picture. Yes, it was. I sent him a text and asked him how he was charging it without using the dock. Here is what he told me. He uses the cord that you would use to charge it in the dock. You connect that cord directly into the Switches usb-c. He then plugs the other end into his handy dandy usb dock located in his end table. That usb dock is somehow plugged into the wall kind of like a phone charger. Hope that helps.

Jenny asked how I make the rugs out of knit fabric scraps. Well I cut 5" wide bands of fabric (most of my scraps are fairly large) and then cut those down to 1/2" long pieces. I use rug hooking backing like this,

to pull those 5" x 1/2" strips through and then tie them twice. Each small square gets a knotted strip. Takes a great deal of time and patience to get them through and tied. I go down one side of the white thread and up the other side in each and every square. I hope I managed to explain it well enough. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek

 I thought that I would spend Wednesday answering questions. So here goes.

I always use scraps leftover from sewing clothing, or old cut down jeans (the sons always seem to bring me bags full of old clothing and jeans I can cut down) to make my quilts. The only quilt that I have actually bought fabric for is my brick quilt, which has been put away until I finish all the Christmas gifts.

The knitting stitch I am using is a very simple one. It is knit three, purl three and then depending on what multiple of three I used I make sure to use the opposite on the other side. I use the same pattern when I make the prayer shawls for the church. It works up quickly and looks much more intricate than it really is. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday and a Question

 

Another week of using up all that I can and stretching what I can as well. Still working on clearing out the fridge freezer a little bit. I am hopeful to accomplish this by the end of next week.

Monday

Clearing out two small steaks from the freezer. I am making a steak casserole. Serving it with mixed veggies and fried leftover potatoes (with a bit of fried onion mixed in).

Tuesday

Leftover ham which I will just warm up this time (any leftover will be used for sandwiches for a couple of days). I think I will make some kind of pasta and also some peas.

Wednesday

Eggplant Parma from the freezer downstairs.

Thursday

Meatballs in mushroom sauce, served with noodles and probably corn. Leftovers will be frozen and used next week.

Friday

Soup and sandwiches. I have a couple of cans of soup that need to be used. I will probably make grilled cheese sandwiches.

Saturday

There are 3 hamburger patties that need to be out of the fridge freezer. Serving those with baked beans. Need to think what else, perhaps sliced tomatoes.

Today I made a Dutch Apple pie which should give us dessert for a few days. I have some pumpkins sitting in front of the window and if they get ripe enough, I may try my hand at a pumpkin cake to see us through the remainder of the week. Though pumpkin muffins sound pretty good as well.

Now for the question.

I was asked if I was using wool strips for the rug. I am using knit fabric as it is easier for me to work with right now. It is also helping me get all those knit fabric scraps used up (I even need more so will be cutting out some tops and a dress to add to the mix). I still think that I may have to purchase a few half meters of different colours (like black, blue, red, brown, white and solid navy). It is taking way more than I thought it would.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I pretty much told all of you what I have been up to this week. So don't have much to fill you in on today. 

I am enjoying the cooler start to each day, and am almost looking forward to winter's arrival. This year for some reason I am fondly thinking of snuggling into blankets and drinking hot chocolate or tea in the afternoons. 

I need to let someone know whether I will be taking a leadership role with the others for the Bible Study this year. Many a time things are decided before I even attend a meeting so I feel a bit left out. I probably shouldn't feel that way, but I do. We have our first meeting on Wednesday of the upcoming week so I will need to make a decision before then. If I feel the need for a study there are plenty online that I can follow. There are also lots of books in my bookshelf that I can use once again and see if I can get a new perspective on. Actually I think I just might need a break.

There are also lots of things that need to get done around the house and so many projects that need working on. In trying to downsize, I think I might just have made things a bit more complicated for myself. 

I visited my friend and neighbour that moved into an apartment/condo last June and got a tour of her home. Lord we will need to do major downsizing if we move. I just can't see us moving into something that size with such a small balcony and no place for flowers or veggies. Or the room inside for me to have my sewing machines, or other crafting items. I am worried about this for the two of us. My friend is a widow and the size of the apartment is perfect for her. This is going to take some planning and realizing that we can not take everything with us.

Now to answer a few questions or expand on previous posts. 

We have two freezers. One is an upright and I store meat in that one. It has four shelves and 4 in the door slots. Each shelf holds a different meat. Beef is on top, chicken is next and then pork. The only shelf that is mixed is the last one which holds various roasts, and large hams. Whole chickens and turkey is put elsewhere. 

The other freezer is our old chest freezer (probably getting to the end of it's life, but I hope not). In here I keep frozen fruit, pie fillings, turkey, whole chickens, veggies, bread products, baking, frozen soups, frozen extra meals (if they don't fit in the fridge freezer) and anything else that can be frozen. 

This works for us, and most of the time everything gets used and used promptly....There are times though that items slip through the cracks. I really have to get better at keeping track of what is in both freezers. 

What I don't really have is pantry space. That is scattered between cupboards and closets. One of these days I do hope to get things organized in that area as well. Perhaps this winter.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

I went out early today to pick herbs and garden produce and I am glad that I did. The rain arrived at around noon and has been coming down ever since. Not too hard just a gentle drizzle most times. 

I thought I would answer a few questions today that for some reason I missed over the past week or two.

Yes, Sandy I have always frozen my homemade baked beans. They taste wonderful. 

Now I kind of forget (forgive me please) who asked about the eggplant meal I made. It is kind of an eggplant chickpea stew. Here is the recipe.

Greek-Style Eggplant Recipe

1.5 lb eggplant cut into cubes (you don't need to peel)

Kosher salt

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 large onion chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 carrot chopped (I used two)

6 cloves garlic minced

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground coriander (didn't have so left out)

1 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp black pepper

28 oz can of chopped tomatoes (I used diced)

2 15 oz cans of chickpeas, reserve the liquid

Heat oven to 400 F. Place eggplant cubes in a colander over a large bowl or in the sink, and sprinkle with the salt. Let set for about 30 minutes or an hour to allow eggplant to sweat out bitterness. Rinse well and pat dry.

In your casserole (I used an enamel coated cast iron one), heat 1/4 cup olive oil until shimmering but not smoking. Add the onions, peppers, and chopped carrot. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring regularly, then add the spices and a dash of salt. Cook until fragrant.

Now add the eggplant, chickpeas and liquid as well as the tomatoes. Stir to combine. 

Bring to a roiling boil for about 10 minutes. Stir often. Remove from stove top. Cover and transfer to the oven.

Cook for about 45 min or until eggplant is cooked to very tender. Check to make sure there is enough liquid. If more needed you can add 1/2 cup of water. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Mid Week Update

 

My goodness it is the middle of what could be considered the last full week of the month. Where on earth did May go. Heck in one month we will already be halfway through this year.

Today I decided that perhaps I should answer a few of the questions I have gotten over the past week.

First off my recipe for Lazy Cabbage rolls (or casserole).

I put a layer of shredded cabbage on the bottom of the casserole dish, and because I make this to freeze for meals later I often do this in tinfoil containers that have a lid. 

Next I mix rice, ground beef, salt, pepper and rice together and layer this over top. 

Another layer of shredded cabbage goes on top and then I use tomato juice or a mixture of tomato soup and water to pour over top.

I then bake it in the oven until cooked (adding more juice if necessary). Put the lids on if using the tinfoil trays once they have cooled a bit and label them. Easy peasy.

Next question I was asked was how far north do I live.

I live in Saskatchewan not to far from the international border between the United States and Canada. In fact if I travel 9 miles south I would be at the border crossing between Saskatchewan and North Dakota. 

We live in an area that is considered semi arid according to maps but there are times, usually in the early spring and late fall that we get lots of rain. Though the past few years that hasn't been happening. Rain all around us, but nothing really here. This year our rain came at the beginning of May, along with wet snow and in some areas hail as well. It would have been wonderful if the ground had not been frozen solid because of the really cold temperatures in April. So a great deal of the moisture became runoff into rivers, creeks and thankfully farmer's dugouts. 

As far as growing season, our last frost is usually our long weekend holiday in May (the Victoria Day Weekend) and most people plant their gardens and flowers at that time. This year however temperatures are very cool still in the evenings and we actually had frost here a couple of nights ago.

Our first frost is usually sometime in October. Harvesting of gardens and farmer's fields are usually done for the most part by this time. This year however farmers are having trouble getting fields planted due to rain puddling in the fields in my area. There has also been a bit of flooding. 

We can sometimes extend the life of flowers and gardens by covering them at night with blankets. Yet that only lasts for a short time before the frost gets too heavy.

Onto the last question.

What homemade stain removal product am I going to make?

I am going to try an easy one first by making a paste from baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. I am told to spread this paste on the stain, rub it in well and let it sit for about 15 mins. before washing. I think because of the peroxide I would probably test it out in an area not seen to see if it takes the colour out. Another easy one given to me by a friend is to rub a dampened bar of soap briskly over the stain. 

We shall see if either of these work before I start to check out other ideas that look a bit more complicated.

Well off to make supper and then perhaps outside to bring in some of the tender plants I have sitting on the deck. I did plant a few of the more hardy ones today. Hope to get a few more out in their homes tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.