So Very Tired

 Oh my, have you ever just wanted to crawl back into bed after being up for a couple of hours? That is pretty much how I have been feeling the last couple of days. I am even running a low grade fever and have a slight cough. 

I was going to do so much outside today, but with the smoke and wearing an N95 mask I was lucky to get the plants watered. The smoke is worse today and I am not sure if it will be gone by tomorrow. The wildfires are still not under control and the wind does not want to die down so I am pretty sure there will be smoke tomorrow as well. 

I hope to put on the mask after supper and dishes to at least get the rhubarb picked. I will then crawl into the tub, have a nice soak and turn on the jets for a change. Then perhaps a bit of knitting and bed once my hair dries. Hopefully a nice long sleep will help things out a bit.

I did get the budget figures inputted and the paperwork filed away. I am happy to report that I was under for groceries once again. That amount is what I am using to pay off the dining room chairs. I only have another $116.00 to go so those should be paid off by next month, with hopefully a bit going toward the stove. With any luck the new range will be paid off lickety split. Or at least well before Christmas. My next pay off will be the income tax (that is actually lower than the 2 partial plates). 

Off to get a very simple supper on the table. Most components have been prepared in advance so it isn't too taxing. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

The house is now quiet, after a week of getting to visit with Kurt and Kris they are both gone. One to visit with a good friend and the other home to shovel and make sure his tomatoes are growing well. 

I hope to be able to post a bit more, as I am going to take my time putting Christmas away. Over the last couple of days, I have put the items I removed to make room for company, back in their former places. I have my old laptop in the sewing/craft room and will plug that in and download the program I need to run my Cricut once I get more moved or rather tidied in that room. 

Yesterday I washed the bedding on the beds that our sons use when home, and today I remade the beds. 

Also today I set up the budget for next year. Just need to make sure the amounts in it are reasonable, and that will take place tomorrow. I do have a feeling that many will be left as is and others will be raised due to inflation. If I shop carefully I should be able to cut back on the grocery budget, but for a couple of months I am going to monitor and leave the line at last years amount.

I have a few challenges to myself for next year, but more about those in another post. 

Off to get the table set, supper in the oven, and then visiting all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

An Overview of My Month

 Not that one needs a magnifying glass to go through what I have managed to get done this month or what our budget looks like (kind of horrible really, need to work on this even more). 

But I thought I would give a bit of an update on things here on the old homestead.

The first of the month saw us heading to a cabin for the family reunion.

The first night was at our place for hamburgers, hot dogs and whatever anyone else brought to share. Come to think of it many did not bring anything so I am really glad that some brought extra bits and bobs. 

The next evening was our supper and a silent auction. There were I believe 51 family members there. Friday only saw us with about 20. I did not succeed on many of my bids and neither did Harvey. Which is quite okay as the money (change) I had saved just went into my savings envelope.

Once home for about a week Kurt arrived and spent a week with us visiting, and even going to the football game in Regina. He left straight from there to his home, we stayed an extra day with Kris and enjoyed a bit longer visit. Kurt even took me out to forage for echinacea which are still drying.... I think I might be able to chop it up next week and store it for tea.

Home, and garden work began in earnest. Right now I am concentrating on dehydrating herbs before the harvest of however many veggies we manage to get. The weather has been so very hot after the cool and rainy start, that I am afraid that things might not be that productive. Could be a year of buying produce at the Farmer's Market (they are pretty darn expensive).

Once we got the cherry trees netted, I am happy to say that I managed to save many a cherry from the greedy robins. This year I actually had enough to make a batch of jam, and two batches of pie filling. There are even a few left to make some cherry muffins tonight, some of which will go into the freezer.

I have actually been able to use the lines outside for drying clothes. Love it, and it cuts down on the electric bill for next month (considering the A/C seems to be running constantly).

Got some more infused oils started, I am pretty sure the lemon balm one will be made into salve next week. The others will be a bit longer.

Started the second scarf and things are moving along much quicker on this one. I still have to move around after about 20 or 30 passes of the shuttle with the beating, but I have ordered the stand for it and hopefully that helps a bit. I have a feeling this scarf will be done and dusted by the end of next week if not before. 

Still knitting those mitts, and I am up to 32 pairs of the size that would fit children in grades 1-3. Once I reach 40, I plan on making some smaller ones (about the same amount if I am lucky) and then perhaps about 10 of the larger size.

Now the evil budget.....

Over on many a line, but because we did not spend much on our short holiday (the leftover will be put towards our get away in September), we managed to stay under for the total budgeted for this month.

I failed at keeping the grocery budget below what we had thought it would be. I think part of that could be because we had a bit of company, prices have risen in some areas, and I just didn't concentrate on what I was spending. 

The same can be said for health expenditures. The insurance did not pay as much as they usually do for my dental appointment (seems they might have cut down on certain items like cleaning), and since Harvey got that extra eye drop prescription costs have risen as well. My prescription has also gone up a bit.

Yard maintenance took a chunk of cash as well. The good thing is many of the items that were purchased will not have to be purchased again as they can be reused for a number of years. Looking ahead we will probably only need fertilizers, seeds, plants and soil next year. I am going to see if I can collect a few seeds from my annual plants this year as well as bring in a couple more plants to winter along with the lemon trees. 

There were a couple of wins though. Not as much was spent on hobbies this month, no clothing was purchased, the cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance was lower than budgeted for, vehicle insurance was lower, as was property taxes. So I am looking at those wins more than where I fell down. There is always another month to work on getting the budget down and more to focus on.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Happy Easter

 

It has been a quiet day here today. Kris left for home this morning and because of this we had our Easter meal last night. Wish Kris could have stayed one more day, but he had lots of laundry to get done, and he had some other plans that needed done before he works again on Tuesday. Of course I sent Kris home with a care package. He took home one of the packages of summer sausage lunch meat, an Eggplant Parma, a container of Potato Soup, some leftover frozen ham, 6 homemade buns, a jar each of mint jelly and tomato jam. Wish it could have been more, but we will be going up again next month so who knows what I will be able to share with him. 

I did up our spending for the month and while some lines were over, many were under. So that enabled us to be under total budget for the month. I really hope to be even further under the month of April, and keeping my fingers crossed that I can get a better handle on groceries and the cost of replacing items in this house. Seems our front door knob is worn out, which is not a great thing really as replacements are quite expensive. 

As it is the end of the month I guess it is time to fill all in on what projects I have managed to complete or am still working on.

1.  Cross stitch. Working on this and will continue next month. I hope to have a picture soon to show all you how much this has progressed. Right now not a great deal as so many daysD this month were cloudy.

2.  Sandwich the quilt. Done

3.  Knit first lapghan. Done

4.  Start second lapghan. Actually completely finished this month as well.

5.  Organize and make pantry book. Done

6.  Do up freezer inventories. Upright freezer completed, but not the chest freezer as of yet. I decided I needed to clear some items out before making the inventory.

7.  Copy up to 14 recipes on cards that we enjoy. Done

8.  Cut out shorts. Done

9.  Cut out top. Done

10.  Organize freezers. The upright is done, but not the chest freezer. 

So not too bad, but I could have gotten a bit more done if only I was more on the ball at using items of veggies, fruits and baking that are stored in the chest freezer. 

I have next month's goals ready to go and will share them with you all in another post. I also need to take a few more photo's of the finished projects. I will share with you all on Tuesday.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

The end of another month and I finished entering budget numbers and filing the paperwork. 

We were under budget once again, but not by much. In fact I have a feeling that Harvey hid some receipts on me. Not much I can do about that though. 

I am going to see if I can somehow cut a bit more off some of our spending. Mind you with the dental work I need to go through and another trip to Regina to get the results of my tests from the cancer specialist, this could be a bit of a problem. The cutting might just have to wait until April. 

I finished one altar cloth and after I find a coordinating purple the second one should be quickly finished. I made a real boo-boo and didn't get enough fabric for the length needed. I just kept thinking of width. Oh well, I will do much better with the red when I manage to get it. 

I pulled all the fabric for some spring and summer clothing. One of my goals for this month is to get all the patterns cut. Trying some new top patterns this time around. 

Harvey made a Hummingbird house. He used a 3 inch or so in circumference branch from our woodpile. Took him all of about an hour to get it done. I have a feeling he will make a few more to hang in the tree in the backyard by the deck. I will take a photo of it and the bird feeder and post them tomorrow. 

While the weather has been pretty nice the last few days but according to the long term forecast we are going to be getting a good dose of winter once again. I will be glad to see spring arrive. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Week Arrives Once Again

 

Once again a quiet day. One that I might actually have gotten a few things completed.

Worked off and on in the sewing/craft room, picking things up, putting things in their rightful places and removing what does not belong in there. Lots still to do, many containers need to be labeled as of yet, but at least things are starting to be organized once again. How much longer it will take is anyone's guess. I need to continue to work on using up the stashes before purchasing more. I actually feel like a hoarder when I enter that room. I can label and move things around constantly saying I am "organizing" but until things are used it really isn't organized at all. I can make things look pretty, but still not be where I want to be. Time to get serious. 

Worked on hand quilting most of the afternoon while watching Willow on Disney+. I am quite enjoying it. Next I will get back to watching some of the various Star Trek series. Give me a couple of streaming channels and my computer box attached to the television and I am happy. I am thinking of adding Pluto to the television since it is free and does have some live streaming events.

Started my shopping list for next week. Pretty small right now and I think I am going to add some stock up items that could last us for a year. I am hopeful that the price will be falling on those items at the end of a year. 

Tomorrow I hope to go through the budget spreadsheet. I don't plan on changing things as of yet, but want to get a bit of an idea of what should be raised (I have a few items that I can enter that are unchangeable as far as having to pay them). I might also work on a few ideas to lower some of them, but that might not show up for a bit as of yet. 

Off to get supper started and then to spend some time catching up with all of you. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup and A Bit of Catching Up (Yet Again).

 

I did the budget entries yesterday and am quite happy with the results. While as usual I was over in the grocery department, we were under budget in all other areas. Under total budget by a great deal as well. Makes me very happy.

We had a meeting with our financial person at the bank and Harvey has moved his RRSP into a RIFF. We don't have to touch this until the new year and she put it in my name so the tax hit will be slightly lower. I then moved around some of the money in one of my GIC's and told her that very soon we will more than likely be moving cash into our Tax Free Savings Accounts. Better the money in our pockets than the governments.

Worked on a few of the monthly project goals and and a bit of extra cleaning was done. Garden harvested except for the peppers and eggplant, which I hope to get done in the upcoming week.

I had a meeting last night at the church about the Bible Study we are holding. Something very strange happened, when the time came for us to choose what sessions we wished to lead I gave my choice and one of the gentlemen (he is someone I have known for many years as he was a teacher in my husbands hometown) made a huge sigh, rolled his eyes and kind of threw his phone on the table. He also muttered something under his breath, but with a mask on it was hard to make it out. Say what... A man who is probably older than my husband making such a fuss. I was shocked.

So there is the roundup of the weeks highlights.

So now to catch up. Since we had that meeting last night I missed my Frugal Friday post.

1.  All washing on the outside lines.

2.  Turned up the air conditioner as there is no need to keep the house as cool as we do during the very hot summer months.

3.  Opened the windows at night, that cools the house off nicely for most of the morning.

4.  Started my biweekly shopping this week. It went not too badly. However spending such a long time in stores is kind of scary. I hope to cut the shopping time down bit by bit.

5.  Using up small balls of yarn, scraps of fabric, and all leftovers.

6.  Put $55.00 in my savings envelope.

Next on my catching up are the project and other goals I have for this month.

1.  Work on t-shirt rug.

2.  Make Christmas cards.

3.  Cut out pieces for Kurt's Christmas quilt.

4.  Finish my quilt.

5.  Finish Kurt's quilt.

6.  Knit 2 Secret Santa Scarves.

7.  Finish off harvesting the garden and cleaning off the deck.

8.  Remove spring/summer clothes and put in the fall/winter clothes.

9.  Repot lemon trees.

10. Cut more strips from cut up old t-shirts and leftover scraps of knit fabric. 

And if there is time

11. Work on counted cross stitch.

12. Make dryer balls.

So that brings me up to date with what is going on around the old homestead.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

Another work week gone by as well as almost the whole month of January. Not that we worry about work weeks as neither of us work anymore. Everyday could be considered part of the weekend I suppose.

What frugal things have been happening around here.

1.  This was the first day that Harvey used the snow blower, but he used the shovel much more.

2.  Used up some of those extra meals this week. Saved me cooking and cleaned out some of the fridge and freezer.

3.  Combined errands as usual, and paid bills online.

4.  Used up a couple of balls of yarn knitting on the temperature blanket. 

5.  And perhaps the best one of all since it took a great deal of my time, driving, and angst, finally handed in my resignation for my position on Parish Council. I have been on that for the last 28 years in one form or another. Time for someone else to share their time and talents.

I did the budget up today (I know there will be no spending the next two days) and while I was slightly over in groceries we were under in every other budget line (a couple like the car payment which drives me crazy we were right on) we were well under. That makes me happy. 

I was asked how long the grocery shopping I did would last. Some items will last a month or more (bought 2 large bags of coffee beans as they were on sale for half price and those will last at least 2 months or more). I will end up buying milk, fruit, and fresh veggies next week but hopefully not much else.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

 

Second Bible Study class done and dusted. There is homework to do though so I will be working on that this week. Lots of reading of the Psalms.

The budget is done and I am happy to report that once again we were under total budget for the month. Over budget on a few lines, groceries and household maintenance being the worst. Still, groceries were not that far over when you consider that the budget line also includes OTC meds, paper products, and things like batteries. 

I know this next shop will be high as I need to pick up a turkey (almost want to get two), a ham, and a pork roast or two. Meat is always something that drives the cost higher. I won't be going to Walmart this week as I only go there once every two weeks. Or at least I try to go only every second week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

 

Thursday Tidbits

As others have said, this month whizzed right by on silent wings. 

We had the coldest month of February in 95 years and so much was spent inside. There were very few days one could venture out without being worried about frost bite. 

The last two days have not been too bad and I have managed (with help from my walking poles) to venture out for a walk to collect the mail. We are trying to get all the forms for our taxes, but the bank seems to be a bit slow on sending them all out. Hopefully by the end of next week we will be able to bundle everything up to take to the accountant.

My fridge freezer using up challenge went very well (pictures to come on Saturday). There are still a few things that need to be used, but I am very happy with how much was used to make us some new and interesting meals. I must think of another challenge for this month.

I will also update all of you on the goals that I actually got finished this month. Of course, as is usual a few will be moved to next month. 

1.  Work on temperature blanket every day.  I have done this every morning. Two months down and ten more to go.

2.  Sew winter clothing.  Done

3.  Work on our quilt.  There has been very few days I haven't worked on the quilt. Still have lots to do so will move this to next month.

4.  Try for 5 meatless meals this month.  Done

5.  Finish embroidery project.  Nope, didn't even look at the project. Moved to next month.

6.  Knit one prayer shawl.  Done

7.  Sew three infinity scarves.  Done

8.  Continue with decluttering.  Done and managed to bring the total leaving the house to 89 items.

9.  Knit one cardigan or vest for me.  This would have been done but I didn't like the knitted fabric, no drape. I ripped it out and started a new pattern.

10.  Sew two large pillow cases.  Done

11.  Make Soup bowl cozies. Done.

I will list my goals for next month tomorrow. I do have them planned.

The budget was entered today and the filing of all paper work for the month. I was quite happy to see that we were under total budget for the month and my grocery shopping was one of the under budget items. I hope to cut this by a bit more next month as well. I have a feeling April or May will entail a big stock up shop for meats, bulk shopping for canned goods, and hobby supplies for the two of us.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

And The Cold Continues!!!!!

The last few days have been bitterly cold due to the polar vortex. I think it has been the worst cold snap we have had for the last few years. Up and down, a few days not too bad, and then the piercing cold has hit once again.

The night before last we hit a low of -47 C with a windchill bringing it down so it felt like well below -50 C. 

At times like this the only safe thing to do is stay inside and if you are forced to go out (like I was yesterday) you bundle up so you end up looking like the old Micheline Tire Man. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be much better, with a gradual warming up over the next few days. However another cold snap is heading our way and should hit late on the weekend. 

Staying in has at least given me time to work around the house. I finished the mitts and headbands, even have a bit of yarn left over. I considered tossing the small balls, but then decided that perhaps making a few squares at some point and starting another one of my many coloured afghans at some point (need to get other projects completed first of course).

I started a cardigan for myself, using yarn that I picked up at the Salvation Army many years ago. It is moving along nicely and much quicker than the hand quilting I am trying to do.

Today I entered most of the paid bills and receipts in the budget sheets. Tomorrow I will enter the last few for the month. So far we are under our total budget, but I will know more after the final tally.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Budget Round Up July

The past month was just so, so as far as sticking to the budget. We were under on some lines and over a tad on others. 

I had hoped to be lower on the grocery budget line, but I think buying more of our food and other products from Canadian companies instead of American added a bit as far as spending goes. To help this out this month I am trying to eat down the pantry, freezers and fridge. You know, making do with what I have on hand. 

Even buying the bare necessities seems to cost more with the ever rising prices everyone seems to be facing. Having a garden does help a bit though and now that things are coming in fast and furious I hope to be able to cut this budget line down a great deal.

I will be trying to make more from scratch, not buying expensive desserts or side dishes. Trying more of the cook once eat twice types of meals and making sure that nothing goes to waste. Today I froze blueberries to make sure I could keep them longer. 

While electrical and gas costs were below budget, having the very hot weather we seem to be getting has caused us to use the window air conditioners a bit more. I get all excited when we have cooler weather and I can just leave the windows open.

Television, mobile phones, and internet take a big bite of the budget and I need to figure out a way to lower those costs. I may look into getting rid of the landline and just rely on our cellphones. It scares me, but we no longer have children at home so babysitters do not have to get us for any problems. We like our faster internet and really use it for movie watching, playing games, and just putzing around on the computer. Television, well once we get an android box for the TV downstairs I think we could drop some of the packages we have cutting our costs down a bit.

Fuel goes up and down and usually we are well underbudget. This month however there were numerous trips to football games and my vehicle needed a service job. Those oil changes seem to cost a great deal, but Harvey does not or should I say will not do his own and as he does so much other maintenance in the house and yard I am not going to ask him to add this to his repertory. 

I guess all one can do is cut a bit here and a bit there and perhaps by the end of the year there will be big savings.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

June Budget Update and Family

Kurt managed to get home late in the evening yesterday so supper was late and we spent some time visiting. 

Thunderstorms rolled through once again last night. We managed to get almost 2.5 cm (or an inch) of rain. Guess I didn't have to water my plants after all. Harvey did water the hanging baskets that are protected under the eaves this morning. They were pretty dry.

I would gladly send some rain to those who are suffering from the lack of it. 

The June budget was very good. We were under budget in almost all the major categories. This means we were well under for the month. I am hoping for the same result this month, but it all depends on our property taxes. I am hoping they stayed the same or fell a little bit. Car plates and insurance went up a bit due to having to pay taxes on the total. It makes me a bit angry in that we were promised the provincial sales tax would be removed from all insurance payments. Not true, guess all politicians lie. It is the second month I have been under the grocery budget and I hope to do the same this month, though with company for a couple of weeks and extra being needed this could be a challenge.

Tomorrow the men are off to a football game in the city. I get to have a day to myself (well most of a day).

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

Well I thought perhaps it was time I filled you all in on how things went on the decluttering front last month, and budget costs overall.

First off the budget. We came in at $767.00 under budget, thanks mostly to decreased electric bills, and my grocery budget. Of course some things were over like truck plates (they seem to have gone up this month due to taxes), phone costs (estimated low for the year) and a couple of other areas.

The cost of fuel is higher now and so I want to figure out ways to keep this budget line in check. Could be a bit difficult.

Decluttering went not too badly. I managed to remove a few more items from the house, so now my total for the year at the end of April was 127 items. I do hope to add a great many more to this at the end of this month. Things have started out well and I hope they continue to do so. Less clutter and more room for the things we both enjoy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.