Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

Life since we got back from our trip has been trying to get the garden in, processing, catching up on household tasks, and a few appointments. The appointments will end the beginning of October I hope. 

My CT scan came back with a few concerns for me. Now the nodules in my lungs have not grown, so they are now considering them scarring from previous infections. 

But the scan showed a growth on my adrenal gland and the start of stenosis of the liver (Fatty Liver Disease). I believe and so does my doctor that the liver is from me putting on quite a bit of weight over the last couple of years. So I am trying hard to lose some weight and had actually lost 8 pounds from the last time my weight was taken about 2 months ago. Not a large amount, but a start. 

The one that really scared me was the growth on my adrenal gland. Turns out the radiologist and the doctor both tell me it is not cancerous, but rather something that usually happens with age. I was worried because my Mom died of adrenal cancer which is not common. The doctor told me that this type of cancer is not passed down, and she gave me a list of symptoms that I should watch for. She also told me if I become concerned I should call and see her. She would then make me another appointment for a more localized scan. 

I do feel more at ease now, but will keep an eye on my overall health for sure.

We were home for about a week, perhaps a week and a half when I got the news my Mom's youngest sister had died. So as the funeral was early morning, we headed off the night before. Spent one night in a hotel, and then went to the funeral. I was glad that we were able to attend as I got to see many of my cousins, and my 99 year old sister of my Mom. She is the last of the 4 girls left. I also got to see my Mom's youngest sister's daughter, the one who is very close to the same age as me. She is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and had a mastectomy not too long ago. 

Now we have been home for about another week and things are almost back to normal. Well, as normal as they are for this time of year. We almost had a frost a few days ago, which has speeded up the garden harvest, though with Harvey working on building the new carport, and me helping things are not where I would like them to be. 

I have made many ready meals that are in the freezer, and there are a few more (mostly soups) that I need to get done. That will be after the chili sauce and tomato freezing. I might actually try to can some tomatoes this year. 

Shopping was done today, and I really hope that I will not have to do another until October. My goodness prices of certain items have really risen. Trying to stock up on baking supplies, canned meats, and pasta right now. Pasta, since I can purchase Canadian made is still relatively inexpensive. Canned meats on the other hand have really risen, and baking supplies are getting very hard to find other than flour, sugars, and the very basics. Cocoa seems to have disappeared for now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

Since it has been so very hot out things have been pretty thrifty and frugal here on the old homestead. This is especially true as I try to clear things out of the fridge and fridge freezer. Hopefully lots more will be gone by the time we leave. That is if we actually get to go on our flight. Tomorrow I will talk about an email we received from Air Canada this morning that sent me on a hunt for an answer.

So what frugal things have I been busy with.

1.  Made my own fries for the freezer, and researched how to dry potatoes so as to store them for a longer period of time.

2.  Made 36 perogies for the freezer which will give us three meals. I will probably make more when we get home and harvest more potatoes.

3.  Made 2 Lazy Perogy casseroles for the freezer downstairs. 

4.  Hung clothes on the lines outside.

5.  Worked on decluttering and found another 25 smallish items to donate. 

6.  Using up bags of food from the fridge freezer to make meals this week. 

7.  Trying to use up as much of the fresh produce we have picked as possible. 

8.  Reading a free book I downloaded onto my ereader.

9.  Still using up the leftover smallish balls of yarn and orphan balls knitting those mitts for Kurt's students.

10.  Made a grocery list of items to put in the pantry or freezer as it is our Co-ops big sale over the next week. Not purchasing any perishables as we would be unable to use them up before we leave. 

11.  Once again combined errands and paid all bills online.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

There really are not many completed items to share with all of you this week. It has been more a week of trying to get things done or at least worked on. 

I have been knitting mittens and am on the 7th pair. My fingers are not as nimble as they used to be and one of them keeps locking up on me at the worst possible times. I have pulled lots of partial balls and skeins to use up on this project and it really seems to be working quite well on getting things cleared out. I am of course saving some of the leftovers from this project, to cut up for the rug project. 

Weaving is moving along, I probably have 7 1/2 inches of the first tea towel done. I need to measure one of the ones in my drawer to see how long I should make these. 

The rest of the week I have been watering plants outside, weeding, doing laundry, regular household tasks and harvesting rhubarb. 

I should have one more harvest of rhubarb this year. I have also been looking at some of the chokecherry trees near my home. I am hopeful that as long as a really strong wind does not appear I should be able to forage enough to make some jelly. 

Harvey was going to do a beer kit today, but it is really windy out now that he has decided not to use my new range. He does not want to "Break it". He is a bit worried about the weight of the water on the surface of the range. He does need to use a great deal of water. Now he will use the side burner on the BBQ to boil everything. 

The neighbour to the west of me has pretty much moved out of the house that she was renting. However her brother seems to still be in the house. I find that very strange as pretty much everything has been moved out and he was never on the rental agreement in the first place. He also does not seem to have a job, or if he does it is very part time. Perhaps he is only staying there until the end of the month. Only time will tell. I probably know the brother better than his sister as he was one of my students when I was an EA. 

On our trip we will not be entering the United States at all. We are on the Canadian side during the trip to Niagara Falls, and will in fact be spending the night in a hotel on that side. I believe we get to take a trip on the boat to the bottom of the falls, and if the weather is not conducive to that we get to go through the tunnels. I think that there is a bit of free time, and I really would love to see some of the places we visited when I was a child.

I am off to set the table and get some veggies started for our supper.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal

Tomorrow I will continue with the get away pictures. I have lots of Fort Walsh, but will only post a couple more before moving on to our second full day.

Today this post will concentrate on the thrifty and frugal happenings here on the old Phillips Homestead.

Since I knew the weather was changing I went out and picked all the green or half ripe tomatoes, the rest of the jalapeno peppers, the rest of the Hungarian Black peppers, the remaining bell peppers and more thyme and oregano. I also picked what I could of the lavender and I hope to get more as I want to make some sachets for drawers and closet. Those sachets will use up some of the muslin fabric in my stash.

Found more scraps of fabric which I can cut up into 4" squares to use in more quilts. I also found some lovely soft fabric to make into more tinkle cloths for myself. Thus saving on toilet paper. 

Mended a seam on one of Harvey's shirts, and redid a hem on a pair of my pants.

I froze more tomatoes, and today I made tomato sauce for pasta. 

Heat is not on yet, but things are pretty chilly here in the mornings. I am hoping that we can make it to mid October. 

Made my own hotdog buns (a little on the large size, but this is a learning experience).

Laundry was line dried.

We moved the hydrangea I had in a pot to the perennial bed to see if it will grow again next spring. Soon I will move one lavender into the perennial bed to see if we can keep that growing as well.

Used up all the leftovers in the fridge in other meals or as lunches this week.

Most of the groceries were bought on sale. I will be making another visit to the grocery store to pick up at least one turkey and some soft drinks for when Kurt and Kris are home. Canadian Thanksgiving is in 11 days from today. We actually eat the day before so I only have 10 days.

Used up a frozen package of pumpkin making muffins, as well as a cup of saskatoon berries doing the same thing.

Bought a complete set of towels from bath sheet to wash cloth to add to Kris's Christmas basket. All were on sale and I spent less than $20.00. I plan to get Kurt a set as well. The store had lots on sale. 

Pretty sure there are a few other frugal and thrifty items I have forgotten to list.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

The past month has been a whirlwind of trying to get things caught up. 

After our get away (pictures to come in another post or two), I was busy getting the garden harvested and the produce processed. I did manage to finish freezing the beans and some of the ripe tomatoes. I also managed to make my lavender salve and start the mint infused oil. Of course there was the usual unpacking and laundry to do. I did manage all that and even got more mitts knitted.

Then the cell phone beeped with a text from my sister. She said that she could get away to visit the aunts in two days....and asked if that was okay with me. We would go up on Monday and visit with one aunt and family and then go back to Yorkton, stay the night and visit with the other and our brothers the next day. This text came on a Friday and of course I said yes, even though it meant working all out to get even more produce either frozen or dehydrated as well as some household tasks done. 

I worked full out those days, not getting to knit until late in the evening (this has put me behind on the number of mitts I wanted made) and leaving a few things to be completed when we got back. Pictures of this trip will be following in a post or two later on. 

Got home late on Tuesday and crawled into bed. 

I worked like a mad woman on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Things kind of slowed down on Saturday, but not by much and the same can be said for today. There was bread to be baked, desserts/muffins to be made, rooms to clean and even more laundry to do (where does that all come from). I had rooms to tidy, and dusting, as well as vacuuming, sweeping the floors and watering the very thirsty flowers. I did not have to do dishes though as Harvey did manage those as well as using up all the leftovers in the fridge. 

I now feel as if I am almost caught up and can take a deep breath, relax and visit with all of you. 

Tasks left to do today are finishing watering the plants in the front, make pumpkin muffins, and of course knit those mitts. I can then work non stop on the quilt, and finish all the dehydrating that needs to be done (mostly herbs and peppers). 

The veggie garden thanks to Harvey is almost cleaned up, and I can work on getting the flowers cleared out and one replanted throughout the coming weeks. 

Life should slow down some now, which I am really looking forward to. It seems the older I get, the longer things take to accomplish.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

I am happy to say that 

Saturday Roundup

 

Sorry to have been missing in action for so long. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family. I actually finished all the blankets for the family I have kind of adopted. Kurt took them home with him to hand over. Forgot to get a picture of them though.

After Kurt and Kris left I got busy trying to catch up on a few tasks I had set aside before they came. I have almost finished the extra cleaning tasks for the month (things I do once a month), and have been working on other projects. Promise pictures will be forthcoming. 

We have also been waiting to hear how Kris did with his new installation of a brand new boiler/water heater combo. The company got it done in less than two days and now will be coming back a bit later to remove the old water heater. Man does that free up space as his new boiler hangs on the wall, and once the old water heater is removed he will have additional space in his laundry area. Could even have a drying rack for winter use. 

I still have pumpkins and a few tomatoes to process. I made tomato jam with one batch a bit ago, and it turns out we love it. I am hoping to get enough ripe tomatoes to make another batch. 

I have also been watching and listening to the news about Israel and Gaza. So heartbreaking on both sides. Too many civilians killed and injured because of a group of terrorists. My heart bleeds for those who have lost loved ones on both sides. 

I am going to try and visit all of you tonight, wish me luck.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.