Midweek And A New Month

 

The months are whizzing past and here we are 1/4 of the way through 2026 already. My goodness. 

I went shopping today and will not make all of you suffer through pictures of what I purchased. I did pick up 2 tins of tuna at $0.93 each and 3 tins of smoked oysters at just under $2.00 each for the pantry. 

Stocked up on some meat, and bought the flour that was on sale. Still even watching and purchasing on sale items I went through almost half my monthly grocery budget. Mind you that included laundry items, some Kitty Litter,  and a new loaf pan so I can rid myself of the one that is 50 years old (got it as a shower gift) and which is not in the best of shape. Still I am shocked at how much things are costing from week to week. 

It took me almost 3 hours to do my shopping this morning. Of course I had to see people I knew who wanted to talk, and a nice gentleman and I had a lovely talk in the Co-op parking lot about Easter. I really need to hide when I am shopping so as to finish a bit earlier. Harvey asked how many people I had conversations with considering how long I was gone. I also took probably close to an hour to get things away and the meat packaged up for the freezer. 

This meant my back and hips were pretty much shot so most of the afternoon was spent watching video's on the computer. I did manage to wind one of the shuttles for weaving though, so all was not a complete loss. 

Tomorrow I will need to buckle down and get some baking done as well as work on those projects for this month.

Speaking of projects perhaps I should let you all know what is planned to be completed.

1.  Weave the scarves I want to give Kurt and Kris for Christmas.

2.  Knit mitts to use up more of the bits and bobs of yarn.

3.  Get my printed out craft projects from the last year put in binders.

4.  Same goes for those printed recipes I have been saving.

5.  Cut out some clothing patterns to sew next month.

6.  Make Thank you cards using my Cricut.

7.  Make some Birthday cards using the Cricut as well.

That's the plan, and I am so hoping to get things done.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Shopping and Realizing Prices Really Are Hitting Highs

 So I went shopping yesterday and could have cried over how much prices are going up over all. 

Definitely more than last time I went shopping and way more than last year at this time. Still I did manage to get lots on sale (though sale price was the regular price even just a few months ago).

So here is my shopping, and yes I did purchase a small roast beef which was on sale, but one of the reasons I almost cried.

One of two pictures of my shopping. It seems like getting pictures from my phone to blogger is getting a bit more difficult.

I think I might need Kris to get things working properly once again, or find my silly camera which seems to have disappeared in the house. 

Life seems to be getting slightly complicated rather than simplified. 

Off to get supper completed, a visit with all of you and then work on a project or two.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 We have once again had rain for most of the day. It started to rain pretty much after I got in from the errands this morning. Poor Harvey had to take shorter walks between showers, which at times were very much downpours. 

The sun is out now, but I am not going out to pick apples right now as the mosquitoes will be out in full force. I don't need to be covered in insect bites right now as I have finally gotten rid of one bite behind my knee. The itching drove me crazy for almost a week, and I used lots of Plantain salve to keep it at bay.

Harvey decided we needed some flowers in the house today and as the hydrangea was looking a bit waterlogged, I said go ahead and pick a small bouquet.

This lovely display is on my table now. 

Grocery shopping was so-so. Many of the so called sale items were what the regular prices used to be. I did purchase a beef roast, and about 3 pounds of hamburger. Still costs continue to rise, but at least there is more Canadian content available in the fresh vegetable and fruit area. Cherries are still on sale so I grabbed a bag that is just over 2 lbs. Of course bananas as well. Funny thing is considering they come from South America now the cost is the one thing that has never changed for the last 6 years. Still relatively inexpensive.

My phone needed an update and it seems to be taking much longer than usual. I don't like the way it seems to be changing things on my phone and how long things are taking. It is like my internet WIFI is being extra slow.

I need to stay home a bit over the next few days in order to get some fruit processed and herbs dehydrated. The cherries we picked off our trees were going to be dehydrated, but if going through the pitting for that, I think I will make cherry pie filling instead. 

Then my neighbour said I could pick crab apples so I will do that tomorrow morning early and perhaps get some crab apple jelly made as well. 

I am a bit worried about the Air Canada strike (well if the strike happens) as it would be right when we would be taking our trip. However we do have travel insurance so should be okay if things happen. Still I hate the idea of missing this trip. 

Off to visit with all of you and then to work on a mitten pair.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits And Stuff

 

The day started off much cooler and very cloudy, but by mid afternoon the sun had come out and the windows needed to be closed and the air conditioning turned on. Tonight the temperature should fall enough that we can open windows and use the night air to cool the house down. 

I finished the two tea towels and have them off the loom ready to be cut apart, blocked, and eventually hemmed. Pretty soon one more project will be marked off my list. I will probably finish the embroidered block first though, and even perhaps the mittens made. 

Decluttering is still happening, just not as quickly as I would like. By this time I had wanted to be close to 300 items leaving the house, instead I haven't even reached 200. I am definitely falling behind and not in a good way.

I thought that today I would share my grocery shopping with you today. I usually go to Walmart and my Co-op every second week and purchase what I can on sale at each. Sometimes if the regular price is good I will purchase something for the pantry.

This is my Walmart shop.

Not a great deal and the only meat purchased was some Chicken Parma, and the thick sliced bacon, both on sale. The kale was a good regular price, and the living lettuce was only $1.97 and lasts for weeks. Cherries were from the Okanogan here in Canada and were also on sale. Becel margarine was almost half price so I grabbed a container. Total cost for this lot was $109.90. 

Then it was on to the Co-op where I hoped to pick up some on sale meat. Which of course I forgot to get a picture of.

Lots more here and I am afraid I purchased a few treats. So the meat two small pork loins, two ham steaks and the sandwich meat were put away immediately. I also put away the 2 4liter containers of milk. 

The total cost of this shop was $227.85, and believe me most of what I purchased was on sale. Mind you the bananas never go on sale but at $0.79 a pound still a good fruit purchase. I am so looking forward to getting produce from the garden which would really cut back on costs veggie wise. 

What I purchased will hopefully last us two weeks or longer. The meat will be put in the freezer and used much later, this month or even next month. 

One thing I will stress, is that years ago what I bought would have cost about 1/2 of the total I paid. I probably would have been able to purchase more meat as well. 

Off to get supper started and while it is cooking I will see how many of you I can visit.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 I went to the Great Create again this week and was asked if I would be willing to teach some adults how to knit. Was told that I could probably charge what the lady who taught a class on weaving charged. Not sure I really want to charge anything. What do you all think? The group has some knitting needles and all I would need to supply would be yarn. Now it isn't like I don't have lots of that, could be a way of clearing out the stash a bit. 

Otherwise my morning was taken up with shopping for groceries. That took a great deal of time as I was looking for Canadian substitutions for American products. Now, one would think buying from your own country would be less expensive.... Nope, not really, but some items were on sale so that was a good thing. Also produce and fruit from Canada right now is limited to things like root vegetables, frozen berries/fruit, and apples. The only other fruit that came from somewhere else was bananas and those were from Guatemala. Still I did what I could to keep our economy active. With the threat of tariffs we are being asked to shop Canadian, and that is what I will do.

I haven't done this in awhile, but I thought I would show you all what I got for groceries and other supplies. Plus what it cost me. Much of this will not be eaten for a number of weeks, perhaps months in some cases. The fresh veggies, fruit, and dairy (milk) will be used over the next couple of weeks.

First off my Co-op haul.

Yes, there are a few snacky type items, but that is mainly because I can't really bake any cookies, pita chips, or coffee cakes until my range is repaired and we were getting a bit tired of nothing to nibble on. Total cost of this was $262.20, but I saved $24.97 and once a year I get approximately 5% back on grocery purchases as I am a member of the Co-op.

Next up are my purchases at Walmart. A few things were purchased on sale, and I went through some of their bagged frozen items and may go back by the end of the week and pick some eggrolls, stuffed chicken breasts, and pizza bites up. At $10.00 each for a pretty large bag I think that could be a good deal for us. 

I also got Harvey a puzzle book and some microwave popcorn as he loves that as a night snack. I also got some heavy bristol board for mounting his jigsaw puzzles. Then of course there was the Tylenol Extra Strength and Tylenol Arthritis. I don't use them often so these will last awhile. Total cost was $172.62. 

I also use my credit card, which is paid off monthly to get more back. I usually get enough back by the end of the year to almost pay my groceries for a month. 

So in case any of you are interested in the conversions, here they are:

In U.S. dollars I would have spent in total $245.96.

In U.K pounds sterling I would have spent 242.73 pounds.

In Euros I would have spent 290.86 Euros. 

Living in the center of Canada, in a small city with very few grocery options you can see that things are a little bit costly here even on sale. So I stock up and try my best to get deals on meat, grow lots of my own veggies, dehydrate herbs, and do whatever I can to save money here and there. We have very few yellow sticker items as well. Also remember that much of this will be eaten weeks or months down the road so if something happens we are well prepared, which is what I like. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek And Snow Bound

 

I am having loads of fun trying to find pictures that are already posted on my blog. Seems Blogger decided to give me albums and I have to look through all three to find what I want. Luckily today it was only two!!!

Well the snow has finally and truly arrived, and has arrived with a vengeance. Not blizzard conditions as there isn't enough wind for that, but enough snow has fallen today to cover up to the top of my 6" boots, and it is still coming down. 

Harvey has shoveled once already and things are filling in again between the house and the car shelter. I think he will need to bring the big guns out (the snowblower) tomorrow.

I did my shopping over two days this week and ouch. Between rising prices and shrinkage of packages I just do not know how families or young people can make it.

Here is a picture of what I purchased at the Co-op store. Pretty much all was on sale.

This small amount of food cost me $248.49 and the only meat I got was some pork chops, a rather large package of sole fish fillets, tins of salmon and tins of tuna. Some microwave popcorn for Harvey as a snack and some snack items for me. It's a good thing I stock up on beef and chicken when they are on sale and have a good selection of meats in the freezer. Much of this will last us more than a month so there is that. However dairy, produce and fruit will need to be purchased in a couple of weeks.

The day before I this I went to Walmart to take advantage of a few sale items, and pick up a couple of items we seen unable to do without. Add in a gift for my brother, a crossword book for Harvey, and some glitter for projects down the road.

This is what I came home with. There are also some treats to hand out for Halloween as I will not be going shopping before then. The grand total for this was $271.39 not including taxes. Meat whie there is one canned ham which Harvey uses to make sandwiches. This is the place where the cost is the least. I also have 2 packages of Nicorette to help Harvey with his no smoking. 

In many ways we are very lucky. I am able to stretch things like rubber when I have to. Great at making soups from scratch, and am starting to use more lentils and beans in my recipes next month. I have appliances to cook with and a roof over my head that is heated and has lights. It keeps going through my head on a loop that we are blessed, while so many others are not. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I was in a great deal of shock today when I went shopping. Prices have risen once again. I was very surprised at how much higher certain items were. Eggs went up over a dollar for 18, flour (the least expensive) and already risen two dollars for a large bag. Never mind the cost of meat. I am worried at how those that don't know to budget or have a stocked pantry are going to be able to eat. I know I am lucky in that Harvey pretty much eats whatever is put in front of him, and is willing to try new things. 

This uptick in prices will make budgeting an adventure, but one that I hope to excel at eventually. Also looking forward to getting our garden in and producing.

The week has been one of going over costs, trying to find ways to save a penny here and a dollar there. Small savings add up.

Now that the sun is shining more our gas bill should go down, and that will be fairly large savings. Today however the sun just came out at 4:00 pm so the furnace ran a few times even though it is fairly warm out. 

I finished a scarf this week, started the second one (about 3" completed now), worked a bit on my cross stitch, baked an apple strudel using up more of the frozen pie filling and the remainder of the phyllo pastry sheets. Bread has been baked twice this week and a package of store bought bagels eaten (one left in the freezer that had been bought on sale, but the new price is one that makes me want to try making them at home). 

No real waste this week, and tonight I will use up the remaining mashed potatoes making potato cakes tonight to go with our porkchops and salad. 

I have checked out the Kobo store and there are a couple of frugal living books that are fairly decently priced, so tonight I will download those onto my reader and see if I can find any new tricks.

As far as grocery spending today, not all of this is for food stuffs. I bought some supplements, candles, some stuffing for cushions and a sheet set as well. In Canadian funds I spent $461.13 total. Changed into American funds that is $361.95 and in pounds it is 277.65. While this might sound pretty outrageous, this is for two weeks and in some cases even longer. Some of the supplements I will not have to purchase for over a month. Still I plan on working this down even lower over the coming months. We really do not have great sales here in my city and finding coupons is very difficult. Hence why I try and cut other bills in some fashion. 

Tonight I am doing some appliance cooking once again. Our porkchops are being baked in the toaster oven, salad is resting in the fridge (should be enough made to eat on it for a couple of days), the bread machine was used to make the bread and even bake it (makes a horizontal loaf). I will have to use the stove top to make the potato cakes, but that is only for a few minutes. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Friday Catch-up

 

I will first fill you all in on the Fiber Friends meeting last night. I first joined the group on Facebook as I was interested in what fiber craft they were doing. Most seem to crochet, there were only two of us knitting last night out of the 10 of us that were there. I did find the group very welcoming to the stranger in the midst and will probably go again now the weather is better. 

However here is the bad part of the story. I picked a parking space between two vehicles, one a truck and the other a mid-sized SUV like mine. Lots of room on both sides of my car and I was parked well centered in the spot. I came out and almost walked right past my SUV as a behemoth of a truck was in the place of the other SUV. This truck was only 6" away from my driver's side. There was no way in he double hockey sticks, I would be able to enter my vehicle on that side. 

After a little bit, I went over to the passenger side and clambered across the passenger seat, the center portion of the front and managed to twist my way into the driver's seat. Started the car and hoped that I would not hit the vehicle beside me. 

Now, just let me state that this 70 year old body does not bend or move the way it used to even 6 years or so ago. I am also a bit rounder than back then. Harvey said I should have gone in and got the desk to find who owned the other vehicle and got them to move. However I was just so frustrated and slightly (okay more than slightly) angry that I just wanted to get home.

Backed out very carefully and made my way home. Last night however the brain would not shut off, sleep was a hard time coming and my legs were awfully sore. When I did finally fall into a restless sleep, my dreams were populated by rather large trucks looming over me.

Today I went shopping. I had to divide up the pictures into smaller ones as by the time I got home I could barely move. Putting them away bit by bit was pretty much all I could do. I still have meat to package up for the freezer. I am almost glad that I no longer purchase lots of meat to be packaged into individual meals. 

Here is what I purchased today.

I seem to be missing the fruit and veg picture, as well as the picture of the ham that I managed to get on sale for Easter. 

The bad thing was that by the time I managed to get out to the vehicle my back was in excruciating pain. Thank heavens Harvey was home and brought everything in for me. 

I have spent the rest of the day sitting and watching TV while working on the border. One good thing is that I should be finished and sewing it onto the rug by Sunday. Another project bites the dust this month and I can get the sewing table put away as well as my machine and get moving on another project or two.

Oh, this is the little I managed to purchase for the pantry. Just under the $10.00 mark. Sorry the picture is blurry.

Two cans of pear halves at almost $2.00 a can and two cans of flaked turkey at almost $3.00 a can. Still it is a few more items to add to the collection. Next time I am considering purchasing some canned potatoes, or dried potatoes. Those could really come in handy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Catch-up Friday

 

First off Fiber Friends is a group of ladies who work on fiber crafts. Most seem to crochet, and one lady does both. The meet once a month in person at a hotel here in town. I had a lovely time and even though I was only one of two knitting, things seemed to go along quite nicely. It is a good group, and I will probably attend during the nicer weather. Winter is a bit out of the question for me though.

I did have one problem though. When I left some idiot in a very large truck decided that perhaps I was so skinny I could get in my vehicle with him parked only 6" or so away from my driver's side door. Not going to happen. I was parked nicely in the center of the space so there was no need for him or her to get that close. As I wanted to get home and didn't want the hassle of going to the front desk and getting them to try and locate the driver to move his or her vehicle, I decided to use the passenger side. 

Well this 70 year old body does not bend or twist like it used to and getting across from the passenger seat to the drivers did take a great deal of twisting and turning. Finally did it, backed out slowly keeping my fingers crossed that I would not scratch either vehicle, and drove home.

By the time I got into bed my legs were very sore (probably from the way I had to manipulate them) and sleep was hard to come by. When I did finally fall asleep all I could dream about was huge trucks looming over me.

I took my time doing a few tasks this morning, and then headed out to shop.

Here are some of the pictures of my groceries....However I seem to be missing the ham I actually managed to get on sale. You will also notice the grey yarn. I purchased that for the scarves I plan on weaving for Kurt and Kris as I needed something to pair with the black that could be considered a bit manly. 

This final picture is the little bit I got for the pantry stock up.

Sorry that it is so blurry. 

By the time I arrived back home all I can say is thank goodness Harvey was home and able to bring in all the bags. The back was in such a state that I could barely move and getting out of the vehicle was a bit difficult. 

Groceries took longer than normal to put away, and I still need to package up the meat for meals that will wait until tomorrow.

I can't sit for long so I will visit who I can tonight, but will probably visit most of you tomorrow.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.