Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal

Another week of being frugal and thrifty happened here on the old homestead. 

I have noticed that quite often my posts do not show up as changing on peoples feeds. I am not sure what hocus pocus is occurring on Blogger, but I do hope the fix the problem soon. I just always click on all blogs on my sidebar just in case there has been a post that didn't show up. Believe me there are lots.

1.  Hung all clothing on the lines outside this week, except for towels, and sheets.

2.  Windows open to cool the house two days this week.

3.  Using up leftovers in the fridge and fridge freezer to make meals.

4.  Patched a pair of Harvey's pants.

5.  No watering necessary outside as we have had some rain over the last three days.

6.  Used some of my saved allowances to purchase some new sandals, three bras, a skort, 2 pairs of pants and a very nice dress. All on sale and the total cost was under $80.00. Oops forgot 2 short sleeved tops as well.

7.  Picking lettuce from the garden.

8.  Harvesting and processing rhubarb (might get another pick as of right now).

9.  Put $0.45 in the change jars.

10.  Went grocery shopping and picked up lots of on sale produce, and some dairy which will keep me from going for a big shop next week.

11.  Spring cleaning and walking for exercise, using up some more purchased cleaners.

So not to bad a week. How did you all do this week?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

  

Saturday Roundup

 

Slowly but surely completing those monthly projects and the gardening harvest. Though, what on earth am I going to do with all the cucumbers we are getting? 

I got all the blueberries frozen for use over the winter. Of course I also got lots of herbs dehydrated and into the jars as well as some frozen. 

The mint extract has been started, and put into a dark/cool cupboard for the next month or so. Picture of that once it is ready to be put into the containers.

Some of the peppers that I washed and put one to a bag after dicing or slicing for the freezer. Lots more to pick over the next few weeks.

Cherry tomatoes are being picked even if not completely ripe. One of the branches has broken off as it was so heavily laden and I have been picking many more off that branch as they begin to ripen.

Kris's rug just before I wet it down to block and get the weave to close up a bit.

One of the smaller of the four firepit quilts has now had a bit of hand quilting done on it. I have pulled the next one that is about this same size and I hope to get that one hand quilted by the end of next week. 

Next week will be filled with more harvesting from the garden, finishing up the tea towels, trimming the fringe on Kris's rug, and sewing the binding on the two quilts. I will also be able to finish up the mittens as well. I am working on pair number 10 for this month and tomorrow will start sewing up the side seam. 

Next week will also be filled with making lists of what needs to be accomplished before we go on our trip. It actually seems like that might actually happen as the Federal government is forcing the attendants back to work and both sides to binding arbitration. Keeping my fingers crossed that things still go according to plan. But there is so much that I need to finish before we leave. I am so looking forward to this holiday even though we could actually have traveled through most of Europe for much less cost. We have such beauty here in Canada and it really isn't fair that it costs as much as it does to see our own country. 

Slowly but surely downsizing of the wardrobe is happening. I really don't need as much in the way of clothing any longer and have made the decision that if I bring an article in or make an article, something needs to leave.

As I am trying to organize and declutter the sewing/craft room I have realized that I have enough yarn to last for years, and enough fabric to see me through at least a year. I need to use as much of those items up as is possible over the remainder of this year and as far as yarn into next year. There are a few projects running through my mind to use up both in the new year. Lots of weaving projects in store as well as simple knitting projects like dish cloths. 

I must admit that I think I could be a craft supply hoarder!

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

 

It has been awhile since I have shown any of my projects. I have also been busy getting harvesting done as well. I thought it might be time to show all of you what I managed to accomplish over the last little while.

I am not sure if I showed you my tea towels once they were completed on the loom.

They still need to be cut apart, pressed and hemmed another task for this month.

Crab apple jelly made and ready to be labelled and put into the pantry.

Starting the rug for Kris. I have managed to get more done today.

The last two firepit quilts were sandwiched and are sitting with the other two . I probably will only get two of them completely finished this month.

Some of the harvest so far this week.

More harvest this time the handful of jalapeno peppers and the three kohlrabi. 

The ten pairs of the next size mittens, done and dusted. I started the smaller size right after this and have two pairs finished and am working on the third pair. 

The dried cherries to be used over the winter.

Lots of herb dehydrating, but no pictures. 

Raspberry jam made and put in the pantry as well.

I did make cherry jam as well, but no picture of that drat. Slowly filling the pantry with lots of goodies for the winter.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Thoughts And Plans

 The last Wednesday of the month, and I am really trying to stay calm. It is getting very close to Christmas and I am not at all ready. 

Today has been rather tough. I did not sleep well last night, and that was probably due to the doctor phoning me today with the results of my Echocardiogram. 

I finally got the call at around 3:30 pm. All is fine. In fact Dr. Norma used the word "perfect" a number of times. So that is one health concern out of the way. I do have another CT scan in December to check and see if the nodule in my lungs has grown at all. If it has I am pretty sure she will be sending me to a specialist as soon as is possible.

Harvesting has been continuing here on the old homestead, and my neighbour said I could go and pick crab apples. Which I did at around 7 this morning. 

Baked bread, started dehydrating the cherries (which will probably continue overnight), deadheaded some of the flowers, finished off what I could on the tea towels, finished the second pair of smaller sized mitts, started the third pair of smaller mitts, brough out yarn for mitten knitting and watered the plants that were protected by the eaves during the rains we have had. 

I have not finished my list of tasks for today, but with the garden being pretty wet still from rain the picking of the garden can wait until tomorrow.

My shrimp pasta salad did not look very nice, so I pulled out some lentil soup that we were going to eat a few weeks ago and will make some grilled cheese/ham sandwiches to go with.

I was asked how I make my herbal salves and they are very simple. Usually I use a dried herb, crushed and have poured a carrier oil over to cover. The carrier oil can be olive oil, grapeseed oil, or any cold pressed oil. I usually let that sit in my front window in the sun for at least three weeks, shaking daily or every second day. I then pour the oil through a fine sieve to remove the herb, and place the resultant oil in a double boiler. To that oil I add commercial grade wax pellets (the amount depends on how much oil is in the double boiler) and sometimes some shea butter or vitamin E cream. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tidbits And Stuff

 

Just a quick post. I know I have been absent for awhile, but this post should show you why.

Yet more beans picked. This is the third batch this week, so lots of freezing, eating and packaging to take to Kris's place.

Green pepper, jalapeno peppers, and an eggplant. Made another Parma, chopped the jalapeno and green peppers and got them into the dehydrator.

Made some salsa.

Made Sweet Cucumber Relish.

Finished weaving, and hemming the rug.

Started the wedding gift quilt.

And of course knit more mittens, dehydrated more herbs, and have the Black Hungarian Peppers in the dehydrator right now. 

I made packing lists, worked on getting things put back where they need to be, and of course did the regular household tasks. 

Still to do.... Bake some cookies and some muffins for our trip and do regular tasks around the house. 

I really believe that I will crash and spend much of our get away sound asleep. Probably will need that desperately by that time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Cooler Mornings

 

I am loving the cooler mornings, hot coffee or tea chases the chill away and gets me moving. 

What also gets me moving is knowing that this above freezing temperatures will not last forever, frost is surely coming. That means getting as much done in the garden as is possible, and getting the house ready for winter's chilly, snowy days. 

I am hoping to get most of the garden in before we leave, and once back I believe Harvey will do a bit of cleaning up of the yard, and winterizing the house. Definitely some new caulking around windows and doors as well as some replacement of door sweeps. 

I am still working on stocking up just in case we have an icy or blizzardy winter. Our street gets drifted in badly when we have a storm so being prepared for that type of weather is a must. 

I also think about making a couple more quilts for us, getting batteries, purchasing more candles, and making sure I have enough fuel for our camp stove. Our power has been known to go off for hours and being able to make a cup of instant coffee, or have a bowl of soup would be wonderful. Heck a person can even do a roast on a camp stove in a dutch oven. This is the time of year that we make sure our phones are fully charged every day, and that our laptops are as well (you can add in the fully charged ereader as well). 

Meals will become much hardier, as the winter weather draws in. I need to stock up on some turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, and cabbage. I am going to add some squash in here as well. Can easily store squash and such in the cold room and the kohlrabi, carrots, can be made freezer ready. 

I am planning on taking some of our extra garden produce up to Kris so that he can try out his pressure canner. Mostly beans and probably a few tomatoes as well. While we are visiting I will check out the cost of a large bag of carrots and perhaps purchase that for him as well. I think I may cut some herbs to take to him as well to dehydrate. 

Kurt on the other hand will need to take ready canned or dehydrated things home at Thanksgiving. I am also worried that a strike will take place in his province. They have never had one before, but have been without a contract for awhile, and Danielle Smith, much like Scott Moe, would prefer people to send their children to a "Christian" school. That does not include Catholic Schools where Kurt teaches. 

I have spent some time trying to get my friend here in the city to prepare for winter. Usually she says she wants to do just that, but her husband butts in and says there is nothing to worry about..... Yes there is. These are the same couple that seem to always be "broke" before the end of the month when all their pensions arrive. I have given up, I am no longer going to even try. 

I was asked by Magpie if I was the person dehydrating tomato skins and yes I am. I use the powder to add flavour to soups and roasts. I would love to have more ideas on how to use the powder if you have them. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

The day started off so foggy that I could not see down the hill into the valley. My morning walk was a bit eerie as you couldn't see the other walkers until they were almost right on top of you. 

Once home from that, I headed out to the garden to pick. Figured I would start with the beans and then move to other fresh items. Big mistake as the bowl quickly filled with green beans. Probably missed a bunch, but I did get enough to freeze 4 bags and put away some to go with one of our meals this week.

After getting the beans processed and a bit of the household cleaning tasks completed, I headed back out to the garden. I picked an eggplant, some jalapeno peppers and some green bell peppers. Those are still waiting for me to decide on what to do with them. 

 I also picked some more of the never ending supply of cucumbers. I need to look up some cuke recipes, I could dehydrate them, but I did that once before and cucumber chips are not my favourite thing to snack on I found.

I think that after supper I may head out and pick tomatoes. Perhaps Salsa making will take place either tomorrow or Thursday. Got to get Harvey to pull some onions.

So in other words just the usual wash, rinse and repeat day here on the old homestead, especially at this time of the year. 

I am getting very close to having the rug finished. I will post a picture of the finished project very soon. The loom will then be put away so I can work on some sewing projects for awhile. 

Decluttering with a purpose is continuing and I am hopeful of making quite the dent in stash items when I make gifts for this Christmas, and I would like to have a couple of house warming gifts made as well. 

Supper tonight will be Broccoli Cheese Soup and there should be enough leftover ham steak to make some ham salad sandwiches. I have some sweet relish to use up and that makes a nice addition to any ham salad I make. Was going to make tuna salad sandwiches, but I need to work on using up the bits and bobs a bit more. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Busy week harvesting, cooking, making salve, knitting, weaving, cleaning and just trying to get a bit ahead. It seems like I am always trying to either catch up or get ahead. One day perhaps I will at least be even.

This week the dehydrating of herbs has continued. I am concentrating on sage, thyme and oregano right now. In another week I will go back to basil, lemon balm and lemon grass. Mint will have to wait for a bit.

I have managed to finally get enough beans from my plants to have a meal. I am hopeful of managing a few more. Since I have a dearth of beans, I went to the Farmer's Market this morning and purchased some. These are now blanched and cooling in some ice water. Packaging and labeling to take place very soon and then they will be placed in the freezer. I may purchase more next week. 

I picked eggplants this week and from the three I picked I made what I call Eggplant Chickpea Stew. Two containers now reside in the freezer. 

Thursday saw me finally making the Lentil Curry. 

Once again after having a meal, the remainder was portioned out and put as more ready meals in the freezer.

Also on Thursday I made my version of a Cherry Strudel. Used some phyllo pastry that needed using and a container of my cherry pie filling. So good.

I continued the stove and oven use by making the calendula salve. Sorry I forgot to take a picture, but once I get them labeled I will snap a pick. I actually got 11 containers so have some to add to Kurt and Kris's baskets at Christmas. 

This is a picture of the 32 pairs of size 8-10 mittens.

And this is the start of what I hope will be an equal amount of size 4-6 mittens.

I also managed to get the pieces cut (strips) for the quilt Kurt has asked me to make for his friend as a wedding gift.

This was just the beginning and I managed to get the white and red strips made as well. 

Weaving is going well. Since this picture was taken I have managed to do another white stripe and have started another black stripe. This is taking a bit longer to weave as the project is much larger than the other two scarves I have made. Still I am liking the way this rug is turning out.

This is my new cutting mat and I am loving the bigger size. It makes cutting strips so much easier. Now I just need one of those rulers that are specially made for cutting strips.

Off to package up the beans (picture to follow one of these days) and start the water boiling for our corn on the cob.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

It has been a very quiet day here on the old homestead. I am afraid I might have overdid a bit in getting something ready.

My loom stand came on Friday, so yesterday we decided to put it together. First of course I decided to warp it for my next project. Now, I swore after the first warping I ever did, I was going to do this in stages. I was a good Jackie with the second scarf, but this time around (and a bigger project planned) I wanted to get it all done before Harvey finished the stand....

Getting it finished before the stand was a slightly grandiose plan, though I did get the first part completed. We put it on the stand and it looked so unfinished that of course I got right into finishing it up. Three hours or so later the warping was completed. I even got the warp threads pulled together using scrap yarn. 

Then the backache and neckache started.... So today I have been taking it relatively easy. I have done a couple of walks (short ones as the heat is overpowering once again), did the few Sunday tasks that needed doing, and have watched a movie while knitting mitts. I also wound the shuttles for the project. 

Once again I am changing menus for next week as I have so much in the way of leftover taco meat. No tortillas but lots of meat. Tomorrow I will give tortilla making a go and hopefully be saving a bit of money instead of running to the store to pick some up. The extras I will bag up and freeze for later on. 

My eggplant is loving this heat and I just may be picking some at the end of this week. I see some Eggplant and chickpea stew (that's what I call it) being made for a meal and some for the freezer. I see lots of jalapenos as well so will more than likely start picking some of those for stuffed and perhaps some for pepper jelly. 

Everyday a bit more is dehydrated from the herb garden, things get used up (mind you we have a glut of cucumbers right now), tomatoes are ripening and I am pretty sure there will be enough for salsa this year. 

Next week I will be making the calendula salve and white clover salve. Perhaps I will be able T start the lavender infused oil by the end of the week. Keeping my fingers crossed on that final one.

Now a bit of news on how using the cloth toilet paper is going. I only use these small squares for one function, the other I use regular toilet paper. In two weeks I have managed to cut down on toilet paper usage going from 4 and a half large rolls a week to using just over two large rolls. This would be cutting out a large package of toilet paper every couple of months. I wash them separately from my clothes, towels, sheets and cleaning rags. Treat them more the way I treated the kids cloth diapers (mine could not use disposables as back then there was too much perfume in them for their bottoms, got really bad rashes). So far this seems to be working very well. 

Slowly but surely getting things done and dusted. I may actually be able to go on our bit of a holiday and not have lots to do when we get home. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

It has been a busy week here on the old homestead, as we have the house to ourselves for a bit and we are not planning on going anywhere for a bit. Our next away time isn't until September when we go to Cypress Hills Provincial Park and perhaps visit our two sons as well.

I have been dehydrating herbs almost every day. I say almost as I took a break from that today, but will be back at it tomorrow. 

Also each day seems me out picking at least a little bit from the garden. Things are not growing as well as usual, so it is moving ahead slowly, but surely. 

Lots done in the house though. I have cleared a space in my sewing/craft room for the loom stand, still need to do a bit of vacuuming though and perhaps a troll through the bottom of the closet as well.

Salves are being made. This week I managed to get two done and then in two weeks I get to make two more. Hoping to dry enough mint to make at least one more.

First I made the lemon balm salve and then moved on. Then the plantain salve was made. I only three containers, just to see how they work.

I plan on adding salves to Kurt and Kris's Christmas baskets this year.

I also finished the second scarf using the exact same colours of yarn as the first. Both of these will go in those baskets as well.

I finished had quilting the outside quilt by using a simple X in the center of each block, and the binding just needs hand sewing on. That will happen tomorrow.

Of course I have been working on those mittens for Kurt's school as well. Seems to be a never ending project. But I am almost finished the first size.

Fifteen pairs waiting to be sewn up, and 

Number 16, which should be finished tonight. I plan on getting them sewn up over the next few days (along with hand sewing the binding). Should be starting the smallest size mitts very soon. 

I also did a bit of garden processing as well.

Pickles in a Bucket are made and in the fridge.

All in all a pretty good work for a week. Mind you the mittens have taken a bit longer then the week.

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.

Tuesday Tidbits And Stuff

 

I have spent the last two days going out very early in the morning (wearing my hat of course) and again in the early evening (hat once again), to do my harvesting and watering. I do go over to my friends and water her plants early in the morning, the walk does me good and once home I have a bit of breakfast.

The rest of each day I have spent preparing what I have harvested. I am trying to get as much of the garden done as I possibly can. I made cherry jam this week, another batch of cherry pie filling, and have dehydrated lots of herbs. Soon it will be time to start making dill pickles, pepper jelly, mint jelly, and using all those infused oils in salves and lotions. There are still a few infused oils I want to get started, but mint needs drying for teas this winter, plus fresh for the mint jelly. Once those are completed, mint infused oil will be made. I hear it is great for headaches and after suffering with a few this week I am ready to try anything.

I still have a few cherries left and will make some cherry muffins using the toaster oven at some point tomorrow. The cherries need to be used before they go bad and I am almost out of breakfast muffins. 

Today, as I was weaving, Harvey said that his back was aching just watching me, and I should order the loom stand. I have done so, and I think I will say this is my Christmas gift this year, and if Harvey wants to put something under the tree, he can make me a few more shuttles of different lengths. 

I am still seriously considering purchasing a spinning wheel sometime in the future. I will continue to save my allowance and see if in a couple of years I still want to do so. Those are actually more expensive then my loom was so saving as much as possible before purchasing is the sensible thing to do. 

As all of you have probably noticed, I did not post a menu this week.... Mainly because with the harvesting, prep work and getting some cleaning done things are not being made in the order I chose at the beginning of the month. I am just mixing up things, still cooking the weeks menus, just on different days. Two of those meals will be large batches so as to have some ready meals for busy days.

The air conditioner is working overtime, the past three weeks have been extremely hot, so trying to save in other ways. As usual leftovers are stretched into new meals, and I am continuing to use appliances to cook when appropriate, and Harvey is BBQ ready almost every day. 

Off to set the table and finish our supper (I think that is what you in the UK call tea, though I am not too sure).

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.