Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 The week has started off with a bang. Busy getting things used up, harvesting, canning, freezing, making jam and of course doing the usual tasks around the house.

I promised you all pictures of my projects that actually got finished (of course there are a few that haven't).

The reusable facial cleansing pads.

This is the bag of mittens I sent back with Kurt. And the following picture is how full 100 pairs of mitts make it.

Glad that is out of my sewing/craft room.

Scraps cut and ready to be stored away for future use.

My two shift dresses for the summer. Very simple pattern and I find this pattern one that is very cool to wear.

Cherries were picked and jam made. Hoping the second tree ripens before we leave so I can make cherry pie filling.

Dehydrating continues and I may actually be caught up on that until we return. 

I hope to make a half recipe of relish tomorrow. Must get out and pick some green tomatoes, and another cucumber or two.

I even pulled chicken stock out of the chest freezer and made a big batch of chicken veggie soup.

This is now in the molds and once frozen will be vacuum packed and put in the freezer. 

I hope to give you a tour of our backyard (or garden) tomorrow. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 Wow, I looked at the Viking Journey home page and we only have 13 days left before we take off. Kind of scary as I do not feel at all prepared as of yet. I hope that by the end of this week I feel more ready to be flying across Canada, the Atlantic Ocean and halfway into Europe (though it could be closer to 2/3 of the way in). 

Each day I try and do a little bit more in preparation and slowly my list is getting checked off bit by bit. However the garden really is not helping things. Neither are the cherry trees. I only hope things do not get over ripe or in rough shape from lack of rain. 

Yesterday I finished one of the two dresses I want to make, and today I cut out the second dress. Plus, Harvey asked me to make him another pair of summer weight pajama bottoms, so I searched my fabric, found some and got those cut out as well. Hopefully sewing will be happening over the next few days and things will be finished. I would love to get another skirt made, but I really don't think I have the time left, or perhaps I should say the inclination. The skirt I have in mind and the next jacket will more than likely have to wait until we are home again.

There were errands that I had planned to get done today, but I got a phone call from my doctor's receptionist saying that Dr. N would be phoning me this afternoon. So those have been moved to another day. It could be two days as I don't know how long it will take in the cell phone store. Or getting the few groceries I need for the rest of the time here at home. I may be getting our prescriptions a bit later. 

As I have said I am trying to use up and go through the pantry (both in the kitchen and in the hallway closet). I fear when we get home there is going to be a fairly expensive shopping trip. Things are being used up and will need replacing very soon. 

Off to get supper made and then visit all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A New Beginning

 

The sun was shining today and even though it is cooler than spring should be, I felt joy when the sun warmed my face as I stood by the window sipping my coffee. That joy has followed me through my frugal, but simple day. 

First on the list of to do's was to put the clean dishes away and clean out emails from overnight. Neither of those took very long, and soon I was in the basement taking the clothes off the lines downstairs and getting them folded. 

I started the dough for two loaves of bread for the freezer and while that was going on cleaned the bathroom, swept my floors (I really need a new broom as this one is getting pretty worn out), did the ironing and collected those items that need to be mended for the mending basket (will do that next week). 

Simple things to keep the house running smoothly really. Nothing too difficult or time consuming. Those things seem to happen on a Monday.

Checked the fridge to see what needs to be used up in the crispers or at least processed so it does not spoil. I have some green onions that will be chopped up and used on our supper tonight as well as some cheese. Must get that grated and ready very soon. 

Then I got to play. I pulled out the small sewing table so I could watch some free shows that I enjoy and started sewing. I am afraid that I can no longer sew as quickly as I used to, as I must get up and walk around every so often to ease the pain in my back from sitting. 

Frugally, my sewing projects are using leftover pieces of fabric from other projects. The only one not is a knit dress and I bought the fabric a few years back at a deep discount at Fabricland. I am really trying to use up what I can and the smaller pieces are going to be saved and used in quilts or makeup remover pads/toner applying pads. While those you purchase in a store are not really expensive, they do seem to be climbing in price.

Still I did manage to get a pair of capris sewn, and start on a pair of bermuda shorts. Those I should be able to finish tomorrow and even get a pair of shorts done. Not as long a to do list to complete on Wednesdays so more time to play. The weather is still going to be cooler and so I do not plan on spending time outside other than a bit of a walk for some fresh air and exercise. 

Supper will be using up some leftovers. I made chili a little while ago and some was put in the mold to freeze and store for later, there was also some just put in a glass container in the fridge to be used tonight. Harvey likes chili and toast, but is willing to let me have chili on pasta for our second meal. A little change, but it really makes a difference. 

When I went shopping I did my usual $10.00 purchase for the pantry. I got 4 cans of tomato soup at 77 cents a can, and three cans of cream of mushroom for the same price. Those are used in cooking as I would much rather make my tomato and cream of mushroom soups for eating. I then bought some corned beef to bring the cost up to the mark. We do love a good corned beef hash. 

No money spent today, using things up, and enjoying the sunshine and the house smelling like freshly baked bread. Could anything be better?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

Wow, we actually reached a summer temperature today. It was almost 30C, which is very abnormal. However this will change as a spring storm is moving in which has rain and snow arriving probably on Friday and through the weekend. It seems as if winter never wants to leave, just when the garden is starting to dry up nicely.

Really all I did today was the to do list, bake bread, and work on the weaving. I re-thought getting the cards done, and decided that perhaps this weekend when the weather is blah would be the best time. I would also more than likely be finished one of the scarves and perhaps have the second one warped and ready to go. 

I am pretty sure that I will not be finished all the projects I had listed, but I think the only carry over will be the second scarf. Which really isn't that bad I guess. Definitely going to try and get as much done as possible before it is time to plant. We also want to go up and visit Kris for the Victoria long weekend. Perhaps give him a bit of a hand cleaning up his yard.

Decluttering is going well, I am now up to 215 items. Keeping my fingers crossed that more will either be donated, or tossed, or changed into something else entirely. Also will be using up all the fabric and yarn that I can. I might even make another set of ornaments (if I have enough) for the silent auction. 

I have pulled some more embroidery projects that I inherited from my mother. These are dresser runners, and there are three of them. I am going to embroider them and sew those together, add a border and make a new tablecloth. I find myself replacing tablecloths very often. They seem to get dirty so very easily. I could also make a patchwork cover as well. Making fabric from what fabric I have collected from old clothing. 

Nothing I am planning should really take loads of time, well other than the embroidery portions. To make matters even better, I could actually sit outside and work on a few of these projects. 

Life is good and as I declutter, use up, remake, and simplify things will get even better.

Oh and tonight Harvey is going to BBQ the pork chops which is awesome.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 It has once again been a pretty overcast day, and with no sun I find myself getting weary by the mid afternoon. Right now I could probably lay down and have a lovely nap, but I know that would ruin my sleep tonight. 

I was asked if the Grandcat tried to escape when Kris brings her to visit. Actually, I am surprised that she doesn't. Eiko is quite content as long as she can see or hear Kris. Not sure what will happen when the weather is better and Kris spends time outside. She might try and escape at that point. 

I have been working on my various projects and getting some dried beans cooked ahead of time for use in chili and today my homemade baked beans.

These are the kidney beans packaged up to use in chili. I first froze them in the silicone molds.

The baked beans and pork getting started in the slow cooker. They will be ready to put in the molds and freeze sometime after supper. 

Next up I will get the black turtle beans done as I use them in chili as well. I plan on doing those up later in the week. 

I am pulling items out of the chest freezer to use up adding them to the monthly menu. I am not sure there will be enough of the meal I make tonight to have leftovers for the two of us so I may be pulling a ready meal out of the chest freezer. Using up one more item from there. Something I need to do before I inventory it's contents once again and try to straighten the whole thing out once more. I do know there are lots of tomatoes in there so I will probably pull those out very soon and make spaghetti sauce with the vast majority of the bags. 

The days have been slipping by quickly and I have lots of projects to try and complete. I am on mitten pair number 7 of the larger size, and I have completed about 8 inches on the first scarf. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Ramble

 A beautiful day today, and we should be having a couple more. Then a bit of a change with lower temperatures and perhaps some snow. 

This week has been one of getting things done around the house, and working on my various projects. I also found something out. My old laptop is of no earthly use in the sewing/craft room. It is just too slow even with the WIFI booster. So I will be using the new one for various crafts that I need a computer for. Not a bad thing, but it means unplugging and plugging in again at my desk when anything is completed. I am almost tempted to purchase a cheap monitor and use the old mini computer until it is no longer useable in there. That could be a bit more of crawling around on the floor to get power packs plugged in than I really care to do. 

This I can say with complete honesty, I need to actually use my Cricut more often as it seems to be that when I don't there is a whole new learning curve. So one month perhaps a project will be making some cards for birthday's, Thank you, Christmas and a few other paper crafts. I should try my hand at doing some embossing with it as well.

I am actually quite happy with how my projects are going this month. I finished the flimsy, have almost finished the ornaments, finished the totes, wove the rug, and am working hard on getting the pieces done to finally finish the rug. All I have left is knitting the next sized mittens, starting to weave the scarves (gift for Kurt and Kris for Christmas) and sewing the rug together. Hope to get a few more of these done before the end of the month. There should be pictures on Saturday to share what I have managed to get done.

Changed a few more email addresses and I plan on doing something about setting up something using Harvey's name for our trip in August. 

Still need to let our travel agent know we need to communicate through a different email address as well. I will probably do so next week.

Enjoying the fact that the weather is changing, and I am completing more things around the house as far as decluttering and organizing goes. I have even managed to clear some items out from under my bed, socks and dishcloths for right now. I hope to put together a few more items for the silent auction from that container as well. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 It actually turned into a very lovely day. Snow is melting and we are in the low double digits. I hope this means that we are finally going to get spring weather. 

I am surprised that with this weather I am once again feeling exhausted. I wonder if it is because I have been moving pretty steadily around the house today, getting household tasks completed, and working on projects. Harvey always says "No rest for the wicked" and I guess in this case wicked could mean wanting to get things done. 

My new mini computer came yesterday evening and it is now on the top of the fake fireplace. I am waiting until Kris comes home and he can set it up. 

Still having trouble with photos from my phone and this phone does not have a cord to use on the computer. So I am emailing and copying to the picture folder. A bit more work, but at least I can manage to get the pictures off. 

Now, I thought I should probably explain about my talking re a condo purchase in the city. Eventually we thought we would move to the city our youngest son lives in. That is where my specialist lives, there is public transportation, and shopping is relatively close no matter where you live. 

We do not own a condo as of yet and more and more we are thinking we could purchase a small one story home for less. The main reason being the fact that one needs to pay a condo fee ranging in price from $400 to $700 a month. That means we would be paying anywhere from $4800 to $8400 in condo fees (or HOA fees). On top of that there are property taxes of anywhere from the least expensive at $2500 to the most expensive of $4500 a year. That is a rather large chunk of money from our savings disappearing each year. Yours truly is shocked at the total cost of what a condo or even an apartment in the city costs. I think we will be staying here for a very long time and hopefully able to make the trip in to see my specialist when necessary. If it ever comes to the point we can't travel the two hours, I am going to see if my doctor here can do the necessary tests. 

Work was done in the sewing/craft room tidying up and putting things away. After the other household tasks were completed I started work on the next project I want crossed off my list. Made good progress on that by getting the first two steps completed. Only two more steps to go, one of which might take a bit longer than a day to complete. This project is also getting some more of my craft supplies used up. Makes more room in that sewing/craft room. Could be working in there again very soon. It is getting easier and easier to move around and find items.

The fridge freezer is getting to the point where I can organize things in there a bit better. My freezer has an upper drawer and then two baskets underneath. The upper drawer is where I freeze things like soup or extra meals, as well as keep frozen veggies, and ice cream. The bottom two drawers are what really needs organizing and using up. Slowly but surely those are getting much easier to find those leftover roast bits and other such items. There is still a great deal in there though and I am working my way through all. Simplifying my storage in there is my purpose for the next while. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

The day once again started of a bit cloudy and pretty darn cold, but it has warmed up a bit and the sun is shining. We are in for a couple of days of cold weather and then a warm up until the end of the month. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the nice weather will last until Kris has been home for Easter, and Kurt gets off on his journey with his students to France and the visits to the Canadian beach, and graveyards of our fallen hero's.

Me, well the next few days being cold I will be staying home, working on the usual household tasks, and of course my projects. 

I should, in fact, finish the flimsy tomorrow and perhaps even get all the necessary items together to work on the ornaments. Those will be another item to add to the silent auction. The more that we have to bid on, the less likely we will need to pay for anything like the Friday night meal or the Saturday larger meal and rental of the building. 

There is also hope that I will be finished the rug for Kris before he comes home. I am about halfway finished the one border. 

Still I have many projects (well a number of them) on my list that I haven't even started yet......

The mini computer for my television has been ordered. Kris looked at the specs I sent him and said it would work perfectly for what I want. I also told him about my email problem and he is going to see if he can fix that as well. Hmm, I think I should have told him about the pictures on Gallery problem as well. Oh well I can manage with the old digital camera just fine for the next while though the camera on the phone takes much better photos. 

Work continues on the decluttering front and my hope to have a much simpler life by the time I am done. Perhaps by doing so we will be able to stay in our home longer as in looking at what the monthly condo fees are and the property taxes on said condos we would actually go through our cash reserves quite quickly..... I think it might be less expensive to rent an apartment in the city.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek And Actually Staying Calm

Hello fellow bloggers. Here it is the middle of the second week of the month of March. Amazing. 

I think I should probably make something clear. In trying to clear up my fridge freezer, I am really not running low on food. I have an upright meat freezer downstairs, and a chest freezer which I use for baking, ready meals, broths, veggies and fruits. 

When I talk about trying to clear out my fridge freezer, it is to use up such items as leftover bags of roast chicken, roast beef, roast ham and roast pork. I usually package those roast leftovers up into meal sized bags to be used to make many more meals. I will be making a roast pork, a roast chicken and a roast beef this month and so will be bagging up the leftovers and putting those into the fridge freezer. I don't think the fridge freezer will ever be truly empty. 

I thought I would get two totes done today, but actually only managed one. Piecing together interfacing took much more time than I thought, and then cutting all the interfacing for all the totes took up a bit of time as well. 

Also, I had to spend some time on the phone getting back into my SaskEnergy account. For some reason I was not being allowed in and not getting notified as to what our bill for the past month is. Everything is great now there, if only I could get the pictures from my phone Gallery to the computer..... Sighs, will continue to work on that. 

I woke up to snow on the ground this morning, just a dusting, which melted away during the afternoon. Tonight the temperature will drop, and the forecast is calling for snow. 

Friday should be good so I will head out early and get the banking done and the one bill paid that needs to be paid in person for some odd reason. I first got this insurance online and paid for it online for two years so I can not for the life of me figure out what has changed. 

Off to visit you all.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 While the sun is out, it really is not as warm as previous days, and of course snow will be coming. 

I spent most of today after tasks working on my projects. The rug is ready to be sewn, but I am making some knitted sides as the stripes are not matching up quite the way I would like and so the sewing together will be slightly different than I had hoped. 

My embroidered blocks are done and ready to be fashioned into a flimsy sometime very soon. 

I next got all the parts, except for the interfacing, ready to sew the totes together.

I will need to sew some of the pieces of interfacing together in order to use up the smaller bits of interfacing. There are 4 totes to be fashioned over the next few days. 

I never shared what I purchased for the pantry this past week. Mainly because my darn phone is not allowing me to upload the photos to my gallery on the computer. Meaning I had to find the old digital camera and get it up and running once again. 

This time I picked up some cans of pineapple and 2 bottles of sauce. One bottle is plum sauce and the other is honey garlic. 

Harvey has put together his grow lights, and is working on the shelving unit. Today we got our new doorbell, and that is installed now as well. 

Me, well I have been checking out Amazon for a wagon. I think I just might have found the one I will purchase. It is a bit expensive, but will carry enough from the grocery store that I would purchase. The only problem I can foresee is that one place I shop at is quite a distance away. But perhaps I can arrange it so that on that occasion I drive once a month to pick up all that I need. 

I have also been checking out a new mini computer for the television as the one I have on there now can not be updated any longer, and the software on it is not supported. Soon I may not be able to use it at all. Probably order this item first as there is still ice and snow on the ground, and then Kris can install it for me once he gets home for Easter. I will use the money in my savings envelope for this purpose as there is still time to save for our trip and for the family reunion. 

My fridge freezer is emptying nicely. However what with the pork roast this Sunday I will be adding to it once again. Most of what is in there now are carcasses for bone broth, a couple of stuffed chicken for a meal, two pieces of salmon fillets, a package of frozen brisket and some frozen chopped veggies. There are lots of frozen veggie packages as well. I would enjoy getting it totally empty and by the end of the next couple of weeks that will be within reach. 

Now I just need to remember to use things up in there in good order. The same can be said for the meals in the chest freezer as well. Having ready made meals is great and very frugal, but if you don't use them it can be a problem.

Now I am off to start supper where I will be using up some leftovers from the fridge. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

While I am not feeling 100% I am feeling much better. I am not sure what is wrong with me, but perhaps this old body just needs more rest then I have been giving it over the last while. I did sleep very well last night and I hope that the same happens tonight. 

Tomorrow our small visitor arrives. Nancy (my brother-in-law's wife) will be coming over to drop off Bob the cat. This does mean I will need to straighten the hallway before he arrives and once here will need to find a place for his bed, and scratching post. It really will be lovely to have a cat around for a bit. Looking forward to hopefully getting cuddles and pets in. She says he is very affectionate. 

It has been a fairly quiet day. We did go out to church today and I had to go out later and get Harvey's prescriptions filled. Well the ones for his blood pressure and his anti-depressant. The eye drops will last until after his next appointment with the optometrist. 

Other than those few outdoor things (picked up the mail as well) I have stuck close to home and worked on things like to do lists, looking up recipes, working on projects, and taking things fairly easy. 

Spent a bit of time looking up solar generator things on Amazon. Most need to have the purchase of the solar panels separate from the generator. I do think that is how we would go though if we did the generator thing. It is much less expensive than the gas powered and would actually work in the case of a power outage that lasted a great deal of time. I think we would need a couple of them though. One for the fridge and stove upstairs (and perhaps the computer and printer) and one for the basement freezers and washer/dryer. We face south so charging would not be a problem. 

Still working on using more small appliances to do my cooking. The electric bill did go down a tad this month, but I would love it to go down a bit more. 

I removed the buttons from Harvey's shirts.

Cut up the shirts into useable fabric. That will more than likely be used to make some totes eventually. 

I will pull out the pants to have the zippers and buttons removed tomorrow and those cut down into useable fabric as well. Little things being completed each day. 

The first half of the rug is off the loom and I will continue with warping again tomorrow. My back starts to hurt if I work on that phase for too long. I should also perhaps get the last pair of mittens almost completed as well. 

Little by slow little I am getting projects crossed off my list for the month. Of course there will be a few things carried over, but I hope to finish those next month. Will I add things? More than likely.

Today our sermon at church was letting our light shine, that just saying one is Christian is not enough..... 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

The day started off pretty nice really for a January winter day. Then it began to snow a bit, the wind came up and the snow fell for a bit. We did have some sundogs for a bit which probably forecasts the coming cold snap. 

Mass, was the usual mix of understanding Father during the parts and then losing most understanding once he started his sermon. I also got a horrible surprise. One of the students I have known since kindergarten, and who's mother was a teacher in our Catholic schools and I worked with passed away at the age of 26. I cried for awhile a bit ago. This was B and B's only child born to them when B was quite old. Only one was in church this morning and left before Eucharist was handed out. My heart breaks for them.

I went shopping and managed to pick up most of what I needed at our Co-op as I did not want to go to Walmart. We will make do with what we have for this shopping period. Things were a bit higher in cost but whatever.

This is what I managed to get for the pantry for $10.00. It isn't very much.

Some salad dressings, Turtle beans, and Navy beans. Every little bit adds to what we can use if times get tough.

I also bought dried Kidney beans but the cost would have put me over the $10.00 mark so it went in my regular purchases. 

Meat was even higher than usual so the only meat purchased was a chicken and that was a bit expensive as well. Good thing that my meat freezer is fairly full. Hopefully I can purchase a beef roast next time around, and some chicken breasts as well. Times are getting pretty tough for people.

I now have the loom set up and ready to be warped. I think I have decided to do two sections of this rug and sew them together to make the rug. The warp will be dark brown and light brown and the weft will be grey and I think brown and smaller strips of green. We shall see. 

Working on knitting today, I hope to get the second pair completed. I have pulled the leftover yarn to make two more I hope. Thus getting the stockpile of leftover yarn down a bit more and make something useful for others. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Update

 Another quiet beginning to the week. Not really because I have nothing to do, because I do, but more weather related. 

While we are getting nothing in comparison to places a bit further north, the freezing rain began about 2 hours ago, making me so glad that I did my shopping yesterday. No reason to head out and be on the roads with all those crazy drivers. 

Kris, up in Regina has been getting lots of rain. I hear the roads are sheer ice, like skating rinks. I will be phoning him later when I am sure he is home safe and sound.

Kurt, in Drumheller, is in the midst of a blizzard and so I will be checking in with him later as well.

I just want my family to be safe and sound.

I have been doing a bit of baking (bread) and working on projects. The list for this month is slowly being completed. Pictures to follow on Saturday. I may even be able to get a few other projects that aren't on my list. Super good.

Finished the Minimalism book, and realized that by living a frugal life, decluttering and organizing I have actually been doing many of the recommended things in this book. The book also states that a person only needs to follow this kind of lifestyle in the way that suits them. I do know there is no way I could ever get rid of the pictures I have displayed as is talked about in one chapter. My life while not one of minimalism, it will be a more simple one as I declutter more and more. Learning to enjoy the quiet times and the times with my family.

Here is a shot of this mornings sunrise, which did not stick around for very long.

Don't mind the reflections in the window.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

Getting ready for the next winter storm to hit. Hopefully not as hard as has been forecast. So far we have not had the rain that was predicted, so that is a good thing. Yet tomorrow more light rain is predicted. 

Streets were very sloppy earlier today, but from above freezing temperatures we have dropped to below freezing so what was water is now beginning to freeze into ice. 

I went out shopping today and now should be able to stay home during the Christmas week. I did purchase bread, but I think I will need to bake a few loaves and put them in the freezer. Kurt and Kris will be arriving a bit earlier than I thought so more bread will be needed and the menu will need a bit of a tweak on a couple of days. 

Really thought that if I got out early enough the stores would be reasonably easy to get around in. Hmmm, I think everybody had the same idea as all places were relatively crowded. I tried to stay as far away from people as possible mainly because of the flu and colds that are circulating around. I don't want to be ill over the holidays and miss spending time with the sons or extended family. 

This was our sunrise this morning. It did not happen until almost 9 am. Also if you notice over the last few days our snow has started to melt. Don't worry, according to our weather people we are going to get more. Perhaps a great deal more in some areas before Christmas. The ridge of ice in the middle of the road has since been picked up. 

After shopping, since I managed to get most of the daily to do list completed I got to roll up the reclaimed yarn into balls. I hope to get the pieces of the 4th sweater done today and tomorrow take apart the last sweater and begin the process of winding that yarn into balls. 

Off to set the table, wash and soak the rice. We are having a stir fry to use up the leftover pork from Sunday. Gradually using things up from the fridge freezer. 

My challenge is to use up all that I can in the fridge freezer and the chest freezer over the month of January. So much food, and it needs to be used. Perhaps even have couple of weeks to start the month off where I do not have to shop at all (fresh items and dairy exempt). Just need to figure out how to go about one of those, it is something I have never done before.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 I have stretched my shopping out and will not be going out until tomorrow to do that, or who knows perhaps I can stretch things out for another day. I can always make lemonade to drink at supper time. I just do not want to go over budget by a great deal. 

Our visit went very well and we actually got to see part of the cities Santa Claus Parade right past the doors of Kris's house. 

By the time we realized what was happening we could only get this photo. Lots in front and later on many behind. 

Eiko actually slept in the same room as me one night. Perhaps she is getting a bit more used to us coming and visiting for a period of time. 

Since getting home I have continued the organization of the kitchen pantry, did the laundry, and have been trying to figure out how to clean out the leftovers in the fridge freezer or the broth from the chest freezer made into soup. The planned menus starting next week are going to be changed for sure. 

I have just been spending most of the day catching up on work around the house. This means not much in the way of projects has been done. I did get the loom set up, but as far as mitten knitting just a little. I do hope to get this pair finished tonight and the last pair done tomorrow. If I don't get the next size completed before the end of the month, at least it is something I can work on by hand. After all by the end of this month I will need to get our trees and Christmas decor up. 

Things I have planned for tomorrow are hanging the curtains in the sewing/craft room, probably grocery shopping, and redoing the rest of the menus for this month. I even think some leftovers will be used at the beginning of December. 

I am finally sleeping a bit better, which is wonderful. I am slowly getting my energy back and happy to be working on things around the house. I am losing my ennui about projects and nesting around the old homestead. I pushed through at times and I think that is why I bounced so much between tasks. Now that I am sleeping better I find myself willing to finish something rather than work 15 minutes on one thing and then move to the next. Keeping my fingers crossed that more projects will be completed this month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I really have not gotten that much done on my list this past week. Little bits done on many different things and only one thing completed that I could check off.

My gift jar soups are done and all the spice mixes, drink mixes, and soups are labeled and have the directions added. Just a couple more gifts for the baskets. Those are getting pretty full and I hope to finish them off very soon.

Weaving, embroidery, and knitting are happening and while the items are slowly but surely getting completed I really have nothing much to show for my efforts. I honestly think that sometimes I just try to do too much at one time and might be able to finish more if I worked on one project at a time. Now that would be slightly boring.

I have been working on getting the house ready for winter, new drapes have been purchased and others moved around to be used in another area. Still have a bit to do in this area, and now that we received snow (not a great deal), I will be concentrating a bit more in this area. 

Some easy knitting, sewing, quilting, and cross stitch patterns have been downloaded and printed. I am doing some research each day on good old fashioned cooking and looking for recipes to use beans more and not just in salads or baked. 

Decluttering is slowly taking place and I am finding it very true that once retired the wardrobe does not need to be so extensive. I no longer need to try and keep up with those who love to be dressed to the "nines" (and believe me I have a few SIL's that believe just that), and what I have is just fine.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 After promising myself I would stay home, I decided to go out for a quick cup of coffee. I don't know why I keep doing it to myself, but I went out for coffee to my friend's place. The one who likes to argue with me, and of course after being less argumentative has gone back to her usual angry self. I think I could say one thing and she would automatically say I was wrong even if she knew I was right. I think it is much better for my mental health right now if I just stay away for longer periods of time, that actually seems to help.

It stayed pretty cool today and the wind was fairly strong and has picked up as the day has progressed. Supposed to be even cooler tomorrow. We got a bit lazy today and decided to wait another day before heading out and doing the last of the leaves and putting away a few more pots and such. 

Worked on my projects today, and the sewing machine decided it was going to act up a bit. I could have gotten a bit more completed if I hadn't had to clean the throat plate out as often as I had to. Perhaps the machine needs a bit of a rest???? If that is the case I will perhaps cut out Harvey's pajama pants tomorrow and work more on the embroidery. Right now I am leaning more towards needing 9 embroidered blocks. Just to make the quilts wide enough to at least lay at the end of a bed. The rubber backing needs to be sewn on Kris's woven rug so I could get that done as well. Thus giving my machine a bit of a rest and me getting rid of some frustration over the cleaning of the throat plate. 

Could also make a few more spice mixes for the gift baskets, and figure out what to do with some rather tough kale. It is a bit hard to eat it in a salad, but today the last of that shall be eaten. 

Simplicity wise, my hall is nice and clean. Much easier to keep clean now as well. Next up is to work on what is under my desk. The top is pretty good as I did go through lots of the papers and removed or filed them away. The drawers could use another tidy as well.

Off to get supper started as Harvey needs to watch the ball game tonight. Hopefully the Blue Jays win this one, though after 18 innings last night both teams could be plenty tired. Hope to get some of you visited as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 Slowly but surely Harvey and I are getting the old homestead ready for the winter. There are still a few things to do as I got a bit carried away working on those last projects for the month and just getting the tasks done for today, leading into next week. 

I am actually quite happy with what I have accomplished on those projects today and foresee a finish to at least one of them before too long. 

I have been reading some of the family Facebook posts and I laugh at how hypocritical some of those who live in Alberta are. Let's put it this way. Many of them thought D. Smith was the best of all provincial Premiers. Talked about how great she is and were all gung-ho over how wonderful the things she was doing were. Fast forward to now and since one of them is a teacher (her entire family was Smith supporters) and things have changed. Our niece and her family can't stand the Premier now and it is mainly because L is a teacher and they are being legislated back to work come Monday. I just wonder how long this about face will last with this section of the family. We shall see. 

My hallway is almost completely cleared now just from picking things up and putting them in their proper places. The craft pile beside my chair is dwindling, and the sewing/craft room is clearing up nicely. A bit here and there makes a difference and surprisingly enough makes me very happy and contented. 

Yesterday I did the filing of recipes, and patterns and cleared out a great deal of paperwork that was very old. I also got rid of some very old appliance manuals. My desk area is almost as clean as I would like, just a bit more needs doing and that will also be completed this week. There are a few item to be gone through under the desk and put in their proper places as well. 

Enough of my rambling.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

 

Saturday Roundup

 

Thought I would share what I have gotten done so far this past week.

Just one bag of the Cabbage bread I made this week.

The batch of lentil curry for the freezer, and the stew of which after having a meal the rest was put into the freezer.

Some dry mixes for the Christmas gift baskets.

The finished dishcloths to take the place of those I put in the Christmas gift baskets and those that replaced the ones I use for dishwashing.

The embroidery, and the beginnings of the double oven mitts. Well the first double oven mitt. I am hopeful of getting those two projects done by the end of the month. 

Forgot to add my new mantra for the rest of the year and probably into next year as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Shhhh

I don't want to jynx myself but I seem to be actually getting things completed this month. Shocking, I know, but I am pretty sure it is because I did not list quite as many projects as I usually do.

There are only two items left on my project list and those could hopefully be completed over the next week. This would be the first time in I cannot remember how long that this could happen. I may just have to limit projects for awhile and if I actually finish one add another to the list. Kind of did that this time with the dishcloths.

I am also very happy at how tidy things are becoming here with just an "Oh that does not belong here, let's put it where it does." attitude is going. When I head out of a room I glance around and if there is something out of place I grab it and take it to the room it belongs in. Then while in that room I see if there is anything I can put away or move to where it belongs. Some items automatically end up in the donation bag, or in the case of papers the recycle bin. 

Really the only slightly untidy area in the main part of the house is the area beside my chair as that is where all my project bits and bobs reside. As I finish them what is left over is taken and put away so gradually the pile disappears. I have even gotten to the point when I enter the sewing/craft room with the leftovers from said projects I put them away immediately. 

The sewing/craft room is coming along. As things are used up and items put away I can actually walk around the room. No more little piles all over the place, and as things are used up there will be even more room to move around. 

I am still trying to devise a way to have more counter space as that is very limited in my kitchen. Makes cooking difficult at times, but does make me clean up after baking or cooking so as to have some room for the next batch of whatever I make. I really miss all the counter space I had in the mobile home we first lived in. 

I am trying to hit more no spend days this month and next month to make up for the rather spendy September and August. I do not spend more on the days I do spend. Spend days are groceries, allowance day, gas/fuel, and bill paying and I really try not to overspend on those days. I found out they are raising the cost of banking (not too sure as of yet how it will affect us) so I have talked to Harvey about instead of using the debit card so often, he should use his credit card as that is only one payment out of the account. I really don't think it will sink in until he actually sees how much it's usage is costing us. 

Life is getting much more expensive for everyone.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.