Friday Shopping and Wow

Harvey took me shopping this afternoon, and now he gets to see how much prices have risen since the last time he shopped with me. Let's say about 5 or so years ago. I think he was a bit flabbergasted by costs. He also got to watch me put items back on the shelf because there was no way on God's green earth I was going to pay that asking price.

I did manage to get a few items at a decent sale price, but many of the items we needed were just not discounted very much at all.

As for the items I added to the pantry for $10.00 I managed to get 3 cans of mandarins for $1.50 each and three cans of evaporated milk to use in baking for $1.27 each. Hoping to get some canned meats and more canned fruit next time. It was a bit less than the amount, but anything more would have put me over the pantry shopping limit.

While checking out the beef roasts, I got into a conversation with a beef rancher. He told me that they had sold all their steers and only kept the heifers, mainly because they were worried about the lack of moisture on the pastures. He said beef prices are going to probably get much higher over the next while. I have also noticed that once prices go up, the very rarely come down. I so wish that we had yellow stickers, or some of the ways that easterners in bigger centers have to save. Heck our youngest son can sometimes take advantage of yellow sticker meat as well.

I have added some tins of salmon and tuna to the bag that will be donated to the Food Bank here at the end of lent. Next time I go shopping in two weeks, I will pick up some pasta and pasta sauce. I am trying to put together enough to perhaps feed a couple of families. Thinking some treats closer to the end of Lent would be a nice addition.

Changed my mind on supper tonight. As we have lots of softening potatoes in storage, I am going to use up my homemade perogy and then next week use up more of the softer potatoes to make a batch or two for the freezer downstairs.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Simplicity

My simple life is growing by leaps and bounds, thus in fact helping my frugal life as well. 

In Canada over the past few years there has been a push for Black Friday sales in many of our stores. Heck probably in all of the truth be told. Today I looked at some of the sales fliers and was not in the least tempted to go out and purchase more "stuff". Fact is our sales will continue into next week, much like our Boxing Day sales. 

I am finding the more I really think about what is a need or a want, there is really very little I need. I will of course purchase replacements for things that are wearing out, and those items that will make decluttering so much easier, like the silicone molds I have purchased nothing that is no longer necessary will enter this house. 

I enjoy cooking from scratch and trying new and interesting to me recipes. If they verge on vegan that is great, this is probably healthier for Harvey and I as well. 

I have been reading many blogs and watching many YouTube channels that ask how long you could feed your family on what is in your pantry and freezers/fridge. Pretty sure we could manage many months with just going out to purchase dairy, eggs, fruit and veggies. Still I feel the urge to stock up even more. I think this is because prices have kept right on going up. Purchasing while costs are lower just makes sense to me, and I do have the room to store everything I do purchase. It is one way of keeping to my budget. 

Rising prices don't matter as much if you have a well stocked pantry. I am also considering doing the $5.00 Emergency Pantry thing that some talk about. 

I was asked for some links to the lentil recipes I use so here they are.

Brown lentil soup

www.recipecommunity.com.au/soups-recipes/tomato-and-brownlentil-soup

Red Lentil Moroccan Soup

www.acedarspoon.com/moroccan-red-lentil-soup

Red Lentil Curry

www.allrecipes.com/recipe16641/red-lentil-curry/

Hopefully there will be a few more as I try more lentil recipes.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek Ramblings

We are the middle of the first week in November already. I have a feeling that this month is going to pass by just as quickly as the previous months. Scary how fast the time is moving by.

My Chicken Quiche turned out very well yesterday, and was quite tasty. There will be a few tweaks to the recipe the next time I make it. 

These two pieces are in the fridge and should give us another meal each. Really not a whole bunch of cooked chicken went into this recipe either. We had some sliced veggies and dip as the side. 

I will be going through my cookbooks and finding more ways to stretch bits of leftover meat. Next up will be some leftover brisket that really can't be made into a pulled meat kind of meal. 

There are rumours that chicken prices will be rising due to the fact that more people here in Canada are choosing poultry as their meat. I find chicken to be pretty expensive right now and watch closely for sales. 

Because of rising meat prices I am looking into more lentil and bean recipes as a protein replacement. I am very glad that Harvey is willing to at least try my concoctions. The next lentil recipe I think I will try is Lentil Tacos or wraps. 

Still decluttering here, but right now it mostly seems to be my wardrobe. I tried on two tops today and hated the way they fit. Those hit the donation bag, however this is making me think that come January I am going to have to make some tunic tops or find some at a second hand store. The finding at a second hand store could be a problem as larger sizes really disappear quickly around here. Making could be the solution. I just have to wait and see how many I have left after trying things on and either donating or trying to figure out how I can refashion the items. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek, Midmonth, Oh My!

 

I not only have to keep calm that it is midweek already, but one my as well say it is the middle of the month as well. Time is slipping past on wings.

Last night we had a date night and went out to our live theater's second show of the season (also the last). It was hilarious. Loved every minute of it. The acting, the singing, the jokes were amazing. Now it is done for the summer.

Our next date night will be our trip. That is if we actually get to go as Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are now probably going on strike. Air Canada Jazz is not included so we could get home from Montreal, just not get to Toronto for the start of our trip. I told Harvey that we may have to see if we can change our carrier. Could be slightly more expensive, but man we were so looking forward to it. 

I have been working in the garden and in the house, decluttering a bit, and downsizing my wardrobe. I am trying to move my clothing all into one area for a change. Back to trying to live with fewer clothes, and really watching what I purchase or make. Garden produce is being frozen or dehydrated. I did forage some apples this morning so I will try and get those made into pie filling tomorrow, after my dentist appointment. The blueberries have been frozen, as have seven green peppers. I may try to get some kohlrabi frozen as well. 

I have also finished the rug for Kris. I need to work in the ends of yarn, and block it. I might have to trim the fringe as well. Working on the next pair of mitts, and will pull out the first firepit quilt to work on tomorrow. 

I have heard through the grapevine, okay the news, that the weather this winter according to both Farmer's Almanac's is supposed to be very cold and lots of snow. So I am going to try and stock up as much as possible. I hate trying to get through lots of snow, almost as much as I hate driving on ice all winter. Of course I can get Harvey to drive but the less we have to travel on ugly roads the better I will like it.

I am also going to tell the boys to stock up a bit on a few canned goods so they don't have to face nasty weather. 

Just a bit of a heads up to other Canadians right now. My less expensive K cups from Walmart, just went up another $2.00. And don't ask how much chocolate chips have gone up. I almost fainted when I saw the price of the Co-op brand, never mind the brand name variety. Still I managed to get sweet and sour cut ribs on sale, a cryovac package of eye of round to cut into roasts on sale as well. Not much else meat wise was on sale except for some sandwich meat. I did get loads of veggies and fruit on sale. A few canned goods for the pantry as well. Bit by bit I will beat the cost of living going up.

I was asked about the fake crab. It is not shellfish. It is Pollock that has been flavoured a bit. Not sure if it really tastes like crab or lobster, but it really does not taste like fish.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

It has been a pretty quiet week. Nothing project wise is finished, but a few things are getting very close. Hopefully pictures of those next week. 

Working in the garden and with the herbs in the morning. Slowly but surely dehydrating is filling the herb jars for next year. With the heat we have been having it is very hard to get motivated to do any real processing of food stuffs. 

Even cooking has been a challenge this week. Thank heavens for main dish salads and previously frozen foods that just need warming up. I do have the steeped mint liquid that needs to be made into jelly at some point, as well as a great many bags of frozen tomatoes that need to be made into sauce. I did manage to get the comfrey salve made early this morning.

Eight tins for now, with probably more to come. These need to be labeled tonight. 

I think along with the mint jelly tomorrow I will make the oregano salve which would just leave the sage for another day. 

I have been keeping a very close eye on costs over the last 7 months and was pleasantly surprised with our meal last night. Most eating establishments have been gradually raising the cost of their meals, and the one we went to last night was totally different. While the meals were a bit more, they were actually lower than other places. The amount of food was amazing, and the service over and above. We will go there again and as we were leaving we noticed they had a buffet on Sundays and so will give that a try after Mass the next time. After all saving a few dollars, eating out, and having a rest from cooking is awesome. 

However, other prices are rising. I usually giggle at the X (Twitter) folk, mainly because they post the highest prices that they can on premium cuts of meat. That being said, the cost of beef is slowly growing beyond what a regular person can afford. The same could be said for regular pork and poultry prices. One needs to learn to shop the sales, use up every bit, and stretch what one uses.

Still, purchasing a Tomahawk Steak is not something I would ever consider, so complaining about the price means nothing to me. If you could afford that cut to begin with, you are not in the same economic level as the usual shopper. Grow up and join mainstream shoppers. Learn to budget and spend wisely.

We really enjoyed the show last night. I even got to see so many of the youth I worked with (getting hugs from most of them) as well as people I had not seen in many a year. Most were aides with me in the classroom. 

Harvey told me to purchase tickets for the next show which is titled "Golden Girls on Vacation". That does not happen until the beginning of August, but I think I will get tickets for this production very soon. Two nights out has been unheard of for a number of years. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Sunday Ramblings

 

It is another really warm day here in Southeast Saskatchewan. Not going to complain as closer to next weekend, night time temperatures could reach lows of 0 or 1C. The house is extremely hot by the evening so I am sitting typing this with a fine coating of sweat on the body. 

Mass was a bit shorter than I expected and that was great. We got home and Harvey made us breakfast which was yummy. I also got a lovely pink carnation from the parish. 

Later tonight when it cools down a bit I plan to go out and pick some tulips to add to the tablescape. 

I did not do any real work on projects today, probably because it is so warm, and getting the coat finished yesterday took a great deal out of me. I will be knitting though and each time that happens I get just a bit closer to finishing that project. Maybe even finished this project before we go to Regina. I could be starting the next knitting project, the blanket for Kurt's friend. Oh to finish it before Kurt comes home as well, could be rid of three blankets that are taking up counter space in the sewing/craft room. 

Shopping went well yesterday and I managed to save almost $50.00 on purchasing sale items. I did get some meat items at very good sale prices, well considering the sale prices are now pretty much what the regular prices were a few years ago.

Rising costs are playing havoc with the budget, and Harvey's second partial plate cost more than the first one. I hope that we can stand the heat a bit longer as I so want to save money on the air conditioning. The longer we can go without, the better it will be on the bank account. Thus making it easier to pay off those items that were totally unexpected that needed to be purchased. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 Another beautiful day here in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan. Many roads are almost bare of ice and snow. This makes walking and driving so much easier. Though on the road in front of our house there is still quite a bit of ice left. 

The engine light stayed off with all my driving today which is awesome. I think that whatever was wrong just might me fixed, all by just re-attaching a line that was forgotten about. Still I will be careful of where we are driving to for awhile. 

Shopping was an eyeopener today. Many of the stores are purchasing more products from Canada. However many more customers are doing the same. This means some areas that usually had lots of Canadian goods, were kind of empty. I suppose that is a good thing overall, but they will need to bring in much more. There were no carrots from Alberta so I ended up purchasing some from the U.S., but we did have lettuce from Alberta at quite a price. 

While my list was short, because of the price increases, well it added up to a bit more than I had thought. Especially canned goods and produce wise. Still I need to do my part. 

The co-pay for a couple of our prescriptions went up as well. I am so glad that we have the extra insurance to help cut down the costs as much as possible. 

I did notice that one item had actually dropped. Fuel has gone down a bit, but that always seems to go up and down on a whim. I didn't need to get any today and so I am hoping it stays low for when I actually need to refill. 

Off to visit all of you, and then get supper on the table. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Not Looking Forward To Rising Costs And New Monthly Goals

 

I am not looking forward to the rising costs that will take place due to the blanket tariffs that were supposed to take place today, but now will be announced on Tuesday. Then of course there will be our targeted tariffs in reply. All this will do is make life more expensive for both Canadian and American citizenry. We are a much smaller country population wise and GDP wise so this trade war will cause us more problems than our bigger neighbour. 

Shopping Canadian is not inexpensive, I have found. In each area of my rather large, sparsely populated country Canadian products are sometimes hard to acquire. I joined a Buy Canadian Facebook page and man, those who live in the east, Alberta, British Columbia and even Manitoba have way more choices than poor stuck in the middle Saskatchewan. 

We do have an oil refinery though and the Co-op refinery in Regina hauls gas throughout our province. Surprisingly many of the other provinces do not have that capability as was noted on the "Buy Canadian" page. Thumbs up for that. 

Both Canada and the United States will hopefully get through this. I do know that many of us here in Canada will never feel as close to America again.

I haven't listed my goals/projects/plans in awhile so thought I would do so today.

1.  Continue decluttering.

2.  Finish weaving the placemats (changed from tea towels).

3.  Embroider at least one more rose quilt square.

4.  Knit the second blanket for Kurt's friend.

5.  Cut more scrap fabric up either for use in quilts or for tinkle cloths.

6.  Use the leftover fabric from cutting out my coat pattern to make a car blanket.

7.  Sew the tote bag that I stitched 4" squares for the front. 

There will more than likely be a few additions depending on how quickly I get these listed projects/goals completed.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

White Christmas Hopefully

 Once again we have had snow all day, or well from 9 am to 3 pm, of course the wind has been blowing as well. 

Kris sent us a text last night saying he would not be coming home until tomorrow instead of today. Good thing as until now visibility has been pretty bad, I am also sure that the same can be said for Regina. It will be much better tomorrow I am sure. 

Kris always grows something over the winter and so far this year it is tomatoes. Here is a picture of his plants.

He should have a really good harvest. I am hoping he also has some lettuce or peppers growing as well.

While shopping this week I noticed that regular prices have risen, and risen by quite a bit. I really think that we are all going to have fun trying to keep costs down. I do know that we can do so though.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

 I will answer questions re Cabbage Bread, dental costs and others that have arisen this week. Tonight is for thrifty and frugal living.

Not a completely frugal week, but with Christmas arriving in just three weeks, we are getting close to the wire. There has still be thrifty and frugal things happening on the Phillips homestead.

1.  Tried my darndest to combine trips and errands. Not totally achieved, but did my best and that is all that counts.

2.  Using up all leftovers in other meals and keeping my fridge shelves fairly clean.

3.  Once again have used the downstairs clotheslines as much as possible, and washing full loads.

4.  Shopping at home to use up what I have in my various stashes. Making so many gifts is saving me lots of cash.

5.  Our extra insurance paid for over half of the antibiotic that Harvey needed for his infection. Always a very good thing.

6.  Saved many a plastic bag to be used when our Grandcat is visiting for kitty litter patrol.

7.  Have a few socks that I will be darning tomorrow.

Prices are still going up and I am going to figure out new ways to save, even though as of right now we are just fine. With tariffs being talked about I know the economy is going to take a bit of a nose drive and perhaps our various accounts will as well.

They are also predicting that food costs will be rising even higher. Due to the lower Canadian dollar, and climate change. I think we will be growing a bit of a bigger garden and I will shop more than the two stores I usually do. Mind you when you only have three grocery stores prices do not fluctuate as much between stores as they do in bigger centers with 14 or more places vying for your grocery dollars. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.  

Midweek

 

We have had a couple of slight rains over the past few nights, but could use much more. Everything would be washed clean with a good rain. 

My specialist appointment has been canceled for 2 weeks. Not a bad thing as the extended forecast is calling for snow the two days we would be gone. Might be slushy snow, but I would rather not travel in that type of weather. It also gives the plants Kris started for us another week of growing time.

I have been working on decluttering and organizing a few areas of the house. I pick one small area a day and get that cleared up. This week it has been clearing things I haven't worn for awhile in my wardrobe, moving empty canning jars to an area of the basement, using up small jars from the fridge, and today was cleaning and tidying under the bathroom sink. Tomorrow I will clear/declutter the hall coat closet after shopping.

Speaking of shopping tomorrow.... I noticed there is much less in the meat department on sale. Right now all I see on sale are stuffed chicken breasts, and thick sliced bacon that we would use. Forget the Tomahawk steaks, at a supposed sale price of $29.99 a pound way out of our reach. So this week my meat stock up will be bacon and stuffed chicken breasts. Certainly will be getting some very strange looks once again. I was hoping for pork ribs and pork chops (whole chickens would have been nice as well) but will work around what I can get. Still have to take a close look at the Walmart flyer and see if there is anything there. 

I have been working on some of my projects as well. Knitting takes place when other projects are completed or in the evening. Today I cut out a dress, and yesterday I sewed the tunic top I had cut out last month. At some time tomorrow I will start hand quilting that baby quilt.  

Soup is simmering on the stove and perfuming the house. Love the smell of soup of any kind. Not sure about Harvey, but he never complains as long as his belly is full. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

It is warming up considerably. I have a feeling the air conditioner will be coming on soon. That is okay as we have managed almost 3 full days without it. The nights are still cooling off so that does help considerably.

I did my shopping this morning and picked up my rebate cheque from the Co-op. I used it to pay for the groceries today which meant not as much out of the account at the middle of next month. I use my card and get money back on that at the end of the year. Always great not to have to spend as much as you are worried about. Prices are rising still so I think that starting next month there will be a couple more meatless meals.

I have been working on my projects. Just did a bit of embroidery today and nothing other than ironing the flimsy. Tonight I am not sure if I will be knitting. 

I got to go and pick cherries at a friends place and may just make the pie filling tonight. My friend put on Facebook that she had cherries to get rid of and then even helped me pick them. Once those are done I just may see if my SIL still has her chokecherry trees and will let me pick those. Chokecherry jelly and syrup sound pretty darn good to me right now. The way I see it the more I can put up the better off we will be come winter and beyond.

There is a very small bush bunny in the yard and I just hope it does not decide to munch on too much in the garden. Things are not growing as well as hoped so I am keeping my fingers crossed, gardens are so behind this year due to the cold and rain.

Off to get a few things started for supper and then will visit with all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.