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.

Fighting Against Rising Prices

 

Costs in Canada, and I believe around the world are rising and many are wondering how they will heat their homes, pay for medications or put food on the table. 

I know in Canada many of the food banks can not keep up with the growing requests. Some from what I have read have even shut down. 

Yet there are ways to save and even thrive during these hard times. We are lucky in that we, or rather I have always been frugal and over the last 15 years I have finally managed to get Harvey onboard. It took him retiring however to really get him onto the frugal path. 

One of the best ways to thrive in this uncertain time is to plan your menus and leftovers are always to be kept and made into another meal or two. I have gotten very good at the planning ahead and using things up. Today with a couple of slices of leftover roast beef I managed to make two containers of Beef Barley soup for us and a smaller container for Kurt (he will probably need more help than Kris right now). I still have 5 slices of roast beef left which will make sandwiches for a number of days. Out of a butternut squash that cost me $1.49, I made two containers of soup for the boys, and a large container for us. That large container will give us two meals stretched with crusty bread (made at home) or a sandwich. 

All bones from chickens, turkeys or ham are saved and I make broth from them. Saves not having to purchase broth from the store. One of these days I will try my hand at using peelings and such from veggies to make veggie stock. Just not too sure about doing so yet.

Eggs are still one of the least expensive forms of protein so breakfast for supper is awesome and very filling. 

There are lots of recipes out there for cleaning products and now that I have some spray bottles I will start doing that. Right now I have some orange peels in vinegar to make an orange cleaner. 

Purchase in bulk when you can. I do this for dish washing soap and save a few dollars. I also buy larger packages of hand soap, shampoo, and toothpaste (the ones that are two, three or four packages). These work out to be much less expensive than individual packages.

I try to never spend full price, but as all of you know, sometimes it is unavoidable but I always make sure to get the best deal that I can.

Old sheets become the backing for my quilts, sometimes even pajamas for either Harvey or I. Old clothing is cut into rags or into useable quilt fabric. I am even contemplating using those usable squares as fabric to sew clothing. I already make totes from some of them. 

Whatever jobs around the house we can do on our own we do. As we age however things are getting a bit tougher and so we will be searching for the best people to do the tasks we can't. 

As far as entertainment we only go to the live theater here in the summer. No movie theater for us, it is much too expensive. We do have a television package, but really it is the only source of entertainment we have and is well worth what it costs. 

Those are just a few of the ways we are saving money during this expensive time. I hope we can save even more as I figure out ways to live a bit more simply, frugally and thrifty.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal 

This week seems to have been a bit longer than others so far this year. Perhaps because I am staying at home a bit more and concentrating on all the little things I kept putting off. Adding those little things into my regular chores has kept me safe at home and using things up as well as cooking frugally or with thrift by making the most of what I have.

1.  Used up the bones from hams that were in the fridge freezer to make some lovely ham broth.

2.  Picked all the meat off the ham bones and have the bits in the freezer in a bag to use in other meals, like ham and beans.

3.  Dehydrating more herbs. Some are being frozen for use as well.

4.  Hung clothes on the lines. 

5.  Made mint salve for use this winter.

6.  Sent in the grocery scan to collect more points to be used to purchase gift cards.

7.  Combined errands to save gas and money. 

8.  Using veggies from the garden as much as possible.

9.  Keeping up using the orphan and leftover yarn to knit those mittens.

10. Baked bread once again.

11. Used rain water to water plants.

So there you have it. Perhaps not as frugal or thrifty as other weeks, but I had nothing to mend for a change, and I am trying to slow down and live a more simplified and intentional way of life. Those two things are also very thrifty and frugal.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

Wow are we getting warm, and now under a severe thunderstorm watch once again. I really don't think that will happen, but of course both of us will keep our eyes on the sky.

So what frugal and thrifty things have been happening on the Phillips homestead this week.

1.  Harvey and Kurt bottled beer a couple of days ago. Since the kit was a gift, the bottles were from Kris over the years, all Harvey had to purchase was water. The total bottled was 63 so the total cost to us was $0.14 a bottle. Not too bad at all.

2.  Clothes hung on lines outside to dry.

3.  Washed my tinkle cloths. I am able to go 2 1/2 weeks before washing them. I have a few more scraps that could perhaps extend the period between washing a bit more.

4.  Using up all leftovers in other meals or making entirely new meals from bits and bobs.

5.  Made my own hamburger buns. 

6.  Went shopping today and stayed on the list. In fact a couple of items that were not at a good price stayed at the store.

7.  Walking around the house for exercise every half hour or so.

8.  Decluttered a few more items from the sewing/craft room.

9.  Cut up some old t-shirts that were not fit to donate as rags. 

10.  Started some more herbal infused oils to make salves later this month.

There are probably a few more things we have done like watering using the rain barrel, doing a bit of yard work (moved rocks to the side of the house) and looking up recipes online to use things up.

I hope you all have had a frugal and thrifty week.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal  

While this probably has not been the thriftiest or most frugal of weeks, we still managed a bit of savings.

1.  By purchasing the range before the tariffs we saved money.

2.  We have been eating from fridge, fridge freezer and pantry this week as usual.

3.  All meals have been made here at home.

4.  Back to baking bread once again, which considering how much bread now costs is a big savings. I do have two loaves of rye bread in the chest freezer that will need using over the next while.

5.  Leftovers being made into another meal, or eaten for our lunches.

6.  Hanging clothes to dry on the lines downstairs.

7.  Today I began another one of my goals/projects/plans for the month. I am reclaiming yarn from some vests I made while working. The ones I pulled today I know no longer fit. The yarn will be used for other projects during the course of the rest of the year. 

8. Came in under budget for groceries this month. Not as much under as I would have liked, but rising prices and purchasing Canadian does add a bit.

9.  Saved some plastic bags to use for kitty litter patrol when the grandcat is here over Easter.

10.  Saved the large elastic bands from the asparagus purchase. 

No mending this week, which is very strange. Can't believe I have managed to catch up on that.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Musings

 

Over the last few days much of our snow and ice have slowly been melting away. Roads are becoming snow and ice free, which makes driving a bit slushy, but safe. According to the forecast we are to get a bit of snow the beginning of next week, but nothing like the storms we got other years at the beginning of March. 

We should be able to get up and see Kris in a couple of weeks, just need to make sure the vehicle is running properly before we make the trip. Pretty sure neither of us wants to be stuck in the city with no way to get home, especially as Harvey is getting the work done for his new upper partial plate. 

No walk to get the mail today, instead I decided to get things straightened up in the sewing/craft room a bit more. I also wanted to get more decluttering/downsizing done. Then of course there was the phone call to our repair guy to make as well. Keeping my fingers crossed that my oven will either be repaired or we learn that it might be better just to purchase a new one. Mind you, at this point I am getting pretty adept at using my appliances to cook with. 

As far as decluttering, two pairs of my shoes that are just a tad ill fitting went into the donation bag as well as two of Harvey's older sweatshirts. Tidying wise, made me realize that I have way too much in the sewing/craft room and I really need to work on using things up. So the next month other then finishing off the knitted blanket (if I don't get it done this week) and finishing the embroidered quilt block I am working on, sewing like a mad woman will be taking place and evenings will be spent working on the tied rug. 

After the decluttering and the straightening up, I put a new bound edge on the placemats. I am still finding that something (other than all the different sizes) that is bothering me. But it really is a learning process. No weaving will be happening until I manage to get a few other things cleared out. 

I already see that the next few months will consist of me doing all I possibly can to shop at home, clear things out, and get items made to be given as gifts or perhaps try and sell at some point in time. It isn't at all frugal to purchase things and then let them sit. Procrastination is a big problem with me, and it will be something to be worked on this year.

Off to visit you all while waiting for our supper to cook.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

How in the heck did this month go by so quickly. 

I will share a few pictures with you of what I have been doing. There is lots more being accomplished, but I won't bore you with what has been happening.

More stripes done on the rug. Getting very close to being ready to wash, block and sew some hems on.

Calendula salve made. Mint infused oil started.

Five eggplant parma made. We had one for supper last night and the rest are in the freezer. 

I ordered and got an attachment for my vacuum sealer and now I can do jars. I have done a couple and am totally amazed at how well it works. I will be doing lots more of my dry storage this way, especially my herbs. 

I have frozen beans, and carrots today. Worked on getting the budget up to date (under on almost every line, except for groceries). Made saskatoon pie filling, made blueberry pie filling, used up some leftovers in the fridge for our lunches and of course knit another few pairs of mitts. 

The Weather Network posted something about the Old Farmer's Almanac saying this area is going to have a very wet winter. Not snowy, but wet. To me this means lots of icy roads. Do I like icy roads? Not in the least, so I will be doing some more stocking up on dry goods and such. This does cause me to be a bit over budget on my grocery line, but I have a feeling that it is better to be stocked and off the roads. 

Off to get supper finished (things are just starting to cook) and visit you all between checking on things. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek And The Last Week Of August

 

It has been a dark and very cool day. That is probably a good thing all told as the fact is I seem to be coming down with something and have not been able to get my smaller list of household tasks and fun things as completed as I would like. 

I couldn't even weave today as it is so dark even with the lights on. I may end up getting a light to plug in and set up to use by the loom when the weather is like this. 

I did get the peppermint infused oil started, the white clover salve made, and the saskatoons made into pie filling (since that turned out I am going to use last years blueberries and make some more for the freezer). 

I may go out and wipe down the outside furniture and call my day done. 

I really can't get sick as we leave on our get away in a little less than two weeks and I want to be able to hike and see all that the Cypress Hills has to offer. I also can't get sick as the garden is coming fast and furious and needs to be processed as much as possible over the next bit of time. I am also a bit worried as Covid is once again rearing its ugly head in our area. More and more cases are being reported. I don't need to catch that again and so when we are out and around others I will definitely be masking once again

The good (perhaps only good thing) about feeling blah is that I do slow down and rest between tasks. 

I purchased something online today to use with my FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I store a great deal of dry goods in canning jars and there have been a few times where I was unable to use the items up before they became "old" tasting. The item I bought is an attachments that will pull the air out of the jars and seal them. I am hoping that will help cutting down with waste. It will also make storing things like dehydrated fruit chips and veggies so much easier. 

Supper is going to be very easy tonight. I will be making Chicken a la King and since it has loads of extra veggies in it (diced onion, diced celery, and frozen peas) I should not have to make any sides. 

Off to visit as many of you as I can before supper is ready.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

After a night of tossing and turning due to back pain, I have been taking it a bit easier today. I did get all the tasks done, but made sure I had plenty of rest between each. Since I can't sit for long, I made sure to do some walking around the house as well. My thoughts are another weather change is coming up (looked a bit ago and we are forecast to get some rain). 

Sky was dark and overcast today, so no embroidery was done. Having to get up and down often, kind of makes that difficult. I did manage to get some rows of knitting done, and a bit of extra cleaning (where I did not have to bend over). Dang back pain!!!

A list of items has been made and will be added to as things we will need to stock up on when I can find them on sale. Now if I can just get Harvey to mark off when he takes something out of the pantry to snack on I will be extremely happy. Right now I am going through and removing things for him. Bad Jackie, he is never going to learn if I keep doing this.

I was going to make the leftover pork into hash for supper tonight, but I found some frozen stir fry veggies that need to be used so I will be making that instead. There is always enough left over for a second meal. 

Bread crumbs were made from the bits and bobs of leftover bread, and I even cubed up the last bit of the loaf that was getting a bit dry and made croutons. Pulled the leftover rice out of the fridge and made rice pudding for our desserts the next little while. 

I am getting much better at using things up that are taking up room in my fridge. Still have to amalgamate a few things into one jar, but there has been some forward movement on that as well. 

Hmmm, wonder if one can amalgamate jars of peanut butter as for some reason two jars of smooth are open. Guess I could make peanut butter cookies to use up one of the jars.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal 

Once again even though we had snow most of the weekend, and again yesterday, the week has speed past. In just two weeks we will be in the city for my cancer check up. The year has gone by quickly, but not quickly enough for that particular session. Then in about 4 weeks I have to go back up and get the results. 

So what frugal and thrifty things have been happening on the Phillips homestead.

Harvey used items in his workroom to build a table to do his puzzles on. Well this table goes on top of the other table he ordered but with the edging he put on he is able to do the puzzles much easier.

Since the weather was so crappy we did not drive any where for a number of days. The only driving was to the vehicle dealership to get the oil changed and the estimate on the repair. They gave us a free cleaning as well. Free is good.

Went out for coffee with a friend at their home a couple of times. Free coffee is always welcome to me.

I repaired a seam on a nightgown.

I cleaned some cupboards and made an inventory of what I have and now know what I need to purchase when the items are on sale.

Saved the elastics from the asparagus. They are so nice and wide.

Fixed the waistband on a pair of Harvey's boxers.We

Worked on using up all leftovers for our lunches. 

Hung clothes on the lines downstairs.

Turning off lights in rooms not in use and making sure the lights are off on those sunny days.

Went for a walk on a couple of the days when the weather was conducive to that. Free exercise.

No spending other than the oil change.

Shoveling the snow for more exercise.

Wearing an apron when cooking or doing messy tasks around the house. 

Reusing plastic ziplock bags whenever possible.

So that's about all I can remember right now. Hopefully the new frugal habits stick.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Midweek

 I have spent lots of time staying home and trying to get as much done this month as humanly possible.

This week I finished one of the blankets for the girls of Kurt's friends. Little girls like sparkle, or at least I hope they do.

I have started the second blanket. Still sparkly, but in shades of gold and brown. I will need to add a contrast colour in order to make it large enough and I found a shades of brown, cream and orange that should work. 

I did make the lavender salve but didn't get a picture before putting it away. Bad thing it is the same colour as the dandelion salve. Must make labels for it.

I started my oregano infused oil.

In a couple of weeks I will be turning this oil into salve as well. I also found a recipe for sage infused oil which can also be made into a salve for cuts and bruises. I will probably start that right after the oregano infused oil is ready. Should be able to get that made before we leave on our cruise.

Instead of making sachets with this harvest of dried lavender, I made lotion bars. Perfect to rub on dried hands and cracked heels this winter. I will be harvesting more lavender tomorrow so those sachets are still going to be made.

I have an overabundance of green peppers right now, so the four that were in the fridge have been dehydrated.

I know I will be adding to this as the harvest season progresses.

I have been picking in the garden as well. No pictures of the tomatoes or beans but here are cukes, peppers, and another rather large eggplant.

I will need to get out early tomorrow to harvest the lavender, and more from the garden. I see there are some more beans that need picking, and those chokecherries at the end of the street are now ripe. 

Today I spent sometime researching our ship and what the weather could be like when we are on our cruise. I think I just might add an umbrella to the packing. September is Alaska's rainy month.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

Still not feeling my best, but at least I am not aching all over today, and while I did not have the best of sleeps last night, I still managed to rest.

So what thrifty things have been happening here on the Phillips homestead. 

Mostly just the usual with the added walking outside a bit more.

I have also been saving the unwritten portions of mail we receive once again and stapling them into note pads to use with phone calls. They usually aren't big enough for my biweekly shopping trips but are great for using by the phone. 

Hubby always leaves a bit of water in his glass and I have been using that plus a bit more to water my plants once a week. I save the water in a jar throughout the week.

I cut up some old unmatched pillow cases that were slightly worn into rags. 

Still using up bits and bobs of yarn. This time making mittens for school children.

Chopped up some celery that was getting a bit old and put it in the fridge freezer.

Used the ham bone to make ham broth.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Week, Oh My

 

We missed the rain that Regina got, or at least I think so and so I went for a bit of a walk this morning. I am hopeful that all the ice will be gone from the roads very soon. In looking ahead at the weather forecast...the snow/rain mix for next week that was predicted is no longer there. Really great, especially as it was supposed to occur the day before we need to travel for my specialist appointment. 

I got the outsides of my kitchen cupboards washed with Murphy's Oil Soap and oiled with Lemon Oil. They look so nice and shiny now. I really need to do that a bit more often. 

I also got many of the pictures from my phone moved over to the computer. Still have a few to do, but I will get more moved tomorrow.

This is the Prayer shawl/blanket I have been working on for one of Kurt's good friends. I have actually become a friend of hers as well. In fact I may have adopted her. She is a wonderful artist, very talented, and is struggling with quite a few health issues. I will be mailing it up to Kurt to give to her early next week.

Now I think I mentioned how I seemed to have inherited all Mom's crafty things when she left us many years ago. I don't often do stamped embroidery, unless it is something she left. I actually finished off a set of sugar bag dishtowels for my niece for a shower gift that Mom had started. I have done a few tablecloths which I use regularly and a couple of dresser scarves. This week I decided to see what was left in the box. 

I pulled out what I thought was two sets of quilt blocks. Well, it turned out to be three sets!!! I decided that perhaps I should work on these. So, I cut apart one set of 15 and started to embroider today.

This is how far I have gotten.

This is going to be a great deal of work, but on cloudy days should keep me occupied. I believe that Mom was going to do them and get me to make three different quilts. At the time there

were only three other females in the family. My sister, her daughter and myself. I am not sure who to give them to now as my brother has three daughters. I will just have to think about that a bit more. 

I will also consider this a bit of decluttering and using things up in the sewing/craft room. Something that is definitely needed at this point in time.

There is another set of different quilt blocks in the box as well as a couple of dresser scarves and I think enough sugar bags to do at least 5 sets of dish towels. Could keep me busy for a very long time. I don't do hand embroidery as quickly as I used to. 

Still using items up from the fridge freezer and the chest freezer. Today I am making a curry and am using up a package of frozen tomatoes, the leftover chicken that I didn't use yesterday, and some tortillas that have been in the fridge freezer for awhile. My curry will be going into a wrap kind of thing. Served with the leftover salad it should fill us up nicely

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Wind up Saturday

 

We had a lovely day today. After a bit of rain early this morning, the skies cleared, the sun came out and we had a sun shine, warmish day (at least for this time of year).

I managed to get most of my household tasks done well before 10 this morning and so decided to put on my cleats and go for a walk. Loved it. Fresh air is always so invigorating. 

Back home and did some knitting (which I will continue tonight), put my knitting projects into bags so I can pull them to work on, and just had a very lazy day overall. 

Lists made of things that we should take care of around the house this year. I will make a new one next year and again the year after. That should see all done.

Tomorrow I will start the list of what needs to be decluttered. I think if I do a bit at a time, I can manage better. The only thing I am really concerned about is my books.... Wonder if I could scan them and then put them on a thumb drive. Or at least I could do my favourite books that way.

Still working on using things up from freezer and fridge. I am hopeful that I will have things very much under control. I just hate the way things got out of control over the last six months or so. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I spent most of this past week sewing, and cleaning/organizing the kitchen cupboards. The linen closet also got a going through.

But today was a bit different. I decided to try my hand at a bit of batch cooking. Really it feels like I was cooking most of the day, and when I mentioned that to Harvey he laughed and said I actually had. I did take a little bit of time off to phone my youngest brother and I actually went out into the cold to visit a neighbour for coffee. So all told up until just before supper was finished I had about 2 1/2 hours of not mixing or chopping, cooking or baking. 

So what did I make today....

As soon as I got up (well needed a cup of coffee first) I got out all the ingredients I was going to need for the days cooking.

I started a loaf of bread in my machine first. Here is the end product.

While that was baking I threw the 2 chicken carcasses, some black pepper corns, water, celery and onion into a large pot. Started to make chicken stock.

As that bubbled and started to make my kitchen smell even better, I started my next adventure in cooking.

A totally new recipe and one I do hope we enjoy.

The beginnings of Chickpea Curry. That also added another lovely smell to the kitchen.

I ended up with three containers of the chicken stock and two containers of the curry.

I had to do a wash up at this point as I had run out of a few utensils that I needed for the next items I planned on making. Once things were clean, I started up once again. 

First up was meat sauce for spaghetti. 

I managed to get three containers of this for the freezer as well. 

I then phoned my brother and talked to him for almost an hour. 

After that I mixed up some pumpkin muffins. 

Twenty-four pumpkin muffins which now are wrapped in groups of two and then put in a larger air tight bag and placed in the freezer.

Lastly I made what we were going to have for supper, putting it in with the muffins for the last 15 minutes they were baking and then turning the oven down. 

Sweet and sour ribs, served over leftover rice. This made us a meal for tonight and I have this leftover.

We will be having this remainder in a couple of days. 

I was going to bake some cupcakes or perhaps a cake, but I ran out of steam. I may do that tomorrow and use my toaster oven rather than the big oven. 

I will need to figure out if I prefer doing this type of batch cooking rather than just cooking extra if I make stew, chili or other such meals. 

Still I used up the celery from the crisper, an onion, the chicken carcasses from the fridge freezer, some frozen tomatoes, the coconut milk from the pantry, the canned chickpeas from the pantry, three jars of frozen homemade tomato sauce, 2 pkg of frozen pumpkin, and a package of frozen chopped orange peppers. This does not include the hamburger (ground beef), ribs, or chocolate chips (they needed using so I put them in the pumpkin muffins, instead of raisins). 

Things used up and made into new meals for another time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saving And Recycling

 Ahhh, middle of the week and things while cold outside are toasty warm inside.

So what have I been up to so far this week.

Using leftover scraps of clothing that I had cut into squares, and leftover fabric pieces that were too small to do anything with, to make a quilt. I am also using various colours of thread to hand quilt it and rid myself of some of those almost empty spools of thread. I should finish the hand quilting tomorrow or the next day and then will search for some binding fabric... I do have some grey that I could cut into strips if I don't want too much contrast.

Many years ago as a young child, I stuck an orange seed into one of my Mom's plant pots and amazingly it grew. So last spring I decided to try my hand at this once again. Since it seems like oranges no longer have seeds in Canada I stuck some lemon seeds in a pot. Watered them and waited. Well they grew and I repotted them and took them outside where they continued to grow. I brought them in at the beginning of fall and they are still growing by leaps and bounds. Wonder if I will get any lemons or even the blossoms. They do give a lovely touch of green in the living room. 

The celery in the crisper was no longer...crisp. So I cut off the root, and the leaves. Put those in the backyard for the bunny that is living under the deck. Stuck it in a bowl of cold water and it crisped back up beautifully. I used some in our tuna melts at supper, and the rest has been wrapped in foil and put back in the crisper. 

So that is how my day has been going, and I am going to head back to my chair and using the recycled cotton yarn work on knitting more dish cloths. A perfect end to a lovely day.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

And Winter Will Arrive

 I don't want to admit this, but winter is supposed to arrive sometime this evening or overnight. We won't be getting as much snow as some areas of Saskatchewan, and hopefully it won't stick around for long, giving us a few more days or weeks of cold but not white days.

My back still feels a bit funny, but is getting a bit better as this day has progressed. I am thinking that I will message the other leaders and tell them I won't be there tomorrow. I would like to give it one more day of not sitting for extended periods of time. At least at home I can get up and walk for a bit when the aching begins.

I did manage to do a bit of cleaning in the basement to help Harvey clean out one section. This is the section where my totes of yarn are stored.... I did manage to empty one tote and now I am down to 7 totes instead of 8. This storage does not include some plastic storage drawers up in my sewing/craft room, that also are full of yarn. I think I might have turned into my mother as she had bags and bags of yarn, which of course as the only knitter in the family I inherited. I always say no more yarn purchases, but this time I really think I need to stick to that. But on the good side, at least one tote was emptied.

Still using things up and enjoying the empty places in the fridge and freezers. I was going to make turkey veg soup tonight, but ended up using up more of the leftover roast beef making Beef Veg soup. I have three containers cooling on the counter and will be putting them in the freezer soon. Plan on making the Turkey soup tomorrow and using up the turkey legs as well as stock. More ready meals in the freezer. And if the weather is miserable I can at least enjoy the smell of homemade soup.

Well off to do some more knitting. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 Still in the deep freeze here. Wind chills are brutal and Harvey's truck will not start. Tomorrow he plans on phoning CAA to get them to come and give him a boost. He doesn't want to use our car to boost the truck just in case he ends up draining the battery in the car as well. 

What thrifty things have I been up to since last Tuesday. Hmmm.

I have continued baking bread. The new recipe is turning out wonderfully.

I mended a pair of Harvey's pj bottoms and a seam in a t-shirt that he wears to sleep in.

I have registered for a free Zoom class on annuals for this Thursday.

I made my felt circles to go between my pots to save them from getting more scratches.

Used up three skeins of yarn finally. I made a scarf, a cowl and another evening poncho (which I will need to fix as I sewed something wrong). 

I have also been using up items from the freezer and making sure nothing goes to waste. 

So another week is slowly going by. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

Well it hasn't been a thoroughly thrifty week, but some of the things I spent money on will be thrifty buys as the winter progresses.

I bought some new thermal lined curtains which should help our power bill this winter. Keeping the heat in and the cold out is a thrifty practice.

I fixed the hem on one set of drapes, and the old dining room drapes (thermal lined) were moved into the bedroom Kris uses when he is home. The drapes I fixed were put back up in the sewing/craft room until I can find a pair of thermal drapes that I like.

I have cut the leftover scraps of cotton into squares to make a couple more quilt tops. I might even get a bit more artistic this time around.

Beeswax wrappers have been made today. The first couple were slightly over waxed, but I hope to fix that in the near future. 

The leftover ham was packaged up and will be used to make other wonderful meals this month and next month. Some was even bagged up to be used for Harvey's sandwiches at lunch.

Stocking up is coming along nicely. I still have to get batteries (just a few packages of C and D sized), as well as dishwasher soap and some more cans of fruit.

I have managed to cook some large batches this week and the extra has been stored in containers in the freezer downstairs.

Baked beans were made and also stored in containers in the large freezer.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Wow March already, time flies by. I suppose the excitement and worry during the month of February had a great deal to do with the whole time flying by thing.

I seem to have a bit more time now that Kris is back in his apartment (though I will be traveling up to Regina on Friday to spend a day and night with him) and am slowly managing to get caught up on the little things around the old homestead.

Don't worry I managed to catch up on some larger scale items as well.

On to the menus for the week.

Sunday

This was roast chicken with the remainders frozen in bags to be used later on in the week and month. I served it with roasted potatoes, and roasted carrots.

Monday

A bag of leftover ham will be used to fashion a meal. I am thinking Ham Pasties so I can use up some puff pastry and have a couple of pasties left for a meal on Wednesday.

Tuesday

Taking a package of the leftover chicken from Sunday and trying something new.

Wednesday

Using up the leftover ham pasties. I will make a salad to go along with them.

Thursday

Since I need to be at the church fairly early today to help set up for bible study I am pulling some Lazy Cabbage Rolls from the freezer for our meal.

Friday

I will be in Regina this evening so I will leave instructions on Harvey having fish sticks (don't care for them, but he loves them) and fries (will buy a bag of frozen fries so he does not have to make his own). I wonder if he will follow directions.....

Saturday

I should be back today and if Harvey did not eat the fish sticks we will have them tonight. If he did I will make hotdogs and serve them with some coleslaw.

Sunday

Beef roast, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and onions, as well as a tossed salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.