Menu Monday

Ahh, another week closer to real spring!! Temperatures are slowly rising, the sun is shining for a bit longer each day and I am itching to get outside more. BBQ will be cleaned and used a great deal (hopefully). 

Monday

Spaghetti with meat sauce, plus a nice salad. Hopefully I can make enough to freeze some sauce for a quick warm up down the road and still have leftovers. I better pull double the ground meat out as well as two containers of tomato sauce.

Tuesday

Leftover chicken package from the freezer and since the temperature is supposed to drop a new kind of casserole could be in order.

Wednesday

Baked spaghetti along with raw veggies.

Thursday

Clean out the baked spaghetti. This time I will make a tossed salad to go along and perhaps some garlic bread.

Friday

Baked salmon, homemade fries and coleslaw. 

Saturday

Soup and sandwiches. I may make a potato soup this time or a cream of celery soup (have loads of celery that need using). Must make sure that there is enough to freeze for another meal down the road.

Sunday

Our usual roast meal. This time roast chicken with the usual accompanying veggies. 

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

It has been a lovely sunny day. The temperatures reached the mid teens and it wasn't until tonight that the sky started to cloud over. I have a few aches and pains but that could be due to a change coming up in our weather.

Yesterday I got an email asking when I could serve in one of the ministries at Mass next month, and then today I got a phone call from the head of Liturgy asking if I could help out during Holy Week and Palm Sunday. I told G that I needed to wait until after I got my test results back on the 15th before I decided anything. If I fill out the form on line the day I get home I will make the deadline for the month of May. I really do wonder where all the people are who complain about not getting enough time in their ministry are. I should not have mattered that I did not phone the head as according to those in the know we have more than enough people to fill spots.... Guess even in church some people are prone to exaggeration. 

I am really trying to draw back from serving. I am tired of feeling used (odd thing for me to say, but true none the less) and need a break. I want to do what I feel I am called to do and I no longer am sure I am called to serve as a Lector or Communion Minister, or even as Mass Coordinator. Things are becoming too much of a show for my liking.

Spent most of the day moving my wardrobe around. Now all my spring and summer clothes are out and the winter packed away. 

I have also spent some time working in the sewing room cleaning up and decluttering. Things are beginning to once again take shape.

While I did no sewing today, I pinned things together for the next quilt top and worked on my knitted prayer shawl. 

Just a lovely and laid back kind of day.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Decluttering and Using Up Some of the Stash My Challenge For April

This is the area that I am working on decluttering and using up.

I want this set of storage drawers gone, or at least move them to take the place of one set that is broken. I also want the single storage drawers and one box out as well. They are full of yarn, full skeins and balls as well as partial leftover yarn balls.

This is just a portion of the 4" squares I have collected from worn out clothing and scrap fabric. Heaven help me I may be sewing quilts and making shopping bags (only from the denim) for quite awhile.

This is mostly 2" strips. I have actually used quite a bit of this up as I have finished two quilt tops and have started a third. However it looks like there might even be 4th to be made.

The bottom drawer with still more balls of leftover yarn. And what seems to be some interfacing that needs to be put with the other interfacing.

I think I might actually have bitten off more than I can chew this month. However, I will soldier forward and get done what I can. I have many more storage drawers that need to be cleaned out so a good effort is needed over the next few months. Especially if I want to move a proper desk into the room.

I will share pictures at the end of the month to show how far I managed to get.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

1.  Watching various programs on my box. I am happy to only pay one fee instead of numerous fees (Netflix, Acorn, Prime, Brit Box) and still have wonderful programming. I might have to wait awhile for the newest programs but I love what I am getting.

2.  Using up scrap fabric and making quilt tops. Two will be for us here at home and any other's will be taken to the family reunion and put in the silent auction. Clearing things out, and removing items totally from our home.

3.  Still using up those sample sized lotions and potions. Hopefully I will have a few more cleared out soon.

4.  Tried a new recipe for leftover roast beef and Harvey really liked it. Sorry no picture taken but I will share the recipe with you all later. It managed to use up lots of bits and pieces in the fridge.

5.  Saved $1800.00 on a new treadmill. Just goes to show you all the markup on items in stores. Still it did cost us almost $1000.00 but that was much easier to swallow than the regular price. I now have the limo of treadmills residing in my basement. While this might not seem frugal it really is in our case. In order to build bone I need to walk at least 25 minutes every day at a fairly decent clip. Me, well if I am walking outside I kind of dawdle along, stopping to look at gardens or to talk to someone. The treadmill keeps me focused and working out. Not only am I building bone (at least I hope), I am also getting rid of that nasty cholesterol.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Update On Goals From Last Month and Goals For April

1.  Work on temperature blanket.  Done

2.  Work on quilt and hopefully finish it this month.  Done

3.  Knit cardigan sweater for myself.  Carried over

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.  Done

5. Work on unfinished embroidery projects.  Done

6.  Continue to make meatless meals (at least 8).  Done

7.  Continue project declutter.  Done

8.  Sew another infinity scarf from knit fabric remnants.  Done

9.  Sew three new projects for myself for both fall/winter and spring/summer.  Carried over

10.  Plant starter plants.  Done

11.  Income tax to the accountant.  Done

I really didn't do too badly at all. Though for awhile I wondered if anything would be finished.

Now on to this months goals.

1.  Knit cardigan for me.

2.  Sew three projects for myself.

3.  Alter skirts.

4.  Knit one prayer shawl.

5.  Decluttering.

6.  Work on temperature blanket.

7.  Sew 2 new quilt tops.

8.  Mount and frame more cross stitch.

9.  Tidy up sewing/craft room again.

10.  Cut out 2 more patterns.

11.  Make up stock up list.

12.  Swap out wardrobe for spring/summer clothing.

13.  Use some of the smaller balls of yarn to knit squares for a blanket.

A couple of these goals will help with my main challenge for the month. The getting rid of one set of drawers I use to store fabric strips and scraps will give me more room in the sewing/craft room. Hopefully I will manage to get everything done before spring planting hits. I already started pinning together 2" strips to make one of the two quilt tops. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

This has been a week of small thrifty moves. Nothing on a really big scale, but as we all know small moves can add up really quickly.

I am stretching smaller amounts of meat in our meals. I doubt very much that Harvey even realized all I had was 1 cup of diced meat in our supper tonight (of course it was whizzed through the food processor along with veggies so it seemed like much more). So when packaging up leftover roasts, chicken, turkey and pork I am going to have to make the packages smaller yet. That means more meals for the two of us.

I also bought a flannel nighty last week for $5.00 (regularly $20.00) and noticed that part of the seam on the yoke was coming apart. A quick little job on the sewing machine today and it is as good as new. 

The frame for my cross stitch picture was some plastic edging Harvey had in his work room downstairs.

The foam board that I used to mount said picture had some left over. This will be used to mount some smaller cross stitch pictures and some old frames will be used as well.

I found a dresser scarf I had embroidered awhile ago. Hemmed it up today and it fits perfectly in the window well of the basement bedroom/library. It will protect the surface of the sheetrock nicely.

Now on to the challenge I completed (well to the best of my ability) last month.

This is what my small chest freezer looked like at the beginning of this challenge.

And these two pictures show what it looks like now.

So very much better.

I have started this month's challenge of using up as much of the scrap fabric and 2" strips as I can. I foresee some new lap quilts coming up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

So here we are at the beginning of a brand new month, full of new opportunities. I am hoping that this month is just as wonderful as the last.

I did my monthly menu up the middle of last week. I hope to stick to it as much as possible. Things do come up which cause me to change things around (such as too many leftovers in the fridge), but I am hoping to continue using things up in both my freezers this month.

Monday

Hamburgers with lots of toppings, baked beans.

Tuesday

The leftover beef roast made into a casserole or perhaps a pasta dish that uses up some of my cherry tomatoes in the fridge.

Wednesday

Porkchops, the leftover potatoes fried up with some onion, corn and a salad.

Thursday

The leftover beef concoction (since I can't decide what I am making) along with the leftover salad. If there is no leftovers (doubtful) I will make some kind of soup to use up some of the turkey stock in the freezer.

Friday

Lazy Perogie casserole and a salad (probably kale).

Saturday

Hotdogs, pasta, and leftover salad.

Sunday 

Pork roast, and a tray of roasted veggies.

Now some updates on my various monthly projects and my new challenge for this month.

So far this year I have removed 141 more items from the house. Not bad, but I am sure I can do much better.

My challenge this month is to use up the scrap fabric I have collected over the years into useable quilts or perhaps even bags. I also want to try and use my  stash up more. All this will lead to me being able to rid the sewing/craft room of some boxes and storage drawers in preparation of moving this computer desk set up into the room.

Tomorrow I will update you on how the chest freezer challenge went. Before and after pictures will be posted.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.