Saturday Roundup

It has actually been a very busy week, phone calls to return, garden to pick and process, working on knitting and sewing projects for the month (not really getting much completed, but as I finished one today, perhaps I will be able to concentrate on getting a few others done), and of course the volunteer work as well. Who ever said that being retired would give a person more time.

Slowly the garden is being taken up. The last of the beans were picked and eaten earlier this week. We are still getting tomatoes and cucumbers. The potatoes and onions will be dug up once we have a couple of nice days in a row so they can be washed and dried in the sun. Then they will be stored in the cold room.

Harvey has wine, and beer bubbling away in the basement. One batch of wine has been bottled (I need to make labels for it) and one that will be bottled within the next couple of days. 

The carpet and furniture is mostly removed from the living room. Just waiting for a call to remove the last few items.

I am almost finished my library books and am looking forward to getting some new reading material. 

I realized that this Bible Study is going to more or less use up all my time on Thursdays. My meal plan will have to change accordingly. We will have a great many more crock pot or Instant Pot meals on those days. There just isn't time for cooking something on the stove. Good thing is that the study only lasts 6 weeks. This means we will be finished on the 24th of next month. My next volunteer experience starts the week after. Harvey and I will be delivering Meals on Wheels.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

It has been a better week for frugal matters here on the old homestead.

1. Harvesting from the garden. I even managed to freeze a few bags of tomatoes this week as well as some onions, potatoes, and green peppers.

2. A friend dropped off a box of Roma tomatoes for me to try. She says they make lovely soup, tomato sauce and I bet they make a great salsa as well. Just have to see what I can manage to make out of this box. Pretty sure that soup to be frozen is at the top of the list.

3. Bought a new jacket for the spring and fall. My old one was pretty ratty and stained. Just happened to see this one at the end of a rack in Walmart for $7.00. Regular price was $50.00.

4. Saved $11.63 on my grocery bill with sale prices and coupons (not too many of those right now).

5. Using up fabric and wool from my stashes to keep myself busy.

It seems as if I am back in my frugal groove. However I will soon have to lock myself in the sewing/craft room to get some projects completed.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

Today has been very busy. This Bible Study that I have said I will help with is going to take up a great deal of time. There are 5 weeks left and I don't know how I am going to be at 2 sessions every Thursday. I may have to redo my menus to incorporate a slow cooker meal on those days. The other thing is I don't know if I am really suited to being a leader. The study is so fast paced and the group that I was with tonight didn't get a chance to share all their answers to the various questions. Still something that gets me out of my comfort zone could end up being very good for me.

The weather has been wonderful the past couple of days. I have managed to get into my rapidly drying garden to pick a few things. Tomorrow I plan on freezing a few bags of tomatoes, they are ripening much faster than we can eat them.

My finger is healing nicely. Today I took all the bandaging off to give the injury some air, and later tonight I will cover it with another bandage so that I don't break open the newly healed skin. It is still badly bruised, and kind of numb, but at least I don't feel a pulsing any longer.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thirifty Tuesday

Short post tonight as it is very late and I have a fairly large bandage on my one finger that makes typing very difficult (will tell the story tomorrow). It also makes cooking difficult so there have been a few changes to the menu. Thrifty changes however in that I am using things up in my freezer. I will just have to do a batch cook closer to my surgery time. 

Perhaps my most thrifty move this week is the using up of lots of denim squares piecing together another quilt top. This one will be for outside around the fire pit on cooler evenings.

I also managed to use up a couple of bobbins and a spool of thread. Hopefully more will be used up once I start sewing the pinned denim together.

I am hoping this finger heals quickly so I can harvest the garden tomatoes and get a few bags frozen by the weekend. It is not thrifty in the least to let them spoil on the vine or in the bowl.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Wow, the middle of the month already. Where on earth does the time go. Soon our garden and my flower boxes and pots will need to be put to sleep for the winter.

My menus for this week are:

Monday

Salmon cakes (though this could get a bit fancier as I have some phyllo pastry in the fridge that needs using), fried leftover potatoes from last nights roast meal, and the remains of the coleslaw.

Tuesday

Leftover roast beef, probably will do something along the lines of a BBQ sandwich type thing. Served with a tossed salad.

Wednesday

Porkchops, creamed potatoes, mixed veggies, and the remains of the tossed salad.

Thursday

Stew and dumplings.

Friday

Lazy perogies with lots of fried onions and a bit of sour cream. Perhaps some raw veggies and dip on the side.

Saturday 

Clean out the fridge night (though I have a feeling this could happen twice this week and my menu will change accordingly).

Sunday

Roast Chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and a salad.

Lunches will as usual consist of leftovers, or sandwiches. 

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Today was really warm. I am so glad that I got out walking early, still worked up a sweat though. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. Then the rains and slightly cooler temperatures will come back.

Things are getting back to normal around here after our trip, and I am enjoying being caught up. Still the cucumbers are becoming a bit of a problem. Pretty sure the neighbours are tired of me dropping surprise bags on their front steps, but I don't want them to go to waste.

I have started to count my steps every day and have been doing not too badly. There are days where I actually manage to get more steps in than I thought I would. Then there are those days where getting those 10,000 steps in pretty darn difficult.

Working on some of those projects that were planned for this month and hopefully have more finishes than I have managed over the last little while. I am working on the embroidery of the tea towels, pinning together another quilt top and getting ready to sew that one up as well. I would love to have the two quilt tops done, but meetings are starting, and prayer shawl ministry will begin once again. I will also be busy on Thursdays for awhile being a leader for our new Bible Study on prayer. I think I just might have over extended myself for the next 6 or so weeks.

Perhaps an update on

is in order. I have managed to remove 405 items from the house (this does not include using up fabric or the scrap fabric in the quilts I am making) this year. I may just manage to remove the 500 items that I want to reach this year. I hope that I can manage to rid myself of some of Kurt and Kris's many items they have left behind over the years.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Day Three and Some Photos of the Night Before

Sunset on the second night. 

There was live entertainment outdoors at one of the eating establishments/lounges. They were very good and we enjoyed our short time watching and listening.

We didn't spend much time listening as we had a big day planned for hiking.

I got up in the morning and after a cup of coffee went out for my morning walk. To my surprise there was a great deal of fog over the water.

By the time I got down to the beach much of the fog had lifted. At first all you could see was the tip top of the mast on the sailboat.

Still the day became sunny and warm. After Harvey finished a few cups of coffee we were off on our first hike of the day.

We decided to do the Arrowhead hike. This hike was mostly through the forest and really was pretty easy overall. There were a few places (uphill) that I was very glad to have my walking sticks. We finally reached a lookout area and saw this....

An open meadow!! I bet this is filled with wildlife, which of course we didn't have the luck to see.

And what is a hike without the obligatory picture of mushrooms or fungus. I am always amazed at how many types we see that I have never seen before.

After lunch I managed to convince Harvey to go on another hike. This one was not too far from our 

cabin (well relatively close).

We were planning on going in one direction but ended up taking a bit longer route. You see a smell was emanating from the trail in front of us, and on looking down we saw lots of bear droppings. Not wanting to run into a bear on the trail, we back tracked and took a different route.

This route followed the shore line of the lake south wards.

Just one of the many sailboats that were on the water that day. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.