Thursday Tidbits

 Last night I ended up taking a couple of pain pills in the middle of the night. I think it was from standing chopping, mixing, and doing a bit too much sewing (not as much as I would have liked however).

So what interesting things have been happening around here since we have been home.

We finished off the small redo in the bathroom. The tub skirt, made of fiberglass, had a really large crack in it. So something needed to be done to make the bathroom look wonderful once again.

First a board was cut and fitted into the slot. 

Then Harvey glued ceramic tile (couldn't get the large tiles though) and grouted it to the board. We then hauled it back upstairs and he fitted it in the slot. Added some plastic waterproof baseboard and we were done. Much less expensive than having to buy a new tub that's for sure.

I got all the fabric cut out of the clothing my friend brought over and made small piles on the sewing/craft room on the floor.

Here is what I managed to get that was more or less suitable.

I have managed to get more than this completed now. I hope to be sandwiching it tomorrow afternoon and binding it on Sunday.

I think I might have gotten a bit carried away yesterday processing the garden produce.

First I made Salsa from the ripe tomatoes. 

Another 5 jars added to the five already made and in the canning area of my pantry.

Then I moved on to my next task...since I now had a working oven.

Four more tinfoil meals of Eggplant Parma are now residing in the freezer for use this winter.

Lastly it was time to use up those leeks.

A lovely creamy pot of Potato Leek Soup. We still have two portions that I put in a container and slipped in the freezer. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 First off I finally have my oven back!!! So happy that I used it to make the chicken casserole tonight just to try it out.

Now what thrifty things took place on the old homestead this week.

I line dried every thing and I hope that the weather holds for a bit longer so I can do so a few more times.

Windows have been open during the day. While it has been fairly warm, the breezes are cool and are keeping the house cool as well. The furnace has not been turned on once this month.

Taking my usual early morning walks and have been managing the 10k steps with ease.

The garden is pretty much done. Now I just have to make more salsa, and eggplant parma.

Getting rough idea of how much milk, how many eggs, and how much produce/fruit I need to purchase to last the two weeks. I will have to go and get some thing week, but will be able to purchase enough next time I do a big shop to last that much longer. 

I have gotten better at using up leftovers in other meals. Very little waste this week.

Everbody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Well waiting on the appliance repair guy, but it is getting late and more and more likely he will not be coming. Though one never knows with this fellow.

Monday

Leftover sweet and sour ribs, leftover rice, and coleslaw.

Tuesday

Leftover Chicken, I may pull down the toaster oven and try making a small casserole in it. We will have the remains of the coleslaw as well.

Wednesday

Supposed to be Eggplant Parma, but not going to try without an oven. Instead I will make potato leek soup (didn't get it made last week). Perhaps some ham salad sandwiches with a smaller bag of leftover ham.

Thursday

I am really hoping the oven is fixed by now and I will make a sausage casserole. Days are getting cooler and we will be wanting hearty meals once again (not that most of my meals aren't hearty). Probably fresh veggies and dip as well.

Friday 

Breakfast for supper. I will be making pancakes. 

Saturday

Left over sausage casserole.

Sunday

A bag of leftover ham warmed up. Served with mashed potatoes, carrots, and an assortment of fresh veggies.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

It has been raining off and on for most of the afternoon. I am getting to the point where I want to scream out the window..."Rain and get it over with already."

I am not too sure if it is the weather or something else that is causing me angst today. I can't seem to concentrate on anything for very long. Hopefully it is just election worries and nothing else.

On to an update of my goals for this month (only 4 days late).

1.  Cut the clothing my friend bought that belonged to her Dad to make a quilt for remembrance.  Done

2.  Start the quilt and finish it.  Started and hopefully done before the end of the week.

3.  Work on T-shirt rug.  Cut up some more strips for this.

4.  Watch the Bible Study Video's and chose which one/ones I would like to lead and pick which time I will attend.  Watched the videos, but haven't notified the church of the class time I want to attend and which session I wish to lead.

5.  Work on Cross stitch.  Not done.

6.  Make Salsa. Got one batch made and hopefully another will be made this week at some point.

7. Knit two scarves.  Done, in fact I have knit 3 and started a fourth.

8.  Finish little guys prayer shawl.  Done, having a 9 hour drive one way to enjoy a holiday enabled me to get this finished.

9.  Sew labels on finished prayer shawls and drop them at the church.  Labels sewn on and now I will drop them off at the church early this week.

10.  Sandwich the quilt top that is in the sewing/craft room. Perhaps even get it quilted and bound (that could be pressing things though).  Not done

11.  Make Eggplant Parma for the freezer.  One batch made and in the freezer. Lots more on the plants so once the oven is fixed I should be able to get the last of the containers done for the freezer.

So all in all not really doing too badly. I should actually be able to start some Christmas gifts next month. Just planning on a couple of quilts for the sons, some Christmas ornaments, some coasters and perhaps some mug rugs. Those should be doable. Oh yeah, those cards need to be made as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Round Up

 First week home and really all I have done is get the house tidied, and work on a couple of projects. I feel like a sloth.

I did empty a couple more planters, transplant the succulents, dehydrate some herbs, pick the remaining cucumbers, and help Harvey with the minor reno in the bathroom. I also finished three scarves, and cut all the fabric for my friends quilt. Hopefully I can show pictures tomorrow (camera battery needs charging) and bring you all up to date on how I am doing with my goals for this month. 

Now not only have I got no oven, the coffee pot decided to stop working. Good thing we have the Keurig, cause if we didn't get our morning fix there would be problems. I think we would both be pretty darn grouchy. I don't know if we will get another one, instead I might just purchase some of those do it your self cups the next time I go shopping. As Harvey says, getting rid of the drip machine will open up some space on the counter. That is something we definitely need. 

I did some more cleaning and organizing in the sewing/craft room (the clothes my friend gave me to make the quilt were all over the floor, most were very unsuitable) so those are now in the recycle bin, and I have moved some more yarn into the living room to work on more scarves (I would like a few more completed this month). 

I might just start a list of Christmas gifts, and baking tonight as that holiday will be here very quickly. Days are rushing by.

My province has reinstated the mask mandate and by October 2nd no one who is not vaccinated will be allowed to go into events, bars, or eating establishments. Funny thing, once those were introduced on Thursday our vaccinations went up. In fact they are about 10X what they were before. We still have those who say they will never get a vaccination, and that our government has no right to ask it of us. Still small steps forward to a brighter tomorrow (now the unvaccinated can stay home...see how they like that, but they won't).

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

1.  I am trying something new this month and hopefully it will work out just fine. I will only be shopping twice this month to see if this does in fact keep costs down. It might get a bit tougher once the garden is done, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. This is something I used to do when we were first married and the grocery store was almost 30 miles away. Surely now that we are back to being only two (with the occasional visitor) I can get back to this. I am calling this my first frugal happening this week.

2.  Clothes washing is still only taking place one day a week and I hang out all that I can. I even hung out the sheets.

3.  Went through the pantry and pulled those items that need to be used up pronto. Most can be incorporated into upcoming meals.

4.  Used all leftovers (though there is soup from last night to be used in some weekend lunches).

5.  Borrowed two recipe books from Kurt and will be copying a few from each. Saves me traveling to the library to see if they even have them.

6.  Working on projects to keep me busy as well as doing some fall cleaning bit by bit (the fall cleaning that is).

7.  Saved $17.49 on groceries this week. Not as good as some other times, but enough to make me happy.

8.  Repotted some succulents and brought them into the house. Hopefully they can be repotted outside come spring. The pots were given to me by my neighbour when she left.

9.  Put $100.00 in the savings envelope and  $21.80 in the change jars.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

 

Well I thought that I would finish off the holiday photo's tonight. Then it will be back to regular scheduled programming.

The second night Harvey neeFed a nap so I attended the firepit by myself. This was a wildlife night, and if it would have been about bears (saw this one twice) I would have gone back to the cabin and read. Well this one was about our antlered and horned friends that reside in the mountains.

First off the lady spoke about our noisy friends the elk. She even brought an antler with her.

Believe it or not this antler is about 4 1/2 feet long and only took a few months to grow to this size. They regrow the antlers every year and each year they get bigger provided the bull is healthy and get enough to eat.

Next up was this antler which I am sure most will recognise.

This came from a smaller moose and that probably died at a young age.

Next up was....

A big horn ram. I was amazed at how the brain of these animals was protected from them ramming their heads together fighting over the females. Double skulled in front and the brain of the animal well cushioned. I also learned that since the horns continue growing they sometimes interfere with the rams sight. To counteract that the rams will break off the ends of their horns.

The last one was a fake mountain goat (turned out to be a puppet). While not quite what we all expected the explanation of why no horns made sense. These animals live way up in the mountains and are very shy so finding a horn or two is very difficult.

It was a wonderfully informative fire talk.

The next day we decided it was time for a hike. So we set off for one that was quite close to the cabins. 

But first the elk that were blocking our way out. We had to wait for these 5 females to leave the area before we could mosey our way onto the road.

Harvey leading the way. It was very quiet in among the trees.  Well at least until Harvey let out a huge sneeze. Boy that echoed.

The path behind us.

Lots of small hills and later on rocks and roots. However we reached a portion of the trail where the route was probably at a 75 degree angle, upwards, and covered by lots of small rocks. After gazing at it for a few minutes we decided that it was just too much for us oldies and turned around and made our way back. In actuality we walked/hiked much farther doing this.

We left the area and made our way across the road so I could take some pictures of the Athabasca River.

While this river is fairly wide at this point in it's travels the river is pretty shallow with lots of rocks and rapids.

The road continued to the east so we though we should explore further.

This monument is erected as a reminder that there was an internment camp during World War I for Ukrainian and other east Europeans. They were used to make the roads in the park. The monument is quite close to where the camp was situated. 

Traveling to the end of the road meant we got to see this lovely lake (Mystic Lake) and the Jasper Lodge across the water.

The next day we got up early had breakfast and I made up a lunch to eat on the road. We started to make our way home, of course we would be staying at Kurt's overnight before making the 9 hour journey home.

While we were driving on a lonely road just outside of the park we saw these.

A little harem of mountain sheep, though I still think they were mountain goats. 

So there was our little get away. I am actually hopeful we can take another weekend and go to Regina to take in some of the sights we never get a chance to see on our stock up trips. Perhaps later in November, or even in January/February when I have to go for my yearly check up at the OB/GYN.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.