Simple Living

 

Right now my simple living is decluttering, and using things up in the stashes. I think the less I have to worry about the simpler my life will be. 

So today I went through the bookcase in the living room and started clearing things out or putting items where they really belong. I think I will probably continue with this tomorrow and then move on to my closet and drawers. I really do have lots of clothes, many of which are pretty worn or I never wear anymore. Time to simplify my wardrobe, I keep thinking how wonderful it will be when I can just keep all my clothing in the closet, instead of moving it every two seasons.

I actually found the book that I used to write down my UFP's in and I am considering doing that once again. I need a record of what I need finished and the ability to cross the finished projects off or I just forget all about them. This will simplify most project finishes for me. 

Now that the weather is once again changing I really feel like drawing in and getting even more ready for the winter. There are still things that need doing around here to make our home cozy for the winter season. I would love some new heavier curtains in a few of our windows to block out the cold. I will look at the Salvation Army and the other secondhand store we have in the city. 

I just want to stay home, do my exercise indoors, and wrap up in a shawl or nice warm lap blanket. This is going to be an interesting winter as I really do not want to go anywhere.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty And Frugal Thursday

Thrifty and Frugal

Another week has gone by and we are halfway through the month already.

So what thrifty and frugal things have I been up to this week?

I managed to go two days beyond my last shopping trip which was awesome. Even got lots of items on sale (though the sale price now seems to be even higher than the old regular price).

Continued walking for free exercise.

Managed to get this new laptop at the "Black Friday" cost, plus another deduction of $140.00.

Hung more clothing on the lines downstairs.

Used up the bits and bobs of leftover roasts I had bagged and in the fridge freezer making casseroles. I hope to do that more often each month.

Saved the plastic bags that the produce comes in to use for scooping kitty litter when Kris brings Eiko to visit.

Fixed a seam on a pair of Harvey's pajamas.

Bought on sale produce and got some great deals, we should be able to have salads for a good long time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 Today I downloaded my Kobo ereader app onto this new laptop. Tomorrow it will be hopefully the printer. Slowly, slowly and I will get it done without losing my mind and getting frustrated. 

Our postal system has given a 72 hour strike notice. Just before Christmas when all the cards need to be out and winging their way to various provinces, states and countries. This is not going to be fun at all.

I have finished a few projects over the last little bit and will post pictures on my roundup post on Saturday. Pictures do need to be taken, and a couple need to be finished up. Looking forward to putting the sewing machine away and getting the loom warped and ready to go for a couple of weeks. I have a couple of very quick weaving plans in mind. Longer ones will have to wait until the Christmas season is over.

Casserole cooking happened today. I have three ham and rice casseroles made, and cooling. I will be working on the chicken ones next. Probably a big one for tonight's supper and a meal later this week, as well as a smaller one that we can have on a busy evening.

Looking ahead to the weather coming up we are being told we get the white stuff on Friday, then some rain and later a bit of sun but colder. I am surprised that winter has held off for this long. Not looking forward to what is coming, yet getting prepared and ready for the probable blizzards that will be happening. I am just so glad that we are both retired and have no place we really need to be.

Cute story. On our way to Kris's place we noticed a house for sale on his block, just down a bit from his. It looks well looked after and when we pointed it out to Kris on our way back from computer/laptop shopping, he said it had been completely redone inside and outside. He also said it could be perfect for us (Laughingly I had said this to Harvey as we passed it on our way to visit and Harvey said it was too close to Kris and perhaps Kris wouldn't like that). When I mentioned how close we would be, Kris said " I will just turn off the lights and lock the doors." I think he forgot that I have keys. LOL

I need to get the second set of casseroles ready for the oven, so I need to go. I will visit you all a bit later.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Isn't this a surprise. I thought I would get my blog post up early today. Actually I feel like it is going to be a very busy day and I didn't want to forget, which is liable to happen. There will be a few changes as we were not back home when I figured we should have been.

Monday

Leftover Chicken (or it could be turkey) made into a casserole. No salad fixings so I may just make a side veggie, or stick more veggies in the casserole. 

Tuesday

Soup and Sandwiches. I plan on using up the Butternut squash I have had sitting on the counter for awhile. It should also make almost enough for another meal I hope. I may even make some extra casseroles for the freezer using up bags of leftover roasts, chicken, and ham in the fridge freezer.

Wednesday

Leftovers from Sunday (beef casserole)

Thursday

Leftovers from Monday.

Friday

Red Lentil Curry over rice.

Saturday

Pulling the taco meat and flat breads from the freezer. We will have soft tacos. I will have been shopping so there will be fresh produce to use with the tacos.

Sunday

Roast Pork, roasted potatoes, and roasted carrots.

Lunches will be leftovers that are put aside, or sandwiches. I am the only one that eats breakfast and so that will be yogurt, toast and oatmeal now that it is getting chilly out.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

We are home now and both very tired. I was going to download some of the things that couldn't be transferred to this laptop, but I think I might just wait until I am less likely to make an error. I will however probably begin to add in last months budget items. 

I am going to have to get used to visiting the cloud for pictures and such.... Now that is something that is confusing to me. Kris says to just pretend it is my second computer. Hmmmm, not sure I will ever get used to it at all as it seems some things did not get downloaded onto this laptop from the old. I just might be pulling my hair out eventually.

I also need to get used to a smaller keyboard (not as small as the phone) and a smaller screen. What sold me on this Lenovo was the card reader. I will also be putting my old USB Hub to work (or at least I hope to do so. I am going to see if it will work with my mouse first and then move on from there. I also like the sound quality and the fact that I can plug in my phone and download the pictures straight from there. It has a plug in for that as well.

Harvey says he wants to get me a larger monitor to plug in the HDMI slot as well. Not too sure if that will keep me from gazing at the smaller screen while typing. 

These are all first world problems and I am sure I am up to the task of learning all that I can about this machine and how to get it to do exactly what I want.

Got to go and get supper started, but I hope to make a visit to each of you tonight.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Learning Curve Time

 Hello everyone! I finally have my new laptop, it is a bit smaller than the old one, the keyboard is slightly set up a bit differently but at least I can talk to all of you again without making numerous spelling errors.

Kris has the recovery going on the old laptop and both of us are hopeful that he will be able to transfer things over to this new one. 

I have lots of apps to try and get running on this machine. Mainly banking, my HomeScan app, and a couple of others that I use a great deal. 

Kris is going to set me up on the "cloud" so hopefully this mess will not happen again. 

We are staying here an extra day so that Harvey and Kris can bond watching their beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders play tomorrow. That is kind of what I hoped would happen. I will do some cleaning around Kris's home as a repayment for all his work in trying to get me up and running once again. 

Back to normal (hopefully) posts soon.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

Sorry I haven't  been posting more, or visiting all of you as much as I should be. Just using the phone is a bit of a pain, that takes me twice as long to get things done.

It has been a relatively quiet week. Mostly just working around the house, realizing that next month I will need to frugal my heart out, and use what I have for meals and crafts for Christmas. What with the water heater quiting, and the necessary tires for Harv's  truck to make it safe to drive and an over abundance of grocery purchases due to the holiday, we were over budget by a great deal.

This month we have to pay the house insurance and that went up almost $200.00. Guess we are paying for those that had damage in that last hail storm. I do know that there was hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage here. We had none though.

I did my batch cooking today and I can see why people like it. Today was just meals using ground beef, next week I will spend a day making soups and later on some casseroles using up bags of leftovers in the fridge freezer. I am hoping to cut back on cooking times and the use of the big oven. Most of what I made can be warmed up on the stove top or the toaster oven.

So, what did I make today?

I made 3 containers of meaty spaghetti sauce, a container of taco meat, 3 trays of stuffed pasta shells, 2 meatloaves, 3 trays of mushroom meatballs, and 3 containers of chili as well as enough for our supper tonight.

A great start on filling the freezer for days that I don't  want to spend all afternoon cooking.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.