Saturday Roundup

 

As is usual lately the week has sped by. Sometimes I almost wish that things would slow down just a tad. 

This week has been much the same as other weeks during this pandemic. I wear my mask when I am around others, only visit with those I know are fully vaccinated, and even those visits are kept to a minimum. 

I have been working on crafts, but really have nothing to show for it. I had to pull back my knitting once again and start over. Hopefully third time is a charm. Mind you I have gone to an even simpler pattern this third time. 

So far I haven't seen any empty shelves, but more and more I am hearing from some I trust (and really crazy things from the conspiracy theorists) that this could in fact be a problem in the near future. Sure am glad that whatever happens I will be prepared for many weeks, meals could become a bit monotonous but we could probably go for a couple of months with what we have. 

Still being prepared is more than just having food. It is having the means to cook the food, staying warm, and having enjoyment in life as well. As long as I have crafts to do, books to read, and DVD's for entertainment I will be happy. 

The shopping for two weeks at a time seems to be going not too badly. I ran out of milk on the last day, so I have bought a bit more this time. I found that I would like the occasional milk base dessert (pudding) every so often.

The old homestead has been readied for winter. The yard is ready for to sleep, leaves are off all the trees and one more going over with the lawn mower should pick all up. 

As far as a loom goes I really have no room for a big one. I would like to get one that would make rugs about 2 or 3 feet wide, but about 4 or 6 feet long or table runners. One that would either sit in front of my favourite chair, or perhaps one that would be horizontal and could be set up on my table. Leaning towards one for in front of my chair though. Good ones are a fairly high price, but I want something decent that will last for a very long time.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

The weather was very nice today. Sunny, warmish and a very gentle breeze. Perfect day for a couple of walks and for shopping.

Here are my Frugal 5 for this week.

1.  My first 2 week shopping trip went very well. So I am hoping for the same results this time around. I managed to save $27.26 on sale items and with coupons another $7.98. Not too shabby at all.

2.  Drapes open to take advantage of the sunshine and whatever solar heat it produces.

3.  Three loads of clothing on the lines down in the laundry room. I washed clothes as usual and always use a cold water rinse.

4.  Cut up leftover knit fabric scraps into strips for the rug (run out of t-shirt strips except for a few bundles left. I definitely need more and getting rid of the small scraps from other knitting projects is recycling at its best.

5.  Finally sold the tire rims for the price we were asking. Cleared space before the snow falls and made back a bit of cash.

May as well make it my Frugal Six....

6.  Put $100.00 of my leftover allowance of $110.00 in my savings envelop. Keeping my fingers crossed that soon I will have enough to buy a loom.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thursday Tidbits

I am a bit late posting tonight, but I joined a Zoom dance meeting. I have always talked about adding another layer of exercise to my routine and will now be dancing for 1/2 hour every Thursday night. The time flew by and I really enjoyed myself. I am looking forward to next Thursday.

We are half way through the Bible study and people are becoming a bit more relaxed and are starting to ask questions. This time the session went the full 90 minutes. Mind you Father was there and gave answers to the harder questions.

I have been knitting on the blanket and think I just might have purchased enough yarn, but to make sure when I go shopping tomorrow I will purchase one more skein. Extra can always be used up making more scarves.

We checked into some new health insurance and the cost would be about $200.00 more a year and perhaps not give us as good coverage as we get now.

I think I have figured out what and how much to purchase in the way of groceries for two weeks. I might just buy another 2 liters of milk so I can make pudding or other types of cooking that call for milk. I did purchase enough for us to drink (last of the jug was used at supper tonight) but not enough to make the occasional pudding and we do love our pudding in this house.

The leftover chicken meal I made was wonderful, Harvey really liked it. So I thought I would share the recipe with you all.

This is from the Pillsbury Cookbook.

Easy-on-the Cook Chicken Divan

16 oz. package frozen broccoli

2 cups diced cooked leftover chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup mayo

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

2 tbsp. melted butter or margarine

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12X8 baking dish. Cook broccoli as directed and drain well. Arrange the broccoli in the prepared dish. Layer chicken over top. Mix together the soup, mayo and lemon juice until well blended. Spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. In small bowl combine the bread crumbs and melted butter. Toss to coat. Sprinkle this over top of the cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

 

The weather has not been very nice here the past few days, so I have been doing a great deal of walking inside the house. Not as fun, but at least I am keeping it thrifty as far as exercise.

Watched a few series on Disney+. Our youngest gave us a subscription for Christmas. Boy is there lots to choose from. 

Reading free downloaded books on my ereader.

Using up leftovers which keeps the fridge fairly cleared out.

Using a bit less meat in casseroles.

Only drove once this past week to Bible study.

Collected some more twist ties.

Baked bread twice this week.

Cutting up some knit fabric scraps for the t-shirt rug.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Time for me to post my weekly menu. Milk is getting lower than I thought it would, but we do have orange juice that can be drank for supper if need be. Guess I was out a tiny bit on the amount of milk I need to purchase for two weeks, keeping fingers crossed though.

Monday 

Turkey veg noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I used some stock from the freezer and a small bag of turkey meat from the fridge freezer.

Tuesday

Leftover roast chicken made into a casserole. Just have to find a recipe the peaks my interest.

Wednesday

Sweet and Sour Ribs, rice and broccoli. 

Thursday

This will either be the leftover chicken casserole, or hot dogs, fries, and coleslaw.

Friday

Tuna patties, mashed potatoes, and brown beans from the freezer downstairs.

Saturday

Leftover ribs and rice as well as peas.

Sunday

Pulling out some leftover ham and making a casserole. More than likely Harvey's favourite.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Just a quick post today as I promised you all some pictures of finished projects.

Today has been more or less a day of playing catch up and working on a few things. Of course the weather has worked perfectly in allowing this to occur. Cold, rain one minute, snow the next, who would even want to be out in that type of weather. Certainly not me and I am so happy that most outside jobs have been completed for the winter. 

So what did I do today?

First off I decided to get at least 10 Christmas cards made this morning.

Just a simple horse, but in looking at these now I wish I would have used red card stock. Oh well the pearl/glittery white does look a bit like snow. I hope to get a few more of a different pattern done over the next week. Another 10 or 12 will give me enough for special people this Christmas.

Next I worked in the ends of yarn on the scarves. The grey ones are not showing up very well at all. I just used a simple moss stitch as we call this in Canada, I think it has another name in the United States.

Then it was time to clip threads on the quilt. Here it is finished and ready to bundle up in a Christmas bag.

One gift down and a number to go. Hope I manage to get everything completed.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

I am finding it very hard to believe that another full week has gone by since my last Frugal Friday post. Where are the days going????

I must admit that I did not get the binding started on the quilt, but will do so tomorrow. I helped Harvey level the fridge which consisted of me removing items from the interior and on top, and standing on the pry bar so he could get the leveling wheels turning. Problem, those wheels would just not turn so now Hwe have small blocks of wood under it. Then I got to load his arms with all his tools (still trying to figure out why he needed so many, most of which he did not use) and finally restore the fridge items to the now level fridge. Used up a bit of my quilting time.

So what frugal things have been happening around here.

1.  Hung up as much as I possibly could on the lines downstairs.

2.  Used up all those leftover meals from the freezer in the fridge.

3.  Only drove once this week.

4.  Walked almost every day for exercise, and while I did not always reach 10K steps, did the best that I could.

5.  Happily with the drapes open during the day and then closed when the sun goes down the furnace has not cut in until 9 or 10 at night. It has been below freezing so we really need the furnace on right now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.