Saturday Roundup

 

Not much of a roundup for this week. I am still working on getting projects completed so I can put together the loom. Too many projects on the go makes Jackie go a bit crazy. I am however being distracted by a rather large box. My hands are itching to learn how to weave.... Must get other things done first, as I keep reminding myself. So many projects and so little time. So many new things to learn. Bad Jackie better concentrate on getting those projects done for this month before starting something new. Ladies, my first weaving project will more than likely be either a scarf or a tea towel. Something small before I work on rugs and woven fabrics. Something probable very plain as well, one or two colours in stripes probably. Hmm, I could do a shawl as well as that should be very simple.

Not much happening in the garden either. It has been rainy the last two days, and rather cool. That is not conducive to planting anything. I am hoping that towards the end of the upcoming week things will be moving along outdoors. 

I am managing to clear things out of the fridge and freezers though as well as cook with my appliances even more. Harvey is even talking about having more meatless meals and I believe that we will do that more this summer. If not completely meatless at least meals that use less meat, and more main dish salads will be served as well. I am making even more of our treats, which in the long run will be a big savings. Muffins make a lovely breakfast or a snack, and in clearing out the chest freezer I found lots of shredded zucchini, blue berries, rhubarb and apple sauce which definitely need using up. I see lots of loaves, muffins and berry coffee cakes in our future.

Off to get supper on the table and visit as many of you as I can before supper is ready to be served.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Missing In Action

 

Sorry for not posting or visiting the last couple of days. I became very surprised that my loom was traveling as quickly as it was from British Columbia and so I decided I needed to get some extra tasks done.

I have been working on filling baskets, and pots out side, and still have more to do. I am getting there though. There was some mending that my friend asked me to do, so that was accomplished as well. 

Messages needed to be sent to both our sons about the football game Harvey wanted Kris to pick up tickets for, and then I had to let Kurt know we had both given him the wrong date for said game.

I finished one purse, cut out the second (madly sewed that today and now it just the lining sewn in), and ironed all the quilt blocks. Sewing all the quilt blocks together is my next task, which will hopefully be done by Sunday.

I have cleaned an area of the sewing/craft room and will be working on that again tomorrow. 

Still have to find a box to put the clothes in for my brother and do some cleaning out of the chest freezer. Harvey has finally realized that the beans we planted last year should have been stringed before I cut and froze them. I also need to find the brisket that is in there somewhere. Kind of like to make that one of these upcoming weekends.

Add in cooking and the regular household tasks and time just slipped away. By the time I sat down to rest it was pretty darn late in the day. 

It was a good thing I did most of those chores quickly as guess what arrived today? Actually on the day the company said it would be delivered.

It arrived at about 10:30 this morning while I was out for a bit of a walk. Harvey was home and signed for it.

Of course I had to unpack (well open it) to check that everything arrived undamaged.

It was well packaged for shipment and all looks well. In glancing at the assembly book, I realized that I was definitely going to need Harvey's help in putting this project together. 

Think we will be working on getting that done early next week.

Off to get more of my projects done before this one takes up most of my time. And of course to visit all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

P.S. 

This Canadian company also sells spinning wheels.... Perhaps my next skill somewhere down the line. LOL

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

It was very warm here for a couple of days, but the sky was hazy due to smoke from the fires in Northern Saskatchewan and Northern Alberta. 

I opened the windows a bit in the evenings when the smoke seemed to have dissipated a little bit just to cool things down. It also allowed me to do some baking. The sausage rolls were made as well as blueberry muffins. Tomorrow I will make some applesauce muffins and add them to our collection of treats for snacks and for breakfasts.

I also started planting yesterday. Just the hardier plants as the weather has cooled down again considerably. This is probably a very good thing as I could easily be tempted into overdoing it and causing my back to go into a great deal of pain. Tomorrow a few more will be planted, and I will be getting that much closer to seeing how many more plants I will need to purchase to make our backyard/deck/garden into a summer oasis. Considering how expensive plants are now, I may just be trying to overwinter a couple more this year, not just the lemon trees.

In between baking, cleaning, and planting I have been slowly working on my various projects. Started the purse/bag and am finding that slow going. The explanation of how to sew it is not all that clear, so I am definitely taking my time. 

I ordered my loom. This is similar to the one I ordered but a tad (6") less in width. Mine will be 48" wide. I wanted it that wide to be able to weave some rugs. Spent a bit of time watching videos on how to warp it and how to weave with it.

Surprisingly it could arrive as early as Friday. Knowing Canada Post though it could be a bit longer. Still much quicker than I ever thought and about $100.00 less than on Amazon as I bought it directly from Ashford Canada. Hmm, perhaps my next hobby will be spinning. I teased Harvey yesterday and said I was going to make my living room my sewing/craft room.

Off to get reading your blogs and catch up with all of you. Then it will be time to make supper. Tonight supper is leftover roast pork made into pulled pork and potato salad.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Another warm day, and I am loving it. Hopefully I get to start planting next week. Harvey has said he will go and get my soil on Monday, and I hope to get a few things planted on that day. It will take awhile as I can't work for extended periods of time like I used to filling pots, planting them and getting them into position. So I have decided to work in sections and go from one section to another. 

I hope all of you have had a wonderful day. I have had phone calls from my boys, and even a surprise gift from Kris delivered to my door.

Now that came as a complete surprise.

We don't go out for a meal on Mother's Day or Father's Day as there are just too many people out and that makes it hard to be seated. So I cooked a meal here at home and we will be happy, full and contented.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

I haven't really gotten much more done this week. I have however prepared a great many projects that should be completed over the next week. A very good thing. Preparation means things will be completed a bit faster.

One of the things I have been busy with over this past week is shopping for plants. I am still not finished, and I am afraid I may have (or will) go a bit overboard. It is a very good thing that Harvey indulges my addiction to plants. 

I also should have been out picking dandelions. This year I wanted to make jelly, but Harvey treated those in our yard and I haven't seen a good crop on the verges as of yet. I also need to make more salve.

I met one of my sister-in-laws while shopping for plants and we probably talked for about 30 minutes. This one is a bit annoying, but at least she still talks to me, might not visit, but at least talks. I actually got caught up on some of the news in the family which being the outcasts we needed to know before the reunion. Still being the last to find out things hurts at times. Mind you I am getting a bit more used to that fact. 

So it has been pretty quiet this past week really, and that is a wonderful thing. The quiet times seem to be farther apart lately.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Tips for Friday

 

I am always amazed at how quickly a week passes by, and have come to the conclusion (as most of my readers have) that as we age time seems to condense.

So what tips do I have for you this week. No recipes this week once again, hopefully something new and tasty nest week.

1.  Use appliances to save energy. Also make sure to turn off lights in rooms not in use.

2.  Grow your own herbs. This will actually save you mega change as most home grown herbs can be dried and used in many mixes.

3.  Do all your errands on one day a week, if at all possible.

4.  Keep up with vehicle maintenance and oil changes.

5.  Always be decluttering. Some can be sold, some can be donated and the rest recycled or disposed of.

6.  Get reusables where ever possible.

7.  Use a clothesline or drying rack. I am lucky enough to have lines set up downstairs.

8.  Wash and rinse your clothes in cold water whenever possible. If you can't use cold to wash, rinsing is always done in this house with cold water.

9.  Invest in good curtains to keep your windows insulated against the cold and heat.

10.  Use draft blockers by doors in the winter, even after replacing the weather stripping around them.

11.  Caulk around the windows to cut down on drafts. Replace when you can afford to.

12.  Have a no spend month. I have trouble with this one, mainly because I think anything that comes out of a bank account is spending. This includes monthly bills.... If you feel the same as me try for no spend days instead.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursdays

 Thrifty and Frugal   

This past week has been more one of using items up and going through stashes to see what can be used in crafting. So far there have been a few good craft stash uses. 

All of my quilt blocks were cut from 4" squares I had made from scrap fabric. Still have lots of those to use up and the next quilt I make will be with some of the lighter weight squares. My hour glass blocks are not all perfect and I have a feeling part of the reason is the weight of the fabric used.

I pulled some fancy light knit from my stash and managed to cut out the makings of 3 infinity scarves. I need to work on those tomorrow. 

I have cooked twice this week using appliances (will be doing so again today). Tomorrow I will need to use the oven, but I am going to make sure I fill it well. Plan on making some sausage rolls, muffins (need to use up some applesauce) and then making the fish for supper. 

I did go a bit overboard on plant shopping, but spring, summer and fall is to be enjoyed and getting some colour in the yard is definitely a morale booster. 

Harvey bottled another 28 bottles of a red wine yesterday. He bottled a light raspberry wine (about the same number of bottles) a couple of days before that. While the initial costs for the kits is high, the number of bottles we get and the cost to purchase those same bottles is very a big savings. 

Meals have been made with what is on hand, many using leftovers from other meals. Considering the cost of food now, I am making sure that nothing goes to waste. It is either frozen for use later, or we eat it a couple of days after our first meal. Anything leftover after that is used for lunches. Heck one day this week I had a piece of pie for my breakfast as it needed eating.

My errands were grouped together and all done on one day. Thus saving fuel and wear/tear on the vehicle and myself.

Frugal exercise once again. Yoga stretches here at home using YouTube, and going for walks. 

The water barrel (butt) is full now so watering the plants will be mostly free for awhile. 

Clothes were hung on the lines downstairs as it was raining here on wash day. Hopefully I get to use the lines outside next week.

Windows are open today to air out the house and keep things a bit cooler inside.

So that is pretty much all I can remember. I am really working on the water saving and using appliances to cook more.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.