Algonquin Park

We spent an entire day driving to Algonquin Park and then through the park from end to end, always hopeful that we would catch a glimpse of bears or moose just off the highway. There are a lot of different trails to walk throughout Algonquin, which is where you are more likely to spot wildlife, but we didn't have time to do that since this was only a day trip. The only stop we made was at the Visitors' Station. We had a picnic in the car, since we found it too cool to eat outside. (braver people than us were eating at the picnic tables.) We had a cup of hot tea in the restaurant before visiting the indoor wildlife displays, the movie theatre and the gift shop.There was lots to see and do during the couple of hours we spent here.

We traveled through the park under a very gray and overcast sky. 

Most of the leaves here were finished, but the scenery was still very lovely. 

A spruce bog

Tree shape and leaf identification

Black bear exhibit at the Visitor Centre

The only moose we saw this day were in this exhibit

It was after 7:30 by the time we made it back. After driving almost 200 kms, it wasn't until we were in the driveway of our resort, that we met a large doe......the only live animal that we saw all day. We got back in time to see the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals.

Our time share in Cobden

Coming down the drive to our villa on the far left.

I am back and ready to start Christmas

It's free. What can I say?

Hello Girls' Week-end

Tomorrow at noon, 5 of us women are leaving for Cobden. Three of us will stay on for the whole week. The car I will be travelling in will take the longer scenic route and picnic on the way. The other car will stop for shopping along the way. The timeshare that we are renting won't be available until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. So this morning after the Costco pickup, I headed to WalMart where I figured I could pick up everything on my list . I needed some toiletries, groceries, dog food and wine. Where else but WalMart sells all of the above. Let me tell you about my best find in groceries. 

Four red peppers and four green peppers for $1

Frugal happenings today and weekend update.

Shopper's Drug Mart  Gift card balance is $22.58

On Saturday we picked up 6 bunches of broccoli from Food Basics at 88 cents each for a total of $5.28. I don't have a photo because I processed the vegetables right away. I took some to my brother's house and the rest is already chopped and frozen. Total grocery spend to date is $198.91
We also made a shopping trip to Shopper's and used our gift certificate to buy 4 litres of skim milk, four litres of 2%, 2 loaves of bread and 2 dozen eggs.

 I also cut my husband's hair with the clippers, saving us the cost of a visit to the salon.

Mince with brown gravy, chili con carne and shepherd's pie

Today, I made freezer meals for the boys to have next week. There are roasts in the freezer, as well as pork chops and leftover turkey, so they won't starve. Tonight I have made a chicken stir fry over ramen noodles.

I picked up the garbage from all the bedrooms and put just one garbage bag at the curb this week. I also put out the Blue Box (cans, glass and plastic containers)

I took the kitchen compost out to the compost bin beside the garden.

I folded yesterday's laundry. I washed a super load of dark clothing and hung them outside on the line. I also stripped the beds and washed the sheets to put in the dryer tonight after 7 P.M. 

I forgot to mention that my Dad was released from hospital on Sunday. It was a case of severe gastro enteritis, but he is feeling so much better. And so am I, knowing that it wasn't more serious than it was. Have a great evening. 

Busy weekend

The weather this past weekend was absolutely gorgeous. Silly me, I spent most of it indoors. Saturday I should have been outside because there was no where that I was expected to be. I was finishing up my stash of Thanksgiving cards. I didn't mail any out this year like I usually do, so I wanted to make sure I had enough with me to bring to friends and family I would be visiting with this weekend. Below is the stash I made.

Handmade cards

My son and his GF, with my husband's help, pulled the  trailer bed up closer to the back of the house.It used to be a 16 foot travel trailer, but they spent many weekends demolishing it down to the floor frame. 

Exterior

They ripped everything out of the aluminum trailer and decided if there was anything worth keeping. I think they saved the old hardware and hinges from the kitchen cabinet doors and the aluminum itself to cash in at the recycling plant.

This is all that is left to start building their Tiny House. Have you heard of them? 

 

One of our fabulous Thanksgiving meals. 

Sunday we drove to Charleston Lake for a 2 P.M. dinner for 10 people. My friend always serves a banquet of vegetables with her turkey and dressing. This year was no different ......carrots, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnip, squash, brussel sprouts, and coleslaw. And dinner doesn't start until I arrive to make the gravy. I don't know how many years now I have done this. My friend can make gravy, but it has become my job. For dessert  there were sugar cookies, chocolate chip and gingerbread cookies, apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and of course, pumpkin pie.  

Yesterday before we left home  for Smith Falls at 12:30,  we went to vote at the Advance Poll and stood in line for a full hour. I will be away with the girls next Monday on Election Day, so it was imperative that I cast my vote before I leave. My husband decided to vote with me, so he doesn't have to go out next Monday.  It will be very interesting to see what the voter turnout will be this time around. 

 My contribution to the meal was  3 bunches of broccoli with sauteed red, orange and yellow strips of pepper. You can see my dish right behind the two bottles of wine. Behind my dish are two beautiful cauliflower that my brother roasted whole, with a coating of mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese and sitting in a tomato based sauce. Yummy.  There were nine of us for  this late afternoon turkey dinner. We started with a creamy potato and leek soup and ended with apple pie, pumpkin pie, or apple crisp. I got my fill of pumpkin pie over the last two days, which will have to last me until next year.  

This morning I put the other three bunches of broccoli that we bought Sunday morning into freezer bags. I peeled all of the tough broccoli stems, and chopped up the tender broccoli stalks into another freezer bag to use up as veggie sides or to add to soups and stews. I also froze the tough stem peelings to simmer with other peelings to make veggie stock. I had saved the turkey drippings from the roasting pan last weekend, after taking off the fat, and today I made it into a huge pot of turkey vegetable soup. I added some pieces of turkey meat  I had saved in the freezer. The soup was done in time for me to have two servings for my lunch. 

The day had started out with rain, but when the weather cleared, I washed  up a super load of whites and lights and hung them outside. I fried two pounds of ground beef with peppers, celery and onions to make some meals tomorrow for the boys while I am away next week. I am cooking up a third pound of ground beef tonight as a meatloaf for supper. I should be busy in the kitchen for the rest of the week. 

Happy Long Weekend

Homemade pizza last night

Another shopping trip to Food Basics

Meat and proteins.......$26.92

Boneless, skinless chicken was on for $3.44 a lb. I don't usually buy chicken this way because it is expensive, but I decided to splurge. Bacon was 2.88 and the four 1 lb. packages of lean ground beef was $15. The ground beef was not on sale but I am completely out. Omega 3 eggs were on sale for $2.47 a dozen but they were sold out. There will be more tomorrow.

             Produce and juice.........$ 4.34  

Each cauliflower cost  97 cents each. The grapes were on sale for 97 cents a pound.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Dairy........$12.42

Gay Lee whipped cream was on sale for $1.99. The blocks of cheese cost $3.97 each, and the spreadable cream cheese was on for $2.49.

Household cleaners.............$12.99

This dishwasher detergent is usually $4 more. Although I don't need it right now, I took advantage of the price. I have made my own dishwasher detergent in the past, and I will use it in a pinch, but I do not like it as much as this stuff. This comes out of my grocery budget. 

Hallowe'en candy...........$38.97
Miscellaneous.........$13.36

The Hallowe'en candy comes out of my food budget. Do I need so much? Yes I do. Because we live right on the Main street of our village, we often get well over 100 kids. I generally give out 2 bite-sized candy bars or 2 small bags of candy.  If there are any left, I will use them as candy gifts for the Advent calendars. The bandaids and toothpaste would normally come out of the budget as well, but in this case, I will wrap them up as Advent gifts. The money spent on these will come from another source.

Total groceries spent today is $95.64
Total spent to date is $193.63

I also stopped at Michael's with a 50% off coupon to pick up some red tape (super strong adhesive tape) for putting my little boxes and Christmas packages together. I also picked up a couple of items for Advent gifts. I am feeling very tired. I want to lie down for a bit, but I also need to wash, cut up and freeze my three heads of cauliflower. I should also shred my cheese for the freezer. Otherwise, I may discover it gone before I can use it in dinner recipes. I'll sleep first, then work. 

Dinner last night at my friend's house was so delicious. She made a wonderful salad and quiche from which  she shared the leftovers with me at the end of the evening. I had the quiche for lunch today, and there is enough salad for me to share with my guys at dinner. 

Cheque for $30 from Pinecone Surveys

Milk in bags

A bag of milk

Quick update to October Shopping

Shopper's Drug Mart........$50.00

Shopping in October

After following Nathalie's Blog for quite some time now, I have decided to become more like her. *laugh*

She accounts for every dime she spends on groceries and knows how much she saves by taking advantage of sales, coupons, rebates, reward points, etc.She also divides her purchases by food groups to make it easier to see where the bulk of the money is going. The savings are impressive. I, on the other hand, tend to pick up loss leaders for the most part. I don't have a specific grocery shopping day. I seldom remember to check for coupons until after I get home. Because my husband is often in town, I will ask him to pick up loss leaders or items from my grocery list on his way back from somewhere. Shopping ends up being kind of "hodge-podge". On the other hand, I keep my $300 budgeted money in a jar at home, and when it is gone, it is gone. We take the money out of the jar, and return the change left over as well as the receipts and put them back into the jar. But I haven't been writing it down. So because it is the beginning of October, I will post my grocery shopping here, by categories and amounts. This is my first shop of the month. 

Produce and juice......$10.21

Perennial hibiscus. Isn't this a gorgeous colour?

A friend of mine took her dog to the "Doggie Spa" this morning in Napanee. I went along for the ride. After dropping  the dog off at the groomers, we headed over to Denny's for their grand slam breakfast. MMMM-mmmm. We took a little drive into the country to see that the leaves are just starting to turn (sorry...no photos). We checked out Dollarama so I could get some more ideas for Advent calendar gifts, and I picked up a couple of items as well. 

When I got home, I discovered my husband went out as well. We were gifted this turkey from one of his friends, so I will cook it up tomorrow. I have no room in my freezer to hold this. That is fine by me, as we all love turkey here. I also got some FREEBIES in the mail today. I have a copy of Chatelaine magazine and a packet of washable markers from Crayola (another Advent present). 

I jumped right into the job of washing, peeling, coring, and slicing apples from the second plastic bag of Macintosh apples. I didn't quite get through half the bag, but my crockpot is full to the brim again. Applesauce is going to be easier for me to freeze because it cooks down quite a bit. I am using up the chicken stock I made this week to make a split pea soup for dinner tonight. It is sunny but cool today. Soup is going to feel so good.