Beach Day

So apparently on the last Friday of the month, there is a theme day at the elementary school that my grand kids attend. Today they could dress as though they were having a day at the beach. It is still winter here, so that kind of limits their wardrobe. My grandson wore a souvenir t-shirt I gave him 2 years ago after I returned from Cuba. He also wanted to wear a pair of shorts, but obviously that was out of the question. His mom did allow him to wear a baseball cap and sunglasses however. He has a hood on his jacket to pull up, and a pair of mitts in his pockets, if he gets cold at recess. The day is very sunny and it will probably warm up quite a bit by afternoon.....still not warm enough for shorts however. 

Apparently, I was supposed to change my password on my email server before I left town. As a result, I have been locked out of my email account. I haven't got my password with me. It's safely locked up at home, so I am kind of stuck without email until I return. To those who haven't heard from me in a while, note that I only have access to Facebook messenger and text by phone.

My daughter had to take my grand daughter into the hospital again today, which was an unexpected 5th consecutive trip this week. On Wednesday, they both had to stay in for an extended stay and eventually returned at seven o'clock that night because a transfusion was needed. My grandson and I had dinner alone. He had spaghetti with tons of parmesan cheese because he loves it (that isn't weird?), and I had shredded cabbage again. Today was just going to be a quick check up for my grand daughter, but unfortunately they determined another transfusion was needed. She has to have another procedure done at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto on Monday, so they want her to be stronger. I can already see where I may be needed here until after Tuesday because of schedule conflicts. No one is kicking me out yet. I guess I haven't outworn my welcome. Ha. But my grand kids do NOT like what I am cooking for myself. My dinners even SMELL weird. Funny, I think they are delicious.

Visiting the Grand Kids

I arrived here on Saturday afternoon. I called my son the night before to see if he would be available to drive me here (or should I take a bus), and he said he was able to drive me here at 10 AM the next morning. That was quicker than I expected, so I packed my things that night and made sure I was at the Bulk Barn first thing the following morning. I needed more almond flour to bake my keto loaves, some black pepper and some chili powder. I stopped at my pharmacy to pick up a prescription refill and my bank, before I headed back home. I drove into the driveway at 10 AM sharp and beat my son's arrival. I packed a lot of food from my freezer to bring with me, so I would have most of the items I needed for my keto diet.

It was a fairly quiet weekend because the "boys" went on another ski weekend, and the girls stayed home and played cards and board games. While my daughter has been taking my grand daughter to medical appointments, I have been walking my grandson to school. Being alone a lot through the day, I have busied myself cleaning and helping out my daughter (since I wasn't doing a very good job for myself). Today my grand daughter and I started a school project on "sound" while her mom had other matters to attend to. Over the weekend, I encouraged my daughter to take some afternoon naps while the kids and I played some games, or watched funny animal videos on the tablet. She has a lot on her plate right now, so I hope my presence is a help rather than a hindrance. I tried to cook a family meal last night, but my efforts were not well received. My chicken tasted "weird", according to my grandson. My daughter suspects it was because it wasn't chicken nuggets or chicken fingers. Lol.

It has a been a busy time but fun to be with the family. They also have bunnies in their back yard, but they are being fed by several neighbours so are very tame. I have been able to see them up close and personal. Have a great week ahead.

Leaving Town This Weekend

Yesterday morning I gathered the trash baskets from throughout the house and put them outside in the garbage bin. There wasn't enough to put out for collection, so I just put out the gray recycle bin for paper and cardboard. I put away the primed 1x2s and 1x3s and brought out the three 1x4s for two coats of primer. Between coats, I baked a loaf of keto bread. Afterwards, I put away all the primed pieces of lumber and cleaned up afterwards. I did manage to get some paint spatters on my chairs, but they were easily removed.

Today I wrote out two "Thinking of You" cards and walked them over to the post office. For the rest of the afternoon I played with my Cricut machine and made some die cut backgrounds for future cards. I am so unmotivated to do any cleaning.  However, I watched some tutorials on YouTube for putting together scrap book pages. In the back of my mind, I really do want to work on the scrap book I started, but I am hoping to learn through osmosis. Ha. Maybe at least I can be inspired by other peoples' enthusiasm.

In the meantime, my daughter has asked me to come this week to Bradford. I'm sure I will be able to help her out, especially since I am useless here at my own house. Another pair of hands to share the work is always helpful. I haven't seen my grand kids since before Christmas, so I am very anxious to be there. I don't know how long I will be needed, but my schedule is fluid. I will be taking my laptop and my tablet, so there shouldn't be an excuse not to keep up with my blog.

Here is the menu plan for the past week: (from Friday to last night)

• shredded sauteed cabbage with pieces of smoked sausage
• porkchops, cheesy veggie casserole and leftover sauteed cabbage
• creamed spinach over turkey slices, with leftover cheesy veggies
• turkey slices with creamed spinach and a side of roasted veggies
• chili with avocado slices and a side of broccoli
• leftover chili with sliced avocados
• veggies in a cream cheese sauce baked with farmers sausage on top

Wednesday morning

It is after noon already. I just don't know where time goes anymore. I have taken a phone call and a face-time message and I have only written one long awaited email response to one of my SILs who is married to my youngest brother. I have quite a few more that I need to write. If I can push away from the computer in the mornings, I seem to get more done. However, there are times when it is important to maintain communications within the family and other things must wait.

Yesterday I had already watered my plants and made a big pot of turkey and vegetable soup by this time. I was also able to scour my bathtub and clean my hanging shower shelves. I got rid of empty containers and product that is very old and which I will not use any more. There were some soap slivers and used razor blades that also went into the trash. I don't know why I don't dispose of them immediately like I do with the contents of my medicine cabinet. I washed the shelves thoroughly of any soap scum, ran it through the dishwasher with my dishes last night and it looks great now. The tub enclosure wasn't bad at all, so I left that for the next time. So there is another item off my to-do list. Yay!

So after lunch yesterday, I prepared some bookplates that I will gift my grandchildren with. I found them on-line as a free colour printable and I thought they were adorable. They are quotations about libraries and books that have been taken from the Lemony Snickett series of books for 8-12 year olds, and right away I thought of one of my grand daughters. So after I printed out the 12 different book plates, I attached 2-way tape to the backs of them so she can sign her name and affix them to the front inside covers of her books at home. After that, I attached some different  printed birthday sentiments inside the birthday cards I have made and constructed a gift box to keep them in. (These are the ones I made for my niece). So this was the "paper work" I got caught up with yesterday.

Before making supper, I laid down some brown paper and newspapers to protect my floor while I put the first coat of primer on some of the 1x2s and 1x3s I bought at the beginning of the month.

Today I hope to get a second coat on and then I will see how I feel about starting something else. It is a bright and sunny day today and that usually inspires me to get things done. Have a great day.

Daybook: Monday, March 18/19

Outside my window.....we have experienced sunshine and we've had snow flurries (heavy at times) all within the same day. It must be spring.

I am thinking.....how tired I'm feeling now at 5 o'clock. I'm just sitting down now at the end of the day to post my blog.

I am thankful for.....longer hours of daylight these days. We are almost at the Equinox.

From the kitchen.....I started my day by straining the turkey stock from the crock pot and I removed all the meat from the carcass to add to the soup I plan to make tomorrow. I hand washed the oven roaster and lid that I roasted the turkey in, the crock pot I made the stock in overnight, and the lid to my yoghurt maker.  I also washed my four Cricut mats to prepare them for more die cuts in the future.

I am wearing.....blue jeans, gray socks,and  gray sweater with flutter sleeves

I am creating.....more cards. On the weekend I made 6 more kids cards and one thank you card.

I am going.....nowhere today, except for a walk to the post office to mail 3 cards and to pick up mail

I am hoping.....to get some emails written tomorrow. I am behind in responding to some I have received recently.

I am hearing.....a lot of traffic right now from people returning home from work

Around the house.....there is always spring cleaning to be done but I don't seem to have either the energy or the motivation to get started on it. I'm afraid we will need to get some more sunshine and warmer temperatures to kick start this operation.

One of my favourite things.....is my working dishwasher. I always appreciate it more after I have had to do up a load of hand washing.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include cleaning up my Craft room.

Goals for this week:

• respond to overdue emails
• give my bathtub and enclosure another good scrub
• vacuum the upstairs and the staircase
• do some tidying up and cleaning in my craft room
• mail at least 2 more "Thinking of You" cards
• try to get one spa hour in this week
• moisturise every night, lipstick every day
• keep journaling every day

Roast Turkey on Sunday

It has been a busy Sunday for me. I slept in until 8:30 this morning, which has put me feeling behind for most of the day. After face messaging with family members, I made a batch of yoghurt and I put the turkey in the oven before I even made my two egg omelette with ham, spinach and mushrooms. I worked on making cards for a while and then I proceeded to cut the pork loin into 2 small roasts, 4 packages of chops and a container of pork chunks to use in a stir fry or pork fried rice later on. I made 3 freezer bags with 3 sausages in each. By that time, my turkey was done. I didn't take into consideration that it would cook faster without the stuffing, so I was surprised how little time it took. I took all the meat off the bones and bagged it. I split the carcass and drippings into 3 sections. One is in the crock pot now turning into broth, while the other two are in the freezer with three very full  quart freezer bags of meat. I kept the fourth bag out for this week. Finally, I put away the two loads of laundry I did yesterday. I was on my feet a lot today, so I am feeling beat.

Here are two cards I made for my 7 year old grand son. He likes receiving fan mail.

Let's look at this week's goals and see how I did.

• Mail out 3 "Thinking of You" cards     No. I'm surprised by this, because I was making cards most every day this week. I did send out a birthday card, but even that was late. 
• Mail out 3 kids' cards     Done
• Gather tax papers together     Kind of. I put them all together as they arrive throughout the year. My brother has offered to do them for me, and I have no plans to go anytime soon. 
• Buy a bag of potting soil this week, as it is on sale at Home Hardware     Done
• Repot some of my aloe plants     Done
• Make a baby card     Not yet. I think I will wait until after the baby is born, so I know the sex.
• Start making feminine birthday cards for my niece     Done
• Purge 15 items this week     No, but the day isn't over yet. 

I may not have accomplished all that was on my to-do list, but I do feel that the week went very well. I was busy and productive and that is what counts the most for me. I was able to stay out of trouble. And how was your weekend?

Shopping This Week's Sales

I left the house pretty early this morning. I wanted to pick up some of this week's grocery specials. The sun was trying very hard to make an appearance, so it kind of looked warm-ish and spring-like out there. It is Saturday and I don't really enjoy doing any grocery shopping on the weekend, but I decided that if I got out there early, I might beat the weekend rush. I stopped in Amerstview first to get some things from DollarWay. It isn't a true dollar store because things cost $1.50, but I like going there because they often have things there that I can't find in other dollar stores. For instance, they still carry my 2-way tape and several other crafting materials. I spent $10.05

I knew that Shoppers was selling a dozen eggs again for $1.88 and I needed some milk, so I stopped there as well, on my way into No-Frills. I am glad I did because I found 2 containers of 2 litres of  whole  milk, with $3 off peelies. My 4 litres of milk only cost me $3.58  I picked up my 1 lb of butter here for $3.99 This was a very successful shop because not only did I save $7.22 off the regular cost, I also earned over 1000 points by buying my milk here today.

So my final stop was No-Frills and I knew they were having a sale of meat for $2 a pound. This is what I bought for $31.77

Two packages of 4 split chicken breasts, another pork loin which I will cut into more pork chops and small roasts for the crock pot, and 9 hot Italian sausage which needs to be divvied up into portion sizes. This is a lot of variety for my ideal price of $2/lb.

 Yoghurt was $2 a tub, so I picked one up. I need more starter to continue making my homemade yoghurt. I got another generic cream cheese for $2.50, because I haven't found a better price for quite some time now. My cost for dairy this week was only $15.83

Produce (fresh, frozen and canned) was only $9.94  Avocados were $2 for a bag of six. I haven't had avocados in a dog's age. What a treat!
Today I spent $67.59, leaving me with only $7.41 for the rest of March. Am I worried? No. I will probably need more vegetables before the end of the month, but I am pretty sure I will not need to spend my $20 remaining from gas money. I have over $40 in points that I can spend at either No Frills or Shoppers. I have savings in the bank and I can "borrow" against next month's groceries. I probably will not do that because I think I have a pretty tight Household budget already. I also have my "found money" in a jar here at home.

Besides shopping, I have washed two loads of laundry and hung both loads up to dry in the loft. I put my bed sheets and 2 towels in my dryer. I can't wait until I can start hanging my laundry outside once more. I will not be doing housework today. What else is new? I am making  more kid's cards to mail out to my grand kids. Have a great rest of the weekend, and to my family......enjoy your St. Paddy's Day tomorrow.

The Ides of March

Hello Friday. We've had some warmer temperatures and rainfall this week although not a lot of sun. The snow is melting very quickly and it is ponding. I showed you a photo of my backyard a couple of weeks ago. Well here is another picture from the same angle showing a lot of melt water sitting on top of the ground. The backyard is still frozen so there is nowhere for the water to go and so it sits on top of the frozen ground. It isn't too bad here, but some areas in the province are definitely flooded and are experiencing problems.

I started my day today by scouring the stainless steel pot that I burned my cabbage in a couple of days ago. It had been soaking in a paste of baking soda and water. I managed to clean it up pretty well. I ran a sink of hot water and proceeded to clean counters, stove top, the fronts of my kitchen cabinets (both top and bottom), the microwave and the exhaust fan over the stove. I emptied the sink and filled it up again to wash all of the stamps I used this week in my card making.

I went out into the front yard to spread crushed egg shells and a full tin of used coffee grounds over my front flower beds. I just threw them on top of the ground and I will work them into the soil this spring after it has has warmed. I baked a loaf of keto bread and shredded the second half of the cabbage head and sauteed. I didn't burn it this time. I will have it tonight for dinner with a smoked sausage I bought last month and some leftover broccoli I cooked earlier this week.  This weekend I will roast the turkey I took out of the freezer  to thaw. I'm not expecting company, but I would like to use the weekend to roast it so I can take all the meat off it and freeze portions of it for later. I can also make a soup broth with the carcass.

Dinners this week (from Friday to last night)
Ham slices and creamed cabbage
Chili with sour cream and grilled keto bread
Porkchops in a cheesy veggie  casserole
Roasted chicken and vegetables
Leftover ham slices with veggies  (green beans, spinach, broccoli and cauli)
Fried ground chicken with creamed cabbage and broccoli
Chili over cauli rice

I still have not introduced new recipes, but I am so enjoying my creamed veggies still.

Coming Up for Air

Oh my. It has been 4 days since I last posted on my blog. The week has just melted away, much like the snow has done over the past couple of days. It is a balmy 10* C right now. If there were sunshine, one could be fooled into thinking that Spring was on its way. After I wrote my Daybook on Monday, I decided that I would drive into Kingston after all to pick up a few things I needed at No Frills. I needed eggs and frozen berries, so I picked those up and then some.

 I spent a total of $27.95 on groceries......2 doz eggs, frozen mixed berries, 3 chicken legs with backs attached, large head of cabbage and cream cheese.

 Before I left town, I stopped at the post office to mail off my 3 kids cards and picked up my mail. I got an envelope with two truvia sweetener samples inside. I then stopped at Home Hardware and bought a bag of potting soil that was on sale for $4.80 including tax.

On Tuesday I got busy making birthday cards. I had chicken in the crockpot making broth while I worked at the dining table. For every card I made for my niece, I made a duplicate one for my own stash. I will likely just take these to her and let her pick out the ones she likes. I don't know her style, so when she picks out her choices I can observe which kind I should turn my attention. This will get her started anyway.

Yesterday, while putting together the cards, I made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup. I also shredded and "burned" my cabbage because I cannot multi-task, try as I might. Well, I picked out the burned pieces and rescued most of it. I made a cream cheese sauce and drowned the cabbage in that, so it didn't taste too terribly bad. I had the rest of it for lunch today. Thank goodness, I only shredded half of the head of cabbage, so I can try again later.

Today I printed out card inserts with birthday verses. I have them folded and placed inside the cards, but could not tape them down because I ran out of my 2-way tape yet again. I think if I had not  run out of tape, I would still be creating cards. I finished my afternoon by splitting and repotting some of my aloe plants. I have way too many. I just hate throwing them out. Perhaps in the spring, I will leave some out at the curb for anyone to help themselves.

It sure feels like Spring right now. The snow is melting very quickly, and oh....did I mention that the other morning when I got up, I noticed 5 little bunnies playing in my backyard? I don't know how many there are in total, but they have been busy. This doesn't bode well for my plans to grow a veggie garden later this spring. 

Daybook: Monday, March 11/19

Outside my window.....it is overcast, but milder. It is presently 2 * C, which is the high for today.

I am thinking.....about working on some birthday cards this week for my niece.

I am thankful for.....opportunities to sell my homemade cards

From the kitchen.....I baked a keto loaf on Saturday that has lasted more than 2 days *laugh*, and I have made a batch of yoghurt this morning. I could have made it last night and "cooked" it overnight, but there IS some work involved and I was tired last night. I need to heat the milk by stirring constantly and keeping tabs on the temperature. When it reaches 180*-185*, I take it off the stove and place in a sink of cold water.  Stirring constantly I have to bring the temperature back down to 110*, but not lower.  It is work, but worth it for taste and cost.

I am wearing.....black denim jeans, a pink button down shirt, an ivory cardigan and black fuzzy socks. My hair is tied back into a pony tail.

I am creating.....more cards. On the weekend I made two more kids' cards and coloured some stamped images with my alcohol markers.

I am going.....to the post office later. I need to drive into town to  buy some frozen fruit and eggs, but I don't know if that will be today or not.

I am hoping.....for some sunny days soon, to improve my mood.

I am hearing.....tires on wet pavement and the blower on my furnace.

Around the house.....my wooden dining table is already cluttered with card making supplies, but my floors are clean.

One of my favourite things.....is the ability to ask Alexa to play music from some of my favourite artists. Yesterday I listened to Gordon Lightfoot and Evanescence....music to craft by.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....well, I don't have any other than my goals.

Goals this week......from my mile long to-do list for March

• Mail out 3 "Thinking of You" cards
• Mail out 3 kids' cards
• Gather tax papers together
• Buy a bag of potting soil this week, as it is on sale at Home Hardware
• Repot some of my aloe plants
• Make a baby card
• Start making feminine birthday cards for my niece
• Purge 15 items this week

Here is the photo I am sharing.....

For one of my grand daughters. The other slip has the word awesome.

Quick Update on Goals

It is 7:30 on Sunday night, so this will be quick. Tomorrow I will be posting new goals, so I want to get these off my plate first. 

Goals for this week:

Mail out three "Thinking of You" cards      Done

Mail package of new white t-shirts to my two grands in Bradford so they can tie-dye them next week while on their March Break     Done. I actually packaged them up twice.
 
Work on my son's scrapbook     Not one little bit. I moved my craft table back into the room however. 

Work on the embroidered pillow cases some more....maybe finish one this week.     Done

Make another batch of yoghurt     Done. I should have made another batch today, but by the time I got off the phone, it was too late. Yoghurt takes 8 hours to cook. I'll do it tomorrow morning.

Put away the dried laundry hanging in the loft     Done. I have even done yesterday's laundry and put it away.
 
Make at least 6 cards this week.     Done....and then some. 

This afternoon I took it easy and listened to music while I coloured stamped images....for more cards. I got carried away and lost track of time. 

Happy International Woman's Day

It is also my youngest grand daughter's birthday. She is turning seven today. WooHoo.

No major cleaning spurt today. I guess I fizzled out. But I did start the last day of the week by watering all of my downstairs house plants, while on the phone with my friend whose husband died from brain cancer just before Christmas. She calls me every week to stay in touch and it is so very nice to hear from her and see that she is managing very well under the circumstances. Her phone call prompted me to write out two "Thinking of You" cards....one for my mother and the other for my husband's cousin who is dealing with cancer. I try to send a homemade card once every two weeks. It was another clear sunny day, so I walked them to the post office. When I returned I spent the rest of the afternoon working on some hand embroidery on the pillow cases.

Bless over at My Two Cents mentioned that her messy desk represented items that needed attention. Likewise, the papers on my desk were papers that needed filing, reading, or recording. Some papers I had printed out (recipes, patterns, craft ideas, etc.) had to be put into page protectors and put into the appropriate binders. Some of it was mail that I wanted to read and some were bills that had already been paid and dated but had yet to be filed. Some of the bits of paper were cash receipts that needed to be recorded and put away into an envelope.

This is just a used envelope I have recycled for the month of March. At the top is the amount of cash I have on hand for household expenses. Each time I spend money, I deduct the oop from the balance that is left, and place the cash receipt inside. The money stays in my wallet, but I keep the receipts together. Hopefully, the amount showing at the bottom of the column is in fact the amount in my wallet. It is.

The other column is a little confusing. I took out $60 for gas this month, but needed to deposit $40 back into my account the other day. Oopsie. Not to worry. I spent a $25 gift card on gas and still have $20 remaining if I need it.

Meals This Week (last Friday to Thursday)

Dirty rice (made with cauli rice)
A HUGE Cobb salad for my birthday lunch, then later in the evening, leftover dirty rice
Pork chops, creamed spinach and sauteed cabbage
Leftover pork chop, cabbage and broccoli
Meatloaf with a veggie casserole topped with cheddar cheese
Encore presentation (leftovers from the night before)
Sliced dinner ham with veggies in a cream cheese sauce

I should probably mention here that veggie casseroles are usually "above ground" varieties that include some of broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, green beans, zucchini and red or yellow peppers. If I cook turnip, carrots, asparagus, Brussel sprouts or cabbage, I will usually refer to them specifically.

 Hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend.

Domestic Goddess

Queen of the Domestic Arts. However you want to refer to me is fine. In other words, I did about an hour's worth of housework today. I knew something was amiss this morning when I frittered away the whole morning on my computer. It was as though I was building up stamina to doing something onerous and completely out of character. I must have sensed something in the air because about 11:30 AM, I pulled  up my rugs and scatter mats and hung them outside over the railing on the verandah. I pulled  out the vacuum cleaner and  started cleaning in the downstairs half-bathroom, moved through the computer room, the dining room, kitchen and living room, picking up things and moving furniture as I went. If that wasn't enough, I filled a bucket with very hot water and disinfectant cleaner and wet mop those same floors. I kid you not.

It is amazing how much dirt my pets have left for me in the past. I have known for some time now that I have not been feeling the need to clean as much as I have in the past. It has been almost a year now since I lost my Satchel, and no I have not felt like replacing him yet with another animal. I like this feeling of being able to take off and not need to hurry home.  However, I digress. I figured I was getting terribly lazy in my old age, or at the very least, I had lowered my standards so much, I no longer cared. But after washing all those floors, I was amazed how relatively clean my bucket still was. Now my walls are a different story, but I am hoping to get to those eventually. It must be spring fever.

I unwrapped the parcel I made for my grands yesterday and repackaged them separately today so each shirt was able to fit inside a manilla envelope. I took them back to the post office and mailed them out as oversized mail. The postage for both of them was less than half the price of the package I wanted to mail yesterday. I am so grateful to the post master for suggesting this to me. Better yet, I will have Amazon deliver if there is a next time, and get FREE shipping.

Inspired by Bless over at My Two Cents, (and not to be outdone) I also tackled my desk area. You can see where I am used to filing papers on top of my printer. Unfortunately my desk does not have nice deep drawers like Bless, so I keep my STUFF in a plastic filing bin under the desk, or in photo boxes on top of hanging book shelves, or in binders (scattered all over the house close to where I use them).  Someday I will move the old hard drive and monitor out of there to give me more writing surface, but for now I am using both computers.

Before

After

Wednesday's Doctor's Appointment

This morning when I showered, I washed my hair. I don't wash it every day because it is long and takes forever to dry. In trying to meet my goals, I also put on all-day lipstick and mascara because I knew I would be going out today. I also taped up my thumb because the nail has finally fallen off from back in December when I smashed it in the car door. It looks so-o-o much worse now. It was better looking when it was pure black. Before I came downstairs I gave all my potted geraniums in the loft a really good soaking.

I cleaned off my dining room table (which is really my craft table), took it down and carried it into my craft room where I set it up again. I am hoping to use it this week to do some scrap booking. Back in the dining room, I pulled my small wooden table out from the wall and set it up where the table should be with four chairs around it. When I needed to seat more people for dinner at Christmas, I made the switch and never got around to changing it until today. If I want to make some cards, this surface is big enough. Yesterday I got started on my Easter cards and finished eight.

 I wrapped up the two white t-shirts I bought for my two grand kids in Bradford in one envelope and left for Kingston a little early for my appointment. I wanted to stop at the post office to pick up the mail and send off the package, go to my bank and spend the remaining $8 left on the gift card for Giant Tiger. It seemed to be burning a hole in my wallet. But when I was told it was going to cost over $14 to mail the package (I only spent $10 on both shirts), I brought them back home with me. The post master told me to mail them in separate envelopes (as oversized letters) and it would cost much less. So I will be re-wrapping them tomorrow. So glad he was on my side.

I was still early for my appointment in Kingston, so I visited the Giant Tiger downtown. I picked up a dinner ham for half the price and 3 cartons of cream for only 75 cents each. I also picked up 3 packets of garden seeds for 99 cents. After using up the $8 remaining on the card, I paid only $1.30 oop.

On the way home tonight, I stopped at Canadian Tire to spend another $25 gift card to put gas in my van. I am loving these gift cards.

I did some more shredding this afternoon and filled two grocery bags with shredded paper for my garden this spring. I have taken one garbage bag to the curb as well as the gray box for recycling. Tonight's dinner is warmed over leftovers from last night....meatloaf and cheesy veggie casserole.

Spending Some Birthday Money

I have already mentioned that I received several gift cards for my birthday. I was so spoiled rotten. One of them was for my favourite department store, Giant Tiger. Since I was in Napanee on Saturday with my friends for my birthday luncheon, I decided to check out the store there. Sugardale bacon was on sale for $3.33 a package so I picked up two. I like to cook up the whole package and then freeze it so I always have some already cooked and ready to add to a recipe. I also bought my favourite black socks and some Hanes panties. My total came to $21.92, but there was no oop and I still have $8.08 remaining. It was such a treat.

While coming up with my mile long to-do list for the month of March, I recalled one of the podcasts I listened to back a few weeks ago. It was about setting goals and accomplishing more. Besides writing down the goal, you are supposed to consider what you need in order to do the next step. With that in mind, I asked myself what I would need in order to work on the scrapbook. Since it has been so long since I have done any scrap booking, I wondered about my page layouts. I checked out many different sites and pinned some ideas on my Pinterest page. I have lots of different 12x12 inch patterned papers, but I am sorely lacking in blank 12 inch card stock. So yesterday I used the remainder of another gift card I received at Christmas to go to Michael's and I bought a Recollections neutral paper pad.

Also in the photo, I paid $2 for a rubber stamp that says "A baby fills our hearts with love", 2 white pre-shrunk cotton t-shirts and the padded envelope to send them  to my two grand kids in Bradford. Next week is their March break and they can tie dye these shirts. I paid $14.25 oop after using the balance of the gc.

While in the same mall, I went over to Home Depot and bought some pine lumber.....1x2, 1x3, and 1x4 in 8 foot lengths. I can pick an afternoon when I can prime them. The  total came to $18.09, which I could have paid with the remainder of a gift card I had for over $22, but I couldn't find it in my purse. Darn it! So I paid out of my household money. I have since found the gift card, so I can use it in future.

From there I drove to No Frills where I bought lean ground beef for $2.77 a pound and three 450 gm blocks of Armstrong cheese. The total came to $33.52 and I used a $25 gift card, so only $8.50 oop.

I divvied the lean ground beef into eight pound portions for the freezer when I got home.
On the way back, I stopped at Shoppers because I needed milk and I hoped the cottage cheese would be on sale. It was, but I only bought one for $2.49. I also used a coupon to pick up a FREE full size Colgate PRO-relief sensitive toothpaste.

I used the remainder of a gift card for some toiletries I needed and paid the $7.78 oop for my milk and cottage cheese.

Even though I used a lot of gift cards, I have used up a lot of my $300 household money. Paying oop at Michael's, Home Depot and Canada Post has reduced my balance to $115.75 (I bought a padded envelope and 50 postage stamps) I think I am still in pretty good shape. I have lots of meat and veggies still in my freezer. I have $40 in points that I can spend at No Frills or Shoppers. My niece gave me some eggs from her chickens when she visited. I made another batch of yoghurt this morning, which will see me through this week. I'm not worried. And I have lots of things to keep me busy and happy. Hope you are all staying warm. We had another big dump of snow today.

Daybook: Monday, March 4/19

Outside my window.....it is clear and sunny, but cold.

I am thinking.....of the great weekend I just had. There was the fantastic visit with my niece and her husband who drove out to my place from Merrickville to pick up the cradle my husband had made for our youngest child. The cradle has been used by several of our family members, including my niece who now wants it for her own baby. We had the most wonderful visit, and she wants to buy some of my homemade birthday cards. I also had my birthday luncheon at a beautiful restaurant in Napanee with my girl friends (from the same group of friends who celebrate a whole weekend away every year) We always have a great time together and this was no exception. I walked away with lots of cards, scratch tickets, birthday wishes and a paid for lunch. My scratch tickets yielded me $28 in total.

I am thankful for.....all the phone calls from family and friends yesterday. My dad was in hospital for 3 days last week for some tests, but he was home for the weekend and he is fine.

From the kitchen.....I shredded and sauteed a large head of cabbage yesterday while baking a loaf of keto bread in the oven. I also made a  batch of cream cheese sauce to make creamed spinach with dinner last night.

I am wearing.....blue jeans, my black and turquoise checked shirt, gray socks and red knit slippers. Yes, I am a fashion model.

I am creating.....lots of different projects. I have my scrap book and my embroidered pillow cases started, but not finished. Yesterday I used my Cricut to cut out some Easter die cuts, so they will be ready for when I start making my Easter cards. I have also continued making kids' cards because I am sending more out to my grand kids lately.

I am going.....nowhere else today. I was out to the post office, Michael's, Home Depot, No Frills grocery and Shopper's Drug Mart just today. My shopping trips Saturday and today will  have to take up tomorrow's post.

I am hoping.....I am able to accomplish many items from my mile long to-do list for March.

I am hearing.....the sound of traffic outside my living room window and my fridge is running.

Around the house.....my second load of laundry from the weekend is dried and waiting to be folded and put away. I put away the first load yesterday. I collected all the upstairs trash and brought it down to put outside in the garbage can. I still need to pick up the newspaper flyers stacked up in the living room and put out into the gray box for collection this week. My craft table is piled high with both scrap booking materials and card making supplies. I wish I could just pick one and go with it.

One of my favourite things.....is my new laptop. Yes, you heard right. My Dad and "Dee" bought me a laptop for my birthday. Am I spoiled or what? My desktop computer has been slowly dying. It is still a Windows 7 Vista XP (Does that sound correct?) Anyways, as soon as this arrived, right on cue, I was no longer able to read my email on the old system. It arrived just in the nick of time, although I can still read my mail on the tablet. I have never owned a laptop before, so it takes some getting used to. I like that it is portable, but I will probably set it up semi permanently at my computer desk out of habit. And because it will be close to my filing and binders and my journal, etc.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include a psychiatrist's appointment this Wednesday. Because of the shopping I did today,  I will probably not need to go out this week for groceries.

Goals for this week:
Mail out three "Thinking of You" cards
Mail package of new white t-shirts to my two grands in Bradford so they can tie-dye them next week while on their March Break
Work on my son's scrapbook
Work on the embroidered pillow cases some more....maybe finish one this week.
Make another batch of yoghurt
Put away the dried laundry hanging in the loft
Make at least 6 cards this week.

Here's the picture I am sharing this week.....

The view out my back door....just to show you that we still have winter. All those tracks in the snow are from bunny rabbits. I have two that come out every night around dusk to prune back any vegetation that shows above the snowline. I have been leaving out the cabbage cores from all the shredding I have done over the winter.

My Mile Long To-Do List for March

Looking over my goals for 2019, I realise that I must continue to write out my weekly goals to keep in line with my monthly goals. Because I have not been writing down "take an hour this week to enjoy some self care", I have been neglecting my moisturising regime again.  I have been trusting my journal writing as a habit, when it clearly has not become a habit yet. I have placed a huge burden on myself by listing my goals as "Finish a project", instead of  "work on a project". So here is what I hope to accomplish this month.


House:

• Use my Home Depot gift card to buy some cheap pine lumber to trim out walls, doors or windows.     Done
• Paint those pieces of trim with white primer     Done
• Buy more caulking or wood filler as needed. Use gyproc compound where needed. 
• If I can get into the shed by the end of the month, look for mitre box and saw.
• Purge 30 items. That is only one a day.     Didn't even begin

Garden:

• Buy potting soil     Done
• Repot my aloe plants     Done
• Try starting  plants from seed     No

Spending:

• Print out and follow my budget sheet for March     Done
• I have removed $360 cash from the bank for household expenses and gas.  Keep track of all expenditures in my daily journal.     Done
• Get my taxes done.      No

Savings:

• Put money into savings account and gift accounts     Done
• I won $28 in scratch tickets for my birthday, which I have put into my piggy bank of "found money".     Done
•  I was asked to make feminine birthday cards for my niece for which she is paying me.     Done 

Family and Friends:

• Continue to send out at least 3 "Thinking of You" cards a week to friends or family members 
• Send out birthday cards in a timely fashion     I didn't quite keep up. One birthday card was mailed out late. However, I did send out lots of kid's cards. 

Health:

• Keep the appointment with my psychiatrist this week     Done
• Get blood work done at the end of this month and then make appointment with my GP early in April     Haven't done this yet but will when I return.
• Spend one hour each week on self care and moisturise every night    No
• Lipstick every day and makeup before leaving the house    No   A dismal failure.

Crafts and Leisure:

• Make at least 25 cards this month   Yes, yes, yes.
• Make a baby card and birthday cards for my niece     Not yet.
• Work on the scrapbook....at least another 14 pages     No..a big fat zero
• Work on the embroidered pillow cases     Finished one and still working on second
• Work on Easter or Springtime cards for the middle of next month     Done
• Start a macrame project for an upcoming gift     No