Mid-Week Report

I cleaned my bedroom yesterday. It wasn't a " move the furniture  and dust underneath and behind kind of clean", but thorough enough to last the rest of this year. *laugh* I used a damp rag to clean the tops of my dressers and bedside tables after clearing everything off the surface. I purged some items into bags and boxes to take to the Thrift store. I vacuumed the floor and the corners of the room. I did not wash the Roman Blinds because I have decided I want to replace those with curtains in January. They won't be new ones but perhaps I can find something I like from the Thrift store. I must have tired myself out because I fell asleep last night while watching a program and didn't crawl out of bed until almost 9:30 this morning.

Today was a much slower kind of day. Breakfast was late and lunch was later. In fact, after speaking with my BIL from Tampa (he called me), I warmed up some leftovers from dinner last night and it was already 3:30 in the afternoon. I feel I have done nothing today; but I did vacuum some in the laundry room before the phone call.  I have been making lists......lists of goals for the New Year, lists of supplies I need to buy to do small DIY jobs around the house, and  lists of ideas for future make your own kind of gifts to share.  I have been in a quiet and reflective mood lately.  I didn't leave the house today, so therefore did not spend any money.

I have been racking my brain trying to come up with 5 frugal and fabulous ideas that I have done this past week, but I cannot think of much. Some things I do are second nature now, so I don't consider them as frugal. I guess they are, though.

• I repaired a set of bedroom drapes before hanging them. When I washed them, they split along some of the seams where the trim was attached.

• I sewed on a button that was becoming loose from a blouse I wore last week. I wanted to fix it before I lost the button.

• I cleaned using my DIY Mircle spray. I also use it on stains in the laundry.

• I save all my coffee grounds in an old coffee tin. When it is full, I apply it directly to my flower beds. I refill my reusable plastic coffee pods every morning for the Keurig machine. 

• I did a load of wash last night before going to bed and hung the clothes to dry this morning instead of using my dryer. 

There, I made it through my Fab and Frugal Five. 

Daybook: Monday, Dec. 3/18

Outside my window.....there are a few snowflakes falling at the moment; but again, there is no snow on the ground. It has been raining and very mild out, but in the last few hours the temperature has plummeted.

I am thinking.....of all I got accomplished last week, and though there are quite a few items on my mile long to-do list, I decided to give myself a little break today by not doing anything on the deep-cleaning list.

I am thankful for.....a quiet weekend in which to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas.

From the kitchen.....I strained off the broth I made from the ham bone and put it in the freezer until I can determine what to make with it. I finished off the moussaka last night and will have a sausage veggie casserole tonight.

I am wearing.....blue jeans, red striped socks  and a long sleeved red t-shirt.

I am creating.....more packaging today for a few more stocking stuffers I picked up. I added two more thank-you cards to each gift set of all-occasion cards. Each pack now has 10 cards each, with envelopes and stamps.  I also wrapped a couple of things that I had forgotten about. I used today just to tidy up a few ends.

I am going.....nowhere else today. I have been out twice already. I drove into Amerstview to Shopper's Drug Mart, the LCBO (liquor control board) Foodland and the Dollar Store. Don't worry! I went into each store with a list. I picked up two bottles of red wine for upcoming dinner meals. My second trip out of the house was to the Post Office. I walked over to pick up a parcel delivery and also received a "Happy Winter" card in the mail from my young grand son.

I am hoping.....things go as smoothly in December as they did last month. *touch wood*

I am hearing.....busy rush hour traffic coming home from work.

Around the house.....I washed the bedding from my overnight guests last weekend and put it back on the spare room beds. The deep cleaning is going along on schedule, but I haven't done as much in the kitchen as I had hoped. However, it all needs to be done.

One of my favourite things.....is my new keyboard from my daughter and son-in-law. I rely on my computer so much. I also appreciate that he was able to hook up my new router.

A few plans for the rest of this week.....well, I haven't made any plans. There are no appointments, no birthday parties and no expected visitors. I will continue the deep clean and perhaps consider doing some baking.

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

Some more groceries I went in for included milk, eggs, cheese and toilet paper. I bought more cottage cheese, cream cheese, butter, sausage and coffee pods for my Keurig  because they were on sale and because they are always on my list to buy. I love getting ANY meat that is below $2 /lb.  The toilet paper was also on sale for less than half price, fortunately for me. (so I bought two)

Feeling Tired and Dragging

By the time I had my breakfast and coffee, and face-timed with all my family members, it was almost noon when I was free to check my to-do list.  I chose to wash my bathroom upstairs off my bedroom. I cleaned the sink, bath tub and toilet and washed the floor on my way out of the room. The tub surround and the sliding glass doors weren't too bad, so I left that for next time.  I filled the bottom of the bath tub with hot water and a splash of chlorine bleach to disinfect while the floor dried.  I took out the rubber bath mat and the floor mat to throw in the washer with some towels and washing rags, and while that was washing, I folded yesterday's load and put away.

Lunch was two smaller pieces of moussaka. I sliced up that very large ham and froze into portions, saving all the tiny bits and pieces to add to future omelets. The ham bone is in the crock pot right now with some water to make a soup stock. Normally, I would make a pea soup or Boston beans, but now I am not sure what I will do with it. I had intended to go out today for eggs and milk, but I felt drained. I didn't go out, so I didn't spend any money (except for the e-transfers I made to my grand children). Instead I have been relaxing with hot tea and a scented candle.

Yes, I take my tea sweetened and with milk. How has your weekend shaped up?

Advent Calendars

A friend of mine sent me an Advent calendar on-line through Jackie Lawson (a e-card delivery service). It is lovely. Today I got to open my first activity. I am going to have a lot of fun with this. My two grand kids in Bradford got to open a gift today from their bag of Advent gifts and were each thrilled with what they received. My daughter helped me out immensely this year by letting me in on what their interests were (since they change quite often) Unfortunately, my youngest grand daughter has not received her parcel yet and I am unable to track it. The postal workers were legislated back to work last week and postal service has become much worse since. The government had appointed a mediator to help each side come to an agreement, but those talks broke down. I am sure that this strike is going to be very prolonged now. The postal workers have "lost" their strong bargaining position now that we have advanced into December.  I don't know what this will mean for my Christmas parcel or my 50 cards I just mailed out.

Today I did a dark load of laundry and hung the clothes upstairs to dry. My deep cleaning activity was vacuuming and washing the floors downstairs (kitchen, dining room, living room and computer room) I wash the bathroom floors when I clean the fixtures. I printed out two sets of labels for a friend of mine to use, and I made my moussaka. It is a big job but well worth it. It was another good day of accomplishing much.

I had my friends from Lansdowne drop in for a visit. They came into Odessa to attend a wake for an old friend of theirs, so they didn't stay long.  They will be back on Christmas Eve for dinner and to exchange gifts. My son and DIL will be here that evening as well. I did not go out today so I never spent any money. Yay me.  I hope your weekend is going well.

O Tannenbaum

I looked at my list this morning and I chose to get the tree up and decorate it. It isn't what I consider to be part of my deep cleaning this week, but it was on my list so I won't be too upset about it. It is still a big job and I did it myself. It took most of the morning to do.

I have the Christmas tree lights and the ones on my mantel plugged into the power bar along with the television, so I will be able to enjoy the lights in my living room while watching TV in the evenings.
And since I brought down the tree decorations this morning, I finished up decorating the garland around the French doors leading from the dining room. I had the lights up for the grand kids but I didn't have time to hang the gold ornaments and beads until today.

Touches of gold.

I also clipped my red and green feathered birds to the Norfolk Pine in the computer room.
I watered the plants upstairs today....all my succulents and all the geraniums I brought inside to over-winter.

On my way out of town this afternoon, I mailed off my 50 Christmas cards that were stamped and ready to go. I dropped into my bank to do some banking before visiting one grocery store....No Frills.

Frozen produce cost $26.00 even....oriental vegetables, spinach, the last 5 bags again of winter veggies and a 2 kg package of frozen blueberries.

Fresh produce cost $13.01 (cabbage, 2 eggplant, 4 zucchini and walnuts)

I paid $11.76 for this ham  (only  $1.27 a lb)

Dairy cost $12.71  for a total expenditure of $63.48 on groceries today. I will make a moussaka with the eggplant and half the feta cheese, and I will slice up the whole ham and freeze in portions. I still need to pick up eggs, milk and cheese, but I will buy them at another store for a better price.

It is another weekend. Hope you have a good one.

The Fridge

I did in fact choose cleaning the fridge from my mile long to-do list of deep cleaning chores I had written out. Yesterday morning I finished up washing the banister and railings that surround the top of the staircase that I refer to as the loft. The nice thing about having a list of chores that I would like to get finished by Christmas, is that I feel like I have a choice about what I feel like doing on any given day. I MUST tackle one of the items but I can choose which one. Cleaning the fridge is not one of my favourite cleaning chores, but I felt I had the energy and motivation to get it done. On a day where I might not be in the mood for deep cleaning, I might choose to wipe fingerprints from the light switches, or dust my bedroom furniture. I am feeling quite proud of my clean fridge. Not only did I clean the fridge, but I also cleaned the freezer above. That was a huge job and I ended up throwing a lot of unused items into the garbage. It is never a good thing to feel fine about tossing food, but these items were left from before I went on my current diet. I cannot eat them and they are too old to offer to someone else.

Yesterday I also watered my indoor plants that are downstairs, and I made card boxes for the three sets of cards I am gifting at Christmas. I stamped the backs of my homemade Christmas cards and signed my name, and I printed out inserts with Christmas sentiments for the insides of the cards. I started signing and addressing the cards last night and finished them all today. I have spares for if I need them.

Fifty cards ready to put in the mail tomorrow.

Because I needed a bigger table for my company last weekend (and for my dinner on Christmas Eve), I moved my smaller table against the wall seen in the top photo and I brought out my craft table from my crafting room in the back, and covered it with  a Christmas tablecloth and the quilted table runner that my SIL gifted me last year.  I brought my tree indoors but have not set it up yet. I feel like I may be on schedule this year, and it feels pretty good.

A Day of Socializing

I slept until 8:15 this morning before crawling out of bed. I dressed and came downstairs instead of taking a shower. I checked over my To-Do list to pick out the deep-cleaning activity for today while having my two cups of coffee, face-timing with "Dee", and unloading the dishwasher while making my 2 egg omelet. Then I went upstairs to throw a load of laundry in the washer and have my shower and wash my hair.

Yesterday my job was washing the inside and outside of each pane of glass in all SIX French doors downstairs. That was a lot of washing. I was going to use Windex and paper toweling on them afterwards, but I think I picked too big a job for one day, and because the windows look so great already, I decided that if I have time later on, I will clean them again. So today I decided to wash the stairs, banister and railings. Again, it was a huge job, so I decided early that I would just wash the railings and banister going downstairs, and save the banister and railings around the top of the loft for tomorrow. I was just finishing up when I got a call from my son and my DIL. She had a break between classes and wanted to come out for a visit. We had lunch together and had a couple of hours visiting before they had to go back into town. Soon after I got ready to leave for Kingston myself. We were meeting at a restaurant to celebrate another friend's birthday. I should have brought Christmas cards with me but didn't think of it. The next birthday celebration isn't until February.

It snowed today and is supposed to continue all through the night. This snow is sticking and the trees look very pretty. I forgot to turn off my outside Christmas lights yesterday before going into town to help move a cedar chest for a friend of mine. So they were on to greet my arrival last night and also tonight. With snow, they look especially festive. 

 Some simple decorating inside my house. Old Christmas baubles in a hurricane glass with fake snow (from the Dollar Store) poured over top.

Different kinds of snowflakes gathered over the years are strung up with fishing line against one wall from the ceiling.