My Sister's Birthday

We are going over to my Dad's house again for dinner. "Dee" is roasting a turkey dinner for us and making a keto dessert for the birthday dinner. My sister is contributing a cauliflower dish and I will make the keto gravy. I made my sister a birthday card yesterday. I took a photo but won't show it until tomorrow, after she has received it.

Today I picked up my sister in the van and drove over to No-Frills, after baking another keto loaf of bread.  I didn't think I would need to pick up groceries this week, but I really did need to buy coffee (which I forgot about last week) and more eggs for the week. But unfortunately, I did not just stick to my list. I picked up a few specials and things I thought I needed.

 Veggies (fresh and frozen) for $17.80 and bacon for $3.  I bought 10 lbs of rutabaga for $5.94. Later,  I will peel, dice, cook, mash, and freeze in portions. I bought 2 bags of oriental mix, red onion, more cabbage and a bag of riced cauliflower. That was a splurge at $3.97

Dairy cost $13.45  The smaller containers cost less than the usual large containers I buy, AND the cottage cheese has also gone up in price. I really notice the price increases now on the products I am always buying. 

Pantry items cost me $24.21  Folgers coffee was the cheapest ground coffee to buy this week at $7.97
My 30 coffee pods that I buy for company cost $11.97  The baking soda was $1 and no name baking powder was $3.27  I spent a total of $58.45 incl. taxes on groceries this week, which leaves me a total of $15 for the rest of the month. Of course I can go over if I need to, but I will try not to. That is the whole idea of trying to live on a budget. At the end of the month, I will give a clearer picture of my spending, what I learned and how to do better.

When I returned home, I made a tuna salad sandwich with my freshly baked loaf and my keto mayonnaise that I order through Amazon. I also had a side of cottage cheese. I cleared more snow from the top of my driveway so I can drive up further. We were going to travel to the Sault today, but that has been postponed until tomorrow, as more snow was predicted. Tomorrow is MY turn to have a birthday. I will be turning 70...seven...zero. I've been spoiled all week with lots of cards and gifts coming in the mail. I'll be meeting a friend for tea in the morning and then we will leave in the afternoon for an overnight stay in Sault Ste Marie. Have a great evening and I may or may not be posting tomorrow.

Family Day

One of the blogs I check out from time to time is Thrifty Mom in Boise, by a single woman with two girls. They all pitch in for only 15 minutes a day to do housecleaning chores to keep on top of things. Well I can tell you right now that 15 minutes a day would not begin to cut it for me. It takes me forever to get things done. It would take me the whole 15 minutes just to wash down one of my kitchen shelves.  But yesterday morning, I decided to give it a try anyway.

In my Daybook post, I identified a few little jobs that needed doing in my "around the house...".  I said that I still needed to make my bed, vacuum up the front door hallway, wash down the kitchen counters, and pick up the paper strips and scraps that littered my dining table. If I set a timer, surely I could do that in 15 minutes. Here is how that experiment went.

It started out great. I started out making my bed and then I grabbed the vacuum cleaner from the closet in the back bedroom. I vacuumed the mat  and the surrounding tile at the front door, and as long as I already had the vacuum out, I could quickly do the kitchen floor and the mat at the side door. It would only take a few seconds more. Since my deep cleaning job for the day was to scrub down the spice cabinet shelves, I should take the opportunity to vacuum out those shelves before I washed them. But first I would need to take all the spice jars out. Well, I could do that and just take that time off the 15 minute time limit. And if I was going to prepare the spice cabinet for a scrub, I should also remove all the items from the top of my pantry cupboards, so when I ran my bucket of hot water I could just do both jobs quickly. I could spritz my homemade cleaner on the surfaces to begin the process. But as I was removing the potted aloe, the top heavy plant shifted in the clay pot and spilled over.

Now I had aloe plants and dirt all over the floor that I had just vacuumed. Thank goodness I had bags of potting soil and empty plant pots in the back bedroom.  I repotted the aloe into a bigger container and the little babies were put back into the smaller clay pot, so now I could redo the kitchen floor and wipe up all the kitchen counters. My experiment was already shot, so I gave up and began my deep cleaning of the cabinets.

The top of these cabinets took a lot of work, so after they were scrubbed and dried, I lay down pieces of rubberised shelf liners. Next time I will just throw those in the washing machine to clean. By this time, it was 12:45 and I was expecting company to arrive after one o'clock. The papers were still on the dining table, so I made lunch instead.

One of my afternoon visitors was my sister. We went down to the craft room and I finished off my first mini scrapbook.

 The covers are pages of a child's board book. I pick them up very cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales, and then cover them with scrapbook paper. The binding is layered duct tape (I used white for this book, and hot glued some brown twill ribbon over the seam.)

 Here is a picture inside the first page. There are 3 page "assemblies" in this book. I use the envelope mini scrapbook by Kathy Orta on You Tube and I use her hinge and binding system. These are 5x7 inch black envelopes and notecards from Michaels.

 One page assembly holds 18 large photos, not counting the little mats. ("This is my story" card you see in this photo) These smaller mats that I have included, can be tucked into the bottom pockets. These are also matted on both sides to include smaller photos or some journalling.  The double pocket insert with the two larger photo mats seen here is made from one 12x12 inch piece of black cardstock.  The double pocket  is attached to the flaps of the two envelopes, and then matted with decorative paper to hide the "mechanics" of gluing the envelopes and card stock together. 

Different sized photo mats are included within the album. The note cards hold photos as large as 4x6, four photos per notecard. The tall photo mat (mustaches) is 7x4 1/2 inches, so could hold one large photo with journalling, or two smaller photos, on both sides. The next size is also for a 4x6 photo, and the small tag is just under 3x4 inches.  All the mats are decorated front and back to hold photos. The actual envelope pages are for 5x7 photos. I have made several of these books as gifts. Some I have already filled with photos, and some are for filling by the recipient. I have decorated for masculine, girly-girly,  every day and graduation pictures. Some have been 3 pages assemblies and some hold only two (for 36 plus).

These are easy to make, but time consuming and repetitious. So I will be making Easter cards now for a while before I begin my next mini photo album. Today's activity will be snow shovelling. It is really coming down right now.

Daybook: Monday, Feb. 17/20

Outside my window.....it is a clear, sunny day with a current temperature of minus 13 degrees. The snow outside my living room window is almost as high as the bottom ledge.

I am thinking.....that I won't be able to remove my Christmas lights for maybe another two months because they are buried in snow and ice.

I am thankful for.....lots of bright sunny days. Although colder, they are better than overcast, snowy days.

From the kitchen.....there hasn't been a lot of cooking going on the past few days. I baked a loaf of keto bread and made chili on Saturday, but last night we enjoyed another great meal by my sister at Dad and Dee's house. It was the meal she prepared for Bingo night, but we couldn't have,  due to the weather. She sent leftovers home with me for tonight's dinner.

I am wearing.....black jeans, black socks, and a dark gray thin knit pullover sweater with draped neckline.

I am creating.....some mini scrapbooks decorated with masculine papers for future projects. I will soon have to start some Spring and Easter cards for the kids and family members.

I am going......nowhere planned today as it is a provincial holiday called Family Day. I believe the stores are closed and I don't need anything. I will face time with my kids later today.

I am hoping.....to clean more kitchen cabinets today, as I did not get to them on the weekend.

I am hearing.....the ticking of my mantle clock. I don't usually think of asking Alexa to play music unless I am crafting. I love the sound of silence.

Around the house.....my bed still needs to be made, the front door  hallway needs to be vacuumed again, and the kitchen counters need to be wiped down after I opened my used coffee pods this morning to save the grounds for my garden (to be). I have some decorative scrapbook paper strips still left on the dining table that I will paste together to make background mats for future cards.

One of my favourite things.....is still my crafting space downstairs.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include a day trip to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday (weather dependent) and meeting my friend at a downtown tea shop on Thursday. She was meeting with friends this morning whom she hasn't seen for quite a while, and so we moved our Monday morning date to Thursday.

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

View from my patio door this morning. Sometimes, I wonder if I will ever be able to sit out on the patio this summer. That is my BBQ just to the left. On the right hand side is my round patio table. The snow is higher than the top of the table. But notice that there are no houses immediately behind my house. It is just an open field...very private.

Lazy Saturday

I began my Saturday morning by doing 2 loads of laundry in my upstairs washer and dryer. Of course, that simply means I put the clothes in the machine and turned the dial. Big job! And then I made another keto loaf, and then I was done. Besides being on my laptop computer all morning, that was it. In the afternoon, I went back to bed. It was very snowy yesterday, so it was actually a good day to hide under the covers. We did not go out for dinner and play TV Bingo together, because of the weather and the road conditions.  Good thing I left the bingo sheets the previous night with the other family members.....just in case.

I made myself another pot of chili to eat with my keto bread and played bingo by myself.Then I did something that was out of character for me since moving here. I watched TV until 11 o'clock. Since moving to Elliot Lake, I have not been watching any TV at home, not even Netflix or Amazon Prime. I don't know why exactly, but I stopped watching TV when I had to get my house packed up and things sold off back in Odessa. I actually sold my big TV, since I wasn't watching it, and it would have been too difficult to move it. I brought the smaller TV with me and got basic cable.....just to host TV bingo nights with the family. Otherwise, it is never on.

This morning, I got up at my regular time, had my two cups of coffee, shovelled the walkway and the driveway, laid down some salt, and was eating my 2 egg omelette with mushrooms, cheese and bacon by 9:30. I don't have any other plans except to get at my kitchen cabinets again, so I can call that job finished by the end of the month. Crossing my fingers. I think I can call the past week fairly successful, but only because I didn't set myself any goals. I guess that is the secret.

My sister thought perhaps she would come over today to craft, but we are having more snow flurries right now. I don't know how much we are expecting because I haven't heard the forecast yet. If she doesn't come, maybe I can clean up some of my files today. Bless from My Two Cents has almost inspired me to get mine done.

My desk area is in a corner of the downstairs rec room, so "outta sight, outta mind".

Dog-sitting

Today my sister and her husband have driven to Sault Ste. Marie for the day (a 2 1/2 hour drive one way), and will be back tonight in time for dinner at my Dad and "Dee's" place. Rocky and I have also been invited. When Rocky first arrived, I took him for his walk around the Crescent. He loves his walk.

Isn't he cute? After his walk he needs a nap to recover from all that exercise (ha,ha), so it was a good opportunity to finish up the scrub down of my kitchen pantry cupboards. As long as I remain in the house close by, he is happy.

Again, I took everything out and washed the shelves (backs, sides, and underneath) as well as the inside of the cupboard doors, and again it took  until noon. You know that after two hours the water is going to be cold and grungy. Yuck!  I still have not done the tops of the cabinets. I think I will tackle that tomorrow morning when I wash my little spice cabinet. So the taller cabinet is my "paper" cabinet, except for the bottom shelf which holds my battery operated drill, my main tool box and some basic hardware. I keep the bigger tools and less often used hardware downstairs in the basement.  I have my swiffer duster and a bag of rags hanging on the inside of the door. The wider cabinet on the left holds appliances, except for the top shelf which holds towels and dishcloths and my spice grinder. I am just so grateful for these added kitchen storage cupboards. Everything is just so handy, yet hidden away from view.

I also finished the plant hanger this morning. I didn't work on it last night, because when I stop to make supper, I am usually done for the day. Anyways, I put an empty pot in it just to take a photo. I don't know yet whether it will be a gift, or if I will use it somewhere in the house. I have some jute and lots more wooden beads in the craft room that I can make another. I have a jute planter in my living room window that is holding my Boston fern, but I have several other windows especially at the back of the house that could use a hanging plant. They are so quick to make up.

Tonight is dinner at my Dad's house. Tomorrow is dinner and TV Bingo at my sister's house. So I have a good start to my weekend. How is your weekend shaping up? Hope it's a good one.

Deep Cleaning

I finally took the plunge this morning and started emptying the cupboards in the eating area of the kitchen. My plan was to wash all of them down, including the inside of the cupboard doors and the top of the unit. I didn't make it....but I got started. I ended up doing half of them. By then it was noon, the water had cooled right down, and my right glove had developed a pinhole somewhere which allowed the cold dirty water to touch my skin. Ewww! I could have filled my bucket again with clean hot water, but I figured I had spent enough time cleaning. It can wait until tomorrow. I used my homemade cleaning solution and sprayed it under the shelves, the sides and back of the unit, as well as the shelves themselves. I like using my cleaning solution (vinegar, Dawn, washing soda) as it really loosens up all the dirt.

My clean and organised shelves.  The tall one to the left holds cleaning and laundry supplies as it is next to the stackable washer and dryer and serves as my broom closet.

I took my compost out to the back yard to empty it into the garden composter. I shook out my hallway mat to rid some of the road salt that was brought inside, and then because I was dressed for outside, I decided to go for my mail.

 I took this photo from my driveway. Those brown boxes at the end of the sidewalk are the mailboxes. I literally have to walk to the next driveway to pick up my mail. Notice that we have a little bit of snow. At the end of the day yesterday, the city crew was out cutting back the snowbanks from the road. They don't take snow from the top of the banks.....just from the side to widen the roadway.

It was a gorgeous day today with sun and blue skies. The temperature was a little nippy, but not bad.
Today, the crew came back to cut back the banks on the other side of the street.

This afternoon I decided to take all those lengths of cotton macrame cord that I had already cut up a couple of weeks ago, and started another plant hanger. It is working with my hands and creating something both useful and pretty, and it goes very quickly. I decided to wait and work on my mini scrap books when my sister is here crafting, so we can spend time together making paper crafts. 

I will probably finish it up tonight after supper, which is warmed up leftover chili.

Have a great evening.

Scrap Booking and Cooking

Lately, it seems, my plans for the week are more like suggestions. I have a list of things I'd like to get done, but oftentimes I run out of time before I even get started. Today was one of those days. I wanted to get started bright and early on emptying my pantry shelves and washing them. But as it happened,  I slept in and didn't wake up until the phone rang at 8:30. While I drank my two cups of coffee, I answered several emails and commented on my blog.  I was on the phone with people I really enjoy talking with and before I knew it, my sister was here to do some crafting. I joined her naturally. While she made cards, I continued making page assemblies for the mini scrapbooks I am creating. I know now what I am going to do with them, so I am excited about that.

After she left, I fried up a package of bacon that has been sitting in the fridge waiting for me to do something with. It is now in the freezer waiting to be added to my eggs or to a casserole. I chopped some red onion, mushrooms, and pepper strips to fry up with a pound of ground beef and made into a chili con carne for my dinner tonight. While that was simmering, I made another keto loaf.
Even so, I did not get to eat until after seven o'clock. I went out to get my mail, which turned out to be my auto insurance renewal and two more valentines. I love getting happy mail.

All in all, it was a good day. Did I get anything done? Well, yes; but nothing from my to-do list. I guess I will have to feel satisfied with getting in a day's work, even if I didn't "accomplish" much. There is no photo today. Sorry about that. I should have taken a picture of my chili with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Yum. I could have taken a photo of the crisp bacon slices or the nicely browned keto loaf, but I didn't.....and I am done for the day. Have a good night.