Sales, Promotions & Stocking Up

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you today?

I'm writing this on Saturday and I'm feeling very tired.  I even slept in until quite late which I haven't done in a very long time. I mentioned in a recent post that my body has been wracked with aches, pains and inflammation.  In addition, I've been out and about virtually every day running errands. Then at home I'm doing all the daily work and a few projects.  I've also read a number of books in a short space of time. I guess all these activities wore me out, especially the reading when I stay up too late to finish reading books, lol.

So today I'm taking it easy. 

I have an errand to run and bedding laundry to do. I will make a simple dinner of hamburger patties, seasoned potato wedges, veggies and fruits. I'll relax by reading my last unread library book, Reckless Daughter by David Yaffe. It's a biography of the Canadian folksinger icon, Joni Mitchell.

DH had to wake early and go to work.   I showered and changed quite late in the day. The sky has clouded over but the forecast says only a 30 percent chance of rain so we'll see.  

I'm going out to buy a big box of paper towels. I'd also like to buy a box of toilet paper. They are quite large boxes and they are on offer for about a third to a half off the regular price depending on where you buy them.  I'll try and buy one box today and one tomorrow if there are any left.  I bought such boxes last time they were on offer and I've just run out of the paper towels. We bought several boxes of toilet paper and we still have a few packages left. I like buying these things in bulk so I'm not running errands to buy these items every week or so.  

As for other household needs, I've cut back on buying too much because it often goes to waste. I came to this conclusion after all the decluttering I've been doing. I have to keep reminding myself not to over buy things though as I seem to like to buy things, lol.

How about your dear reader? Are you someone who stocks up on everything? Only some things? Or not at all?  Most of my friends do not buy anything to keep on stock. They prefer going out to buy daily for their food and also buy the household needs when and if they need them. I was raised to do the opposite and it's hard to change. In fact, I feel it can be cheaper to purchase things when on offer and have them on hand. In addition, I don't want to have to leave the house to buy something because I've run out. I like being prepared. I still remember those days not so long ago when it was even hard to buy toilet paper.  Though it isn't the reason I like to stock up a bit, it's one more reason not to be caught empty handed.

Happy New Year

Hello everyone, I'm just popping in to let you know I've been enjoying my Christmas holiday.

I spent a few days doing a bit of last minute shopping for stocking stuffers, tidying and cleaning and preparing for the Christmas meal which was loved and enjoyed by the invited guests. One of my guests was sick so didn't come but the 6 other guests made it and we had great time of feasting and fellowship.

I especially enjoyed seeing that my guests not only enjoyed the food but in some cases had 2-3 helpings.  I remember several of these same guests to dinner about 3 years ago when they were still fairly new to Canada. At that time they only ate sparingly. I don't know if it was due to cultural differences of what is polite, they didn't like the food or they were unaccustomed to the flavours of a Canadian Christmas.  What a difference a few years made!

I did a bit of last minute baking and one of the new to me items this year was Chocolate Crinkle cookies using Betty Crocker cake mix. I got the idea from Affectioknit's blog. My crinkle cookies didn't crinkle quite enough but they were tasty. I do hope to make them again as they are very simple to prepare.

Since Christmas, I've been slowly clearing all the dishes from Christmas Day and general tidying up. I've also gone out several times to shop for sales and to run a few errands. It has kept me busy enough though I made sure to skip the Boxing Day madness.  There are always so many people in the stores on Boxing Day that I prefer to avoid the shops. There are still lots of sales for the week after Christmas though you will have less selection as people go crazy snapping up the goods while they are on clearance prices. As for me, I try to do my clearance shopping throughout the year.

One of the places I went to was Michael's. I was looking for a small, table top Christmas tree to replace the one I've been using (above).  But they were practically sold out of Christmas items and there was not one tree in sight. Instead I purchased yarn, also on sale. I started making a new to me crochet afghan. Figuring out the pattern was a bit frustrating so after several tries I gave up and went looking for help on YouTube.

Fortunately the pattern is relatively simple once you figure it out! I normally gravitate toward brighter colours and was very tempted to buy bright blues or reds this time too.  But I like the soothing quality of the colours I selected. This afghan will be used as a throw in my living room on those chilly evenings.  The colour in the finished product will complement my living room furnishings better too.

Today (December 27th) I must go out and  buy a few items for New Year's dinner. It won't be a big dinner as we have a family tradition of remaining quietly at home and contemplating what is before us in the New Year.

Like many of you I do not make New Year's resolutions but several years ago I started setting out goals in several areas of my life (things I wanted to accomplish in each area of importance). 

This method has worked well for me to keep me moving forward in several areas of my life.

A few years ago I added a guiding word for myself to keep me mindful of a key theme I need to focus on over the year.

~~~

In 2017, I set my intention to rest but was only partially successful. 

Or should I say intermittently successful.

Mom's health deteriorated progressively in 2017 and she ultimately passed on Good Friday. 

After that I did take a good long rest which I sorely needed.

~~~~

In 2018 my word is "act" or "action".
(Col. 3: 23-24, 1 Peter 1:13, Titus 1: 16)

 Over the course of years a number of things on my personal agenda had to be pushed back or left undone due to circumstances and other priorities. 

I won't list my goals for 2018 as I haven't even set them down in writing yet.

There are a number of things to get done in 2018 (crocheting, knitting, a bit of quilting a bit of traveling) so I will be moving forward on those.  

Last year I also set a very modest reading goal of about 32 books. I say about because I don't remember the original number and it kept increasing as I read more books. In the end I finished off 47 books without having my nose in a book every day.  

In 2018 I will keep my reading goals to a modest number once again. For now it is set at 35 books and that number will likely inch up again.  A lower number lets me feel like I have time to do other things as well as partake in reading, one of my favourite hobbies.  If I didn't take the time to set other intentions then reading would be all I ever did.

 The goal will inch up fairly quickly at first because I already have about 7 books on the go which are at various stages of completion.

As for other goals those haven't been fleshed out yet but I have enough to get started.

We've had a few beautiful sunny days which usually means colder weather. It will warm up approximately 6 degrees and bring the rain.

Before I go I wanted to wish each and every one of you a safe and peaceful the New Year. 

 May 2018 be all you hope for and more.

 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.  
(Psalm 90:12)

Joining in with Lady Fi and the gang at Our World Tuesday

This and That Kind of Week

 Hi friends,




It continues to be a busy time around here.  One thing that keeps me very busy most weeks is my "secret" activity which I hinted at in earlier posts.  It deserves a post of it's own as it keeps me fairly busy.  That post will likely come in the new year after I've had enough time to assess the full benefits.

I've also been catching up to household chores (dish washing by hand, sweeping and mopping floors, laundry and general tidying). In between I am running errands and/or reading a good book.It's been awhile since I've shared what new books I've read. I've put photos on this page showing you my current reading.

Another thing that keep me busy is looking for savings every week. This week I've been looking for savings on staples for the house and kitchen. I got a great deal on liquid laundry soap for high efficiency washers at Safeway.  On top of the financial savings, I got some great bonus Air-miles points. I wanted 4 big jugs of laundry detergent which the store didn't have but they gave me a rain check and will honor the bonus Air-miles.

I also kept my eyes open for other deals. This week the best deal has to be on Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (439 grams per box) at $1.98 each.  A savings of $4.00 per box!!  I also bought 4 cans of milk at 99 cents a can. The price of evaporated milk has soared in the recent years to well over $2.00 per can.  That means the sale price is more than 50% off. It is rare to find evaporated milk at 99 cents a can these days. My other great deals of the week are: 10 kg. of Robin Hood Flour @ $9.98 and Folgers Coffee for $7.98. I usually buy Maxwell House at $6.99 per can but I haven't seen it on sale for a few months.

I also bought a bag of small eggplant (6-7 in the bag) for $1.00. They were used right away in a stir fry. Romaine lettuce, spinach and English cucumbers were this week's purchases on sale (all prices in Canadian dollars). I used the greens in smoothies. The cucumbers are for salad.

I don't have to buy any meat right now.  My eldest nephew gave me some elk meat (prepared by the butcher into ground meat, sausages, garlic coil and steaks). He also gave me some wild salmon which he caught and vacuum packed. Originally I was to get this in August but just brought it home the week before last.

I didn't mean to turn this post into "what I bought this week on sale", lol.  But as I was typing this post I realized that I spend a good deal of my time researching sale prices on each and everything I buy. Food and household shopping takes up the bulk of this time.

I try to time my purchases to get store points or Air-miles (reward miles) whenever I can so that adds more time to the planning aspect of shopping.  I kind of enjoy this aspect because it seems to multiple my savings so much.  Next I will likely buy paper towels and toilet paper at Safeway.  There is a sale on these items for a few days starting Friday.  An added incentive is that they are having another bonus Air-miles promotion.  John of John's Island asked what I will use the Air-miles for but at this moment I am not sure. It takes quite a awhile to build up points to anything of value. But I did manage to get two nights at a hotel in New York (actually New Jersey a short train ride away) last summer.

Another activity I spend a lot of time on each week is trying to improve my health.  I'm trying out this new to me powdered herb blend called Daily Turmeric. It is supposed to help with inflammation. I thought I would try one month of this blended turmeric and see if I notice anything different. I know turmeric is supposed to be good for arthritis. I do have turmeric I use in my curries and soups but this blend appealed to me.

It is quite a strong tasting blend. I tried it at the health food store where they put it in juice but I seldom drink store bought juice.  Instead I put a serving in my romaine-strawberry-orange smoothie today. I could probably just use my own turmeric powder but I don't have the black cherry to add to it in powdered form. I also do use turmeric spice in my cooking. Once I run out of the Daily Turmeric I will try just adding regular turmeric spice to my smoothies. It will be a lot less expensive.

Tonight, I have to get out my sewing machine and make an adjustment to a robe my nephew wants to wear tomorrow when he and his girlfriend go out for Halloween. He will be dressing as a judge and has his white wig ready to go.  On the news today I heard that Halloween is now 2nd only to Christmas in terms of retail sales profits.

I don't celebrate Halloween because of my faith. It's made a bit easier by the fact I never get children coming to my door for treats. My nephew says he wouldn't celebrate either but for his girlfriend who wants to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of their meeting. He is a good boyfriend; always very considerate of his lovely girlfriend. I could pass on helping with his costume but he relies on me and I love him so I will do this small favor (of course he also gets my opinions, lol).

If any of you are going out with children or friends on Halloween, please take care and stay warm and safe.