Fantastic Views in Vancouver

This photo represents  just a tiny fraction of the fantastic views I saw on my fantabulous walk today! 

I will be sharing more soon but in the meantime, I invite you to check this link for more wonderful sky scenes from around the globe.

Savings in April

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; 
the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psalm 24:1 KJV

Some of you read my post on saving money in March. If you haven't already and you would like to read it, you can do so here.  I wasn't going to do another post about savings this month but I had a couple of really great cost savings and I wanted to share.

Over the weekend I was lamenting the bare freezer and lack of meat in it for my roommate who eats a lot. Also the coffers were quite bare and wouldn't take much of a hit. There was virtually nothing on sale last weekend meat-wise or food wise. Since I've been sick with cold all week I didn't have much time to address my mind to how to solve this problem. Well God is good.

After reviewing last weekend's flyers and finding nothing, I was so blessed this week to find chicken on a great sale. Chicken legs (drumstick and thigh) were on sale for $1.00 a pound. This is a virtually unheard of price so I sent my roommie off to the store to bring home about 33 pounds of chicken.

This has now all been re-packaged into servings for two and there are also 3 larger packages for making larger dinners ahead of time or for inviting someone over.  Altogether I counted 20 packages of chicken.  Tomorrow we may get more to fill up the rest of the freezer.  This protein source will be supplemented with pulses like chick peas, navy beans and kidney beans and a few other meats like minced beef and a bit of pork.

On the top and bottom are the bags of chicken, red items on the right are bags of buckwheat to put on tired muscles, bags of ice and frozen fruit for smoothies on far left.

Normally, I try to make oat porridge and this month I have added Cream of Wheat to the stocks.  But I also like to have cold cereals on hand for those days when I want a change. I was able to purchase these two boxes of cereal (below) for $2.99 each. This is a savings of almost $3.00 per box of cereal.  The box of cheerios is made of whole grain wheat and the bran flakes are full of fibre.  For other wheat type products I hope to buy 5 kg. of flour for $6.99.

Flour as well as many other staples like meat have really soared in price over the last many months. I don't know exactly when it happened but it is certainly noticeable at the food stores.  Sometimes the cost of steak, chicken, and other meats/fowl is more than double to what it was selling for over the summer even.  Flour has also doubled in price so I do not buy it unless it is on sale. I remember when I could purchase 10 kg. of flour for about $10.99 and you now pay that for half the amount of flour. Has this happened where you live too?  I think it is a world wide phenomena. I'd heard that pasta prices were going up long ago due to the cost of wheat and semolina flour much of which comes from Canada but I don't know how the prices have increased in other countries as a result.

I like having fresh fruit on hand but always look for it on sale. Here is a box of clam shell strawberries for $2.98 (I often get them for $2.50 a box) and a bag of red grapes for $2.45. I won't pay more than $1.99 per pound of grapes and they don't come often at this price. I got these ones for $1.50 per pound. Perhaps I should have bought a bit more and freeze some for snacks. They are good cold. Have you ever eaten them that way?

I like avocados in a vegetable sandwich or in a salad and in home made guacamole though I haven't made the latter in a long time. I thought 3 avocados for $2.00 was a fantastic buy as they are often $1.50 per avocado.

 

I also got 5 large lemons for $2.00. I like using lemons in cooking and in adding to tea or coca cola to cut the sweetness. Other good deals this week were two packages of chocolate chips for $2.50 per package.  These will be great for making cookies and/or squares. Another good deal was a small package of dry salt pork for $1.78 for the next time I want to make baked beans.

I was also able to replenish paper towels at 6 rolls (70 sheets per roll) for $4.99.  I prefer at least 80 sheets per roll but you get what you can, when you can. Toilet paper stock was added to by purchasing 12 double rolls of 270 sheets per roll. This paper cost about $5.99 on sale and is made from recycled paper.

In surfing the websites I like to frequent, I was directed to this video and this short, thought-provoking article entitled "Are You an Over-Buyer or an Under-Buyer".  I enjoyed it a lot and thought you might too so you can find it here.  I know I am most certainly an over-buyer which is why I have clutter. I like to be prepared for all things and sometimes take it a little too far. As the woman says, one "type" is not better than the other. We each have our challenges and I am trying not to overbuy where it isn't necessary.

In my earlier post on savings I mentioned that I hadn't yet got around to seeking a reduced interest rate on my credit cards.  Well I did get up the effort this month on one card.  The bank agreed and brought down my interest from 12.99 percent to just under 6%. Can you believe it? That is more than a 50% reduction in interest rate and I could have had it much sooner. I hadn't realized until I made the call that I was on a fixed interest rate, not a variable one. I feel blessed for having found this out. While I know that interest rates are intended to go up, it is not likely to affect this credit card rate anytime soon. At least I will have some breathing room on the interest accruing on the unpaid balance.

I added about $2.80 to the Snowflake Jar Fund. When it reaches $200.00 I hope to help a woman entrepreneur in Kenya to expand her business by giving her a loan. Once she pays back the fund, it will be re-loaned to another woman and so on. The challenge will be to find women who can benefit from a loan this small as Kenya is fast becoming a very expensive country.  This will be my little contribution to helping women in the developing world.  I'd love to have you join me in this if it is something you would be interested in. Write me and I can tell you more.

Wings of Eagles

Have you ever seen a city eagle?  I was fortunate enough that when I worked on the 29th floor of a tower in the city, I would often see about 4 eagles flying and swooping very high in the sky. It was always thrilling to watch them swooping and gliding.

The other day I was in the City of Kamloops and saw my very first City of Kamloops eagle. At first I wasn't sure that it was an eagle.  Under my breath I said, "I wish I could know for sure that it was an eagle". No sooner had I said that and it started flying toward me. It didn't fly so close but just close enough to see it's wing tips and it's white head. I was thrilled and snapped my photo.

Seeing eagles fly always reminds me of the verse in Isaiah 40:31 so I cropped my photo and added the text.  This happens to be one of my favourite bible verses. It is also stitched on my bible cover.

Have you ever seen a city eagle? If so, where? How did it make you feel?

One Neighbourhood on a Scenic Sunday

Scenic Sunday is, for me, a time to share more than one photo. It is a time to give you a flavour of some of the beauty in my country. I've shared several posts already about Kamloops and this is actually where I am spending the Easter long weekend.

So let me share some photos of one neighbourhood in the part of the city known as North Kamloops. There is nothing of note in these photos, no history I want to share. Just photos of a common neighbourhood in an older section of this part of town. I thought it would be especially interesting to my friends abroad to see what some of the older neighbourhoods look like. As you can see, most of our buildings are not made of stone and the buildings are not that old, historically speaking.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Please visit again soon.

Click on the badge above for more beautiful scenes from around the world.

Vancouver Sky ~ Skywatch Friday, April 2, 2010

Here are some recent photos of the sky over Vancouver. It has been a cloudy and rainy Spring so far.

I captured these snapshots of the sun breaking through the clouds during a break in the rain as I was leaving the Emergency Room earlier this week. I was grateful that my tests showed nothing abnormal. I was very impressed with the hospital I went to. I've never been treated so well by all the staff from admission to discharge. That makes a short hospital stay all the more pleasant, doesn't it?

As I close this post, let me wish each of you and your respective families and loved ones,

a very blessed Easter weekend.

 

They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

John 20:9 (NIV) 

Easter is a promise
God renews to us in each spring.
May the promise of Easter
fill your heart with peace and joy!
Happy Easter!

Click here for more photos from around the world.

My World Tuesday ~ A Walk on Cambie

Sunday night was a loud night of rattling winds and rain. Monday morning it poured torrential rains and after it stopped, I thought it was safe to go out for a walk and errands. I got caught in the rain and more wind and was a bit chilled despite having 3/4 length sleeves on my sweater and my jacket but I pressed on and managed to get everything done that I had set out to do.  I also managed to get some beautiful photos.

Most of these snapshots were taken on Cambie Street.  The street under which the new rapid transit and subway links the Vancouver International Airport to Downtown Vancouver. Though the train opened in October 2009, I still haven't even had a chance to ride it.  I am hoping to get out to the airport well before I travel again by plane.

Here is a little peek down a side street.

 

I thought this tree showed off the lovely blooming green leaves.

In this photo you can see the clouds parted and the blue sky peeked out for a bit.

The gate at this house was just too cute to pass by without taking a photo. I wonder if the husband of the household gifted his wife with this gate on Valentine's Day? I think that would be a romantic thing to do.

At this time of the season I am pleased to find blossoms on trees and this Magnolia was no exception. Isn't it pretty?  Even the carpet of fallen leaves is so pretty. The rose bush was also a delightful find.

These next photos capture some of the buildings in the neighbourhood. They are taken to show others around the world what it looks like here. If one has never been to a place, one is often curious about what it looks like. Even if you have visited a place, I find that in this day of rapid development, things don't stay the same for long.

The Park in the background is a Vancouver institution and one of the old style movie theatres in the city.

In the photo above there is a tall building in the background with a circular top. It is the Harbour Center. Read about it here.

I end this tour with a panorama of the city skyline.

 

As you can see, the sky above is still very menacing but I'm happy to report that the rain held off until I finished my errands and returned home. I was very glad of that since I was laden with bags and very tired.

 

Click

Addendum: LV over at http://livinatmemescorner.blogspot.com kindly posted this award for me today. I think it is a cool award and it glady accept it because that is what I try to do with my blogs; bring a little ray of sunshine (and it doesn't ask me to do anything *smile).

Saving Pennies in March

I continue to try and cut daily and monthly living costs wherever possible and to save money on food in various ways so I can pay down my debts as quickly as possible. I haven't kept a journal of what I am doing but in thinking about little ways I've saved money this month here is what I remember.

Food Savings

~ I purchased flats of canned mushrooms, canned beans and kernel corn. I usually purchase these in individual cans which is not very cost effective so I don't buy them as often as I would like. After doing a cost per can analysis, I purchased these particular canned goods because they are staples in good home cooking and because the price ended up being between 82 and 88 cents per can.  The savings is about a 17 to 86 cent savings per can depending on where I buy them so I think I got quite a bargain.

~ Of course dried goods purchased in bulk are even less expensive than canned goods on sale. I purchased dried garbanzo beans (chick peas) which cost about a third the cost of canned beans when I am able to buy them in bulk. I soaked and cooked the beans to be used in making a couple of meals. I also used garbanzo beans to make a red pepper hummus this week.  The other beans I soaked and cooked were navy beans for use in the boston baked beans dish I made earlier in the month.
~ I shopped the flyers and was able to purchase, beef roast, chicken drumsticks and whole chickens, all for less than $2.00 per pound or $4.35 cents per kilogram. These are excellent prices for meat and it is not usual to get this good price in my neighbourhood. I always try to buy more meat when it is on sale. Then I cut it and re-package it into portions for cooking. Out of one package of meat, I can usually get 2 or 3 meals to feed 2 people and one of the people is a very large eater. Once I get a small freezer I will be able to buy more meat ahead of time, and also freeze soups and cooked meals for warming.
~ I shopped the flyers each week. This past week I was able to keep the cost of a 12 pack of double roll toilet paper and a pack of 6 roll paper towels to less than $5.00 a package. I like to buy 2 ply toilet paper with at least 250 sheets per roll and paper towels with at least 80 sheets per roll. One hundred (100 ) sheets is preferable but they are sometimes not available. I always do the cost analysis of each roll of toilet paper and paper towel in order to get the best buy. Fortunately paper products are generally on sale at one of the several places where I buy them in the neighbourhood.

~ I made snacks at home this month rather than buy them ready made. I made a batch of chocolate chip and raisin cookies, a batch of cinnamon rolls and some red pepper hummus for spreading on crackers or dipping tortilla chips.

~ I bought some bulk spice to make my own spice mixtures and arrowroot for baking. These ones are pre-packed in small convenient packs and are much less expensive than those in the food stores that come in cans or small glass jars.

Clothing Savings

~ I spent $100 on 2 pair of pants and got $25 back, plus a $40 coupon for spending in April.  I also get points from this purchase toward a gift certificate. I often shop for my niece and my mom at this store as well so it is easy to rack up the points toward a gift certificate. After I shop about 4 or 5 times at this store I have enough points for a $25. off coupon. The coupon comes in handy for buying undergarments or sleepwear for myself or family members and the coupons are valid for up to one year.

Household Savings

~ These next few 'savings' could also be deemed to be bad purchases. I choose to look at them as purchases returned which ultimately saved me money. I bought and returned a personal purchase of much needed undergarments for $186. and taxes. I purchased from afar and the items didn't fit so I returned them. I also purchased a new bedspread for my niece who has recently moved. I found the package was missing the cushion and pillow sham so these purchases were also returned for a "savings" of $60. and taxes. I also bought a 5 drawer cart on wheels. It was on sale for $19 and taxes (half price). When I got it home and turned it over, it had a big hole in it so back it went to the store. These purchases were headaches because they did not pan out and wasted my time as well as the cost of return shipping in the first instance and the cost of return bus fare in the other two cases. If I look at it from a positive perspective, I feel like I saved myself from making about $300. worth of purchases. If I still need these items later (example the undergarments), I can purchase what I need later. I also learned that I will no longer be shopping at this one particular store where I had to return the items. It is not the first time I have had problems with purchases where I get something home only to find out later that something is missing from the package. It is regrettable as this used to be one of my favourite stores to get good value for the dollar.
~ I switched one set of bathroom lights to energy saving bulbs and I also have a new fixture which uses 3 bulbs instead of 8. I am not sure what the total cost savings is but I know there will be some. This is also a move toward green living. The only thing I am concerned about is the toxic mercury contained in the bulbs. I hope I never break one!
~I unplugged several of my appliances and now now I totally shut down the computer each night. Apparently all this saves energy (phantom energy use).
~ There were a few days that it was quite cool in my home. I turned on the ceramic heater rather than the household electrical heat. This little heater is more efficient than the household heat and I can direct the heat to where I need it.

Miscellaneous

~ I haven't yet got around to asking for lower interest rate on my current credit cards and I haven't been able to find a 0% credit card like some bloggers write about when recommending how to get out of debt. However, I did find a credit card with 1% cash back and 1.99 % introductory interest rate for balance transfers. I don't usually go for these kinds of deals because the interest after the introductory period is usually quite high. In this case however, I get an introductory period of 10 months which I think is quite generous. So I'm going to transfer a sum of debt that I can pay off in 10 months and then not use this card at all except for perhaps paying utilities which would then get paid right away on the card. The only thing I did not like was needing to apply for this credit card because it will affect my credit rating but I felt I could save on a lot of interest payments over the 10 month introductory period. The key will be making sure I don't use the credit card other than for saving interest on paying down my debt.
~ I was able to save $10. on Celadrin, an herbal supplement I wanted to try for aches and pains of arthritis.

~ I saved 40 cents on sending a small parcel and another 40 cents on sending a Money Gram. I will add the 80 cent savings to my Snowflake Jar fund.

~ I returned bottles to the bottle depot ($1.70) and saved another 80 cents in posting a parcel and sending a Money Gram. I added these small savings to my new Snowflake Jar fund (see sidebar to the right). This fund was started by gathering my loose change from January, February and March. Most of what I add to this fund will be from bottle returns and a little loose change here and there. As of today the Snowflake jar contains $19.79 Canadian.  When I have built up this fund to $200, I will use it to start a micro finance project for a woman in Kericho, Kenya under the  auspices of the Missions of Hope.
~ I saved $2.75 on a bus fare yesterday. The nice bus driver saw me loaded down with bags of food and he let me take a seat without putting my money in the token box. That was a blessing :-). I purchase tickets for the bus so this saves my ticket for another day's use.

All in all, I am pleased with what I was able to do this month. I will endeavour to keep up the small steps each month to save money, reduce debt and reduce energy consumption.