Dashing December Savings (frugal chatter 2014)

[jasperandchar]

fingers crossed mac it all goes through and covered

[MrsSunshine]

quiet in here. been doing bits here and there all day.
my xmas present from dh was delivered today.
i've promised to wrap it up and put it under the tree. don't 'think' ill need it before xmas.

[jasperandchar]

Mrs. S. sounds like you are just getting er' done (lol),

[Ciel]

I knew hazelnuts had a bad year (poor crop, high prices) but did not know about pecans' prices.
Spotted Italian chestnuts in current Food Basics' flyer for $8.75/kg. Mom got about 300g-400g of them. Put little slashes on the flat sides and toasted some in the toaster oven tonight-nice treat! Fortino's has not shown a price under $9.--/kg in a flyer for the chestnuts this fall.

Crochetlady, I like the 2min tree setup!

Jasperandchar, it's wonderful you can rest when you've a cold and know your boys can handle mealtime on their own. Hope you got tray service!

Think lizziebargain's been through Frankfurt from earlier trip in year. How's the Christmas spirit in the airport (music, decorations)?

Happy that holiday time is coming up for those looking forward to days off from work. Mrs Sunshine is correct, Christmas' approach is faster for adults than for children.

[lizzie bargain]

Didn't really notice decorations or Xmas music at Frankfurt-just some holiday gifts in the stores. Canada Border Services said Merry Xmas at passport control which was nice! Mind you admittedly the music and decorations might have both been there and I was too stunned to notice-it took about 36 hrs to get home- resort door to our door-the flying part home was about 19 but the connections and driving and waiting time etc. So then why am I not asleep after just 4 hrs-was hungry for my lunch in India-1 a.m. here is 1 p.m. there-anyway slowly my body will adjust. My sister is coming in from Frankfurt on the same flight today( guess we could have co-ordinated that a bit better) as she and DH will be moving back from Germany so nice to have them home for Xmas with their 4 adult kids. My good friends who also went to the wedding will come in on the same flight on Friday and we will pick them up for dinner at our house as they have an 8 hr layover here until their flight home to Saskatoon.

The wedding was great-5 straight days of partying and visiting with many lovely buffet meals. Many Indians are vegetarian and there was a wide variety of delightful food, both spicy and non spicy.Despite our best efforts of drinking bottled water, no uncooked food, taking Dukoral prior, eating only in good hotels etc most people got sick at least once-some very sick and could not eat for a few days but any symptoms I had were mild and quick-although having said that at the beginning of the wedding ceremony I suddenly felt nauseous and had to deke out for a minute. I quickly ate a few nuts as I think I was just over hungy at 8 p.m. waiting for dinner that was served at 10 p.m. So I only missed 5 minutes of the boring first part where they were writing the contract. My goodness I thought I flew all this way only to disrupt or miss the wedding-other people were running to the washroom and yet others were stuck in the traffic trying to get there.

So the things I don't like about India are the roads and the late meal hrs. Enjoyed the heat( but not the humidity), the people, the food, the sights in general.

Had a few minor mishaps-badly bruised my foot in a wee tumble at a store but luckily did not break it and have to limp around on crutches. I had them bring me ice right away and elevated my foot which saved my bacon as I was even able to get dress shoes on that night. So I was just thankful to still be able to walk and have only minor pain.

One couple was sick on the internal fllight from Northern India down to the South for the wedding and left their passports in the seat pocket( they were able to get them back after our friends phoned around for them for a couple of hrs and sent a driver back to the airport). Another couple had their ATM card declined even though they had notified the bank-he had to make about 3 toll free calls to Canada and be on hold for about 20 minutes each time before he got that resolved. He understood the hotel charge would be $1 per call but it was actually per minute so he had an $80 phone bill on checkout which did not impress him-anyway I think he was able after about a half hr chat with the manager to have the charge removed as either he was wrongly advised by the hotel staff or he misunderstood what they said. Communication is always a challenge, especially in another country.

In Frankfurt yesterday one guy came about 3 hrs ahead for the flight and lost his passport( or was stolen) at security and he had gone back there and not found it. I had spotted an Air Canada desk a ways away so led him there as he was quite agitated. Of course with just a photocopy he was unable to board and had to get an emergency passport issued through the Canadian consulate in Germany and rebook his ticket-no idea what all that cost but how stressfull for anyone.

Note to all of us to not leave your passport visible in those security bins as you go through the line!

In the end a good time was had by all, the young man and his Indian bride such a lovely and happy couple who will now of course have to wait a year or more for Canada immigration to process her permanent residence application while the groom returns to Canada in a week or so to work. I am sure there will be many Skype conversations and perhaps the groom will return mid year for a vacation break?

And I would do it all again on such a short time line of just 6 days actually on the ground as they really appreciated all those of us who were able to come. Many special memories and photos to go through today with DH. He is visibly relieved to have me home in one piece and DD was happy too( speaking of whom she will be up in 5 hrs for school so perhaps I should go sleep some more so I can see her in the morning!). I finished the Xmas shopping there so now the only thing to do is laundry, rest up-oh yes and perhaps have a peek at the credit card bill! It will all be paid right away but far more convenient than handling the dirty, smelly rupee notes!

Happy Tuesday to you all!

[macw1960]

Crochetlady & J&C
Thanks & me too.

[coupon girl]

-wow lizzie sounds like an awesome trip
-well didn't sleep great last night -heartburn -gonna try to eat rice /applesauce and try to eliminate thing in my diet
-daughter had me upset to she has a few problems In her marriage (of course i have a daughter who always tells me everything) of course I as crying when I got off the phone(wish she was in same city as I would have loved to hug her right then) but you know what she said communication is so key in marriages -so they are taking a lot-you know what we all have problem so glad she has me to vent to -(sometimes) I could never talk to my mom about problems (never had a sister either)or a close friend to vent to
-well gotta go babysit now

[macw1960]

Ceil...lots of free chestnuts in the back corner of our yard as we have a chestnut tree.

Lizzie bargain...sounds like you had a wonderful time in India.

[Natalka]

Wow, lizzie, sounds like quite the trip! Glad everything went well and you had a good time!
All I could think of when I first read of you going to a wedding in India was the Seinfeld episode!

The son of a close friend of ours married a woman in China, and it took over a year for her to get here! They got re(?)-married here once she came; his dad is our parish priest.

avon, sure hope your husband is alright!

macw - fingers crossed for you that more is covered!

Hoping today brings good things for everyone!

[jasperandchar]

hoping your dd's marriage problems are not too serious and can be worked out, she is very lucky to have you but I can imagine it must be hard to hear

[jasperandchar]

Lizzie sounds like a wonderful adventure you had in India and the wedding traditions they have their, nice to learn and enjoy other cultures

[jasperandchar]

mac you are lucky to have chestnut trees in your yard, I may just have plant some I will have dh investigate this further. What do you do with them anything special (dry them, bake, etc)

[macw1960]

mac you are lucky to have chestnut trees in your yard, I may just have plant some I will have dh investigate this further. What do you do with them anything special (dry them, bake, etc)

Absolutely nothing except let the squirrels eat them.
Not sure what to do with them anyways.

[Andit]

Good morning, everyone.

I think Quincy cat may be losing it (or he got into the catnip again?). He woke me up at 2am making rustling sounds. I turned on the light only to see him drop the plastic bag he was dragging (not sure where he got it from???) in front of Lily dog's bed and use it as a cat bed (cause he clearly doesn't have enough places to sleep). I swear my brain hurts from trying to understand cat logic.

Have a new project on the go. Long story short, the city is proposing something that will make the lives of the disabled difficult, while thinking it will help them. As always, they didn't bother to test out a theory before making a decision (just like the new subway cars couldn't be used by anyone with a walker cause the wheels get stuck in the gaps, since the trains swing wide unless they are carrying a certain weightload). Once I get all the details & get things organized (early in Jan, I think), I'll be asking for help to get the word out. Technically, it's a friend's project, but since her job precludes her from doing anything, it's my project now. I just wish the powers that be had half a brain sometimes.

On the plus side, the anger that this stirred up just might give me the shot of energy I need to whip my place into shape. And if only the 3 of us could stop shedding for 5 minutes, the poor vacuum cleaner could have a vacation.

Off to vacuum the ceiling (oh how I wish I were joking ).

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

[Ciel]

Macw-you can check if you have a horse chestnut tree (the ones with the bitter nuts you will spit out after a nibble) or a proper European chestnut (the nice sweet ones that supposedly got wiped out by a blight some years ago). On my many walks through town, once I realized a few chestnut trees had branches over the sidewalk, I collected some nuts in the fall. Thinking how I got free chestnuts and remembering that even raw, they have texture like raw green cabbage and are chewy and sweet, I peeled one of the finds and took a bite. Echh! Worse bitterness than postage stamp adhesive. I kept some nuts as a temporary decoration then put them into the compost heap.

Andit, I admire how much you can appreciate Quincy's nighttime "hunt" activities. Sounds of most any kind during sleep time have me awake. Quincy would have been shown the door and kept out of the room or else no cat treats for him! City life has its moments-it's worthwhile keeping aware of issues that can affect citizens and respond during public comment sessions or raise objections before anything goes to committee/council to alert everyone "did you realize that ------- happens when you let ______ occur?" BTW, has council, each member yet done rush hour commuting on the TTC to see how busy it is?