October 2017 Frugal Chatter Thread

[barbis9]

Dinner went extremely well last night. Still feel full today. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving!

[avrose]

Good afternoon! We had my daughter's birthday party with family on Saturday, so nobody really planned anything for thanksgiving. I picked up a cheap ham a few weeks ago at superstore ($1.47 a pound) so we're having that. I am baking my pumpkin from the garden to make a pie later, can't wait to see how it turns out!

[cath007]

Good afternoon everyone!!! Today it is chores day again:Getting the dishes done,laundry,grocery and cleaning.I will bake a salmon pie for supper.Wow I cannot believe how the restrictions are strict in a coop building we have to move more things from the none existant locker ,i am angry and that make no sense for me.

[coupon girl]

daughter and I hiked for 35 minutes today felt good -she will be going back to Toronto after Sebastian gets dropped off from his dad at 4.30
-full from a lovely meal the other day sat -yesterday daughter took me to lunch as a birthday gift on locke street then we had granddads donuts after with hubby -those donuts are so yummy way better than timmies plus she bought me a body shop shower gel and body butter
-tonight leftover turkey on a bun with gravy and a few veggies

[Newfiescreech]

Celebrate Thanksgiving Saturday with family ..Yes ..I’m one did all cooking for meal ..so today its been busy busy around here ..3 loads of laundry done and put away ..i decided strip bed clothing out bed and got that done .then i went for 21/2 hours walk..what awesome day here its +22 today ..now its time to prepare supper .. then back to grind stone and get some paperwork done for work tomorrow..have wonderful evening and Take extra care yourself friends

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
I did in the end, end up going to my Dad's for dinner yesterday. I got an email late Saturday that dinner has been moved to 8 pm so bro's gf could join us as she was working but with all of the stomach issues I have been having I know eating that late does not sit well literally. I knew I would be up all night feeling sick and suffering from server stomach pains so I emailed back I would not be attending. Dad called me Sunday and asked me to come which I will admit kind of surprised me, me and Dad haven't always had the best relationship and really only became close when we started working together but we still at times lack that father daughter bond and I wasn't sure if it would matter I was missing.

In the end I did stay for dinner but only are a small scoop of mashed potatoes with some gravy, a couple carrots and a few green beans. It was nice to be with the family, it is a lot easier to get along now that we all are adults. Although it may have helped that sis's bf didn't come as she is a totally different person when he is around.

Today was supposed to be purge the dinning room day but I have been fighting a horrible headache all day so needless to say it did not happen. I am just hoping this headache passes by tomorrow when it is time to go back to work.

Tomorrow night after work we will go grocery shopping, we do not need a lot just some fresh fruit and veggies but even then not a lot as I went to No Frills before I went to my Dad's and grabbed a cantaloupe, peppers, strawberries and bananas. I do want to go to
the Chinese market and get a few veggies they have one sale as well there are a couple sauces that we are starting to run low on.

Better go and prep for lunches this week. Have a wonderful night everyone

[Andit]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well.

Sorry for being awol for so long. Brats are fine, not to worry. Life has been a challenge, some ups, lots of downs, but, hey, we're still alive and kicking, and that's what counts. I'll post the less than happy moments here and do a separate post in my usual happy-go-lucky Andit way to emphasize the good things in my life. That way you can skip this post if you are not in the mood for unhappy thoughts.

Again, brats are fine, a few bumps with Lily dog (her bladder is not as youthful as it was, so we now have to have a bathroom break in the middle of the night - needless to say my sleep is wonky). Vet suggested an invasive test, but now that she's 14, I declined doing anything too drastic that might make her worse. At this point, I've managed to convince Lily that she looks pretty in doggie diapers and we're going out every 4ish hours, so my carpets are happier (she's also much more toned since we're going down several flights of stairs - up by elevator). Quincy cat is his usual kitty self. He was being a bit obnoxious when Lily dog was leaking on the carpets, but he's back to himself now. We had a little incident on a patio (new jr manager at a place we go to regularly decided that a cat in a purse is not allowed - I got annoyed at her attitude - I'm not usually one to complain, but she was downright rude - since there was a pigeon underneath his chair and birds on a table beside us). Long story short, sr manager who knows us straightened things out & Quincy is allowed back anytime his heart desires (he LOVES to people watch and is very chill, most people don't even notice he's there). I know not everyone likes cats, but his table is supposedly the least desireable one, a bit away from the others, on the edge of the patio, with a great view of everything, yet bothering no one.

Been to far too many funerals in the last little while, which has been trying (some folks older than me, some younger, sigh). Also lost a doggy neighbour who I'm really going to miss - she used to wander slowly on her walks until she saw me, then race over and throw herself in front of me - her owner and I used to joke that she looked like a bear-skin rug.

Even sadder, I've been playing shepherd to a few neighbours who have developed Alzheimers in the last year. It seems every time Lily dog and I go out for a walk, we find a lost neighbour who can't find their way home. One day, I came home from an appt and walked into the middle of a usually quiet and demure lady swearing and beating the daylights out of her care-giver - thankfully, I managed to calm her down by using an over-the-top happy tone when she tried to come at me (no repeats of that, so hopefully she now has meds to help).

In addition to breaking my toe (stupid stupid me, tripped over a certain someone's toy, sigh), I had a health scare - long story short, I had some invasive testing to rule out cancer (I had all the signs, thankfully, it was just my body being weird again).

Just getting over a nasty flu bug (I've been sick a few times this summer, but nothing like this). The last time I was this sick, I spent a week in hospital then another week in bed (8ish yrs ago). Worst of it was last Sat, when I was convinced I was swimming through blankets in a waterbed (yeah, I also thought I was standing up when I was lying face down in bed). I managed to stay out of hospital by doing all the things I had to (forcing fluids down, even tho they kept trying to come back up, blech). bff is, thankfully, now only a 5 minute walk from here, so D's been taking care of the critters, although poor Lily dog is a saint holding on for hours and not fussing over a wet diaper. Still too weak to go for walks (it takes a lot out of me to get from the bed to the couch, sigh), but I'm definitely on the mend.

I think that's it. Lots of happy things tho, which I'll post next.

[Andit]

So, now that the unhappy post is over, time for good news.

My baby turned 14! Lily dog had a lovely birthday and is actually getting crazier, if that"s possible! Since the paralysis scare last year, I've been doing daily physio with my girl (I manipulate each leg, until she gives me the bored 'please-find-something-else-to-amuse-you' look). As I mentioned above, we do have an issue with leaks. Well, according to the number of commercials out there, so do a number of celebrities, so she's in good company. bff has made a fuss over how pretty she looks in her pretty sunshine yellow diaper, so she is now proud to wear it. I've also been taking her down several flights multiple times a day, so she is quite toned (I'm in better shape too - at least I was until I spent the last week in bed with the flu - I'm going to be hurting once I start up again).

My other baby - he of the cool patio hopping fame - just turned 11 (unfortunately, I slept through his b-day, so liver cake has to wait).


Had the time of my life at the Jaguar/Land Rover Experience (here as part of the Invictus Games celebrations). I chose to do a ride along instead of drive - I wanted to drive the Rover, but they didn't think me aggressive enough - think they were right, it was scary! You went around an obstacle course and sometimes the wheels were off the ground and if you don't get it right, the Rover will tumble. Hasn't yet, from what I understand, but I didn't want to be the one who broke their safety record.

Since there was a Jaguar component, I got a lovely drive at a very high speed on a convoluted course in a convertible. Man does that car handle smoothly. Tennis star Milos R was filming a live broadcast, so a few of us waiting in line got bumped (very sweet man, kept apologizing to us). When it was finally my turn, I think they wanted to make it up to us and gave us a little extra zing in the ride - I got thrown around like a rag doll...and loved every minute of it!

As usual, theatre is my life (well, partly). Picture This was a fun little screwball comedy paying homage to the silent films of the 20s. Waiting for Godot was one of those classics that when done well seems effortless - their production was brilliant. The only part that made me chuckle was the pronunciation of the name of the man of the hour (they kept saying God-oh, which made me think I was at Ontario Place waiting for Goddo to play ). Apparently, it was a play on words, since another character is Pots-oh, which is needed to create confusion among the leads. And, while I was the only person old enough working the show to get the Goddo reference, I had a few allies among the audience. I also got to see a lovely tribute to Leonard Cohen.

Back in the summer, we had a wonderful, er, play (you have to see it to understand - I call it a live action puppet show, literally actors in a black box with bright costumes and oversized props). It's a twisted take on various segments of Canadian history - this time they skewered Confederation. I took a couple of friends to see the play who are not usually theatre-goers. My hunch that they'd like it was right - they LOVED it. Sir John A MacDonald played a prominent role, of course, but a young Sir Wilfrid Laurier also made an appearance (with a fun reference to "sunny ways" that I had to explain to the 20 yr olds I hang out with).

So, other than pretending to be a stunt car driver, the real highlight of our last few months has been the addition of 2 new family members, Sir John & Wilfrid. Yes, I named them because of the play. I went to the pet store to get dog food and felt like someone was watching me. I couldn't shake the feeling and finally found my watcher.

A sweet little blue betta boy (the same shade of blue as the suit Sir W wore in the play) was in his little container, zigzagging like mad, on a shelf with several dozing fishies. So, while I was chatting with the little one (he wanted attention, could I really leave him there?), I got that same feeling of being watched. I thought a store clerk was wanting to come over to help, but no human in sight.


Then I spotted another shelf. Here we go again. One little burgundy boy (you guessed it, same shade as Sir John A's blazer) zigzagging like mad, while his shelf-mates were dozing. Great, how can I choose between 2 friendly little ones? Luckily, I had room enough for both (if I can give someone a happy home, why not).


Elder brats are oblivious to the really short ones, so no danger of overenthusiastic greetings there. The fish are very friendly - haven't tried teaching tricks (can bettas be taught tricks?), but both touch noses through their tanks and are very aware of breakfast and dinner times (they fit in well with the Labrador appetites around here!).


That's it for now. I tried uploading photos, but it's SC is less than co-operative right now (too much tryptophan in the air or did a roommate of mine drool turkey juice on the laptop? ).
Off to bed. Again. Can't wait to shake this flu, so I can stay awake longer than 4 hours in a stretch.
Night all.

[avoncallingu]

Andit! So glad to hear from you! Sorry about the "down" times! Congratulations on the new family members! I have been thinking about fish but I hadn't thought of a Beta. My "roomies" are now my brother and his cat Bennie who stalks me and makes a"B-line" -get it? Bennie -"B"-sorry for my bedroom door every time I open it. There must be something Wonderful in there if he's not allowed in, right? He hasn't found it yet.

I have moved back to the Kitchener-Waterloo area after an absence of 13 years- they've gone and built a light-rapid-transit system just to confuse me. So now my whole birth family lives here-me being the matriarch! Boy do I feel old!

My year in London was not the best as my dh passed away last January. Today was the anniversary of our engagement on the Sandy beach in Florida -14 years ago. Family times are different now.

I'm just getting my feet under me and starting to follow threads. So glad to see you back!

I must try to move into non-screen time so I can get some sleep.

My good frugal news -the landlady is replacing our "drippy" broken-seal fridge-it will arrive Friday but I don't know what kind it is. It's a "free" kind to me.

Happy bargain hunting, folks!

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning! Hope everyone one had a wonderful long weekend!

I feel like we really did lots and packed in lots of family time. The weather couldn't have been anymore perfect. Sitting at the family lake house on the dock while turkey cooks inside was wonderful. Even after a long day (and only 3 hours sleep Sat night) we managed to stay up till 230am Sunday night! It was a perfect night for a fire.

My fridge is empty! So looking forward to going grocery shopping this evening. We need fruit for sure! I took out 2 packages of drumsticks from the freezer this morning since both boys will be home for dinner and wanted to make something they both liked. It will be a late dinner so I may do plan B and then we can have them tomorrow night. Will figure it out later. Hard when DS has school sports after school out of town. Will have to get organized tonight for the rest of the week.

[cath007]

Good morning everyone!!! Very productive morning for me,I made another loaf of apple bread because it is so good.Cleaned the fridge and will continue cleaning this afternoon.Wishing everyone a wonderfull day!!!

[Ciel]

Wow, it's great to catch up on everyone's news and doings. Wonderful weather over the weekend (except for the pouring rains at night plus winds)-this morning was a proper chilly fall start with fog too!

Food this weekend was salad, Costco weiners and burgers and potato salad (sold at Costco). I purchased tart cherry apple cider and Coke Life at Longos for beverages and some danishes on sale too. Looking forward to the health fair this Saturday at the Longos Ancaster store. Sunday-can walk done and went to Rexall for the 88 cents dish detergent. Did another walk yesterday and painted baseboards on 1/2 of the bedroom.

I did attain my $10 bill find goal for October-totally a chance thing Sat night before dusk while wishing for bill finds (I do a singing phrase and right after a second recitation, I spotted a folded $10 on the edge of a ditch!). I applied the $10 towards a food bank food bag donation at the store.
@cath007 -love reading your baking updates! Also you are making great progress on the room cleanup. Pity that the storage locker is now another matter to deal with. @Andit -glad you brought us news from the big city in fall. Sometimes it seems you are living your version of Ferris Bueller's Day Life in Toronto! Reassured that you are on the mend. Thought Lily might have been the reason for your long absence.
@avongcallingu - did the landlady come through on the porcelain upgrade (higher toilet) for you earlier this month?

[Frugalbigmama]

Went to No Frills and Walmart on my lunch break. Got a nice little haul and paid with change . Grapes .87LB at walmart 2 x Minute Maid OJ $1.88 each. Liberty Greek yogurt reduced 50% off (expires on Sunday the 15th!) Gala apples .99lb Marble cheese bar. Then at No Frills grabbed a couple more peameal roasts for the freezer, ice cream bars/fudge ($1.97 for 12 is a deal. Light treat in the evening ) Rice crackers, tostitos, bananas. The strawberries that I really wanted were not nice so will go to RCSS tonight. I wanted to go out to Food Basics anyway for a few things. I want to buy a butternut squash and make soup this weekend. That was our starter for Thanksgiving dinner and it was so good!

Dinner is in the oven with the timer set for later Will put a few loads of laundry on tonight too. And take the pooch for a run. DS may want to come with me too. Still beautiful out there, have to enjoy this weather while we can.

[Ciel]

Value Village has a 50% off books and magazines event on Wed. & Thurs. this week. Saw the e-mail. I feel adrift without daily Internet access! Did catch up on two new to me movies on DVD: Everything Everything and Lion.

Paint plan is get things done on Friday night and Sat. am have my closet stuff back in place. Waiting to see if paint is on sale on Thursday.

[cath007]

I am currently viewing the QC flyers a few deals are good this week.