April 2020 Frugal Chatter Thread

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
I did not get as much done today as I would have liked. I am feeling better but kept getting light headed when I was trying to work away so I had to take some extra breaks. It has now been 48 hours since I started to take the pills so hopefully tomorrow the light headed and headache are completely gone.

With this being said, Laundry is done, washed & folded just need to put it away.

I gathered up a bunch of cardboard and broke it down and made a new box for cardboard.

Also we sucker sealed a bunch of foods we had:
Mom bought these cute little Steaks at Wal-Mart, I am not sure what cut they are, they are a little tough but we marinade them and then freeze them and they are so good. We had 4 of these that have now been frozen for later meals
The meatballs Mom made were still in freezer so we broke them down into meal size portions and sucker sealed them and moved them down to the stand up freezer.
As well I grabbed another bag of rice, we did not need it yet but they had it in stock so I grabbed it. We buy the big bags so we broke the bag down and sucker sealed the bags, they are now down in the stockpile room.

As well I took the garbage out, it was nice to take the garbage out and not have to bundle up. A lot of people were outside today so I tried to pick my moment so I could get to the garbage and back without coming in close contact with my neightbours, it worked.

Lastly, I made a batch of Brownies, I have been craving something chocolaty. So we had these for dessert, they were still warm so we served them with Vanilla Ice Cream.

I also made up a quick meal plan for the week, we really did not use last week's meal plan and had a few nights were dinner was iffy so I am hoping this week will be better. I do not assign a meal with a day it is more flexible, I just have a list of things we can make based on what we have on hand. Thinking I might try to add a few more options just to give us options.

Now the dishwasher is running and I am done for the night. I think I have a date with my couch and a movie on Netflix.

Have a great night everyone.

[Giseledta]

did a bit of laundry, prepped some potatoes fro planting. ... did a bit of dishes. worked in the back yard for a bit.
i certainly did not achive as much as i wanted. but ... i did ok.
tomorrow is a new day.
hopefully i will have a bit more energy tomorrow.

[lilo0003]

No line and no crowds at No Frills today. I spent 90.00 but used points because this was a very expensive month. I did stock up on meat in April so that adds a lot of cost. The boys did homemade pizza and the younger one makes the dough with the bread machine. DH and I had leftovers and a zucchini dish that used up produce destined for the bin. I think I am going to start carrying my coupons again. The worst is they can say no, but today I would have saved 3.00. I finally submitted my gas card from Kellogg’s. It is the 4th on this promo but my younger son loves cereal and being home full time means he is going through more than typical. I already have one of the cards and I realized I have one left to use from the last promo.

[Angela273]

I’m heading to bed, but I wanted to make a quick post first. I’m feeling happy with the meal plans that I’ve made for the entire next week. It’s nice to have a crisper drawer full of fresh veggies again. The menu plan has flexibility to flip-flop meals, but also considers our weather. Tuesday is supposed to be our coolest day of the week so we might be using the oven and a different day is supposed to be +23, so I put fruit smoothies on the menu.

[Ciel]

I still haven’t received the 5,000 PC points from my sour milk complaint on Monday. It took me another 15min on the phone today and he’s hoping that the points will be added to my account in the next 1 or 2 days.

This past week, I have noticed that PC Optimum must be having staffing or behind the scenes issues as I made two separate points donations and my points balance never changed (but I did get the e-mails about each donation). Decided to donate the last of my points from last shop so I should be at 0pts. Have to check.

[Ciel]

Mr. Wind's being acting up the past 90 minutes and a headache is developing around my forehead. Good thing I had a light breakfast, a vitamin drink and a mug of stevia-sweetened tea! Intend to roast some potatoes with garlic/lemon juice/oil as the day needs something sturdy. Besides, most of yesterday's meals involved cooked quinoa or pasta with vegetables and spices as supplies dwindle. No frozen burgers to lean on so I'll add them to my grocery list.

Disney Plus is going to have a behind-the-scenes Stars Wars the Mandalorian special-think it's on May 4 (per a tweet an account had, as there were some still images from the special). I have been seeing the pop-up ads at bottom of browser for the free trial on and off but I'm holding off until May then see what's still offered.

The Beer Store (ON) is expanding the number of stores taking back empty containers-there's also a change of weekday hours-as of tomorrow. My local store is not on the list yet.

Yesterday, I noticed that at least half of the planted garlic cloves have sprouted stalks (2" inches high) in the garden. Did a little gutter cleaning and some light raking (too many little snapped branches on the ground that needed attention). One area that I had seeded grass seed (two years ago) is very rough looking among the trees-like the 4-legged critters have been overly busy digging for grubs. It did not take much raking to move grass and branches off of the soil. I laundered my flannel bedding and only restored the bottom flannel sheet as temperatures seem to be moving a touch upward into spring and I'm trying to figure out if I'll be warm enough without getting overheated. Fresh bedding is a delight to get into at bedtime.

One of my e-book holds came through yesterday and I intend to get into that book soon after I finish the current book that I started to read.

Lunchtime is approaching-those potatoes need to make an appearance!

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
A bit of a slow day here, I am feeling better although still quite congested and just feeling really tired today even though I slept.

I can't say we aren't getting anything done we are getting little thing here and there but nothing large has been tackled. This morning when I got up I emptied the dishwasher which has now been reloaded, most of last night's dinner dishes did not fit. As well as I was making myself Grill Cheese I did some of the hand dishes, although I do still need to wash some baking pans.

I have come up with 9 dishes we can make for dinner based on what we have in the house. I am kind of torn on grocery shopping, originally my plan was to wait until next week and stock up before the long weekend (I do not trust that our town will not be over run by cottagers even though they are being asked not to come). But now with 2 beef and now 2 chicken packaging plants being shut down, I am wondering if we should go this week instead?

This "creativity" made me laugh yesterday, someone asked about Costco:
"For the items that are limited to 1 per membership, if I go shopping and take Bro's, Dad's, Mother-in-Law's and a friend's card and show them at Cash can I buy 5 of each item if I say I am shopping for all of these households?
Also, if this will work can it be tracked or could sister-in-law and Dad go with the same 5 cards later in the day and do the same"

Tonight's dinner will be wings for Mom (I do not eat wings) but I will have BBQ Chicken Chunks and e will both have Oven Fries and Cesar Salad.

Hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon.

[greentires4me]

Yesterday I had to use my epi pen geeze it hurt like a beep. I went to the hospital they gave me a gown and a bed then not even an hour later kicked me to the curb got me a taxi which was pod for and they tried to tell me it wasn’t I went upstairs to get money I came back downstairs and it was gone. It pissed me off that they were gone.

Today I’m waiting for a parcel.


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[Scottishgal]

I made Vegetable Cheese Omelette this morning and Lemon Cranberry Sour cream Scones. The Scones were soooo good that I had to freeze them right away or they would have all ended up in my tummy. Lol. It's nice to try something new. I think for supper tonight it will be a huge Garden Salad and Chicken Strips. Easy Peasy....Have a good night every one

[Giseledta]

This "creativity" made me laugh yesterday, someone asked about Costco:
"For the items that are limited to 1 per membership, if I go shopping and take Bro's, Dad's, Mother-in-Law's and a friend's card and show them at Cash can I buy 5 of each item if I say I am shopping for all of these households?
Also, if this will work can it be tracked or could sister-in-law and Dad go with the same 5 cards later in the day and do the same"

i get that. its a bit.. over the top... but conceptually i get it .
I take my mom, she has her own card
.... when she is healthy ect. . frequently, over the years.. - dad in hospital , mom pace maker, ect ect ect... i go in and get my moms stuff... i need to leave , bring her stuff to the vehicle, and go back in and get my stuff...
standing in the line 2 x.... i am not doing.... lets ignore the whole thought of going to costco in this current enviroment .. sets off my anxisity. . reports are a 2 hour line wait...

if i could go in 1 time, and get both of our items.. sigh.. i would love that. ... still not going in. but .. when i do ... it would be nice.


that being said , using multiple cards.. lots of multiple cards... really.. shake your head.

[Giseledta]

ok
went an picked up my moms groceries ( yep.. doing that. )
went to a drive up nursery, picked her up geraniums. and 1 basket for my mother in law as well. we went an dropped it off on her porch.

made a potato salad for the kids. middle child plugged in thier mini fridge. might as well use the space.
couple loads laundry done. chilling with hubby.
i am hoping tomorrow is nicer and i can get out into the garden

[SassyAshley]

At first I was like, oh I get it cause that would be an issue. Right now whenever one of us goes somewhere we ask if anyone needs anything but the reality is if we are going to Costco I am buying Chicken and you are limited to 1 package. But at the same time I was like would be pushing it, maybe just one other household.

The part that made me laugh was the second part when they wanted 2 more people to do the same thing. I have a vision of her leaving handing the cards to her dad who shopped then walked out and handed to Sister-in-law.

I personally cannot think of anything at Costco that is being limited to 1 per membership that you would need 15 packs.

I admit if I could have last time I would have loved to have grabbed 2 packages of Chicken and 2 of Ground Beef and if I could have honestly my next shop would not be at Costco. But, it is what it is so this week or next we will be going back to Costco. Do not get me wrong I understand why Costco has to put limits in place.

Wow those are long lines in your area, our store in generally looks like it has a long line but after standing in the line as well as having family stand in line average wait time seems to be 15 to 30 minutes at our local Costco. Granted this is not trying to go on a weekend, we have all been going during the week at various times. I hear the evening is the best time to go but I am worried if we waited till the evening stock might be limited. I still hear some days Costco is running out eggs and chicken, both of which are already on my shopping list.

Does your store normally limit items? Just wondering about the 2 separate shops?

i get that. its a bit.. over the top... but conceptually i get it .
I take my mom, she has her own card
.... when she is healthy ect. . frequently, over the years.. - dad in hospital , mom pace maker, ect ect ect... i go in and get my moms stuff... i need to leave , bring her stuff to the vehicle, and go back in and get my stuff...
standing in the line 2 x.... i am not doing.... lets ignore the whole thought of going to costco in this current enviroment .. sets off my anxisity. . reports are a 2 hour line wait...

if i could go in 1 time, and get both of our items.. sigh.. i would love that. ... still not going in. but .. when i do ... it would be nice.


that being said , using multiple cards.. lots of multiple cards... really.. shake your head.

[SassyAshley]

After doing some soul searching about how I have been feeling lately (sinus infection aside), I think a lot of my issue is my own in the fact that I had said if this happened if we ended up on lock down I had lists upon lists of things I wanted to get done and none of it is getting done.

One, I have to admit even without Lock Down this is something I struggle with, in general me and time do not have the best relationship. Even on our shut down from work or even long weekends I always feel like I will have of this time and the reality is always different and the time flies by and I do not get everything done or I do not feel rested. My own issue I realize.

But, the other thing I have to remind myself is that I am not off, I am still working 9 to 10 hour days but some days are longer I have had to pull some 12 to 14 hours days to get everything done. So it is not that I am sitting here doing nothing which I need to remind myself.

But with all of this being said I am excited about the way we have been embracing certain areas of the lock down and I realize not everyone feels the same (in my own household we have divide). I am actually enjoying not being able to run to the store to get what we need and needing to become more creative and make it ourselves and the big one NOT GETTING TAKE-OUT. Although we did do take-out once and I have to admit I did not like it, the whole time I was eating I was worried it was the wrong decision. I know so many say it is safe, but I am still on the fence about this and would prefer to just not have take-out (although I know, I am the only one in my household with this opinion and there is already push on when and what will we order next).

We have our regular store bought bread which we use for Toast or Grilled Cheese but I am enjoying making other breads. I am enjoying having homemade bread and different kinds of breads. I like that if we want something for dessert we have to make it, like last night I made a batch of Brownies we served warm with Vanilla Ice Cream. I am even enjoying the challenge of seeing what we have one hand and planning what we can eat as we aren't going to the store this week, I currently have 9 meals and feel I can add a few more.

I get there can be some anxiety in there, before our last shop we really were running out of things and that set off my anxiety. But, really I do feel we can go to once a month a shopping and make it work but there are two things we need to remember:
One do not go to town on certain items because we have them (I find when our fridge is stocked instead of planning for the long term, thing get over indulged on and then we are out)
Two we cannot focus on what we do not have or are running low on unless it is essential (After some over indulging takes place then it is all about shopping again to get more or like right now I have 9 meals planned but am hearing how we have to shop this week, we need "things")

I still have hopes this might make us see there is a different way of doing things, let's stick to homemade, let's stop running the store for little things, we have this covered.

[Ciel]

Yesterday I had to use my epi pen geeze it hurt like a beep. I went to the hospital they gave me a gown and a bed then not even an hour later kicked me to the curb got me a taxi which was pod for and they tried to tell me it wasn’t I went upstairs to get money I came back downstairs and it was gone. It pissed me off that they were gone.

Today I’m waiting for a parcel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Worth an e-mail to top brass at hospital about the treatment. As for who pays for what-send the taxi company an e-mail as well and cc: the hospital too.

[Ciel]

Thinking I need to look at the Twitter accounts that I follow-some are dormant but if they have still useful sewing instructions or other information, they stand a chance at staying on my list to follow. There are accounts that I need to unfollow, in line with my e-mail newsletter cutbacks (which ones should I keep and which ones cause too many e-mails for me). Happened to look at one pattern company that posted a few fab late 2019 sewing patterns and posts that I did not see (and one sewing tutorial)/Now I am following a new sewist and have her blog bookmarked. Inspiration is needed to use what I have and I like her work too (plus she has a serger and I want it!).

Cosplayer and entrepreneur Yaya Han posted in March about her cosplay book arriving later in the year. Pre-orders for print or Kindle versions are open now (Amazon). I checked three library systems but there's no mention of the book being on order in the catalogues.

Re: discussion about meat shortages or less meat in stores. I intend to look for frozen burgers if they are in stock at one of two stores I intend to visit tomorrow. If not in stock, I will get more canned kidney beans and produce and lentils and also replace the box of Mini Wheats cereal that I ate most of, as it was Mom's box. Staples has not dealt with the transaction mistake on my bank account and I need to add some funds to cover April bank fees. Morning goals!

Plan is give my garden section some attention in the afternoon and get planting. But not do other yardwork or move and use a tall ladder (the ladder use seems to cause some back pain on top of what the mass on my right side is adding -yep, I get all the nerves reporting on the ouchs in their sectors). Also need physical distance from other two family members-we are not agreeing on household matters, we argue daily and tend to favour some separate quiet times which is a good thing. Now if sibling would stop thwacking bags of frozen veggies against the counter 3x per day, that would help maintain household harmony. He's obtuse in more than one way and he will be Baby Yoda's age soon.