February Frugal Chatter

[Ciel]

Mother Nature has sifted about 1 inch of fine snow in Ancaster tonight. The snow plows have been active for at least 2.5hours. Perhaps some of the passes should be saved for early morning.

Good thing I don't have a US$ debit card. The President's Day sales at Bloomingdales and Nordstrom.com are tempting me but I am saving favourite links. Found kids' clothing and am looking at womenswear to see if there's something I may like one day.

Learned yesterday that Milano knit fabric involves two yarns knit together diagonally, so the fabric face has a vertical rib and the fabric reverse has a diagonal rib. Cool! I was thinking that Milano was some kind of dress style but it's a type of fabric.

Managed to get through almost two movies and bits of two others. It's been a quiet day indoors and outdoors (I have not seen as many people walking today as on other days).

Avoided hot chocolate today. Will see how long I can hold out tomorrow-as long as I keep remembering to make a mug of tea and try to eat a decent meal (seem to snack all day and not each much at mealtimes), the box of chocolate mixes remains untouched.

[grinchyheart]

oopsie

[lilo0003]

A quiet family day here. I picked up some baking from a local shop for breakfast and then made another soup for the week. I also finished my library book and had a video chat with some extended family. It will be nice to have a 4 day work week but my schedule will pay the price of a day off.

[grinchyheart]

oopsie

Although I will need to figure something out as I forgot I still had 20 lbs in the basement (2 bags I forgot to put into storage) so now I have 60 lbs of potatoes plus more I pulled from storage as they were sprouting (guesstimating about 5 lbs were sprouting) . Thinking tomorrow I will turn the sprouting ones into Mashed Potatoes as one night this week I will be making a Pork Roast in the slow cooker.

I always feel that if the food companies can sell me something frozen, then I can freeze it myself to my own tastes. My brother experimented with french fries (he used an electric deep fryer) & had good results from frying til just browning, then draining, cooling & freezing. He then treated them like storebought frozen fries. You could try freezing a couple scoops of mashed potatoes & see if they're acceptable reheated after a few days. I've frozen single portions of potato spaetzle & dumped them into soup, that was good.
It's been a long time since I needed to buy potatoes in such quantity, but I would feel your pain at having to toss any lol.

[Angela273]

I’m annoyed with Walmart’s ever changing return policy. I was told I could return something, but was unable to return it even I went to the store with the receipt this evening. Wasted $40. Ugh.

I picked up 4 boxes of Valentine’s for next year, on 50% off clearance. I checked my receipt before leaving the store. I was charged full price for all of them. I went to customer service and was easily refunded the full amount. All 4 were SCOPed.

Some varieties of Always Infinity pads were on clearance, others were discounted.

I SCOPed Royal tp at NF on the weekend.

[SassyAshley]

@lilo0003 I feel you on the working, I have always said a short week just means 5 days of problem compacted into 4 days. But with that being said a long weekend was so nice and just what I needed.
@Angela273 I have heard Wal-Mart has made multiple changes to their return policy. The that surprised me is clothing, I understand their change rooms being closed but to also not accept returns turns me off. Especially since I find Wal-Mart's sizes vary so much, in the same trip in the past I have bought one shirt in an XL and another in a 3X because the sizes varied so much.

[Frugalbigmama]

Morning! We received lots of snow and the school bus service canceled.
I need to go out to get a few items for DS's birthday dinner.
I tried yesterday but I was too late.

[Frugalbigmama]

It hasn't stopped snowing! Oh my!!!

Finally set up my work space (using my 4ft portable table) and I love it!!! This will be so much better and keep my dining room clean.
Now to finish cleaning this room and move on to another room.

I have a roast beef in the oven for tomorrow's sandwiches.

Think DS decided on lasagna, salad and fresh bread for dinner. So that is what I am making!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
The snow came over night and they are calling for more late morning/early afternoon. We got a fair amount but do not think we got as much as they were calling for. Will need to go and dig out soon but hoping the wind will die down a little bit first. Not that I ever enjoy shovelling snow but it is even worse when the wind is blowing it back in your face.

Yesterday did not go as planned, I was struggling with a headache most of the day, it was a weather headache but in the afternoon I could barely keep my eyes open so I fell asleep on the couch for a bit. Still had a headache when I woke up but at least I could keep my eyes open. I had taken out Pork Chops for dinner but was not feeling those, wanted something easier so we just made Waffles instead.

Originally I was planning Beef Stew for tonight, felt today's weather called for Beef Stew but now we have the Pork Chops out so we will have to see. Honestly, I really want the Beef Stew now.

I took a break earlier, made myself a Honey & Lemon and well I was doing that I finished up some hand dishes we had. For some reason the last load did not come clean from the dishwasher. Mom got most of them done last night but there were a few pots and some cookie sheets that needed to be washed so I did those this morning.

I still need to clean the kitchen floor, I should have done it over the weekend but I didn't, oh well always today.

Alright time to get back at it. Have a wonderful day everyone and stay safe for anyone who need to venture out in the snow fall that hit Ontario last night

[coupon girl]

Wow 2 feet of snow ,i woke up at 3.30 as i thought an animal was on the roof scratching ,here it was neighbour has plastic over some wood in his yard and the wind was whipping it .Couldnt fall back asleep so did a load of laundry and a few dishes from last night as i was sooo tired .

Hubby and i were up at out the door at 9.00 using the snow blower and shovelling the car out .I am not venturing out todfay to return the few items .I will wait til the plow has been done our crescent and go on wednesday .

My poor legs were red and numb so just had a bubble bath and warmed up .

[Angela273]

Our kids are growing so much it can be hard to keep on top of the clothing in their dressers. I went through twin boy’s clothes again and posted the small stuff for sale. I’m glad that I was able to sell the lot without moving it out to the shed for storage. I have the etransfer and contactless pick up for these clothes.

[crafter]

Good evening. Well DH snowblew and shoveled the driveway today. Many of the people in our neighbourhood pay up to $30 per snowblow for their driveways or pay a set price. Years ago we purchased a snowblower for $199 plus tax and tracked the savings for each snowblow snow. We paid off the snowblower the first year, saved $180 last year and this year we're at $150 savings. DH asked if our savings can go towards the home expenses, since we're getting some renos professionally done.

I'm still working on cleaning out cupboards and the freezer. Things are definitely emptying and I might have a spot for my bread machine and Instant pot soon (I honestly can't believe the size of the Instant pot that our minimalist daughter gave us lol). I had a lump in my throat about all of the baking supplies I had for Christmas and didn't use. We simply don't need extra sweets in the house or should I say...on our hips. I may be objective and donate anything that can't be incorporated into bread, muffins or a salad/stir fry (ie nuts)

Tomorrow is a very important day. It's my ONE YEAR anniversary of being a non-smoker after way too many years. I officially get to declare myself a non-smoker on our private insurance. It's quite a nice savings each year that I'm going to put towards my gardening hobby. I really like growing from seed and enjoy the aerogardens.

ok off to play with my puppy! Have a nice evening!

[SassyAshley]

Congrats @crafter on being a non-smoker

[coupon girl]

crafter-good for you one year smoke free .My dear hubby gave up smoking when my daughter was age 3 ,35 years ago .I ,myself have never smoked .Good for you .

[Ciel]

Doozy pile of snow to see in the morning. Last night after 9pm, I ignored the urge to check if any snow needed removal.
Drift on top step was 1ft high in middle. Gingerly removed the snow off said step. While I cleared most of the sidewalks, I left some of the back one for someone else to do. I was winded from cleaning the packed snow on top of the 2ft at the end of the drive. Kept flopping over to get more air into me. Cleared snow around house in case a meltoff ensues plus passages around downspouts. Spent 4h in bed, taking 2h to drop off to sleep/rest. Yes, my body had it with me. First hot chocolate mug was had around 3:30pm (following pasta lunch), then some wine and a second mug of hot choc after 4:30pm.

I understood why libraries had to be closed today. Some branches have flat roofs that needed snow removal, beyond the parking lot snow removal. If all is well tomorrow, I will be at the computer lab in the morning (first day of limited library access-joy). I feel for the teachers who may have had to teach online or at school and not know which students would show up for classes today. Pity that libraries could not be open yesterday-it would have helped families with a change of scenery.

Will see if I can get Shoppers to load one bus fare by debit on my bus card so I won't have to pay full cash fare for my trip. I expect to encounter snow issues in the downtown tomorrow as the Giant Tiger is in one of the older areas without much extra green space where snow can go. I'm sure bus stops will be an obstacle course (should really consider a shovel for hiking over mounds rather than my cane) as well.

Supper was Swiss Chalet chicken pot pie (I baked the remaining 4 pies, so there are leftovers for Bro to find when he gets home tonight). Just had a camomile tea to ease into relaxation mode.

I'd love to know when City of Hamilton intends to reopen the municipal centres. First tax installment payments are due at month's end.

Sport Chek continues its Friends and Family event until tomorrow. Sadly, those pricey sleep pillows are excluded from the promotion but there are winter things and summer things to consider stocking up on if you know what you will need.

CHCH Morning Live is celebrating 20 years of morning shows. Don't forget to check their daily contest until March 4. I personally would love the hair salon gift card but the trip to the last place might be too much for me now. Not sure if I could manage a local salon visit. But Mom should be burning a path to a salon door (given how she was asking me for haircuts and I said no over the past two months) any day now. I should remind her!