November 2021 Frugal Chatter thread (& reading the weather skies)

[Frugalbigmama]

Was a lazy movie watching day. DS is having a nap after his late night out and early morning at work and we will be leaving soon for a hockey game Perfect ending to the weekend! (at our arena so we don't have to travel far)

Its dark and raining out Feels like 10pm

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Up and getting some work done. I know I have training to do but I needed a work from home focus on my job day so that is what I am doing today.

I took some time yesterday and tried to find my focus when it comes to Christmas. I think I have a plan, now I just need to fine tune it and put the final plan on paper. I always work better if I have a list to work from, it helps to keep my focus. Now I need to not second guess myself. Normally the closer we get to Christmas I start to second guess if I have done enough and then start adding and before I know it, it spirals out of control. My goal is to come up with a plan and stick to that plan and do not add.

Last night we made Steak Sandwiches with Homemade Potatoes wedges with Candied Acorn Squash. Normally would not make Squash to go with this meal but it needed to be eaten so we went for it.

Tonight I am thinking of making Mongolian Chicken in the Slow Cooker. That can cook away and then at dinner time I just need to make a batch of rice.

I did not make it back down to the basement yesterday to get more work done on the pantry, I needed some down time for me to rest and relax. My goal is to have the Pantry done by the end of the week.

Going to tackle laundry today once Mom is up and then that is done.

I have a lot I want to get done this week, I want to try to get everything caught back up so hopefully I can stop feeling so scattered and overwhelmed. I have faith I can get this done, I just need to stay focused.

Happy Monday Everyone.

[crafter]

Good morning. It's chilly here but has some wonderful sunshine shining in.

The kids are working from here today so we need to be on our best behaviour. I apparently photo bombed my daughter's zoom meeting last time they were here.

Im going to run a few errands this afternoon after my dentist appointment. It's very quiet to go shopping around town on Mondays. Most seem to shop on Thursdays and Fridays.

Have a great day everyone.

[Frugalbigmama]

Happy Monday! My kid has his first "Snow Day" today. No bus service so no school.

[SassyAshley]

Lunch time, I am eating the Ground Chicken & Sweet Potato Chili I made yesterday. I really need to get back into the habit of making a dish on the weekend we can have for lunches. Relying on leftovers can be hit or miss, sometimes we have tons and sometimes we have none.

I took a 15 minute break this morning, set my timer and went down the basement. I "finished" the baking shelf and have started on the condiment/oil/vinegar shelf. I am happy with my progress so far. I love organization and I even enjoy organizing but I am not one of those people who can look at a pile of "stuff" and look at a shelf and see exactly how everything will fit. I am more of a try it, see if it fits, maybe move it type of girl which is why I say the baking self is "finished." There is a chance some things will get moved around a little before I am done.

Before I had lunch, I put dinner in the slow cooker. At dinner time I will just have to make a batch of rice and we will be ready to eat.

We are supposed to get snow here late afternoon/early evening. There is a chance it could get quite nasty so I am happy to be working from home today and my morning session tomorrow is on zoom. I could totally hibernate without a complaint.

[coupon girl]

Well hubby and i went out got a gift card as a xmas gift .On to brands gone wild and samco store (i donated a toy to the chch xmas drive $20.00 toy) looked at the pjs that were 8.97 really crappy the large looked like a medium and they would not last so did not buy but i bought
(2) small little sequin change purses with nailpolish and lipgloss 2.00
(1) colouring book for my house 3.50
(1) large pkg of 24 crayons i think was 1.50
(1) 12 pkg of marker 1.99

and a towel for when i wash my hair in brands gone wild $2.99

[SassyAshley]

Did not make it back down the basement but I am happy with what I got done today.

Now I need to focus on Christmas, when it comes to the gifts, I feel like I have it covered including vegan options. But when it comes to the served dessert and snack trays I am struggling a little bit. I found two recipes I want to make but one had cream cheese and one has ricotta so not at all vegan. When it comes to the snack plate again most have some form of dairy in them, it is hard to bake without eggs. I can sub butter but most of them still call for eggs or some type of milk (regular, sweetened condensed, evaporated).

I was super happy to have dinner in the slow cooker and ready to go but the recipe was a bit disappointing. I made Mongolian Chicken but it lacked flavour and the cornstarch did not fully cook out on the chicken. Weird thing is I made the beef version from the same blog and it was great but the Chicken version not so much, oh well we know now.

[Ciel21]

I am still on a mission for pj bottoms for me (just the bottoms ) winners had a pair but too clingy ,walmart had some but with cuffs on the pants ,they did have george 2 piece sets for 12.00 or 14.00 i think but way too fuzzy and hot for me.

I will keep looking if only joe fresh would replenish their sizes i would order from them but they are all sold out i will look next time i am in fortinos at their clothing section for sure.

First world problems -lol

I am so glad that I ordered my JF pj bottoms. The warmth of the straight wide leg pants is worthwhile and I love the striped colours too! Wish I got a second bottom but oh well. TIP: don't hesitate to try on men's pj pants if you find some in a store where you can try them on.
I am realizing now that I miss fitting rooms (huge issue for me now that I am thinking Value Village for a pair of pants--but that's a risk to deal with when time comes)! Thinking of trying the mall this week to see what's on the racks prior to Thursday when many stores have Black Friday sales.

Marks is having a Black Friday sale on women's sleepwear-30% off regular priced items, if you see anything you like! THe Bay is having its weekend sale next weekend. Got a glossy flyer in the mail yesterday-was surprised!

[Ciel21]

I forgot to mention when I was shopping today the Cashiers mentioned that there is going to be a Rice Krispie shortage this Christmas. A piece of equipment needed to make Rice Krispies caught fire and will not be back up and functional until early 2022. They said if you use Rice Krispies for your Christmas Baking and see a box grab it as many stores are already sold out.

That's an eye-catching bit of grocery news! Thanks for sharing! I haven't eaten the cereal in awhile and its been years since I made Rice Krispie squares.

[Ciel21]

Well hubby and i went out got a gift card as a xmas gift .On to brands gone wild and samco store (i donated a toy to the chch xmas drive $20.00 toy) looked at the pjs that were 8.97 really crappy the large looked like a medium and they would not last so did not buy but i bought
(2) small little sequin change purses with nailpolish and lipgloss 2.00
(1) colouring book for my house 3.50
(1) large pkg of 24 crayons i think was 1.50
(1) 12 pkg of marker 1.99

and a towel for when i wash my hair in brands gone wild $2.99

Appreciate your impressions of both stores' offers! Here's hoping I can explore the site soon! Have bus fare, just need spending $.

[Ciel21]

I've started to add liquid honey to my teas (and it's fun to squeeze the plastic bear bottle-No Name liquid honey) this week. So far, I am ok with the change from table sugar in the hot beverages. Tried the same with hot cocoa that I added cinnamon too-adds just enough sweetness. I usually need a snack or hot beverage after a raking session to help me nod off when I go to bed to rest my back and hopefully fall asleep (it is hard most times as I cannot always do that right away-pain is so instructive).

Monday, I had ok raking session round 1, but body was not happy with cold wind. Went in for lunch, a bit of Internet... when my eyes went wide at reading possible snow squalls for Southern Ontario. I had prioritize which leaf piles got to the curb and leave the others for another day this week. Simply too much for me to do alone and Bro never kept his word to help me (I asked him twice...). At least he got more yard bags which helps. Only one more week left to put things at the curb then it has to be Feb. for resumption of yard bag collection.

Surprised to see about 5 Black Friday flyers in the mailbox-The Bay too!!! Rare event. Found out I missed a Goodness Me reno grand reopening this weekend at the Upper Gage Store. Will post later in day-there's a vegan spread contest somewhere on their website for Ontario residents.

I am pleased that my Pepsi stuff shirt has some polyester content along with cotton. That's my sleep shirt but it's getting washed almost daily whenever a bandage leaks and stains the shirt. So far the blue colour remains!

Reminder that Ikea's electronics recycling event takes place on November 27!

Waffles+ Mochi special airs starting today and the Beatles documentary, Get Back, is two days away, on Netflix.

I checked on the weekend but Paramount Plus Canada does not stream Star Trek: Discovery. Was miffed but it's a freebie trial won through the McDonald's Monopoly game (7 days left to redeem your food prize wins!).

[Ciel21]

@Angela273 I have not made these dishes but offer them as suggestions on how to use up that goose meat:

Substitute goose meat for duck meat (both are high fat) in a cassoulet. I found an Instant Pot version recipe for you (MacGyver the recipe with what you have on hand):
https://snippetsofparis.com/cassoulet-recipe/

Chunks-some kind of kebab you can broil in the oven?
Or use in another stew-something hearty and use the goose meat in place of beef or turkey?

I am coming across mostly roast goose (intact bird) recipes, so I am thinking more along what can you sub the meat for in an existing recipe you currently use at home.

Maybe an Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore recipe! Think you could skip the oil in pot part due to goose meat's fat content?
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/26...en-cacciatore/

[Ciel21]

@coupongirl This week's Bay flyer indicates select Women's sleepwear is up to 40% off and Mens' (Black Brown 1826, Jack Jones, & Joe Boxer) are 40% off. https://www.thebay.com/bay-flyer.html?sre=HEADER_FLYER

The reason I searched the flyer-I was hoping to see a Bonus Senior's Day event listing but I don't see one.

SCers-has anyone planned to head Stateside to do some Black Friday shopping in-person?

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Did not sleep well last night which lead to me sleeping in this morning. I had planned to be up at 5 so I could get some work done, maybe a touch of cleaning before my meeting this morning. Oh well, rolling with it.

We got a fair amount of snow last night so need to go shovel and dig the cars out, task for later today.

I went ahead and asked for Friday off, it has been approved but I now see someone is off unexpectedly and am now worried I will be called in to help if they are not back. Finger crossed they are back by Friday.

It is a chilly day here so I am thinking I might make Roasted Cauliflower Soup and Homemade Buns for dinner. Feels like a good soup day.

Happy Tuesday Everyone

[coupon girl]

Ceil-i am glad you got a pair of Joe fresh pants -i will need to look in the fortinos stores around here .

My back bottom molar has been bothering me the last few days or my gum surrounding it ,so dentist will fit me in today to look at it .I have been rinsing with salt water .So more money as i think our coverage is finished for the year.

Depending on how i feel after she checks me out i may pop into fortinos there and look for sleep pants -ahhh.I wish they would open the fitting rooms also walmart and fortinos and other stores dont ,but talize does ,same as style encore.