October 2022 Frugal Chatter: All about Fall and Halloween!!!

[lilo0003]

We are back. What a wonderful get away. Chicago is an amazing city. The weather was gorgeous by the end. Now I have one day to get everything done before I head into a crazy week of work. But it’s sunny and warm and I am sitting on my deck avoiding any of my today list.

[Giseledta]

hi all.
we found out earlier in the week that my husbands uncle passed away. he will be sorely missed. such a amazing man. they did a special visitaion for family so to spread teh numbers of visitors out we went to that viewing. the funeral was Saturday. church, graveside and legion.
i am very thank ful we just got our last covid booster. and it was so very nice to see that side of the family.

also .. one of my DC families has covid. so they were off last week, i got the message last night that the child tested positive. they will be off for the week. none of the other families have it .


we did a quick ... was to be small... but somehow was 187 .00 grocery on friday. saved ... 8.00 on bacon... 4 on cheese. 13 400 in pc points. cheese went to the freezer for pizzas. i did pick up lunch meat. i ususally dont as it is so expensive. but i thought it would be good for a easy meal after the funeral. and i was right. it was the perfect thing to do .

also did a quick 2 item trip to walmart to get the yarn to finish my crochet project. Yarn has gone up in price. i am not impressed.

any hoo. thats it from me. just chugging along. i am hoping next week will be ... easier.

working on the meal plan for the week.

[SassyAshley]

@Giseledta so sorry for your family's loss *HUGS*

I know it is not what people want to hear but Covid is not over. We recently had to close a location as everyone but one person tested positive and we are seeing more positive cases across all our locations. Just talking to people everyone seems to know someone who has Covid.

[SassyAshley]

Pasta Sauce simmered on the stove all morning. I ended up using our stockpot since I used a whole family package of Ground Beef.

I packed the sauce full of veggies. I am still overrun with Celery I used 4 stalks plus 2 carrots and a bunch of mushrooms. Plus when we use the sauce we will probably add more veggies depending on what we have on hand at the time.

Well working on the sauce, well the veggies and meat cooked, I did the hand dishes.

Still, lots to get done but not sure I want to tackle anything too big so think I will just tidy up and see where I get.

Dinner will be Lasagna using some of my Sauce, with Garlic Bread and Caesar Salad.

[cath007]

Good afternoon,
I did my grocery 100$ oop,I try to spend less..But noticed maxi and cie have more limit on products...that suck if you want more you have to return another time of pay the full price;...I wanted blueberries and raspberries and the limit was 4....in total,not 4 of each...
Fridge need a good clean and rotate the stuff....I putted the task away last week but now I have no choice.So will kind of find that ambition.

Have a good day and a good week

[Ciel21]

@cath007 So good to read that you have the winter apparel purchased for this year! Is it possible to sell the older coat online or through a consignment store?
@lilo0 07
The fall weather has been quite good recently-enjoying the deck is a priority. I make myself go out into the yard for short walks and I looked up at one tree with yellow leaves-a few are turning crimson now.

[Ciel21]

@Giseledta (((Hugs))) on the loss of your relative. Hope that it's possible to keep ties going with that part of family branch if DH can. Glad for you that you were comfortable with how visitation was conducted.

Yes, the price of groceries...EYEBROWS up. I have seen reports that California drought has impacted tomato prices.

[Ciel21]

@SassyAshley You been so busy with the stockpile, grocery shopping and figuring out menus. Good that you have some downtime here and there-you deserve more!

T&T-I tried to make an online account to see if Mississauga location would home deliver but I never got the code that is supposed to be sent to my e-mail to activate account. Out of luck on the min $35 order. There was a sunscreen item that was stocked that I hoped to get plus some snacks.
You probably will find T&T to be like RCSS-temptation in many aisles and lots of shoppers with carts like Costco everywhere. I suggest you do visit T&T when you feel ready to battle for buggy space in case store is busy when you go inside. Glad you have a new store near a work location to explore! You might find new things to replace more expensive items for now and still be thrilled!

[Ciel21]

After clipping out some toys/games from the Walmart toy catalogue, I wanted to see if Mastermind Toys has a catalogue-yes, a holiday guide online and it seems the only deals are for PERKS members (like price-matching). I have not seen a print copy in the mail-the guide used to have a couple of discounted shopping days in early November for Xmas gift shopping (that is how friend & I scored those Mandalorian puzzles two years ago).

Chapters Indigo shows the Mobi Wigloo as out of stock but chain carries two other Mobi toys as well. Funnily enough in Ancaster, the Chapters store is about 7 minutes' walk away from the Mastermind Toys in a neighbouring plaza. Chapters has some book deals on now. Though there is mention of the current gift registry system going to MyRegistry.com, it seems the existing Indigo gift registry is still working (despite Oct 1/22 end date) on the website.

Mastermind Toys has 25% off Halloween stuff until Oct. 26 (in-store & online): https://www.mastermindtoys.com/colle...-off-halloween

Today, I gave the lingering butternut squash (almost 3 wks on the counter) the casserole treatment and during lunch, Mom and I ate most of it. I finished off the leftovers 30min ago-so creamy soft and flavourful. Had windows open during baking so house was not hot. No idea about meal ideas for week--Mom got 3 heads of discounted cauliflower at $1.99 apiece at Longos and more bell peppers (seriously, she keeps buying 9-12 at a go and it must stop). I'm sure the cauliflower is going to be on plates. WIll have to hold off on roasting any but maybe dicing one up for the freezer would be a good move. There's a St. Hubert's tourtiere left in freezer-probably for a cooler day meal.

The problem with Mom's shopping without a list-she buys too much of stuff we don't really need and misses the needed items (and there are the random items she re-buys though she has one pkg already of whatever in the pantry). Though she got a tasty apple pie and lime pie... and they are going quickly. I will do a quick look at Voila to see if there might be a Nov 4 online order to prep once Nov. 1 comes around.

I did a limited amount of raking yesterday and scooped up the old leaf pile from Monday. Back is seriously unhappy with how the pain issues are accumulating and I will have to see if family bothers to bag any leaves or if Bro will run over them with tractor later in week. He's back at work tomorrow (hopefully full shift, not short as in recent weeks) so I can catch more dozes on the sofa (did that a lot this morning to give sore back some respite from bed rest). I am running down my Tetley tea supply as I'm into a two-cups per day mode even with mild weather-the tea is something I look forward to.

[flemeth]

@Giseledta so sorry for the loss of your love one. ((((HUGS))))


Yes the price of groceries is very high . I try to look for sales and PM .

[Ciel21]

Bag check reminder-some store chains are going plastic-free in November and not all of their alternative tote bags are sturdy for canned goods or jarred items. So...you might want to round up tote bags in the home, from the vehicle(s), coat pockets or purses and give them a look over. Still good for use? Time for a wash or wipedown? Need to find more bags (hit thrift stores first you might score some good canvas tote bags)? Same criteria for any store plastic crates/bins that you use to wrangle your groceries in.

This is the week to do the bag drill. Plus maybe someone needs a bag to hold their Halloween treats instead of using a treat pail?

Most of us are going back to Standard Time in early November and the first week of darkness is not when one is keen to add one more task to the longer "nighttime" hours.

[coupon girl]

Giseleda-so sorry about the loss of your husbands uncle

[cath007]

@Ciel21 : thank you No because the other coat is really finish only kept it for emergency coat
Oh wow fridge is clean and purged ,toss away the expired stuff unfortunnatly...I hate that part...but I can start new and fresh now
Garbages and recycling have been put away too
So that annoy me it is the same wasting always,a few veggies,end of smooties and yogurt....sigh...

[cath007]

@Giseledta : so sorry for your lost.hugs

[SassyAshley]

The kitchen is clean after dinner except for the lasagna pan, it is soaking a little.

Built my new laptop table. The verdict is still out on it. It is higher than my old table and not sure if this is going to work. I am worried that since it is higher it might bother my neck and shoulders but I will try it for a couple of days and see what happens.

The old Laptop Table and all the packaging for the new Laptop table have been taken out. Keeping the old laptop table is not an option, it is falling apart and the side table is bent. I think maybe if I just use one of the side bolts and lower the new table I can make it work if the higher height does not work for me.

I am not ready for it to be Monday yet. But ready or not, it is coming. So before bed tonight I will go over my to-do list for the week and see what needs to be scheduled this week.