February Frugal Chatter

[coupon girl]

Angela how nice was that staycation ,a bit of time with the kids and then time for yourself as a couple .

Well dont need son to remove old couch we took the legs off and out the front door it went ,mind you hubby getting it down the 4 front steps was no easy task as i was in front of it .We got it into the garage ,may ask son to stop by on his way home from work thursday to help carry down our long driveway to the front of our house .

[Ciel]

Avoid Toastmaster ovens/convection units (the $79.99 unit is not a deal). I was using our unit to make Jamie Oliver's Reverse Puff Pastry pizza and while roasting the vegetables, saw 20min of condensation on the control panel and steam coming out the door as well as vents (door is slightly lower on one side). Irksome matter is the wide pan has that wide lip on it and of course the only way to jam the pan into the rack is to remove the rack half out and click the pan in so the combo metal unit has to be wedged back in along the rail. Veg did not need 50 min; more like 25-30 and done even with stirring at 20min mark. Puff pastry-it had been in fridge one day and there was no way to unroll it into a sheet. So I treated it like two attached Vachon Flakies and cut between them. One block I managed to sort of slice 4 leaves from. The other-I ripped into two pieces and patty-caked each into a piece of dough. Each piece of doughy Mactac was hand stretched and placed over one area of veg (the pizza was more like a cobbler). I did not need 30-40min to bake the pastry. It puffed in 10min and got a little golden by 20min. Did the board over pan flip and voila! Had 2/3 cup of taco mix shredded cheese to add to top and breakfast was ready. Would try this dish in the regular oven or the next new toaster oven (Bro says I can buy one whenever I want and I know the Breville one with rack that moves with the door (the higher priced model) is yodelling my name right now).

Bit of genius in my sprinkling 1 tsp of smoked paprika over the 4 chopped peeled tomatoes from a tin (no fresh cherry tomatoes). I did use salt and pepper and herbes de Provence as well on the other vegetables (1 red pepper (no yellow ones on hand), 1 yellow onion, 1 long carrot). The aroma of the herbs offset the continuous steam trail emitting from the toaster oven.

Morning started off with a hot chocolate and cinnamon and allspice. Then time in kitchen all by myself! Ms. Sunshine is beaming, so I'll do a walk soon to stretch legs. I spent early morning hours scoping women's clothing on the major US dept store websites and I found 3 Moncler dresses (dressy casual, one in particular would be perfect for warm weather days) suitable for Mom, but prices ($700-900 US) and sizes are the next hurdles to overcome. I've noticed that dept stores somewhat vary which particular pieces each carries in womenswear so it's kind of hard to find a deal on a certain item unless that one store has it on sale (which usually means only one size is left in stock).

I also looked at gift items (likely one wedding coming up later in year or maybe next spring) and saved links for ideas. Also future baby gift ideas. Happily, I discovered a kids' clothing line carried by a local store (their website has photos but no prices so I have to verify if the garment is still even in stock) with limited store hours. I went to the clothing line's website and sadly realized most girls' dresses are well above the knee, as what happens to women's dresses in bad economic times (hems rise and lipstick sales spike too). There are certain pants and tops that might suit but cropped cardigans are not a buy-Canada is not sunny and warm like Florida or California in the southern sections. We do need kids' sweaters that fully cover torsos in cold and cool weather times. I saw a boy's short and shirt set that is dressy casual that I want to consider to buy as a future gift for someone (think nice clothes for summer visiting). Generally it's hard to find boy's dress shirts other than blue or striped or white. But a couple of websites do offer 2-3 options if you look for them (high and low). I like to know where to buy stuff without worrying where to find the gifts. Advance research pays off. Just need to fund a US $ debit card or find a contest with US$ gift cards (so far, they are contests for US residents only) and away I'll click!

Time for a mug of hot tea! Will there be treasure to be found on my walk today? To be continued...

[lizzie bargain]

Wow Angela-8.5 years is a long wait for a one night staycation. I am sure a good time was had by all.

[Giseledta]

afternoon all. both my girls will be home soon, might watch a movie with them.
i will work on my crocheting while we do that, i have been really enjoing working on crochet. its relaxing. helping with my anxsity.

we have a couple of nice weather days ahead. i am hoping to get out and get some sun on my face.


i have started to plan out my veggie garden stuff. i need to start seeds at the end of march , and find soil for that.
i have my seeds ready. i am not going big this year.

a place in town is having a fabulous contest as well, so i will order sand for the sand box from them . my summer should be a bit better then last years. fingers crossed.
i am also ordering butterfly larve for the daycare. the kids will love those.

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Today was one of those days where I got a bunch of little things done.

I did a load of darks, a load of pillow and a mix load of random things I found in the pile in my room. Still have a load of reds/pinks/purples I will do tomorrow and hang, right now the darks are hanging to dry.

I took a nice long hot shower and when I was done I decided to tackle the bathroom ceiling. I did as much as I could before my shoulders started to really hurt. I will need to take another pass at it but will do that another day. There are also a couple of areas I might need to take the step ladder up and scrub by hand, again a task for another day. I think if I need to take the step ladder up I will have Mom help me so I do not have to keep going up and down.

Still have some stuff in my room to deal with, I have some laundry I brought up and need to put away and I need to take another garbage bag up. My bag is full but found some more stuff I need to toss. I usually try to get in 15 to 30 minutes of cleaning in before bed, it has become part of my routine to turn on a youtube video and work away well the video plays.

Still trying to figure out dinner, I started to feel a little off this afternoon feeling better now but the idea of Pasta with Tomato Sauce which was our original plan is no longer appealing.

It is getting late must figure out dinner.

[lilo0003]

Went on a big walk today with another couple. My BFF and her DH live in the next city and I have not seen her since December. Thankfully our husbands are also good friends and have lots to chat about. It was a sunny day and they are close to the lake so it was a nice walk. I finished Downton Abbey, all six seasons in 4 weeks. Thanks Covid. Now to move onto something else. Took advantage of the egg offer at SDM today and a few groceries at NoFrills. I also managed to give away some stuff this weekend and one person wanted all 3 of my postings which makes life so much easier.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Up early this morning which was nice, I was downstairs and working by 6 am. I know some are thinking no way but honestly for me, sometimes this first hour is my most productive because no one needs my help.

Last night before bed I finished cleaning the bathroom. Earlier in the day I did the ceiling and the sink but still needed to clean the toilet which I did before bed last night. Now I just need to scrub the floor. As well I need to do a second scrub on the ceiling it looks so much better but still a few spots that need more scrubbing.

I am also working on this week's project which is cleaning up the pile in front of my closet, most of the pile is gone but I forgot to take a new garbage bag up with me last night. I know I am going to start to struggle with this task shortly as I discovered a number of presents that were given to me. I always struggle when someone give me something and either it has outlived its time with me or is something I just will not use, I find it hard to pass on these items because I know someone bought it for me. I long for a minimalist lifestyle but it is so hard once I am actually doing the cleaning and seeing the stuff leave. I just see all of the $$$ we spent and something in me always worries if I get rid of it now will I have to replace it in 6 months to a year? I am so much better at cleaning up other people's things where there is no sentimental value or emotions attached to the items.

We are under a winter travel advisory, it was just starting to snow when I got up this morning but has not stopped. I miss the nice mild winter we started with this year LOL.

Have a great day everyone and anyone venturing out and is under the travel advisory, be safe.

[GoodBoy]

Received a great deal active for the month of March 2021. Unlimited free coffee! Will definitely take advantage of it for the month!!

[Frugalbigmama]

Good morning and Happy Monday! We are under the weather advisory too and no school bus service so online for DS today.

I am in the office this week. My honey set the coffee maker to brew before I got up so that was nice. Took the toaster/English muffin/peanut butter to work with me so I can eat later
Writing out my work to do list and ready to tackle it.

I had a portable clothing rack that my guy had in his man cave so I used it for a bit to clean out my closet. Well he needed it for an apartment he rented out (it has been under renovation for awhile) so I had to give it up . Been watching on marketplace for another but people just want too much for it or it was too far away. Yesterday someone posted 4 for $30. It was a bit of drive but I was ok with that and went and picked them up. I will be able to use them to clean house. Great for selling (garage sale etc) and then I will sell them and make more then I paid for them Win Win!

So this week is closet clean out. Finish mine completely and youngest DS. His will be a big job since we haven't done it in years!!

Have a wonderful and frugal day everyone!

[SassyAshley]

@Frugalbigmama I am with your DS, it has been years since I did a full clothing purge and now that I am trying to purge I regret putting it off so long.

Question for everyone, I need opinions. I have some items I want to give away for free but I do not want to donate them as I am hoping these items will go to those in need that with Covid cannot thrift shop. My biggest thing is our town is big about bin on your front step but right now with Covid, I do not want multiple people touching this bin. Would it be wrong (keep in mind, these items are free) if I was to leave them in a bag someone would just come and grab the bag, no bin involved?

[coupon girl]

sassy -on kijiji i have noticed people giving away a bag of kids clothing for free (whoever needs it they posted)
I had a woman about a month ago stating on the free section she needed baby girl clothing up to 12 months.So i went thru my daughter-in-laws box that she gave me to donate (this is stuff once upon a child doesnt want as they dont need too many infants clothng ) and this woman messaged me and asked if i would put on my porch the next day and she would come and get it .

So i feel that is fine a bag on your porch with free items ,just tell them they have to take the whole bag .

Wow i have to shovel,as the neighbour doesnt use the snowblower when it is too heavy .So i did a small bit at 8.00 a.m this morning ,Hubby's shoulder is sore after moving our couch yesterday.This long driveway of mine may take 3 or 4 visits of shovelling today .

[HermanH]

Does anyone use the https://www. F.l.y.e.r.T.o.w.n. ca site? (Sorry, I don't know why the forum refuses to allow me to use that word without all the periods.)

I have visited in the past and found it quite helpful. Unfortunately, since 2021, it appears not to update with the various stores in my area. It shows mostly out-dated offers. I used to view NoFrills, Sobeys, RCSS, etc, with no problem. I know that the site is location specific and I am in Edmonton. It looks like this:



Does anyone know if it could be due to the end of life service for Adobe Flash?
Could the site be using relying upon Flash and thus be unable to display any recent information?

I have used computers with WinXP and Win7 Pro, without success.

If anyone is willing to visit, please let me know what you see. Am I just crazy (with out-dated operating systems)?

[johnb56789]

Well... It's finally over at work... My manager will be back from his vacation for the shift tonight. And I will say, this past while (13th - 22nd) has been a complete show almost every. single. day. at work! With last night getting close to taking the cake!

- 4 sick calls, leaving us with 6 people
- We didn't work 10 skids of our order
- We will likely have to work those 10 skids tonight
- Then having some of tonights order pushed into Wednesday night instead
- I had to work my aisle alone (Aisle 3, 345 cases to stock, A THIRD OF THE ORDER THAT WE DID WORK)
- Then I stocked half of another Aisle
- I didn't take my second break to get things done
- And after all of that... Almost certainly day staff will complain that we didn't do ANYTHING!

My manager is furious about everything that has been happening (I have been keeping him updated every night which he likes that I do). And when he is back in tonight, he is making some major changes to scheduling...

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
I did not want to get up this morning, my goal was to get up at 5 am nope did not get up until 6:30 am, now I am feeling behind and it is only 8 am LOL.

I have back to back training sessions today and the work is piling up. I am supposed to have my review tomorrow but it has not been booked yet, not that I think much can be done, there is just so much on my plate that only I can do.

Also have a bunch of house stuff that needs to get done. I did not get as much done yesterday as I had hoped if I went to bed early because I was exhausted and hoped if I got a good night sleep I would wake up today with tons of ambition, no such luck. Oh well it is what it is.

It started to snow here about an hour, not sure how much we are supposed to get so shovelling might be in my future. We did not get as much as expected yesterday and most of it was melting in the afternoon so I did not shovel.

Alright back to it, have a wonderful day everyone

[SassyAshley]

Little nervous, as I mentioned I have back to back training session today, just went to see how much snow we have gotten so far to discover 2 Hydro trucks sitting in front of my house and hydro guys wandering around looking at the transformer just down from me.

Nothing was sent to me about a planned outage. Maybe there are just looking and won't touch *fingers crossed*