One of the advantages of being sick is that you have to totally clear your schedule.  Why is that an advantage?  Well then you're trapped at home with nothing to do...but finish your projects!

Today I pulled out the hollyhock rug I started several years ago.  I finally figured out how I was going to do the sky, thanks to Deanne Fitzpatrick!  I worked on finishing the hollyhocks and a bit of sky today.  I'd love to show you all a picture, but now my computer is refusing to download the new version of Java.  Sigh...  Can't upload to Photobucket without Java.  Annnnywaaay...

Aside from playing with my rug I also worked on spinning yarn.  I spun some Merino, plied more Romney, and made skeins from some previously plied Romney.  I have two skeins all ready to be soaked and blocked for knitting...80 grams of yarn.  I have a couple more skeins to go.  I'd love to show you a picture of them too...oh well...soon...

A friend was over today and we talked quilting...which is always fun.  She had a few projects underway and needed some advice/input.  She pulled them out and we puzzled over them and came to some conclusions.  We had the opportunity to go into a craft sale together, but decided it was too short notice...especially with me being sick right now.  Plus she's just getting over something. So we decided not to commit for this year.  Instead we'll build up a stock of things to sell next year and plan on going into a sale then. 

Another advantage of being sick?  Paul has been so nice and considerate.  He didn't bat an eyelash when I told him I'd ordered Chinese last night while he was at work.  In fact, he laughed and said he wasn't fond of the supper he'd taken to work, and had gone out to Arby's on his supper break!  Not at all frugal, but I am glad our previously frugal lifestyle has allowed us the financial freedom to do things like this every now and then. 

I can't stress to people enough how freeing it is to have no debt over our heads... no mortgage, no credit card debt, no loans, no line of credit...  It makes life a whole lot easier!  And a lot more enjoyable.  It wasn't always like this.  We made our share of mistakes.  And we also bought into the "keeping up appearances" scene once upon a time too.  But not anymore.  It just isn't worth it.  I'd rather have no debt, cash in hand, and be able to take a trip to visit family whenever I want, with no financial worries to come home to.

Hi all...Sorry I haven't been posting much this past week.  Lots happening.  I've made the switch from spring to summer.  I passed the torch of Stitchery Guild secretary onto another very capable lady...so no more Tuesday night meetings. 

We switched Bible studies from nights to during the day mid-week...so I could spend the evening with Paul.  He was actually disappointed!  He used Bible study time to go to the public library and do family history research.  Now he says he feels beholden to take me along.  This is no hardship for me.  I'll spend my time catching up in the magazine and newspaper section.

Friday morning stitch-in has stopped, so I've replaced it with an afternoon stitch-in on Tuesdays.  This makes for a rushed Tuesday, but if I'm organized on Monday and get my shopping and laundry done, I'm set to go.

Wednesday night activities have ceased...providing me with more time for sewing, reading, and handwork.  Wednesday afternoon I spend with friends.

And Thursday and Friday I like to spend time with friends.  Saturdays I am knitting with a group in the mornings and quilting with another group in the afternoon.  And of course Sundays are always full.

I've been running errands on foot a lot...which is eating into my computer time.   But it's for a good cause.  My weight hasn't dropped below 176 lbs. yet, and I'm frustrated.  But I have a couple new tricks to try.  I'm currently trying a detox tea with mild diuretics in it.  I think a lot of what I have is water retention issues.  I just lose the weight too fast when I come off meds (10 lbs./mth) for it to be much else. 

But, just in case it is something else...I discovered "The Serotonin Power Diet" at the public library the other day.  I checked reviews on-line and everything seems favourable.  I've decided to try it.  What have I got to lose?  Besides 40 extra pounds!

I've been doing well with exercise...getting 7500 to 15,000 steps in each day.  I need to vary it a bit I think.  That will be my challenge this week.  I need to do more upper body work.  I just find it hard to motivate myself when I don't know if I'm doing it properly.

I canceled my appointment with the exercise therapist because I need to talk to the physiotherapist first.  Turns out my doctor has signed me up for physio and exercise therapy.  Too bad I can't afford both!

My diet has been wild.  Paul is the master of carb loading.  He decided to buy an entire 10" Black Forest Cake from Safeway to eat this weekend.  I sighed and decided to help him.  I was surprised that I did not have any ill effects from it.  But I ate a lot smaller pieces than normal.  And I ate it on it's own.  And I exercised after every piece for at least 20 minutes...walks, etc.  I was surprised to note I did have an improvement in energy levels and clarity of thought after eating them.

The Serotonin Power Diet advocates eating carbs, but not junk carbs like the Black Forest Cake!  And they advocate eating the carbs at certain times and with certain combinations of food.  Carbs have been linked to serotonin production in the brain.  According to the authors, if eaten with protein, the protein will block the carbs from being absorbed and used for serotonin production.  All this is the result of various studies on rats at M.I.T.

Anyway...onto other things...I've done virtually nothing in the sewing department...Let's see...I got the wrap around skirt made...except the waistband.  I did get the sashing on the sampler quilt...kind of.  I ran out of fabric and have to contact the lady to arrange a time to pick up more.

In the knitting department I continue to knit on my drop stitch scarf made from Sea Maiden Double Sea Silk.  It's turning out lovely!  And ooooooh so soft!

In the frugal department...I decided to try shopping locally...and discovered it's expensive.  A local yarn shop had knitting magazines for sale for $1-2 more than the local bookstore.  I bought one at the yarn store and, when I saw the prices at the bookstore, picked up a couple there.  I'm fixed for knitting projects for awhile.

I also tried to buy frozen boneless pork loin chops at a local butcher's.  But when I opened my package of 4 chops (for $9!), I discovered one was almost all fat and the other three had to have huge chunks of fat cut off them.  Never again.  We'll be going to Sobey's for pork chops from here on in.

A friend has been supplying me with ionized water from her filtration system, and I love it for making tea.  It's just so smooth going down.  She also passed on some insecticidal soap she was given by someone else.

I helped another friend who had a three day garage sale this past week/weekend.  I only spent $5 the whole event.  I netted:

• 2 soaker hoses,
• a fancy sewing kit for traveling,
• unopened perfume with delightful decanter (AVON),
• a blue willow plate,
• an old tobacco tin full of 50+ year old buttons,
• 2 videos,
• a book,
• and other things I forget.

Paul and I have decided we aren't being very frugal these days.  Well, it seems that way.  I don't know... we have set up the house so we don't have to use all three floors anymore.  I just go into the basement to do laundry and get things from the freezer.  Paul is down there showering every morning.  But other than that, there's not much we need to do there.  It's my winter exercise room though.

I've become slack at hanging up clothes to dry.  We only do two loads of laundry a week: one light and one dark.  I find I am often rushed with doing it on Mondays.  So I just push it through.  Washing full loads saves on electricity.  I try to get to it before Paul because he likes to set the dryer on moisture setting...which can take up to 2 hours to dry the clothes!  I set it for 60 minutes on the timer and they're done by the end of the hour.  We've reconnected the dryer vent hose to the outside for the warmer months.  No need to have it redirected inside.  As per usual, I do not recommend redirecting the dryer vent hose inside if you live in a damp climate.  You will only be encouraging mold to grow.

We've been grilling more on the gas grill outside now the nice weather is here.  We're also eating a lot of blender/microwave/indoor grill meals.  I can't remember the last time I cooked a meal on the stove top.  Could be why our electricity bill has plummeted below $60 from around $80.  I love summer!

We decided that seeing as we couldn't find anyone to replace our fence this year, we'd replace the kitchen window instead.  So we have people coming to look it over.  Right now it has a crack in the glass and it is leaking majorly bad in winter.  Which, if you know the Canadian prairie winters, is not a good thing!  It's going to cost roughly $1000CAD to replace a 30 x 55" window.  We have the money saved up for this.

Paul and I have decided to dispense with watching TV every night before bed.  Consequently I have been falling asleep much easier and am having a more restful sleep.  It is nice to wake up rested in the morning!  I suggested we watch it earlier in the evening when we do want to watch it.  We'll see if that works for me as well.  Paul has been watching his TV shows on the Internet instead.

Meghan and Lisa are both in Halifax now.  I am suffering from DWS...daughter withrawal syndrome!  They only have cell phones.  Lisa's doesn't have long distance (or at least it costs an arm and a leg to phone her long distance!), and she doesn't have Internet till mid-month.  Meghan is either not near her phone, or on it, and I can't get through to her.  Interestingly, she is not responding to email either.  I wonder what's going on there.  You know, I've come to the conclusion that a parent's job is to always worry about their children.  I'm sure she's fine, but I'd feel a lot better if I could touch base with her.

Well, that's my catch up post everyone.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

I can't believe this weather we're having!  It's been raining cats and dogs all weekend.  Today was sunny and warm, but tonight it's going down to 10 Celsius!  It's so cold I shut the doors and put on a warm dress...as opposed to shorts and sleeveless top.  This is the end of June for crying out loud!

Well despite the weather I've been able to stay on track with my weight loss plan.  I phoned around today looking for adult swimming classes.  It looks like I can get five lessons for $90CAD from the city.  Not bad as it would be private instruction.  One place offering them was shut down till July.  I'll phone the other place tomorrow.  I checked with the YMCA and it was actually going to cost me $64CAD for a class with other adults.   I thought I'd buy a YMCA membership ($50/mth) and access massage, fitness assessment and training for free.  But apparently all those things cost extra over and above the membership.  Doesn't make much sense to have a membership to me!  I'm opting for the private swim lessons through the city.

My official weigh-in was 176.4 pounds.  I am hoping to make 175 pounds by the end of the month.

~~~~~~~

The sewing room is coming along fine.  I picked up a little corner shelf and cross from a yard sale for the room. Paul hung the shelf and I quickly filled it.  The cross needs a special hanger on it.  Paul also hung up my magnetic knife rack.  I use it to hold scissors and other metal objects used in sewing.

I've also been shopping for sashing fabric for my sampler quilt.  I have one more block to take a photo of and post.  I finished it Saturday.  I think this will look okay.  I'm waiting till I have the entire top sewn before deciding on a backing fabric.

I also pulled out my kimono quilt to work on again.  The instructions aren't very good.  I'll have to re-cut some pieces. 

I finished going through the crazy quilt fabric.  I separated silks from satins, etc.  I'm thinking the silks might actually go into a yo-yo quilt.  We'll see.  I am also on the last half box of quilting fabric.  I should really finish that tomorrow.  But we'll see.  I have company coming and lots to do!

~~~~~~~~~

My frugal find today was the local Bulk Barn store.  Some things are more expensive there, some things less.  So you really have to watch it.  There were some nice diet things there too.

I've taken to picking up organic produce when we eat the whole plant.  But non-organic if we peel it.  I put off buying meat today.  Seems a little goes a long ways when there's only two of us in the house.  My biggest challenge these days is not buying too much food!

Well I'm off to watch a library DVD with Paul before bed.  Write to you all later!

The last couple of days have been busy. 

I walked to a stitching group yesterday.  While there I chatted up the ladies.  I found I could take my very expensive shoes into the repairman and have the insoles replaced with hard ones for a reasonable price.  I can also check to see if he can do it for my sandals...Finn Comforts.  Seems I spend an awful lot trying to get my feet sorted out.

I also had a lady give me some Brazilian embroidery supplies and instructions.  I went through them when I came home and decided to get rid of about half of them.  I still have to check it against what I already have.  I may be able to pass more on yet.

I talked with a lady who wants some denim.  I have lots, and no plans to sew it.  It's hard on the fingers and shoulders.  So I invited her to come pick it up.  It all came to me for free anyway.

I managed to see some gorgeous hand knit scarves and we (a bunch of us) wrangled promises to bring patterns to the next meeting out of the wearers.

I negotiated dropping some excess fabric scraps off with a charity quilting group.  They had originally come from them.  I was to sew quilts for charity.  Well I sewed four, but the quilt batting I was given was so thick it was extremely difficult to handle.  I am returning it plus a huge bag of the fabric scraps.  When I came home I sorted through my fabric to pull together all that fabric.

I negotiated with a gentleman about contact information for a group we are thinking might be good entertainment for the end of the year dinner for another group I belong to.

I had leftovers for lunch.

I hooked rug.  I'm working on the rug my mentor started for her daughter.  I've had to rip some out and redraw the lines.  But it hasn't been bad.  I may have to do more before I'm finished.

I went out to tea with a friend and we had a good chat.  I paid, as it was because of me we were out.  It was less than $10CAD though.  So not bad.

Came home just as Paul was calling to check in.  He had to work later than planned.  I decided to provide a special meal...one of his favourites.  It was the last day of the work week for him.  His work week changes all the time.  So we had a ham dinner with corn and mashed potatoes.  I decided to treat him to a Berry Bread Pudding.  We had it with sour cream and icing sugar topping. 

We walked to the store for milk and yogurt later. The yogurt was for more topping for the bread pudding.

Paul took his computer into the shop.  It has a Trojan Horse on it...we think.  He's having some other things done to it as well.  I am just letting him go ahead.  He uses that computer so much.  We had a chat about formats.  We think we'll be switching to Apple computers the next time we buy...at least I will.  I do so much graphics oriented stuff.  And I find it difficult to do on a PC.  My original training was on a Mac. 

Paul showed me how to back up my data files (sad I know).  I had done it once before last year.  I needed to do it again.  He was surprised at the size of them.  I reminded him I deal a lot more in graphics than he does. 

I've also rearranged my email situation.  I've been reading "Getting Things Done" and took to heart the author's advice.  I now have folders in my email program for "Action", "Pending" and "Archives".  As a result my inbox is emptied daily.  I had quite a mess in my inbox before.  I also set up a folder in archives for subscriptions to a variety of sites.  That allows me to find them when I need to, but keeps them out of my inbox.  Less clutter there.  I can't believe how much easier this has made things!  I love it!

Paul and I have been watching library DVDs in the evening for entertainment and relaxation.

One of the coolest and easiest frugal things to do is bunch your errands.  I call this doing loop errands.  You make a list of everything you have to do, and then you take the car and do them all at the same time...arranging your route in a gigantic loop that takes you home again at the end. 

This involves planning ahead.  I try to do as many as possible on one day a week.  Usually Paul's day off we do loop errands in the morning or afternoon. 

Sometimes it can be real simple to bunch errands.  I'm heavily involved with my church.  Rather than spend time phoning everyone throughout the week (telephone tag can get real annoying...and some people just won't get off the phone!), I stay for coffee after church and talk to people.  

This week at church I managed to:

• return three books to two people,
• talk to two people about Bible study,
• check on those spices (all were gone but 6 bottles),
• discuss advertising the church library with someone,
• give a general agreement for them to write a blurb for the bulletin,
• help in the kitchen,
• connect with the choir director over music, and
• catch-up with a young lady I've loaned some videos to.

It helps to go with a plan in mind...I sometimes write it down on a slip of paper and check it before I head out the door for home.

When I do loop errands, I definitely have a slip of paper in hand.  If Paul or I think of anything else while on the road, we write it down in the appropriate sequence on the paper.  This is a very efficient way to do shopping when you don't have time for it.

Likewise, when I have an appointment with someone somewhere, I am always thinking of what errands I might need to run in that part of town.  I do the errands before or after the appointment.

One of the tricks to making loop or bunch errands work is to make sure to take water and a snack with you.  Otherwise you may find yourself stopping here or there for a bite to eat or something to drink.  This can be nice if it's built into your budget.  But it can also be a hassle, taking precious time away from errands.  If the food and drink are in the vehicle, you save time as well as money.

So the next time you feel like you're being run ragged, look at your errands and how you run them.  Are you out every day for this or that?  Is it absolutely necessary to do it right now!  Or can it be all scheduled for one day of running around.  Even if you have to set aside two days for running around on errands, you'll find yourself a lot more productive by not having to interrupt yourself all the time to run an errand.

This week as been kind of slow on the frugal front. I've been in a more reflective mood about measures we've tried in the past.  Though I have picked up the odd thing to try.  I have decided to flip the breaker to the dryer for the times I don't use it.  I dry one load a week.  We'll see if this makes any difference to the electric bill.  I'm curious more than anything.

Paul and I have been tracking electricity usage.  This winter we are down considerably.  Primarily because Meghan isn't here.  But also due to the way we utilize the house.  I spend the mornings in the basement, with computer, a lamp and 2 CFL light bulbs on...and sometimes a radio.  Lately I've been thinking I need to just plop a DVD in the computer.  It's on anyway.  In the afternoon I move upstairs into the daylight.  I watch daytime TV while working on handwork.  Of course, this all depends whether I have places to go or people to see.

I've also been using small appliances more than the stove or microwave.  Not only is it more convenient, but it cuts down on electrical usage too.  The grill, the electric fry pan, and the crock-pot have been very useful.

I've been keeping the heat down during the day for the most part.  But when the sun goes down, the heat goes up.  I've found the new windows in the basement, and the new back door, are making a big difference to how warm the house feels this winter.  We tried to shut off rooms but found them getting too cold.  We had to turn the heat up on the cold nights because our hot water pipes were freezing!  I am suspicious there is no insulation in the exterior kitchen walls.  The problems with living in an old house...

We've made a few frugal mistakes.  We signed up for a produce bin delivery from a local organic food store in February.  It quickly became apparent we were going to receive exotic overpriced produce that way.  We canceled it this week and are reveling in the extra cash...which came just in time to take advantage of a big Dollar Days sale at the local supermarket.

We also went out on expensive dates to fancy restaurants.  We've finally figured a few key ones we feel comfortable at and plan to use them once a month for a treat.   Otherwise we eat at home.  We cook better meals, a lot cheaper, and a lot healthier.  Plus we create our own atmosphere with candlelight and fireplace...and there's no one around to overhear our conversation!  Sounds like a plan to me!  We share the cooking and the clean-up.  Making a much nicer experience for both of us.

We've discovered just because your children leave home doesn't mean they won't cost you more money.  Meghan ran out of money before the end of the university semester.  Mostly because her fiance moved east with her.  She put groceries on her credit card.  We are not impressed.  She has to be out of residence the end of April.  Her fiance is living in an apartment right now without any furniture.  He wants her to move in with him...and us to provide a short term loan for their furniture.  Hmmm...  I am against this.  Paul is for it.  Another issue revolving around one of us being Christian and the other not.  I want nothing to do with encouraging them to live together.  Plus, I just do not think it is wise to support them like this.  They need to learn to depend on each other...not us.

I have managed to stay out of all clothing stores since last spring now.  I'm thinking it might be time to make a trip back.  I've outgrown all my pants and the zip broke on my spring/fall coat.   I have been having problems with my orthodics...again...and have decided podiatrists really aren't worth it.  I've spent over $1000 on my feet through these so called specialists, and the best fitting shoe I have is a Dr. Scholl's from Walmart for $35CAD. 

I've tried acupuncture and it just is not affordable long term.  I've tried naturopaths twice now, and have not been impressed.  I guess they work for some people, but not for me!    I tried massage therapy and found  physiotherapy a better bang for my buck.  They teach you how to correct the problem...rather than just treating the symptoms.  All these things add up to money.  I'm finally glad to see some expenses leveling out healthwise though. 

Well that's it for today.  I'll catch up with everyone later...

QUESTION???:  I'm contemplating bringing my craft/hobby work back to this blog.  Is this something people would like to see?  Or do you prefer they be kept separate?  Right now the bulk of my life centers around unfinished handwork projects, organizing, planning and implementing them.  I'm finding keeping up two blogs to be a lot of work for me.  I just don't have a lot of time IRL for the computer.

For me the start to my frugal journey was twofold:  my diagnosis and Paul.  He was forever blaming me of spending us in the hole with my credit card (which was paid in full each month), while he was an absolute paragon of virtue - the miser!  He never spent a cent, and he expected me to run the household like that.  On top of that, with the advent of medication in my life, it became apparent I would never have the energy to hold down a job again.  My working life had effectively ended.  I was greatly disturbed by the spectre of a less than enjoyable retirement (think: bag lady!). 

Serendipitously, about that time I tripped over "The Tightwad Gazette" I, II and III at our local library.  I was absolutely entranced.  I had no idea that people could be that 'tight' with money.  I started out with an "I'll show you!" attitude towards Paul.  I was going to be so cheap he screamed for mercy! LOL  Well, Paul was a little confused at first.  But I was even more annoyed when I found, despite my best efforts, he was still blaming me for spending all the money. 

It was then I sat down and started analyzing his attitude towards money.  I spoke with his parents and siblings and with him and found out he had a few money hangups that were getting in our way as a couple.  Slowly, over the years, we've worked on those issues, trying to clear away the fears and myths and concerns, to get to the real heart of the matter.  We're still working on them.

For me, the initial wonder of the "Tightwad Gazette" books led to a determination to see frugality as a creative challenge - a hobby, and eventually a game.  I started with a simple challenge to myself.  I chose ten things that would save me $1000 in one year.  I actually saved much more.  My initial 10 things?

1. We changed the phone plan off a bundle to basic local with YAK Communications for long distance. (saved $50/mth...or $600/year).
2. I figured out comparative costs of buying foodstuff vs. making my own. In particular I looked at buying meat from the butcher vs. the grocery store. No real savings there. So instead I simply cut back on the amount of meat we were using and selected cheaper cuts.
3. I made a list of cheap breakfasts I could make (homemade muffins, homemade oatmeal, homemade pancakes, etc.) and set aside one day a week as my baking day to make sure we had enough in the house for the week.
4. I went through supper plans to find frugal supper recipes that still provided variety and health. Decided to do leftovers for lunch so we wouldn't throw out so many.
5. I learned to bake my own bread. It cost 27 cents to bake a healthier loaf than the 98 cent white fog sold in the store. We went through a loaf every two to three days...that's $130 worth of savings on bread alone in 1998 when I started.
6. I learned to make my own yogurt. We used 175 750 ml. tubs a year. It cost $2.59/tub, or $455/yr. I could make it for $78/year, saving $375 per year.
7. I made my own jams and cut the cost of jams in half on a yearly basis. We went through a jar a week, easily. At $3/2 c. jar in the store. That's a savings of $75 in jam a year.
8. I figured out how to make hm pizza from scratch - crust, sauce and toppings - and saved myself a bundle in pizza delivery, which we usually had every two weeks. In 1998 a pizza for the 4 of us cost around $20cdn. The hm version cost all of $5. So...that's an annual savings of...$390cdn.
9. I started hang drying clothes...and cut our electric bill by $20-40/mth. ($240-480/yr)
10. We also took up gardening and freezing the produce. I figured one year in veggies alone, we put in approximately $20 of cost, and saved over $80 in just the veggies we froze...not counting canning anything. We rented the garden space, all prepared, from a local community garden. It was cheap - $10 for the entire season.

All told that is...

$600 (phone)
$3000 (groceries - I saved $250/mth. off our bill)
$480 (electricity)
$4880

Not bad for the first year of my frugal journey.  I made it a game to add $1000 more of cuts every year.  Focusing on the ten biggest changes I could come up with.  It's amazing how much fat you can trim from a budget that way.  Finally, come year five, I couldn't think of anything that would save me over $100 per year to do.  At that point I started looking at the smaller frugal tips, with the idea that small things add up to big bucks.  I was right.

The net result?  In ten years of frugality I have seen our expenses go up from $25,000/year to $30,000/year.  That's seems like a lot.  Shouldn't the figure be going down, instead of up?  But it actually works out to the cost of inflation during that time period.  Meaning our expenses have not necessarily gone up. 

What has gone up is our standard of living!  We are getting a lot more bang for our buck these days.  I've learned how to garage sale and trade and barter with friends and on-line.  I've learned where I can get things for free or next to free.  Our savings account has grown phenomenally for us.  We've been able to put money into the girls education (not as much as we'd like, but still, some).  We were able to pay out our mortgage six years early...on one income.  We've been able to have more fun on our income and upgrade our furniture.  We were able to pay cash for a new-to-us car.

So my advice to those starting out on their frugal journey is to make it a game.  Be creative.  Find just one tip a month to work on that will save you over $100 over the course of the year.  You'll be surprised how it all adds up!