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| Holiday Table Runner 1 |
On Sunday, I went out to lunch with friend R. It was a belated birthday celebration and R treated me. We went to one of our favorite family restaurants. R had fish and chips with coleslaw; I had pot roast with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, and we both chose the side salad instead of the soup of the day. Neither of us could finish our lunch, so we took the rest of it home! I had some of my leftovers for dinner, that night, and the rest of it for dinner on Monday night!
On Monday, I relaxed a bit, did a load of laundry, did some paperwork, played with fabric, finished reading one of my library books, and took the trash cans to the curb.
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| Holiday Table Runner 2 |
I tried to make it a reversible one for a cat-loving cousin:
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| Reversible Table Runner |
On Tuesday, I ran a few errands:
First, I went to the library to return the book I had finished reading and to check out another; I also updated my email information, etc., since the previous email they had on file was my work email.
Then, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription refill ($30 copay) and another bottle of calcium supplements ($12.49). They were having a buy one, get the second at 50% off on the vitamins and supplements, plus I had a $2.00 off coupon, so I bought two bottles of calcium with Vitamin D, at once (came to $18.32 with tax).
Next, I went to the dollar store where I bought a white plastic table cover (for the almsgiving), a box of cake mix (to make a dessert to take to the December prayer gathering), a bag of fresh cranberries, and three tubes of toothpaste to stock up, as I opened the last tube, that morning. My total came to $6.38, of which, $2 were for grocery items.
Finally, I went to the nearby grocery store where I bought half a gallon of milk ($1.99), a loaf of bread ($1.25) and some black grapes (@$.99/lb = $1.28)). I didn't take a photo of what I bought, however. My total came to $4.52. With the $2 spent at the dollar store for grocery items, my December grocery spending amounts to $6.52, for the 1st week.
I should probably do a separate post for the December groceries, but, for now, I will just give a recap of the November grocery spending. In November, my grocery budget was supposed to be $100 because my daughter was coming home for almost half the month (12 days), but I actually spent $150.87! ($20 + $6.47 + 19.86 + $1.50 + $40.61 + $52.17 + $10.26 = $150.87). Part of it was because I bought some groceries for her to take back with her, except, she left some of it behind, as she hadn't enough room in her suitcase (she had bought all those clothes to take back with her and they took up most of the room!). I have the option of using the funds leftover from the October prayer gathering budget to cover the amount by which I went over budget or trying to make it up from the December grocery budget. I have decided to make it easy for myself and use the surplus from the prayer gathering budget! So, I will start December with a fresh, new budget of $100 for groceries (daughter will be home for the last week in December and first week in January).
I am glad I did all my errands on Tuesday, because the rain started Tuesday night and it has been raining fairly steadily since then.
Wednesday morning, I woke up early enough to watch the latter part of the funeral coverage for President Bush. Also in the morning, I received an email notification from Sears, the store where I purchased the new washer and dryer, reminding me that the delivery was scheduled for this Friday, December 7. But, later in the afternoon, I received a phone call (and several texts) from them, saying the delivery has to be rescheduled, and please call them back! I called them back and apparently, they are unable to make the delivery until December 27! I was not pleased, but, what can I do? I don't want to cancel the order and go shopping again! So, I agreed to the new date. As my daughter says, as long as they don't try to deliver on the date of the almsgiving, I should be fine! I also made a batch of strawberry jam, in the afternoon:
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| Strawberry Jam |
I had bought the strawberries in the summer, for $.99/lb., cut them up and froze them. I reused canning jars and bands I had on hand, but used new lids I had bought, earlier. I decided to dress up the jars a bit with fabric from the stash! I used 2 1/2 lbs. strawberries to make this batch and I was able to fill eight 8-oz. canning jars and there was enough leftover jam to half fill another jar. That half jar is for me! I had a slice of bread with butter and freshly made strawberry jam with a cup of tea in the evening!
I have another package of strawberries thawing - will make another batch of jam as soon as I finish this post! It has stopped raining now and the late afternoon sun is shining.
I took this photo when I went out to collect the mail, a few minutes ago - maybe a candidate for the WPSH, #2 Pool of light:
2. Pool of light
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| Pool of Light - Sunshine on the wet road |
And maybe this one for #17 Orange?
#17 Orange
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| Persimmons |
Today, I am grateful for:
- All the rain we've received
- The sun shining through the clouds after the rain
- My new medical insurance card arrived and all the information seems correct!
- A warm and dry house when it is rainy and cold
- Strawberry jam!
How is your week coming along?
That's too bad about your washer and dryer, so disappointing to have to wait so long. Well, for some of us it is the season of Advent which means waiting, and on a mundane level, part of that seems to be waiting for deliveries, especially of things ordered in the mail, which are what I am looking for. At least you are getting ahead with your Christmas gifts, all very creative and even the jam jars dressed up prettily.
ReplyDeleteI've been avoiding going downstairs to look out of the window as there is a lot of noisy wind and I'm not sure what is happening out there. Today was an odd one, with flurries, then sun, dark clouds, more flurries, and - my goodness, I can hear that wind again! Well, I just checked and thank goodness there isn't any fresh snow. It's just the cold air moving in as predicted and the temperature is heading down for a very cold night!
I hope you don't have to go out in that cold and wind, Bushlady!
DeleteYes, the delay in delivery is annoying, but, at least I didn't wait until the washer I currently have quit working to buy a new one! I can still do laundry while I wait for the new one to be delivered.
I made a second batch of strawberry jam, today, and I now have enough to give a jar to all the people I want to and some for my own personal use. The first gifts will be exchanged this Saturday, at the monthly prayer gathering, so there is a need to get everything ready by then. :)
It is raining here, my dining table is a mess with bits of batting etc, and the streetlight is shining on a 'pool of light' outside. And my week is going well. Sounds very similar to you!
ReplyDeleteAwesome how we can have such similar experiences on a given day, isn't it? The distance in miles notwithstanding. :)
DeleteI love your two photos for the hunt, especially the 'pool of light' one. That's the prompt that I thought would be hard to do so you've proved me wrong!
ReplyDeleteI like the table runners. I need to make something like that for myself but will manage without for this year and then see what fabrics are on offer in the January sales. There's no point in my rushing to buy fabric before Christmas as I'm busy with music commitments so would have time to do any sewing anyway.
Thank you, Eileen. :) For pool of light, my first thought was the light from a table lamp, but then, I saw the sun shining on the wet road and thought that was better!
DeleteDefinitely wait for the sales to buy fabric. Sounds like you'll be very busy in the coming weeks!
Reading about the gifts you are making inspires me to make some of my own. However, I've been thinking and haven't come up with anything that is my style. We'll see if I come up with anything and find the time to do it. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy seeing what you are making.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, I keep telling myself I should start making my gifts earlier in the year, but, every year, I wait until closer to the holidays to make anything! I hope you'll be able to think of what you might want to make and then, find the time to make them.
DeleteI find that the days I run errands to be very busy ones. I don't usually get much housework done on those days. Your rainy days, on the other hand, have been very productive. I love those table runners. The reversible cat runner can be used year round. The little jars of jam look so perfect all dressed up. They will be well appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI love the photo for pool of light. I figured that prompt to be the most difficult, but I think you nailed it. I'm glad you were blessed with a long persistent rain for the garden.
Yes, errand days tend to be busy ones and tiring, too. I used to make jam almost every year! My coworkers used to say that they fought with their family members for my jam! My daughter would say her teachers would ask her, "Is your mom making jam, again, this year?" well before the holidays (it was funny because, at first, she thought a jar of jam was an insufficient gift; she didn't like jam when she was a child). Then, I got sick and didn't have the energy to make jam. This is the first time I'm making jam since my cancer diagnosis, I think.
DeleteWhat a sweet post. I would be pretty disgruntled having to wait an additional three weeks for a washer and dryer. Speaking of washers I really need to do some laundry.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, I don't like having to wait, but, it could have been worse! At least I still have a functional washer until the new one arrives. Hope you got your laundry done!
DeleteYou have been busy! I seem to have a lot of errands at present, and not all to do with Christmas. It just seems that everything is coming at once. I try to make an hour for myself in the evening when I can catch up on a bit of blogging (writing my own and responding to others) but even that hour doesn't always work out. Still, better a busy life with lots of people in it than the alternative.
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess that busy time of the year is upon us! Hope all your errands are good ones and you are enjoying it all. :)
DeleteThe weather here has been wet and gloomy. Not at all festive.
ReplyDeleteYou have been keeping busy. I love your makes and there will be some lucky recipients.
I'm now down to the last two jars of jam which I made back in the summer. Home made is the best so I might try and pick more fruit next time and freeze it. The way you dressed your jars is so cute. X
I, too, don't like wet and gloomy weather, Jules, but we really, really need the rain (our average rainfall for the year, measured July 1 to June 30, is around 15 inches; last year, we had less than 5 inches, total!)
DeleteThank you! I hope the recipients of my gifts will like and enjoy them. Sounds like you've been enjoying the jams you made! :)
We were supposed to have rain Yesterday, but there wasn't even a drop. But it's cooler now, which is nice.
ReplyDeleteMmmm homemade strawberry jam sounds delicious. Made me hungry for a piece of toast. :)
You have been busy. I hope a little by little you will be able to sleep early.
Glad you are having cooler weather, Nil, even if you didn't get any rain. The jam came out very well; wish I could send you a jar. Thank you, I will keep trying to readjust my sleep schedule!
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