Notes From The Frugal Trenches

So after struggling to find a book where the words didn’t jump, I got tucked into a novel the children’s godmother loaned me, Bone & Bread. A Canada Reads 2016 Finalist, and apart from a few sections where the words were a tad too much (my issue, not the authors), it was a wonderful read. The novel is about the lives of two sisters, who are incredibly intertwined, starting from their childhood with their mother and Sikh uncle in an Hasidic neighbourhood’s bagel shop in Montreal, through to their adult lives impacted by early losses, grief, an eating disorder, a young pregnancy and so much more. That’s probably the worst description of a novel you’ll ever read, but it’s where I’m at! 😉  I read the novel in under 2 days, over 400 pages – that’s some sort of record since all this started! lol So now I’m searching for my next book – time to go through the home visiting Library’s bag again.

Wee girl is almost finished Ella Enchanted, wee boy his Thea book and over the coming days we’ll finish our next Ralph Mouse novel at bedtime.

I will say this week I felt that lovely tug of a reminder of what it was like to be able to read, process, and be lost in a book, feeling a vested interest in what happens and simultaneously wanting to find out, vs. not wanting the novel to end.

If you are looking for book recommendations, especially novels taking place in Canada, I highly recommend the books from Canada Reads – which 2017 season starts in March I believe. On the homepage you can search by a scroll down menu for books by year, since it started in 2002. Some wonderfully rich novels about the experiences of our indigenous population, newcomers to Canada, people who are refugees and so much more.

It was a very good reading week indeed; hoping it is for you too!

Having got off track last week, I’m reigning in this week. It’s a busy week medically for me at the hospital most days, and I’m trying to relax where I can!

Here are my 10 goals for this week:

1. Go to bed by 11:00 pm every night {It was midnight Monday – tsk tsk, but I’m really going to get back on track!}
2. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
3. Find skates for wee girl, and runners – she’s grown another 1.5 foot sizes overnight
4. Sort out the junk drawer which has morphed into a junk mountain! 😉
5. Have a family games night this weekend
6. Go for a family swim
7. Find my knitting needles
8. Go through my paperwork files
9. Complete a few training requests for the Board and catch up on emails
10. Update with wee boy’s team
11. Read Ch 1-7 of the book of Matthew

Yes, that’s 11! I never was a stickler for rules! 😉

The week ran away with me, there’s a few reasons for that. My mind was very firmly planted in politics, like many around the world I’m sure. My body was/is fighting some sort of throat crud {I feel the immune system will be victorious – it’s nowhere near as bad as it should be} and I’ve started a few rounds of in hospital tests, the latter leaving me bruised and my emotions high. Next week I have a biopsy and a few other tests – it’s all too much like rubbing salt in a wound, I need to be done and to close this chapter. Each tests brings out too much of the “what if” question.

On a positive note, because there’s always so much positive, we had a lovely week and truly my not posting was more to do with busyness. More and more I am learning just how much time everything takes and you have to find that time somewhere. Some sacrifices just aren’t worth making. So here’s a whistle stop tour to catch up…

Reading – Wee girl finished her latest book, and has started Ella Enchanted. Now a film apparently, but she’s immersed in the chapter book. We’ve almost finished Awful Auntie as a family and the next instalment of Ralph Mouse – timeless classic that series. I’ve finished The Little Book of Hygge and am about to delve into a new book if I could pick one, currently all the books I look at have words that jump at me and just seem too much. Wee boy finished the Dino Files and is reading a Thea Stilton novel. We are all progressing well with our goals and by January should be on track with wee girl reading 5 chapter books, me 3, wee boy 2 and our having finished 3 novels as a family. Not bad.

Saving Money – This week we did quite well, I found swim suits for wee girl (with sun protection top half) but put them aside, giving me time to think – after getting stuck last year, unable to find swimsuits, I am trying to not let that happen this year. I know I wasn’t the only one last year, and while we rarely buy new and it’s even more rare we go to a chain store, it did make me miss Target. That reminds me I still need to pick up the swimsuit. Eek. We had lots of free fun – bird watching, learning to crochet as a family, visiting the Book Bank, the free city farm. Blessed indeed. I currently feel extra blessed as I’m eating a yummy homemade blueberry muffin. And that feeling of being blessed carries me through the worries, which are always there, always palpable. Gratitude doesn’t take away the anxieties brought forward when you don’t have enough, but it certainly helps you sleep at night and still feel a spring in your step – even if it’s a limp – physically and emotionally! 😉

Priorities – I didn’t make rest a priority this week like I should have and I’m feeling it. This is how I lived for years and it’s a massive mistake. Massive. Looking forward to being more gentle on my body next week.

Knitting – I made amazing progress and was 3/4 completed a complicated (for me – I’m rudimentary at best with any sort of crafting!) yesterday when my Mum came by while we weren’t home, did a couple rows for me and sadly didn’t follow the pattern and boom, I have to start again. The children laughed and said if I was going to get better at knitting I better learn to hide it. Quite. So here’s hoping there’s some time today.

Children – They are happy, healthy and full of the joys of life. Wee boy’s besotted with his basketball program, building and has really taken to bird watching. Wee girl’s preparing to play in a violin concert, just finished her maths exam, is loving crocheting, is full of glee at some neat things her Guide troop is doing and has joined a robotic lego club at school, the latter is such a good fit for her. I do often wonder what she’ll want to do for a career, she seems to go between three – teacher, architect and vet. Friends and neighbours a year ahead are currently choosing various high schools, some of which require portfolios and pretty intense application process’, I can bury my head in the sand for a bit longer, but need to begin research in the spring as applications are due in the Autumn. Don’t children grow up quickly?!

Spending – We spent $25.01 on pet food, $68.38 on food, $12.00 on hospital parking,  $13 on a school trip, $8 on lunch when we got caught out and the use of a few Christmas vouchers and gifts made the rest possible. Total spending: $126.39 not bad!

Marching – I felt so incredibly proud of women and their allies all over the world for taking such a visible stand against hatred, misogyny, abuse, tyranny, discrimination, racism, ableism and inequalities that instead of being torn down, are being built up, legitimized and sanctioned. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the pain inflicted on our sisters and brothers, but these amazing marches also showed it’s pretty easy to show up, to send a loud and clear message, to be one of the visible allies people so desperately need and deserve.

And that in a nutshell was our week! Hoping yours was full of good & inspirational too. x

We’ve had a truly lovely weekend and a beautifully relaxing reclaimed weekend, which I’ll post about soon. But first, what we spent.

• Petrol – $10.06 – Thanks to petrol vouchers, which have been a lifesaver!
• Groceries – $68.10 – Will share what I purchased and our menu plan later
• Hospital Parking: $0 – I was very very blessed this week
• Medications: $10.16 – headache medication for wee boy – forgot to add that last week

Wee girl and I had a mother daughter tea date, but it was “paid” for as a Christmas gift we were given – we had a pot of tea & shared 1 slice of cake.

Total spending: $88.32

Hoping you are happy with your spending this week, too! xo

It’s Friday evening, the house is tidy & clean, my friend who is a stay at home Dad helped all afternoon with getting the beds moved around and a loan moved in, as well as moving a chest of drawers and a few other heavier bits. The five children had a grand time and apart from moving some clothes and emptying a few drawers in the am, as well as putting some clean sheets on the bed, we are set. I’ll feel relief when that’s done. My friend also surprised me by taking all the bedding back to his to wash, dry and return folded and ready to use. What a relief! I haven’t found it too hard so far, but, it’s so nice to know it will all be done and we’ll be set for at least a while {minus wee boy! 😉 } is marvellous. I’m so thankful for amazing friends.

Here’s how we saved money this week

• I grocery shopped with a calculator, tallied everything up again at the end and put three non-essential items back, saving about $8
• I split a big bag of potatoes and carrots with a friend
• I purchased milk on sale and froze it
• We had a mostly vegan week
• We mostly kept the heat at 67-68 with extra sweaters etc.
• We kept everything unplugged we weren’t using, and really watched lights
• I went through our books to donate a few and the children got new books from the book bank. Happy children! 🙂
• I have another old, expired carseat that needs recycling, there’s a local service that is $15, then found somewhere far that would do it for free (though petrol would run $10+), but I finally found a program through the city for $6. A friend told me how, so now I need to get on it next week!
• We did lots of fun things that were free – free family swim at the pool, the book bank, skating for wee girl & her friends at the free outdoor rink, the park and a free art exhibit which was wonderful.
• I made my own cleaning supplies for the counters
• I found free parking at the hospital {the one hospital where there are about 4 spots that are free if you can ever get them!}- lady luck was on my side this week for sure. Need to go back next week and the week after, and the one after that lol, so hoping to do the same!
• I found some new bread recipes, vegan friendly, and have a plan to make them tomorrow
• I made a big batch of falafel to keep in the freezer for fast meals
• I unblocked the toilet four times. Ga!

And that’s all I can think of. Nothing out of this world, but definitely helps keep costs lower. Hoping you had some successful savings this week too! xo