Christmas shopping........

Well I have started Christmas shopping as there was a segment on the radio the other day, that was saying there could be shortages this year due to problems in the supply chain.  Now this is not the first time I heard this.  "R" was telling me there was talk at her work that the staff who buy in all the Christmas stuff were concerned about delivery; despite them ordering everything in February for Christmas.

It doesn't help that there is such a tight window for retailers to sell things for Christmas.  Saying that I am seeing email flooding in with adverts for all sorts of Christmas items.  I also heard and was told, that getting deals and bargains will be also difficult.

The grandkids are all getting Lego in some shape or form (other than the baby) this year, and trying to find a deal on Lego is difficult.  I ordered another lot from Chapters/Indigo, where I get Plum points.  I ordered online, so I get Swagbucks and put it on my credit card, so get PC points.  So all in all, I did pretty well with the order.

For the adults, I generally send out a group text telling them I will get them a gift card and where do they want it from.  The reason I send out a group text, is so I know I will get a response from them all!!  However, it then turns out to be a long winded affair, as my son thinks he's a comedian😏

Again this year, there will be very few Christmas cards sent out; postage is too expensive.  A lot of people have emails, so would rather hear from them via that.

Have you heard about the shortages and have you started your Christmas shopping?

Yes, it's been a while.........

been busy with bits and bobs and my blogging mojo just wasn't there.

I am hoping to post something every day this month, even if it's just a Christmas song.  I can say I am more or less done with my Christmas shopping.  I have discovered I LOVE online shopping, as the older I get the more I dislike crowds in the stores.  Dd and I went shopping a week gone Monday and the mall was so busy, which surprised me.  I guess gone are the days where people work Monday through Friday from 9 am until 5 pm?

Here is a Christmas song for today:




I will be back tomorrow with more thoughts and music.

It's zucchini/courgette time of year again.

One of my favourite meals that involve zucchini is Sausage Risotto:

Here is the recipe.  What you see in the dish above is what was leftover after our supper.  I will put this in a freezer bag and freeze it for another meal and bulk it up with more veggies if need be.

I did a post back in 2008 for 50 + 1 recipes for zucchini here.  I can't guarantee all the links will work now, but I know some of them do.

I finished off another person for Christmas yesterday by ordering a couple of things online.  That will make four people totally done.  Very happy about that. 

I gave away a couple more of my gnomes yesterday also, they will be heading to Grand Cayman next week.  Three went to California this week.  I wasn't planning on giving the gnomes away yesterday; took them out of the pile I am knitting for Our Little Man's birthday.  So back to the knitting needles to get more knit.

Have you started Christmas shopping yet?

You know when you want to share, but you can't?

We popped out on Sunday afternoon to get out of the house.  I wanted to check a store for something, but I stumbled on a lot of other things.......Christmas gifts.  All good deals and well worth buying.  However due to certain members of the family who read this I cannot tell you what store or where I got the things.  Suffice to say I was very happy with my purchases.

I can tell you about one store I went into and show you what I bought.  We popped into Pier 1 Imports.  I rarely buy anything in there, unless it's on sale as I think the place tends to be over priced on most things.  However we saw this and I knew we had to have it:

It's a dried "flower/twig" decoration that is made in the Philippines.  Here is a similar one.  I have it in front of the fire.  Obviously I will have to move it to the side when we have the fire on, but it's the perfect size.  There was a taller version and another the same height in a different colour.

Those ribs look good on the tv don't they?  We were watching the Food Network when I took the photo.  I know we need a bigger tv, but it's not in the budget at the moment, maybe for Christmas.

I have been busy reading with it being so hot and have read the following two books:

Both are great books, I just haven't had a chance to write up a review.

Jack Straws anyone?

Do you remember this game from your childhood?

I ordered a few things from Lakeland Plastics and the game was one of those things.

The only problem with Lakeland Plastics is their delivery charge for non EU countries.  So I spent 30 pounds so I didn't have to pay shipping and get the order shipped to my mam and she ships it on for me.  Now the funny thing about my parcel, I ordered some candy, Licorice Alsorts amongst everything else.  So when my mam went to mail the parcel it was going to cost just over 30 pounds.  So the lady at the post office suggested she split the parcel up so it would be cheaper as it was over a certain weight.  Well it was decided that my mam and step-father would eat the candy and it ended up costing just over thirteen pounds.  So the cheap candy which cost two pounds would have cost me nineteen plus pounds.

Then she mails it ground which can take anywhere between six weeks to three months to get here.  It came in 8 days?  Go figure.......  My mam is going to Lakeland Plastics this next week, and the Lakeland Christmas catalog came on Friday, so need to study it to see if there is anything I need!!!

The trees are starting to change and the weather has been glorious these past few days.  Did put the flannel sheets on the bed as dh is cold, but still don't have the fire or heating on.

I was able to have a fire in the fire pit on Thursday as it was finally a calm day.  Look at all the weeds in my raspberry bushes, anyone fancy helping me weed them?

Two thoughts passed through my mind.....

When I agreed to have my hand operated on:

1. What will we eat for nearly three weeks as dh doesn't cook....I prepared meals on the Monday afternoon.


2. Will dh take me to SDM on Saturday for the Mega bonus redemption as I won't be able to drive.....he did and I kept him busy by calculating how much the shop was costing.


On a normal day when you cash in 95,000 points you get $170 in free products.  On a bonus redemption day they up it to $200 in free product, for MEGA bonus redemption day it's $250!!!
I only had enough for one bonus redemption of $250. Here is what I got:


4 x Peak Freans cookies @ $1.99 each


2 x Dempsters Bread @ $2.49 each


2 x 16 pack Silhouette yogurt @ $3.99 each, have enough codes now for a free year of a magazine


1 x orange juice @ $1.99


2 x Half and Half @ $1.99 each


4 x french Fries @ $1.99 each


1 x sweet corn @ $1.99


1 x Mixed veg @ $1.99


1 x 4 litre bag milk $4.19


3 x Bags of chips 3 for $5


4 x Swiffer cloths @ $5.49 each


1 x Lysol Wipes @ $3.99


3 x Gillette Razor Blades 12 pack @ $37.99 each, flipping expensive, but got 15 x the points on them


6 x Herbal Essences shampoo @ $2.99 each


1 x Scott Paper Towel @ $4.99


Subtotal: $293.77


HST : $28.96


Total: $322.73


- $250 in points = $72.73 out of pocket


Now if you're puzzled that the above list doesn't add up, you're right it doesn't as I had to take out around $85 worth of product as it's Christmas gifts and a certain person reads my blog, dd!!!


I only had $2 worth of coupons I could use though which sucked.

However dh has enough razor blades to hopefully last him the year, with what he also had in the house. He has enough shampoo to last a while. Oh and I earned 15,690 in points bringing me back up to 25,905.
 
We also went out in the afternoon and I took advantage of a good sale at Mark's Work Wearhouse and saved at least $45 there.  Also picked up another Christmas gift for someone else.  I am more or less done with my Christmas shopping, just got a couple of small things to buy.  I have done a bit of shopping online this year and took advantage of another great deal on Groupon for a couple's Christmas gift.  Again I can't tell you as she may read my blog!!
 
BY THE WAY FROM WHAT I CAN GATHER, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR SDM HAS DONE THIS MEGA BONUS REDEMPTION, SO HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE AN ANNUAL THING?

Remember little Olga?

Well she has over $10,000 in her fund now, can you believe that?  I know I was so happy when I saw that.

So now we have to try and raise another $10,000 before Christmas.  As it costs around $25,000 to adopt one of these little ones.  I would love it if everyone would do a post on their blog about Olga and Reece's Rainbow so these poor little ones don't end up in mental institutions.  Here is a link to Olga and the Angel Tree  and to the homepage of Reece's Rainbow  If you can find it in your heart to even donate $10 that would be greatly appreciated.  All these little ones deserve a better life, and there are families out there who are more than willing to adopt but don't have the $25,000 it can cost.

On Wednesday it had stopped snowing and the sun was shining.  Now it was still bitter cold, but just having the sun shining made it feel a better day!!

I think the trees look as though they have royal icing spread over them here.

This song was playing in the liquor store when I was in there on Wednesday.  I was picking up a couple bottles of wine as last minute gifts.  They are for folk who pop in with a gift for us, and I wasn't expecting it.  So I'll keep them in another room, and just pop them in a bottle bag and say, Merry Christmas to you as well!!!



I also bought an Amaryllis kit the other day and have decided to keep that to one side in case I need a last minute gift as well.

How's everyone getting on with their Christmas shopping?

I'm not finished yet, but well on my way. 

I was just sorting out my coupons, I have a special wallet that I keep them in as its 20 x the points at Shopper's Drug Mart today so I want to get those extra points.  Not sure if I'll have enough points to cash in for free stuff soon, as I haven't been shopping there in a while.  However if anyone is going to shop at Shopper's, make sure you buy a $50 Shopper's gift card before you pay for your stuff and then pay for your stuff with the gift card.  You get 500 points for buying the gift card.

I took advantage of a great deal at Mark's Work Wearhouse.  In this weeks flyer there is a great deal, that when you buy $100 in gift cards, you get an extra $20 gift card that you can use between December 1st, 2010 and May 2011.  Also in the flyer there was a $10 off coupon when you spend $50.

So I went in there and bought the $100 in gift cards, and got the extra $20 gift card.

I then bought the things I needed using the gift cards to pay for the items, and also using the $10 off coupon, so saving an extra $10.  They also gave me a $10 coupon that is good for December.  So in December I will buy $50 worth of things, and only pay $20 for them as I have the $20 gift card I got for free and the $10 coupon.

I got an email from Mark's and Spencer with a coupon for 10% off.  I must say I am tempted to order some stuff even though the shipping is 15 pounds.  Our exchange rate with the pound is pretty good at the moment.  It's just a shame I can't get them to send over food items, that would be just perfect.

Are there any other good deals out there, online if you're in a different country to Canada, or in person if you're in Canada, that I should be aware of as I still have a few people to buy for?