Early Inheritance

When my dad moved to Canada in 1985, we gave him a picture to remind him of where he was born and of us.  I have always said to my dad if he left me anything after his passing, I would love the picture as it reminds me of him. 

The other week they were up and he brought me the picture.  He is fine and well, I did ask if there was something he hadn't told me!!  Here it is:

It's a lithograph by the artist Alan Stones and it is called Bluefaced Leicester.  A Bluefaced Leicester is the breed of sheep.  None of the farmers in the photo look like my dad, my dad isn't even a farmer; BUT his heart is in farming.

I had it reframed and new matting put on it, as it had seen better days, also back in the early 80's they didn't use UV rated glass and it had faded the print.

The artist Alan Stones is well known in Cumbria, and we used to live next door to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Stones, Joan and Bill; both have since passed on, but have very fond memories of them.

If you check out his website he has many different types of mediums he uses.  I love the farming ones, as it reminds me of where we lived in Britain, but it's not to everyone's taste.

The picture is now hanging in our bedroom, so I can see it every morning when I wake up.

Back again this time for good!!!

Well it took over three months before I got fed up of that online game; gosh they are addictive, but I was really good at it....LOL

Now to get back to blogging and saving money.  The saving money though is my main priority as we had an unexpected trip back to Britain a couple of weeks ago.  Dh's younger brother passed away at the end of December, so we went for the funeral and to see family.  It was a very fast week and VERY expensive.  How people manage to make ends meet in Britain is beyond me but they do it.

So back to the basics for me.  I have signed up again over at Frugaldom's Forums, to keep me on the straight and narrow and to make me accountable for what I spend etc.  I am going to post my grocery totals every week, so I watch what I spend.  I do need to do a pantry and freezer inventory; in fact I have been talking about it for a week or more and still haven't done it yet.  Menu planning which I HATE to do for some reason, is something I do need to tackle.  Eating out which I LOVE to do is something we shouldn't do anymore.

All the utility bills are under control, but there is always room for improvement.  I will be going through those over the next month.  We are currently with Bell Canada, for TV, Internet, home phone and my mobile phone.  Got a deal through the mail with Rogers for six months free service.  That could potentially save us $900+; so need to research that this coming week.

The new house is great and we have been in it now for nearly 8 months now.  Done some bits and bobs so need to catch you all up with that.  Our next job is to complete the basement.  I will take you through that in another post.  Need to save the money up for that job, but some things we can do a bit at a time.  

The grandchildren are all growing like weeds.  The eldest and the youngest are in India at the moment and will be there until the end of March.  Our little guy is coming up 5 months old.  Our Princess is now 25 months old and our little Munchkin is coming up 15 months old.

Here is a photo of her with her new tutu and her gold glitter Peppa Pig wellies on:

As isn't that what every fashionable 15 month old is wearing nowadays?  Yes she is growing and into everything.  She is very tall for her age and wearing 18 month old pants, but is right on age for the size of her body.  She is forever sick due to starting daycare, but that's normal.  Though she can now blow her own nose; sort of!!  Not talking much at all, but makes up for it verbally; and yes she can have a hissy fit when she wants.  Of course she is the apple of her Nana's and Granddad's eye.

Here is what I spent and saved this week grocery shopping:

Grocery shopping February 1st 2015 Exchange rate $1.80 CDN per 1 British Pound

Zehrs:
12 double rolls toilet paper: $3.99
Raspberry Jam: $3.49
3 x Granola Bars @ $1.99 each
1 x Quaker Chocolate & Banana Cookies: $2.49
1 x Lysol Wipes: $1.88
1 x Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner: $1.88
1 x package veggie rotini pasta: 99 cents
1 x canned tomatoes: 79 cents
1 x package crisps: $1.25
1 x Mini Wheats cereal: $2.88
1 x Peanut Butter cookies: $1.99
1 x 4 litre milk: $3.97
2 x Pizza @ $2.88 each: $5.76
1 x Jumbo Bag frozen French fries: $3.99
1 x breaded chicken fingers $3.88
1 x Breaded chicken burgers: $4.88
2 x loaf whole wheat bread @ $2.00 each: $4.00
2 x Old Spice Deodorant for dh @ $1.99 each: $3.98
1 x Gillette Shaving Gel for dh: $1.99
2 x Hairspray for me @ $1.99 each: $3.98

Coupons used $12.49
13% tax on certain items: $3.24

Total: $54.78

$50 worth of points cashed in.

Total paid: $4.78

Wal-Mart (same as Asda)

10 lb potatoes (Yukon Gold yellow flesh) $3.67
3 pk Romaine Lettuce Hearts: $4.97
English Cucumber: $1.67
1 red pepper: $1.47
3 Roma Tomatoes: 97 cents
Lysol wipes: $1.97
Dove Deodorant for me: $2.97
Frozen Garlic Bread slices: $2.97
4 x Lipton Side Kicks rice @ 94 cents each: $3.76
VH Pineapple sauce (for sweet and sour chicken or pork) $2.00
24 pack cheese triangles: $7.47 (for dh's lunches)
1 dozen eggs: $1.99

13 % tax on some items: 64 cents

Total: $36.52

Total spent to date: $41.30 (approx. 22.94 British Pounds)
Savings to date: $62.49 (approx. 34.72 British Pounds)
Best deal this week: two loaves of bread and a jar of jam after $4 and $1 coupon = $2.49 for all three.

Pleased with this weeks purchases, as I got a bit of everything including cleaning products, personal hygiene items, and all food groups.

Bzzing about Multibionta™ and a video to confuse the heck out of you.....

I am a Bzz Agent and occasionally they let me try things to see what I think of them and in return I get to spread the word about them.


Well at the moment I am trying Multibionta™, which is a multi vitamin with more benefits than a regular one.

It comes in two types one for everyone and one for over 50's.  I have been taking it for a couple of weeks and to be honest with you I am not seeing any difference.  However I think like most things, you need to take it over a longer period of time to see the benefits of this.  I will continue with this after I have used to free samples as it can't do you any harm and if I can benefit from any of the benefits stated that's a plus.

I have some free product coupons and money off coupons if anyone in Canada would like one?  If you would like one, leave me your email address in a seperate comment, and I will email you for your address.  They are only for use in CANADA though, sorry.

I saw this video over at Denise's blog and thought it was interesting, confusing but interesting.  The guy narrating talks really fast so make sure you are paying attention!!!




One thing I will confirm is that it annoys the hell out of me when people ask me if I am Scottish.......I am English through and through, I am not Scottish, Irish or Welsh......though  I am Canadian as well............with an English accent......LOL  I am fortunate to hold dual citizenship of both Great Britain and Canada, or is it the United Kingdom and Canada.  I am now going to have to watch that video again to see what is what..................LOL

Bitter cold again..............

It was blowing a gale force wind on Sunday which in turn made it feel freezing cold outside.  However that didn't seem to stop the snowmobilers and there seemed to be plenty of them out and about on the trails.  Its not something I have ever done is snowmobile, as I am not big on outdoor activities when its minus 100 outside!!!

I was talking to my mother on Sunday and she was telling me all about the going's on in Britain with the rotten weather they have been having.  It seems to me a lot of problems stem from the "Health and Safety" issues, maybe someone from Britain could explain it better than me.  What we both were saying that people have gone soft.  My mother was telling me when she was born, she was born at home and her god mother made my mother her first snowman, out of the snow that has blown in through the crack in the bottom of the window panes the day she was born.  Yes it was a minature snowman, but the windows were that drafty and old.  No one had central heating like they do now, and the year she was born was a bitter, bitter cold winter.

We lived in the country and very rarely were the schools closed.  My mother was saying the city schools are closed, as some teachers can't get to work.......so why close the school, get teachers to take extra pupils in their class.  Over here if its too cold to let the kids out at recess/playtime, they have indoor recess, where the teachers do something fun with the kids.  Things are a changing as they say and I don't think for the better do you?

On a more positive note when we were out on Saturday I picked up a couple packet of seeds.  A packet of cress, as I love egg and cress sandwich.  Over here parsley is the garnish of choice, but quite often in Britain its cress (please correct me if I'm wrong.)  So I have a craving for an egg and cress sandwich, so plan on growing some.

  I also picked up a package of heirloom sweet peas. 

Now granted our risk of not having frost will not happen until after May 24th, I can dream what my garden will look like and there is nothing more lovely than a bunch of sweet peas.

Did you remember to put your money in your pot for the daily savings club?

Today's money saving tip:

Turn off the television. One big way to save money is to watch less television. There are a lot of financial benefits to this: less exposure to guilt-inducing ads, more time to focus on other things in life, less electrical use, and so on. It’s great to unwind in the evening, but seek another hobby to do that.

I want to make some changes to my blog, is there anything that you would like to see more of?  Or anything that you want to see less of?  Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated........

Things are a changing.......

We got a notice in our mail box last week to say that Eva our mail lady was retiring after 56 years.....I thought it had only been 52 years.......gosh time flies by...LOL  Anyhow our new mail lady is called Amber, and the letter sort of said as with anything new there will be teething problems and to be patient with her.  So far so good right?  That's all to be expected.

So I popped into the post office on Saturday to mail a package, and I was talking to the ladies, and mentioning how I was going to miss Eva, and is Amber going to be the same type of mail lady.  Basically it was a one word answer...........NO.  Oh no, Amber although nice enough is the total opposite of Eva, and as Amber has a small route to do in the morning, we won't be getting our mail until later in the day.  They never did say exactly what was "wrong" with Amber, other than just to say she was no where near like Eva.  So I guess I have been spoiled with Eva's service for the past 8 months, as I said "things are a changing!!"  I suppose I should be grateful they are still delivering mail to your home and not expecting us to pick it up at the post office, as I can see that happening down the line........

I don't normally feature giveaways, but Tracy at Sunny Corner Farm is a relatively new blogger and is having a giveway.  So I thought it would be nice for us all to support her, by popping by and saying hello.

As you know I originally come from Britain, specifically Cumbria.  Well they have had some bad weather, normal weather for us in Canada, but bad weather for them, which has resulted in Carlisle Hospital running out of plaster to fix the many breaks and fractures that have come into A & E due to people falling on the ice which has not been sanded or gritted by the local council.  Some of the elderly haven't been able to leave their homes in a couple of weeks as the pavements haven't been gritted?  You can read about it here  Also read about what my brother had to do on the estate/subdivision he lives on, read about that here.

As I was saying to my brother it's like living in a third world country at times.  You pay all that council tax and for what?  Mind you we have plenty to complain about over here in Canada, but I have to say we are geared up for winter here in the country and the snow plows are always out plowing the roads or sanding them in the area we live, so that's something to be thankful for.

Did you remember to put your money in your pot for the Daily Savings Club?

Today's Money Saving tip is something I do and totally agree with:
Get a crock pot. A crock pot is perhaps the best deal on earth for reducing cooking costs in a busy family. You can just dump in your ingredients before work, put it on simmer, and dinner is done when you get home. There are countless recipes out there for all variety of foods, and every time you cook this way, you’re saving money as compared to eating out.