Bemused, might be the word.......

 along with amused.........

We called in at gas/petrol station on Sunday night on our way home, as the price of gas was $1.62 a litre, which is a good price...that in itself is a crazy statement saying that is a good price.

Anyhoo, I got out to fill the car, and the first thing I noticed was that I had to pay before we pumped the gas.  This is not a gas station we use very often.  So I grabbed my purse out of the car, and went back to the pump.

This time it asked for my CAA membership; okay so searched in my purse and got that out and swiped it.

It then asked for my Air Miles membership; once again searched in my purse and got that out and swiped that one as well.

By this time I am thinking, I should have brought my chair and coffee.

Next it asks how much gas (money wise) would I like to put in.  Normally I just fill to the top, so spent a few moments trying to figure that out and pressed the button.

Then it asked to swipe my credit card, so did that.  It then asked for pin # and it finally spit out my credit card.  It then asked what grade of gas I wanted....cheapest obviously...LOL

Then it was time to put the gas in my car.........it asked if I wanted a receipt, so got that.  Did discover that we got the gas for 3 cents cheaper per litre, due to the CAA membership; this was a Shell Gas station, so that was good.

I was ready for a nap by the time I had done all that 😏

So I was out Monday morning and the price of gas where I was at was $1.73 a litre......price gouging at it's finest!!!

Price gouging at it's finest.............

On Friday we went out at just after 6pm and the price of gas/petrol was $1.24 a litre.  Hubby went out to the store on Sunday morning and the price of gas/petrol was $1.37 a litre.

Now correct me if I am wrong here, but I don't think that the oil tankers from the Middle East could have traveled over to Canada and delivered oil/gas up to our neck of the woods all before the latest lot of chaos happened, justifying a price increase????

Feel free to fill me in here. 😕

Not at all happy

with the election results, nothing has changed basically for any of the parties.  It was a total waste of $600 + million dollars, and who has to pay for it....us!!  It wouldn't be so bad, but we are going to be doing it again in another 18 - 24 months.  Does Mr. Trudeau think that money grows on trees?  If it were a private business where you are held accountable for what you spend none of this would have happened.  Okay, stepping off my high horse now😏

Was waiting for hubby in the truck while he was getting gas and noticed this little guy.  There is a wooded area behind the gas station, so he must have come from there.  He must be quite tame, as it is a busy gas station.  Once he got on top of the garbage bin he just sat there watching me.

Gas prices were running at $1.34 per litre where we live in Southern Ontario.  I was thinking back to last year when it was under $1 pre litre.  Like everything else it's gone up in price.

Some thoughts about our trip.

We love going to the States.  They are such a patriotic bunch, flying the American flag everywhere. They truly believe their country is the best and I admire them for that.  Only once did someone mention how bad Obama is and as I said to him, "who would you prefer him or Donald Trump, running the country?"

He muttered something and as I then said, I was from Canada, and honestly we are no better off with the bunch of "misfits" we have running to be the next Prime Minister!

As many of you know, we are British born and as we came to Canada when we were in our 20's, we still have our British accents (dh and I;) the kids though sound as Canadian as the next person.  It totally confuses everyone and for some reason American's love hearing us talk?

Anyhow, we have got our response down pat now when people ask where we come from:

"We are British born, but live in Canada."

I must admit I think I blushed bright red from head to toe though one day, as I was talking to a cashier when I noticed another lady standing next to me, just looking at me.  I thought I was holding up things, and of course I apologized......I am Canadian after all...LOL  We apologize for everything, whether it's our fault or not.  Anyway she said no she was enjoying listening to me talk, and then turned around and told her friend to come and listen to me talk.  At that point I just clammed up, as I couldn't think of a thing to say.  

I honestly don't think about my accent and it surprises me when people notice I speak differently, as I never hear it.

The majority of the people are so well mannered; at least with us.  I guess it helps that we always say please and thank you, and if a job is well done I will let people know.  Whenever I talked to the ladies who took care of our hotel room, I always said thank you for a job well done.  I did find though that some people were just plain rude with people especially in the fast food places.

We were in one place and the daughter who was my age or older and her mother, were just plain bloody rude to the girl behind the counter.  Now granted she was as slow as molasses, but even so, don't be rude and disrespectful.  

I finally said to the mother and daughter, "you both seem to be having a bad day?"

Now I am not sure if it was my accent or someone spoke to them, but they both stood there with their mouth's open!!!  I don't remember what they said, but their attitude didn't change with the poor server.....LOL

My only gripe........I wish the exchange rate had been better, as I couldn't/wouldn't/didn't spend anywhere near as much as I normally do when do there.  The one thing we did find cheaper was the gas/petrol; they have super cheap prices for gas and we paid as low as $2.26 USD per gallon.

I look forward to our next visit to the States.  

I am a rotten blogger at the moment..........

however in all fairness I have been busy.

On Saturday we went up to Barrie where gas/petrol prices were below the dollar mark per litre.  Been a long time since we have seen that:

Called in at the garden centre and had a wander around and among all the photos I took, I took this one:

Called in at the DIY store and bought wood to start finishing off the basement and then came home.  We then headed out to the airport to pick up son and daughter-in-law; as they had been in Rome, Italy for the week on vacation.  They had a super time and walked 73 kilometres while there.

Their flight along with a "hundred" other's all landed at the same time.  They were held back twice when walking to customs as there were that many people trying to get through.  We had a good time waiting as it's always interesting people watching and seeing what other people were up too.  

On Sunday I was up bright and early as I was a woman on a mission:

 Yes the deck was to seal.  I got all the flat surfaces, the stairs and some of the railings done.

I can only do so much at once as it kills my hands.  It looks so much better though.  I hope to finish it off either Thursday or Friday depending on the weather this week.

Monday was also a busy day.  One thing I did decide to do was a batch cook.

I got a baked bean lasagna made, shepherd's pie for both of us for one night and dh for Sunday night; I am out.  Then two meals of scotch eggs.  I had hoped to stretch the ground beef/mince to include pasta sauce but there just wasn't enough meat.

In between all of this I have been knitting.  I have five gnomes completely finished.  Two gnomes knit that just need to be sewn up and stuffed and am starting another one.  I am hoping to get them ll done by the beginning of next week.

When it's bitter cold outside........

You read a magazine and watch some tv.  On a side note no idea why I bought the O Magazine, as it's not my cup of tea?

Get a bit more of the baby quilt done. 

 Have a cup of tea and a snack and spend a little hours on the internet.

I did infact leave the house as I needed to get some material to bind the quilt.  So that means I must have got the quilt sewn together !!  My goal is to get it all done this week, so it's another job crossed off my list.

I also got gas (petrol) while out, paid 92.9 cents per litre Canadian.  How does that compare to where you live?

Finally feeling a lot better, BUT, nose feels as though it is stuffed up with glue....yes it's thick and yellow/green up there...TMI???  Voice still hoarse, and still not eating an awful lot, but that's no biggie as I need to lose weight.

Just shows you they let anyone into the States!!!

Yep they let us in!!  Mind you the border guy was more interested what was in our cooler (picnic box) than anything else!!  Maybe he had forgotten his lunch and figured he could confiscate ours?  All it was, was store bought salad and yogurt.

Then we were charged $5 for crossing the bridge?  Never understood that.

We crossed over at Windsor into Detroit.  If you have never been to the States before crossing there is an eye opener especially if you're travelling on the I75 as it takes you through a rough looking part of Detroit and the highway is in desperate need of repair.  Once out of Detroit things take a turn for the better and as it was a Saturday the roads weren't that busy.  If you drive in Canada driving in the States is a doddle and vice versa.

We only drove 8 to 9 hours and ended up in Florence, Kentucky.  We were here by just aback of 4pm, so what should we do I wondered?  Heck, lets go shopping!!!  Hobby Lobby was my first port of call. Only bought a magazine with my 40% off coupon and a yard of material that I wanted.

Supper was at this restaurant:

The place was heaving; I mean it was heaving, even we had to wait 15 minutes.  We had planned on going to the Olive Garden but the line ups were even worse there and we were tired.

Dh had this:

I had their version of a Cobb Salad; wouldn't have it again and sorry about the quality of photo, the place was very dark.  That is advocado on the top of the salad.

Dh had a beer with his meal, I had water.  Cost $35 with tip, which is the cost of an average meal in Canada.  Gas/petrol is a heck of a lot cheaper here at $3.55 USD per gallon.

The hotel we stayed at I'll post about at a later date as I will be emailing the manager and want to see what the outcome of his response is before I post about it.  Lets just say I don't have a lot of good things to say, and you will never believe why!!

When we get to our cabin I don't have internet access, so unless I can pick up someone else's Wi-Fi I won't be posting.  I have prepared posts though while we away and do hope to check in where free Wi-Fi is available.

It always amazes me how much money can flow through my fingers in a short time

On Wednesday I decided to run some errands in town.  I try and bunch a number of things together so not to waste gas and time. 

The first order of business was the bank; had a cheque to deposit and get the cash out for the week.  Next popped into the corner store to pick up dh's Lotto Max ticket for him.  He gets one every week and this past week won a huge, whopping $2, so that "only" cost me $4.

Next went to the Post Office, as I wanted them to hold our mail while we are on vacation.  That cost me $22.50 (or there abouts) plus I decided to buy a 6 pack of international stamps, which came to around $12.50.  So, so far I have spent $39.

I call in at the gas station and fill up the 25 litre gas tank for the lawn tractor and put gas in my car.  Got gas at $1.263 a litre and spent $50 there.  Now up to $89.

Call into the grocery store to pick up a couple of things, including ice cream, as dh loves his ice cream.  Ended up spending $35 there???

On the way home I called into the coffee shop as I needed something sweet and picked up an orange cruller (click link for recipe) so that cost $1.

So all in all in less than an hour I ended up spending $125 just like that and have very little to show for it (SIGH)

By the time I give dh some money for the week and put my money in the jars, I am left with $65 to last me until a week on Friday ((SIGH))  Guess I am going to have to try and be thrifty this week!!

Grocery Shopping and other things....

Had to go into town on Tuesday for gas for the car and lawn tractor, paid $1.29 per litre.  So I called into the grocery store to pick up a few things.  Spent $15.84 and had $10.90 in savings.  The granola bars were free, the yogurt was only 99 cents a container, all the bread was half price, the pizza was half price and the cheese was only $3.33, again a super deal.

I think we all know that Will and Kate had a baby boy.  Did you see the photos of the family?  Well when he brought out the baby in his car seat, we had something in common with them.  That is the same car seat as dd and hubby have got for their little girl, she also has the stroller to go with it.  You can see the stroller here and the car seat here.  We were able to take advantage of a promotion in June and got the car seat for free when we bought the stroller, which saved us a couple hundred dollars.

I posted another book review here.

When we were out the other day saw that the Hallmark stores were advertising their Christmas decorations.  It's July for goodness sakes!!! Saying that I ordered the winter wood yesterday, it's coming some time next week.  Paying $290 a bush cord and I am ordering my usual three bush cords.  Must think up an excuse to invite the kids up for lunch!!!

Finally a couple of photos I took with my camera of out back:

Both photos were taken on Tuesday evening.

I'm still alive.......

and I am down to my last day of work on Friday.  It's surprising how you get into a routine, but I am still tired and other than making supper and keeping up with laundry that's about all that's getting done.

Work wise things have come back to me and it's been nice to catch up with everyone.  Oh and it turns out if you're in a grumpy mood you can collect more money...LOL  I have been busy chasing up people to pay their invoices and have enjoyed every bit of it despite my feet!

However I am hobbling around like an old woman as my poor feet are killing me especially my right one.  I have a case of plantar fasciitis and it bloody well hurts.  My feet have been bothering me for a couple of weeks and I have been wearing my crocs in work; but today it took a turn for the worse and it is very, very painful.  

It must be sore as I have a full day planned of being out and about on Saturday and am thinking of cancelling that and putting my feet up to rest them.............so yes for me to turn down a day out it has to be bad.

I am continuing to drive like Miss Daisy and haven't had any more incidents with my friends the police!!  The weather has been nice all week which has made the commute a lot easier.  It turns out it is costing me around $10 a day in gas for the car.  I get gas down the road from us as it is around 3 cents cheaper a litre than in the city.

I am seeing signs of Spring in the city with lots of Canada Geese flying around.  Meanwhile here at home there is still lots of snow and the driveway is still like a skating rink!!!

Got a couple of busy weeks ahead of me, with a number of things planned to do around the house, including finishing the baby quilt.  The top is sewn just have to sandwich it together and quilt it.  Have a couple of chairs to recover, and I would like to get the stairs varnished this month also.

Hoping to get back into routine of blogging and visiting everyone's blogs again next week.

Grocery Shopping and other things...

Went grocery shopping on Friday and got this little lot:

I paid $64.90 for that lot; must admit it doesn't look a lot for the amount of money spent?  I used $8.50 in coupons.  Bought the three 4 litre bags of milk as they were on for $3.99 a bag and it's the "fancy" milk with a longer expiry date; it being December 23rd.  They are normally $6 + a bag; even regular milk is around the $4.50 a bag, so this was a super deal, no need to buy milk for the next three weeks.  Best deal, I guess was the Egg Creations on the right of the photo, were on for $1.50 each and had $1 coupons.  They're good when making quiches.   All the Pillsbury items were on for $2 had a 50 cent off coupon's for everyone, so paid $1.50 each.  The cinnamon rolls we'll have Christmas morning for breakfast.  I like their biscuits for this recipe and the cookies come in handy when you have unexpected visitors this time of year.

When I am in the other town this week, I want to pick up paper towels in Zehrs as its on sale for $3.99 a six pack, but am waiting until I have to go there later in the week.  I am also hoping the $5 Zehrs gift card will arrive this coming week, so I can use that along with a $1 coupon so I can keep my grocery shopping total under $75.  I would have price matched with No Frills but they didn't have the six pack in stock.  Managed to pay only $1.179 a litre on Friday for gas for the car, which was the lowest I have seen it in a while.

On Friday night we had something for supper I haven't had in years, mince/ground beef on toast.  You know when you make mince and gravy with veggies for a shepherd's pie, well instead of putting potatoes on top we just put the meat mixture over slices of toast that had been buttered.  It was so good and easy, plus it was a great way of using up the ends of bread and dry bread.  Reminded me of when I lived at home with my parents, as that was something my mam used to make.

This Christmas song is also one of the most requested Christmas songs on the radio.  Make sure you listen to all the words:

Bad news, good news..........

Went to get my snow tires put on and an oil change and ended up having to have other things done, which ended up with a bill for $400......what the heck............I am clueless when it comes to anything mechanical.  Made the mechanic talk to dh to explain what he was doing and dh gave him the go ahead.  Could have done without this bill though.

Good news, gas/petrol prices have dropped to $1.149 a litre.  Good news, picked up my dress I wore for the wedding and it only cost me $20 to get it shortened.  Good news my total for grocery shopping this week was $56.18, only used $2 in coupons though.  There wasn't much on sale this week, though I did stock up on cheese.

There was a good sale at the end of November at Book Close Outs, and I bought 12 books for around $35, you can't beat that.  I will of course donate them to the library when I have read them.  Dropped off another couple of books there today.

Sorry............

Just haven't felt like blogging.

Life is pretty mundane at the moment, the weather sucks and honestly nothing much has been happening.

Worked both Tuesday and Thursday this week.  I normally only work on a Tuesday now, as I have too much to do at home to work more.  Anyhow the money will come in handy as it cost $200 to put a new exhaust/muffler on my car this week.  Had to take the car back to the garage on Friday as they hadn't tightened the screws enough and I even heard it rattling, so it had to be bad!!  So I guess I won't be using that garage again...........

I see gas prices are finally starting to drop.  I paid $1.215 at a Canadian Tire gas station on Friday.  I wish it would drop to below $1 a litre, but I guess that'll never happen.

For those of you who are not in Canada, we are on week three of a postal strike.  It's a pain in the butt, and I wish the government would get on with legislating them back to work.  It's really going to hurt Canada Post, as I have signed up to get some statements online now.  I know at work we are emailing invoices out as much as possible.  Again we have registered online to pay bills.  So when this strike is over we will not be using Canada Post for a lot of things at work, and I am guessing a lot of other companies and people will do the same.

Did anyone watch the new series "Combat Hospital?"  I have to say that was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time.  I am normally in bed just after 9pm, but stayed up to 10pm to watch this show and I am glad I did.  If you have a chance make sure you catch it.

Felt as though I was back in Britain on Saturday......

It was foggy until supper time and rained ALL day. Weather for the ducks as we would say. Luckily it wasn't too cold though and at least it was rain and not snow!! I swear I can see the grass growing as we speak. It wants cutting again all around the house, and I only just cut it. Have to say though everything looks so fresh and green with this rain, but it has spoiled our weekend as I can't get outside to garden.

I did get my little jobs done in the attic and did the final coat of varnish on the stairs. I am hoping that it will be dry enough for me to walk on tomorrow, so I can continue my varnishing in the attic itself.

Took dh grocery shopping on Saturday afternoon, and I had a coupon for free ice cream up to a value of $5. Do you know that the premium brands of ice cream are all over $5 a carton? We did manage to get a 2 litre tub of Chapmans frozen yogurt that was $4.99. I just can't get over how much grocery prices have increased recently. Before coupons it would have cost us over $110 and there is only two of us. After coupons it cost $95, which is still a lot. I did get a bit of meat and a package of Advil which was $12 just for that.

I see gas prices have dropped again, down to $1.28 per litre, I paid $1.30 on Friday. It cost me $84 to fill up the gas tanks for the tractor and my car. I did get $1.50 back in Canadian Tire money which I guess is better than nothing.

Got another $25 from Swagbucks this month, so my Amazon account is up to nearly $220. I am hoping to add another $100 to it before I have to get dd her Kitchen Aid mixer for her Bridal Shower gift. For any of you who have not joined Swagbucks, it's free money for doing not a lot. If you do decide to join I'd appreciate if if you'd join using my referral link.  If you do join and have any questions ask away and I'll answer them for you.

Have a super Sunday............

Ebay and Paypal and other bits and bobs.

My brother in England is a huge fan of ebay and is always buying stuff from there.  Me well I have never been a fan.  However last night I decided to take the plunge and set up an ebay account and a paypal account.  Now that is as far as I got, I haven't bid on anything and not sure I will, but it is fun to look around and see what's what.

Are any of you ebay experts and have hints or tips for the novices like me? I have a couple of 1930's light fixtures from the house I would like to get rid of and a couple of other things.

I don't think I have mentioned the weather in a while have I?  Well as I writing this it is snowing, not a lot, but snow all the same.

Our wood pile is coming to an end and we will have used a full three bush cords of wood this winter.  Luckily we have a "back-up" pile of wood, so we won't run out.  Last year we only used around two and a half bush cords, so you can really tell it's been a longer and a colder winter.

What's the price of gas/petrol in your neck of the woods.  I paid $1.195 a litre yesterday at our local Canadian Tire gas bar.  I had an 8 x Canadian Tire coupon, so got 40 cents back in Canadian Tire money.  I am saving my Canadian Tire money up for jam jars for making the wedding favour jam.

Remember Olga?

Well she has found her forever home  Someone is in the process of adopting her.  Isn't that good news?  Liz let me know about this, I see also a few more of the little ones are also being adopted, so all our prayers and donations helped I am guessing?

I have nothing really new to talk about at the moment, things are pretty quiet around here.  I did pop into town yesterday to pick up a few groceries.  On the way there I passed the gas/petrol station and it was $1.109, so thought to myself I would get some gas on the way back home.  Half an hour later came back and it had just gone up to $1.163.......I was shocked.  I know I haven't really got a lot to complain about as in Britain it's twice the price, but even so.  I am actually thinking twice now before leaving the house.  Mind you with it being cold and snowy, I don't need much persuading to stay home!!!

Got the heating oil tank filled up again yesterday.  Had it filled on December 17th, however pretty pleased as we only used around half a tank.  This time of year it's normally a full tank each month.  Not pleased at the price though it has gone up from .885 cents per litre in December to .932 cents per litre yesterday.  Back in June of last year we were paying .799 cents per litre.

Put some more change in my Daily Savings Box yesterday as well, already have $53 in there, so that's good.  I was able to cash in my Swagbucks again, so that is the third time this month.

Aren't I the lucky one.......

who else do you know that has the Atlantic Ocean swishing about in their right ear? Yes that's right I have another ear infection. I have liquid also in the left ear, but its the right one that is the worst.

I had to go down to my doctors office in Brampton, to see a doctor, as there are no walk-in clinics in the two towns closest to where we live now. Also none of the doctors in either town are taking on new patients. I have decided though to put our names on the waiting list for when a doctor does accept new patients. I don't think its just our area where doctors are in short supply, it's all over Canada. Is it the same in the area where you live?

Anyhow the doctor I saw was a "learner," and as the liquid is clear in my ears, which is more than I can say for the Atlantic Ocean; that is dirty looking, she decided antibiotics wouldn't work, and she did confer with another doctor on this. So she told me to buy some over the counter medication, like "Sinutab," which I did.

I am pooped though with it all, so Wednesday I did very little. I must be sick though, as I had to pop round to my dad's to pick up the Wiarton Slate he had picked up for our hearth, and my step-mum wanted to know if I wanted to go to the mall, and I said no, as I was so tired. For me to turn down a trip to the mall, means I must be sick!!!

On the way home I called in at a "10 Minute Oil Change," place. It proved to be an interesting visit, as they told me my C V Boot was torn? Now he may as well told me, I was going to have to change the oil myself, as I was clueless. Anyhow, told dh about it, and he had a look and can see nothing wrong with it? So no idea what is going on there, other than the kids who changed the oil, really didn't know what they were talking about. I do however have a front headlight out, so that is something that needs attention.

My car needs to last another 4 years come hell or high water, as we can't afford to get another one until then. Plus even though my car is now 7 years old, it doesn't have 100,000 km on it yet. I managed to get gas for 90.5 cents a litre today which I thought was good. I did however forget to bring the gas tanks for the lawn tractor which sucked, as knowing my luck the gas price will go up tomorrow!!

As per the weather forecast on Wednesday, they said again that we are in for a wicked winter, so we need to get on with insulating and winterizing our house!!

Let's talk Turkey and Gas/Petrol Prices.....

It always amazes me how much we all pay for the same thing, and what the differences are. So with that in mind, how much are turkeys where you live?

I was super pleased to be able to get that little fellow below for $1.27 per pound at Food Basics yesterday. I am generally pleased if I can buy them for $1.49 per pound so this was a bonus as far as I was concerned. I was going to buy two, but dh isn't that excited about turkey!! Isn't it strange when someone get all excited about turkey prices!!!



Now for Gas/Petrol prices. Not long ago we were paying $1.30 a litre, we're now down to 76.2 cents per litre. That is over a 50 cent per litre drop???? And they say the gas companies are not playing games???? What's your take on all of this? Also what is the price of gas where you live. My prices are all in Canadian Dollars.

For those of you in Canada and the States, here is a great site called Gas Buddy that tells you where the cheapest gas is in your neighbourhood. I found this site via the Bzz Agent site.