Barney Towels

This week I convinced my boss that he could give me Friday off from accumulated overtime without the business coming to a complete standstill so I’ve been enjoying a beautiful long weekend. We took a trip across to the far distant land and had a great day of shopping and eating. We had breakfast at a truck stop on the way over and they gave us so much food that we could have easily shared one plate. We both kind of waddled back to the truck when we were done. Thankfully we had an hour or so to digest on the drive in before the serious work of shopping began.


We started off at the building centre where Hubby went hunting for a finial for the top of the king-post in the gazebo. He hadn’t been able to find one of the right size at home but he came up with the perfect one right away, so he was happy. Then it was off to Costco where I got some new t-shirts for myself and a few other things. After that we went to Homesense where I bought some new towels in a bright purple colour. The salesclerk who was ringing in the purchase said something about the colour looking like Barney the dinosaur and Hubby quipped back that he would never be able to look at the towels again without thinking about what she had said. The poor girl, she took him seriously and got all worried that she had insulted us. We spent 5 minutes trying to convince her that he had been joking with her but I’m not sure she believed us. Anyway, my new towels are much more “aubergine” than “Barney”.




After that I went to the Value Village while Hubby toured around the Future shop. I got myself a great pair of denim shorts but he came back empty-handed. Princess Auto and the pawn shop were next but there was nothing we wanted there. So it was off to the big mall where we sped around all 130+ stores in about half an hour. The only reason that I was in there any longer was that Hubby convinced me that I should take the opportunity to get my hair cut. Mastercuts had an opening so I took it and $50 and 20 minutes later I had a new ‘do. On my way out of the mall I bought a new quilted wall hanging to replace the snowman one that has been on the wall in the family room for the last 8 months and then went to collect Hubby from Chapters where he had been waiting out the make-over.


At that point it was time for supper at my favourite Chinese restaurant where we had our favourite dinner; the Schezuan Combo. Mmmm... My mouth is watering just remembering; I didn’t slobber on your monitor just now, did I? At the end of supper, as I was reading my fortune cookie message which said that I should be open to new ideas, Hubby said that he would like us to go to the new casino before going home. Well, what could I say but okay. We agreed that we would spend up to $20 and then quit. We actually spent $25 but we had a great time buzzing from one machine to another and we were there for over an hour and a half. We both agreed that that was enough and if we were to stay any longer it would likely become boring. It was fun while we were there, though!

On Saturday, Hubby worked away most of the day on the gazebo. He spent hours redesigning the secondary roof because he thought the first design looked too much like a space ship had landed on top. I’m glad too because I was thinking this all along but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings by saying so. I spent my day going from nursery to nursery looking for some last minute bargains to fill out the few bare spots left in the veggie garden. I’m glad I went too because I found some awesome yard sales that I didn’t know were on. I got a great old enamelware pot for cooking mussels or clams that will double as a witch’s cauldron at Halowe’en, some beach glass earrings and a few other baubles. I had to go around one place three times before I was sure I had seen it all! Did I mention that I love yard sales? We had BBQ’d hamburgers and fresh beets and carrots for supper. The garden is doing great this year and this may be the earliest we have ever harvested beets. They were very tasty and I had a big helping of greens to go with them. The tomatoes, cucumbers and the gourds are doing great, too as you can see in the pictures. We ended the day with a huge fire in my outdoor fireplace and toasted up a few marshmallows before going inside.







On Sunday we declared a moratorium on the usual housework because it was going be just a scorching day. Hubby cut the grass while the temperature was still relatively cool and I made a nice lunch and did a bit of laundry and then it was off to the beach! It was a perfect day at the shore; the water was warm and clear (although there were a few too many jelly fish) and we found a nice secluded section of sand to lie out under the umbrella. Hubby got to swim on and off all afternoon and he even convinced me to wade in a couple of times. Of course, as soon as I got in up to my waist I noticed two crabs edging over on the sandy bottom to get my toes so my swim only lasted a few minutes. It was refreshing while I was in there though. Dinner was BBQ’d spareribs with more of those beets and carrots. The weekend finished up with a glass of wine out on the front porch looking at the moon and stars.
I can see more long weekends coming up soon.

My New Multi-Purpose Waitress Apron

So I’m shopping at my favorite boutique (what, you don’t know which one?) and I come across this waitress pouch. Next thing I realize, I’m at the check-out desk and I’m buying it without really knowing why. Now that I’ve got it though it’s all becoming clear. This pouch does it all. Really!



I bought it for convenience while hanging out the laundry, no more reaching in the clothes peg bag which is usually ten feet away down the line and twisting in the wind. Now I just pick up the clothes from the basket and reach into my pouch at the same time for the clothes pegs. How convenient is that?

Hubby thinks this is great, too. Why you ask? Well, because it can carry beer to your thirsty husband after he has cut the acreage, rotilled the garden, limed the lawn and is getting ready to BBQ dinner. I may not be a waitress for a day or ever but I guess I can bring him a beer. I better get a good tip, though. Don’t you think?

Shiny New Pots!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about money issues but this week I’m going to tell you how we saved ourselves $600!

You may remember awhile back that I mentioned receiving an inheritance from a long lost relative. At that time we decided that we would buy a piece of original artwork from the money so that we would be able to remember receiving this gift for many years. Well, it turns out that there were more assets in Eric’s estate that needed to be distributed and so; we will soon receive another small amount of money. The question was how to use this in such a way that we would think about him and what he had done for us.

We’ve had the same crappy old set of cooking pots for over 30 years. It’s been this mismatched amalgamation of an old set from Sears and 2nd’s from factory outlets in the States that my Dad bought for us. We also had a few extra pieces we picked up here and there. The lids of some of the pots had started to crack off years ago. Hubby has had to reattach them using various methods including hot melt glue (not advisable) and epoxy. It was embarrassing for us to let anyone see them and we have wanted to replace them for a long time. What a perfect way to use Eric’s money!

So I started to research different cookware manufacturers. I was looking for both high quality and Canadian manufacturing. There were not too many manufacturers that fit this set of requirements but Paderno soon rose to the top of our list and we began to look for stores to buy them from.



Last weekend we spent a whole day crawling every kitchen supply store on the Witch’s Island looking at pot sets. Have you any idea just how few pots available in our stores are actually made in Canada? Not many, is the short answer. Paderno sets were particularly hard to come by and we ended our shopping experience by deciding to do some more research.

While on the internet I decided, just for fun, to look at some used goods sites and to my great surprise, I found someone who was selling a set of Paderno pots for $500! The set she was selling is listed on Paderno’s website for a staggering $899! On top of that they had apparently never been used and were still in their original box. What kind of crazy person spends this money on pots and doesn't use them? Apparently, someone who receives them as a gift and who already owns a set.

This is a much bigger set than we had even considered but it had everything we needed and more. Here’s the description from the Paderno website:

“Paderno's largest and most complete set of "Pots for Eternity" are made in Prince Edward Island and feature a heat conductive bottom pad for superior cooking performance, durable welded handles and a flared, no-drip lip. Paderno's precise heat control, durability, ease of use and elegant design make it ideal for both home and restaurant use. Backed by our exceptional 25 year warranty. Set includes: 1.5L, 2L & 3L Saucepans, 3L Steamer, 6.5L Dutch Oven, 24cm Frying Pan, 1.5L Double Boiler, 4L Casserole, 6 covers List Price: $899”

I decided that I would try and get even more of a bargain. So, I called and told the woman that I was looking for a Paderno set but I only had a $300 budget and would she consider this amount? I was amazed that she said “yes”. I even said it again that I could only spend $300, okay? She agreed again and the next day we traveled all the way to the Big City to see the pots. They were exactly as advertised, still in the box, still wrapped in plastic and still with their original price tags in place! Wow, we grabbed them and ran, thinking that there had to be a catch somewhere. We even had to stop in a Timmy’s parking lot to count all 14 pieces just to make sure. They were all there; my faith in humanity is restored! All we have to do now is sell off the old stuff at a yard sale this summer. The “Urge to Purge” will be the theme! Thank you, Eric.





After all the excitement of bargain pots, we went to the Village to look for some bargain clothing. I found some great stuff there, too. I got two pairs of jeans, a game for next weekend’s “Game Night” and a flower vase to replace the one Hubby broke last year while “dusting”. I bought this all with the last of my Christmas gift certificates meaning no money out of pocket. The vase is “Hoosier” glass and it weighs a ton so it’s not going to tip over, easily. I can hardly wait to put some flowers in it. Hubby, are you paying attention?



Then it was on to grocery shopping. Why, oh why, do we go grocery shopping at the busiest grocery store on Witch’s Island at the busiest time of the week? We had to line up just to get down each aisle. Then we had to wait for almost twenty minutes at the checkout line. Hubby was set to blow and swears never to go back to this store again, we’ll see.



We did get some good buys, though. We spent $100.02 on all the stuff you can see in the pictures but $40 of that was for the chicken which we split into 8 two breast packs. That’s enough for eight different meals for us so it was a real bargain.

All in all, it was a very successful shopping day.

"New to Me" Boots & Homemade Baked Beans

Saturday was a windfall day for me at my favorite boutique (Value Village). I spent, (well actually I didn't spend because I used my Christmas gift certificates) a grand total of $41.00 and I want to show you everything that I picked up.



I got two types of boots, one is very dressy in maybe an outdated style but since I'm not up to-date on the fashion trends, who cares, and the other type is a hiking style, which I really needed. The dress boots were actually made in Canada which is always a bonus to me. Hubby was kind enough to put a coat of water-proofing on them for me so I won't have any salt stains. He does look after me.



I also bought two old-style Corelle casserole dishes. I have been looking to replace the chipped glass lids on my old set and these ones are just like new, so I’m very happy! The patterns don't match but who cares.

I found an Oakland Raiders hoody, it’s missing the string but otherwise it’s in great shape and of course Oakland just happens to be my favorite NFL football team. I plan on wearing this tomorrow. I purchased two other tops for work and found a nice quilting pattern book which I guess someone just got tired of. Some days it just pays to be at the right place at the right time.

We are making a big pot of baked beans for supper tonight and I'm going to bake some poppy seed biscuits to go with them. I can smell the beans cooking away downstairs right now and they’re driving me crazy. It might be a good night for an early dinner.







So far today I've planned the menu for the rest of the week, cleaned the house, helped Hubby clean the garage floor and finished the laundry. Hubby is outside right now washing the car and the truck and I can see the suds freezing on top of his wash pail. It may be sunny out there but it’s still damn cold. We can't have Big Red looking dirty, though. It really is a pretty truck and we may as well keep it clean. We’ve had it about a month now and we’re still loving it.



I hope you enjoy the pictures. I’m including one more of the Witch’s Island because everyone seemed to enjoy yesterday’s so much. Bye for now.