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| Passion flowers. |
The past week was more productive than the previous one.
Though it was not in my weekly to-do list, I finally ironed a stack of clothes that had been waiting on a chair in the bedroom for over two weeks. Most my work clothes are made of synthetic material, and do not need ironing. So when I wash cotton things that need ironing it tends to pile up.
I am still reading Julia's Cats by Patricia Barey and Therese Burson.
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| Currently on my iPad. |
Inspired by Julia, I made a pot roast. This is the first time I made one. I followed the recipe on her book, The Way To Cook. Next time I will reduce to cooking time, because I think it was overcooked. Though I do not eat beef often, when I do, I like it medium rare.
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| Pot roast. |
I've been working on the Christmas swap item. It's 90% done. Hopefully I will be able to mail it at the end of this week. Perhaps it's a bit too early for Christmas, but my swap partner asked for a non Christmas item. And mailing early will avoid the Christmas rush.
I have been slowly increasing my daily exercise. I use the exercise bike and started with 0.5 miles. My muscles are not used to much exercise, and after a couple of minutes of pedaling I can really feel it. Now I can do 0.9 miles without exerting myself too much. I'm really glad that I bought the bike. It's an excellent deal for $20.
After a long time, I have a frugal month. So far I have only spent 53.5% of the take home income. Unlike in the previous months, I didn't have major expenses. And I intentionally stayed away from the warehouse store. Any savings in this month will cancel out some of the expenses in the last three months. I really need to increase the savings in my 'house account' that I keep for any repairs. Every big appliance in this house came with it, so they are pretty old. Every time the fridge makes a weird noise, I think 'oh oh'. I keep my fingers crossed that there will be no breakdowns anytime soon. 😶
Take care all, and have a wonderful week! I'm especially thinking of Stephenie who lives closer to the wildfires in California. Stay safe Stephenie.
This week's to-do list:
1)
2)
3) Declutter spare room. - Not done.
Next week's to-do list:
1) Finish making the Christmas swap item.
2) Declutter spare room.
3) Transplant passion seedlings.
XX
Nil
I'm glad to read that you had a frugal month. :) Hope you are able to increase the household expenses fund.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the exercise! I've not been doing anything much, lately; I hope to get started on the walking, again, soon.
Your passion fruit vine is looking very healthy and that pot roast looks very good!
Hope you have a good week ahead, Nil.
I hope you will soon resume exercising, Bless. I prefer walking, but with my work schedule, it's hard to find a time for walking, unless I wake up early. And I like sleeping too much. :)
DeleteHope you have a good weekend, and all those wildfires stay away from your area.
I understand all too well the worry of household appliances breaking down. With everything being a similar (old) age, I worry they will all stop working at the same time. X
ReplyDeleteYes, Jules. I don't even know how old my washer and dryer are, but they look pretty old. The fridge is about 11 years old. I can survive without a dryer for a while, but if the fridge breaks down that needs a quick replacement.
DeleteI hope your appliances last a long time! :)
It sounds like you are on target to meet your budget goal this month, Nil. Major expenses can certainly make it harder to do that sometimes. Your passionfruit vine looks healthy; lots of flowers will hopefully mean lots of fruit for you to enjoy. I am thinking of Stephenie too and hope she is okay in her cabin up in the mountains. MegXx
ReplyDeleteThere are two passion vines there, Meg. Both are full of flowers, so I hope I will get to enjoy more fruits soon. :)
DeleteYay for tackling the ironing, working up to .9 miles on the bike, and having a frugal month! We recently increased the savings in our house account, too, because things are just more expensive in general. Good luck with the rest of your Christmas swap project. I'm sure it'll turn out beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Priscilla. I have to be more disciplined and iron clothes soon after doing laundry. But I'm too lazy. :)
DeleteBeautiful passion flowers! And your pot roast looks great! I'm thinking of Stephenie also! Andrea
ReplyDeleteHehee the pot roast looks great, but the texture could have been better. :)
DeleteNil your post reminded me of the great movie Julie and Julia that I watched many years ago about Julia Child. Hers is one cookbook I don't have but I did visit her interesting kitchen replica in one of the Smithsonian museums I think a few years ago in Washington. Thanks for the reminder about a great cook. Are you enjoying the book Julias cats? Good home cooking saves us so much money doesn't it? I should try a pot roast again one day. Cheers, Pauline
ReplyDeleteI've seen that movie, Pauline. Oh, visiting Julia's kitchen at the Smithsonian is one of my dreams.
DeleteJulia's Cat's is ok, but but not as good as other biographies. I think the the best ones are her autobiography (My Life in France) and Dearie by Bob Spitz.
Way to go on the savings and on the bike riding. Isn't it incredible how much such a short distance can feel when you're pedaling? Have a great week.
ReplyDelete(I've thought of Stephanie too. Glad she has the cabin.)
Yes Lady Locust. It's only 0.9 miles and afterwards I feel like I ran a marathon. :)
DeleteOh but a Pot Roast is not done to medium rare. A Pot Roast is done, to falling off the bone "done-ness"! -smile- I love, love, love such meals. So perfect for cooler/colder weather. -smile-
ReplyDeleteHooray for increasing exercise! That is on the agenda here, toooooo!
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Wisps, I really really wanted the pot roast to be moist and fall off the bone tenderness. I'm not sure if I cooked it too long (that's what I initially thought) or didn't cook long enough in low heat. I'm going to give it another try sometime later. :)
DeleteI have never seen such a lush passion flower vine. It is beautiful! The pot roast looks delicious and I bet your kitchen smelled divine. I am also thinking of Stephenie and hoping that she is not too impacted by the Tick Fire.
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen did smell great, Anita. But I'm not really happy about the texture of the pot roast. I have to try it again. :)
DeleteTwenty dollars sounds like a great investment for increasing exercise! Best wishes on all your appliances and hopefully no major expenses will pop up, at least until you can increase your savings.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too Julie. :)
DeleteWell done for cycling on your new exercise bike! You'll be cycling down the backlanes in your neighourhood soon (on a "real" bike of course). Cycling is good for fitness and gentle on the joints. I cycle to work but I am not sure cycle commuting is very common in the US. My commute is two miles each way, not all that far. Your pot roast looks delicious. I have not forgotten about the recipe that I was going to send you, I hope I have a chance to type it up for you this week. Happy frugal October, well done for keeping within target. x
ReplyDeleteOh no! Unless it's along a straight line, I can't ride a bike. LOL
DeleteIn this area cycling is not common, but I have heard of towns where it's very popular. Here it can be dangerous because drivers are not used to cyclists and don't pay attention to them. Still I see sometimes people use bicycles, especially students who live closer to the college.
Hi Nil, That photo of Julia is fabulous. Pot roast sounds so good...my mom used to make it. She liked the one from Trader Joe's. I hope your appliances last, too. The older ones usually do. They were so well made.
ReplyDeleteYes Stephenie. My washer and dryer are pretty basic, with old fashion knobs. You are right, they last longer and even repairs are not that complex and expensive.
DeleteI have watched a film about Julia, quite good! And I watched few episides of her show, she could cook so good ☺
ReplyDeleteIt must be Julie & Julia. I also liked it. 😊
DeleteDon't fret too much about the overdone pot roast, Nil, as I have had ones like that and sure others have too. Gravy does help! yes, aging appliances can be a worry if they need repairs. Living in an apt as we do there is never that concern because if anything breaks down we let the management office know and they schedule a repair. In some cases, residents just get a new appliance. The ones in our apt are only a couple of years old and we don't have a washer/dryer but use ones in the laundry room. of course these are pay machines, so that's a downer but no repairs for us. It's always nice to know your have your budget back on grack too.
ReplyDeleteThat’s one advantage of living in an apartment, Beatrice. Initially I felt so overwhelmed with the amount of work that came with home ownership, but I’m getting used to it now. 😊
DeleteMy previous apartment had so many rules about plants so I’m glad now I have my own yard.
I cannot imagine how glorious the passion flowers must look in person. Sometimes we have small vines in our pasture with similar flowers, but the fruit is different. I do love seeing the flowers though. The roast looks very tasty, and how nice to have your ironing done. I rarely iron everything at once. I put everything on hangers then iron as needed. My husband is very talented at wrinkling ironed shirts before they even leave the closet. O.O
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Toni
I try to iron several items together to save electricity. :) If I could I would not iron at all. Hehee
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