August is National Coffee Month

August is National Coffee Month, and if you ever needed a good reason to try a new brew, this is a great one. Whether you need your coffee first thing in the morning, piping hot or wonderfully cool, there is no better time to try something new. Coffee can be a great social beverage as well so make sure to share one with a friend.

But, Coffee before Bed????

That’s right! Introducing Counting Sheep Coffee, a proprietary blend of gourmet decaffeinated coffee and Valerian – an organic plant root with sedative and relaxant properties – for that perfect way to end your day.

Drinking coffee after lunchtime is a pipe dream no more. Counting Sheep removes the worry of being kept up. Enjoy a delicious cup of coffee with dessert or just before bed and drift off to a restful night of shut-eye.

And it tastes just as delicious as that first cup in the morning. The perfect way to start your day is now the perfect way to end it! 

** also available in K-cups!



Le-Vel

Next best thing to getting your coffee fix!

Wednesday August 27th

Gerry has a hair cut appt today and I have a dentist appt- one of my fillings came completely out of one side of my molar the other day- so it's like the one tooth is almost two teeth. Very lucky to be able to get in today, and it hasn't been bothering me. We are also lucky to have full coverage for me to get it fixed.

The weather is so nice today- a high of 24 degrees for today. Nice to see the clear sky and feel the sun.Jakey always lies on the back deck when it's warm and sunny back there. He's like me and always cold.

Gerry and I have been talking more about him and retiring early so we are trying to do what we can to make that process go faster and cut the time down to hopefully 2 years left. making extra payments now on our mortgage, his truck, and our RV we just bought, ( but have yet to pick up in the city).. next week.

All along we do manage on one income, although I will occasionally get some advertising dollars on the site and the odd freelance writing job.

We as well still put aside money every payday into our Tangerine account through ING Direct. Saving a bit here and there  for trips, emergency funds/renos, Christmas, and the mortgage/truck payments to pay extra.
We think we're doing pretty good ...and hope to escape our long cold winters sooner than later. 

Budgeting: A Visual Guide to How Small Cutbacks Lead to Great Savings

Budgeting doesn't have to be hard.You don't even need to be tied down to the idea of "making a budget." Saving money can be as simple as making a few small changes at home. This infographic shows you easy, convenient ways to save up to $8,800 a year, without ever feeling the pinch of a restrictive budget.

** Source: http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/fun-with-finances/budgeting--a-visual-guide-to-how-small-cutbacks-lead-to-great-savings/INF16249.html

Monday August 25

                           View from my back door at 8 am-gloomy


I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold. This morning Gerry said it was 5 degrees outside when he got up for work  and the trailer was cold so he cut the furnace in to take the chill out. It's something we really don't want to do yet, and thankfully the rest of the week is looking better and warmer, but brrr! even the dog is cold, and rolls himself into a ball like a caterpillar.
Gerry said with our winter longer than normal last year, we only had one month when we didn't have the furnace on- and that was in July. Pretty darn sad.

Sunday August 24

The bran muffins are in the oven and I'm heating up the trailer in any way possible.I even left the dryer door open after the laundry was done- just not nice enough to hang clothes out today. A great day to bake- a high of only 13 today, but I really hate when the sun starts leaving us. Even put the electric blanket on the bed last night on low. Gerry doesn't turn it on most of the winter but I cannot get to sleep in a cold bed, so the electric blanket helps me fall asleep. Slippers I wear year round, as I always have cold feet because of Raynauds.

Ria's 29th birthday on Tuesday so we'll be have her over for cake and a gift opening that day.. be just the 3 of us.She's leaving to go back to Honduras on the 29th. We'll be keeping her couch and TV here,( which Gerry likes for the spare room) and her car is staying plus some boxes of scrapbooks and other personals.She will be joining her fiance there. She has given up her apt so not sure what her plans will be come next May when she usually comes here to runt he petting zoo. Her car is actually staying in our back yard in the rock garden for storage. Last year it was parked in the back but now that we use that spot for the RV, and have our two vehicles in the front yard, that won't work. We will also be picking up our newer RV we got, within the next week. Can't wait to get rid of the one we have now. It's caused us so much grief. We are trading it in cause we can't sell it- losing money too on that deal, but need to get rid of it. We tried for months to sell it at a greatly reduced price. We'll be trading it for a 2004 National Sea breeze 34'- 4 feet bigger than the Brave we have. Hoping to get a trip out of this new one as well in September. I'd love to go somewhere warmer with it  but Gerry doesn't have enough holidays left this year for us to get away for too long, so we're thinking of going over to Washington to the Olympic Park and area.. so will see what happens. Had been dealing with the BBB on our other RV we still have- since we got a lemon, but didn't have a good outcome. So today I have to fill out some papers with the Consumer Protection Bureau. After talking with the guy on the phone, it did sound more promising with him saying that even though the dealer sold it as a consignment unit, he still has some obligations to us that it is in good working order.I will keep you all updated to let you know what happens with that.

Gerry has 4 years left for retirement I believe or 3 1/2 but just hate the long winters here. This past winter was very long and dragged into our Spring.The geese we already have been seeing are flying south. I need to fly south I think. Going to try to read more on retirement though and saving money, maybe start a home business and just try to make this all happen a bit faster. We do currently make extra payments however on our mortgage and truck payment. My car has been paid off for a few years.

Gerry wanted to trade off the truck and down size this past week, but the dealer really was not being fair about the trade, and we really stood in no way to benefit with their foolish offer, so he's keeping the truck. Told him he'll have to drive it till it dies.

But it looks like lunch time here and I don't want to get winded, so until next post...

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Fall is in the Air

        Mornings have been dull and grey. Fall is in the air. A view from the front window 8 am. Almost makes you want to go back to bed!

Wild Blueberry Muffins

With all the blueberries Gerry got last weekend, I thought it was about time I started looking through recipes and finding something to bake and freeze. Found a new recipe that turned out to be a hit: Crosby Molasses  Blueberry Muffins. This past weekend with our trip out of town, daughter in town, and some work to get caught up, he never got a chance to head out to the patch again on the quad, but may this weekend.

Duck In The Truck!

Just wanted to share this picture of daughter Ria ( right) and co worker, with duck in the truck- from the petting zoo.

Sunday August 17

This past Thursday left for Prince Albert- 4 hour drive and took Jakey in for a much needed dental cleaning. He stayed in the kennels over night and we picked him up next morning. Although his dental work was only an hour and half, he did have to get put out, so we "ran" to Saskatoon while he was at the vet's ( an hour away), and did a bit of bargain shopping as well as looking at rv's- since we're trying to trade off ours or sell and buy another. With a cleaning and one molar having to be pulled it was $320. Cheaper than our vet charges here, by half, and cheaper than in most cities I called about to inquire. Most vets wanted a consult as well done, or xrays, plus dental cleanings and extractions were also near double of what we paid.