Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The "We Got Snow!" Edition

Yes, after a 2 year hiatus snow has once again graced our yard.  I was a bit nervous about it interrupting our travel plans as hubby flies out to Alberta this afternoon and I on Friday but roads and runways are clear so we can relax.  Normally I am not that concerned about snow, living for 30 years in snow laden Alberta - but our Pacific coast snow is completely different.  It falls extremely wet and fast, it can snow several inches in a half an hour and therefore it breaks trees and causes power disruptions.  It often freezes quickly like cement so unlike Alberta where it is relatively easy to shovel it often has to be chipped off pavement or salt poured on it so that you can drive or walk on sidewalks and roads.  I tried to buy some salt but every where in town is sold out so I chipped most of it off the sidewalk yesterday.  People don't know how to drive in it and many here don't buy appropriate tires for their car thinking it won't snow.  We just bought snow tires about a month ago so are good to go.  Not cheap but worth the cost for peace of mind.



My hummingbirds are having a bit of a time with it too, they are not used to such cold temperatures and although I took down my hummingbird feeder in August and tried to encourage them to fly south they hung around and were here in November so I decided they had little to eat by that time and put it back up.  This morning it had lots of ice in it so I brought it inside to warm it up and as soon as I hung it back up they were at the feeder.  I will bring it in every night now and put it back in the morning to ensure they get food.  Poor little things.  They are very shy so no photo of them but there is a pair that dive-bomb Buddy and I on a daily basis as they are very protective of their yard and feeder.


Buddy actually loves snow, since it is a novelty.  He has only seen it before when he was a couple of months old so he has asked to go out about once an hour since it first snowed.  The only thing is that he won't do his business on it, and walks around the perimeter of the house to find grass under the overhang.  Perhaps he thinks it is like carpet and he is very well house-trained.  Silly dog.  When his feet get cold he asks to come back in and if I am not within his sight he barks at the door.   He apparently has me well-trained as well.

I have one very small gift to find for one of my stepsons and some caramel popcorn(popcorn twist crack if you live in Canada, a family favorite and recipe is printed on the bag)  to make for my Mother-in-law and I am ready to fly out for our family visit Friday.  Alberta is experiencing extremely low temperatures of -20 to -30 Celcius while we are there and I suddenly realized I do not have a heavy enough scarf.    We still have all our heavy coats and mitts but my current floral thick scarf doesn't really go with the plaid coat I bought 2 summers ago.  Last year's visit temperatures were much warmer and a heavy scarf not needed but we are traveling around little Alberta towns and should we break down need to have the proper gear.  I'm just back from taking hubby to the airport and stopped in at my favorite (and cheapest) thrift store in town and found the perfect warm soft black long scarf that will work perfectly for $2  - it is in the washing machine as I type this.  Much better than the brand new and not nearly as nice scarf I saw yesterday at the store for $24.   I also found a brand new pack of clips that hold our Christmas lights on the house - I always buy them one year and advance and had to pay a whopping .75 cents.  And finally, I also bought a brand new package of gift tags as I was running very low for .25 cents. Yes, I went on a $3 shopping spree lol.

Sometimes I save on the unimportant stuff to spend on important stuff - like cleaning the 10 year old area rug in the living room that was just delivered back after 2 weeks.  We originally spent $500 on it, a mid-range quality wool rug (would love an authentic Eurasian rug but not the price tag associated with it) and it cost $225 to clean but I did the math and if it lasts us another 10 years of use it was worth it over buying a new one  It also included pickup and delivery as the thing weights a ton.  It looks brand new, I am a little shocked at what a good job they did and so glad I got it cleaned rather than replaced, also glad the design we went with is timeless rather than trendy.  We actually own a carpet cleaner which we use on the rest of the carpets but there is no way to clean a large area rug properly except off premises with the proper equipment.

I ended the month of November at $463.34 - under our grocery budget which was $539.54 ($550 less previous months overages).  Woohoo!  That means I have a budget of $550 plus $76.20 underage from November for a total of $626.20 for December!  I might end up using it all as we have 1 adult kid here for an entire week and another for 3 days so extra groceries will be required.  Part of the reason why my numbers were lower is that I used all of a $60 Shoppers drug mart redemption in November for groceries, things like milk and butter, not frivolous stuff.  Plus, I still have $20 more in PC plus points that I will be putting towards groceries in December.  Mom has already redeemed some of her grocery points for a 6 KG turkey that is now parked in my freezer destined for our family Christmas supper.

I am currently planning out my 2017 budget.  Yesterday I received our final electricity bill for the year.  Our bills for electricity (furnace/AC pump and all lighting)  and natural gas (hot water heater, fireplace and BBQ)totals as follows:

Electric - BC Hydro - 1700 sq foot home
2014 - $1610/year
2015 - $1663/year
2016 - $1627/year

Natural Gas - Fortis
2014 - $671/year
2015 - $663/year
2016 - $580 (that is an approximation as will get final bill in a few days but I've over-estimated)

I'm very proud of those figures, especially since electricity has gone up about 10% in price each of the last 2 years.  Natural gas did go down and our usage has remained about the same.  This year we have turned the heat down 2 full degrees over what we have had in the past winters - took some getting used to but now we are accustomed to it.  We use an electric blanket on the bed with dual controls (I need more heat due to my arthritis) and when we feel cold we put on a sweater or turn on the natural gas fireplace.

Speaking of which, I've heard on the news lately that Canada is supposed to see a 3-5% increase in the cost of groceries in 2017 due to our dollar value being down.  Our $550 per month is more than sufficient and will not be increased.  If anything I've gotten a little lazy in my bargain hunting ways, perhaps it is too high?  If you want to see the article click here.

And that is what is shaking in my little corner of the world.  No blogging now until our return from Alberta Monday afternoon - in the mean time have a great week-weekend everyone!

26 comments:

  1. Enjoy your trip and great thrift store haul. I think your rug cleaning was smart. Caring for things you already loved and you get to enjoy longer.

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    1. It is a pretty decent rug, survived 4 kids and dog training so now it is smooth sailing

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  2. Have a good trip! Just looking at the snow pictures makes me cold. Good thing I live in a place that only gets snow every 10 or so years!

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    1. We usually get 2-3 a winter and that is it, it usually just frosts and rains rains rains.

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  3. I haven't seen a hummingbird since August when I also took my feeder down. I was amazed to see one fly across the front porch this morning. Our snow was light, but the cold turned it into a while layer of ice on the decks and docks. Walking outdoors is risky. I already slipped and fell once. - Margy

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  4. Have a fab trip!
    Not a fan of snow, luckily we don't have much (I hope I haven't spoken too soon!) but when we do the country descends into chaos! xxx

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    1. Our island very much has the same weather as you except the mountains above our valley, they always get snow and there is actually a ski hill! So strange to have 5-10 feet of snow up there and none a 1/2 hour drive away. This is as cold as it has been since we moved here - minus 3 degrees celcius this morning.

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  5. Have a wonderful trip! I think I'm going to track my year end totals like you did to see how we're doing compared to last year. Groceries are still our biggest expense. If I can keep it under $600 a month, I've accomplished something.

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    1. You have 3 adults, not that easy to keep it low.

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  6. So happy that you are looking after those poor hummers.

    Have a great trip.

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    1. I feel terrible for them and wish they would migrate, they had it easy last winter

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  7. The wet cold seems just as unpleasant as the dry cold of the prairies. Our little Mexican dogs are seeing snow for the first time and loving it. Last year I bought two sets of christmas cards at the charity shop-a mix put together by the shop staff. Lovely quality, some old faishoned and charming. Unfortunately the second packet came without envelopes which I didn't discover until I was ready to write them. I'll have to go back to see if they have packs of envelopes.

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    1. It is, almost as cold frankly. That often happens with the cards, I usually try and buy them right after Christmas so they are dead cheap too. If I didnt have so many older relatives not on Facebook in the USA I would send any but it is sometimes their only connection to us

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  8. I can't believe that the humming birds have hung around for so long. What will they do when you go away? :-(

    Have a great time with your family in Alberta. I hope the weather warms up there for you.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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    1. Mom will be feeding them (and her own) when I am gone. She is staying in my house with Buddy. She only lives 3 blocks away so can make sure her birds have thawed food too :)

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  9. Great work keeping the costs in check with your utility costs, as well as your grocery bill. You can live high in December with your food splurges. :-)

    Have a safe trip to ALberta & enjoy your time with your family.

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    1. Thanks - not sure if I am leaving today or not a alot of flights were cancelled this morning due to another storm. Just shoveled 4 inches off my driveway. fingers and toes crossed.

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  10. Have a great weekend! (I'm glad Buddy likes the snow...)

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  11. Your electric bill is high, we pay BC Hydro $35 per month and have a credit. Fortis we pay $50 per month and also have a credit fo almost 2 months. Our townhouse is 2000 sq ft. We cook with gas and have 2 gas fireplaces. So is the charge for electric way higher than in the lower mainland? Have a safe trip.

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    1. Must be higher as that is the common amount for homes around here. We do use AC in summer a fair amount due to working out of the house by video conference which means we can't let it get too hot but it seems in line with the neighbors

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  12. Enjoy your trip! Yep, I'm determined to itemize all business AND personal expenses like you do in 2017, always fascinating to see what you guys save. I'm the same way, save where I can (like food, so easy) so I can spend on fun stuff like handmade products and art! We just got our first blast of cold here, but I'd like to play in some snow at least one winter soon. Not shovel it though, I'll visit and play and not work it, bwahaha :)

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    1. I do the bookkeeping for the business but hire an actual accountant for the year end stuff as we are a federal corporation it is too complicated. The rest of the stuff I just record as it comes in on an Excel Spreadsheet - easy peasy. My grocery one is a separate one though, just record as I buy things. Just make sure to go somewhere it is not too cold as snow is no fun if so bloody cold like it was in Alberta

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  13. What a spree - you're such a spendthrift! LOL! Congrats on lowering your utilities - I am so thankful I get to use natural gas for heating, hot water and my dryer is also gas. We are heading into higher bills the next few months but I never pay more than $80 for hydro (higher due to an electric fire/tv cabinet) and $80 for natural gas. I expect when Kazi finally moves out I'll be able to lower those bills. She always complains about how cold our house it - she doesn't bundle up like I do. Have a great time in Alberta! We had snow squalls yesterday but due to it being very windy there is none left on the trees.

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    1. Houses are always more expensive, I think later in life a condo may be in order as the heating bills for Moms condos are way lower but she is sandwiched between 2 other units. Thanks Jane!

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