Beautiful Sunday

Today is absolutely beautiful out - sunny and 11 degrees Celcius.  Although we lost an hour due to turning our clocks forward last night we still were able to have a nice leisurely Sunday.  We've already taken Buddy on a really long walk, I have almost 10,000 of my 11,000 steps done and hubby is in the process of making beef and broccoli/cauliflower soup for supper.

A recent bargain is this little pink pot of primulas which had suffered some frost damage so the grocery store had sold them off for .24 cents (originally $1.49).  I took a chance on one.  After two weeks of tender loving care I have a lovely pot of flowers.  I simply took off all the frozen ones and could easily see there were several unaffected buds underneath.  As this is a perennial when it is done flowering inside I will plant it in the flowerbed outside to shine next Spring again.  Not bad for less than a quarter.  

I found another new favorite author - Scottish mystery writer Stuart MacBride.  I finished this one and am reading a second one by him.  I pay between .50 - $1 per paperback in the thrift stores.  Yes, I could go to the library but then I couldn't trade them with my Mom.  I also resell them in large lots so get some of my money back.  The library is not convenient based on my lifestyle so I will continue to buy books.  No, I have no interest in a Kindle.  I dislike reading electronic books, have tried it.  I did buy hubby a Kindle for Christmas and he absolutely loves it, especially when he is travelling.  I've already finished reading 13 books this year - I read only 27 last year so this is definitely the year of reading.  

I talk so much about our treadmill - I thought I would show you our workout/spare bedroom.  Two weeks ago we did a major clearout in this room removing hubby's electronic drum kit to be stored  under the house.  He rarely plays but is not yet ready to part with it.  Maybe when he retires he will want to play it again.  We bought the treadmill and all those weights used.  Hubby bought the bench and weight stand new.  

When we bought this 3 bedroom house one became an office and this one had to become a spare room/room for everything else.  Originally we were going to buy a murphy bed - but they are ridiculously expensive so bought this fold out couch instead.  When the kids come to visit this is where they stay.  I bought that nice black mirror over the couch for $10 last summer on the Facebook 24 hr bidding site.

I pulled the trigger this morning and ordered myself another pair of sketchers for walking.  If you intend to walk 11,000 steps a day you must have good shoes and I have almost wore the tread right off the pair I bought last Spring.  I will still keep them though as they are great for around our house and on the treadmill.  This time I ordered a slightly dressier pair that will be perfect for our trip to Italy and France.  I found some yestereday in a store for $88 plus 12 percent tax = $98.56 but I didn't want to pay that much money.  The pair I bought this morning are almost identical, actually a bit nicer model of sketcher and more along the lines of what I was looking for.  Including tax they were $75, over $23 saved.  Good shoes are worth the money, this coming from someone who buys 98% of her wardrobe at the thrift store (excluding undergarments, socks and bathing suits).  I occasionally find nice shoes at the thrift store but they are usually dress shoes, not good for walking in.  I can honestly say that the sketchers are definitely worth the money as they are so comfortable and you can walk miles and miles in them without hurting your feet.

Sketchers "Empress lets be real" (weird name I know)

I hope everyone is having as nice a Sunday as we are.  Enjoy your day!