Sunday, March 11, 2018

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!

19 comments:

  1. Your flowers are beautiful!
    It is nice to have the exercise equipment handy !

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    1. Especially on lousy days when it is rainy and windy out as the dog refuses to even hardly do his business those days and there is no way I could get to 11,000 steps those days

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  2. I have no interest in a Kindle. I dislike reading electronic books, have tried it.

    I have no interest either. I like good old fashioned books. I have no idea why... I just do. Having said that, I have not read a single book this winter. Not enough relax time on this trip.

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    1. This is a lot like work - except for your breakdown :( Hopefully the rest of your trip will go smoothly once you get back on the road

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  3. Loved the warmth and sunshine today. Turned furnace off, opened the back door and window and just enjoyed the fresh air as I worked in the kitchen most of the day (my office is in the kitchen).
    Joy

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    1. All of this week really except one day - it is glorious today again. The birds are singing their hearts out in the back yard and Buddy is burning around the yard tearing around with leaves and bits of landscaping in his mouth

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  4. Lovely flowers! isn't it rewarding to get them at a bargain price and nurture them back to life?
    I love my Kobo - but only for travelling. Nothing beats a huge pile of chazza shop paperbacks stacked up beside the bed ready for reading. xxx

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    1. I love PBs, when I get down to one or two I feel funny like I must go prowling for more

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  5. I hear you on the good shoes. I wear a brand of work shoe made by Soft Science. It's called the Daisy Pro. I stand and walk all day in them and my feet never hurt me at the end of the day. We had a workout room in our basement at our house in PA. It was great. It was cool down there, so working up a sweat didn't feel so bad. Sometimes I miss all the space we used to have.

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    1. I haven't heard of that brand, will look into it. We could use slightly more space in our home too, our last one was over twice as big as this but so much wasted space. Real estate has shot up since we bought though so not much chance of us moving, this was meant to be our retirement home as is all on one level. When we get old and crochety and can't deal with the landscaping we will hire people as I can't see us being happy in a condo

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  6. love the primula, such a gorgeous colour, you have green thumbs that's for sure!!

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  7. I love my Sketchers too and am due for another pair soon. I also like the fact that they are washing machine friendly. They've walked all over Dublin, Galway, Cork and then Dublin again as well as hundreds of neighbourhood miles. They also work well on my bike as they have good tread so my feet don't slip off the pedals. Like you I will pay a higher price for walking shoes - money well spent!

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    1. Love the sketchers and bought the original pair based on your posts. I've got them delivered already and am breaking them in, it takes a week or two, these seem a little tighter but I have over a month left to break them in before our trip. Don't want any blisters while traveling. I will take a small pair of tried and true sandals just in case though

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  8. I am a real book person also. Thanks to your inspiration I averaged 11,000 steps per day last week.

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    1. Wow, good for you Contessa! I was so happy to see my calories burned go up, some days even making 12,000 steps without trying that hard.

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  9. Usual books in our thrift store is under two dollars. Hard back a little more then paper backs...coffee is on

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    1. I only pay more than $1 if it is an author I love, or hard to find :)

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  10. We rearranged our living room so Wayne can have a behind sofa table and chair to use as a desk rather than sitting on the sofa with a pine TV tray. We've lived that way for over ten years, but since we aren't in the condo full time it hasn't been a huge problem. We are contemplating some renovations to our unit that was built in 1998. We are more concerned with living with the mess than the cost. At least we can leave to live up the lake while workers are busy. - Margy

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