Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Preparing for Zombies


The garage window is decorated with scary creatures (see previous years post here, we tend to do the same from year to year) and the bowl is filled with chocolate goodies.  Yes, tonight we hand out treats to every zombie and princess that comes to our door, much to Buddy's distress.   We also hook up scary sounds to a speaker and project that throughout the neighborhood.  
Tonight I am expecting about 30 trick or treaters as that is what we had last year and tonight is a weeknight versus weekend and it is supposed to rain.  That does not usually dissuade Vancouver Island trick or treaters however as they are used to it.  At 9pm or when we run out of candy the lights go off.  Not much worry of running out of candy though.  This year I spent $3 on two masks at the thrift store that we are hanging from the lights on our garage and $34 on candy.

Getting freebies in the mail is much like trick or treating for adults....these came yesterday.  The laundry soap sample will be given to Mom as hubby is allergic to almost everything except sunlight detergent so I buy that by the 4 litre jug.  We use Voltaren all the time for arthritis - this is the perfect travel size for hubby.  It's been a long time since I've received any freebies, they don't have that many in Canada.

Work is steady, life is busy with appointments etc.  The truck is mostly fixed from our accident last month.  We still have to take it on Friday to have a dealership as there is a seat belt/airbag error on the passenger side.  When you are rear ended airbags are not supposed to deploy as your seat belt saves you from too much damage but it seems Toyota's commonly have this problem when rear ended.  The bag didn't deploy but obviously some kind of sensor went off.  The collision place does not have the appropriate Toyota computer to assess what is wrong with that so we had to make an appointment at the dealership.  Mom and I are healing, she has started physio therapy but my chest still hurts so will hold off on chiropractic treatments until that is fully healed.  My Dr says that sprains and bruises take longer to heal than breaks often times - well that sucks! Anyway, our claims adjuster was quick to wave money in front of Mom and I to settle quickly but we are not settling any claim until we are certain we are at the end of whatever medical treatments that we need not covered by our Canadian healthcare (physio and chiro are not).

Completely off topic but hubby and I went a movie for the first time this year, using a gift certificate that one of the kids bought him for his birthday.  We went to "A Star Is Born" - what a fantastic movie.  I have always been a fan of Bradley Cooper but not really ever of Lady Gaga.  That changed with this movie.  Both are super talented, both in the acting and singing department.  I really hope this movie wins awards, they both deserve it.

And for the grand finale - I managed to stay on budget this month in the grocery department - and even shaved over $100 off previous months overages!!  I ended the month at $467.37.  The monthly budget is $575 (including all cleaners/otcs/personal products) Canadian.  Previous months overages were $171.14.  Now my October budget   $575-overage left of $63.51 = $511.49.  The freezer is full. So are the cupboards.  I only have one item I am totally out of - chicken and will buy 4 kilo of boneless skinless breasts this weekend.   I've said it before but for some reason I can buy parts much cheaper than buying a whole chicken so I do.

I have invited my best friend for supper on Saturday as well as Mom, we intend to do ribs so I will need to buy some of those and some ice cream to go with a homemade apple crisp.  I did vacuum last weekend but quit as my chest hurt - I will try again this weekend to see what the progression of healing has been.  Not sure why vacuuming would cause it to hurt but it does.

I am super excited about next week - our thrift stores used to wait until after November 11 to put out Christmas stuff but this year they are doing it a week early - one on Saturday and one on Monday.  These are the best days all year to try and find vintage/antique items so Mom and I are ready.  My wine making experiment is ready to bottle - next Thursday I will be bringing home 20 bottles of sauvingnon blanc and my friend 10 as she wanted a 1/3 share.   Hopefully that will mean a decrease in liquor costs.  In the new year I will start a different batch, maybe a reisling this time.

May your day be filled with ghosts and goblins - Happy Halloween everyone!

20 comments:

  1. Happy Halloween to you also! We get a lot of ghosts and goblins (Last year we had 75) so I am expecting a decent amount this year.
    Smart of you to not settle with the insurance company until you both are totally healed. I hope you feel much better soon, but give yourself enough time before you try anything strenuous.

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    1. Thanks - starting to feel quite a bit better now. I think the older you get (49 now) the longer it takes to heal up

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  2. Happy Halloween to you! And, like Anne, I hope you are able to get some rest & really recover from your injury. So happy you weren't more seriously injured.

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    1. Thanks - I was so glad we were in the truck. Not only did it protect us way better than our car, it suffered minimal damage, none of which lowers the value of it (we only bought it 2 months ago!)

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  3. Happy Halloween!... Sadly, we don't get any trick or treaters here in my part of the Southern US. The Churches do a "Trunk or Treat" and so the parents take their kids there. Can't blame them with the world we live in today but they sure are missing out when we used to be able to go all over the neighborhood when we were little. It was so much fun. Glad to hear you are healing from the accident but sorry you're still hurting a bit and I agree, I wouldn't settle anything with the insurance company until you know for sure.. Robyn

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    1. Thanks Robyn! Our malls and community centers still do a bit trick or treating celebration but kids in Canada still go for it, unless you live out in the country. I am glad for that as I had fun doing it when I was a kid.

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  4. Sorry to hear that you are still having pain. It could be various bruised/stretched muscles creating the pain in your chest when you vacuum, they are all connected. A pain in your hip can be caused by a sore shoulder muscle, etc. Hope you enjoy the wine.

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    1. Thanks Contessa, the Dr says it was inflammation between bones rather than muscles. It seems to be getting better. I can't wait to see what it tastes like, hopefully its drinkable!

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  5. Hope the local kids were appreciative of your generosity!
    Halloween's becoming a thing over here now, Wetherspoons was decorated with dismembered limbs and cobwebs. xxx

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    1. They were - I trick or treated when I was a kid so am just paying it forward :) The stores here are still full of unsold Halloween decorations, it seems they think we should buy loads and loads. I will stick with my thrifted cheap items both for Halloween and Christmas

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  6. I hope you had a good crowd to enjoy your Halloween preparations. Do you think your chest pain is from seat belt bruising? I wish I could come with you on the vintage ornament hunt. Have fun and take it easy.

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    1. It was from the seatbelt but not bruising, was a inflamation between the bones where the ribs connect to the chest (not sure of exact terminology) which has taken forever to heal. It's so much better now though thankfully. Do you ever visit the thrift stores in Nov/Dec in Powell River? I bet you would find some goodies there!

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  7. I glanced first at the photos and thought, I won’t be going to YOUR house for Halloween. Some treats!

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    1. Yeah the kids around here really go out for muscle creams lol

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  8. Hope you are feeling better now and hope Halloween was good. It hasn't really taken off here in France but I usually decorate the house and have candy ready. Not this year though as I went down with a vomiting bug so didn't even decorate and took myself off to bed. So now I feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge (talk about mixed metaphors)!

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    1. I'm sorry that you were sick! I am sure the trick or treaters would understand

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  9. Oh, I hope your muscles strains heal up soon. I'm with the others - best not to settle until the costs are determined. I might suggest that would include the cost of a maid, at least for the short term to do the tasks that are too difficult for you.

    Halloween was warm here this year for a change, so I had a good crowd of 35. I love Smarties so I didn't buy the same chocolate bars as you did. :)

    Great work on your budget. I haven't been keeping track in detail but I know my costs have gone down since my daughter and grandson left.

    Have fun with your visitors and good luck with your hunt for vintage ornaments.

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    1. Due to us working from home a maid is not really in the cards, hubby has picked up the slack though which I appreciate. He generally does the outside stuff and I do inside so pretty even most of the time.

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  10. Happy thrifting! I bought 6 sweaters the other day (probably didn't need SIX!) but luck was with me. The lady who was in line after me kept oohing and ahhing about my purchases. I said "hands off lady" (no I didn't but thought it !) I'm going to see A Star is Born tomorrow night! My daughter went to see it and she doesn't like Lady Gaga and didn't really want to see the movie but she texted me after saying it was THE BEST!! So there you go - I'm not a GAGA fan either but after her recommendation I'm really looking forward to it. Great job on the groceries!

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    1. If you can find 6 great sweaters in one place go for it (maybe they came from the same donation?). I hope you liked A Star is Born, I loved it :)

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