Bills to pay

Good morning.

When I awoke today and looked at my phone, the opening screen stated temperature at 0. You could feel it, the sun was out, but things were covered in frost outside. It's going to be a beaut day and the clothes will dry, but there are bills to pay!

No matter what, we can be assured that the bills will come in and how do we handle them? Our power bill came last week and we fully expected it to increase over the cold months so we allow for it in our budget. There was an increase in charges as well.
The envelope was opened and we read the huge amount to pay, looked at each other and agreed that we kept warm. No more was said, what could you do, just pay it!

We have kept a budget for years and it works. I sit down at the beginning of each month and juggle it.

I remember when we first thought of the concept of budgeting, we just didn't know where to start. So I found a small spiral-bound notebook and wrote down everything we spent for the month and I was really surprised. We had no idea what was being spent and we could see that we could make some cuts in some areas so our income total was more than our spending total. 

And today, we have been budgeting for many years and I am not saying it is something to take lightly and its not always easy. We know exactly what we are spending, we don't make big purchases unless the money is there and we have saved for it and we work at it. It is a good habit to get into and allows for less worry. 

And I pray, a lot, about everything. My Father above is absolutely interested in all things from the biggest to the smallest and I happily converse with Him about them.

This weekend is a perfect one for doing the budget as the bank statements will come in on Friday night and Saturday is the first day of a new month. Pull up a coffee and join with me to make plans for the next month. 

Food for thought ... keep smiling ... Dot 

Making

Hello. I have had a waffle mould for a while now and finally got in and made a batch. I half cook them in the oven and when ready to eat, we fry them in butter until nice and crisp, yummo. These were sweet ones and since then I have found a savoury recipe which we can use to eat with stews etc.

Chocolate cookies. They were actually called Giant cookies and we found we shared them, so next time I will make them smaller. Very delicious though!

I made my man a new hat. I knitted it in a soft black yarn and he loves it. 

These mittens were made using scraps I have been collecting for a few months and they are truly luxurious. 

Spring is just around the corner and it is proof as today is very sunny. Would you believe that just last week we had heaps of hailstorms.

Until next time, keep smiling ... Dot 

Meet on the road

Good morning and welcome to another week of Dot's Tidbits.

We often find ourselves on the road and in the distance ahead somethings appears and we wonder what it is, oh it's that, and click click ...overtake.

Here are a few we came across last month.

Wind turbine towers

Massive loads

... off the road ...

Where could he be going, way out here?

We wondered if the Smart car would fit. 

Dust storms.

My man did a great job with all the driving, and he wants to do it again!

See you next week ... Dot 

On board again!

Hello again. We have been away a month on the road with my mother-in-law, traveled approximately 8000 km and just had a wonderful time driving (of course), catching up with family and friends and doing life together. 

Our travels took us inland at times but also we found ourselves taking in some very spectacular ocean views.

Some of the Twelve Apostles.

We introduced mum to the airbnb world. We stayed in several places and they were all very different and very nice. This particular one was on a farm. We arrived the night before on dark and woke the next morning to seeing chickens from every window, sheep, young calves, it was lovely and very serene. The hosts left us some fresh eggs to enjoy.

Most mornings we would find a spot to pull up for coffee and a wander.

Beautiful countryside with wind turbines for miles.

Here we are at Tumby Bay. It was a gorgeous place to stop and we have made a note to return again one day and spend longer there.

Hubby explaining to his mum how the blow-hole works.

The mug tree. If you were looking at the right time you could spot many trees on the side of the road in the middle of no-where with pans, teddies, etc. We missed some but managed to catch sight of a few.

We had a day in Esperance and the sea was WILD. The waves were very high and constant. 

One of the highlights of our trip was travelling through the Flinders Ranges.  The only reason we did this was we had booked an Airbnb in the area and it took us into a whole new landscape of farming etc. It was magnificent and very interesting. 

Until next Wednesday, have a great week and enjoy life in the best way you can.

Dot :-)

Bye for now

It's such a glorious sunny day here today. I can hear a lawn mower going next door. When there is a bit of sunshine, folk are out. I met several people on my walk today and this is not the norm. 

We have been busy packing and really looking forward to getting away on a road trip with mum. The three of us will tackle 6000km plus of road and enjoy every moment of it. The highlight will be catching up with beloved family on the way around.

Today is a great day for fishing and several vehicles and trailers were parked at the ramp.

Oh, the serenity! 

Until next time, be good, keep healthy and enjoy life.

Thanks for popping by ... Dot 

Dinner

Hi and welcome back. This week I decided to share with you what we have cooked up for dinner each night. On reflection, we have managed to have a variety of protein and enjoyed some yummy meals.

Slow cooked sausages and vegies with baked pumpkin and dessert, panna cotta with couli.

Nut-crusted baked Salmon with steamed greens and poached cabbage. 

Chicken Schnitzel with vegies. The chicken was topped with pesto, mozarella and tomatoes. Yummo.

Beef Patty with gravy and stewed vegie mix. The cinnamon bun was warmed for dessert.

We had turkey mince made up with lots of vegetables and served with sour cream. I forgot to take a photo. Hubby and I have taken to a new delicious snack. Put some peanut butter on 90% dark chocolate and ... my. Give it a try!!

We have had some sunny winter days this month. 

See you next week ... Dot :-)

Long Weekend

Hello. We have just come out the other side of a long weekend. When we have one of these we seem to relax more and have a few jobs that we really need to get done but take the whole 3 or so days to get it done. No hurry.

I made delicious omelettes for lunch one day. I found the perfect pan that took the 3 egg omelette and cooked them in butter and filled them with a mix of sauteed tomatoes, herbs and tuna along with grated cheese. It was easy to do and made fresh as each of us turned up for lunch. 

I love Mondays to plan the week ahead and 'take a look' in the fridge. The 'fridge look' involves checking the dates and bringing everything together on the top shelf for using up or immediately putting on the bench to use for lunch. On the bench yesterday there were the choices of cabana, celery, apple, soup, avocado, tomatoes and chopped nuts with mint. It is fun filling up each plate with the diners favourites. Oh, and I baked the Camembert and added a freshly boiled egg to the plate too. It was a lovely lunch, I must say.

We like to have something baked for snacks with coffee and so for this week (using up Coconut flour) I made a Coconut Blondie. Delicious!!!

 Until next time, love life and live well ... Dot