It's been a bit of a crazy year, so my Christmas card videos are a little different this year. I made these at my husband's place & therefore had to use MovieMaker, since I don't have Photostory 3 on this computer. Also, since I haven't replaced my horrible camera yet, we haven't been doing as many pictures as usual.
Anyway, hope that 2023 was good to you & that 2024 is even better.
Here's a little video that we shot in Vancouver on December 9th.
Here's our Christmas card videos, which I posted on my YouTube channel.
Weather & health permitting, we'll be getting some pictures & videos of Sumas's Christmas lightstonight & will post them here & on YouTube.
Saturday 9 December 2023
December 09, 2023
We took the West Coast express Christmas train into Vancouver today. Had a lovely, exhausting time. Here's a video I made.
December 09, 2023
A short video about my new webcam, which will make making Vlog posts much easier.
Friday 24 November 2023
Friday, November 24, 2023
Its the day after Thanksgiving in the US, so it's time for me to post my annual list of Christmas shows available on YouTube (& other places) for those of us who do not have cable but do have internet.
And while this isn't exactly holiday themed, I still think it fits here as being somewhat winter-y. Do you remember watching the Woody Woodpecker show & there was cute 5 minute short in between Woody's episodes, called "Chilly Willy", a little penguin? Well, you can check them out again, here: https://www.chillywillyfan.com/video.php
I have found that some companies make some pretty amazing holiday commercials, so I decided to post some of these as well. John Lewis has a number of delightful ones, starting here in 2013, the bear & the hare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCmvz8rDYVU
I searched all over YouTube, no Charlie Brown Christmas specials this year. But, I heard somewhere that they will be coming back to TV this year, on Apple TV+ For a limited time during the holiday season, Apple TV+ will make three of the iconic “Peanuts” specials free to watch. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (Oct. 21-22) “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (Nov. 18-19) & “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (Dec. 16-17) available for free to everyone. During that time, anyone wanting to watch these shows can download the Apple TV+ app on their smartphone or smart TV device. Once on the Apple TV+ streaming platform, viewers can watch their favorite “Peanuts” holiday special as often as they’d like during the free-weekend event.
It just occurred to me that I should also post here, how to watch TV without cable.
Speaking of saving money, have you ever considered giving up cable? I did & it ain't that bad. If you are in Canada, CBC, CTV, Global & CITV all have shows online that you can watch for free the day after they come out on TV. Links are here:
For CBC, go here: https://gem.cbc.ca/ & create a login account. They will of course, try to sell you a premium membership, you can just ignore it. You'll need to do some digging after that, but they have some interesting shows, including Coroner & Endlings.
In the US, CBS, & NBC also do this. ABC has something similar, but you have to wait a week after the broadcast date. Fox gives you a free hour, I think. Netflix is still under $10 a month I think, & in the US, Hulu is $7.99 a month & it also has a free trial & optional add-ons for HBO, Showtime & Cinemax (at an extra cost, of course). You can also watch Crackle free online, but it is no longer available in Canada, sorry.
Cabela's in Abbotsford is doing free photos with Santa, until December 24th. The website also mentions a video, but I don't think that is free, I'm not really sure. Reservations are recommended and can be made up to 7 days in advance online at cabelas.ca/santa
PNE Winter Fair, a journey filled with glowing lights, fantastical displays, and endless fun, as you pass through mesmerizing light tunnels that mimic the dazzling Northern Lights. The PNE Express Train is free with admission. For more information, click here: https://www.ticketleader.ca/events/detail/2023-pne-winter-fair
I will update this with more information, when it becomes available.
Monday 6 November 2023
Monday, November 06, 2023
Sorry for the delay, I meant to post this as soon as we got back on the 3rd, but I was having some technical issues with my video editing program. I did some research & finally did the old standby, I deleted the program & re-installed it.
Took a few photos of Mt. Baker on our way into Bellingham on the bus.
So, we're back home at my husband's place in Sumas, I'll be back home in Mission on the 12th.
As soon as Thanksgiving is over here in the US, I'll be starting my Christmas posts.
Wednesday 18 October 2023
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
UPDATE -
On Monday, my husband & I went to St. Joseph's hospital in Bellingham, to start my radiation treatment. Because there is such a huge backlog at Abbotsford's hospital, BC Medical is sending a lot of cancer patients there.
As I mentioned in my last update, I am currently cancer-free, but apparently the rate of recurrence is approximately 30%. However, radiation can cut that rate by 2/3. We just found out yesterday that I am only going to need 5 treatments, rather than the 10 we'd been told initially.Here's a picture of a beautiful mural, at the cancer center.
I have been looking for a new winter coat, so we stopped by the Burlington coat factory near Cordata station. And I found a new coat, for a pretty reasonable price!
And on our way to the Cordata bus loop, we saw a rainbow!
Anyway, that's all for now, I'll be doing a pre-Christmas post soon.
Monday 18 September 2023
Monday, September 18, 2023
So, how was your weekend? I went to the Mission Farmer's market & picked up 17 pounds of tomatoes from a farmer in the Okanagan. I also got some wonderful cucumbers from Emma's Acres, including one of the biggest long English cucumbers that I have EVER seen!! Check it out!
I also went to the Fruiticana in Abbotsford (the one on Bourquin) & picked up a 25 pound box of tomatoes @ 99cents a pound! Not what I would normally consider a good price for summer, but it's the best price that I've seen this year. I couldn't get all of them canned yesterday, so I was going to do the rest today. However, I forgot that some of my boxes of canning jars got moved downstairs to the locker room after my apartment's renovation. So I put the rest in the fridge & will get them done tomorrow. But if you're curious, here's what 15 liters of canned tomatoes look like.
Because of the bus strike my summer got a bit messed up, I didn't get much opportunity to get to the Dollar Trees in Abbotsford. I seem to have worn out many of my tank tops in recent years & t-shirts are more difficult to get into, since my surgery. I went to Abbotsford last week & they had no tank tops left & not many t-shirts, mostly smalls & in ugly colours. But I lucked out on Sunday, one of the local Mission Dollaramas had a couple of blue v-neck t-shirts on for only $3.
I've been having some computer issues with Facebook recently, so I am going to be spending more time on my YouTube vlogs & my blog.
I just wanted to give everyone a quick update, after the post I made on June 04, 2023.
Sunday 4 June 2023
Sunday, June 04, 2023
This post is the 3rd in my "What's Next" post-pandemic series & also a bit of a personal update for my friends & followers. I found this video a bit difficult to make, for technical reasons. I usually make my vlog videos at home, with my desk as my background. I didn't want to do that here, so I decided to do an outdoor video, at Sumas park. It took me 4 tries to get it right, due to volume issues. (Have I mentioned how much I hate this freaking camera?) I am researching possible replacements.
This one got slightly interrupted by a couple of crows nearby.
I also took a few test photos of me & Robert.
June 17, 2023 UPDATE:
I had my lumpectomy surgery yesterday & I am at home recuperating. Robert is here & is taking very good care of me.
Friday 7 April 2023
Friday, April 07, 2023
I came up with a new idea recently, trying to share more of my frugal money-saving ideas with more people. I am going to combine several videos that I posted previously on my YouTube, along with some pictures & a scattering of ideas, which I will add to from time to time & will re-share on my Facebook weekly.
I have designed 4 logos for my new enterprise, which I am calling Canadian Frugal Chick. I'll rotate them & see if there are any favourites.
This video is on fast fashion, taking care of things & several other useful money-saving tips.
This video is on making a re-usable shopping bag out of a tank top.
And here's some pictures of the variety of t-shirts that I have seen available in the local Abbotsford dollar trees. Most were $1.25 each, recently some have gone up to $1.50, I always ask to keep the hangers, after all they came with the shirt & they often just toss them instead of recycling them, which makes me sad. And who can't use some free hangers?
Speaking of saving money, have you ever considered giving up cable? I did & it ain't that bad. If you are in Canada, CBC, CTV & Global all have shows online that you can watch for free the day after they come out on TV. Links are here:
For CBC, go here: https://gem.cbc.ca/ & create a login account. They will of course, try to sell you a premium membership, you can just ignore it. You'll need to do some digging after that, but they have some interesting shows, including Coroner & Endlings.
In the US, CBS, & NBC also do this (have shows online that you can watch for free the day after they come out on TV). ABC has something similar, but you have to wait a week after the broadcast date. Fox gives you a free hour, I think. Netflix is still under $10 a month I think, & in the US, Hulu is $7.99 a month & it also has a free trial & optional add-ons for HBO, Showtime & Cinemax (at an extra cost, of course).
This post is about the environment, as well as saving money. We have to remember that the terms "disposable" or "single-use" aren't necessarily accurate. Take plastic cutlery for instance. I noticed recently that Washington state has instituted a ban on automatically giving take out customers plastic straws or cutlery. You have to ask for it, specifically. Canada is doing something similar. I save my plastic cutlery, have been doing this for decades. I wash it & keep it in a drawer. They came in handy years ago when my kids were young. Now that I am an empty nester, I don't need it nearly as much. when a piece breaks, I throw it in the recycling bag. I have never had to buy a package, ever.
I know in one of my previous money saving videos, I mentioned that Dollarama had the cheapest re-usable shopping bags, but that is no longer true. The green dollarama logo bags have gone up from 3/$1, to $1 each. However, Freshco now has their light green bags on for $0.35 I also recently discovered that Shoppers Drug Mart has re-usable bags for $0.35
I remember posting about saving money at Christmas, but it just occurred to me that these ideas would also be useful for Mother's day, Father's day, birthdays, anniversaries or even house warming gifts. So I will re-share them here.
Select a good photo of the family, 8 x 10s are generally around $1 & many places have free offers from time to time. Select a pretty frame from the dollar tree & voila, a lovely gift for someone on your list.
And I wish BC Transit would pressure First Transit to end this, as they are in violation of their contract with BC Transit, by not providing our transit.
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