Today has turned out to be a gorgeous day! We’re supposed to reach a high above freezing, though I don’t think we have. No matter. The “feels like” temperature is much warmer, and things are melting all over the place!
First, an update.
We are still having troubles with our plumbing. Every time we think we finally got the toilet clear, it doesn’t last. So we’re keeping the honeypot set up, for those in between times when we have to let it sit with the bio maintenance stuff – which still does a much better job than the typical drain cleaners. I don’t want to do that hot water thing if we don’t have to, since toilets are not made for hot water, so we’re just going to have to be patient until we can get the plumber in.
On a completely different topic, my husband had a phone appointment with his doctor to go over his medications. He has one painkiller comes in two forms – fast acting and slow release – and one of those is simply not available. The supplier has no idea when they’ll get more. It seems almost as if my husband is the only person on it, in the country! Or at least the province. So he’s going to be going off that, cold turkey (his choice), and they’ll try him with another painkiller that’s just one step below morphine, when he gets his next bubble pack refills. Hopefully, it will do the job. With his pain levels, that’s just no way to live. He also asked about switching from a CPAP to a BiPAP. His CPAP is getting old and, for some reason, he’s having trouble getting his replacement hoses, etc. Some issue with his prescription. The machine itself is overdue for replacement. BiPAPs, however, are covered in this province, and would be better than a CPAP, anyhow. To get a prescription for one of those, though, he’ll have to get another sleep test done. His new doctor is going to arrange that.
In other things, when I did the morning rounds, I found the cat with the messed up eye, all curled up in a cat bed under the heat lamp! I was happy to see him. Judging from how he’s moving around, he may not have full vision in either eye. Or he might be sick. Not in any obvious way, other than the slow movement. Hopefully, he’ll stay close to the safety of the sun room. In total, I counted 30 yard cats this morning, including Sad Face.
Once all the morning stuff was done, I was off to Costco. My first stop was actually a gas station along the way, as the tank was just below half, and I try to never let the tank go below half. I put in only $30, as the price is $1.409/L there. In the city, most places are $1.399/L When I filled at Costco, it was $1.339/L, and cost me $62.75 to fill the tank, so total for gas today was $92.75
Then there was the Costco total.
This is a total $550.91
And we’re going to need to do another shopping trip, because I didn’t get everything on my list! That will be after we get the plumbing problems fixed.
I remembered to have the cat supplies on a separate bill.
Since I got 6 bags of kibble a couple of days ago, I got only 4 of the 9kg bags today. I also got two cases of canned cat food, plus another box of puppy pads.
I just got distracted while writing this, by a ruckus. Susan is on the cat shelf at the window, frantically chasing her own tail.
She caught it, too. Repeatedly!
But I digress!
Cat supplies alone totaled $232.66 for this trip. The dry kibble is probably a couple of bags short to last us the month, but at least we’re set for a few weeks.
Then it was stuff for us.
We got the big Kirkland brand package of toilet paper, and I got two double flats of eggs – 10 dozen in total. We’ll be boiling some for Easter, to go with the ones that are pickling in the fridge right now, but mostly these are just for normal eating. I got 5 pounds of butter – they had salted butter in stock this time! – canned chicken, their big Kirkland brand jar of mayonnaise, frozen perogies, basmati rice, and salad mixes. The salad mixes come in two packs, and I got two of those in two varieties, because they’re about half the price as at regular grocery stores! I got a larger container of whole peppercorns, a block of Old cheddar cheese, cream cheese, a couple of 2 packs of rye bread, 4 packages of tortilla wraps and a large jug of laundry detergent. Oh, and two hot rotisserie chickens, one of which is for supper today.
And there we have it. Our second stock up shopping trip for April. Add in the gas, and the grand total for today was $643.66 A couple of days ago, we spent $623.68, plus $30 in gas. Between the two trips, it’s a total of $1297.34 in supplies and gas for April, and we still didn’t get everything we’ll need for stocking up. That doesn’t even count the fresh stuff we’ll be getting as we need them, locally throughout the month!
Ouch.
Thank God for my husband’s private health insurance! If he had only his CPP Disability, there’d be barely over $100 left for the rest of the month. If you’re fortunate enough to have a job with a good health plan, please make sure you’ve got the best possible option for disability coverage! Hopefully, you’d never need it, but things can change in a heartbeat.
Once again, I digress!
We are not getting a lot for our money, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile, on April 1, the new carbon tax kicks in, so we can expect prices for everything to be quite a bit higher, by the time we do our next trip.
The only thing we have left that we need for our Easter basket is a special loaf of bread. I could have picked up some babka, which would be traditional, and they did have some. Huge ones in two packs. Too big and too much for our needs. So instead, I’ll be baking bread for the basket, tomorrow.
I’m quite looking forward to putting our basket together. It’s always been one of my favourite traditions. 😊
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 