Gotta Get Going

The week came and went with little fanfare, which is OK with me. This week has several things planned, plus I have to finish getting the house company clean. It means I will have little time to respond to your blogs, even though I will be reading them, most likely in bed on the tablet.

Now I need to get off the computer, get my rear in gear, stop monkeying around, and get busy.

1. Corned beef and cabbage

2. Hot dogs, coleslaw, corn on the cob

3. Chicken fried rice, shishito peppers

4. Beef stew with traditional stew vegetables + green beans, tossed salad or coleslaw

5. Grilled salmon,  dilled potatoes, tossed salad

6. Meatloaf squash casserole, brussels sprouts

7. Out to eat

Monday joy: This was a stay at home type of day. I try to not schedule things on Mondays, and at the very least on Monday mornings. There is something that is very satisfying mentally if I can ease into the week. 

An overabundance of tomatoes called to me, so I was stewing them before my first cup of coffee.

Early in the afternoon I had a phone call from Son2 asking if I would be home for a while. He was on our side of town and had a couple of hours between appointments, so he came here and we visited over coffee and snacks and that was a real joy.

Monday dinner: This was a planned meal using a Trader Joe's frozen food purchase.

Chicken fried rice, shishito peppers

Tuesday joy: This was the last day of the Aldi ad featuring the baking supplies, so I went and stocked up (most likely overstocked) on them. I do not usually look through the Aldi Aisle of Shame, but I did and found a set of Christmas flannel sheets that jumped into my buggy (cart or trolley if you are not from the south). The sheet set decided Pip needed Christmas cheer for her bad here.

Once I got home and put things away and the sheets in the wash, it was time to tend to another pot of stewed tomatoes. 

We are getting between 10 and 25 a day and  other than us eating one every day, the only thing for me to do  is stew them, make sauce, or make tomato paste. Tuesday I decided was a tomato sauce day, so they cooked for quite a while.

About the time the tomatoes were done, TheHub asked if I wanted to go to trivia, so off we went.

Tuesday dinner: Going to trivia meant no cooking for me.

Gyro, coleslaw

Wednesday joy: I had class, then I came home to process another pot of tomatoes. 

I am in countdown until the family comes in for Thanksgiving and would like for things to be very nice for them. When I was cleaning out some of the laundry room, I found a charging station I had no idea we even owned. I thought it might serve its best purpose in the guest room since Son1's family comes with a lot of devices.

We had plans for the night (casual dress) and I did not want to change clothes from what I wore to class, so I decided I really just needed to read. Notice how easily I can justify reading time.

Wednesday dinner: We had made plans to meet Son2 and DIL2 for dinner. Half Shell Oyster House in Trussville is a place we meet them often.

Crab claws, garden salad, okra (and whatever they ate)

Thursday joy: IP is my happy place and I was able to go with My Beloved Sister. Truly, nothing gives me as much joy as being around the participants. I think they liked making peanut butter pie too! It was another day of unanimous thumbs up.

Once home there was another pot of tomatoes to process.

Thursday dinner: This dinner was about as easy to make as any I have done. It was a thaw, heat and add a veggie  kind of night

Corned beef and cabbage

Friday joy: I had planned on having a stay at home and get things done day, but TheHub wanted to go out to eat. We left early in time for him to run a quick errand before we went to a small meat and three for a veggie lunch. The diner was in the strip next door to Aldi, so while we were out anyway, I was able to cherry pick the new ads. 

When we made it back to the house I headed upstairs and get some much needed things done to the rooms there, including changing over some of my clothes. From what I understand we will be getting some cooler weather toward the end of the week, so it was goodbye shorts and tees and hello pants and sweaters.

Friday dinner: I had planned to use some of the leftover roast for dinner one night and to use a ton of the fresh produce I had in the crisper. I also had a small bag of cooked green beans in the freezer to add to the pot.

Stew (loaded with a ton of vegetables)

Saturday joy: What is better than waking after a good nights sleep than having no where to go and a pot of hot coffee? In my world there is not a better way to greet the day. 

As we normally do during football season, we started watching College Game Day on ESPN before tuning in to the actual games.  TheAuburn game was on, but I listened to it more than I watched it. I was able to get the dining room spiffed up and decorated for Thanksgiving and get the interior windows, and all the doors (and trust me there are more than a few) of the common areas cleaned.  And of course I managed to start another pot of tomato sauce.

Next up was Alabama/Mercer. Bama won and Mercer got about $1 million for their defeat. I do not even pretend to understand the economics of televised football other than to know there is a lot of dough in it.

Saturday dinner: This was a planned ball game meal to be eaten at half time of the Tennessee/Georgia game. If nothing else, we are predictable.

Hot dogs, baked beans, coleslaw

Sunday joy: Our church has a new to us 15 minute service. It includes a reading with a little reflection on the reading followed by communion.We both really did enjoy it and decided we will start going to it as often as we can.

Once it was over we had a few minutes for socializing before our traditional church service started. 

We came home , had lunch, then both  had some clerical work we needed to do to organize for the coming week. 

That done we did a few chores (no tomatoes were cooked!!!) 

With this eternal darkness that I am struggling through, we are eating dinner obscenely early. The flip side is we had eaten and the kitchen was cleaned well before Yellowstone came on.

Sunday dinner: This was another freezer inspired meal

Grilled salmon filets, tossed salad, dinner rolls or toast

Possible meals for the week (Still in freezer foods first mode)

1. Grilled tuna steaks, tossed salad, baked potato

2. Chicken enchilada soup, tortillas, tossed salad

3. Meatloaf, squash casserole, brussels sprouts

4. Out to eat

5. Crack chicken, coleslaw, rice

6. Vegetable beef soup, cornbread

7. Sandwiches TBD

Used from the freezer:

2/3 TJ's chicken fried rice package

Part of a cooked corned beef brisket (there is enough left over for 2 lunch meals)

2 s/f popsicles

1 small pack frozen green beans

1 blueberry muffin (not good tossed the other 3)

2 keto hot dog buns (whoo hoo, last of the pack)

3 small salmon filets

Added to the freezer:

5 bags processed tomatoes

Books read in November:

What Have You Done?

The Goddess of Warsaw

American South (Cookbook I bought that has stories about the cooks and recipes )

 

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all!

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

Cool Yet Tragically Unhip

This was a mostly low key week. I need a couple more of them to get things ready for Thanksgiving. November is generally a low social activity month for us with the exception of a play and Thanksgiving. I honestly like it that way, because December can be harried.

Did I mention how much I hate the time change! Nights last forever!

As part of my holiday prep I decided I needed to defrost the freezer, and that decision changed my last week's meal plan a good bit. Additionally it took over this week's menu, as well as many in the upcoming weeks.

Meals may not be exactly what we want, but it should be a challenge that might be interesting at least. We have always decided what we feel like eating on any given week rather than rely on what we have at the house. We are just going to have to see dinners in a different light.

Monday joy: I was able to stay home all day long and loved it. There are days I just want to  throw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, pull my hair back, and get some things done. (Even though I did not do as much  as I should have)

Monday dinner: I had previously made enough spaghetti sauce and frozen it in containers for 2 different dinners. Nothing like having an almost thaw and heat meal

Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad, dinner rolls

Tuesday joy: I was able to vote easily. 

After voting we stopped by ThePig to pick up a couple of items and to grab the weekly free item. This week it was a bag of croutons, which we do not eat, but it will be a great thing to have while the family is in town for Thanksgiving.

I also got to speak via phone to all 3 sons. It is unusual to do that except on my birthday or Mother's Day. Don't misunderstand me, I do talk to all of them regularly, but all three is one day does not usually happen.

Tuesday dinner: We used our monthly minimum to purchase an offered takeout meal. It was enough for dinner with sides left over for an additional meal, plus TheHub still had my slice of cheesecake to eat another night.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, tossed salad, cheesecake

Wednesday joy: I was supposed to go to my Wednesday class, but had stayed up until 3:45 waiting on the election to be called. They outlasted me and I was unable to keep my eyes open any longer. At 7:00 I woke and made the decision to skip class. I was tired but figured I would just spend the morning with my best friend ___caffeine. 

I am so glad I didn't go because DIL2 called to let me know the number of participants from Independence Place who would be there that afternoon.  What? I had not put it in my calendar and if it is not written there, it does not exist in my world. How could I possibly forget to about going to my happy place?

At least I had a little time to scrounge around and figure out what to do. This is why I keep a well stocked kitchen. (OK not really, I am a little bit of a food hoarder and I have no idea why) I was able to pull all the ingredients for individual cheesecake mousse cups, including the cups to serve it in, and the necessary fixings for a graham cracker base.

I have learned that I need to have enough steps in every recipe for each participant to be able to have a hand in the process. This worked perfectly with all 16 having a specific chore, even if it did mean cutting the cream cheese into 4 blocks for 4 different people to add and mix. It really is critical for each of them to feel like they are a major part of it. 

Once they finished eating what they made I always ask if the final product was a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs sideways (neutral). 

There is always someone who doesn't like something, but this time 👍 was unanimous. Even "T", whom My Beloved Sister and I refer to as Eeyore, liked everything about it, which was a first!. Every other time there was at least one thing to complain about.

Thanks to hands free phone options, I was able to have a call with Sluggy and Mr. Sluggy on the drive home. Laughing is good for the soul.

Wednesday dinner: Monday afternoon I had cleaned and organized my "Stash" which is non-perishable food items that I store in my laundry room, because my pantry is always at full capacity. It means checking the dates on the cans (which I truly believe is just a suggestion and has nothing to do with the quality of the food inside) and rotating them so the nearest expiration dates will be used first. 

I found a can of pumpkin puree (I had no idea it was even in there) that was past its "best by" date by 3 years (if you will notice most cans are not labeled "expiration"). I pulled it out as a "use immediately" item. I opened the can and it looked and smelled no different than one I had bought and used recently, so it became part of our supper. 

(Plus I do not mind living life on the edge, but please do not tell TheHub. He is an extreme rule follower and even though he has been eating what I cook for decades and lived in spite of my disregard for the dates, it would freak him out.)

Pumpkin sausage chowder*, dinner rolls

Thursday joy: Our tomatoes are still producing like gangbusters and every day I am getting 4 or 5. For the past several days, I cooked them into either thick sauce or cooked them down even more to a paste consistency to be frozen for future meals. Today was no exception and I put them on before I was having my first cup of coffee.

Then it was off to tackle the laundry room. TheHub promised me he would help me defrost the freezer, so I needed everything to be ready for said chore. It is a cold messy job, but with four hands rather than just mine, the process should go much faster.

Thursday dinner: I had too many leftover items so we had a smorgasbord of sorts.

Conecuh sausage, mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sliced tomatoes 

Friday joy: This was not terribly joyful other than the joy that it was over and I don't have to think about it for another 6 months. I have a fairly large upright freezer that was filled to the gills, but so much frost had accumulated that it was hard to move things to find what I needed/wanted. 

When that happens, the only thing to do is defrost the dang thing.  I always dread doing it because no matter what, at the end I am a freezing cold damp mess.

TheHub was here and I had guilted him into helping, which he did.  And I truly do thank him for lugging the large pot of steaming water to the freezer, then taking it out and dumping it x 4. I normally have to do it all and it does take longer when you are doing everything. Then he did hold the hairdryer while I scraped the buildup. I am fairly certain if I had kept it all I could have built a very tiny snowman. 

However, once it was defrosted I had the honor of cleaning the insides, wiping each item that was going back in and reorganizing.  And anyone who messes with that organization will meet  the wrath of Anne.

One upside was finding several single serving frozen leftovers that I placed in a separate plastic bin for grab, thaw, and warm lunches. TheHub was not too sad I also found an apple strudel that needed to be cooked right away.

An aside: I am pretty sure we could eat for 3 months buying only produce and milk, and if I buy anymore Conecuh sausage before the first of the year I need to have my head examined!

Friday dinner: So of course after cleaning out the freezer and seeing such an overabundance of food available without leaving the house, we did take out from Zaxby's.

Chicken tenders, coleslaw

Saturday joy: It was ball game day and our plans were to stay at home, watch games, and do some chores whenever the games were boring or in between them. We pretty much accomplished our goals. 

Bama beat LSU which I was not expecting, but was happy with the outcome.

Saturday dinner: We needed a quick meal that we could scarf down between football games

Grilled tuna steaks, baked potato, tossed salad

Sunday joy: We woke and went to church, came home and talked with two of our sons. Of course we/they talked about the ball game.

The day was gloomy and TheHub decided not to hit golf balls. Instead we had a leftover soup lunch and a catnap. I am not one of those people who can actually get in or on the bed during the day, but I can curl up on the loveseat in the most uncomfortable position known to man for a 20 minute snooze.

Sunday dinner: The roast had thawed and needed to be cooked. It was delicious but we have tons of leftovers.

Rump roast, potatoes, carrots, onions, tomato slices, cucumber slices, dinner rolls

Menu plan for the week (based of things I had forgotten were in the freezer)**

1. Corned beef^ and cabbage

2. Hot dogs^, coleslaw, corn on the cob^

3. Chicken fried rice^ shishito peppers

4. Beef stew with traditional stew vegetables + green beans***^, tossed salad or coleslaw

5. Grilled salmon^,  dilled potatoes, tossed salad

6. Meatloaf^ squash casserole, brussels sprouts

7. Out to eat

Used from the freezer:

1 pack spaghetti sauce - dinner

2 keto hot dog buns (not particularly good, but they were eaten anyway - lunch

1 bag riced cauliflower - dinner

1 pack Conecuh sausage ( 4 pound pack separated into meal size portions ) - dinner

2 tuna steaks - dinner

3.5 lb rump roast - dinner

2 s/f popsicles (had no idea they were even in the freezer, purchased by TheHub who had forgotten them) - snacks

4 keto "cornbread" mini muffins - lunch

Added to the freezer:

Leftover cooked roast for beef tips and rice some other week

2 strip steaks (too good of a deal to pass up)

1 lb Italian sausage  "

Books read in November

What Have You Done?

The Goddess of Warsaw

 

*This was delicious

** All I really need to buy for the week is cabbage, lettuce, and possibly a cucumber or two. Unfortunately Aldi has their Holiday baking supplies on sale so, most likely, I will succumb before Wednesday. But at least there will be no freezer purchases.

***Odd stew ingredient, but it will get rid of one small pack of cooked green beans, and the extra vegetable surely won't hurt us.

^ Found in the freezer when defrosting

The Countdown Begins

This past week was filled with some comings and goings, a holiday, and lots of eating out. This one should be different. 

I am in panic mode because Thanksgiving will be here before I know what is happening and we are having the Portland crew for the week along with the Nashville ones for at least part of the week. I am excited they are coming, but need to get a lot done to the house before they arrive.

Because housework is not my superpower, this week should find me scurrying doing those one off chores that need to be done before they get here, as well as getting everything else neat and tidy.

What was planned for last week

out to eat (anniversary celebration)

out to eat (fundraiser dinner for The Parkinson's Association)

Hot dogs and baked beans (We eat this every Halloween ) 

Roast, baked potato, tossed salad, green beans

Soup TBD

Take out (have a minimum $ food purchase to use before the 31st)

Bulgogi chicken, rice, shishito peppers, asian slaw

vs

What actually happened:

Monday joy: I loved this day. When I was having coffee and looking out the bay window  where my kitchen table sits, I noticed the leaves of the redbud trees were almost completely lemon yellow. They are always the first trees in the yard to turn, and the morning sun makes them so much prettier.

A little before noon I was able to go to my happy place with My Beloved Sister. I know I have said repeatedly how much I love going to Independence Place, but I cannot say often enough how much joy I find interacting with the participants. They are some of my most favorite people to be around.

After I came home I had a couple of quick errands to do before getting ready to go out for our anniversary celebration.

Monday dinner: We had reservations for Blueprint on 3rd for our anniversary meal.  Prior to covid we had eaten at Highland's Bar and Grill every year. Since they never reopened, each year we have tried somewhere we have never been before. Blueprint has been open for quite a few years, but was never on our radar. 

My first impression was about the noise level, and I told TheHub unless it was delicious I did not have to ever return, We will definitely go back!

Cornbread, smoked stuffed quail (both of these were shared apps), scallops grits, greens, or trout cauliflower and brussels sprouts, peanut butter fudge pie ( shared dessert).

Tuesday joy: I was home all day, thankfully. Reading and laundry (lots of laundry) were my go to's of the day.

Looking out the bay window I noticed the beautiful redbud leaves had begun to fall.  

Tuesday dinner: We had a minimum* that had to be used for food by the 31st. Since we only had one night without plans, this was it,'

Chicken alfredo, cobb salad

Wednesday joy: The redbud trees have lost about half of their leaves, and when the wind was blowing it looked like lemon yellow leaf rain.

I decorated the outside of the house for Halloween. Earlier in October TheHub brought 2 giant pots of mums for the front porch. Even though they had the same amount of water and sun, one of the pots bloomed beautifully and the other withered and died. 

I always put plants on both sides of the porch to act as a barrier for the Trick or Treaters. They come in droves and because I have no railing on either side, the plants keep them from venturing too far to the edge and possibly falling off.  

The dead plant was a nice creepy touch.

That night we attended a Parkinson's Association fundraiser where we got to meet a table of folks we had never met before, including one PHD candidate who is researching proteins surrounding brain cells that might lead to the development of Parkinson's. We also shared the table with a physician who is researching the effects of long covid in relation to developing Parkinson's. My dense little punkin head learned a lot.

Wednesday dinner: Most of the time banquet food is pretty unremarkable. This was surprisingly good.

Steak, chicken buerre blanc, mashed potatoes, green beans, spinach salad and a trio of mini desserts.

Thursday joy: Happy Halloween.

The redbud tree only had about 1/4 of the leaves still on the tree, but they were still so pretty.

I finished the laundry then put the finishing decorative touches around the foyer. I always have some lights by the goodie bowl, the monkey butler decorated, and some sort of spooky arrangement on the foyer table.

I thought I would be home all day, but I was wrong. TheHub decided we needed to go out for a vegetable lunch. I went even though I did not really want to mainly because it meant putting on makeup again. The lunch really was good and we did talk a lot while we were there.

Once we were back home I decided I might need a little more candy so I hit the grocery store, then drove around the area looking for the giant skeletons. I have no idea why they gig me so much but they do. One house a couple of block over had everything I could imagine and more. 5 giant skeletons, a skeleton horse with a skeleton headless rider, giant wolfman, giant witch, and hundreds of tombstones and small skeletal animals.**

The night was perfect for the little neighborhood ghosts and gobblins. It was dry and temperate and the 'hood was overflowing with kids and their parents. I knew we had several new families with children move in so I had bought 90 full size Hershey bars. I was understocked. 

At 7:15 I was totally out of candy and quickly took all the decorations down and turned the outside lights, and all lights in the front of the house out.  Next year I guess I need to buy about 120.  I think I should start a Halloween candy bar savings fund!

Later in the night we had some much needed and wanted rain.

Thursday dinner: Each year since our oldest son was 2 we have eaten hot dogs and baked beans for dinner. Now years and years after they were grown, TheHub and I continue to have variations of the same meal.

Chili dogs, coleslaw, baked beans

Friday joy: Got to stay home!  The late night rain knocked almost all the leaves off the tree and left the pool surface covered with wet lemon yellow leaves. 

Almost immediately after the rain the muscadine vine leaves outside the fence began turning They form a privacy barrier and keep up isolated from all the neighbors on that side of the yard. In about a week they will be visible again and our house will be visible to them. I much prefer the privacy.

Friday dinner: I had remembered to take chicken out of the freezer to thaw, so I actually cooked a real dinner for the first time during the week (I don't count the hot dog dinner as cooking a real meal)

Bulgogi chicken, rice, green beans

Saturday joy: We had to be up and out of the house by 8:30 to make a short roadtrip for my aunt's funeral. She was the last of either parents siblings still living. My Beloved Sister went with us because, in her words, "Can't find my way out of a paper bag". 

After the service there was a brunch we needed to attend so we could talk a bit more with our cousins. I loved seeing them, just wish it had been under happier circumstances,.

We were home before 2 and started watching football games. One of us (me) might have fallen asleep on the couch.

Saturday dinner: Neither one of us were hungry (Could it have been because of the snacks eaten while watching the games?)

Tomato soup or bowl of coleslaw.

Sunday joy: I was preparing for my least favorite time of the year. I hate the shorter days, especially when it starts getting dark at, or before, 5. I will be unhappy until about the 20th of January when I can visually start seeing the increase in daylight. I am thankful we had up-lights installed in front of the house so it will not look quite as dark when I look out the  windows.

We went to church earlier than normal so we could be present for a small service in the columbarium. This was the church's celebration of all saints day and is a very joy filled occasion to honor everyone niched there. Both Mom and Dad had chosen it for themselves, and it is nice to go and remember them by saying their names out loud. 

Once home it was just a day to do a few things, read a bit, and (ugh) more laundry.

Sunday dinner: Even though darkness came ridiculously early it was still a nice night to fire up the grill.

Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

What might possibly be for dinner this week:

1. Spaghetti, tossed salad, garlic bread

2. Fried rice, shishito peppers

3. Soup TBD

4. Veggie meal TBD

5. Out to eat 

6. Crack chicken, brussels sprouts

7. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, tossed salad

Books read in November

What Have You Done?

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan or with no plan at all.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*We bought one entree to split along with the salad, but still had not met the minimum, so we added a Mediterranean chicken bowl to the order. We wound up having enough food for two dinner meals and 4 lunches.

**Next year I will be sure to take a picture of that yard to share with you. I went back by the house Saturday and they had over half of it taken down and boxed for next year. 

Can You Believe It?

 November is here and I am not ready for it!!!

                                                                     November Boogie

This Week, Hmmmm

The past week took a much different turn than I thought it would. TheHub did not go into the office as much as he has been, and seemed to believe we need to do things in tandem. If he is not going into the office I NEED him to play 18 holes of golf at least 2 times a week and go putt and chip balls every other weekday. 

I know we will adjust and find a new normal, but this past week just about drove me crazy. I am thrilled he likes me enough to want to do things with me, but I don't need someone with me everywhere I go. I need to be able to go to the grocery store at my own pace and buy whatever I want to buy without input or clock watching.

In my delusional state what I thought might be a good meal plan

Leftover ziti, tossed salad

Pork chop, green beans, potatoes

Veggie meal

Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

Out to eat

Chicken divan, coleslaw, dinner rolls

Grilled tuna or steak,  tossed salad, baked potato

vs

What really happened:

Monday joy: I was able to stay home all day, just doing regulation house things. There are days I love going nowhere and this was one of them.

Monday dinner: I have an over stuffed freezer which was not being emptied, because of our eating out/ doing take out recently. Since I decided I have to attack the hoard, I pulled out a huge pork chop to thaw. Pork chop in an orange mushroom sauce, baked potato, tossed salad

Tuesday joy: This was a drop dead gorgeous day. I did a lot of reading on the screened porch. As long as I sat there quietly, I was able to see the comings and goings of all the little critters, either flying from place to place (birds obviously) or scampering to and fro (chipmunks and squirrels). While I was outside I also got to watch my backyard nemesis, the stupid groundhog.  

Tuesday dinner: We went to trivia which meant no cooking for me. On the drive there we were treated to a beautiful butterscotch sky. 

Americana salad or flatbread (TheHub)

Wednesday joy: This was another beautiful day. I went to my Wednesday class then out to eat with a couple of friends. After lunch I had a couple of things to pick up from Publix (cherry picking sale items) before heading home.

Wednesday dinner:  We had planned overs, so all I had to do was throw together a tossed salad and dinner was done.

Leftover ziti, tossed salad, garlic bread

Thursday joy: TheHub had a quick meeting for the project he has been working on since his non-retirement retirement. Once it was over he headed home and made plans for us to go out to a late lunch at The Standard (fantastic patty melt) . He declared it was a celebration of the last big work meeting he would ever have. 

Afterward we ran to Trader Joe's. I do not shop at TJ's regularly, but I do like going there at least seasonally and pick up a couple of their frozen foods I keep on hand.

Thursday dinner: We were not really hungry after eating a late lunch .

Tomato soup and crackers

Friday joy: It seems the celebration continued through Friday. TheHub decided he wanted to go out to eat lunch___again, then go with me to Aldi to do a little more grocery store shopping. I do not eat lunch out very often and TheHub has eating lunch out every weekday for the entirety of his work life. I am hopeful this will change shortly, because I do not want to and I am not going to eat out every day.

Also I am not thrilled to have a grocery shopping buddy. I had much rather do it by myself, though I will admit it is nice to have help getting the groceries in the house after shopping and to have an extra set of hands putting things away.

After shopping and running couple of other errands we headed home.

Friday dinner: We ate at a local meat and three and had a veggie lunch. We were not particularly hungry so I grabbed one of the frozen TJ's buys.

Spanakopita, tossed salad

Saturday joys: We woke to a beautiful ball game day. We started with the TV on Game Day, then watched ball games off and on all day while we did small jobs around the house.  It was a nice day and neither of us had to go anywhere.

Saturday dinner:  Watching games means snacking so we were not very hungry for dinner.

Chicken enchilada soup

Sunday joy: We went to church, came home and ate a quick lunch before both of us settled down to some reading time. We did a few things around the house (very few) then TheHub went to hit a few golf balls while I continued to read.

We are kind of late to the party, but we finally started watching "Only Murders in the Building". I think we are really going to enjoy it.

Sunday dinner: I intended to cook a roast but forgot to put it in the oven in time for us to have an early dinner.  Instead I counted on some things I had previously frozen to bail me out for the meal prep.

Egg rolls, rice, tomato slices, cucumber slices, 1/2 tangerine

What's up for this week? 

1. out to eat (anniversary celebration)

2 out to eat (fundraiser dinner for The Parkinson's Association)

3. Hot dogs and baked beans (We have had this every Halloween night since our oldest son was 2

4. Roast, baked potato, tossed salad, green beans

5. Soup TBD

6. Take out (have a minimum to use before the 31st)

7. Bulgogi chicken, rice, shishito peppers, asian slaw

Books read in October:

Bicycles, Bloomers and Great War Rationing Recipes

Gambler Secrets from a Life at Risk

Everything's Fine

You are Here

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan or with no plan at all.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

Life In The Not So Fast Lane

The past week was one of those that had a little going on but not a lot. I am trying to figure out how life is going to be when TheHub quits working entirely.  He seems to still be on his work schedule, even when he is at home. I have had decades of days either with kids around or, once they were all in school, days to myself. I am finding I am more selfish with my alone time than I thought I would be. I need an adjustment to life.

Meals I planned to have (haha)

Out to eat (dinner with friends)

Out to eat (trivia night)

Hamburger patty, saffron rice, green beans

Grilled tuna steak, baked potato, coleslaw

Veggie meal TBD

Eggrolls, rice

Paprika chicken, broccoli, rice

vs.

What we really ate:

Monday: I spent some quality reading time while TheHub did a little more work, though he did actually work from home at least the first part of the day. He left after eating lunch (not sure how I feel about this high noon lunch thing) and I then got some serious uninterrupted reading done. 

Monday dinner: We met 2 couples we have known all of our adult lives for dinner.  One of them we see regularly, but I had lost contact with the other, except for Christmas cards and an occasional phone call. About a week ago I decided I needed to put an end to that and invited both to meet us for dinner at Saltgrass Streak House. I chose it because they had beef, pork, seafood, fish, and chicken on the menu__something for everyone.  I did not necessarily go for the food, but went for the fellowship*. Turns out both were great.

Steaks, salmon, crab cakes, stuffed chicken, tossed salads, baked potatoes, asparagus and  onion rings (I put what everyone ordered instead of just my meal)

Tuesday: I stayed home and worked in the laundry room, pool bath and dressing room. I just have entirely too much stuff, and began some serious decluttering there. 

TheHub was working from the house dealing with some residual tax work from the job he retired from. I do have his word that this will not happen again. Do I believe it???

Tuesday dinner: We had intended to go to trivia, which would mean no cooking, but his work ran late, so dinner had to be made at home. Luckily we had some leftovers and other things on hand that I could easily throw a quick meal together.

Leftover lady peas, corn on the cob, coleslaw, sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, cinnamon rolls (I figured he needed a little treat after the really difficult day)

Wednesday joy: I went to class but when I got out it was too beautiful to just go home. Instead I called Sluggy, stopped at Starbucks to get my semi annual caramel macchiato, then pulled into a parking place by the lake to talk and laugh while I sipped the coffee and watched swans, geese, and ducks. 

Once the coffee was done, but not the conversation (thankful for hands free phone usage) I headed to Aldi to cherry pick them. I did not take Sluggy into the store with me though.

Wednesday dinner: TheHub and I had planned on eating out to celebrate his last day in the office (because retiring in June means working through mid- October, right?). 

Son2 had been working out of town for the past 3 weeks, and we invited DIL2 to join us. Because she needed to go home and take care of their dogs after work, we met her near her house at The Half Shell Oyster House. 

Crab beignets (for the table) pecan crusted snapper, tossed salad, cheese grits

Thursday joy: I was happy to have a day at home when I needed to go nowhere. We had a little cold snap ( meaning our highs were right at 70, but our morning lows were chilly) signaling my need to start the winter wardrobe change over. We do not have enough of a fall or winter to require transitional clothing so my cold weather duds are actually pretty lightweight. 

My day was spent taking clothes upstairs, bringing them down stairs, and sorting through whatever Halloween decorations I want to keep vs. those that are leaving forever. I only decorate for the kids in the neighborhood anyway and most of my interior decor needs to go. I do keep the dining room table seasonally decorated, and will have a modicum of decor in the foyer, but I am over the whole house Halloween fuss.

Thursday dinner: TheHub went into the office for the first time beyond his supposed last day on Wednesday. I was surprised___NOT!  I planned a meal that could be thrown together easily whenever he arrived home. 

Egg rolls,  Japanese steak house salad*

Friday joy: TheHub actually stayed home for the morning, other than  going to work-out. He signed up to work with a trainer and has been going 3 days a week to build strength. I should follow his example, but knowing myself I probably won't. 

He had to run something to a real estate attorney's office midday so we decided I would go with him then we would go out for lunch and run a few errands afterward.

Well the quick stop turned into a little more than a quick stop. Fortunately I took something to read, then had a long phone conversation with one of my cousins.

We did go out to lunch at about 2:30, then after our meal, we decided to just run a couple of the errands we had planned. 

Friday dinner: We had eaten a late lunch and were not hungry at all. Campbells to the rescue!

Tomato soup

Saturday joy: Our plan was to stay home, watch football games, and do a few chores around the house. We had success staying on plan, unlike every single team I was rooting for during the day/night. Roll Tide, even though they lost.

I was in the mood to bake and remembered something Mom made nearly every fall.  I decided I would do the same. I am thankful I have her old recipe box with the frosting recipe in it.

Saturday dinner:  We were not particularly hungry again, and knew we would have a piece of the cake I had baked, so our meal was fairly light.

Vegetarian vegetable soup, spice cake with cooked caramel frosting

Sunday joy: Though TheHub's birthday was Monday, we put off celebrating it until Sunday so DIL2 and Son2 could join us. We have had enough birthdays that worrying about celebrating on the actual day is off the table. What could be better than having them here to join us anyway? Well, other than having the rest of the family here, but their locations make that impossible.

Sunday dinner: We chose bringing food in rather than me cooking. Yea!! I was not going to complain about that. We had enough leftover to send DIL2 home with dinner for one night, and we had plenty  for at least one dinner meal and a couple of lunches.

Ziti, tossed salad, garlic bread, birthday cake

Possibilities for the week:

1. Leftover ziti, tossed salad

2. Pork chop, green beans, potatoes

3. Veggie meal

4, Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

5. Out to eat

6. Chicken divan, coleslaw, dinner rolls

7. Grilled tuna or steak,  tossed salad, baked potato

Books read in October:

Bicycles, Bloomers and Great War Rationing Recipes

Gambler Secrets from a Life at Risk

Everything's Fine

Have a great week, staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*We all agreed we need to meet every couple of months for dinner because none of us are getting younger.

** Iceberg lettuce, sliced scallions, grated carrots, and the delicious dressing:

2  T sesame oil

2  T rice vinegar

1  T coconut aminos or soy sauce 

1 T ginger, finely grated

1 T mayonnaise

1/2 T Honey

Things in a Week in a Life

The past week was a pretty low key week, which worked for me. It seems like our week's activities are either feast or famine where one week will be loaded and another will have little planned. To be honest I am kind of happy when the easier weeks follow a packed one. This week my only pressing need was to make tomato paste and freeze overripe bananas because I do not like to waste food. Next I have to figure out what to make from all those bananas.  

Meals originally planned (pffft)

Veggie dinner TBD

Steak, tossed salad, french bread

Bulgogi chicken, rice, mixed green salad

Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad

Out to eat

Big salad meal TBD

Some surprise meal, whatever sounds good, or is left over

vs

Joys and what really happened at dinner:

Monday: Spent most of the day at home, then went with TheHub to do a little running out and about, We had non plans to go to watch the sunset, but a road detour forced us to the road on the bluff.  We pulled into our usual sky view spot and saw the most gorgeous orange ball dropping behind the earth leaving a brilliant pinkish orange sky. I have heard before there are no accidents or mistakes, just unplanned adventures. I think I agree.

We were headed to ThePig  when we were sidetracked by the sun, and continued there to get a couple of things including their  weekly free items. We planned on having a steak for dinner and ThePig is the only place I will buy one. Love their butchers.

Dinner: I had cooked earlier in the day to use the tomato paste I had made from our overly prolific tomatoes.

Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad

Tuesday: The daytime was just a routine stay at home day, with some reading outside enjoying the slightly cooler temperatures. When TheHub came in he wanted to go to trivia. I think I have mentioned before we never play officially because we do not care about winning. Even if we won a gift certificate for beer from a local brewery we would not ever go to Southside just for a beer. We play strictly for the moral victory when we know things, but also understand if the questions have anything to do with current pop culture or music we will be clueless.

Tuesday dinner: Trivia at The Electric means no cooking for me.

Cuban sandwich, coleslaw

Wednesday: I woke very early for me, did some reading then went to my Wednesday class. I had just enough time when I got home to gather the ingredients and equipment I would need to take to IP. My Beloved Sister came over, and we headed across town to see our favorite people. Since we were making rice krispie treats I decided we needed to add a few things to it so more participants could have a hand in the making. I try to have enough steps so that each person can do some part of the recipe. Wednesday has the more folks than any other day, so a couple of them had to be the wait staff, but they even liked being the servers. BTW if you add peanut butter, and mini chocolate chips, you can add more steps to the end result. And as "A" (one of the participants told me) "This is right up my alley" (She loves sugary treats ) 

Wednesday dinner: The night was beautiful and would have been the perfect night for grilling, but TheHub was late getting home so I cooked inside. Thanks  Angie for the inspiration.

Steak, farro kale tomato and herb salad

Thursday: I had a stay at home day and used it to do some decluttering. It was just a drop in the bucket of what I need to get rid of, but at least it was some forward motion. I also had nice phone calls with both Son1 and Son2, along with a catch-up call with my longtime friend "S" whom I have not spoken with in over a year. *

Thursday dinner: I did not feel like really cooking so I cooked the easiest thing I could think of.

Conecuh sausage, sautéed cabbage and onions, sliced tomatoes

Friday: This day was just a normal run of the mill day until early evening. During the day I mostly did more decluttering. I suppose that is what I am calling getting rid of things we have accumulated over our lives together that we no longer need or want. Why we did not get rid of all of it much earlier is the real question. 

Once TheHub got home from work (even though he is retired) I rode with him while he ran a few errands. I was still in cleaning out the house clothes, and was only along for conversation because there was no way I was going in any place looking like I looked. If it were closer to Halloween I suppose I could have told everyoneI was dressed as a haint, and gotten away with it. As it was, I sat in the car while he ran in and out of a couple of places.

Friday dinner: While we were running around, TheHub decided he wanted veggies for dinner, so we stopped by Fried Green Tomatoes to grab a to-go order. 

Pork chop, broccoli and rice, or catfish, lima beans and whatever else TheHub had

Saturday: We started the day running our Saturday errands, and found it was going to be the last week the produce stand would be open until the 3rd week in March. I am glad for them, but hate it for us, but growing seasons are finite here and we are at the end of it. Fortunately my tomatoes are still growing at the house and maybe I will get a few more weeks from them.

We had to be home early to watch Alabama barely squeak by South Carolina. Once that was over we read, did a few chores and mainly watched football the rest of the day. We were even stupid enough to set the tv to multi-view so we could watch 4 games at one time during the 6 pm time slot. 

Saturday dinner: We still had a hankering for veggies and the stop at the produce stand certainly fueled that.

Lady peas, sautéed squash and onions, cucumber slices, tomato slices

Sunday: TheHub worked on our taxes while I did a little bit in the kitchen. Have any of you ever been trying to make something special and every aspect of it except for the taste failed?

TheHub has been craving a Boston Cream Pie (otherwise known as cake). I thought I would be nice and make one for him. When I was spitting the cake it was fine until I was ready to put the top half on top of the pastry cream (which did not thicken as much as it should have) and the top split into 3 pieces. The chocolate glaze ran over the cake top settling into the crevasses caused by the split then pooled around the bottom of the cake plate. Oh well, it tasted great and even if it was a big huge mess TheHub managed to eat 3 servings before he went to bed. I have to call it a serving because there was no way other than the first two cuts anyone could call them slices. In the end his mouth was happy even though it was definitely not eye candy.

Sunday dinner: Earlier in the week I had gathered things from the fridge that were nearing their end, and made a pot of soup. I intended to freeze it once it cooled, but luckily didn't.

Chicken vegetable soup, oyster crackers.

Meals moving forward (maybe)

Out to eat (dinner with friends)

Out to eat (trivia night)

Hamburger patty, saffron rice, green beans

Grilled tuna steak, baked potato, coleslaw

Veggie meal TBD

Eggrolls, rice

Paprika chicken, broccoli, rice

Books read in October:

Bicycles, Bloomers and Great War Rationing Recipes

Gambler Secrets from a Life at Risk

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* We made plans to go out to eat Monday night (which is tonight as I post this)