Joys For Week 2

This week, as all weeks are, was filled with joyous moments. I post these and save them till the end of the year when they will be re-read, and I will hopefully feel the joys all over again.                                         

    And now following this banner week, please indulge me with this moment of obnoxiousness! 

Friday: The days are much the same, with the exception of having Son3 and DIL3 here. We had decided on having take out for dinner, cause I was still missing our usual (pre-covid) date night. We ate out every single Friday night, and now, if I remember it is Friday, I still pine for it.

After we had ordered, Son2 and DIL2 called to say they were on their way so they ate with us then brought out some games. We played Ticket to Ride and Joe Name-It. There was a ton of intense competition and a lot of laughs.

Saturday: DIL3 sewed most of the day. I admire her ability to find a solution to any issue that arises. TheHub and I had to conduct a little unexpected business, then we drove to the Peanut Depot. It is a small place on an old cobblestone street which sells nothing but peanuts, roasted and boiled. It's been in operation since 1907 in the same place, but the owners and name have changed. Too bad! To me it will always be Peanut Depot. We walked out with roasted peanuts, Cajun peanuts and a carton of boiled peanuts.  Delicious!

Later I met a roofer at Mom's so he could take a look and see if anything needed repairing before we list the house. A couple of small repairs is all it needs! Extreme joy!

 Sunday: I overslept and missed our church service, bummer but was able to watch it later. Technology is a wonderful thing. Later Son2 and DIL2 came over for a bit. Love having them here! BTW we all wear masks and have 

Monday: DIL3 and I went to Aldi to grab some things that we needed for our football meal. Son2, Dil2, and granddad Shelby, came over to eat and watch the College Football Championship game. I know some of you who watch college football are sick and tired of Alabama winning. We are not! Roll Tide Roll! 

Bonus points to DIL3 who knows nothing about college football, yet she watched the entire thing, asked questions to try and understand the game a bit, and cheered with the rest of us!

Tuesday: Mom had a word she used to describe a gloomy gruesome day. She would call it gloosome and to her it was a day meant to be at home doing nothing but looking out the windows, having a fire, something hot to drink, and some hand work (knitting, needlepoint, or mending). My beloved sister called me early in the morning and said it was a "gloosome" day which made us both start laughing. The joy for the day was having a "gloosome" day at home (I did not have anything pressing to do) and having some laughs with my sister.

Wednesday: The day was really cold (for us) which caused me to change some plans. I intended to cook tuna steaks on the grill, but I do not cook outside  when it is cold. I was just going to broil them when Son3 volunteered to man the grill, because we all know tuna cooked on the grill tastes better than tuna cooked under the broiler. They were perfect! Fortunately, we like them on the rare side so  4 minutes was all it took. My joy was being able to eat delicious food without being the one to freeze while cooking it.

Thursday: I was very lucky to get the first round of the covid vaccine. . Whoever thought getting a shot would be so joyful!

I hope you all have a joy filled week. If you just look for joy you are guaranteed to find it in the most unusual places>

Meal Plan Phooey!

At the beginning of the week this is what I thought might happen

1. Stuffed baked potatoes with various veggie toppings, coleslaw

2. DIL3 plans to make a Swedish meal

3. Steak, baked potato. salad

4. Roast chicken, dressing, green beans, tossed salad

5. Sloppy Joe's, coleslaw

6. Coconut Soup

7. Take Out

Yeah, it didn't! This happened instead!

Monday: Dil3 had to fly back to NYC for a quick visit to have her Green Card Biometrics appointment. (fingerprints and a photo) I had a small lamb roast I had bought and was about to put in the the freezer when I remembered she does not like lamb and would not be here for dinner. (Son3 loves lamb)

Lamb roast, brown rice, salad.

Tuesday: I had decided to make something in the crock pot that would hold until DIL3's flight got arrived. I knew at least TheHub and I would go ahead and eat, but I figured Son3 would probably wait for her. Then I completely forgot to take anything out of the freezer to put in the crock pot. I am very thankful I always keep packages of browned ground chuck in the freezer. It makes quick cooking possible!

Sloppy Joe's on brioche buns, coleslaw

Wednesday: In an attempt to have some traditional southern foods I decided we would have an almost Thanksgiving dinner. Never mind that the dressing was from the frozen section at The Pig. It really is almost as good as mine and infinitely easier.

Chicken (not turkey) and dressing with gravy, broccoli

Thursday; Once again the day got away from me while I was doing little to nothing. I could be whiny about cooking, but I am doing such a poor job of it that I feel like I have no whine platform available to me at this time..

Sautéed peppers. onions, tomatoes and sausage over couscous.

Friday: There is no reason why, but it was Friday and I decided I was not going to cook. We had already ordered when Son2 and DIl2 said they were coming over and would eat with us. Fortunately we had ordered ziti for 2 from Costa's. We knew it would be plenty for 4 but in reality it was more than enough for 6. I even had to insist they eat a little more just to get rid of it all.

Baked ziti, tossed salad, bread sticks, red velvet cake, salted caramel cake (cakes from Publix bakery)

Saturday: We decided to do take out one more night because nothing sounded really good except___

Pizza

Sunday: I was busy gathering up the fragments of dinners past so I made 2 pots of soup which I intended to have for dinner. (Garbage soup, made from bits of this and that, and coconut soup using the remaining chicken from Wednesday's meal ) They smelled so good though that both were hit for lunch. In the process of cleaning out I took a container of left over pot roast from the freezer and it became the headliner in our dinner.

Beef Stoup (Thicker than soup but not quite stew) coleslaw, pickles (pickled radishes, okra, green beans, and regular dills)

Now on to the new week

1 Smoked chicken wings, baked beans, coleslaw

2 Chili, cornbread, crudité

3 Mac and cheese, peas and coleslaw

4 Grilled fish, green beans, baked potatoes, rolls

5. Take out

6 Steak, baked potato, salad

7 Soup and sandwich 

As usual this is completely subject to whim and mood!

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

The Joys Continue

I got to spend some time on New Year's Eve re-reading a years worth of joyful things. There were some laughs, some smiles, some tears, and immense joy recounting the joys from every single day for a year. So naturally I am going to do the same this year.

The year that shall never be mentioned by name again began on a Wednesday, so my list of daily joys because a Wednesday to Wednesday thing. Officially my weekly joy list is now moving to Friday. .2021 began then, thanks to a leap year, and since Covid is being blamed for everything else in the world I am blaming it for the 2 day difference also.  So for this post only I am adding the last 2 days of the Voldemort year and starting the weekly joy countdown beginning Friday. And now I will begin to recap the daily joys as we all move onward toward 2022

 Wednesday: The day was gorgeous and was truly like a spring day. My neighbor was taking down his Christmas lights wearing shorts and a tee shirt, while I padded around outside in leggings and flip flops. It was a great day for kids with new bikes!

Thursday: I spent the day  taking most of the decorations down. New Years Eve was only slightly different from those we have had the past few years, except we do usually go out early for dinner. This celebration was more homecentric, with take out food, Prosecco toasts, and ringing in the New Year via television celebrations.

Friday: The few remaining Christmas items were put away and the den was returned to normal by mid-morning. We had a small family celebration not necessarily because it wsa New Year's Day but because the college football semi-finals were played.  Son2 and DIl2 came over to watch the game and then join us for our traditional "lucky" NYD meal., followed by playing a new board game, and then more football. DIL3 was such a good sport because this football thing is literally a foreign concept to her as is welcoming in the New Year watching it.

Saturday: TheHub and I went out to run some errands and to give Son3 and DIl3 some time to themselves.  We like to get out early before the crowds are in stores, get what we need then either get home or ride around a little just to see something different. I really do like my home, but I am so tired of it. I am hopeful that this newest wave of Covid will slow down and (fingers crossed) the vaccine will prove to be helpful and life will regain some semblance of normalcy.

Sunday: I slept late (at least late for me) and woke just in time to stream our church service. Afterward TheHub and I had. lazy sort of breakfast, which set the tome for a mostly lazy day. Lazy days are nice, but since Christmas I have had too many of them!

Monday: I did not have to do anything, so I read, the watched some of the Great British Baking Show while I cleaned out drawers and rearranged my closet. There is a great joy for the technology that allows me to watch/listen to a show while I am in the closet.

Tuesday: We went to Mom's house and sorted through some personal things that we were still unsure about. While there we found another box of photos which caused a lot of laughs. BTW when my beloved sister was in her 20's she was a BABE! If she would not kill me I would share a photo, but I do respect her privacy. We found a picture of her the night she won an ADDY( for producing a PSA) and she was smoking' hot! You will just have to trust me when I tell you she bore a striking resemblance to a young Raquel Welch in that picture.What a joy to go through decades of long past times!

Wednesday: I am one of those people who will drive a car until there is virtually nothing left to drive. My 2004 car was doing fine (not a pretty girl but she was still doing fine) until about a year ago when a semi in front of me on the interstate lost the outer tread of its tire. He rolled on down the road while his outer tire hit my car right in the middle of the front. It did not cause a wreck (thankfully), but did some damage to the undercarriage of the car. It has been a downhill ride ever since.,  I finally decided I was tired of driving while feeling like the front end of the car was going to fall off any minute, in the middle of the street. We did a lot of telephone shopping (dealing) via the phone and the car was set to be delivered to the house on Friday.( Covid has changed so many ways we conduct business.) I knew I had to unload a boatload of things I had brought from Mom's the day before. 

Then all Hell broke loose and I sat and watched things unfurl. After being glued to the TV for a couple of hours I went into my bedroom to compose before cleaning out the car.. When I came out, much to my surprise Son3 and DIL3 had cleaned it out for me.  It was wonderful to be able to find joy!

Thursday; I was overjoyed that the confirmation of electoral votes was completed. We have processes and laws and whether you agree with the outcome of an election or not, really done not matter. The processes must be completed.. I do not discuss politics on social media, nor do I want to be a vehicle for any debate or diatribe, so I ask that any comments left here be non-political in nature. For the first time ever I have turned on comment moderation. 

Have a great week and find joy (and sow peace) wherever you can. It is always out there if you just look for it!

Tuesday 4

I follow Annie at Tuesday 4 who asks questions each week. Sometimes they throw me into thoughts of the past, sometimes the present, and often they make me evaluate future plans, hopes or desires.                  Today's questions hit all three!

Just Wondering

1.   When was the last time you tried something new?:

Yesterday. I started Duolingo. I am trying to learn a bit of Swedish

2.   Who in your family do you compare yourself to?: 

Sometimes I compare myself to my Dad. We are similar personalities, tend to think abstractly about things and are scatterbrained. I think I get my temper from my Mother. I am just not as reactionary as she was.

3.   What lesson in life did you learn the hard way?:

Most of them. I generally learn more from mistakes than from staying on the path.

4.   What can you do today that you weren't able to do before?: 

Skills? Not sure! Due to age I seem to be losing some physical skills. 

I am a much better upholsterer than I used to be.

I could do it before but chose not to always really listen. I do now.

I approach things more methodically than I formerly did.

So come on aboard and play!

Planning and Changing Plans

This was the plan for the week, and like all plans I make, it was a tentative plan:

Taco salad

 Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad

 Heavy appetizers, veggies and dip

 NYD meal: Ham, black eyed peas, collards, cornbread 

 Chicken pot pie, coleslaw

 Pizza, tossed salad

 Smoked sausage, potatoes and kraut

And this is what really happened:

 Monday: I was exceptionally tired probably because I did not go to sleep until 4 and woke at 6:30. I did not feel like doing much in the way of cooking but had some ground beef in the fridge.It was a no brainer type of night

Taco salad (and an aside) My knee was hurting badly Monday night and in the process of cleaning out the medicine cabinet I found an almost full prescription of lightweight pain meds. I thought about popping one of those and then going to bed. Instead I remembered we had egg nog in the fridge, brandy in the bar, and Swedish gingersnaps. A much tastier solution, I had dessert, slept like a baby, and did not have the horrendous dreams Lortab gives me. Egg nog (or brandy) for the win.

Tuesday: Son3 and DIL3 went out to find some salmon . We have a smoker and Son3 could not wait to smoke stuff. While they were out they called to see if I needed anything. I had just taken chicken out of the freezer and realized I had no mixed veggies. They came back with a Costco size bag of them. I have plenty now!

 Chicken pot pie, coleslaw

Wednesday: I love it when I find I am in no way shape or form responsible for a meal.

Smoked salmon with dill sauce, mashed potatoes, tossed salad

Thursday: We did nothing extraordinary Thursday and normally TheHub and I go out for an early NYE dinner. That was off the table so we drove to a nearby restaurant offering easy curb service for take out food.

Assorted Mexican fare, decadent champagne truffles (DIL3 made them) Plus late night champagne.

Friday: New Years Day was filled with family and ball games., We noshed on heavy apps for lunch and watched Bama play ball. Roll Tide, they won which made it more fun. (Though win, lose ,or draw we are still Alabama fans) Son2 and DIL2 came over to watch with us. After the game we ate our traditional NYD meal, played Mind The Gap, then watched the second half of the Ohio State/Clemson game. 

Ham, black eyed peas, collards, cornbread, truffles

Saturday:TheHub and I ran a few errands early in the morning, then came home to watch even more ballgames. I honestly do not even remember who was playing but we watched (or pretended to be watching white reading, or made a really cool guitar case. DIL3 agrees with me that Mom's sewing machine is some sort of dream machine.) Midway through games, sewing, and/or reading Son3 and DIL3 came over for a visit, Even though I made enough they let right before dinner time. Leftovers for lunch!

 Spaghetti with meat sauce, crescent rolls, tossed salad

Sunday: We had a lot of leftover salmon and I had bought a 10 pound bag potatoes right before Christmas, so dinner virtually planned itself.

Smoked salmon, potato soup

And this is what might happen this week:

1. Stuffed baked potatoes with various veggie toppings, coleslaw

2. DIL3 plans to make a Swedish meal

3. Steak, baked potato. salad

4. Roast chicken, dressing, green beans, tossed salad

5. Sloppy Joe's, coleslaw

6. Coconut Soup

7. Take Out

Have a good week staying on plan, veering off plan or with no plan at all!

Finally!

 

For The Last Time This Year

As has been my habit every Wednesday for this past  year, I have been recounting and recording my daily joys. This will be my last Wednesday post, because this year will officially begin on a Friday. So during 2021 my weekly joys will be posted then. Looking back this has been a painful year, but I have managed to find joy every single day, even on the worst days. 

Thursday night I plan on taking an hour or so to myself to re-read all the posts just to try and relive the day to day happiness I found in the middle of a dreadful year. If any of you feel so inclined please join in with your own joy diary next year (which sounds funny since next year is officially in two days)

Wednesday: The biggest joy for the day was having DIL3 and Son3 around the house, talking with them, then watching Christmas Vacation together.

Thursday: I needed a couple of stocking stuffers so I ran out at 8 a.m. to beat the rest of the holiday shoppers. I actually went to two off the beaten path stores with very few customers and was done, home, and having a hot cup of coffee a little bit before 10. The rest of the day was spent mostly leisurely getting ready for Christmas. At 3 we watched a Swedish Walt Disney compilation, which DIL3 has watched every year, while we drank Glogg and feasted on saffron rolls. I loved being able to share her traditions. Later in the evening we were able to participate in Christmas Eve services via live streaming. I was the last one in bed leaving the house clean, the table set and food prepped for an easy Christmas morning.

Friday: TheHub and I woke very early, and for the first time ever had  leisurely cups of coffee and conversations while listening to Christmas music. Later when Son3 and DIl3 woke and came downstairs, The Great Unwrapping began. Afterward my sister and BIL came over for brunch, then we went to Son2 and DIL2's house to give them their presents. They were still in quarantine following 1st degree exposure to covid (fortunately neither of them got it and both tested negative at the end of their time) We put the gifts on their porch then stood outside while they were in the doorway, talked for a few minutes then left.

Saturday: We had nothing to return, no need to go to the grocery store and basically just had a lazy day at home putting up our gifts and enjoying the tree lights. We did go out driving that night to looks at a couple of areas with beautiful outside decorations, then picked up BBQ. DIL3 declared the best part of winter in the south is the availability of delicious, freshly cooked, hickory smoked bbq in the winter. It seems normal to us but was a novelty for her.

Sunday: After streaming church services and a Webex Sunday school class, TheHub and I ran down to the lake place for a couple of hours to check on everything. After we returned our middle son and his beautiful wife were through with their quarantine and came over to visit. We still all wore masks, and only did the elbow bump, but it was wonderful to be able to visit with them. DIL3 made more delicious saffron buns served with coffee this time! Perfect!

Monday: Looking out the kitchen window there is a redbud tree in the back yard. It was covered with finches. Both purple and regulation house finches.  It was quite beautiful to see. 

Tuesday: Tuesday began the defrocking process. I like to start the new year with Christmas gone, however I also tend to alter some it into New Year's decorations. I like the lights and brightness from Christmas to remain without the traditional Christmas look. It is a process, but it is something I like to do. 

We also played a new to us board game "Mind the Gap". It was a lot of fun with a lot of laughs. 

I can't believe I only have two more days to find joy this year. I am so ready to turn the page from this unusual (not necessarily in a good way) year. I know magic is not going to happen, and when the clock strikes midnight everything will become all goodness and light, but I am hopeful that before the new year is up we have transitioned into a friendlier year. 

I hope you find joy daily and peace through the new year!