Wishing I Had Done Better

When I began creating this menu for September I wished and hoped for the best. My intention was to noticeably reduce the foods in the freezer, because soon (again, that wishing and hoping attitude) there will be some stock up sales, and to take advantage of them I need freezer space.  I have to do better for the remaining few days of September, and then will start all over in October! 

1.  Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad (frozen meat sauce) 

2.  Hamburgers with fixings, corn, cream cheese and jalapeño side dish  (frozen patties, frozen veggies) 

 3.  Bbq ribs, caulitato salad, baked beans (Labor Day meal will buy the ribs already cooked)

 4.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 5.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 6.  Hamburgers with fixings (frozen patties)

 7.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck) Turned into a casserole

 8.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck)

 9.  Chopped salad with chicken (frozen cooked and seasoned chicken)

10. Pizza, tossed salad (frozen mini pizza crusts, frozen pepperoni)

11. Grilled chicken, brussels sprouts, garlic bread  (frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

12. Stuffed bell peppers, hash browns, coleslaw, green beans (frozen uncooked ground chuck)

13. Fajita baked chicken (thanks Belinda) (frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

14. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad, (frozen  steak)

15. Garden salad, grilled cheese sandwich (lots of cheeses in the fridge)

16. Buffalo chicken, celery sticks, crudités with dip, fruit (frozen chicken tenders)

17. Butter chicken, rice, green vegetable (frozen boneless skinless thighs)

18. Peruvian chicken, mashed potatoes, green vegetable (Frozen boneless skinless thighs)

19. Cedar planked salmon,  mashed potatoes, some green veggie (frozen salmon) 

20. BLT, cucumber onion and tomato salad (frozen cooked bacon)

21. Grilled lamb chops, rice pilaf, green beans, side salad ( frozen rack of lamb)

22. Lamb leftovers 

23. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes (frozen corned beef)

24. Corned beef leftovers

25. Philly cheesesteak casserole, salad (frozen browned ground chuck)

26. Philly cheesesteak casserole leftovers  I made a small one so no leftovers

27. Soup and cornbread (frozen chicken broth)

 

Monday: For the first Monday in years, I did not have to go to Mom's house to either check on her or the house. To be honest I was a little lost, but did have plenty of time to make one of my favorite entrees.

Peruvian chicken, California vegetable medley 

Tuesday: I was somewhat of a sloth. I looked at the living room/dining room (AKA holding rooms for all the bits and pieces that were just removed from Mom's) and I got overwhelmed, then underwhelmed at the thoughts of sorting through things. Instead I enjoyed a couple of phone calls, because talking was so much better than working.

BLT sandwiches or BLT salad

Wednesday: Do you ever do something incredibly stupid and have no idea how you did it? I had a large corned beef that I put in the crock pot Wednesday morning, then went about with  the things I wanted to do. I was outside for a bit and when I came in I noticed I did not smell the corned beef. I looked at the crock pot, and instead of being on low for 3 hours, it was on warm. I had to turn it up to high and keep my fingers crossed.

 Corned beef, cabbage

Thursday:  I We needed to get out of the house so I had dinner ready as soon as TheHub walked through the door. Whatever I had planned went out the window for something that just needed to be thawed and warmed. I was not about to spend time cooking something we would just gobble down.

Pulled smoked pork, baked beans (leftover), tomato slices, banana peppers, dill pickles

Friday. We had planned on going to a restaurant but it did not work that way.

Purple Onion takeout either gyro plate or gyro salad

Saturday: TheHub and Son went to the ball game; DIL2 came here. We had a girl cookout!

Steak, tossed salad, rolls or toast

Sunday: Oops, I forgot about Sunday!

Fajita Baked Chicken, tossed salad

Used from the freezer:

Package chicken thighs

Package California medley vegetables

2 frozen jalapeños

Frozen cooked bacon

Corned beef brisket

Package pulled smoked pork

Package chicken thighs

Put into the freezer:

2 boxes Keto ice cream bars 

1 box artichoke strudel

1 box spinach feta strudel

Because I did a meal plan for the month, September ends Thursday, and I still have a few meals I did not make, I am not going to put my October meal suggestions on the blog until the 4th.  Maybe I can finish the menu list by the 3rd, or maybe not.  The only change to the remaining meals I know for sure will happen is for today. I have a veggie drawer with squash and okra, so I am cooking a vegetable meal tonight. We are also having houseguests this weekend, so all bets are off then too.

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

The Joy of Being

As usual I am keeping up with the daily joys. So far in 2020 I have done nothing big nor important. I just tend to rock along day to day. I had just begun getting out more and doing a few things when Delta decided to make her appearance.

I am scheduled to get my covid booster on Friday (changed to early next week now) and after a week or two hopefully I can start joining life again. However I will still be masked. Even though our vaccination rate is higher than it was, it is still so much lower than most areas that I will continue to err on the side of caution.  

A couple of movies I really do want to see are out now, so I plan on going to the first movie of the day  since they have very few people anyway. (I was planning on taking a new shower curtain liner  to sit on, but Sluggy suggested I just arm myself with a can of Lysol to spray my seat. Much better and simpler idea!) 

 Friday: The day was filled with wonders and sadness. We closed on Mom's house which was a bittersweet moment. I am so glad we no longer have to take care of it, and the family moving into it is lovely. I hope they have a great life there and enjoy it as much as Mom and Dad did. On the flip side, this was my home from the time I was 12. There are a lot of memories attached to that place.

The actual closing went without a hitch and the buyers agent even gave us a gift of lovely rosemary lavender shortbread cookies. (They were delicious)

After we closed, My Beloved Sister and I went to the bank to deposit the proceeds from the house, then called Son2 to see if he wanted to meet us for lunch. We went after 2 so the lunch crowd would no longer be there and were thrilled to find less than 10 people were in the enormous space. Not only did we celebrate selling the house but MBS and Son2 had not stepped foot inside a restaurant since early March of 2020, so w celebrated a return to life (Cautiously! We would not have gone in if there had been more people inside.)

TheHub came home early and, even though the skies were overcast, we went to our sunset watching place on the bluff. It is a peaceful place to look over the valley even if there is no sunset to watch. We were able to see rain in the distance, which made me a little sad. 

One of my friends, whom I had known since the first grade, died from Covid early Friday morning and the gloom felt a little oppressive. I was about to start crying when the skies in the distance opened and a glorious sunbeam shown through. Lee was a master photographer and loved nothing better than a gorgeous sky or moon photo. He would have loved it!

Saturday: I dipped my toe in the sorting pool of stuff accumulated from Mom's. This is going to be an overwhelming job and will require a couple of road trips to get things to their new homes. At some point and time in the not too distant future, I will be driving to New York and Oregon to take all the treasures each of my sons wants to them.  All this "stuff" is smothering me. 

I have driven from Portland before and it is not a difficult drive, but it is a long one. Since I no longer have to take care of Mom's house or herb business I have the time to make the trip. 

As for driving to NYC, I am pretty sure I will drive close but have Son3 meet me outside of the city so he can do the driving to his place. I can find my way around perfectly fine, but I don't want to drive there. Right now I think my best option for both trips is to rent a van one way, drive out and then fly home, but I can make that decision later.

Saturday was a ball game day, Alabama vs. Florida. Bama won by the skin of their teeth, but I thought Florida looked and played much better. The bright spot was Son2 and DIL2 coming over to watch the game and eat with us. 

Sunday: I began the day with a cup of coffee and conversation with TheHub. He went downstairs to work on taxes while I streamed our church service. We both did our own thing until lunch when we ate and planned our annual budget for our next fiscal year. I do understand things can change on a dime, but a plan helps to accommodate change much better than no plan at all.

Later we watched the first episode of the Ken Burns Mohammed Ali documentary. I highly recommend it.

Monday: Are any of you creatures of habit?  I was out running some errands and passed by Mom's street on the way home. I live just 2 minutes away from the house and pass it each time I go to Publix. Without thinking about it my car turned onto her road. I was at her next door neighbors house when I realized I did not have to check on the house anymore. Hopefully I will get to the point of just glancing at the house occasionally as I drive by.

On a funnier note, TheHub came home from work and found a package addressed to me by the front door. I knew I had not ordered anything, but opened it anyway. Inside was a note from Son3 saying "Happy Buttday" and a rear end shaped planter.  The apple did not fall far from the tree with that kid! 

(I blame the accountant father😏)

Now my only question is, what plant would be most appropriate for this planter?

Monday night we also saw the 2nd episode of "Mohammed Ali"

Tuesday: I would have called it a boring day, but I got to talk to Sluggy and my cousin, which made the day so much better.

That night we watched the 3rd installment of the Mohammed Ali documentary. 

Wednesday: This day was like so many of my days, because I rarely go anywhere anymore, however:

the day was drop dead gorgeous and the temps dropped to a very bearable level. In the evening we drove to the bluff to see the sun set. After we were home and had eaten, we settled in to watch the final episode of Mohammed Ali. Ken Burns makes such great documentaries.

Thursday: My Beloved Sister dropped by and we managed to go through all our Grandmother's photos. There were several very very old photos and we have no clue who is in them, but they are wonderful characters. I am going to take them to a photo shop nearby and see what if anything they can do to enlarge and enhance them. 

My biggest joy of the day was going to Costco with TheHub. While I was there I saw some Christmas dresses for girls. I was able to have a FaceTime conversation in the store with Pip so she could look over the dresses and pick out the one she wanted. Technology will never replace being there is person, but it surely fills the gaps while we are not traveling!

It was another week of mostly small joys, but even a little joy each day is still joyous! Go look for yours!

Talkin' 'bout Thanksgiving

I have mentioned before when I remember it is Tuesday I follow Annie @ Tuesday 4. This week the questions are all about Thanksgiving. As usual her questions give me reason to think and or reminisce.

1.   What is your favorite Thanksgiving show/animated show?

I don't have a favorite show or animated show, but I love the movie "Home For the Holidays" with Holly Hunter and Ann Bancroft. I watch it every year and laugh every time

2.   What is there about Thanksgiving you like the best: 

I am not a big Thanksgiving fan now that I am an adult. My sons live away and it has been a very small celebration lately. 

When I was a kid it was a magical time when the entire tribe gathered at Grandmother's house. I had a ton of first cousins and we kids ate first, probably so we would leave the house and go outside to play. That way the adults could enjoy their meal and visits.  

Last year with Covid so intense, TheHub and I had our own private Thanksgiving.  We watched football, ate, and took naps, so it was a pretty good day! (Even better, I bought our meal prepared by Publix. I will probably do the same this year.)

3.   Favorite Thanksgiving/holiday song?: 

The only Thanksgiving song I ever think about is the old hymn "We Gather Together" 

I think this is a gorgeous version of the song!

4.   If you have an all holiday music radio station when do you start listening to it?:

I only listen to the radio when I am in the car and once they start playing it, I never change the station from Magic 96.5. 

I will let you in on a little secret though, I listen to Christmas music off and on all year. I have 4 Spotify playlists for different types of Christmas music and probably need to add a couple of more lists to divide it a little more, and make it easier for me to find exactly the type of songs I want to listen to.

I love the song "Still, Still, Still" It is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

So if you are so inclined come on and play along!

What's Eatin' Us or What We're Eatin'

I am not doing nearly as well getting rid of/eating the frozen foods as I thought I would. You think it might be because we had take out 2 times last week? Well no matter about why, I have to do better about eating in and using some of the foods I have stashed in the freezer (to make room for more food). 

I need to feed us from the freezer every single night this week! (But in reality, it probably won't happen)

 1.  Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad (frozen meat sauce) 

2.  Hamburgers with fixings, corn, cream cheese and jalapeño side dish  (frozen patties, frozen veggies) 

 3.  Bbq ribs, caulitato salad, baked beans (Labor Day meal will buy the ribs already cooked)

 4.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 5.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 6.  Hamburgers with fixings (frozen patties)

 7.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck) Turned into a casserole 

 8.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck)

 9.  Chopped salad with chicken (frozen cooked and seasoned chicken)

10. Pizza, tossed salad (frozen mini pizza crusts, frozen pepperoni)

11. Grilled chicken, brussels sprouts, garlic bread  (frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

12. Stuffed bell peppers, hash browns, coleslaw, green beans (frozen uncooked ground chuck)

13. Fajita baked chicken (thanks Belinda) (frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

14. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad, (frozen  steak)

15. Garden salad, grilled cheese sandwich (lots of cheeses in the fridge)

16. Buffalo chicken, celery sticks, crudités with dip, fruit (frozen chicken tenders)

17. Butter chicken, rice, green vegetable (frozen boneless skinless thighs)

18. Peruvian chicken, mashed potatoes, green vegetable (Frozen boneless skinless thighs)

19. Cedar planked salmon,  mashed potatoes, some green veggie (frozen salmon) 

20. BLT, cucumber onion and tomato salad (frozen cooked bacon)

21. Grilled lamb chops, rice pilaf, green beans, side salad ( frozen rack of lamb)

22. Lamb leftovers 

23. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes (frozen corned beef)

24. Corned beef leftovers

25. Philly cheesesteak casserole, salad (frozen browned ground chuck)

26. Philly cheesesteak casserole leftovers 

27. Soup and cornbread (frozen chicken broth)

Monday: I had decided Monday would be the night for Peruvian Chicken, but as it turned out I had to slay a few dragons during the day. (Meetings with the attorney for the family trust, the title attorney, and the  banker. If money is only coming in to My Beloved Sister and me, why they hell do I need any sort of documentation from the bank? Nothing is easy, especially when 2 lawyers with vastly different trust interpretations are involved.) By the time I got home the day was mostly gone. I needed something that would defrost quickly.

Grilled chicken tenders, stuffing (found a box in the pantry), tossed salad

Tuesday: This day was almost a carbon copy of Monday with the exception that I was at Moms house early to get some things loaded and out of her house. I understand Shakespeare's disdain for lawyers! Frustration was the name of the day.

Captain D's lobster roll

Wednesday: It was an interesting day. Lots of Dad's scrap wood was picked up by a couple of individuals, we got a few more things moved out of the house and then moved on to a birthday celebration. (Translation:we ordered a meal to go, had a glass of wine and a slice of cake, because we are a wild and crazy couple)

Takeout from Firebirds: Pineapple chicken or sea bass

Thursday: Though we did eat from the pantry the stuff in the freezer was barely touched. 

Kale Alfredo sauce (jarred ) over fettuccine, green beans

Friday: My Beloved Sister and I went out for lunch so I was not hungry at all for dinner.

TheHub had Chinese leftovers from his lunch Thursday, I had ginger ale.

Saturday: Son2 and Dil2 came over to eat, and watch the Alabama game with us.

Burgers and all the fixings, steamed shrimp, baked beans, chips

Sunday: The day was a seriously rainy day. There was no reason to go anywhere so we just hung out doing things around the house.

Taco casserole loaded with veggies

Used from the freezer

1 pack chicken tenders

1 pack green beans

6 burger patties

1 pack cooked ground beef with onions

Ice cream (Though it is not part of food storage I had such a lame freezer week, I included it)

Added to the freezer:

Nothing (big hurrah there)

I guess I will see if I actually cook any of the remaining meals or not. What sounded really good a couple of weeks ago is not as thrilling sounding now.

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

Late Joys for Week 37

As most of you know I keep a list of my daily joys and post them on Fridays. You won't see the reason I was  delayed until next week's post, but trust me. It was a legitimate delay.

This week like all weeks had some wonderful things and some difficult things, but joys abound even if is it just laughing at yourself for some serious faux pas. 

So I am saying "Hello" to week 38 which begins a new chapter of my life, and "Goodbye" to week 37, which closes the door on another.

 Friday: TheHub came home for work a little earlier than normal and we rode around a little bit. He is still not back to his norm, so we just hung around talking, then watching a show.

Saturday: Game day once again. We watched Alabama play Mercer with Son2 and DIL2.  Roll Tide! I loved the quote from Alabama's head coach at the end of the game, referring to their less than stellar performance before meeting Florida next Saturday. "If they don't shake themselves, they're gonna get shook". After the Bama game we watched the Arkansas/ Texas game. I did not see that coming!

Sunday: We streamed our church's service before starting our day. I miss being there live and in person, but I am not ready to return. After the services TheHub and I worked independently around the house before watching The Patriots and Miami play ball. Normally I do not watch NFL games, but Mac and Tua (both former Alabama quarterbacks) faced each other. It was a good game and I had no dog in the hunt, so I did not care who won or lost. They both played well.

Monday: The only joy for the day was that it was finally over. We had to meet with the family trust attorney and the title attorney, followed by a meeting with the banker. Probably the one true bright spot of the day was after the meeting with the title lawyer we were by our church. My Beloved Sister and I went to the columbarium and visited with Mom and Dad. It was very peaceful and not something I do often. 

Tuesday: I met My Beloved Sister at Mom's so we could get the garbage cans on the street before pickup, then we went in the house to start moving some of the few remaining things, before starting round 2 with the trust attorney and the dreaded title attorney. The title attorney is upset because Dad's name is no longer on the trust as a trustee. Kinda hard to be a trustee when you are no longer alive. When we finally got to the title lawyer's office I had to tell him if this did not suit him  he needed to practice his skills raising the dead, because there was nothing left that we could do.

Wednesday: The day began with a little chaos on my part. (Totally self induced humiliation#1) Then I learned a valuable life lesson. When talking with a friend relaying a humiliating event, make sure you are not on speaker phone. It is possible/probable/certain a friend's husband knows much more about me than I would have shared had I known! (Humiliation #2 for the day) He is supposedly sworn to secrecy, which I hope he keeps. I hate to use my powers for anything but good.

Well at least the worst things of the day were out of the way! I managed to get through the rest of the day without further injury to myself or my ego. Happy Birthday to me!

Thursday:  We moved the last bit of Mom's stuff out of her house  and put it mainly in my car, where it still is. We have laughed because as we were loading a small torrent began so we were soaking wet by the time we got it loaded. Then I drove home and the rains began even harder. We figure Mom was having g her last poke at us! Message received, Mom!  I got out of the car and came inside leaving everything in it. If you are already soaked you can get any wetter, but I did not want any additional rain on the paintings . 

All in all it was a good day, m we said our goodbyes to the house and left! 

Look for your daily joy. It is out there  every single day, if you just look for it

Home is Where The Monkey Lives

On Tuesdays, when I actually remember it is Tuesday I follow Annie @Tuesday 4. This weeks questions are all about home. Come on and play along.

1.What makes a house a home? 

Mainly the people in it, though I will have to admit familiar things make my house my home. Sneaky Jorge (the chimpanzee butler) at my front door says home to me along with a few other treasured items. (My piano, my pillows, my favorite knife. . .things that are not easily replaced.)

2. How to you keep your house neat , tidy and clean?  My house has not been neat and tidy in over a year. I am still overwhelmed by things from the lake and also excess from Mom's house. We close on her house Friday and after that I am starting in earnest on mine, including giving away at least 100 things from the house this month.

Do you find it difficult?

I don't find it hard, but I detest housework. There are just so many other things I had rather be doing.

3.Are plants important in your home.. or collections.. or wall art?  I am a serial plant killer without meaning to be. I can keep outdoor plants alive all year, but give me an indoor plant and I am guilty of involuntary herbicide.

I am very picky about what I hang in my house. I love faces and music related art and have it throughout the house. I do have an unintentional monkey collection that I am slowly and surely paring down.

Is there a theme you like to create? 

It is not so much of a theme as it is just things that make me happy and smile.

4.What is a typical day/evening like in your home? 

I am not sure I have a typical day. The past three or four years have been driven by seeing about Mom or taking care of her house. Ask me the week after the house sale closes, then I will have a better idea of what my new normal is.

Our Covid inspired evenings are pretty much the same. We watch either an episode from a series or we watch a movie. Then we read. 

I have found a new guilty pleasure. I have been watching old YouTube videos of What's My Line and I've Got A Secret. I have no idea why or how I stumbled onto them but it is like wandering through a television museum.

That Time I Forgot

Somehow during the monthly freezer meal planning I forgot to plan meals around TheHub's scheduled  surgery. Obviously I knew the procedure was planned and did not forget about it, except for the actual time I was thinking about the meal plan. 

Adjustments were made this week to accommodate him, and since there was no way I would make what he wanted and fix something different for myself, I had a couple of really crappy not what I wanted to eat meals.

 1.  Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad (frozen meat sauce)

 2.  Hamburgers with fixings, corn, cream cheese and jalapeño side dish  (frozen patties, frozen veggies) 

 3.  Bbq ribs, caulitato salad, baked beans (Labor Day meal will buy the ribs already cooked)

 4.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 5.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 6.  Hamburgers with fixings (frozen patties)

 7.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck)

 8.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck)

 9.  Chopped salad with chicken (frozen cooked and seasoned chicken)

10. Pizza, tossed salad (frozen mini pizza crusts, frozen pepperoni)

11. Grilled chicken, brussels sprouts, garlic bread  (frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

12. Stuffed bell peppers, hash browns, coleslaw, green beans (frozen uncooked ground chuck)

13. Fajita baked chicken (thanks Belinda) (frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

14. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad, (frozen  steak)

15. Garden salad, grilled cheese sandwich (lots of cheeses in the fridge)

16. Buffalo chicken, celery sticks, crudités with dip, fruit (frozen chicken tenders)

17. Butter chicken, rice, green vegetable (frozen boneless skinless thighs)

18. Peruvian chicken, mashed potatoes, green vegetable (Frozen boneless skinless thighs)

19. Cedar planked salmon,  mashed potatoes, some green veggie (frozen salmon) 

20. BLT, cucumber onion and tomato salad (frozen cooked bacon)

21. Grilled lamb chops, rice pilaf, green beans, side salad ( frozen rack of lamb)

22. Lamb leftovers 

23. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes (frozen corned beef)

24. Corned beef leftovers

25. Philly cheesesteak casserole, salad (frozen browned ground chuck)

26. Philly cheesesteak casserole leftovers 

27. Soup and cornbread (frozen chicken broth)

Monday: TheHub bought the ribs and I made the rest of the meal. It was a little lackluster, but tasty nonetheless.

BBQ ribs, caulitato salad, baked beans

Tuesday: This was the surgery day and if he had not needed to take the pain meds with food, I am pretty sure TheHub would have slept from the time he got home until the next morning.

Mashed potatoes (it was the only thing he said he felt like eating, so I had them too)

Wednesday: TheHub was still a little off his norm and did not want anything strong tasting, so I went with exactly what he asked for.

Mac and cheese, leftover crowder peas (not good at all)

Thursday:  By Thursday he was feeling better and wanted "real" food. He did pass on the salad, but I am not his momma and he can eat what he wants.

Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad 

Friday: We had a lot of okra from the garden in, and some squash I had cooked for a casserole earlier in the week. Then, of course, the gift that will not quit giving.

Squash casserole, okra, green beans

Saturday: We had a ball game afternoon that turned into a ball game evening. I just did not want to cook and TheHub decided a stuffed poblano sounded good to him.

Take out Mexican

Sunday: TheHub decided he felt normal, so I cooked without asking him at all. (I normally make dinner without his input anyway, but I have been trying to be nice to him as he mends.) I had planned on making a full recipe of this which would leave leftovers for another meal, but I only cooked enough for one meal. Oh well.

Philly cheesesteak casserole

Used from the freezer:

• Spaghetti sauce
• 1 pack of ground chuck

Put into the freezer

• Medium size bag of sliced bell peppers (I had about 15 from the garden)
• 1 small pack of stewed tomatoes (had 3 tomatoes about to become overripe
• Bag of cooked mushrooms in Burgundy sauce (mushrooms were bought on sale, cooked and  individually frozen in 1/2 cup portions then stored in a freezer bag for later)

If I continue like this I am never going to use the contents of the freezer!

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

It's a New Day, It's a New Week

If you read my blog you know I keep a list of daily joys. I will reread all of these on New Year's Eve just to remind myself that there are wonderful things that happen even on the most ordinary day. This week I had some things happen that were thrilling along with some of the little day to day joys.  Every day is a new day waiting for me to find them.

Friday: TheHub actually got home for work early. Whoo hoo! That rarely happens. We decided to run to the fish market and pick up some shrimp for dinner, but in the process passed a newly opened ice cream shop run by the participants of Unless U. 

Unless U is a facility for the educational, social and emotional development of differently abled adults. About a year ago they developed plans for an ice cream shop, which could be run by some of the participants with just a little help from some typically abled adults. 

After we picked up the shrimp we went back to "Scoops" for a delicious buttermilk peach ice cream cone. And what a smart set up they have. They only use credit cards so there is no physical money transactions but they also have the tip as level 1, 2 or 3. Now who is going to go into the store without leaving a level 3 tip? I have no idea how much we actually tipped them, but whatever it was, it is worth every penny to help these folks with their earnings and self esteem. I will be going back. Who doesn't want to try "The Unicorn"?

Later, we watched a movie on Netflix, Midnight Run, with Robert, Deniro, Charles Grodin and Yaphet Kotto. We enjoyed it but it does have some spicy language.

Saturday: We started our drop dead gorgeous Saturday with our usual trip to the produce stand, but then we went rogue and headed to Dunkin' Doughnuts for "coffee." That's my story and I am sticking to it. Afterward we ran by Publix when I got a call that the couple who we really wanted to have Mom's house had increased their offer and added a little perk. They obviously wanted  the house because they said they would beat whatever the highest offer we received was. It is kind of funny since they were the couple we really wanted to have the house from the get-go. 

Later DIL2 and Son2 came to watch the game and eat with us. Roll Tide Roll, Alabama won!

Sunday: I woke and streamed our church service then did some food salvaging (peaches that needed to be frozen, mushrooms the had to be prepped for dehydrating, squash cooked for the upcoming week, and sides for our Labor Day mini celebration.

In the late afternoon I met my cousin's husband at Mom's house. Their daughter decided she wanted the kitchen table and Mom's china cabinet. The table was my grandmother's and is over 100 years old. I am overjoyed KK wanted them. 

Monday: TheHub and I had a relaxed Labor Day. We had intended to go to the zoo or the botanical gardens, but the weather had other ideas. Instead of wandering about looking at animals or flowers we got in the car and just rode around a little while, talking and looking at green stuff while we drove. August and September are usually dry months when things turn brown and crunchy. This year we have had so much rain that everything is still bright green and lush. I hope all this rain will give us some beautiful fall colors. I guess time will tell.

Tuesday: TheHub had to have some minor outpatient surgery so I spent the morning getting our bed linens changed and the room nice and clean, then took him to have his procedure. They are still under Covid protocol so I sat in the car waiting. It was hot and I guess I could have turned the car on and run it, but I could not justify using that much gas just to keep me cool. Instead I opened all the windows and read. Fortunately there we a breeze and every 15 or so minutes I would get out of the car and walk around the parking lot a bit.

The joys were twofold. His procedure was successful, plus I got to laugh at all the things he was saying on the drive home. At the house I fixed him a bowl of ice cream so he would have something on his stomach to take his meds, then watched him sleep until it was time for another round of meds. Lather, rinse and repeat!

Wednesday: I met My Beloved Sister at Mom's so we could start gathering the last few things left in the basement, along with the few items we had used to stage the house. We had left all the garden and yard chemicals, along with many tins and cans of paints, stains and varnishes. Fortunately for us, Saturday is our community hazardous waste recycling day, so we boxed up all of those and I will grab them Saturday morning for disposal. 

Thursday: Thursday was a blissfully boring day. I stayed at home, posted a few things we had at Mom's that we do not want, and fingers crossed, they have been claimed and hopefully will be removed removed this weekend. If not I will have to find others to give them to because we are set to close on the house at the end of next week.

Now go find your own joys! They are out there waiting for you!

Tales From the Freezer

This week I did not do as well managing the freezer surplus as I had hoped. I blame ThePig and Aldi. 

I went to ThePig Tuesday afternoon with a short list of things I needed, to spend just enough to qualify for the free jar of Prego sauce. While I was walking down the meat aisle, I noticed some of their reduced stickers on some items, so naturally I had to swing by and take a look. I was able to resist until I spied the country style ribs marked down to .99 a pound. Yeah, I bought some brought them home, stuck them in the fridge to freeze later in the day, then promptly forgot about them. By Thursday morning, when I remembered them I had to cook them immediately. One rib apiece became our dinner and the others were packaged and put in the freezer for later.

The same thing happened at Aldi. I went to get 5 packs of mushrooms to dehydrate for winter soups and stews, when two packs of WahlBurgers  (game day meal) hopped into my buggy. Of course some Cuban style potato chips might have jumped in there too.

And speaking of game day

Yes, it is that time of year again!

 

This is what I thought might happen for the month. 

 1.  Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad (frozen meat sauce)

 2.  Hamburgers with fixings, corn, cream cheese and jalapeño side dish  (frozen patties, frozen veggies) 

 3.  Bbq ribs, caulitato salad, baked beans (Labor Day meal will buy the ribs already cooked)

 4.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 5.  Veggie meal, cornbread TBD based on produce stand and garden availability

 6.  Hamburgers with fixings (frozen patties)

 7.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck)

 8.  Taco salad (frozen taco seasoned ground chuck)

 9.  Chopped salad with chicken (frozen cooked and seasoned chicken)

10. Pizza, tossed salad (frozen mini pizza crusts, frozen pepperoni)

11. Grilled chicken, brussels sprouts, garlic bread  (frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

12. Stuffed bell peppers, hash browns, coleslaw, green beans (frozen uncooked ground chuck)

13. Fajita baked chicken (thanks Belinda) (frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

14. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad, (frozen steak)

15. Garden salad, grilled cheese sandwich (lots of cheeses in the fridge)

16. Buffalo chicken, celery sticks, crudités with dip, fruit (frozen chicken tenders)

17. Butter chicken, rice, green vegetable (frozen boneless skinless thighs)

18. Peruvian chicken, mashed potatoes, green vegetable (Frozen boneless skinless thighs)

19. Cedar planked salmon,  mashed potatoes, some green veggie (frozen salmon) 

20. BLT, cucumber onion and tomato salad (frozen cooked bacon)

21. Grilled lamb chops, rice pilaf, green beans, side salad ( frozen rack of lamb)

22. Lamb leftovers 

23. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes (frozen corned beef)

24. Corned beef leftovers

25. Philly cheesesteak casserole, salad (frozen browned ground chuck)

26. Philly cheesesteak casserole leftovers 

27. Soup and cornbread (frozen chicken broth)

What we really and truly ate this week

Monday: I had everything on hand for a quick veggie dinner.

Crowder peas, corn on the cob, tomato cucumber onion salad

Tuesday: We are still harvesting bell peppers. Lots and lots of bell peppers. Though I have cut many into strips to freeze there are still many that need to be used.

Stuffed bell peppers, hash browns, green beans

Wednesday: Back to using stuff from the freezer. BTW the free Prego at the pig this week, makes a great pizza sauce. 

Pizza, pear and romaine salad

Thursday:  When I went to The Pig, I found some country style ribs deeply discounted. They needed to be cooked right then and since I was going to have to cook them I figured I might as well use a couple of them for dinner.

Country style ribs covered in Asian chili sauce, tossed salad

Friday: Instead of going out to eat this week, TheHub wanted steamed shrimp. That was perfectly fine with me since I had salad in the fridge from the night before. Snapper Grabber to the rescue. Dinner was done.

Steamed shrimp, tossed salad, rolls

Saturday:  Instead of having dinner we ate a late lunch while watching the ball game. Roll Tide!

Hamburgers with all the fixings, slow cooker corn jalapeño dish, chips, cookies 

Sunday: We messed around the house all day but then I had to go move some stuff from Mom's house. When I got home, TheHub was ready to watch Notre Dame vs. FSU, so I needed to make something really fast.

Grilled chicken with salsa verde, new potatoes, green beans, tomato slices

And what was used from the freezer: August 30- September 5

1 pack uncooked ground chuck

2 hash brown patties

1 pack (2020 garden frozen) green beans

Pack mini pizza crusts

pepperoni

dinner rolls

pack of whole kernel corn

4 frozen jalapeños (I bulk buy them, cut them in half the freeze on a cookie sheet. After they are frozen I put them in a ziplock freezer bag.)

1 pack boneless, skinless, chicken thighs

Not as much as I had hoped, but at least it is a start!

What got put into the freezer ?

4 peaches that were about to become too ripe (Cobbler during the winter?)

Cooked country style ribs

Small pack of bell pepper strips

Hunting for Joys

I try to keep a list of the daily things that bring me joy. Some days are filled with them and some days I have to hunt them down. This week was a mixed week with a few days overflowing and others not so much. No matter what, there are always things that make me happy. And now that the 35th week of the year is in the books here are my joys.

Friday: We had a slightly extended family dinner. Son2 and DIL2 joined us and so did my beloved sister and BIL. Lots of good food with laughs was the perfect end for DIL3’s and Son3’s visit. 

Saturday: I kept Disney+ after we watched Hamilton for the simple reason that Pip and I could watch the same movies and talk about them sometimes. I figure it is a small price to pay each month, especially in these times when we are not traveling to see her in person. I watched Cruella and was very surprised at how much I liked it. The next time I talk/Facetime with Pip I am armed and ready.

Sunday: I am not sure what happened on Sunday. I spent a good deal of time getting the house back in some semblance of order and my sister and I had an accidental open house at Mom's. We had one the previous Sunday and I had not listed the date, but just listed it as open Sunday. I forgot to take the open house notice down and had several calls about it during the week, so we showed the house anyway. Afterward TheHub and I watched the end of the FedEx golf tournament, ate leftovers, then watched The Queen. Wow, Helen Merrin is one fine actress! She definitely gave an Oscar worthy performance!

Monday: I tried to mitigate my joy that Alabama was not severely impacted because so many in its wake are damaged and hurting. But I am glad our coast was spared the brunt of it. 

Tuesday: I began my day with a FaceTime call from Pip. They had opted for her to do 5 year kindergarten in a Montessori school with the plans to begin first grade in public school. By September of 2020  the school was going to be remote learning, so they created a small private school with just 6 students and a teacher. It was a good first grade experience and she learned much more than she would have learned remotely (She is a very social creature and withers when she is not around people). After the FT call I am not sure who looked more nervous for her first day of public school, Pip or her parents!

My sister and I decided to finally list Mom's house with an agent. He has a different structure with his agency which suited us to a T. 

Wednesday: Amazing! We had many showings Wednesday and by Wednesday night we had two offers. One was over ask, and  the  other was seriously under. The under was so far under that we were not even willing to counter. 

Also thanks to Lorraine at We Are Clamco for the movie suggestion, I watched 306 Hollywood. I think going though all of Mom's things and dealing with her house, the movie probably spoke louder to me than it would to a lot of people.

Thursday: This was not a particularly exciting day, but even routine days have small joys. I am counting getting all the donations boxed and ready for the Friday pick up as my main joy for the day. Now I just need to start my September decluttering. If I hurry I might be able to add the items for Sept.1, 2, and 3rd to the pile on the front porch. I guess I should close this right now and scoot upstairs. It should be a pretty easy search mission to find a couple of things to give away

So have a great week and go find your joys. They are out there if we just look for them.

August Clutter Challenge

Bless issued a challenge to join her by getting rid of 31 things in August. I am so overloaded with  junk that I joined in quite happily. Now I have to commit to doing it again in September. (And October, and November, and . . .)

Below is a list of my decluttered items.

 Things sold

1.  Corner chair 

Things donated

 2.  Large glass urn with spigot (Used at showers and teas to hold ice water. I had two but only need one)

 3,  Glass juice server

 4.  2 floor pillows

 5.  Full bed comforter (We have only king and queen beds in the house now)

 6.  Full bed mattress pad

 7.  Full bed sheet set

 8.  Another full bed sheet set

 9.  Monkey plant stand

10. 2 glass ice cream bowls

11. Glass serving bowl

12. Box of costume jewelry (20 pieces appx.)

13. 2 hanging votive holders

14. Pedestal cake stand

15. L shaped sofa slipcover

16. Black Dress

17. Navy polka dot dress

18. Black lace up shoes

19. Black booties

20. Some weird little doodad that was at Mom's house

21. 3 flower containers that were deliveries from the florist (They are attractive, but unneeded)

22. Flip flops I bought but never wore

23. Couple of worn towels (going to the Humane society)

24. Dog bed (given to my cousin)

25. Swim suit (never worn tag still on)

26. 4 books

27. Flip Flops tag still on

28. Grandmother shadowbox

29. Cookie tin

30. Men's shirt

31. Men's polo

Woo hoo the Exchange Club is coming to pick everything up tomorrow!

Things thrown out

2 eyeliners

1 concealer that is too light

Old jar of  Mentholatum

Lipstick I will never wear again

Less than stellar acrylic paint(a little on the dryish side)

The sad thing is I never even made it upstairs. I guess that will be September, then the basement October and the holiday closet in November.

Adding the first 3 days of September to the list

Black leather box

Crystal water carafe

2 men's swim suits

Food for Thought from the Freedom Cafe

Though this is not original (I only wish I had authored this brilliance)  I felt compelled to share. 

It was from a shared instagram post and I retyped it because I did not like the format it was in.

This might seem a bit snarky to some of you, but it is something I believe is worth repeating.

Libby@libbyjones715

Welcome to the Freedom Cafe! We trust you to make your own choices if you want to wear a mask. And, in the same spirit of individual liberty, we allow our our staff to make their own choices about the safety procedures they prefer to follow as they prepare and serve your food.

We encourage employees to wash their hands after using the bathroom, but understand that some people may be allergic to certain soaps or may simply prefer not to wash their hands.  It is not our place to tell them what to do.

Some servers may want to touch your food as they serve it. There is no reason that a healthy person with clean hands cannot touch your food. We will take their word for it that they are healthy and clean.

Water temperature and detergent are highly personal choices, and we allow our dishwashing team to choose how they would prefer to wash the utensils you put in your mouth.

Some of our cooks prefer to use the same cooking utensils for multiple ingredients including ingredients some of you may be allergic to. Still, that is a cook's right to do so.

We understand that you may be used to chicken that has been cooked to 165 degrees. We do have to respect that some of our cooks have seen a meme on Facebook or a Youtube video saying 100 degrees is sufficient, and we do not want to encroach on their beliefs.

Some of you may get sick, but almost everyone survives food poisoning. We think you'll agree that it is a small price to pay for the sweet freedom of no one ever being told what to do ---and especially not for the silly reason of keeping strangers healthy.

I debated turning the comments off for this post, but truly believe if I take a stand on something I need to be open to different opinions