High Winds, Rains, and Other Things

I hope everyone had a great week and survived the weird hurricane/tropical storm weather.

It was a pretty good week here, with some wild and some not so wild weather. We did get blasted by was the wind gusts. It did some damage locally but we were spared from anything other than a few fallen limbs and an excess of tree debris.

What was planned:

Paprika Chicken, tossed salad

Big salad meal TBD

Spaghetti, tossed salad

Veggie meal TBD

Out to eat

Burgers and fixings, tomato cucumber onion salad

Chicken** bulgogi, rice, mixed greens

                 vs

What we really ate:

Monday joy: If this is what TheHubs retirement is going to be I am not sure why he even bothered to retire. Though he did not go into the office Monday, he worked from his home office all day. 

The only difference between his going to the office and working from home was having someone scare the Bejeezus out of me a couple of times when I did not hear him coming to the main level and I almost walked right into him. I realized I really do EEK when I am startled.

Well that and wanting lunch at high noon. I was still drinking coffee and had not begun to think of putting anything solid in my mouth, so . . .

At least I did not feel compelled to sit and eat with him. A simple joy was having pimento cheese made and in the fridge so he could make his own sandwich.

Monday dinner: This was my week for using as many things from the freezer as possible.  I used 2 packs of boneless skinless thighs (Should have used just one since we both ate only 1 piece of chicken. At this rate is it going to take us forever to eat down the freezer) 

Bulgogi chicken, rice, brussels sprouts, sliced tomatoes

Tuesday joy: I woke from a funny dream and really did enjoy the feeling. It was a great way to start the day. Well, reminisces of that early morning fancy, strong black coffee and near perfect weather worked in conjunction to set me up for a really good Tuesday.

I had the excellent fortune of going to Independence Place with My Beloved Sister. There is no way to be unhappy at a place when the moment you walk through the doors you are greeted with hugs and told "I love you". Quite honestly I wish that everyone in the world could have this same experience. I know that I am a volunteer there, but I receive so much more than I could ever give. 

On the way home MBS and I were talking about having to ask our husbands for help and how hard it is to do that sometimes. When she was describing one situation she had previously needed  with, and her solution I cracked up.*** Very dangerous while driving down the road.

Tuesday dinner: I was able to use two packets from the freezer! Woo hoo. The first was a frozen package of Conecuh sausage which we used at Independence Place. (Sausage and grits was a huge success and the only part I had to really do for them was stirring the grits once they started to really cook. I did not want them to get burned by any grits particles that popped out of the pan while cooking.)

And for dinner, I was able to use a pound of frozen ground chuck.

Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, tossed salad, Italian bread w/ dipping seasoned olive oil

Wednesday: I woke butt early for me. I was wide awake at 4:45 and tried to go back to sleep, but by 5:30 I gave it up, made coffee and started the day. I was really able to see the change in daylight, since it was  pitch black at 5:30 with still gray skies by 6:30. Autumn is creeping up like she does every year. I am not an early riser and truly appreciate the mornings I am up in time to greet the day. Not enough appreciation to do it regularly though.

My class that I have been a part of for the past 20? years started back. It was nice to see everyone again, and I am secretly glad the farmer's market near it will be closing for the season. As nice as it is, the streets on my normal way to class were blocked for the market to operate, and it is the easiest route. Selfish? Probably

After I came back to the house TheHub and I went out to a small dive burger joint neither of us had ever been to*. Oh my goodness, if it was not burger heaven I don't know what ever could be. J & J Grocery, you earned a place in my heart.

Wednesday dinner: While we were eating the massive burgers for lunch, TheHub suggested we might want to have a lighter dinner. Duh!?! I am not exactly sure that I would consider this light but it is what we had anyway.

Pasta salad (rotini, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cukes, celery, olives, oil, vinegar, s&p, herbs)

Thursday joy: I woke up and got ready for the day before I looked out the window. When I did, I changed my plans. I don't mind going to the grocery store when it is raining, but the winds were gusting and limbs were starting to fall from trees. I didn't really need anything and was just going to do a little cherry picking anyway. 

Instead I decided it was a good day to stay home and do a few things like wash the bed linens.  If I get out of bed and strip it, I can have everything washed, dried and back on the bed in a little over 2 hours. I had much rather do that than take out a clean set of sheets, make the bed then have to fold and put away the newly laundered ones. 

K.I.S.S. **is my motto when it comes to housework, which is my personal nemesis. Other than laundry I just mucked around the house doing as little as possible, but enough so it looked like I had done more than I did. (Which actually means I got lost in a book, but did not want to look like the complete slacker that I was.)

TheHub mostly stayed at home again. Except for a Parkinson's board meeting and an appointment to work-out, he was buried in his office at the house. I guess only his office location has changed, because he took calls and worked until almost 5.

Late Thursday night I started watching Kaos, streaming on Netflix. I think it is a delightful modern retelling of Greek mythology, and once again I really like the background music.

I was skeptical when I heard Jeff Goldblum was cast as Zeus, but he really pulled it off, just in a much different way than Zeus is typically thought of. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Thursday dinner:  Part of my mucking about included going through the refrigerator to see if anything needed to be thrown out. The garbage truck comes on Friday and its times are always erratic so we make sure the bin is by the street Thursday night. While I was looking through the fridge I decided we had leftovers that needed to be eaten. Dinner was just reruns.

Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad

Friday joy:  Following the storm Thursday the temperature was much cooler. Of course thunderstorms were forecast for the entire weekend too, so the cooler temps made sense. As it turned out the day was a little schizophrenic. The sky would be gray then brilliant blue and sunny. 

Mid day I had a surprise visit from Son2. It was literally a surprise. I came out of the laundry room and found him standing in the kitchen. I think he really just wanted something to drink and a bag of chips. Conversation was secondary, but we did talk for about and hour and a half.

Amazingly TheHub was in his home office the entire visit and never even knew he was here. His loss!

We went out for a bit Friday evening then settled in to watch Ted Lasso. It took me a couple of years to get TheHub interested in it, but now he is all in. We do have different watching habits though. He watches one episode then turns it off! What kind of madness is that?!? 

I believe if a show is streaming, it is a message from the universe to watch as many episodes as you can keep your eyes open to watch. What a rookie!

Friday dinner: Neither of us were particularly hungry.

Toasted cheese, onion and tomato sandwiches

Saturday joy: Football! Specifically Alabama football, but I will confess tht we had ballgames on all day with the exception of our early morning running arounds and our early evening shopping trip. (I know TheHub is used to being around people and feels the need to get out of the house, but I cannot tell you loudly enough how irritating it is to have him go to the grocery store with me. He has got to learn to find things to do by himself!)

Saturday dinner: While we were out Saturday morning TheHub decided he wanted a sandwich from The Pita Cafe. They were not opened until the Alabama game started and we have to be home for any away game that is televised. At dinner time that craving was still happening, which meant we had to stop on the way home from Aldi and grab a take out order.

Racer sandwich, tabbouli 

Sunday joy: I woke to Alexa playing "Happy Birthday" , which was a first. Normally on Sundays we go to church, but Son2 and DIL2 were coming to lunch and I had not gotten things prepped the night before. Instead TheHub  and I had breakfast together. 

I am not a breakfast gal, but if he is getting pancakes ready, I am not going to say no. 

After we ate a leisurely meal I got to work getting lunch together. I had bought a rack of lamb and had to French the chops, so one of the day's joys was having a relatively new and sharp boning knife.

Another was having them here for lunch, which we were counting as dinner. I was not going to cook anything the rest of the day. 

Sunday lunch/dinner: As I said, I am counting our lunch as dinner. I did manage to use the rack of lamb from the freezer, so one more item gone.

Broiled lamb chops, new potatoes, tossed salad, Italian cream cake

(Best birthday cake ever thanks to Edgar's Bakery)

What might happen this week:

1. Paprika chicken, broccoli, rice, tomato cucumber onion salad 

2. Conecuh sausage pigs in a blanket, coleslaw

3. Grilled fish, hushpuppies, coleslaw

4. Big salad meal TBD

5. Fundraiser banquet

6. Sandwiches, tomato cucumber onion salad

7. Veggie meal TBD

Books read in September

When Paris Went Dark

Old Girls Behaving Badly

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* TheHub and I decided we would start looking for places where we have never eaten and giving them a try. I  keep a list of everywhere we go out to eat, as well as those, to try on double secret blog I began this summer. Once we go somewhere new I check it off and move it to the "where we ate" list. 

I probably should start listing non-food related things and places we want to do and see. We need to start ticking them off quickly because one of the things that was on my list for years is no longer available.

**K.I.S.S. = Keep it simple, Stupid

*** This might not be a problem for all women , but for those of us with a larger than average chest it definitely is. My beloved sister is not just slightly larger than average but think Jane Russell in Outlaw proportions. (Picture provided for those of you too young to have any clue who she might be.)

The situation she was telling me about involved pulling a sports bra on over her head onto a slightly damp, fresh from the shower body. It is not that we wear these all the time but support is necessary and some days you are just not ready to commit to an underwire.

She got tired of asking her husband to help her pull the back (it would roll and get stuck due to the slightly damp skin) into its proper position, and even if he saw her struggle with stuck  around the back of her neck, unless she asked him for help, he would not offer it. 

Yankee ingenuity, determination, and a backscratcher was all it took to overcome that issue. 

I suggested she might wait until she was bone dry to put it on, since there would be no issue and the fabric would slide neatly into place. 

We both started laughing at that because what would be the fun in waiting when she had already figured that the back scratcher extended her reach enough to grab and maneuver it into the proper position even while damp. 

Men have no clue!