this week

Wow! This week is completely different from last week when the weather was cold and made me crabby. Today the sun is shining, the weather is warm, and there is a slight breeze.  I have the screened porch door opened to let in fresh air.

Speaking of air, to me a day without music is like a day without air.

This is not my favorite Bach piece, but I do love listening to it.

What was planned:

Beef stew, coleslaw, french bread

Chicken divan, cooked carrots, tossed salad

Soup, cornbread

Out to eat

Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

Taco salad or tacos TBD later

Pork chops, mashed potatoes, some green veggie TBD

Joys and what we really ate:

 Monday joy: TheHub and I hung around the house getting  a few things that needed to be done, done. It was not a glamorous day, but interior progress is still progress I guess.

Monday dinner: Some rescued broccoli from the crisper and a bag of cooked frozen chicken were the inspiration (or lack thereof) for this meal

Chicken divan coleslaw

Tuesday joy: Tuesday was supposed to be the best day of the week according to the week's forecast, so we decided we would have a little adventure and go somewhere we had never been before. About an hour and a half north/northwest of us in the very tiny town (hamlet?) of Oakville, Alabama is a museum dedicated to Jesse Owens, who lived on/adjacent to (not sure which) the property the museum sits on. I will admit I went silently thinking it was no where I wanted to go. Some of the best things happen when I am dragging my heels. The museum was a small place, but filled with history, especially about the 1936 Olympics. 

They were held in Berlin and Hitler was planning to use them as a visible validation of his Aryan race superiority policy. Didn't quite work out that way when Jesse Owens not only won 4 gold medals, but also set a new Olympic record. 

The museum had a 40 minute film narrated by Jesse himself with film from the Olympics including a lot of the Leni Riefenstahl's footage of Hitler with Goering, Himmler and other inner circle Nazi's. 

Once we had learned all we could want to know about Jesse and his life, we headed  out to eat. The place was cute, the food lackluster, and everything was fried. Oh well, you live and learn.

After lunch we headed east and stopped at the Dutch Oven Bakery, a Mennonite haven of deliciousness. They had baked goods, breads, and all sorts of other things, including a small section of the store devoted to pickles, relishes, jams and jellies, and an entire wall filled with Melissa and Doug toys.

I had never been before but it will not be long until I go back. They had the best sourdough loaf I have ever eaten in my life and a full size tube pan pound cake for just $7 bucks. Unreal!

Tuesday dinner: I was not hungry and didn't eat. TheHub made his own dinner

Campbells soup ( no idea what kind he ate)

Wednesday joy: I had class and enjoyed it, came home and right as I walked in the door TheHub told me his lunch plans had been cancelled, so what did I plan on having for lunch. I thought he was meeting a friend yet I was supposed to plan a lunch anyway. Uh, no!

Wednesday dinner: I had made this in advance to have Tuesday night but we were not hungry then so it became Wednesday's meal.

Beef stew, sourdough toast, coleslaw

Thursday joy: TheHub went out to lunch with his friend and I had a couple of hours to myself. While I was enjoying my time  and eating a bowl of 15 bean soup (not a planned lunch but something languishing in the fridge)  I called and talked with Sluggy. TheHub was not the only one who had lunch with a friend!

We went somewhere after TheHub got home but I don't remember where. All I know is I had on makeup and I do not wear it unless I am going somewhere. TheHub has known me forever and he knows what I look like, so the unadorned me does not scare him. Small children and dogs? well that is an entirely different scenario. 

Thursday dinner: TheHub had a big lunch out and I was not particularly hungry. When life rolls like that I am always going to take the path of least resistance when it comes to making dinner

Veggie soup, toasted english muffin

Friday joy: The day came, it was gorgeous outside, my plants were happy to be back on the deck and there were two hibiscus blooms on one of them.  Along with the day, came the bug man. It was time to renew our termite bond. It is not a big deal but it does take us being home so he can examine the wood in the basement. No signs of termites and the termite baits around the perimeter of the house were all untouched, except one bait trap on one corner of the house. It is where I usually find tiny little sugar ants and I have seen none this year. The bug man added that bait last year and he is pretty sure the ants were the ones who got into it.  Whoo hoo, inspection and I only had to pay to refill the single trap. 

Unfortunately for me he does not trap groundhogs! My nemesis had been up and around during the warming spell. Jokes on him though, I have no foods planted right now.

Friday dinner: We had a food minimum that needed to be used in January. It was a takeout kind of night.

Either grilled snapper over orzo and spinach with a chickpea sweet potato salad (I had a bite  of the salad and agreed with TheHub, it was gross) or shrimp and grits with tortilla soup (weird combo so I saved the soup for later and added some sliced cucumbers to my plate)

Saturday joy: TheHub was invited to go to Tuscaloosa for the basketball game followed by a dinner fundraiser  for Bama baseball.  This meant he had to leave the house midday and I had to be at home all by myself until about 9 pm.😁

While he was gone I did a little laundry, had phone calls with both my cousin and my beloved sister, had control of the remote, was able to read uninterrupted, and did whatever I wanted. It was a great day

Saturday dinner: Since TheHub was not home all bets were off

Breakfast pork chop, raw cauliflower

Sunday joy: We did not do the church thing Sunday. Instead our Sunday school class provided and served lunch to those at The Church of the Reconciler. It is an inner city church that caters to Birmingham’s homeless population. We have done it for quite a few years now and is a good way to meet and interact with people we might not meet otherwise.

After we were through serving and cleaning the kitchen, we left and as a group went out to eat. It was great to have that fellowship.

Once we were through with our meal we ran by Publix to do a little cherry picking, then headed home.  Whatever we did, we were in different rooms doing whatever we wanted to do. TheHub messed around setting up his new phone and I read your blogs.  Even if I did not comment on them, I read them all. Thank you arthritis!

Sunday dinner: We both had eaten a nice lunch and were not hungry.

Soup and corn chips 

Planned for the week: (Weather is perfect for grilling)

1. Steak, baked potato, cooked carrots, tossed salad

2. Grilled tuna, chopped veggie salad, dinner rolls

3. Grilled pork chops, rice pilaf, asparagus

4. Spaghetti, tossed salad, dinner rolls

5. Hamburgers with all the fixings, tater tots

6. Veggie dinner TBD, cornbread

7. Out to eat

What I read in January:

The God of the Woods (was not great)

Half Mammals of Dixie (delightful book of thematic short stories)

The Secret Book of Flora Lee* ( interesting premise but overwritten)

Cold Fire (enjoyable read but went beyond the bounds of believability)

Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days (Xmas short stories 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

Well That Was Quick

 Welcome February

Oh no just 48 weeks until Christmas

The 48th week until Christmas has passed, and I honestly did little, except to make one more "rule" for me to follow as I get ready for the Big Day. 

I decided I need to read one Christmas  themed book a month, just to experience the "feel" of the season. I still have 4 days left in January to read one, so it will most likely be one of those cozy mysteries that I can read in about an hour. I will do better in February. My only codicil about finding a book is that it has to be available through my Libby app. There is no way I am going to go in to the 3-D library just to get a Christmas book and I dang sure am not going to buy one.

Meanwhile, I will move away from this last Christmas, which really did leave me feeling "less than"", especially compared to other Christmases we have experienced.

So just exactly what did I do toward Christmas 2025 prep last week? I found and ordered 2 more carolers, leaving just 1 brunette female needed. The hunt is on!

Both of those I ordered had minor imperfections, well if you consider one with the back of his head missing minor.  His hat is mostly intact and I think I can figure something to use to fill out the missing part of his noggin. He was extremely inexpensive, and I have a lot of time before I need him. If it is a total bust I will have lost just a few dollars, and if it works, I will have a huge score on my hands.

The other was just missing the coating on his nose. I am becoming quite proficient building "flesh" with nail polish, and unless you look very closely you really can't tell where the repairs were.

I have also used my Libby app to look through more  Christmas magazines.  I found several ideas and took screen shots of them. I will revisit the pics and decide later if I am really interested in them or if it was just a passing fancy. Anything that makes the final cut will be printed off and put in my Christmas folder for later. 

For the recipes though, I am writing them down in a notebook. Years ago Walmart had composition books for 10 cents each, around Halloween. I am sure they were having a fire sale on the remaining back to school merchandise. My gain! I bought 20 of them and have used  many, but I still had about 8 that had never been used. 

It is the perfect size for copying the recipes I am interested in trying before Christmas, and the composition book easily fits in my Christmas folder.

If, after the trial bakes or makes, I decide the recipes are worth adding to my annual Christmas foods, I will copy them in the  journal where I have kept  hand written Christmas recipes* for over 30 years. If anyone (family or friend ) wants to find a recipe that we traditionally have enjoyed it can be found in the brown book. 

The upstairs room and the decorations closet? Well that is another story. At the rate I am avoiding it, I might just finally get to it by summer!

Now on to the 47th week before Christmas . . . Oh no!

*The recipes in the journal have all the adjustments and changes I have made over the years and accurately reflect what the family is familiar with.

It was cold and so was I!

This past week was cold for most of the week. I am a true product of the south and do not handle the cold well. I am ready for some bright sunny temperate days.

Dinners I had tentatively planned:

Soup and roll

Soup and cornbread

Hamburger patty, yellow rice, broccoli

Pork pastor salad

Out to eat

Eggroll in a bowl

Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

Joys and what we actually ate:

Monday joy:  The day beautiful but terribly cold (yes I am a cold weather wuss).  We both wanted to get out of the house, and if you want to get out a little why not take advantage of it to hit ThePig and get the free items while also stocking up on the sale price for ground chuck. I actually only got the free tuna and left the saltines for someone else because I have too many crackers at home. After we left the store I realized I should have gotten them anyway and put it in my box for the food pantry. Next time I will do that. 

After we checked out the day was still cold but pretty so we rode around a bit just looking at the things we see everyday, but don't always notice. Once we got home we decided to stay in and do stuff in the house rather than venture outside any more than necessary.

Finally we capped off this year's NCAA football season by watching the game. I had no favorite team but did pull for Notre Dame just because they were the underdog.

Monday dinner: I had one last meal of this in the fridge

Vegetable soup

Tuesday joy: The biggest joy was that we had none of the snow and ice that blitzed the South. It was just cold here, but I have warm clothes, and we had a warm house and a fire in the fireplace for added heat and ambience. We stayed at home all day, were warm and had a mostly relaxing day. 

That night we watched Alabama/Vandy play basketball, because if Alabama is playing anything, we watch it. I am pretty sure if they had a tiddlywinks team we would have to watch that too. Though I am a Bama fan, I am not the obsessive one who lives here.

Tuesday dinner: TheHub wanted a ball game type meal. Since we were not going to get out in the cold the meal had to be made from what we had on hand. I had everything but hamburger buns, but could easily punt.

Sloppy Joe's over hot dog buns, coleslaw.

Wednesday joy: My normal Wednesday class was cancelled because of the cold. That was fine with me. I stayed in the bed reading for a while, then we got out and about and ran a couple of boring errands. Even boring things need to be done sometimes.

Wednesday dinner: TheHub requests this meal often (he has been asking for weeks) and I generally ignore that request, but was feeling kind. (Especially since he ran to the grocery store right after dark and picked up something I needed for Thursday afternoon. Though, maybe it was more quid pro quo than kindness.)

Hamburger patty smothered in grilled onions, saffron rice, broccoli

Thursday joy: I caught up (via a phone call) with one of my friends. I had not talked with her for a while and just needed to see how she was doing. 

After the phone call got ready to go to Independence Place, AKA my happy place. 

Thursday was National Pie Day (not to be confused with National π day in March). The last few times we have cooked together we made sweet treats and I wanted to do something savory. Instead, we made chicken pot pie, which was a huge success! 

In the near future, other than making something using cherries on Presidents day, we are going to be concentrating on mealtime dishes they can make either by themselves or with minimal help.

And a special joy was there were no ball games on TV.

And an unjoy: We heard a scratching  sound and found a squirrel that had gotten into the basement. It disappeared and we could not find it. (By we I don't mean the royal "we" I mean the royal "he", TheHub. I am a real life EEKer when it comes to critters. He set a humane trap with hopes to catch it and release it outside.  I know it was cold but it needed to shelter somewhere other than my basement. If not caught,  inviting Gray Greg, the neighborhood assassin cat, over for a visit was an option.)

Thursday dinner: I had made a few different soups to have on chilly nights and Thursday was chilly.

15 bean soup, cornbread

Friday joy: A slice of apple and a critter cage was all it took to nab the offending critter in the basement.  We took it to a local preserve area not terribly far from our house and watched as it made a beeline into the woods. 

TheHub and I went out to lunch at a local BBQ place. I was not in the mood for "Q" but they had daily specials which were not smoked and sauced. I had not eaten  brunswick stew  in years, and it was wonderful.

While we were eating I got a text from the friend  I had talked with Thursday. She has been

sick with the same crap TheHub and I battled  for about 3 weeks.  

I had told her about Buckley's cough syrup. I can't find it locally but it is available through Amazon (thank you for the recommendation long ago https://maebemylife.blogspot.com/)

She ordered some which will be delivered next week. Meanwhile her adult son came down with the same stuff, but has an interview out of state Monday morning and he felt rotten. She asked if I had a bottle he could use until she could replace it when hers came. Luckily I have learned to order it 3 bottles at a time, so we dropped one off at her house before we ran additional errands.

We finally got back home about 6 and called it a night.

Friday dinner: After eating out at lunch we were not terribly hungry, so I pulled leftovers out of the fridge.

Chicken soup, french bread*

Saturday joy: Shortly after I woke, I had a text message from my friend whose son was sick. According to him the Buckley's made him feel better almost immediately, he was able to sleep through the night, it tasted terrible, and it is his new favorite medicine. I was happy I was able to help him out. 

We just hung out at the house all day doing fun things like laundry (and reading) until the Alabama basketball game came on.

Saturday dinner: TheHub had been waiting all week to do takeout from Taziki's for their weekend special.

Pasta over mixed greens, chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, feta, balsamic dressing, pita slice

Sunday joy: We started our Sunday morning at the early communion service at our church, followed by the liturgical service in the sanctuary. When it was over we went to our Sunday school class then hit the road to get home in time to eat lunch before the play-off games came on.

I was glad The Eagles won, and really did not care who won the next game, but silently pulled for the underdog (whoever was playing the Chiefs)

While the first game was on I did a little advance cooking for the week. I don't have to actively watch the games because TheHub will provide a play by play for me. I am not a big pro football fan so it works well for me.

Sunday dinner: I had a head of cabbage that needed to be used which was the genesis for Sunday's meal. By the time I had cleaned the crisper drawer of bits and pieces that needed to be used, this was a veggie dense, very filling meal.

Eggroll in a bowl

What might be happening this week:

1. Beef stew, coleslaw, french bread

2. Chicken divan, cooked carrots, tossed salad

3. Soup, cornbread

4. Out to eat

5. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

6. Taco salad or tacos TBD later

7.  Pork chops, mashed potatoes, some green veggie TBD

What I read in January:

The God of the Woods

Half Mammals of Dixie

The Secret Book of Flora Lee* 

Cold Fire

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*We sometimes go to our local Everyday Market (Walmart's interpretation of a grocery store) and I always check their overstock bakery items. Friday I found a large loaf of whole wheat french bread for 69 cents. Sold!

Oh no just 49 weeks till Christmas

The 49th week until Christmas has just ended and I am still on my quest to do something toward Christmas 2025 each week.  This is my recap of the week. 

I found an old man caroler at an agreeable price and ordered him. He is in the process of being shipped, so that will bring the number I have acquired to 3.  I forgot I have a young girl here already (I bought it to represent DIL1 before I decided we needed age appropriateness with the carolers) so that only leaves me 3 figures to search for.  

I even remembered our former pup carolers which look remarkably like our granddogs. Before I decide to include them though, I need to decide if I am willing to look for cat carolers that resemble Ella and Lola (grandcats).

I have an app connected with our library that I use to read books but there are some other things I can use it for. One advantage of the Libby app is the ability to look through magazines. I searched Christmas themed magazines and loaded 15 or so a few to look through. I found magazines for handmade gifts,  decorating ideas, and of course Christmas foods. I have already added a few things that piqued my interest to my Christmas folder . 

I found instructions for some handmade gifts and thought I might try chocolate rose bath bombs. I could give them to the DIL's for Valentines as a test run.

My main plan for the week was to start sorting all my existing Christmas decorations and have keep it or coast it decisions for each item. Just because I have had it forever is no reason to keep things I no longer  use.

I have a large cedar closet that is filled  to the brim with decorations for each holiday, and being empty nesters I just do not need it all. With the days being a lot colder, and me being made for hot weather it seemed like a good idea to just plan on staying in the house and doing something productive.

Well yesterday I did stay at home, but never ventured upstairs where the mess Christmas decorations are in boxes all over the room instead of the closet stored. 

Instead I stayed in the den to watch what was happening on the world front,  improve my mind with intellectual pursuits, deep clean  curl up with a fluffy blanket and browse all the magazines I downloaded on the Libby app. In fact I enjoyed browsing them so much it seems I browsed, wrapped in my blanket cocoon, for a while with my eyes closed.

 This is a new week and hope springs eternal, right? Now if I can just jingle my way upstairs, because week 48 has begun.

And another week's rollin"

It seems like I have just turned around from Christmas and now January is headed toward its end, and time just keeps on rolling.

What was planned that mostly did not happen:

Greek lamb chops, rice and some green vegetable side (TBD)

Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad

Eggroll in a bowl

Soup

Veggie meal TBD

Take out

Chicken bulgogi, broccoli, rice

Monday joy: I was able to volunteer at my happy place and nothing is better for my soul than to be around the participants of Independence Place. 

Before I left to go there Son2 stopped by the house for a minute. It is always good to see him. 

And I think TheHub is maybe, perhaps, finally officially retired. (The jury is still out though)

Monday dinner:  We decided to grab some take out from a nearly Persian restaurant.

Spinach hand pies, Sharizi salad

Tuesday joy: This was one of those stay at home and do little days. I was happy to oblige! Laundry took up a little time but other than that I did some reading.

Tuesday dinner: I had thawed some chicken and had everything else on hand.

Chicken bulgogi, rice, coleslaw

Wednesday joy: I had plans to have lunch 3 cousins at a spectacular meat and three place. We ate at Nikki's on Finley. I have no idea how long it has been operating but it has been around as long as I can remember, undergoing several additions. The food is so good and is my absolute favorite place to go fro a veggie meal, but you had better know what you want the minute one of the people on the cafeteria line ask what you want. The place is a little intimidating for a rookie!

We enjoyed the food and had a lot of laughs shared lots of stories from our childhood.

Wednesday dinner: Unfortunately for TheHub I had eaten a big lunch and did not want to cook. This is when having leftovers comes in so handy.

Wednesday dinner:Vegetable soup

Thursday joy: TheHub and I went out to lunch and ran a few errands. It was a lovely day with very mild temperatures. 

Thursday dinner: I had forgotten TheHub had a fundraiser dinner that night so I scrounged through the fridge to use some leftovers. Was it good? Nope but it was filling.

Leftover beanie weenies, coleslaw

Friday joy: TheHub was bored being at home and went grocery shopping with me. I am not crazy having a shopping buddy, but will admit after cherry picking 3 different stores, it was pretty nice to have another set of hands to help get the groceries in and put them away. I stocked up with enough produce for the week. The forecast for the week was severe colds and I don't do cold well. 

Friday dinner:  We had eaten a bowl of veggie soup for lunch Friday and neither of us wanted much for dinner. 

Cilantro lime chicken over naan

Saturday joy : I got a phone call from My Beloved Sister fairly early Saturday morning. She was backing out of her garage and clipped the garage door, which knocked it off of its track. It would not go down, but she needed to get to the hospital before the docs made their rounds. She found someone who could do the repair, so I volunteered to go meet them so she could get on her way.  TheHub went with me which turned out to be a good thing because he got the guy to check places on the door I would never have thought of.

After taking care of that we came home and watched Alabama basketball. While we were watching, I did some preemptive cooking for the predicted cold weather. I like having some heat and serve meals when the temperatures drop so I can spend more time under a blanket on the couch reading rather than cooking.

Saturday dinner: We are absolutely not opposed to meatless meals and had leftover naan to use

Veggie pizza on naan

Sunday joy: We are trying very hard to establish a new church habit that includes going earlier to include a 30 minute communion service before church. 

I am not a morning person and to have hair done, a face on, and appropriate clothes (tights are needed right now and somehow I get them twisted nearly every time I put them on then have to re-do) and be out the door in a somewhat reverent mood by 7:30 is very hard for me. But I am doing it and love hearing the informal message prior to receiving communion.

Plus, there are coffee urns right before you enter the chapel. Our traditional church service is liturgical and a little formal. I would never drink a cup of coffee there. I guess this is a reward for being there so early.

I wonder if the church might consider having a sweats and slippers morning?

After that we went to the traditional service, then to Sunday school, rushed home and ate a piece of cheese toast before heading downtown to see "Annie". 

I was not excited when I saw it was on the Birmingham Broadway series this year, but we started buying season tickets many years (like very many years) ago, and each year we were able to get much better seats. We have been in our current seats for years now, and as long as we continue purchasing the season, we can keep them. My theory is if we buy the season we might as well go ,whether it is a play we really want to see or not. 

Have any of you ever had zero expectations of anything and then were blown off your feet? That happened Sunday. Equity shows always have some very talented performers, but this particular cast was filled with them. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the play, but hope Annie will not be repeated for a long, long time. 

In our playbill we got a sneak preview of the next season. Looks like I will be seeing "Wicked" for the 5th time (groan) but I'm looking forward to seeing "& Juliet" and "Kimberly Akimbo". The rest of the season I am pretty neutral about, but that is OK.

Once home we turned on the remainder of the Eagles game, ate a quick supper, then watched the Baltimore/Buffalo. Being at home and watching the games both played in the snow was much nicer than being there. At least for me it was. Crowds and freezing would be a no-go for me, even if I lived in either of those places.  Fly Eagles, Fly!

Sunday dinner: We were not particularly hungry

Chicken soup

Planned (maybe) for this abnormally cold week:

1. Soup and roll

2. Soup and cornbread

3. Hamburger patty, yellow rice, broccoli

4. Pork pastor salad

5. Out to eat

6. Eggroll in a bowl

7. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

What I read in January:

The God of the Woods

Half Mammals of Dixie

The Secret Book of Flora Lee* 

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*My great aunt was named Flora Lee so I had to borrow the book. 

Likewise I have to occasionally listen to this version of Willie Mae (another great aunt's name)

Oh no, just 50 weeks until Christmas

The following is what happened on the 50th week before Christmas (Sounds like the beginning of a police drama doesn't it)

 

I have been hawking ebay trying to find some more Byers Choice Carolers. When TheHub and I were substantially younger and our sons were just kids I bought 5 carolers that roughly represented us. At the time we were a household of 2 adults, 2 guys, and a guy toddler (all blondes). I set that out every Christmas until this year and did not set it up at all. 

The main reason I didn't was because I was sick and just did not feel like digging through the holiday closet. But as I was thinking about it, our family has been added to over the years and I need to find carolers to represent us as we are now.  

TheHub and I are naturally gray* (though in my mind I will always be a blonde), the sons are all adult men, we have 3 DIL's and of course Pip.  

So I want a caroler for each family member, but I don't want to pay retail for them.

As is, I can use the existing blonde man for Son 1, 2 or 3 and the existing blonde woman for DIL3. I'll save the other figures because who knows what the future will bring

As luck (or constant stalking) would have it I found a woman of a certain age with gray hair, and a lovely brunette woman caroler whose nose is a little scuffed, but I can fix that easily. 4 down 5 to go!

I would like to have the rest before the end of October, so I will be looking for them daily, but I do have some time. Again this mention of having time is what screwed up my holiday plans this past year.

My mom knitted a Christmas stocking for me when I was a baby, then made one for my beloved sister when she was born. Because she never got rid of the pattern she made one for TheHub when we got married and followed with one for each of our sons. DIL1’s grandmother made her one when she was a baby and it is very similar to the one Mom made and of course she did not want an another one,  The last one Mom made was for Pip.  By that time her cognitive decline had begun and it took Dad counting each stitch for her

When  Sons 2 and 3 married Dad was no longer with us and he was the only one who could keep her focused. 

DIL3 is very skilled at knitting and had asked for the pattern. Either My Beloved Sister or I have it ___somewhere. I decided I would see if I could just find the pattern online. While looking I found not just the pattern but a kit that also included the yarn.  I bought 2 kits.  I know DIL3 can make her own and possibly DIL2’s.  If not, I will need to hire someone to do it since my knitting skills are abysmal. Although, if you want a wonky scarf, I am your go-to guy!

So that would be the end of my prep for week 50. Maybe week 49 will be a bit better.

*Naturally gray does not mean I have that color  of hair all the time. I might been seen with gray, blonde, or auburn hair. Life is uncertain and I am not about to be predictable.

And now January is whizzing by

This was not a week that a lot happened, at least nothing particularly noteworthy. I am still adjusting to having TheHub around most of the time, and look forward to warmer days when he can play golf___even a few holes would be great!

Planned meals that mostly didn't happen:

1. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

2. Soup of some kind

3. Lamb chops, baked potato, broccoli

4,  Undetermined pasta dish

5. Veggie dinner TBD

6. Tacos with all the fixings

7. Eggroll in a bowl

What did happen:

Monday joy: My Beloved Sister's husband was back in the hospital on Thursday of last week, but was doing much better by Monday. He was in a different hospital than the one he was in before, and she feels much more comfortable leaving him. Before she was with him from 8-4, would go home for a few hours than head back from 8-10. I am happy that she feels fine now to go between 9 and 10 then leave by 4 for the day.

I also had a phone call from Sluggy, and, for probably the first time, I had my phone ringer turned on so I could actually answer the call when it came in. 

I am not married to my phone at all, and if I go somewhere that requires I turn my ringer off, it might be 3 or 4 days before I realize I have not turned it back on.

Monday dinner: I had planned on having a bowl of chili on a cold night. I thawed 2 pounds of ground chuck to make a huge pot of the stuff, browned it, sautéed onions to go in it and started to add the seasonings. 

My brain obviously shut down and I seasoned it with herbs and spices that were nowhere near anything I would use for chili. Plans went out the window!

Spaghetti with meat sauce*, tossed salad

Tuesday joy: I woke to a brilliantly sunny but cold day. Usually I would have my coffee and watch birds  hopping all over the back yard. Nope! Not a single bird! I guess this morning saw them hunkered down with their feathers puffed for warmth.

As the day progressed and warmed a bit (36 degrees) I did see a few birds in the yard. If any of you read Practical Parsimony she mentioned seeing robins return. I live just a few miles south of her (literally just a few) but we have robins in our yard all winter. I grew up a few blocks from here and we always had them overwinter.  

I saw a few robins, a titmouse, and a couple of finches. Cold weather was predicted for the remainder of the week, and I figured no birds would be the morning norm, but I do miss seeing them while I am drinking coffee.

I went to ThePig and was able to score their free item___spaghetti. With all the accidental sauce I made Monday, the extra pasta will come in handy. Lucky for me, The Pig had their ground chuck at my stock up price and I was able to buy it (lots of it) and begin cooking a new jumbo pot of chili. I was also able to use some of the ground chuck to make dog food for My Beloved Sister's terribly spoiled dogs.

One additional joy was discovering Trader Joe's will soon be opening a store just a couple of miles from my house. Since it will be on the path I drive often, it will no longer be a destination trip, but somewhere I can stop by anytime I am out and about. I am happy but not sure my checkbook **will be.

Tuesday dinner: What we had to eat did not sound good to me after eating spaghetti Monday night, but it was cooked, so why not?

Chili, coleslaw (did not make cornbread and life went on)

Wednesday joy: There were still no birds for me to watch while I had my caffeine fix, but the morning sky was gorgeous even if it was cold.

One of my biggest joys for the day might be something all of you knew all along. Evidently there are things I am slow to learn. 

Sunday while I was freezing in church I was sitting next to one of my friends who is very cold natured. I asked her how she was tolerating the cold sanctuary when she told me she had on her thermal undies. 

I had a eureka moment seeing that they were not restricted to a base layer when doing outdoor things. Wednesday after my morning shower I put on my cuddle duds under my sweater. What a difference. Between that and actually wearing socks I was quite comfortable without having to turn the heat up. 

Because the day was cold, I chose to stay in until I needed to run to My Beloved Sister's house to drop off the food for her dogs. I hope her life will settle down soon, but it does not look like it will right away.

Wednesday dinner: TheHub and I ate lunch later than normal, but had a light one so we still wanted a little something for dinner. I had mentioned previously that I am trying to use what we have in storage rather than shopping more than is absolutely necessary. A pack of chopped cooked chicken was the genesis of the nights meal.

Chicken corn chowder

Thursday joy: This was the coldest morning of the year so far and once again I had my coffee without birds to watch. Still it was a beautiful morning and instead of birds I got to look at my  hibiscus. I moved it back in the house before the temperatures plunged and it was just happy as a clam blooming away facing the kitchen window. Bright big coral colored blossoms were a nice treat on a cold January morning. Not to be outdone, the lime tree was also flowering. 

I would like a greenhouse so I did not have to move plants back and forth, but our winters are so mild I would only truly need one one a few days each month. 

TheHub and I had planned on having a little day trip, but had some unexpected business that we had to take care of. Instead, we drove to Brierfield. (Maybe a town or maybe just a  small unincorporated community in the middle of nowhere)

A friend had told me about Boondocks several months ago and we had it on our radar to try.

It looked just like you would think any joint in rural Alabama would look.  (Can you say dive joint).

We started with their signature starter (which most folks call an appetier, but we were in Brierfield, Alabama so we will just go with whatever they call it). We were served spiraled fried green tomatoes. I was skeptical but those suckers were delicious. Imagine paper thin spirals of green tomato in the thinnest batter possible, flash fried. Chef's kiss.

Then, because we had never heard of it before, we both had the Hot Half Hamburger plate, which was a grilled patty on half of a bun smothered in grilled onions and brown gravy, served with a side (I chose coleslaw and TheHub chose baked beans). Again I was surprised at how good it was. 

Samantha, our waitress, told us we need to come back any Friday which is catfish day and her personal favorite. 

If you are looking for an eating adventure just mosey to Bibb county and have a little treat, unless you have no GPS. If you don't, understand you will never find the place!

And because it was on, we watched the Notre Dame/ Penn State game. We have watched college football all season. Might as well see it to the end!

Thursday dinner: We ate that big lunch and just wanted something simple.

Tomato soup

Friday joy: Woo hoo! If you are from the south, nothing beats waking to a snow covered world. It is especially wonderful when the temps were not going to stay below freeing and a very slight melt begans by mid day. 

Neither of us had to be anywhere so we could sit and sip coffee or tea while we looked out the window and enjoyed how incredibly beautiful it was.

I dressed in warm yet extremely comfortable clothes and prepared for a slow day, and trust me it was. 

 As some point in the afternoon, I decided I needed to bake so the house would smell as lovely as outside looked. Because I idid not want to make more then the two of us could eat, I googled small batch desserts and settled on blondies.*** It did not take long for the house to smell delicious.

And to end the day we watched the last semi final NCAA football game. 

Friday dinner: It was cold and we had leftovers, so dinner planned itself.

Leftover chicken corn chowder

Saturday joy: The morning was very cold but the day warmed pretty quickly and most of the snow started to melt rapidly. Except for our front yard and front steps. Our house is north facing and other than the early morning sun, we just don't get much, at least not enough to thaw the snow that had melted slightly then frozen. Icy steps are not a friend of mine.

We had some errands to run so TheHub had to break the ice before we could safely navigate the stairs. (I think it is time to get rid of the batting cage in the basement so we can use our basement garage)

We made a trip to Duluth Trading, a little stop for lunch at our favorite pita place, followed by a trip to Walmart. I have not been in one since they reorganized the store. Whoever was in charge of the design obviously does not want me as a customer. I have never been a Walmart fan, but now I am done. I will  continue to go to the stand alone Walmart grocery store near me, but I never have to go in their Supercenter again.

Saturday dinner: Once we got home from running around, I put a big pot of soup on the stove to cook. It is still cold so I figured I might as well go ahead and make a huge pot full. It was also a good way to use bit and pieces of leftover veggies.

Veggie dense beef and vegetable soup.

Sunday joy: We woke early to go to the communion service before early church. This is something we would like to make our habit. After church we went to Sunday School, then to Dollar Tree. 

TheHub is reading a lot more and having trouble doing so with his progressive lenses. We stopped by to let him try on different strengths of reading glasses. He had already tried with my 150s and they did not work for him. 

He wound up getting none while I traipsed through the store and found a couple of things I needed.

Once we were home we did not go out again and both spent most of the day reading.

Sunday dinner: Don't judge, but I spent so much time reading I forgot to take anything out of the freezer to thaw.  I had cooked and gussied up some navy beans earlier in the week and had a pack of hot dogs in the fridge.

Beanie Weenies, coleslaw

What might be happening here this week: (the weather is supposed to be much warmer)

1. Greek lamb chops, rice and some green vegetable side (TBD)

2. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad

3. Eggroll in a bowl

4. Soup

5. Veggie meal TBD

6. Take out

7. Chicken bulgogi, broccoli, rice

What I read in January:

The God of the Woods

Half Mammals of Dixie

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* Instead of having lots of chili to freeze, I had 3 quart bags of spaghetti sauce. I will enjoy having it made later, but I really counted on freezing excess chili.

** No, I do not really write checks for groceries.

*** Small batch blondies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I think it is 175 c. but not positive)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/8 cut chopped nuts (optional)

Combine the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix the flour baking powder and salt then add to the wet ingredients. Stir until well blended . Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts until incorporated.

Spread into a greased 5x5 pan and bake about 20 minutes. Then enjoy!

Oh no, just 51 weeks till Christmas

I began this Christmas prep post last week and plan to continue it until the week before Christmas 2025 to keep my resolve strong but also to keep me accountable. I am pretty sure there will be weeks when I do absolutely nothing and I will post that. Honest reporting! So this is my update for the 51st week until the big day.

This week saw few purchases for Christmas, other than buying some deeply discounted Christmas wrapping paper and gift tags. 

One of the first thing I did this past week was create a Christmas folder to keep hard copies of any ideas or templates I find that I might want to use for next year. I will store it with my cookbooks for easy access.

I decided one thing I need to do is to try new to me Christmas recipes (at least one a month) to possibly add to my Christmas baking, which was virtually nonexistent this past holiday. 

I tried a recipe for gingerbread cake. It is not something I ever make, but I remember Mom making it when I was a kid. I had no tried and true recipe to use, so I just tried a googled small batch recipe.* I think making the same size recipe would be a nice small addition to the assorted dessert tray I have out for Christmas brunch.

Though most of my Christmas decorations were packed away, normally I leave the Dickens village  up through January.  I really do like the way the lights from the little houses make the corner cabinets in the dining room sparkle. This year I had to take it down much sooner than I wanted to. 

To created elevations in the scene  I have always used books. I just don't like the way it looks with everything on the same plane. The houses on different levels make the village look a little visually more interesting.

Sadly I could not find a particular book I needed for class this week. After searching the house for it, I remembered all those books underneath the snow scene. So not even a week into January I had to start taking it down.

(The book was not there after all! No clue where I might have put it.)

At some point in the process of disassembling the village I had an AHA! moment. It was something I should have thought of years ago, but I didn't. 

I got some card stock and traced the bases of each house to use as  template to make wooden risers sometime between now and October. After measuring the bases I should be able to cut them out of 4x4's. I think I will cut 3 for each house, then can decide the height I want at a later date. Since my aim is to be completely decorated before Thanksgiving I want the bases cut, glued and ready to put underneath the "snow" by early November.

And that is the update for this week. I could probably do more, but why? I have a lot of time before Christmas comes again. (Which is some seriously bad thinking on my part, and why I was not prepared for this past season.)

* Small batch gingerbread cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup molasses ( not blackstrap)

1 egg yolk

2/3 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup hot water

In a small bowl stir the butter until it is creamy (a wooden spoon works fine for this entire recipe)

Add the sugar and molasses and beat well. Toss in the dry ingredients and mix well, then add hot water and beat until the batter is smooth.

Spray a 5x5 inch pan (if you don't have a pan that size bake it in 4 greased muffin tins) with cooking spray and put batter in the pan. If you want you can use a spatula to smooth the batter, or be like me and just hit the bottom of the pan several times to level the batter.

Bake  for about 25 minutes.

Let is cool a bit before serving.

It was very good and I will make it again this winter but might add chopped walnuts before I bake it.

It’s a whole new year

This was the first full week of 2024, and it is early enough in the year that the only serious goof I have made this year was bashing my shin into the opened dishwasher door and taking a hunk out of my leg. Thanks to some liquid bandage and TheHub who wrapped it for me, after 2 days it was fine, ugly but fine.

Now on to the second full week filled with possibilities and a new start.

Monday joy: We had nothing planned and actually did very little other than a ton of laundry. Mom always made sure every single dirty item was laundered before the new year arrived. She firmly believed in the old wives tale that if you went into the new year with dirty clothes you would not catch up on your laundry all year. The one year I scoffed at her tradition was a year I had houseguests one after the other, and felt like I never caught up on the wash. I WILL NO LONGER TEMPT FATE.

Monday dinner: I had tidied the pantry and found I was more than a little overstocked with pasta.

Pasta with pesto sauce, tossed salad

Tuesday joy: I was so obsessed with getting every single thing laundered that as soon as we woke I stripped the bed of the Christmas sheets, had them laundered and packed back in their container before 9 am. The upside was knowing we would not go to bed before 12 midnight so the sheets I put on the bed would be nice and clean to officially start the new year. 

This obsession did not stop there. We both took showers to get ready to go out NYE, so I washed a load of towels once we were dressed. Then when we came home I threw my black slacks in a small load of darks I had saved to run once we got home.  We were both in clean pajamas by 10:00 pm, so we would begin 2025 in clean duds.

Tuesday dinner: We go out to eat every NYE

Spinach salad, sea bass over polenta with sautéed Swiss chard, triple chocolate mousse over raspberry coulis, dirty vodka martini, Prosecco

Wednesday joylessness: We woke anticipating watching the New Year's Day football games. Instead we found ourselves glued to the news about the horror in New Orleans. I will not say we watched the coverage all day, and we did watch a couple of football games, but flipped back and forth continually to the news.

Wednesday dinner: We have had this same meal every New Years Day that I can remember with the exception of one year when we were in London. I can't believe we could not find it there (she said sarcastically)

Black eyed peas, collards, ham, cornbread

Thursday joy: TheHub had a few tasks to do for work (because he  retired in June and it is now January) so he ran to the office, getting home in time to watch the Sugar Bowl.  Secretly I was not upset Georgia lost.

Thursday dinner: We ate lunch late, and neither of us were very hungry 

Soup compliments of Progresso

Friday joy: DIL2 needed a little help with her car. She had an appointment to have her car recalls fixed as well as a general yearly check. The dealership is close to my house so I picked her up and we came back here for a visit until her car was done. 

On the way to pick up her car we stopped at a store that was going out of business, and bought a few things. 

I dropped her off at the dealership and she stopped by to grab us some lunch. She stayed nearly all day and it was such a pleasure. 

If I had hand picked a DIL I never could have found a more perfect one for Son2. I loved having her here all to myself!

Friday dinner: It was a mostly leftover kind of night.

Mac and cheese, leftover blacked peas, leftover collards

Saturday joy: TheHub and I will keep things forever and are not  in the demographic of those who have to have the newest and coolest anythings. We both have had our phones for years and years and many of the apps I used regularly were no longer compatible with the operating system my ancient phone had. So we headed to Verizon to see what we could find.  

As luck would have it, or the fact that we are not update hounds, we both qualified for upgrades for no additional costs. Possibly because we have been Verizon customers since 1998 and have only upgraded smart phones once each in that time. (I did have a flip phone for years that I loved but there was nothing remotely smart about it.)  I suppose being held captive at Verizon for nearly 4 hours (Not my fault, TheHub was changing from Android to an Iphone and it took forever for his data to transfer) and getting a free phone upgraded was worth the time. 

Meanwhile I left the crowded store and sat in the car where I was able to call Sluggy and talk for a bit until TheHub needed me to tell him what his old Ipad apple account password was. (I had no clue and it meant he had to come back to the house, find it among his paperwork, and go back to the store.)

Saturday dinner: We had eaten nothing  all day and by the time we got out of Verizon  it was after 3:30. 

We stopped on the way home and picked up a breakfast, lunch, and dinner  combination meal

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw compliments of Jack's

Sunday joy: We woke and got dressed for Sunday things. We have been going to a communion service at 7:55, then early church at 8:30, followed by Sunday School. I made the mistake of thinking since I was just going to run into the building there was no reason I would need a coat. What I was not expecting was for the church to be so blooming cold. By the time the service was over, I was freezing. I learned my lesson. and will not go again this winter without a coat and a scarf to wrap around my neck. 

The sanctuary is quite large and of course the doors were opened often as people came in.  It/I  just never got anywhere close to warm. I am not cold natured so the people who get cold easily must have been freezing.

We stopped by Publix on the way home to pick up a couple of things and by that time the winds had picked up,  I was still coatless, and it started spitting rain. I did not warm up until we got back in the house and I had changed into sweat pants, thermal undershirt and a sweater. Getting toasty warm after being cold is a serious joy.

Sunday dinner: This just felt like another soup night

Smoked sausage gumbo.

Books read in January:

None finished yet though I am juggling 3

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

What might happen this week*:

1. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

2. Soup of some kind

3. Lamb chops, baked potato, broccoli

4,  Undetermined pasta dish

5. Veggie dinner TBD

6. Tacos with all the fixings

7. Eggroll in a bowl

* I know I usually include at least one night as an out to eat meal. We are not giving up going out to eat each week, but as TheHub realized he has mostly retired we are going to start going out to eat at lunch. Any day we go out to eat at lunch will mean a soup or sandwich  meal for dinner. If soup is listed it most likely its an undetermined  hodgepodge soup made of leftovers from the fridge  and broth from the freezer.. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Sharing this video snippet by my most favorite singer, with wishes for a wonderful 2025 to all