Oh No, Just 43 Weeks Till Christmas

I am becoming less and less enthused about prepping for Christmas next year, when everything in me is excited about spring. 

I did find a cute door decoration that was a nutcracker printed on canvas made to hang from a doorknob. I was not about to pay 10 bucks for a printed piece of canvas, no matter how cute it was. However, I saved the photo of it, have some balsa wood around the house, and decided to try my hand at painting my own. Heaven knows, I have a multitude of door knobs in this house and at least 3 or 4 of them could stand a little Christmas cheer.

I also added a few recipes to my Christmas cookbook. I have found Google knows no end to a search simply titled Christmas. There seems to be no limit to the number of rabbit holes I can disappear in, which is fun but time consuming.  With that time, though I have found a plethora of recipes  and traditions I had never seen before. 

Now I have to be on the lookout for lomaconi to use making a traditional Spanish Christmas soup. I was thinking that our  entertaining plans for the next holiday season needs to include having close friends over for a simple soup dinner, with three or four different soup choices. Might as well try soups from different parts of the globe, but I will want to try them first.

Did I even set foot in the room that is covered in Christmas and other holiday stuff?  Nope not at all.

There is always next week, right?

Goldilocks Week: Not to Busy and Not to Slow

This past week had gorgeous weather, warmer temperatures and a lot of sun. My hibiscus plants are showing off, and my lime tree is covered with blossoms. The redbud trees in the backyard are in full bloom, daffodils are up everywhere, and I am sneezing a little. It must be spring.

Plans that mostly didn't happen:

1. California roll cucumber salad, dinner rolls

2. Steak, baked potato, salad

3. Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad, rolls

4. Smoked trout toasts, coleslaw

5. Veggie meal TBD

6. Out to eat

7. Thai chicken curry, rice

Monday joy: I spent the day doing laundry and catching up with the TV show "Lost". It is Pip's favorite show and since we will be seeing her the end of March it is always good to have something in common to talk about. That said, I really do not like the show, but have found a different way of "watching " it. 

There is a website called TV Tropes which has a summery of each episode. I watched the first 3 shows in the first season to establish the characters. From there on I read the summery of the episodes, and only have to watch when a new character is introduced. I understand this is like a Cliff Notes approach, but it is working for me.

Monday dinner: Once again the freezer came to the rescue. 

Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, tossed salad, dinner rolls

Tuesday joy: I went to Independence Place, was met at the door with smiles and hugs, then proceeded to show them how to make the worlds easiest chicken and dumplings. 

It only takes chicken broth, canned chicken breast chunks, a can of cream of chicken soup, water, and flour tortillas* cut into 8ths like a pizza. 

Put the broth, chicken, cream of chicken soup  and water into a large boiler (Had to have a large one because they had 10 participants Tuesday but you can scale down as much as you want since there are no official measurements. Just eyeball everything) 

Once it is boiling toss in the tortilla bits, one at a time, stirring so they won't clump. (Stir after each addition.)

Cook until the tortillas are soft and hold their shape and the broth thickens up a bit. 

They loved it, and it is a meal they could make either by themselves, or with minimal assistance.

I did have a request for next time I am there that I will not honor. Miss H wants me to cook  a turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy. Not happening!

Tuesday dinner: We were in the mood for a veggie dinner

Squash casserole, green beans, coleslaw

Wednesday joy: I had my Wednesday class, and since I was dressed anyway TheHub wanted to go out for lunch. We went to a meat and three on the bluff and had veggie plates with a view! While we were out we ran a couple of errands before coming home. 

Sprouts grinds their own peanut butter and I really do prefer getting it there rather than the jarred stuff from the regular grocery store. Since I was stopping by anyway, I picked up several things there I am unable to find at some other places I buy groceries. 

I wish their store nearest me had not closed because I went there every Wednesday on my way home from class. Now I have to make an effort to go, so I don't get by there as often as I used to.

The day was so gorgeous it was easy to justify staying out anyway.

Wednesday dinner: The evening was perfect for firing up the grill.

Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

Thursday joy: Fiber as an internet option was finally available in my neighborhood . We were seriously glad to make the change from Spectrum as it is about 30 bucks a month cheaper and a good bit faster. But we had to wait around for the installer, so we both planned stuff to do while hanging around the house. The upside is that I got a good spring cleaning job done to the den.

Shortly before sunset we rode to The Pig to grab a few things then planned to swing by the bluff to watch it disappear. We missed the actual setting but did get to see some of the beautiful afterglow. We probably should have ridden to the bluff first, Oh well!

Thursday dinner: Because of the installation, we both had lunch much later than usual and we just did not want much for dinner.

Tossed salad

Friday joy: We left the house a bit after nine and headed to Athens, Alabama to meet Son3 and DIL3 for lunch. Athens is halfway between Birmingham and Nashville and a good meeting spot. 

The day was just perfect and TheHub and I talked the entire way up there. We pulled in to The Southern Table restaurant right as they got there too. The food was delicious, the restaurant was charming and the company was great. We were able to have a leisurely lunch, then shopped at a delightful gift shop next door.

I had been to Athens before but never to the downtown area. It is a beautiful Southern town that is thriving. TheHub and I will definitely be going back.

On our way home we stopped at the Dutch Oven Bakery in Falkville. We did quite a bit of damage there, but came home with 3 bags of deliciousness. We actually needed to take something to two of our friends, so it was not all for us. 

One friend's mom had recently passed away so we dropped by her house to give her a cake, and visited for a little bit. 

Then from there we stopped by to take a cake to another friend who is recovering from a knee replacement. While we were at their house we also saw their neighbors, who are mutual friends. The results? A glass of wine and some wonderful conversation with everyone. 

We left, had one more stop then finally made it home by about 6:45.

And, at about 9:30 that night our neighbor rang the doorbell. They had a Mardi Gras party Friday night that we had to decline. I figured we would be cutting the time close, but I had also screwed up my left knee and knew I could not manage climbing her driveway without re-injuring it. Wonderful friend and neighbor that she is, she came bearing gifts. She stayed and we had a nice visit for a couple of hours.

Friday dinner: I forgot we had to use February's monthly minimum we are obligated for, and being as we had been gone all day, we opted for takeout rather than dine in.

Grilled cobia, broccolini, rice pilaf

Saturday joy: We hung around doing odd jobs, laundry and watching (off and on) Alabama softball and men's basketball. The men were literally beaten at the buzzer.

Saturday dinner:  The gifts my neighbor (the one who came over with Friday night) brought were the most delicious edible kind.

Gumbo, jambalaya, cornbread, king cake. 

Sunday joy: We woke early for our church's communion service, followed by early church, then Sunday school. It was also communion Sunday at the early service, so we were double communed that day.

Our Sunday school class had a guest speaker who was about 30 years younger than all of us, but it was very nice to hear the perspectives from someone of a different generation.

TheHub and I came home, ate lunch then watched both Alabama softball and women's basketball.  Sunday is the only day of the week I take a little nap, so I obliged and fell asleep on the loveseat for about 35 minutes. It was bliss.

Sunday dinner: I did not really feel like cooking but there was a package of ground chuck I had thawed that had to be used.

SOS*, coleslaw

Possibilities  for the week that probably won't happen:

1. Smoked trout toast***, coleslaw or salad

2. Pancake dinner, sausage, bacon, fruit compote, decaf latte

3. Hamburger with all the fixings, tater tots (weather may change this)

4. Leftover gumbo, cornbread, cajun coleslaw

5. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, cucumber onion tomato salad

6. Chicken and waffles w/hot honey,  tossed salad

7. Out to eat

Books Read in February:

Confessions of a Christmasoholic

Long List

A Confederacy of Dunces (a re-read)

Anxious People

You Like It Darker

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* for 10 people (about 3/4 c. serving) I used 2 lg. cans of chicken, one family size container of broth, 1 standard size cream of chicken soup, 1 1/2 soup cans water, and about 18 tortillas

** You either know what this is, or you are really young and have never heard people who served in various military operations speak of their not so hot  K-rations. For anyone trying to figure it out, the 2nd S stands for shingle.

***The smoked trout is vaccuum sealed in the freezer, so it has  just been hanging out in a controlled setting for the past few weeks that I have had it on the menu plans and not yet made it.

Oh No Just 44 Weeks Until Christmas

 Know what I did to prepare for the holidays in the 44th week before Christmas???

Jack Squat

I said from the beginning of these posts I would be transparent, positing my successes and failures. I have no idea why I didn't get anything done, other than I was just not feeling it.

I spent about 10 minutes upstairs in the room of horrors but only sorted some of the Halloween decorations, leaving anything Christmas untouched. Not my finest!

Maybe I will be more productive this week, and maybe not. Right now I would place betting money on not, but who knows? Hope springs eternal.

The Week Was Cold and so Was I

The week came and went without any major goings on except for the serious cold temps.  I take it as a personal offense when one week is 80 and the next is 20. My cries of unfair seem to have little effect on the outside temperatures though. All I know is that I have been ice cold this past week.

1. Stuffed bell pepper soup, coleslaw, cornbread

2. Pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, cooked carrots

3. Chicken divan, cucumber slices, dinner rolls

4. Veggie dinner TBD

5. Tacos or taco salad (weather dependent)

6. Soup TBD (depending on what I decide to make)

7. Out to eat (I am meeting several of my female cousins for dinner and gabbing)

Monday joy: As you all know by now, nothing makes me happier than being at Independence Place. In honor of President's Day, we talked about the tale of Washington chopping down the cherry tree. 

Since cherries are associated with the day, we made cherry blintzes about the easiest way possible. 

Flour tortillas were soaked in milk until they were soft,. The centers were  filled with canned cherry pie filling, then folded like an eggroll. They sat on a parchment paper for a few minutes, then were cooked on the stovetop in butter.  A dollop of whipped cream topped each blintz .
Each time we are finished I ask if the food was a thumbs up, down or sideways to see how they enjoyed it. Most of the time there is at least one thumbs down, because everybody does not like everything. This time there was a rousing thumbs up*

Monday dinner: I made a huge pot of soup earlier in the day, so dinner was decided.

Stuffed bell pepper soup

Tuesday joy: Finally I did some some cleaning and messing around in the decorations closet (which was mostly strewn about the room instead). Lucky for me it is in such a mess that I made the barest dent in organizing and I will have plenty to keep me busy for a long time.

Tuesday dinner: Some nights we want real food, but a simple meal.

Chicken, green beans, coleslaw, biscuit

Wednesday joy: It was too blooming cold here, but I went to my Wednesday class anyway. TheHub met a friend for lunch so I had most of the afternoon to myself and once he got home I recruited him to help me deliver Christmas presents to My Beloved Sister and BIL. We had planned to do it the week after he came home from the hospital the first time, but he was readmitted 4 days later. We took it over to them as soon as he felt like having visitors, even though we just stayed a few minutes. Afterward we ran by a couple of stores then back home to say in and get warm. 

Wednesday dinner: I had a ton of home cooked chicken broth and cooked chicken. This dinner was inevitable and certainly warmed us up.

Chicken noodle soup

Thursday joy: We booked a river cruise from Prague to Budapest for May of 2026.  We are tentatively looking at taking a train form Budapest to Zurich, visiting some folks we know there, then taking a train to Paris for a few days, possibly taking the chunnel and winding up in London. Of course we have a lot of time to make any changes as we think of them. Even if we wind up just cruising the river it is still something to look forward to.

That night we watched Alabama women's basketball. Tennessee won, oh well.

Thursday dinner: We wanted a "real" meal (meaning no soup)

Pork chops, cauliflower rice pilaf, cucumber slices

Friday joy:  The new loveseat was delivered and for a small tip extra the movers relocated to den couch and moved the existing loveseat to the basement den. We had to rearrange things and get rid of some things that no longer fit in the room.

I listed some old analog stereo speakers on our local buy nothing FB page. Someone wanted them immediately, and they were picked up by the afternoon. Yay! One thing I did not want nor need out of the house!

Friday dinner: TheHub wanted something hot, I wanted something raw.

Bowl of soup or salad plate

Saturday joy: The day was pretty much devoted to Alabama sports. We watched 2 games of softball and men's basketball.  

Saturday dinner: We had to have a quick meal to eat during the basketball game halftime.

Taco salad

Sunday joy: We went to our church's morning communion service, early church, and Sunday school. On our way home we stopped and picked up a bite for lunch, talked to Son3, then turned on Alabama softball.

I got home and found someone wanted the 4 foot marble slab I listed on Buy Nothing. Woo hoo! TheHub put it outside by the street for an easy (though heavy) pickup. Another thing that had served its purpose here was gone!

I am not a napper but there is something about a Sunday afternoon that just screams for a nap.

Sunday dinner: This night was not only about food but also about the company. My Beloved Sister and I met 7 of our female cousins for dinner at North Italia. The food was ok, but the fellowship was exceptional. So this was actually one of the days great joys rather than being about the meal. Bonus**

Italian farm salad

Possible meals for this week:

1. California roll cucumber salad

2. Steak, baked potato, salad

3. Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad

4. Smoked trout toasts, coleslaw

5. Veggie meal TBD

6. Out to eat

7. Thai chicken curry, rice

Books Read in February:

Confessions of a Christmasoholic

Long List

A Confederacy of Dunces (a re-read)

Anxious People

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* The one person I know who does not like cherries was not there. She would have not only given me a thumbs down, but would have accompanied it with some serious stink eye.

** The meal was a females only which meant TheHub was on his own for dinner. He is not a cook and planned on grabbing something to bring back to the house to eat. He loves Captain D's as much as I don't. He was able to satisfy his need and I did not have to be a part of it. 

Oh no, just 45 weeks until Christmas

Other than finding a couple of recipes I would like to try, I did next to nothing to get ready for Christmas 2025 this past week. 

Not what I want for Christmas meals,  but it makes me laugh

I did get started in the upstairs room whose closet is supposed to house all seasonal decorations. I have been good about taking things up there, but not good at all about putting them away. I had already decided I would go through each and every container in the closet, and also those strewn about the room putting my hands on each item and making a decision to keep said thing or let it go*. 

So far the only things I finished are (1.) the container with the carolers (which are all repaired and waiting for their appearance on the foyer table next season), (2.) the wrapping containers (one each with gift wrap, gift boxes, and Christmas gift bags) and (3.) 3 boxes of living room tree decor (now condensed into one large container).

Judging by my progress (or lack thereof) I figure it will take me several days workings pretty steadily to go through everything and get it packed up and stowed**.

Now you have to remember that normally I decorate for each holiday and have a pretty large selection for every one, so this is not all Christmas related. But there is no point in doing a half-assed job is there?  I will be working my way through every single holiday's containers before I am completely through. 

If I were a brave puppy I would have taken a picture of the room and closet before I began just to show you how bad it was. I will admit there was a box of skulls and a horn of plenty hanging out in the room beside all of the Christmas stuff. Instead I will take on when I get the project completed. 

*So far, I have one copy paper box filled with things to give away. It was pretty easy to look at something and see if I was hanging on to it because I use it regularly, for sentimental reasons, or just because I used it years ago and never got rid of it. 

Now I just have to figure who is still accepting Christmas decor so I can give it away.  

I also separated personalized brass ornaments my mom gave each of my sons every year until they were adults. Those are all going to them the next time I see them. 

** Don't even begin to think I am going to do this consecutive days until it is done. I have living to do, the door to the room can be shut, and I still have at least 38 weeks until I am ready to get it back out and start the Christmas decorating process again.  

A Week in the Not So Exciting Life

This week was a fairly humdrum week around here, but still enjoyable. There was no reason for it to be enjoyable, but also no reason for it not to be.

Planned but mostly didn't happen:

1. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

2. Veggie dinner TBD

3. Smoked trout toast, shirazi salad

4. Big salad meal TBD

5. Out to eat, or takeout

6. Conecuh sausage and steamed cabbage

7. Valentine's Day meal TBD (based on weather)

Daily joys and what we really ate:

Monday joy: TheHub and I stayed around the house, except for going to ThePig to pick up both the Monday and the weekly free items. You only have to have 10 dollars of additional purchases to get the freebies and they had 4 produce things I needed that were cherry picking prices. It was a win all the way around.

Monday dinner: I should have made coleslaw to add to the meal since I had a head of cabbage in the fridge, but I did't get around to it. 

Chili, cornbread

Tuesday joy: BIL's biopsy result was negative and there was nothing bigger to be joyful about!

Tuesday dinner: We were not really hungry and this was on hand

Vegetable beef soup

Wednesday joy: This is a huge joy. After 9 weeks in the hospital BIL was able to go home.

I had class then TheHub and I did some running around, but we stayed close to home in the event My Beloved Sister needed help transporting BIL to their house (She didn't)

Wednesday dinner:  Meal compliments of the freezer, fridge, and pantry.

Country ribs, sautéed cabbage, baked potato

Thursday dinner: I had thawed some ground chuck anticipating cooking burgers, but changed plans.

Hamburger patties, with sautéed mushrooms and onions, mixed winter vegetables, dinner rolls

Friday joy: It was Valentine's Day, and though we no longer go out with the restaurant crowds to celebrate, TheHub still brought me a gorgeous rose and hydrangea bouquet and we do exchange cards.

Friday dinner: Celebratory Valentine's dinner at home

Grilled lamb chops w/ rosemary mint compound butter, tossed salad, baked potato, brownie

Saturday joy: We did a few chores, got dressed and went out for the morning to run some errands,

I have a love seat in the den that is positioned perfectly for TV watching. We have had it for decades and I have reupholstered it 3 times and is really in need of a fourth recovering, but it no longer services my needs. It had a low back and for sitting is fine, but as I have aged sometimes I doze off for a few minutes late at night and it hurts my neck. La-Z Boy was having a presidential sale and we stopped in to have a look.  30 minute later I was the owner of a love seat with adjustable footrests. Best of all it has a relatively high back so when (not if) I doze off for a few minutes, my neck won't hurt.

Plus after our running around we made it home in time to see Auburn beat Alabama in basketball. Oh well!

Saturday dinner: Once we came home I started cooking chicken quarters to make broth. Dinner that followed was inevitable.

Chicken vegetable soup

Sunday joy: We went to the communion service, church, Sunday school, home for a quick lunch then out to see "Six".  

The play is a very high energy production (though calling it a play is really a misnomer) Their voices were outstanding and the songs were all so well written. I am really glad I saw it, and did enjoy it, but I do not have to see it again.

I took the bones I had saved after cooking and deboning the chicken meat from the leg quarters Saturday, and added them into the saved liquid I had cooked them in originally. Once the liquid was hot and boiling I turned it down to a simmer and left it for the rest of the day. The results of the entire process in addition 5 bags of cooked chicken was 7 quarts of broth. Nice return on the 5 bucks I spent for the chicken quarters.

And an entirely unrelated question: I have been wondering why after a week of springlike weather, did winter have to come back. I had to move my plants back in the house, and now have hibiscus  and lime trees blooming in my kitchen . 

Once I get a taste of spring, I am through with winter, but it seems it is not through with me.

Sunday dinner:  We just wanted a simple dinner. 

Mac and cheese, turnip greens, corn relish

What could possibly be on the menu this week:

1. Stuffed bell pepper soup, coleslaw, cornbread

2. Pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, cooked carrots

3. Chicken divan, cucumber slices, dinner rolls

4. Veggie dinner TBD

5. Tacos or taco salad (weather dependent)

6. Soup TBD (depending on what I decide to make)

7. Out to eat (I am meeting several of my female cousins for dinner and gabbing)

Books Read in February:

Confessions of a Christmasoholic

Long List

A Confederacy of Dunces (a re-read)

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

Oh no, just 46 weeks until Christmas

 Let's see. What was done toward holiday prep this 46th week  until Christmas? Very little. 

We had a week of full blown spring temperatures and it had me looking through seed catalogues, and paint samples for the front door. Right now I am leaning toward a dark charcoal gray paint with bluish green undertones, and looking for mashed potato squash seed (which I had never heard of before this past fall but NEED to plant this year). 

While I was looking at paint, I did mentally imagine what a wreath would look like against it, and also what color and design I would like for the ribbon. 

Imagining is always a problem for me, because when I actually start looking for something I created in my mind, it is nowhere to be found. I suppose I could always join the ranks of the traditional and just use red velvet ribbon, but why?

While I am imagining I can't help but think that with thinking about Christmas every week, this might be the very first year that the house could be as decorated and festooned and I always hope for.

Hope springs eternal, correct ?

The last Byers caroler was found, bought and is on her way. She is slightly damaged, which is why she was cheap enough for me to buy.  It looks like whatever she had in her basket is long gone, but that will be a very simple fix. 

Now the only thing I have to do is decide whether to include the fur babies in the carol family or not. Right now I am leaning toward no, but I will continue to look, and if the price is right I could change my mind.

I also read a Christmas book for the month of February. It is Confessions of a Christmasoholic.

I will not recommend it to anyone unless you enjoy some extremely graphic gratuitous smut sprinkled in an otherwise sweet tale. There were large portions of several chapters that I left unread because that type of writing does not appeal to me at all. 

I was just glad it was a Libby E-book and could be returned. I just wish there had been a little heads up in the book description, and I would have never chosen it even though it had a cute Christmasy cover. It just reinforces the old adage about never judging. 

So other than listening to a few Christmas tunes and looking at a few potential Christmas recipes, that sums up my Christmas prep for the week.

And just in case you were wondering, I still have the door tightly shut, and have done nothing to the room strewn with Christmas. This week is supposed to be rainy so there is the possibility I might actually get to work sorting and packing away. I would not place any bets on it though.

The past week in review

Like a lot of my weeks, things just happen as they will and I tend to just go with the flow. 

Some plans work out and some don't. I get to do some of the things I/we planned and some have to be booted or rescheduled, and the world keeps spinning regardless of what I intended.

Meals that were planned: (Haha)

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

2. Grilled tuna, chopped veggie salad, dinner rolls

3. Grilled lamb 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

Daily joy and meal that really happened:

Monday joy: I knocked around the house for a good portion of the day, broken up by going to My Beloved Sister's house to do some dog tending. 

Her sweet pups have had their routine altered terribly, so I went over midday to do a little loving on them, then went later to feed and pet them. Finally at about 10 went back to her house to get them settled for the night. I feel so sorry for them because they are missing all the attention they got all day before BIL's never ending hospitalization. My joy was being able to do something that would really help her. A drop dead gorgeous day didn't hurt my joy either!

Monday dinner:  The day almost demanded for us to fire up the grill, so we obeyed!

Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

Tuesday joy: The day was just a mostly regular day, with the exception of a phone call from Sluggy, but the night was delightful. The American Baseball Foundation has a summer program teaching baseball, reading and math to underserved kids in the Birmingham area. TheHub has been a supporter of it for several years and one of the ways we support it is at their annual fundraiser. He purchased a table and we were able to invite 6 of our friends to join us for dinner and an evening listening to Goose Gossage (former MLB pitcher). He was fun to listen to and as one of our guests said "I think he could talk to anyone, anywhere except for church". He was entertaining, but was unafraid to use some very salty language, which was a little too salty for a banquet filled with several hundred people.

I am not a prude ,and have been known to drop expletives but I do know there are places you just should absolutely not use some of the saltier words.

Tuesday dinner: Banquet food, what else can I say?

Chicken over noodles (odd choice I thought) asparagus, green beans, carrots, tossed salad, cheesecake and The Club's locally famous orange rolls.

Wednesday joy:  I went to my Wednesday class. We meet at my church on Wednesdays and this was food pantry Wednesday. Every other week our church provides foods for about 245 families. I do volunteer sometimes packing it, but my left knee will not allow me to stand in the parking lot for 3 hours handing out groceries. I wish it would.  It is always nice to be there on those days just to see some of the faces of folks.

(Even though I do not participate interacting with the participants, it is a ministry I support both with goods and finances)

After class I met 2 friends at Panera to eat (and talk, mainly talk). I really do like both of them very much and enjoyed the meal and a ton of laughter. Laughing with friends might be the golden elixir for an otherwise ordinary day.

Wednesday dinner: I love when my freezer decided what we would be heating. I wanted a meal that would almost make itself.

Spaghetti with meat sauce, tossed salad

Thursday joy: I had a phone conversation with a friend. We have not spoken since before Christmas and it was so very nice to catch up.  

Right after we hung up, I got dressed for the day (as opposed to just keeping on the frumpy clothes I was wearing all morning) and TheHub and I went out for lunch. I would have been fine eating whatever leftovers were in the fridge, but he needed a small adventure. As long as he is paying, it's fine with me. (Of course it does not matter who does the actual paying since all of our accounts, investments, and what nots are pooled income sources. ) Even so there is something mentally gratifying about him picking up the check.

Thursday dinner: We had what I call a big lunch and the need for a real dinner was off the table. 

He had a bowl of soup and I had the tossed salad leftover from Wednesday night.

Friday joy: Advil! I had a screaming headache and when I went outside I saw why. Tree pollens have begun falling. The proof was all over my dark blue vehicle, which did not look so dark. Achoo!

Friday dinner: The upside of the warmer weather, which was causing the trees to bud a bit early, was the grill on the back deck screaming "Use me! Use me!"

Grilled tuna steaks, baked potato, tossed salad

Saturday joy: We did not do much, but we did watch Auburn play basketball in the afternoon before watching the Alabama game that night.  TheHub ran to Sneaky Pete's to grab us a hot dog for lunch. They  make the best dogs in town. Though I am perfectly capable of cooking them myself, they never taste quite the same. I gripe about it, but, there is an upside to TheHub wanting to eat out or do take out so often. Having to eat a delicious slaw dog for lunch occasionally is definitely an upside.

Saturday dinner: We had intended to use the grill again, but decided to just have a comfort meal instead.

Chicken pot pie, apple carrot and raisin salad.

Sunday joy: We woke and went to church, stopping by Publix on the way home. After fortifying our Super Bowl noshes, we settled in for a day of game watching (and snacking). Since the day was overcast it was an easy day to hang out in front of the tv. While we were about to settle in to watch the actual game, Son2 and DIL 2 stopped by for a bit. We do always love seeing them no matter when or where! They watched a few possessions of the ball then headed home to see their pups

The Eagles won and we were happy!

Sunday dinner: We ate during the halftime show. I am sure it was fine, but we are both out of the age demo for the show and did not care one way or the other about watching it. Instead we sat at the table and talked while we ate.

Turkey sandwich, mandarins

This week's possibilities;

1. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread

2. Veggie dinner TBD

3. Smoked trout toast, shirazi salad

4. Big salad meal TBD

5. Out to eat, or takeout

6. Conecuh sausage and steamed cabbage

7. Valentine's Day meal TBD (based on weather)

Books read in February:

Confessions of a Christmasoholic* 

Long List

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* This was like an x-rated Hallmark Movie in book form. There were large parts of chapters that I literally skipped over. The story was cute and would have been perfectly fine without the graphic love and lust. 

If this is your cup of tea you might like it. For me those parts were just a waste of paper that I avoid reading. I will be much more selective with my March Christmas book and not choose one based on a cute cover. 

Oh no Just 47 weeks until Christmas

 The 47th week until Christmas has now passed and along with the passing came a new month. So now it is officially just 11 months until Christmas. I have got to get busy!!!

I know this song is not about Christmas, but when I was young I really did like Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. Even though the song is about the Vietnam War the name is appropriate for the post, even if the song itself isn't.

Not much is going on in the Christmas prep week.

During the holidays I like to have assorted cookie trays  to set out for guests. Of course this past Christmas I did no baking and I missed it. We were sick and did no entertaining either which made having no cookie trays a moot point anyway.

I am also getting tired of the same old cookies I usually bake.  

Instead of waiting till the holidays to try new recipes I intend to do it all year long to see what might make the cut. 

I will be reducing the recipes in half or fourths, because we don't need too many cookies available with just the two of us here. Or maybe I will make full batches and just give them away to friends. 

I did try a new to me cookie recipe this past week. . I had a bunch of lemons that needed to be juiced while they were still at their peak, so making something using them was a no brainer.

Lemon shortbread found here,  but copied and pasted below if you don't want to hit the link.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

¼ teaspoon fine salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice (Needs more zest )*

coarse sanding or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until the flour is incorporated. (I used a bowl and a wooden spoon, it worked perfectly fine)

On a piece of parchment, press the dough together firmly to form a rectangular block, 12 by 2 by 1 inches (use a ruler or metal spatula to square off the sides).  (Did not do this at all, just shaped the dough with my hands and kind of banged it on a cutting board to make it somewhat squarish) Wrap in the parchment and refrigerate until firm, about 3 to 4 hours. (Did I let it chill even one minute? No! Why? Patience is not one of my virtues.)

Heat oven to 350°F. Cut the dough into ⅓-inch-thick slices and place on baking sheets spaced 1 inch apart; sprinkle with the coarse sugar. (I had no white sanding sugar and used granulated. I think the coarse sugar would work much better)

Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through until the edges begin to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

* This are not a terribly sweet cookie, but they are sweet enough. My only issue was the lemon flavor was not sharp enough for me.  I will make this at Christmas anyway. They will be a tasty, quick and easy cookie for the  platter with just a few alterations.  In addition to doubling the zest, I will most likely make a tart lemon icing and pipe it on the cooled cookie to make it look like a bow and ribbon, just to give it a tad more tartness.

And just in case you are wondering,  I have not found the female brunette caroler that I still need.  

I  have not touched the room with Christmas stuff strewn all about that is waiting for me to get my rear in gear,  organize it, and put it away. The biggest disadvantage to having this house is my ability to shut the door to that upstairs room and totally ignore it, 

At one time it was my office, then it became Pip's room, then a craft room for DIL3 during the covid  restrictions. Now it is just a catch all room. 

I really need to just tackle it, but I am obviously just not feeling it! 

Ho, Ho Hum! Maybe this week!

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 lamb 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!