Forgot to hit publish

When the past week began, I was still feeling a bit under the weather and had made no plans for the weeks meals. Nothing sounded bad, but nothing sounded good either. So the week was all about nothing.

Monday: I was supposed to go to a birthday party at Independence Place with My Beloved Sister. I was feeling much better but thought I needed to test before going. I was still positive, and was unhappy I would have to miss it. This particular participant is leaving the program to go live in a groupo home setting and it most likely would be the last time I would ever see her.  Instead I had to send my greeting through my sister. I do wish her an extraordinary life at her new home, but I will miss her spunky personality.

94 days till Christmas

Monday dinner: Instead of going to the party I processed some of the tomatoes we are drowning in blessed with. Excess tomato sauce decided what we would have for dinner.

Spaghetti and meatballs, tossed salad

Tuesday: I was no longer coughing or sneezing, and we had the runoff elections for my local municipality. I am an active voter and believe the only way I can complain about anything governmental is if I participate in all levels of voting. I masked up and cast my vote. It is sad that out of all the registered voters in my town, this particular seat was decided by little more than 3,000 people.

After voting TheHub and I grabbed lunch from a local Thai place. 

Once home I culled my Christmas card list and started addressing envelopes. I figured it was something positive I could do.

93 days till Christmas

Tuesday dinner:  We had eaten a big lunch and I was not hungry, but TheHub wanted a little bit more than I did. We split one small filet (he had most of it)

Cod filet, coleslaw

Wednesday: I was not sure if I tested positive or not and had no test at the house, so I decided to miss class one more week just in case. I really did not want to just do nothing, but I was still very tired. I finished addressing my Christmas cards and will personalize and sign them in early December. 

Nothing else exciting happened, but no humans nor animals were harmed during the course of my boring day.

92 days till Christmas

Wednesday night: I did not feel like cooking, but had some browned, seasoned meat in the freezer. A quick warm up in the microwave had dinner mostly ready.

Taco salad

Thursday: TheHub had run by the drugstore Wednesday evening and bought several covid test kits. We had an event I really wanted to attend that night so I tested early. Whoo hoo! Negative! 

I spent the day, mainly doing laundry, getting some Christmas gifts wrapped, then got ready for the evening.

We were invited to a state policy group meeting with Tim Tebow as the keynote speaker. He is an excellent speaker, but what can you say negatively about someone whose favorite night of the year (according to him) is his "Night to Shine" prom event for special needs teens and adults.

91 days till Christmas

Thursday dinner: Typical banquet food, too much with too short of an amount of time to eat it.

Steak, chicken, broccoli, scalloped potatoes, salad, some kind of pie (didn't eat it so I have no idea, and why serve steak and chicken even if it is small amounts of both?)

Friday: Hung around in the morning doing chores, then left with TheHub to run some errands and pick up a lunch from a nearby meat and three. If I eat a big lunch I am worthless for the rest of the day, which meant reading. Lots of reading.

90 days till Christmas

Friday dinner: After eating a veggie lunch I was not really hungry and would have been happy to have nothing for dinner, but TheHub wanted something to eat. He ran to our favorite take out Chinese place and picked up a meal for us to share (We both had enough for dinners Friday night and lunches Sunday afternoon.)

Kung Pao Chicken

Saturday: I have read in some of your blogs that you do not understand or enjoy football. I am not a fan of NFL ball but I love the college games, so I start my Saturday mornings with a cup of coffee,  and Kirk Herbstreit and crew on College GameDay. In fact, TheHub was watching The Ryder Cup on our only tv, so I sat at the kitchen table with Game Day pulled up on my computer. 

The once 11 am arrives (CDT) I watch (mainly listen) to whatever SEC game is on at that time.  I think it was the Arkansas game but I was just halfway paying attention to it at all since it was a blowout.

We did actively (except for dozing off for a couple of cat naps) watch Auburn/ Texas A&M play the mid afternoon game. Then at night we settled in to watch Alabama play Georgia. It was a good, but not relaxing to watch, kind of game. Roll Tide!

89 days till Christmas

Saturday dinner: We had a quick meal between ballgames

Rotisserie chicken, coleslaw

Sunday: I was feeling well so it was back to our regular Sunday morning routine, starting with the early morning Communion (no message this time, just Communion) followed by our 8:30 church service. This Sunday had no sermon either but was filled with music from every musical group our church has to offer (minus the praise band ) . We got to hear the chancel choir, men's chorus, youth choir, kiddy choir, brass and timpani group, several soloists, and of course the organist and pianist. In between songs there were several Bible passages read, and it was a very moving experience. We have that at our church a couple or three times each year and it is always enjoyed.

88 days till Christmas

Sunday dinner: We wound up having a later dinner, because TheHub got 9 holes of golf in during the late afternoon/ early evening. He finished up right at twilight and I did not start cooking until he called and told me he was on his way. Glad I had at least a component of it already made and in the fridge.

Eggroll in a bowl

What might happen this week:

1. Lady peas, mac and cheese, coleslaw

2. Out to eat

3. Coconut soup, stir fry veggies

4. Chili? (only if the weather cools) coleslaw

5. Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

6. Chicken bog, tomato cucumber onion salad

7. Greek food festival take out (too many things planned to go enjoy the festivities this year)

Books read in September:

None Of This Is True

Forever Odd

Wishin' and Hopin'

The Case of the Missing Marquess

Julie Chan is Dead

What They Carried

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 13 weeks till Christmas

Yikes! Time is speeding up. I've gotta get rolling!

 This week I was still battling covid, but did finally test negative Thursday morning. I figured while I was stuck at home I might as well get a few Christmas things done. I found a few perfect gifts* online and ordered them. (Was seriously surprised when they arrived in just 3 days).

I also found something I am getting for each of my DIL's, which have to remain secret because I know DIL2 reads this occasionally.

I updated my Christmas card list, and even have addressed more than half of them. Of course I will not sign or seal them until much later, but the most difficult part of getting them ready is done.

I have drawn a pattern to embroider for a couple of gifts. I tend to give each person I love multi gifts, but most are smaller items, that have a specific purpose. The embroidery will just gussie up the practical aspect of the gift.

All gifts have been noted in my Christmas notebook, with each person or group having their own page with color preferences, sizes, hints I may have picked up on over the year specific to them, and overheard wants.

There were some scraps of card stock left over from making the gift boxes last week and it bugs me to have bits leftover without a use for them. I remembered seeing this years ago and think this might be a good way to "wrap" some earrings I will buy for My Beloved Sister. These are a 4x3 inch "matchbook". I will push the posts through the back, then put the "matchbook inside a cellophane bag and tie it with a festive bow.

 

Every year I get her a couple of inexpensive pairs. She is like me and does not "wear well". At some time during the day she/we will fidget with out hair or clothes and about half the time an earring will disappear. Often it reappears in said clothes or around the house, but sometimes it is lost to the universe. Which is why every year she get a pair in a silver tone and a gold tone

I mentioned once before that I save all scraps of wrapping paper, no matter how small. The gifts below are exactly why I do this. All of those below were wrapped with small pieces of paper, most no larger than a 5x7 notecard.

I did not do anything in the room of horrors. I felt too bad to navigate the stairs, or that is my story and I am sticking to it.  This week I am feeling well and have no excuses.

Ho, Ho, How is September almost over?

Days until Halloween, 33

Days until Thanksgiving, 60

Days until Christmas, 88

*These are Christmas gifts for my bookclub, which are both age and book clubby appropriate. I would tell you what they are but I am not sure if any of them read this blog or not, so I am erring on the side of caution. 

So much for plans

This past week was supposed to be overfilled with activities. What is the old saying about how to make God laugh? Make a plan.  Yep we had lots of plans__and then all plans broke apart.

What we were supposed to eat:

Out to eat 

Leftover smoked brisket, tossed salad

Taco salad

Fundraiser dinner

Veggie dinner

Grilled tuna steaks, tossed salad, baked potato

Joys and what we ate:

Monday: Monday was my birthday, but I am not one of those people who has to have an all day celebration. The day started with a bang when I walked into the kitchen to find a bouquet of roses on the table followed by a FaceTime happy birthday visit with Pip. After that it was business as usual.

I goofed around getting ready to make the clothing transition to a fall winter closet and drawers. I should say almost ready, since the highs are still in the 90's here and even though the days are shorter they still feel like summer.* My solution was to take out anything I know would not be worn for the rest of this year and take it upstairs. 

One of the guest bedroom closets holds two huge plastic garbage cans bought specifically to contain out of season clothes.  The downside of this process means that I had to unload one of the cans to begin putting the first load of summer clothes in it, but it's still too hot to add fall and winter duds to my bedroom closets and drawers.

This is where the guest bed becomes a transition partner of sorts. The not quite in season clothes will sit on it until I am ready to make the full swap. Actually I will not wait until the full swap because that usually happens in November. Maybe after the next load of things I will not wear again this year, I can bring the lightest weight fall clothes to start filling in the gaps the departing items left.

In the afternoon I had a phone call with Sluggy, which is always wonderful, as well as a phone call with Son1, who shares the same birthday with me. We laughed at his request for a birthday goodie. He requested a peanut butter pie, but no one else in his family wanted one, so he was getting a sundae bar instead. Pip for the win!

I did talk with both other sons and their wives also!

101 days until Christmas!

Monday dinner: TheHub and I planned on going out to eat and at the last minute invited Son2 and DIL2 who went with us.  Since everyone ordered what they wanted individually, I am only posting what we shared and my dinner.

Shared charcuterie board, watermelon salad, lobster bisque

Tuesday: THe day began by processing tomatoes. Our regular tomatoes are not doing great, but the cherry tomato plants are exploding. We are getting about 2 cups of cherry tomatoes a day and they were piling up. I cooked them down to somewhere between a sauce and a paste consistency, pressed them through a colander to remove the skins then packaged them for the freezer. As soon as I finished that batch, I started another. The cooking down and processing them for freezing is a lengthy process, and requires a lot of standing at the stove stirring so the tomatoes can become thick and paste like without burning.

After getting all of them processed and packed away I did some routine cleaning, talked to Son2 for a while then got ready for our night out.

Normally we go to Birmingham Broadway Series shows at the Sunday matinee, but there was a glitch this time and we never got the messages concerning our tickets. This was an extended run for 3 weeks and I had no idea, without notification  which Sunday our tickets would be for. Turns out our tickets were for the first Sunday and we missed it. Luckily The American Theater Guild was easy to work with and even though we were not seated in our usual seats, we were seated in the same section we had paid for.

Wicked was the play this month. This is the 5th time I have seen it, and it never disappoints. I loved everything about it, except for not getting home until 11.

100 Days until Christmas!

Tuesday dinner: We needed some quick to eat. So thankful for leftovers!

Leftover smoked brisket, tossed salad

Wednesday: I woke early but did not feel well. Tuesday night we were seated under an air conditioning vent with cold air blowing down my back for the entirety of the play. I figured the headache was most probably a sinus issue, but did not feel like going to my Wednesday class. Instead I stayed home and just hung out at the house doing a few minor chores. I did not feel worse, but never felt any better.

Wednesday dinner: I love it when I have planned ahead and dinner requires only warming a single component for the meal.

99 days till Christmas

Taco salad

Thursday: I woke and felt worse.  I was sneezy and stuffy so I took some OTC cold remedy. We had a huge event planned for the night and I wanted to feel better. I even went so far as to take a Covid test, so I could assure the others sitting at the table that this was just a routine sinus issue.

That sucker lit up like a firecracker! Within about 20 seconds the test line on the rapid Covid test was positive. The only upside was knowing why I was feeling worse instead of getting better.

The Hub tested negative, got all gussied up in a tux and left me alone, with a never worn formal, pearl strapped shoes, a box of Kleenex, and a cup of hot tea. 

I suppose the only upside for me was that the silent auction was app enabled and I was able to bid on a couple of items and follow the bidding. One item I wanted (would have given it to Pip for her birthday) was very cute ( Kendra Scott necklace and earrings) but the price jumped a bit higher than I was willing to go. I was the high bidder on what was supposed to be 4 $100 gift cards to 4 different restaurants. I payed 50 bucks below the value, but when I got the physical gift cards (because TheHub was present he picked them up for me) at the last minute, one of the restaurants gave 2 100 buck gift cards instead of just the one. We eat out at least once a week so these will come in handy, and 2 of the gift cards are for places we have never been, but had on our list to try anyway.

Thursday dinner: No explanation needed

98 days till Christmas

Chicken noodle soup

Friday: It didn’t matter what we had planned, because the plans would not be happening anyway. I tried to read but my eyes were watering so much I couldn’t see the words, my head hurt, I was sneezing and I was freezing. I finally sat on the screened porch just to get warm. The temp was about ninety and I still had a lightweight throw wrapped around me, but it felt so much better until TheHub came out to join me and turned the blooming ceiling fan on. Curses!!!

97 days till Christmas

Friday dinner: Thankful for my overstocked pantry

Old El Paso canned chicken tortilla soup

Saturday: I was still feeing bleak, so I took a super hot shower, dressed, wrapped in blankets and plopped down on the loveseat to watch whatever football games were on the tube, dozing off and on the whole time. I saw bits and pieces of Syracuse/ Clemson, Oklahoma/ Auburn, and Miami/ Florida.

Saturday dinner: TheHub kept asking what sounded good for dinner, possibly hinting I might want to go cook. I didn’t. He ran to Guthrie’s and picked us up a meal for us to split.

96 days till Christmas

Chicken tenders/ coleslaw

Sunday: I did feel a little better, but stayed home from our normal Sunday church activities. TheHub went and called me about 10:45 wanting to know what I wanted for lunch? Why? I had been sipping on coffee but had no interest in lunch, until he suggested pancakes and bacon. This is partly why I keep cooked bacon in the freezer at all times. One minute in the microwave and it is hot and crispy. It helped that we had some frozen pancakes also. I am not sure I could actually taste anything other than the sweetness of the s.f. "maple" syrup, or the salty bacon, but it worked for a quick brunch.

I was able to read a little and though I did feel better I was still tired.

Sunday dinner: We are experiencing a bumper crop of tomatoes and needed to use some.

95 days till Christmas

BLT salad

What's for dinner this week?

1. Don't Know

2. Whatever

3. Your guess is as good as mine

4. Something I guess

5. Something else maybe

6. Out to eat or take out

7. Who even cares

Books read in September:

None Of This Is True

Forever Odd

Wishin' and Hopin'

The Case of the Missing Marquess

No new books added to the list this week, but for those with a Libby app I might suggest Garden and Gun magazine. I got it just to see what it was like and it was a really beautiful  magazine. I was surprised and it is not really about guns at all ( at least not the issue I read)

I would never buy it, but I am now going to read at all the back issues available.

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*Translation: I am still bopping around in shorts, tee shirts, and flip flops at home and summer weight dresses (in fallish colors) whenever I go out. This is my usual mode of dress until Mid to late October, when I might change over to jeans, tees, and flip flops

Oh no! Just 14 weeks until Christmas

We are now another week closer to Christmas and I am now another week behind where I should be. Additionally, TheHub and I are thinking of going to Portland for Thanksgiving which means I will need to have all Christmas prep and decorating done by November 20 at the latest. 

That way as soon as we get back to Birmingham after our trip, I will only have to out the wreath on the front door, hang the garland over said door and put out the two trees* I use every year on the front porch.

So my time line to get everything done has shifted.

Add to that, circumstances beyond my control were such, I missed out on any major Christmas prep this past week.

3 small Christmas presents I had ordered were delivered. As I mentioned in a past post, I wrap everything, even if it is just a small utilitarian gift, which these are. The gifts are also somewhat delicate and needed a small square box to protect them. I did not have any the size I needed, so I made them out of heavier card stock.  And because they were already in a box and I had already inventoried all my wrapping supplies and gathered all the small bits of  papers in one location, I figured I might a well go ahead and wrap them. 

And that was the extent of my Christmas prep for the week. I am sure this coming week will be more productive. Goodness knows it can't be less!

40 days until Halloween

67 days until Thanksgiving

69 days until Alabama/Auburn Game AKA The Iron Bowl**

95 days until Christmas

Ho, Ho, Holy Mackerel!

* These are two 4 1/2 foot trees filled with nothing but white lights. All I have to do with them is plug them into the extension cord that is set on a timer. I will need to have them in the living room along with the wreath and door garland, making sure all the lights are working and all bows have either been replaced, or ironed and re-tied .

** The Iron Bowl is a holiday of sorts for us, which will either be a day of joy if Bama wins, or gloom if they lose. It's a bragging rights thing!

For Those Who Want To Know

 

Its a Monday kind of Tuesday

Well Monday came and went and I did not get this posted, and even though it is legally already Tuesday, I am still counting it as Monday since I have not been to sleep yet.

What was planned but only somewhat happened:

1. Veggie meal, cornbread

2. Meatloaf, corn on the cob, collards, tomato cucumber onion salad

3. Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

4. Sloppy Joe's, coleslaw

5. Out to eat or takeout

6. Chicken bog, green beans, tossed salad

7. Pork chops, brussels sprouts, au gratin  or scalloped potatoes, tomato slices

Monday: Had a surprise visit from Son2. He was over on my side of town for work so he stopped by for a few minutes. It was nice seeing him, even for a little while. 

My Beloved Sister stopped by for a swim. The water was a little cooler than I like, but we swam laps anyway. Once we got in and started swimming it felt fine un till we got out of the pool. The wind and a cooler day, plus the entire pool was in the shade by then made dripping off a little chilly. 

MBS hopped into the hot tub to warm up, but I have something I do instead, whenever I get out of the pool. I turn the water on faucet connected to the hose on low. The sun heats the water left in it from the last time it was used, and I rinse my suit out (still on). When it is really hot outside I have to wait until it cools off to rinse my suit off, but the very warm water felt great that afternoon, and all I had to do afterward was take my suit off and hang it up to dry.

After swimming, I ran by ThePig to do some cherry picking shopping and to snag both the weekly free item and the Monday free item*. They have had ground chuck at its new lowest price for a couple of weeks now. I needed some to take to Independence Place Tuesday and just went ahead and bought another 7 pounds of it. 

No wonder my freezer is overflowing, but this winter when it is time to makes soups or stews I will be glad for the excess.

Monday dinner: TheHub had to go to one of the nearby towns City Council meetings. He is the current v.p. of the Alabama Parkinson's Association board, and the city was declaring it Parkinson's month. ( He did ask me to go, but I am so glad I didn't. Extra reading time for me!) It meant dinner would be late, so I chose an simple meal. If I am going to be cooking late, it's going to be simple.

Meatloaf, corn on the cob, collards**

Tuesday: The day was beautiful, slightly warm but not blazing hot with a slight breeze and much less humidity. My beloved Sister and I went to my happy place. I have not been in a while and I really do miss seeing the participants of Independence Place. 

Some of the participants go every day, some a couple of days a week and some only once a week, so each time I go there is a revolving cast of characters. I love Tuesday's group.  One participant is an incredibly high energy young woman who loves to dance. Tuesday she wanted to show me some of her moves. Actually she wanted me to dance with her, but my knee was having no part of it. I had to settle for just watching her for a bit.

When we got there we gave each participant a nickel and told them they had to hold on to it.

Together we made slug burgers, which was not made with ground slugs, but is a depression era padded hamburger patty.  After we finished making them, they had to pay their nickel, which was once called a slug, hence the name.

They enjoyed the food and I enjoyed being there with them. Win/win.

MBS and I had planned to swim but we got home a little later than planned, so we booted it and I spent the late afternoon reading.

Tuesday dinner:  Veggie meal night

Squash casserole, okra, tomato cucumber vidalia onion salad.

Wednesday: I woke early and went to my Wednesday morning class, came home for a quick lunch then swam with My Beloved Sister. The water was chilly at first but once we began swimming laps it felt wonderful. I know some of you are ready for the weather to break and cooler temps take hold. I personally am thrilled our highs for the next week are in the 90's. More swimming!

After the swim I went back in the house, dressed and read. I have been on a reading tear lately, partly because I can't make a lot of noise, or do what I want to be doing while TheHub is using the dining room as his office. (I suppose I could go upstairs and attack the room of horrors but that would make to much sense and would ruin my pettiness)

Wednesday dinner: I waited pretty late to even be thinking about cooking, fortunately when I was in the freezer Saturday, I found some frozen chili (enough for one person). TheHub said it sounded fine to him, so I thawed it. It was not chili***!

Spaghetti with meat sauce or half a sandwich TheHub brought home from a luncheon meeting earlier in the week.

Thursday: I did a lot of organizing and planning for the rest of the month while doing laundry. At least it was a quiet activity.😏

Though the day was gorgeous we did not swim. And other than changing out some clothes I will not wear again until next summer, I did little except reading, folding clothes and putting them away. 

Did I have a ton I could do? Yes! Did I do it? Nope! Do I feel guilty? Not in the least. I am still in petty mode, and I can be petty so well! In fact I might be a master of it.

Thursday dinner: Instead of pulling the pork chops out to thaw I changed my mind and grabbed something else from the pork bin****.

Pork tenderloin, baked potato, brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes

Friday: It was another beautiful hot day and I am not exactly sure what all I did. TheHub and I did a little running around and some sitting on the screened porch and talking while planning our October. The day was gorgeous for sitting and talking (as long as the porch ceiling fans were going full blast). 

Once inside I made dinner, but also prepared things for a few extra meals. I figured as long as I was cooking I might as well make the most of it and get ahead in advance of a busier week

Friday dinner: We had planned on going out to eat, but changed our plans once he decided he would be going to the early ballgame Saturday morning. Fortunately I had everything on hand for a quick meal.

Sloppy Joe's, coleslaw, pickles . . . lots of pickles

Saturday: Ball game day! Son2 came over to ride to Tuscaloosa with TheHub for the game. They left and I was sitting still drinking coffee when I heard the door open. Much to my delight, DIL2 had come over to watch the game with me. My Beloved Sister joined us and we settled in to watch the game*****. After those games were over we watched (again I use that term lightly) the Georgia/Tennessee game until TheHub and Son2 got back to the house.

Saturday dinner: Everyone went home and TheHub ran and picked up a chicken meal at Jack's.

Chicken, green beans, coleslaw

Sunday: We woke early (way to early for me since I did not go to sleep until well after 3) to go to our early communion service, followed by church then Sunday School. The day was beautiful and neither of us were ready to go home. We figured we might as well have an early lunch and wound up at Saw's BBQ. 

We have always had this running joke that Methodists schedule their services just so the congregation will beat the Baptists to restaurants. 

Though I have no idea what particular affiliation or beliefs anyone in the restaurant had, we did have a table as soon as we walked in as the place was less than half full. By the time our food arrived the joint was full with a wait for the ever growing groups of diners wanting to be seated.  

Their portions were so large I brought more than half of my meal home. Another night, another meal.

Sunday night:  I am not sure what we did all day but all of a sudden it was 8:30 and neither of us had thought about dinner. We planned to run to Taco Bell (TheHub's idea) but once we got there the drive through line never moved. They seem to be perpetually understaffed or badly managed. Not sure which, so we left. TheHub still wanted a taco and we wound up at a taco truck ( No idea what their name is)  in the parking lot of Hoover Tactile Firearms ( an indoor shooting range). 

Sometimes the best things happen when plans change. The food from there was delicious!

Chicken torta******

What might happen this week:

1. Out to eat 

2. Leftover smoked brisket, tossed salad

3. Taco salad

4. Fundraiser dinner

6. Veggie dinner

7. Grilled tuna steaks, tossed salad, baked potato

Books read in September:

None Of This Is True

Forever Odd

Wishin' and Hopin'

The Case of the Missing Marquess

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* They have these items free with a $10 dollar purchase, but I only get them if they are things I will use and if ThePig has a sale on something I either need now or for the freezer in the future.

**When I was organizing the freezer Saturday, I found a bag of cooked collards I had frozen. Score!

*** This is why labeling leftovers is necessary.

**** I have all of my frozen proteins in separate plastic bins on the freezer shelves, red for beef, ivory for poultry, blue for seafood, and white for pork because "its the other white meat".

***** By watching the game, I really mean we mainly talked, MBS swam laps, we ate lunch, talked some more, all while the games were on tv. We did glance at it sometimes, as we flipped back and forth between the Alabama and Auburn games.  (MBS went to school there.)

****** We put this on our list of "must returns"

Oh no! Just 15 Weeks Until Christmas

I did nothing toward Christmas this year because . . .

Ho, Ho, How Did That Happen?

47 days till Halloween

74 days till Thanksgiving

102 days til Christmas 

Wow, I Can't Believe It's Monday Again

Well this week flew by. I know a holiday weekend makes the week seem much shorter, but this one seemed to slip by faster than most weeks.

Meal plan I erroneously thought might happen:

1. Chicken bog, tossed salad

2. French dip, coleslaw

3. Grilled fish, baked potato, salad

4. Out to eat

5. Veggie meal, cornbread

6. Salad meal, rolls (?)

7. Skillet ratatouille, tossed salad, rolls

What did happen and what we actually ate:

Monday: Labor Day. We did not do a lot of laboring.  DIL2, Son2, and My Beloved Sister came over to swim and have a late lunch. 

The day was perfect for grilling burgers. We still had a lot of leftovers from the pre-labor day bbq meal on Saturday, so I warmed up anything that needed warming and served the coleslaw and potato salad straight from the fridge.

The food was good and the company was better. There is always a lot of good natured ribbing and a ton of laughs when we are together.

Monday dinner:  We ate dinner very late and were not very hungry after the lunch we had. 

Veggie salad, toast

Tuesday: TheHub worked all day from the dining room table, which means I have to be pretty quiet. His telephone rings continually and he is either on it, or on a zoom call. This is not the retirement I thought it would be.

I could have worked upstairs in the room of horrors, but instead I chose to hang around on the main level pouting, or finding recipes to try for Christmas, while doing a mountain of laundry. I don't necessarily like myself when I am being petty, but I can be so good at it.

The upside? All the laundry was done, folded and put away.

Also a couple of fall/winter dresses I had ordered a while back were delivered which made me a little happier.

Tuesday dinner: Planned overs to the rescue, thanks to the Mississippi pot roast

French dip, coleslaw

Wednesday: My Wednesday class started back and it was good to see the regulars back again after the summer break.

When it was over I ran by the bank. Fortunately I remembered my MC bill was due. I usually pay it early but the bank was not opened Monday for the holiday and I was busy pouting Tuesday and just didn't go. 

I know I am not their favorite type of cc customer because I pay it in full each month to keep from incurring interest. This card has a pretty low limit and I use it only for online purchases. Paying it off monthly keeps my usage in check.

After the bank, I went to Aldi to do a little cherry picking, and stopped on the way home to grab something to eat. TheHub was meeting some friends for lunch and I figured if I had a decent lunch also, I would not need to fix a regular dinner.

Once home I hit the rocking chair on the screened porch and dove into a book I have been reading. The bonus was a steady rain for a while and the smell of rain hitting the pool deck and the grass was an olfactory treat. A good book just added to the enjoyment.

Wednesday dinner: TheHub came in from his lunch group and did not feel well. He slept most of the late afternoon and wanted virtually nothing for supper.

Soup for him, a bowl of coleslaw for me

Thursday: The day was very pretty, a tad warm but I was glad. I had not been swimming regularly and wanted/needed to get back in the water. My beloved sister came over and we swam at a little after 2. By this time of year, the sun was hidden behind a neighbors giant oak tree and it blocked the light from half the pool. Since the nights are getting cooler the water temp has cooled a bit, and even swimming laps, I felt cold when I was in the shady part of the pool.

Lesson learned!

Other than swimming with MBS the day was just a regular sort of day, and I was still being a little petty about TheHub using the dining room* as his office.

Thursday dinner: I decided against the chicken bog and went with a simpler fare.

Chicken with orange pepper** seasoning,  broccoli w/ cheese sauce, sautéed mushrooms, baked potato***

Friday: MBS came over to swim again. The day was a little warmer and so was the water. In fact it felt really good even though the morning was overcast. After she left I messed around doing nothing anyone would considered important, but they were necessary chores. The Hub was working from the dining room again. Once he was through suggested we go out to eat. We have many gift cards to restaurants that we purchased through silent auctions at various fundraisers. We needed to use them instead of letting them sit in a basket gathering dust, when we go out to eat each week anyway.  

I gussied up and about the time I was completely ready TheHub decided he did not feel like sitting in a restaurant. 

Friday dinner: We ordered Thai takeout from Blue Pacific****

Laap (me) Shrimp pad Thai (TheHub)

Saturday:  College game days start the mornings with the TV tuned to the show, Game Day. We usually wind up with it turned up kind of loud so we can listen to it while we have coffee or breakfast and continue as we walk back and forth through the den while we are doing little chores. What can I say except Roll Tide Roll!

We ran out to our favorite produce stand to pick up some veggies. I was surprised they still had Elberta peaches, so a small container of them came home with us too. I see one with cottage cheese on my lunch plate soon!

TheHub had read that Red Snapper season had been extended, and we headed to our local fish market to see what they had. Score!

This week there were no games during the day that either one of use cared about really keeping up with and our team was not playing until 6:45. 

Instead I put on ski gloves to start inventorying the freezer. I really need to start doing this at least every other month. I was able to remove 3 different things I needed for the new week's meal plan that were on my shopping list to buy.  I had completely forgotten they were in the freezer. Additionally I found several containers with just enough food for one meal that I will thaw for TheHub's lunches.***** 

After hanging out in the freezer, I was cold. Instead of putting on something other than the tank top, shorts and flip flops I was wearing, I wrapped up in a blanket and "sat" on the couch. I promise after about 45 minutes all warm, toasty and comfortable, I was just resting my eyes!

Saturday dinner: When I planned this week's menu I forgot Bama played at night which meant a ball game meal had to happen.

Hot dogs, coleslaw

Sunday: We woke way to early for me after reading until about 2 am, and made it to the 7:55 communion service, followed by church, then Sunday school. Although I know it is perfectly acceptable to wear pants to church now, I still wear "Sunday clothes", I guess because old habits die hard, and it takes me a bit to get ready. 

Sometimes we go out to eat after church but this was not one of those times. Because of my freezer adventures Saturday, I was all too aware of the many foods we had on hand that only needed to be nuked for a pretty good lunch.

I did a fair amount of reading and talked with 2 of our sons. Then it was time to get our dinner started.

Sunday dinner: With the beautiful snapper filet in the fridge dinner planned itself. The planned tuna steaks can stay in the freezer until another night.

Greek snapper, tossed salad, baked potato

Possibilities for the week: (Planned only using foods I have on hand)

1. Veggie meal, cornbread

2. Meatloaf, corn on the cob, collards, tomato cucumber onion salad

3. Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

4.Sloppy Joe's, coleslaw

5. Out to eat or takeout

6.Chicken bog, green beans, tossed salad

7. Pork chops, brussels sprouts, au gratin  or scalloped potatoes, tomato slices

Books read in September:

None Of This Is True

Forever Odd

Wishin' and Hopin'

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*Please understand I am not upset that he is still working, even though he is supposedly retired. He has an office in the finished basement, that is outfitted with a desk, credenza, bookshelves, computer, and copier.

Then he has another office upstairs with a desk, cabinet, and bookshelves. He has a laptop computer that can go with him and though there is no copier upstairs, I would gladly sacrifice mine to complete his office.

And you might ask why he works in the dining room? He likes the view, which is the same view the upstairs office has, just one floor lower.

**If you live near an Aldi and like lemon pepper seasoning, by all means snag some of the

orange pepper and the lime pepper while they are carrying it. 🧑‍🍳

***ThePig regularly has a deal on 4 pound bags of potatoes, but they are very small baking potatoes. I am not a big potato person so I nuke one of them for TheHub. They are small enough that he really enjoys them, but not so large they add too much to the meal.

****Blue Pacific is the most unlikely restaurant I have ever seen to be as successful as it is. It defies every model of what a restaurant should be. They only operate Wednesday through Saturday. They only have a couple of picnic tables outside the door on a small sidewalk. Their parking situation is abysmal for a place that operates primarily as a take out restaurant, and once you finally get through to them on the phone to place an order, there is usually a 45 minute to 1 hour wait. Not to mention that they arbitrarily close on any given day, but the food is so dang good people put up with what a pain in the rear it is to get it.

*****He still does not realize that being at home means you don't get to eat what you want for lunch, you eat what is leftover or make a sandwich. Decades of eating out at lunch every work day has left him with unrealistic expectations of what lunches here are/will be.

The Memeing of Truth

Oh no just 16 weeks till Christmas

This is not exactly Christmas related but it is a major future holiday prep. Every year at Halloween the kids who come trick or treating and don't know me personally call me "The Big Candy Bar Lady", because I give out full size Hershey bars.  

Publix had them on sale BOGO. Even though Publix jacks up the prices on their BOGO items, it was still a better deal than I can find anywhere else. I only made it to the store one time during the sale and snagged 6 packs of them. So right now I have 36 candy bars stashed in the china cabinet. Publix should have them BOGO again in early October and I will finish buying what I need* then unless I find them somewhere else cheaper. At least I have a price point fixed in my head for comparison.

By my count of trick or treaters from last year, I am going to need at least 82 bars, and will probably buy an additional pack just in case. I can always stick any left over in the freezer for fire pit s'mores.

I purchased 3 Christmas gifts this past week, one for each of my DIL's. It was an impulse buy and I would love to say more about it here, but DIL2 reads the blog occasionally, so mum's the word.

I did not work in the room of horrors, but I did get all my Christmas wrapping paper inventoried and organized. I give My Beloved Sister many presents* each Christmas and when we were in our early 30's she was being snarky and stated she wanted each present wrapped in a different paper. Never, even in jest, issue me a challenge because I play the long game.  Game on! 

And that means saving all the scraps left from wrapping paper from years ago. I have the bits and pieces of many different papers along with the rolls and rolls I have accumulated over the years. We give multi gifts to all of our family members and each person's presents are wrapped in different papers. When I self correct, I seriously self correct.

And that's all I have for this week.

Ho, Ho, How did this happen so quickly

* When we were young and had no spending money my sister and I would get tiny gifts each week (think a pack of gum, free insurance co. pencils,  emery boards, a roll of life savers, etc ) and wrap each one making it look much more important than it was. Though we gave up on the weekly thing long ago, I still give her one "real " present and several not so important yet usable things. I have even been know to wrap a 4 roll pack of toilet paper as a gift for her.

56 Days until Halloween

84 Days until Thanksgiving

113 Days until Christmas

It Was A Week

The past week was one of those weeks where the wheels fall off the bus and not much goes according to plan, at least where meals are concerned. Our meals were not really weird, but definitely not what I planned  At least we did not resort to  eating the flora in the yard, so daisies were marked safe.**** 

What was planned:

1. Mississippi pot roast, potatoes, coleslaw, dinner rolls

2. Leftover crack chicken, rice, tossed salad, coleslaw, green beans

3. We have another club minimum to use before the 31st

4. Out to eat (going to Nashville for the day)

5. Veggie meal TBD

6. Big salad meal TBD

7. BBQ ribs, baked beans, caulitato salad

Days and Dinners:

Monday: This was mainly a home day, where nothing exciting happened, though My Beloved Sister did run by the house while she was out and about. She had a couple of business questions she needed to ask TheHub, plus she needed a restroom break. We visited for a little bit before she had to be on her way

Monday dinner: Last week's food ads had a chuck roast at a price I was willing to pay, though the prices of beef and chicken astound me now.

Mississippi pot roast potatoes and onions, coleslaw, dinner rolls

Tuesday: I let the days slip up on me and this was the last day for the sale prices at our nearby grocery stores. I shop by cherry picking the various store ads, and almost missed tne items I either needed or wanted because the sale price was too good to not buy for the future. 

I rounded up my cooler bags, and general store bags and headed out to not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 stores to snag their weekly bargains. I can hit Sprouts, Aldi, and Publix easily for they are literally 3 traffic lights apart on the same road. I have a list and pretty much stick to it, so each stop takes me anywhere from 10-15 minutes. I can take the backroads and pass ThePig for one more stop before heading home. 

This day became the perfect shopping trip for the weather was sunny and I arrived home about 5 minutes after TheHub. He was able to help me unload the car and put the groceries away. 

Tuesday dinner: After getting all the groceries bought and in their proper place, I didn't feel like cooking.

Big vegetable salad,  dinner roll

Wednesday: It was a day without anything spectacular, but was a gorgeous non spectacular day. I'll take a day like that anytime!

Wednesday dinner: We had a club food minimum that needed to be used by the 31st. Their Wednesday special was a good time to use it, and was sort of an homage to a Labor Day meal.

BBQ pork steak, coleslaw, mashed sweet potatoes, roll, red velvet cake*

Thursday: This was a mess around the house doing little other than reading. I did talk with Sluggy which was a fun thing to do

Thursday dinner: Planned overs day!

Leftover crack chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw

Friday: We drove to Nashville for the day to see DIL3's and Son3's new house. But we also wanted to go see DIL3's parents who were in Nashville for a bit. They live in Switzerland and we have only seen them a handful of times. Since they were so close we wanted to make sure we got to visit with them for a bit. 

After touring the house we all went to a Japanese inspired pizza restaurant. I know it sounds odd, but it was delicious.

The day was pleasant and we were able to dine outside in the shade. There were no other customers on the patio and we were ale to eat and visit without bothering anyone else, and we lingered quite a while. 

We left Nashville about 30 minutes before the afternoon traffic really backed up and made it home just a bit after dark. We only got stuck in slow/stalled traffic for about 15 minutes, which might have been our record for the least amount of time we have been at a virtual standstill on 65 since Son3 and DIl3 moved to Tennessee.

Friday dinner: We both decided to just pick something up on the way home. Waldo's chicken had a decent sandwich option and I had some leftovers in the fridge

The Roost**, coleslaw, potatoes

Saturday: This was ball game day and we spent the day watching various teams play. We also watched the Alabama game and though there was an official game, I am pretty sure the Alabama players did not play. There seems to be no discipline and no intensity to this team. It's gonna be a long season I'm afraid.

Saturday dinner: Son2 and DIL2 came over to watch the game they stayed for a pre-Labor Day bbq meal. My Beloved sister joined us also.

BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, key lime pie

Sunday: For Labor Day weekend our church had only one service and no Sunday school. We opted to stay home and watch it streaming. I know, bad me! 

I have no idea what TheHub did, but I did a boatload of laundry, and packed up some of the clothes I will not wear agin until next spring. I obey the fashion laws and will not wear white (except for a blouse or sweater) after labor Day, and all pastels or summer florals are put away in one of the upstairs closets. Since Monday is Labor Day the packing away had to begin. Even though I was putting things away, no fall clothes were brought down. I will still be wearing shorts and flip flops, just the darker colored ones.

Sunday dinner: We still had a decent amount of the minimum for meals we needed to use. We ordered 2 meals for take out and split them at home.

Shrimp bowl, Mediterranean chicken bowl***

What's planned for this week's meals maybe:

1. Chicken bog, tossed salad

2. French dip, coleslaw

3. Grilled fish, baked potato, salad

4. Out to eat

5. Veggie meal, cornbread

6. Salad meal, rolls (?)

7. Skillet ratatouille, tossed salad, rolls

Books read in August

Fly Away

The Noticer

Odd Thomas

The Noticer Returns

Rum, A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails*****

The Names

The Christmas Box

Jill Is Not Happy

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

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* Bummer, the meal only used a little over half of our minimum. It was huge and we each only ate half of our food. The rest, along with a huge tossed salad which neither of us touched was put in the fridge to be eaten later for a couple of day's lunches.

** The Roost is a shredded roasted chicken sandwich with white BBQ sauce

*** We split the shrimp bowl and both ate a bit of the chicken bowl, but 3/4 of it went back in the fridge for lunches this week

**** Weird segue I know, but I just finished a book where the antagonist used flowers from her garden as murder devices and I have edible and not so edible flowers on the brain right now.