Well, once again I am too late getting this posted!
Monday: 87 days till Christmas
Not a lot happened on Monday. It was mainly a stay at home and try to get caught up on some neglected chores type of day. The day was gorgeous and instead of hitting it hard, I sat on the porch having coffee and bird watching.
Monday dinner: There was nothing exciting about the meal, but it was filling and tasty.
Lady peas, mac and cheese, coleslaw
Tuesday: 86 days till Christmas
We had been trying to host a retirement dinner for two men TheHub worked with, along with their spouses since June. It is kind of hard to get everyone together on the same night, but between all the travels and other obligations we finally agreed on Tuesday night.
It felt good to put on night time makeup, and some slightly fancier than church duds and join all those folks who enjoy the food scene Birmingham has to offer.
We met at Dyron's Low Country for a lot of conversations, catching up, and laughs. Thankfully we were seated in a private alcove where no one could hear us. It was a win for the other diners!
Tuesday dinner: Dyron's celebration, and I am listing the food we shared, as well as my dinner since everyone ordered what they specifically wanted as their entree.
Apps: Crab claws, okra, charcuterie board, Entree: snapper, green beans, cheese grits, Dessert:pistachio cake (TheHub and I shared)
Wednesday: 85 days till Christmas
I got up early, read a bit, then went to class.
Since I was dressed to be in the company of other humans, and TheHub likes to eat out at lunch, I called him on the way home, stopped by the house to pick him up and we went to lunch at The Electric. It is a low key neighborhood bar/eatery with good food and space at lunchtime to have some good conversations.
The day was drop dead gorgeous and we rode around to look at some of the many Halloween decorations people have up.
I took the following pictures from one house in our neighborhood. To say they are Halloween enthusiasts would be putting it mildly. And yes all of these are in one single home's front yard.
Wednesday dinner: I had some leftovers that needed to be used, and we had tomatoes coming out of our ears.
Chicken bog, tomato cucumber onion salad
Thursday: 84 Days till Christmas
I battled the refrigerator and finally won. I did the big clean, removing everything and cleaning every surface, then wiping off all containers, bottles and jars, before replacing them.
Since I am no longer the only one here during the daytime, my days of being the fridge police person are over. Evidently, if whatever said person is looking for and it might be somewhere crazy like behind the almond milk, someone other than me goes into the pantry, opens a new whatever, then puts the newly opened one back in the refrigerator.
This resulted in 3 bottles of ranch dressing, 4 bottles of ketchup, and 3 jars of maraschino cherries all hanging out. on various shelves. I incorporated all like items, which freed up an amazing amount of space.
I also found things I did not know were even in there. Unopened pickled brussels sprouts or an unopened jar of TJ's browned butter? I know I had to be the one who bought them, but I must have brought them home and stuck them in the fridge, forgotten about them and they were pushed to the back of the shelf. I placed them where they should have been to begin with, and now they can be seen and used.
Thursday dinner: The Greek Food Festival began Thursday. We had conflicts Friday and Saturday night so we ran by and just did a pick up instead of getting to enjoy all festivities by dining there.
Greek Chicken or Souvlakia, rice pilaf, spanakopita, tossed salad
Friday: 83 days till Christmas
The Parkinson's Association had a golf tournament and TheHub left the house by 7 to help set things up before playing in it. I got to enjoy coffee, have my music up loud and do whatever I wanted without having to be quiet. It was wonderful!
Our neighbor had asked TheHub to feed their cat while they were out of town a couple of weeks ago. She knocked on the door Friday night with a gorgeous loaf of sourdough bread and a mason jar of pesto sauce. we had already eaten of we would have had that for dinner. The bread became toast for the next few days, and the pesto went into the fridge.
Friday dinner: TheHub picked up extra for for his dinner when we went to the Greek Food Festival.Hooray I only had to warm his. I was in the mood for soup.
Coconut soup, sliced cucumbers, radishes and pepper strips
Saturday: 82 days till Christmas
Game day! TheHub and Son2 went to the Bama game while My Beloved Sister and DIL2 came here to watch the game. We did a lot of game watching and talking, along with a little cooking.
Saturday dinner: After the game Son2 and DIL2 stayed and ate with us
Chili, corn chips, brownies
Sunday: 81 days till Christmas
We woke and made it to the early communion service before going to our traditional early church service, followed by Sunday School. The only part I don't enjoy is getting up so early on a Sunday. We used to go to Sunday school then would go to the 11a.m. service. Now instead of getting out of church at noon, we are through by 10:50. It gives a whole other meaning to beating the Baptists to restaurants*. When we go out to eat afterward, we see mainly the Sunday brunch/lunch crowd, who did not go to any services anyway, so they are the ones who get the really good seats!
We came home and I was tired. I am still fighting the post Covid fatigue, but a large part of it might have been that I went to bed at 3 and woke at 6:15. So I did some dozing off and on, sitting up with a book in my hand. I would wake when the book hit the floor, pick it up, read a page or two, then doze, wait for it to drop again and repeat the process.
Sunday dinner: I had that gorgeous pesto in the fridge and it was screaming to get out.
Pasta with pesto, tossed salad, toast
Moving forward with what might happen:
1. Chicken and dumplings, vegetables of some sort
2. Baked potatoes with leftover chili and shredded cheese, tossed salad or coleslaw
3. Grilled tuna steaks, mashed potatoes, coleslaw or tossed salad, bbq bread
4. Out to eat
5. Big salad meal TBD
6. Veggie dinner TBD
7. Something with baked chicken, no idea what though
Books read in October:
The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all
May all your weeds be wildflowers.
Anne
*Growing up Methodist, our sermons never ran over. The reason given was always so we could beat the Baptists to lunch.
Missed the Halloween house pictures!!!
ReplyDeleteYou did not miss them. I knew there was something I forgot to do before I hit publish.
DeleteAll your meals sound delicious. I am waiting for our heat wave to leave in order to clean out our fridge (way overdue with all this canning). I need to get my advent gifts wrapped and more bought this month. Thanks for the countdown reminders.
ReplyDeleteI was to the point of no return with the fridge. It had gotten so overfilled it was ridiculous..
DeleteI also need to clean my fridges too....sighs...I hope you are completely recovered from COVID now.
ReplyDeleteI am still tired but that is the only Covid remnant I seem to have.
DeleteI need to wash one of the shelves in my refrigerator as it’s gotten something sticky on it and I don’t want that. I’m like you, I would corral all like items together. As we use items, I put them in smaller and smaller containers as we eat them, which also saves on fridge space.
ReplyDeleteI tend to do that with containers and jars, but TheHub does not. This retirement thing is a learning game for both of us.
DeleteYou make me nervous every week when you post how many days until Christmas. I rather have my head in the sand. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I know I should not pass on my personal Christmas panic to others.
DeleteWhat a rich and full week! It sounds like you had a wonderful balance of cozy home reset days and some genuinely special social events. But honestly, the most relatable moment is your refrigerator battle! Finding three ketchups and a forgotten jar of browned butter is the true sign of a busy, shared household.
ReplyDeleteSince I am no longer the kitchen sheriff I am going to have to be better at scouting the fridge to see what needs to be remedied.
DeleteRoll Tide! I laughed at the Methodist remark bc it is true…. 😂 Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI remember one time when I was a kid, the choir director (trying to be funny) led a stanza of "Give Me That Old Time Religion" with the words Let the Baptists love the Methodists.
Deletel always envy your cleaning and organizing tasks, and wish that I did them. But the refrigerator purge is something I actually do weekly! It's pretty much my domain, but even still, I often have no idea what's lurking back there even thought I clear it all out once a week!
ReplyDeleteYour menu lineup sounds so good. I'm not Methodist nor Baptist, but I've heard that saying many times. I had to laugh. I sure do love it when the ref gets all dolled up.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're feeling much better and had a pretty good week.
ReplyDeleteThe countdown to Christmas is freaking me out a bit though.
Have you been looking in my fridge? I need to figure an out-of-house adventure for Tom so I might inventory/clean/purse said appliance in peace.
ReplyDeleteThe Sunday lunch reminds me of my childhood - there were a couple of churches known for their late services. :)
ReplyDeleteMy Christmas preparations are far more simple than yours. My gifts are purchased, though I need wrapping paper. I expect my daughter will have done the majority of baking by the time I fly home in early December. My job will be purchasing groceries for our Christmas meal and helping prepare and clean up. I am looking forward to the school concert and the light parade.
I still want to see the Halloween pictures. I only have a skeleton to show. We went to the Greek Festival on Thursday. I had chicken plate and he had lamb. Tommy pushes my cottage cheese behind the milk and I buy more...grrr.
ReplyDeletelove how you have a count down to Christmas going on. I need to make a plan of action regarding that. Thank you for reminding me!
ReplyDeleteYour meals sound delicious as always. And thank you for the count down to Christmas. I have gift bags and wrapping paper and daughter painted some cardstock to be turned into cards. I just have to find/make/buy some gifts and make the cards. :D
ReplyDelete