Volunteer Kind of Week

This was a week filled with some things we had volunteered for and one thing I forgot!

Meals planned for this past week:

1. Lasagne leftovers, tossed salad

2. Chicken stew, coleslaw, cornbread

3. Soup, rolls 

4. Egg roll in a bowl

5. Chicken Alfredo leftovers, tossed salad

6. Brisket, brussels sprouts, potatoes

7. Out to eat

Monday: 45 Days till Christmas

I stayed home and did stuff around the house. 

Actually I screwed up when I filled out my calendar and was supposed to be at IP. I had written it down for Tuesday, so I missed it, and was very sad I did that. As you know, that is my happy place and I missed seeing all the Monday participants. (I will make it up to them) 

I was able to catch up with my cousin via a phone call, and do some much needed work upstairs. 

Monday dinner: Lasagne, tossed salad

Tuesday:  44 Days till Christmas

Ran a few errands, and did a little at home self pampering. I have been lucky enough to find some incredibly tasty apple lately. I love honeycrisp apples and the ones I bought recently were some of the best I have ever eaten. My old apple slicer broke, so I treated myself to a new one. I love eating those perfect slices, but I wonder if some homemade caramel might enhance them even more!

Tuesday dinner: Chicken alfredo, spinach, carrots, dinner rolls

Wednesday: 43 Days till Christmas

TheHub and I went to our church food pantry early Wednesday morning to help pack  Thanksgiving bags. For years our church has worked with the school counselors in our city, to identify needs for families in our school district, along with "love" offering to the custodial staff at all the schools. A small group of us packed and delivered about 250 bags to the various schools. In addition to the bags filled with enough food for a substantial Thanksgiving meal, each recipient  received a whole turkey. It is all done "under the cover of darkness" to save the students from any embarrassment they might feel. TheHub and I delivered to the middle school, then went out to lunch. middle school, out to lunch.

This coming Wednesday is the day our church drive by food bank is available for those in need of food assistance and because we had been in the literally pantry earlier in the day we were able to see what holes needed filling and ran to the store to buy a few cases to donate. 

Each time we do, I remember a former minister at our church whose ongoing message was "It is a blessing to be a blessing"

Wednesday dinner: What do you do when you have some leftovers but not quite enough for 2 people. Get creative!

Chicken and dumplings soup

Thursday: 42 days Had fun at my happy place. At least my Thursday calendar was correct! My Beloved Sister and I went to Independence Place and made homemade PayDay bars with the participants. The Thursday group is lively (loud) but a lot of fun. 

When MBS goes with me, we laugh on the drive over and back, and usually stop to grab a quick meal ( really late lunch) to eat in the car. There are a couple of parking lots nearby which are great for people watching.

Thursday dinner: We only had 10 days remaining to use our monthly dining minimum. We have some busy days ahead and and will be in Portland the week of Thanksgiving, so we decided Thursday night would be as good a night as any to use some of it.

Cobb salad

Friday: 41 Days till Christmas

Our church holds a Merry Market each November where people who are artisans, craftspersons, bakers, etc, pay a vendor's fee to sell their goods. There is no cost to enter, but there are tons of other options to spend your money.

TheHub and I volunteered to work a shift at the welcoming table. I am not a particularly shy person and it is very easy for me to talk to strangers, so it was a good place for me to be. TheHub acted as the doorman helping anyone who needed help in or out (but mainly out once they were loaded down with their purchases).

I met many new people, saw folks I had not seen in years, and had some wonderful "catch up" conversations.

TheHub became a fetcher and pointer helping people find specific vendors. He also did a little shopping, and we came home after our shift with a ton of breads, crackers, cookies, jellies and hot chocolate mixes, You would think he is never fed!

Friday dinner: I had 2 heads of cabbage in the fridge and needed to use some of it.

Eggroll in a bowl

Saturday: 40 days until Christmas

As you might know now, Saturday's around here means watching Game Day, having coffee with the televisions crew and gearing up to watch several games, or in TheHub's case, getting ready to go to the game. He and Son2 left the house at about 11 for a 2:30 game. They met TheHub's brother and nephew and had reservations for a pre-game lunch in the stadium. It was good for them to have that time to talk.

I stayed home, did some laundry, grabbed my new blanket and settled in on the couch to read and watch games.

DIL2 came over to watch part of the Bama game with me. Too bad they didn't win. I am a fan, but the wins or losses do not affect my everyday life at all. 

Saturday dinner: I knew it would be 8ish before they got in from th game and needed something that would taste good but would "hold".

Pumpkin sausage soup, basil sourdough bread

Sunday: 39 Days till Christmas

We were back in our normal Sunday routine, early communion service, early traditional worship service then. Sunday school.

Most Sunday's we stop and pick up lunch or run by the grocery store, but this day we came straight home, and changed clothes ate a quick sandwich and headed downtown for Birmingham's Broadway play "Clue". It was a cute and funny production which I enjoyed but I don't have to ever see it again.

Once home we both put of house type clothes, and watched The Beast in Me, a Netflix show.

Sunday dinner: I had put some frozen meat in a low temp crockpot early Saturday night. By the time I went to bed it had thawed, so I seasoned it and kept it cooking on the low setting until we got in from church. I turned it to the warm setting to keep it at  a safe temperature without too much additional cooking.

Brisket, mashed potatoes, tossed salad, apple sourdough bread

What might be dinner this week:

1. Minestrone soup, dinner rolls

2. Leftover pumpkin sausage soup, waldorf salad

3. Leftover brisket, broccoli, rice

4. Out to eat

5. Cheese sandwiches, coleslaw

6. Pizza in a bowl, tossed salad

7. Chicken scampi over pasta, some green veggie TBD

Books read in November:

The Harbinger

No More Tears:The Dark Secrets of Johnson and Johnson

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

May all your weeks be wildflowers.

Anne