The Bard said it best in his play "Twelfth Night"
"If music be the food of love, play on"
Let's skew his meaning a bit and see just where the love of food and the love of music takes us.
I have been busy and have not really been taking the time to blog. My life, my rules I guess. I thought I would take a minute to update my joy and dinner lists for the 41st week of 2023. I am not doing this for anyone but me, since I really do like to read over the joys I have had each year on New Year's eve.
The meal part I am just including also for me. I tend to look over what we have eaten for the past couple of weeks because TheHub does not like to eat the same thing over and over. It keep me out of a rut with our meals.
And now, things will calm down in a couple of weeks, just not today.
First up are the joys.
Monday: I got to go to my "Happy Place" to do some volunteering. It is always the highlight of my week.
Tuesday: TheHub and I ate a quick dinner at home then did a little running around in the evening.
Wednesday: TheHub was going to be out at a dinner meeting so I took it as a message from the universe to stay home and get some much needed icky tasks that would take longer than normal out of the way. The bonus? We had some much needed and appreciated rain.
Thursday: I had a little running around to do before launching into getting all the upstairs bedrooms ready for guests . (Plus I managed to get a little reading done)
Friday: This was the day for TheHubs birthday celebration. His actual birthday was Saturday, but Son2 and DIL2 could celebrate with us on Friday, so naturally we went then.
They came by the house and rode with us to a Japanese steak house. We were seated at a table with a couple of darling kids and watching them and seeing their expressions while the cook did his "performance" was wonderful.
After our meal they came back and had birthday cake and some fun conversation.
Saturday: Game Day! TheHub and Son2 usually go to the games, but it was an 11 o'clock game which is just too early to have to get to Tuscaloosa. Instead we watched it on the TV, then ran out quickly to do our errands, and rushed back home to watch a few more games. (We switch back and forth so we can keep up with several teams at the same time).
Sunday: We woke, had a quick cup of coffee and got ready for church. Normally we go out to eat afterward, but we decided to just stop on the way home to get some take out. We spent most of the afternoon finalizing tax documents, and planning our yearly contributions for 2023. Not necessarily a joy filled day, but there is a joy once it is done.
As for the meals:
It did not matter what was planned because I ignored it.
Monday: Chick fil a rip off
Tuesday: Steamed shrimp, coleslaw, baguette
Wednesday: Chopped salad
Thursday: Cauliflower, pimento cheese, 4 hot peppers (Was alone and didn't care)
This week saw virtually no cooking at home. In fact anything I was cooking up had nothing to do with food.
What I thought might happen:
1. TheHub is out of town. Whatever is in the fridge (warmed up is optional)
2. Ditto
3. Grilled tuna steak, baked potato, tossed salad
4. Veggie meal TBD
5. Bulgogi, rice, kimchi, sliced red peppers, lettuce shreds
6. Out to eat
7. Sandwich TBD
What really did happen:
Monday: TheHub was in Denver and this was the easiest option.
Peanut butter and crackers
Tuesday: TheHub was still in Denver and this was the second easiest option, though it did require warming in the microwave.
Leftover steamed cauliflower, slice of pepper Jack cheese, crackers
Wednesday: TheHub had been eating heavy banquet foods for 3 days/nights and he wanted something simple. This was his suggestion. No cooking, no arguing!
Zaxby's chicken Philly cheese sandwich, coleslaw
Thursday: When I planned the menu I forgot this was the Greek Food Festival week. We go every year to eat and to also bring at least one pan of frozen pastichio home.
Greek Chicken and rice or Pistachio, both with green beans, salad, teropita, spanakopita, and koulourakia for dessert
Friday: I actually prepared food for the first time all week. Of course it is about the easiest thing I could possibly make.
Grilled tuna steaks, baked potato, tossed salad
Saturday: We had to make an unplanned trip to a funeral visitation in a smaller town north of Birmingham. Because of the Alabama football game, we got a little later start than we hoped to and realized it would be around 9 before we got back. Instead of baking the pizza I had gotten for Saturday night, we picked up something.
To-go wings and french fries, coleslaw (from home)
Sunday: The Aldi pizza I planned on having Saturday became Sunday's meal. I cooked half of it, then froze the rest for another day
Veggie pizza
Which brings us to this week (maybe):
1.Veggie meal TBD
2. Knock off Chik-fil-A pimento cheese chicken sandwich, coleslaw
3.???Hub will be in a dinner meeting. Whatever is leftover
4.???Another dinner meeting " "
5. Hub's birthday is this weekend. Out to eat
6. Grilled chicken, caulitato salad, maybe another side or maybe not
7. Hamburger patty, mashed potatoes, tossed salad
Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan (like me), or with no plan at all.
Like I do normally, this is a list of the joys I found during the week. I said I was going to be more conscious of the joys I experience, and being my typical self my, intent only lasted a couple of days. Oh well!
We have just ended the 40th week of the year. It is hard for me to believe there are only 12 weeks until the end of the year. I don't know why, because it seems like the weeks between October the first and the end of the year fly by. But this year everything has zoomed past me.
Sunday: Usually Sunday mornings are a mad dash.We have a quick cup of coffee before getting ready for church running out the door with just enough time to get there before things begin. Last week was a little different. We woke much earlier than normal for a Sunday.
TheHub had a mid-morning flight to Denver. I was to take him to the airport and we planned on leaving about the time we would normally leave for church. He had not packed his suitcase the night before and needed to get his things together. All I had to do was throw on some clothes and clip my hair up. Consequently, while waiting for him to get ready, I had quite a bit of time to have a couple of cups of coffee while sitting at the kitchen table and admiring daybreak.
I kept seeing something shiny in the sky a couple of houses from mine and at first I could not figure out what it might be. Finally it dawned on me. My 15 year old neighbor had a disco cowboy birthday party with 40 or so of her nearest and dearest friends Saturday night. A mylar balloon had escaped the bunch from the arrangement on her patio and was caught in a tree in her yard. It had enough ribbon attached to it so it soared about 3 feet above the top of the tree, moving about as the wind caught it.
It made me happy to watch it for a bit as the reflection from the sun changed from a light rose to a bright silver.
Son2 , DIL2, and their houseguest M (also a participant at my happy place) brought their lunch and came over for a visit. As always, I love seeing them.
Finally since TheHub was out of town I had the house to myself___no cooking and I could watch whatever I wanted. I love things related to WW2 and watched "The Trial of Axis Sally". It was about the treason trial of Mildred Gillars who hosted a radio program, part of the Nazi war propaganda, aimed at American G.I.'s. I really did enjoy it and it was something TheHub would not want to watch.
Monday: No one but me was at home so there was no ambient noise to wake me. I slept until I naturally woke and though it was a later start to my day than is normal, the sleep felt wonderful. I got started on my to-do list then my adult ADD stepped in when I thought “ Why bother to finish cleaning the kitchen when you can find much more interesting things to do like look through a large plastic Jack O’Lantern filled with crayons. I had no idea we had so many of them that no one here will ever use again. But evidently it was much more important for me to sort my Crayola inventory than it was to mop the kitchen floor.
I ended the night with the tv remote in hand watching "The Mouse That Roared". It is an old campy Peter Sellers movie that I had not seen in decades. Though not a great movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it, without any disdainful comments from the peanut gallery.
Tuesday: I first attacked the laundry room, then got the guest room ready for the next houseguest. I had to look through my soap stash and see if I had a few bars of small soaps. We have several people coming to stay with us this month and I do like to have fresh soaps for each guest, but I am not about to put full size bars out.
And speaking of looking through my stash, once into my various bins I decided to have a spa night since I was here by myself. The self indulgence felt really nice and did not interfere with anyone or anything.
Wednesday: I guess I was feeling so pampered from the spa night that I slept better than usual and woke butt early. (At least butt early for me. I rarely am awake at 5) I had a cup of coffee while listening to my morning play list. The temperature was wonderful and I could have had that first cup of coffee on the porch, but it was still dark so I nixed that idea.
There was a long time between the early waking and my Wednesday class time which I filled doing a little writing, reading and laundry. Reading and writing are joyful activities, but the only thing joyful about laundry was having it done!
After class I ran to the grocery store then headed to the airport to pick up TheHub. I am old enough to remember times before cell lots at the airport and what a joy that they are available now. I rolled down the windows of the car while I read and waited for TheHub to call and let me know he was by the curb.
I was very glad he was home. I enjoyed my "vacation" but really did enjoy having someone to talk to at night.
Thursday: I had a wonderful, but all too short visit with my good friend M. We decided to do the Santa letters again this year, but do them on a smaller scale.
TheHub and I went to the annual Greek Food Festival. There were throngs of folks there. I know I live in the south and there is a perception that everything everywhere is separated, however it was wonderful to see all the different cultures from the surrounding area enjoying the foods and customs of the local Greek community.
I personally love getting to see the dancers. I was able to see some of the younger (elementary age) dancers as well as those from what I am guessing was middle school age. (My guess was based on the fact that the gals were several inches taller than all of the guys except for one, which kind of reflects the growth rate of middle school aged kids)
Friday: I had a pretty normal day at home. It was a little overcast, and the temps were so much cooler I actually had to wear a tee shirt with sleeves along with my shorts and flip flops.
Because TheHub had been out of town and the fact that we had food from places other than home Wednesday and Thursday night, we decided to stay at the house. That is very unusual for us on Friday night, for it is our normal "date" night.
Instead I actually cooked before we watched the movie "Reptile". There were parts of it that I did not particularly like, such as the way it was filmed, and it was a little hard to follow sometimes, but the story line was great.
Saturday: We woke and did a little running around, before settling in for a partial day of football. There is a small restaurant fairly near our house that is in the middle of the errands we were going to run. It had 3 tv's with different games showing on all three. We stopped in for a quick bite to eat and watched part of the early games, but we had to be back at the house for the Alabama/A&M game. TheHub we might have been arrested for all the yelling he did at the tv. We were excited that Bama won, because it could have gone either way.
After the game we had to drive about 50 miles to a funeral home. One of TheHub's former co-workers passed away after a long illness, and he felt he needed to go pay his respects to her family.
I did not know her family, but rode with him so he would not be making the trek alone. There was 45 minutes of discussion, both to and from the visitation. Sometimes it is nice to be contained with nothing to do but talk.
Have a great week looking for your joys not matter how small or large they are. They are always out there.
I can finally share this with all of you. Our wonderfully talented daughter in love, whom I usually refer to as DIL3, released her single and accompanying video this morning. Not only is it her big day, but it also Son3's birthday. What a wonderful gift she is giving him.
I will be the first to admit it: I wear makeup. I don't put it on everyday though, unless I am going to go out among the living. I am not a pessimist by nature, but I am definitely a realist and a quick look in the mirror lets me know there is a reason I need a little paint in my war chest. Not only do I feel a little better about myself, when I am wearing it, but it keeps me from scaring any dogs or small children I might meet in passing.
Our bedroom has a small kidney shaped vanity in the corner of the room near my side of the bed. When I am getting all gussied up I sit on a stool there to work my craft. Upfront and centered on the vanity is a makeup mirror. At first glance it appears to be a regular mirror until it flips to a humiliating 10x size. There is nothing like magnified horrors is there? No secrets are left from my view, thus illustrating the need for the lotions, potions, and other products produced to enhance what God forgot to give me, and/or took away as I have aged.
Needless to say I have a lot of products, way more than I use on a regular basis, which are all organized by categories. I do have my everyday look all together on the far left of the vanity. It sits out 100% of the time, with everything else being organized by makeup type in drawers or containers.
Since I have an abundance of products, I am trying to use them up and clear the space they occupy. I know I read all the time about makeup becoming dated, but I swear that my eyebrows do not object to me using the same eyebrow palette I have been using for about 2 years. I do understand the need to toss mascara after a couple of months, but most of the stuff I keep and use until it runs out, especially since I am a little freaky about keeping all my cosmetic brushes clean.
Because I am trying to empty some of the items I have a little more in my everyday stash than I normally would. (Like 2 compacts of blush, several eye pencils, a few lipsticks, etc.) As a result of the overcrowding I have accidentally knocked a couple of products on the floor and have to pick them up and set them back in place.
The only problem with this is that occasionally I set the whatever fell in the wrong place. I am a tad compulsive and have each product sitting on the vanity in order of use. When this happens it is normally not an issue. I do not mistake lipstick for an eye pencil or eye shadow for blush.
This brings me to the point I planned this post around. The other day I knocked off my setting spray (one of those things I rarely use but put out to use until it is gone) and set it back on the vanity (quite obviously in the wrong place as you will see in a second).
I finished applying everything, reached (without looking) for my setting spray with my eyes closed like I normally do (I mean who wants that crap in their eyes) and spritzed my entire face, realizing as soon as I did it, that instead of Mario Badescu, I had sprayed my entire face with The Body Shop peppermint cooling foot spray. We had to be somewhere almost immediately and I had no time to wash my face and start over. Instead we left with me having slightly irritated eyes, wearing a fragrance I am fondly referring to as eau du Altoids.
I really have no idea why I am even bothering with a meal plan since I seem to be totally ignoring it. As a matter of fact we have been eating out so often I don't even know why I bother going to the grocery store.
Things around here are going to have to change.
In my delusional brain what I planned on cooking:
1. Veggie meal (TBD)
2. Grilled ham and Swiss sandwich, chopped cauliflower salad
3. BLT salad, dinner rolls
4. Stuffed bell peppers, mashed potatoes w/gravy, coleslaw
5. Out to eat
6. Pasta dish TBD, tossed salad
7. Grilled tuna steaks, coleslaw, dinner rolls
What I actually cooked (or didn't):
Monday: I buy several packs of bacon at one time, cook it softer than we like it, then stick it in a freezer container. It only has to be heated and crisped in the microwave when we are ready to eat it. It also makes some meal times a snap to throw together.
BLT salad
Tuesday: TheHub had eaten a big meal at lunch and I just was not hungry.
Grilled ham and Swiss sandwiches, pickles spears
Wednesday: I guess eating out on Wednesday will be our new normal.
Thursday: After an evening trip to Costco, TheHub suggested we pick something up for dinner, though neither of us were in the mood for fast food. Lucky for us there is a small Asian place near our house that serves a mix of Thai and Korean deliciousness.
Friday: Because we had eaten out 2 nights during the week, I thought it was a good idea to skip our typical Friday night out, and actually eat in. Additionally I had 5 bell peppers that needed to be used right away. It changed the format of a meal I had planned but worked nevertheless.
Deconstructed stuffed bell peppers ( lots and lots of peppers), mashed potatoes, gravy
Saturday: We had eaten out for lunch while we were doing some running around and were not very hungry
Grilled cheese, dill pickles, apple slices
Sunday: I forgot TheHub was going on a business trip and I was not about to mess the kitchen up for me.
Leftover cold Thai basil chicken
Going forward (maybe):
1. TheHub is out of town. Whatever is in the fridge (warmed up is optional)
2. Ditto
3. Grilled tuna steak, baked potato, tossed salad
4. Veggie meal TBD
5. Bulgogi, rice, kimchi, sliced red peppers, lettuce shreds
6. Out to eat
7. Sandwich TBD
Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all
Farewell to September. This month has flown by just like the rest of 2023 thus far. This morning. I realized I have just 3 more months of joys before we move on to the new year. I still think it should be early August instead of fall (which is only a technical term here because it is still hot)
I need to be more attentive to the everyday joys and be happy with every good thing everyday for the rest of the year. I will try, I promise.
Meanwhile welcome October (I guess since it is here whether I am ready for it or not)
Sunday: We got up, had coffee or tea then headed to church. I am Methodist and in addition to our typical church disciplines, we seem to have one overriding rule: make sure we are out early enough so we can beat the Baptists to restaurants for lunch after church. It worked for us! We were one of the first 3 occupied tables when we ate.
The day was gorgeous and our friend is recovering from a back injury and is now able to drive and walk a little, which is a huge joy.
Monday: This day was a little cooler and less humid. It was still shorts and flip flops weather, but definitely more bearable. I try to use Mondays to straighten up the house from whatever we did over the weekend__or read! It seems I will always choose a book over doing more than minimal housework.
Tuesday: My Beloved Sister and I drove to Gardendale on the north side of town to take lunch to my cousin S. She and I were just a few months apart in age. She was my first friend and closest cousin. S has been struggling with a health issue lately and had not felt like having visitors. I was thrilled when she said we could come see her. She looked great, and we were able to talk and laugh. As she continues to gain strength we plan to make our visits more often.
Wednesday: I have class Wednesday mornings but I missed it. I had a little self inflicted stomach issue the night before and wound up sitting upright from 3 in the morning until 7. (Can you say acid reflux? Maybe, just maybe, it was from an overdose of cookies). I finally went back to bed and slept for a couple of hours. When I woke it was too late to get ready and be there on time.
I think I talked with Sluggy on Wednesday but it might have been Tuesday. I did not record it and things fly in and out of the vault inside my head.
TheHub called to check on me and when he found I was going to live he suggested we go out to eat. After the issues I had in the wee hours of the morning, the last thing I wanted to do was go somewhere to eat. But this is all a part of his new "break up the work week" routine, and I tend to pick my battles carefully. Going out to eat is not worth putting my foot down and refusing.
We went to the Palm & Pig so he could try it. I had already been with friends one day for lunch and gave it a thumbs up, but he wanted to check it out himself.
I did order some food but I was very judicious about my order and the amount I ate.
We had planned on going to Costco after we ate, but TheHub decided he had rather save that for another evening. We went home, changed into soft clothes and watched "The Last Days of Ptlomey Gray". I strongly recommend this series found on Apple TV.
Thursday: The day was fairly normal . The skies clouded and threatened a much needed rain. Unfortunately that did not happen. I did have a phone conversation with a friend and I enjoyed that.
We did not go to Costco Wednesday, so we had to go Thursday. I think it has taken the place of Publix for TheHub's recreational shopping fix. I don't like crowds but Thursday evening is a fairly decent time to go. Though the parking lot was about 1/3 full, the store is so large that it felt almost empty. And that is a huge joy for me.
After leaving Costco, TheHub suggested we pick something up for dinner. Fine with me, I was planning on sandwiches for dinner anyway. Instead we stopped at a small pho place for a to-go dinner. Another night of no cooking is a joy.
Friday: This was a day to try and get as much as possible done around the house. I was not successful at that but I did get into reading “Wolf Hall”. The jury is still out if it is going to be worth the time investment. We’ll see.
We did not go out for our weekly date night since we had been out and about 2 nights during the week already. Instead we watched the documentary “ The Saint of Second Chances”. Even though it is about a baseball family it is actually not about the game, but is about selling fun, and what is really important in life. Nothing is better than watching a show that leaves you feeling happier than you were when you started watching it.
Saturday: After a quick cup of coffee it was time to get ready for the day. Once we stepped outside we found that summer had returned in all her humid glory.
TheHub and I ran around to do a few errands. We were about half way through with them right before lunchtime and we stopped by The Pita Cafe for a quick bite. (TheHub eats at noon nearly every workday and he continues his clock eating during the weekend. I go along because it is just easier. ) Luckily they had 3 different football games on the televisions in there. We were able to eat and keep up with them before we left to continue our errands.
I understand I talk a lot about football here, because I actually do like to watch college games. So we watched, and watched, and watched, doing chores in between watching.
We ended the evening with the Alabama/Mississippi State game. They won but really did not look very good. Still a win is a win, so Roll Tide, Roll!
And now I will begin this new week with fresh eyes looking to find all things that are joyful.
