In My Home This Week: Having Fun

Hello!  It's the very last days of August and the very new start of a new month this week.  I won't say, "Hasn't the year just flown by?" or "My! Summer is nearly over!" which is overstating the obvious.  I will say I feel excited about September this year.  Truth told the summer has been stressful and difficult in many ways, but somehow I'm just convinced that this month ahead will bring all that to an end.

Why did I decide to use 'Having Fun' in the title?  Because, I truly do find it fun to be creative in my home, whether it's planning meals, figuring out ways to trim our budget, or to re-do an item so that it feels like new...It's FUN and I mean that sincerely.  Have you ever noticed that sometimes fun is hard work?  Well it is, unless you're the sort that just shows up and enjoys all the end results.  We've had that discussion before as well, about those of us who are more Martha and less Mary when it comes to seeing what needs to be done, but that's not to say we never enjoy ourselves. I believe if you don't enjoy the work you're doing then you're in the wrong place.



Maybe you'd be happier working outside the home and just enjoying the comforts of the place at day's end.  There's nothing wrong with that at all you know.  It takes all kinds, as my Granny used to say too often, and while I prefer to be 'at home', my own mother was happiest with her job.  She did plenty of work at home but it wasn't the life blood to her that homemaking is to me.  Granny preferred outdoor work, field work, gardening.  Housework was a necessary part of her day but she tried to keep things in control so it took the least of her time.  Grandmama on the other hand often worked outside her home but she hummed along in her house and could 'find' work in it.  I think I tend to be most like her in this matter.  I can 'find' more work to do and will happily do it, too!

All that to say, that this week, I'm meaning to enjoy my home and have fun in it. Let's get started with a plan for meals.  Oh and I realized after I'd sent out last week's post I'd totally forgotten suppers.  Ha..no one even mentioned missing them.

Breakfast:  Toast and Eggs x2 (John's work mornings)
                    Waffles and Sausages with sauteed apples and maple syrup
                    Breakfast sandwiches (we never had those this past week after all)
                    Oatmeal with Blueberries, Toast with Peanut Butter (I plan to make the custard sort of                          oatmeal as it has an egg and will reduce the brown sugar)
                    Bagels/Cream Cheese, Fruit
                    Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Dinners:  Grilled Steaks,  Corn on Cob, Salad, Rolls (this is planned for Friday really when the                         kids should come in from Florida.)
                  Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce, Three Bean Salad in Lettuce Cup
                  Lemon Chicken, Broccoli Casserole, Pear Salad
                  Zucchini Pizza Planks, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread
                  twice on my own: Leftovers on menu for me
                  dinner with my girls (guys are going to a football game)
                  
Suppers:   Homemade Sub Sandwich, Pickles
                  Soup x 2 for me
                  Hot Dogs, Oven Fries, Coleslaw
                  Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich, Chocolate Milk
                  Pizza ordered out with kids
                  Chicken Salad Plates, Crackers

Jobs This Week


I did more than I thought I'd get to last week.  The porch railing is done except for a small section that still needs to be cleaned.  John moved the dog house for me so I can tend to that this week.  If weather permits, I'll also get it painted.

Finish the cafe set.  I've decided to just paint the mosaic the same color as the table and let it be a single color.

Finish the back porch decor.

If weather permits, paint the front porch floor.

Wash and hang to dry the guest room spread, if weather is clear...do you get the impression I'm unsure of this week's weather?

Pay bills, grocery shop

Lab work?  I don't know at the moment, will depend on results of last test
Dr. Appointment?  Ditto above  not necessary

Start photos for Fall outfits series.

I promised myself in September I'd sort out the non-food kitchen items.  I've become aware there are many tools and pots and pans and such I've not touched in a long, long while.  I'm thinking it's time to clear those items out of the way.  Depending on weather and porch work I'll start this process this week.

9 comments:

Dawn said...

I have plans to work on my front porch depending on the weather also. The rain chances seem to change by the hour. They go up and down every time I check. I am planning for porch work but will do it another week if it rains.

Lana said...

U have always been happiest at home, too. I very much prefer outside work to inside and I am really happy with my hands in dirt! My Mom was the same about dirt but she went to work when I was in High school and loved it.

We accomplished a lot over the weekend and can now feel free to take next weekend off. The big siding replacement job only needs one more coat of paint to be finished. On Wednesday we will go to the lake house through Labor Day. Between now and when we go will be getting ready to leave the house for all those days and packing what we need to bring. Menus have been planned so that we only bring needed food supplies.

All of my life from the time I was a small child, I wanted a vacation house on a lake. Sixteen years ago we received a settlement from a class action suit on the siding on our house. AT that time the siding was sound and we did not need to use the money for siding. I asked my husband if we could put the money in a savings for a house on a lake one day and he said sure. As I was putting that money away I prayed and asked God for that $6K to somehow yield a house on a lake. Then I thought that I had just prayed a really stupid prayer. How could that small sum of money ever become a lake house??? Ten days later God answered my prayer while listening to a radio garage sale program and heard a man advertising a 1/12th share in a house on a lake for $6000! So God gave me the desire of my heart and I have never forgotten that it was He who answered my prayer and blessed me so. It is the place where my heart and soul can rest and I am still thankful. In those sixteen years we have spent about $1600 in siding repairs and those have been spread out over the years so we did not really need those funds on hand.

I was thinking the same thing about my kitchen a few days ago. I have huge casserole dishes and mixing bowls that I never use except for maybe at Christmas time now. The way that I cook for two now is mostly meals that are plated at the stove and I don't even use serving bowls anymore unless we have company. I am not sure what to do with that yet.

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Working at home is fun to me too.. I love painting and fixing up what I have. Proud you have had such a happy/good week.
Meals sound yummy.. Have fun with the girls.
Cant wait to see your finished porch.

Becky L said...

Can't wait to see your porch pictures!

Rhonda said...

You know I prefer to work at home, I will do yard work when necessary and I pray I never have to be employed away from home again.
I'll be doing some cleaning, some child care but not as much as the last 2 weeks, also jelly making.

Hope we both get lots done this week.

Anonymous said...

I would live outside in the summer time if I could. Winter here gets down to sometimes 10 below or even colder so small doses are best in that weather. I always tell Gramps if we have to move into a retirement home that it will be my yard I miss. Not that I don't enjoy my home but, like my mom, my real love is being outside. Even my decorating the inside of my house seems to be all about flowers and pictures of the outdoors.
I know you are always looking for inexpensive ways to decorate. One of my favorites is greeting card scenes that I find and love and put into picture frames. They can easily be taken out and new ones put in depending on the season. What fun to take out a picture and find it was from a friend that probably thought you would look at it for a couple of days and then toss. I have some beautiful winter ones and a lot of lovely flower "pictures".
We are going to have weather here in the low 80's this week with lows in the upper 60's and sunshine every day. Perfect! We to have some porch railings to paint which need to be stripped down and now that the fall weather is coming there is a lot of dead perennials that need to be cleaned up before the leaves start to fall.
Gramma D.

Anonymous said...

I know fall is coming because the leaves are falling. I just wish the temperatures would fall.. I should be planting the fall garden but as I already said, it is all I can do when it is this hot for days on end is to keep what I already have growing watered and run back inside! :-) Out again to put clothes on the line and turn the soaker hoses off and such. Least I get some exercise! :-)
Home has always been my favorite place to be. I never get tired of being here and doing things here. It is a good thing each of us is different so the world can have a variety of different kinds of work. I do love being outside in the gardena and yard a whole lot though. I think of those areas though as just another room of my home. So they get worked on and fluffed too. :)
Work on changing the outside decor to fall things and cleaning before that will have to wait as all the outside time I have is taken up with the watering and such necessities right now. I will be happy though to see those fall things put out. I love fall. I already see Halloween things in the stores and some Christmas coming in!!!! Even the Goodwill is opening their Halloween department Sept 12 !
I am working on washing blankets and odds and ends that will dry better in this heat than later when it cools down. I still want to clean our carpet while I can have the windows open. Time to get to work! Sarah

Karla said...

This week's project began yesterday. We had a small leak behind the washer that became a big leak behind the washer so today the plumber was called. I started clearing things out yesterday and moving them into the kitchen which now looks like a disaster area of immense proportions. I'll be honest, it had me flustered this morning.

The water leak is fixed and thankfully the expense was not as much as expected. Before I move things back in, I'm decluttering and it shall start tonight. Thankfully I have dinner in the crockpot so I don't have to have a bunch of room to cook or eat supper. I'm hoping to be brave and get rid of a lot of stuff and reorganize what is kept. I'm not sure if I'd call it fun.

Crystal H. in Nevada said...

A nice surprise to see your post when I checked this morning.
We have had a crazy August. My dad went on Hospice - 500 miles from where I live and planning on heading up in a few weeks to help out/visit, had surgery on my nose to remove cancer and reconstruction and hosted a birthday party for my mother in law's 80th. Dinner for 50 people. Whew. So looking forward to September!

I too am glad to be a homemaker. One of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs there is. Second only to raising a family. I wish homemakers were recognized for how hard they work to keep things running well for everyone. Some times I miss working but mostly it's just the paycheck and the people not really the actual job. I know I was good at what I did when I worked but always longed to be home. (Hard to do when you are a single mom) My boys learned how to do dishes, laundry, clean and cook. It was all hands on to keep our home running while I worked. All skills every child should learn. My daughter in law has her niece now to raise and that kid can clean a bathroom at only 7 years old. It's never too early. Ooops.... a little off track. Glad God had a plan for me to start staying home 16 years ago. I love it here. Take care and have a wonderful productive happy week!