Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Fresh Winds

 

Saturday:  I was happy to come into the weekend.  Yesterday I'd told John our plans for the day.  We were to go buy pet foods, bird seed and pick up the sales items at Publix as well as some Gramma's Fried Chicken for Sunday dinner.  I suggested it would be nice to go out to breakfast.

I rose a little later than planned this morning after a restless night.  I think I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday in lifting Caleb and it kept spasming in a sort of painful way that wasn't all that painful but was uncomfortable.  Hence, I slept a wee bit later than planned.

When I did rise, I went right into the shower and put on makeup while I was having my coffee.  We left home early enough but when we got to the turnoff for where I thought we'd have breakfast, he bypassed it.  A glance at the clock told me we wouldn't make it to another breakfast spot unless he planned to go to a pancake/waffle house.  No.  We didn't.

I won't say I was disappointed, but I wasn't terribly happy either.  I don't make it my habit to leave home without breakfast or water as a rule and I had had neither.  When he turned into the grocery store parking lot I prayed that my hunger wouldn't redirect my spending!

As it happened, I couldn't find my phone which had my list on it. I tried to pull what was required from memory which is a faulty method at the best of times.  If I'm hungry, thirsty, flustered and being asked what I need instead of allowing me time to regroup, I am bound to forget more.  And I did.  Nothing earth shattering.  One item was a sales item that goes on sale routinely anyway.  If we run out before next sale, then we will wait until next sale just the same.  One item was out of stock and the other item we never walked into that area of the store though I did try to go there.

What we did pick up today was more hamburger (lovely and on sale and in a family pack), and at John's request hot dogs and another Turkey Kielbasa though I had one in the freezer at home.   We spent quite a chunk because John seemed in a terrible hurry to get back home again.  I've no clue why.  We bought pet food and bird seed at the grocery which is higher than Tractor Supply where I'd planned to buy it.  In fact, the pet food and bird seed accounted for half my expenses today.  I wondered if I should have purchased eggs or gotten more milk, did I need cheese (yes, but I didn't make it to the cheese case).  The really important thing was to pick up Taylor's favorite, Gramma's Fried Chicken, for Sunday dinner.  I remembered that.

On the way home, John apologized for missing the breakfast window and I explained that I'd thought we'd have a date today, but we could plan it for another time.  As we came into town, I offered him a list of ready to make and easy meal suggestions that were in our fridge and which we could have for our lunch.  He kept saying "I don't know what I want..." but then he drove to the local diner and said, "Well are you getting out?"   I assured him we had plenty of foods at home we might make quickly and easily, but he insisted that he wanted to eat there at the Fireside.   Which is an odd name for the diner because there is no fireside, and the interior is made up to look like a barn which is pretty but not fireside-ish.  No big surprise to me when he asked the waitress if we could get breakfast and she said "No, we stopped serving that before 10."  He was surprised, however.  But it didn't stop us looking at the lunch menu and deciding on an entree.  At this point, I was just plain hungry, and I'd take whatever sounded good!

The food is good at this diner.  It's pricey for a small-town diner, not expensive, just a bit higher than I like to pay for what I typically consider fast food, but it's good and always hot.   I ordered a dinner that was named after our county, Taylor County Scramble.  It was a pile of crisp hashbrowns with Philly Cheesesteak sandwich meat and cheese piled on top.  It was really good.  John opted for the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.  When we were done, John said, "There...Now you've had a date."   Lol.  

Home to fill the bird feeders, put away the grocery items, return a call to Mama while John returned a call to his brother and then return message Katie.  We were chilled to the bone when we got done with all of that and decided we needed to boost the heat today with the propane heater.  Of course, the sun promptly came out and then warmed the house up, so we turned the little heater back off again in less than an hour.

The rest of the afternoon has gone quietly and pleasantly here at home. I've planned a million things I might do come Monday morning when I have a free space of time.  I'm purely excited about how I can get to this task or that project, etc.  

Tonight's supper:  Kielbasa dogs, per John's request.  Chips

Sunday:  We were up quite early this morning.  It was barely light outdoors when I went into the kitchen to make coffee.  It wasn't until later that I looked out the window and saw the sun was fully up.  It was a lovely world!  Everything glistened with hoar frost, every branch, twig and blade of grass, leaf and surface.  The sun hit the frost and the world glittered.   It was very cold outdoors, in the mid 20's.  

The whole ride to church we exclaimed over how beautiful it all was.  The sun seemed to be white it glowed so, but it did little to melt the frost.  

I dressed warmly this morning.  Our church has concrete floors and despite the carpet they put in a year ago, it stays pretty cold on mornings like this.  I meant to carry a small fleece blanket to throw over my legs but forgot. I did remember to wear socks this morning.  

We hurried home after church, anxious to visit with Taylor once again.  We had a lovely time with her.  We haven't had Gramma's Fried chicken since the last time she was here on a Sunday, well before our family Christmas in December.  I think she must have grown four inches.

The sun has been lovely and warm this afternoon, but the wind is chilly and cold.  I needed a jacket just to stand on the back porch and say goodbye to the kids this afternoon.  

Meals today:  Bagels with Cream Cheese and Turkey Pastrami.

                       Fried Chicken, Mac n Cheese, steamed Broccoli

                        leftovers

While they were gone, John and I watched a film from 1943 called "Paris After Dark" with George Sanders.  It was really quite good.  

Katie came back by with Caleb when she was done.  We pulled all the leftovers from the fridge. Everyone had their choice.  Katie opted for the Tamale Pie, along with a salad.  John heated Caleb up a plate of the Tamale pie and gave him a mandarin orange aka "Bapple" which oddly isn't the same as 'Bapple' aka apple.  I can't tell you how he says it differently, but he does.   John had pizza, while I had the last of the greens from our BBQ chicken meal, a slider burger and the smaller slice of pizza.  For all that, we still put plenty of leftovers back into the fridge.

Katie offered me some potatoes that she had at home and asked if we ate Chicken sausage.  She mentioned a couple of spice items she didn't have, and I happen to have a lot of each on hand, so I'll put some of those into smaller containers for her.  

After we'd eaten and put things away, they packed up and went home for the evening.  John and I settled into our chairs, and each pursued our own activities.  I chose to type up a post and watch a few vlogs while he went through several of his favorite news programs. It was just the sort of relaxed family day followed by a quiet evening that I enjoy most.

Monday:  I set my alarm last night...for next Sunday morning!  Oh well.  I won't sleep in every single morning because I am truly the sort who can be super productive if I get my feet under me in the morning or super lazy and dissatisfied if I stay abed, linger overlong over my coffee and don't start my day off as I mean to go on.  Fortunately, I was only about 10 minutes later rising than I'd meant to be and had actually been awake off and on for at least a half hour.  Had John not gotten up, I never would have either though.  I made sure to set my alarm for tomorrow morning.  I won't miss it tomorrow.

Yes, the morning excited me.  I made breakfast before I made coffee this morning.  And almost immediately after we'd eaten, I started work on housework.  By the time the pest control guy arrived I was ready to start on my kitchen prep work for the week.  Everywhere I looked I could see I'd accomplished something within those first three hours, and it made me happy!

John grumbled, groaned, complained and fussed his way through putting childproof locks on one drawer and four cabinet doors.  He had good reason to complain.  Even a magnetic bit didn't help keep those tiny screws in place and he worked hard for nearly two hours to get those few things done.  There was also multiple getting up and down to find dropped screws and pencils to replace stubborn pens that refused suddenly to write, etc.  I stayed out of his way and found screws for him when I could.  I keep telling him it will all be worth it.  We must order more of the locks though to finish the two remaining drawers and the last four cabinets.

Here's what I did for kitchen prep this week.  I've sort of switched up some things on my menu because in thinking about what I had I realized I could make other things that appealed to me more than those on my menu plan.

I chopped onion and celery, grated carrot and broccoli stems.  All those vegetables went into three dishes I prepared this morning.  

Some went into the leftover roast beef hash into which I'd already tossed leftover peas and a partial can of green beans.  I meant to make a vegetable beef soup from this.  I added a can of diced tomatoes and a 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini from the freezer.  I dug about in the fridge a bit more and discovered the scalloped potatoes that had been left from our BBQ Chicken dinner.  I dumped those into the pot as well, along with that jar of beef broth I'd put in the back of the fridge last week.   All the soup required after that was a wee bit of salt and pepper, some garlic and a hearty dash of Worcestershire.  As that soup simmered it smelled wonderful and tasted really good when I checked for seasonings.  I've already put a quart in a jar to freeze.   The rest may be for supper tonight.  That is still to be determined at this point of the day.

I used some of the vegetables to make Chicken Fried Rice.  This incorporated leftover brown rice, 1/2 a fried chicken breast (skin removed), a scrambled egg and seasonings and some of that shredded broccoli, carrot and diced onion and celery.   John asked to have that for lunch today.  There's a single serving leftover for someone to have for lunch later in the week.

And then I put zucchini (another frozen packet that I'd thawed), grated carrots and chopped onions in the ground beef that was in the fridge, along with bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper, and an egg.  I made that up into meatballs and baked them in the oven.  John and I have both mentioned wanting Meatball Subs in the past two days and it occurred to me that with the leftover marinara sauce, meatballs, mozzarella and leftover brioche hot dog buns we could have subs for dinner one of these nights.

I chopped lettuce, red cabbage (also added some of the cabbage to the soup pot and the fried rice) and some grated carrots and put those up for salads this week.  I did it as Rhonda does.  I fixed up a container of the salad fixings.  I don't have a divided container and I knew the red cabbage would bleed into everything else, so I chose a deep container and put small bowls of the cabbage and carrots right on top of the shredded lettuce.

Then I did my last cooking for today. I used the one ripe banana let in the fruit bowl, some leftover pecans and dark chocolate chips, a mix of baby oatmeal cereal (in my cupboard from Caleb's infant days!) and flour to make up some muffins.  John's enjoyed having muffins to snack on and I like to reheat them for breakfasts, too.   Muffins are a terrific way to use up little bits of things.  John considers them a sweet treat, but truth is they have very little sugar in them. 

I stripped the meat off the fried chicken thigh and mixed it up with the leftover buffalo chicken I'd made, frozen and thawed.  I'd meant to look up the buffalo chicken pasta recipe but never got to that and honestly by this point I've washed three or four sinks of dishes, loaded the dishwasher full and think with the housework I got done that I did plenty for today!

I don't have Caleb today.  The new job doesn't start until tomorrow.  I feel so accomplished today!   What's more, my brain is ticking on all 8 cylinders.  I've had a dozen and a half ideas about projects, blog posts and more to get done.  

All weekend we snuggled before the heater.  Today we've got all the windows open and are enjoying the fresh cool breeze.  Both John and I have been struggling with all the dry air indoors so it's very nice to have the fresh breeze, but now that I'm sitting still it's starting to be just a wee bit cool.  I think I'll go find my sweater...And maybe I'll go sit outdoors on the end of the porch and soak up some sun.  Good natural Vitamin D will do me a world of good.   

Tuesday:  I didn't mention it, and honestly didn't really feel it yesterday, but John and I are sick again.  I think it was all the dry air from the heat running so much and low immunity after our last round of illness.  We've both got stuffy noses and tight chests with coughs.  We were grateful that the past two days of weather were milder but while the heater was on, we made sure to turn on the diffuser (with just plain water it's a humidifier!) and a kettle on the stove.  I went around and watered all the houseplants.  They humify the air for us, too and I want to keep them hydrated to do their job.  It's a balancing act with the plants because most of them naturally require less watering in the winter than they do in the warmer months.  It's all part of their seasonal makeup.

Fortunately, we also have plenty of vitamin C, Zinc and all the proper cold medications on hand if we feel them necessary to use.  For myself, I mostly rely on drinking lots of water/juice and am resting when I feel tired.

I woke before the alarm went off this morning.  I definitely wasn't as energetic as yesterday by any means.  But because I did so much yesterday, I felt I could rest and not push quite so hard.    

My big work today was to make meals and see to Caleb.  And dishes.  Always with the dishes, lol.   John did try to help as he was feeling much better today than he did yesterday.  

Meals today: Pancakes with fried Spam

                      Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (Caleb got Peanut Butter and Jelly and Pretzels with his bit of soup.  He has a sort of dairy allergy.  He can drink lactose free milk, but regular milk and all cheese makes him get really congested).

                       Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake, Salad (Again Caleb had a different meal.  He got plain pasta with tomato sauce, some salad, and Vienna Chicken Sausages which he loves.)

Katie had to work until 8:30 tonight.  I took Caleb home about 6:15. On the way home I told him he'd been good today and he quietly said from the back seat "Thank you."  Oh, my heart!  That little boy can be the sweetest thing at times.   He was well and truly tired since he's given up napping these days and he was full on all day long. 

I started a new book today.  I picked it up in St. Augustine on our last vacation there in the sweet little secondhand bookstore that sits right across from Flagler College.  I know I've read Joanna Trollope before but can't think which of her books I'd read.  This book is written under her pseudonym, Caroline Harvey.   A Second Legacy is the second in a series she'd written.  The link leads to an Amazon Associate link for this book.  If you follow the link and make any purchase, I will earn a small commission from Amazon.  It will not in any way affect the cost of the item you purchase.  Thank you if you choose to go through this link to Amazon.

I've enjoyed the book thus far.  I didn't realize it was a second book but it's a stand-alone book and doesn't have to be read in order of the series to make sense.   I've put the first book in my cart on Amazon.  I'll use my first gift card from Fetch rewards to purchase it.

John found a series from 2008 about Merlin and King Arthur that we've started watching.  I have been thinking since before Christmas about the Mary Stewart series I read many years ago.  I looked up those books today and ordered the first three.  She had published two more in the series long after my reading of them and I plan to get those next month as I'm now at my book limit for this month.  

Wednesday: John and I didn't sleep much last night.  I woke for unknown reasons and was wide awake.  It isn't usual for me at this time to be awake for a long period of time.  We've been watching the Spiritual Awareness services at our church online each evening and I felt led to pray for tonight's service.   I also mulled over the sermon I'd heard last night.  Just as I was getting sleepy once more, John got up and coughed and coughed.  I was wide awake again by the time he went off to sleep at last.

Despite that, it didn't keep us from waking earlier than the alarm this morning.  I can't say I felt particularly tired either which surprised me.  

Which is a good thing, because Caleb arrived ready to go again this morning.  John and I had had time to have coffee, and I'd made us breakfast earlier.  I just put out easy things for Caleb to eat for his breakfast when he arrived.

My biggest need this morning was a lunchtime meal plan.  I knew what we'd have for supper.  I'd known what we'd have for breakfast.  I had no clue what we'd have for lunch.  Glad I took the few minutes necessary to plan that out because Caleb was starving by noon time.  

He'd worked himself up because John had gone off to the music room to play for a half hour and Caleb was distraught.  He wanted to be in that room!   John has tried to have him in, but those little hands and fingers are everywhere at once on every piece of equipment.  John shut the door.  Caleb stood outside and cried and when a song would end, he'd stop crying and clap loudly and say "Yay!" and look at me with a smile that went from ear to ear, until John started the next song.   At that point he'd start crying all over again.  There was only one thing I could do to make it all better and that was to feed him.

After lunch today, I was so weary.  It seemed that everything made me want to tune up and cry.  At 2pm, Caleb sort of just crumpled to the floor and whimpered.  I felt pretty much the same way, lol.  I asked if he was tired, and he said "Yes" and ran to the bedroom.  I put him to bed in the usual way and he waved bye bye to me as I walked out. I was so hopeful.   No nap.  Just a little boy who got increasingly louder and rowdier and was completely undressed when we went in to see what was up.  At that point, John and I had mild words with each other, but we were both frustrated and weary.  Our sleepless night had caught up with us.

As I carried the wet things to the laundry area, John was hauling the pack n play outdoors to sit in the sun and dry.  He was frustrated and muttering, Caleb was running around crying because Grampa had gone outdoors, and I sat down on the bench at the backdoor entry and boohooed.    I told myself to put my big girl pants on and hush up and got up to dry my face.   A few minutes later, John was making himself a cup of coffee, and I thought how lovely a hot cup of coffee would be.  But it's the very last day of the fast and I wasn't going to give up now.   

I thought how nice a hot cup of tea would be, but I was too tired to clean the kettle and fill it with fresh water and stand guard at the stove while it heated because Caleb turns the knobs on the stove if I have a burner on.  And then there's the time to wait on it to steep.  Somehow by the time the tea is steeped, and I add my bit of milk, it's only just barely warm.  I shook my head and said to myself, "Just skip it."  

John walked into the living room with his cup of coffee and said quietly, "There's one hot cocoa k-cup...would you like me to make it for you?"   I nearly burst into tears all over again.  I said as quietly as I could, choking on my sob, "Yes, please.  That would be just lovely," and then wept when he walked out of the room.  

That cocoa was so good!  But I swear it was the loving gesture John made in asking if I'd like to have a cup and then making it for me.  I felt like I could weep all over again with each sip, I was just that grateful. 

Our afternoon went much more smoothly.  Caleb was calm and peaceful and content to play sitting near John or me.  I read my book (which is soooo good!) and John watched tv.   Supper was an easy meal and we all enjoyed it.  

We took Caleb home.   This was John's idea, that we'd go while it was still fairly light out and take off the trash and then carry Caleb home.  Katie would be getting off about the time we'd arrive in town.   Caleb apparently listened to all this and when I put the trash out on the back porch after gathering it up, he tried hard to step out the door.  I picked him up to bring him back in and he melted into a heap of two-year-old temper.   John came out of the bedroom wearing his jeans and Caleb hushed up, ran and got John's shoes and handed them to him and said "Go!"   

As we drove to the dump, he had quite a lot to say but seemed to be questioning us.  John explained that we were taking off the trash and then would take him home.  He said "Ok" and didn't speak another word.    

There was a glorious sunset tonight.  The day was redeemed in full this evening.  

Meals today:  Cheese Omelet, Toast, Banana Muffin

Beef and Bean Burritos, Fresh Tomato, Canned Peaches

Meatball Mini Subs, Pickles, Chips

Thursday:  I woke about 5am this morning coughing myself silly.  I came to sit in the living room, under my favorite quilt.  I soon dozed off but kept waking again and finally I went to sleep and had one of those silly dreams that are related to nothing but frustrate one so that you wake tense and 'hung over' feeling.  In my dream there was laundry hanging everywhere that I was desperately trying to fold, a shower hung with still more laundry and a shower curtain that leaked water everywhere and John somehow agreed to keeping three more grandchildren besides Caleb, lol.  I was not well pleased in the dream and woke feeling as displeased in real life.  Silliness, really, but dreams do sometimes create this sort of feeling.

I didn't get much done today and that's fact.  I made the bed, three meals and did dishes.  There are dishes in the sink as I write this tonight and there they shall stay because the dishwasher is full, and I simply do not want to do a thing more.   The kitchen floor needs sweeping.

It was not an easy day.  Caleb's now at the stage where he wants to undress all throughout the day.  So, it's constant vigilance to keep him clothed.  I confess I've never liked a child running around in only what God created him wearing, but I don't think there is anything horrible about it.  I know several of my grands have gone through this particular stage.  The NEXT stage is usually dressing themselves, so it's all part of their natural learning process.  However, it's winter and chilly and he's not potty trained which makes it hazardous to have him running about sans diaper even if I didn't mind him being bare.  I don't think he's ready to potty train.  It's just that he's learned to take off the clothes that we put on him.

However, if we put him to bed, he undresses and then wets everything in the bed (and so far, it's only been wet thank goodness!) and he does not go to sleep anyway.  So, we decided we would just let him stay up.   He was miserable without that nap today.  And Gramma was miserable without that quiet time today.  That's the part Gramma really finds hard going.  

We did bring in the small inflatable mattress and encourage him to lie down but the moment we sat down, he was up and off the bed and frankly I didn't want to yell at him over not staying on the bed, thereby making it another challenge issue but also because I just needed to rest.   

It's just another season to be gone through and like all seasons when they hit us, it's hard.  That's all.  He's a dear little boy, just normal as any boy could be.  And prone, like all normal children, to know that he's frustrating me and so he vacillates between being terribly sweet and seeing just how much further he can frustrate me, lol.

Hence, there are dishes in the sink and there the dishes shall stay.    I'm going to sit here and read instead and in a bit, I'm carrying my weary body off to bed.  

Meals today:  Raspberry Sweet Rolls, Kielbasa

A variety of leftovers with all of us eating something different.

Butter Baked Chicken, Gravy, and Biscuits, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans.  

This is an old recipe that I have not made in several years.  It is so good as a winter day's meal.   It is fairly basic.  Oven fry chicken pieces (I used boneless skinless breasts that I'd cut in half width wise, so I had six thinner pieces of meat).  I melt 1/2 a stick butter in a 9 x 13 pan in a 375F oven.   I dipped the breast pieces in a little milk and then in seasoned flour and lay them in the melted butter and baked the breast pieces for 20 minutes.  

I turned them and baked for 15 minutes more.  At this point I mixed 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 milk and 1 can of cream of chicken soup.    I mixed up biscuits, but you can also use canned biscuits for the next part of this recipe.   I removed the chicken to one end of the pan and poured the soup mixture into the bottom and stirred in the butter and crispy bits.  Lay the chicken pieces back into the gravy mixture. I put it bake in the oven and rolled out and cut my biscuits.  I put the biscuits in amongst the breasts.  I had just five biscuits and they fit fine, but if you're using canned ones you might need to make room.  And yes, the biscuits sit in the gravy.   I turned my oven up a bit to 425F, but you wouldn't need to do so with canned biscuits.  I baked another 15minutes.  The gravy thickened nicely, the chicken was still moist and was tender, the biscuit baked up light and fluffy.   

John really enjoyed this meal a lot.  We've leftovers and I have a small pan of biscuits that I'll bake in the morning for breakfast.

As we were eating supper, Caleb and I both noticed a flash of light kept swirling around the kitchen area where we've been eating meals.  I looked over at the bird feeder across the yard and a squirrel was hanging from the bottom tray.   The birds were flying about him trying to discourage him, but the doggone thing emptied that bird feeder entirely.   I was not well pleased.  We've loads of oaks and nuts and other squirrely feed about.   Bird food is mighty expensive squirrel feed.   I know some folks just love seeing them, but I deeply regret that Maddie's old eyes can no longer see them, so she doesn't chase them.  I miss Trudy for that task.  She kept squirrels out of the yard.

I told John we'll just have to move that feeder to the Faith tree, where dogs and cat can keep an eye on it and the birds can feed in peace.  

Friday:  The pack and play is in the living room, John has put on classical music, the white noise machine is running, and Caleb is almost quiet.  He's taken off his pants but hasn't quite figured out how to unsnap the onesie he's wearing.  He's currently lying down in the pack and play but that has come at a price.  He needed a diaper change here a little bit ago and we had to take him out to do that.  Putting him back to bed upset him tremendously.  He screamed.  He threw himself about.  At the moment, he's lying down and quiet and if he'll just rest a wee bit, I'll get him up once more.  

I don't think he's feeling well, but he's not running a fever, and he doesn't have any of the signs of teething (low fever, red cheek and ear) that he typically has.  I think he's just over tired.  At any rate, this is the compromise.  The pack and play will be in the living room where we can keep an eye on him, and he will take quiet time within it. If he naps fine and if he doesn't fine, at least he'll have had some time in which he was not in constant motion and overtiring himself.   In the meantime, Gramma gets a break from running behind him.

We slept well last night without coughing or waking.  The cough is still present but the tightness in my chest is all gone.  

This morning, I stripped the bed and bathroom and started a load of laundry as soon as I came out of our room.  I put the biscuits in to bake and reheated one of the smaller chicken breasts in gravy from last night's supper.  That was our breakfast this morning and it was good!

Katie came in and told me she wasn't feeling well at all, but she's got all the proper cold medications on hand.  I wasn't a very good support system for her I'm afraid.  I find more and more that I am prone to point out that I've been doing things while unwell and I guess others can get on with it as well.  It isn't very nice and I'm not proud of it, but then again, it's genuinely how I feel.  I will bite my tongue hard rather than hurt anyone's feelings, but not confessing that I myself have been working hard while not feeling good is one area where I am done holding back.

However, my words didn't suit me at all, and sent my temper into a whirl.  I was mad at everyone and every single thing this morning.  I was mad at John for giving so little help and mad at Katie for wanting sympathy, mad at the circumstances we find ourselves in just at present where things we'd planned for this year won't happen at all as far as I can see and I'm about weary of that state of affairs altogether.    Oh, it was a waste of my time to be so upset over so much at once, it was truly.  But my mind would persist in pointing out all the sacrifices, all the things I can't do because there are other claims on my time and finances, all the things we must make do and go without, all the things we can't do, etc., etc., etc.  I was in a fine old huff and John, being somewhat perceptive, picked up on it and let me vent my temper by snipping and slamming and slinging things about for a bit and then it was over and done.

I must remind myself that this is just a season, and all seasons change, always they change.  Heaven help me, I want to go through this season gracefully and not ill or ill-tempered either one.  The truth, when I'm not upset is that John may never travel even in the limited capacity I long for, though he assures me we will do it.  He's not prone to leave home much and he's never spent money for the sake of seeing it spent.  He's a saver by nature.  He says we shall renovate but that 'one day' statement is getting mighty old to me.  So why can't I just be satisfied and take the good that is in my life in one big dose and spit out these seeds of discontent?

I hung out sheets and towels today and almost got them dry.  Almost.  John finished up the second load of laundry which was clothing (something he typically does anyway).  The floor got swept.  John will vacuum later, likely not today, but sometime this weekend.  The bed has been made.  The clothes are mostly folded except the sheets and those can wait.  

I reheated that quart of soup (no room in the freezer) for our lunch.  I have no clue at all what our supper might be tonight.  None.  I'm going to seriously regret this lack of decision sometime in the next hour...

And that is my week.  How was yours?   There's a cold weekend ahead of us once more.  The birds have been busy feeding hard today at the feeder in the backyard.  A sure sign cold is on its way.  I have Caleb tomorrow.  John is going to attend the funeral of his first partner in EMS so I'll be on my own with the little man.  How is your weekend ahead looking?  How was your week?