February Follies and Fun

 

Sunday, February 1:  What a cold and blustery day it was on Saturday.  The kids came in half frozen from their fast run across the field to my house.

I'd planned a Waffle lunch.  I'd told the kids I was having a waffle lunch. I told Sam on Friday I was making a waffle lunch when he asked if it would mess up my plans if he took Isaac for a haircut on Saturday morning.  

When Millie came in the door about lunchtime yesterday, she had a full-sized family pack of chips and a bottled drink.  She proceeded to open the chips and I said, "Whoa...Hold on.  I'm making lunch right now."  "Dad said I could have them."  "But we're about to have lunch...."  "But I want my chips!"  "Then wait and have them with lunch."  "I don't want them with lunch.  I want them now.  Dad said..."  And then the boys came in with the same, a full-sized bag of chips and a soda each.  And then Isaac said, "Dad took me to Waffle House for breakfast."

I was so upset!  I thought I'd planned something special for the kids, and it was all spoiled!  John kept telling me to let it go and get over it. It wasn't as if no one knew what was going on.   I fussed and complained and muttered, gently, but too much if I'm honest.

I made waffles and they were the BEST I've ever made.  I used the recipe from my old Betty Crocker Cookbook. Those kids ate every single one and drank all the milk and had hot cocoa and ate fruit and still munched their way through those bags of chips, too!   Millie told me, "Gramma these are the fluffiest waffles I've ever had.  They're better than Waffle House!"  Well, that brought a smile to my face.  She's too young yet to know how to soothe hurt feelings as an older child might, but she sure smoothed my feelings down nicely.  

I was shocked at all they ate.  I had not realized they were at the bottomless pit stage at the moment, or I'd have saved my hurt feelings and angst with the world at large.

My day with them may have started late, but it ended early because they were asking for still more food and I was becoming rather alarmed at their appetites!  I'm only half kidding.  I took them home because it was getting steadily colder and colder and I felt it was far too cold for them to walk back across the field.   Per my phone at that time it was 16F with a 'feels like' temperature of 11F.  I'd closed the blinds and pulled the curtains early in the day and despite the propane heater and the heat pump both running, it was getting noticeably cooler in the house.  I didn't want any of us out when the sun was going down.

I wore leggings and a tank top under my jeans and sweater today to church, as well as the heavy winter coat I bought two years ago and a baseball cap because I find that it does help to have that added layer upon my head.  I need to find myself a nice hat to wear.  The baseball cap is cute enough but not really church attire.  I stayed warm, enough.  Inside, I noted that they'd turned up the heat inside the church.  People shed jackets and nobody huddled inside a sweater as they are typically wont to do on a typical Sunday.

It was so lovely to go to church!  I hadn't been since the first weekend in January.  I'd been sick the second Sunday, we'd had snow the third Sunday and I was sick again on the fourth Sunday.  I'm glad that I managed to get there for the first Sunday of February.

Our lab results were back (how quick was that?!) from Thursday and while my numbers are better than last year's...I'm not impressed with any improvement I'd made.   I have harped at John over his labs until he's rebellious and stubborn.  But I mean to clamp down on us both and get us in some sort of shape...even knowing we're about to enter two weeks of multiple birthday cakes.  

I went into Publix and picked up prescriptions which took all of the funds I set aside in January and part of February's (which aren't set aside just yet.  I'll 'repay' the account when I set up that fund this month).  Katie asked me to pick up Caleb's prescription while we there.  I had to wait for them to mix his medicine.  I had to wait for them to figure in the 'discounts' which they do not figure until you are there to pick them up.  I deeply appreciate this courtesy, but that's why didn't go through the drive thru today and have others wait behind me while they do that.

But going in is not the best thing either.   I grabbed a few things while there. I needed carrots and knew I was nearly out of Olive Oil which was on sale, and then there was that and this that fell into the buggy as I walked from one section of the store to the other...Sigh.  You know the drill.  Between the cost of the prescriptions and the 'bag' of groceries...I spent a chunk.  Never mind that it's a new month and fresh budget for groceries, nor that I am now well stocked on carrots and olive oil.  The overall total still made me wince.

We went over to Katie's to visit and drop off Caleb's medicine and, on the way over, Sam called asking if we could run by Lowe's and pick up something for him when we headed home.  

Katie had a steaming crock pot full of lovely homemade soup.  When she asked if we wanted any, I said "Yes" and John said "No".  I don't know why he didn't want anything because he surely was hungry.  I'm never going to turn down soup...I like it too well.  Honestly, I find it comforting and feel I'm being deeply nourished.  And I don't feel soup is a 'fattening' sort of food.   Katie's had a lot of vegetables in it and plenty of broth.  We talked and played with the little ones.  Cody's dad came in and we all talked a good long while, then we headed off to Lowe's.

John just had to stop at McDonald's on the way and 'get a bite'.  I urged him to keep it low key, and he did, but I thought, "If he'd just eaten a cup of soup, he wouldn't feel the need of anything just now."   I fought my own desire for an order of fries, lol.  I mean McDonald's fries served up hot are the bomb, aren't they?  Of course, I didn't tell him that I wanted fries.  I was going to be a 'good example'. John claimed that he wasn't hungry himself, but I needed something to eat.  I assured him I'd eaten a bowl of soup and while I wasn't full, I wasn't hungry either. He ordered both of us a regular hamburger.  

When we got to the drive thru window, we were told the car in front of us had paid for our meal.  That has never happened to us before, but we thought it was just lovely.  Our order was ready before the man who'd paid for our meal got his, so we were able to wave at him and smile as we left.  I hope our happy smiles repaid him for his kindness. 

I stayed in the car at Lowe's.  Much as I'd have loved, loved, loved to walk through the garden center, I knew I'd more than hit my spending limit at the grocery and so I stayed in the car, where no impulse spending might occur. 

For our supper tonight I had leftover Mongolian beef that I warmed up and served in low carb mini tortillas with pickled carrots and cucumbers, freshly diced green onions and thinly sliced red cabbage.  It really did taste quite good.  John wasn't happy, but I think he'd have been happier if he hadn't decided it was 'diet food'!   I added insult to injury when I gave him a Mandarin when he asked for something sweet.  There's plenty of cake in his future this week.  He'll survive on a few days of 'diet' food!

February 2:  John had an appointment today to remove his stitches.  I had to pick up two more prescriptions at Publix.  I had been getting texts from the pharmacy so thought they were ready.  Well no, they weren't...so I wandered around the store, much to my detriment.  

I bought frivolous things today but lovely ones.  Fancy olives (Feta stuffed Castellanos and Cabernet Marinated Kalamata) and Alpine Strawberries (also known as pineberries, or white strawberries).  They were all on special as a buy one get one deal.  I always buy the White Berries in February, just once, either for my birthday or for Valentine's Day.  

But are olives or fancy strawberries necessary?  Absolutely not.  Nor was the big bouquet of flowers, but all three of them made me happy.  I call them birthday week specials. I'm not really big on celebrating my birthday for a whole week, but this year I'd promised myself little extras and that's what I've given me.  I also placed an order for another item this afternoon that I promised myself last month

I picked up a free bar cake, too...And put it right into the freezer where it will stay until March or April.  With two weeks of birthdays just now we don't need any extra cake hanging around, but I do know these cakes freeze well because this is what I did with the one I chose last year.

The prescriptions never did get ready!  They said, "Oh it will be much later this afternoon."  I said I'd come back over the weekend.  We came home and as we walked in the door the darn text came through that my prescriptions were ready.  I'm sure it was cheaper to come home than walk around the store for another half hour, though.  Who knows what other splendid little luxuries might have gotten into my cart if I'd waited.

This afternoon, after lunch, I arranged flowers.  I put a large bouquet in the living room and a smaller one in my work room.  That's something I've been doing for myself this year. I buy a slightly larger bouquet than I'd bought in the past (it costs about $3 more) and then I make up an arrangement for my writing table and for the living room.

I took meats from the freezer to thaw for this week.  This month, I'll share what we are having for some of our meals.  The menu this week includes: 

Chicken Parmesan (not fried nor breaded but coated with parmesan cheese and air fried).  I served the chicken over Protein Pasta with fresh spinach and tomato sauce.   I picked up those Parmesan coated chicken breasts at Kroger when they were marked down.  They were very tasty and there was four breast pieces in the package.   Apparently, they'd dipped the meat in garlic butter first and then in fresh grated Parmesan.  We have two pieces of chicken leftover that I plan to use later this week.  And I did.  I made up a yogurt and flour pizza dough and topped it with the sliced leftover chicken, dried tomatoes, spinach and cheese.  

Beef Stroganoff will be made one night. I got mushrooms yesterday just so I could make that this week.  The sirloin I will use is one I purchased in late summer last year and found while I was working on my freezer inventory.

Chicken Legs. No clue what I'll make with these, but I have legs in the freezer that ought to be used.

Chicken Pot Pie. 

I made biscuits for breakfast this morning using 1 cup of yogurt rather than add milk and shortening, etc.  Just flour, leavening, and yogurt.  They weren't carb free, but the yogurt did add reduce fat and added protein to our biscuits.  I made up just enough dough for six biscuits.  We had one each with an egg and a piece of sausage.  They were tender and lovely.  Honestly, I think I prefer biscuits made with yogurt, because they taste as though they were made with buttermilk.  

I decided last night to change my tactics with John.  I'm going to just start making dietary changes and see how we get on without too much fussing about what is okay and what isn't.  The man is too miserable thinking he's on a diet...and honestly, he's NOT on one, I just said we'd be eating a little healthier.  So, I didn't tell him the biscuits were made without shortening.  I just said, "Here have a biscuit."  

I made up sugar free Jell-O and sugar free pudding for us to have as a sweet after supper.  We ate baked chips with our lunch sandwiches.  Little tweaks, nothing he'll particularly notice.  I'm going to use what I have first and then we'll buy better products to make further changes later on. 

I have put out nuts, celery sticks and boiled eggs for him to eat as snacks.  We will see how John gets on with those things.

Thursday, February 6:  I've spent two afternoons this week tutoring Isaac on reading clocks and figuring out time.  I recall that Sam had a devil of a time learning to tell time on an analog clock when he was at this age and still couldn't read analog time well when he got to junior high.  Well, he's had a heck of time coaching Isaac through it as well and here he is 42 years old and training to be a math teacher.  

I'm usually at their house two afternoons to greet Millie and Isaac when they get off the bus.  Bess isn't off work yet; Sam stays after school with Josh who has both e-sports and band practice in the late afternoons.  While I'm at the house, I typically run through homework with Millie and Isaac and this week it's been all about Time.

Well yesterday evening, Isaac and I were working away and Sam asked me if I'd be Isaac's tutor.  "You are so much more patient with this, and he seems to understand your explanations better than mine," he added.  Flatter me, please!  Of course, I said, yes, I would help and Isaac and I sailed through two more exercises before I left.  He's supposed to come over this afternoon to work with me.

John and I have had a pleasant enough day.  We went to pick up car tags, an annual birthday outing for us every year.  And we're supposed to have cake tonight with Millie for her birthday and John's.  

I'm making John's favorite foods today.  He's had pancakes for breakfast, and a (homemade) mini-Sub sandwich for lunch followed by his requested (homemade) yellow cake with chocolate frosting.   I used a cake recipe I've used for ages upon ages and this time I reduced the sugar by one fourth with no noticeable difference to the taste or texture of the cake. Tonight, he'll get a steak dinner for supper.  This is all he wants.  Just a quiet day and good foods.  I balance him out by expecting a little something extra for my own birthday, lol.

Earlier this week, I kept a promise to myself and ordered lamps for my workroom.  I'd promised myself last month that I'd buy them for my birthday.  I had a small gift card from November earnings and found a pair of nice lamps that were very reasonable.  If you haven't bought lamps from Amazon, you are snoozing on a very good quality product that is inexpensive!   I ordered a set last year for our master bedroom and Katie got a pair for her room as well.  We are both greatly impressed.

The lamps for my room cost just over $20 after my gift card was deducted which I think makes a rather reasonable birthday present cost.  They arrived the very next day and are in place in the room.  They look lovely.  The color of the lamp is a grey and it perfectly (although accidental on my part) matches a grey that is in those lovely curtains I purchased for the room last year while the shade picks up another color in the curtains.  I'm over the moon about the lamps.  How nice that they came in when it was gloomy outdoors, so the extra lamplight has been lovely to work by.

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Saturday, February 7:  On Thursday evening, Sam and the rest of the family came over and joined Isaac here so that we could have cake with Millie. Millie, like Caleb, is so excited to be SIX.  She was all dimples and bounces that evening.  She loves sharing her birthday with her Grampa, too.  

Those last two lessons on Time with Isaac were HARD, even for me.  I think the main issue was that I didn't have a clock we could play with and add and subtract time as needed.  I drew clocks on paper, and we tried to work the problems in that way but it's not the same as having a physical clock you can turn the hands on.  We got confused.  We had to do problems over and over until we were both befuddled.  But we finished ALL of the time exercises for this week.

After the family left, I made Steaks and Fries in the air fryer for our supper.  I'd planned a bigger supper, a nicer meal, but it was late and I opted for an easier less complicated meal. I told John it was French, Steak au Frites.  He was not impressed by it being French int he least but was perfectly happy with it.

Friday morning, I woke happy as could be.  I may be 61 years older than Millie, but I love my birthday, too.  Katie called and sang Happy Birthday to me at 8 a.m.  She was peeved that she was beat out by Sam who texted me at 6 a.m.  Those two are in a competition every year to be the first of the kids to give me good wishes.     I heard from Amie later in the morning via text.  I think she was homesick and missing her family.   I know it's hard to read feeling/meaning into texts but somehow, I could feel her longing to be with us. I told her that I'd been dreaming of her a lot lately and I loved hearing her laughter in my dreams.  

We did our usual Friday house blessing and then we went out to lunch at our favorite restaurant.  We were given not one but TWO gift cards at Christmas for the restaurant. I also signed up ages ago for emails and texts from the restaurant chain.  They sent me a free dessert coupon.  So, after we'd had our lunch, I got the dessert.  We knew we were too full to eat the whole dessert which is a multi-person portion.  John and I had the ice cream and brought the cake portion home.  That dessert netted us three 2 person servings!

And of course, we brought leftovers of our meals home as well, which is what we had for supper last night with an extra piece of meat left that we put on bagels this morning with a fried egg.  For $35 we got three good meals and extra desserts off our meal out.  

Today has been a lovely lazy Saturday at home.  No big meals.  No chores. Tomorrow will be full.  Our next two weekends will be busy and full.  So, we've made the most of our lazy day at home.  

I journaled the first week of February in my Junk Journal.  I am so enjoying that bit of crafting.  I had a lovely card from Karla.  I used a portion of the pretty envelope on the page for my birthday.  I printed out some pretty images from Pinterest, clipped portions of junk mail...I'm very happy with how that creative work went this week.  

I went to my closet and set up two outfits.  I've had a terrible case of "I-want-itis" this week.  I probably haven't mentioned it, but I vowed to buy no new clothing this year from regular retail sources.  I can buy from the thrift stores but not from Stitch Fix or Cato or any place I'd typically order clothing from.  Well, here it is February and the siren call of wanting something 'new' has hit me.

I thought if I set up a few outfits, I'd feel happier with what I have.  I managed two without much thought. I took a black ditsy print maxi summer weight dress and paired it with a tank top and a pair of leggings (also black) to wear underneath, a blue denim jacket and my black short boots, along with a few necklaces.  I'm hoping it will be warm enough to wear to church in the morning.  

Then I tentatively have paired a pair of pants with a matching cardigan, but I've no idea what top to put with it.  I would love to find a nice graphic t-shirt that would pair well with jeans and the pants I chose today. 

I cooked the chicken legs tonight as a sheet pan dinner with potatoes, onions and frozen red peppers.  I confess here and now that I like the price of chicken legs on sale, but I don't LIKE chicken legs.  I said as much to John when we were eating, adding "but they are so cheap at times..." and John said, "Then use them to make soup with."  Well goodness, why didn't I think of that?! I find them too full of those tough little tendon ends.   What a great idea to use them for soups and casseroles.

Monday, February 9:  John and I have been fully celebrated for our birthdays this year.  We went by Katie's yesterday after church, and they had lunch and cake and balloons for us.  It was a lovely little family 'party' and we thoroughly enjoyed it.    

I wore that summery dress with the leggings and tank under yesterday and stayed nice and warm all day long.  Of course, the day turned out to be fairly nice, and I realized that once the temperatures are in the mid-70's I probably wouldn't wear it that way.  I think it would be far too warm.

Today has been a putter about the house sort of day.  I made soup from some things I'd been saving in the freezer: leftover broth from cooking a roast, leftover vegetable bits, that sort of thing.  It was soooo good! I put two quarts into the freezer for future meals after we'd had lunch from it today.

I did all sorts of little odd jobs and can honestly say I accomplished nothing much, but it looked better at the same time.  I also took myself out for a walk.  No signs of spring here, unless you count the leaves of daffodils popping up.

I took a whole chicken, pork chops and about 1.5 pounds of ground beef from the freezer this morning.  

Tonight's supper will be Pork Chops with German Potatoes and Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage with apple.  

We'll have roast chicken one night and I plan to make spaghetti sauce with the beef. We'll have spaghetti one night for dinner.  I plan to make a big batch so that I can freeze a couple of quarts for future use.  I like to have spaghetti sauce on hand.  It makes for such an easy meal if one is needed.

I also plan to make Fish one night.  I have bought fish fillets for myself, but for John I'll make up some tuna fish sticks or perhaps he might like chicken better.   He's never had a bone from a can of tuna or a can of chicken.

Wednesday, February 11:  John had told me on Monday night that he'd like to pick up a pizza for lunch on Tuesday.  Since we usually are out running errands this time of month, I agreed but did talk him into a pizza that had both meat and vegetables.  We will have the leftovers tomorrow night with a salad for our supper.  Both John and I will be out tomorrow for lunch.  He's eating out with his former partner and I'm going to be out with Mama.

This morning, I tackled a project: making chili and spaghetti sauce for the freezer.  I ended up with 4 containers of spaghetti sauce.  It's about 3 cups of sauce in each container, not a full quart. I also put two quarts of chili in the freezer.  I saved out enough chili to make Chili Mac for supper.  It's warming up.  I don't know if we'll have any more really cold days and Chili Mac is best in cooler seasons.  

The doctor called yesterday to discuss lab work results.  I'll be honest, I'm so glad that we switched over to him.  He didn't fuss, threaten me with dying, or try to scare me in anyway.  He and I discussed my A1C which has decreased from last year's labs, but I am now considered a diabetic and not pre-diabetic.  He kept stressing that it wasn't anything to worry over, and we would discuss it when we have our next appointment which is at the end of the April.  

From what I understand overall it means that the Metformin is no longer working to reduce the amount of sugar in my blood...and that is likely because my body is no longer producing enough insulin to naturally lower it.  Likely I did do some good in introducing the Oregon Grape Root Extract and the Citrus Bergamot into my daily supplements.  I'm grateful it worked so well for me for over 10 years.  But it's now time to look at other alternatives for medications.

So, for now, all of the current medicines continue, I continue to watch what I eat and try to be better about choosing the better options. Then at the end of April, we'll talk it over and see where we're going from there. 

Overall, he was pleased with the lab results.  I love that this doctor is not an alarmist, he carefully explains what the results mean and why they were flagged and what the overall reasoning for doing something or nothing is, as well as the guidelines.  I had no idea that each lab has its own standard of what constitutes a high on some numbers and not on others.  It's like sizing in the clothing industry.  Each one determines what it's going to guide by, and they are not the same!

I spent a happy bit of writing time in my workroom yesterday afternoon and was fully 'in the zone'...And then suddenly I crashed to earth.  Sam was on the phone, wanting to borrow something that I had to go find and while I was looking for that, Isaac showed up telling me he needed 'help' with his IXL math. (He didn't...but apparently, he wants me to work with him, so I shall...I might as well refresh my own knowledge of basic math, lol.)  Anyway, it's been a long while since I was so lost in my writing that I hit earth with a THUMP when it was broken up.

Today, I've spent the whole morning in the workroom writing.  I'm determined to make the most of it since I won't get a chance to do a bit of work on Thursday and this afternoon, I must go greet the kids off the bus and help them with their homework.

Katie called this morning.  Caleb has a teacher workday next Tuesday so he'll be coming over to spend the night with us.  That's unexpected but oh so lovely.  

Supper tonight will be Roasted Chicken.  It's not one of those great huge baking hens but a lovely little broiler fryer, not much over 2.5 pounds.

Now I am off to put bread in the oven...

Later:  Money Saving Mom posted about a book sale at Amazon, a buy one get one 50% off sale.  I was thrilled to find a book series and the first book of another series I really have wanted to add to my shelves, all hardbacks and for under $55.  I have put all of my personal spending on hold for the past month, but this month...I'm spending a bit of my allowance...but not all of it and I won't be spending any more any time soon.  I'm saving for bookcases you see...but I might as well get the books I want to go on it...Right?

I've been thinking about saving money in the kitchen, which is typically where I look first when I want to trim household spending.  My goal is to lower my grocery budget, and I've set myself a rather big reduction.  BUT I am seriously considering means and methods because we all know there are places where one might reduce costs but also end up creating a lot of work.  Work I don't need more of!  So, I'm seriously considering which of the means I've thought might be a savings are actually worth my time.   

Saturday, February 14:  On Thursday, I visited with Mama...but I also texted Amie a Happy Birthday.

On Friday, I got a text from Ben saying, "Hey...Amie's birthday was yesterday..."  We hadn't heard anything back from Amie, but we assumed she was working.  It never occurred to us that she might not have received our messages!  So, we took screenshots and resent them.  Apparently, she'd had her phone off at the time we sent the texts.  

I know it's Valentine's Day and I hope you had a lovely one, but it's also birthday party day for Millie and Isaac.

While I was writing on Thursday, I glanced out of the window and was alarmed to see great billows of smoke rising just across the field.  I watched it for quite a bit and then determined that more than likely it was a controlled burn in the pine orchard.  And so, it was.  The smoke cleared somewhat, I felt relieved that my fear of it being a wildfire was for naught and I went back to writing.  That was around 3pm.

By 5pm the aroma of smoke was in the house.  I kept thinking how much worse it must be up at Sam's as he's right next to that pine orchard.  By the time we went to bed, smoke hung in the air heavy as fog and the inside of our house looked smoky, sort of the way it does when you've burned food properly.  Not enough to set off the alarms but enough to see a few wisps of smoke.

I kept saying to John, "What a shame that we have this when the party is tomorrow!"  I knew there would be about 21 people (all family) there and I'd offered to have the party here in our home if it rained.  This morning, Bess texted me that they were moving the party to Byron to the very nice park there.  That was at 8:30 and when I came out of the room to tell John the plan, I glanced out the window and saw that the smoke really was heavy and hanging like fog outdoors.  There was no way we'd be having an outdoor party, and you can just imagine how 11 children were going to react to that!

We left home and were in town when Sam called asking us to pick up something he'd forgotten at home.  Glad we were still in town and was still more glad later when I was coming out of Sam's house and Bess's mom pulled up.  Apparently, Jenny's phone had died that morning, and she'd not gotten the message!  So, we loaded her up in our car and all went over to Byron together.

Just before we left home, even though the forecast was for slightly warmer weather, I felt the urge to run back and put on a tank top under the sweater I'd chosen and grab another sweater.  I thought briefly, "I do have a sweater in the car already, but I grabbed one that coordinated better with my outfit, anyway.  Again, glad I did.  

When we reached the park and found the pavilion was breezy, too cool and fully shaded, plus the sun had gone behind the clouds.  It was chilly!  I went back to the car and got both sweaters and handed one to Jenny who hadn't brought an extra one.

Eventually the folks from north of Atlanta arrived.  We were right next to the playground, and the kids went right to it.  The adults spread about in small groups and talked then rotated into other small groups.  Katie brought out blankets, other parents brought extra jackets from their cars for children who had come without.

Isaac had a birthday cake and Millie had cake doughnuts.  Sam made both the cake and the doughnuts.  He had the idea to let the children decorate their doughnuts and brought sprinkles and frosting, etc.  Some of the children had a plate full of sprinkles.  

All in all, it was a lovely afternoon.  Truly lovely.

And a lovely, lovely two weeks of celebrating birthdays!

January from Middle to End

 

January 16:  While I'm not much of one for perfection, I am one to want to do things nicely, even if I am just learning.  On Thursday, I'd played about with a new junk journal, as a practice piece.  It was incredibly sloppy.  It bothered me no end that it looked so messy even if it was meant for practice.  I realized that some things I need to analyze and if I'm not just being perfectionistic, give myself permission to start over, make it nicer...If only to know how I could do better.  

So, this afternoon, I tore down the original work I did and went back through, refining what I'd done, straightening lines, thinking carefully about what I wanted to accomplish with it.   In the end, I have nice, neat pages.  No decorations of any kind but the pages are nicer.  Now I can begin again, perhaps with more inspiration.

While I worked, I dreamed of the workspace I want to create in the guest room...In fact, I'm not calling it a guest room any longer, though it will remain one when needed.  Nor will I call it the children's room, though they all claim it as theirs.   I will refer to it from now on as my workspace.

Based on that, next week I will begin claiming that space as mine. 

I have my great grandmother's old Singer sewing machine in front of that window. If I open the top of the machine and lay a piece of sturdy cardboard (or even my small self-healing cutting mat) over the machine opening, it suffices at present as a desk.  

I'd love to add a pretty rug on the floor, even though it does have carpet.  A cozy chair for reading, a proper worktable for crafting and a comfortable desk chair.  I've always dreamed of the room with bookcases on either side of the window.  Even when it was the girl's room, when we first moved into this home, I 'saw' that window with bookcases either side.  One day I hope to have them.  

Well, we start where we are, use what we have, do what we can...Remember?  Like the junk journal, I'll do my best and when I can do better, I will improve upon it further.

January 17:  Outreach at the Homeless Center today. John has gotten very popular.  John's 'student' showed up guitar in tow and that shy little girl spoke and worked with such confidence this time.  

When John started tuning his guitar a young boy I'd noticed before (about the same age as Grace, the guitar student) sat down in front of John and just watched.  I've seen him before and the last time I saw him he was sitting on the floor watching John closely as he played...

I noted another little boy who immediately started tapping his hands and feet and smiling widely.  

Later, while John was teaching Grace, I looked across the room and there was John surrounded by little children, and the youngest boy from service was right there up front telling John that he wanted to play guitar, too.    Honestly, it was such a sweet sight to me, to see him there surrounded by eager children of all ages.  

Goodness, for all I know John's starting a music ministry for children!

This afternoon when I got home there was a package on my doorstep.  Katie had ordered me a set of alcohol paint markers.  After I'd made lunch, I sat down and spent a happy couple of hours coloring.  The colors are so vibrant and dry quickly, so they don't stain my hands as I work.  It was a lovely gift and one I shall enjoy!

Tomorrow we are picking up Caleb and bringing him home with us to spend the night.  I know I shall hardly get time to breathe while he's here so I'm trying to work ahead and make sure that things are done.

January 18:  This morning, we were up early.  It's seldom light enough to see at 7am, but when I glanced out the window, I decided to open the back door.

What a lovely sight!  Snow was falling heavily and had coated the ground and was resting on the boughs of the cedar trees.  I love the sound of snow falling.  It's such a quiet soothing sort of sound.

I thought our day would proceed as planned but it did not.  John took one look at the snow and determined he'd go nowhere in it.  Mind you we barely got an inch, and I promised him that the weather reports had it ending around 10am, and the temperatures rising with full sunshine by noon.

No, he wasn't going anywhere.  

In the meantime, Katie was pushing me to come and pick up Caleb as planned.  I told her to wait until after lunch.  I knew I stood a better chance of getting an answer from her dad once he sun shone.  This is where I got caught between stubborn won't move and stubborn determined to have things go to plan.  I hate being put in that spot!  I'm afraid it rather put a damper on my morning, but before I could get too caught up the trio from the Manor came over begging the use of my 'hills' to see if they could sled in the yard.  

I don't really have 'hills' and what we do have proved to be unworthy of sledding with so little snow.  Millie made a snowman, a dirtier, messier one than any I've ever seen, but he had his bit of carrot for a nose.  I ended up with cold, red cheeked damp children spreading snow all over the floors.  

I'm not fussing over that.   It was good to see them and see their rosy cheeks and how happy our bit of snow made them.  Katie's were out in the yard, too.  She put photos up on Facebook.  I didn't see Henry in the yard, but I doubt he's got clothes warm enough to go out in.

Anyway, it put a kibosh on our plans overall.  We didn't go to church.  We didn't pick up Caleb.  We're waiting to hear from Katie to see if we can come get him this afternoon.  

I haven't heard a thing from Katie yet, but I did hear from Lily this afternoon.  That girl just moved into her first apartment, sigh.  She reminded me that this coming birthday she'll be 21.  It's an odd feeling to have grandchildren ranging in age from almost 24 to 1...

January 20:  We got Caleb after 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon and barely got back home before dark for all my effort to hurry us along.  John wanted to spoil Caleb with ice cream, something he rarely gets at home.  I knew he absolutely had to have the lactose free kind and that meant stopping at Publix.

Oh, what a shock I got wandering around that store.  Caleb put in a bid for hot dogs, so I looked at them in the store and eventually chose a packet but I nearly gagged...When Oscar Mayer beef hot dogs are hitting nearly $9 a pack...Sheesh. I got a brand I consider a lesser but still decent quality, but they weren't cheap either. Caleb wanted Cheetos instead of fries to go with the hot dogs.  A bag (not the family sized) cost $5.59.  John only wants bakery buns, $5.09 for 6 buns.  I didn't even look at the price of the ice cream when I got to that section because I didn't think I could take it, lol.  I just put it in the cart and went on.  Caleb asked for a frozen toaster pastry for breakfast, and I did glance at that price and tell him, "You know what?  Gramma has Poptarts at home!  Won't that be good?"  Thankfully, he thought it would be, and present Terri thanked past Terri for picking them up when Back to School grocery sales were ongoing.  $1.09 a box beats $7 any day... I was floored at the register when my total rang up but never mind.  I'm just grateful it's been a pantry challenge month.

I got myself and Caleb out of the door.  Obviously, I looked shell-shocked because John asked immediately, "What's wrong?  Did he misbehave?"  'Oh no... it's just prices...'  John held my hand and said, "It's gonna be all right."   Isn't it sad that one is in need of comfort just over grocery shopping?

We had our supper.   Caleb had his ice cream.  He did all the nighttime routine things, crawled into bed and went right to sleep.

Monday morning, John was up about 6 a.m. and Caleb was right there chatting away.  I got out of bed and had my coffee.  I'd promised Caleb we'd go out early, before the sun came fully up to melt the last bits of snow and I needed fortification.  We both dressed warmly and spent an hour outdoors after sunrise.  He was far less interested in snow than he was in riding that old bike we got him from the trash dump a few years ago.  I eventually got him to come indoors and made a hot breakfast and cocoa for us. 

He played indoors and eventually asked to go outdoors again.  He was still dressed warmly so I told him he was welcome to go play and he went out.  There were puddles in the yard from Saturday's rain (prior to our snow) and I did think twice when I sent him out, but I let him go anyway.  

I checked on him later and saw him walking across the yard very carefully carrying an old measuring cup of water from a puddle over to the spot where he was playing.  But I reasoned that as cold as it was, he wasn't splashing about in it.   Honestly, had you seen him walking so slowly across the yard to the dirt where he was playing, being so careful not to spill that cup of water...Well, I hadn't the heart to yell at him.  I watched as he poured it onto the pile of dirt and then turned to go get another cup.  I leaned out the door and said, "Hey Caleb...don't get your shoes wet, okay?"  "Yes ma'am.  I just need it to make my cement."  

He stayed outdoors all alone, never coming to ask if either of us would go out with him, playing contentedly.  The sun was bright as could be.  The air kept getting warmer and warmer.  All the snow was gone by that point.  Caleb was content and happy.  He has come a long way from a little boy who needed the comfort of an adult nearby in the past.  

By lunch time he'd begun to get rather silly.  That's generally a sign that he's tired so I suggested that we'd have some 'quiet time'.  He doesn't mind the 'quiet' part of it but he sure doesn't like the 'time' part, lol.  

When we finally packed up to head home, he was asleep before we'd gotten into our town.  I think he slept a good twenty minutes or so on the 40-minute ride home.   

John and I both felt the house was rather empty after having him here.

Honestly, the time went too fast. 

This morning, I decided I'd had enough of long days of play. I needed a bit of work under my belt, too.  It's been lovely, having time to recover and rest with this cold, and time to play without feeling pressured to work, but I also felt the way I feel when I've not been eating properly.  I needed something with more substance. 

So, I began an inventory of our bathroom.  That's where we have all our cleaning and personal care and medicine and household things (like lightbulbs, batteries, matches) stored.

Things I learned today: if one is going to buy in bulk, it's best to purchase items that won't expire like toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, matches, lint rollers, combs and razors rather than things like large quantities of seldom used and odd sizes of batteries.

We should be fine on lightbulbs and toothbrushes for a couple of years.  Combs, too.  And I only hope if we find a need of those batteries, they'll still have a charge!

I took time to start setting up my workspace in the former guest room.  I realized that I could make things a little prettier with ease.  I can hang pictures. I can bring in a pretty container for pens and pencils. I can cover the cardboard piece that is placed over the opening in the sewing machine when the lid is opened.  

Today, I put fresh flowers in place on the 'desk' (aka as antique Singer sewing machine).  The pretty little wood chair from the kitchen sitting area is quite comfortable.  I found a lamp on Amazon that is very well priced that I will order next month, as a birthday gift to myself.  

January 21:  I was awake quite early this morning and when I'd finally resolved that I wouldn't be going back to sleep, I thought I'd get up and sit in the living room.  My hip was aching from stepping up and down on that stepstool yesterday as I worked in the bathroom closet.  I got terrible muscle contractures in my thigh this morning when I stood up and I fell right back into bed, trying not to cry out but doggone it they hurt horribly.

Bless John.  He grabbed a heating pad to wrap the leg and then massaged the muscles that were cramping and when they'd begun to ease, he went and got an electrolyte drink for me to drink.  Then he covered me with his housecoat which is warm and soft and comforting.  I went right off to sleep.

But it occurred to me while he was kneeling by the bed, that he was incredibly kind and patient.  To know that my husband was doing all he could to ease my pain made me realize afresh that this is a rare man.  And yes, I'm sorry to say I do need those reminders!  I was so humbled by his tenderness.  He must have been a very good medic for his patients back in the day.

When I did get up, I'd just made coffee and was about to start oatmeal, when Sam called in a slight panic.  His heat pump stopped working last week.  After thinking it over he determined he would be best served by buying a new unit.

They were meant to come this afternoon to install it, but instead they notified him they were on their way at 8:30.  He asked if we could go up and sit at the house while the work was being done and so I grabbed my cup of just brewed coffee (still black) and off we went to housesit while repairmen did their job.

I made John and I breakfast at Sam's and borrowed some of his creamer to go into my coffee.  

The company was as good as it's word and came right out, arriving just minutes after we did.  They installed the new unit and thermostat in an hour.  John and I were very surprised at how efficient they were.  This is a local company that we've used ourselves for repairs. We know they are good folks to work with, but we've never had a new unit installed by them before.  

When we came home, I started right to work cleaning out the drawers in the kitchen.  I cleaned out the junk drawer which isn't really junky.  I found a bowlful of things to distribute to other areas of the house.  

Then I did an inventory of our medicines in the bathroom cabinets.  I repurposed a smaller storage unit into nothing but bandage and topical ointments and creams.  I didn't have anything expired or too old to use and what we have on hand now seems to be just right as far as quantity goes.  

After lunch today, I sat down in my workspace and got back to work on that little book I'm trying to write.  To be honest, the idea of starting today was very overwhelming but I determined that I either would write it or I won't and if I don't get started once more, I definitely won't write one at all.  

 Now I am off to try and figure out what we shall have for supper tonight.  I've been looking up recipes and tossing around ideas, and nothing appeals...but it did get me inspired to start to work on the book again, so all that dead end thinking about a menu for tonight has not been for naught.

One other thing before I end here.  Yesterday, I was feeling rather desperate all over again about needs and wants vs. lack of money and the need to pay off credit cards for all those car repairs at the end of last year, etc.  An unexpected side effect of working on this inventory and cleaning out drawers and such, even though it was all non-food items, is the restoration of a feeling of ENOUGH once more.    I did not see lack when I was looking at those items.  I saw met future needs.  It made a HUGE difference in my mindset and how I'd been feeling.  And while it might not be a solution everyone wants to try, I do suggest it if you're feeling terribly wanting for any odd thing or other.

So that's my bonus bit for the day!  Go do an inventory and see how much better you feel about things!  

January 24:  I'm sick again.  It started Wednesday evening.  I had a coughing spell when I went into the kitchen Thursday evening to serve our supper.  

When I got up on Thursday, I had a scratchy throat and a nagging cough.  By Friday I had full on head cold with laryngitis and today, I feel pretty rotten.  Oh well.

Quick catch-up: Wednesday night we saw four does in the front yard. When I walked into the kitchen to serve our supper, I surprised a buck on the side of the yard looking right at the kitchen sitting window.  In getting nearer the window we saw four more bucks, all ranging in age from one to four years ranged up and down the driveway.  

Thursday, having heard repeatedly that we were going to have an ice storm, I felt I'd best get to the grocery.  We were out of milk and needed fresh produce.  I thought it over and decided I'd go to Walmart, a place I typically do not go to shop simply because it is out of my usual way.  I'd seen the sales at my usual store and nothing I deemed necessary was on sale. I've been wanting to research prices at Walmart, and I knew how to avoid the impulsive areas.

I found Walmart prices overall were not too bad and came out for $105 which I though reasonable given that I'd meant to spend no more than $100.  I had gotten meat too which I hadn't planned to buy but I found a markdown on boneless skinless breasts for $3.01/pound.

I picked up mail and found, much to my pleasure, that a medical bill I knew was coming in was for far less than I'd thought it would be.  I was very happy over that.

Friday, I barely managed a very slow house blessing.  And here we are today.  I cancelled my planned morning out with the grandchildren and have been sitting in my chair feeling miserable.  

As for the weather, we've no idea what we're in for.  Some models say ice and others say snow and still others say neither and all of them say severe thunderstorms at some point on Sunday... It's all wait and see mode.

January 27:  The head cold is going.  We had neither snow nor ice, nor thunderstorms.  We stayed home on Sunday though, since I was still coughing.  We watched services online.

Yesterday John had a basal cell cancer removed from near his right eye.  I sat in the car, despite the cold outdoors and wrote in my journal (the real one not the art or junk one).  I was rather surprised at the revelations I wrote and came home inspired to write posts for A Fresh Season.  

John let me drive him home.  I felt he'd be more comfortable (questionable in his mind, lol) if I drove and he just relaxed.  He did ask for doughnuts since he had been through the trials, and I stopped and got him a packet of his favorite ones.  

After we got back home, he slept, a lot.  Even though he says that these procedures are not particularly painful, I think the tensions leading up to and in the chair just sort of sap him.  He slept all day after the last removal, as well.

I had a call this morning that necessitated my going into town.  John and I are going to try a new doctor, since our dear old doctor died last year...We'd tried his replacement doc, but it's not the same.  I doubt this doctor will be the same either, but I'm hopeful that he will be the listening sort of doctor, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, we've appointments this week and they asked if I'd pick up new patient packets today and fill them out.  I skipped all the ones written in Spanish...

I ran over to the county seat and bought a pizza for lunch.  I thought John would be pleased, but I think he must have had a different want.  I wish he'd told me what it was...

Anyway, I enjoyed the pizza, and we have a second meal off that medium pizza, so I can't say it wasn't worthwhile.  I picked up mail on my way back into the property and found a bill that was far less than I expected again.  This time it was a credit card bill and the reason it was so much lower was that a payment I'd made had posted after our previous bill dropped.  Y'all...I can pay that particular card off this next month without any struggle at all.  I'd planned to pay far more on it in February and I'll just take the extra and apply it to the next highest bill we have, getting ahead on that one.  

January 30:  Appointments at the new doctor went well.  He's young, probably younger than Sam and possibly Katie, too, but he was sensible and listened and gave good tips about our medication (Thyroid medicine should be taken at least half an hour before the first meal of the day to be effective...Nobody has told us that before!).  I tried hard NOT to focus on the weight number and remember that I'd lost a pants size in the past year, regardless of what the scale says.  

We had lab work done right there at the office.  Most excitingly, this young man intends to stay in the area, he's not ambitious to move on.  He wants to be in a family practice in our county and that pleases me no end.  He didn't rush us through the appointment.  When we left, I felt giddy with relief.  I'm telling you shopping for bathing suits, bras and doctors are stressful things!

I made bread today, not because we needed it but because for the third weekend in a row there is a chance of snow/ice/and extreme cold.  Single digits for windchill temperatures.  We shall likely keep the curtains and shades closed because our windows are drafty.  I've made sure the pets have warm and snug places to be.  I can bake bread anytime with a gas stove.  But cold weather delays it's rising and really makes it difficult to get a good loaf.  

Since I have the children coming tomorrow, I won't write then.  I thought I'd share a few of the things I've done these past two weeks that were frugal.

I made applesauce from a few older, small apples that John deemed not worthy of his attention.  They had a very good flavor, once cooked.  We ate most of the sauce but had a small bit left.  A can of expired pear slices in the cabinet extended that to another two portions and tasted very well.  Not as good as the applesauce alone had but palatable enough.

I've not bought take out except the Pizza for two weeks.  We've eaten from the pantry and freezer.  When I've wanted convenience meals, I've pulled a frozen portion of leftovers from the freezer.  It's given me all the convenience I've wanted and kept money in the bank.

I started an inventory of the pantry and freezer.  I did two shelves today.  I'll do two shelves on Monday and so forth.  Again, I keep finding older items that need to be used.  I shall be planning those into meals over the next few weeks.  So, I'll be extending the Pantry/Freezer challenge only because I know I have older items I should use before burying them under new things.  I will, however, be making purchases this month of pantry basics.  I need to replenish flour.  I'm out of some of my seasonings.  I'm low on other items that we typically keep stocked, not in quantity but use often enough, such as rice wine vinegar and sesame oil, olive oil, etc.  I have a list in my mind...but I need to get down on paper.

This week in planning meals, I've been very strict with myself about using what I have on hand first and pulling something more from the freezer after.  Today I planned weekend meals with leftovers and needed to pull only one item from the freezer.

I pulled a workspace together by simply rearranging furniture and using what I had on hand.  It came together nicely.  Amazing what just changing things around can do. And as I cleaned up the room I found a small lamp that I can use for ambient lighting at present, though it will never do for a reading lamp.  I found pictures in the closet that will be lovely to hang in the room, as well.  For a space I thought would be make-do, it's turning out rather pretty and perfect.  I've worked there several afternoons over the last few weeks.

My sink strainer broke.  I went into Dollar General to get another.  I picked up half and half, birthday cards, more cough drops to replace the ones I've used, trash bags.  Too much, but all necessary items that I needed to replace.  It's cheaper to go into DG and get them than to make a trip into the oh so very tempting grocery store.    Even though I'm aware there is little I need, there's always something extra I want.  Right now, I really do have all I need.

It's been a lovely month, relaxed and easy, despite two colds back-to-back.  I've slept better this month than I have in the longest time.  I don't know if it's the cold temperatures, the colds or just that relaxing meant less racing of the mind and therefore better sleep.  I'm looking forward to what February has to bring.

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January Journal: The First Half of the Month

January 1:  We are not party people.  We don't purposely stay up on New Year's Eve to see the old year out and the new one in except by accident.   This year wasn't one of those rare events.  I went to bed at 10 p.m. with plans to watch a couple of videos while relaxing in bed.  John came in right behind, crawled into bed and barely got prayers said before falling asleep.  No good night kiss for me...and at midnight when the clock ticked over, I when I woke, I said to the room, "Happy New Year."  Then I put down my phone and went right to sleep.

I woke in a fabulous mood this morning.  That didn't last.  When I came out, I said cheerily "GoodMorningHappyNewYearILoveYouthereI'mthefirsttosayit".  John went "Mmmm." I should have taken my hint right then.  

What put him in such a grim mood?  The same blame thing that makes him grim at least once a month: he went to review our bank account and didn't like the balance.  The same balance we have every month when payday is still two weeks away and I've already told him twice, "No more spending!"   

"We need to stop spending money!"  "Of course, we do.  I've already said so." I said that as cheerfully as I'd greeted him. "You are purposely NOT getting what I'm saying."  "I get exactly what you are saying.  It's the same thing you've been saying once a month for the past 31 years.  And some months you are quite right, we DO need to stop spending, but most months for the past five years all we've done is stay home, use what we have, pay our bills and tell ourselves and each other that we can't spend any more nor plan to have any kind of fun."  At this point I was beyond being cheerful but hanging on to being decent and not argumentative.

Might I add that we had this same sort of conversation exactly one month ago today?   And I'll lay a wager we repeat it in about four weeks... 

Not getting a proper argument from me, he went out on the porch and yelled at the cat who had been clawing the screen on the storm door  I slammed things about the kitchen as I made our special holiday meal and gulped down a lukewarm cup of coffee (gone cold while we fussed) and when he came in with more grumbling, I put on my shoes and went for a walk in the cold and very frosty morning air. 

The morning was still and peaceful and had I not been sniffling after the tiff with my husband, I might have enjoyed it.   Rufus followed dutifully along behind me.  I made my way down the old field road which I discovered John had been dumping cut branches upon.  That really made me mad, probably more than it ought, but that one portion of the old field road is all that remains intact of the track.    We children followed that old road when we went to go play in the fields and creek when we were here on Granny's place.  I was huffing after struggling to go over the branches and downhill at the same time and then I heard something huffing back at me.  

I recognized it as a deer by second huff.  I huffed right back.  That just made the deer mad and he huffed two or three times more at me and stomped his hoof to make doubly sure I understood he considered me an interloper and a threat.  By his fifth snort and stomp, I'd had more than enough. "OH, STOP IT!  Between this place and the roadway, you've got hundreds of acres of field and wood to run in.  Just go away! I won't be bullied by you!"    I heard him crashing through the trees and saw his big rump and back hoofs with white tail up over his back as he took off. Quiet was restored.  I struggled up the hill again.  

I could hear a neighbor's roosters crowing and a Crow cawing in the woods, echoing through the woods.  I thought, "Oh it's so lovely!  It's really going to be a lovely Year!"  Then I walked across the yard and up the steps into the house.

I made myself a second cup of coffee, which I'd planned to drink hot, but the heat was on full force and I'm not talking of the heater nor the coffeepot temperature.  A very real argument ensued with my husband; one I don't care to repeat but suffice it to say that it ended on a less than nice "And a happy blipping New Year to you too!"  A few choicer words and statements followed that.  I've cleaned the language up considerably.   No need of you all knowing how wretched my language can be when provoked... He stomped from the room.  I sat down to write morning pages.  I made a fruit salad to go with our breakfast and when it was ready called him to come eat.

We sat down to eat breakfast in a silence that was not companionable as much as willfully noncommunicative.  But food will soothe, as does a good hot cup of coffee, and a willingness to be peaceable if not peaceful.  

Tiring of the silence, I recanted the long list of blessings we've had over the years in this house.  How we made major repairs and went through crises of financial sorts and were debt free and all the whole history of our financial lives together.  Quietly and calmly, feeling rather astonished at all that we'd done on one small salary and a handful of extra special blessings plus a load of willingness to do what we had to do from our first days right through to the past year.

To which my husband said quietly and evenly, "I don't need YOU to remind me of how blessed we are."  And that my dear was the one small straw that broke this camel woman's back.  I put my hands in the air and said "I'm done.  This conversation is over.   This morning has thoroughly sucked. Let's just agree that we'll start over right here.  Happy New Year, dear."  And wisely, my husband said, "Happy New Year," in a nice way and we called that argument DONE.  

Until next month.  

Our menus for today:

Croque Monsieur Croissant Casserole, Citrus Fruit Salad.  This is not the recipe I followed but is similar.  The recipe called for Gruyere and Swiss.  I had Gouda and Swiss.  I subbed ham pieces I'd put in the freezer after cooking that small portion last month for the deli ham.  This was quite nice. I halved the recipe.  And I did not put powdered sugar on it.  Goodness no!

BBq'd Ribs, Turnip Greens, Black Eyed Peas, Rice, Sweet Potatoes.   This sounds like a tremendous amount of food.  Not true.  Just 1 pint of greens, 1 can of seasoned dried cooked black-eyed peas, about 2/3 cup of rice that was leftover, and the sweet potatoes were tiny little things just oversized fingerling potato size.

What I did this day: Besides argue with man and nature and cook?  I started a new Junk Journal.  I decided to re-use the planner I used in 2025.  I plan to make it a 12-month junk journal.  I have 10 pages per month I can use to journal each month of the year.  

I worked on the cover page inside the planner, and my first page of the year covered the beauty of the morning, the deer and the crows.  

January 2:  I found myself feeling irritable and antsy today.  It's partly to do with the calendar.  No kidding, we came into the month with just two days on the calendar planned.  Yesterday we set a date for our first date of 2026 (and the first we've had in months and months.  After I lost my temper yesterday that was part of the fall-out.  I'm tired of John putting off our little dates!).

By the end of the day today?  Five more days have been filled. A meeting, keeping kids, and another doctor's appointment (this time to remove a second basal cell cancer they found on John at the last check-up).  I began to fill hemmed in by calendars and to sense the month slipping away from me and I didn't like it one bit. 

Oh, and the fifth thing, I can't fuss over: Katie and family will be here for tomorrow for lunch.

We did a serious house blessing today, too.  So, you can add "tired" to my list of feelings.  

But the real issue?  I haven't done a thing creative which is my real angst. I wanted to 'play' and I haven't given myself nearly enough time to play at all!

This evening, I sat down at the computer and did something with my genealogy blog.  I wrote nearly a whole post.  A good start is as good as a finish for me.  I always finish what I've started.  Unless it's cleaning up the patio...

January 3: It was pouring rain this morning.  Not misty rain but pounding rain.  Neither John nor I made it out the door to do those morning walks.  It's looking like it's about to pour all over again now that everyone has gone.

I made pizzas for lunch and a big salad.  I didn't have enough romaine for salads, but lettuce stretches when you add a bit of red cabbage, shredded carrots, diced tomatoes.  The pizzas were cheese and pepperoni.  I doubled up on the dough recipe.  I had three large pizzas out of that dough.  Katie took leftover pizza home, and I set aside pizza for us to have later.  And we have salad leftover as well.  I'm pleased.  It was a relatively inexpensive meal to put together.  The pizzas were under $5, not each, altogether.

Taylor looked over my Christmas junk journal and the beginning of my 2026 junk journal and said, "Oh you inspire me!"  Then she went through my scrapbook papers, cardstock, clipped magazine pictures and found things I didn't even realize I had and took a big pile of things home to create her own journal with.

Henry absolutely utterly ignored me.  He refused to have anything to do with me.  Everyone was chatting and talking or playing.  Henry was playing with the toys Caleb left out.  I was all alone, so I got up and got a bag of chips, opened it up and sat down in my chair.  Next thing I knew, Henry was trying to climb up into my lap, reaching for the bag of chips!  Apparently, I can forgo playful clapping and singing, calling his name, etc.  I just need food.  

Caleb was happy playing with the toys here...I said something later about picking up the toys in the 'guest room.'  He said, "You mean in MY room..."  he corrected me.  He might have moved out more two years ago, but young man still calls this home and that room is HIS.  

January 4:  Last night about 9pm Taylor texted me that she'd finished her first junk journal.  She sent me pictures, too.  She had some layouts that I liked quite a lot.  For a first attempt it was well done and better than my own!

Church today, then we went by the grocery.  I had planned to spend about $20.  Ha.  I was surprised at some of the prices.  It's hard going, I think, when a pint of tomatoes is $6 and a marked down for clearance piece of meat is $45.    That's not why I overspent though.  My mistake was giving in to hunger.  Pure and simple.  I was hungry and feeling a bit peckish, and things looked good, too good, to me.  

I'm not sorry over what I bought. I didn't give in and buy a ton of junk foods.  No, the lure for me was the fancy cheese counter, the marinated olive and I gave in a little too easily on those.  Brussels Sprouts and potatoes and onions hardly qualify for junk food.  Six dozen eggs were what I went in for.  I had a free coupon for 1 dozen, and the other five dozen were a digital coupon deal, limit 5 for $1.49.  Milk, half and half, and other odds and ends we were out of and would miss over the next two weeks went into the basket...Now I'm thinking that perhaps in two weeks we won't need to spend any more.

We ran three more errands, then headed home. I put away groceries and immediately sat down to play with my papers and journals and art book because Taylor had inspired me.  I had a glorious bit of play time!  It was just what I'd needed.   

January 5:  Kept kids for Sam.  They all go back to school tomorrow, but he had to go in for teacher planning day today.  The kids were fine.  I woke at 5am and no kidding this day dragged and dragged.  The kids wanted my attention.  The two younger ones stuck closer than a shadow and I heard "Hey, Gramma..." about ninety-nine thousand times today.  It was wonderful but tiring.  Yes, it felt like a very long day.  

I came home and made coffee and had a slice of fruitcake while I set dinner in motion and then I retreated to my comfy chair.

January 6: Ha.  I went to bed before 8:30 last night and slept like I'd died until nearly 8:30 this morning!  I guess I was more tired than I realized.

This morning, I worked all morning long getting my home set back to rights.  I didn't get a chance to write a word until 2pm this afternoon.  I went to the guest room and sat there for a bit over 2 hours tapping away.  

Our lunch today was quite good.  I reheated the leftover pizza from Saturday's lunch and made salad from the leftovers of the salad I made that day too. I added in the fancy olive and salami mixture, pepperoni, pepperoncini.  It was a charcuterie sort of salad, and it was absolutely delicious.  Good thing since we had just one slice of people.

I came out about 4:30 and made coffee for John and me while I put away dishes.  Then we sat here and had pie(!) at almost 5pm.  Late for a snack, but I've decided to forget the clock and do things my way.  My way today was a piece of pie at 5pm with a lovely cup of coffee.  John went off to play in the music room, I pulled up my other blog and continued to edit and write the post I'd been working on and then I stopped working and just watched the view outside my window.  One of the loveliest sunsets I've had privilege to see this year...

I didn't even get up and start dinner until after 6p.m. which meant we didn't eat until late but neither of us died waiting on that meal to get ready, so I guess it's something I could do now and then.

January 9:  Yesterday we went on our first date for 2026.  And the first in quite a long while besides.  I'd asked John to take me next month to the mountain and out for dinner at the Bulloch House in Warm Springs.  He decided that was the plan for our date this month.

Well, it didn't go to plan.  I'd pointed out the turn to the mountain as we headed towards Warm Springs, but John suggested that was an after-dinner thing.  We went into town and found the town shut down.  No Bulloch House for lunch.  They were closed for winter break and won't open until next week.  The two stores next to the Bulloch House had closed down and were under construction for opening later this year.  We sat on the bench outside and discussed our dinner options.  John and I weren't really thrilled with any of them.  So, we headed home.

No dinner.  No mountain.  

What we did have was a long lovely drive over some historic roadway and back again and lots of conversation.  We picked up Chinese takeout to eat here at home.  It turned out rather lovely even though it was not our plan at all.

Just as well.  What I'd thought might be allergies turned into the beginnings of a head cold within a couple of hours. 

Today I have done a very light house blessing and taken a long nap.  I have easy meals on tap for the weekend.  Let the healing begin.

January 14:  Yes, it has been a while since I sat down to write (or play or work or much of anything else!).   The cold sapped my strength.  Symptoms were mild enough though aggravating.  I don't know of anyone who cares for stuffy noses or hoarse cough. I didn't have any fever much and the aches and pains were slight.  But the energy went right out the door.  

Saturday Sam fixed the leak under our sink which was a huge blessing.  It never did get to be a very bad leak, especially since we stopped using the water line that was leaking, but we've had all sorts of fun trying to get anyone out to fix it.   We'd initially asked people at church for any recommendations but no one had any and talking to various agencies on the phone, we were assured they didn't work in our area.  

So we called the contractor who worked on the kitchen.  He does small jobs such as plumbing, etc., and we thought we'd ask.  We waited two months, and finally gave up waiting around for him to call.  He did call...the day we were in Warner Robins getting John's follow-up appointment done.   He seemed a bit put out that we weren't home.  We felt we had to apologize (! after waiting two months!) but never mind, he offered to come by on that Friday when he ran into town to work on payroll.  Only he didn't come by then.  

So, we waited around the house for two more weeks.  John had his phone off the next day he called and when John returned the call, it was too late.  We waited around more weeks and finally we got another call when we were gone from home again.  This time he got right snarky.

I like the man just fine and appreciate his work but good heaven at that point I'd been waiting on him for three months or so...Did he seriously think we'd stay home the whole while just waiting on him?

Anyway, one leaky water line repaired.   And I now have the pleasure of using warm water to wash my face once more.   Honestly a warm washcloth held over my aching sinuses was heavenly.

On Sunday, I stayed home from church.  I didn't think I was well enough to go around others and certainly not well enough to sit in a meeting in a small room after church.  I puttered around the house trying to get things sort of back into shape.  That had to be done in small bites with long rests between.  

Monday morning it was so cold, too cold to even think of walking.  I felt I ought to walk, since I hadn't walked in four days, but I decided that walking indoors, from one end of the house to the other would be best.  I felt much better, well enough to do housework and actively plan meals for the week.  I even took some writing time that afternoon.

Tuesday, I slipped outdoors when it had warmed up a bit and walked but I found it hard going.  I lost ground for sure this past week.  I am just not up to full strength yet.   I even took a nap this afternoon.  I dropped off to sleep right away, too.  

The other day when I was feeling bad, I pulled a few things from the freezer to make meals this week.  One of them was not what I supposed it to be.  It was one lone thick pork chop that had been in the freezer since last January...Not freezer burned as you'd think it might be, but one pork chop does not a meal make...Or does it?

I decided I could make a stir fry with it at first but this morning, I kept thinking of carnitas and how good that would be.  I put the chop in the slow cooker with a load of spices, jalapeno, onion, and orange.  This evening, I shredded it and seasoned the meat again then ran it under the broiler to crisp.  My goodness that one chop made plenty of meat to make a hefty taco each and it was soooo good! 

January 15:  I've just got off the phone with Katie.  We haven't spoken in 12 days...Neither of us has done much of anything in those 12 days but it is fairly unusual for us to go that long without speaking. 

John and I ran errands today.  Post office, pick up the missionary's mail, get my muddy car washed and get haircuts.  My hair is shorter than I'd wanted but there you are.  It was a new to me stylist today who did my hair.  I'm torn between being terribly glad that it looks better than it did when I went in and sad that the growth I'd managed over the past four months was reduced considerably.  Oh well, hair does grow back.  And its good incentive to make me find the style I want to work towards and keep the image handy, so no such further mistakes are made.

If you wonder why I didn't say anything while in the chair, I'll tell you the truth.  I didn't have on my glasses, and I couldn't see how much was being cut off.  I look so much like my Mama when I'm seeing my blurry image in the mirror that I tend to close my eyes because we look disconcertingly similar when I don't have corrected vision!   So, it's my own fault for not keeping my eyes open and paying attention.

I stayed out of the grocery today and have no plan to go in this weekend.  There aren't any sales that I am being wowed by and I have enough stuff on hand yet that I'm not feeling we need more.  So, I'll roll with my Pantry/Freezer challenge.  I really began this the week prior to Christmas and managed to spend only $87 so far for the last 4 weeks.  I'm not upset about that at all.

Coffee Chat: All About December 2025

 

Well, I promised I'd return in January, so here I am.  I thought I'd share with you what December was like in our home. Thrift, splurge, family and all.  I'm going to recount a bit of November because Thanksgiving is the start of the Christmas season for me.

Thanksgiving week and weekend:  Katie made dinner the day before Thanksgiving and invited the whole family.  Sam didn't go.  I picked up his kids and took them with us.  JD and his kids came. 

Katie did an excellent job. She served 20 folks (including kids) and it was all lovely and delicious. 

P.P.S. My REAL New Address

 

I'm so sorry!  I have corrected the link, and it should work for you all now.  Thank you for letting me know there was an issue.  

I've said my goodbyes and given my thanks.  I've heard from a few of you and thank you for taking the time to say your own goodbyes.  

Blue House Journal will stand for a time for anyone who might find it useful. 

If you would like to join me at the new blog, you can find me at A Fresh Season of Life.

Fall Cleaning, Fall Thinking

 

Dear Friends, 

I got busy this morning, not intentionally, and started the big fall cleaning.

What prompted me?  I had planned to spend the entirety of the morning working on the three books I'm studying my way through.  I shared what those were a few weeks ago and I'm trying to do something in each of them every single day.  Until I miss a day which somehow becomes two, three, four days, and I have to hunker down.  

And to think that just yesterday I'd told Sam that in school I would never put off any project work but get started right away on it because I loathed the anxiety that comes with putting off major work until the last minute.

Technology and Tantrums

 

Hello dears.  I have had my share of struggles, frustrations, and temperamental issues today.  All related to technology.

Sigh.

If only it didn't add so much to our lives!