Saturday, October 24: I did try to get up halfway early this morning, but it was no good. I slapped off the alarm, (which I hate to admit has become quite the skill!), and slept in a little longer. Sadly, I'd also set the alarm for a wee bit later, giving myself an extra half hour of sleep and I slapped that one off as well, lol. I slept until a bit after 8am.
I didn't have anywhere to be, not early, but I'd thought if I could get up a wee bit earlier this weekend, do the household chores before leaving the house, there would be less to be done on Monday, so I could head outdoors early and start on the myriad of jobs that await me outdoors. Well, I did make good on picking up the house which I've typically not have done on Saturdays, as I consider it my day off. So, the house is in good shape this afternoon, now that I've returned.
I made a midday appointment with the Manor House trio of children to take them to choose their Halloween Pumpkins. I started this a few years ago and it's become a bit of a tradition. Today I wanted to expand the day a little and go to the park with a picnic lunch as well.
We shopped locally for the pumpkins. I'm never going to get a deal on anything locally, but I do want to try and spend more of my funds in my local area because those business owners need the revenue. I'd like to see these folks thrive. I'm tired of taking my money out of the county, though I admit, it's often more convenient, and always cheaper.
However, I've realized that I'm missing two opportunities to support the economy where I live. Number one, I'm not supporting a local business owner. Number two, that SPLOST tax I'm paying for in the bigger cities and county is NOT supporting my county! So, I'm going to try and spend more in county. Which also means, I'll have to spend less in some areas because my actual dollar is not going to go as far as it does outside of the county.
There's plenty I can't buy locally nor afford if I can, so I won't be shopping exclusively here, but I can at least make an effort. It's something John and I talked about just last year, trying to support the community/county we live in.
The kids chose their pumpkins, and I got a pretty pot of budded mums to sit on my back steps and brighten that entry. I also gathered up a couple of business cards and mentioned that my husband died this year, and I was looking for good repairmen to kind of help here and there. The lady waiting on me said, "Wait. I can highly recommend this guy...Let me get you a card. He's happy to do things as you can afford them, he's very reliable and he will return your calls." My goodness. That would be a bonus! She found his business card and passed it to me. So, I left there with more than just the warm fuzzy of supporting a local business. I can't get local craftsman when shopping around out of the county!
We went to Dollar General for drinks and chips and then over to Subway for sandwiches. And yes, I know they are chain franchises, but they employ local folks and if they stay in business, it's good for the county economy, too.
Isaac seemed out of sorts. Not sure why. He looked overtired to me and at the best of times, despite his singing and telling jokes and dancing, he can look like a thundercloud very quickly. Josh was being bossy. Josh does that, feeling he has to be responsible for the other two's behavior. At Subway, Isaac turned on Josh and they had a mild fight.
To call it a fight is doing it no justice at all. After it was all over and done, I told them both that they really had no clue how to argue or fight and upset with them as I was about their public quarrel, I'd been horribly embarrassed as well because I'd seen kittens with more fight in them. My brothers and I could 'whup up' on one another, though none of us liked it but we did at least know how to defend ourselves.
I could tell Isaac was terribly upset at Josh and by the argument that ensued as well. I told Isaac it was quite all right to tell Josh to back off if Josh was being too bossy. And I told Josh that while I understood he felt he was responsible for the other two kids that Isaac wasn't a baby to be told what to do at every move.
Well. No one was happy except Millie who took the downtime of me sorting out the boys to rip into her sandwich which she was NOT meant to be eating in the car...So she got her share of Gramma fussing and then we were on our way to the park.
There are two nice parks in Reynolds, and I asked which one they'd like to go to. I should have known better. Of course, they were divided. Millie decided to be diplomatic by changing her vote thrice, which meant that she was aligned with Josh and then with Isaac and then with Josh. Somebody was sulking about every choice. I blamed myself. I was foolish to give them a choice of two.
I finally said, "You know what? We can do BOTH parks. We'll go eat at the old park and then we'll go over to the new park." The truth is that both parks are awesome in their own way. The old park is older, with old equipment like see saws, and a roundabout which the kids love, monkey bars and an ancient swing set. There are also lovely old trees and picnic tables in a sunny spot. And no one ever comes to the old park. The kids have it all to themselves.
They piled out of the car and Isaac ran right to the roundabout and started himself spinning. I swear it is a great sensory/motion thing because his mood immediately turned back into sunny laughter. It was cool enough to sit in the sun without melting, with a heavy breeze and the sound of rustling leaves and birds calling. My gracious the peace of the place just sits down in your lap and oozes all over you, so you feel doused in contentment.
We stayed there about an hour then headed across town to the new park which has a fort and gazebo and play castle and slides and swings. Of course, Josh voted to just go home, suggesting I drive him home and bring the other two back to the other park. Uhm, no. I'm not going to drive 8 miles to do that when I can drive less than a mile and go to the other park and then do 3 1/2 miles home.
At the new park they all piled out of the car. Josh walked about a mile around the walking track. I sat in the car with the windows down and watched the kids do their thing. After about another hour, they were all worn out and more than ready to go home. Also, hungry and thirsty and I thanked myself for buying them water and cookies at the store earlier even though they all assured me they didn't want any. Ha. Experience won on that one.
While I was gone, Sam came over and mowed my yard. Oh, it looks so much better! He'd meant the last mow to be in September but then it rained and grew just enough to look really sad and shabby, and I so wanted it mowed again just to nicen it up a bit. Well, I finally told him so but offered him an out if he really didn't want to or have time to do it. It's been into the low 40's this week and it's unlikely to grow anymore this year. We're all done with mowing after next year.
Next year...That makes the fact that we are nearly in November and that the year is winding down suddenly seem too close. It gives me a bit of an anxious feeling in the pit of my tummy. This year hasn't been at all what I thought it would be. There have been so many unexpected paths to navigate and so many losses to contemplate. Will I be a daughter next year or will that role too be lost? And what significance does "daughter" hold in my life? It does mean something, I can tell you that. I've realized that this month. As for being a sister...well that was a long-ago loss.
With the loss of John, I lost so many roles: wife, lover, friend, companion, partner, confidant, ...That was a lot to lose at once. And in some ways, I feel I lost something as a woman. That brings up the whole viewpoint of does a woman need a man to define her question. It does change my perception of what I am as a woman without him, but I think it's all tangled in all those other roles I lost when he died. When you're a couple, you can't help but be defined to some extent by who you are with and the love you share. And that is lost when one of you dies.
But it's kind of hard to accept that 'Gramma' is the only role I have now and that only here and there. That just seems so terribly old, lol. Perhaps that's why so many of my acquaintances have chosen to be called, "Darlin' ", or "Honey" or "Mama V".
Of course, I'm still a Mama. My children love their Mama, they tell me so all of the time, but they are not children, their need of me has slowly dwindled over the years as it well ought to have done. It means I did my job of raising them into adults right. And life sort of pushes you to be all grown up whether you want to be or not, doesn't it?
Well, that got deeper than the day warranted...It's been a lovely day. I think a cup of coffee will only make it better.
Sunday, October 24: I never did make that cup of coffee yesterday afternoon. And boy was I thinking about it as I lay awake at 2 and 3 am this morning. I was so tempted to get up and have a cup then, but I didn't. I decided to just keep trying to woo sleep and eventually I did get some rest, though not much. I was awake long before the alarm this morning. On nights like this, I've learned to just trust God that I had enough sleep to do what I needed to do this day. That little prayer/thought always releases me from anxiety. I may not get any more sleep, but I always have enough to make it through the next day just fine.
I made it to church today with time to spare. I confess I felt nicely dressed. I have a new pair of Skechers Bobs (Amazon Affiliate link) that I think are cute. And ugly. That doesn't make them sound appealing, but they are so comfortable and they are different. I wore them today for the first time, and while I did apply Band-Aids to my heels since I knew I'd be walking a lot, I didn't have aching feet or blisters. I also had on a Fig colored (sort of a deep burgundy purple) cardigan and matching shirt with black pants. I was very happy with how the outfit came together.
After church I went to visit Mama. She was more awake and responsive today. My brother was also there and said she's still not eating much. Mama moved a LOT in bed today and I expect she's getting tired of lying in bed. Perhaps that is a good sign. She does seem to be less able to carry on any sort of conversation. She fixates on something and keeps coming back to it and mentioning it again and again.
She did ask if I'd come see her every day and I told her, no. It's about 50 miles to the facility, which means a 100-mile round trip for me. I told her I'd be over most Sundays after church. Her facility is about 10 miles more or less from the church. It will just make for a longer Sunday, but it's one day a week.
I grabbed a quick bite for lunch at Arby's. Not great, not the cheapest. I will have to plan better for future trips if my Sunday is going to be expanded with me out of my home. Then I went to Katie's. I may choose to visit Mama later on Sundays and see Katie first since I also want to see Taylor if I can and they would be gone by the time I left the Rehab.
I took Caleb out to choose their pumpkins today. He told me we had to get his Mama a pumpkin and "...none for Henry because he can't carve a pumpkin!" I asked Kate and she said to get Henry a little one, but she didn't want one for herself.
Caleb was so excited about this pumpkin shopping, and I was so pleased to do it with him. He also got a Caramel Apple. He said, "I've never had one of those before and I've always wanted one." I remember as a child never having had a candy or caramel apple and how much I'd always wanted one to try. I bought the child a caramel apple. Next year I may just do a round of caramel apples for all the kiddos. Sounds like a nice added bit of Gramma fun for Pumpkin Day, doesn't it?
I picked up half and half while I was in the grocery store. I didn't buy much else, except some Crisco sticks. I know that it's cheaper to get the can of Crisco, but I don't use it often. Just to make biscuits. It's the way I learned to make them, and I much prefer them made that way rather than having butter or yogurt in them. I can't say if it was a good price or bad. I knew it was on my shopping list and it was right there in my face in the dairy department on a pallet stack and I grabbed it.
They are pushing holiday baking, turkeys and more already (and have been all month) and pushing it big time. It's not so much that it's on sale as that it's on display. It's plentifully displayed, too and I guess it gives people the idea that they might as well start stocking those things early, which can sort of stretch out the cost of a holiday meal over six weeks instead of buying it all the week of Thanksgiving here in the States. It does make me wonder if we will see any recognizable sales closer to the holidays.
Caleb was so excited to get home so he could try his caramel apple. Katie immediately told him to put it up he couldn't have it right then. Well darn it! I kinda get tired of my grown children spoiling my fun of spoiling my grandkids. I'd thought a caramel apple wasn't such a bad treat. It was just a small apple, and you know they aren't coating the thing in any more caramel than they can possibly get away with skimping on anyway. So, I told Katie I'd told him he could eat it when he got home. And Katie agreed but asked him if he'd share the thing with her. If I'd known she wanted one, I'd have bought her one too.
Cody made me a cup of coffee. I'd nearly turned it down but told him, "Please do. Because I'll say I'll wait until I get home and then when I'm home it will be time for supper and I will pass on it." He brought me a cranberry orange muffin with it. Henry couldn't bear having everyone eating in front of him without him getting anything too, so I shared my muffin with him and Caleb.
Finally, I headed home. Only I needed to make one more stop...I had to take Millie her mini pumpkin that was required for school. So, I ran by Sam's. I went indoors and sat and talked for a few minutes and incidentally borrowed a six-cup muffin tin as well as some minced garlic.
I plan to make my own Cranberry Orange muffins this week, had already written it on my list of things to do. Katie asked if I'd make the Cranberry Bliss Bars that I typically make at Christmas time. I have plenty of ingredients on hand. Since I'm using the Cuisinart Oven, it's going to be half recipes and trial and error baking, so we'll see how it goes.
I'm looking forward to the muffins to be honest. I'm using both fresh and dried cranberries in them, fresh orange zest and juice and plan to put the same sort of topping on them that I put on my apple crisp, which is a sort of streusel topping without cinnamon.
I think I'm going to make some soup this week as well. Yes, I am thinking of autumn things with the cranberries and soup. It's been so breezy which makes it feel cooler and that makes me long for Autumn cookery at last. I'd love to make up some molasses or ginger cookies, too. I won't bake a full recipe but do as I've done and make up some balls of dough to keep in the freezer. Then I can bake one or three at a time for myself or a dozen or so if company is here.
After I left Sam's this evening (it was 6pm!), I took a souper cube of chili from the freezer and thawed and heated it for my supper. It was very good and was a cozy and easy supper for what has turned out to be a very long but lovely day.
Monday, October 26: I had my plans...and then there were God's plans, and I rather like the way the day turned out. So glad that He planned differently than I did!
Bess needed a medical supply I generally keep on hand, and I suggested she run over to get it. She said, "Can I come for coffee, too?" Of course! And before she got here, she asked if I had eggs because she was hungry. I was already making Cranberry Orange Drop Biscuits.
No, not muffins. I did think to test the pan before starting to mix the stuff and the pan lacked 1/8 inch going into my toaster oven. Well, darn it! I had out frozen cranberries which I'd just chopped, had zested my orange...I grabbed a stick of butter and grated that and switched up to making scones. But I had too much of the wet ingredients, so I decided I'd best call them drop biscuits. Oh, gracious they were so good.
I finished off some milk I'd soured to make another recipe last week and I skipped the dried cranberries entirely, but those biscuits smelled absolutely lovely before they ever went into the toaster oven. I started the first pan at 325f but felt they needed to cook a little lower, so I went down to 300f. Y'all after two years, I'm finally getting the hang of really using this Cuisinart oven!
I didn't put the crumb topping on, since I'd made biscuits, but I drizzled them with an orange glaze. Gosh but they tasted nice! More like a soft biscuit in texture as you'd probably expect but they were still so yummy and good. Perfect with our scrambled eggs.
Bess and I talked and talked and talked. She didn't go home until after 12 noon...I decided that meant I should put painting the shed on the back burner because we'd been sitting on the porch at one point and that sun got awfully hot. By the time she left it was quite warm outdoors.
After we'd said goodbye, I looked at the clock and contemplated the day. There was still plenty of time to do something but what that something might be I wasn't sure. A friend texted me and I texted her back. Then I looked around and the sink full of dishes asserted itself. I had had another friend on my mind for days and because I'd been tied up with mama or thoughts of mama or trying to catch up here at home, I'd put it off. So, I called her up, put the phone on speaker and did what she and I generally do when we get on the phone: do housework and talk.
While on the phone I managed to get the kitchen nicely cleaned up: dishes done, floors swept, dusting and even cleaning the ceiling fan. I also ate my lunch and then spied another job to do while staying on the phone with her! It ended up being a productive afternoon.
After the call was over, I got the bathroom cleaned up and dusted the living room. Dusting really played up my allergies which had abated quite a lot over the weekend. I'll do the bedroom tomorrow. The house is very dusty even though I just went over it this month already. I guess it's the dry air and breeziness and harvesting going on that's caused it.
I slipped back to the study to journal for a bit and put on the sermon from yesterday to listen to as I wrote. Then I looked around and decided I would try to hang the new curtains I've had sitting off to the side. I don't like the current curtain hanging situation, but I was longing to see how the curtains looked. They are the perfect color, the perfect length but I do need a better curtain rod to use with them. I can't say I'm thrilled over the quality, nor do they look like they could possibly be the room darkening curtains they were meant to be which is necessary in summer due to the way the sun hits that window from morning to mid-afternoon, but they are pretty. Like the curtain rod that didn't work, it's too late to send them back. I ordered them months and months ago.
So, it really did end up being a rather nice day. I spoke with friends (I consider Bess a friend even if she is my former daughter-in-law), managed to get my house cleaned up and made a minor improvement (curtains).
Tuesday, October 27: I was ragging myself pretty hard the last few days (that means I was fussing at myself!) about not making the time to get that shed painting task finished up. Last night I told myself to just go ahead and roll paint on the east wall of the shed (which had no paint at all) and then go from there according to how I felt.
Well, I didn't get it all done today, but I did get a third coat on the front of the building, two coats on the east side of the building and about half the strips painted, and a solid second coat on the back of the building. I don't think I'm going to have enough paint to finish the shed. I might get the strips on the east wall finished and start the strips on the backside, but I don't know if I can do all of them and I won't get the very tops where I can't reach without a step stool. So, I won't finish but I'd hoped but I did do something.
I have the white trim paint and will apply that, but there's a bad piece of trim wood on the door that I must replace. There's no point in wasting paint on that bit of wood because it's pretty far gone. And of course, when I replace it, I'll replace it with treated wood, so I'll have to wait even longer to paint that. But I'll do what I can and have that much of the shed done.
I worked for nearly 3 hours outdoors today, but I'm very pleased with what I accomplished in that time. I have set up a few music playlists, one of which is of worship music, and I played that while I was outdoors today. It helped pass time and I found myself singing along here and there. My allergies are better enough I can think of singing once more, but I can't sustain and sing through several. Just jump in on the chorus here and there!
I was listening to Brandon Lake's "Gratitude" which I've loved since the first time I heard it. Suddenly it seemed like every nearby bird was singing, too. I recalled that when John played his worship in the music room, inevitably there was a bird who'd land on the front porch railing and sing right along!
I hadn't realized that at the end of the series of different songs, I'd tagged a video from the senior group when John had been asked to play as the guest performer one evening. So, I heard the last two songs he played for that evening. It was so lovely to hear him playing and singing. If I regret anything, it's that he was seldom recorded so hearing him sing and play is not something I come across often. I so wish he'd been recorded in these latter years so I could listen to him more often.
I'll buy three gallons of paint in the next few months for the other shed, instead of just two and will finish off this first shed at that time. But I have to wait for my bank account to be 'refreshed'. The east and back walls take less of the brunt of the weather than the west and front does, so I'm glad I have them covered with three coats. I'm less concerned there are only two of the other two walls.
When I came in from outdoors, I noted that my right wrist is sore from painting, because I have to use so much pressure to get the paint in the crevices and saw cuts, etc. I'll try to make sure I don't do anything else repetitive with that wrist for a few hours.
I opened a jar of my home canned vegetable beef soup for my lunch today. I really enjoyed that and am reminded afresh that some things are worth doing, like canning homemade soup for easy meals. I'm going to try to add more of those to my pantry over the next few weeks and months.
I've been thinking about what I spend on groceries and the quality of the foods I'm buying. I confess I love a wide variety of meals. I'm not much for repeating meals every week or even once a month. I do cook certain foods at certain times of the year for obvious reasons. I don't want chili when it's 100f outdoors even if I am sitting in a pleasantly air-conditioned house nor a big bowl of salad when it's 35f outdoors.
But I have been looking harder at ingredient lists and noting costs of prepared foods and truly I can do better both pricewise and with quality. I thought I'd figure out which foods are worth making. Broth for sure, and canned homemade soups. Perhaps some canned chicken once I've used up the cans I've already purchased. I can make a very good Barbecue sauce and some dressings that taste far better than store bought. Bread is worth baking and so are bun, sweet breads, bagels and such and cake or cookies that are homemade (and pie for those of you who prefer pies, lol). You just can't beat homemade taste!
I had purchased a smaller really good brand lasagna but it's not up to the taste of homemade. So, I think I'd like to make my own when this lot is finished up and then freeze it in single portions. I have to remember too that I can make half recipes of things. I don't have to make a 9 X 13 pan of lasagna just because I always have in the past. There are a few things I can make for a convenience type meal that taste far superior to any I can buy. Chicken pot pie (I just need to make them individual sized), lasagna, chicken wings, etc.
If I just plain really liked something, and I can think of one such item right now, and the list of ingredients are few and quite good, and the price not too dear, then there are things I will still buy and have on hand. But for the most part, I'm going to be using up things that I've already purchased and then moving to homemade items instead. I like to cook, and cook frequently each week, so it's no hardship to make extra to freeze or can.
I'm hoping that with better quality food here at home, I'll save money on groceries, and with a little better planning on my part, be less tempted to stop for fast foods when I've spent a long day out of the house. And maybe I will find I'm eating better overall because I'm getting better foods for the calories. It doesn't mean I'll never eat out but as one woman stated on a video recently, "If I do stop for a hamburger, I want it to be because I just really, really want a hamburger not because I'm hungry and don't have anything quick to make at home." Same here!
It also plays into my 'Spend local' sentiment because it costs a little more to eat out in this rural county and the savings I'll make should allow me to do that easily without feeling I've had to stretch too hard to manage it. That's the ideas in my brain at the moment.
Wednesday, October 28: I said I'd stop talking about how bad nights sometimes go for me, but last night was not a great night. I could barely keep my eyes open come 8pm and at 9pm, I said my prayers and went to bed. At 11:00 I woke from a lovely rest...and my body apparently determined that was quite enough of that. I lay awake until 4ish and got a text message at 5am. Yes, really, and yes it was legitimate and no, it was NOT an emergency. I had purposely turned off notifications to everyone as I realized the night was going to go badly for me just in case I did doze off at any point. Yet there was a text message anyway.
And they continued to come through until the alarm finally went off at 7:30, at which point, I got up and turned it off (because by then I'd put the phone in another room entirely but I forgot to turn off the alarm), crawled back into bed and slept until a bit after 9:30.
I'm ticked at myself for forgetting the alarm and ticked that my phone has determined all on its own whose messages will be delivered regardless, much as my Facebook has for years withheld all friends' posts until they are 3-10 days old but shows me myriad strangers' posts whom I don't know and don't want to friend. This is technology gone wrong.
I got up and dressed which is my usual habit and one that both Bess and my friend whom I talked with for so long on the phone the other day both commented to me they'd begun doing because of me. I told them both it was Granny's way and suited her and so I've just sort of adapted it myself. It is a great motivator to know that you are dressed for the day. Not necessarily to run into the big town but dressed to work about the house at the least and acceptable for an emergency dash to the local store if absolutely necessary.
On October 18, I said I'd bought bananas. 10 days later, there was one lone banana still on the kitchen counter. Lest you think I was slack eating fruit, I finished off all of the apples I bought in September, and the oranges and some of the mandarins. So I've been eating some sort of fruit nearly every day for the past 6 weeks. I just didn't finish the bananas.
It was at that ripe stage that smells ever so slightly floral and sweet, not that stage where it smells just too much like over ripe banana. So, I decided to make up Banana Oatmeal pancakes this morning. That was so good. I let the batter sit just long enough for the oatmeal to sort of hydrate but still have a bit of chew to it. I didn't use a recipe, just used my years of experience to more or less work out a reasonable amount of everything.
I can only eat one pancake, but the rest will go into the freezer, and I can thaw and reheat them later. And I didn't waste a thing.
While I was cooking sausage to go with the pancake, I noticed that the sausage really needed to be completely used up. I had about enough for four patties, so I went ahead and fried that and then chopped up two of them. I had a nice chunk of homemade bread on the counter I'd not eaten as well that was a bit too dry. Sausage and eggs and cheese and milk and leftover bread...Breakfast casserole got made for tomorrow morning, in a single portion size (or a two-serving size depending on how hungry I am tomorrow). More food waste avoided. I felt very virtuous despite lying in bed so late!
After breakfast and Bible reading, I decided to tackle my finances. I had no idea how much cash I was carrying in my purse for one thing. I give myself an allowance each month and then I pay for some things, like Saturday's lunch out with the kids, from those funds, or I might give money to someone, or give to a mission or ministry at church, or pass out a dollar each to the grandkids for ice cream on Fridays at school and it comes out of that as well. I just didn't keep track of what I was spending this month and knew I really needed to have a look. I was pleased to find I've quite enough to tide me over until next allowance. In a month that has felt spendy and two months ahead that will be spendy (7 birthdays from Oct. 28 to Dec. 9, dentist and doctor, 3-month refill on prescriptions and Christmas gifts to be bought, not to mention holiday meals and baking), I am very conscious that I need to be more aware of my finances.
Then I sorted out the checkbook and looked over my accounts and determined that I had not gone quite as low as I'd initially thought in my overall financial picture since March. When I consider how very much money has gone out for legal fees, medical expenses, car repairs, home maintenance, extra fees that came up, family needs that I helped out with...Well I've done all right! A little lower but mostly I held on. That will teach me to gather my actual facts, too and not play the 'I'm sure I know...' without looking anything up simply because I'm being lazy.
As you can tell today has not been productive, exactly. I've puttered and piddled. I don't have ambition enough to drag out the stepstool to try and finish off the front of the shed which is where I've determined I'll apply the last bit of paint. I don't want to do laundry today, nor vacuum. I find my shoulders are awfully sore from yesterday's painting of the shed. The house looks more than decent overall and I can't see a thing that needs any special attention at the moment. I'm not ambitious enough to want to go outdoors and do any of the work on porches or patio. In other words, today is a low work day!
Oh I wanted to share that I finally finished Finding Dorothy (by Elizabeth Letts) and I won't be keeping that one on my bookshelf. It just felt a bit too heavy, and I still felt like I knew next to nothing about Maud at the end of the whole thing, nor what impact she could possibly have had on the movie, nor what it had on her.
I finished the second Dove Pond book, The Cup of Silver Linings, (Karen Haskell) which I found difficult because it was a book full of family struggle and grief, but it kept my attention despite needing to take time out to weep a bit for my own grief as well as theirs and I felt the book had merit, though not quite the charm of the first in the series.
I started the third book in the Dove Pond series, The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove. I'm straining on this one. I haven't found the charm in this one that I did in the first novel and eventually untangled from the second one. I'm only a few chapters in admittedly, and I might well have ought to have chosen a completely different book instead of forcing my way on through this series, so I'm not ready to make a full call on how good it is or isn't.
a little later: I went in to make myself a cup of coffee...which I totally forgot to do. And started my supper instead. And as things go, as I pulled things from the fridge, "I might as well..." talk went on in my brain.
"I might as well get out the cold ingredients to come to room temp for the cookies Katie requested."
"I might as well go ahead and gather vegetables to make another batch of soup for canning. I can use half the meat I've thawed."
"I might as well slice that red onion up and get it pickling in that half empty jar there in the fridge."
"I might as well look for a recipe to use up the chicken I had leftover last night."
And on and on. All of that got done and I made my meatloaf, sliced potatoes for mashed potatoes, and put the last of the baby carrots in some water to steam for supper as well. But darn it...I sure meant to get that cup of coffee!
Do I dare return and try it again?
Thursday, October 29: When I went back into the kitchen yesterday evening, I checked on my dinner, then washed and sterilized jars for the soup, pulled out the canner and filled it with the water I'd used to sterilize the jars (it was hot, hot, hot) and ladled the hot soup into pint jars. I started the canner and then I glazed the carrots I'd steamed, glazed the meatloaf and walked out of the kitchen to wait for the canner come up to pressure, and supper to finish cooking.
Coffee? Nope. I forgot all about it all over again. Obviously, I wasn't nearly as needful of that cup of coffee as I kept trying to convince myself I was.
By the time I went to bed last night, I had five pints of sealed soup sitting on the counter, enough meatloaf left for 2 more meals, and enough soup (very brothy) left to accompany a sandwich lunch. All the dishes were done and drying on the countertop except for the pot from the pressure canner which was too hot to mess with.
I was determined that today I'd do something. And I did. But not work. No, I didn't.
First, I got up and had a lovely shower with a bit of spa treatment included. Then I made myself a glorious cup of coffee (the best cup is always the first one every morning) and went back to my room where I took time to groom myself with care and put on makeup because I was going out. Out of the house. Out of town. Out of the ordinary round of things I typically do when I go out.
My first step was the Dollar store in town. Not it isn't out of the ordinary. I went in to pick up five of the six birthday cards I need between now and the second week of December. I had a short list for the store, and I got most everything on my list except for Christmas cards. Ironic to me that Christmas decor and wrapping paper and ribbons and ornaments are everywhere. Not. One. Christmas. Card. I was going to be a step ahead on that this year...apparently not!
I picked up a couple of items I needed, an item I'd promised to bring Mama when I next visited and incidentally found four Christmas gifts. I'm at the stage where if I know someone might like something, I just grab it up and get it right then. I've barely started and this will by no means complete any of those four gifts but that now means I have started and have five gifts for five folks which is a start.
I bought cheese to go in a recipe I want to make with the leftover chicken and ran it by the house before heading off to the less ordinary parts of my day.
I drove to Dickey Farm to see if they still had North Georgia apples in stock. They did. I picked up a couple of Christmas gifts there, plus two types of apples. Mutsu is a yellowish green color and is a good all-around apple for everything. Ruby Crisp is meant for salads or snacking. I bought the Mutsu last time and was wowed by the flavor of that one, especially as a cooked apple. In fact, when I roasted the chicken breast the other night, I chopped the last Mutsu and tossed it in with the butternut squash and potato and onion and it was just lovely with the vegetables I was roasting.
So another Christmas gift added to the pile and I think it will be appreciated. Then I drove through the old village of Culloden which is what hooked me on genealogy. Mama was forever mentioning her great grandmother, whom she never knew, had been born in Culloden. There are a few fine houses but I'm not sure but one or three date back to the mid 1800's, but the original town well is still there and it amuses me to think that my great great great grandparents likely got water from that well to drink, especially the 3xsGreat Grandfather who was the cobbler, quill sharpener and itinerant preacher for the church. I'll lay odds the whole family stopped to get a drink when they were 'uptown' though they lived nearby.
I went to Thomaston which is in the foothills of the state and was pleased to see the beginnings of real Fall foliage at last along the old highways that curve gently this way and that and go uphill and down again. It's a very relaxing sort of drive, the kind that makes you just naturally go a bit slower and take your time. I went out to eat and used a gift card that John and I were given for Christmas last year. He and I had only used it once at our favorite place that was tucked up near the Interstate in Perry. I just can't bear to go into what was one of our favorite date spots all alone. I did it once. I just don't want to be alone there again. Thomaston is nice enough and quiet and as good quality as the place in Perry, but John and I only ate there once. So, it isn't 'special' like Perry was to us.
I had a splurge meal today, trying two new menu items both of which were absolutely wonderful and of course, brought home half my meal. One of the items I tried was a Caramel Candied Pecan Cheesecake. It wasn't quite as decadent as it sounds, but close enough. It's a plain cheesecake served with caramel drizzle and candied pecans pieces scattered over the plate and it was really good. I considered ordering a cup of coffee to go with it but decided to stick to the tea as quite enough caffeine for the afternoon.
I drove from the restaurant to a lovely park. It was part of the state park system in the past I believe, but they aren't any longer. It's a beautiful natural spot to visit. You drive along the ridge of the mountain (I call them hills! I grew up driving Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway each year and these are NOT mountains!). Then you descend down into the River gorge. They've put benches next to the water now, so you can get closer to the river which I loved. I sat there in the sunshine, admiring the sound of water over the rocks, the glistening backs of turtles that had climbed out to sun on the smaller rocks, a Crane further up the river fishing intently, hawks gliding overhead and the rustle of the leaves in the trees.
I kept marveling that this was the day I'd chosen just for myself. To please me. Because I wanted to do it. And it felt good! I wished I were stronger and more agile. I'd love to hike the trails in the woods. I did note tiny little cabins at one spot. I wonder if they rent them out. They look about big enough to have a bunk bed and not much more.
I just looked up the website and apparently, they have electricity (with AC and heater) and bunk bed, couch and dining table, microwave, coffee pot, and mini fridge and a water spigot...but no bathroom? Ahhh...They have a photo of the bath house located in the area with the cabins and campers. The website describes the cabins as 'Glamping' but they aren't fancy on the inside. You go for the outdoor views with these cabins.
I went by a salon on the way into Thomaston that intrigued me and decided to go back to it, just to see if they might have an opening. Their website said Walk-ins were welcome. I'd told myself I'd only stop if I could get a good parking spot (it's all parallel parking there) and there were two spaces open at the very end, so I could literally just drive straight in. Unfortunately, there were just two stylists working, both doing complicated dye jobs and they had no time for a walk-in. I was disappointed. I figured the odds of getting such easy parking was 'a sign'. Alas, that was not so.
I drove home about as slowly and leisurely as I drove all day long. I turned down another old road in my county to head across to a highway nearer my home. I'd been seeing a haze hanging in the air all day long, and it didn't look like humidity. It looked like dust, but I was darned if I could see where the dust was coming from. Well, that particular road gave me a clue. They are harvesting the cotton fields on that road, and it was so dusty all around the combine and trailed out for several hundred feet behind before the breeze picked it up and carried it over the field. It explained why my allergies were playing up all day today, too.
Two of my granddaughters had surgery today. Josie went in for oral surgery. She'd taken the children and was staying with her mom, so at least she had help following her dentistry work. And Taylor is having a hold in her eardrum repaired. She had tubes ages ago and she's had nothing but trouble with hearing and her ears for years now. I hope this clears up her troubles.
I'm going to go reheat some of that leftover soup broth and get some cheese and crackers to go with it. I'm not hungry right now, but I will be by bedtime tonight.
Friday, October 30: It's been a long day, and I happily took a 30-minute nap this afternoon. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, just a routine Friday Home Blessing. I had clothes on the line early, and two full loads at that. One thing I am appreciating about the weather remaining fairly warm and dry is the clothesline dries clothes so fresh and lovely. I made the cookies Katie requested and despite having to use the countertop oven and running out of the white chocolate chips they turned out pretty good.
The house is lovely and clean. I'm keeping grandchildren this evening. I don't know what I'm making them for supper tonight. I have to figure that out. The nap left me muddle brained. Not a good state to be in with children underfoot.
Tomorrow night we have to set time back one hour...
