Daylight Savings and Other False Springs

 

March 1:  It's not spring by any means but this morning when we went outdoors the birds were fairly screeching their heads off in busy homemaking joy.  It made me smile to hear them.  I'd watched an especially eager bird begin the nest last week in the Faith tree.  He even caught Isaac's attention.  "What is that bird doing?"  

I looked at the weather app once we'd settled in the car.  Sure enough, the day and nighttime temperatures are far more in keeping with spring than with the last three weeks of winter.

Along with the warming weather, comes my impatience with the last of winter.  I want to plant flowers, and dress in lighter things and see a flush of green.  I'm completely unreasonable, because if I don't dress in layers I'll either burn up or freeze.  About the only flowers I'm going to see are the bouquets I'll buy.

We had a lovely first day.  Absolutely nothing special, just our usual sorts of things.  Church, the grocery store, the long ride home, a good Sunday dinner, a nap...But all through the day I could feel my heart humming happily and contentedly along.  Not a thing special but it was just a lovely day full of all the normal homely sorts of things.

March 2:  This morning, despite a rather rough night, I jumped out of bed and started my day.  I sailed right through it, wrote a post during a break from working, did some more work and here I am writing another post while I'm between tasks.  It's been a most excellent day thus far.  Not the least because I have been planning seasonal changes in my household while I've been busy.  Changes in menus, changes in decor, changes in my wardrobe, changes in my play/fun time activities... 

Can you tell I'm ready for changes?

I was out cleaning off the back porch this morning, making an attempt to make it look nice.  I noted that BJ's Wholesale had ferns out already and they were about what I've always paid for them, not high like last year.  I'll be picking one up this month and pop it into the big old wash pot on the back porch.  

I've tentatively planned meals for the week, and then promptly changed my mind and decided to make other things entirely.  After I get my flowers arranged, I'm going to go play in the closet and start to remove the heavy sweaters, access how they look.  I know I have one or two that definitely need to be placed in the winter house clothes.  They just won't do for public wearing another year, as much as I like them, but they do look nice enough for wearing here at home.  I wouldn't be ashamed to open the door to company in them, well-worn though they may be.  

I'll pull up Pinterest and see what I've saved there and try to put a few pieces of clothing together, ready to go through the week ahead.  We're combining a car maintenance with a lunch date, tomorrow.  I desperately want a haircut and thought I might take my Artist's Date at the same time.  And then we've Church and an appointment over these seven days ahead so I'd like to be prepared.

At some point today, I hope to start flipping through my cookbooks and finding lighter, more Spring-like recipes to replace some of the heavier, slow cooking cold weather favorites.  And while I'm doing all of that, I'm thinking of how I might update my home decor and make it look a little fresher, too.  

I definitely have Spring Fever!

March 4:  Yesterday we left home to run errands.  I'd cleared my closet the afternoon before of all the heavy sweaters and packed them away.  John had laughingly said, "Spring Fever has hit you!" when he saw the pile of clothes on the bed.

Well, fickle silly season that it is, we rose to 78F Monday afternoon and never got over 56F yesterday.  Fortunately, I had a sweater out in the car that hadn't been packed away, and I wore it quite happily all day long!  I should have known better that to think all the winter things could be packed away. 

It was a nice day out, despite drizzly rain and clouds and the overall coolness.  We took care of several errands, and I got a haircut, long overdue.  I don't know about any other woman, but when my hair refuses to look decent no matter how carefully styled, then I am miserably unhappy.   I went into the salon today armed with photos and showed them to the stylist.  "But which one?  They all look different!"  Well to my eye they didn't.  True they did vary a little in length but overall they had the same sort of wispy layers and while I knew full well I needed to grow out the hair over my ears, surely we could work toward something that was better looking than what I had...I appealed to her years of experience, and we worked out an idea that will allow me to look decent in the meantime, while working toward something that at least resembled one of the cuts I'd shown her.

Then I walked over to the grocery and picked up still more grocery items, things I'd realized I should have bought on Sunday: instant decaf coffee, half and half and cheese.  Then I gave in a little too heartily to John's request for something sweet and picked up not only a bar cake but four packages of cookies as well.  To be fair, three of those packages of cookies were store knock-offs of Girl Scout cookies, which we'd missed purchasing this year.  And what I paid for four packages (with about the same amount of cookies in them as the Girl Scouts) came up to a pittance compared to one box of the sponsored cookies.

John and I went out to eat at the Mexican restaurant we like so well.   We went in hungry and we came out vaguely dissatisfied.  The entree I'd ordered was nothing like what my homemade version (made via a supposedly authentic recipe).  And John, who seldom complains of a lack of flavor said, "It just seemed to lack something.  Even the salsa wasn't quite good."

When we got home, I unloaded groceries, had a cup of coffee and a slice of cake with John and then I jumped back in my car and went up to Sam's to supervise a delivery he was expecting.  Only Sam was home, having had a job interview earlier and then a phone call saying the delivery was coming in earlier than expected.

By the way, if you would all please pray in agreement with us that Sam gets a job in our county school system, I'd so appreciate it and so would he.  Truth is he's been told there are no openings and no foreseeable openings in math at either the high school or junior high school levels.  He's looking as far as 60 miles from home at school systems that are hiring.  But he's no plans to move, no plans to move his kids to new school systems.  His home and land are fully paid for.  The kids are well suited to the schools they are attending.  He's been unemployed now for over two years and wants very much to go back to work.  The commute however will eat up time he might be at home with his kids.  

It's my belief that someone might well experience a need to retire, or find themselves facing an unexpected move, or any number of non-fatal sorts of things that would leave an opening that he might fulfill.  That's my prayer anyway.

Today, I've been bitten by the Spring bug all over again.  And by the way, the weather has flipped on a dime again and today we're at 78F. Silly March weather!  I decided I simply couldn't live with the lamp between our chairs a moment longer with its scratched-up paint job.  I have looked for a replacement, contemplated painting it, etc.  This morning while I was working about the house, it occurred to me I could decoupage the lamp with a pretty set of paper napkins I bought this past Fall.  

It's a work in progress, but this is what I have thus far:

I've been looking at porcelain lamps very similar to this online but wouldn't pay the price wanted for any of them.  I'm really pleased I had this inspiration.  Mine will be a 'textured' finish, because I simply couldn't fit paper pieces over the curvy base so they were exactly flat, but I think it will be all right.  And it allows me to keep the lamp a bit longer.  It's sentimental to me since John and I bought this lamp when we first set up housekeeping together.  We went into a local furnishings store and chose it together and bore it proudly home to become the symbol of our newly combined households.  It's had a lot of incarnations over the years now, just as we have ourselves.  Because of that, I'm quite happy to keep it.

Now I am off.  I've gotten a reprieve from childcare today and I've promised John a cup of coffee and some of those cookies I bought yesterday.  I've started a new book by Sarah Maas, A Court of Thorn and Roses and it's grabbed my attention hard.

March 10:  I'm rolling my eyes over here on the other side of the screen.  From March 4 to March 10...Where was I?  I'll tell you where I was.  I got LOST in the book I mentioned above, A Court of Thorn and Roses.   I read it cover to cover in about three days, taking breaks every few hours and finished it on Friday.  I was so ill and out of sorts when the book was done.  Not because it had a poor ending, it didn't.  It was just a very intense and fascinating read and when I finished, I felt like I'd been submerged under water for two days.  I had the worst head fog!  I can only describe it as 'book drunk', in the same way that heavy sleep will leave you befuddled and feeling as though you were drugged when all you'd done was sleep hard.  

Language in this book was mild, the 'romance' not graphic, leaving it to your imagination, which I appreciated.  I do look forward to reading more but wow oh wow.  Even now I am still stunned at how deeply I got immersed in that book.

I have the whole series of these books, courtesy of Katie lending them to me, but I will not be starting the next one for a few days or possibly weeks because I literally lost track of time...and that was the smallest book in the series.  Gracious, I can only imagine how long I shall be missing when I pick up the next one.

It was lovely to be lost in a book.  I highly recommend it, if you've time to spare. 

I took two hours Friday afternoon to write and study and clear my head by submersing myself in music and quiet in my workspace.  I felt much livelier when I came out again.  

Saturday, I took the kids to the library, as I'd promised I would.  I'd worked periodically on genealogy over the past week with absolutely no luck at all with any of the research I'd been doing.  So, imagine how I felt at the library on Saturday to pick up a book and immediately found information on another family line (a paternal line for my two oldest kids).  I spent the entire hour copying off the pages by hand.  It was fun to see Isaac's eyes light up when I showed him his three times great-grandfather's name which is the same as his own.  

I find it amazing how often family names turn up within a family even when no one is aware of the family history. I wonder sometimes if we don't have a genetic memory that brings those names forward.

After the library, I took the kids to the local grocery to get frozen pizza, soda, chips and ice cream.  Y'all...Let me just pause here to say I had very real SHOCK at how those costs added up.  Our local grocery costs easily twice what we pay in the larger town where we shop.  So that one meal set me back a pretty penny, let me tell you.  I decided then and there that in future I can afford take-out over running into that grocery. In future, I'll plan ahead a bit better than I did this time, go out of town and have it here already.  And lest you think it was Gramma spoiling the kids and letting them have whatever they'd like, it wasn't.  I actually had planned out what we'd purchase before we'd gone to the library.  I just failed to plan on what the local store costs!

Anyway, we had a grand time despite my burning one of the pizza's bottoms.  

Sunday, we had a meeting after church.  Knowing this I'd made a rather heavy breakfast for us before we left home.  Originally, the plan was we'd all meet at a coffee shop, and I'd thought we'd get a snack there, but that fell through, so we met in a side room in the student building.  

We went by Katie's afterwards and found she'd made lunch for us which was lovely because I was quite hungry by the time we arrived.  We'd planned to stop for fast food on the way over but the lines at every one on our side of the highway had lines going around the building.  So yes, it was a nice surprise to find she had cooked for us. 

We came home and I took a long hard nap.  Losing that hour of sleep cost me!  But it was rather nice to see the sunset nearer 8pm.  

Monday, I picked up a new book, second in a series by Jeff High.  This one titled, Each Shining Hour is the sequel to his first More Things in Heaven and Earth.  I needed the book because John had an appointment at the dermatologist's office and since I'm along for moral support, I needed something to fill my time.  24 hours later.... I have finished it.  His books are quite good.  High's premise is a young doctor who agrees to spend 3 years in a small-town practice.  In turn, he not only earns a salary, but the town/county will pay off his student loans, provide him with a place to live and a housekeeper.   The author is actually a traveling RN.  Again, the language is mild, and the personal intimate relationships are not even mentioned beyond kisses although the author makes it clear that the main character is not jumping into an intimate relationship

But I didn't just spend the past 24 hours reading.  No, indeed.  While we were at the doctor's office yesterday, Katie called.  She needed emotional support people (nothing wrong.  She was dealing with a mental health issue, and she had delivered Henry to a daycare for the first time.  Those two things combined with a workday was a bit overwhelming to her.  She asked if we'd come watch the kids from 4-6pm.  Which was delightful!  Henry came in happy as could be, with a good report for his very first day away from Mama and home.  Caleb and Bella came in like the 5- and 6- year-old siblings they are, with plenty of pent-up feelings and upsets.  Everyone got a snack and then the two older ones took Grampa outdoors.  Katie and I listened in as he refereed many little spats and quarrels, in between our own conversation.  Henry lounged in the playpen watching Bluey and drinking his milk, totally relaxed and at ease after his big day.

After an hour, I went out and offered to spell John as referee which he quickly took me up on.  The kids played just fine while I was out there.  I guess they'd gotten all the contrary out and were just happy to be home by that point.  We had a great time, and the last hour passed rapidly.

Katie had offered to make us supper, but I told her we had leftovers here at home that we'd reheat in the air fryer.   And that's what we did.  

And finally, here we are at today.  I had determined that today was my day to do a big grocery shop.  Restocking canned goods, produce, meats, staples that we'd used up during the two-month Pantry and Freezer Challenge.  I had an amount in mind that I'd spend and I did it.   I also did really well!  I brought home one splurge item that wasn't on my list.  It cost a whole $1.99:  a giant Tootsie Roll for John.  He absolutely loves Tootsie Rolls!  I like Tootsie Pops but not Tootsie Rolls.  I was in a specialty market getting sausage and bacon and they had the Tootsie Rolls at the counter.  Easy sale.

I went first today to the discount grocery.  Please do not think this is like the Sharp Shopper or Grocery Outlet sort of discount grocery we see and hear about on vlogs.  Not at all! It pays to know prices when shopping in this store.  The deal is that the groceries are supposed to be 'at cost' and they charge 10% more at the register.  You can easily pay more than you'd pay in a premium store when adding the 10% to an item and it pays to keep that in mind.  But what they do have that is a big draw is a reduced produce shelf.  Today it was FULL.  And the line waiting to get to that rack was LONG.  There were four people ahead of me, and people who came in behind me to join the line.

Today I purchased Tomatillos, tomatoes, a box of Spring salad mix, bananas, bell peppers, green onions, squash.  I took advantage of a sale on good quality chicken, buying several packages of bone-in thighs and several whole chickens.

The total there was more than I expected it to be, but it was fine.  I adjusted my plans accordingly.  Then I went to Kroger.   I filled my buggy up.  I didn't buy meats there.  I have found that the meat prices at Kroger have gone through the roof.  I did get produce, canned goods, pantry items, and dairy.  

I spent exactly what I'd thought I might there.  Then on to the specialty store where I bought a really good quality sausage and bacon.  Here's the splurge part of my day.  The meat isn't cheap.  It's fresh.  Really fresh.  They smoke their own meats, too.  I usually plan to buy enough bacon and sausage to last us two months when I go in.  And my last purchase there is always a pair of nice thick pork chops.

I didn't spend my entire monthly budget today.  I spent about 3/5 of it.  It looked like I'd spent a lot more.  I had many bags worth of food to put away.   I couldn't help but contrast what I bought with the children on Saturday with what I purchased today.  I spent about 1/10 of my budget for this month on Saturday.  Two bags are all I came out with then.  Today I emptied bag after bag after bag.

The only thing I didn't see today was corned beef.  I'm hoping they were just holding it back and mean to put it out tomorrow when the next sales ads come out.  I would like to get 3 at least, one for St. Patick's day and two for the freezer.  We'll see.

This afternoon, once I'd unloaded groceries, I sat down in my chair and drank the unsweetened iced tea I'd purchased for myself.  I went to sleep, too.  I was truly tired, but a good tired.  I finished the Jeff High book this evening.  

Tomorrow...Gracious tomorrow, this woman is hoping to stay home, at least until time to go meet Isaac and Millie off the bus.  I'll be dividing up meats to put in the freezer.  And peeling bananas to go into the freezer for smoothies and banana muffins, and roasting tomatillos for green sauce.  I have not made a meal plan for this week.  I don't even have a clue what I might make.  Tonight we had Pork Chops with Broccoli and Cheddar twice baked potatoes.   I find the chops cook quickly usually in under 20 minutes.

I think that has us all caught up for now.  I promise I shall not go missing in a book again anytime soon!

March 12:  I thought, since I have now picked up book two in the Sarah Maas series, I'd better check in with you all one more time before I go too deep!  

I've just finished writing a difficult post, one that will come out on the other blog towards the end of this month.  I don't plan posts.  I pretty much write out my heart when I'm in the midst of it.  That's why I am sometimes far ahead with my posts.    

But my point is, this last post I've just finished was difficult.  And it's left me feeling drained.  Cathartic, but draining.  And having done this cathartic post, I decided that I was ready to lose myself in a book once more.  Hence, you all get an update before I get lost.

I was so weary yesterday.  I did housework but I put a lot of my energy into writing first thing.  I took the afternoon to divide and repackage the thighs, bacon, and sausage I'd bought.  I made a Chopped Sub Salad for lunch and supper was Steamed Dumplings, Spring Rolls, and Chicken strips.  Not gourmet, but I felt I wanted an easier meal for supper.

This morning, I was awakened early by thunder and lightning.  A cool front moved in.  Yesterday afternoon it was 84F.  Today it's only just 60F.  The rain moved out with the help of a healthy wind to push it along.  

Last night we went looking for a new mystery series to watch.  John came up with "Prime Suspects" which stars Helen Mirren.  We watched the first season, which is two episodes.  It was good, a little more graphic than Midsommer or Brokenwood mysteries but it was compelling to watch.   There are a lot of strong emotions in this series: anger, grief.  Hard to watch, however interesting the episodes have been thus far.

Tonight's Supper: Chicken Tandoori, Curried Rice (accidental.  I'd meant to make plain rice and dumped my chicken seasoning in the rice pan) and Kachumber Salad.  I was going to make Naan, but I passed.  I'll be making bread tomorrow.  

 

I told John we'd run our local errands tomorrow, too, getting bills mailed and doing our monthly banking.  Perhaps that will result in a long drive home.  I have no plans for Saturday this week.  I'll likely work on genealogy again.

 

I've done nothing with my monthly junk journal for March because I haven't had any inspiration at all.  I Perhaps I'll try to work on that and see if I can't come up with a page or two to cover the first two weeks.   

In other words, I'm looking forward to a quiet Sabbath Saturday at home.

On Sunday, we're doing Gramma's Fried Chicken for Taylor.  She finally has a Sunday free of volley ball, so we're glad to get to go see her.  Her team has done well with her as a captain.  They've gone to state championships and won.  But yeah, we miss seeing her.

Oh, I wanted to say, that earlier in this post, I ask for your prayers for Sam's job.  He accepted the position in the county that is an hour away.  He'd gotten nervous because no one has called for an interview at any of the other positions open closer by.  And he's been assured again that there are no openings here in our county.  He hasn't worked in over two years now...

I said nothing to him, but I'm still praying for an opening here in the county to come open.  Perhaps we'll go through a season of his working out of county, which means that Bess, John and I will be picking up whatever needs to be done for the kids while he's working there.  Since each county is an entity unto itself, there's no guarantee they'll have the same vacation/holiday schedules.  I can tell you honestly that right now, my grandchildren are in school in four different counties and sometimes two counties will overlap in some way but all four never do at the same time.  

He's made it clear he will not be moving away since his home and land are paid for and he's put a lot of work into the land in the past two years.  

I am still asking for prayer for Sam.  This will all be a big change for him, his family, possibly for us.  I want the best for him, for obvious reasons, and while I think I know what is best, I'm much more prone to trust God for HIS best which is always, always superior to mine.

March 14:  I don't know if I'm still drained from the week of work in The Artist's Way, from the poor sleep I've had these last two weeks (complete with pretty rotten nightmares), from the pollen that is floating through the air, or whatever it is.  My head aches ever so slightly, my brain is foggy and befuddled and even the book I'd hoped I might be happily locked inside of, while fascinating to keep me returning, is not keeping me enclosed as I'd hoped.

Somehow time is warped for me too.  I cannot believe that this day is more than half done (it's 3:30 pm as I write this).  Or that we're still only on the 14th of the month.  I keep thinking we're nearing the end of the month already and I'm shocked every time I realize that we're only halfway through.

I'm going to try to work on junk journals here in a minute.  I've had no desire.  None.  No inspiration at all, but I thought perhaps just handling them and the materials I've gathered I might end up with a glimmer of something to inspire me.  

I do so despise feeling blah!

March 17:  I'd meant to have this post sent off by now, yet here I am only just now winding it up.  I did not get lost in a book.  That is not my excuse.  To be honest, I can't recall just why I'm so delayed.

There's little to report of the weekend beyond what I've already written.  Sunday was a hurried affair.  We had a meeting prior to church service, the service itself, then a rushed visit to the grocery store to pick up cabbage, corned beef and more importantly, Gramma's Fried Chicken.  We rushed to Katie's house to have lunch with Taylor and the family, then rushed away again a mere hour or so later when Katie had to leave to take Taylor back to her dad.  I don't recall what we did once home, beyond take impromptu naps.  We were both out of sorts and little was said between us.

Caleb and Isaac both succumbed to some minor virus or other.  Caleb was sick on Sunday, Isaac on Monday.  John and I both kept a headache all day on Monday and suspicion we had a touch of whatever they had going on.

But the out of sorts attitudes kept up all day Monday.   John went back to bed mid-morning.  I went off to my workroom, shut the door and worked away.  Obviously NOT on this post...But work I did until well into the afternoon.  

The weather here was not quite as erratic as in other places.  We'd had some rain and humidity on Sunday, then woke Monday to gloomy skies and rain followed by heavy winds and dropping temperatures.  I had to go out last night and cover a couple of plants due to freezing temperatures.  We've one more night of freezing weather, then one night of just plain cold before we start to creep back up to the spring-like temperatures we'd been experiencing.   It looks like the next two weeks following that will be steady...Can it last until our last frost date of April 15?  I do hope so!

I have a corned beef and cabbage cooking today.  It's partly a nod to my Irish heritage and partly due to the fact that this is the only time of year I can afford Corned Beef!  I bought two more to put in the freezer and we'll cook them sometime in Mid-Summer then later in the fall.  The one mid-summer is almost always sliced thin and used for sandwich meats.  In autumn, it's just a lovely hot dinner much as we'll have tonight.  

Do you know what I miss?  The fuss of holidays.  When the kids were home, I always tried to make things special.  We'd have little construction paper shamrocks on the table, and I'd tell the kids about our Irish heritage.  Though truth be told it's more American heritage than Irish!

Anyway, I miss making days like St. Patrick's feel a little special.  I tell myself it's silly to decorate for just John and I, but I may well start doing it for myself because I miss it.  I think sometimes that the lack of celebrations big or small is one of the things that make life dull.

I shall end here and send this on its way.  I hope you all have had a lovely beginning to March.

The Rest of February Going by Fast

 

February 17:  All that smoke that hung in the air on Friday afternoon and Saturday, was washed away on Sunday with heavy rains.  No complaints from us.  The smoky smell was still in our house ductwork and every time the heat came on it smelled like woodsmoke.  John was experiencing some dizziness, so we stayed home from church.  Later, I turned my head to speak to him and felt the world spin.  I think now it might have been allergies, but we thought we'd picked up a virus.

Not that I complained over staying home.  As I said, the rain was heavy and it was nice to be home out of the weather, but it did rather spoil my plans for the week ahead, because I'd meant to go grocery shopping after church.

I'd promised the children across the way that we'd go to Massee Lane on Monday...  A wilder crew of children, more anxious to whoop, holler, and screech there never was.  They took off running when we got to the garden.  Their volume buttons are naturally stuck on loud, but this day they were extra loud!  They ran, but I found it necessary to go much slower.  The brick paths had heaved a bit with the freezing weather which came on the heels of rain earlier in the month.  Every time I took my eyes off the path, the toe of my shoe would catch a lifted edge of brick and I'd stumble.  

I wanted to admire all the pretty camellias.  The morning warmed quickly.  Geese honked their way northward, flying in deep vees overhead.  Bees buzzed and buried their heads in the midst of the stamens of the camellias.  The flowers are in their peak season just now.  It was worth going more slowly than the children had.  They got to the garden more quickly, but I got more out of the journey

In the Japanese Garden, I happily sat on the bench and gently fussed at the kids who clambered over the rocks and dipped their hands, and sometimes their shoes, in the pond and ran around the little path that meanders around one section of the walled garden.  It's a lovely peaceful spot, even with wild children loose in it.  Somehow the sound of the water dribbling down between rocks into the pond, the slow lazy movement of the koi fish in the pond just bring a great sense of quiet.  And the children did quiet down.  They just weren't still.

Two other moms showed up with kids in tow who also clambered on rocks, slipped on the moss-covered millstones that cross the pond, dropped blossoms into the water, tried to climb the frail trees.  I felt better about my wild lot.  I also noted that all of the children seemed to love the Japanese Garden.

One little girl had dark short hair like Millie's, which she'd styled quite prettily with braids in the long bangs.  I pointed that out to Millie, whose hair has chronically fallen in her face since she was about 2.  Millie was unimpressed.   The little girl proved to be a super friendly sort and talked to me a good deal while her siblings and friends clambered around.  

I'd told Josh repeatedly to stop jumping from a big rock over to a millstone, fearing that Isaac or Millie would attempt to do the same.  He would wait a bit and then he just had to do it all over again.  I'd fuss, he'd say he was sorry and then there he was jumping off a big rock across the smaller pond to the mossy millstones in the middle.  My heart would pause as I watched his arms flail as he attempted to regain his balance after his slippery landing.  And he always did.  The anticipated splash into the pond never came, though I was sure it would.

Josh also had insistently kept hanging from things.  Not from the Camellias but upright supports, beams, and now and then from a sturdy branch.  By the time we'd left the garden I'd been fully tested, and I'll show you just how much so...

When we left the Japanese garden, I chose to walk slowly back.  I could hear my grandkids shouting and screeching, so I knew about where they were.  However, I couldn't quite hear Josh.  I saw a figure in the midst of the Camellias.  I peered closely through the trees and noted that the jacket was the color of Josh's and the pants the color of Josh's and the height the same as Josh and the hair about his length.  So, I rounded the corner fussing.  I said loudly and bossily, "Get OUT of the trees!  They are not meant for you to traipse around in!  Come on out of there, right now!"

And then I found myself facing a petite Asian woman photographer...

I was sooooo embarrassed and apologized profusely.  I explained that I had my grandchildren with me and pointed out, "You can hear them yelling over there right now..." and she nodded.  She just went on about her photography, as well she ought.  My goodness!  I could feel my face burning hot.

I took the kids to Burger King, and we went out to the play space to eat our meal.  Remember Sunday's heavy rain?  Add that to a playground with an overload of mulch and you've got one marshy springy feeling ground to walk on that is uneven and unstable.  I was half across it with my food when the bag ripped in half and all the fries poured out on the ground.  I went in to the cashier and explained the bag had torn and he charged me for four more orders of fries.  When the girl filling my order heard that I'd dropped them when the bag ripped open, she made him give me my money back.  

I got outside, set the food out, and the kids immediately ran off to play, because there's nothing better than cold fries and cheeseburgers apparently.  Josh's fries promptly blew off the table in the stiff breeze, and we were down another serving of fries.  Millie and I gathered up those and threw them away and then I pieced out enough for Josh from everyone else's container.

I admit that I particularly dislike the location of this Burger King because it is at a place called Five Points where there are four lanes each at a five-point stoplight section and the traffic noise and diesel aroma is pretty bad.  Add to that the noise of souped up vehicles, air brakes, children screaming (not just my own lot), and the aroma of 'skunk' which is not skunk at all but some mixture of drugs that too many folks apparently smoke these days, etc.  I soon started to feel very stressed and anything but relaxed.  I stuck it out until 1:30, then told the kids it was time to go home.

I dropped them off at home and pulled into my own yard at 2pm on the nose.  I'd told John I'd be home then and to be ready, because I really needed to grocery shop.  John had promised me and Katie a box of Valentine's chocolates and I was worried if we didn't go ahead and get them there would be none left anywhere.  He's messed around before and not gotten any.   I had Caleb coming to spend the night with me and all day Tuesday.  So, I had to restock on eggs and cheese, milk, mandarins and berries.

We went to a Publix store that I typically don't shop at.  It's a perfectly nice, well lit, well placed, smaller store in a town with less traffic than the area we typically shop.  I picked up the items on my list, and we hunted and hunted for marked down chocolates.  Finally, we stumbled on two shopping carts full to overflowing hidden in an unused cashier's aisle at the back of the store.  Obviously not put out for sale.  We asked around and were told that they were to be marked down but hadn't been done yet.  Now mind you this is two days beyond Valentine's Day...But no, not yet marked down.  

I told John we'd take a chance and ask at the customer service desk if they could mark them down.  That involved wending our way around the whole back of the store because the front of the store was packed and every register clogged with people.  After we'd gotten to the other side of the store and the cashier's desk, I explained to the clerk at the desk that we wanted to buy the chocolates and asked if they would mark them down.  "No.  I don't mark things down.  That is the grocery department and until they get to it, they won't be marked down!"

I do not think I have ever in my life had a clerk at Publix be so brusque and unhelpful...Could she not have called someone from grocery for us?   John said, "Just leave them," and I did.  We checked out and went to the car.  

Now silly as it sounds, I was terribly disappointed.  I knew we wouldn't be going out again this week.  I was admittedly tired and stressed, knowing I had to hurry home to greet the family coming over in about an hour, putting away groceries and making dinner and all such.  John took one look at my face when he got in the car and I guess he could see the attempt to mask my feelings and be more grown-up about the situation, because he drove uptown to the drugstore, which was totally out of our way and said, "Just wait here."  He went in and bought the last two boxes of candy left on their shelves.  It made me ridiculously happy, honestly it did.  The odds that we were going to find any candy at all was slim and for him to get the last two boxes...Well.  It pleased me and him both!

Cody brought Caleb over about 5pm. Cody left around 6pm and we settled in for the evening with Caleb.  We had a late supper.  Caleb ate well and went back for seconds.  Then he got ready for bed.  He didn't have Monkey George or his blanket with him and that proved to be a testing ground for Caleb.  "I think I need my Mama..." he came to tell me, after I'd heard him moving restlessly around and whimpering a little bit.   I called Katie on Messenger.  She video chatted with Caleb for a few minutes.  He went back to bed and tried to settle and got up twice more.  The fourth time he got up, I hugged him and rubbed his back, and I could see his eyes drooping.  I said, "Why don't you try to sleep now?"  He didn't make another peep after that.

Today he was up early, before 7am.  He sneaked into our room, woke John up and asked for French Toast.  John got up and made it for him.  When I finally got up, I made breakfast for John and I and just as he used to do, Caleb ate again.  Then he needed a snack, lol.  This child is really a Hobbit.

Caleb pretty much spent all day outdoors.  

I happened to be looking out the window when he discovered the squirrel.  He didn't touch it, but he looked it over very well.  When I stepped went to the door, Caleb said, "I think it's dead..."  'It looks like it is.'  "Why?" I explained that it must have been caught by the cat.  "Or Rufus..." he told me. I think he mislaid the credit.  I don't think old Rufus could move anywhere near fast enough to catch a squirrel, lol.  John showed Caleb how to dispose of it.

Then Caleb found Sassy around back with a mole...So, he had his first country boy experiences with dead critters. Since Grampa had shown him what to do with the squirrel, Caleb got the little shovel and disposed of the mole by himself. 

I skipped making Caleb have a 'quiet time' today.  I know that he doesn't have a required quiet time at school, but I also noted he came indoors and played quietly in 'his room' aka my workroom for a good hour.  He crafted a bit, helping himself to glue, scissors and construction paper.  He cleaned up his messes very nicely, too.  Honestly, I was so surprised at how grown-up he is these days.

But for all his grown-up-ness, he's still a little boy who missed his Mama and he asked me several times if she'd be coming to get him this afternoon.  I assured him she'd come as soon as she got off work. 

Henry came this evening, too, and ran free, which he loved.  He was so happy.  He'd grin at me and then come running across the room to give me a big hug and then run off again.  At one point, Caleb came to get a hug and Henry ran up and threw his arms around Caleb.  I put my arms around both of the boys and Henry laughed and laughed.  He liked that I was hugging both of them at once.

As usual, once they went home, the house seemed abnormally quiet.  But we were more tired than we'd thought and by 8:30 we were pretty quiet ourselves!

February 22:  Where did the week go?  Between tutoring Isaac, catching up on housework after last weekend, then prepping to go into this weekend, housework and writing...It went and it went fast!

Yesterday John and I went to Homeless Outreach.  Someone took a picture of John giving his guitar lesson at the end of the day.  Again, my heart swells.  He and Grace both are so focused in on what they are doing it's not at all like they are in a room with 98 other people! 

On our way home, we had heavy rain to drive through.  We stopped to pick up pizza, and I got well soaked going in and out...I think they ought to make pizza places with drive-thru windows!  I got chilled to the bone on the way home.  I'm glad I had a dry jacket to put on over my soaking shirt.

Once home, we had a hot meal and then I sat in my chair, snuggled under a light blanket, and picked up my book to read.  Not one word got read.  I think I went right to sleep!  I woke about half an hour later.  

I am reading The Month of Borrowed Dreams by Felicity Hayes-McCoy.  I bought the book at the Dollar Tree of all places, and I chose it because the title appealed to me first and then the description on the back sounded good.  I'll be looking for more of Hayes-McCoy's books.  

This is technically my first book of 2026.  I never finished the book I started in January.  I've since completed An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott which I started last month.

I'm going to start to log what I read.  I read a lot of books from the library last year, many of them new to me authors and there were books that absolutely wowed me and made me want to read more of those authors works...but I can only recall two or three now. I'm going to rate the books somehow so that I know which authors to look for in the future.  

Today we had a long day out as well.  We went to church (fairly blown in by the heavy wind!).  Then I went into Kroger and picked up eggs, lemons, half and half.  I found a couple of really good deals that I took time to stock up on like Progresso Soups (I bought a variety) and sugar free gelatins and puddings.  I got a couple of things Katie requested I bring her. I found things I had on my list that I hadn't planned to necessarily buy today but I got them anyway.  I added a couple of produce items, too.  I didn't buy splurge-y sorts of things except for a new orchid.  I'd been lamenting that I didn't have a pink orchid (notions I get sometimes...I have four orchids, and don't need another but none of mine are pink) so I found a small one that looked very healthy and got it.  That was my big splurge today.  I walked all over that store and then John parked at the backside of the parking lot.  It is quite unlike him to park anywhere near the front, even if there are spaces available.  So, I got a good long walk in today!

Then we went over to Katie's.  Henry was standing in his playpen staring hard at the door. I came in smiling and went right to him.  He immediately shifted himself to see around me to look for Grampa.  When I blocked his view, he moved again to look around me on the other side.  Gramma is dispensable when Grampa is about...

We visited with the 'other family', Cody's best friend and former brother-in-law, his wife and Liam, whom I've mentioned before that is cousin to Bella.  Katie and Tina are close friends, too.  We three were chatting and suddenly Katie said, "Do you want to go to BJ's?"  "Oh no, I've just come from Kroger, and I don't want to spend more money."  We talked a bit more and then Katie said, "I want to go to BJ's...come go with Tina and me!"  So, I went with them to BJ's and minded myself quite well.  I did pick up toilet paper and maple syrup and cream cheese.  I can sincerely say what I picked up was on my restock list and very well priced, too.

I didn't even get a chance to pay for any of it because Katie ran from her register over to mine as I was fishing out my debit card and scanned her own!  What a sweet girl she is.  

I enjoyed that little outing, but my legs ached.  Between walking from the backside of the parking lot into church and back this morning, then a long trek about Kroger and finally walking all over BJ's Wholesale...I was pooped.

Bless Henry's little heart, he came running to me, absolutely delighted to see me when we returned.  He'd had his fill of Grampa, lol, so now I was the favored one.  We played and talked a little and then he took his cup of milk and snuggled in my lap.

We didn't get home tonight until 6pm.  It's been another long day and we've an early start and another long day tomorrow.  I expect that come Tuesday we're going to be quite happy to be at home!

February 23:   Another early day to start and plenty to do in it.  We had a distant appointment today to attend to but made it fun.  On the way home we stopped in the area where we used to live and went to the hole in the wall diner that everyone who goes through the area stops at.  It's busy, but they are super-efficient.  They open for breakfast and serve through lunch and then close for the day.

I first ate there when I was about 24 years old and here, I am at 67 still stopping by when we're in town.  You can get three items: hamburgers (slider sized and most everyone always gets at least two), fried chicken (choose white or dark pieces) and hot dogs.  Well, that's the lunch menu.  I know they have fries and slaw, but I don't know what they serve for breakfast.  If we ever stopped for breakfast, we ordered burgers and fries.

Anyway, we stopped today and I laughed when John got in the car.  I told him, "I swear the onions they use have smelled the same way for the past 40 odd years."  It's a good smell, a fresh cut onion on hot meat sort of smell.  We thoroughly enjoyed our treat.  We haven't had one of their burgers in nearly 2 years.  We took Lily and Emma there when they came to visit in June of 2023.

Once home, I made bread and pie dough and put together a beef pot pie for supper.  Then I felt sort of all gone and ended up lying down for half an hour.  Then I got up and went to keep the kids next door and coax them through homework and chores.

This morning, I meant to sleep late.  I woke about 7 which is getting to be routine, at least until that first full weekend next month when time changes and 'springs' ahead for us.  I may be sleeping late once more when that happens, but who knows.  Maybe I might be getting up at 6am instead!

I haven't done much today.  You all will say I've done plenty, as you so sweetly always do, but I've purposely been very slow and leisurely with all that I've done today.  I'm tired from the long busy weekend and I decided I would not bust myself if I didn't get too many things done.  I've found I'm quite short tempered if things haven't gone the way I thought they might...and you know they haven't gone my way at all!  Nothing major, just minor technological frustrations and attempts to clean up a mess that ends being a bigger mess, that sort of thing.  But my attitude speaks more of my tiredness than what I've left undone.

I divided the piece of ham I cooked last Friday for supper.  I wanted to be sure to get it into the freezer before it sat too long in the fridge.  I purposed packets of meat.  I set aside a certain amount of various dices or slices and marked them as enough for this or that recipe that I planned I'd make as I cut it up.  So, I know that I have Spoonbread Ham Supper meat and meat for sandwiches, and meat for an omelet, or twice baked potatoes.  That sort of thing.

I also cut a whole boneless pork loin into boneless chops and two smaller roasts for future uses.  

And then I stopped right there and came back after lunch to prep our supper for tonight.  That will be Barbecue Cheddar Meatballs.  I'll serve them for supper tonight with rice and Brussels Sprouts.  I'll have extra meatballs and sauce to go into the freezer for future meals.  When I made that beef pot pie yesterday, I put pastry and a container of pot pie filling in the freezer for future meals as well. And this is how I keep my freezer full!  I take out food to make one thing and then I put meals back into the freezer which somehow more than fills the spaces I've emptied.

I try not to get too many ready prepared meals ahead because I am fickle.  I'll let them sit in the freezer for months and then I'll have to make myself take them out to heat and eat because they are getting to be old.  I'll have determined that it's not what I want again.  But those meals have come in

Isaac came over this afternoon for help with homework.  We sailed through math and slogged through English.  Today were prepositions and prepositional objects.  What I don't know is epic.  Apparently, I need to go to third grade and start over!  

February 28:  Here we are at the end of this month.  I think we've experienced every sort of weather there is to experience.  That's perfectly normal.   Daffodils, muscari and forsythia have bloomed, as well as hen bit. 

I've journaled the month in my Junk Journal and am ready to begin a new month.

I've worked my way through the pantry and freezer for the past two months and now I'm ready to restock afresh.  I'm assured I've used the older items that kept being pushed back.  

I paid off one credit card and am well on my way to paying off the second.  

I've spent time with my family in various ways.  We've celebrated birthdays and gone places together and had grandchildren come to the house.

I've written and read and worked and rested.

It's been a lovely month, from start to finish.   I've enjoyed it all.   

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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