In My Home This Week: Tempermental May

In my home this week...



...I enjoyed my week last week.  It was a good  mix of intensive study time, hard work, fun, savings and splurges.  I'd call it well balanced.  It's just the sort of mix I like and I hope that this week proves to be just as lovely. 

It turned off cold on Friday.  We needed a jacket when we went out and carried one with us when we left home on Saturday for an impromptu picnic in the park.  It was so beautifully sunny and everything that deep intense green that comes with plenty of spring rain.  The sky over head was so blue and smooth.  It was John's idea to have a picnic luncheon out.  I was simmering a big pot of spaghetti sauce on the stove and had planned a late dinner when he looked over at me and said "Let's go get a sandwich at Subway and have a picnic."  I said pretty much the same thing I said when he announced earlier that morning that he was making breakfast.  "Okay."  I mean really, who is complaining about having someone else take over the food preparation?  Not this girl!

We had a lovely time and a long chat and then we watched a girl of about twelve play with her puppy across the street.  They had a whole game they played that involved her riding the bike and him chasing her until he was too tired to run.  At which point she'd stop and sort of wiggle the handle bars so the front tire shook at him and he'd bark like crazy until she took off riding once more.  It was quite cute to watch.   And can we just say how refreshing to see a pre-teen on a bike with a dog and not in a gaggle of boys or girls and no phone in sight?



It's an old fashioned sort of town where we had our picnic.  There is a proper park, sort of a village green if you'd like, and it's clean and neat and nice.  We've had lunch there before but this time we actually discovered a picnic table.  It is the sort of town we wished we lived in, to be honest.  It reminded us strongly of the little town where Sam and Bess moved last summer and have found to be such a good home.  I'm afraid we've never had that sense here. 

John has some major change coming up in his job in July.  At this point, we know what all the possibilities are.  We just don't know which direction was chosen by the county he works for, so we wait.  No nail biting and worrying endlessly.   No.  We have reached that point where, now that we know there is a change afoot, we wait to see what it shall be, good or bad.  And in the meantime we go right on living because really, what else can you do?  I think, too, we've grown a little tired of saying "I trust you God," and then immediately proving how we don't.  Enough of that.  Let's just do it and let the doing be the proof.

Enough chatter for the moment.  I've planning to do for the week ahead.

...I plan my work:


It's Harvest Week.  Today I'll work on the check register and ready everything for paying bills and doing banking tomorrow.   I don't know what day we'll go for groceries but I'm making a list this week because I have run out of too many things I could easily forget I needed to restock.  I also want to plan ahead for next pay period when I plan to skip shopping.  I'll need a few extras to have in the freezer to cover that period.

Working on the freezer today as well.  I have about 3 or 4 chicken carcasses in there and I want to make stock, pick over the bones etc.  I have a big batch of spaghetti sauce to portion out and freeze for future meals.  I need to thaw some of the older broth and start making up popsicles for Maddie for the hot days ahead.  I also need to make room to put meats I hope to stock up on in the next week.  I want to go over how many butter beans, black eye peas and corn I have, so I'll know how much to stock of those things when they come in next month or so.

Later this week:  Make a return of some things and while I'm at it run into another store or two to see if I find anything to add to my accessories to freshen things up.

Drop some things off at the thrift store.

Get some potting soil and plants for six more planters I have placed.

Cull accessories.

Continue to study intensively and write, write, write as I am studying so that I can capture my thoughts while they are fresh.

Go out to shed and spend at least two hours there trying to get a sense of what I have.  And maybe, just maybe, find those pretty things I put there for safe keeping which have been buried amidst the tons of stuff we brought in last Fall.

Continue working my home routine.  I'm well pleased with how accomplished I feel each week and how little time it takes to accomplish it all.

...I plan meals:



John took me out for a picnic.

on my own times two.

Spaghetti with meat sauce, Green Salad, Rolls
I made this Saturday and purposely doubled my usual recipe which already nets us leftovers.  I thought it would be nice to have in the freezer for later in the warmer months when I don't want to slow simmer sauce but am longing for spaghetti.

Mongolian Beef, Rice, Snow Peas, Chilled Ambrosia
A recipe Bess made while here last spring/summer and which I've planned to make many times.  I expect leftovers of this will go into the freezer for a future meal as well. 

Chicken Pot Pie, Tossed Salad
I expect to get a good quantity of chicken off these carcasses.  It is my hope to make TWO chicken pot pies and pop one in the freezer. 

Leftovers because I know we'll have them of pot pie if nothing else.

...I plan leisure:



This week I plan to cultivate a tea time mid-afternoon about 3:30pm.  I'm going to make up some treats to have with a cup of tea.  That's why I'm wanting my pretty tea cups Katie had given me, hence my plundering about the shed. I know they are there somewhere in a dark corner,  and so is a pretty tea pot and creamer, sigh. 

I'm finding I get terribly weary about 3:30pm and I don't want to stop working but I obviously need a break.   Last week I worked through and paid for it with ill sleep patterns and sore, tense muscles.  This week I mean to have time out.
 I am cramming in a lot in this month and I want to take a little vacation towards the end of the month. The more I do now, the more likely I'll get my time off.

But everyone needs a break.  I'm also going to cut out computer on Saturday mornings the rest of the month.  I did it this Saturday and didn't open it up until nearly 1pm.  During the week I normally don't touch it until about 2pm except on the mornings when John goes to work.  Then I work on Swagbucks until 7am and turn it off once again. Saturdays I tend to get online as soon as I'm up and stay online all day and evening. I realized this was one of the most relaxing Saturdays I've had in months and so I shall continue that little computer break each Saturday.








3 comments:

Lana said...

This may seem a little strange but 3 to 5 PM is when the body repairs and restores the bladder and it is best to read or study for healing during that time. Also, could there be an infection? The best way to treat a bladder infection is a tablespoon of colloidal silver first thing in the AM for 10 days.

Debby in KS said...

I'm a winter tea drinker and hold pretty close to that 3-4pm time slot. I looked forward to it everyday. I'll sometimes do an iced coffee in summertime, but not like in winter. When my mom was here, I always made sure to have sweets. She took her nap from 2-4 pm every day and I'd wake her for her tea & cookies to enjoy while she watched Jeopardy. It's funny how those little daily rituals are so nice. It's a nice break before diving into dinner prep.

I take a morning break from 10-11am. I usually read the paper and do the puzzles until my best friend calls. She calls every day and we have a little 15 minute chat. I'm usually done with my big cleaning by that time so I work on other projects until my afternoon activities. My afternoon activities are the ones I consider to be fun lol. Either the sewing room or the craft room. Creating and listening to a good book on tape. Aahhh.

terricheney said...

Lana, reading my own statement and then reading yours about the bladder, I came to two realizations. Number one I think I exaggerated how worn out I felt at that hour. I was tired. Not brick wall tired. Number two, I was thirsty a lot last week and I was in pain from drinking too much water. So it's very possible there was something going on that week in that area of my body.