This Week In My Home: To Every Thing...Turn Turn Turn

In my home this week...

… I had a flood of memories hit me after reconnecting with my schoolmate.  She placed me on our graduating class closed Facebook page and I went in and introduced myself since my maiden name refuses to show up.  A number of people tagged me which was nice.  What was unexpected was the sudden reliving of what was likely one of the harder and lonelier phases of my life.  I am unsure how much had to do with my circumstances at home and my overall depression during those years.  To be sure that time of life led me to choose to marry whom I did and enter still another very long and unhappy and lonely phase of life.



This season is heading to a close both naturally speaking and family-wise.  This week tile is fitted on the bathroom floor though not yet mortared in and paint goes up on the walls.  That leaves rest of flooring and fixtures and the family shall be in their own home at last.   Not right away though.  First Sam must go back to Washington DC for another week of training. And then there have been other setbacks.  It's always a delay just as you think you are nearest the finish line.  It's looking as though the finish is going to be nearer July.

It's been a long week.  A tough one in more ways than you'd think.  But we've finished May and prayerfully we've finished the harder parts.

… worked:

 I take Shabat in minutes here and there.  Saturday morning, I was up quite early to make breakfast for the family, tended to the boys while parents worked on the house, prepared lunch, attended to the littlest boy, had visiting family,  made supper, did dishes and straightened up and so on and so on.  However, Isaac crawled into my lap and allowed me to rock him to sleep and I got in a five minutes snooze before family began to stir about.

Dishes, meals, laundry, babysitting.  It all looks like so little typed out but it's taken every single minute of every single day.

One day with Mama in which she again listed two dozen tasks, all heavily detailed.  In the end we settled for going to Walmart to pick up a few necessities to put finishing touches on her home.  She looked like she'd just moved in and I felt that the psychological thing to do was to finish the house u.  We did not completely accessorize it but we did hang curtains at windows, got a shower curtain for the guest bath, bought new pillows for the sofa and I brought her a plant.  Nothing makes a home feel your home quite like having a green plant in it.


… made meals:

Chicken Pot Pie for adults, nuggets for the kiddos, Green Beans, Cranberry sauce, Salad

Cook out at Katie's for Taylor's third birthday.

Lemon Pepper Turkey Breast, Wild Rice Pilaf, Steamed Broccoli, Mayonnaise Muffins

Fried Chicken, Baked Beans, Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad, Rolls

Quiche, Asparagus
We took advantage of John being gone to have a meal that we all like which he does not.

Beef and Bean Burritos, Corn, Salad

… saved money:

 Oh the temptation to suggest take out and then command someone to go out to purchase it but no...I held on Shabat day and raided the freezer and found the pot pie filling.  At least four would not be happy with the meal but it was easy on me and so I made it. And I watched the plates all get scraped clean because it seems I'd finally hit on the one combination all liked.  I used that easy 1-1-1 cobbler topping minus sugar to make a soft biscuit topping for the filling.

I'm longing, longing to DO some project here at home.  So I bought a can of spray paint and will tackle a lamp for my bedroom.  I also bought two plate hangers that I'll be taking back because as the baby now says "Ta Ta!"  I found a flat iron disc in the tool box which will allow me to hang a pretty dish lid I found at Mama's old house.

My ceramic utensil holder broke the other day.  It will make a great planter...In the meantime I repurposed a really pretty tin I found at Mama's old house as the kitchen utensil holder.

Lest you think I culled a lot from Mama's I did not.  Three old kerosene lamps, two of which were family heirlooms, the tin and the powder dish lid, and the cookbook magazine that had the apple cake recipe in it.

Walking through Walmart  I steered clear of most things but did buy three items.  One was for John, a toothbrush and toothbrush holder which he will carry in his work back pack.  A pretty aqua glass covered jar from the Pioneer Woman collection which Katie assured me should be my new sugar jar.  Apparently she's less than fond of my old diner one with the metal top and flap opening.  The third item was a super help in shortening Mama's new curtains.  It's a self stick hem tape.  Y'all it is pretty awesome and really works well!  It doesn't even require an iron.

Used the  ripe but too many to eat bananas to make Banana Nut bread.  What a treat that was!  A banana doesn't usually have a long life in this house, lol.

Made my own enchilada sauce.

Piled up leftovers in the fridge.  We shall have a regular feast of leftovers this weekend.  And no need of take out.

Sent Bess to town to buy a dozen eggs, two limes and all the cheese she could from a $20 bill.  She brought home change, we're restocked enough on those items to manage fine until next pay period.

John worked a 30 hour shift.  He was also paid for 8 hours of time on Monday.

… had my leisure:

Friday of last week I slept in a bit later and then took myself back to bed that afternoon and had a nap.  I think I was fighting off something, if nothing more than a particularly  dreary week weather- wise and a too busy one at that.

Gave myself a fresh manicure.