In My Home This Week: Oh My Aching Feet

Sukkot starts this Sunday.  It seems appropriate to feature a photo of a filled pantry with summer's harvest.  We don't have any special plans for this particular Holy Week.  John is working.  I'm to keep the little boys for a few hours twice.  I expect keeping up will be about all I do.  In the meantime, here's how I worked and thought this week:



Saturday:  We had a lovely day at home, a proper Shabat rest.  One thing I don't understand is why I'm so very ready for bed at the end of Shabat.  After all, the whole day is a day of rest and we really do keep to it aside from making quick meals and straightening the bed.  We keep the same hours we keep day to day, yet by end of the day I am purely looking forward to lying down on my bed and going fast to sleep.

Sunday:  We actually slept a little later this morning.  All the same, I took time to make a quick crockpot entrée of Ritz Cracker Chicken. It usually goes by Poppy Seed Chicken but I had no poppy seed.  Or sour cream.  I substituted yogurt for the sour cream and you'd never know the difference.  Nor did we miss the Poppy Seed.

Before we left home, John announced his intention to get a haircut.  I was, in his words, to set an appointment for myself at 'that fancy place'.  I protested.  You see, I typically do not pay for my haircut out of pocket.  I pay for my own clothing unless John is feeling rather tired of seeing something on me (hasn't happened in quite a few years).  I pay for most soft household furnishings and décor items from pocket (or personal savings).  John's wardrobe comes out of the household account.  His haircuts come out of his pocket, as do most of the meals out we eat.  So I protested.  It's one thing to love a salon and another to pay the big bucks from my personal pocket which is rather slim at present.  Well...we're all sorted out.  My fancy salon costs will come from our account.  I'm not keen since I'd just vowed to rework my budget to have to add this in,  but it's something he wants me to do, so I shall call for an appointment.  Soon.  I will...

So after church, while John was getting his haircut, I went into the grocery next door to track down the Free Friday download items.  And track down is what it took.  We walked the length and width of the store three or four times.  We stood around and waited for a very, very determined to be helpful clerk to track down item number one.  We backtracked two or three times, but I'll give him his due.  He was perfectly nice from start to finish and I was soon standing before item number one on my list.  John and I looked at each other after the clerk moved away.  The only flavor left was Fiery Siracha.   John said. "Oh well...one of the kids will eat it.  He was so helpful we won't walk away without this item!"  I'm glad we put it in the cart because we bypassed that young man once again and he did glance to see if we had it.

Where we saved today: dishes.  Buy one get one free.  Those very ones I mentioned earlier last week, blue with a bit of brown, lovely with brown glass and copper charger accents.  John took one look and declined.  Yes, my husband has an idea of what décor he likes, as well.  Any wonder that Josh has clear ideas already?  So we stood looking at all the sale priced dishes.  The only ones we agreed upon  sported two dinner plates and were a lot more Southwestern than farmhouse.  I was looking to buy at least four.  And no, they wouldn't go with the amber plates.  In the end, John vetoed everything because it was stoneware and he LIKES our Corelle.  Sigh.   I did get some new placemats, also buy one get one free so they were $1.59 for four.  I shall get new plates.  I just won't be asking his opinion next time.

We trekked off to find the last three items on my list, after checking the marked down bakery bread rack.  And finally we had all the FREE items, a few not free at all items and we were out the door.  John had parked well away from the store.  We walked and walked.

Home to have our meal.   The trick of using a paper towel under the lid of the crock pot to absorb steam and keep cracker crumbs dry worked excellently.  I reheated rice, using the steamer atop the Prince Edward Island Medley (Green Beans, Wax Beans and baby carrots) to reheat.  It was all lovely and thankfully cost little.

I guess it was all the exercise but I had no inclination to do much of anything else.  Loading up the dishes and scrubbing out the crockpot was enough to finish me off.

Monday:  Coffee motivated me to get up earlier than usual this morning.   I forgot to set it up last night.  I jumped out of bed when John did just so I could run to make coffee.  I'd love for you to believe me very unselfish.  I'd lie.  I wanted coffee with enough strength to push me through the day.  John's formula doesn't suit me.  Purely selfishness on my part.   He pushed the On button as he walked past the coffeemaker, because he is a creature of habit and thought it was already set up.  I arrived in the kitchen a mere nanosecond before he realized my mistake in forgetting to set up the night before, lol. I made coffee of a strength suitable to my day.

Picked up limbs and sticks from the yard.   Decided while I was at it I'd weed about the stones around the Faith tree.  Had I only known how that 'might as well...'  thinking was going to un-do my day.   I did not start 15 things today.  I started two: a determination to pick up the house and do a routine housekeeping.  Then I stepped into the guest room.  While there I 'might as well...' gather the fall items I wasn't planning to use, the items that didn't belong, clear the chiffarobe in case we had a guest...and on and on it went.  I walked out of the room at least eight times in the next three hours, huffing and puffing and sweating and frustrated beyond measure.  John eventually became the target of my frustration and took himself off to mow the yard for some peace and quiet.  I slogged on.  By 3pm I'd walked the length of the house 104,000 times.

I did finish the guest room and the general housekeeping routine.  I finished every last ounce of energy I had, too.  Our fab steak supper turned into a frozen hamburger pizza and a salad.  Good enough I say, and no complaints from the man of the house who was happy to finish his task and find I was too tired to be frustrated any further.

Tuesday:   Still stiff and sore from yesterday's house cleaning.  Was not happy to be confronted this morning with the pile of stuff at the back door when John left this morning but that pile  was the incentive I needed to just get that job finished and carry things right out to the shed.

And here's where Maddie made my day.  I set all the stuff on the back porch near the steps and propped a mirror I no longer wanted to use in the house against the rails.   Rufus walked by the mirror, glanced at himself and walked on.  Maddie walked by, glanced, turned and looked again, walked away and came back to have another look.   Maddie found herself irresistible.  She poked her nose at the pretty red dog.  She looked behind the mirror and then walked back around front.  She wagged her tail to show how friendly she was and even grinned.  The 'other' Maddie reciprocated.  Maddie walked up and down those steps repeatedly to just say 'Hi' to that cute red haired girl in the mirror and look behind it to try and find her.  She was so funny.  It made me rather glad I did need to take those things out because I've smiled over that all day long today.

I filled the trunk of my car full, so I couldn't even push down the trunk lid.  Nothing else would fit in it.   I drove slowly over to the shed and unloaded it all neatly, stacking those things I meant to donate and settling other things properly enough that I won't give away anything I intend to keep.  I was sweating like a racehorse when I came indoors and walked into my bedroom to choose my outfit of the day (olive shirt, blue jeans with calf sandals and purse and a pretty long beaded necklace with olives, browns and blues in it.  No, no photo.), and immediately found an item that really ought to go out to the shed because it's been tucked in my closet for the past year, sigh.  I feel a second wave of decluttering coming on.

That outfit I put together is a new to me combination.  Not hard to piece together but kept super simple.  The weather was meant to be near 100f today.  Not in the mood to be fully accessorized and swelter.  A necklace is almost too much extra in these temperatures.

I washed a big load of clothes this morning and hung all of them outdoors to dry.  The sun is unbearably hot and the sky a blistering blue with a hot dry breeze.  The sheets were white as clouds when I came in this afternoon, just to show the bleaching effect the sun can have.  And boy do those sheets and towels smell nice!

I was out with Mama today.   She had a dentist appointment and I could see she was done in from the walk up into the office and back again.  So it was a drive thru meal for us today, not that uncommon for us of late.

I'd stayed in the car while Mama was in the office and ended using her sunshield to protect me from the sun, it was so hot and bright out.  I was shocked at how much cooler that sunshield made things.

I listened to Mama fuss and worry and fuss some more today and just sort of let it wash over me without taking in big gulps of it all.  One issue on her mind is a worry to me as well but I'm trying hard to wait it out and let it sort out,  as it will regardless of my opinion or desires.  I gave up a long time ago praying for my will in situations  and pray instead for God's best solution for all.   The other situation was a concern for Mama just a month ago that has been happily resolved and  now that Mama has gotten just what she wanted she fusses over it in a not nice way.  Proof again that she is not happy in any situation.  So I listened to her fuss and let my mind drift off now and then or I'd distract her by pointing out a pretty plant or cute house or new neighborhood.  Then  I treated her to ice cream and took her home.

Do you know I've had more reasons to need to spend since my saying I wouldn't?  I avoided going into the drugstore today but I do need a few items.  I need a few other things to help extend my pantry storage but I have diligently stayed out of all stores save the grocery where we picked up the free items on Sunday.  I need a long 'to do' list that uses items already on hand to help stop my itchy spending fingers.  I do have quite a few actually.  I should really stop thinking it's going to cool down and just get on with them.

Oh, I almost forgot!  While removing unwanted items from the guest room I found a picture I'd taken down off the wall.  It's just the thing to begin with over my  bed!  I know the other pieces will come along now I've the main picture.  It's going to work lovely with the colors  in the room.

Wednesday:  Last night, I had a new my free yogurt.  It's a  Carrageenan-free yogurt brand,  Stonyfield Farms.  You'd think,  "Wow.  A great little homebased operation..." with a name like that.  And if you come across the website you might still think so.  Dig a wee bit deeper and you discover it's owned by a company in France, Danone, which also produces Activia and Dannon brand yogurts.  Make no mistake, the Stonyfield yogurt is a good tasting brand, but think again if you believe you're eating a product that is home grown and small farm.  It's not.  Which just goes to show you that most everything we buy, even if we think otherwise, is big business.

 Rhonda Hertzel, author of the "Down to Earth" blog shared a post on Instagram: Fridge case in her organic marketplace of choice, filled with Ball jars of 'bone broth' of various varieties, for just $19.95 a jar.  Now mind you, I am well aware the prices in Australia are different than those in the U.S, but I have noted the organic broths in the U.S. are also quite high priced.  It's pennies to make your own whether you live in Australia or any other country.  How often are we tempted to just toss those meat bones?  Make broth!  I've been freezing mine in the 2 pint sized yogurt tubs.  They stack well and it's easy to pop the frozen chunks out of the tubs.

I had a long list of things I meant to do today but I have been waylaid at every turn.  John was chatty, a pleasant but long phone call, multiple messages from friends concerned I'd been 'hacked' on Facebook...I finally gave up the idea I was going to accomplish any great things today and just settled down to puttering gently about the kitchen.

I made spaghetti sauce for our dinner tomorrow night when the boys are coming to spend the afternoon and evening.  I noted the mushrooms were about to turn bad so used those up, dug about looking at things in the fridge and found a cup of canned pumpkin I'd set aside as well as some canned tomatoes.  I briefly thought about dumping the pumpkin in with the spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes, but then my gaze fell upon the two fully ripened bananas on the counter.  I remembered a favorite fall recipe for Pumpkin Banana bread.  I decided to skip adding the nuts to that recipe today and I wasn't keen on adding pumpkin pie spice either.  I opted to just add nutmeg and cinnamon.   The apple cake I'd made had Pumpkin Pie Spice in it and I just wasn't keen to have a second baked item with the same flavorings.

Gathered up a bunch of tiny potatoes from the basket and cooked those to go with our steak dinner today.  I sliced the rest of the onion and the mushrooms I'd been chopping for spaghetti and cooked those to go with our meal.

 I scorched the broccoli florets I'd cooked.  Just in case this sometimes happens to you too, a little trick is to immediately pour the vegetable into a bowl but do NOT scrape the pieces that are stuck into the bowl.  This generally leaves the scorched portion in the pan and you will likely be able to salvage some of the item.  I had enough for John and I to have a serving each.

I was ready with a supper plan tonight, which isn't as common as it ought to be.  It's so much easier to plan ahead and have an idea!

Thursday:  In about an hour, the boys will arrive to visit with us for the afternoon/early evening.  I got busy yesterday and made spaghetti sauce with lots and lots of extra vegetables packed in.  I figure the boys will happily eat it and never complain over the vegetables they can't even see.  They have before.

John and I managed breakfast this morning with the scant portion of bread on hand.  I found half a small loaf of raisin bread in the freezer which made good cheese toast.

I have had some allergy issues with an eye makeup I'd been using.  I bought new mascara today which should eliminate the issue.  I'd also been using a vitamin rich oil on the dry spots I had and it seems to have worked very nicely.  Now if the discoloration will fade.

While in Walmart today, we stuck pretty hard to our intended purchases which was a purely mental list.  I didn't deviate far from it though there are other things we need which might have been purchased there.  Much better to work with a proper list.   I bought a few extras like whole grain lasagna noodles and egg noodles.  I can't find those just anywhere.  The groceries I bought were meant to carry us through the next two weeks and really didn't amount to much: half a gallon of milk, two loaves of bread, lettuce and cheese.  I am pretty sure we will not need to purchase anything more.  I spent a little over $35 on foods today.  I may need bread and fresh fruit in the next pay period but not until we're at least midway through it.   John has asked for a special meal after church and I've agreed if he'll let me offset costs by making side dishes at home, a not unreasonable request I think.

I think John is a little excited about having the boys.  He's bought a couple of new toys to be played with and he suggested we needed to get a dessert.  I suggested we feed them marshmallows.  It makes them happy, I have them on hand and they never eat more than 5 or 6 mini marshmallows.  I told him I'd send them home with an orange each which also will make them happy.  

Friday:  Sent John off to work with lunch packed, breakfast eaten and coffee in hand.  Part of his lunch was a hamburger left over from our take out lunch yesterday.

The cat did not show up as usual this morning when John was leaving.  I had put down some treats for her but when she still hadn't appeared nor did I see her anywhere around, I scooped them up and put them back in the container.  The dogs showed up but they were almost too late too for their treats.

Misu is fine.  She was ready for breakfast at her usual time. I suspect she was out hunting earlier this morning.

I went over what needed to be done today.  Not much as it happens.  I need to sweep the kitchen and swish the bathrooms and that's pretty much it.  The boys mess was quickly cleared up last night by Josh, John and I and took just a few minutes to put away.  I seriously contemplated going out again today, as I've a shopping list of needs for household items, which were not fulfilled yesterday at Walmart.  I didn't seen anything in the colors I was seeking.   I decided that it was just enough cooler to make working outdoors a better option for this morning and I'd thought I'd go shopping after outdoor work and cleaning up but no, I was too tired.

I started by picking up several empty flower pots from the patio and porches.  Then I did some weeding.  I picked up a patch where John had found some rocks that prevented him cutting in closer as he'd wanted to do.  I am all about saving rocks, lol, as I use them to line flower beds or to put around plants that don't need to be mowed too closely.  

Decided I'd start cleaning the back porch rafters which were looking  black with mildew.  I got about half that task done before I ran out of bleach.  I'm glad to have another big chunk of that task taken care of.  I fussed a bit because I really want it all done but it's really better to do it in big chunks than all at once as it takes hours of time to do all at once.  I mean seriously, it's an all day long job if I do it all at once!  As it is, I have about five hours time into it at present and I still have half the roof rafters and all the outside railings to do.  

 I used the pressurized wand to wash off the windows and siding on the back side of the house, too. while I had the water on anyway and filled the bird bath, a couple of extra pans of water for the dogs and cat and watered potted plants.    I am worn slap out and found a shower took the last of my energy. 

There will be no shopping for sure!  I'm too tired to go and my feet ache from standing so long.  I'm going to go lose myself on rabbit trails in Genealogy  after I do my two chores.  

I have planned my weekend menu.  I'm thinking a pot roast will be nice for Saturday and John's mentioned picking up chicken on Sunday so I'll prep potatoes and other ingredients for potato salad.   He was looking at  pies yesterday at Walmart.  Any pie makes that man of mine happy but I happen to have two sweet potatoes in my potato basket and I think that will be enough to make a pie, so one more task to add to my work today.  So off I go to get my last bits of work done.  

P.S.  I've finished my chores, have a Sweet Potato Pie in the oven for which I made the pastry and I've sorted out the dishes.  Now I am truly done for the day.  I am indeed tired but it feels good to see my house looking nice about me.  Have a great weekend!