This week in my home...
This afternoon I glanced at the 10 day forecast. It appears autumn temperatures have finally arrived. Now for the trees to catch on to that fact once again. They all looked lovely and colorful at the end of August but the leaves left behind on the trees remain steadfastly green. Even the lawn is green. I'm just hoping this last mowing is the last one and we won't have to mow grass again until at least the middle of March.
Our last electric bill was exactly $4 less than the previous bill, just to show how similar the temperatures were from mid- August to mid-October. Happily the cooler weather is holding and I'm more than a little glad of it and more than a little sad. As I get older, I am sadder to see the year dwindle from summer to fall and from fall to winter. I know that it's a natural pattern and I do enjoy the cooler air but I'm aware that this season leads right into the winter season which is a sort of death...but I've decided that really it's a prolonged sabbath rest for the earth.
I sat down this afternoon with pen and paper and jotted down a few notes to myself about saving in the months ahead. Nothing earth shattering in my thoughts. I know where I can trim and about how much it will net me. Now it's all about exercising my brain and changing what I've noted no longer works for us and adding new skills to generate savings.
One thing I love about cooler weather is the ease with which one may transition into the big money saving meals. Let's face it, in summer we do not lean upon our slow cooking roasts and hearty soups the way we do in the cooler months. When you live in a warm climate lighter meals often mean using more expensive ingredients even if we do not rely on steaks and grilling meats for our summer meals.
Not so with autumn meals. I can make hearty, comforting foods with plenty of seasoning to make us feel warm and toasty and stay well below budget. Most of these sorts of meals also make multiples of servings, so there is some for today and some for the freezer for a future meal.
I plan meals:
Bottom Round Beef Roast, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli with Cheese
I'm finding more and more that I like the meats at Aldi. Since the store has enlarged there is a greater variety of cuts available, like this Bottom Round Roast. I've often bought Round Roasts, but usually Top Round or a Round Rump Roast. I looked up the difference when I got home and the rump and bottom cuts come from the same area of the cow but the bottom has less fat and is a less tender cut, but it responded well to being cooked low and slow.
We had roast for dinner. I set aside two good sized pieces of roast with gravy for sandwiches tomorrow after church. I have some thinner slices set aside for sandwiches later this week and two thicker cuts and bits for making a second entrée.
Shepherd Pie, Pear and Walnut Salad
Using leftover beef and mashed potatoes.
on my own x2
Red Beans with Rice, Corn Muffins, Coleslaw
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta, Salad, Garlic Bread
I plan work:
We still have the yard work to do at Mama's old house. I also am slated to take Mama grocery shopping and to run another errand and then there are two afternoons of babysitting.
I hope the nice weather will allow me to finish up the shed and I need to trim the rosebushes. There's plenty of privet to pull and daffodils to plant.
I'm counting this week as a sort of 'extra' week since November doesn't start until Thursday. So I am finishing up little tasks here and there. I have pants to mend. Outfits to set up.
Wednesday will be warmer so that day might be a good one to work on the back porch rafters.
I plan leisure:
I am still reading the Elizabeth Goudge book because I slacked off in a major way in reading last week. Instead I spent time on the computer. Way too much time. I tend to lean hard on computer time when I'm really tired and I got over tired more than once last week. The sad truth is that I am usually working if I'm online. Writing, editing, looking for pictures for blog posts, looking for ideas for blog posts... This week I want to be careful of getting overtired and I want to be more conscious about reading and doing something more nurturing to me. I love to write but I need to keep myself in healthy boundaries.
12 comments:
We were 93 degrees today and to get to mid 80s the rest of the week then up to 90s again. Fall....where are you ?? !! LOL
It sounds like having your family close is going to work out good for both families. The boys will have so many good memories..the kind you had being with your own special grandma. Ones that they too will tell others about someday. They will learn so much being around you and John. They already have. I love hearing the stories of Josh and Isaac and their parents. Plus your dogs get a second round of loving when they are around. A win win. :)
This is a bit off subject but do you have any idea what food production was disrupted because of these horrible hurricanes? I was told one of the areas produces a good portion of the chickens for the country. Another blogger said many pecan groves were wiped out and also peanut crops that she knew of. I am just thinking ahead about the budget and what prices might spike. Sarah
What a much nicer way to think of winter--"a prolonged sabbath rest for the earth"-- for many years I have thought of winter in terms of a sort of death, and dreaded its arrival. Several of my loved ones have passed away during winter months. I never felt like that about winter before I was 30 years old, so for me, I am sure the loss of loved ones in the winter changed my outlook about the season. I'm going to try and think of it as a sabbath rest for the earth from now on instead.
The change of meals for the fall and winter season is nice. Roasts, soups, stews, roast chicken, even an occasional cake or brownies, anything cooked in the oven, which I don't use in the summer, tastes so good to us now.
Lots of easy planned leftovers, but for me, harder to diet. In late Fall and through most of winter, salads and lighter meals don't appeal to me at all, and my appetite unfortunately increases like there might not be another meal for a week. I don't know what that is all about, but by mid-March of every year I start craving salads and lighter meals again. Maybe it is the change in the amount of sunlight that I get.
Sarah, the sweet potato crop took a huge hit in NC. I wouldn't think the chicken would be a big thing because they go from chicks to slaughter in only 6 weeks.
We will be mowing for a good while yet. It is how we manage the deluge of leaves on our heavily wooded property. We are beginning our second week at the lake.I am hoping for a few warmer days this week to get outside and do some things. I want to go to the botanical gardens in Clemson and mosey around downtown a bit in the antique shops.
We eat big salads year round for health reasons and mainly for maintaining a neutral Ph in the body. After years of doing so it is just part of our regular diet. Some days I just don't want a salad when it is cold but I kind of count it as medicine. I used to live on a cocktail of meds and now I med free so that is my motivation.
Have a good week!
Sarah, in the areas we traveled last week peanuts, soybeans, pecans and cotton were affected. Pecans were just at maturity and Peanuts were in harvest. Early cotton varieties were ripe. Fields that normally would produce dozens of huge bales had only six baked rolls...cottonseed is part of food harvest too. I did not travel in the most southwestern counties nor middle southern counties but these were the crops I noted in the eastern and central counties. I agree with Lana. There may be a lull in chicken production but it will pick up rather quickly.
Susie, that phrase came to me yesterday on Shabbat that it was more a prolonged rest than death. I too crave foods on a seasonal basis but like Lana we eat salads year round not always daily but most days.
I have NEVER loved cooking, but I did it when raising a family. Husband and I are retired now, and I'm being brutally honest here, we eat lunch out a lot and lots of frozen stuff from Costco. Not good for us? You betcha, but we BOTH hate cooking and we've made it to our seventies in good health. :D
Anyway, I'm writing to say that your recipes always sound so good. Kind of wish I had the desire to make some of them.
Anne, no shame in admitting you don't like to cook. And no, it's not always healthier to eat at home. I read recipes all of the time that I know I know I know are full of sugar, salt or fat. Some restaurant and frozen options are healthier than some homemade meals. I happen to love cooking and I see it as a creative outlet for all that my menus look pretty much the same season to season, lol.
My week ahead is slightly lighter than the past few, and I'm excited for that. I finished the fall canning, and the garden is mostly cleaned out. The freezers and cupboards are full. I have lots and lots of cleaning and organizing to do, and already got started on a few areas. There's lots of dust and dirt, and just plain clutter and papers to sort and organize. I've invited the family over for Thanksgiving, as usual, and that gives me a nice push to work on these projects. Should be a good week.
The weather is definitely fall here and I am sad. Back in clog but without socks. That is my last hold out:) I find your blog soothing.
Anne, have you considered freezer cooking?I used to really like to cook but after 40 years I am tired so I make when I do cook count. My meat sauce yields 8 meals, most soup recipes fed us once and then 3 meals 8n the freezer. A 13 x 9 casserole is 4 meals, I put it into 4 loaf size dishes and 3 get frozen. Lasagna is cut into 12 squares and frozen for 6 meals. I do big batches of BBQ, taco meat, etc but I don't do big cooking days. I just make a regular recipe or up to 3 times the amount and portion it out for the freezer. I really only cook from start to finish about 2 times a week now that my freezer is stocked. This sure has improved our diet for not a lot of work.
Terri - Like Susie, I love the phrase you used for winter as well. It does take on a different perspective when we look at it in a less-morose attitude. I like summer weather best but autumn meals are my favorite so this time of year I'm sort of a mix of "emotions". I too have been reading Elizabeth Goudge books. I love them so much. They are the perfect cozy read to just take my mind off of everything I'm battling. Thank you for the reminder of self-care and healthy boundaries. I've been sleeping a lot lately (even taking naps in my car at work on my lunch break) because all of the anxiety and battles have just been exhausting. We shall get through this season we are each in. I know we shall. I'm praying for you and I know you are praying for me. Blessings to you and love...
Lana - I love the idea of freezer cooking. I used to do that when our girls were little bitties. I loved it. I have been going to super simple meals these days now that I'm a tired, older, empty-nester. Hubby and I are easy to please but I know we are not getting nutritious meals and I need to change that soon. I love how you've altered it to make it fit your life now. I am inspired to do the same! First, I need to clean out my tiny freezer (bottom drawer type).
Anne - we have been doing Hello Fresh and that might be something you'd like to try. It's so nice to have 3 meals a week I don't have to think about - I still have to cook them but they are always very simple, well-balanced and very tasty.
It is so sad the pecans were affected by the hurricane. My favorite Christmas "extra" for baking goodies. Guess I had better watch for sales. Another one who agrees, dont tell me its time to eat again!! Why cant we eat one good meal a week and then not be hungry for another week? Fortunately hubby is not a big eater and doesn't really cares what you feed him. In my next life, I am marrying a chef! LOL. Maybe when we get to heaven we will eat manna like the Israelites. It sounds like life is good at the Cheney household. Hope it stays that way. There will always be problems and sorrows, but we just do what we can and let the rest go, and not take on others problems that are theirs to work through, Gramma D
Post a Comment