The Week Behind: Busy as the Buzzing Bee

Saturday:  Today was meant to be a date day for John and I, but I heard rain dripping outside our window.  I wasn't at all surprised when John said "Well, we'll just stay home today."  I'd had an alternate plan for meals and was prepared for whatever the day brought.

I put the turkey tenderloins in the crock pot as soon as John made his statement, which was before I had my first cup of coffee.  I can't say I was disappointed.  Last weekend the traffic was ridiculous and I really didn't expect it to be any different this weekend.



It was a lovely relaxed day at home.  Rain poured at times and then it just sprinkled at others.  John has somehow managed to click in to a whole lot of free old black and white films.  Yes, they are mostly all from WWII but it just so happens I like WWII battle movies.  We watched a Van Johnson film called "Go For Broke" and another one called "Minesweeper".

We cleared the fridge when it came time for supper.  John had leftover chicken tacos and I opted for a bit salad with some roast beef slivers over the top.

I kept things really simple and easy today.  I made the bed.  Rinsed and stacked dishes neatly and didn't load them in the dishwasher.  Our dinner menu was easy to prepare: wild rice, steamed asparagus and salad to go with the turkey.

I have enough leftover turkey for sandwiches one night this week.

I have a very painful jaw and can barely open my mouth.   I thought and thought about what might have caused this.  I'm pretty sure it was a combination of two things.  I'd gotten stressed on Wednesday and had clenched my teeth hard most all the day...but I'd also taken my turn playing dinosaur with the boys.  This involves putting on a dinosaur mask that has a working jaw on it.   Isaac will hand me the mask and say "Do rawr, do rawr!"  It takes some doing to open that mask's jaw with the chin strap under your chin. I strained the muscle on my jaw.  Boy oh boy! I'll do as Josh and Isaac do in the future...they just use their little hands to open the jaw and roar at me.

Sunday:  I don't know just why John kept waking to check his phone for the time in the wee hours of this morning but I'm glad he did!  He woke me and that put me on the alert about what time it might be.  My clock stopped about 2:30 a.m. this morning and I've no idea why.   He got up finally about 5:20 and I just went on and got out of bed myself at that time.

I toasted leftover biscuits with a choice of butter or cheese for breakfast.  I'm finding I am more and more conscious of foods that might well go to waste if not used up and though I typically wouldn't reheat biscuits on these work mornings because I know John prefers oatmeal or eggs and toast, I will just went right on and toasted the biscuits to use them up.  John seemed pretty happy with them.

Sent him out the door with coffee and a packed meal bag.

I worked on the checkbook, wrote out checks for bills and generally got our accounts squared away for another two weeks.  I have a nice sum to put into savings this week after we get paid.

Katie asked if I'd make Chicken Parmigiana for her.  No problem. It's one of my favorite meals but I seldom make it.  I used two breast halves cut into fillets.  It made enough for her to have two servings, a single serve entrée for me, and a two serving size portion for John and I to share this week and they were generous sized pieces.  I didn't have breadcrumbs so I crushed homemade croutons to coat the fillets.

Katie asked if I'd bring her coffee creamer and since I wanted to take off the trash and run into the dollar store anyway, I told her I'd be glad to do so.  I bought the coffee creamer at the dollar store as well as mozzarella for the parmigiana dishes.  I found two lampshades for the guest room  and plain white sheers for my bedroom. I think those skimpy little grey sheers will work well at the bathroom window.  On that narrow window they won't be skimpy at all and they are just dark enough to block some of the light that pours into that room.  I don't know if it will be enough for the heat of summer but it's certainly enough for the milder months of the year.

I visited with Katie a good little while.  We sat on the enclosed back porch which was quite pleasant.  I could see Katie had made an effort at clearing it up and she talked to me about how overwhelmed she felt.  I told her my trick: choose one spot to focus on not a whole room, but just one corner or small area.  Then set a timer for 15 minutes (never more than 30 minutes) then work on that one area until the timer goes off.  I showed her by example.  I wiped off the table then swept half the floor and bagged some of Mama's left behind clutter.  15 minutes made a huge difference with the work Katie had already done.   A little later, I got up and swept the rest of the floor, moved all the items to go to the dumpster into one corner and the room was so improved Katie kept telling me how nice it felt there.  Well, it was nice!  It wasn't perfect but it was hugely better and all in all it had taken less than 30 minutes.   Little bites work!

 I could sail through her whole house in an hour and have it all looking spic and span because it's not a disaster it's just a bit messy.   I  could do it but I also know she needs to formulate in her head that it can be done in minutes rather than take hours and she has to practice this method herself to learn how well it works.  Anytime I've come into her home, if I do start to pick up an area or sweep, etc. she jumps right in and starts, too.  It's not that she feels guilty that I'm doing it.  She just sees immediately that I've got a focus area and she works on it with me.  It's looking at the whole picture that is so overwhelming to her.

She says she doesn't like to clean...and I confess that I don't either but we both like clean neat spaces.  And that is my trick for getting it done.  This morning I set myself the task of getting my house picked up.  Because I keep it so orderly these days, it took about 40 minutes to straighten things up and do some basic housekeeping tasks.  In that forty minutes I also switched out the quilt and curtains in the guest bedroom, and stripped and remade the master bed.  I loaded dishes, swept floors, carried plants outdoors  and hung out clothes to  dry that I'd washed while I was busy doing the other things.  Done!

I enjoyed my visit with Katie this afternoon.  I gave myself a pedicure while we were sitting on the porch.  She had the prettiest glittery teal blue polish sitting on the table and I couldn't resist picking it up and applying it.  I am just plain stuck on teal these days and seldom pass up a chance to add a little to my wardrobe or my home décor, even if I am English Country-ing the place up!

When I got back home it took just a few minutes to hang the sheers in my bedroom and change out the lampshades in the guest room.  I've a bit more work to accomplish in the guest room but it's looking nice.

I toasted pimento and cheese on bread for my supper.  This reminds me of childhood Sunday night suppers so strongly I could feel the chill of the old house's kitchen.  Gracious! it was a memory maker.

Monday:  I had plans to watch tv last night but kept dozing off.  I thought for sure I'd stay awake with that strong cup of coffee Katie made me yesterday afternoon.

For once I woke with no plan for breakfast and no clear idea what I might make!  Toast and Eggs works for John every time.

I took things out to the compost bucket this morning and there was a tomato plant standing roughly 8 inches tall.  I took it up and moved it to a pot of soil near the back steps.  Maybe I should have left it be, but I wanted it nearer the house and I don't want that compost bucket nearer!

John wanted to get a haircut today and I was all for that.  My hair had started looking straggly within a week of my last cut.

We walked next door to Kroger.  I didn't want to get groceries, and though I have a Free Friday item on my list, I didn't pick it up.  All I wanted today was flowers, just flowers.  The ones we have here at home are looking done.  I generally buy reduced bunches but I'm not sure I'm getting good value for my money.  Even though I managed to get a small bouquet for the bedroom I noted that these last flowers are looking only just barely better than I what I had.  Oh well, it will do for now and at the least they are slightly fresher.

John decided to get us a sandwich to share and we bought a soda and tea.  My tea was $1...His soda was $2.  He said he was going to really enjoy that soda, lol  The price of single bottle soda just keeps going up.   It's always been a much better buy to get a 6-, 8-, or 12-pack of drinks or to buy 1 liter bottles which generally cost just $1...They don't put those in the cold cases though and that was what he wanted, a nice cold drink.

Speaking of prices going up...we stopped to look at steaks in a stand alone refrigerator case.  $14 per pound for New York Strips.  Zowie!  It happens that is one of my favorite cuts but we seldom bought them when they were $11 a pound.  I don't guess we'll be buy one at all at that price.

We had a nice little picnic at the fair grounds, sitting under a lovely old oak tree.  John bought us an ice cream cone following our sandwich, my first in months and months.  I've really given up having ice cream unless I can read the label but I figured for a once in a long while treat I'd be okay.  Well it was good and fun to have but I kid you not, I was hoarse and clearing my throat for the next three hours after eating it.  I'll definitely keep that to a once in a great while treat.

We drove from the fair grounds down to John's work place.  The stars aligned and checks were in when we arrived.  Five minutes later we'd done our banking  and headed to the post office.  It was a long trip in terms of miles driven, about 100 miles more or less all told.  Still we'd managed all we'd gone out to do and were gone from home only about 3 hours.

We'd run into rain several times and the temperatures dropped over 14 degrees which made it almost pleasant out despite the humidity.  It was sprinkling when we came in but I went on out to the yard and got the little bed about the Faith Tree cleared up.  I'd mulched it and put weed mat down about two years ago.   Maddie dug about in the mulch and leaving several spots bare where things could work their way up.  I swear I spend as much time UN-doing the parts of my work Maddie has ruined!  I moved the blocks about the tree bed, weeded it hard, dug up a few things and then lay down cardboard and weed mat and put the blocks back.  It took 3 bags of mulch to do that space under that tree, far more than I'd thought it might. I'm going to try to get pots of some shade loving plants to put there to dress it up a bit.    I was most satisfied I got another small space done.

I was happy I had that Chicken Parmigiana in the fridge to reheat and washed salad greens ready for a salad.  Easy peasy for supper.

Tuesday:  I am waiting upon Isaac's arrival which should be relatively soon.  I have his favorite toys set out and all we need do is shut bedroom, bathroom and guest room door when he arrives.   I have planned an extra easy meal for lunch of hot dogs and tater tots, because of course, as soon as breakfast and housework were done, I headed outdoors to work.

It had rained 1 1/2 inches overnight and early this morning and I felt the ground would be softer for digging.  I tried and tried to get a nice two foot deep hole for the new rose bush with no luck.  The spot where I'd thought I'd plant it was hard as a rock after about twelve inches, sigh.  I decided that planting the hydrangea there was a good idea so I got it planted in and mulched about it.   We shall see how it does.  It has to be better than the gallon sized pot it's been struggling to survive in for the past two years!

I determined to plant the rose bush in the big huge pot on the patio which is a good two and half feet deep.  I used the soil in other pots to add in more dirt about the rosebush.  It had put out some new leaves and was looking pretty healthy.  I dug a hole for one clematis but didn't get it planted.

I tried to dig gladiolus but I found tree roots were growing thick about them.  I got some Asiatic lilies dug and replanted and then found a Tiger Lily among the gladioli which I will replant.  I cleaned out the weeds and leaves around the Gingko tree.  I want to build up one edge of that bed then will mulch around the outside edge.

There's a long way to go out there to get just the maintenance of the yard done.  I have four bags of mulch left from the dozen I purchased last week and I'm nowhere near done.  Eventually though these sessions will see me working to begin a new space.

As a precaution today I took pain relievers and put heat rub on the knee, ankle and hip that generally bothers me after I've been outdoors.   I hope that this will keep me from being so terribly stiff this afternoon.  I don't think gimping Gramma can keep up with Isaac!

later:  Again, I say it: those blocks have been the very best investment.  Isaac is very much into stacking  but he's also sorting by color.  When Josh came in, he spent time lining them up, a process which fascinated Isaac.

The afternoon seemed to speed by.  Isaac even took a nap sitting on Grampa's lap.  I took him into my arms when John wanted to go get Josh and he slept there for another half hour.  I often rocked Josh to sleep when he was little, but Isaac, being a second baby, was usually just put to bed and went to sleep on his own.  I have to say that little interlude of  holding a sleeping toddler was sweet stuff.

I wasn't in the least surprised that Sam wasn't back as early as Bess had anticipated...So about 6pm I made the boys supper of toast and eggs.  They ate everything on their plates and both wanted seconds.

Wednesday:  John off to work as usual, with meal bag and coffee in hand, well fed and prayed over.

Daylight is finally coming earlier once more.  About 7am this morning, I headed outdoors, determined to get in at least an hour's work before leaving home.  I managed to plant both clematis, got up as many gladiolius as I think I am going to be able to manage, even managed to dig up a smaller New Dawn rose.  Now to determine where the glads and the rose bush shall go.

I cleaned out about 1/3 of the space under the sweet gum tree where hundreds of privet and cedar and a thorny vine and something else is coming up.  I used the rake to pull out the leaves and sweet gum burrs first, because the iris need their rhizomes semi-exposed and because I want to know just what I'm putting my hands on, even if it is cool of the morning.  I came in doors at 8:04 this morning, so I know I got in a good hour's worth of work.  I could have stayed out longer had I not needed to get the house picked up and ready myself to go to Mama's.

Out with Mama. Hard day. After I got her back home,   I treated myself to an overpriced cup of coffee and such was my state of mind at the time I completely forgot my gift card with hefty balance and paid cash.  I am only just now realizing that fact.

I stopped at the grocery store and picked up bread and the Buy One Get One Free items that I knew were needed in our pantry/freezer.  I did not try to do a major stock up.  I know that these were good prices and I just added to my stock at home, purchasing two of each item I'd written down after perusing the sales ad this morning.

I headed home.  Katie texted me on my way and I waited until I was in the yard before reading it.  Not good news, and feeling pretty done in after that day out.  Some days...sigh.

Never mind it all...Nothing like this sort of day ever lasts.  It is, thankfully, a blip.

Thursday:  I slept pretty well last night which was a blessing.  I woke just about daylight this morning and set up pancakes.  I find I can handle them far better if I add hemp hearts, flax seed meal and oatmeal to the batter so that fiber and protein are increased. I made my own batter from scratch.  John likes pancake mix and I do keep some on hand just for him (remind me to fill the canister in the cupboard once more).  

My batter made up extras which was a blessing, too.  Bess and Isaac dropped by just as I was clearing up and Isaac wanted breakfast, though Bess had promised to buy him something on their way out this morning.  Nope, he was with "Papa" as he currently calls John and the only other thing more important than Papa is Food.  Everything after that is ranked lower, lol.  Despite serving two more for breakfast, I put pancakes in the freezer.

I washed a full load of dishes this morning in the dishwasher and then ended doing a big sink full as well.

I washed and hung to dry all the curtains and darker clothing.

I gave Bess a bag of daylilies, Bouncing Bet (aka Soap Wort) and a tiny New Dawn rosebush I'd managed to dig up.  I assured her the rest could wait, but the rose bush needed to be planted right away.

As she and I were going out of the door, I glanced down at a tool caddy she'd given me and I'd moved to a chair two days ago... There was a perfectly formed bird's nest.  The same little bird that has chosen my back porch for the past five years or more is nesting there again.  The problem this year is that the nest is nose and eye level for Maddie who pokes her nose into it every chance she gets, not to mention chasing the bird across the yard.  It is a sedge wren who nests on that porch.  No idea why she finds it such an ideal spot, but my reward is the loveliest bit of bird song you could hope to hear.  I've tried to move the bird before with no luck and I hate to see her efforts be in vain yet again but she is the most persistently hopeful bird.  I have to figure out if I can maybe put up a shelf on the back porch somewhere that she might be tempted to use in the future.

The gentleman finally called me with the quote for the new underpinning.  I was rather pleased thinking that it was a fair quote.  I know what we'd planned to pay but I will share that my husband tends to lowball what he thinks quotes will come in around.  This was only a little higher than I'd thought we might hear.   I don't mind telling you how disappointed I was when John immediately said the work wouldn't get done.  I wanted to cry, truly I did.  I didn't.  My husband was tired and just in from work and we'd already had company come in though it was early and we'd planned to go grocery shopping.  I knew he was feeling overwhelmed and weary.  He is careful about spending money and I understand that.  He works hard for the modest salary he makes and he earns every single penny.  I also know he's concerned about another area in which we may have to help out another.

But here's the reverse side of all John's tendency to say "No".  I work hard, too, to insure that we live well on his salary.  That means saving when I want to spend.   That means giving a ranking to the things we do about this house.   This underpinning thing has been on our list of wished for jobs for YEARS, before floors were done or porches were added.  This is the first time we've ever gotten a quote.  I don't think the price is cheap,  but I also felt it was a one time spending that would add a to the value we find in our home... Remember that we really are not concerned with resale value on our place.   It is our intent to live here the rest of our lives if at all possible (barring a sudden huge windfall that lands us in St. Augustine, lol).  

So with all this thinking going on, I swallowed hard and got that disappointed lump out of my throat.  Then I took the piece of paper I'd written the quotes on and I sat down and figured up every penny I've saved since January 1.  Ya'll….I impressed myself!  Not only had I saved all the overtime John has earned, I'd saved a goodly portion of his salary, as well.   The figure I wrote down was purely cash savings that was set aside in sub accounts or stand alone savings accounts.  It didn't include rebuilding our pantry or trying to fill the freezer, nor the giving we do nor the bills we pay monthly.  It was purely savings.

Later, when we were finally leaving the house, I asked John go by the house where the man is working (different neighbor this week).  I told him I just wanted to pick up our quote for the work.   Well, John met the man.  I'd mentioned to this gentleman how much I wished John was at home when he was taking measurements because I was sure John would have questions I didn't know to ask.  The man went over the quote and explained the process and which method he preferred he was the same one John favors.  Frankly, I wanted blocks but John and Mr. Handyman were in agreement that a stucco finished product was the best.  They discussed various things and then John began his spiel..."Well we can't really afford this right now and we haven't planned for it and I need to do some figuring and..." and I butted right on in and said "Mr. Handyman, thank you.  John worked last night and I'd like to discuss this in more depth with him before we make a firm decision but we'll let you know."

Did I mean to discuss it today?  No ma'am!  Not knowing my husband was tired as he was.  Nope.  But I guess he was curious about what I had on my mind.   He brought the subject up as we drove to the grocery and I laid out the savings I'd made this year.  I told him what we had in each account, and how it was allocated in sub accounts.  I told him that the amount of money I'd saved in the past three months would pay to re-do both baths in the way that I wanted them.   That it was about half what I thought I'd need to re-do my kitchen.  But I felt that this task had been on our list longest of all and I really didn't see why we couldn't manage it.   I mentioned how often I said "No, not now" to things, just as he does, so that we could save.  And then I asked him, "If we're not going to do things to our home to insure our future there, then why ARE we doing all this saving?"

He looked me in the eye and said "All of that made a good argument.  Why don't you call him and tell him to go ahead?"   Yes!

Grocery spending today was on the heavier side.  I bought enough meat to last us most of a month.   The freezer is filled.  The pantry has been added to.  I looked long and hard at the pantry and the freezer today and decided that now I shall do a fresh inventory and see what it is I'm missing and focus only on those things.  I'm now at the stage where the most often used items are being replaced with two for every one I use.  So if I use a can of tomatoes, I buy two.  One to replace and one to carry us over another time when we might not be able to replace what we've used or when we need to share from our pantry once more.  I just need to see were we stand with the less often used items.

We went to our favorite pizza place and today we had a chicken garden pizza.  No tomato sauce, fresh spinach, seasoned chicken strips, fresh mushrooms and red onions.  So good!   John was shocked when I told him to put it on the debit card.  "Really?"  Well yes...why just spend his pocket money on our lunches out when we do have the extra from that big pay week?   We won't be getting any more of those larger checks for a bit, though with the pending work to be done on the house he's suggested he could work an extra half shift here and there.   I'm not keen on that idea at present, but we do have the cash and so best take advantage of it.

Home to put away our things...and to stash that leftover pizza.  We ordered a medium which is six slices,  but I think we need to consider sizing down again and ordering a small one.

I thought we were done for the day, but about 5pm John got up and said "Time to mow the lawn!"  What?!  That meant I had to get up and work outdoors getting all my stuff picked up and stashed and out of his way.   And that meant also clearing up all the piles of weeds and dumping them off in the edge of the trees.  And that led to working on another 1/3 of the tree area where I'd been weeding out privet, holly, blackberry and cedars that come up amongst the roots.  I decided this evening that the areas about the roots of that tree will be a perfect spot to plant more iris and daffodils and muscari...all of which are in pots at present.   That solves the riddle of what to do with all of those.  Now to figure out where the amaryllis and glads will be best suited.

Another good and productive day on the books.  And now I begin to brainstorm ways to replace this money we'll be spending on our place so I can do some of the other jobs we have on our list.

Friday:  Another great night's sleep.  I am sure all the physical work we've been doing only helps.  I woke about my usual hour which is daylight and I don't mind that one bit.   I slipped out of bed before John woke.  I was super hungry.  We'd barely snacked for supper the night before. I ate a couple of mandarins with my first cup of coffee while I waited on him to wake.

After breakfast I did a quick bit of housework.  I  then headed right back outdoors.  Today I finished clearing the area under the Sweet Gum.  I planted about a dozen iris.  I am also experimenting with planting some of the ferns that I pulled from under the back porch in that area.  We shall see if they do anything at all there.  I laid down some cardboard in the areas where I don't mean to plant at present but I want to remain clear.  I shifted some landscape block to begin forming the bed about the tree.  All in all I worked an hour and a half.  

I also planted an Amaryllis I've had in a pot for a couple of years.  It bloomed two or three years but hasn't since, but the bulb is healthy and the roots were good strong roots.

I'm rather proud of all that has been accomplished this week.  I've moved from having to rest for two or three days between sessions of work to being able to put in some work daily on the yard.  There's a load more of work to be done but I do feel I've made good progress and hope that it will continue through next week.

I have a chicken roasting in the oven which will serve us for at least today and tomorrow.  I have postponed making the Tuna Pasta Salad.  It is coming up on next week's menu.

How did you save this week?  What work did you accomplish?  Share with us.