Our weekend was warm enough to qualify as summer. Anyone with pools in our area most certainly should have been happily floating about in cool water. Poor Maddie, River and Rufus have all been seeking out shade where they might find it. I wish Maddie were still of a mind to lie in a swimming pool. She did when she was a puppy but now she shies away from all water except nasty mud puddles when it's rained.
For a weekend that beacons the opening of summer grilling season it was a winner. Naturally we didn't do a thing but stay home. It suited me.
We went out for an anniversary dinner in the mid afternoon hours of Friday. It was so nice. John asked for a table out of the way of others. He told the hostess and the waitress that it was our 25th anniversary and he wanted us to 'be alone', lol. Our food was awesome, we splurged and ordered ice cream sundaes after the meal. Then we came home and basked in the cool air of our home. I'd originally asked to go to the grocery to pick up some sales items but when John failed to turn towards the store, I decided to skip it. Seriously, nothing we couldn't live without and somehow making a trip over to the town to just eat dinner...Made the day feel splurge-y which is kinda the point of a 25th anniversary celebration.
We made one stop on the way home. John stopped at a Pawn shop in the town between the restaurant town and our town. It's generally where he runs in to buy guitar strings or look for music instruments to add to the things he lets the grandchildren play about with. I didn't think a thing about his stopping there. So imagine my surprise when he presented me with the cutest little silver heart earrings. Nothing expensive by his own admission but I thought it a sweet gesture. One of the first gifts he ever bought me was a pair of earrings which I still wear have. They weren't expensive either but I still remember how sweetly unexpected that gifting was, just like this one.
All in all it was a lovely anniversary day and ended with Shabat. John read Proverbs 31 and a passage from Song of Solomon. I cried. It was so sweet and so lovely. He's such a romantic man, truly he is. I think I'm going to renew my option with him.
Read this week:
From the May/June 2019 AAA Living magazine: A tiny blurb of a neuroscience study conducted by Cirque de Soleil creators and the research group Lab of Misfits on what the sense of awe does to the brain. Members of the audience wore EEG caps and then did psychological studies before and after each performance. The study results? A sense of awe can increase tolerance to risk, boost creativity and combat stress by putting the brain in a state of bliss. It can reshape our feelings about the future...
And I think all that is pretty awesome! Let's look for the awesome things in our everyday!
Last week:
Finished the painting of the porch floors. Got the patio set done. Cleaned the worst looking section of railing on the back porch. I did all the payday tasks and errands and we bought groceries. I did do some research on Toaster Ovens but after reading customer reviews on various brands, I'm not sure I want one. Instead I've been working at making more stove top meals.
What I didn't do: move the concrete blocks. Painting took far more from me than I'd imagined it might, plus I ended up with a very painful and swollen write due to tendonitis. Lifting blocks didn't seem a good idea. You all know the end results of our anniversary trip. I enjoyed the day we had and found myself kind of glad that we didn't travel this weekend after all. Really.
As per usual, menus for the week were totally off. I made the roast chicken (which made us determined we'd forgo any prolonged use of the oven for the summer!) and I sort of made the Kielbasa menu with a variation into a one pot meal.
This week's work:
Clean the patio...even if I don't get the blocks moved, just to clean the patio will make it look better. I'll try and set up two chairs with the table down there.
And get the dog house off the front porch if I can manage it on my own. It's going to go on the back porch.
I'll try to clean up the back porch a bit more. There are just odds and ends that need to go out to the shed to neaten things up. I'll try to bring a load of stuff from the guest bedroom to the shed, too.
Have the little boys over for a play morning.
A day out with Mama.
Make bagels and rolls. I gave Sam a packet of the frozen bagels and so we're out again. I won't be giving any of this next batch away. Instead of making Challah, I'm going to make rolls. John loves Challah when I bring it out on Shabat evening. And then it just sits there and goes to waste. We seldom have rolls go to waste, so back to rolls we go. I'm going to make sure and bake super early one morning so that I don't heat up the house.
Zone:
Kitchen this week. General good cleaning, mopping, clearing and wiping out the fridge, restocking the cupboards from the pantry, etc.
Menus:
on my own x2
Alpine Chicken (crock pot), Green Beans with potatoes, Peach Salad
This is an easy recipe. Boneless skinless chicken breast with a box of stuffing mix dumped over, a little melted butter cooked on low heat and some shredded swiss cheese (or mozzarella if you prefer) and slivered almonds top this about 1/2hour before serving. This recipe makes enough for two meals for us, so I'll count this as twice with a second set of sides: Green Peas, Wild Rice and Green Salad.
Lentil Tacos with all the toppings
Hobo Packets (done in crock pot or on grill), Wedge Salads
Tuna Pasta Salad, Fresh Fruits
Gratitudes and Smiles:
The red birds in the yard. Every time I see one I think of Granny and here of late I'm seeing lots of red birds so I'm thinking about her a lot.
Front porch sittin'. Or as John likes to say it "Let's go to the Ver-ahn-dah."
Seeing my Katie bug for the first time in two weeks.
RAKs
A very lovely anniversary dinner out with the best man I know.
Air conditioning!
Gorgeous summer-y days.
10 comments:
My husband loves challah, too, but, again like you, we didn't always finish a loaf. (And far too many sweet bread puddings were made as a result...) I finally cut my favorite recipe in half and now make mini-challahs. Enough for a meal and then for French toast breakfast.
Home from the lake today. Oh how we hated to leave but knew we must get home and get some things done. Lake Keowee had her lovely emerald green color on as we crossed over the bridge heading out and so many were out in boats it made me want to turn right around and go back to the house. Traffic on the way home was really heavy and I was glad to pull in the driveway. I am about to make chore lists and menus so we don't get up without any purpose tomorrow.
What a sweet anniversary day you two had! And, an unexpected surprise gift is so special - now each time you wear them you will remember that day. Precious!!!
Terri,
It sounds like you had a lovely weekend and anniversary! Happy and content. Loved the story of your meeting. Rick and I met at the end of January, both disillusioned with marriage too, but we knew within 2 weeks that we were for keeps. It will be 33 years for us this October.
Stay cool, I so enjoy your posts. P.S. Have you ever read Crimson Roses by GLH? It’s my favorite. Dale
I love my toaster oven. I use it all the time. I rarely use the oven on my stove. it’s a Euro-Pro. I think I got it at Target years ago.
Sounds like a lovely way to celebrate your anniversary. John is a romantic soul, what a sweet gift of silver heart earrings to celebrate 25 years.
Thanks for the reminder to look for the awesome in the everyday. Sometimes I get bogged down in the negative and the disappointments that I forget to remember to be grateful. Your alpine chicken sounds good; I'm going to pick up some stuffing.
Hope you have a blessed week.
Oh yum!! I can't wait to try the Alpine Chicken recipe. I've decided I need to do more InstantPot and Slowcooker (one and the same appliance for me) this year.
I enjoyed reading about your simple sweet anniversary celebration. Sometimes those are surprisingly the most special!
Mabel I've been dividing my one loaf recipe into four smaller loaves. He still doesn't finish them. Josh did sit down with a small loaf in hand yesterday and practically polished it off. That boy does love bread! However, when I've given bread to his family they don't let the boys have it or they freeze it and forget it. I have better luck with rolls being eaten.
Lana, Glad you are home safe.
Carolyn yes I love all the pieces John has picked out on his own. I often change my mind about those he had me help pick out!
Dale, so good to hear from you! Yes, I love Crimson Roses. I re-read it over the winter. Such a sweet story! I just KNEW and I think John did too but once he stated his intent, he had a lot of well meaning folks warn him that he'd regret it and assure him he could do better. Of course, those same ones are our greatest cheerleaders NOW...rolling eyes, lol.
Sparky136 I'll look into that brand too. I had almost made up my mind to skip it but then a friend texted me a message from her mom who urged me to get one, lol. Hard to bypass a mama's advice even if it isn't my mom.
Kathy, I have been trying to cultivate gratitude but awe is something I find a great deal easier to feel. I just didn't know it was so very beneficial!
Karla and Kathy, this chicken recipe is super easy and so good! I love it. Nice to serve up with Lingonberry or Cranberry sauce (they taste very similar) and it's hearty but not heavy, if that makes sense.
Such a sweet anniversary Terri! You do have a keeper...such a good man. But then, he has a keeper as well!
I wanted to let you know I was always on the fence about a toaster oven, thinking like you do, i.e. stove top and crock pot would do the job as they'd always done. Then, about three years ago, Rosie came home with a like-new toaster oven for me! A friend had given it to her and she knew I was thinking about buying one and so, there it was! Well, to make a long story short I have been using it pretty much every day since she brought it home. It's a simple Black and Decker with a convection feature (cooks things faster) and it has just held up amazingly. I have several smaller pans that fit perfectly inside and I bake my low carb foccia flat bread in it; I roast chicken in it; I bake potatoes in it, i bake low carb brownies in it; I've cooked a smaller brisket in it; Ive roasted vegetables in it; I've cooked small pizzas in it plus so much more...and I even make toast in it haha! Short story long...I love it! It does keep the house much cooler on warm days and heats up certain leftovers much better than the microwave. I even use my 12 ounce soufflé bowls in it to heat soup,stew, chile', baked beans and the like in it and, as long as I cover it tightly with foil, it simplifies the process and comes out beautifully! I always joke that Rosie knows what I need better than I do! One year she gave me an electric kettle for Mothers Day and I pretty much am obsessed with it. I use it daily! Before that, I always thought they were such a waste, a marketing ploy, haha! But wow, they are so very convenient and heat water so quickly! But I digress. I so very much enjoy reading your lovely writing and your daily round is so comfy yet such an inspiration! Speaking of such...I am off now to make a nice pot of tea! Thanks again for sharing with us my kind friend!
Love,
Tracey
Xox
Tracey, Another review on the positive side for a toaster oven. I think I'm going to ask John to go by Walmart and I'm going to look at toaster ovens. I've looked online but I want to physically SEE them. I just hate to turn the oven on this time of year it heats the house up so much and if I do I try to do so before 7am.
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