The Week Ahead: Fair Weather or Foul

Well we finally have an answer about our income for retirement.  It's a little lower than what we've had with John's work  but not so much lower that we need panic.  We'll manage and that's all I really wanted to know: 'Can we manage?'  Yes, we can.  Good enough.  Truth is I can pretty much do whatever must be done once I know what I have to work with and this won't really be a hard struggle.



So Katie is getting a new to her set of furniture, and that meant I could get two new to me chairs from her.  The initial thought was that they would go into the kitchen sitting area.  That didn't work at all.  Even if I'd had a smaller table between them the windows would have been fully blocked which I loathe because there's nothing more frustrating than shifting furniture when you want to open windows.  So I went to plan B.   I might add here that I also had a plan C!  After 45 minutes of tugging heavy furniture about and cleaning spaces as I'd move things before I put more things into place, I am reasonably satisfied.  Reasonably because now I long to also replace the other two chairs and there are things that simply don't fit with the current look in the living room. So it goes.

John has this theory which I confess isn't far wrong.  His theory is that if a woman buys a new pillow cover, nine times out of ten it leads to a new lamp, new curtains, new rugs and so forth until the room has been more or less completely redone.  And I have noticed that the effect of putting anything new into place does seem to me that what appears to be completely unrelated things must also be shifted, moved, taken out of the space in order for everything to 'fit'.

Nice surprise was how well the newly made pillow covers do go with the new chairs.

So it is with my chairs...Glad to have them.  Now I must work to make them work.

Work:

Harvest week.   I've already worked up the bill box and we've one of those heavy pay our periods.  I've forewarned John that it's going to look like our balance has suddenly 'fallen and can't get up'.  I've got to pay property taxes, six months of car insurance, four months of house insurance, and buy car tags, in addition to all our other routine payments.  ALL of that money is in the account, but it's been sitting there making our balance look nice and fat.  I don't want him checking and feeling a nasty shock at the sudden dissipation of funds.

This week is key to our managing the first six weeks of retirement.  It's this check and one more that must see us through a six week period before we get our first retirement income, so those balances that I'd naturally be working hard to bring back up are going to stay low for a little bit while I pay the basic needs.  I don't think groceries are falling in the basic need category exactly.  I mean by that that I'll be trimming back really hard and relying on my pantry/freezer/storage to carry us through this spell with just a few items purchased (fresh produce and cheese).   So I need to be careful and plan ahead as much as I can and reserve some money to see us through the short spell between checks.  I am so grateful that we've savings to cover any needs that might arise which must be seen to immediately and praying that it's completely unnecessary to use them!

Groceries...proceeding with great caution and thought.  I think any money I can set aside unused will be a nice bonus for that six week period, don't you?

Errands related to pay day.

I only accomplished about half the work I'd meant to do last week.  And Friday it seemed to me that my house just glared dirt and grime and dust at me all day long.  So this week I plan to tackle the work I'd meant to start last week (decluttering the kitchen) and doing some deeper cleaning as I go.

I should mop floors but it's meant to be rainy all week long and I've discovered floors seldom dry well when that is the case.   BUT if the weather man is at all wrong, I'll try to hop to and get those floors clean.

And due to the damp weather I'm planning NOW that the sheets and towels will go into the dryer this week.  It is my usual rule that if I dry them in the machine I put them right back on the bed and hang them right back in the bathroom rather than rotate as I'd usually do.

If it's not too messy I'll also attempt to load up the car trunk with donations for Goodwill...and give myself a good excuse to go take a good look around in case something awesome is awaiting me.  I know I won't be doing this during that six week period, so I'm going to stock up on fun while I have an allowance to do it with.

Do that pantry and freezer inventory so I can know NOW what I need to buy before the hiatus from spending occurs.  For instance, I know I'm completely out of bread flour and tomato sauce.   I might not buy a six month's supply but I can certainly buy enough to see us through the next couple of months.

Order the items I mean to give Bess at her baby shower this coming weekend.

Menus:

John has requested a temporary change in our meal plans for the next three weeks.  Not a big deal exactly but it does require a little extra thought.  We'll be eating our main meal in the evenings and that means limiting tomato sauce, heavy seasonings, fat, etc. that we generally have time to digest well before bedtime if eaten at our midday meal.  I also must be aware of my own need for fewer carbs in the evening, so while this isn't an impossible task to plan around it does require me to stop and really think.

Mongolian Beef, Rice, Steamed Broccoli, Mandarins
I looked up this recipe online but not one of them calls for chuck roast, which is exactly what the recipe Bess gave me calls for.  Simply enough it's a basic crockpot beef roast cooked with what is essentially a sort of teriyaki sauce made up of brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.  This all cooks for 8 hours on low.  Then you remove the meat, thicken the sauce on stovetop with cornstarch and serve over rice, topping the whole with sliced green onions.  It's really delicious and something I enjoy now and then as a change from plain ol' pot roast.   We should have leftovers...

Moo Shu Beef, Sliced Apples, Ginger cookies
I'll use flour tortillas, leftover roast, some coleslaw mix, and some sort of sauce to make this leftover meal of the Mongolian Beef.  I'll add rice too, if any remains.

Cheese Tortellini Soup, Canned Peaches
I have most of a jar of spaghetti sauce left from making a pizza on Friday evening so I'm going to use that in place of the tomatoes and tomato sauce the recipe calls for. I'll add water and fresh spinach.

on my own

Cheesy Chicken, Green Beans, Green Salad
I have a big box of cheezit type crackers that went stale mighty quick.  I'll crush and use those to coat chicken breasts which have been dipped in yogurt.  This is ridiculously good for something so easy (if messy) to make.

Polska Kielbasa, Hash Browns and Toast

Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Green Salad