The Week Ahead: It's A Season...Bonus Tips

The last few years we've been through stuff.  Some of it was pretty doggone hard and in each bout of hard things, I got through it by saying, "It's a Season..."   From experience I know that seasons never follow dates by a calendar's markings.  Seasons last as long as they will last.  That's true in nature and it's true in life.  But despite that seeming fleeting or lasting time, the fact remains that seasons always change.   It is why, I think, I have always loved the opening verses of the Ecclesiastes 3.  "There is a time for every thing and a season ..." it begins.  And what it goes on to list is not spring or summer or fall or winter, no nor even rain or sun.   What it lists are life seasons.



Here on our rural bit of Georgia land, the leaves are popping out on trees.  Yesterday I searched the Faith tree branches for signs of buds.  This morning, I looked out at it and saw tiny green leaves at the tips of branches.  It is a mid-way season tree.  Meaning that other trees on the place have already bloomed or put on new leaves but the Faith tree leaves and then buds into bloom.  The pecan trees are generally our last to put on blooms or leaves.  Once they do so we know that the warm weather is here to stay.

The sedge wren who claims our house as her own, has chosen to put a nest in the Bougainvillea I've only just hung up outside once more.  I guess I was just in time for her season of nesting.  She's not been very successful in nesting overall but each year there she is, laying eggs twice each season.   I think her motto must be "If at first you don't succeed..."   I want to be like that sedge wren.  Continue to do what I'm called to do whether or not I'm successful.  All we can do is try our best.

Work this week:  


I didn't get as much weeding done as I'd planned last week but I made a good start at it.  Things are coming along quickly now that we've had warmer evenings and nearly hot days.  The lilies that were an inch high at the beginning of the week stand a foot tall already. The peppermint I weeded on Thursday that was just peeping through the soil is now 4 inches high.  So I want to get the rest of the corner bed finished off and then plant it full of seeds.   I need to break up the bed next to my shed once more.  All that rain settled the soil firmly back in place. I have to do that work in sections over the course of days or my shoulders and back ache.  But yes, working outdoors is high on the list, and if the allergy stuff is not totally working it at least is helping and I can tolerate a limited amount of time outdoors even with pollen laden air.

One thing with this warmer weather already is that things are going through the blooming cycle rather quickly and while it means a more intense season of pollen it also means a shorter season overall.  And don't we all hope the current season of life is the same?  If it's got to happen let it be intense and done with!

Get the planter painted...We had a busier than originally planned week so I knocked that job off my list last week.

I changed our room out for warmer months last week.  The pillows on the bed remain the same but the cover was changed and it always changes the feel of the room overall.  This week I want to dig in my fabric stash to see if I have anything suitable for summery looking pillow covers for the living room.  I love those two heavy upholstery fabric covered pillows I made but they are more cozy and less summer.  It's getting time to think of washing and storing the throws on the back of chairs too.

Right now I am making it a point to check my fridge frequently for leftovers that might be frozen or used immediately.  I'm really trying to be a good steward of what I've been given, so I'm writing down meal plans that include those leftovers right away.  It means that my menus are far more fluid than they have been in past weeks but that's okay.  Far better to use up the leftovers than have them wasted or to adhere so hard to a plan that I have too many leftovers to reasonably make use of.

I am also checking my check record and bill box weekly.  I do not want to miss paying another bill and risk another late fee, and because we have ordered a number of things online this month that we couldn't buy over the counter  or which were needed for repairs, it's best to double check that I've written down those amounts in my account record.  Far better than having an unexpected decrease due to too many forgotten purchase amounts.

I'm going to plan to get the boys a day next week.  I won't get a blessed thing done while they are here but it will allow parents a break and we'll enjoy their company.

I don't have any other hard and fast jobs planned for home.  I need to work in my shed and finish off that organizing job I began in January/February before my ears became a problem and I felt unwell.  Mostly I'm tackling jobs as I see they need to be done which has replaced deep cleaning over all in my home.  I still need to take time to go through and photograph the place to help me 'see' those tasks.  Well there's no church tomorrow, so I'll likely try to do it then after we watch services online.

Menus:  

I'm going to plan meals but as I shared in my work section, meals are a little more fluid than in the past.  I'm working hard at using up what we have in a timely way and not letting things go to waste.  Every extra dish I can squeeze from my stores is one more meal we can spare our pantry/freezer foods and that's one less thing I'll need from a store so there will be more for another who hasn't the same resources.  It's hardly a limitless resource but it's a resource just the same!

Other than the first meal, the rest will fall into line in a different order than written.

Lentil Tacos, Chocolate Cola Cake
I cooked a full cup of brown lentils and when they were just done I drained, added a packet of taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water and cooked as directed.  These are sooooo good!   I usually buy the brown lentils because to my mind, they are nearer 'meat' color.  When Sam and Bess were living with us, I often extended a half pound of ground beef with 1 cup of cooked brown lentils and we all enjoyed the meat dish the same as always.

I did not serve any sides with this today because I served our tacos with lettuce, tomato, green onion. taco sauce (I save extra packets of sauces from any takeout meals we have), and Ranch dressing.  These were messy so we ate them with a fork, lol, but gracious they were delicious!  I have about 1 cup of taco lentils left.  I told John I think we'll have nachos for lunch one day this coming week and I'll use these on top of the chips.

I used a cake mix to make the cake and used flat soda as my liquid.  I didn't frost but simply dusted the top of this layer (I made two 8-in layers and froze one) with confectioner's sugar.  It's quite good!

Brunswick Stew, Rice, Cornbread, Chocolate Chia Pudding
Katie brought us the stew.  She warned that it has a 'kick' of spice so we'll serve over a single serve of rice to tone it down a bit.  That's an old trick we used in our family days to stretch and tone down foods that were spicier.   Sam brought us the Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding this morning.  It's enough for the two of us.

Italian Pepper Steak, Rice, Green Beans
Easy enough to make. This is an easy stir fry type meal.   I'll slice a section of sirloin steak, peppers and onions, cook all as much as needed and then douse with Italian dressing  from the bottle. You want it saucy enough to keep it moist but not drowning.  I've typically used fat free dressing but I don't know if I have any fat free on hand.

Chicken in Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli with Cheese, Biscuits
We don't need biscuits with this meal but I'll limit what we eat and put the rest away for breakfast(s).  I have leftover chicken in the fridge, mostly breast meat and will slice some for this dish.  I poured off the broth that formed about the chicken last week so I'll make gravy.  I'm going to make more gravy than is needed for this meal and pull the rest of the meat off the bones and make a chicken pot pie for the freezer at the same time.  I'll save the bones, naturally, to make a pot of stock in the days ahead.

Tuna Pasta Salad, Saltines
This is one of John's absolute favorite meals.  I like to serve it first at room temperature and then we'll eat the chilled leftovers for lunches.  I'll probably pass a bit of this on to Katie as she loves it, too and a box of elbow macaroni makes a huge pot of this stuff.  It's one of those 'stretch' meals from our days of far more family than money.  I'll use whatever fresh vegetables I have on hand (this week that is bell peppers, carrots, celery), olives, and tuna.

Meatloaf, Italian Peasant Vegetables, Salad
If we have not quite finished the lentils, I'll add them into this meatloaf.  The Italian Peasant Vegetables is old Kraft cookbooklet recipe.  It is sliced potatoes, a can of green beans, a little Italian dressing (from bottle) and grated Parmesan Cheese.  It's a fun twist on beans and potatoes and is delicious with meatloaf.

Leftovers Day
Just to give us a bit of room to use up any leftovers.   I sometimes make up a meal and sometimes I just set things out and we eat what we'd like...I usually reserve the second method for those times when I am finding it difficult to makeover an item into another meal.

Bonus Tips:
 In the menus above look for those items that are Italicized  only and not bold.  They contain hints for what to do with leftover items.

I've already checked with Bess about what the chickens might eat.  I'm also tossing into zippered bag in the freezer, outer leaves of cabbage, tops and tails of onions, zucchini, celery, tomatoes, etc so that I can make veg broth from them.  If these veg are fat free (meaning they are fresh and not cooked with other things first) then I can also toss the fully cooked vegetables pieces into the compost, so they'll give me triple value.

If using canned vegetables save the liquid from the cans (even if you've used it as cooking liquid).  Pour into a container ( a wide mouth jar or reuse peanut butter or cottage cheese container) and save to make soup.  There are good nutrients in that cooking liquid that will serve your body well.   If things do get very tight, remember that broths and soups make terrific first courses for a meal and will help fill you up as well as adding further nutrition.

Consider non-traditional sources of protein.  Not necessarily inexpensive but likely not sold out are things like hemp hearts and ground flax seed, chia seed etc.  Chia seed and flax seeds make great egg substitutes (how tos are online and on nearly all vegan sites).  I use these items to add protein to breakfast cereal and oatmeal or in baked goods for a protein boost (think muffins and nut breads).  The protein will help you feel full a little longer and will balance blood sugars.

If you are using whole wheat flour and are not accustomed to it, then remember to use 3/4 cup to replace 1 cup of white.  Also be prepared to add a bit of extra liquid, too.  Whole wheat flour has a heavier density than white.

If you have leftovers and you're not sure how to reuse them then look online.  Ask others, too.   I know that some people just don't care for leftovers. Not me!  I see leftovers as a chance to be creative and make into a whole new dish, or as bonuses that we can use as  fillings for pot pies, omelets, etc.
For example last week I had leftover cream corn.  I made a Mexican corn bread and used the creamed corn in the batter.  Worked just fine.  I thinned it with a little liquid before adding to the batter and it was no different than if I'd used the can of creamed corn called the recipe called for.

The chips left at the bottom of the bag, those crumbly bits that are too small to eat (though some of us do, clearing throat) are great as toppings for casseroles or to bread chicken or chops.

With bread scarce as hen's teeth, use those end pieces to make stratas, breakfast casseroles, bread crumbs or croutons for salads.  You can even use breadcrumbs to make cookies!  Yes, you can!  Just look online.  Our internet is our greatest resource right now, one that our depression era relatives didn't have and what a resource it is.  Use it!