Diary of a Busy Homemaker: September Went Fast

Saturday:  John commanded me to make today a child free day.  I didn't argue with him.  I needed the break.  

He planned a date to Buc-ees.   That might not sound like much of a date, but it was lovely.  The air was cool enough to ride with the windows down. Golden rod was blooming absolutely everywhere.  The sun was shining.  It was a lovely ride over to the place.

Once there we looked over our menu options and ultimately decided on the Chipped Brisket sandwiches, RC colas, and some dill pickles.  We drove home along the familiar backroads and highways and admired the views and ate when we got back here.  It wasn't cheap but it was delicious, and it was a nice respite for me.   

Autumn Savor: While we were driving home, we sipped on coffee we'd bought there at Buc-ees.  Mine was a Cinnamon Roll Coffee.  I hadn't expected the sweetness nor the milk, thinking I was just getting a straight up flavored coffee grind, but no it had additional ingredients.  It was not overly sweet.  I was able to add a little more milk to it which made it just the perfect autumn treat.  I might not like pumpkin pie spice this and that overmuch, but I think cinnamon is a quintessential autumn spice and it was the right balance in that cup of coffee.  I'd been sad since Dunkin Donuts discontinued their cinnamon coffee last year, but I have a new (and less expensive) coffee to choose from now.  

Buc-ees was packed and people milled around like crazy.  The PA system blasted out order numbers (1, 146 was called while we were there today!).   I noted they had a nice leather selection and stopped to admire a beautiful, tooled leather purse.  Out of my range at present but I told John it might be a possible place to look when I find myself ready to make that purchase.  

It is my hope to find a black leather and a brown leather purse to replace the one that is just a little too small to suit me.   I love purses and like having variety, but I tend to carry a black or brown purse nearly all of the time and change out to a different one only occasionally.   The leather would hold up far better than the manmade material ones I keep buying again and again, I think, hence my desire to buy a quality leather purse.

Our supper tonight will be pizza, just a pepperoni one as I had everything ready-made, and John balked at the idea of eating a BBQ chicken one as planned after eating BBq'd brisket.  Fortunately, I felt pretty sure he would do just that and had an alternative plan for a Pepperoni pizza.   I've put the chicken in the freezer for a future meal of BBQ and Brunswick Stew one night when I'm overtired.

Sunday:  Autumn Savor:  I bought a bunch of mums for home florals this week.  These are the sort that look and smell like autumn mums, not the daisy looking ones that come in a variety of colors.   I wanted the aroma to match the season!

After church today we went into Publix.  There were a few specials I wanted to take advantage of today and then John and I wandered around and picked up this and that.  It's not entirely our fault we did so.  I reckon it's been six weeks since I was last physically in that store, and they had completely changed things up.  Chips are now center store and not where sodas used to be, and sodas aren't where they once were, and freezer cases were removed to make way for a wine...I was and am totally discombobulated with all the changes.   My buggy overflowed because we kept finding things, we 'could use' which is our catch phrase now for impulse purchases.  I'm glad that we've gone so long without going into a grocery this time.  I have sent for single items from Katie or Bess if they were going into town, but I haven't been in myself. 

We went in for three items: Boar's Head Beef Bologna which is one of the few luncheon meats I ever purchase anymore.  It's plenty pricey but was on a pretty good sale and it's something I know John really likes.  I bought the full pound today and did as I did last time and divided it into portions, bagged each portion separately and then froze it.   This is an effective way to keep us from letting something that costs more spoil or eating it all right away in an effort to insure we don't waste it.

Mrs. T's Pierogis, which were better priced than the pierogis from Aldi as a BOGO.  And soda was on sale, and we wanted to restock.   We've been keeping our soda in the pantry and that has cut down on the desire to have one daily.

I won't go into what all else we bought.  I mean it was ridiculous in the end, but I will share that we did get a big bag of Tootsie Roll candies to donate to the church for Harvest Festival and we bought a packet of vegetarian cheese slices for Caleb.  He loves a grilled cheese sandwich and I'm being cautious with his lactose intolerance and trying to give him an acceptable alternative.

I also bought two bunches of mums, a gold and bronze color range.  Mind you those three items I just mentioned accounted for a good 1/5th of what I spent!  

We came home, riding with the windows down and it was just lovely.  It will heat up to something closer to hot this week ahead but today was as pleasant as yesterday and well worth riding with the windows open.  

When we got home, I made us bologna sandwiches with lettuce and tomato.  They were so good!   Then I put away all the groceries and did housework.  We washed a load of dishes, and we washed sheets and towels.  I cleaned bathrooms and straightened house in general.  I went through the fridge and wrote out my list of foods that I should use up this week.   I worked steadily for about three hours and then I felt I was well enough ahead with housework to manage with moments for the rest of the week, at least until Friday.

I got a bit irritated with myself today.  I had gotten lured into a new challenging game and wasted far too much time on it.  Then I settled down this evening at my computer and forced myself to watch videos.  It's purely a compulsive disorder thing with me and I don't always recognize it until I find myself frustrated and irritated but can't pinpoint why.  

I shut the computer and sat asking myself, "WHY?  Why am I spending time watching videos that I don't really want to see today instead of spending time reading?  Or working on Genealogy?  Or doing anything else I might like to be doing besides forcing myself to watch videos that don't interest me?   I do like the vloggers I follow but you see, I can be a stickler for what 'has' to be done.  I have to see today's videos.  I went through a similar stage once upon a time in my life with blogs. I had to check this long blog list daily and I wasted hours of time checking to see if any new posts were up.  One day I realized that I didn't NEED to do it.  I'd just given into a compulsive habit.  Well same for videos and gaming.  I don't NEED to do either.  I can play once a day or watch once a week or set a timer and only allow myself that much time to watch or play and then move on to other things I'd like to do.

Katie texted that her training started at 8am Monday so I shall have to set my alarm still earlier if I'm going to have coffee before Caleb arrives.   

Monday:  It was pitch dark outside when I came into the kitchen this morning.   I enjoyed my coffee and my cup of hot tea, something I've picked up again since it's turned off cooler in the morning.   This morning I had Lapsang Souchong tea, which is black and smoky and seems to speak of early morning fires to me.

Katie arrived very shortly after 7am and I noted to myself that if she's going to be that early then I'm going to have to get up just a wee bit earlier myself.  I want time enough to gather my thoughts for the day.  I was still sipping tea when they came in this morning and hadn't quite got my head in the day thinking game, lol.   Caleb is set on go when he comes in.  He runs to windows and toy box and back to me in the kitchen and just generally makes himself busy.

After Katie left, I got busy making breakfast because "Eat eat" is usually the first thing he says after "Bye"!  He happily ate cinnamon toast and Spam with us this morning.  Since I'd done so much work yesterday, I felt quite comfortable just sitting quietly with him and watching him play.  This pleases him no end.  He likes having an adult to run to for a quick hug or to crawl into my lap and then he'll get down and play some more.

I prepped supper while he ate his lunch.  It was an experiment in leftovers.  You'll read all about it in the second Gathered Fragments post for the end of this week.    When Caleb went down for his nap after lunch, I made myself rest.  I might have spent a lot of the morning NOT doing housework, but I assure you I'm quite active.  I jumped up and down thirty dozen times to drag that little boy out of the trash cupboard, or to chase him down to take back a bottle of balsamic glaze that he was determined to have from the food cupboard, or to help him with something he wanted from the toy box, etc.

John went over to town to cut some more limbs and trim the grass in the backyard.  When he came back Caleb was down for a nap but had just awakened.  I don't rush to get him out of bed.  If I hear him speak but he's fairly quiet otherwise, I let him have a bit longer quiet time.  If he starts calling out and is persistent, I go ahead and get him up.  He generally likes to talk to himself and that's what he did today.  John and I were able to eat a quiet lunch together.   

The afternoon hours were a repeat of the morning hours.  Caleb got up and ate a snack, ran and ran and ran, in and out of the cupboards (other days he doesn't bother them), and then suddenly he was STARVING, and no one was feeding him, and he melted into a heap while I prepared his plate.   Then we picked up the living room and he got a bit wild because he was overtired by then.  Katie came in a bit before 5pm.

Caleb is so funny.   If I tell him, I love him he kisses Katie.  He does it every single time when she's here and it makes me laugh every time, he does it.

Autumn Savor:  John and I took trash to the dump this afternoon and when we came back, I walked out to empty compost and snip a few more Marigold which are blooming as though they mean to make up for every floral disappointment, I've had this whole summer long.  They are just lovely, a sort of burnt red color and prolific.  

Our supper turned out good.  I've got ideas of how I might make this again when I don't have gathered fragments to use.   

We were sitting here quietly watching tv when we heard a tap on the back door.  Bess came over to bring us some of the carrot cake she'd make.  My gracious but that was delicious!  John and I opted to share a piece and save the other for tomorrow.  Bess sat and talked with us while we ate it and we had a nice visit with her.  It was a lovely end to a rather nice autumn day.

Tuesday:  I sat down this morning after breakfast and made out menus for the breakfasts and lunches we will have this week.  I realized that having a plan for us and Caleb would make life a lot easier for me rather than planning on the fly as I typically do for those two meals.

I worked at prepping foods for supper this morning.  I feel I'm in good shape for the rest of the week as far as working ahead goes.  I will only need to do very minor things each day to have meals ready to serve.

Caleb was tired this morning...So tired that I didn't think he'd last until noon for his usual nap and so I fed him an early lunch and put him to bed at 11.  He must have been as tired as I thought he was because he didn't make a peep when I left the room, and we didn't hear a thing out of him for over two hours.

The afternoon went well enough after that nap except for the meltdown Caleb had when Grampa played guitar.  It wasn't the playing that bothered him.  It was that he wasn't allowed to go beat drums to accompany Grampa!  We wouldn't have minded had he simply beat on the drum, but he was none too choosy about hitting just the drum, so I had to bring him out of the room.  And so, he cried until Grampa quit playing.

Autumn Savor:  I was sitting in the kitchen sitting area watching the Blue Jays catching bugs.  I noted two huge and beautiful butterflies down on the main driveway playing tag with one another.  They were really large, so they were easily seen.   The sunlight glistened on their wings as they dipped and twirled and chased one another.  It was a lovely moment.

Wednesday:  Autumn Savor:  I looked out the window earlier and watched a cascade of leaves fall from the Pecan tree.  The leaves are beginning to slowly turn golden color.  And then the squirrels began chasing one another up and down the trunk.  

Today went very well.  Caleb was in a great mood and not in the least in the mind to be contrary to all things and for that I am grateful.  I'm not accomplishing a thing, not a bit of it, except for meals while he's here.  Glad I had the foresight to work ahead last weekend.

I was so tired this afternoon that once we'd had our lunch, I sat down in my chair and went right off to sleep.   I needed it, too!  I'd been feeling rather glum and down before that nap, but it was like sunshine had been restored when I woke, though I only slept about 30 minutes.  It made such a huge difference in how I was feeling.

A couple of weekends ago, I tearfully told John I'd had enough: enough of the anti-vax/vax debate, enough of Afghanistan, enough of the yay of this one vs the nay of that one and endless new stories about disaster, murder, etc.   He was snarky at first, but he HEARD me, and I know he did because the next morning he apologized for feeding my fears.  And that was what had happened to me.  I'd been hearing so much negativity that my anxiety had built, my stress had increased, and I felt by end of each day as though I'd scream and never stop.

He's still listening to such but in a great deal less than he had been doing.  We're watching the original Star Trek series, old Perry Mason episodes, more of the vlogs we both like to watch and he's choosing a movie most days that we generally watch together.  Today he found an old Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman film called "Indiscreet".   I love a good Cary Grant film and this one was a fun one, romantic and happy and funny.  Well worth seeing.

I've also been taking time to read more.  I've just finished reading Emilie Loring's There Is Always Love.  I don't recall ever reading this one before and I can't tell you how long it's been on my bookshelf either, but I'm pretty sure it's been years!   It was really good.   I hate that some sites will list her as erotica (NO WAY!) and like Goudge she's considered a 'Romance Author'...The truth is that Loring is primarily a mystery writer, and the romance is almost always chaste and pure.  If you haven't read her do give her a try.

I picked up Susan Watkin's Jane Austen's Town and Country Style.   I started this one months ago but today settled with it and have nearly finished chapter 1.  I'm really enjoying it at present.  It wasn't what I'd planned to read but somehow, it's what I had by my chair and though it's been there months I began it again and it's 'taken'.  Have you ever started a book and laid it aside because it just didn't hold your attention and then picked it up later and it was fully absorbing?  Yeah, me, too.

Thursday:  Autumn Savor:  We went out to carry off trash this evening and the golden rod was gloriously in full bloom.  We went into town from the drop point and passed a massive field that was absolutely covered in blooming fall flowers.   It was breathtaking!

I was a little shocked today when I turned the perpetual calendar numbers over to 30...September is done!  Where on earth did it go?  I went over September goals last night and I won't complain over what got done and what didn't.  I did more than I'd hoped I might and even managed quite a few fall cleaning jobs.  Now that I've been keeping Caleb for the second full week, I guess I did all right, considering.

This morning I took time to sit down and mark through all the entrees and sides I've already made this week.  Then I organized my list to include things I meant to make for lunch/dinner for today and tomorrow.  I also went ahead and planned the weekend meals.   I went ahead and pulled items that needed to thaw over the next few days.  

John went to work on a fence-line project over across the field then came back to trim up some of our yard and spray the cemetery one more time.  He's been slowly working his way into the mess that grew up.

This evening, after Caleb went home, we took off the trash.  We were admiring the great amount of work that Bess has gotten done on her front bank which has been a struggle to keep up with for the last few years.   She's really worked hard!   It was on a scale with the cemetery on the place in being a mess.  So, as we were going by, we saw the boys playing out in the yard.  We waved to them, warned Isaac who was running like mad towards the road to stay IN the yard and said we were going to take off trash.   After that we went to town and posted the bills due the first part of October.   Then we drove back up the road and looked to see if the boys were still in the yard.  They were so we stopped and visited for a few minutes.  Sam was cooking dinner and he came out to see if we needed him.  Millie was left behind in the house and she let it be known that she was outraged by screaming loudly, lol.  Sam brought her out to visit and then we all wound up our visit.

We came home to eat our supper.  No gathered fragments tonight for our meal.  We had our Sausage and Pierogi meal.  I had some cabbage and Pierogi left so one of us will eat that for lunch tomorrow.

Friday:  Well, here we are in a brand-new month.  I actually have a Goals post ready to send but needed to finish editing it.  It will go out shortly.

The morning began far too early in my opinion.  I'd have gladly gone right back to sleep this morning, but the desire NOT to waken John with my alarm going off multiples of times, and of being awakened by Katie coming in did not appeal.  I dragged myself from bed.  When Katie came in and John got up, we all looked like we were dragging pretty heavy.  Only Caleb was all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to "Go go go" as he likes to say these days.

The bonus to my being up early was another breathtaking sunrise to watch.  And it is the one thing that makes me glad I'm rising extra early just now.   It's nice to sit and take it all in while the house is quiet about one and the coffee mug in your hand is warm and comforting.

I spent a portion of my morning cleaning our bed and bath.  That didn't require a lot, but I had removed sheets from the bed and needed to remake that.  I washed that load of laundry and dried them indoors since ragweed is plaguing us at present.

I also started prepping a pan of dressing or stuffing, depending on whether you live North or South. John has me saying stuffing after 30 years, but I didn't stuff anything with it, except the pan I put it in to bake.   This will reheat for our Sunday dinner.  I've a jar of chicken gravy I plan to try.  I'd bought it as an experimental item for the Shoebox Supper menus but wanted to try it before I bought more than one jar.   Trial run will be on Sunday.  While I was digging in the freezer, I glanced at a bag of frozen peaches and decided on the spur of the moment to make us a peach cobbler to go with my Sunday dinner menu.  At this point I need only mix up and bake my Green Bean Casserole and that is next to nothing to do.  

I have been hot all morning long, unpleasantly warm and at one point sat down in the kitchen sitting area to cool off and this is where my next Autumn Savor occurred.   The sunlight coming in from the east highlighted the gold and orange leaves mixed among the green ones on the trees.  The morning glistened with dew and had a gold aura that was beyond lovely.

Round one of the day is over...Caleb naps and we are resting, a well-deserved rest.  I'll end here for the week.  Share what you did and any bargains that you might have found.  Are there outages in your area that you're noticing?  Come on and visit with us in the comments section.

And have a lovely autumn weekend!