Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Hot and Cold

Saturday:  I am feeling somewhat better aside from the wretched achiness and general weakness.  I woke this morning in the wee hours to heavy pouring rain, I had chills that wouldn't stop.  I put pajamas on over my gown, piled on a housecoat, put on socks and wrapped in a quilt, even covered my head with a fleece blanket.  

The chills subsided just as the terrific winds picked up outdoors.  I watched the light in the kitchen flicker repeatedly as lines were swayed this way and that.  If I can't bear sitting up in the semi-dark, I loathe sitting up in the pitch dark.  By that point I was over whatever chill had struck me and was ready to head back to bed.  

But not to sleep.  Now I had a terrific appetite.  I thought of what was in the fridge and the need to sort it all out.  I thought of what meals I might make from what I recalled having on hand and whether or not another trip to the grocery was really necessary.  I think I've made up my mind to take advantage of the Kroger sale on milk (87c a half gallon with digital coupon and loyalty card) which I can freeze, but I don't believe just now I'll go back for anything more.    

The wind raged and raged outdoors. I thought of the uncovered plants on the porch and the iris (yellow, purple and white) all blooming at once and wondered if I'd made a huge mistake in forgetting that a cold front was supposed to come in.  I should have covered my poinsettia and Christmas cactus and Kalanchoe.  I should have cut iris to grace the house because who knows if the cold will damage the buds?

And then just as suddenly as it came the wind stopped.  I lay in bed and kept getting warmer and warmer and more and more hungry and finally I got up and went into the kitchen.  I saw dawn was breaking on the horizon and decided then was as good a time as any to sort out the things in the fridge.  Mind you these nocturnal forays into the kitchen have been ongoing since I got ill, lol.  I was loading the dishwasher at 3:45am one night!

So here I am at 6am, having had my first cup of coffee and done my first meal planning of the week!   I do hope the feeling good part lasts throughout the day.

Sunday:  Meals for yesterday:  Bagels with cream cheese and smoked turkey

Buffalo Chicken Pizza (easy on the hot sauce!)

Choice of leftovers

John and I were both hopeful last night.   Church, today, we thought.  No big plans but it would be nice to go to church.  We haven't been yet this month...

Well, no go for us.  John was up before the alarm and already showered.  I had gone to the guest room to sleep, a whole two hours.  I keep having these little cold spells.  Not chills as I  had on Friday night but at least twice yesterday and again last night, I was just plain cold.  John and I have reversed.  It's usually he who has covers piled high.  I slept under four quilts!

I crawled out of bed when the alarm went off, determined that John would feel free to go on to church.  He looked at me and said, "I just don't think..." and I nodded and said, "Then I'm going to go back to bed."  I slept until 9:30.   When I woke, I felt 'gone'.  

I had no oomph.   So little that John felt he must make breakfast.    When Katie arrived, I'd managed only to work up enough energy to make half my bed.  The other half never got touched until 4pm.

Katie wasn't here long but the visit was exhausting to me even though I did nothing but sit.  I took a nap.

When I woke John said we'd go out for a hamburger.  I told him I'd go if we could sit in the parking lot and eat it.  I wasn't up to getting 'ready' to go out, i.e. makeup and change of clothes, etc.  I'll confess the idea of leaving home was overwhelming.   The warring idea was that a second meal I didn't have to cook myself in one day was a bonus.

Honestly, I'm glad we went.  I sincerely believe the change of air and the better atmosphere of the car and the change of view were good medicine.   Our burgers were good.  Not as hot as I like but I confess I'm the one who wants food to be scalding hot when it comes to my plate, or car.  But yes, they were good.  

When we got back home, I happily came into the house and found my chair once more.  It might not sound like much but it was an accomplishment of sorts and our first 'date' of any sort in nearly a month.  We've missed out on everything we had planned for weeks now, so it was especially nice.

Meals:  Bacon, Fried Eggs, Toast

Leftover Pizza (I made a much smaller one yesterday)

Takeout burgers eaten in the parking lot

Wednesday...MONDAY:  You see how confused I am?  Wednesday indeed.  Just bare with me, ok?  

We slept until after 10 this morning.  I was shocked.  I shook John awake and said, "Do you know what time it is? "   "An hour later than it was Saturday morning at this time."   Well...he had a point, lol!  Using his perspective I realized it wasn't such a rare thing to sleep until 9am.   Daylight savings time, ugh.  I felt a little less lazy/ill so I'm glad I woke him.

I suggested, as we were existing the bedroom, now that it was nearly 10:30 we just skip breakfast and have coffee and I'd make lunch a bit early.  Oh the wail that went up!   "But breakfast is my FAVORITE meal of the day!"  I contemplated that as I made my coffee and said "I'll give you brunch and a snack later in the afternoon with a nice supper tonight."  

I sat down with the new waffle iron pamphlet in hand and looked up their suggested recipe for waffles.  Let me just say that this waffle iron was lovely to use.  It truly was.  The instructions were explicit about how much batter to put in and how long to cook.  There was no overflow issues.  There was no undercooked nor overcooked and more importantly the timer didn't go off prior to it being done nor before I finished filling it as the old one did.  I'm very pleased with it.

The house is a mess.  I'm sick of the pots and pans piled on the baking center counter.  I'm tired of looking at one mess and seeing three more.  I'm tired of us being sick and ailing.   The temptation is to push hard and get it all done despite feeling weak, but then I remember that my sole resolution this year was to Take. Care. Of. Me.  And right now, I'm more important than household tasks, and projects.

While I was prepping supper I had several thoughts run through my mind for posts I'd like to write and share.  I've taken care to make notes, so those thoughts won't get lost.

Meals:  Belgian Waffles, Kielbasa

snack: John suggested a cheese sandwich, lol.  I was thinking Quesadilla.  Same difference.

Roasted Chicken, Pan roasted Butternut, potatoes, onions

Tuesday:  I do feel better, I do feel better, I do feel better...lol   No really, I do.  I'm not 100% yet, that's true, but it's better.  I jokingly said to Bess that I slept until 10 yesterday and felt I'd hit my peak about 11am.  Truth, though.   

Today I pushed myself a bit.  It seemed only fair to do so since I'd actually pushed John yesterday to get up and walk every 45 minutes.  By end of the day yesterday, he was moving a lot more freely, standing upright and only grunting with pain occasionally.  

I figured what's good for the gander, was good for this goose, too.   I would get up periodically and do a task and then sit to rest and get up a few minutes later to do the next one. Granted I was done about my usual time.  And I am still looking about thinking of little things I set out to do and got distracted by another thing instead.  But the house looks comfortably clean.  It will do.

No big things to share.  Merely tidying and straightening.  Nothing more.  Bess stopped by for a quick visit and took our trash with her when she left.  I think she was mostly checking to see how we were getting on.  

Bess came over in the truck.  River was sitting in the seat with her head out of the window and refused to get out.  I heard Bess talking to Rufus and Maddie.  Shortly after she left, I went out to feed the dogs, who both stood looking expectantly at me.  I turned to go back in the house; they followed me.  They were very intently looking at me.  I realized they wanted a biscuit.  When Bess stops by she usually is in her car.  She keeps a box of dog biscuits and she gives the dogs a biscuit.  Well, she was in the truck today.   I gave them a biscuit, told them I was sure Bess would bring them one next time and they were happy but I had to text Bess about the dogs letting me know that she'd had no biscuits.

Meals:  Cheesy Grits, Toast

Italian Rice with steak slices

Beef and Bean Burritos, Tossed Salads

Wednesday:  Well dears, I did it.  I emptied every single item out of the top cupboards either side of the sink.  Moved the little cabinet from next to the freezer to the end of the kitchen counter (where the future upright freezer will one day live) and filled said cabinet with all the dishes and glassware that would fit.  What doesn't fit, will leave the house.  Some will go the shed for future use but a lot of it can be donated.  One or two items, I'll try to house under the cabinet.

I took more breaks than I spent time working but I was just determined to get it done.   And the result was that when John saw me working away yet another day at my kitchen, he felt prompted to get up and start putting the new kitchen island together.  By end of the day, I should be able to move all those pots and pans and utensils off the counter tops and into the new island.  

That's not to say that I am by any means finished with any room.  Ever noticed how removing this or that in one room means that something shifts in another two rooms somehow and eventually you find you've worked your way around through all the rooms shifting something or other?  Same here.  

The bedroom is a mess in one corner.  I've no clue where we'll now keep our personal prescriptions that we once kept in the little cabinet in the kitchen (with childproof locks). There's a pile of stuff in the guest room slated to be donated or moved to the shed.  I realized that I've packed the China buffet in the living room so tightly with things that I can't possibly put anymore in.  So that needs a good sorting out.   I moved a few 'reader' type cookbooks to the living room, so the bookshelves are now askew once more.  

I will not allow myself to be overwhelmed.  I will not get overwhelmed. I won't.  I won't.

I realized the other day I don't Spring clean.  I Spring renovate and as everything shifts about, I clean as I go so that the house ends up having been Spring cleaned.  I'm just doing Spring cleaning the really hard way!

I started a bathroom project that isn't quite complete yet.  There's still some painting that needs to be done and a few accessories that are necessary (a shorter curtain rod for instance).  So that project is not finished.

I've been shifting the kitchen about for something like two or three weeks now and that's not complete.

I revamped the kitchen sitting but it's not quite right.  The chairs are off scale for the space. I've made it as pretty as I can and it will do but no, it's not finished.  Either one chair has to move out or I find myself a smaller second chair. 

I've noted that it's getting time to consider what I'll do for summertime pillows in the living room and that is a project that begins with the search for fabric to use.  I'll mention as well that we are in desperate need for a replacement for John's chair.  I've been using it since he hurt his back and this chair HURTS to sit in for more than an hour.  The fabric is rough and unpleasant as well.

 I'd love to move that wingback chair from the kitchen sitting into the living room.  I'm lobbying hard for John to let me have it professionally recovered and suggested to him we'd save more than enough to buy him a nice chair to replace the painful one. So far, he's not convinced.

I moved the kitchen desk to the bedroom wall.  I hate it in my bedroom.  I wouldn't mind a desk in that spot, but not what I have to use at the moment.  A lovely little secretary would suit me perfectly.  Preferably an old one.  

The flea market in town has a China cabinet that matches the buffet in the dining room.  It's being sold as part of a set but then they were also selling that buffet as part of that set, too.  I'm seriously considering stopping in to see if she'd sell it as a lone piece...Question to self is do I then move the buffet to the kitchen?  Or do I use the China cabinet in the kitchen?

There's only one main issue: money! lol.   

Most of these things I'll tackle slowly and patiently as I always do.   Long ago, I recovered that wing chair and used nails to stick the fabric on and no one noticed.  The chair looked nice enough.  Now I have a proper staple gun I could probably do an even better job.  I have fabric enough.  I can do it myself.  I know I can.

Pillow covers aren't pricey nor are fabric remnants which make nice covers, too.  The harder part is finding what I like well enough to use it.

The painting in the bathroom will get finished.  No money required.  Curtain rods are cheap.  It's the size proving to be the issue.  Worst come I'll get a piece of dowel rod and paint it.  I'll bet I can put finials on either end and no one will be the wiser except you and me.

I can ask the price of the China cabinet but I'll take along a tape measure and measure it, too.  I think it's smaller than the buffet and would look best in the dining room proper.  We'll see how that goes.

It's time for the boys to stop by.  Isaac had a nightmare last night and needs to see Grandpa.

Meals:  Shirred Eggs, Apple Walnut Muffins

Cowboy Stew (Baked bean, ketchup, onion and ground meat)

Apricot glazed Corned Beef cooked in Apple Cider, Potatoes, Cabbage and Irish Soda Bread Biscuits.  Yes, I did an early St. Patrick's Day meal.  I cooked the corned beef and glazed it afterwards using a mix of apricot preserves and yellow mustard.  I ran it into the oven with the Soda bread.   This was a small corned beef but there's enough leftover for a second meal for us.  It would never have fed a whole family without my adding in a few more sides!

Thursday:  No sleeping in this morning.  John's doctor's appointment was set for 9am and though we left home in plenty of time we were late by a few minutes anyway.  Thankfully not an issue with this group.  (Side rant: Bess shared the other day that she'd waited with the children for 2 hours beyond their appointment time.  "But let me call to say I'll be delayed by 5 minutes and they cancel my appointment and I have to make the trip all over again!"   I know doctors can be delayed for many reasons but she does have a point.)

John needed to see the doctor in order to get his blood pressure meds refilled but it was timely with his current back/hip issues.  The doctor agreed that it likely is sciatica and has given John a prescription to help ease the nerve and swelling.  The good doctor also suggested he take Vitamin C, D3 and Magnesium...Hmmm...all the things his good wife kept telling him he needed to take as well.  I'm glad he wasn't there just to hear that advice though because I'd have been peeved that he'd paid someone else to tell him what I did, lol.

We took the prescriptions to the grocery where we get ours filled.  While we waited, I suggested we do banking, drop off donations and pick up a few groceries.  Though the bank is next door to Aldi, John said "Oh you can get the same things at Publix."  Well, I can...but doggone it I paid plenty extra for it all.  Never mind.  It was convenient to do it this way today but next month...Next month we best get back on our budget marks and stay there!

And honestly, I do keep toying with the idea of shopping weekly instead of whenever John feels up to going off to shop.  I must track prices hard just now and make sure I step up when there's an item on sale that is truly a sale.

Quick rundown on prices at Publix today: Hillshire farm sausages 2/$8 which was a new high though it was 'on sale'.  I bought it because I do like sausage for breakfast now and then and I refuse to pay $5 for 8 ounces of frozen turkey or chicken sausage.     I found name brand shredded mozzarella was a savings over a block of store brand mozzarella.  Walked down meat counter on my way to the sausage and cheese: Chuck roast for $7.99/pound.  Refused to look at steak.  Ground chuck in a family pack, $5.19 pound.  Italian sausages were $6.45 per package but I found a store pack of Italian turkey sausage that was loose meat for $5.  That isn't for breakfast but for pizzas.  I bought a single beef shank slice for $4,99 a pound.  I find that meat tastes as good as a chuck roast for slow simmering and one shank will just serve me and John.

I glanced at whole chickens which were just $1.01 per pound.  Truth, now that's cheaper than the 98c plus 10% that I pay at the discount story.  I should have picked one up but was concerned I was in the store overlong and John out in the car on his own.  Never mind.  I'll definitely double check with Publix before buying whole chickens at the discount store in the future.

Cream cheese continues high.  I snickered at myself when I noted another brand I've never seen before selling for 2/$5 and I said, "Oh that's a good price!"  No.  No it's not.  It was the lowest price in the case but it's NOT a good price!  How quickly the mind grasps prices as 'normal' and suggests that anything lower is a good purchase.  

Romaine lettuce store brand $3.99.  Cabbage was still 39c//pound so I got a head of that.  I used half the last head last night for supper.   Bananas 65c/pound.

And flour.  There was no store brand flour, only name brands.  I bought the lesser priced bag, 5 pounds for $3.99.  King Arthur and another high-quality flour were nearly $8 for 5 pounds.

Officially I am almost at the former budget limit.  I went over my purchases once in the car and I can say honestly that the three items put into the buggy as 'impulse' or treats were all of them about the same amount they were before all these inflated prices.  It was the cost of all the regular routine things that had gone up! Those 'nice to have items' right now are the better buys.  Unfortunately, I can't make a meal out of nice to have items.  

We will have to go back to pick up one of John's prescriptions tomorrow.  We were hoping to head in that direction for a church group meeting anyway, so we'll combine runs.  

The house is a bit of a mess.  I'd meant to tackle the messier spots today but the round of errands and all took it out of me.  

But the afternoon has not been a total loss.  I've definitely got to do more 'at home' manufacturing of my own groceries.  I have loads of ground deer in my freezer and I can make my own sausage from that.  I just need to season it a little more highly than I have in the past.  I can return to making bagels now that there are no children underfoot.  I can pull out my old good Tried and True economy recipes and make the most of what we have.  I just need to put all my old tricks to use once more.  

True, I hadn't planned to work as hard at savings at this stage of life, but needs must and all that good stuff.  Isn't it fortunate I know how and don't have to learn now?

Meals:  Toasted Cheese over Irish Soda Biscuits

Chicken Tender Sandwich, water, Cake Doughnut

Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers, Black Beans, Salad.  Ended up adding black beans to the meat mixture to bulk it up a little. 

Friday:  The recipe for supper last night was a new one to us.  I found Poblano peppers at the discount grocery which has a strong Hispanic patronage.  I happen to love Chilies Rellenos but figured John wasn't going to care for that so much.  I scrolled around online and found the recipe I ended up using.  In reading it, I was sure we'd like it.  Aside from the basic seasoning, it is essentially the same sauce I'd put on Spaghetti ala Diable.  Instead of cayenne pepper it called for smoked paprika, oregano, and cumin.  

We liked the recipe overall but I was so disappointed in the Poblano peppers.  They were tough.  I went back to re-read the recipe after we'd eaten to insure I'd not failed in following the directions.  Nope.  I think next time I might try baking the peppers a little first, then fill them.  The filling was delicious by the way and one I'd consider putting on pasta as well.   I also altered the recipe by adding in some black beans to the filling.  

About 9pm last night I simply couldn't take the thought of the messes in the bedroom.  I jumped up and faced clearing the desk first.  That was a hard task, because I had so much piled on that desk.  And when I'd worked my way down to just a stack of paperwork, I did the next hard job and sorted out the receipts from the rest and worked on the checkbook.  I'm done spending this month, that's for sure!

I have a short list of to dos for today.  Sort out the fridge, plan meals for the weekend, clean floors and laundry.  

It's been a great week.  We are both starting to feel ourselves once more.  The house is shaping up.  Lots to do yet but we made progress.

How was your week?