The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Or Does She?

Here we are with a new week ahead and I am unmotivated to plan to do anything at all.  No doubt the result of a restless Saturday night (as usual, nothing unusual in that at all) and poor sleep and a too too early awakening to the day.

As well there's a bit of malaise because time is spinning out too quickly now.  Two weeks ahead and then off goes my daughter and her son to a whole new life.  And as if that loss isn't nearly enough, the stress of how quickly I can make things move with getting the town house cleaned up and ready to sell is real.  I know my nature (Get It Done!) and that of my husband (We'll get to it sometime) are vastly different and situations like this really do start my anxiety amping to the maximum.  

I want, when I walk through with the relator, to show the house's best side.  First impressions are important, even if you're just an empty house.  I remind myself that this particular anxiety can wait for it's proper time.  I have two weeks more after all before it has to become a priority.  A Bewitched wiggle of the nose would be awfully nice though...then I could dust my hands and say 'Done!' 

Never mind.  Never mind.  At least the yard work was attended to this weekend so that portion will be looking nice right away.  Surely that will relieve some of my anticipated anxiety, right?

Work:   

Zone three: Beds and Baths  I noted the guest room floor needs a good hard vacuum and the sewing table needs to be tidied up.   In our room, I really need to do something in our closet which has become crowded and cluttered over the past few weeks.   Bathrooms are holding up rather well.  Perhaps I might get the mirror frame painted in the guest bath.  I tried to create a different finish on it a few years ago and I think after all that the builder grade white looked superior.

We've three frosts predicted in the week ahead.  I must get outdoors and sort out which of the perennials I am going to try to over winter and which simply aren't worth keeping.  I need to get the bin from the shed so I can use it to protect those I mean to keep.  I want to take cuttings of the coleus that are doing so well and perhaps root some of the stems and plant them then coddle them through the winter months.  It's often warm and sunny enough on the front porch during the day for me to keep plants quite well out there in that space.

And I want to cut every last flower I have that is in bloom at present and make one last bouquet for the year.

I really need to go to the grocery at some point.  We've practically no fresh fruit (four mandarins and three mushy apples) and are out of eggs again.  Yet there's a portion of me that says, "Just wait it out a little longer."

Work on the budget for the last two months of the year.  I did that after church today.  I now know where we can trim and what needs to stand as is and overall have a much clearer idea of what our working budget for 2023 is going to look like.

Start my end of year summation.  I finally realized that I lean towards doing this in October because it is the beginning of the Jewish calendar year.  Funny how we establish rhythms that seem right to us, but we don't really understand why, isn't it?  I do make New Year resolutions in mid-December but it's that summation of the year behind I do in October that almost always makes it clear to me what I want to resolve to do in the Roman calendar New Year.

Get my Christmas and birthdays sorted out for the year.  I have five family birthdays in November now.  I have one gift and have promised a baked item for another.  The other three are going to be cash gifts but I need to get that on hand as well as cards before we get into this next month.  

All the usual stuff and whatever of my summer to do list items I find I can fit in or have materials for, etc.  About the summer list, I've found that just routinely reading through the list and reminding myself of tasks I'd hoped/planned to do, I often find myself focused on one and will gather materials and get it done.  It's very much a Tortoise method but it's working.   For instance, I've recently rearranged the prints from St. Augustine on the bedroom wall and had a pretty card Katie bought in Orange Beach some years ago and gave me that I wanted to reframe.  I bought the frame yesterday while out with Katie and now that task is done.

Kitchen:

Those mushy apples are going to become an apple crisp or something similar this week.

Sort out the fridge.  While it's fairly empty, I should really wipe down bins and shelves.  

If I do not go shopping, I need to make bagels.  If I do go shopping, I still ought to make bagels simply because they have a superior taste.  Store bought English Muffins I will concede are definitely better than homemade, but bagels are worth the effort at home.  

Meal plan...I have no inspiration.  Just be aware that the lateness of this post is due entirely to the fact that I can't think what I want to eat this next week.  However, eating is necessary and at least two males in my life are adamant that three meals a day come before them, and I must provide all of those meals to one and at least three meals and three snacks to the smaller.  They are equally matched in temper when it comes to being hangry.  So, think I must!

I am off to look for inspiration.

Meals:  

Pizza Saturday was not a happy meal day, lol.  Our lunch was slow getting to us and arrived just barely warm.  The pizza lacked flavor.  Breakfast was sketchy...Some days you really do not tick the boxes meal wise at all.

Kielbasa, Pierogi, onions, cabbage, and carrot   My favorite go to meal when I've failed to plan

Pot Roast with Vegetables, Green Beans, Corn Muffins

Stir Fry over Rice, Mandarins

out

Curried Chicken, Rice, Broccoli and Cauliflower 

Pigs in Blankets, Corn, Coleslaw  Our third night with Caleb this week will be hot dogs.  He gets excited when I tell him what we're eating on that last night. 

Personal:

My skin is not looking it's best.  Is it the new products I'm using?  Am I using them improperly?  Is it my makeup?  Is it the change of season?  I am going to do some research this week and determine what I need to do to get it right once more.

Clean out my closet...and while I'm at it, set aside the mending I was going to do earlier in the month.  I have two blouses to shorten, a pair of pants that need to be hemmed, a pull in a sweater that I'd like to repair before it's a disaster, etc.  I'd rather just have a stack of mending in a bin next to my chair and work on each piece as I have spare moments.  Small bites, once more.  I don't have to do it all at once, nor even complete the task on one piece all at once.  

While I'm cleaning the closet, I want to determine what I can move from that closet and where it might reasonably go.  Also do the filing that I keep dropping into the top of the file box.  This never takes as long as I fear it's going to do.

And finally, I'll be decluttering, too.  I need to decide how I want to handle my excess things...

Start a new book or two.  I finished MFK Fisher's book last week, then zoomed through the Margery Sharp book.  I have two tall stacks of books I mean to read, so I'm not without choices.

Work on my end of year summation.  I don't have to finish it.  This is not something with a hard and fast deadline, but it is something I'd like to work on.