The Homemaker Plans (?) Her Week: Jingle Ling A Ling

 

In my home this week, I am waiting.  We are currently waiting on a local man who apparently works on plumbing.  He said he 'might' come out today.  No hurry...It's just cold showers and heating water on the stove.

We are waiting on many things.  People to set dates for finishing up things.  To be paid.  To see if we can actually go to the Christmas program for which we have tickets or if we shall have to forfeit them.  To see how long I must put off Christmas gift shopping...And more.

In the meantime, all the Christmas decorations went back to the shed.  I couldn't abide the clutter and the mess.  It's too much in this season of too many other things being a distraction and prevention of tasks.  No, the tree isn't up.  I'm reluctant to bring it out.  The Mantel is looking okay.  The sideboard is okay.  The center of the dining table is barren, and I've no clue what I shall do with it.  Anything placed on the table is a huge attractant for exploring hands and fingers.

Work:  

Our hot water heater lives behind a closed-up section of our master closet.  In order to get to it, one must clear the closet.  Joy.  Remember we have just three closets in the whole house and that of those three one is a devoted pantry, and one is John's personal music room/collectibles storage.  Which essentially means I have one closet.  Our closet, while neat and tidy, is packed with things.  Or was.  They are currently stacked in the bathroom and on the bed and in the corner of the bedroom.  I am prepared to have to remove still more of those things that I'd left in the closet if this hot water heater job proves to be larger than we hope it turns out to be.  At some point all of this stuff must go back into the closet.  I pray that 'at some point' means this week!  Not sure at all of that.

Keeping up with routine tasks about the inside of the house hasn't been difficult.  John pitches in and helps pick things up two or three times a day.  I very much appreciate that fact.  But outdoors is looking pretty messy.  Leaves on the front porch and patio.  Empty pots or pots with frost dead plants.  General damp and dirt.   Pet foods scattered about.  It's really a huge mess and it brings me no joy to come home and glance over the patio, porch or back porch.  It's a grim look out there.  I hope this week to get outdoors at some point and do some picking up, leaf blowing, etc.  Provided the weather stops being damp and miserable. 

Finish up checkbook work.  Haven't balanced it yet.  That's gonna be grim...Must be done, however.  

Make notes to cancel several services next week so that I'll remember all that must be attended to.

Shopping. Physically and online.  Groceries, Christmas.

Get those cards addressed and sent out.

A haircut would be the loveliest thing.  I may have to wait until a Saturday to do that which means we get up very early and hit the place at first opening or we go during the week and one of us sits in the car with a certain young one.

Somehow, we must carve out time to go attend to some banking business.  It has to be done and we must not have a distraction while we're trying to attend to it.  Not sure how we'll resolve that.  I have an idea and I'll see if it's possible.  I must attend to the second part in order to be able to do the first part.

Kitchen:  

I did make cookies but no bagels.  Right now, making bagels feels like a lot of extra work.  No clue because as in reality it takes no more time than bread and I manage that quite well. I think it's the idea of heating water to parboil the bagels which really takes just a few seconds more.  So, make bagels.

Fix another sweet.  Sweets will last longer about here if I'd stop sending things over across the field to the family there, but I LIKE sending them over and they aren't complaining about it.  After the first of the year when everyone is on that New Year's resolution of losing weight, they'll object.  Happens every year.  But right now, no one complains because they enjoy having something different than they typically have at home and no one has to be fussing about the kitchen to make it.

Make sugar cookie and chocolate chip cookie doughs to freeze while there's spare room in the freezer.

Plan Christmas dinner menu.  And family day Christmas menu.  Plus, a supper for that night because I cannot forget that the older children will starve and complain rather than eat leftovers of any type.

Meals:  

2 meals requested by John:  Kielbasa, Cabbage and Potatoes This meal requires a grocery shop...I have no Kielbasa at all in the house and I do have a free coupon from Kroger I might use to pick up the meat.

Cheeseburgers, Fixings, Chips

Steak with Mushrooms and Onions, Potatoes, Salad

Roasted Chicken with Roasted Vegetables, Green Beans Almondine

Mixed Bean Soup, Cornbread, Apple or Blueberry Cobbler

Chicken Pot Pie, Pear Salad, Green Peas

Breakfast for dinner:  Eggs, Cubed Steak, Biscuits, Grits, Tater Tots (for a small one who dislikes grits)

Personal/Leisure:

Reading.  I went through Elizabeth Goudge's Sister of the Angels in about two days and that was reading slowly.  It was short and sweet.  I think I'd like to try and get through the final Merlin trilogy from Mary Stewart this week if I possibly can.

I spent a lot of time in the latter part of this past week coloring.  I have several of those adult coloring books that are intricate and busy, and I do find it very relaxing.  Except for the part where I grip the pens and pencils as though hanging on for dear life.  Makes me happy I type when I write!

I am on my last Sudoku puzzle in the last book of the three that Bess got me one Christmas about 6 years ago.  Time to get some more.  I prefer a certain intensity of work in those, and the books must be ordered, can't just be found anywhere. I'd like to look for one or two more.

Create a book list of books to buy in 2023.  My limit is two books or $30 per month.  Some months I order 1 older book that is part of an ongoing collection by one author or another and a newer book or new to me author.  Some months I order one fine copy of a beloved author and have to skip a month, lol.  I'd like this year to complete the Thrush Green series by Miss Read and get a few more Emilie Loring, Grace Livingston Hill, etc.