Saturday: John was sort of pushed into serving as the worship leader for a ministry that the church has a huge hand in. Mind you all, the person who 'pushed' did so nicely and brought John and the man who does the ministry together and they agreed that John would be at the Homeless Outreach today. Of course, John wanted me to come along, something I'd rather dreaded, not because I feel I am above the homeless that they serve, but because I sincerely 'feel' so deeply for these people and the plight they are in, as well as finding myself struggling with old skeletons in my own closet regarding substance abuse and an unwillingness to take responsibility for where they find themselves. Some are truly just lost souls, not necessarily spiritually lost, but mentally incapable of doing better and without protectors of any sort who could help. Some appear to be no more homeless than I am but seem to show up routinely for the free handouts and meals. Seriously. You can tell the difference.
Anyway, there were so many volunteers that this day I had no need to fill a service position and could sit back at the back of the room in a corner, where I did John's bidding and prayed, a LOT, for various people as they came to my attention. I was also better able to see what reaction most of them had to the music. Two or three hurriedly ate and nearly broke down the door getting out. But most tapped their foot or nodded their head in rhythm with the songs beats. When John played "Blessed Assurance", nearly everyone in the room sang along, as it is an old and so familiar hymn. That did my heart good.
The smell of the turkey dinner was pretty darned appealing. People went back for seconds, and that was good to see. Others opted to get a to go box filled with food.
When we left there, I didn't have that same drained, worn down, weepy feeling I'd had when we went to the outreach last year. Is that due to my improved mental and physical state? It could be. We'll see, because John's been asked to do it again next month.
Today I'm thankful that none of my family are in a homeless situation.
Sunday: After church today, we went to the grocery store. Not unusual. While John was in the restroom I made a quick circuit around the flowers, entryway displays of goods and the bakery. While I was in the bakery, a buggy pulled alongside mine and a tiny voice sang low, "The wheels on the bus..." and I piped right in and sang "Go round and round, round and round..." and then the little girl and her grandmother joined in, and we sang the song though together. The child smiled hugely at me.
As I continued to look around the bakery, a worker looked at me and said "Ma'am!" "Yes?" "That was a sweet thing you did!" I laughed and said, "It was the automatic response of a gramma who has heard those wheels going round and round for hours on end." But it was sweet of her to compliment me on it.
We spent a load of money. Like HALF my budget for the month, which was already spent, by the way. And I could count my bags on ONE hand! Mind you they were my own shopping bags, not those tinky plastic ones and they were packed pretty well but still...No kidding, the prices were crazy.
Mind you, I wasn't exactly holding back. When it comes to a holiday meal, I know I'm going to spend extra and I tend to plan for it, but I missed my mark a long way simply because I was so unaware of how much things would cost. John and I had gasped as we walked down the meat counter and saw prices. A chuck roast going for $9.95 a pound?! ZOWIE. None of the items I wanted were on sale. I did bypass a few things because frankly I wasn't looking to spend loads of money, but I did, all the same. What might have happened had I given myself free rein and simply bought what I wanted? We'll never know, thank goodness! I just couldn't have done that even if I were in a splurge-y sort of mood.
Home to dig out the next canister of Gatorade as sickness has invaded the house next door again.
Today I'm thankful for wan looking little grands and a weary eyed Mama looking after them.
Monday: I spent all morning getting the house in order and then working away at my Thanksgiving preparations. I now have four pies, cheese crisps and sausage balls in the freezer. There is Cranberry Relish and Bess's favorite Cranberry Celebration in the fridge.
I made a mess and had accident after accident getting all of this done. And I made substitutions for ingredients I didn't have on hand because yesterday's spending was shock enough to make me not want to spend more this month if I can avoid it.
But I also had time. Time to work on that year-end review, to get my house clean, time to work on a proposed budget for 2024, time to bake, time to make lunch.
At my chiropractor appointment, I was greeted warmly by the receptionist, a woman I've grown to like quite well. We had a long conversation which was pleasant and nice and it's for that I am thankful today. I miss talking with a woman about this and that. I don't mind one bit doing things with my family but the one thing I've missed these last few years is having a woman to just talk to.
Tuesday: John and I drove to the mill town north of us, set in the foothills, to purchase apples. My hoped for trip to go further north just isn't going to happen, and I've most likely missed any opportunity to get fresh Georgia grown apples anyway. It was my hope that this grocery, which said it had 'local' produce would have them. No. They were North Carolina apples.
So I compromised and bought a variety of apples we've never eaten before. I got Hunnyz, Kiku, and Rave apples. They do smell very good. We also purchased a gallon of Apple Cider, which I enjoy drinking both cold and spiced and we bought cereal. Then John spied the Queen Anne Cherries. This is the only time of year I eat the cherry cordials. Then he spied his kryptonite, Double Dipped Chocolate peanuts. I told him that was quite enough, lol.
At the register we had an unpleasant experience. A woman at the head of the line argued that the clerk had shorted her $1. From what I understood, her total had been $9.12. She'd handed the girl a $20. She insisted that the girl owed her $11, not the $10 and change she'd been given. Then when the girl told her she'd give her the demanded dollar back, the woman got upset that she had to wait for her to ring the next customer.
Now anyone with sense knows two things: the computer tells the clerks exactly how much money to give back to each customer. That this girl was willing to short her register by $1 to send this quarrelsome woman on her way said something. That she had to ring the next customer actually probably was a time saver, because we all know that a manager must override the register to open the cash drawer and you will wait forever on a manager, especially when it's lunch time.
The woman who was fussing looked at me hard, and I explained quietly that the girl could open the register only after ringing up the customer. Boy. Was this a negative soul! She turned on me with all the anger she was apparently storing up. I simply gave her a short nod and looked away. I said nothing further and no one else in line said anything. The clerk rang up the next customer's items in haste and immediately opened the cash drawer to hand the woman a dollar.
Now my nature is such that I might take such behavior as deserved. And frankly, I figured once we were in private, John would tell me I'd spoken out of turn...But no. When we were in private, John said, "That woman had a need to argue with someone today. She got no satisfaction from the clerk or you. I sure pity the next person she comes across!" I breathed a sigh of relief and just let it go.
I got a Harry & David catalog today. I told John that for years upon years, I've always longed to place an order with such a company. Truly. But in looking at prices I found things were very dear. I had John guess the cost of a full meal (2 meats, 4 sides, stuffing and 2 desserts). I hinted "Guess high, dear..." and he replied with a figure so low that I nearly died laughing. No kidding. His figure would barely have covered a 'catered' grocery store meal. Obviously that man has not been watching prices. He relies on me to do that. But let's just say that if he'd quadrupled his figure, he might have at least been in the ball park...
Never mind, what I know to be good and worth every penny are the fruitcakes. Liz sent me one a few years ago and it was excellent. And since I have left off making fruitcake of my own because I was convinced that at any time I'd be having my kitchen ripped apart, and I know that a fruitcake made here in my state runs about the same price if you can find them, I decided to order one for my household and one for Mama. Only the website would NOT let me order because it insisted my address was incorrect. How can it possibly be?! I ended up calling the place this afternoon and placing my order. The young man who answered my call offered me every extra he could at a price of just $34.99 more...
That battle with the computer over the incorrect (but correct) address was the final straw for me today. I'd already done battle with the messy thing called sorting out Amazon orders and before that I'd fought my computer because I wanted to print out a short list of things, but the computer insisted that the printer was offline and you can only print remotely, because there's no cable connection. Sigh. Seriously.
Oddly, it's been this way all week long. I go to do the simplest things and I'll drop, spill, cut myself, misread, fight to get a computer, printer, website to acknowledge that I am indeed correct. Or I'll innocently say something to someone in line at the grocery store...PHOOEY!
Today, I'm thankful for the aroma of those fresh apples when we opened the trunk after we got home. Boy was that a lovely aroma! And for rain, which was much needed. And the safe return of my family.
Well I'm batting 1000 today...The Rave apples...I'll relegate those to Caleb for eating or I'll try making applesauce with them. They just don't deliver on flavor, but they sure do smell great!
Wednesday: This morning when I walked out of the bedroom, I could smell apples all through the living area. It was a lovely aroma to be greeted with at the start of the day.
I cleared up the kitchen this morning and made it look nice and neat. That is an ongoing battle lately. It feels like the whole kitchen is one big clutter spot and even when I do clear all the counters except the one, it just feels messy. I remind myself periodically that the cabinets are all empty...but I'm foreseeing a future new kitchen where I have counter tops as empty as I can manage! I'm so over having things on the counter tops.
After cleaning up the kitchen, I went off to take the Cranberry Celebration Salad to Bess, got hugs from all the grandchildren and then headed into town to Dollar General to pick up Christmas cards and shop a wee bit. I love just wandering around the store and seeing what they have, but I purposely avoided looking at the food items today. Not even Christmas candy could lure me to look at food. I knew my grocery budget was well and truly spent. No need of spending still more and I knew I would if I even glanced at food items.
Thankful today for hugs from grandchildren. I left them laughing when I went away and that's how I hope they remember me, with a smile or a laugh.
Also thankful for a phone call from Katie, catching up with me after her trip. It sounds like they had a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow night.
Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!!
I was awake super early this morning. I was also aware that John was awake as well, but we kept in bed until daylight had just begun to peek through the window blind slats. I'm glad we got up when we did. The sunrise was beyond beautiful.
I started the turkey breast cooking and just popped the cinnamon rolls and sausage balls. I just cooked the turkey breast for a half hour at 375F. We had our holiday meal and the turkey was turned down to finish cooking at 325F.
I let myself get caught up in the 'head talk' that I often face when I am about to visit Mama and that distracted me. We gathered trash and went to feed Sam's dogs and then dropped off trash. It wasn't until we got to town and John asked, "What are you thankful for today?" that I felt my stomach drop and I said, "Oh John! I've forgotten all the foodstuff I was supposed to bring! I guess I'm thankful I remembered it before we left town!" We NEVER return home for a forgotten item but we broke that rule today. I came in and got my pie, cranberry sauce and relish, ice, cool whip.
We arrived later than planned at Mama's but it turned out she'd told my brother that we'd not start until 12:15pm, so that was okay. The hard part was to convince her to give my brother until at least the time she'd told him before we began eating. I don't know what it is with her and not wanting to wait on anyone after she's set the time.
Dinner was fine. It was. I realized that as far as my mom and brother are concerned, I am a distant acquaintance. That's fine. I'm not fighting to try to be closer anymore. It was a pleasant meal. My brother stayed about 1 hour on the nose. I helped clean and put things away and then we left.
When we came home, Katie and Cody were here with the children. Katie was doing laundry, hers and ours. Katie and I walked out to the shed to get the Christmas trees and a couple of other items from the shed. I'll go back out tomorrow to get my ornaments for my tree. Caleb's little tree is indoors, and I'll let him finish decorating it when he comes home on Sunday.
Cody's dad came over to meet us. I was impressed by that. We don't exactly live close by, so he made a special effort to come and stayed and talked with John. He had another engagement for the afternoon, but he brought a pie to us in appreciation of our inviting him to have supper with us tonight.
The children refused to nap, and both were a bit wild. There is just 9 months difference in their ages. Caleb spent an hour sobbing and sobbing. I think that being home just set him off. He's spent the last week with Katie and Cody and Bella and hadn't seen us at all. Apparently neither child had been eating very well. So perhaps he was hungry. Eventually Katie got him quieted down and he was fine the rest of the evening. We played, he and I, after we'd had our supper and pie. Sweet things happened.
He was told he had to eat his turkey and gelatin and something else before he could have a piece of pie. Well, he didn't want to eat, and he was told, "No pie if you don't eat some of your plate of food..." He got down from the table, walked into the kitchen, gazed at the pies, said "No pie..." and came back to sit down and eat the required foods in order to get his piece of pie!
Katie bathed the children and put them in pajamas. While Bella was playing in the tub, Caleb got his pie. He chose to have pumpkin. I'd gotten a piece of lemon and let him taste. We all laughed when he took a bit of his pumpkin pie and said "Here you try mine..."
When he'd eaten his fill, he took up his plate and his remaining pie, a miniscule amount, and placed his plate on the shelf in the fridge. "I'll save for later..." he told me, lol.
John and Cody played guitar together for a bit, the children ran and screamed and played. Katie read and I either was playing with a child or just sitting in my chair. I guess I looked tired because Katie said, "You need coffee." And she got up and made me one. That was one well appreciated cup of coffee. I don't care if it was decaf. It had reviving properties, lol.
The children were finally rounded up and they left to return to Cody's for the rest of the weekend. They'll come home on Sunday.
I'm tired. I'm thankful for much this day, not the least of which is my family. I'm grateful for John in my life and my children. I'm grateful for the Thanksgiving playlist by Jake Westbrook. I'm grateful for my home. I'm grateful for the community here.
Friday: Went over my Christmas gift box and between what I've ordered recently, I am very nearly done with Christmas shopping. Can I push and get it all done before the end of next week? I think I can! So that is my plan. And next year, I shall try to do as I did this year and buy things all through the year in order to get ahead.
Today I plan to order some Laura Geller makeup. I'm getting the Baked Balance and Brighten compact and perhaps the Spackle. I hate that name but there you are...Anyway, I can get foundation for about 60% off plus there's a 15% off code and this is when I always buy the foundation, when there are sales plus codes. I balk at the price otherwise, but I can afford $21.50.
John and I have cleaned house and bread is rising. The beds are fresh, bills have been paid for the week. The rest of the day is mine. I'm still a little drained from yesterday with Mama. It's just what it is. I slept poorly last night. A combination of the strain of the day and the heavier carb load I'd eaten and the additional caffeine. Not a good combination to be sure. I have today to rest and recover now the work is all done.
It's been a good week, a long week, full of much to enjoy and be grateful for. Today I am grateful for the cat tapping the window this morning at 7 to let me know she'd noticed I was up and by the way, her bowl was empty, lol. I am grateful for the beautiful blue sky and the sunshine though the weather app keeps telling me we're to be cloudy and rainy. No such thing! I'm grateful for the knowledge I've gained in the last four years about my family relationship dynamics. I'm grateful that God holds me in His hand.
Happy Thanksgiving, dear souls!
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15 comments:
I laughed so hard when I read about a makeup called Spackle!
On Thanksgiving I always make the usual suspects but this year I also tried a new recipe for stuffing baked like a bread pudding. It was an Ina Garten recipe and not one person, nor the dog, liked it. Cheese, eggs and crem made a rich stuffing even richer and obliterated any taste of turkey. It was like a savory bread pudding that may have tasted worse to us precisely because it was named stuffing but tasted like something else. Luckily we also had regular stuffing. I cannot remember the last time I threw away food but I did, giving thanks that I had used a small casserole pan and not a giant one.
As I was giving thanks, I thanked the existence of this blog.
Mama made a pan of dressing with the 'sauce' she kept saying from the chicken she'd cooked. I gathered it was something pre-seasoned and it made the dressing terribly salty, unpleasantly so. I suggested she throw it out but it went into the fridge. Not too worried though, all the food she put in the fridge yesterday will end in the trash by next week. It' what she does.
I mostly stick to the tried and true. But I do enjoy reading all the recipe each year and imagining myself making something new...
Thank you, Mable.
It sounds like your evening gathering yesterday was lovely!
We had a delicious meal, then Greg's brother and SIL came over. Later in the afternoon we had pie buffet (pecan, chocolate pecan, pumpkin, lemon meringue, chocolate silk, and strawberry rhubarb). I was just putting pies away when my nephew called and asked if they could stop in on their way home from his grandparents. Of course, we were delighted to have them, so I left out the pies and they feasted when they arrived.
Overall, it was a fun holiday.
It's pretty chilly here this weekend, but I see no sign of snow in our forecast now. I'm okay if that waits a few weeks.
My Thanksgiving fail was broccoli salad that no one ate so now we have a big bowl to eat through. I really need to just stop making a salad with holiday meals. I did however try an Ina Garten holiday tip and that was to make my mashed potatoes ahead and refrigerate them in an 8x8 dish. They came out of the fridge two hours ahead and then went in the oven covered for 30 minutes at 350. She said they would be better than fresh made and they were. I will be doing this from now on because it really took the stress off that last minute rush.
NC apples have really been disappointing this year. So much so that we skipped the produce stand that has 25 pound bags for $12. The best ones we have had were from Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Ingles and Lidl had Black Friday deals so Hubby went out this morning and grabbed them. The super deal at Ingles was 98 cents for a bag of sugar, limit 4, and boxes of our favorite Swaggerty's sausage for 7.98. Lidl had a deal where if you bought $100 in gift cards you get a $20 coupon next week to use on any amount of groceries that is good for a month. They will repeat this deal mid December when we will both do it again. That is $80 in free food. We get gift cards for places where we spend money anyway. We watch for this every year and it is real boost to the budget.
My personal rule for Chocolate covered cherries is that I have to get them half price after Christmas. Well one year Walmart had like an entire isle of them for 10 cents a box. Ahem, we may have gotten carried away with that one.
Tammy, I enjoyed the evening. I think it helped that everyone was so easy to please and I was so tired that I couldn't work up enough enthusiasm to be hostess-y so I was relaxed, lol.
Lana, wow on the Lidl gift cards! Also on the sales at Ingles. Ingles is the store we drove to in the foothills to get apples. And most were indeed from Michigan.
laughing over the chocolate covered cherry sale. I might be tempted to stock up, too.
My dad loved cherry cordials. Each year I made sure to give him a box. I also love them and Black Forest Cake which was always my requested birthday cake.
Lana, I once made a cauliflower salad no one ate. I rinsed off the dressing and turned it into cauliflower cheese soup that was gobbled up.
Love the Caleb pie story. He sounds like quite the character!
We hit the grocery today. Like you, I spent a ton. I did buy a few extra baking items at Aldi. The plan is to only buy milk and fresh produce for the rest of the month.
I have been picking up items here and there for Christmas. I am done! I also have everything wrapped. Now I get to sit back and enjoy the season. Well, I hope I can anyway. The only think I still need to purchase is a gift for my dad's birthday. It's a nice feeling!
Considering your family dynamics, it sounds like you had a nice Thanksgiving.
Terri, I hope you were able to grab some of Ingles great deals in the ad! We did well there this week, too. The Kraft shredded cheese for 1.78 had a $1/1 iBotta that we did twice.
It's fascinating with how one can be drawn into food just by beatiful packaging. Every single year I drool over Costco's beautiful Christmas gift packages filled with cookies, fruits, nuts and candies. They are gorgeous and pricey and I never buy them. My favorite is a stack of red and white striped boxes filled with various goodies.
This year I have a new cousin in my life who found me through Ancestry.com. She's only half my age, but has been so kind and texts me every week about her life. I realized this was a wonderful opportunity to purchase and send, one of those gift stacks. I did so yesterday and set the package to arrive in December.
Anne, how wonderful and kind of you!
Mable, I recently rinsed a sauce from meatballs that we didn't like and reused the meatballs. Rinsing did no harm.
Wendy, It was a decent Thanksgiving. I was left feeling so depleted from the visit with my mom and brother. I will feel I am truly healed the day I can go into their presence and leave without that feeling of being emptied out of every bit of life. For that reason only I will not call the day a success.
Caleb saving the tiny piece of pie was so sweet. I've had to toss it out but on Sunday when he returns there will a tiny piece of pie in the fridge on the same sort of plate waiting for him. He doesn't understand that having pie uncovered for four days would ruin the pie, lol.
Lana, No we didn't pick up any specials that day. I refused to even look. I was over my budget and didn't want to spend more than on the apples.
Anne, that was a lovely thing to do.
Terri, thank you for mentioning the Laura Geller sale. I use this foundation too (after I read about it on your blog!) and am almost out. It's always nice to get it for a lower price!
I enjoyed reading about your lovely family Thanksgiving.
Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, everyone!
It was just the three of us again. The big family Thanksgiving was probably 50 people this year, including 20+ little children, several of whom were sure to be sick. Just can't risk that with my health issues. But I've come to really enjoy our quiet holiday. I set the table with Grandma's vintage lace tablecloth, my wedding china, my mom's wedding silver, and David's mom's crystal.
We had turkey, mashed potatoes (Lana - I'm going to try that make-ahead trick next time!) and gravy, stuffing, candied yams, green bean casserole (with homemade sauce instead of canned soup), deviled eggs, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls, pie and cake. Lots of work but so delicious and we have had leftovers through today.
Yesterday we did a Zoom call with our adult children and 2 year old granddaughter. We all talked and laughed for about an hour and a half. Little Charlotte did her best to join in the conversation although none of us knew what she was saying much of the time - ha! She did sing us a Christmas song and recite the alphabet.
Chocolate covered cherries are a favorite of mine, too. My dad used to pick up a box for me if he happened to see them around the holidays.
Cindy, I love this product! I'm glad to hear that you do too. Happy my mentioning the sale was a help.
Dee, The zoom call sounds just lovely...Just think how fun it will be when you CAN understand Charlotte. Then she'll take over the calls, lol.
I'm so glad you made it through Thanksgiving as well as can be expected. Ours was simple and the food was good.
I do love the Laura Geller products - although in winter even the lightest balance and brighten turns a bit too dark for me somehow. I love the spackle. Always good to find on sale!
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