Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Well That Wasn't Planned

 

Saturday:  I had a rare morning alone...or was meant to.  I wanted to write a Coffee Chat, but it proved difficult.  After the fourth erasure,  I decided to have a go at something I could finish and went to the kitchen to clean the fridge, something I typically do on Sunday afternoons.  I was working away when Sam tapped on the door.

Isaac had a tummy virus he said.  Did I have Ginger Ale? It happened I'd just bought some last week on sale thinking of the possible need of sickness when I picked it up.  I offered him Asparagus since I have so much.  He decided to have coffee and take a break while here.  He'd left Josh in charge at the house and given him a phone to text or call if he needed anything.  He sat down and talked and talked and talked.

Thrifty Thursday: Getting On the Right Track

Thursday:  I made bread and bagels today.  I had planned to keep Millie tomorrow and wanted to get those tasks out of the way.  

I placed the pictures from the shed in the room and like them there.  I looked at what fabric I had on hand to see if some might be a possible match to the comforter but it wasn't.  One is too blue and the other is too gray/green.   

Coffee Chat: Love and Marriage

I didn't particularly want to write about love and marriage, but the recurring theme these days is fitting as we watch our family members and friends deal with divorce, new love, marriage, family, and such.  So here we are. We'll see how this one goes.

This year we have already attended the wedding of a friend and in two weeks we will attend another.  In both instances, the new partners had been previously married.  I'd watched them go through the heartbreak of divorce and the long spell of grieving that follows it.  I'd watched as they eventually met new people.  Saw them both go through the process of dating and finally felt comfortable entering into a new relationship only to find it all wrong, saw their disbelief and then joy as they eventually found a new partner who appeared to be all they'd ever dared to dream of having.  

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: And Tries Not to Over Do It

We had a small group meeting last night that turned out very well, but I'm afraid John and I were at odds over different things about it and so our evening was strained.  We came home and sat up far too late last night. I was emailing a friend at 11pm and she was emailing me right back!  I went off to bed and lay awake for another hour playing a game on my phone that I've gotten obsessed with.  Despite knowing that we were to be up early this morning.

I'm home alone and thought I'd get a Coffee Chat written but it's not taking off.  I've written a good amount twice and then scrubbed it all.  Right now, two hours into the morning alone, I have a blank page on that post, sigh.  It might not happen...

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Peace and Rest

Saturday:  We went by Katie's today when John finished his ministry work.  I hadn't planned to go by Kate's, but there we were because John insisted we had to return his water bottle.  Never mind that he has six...Then we were going to drop it off and run, but somehow that led to his saying, "Well just get out and let's go in for a bit."

As always it was a pleasant visit.  We got a chance to see Taylor, Caleb, and Bella.   Katie and I spoke tentatively of planning a family gathering for Easter weekend.  I'd thought we'd do something on Sunday but Matt has asked that Katie meet him to drop off Taylor by 2pm on Easter Sunday.  That would preclude seeing her cousins who couldn't get here until she had to leave. Saturday might work better.

This Week In My Home: Shall We Begin Again?

 

I will be honest here.  I've very much considered whether I wanted to go on with this blog or not.  I made a promise to myself this past year when I was writing resolutions and one of those was to say neither "Yes" nor "No" when I was weary.  I have been very weary of late.  I know better than to make life-changing decisions when I'm tired. However, when under stress and duress and something silly turns into a messy mess, my instincts are to say, "I don't need this in my life right now.  There's enough else that is far more important to deal with."  That said, I remain true to my vow.  I'll make no decisions until I can get some rest. 

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Oh, a Lot of Things!

Saturday:  Sam brought the children over this morning.  He stayed and talked a bit and shook his head as the children asked for, and got, a bowl of cereal each.  When they asked for more, he was shocked.  "Mama, I fed them breakfast this morning!" Josh piped in "And it was good, too! But I'm still hungry."

They were satisfied until lunchtime when all three had four slices of pizza each, lol.  I remember those days when my own children were young and they'd pick at food for weeks and then suddenly they were not only hungry but all their limbs were hollow and needed to be filled up as well as their tummy.  

Thrifty Thursday: Spending, Planned and Otherwise

 

Friday:  I took a portion of my cash stash today and headed out to the Roberta section of the Peaches to Beaches yard sale.  No luck finding a single thing.  Not one thing.  I left and came home with my stash intact and put it right back in the place where I'd had it hidden.  

Following my lack of success at the local flea market last week, John asked if I was all right.  "I think I've just gotten to the point that I don't mind buying used but I don't want to get something that is just okay or make do.  I think I've 'leveled up'."  John understood exactly what I meant.  He said, "Well then perhaps you need to be shopping in an antique store or an estate sale instead."  I think he's quite right.

Back To Basics: Measure by Measure

Granny loved to bake.  The trouble was that most of her recipes didn't exist anywhere except in her own head...as far as I know.  I have a copy of her poundcake recipe and there are no instructions, just a list of ingredients.  Not even measurements.  I managed through trial and error to figure out the proportions and can make a reasonably good replica of her poundcake now, but the teacakes are utterly lost to me.  When I asked her once how she made them she began, "Take a piece of butter about the size of an egg..."  When I asked how much that was, she couldn't even tell me.  She'd made the cookies for years and never did have a written recipe.  She just knew what was required.   She made biscuits much the same.  She began with a dough bowl about half full of flour and then added in an eyeballed measurement of shortening and just so much buttermilk, then after she'd broken the shortening into smaller pieces in that pool of buttermilk with her hands, she'd start pulling in a little flour from the sides of the dough bowl until the biscuit dough 'felt right' as she'd say.  

Nursing Home Memories: Sisters

 

In my time in the nursing home, I met so many different people.  Never in the time I was working in the nursing home did I meet anyone's brother, but I met the sisters of several women. In two instances, the sisters were such a contrast, one to the other, that you'd hardly believe they were related had they not admitted to it.  And in one case, the four sisters were so alike that one couldn't tell where one left off and the other began, their personalities were so similar.

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Sorting Out

 

I knew on Friday when I stepped outdoors and the South wind blew in my face that indeed the predictions of rain were quite right.   Glad I've asked the kids to come play here today.  They'll want the extra room to run and play indoors with all this rain.

John and I spent Friday evening watching a rather fun series that he'd found called "The Tenth Kingdom".  It's a fantasy with time travel and fairy tale characters but with a funny sort of twist to it.  I didn't mean to get caught up in it but there you are.  You just never know what will capture the imagination, give you the giggles, and be intriguing all at once.  It's been a lovely little stress reliever from all the news and police chase videos and such that are his usual fare.

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Thinking Much

 

Saturday:  We spent the day at home today.  This is unusual for us anymore but it was pleasant to stay home and do nothing.  

I ran into town and walked through the flea market.  It was dark and gloomy inside and not as nice as it was once upon a time.  I would have come out empty handed but I always try to buy something when I wander in.  I chose a Gooseberry Patch cookbook this time.  I've long been curious about these little cookbooks and often tempted to order them at full price.  $3 suits my budget and someone will appreciate the sale.

Thrifty Thursday: In Which I THINK and DO

 

Friday:  Today, I actually tossed some food items.  They weren't expired.  I let go of some pasta I'd bought because it was such a good deal.  It was melon seed pasta.  Without fail every time I'd used it, despite constant stirring, it stuck to the pan and burned.  I thought it would be nice in a soup.  It wasn't.  It did the very same thing, ruining the soup.   Faced with three more bags of it, I decided it wasn't worth my time or effort to try and figure out how to use it much less ruin any more dishes with it.

Throwing food away goes against my grain.  It didn't used to bother me so much but after the pandemic and shortages, I didn't want to waste anything if I could avoid it.  I never try to use food that is obviously not safe (it's discolored, smells off, the can is bulging or leaking, mold is present, etc.), but I do not willingly let go of much just because a date has been assigned to it and it's gone past.  Given the current prices, I feel it's just as wise to use what I have if at all possible.  

Something New: DO Three Things

 

I said I've been shaking up my homemaking ways of late.  I started working with the Fly Lady methods of keeping house three weeks ago.  I did sort of skip last week but this week I was back at it.  As I was working on my Home Blessing on Monday, I kept coming across little things in each room that I noted ought to be done.  They weren't cleaning related but they were things that I felt should be done.   So I thought I'd make a list...and then it came to me that I could do this in a far more manageable way so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed or feel that I had to do ALL the things at once.

I decided to cut my list down to just three things for each room or space I was cleaning.  Just three things and I decided to give myself a week to accomplish those three things in each space.

Thoughts on A Retirement Article

 

I have to share my reading of a Yahoo Finance post, "You Can Retire on $2,000 a month".  I'm posting the link, but eventually, I'll have to remove it since these things seldom remain live for long.  Ultimately, going over their listing of things you could do I found the title was very misleading. 

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Start Where You Are

 

I was nosing around plants this past week and was surprised and delighted to find that my forsythia was blooming.  When I went out to the shed I found the grapevine wreath I've used for years now for Spring on my door.  I'd woven some faux forsythia in the vines.

This is an old photo but the front door is still that same color.  I think I'd really like to change the color to navy blue.  I've gotten tired of the red.  

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Happy Week

Saturday:  We had a very nice day out today, though it was filled with errands and such. 

Lowe's had tons of blooming plants...I personally don't trust the weather well enough to want to go buy new plants and put them out, but it was a joy to see those flowers. I think everyone was feeling like Spring today.  I saw several girls dressed in tank tops and pretty cotton dresses.  I know the sun certainly felt warm enough for such attire but the wind...Oh, the wind reminded us that March is on its way!  It blew rather briskly but it couldn't outdo the sun.  

March 2024 Goals

 

I was a little put out Thursday morning when I read an Instagram post about March goals.  Even though I knew full well that February was ending this week, I'd still forgotten that the week ended with the first day of March.  I realized that I had pretty much ignored the fact that a new month was about to begin because I was concentrating so over the month I was in.