Everyone has just left. I've picked up the house, rinsed and stacked the dishes, and settled in my chair with a tall glass of much-looked-forward-to iced water. One does not have an open container of water around rollicking children and they rollicked, jumped, stomped, ran, wrestled, slung stuffed animals about, and played tag. They played indoors and out. They were calmed, soothed, hugged, kissed, and encouraged to stop and rest but the amount of energy in my home this afternoon would power the AC for the hottest summer month. Guaranteed.
The quiet now was welcome, but so was all the noise and mayhem earlier. I enjoyed Taylor's family birthday and the family seemed to enjoy it. And so we kick off our weeks-long span of birthday celebrations.
It seems best to keep things fairly simple: hot dogs, chips, lemonade, birthday cake or cupcakes, presents, and call it done. I used to want to do more and sometimes still do but the children's attention span for food is shorter than that of the adults. Best keep it easy and eat quickly because they chomp at the bits to get to the cake and presents.
Now I need to start planning the week ahead, the last week of May.
Work:
I'm going to focus on the outdoor areas this last week. The flower bed about the Faith Tree is sporting weeds, the rose in the back bed needs to be pruned back. That bed also needs to be mulched as does the Faith tree. I have one bag of mulch left. Either I buy more this week or I plan on doing a much smaller amount of work.
I want to paint the furniture, touch up the front porch set, and then paint the furnishings on the patio.
Mama has a pre-op appointment this week. It happens to be on her birthday so that visit will serve double duty. If I can manage to swing by Lowe's and get mulch too, it will be a slam-dunk sort of day.
Financially this week, we hold on tight. I have enough money to take Mama to lunch. I have a little grocery money left if we need fresh produce. We still have gas money. I have money to pay any bills that come due. But anything extra really is off the table this week. I can't think of a thing we need, but it is Peach season.
If I see small jobs to do about the house, I'll try to get those done, too. That's really what I've been doing all month long. I can't think of any extra jobs just at the moment.
Kitchen:
I never did get my coffee cake made. I don't have any one recipe I follow. I usually get out the BH&G cookbook (ca. 1976) and use one of the recipes from there.
I'd like to bake some banana muffins for the freezer, too. And I'm still planning to make some of the freezer pies for summer. I'll share those when I get to that task. I also want to make up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and make that into balls to freeze and bake.
I need to make bagels.
Meals:
Hot Dogs, Chips, Birthday Cake
Tuna Pasta Salad, Tomato Soup, Saltines. I keep putting this on the menu but I never get it made. It's a lovely dish to eat on a hot day.
Bbq'd and Grilled Country Style Pork Ribs, Baked Beans, Red Cabbage Slaw
Roast Beef, Baked Potatoes, 24 Hour Salad, Green Peas. I have several roasts in the freezer. I will choose a shoulder roast and put it in the crockpot.
Teriyaki Chicken, Asian Style Slaw, Rice, Sauteed Peppers, Onions, Carrots, Ambrosia
Lasagna (freezer meal), Green Salad, Garlic Bread, Italian Beans with Tomatoes, Peppers and Onions
Taco Salads
Personal/Leisure:
I really do need to work on setting up some outfits. I don't know why I keep putting this off, but I do and it's done me no harm, but it's less thought to getting dressed if there's an outfit already put together on a hanger. Saves a when I dress on the fly.
I'm restless. Bored. It's not the lack of leisure time interests to amuse me. I like to color (adult books are very intricate) and read. I could pursue a course of study on any subject or find a new hobby. I have a few ideas and need to pursue them.
I am feeling better. I will continue to pursue self-care. Being consistent with it has helped tremendously.
The two pairs of capri pants I ordered do not come near fitting and must be returned. I'm not upset about this. These were cotton linen. I purposely sized up over what the site recommended because I knew they would run smaller. Both pairs are nearer being a size 18 even so.
I am refusing to even consider wearing the rusty-colored pair of capris. Nothing goes with them and the color jars my soul. I've put them in the donation pile. Just removing them from the drawer makes me feel better. Silly I know but that's helped make me feel better. I'll look for one more pair of black capris elsewhere but I'll wait until these have been returned and the refund credited to me.
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4 comments:
Never heard the saying something jarred my soul but can think of a couple things that the statement would apply to.
I think you have the perfect menu for a children's birthday party. You could do the same for adults, possibly subbing hamburgers or hotdog-size brats. Either way, cook them outside on the BBQ. I think a standard menu for birthday parties makes a lot of sense!
We are moving to a dog-friendly motel tomorrow while repairs are made to our house from a broken pipe. We should be out of the house for about a week while drywall is repaired and painted and vinyl plank flooring is installed in our living room, dining room, kitchen and utility room. The damage wasn't that widespread but it is all the same floor, and the laminate we have has been discontinued.
We rented a suite with a kitchenette, although we probably won't do much cooking. The motel provides a cooked breakfast and we'll probably just go out for an early dinner each day. This is being paid by our insurance.
That's my plan for the week! I plan to be at the house every day and hope to get my garden planted.
PS This week I experimented with my air fryer. I cooked pork link sausage in 9-10 minutes at 375F and it was perfect. The air fryer is easier to clean than a frying pan and doesn't spatter grease all over the stove.
Max, John is pretty set on getting an air fryer. I'm equally set on not having another appliance on my counter, so I'm looking at a toaster oven/air fryer combination. Seems the best of solutions to me.
Cindy, I might have made that up...but it also said everything I wanted to say, lol.
Cheryl, I bed your pardon. I wrote the wrong name and then hit publish before I could stop myself.
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