Diary of a Homemaker's Week: A Gramma's Week

 

Sunday:  Father's Day.  John and I adhere to the 'you are not my parent' rule and don't get one another gifts for these holidays.  I do tell him how grateful I am that he's come into my children's lights, but I think it's up to the kids to honor Dad and that's what they all did.  We keep things simple.  Text or call, say Happy Father's Day, and be done.  Katie got her dad a gift, but it hadn't arrived.

I struggled to remember what we did yesterday.  I am tired.  This week will be long.  It will not be tedious but long.  

We went to the outreach ministry yesterday.  I tried a snack I've been curious about and liked it.  A lot.  Too much.  We picked up pizza on our way home, then scrounged the fridge for supper last night.  I ate better at supper than I did for lunch.  I also had a great breakfast (homemade yogurt, peaches, and blueberries).  Hopefully balanced out the pizza and snack.

This morning we went to church, then to Katie's.

About two weeks ago, Caleb had a dentist appointment and liked it.  I didn't realize how much until he said to Bella this afternoon, "Hey...You wanna play dentist?"  I turned just in time to see Bella lie down on the floor and he picked up a toy and started to probe her teeth!  Who knows?  He might end up being a dentist someday.  Katie says he insists on brushing and flossing twice a day.  Good stuff, huh?

Both children were happy to see us and we enjoyed seeing them.  Caleb told me he wanted to tell me a secret.  I leaned down and he whispered, "I've got treasure..."  I whispered back, "What kind of treasure?"  "I've got a Gramma and Grampa!"  Oh my goodness!  I had tears in my eyes over that one.

Katie offered me a Dr. Pepper.  I opted for a cup of coffee, but she brought it to me with a doughnut.  I said I'd rather not have one, but she insisted.  So I asked if I might just have half.  Well, she had two kinds and brought me half of each.  

When we left, we stopped and got burgers, fries, and milkshakes.  Did I want a milkshake?  No.  But my mistake was that I didn't tell John  I would rather have a sugar-free drink or unsweetened tea.  I'll keep that in mind if we stop like that again.  I had about six fries and then handed them over to him.  I drank a little of the shake and then offered him the rest of my milkshake. I drank water. 

This weekend has been one of those more difficult sorts that come along when you've been eating really well and have started to lose weight.  Never mind.  I decided that I wouldn't start fresh tomorrow.  I'd start fresh this afternoon.  And that's what I've done. I had a lovely salad for supper.  I've had lots of water.  I had some apricots.  Tomorrow I will do better.

It was miserably hot yesterday and today, 97F but not humid which does help, though you might think not.  But it does make a difference.  The view across the river valley was clear and lovely, all greens and blues.

We should have gone to a church supper tonight but we didn't.  We have stayed home, anticipating how busy the week ahead shall be.  I've got the three children all day long tomorrow from early morning.  Sam is going to pick up Lily at the airport in Orlando.  Yes, it's a long way but this is the airport she is flying into and we can't change tickets or find any cheap tickets coming into or going out of Atlanta.  So it is what it is.  We will repeat this whole thing on Friday.  We will offer Sam our gas card to use for the trips.  It's all we can do.

They will arrive early Tuesday morning.  Yes, Tuesday.  Samuel is leaving early to beat the heat and get some extra time away from the kids.   More power to him.  He'll be tired when he comes in on Tuesday and he'll have them all that day.   Lily is going to spend some portion of Thursday with her sister. She's obligated herself to do some babysitting one night while here too...I'm afraid her week is going to go really fast.

Monday:  I texted Katie this evening just the things I'd done since 5pm.  "Made dinner, fixed plates, fed everyone, cleared things away, vacuumed, loaded the dishwasher and started it, baths and toothbrushing x3.  That took me from 5pm until 8pm.  It was a long haul.  

The day has gone well enough.  The children have been good and they have been here all day long.  It was an experiment on my part to see if they could stand a full day, and a night, here at the house without trekking across the field to go to their home.  So far so good.  

Funny argument this evening between the boys.  Josh and Isaac had been playing outdoors and Josh decided to quit.  "You always quit!  I'm never playing with you again!"  Isaac raged at Josh.  Josh sighed deeply and dramatically and said "Oh Isaac!  You always  say that!"  And then Isaac tickled me no end.  "I know I do!  I just keep forgetting that I'm never playing with you again!"  

I won't even think about what hasn't been done today.  I've done all I could.  The table across from me is stacked with toys that weren't put away.  The dining table still has a mess of things on it.  Josh has piled all his art supplies on another table.  Millie is whining about being scared in the other room. The door is open and she has a nightlight too, plus light from the lamp here in the living room. Josh and Isaac are on the living room floor in their sleeping bags, watching their tablets.  

From 8am this morning it looked a lot like about 900 hours until bedtime.  We've made it.  And I think I'm going to go to bed myself.

Wednesday:  We've had such a good time so far!  I hope the girls have enjoyed it as much as we have.  They are so polite and sweet and the two most awesome girls I've met in years.  They are going to be seniors this coming year and each of them works (Lily is full-time, and her friend Emma has TWO part-time jobs).  They do extracurricular activities,  have plans for their futures, and are just all-around nice sensible girls.   Lily will graduate early and plans to train as an EMT with her sights set on becoming a flight nurse.  

Yesterday morning, they stumbled in after a long flight and drive and chatted with us for an hour but they needed rest so we sent them off to bed.  When they got up I made sandwiches for them and we drove to the big old-fashioned farm peach shed and had peach ice cream and bought peaches.  They asked for the hot boiled peanuts but they were out for the day.  

We came home and they dressed to go out for Sushi with Aunt Katie, met Caleb and Bella, went to Buc-ee's and came home very late.   This morning we were all up and ready to go to a local burger place that is iconic in our area.  Everyone else bailed out on us, but we took the girls from there to Andersonville and had our burgers at Pioneer Park and then visited the POW museum and Confederate prison site.  John took the long cut home. He was enjoying playing tour guide and escorting the girls around.  When we got back home the girls took a nap.  They are spending the evening at Sam's, baby-sitting.  It was Lily's trade-off for him chaperoning them from Orlando here on Tuesday and back again on Friday.   

It's gone by so quickly.  But my fear that it would be awkward was for naught.  It's felt so natural to see her, talk to her, be with her, as though all those years behind us were never there.  She's a credit to her Mama.  

Thursday:  Another lovely day with my granddaughter and Emma.  We visited with Mama for a bit, then took them to eat lunch as promised and then we met up with Lily's sister who she hasn't seen in 17 years.  To see the two of them locked in a hug sobbing with joy was wonderful.  Jessica was taking them to a lake for swimming and they'll have dinner with her.  We'll meet up with them later to get the girls.  And tomorrow morning at 4 A.M. we will say goodbye.  I don't know if I'll ever see her again, but I praise God that I had this wonderful opportunity.

I sent Amie a note last night thanking her for letting her come and giving Amie all the kudos she deserves for this girl's raising.  

My Southern Mama heart is aghast at one thing.  So far, I've only made them a ham sandwich!  In the mornings they've been eating fruit It's not my lack of hospitality but everyone else's desire to feed them.  After all, we are all Southern, lol.  They have not gone hungry.  

It's gone too fast.  It's gone far too fast as I knew it would.  We have been blessed this year with so much.  Two weddings so far and a third in a few weeks time.  A new grandchild to look forward to.  The opportunity to meet and know this lovely granddaughter.  Time to spend with grandchildren who live near.  And this is just the first half of the year.  How much more goodness is ahead?

Friday:  The girls left this morning at 4am...None of us went to bed prior to midnight last night.  John's love language is laundry and he was washing, drying, and folding their clothes.  Bless him as he said prayers last night I could hear the tears in his voice.  I saved mine for this morning.

We all got up at 3:30.  John went to the other house to stay with the kids after the girls left and I went back to bed until 7, then got up to do minor housekeeping and plan meals for the day.

Lily came in not knowing any of this family and when she left she'd met her great-grandmother, two grandparents, five cousins, an uncle, an aunt, a sister, and her sister's husband (Lily's brother-in-law).  We met her and Emma and Jessica and Randy.  All of our lives expanded with this visit in a lovely way.  John kept saying to me all through the week, "God is blessing us..." and indeed He did, He does.

Lily on the right, Emma on the left in the ball cap.   Below is our generational picture with Mama.  I can't get the photo of Lily and John to download for some reason.

Sam hoped to make good time traveling down this morning so he could take them to Daytona to see the ocean to top off the trip.  I hope traffic was light and he was able to do just that.  The girls should be checking in at the airport about now.

And that was our week.  Now the kids are in starvation mode, so I must go get the pizza made.  It's been an awesome week!

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Iced Tea Chat: Summer Is (Nearly) Here

 

Hello, dears.  Do come in and let's have a nice iced drink.  You'll find it refreshing on a day like today.  It's just a little warm out. We're sticking close to 90F this week but it was 97F on Saturday and in our area that's considered a 'mild' day this time of year.  But then, it is Spring until Wednesday.  

Would you like some Lemonade?  I've really enjoyed making 'Shakers' which is sooo simple to make and uses little sugar.  1 large lemon cut into pieces, 3 tablespoons of sugar shaken with the lemon, then mash the lemon pieces, add 1.5 cups of water and the same amount of ice, and shake shake shake.  It's so good.  John has asked me to make it several times each week and even without his request, I'm making two or three jars.  I also have plenty of cold water, tea, and mint.  Tell me what you'd like and then let's settle to chat.

I've read loads lately.  I read The Scent of Water last month with the Elizabeth Goudge book club group and finished the first week of June.  Then I took the kids to the library and chose three books for myself.  Deanne Gist's A Bride in the Bargain, Sophie Kinsella's Surprise Me, and Debbie Macomber's Between Friends were the titles I chose.  

Gist is new to me.  I've never heard of her nor read any of her books, but I liked the title and cover of the book  I'm hooked.  I got another of her books Friday when I returned to the library.   Clean, some slight attraction tensions, but no bad language, no nudity, no s--.    The story caught and held my interest and I couldn't tear myself away from the book.  

The next book was Surprise Me.  I laughed and giggled through the Shopaholic books and picked up this book simply based on liking that series.  I found the first half of this book hard-going.  The narrator was irritating.  I was so close to putting the book down and quitting.  I picked it up and said "One more try..." and that's when the story really took off and got interesting.  What I found irritating (the narrator's shallowness) was all part and parcel of the plot.  The book did surprise me indeed.  It ended up having depth and being a darned good story.

I read Debbie Macomber's Between Friends.  I used to read most of Macomber's books for 15 years, but I stopped at some point.  I really enjoy the way she writes and how she develops her stories.  I mistakenly thought the book would be like another (not hers) and was wrong.  I had difficulty putting this one down.

And finally, I read Kristin Hannah's book, The Nightingale.  I've heard Hannah's name mentioned among the younger vloggers I watch.  I'm trying new authors, more current ones.  I picked the right book for a good read!  This was another book I could hardly put down, but it was so intense that I had to take a break about every third chapter.  The storyline was interesting, the characters were well-written and the book made me think.    

I love an absorbing book but when a book starts making me think about the human experience overall...well, then I'm in.  I'll definitely be reading more of Gist and Hannah.   

Summer screams 'VACATION!' though it's been years since we had a summer vacation.  When I was growing up our only vacation was to Granny's.  My family took trips to the mountains in the spring and fall seasons, not in the summer.  Daddy was afraid of drowning and never voluntarily went near a body of water other than a shallow mountain creek.   So it was the mountains for us and no water vacations except when it was cold and we weren't inclined to plop into the icy water.

Granny took all seven of us grandchildren at once and would make it fun.  If we couldn't get to a local pool she'd occasionally break out the house and sprinkler and in a wet year she'd send us out to the fields to play in the creek that used to run across the property.  

When my two oldest were little, we spent most summer days at a pool in a tiny little town.  The pool was fed by an artesian spring, which was a common thing in that area and that water was never above 59F.  On a day that was scorching hot, a mere dip into the water would reset your body temperature to below average.  Many an evening we went home to a stuffy hot house but our core temperature was lowered enough that we didn't start to feel warm until the wee hours of the morning when it was cooling down anyway.

When Katie came along those days were long gone.  We fashioned a slip-n-slide from an old plastic shower curtain, got her a sprinkler and encouraged her to get out there and play.  Often enough the water was so cold from our well that she couldn't take more than 20 minutes of play.  I used to drag a chair near enough that I could at least get a slight spray from the water.  

But vacations?  No.  Those were rare. When she was 10, Sam went off to the Navy, and we went to St. Augustine for the first time.  We tried to make it back at least once every 18 months.  

Josh told me on the way home the other day they had no plans for summer.   Isaac kept saying, "I want to go to the beach!"  So do I, Isaac!  So do I!  They are not accustomed to vacations either...but it doesn't stop you wanting to take one.

They are traveling a little this summer and will have their horizons broadened quite a bit.  The boys will have summer camp with their church group, too.  So summer will not be the wasteland they think it is, at the moment.  

I love doing the library programs with the kids because it breaks up their week and gives Sam a needed break for a few hours.  It gives me one-on-one time with the three.  They are well-behaved and polite and it's no hardship to take them places at their current ages.  We all enjoy these outings.  

The libraries don't have programs as interesting as they had two years ago.  There is no apparent 'theme' they are working with and Reynolds only has one or two of the programs that Butler offers.  I'm picking and choosing what the kids will go to based on their interests and ages.  They'll miss a whole two or three week period due to their own plans and travel. 

Lily, my second grandchild, has been planning her summer for over a year.  She's been working for several years already even though she is just 18 and she's paying her own way to Florida. Reality bit when she realized that she could buy the ticket and get to Florida but once there she can do nothing.  She can't rent a hotel room, or a car.  She wanted to see Florida and specifically to see the ocean but she's not going to get to do either.  Her flight arrives at near midnight and Sam will pick them up and drive them here in the dark. 

Of course, she has a sister near here and there's her great-grandmother (Mama) and us to see and Aunt Katie and Uncle Sam.  She won't be able to see her Uncle JD or meet all of her cousins.  She asked if I could take her to the beach but accepted my negative reply graciously. I would love to take her but this time of year it's far too expensive for my budget and a day trip would mean 11 hours of driving.  I don't think that would be much fun for anyone.   But I have planned to take her to a few places. 

I'd like to take her to a peach packing shed and have peach ice cream.   We live near enough Andersonville Prisoner of War museum and Confederate Prison so we might visit there.  There's a local burger place that Lily might not appreciate but if she tells Amie she had lunch there Amie will be super pleased to hear it.  There's the Mennonite restaurant and gift shop in that same general area.  

If we have time another day I'd like to take her to Warm Springs to visit that area.  There's the Little White House and Dowdell's knob and we might drive over to Callaway Gardens, but I'm not sure about that.  We might picnic that day.  On the way home, we could swing 20 miles to the east and visit a beautiful state park, Sprewell Bluff.  

Between visiting and going around within an hour or so of my home, I think she'll get a small glimpse of Georgia.  There are so many other places we might go that it's really hard to choose!  Time is the limiting factor.  

I was thinking of the years since I've seen Lily.  She wasn't a year old when Amie and Ben packed up to move to North Dakota.  His family is from there and that was why they landed there.  I remember at the time the peach trees were blooming.  I wondered if Amie was aware as the bus traveled north that it would be the last time she saw peach orchards in blossom.

The amount of grief I had during that season of life was heavy and harsh.  Some of you have said you didn't realize I had another daughter.  There were many reasons for this.  One of them was the huge amount of grieving I was doing.  I had to steel myself to not even think of them.  The moment I did, I'd start to cry and struggle to stop.   There were many reasons for my tears, more than just missing them, more than feeling I was being cheated of my daughter and those two little girls.  

I knew Amie well.  She was not in a good place mentally or emotionally and due to outside interferences blamed me for a series of things that I had no idea had even occurred.  My mother fostered some of those ideas.  Amie was her golden girl, the only grandchild she acknowledged until my niece was born several years later.  But it wasn't all Mama's doing.  As I said, there were things I knew nothing about until about two years ago, things I wish to heaven I had known because I could have done something.  I might have changed the outcome of all our lives...but then would there have been a Josie, Lily, Ross, or Rosa?    Would Amie have become the woman she is if she hadn't had those experiences?  Who can say?  I am not God.  I do not know.  

I know only that the day I said "Goodbye" I knew that years would be lost.  I'd not see the girls grow up and as it happens I've never met their brother and baby sister.  Amie was never one to call or correspond when she lived nearby.  There were very few pictures forwarded to me.  Amie doesn't use social media the way most of her generation does.  And there was a barrier I couldn't breach with her, though I stormed the walls occasionally.  I always seemed to call at the wrong time.  They were about to eat or she was just in from work, or was still at work.  Because of my own emotional wounds, I didn't batter at her walls hard enough.  I was too afraid of 'intruding' and of losing what little I had with her.  

It felt like loss plagued me during those years.  They moved far away.  Granny, Mama, and Daddy were all sick or injured and needed care.  Grandmother and Daddy died, then Katie moved from home and Granny died.  I had that serious health issue, Sam and Bess moved to the end of Florida,  and then Jd and his wife had a nightmare of a situation that tore the family in two. My relationship with Mama became more and more unbearable. We were asked to remove ourselves from the synagogue.   Money was always tight, John was preoccupied with the emotional burdens of his work, his depression over the situation with one of our children, his spiritual betrayal.  Then Sam and Bess moved here and withdrew from us, not wanting to visit or be visited.  Katie was going through a hell I didn't understand at all...I kept trying to pick up pieces and stick them back in place but all I did was make myself more and more anxious.  Amie had her share of horrors to deal with and mostly it was a relief that she lived so far away that I could be distant from her troubles.  I failed to keep in touch.  I failed to reach out to Amie.

And honestly, without Granny as a sounding board, I was lost myself.  I handled too many things on my own and was constantly told how poorly I was handling them but no one else was even trying.  Someone had to try, didn't they?  Didn't I?  

I missed so many areas.  

 I crept more and more into myself, staying alone more and more, because I was overwhelmed with all the turmoil and emotions. I did too much for one and not enough for others. I fell apart.   Quietly, to be sure.  Not chaoticly and madly.  I fell quietly, hoping no one would notice I was in crisis.  And no one did.  I resented it but I set the stage.  I wrote the play.  I couldn't argue if someone failed to play a part I hadn't scripted for them to play. 

One day I realized, "I can't take care of all of this." I felt desperate.  I despaired.  I struggled to find my footing.  I couldn't fix the past.  I couldn't predict the future.  I could only do what I could do in the present season and hope I did the right thing.  I had to accept that doing all you can is never enough.  That I wouldn't do the right thing at the right time.  But I'd try. I knew that I'd fail again and again.  Because try as we might, we cannot do all the things. 

I remember when Katie went through her trial by fire a few years ago and she was trying hard to balance her emotional and mental health with the stresses and strains of people pulling her in a dozen directions at one time, she came in one evening after a long long week and wept in my arms, "I can't do everything."   "No, you can't.  You're not meant to."  She looked startled.  As though she'd expected me to say, "You have to try harder..." or "Sure you can!  Chin up!"  I knew, I know that we cannot do it all.  We can only take so much and then we have to start making choices.  Hard choices about what and who we can let fall through the cracks and what has to be held back from slipping away.  How much we can afford to give emotionally, and financially.  Choices about who is really important...In her case, it proved to be a little boy who desperately needed his mommy, and her job to support the two of them.  

And for me, it became about a little boy who desperately needed someone besides just his mommy to be in his corner.  That took a toll on my marriage, on other relationships, on me.  But I kept repeating the same thing over and over again.  "I do what I have to do."  And now, I try to do what I can for three other children who need me.  Not as much as I did for Caleb, no.  They are older.  They walk and talk and feed themselves.  But I want them to know I'm here if they need me.  It's all I can do.

Well, here we are.  17 years and three months after leaving, Lily is coming back.  I honestly never believed I'd see her again.  I do not know her, or who she is.  But I'll get a glimpse of her.  I'll hold her in my arms once again and tell her how much I love her.   For half a moment, I'll pretend I'm holding Amie and hugging her.  I can't cram 17 years into 3 days.  I can't make up for missed moments.  But I can take these hours I'll have and try my best to pour all of my love into them.

 Because that is all I can do.

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Diary of A Homemaker's Week: June, Week 2

 

Sunday:  Saturday proved to be a rare sort of day.  I not only slept in but we did nothing all day long except laze around and watch a new series John found, "To the Ends of the Earth",  a BBC drama series.  I didn't think I was going to like it despite it 'having all the things I like," according to John by which he means it's "British accents and costumes".  Ha.  Well, it isn't half bad, though there were a few things I'd as soon not seen, and to be fair the moment I realized they were going to be things I wouldn't want to see, I averted my eyes and left the room.  But it is interesting, too as you get a better idea of what traveling to Australia would have been like in the mid-1700s.  

Meals:  Bagels, made on Friday and so light and good!

Low Low-carb tortilla Pizzas

Mini Wonton Dumplings, Egg Rolls, Cucumber, Pickled onions, Fresh Oranges

Today we've been to church, stopped to speak to a few people on our way out, and on the way home stopped for gas.  John wanted to get some coffee and asked if I'd like anything.  "Yes...but make it low sugar please."  "I...I have no idea what to get."  "Never mind then, just get me something."  He came out with a glass of ice and a bottle of water and I will tell you I was not in the least made about that.  I thought, "Well that's about perfect!"  But then he pulled one of the Starbucks coffee drinks from his back pocket and said "And I got you this."   Next time I will tell him that a bottle of water is just fine.     I think it's very sweet of him to remember I like those coffees over ice though.

We took a longer way home.  We were actually doing it to look for a better way for him to avoid a snarly traffic area, but we couldn't find a route that didn't involve twists and turns on back roads.  I told him it's best he just stick to the alternate route he already uses, which works fine though it takes him slightly out of the way.

Home to make lunch.  I'd planned to go to Katie's today after church but she has Strep Throat and Taylor didn't come because she's got an ear infection.  I've puttered here at home making dinner, bread, cleaning up and such. Nothing heavy duty, but enough.  Now I'm going to take time to read.  

I'm currently reading "Between Friends" by Debbie Macomber.  I  started the book last night and was two chapters in before I knew it.  I used to read a lot of Macomber and then I stopped.  I don't recall why.  I was pleased to note there was a shelf full of her books at my local library and I have not read most of them.  I've been reading Macomber since she began writing and have seen her grow as an author going from Harlequin romances to proper novels with complex characters and plots.  

Meals:  Spam, Fried Eggs, Toast

Fried Chicken, Mashed potatoes and gravy, Sliced Tomatoes, Deviled Eggs, Lemonade.  I bought chicken Thursday and put it in the freezer for this weekend with Taylor.  I was craving that chicken so took a couple of pieces out to heat for our meal today.  I'll buy another 8-piece pack to put with the leftovers in a couple of weeks when we see Taylor.

Red, Black, and Bleu Salads.  We had leftover steak Friday night that I'll use in tonight's salads.  

Monday:  I was up early this morning.  Before even thinking of coffee, I dressed and headed right outdoors to work on the Faith Tree flower bed and the Sweet Gum bed at the back corner of the house.  I cut out trees, literal TREES that stood nearly 5 feet tall.  How do they grow so fast?  Everything looked much tidier when I was done.  That's not all the work required but it was enough.  

I was most surprised to discover that a plant I kept seeing from the car was a gladiolus as I'd thought, that had somehow been planted in the Iris bed around the Sweet Gum.  Did the squirrels do it?  And the daylilies I planted on the sunny side of the tree are doing lovely there.  I want to get busy and plant more daylilies and Coreopsis in that area.  But first, more weeding...sigh.

After sorting out around the Faith Tree I took the loppers and trimmed the low-hanging branches of that tree.  I do this every year and every year I think that next year I can not possibly have to cut them again but the tree grows so much that I must if I want to see the driveway without the tree blocking my view.  There are two huge piles under the tree now that I need to haul out of the yard.  

I stopped to water the plants on the patio and picked up the toys.  I deadheaded plants, admitted the cherry tomato (which produced two tomatoes) is likely dead, noted the zucchini have been chewed off to the nubs and the bell peppers continue to strive to grow.  The one little tomato, variety unknown, is hanging in there.  Everything will grow enough to produce just about the time it gets too darn hot to do so.

I was exhausted when I was done but felt refreshed after a cool shower and my morning coffee.  I said I'd do nothing else, got up, and did odd jobs.  I cleaned all the mirrors and glass in picture frames and the kitchen sitting windows and blinds.  I swept the floor, made the bed, and freshened the armchair covers in the living room.  I folded clothes, filled water bottles, made the bed, and cleared my desk and dresser.  

Then I went about doing little decorating tasks.  I was going to straighten a picture that was askew behind the glass but when I removed the back of the frame, I found another picture inside and decided to frame that one instead.  I moved a seldom-used lamp from the laundry area to the little table in the kitchen sitting area. That will be a welcoming light when we come in late at night.  Simple little tasks but they made a change, something a room needs.

After lunch, I finally slowed down.  I've been planning supper all afternoon but realized it's a Men's Meeting night and John won't be here.  I am not sure what I'll have for my supper, but I will watch another Jane Austen film.

Meals:  Yogurt and Berry Bowl for me, with crushed cereal on top, Cereal and toast for John.

Burgers and Fries.  I wrapped my burger in a low-carb tortilla.

Vegetable Soup, Crackers with Cheese and ham.

I watched "Little Forest".  It was recommended by Joy Clarkson at the end of her first chapter "You Are a Tree", from the book of the same name.  It was really quite good and the scenery was gorgeous.  It was a good movie to watch while I ate my supper because the movie wasn't about food, but food was definitely a main player in the film.   I rented the film on Amazon Prime Video.

Tuesday: I headed outdoors this morning to pick up branches and trees cut out of the flower beds yesterday.   John kindly went around the front and hauled my two piles of branches, so I only had to empty my wagon twice instead of four times.

I have an increase in insurance that is not related to rates but to the fact that we had a refund issued after I paid in January.  Now that the refund has expired, we have increases in electricity and gasoline (summer costs), so a general redistribution of funds is necessary to reflect the changes.

Figuring out where to trim and by how much so that we can manage over the next three months when the new quarter begins in July took a lot of brain power.  Do you find brain work as taxing as physical work?  I do.   

When I was through with the Quarterly work, I worked on bills for this pay period.  It took me a good while to get all that done.  I like to tackle finances when John is pre-occupied elsewhere and less likely to interrupt my thinking processes.  

As it was, he came in to speak to me about something and I glanced down at my Quarterly budget paper and saw a $100 mistake.  Uh oh!  I would not have caught that until later.  So I went back to the quarterly budget and did some more finagling of money from one area to another to offset my mistake.

I repotted the peace lily I got on clearance about three weeks ago.  It was so root-bound that I nearly couldn't cut through them to give any separation to the roots at all.  While I was at it, I decided to remove another African violet from 

Meals:  Protein Hash Brown Bowl, last of the Apple and Cheddar muffins I'd made about a week ago.

Taco Salads.  I made my own homemade French dressing and fried corn tortilla chips.  I was duly impressed by the chips and the dressing.  I am adding more to my 'make it at home'.

Hasselback Style Caprese Chicken, Parmesan and Garlic Potato Pancakes, Broccoli.  This meal...The potato pancakes melted all over the pan instead of being cakes.  I dumped the first lot back into the bowl with the remaining batch and added more flour.  It was marginally better than the first try.  I've made potato pancakes a lot over the past 50-odd years of cooking and I've never had them do as they did today.

The chicken tasted good but it was not pretty.  In the future, I'll rub the chicken with the pesto then put in the tomato and mozzarella slices.  And I wish I'd used a little more mozzarella.   The broccoli was perfect.  Sad but true, it is the least favorite part of our meal so its perfection mattered least.  

After making lunch, I sat and thought about getting a deep fryer.  I've fried food twice in the past two days...but then I reasoned with myself.  I want another appliance if I can truly utilize it fully.  I don't fry food occasionally and then I'll do it two or three times and I'm done for months.  The expediency of getting fries to go with our burgers led me to fry them.  Because I had the oil in the pan, today I decided to fry tortilla chips.  This works fine for us.  So I'll save myself that purchase and continue to deep fry in my deeper pots as I've been doing. I don't need an appliance for occasional use.

Wednesday:  Today is Josh's 10th birthday.  We went over this afternoon after lunch to have cake with them and to give him his gift.  He was very pleased about his present from us, which pleased me because it was not exactly what he had on his list, but turns out it was even better.  

I went out on my own today to the discount grocery.  The selection of produce from the clearance rack was good.  I picked up apricots (at least 8) for $1, a big package of jalapenos for the same price, celery for 75c, tomatoes for $1 (I believe there are 10 in the package, blueberries for 99c, zucchini and bananas for $1 each.

In the meat section, I found what is known locally as Flanken Steak for under $5.  That is a cross-section of the short rib cut so that it is a thin piece of meat with four little thin bones (rib pieces) at the bottom of the section.  A Korean restaurant we visit now and then grills these on the hibachi.  They are delicious.  I got a six-pack of Springer Mountain Farms boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.58/pound.  

That was not all the groceries I bought.  I got local peaches,  and then I had a list of items that we were out of (breakfast meats, half and half, etc.) as well as a list of pantry items: salt, baking powder, tomato paste, and whole wheat pasta.

I don't know what Lily will want to eat next week.  I haven't purchased snacks.  I finally decided to let my anxiety go.  I'm not broke.  I can walk back into the grocery and buy any snacks she might want.  

Bless her heart, she asked if I could take her to the beach,  but I pointed out that it was a good 4-5 hour trip from here. I did offer her a selection of other places to visit which pleased her.  Fortunately, we have quite a few spots within an hour or so of home that are tourist places and a few that her Mama would appreciate hearing she'd experienced.  I've made a short list of things we might do.  Her three days to visit us will go very quickly as it is.   I hope that she finds it all fun and worth the money she spent (Yes, she paid her own way) to get here.  

Meals:  Cheese Toast

Sandwiches.  John had bread, I had a low-carb tortilla.  John ate the last of the watermelon and I ate apricots.

Roast Beef, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Green Peas, Tossed Salad.

Thursday:  Of late the days seem to be flying past.  Is it a June thing that the last month of the 2nd quarter of the year must speed up so much?   This week and last have seemed bent on disappearing as quickly as possible.  

John went off early this morning to mow.  We've had little dew and the yards were completely dry by 9am.   While he was gone, I puttered here at home, getting little tasks done, and then went into the kitchen where I prepped three or four meals.  

I cooked a roast last night.  It was warm through but a good bit more rare than I like.  I put that in the crockpot this morning to slow-cook all day long.  Hopefully, it will also tenderize it further.  The roast recipe was delicious: Worcestershire Butter Roast.  So good.  And if you have not tried it, the McCormick Worcestershire Pub Burger Seasoning is an excellent seasoning.  I used that as well as the butter and Worcestershire sauce.

I confess that I didn't follow a recipe.  I saw the idea on Pinterest, this lovely roast coated in seasoned butter, ready to bake and I took the idea suggested by the title and made up my own recipe based on that.  

I didn't cook it long enough for Medium Well.  We ate the outer pieces which were nearer that level of doneness and I made up my mind today I'd put it in the slow cooker and make sure it got more done.

I also prepped Sweet and Sour Pork, Rice, and Grinder Salad ingredients (except the croutons) and then made lunch.  John had gone to mow without breakfast and I wanted to make him a bigger lunch than usual.  All of that got done and then John was home.  

I am off this afternoon to take the kids to the library.  We must return books and we will go to another library to participate in one of the summer programs.  After the program, I'll take them to get an ice cream at the shop on the Courthouse Square and then we'll head home.

Have you all heard of Jeanne Robertson?  She's passed away but she was so funny, laugh-out-loud funny, and clean.  John and I watched her a long time ago and somehow she's shown up in our algorithms once more so we're viewing her again.  I have laughed so often while watching her.  It's good for the soul.

Meals:  Smoked Sausage, Sauerkraut, Pierogis

Roast Beef Sandwiches, chips, fruit of choice

Friday:  Can we spell T-I-R-E-D?  Well, I can!

Sad but true, I have yet to tackle the Friday work.  And now I don't feel like tackling a thing heavier than a feather.

It was 95F yesterday when I was out gallivanting with the children.  We did everything I'd planned and then I brought them home, threatening them to not let the sugar go to their heads and start acting wild around their dad.  I told them if I heard they'd aggravated him I'd never take them for another treat.    It was mostly a genuine threat.  They know this, I'm sure.  

This morning, I was outdoors around 8am watering plants.  I need to go water those on the front porch, but I never made it quite that far.    I stripped the bed and bath, made breakfast and finished the book I'd been reading.  

After I finally drank my coffee and got myself in gear, I went into the kitchen and made Banana Chocolate Chip muffins, bread, BBQ wings for lunch, yogurt (incubating as we speak), unloaded the dishwasher, remade the bed, and somewhere in there I managed to shower and do a myriad of other tasks as well as cleaning up two sinkfuls of dishes.   Whew!  That's good enough as far as I'm concerned.  Supper tonight will be an easy enough meal.  I'm making Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice.  

I'm afraid the peaches I bought the other day at the grocery are no good.  They are mushy when they get soft enough to eat.  I've never been a huge fan of early peaches and these are not helping to convince me I've been wrong.  Perhaps when Lily is here next week I shall find some good peaches at a peach shed.

The book I was reading, Kristin Hannah's Nightingale, was intense, riveting, and hard to put down.  I did put it down about every three chapters so that I could relax enough to breathe.  I highly recommend it.  There was no explicit content and very little language.  The story was compelling and well-written.

That my dears, is enough for this week.  I hope you have been busy and productive and you are enjoying the last days of Spring.  Be sure to comment.  I look forward to hearing from you.

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Diary Of A Homemaker's Week: June Began

 

Saturday:  Up extra early this morning.  I had a big day planned with the kids and I wanted to be sure that I was dressed and ready, had time for a leisurely coffee (actually had two cups this morning), and was mentally prepared to take on the children for a long day.

They arrived at about 9am.  The kids had eaten breakfast at home but asked for hot cocoa with marshmallows.  I've learned they will not drink HOT cocoa.  They will drink lukewarm cocoa.  I make it with half cold milk and half hot water.  They drained their cups.  

June Goals

 

I didn't manage to finish my May goals.  I did touch on several.  The one thing I regret is that we didn't get our anniversary gift.  We looked.  We debated.  We had too many other things we wanted to do for others, so we put it off.  So it goes.  It wasn't the only goal I missed, so I'll not fret too much over it.  

June is going to be busy.  The calendar is full already and we have not yet faced the days when things don't go as planned.  I'm keeping my goals for this month simple.