Journal of My Week: Autumn Comes Slowly

 

Saturday:  It was a lovely day today.  It was breezy and cooler (still closer to mid-80 but less humid).  I picked the children up at their house for a library day out with Gramma.  This is apparently a much looked forward to by the children and they let me know how happy they were.  

After the library we went to Subway.  Golly gee!  Even being very careful I realized that this simply not a 'cheap' option for meals.  I told the kids next time I'd pack a picnic lunch, and I mean to do just that.  We ate outdoors on the covered patio and had a pretty good time overall.  

Eventually there was some talk between the boys and me.  Josh asked what I'd wanted to be when I was a kid.  I told him I'd always wanted to be a Mama, a homemaker and a writer.  He looked at me and said, "Congratulations!  You became who you wanted to be!"  Well, he's right.  I don't always remember that fact but, hey look at me!  I stayed true to my vision, even if the path did deviate there for a bit.

Isaac said he wanted to be a policeman because they love and are loved by everyone.  I will not disillusion him...Let him believe it is so.    Josh is intent on content creation/films.  He wants to 'make people feel good' when they see his work.  Millie chimed in that she wanted to be an astronaut.  

I took the kids home after lunch.  I find mealtimes out with the three rather taxing.  Someone is always bouncing up and down from the table.  With the breeze things kept blowing off the table that weren't secured and then there were flies, which I'd have thought wouldn't be a problem with the breeze but that proved to be a false hope.  

On the way home, Millie asked if I'd take them to a playground next time.  I'll plan to do that, but I won't be able to do so until the end of the month.  They'll be visiting grandparents next weekend and I'll be busy all the weekend following.  

I have to relate about Isaac and the ants.  I came around to fasten his seatbelt and found him studying an ant on his palm.  I don't know why, but I reached out and smudged the thing and Isaac reprimanded me.  "Hey!  That was George.  I was gonna keep him as a pet!"  I apologized.  "I thought he'd bite you.  I'm sorry!"  All was forgiven and Isaac was just fine, but on the way home, he said, "His family will miss him."  I asked if George had left a wife and children.  "No, he was just a boy."  "Ah, so perhaps he had brothers and sisters then."  "Yeah."  

A bit later, Isaac suddenly says, "Oh hi, Jeremy!"  I asked, "Another ant?"  "Yes, he's looking for George...  Jeremy, he's not here!  Gramma killed him."  Josh and I burst out laughing.   

Honestly, ants are a chronic issue in my car.   We're puzzled about it because we don't make it a habit to eat in the car at all and we don't leave foodstuffs, snacks or trash in the car, either.  But Isaac really tickled me today with his open acceptance of ants.  

And by the way, Jeremy apparently was mad at his brother's death because he bit Isaac shortly thereafter, so Isaac smudged him, too.  

Meals:  Cinnamon Toast and Cheese Toast

Subway sandwiches with the kids.  I bought an extra sandwich to bring home for us to have tomorrow after church, just to buy myself a bit of time.   I need to take a whole chicken from the freezer and start that thawing tonight.

Pepperoni Pizza.  Made two.  Put one unbaked in the freezer and I think John pretty much finished off the one I baked.  

I'd bemoan the earlier darkness but this evening, it took me unawares.  About 7:30, I glanced at the window and realized that it was very nearly dark...but we were having the most glorious sunset which always seems to occur more often this time of year.  It was one of those deeply red and orange and violet sorts of sunset skies out of my window.  So beautiful!  It seemed a very fitting end to what has felt like a lovely, relaxed day.

Sunday:   We stopped at Target after church.  This week they are doing the special sales where you spend $50 on household items and get a $15 gift card.  It was easy enough to spend the limit.  I ordered it online to do a pick-up this morning.  This morning, they sent me notice that they couldn't fulfill my order.  Apparently, Target does not offer substitutions...When I went online to try and get a substitute, the items were out of stock, or I was allowed to get only one.

Once at Target I found the items that were supposed to be out of stock.  To be fair to the ones packing pick-up orders, the items were on the wrong aisle, mixed among power towels.  I only stumbled upon them myself as I was existing the area.   

I bought: Two 18-roll packages of toilet tissue, two six-roll packages of paper towels, and four boxes of aluminum foil.  I spent $68 and got my $15 gift card.  

We got haircuts.  Another chunk even with senior discounts.  Gas for the car.  Ca-ching.  On the way home, John asked if I'd run into the grocery to get ice cream.  He paid for that out of his pocket but I just had to have that one extra item... 

I felt a little fussed.  Money out, out, out and knowing that it will only trickle in.  Then I told myself that I'm over it.  We are so blessed that we can walk into a store and buy what we need.  In light of all that is going on in the Southeast just at the moment, that I have the luxury of being able to walk into a store and buy what is needed to provide for my household is nothing to complain over, is it?  I soothed my fussing a bit further by reminding myself that aside from ice cream and the Cheetos I'd wanted, there was nothing frivolous about our spending.  Ice cream (and Cheetos) are rare treats for us these days.

John and I came home to eat lunch, having the Submarine sandwich I'd bought yesterday.  I've puttered around the house, totted up the checkbook, refused to groan over the thing, and have accepted that grocery money will encompass the paper products this month and we'll make do with the rest of the budgeted amount to feed ourselves.  I think there's a better way to tackle this and I have a trickle of an idea creeping into my brain...I've got to try and pin that down on paper and see how it will work, but I've already run it by John, and it does make sense.  Now if I can jiggle the budget a bit more.  Again.

There's talk of another storm coming in, this one likely to make landfall on the central coast area of Florida and the back side will hit a swath across the southern end of our state.  Keep Florida and South Georgia in your prayers please.  I'm not sure what the path is meant to be from there.  Of course, it's all subject to change.  We just watch and wait and pray.

Meals: Boiled Egg, Bacon, Croissant for me, Bagel for John.

Sub Sandwich, Chips, Ice cream

Roasted Chicken with Pan Roasted Vegetables.  I think I'll add a Waldorf Salad to the menu and call that good.    I'm seriously considering buying more whole chickens as a way to help out the limping grocery budget.  Much as I like to buy Boneless Skinless breasts, the truth is I can make them myself (yes and cut out the tenderloin, too.)  At $1.59 a pound, or even slightly higher but still less than $2/pound, it's good protein for less.  I'm a dab hand at cutting up whole chickens, as back in my childhood when Mama had a chicken, I figured it out.  One didn't buy breasts only or legs only or boneless skinless then.  We bought whole chickens and cut them up.  

I think a Chuck Roast, which is only going higher in cost is going to become a very occasional thing in this house, much as I hate it.  It's not that I want to eat a roast every week (wouldn't it be lovely though?), but it's just gotten so pricey.  If I do buy one, it's going to have to be stretched hard.  Fortunately, right now I've got several roasts in the freezer that I can use.  

*** Just a quick note on eating chicken...We'll see how the chicken industry recovers from the damages caused by Hurricane Helene.  A friend who lives in South Georgia area hardest hit said that the poultry industry was all but wiped out...

Monday:  Well, I had my family day after all.  Not with Taylor, nor were all my family here, but it was still family day just the same.

I generally am planning my week ahead on either Thursday or Friday.  Yes, I do plan that far ahead.  I usually know pretty what is on the calendar and it's easy enough to plan what I mean to accomplish that far ahead.  However, there are times I have a curve ball thrown my way.

Yesterday afternoon, after 5 o'clock, Bess asked if I could take the kids today. Sam had to go to classes today. She'd been asked to come in and help work the lunch rush.  I knew her hours had been cut due to lack of help/business lately and that she was likely needing those hours.  I figured if I rose early, I'd get a few things done before the kids were coming over anyway, so the day wouldn't be a loss.

I got up early-ish this morning, before John, and had coffee and Bible study, then went out on the porch for a few minutes.  Some bird out there was fussing hard, and it did not let up. Not singing but most insistently fussing.  It was noisy as could be.  Rufus felt compelled to wander out to the woods and investigate.  I glanced at my phone and noted I had a message from Katie asking if the children and she and Cody could come visit today as well since I already had the other kids.  I texted back that she might as well come on. I realized it was as close to the family day I'd wanted the kids to have as I was going to get.

I came back indoors.  I made breakfast and while it was cooking, I started bread in the bread machine and pizza dough and then went right on to mix up oatmeal cookie dough.  By the time Katie arrived here, I had two pizzas ready for the oven on the counter, a loaf of bread in the oven and 4 dozen oatmeal cookies baked.  I was, to be honest, worn slap out.  The kitchen was a small disaster, contained to the sink.   Katie made salads while I sat and had a glass of iced water.  

Millie and Isaac were completely and totally taken with the new baby.  They each got to hold him for a few minutes, and they spent the first minutes of his visit oohing and ahhing over every stretch, wave of hand, yawn, or grunt.  All of the adults were out of the room, and I walked back in a few minutes later and there was Bella inserting herself between the other two, trying hard to 'protect' her baby.   She had her hand laid lightly on his tummy and was making sure the others didn't touch him.  I thought that was a rather sweet thing. 

The kids ran in and out, lunch was put on the table and people fed.  Kids ate cookies.  I felt flat out at that point and after eating spent most of my time holding Henry and thinking a nap would be awfully nice.

Henry studied me and studied me today.  I think he can actually see better at a slight distance (maybe because I myself can, lol) but even up close, he examined me pretty hard.  John got smiles from across the distance though.  

It was a lovely time.  Katie and family packed up by 2pm and left.  The other kids remained for another hour or so until Bess had gotten work and run an errand.  They more or less picked up toys.  John went out after they left to finish working on the mower, got it up and running and mowed half the lawn.  I went out to just look to see if the sidewalk chalk had been picked up off the patio...What a mess!  Apparently, Bella and Caleb spent their time dropping it in the buckets of water and retrieving it, getting themselves soaked through, while Issac took the wet chalk and wrote on the siding of the house.  No harm.  It will wash off.  But the mess of broken, sodden chalk sticks, thrown all over the patio and front yard...Not so happy about that.  Never mind.  I picked it up though it took quite a little while to retrieve all the pieces.  I'm debating not getting more after this gets used up because so far, it's been one of those things that means more clean-up for me than any other toys they have to play with.

I did start a book this afternoon.  I'm trying so hard to read it because the storyline appeals greatly to me.  However, the writing style of this author does not.  I think I got to chapter three before I read the first full on sentence.  Prior to that it was all a lot of one-to-three-word descriptions followed by a period, making the whole seem very awkward and incoherent.  What the heck?!  Still, I'm caught by the story, so I'm soldiering on, but I do not plan to get myself caught up in another of these books unless the book really really grabs me at the end.  It's Keeping Time by Stacey McGlynn.

Meals:  Breakfast Sandwiches.  If I'd had any other bread in the house, I'd have tossed what I had and not used it.  In fact, I ended up peeling the elements of my sandwich off the bread and leaving it on my plate. It was a store-bought loaf, just lovely when it was fresh but five days in...Blech.

Pizzas: Pepperoni and Hamburger with vegetable, Cheeseburger with onion, Pepperoni, a Green Salad and an Italian Salad that Katie invented last year, and we haven't had in months.  That was for her dad, herself and me.    The other salad was for Cody and the kids...

I had probably a whole pizza's worth of various slices left and sent those home with Bess.  I have had enough pizza to last me a little while.

Pumpkin, Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Rice (short-cut version) Mexican Cornbread.  Never fear there are vegetables aplenty in this meal: tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, green chilies, corn, kidney beans and pumpkin.  

Wednesday:  It's usually my habit to write at the end of each day.  I guess I was so tired last night I thought I'd written!

Yesterday wasn't a big deal really.  I had a hard time sleeping and decided that for once I'd just let myself get the rest I needed.  I basically went to sleep at 6am and didn't wake until 10am.  John was getting ready to go have lunch with his friend when I finally dragged out of bed.  I did at least feel like I'd had some sleep at that point.

I hurried and got ready to leave after him.  I stopped first at the discount grocery where I wanted to pick up a frozen turkey breast that was supposed to be on sale.  None in stock.  I got some good buys in the clearance meat and produce sections: a piece of a roast.  It was the butt end of a cut I think and priced at less than $5.  I think it will be more than enough for a pot of stew for us.  I also got a 4 pc. pack of country style pork ribs.    In produce, I bought tomatillos, tomatoes, bag of collards and a packet of yellow squash.  Then I got two bags of apples, one Rome and one Fuji.  I'm ready for an apple pie and that's why I bought the Rome apples.  I also bought both smoked sausage and sausage patties.  We'll get two months easily from both packages.  Oh and 5 pounds of Russet Potatoes on sale for $2.69.

I went on to Hobby Lobby.  I didn't buy anything but candles and two Acacia wood cutting boards there.  I wanted picture frames.  I took my three pictures with me but when I realized frames that I liked were running around $100 for the three.  I'll either have to do this piecemeal or find a lot cheaper source.  I want nice frames.  I don't want to bust our budget.

I went to Kroger and got my free carton of eggs.  I found Brach's caramels in the candy aisle (been looking for them for weeks now) and picked up enough to hold us for a few months.    

Meals: John said he had toast.  I had sausage balls.

John out with a friend.  I grabbed a chicken dinner from fast food place.

Grilled Cheese sandwiches.

I hit the floor hard this morning.  Sam called last night asking if I'd keep the kids again today.  It's payday and I knew I needed to do that job at least.  I also really needed to play catch-up from Monday and Tuesday.  Money first this morning.  Even before coffee, but not before a refreshing wake-up shower.  I cleaned up our room, made the bed and came out around 9am.  I'd been up over an hour.

We had a quick breakfast and coffee.  The kids came in as expected at about 9:45...followed by an irate daddy because they'd not listened to his instructions.  I felt at first it put a damper on things but by the time they'd gone home today I was as irate as their daddy, lol.  The children did NOT listen today.  I don't mean they were bad.  They weren't.  They behaved fairly well but they did not listen to any instructions at all.

While they were here, I pushed myself to clear out the fridge and get it freshly organized, clean up the kitchen, and get lunch together.  Isaac called me last night.  Well, he's in a calling mood lately and can call people from his tablet.  He called me yesterday morning to tell me he'd lost a tooth, and the tooth fairy had forgotten him.  I said she'd probably got backed up and would catch him last night (she did).  Then he called me last night to tell me he was in trouble and what he wanted to eat when he came to my house today.   Apparently, eggs were on his mind.  He wanted 'those round eggs'...I finally pinned him down to what his concept of a round egg was, and it was boiled eggs.

I wanted to start a pot of collard greens and tried to find a recipe similar to the one I've used before.  Since I cook collards only about twice a year and always in the autumn, I've never put the recipe in my file.  I played off two or three recipes and the ingredients I recalled using: brown sugar, vinegar, liquid smoke, onion, crushed red pepper flakes, chicken bouillon and water.  Before I could start the collards, I rinsed them off.  I'm glad I did because whoever processed the bag cut up the thick tough stems right along with the greens.  I destemmed them.  

I have to ask though...There was a recipe on the bag and out of curiosity I read it.  That recipe for 'real Southern collard greens' sounded odd to me.  I'll share the ingredients listed here and if you all cook them that way, please let me know.  I personally have never heard of such!  

3 pounds white potatoes, salt, olive oil, 16 oz. chopped collards, chopped red onions, and then it calls for up to 3/4 cup milk.   The recipe involves cooking the potatoes, sautéing the greens and onions and then adding milk?  Have any of you ever heard of such a dish?  While I am specifically asking my Southern readers, I'll take a reply from anyone who has ever eaten such a dish or remembers someone who made it this way.

 We had lunch.  The children ate surprisingly well, except Isaac who concentrated on two elements, one of those being eggs.

After lunch, I semi-cleaned.  I stacked the dirty dishes in the sink (which overflowed) and wiped off counters and then pleased Josh no end when I said, "If you don't mind, I'd love to play a bit of Bandicoot on your Switch."  He was so happy to have me ask to play.  He loves that I love to play games.   

Sam came in and was in almost as bad a mood as when he left this morning.  At that point the three children were semi-wild.  He was also fussed because his texts are not being replied to by me.  I told him I'd check my settings, but we hadn't heard a thing.  The texts did come in, but they made no noise, and I was sitting right by my phone.  

The children were sent home, and Sam stayed to decompress for a few minutes.  It was a number of unrelated things mostly to do with frustrations related to his college classes combined with his need to excel and feeling he wasn't.  As with my week, his had not gone to plan at all.  Like his mama, he likes to plan ahead.  I understood perfectly the way he was feeling about that.  

I will not have the children again this week.  I won't likely see them until 2 weeks from now.  I enjoyed the time with them, but I am a little fussed with not getting much of my planned week, but I've at least got the luxury of making up for it..  

I stripped meat from the chicken and put the bones and skin on to simmer to make broth.  I wanted chicken and dumplings today.  Now John is not particularly happy at the moment, but he'll eat and like them just fine.  He wanted the big fat fluffy dumplings I've been making him for the past 30 odd years.  I wanted Granny's dumplings which were rolled flat and cut into tender little squares.  I made Granny's sort of dumplings for tonight.  As I said, John will eat it, and he'll like it and tell me how good it is.

I need to go put away the leftovers but I'm calling me done for this day.

Meals:  Toast with banana and peanut butter for me.  John had toast and sausage balls.  Yesterday evening he asked me, "Did you leave any of those sausage balls?"  I told him I'd saved half the package back for him.  He said he'd hated to leave without eating any but knew he was going to lunch before 12N and didn't need a second breakfast.

Boiled eggs, smoked sausage and Pumpkin Waffles.  The boiled eggs didn't peel nicely.  The eggs were too fresh.  Josh didn't want one, so he gave it to the kiddos.   

I divided the package of smoked sausage into breakfast portions during my kitchen prep, so I went ahead and cooked a few small pieces.  

The biggest hit was the Pumpkin Waffles.  I had those in the freezer.  I promised the kids when I got more pumpkin in the house, I'd make them some for their freezer.  

Chicken and Dumplings.  That's it.  I didn't serve collards.  I clean forgot to add my peas and green beans to my broth, but it had onion and carrot.  These were really good and though I made a half recipe, I have a load of leftovers, enough for at least a hearty lunch for us. 

Thursday:  I've had a headache most of the day.  Not a bad headache but enough of one to niggle at my brain and make me want to stop and shut my eyes for a bit.  

John informed me this morning shortly after I got up that we'd leave the house 'this afternoon' to go pick up mower parts.  Perhaps if I'd felt more like myself, I might have asked for clarification.  Does 'this afternoon' mean following lunch?  Mid-way through the afternoon hours?  Closer to 5pm?  I didn't ask, I just puttered around doing much of nothing.  And there is the story of my day.  Nothing accomplished to really show for a day of living.  And given the slight headache, I'm all for just going through without worrying about what I've got to do.

We left the house about 11:30 (not afternoon in my opinion).  We stopped at the post office to drop off outgoing mail.  We picked up blades and belt for the mower, which John had gotten up and running and sharpened the old blades for so he could finish our lawn yesterday.  Sam had specifically asked John if he could come their yard, and he told him he would do so today or tomorrow.  Well, he's off now doing it for today (it's almost 5pm).

After mower tasks we went to lunch at our favorite spot where we've not been in two months or so.  Lovely meal.  We brought home half of it for our supper tonight.  I'm looking forward to our leftovers.

Then to the bank and by Publix to pick up a prescription that was waiting.  Home to get the gas can and go into town to get mower gas.  I asked to stop at the truck farmer's corner so I could get boiled peanuts.  We came home and I totted up the checkbook.  I can sympathize with John's statement, "We'll have spent our whole check today when we're done..."  It might have felt like it to him but nothing we bought came from the main substance of our account.  Every single item came out of a sub-account amount already set aside.  Yes, it's money spent all the same, can't deny that.  But it makes me feel I've done something when I've PLANNED for these things and set money aside well before we're spending money for them.

I think I should get a complete do-over for this week.  I do indeed.  There's no way come tomorrow I can play catch-up on all the things I've missed doing this week.  I won't get to go to Sam's Club after all, much as I'd hoped to do so.  

And while I could get up and force myself to get busy, I think I'm going to sit right here and enjoy the view of the sun falling across that rust velvet pillow across the room...and maybe, just maybe shut my eyes for a few minutes and see if that will ease the headache.

Friday:  I was shocked this morning when I exited my room.  I slept so well, thanks to the cooler front that finally moved in.  I got up and took a shower and never once looked at the clock, but when I came out of the room it was 9:45.  I was taken aback, because I went to sleep early last night (early for me, not for normal folks).

I hurried through the morning.  I read my Bible online while I had coffee and breakfast.  After breakfast I stripped the bed and bath.  I decided to deep clean the bathroom.  What I didn't do was mop the floor or clean the shower.  Those will get done next week.  For this week, for today, I cleaned the mirror, pictures, sink, the soap dish and toothbrush holder, inside the sink cabinet, toilet, toilet brush holder.   I straightened the towels and cloths.  I restocked soap and shampoo. Then I dusted and swept the entire room.  I spent a good 45 minutes in there cleaning and organizing.

When I came out of the bathroom, I went to the kitchen and cleared up behind breakfast, then I got the kitchen counters cleaned well.  I took time to partially clean the coffee pot, wiped down the bread machine and the slow cooker.  I wanted to really clean all of the small appliances this week but it's not going to happen.  I sat down to have a glass of water, glanced at the clock and it was 1pm...

Time for lunch!  Fortunately, we had plenty of Chicken and Dumplings left.   While lunch was heating up, I started to make a Banana Pudding.  I thought I had vanilla wafers but no, I didn't.  I used graham crackers instead.  I also used those two expired boxes of cook and serve vanilla pudding. Since I was using the cook and serve pudding I waited until after lunch to start that project.  I was going to wait to put meringue on it tomorrow but then decided to just go on and finish it up.  It turned out beautiful, just a pale golden color all over.  

Somewhere in there I managed to think of dinner for tonight and started country ribs in the slow cooker.  

It's time to go back to the kitchen and finish supper.  Time to plan meals for the weekend.  Time, too, to finish this journal and start planning a brand-new week.  

One thing before I close.  One of our community is in deep need of prayer.  She has communicated with me what it is, but I don't feel free to share it.  It's a family matter and it's a difficult one.  Would you all please lift Gerlynn in prayer for the next week or two.  I know she would deeply appreciate it.

For all that mine was largely not to plan, it was a lovely week.  The cooler weather has finally come in and I am so deeply grateful to see it!  This weekend we will be home on Saturday.  Then on Sunday it's Gramma Fried Chicken Sunday with Taylor.

I hope you had a great week.   

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