Journal of My Week: September 28 - October 4

 

Saturday:  It was lovely to come home yesterday and find no damage to the place.  That was an anxiety for us but as we traveled up the interstate and got closer and closer to our area of the state, we felt pretty sure we would find all was well.

Once home we unloaded the car and unpacked bags in record time.  This was made lots easier both at the hotel and here at home because we purchased one of those collapsible folding wagons when they went on sale months ago and we'd put it in the car trunk. note;  Walmart has the same wagon on sale just now for $49.98 and it's worth every penny.  It's just a cloth sided wagon that folds up so it can easily be stored in a small space, perfect for keeping in the car truck to help with unloading groceries or luggage, etc. And it's the sort you can use in the yard as well if wanted.  Getting up to the room and down again to the car, getting into the house was made so easy that John and I had not one single cross word.  Grand record!  He thanked me about 100 times for making that purchase.  I guess that paid for itself in peaceful arrivals alone!

We make it a point to leave the house freshly cleaned so we need not do much of anything once we arrive.  That made coming home yesterday extra lovely.  And relaxing.  I made supper from stuff I'd brought home from vacation and that was all I had to do aside from the moments it took to unpack.

At 10pm last night I was so ready for bed...

Who gave up and got up at 4 am this morning?  Same girl.  I think I might have dozed for an hour and a half and then I was like an owl. I made myself a cup of coffee and worked on the meal plan for the week ahead and somewhere between menu plans, I finally went to sleep.  John came out around 8am, so I had two hours of sleep with the craziest dreams I think I've ever had. 

I find it funny that I keep having these stressed-out dreams.  Truly we are in probably one of the least stressful seasons of our lives in a long while.  Perhaps it's fall out from all those days when I was stressed. 

later:  We were sitting here after breakfast sipping coffee, when John said, "Here comes the boys..."  I looked up just in time to see all three of the children running towards the house with huge grins on their faces.  Millie was bringing up the rear.  The sheer joy of being outdoors running, of coming to Gramma and Grandpa's house, was such a sweet thing to see that I felt tears sting my eyes.  They have every single time I've thought of them running across the back yard this morning.  

The kids were bringing us a portion of a lovely Blueberry Orange coffee cake Sam had made that morning.  They stayed for a couple of hours before I told them they needed to head home.  Truth, I was wearing out fast at that point and had a headache.  However, I asked if they wanted to go out with me next Saturday and they said "YES!" right away.  Their second request was, "Okay but before we go can we have candy?"   They know good and well they can.  It's a tradition.  Come to Gramma's house and when we go home get candy.

Meals:   Sausage Balls, Bagel for John, Croissant for me.

Chicken Cobbler.  I added vegetables, potatoes, peas, onions.  I used the viral Red Lobster Garlic Cheddar biscuit cobbler recipe.  I completely screwed up the recipes, and not just once but at about every turn.  However, it tasted GOOD.  Which was terrific since we had it for supper, too and I put a meal sized portion into the freezer for another day.

Sunday:  I slept last night.  I slept all night long.  I slept from the time I went to bed until about 20 minutes before the alarm went off this morning.  I didn't get up once or wake at all.  It was just lovely.

We found our seats taken at church this morning.  John and I, as most of us do in early service, have our favored spots and there's generally no competition for those seats but this morning, someone was in our usual seats.  So, we sat on the front row this morning.  It wasn't bad.

I have to share that today's sermon was about spending time in the Word...A subject that gave me a nice kick in the seat of my pants. The pastor started by showing a video of an underground church congregation in China receiving boxes of Bibles.  The congregation quickly grabbed a Bible and many hugged it or kissed it.  A translation of two women flashed on the screen.  "This is what we needed most. We needed this."  My eyes filled with tears.  I recalled how in my childhood I was told the Bible was a Holy Book and not to be touched...Can you imagine?  Of course, my parents didn't mean it was forbidden.  They wanted us to take care of our Bibles, to treat them carefully, but each time we took them off the shelf someone would tell us, "Put that away!  It's Holy!"  It's a shame...  But that was what my family believed.  I spent years looking for answers that I might have found right in the very thing I was told not to touch.   I needed to hear what the pastor had to say on the subject today.  

In the last 30 years, I wouldn't begin a day without opening my Bible.  In the past couple of years, however, it's been hit or miss.  I fell out of the habit when I was keeping Caleb full time and needed to hit the floor running to keep up with him.   I've done a few self-guided studies since Caleb moved out last December, but I haven't taken the Bible up just to read it.  I definitely don't open it every day.  I need to.  It's what I need. 

After church, we headed to Katie's.  We haven't seen Henry in two weeks, and I was anxious to see him.  He actually looked at me, or at least his eyes were open, and he appeared to be looking at me.  I'm not really sure what a newborn sees nor how well.  We stayed about an hour and then said we'd head home, but Katie protested.  "Y'all haven't done any sort of visits lately except short ones.  I want you to stay!"  So, John made her a bargain.  'Make me a cup of coffee and I'll stay.'  

It was such a nice visit.  Bella was delighted to see us and finally has begun speaking in fairly complete sentences.  Caleb kept saying, "My grandparents have come."  Taylor was pleased to see us, too.  Cody's dad had just returned from a trip out of state, and we all settled in and chatted and talked and sounded just like a family.   Henry was passed from one to another and when he was in his little bassinet in the living room, he was busy kicking his legs and waving his arms about, which is a lot more activity than he was making when I saw him last.  

We finally headed home about the time Katie needed to get ready to take Taylor back home.  When we arrived home, Sassy was here at last.  Apparently when we leave home, she leaves home, too, even though her food is coming just the same.  She disappeared for a shorter time than she did last.  I fed her and I'm glad she needed food because I found a container of chili on the top shelf which I might not have seen otherwise.  I called Sam when I got indoors and discovered that Josh had left it here about an hour earlier. It was still fairly warm, so I felt sure it would be safe to eat.  Since we hadn't had lunch that was a most welcome find!  I brought it straight indoors and heated it up.   I'd been wracking my brain on the way home trying to figure out what we'd have for a quick meal.  

I feel replete.  I've heard a good service, had a lovely time with another set of grandkids and had a delicious meal without much effort on my part.  What a lovely Sunday!

Meals:  Coffee Cake, Sausage, Boiled Egg

Chili, half a hamburger each.  The burger was a leftover from our last vacation night.  Supper tonight is very doubtful.  If I want anything I may eat some yogurt and granola.

Monday:  Last night before bed, my mind was racing, so I sat down with my journal and just let all my thoughts go onto the page.  When John came to bed, we said our prayers and that is the last thing I remember until about 6:30 or so this morning.  I so love a good night's rest!

Part of what I wrote out yesterday was a list of things I wanted to do today.  I did not get to all of them and that is partly because I did other things I hadn't written down.  I tidied the house which took a bit longer than I expected.  I made bread and Raisin Bran Muffins.  I wanted to bring my checkbook up to date and that took a bit longer than I'd thought it might.  The morning was gone before I'd really begun to think I might do anything on the to do list from last night's brain dump.  I forget that a Monday routine, even on a relatively neatly kept home, is a bit longer cleaning than I might do other days.

The Raisin Bran Muffins turned out pretty good.  I found a recipe from Pinch of Yum.  It called for buttermilk, and I thought, "Perfect!  I can use some of that buttermilk powder stuff I bought."  Well, it was like a solid brick, and once I broke it up, it didn't want to dissolve fully.   The muffins are good, but I wish they had called for cinnamon or something because all I can taste is the powdered milk.  I checked three times to be sure the stuff wasn't expired.  I am not impressed with it.  And naturally, because I was convinced it would be a great product to keep on hand, and I'd never tried it, I bought TWO containers of the stuff.  I'll push myself to use it up somehow, but I don't think I'll buy it again. 

I was very conscious of my monthly goals for October.  So, I started the freezer/pantry inventory.  I got all of my meat baskets inventoried today and the ready prepared stuff (both leftovers and purchased) that I have on hand.  Shocked that I had no bacon, because I would have bet I had three packs, but I had none.   On the other hand, I'm just as shocked at how many pork chops and beef roasts I've ended up with buying clearance stuff from the discount store.  Definitely won't need any more of those for a bit!  

I was also surprised that I have 1/2 pound of ground beef and no more.  And only two packets of chicken...This is the direct result of not seeing sales and just making do with what I could find that was low cost enough I didn't gasp.  

I've been seeing more and more of the hurricane Helene news...Oh my gosh!  It just hurts me so to hear the stories and see the devastation.  A friend who lives about two hours south of me is having to drive up this way to get gas for their generator.   And the predictions for their area (hurricane damage followed by a bad tornado) is that their power won't be restored until Thanksgiving in that area.

One thing I thought about last night was this:  How will this affect the elections in November?  Some of those places without electricity won't be able to be open for folks to vote locally.  Some people can't get out of where they are to reach voting locations...I have a feeling this storm is going to be a big problem for a longer period of time than any of us think it might.  

Meals:  John had the last of the whole grain pancakes I made on vacation and some sausage. I had a piece of toast with a couple of sausages.  

Salad and Chicken nuggets.  The last of the vacation foods used!  I had a bagged salad that I made into a main dish meal.  

Sausage, Cabbage, Potatoes.  I realized this morning that the only potatoes I have at present are those tiny little multi-colored ones.  I bought the bag on vacation naturally, because darned if I like to pay $3 for a pound of potatoes, but John loves those things.  Anyway, that's all the potatoes I have so none of Brenda's delicious casserole.  Just plain old Steamed cabbage (which finished that off) and potatoes with sausage.  

Tuesday:  On Sunday, I realized my best option for going to see Mama was to determine ahead of time what day I was going to go and make that the day.  These days, if I 'wait to see what's going to happen' before making plans, something always happens.  So, when Katie said she might come over to the house for a visit this week I quickly said, "No on Tuesday.  Tuesday, I plan to see Mama. But any other day is fine with me.  

I slept like a top but woke super early this morning.  I got up and had coffee at 5:30 a.m.  I felt perfectly rested, so I guess I had gotten all that I needed.  Anyway, after I cooked breakfast, cleared up, etc., I got ready to head out.  

Mama had a lot of small things that needed to be done today.  They weren't a hardship, and I didn't mind doing them. They truly were small things: put trash in the can and roll it to the curb, fill up the car, pick up the mail, drop off mail, pick up stamps.  She had an idea of where she wanted to go for lunch, which is unusual, too.  

Our food was delicious and hot, the service was excellent.  That's something I've had often lately: HOT food.  John and I have had burgers and fries so hot we couldn't touch them.  Same with my seafood dinner when we were on vacation.  I am peculiar in that I prefer my meal to come to me HOT and I'll wait for it to cool enough to eat.  But mostly I'm going to eat it while it's hot.  I hate to have a meal lukewarm before I'm half done with it!  I'm the same with coffee by the way.  And with the cooler mornings, I'm using my Yeti mug from Karla these days.  I get a hot cup of coffee from start to finish.  Just the way I want it.  

After lunch Mama and I went for a ride.  She remarked on the goldenrod which was stunning.  It's FINALLY bloomed and it's blooming everywhere and is lovely.  I honestly thought I'd see it bloom sometime in September this year.  It was only just starting to open in Florida last week.  It put me in a fall sort of mood.  

After dropping Mama off at her apartment, I put on a Jake Westbrook Autumn Music playlist, got myself a Decaf iced coffee and headed home, content as could be with the scenery.

Once home I didn't do a thing but chat for too long to the pest control man and John.  I didn't even think about supper until it was almost 5:30.  

I had meant to put a meal in the slow cooker, but I was missing an ingredient for one planned dish and for the other option, I was afraid it would be over cooked even if left on low.  However, I did have meat thawed out.  I thought of all my options, all the usual options but I kept saying to myself, "I want something different." 

Meals:  Toasted Raisin Bran Muffin, Scrambled Eggs, Grits

out with Mama

Chicken Tacos, Apples.

My something different turned into a made-up chicken taco filling that John kept raving over.  "Taco Bell has nothing on you, baby!  This is good!"  Here's what I did.

I took one boneless skinless chicken breast and cubed it.  Then I seasoned it heavily with onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, a dash of cumin and lots of paprika, a bit of salt.  I did say heavily, and I definitely mean heavily.  I've found with a taco dish if you're using chicken, you want to get the flavor profile set and you can't do it with normal amounts of seasoning.

I browned the chicken in an oiled skillet, not turning it until it released from the pan easily.  Then I added a small amount (say 1/2 tsp.) of minced garlic, about 1 tbsp of pickled jalapeno peppers and less than 1/4 cup of orange juice.  I wanted the orange juice to deglaze the pan.  I cooked this until the orange juice had reduced to about half as much and then switched it off.  

I served the chicken pieces in taco shells (found in the cabinet) with very finely sliced red cabbage and yellow onion and a bit of shredded cheese.  We topped with about a teaspoon of sour cream.   I just used what I had for toppings.  I don't have lettuce or tomato, but I think the cabbage and onion suited the flavoring on the chicken.

Y'all!  This was as good as John kept exclaiming it was.  We cleaned our plates tonight.  

Wednesday:  Goodness but I'm sleeping well these days.  That's something I do not take for granted.  I stayed abed until nearly 9am this morning and I went right off to sleep last night.  

I got up ready to tackle the world this morning.  And I started...but then I got sidetracked. And in getting sidetracked ambition walked away and went elsewhere.

John was impatient for breakfast and took matters into his own hands when it was obvious I planned to start my day with coffee and Bible, lol. He opted for cereal and toast.  I had yogurt and granola once I was done with my study.   We both got involved watching a vlogger from South Carolina that we enjoy as he was trying to clear his land post hurricane.  I reminded John as we watched this vlogger that our 'vision' was only as wide as his camera lens.  The amount of damage that man could see was far wider and still didn't encompass the whole of the picture.  It's very sobering to see such and is a good reminder to donate and pray, pray and donate for these poor folks who were so severely affected.

After that I started tidying the house, making the bed, etc.  Then I sat down to work on the newly revised budget sheet.  I managed to fit in everything we need to cover.  There's still nothing to wiggle but it at least all fits.

I got the main living area dusted, and the ceiling fan cleaned then I finished my simple decorations on the bookcases (which looks rather lovely), but I had to borrow heavily from my pretty arrangement on the buffet, so I had to alter that.

Then I started working in the kitchen, making lunch.  That's when I noted on the can that it was a product of Thailand...which returned my thoughts yet again to something I've been pondering the past few days.  So as soon as the salad was made, I came to the living room and sat down at my computer to capture the thought.  John was playing guitar, so I went ahead and started research and five and a half hours later...

We did have lunch in there and a short visit with Sam who ran by to print off homework pages, but yeah...The post is fully written.

I've been wracking my brain for substitutes/alternatives to meal plans. I thought I was going to have the Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Bake today as a meal.  Nope.  I have no pumpkin.  None.  Not even unexpired cans.  How did I let that happen?!   So, I came up with an alternative meal after discounting two other meal plans because I haven't got what is required to make them.  I really need to go to the grocery, but you can see that didn't happen and I really haven't made out a list.

John has suggested we just skip all vegetables with tonight's meal.  I suggested alternatives to our usual salad side, but he still votes for no vegetables.  Rolling my eyes but rolling with his plan, too.

Meals: Cereals 

Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Chips

Pasta with Meatballs and Marinara Sauce, Mozzarella Sticks.  The meatballs were frozen several months back, and I really needed to use them as they've been there for a good while, so I thawed them instead of the Italian sausage I might have used if I'd had pumpkin on hand.  I'm low on pasta products too, I just discovered but I can manage tonight's meal.  I'll lay odds he asks for bread and butter to go along with this meal so count that in, too.

Tomorrow: seriously need to get lettuce and potatoes and a few other bits of produce.  I wonder if I can interest John in going for haircuts, too.

Thursday:  This week has flown by...or so it seems to me.  Honestly, last week on vacation practically dragged.   This week at home, where I've been puttering around doing this and that, has just run away from me.

We skipped breakfast but I took time to do my Bible study while I sipped my coffee.  Then I felt ambitious enough to tackle the rest of the freezer inventory and started on one set of cabinets but got distracted from it.  

I made lunch and when John announced he was going to mow this afternoon, I told him I was going to run into town.  I'd made up my mind that I didn't want to spend a load of grocery money here at the start of the month, but I really needed lettuce and potatoes.   And I wanted to pick up a couple of things at the local dollar store that I needed.  Which led me to start planning a grocery spending challenge for the blog...I do try to avoid the dollar store because somehow, I always spend about the same amount and it's mostly on unnecessary things.  I find my best line of defense is to not go in at all.

After I'd cleared up behind lunch, I got dressed to go into town.  I started at Dollar General and planned on the fly.  I picked things up and put things back and thought and thought.  My goal was to spend right at $25.  I think I did well enough.

I also shuffled through the clearance bins and found a few packets of seeds: beets and radishes, flowers for next spring and a pretty tray that I liked so well, I picked one up for Katie too in case she'd like to have one.  I also got the two necessary items and five or six unnecessary ones and spent about my usual amount, sigh.

Over at the grocery store, I picked up a handful of grocery items (bacon, because I wanted some; lettuce that I couldn't get at the dollar store, and a bottle of 27% Cranberry juice from the clearance shelves).  Then I bought the things I thought would make good meals for us for about $25.  

Of course, on the way home, I began to rethink the whole thing, and to seriously regret some of my purchases and wondered if I might not do better to combine the meals and try to eke out a week's worth of food from them...I don't know.  I'll square it up in my mind and then determine what I'll do before I start writing the post or posts.  I do know that this is not meant to be a Mother Hubbard sort of challenge.  Just a challenge to see how well we can eat on a smaller amount of money.  So, we'll see.  

I came home to find John hot and tired and despondent.  The mower slipped a belt and it's not an easy fix and information on how to fix it assures him it's not easy.   It was hotter outdoors than one might think. The temperature isn't that high, but the humidity is.  I felt more than a bit irritable myself when I came in from shopping, as the stores had been overly warm, and the car never really cooled until I was in the driveway and there was all the stuff to haul indoors.  I called John to come help but he didn't have his phone nearby nor had he turned up the volume...This is a sore point with me.  

I feel that if I'm to be gone he should have the phone near him unless he's on the mower.  And not only near him but turned up so he can hear it instead of it being silenced.  And knowing that he didn't do either only made me twice or thrice as irritable as I'd gotten over being so sticky hot.   I kept quiet about calling and simply came to the door lugging bags, asking "Can you come help?" instead of giving him the earful I really wanted to give him.   Considering how frustrated he already was, it was just as well I didn't fuss about it because it would have turned into a row when we neither of us really wanted one.

I had supper in the slow cooker and was wondering if it would actually turn out to be enough for John and me.  He called Katie so he could talk to Caleb, and she asked if they could all come over.  I asked, "What do you want to do for supper?"  She said she had pierogi and cabbage.  I've got potatoes, onions and there are Brats in the freezer, so supper was sorted out.  The food I made for us tonight was never going to stretch far enough to serve five.  I've already put that in a covered dish in the refrigerator.   We'll have it tomorrow night.

Meals:  Chicken Sandwiches (used the 2nd BS Chicken Breast from the package I'd thawed), Hash Brown patties (found in the freezer, figured we'd eat them).

Brats with Pierogi, Cabbage, Potatoes and Onions, Rye Bread and Butter.  Katie left me with half a head of cabbage and about enough pierogi to make a second meal for us, but I don't think I want it anytime soon. Sausage and cabbage twice in the week are about enough.

Final thought for the day: the dock worker strike is over so we can set aside that concern.  

Friday: Henry looked and looked all around him last night.  The full time he was here he was awake for about 95% of the time.  His little head turned, and his bright little eyes took in everything he could see.  He ate twice (in three hours!).  And he only fussed once and that because he was left in his car seat while his mama and daddy retrieved the rocker chair from the shed where I'd stored it when Caleb was done with it.  So glad that this summer I took time to clean it well, freshly laundered the seat cover and stored it in a closed container.  Henry seemed to like the aspect of sitting up so he could see what was going on.

Caleb was sweet as could be last night.  He kept asking, "Are we having a sleepover?"  We explained again and again that they were just here for a visit, and he would go back home to sleep. He talked about school, played with the paper dolls.  Unlike his Mama, there does come a point where he felt it was too dark to go outdoors.  Katie at the same age kept telling me, "But come outside Mama, it's not nearly as dark as it looks.  Just let me stay out a little longer."  This difference between him and her amused me.  I confess it didn't look dark to me outdoors and the outside lights were on, but Caleb said, "No, it's too dark."

They left about 8:30 last night.  It was a lovely way to spend an evening.  Katie had quite a load of stuff to take home that I'd been saving to give her: that pretty tray I bought, some k-cups that I stopped using, long-sleeved shirts for Caleb in his upcoming size, Pumpkin Banana Bread, and other odds and ends.  Cody said "Good Lord..." when he went to load up the car.  Between baby stuff and the things, I'd given her it was quite a lot to load.  "Well, I haven't been over in a while..." Katie reminded him.  Once upon a time I kept three bags at the back door hanging on pegs.  One for Lori, one for Bess, and one for Katie and each one got a bag when they came to visit.  They usually had a bag for me, too.  It was our own personal exchange system.

I was up very early this morning.  John slept in. We are apparently taking turns sleeping in these mornings.  I enjoyed my cup of coffee in the early morning light all alone.  I got so hungry I didn't think I could wait for John to rise.  I settled for setting things up for our breakfast and just about the time I was ready to slide the bacon into the oven, he came out of the room.  Perfect timing!

I don't know what our plans are for today.  At one point we'd planned to go out today and get haircuts, but I think that plan was cancelled in favor of working on the lawnmower.  The bed and bath have been stripped down, dirty dishes from breakfast are in the sink, I need to make a plan for lunch.  Supper is pretty much finished up thanks to yesterday's change of plans.   I'll check in a little later and share how I've spent the morning before I send this out this afternoon.

later:  Apparently none of the planned things are happening today.  However, the house is Shabat ready, supper for tonight is practically prepared and I somehow managed to do all I did and get a nap in as well and it's not quite lunch time.   I'll close for the week here.

Meals: Bacon, Eggs, Coffeecake (last of the one Sam brought.  I'd put the other piece in the freezer).

Choice of leftovers

Braised Short Ribs with Cherries, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Rye Bread

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