Goals for January 2025

 

Well, here we are with a brand-new month approaching.  While my resolutions for the year are not as ambitious as they have been in years' past, you'll find my monthly goals are still very much work oriented.  They have to be.  Much as I'd like to have a leisure filled life, the truth is that working is what keeps this house running.

I don't mind work, truly I do not.  I like to have something of a working plan to work from to keep me focused and mindful of what I want to get done.  This month will be fairly easy.  Plenty of work, just doesn't take up as much space as some month's goals might.

1.  Participate in the 21 day fast our church has planned.  Last I heard from John he hadn't yet determined what he'd do, but I have made up my mind.  No need to share it, just saying that it's part and parcel of the month and a goal to participate.

2.  Deep focus on cleaning one area of the house each week of this month.  I plan to start in the kitchen, then I'll focus on the living area and then our bed and bath and finally the guest bed and bath.

3.  Wipe down the porch furniture. The porches aren't really pleasant places to sit in the winter.  They tend to stay damp on foggy, overcast days and are a bit too shady on cold days but we will go outdoors to sit if the furniture isn't dirty.   So I thought for those days that are more pleasant, when we can pull a chair into the sun to sit, I'll just try to keep the porches looking nice.

4.  Bake cookies.    I'll lay odds that John will give up sugar this month, but we'll see.  If he does, I'll make dough for the freezer so it's handy when the month is over.

5.  Make up an order for some necessary clothing items.  

6.  Start the Pantry/Freezer Challenge.

And we'll leave it at just that much for January.  

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Meal Plan for This Week: Gearing up for Pantry/Freezer Challenge Month

I am out of onions, cabbage and carrots.  This won't do!  I can't begin a pantry/freezer challenge month without those necessities on hand!  I think we're in decent shape otherwise with plenty of all the other things we might need, but those few things are necessary for meals as far as I'm concerned.   I also need to check my supply of olive oil, and diced tomatoes, but I think we're good overall.

It's unlikely I'll do too much shopping this week beyond what I've mentioned.  So technically, let the Pantry and Freezer Challenge begin!  

I'll assign days here this week to various meals, but you all know me...It's bound to be a switch of sides from one meal to another or a meal made on an entirely different day.  My main goal is to be sure I've planned food for every day.

Saturday:  Pizza.  The kids are supposed to be here tonight, and I figured I'd plan our main meal for their time here.  Knowing them as I do, this will be all they require to be happy.  I've a ton of pepperoni, bought in bulk from Sam's club, ditto for Mozzarella.  Dough is easy enough to make.  I generally do one pepperoni for the kids and then one with some sort of additional toppings for John and I.

Sunday:  Roast Chicken, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots, Broccoli and Apple salad.

Monday:  Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (freezer entree), Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans.

Tuesday:  Oven Baked Chicken and Dumplings, Peas, Pear Salad.

Wednesday:  Chinese Takeout.  My treat to me for New Year's Day, assuming the place is open.

Thursday:  Pork Chops, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans.

Friday:  Red Beans and Rice, Coleslaw, Cornbread.  I things go as usual we'll end up with leftover rice from our Chinese dinner that I can use here but if I can't get takeout as planned, I'll just make rice.  I have plenty of it on hand.  I have a bag of red beans in the dried beans bin, and I'll use those.  This month I mean to use the dried beans I've been 'collecting' and saving for heaven knows what.

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Things to Do: Last Week of December/Start of 2025

 

Well, these holidays are over, except for New Year's Day.  I have to say that we do very little ourselves to welcome in a New Year.  We don't watch a special movie and generally don't do anything too special for meals.  We don't sit up to all hours on New Year's Eve, either.  I do try and treat it as a holiday and won't work on the day of New Year's, but it's really just a day 'off' in the midst of a rather ordinary week for us.  

That's not to say I'm not New Year minded.  I love the whole fresh start aspect of a New Year, and the fact that we are fully into winter, which I can't claim as a favorite season but is a favored one all the same.  As I get older, I find more and more that I enjoy ALL the seasons for different reasons.  Once my initial desire to clean, organize and declutter is past, I simply enjoy the restful nature of winter and the heartier meals the season affords.  Truth be told, I'm never happier than in soup season.

Gosh but I'm all chatter today.  Let's get busy and plan this week!

1.  Do the banking if I haven't already done it at this point.  I need to make a deposit and cash our Christmas checks.  I hope to have this done already before we reach this week, but we'll see how it goes.

2. Clean and sort, restock, declutter the kitchen.  Last month I bought myself a handheld vacuum, which should make cleaning out the cabinets and drawers much easier.  Nothing is too bad really in the room except perhaps the stove which needs a really good surface cleaning. Perhaps I'll even tackle the fridge while it's not so very full.  I want to mop the floors since I didn't get it done prior to Christmas baking (and just as well!).  I'd also like to restock all the spices, canisters, etc.  

This sounds like a lot. I plan to do this over a period of days not just in one day, and if carries over into next week as well, so be it.  I'm not in a big hurry, but I do feel that New Year push to get started on the deeper cleaning.

3.  Remove Christmas.  In the end, I didn't put out much this year, so this won't take too much time. 

4. Freshen the room for winter.   I'll try to find something pretty and fresh to put out for the winter months.  I enjoyed my moody autumn look but for winter I'd like something different.  I've already changed the velvet pillow covers from rust to Navy Blue.  It's definitely time to put out throws and such to make the room cozier.  

5.  Pull a stack of books for January reading.  I never did read my final book from November and didn't read a single one for December reading.  However, this month I want to begin my year with a stack of books ready by my chair.  One of those will be a classic.  I have several in the house which I'll admit I've never read.  

6. Get my checkbook ready for January.

7.  Get Bess's birthday card ready to deliver.  

8.  Get some necessary shopping done.  I'm looking for a new perfume and it's time to restock on some basic clothing necessities.

9.  Relax.  It is the final holiday week of the year after all!

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Journal of My Week: The Fourth Week of December

 

Dec. 21, Saturday:  We went to do Homeless Outreach this morning.  It was cold and the building was packed with people.  It was so cold outdoors.  The girl who runs the food part of the program made a hearty brunch with biscuits and sausage gravy, grits and bacon and more.  Everyone was happy to tuck in.

The pastor had invited Santa and his Mrs. to come and have visits with the children.  The children were far more interested in Santa Claus than in food.  

The Long Quiet: Day 23

 

 We turn to Christmas as a Mecca at the end of the year, a place to pilgrimage to year after year.  "Remember the reason for the season," we say yet we fret and worry over what to give, wearily sigh over the tasks associated with the holiday and come to the end of it all, collapsing with tiredness, pack away all the ornaments and decorations and say how glad we are that it's over and done another year.  

The Long Quiet: Day 24

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The Long Quiet: Day 22

The Gift of His Love 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world...

God so loved the world that he created it, with all its beauty and wonder.

God so loved man, he created him and her in his image and breathed his spirit life into their bodies.

The Long Quiet: Day 21

The Gift of Covenant

 A covenant is a bond or agreement between two parties.  Biblically it is a sacred agreement between God and man.

In the children's classic Mary Poppins, Mary says to the children that something said was a 'piecrust promise, easily made and easily broken.'   God's promises are not piecrusts.  His word is true and will stand the test of time.

Journal of the Third Week of December: Holidays Ahead

Dec. 14, Saturday:  I don't know why I felt so blue this morning, but there I was feeling mighty sad.  I finally took my misery back to the bedroom, shut the door, crawled into bed, pulled the covers over my head and had a little cry.  Then I had a brief nap.  It didn't quite set me right, but it did put my feet on the right path.

The Long Quiet: Day 20

 

The Gift of His Presence

When Adam and Eve were created, God gave them Eden as their home.  He came daily to walk with them in the cool of the evening.  

After Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden, God continued to speak to them.  

The Long Quiet: Day 19

The Gift of Recognition 

When God created man, he created a companion for him, woman.  Adam was obviously thrilled with that gift.  

Genesis 2:23 "At last!" the man exclaimed.  "This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called 'woman' because she was taken from man."

Simple, Lovely Christmas

 

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.”

–Randy Pausch

I was struggling a little at the end of last week.  I've been giving myself a lot of pep talks but the truth is that I was having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit.  I kept saying that it won't be more or less Christmas if I don't have this or that and it's true...but heaven help me when I start to get want-itis.  That's when I started to formulate a plan.  A plan to make Christmas as much of a celebration as I possibly could...On a budget, a very strict budget.

The Long Quiet: Day 18

 

The Gift of Rest

Man had not known one day of labor, yet God gave him the example of rest.

Depending upon the translation you choose to study, the word rest is mentioned between 390 and 520 times.  The first example of rest is given to us in Genesis.

Genesis 2: 1 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.  2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

The Long Quiet: Day 17

Every day of creation there was a gift from God.

From the beginning we were given gifts.  On the first day, the very first day of the creation of the world we were given the presence of light and the creation of time.

On the second day, we were given the space between heaven and earth.  

The Long Quiet: Day 16

Throughout time, the world has longed and pined for something.  Some men travel and seek the world.  Some turn inward and seek their soul.  Some seek the fellowship of men and others close themselves away.  Some cry out in their longing, looking to other men to supply an answer, or for riches and fame and wealth, and others choose solitary silence.    All seek, yearning towards the unknown.  

The world after the flood was a vast and empty place.  Men and animals did what God told them to do.  They were fruitful and multiplied.  

Meals for the Third Week of December

 

I confess that while I'm determined to enjoy the holidays my mind is already slipping off to 2025.  I plan to do a Pantry/Freezer challenge in January, which is what I do most years.  For me that doesn't mean I won't do any shopping at all, but I do try to use what I have and only shop if I find things on deep clearance or really good sales.  I generally try to use those as restock items, not as food for the month, though I do sometimes buy produce during the month.

Things To Do: Third Week of December

 

I just went back to look at last weeks to do list.  Of the nine jobs I listed, I hit 5.5 of them, which is fine.  What didn't get done can either be made up this week or skipped entirely.  I am currently sitting here yet again admiring my pretty tree...which is apparently leaning hard to the left...

Now it's straight once more.

The Long Quiet: Day 15

 

                                               A New Beginning by Abraham Hunter

Five months after the rain stopped, they remained in the ark, floating on an endless ocean.  And then finally the dove returned to Noah with a sprig of newly green leaves in it's beak.

It was the resurrection of the world.

A new beginning.  That's what we all long for when we've got caught in the eddies of the world and we're being spun around and around, out of control, in chaos.  Here was a fresh start for the world.

The Long Quiet: Day 14

Genesis 7:1 When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, "Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. 2 Take with you seven pairs--male and female--of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice and take one pair of the others.  3Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird.  There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood."

5So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

Journal of the Second Week of December

 

Dec. 7, Saturday:  It was a very relaxed day overall.  Just what I wanted and needed.   But do you know I spent most of the morning out of sorts and irritable.  Working on genealogy took me out of myself and my overall dissatisfaction with life.  I had absolutely no reason to feel as I did except that I very much didn't want to be at home today.  Yet I do not care in the least for crowds and hustle and bustle on weekends and most especially not in December!  There was no reasoning with myself, so I gave up and did something productive.

The Long Quiet: Day 13

  

Cain and Seth's descendants are listed one by one.  Of each of them we learn their lineage and how old they were when they fathered the next in line.  Each account of these men ends with 'and he died.'  

But it does not say this about Enoch.

Of Seth's line it is said: Genesis 5:23 Enoch lived 365 years, 24 walking in close fellowship with God.  Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

The Long Quiet: Day 12

 

After Adam and Eve were sent out of Eden, the man and woman lay together and had sons.  Cain cultivated the earth and Abel became a shepherd.  When harvest time came, Cain took a portion of his harvest as a gift for God.  Abel also brought an offering, the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.  The Lord accepted Abel's gift, but not Cain's.

Abel brought the best part of the first of his flock.  Cain brought didn't bring the first fruits but merely gathered some of the crop.  Abel brought the finest of what he had.  Cain gathered whatever his hand fell to.  Yes, he made an offering, but he wasn't focused on giving God the BEST.

The Long Quiet: Day 11

                                                        The Fall of Man by Jan van T'hoff

   

Greeted by the serpent, Eve was led to believe that eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge would make them become more like God.  

Genesis 3:5 God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.

Genesis 3:6...So she took some of the fruit and ate it.  Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.   7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness...

Coffee Chat: December Thoughts about the New Year

 

Hello dears.  I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was as lovely as ours.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!  It was such a happy, relaxed day and the company we kept was so nice, the food excellent.  I don't recall having such a pleasant day in years.

This morning (the first Saturday as I write this), I put up the Christmas tree.  I had to remove the extra strand of lights because I'd lost the plug ends.  You'd think I could have found them...It's only a four-foot-tall tree and not so terribly wide but no, much as I dug around, I couldn't find the two plug ends.  John took one look at the unlit lights on the tree and asked, "Do we need to replace it?"  

The Long Quiet: Day 10

                                   The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, artist unknown

Genesis 2:8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden to the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground--trees that were beautiful and produced delicious fruit.  In the middle of the garden, he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

15 The Lord God placed the man in the Gardens of Eden to tend and watch over it.  11 But the Lord God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden--except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die."

Simple Holiday Meals: Second Week of December 2024

My goal this week is to continue having simpler meals.  If they don't sound so simple I assure you they are.  I've got at least two entrees in the freezer already and the rest are truly simple to make.  My biggest goal this week is not to generate lots of leftovers.  I've got so much stuff in the freezer already to use up that is already made.  

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Creamy Sausage and Spinach, Crusty Bread, Pistachio Parfaits.  I've had this butternut squash ravioli in the fridge now for a couple of weeks.  It's still within its best buy date (I always find that worrisome with something that is supposed to be fresh).  I've had this recipe in mind for as long as I've had that ravioli.  

The Long Quiet: Day 9

 

                                   The Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elde

Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.  26 But the Lord God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden--17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die."

To Do List for the Second Week of December

 

It's supposed to be all about enjoying the season, right?  So far, I made a cranberry upside-down cake, fluffed the tree, wrote out and mailed Christmas cards and brought out the Royal Dansk cookies to have with tea on Friday afternoon.  We had hot chocolate one evening but it wasn't good.  I'll remedy that for future cups.   We've had the lit tree going all week long and it is lovely, especially at night.  I had one of those lovely holiday cookie coffees from Dunkin' the other day. That's how we've enjoyed our month of holiday. And you know what?  It's been fine!  It's been relaxed and easy and no one has been pressured to do things.  It's been absolutely lovely.

The Long Quiet: Day 8

                                                                        unknown artist and title

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person.

God made man before he rested on the seventh day.  In chapter 2, it expands how he made man.  We learn that man was created last of the all the living things, and he was made of the dust of the earth. 

The Long Quiet: Day 7

 

                           19th Century German Wood Engraving: God Resting on the 7th Day

Psalm 33:6 The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.  7 He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. 8 Let the whole world fear the Lord and let everyone stand in awe of him. 9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.

Genesis 2: 1 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.  2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

Journal: Last of November/First Week of December

 

Nov.  28, Thanksgiving:  I am so proud of my youngest daughter.  She made her first holiday meal, and it was lovely!  She had the table set prettily, and she decorated a table for the children to sit at.   She'd dressed the kids for the holiday and told the men of her household they had to wear real pants and not stretchy jogging pants, lol.  Even Henry had little turkey poult moccasins and darling little onesie and pants with turkeys on them.    

She did all of the cooking herself which is a feat when you consider that all the adults in the household love to cook.  But they were only allowed to be sous chef and hand her things.

The Long Quiet: Day 6

 

                                                        unknown title and artist

Genesis 1: 24 Then God said, "Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind-- livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals."  And that is what happened.  25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind.  And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.  They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.

The Long Quiet: Day 5

 

                                                      Day 5 Creation by Nathan Greene

20 Then God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life.  Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."  21 So God created sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird--each producing offspring of the same kind.  And God saw that it was good.  22 Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply.  Let the fish fill the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

23 And evening passed, and morning came, marking the fifth day.

The Long Quiet: Day 4

 

The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Stars by Janez Kastav

Genesis 1: 14 Then God said, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night.  Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days and years.  15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth." And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights ---the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night.  He also made the stars.  17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness.  And God saw that it was good.

19 And evening passed, and morning came, marking the fourth day.

The Long Quiet: Day 3

 

Creation of Earth: Mid-Journey by Ozy Mandias

Genesis 1:9 Then God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear."  And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground "land" and the waters "seas."  11 Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation -- every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit.  These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came."  And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation--all sorts of seed-bearing plants and trees with seed-bearing fruit.  Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

What's in Season In December?

 

These are the foods in season for December.  I sometimes wonder what would come up if I searched for 'cheap produce' for this season of the year.  Not all of the food items listed below will be inexpensive, but they should be fresh and that counts for a lot.

The Long Quiet: Day 2

 6 Then God said, "Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth. 7 And that is what happened.  God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens.  8 God called the space "sky".

And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Pondering, speaking.  Light, day, night, sky.  

Simple Meal Plan for the First Week of December

 

I love to cook, and meal plan (usually).  But in this month, I don't want to spend a load of time in the kitchen prepping meals.  I want to spend time baking, decorating, reading, soaking up the sun on the chilly days, etc.  

I also want to sort of trim grocery costs this month.  We did a big stock up after our November pay came in.  I thought we'd concentrate on eating some of the older entrees I've shoved in the freezer and that I'd pull the bins and look to see what older items we might use up.

To Do List: First Week of December

 

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Holiday and a wonderful weekend to follow up.  We enjoyed a lovely day at Katie's.  I sent Cranberry Celebration 'Salad' (Y'all know how I feel about these jello 'salads') over to Bess.  I've been making that for her Thanksgiving dinners for years now.  I took one to Katie's Thanksgiving Dinner as well.

Friday, I cooked a stuffed turkey breast and Green Bean Casserole for our dinner and pulled a Pumpkin Pie from the freezer.  I sent a dish of the dressing over to Sam.  His family isn't keen on it but he loves it.  I pulled the Christmas tree from the shed and shook it out well.  It was up and lit by Friday night.  That's a nice way to start the season, I think.  

The Long Quiet: The First Day

 

          

                                         The Creation of Adam by Michaelangelo

Genesis 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.  And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis1:1 kept repeating itself over and over in my mind.  I resisted.  I thought I was called to write an Advent series, and none starts at the very beginning of time!  But God led me here to this verse about the beginning of the world.