My Plans for (the rest of) July

 

First things first.  I want to plan my last few days of July and finish off strong for this month.  Mind you all it's HOT, like truly hot, so that is going to mean a great deal of what I do is going to be guided by how early I can get up, especially for the outdoors work.  Indoors, it's also mandatory that I work in the cooler parts of the house during the right times of day.  In the morning, that space is not likely to be our kitchen, unless it's 7am.  Kitchen work is more suited to after 6 or even 7pm at night.  That's why this time of year I typically buy bread and cookies or pies and seldom do any long baking.  I utilize the toaster oven and slow cooker more often and I'm careful to choose lighter meals overall.  

Morning work in the house can be done in bathroom, bedrooms and our main living area without great strain upon my perspiration system.  

This year it's not just the heat outdoors but the rainy weather.  We had a very slim chance of rain today.  Right now, it's gray and cloudy outdoors and thunder is rumbling in the distance.  The plants will be glad to get any rain at the moment.  They've gotten used to having a great quantity and then we have had three days of no rain and high heat indexes, so they are looking a bit strained.  Except the grass, lol.  That is just looking long and lanky.

Never mind weather which is summer-ish as it ought to be.  What are my plans for the last part of July?

Well, for about a week I'm more or less free to get things accomplished and then I'll spend the very last week tending to children all over again.  Sam is of a mind to take his kids to work with him if it is allowed.  I've told him I'm here to keep them and I will be doing some of that, I'm sure.   I told him I can keep them here part of the time and up at his house part of the time.  That way they can have quiet time at home and get into the pool as well if they'd like.  Here they don't have the option of the pool, just a sprinkler.  

1.  Gardening.    Nothing fancy or exotic.  A great deal of what my lists assure me I can plant at this time are simple basic items that I know we will eat like green beans and beets, cucumbers and parsley, dill and such as that.  I have more than enough time between late July and early November to get in several crops and a few that will withstand the first frosts.  We'll see how it goes.  I've paid for the seeds from my grocery funds, since they will hopefully become food for my household.

I also want to plant some more flower seeds.  I told you all I'd bought some and while the packages do not say they are good for planting this time of year, every good gardening channel assures me that I can indeed do so, and I'd like to see if I can end up with some sort of flowers before November.

So, ordering seeds and planting what I can in the next week or so.

2.   Pantry Freezer inventory and challenge.  I had planned to start a pantry and freezer challenge for end of July.  I've got two weeks here in which I can make meals using what I already have on hand, which is substantial at the moment, especially in produce.  

I've been pretty much cooking from the pantry and freezer anyway (except produce) since I started keeping the city children.  Few sales have presented themselves at the stores in that area that allowed me to restock meat or canned goods, etc.  I've relied on what produce I was given, a few dairy and produe sales and used what I had otherwise until July 4th week, when I was able to restock a few basics like mayonnaise.

However, I want to know what I have in the freezer now that I've done June and half of July.  So, the inventory will be as much for the purpose of determining what I need to focus on restocking as it is to be sure I use up older meats and vegetables and entrees I've tucked into the freezer.

3.  Have lunch out with friends.  That is already scheduled and has been since May.  I've been so looking forward to this luncheon out with them and am glad to be free to go and enjoy it.

4.  Set up a few outfits.  I've literally flown by the seat of my pants with outfits this summer.  Mind you, most of all I've needed was a t-shirt and jeans for keeping up with the children so there was little point in 'planning' anything, but I've struggled with church outfits and now that I'm mostly free of childcare I'd like to look nice when I go into the grocery or garden center.  

5.  Try to go visit Mama.  I've only a few days here I can plan to do that.  She won't go anywhere on a Saturday, and meals out are too pricey on a Sunday not to mention restaurants get very crowded.  I know she's going to want to eat in the car and its stinking hot for sitting in a car and trying to eat any sort of meal.  I refuse to go to her apartment because she has a snappy and barky little dog and the whole of the meal is punctuated by Mama screeching at the dog and the dog barking back.... It's enough to make a saint question their patience and I'm not a saint by any stretch of the imagination.  She's not fond of going out on a Friday but since it's been so long since I had a free day, she might be amendable to going out then.

6.  Oil change for my car.  Really this shouldn't have a thing to do with me, but John insists I go with him to get the oil change so there you are.

7.  Mission Outreach.  

8. Do some minor kitchen jobs.  I've noted that the kitchen drawers are messy and need to be vacuumed out again.  I need to restock coffee.  I restocked flour and brown sugar yesterday.  I need to put some things in jars that have languished about in zippered bags that don't quite work.  I need to check the state of the garlic I bought in April or May when I was last at Sam's Club and make sure it's not sprouting.  Nothing onerous but all necessary little jobs just like that freezer and pantry inventory work.  Some of these tasks will be included in the inventory work obviously, others will not.

What I've already done: 

I've already worked out my finances for next quarter.  I need to make a copy for my notebook.  I like to keep one in my main homemaking notebook as well as in the check register.  

I had planned to study the Holy Spirit this summer.  And I did what I could by listening to so many sermons on the study subject over the last few weeks while I was driving to and from work and as it happened, it was the subject of my own pastor's June sermons, so I have had some good notes from that that touched on several of the points I heard in the sermons I listened to.  I still want to pursue my own study upon the subject though.  I started this morning.

I've placed an order on Amazon for some seeds to plant for fall foods and herbs.  I ordered online because so far, I've come up dry looking for seeds everywhere else.  

I have reviewed my summer menus for meals we enjoy this time of year.  I haven't made a tuna pasta salad but once this year so far and that was in the cooler days of late Spring.  I'll definitely be putting that on the menu this week!

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