HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS week 41 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.286

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

I did the Auxiliary Friday night dinner of my great gram’s chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes (kind of like an inside out chicken pot pie) which is ALWAYS a favorite of mine, even with 2 starches! We did okay, but there were many events in many locations and a tremendous rainstorm that I think hindered our attendance. I also finally got a fairly decent photo of this dish to update the blog.

Saturday we drove an hour to the “city” that has decent shopping to pick up my Hallmark order and have a nice lunch at PF CHANGS. We have no Hallmark store any longer (or any other decent major shopping) and only a handful of restaurants so it was a nice change. Since we’ve lived here, the area (within 25 miles) is “growing” housing wise, but decreasing in shopping, restaurants and healthcare. It makes no sense to me! We’ve lost the local hardware store and the one in the next town is about to close, Macy’s, JC Penney’s, Sears, Charlie’s BBQ, Loggers, Rite Aid, a Walgreens, Pedotti’s Italian, Cigno’s Italian, Nellies, FNB, Tolleys, Albertsons, PIER 1, Big Lots, JoAnns, Clarices, K-Mart…And yes I know many of those were lost nationwide, but…we now have 7 Mexican restaurants, just as many second hand stores and the town all but rolls up the sidewalks at dusk and on Mondays.

It was a rainy weekend again and I spent Sunday starting with breakfast at a friends bar & Grill, but then coming home for racing and football while lounging around researching recipes as well as 3 loads of laundry and oiling and cleaning up my “new” sewing cabinet.

On the way home from the city Saturday we stopped at two of our favorite antique stores after the Hallmark store and lunch and then we stopped in another favorite little town on the way back where I found the most unique sewing machine table. Actually, hubby found it for me, but it’s gonna be beautiful when we’re done with it and it was dirt cheap. Someone had added some cheap legs that didn’t match and it needed oiled A LOT, but other than that thee was just a small broken knob that is fortunately on a bottom drawer so not even noticeable when it’s all back together. I didn’t find anything else except these adorable scarecrow ghosts that I’ll use for two friends that have Halloween birthdays.

I’ve been joining in on BLOGTOBER for the prompts that speak to me and even adapting them to fit my life. Yesterday I did a compilation of some of my favorite apple recipes called ALL THINGS APPLE.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It rained A LOT over the weekend, which we really needed, but it should conclude this afternoon, but the next several days, while cool (mid 50’s during the day and lows in the 30’s at night) are only supposed to be cloudy until the end of the week when the rain begins again. 🙂 I LOVE FALL!

ON MY MIND, TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, TRAVELS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS, APPOINTMENTS & DVR/TV

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Pretty tidy besides some totes I need to move to the garage when the weather is less rainy tomorrow.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS With going out of town on Friday I’ll only be shopping for the Eagles and maybe the Offyce this week.
PROJECTS & TRAVELS We’re headed off this weekend with a friend to go to the GREAT JUNK HUNT and some favorite antique stores as well as a favorite architectural salvage house.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m hoping to find more vintage/antique recipe boxes next weekend and then I’ll put together another menu plan for November and December.
DVR/TV The new season has begun and now I need to play catch up and decide which shows to keep watching and those to abandon.

READING TIME

I’m about to finish the BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER by Kim Michelle Richardson. Book club is meeting next weekend, but I’m going to be out of town and am honestly so far behind now I may just be bowing out of book club all together.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	10/13 MONDAY	10/14 TUESDAY	10/15 WEDNESDAY	10/16 THURSDAY	10/17 FRIDAY	10/18 SATURDAY	10/19 SUNDAY
DINNER	Eagle’s meeting night CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own	CHILI con CARNE QUESO CUPS	AZZOLINA SPAGHETTI also making a crock pot of CHILI MAC & CHICKEN VERDE CHILI for the Eagles to serve at BUNCO night	BAKED TUSCAN CHICKEN	OOT (out of town)	OOT (out of town)	OOT (out of town)
DESSERT