Category: INSPIRIVITY

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENUS & RECIPES week 43 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.302

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

WEEKEND RECAP

4-6 PM Saturday was TRUNK or TREAT in our little town. The weather really showed up with a pleasant 71° and sunny which was great because Halloween itself is supposed to be pouring down rain and only 50° so Saturday may be the only Halloween some of these kids see.

TRUNK or TREAT has taken on a life of its own the past couple years. Surrounding towns bring their kids to our little area. It has also become quite an expensive endeavor. The kids have a great time and so do the businesses, but where and how do you draw the line on events like this? Our population is only 8,200 so how is we now have upwards of 2,500 kids participating? We did the math and between the candy, extra employees needed to man the booths and decorations it’s costing the average business between $500-$1,000 or more for a 2 hour event, especially if you’re located near the haunted house where the lines are long.

Sunday rained and the temperature dropped 20° so it was the perfect day to watch NASCAR, read a little and just do what you want kind of day. 😀 We did have a bit of a momentary break in the rain and we went and fed stale bread pieces to the peacocks and the deer that had wandered down into the park.

Let’s get on with Monday!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re supposed to get quite a bit of rain this week which we REALLY need, so I’m okay with that. The highs are supposed to be in the 50’s and 60’s with lows in the 30’s and 40’s.

ON MY MIND

I know Halloween is this week and we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but because Thanksgiving is late this year I am trying to get a jump on ALL things December! BLOGMAS is one of those things that keeps me happy and motivated through the holidays and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

That said, I did condense a bit and I have come up with my BLOGMAS timeline for 2024. Doing as many of the posts in advance that I can also helps me keep my sanity through the busy holiday season. I REALLY hope you can and will join in whenever possible.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I thought I had finished the laundry and then I realized we were wearing clothes and it wouldn’t stay done 😀 for very long.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m making a list for a very few things I need for this next week. I’ll pick those things up on Thursday when I head in to town for my pedicure appointment.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I have a couple calls to make this morning for information for my meeting tonight.
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m working on a painted pot and repotting of a Christmas cactus for a friend’s surprise birthday party on Wednesday. And I’m working on a “new” antique set of sewing machine drawers (pictures in the favorite photos section). I made reservations for a weekend getaway with a girl friend for a large Holiday Market we like to go to each year.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING My menus are planned through November, but I’m beginning to research some hearty soups, stews and casseroles for December and January.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We finished watching FRINGE and NIGHT COURT. We’re currently trying to figure out our next binge watches.
  • CABLE I have been taping the new Hallmark Christmas movies, am about to finish the Halloween season of the baking shows and will start the new holiday shows next week.

READING TIME

I started reading RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE by Karma Brown

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
10/28 MONDAY
10/29 TUESDAY
10/30 WEDNESDAY
10/31 THURSDAY
11/1 FRIDAY
11/2 SATURDAY
11/3 SUNDAY
DINNER
 STREET CORN CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
 PEASANT BEEF STEW
RB BAKED BEANS and HOT DOGS
CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN
 SLOW COOKER LEMON CHICKEN
 GARLIC ONION SLOW COOKER CHICKEN & RICE
 LASAGNA SOUP & GARLIC BREAD
DESSERT
 
 SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIES
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I found a cute “set” of sewing machine drawers at a friends store recently. They even had the rare “secret” top drawer fairly intact. The drawers had been “finished” by her brother, but they were in sad shape with too dry wood, missing drawer guides and “gummy” areas that were dried and yucky. They were also done as two separate units. I’m in the process of rejuvenating them with oil and putting the two towers into a single piece. Hubby is making me a top and a bottom for them, but this is a start for now.

And just a few pictures from the TRUNK or TREAT event. Many of the parents dressed up also. I have to say the Jack Sparrow was one of the more popular ones. He would accept candy from the businesses and then seek out one of the shyer kids to give it to. I also love the BIO HAZARD scarecrow and McDonalds pulled out the stops with their drive through window.

The deer joined the peacocks today for some joint snacking time.

Living in the country gives us some fun local displays for holidays also.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

With Thanksgiving coming up and so many stories in the news of bacterial diseases on the rise I thought it would be helpful to remind us all that food safety is so very important.

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPES week 31 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.211

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

WEEKEND RECAP

We were supposed to go to a going away party on Saturday, but skipped it because it was moved to a smaller venue and with me still having stitched incisions (stitches come out on August 7th) and a recent COVID outbreak in our area I just thought it would be a prudent move.

Hubby did take me out to lunch though at a favorite haunt where I tried a new menu item. I LOVED half of it (the salad), but have ruled out the other half (the burger) from ever ordering it again 😂 There was a several hour power outage at home while we gone when a turkey vulture somehow blew a transformer and put 3,500 people out of service. 

Yesterday we did go visit a few friends for a bit, but other than those 2 outings, it’s been super boring being at home, but unable to do much.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Today is going to be beautiful (81°) and then we jump back up toward triple digits (mid-high 90’s) and higher humidity for the next 9 days! At least the nights are getting down in temperature (high 50’s) making the days more tolerable. Glad I’m spending so much time indoors. The smoke has been pretty bad from a fire or two in the area.

Monday 🌞 81/56
Tuesday 🌞 86/58
Wednesday 🌞 95/63
Thursday 🌞 98/62
Friday 🌞 94/61
Saturday & Sunday 🌞 94/60

ON MY MIND

Can you believe August begins this week? It literally feels like this year is flying by!

I’m dealing with a level of inactivity I haven’t had to deal with in several years and it’s driving me stir crazy! I have only been out of commission for less than a week, but during that time the things that have happened at the Eagles has confirmed my decision to back off and find other avenues of volunteering. The first thing that happened was that out of desperation they actually contacted me 2 days after surgery to ask me to work the kitchen as a “short order cook” Saturday night even knowing I’m out of commission until the end of August! Not sure what they thought no lifting or bending means.

The stitches come out on August 7th and I will be readily working my way into a new daily routines sans Eagle’s duties though! See THOUGHT FOR THE DAY above!!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Hubby has been really good about staying up on the laundry and getting me everything I need as well as doing enough to keep me from feeling like I need to do cleaning things.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby is going to take me grocery shopping this morning and to COSTCO. I’m going to start doing the cooking again this evening so need a few things. I did enjoy hubby’s scrambled eggs, pizza and Kraft mac and cheese with hot dogs, but am looking forward to getting back to some scratch cooking.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Probably not much this week, but I am still sorting through and organizing some papers and files.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Have been limiting my screen time as it is so hard on my eyes, but have found that has helped me have more time with paper books and recipes so have the August menu researched and planned.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • Being down this week has given me A LOT of time to catch up on movies and shows. We FINALLY saw The BEEKEEPER with Jason Statham which was quite violent, but I loved the basic story plot. We also saw a couple of cute Disney movies and are halfway through the 3rd season of SWEET TOOTH. We also watched GHOSTBUSTERS-FROZEN EMPIRE and I found an interesting British show called BONEKICKERS about archaeologists who explore and test our knowledge of history with their discoveries. I’m almost done with the OLD MACGYVER series. I also found a new cooking show that begins August 9th about BLUE RIBBON BAKING that I’m looking forward to.
  • CABLE I’m also caught up on the FOOD TRUCK RACE and the BBQ BRAWL as well as MARY MAKES IT EASY.

READING TIME

I just finished Fannie Flagg’s I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU and began Heather Webber’s A CERTAIN KIND OF STARLIGHT. She’s one of my favorite authors. I did start listening to Philippa Nefri Clark’s THE COTTAGE AT WHISPER LAKE the first few days after surgery, but it keeps putting me to sleep when I close my eyes, so that’s not working.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

I get to start cooking again today and resuming MOST normal activity so I wanted a fun menu. The first 3 recipes of the week are adapted from Mary Berg and have become favorites. The BBQ Chicken Legs are made with my ALOHA BBQ sauce, the DIANA Burgers are based on the cheeseburgers my friend makes us at her Bar & Grill and the Spicy Chicken Skewers are also adapted from the internet for summer recipes.
7/29 MONDAY
7/30 TUESDAY
7/31 WEDNESDAY
8/1 THURSDAY
8/2 FRIDAY
8/3 SATURDAY
8/4 SUNDAY
DINNER
 STUFFED BANANA PEPPERS and SALAD
 BRAISED LEMON CHICKEN THIGHS with ONIONS and POTATOES, CARROTS & LEEKS
 CHICKEN and SNAP PEA PASTA with CREAMY GARLIC BASIL SAUCE
 BBQ CHICKEN LEGS and MACARONI SALAD
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
DIANA BURGERS and MASHED POTATO SALAD
 SPICY CHICKEN SKEWERS and CUCUMBER SALAD
DESSERT
 
 
COCONUT CRANBERRY MACAROONS
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I didn’t get out to take many pictures this past week, but did get out into the backyard yesterday and am amazed at how well my tomatoes, cucumbers and butternut squash are doing. I’ll be making some tomato sauce today for my dinner of stuffed banana peppers.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS