SWEATPANTS & COFFEE – Page 2 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 25 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.174

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

I’m still trying to play catch up from the past couple of months, but feel like I’m getting further behind. I’m just so exhausted all of a sudden! I’ll do what I can to get ahead of the game this week!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Friday and Saturday brought a bunch of rain AND cold! I actually wore a sweatshirt for the first 3 days of summer! But, that is going away this week as the regularly scheduled sunshine is back and we’re supposed to hit low to mid 80’s ALL week.

ON MY MIND

I’m thinking about where we go from here. What does my mom need?, the estate sale at the end of July, the memorial in August, the reception food and accommodating all the out of the area people…

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m actually up to date, but wonder how long that will last…
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m trying REALLY hard to clean out the freezer and pantry…
PROJECTS & TRAVELS everything is put off until the end of summer after the memorial and estate sale… EXCEPT for a class with girlfriends on Wednesday night 🙂
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING looking for recipes that utilize what is on hand…

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

I’ve been watching the Librarians on Paramount +
Catching up on cooking shows – BBQ Brawl, Duff Goldman Cake competition, Guy’s Grocery games…

READING TIME

I just started the 3rd Rose Landgreen series book, BONE FIRE by Sigrid Holm.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	6/23 MONDAY	6/24 TUESDAY	6/25 WEDNESDAY	6/26 THURSDAY	6/27 FRIDAY	6/28 SATURDAY	6/29 SUNDAY
DINNER	HAM HOCKS AND BEANS	FREEZER MYSTERY BOX (the label fell off and I can’t remember what it was even though it’s only a couple months old!)	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own	CHICKEN WINGS AND BBQ BEANS	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own	MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN and APPLE BROCCOLI SALAD	ROOTBEER CHICKEN SLIDERS AND POTATO SALAD
DESSERT

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

My girlfriend just spent 10 days in Germany, Switzerland and Prague having the time of her life. I was so honored she brought me the cutest glass blown German Christmas ornaments because she knows it’s my favorite holiday and some chocolates and the prettiest book mark from Switzerland and the Prague!

The past couple years I have been buying my seedlings at the Feed CO-OP and they have been growing like they are on steroids! I’ve already had tomatoes this year from 2 tiny seedlings despite the cold! And my clematis is growing like it’s radioactive!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

GREEN PEA CASSEROLE
MEATBALLS in BUTTERMILK SAUCE
MARINATED CUCUMBER, ONION & TOMATO SALAD

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, RECIPES & MENU week 24 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.167

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

It’s been a super long, busy, sad, confusing, frustrating week, but when all is said and done it will all be okay.

My stepdad passed peacefully last Thursday at home in hospice. My stepsisters were both here with him. His cancer “journey” was aggressive and fast, a mere 8 weeks from beginning to end.

I do have to say that fortunately the hospice arm of the ONLY health care service in the county was made up of VERY caring nurses that helped make his last few days peaceful.

My stepsisters live many hours away and there is a lot to get done so hubs and I are doing what we can to help mom get through this.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

The weather has turned much cooler and is much more pleasant than it has been the past few weeks. We’re now in the 70’s and 80’s during the day and 40’s and 50’s at night.

ON MY MIND

How to make this a smooth transition for my mom and stepsisters as we progress through these next steps of finalizing my stepdad’s estate.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING There is so much to do with returning the medical equipment, boxing up financial paperwork for my stepsister to deal with her dad’s estate and boxing up the mementos from their dad. Their mom also dies of a long drawn out cancer many years ago so I know this was especially hard on them. They’ve asked me to deal with selling off his estate for them.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS We have plenty of groceries, but I do have a pedicure this week and several loads of things to drop off at Salvation Army. Wednesdays are for Eagle’s shopping and this week I’m also covering the kitchen several days for a friend who is going to state conference.
PROJECTS & TRAVELS While we had to cancel going to the family reunion, we we will be re-planning our vacation for August after the memorial in July and the estate sale.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING We’re going to try and get back on a normal schedule so I’ll be delving into a menu plan later today.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

I really need to clean out the DVR and get caught up soon.

READING TIME

I’m reading LAKE LURE the Rose Landgreen Mysteries #2 by Sigrid Holm

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	6/16 MONDAY	6/17 TUESDAY	6/18 WEDNESDAY	6/19 THURSDAY	6/20 FRIDAY	6/21 SATURDAY	6/22 SUNDAY
DINNER	HAM HOCKS AND BEANS	STUFFED BAKED POTATOES	BEEF STROGANOFF AND GLAZED CARROTS	TOSTADAS	CALZONES and ITALIAN SALAD	PORK STEAKS & SCALLOED POTATOES	CHEESY MEATBALLS & PASTA
DESSERT		DOUBLE MILK FUDGE BROWNIES

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We tried a new food truck last week that was super tasty and healthy too! They hang out at a favorite local brewery on Thursdays.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE
STRAWBERRY SPOON BREAD/CAKE

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, RECIPES & MENU week 22 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.153

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED & ON MY MIND

GOOD MORNING dear friends. I feel like I’ve been neglecting blogland because I’ve been so busy. I hope to visit you all tonight!

YAY!!! The wedding I catered this past weekend is over and went off without a hitch. The estate sale my friends and I have been working on is over (for the public part) and felt like it lasted FOREVER with quite rude and demanding people!! And last Friday’s dinner that my girlfriend and I made SOLD OUT. I have another fundraising dinner this Friday and I’m filling in for a friend on Tuesday as well as the last cribbage tournament at the end of the month, but then I’ll be taking some breaks for my sanity. The candle I’ve been burning at both ends is running out of wick!!!!!

Life is still quite uncertain for us and everything is on a day to day basis as my stepdad’s condition continues to deteriorate. Health care here is horrible and as I’ve said before borders on negligence in this county. I actually received a phone call from the ONLY home health agency in the county asking to put him on a “robotic” maintenance since they can’t attend to him as regularly as the doctor prescribed.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re finally approaching spring weather and are expecting some low 80’s this week with constant sunshine. We’ve been having some really cool winds this past week, but LOTS of sunshine so I’m happy!

TO DO LIST, TV/DVR, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING YAY! Done for a few days.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll be shopping later today and getting a few things for my mom also.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m looking for some lighter meals and salads for the summer.

TV/DVR

Just a few cooking shows to catch up on

READING TIME

I’m trying to finish FOREST TRAP the ROSE LANDGREEN MYSTERIES by SIGRID HOLM, but keep falling asleep before I finish a paragraph…

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	6/2 MONDAY	6/3 TUESDAY	6/4 WEDNESDAY	6/5 THURSDAY	6/6 FRIDAY	6/7 SATURDAY	6/8 SUNDAY
DINNER	PORK CHOPS and GLAZED CARROTS	BLT WRAPS & FRUIT SALAD	OUT with FRIENDS	BUNLESS BURGERS & BBQ BAKED BEANS	cooking at the Eagles MEXICAN CHICKEN COBB SALAD, homemade TORTILLA CHIPS & SALSA with CHEESECAKE	STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD	FRIED CHICKEN & BEAN SALAD
DESSERT		PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

KitKat is one of my favorite felines! I’ll be watching her for another 2 weeks while mom and dad go gallivanting around the countryside!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

BAKED PORK CHOPS with APPLE STUFFING
TEXAS BUTTERMILK SHEET CAKE BROWNIES

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 12 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.83

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

WHEW, am I glad last week is over! I know I missed getting by to see most of you, but I REALLY didn’t have a minute to myself. I promise to get by this week.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent dealing with the shopping and prep to lay in the necessary ingredients for the 3 day CRIBBAGE Tournament being held at the Eagles. They rent the hall from us, but my girlfriend and I do all the meals for all 3 days for 50+ people. I spent ALL day Thursday preparing the soups, breakfast bakes and biscuits for our Friday meals. On Friday, while we were working, Annette’s hubby smoked all the pork to be pulled for the Saturday sandwiches and she prepped the baked beans between breakfast and lunch. I did the dessert baking.

Our days begin at 6AM and this particular event also fell on my auxiliary dinner night on Friday so I had an extra event to plan and work. Friday I left home at 530AM to go to the Eagles and didn’t leave there until almost 9PM to come back home and still managed to do over 23,000 steps.

Then I had to be back at 6AM Saturday to start all over! On Sunday morning when we arrived we found the kitchen refrigerator died during the night. Fortunately our middle name is PIVOT so we emptied the fridge and moved it outside while moving our storage room fridge to the kitchen. Unfortunately we had to throw out most everything which will only make this week’s shopping so much more!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

“The Northwest will stay soggy as multiple systems take aim mid-to-late week. Here’s what we’re watching this week.” This is never the way I want a weather report to start.

Yesterday was pretty nice, today and tomorrow are supposed to be great with highs even closing in on 70, BUT (and there is ALWAYS a BUT at this time of year) Wednesday brings back the cooler temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s and you guessed it, MORE rain!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY, CLEANING, GROCERIES & ERRANDS Desperately need groceries today and to do a deep clean this week after all the food prep for last week’s cribbage tournament and auxiliary fundraiser dinner. And tonight is meeting night that I HAVE to be at.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I so very seriously need to get re-organized and do a plan for the next month.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We have been re-watching GILMORE GIRLS late at night
CABLE TOURNAMENT of CHAMPIONS, SPRING BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP and I will need to empty the DVR soon before the spring season begins in earnest.

READING TIME

Who had time this week?

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	3/24 MONDAY	3/25 TUESDAY	3/26 WEDNESDAY	3/27 THURSDAY	3/28 FRIDAY	3/29 SATURDAY	3/30 SUNDAY
DINNER	I cleaned out the fridge last night and found enough leftovers for 3 nights 😀	OUT	CORN/YOYO	CORN/YOYO	OUT	ASPARAGUS CHEDDAR CASSEROLE with PAN SEARED CHICKEN	CHICKEN in COCONUT PEANUT SAUCE
DESSERT		GRAN’S old fashioned CARROT CAKE with DRUNKEN RAISINS

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

The sun actually came out late yesterday afternoon and as you can see the water is beginning to recede and is beginning to look normal again under one of my favorite bridges. The Rochester one lane bridge is over 100 years old and one of my favorite routes to a favorite dive tavern that’s equally as old 🙂

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

RASPBERRY TRUFFLE BROWNIES
PRETTY IN PINK TRES LECHES CAKE
ITALIAN PASTA with SAUSAGE in CREAMY SPINACH, GARLIC and WHITE WINE SAUCE

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 11 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.76

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Last week was better than the week before, but was still super busy putting out fires and trying to stay one step ahead of everything that was thrown my way. We were hit with back to back winter storms that made everything more difficult, but it is March in the Pacific Northwest 🙁 Sump pumps are working harder than ever, but unfortunately there is more water than drainage ability. A Lot of sandbagging going on coupled with prayers!

I started preparing and getting ready to serve the St. Patrick’s Day meal yesterday at the Eagles. The weather took a turn for the worse shortly after I put it in the oven and our town as well as many around us were closed down due to floods and eventually snow, so I had to go back, put a closed sign on the door and finish cooking at home. There’s nothing scarier than when your phone goes off with that emergency signal! And I HATE those words to “stay put and shelter in place”! I’ll use the leftovers for a Tuesday special and to make a soup for the cribbage tournament next weekend.

On Friday we were able to get a few things accomplished (the stars must have been aligned perfectly) to speed up hubby’s torn rotator cuff surgery. The medical system with all the referrals and extra people in the “middle” is so frustrating!!! When you add in the lack of enough medical professionals here in our area, it makes it difficult to get quality care, let alone any care sometimes.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s cold and it has snowed, sleeted and poured down rain for days! It’s too late to build an ark, but we really need one. We’re on river flood watch after a couple of horrendous storms. The puddles have puddles and the ducks are wearing galoshes. LOTS and lots of layers are on the agenda this week. Highs in 50’s and lows in 30’s with lots more rain. As of today we’ve had almost 9 inches for JUST the month of March.

ON MY MIND

The first Cribbage event of the season is next weekend and the friend I work with for the tournament is currently in Arizona and not sure she’ll be able to get back in time because of these storms. Right now the menu, shopping and food prep is all on me 🙂 but I have faith she’ll get here in time for us to fall into sync 🙂

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m pretty up to date, but do have some pantry sorting to finish. I’m also deep cleaning the baseboards and window sills.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have the normal Eagles shopping to do and ALSO the shopping for the Cribbage Tournament. Our meals will be simpler this week using things on hand because I’ll be so busy!

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING I’m still watching Gilmore Girls, Crossing Jordan and Steel Magnolias
CABLE I’ve finally all but emptied out the DVR from the build up during this really wet weekend so just Tournament of Champions, Spring Baking Championship, Ghosts, Matlock, Elsbeth and Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage
THEATRE there’s a new Jason Statham movie coming out that hubby wants to see – A WORKING MAN

READING TIME

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	3/17 MONDAY	3/18 TUESDAY	3/19 WEDNESDAY	3/20 THURSDAY	3/21 FRIDAY	3/22 SATURDAY	3/23 SUNDAY
DINNER	CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE (BIG SURPRISE 😀 )	CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA	CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN, MASHED POTATOES & GRAVY	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own	BEEF ENCHILADAS, CHILE CORNBREAD SALAD	OUT	OUT
DESSERT					TRES LECHES CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We’ve had a ton of rain this year and several slides. On this particular route we encountered a previous slide clean up on a rare sunny day. Look closely at the guy in orange. You couldn’t pay me to be where he is. It looks like the boulder he’s working on could go at any time! This was a few weeks ago. I can only imagine what it looks like after this past weekend. There were SEVERAL more slides, road washouts and flooding. I’m sure there are many more I haven’t even heard of yet!

The water is usually about 20 feet below this bridge, except yesterday. This was about 3PM long before the high water peak later last night.

On another note, beautiful spring blossoms and snow are NOT something you see very often around here! We went from lots and lots of rain and flooding to snow in just hours!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

SPICY CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS
BRAISED BALSAMIC CHICKEN & MASHED CARROTS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 10 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.69

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

GOOD MORNING LADIES! Did you remember to adjust your clocks? Personally I wish they’d pick a time and just stay with it!! That first Sunday after the time change is ALWAYS the hardest for me and this year was no different because it was dark, cloudy and foggy! To make matters worse, I’m not even sure how it’s Monday again. I feel like I lost an entire week! I’m pretty good about getting around to visit everyone, but I sadly fell short last week. I will be better this week! 😀

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

The week was full of “fires” to put out so I won’t bore you with too many details, but I ended up spending a lot of unplanned time at the Eagles including working the fundraiser dinner Friday night. Monday through Friday were jam packed with “STUFF”. Saturday I took a paint class and then hubby and I went out for dinner at a favorite haunt. Sunday was doing normal chores to catch up on laundry and cleaning and helping an elderly friend with some house maintenance.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Welcome to the Pacific North West where your spring flowers prematurely bloom at the first sign of sunshine only to be beaten back down by pouring rain and snow and you are always only a layer or two from shivering.

While the EAST is supposed to have a warm-up this week, we’re just the opposite with thunderstorms and snow!

MONDAY Cloudy 65/41
TUESDAY Cloudy 47/40
WEDNESDAY Rain 49/37
THURSDAY Thunderstorms/Snow 47/34
FRIDAY Snow/Rain 46/34
SATURDAY Rain 45/ 39
SUNDAY Rain 45/34

ON MY MIND

I lost last week! I really do NOT know where it went and mainly because of other people and having to pivot to pick up the slack. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m getting super close to throwing in the towel on the Eagles and the continually growing issues at hand. :SIGH: 😔 See my funny for today. I picked it long before today, but boy does it fit!!!!!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING As caught up as possible.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m headed to town today to get everything done before the next storm begins.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have a couple weeks planned, but am taking it as it comes so I’m not disappointed with all the pivots I’ve been having to make.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’ve been binge watching CROSSING JORDAN and a new season of STEEL MAGNOLIAS is on for me during the day when I can.
CABLE Tournament of Champions, Spring Baking Championship starts tomorrow, Guy’s Grocery Games, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, Ghosts, Matlock, Ellsbeth, Tracker, The Way Home, When Calls the Heart…

READING TIME

I’m between books, but hope to start a new one tonight.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	3/10 MONDAY	3/11 TUESDAY	3/12 WEDNESDAY	3/13 THURSDAY	3/14 FRIDAY	3/15 SATURDAY	3/16 SUNDAY
DINNER	MEETING NIGHT CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	MEATBALL SALAD	STUBBY CHICKEN	SHORT CUT CHICKEN CORDON BLEU	OUT with FRIENDS	PIZZA EGG ROLLS	CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA
DESSERT				SALTED CARAMEL PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I am not entirely happy with my picture “A Walk in the Wilderness”, but I’ll keep working on it, the bushes in particular 😀

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

LOADED SEAFOOD CHOWDER
BUFFALO CRUSTED BAKED FISH & CHIPS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPE LINKS week 9 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.62

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Last week was one of those weeks that did NOT go as planned. Every day was rearranged to accommodate the last minute appointments and changes not to mention the weird weather ups and downs. I did get a few things done, but not nearly what I had planned. Yesterday was hubby’s birthday so I literally didn’t get anything done yesterday.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re returning to the previously scheduled winter 😀 with high temperatures in the 40’s and lows in the 30’s with and LOTS of rain this week.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is all up to date and I deep cleaned the kitchen, but need to do some vacuuming.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m going shopping in a bit for this week’s menu.
PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I have a ton of paperwork and texting to do to get the April meals planned for the Eagles
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have the menu planned through this next weekend and am working on the rest of March and April.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’re finally getting around to watching 1923 and for fun Resident Alien and Gilmore Girls (AGAIN).
CABLE Tournament of Champions, Kid’s Baking Championship, Mary Makes it Easy, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Ghosts, Ellsbeth, Matlock

READING TIME

Book club met Saturday and my friend and I were able to convince them to go to monthly meetings so everyone had a chance to read the book so that our get togethers revolve around the actual book instead of devolving into mini conversations of nothingness. We are beginning THAT’S NOT MY NAME by Megan Lally.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	3/3 MONDAY	3/4 TUESDAY	3/5 WEDNESDAY	3/6 THURSDAY	3/7 FRIDAY	3/8 SATURDAY	3/9 SUNDAY
DINNER	CORNED BEEF & VEGGIES	CHICKEN IN COCONUT PEANUT SAUCE	ROTINI AL FORNO	BOURBON HAM BALLS & CRANBERRY CORN BREAD	PIGEON RIVER CHICKEN	SHORT RIBS with GARLIC MASHED POTATOES	GERMAN SHORT RIBS
DESSERT		HAWAIIAN BANANA BREAD

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We actually had 2 sunny days last week! This little guy was loving my lone daffodil!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

ITALIAN ENCHILADAS aka BAKED ENCHILADAS with MEAT SAUCE
CHICKEN PARMESAN LASAGNA

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

I was so busy last week I didn’t get to join my party links so last weeks links are rolling over into this week.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 8 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.55

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

My week was busy with pre-Spring cleaning, sorting and organizing as well as my many Eagles duties, but my weekend was kind of lazy, yet productive!

Saturday was A LOT of cleaning and laundry. We began working on power washing the back patio, patio cover and gutters. For some reason they have gotten exceptionally mossy and slimy so far this year. We even found horrible moss patches on the new roof that we’re working hard to eradicate before it gets a foothold that can’t be stopped.

I even took time to have lunch with a friend on Sunday and watch ALL the NASCAR races (which were recorded) since it was raining so much and all outside cleaning came to a stop.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Beware of captions that say a warm up is on the way, BUT, don’t put away the winter coats! That’s how SNOWMAGEDDON started a few years back!

Monday 57/44 ~ 1 inch RAIN
Tuesday 57/44 ~ 1 inch RAIN
Wednesday 58/35 ~ CLOUDY
Thursday 58/34 ~ CLOUDY
Friday 58/44 ~ CLOUDY/RAIN
Saturday 56/43 ~ 1 inch RAIN
Sunday 55/38 ~ 1/2 inch RAIN

ON MY MIND

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING ~ cleaning is underway and laundry is done, at least until we take our clothes off later 😀
GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubs has an appointment in town today and will do our shopping as well as the OFFYCE shopping
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have the next 2 weeks planned

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING ~ still working on cleaning out the DVR
CABLE ~ Kids Baking Championship, Next Level Chef, Tournament of Champions, The Way Home, When Calls the Heart…

READING TIME

I finished PICTURES OF YOU by Emma Grey last week and started THE BOYFRIEND by Frieda McFadden for book Club, but really want to start RUN, ROSE, RUN by James Patterson and Dolly Parton as well as so many more titles, so may be dropping book club 🙁 to read on my own.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	2/24 MONDAY	2/25 TUESDAY	2/26 WEDNESDAY	2/27 THURSDAY	2/28 FRIDAY	3/1 SATURDAY	3/2 SUNDAY
DINNER	CHICKEN TETRAZZINI and a fresh batch of SWEET BBQ SAUCE	PASTEL AZTECA	PIGEON RIVER CHICKEN	BAKED MANICOTTI with MEAT SAUCE	cooking at EAGLES QUESADILLAS with MEXICAN CORN SALAD and MEXICAN ROSETTE CHURROS	CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA	HUBBY’S BIRTHDAY HIS CHOICE
BREAKFAST						CANADIAN BACON ONION QUICHE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

This happened last year also. Spring blooms thinking it’s time only to be beaten back down by cold, rain, wind and/or snow 🙁

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

EARTHQUAKE CAKE
BEAN & BBQ BEEF STEW
HALUSKI aka POLISH COLESLAW

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

TGIF ~ BLOG 365.52

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 7 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.48

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

WHEW! The last 2 weeks have been a constant blur!!! I finished the last “PLANNED” event on Friday night only to have a monkey wrench thrown into the rest of the month. Saturday was spent doing laundry and house chores as well as a lot of recipe sorting. I’m hoping to finish sorting through the tote I’ve been working on so I can make a “quarterly” menu plan and eliminate a bunch of scrap paper. Sunday was supposed to be a “slow” day at home watching racing and being lazy, but ended up being gone to lunch with friends and then several hours of Eagle’s chores. I’m looking forward to staying home today and getting caught up on what I didn’t get done yesterday.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s going to be a super wet week and still quite cool with highs in the low 40’s. I’ll be doing layers upon layers with turtlenecks and flannels with Levis & UGGs.

ON MY MIND

So many people are anxious to “join” organizations, but I have noticed that so many are NOT willing to put the effort into sustaining them. We have had a HUGE influx of members because of our Tuesday line dancing night, but that’s the extent of their involvement. There was a “VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION” night with Italian bakes and dessert last Friday, but when all was said and done I observed that the people that participated in the bakes and desserts, set-up, break down and clean-up were the same volunteers being “celebrated”. Volunteers ate for free, all others it was a $10 all you can eat night and we did raise almost $500 for charity, but it seemed quite a bit of work and so so lopsided. 🙁

I had been asked to take over Friday night dinner coordination in June when the current lady was not going to renew her membership because of commitments elsewhere, but was a bit surprised when she announced it at the last meeting and that it would begin March 1st. And then to top it off the woman doing February 28th and canceled on Saturday so I’m hitting the ground running scrambling from the git go. 🙂 I do have some hopefully fresh ideas to generate more participation and support, so we’ll see.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING ALL caught up fortunately!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS Just a few things that I’ll pick up on Wednesday when we do the Eagle’s shopping.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING February is done and March is in the works. After that I’m trying to do “quarterly” plans to make life easier.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We have just a few episodes of BONES left from our binge watch and will then switch over to finish CROSSING JORDAN.
CABLE Trying to catch up on the DVR and TOURNAMENT of CHAMPIONS started last night.

READING TIME

I should finish PICTURES OF YOU tonight. Book Club picked a new book because most people found it “BORING” and called it a DNF (do not finish and I have never NOT finished a book) book which only tells me I’m not well fitted with this group that prefer psychological thrillers.

Most of those that found it boring gave up by page 20, which I find alarming as the book has 350 pages so they really didn’t give it a chance.

Two other friends are liking as much as I do and we have all vowed to finish it. One has finished it and declared it is definitely a book to finish.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	2/17 MONDAY	2/18 TUESDAY	2/19 WEDNESDAY	2/20 THURSDAY	2/21 FRIDAY	2/22 SATURDAY	2/23 SUNDAY
DINNER	SALSA VERDE CHICKEN CASSEROLE	FIREHOUSE SPECIAL	CORNED BEEF HASH ~ DINNER STYLE	PORK CHOPS, MASHED POTATOES and MILK GRAVY with COUNTRY DRESSING	CREOLE HALIBUT	CORNED BEEF SAUERKRAUT BAKE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HONEY ORANGE COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES (breakfast)	LIME GLAZED PORK CHOPS with COUNTRY DRESSING ~~~~~~~~ OVERNIGHT HAM& EGG CASSEROLE (BREAKFAST)
DESSERT		WACKY CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I borrowed some chafing dishes from a friend (she had owned our favorite deli – Nellie’s Deli but retired last July) and she brought me these sweet treats along with the chafing dishes! How sweet is that? And this was the sky over the pond after the event Friday night.