HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 15 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.104

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

I can’t believe we’re already half way through April!! I worked several events at the Eagle’s last week on top of my normal duties. It seems like every minute was spoken for. I did get the tomato seedlings planted and the wrought iron porch furniture painted with fresh Rustoleum™ to cover the winter rust that settled in.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

I’m afraid to trust the weather prediction! Supposedly it will NOT rain this week, just be cloudy and is supposed to be in the 60’s and low 70’s. We’ll see – yesterday it said it was going to be sunny all week and in the upper 70’s and 80’s – it changed that quickly!

It’s still supposed to be in the high 30’s at night so each day will take a while to warm up and the breeze has been down right cold. Even working up a sweat yesterday while taking care of very manual labor, the minute I quit working and stood still for five minutes I had to put my sweatshirt back on.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m still working on de-cluttering and spring cleaning.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have early morning doctor appointments on BOTH Tuesday and Wednesday so will pick up what I need for Easter dinner and the errands at that time. I also have an Eagle’s meeting tonight.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have nothing planned past this week so really need to get that handled tonight.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’re still working on GILMORE GIRLS at night. We’re thinking about getting a new streaming service and seeing some shows we’ve been wanting to watch.
CABLE The DVR is all but empty and most shows will be going on spring hiatus this week or next.

READING TIME

I need to start the book for book club, but right now I’m reading The Wyvern Protection Unit by C.D. Corri

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	4/14 MONDAY	4/15 TUESDAY	4/16 WEDNESDAY	4/17 THURSDAY	4/18 FRIDAY	4/19 SATURDAY	4/20 SUNDAY
DINNER	MEATBALLS SANDWICHES	BLACKBERRY BAKED CHICKEN and FRIED CORN	YUMMY BALLS aka OLD FASHIONED PORCUPINE BALLS	CHICKEN PARMESAN	working at the EAGLES CHILI BURGERS	MEXICAN STUFFED PEPPERS	~EASTER~ PINEAPPLE GLAZED HAM, MASHED POTATOES, GLAZED CARROTS
DESSERT							APPLE WALNUT CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

Worked at the cemetery yesterday to help my girlfriend and her hubby clean up the winter debris. We had an extremely stormy, windy and wet winter that took down a few of the BIG trees and tons of limbs that had to be cleaned up. I should have taken a picture of the burn pile that we’ll do later with hot dogs and marshmallows. 🙂 The burn pile is about 8 feet tall, 40 feet long and 20 feet wide! That doesn’t include the big tree pieces that she’s trying to give away for firewood.

Her family has “owned” the cemetery since 1926 and someone from her immediate family has been the caretaker ever since. Al and Mary Pepiot were her parents and she maintains the family plots. They sell affordable plots with deeds and each plot is maintained by that family, but she does the overall mowing and general clean-up of the overall cemetery.

I especially love her aunt’s headstone. One side looks so traditional and then the backside lists all the men she was married to over the years. The oldest headstone I could find was mid 1800’s. Unfortunately a few years back some teenagers went out and broke several of the older headstones 🙁

So I did the drastic change. It’s supposed to be a silver/gray sable combo. Unfortunately, my hair doesn’t take dye well and I’ll probably be back to my god given beach blonde within the month. Oh well.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

TETRAZZINI
SALSA VERDA PASTEL AZTECA

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK & A FUN ONE FOR EASTER

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, RECIPES & MENU week 14 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.97

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

It was a busy week! I was dog sitting, spring cleaning and baking for a bake sale yesterday. During the spring cleaning I was also de-cluttering and trying hard to downsize. 🙂

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We had an absolutely beautiful Saturday last week. Compared to the poor people in the south I will not complain. Our cold and rain are both back and spring is once again on hold. My tomato starters are up on the porch as the garden will have to wait a couple more weeks. I did plant a few flowers on Saturday, but they are in raised planters under the eave so I think they’ll be okay this week.

We’re supposed to be in the low 50’s during the day and 30’s at night with lots of rain. It’s only the beginning of April, but our rain fall totals are equal to the yearly average already this year.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING More cleaning and downsizing to work on some more spring cleaning.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m headed to town in a bit to get the errands and groceries taken care of. I also need to pick up my watch from the watchmaker. I have a blood draw for an upcoming endocrinologist appointment and a hair appointment Thursday and am thinking of doing something drastic with my hair. It’s not that I don’t like my hair color, but I’ve been a beach blonde (naturally) all my life, wear it long and straight, but, I’m not a teenager anymore so am looking for a change. I’ll keep you posted.:)
PROJECTS & TRAVELS I need to get the letters out to all the family later today for the upcoming family reunion.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on some spring salads and lighter recipes for this month.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We watched THE TOMORROW WAR over the weekend which was pretty good. We’re also getting caught up GILMORE GIRLS at night as we go to sleep and on YELLOWSTONE of an evening and then we’ll start LAND MAN with Billy Bob Thorton.
CABLE DVR is cleaned out and up to date except for last night’s TOURNAMENT of CHAMPIONS and TRACKER.

READING TIME

I’m trying to stick with book club, but a few of us are not liking the direction of book choices and may break off on our own. The club chose 2 books this month so that those that read faster have a back up to get through the month.

I read to escape reality most of the time so one of these titles is NOT speaking to me and my girlfriend said the same, so we may not finish that one. 🙁

This month’s choices are The Drowning Woman by Robyn Hardingand First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	4/7 MONDAY	4/8 TUESDAY	4/9 WEDNESDAY	4/10 THURSDAY	4/11 FRIDAY	4/12 SATURDAY	4/13 SUNDAY
DINNER	WILTED GREENS with HOT BACON DRESSING	PORK CHOPS with APPLE STUFFING and HERB GLAZED CARROTS	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator or you’re on your own	out to a favorite indulgent restaurant TRUE KITCHEN – going to see LITTLE WOMEN with a friend	MEATBALL SANDWICHES & BROCCOLI SALAD	SAUCY BAKED CHICKEN and FRIED CORN	PARMESAN CHICKEN and BROCCOLI
DESSERT

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

Friday and Saturday were sunny! Daisy loved laying in the grass for a bit.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

WACKY CAKE aka DEPRESSION CAKE
MARMALADE LIME GLAZED PORK CHOPS

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, RECIPES & MENU week 13 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.90

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

That said, this week is starting off better than the rest recently. I’m going to have time to breathe as well as visit everyone and even relax a bit!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE…IS CRAZY!!!!!

That’s the only way to describe it! We’re back down into the low 40’s during the day and 30’s at night with crazy winds, a little hail and some snow on the mountains. Oh and did I mention we’re ALREADY several inches of rain over the YEARLY average and it’s not even April yet? I’ve set aside the spring clothes I hauled out last week and brought the flannels and hoodies back into play this week.

Monday thru Thursday ~ Rain and thunderstorms with highs in the 40’s.
Friday thru Sunday ~ morning showers and mostly cloudy with highs in the 50’s (maybe??)

ON MY MIND

My aunt used to always say P.U.S.H. an acronym for PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS. Well, it works! MANY of my EAGLE’s woes are finding answers. I have revamped the Friday night fundraiser program in the past 2 months and we’re better than we were. My friend is currently the Auxiliary president, but when her term ends in June she wants to stay connected so I will be turning over the Friday kitchen duties to her, YAY! I’m currently the newsletter proofreader, but will be stepping up to be the copy editor and designer which is more up my alley and I’m excited about this change!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING & AROUND THE HOUSE I was able to do 2 loads yesterday, but didn’t get them folded and put away yet. I’m dog sitting this week so will hold off the rest of the deep clean until next week. I’m hoping to be able to plant some flowers by the weekend.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m up to date on our grocery shopping and only want to make a run to Costco and maybe the nursery for some plants. Wednesday will be shopping day for the Eagles and whatever my friend needs for her bar and grill.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m researching a few new recipes I want to make for spring and have the menu set until we leave in May for the family reunion. I’ll figure out the rest when we return.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’re in season 4 of the GILMORE GIRLS and I just started MY LIFE with the WALTER BOYS
CABLE The DVR is actually cleaned out and up to date! March Madness allows this to happen every year. 😀 TOURNAMENT of the CHAMPIONS, SPRING BAKING, TRACKER, NCIS, NCIS ORIGINS

READING TIME

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	3/31 MONDAY	4/1 TUESDAY	4/2 WEDNESDAY	4/3 THURSDAY	4/4 FRIDAY	4/5 SATURDAY	4/6 SUNDAY
DINNER	CHICKEN in SHERRY CREAM SAUCE	SMOKED BAKED TACO POTATOES ———— EGGSQUISITE BREAKFAST CASSEROLE	BEEFY BEAN & BISCUIT BAKE	GREENS with HOT BACON DRESSING	CHICKEN FRIED STEAK & FRIED POTATOES	DIVINE CHICKEN SALAD	CAITLYN’S CORNED BEEF & POTATOES
DESSERT				GRANDMA HIER’S CARROT CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

Life is still quite cold and wet with lots of standing water.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

SLOW COOKER BBQ BRISKET with SWEET KICKIN’ BBQ SAUCE

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

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.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

SODA SAUCE PORK LOIN & MASHED CARROTS
PORK CHOPS in CREAMY GARLIC SPINACH SAUCE

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

CHICKEN CABBAGE STEW
BAKED SWEET CORN DIP

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

APPLE WALNUT CAKE with CARAMEL GLAZE
PINEAPPLE RAISIN TAMALES
FIRECRACKER PORK CHOPS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPE LINKS week 6 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.41

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

Happy day after the Super Bowl! I understand they are trying to move the Super Bowl to the 3rd weekend of February in the future so that people will already have Monday off after celebrating their team (win or lose) too much on Sunday night. So sorry Jean that the Chiefs had a really rough day! My friend Lu won the silent bid for the Chief’s jersey we auctioned off at the Eagle’s (no pun intended) so she modeled it in your honor, despite the vibe and the score at the time we auctioned it 😀

It was a SUPER busy week! Sadly 🙁 it began with the passing of my favorite uncle, who was more like a brother. In the end, pancreatic cancer won. He passed quietly surrounded by his loving family. My cousins have been rock stars taking care of him and my aunt through this ordeal. 🙏 Prayers for them as they continue to adjust to this new world. My aunt and uncle have been raising two of their grandsons from another cousin who are both older teenagers now and this has been extremely difficult for them especially.

I worked Tuesday night during line dancing at the Eagle’s, did the shopping for 2 businesses on Wednesday and then did fundraising events Thursday through yesterday and have a meeting tonight before this week turns into a copy cat of last week. I hate these back to back weeks of non-stop events.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

BRRRR it’s wet cold again! We didn’t get enough snow to do much though it’s quite pretty in the surrounding mountains still. Today through Wednesday we’re supposed to have highs in the 30’s and lows in the 20’s with Rain to Snow beginning Thursday. So, LOTS of layers are still on the foreseeable future with UGGs, sweaters and flannels.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I had been so busy last week the laundry piled up, but I was able to get most of that done when I got home from Saturday’s event.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS My shopping is up to date, but I do have quite a bit to do for the Eagles this week. I also have a pedicure appointment early tomorrow morning.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I have a pile of recipes I’ve chosen for the next 6 weeks, but now need to arrange them and make a final menu plan.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’re about 11 seasons through BONES. I’ll be sad for it to be over.
CABLE The DVR has plenty to choose from, but now for the time to play catch up 🙂
THEATRE We went and saw FLIGHT RISK one rainy day last week. Seriously low budget, but psychological thriller. Honestly I expected more from the movie.

READING TIME

I just started PICTURES OF YOU by Emma Grey. I really hated the last book, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell for book club! I want this one to be better!

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

	2/10 MONDAY	2/11 TUESDAY	2/12 WEDNESDAY	2/13 THURSDAY	2/14 FRIDAY	2/15 SATURDAY	2/16 SUNDAY
DINNER	FROZEN PIZZA (meeting night)	BAKED FISH & CHIPS	BRAISED BALSAMIC CHICKEN & MASHED CARROTS	SPICY CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS	EAGLE’S VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION DINNER NIGHT	CHICKEN & NOODLES	ITALIAN PASTA & SAUSAGE IN GARLIC & WHITE WINE SAUCE
DESSERT				WACKY CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

One of the fundraiser events this past weekend was for a Create & Sip. It was a rather disjointed event (unlike our normal) and I spent a lot of time away from working on my picture. I’ll try and finish it later this week. It still needs a lot of fine tuning, but I think it will get there. 😀

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

BAKED SWEET CORN DIP
CHICKEN CABBAGE STEW

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

LEMON MELT AWAYS
LOADED HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 5 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.34

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

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

WOW I can’t believe January is already gone! And February is a short month, so I sure hope it goes a bit slower than January did!

Last week was a typical “work” week, but I was able to finally get caught up on my own shopping and errands on Friday and then delivered these fruit medley topped cute little dessert cheesecakes for my friend Lu’s fundraiser dinner.

On Saturday we were supposed to go to a birthday lunch for a friend at what used to be a favorite pub (her choice), but then it was canceled when she didn’t feel well, so we went to a favorite tavern for lunch instead.

On Sunday it was raining in earnest so we went to a favorite grill spot for lunch and my book club while hubby watched the PRO BOWL with a friend. They laughed and laughed at the stupidity of the PRO BOWL being a flag football game.

I spent the rest of Sunday at home painting my rehab dresser project. My friend had given the dresser to another friend several years ago and then it was passed on to me. By the time I received it, there were split broken legs and quite a bit of marring on the edges and wood, so hubby sanded it down to the original wood for me, I replaced the broken legs with ball feet, repainted the original hardware and VOILA we have a new chest for the spare bedroom.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s still cold, wet and snow is still predicted for today and the rest of the week from the stalled storm. We’ll see if the snow finally materializes AND if it sticks! 😀 UGGs and flannels are my best friends, but I’m trying to wear more sweaters and less plaid. 🙂

MONDAY 39/29° SNOW
TUESDAY 38/30° SNOW
WEDNESDAY 39/32° SNOW
THURSDAY 34/30° SNOW
FRIDAY 30/27° SNOW
SATURDAY 38/27°
SUNDAY 39/27°

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING YAY I’m all caught up!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a hair appointment tomorrow and am considering doing something drastic, but we’ll see. I’ll pick up the groceries when I’m in town.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve been going through my tote of scraps and pulling out recipes for the rest of the month and I even threw away quite a few that I know I’ll never make.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We have 3 seasons of BONES left and then we’ll finish CROSSING JORDAN.
CABLE We’ve been playing catch up on the DVR.
THEATRE We’re going to go see FLIGHT RISK one day later this week.

READING TIME

I’m just about done with NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell and the new book for book club is PICTURES OF YOU by Emma Grey. In between I’m trying to finish LILAC INK by Jean Grainger.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	2/3 MONDAY	2/4 TUESDAY	2/5 WEDNESDAY	2/6 THURSDAY	2/7 FRIDAY	2/8 SATURDAY	2/9 SUNDAY
DINNER	GREEN CHICKEN CHILI	SEAFOOD CHOWDER & BUTTER BISCUITS	BBQ RIBS with CORN on the COB	working for a friend	??	CHILI and CRACKERS	“BOWL ” FOOD POTLUCK at the Eagles
DESSERT		WACKY CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

My Christmas cacti are all finally blooming in earnest!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

LEMON MELT AWAYS
LOADED HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENU & RECIPES week 4 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.27

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 a bit of a blur as I worked hard to get all my Eagles and Offyce shopping (and they were BIG shopping weeks! – my car, a BIG SUV was SUPER full!) done and work shifts (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) before leaving Friday on our long weekend at the beach which was glorious (COLD, but glorious) by the way!

While we didn’t have snow last Tuesday like so much of the rest of the country (Houston, New Orleans, Alabama, Florida beaches…), but we did have the largest power outage in the country and on our coldest day yet this winter. Our bird bath has been frozen solid for over a week!

We got home yesterday in time for the last football game – YAY for Jean as the Chiefs try to break a record of back to back to back Superbowl wins. I have all the laundry from last week and the trip to do as well as get some groceries shopped for and the house cleaned. I’ll be working again this week on Tuesday night and making the dessert for Friday night as well as the Eagles and Offyce shopping all over again this week so am just going to jump in and finish this post quickly so I can get going even though the temperature outside is only up to 18°.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s still SUPER COLD! The rain is returning at the end of the week and our first SNOW is forecasted for the weekend! This is just how SNOWMAGGEDON began!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING LOTS of both to do!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS LOTS of groceries to do!
PROJECTS & TRAVELS I need to edit the trip photos.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I made a freezer inventory and am sticking to meals that will clean it out so I can start fresh in February.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING Trying to finish binging BONES
CABLE Need to clean out the DVR

READING TIME

Trying to finish LILAC INK THE KNOCKNASHEE STORY by Jean Grainger. We did start Hang the Moon by Jeanette Walls on audio while we were gone, but that didn’t get very far. I have one to start for book club this weekend, but I hate that it feels like a class assignment so may be skipping this one.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

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

	1/27 MONDAY	1/28 TUESDAY	1/29 WEDNESDAY	1/30 THURSDAY	1/31 FRIDAY	2/1 SATURDAY	2/2 SUNDAY
DINNER	AUXILIARY MEETING so will pick up take out on the way home	WORKING THE EAGLE’S KITCHEN so will eat there.	CHICKEN WINGS and CORN on the COB	TOMALITO CHICKEN ENCHILADAS	CHICKEN TETRAZZINI supporting Lu’s dinner at the Eagles	POT ROAST & VEGGIES	CHILI & CORNBREAD
DESSERT		BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BREAD PUDDING			BLUEBERRY PEAR SLAB PIE making this for Lu’s dinner

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

It was such a packed weekend that I’m just making a collage of some of my favorite foods, scenes and activities. The picture with the odd guy in it was really funny. He was a window washer and he only washed ONE window out of twenty. We guessed that someone reserved that table for a special dinner that night and paid extra to have it washed 😀