Category: HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY & MENU PLANS week 9 of 2022

 Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

How was your weekend? Wherever you are I hope you haven’t had too much weather and have been able to get out and enjoy life a bit. We have had a few decent hours each day and have gotten a couple small projects done – things that don’t require you to finish immediately if the rain starts kind of things.

On Saturday before the rain began I was able to cut out the dead parts of some Mallow bushes and together we were able to level a couple of planter areas. They really need to be redone, but with leveling the blocks and turning the boards they’ll make it another season anyway. I did find this little ladybug – must be a good sign right?

Also, the mousers have been hanging around a lot – I think because they can stay warmer together. I don’t think they’re thrilled with the frozen bird bath though.

The rain is back and while the temperatures have warmed a few degrees during the day, nighttime hasn’t, so it is only a couple hours a day 🙁 AND it’s not supposed to last dropping back down for next week.

The weather has been so weird (again) and we’re still having “sugar ant” issues – you know the little black ones looking to get out of the cold or in search of water. AND NOTHING SEEMS TO BE WORKING AGAINST THEM!

 

I have put out 2 of these in EVERY room and they all look like this! I’d actually feel better if they were after food, but they go nowhere near the kitchen. No amount of scrubbing or vacuuming is helping! They are invading from outside.

Hot water and peach yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a few loads of laundry to get done and want to deep clean the kitchen before I vacuum.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need a few dairy items and produce and want to get a card for hubby’s birthday Wednesday so will head into town tomorrow for a bit. I’m going to make him a special Girl Scout cookie inspired Samoa cheesecake when I get home.
  • PROJECTS With the weather having been so bitterly cold and now rainy a touch of cabin fever has set it in as hubby and I have both been craving more outside time. We have gotten a few things done replacing rotten boards and leveling a couple planters as well as cutting out the dead mallow parts and wild blackberry that had wrapped itself around plants.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m trying to cycle through the pantry and freezer items building the menus around items on hand.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX Steel Magnolias. Virgin River
  • PRIME Mrs Maisel season 4
  • PLUTO Becker reruns
  • DISNEY+ Turner & Hooch
  • DISCOVERY + FIXER UPPER
  • CABLE GHOSTS, COOKING SHOWS -Tournament of Champions, beat Bobby Flay, Spring Baking Championship

I haven’t decided what to read this week. I just finished a book and want to focus on cleaning up my scraps of paper notes instead this week.

So, driving by the pond the other day this is what I saw. It’s just a man walking his several hundred pound pig. The funny part was watching him trying to get it back into his minivan.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
POT ROAST & MASHED POTATOES
CHICKEN with TARRAGON SAUCE
ITALIAN – OUT FOR HUBBY’S BIRTHDAY
PAN SEARED SALMON with GARLIC LEMON SAUCE & POTATOES AU GRATIN
PORCUPINE MEATBALLS and CORN CREOLE
CORN STUFFED PORK CHOPS
BLACKENED ORANGE ROUGHY with RICED CAULIFLOWER
DESSERT
SAMOA CHEESECAKE

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLAN & RECIPE LINKS week 8 of 2022

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

How are you? Grab a cup of coffee and join me in a look back at last week and a look forward into this week.

This is the 3 year anniversary of SNOWMAGEDDON so I was a bit apprehensive when I saw this WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY on Saturday.

Snow or not (it just can’t decide), the temperatures are going to be super cold this week. Fortunately, with a few days of FOOL’S SPRING last week we were able to complete a couple outdoor projects. Hubby has since put the covers back on the faucets though to ward off the nighttime lows in the teens this week and I have no where to go today, so LET IT SNOW 😀

Hot water and peach yogurt.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I finished the laundry over the weekend, but want to deep clean the bathrooms and kitchen as well as vacuum.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a small appointment at the end of the week, but that’s it for anything big and groceries will depend on the weather.
  • PROJECTS I have sketched a couple of canvases to paint this week if I have time.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I made a HUGE dent in the paperwork over the weekend and am filling the empty recycling bin quickly 😀
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m hoping to go FISH forward next week so am looking for some new orange roughy and salmon recipes.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX Virgin River
  • PEACOCK Marry Me
  • PRIME The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • DISNEY+ Sulphur Springs
  • DISCOVERY + Mysteries of the Abandoned
  • CABLE Olympics, NASCAR

I’m about 3/4’s done with Beach House Romance by Cora Seton. I’ve been falling asleep quickly every night so I only get a paragraph or two read. Too bad I’m wide awake 4-5 hours later 🙁

The ONLY pictures I took this week were chore or food related. I mentioned the “FOOL’s SPRING” above. We took advantage of those couple days and tackled a couple outdoor projects and an indoor one too 😀

The whiskey barrels we installed a couple years ago were showing considerable wear already and the rings were rusting A LOT so I sprayed the rings and barrels with Rustoleum to revive them. Hubby removed all the dead plants and weeds. The red heather in the center tear drop was dead unfortunately 🙁 and the annuals were completely done and one was molding – weird.I found some red/pink heather which will bloom spring and summer as well as some white heath that will bloom fall and winter to offset. And these pretty blue hyacinth smell heavenly and will add a pop of color.

The Japanese maple tree has been doing poorly the past few years and the new gardener pruned it back A LOT this year. He also said we needed to deal with the root issue. The planter had been built with a single layer of blocks, was on a slight slope and not level.

Short of digging up the tree to replant it deeper which would have been a VERY involved process because of the roots being so unruly, it was easier to level the blocks and add a new layer of blocks and tons of new soil to cover the exposed roots to protect them and hopefully reverse the issue.

Of course the blocks are no longer being made in the same size so that added it’s own layer of complications 😀 We solved that by making the other teardrop the same height. We added the old blocks from around the maple tree to the teardrop on the other side of the yard around the whiskey barrel and used all new for the maple tree.

This worked better because we could level out the sloped front area before placing the new blocks. This should help the tree flourish better this spring. Plus now they are “balanced”.

We also started hearing LOUD and weird noises from behind the refrigerator. I needed to clean behind it anyway so we rolled it out 😀

We found that the water filter was overdo for replacing so added that to our chore list and got it replaced. VOILE and thank goodness the noises stopped.

Hubby likes to cool his hot coffee down in the morning with an ice cube so this works both ways 😀

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
TEX MEX CHICKEN POT PIES
BAKED HERBED SALMON
LEMON ORANGE ORANGE ROUGHY
POT ROAST & GRAVY
TURKEY & GRAVY
PORK CHOPS of some sort
BURGERS of some sort
DESSERT
BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

  • HAMBURGER HASH
  • BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM BREAD/MUFFINS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLAN & RECIPE LINKS week 7 of 2022

HAMB

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I hope you had a GREAT week and for those of you that are sports fans I hope you enjoyed the SUPERBOWL and are equally enjoying the Olympics. Having been a RAMS fan all my life I’m quite happy with the outcome, though I would have been equally happy with a Bengal’s win after their great season. I will make an effort to get around better this week to visit you all. Last week just wasn’t my week.

FINALLY some rain for a day or two and the temperatures have dropped back into a normal range. Highs this week will be in the mid 40’s and lows in the 30’s with very little sun.

Hot water and pineapple yogurt.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m going to deep clean the kitchen and do all the hard surface floors to clean up the ants that are back. At least they are mostly dead since I did the Terro traps last week.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have very few of each this week, but will go tomorrow morning.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m still doing a bit of research, but have the rest of February planned.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX Hubby want’s to check out Free Guy and The Adam Project
  • PEACOCK I want to watch Marry Me sometime this week
  • PRIME 4 days until Mrs. Maisel begins for the season
  • DISNEY+ I’m finishing season 2 of Sulphur Springs
  • CABLE We’re finishing up the Olympics we have recorded. I also have a couple Hallmark movies to finish up and a couple cooking shows to watch

I’m about halfway done with Beach House Romance by Cora Seton

So I heard a strange noise in the backyard and went to take a look out the window. This is what I found. I guess it needs to be renamed cat fountain since I’ve never actually seen a bird bathe in it. On the upside, I haven’t seen any mice. 😀

I LOVE these!

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
FILETS & BAKERS
HF ~  YUCATAN CHICKEN CITRUS BOWLS
HF ~ BULGOGI PORK TENDERLOIN
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
HF ~ BALSAMIC FIG CHICKEN
PORCUPINE MEATBALLS & SALAD
BLONDE BEEF STEW & TWISTY ROLLS
DESSERT
ZEBRA CAKE – WHITE, DEVIL’S FOOD & RED VELVET with SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

  • TACO SPAGHETTI
  • HAMBURGER HASH
  • CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY & MENU PLANS week 6 of 2022

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.

 Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

I had a very busy weekend and well I’m just beat today and coping with food and tummy issues still. I’m hoping to find some energy laying around.

Well, our rain never materialized and we have been having quite a bit of “stagnant” air. Day in and day out have been foggy, dewy mornings that burn off into 1-2 hours of semi-sun shine just before the sun begins to set. Highs in the 40’s and lows in the 30’s which is still good for Levis, comfy hoodies and UGG’s 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll be doing a deep clean on the kitchen this week since we’ve been infested with “winter” ants again, you know the ones looking for water and warmth. I’ve set a dozen or so traps around the house.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Not much this week which is good because I’m just a bit worn out lately and lacking enough energy.
  • PROJECTS Hoping it get sunny enough an afternoon or two to finish covering the rust on the cafe table and chairs that sit by the front door and the barrel rings of the front planters.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING The next couple of weeks are planned.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • PEACOCK Frasier reruns at bedtime
  • DISNEY+ Sulphur Springs season 2
  • CABLE OLYMPICS, Rawhide reruns, HGTV – Fixer Upper, COOKING shows – Girl Meets Farm, Beat Bobby Flay, Alex vs. America, Kids Baking championship

I finished up Return to Sapphire Bay – THE LAKESIDE INN by Leanna Morgan and started BUNDLE OF TROUBLE by Diana Orgain this week. Bundle of Trouble wasn’t on my original list for the year, but popped up as a free kindle read in my email so I thought I’d try a new to me author. I’ll then double back to grab book #2 for The Return Sapphire Bay.

My friend came for dinner the other night before our big paint day and brought me this beautiful teacup of flowers. Originally I wasn’t fond of this picture we painted for the fundraiser, but it has grown on me 😀

Everybody probably already knows this, but a single mini marshmallow in the bottom of your cone can keep it from dripping all over you 😀
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
SPICY SHRIMP TEMPURA BOWLS
CHICKEN & PROSCIUTTO PENNE
MOZZARELLA CHICKEN
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
OUT
HAMBURGER HASH
TEX MEX POT PIES
DESSERT
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

  • INCREDIBLE MYSTERY FUDGE
  • GERMAN APPLE PANCAKES
  • APPLE PIE STREUSEL MUFFINS
  • NO KNEAD (SALAMI) BREAD
  • CITRUS VINAIGRETTE SALAD with GOAT CHEESE CROUTONS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY & MENU PLANS week 5 of 2022

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

What an exciting playoff day yesterday was! The sacks, the interceptions, overtime – the games had it all!!! So sorry Jean 🙁 I really thought the Chiefs had it until the very end. When the coin toss for overtime came up in their favor I was sure it was all over. It has been so many years since the Bengals have even made it to the playoffs, let alone through them that I’m not totally disappointed. It was a good game.

The Rams game didn’t start out well, but boy was the second half an edge of the seat worth the wait! I’m not from California, but I grew up there. My dad was an “original’ Rams fan from when they were originally a Los Angeles team so I grew up with them being the home town team. Honestly I would have been okay with the 49ers winning, but am so glad to see the Rams be one of the first teams to go to the Super Bowl in their brand new home stadium.

Our weekend rain didn’t materialize until last night and while it poured A LOT, it was short lived leaving us with an even colder week ahead. Saturday was actually gorgeous – sunny and bright despite being cold. With the sun the temperature actually hit 40 and we were able to take a comfortable hike around the pond. That sun was short lived though and the low was 29° that night 🙁 This week will be in the low 40’s with very little sun making it a bone chilling cold again. Nights will be in the low 30’s. But, I am LOVING the continued turtlenecks, flannels, hoodies and UGG’s though.

I’m a positive, upbeat person 95% of the time who loves to interact with people and be involved in multiple projects, but I can seriously see how easy it would be to become an agoraphobic person.

I seriously question leaving the house EVERY time I do it these days. COVID variants and people’s actions or lack of are on my mind ALL the time these days. I never used to judge people and hate to admit I do now. I try to not even use public restrooms these days, but every now and then it is a necessity and when I see someone leave a restroom without washing their hands I cringe and just want to yell at them!!!!

Because of my immuno compromised status I am ALWAYS (and have been for a VERY long time) aware of my surroundings and the actions of those around me, but MORE than ever it makes life a challenge these days.

Hot water and cherry yogurt!

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a load of towels to do, but the rest of the laundry is up to date. I’ll vacuum later. It’s been so cold at night that we are still getting those pesky tiny black ants. They are not in search of anything, but warmth since they never get into food, but boy are they annoying!! So I like to vacuum them up as often as possible.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have hair and pedicure appointments this week so will work the groceries and misc. errands into those appointments. The painting class for the Eagles is on Saturday also, but that’s super local with people I know and in a LARGE room appropriately spaced.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Still whittling down a bunch of stuff.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve been reading a couple of new cook books and working on down sizing a few more recipes for February.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • PEACOCK Fraiser reruns
  • TUBI That Girl reruns
  • DISNEY+ Sulphur Springs Season 2
  • CABLE I have some cooking shows (Next Level Chef, Alex VS. America, Girl Meets Farm, The Lost Kitchen), Hallmark movies and some CBS shows (Magnum, Blue Bloods, NCIS, Bull) that haven’t yet gone on Hiatus as well as some Rawhide reruns recorded that I’ve been watching in between things.

I’m finishing up THE LAKESIDE INN by Leanna Morgan and will start BUNDLE OF TROUBLE by Diana Orgain this week. Bundle of Trouble wasn’t on my original list for the year, but popped up as a free kindle read in my email so I thought I’d try a new to me author.

It’s been completely dry and super cold lately with heavy dense fog mornings that haven’t been clearing off until around lunchtime, but that has been creating some incredible sunsets. 😀 I caught this one just in time on Friday afternoon.

Then on Saturday when it actually warmed up a bit with the sun we walked around the pond and were rewarded with this cute beaver sunning himself on a downed log.

Recently they cut back A LOT of brush from around the pond and you can now see all the beaver activity as they begin building their summer home.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
TACO SPAGHETTI
SALAD with GOAT CHEESE CROUTONS and CITRUS VINAIGRETTE
TEX MEX CHICKEN POT PIES
SEAFOOD SALAD & NO KNEAD SALAMI BREAD
SAUERBRATEN, POTATO PANCAKES & HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE
CHICKEN & DUMPLING SOUP with NO KNEAD ONION BREAD
HAMBURGER HASH with MARINATED BEAN SALAD
DESSERT
MOLLY CHOCO CHIP COOKIES

  • MARINATED BEAN SALAD
  • TUSCAN STYLE HERB CHICKEN
  • ELVIS COOKIES ala DUFF GOLDMAN
  • MARINATED PORK CHOPS & FRIED POTATOES

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 4 of 2022

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

First off, my sympathies  🙁 to all my Packer fan friends, Carrie in particular. I’ve never been a 49er fan, but that was the game of the year with a seriously unexpected outcome!

And having grown up in southern California before the RAMS went to St. Louis, I’ve always been a RAMS fan, well because my dad was – they were our home team. 😀 So, that was a good outcome (as far as I was concerned) and a really “historic” game with Tom Brady receiving his first ever un-sportsman like flag and penalty.

As for the Bengals and Titans I had no preference, but I do like the Bengals helmets – ha ha I know, such a girl thing to say! 😀

I’ve always been a Bills fan for some unknown reason, but am also a Chiefs fan so had no true preference there either except to see a good game, which we certainly did! It truly was the Josh Allen & Patrick Mahomes show. Congratulations Jean 😀

All 4 playoff games were quite good and I really enjoyed them all, but it’s time to get this week started.

Looks like we’re heading back into wet weather later this week, which is normal for us at this time of the year. The dry weather we’ve been having has been kinda nice after all the snow and rain, but much colder 24/7 with it being so clear, making the rain a welcome change.

This week will be in the high 40’s during the days and 30’s at night with the rain returning over next weekend. Either way I get to keep enjoying turtlenecks, flannels, UGG’s and snuggling in blankets and quilts.

Hot water & Apple Blueberry toddler squeeze

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING 2 loads of laundry to do and some more sorting through clothes and stuff.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby and I each have a couple appointments this week. Unfortunately, they’re on 4 separate days! Have been trying to combine things where possible to save on gas – it’s gotten so expensive!
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I’m working on some paperwork and calls.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are planned through mid month pending any serious change in weather 😀 I’ve been reworking recipes I had set aside to try into servings for 2 with NO leftovers!

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • PRIME Looking forward to the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in February
  • DISNEY+ Black Widow
  • CABLE We finished Yellowstone through season 4 which upset hubby because season 5 won’t start before at least November along with the Four 6’s. Last year we watched a single episode of Resident Alien, but somehow missed the rest of the season so we’re watching it now before season 2 begins. We’ll also catch up with BULL, Law & Order SVU, the CHICAGO trilogy, SWAT, 911, Fixer Upper, Kid’s Baking, Next Level Chef, Alex vs. America, Beat Bobby Flay, a few movies

I’m finishing up THE LAKESIDE INN by Leanna Morgan and will start BUNDLE OF TROUBLE by Diana Orgain this week. Bundle of Trouble wasn’t on my original list for the year, but popped up as a free kindle read in my email so I thought I’d try a new to me author.

I’m getting a third blooming on all my Christmas cacti. 😀

 
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
STUFFED MEATBALL PIES
WONTON CROUTON SALAD
BOBBY FLAY CHIPOTLE SALISBURY STEAKS with MASHED POTATOES
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
CHICKEN & DUMPLING SOUP with NO KNEAD BREAD
BAKED GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES and BOOZY TOMATO SOUP
PROCIUTTO STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS & PASTA
DESSERT
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHEWY BROWNIES

  • CHIPOTLE SALISBURY STEAKS
  • DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHEWY BROWNIES

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 3 of 2022

RECI

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

This is always one of those dates that sticks with me! 28 years ago today, also on a Monday, my world turned upside down (along with thousands of others) when at 430AM the Northridge earthquake struck and we lost it all. Even after growing up in southern California and knowing about, as well as living through other major quakes, the memories of this one in particular are VERY vivid. I honestly thought a jet plane had crashed into the neighborhood from the violent way it all happened (I was literally thrown out of bed across the room and had bruises on the bottoms of my feet for a month), but I lived on a street near a DWP plant and what I thought I saw was actually the transformers on the pole tops all blowing one after another…

The earthquake occurred just after 4:30 am local time along a previously undocumented blind thrust fault in Northridge California, a suburb located about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The major shock lasted 10–20 seconds and its peak ground acceleration of 1.82 g was the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America and registered a magnitude of 6.7. It was caused by dip slip on a thrust fault—the overriding movement of one crustal block up and over a second crustal block.

This is what is left of the parking garage I would have been parked in later that day had it not been a federal holiday for Martin Luther King day.

The major shock lasted 10–20 seconds AND I am STILL after all these years flabbergasted by the things destroyed AND the things that survived that horrible day in just that short amount of time.

My car was totaled when the neighbors block wall toppled on top of it because there was no rebar supporting it, but my Princess House Brandy snifter bowl full of all the shells I’ve collected through life survived after it flew across the room and landed on top of a pillow under my roll top desk. The painter was coming that day to do the remodel on the kitchen so literally EVERYTHING kitchen related was on banquet tables throughout the house as we had just spent the weekend emptying EVERY single cabinet. We lost every last piece of our small appliances, glassware, dishes, crystal, china, food, etc… and yet life has moved on, things have been replaced and the memories remain.

This is the first piece of Princess House crystal I ever purchased and the ONLY piece I have left. Only God knows how it survived that day since NOTHING else did. In it are the shells that I have collected with my cousin Jenn throughout my life from the Galveston, Texas Gulf Coast. She and I neither one live there now, but do still have friends and family in the vicinity.

On another note today would have been Betty White’s 100th birthday – SEE MY GINGERBREAD POST to honor her later today.

This was one of my favorite magazine covers from her 98th birthday.

I’m keeping track of the words from the Compendium of UGLY English words calendar I was gifted for Christmas as a source of amusement. Some of these are roll on the floor laughing hilarious and others are just flat out gross! They do cheat a bit and only give us one word for the weekends. 😀 I’ll pick up where we left off last Monday.

  • January 10 – MILDEW (noun) A white fungus that forms on damp organic material like clothes or rugs. Commonly found in old apartment complexes under that light fixture that always leaks when it rains.
  • January 11 – NAUSEA (noun) Believe it or not, there’s a word for that queasy rumbling you get in your stomach as you stare into the dizzying abyss of your toilet following a night of heavy partying or cheap Thai food: nausea. If you’re feeling “nauseated” or “nauseous” and think that you situation can’t possibly get any worse, just know that you can.
  • January 12 – DOUCHE (noun) A strong jet of water applied to certain body cavities as a means of cleansing, or a device used for this purpose. You probably saw it in a French Airbnb once.
  • January 13 – PANTIES (noun) A woman’s undergarments and contender for worst word on this list next to moist purely for its consistent pairing with the word “used” as in “used panties” and as in “with no time to spare and no other option,…
  • January 14 – QUAFF (noun) To drink with enthusiasm (or the act of doing so). Often results in throbbing hangovers and a lot of missed calls from some guy named :Hot Anthony”.
  • January 15-16 – SNOT (noun) A piece of mucus and/or a stuck-up person. Snot is the sound you hear when your nose is filled with snot and you attempt to breathe in. Try it.

We’re a bit on the dry side again, but still cold with highs in the low 50’s and night’s in the 30’s with foggy days so I am still enjoying hoodies and UGGs when I go out.

WOW, just such a big category lately. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around people spouting “hoax” regarding the pandemic. No matter where you stand on vaccinations, saying that there is nothing going on is just crazy. The cult like mentality it takes to believe that the WHOLE world is perpetrating a hoax just baffles me. I pray that some enlightenment takes root soon. We need to be over this pandemic as a lifestyle.

Hot water, a banana and peach yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a couple loads of laundry to do along with bathrooms and kitchen deep clean. The dishwasher mother board fried after the last power outage 🙁 After some research and the inability to get a plumber in a timely manner the $450 for a plumber and part on a 6 year old appliance just didn’t make sense so we replaced the dishwasher on Saturday which was another 14 step project LOL 😀 Since I had to empty beneath the sink it just made sense to do a deep clean that area and then the walls and floor behind and under the dishwasher…
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING The BIG downsize sort through the recipe tote is complete and BIG handful have been chosen as the next culprits for the winter. They have even been organized by category 😀
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby’s surgical follow up and stitch removal is later this morning as well as another appointment. Besides groceries, I don’t have many errands this week.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Now that the holidays are over, the decorations are all cleaned up and the house completely back in order I have some paperwork and calls to get to. Just after I posted my HHM last week Diana chose the painting for the Eagles fundraiser. It’s not really my style or even my favorite choice, but it is for a fundraiser 🙂 so paint I will.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE We’re finishing the Yellowstone marathon we recorded a couple weeks ago. We just finished season 3 and will watch season 4 this week. After episode 10 of season 3 and episode 1 of season 4 I needed a minute to process it all. BULL, New Amsterdam, The Resident, 911, Chicago series – Medical, Fire & P.D., Magnum PI, Blue Bloods, NCIS,  I also have a couple Hallmark movies to watch – The Wedding Veil #1 of a trilogy, Sweet Pecan Summer, North to Home and some cooking shows to catch up on – Kids Baking Championship, Guy’s Ranch Kitchen, Molly Yeh, Beat Bobby Flay, Alex VS. America, Guy’s Grocery Games…
  • AMAZON PRIME We’re waiting for Mrs. Maisel to begin again – they finally announced it would be February 18th, but they’re only going to release 2 episodes a week for 4 weeks. That is probably good for me though – otherwise I’d have to watch all 8 episodes in a single sitting.

Hidden in the Keys, Longboat Key Island by Sage Parker

Okay, I didn’t take this picture, but I thought it was quite funny that I needed to share it 😀
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
CHICKEN MADEIRA
SEAFOOD EXTRAORDINAIRE CASSEROLE
FRITOS NACHOS
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
PROSCIUTTO STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
ENCHILADAS SUIZA
GERMAN APPLE PANCAKES
DESSERT
CHERRY CHEESECAKE BITES and DUFF’S ELVIS COOKIES

  • CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD PASTA SALAD
  • APPLE PANCAKES
  • BAYOU BLEND CASSEROLE
  • CHERRY CHEESECAKE BITES
  • BALSAMIC PINEAPPLE CHICKEN
  • SUN DRIED TOMATO PESTO SALAD

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 2 of 2022

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

I finally got most of the Christmas decorations all stowed away this past weekend. It was cold, but dry and somewhat sunny for a couple hours each day so that helped a lot. I’m still waiting on delivery of one last tote for larger items. Taking the batteries out of items took some of the longest along with untangling some light strings.

We were also able to get a couple of walks in helping hubby not feels so house bound.

I’m keeping track of the words from the Compendium of UGLY English words calendar I was gifted for Christmas as a source of amusement. Some of these are roll on the floor laughing hilarious! They do cheat a bit and only give us one word for the weekends. 😀 I’ll pick up where we left off last Monday.

  • January 4 – CHUMP (noun) A lump of timber; the blunt end of an object; someone (usually a man) with an IQ lower than a piece of wood’s.
  • January 5 – DEBT (noun) What’s easy to get, hard to lose, and make a grown man cry? Answer: it’s debt. Massive debilitating debt.
  • January 6 – GASSY (adjective) Full of gas-not in an automobile sort of way, but in a my-boyfriend-ate-Mexican-ffod-and-has-been-farting-in-bed-all-night sort of way. Some sources theorize that wars could be fought more effectively through the use of butt gas over tear gas, though this has not tested.
  • January 7 – JAUNDICE (noun) That thing that happens in medical drama where the patient looks in the mirror to find that their face has turned a troubling shade of yellow overnight. It occurs when waste material builds up in the body, and it’s just as gross as it sounds.
  • January 8/9 – KITSCHY (adjective) In poor taste due to excessive garishness or tackiness. What you might call the section of your grandmother’s living room that’s blanketed in collectible windmill statues.

I’m still loving the colder weather with highs in the 40’s and lows in the 30’s allowing me to enjoy my mock turtleneck and flannel shirt combos with comfy Levis and UGGs.

I’m relieved that hubby’s surgery is over and he’s finally feeling more like himself. He has another week until his follow up appointment where we find out the next step with physical therapy. I’m also relieved that my stepson and his wife finally turned the corner this past weekend from their COVID breakthrough infections and are also on the mend finally. It’s been really hard to be so far away and not able to help at least drop off prescriptions or food. They will have to wait 3 months now before getting their boosters. I pray that everyone stays safe and continues to protect themselves from this horrible pandemic.

Hot water and a banana

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
    • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I spent a good deal of last week mainly tending to hubby while he recuperated and didn’t get nearly as much done as planned. I did get the Christmas tree down, the decorations sorted and stored and will now do a deep clean this week. AND Why is it that doing one thing leads to 13 or 14 others? This all started when the fluorescent light fixture died and we installed a new, much brighter one making it all quite obvious. The shelf in the laundry room that WAS level before we did the new floor last year was no longer level after we did the new floor. Of course we leveled the floor so obviously the original flooring was the culprit, but now we needed to redo the shelf. In order to do that we had to disconnect the washer and dryer and move them out of the way. After doing that we realized that we needed to seal the floor and baseboard with silicone to eliminate the “winter” ants – you know the little black ones that come in search of warmth, but don’t get into food. With that done the quick half paint job done last year before the new washer was put in made the rest of the room look shabby now that it is so well lit so I had to paint the whole room. While doing that we realized that the cabinet door above the washer needed adjusting…etc…
    • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I did the grocery shopping last Friday when I was in town and errands are up to date so no plans to go very far.
    • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I started the BIG sort each evening to eliminate the recipes from the tote that I will NEVER make, at least based on my likes and dislikes today! I’m even making an effort to downsize recipes and use ingredients back to back to cut down on waste.
    • PROJECTS, PAPERWORK, & PHONE CALLS I’m considering a couple of new paintings. The gnome is one my girlfriend sent me a picture of – even though LOL 😀 we said we would do NO more gnomes. She’s our Eagles Auxiliary president and is going to have one more fundraiser before her term is up. It will be a painting class at the post, but she hasn’t yet chosen the painting. I’m hoping for something floral and springy. And I just fell in love with this little giraffe. I MUST paint him. 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
 CABLE 1883, YELLOWSTONE, KID’S BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP, ALEX VS. AMERICA, GUY’S GROCERY GAMES, BEAT BOBBY FLAY, NEXT LEVEL CHEF, Judge Steve Harvey is so funny

I did make a reading list for the month and tried to make it a bit diverse. At the rate I’m going so far this will also be the list for February.

  • Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel If Ariana Stanton has learned anything in life, it’s that men leave. She’s been taught this lesson well from the father she’s never met, who sends her a mysterious letter once a year, to her ex-fiancé, who left her for another woman.
    Dr. Jonah Adkinson has one regret–that he let Ariana remain convinced that love never lasts.
    Now, not only does Ariana have to face the man she’s still in love with, but she must confront the mystery of her father’s letters, forcing her to reevaluate the past and her choices.
  • The Cottage at Hope Cove by Hannah Ellis Lizzie Beaumont has it all: a great career, a wealthy fiancé, and the wedding of her dreams just months away. But when her fiancé puts work before her again, she sets off for a week in the picturesque town of Hope Cove. She’s hoping for time away from the chaos to find herself.Instead, she finds Max. One week with Max has left her questioning her life choices. Is her fiancé the man of her dreams, or just the man who asked? Now Lizzie must decide what her life will be. Will she go for the safe and predictable route, or take a chance on a man she hardly knows?
  • The Cape May Garden by Claudia Vance Margaret Wilder’s life is about to be turned upside down…when her husband of fifteen years abruptly leaves without explanation.Now as their young daughters struggle to understand why their dad has been gone for a month without so much as a phone call, Margaret begins to uncover her husband’s secrets while unraveling her own long-buried feelings about their marriage.As she forms an unlikely friendship with her handsome coworker, Dave, things take a turn when she is offered a great opportunity to build the garden of her dreams on a piece of land by the beach.
  • The Secrets We Left Behind by Soraya Lane Occupied France, 1940. When the staff at a field hospital draw straws to find out who will join the evacuation from Dunkirk, Nurse Cate is left behind. But when the Nazis arrive to claim prisoners of war, she takes her chance and flees into the night, taking one patient with her.Fifty miles away, the surrendering soldiers of the Royal Norfolk Regiment are shot dead by the advancing Germans. Beneath the pile of bodies two men survive, crawling to the safety of a nearby farmhouse, where sisters Elise and Adelaide risk their lives to take them in. When Cate, too, arrives at their door with her injured soldier, the pressure mounts.The sisters are risking everything to keep their visitors safe. But with the Nazis coming ever closer and relationships in the farmhouse intensifying, they must all question the sacrifices they are willing to make for the lives of others. How far will they go for family, friendship, and love?
  • Fanny Bower Puts Herself Out There by Julia Ariss Fanny Bower is not a joiner. She leads a quiet existence – keeping to the sidelines, avoiding high jinks, living in her head and waiting for something momentous to happen… whatever that is. Her new “butterfly wings” are tested as they flutter incessantly between mystifying small talk and mortifying gaffes in a bid to unleash a charm offensive… whatever that means. At the very height of her confusion, she is spurred to action by the plight of a friend. She plunges headlong into a situation fraught with uncertainty and risks everything, including the alienation of the one person she’s managed to captivate in the process.
  • Hidden in the Keys, Longboat Key Island by Sage Parker Julia Masterson has high hopes for a new beginning. Her husband, Frank had promised to dedicate the rest of his life making their marriage work. Both newly retired, in their little beach cottage in Longboat Key, Florida, everything started out just as she imagined. Until he didn’t come home that night. Or the next. What began as romantic walks on the beach had quickly become a desperate search to find her missing husband. When local detective Brody Barker steps onto the scene, he’s determined to solve the case quickly and move on. But every lead is a dead-end. The closer Julia gets to finding out the truth, the further away she gets from wanting to know the answers. And just as the faith in her marriage starts to crumble, Brody realizes he is the only thing standing in the way of her and disaster.

Just 3 months ago this sign right next to the road was HIGH & DRY on a stake about 18 inches tall. You can see where it is now. Fortunately, the water floods over the driveway to the left and into a drainage ditch, that while full, is functioning for runoff. I thought it was a poignant picture of how quickly things can change with a month of rain followed by a foot of snow that melted when followed by another 5 inches of rain.

Hangers make a GREAT recipe stand holder.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
ROAST PORK and using the leftovers for this week’s menu
PORK ENCHILADAS
PORK STREET TACOS & CHIPOTLE RE-FRIED BEANS
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
SHREDDED PORK GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES AND TOMATO SOUP
PORK STUFFED PEPPERS
PORK SLIDERS & COLE SLAW
DESSERT
COCOA OATIES

  • BRAISED LAMB SHANKS
  • APPLE PANCAKE
  • ITALIAN BOLOGNESE STUFFED PEPPERS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 1 of 2022

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week.

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Do you do new year’s resolutions? I quit years ago because I felt they were always too short lived. Instead I try to make lifestyle habit changes that are longer term and I try to adjust regularly.

I was gifted several planners this year so I have the unique opportunity to try them all out and see what really “fits”. One of the planners is a menu planner and habit tracker. I’m just not sure quite yet what is going to work best with my organizational style.

I did spend most of the snow week working on cleaning up my digital files and updating my computer so I could start the new year a little “cleaner”.

I was also gifted The Illustrated Compendium of UGLY English words which I’m finding quite amusing. We all have those words that just make us cringe and this calendar appears to be going to touch on all of them 😀

A Compendium is a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject, in this case UGLY English words.

I thought it would be fun to keep track of these each week as a source of amusement. They did cheat a bit and only give us one word for the whole weekend. 😀

  • January 1/2 – ACRID (adjective) – Deeply bitter; corrosive; so unpleasant in taste or odor that it causes people to retch instantaneously and shriek the word into the air like a pained battle cry: “ACKKKKK-RID.”
  • January 3 – BACKWASH (noun) – A backward current; the moving of waterin a reverse direction; the liquid that flows from a person’s mouth back into the bottle when they remove it from their lips. Or, rather, the spit water that a younger sibling uses to prevent you from stealing swigs of their drink.

I decided to join in with many others and choose a word for the year and make a list of things to accomplish also. If you’re interested that post is here.

The cold and snow lasted through yesterday so I really got my wish for Christmas snow! A new storm, a bit warmer HA HA 40’s instead of 30’s, started pushing in just after lunch. We’re supposed to get close to 5 inches of rain in 5 days with this storm front. Oh, and now it’s windy – REALLY windy!! They said the wind advisory was from 4pm yesterday through 4pm today, but it showed up early with a vengeance. Before it began we did at least get the outside Christmas decorations put into the garage to dry out a bit before being packed away for the year.

I actually wish it was snow since we are already so wet and now have huge puddles of run off water EVERYWHERE and 5 inches more will just turn that all into mud puddles and slick roadways. Plus with the wind it will still feel just as cold 😀 But, at least we’ll be worrying less about frozen pipes.

I’m feeling extremely anxious and concerned. My prayers go out to everyone suffering, in whatever way, from anything, but especially from this pandemic. Seems like no matter how hard we try to stay safe, life happens around us leaving so many susceptible.

We found out just before new years that our vaccinated step son and his wife have COVID and are really quite ill with breakthrough infections. We have several other friends who while also vaccinated have just healed from bad breakthrough infections.

Thank god they were vaccinated if the severity of their breakthrough infections is any indication of how much worse it would have been had they not been. But, they are not out of the woods yet and prayers would be deeply appreciated.

Hot water and peach yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Hubby is having some surgery tomorrow and will be home and “out of commission” this week so I’ll be staying close. I’ll use that time to take down the tree, finish sorting the ornaments and put away ALL the Christmas decorations. Truth be told I’m loving having the tree still lit up and glowing during the dreary weather.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I did the grocery shopping and errands last Wednesday before the craziness of the holiday set in. We were isolating and preparing for hubby’s surgery tomorrow so avoided everyone and every situation out of precautiion.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS End of the year paperwork sort and clean up and preparing the files for 2022.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve planned as many of my January recipes around cleaning out the pantry and freezer as possible. I’m also concentrating reworking any new recipes I make into meals for two so we don’t have any leftovers and adjusting recipes as necessary.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX
  • CABLE The Rose parade while shorter at least happened this year. We missed the first season of Yellowstone when it began because we were in the middle of the BIG move back here and just never were able to catch up. And then Paramount ran a marathon this past New Years and since we were home isolating waiting for hubby’s surgery, we’ve been binge watching to catch up to last night’s season finale. Several new cooking shows started last night and this week that I want to try. And regular TV programming began again too so now I find myself right back in catch up mode 😀 And Mike Rowe’s Dirty jobs began again – I’ve always loved this show and learning about all these horribly dirty jobs.

I just finished State of Grace from Marie Force and am looking forward to the next installment in September, but in the meantime she’s branching off again into a 3rd series that will expound on the characters even more, but that book doesn’t come out until February.

In the meantime I will be reading Ava Miles Beside Golden Irish Fields of another series for this author with characters that I also love.

I’m anxious to begin the Hidden Child by Louisa Fein and When the Nightingale Sings by Suzanne Kelman. I’m hoping they both write in similar style to Gill Paul who writes stories about today that began during WWI or WWII and leave their footprints along the way tying the present to the past.


We had a wonderful, but quiet Christmas and New Years with just over a foot of of snow which was quite beautiful making it a true Winter Wonderland. A few friends are “blaming” me for all the snow because I kept wishing for a Christmas snow. LOL I did wish for it, but I just didn’t plan on it being quite so much or lasting through the end of the year!

The neighbor boys made a “toppled” snowman and tried their hand at “pool sledding” 😀 Fortunately I was able to take all these pictures without even stepping outside!

While I do most of this twice a year or even some it quarterly, I “start” my year with the following list. Doing this makes it easy to remember when it was done last 😀

  • Change the smoke detector batteries
  • Change the refrigerator filter
  • Change the kitchen water filter
  • Wash the cold air return filter
  • Clean behind the refrigerator
  • Clean behind the stove
  • Do a vinegar clean in the coffee pot
  • Do a vinegar clean in the washing machine
  • Do a baking soda/vinegar clean on sink basins
  • Turn the hangers around! I do make an exception for things that are obvious exceptions like special dresses to wear to formal events. weddings or funerals etc…

I’m trying a new menu planner and habit tracker for 2022 that will hopefully streamline my menus. I’m also still including the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon. I’m really hoping to get caught up on indexing recipes for the blog which is a monumental feat! After last week’s recipes all revolving around either prime rib or turkey I’m ready for a little more adventure.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
*STUFFED MEATBALL PIES
*ULTIMATE CHICKEN CASSEROLE
*INSTA POT POT ROAST & VEGGIES
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
CLAM CHOWDER & CRUSTY SOURDOUGH BREAD
CHICKEN BLT CASSEROLE a remake from the blog to get a better picture
*BACON CHEESE BURGER BALLS & ONION RINGS
DESSERT *new recipe I’m trying this week
*something chocolate

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLAN & RECIPE LINKS week 53 of 2021

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Good Morning! Here we are in the last week of 2021. I honestly DO NOT know where this year went so fast! We lost power again early this morning for several hours so I’m quickly trying to catch up.

I have high hopes for 2022 after 2020 and 2021 being such a chaotic mess. Let 2022 be the year that we prove the glass is refillable instead of half full OR half empty! Please Lord help them find a cure for this dreaded virus!

This is one of those categories that falls under the BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR titles, at least for this week. I really wanted snow for Christmas – just a little – well I got it! and got it again! 😀 It does look like by the end of the week we will be returning to our “normal” wet weather, but then again there wasn’t snow predicted during SNOWMAGEDDON 2019 🙂 We were a soggy mess before the snow, so as it melts and we return to more rain, it could be even messier.

I included Saturday and Sunday in the picture above so you could see what we’re getting. We did lose power for a short time yesterday morning, but fortunately it returned fairly quickly 😀

Hot water and baby food squeeze 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING When the power came back on I was able to get caught up on laundry yesterday (just in case the power goes out again like the DISH cable has). I also deep cleaned the kitchen yesterday after the mess I’d made from all the baking and Christmas cooking. I’ll also do a bit of vacuuming later today.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS & PROJECTS Fortunately we have no where to go until Thursday and then that’s just a quick errand. I have no intentions of really being out and about until 2022. I’m working on some drawings for some spring paintings I’ll begin later this week.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS Once again NOT the week for phone calls, but I will keep moving forward on some paperwork.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING LOTS of leftovers between now and 2022 using up the Christmas turkey and Prime Rib starting with last night’s Prime Rib Barley soup.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX Joyuex Noel
  • TUBI A Chance for Christmas
  • DVD White Christmas, Home Alone 1 & 2, It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th street 1947 & 1994Die Hard 1 & 2
  • CABLE A few Christmas movies to catch up on, Kids Baking Championship

I’ve started 3 different books, but hope to finish them all this week.

  • Marie Force’s State of Grace from the FATAL series
  • When Never Comes by Barbara Davis
  • Lisa Wingate’s The Sandcastle Sister from the (CAROLINA CHRONICLES) series

My psuedo STEP SIL (long story there) makes these every year for her Christmas cards. I was lucky enough to receive 3 this year and they look awesome on the tree.

I still need to edit yesterday’s snow pictures, but here are a few unedited. These are from yesterday. I’ll probably get a few more today as we got several more inches last night and everything is completely covered again. I just loved the little old lady (probably about 90) clearing her driveway and walk with the wheel barrow, but I feel sorry for her as it all covered again.

Santa and his hot air balloon are buried under there somewhere. He was already on his last legs 😀 but the snow cinched it.

As you put away the Christmas wrappings, keep this in mind. Those missing/mismatched socks from the dryer that have no mates can have more use in them. I store the wrapping rolls inside of each other and then use the socks to keep them tight and protected.

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
PRIME RIB QUESADILLAS
PRIME RIB STROGANOFF
PRIME RIB & CARAMELIZED ONION SANDWICHES
TURKEY TETRAZINNI
BLACK EYED PEA CHILI
BRAISED LAMB SHANKS with MAC & CHEESE inspired by BOSTON’S DARYL’S CORNER BAR
C.O.R.N.  CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
DESSERT
WHIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

  • NONA’S TOFFEE BARS
  • SHORTBREAD TOFFEE
  • BAKED BEAN DIP

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLAN & RECIPE LINKS week 52 of 2021

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

How is everyone? Have you finished your Christmas shopping and preparations? For the first time ever I finished a week early and have had time to just bake and enjoy! Part of that has been my self imposed simplicity for the year. I’m loving it and quite honestly there really doesn’t feel like there is anything missing!

I fell behind a bit last week with BLOGMAS having too much fun baking, but I’m all caught up now 😀

Day 1 ~ Holiday Schedule
Day 2 ~ Elf on the Shelf / Gnomes
Day 3 ~ Christmas Movie MUST Watch List
Day 4 ~ Christmas Music Playlist
Day 5 ~ Quiet Christmas?
Day 6  ~Christmas Cookies
Day 7 ~ Real or Artificial Tree?
Day 8 ~ Winter MUST haves
Day 9 ~ Christmas Cards
Day 10 ~ Advent Calendar
Day 11 ~ Favorite Decorations and Ornaments
Day 12 ~Outdoor Decorations & Lights
Day 13 ~ TAG questions
Day 14 ~ Stocking Stuffer Ideas
Day 15 ~ Neighbor Plates & Gifts / Delivery Drivers
Day 16 ~ WISH List
Day 17 ~ Party Food Ideas/ CHARCUTERIE Boards
Day 18 ~ Favorite Christmas Foods, Beverages & Recipes
Day 19 ~ Inspirations & Stories
Day 20 ~ Favorite Family Traditions
Day 21 ~ Wrapping Ideas
Day 22 ~ Weather/Winter Wonderland Pictures
Day 23 ~ Meaning of Christmas
Day 24 ~ Christmas Past, Present & Future
Day 25 ~ When Do You Open Presents?

Looks like we’re going to get that snow for Christmas day(and then some) that I wished for, BUT this forecast as been ever changing, so while I’m hoping it’s true, I know in reality it will probably change again.

Hot water and baby food squeeze 😀 this doesn’t change much

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING & PROJECTS I was able to complete the laundry yesterday after the Eagles Christmas party. I do have a few items (Christmas totes) to move to the garage before vacuuming. We installed a new LED ceiling fixture in the laundry room on Saturday to replace the old fluorescent fixture that died. And we will install the new ceiling fan in the master bedroom later today. I also deep cleaned behind the refrigerator and under the stove over the weekend.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I do need just a couple things and will do those on Tuesday morning early!!!
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I’ll work a bit whittling down my to do pile of paperwork and end of the year tasks, but will NOT call anyone this week so they can enjoy their holiday week too 😀
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on a new planner and wellness guide for 2022 hoping to incorporate all my “normal” tasks into a SINGLE planner.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX Christmas in the Heartland
  • DISNEY+ I tried to watch the Home Alone knock off Home Sweet Home, but just couldn’t finish it 🙁
  • REDBOX The Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson & Cry Macho with Clint Eastwood
  • CABLE It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, a couple Lifetime & Hallmark Christmas movies

I just started a new series from Ava Miles, Beside Golden Irish Fields (Book 1) ~ The Unexpected Prince Charming Series but have been falling asleep almost immediately before getting too far into the book.

Saturday night we froze our butts off watching the Timber Town Toy Land Electric Light Parade which honestly they over named! We are a small town and they try hard, but this year’s parade wasn’t nearly as good as last years 🙁 but I did get a few good pictures. It stayed clear until after the parade and the storm moving in gave the full moon an eerie glow.

MAKE THIS YOUR CHEAT WEEK 😀

NOT SURE IF THIS WORKS, BUT SOUNDS WORTH A TRY 😀

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
ORANGE APRICOT CHICKEN & RICED CAULIFLOWER PILAF
BAKED BEAN DIP & CHIPS
COMPANY CHICKEN and DRIED BEEF PICKLE ROLL DIP & CHIPS
CHRISTMAS ENCHILADAS
ROAST TURKEY BREAST, MASHED POTATOES & GRAVY, HONEYED CARROTS & UPSIDE DOWN APPLE PIE
MARINATED PRIME RIB, TWICE BAKED POTATOES, SAUTEED GREEN BEANS & AUSTRALIAN CHEESECAKE
C.O.R.N. leftovers
DESSERT
AUSTRALIAN CHEESECAKE & UPSIDE DOWN APPLE PIE

  • BAKED BEAN DIP
  • DRIED BEEF PICKLE ROLL DIP
  • ORANGE APRICOT CHICKEN
  • TRIED & TRUE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
  • COMPANY CHICKEN

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLAN & RECIPE LINKS week 51 of 2021

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

How is everyone this morning? Are you ready for Christmas?

I’m actually ready. ALMOST! Shopping is done. Packages are wrapped and will be ALL shipped as of later this morning. Rib roast is ordered at the Butcher. Menus are made. Food donations are arranged for the baskets being given away. Cookies are proportioned for the Cookie Exchange later this week.

But, for some reason this year I fell behind on Christmas cards (I’m usually ready by the end of November) and I’m not even sure why! I also whittled down my list this year so there are fewer cards ~ so I have no real excuse. I will get them finished today or tonight.

I’m even up to date minus yesterday’s post on BLOGMAS so all and all I’m pretty pleased.

DAY 1 ~ Holiday Schedule
DAY 2 ~ Elf on the Shelf / Gnomes
DAY 3 ~ Christmas Movie MUST Watch List
Day 4 ~ Christmas Music Playlist
DAY 5 ~ Quiet Christmas?
Day 6  ~Christmas Cookies
Day 7 ~ Real or Artificial Tree?
Day 8 ~ Winter MUST haves
Day 9 ~ Christmas Cards
Day 10 ~ Advent Calendar
Day 11 ~ Favorite Decorations and Ornaments
Day 12 ~Outdoor Decorations & Lights
Day 13 ~ TAG questions
Day 14 ~ Stocking Stuffer Ideas
Day 15 ~ Neighbor Plates & Gifts / Delivery Drivers
Day 16 ~ WISH List
Day 17 ~ Party Food Ideas/ CHARCUTERIE Boards – OOPS I’m a day behind, but will get caught up today 😀
Day 18 ~ Favorite Christmas Foods, Beverages & Recipes

Our forecast keeps alternating between rain and snow so it really could go either way since we are now on WINTER STORM WARNING! Our highs are supposed to be in the low 40’s and the nighttime lows in the very low 30’s and lots of wet, wet days ahead this week.

We’ve also been extremely windy. Saturday night we had to disconnect the Frosty and Santa blow-ups because they were trying to take flight. We also lost one of the old fashioned Christmas light posts when it blew off the porch and shattered. 🙁 The rain pounded for all of Friday and Saturday making everything a soppy mess, but there were a couple hours in the 40’s yesterday where we were able to get the blow ups drained off of excess water, untangled the wind blown lines and re-secure them. Hubby was even able to glue some of the lantern pieces back together, but this will be the last year for it.

WINTER STORM WARNING ~ PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
* Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions.
* If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and 
a fully charged phone with you.
* The safest place during a winter storm is indoors.
* A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is imminent and poses a threat 
to life and property. Take protective action now.

Hot water and Peach, Apple, Pear squeeze

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is up to date, but I need to vacuum and finish some reorganizing of the spice cabinet.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I do need to ship a couple last minute gifts today – there was a snafu and the recipe cutting boards we were having made weren’t ready until late Saturday for pick up. I had seen these all over Amazon (I included the picture in the favorite photos section) but I found a local artisan who made the cutting boards from local woods and partnered with another local artisan who did the lasering part. I’m so happy to have been able to support local mom and pop shops instead of some foreign corporate chain. I’m hoping they’ll arrive before Christmas with all the holiday shipping delays going on this year. Fortunately I don’t “need” to go anywhere else until Friday for a pedicure and I’ll do any last minute errands then. I do have a painting class/cookie exchange on Thursday night. We’re doing a really cute stockings hung by the fire scene. Here’s the sample picture, but mine will have 6 stockings.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I’ve been whittling away at the stack and aim to have it completed by the end of the year.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I did buy a new recipe planner for 2022 and will spend some of my down time during the wet week working on the January menus.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX The Holiday Calendar & A Boy Called Christmas
  • CABLE HALLMARK CHRISTMAS movies, Baking shows, Mysteries of the Abandoned

I’m in between reads right now and need to decide on something, but for now have just been playing words with friends as I fall asleep.

We had this family recipe lasered onto cutting boards (made by a local artisan) made for gifts this year and I can show you how cool they are because the recipients don’t read my Monday posts 😀 I wish the picture was better, but too late to take a new one as they are wrapped and ready for shipping in a couple hours.

with the links to last week’s posted recipes, featured party links for the week and upcoming recipes to be posted soon.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
ORANGE PECAN CHICKEN
ORANGE APRICOT CHICKEN
PHILLY CHEESESTEAK EGG ROLLS
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
DRIED PICKLE ROLL DIP & CHIPS
RUSTIC TATER SOUP & HAM SANDWICHES
BAKED BEAN DIP & PIMIENTO CHEESE SANDWICHES
DESSERT
MILLIONAIRES & DROP SUGAR COOKIES

  • RUSTIC TATER & HAM SOUP
  • ROASTED POTATO SALAD
  • BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM BREAD/MUFFINS