HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY – Page 9 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & LINKS week 32 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

This past week was EXTREMELY pleasant and it looks like it will continue into this week – YAY for us here 😀 Afternoons have gotten quite warm and even a bit sticky a couple days, but all and all it has been very pleasant with a cool ocean breeze.

I’m going to be puttering around here all day so just have on some worn out Levis, a favorite old t-shirt and am barefoot. 😀

Well, we all know how this category goes for me – it’s quite boring! Hot water and Raspberry Lemonade yogurt for me.

As for how I’m feeling… mainly good, but a bit anxious by all that is going on in this world… Omicron variant COVID cases are on the rise here locally and I have a few friends who have been struck badly by it, multiple global tensions exacerbated by bad political decisions, prices and greed, lack of ethics, staffing issues, weird weather phenomena – excessive heat, floods, drought and strange storms, medical provider issues… etc … Why can’t we all just be kind to one another and look out for each other.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I was able to get all the laundry done on Saturday while I was making FRESH tomato sauce from some of the many tomatoes that are finally turning ripe. I had started the plants last winter in my indoor aero garden and while they are SUPER tasty, they are quite strange plants – very tight and compact in stature with super dark green leaves and you really have to hunt “inside” the plant for the ripe tomatoes. I used some homemade chicken bone broth I made last Friday as a base with the homegrown tomatoes so was quite happy the outcome.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS A couple of appointments in town this week on Tuesday and Thursday and will work in the groceries and errands into those days. Hubby and I are going to go to the county fair on Friday which is always fun in a rural area. I just love seeing the kids and their 4H animals. My new glasses should be in this week and I’m hoping to coordinate picking them up with the existing schedule.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I FINALLY got some resolution on one of the long term issues that has been going on and was able to get 2 more appeals out that have been pending, I have yet another 2 more to get done this week. It’s so frustrating that those who should be in the “know” make you jump through hoops and red tape providing the same documentation over and over and over… to get to the obvious outcome when they already have the data they need in the file.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I ordered a how to make your own plant based proteins cookbook this past week that I’m hoping to try out the last week of the month. I’m also looking to do a week of trying new recipes that I’ve found on my WHERE I LIKE TO PARTY journeys that will feature other blogs. I saw a similar style post over at Miz Helen’s Cottage.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We watched The 2nd, NCIS season 2 and Recurrence
AMAZON PRIME We watched SHOCKWAVE Countdown to Disaster
PARAMOUNT + Hot in Cleaveland reruns
CABLE NASCAR, American NINJA Warrior, Svengoolie’s Devil’s Rain which had really BIG names in it, but a horrible plot – must have been from when they were still on salary and had to participate no matter what 😀

I haven’t been reading much, so am still reading last week’s book, Heather Webber’s, In The Middle of Hickory Lane and am going to savor it as she doesn’t publish as often as I’d like.

We took the back way home the other day. I’m still looking for that perfect picture of my favorite working barn. I’ll keep trying.

And I was really surprised to see the osprey in their nests this late in the year. It’s been a late blooming kind of year.

	8/8 MONDAY	8/9 TUESDAY	8/10 WEDNESDAY	8/11 THURSDAY	8/12 FRIDAY	8/13 SATURDAY	8/14 SUNDAY
DINNER	PEPPER JELLY CHICKEN and ROASTED CAULIFLOWER STEAKS	BLOODY MARY POT ROAST and MASHED POTATOES & GREEN BEANS	TUNA CASSEROLE & TOMATO TART	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	ORANGE PECAN CHICKEN, RICE PILAF & MUSHY PEAS	ULTIMATE CHICKEN CASSEROLE & SALAD	CHICKEN COBB SALAD and TWISTY ROLLS
DESSERT					CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 31 of 2022 with RECIPE LINKS & MENU PLANS

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 absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively so that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week.

Our heat has returned to a normal level of hot. I have to refrain from rolling my eyes and sighing every time someone complains about the heat and humidity here. Fortunately for me I’m from south east Texas and grew up in the desert of southern California so while it’s very warm here, it’s not going to be anywhere close to truly “humid” or anything close to “HOT” and is something that can be dealt with pretty easily by staying indoors as much as possible 😀 BUT that said, the winds shifted on Saturday and gave us an inversion layer of smoke that made it pretty muggy over the weekend, even for me. So, I spent a lot of time at the computer inputting recipes and getting pictures uploaded and posts scheduled for August. I’m actually going to be posting EVERY day in August which is a first in a long time for me. I’m hoping to do the same in September and October as I remake some recipe favorites to get better pictures. I need to spend some serious time in the winter then linking the recipes to the index.

Fortunately, we’re supposed to be in the mid-high 80’s this week with lows in the low 60’s, which is really tolerable.

I have a sundress, cute cover up and sandals on today as I’m heading to town to get my shopping done.

I’m going to have some yogurt and hot water before I go.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I got all the laundry done on Saturday when we stayed in because the muggy smokey weather was just plain yucky!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a long list and hope to accomplish it all today 😀
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS This is a never ending category. I swear EVERY time I get caught up with something two more things have taken its place 😀
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Our menu is made through the third week of August. I’m planning on sorting through older recipes on my food blog that need new pictures and work the menu around those through September. I KNOW A LOT of my early days of blogging had substandard pictures and I’m trying to update those as I can.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We started watching a new series, Keep Breathing and I started the new season of Virgin River. We’re just into season 2 of NCIS. We also watched Trading Paint with John Travolta and Shania Twain as well as Gray Man with Ryan Gosling was fun.
PARAMOUNT + We’re watching Hot in Cleaveland Reruns late at night.
CABLE NASCAR, COOKING SHOWS – FOOD TRUCK RACE, BEACH BRAWL, GUY’S GROCERY GAMES, SUPERMARKET STAKE OUT and BEAT BOBBY FLAY and a few CHRISTMAS in JULY HALLMARK MOVIES

I finally started Heather Webber’s In The Middle of Hickory Lane and am going to savor it.

Even here in our little small town burb we seem to encounter road work everywhere lately, even on the short cuts! LOL, the Pilot car took off and the sign still said STOP so he had to back up and remind her to turn the sign around so we could follow 😀 It was a slow go as the ENTIRE road from this point which is about 7/8 of the short cut route was complete gravel as they are literally redoing the ENTIRE road 😀

The fence post was the most exciting view I had while we waited for the sign to turn.

Callie is growing into THE cutest kitten! My friend who wants to adopt her has asked me to start calling her LuLu. 😀 and there was an AMAZING sunset on Wednesday night.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	CHICKEN ala ORANGE, RICE & VEGGIE	STEAK & TOMATO SALAD with CORN BREAD	CUBAN CHICKEN & RAMEN SALAD SLAW	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	CHICKEN BLT PASTA SALAD, HONEY BEER BREAD	MEXICAN MEATLOAF & MARMALADE CARROTS	BALSAMIC CHICKEN PEACH SALAD
DESSERT		CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BUNDT CAKE			CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD PUDDING

RUM RAISIN CARROT CAKE
COCONUT MACAROONS
SHORT CUT APPLE PIE CUPCAKES
CHEESY SNACKS
JALAPENO POPPER WONTON CUPS
SWEET & SOUR BRISKET

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 30 of 2022 with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS

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

Well the heat wave has finally reached the Pacific North West. Fortunately for me I’m from south east Texas and grew up in the desert of southern California so while the heat is going to be hotter than normal for here, it’s not going to be humid AND something I can deal with pretty easily 😀

We’ll be in triple digits all week so I’ll be doing more indoor activities, only watering early in the morning and after the sun sets. At least the nighttime lows will be in the 60’s cooling it down for some nice mornings.

Bare feet and flip flops are my friends this summer! I’m wearing my favorite capris and a lightweight blouse.

Oh and today is the 25th, so you know what that means? It’s time to weigh in on the countdown to Christmas with a public service announcement. I took advantage of PRIME DAY to source out a couple gifts and stocking stuffers. Please don’t hate me 😀

My friend found me a yogurt for me that it my new favorite! It’s Chobani’s Raspberry Lemonade. It actually makes breakfast a little less boring with so few options. It’s almost like having a dessert the flavor is

They also have a strawberry cheesecake that is quite good 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Completely done, or at least good for now since it’s a never ending process 😀
GROCERIES & ERRANDS Not much going on this week at all except picking up what I need for the 3 dozen Apple Pie Cupcakes I’m making for the Eagles Friday night dinner.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Still working on the same pile and issues :SIGH: Seems like for every one thing handled two more take its place.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I had the menu planned out through August and then a few snags came up and I just got through re-working it. I am in charge of 2 Friday night dinners (the first and the last Friday) at the Eagles in August. The first one will be BLT Chicken Pasta Salad with Honey Beer Bread and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Pudding. The last one is Tex Mex Bacon Cheeseburger Bake with Broccoli Coleslaw and Lemon Drop Cake.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We watched the Gray Man with Ryan Gosling which was far fetched, but okay.
AMAZON PRIME We watched the movie Ice Soldiers and started the series Star Trek Strange New Worlds
PARAMOUNT + OLD NewsRadio reruns, though we never saw it the first time through 😀 OLD Hot in Cleaveland reruns – just LOVE Betty White, OLD 3rd Rock From the Sun reruns which are just goofy, but fun.
CABLE On Saturday nights hubby and I watch really old SVENGOOLIE movies – even have a bowl of popcorn.This week was BRIDES OF DRACULA. FUN/DOCUMENTARY American Pickers, Mysteries of the Abandoned NASCAR, COOKING SHOWS – BBQ USA with Michael Symon, Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, Masterchef

I’m between reads since I finished the Charlotte Dean series that I REALLY enjoyed. I certainly hope there are more to come from that author. I have a pre-order that will arrive tomorrow on Kindle for Heather Webber’s In The Middle of Hickory Lane so am trying to hold off on starting anything new for now.

The kittens are getting so BIG and have become great little mousers, a much desired trait since we live on the edge of the highway. Mom is starting to look more like herself again too! She likes to eye the hummingbirds, but leaves them alone fortunately. I’ve never had so many hummingbirds that actually perch and sit still – so cute!

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	HOT HONEY PORK CHOPS & GRILLED POTATO CORN SALAD	GREEK CHICKEN & SALAD	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	COLA GLAZED PORK LOIN, PEROGIES & SALAD	CHICKEN & DRESSING BAKE with MUSHY PEAS	CHICKEN with TOMATO CREAM SAUCE, MASHED POTATOES & SNOW PEA SALAD	SONORAN CLAM CHOWDER & CHEESY SNACKS
DESSERT		CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BUNDT CAKE

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 29 of 2022 with RECIPE LINKS & MENU PLANS

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

It was a really productive weekend here. I got a surprise call late Friday morning and the sprinkler guy who was supposed to be calling me to schedule an appointment was able to show up a couple weeks early and same day! He was here for several hours and was able to fix one part of a 2 or 3 part problem and while we still have a problem he was able to rule out several other potential issues.

It’s been toasty here, but only for a few hours a day. We’ve been cooling off really well at night so I have no real complaints. 😀

I know I’m tired of feeling this way, so you’re tired of hearing it, but I’m constantly worried about everything going on in the world 🙁 I just pray and pray for things to turn around and soon. Breakfast is a never changing palette for me so guess what I’m having this morning? You got it, Hot water and yogurt 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Completely up to date – can’t say that often! I even did a major clean on the oven.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby and I need to make a run to the transfer station to get rid of some junk. We each have appointments this week so I will get the few errands done when we are in town for those. We are laying low the next couple weeks. COVID cases are on the rise here (AGAIN), people are back to mask wearing with the threat of it being mandatory soon AND with the World Athletic Championships just up the road a ways from us there are a lot of unknowns in town so we’re playing the BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY card and avoiding ALL unknowns.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Still whittling down my pile, BUT LOL it seems like 2 things replace every one I get finished!
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Still working on August and am now also providing 2 meals and a dessert for the Eagles next month. Each of those are for 40 people. So, I made a few samples (Tex Mex bacon cheeseburger bake, chicken BLT pasta salad, snap pea coleslaw, honey beer bread, apple pie cupcakes, chocolate chip banana bread pudding and chocolate macaroons) this past weekend for a friend who will be helping me to sample.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

PRIME WHITE SKY, JURASSIC PARK FALLEN – getting ready to see WORLD DOMINION
PARAMOUNT+ STAR TREK DISCOVERY, NEWS RADIO, HOT IN CLEVELAND, THE NANNY, 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN
CABLE NASCAR, COOKING SHOWS – FOOD TRUCK RACE, BEACH BRAWL, GUY’S GROCERY GAMES, SUPERMARKET STAKE OUT and BEAT BOBBY FLAY and a few CHRISTMAS in JULY HALLMARK MOVIES

I didn’t get much reading accomplished last week and am still reading books 3 & 4 of Phillipa Nefri Clark’s Charlotte Dean mystery series.

The momma cat and kittens haven’t been around much, but made an appearance yesterday for a few hours. 😀 I could only get a few pictures though.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	We were going to have some SMOKEY WINGS but then we received a better offer for wine and BBQ on the neighbor’s deck 😀	SMOKEY WHISKEY WINGS, COLESLAW & DOWN HOME BAKED BEANS	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	STUFFED BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS & RANCH SLAW	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	HOT HONEY PORK CHOPS & GRILLED POTATO CORN SALAD	CHICKEN with TOMATO CREAM SAUCE, MASHED POTATOES & SALAD
DESSERT		LEMON DROP CAKE

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 28 of 2022 with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS

Today is going to be REALLY warm (for us), BUT, I will not complain! By comparison to the rest of the country it’s absolutely beautiful here!

I’m having so many conflicting feelings about EVERYTHING going on in the world these days! I keep thinking it all has to level out and life will go back to a relative normal, but then something new happens and I see those “normally” reasonable people around me are at each other snapping, arguing and disagreeing about the simplest of things… when will this merry go round stop so we can take a break?

Today will quite warm so I have no real intention of going outside much. Levis, bare feet and a favorite t-shirt is my attire. 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Everything is pretty clean and the laundry is done for now.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS Have an appointment in town tomorrow so am putting together my lists to get everything done at the same time. 😀
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Still working on a few things, but have made serious headway. 😀
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Beginning to research for lighter August meals and need to pull together a couple recipes for the Eagles Auxiliary meals and desserts.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We watched WILD CARD with Jason Stratham and AWAKE
CABLE Last week for the 4th we watched JAWS, INDEPENDENCE DAY and INDEPENDENCE DAY RESURGENCE. Svengoolie’s The Deadly Mantis is cued up as are cooking shows like The Food Truck Race, Beat Bobby Flay, Beachside Brawl and Supermarket Stakeout

I’m on books 3 & 4 of Phillipa Nefri Clark’s Charlotte Dean mystery series.

We were going to go to the annual Graffitti weekend car show last Saturday, but the event we were particularly interested in was moved from where it “usually” held to a smaller, hard to get to, lack of parking location and decided to forgo it for a picnic and hike along the river. The river is still quite high for this time of year and was absolutely gorgeous. The area is really beginning to bounce back from the Archie fire almost 2 years ago. We started with favorite sandwiches from the trading post. LOL I will still be eating my sandwich tomorrow!

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	GRILLED CHICKEN SPINACH ARTICHOKE PASTA BAKE	ENCHILADAS SUIZA & SALAD	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	SKILLET PASTA with VODKA SAUCE & SALAD	JALAPENO POPPER WONTON CUPS	SWEET & SOUR BRISKET and GRUYERE POTATO GRATIN	SHEET PAN PANCAKES
DESSERT		CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD PUDDING			LEMON DROP CAKE & NO CHURN ICE CREAM	COCONUT MACAROONS	PEACH COBBLER

TEX MEX BACON CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE
CORN SALSA SALAD
JALAPENO HONEY STICK WINGS

CRISPY CHEDDAR CHICKEN
BALSAMIC MOZZARELLA WATERMELON SALAD

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 27 of 2022

Happy 4th of July! It’s Independence Day! I hope you have something FUN planned for today. I also hope everyone stays safe if you are doing fireworks!

The weather has been absolutely beautiful!! I have ZERO complaints 😀

I’m really trying to take just one day at a time! I’m really happy that I have no where to go today and nothing to do that I don’t want to 🙂 We’re just going to hang out, do a little grilling and minimal cooking to make the potato salad and apple crisp for dinner.

Breakfast is my normal hot water and yogurt.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I was able to get everything accomplished on Sunday so we can just relax and play today. 🙂
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have my mammogram and a pedicure tomorrow so will try to get most errands and shopping accomplished between these 2 appointments. When I’m in town like that I would normally get a mini snack quesadilla and ice tea at Del Taco but, sadly it burnt down a few days ago in the middle of the night. 🙁 It’s so hard for me to eat out for lunch and that was one thing that agreed with me. 🙁
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I finished my quarterly “LIST” update that I’ve been doing along with Jean – you can find it here. Despite this being a shorter week I’m bound and determined to finish a pile on my desk that’s been getting shuffled around when other things have come to the forefront.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m good through July despite some last minute changes, but am starting to work on August. I had been putting off working on August, but since we’re pushing our trip to September I need to start thinking more seriously about it.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We watched quite a few on this streaming channel this past week. Back Trace with Sylvester Stallone, The Man From Toronto with Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart, The Do-Over with Adam Sandler and David Spade, The Mist based on a Stephen King story and Coin Heist
PRIME Killer Joe – not a favorite 🙁 though I love Matthew McConaughey normally.
CABLE Tried to watch Taxi Driver as I had never seen it and deleted it pretty quickly – not my kind of movie! Cooking shows, NASCAR

I’ve really been liking this Australian author Phillipa Nefri Clark and have started her Charlotte Dean Mystery Series. I’m just finishing Book #1 Deadly start and will follow up with #2 Deadly Falls. There are 5 in the series that take place over a year in time. The series is a follow up to the River’s End series I just finished.

Hubby and I took a painting class last Saturday and it wasn’t as easy as it looked like it would be! THIS IS CERTAINLY A WORK IN PROGRESS! Imagine an adirondack chair or two under the umbrella with a cooler and maybe a corona on top 😀 That was my original plan so we’re still a long ways off! I may start completely over and lose the clouds altogether!

AND A FUNNY 😀

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	GRILLED STEAKS, POTATO SALAD & APPLE HAND PIES	CHILI CHICKEN, POTATO SALAD AND MELON BALLS	STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC CHICKEN SALAD	PAPRIKA CHICKEN & SNAP PEA SALAD	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR OR YOUR ON YOUR OWN NIGHT	CHICKEN with TOMATO CREAM SAUCE, MASHED POTATOES & SALAD	BBQ PORK CHOPS, POTATO SALAD & MELON
DESSERT	GRANNY’S APPLE CRISP

CORN SALSA SALAD
GARLIC BUTTER PARSLEY CHICKEN
WINE MARINATED FROZEN GRAPES
BUFFALO CHICKEN MUFFINS or MEATBALLS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY and MENU PLANS week 26 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

I had a busy and productive weekend despite the heatwave that descended on us this past week. Yesterday I volunteered at the Eagles cooking and serving brunch for new members and brainstorming with a friend on some new recipe ideas. I also got some indoor chores accomplished.

I hate to be the bearer of this news, but we are officially at the midway mark for 2022 and Christmas is only 181 days from Christmas. Which also means we’re only 187 days from the new year, 2023.

We began a heatwave over the weekend and while it isn’t as horrible as so many others are experiencing everywhere else in the country and the world or as bad as the southern California desert when I was a kid, it did happen literally overnight for us! Last weekend I needed a jacket when we went to dinner with our niece and her boyfriend. We went from early spring type temperatures to summer temperatures hitting triple digits yesterday in literally just days. We’re slated for the low to mid 90’s with lots of sunshine yet today and then it will incrementally drop back into the 70’s by next weekend. At least there’s no humidity to speak of. 😀

Mt heart hurts. 🙁 I don’t normally get political in these posts. I’m all about personal space and people doing what is right for themselves.

Personally, I DO NOT believe in abortion, BUT it is NOT my place to decide what is right for anyone else and in what instance! You can be both PRO LIFE and PRO CHOICE. So I don’t think the government (federal or state) having the control to make that decision for them is a good thing either. It’s a personal choice between a woman, her family and her doctor – there are too many gray areas…. We do not live in other people’s lives or bodies. I have enough trouble making the right decisions for myself… As a woman I can see the potential for so many other issues that women have been fighting against for so many years…

But! No matter your religious, moral or ethical beliefs… This isn’t ONLY about abortion…

Government control over personal rights and how you act/react on YOUR PERSONAL religious, moral or ethical beliefs… The biggest point to be had in the events from this week is that this is only the beginning of an agenda and that it opens MANY, MANY doors… doors that COULD send us spiraling backwards in society on soooooooooo many levels.

Between the political upheaval, COVID, earthquakes, floods, massive heat waves, spiraling economy and inflation… I PRAY we see relief from all of these things, but more importantly that people wake up and realize that we are NOT in control here and need to act accordingly… As I said, my heart just hurts 🙁

You guessed it 😀 … Hot water and peach yogurt.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Finished the laundry over the ungodly hot weekend while staying indoors.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a small list for this week, but will work it in with a doctor appointment this afternoon. I also have a painting class Saturday afternoon and have convinced hubby to tag along and do a date night.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I need to update the quarterly follow-up for the yearly list I’m doing along with Jean to post on Friday. I’m finishing up a few pieces of correspondence that need followed up on also.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are done through July, but would like to find some fresh salads and new dressings/vinaigrettes for August.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX Maze Runner – The Cure
DISNEY+ Doctor Strange Multiverse, FREE GUY with Ryan Reynolds
CABLE NASCAR races, Cooking Shows, The Haunting and a REALLY old black and white called Down Three Dark Streets with Broderick Crawford and HIGH SIERRA with Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino

I finished the River’s End series and am reading Last Known Contact by the same author. I’m really enjoying her.

There are many photos I could post here, but today is and always will be a tough day for me as it is the anniversary of my dad’s death. He was gone WAY TOO young and has been for WAY TOO long now 🙁 so instead I’m posting this old favorite of mine that was taking many years before I was even born.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	ENCHILADAS SUIZA	BBQ CHICKEN & CORN SALSA SLAW	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	CHILI & CORNBREAD	CHICKEN COBB SALAD & TWISTY ROLLS	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	BUFFALO CHICKEN MEATBALLS & HOT SLAW
DESSERT						BROWNIES?

OVEN BAKED CHICKEN & RICE with GRAVY
CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN THIGHS
BBQ MEATBALLS & BACON CHEDDAR BAKED POTATOES

TEX MEX BACON CHEESEBURGER BAKE
GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN
SHEET PAN SWEET & SPICY BBQ CHICKEN
WINE MARINATED FROZEN GRAPES
TOMATO CUCUMBER SALAD

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY and MENU PLANS week 25 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 am loving the weather we’ve been having (mid 50’s over the weekend), but hope to actually have some late spring weather (70’s and 80’s) this week. Weather.com says we will, but they have been saying that the past several weeks without materializing and then things change and we end up cloudy and much cooler than expected. So, I’ll believe it when I see it.

I’m trying to concentrate on finishing some long overdo projects, but things seem to keep popping up that delay the progress!

This is just a sad 🙁 category for me as it NEVER seems to be able to change 🙁 Hot water and cherry yogurt again this morning.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m as up to date as can be since laundry is a never ending thing… 😀
GROCERIES & ERRANDS No appointments per se this week, so will put together a small list and make a run to town one day later in the week.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have a stack that I’m bound and determined to get through this week.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are planned through the middle of July and then I’ll do a freezer inventory and plan for the next 6 weeks. Grocery costs have me streamlining many things.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We watched INTERCEPTOR which was pretty good and RED NOTICE which was super fun with DWAYNE JOHNSON and RYAN REYNOLDS. I can’t wait for sequels 2 & 3 which are already in the works. We also started SPIDERHEAD with CHRIS HEMSWORTH, but it was slow moving and we moved on… POWER OF THE DOG was just weird too so stopped about halfway through.
CABLE MASTERCHEF, ON THE ROAD WITH GUY FIERI, GREAT AMERICAN FOOD TRUCK RACE, BEAT BOBBY FLAY, GIRL MEETS FARM, AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR, THE CHASE, NASCAR

I’m on the 4th in Phillipa Nefri Clark’s River’s End series, The Christmas Key.

The flowers are perking up a bit more with the roses finally making an appearance. We’ve still been having really cool weather – mind you I’m not complaining as I know most of the country would give anything for it – but things are just now blooming that should have bloomed months ago so the veggie garden will be iffier this year. I’m hoping this week is as warm as they say it will be and I think the flowering plants will really take off. Oh, and the color of these Calla Lillies – I’m in love!

And the kittens are still as adorable as can be! They make a Mosh Pit at night in one of the patio chairs – it’s so cute!

I had fun at the flag day class, but will probably do a few more touch ups.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	BBQ MEATBALLS & BACON CHEDDAR BAKED POTATOES	CHICKEN SCAMPI & SALAD	STUFFED SHELLS & TOMATO CUCUMBER SALAD	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT/YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	TEX MEX BACON CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE	GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN & SCALLOPED POTATOES	CHICKEN BLT CASSEROLE and SALAD
DESSERT		COBBLER of some sort

CHERRY CRUMBLE BARS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY and MENU PLANS week 24 of 2022

I love doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively. It helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week ahead, but it also gives me a sense of accomplishment and hope. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

We had a super rainy weekend so we missed the car show on Saturday that we had been planning on attending. They had already rescheduled it from last weekend and then this weekend was even worse. Only a about a dozen cars even showed up! The temperature has also dropped back down to the high 50’s. Unfortunately, it was also the city wide garage sale weekend. Hopefully, most people will be able to do next weekend instead so all their hard work preparing all year doesn’t go to waste.

I helped out on dinner service at the Eagles Friday night when someone failed to show up. I also spent quite a bit of time reading and working on cleaning out photo files. So for that reason 😀 BIG WARNING – today is a little photo heavy 😀

The rest of the week is supposed to be partly sunny, but still lower temperatures which is fine by me! I’m a BIG believer in the whole “a butterfly flaps its wings” theory which makes me think much of this is a result of the quadruple trip around the globe that the aftermath of the underwater volcano in Tonga took last January.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is up to date after the rainy weekend. I tried to get all the chores done while stuck inside in hopes of a better weather week and working outside a bit.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a painting class on Tuesday evening so will work my errands into the afternoon to avoid using more gas than necessary!!!!
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS As always have a few irons in the fire and waiting on some resolutions, and will end up having to write some letters regarding simple issues that aren’t being resolved internally because of inefficiency on the organizations part.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I just haven’t been feeling really adventurous lately 🙁

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We started watching the series Lincoln Lawyer and it’s pretty good, but I think I really enjoyed the movie more with Matthew McConaughey.
PRIME The Tender Bar was a really cute movie. We also finished watching season 1 of Night Sky with Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons. Hubby had never seen Conspiracy Theory with Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson so we rented that one rainy evening.
CABLE I’m ALMOST finished catching up with season finales from while we were gone. I also have several movies and cooking shows to catch up on.

I finished the StationMasters Cottage which was book 1 in the series. I actually enjoyed the Australian lean to the writing and have moved on to the Jasmine Sea, book 2 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark.

Those of you who also follow me on Instagram know that I have a thing for #RailArt or #TrainGraffitti and that living in this small #LumberTown in the country where the train tracks actually run right through the middle of town affords me a multitude of those pictures a couple times a day 😀 I finally found one that is not only truly legible, but funny too!

Here are the 3 whole shots I got of the car show. You’ll also notice I got them through the window as we didn’t even get out because it started raining REALLY hard! I can’t believe how late all the flowers are blooming this year. The weather has been so very strange!!!!!!! Fortunately there was an almost sunny day where I was able to snap a few good pictures. The nasturiums are looking pretty good considering they like the warm sunny weather that we are NOT having. And the johnny jump ups as well as the oxalis (purple shamrocks) are loving being combined with the humming bird vine. Even the poppies and clematis are doing well without a ton of sunshine. I’m still most impressed with the calla lillies. I also loved this garden spider with his dinner.

Do you remember the feral cats that adopted us last winter? Well, they have had kittens. Adorable kittens! I’ve named them Callie, Soot, Sonny Jr. and mini Boots. I’m actively trying to find them homes. They are just so dang adorable! Callie was playing Whack-A-Mole with Soot and mini Boots as they hid in the cinder block and kept popping up and down. 😀 They are just so adorable that I cannot stop taking pictures hoping to catch doing something else cute.

	MONDAY 6/13	TUESDAY 6/14	WEDNESDAY 6/15	THURSDAY 6/16	FRIDAY 6/17	SATURDAY 6/18	SUNDAY 6/19
DINNER	LIME CILANTRO SKILLET CHICKEN	Y.O.Y.O. you’re on your own I have a painting class	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	PEANUT BUTTER BURGERS, CORN on the COB & MACARONI SALAD	OVEN BAKED CHICKEN & RICE	PIZZA BOATS & SALAD	SMOKED CHICKEN WINGS
DESSERT			Yummy Lemon Blueberry Lush was REALLY good, but won’t hold up to up to the summer evening dinner for the EAGLES so now it will be cherry bars.		CHERRY BARS

CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA
ARROZ con POLLO con QUESO

CHERRY BARS
CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN
CAJUN RICE & PORK CHOPS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 23 of 2022

Good morning sweet friends. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and have a stress free week ahead of you!

It’s going to be another one of those weird weeks of truly uncertain weather. This forecast has changed a half dozen times since I first looked at it last night 😀 As always, Levis and a comfy 3/4 sleeve t shirt are winning the battle along with my most comfy POP’s 😀

Hot water, baby food squeeze and a banana

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Been working on a water leak problem with hubby and it’s leading to a few side projects 😀 The laundry is up to date though!!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have an ophthalmologist appointment later this week which I know is going to be expensive because I also NEED new sunglasses this year.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I did accomplish 1 large project, but have a few others to finish this week though today is already shot and so is Thursday so I’m hoping Tuesday and Wednesday will be super productive!
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I haven’t made much progress on the end of June, but will try and do that this week.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

AMAZON We started a new series called Night Sky with Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons
NETFLIX The BIG Wheel – an old Mickey Rooney film
PRIME Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
CABLE Hatari! an old John Wayne movie, NASCAR, FEAR the Walking Dead, a bunch of cooking shows and I’m still working on catching up with my normal seasonal shows and the season finales as well as a couple Hallmark movies.

I’m still reading The Stationmaster’s Cottage (#1 Rivers End) by Phillipa Nefri Clark – it’s a little deeper than the summer romances I was reading, but I REALLY like it and will seek out other titles by this “new to me” author.

I put it aside to keep working on Hopefully Matched #3 in an Alaska Matchmakers Romance series by Cathryn Brown.

Next up is A Fire Sparkling by Julianne Maclean

My calla lillies are FINALLY blooming even if it’s months late!

	MONDAY 6/6	TUESDAY 6/7	WEDNESDAY 6/8	THURSDAY 6/9	FRIDAY 6/10	SATURDAY 6/11	SUNDAY 6/12
DINNER	SOY MOLASSES SALMON & CHARRED CORN	PIZZA BOATS and SALAD	Y.O.Y.O. C.O.R.N. YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	STEAK CAMPFIRE PACKS & SALAD	GRILLED LEMONADE CHICKEN with RICE PILAF	SMOKED CHICKEN WINGS & SALAD	Y.O.Y.O. C.O.R.N. YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
DESSERT		LEMON BLUEBERRY LUSH	The Lemon Blueberry Lush is a work in progress for the Eagle’s Friday night dinner next week.

LEMON BLUEBERRY LUSH
CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 22 of 2022

I LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday extensively as it really 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

Today may be a holiday, but I’m looking forward to getting back to a regular routine with this first week of June. I CANNOT believe this year is almost half over already! I am trying to get around to visit everyone, but GOOGLE keeps signing me out and lets me sign back in, but not stay signed in. On some of your pages it isn’t letting me comment at all, but know I’ve visited and wish you all well and hope you have a fantastic week!

This past weekend brought us a surprise WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY and some much needed rain, a little hail and even a short lived snow flurry! YEP, you read that right – the weather has been SOOOOOOOOOOO weird lately! A local lake campground that is normally full for this holiday weekend had to cancel half their reservations because of the snow we had 6 weeks ago didn’t melt in time for the holiday weekend. Our neighbors who went to a different campground (like they do every year) came home on Sunday morning because they were so miserable from the cold wet weather, and they were’ in a snug and warm trailer. 😀

Despite that, it looks like it will be a bit drab this week with overcast muggy weather, but NOT excessively warm which I do appreciate!

THERE ARE JUST NO WORDS for everything that is going on in our world 🙁 My thoughts and prayers go out to ALL who are suffering and experiencing loss 🙁

Hot water and peach yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING We never go anywhere over holiday weekends so have been home and am all caught up.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I went last Thursday before the holiday weekend so need very little his week, but will be making a run to Kohl’s (an hour and a half away) later in the week and take my mom shopping.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have a few things that need to be finished up and mailed this week that will hopefully bring some closure to some long term things that were postponed by COVID.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are made through mid June, but I’m hoping to find some light and fun recipes for the end of June and July.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX In the Line of Duty
PRIME Being the Ricardos and The last 2 episodes of Outer Range – it was really strange and I’m sorry I wasted so much time on it.
SIL’S HOUSE We saw quite a few movies while we were at SIL’s house and I can’t begin to tell you what stations – the movie UP which was ADORABLE!, Midnight Run, FRAILTY, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Drinking Buddies which was sooooooooooooo dumb, The Last Time I Saw Paris and a couple other old black and white movies that for the life of me names have escaped me 😀
CABLE I need to get caught up on all the season finales that occurred while we were at the family reunion. We did watch all the NASCAR races and HATARI! over the rainy weekend. I also saw the last several BULL episodes of the series and caught up on children’s MasterChef.

The Stationmaster’s Cottage (#1 Rivers End) by Phillipa Nefri Clark

I’m going to finish editing photos today, but here are a couple of favorites. Castle lake was so pretty and perfectly clear. This tree and it’s knothole called to me 😀 I can’t believe there was still so much snow in late May!

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	PAPRIKA RUBBED CHICKEN & MARINATED BEAN SALAD	BEEF TIPS & GRAVY over MASHED POTATOES	OUT	OVEN BAKED CHICKEN and RICE	CAJUN CHICKEN ALFREDO and SALAD	SKILLET CHICKEN con QUESO and SALAD
DESSERT		BUTTERMILK FUDGE BROWNIE CAKES

SAMOA CHEESECAKE
CRANBERRY APPLE SLAB PIE
MEXICAN STREET CORN CHOWDER
PAN SEARED CHICKEN with WALNUT CREAM SAUCE
RED CABBAGE SALAD with BAKED CHERRIES, APPLES & ALMOND DUKKAH

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 21 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

This will be super abbreviated today. We’re still traveling through tomorrow and getting an early start at parks, waterfall visits and hikes today. We stopped at a local store and picked up salami, cheese, crackers and fruit for a box lunch on the trail today.

It’s supposed to be gorgeous here today – mid 70’s and a light breeze. We were up at the 7,000 foot mark yesterday though and it was more breezy and quite chilly, so I’m layering in my comfiest Levi’s, a tank, a favorite lightweight flannel and hiking boots.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I did most of the laundry from the trip at SIL’s house, but will have a week’s worth from the trip home along with the sheets and towels from before we left.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a pedicure on Thursday and will put together a grocery and errand list before I go.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have a few things from before the trip that need to be handled this week.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Your guess is as good as mine 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX ?? We did start the new Lincoln Lawyer series in the hotel last night and think we will like it.
PRIME ??
DISNEY+ ??
DISCOVERY + ??
CABLE Everything from the last 3 weeks on the DVR

I finished the girl from Channel Islands finally and need to move on to something much lighter so I began Mystic Falls, A Coyote Wells Mystery by Vickie McKeehan

Here’s where we were yesterday 😀 after we left Lassen Volcanic National park – More pictures to come later 😀

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	OUT	OUT	??	??	??	??	??
DESSERT		*

Category: HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY