Category: 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

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

• GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN
• WINE MARINATED FROZEN GRAPES
• BUFFALO CHICKEN MUFFINS/MEATBALLS

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

• CRISPY CHEDDAR CHICKEN
  
• BALSAMIC MOZZARELLA WATERMELON SALAD
  

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

• BUTTERMILK FUDGE BROWNIE CAKES
• CALABRIAN CHILE TOMATO SAUCE

• STRAWBERRY CAKE
• VOODOO CHICKEN POMODORO 
• ITALIAN CHICKEN & NOODLES
  

• 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

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		*

• LIMONCELLO
• BLENDED 5 CHEESE PASTA
• MEATBALL POTATO GRATIN

Normally 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 the upcoming week, but this week will be abbreviated due to vacation time and enjoying the wonderful weather. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Here’s a little funny for you to think about while I finish my vacation:

Hot water and black cherry yogurt

I’m still reading (just been too tired to get very far at night) The Girl from Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat that is inspired by true events. It’s the story of a young Jewish woman trapped on the occupied island of Jersey during World War II. I love historical novels based on WWII so have high hopes for this book.

We were a small group (about half) this year, but I still literally have thousands of images to edit, but here are a couple of favorites.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	SIL’S CHOICE	SIL’S CHOICE	SIL’S CHOICE	SIL’S CHOICE	?? ON THE ROAD	?? ON THE ROAD	?? ON THE ROAD

• FIRECRACKER MEATBALLS
• BAKED FRENCH ONION RICE
• CORN STUFFED PORK CHOPS
• GARLIC BROWN SUGAR CHICKEN

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 cold an rainy when we left home last Thursday, beautiful when we arrived here on Friday and not bad on Saturday. It turned SUPER windy and cold yesterday and is supposed to be in the 50’s and windy until we head down to the family reunion on Wednesday where it will be glorious!

Traveling is really hard for me and I have had a couple reactions, but ALL and ALL I’m doing pretty well, but keeping it simple with so much eating out. I’m also quite concerned about staying safe and well while traveling with COVID cases on the rise again. I’m quite worried that the current surge seems to have mutated making the vaccines less efficient.

HOT water and strawberry yogurt with some FRESH cherries we picked up at a roadside stand yesterday.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING – NONE I’m on vacation 😀 GROCERIES & ERRANDS Wednesday we will arrive in town for the family reunion and will do all our shopping for the weekend. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS – NONE I’m on vacation 😀 RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING – NONE I’m on vacation 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

whatever SIL decides 😀

I’m reading The Girl from Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat that is inspired by true events. It’s the story of a young Jewish woman trapped on the occupied island of Jersey during World War II. I love historical novels based on WWII so have high hopes for this book.

I’ll have to do a post later with pictures from our overall trip, but for now I’m enjoying being at SIL’s house enjoying the country 😀 Here are some of her frogs, frog pond, honey bees, garden, flowers

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	CHAMISAL tennis club with nephew and his wife	Leftovers from last night’s dinner at The Whaling Station on Cannery Row	somewhere in SOLVANG with a different nephew and his family	cafe at the resort	FAMILY STREET TACO NIGHT at FAMILY REUNION	FAMILY REUNION POTLUCK – we’re bringing a 7 salad platter and an antipasto platter	OUT on the way home
DESSERT		PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES FOR THE TRIP

• EVERETT STEW aka BRUNSWICK STEW
• PAN SEARED CHICKEN with SHERRY PAN SAUCE

 

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

Welcome to another Monday as we begin May already! Can you believe how this year is flying by?! I hope everyone had a great week and did something incredibly spring like. We’ve been doing more walking when possible. I have a lot to get done this week so will jump right into today’s post.

We leave Thursday morning to go to my sister-in-law’s house for several days before we take her to the family reunion next week. So, I decided to check out the weather for here and there and am VERY happy with the sunshine we’re going to find at her house!! Despite the distance (600 miles away) temperatures will be about the same so I’ll pack for layering, but at least it won’t be that “wet” kind of cold that gets into your bones that we have here.

Hot water and cherry yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a load of laundry to do before we leave on Thursday. I’m also packing in 3 bags to make the trip easier – 1 bag for the trip down, a larger one for being at SIL’s house (before and after) and another for the family reunion. Once we’re back at SIL’s I’ll do some laundry and pack the small one again for the trip home. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have a bit to finish up before Wednesday so I can get them mailed before we leave Thursday, but am ahead of the game for a change.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX I’m up to date on Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias, but am still working my way through Firefly Lane. PRIME Outer Range is getting a bit strange, but I still want to see where it goes. TUBI Saturday night Svengoolie had a horrible remake of Invaders from Mars on and hubby wanted to see the original which we found it on TUBI. When it was over The Goonies came on which was fun for a nostalgic Saturday night 😀 CABLE COOKING Spring Easter Baking, Masterchef Jr., Beat Bobby Flay and Grocery Games, DUFF, Girl Meets Farm CRIME DRAMAS Chicago series (Med, Fire & P.D.), NCIS (Original, L.A. & Hawaii), Bull, The Rookie, Law & Order (Original Remake and SVU), Magnum PI, Blue Bloods and FBI’s (Original, Most Wanted & International) COMEDIES Young Sheldon & Ghosts HALLMARK MOVIES When Calls the Heart DOCUMENTARIES Mysteries of the Abandoned SPORTS NASCAR

I’m started The Girl from Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat that is inspired by true events. It’s the story of a young Jewish woman trapped on the occupied island of Jersey during World War II. I love historical novels based on WWII so have high hopes for this book,

but I also like lighter reading at times and and The Book of Sorrel by Jennifer Peel is great for 15-20 minutes before I fall asleep 😀

We took a nice walk the other evening after the day’s rain and before the night’s rain and were rewarded with some really pretty scenery and beautiful flowers.

* NEW RECIPE	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	*BRUNSWICK STEW & HONEY ROLLS	*PATCHWORK SOUP & BUTTERMILK ROLLS	C.O.R.N Y.O.Y.O  clean out refrigerator night – you’re on your own	OUT somewhere ON THE ROAD	SIL CHOICE	SIL CHOICE	SIL CHOICE
DESSERT			BUTTERMILK BROWNIES TO TAKE SIL

• CHEESY ARTICHOKE CHICKEN
• HOT COLE SLAW and BBQ PULLED PORK SLIDERS
• SOY MARINATED STEAK TIP SALAD with HONEY POPPY SEED DRESSING
• GREEN CHILE CHICKEN MELTS / GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

• BUFFALO CHICKEN LASAGNA
• BUFFALO CHICKEN MEATLOAF
• CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS
  

• EVERETT STEW formerly known as BRUNSWICK STEW
  

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

We had a really nice weekend here. Got the patio furniture cleaned up and situated, watered all the new flowers that appear to be going to make it despite our late season snowstorm last week and the tomatoes I finally planted last week appear to be okay despite the weird weather!

We had an absolutely beautiful warm weekend with sunshine and temperatures in the high 70’s. This week though is starting cloudy and is supposed to be 15 degrees cooler than the weekend was with a couple days of rain. Welcome to spring in the Pacific Northwest. 😀

We’re getting ready to go to our annual family reunion and the uncertainty of the weather makes it tough pack 😀 I always pack in layers, but LOL inevitably wish I had something I didn’t bring.

Hot water & cherry yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I got most the laundry done over the weekend, but will have a load or two by the end of the week. GROCERIES & ERRANDS Need to get the oil changed before our trip next week, get the tires rotated and hubby needs a haircut. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have a few things that I need to get done before we leave, but I made a huge dent in the pile yesterday. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Not planning past next week as we’ll be leaving for our annual family reunion, where menus are primarily SIL’s domain in May 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We watched EAGLE EYE that was quite good, BLUE MIRACLE with Dennis Quaid that was based on a true story and also quite good. And we started a new series that we may or may not stick with called YAKAMOZ 2-345 PRIME We watched 2 more episodes of OUTER RANGE DISNEY+ We watched The Eternals – I normally enjoy MARVEL movies, but this one was quite long and kept jumping back and forth thousands of years to tell the story so was a bit hard to follow at times. I also re-watched Hawkeye with hubby one evening as he’d not seen it yet. CABLE COOKING Spring Easter Baking, Masterchef Jr., Beat Bobby Flay and Grocery Games CRIME DRAMAS Chicago series (Med, Fire & P.D.), NCIS (Original, L.A. & Hawaii), Bull, The Rookie, Law & Order (Original Remake and SVU), Magnum PI, Blue Bloods and FBI’s (Original, Most Wanted & International) COMEDIES Young Sheldon & Ghosts HALLMARK MOVIES When Calls the Heart DOCUMENTARIES Mysteries of the Abandoned SPORTS NASCAR

I’m just starting The Girl from Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat that is inspired by true events. It’s the story of a young Jewish woman trapped on the occupied island of Jersey during World War II. I love historical novels based on WWII so have high hopes for this book.

The local pond is still much higher than normal. This area is right next to the road and the “no trespassing” sign is usually standing about a foot out of water.

On Friday I went to a quilt show at the fair grounds and these are a few of my favorites.

*NEW RECIPES	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	*BEEF & POTATO CASSEROLE	ENCHILADAS SUIZA & SALAD	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	*STEAK TIP SALAD & BUTTERMILK ROLLS	*BBQ PORK SANDWICHES & COLESLAW	*BRUNSWICK STEW & BISCUITS	BEEF STROGANOFF & GREEN BEANS
DESSERT		*BUTTERMILK BROWNIES

• RED RICE & BEANS
• 5 CHEESE PASTA
• JELLY DONUTS

• CHEESEBURGER HAMBURGER HELPER NOT
• ZEBRA CAKE
• CAJUN HONEY SALMON & SHRIMP
  

• BAKED FRENCH ONION RICE
• CHEESY ARTICHOKE CHICKEN

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 hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday! Ours was simple and quiet.The weather was still quite cool and was hopefully our last night of freezing weather because I REALLY need to get the tomato starters in the ground OUTSIDE because they are actually flowering and outgrowing to shoe box.

I made glazed ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, honey glazed carrots and homemade lemon curd and sour cherry jelly donuts. We delivered several of those to a friend who had to work today.

Maybe, just maybe, the weather is going to return to spring around here 😀 daytime in the 50’s and nighttime in the 40’s (mostly) and WET! I’m hoping to get the tomatoes moved from the shoe box on the kitchen table to the garden this week.

I’d been wishing I hadn’t packed away the heavier winter coats, but layers seem to be working for now. One day last week I actually had on 4 sweatshirts during the snow storm 🙂

Hot water & cherry yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Deep clean is done, but have a load or two of laundry to do and a bit of vacuuming. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a booster for my booster today and will pick up a few groceries at that time. I also have a hair appointment later in the week. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are made through the month.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV    If spring ever gets here, I’ll be outside more and watch less TV

NETFLIX MOVIES Spenser Confidential, Hudson Hawk – how did I not see this when it was new all those years ago? SHOWS I’m finishing the most recent season of Virgin River and just began the first season of Firefly Lane PRIME Started the new series Outer Range – we’ll see where it goes DISNEY+ I watched season 1 of Hawkeye CABLE COOKING Tournament of Champions, Spring Easter Baking, Masterchef Jr., Beet Bobby Flay and Grocery Games CRIME DRAMAS Chicago series (Med, Fire & P.D.), NCIS (Original, L.A. & Hawaii), Bull, Law & Order (Original Remake and SVU), Magnum PI, Blue Bloods and FBI’s (Original, Most Wanted & International) COMEDIES Young Sheldon & Ghosts and we’re trying the new How We Roll HALLMARK MOVIES When Calls the Heart DOCUMENTARIES Mysteries of the Abandoned SPORTS NASCAR, Football

I just finished books #1 Return to Sender and #2 In Name Only and I’m about to start Jennifer Peel’s Silent Partner, book #3 in the Pine Falls series

We had a strange springtime snow storm last week! Made for a strange trip to town in April.

*NEW RECIPES	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	*CHICKEN SPAGHETTI	CHICKEN NEW ORLEANS	*CHICKEN PAPRIKASH	*PORK CHOPS with TOMATOES and BAKED FRENCH ONION RICE	*MEXICAN BEAN PATCHWORK SOUP & BISCUITS	*CHILI CHICKEN	*CHEESY ARTICHOKE CHICKEN
DESSERT		*BUTTERMILK BROWNIES

• CHICKEN RAMEN IN SHOYU BROTH
• LIMONCELLO CAKE
• CALABRIAN CHILE CHICKEN PASTA

• PAN SEARED CHICKEN with TARRAGON THYME SHERRY PAN SAUCE
• CHIPOTLE CHICKEN
• ONION SALISBURY STEAK
  

• JELLY DONUTS

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

Hello there. I hope you all had a good week and spring has taken hold in your neck of the woods 😀 unlike here. I’m in spring cleaning mode myself trying to wait out mother nature 🙂

I found this funny on Facebook, but it fits so well! It has been a REALLY strange week – record heat (it was 88 last Thursday), wind, rain, hail, snow! And it looks like it isn’t over yet. That “S” word is still in the mix though it won’t be anything that sticks, but it’s still freezing almost every night. This time last year I had the garden planted and it was doing well. This year the starters are outgrowing the aero garden and yearning to go outside to play 🙂 I just hope the flower seeds I did plant when it got warm do make it.

Theraflu and cherry yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Just a couple loads of laundry, a bit of ironing and general cleaning this week. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need a few last minute things for Easter dinner and will make a run to town later this week after I get all my scraps of paper into a single list 😀 PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Roofers will be here Monday FINALLY to finish repairs that began months ago! Dishwahser repairman will be here Tuesday – what a hassle using a warranty is when you’re not in a big city! RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Looking for some lighter spring recipes, but not getting too crazy until after we get back from the family reunion in May.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX Captain Nova DISNEY+ Hawkeye CABLE Cooking shows: Tournament of Champions, Spring Easter Baking, Masterchef Jr., Beet Bobby Flay and Grocery Games Crime Dramas: Chicago series (Med, Fire & P.D.), NCIS (Original, L.A. & Hawaii), Bull, Law & Order (Original Remake and SVU), Magnum PI, Blue Bloods and FBI’s (Original, Most Wanted & International) Comedies: Young Sheldon & Ghosts and we’re trying the new How We Roll Hallmark/Movies: A Royal Runway Romance and When Calls the Heart Documentaries: Mysteries of the Abandoned

I finished Jana Deleon’s Flame & Fortune, book #22 of the Miss Fortune series – just a fun read. Hubby even enjoys the audibles when we travel. And I have begun In Name Only by Jennifer Peel – book #2 in her series and have The Girl From Channel Islands, a WWII historical novel by Jenny LeCoat waiting in the wings that I can’t wait to get to.

I had a painting class last week for a spring picture. I still want to do some tweaks and layers, but I’m pretty happy with it.

I also started a Ukranian Art in a Box painting and am doing many, many layers to finish it. I have just begun the yellow layers. The studio is donating the proceeds to a family living out of a bomb shelter.

And then the next night hubby and I took a Ricotta Cheese making class at a local winery and had a delicious Italian meal of Crispy Pinwheel Hot Jelly Ricotta appetizers, Garlic Bread, Salad, Lasagna and Raspberry Almond Ricotta Cake made with it.

And what do you do on a cold and rainy afternoon? Play Mexican train of course 😀

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	CALABRIAN CHILE CHICKEN PASTA	HOT HONEY GLAZED PORK CHOPS	SEARED STEAKS WITH SOY GLAZE	C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT	CHICKEN SPAGHETTI & HOT HOUSE SALAD	CHEESY ARTICHOKE CHICKEN & 5 CHEESE PASTA	GLAZED HAM STEAKS, SCALLOPED POTATOES, GLAZED CARROTS
DESSERT		APPLE CRUMBLE for a friend’s birthday		LIMONCELLO CAKE

• BAKED GRILLED CHEESE
• BLACKENED ORANGE ROUGHY
• GRASSHOPPER CHEESECAKE BARS

• CARNE ASADA
• CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE
• BAKED PINEAPPLE SALMON
  

• SWEET & SOUR BRISKET
• CALABRIAN CHILE CHICKEN PASTA