HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 12 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.79

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

Spring is supposed to start tomorrow. I think mother nature forgot. Our weather while it is supposed to be rainy is NOT supposed to be still forecasting bouts of snow. I keep hoping I’ll wake up and realize it’s all an early April fool’s joke 😀

Since I made the cute little graphic above, the weather has changed to plain old snow only for next weekend and ALL out RAIN on Friday 🙁

EXHAUSTED is the only way to describe how I feel. I have truly been burning the candle at both ends and have worn myself out. I took the weekend to try and recharge by going to bed a bit earlier and sleep a bit longer in order to recharge. The estate sale I’ve been helping with should be over soon and our own garage sale being over will help A LOT! There is also a resurgence of COVID in our little town amongst many people we know and associate with so I have been laying low to avoid contact. Fortunately, I hadn’t had any recent serious contact with those who currently have it and will go out of my way to avoid close contact with just about everyone for awhile.

I’m still battling the technology fix to catch up with BLOG 365. The missing posts are being recreated, but it’s a slow go. I’m hoping to be caught up by next week. I’m missing only 4 posts, but they seem to be taking forever to recreate.

Hot water and black cherry yogurt

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ve been finishing up the sorting and pricing for next weekend’s garage sale and the laundry is all caught up.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS This category is still a work in progress
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS a few unfinished things that I may push off until next week after the garage sale.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING This is a serious work in progress category 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE We watched HUD with Paul Newman and Patricia Neal on TCM along with NASCAR and Tournament of Champions. I’m hoping to catch up on the DVR this next week.

Just about to finish up book #24 of Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series and will then start Kirsten Proby’s Cauldron’s Call.

MONDAY 3/20
TUESDAY 3/21
WEDNESDAY 3/22
THURSDAY 3/23
FRIDAY 3/24
SATURDAY 3/25
SUNDAY 3/26
DINNER
 ARROZ VERDE co POLLO and SALAD
 THREE CUP BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN
ENCHILADA MEATBALLS and RICE
 PB&J PORK SLIDERS with PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COLESLAW
 BUFFALO CHICKEN EGG ROLLS & COLESLAW
 BUFFALO MACARONI & CHEESE BITES and SALAD
PEASANT SKILLET with BUTTER SWIM BISCUITS
DESSERT
 
 LEMON RICOTTA CAKE
 

Despite more cold and even a bit of snow in the forecast later this week, these daffodils are pushing up in hopes Spring really will start tomorrow.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 11 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.72

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

You guessed it – still cold and even predicting a bit of snow tomorrow. Last Saturday was chilly, but BEAUTIFUL and then woke up yesterday to gray, foggy, rainy and low temps again. This week is supposed to be all over the place!

I try and remind myself of this every day! I’m actually feeling pretty good despite all the extra work and stress in my life lately. I think my blog/server/email issues are all resolved and with minimal disruption and only a lost post or two. I did however lose all your sweet comments from last week. At least I was able to read them before they disappeared.

Hubby’s appointment last week for a second opinion went pretty much how we expected, but we REALLY like the new doctor A LOT! AND we are a lot more comfortable with the new treatment plan.

The remainder of the week was spent working on the estate sale that began on Friday. Friday and Saturday went well despite the vultures who showed up an hour early! Both days were NON-STOP!! Yesterday was a welcome relief of a little down time to play catch up at home.

Some hot water, peach yogurt and a banana.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Despite being so busy I am actually caught up on the laundry and dishes, but do need to vacuum.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS It’s supposed to rain all day today, but I’m hoping to get the groceries and errands done today if possible.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I made a BIG dent last night in a pile last night. Hopefully I’ll get to it again tonight.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I was lucky to get a plan made for this week and a list for the groceries to match, but have a stack of recipe to sit and go through if I can find a quiet time to make a month’s worth of menu planning later this week.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE The only thing we watch last week was a NASCAR race and an old DVR recording of CASABLANCA and SKYJACKED on TCM. I’m really hoping things begin slowing down so I can catch up on what on the DVR.

I’m still reading book #24 of Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series, but have been way too tired to even read at night.

Oh my, the past several weeks have LITERALLY been non-stop and ALL menu plans went right out the window! We ended up eating out many times or making sandwiches or C.O.R.N. on the fly. So let’s try this again!!!!!

MONDAY 3/13
TUESDAY 3/14
WEDNESDAY 3/15
THURSDAY 3/16
FRIDAY 3/17
SATURDAY 3/18
SUNDAY 3/19
DINNER
 APPLE CIDER PORK CHOPS with CRISPY SMASHED HERBED POTATOES
 RUSTIC MAC & CHEESES or BUFFALO  MAC & CHEESE BITES
MEATLOAF with PEAS & POTATOES
 BEEF & BLACK BEAN SOUP with YEAST ROLLS
 CORNED BEEF with POTATOES & CARROTS of course
 CHICKEN FRANCESE
PEASANT SKILLET with PARMESAN RANCH ROLLS
DESSERT
 rustic caramel apple tart
 
chocolate malt krispies
 grasshopper brownies for the Saint Patrick’s Day bake sale at the Eagles
dulce de leche & cinnamon sandwich cookies

I didn’t even have time to take pictures last week because things were soooooo non stop!

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY and MENU PLANS week 10 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.65

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

Spring is only 2 weeks away, but NOT here! The geese that flew over yesterday were actually headed south! The snow started early, changed to rain and then back to snow and then sleet. The afternoon hail was the size of large grapes! The breeze was bone chilling. I assume that none of these are good omens – the geese in particular must know something we don’t.

This morning it’s lightly snowing now, but is supposed to turn to rain a bit later and then we’re supposed be getting more snow yet again this week with super cold temperatures still so you guessed it, I’m continuing to layer and staying as warm as possible.

I admit I’ve been burning the proverbial candle on both ends. Of course that’s also when Murphy’s Law kicks in and something else or even several something elses go wrong!

You may have noticed I haven’t been around to visit much. I apologize!!! I have been battling technology issues transferring my blog from one server to another and boy what headaches did that cause! I THINK (fingers crossed) that it’s all handled! Now we’re working on transferring domains and email addresses this week. For a week or so I guess I was like an old Verizon commercial except instead of “Can you hear me now?” it was “Can you see me now?” 😀

Quick and easy this morning. We need to be on the road fairly early for a specialist appointment in another city 100+ miles away just after lunch time and the weather is a bit iffy so I’m just having a peach yogurt and hot water.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m actually up to date – yesterday’s bad weather kept me inside and staying busy.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have to do the shopping for a meal at the Eagles that a friend and I are preparing on Friday as well as the 2 soup nights I’m signed up for when I go to town for a pedicure on Tuesday. Wednesday Dana and I have to prepare the parts for Friday’s meal and then do the regular COSTCO shopping for the Eagles lodge. Thursday-Saturday will be spent helping my friend with what we hope will be a BLOW OUT for the estate sale we’ve been working on. The last 2 weeks have been so very busy with the estate sale and a good deal of the large pieces are sold and gone already which is a good thing.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m still waiting on several return calls for a couple projects. We’re traveling to a specialist appointment for hubby and will hit a couple of my favorite stores before we come home.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING This is a serious work in project and will be reevaluated after I see what proteins I can buy at my favorite store later today.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE The DVR is full of things to watch when I get a chance. I’ve been so busy I can’t even tell you what!

I began Book #24 of Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series last night.

Last week’s menu went right out the window with so many glitches in the week. So, there will be a couple items that appear to be duplicates of last week’s menu, but are indeed for the first time 😀

MONDAY 3/6
TUESDAY 3/7
WEDNESDAY 3/8
THURSDAY 3/9
FRIDAY 3/10
SATURDAY 3/11
SUNDAY 3/12
DINNER
MONROE COUNTY PORK STEAKS with SMOKEY “BAKED” WHITE BEANS
 CHILI and CORN BREAD
 PEASANT SKILLET & CRISPY SMASHED TATERS
 APPLE CIDER PORK CHOPS, AU GRATIN PEAS & POTATOES
Cooking at the EAGLES CHICKEN PARMESAN SPINACH ARTICHOKE BAKE, ROASTED HONEY ROSEMARY BUTTERNUT SQUASH and CHOCOLATE FRITO BARS
 ROAST LEMON CHICKEN and MAC & CHEESE
OUT
DESSERT
 
RUSTIC CARAMEL APPLE TART
 

My finished MIXED MEDIA flower cart from last Friday night’s class is done! I just didn’t like the Eiffel tower in the original painting so changed it up to fit me with the hanging basket of flowers 😀
MY FAVORITE LOCAL BARN IS STILL A WORKING ONE

 

Upcoming class I want to do.

Yep, this is a repeat of last week since I was never able to participate in my normal blog hops last week.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 9 of 2023 BLOG 365.58

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

Remember how last week and the week before we were under Winter Storm Watch? Well we are again. 😀 Despite the cold and wintry mix we’ve evaded a good deal of the “BAD” weather. It’s like we’re in a “DOMED” area that isn’t getting the same as ALL the way around us. Honestly that scares me a little bit just waiting for the other shoe to fall 😀 There is no sun forecasted for this week and every day has either snow or wintry mix and gray clouds. Needless to say I’m still wearing Levis, UGGs and multiple layers of turtlenecks and hoodies.

I have to share this text conversation that my girlfriend Dana and I had after a VERY BUSY week where she moved, it snowed, we helped another friend with an estate sale, her hubby had a medical procedure that had them revisit the ER twice, I’m still working on getting my own garage sale items ready, a couple doctor appointments, it snowed again and we culminated the week in donating and preparing dinner on Friday night at the Eagles. Our proceeds went to the charity and scholarship funds. By Friday night we were pretty slap happy so it’s pretty funny… 

Dana:
AWESOME job tonight missy! You nailed it!!!!!!!!!!

Tamy:
You too my friend – you are an energizer bunny 😃 We got so much more than just dinner done 😃

Dana:
Love it!!!! Now if I had that energy at home!!!😆

Tamy:
You will soon as you get settled 😘 IS THERE SOMETHING I’M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING ON MONDAY THAT I DIDN’T GET ONTO MY CALENDAR?

Dana:
??? You’re freaking me out. Ummm, I don’t know??

Tamy:
OOPS didn’t mean to yell. Not trying to freak you out! Just seems like I committed to do something Monday, but didn’t add it to my calendar.

Dana:
Was it a pedicure? Volunteering at a soup kitchen, rescuing puppies from a raging river, reading to the children, singing to sea otters at a sanctuary or maybe training blind bats to fly??

Tamy:
LMBO 🤣 LOL 🤣 how many drinks did you have after I left tonight???? 🤣

Hot water and trying a cinnamon raisin English muffin

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have the tail end of the sorting for the garage sale to do today and then will begin a deep clean. Laundry is all caught up fortunately allowing me extra some extra time.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll be doing ALL the shopping for the Eagles Lodge on Wednesday so will work my errands into that day.
  • PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I have several phone calls to make following up on a few things and have a painting class on Friday night. I’m hoping it will make me start thinking spring 😀
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m planned through this week and will start with a fresh plan over the weekend.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE We’ve been so busy it’s been a challenge to get things watched – thank goodness for DVR’s. NASCAR was rained out at its scheduled times so we missed the races this weekend.

I’m almost done reading The Restaurant by Pamela Kelly from her Nantucket Inn series.

MONDAY 2/27
TUESDAY 2/28
WEDNESDAY 3/1
THURSDAY 3/2
FRIDAY 3/3
SATURDAY 3/4
SUNDAY 3/5
DINNER
 CHEESE BURGER SOUP with TWISTY ROLLS
PEASANT SKILLET
 BEEF & BLACK BEAN SOUP with YEAST ROLLS
 OUT FOR HUBBY’S BIRTHDAY
 CHICKEN FRANCESE
 PORK CHOP POTATO SKILLET
VAMPIRE MAC & CHEESE
DESSERT
 
 
CRISPY CHOCOLATE MALT BARS
 BERRY PATCH CRUMB BARS

We took a short drive last weekend to get out one day and came upon a road with weird mile markers.
On that road was this sign. The population number was confusing though as we ran across at least a dozen or more houses with multiple vehicles each.
This was a strange sky yesterday morning. Snowing to the left, raining to the right and sunny straight up – for a minute 😀
The temperatures this morning and every morning recently.
A couple early waterfalls from our drive last weekend.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 8 of 2023 BLOG 365.51

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 truly feel like I’m in an episode of Ground Hog Day! We did have snow last week for Valentine’s day, most of which melted by Wednesday and Thursday, though we still have some on north facing slope areas.

But, that was only a precursor for the 5 days they are predicting this week and  a couple more into March. One night this week is slated for a low of 17° which is fairly unusual for this late in February.

So, you guessed it, I’m still wearing layers and layers 😀 Today is a purple turtleneck sweater and gray hoodie with Levi’s my favorite black UGG’s. By the way, did you know you can wash UGG’s? I broke a bottle of oil last week and soiled my UGG’s and Levis to a point that I thought it was hopeless! I figured I’d try some dirt devil stain remover and washing since I really had nothing to lose and was so surprised at how well it worked. It did take a bit for them to dry, but they’re better than ever!

I’m feeling much better this week! Good thing I had so many BLOG 365 posts ready to go. Between the Valentines dance and super bowl party planning and shopping, I didn’t know if I was coming or going the last couple weeks, though this week is still quite busy.

Praying for the situation in Turkey and Syria. So many needlessly lost lives between the catastrophe and corruption that led to so many construction issues and building collapses – ALL so sad.

I know after the 1994 Northridge earthquake we also had widespread Valley Fever from spores that were released from underground after the quake. I pray that there isn’t some “new”, “ancient” virus that has been released in the Turkey/Syria area compromising them further.

Hot water and a banana.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have several loads of laundry to do playing catch up, but it will wait so I can help a friend who is supposed to move in the snow in a couple days as well as get my groceries and errands (that I WAS going to do at the end of the week) out of the way before the weather turns.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS A quick Walmart run for a couple items and grocery list when I head to town for my primary yearly exam.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m actually hoping for a couple days of snow so I can have an excuse to sit and peruse cookbooks for a March Menu.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE TCM – Gunga Din, NUN’s Story, A Mid Summer’s Night Dream as well as NASCAR and TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS starting this week and most of our “REGULAR” network shows.

I started reading The Restaurant by Pamela Kelly from her Nantucket Inn series.

MONDAY 2/20
TUESDAY 2/21
WEDNESDAY 2/21
THURSDAY 2/23
FRIDAY
2/24
SATURDAY 2/25
SUNDAY 2/26
DINNER
 MAMA GRONK CHICKEN SOUFFLE
MANICOTTI and SNAP PEA SALAD
 PORK CHOP SKILLET and GREEN CHILE CREAMED CORN
CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
 SLOW COOKER BEEF STROGANOFF and 2 1/2 BEAN SALAD cooking for the EAGLE’s dinner if it doesn’t get canceled due to snow
 CRANBERRY CHICKEN WINGS
HAM ENCHILADA BAKE for BRUNCH, COPY CAT KFC CHICKEN and MASHED POTATOES
DESSERT
 
 
 PINEAPPLE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

 

I need to find homes for these sweet kittens. Sweet Pea here is especially soft, cuddly and loving.

It’s been pretty gray lately, but we did have a couple clear days that ended in amazing sunsets.

And this American Robin is awfully daring to land within reach of the quick and curious kittens.

I still really want to build this in my next kitchen! But, with a French door refrigerator with the 2 drawer snack pulls. 😀

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 7 of 2023 BLOG 365.44

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 sweet friends! Can you believe that we’re halfway through February already?

Last week was sooooooooooooo busy and this week is looking like it will be too! Our Eagle’s lodge had a Valentine’s dinner dance on Saturday night and a Super Bowl party yesterday. I already do half the weekly shopping for the lodge on Wednesdays, but the lady who does the other half was sick this week so I did it ALL, PLUS the shopping for the Dinner Dance AND Super Bowl Party.

We had a GREAT time at the party. Trudy and I were the official trivia question answer checkers throughout the game. Congratulations to Jean and the Chiefs on a GREAT fun to watch game and the ultimate WIN 🙂

Then I spent Thursday helping my friend with estate sale items, Friday prepping the food for Saturday and Sunday, Saturday cooking and serving and Sunday helping with the boards and activities for the Super Bowl Party ~ ALL of which were HUGE successes! I even won some of the score board money, a t-shirt from an old favorite hangout, some kitchen credit money, beer coozies and these embroidered hand quilted pot holders.

So, evidently, Punxsutawney Phil was right this year! We are under Winter Storm Warning AGAIN! SO, needless to say we’re still cold and I’m still wearing multiple layers with warm UGG’s!

I’m devastated by the ongoing horror in Turkey and praying for ALL of those affected and that they can truly deal with the corruption that led to so many deaths from poor construction.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I need to catch up BIG time on the chores I didn’t get done during last week’s chaos!
  • GROCERIES, ERRANDS, PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Hubby and I are doing date night with a couples paint night and dinner at a favorite haunt.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m done for this week, but will be doing a deep dive on the pantry/freezer inventory tomorrow to make the next month’s menu.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE We finished the re-watch of How I Met Your Mother and NASCAR starts next weekend, cooking shows…

I am literally between books, but did finished all the cooking magazines I needed to get through so will start a book tomorrow.

MONDAY 2/13
TUESDAY 2/14
WEDNESDAY 2/15
THURSDAY 2/16
FRIDAY 2/17
SATURDAY 2/18
SUNDAY 2/19
DINNER
SLOW COOKER BUFFALO CHICKEN LASAGNA
 SAUCY PORK CHOP SKILLET, QUICK YEAST ROLLS
MEATY MANICOTTI and SNAP PEA SALAD
COPY CAT KFC CHICKEN, GREEN CHILI CREAMED CORN
 BEEF & BLACK BEAN SOUP
 SLOW COOKED CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
ROUND UP RIBS, GRANDMA DOLL’S POTATO SALAD
DESSERT
 BANANA NUT BREAD and  CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS
 CHOCOLATE CHUNK CHERRY COBBLER
FRUIT CROISSANT PUFF
FLOURLESS DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE
 APPLE PUDDING CAKE
MAPLE CARROT CUPCAKES
BRUNCH HAM ENCHILADAS

The one and only sunny day last week the kitties got out to play.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 6 of 2023 BLOG 365.37

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’s February, what can I say? It’s cold, wet, foggy and rainy. 😀 So layers, layers and more layers with comfy UGGs

Our first house was a TINY 1 bedroom place. Our next house wasn’t much bigger, but was twice the size with 2 bedrooms and a larger kitchen so we accumulated yet a few more things.

Around that same time my dad passed away and we ended up with quite a few “extra” things when my mom downsized from the 4 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom condo as well as the “leftovers” from closing our family antiques and collectables store.

Then our next house was a move across the country and was a HUGE 3 story plus a BARN so we accumulated yet even more things to fill it “appropriately”!

From there, several years later we began care taking for multiple family members around the country and almost everything ended up in storage while we traveled until we went back to Texas to rehab my grandparent’s house (which was half the size) after my cousin passed away, but most of you remember what a mess that was! It was such an involved project that we never really got to deal with our own things (let alone unpack them) because ALL our time was spent on dealing with the hoarding mess my cousin left behind plus the repairs and updates required to bring the house up to date for sale.

So, now that we’re finally dealing with our own needs, we are down sizing BIG TIME and I’m absolutely exhausted making it happen! We’ve been working long and hard sorting, condensing and repacking as we go through EVERYTHING for the upcoming garage sale. I’M HAPPY TO SAY that the donation pile and the sell pile are both QUITE LARGE!

BUT, trying to schedule my time between the winter cold which eliminates working outside in the early morning and late afternoons, all the rain, helping a friend organize an estate sale, my duties at the Eagles and ALL the other things that fill my schedule has been time consuming and like I said, COMPLETELY EXHAUSTING!

You guessed it – hot water and yogurt! 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m up to date on the laundry, but have some serious cleaning and vacuuming to do from the mess of preparing for the garage sale 😀
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS, APPOINTMENTS, PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I have an out of town oncology check up for my 7 year remission 🙂 later this morning, haircut and pedicure tomorrow, shopping for the Eagles post on Wednesday which will be a BIG one because of the Valentine’s dinner and party on Saturday and helping a friend with an estate sale on Thursday and Friday. Sunday I’ll be back to working on our own garage sale items.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING My menu is planned through this week, but I’m still leafing through a bunch of magazines from the estate sale looking for new ideas.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • AMAZON PRIME Last night we watched SHOTGUN WEDDING and LOST CITY which was cute and funny!
  • CABLE Got caught up on all the prime time shows and cooking shows and watched MR. LUCKY on TCM

I’ll finish The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff tonight and am ready to start something new, but still have not decided what. I’m hoping to get through the rest of the cooking magazines first.

2/6 MONDAY
2/7 TUESDAY
2/8 WEDNESDAY
2/9 THURSDAY
2/10 FRIDAY
2/11 SATURDAY
2/12 SUNDAY
DINNER
 UNSTUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS & COWBOY BREAD
 STAMPEDE RIBS & POTATO SALAD
 PEASANT SKILLET
 SLOW COOKER CHEESY WHITE LASAGNA
 CHEESEBURGER SOUP
 C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT
ORANGE GLAZED MEATBALLS
DESSERT
 CHOCOLATE MALT BARS
 
HINT OF CHOCOLATE CHERRY COOKIES
 FUDGY OAT BROWNIES
CHOCOLATE FRITO BARS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 5 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.30

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 has been pretty nice the last couple days, but COLD. And then last night it became FRIGID with a low at 17° when I got up at 6:30. The bird bath is frozen solid! Fortunately we don’t have a storm today, but do have a small craft advisory due to wind. This always makes me laugh because we’re 15-20 miles from the coast as the crow flies, yet we always get the small craft advisories in the weather forecast 😀

Today is supposed to be the only sunny day this week with another frigid nighttime low tonight. Needless to say, I’m still living in turtlenecks, sweaters, Levis and UGGS. The rest of the week we return to our regularly scheduled programming of rain, grey clouds and more rain 😀

So many things on my mind, but how I’m feeling is the hard part. I have so much to do, but have been limping around since last Wednesday when I accidentally jammed my foot into a corner and broke a couple toes and did soft tissue damage. I’ve been icing it several times a day so am at least not turning black and blue (yet) just a mild purple 😀 You take walking for granted until something like this happens! 

Mixed fruit yogurt and hot water.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I accomplished all the laundry yesterday and will finish some organizing and cleaning today and tomorrow.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS This week’s menu is from the pantry and freezer, so no groceries to speak of. I have just a few errands to run later in the week.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m trying to clean up some recipe scraps. February’s menu plan is done and I’m now working on the one for March.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE We didn’t watch much TV this week. When we did we watched some old TCM movies – Larceny, Inc., Young Man with a Horn, The Fastest Gun Alive and Woman of the Year. We also watched Frozen Planet on BBC, The Hammer with Reba ON DEMAND and the football championships of course. I know Jean is celebrating 😀

I started reading Summer Magic book #1 of the The Thorne Witches by T.M. Cromer

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
 CHICKEN FRICASSE, PENNIES from HEAVEN CARROTS and SALAD
 HAM & WILD RICE CHOWDER with SOUR CREAM CHEDDAR BISCUITS
 PASTA FAGIOLI with COWBOY BREAD
 BBQ CHICKEN & APPLE BREAD PUDDING with SALAD
 PORK CHOP POTATO CASSEROLE with HONEY-LIME COLE SLAW
 CRISPY LEMON CHICKEN
CHICKEN GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
DESSERT
 
CHAPEL SQUARES (finally)
 

Last week my girlfriend and I were in town and it was a beautiful day! Where we live tends to be gray, foggy and rainy ALL the time, but just 10 miles away they see the sun which really made us happy! So, on the way home I was able to get a great rainbow picture since I wasn’t driving 😀

I also got this cute close up of Mirror #1

And then there was this amazing sunset last night.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 4 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.23

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’m so glad I didn’t get too attached to the “dry” forecast that promised 10 days of sun – I knew it was too good to be true 😀 Not only did Saturday rain all day despite a dry forecast, the rain and snow are back in the forecast for this week! Once again highs in the low 40’s with lows in the high 20’s so it will be lots of turtlenecks, flannels and UGG’s

I’m baffled by so many things, but the other day when I cam home to this HUGE box on my porch. What baffled me most was that I was only waiting for a small item to be delivered. LOL 😀 in the HUGE box (that I could pick up with 1 finger) was the small non-breakable item I ordered. So, what baffles me most is WHY? did they ship this in such a HUGE box? And we wonder why prices continue to rise so badly!

Things suddenly became an issue with my web host for both this site and my emails so I have been frantically working on some files (many, many files) to get things transferred to a new host before the end of the month. It is also a domino effect because of the domain registrations that ALSO have to be transferred. This has kept me so busy I barely have time to think, get my work done, do BLOG 365, new recipes and of course visit all of you, but I will get caught up I promise. Fortunately I had planned on using some fillers like Wordless Wednesday and Sipping Sunday to help with BLOG 365 and have many of those already lined up.

You guessed it! Hot water and yogurt 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have just a couple of loads of laundry to do, a little vacuuming and deep clean the kitchen.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS & PROJECTS Fortunately none this week so I can concentrate on some sorting for a couple days to continue the downsizing until I need to help a friend on Thursday and Friday.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I landed the first glance at a HUGE pile of Cooks and Taste of Home magazines from this estate sale so have been choosing some recipes for February.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX We are watching Vikings Valhalla
  • AMAZON PRIME We are watching RIG – not sure it will keep our interest though
  • CABLE We watched a few TCM movies that were a real treat last week – NIGHT SHIFT with Henry Winkler and Michal Keaton, LIBELED LADY with Jean Harlow, Myrna Loi, William Powell and Spenser Tracy & THE IRENE & VERNON CASTLE STORY which I REALLY enjoyed and started watching RULES of ENGAGEMENT at night as our comedy

I love reading WWII romance stories. I just started the Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff.

MONDAY 1/23
TUESDAY 1/24
WEDNESDAY 1/25
THURSDAY 1/26
FRIDAY 1/27
SATURDAY 1/28
SUNDAY 1/29
DINNER
STUFFED MEATBALLS with BOLEGNESE SPAGHETTI
 COCONUT PEANUT CHICKEN with RICE
 GERMAN MEATBALLS & SAUERKRAUT
 PORK CHOPS & MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE
 FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES
 LEMON CHICKEN & HONEY LIME COLESLAW
GRILLED CHICKEN & POTLUCK BAKED BEANS
DESSERT
 PINEAPPLE ANGEL FOOD SNACK CAKE
 CHAPEL SQUARES
GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CUPCAKES with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
 
RASPEBERRY PECAN CRUMBLE BARS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 3 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.16

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

EVERY time I checked the weather yesterday the forecast for the week was DIFFERENT except for the temperatures. So we’ll supposedly still be in the 40’s during the day and 30’s at night, it’ll be gray and cloudy with some wind and we may or may not have rain 😀 We were supposed to be sunny yesterday and weren’t so I just don’t trust what they say and will take it one day at a time!

I’m still working on putting away the Christmas decorations as I sort though them for the garage sale and will be deep cleaning the kitchen with no plans to leave the house at all today so will be in yoga pants and a purple long sleeve t-shirt all day.

I’m back to hot water and yogurt. The coffee experiment didn’t work out.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a load of sheets going with a load of towels to do next today and a few blouses to iron. I’ll finish the de-decorating today and begin the deep clean.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I think I’m good this week on groceries and just have 1 quick appointment on Wednesday morning.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m done through January 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX We started watching Vikings Valhalla
  • AMAZON PRIME We started watching RIG
  • CABLE Regular shows are starting to get back to normal so will be checking out what’s on the DVR. DISH is in dispute with FOX so I am missing a few shows, but refuse to start another streaming service just for 2-3 shows.

I love reading WWII romance stories. I just started the Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff.

Summer 1941. Young Adelia Montforte flees fascist Italy for America, where she is whisked away to the shore by her well-meaning aunt and uncle. Here, she meets and falls for Charlie Connally, the eldest of the four Irish-Catholic boys next door. But all hopes for a future together are soon throttled by the war and a tragedy that hits much closer to home.

Grief-stricken, Addie flees—first to Washington and then to war-torn London—and finds a position at a prestigious newspaper, as well as a chance to redeem lost time, lost family…and lost love. But the past always nips at her heels, demanding to be reckoned with. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie discovers that the way home may be a path she never suspected.”

MONDAY 1/16
TUESDAY 1/17
WEDNESDAY 1/18
THURSDAY 1/19
FRIDAY 1/20
SATURDAY 1/21
SUNDAY 1/22
DINNER
 LEMON CHICKEN, MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE & PENNIES FROM HEAVEN CARROTS
RED BAKED BEANS & CRANBERRY BBQ CHICKEN
 FRENCH ONION CHICKEN & TOMATO ONION SALAD
CHICKEN BLT CASSEROLE
 CHEESY CHICKEN TOMATO BAKED ORZO & SAUTEED PEAS
 CHEESY POTATO SOUP & SOUR CREAM CHEDDAR BISCUITS
SICILIAN SPAGHETTI
DESSERT
 COFFEE CAKE KNOTS
 
CHAPEL SQUARES
 

My friend texted me and asked if I would be available to cat sit later in the week because they wanted to take a trip. I said of course I’d hang out and feed her sweet and adorable KitKat. Later that day she showed up with these beautiful flowers to say thank you!

 

 

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 2 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.9

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 started blogging over 15+ years ago as an outlet for the woes brought on by a house we were forced to rehab after discovering mold (that the previous owner knew about, but painted over) during a routine bathroom update. It was supposed to be our forever home, but little did we know God had other plans for us. Each journey led us somewhere else to help someone else or a new project like rehabbing my grandparent’s home after my cousin died. This too was supposed to be our “new’ forever home, but God again had yet more new plans for us.

All these years later we have been all over the country care taking first for my in-laws and then several other family members as well. Each time we questioned why we were in those places and each time there was am underlying reason like when we landed in Texas and I was matched up with the best Cancer center around who saved my life when I had Ovarian Cancer… or the wonderfully gifted Gastroenterologist that again saved my life when he had to remove my stomach during a routine hernia repair… God always had a reason being where we were.

At one point, early on in my blogging days I thought about jumping on the bandwagon and monetizing my blog and turning it into an income source…Let me just say I am SOOOOOO glad I didn’t do that. I believe it would have just taken the joy out of blogging for me. I still link up with a few meme parties and many have gone the monetized route and are just no fun to follow anymore 🙁 This is one of the reasons I’m choosing to do BLOG 365 along with Sandra. I will probably do a lot of Wordless Wednesdays along with some Thursday 13s and what I’m calling Silent Sundays in order to accomplish this, but I will do it 😀

So, for my own journey, to stay positive in this life, I’ll be adding a “Thought For The Day” category each week. Just a little something that speaks to me 😀 at the time. Most weeks it will probably have no commentary and be more like a Wordless Wednesday 😀

This week is a clone of last week 😀 gray, cloudy and foggy – yet another typical Pacific North West winter week full of bone chilling “wet” cold with highs in the 40’s (barely) and lows in the 30’s (definitely) 😀 It will be another week of layered turtlenecks and flannels with Levis and UGGs.

I started to “DE”decorate Christmas last Friday, but multiple spontaneous AND fun opportunities for me to procrastinate happened and now I HAVE to finish more quickly for my own sanity, but also a bit exhausted!

Toady is Apple Carrot and Pineapple toddler squeeze (they’re portable 😀 ) with some ice tea because of the early morning.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have SOOOOO much to do, but hubby has a SUPER early appointment today that requires me to drive him so I will get a LATE start to my day and week. I have de-decorating to finish followed by standard cleaning and vacuuming as well as several loads of laundry. I’m also downsizing as I go through EVERY tote, drawer and closet. I ran across a pretty good article about decluttering sentimental items that is helping quite a bit.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Depending on what I accomplish Monday and Tuesday I will probably go to town Wednesday or Thursday to do the weekly shopping and errands.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS this category will wait until next week…
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING My menu is planned through the weekend so at some time this week I will be taking a more serious look at the rest of January and February.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX We’re still watching How I Met Your Mother reruns at night to go to sleep by
  • CABLE There are still some TCM movies to watch, but I got pretty caught up on the cooking shows and Hallmark movies.

I’m reading State of Shock, First Family #4, Fatal series #1 off shoot by Marie Force

MONDAY 1/9
TUESDAY 1/10
WEDNESDAY 1/11
THURSDAY 1/12
FRIDAY 1/13
SATURDAY 1/14
SUNDAY 1/15
DINNER
SICILIAN SPAGHETTI
 HAMBURGER STEAKS with CREAM HASHED POTATOES
 UNDONE CABBAGE ROLLS and BUTTERED CARROTS
 APPLE BALSAMIC CHICKEN and SOUTHERN CORNBREAD STUFFING
 LOADED HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP
RISOTTO CARBONARA
OUT or C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT FRIDGE NIGHT
DESSERT
 BLUEBERRY POUND CAKE
 
 

We did happy hour with some neighbors last Saturday and their daughter and her 2 cats were visiting. KitKat and Blue are both super sweet and oh so soft, but Blue is a real snuggler!

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS week 1 of 2023 ~ BLOG 365.2

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 found these memes over the weekend and they really spoke to me. I couldn’t decide on just one so used both 😀 This is who I am striving to be.

It’s gray, cloudy and foggy – another typical Pacific North West winter week full of bone chilling “wet” cold with highs in the 40’s (barely) and lows in the 30’s (definitely) 😀 It will be another week of my layered turtlenecks and flannels with Levis and UGGs.

Starting 2023 with an open mind, grateful heart and positive attitude while hoping and praying for the best possible outcome, but still staying alert for the possible worst.

Not sure why I even do this category sometimes. This meal never really changes, but I have hopes that someday it will. I’ve been trying a few sips of coffee and tolerating it pretty well most days. I’m having a handful of Honey Nut Cheerios with it. While I’m not allergic to gluten, I am going to try going gluten free for the month of January in hopes that it may help alleviate some issues.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have the standard bedding and towels for a Monday morning and a bit of ironing to do on some blouses.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m scheduled for a tetanus booster on Wednesday and a pedicure on Thursday so will work any needed groceries and such into going into town for those appointments. I’m hoping the replacement parts come in for the warranty work on the car so we can get it dropped off. The parts were ordered before Christmas and then lost in last week’s ice storm so the wait for them began all over again.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS This is one of those weeks that is not worth the effort to try and call anyone because of the holiday. I’ll have the patience to wait until next week.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I started a new menu planner and have meals planned through the 15th, but am trying to only plan a couple weeks at a time. I have a dozen or so recipes that have been sitting in a pile next to my computer that need to be input into blog posts. I’ll use these to help get me started on Sandra’s new challenge of BLOG 365. So look soon for Molasses Snaps, Chocolate Snaps, Tomato Chicken Pasta, Panettone, Marry Me Chicken Made Simple, Char Sui Pork, Dutch Hash, Timeless Classic Sugar Cookies and Charred Carrots with APPLE BROWN BUTTER VINAIGRETTE, Cranberry Pound Cake, Apple Balsamic Chicken and Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls. 

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CABLE The Rose parade is set to tape so we can watch it commercial free, Yellowstone, 1923, The Worst Cooks, Kid’s Baking Championship – I still have a couple Christmas movies to watch. We’ve also been watching a lot of TCM old movies (classics made many years before I was born, but that I had always heard of) during the holidays – The Caine Mutiny, The Best Years of Our Life, The Good Old Summertime and then for New Years we watched the Thin Man series of movies The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, The Song of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home and The Shadow of the Thin Man). I’d seen their clues in the crosswords, but never read the stories or seen the movies.

I FINALLY finished book #2 of The Wild Widows series by Marie force and began the Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. My friend gave me 4 other new titles yesterday that I’m going to research for later.

1/2 MONDAY
1/3 TUESDAY
1/4 WEDNESDAY
1/5 THURSDAY
1/6 FRIDAY
1/7 SATURDAY
1/8 SUNDAY
DINNER
 PAN SEARED CHICKEN, CHARRED CARROTS with APPLE BROWN BUTTER VINAIGRETTE
 SALSA VERDE CHICKEN SOUP & TWISTY ROLLS (I’m making SPLIT PEA SOUP & CORN BREAD earlier in the day for them to serve at the bar at the Eagles.
 C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT FRIDGE NIGHT
 HAMBURGER STEAKS with CREAMED HASHED POTATOES
 DECONSTRUCTED CABBAGE ROLLS & BUTTERED CARROTS
 APPLE BALSAMIC CHICKEN & SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING
RISOTTO CARBONARA
DESSERT
CRANBERRY POUND CAKE
 
 

Saturday was cold, but we had a few hours of beautiful sunshine. We had lunch at our favorite Tavern and then went to feed the peacocks with all the stale food we had amassed. I LOVE this old Memorial Park and LOVE the beautiful peacocks. I also LOVE all the old buildings and have been trying to get a decent picture of this old cattle loader for quite some time.

Here’s a rare picture with me actually in it. My friend Niki and I had just finished wrapping all the packages for the Eagle’s adopted family we delivered just before Christmas. Being blonde I always look a bit washed out and LOL I always forget to take off my glasses 😀

The munchkins were here last night and we had a lot of fun! Allie in particular fell in love with the kittens all over again. If her dad would have allowed her, Ash and Fluffy would have gone home with her. 😀 She did get these great pictures of them. There’s a little glass reflection from the door, but not too bad.

I’ve already put a piece in the donation pile 😀