Category: 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

This is going to be my new motto!

How are you? I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Christmas! I also hope you have time to just “be” this week and enjoy each other before we dive into the preparations for 2023.

I couldn’t resist! Christmas is 364 days away. BLOGMAS 2022 is over and BLOGMAS 2023 is only 327 days away.

While the rest of the country was on a blizzard watch and horrific Christmas travel weather we had an unusual “warming” trend here for Christmas weekend. Yesterday was the warmest – 55°, though still cold, Christmas we’ve had here in the Pacific North West (while we’ve been here) – no snow for us this year, but has been sooooooo foggy that it still feels cold and wet in your bones!

This week’s weather predictions have us back to actual rain and lots of it with the temperatures dropping back into our lower normal range of 30’s and 40’s.

I have tons of things going through my mind on what I want 2023 to look like. I’ve also been helping a friend get her side business going and wondering how much time I want to devote to that. After the 1st I’ll be getting back to my sorting and downsizing in preparation of the spring garage sale.

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday, EVERY MONDAY, loyally for all these years and so extensively helps keep me on track of my daily life as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for the current week. This now coupled with the yearly and quarterly lists I’m doing along with Jean have REALLY is helping get me back to my organized self.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll be getting back on schedule today with laundry especially – bedding, towels and outerwear. I deep cleaned just before Christmas so not much to be done except picking up the clutter. GROCERIES & ERRANDS We’re I’ll figure out my list and go shopping on Friday.e supposed to get a couple inches of rain today so I plan to go nowhere! No real appointments or errands until 2023! RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING My girlfriend gave me and old Oregon State Fair recipe book from 1983 AND one of those antique recipe boxes full of OLD vintage recipes that I like to collect. I’ve selected SEVERAL recipes from each and will create the next couple week’s menu around them.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

Not much until next year when the network shows resume. I’ll finish up the Hallmark and Christmas movies over this next week.

	12/26 MONDAY	12/27 TUESDAY	12/28 WEDNESDAY	12/29 THURSDAY	12/30 FRIDAY	12/31 SATURDAY	1/1 SUNDAY
DINNER	JET TILA BEEF PHO	DUTCH HASH	SICILIAN SPAGHETTI with CARAMELIZED BALSAMIC ONIONS	BEEF & BEAN BAKE	SALSA  VERDE CHICKEN SOUP	BLACK EYED PEA CHILI our traditional New Year’s meal	HAMBURGER STEAKS with CREAM HASHED POTATOES
DESSERT		CRANBERRY POUND CAKE				COFFEE CAKE KNOTS

All my pictures need editing, but I LOVE this fun one of my girlfriend’s front door where I left some goodies for her on Christmas Eve.

• PEANUT BUTTER BALLS
• SALISBURY STEAK & POTATO SKILLET
• OAT NUT CARAMEL BARS aka CARAMELITAS
  

• CRANBERRY LIME PIE
• CHUNKY MONKEY CUPCAKES
• NONA’S TOFFEE BARS 

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

Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror (thankfully because we wont do that again – going out was a mistake), Christmas decorating done and now it’s time to continue to focus on downsizing while also moving forward on organizing for the holidays and the new year.

The weather has been iffy, though we had a nice Thanksgiving day. Now it’s truly turning to winter with several inches of snow predicted for later this week, but we’ll see. The last time we had significant snow this early in the season was 2013. No matter what it does, I’m prepared with my layering and some new turtlenecks and flannels.

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday, EVERY MONDAY, loyally for all these years and so extensively helps keep me on track of my daily life as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for the current week.

In case I never mentioned it, I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I decorated early and I began BLOGMAS the day after Thanksgiving. Here’s the link if you want to see the posts or better yet, join in.  Just leave me a comment and I’ll know. I really enjoy being present in the season!

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I did a deep clean, but then started sorting again so I need to dust and vacuum again. I need to do the bedding laundry today also. GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby has a post-op follow up appointment from last week’s eye surgery on Wednesday and I’ll do the shopping on Thursday. Friday (pending snow) I’m going with a girlfriend to the annual Christmas Fair at the fairgrounds and then out to lunch. I missed the Fair in 2013 due to snow so hope it holds off this year until after the weekend. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I’m working on setting up next year’s calendar and organizing some end of the year files. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve prepared a pending December menu, but as always, especially at this time of year I’ve made it flexible.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We started the new “Wednesday” series from Tim Burton based on the Addams Family and are enjoying it. I always wonder what goes on in minds like Tim Burton or Stephen King. CABLE COOKING SHOWS The Big Bake, Christmas Baking, Holiday Wars, Christmas Cookies, Guy’s Game Night, Girl Meets Farm COMEDIES Young Sheldon and Ghosts POLICE/MEDICAL/DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie & Rookie Feds, The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor, Fire Country, Yellowstone and Tulsa King  SYFY/FANTASY Quantum Leap, La Brea, The Walking Dead just finished, but not really as they have several spin offs beginning in 2023 REALITY Amazing Race – I like all the teams this year so am pleased with the final four going into the finale HALLMARK Christmas movies

I’m bound and determined to finish reading Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne Maclean. It’s been a really slow go though despite the fact that I do love this author. I have had trouble getting into this story as she weaves through the back story flashbacks. I’m only about halfway through. Not to mention I have been falling asleep as my head hits the pillow each night, so I haven’t read much at all lately.

	11/28 MONDAY	11/29 TUESDAY	11/30 WEDNESDAY	12/1 THURSDAY	12/2 FRIDAY	12/3 SATURDAY	12/4 SUNDAY
DINNER	RISOTTO CARBONARA	TOMATO CHICKEN PASTA	BALSAMIC CHICKEN WINGS	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	PEKING CHICKEN and MANDARIN PANCAKES	AUTUMN CHOWDER and FLAKY CREAM BISCUITS	PIZZA??
DESSERT	PUMPKIN BUTTER CRUMB CAKE				COFFEE CAKE KNOTS

We found this really neat antique saw that was laser cut to look like a Christmas tree when we were at the tree farm to buy our wreath. I fell in love with it!!!

And the kittens are just so dang cute huddling together to stay warm. I made them a little cave like flannel lined tote which they do sleep in at night, but they like to huddle on top during the day when it’s light out. Momma and all 5 kittens just make one BIG fur ball.

Still so true even now in 2022

• CRANBERRY VODKA

• MEXICAN QUICHE
• WINTER PORK ROAST
• THANKSGIVING EGG ROLLS
  

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

Last week’s predicted storm for this week stalled and is now due next weekend. So, our night times have been clear with bitterly low cold temps, at least for here!  Friday night got down to 23°. Lately it’s been the bone chilling cold, you know the wet cold that sinks into your actual bones and keeps you cold. I’ll take single digit temperatures any day, if they’re the dry cold like we used to get back in the U.P. 😀 Mind you I’m not complaining as we like the cold and I’m more than thankful to NOT be in Buffalo New York having to clear away 6 feet of snow!

This week is supposed to have highs in the high 40’s and lows in the low 30’s with the “S” word working its way into the forecast for next weekend which is still a bit early for us, but I do remember early December 2013… I’m still layering BIG time. I’m hoping the storm holds off until at least Saturday afternoon so hubby and I can get the outside Christmas decorations done on Friday and Saturday.

I’m working my way through trying on each and every piece of clothing and making piles to donate. And because it has been so freaking cold outside I’m taking this opportunity to spring clean early for “THE GREAT CLUTTER CLEAN OUT” and continue sorting and amassing things to go in the spring garage sale. It really does feel good to be FINALLY downsizing things once and for all.

Are you all ready for Thanksgiving? Are you having a large gathering or just a small get together? Turkey or something else on your menu? We are actually going out for the first time ever and believe it or not I’m looking forward to it.

This meme really spoke to me. As a child my dad was a crucial part of my holidays and my love of cooking, plus his birthday was just before Thanksgiving every year.

This is the 30th year of celebrating the holiday season without him 🙁 He was such a BIG part of the celebrations. He was the organizer and usually the cook as we generally hosted.

You never get over the loss of a loved one, you just move on, but he was so young! I still use some of his menus every year for the holidays and with going out this year will REALLY miss them, especially his sourdough herb dressing and giblet gravy. I recreated the dressing recipe several years ago at my brother’s request and I think I nailed it!

As always hot water, but I’m trying oatmeal again because it’s been so bitterly cold!llllllllllll

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I did a deep clean last Thursday as we had friends coming for dinner so things are pretty tidy, but I do have a couple loads of laundry to do. GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby is having eye surgery on tomorrow and we asked for as late of a surgery and arrival time as possible because it is in a town over an hour away. It will be a bit icy that morning because it’s been so bitterly cold. BUT, we were given an arrival time of 7AM!!!! Everyone I speak with keeps passing the buck to someone else! It’s so frustrating dealing with anything/anyone medical these days! Besides that I have just a couple of errands to do this week and I’ll do them on Wednesday when I go for my pedicure. Friday our local Christmas tree farm opens and I will go and select a couple wreaths for the front door area. Saturday is “shop small” day downtown and I will go and do my part for shopping local. I hope to finish my Christmas shopping. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Not much this week with the holiday! I even had problems reaching departments on last Friday! One “remote” call center operator for the VA told me I should wait and call back in 2 weeks right after she told me she couldn’t help me scheduling a couple appointments and that was after I’d been on hold 20 minutes! It is soooooooooo frustrating lately! RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m still trying to keep it simple and work from the freezer and pantry. I also ran across several more cookbooks with recipes marked that I want to try soon so will be building next week’s menu from those.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX NCIS reruns – we’re up to the end of season 15 AMAZON PRIME How I Met Your Mother reruns CABLE The new show Tulsa King with Sylvester Stallone started last night and we’re going to give a try. . COOKING SHOWS The Big Bake, Christmas Baking, Christmas Cookies, Guy’s Game Night, Girl Meets Farm COMEDIES Young Sheldon and Ghosts POLICE/MEDICAL/DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie & Rookie Feds, The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor, Fire Country, Yellowstone and Tulsa King  SYFY/FANTASY Quantum Leap, La Brea, The Walking Dead REALITY Amazing Race HALLMARK Christmas movies

I have been falling asleep as my head hits the pillow each night, so I haven’t read much at all lately. I’m still working on Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne Maclean.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE	GRILLED CHEESE & BOOZY TOMATO SOUP	BALSAMIC CHICKEN WINGS	THANKSGIVING DINNER @ the PARROTT HOUSE	ANITPASTO SQUARES	TOMATO CHICKEN PASTA	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN
DESSERT		CARMELITAS

I was able to get these cushions “re” wrapped for winter storage yesterday. Momma cat and the kittens were trying to stay warm during this cold spell and tore up the original wrappings. They like this window area in the corner of the patio. There’s a floor vent near there and I think it actually keeps them a bit warm.

We went and fed the peacocks a bunch of stale bread crumbs and granola over the weekend. They seemed super hungry and appreciative too.

• SNICKERS BROWNIES
• BISTRO TURKEY SAMMIES
• CRANBERRY LIME PIE
• TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA
• BLESSMOSAS aka BLESS YOUR HEARTS

• ASPARAGUS POCKETS
• OATNUT SOURDOUGH DRESSING
• CHARCUTERIE BOARDS
  

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

Let’s face it, life has been strange these past few years since COVID and such. When I ran across this one from Sweatpants & Coffee, one of my favorite memes, I realized it was THE PERFECT sentiment to express how I feel, and I bet many others do too.

By my doing Happy Homemaker Monday, EVERY MONDAY, loyally for all these years AND so extensively it has helped keep me on track with my daily life. It truly summarizes the previous week and lays out a fairly concise plan for the current week. This helps me the most whenever my week is too busy to think or to get everything done or when I think, hmmm what did I get done last week. BUT, I couldn’t do it without my coffee 😀

I tried returning to coffee every day for a few weeks, but am back mostly to hot water with my morning yogurt.

We have another cloudy week of low temps 40’s, with next to no rain so I’m hoping to get a little sun time one afternoon to get a Christmas paint project done. I just need ONE SINGLE hour above 50! Lows at night will be in the high 20’s and low 30’s. It’ll be a lots of layering (Levi’s, turtlenecks, flannels…) and UGGs week.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING ALL up to date – I did a deep clean yesterday including most of the laundry after Rizzo went home. I just have our bedding to do. GROCERIES & ERRANDS We have friends coming for dinner on Thursday so I’ll go in on Tuesday to do the grocery shopping. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS We canceled the trip we had planned for the end of the month to Silverton – the traffic staying at the hotel was going to be a nightmare because the light show and German market were also on the same grounds with a single point of entry. We found a better deal for what will ultimately be a better trip, closer to home AND for less money on top of it going to see Shore Acres! It’s the first time it will be open since COVID! I took a Santa Gnome painting class last week and my friend is putting together a paint and sip party for Saturday at the Eagles post. Fortunately the picture is something completely different, autumn corn, and not another gnome 😀  I also signed up for 2 classes in December (neither of which is a gnome) that I’m also looking forward to. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on December and January’s menus, but have yet to really pin it down.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX NCIS reruns – we’re up to the middle of season 15 AMAZON PRIME How I Met Your Mother reruns CABLE The new season of Yellowstone started last night along with the new show Tulsa King starting next Sunday. COOKING SHOWS The Big Bake, Christmas Baking, Christmas Cookies, Guy’s Game Night, Girl Meets Farm COMEDIES Young Sheldon and Ghosts POLICE/MEDICAL DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie & Rookie Feds, The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor, Fire Country  SYFY/FANTASY Quantum Leap, La Brea, The Walking Dead REALITY Amazing Race HALLMARK Christmas movies

While I don’t always stay asleep, I have been falling asleep as my head hits the pillow each night. So, I haven’t read much at all lately. I’m still working on Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne Maclean.

	11/14 MONDAY	11/15 TUESDAY	11/16 WEDNESDAY	11/17 THURSDAY	11/18 FRIDAY	11/19 SATURDAY	11/20 SUNDAY
DINNER	MEXICAN QUICHE	TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA with LEMON THYME BROCCOLI	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	DINNER for FRIENDS: BLESSMOSAS, CARAMEL APPLETINIS, THANKSGIVING MARGARITAS, WINTER PORK ROAST, JACKET POTATOES, SALAD	CHICKEN WAFFLES	TUSCAN CHICKEN MOZZARELLA CASSEROLE & SALAD	RAILROAD SAMMIES with HOMEMADE GIARDINEIRA
DESSERT		CARMELITAS		SWEET LIME HATCH CHILE CHEESECAKE and KEY LIME CRANBERRY PIE		CRANBERRY VODKA for CHRISTMAS GIFTS

The munchkin’s munchkin went home last Saturday. She is such a sweetheart and easy to have around. We were sad to see her go. 🙁 But happy to see her comfortable back with her favorite munchkin at home.

This one is just a funny. I’m too much of a perfectionist to ever do this and I do fold my fitted sheets nice and neatly. In fact I find it quite easy, though it is still a pain in the neck 😀

• MEXICAN QUICHE
• MONKEY MEAT
• OATMEAL MUFFINS

• CRANRASPBERRY APPLE SLAB PIE
• TUSCAN CHICKEN
• PUMPKIN BUTTER PECAN CHEESECAKE

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday, EVERY MONDAY, loyally for all these years and so extensively helps keep me on track of my daily life as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for the current week. I look forward to doing this specific post each and every 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 only had about 50 kids for Halloween because of a BIG storm that moved in that day in the afternoon, but I just love seeing them in their costumes. We had 2 that stood out a lot – an anatomically correct glow in the dark skeleton with a pumping heart and a blow up chicken.

We were supposed to have rain ALL this week and they even hinted at snow, but instead the storm slammed in over the weekend and we received ALL the rain for the week yesterday for the most part and we’ll just be cloudy the rest of the week with highs in the 40’s and lows hovering around freezing! We’re munchkin sitting for the munchkin’s munchkin, Rizzo while they are off for the week with their parental units playing at Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios. So I’m really glad to not be having to take the munchkin out in the rain for walks. 😀

I LOVE layering weather! Today is a fun gold and burgundy fall colored embroidered flannel with a mock turtleneck, comfy Levi’s and YAY my UGGs are back!

I hope everyone had a great week and even better weekend, but for those who need to hear it, here is a little Monday Motivation to go with your coffee.

Breakfast was a peach yogurt with half a cup of coffee.

I have lots to do organizing some paperwork and getting ready for a bit longer BLOGMAS list this year as well as trying out some new recipes to use on the neighbor plates for the holidays, but just a quick reminder:

LOL, just saying… and please don’t think I’m crazy, but I’ve really been so looking forward to the whole Christmas season this year, that this just kinda happened last week…there is still some work to do – the train needs batteries and such, but…

The winter season came roaring in this year making me want to skip the middle between Indian summer and snow… plus no one will be here for Thanksgiving but us so why not??

This will also give me some time to fix these poor ornaments that are currently on the Island of Misfit Toys 🙁 I guess it’s inevitable as ornaments get older – glues dry out, etc… even on Hallmark ornaments. I started buying my collection of ornaments back when I was in high school so some of these are getting quite old unfortunately.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m pretty well cleaned up from making the mess of decorating, but have a load of laundry to do and vacuuming. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I just need to make a quick trip to town for the produce for Friday night’s dinner, but other than that it’s going to be a pretty quiet week around home. I do have a painting class on Thursday night and cooking dinner for 25-30 on Friday at the Eagles post. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS We were going to take a trip at the end of the month to see a Christmas light/market festival, but after researching the traffic and logistics of it, we have decided to do something different next month instead. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m going through some old cookbooks and evaluating the tags I made to see if they would make good winter recipes for December and January.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX NCIS reruns AMAZON PRIME STARGATE ATLANTIS reruns and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER reruns CABLE COOKING SHOWS The Big Bake, Christmas Baking, Christmas Cookies, Guy’s Game Night, Girl Meets Farm COMEDIES Young Sheldon and Ghosts POLICE/DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie & Rookie Feds, The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor  SYFY/FANTASY Quantum Leap, La Brea, The Walking Dead REALITY Amazing Race HALLMARK Christmas movies

I’m reading Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne Maclean – it’s starting a bit slow, but I normally like her writing so I’m hopeful it will get there soon.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	CHICKEN & CHEESE QUESADILLA PIE	TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	COOKING DINNER  FOR EAGLES BUFFALO CHICKEN LOADED BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE, BROCCOLI SLAW and	SALAMI RAILROAD SANDWICHES	GIARDINEIRA BRUSCHETTA
DESSERT		CARMELITAS			SNICKERS BAR BROWNIES	CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD

We began dog sitting last Saturday for this little cutie, Rizzo, while the munchkins and their parental units take a trip to Disneyland and Universal Studios for the week. We’re having so much fun!

• BLACK BEAN CHICKEN
• ORANGE CRANBERRY BREAD
• CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY BROWNIE BOMBS

• CALABRIAN CHILE TOMATO SAUCE
• BAKED TOMATOES with PARMESAN BROCCOLI STUFFING
• TOMATO SCALLOPED POTATOES
  

Doing Happy Homemaker Monday, EVERY MONDAY, loyally for all these years and so extensively helps keep me on track of my daily life as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for the current 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

Good morning sweet friends. I’m not sure how, but it’s Monday again and I have NO idea where  last week went. I was productive, but somehow the week still passed by too quickly! 😀

We have a storm moving in today and the temperatures are supposed to drop significantly later today and have significant rain. The rest of the week will have highs in the 40’s and 50’s with lows in the 30’s and even more rain.

I will be SOOOOOOOO happy when the elections are over and all the horrible campaign ads stop airing!

Just realizing that this year is almost over.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ve washed and changed out the bedding for winter. Other than that I just need to vacuum and empty the dishwasher. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a hair appointment in town later in the week so will do the few errands around that. Fortunately it is a VERY short list as I continue to clean out the freezer and pantry. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I’ve started sorting through kitchen items and Christmas boxes making piles for donation, garage sale and keeping. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve finished the November menu, but need some inspiration for December.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX NCIS reruns AMAZON PRIME STARGATE ATLANTIS reruns and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER reruns CABLE COOKING SHOWS The Big Bake, Halloween Baking, Halloween Cookies, Guy’s Game Night, Girl Meets Farm and the Holiday ones start later this week COMEDIES Young Sheldon, Ghosts, So Help me Todd (not sure about this one yet) POLICE/DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie, The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor  SYFY/FANTASY – Quantum Leap, La Brea, The Walking Dead REALITY – Amazing Race

I did something last week I haven’t done in a LONG time. I QUIT a book. I tried to hang in with it, but after 3 chapters I said no more! The writing and dialog were so bad…which really bothered me because I had read this author many times before 🙁

Tonight I’ll start Something from Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill

	10/31 MONDAY	11/1 TUESDAY	11/2 WEDNESDAY	11/3 THURSDAY	11/4 FRIDAY	11/5 SATURDAY	11/6 SUNDAY
DINNER	HAM STEAKS with CORN on the COB	OUT with FRIENDS for TACOS at a FAVORITE TAVERN	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	BLACK BEAN CHICKEN with FRITOS	APPLE BALSAMIC CHICKEN and RISOTTO CARBONARA	PORK CHOPS and APPLE SCALLOPED POTATOES	RED PEPPER CHICKEN and RICE PILAF
DESSERT				BAKED OATMEAL CUPS
	11/7 MONDAY	11/8 TUESDAY	11/9 WEDNESDAY	11/10 THURSDAY	11/11 FRIDAY	11/12 SATURDAY	11/13 SUNDAY
DINNER	CHICKEN & CHEESE QUESADILLA PIE	TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	COOKING DINNER  FOR EAGLES BUFFALO CHICKEN LOADED BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE, BROCCOLI SLAW and	SALAMI RAILROAD SANDWICHES	GIARDINEIRA BRUSCHETTA
DESSERT		CARMELITAS			SNICKERS BAR BROWNIES

We have been getting quit a nice selection of song birds and our hummingbirds are year round here.

We have a new batch of kittens from the same stray. She just brought them out of hiding yesterday. The upside is that we haven’t had any mice since they have been here. There are 4 again. Boots seems to be handling motherhood well, but we haven’t seen Sunny (dad from the last batch of kittens) in a few months now.

• CREAMY WHITE BEANS
• SAVORY NOODLE KUGEL
• GREEN BEAN RADISH SALAD
• STRAWBERRY COBBLER SQUARES

• PAN SEARED CHICKEN with MCGILLICUDDY SAUCE
• RASPBERRY STEAK & TOMATO SALAD
• RED CHICKEN CHILI
• BUTTERMILK FUDGE BROWNIES
  

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 is having a wonderful fall season! It’s this time of year that I really miss living in the U.P. But, a friend posted a couple of pictures a few days ago that also reminded me that I don’t like snow quite this early and they are already having some and many events even closed yesterday due to inclement weather. This is an area that doesn’t hardly close for anything! Having a snow event this early could be indicative of a LONGER than normal winter for them.

Looks like this will be a beautiful week that will end in a much cooler (like almost 20 degrees difference from 79° this Wednesday and 61° next Wednesday) typical Pacific North West Fall rain event and I couldn’t be happier to be hanging up my flip flops and digging out the socks, shoes and hoodies 😀 Today is comfy worn Levis, a pink cami and a lightweight plaid flannel with my favorite worn in POPS.

We still have a fire burning here that has been creating some horrible air quality, not to mention the smell so am grateful for the rain coming that will help on all fronts with the fire.

Breakfast is a never changing category, but I’m looking forward to trying to add some oatmeal back to it with the weather change coming. I embellished this funny for Halloween. Please forgive me if you’re a candy corn fan 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll be doing a deep clean over next weekend of the refrigerator, pantry and laundry room, but at least the laundry is completely up to date except for some ironing that I’ll do this week. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m good on groceries this week and only have 1 appointment. One of the munchkins has 2 volleyball games this week, today and tomorrow, both at dinner time so will be adjusting for that. NEW ON THE BLOG I did get the post up with pictures of the architectural salvage warehouse we visited and you can see those here. Next I’ll work on the waterfalls. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Saving this category for next week’s rain 😀 RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I hope to get November done this next week, but need to inventory the freezer and pantry when I deep clean to evaluate this more.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX Just finished season 13 of NCIS – I think this is where I began my dislike of “crossover” events 🙁 AMAZON PRIME Anxiously awaiting Mrs. Maisel PARAMOUNT + Anxiously awaiting Yellowstone and the new Tulsa King begin in November AMC+ Verizon just gave us a free year to this app so we’re still exploring for the next series to watch at late night CABLE There are a few shows that I’ve already written off for the season and am happy about that. Then of course I have my favorites. As much as I LOVE cooking shows Food Network is getting a little bit crazy with all the new shows and competitions and I find myself tiring of some of my favorite chefs because of it.

I’m working on finishing Hallows End by Kirsten Proby and beginning Adrift by Jana DeLeon.

I hate to admit I didn’t take any real pictures this week. I have several #LumberTrain #RailArt photos to edit for Instagram, but have yet to get to those for posting.

I know this isn’t a cooking tip, but they look so yummy!

	10/17 MONDAY	10/18 TUESDAY	10/19 WEDNESDAY	10/20 THURSDAY	10/21 FRIDAY	10/22 SATURDAY	10/23 SUNDAY
DINNER	TUNA PASTA SALAD & HONEY BEER BREAD	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT FRIDGE NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CHICKEN MARSALA MEATBALLS & CHEESY TOMATO BAKED ORZO	AUTUMN APPLE CHICKEN & RICE PILAF	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT FRIDGE NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	SPLIT PEA SOUP & CORN BREAD	APPLE BALSAMIC CHICKEN & SALAD
DESSERT			NOODLE KUGEL		FALL MARGARITAS SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS @ the EAGLES		PUMPKIN PULL APART BREAD

• BRITISH MUSHY PEAS
• UPDATED CHICKEN CORDON BLUE
• BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP ENCHILADAS
• PEACH HONEY MUSTARD PORK CHOPS
• CHIPOTLE BLACK BEAN MEATBALLS in CREAM CORN SAUCE

• BOOZY CREAM TOMATO SOUP
• SONORAN CLAM CHOWDER
• KENTUCKY HOT BROWN CASSEROLE
  

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 were doing so well with fall… and then Indian Summer hit. We’re supposed to be close to 80 every day this week, but at least the nights are hitting low 50’s 😀 Fortunately, according to the weather page it’s only for a week!

For those of you that LOVE scary horror movies, I found this list for the month of October.

I did finally get the AUTUMN tag list of questions done and you can see them here. I’m working on a list to do for Thanksgiving as well as BLOGMAS too.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING We got home late Friday and I was able to get the laundry and cleaning caught up over the weekend. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have appointments on Tuesday and Thursday in town so will do the errands and groceries on those days. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I need to sort though a stack of things and get organized 🙂 balance a couple of accounts and make lists of things to do this winter. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I need to start working on the menus for the month of November, but kind of lost the desire when Indian Summer started 🙁 I’ll pick that up when the temperature drops agin next week.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We’re still working on NCIS reruns in the odd hours DISNEY + Hocus Pocus 2, The Time Machine (2002 version) someday I’d like to see the original 1960 version which I didn’t even know existed until hubby told me 😀 CABLE  We’re going to have to play catch up this week from being gone last week 😀 While the new season is here. We have cutback on many things and will watch others as time and or weather permits. I’m still not very happy about the crossovers of so many shows, but it is what it is and will help me weed out some shows. The DVR already has a bit of a build up, but that will make binging easier as we head into the inevitable bad weather for this time of year that will begin a couple weeks. COOKING SHOWS – Halloween Wars, The Big Bake, Halloween Baking, Halloween Cookies, Guy’s Game Night, Bobby’s Triple Threat COMEDIES Young Sheldon, Ghosts, So Help me Todd (not sure about this one yet) POLICE/DRAMAS NCIS series – regular, LA and Hawaii, Chicago series – Med, Fire and PD, Blue Bloods, FBI series – regular, Most Wanted and International, Law & Order series – regular and SVU, Rookie and Rookie Feds (but I’m not sure I’ll stick with Feds – her voice drives me crazy!), The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor  SYFY/FANTASY – Quantum Leap, La Brea, The Walking Dead REALITY – Amazing Race

I started 2 new books and am waffling back and forth based on my mood 🙂

Something From Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill and Hallows End: A Witchy Paranormal Romance by Kristen Proby

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a very relaxing trip. I took A LOT of photos, many of which will be in a separate post about the beautiful Silver Falls State park. We also did some antiquing and finally made it to an Architectural Salvage Barn that I’ve been wanting to go to for a VERY long time. It was absolutely amazing. I will also do a separate post about those pictures.

Many years ago I did a tour of several Frank Lloyd Wright houses and loved the beauty and simplicity. One of his houses was relocated to the grounds on the resort where we were staying. This house was NOT my favorite of his designs – too much cinder block and ugly colors. Here are a couple of those pictures.

There was this sweet little Angel of Hope Memorial on the house grounds though. The statue was introduced in the book  The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans.

	10/10 MONDAY	10/11 TUESDAY	10/12 WEDNESDAY	10/13 THURSDAY	10/14 FRIDAY	10/15 SATURDAY	10/16 SUNDAY
DINNER	COON BALLS & LOADED CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE	AMISH COUNTRY CASSEROLE & SALAD	ORANGE PECAN CHICKEN and TOMATO ORZO with CREAMY WHITE BEANS	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	BEEF BURRITO BOWLS & SALAD	CHICKEN BLT CASSEROLE & SALAD
DESSERT			NOODLE KUGEL

• PICKLED BEETS
  
• HARISSA CARROTS
• STOVE TOP “BAKED” BEANS
  
• COPY CAT GRAMS BEEF & NOODLES
• MUSHY PEA RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS
• NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE OATMEAL BARS

• DRUNKEN CHICKEN & TOMATOES
• POTATO CORN SALAD
• GREEN ENCHILADA CHICKEN SOUP