Category: MENU PLANS

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Sorry I was so late getting around to visit everyone last week. For some weird reason a week that had absolutely nothing planned turned busy!

I finished my 3rd quarter LIST update. Thank you Jean for getting me started with this! I have found it really helpful to stay on task this past year! I’m already working on my 2023 list. I hate that life has to be so planned these days, but reality is that by planning I actually end up with more QUALITY free time in the end.

I’m excited that we’re actually getting away for a few days this week. I got the suitcases out and will pack in a bit. The hardest part of packing this time of year is the layering required for late evenings and early mornings. 😀 Not to mention we plan on doing some hiking so will need extra shoes.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is done and everything else will wait!! GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll worry about this next weekend at the earliest, but will probably push it out til next week. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS NOPE, not this week. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Planned through the 3rd week of October.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

CABLE – The DVR will fill up and we’ll worry about it later. 😀

I’m almost finished with STATE OF THE UNION by Marie Force #3 in her First Family series. Next will be a THE LAST SUMMER AT CHELSEA BEACH by Pam Jenoff.

I didn’t get many pictures last week. I know I’ll make up for that this week 😀 The mums my friend gave me for my birthday are looking wonderful and were worthy of a quick pic. I just love the vibrant fall colors.

And we had lunch out on Saturday at a favorite haunt that is in an old railway station. It’s a local pacific north west chain, MCMENAMINS that buys up old historic building and turns them into amazing farm to table restaurants, each with their own specials based on location.Their seasonal specials are ALWAYS fun and I had an amazing truffled Brie Mac & Cheese with mushrooms.

They even have their own breweries and distilleries and have included hotels into the mix. They are ALL different and unique. A couple of my favorite locations are the OLD Catholic school and convent ST. Francis School which is also a hotel and the Cornelius Pass Road House an old Italian Farm. We go out of our way to search out new locations that we haven’t been to before when we’re traveling about. We’ve now been to most of them for at least lunch including the Edgefield location that has not only a distillery, but also a glass blower and lots of gardens as well as MANY other fun things. Many locations are so large they have multiple pubs and restaurants as well hotel rooms like the HUGE Elks Temple in Tacoma, Washington.

There will be two locations, Boon’s Treasury, which was an old general store turned beer parlor after the end of prohibition and Thompson Brewery & Public House, which was an old German country home turned preschool, near where we will be this week that we’ve never been to before so we will see about being at least one of them for a lunch or dinner.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night/you’re on your own	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	CHICKEN ENCHILADA BAKE & REFRIED BEANS	RED PEPPER CHICKEN and TATER TOTS
LUNCH		OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN
DINNER		OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN
DESSERT		OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN

• STONE FRUIT TOMATO SALAD
• HEARTY TUNA CASSEROLE
• RUSTIC TOMATO TART
• CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE
• ZING ZANG BLOODY MARY BEEF TIPS
• ASPARAGUS POCKETS

• SUN DRIED TOMATO BASIL VINAIGRETTE
• RASPBERRY RICOTTA ALMOND CAKE
• GRILLED SHRIMP SALAD with LIME VINAIGRETTE

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week. 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 dear friends. I hope your week was wonderful. Join me for a cup of coffee and let’s start the morning with a good thought that’s also a funny 😀

Have I mentioned that I ABSOLUTELY adore when fall rolls around?

We had a couple days in the high 70’s, but seriously, it wasn’t that warm and the evenings have been absolutely beautiful. This week is supposed to be in the low 70’s for highs and 40’s for lows.

We finally scheduled a short little trip next week to the coast and as of right now it’s 50/50 om whether it will be raining, BUT it will be MUCH cooler – high 50’s/low 60’s for highs, and that I am certainly looking forward to!Will definitely need to pack for layers.

We usually plan a small trip around each of our birthdays just to get away a bit and with our birthdays being 6 months apart, not around any holidays and the kids always being in school it works out perfect!

For some reason this year I am ESPECIALLY ready for the holidays. Don’t get me wrong I am ALWAYS a Christmas girl, but this year just feels like it needs it more.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Finished all the laundry yesterday and deep cleaning will be tomorrow. Pretty tidy all and all. GROCERIES & ERRANDS Have appointments in town today and tomorrow so will work the few things I need around those. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Still working on several things and need to run up to the post office and send off a certified letter regarding the whole SIL mess -YES, that is STILL going on 🙁 Any prayers that help us move forward are seriously welcome. We really want to get this resolved with as few issues as possible. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Menus are planned through the 3rd week in October. I’ll re-evaluate mid month based on weather.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX – Just finished season 12 of our NCIS reruns AMAZON PRIME – Hubby had never seen HIGH ROAD TO CHINA so we rented that on Saturday evening. Also tried to watch Thursday night football, but seems like there are even more commercials watching it on Prime! CABLE – The new season is here. We have cutback on many things and will watch others as time and or weather permits. I’m not sure that I like all the crossover events tying all the shows together to start the season. 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, Guy’s Game Night, Bobby’s Triple Threat COMEDIES (YAY they start this week) 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 and Rookie Feds starts this week, The Resident, New Amsterdam SYFY/FANTASY – Quantum Leap, La Brea REALITY – Amazing Race

I finished the LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff and have moved on to the STATE OF THE UNION by Marie Force.

Lately, we have been seeing quite a few birds that we haven’t seen before. There is A LOT of construction going on near here in a previously woodsy area and I wonder if they’re driving them our way? We saw this guy on the back fence for a quick minute and can’t remember seeing anything like him before. He is like a cross between a Downy Woodpecker and a red capped Robin. Couldn’t get it in the picture, but he had the brightest red cap on the top back of his head, kind of like a Yarmulke. Anybody know for sure what he is?

There is an OLD historic bank building in town on a busy corner that has been sitting vacant for more than a decade mainly because the people that bought it ran into asbestos abatement issues, or so I was told, but they have finally secured a grant to restore the building as a historic site.

I’ve been watching this unique and grand old building for years wishing someone would do something special with it. As I’m told now the bottom will become a wine tasting bar and the upper floor will have a couple offices. I can’t wait to see what they do.

Several other buildings of existing businesses in town have done the same thing thing and there are several others that are vacant that I hope someone follows suit with after they see this beauty redone.

 

	9/26 MONDAY	9/27 TUESDAY	9/28 WEDNESDAY	9/29 THURSDAY	9/30 FRIDAY	10/1 SATURDAY	10/2 SUNDAY
DINNER	PINEAPPLE PORK ROAST, MASHED POTATOES and SALAD	PECAN CHICKEN with TOMATO ORZO & CREAMY WHITE BEANS	FRENCH ONION SOUP & SOURDOUGH MUFFINS	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	COON BALLS & LOADED CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE	AMISH COUNTRY CASSEROLE and HARISSA CARROTS & ONIONS
DESSERT

• NACHOS CASSEROLE
• MARMALADE CARROTS
  
• CHICKEN CAPRESE BOWLS
• CRUSTED STUFFED CHICKEN
• ENGLISH STYLE BAKED POTATOES
• ORANGE LEMON PEPPER JELLY GLAZED CHICKEN with GRILLED PEPPERS

• BACON GREEN ONION DIP
• PAN SEARED CHICKEN with RUSTIC TOMATO GRAVY
• TOMATO CHEDDAR DUMPLINGS
  

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Mondays so extensively. They truly help keep me focused and on track. It helps me summarize the past week and lay out a fairly concise plan for me to follow 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.

Good morning dear friends. How was your weekend? Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the cloudy cool edge to this morning with a hint towards some much needed rain with me. We’re supposed to be in the mid 70’s most of the week with intermittent rain on 3 days and night time lows dipping into the high 40’s. YAY fall is here!

I had a busy, but fun week. I LOVE as we get older that birthdays morph from a day to a week. I think next year I’ll make it a whole month 😀 My girlfriend invited me to lunch for my birthday that chaotically became something more with other birthdays. While I had fun, I am looking forward to her and I doing a day with just the 2 of us which we decided will be next month as her birthday next week and has already become more than we originally planned.

I did 2 things for myself this year for my birthday. I ran a fundraiser drive for MD Anderson to raise donations for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month which falls during the same month. Without them I wouldn’t be here to celebrate the past 10 years – a TRUE milestone.

And I’m having a long Pampered Chef party that closes next week 😀 They have some fun new items for the fall catalog. In case anyone needs anything here’s the party link. Tamy’s Pampered Chef Party

On this last Monday of summer I’m already feeling fall in the mornings AND evenings making the semi-warm days sandwiched in between beautiful. I’m ALMOST always barefoot at home! But, when fall arrives and my toes get a little chilled I put on some form of socks. Well, that happened last night 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I finished almost all the laundry yesterday, just have a load of sheets and blankets left. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need just a very few things this week and have 2 appointments, 1 today and again on Thursday when I’ll hit the 2 different stores to accomplish the list. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I did get a call from my endocrinologist’s office telling me they think the appeal paperwork to the insurance company will go through this time 😀 YAY! This would take A LOT of my plate. I have 2 other big things I’m working on that I hope and need to get handled this week. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING My actual meals are planned through October, but I got a new fun cook book for my birthday that I have already read cover to cover and tagged the pages I want to try. So, I will be making a “dessert” planning menu and hope to try a small scale recipe each week until I’ve worked my way through the book which will take most of 2023 I think 😀

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We just finished season 11 of NCIS which will be a little confusing tonight when the new season starts, but we’ll muddle through. CABLE The new season begins tonight so I’ve been setting the DVR to get things I want to watch recorded. I’ve been enjoying the Halloween baking shows. And YAY NFL is back and NASCAR has started the championships.

I finished UNMISSING by Minka Kent. She’s a new author to me, but I’ve enjoyed her writing and plot twists that you don’t see coming making the story more unpredictable than many these days. Right now I’ve gotten deeper into the LOST GIRL OF PARIS.

I only took a few photos this past week, but they were kind of weird. I dug up some Calla Lillies to take to a friend for transplanting to her yard and this little baby snail was along for the ride. He was so little and new that even his shell was translucent.

On the way to her house we passed a flea market that is in operation quite often and found this broom – not sure what it was all about unless someone is preparing a prop for a new episode of the Walking Dead. Charley the barn cat was in attendance as always. He looks a little rough around the edges, but has the softest fur and sweetest demeanor.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	STUFFED SHELLS & SALAD	CHICKEN CORDON BLEU, VEGGIE & SALAD	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	BLACK BEAN CHICKEN, SALAD & BAKED RICOTTA	BEEF BURRITO BOWLS & REFRIED BEANS with SALAD	CHICKEN & TOMATOES in CREAM SAUCE and a SALAD	BEEF STROGANOFF & GREEN BEANS
DESSERT

• LEMON DROP CAKE
• SAMOA CHEESECAKE
• BROCCOLI RAMEN SLAW
• PHILLY CHEESE STEAK SLIDERS
• RASPBERRY STEAK & TOMATO SALAD

• EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING
• SUPER EASY SCALLOPED AU GRATIN POTATOES
• SHORT CUT APPLE PIE CUPCAKES
  

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week. 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 you are all doing well and have had a good week/weekend doing something fun. The kids are all back in school, fall is just around the corner and even in the air, so I’m a pretty happy camper.

We have fires going in the area again, not too close, but close enough that we are having bad quality air due to smoke and it is super gray out 🙁 Fortunately we appear to be completely done with the 80’s through triple digits and this week is supposed to have highs in the mid to high 70’s and maybe, just maybe some rain (which we REALLY need)  at the end of the week.

I have some grocery shopping and errands to run in town today so am wearing levi’s, comfy POPS and bright blue blouse. One of my errands is to pick up a cake for a friend’s birthday party tomorrow, but it won’t be available until after 2pm so I’m trying to time it so that is the last thing I pick up before heading home.

I found this funny on FaceBook over the weekend and it fits 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I finished the laundry on Saturday and vacuumed on Friday so I’m all up to date for now. GROCERIES & ERRANDS Even these are all caught up after today! 😀 I will be in town again for a friend’s birthday luncheon tomorrow so will pick up anything I may have forgotten then, but then not back in town until next week. Prices on gas are still so high and even grocery prices are freaking me out every week, so I make as few trips as possible and are condensing recipes, menus and lists as much as possible also. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS this never ending category is truly a bane to my existence lately. For everything item that comes off the list two new ones go on 🙁 RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on October’s menu plan and trying to research some FRESH and different fall like recipes.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX – I just finished LOCKE & KEY and we also just finished season 8 of NCIS reruns. CABLE – COOKING SHOWS – GIRL MEETS FARM started back up and I’m enjoying GUY’S GAME NIGHT so far and I’m curious about Bobby Flay’s new show starting at the end of the month. SPORTS – Glad NFL has started again and sorry to start the playoffs for NASCAR. For once the DVR is all but empty waiting for the new season to begin. I was able to clean up the timers for recordings also.

I started 3 new books this week. I’m just having trouble deciding which genre and author to stick with. UNMISSING by Minka Kent, THE LOST GIRL OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff and THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK by Mary Ellen Wiseman.

Hmmm I only seemed to have taken food pictures this past week.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	BUFFALO CHICKEN ENCHILADAS & SALAD	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CHICKEN & CHEESE QUESADILLA PIE & SALAD	ONE POT MARRY ME CHICKEN & ASPARAGUS POCKETS for my birthday	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	BEEF BURRITO BOWLS & SALAD	CHIPOTLE BLACK BEAN MEATBALLS with RICE & SALAD
DESSERT

• PAN SEARED CHICKEN with WALNUT SAUCE
• CRANRASPBERRY APPLE SLAB PAN PIE
• RED CABBAGE SALAD
• HAM & BROCCOLI ALFREDO BAKE
• SWEET & SOUR CARROTS
• CREOLE STYLE CHICKEN & RICE

• COPY CAT MOZZARELLA HERB CHICKEN
• SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN DIP
• COPY CAT BROWN SUGAR BOURBON PORK CHOPS

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

The evenings have cooled off tremendously and are offering the first real hints of fall truly being in the air. I LOVE IT! We’re still supposed to have a few days with higher 80’s this week, but we’re at that time of year when it’s only for a couple hours of the day. So, basically I’m in heaven as Autumn is upon us. Levis and a peach plaid blouse with a teal stripe are the wardrobe choice for the day because the teal stripe matches my teal toes for September’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness month.

The city announced over the weekend that there are 106 days to the Timber Town Christmas Parade. This year’s theme is WHOVILLE. I can’t wait to see how this turns out. Our little town’s population lines the streets every year for this parade despite the cold and a good time is had by all. Hubby and I have even already planned our picnic menu with hot toddy chocolate for our dinner while we wait.

Other than looking forward to the holidays I think this funny covers it all about what is going on around me/us in life itself 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll be doing a deep clean of bedding this week, but the “regular” laundry is up to date 😀 GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need to make a list and will go grocery shopping in a few days. I went last week and was so discouraged by what I “couldn’t” get even after visiting 3 separate stores! I was able to find several of the locally “non-existent” items on Amazon and was forced to order that way. Strange things like toothpaste, yellow peas, face soap… PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS a never ending category… RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING September is planned and I’m working on October. I just restocked with a Butcher Box of meat and am working September and October around cleaning out the pantry so I can restock fresh for 2023.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX – We finished NCIS season 7 and started season 8 AMAZON PRIME – Am about to finish season 4 NEWSRADIO CABLE – Still cleaning out the DVR of Mysteries of the Abandoned and I caught up on Masterchef and American Ninja Warrior. Svengoolie was creepy this week with FROGS and we switched it off.

I just finished Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens and adored the surprise ending! I’am waffling back and forth between The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent and The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman.

I didn’t take many pictures last week, but I did see this at a local brewery and am still laughing at the name. I really want to find out the story behind it.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	CHIP CRUSTED STUFFED CHICKEN	NACHOS CASSEROLE	CHICKEN & TOMATOES IN CREAM SAUCE	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	CHICKEN TACOS WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA	BEEF STROGANOFF, GREEN BEANS & SALAD	STUFFED SHELLS & SALAD
DESSERT			CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BUNDT CAKE?

• TACO PIE
  
• FIG NEWTON CRISP
• BLACK BEAN BROWNIES
• CHEESY MANGO CHICKEN
• BAKED CAULIFLOWER STEAKS
• MEXICAN STREET CORN CHOWDER
• PUMPKIN BUTTER PECAN CAKE with CARAMEL SAUCE & CINNAMON PECANS

• SONORAN CLAM CHOWDER
• STRAWBERRY PINEAPPLE BANANA BREAD
• SPICY PIMIENTO CHEESE BURGERS

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

Good morning! How are you? I’ve had a strange and busy week with all sorts of family things and certainly hope your week was better than mine! I’ll just leave it at that and jump into starting this week differently. 😀

We’ve been in the high 80’s for day times with low’s in the mid 50’s, but with low humidity and cool ocean breezes. So, I am NOT complaining. In the evening especially you can just feel fall coming our way! It has also been super sunny with virtually no clouds. I’m up and ready to go in comfy worn Levis and a favorite chambray blouse.

Obviously I am sooooooooo ready for fall. Just to keep you also in the loop as fall looms in front of us: My local grocery store is already stocking pumpkins.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I was able to get all the laundry done on Saturday including the bedding and towels 😀 GROCERIES & ERRANDS Hubby has a physical therapy appointment for his back today and I will pick up a couple things while we’re in town but, I will do the majority of the shopping when I’m in town Thursday for my pedicure. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS Same old same old B.S. dealing with the inept clerical staff of a couple places. :SIGH: and :SMH: continuously at the lack of logic reasoning of people. The best example I have is my primary doctor’s office who obviously made a clerical error on data input. They sent me a bill for $24. I paid them with a check for $24. They credited my account for $9. My bank cashed the check for $24. I printed them a copy of the check and took it to them on my last visit – you know the one for my “new patient” visit. They have called me and now want proof of who cashed the check. My logic says it was a key stroke error since they posted a payment to my account and that they need to look at their own data for that date to correct it. They want me to contact the bank for a paper copy of the check to prove they were the ones that cashed it. Like I said, WTH? RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on some round up themes for the fall months like casseroles, soups, stews and chilis.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX – We’ve just finished NCIS season 6 and will probably start season 7 tonight. I’m almost done with season 4 of Virgin River and hope to finish season 2 of Locke & Key later this week. AMAZON PRIME – Have been debating watching TOP GUN MAVERICK CABLE – I’ve cleaned out the DVR and cleaned up all the “timers” for our regular shows. I did the research on the returning and new shows trying to pare down what will be taping this fall. I even eliminated a couple cooking shows.

If you’ve never read Heather Webber, I highly recommend her books. I just finished In the Middle of Hickory Lane and was sad it was over 🙁 It was that good.

I’ve finally started Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and am really loving it.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	CHICKEN CORN CASSEROLE and make the CRACK CHICKEN for tomorrow’s casserole	CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE and FRESH SLICED TOMATOES	SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS with SALAD	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	PICKLED BEET GOAT CHEESE SALAD	CHIP CRUSTED STUFFED CHICKEN with FRESH SLICED TOMATOES	CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD
DESSERT

• PORK STEAKS with APPLE CREAM SAUCE
• BROWN SUGAR BOURBON PORK CHOPS
• BRUSSELS SPROUTS with BACON, CHERRIES & APRICOTS
• CREAMY CHICKEN PARMESAN & PROSCIUTTO
• STRAWBERRY PINEAPPLE BANANA BREAD
• TEX MEX MEATLOAF
• COPY CAT MOZZARELLA HERB CHICKEN

• HONEY CARAMEL NUT TART
• HONEY RANCH BBQ PORK CHOPS
• HOT CHICKEN CHILE VERDE SALAD
  

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

That said, here’s an interesting article about Pumpkin Spice.

You know how life seems to be falling into place and you’re happy to be making headway? And then WHAMMO all of a sudden the rug gets yanked out from under your feet? Well, that describes my past weekend EXACTLY! It literally all happened within 24 hours time.

We had an amazing anniversary dinner at the Parrott House on Thursday night, made some Thanksgiving and Christmas plans… then received a couple phone calls Friday that put EVERYTHING up in the air…

Prayers and positive thoughts would be extra welcome this week as we deal with an uncle who was suddenly diagnosed with Acute Leukemia and immediately hospitalized for immediate treatment for the next week.

Breakfast is of course hot water and yogurt 😀

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY, CLEANING, YARD No major projects this week and the laundry is all caught up. The zucchini plant is all but spent and the cherry tomatoes are about toast also, but the larger heirloom tomatoes are doing quite well. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have an “establishing care for new patient” appointment this week. This ticks me off on soooooo many levels. 1) I am not a new patient, I’ve been with the practice for over 3 years (this time – we were in Texas for a couple years in the middle), but overall 12 years. My primary care doctor left the practice last December. They have “assigned’ me 4 different doctors since then, none of which stayed with the practice requiring me to get new doctors each time, all of which left before I was seen. 2) I have medical conditions (Systemic Lupus, Cancer though knock on wood I’m in remission, my stomach removal… that ALL require “maintenance” and cannot be “cured” by yoga or anything of that nature – not that there is anything wrong with yoga, but it CANNOT replace me seeing my oncologist once a year or my endocrinologist for the reactive hypoglycemia and diabetes – you get the picture. So why, oh why have they place me with a D.O. instead of an M.D.? I am going to meet with her and hope that she straddles the line with the obvious. I don’t need many groceries or have too many errands this week, but will work them into the day of that appointment. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS I’m almost completely caught up in this category! I do have to share a “funny” story though. Several weeks ago I sent an appeal for a medical claim by certified mail. I mean you know how the military AND the mail are so I wanted proof that it got there. On Tuesday I picked up the mail from the post office and had a request for 60 cents due on a letter from the Department of Defense. I assumed it was something for my husband and then realized it was addressed to me. Long story short it was a “confidential” notification of receipt of my appeal, which of course I already knew since I sent it registered so I had tracking. They folded it nicely in a legal size envelope and then put that inside of an 8×11 manilla envelope. Put a stamp on the front of it and sent it my way, postage due and all. BLOG POSTS, RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I seem to be getting back into the swing of things and even more organized so am quite happy with where I’m at. I have a couple months of scheduled recipes set to go and have started a preliminary BLOGMAS schedule that will start the day after Thanksgiving this year and go all the way through King’s day. I’m outlining holiday menus too. I also have several ideas for new recipes that I’m developing.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX NCIS season 5, the movie FINAL SCORE with Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan was quite good, the movie UNCHARTED was a fun Mark Wahlberg movie AMAZON PRIME BOTTOM OF THE NINTH was a good redemption movie with Sophia Vergara and Joe Manganiello, LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN season 1, LOVE & MONSTERS DISNEY + SHE HULK ATTORNEY CABLE SYFY On Saturday nights hubby and I watch really old SVENGOOLIE movies – even have a bowl of popcorn. This week was THE LAND UNKNOWN, an old black and white from 1957 about a crash landing in Antarctica where the survivors find themselves in a prehistoric world. 🙁 FUN/DOCUMENTARY American Pickers, Mysteries of the Abandoned NASCAR, COOKING SHOWS – BBQ USA with Michael Symon, Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, Masterchef, Big Bad Budget Battle

I just started WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by DELIA OWENS. I have been reading exclusively on kindle for several years now, but a friend loaned me a “REAL” book and I’m enjoying it immensely. I have to admit though that I much prefer kindle at night because of the back light on my Paperwhite device.

The sunset last Wednesday night was absolutely AMAZING. We finished the power washing and actual pruning for our elderly friend that had a hip replaced 3 weeks ago. So far I’ve bagged ten 33 gallon bags of yard debris and have about that many more to go. But, the hard part is over. I’ve filled her bird feeders – both regular bird seed and hummingbird. Did they miss her! Look how much they’ve eaten in less than 48 hours! The birds have been plentiful and thankful!

Had to make some last minute menu changes, so, this has become a casserole week. I had been saving many of these recipes for next month to begin fall with.

	8/22 MONDAY	8/23 TUESDAY	8/24 WEDNESDAY	8/25 THURSDAY	8/26 FRIDAY	8/27 SATURDAY	8/28 SUNDAY
DINNER	NACHOS CASSEROLE	AMISH COUNTRY CASSEROLE	CORNY CHICKEN CASSEROLE	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	TEX MEX BACON CHEESE BURGER BAKE for EAGLES MEAL	CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE	CHICKEN & CHEESE QUESADILLA PIE
DESSERT					LEMON DROP CAKE

• SNOW PEA SALAD
  
• ORANGE PICNIC CHICKEN
• RASPBERRY RICOTTA ALMOND CAKE
• GRILLED SHRIMP SALAD with LIME VINAIGRETTE
• PAN SEARED PORK CHOPS, BRAISED RED CABBAGE & APPLES

• HOT HONEY LIME BUTTER CHICKEN
• HONEY ORANGE PINEAPPLE CHICKEN
• BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD with SALTED HONEY BUTTER

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

Good morning my friends! I hope that you all had a wonderful week and are healthy and happy. I know many of you have kids that just went back to school or are about to, effectively bringing your summer to an end. 😀

Hey guys, I hate to be the one to point this out, but, Halloween is only 77 days away which also means there are only 101 days until Thanksgiving and 132 until Christmas! I saw Halloween costumes for sale when I was in Costco the other day and worse yet I saw Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations in Joanne’s last Friday.

It seems like the days are just flying by and while we are still in the throes of summer, fall is almost here which will go by all to fast for my liking and then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here bringing in winter which I love.

Hot water and my last Raspberry Lemonade yogurt are breakfast. I’m hoping that I can find some more yogurt when I go shopping this morning, but it is a flavor that has been hard to find. 🙁

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I was able to get everything up to date and tidy over the weekend. GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’m running into town this morning to do my grocery shopping and then running to water Trudy’s yards on my way home. PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS We’re going to take a day and go bowling later this week and are planning a trip to the butterfly farm. Thursday is our anniversary and we’ll be going out for a nice dinner. Because it’s a Thursday there shouldn’t be a crowd. RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING August is completely planned manu wise and I’m still working on a “LINK” week in September for some new recipes. I’m really trying to work the next several months around the freezer and pantry to clear out everything I can. At the end of the year I’m going to donate anything leftover to the food pantry so I can reorganize and downsize everything.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We’ve finished NCIS through season 4. Locke & Key season 2 is here so we just began that. We also watched DOOM Anihilation. DISCOVERY + MYSTERIES at the MUSEUM CABLE On Saturday nights hubby and I watch really old SVENGOOLIE movies – even have a bowl of popcorn. But, this week it just wasn’t any fun so we switched it off. FUN/DOCUMENTARY American Pickers, Mysteries of the Abandoned NASCAR, COOKING SHOWS – BBQ USA with Michael Symon, Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, Masterchef, Big Bad Budget Battle

I just finished Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune #23 SWAMP SPIRITS and loved it, as always a fun read!

We went to the County Fair last Friday, and while I’m used to MUCH larger fairs, the one thing about ANY county fair is how cute the animals are. We love seeing the FFA and 4H kids and their animals. Unfortunately, I always have higher hopes for the other categories 🙁 There were very few quilts and homemaking entries which I found very disappointing. 🙁 In our old area it would have taken us 2 days to do the WHOLE fair – here it took only 2-3 hours.

	8/15 MONDAY	8/16 TUESDAY	8/17 WEDNESDAY	8/18 THURSDAY	8/19 FRIDAY	8/20 SATURDAY	8/21 SUNDAY
DINNER	TACO PIE & SALAD	PHILLY CHEESE STEAK SLIDERS & SALAD	BEEF BURRITO BOWLS	OUR ANNIVERSARY dinner out at the PARROT HOUSE	CORN/YOYO CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT or YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	STRAWBERRY CHICKEN SALAD	KENTUCKY HOT BROWN SLIDERS & SALAD
DESSERT			RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE				RASPBERRY ALMOND RICOTTA CAKE

• SONORAN CLAM CHOWDER
• SMOKEY BAKED BEANS
• POTATO CORN SALAD
• CHICKEN BLT PASTA SALAD
• CHICKEN & DRESSING BAKE
• CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD PUDDING

• CHEDDAR MUFFINS
• HONEY SOY PORK with PEANUT NOODLES
• ORANGE CHILE 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

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

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

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

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

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

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

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

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

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

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

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

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

• BLONDE BEEF STEW
• SALSA VERDE CHICKEN
• EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING
• STUFFED GREEN CHILE STUFFED CHICKEN
• HOT HONEY BUTTER GLAZED PORK CHOPS
• SUPER EASY SCALLOPED POTATOES AU GRATIN

• PAN SEARED CHICKEN with LEMON WINE SAUCE
• MEXICAN COBB SALAD with JALAPENO RANCH DRESSING
• BUTTERMILK FUDGE BROWNIE CAKES