MENUS – Page 2 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, RECIPES LINKS, MENUS week 39 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.274

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEK IN RECAP

September has just flown by and quickly at that! I want to enjoy the ‘BER months so I’m going to do my best to slow October down!!

Tuesday and Thursday were spent getting a good friend to and from physical therapy, running her errands and trying to get caught up on her yard work and house maintenance.

Wednesday was a close friend’s birthday so we spent the day with her and many other friends celebrating first with lunch and then drinks that lingered into the evening. There was a ton of good food, great desserts and lots and lots and lots more laughter.

Friday I finally got caught up on some paperwork, but I am NOT finished with it… YET…

Saturday we went to a few Barn and yard sales, but only found a few things I couldn’t live without. Also got most of the grocery shopping done, at least until the end of the week.

Sunday… what can I say? Sunday started great and ended up super lazy! I watched football all day and did finish my book though 😀

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s going to be another perfect fall week of temperatures in the 70’s during the day and 40’s at night. Perfect for me 😀

ON MY MIND

Prayers for all the people affected by the horrific hurricane Helene. The destruction caused to human life as well as the infrastructure of the south is unimaginable. I pray for help to arrive just as swiftly as the hurricane did.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a couple loads of sheets and towels to do and am beginning to amass a pile of ironing
GROCERIES & ERRANDS mostly done until Friday
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m still working on condensing little pieces of paper and organizing them into an easy to access order. We’re also thinking about going to the Great Junk Hunt so I need to make room reservations as it’s several hours away.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Starting next week I’m going to pick just one cookbook and cook from all the tabs I have poking out 🙂

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S PLAYING ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’re still watching FRINGE and I’m listening to The Scarecrow and Mrs. King during the day
CABLE Fall shows are just beginning, but so far for me DRAMAS – Chicago Series, Brilliant Minds, Matlock, High Potential COOKING SHOWS – Last Bite Hotel, Outrageous Pumpkins, Halloween Wars, Halloween Baking Championship, Halloween Championship

READING TIME

I’m finished with Jana DeLeon’s Marsh Madness and started Marie Force’s In the Air Tonight

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	9/30 MONDAY	10/1 TUESDAY	10/2 WEDNESDAY	10/3 THURSDAY	10/4 FRIDAY	10/5 SATURDAY	10/6 SUNDAY
DINNER	LAYERED SALAD	SLOPPY JOE SLIDERS	BAKED SPAGHETTI	HAMBURGER STEW	CHICKEN CHILE CASSEROLE	CORN	HAM & CHEESE BREAD PUDDING
DESSERT		PEAR WALNUT CRISP

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENUS, RECIPE LINKS week 38 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.267

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

As we say in Texas, Happy Fall Y’ALL

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning dear friends. Can you believe we are in the last week of September already? It blows my mind how fast time is going these days. I’m sitting here having some butterscotch coffee and getting my day/week organized – it’s going to be a busy one! Come sit with me and have a cup while we chat.

My weekend started early again this week. Some girlfriends took me and a bestie out for dinner and a play for our birthdays. At this age we’ve decided that we have birthday months and if it isn’t something to do or food we don’t need it 😀

We had a GREAT time. In this small community we don’t have A LOT of choices or venues for good food and cultural events, yet the night was wonderful. We saw Agatha Christie’s THE MOUSETRAP which I learned has been playing somewhere in the world (with the exception of during COVID) continuously for over 70 years!

Dinner was at a “new” restaurant, but I also found out that it is the same owners of an old favorite restaurant that has recently shut it’s doors EXCEPT for Sunday brunch and special events. The Parrot House is an old Victorian house that had been renovated into a restaurant several years back and was always a place for special occasions. The owner had sold a couple years back, but was doing the financing for the new owners and had to take it back when the mortgage wasn’t being paid. Unfortunately, the buyers had run it down horribly during the term and the necessary required maintenance and overhaul made it so they couldn’t continue on a day to day basis 🙁 So, they opened a smaller venue downtown with many of the same menu items and it seems to be a success.The food was really good! Here’s a small sampling of what we had. Glazed shrimp, braised short ribs, pickled beet salad and a Brazilian meat board. Thursday night special is a Surf and Turf night, but somehow missed that picture.

Friday was chores for a friend who had knee replacement surgery recently and getting her to physical therapy and some lunch.Today will be much of the same with getting her to X-RAY, surgeon follow up appointment and physical therapy.

Saturday was a bunch of us “girls” getting together to go U-PICKing for fruits, veggies, nuts and berries at a local favorite farm. I normally go to their market stand in town where they also have a small bakery and provisional products. You definitely save a bit of money picking your own though. It’s end of season up here and they’ll only be open a few more weeks so being there during this ‘change of season’ weekend was perfect timing for this outing.

We followed it up with drinks and lunch at a favorite little vineyard with flights, avalanches and a charcuterie style selection on cheeses and wood fired pizza on their patio since the weather was so nice.

Sunday was football and lunch with the bestie and then dinner with my mom at a favorite old tavern for sandwiches. Now let’s get on with the week. Welcome to Monday!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

That dreaded Indian Summer is trying to creep into my fall vibes, but I refuse to let it dampen my attitude. Today and tomorrow will be in the low 80’s but at least the nighttime lows will be just that, LOWS in the 40’s and 50’s. We’ll then go back down into the low 70’s thank you autumn for arriving on time!

ON MY MIND

I just keep shaking my head in disbelief. In my mind I keep hearing my aunt who used to say P.U.S.H all the time to us when we had problems. PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS. So, I keep PUSHing that this world will do the same and right itself.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I did the deep clean on our bedroom last week and started the pantry trying to get the canned goods and freezer cleaned out.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS Just a few groceries for me and whatever a friend who just had her knee replaced needs. Hubby will be doing some yard work for her and I’m going to get her hummingbird feeders fixed as well as get her to physical therapy a few days. I’m sure she’ll need a few groceries, but I’m keeping her in dinners for now.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m still organizing all the papers and files I found and/or changed around during last week’s deep clean. I also got linked back up to Bloglovin’.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’ve been taking this just a few days at a time because the weather keeps changing. So, I’m cooking on a whim these days 😀

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING ~ We’re still binge watching FRINGE of an evening and probably will until the DVR gets a few more fall shows its coffers.
CABLE ~ The fall shows are beginning, but I’m still figuring it all out and haven’t had a chance yet to watch anything. We did watch the sneak peek of the new Matlock show with Kathy Bates and I think it will be really good.

READING TIME

I’m still reading Recipe for A Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	9/23 MONDAY	9/24 TUESDAY	9/25 WEDNESDAY	9/26 THURSDAY	9/27 FRIDAY	9/28 SATURDAY	9/29 SUNDAY
DINNER	PORK CAKE and SALAD	BBQ BACON MEATBALL SLIDERS and COLESLAW	CIDER GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS and ??	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own	ORANGE TERIYAKI CHICKEN and RICE	GOULASH and VEGGIES	MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN
DESSERT		PEAR WALNUT CRISP

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

GOOD FRIENDS ~ GOOD TIMES

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

CREAM OF CHICKEN and ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP
CHOCOLATE MALTED CRISPY BARS
CRISPY RICE this needs a MUCH better picture!! It’s so hard to photograph “white” things without them looking staged 😀

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY and MENUS with RECIPES week 37 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.260

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning sweet friends. Can you believe we are already half way through September? Seems like it was just August! Our cooler mornings are really making me appreciate my butterscotch coffee and snuggling under my favorite blanket while I type this up.

My weekend began on Friday doing a deep clean that became a domino effect of several rooms leading into most of Saturday – kind of a reverse spring cleaning. I’ve boxed up several boxes for the garage and several bags for donation. Hubby made me take yesterday off for my birthday, but I’m hoping to finish today before, but probably after my noon meeting or maybe Tuesday if I can’t get done before the 4:30 meeting. We did go out for lunch on Saturday to a local haunt for our favorite pizza and salad. I was surprised with a impromptu birthday celebration at a friends bar and grill yesterday with friends that was a lot of fun followed by birthday drinks with another friend at the Eagles and then dinner with friends on their deck overlooking the pond and sunset.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

The past week has been wonderful in the low to mid 70’s and expected to continue into this week with the exception of tomorrow and Wednesday when it is supposed to dip into the low 60’s with rain before returning back to the 70’s. Once again I am NOT complaining as the weather is near perfect! 🙂 It’s that time of year where I need to start keeping a lightweight sweatshirt in the car and/or wear shoes and socks instead of my standard summer flip flops since I’m getting so cold inside most places these days.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING COMPLETELY up to date except for a bit of ironing.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need to evaluate my week and search the pantry to make a list. I’m trying to plan the menu around the freezer and the pantry to pare down what’s on stock.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Now that the deep clean is done I have several boxes of papers to sort through. I just love being organized.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m still searching for fall recipes, but so far so good – hubby has been happy with the new recipes so far.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We are still binge watching FRINGE of an evening waiting on the new season of seasonal premieres. During the day I started binge “watching” aka listening to THE SCARECROW and MRS. KING which I’m not sure I ever saw the first time through!

READING TIME

I finally finished Gill Paul’s The Collector’s Daughter and will start Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown tonight.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	GREEN CHILE CHICKEN & BEANS	CHICKEN & RICE with GREEN BEANS	PORK MEDALLIONS and ONION GRAVY with PARMESAN GREEN BEANS	CORN/YOYO OUT WITH GIRLFRIENDS FOR DINNER AND A PLAY	STUFFED PEPPER SOUP	CIDER GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS and RICE	MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN
DESSERT	BOSTON CREAM PIE CUPCAKES

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We went to feed the peacocks on Thursday afternoon and went across the new bridge between our town and a neighboring town. The old one was a one lane bridge with a light. It’s been quite an ordeal for them to both build the new one and tear down the old one because it not only spans across an active rail line, but also was full of asbestos. But, they’re almost done.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS week 36 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.253

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning friends. Can you believe a week of September is already over? Sure seems like it was just August! Come on in, pour yourself a cup of my butterscotch fall coffee and let’s have a chat.

We started the weekend on Thursday night this week having dinner with a friend on another friend’s deck. She and I both have September birthdays and have agreed that at this age we get to celebrate ALL month so we take every opportunity to celebrate. She is also a WONDERFUL guinea pig letting me try new recipes on her. We celebrated the end of summer with wonderful Tequila Rose Fizzes, “elegant” pigs in a blanket and lemon blueberry crinkle cake. I had never heard of crinkle cake until a recent Master Chef episode and found it is all the TikTok rage, but I don’t TikTok either. 😂 I did make it my own though and we all thought it was really tasty!

Friday was errand day and then a fundraiser dinner a friend was cooking for.

Saturday was a lazy morning and then we met some friends for drinks in the afternoon. I made some delicious Black Bean Salsa chicken in my new NINJA Foodi PRO – I’m really loving my new toy.

Sunday was also a lazy morning (we’ve been spending less time outside with the smokey air) followed by lunch with a friend who had been on vacation. I did some organizing in the afternoon and of course this was the first full football weekend. 😀 I hope your team won. Congratulations Jean – it was a great game. And sorry Carrie – I hope next week is better in celebration of your wedding and my birthday. I always root for the Dolphins AND the Lions because they have had such tough seasons in recent years, but they BOTH won and looked pretty good! Sorry to hubby though who is a Rams fan.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We had a few recent days of heat advisories, but fall appears to be arriving here in the Pacific North West and that is making this girl EXTREMELY happy. Highs this week in the 70’s and low’s in the 50’s will be just perfect!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a couple loads of laundry to do and will be deep cleaning our bedroom on Friday I think.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a meat box arriving later this week that I’ll need to be home for and I’ll do most the grocery shopping later this morning. My plan is to be home for my birthday weekend (this upcoming weekend) baking and cooking whatever I want 😀 so I’m getting all the “chores” done early this week.
PROJECTS & TRAVELS No BIG projects this week.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on a fall menu full of stews, soups, chilis and casseroles, but taking things one week at a time right now.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING We’ve been binge watching FRINGE
CABLE I’m looking forward to the new season of shows beginning in a couple weeks.

READING TIME

I FINALLY found time this last week to read and am hoping to finish Gill Paul’s The Collector’s Daughter.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt to get my system kick started 😀

	9/9 MONDAY	9/10 TUESDAY	9/11 WEDNESDAY	9/12 THURSDAY	9/13 FRIDAY	9/14 SATURDAY	9/15 SUNDAY
DINNER	SANDRA’S CRAZY PIZZA BREAD	ORANGE CHICKEN and RICE	BUTTERMILK RANCH PORK CHOPS and POTATOES	OUT WITH FRIENDS to FNB	GRILLED STEAKS and JACKET POTATOES	not sure yet	HUBS IS COOKING FOR MY BIRTHDAY
DESSERT						BOSTON CREAM PIE CUPCAKES

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I finished house sitting last night, but not before getting a few more pictures of life overlooking the pond 😀 I will miss the view, but I also found it quite noisy. They’ve been developing the pond are and the traffic have taken much of the serenity out of the view at times.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

BUFFALO CHICKEN SLOPPY JOES
BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
SMOTHERED POTATOES WEEKLY PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENUS, RECIPE LINKS week 33 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.232

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

The Eagle’s Madam President dinner was a HUGE success! I have given up MANY of my day to day operational, maintenance and support duties because of the new board and their inability to follow rules and guidelines in the best interest of others, but I still support my sisters when and where I can with my cooking and baking. A friend asked me to bake her desserts for her fundraising dinner functions that occurred on National Lemon Meringue day and on the eve of our local Blackberry festival so I made her lemon blueberry scones, cherry lemon scones and blackberry pie bars. She made a fantastic dinner and had a dessert bar with one of the largest turnouts ever!

Hubby and I planned on being at the Show and Shine first thing Saturday morning because we were going to be under a red flag warning later in the day for dry lightning strikes. Well mother nature had other ideas! The coffee had just finished brewing when the power went out. Long story short a lightning strike took out a transformer transmission pole for several small towns. I took a shower by candlelight and then we still went to the Festival which fortunately was in an area unaffected by the power outage. Afterwards we went and had breakfast with a friend and the power was back on just as we got home. The serious rain began an hour or so later and the lightning storm continued throughout the evening.

I was able to get the tomatoes picked and garden cleaned up before the rain began and spent the day making my kitchen sink (clean out the veggie crisper) bolegnese sauce with the tomatoes I picked.

Sunday was planned to be almost as lazy. And then we changed our mind. 😀 It was our anniversary and the restaurants (there are only 2) that we had to choose from for a nice dinner out are now closed on Sundays so we decided to go out tonight instead and head to the coast yesterday which was a GREAT choice for us until it wasn’t LOL traffic to and from the coast was heavy so we changed our mind again and went back to the lazy Sunday idea and had a late breakfast/lunch at a local haunt that runs wonderful specials for the Blackberry festival.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

This week is going to be pretty nice with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 50’s. I really hope this means fall is right around the corner. It’s only 3 weeks to the ‘BER’ months and I am ready!!! Please no Indian Summer this year!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Everything is actually up to date except for some vacuuming.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I don’t need much and have a haircut appointment on Thursday so will pick up anything I need then.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I have a slew of paperwork to sort through.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m really looking forward to the fall months and have planned several new recipes to try for fall. Some of the recipes are: CIDER GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS, CIDER BRAISED BRISKET, PARMESAN ROASTED GREEN BEANS, PEPPERONCINI CHICKEN & RICE, STUFFED PEPPER SOUP, CHICKEN TAMALE PIE, ALMOND CHERRY POKE CAKE, SHEET PAN SCONE CAKE

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

STREAMING I am just about done with the OLD MacGyver reruns and will then finish the OLD Matlock reruns. We’re still watching Stargate Atlantis of an evening and then the OLD Night Court comedy for late night.
CABLE I’m looking forward to the fall line up in a few weeks, but in the meantime have been getting caught up on the DVR cooking shows and spring back load of shows.

READING TIME

I’m reading Gill Paul’s The Collector’s Daughter: A Novel of the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	8/19 MONDAY	8/20 TUESDAY	8/21 WEDNESDAY	8/22 THURSDAY	8/23 FRIDAY	8/24 SATURDAY	8/25 SUNDAY
DINNER	OUT for our anniversary since everywhere we wanted to go last night was actually closed 🙁	PORK CHOPS with PINEAPPLE RELISH, RICE & SALAD	CHERRY COLA BBQ CHICKEN and COLE SLAW	SPINACH SALAD with WARM BACON VINAIGRETTE	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own	LEMON CHICKEN, HONEY GLAZED SNAP PEAS and ROAST POTATOES	CHICKEN TAMALE PIE
DESSERT			BLACKBERRY PIE BARS

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

This past weekend was our annual Blackberry festival – always a fun time with a show and shine classic car show, movie in the park (AMERICAN GRAFFITI), favorite craft and food vendors, a chili cook-off and lots of homemade blackberry goodies of every kind. Saturday did bring rain, thunderstorms, red flag warnings for lightning and a little bit of humid heat.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS week 31 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.218

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning dear friends. I hope you all enjoyed your week! After being pretty much a homebody for 10 days we FINALLY really got out and about on Saturday. We started early and visited 3 different farmer’s markets in 3 surrounding towns and had a pizza at a favorite brewery, but the smokey fire air was getting to my eyes along with the heat and humidity so we came home mid afternoon and I binge watched a couple shows and then we watched a SYFY movie called MADAME WEB after dinner.

Sunday was more laid back, but I did accomplish getting the laundry caught up as well as some deep cleaning and organizing. I’ve been doing little projects where I can stay away from dust and bacteria. I ended up in the on-call ophthalmologist’s office last Tuesday with a slight infection starting so ended up on antibiotics 🙁 nipping the infection right away and at least I get my stitches out Wednesday! 😀 I also pickled the beets I bought at the farmer’s market and grilled BBQ chicken for an early dinner.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

This week is supposed to be a lot of partly cloudy and still in the 90’s with A LOT of smoke, so not the prettiest of weeks. This will be definitely be a flip flop week with comfy Levi’s and tanks with lightweight blouses. I’m hoping Thursday is a really good weather day since most of it will be spent outside at the county fair. I will wear actual shoes that day 😀

ON MY MIND

For the past 2 years I have been trying really hard to stay up with blogging daily. So, 3 days a week I have set up to do WORDLESS WEDNESDAY, SATURDAY COFFEE and SILENT SUNDAY. These 3 days seem like all I do is post a meme or special picture, but a lot of thought goes into deciding these and they each mean something to me in a positive way I want to convey to others. My husband asked me if that was cheating? I don’t think so – it’s just my Type A personality staying focused and organized 😀 I do post Happy Homemaker Monday in depth and 2-3 recipes, tutorials or trips on the other 3 days that require much more thought.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING ALL done!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll head to town in a bit to get a few things.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING August is done, but I’ll start September soon and am looking for some fun fall recipes.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX We finished the SWEET TOOTH series with James Brolin narrating – love his voice.
AMAZON PRIME We have spent more time inside the past week with me still recuperating and the wind shifting so we were getting HORRIBLE smoke and ash from the fires in the eastern part of the state. So, we watched SPACE CADET which was cute, kind of like a space version of LEGALLY BLONDE from years ago. We finally watched THE BOYS ON THE BOAT. We also started watching STARGATE ATLANTIS as binge reruns.
CABLE Cooking shows – BBQ BRAWL, FOOD TRUCK RACE, MARY MAKES IT EASY
THEATRE The smoke was really bad, but we were tired of staying indoors so went to see TWISTERS! It was really good, but then again it was a Spielberg film 😀

READING TIME

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	8/5 MONDAY	8/6 TUESDAY	8/7 WEDNESDAY	8/8 THURSDAY	8/9 FRIDAY	8/10 SATURDAY	8/11 SUNDAY
DINNER	OVEN FRIED CHICKEN with SPICY HONEY & SLAW	LEMON PARMESAN CHICKEN with SUN-DRIED TOMATOES & HERBS	stitch removal day so will eat out!	COUNTY FAIR DAY so it will be a CORN/YOYO day CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR OR YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN	PULL APART CHEESY PIGS in a BLANKET	HAWAIIAN CHICKEN SALAD	BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
DESSERT		APPLE FRITTER CAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We took back roads a lot this weekend and I noticed that so many farms are starting to stockpile bales of hay for winter. And I LOVE barns, so getting a few pictures of some of my favorites was quite nice. I also LOVE finding these rocks and re-hiding them!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 21 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.141

**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 cool and foggy here this morning, but we should hit some pretty nice weather as we travel home today. That said the weather at home appears to be running on the cooler side so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. The weather app on my phone says the high for tomorrow will be a cloudy 49°. I did get a new hoodie and flannel on the trip that I’ll wear one today and one tomorrow.

I’m a bit tired, but happy that I was able to get so much accomplished for my SIL in a short amount of time. We also had a smaller than normal group (only 42 due to graduations, proms and weddings) for the family reunion, but it was a great time. I’m hoping next year’s group is bigger again.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll have a few loads of laundry when we get home, but the cleaning was done before we left.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll definitely to do grocery shopping on Wednesday 😀
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS ??
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING ??

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

We’ll see what’s on the DVR when we get home 😀

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
DINNER	OUT WHILE ON THE ROAD	OUT WHILE ON THE ROAD	ORANGE CHICKEN and CHOW MEIN	JAMBALAYA and DIRTY RICE	OUT working CRIBBAGE WEEKEND	OUT working CRIBBAGE WEEKEND	OUT working CRIBBAGE WEEKEND
DESSERT				CAJUN CAKE

I’m not posting ALL the photos from the family reunion, but if anyone is interested here’s a link to see how much fun we had.It was a little bit colder than normal, but we didn’t let that stop us! 😀

We had lunch at the wharf before we headed down to the family reunion. It was a cold, but pretty day!

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS week 18 of 2024~ BLOG 366.120

I CANNOT believe that it is almost May already! This year is speeding by way too fast.

We’re at that time of year where the highs in the 60’s are good for about a 2 hour window in the afternoon, but we are starting the day in the high 30’s-40’s and the weather pattern changes several times a day from partially sunny, to cloudy to rainy and back again with some strong breezes thrown in around noon time lately. So layers are the name of the game! Today is Levis with a black tank, buffalo plaid flannel and a favorite hoodie. I’m cleaning out my closet this week and getting a bag together for donation

I went to the County Quilt Show last Friday and had a great time. A friend of mine won 2 of the prizes with her great eye for color and designI’m hoping to get a post done with the other wonderful quilts I saw later this week.

Sandra posted her baby birds last week which made me wonder where I had filed my own pictures 😀 I just LOVE watching the birds each morning as I have my coffee. SO I started looking and I found them. I took these outside my SIL’s back door last year.

Broom Hilda and The Grinch made an appearance in our little timber town recently.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is up to date, but I need to vacuum and do the bathrooms and kitchen.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I don’t need much this week, but will get those few items when I do the Eagle’s shopping on Wednesday.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m still waiting on a few callbacks from several people, and working on final plans for the upcoming family reunions.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m ahead of the game on this category, but will quickly fall behind with the upcoming trip and all the cooking for the cribbage weekend and 2 June dinners at the Eagles.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

DVR is caught up (almost) and have been watching the spring baking championship, 24 in 24, season finales for a few shows and a few old movies.

I finally finished The Alice Network which I really enjoyed. I have no idea why the first half of the book read so slow for me and I LOVED the twist ending. I’m now reading I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU by Fannie Flagg.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	4/29 MONDAY	4/30 TUESDAY	5/1 WEDNESDAY	5/2 THURSDAY	5/3 FRIDAY	5/4 SATURDAY	5/5 SUNDAY
DINNER	PERUVIAN VERDE ARROZ con POLLO	cooking at EAGLES ~ CHICKEN CHILI & CORNBREAD	CHICKEN MARSALA and NOODLES	PAN FRIED PORK CHOPS and BROWN RICE	cooking at EAGLES ~ BEEF FAJITAS	HALIBUT ENCHILADAS and BEANS	SEAFOOD SALAD
DESSERT		STRAWBERRY POUND CAKE			CHOCOLATE ANCHO CHILI CUPCAKES

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY wtih MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 17 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.113

The weather has been ALL over the place! We are getting an hour or so each day that’s nice, but still having multiple weather patterns each day. We are seeing a couple of spring poppy blooms finally though and the hummingbird vine is coming in quite well. Today is Levi’s and a favorite hoodie kind of day. Highs in the low 60’s (maybe) and lows in the high 30’s to low 40’s.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ve been doing some deep cleaning, sorting for donations and a friend’s garage sale and just some much needed overall organizing. Laundry is up to date and actually folded as well as put away.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have some grocery runs to do for the Eagles this week and an oncology appointment in a neighboring town an hour+ away so hubby and I will take that day to maybe do a little antiquing and have a nice dinner.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS This is all part of my organizing. I have notes everywhere and am attempting to organize my busy life into a single notebook in hopes of simplifying things – wish me luck 😀
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m still taking this one week at a time…

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

We are finally caught up on the DVR shows and even watched an old movie that we’d never seen before Tidal Wave – No Escape with Corbn Bernson and The Homesman with Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank. We started watching COACH at night when we go to bed – hubby can’t seem to fall asleep without the TV while I read.

I am back to finishing The Alice Network at night on my kindle, but have been so tired I only get about 10 minutes in before I fall asleep. During the day when I have time I’m reading I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg on my phone app.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	4/22 MONDAY	4/23 TUESDAY	4/24 WEDNESDAY	4/25 THURSDAY	4/26 FRIDAY	4/27 SATURDAY	4/28 SUNDAY
DINNER	FIGGY BALSAMIC PORK & RICE	LOOSE MEAT CHEESESTEAK SAMMIES	CHICKEN FAJITA BOWLS	BAVETTE STEAK IN DEMI-GLACE	BALSAMIC TOMATO & HERB CHICKEN	SWEET CHILI PORK & CABBAGE STIR FRY	BROWN SUGAR BOURBON PORK CHOPS
DESSERT		BUTTER BISCUIT BERRY CRUMBLE

Years ago we rehabbed a Queen Anne Victorian that was 120 years old. It came with some really old German bearded iris bulbs. When we left there I dug up several and brought them with us. Obviously they were VERY hearty stock! They still look beautiful today.

Hubby has been working diligently on the power washing after the long wet winter. This year is the worst it’s ever been! Each section is taking a very long time, but it is starting to look better little by little. And aren’t these baby chicks adorable? I check them out every time I go to the feed store. 😀

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 16 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.106

It’s cloudy and gray, which is no big surprise 😀 Today’s high is supposed to be around 50 or so and then clear for the rest of the week. Clear will be awesome during the day, but will bring back some cold nights. Levis and a favorite long sleeve t-shirt. I am trading in the UGG’s for tennies in hopes that spring really is here to stay.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I got caught up on all the laundry and cleaning this weekend. 😀
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I only need a few things for me this week, but I’m preparing dinner Tuesday AND Friday for the Eagles and need several things for those meals. Fortunately, I only have to cook for tomorrow and not serve. I have a hair cut and first pedicure for the season tomorrow and will pick up the groceries I need at that time.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS My main goal today is to get caught up on this category! Yesterday I was heavy into spring cleaning and sorting through linen and bathroom type things. Another friend has been doing the same thing and my car is full of donations from the 2 of us.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m still doing a few slow cooked meals and looking for lighter spring recipes.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

NETFLIX I watched the BRICKLAYER an action packed CIA type movie
PRIME We’ve been watching a new series called FALLOUT with Walter Goggins – a bit weird and even raunchy in places, but intriguing too.
CABLE The DVR is pretty well cleaned up, but there are a few lingering shows to catch up on – WHEN CALLS THE HEART, SPRING BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP, TRACKER, NCIS, LAW & ORDER, BLUE BLOODS, GHOSTS, YOUNG SHELDON, GOOD DOCTOR…

I’m still trying to finish THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn on my actual kindle – just can’t talk myself into walking away completely. I did start Fannie Flagg’s I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU on my kindle phone app which I’ve been reading in waiting rooms and such.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	4/15 MONDAY	4/16 TUESDAY	4/17 WEDNESDAY	4/18 THURSDAY	4/19 FRIDAY	4/20 SATURDAY	4/21 SUNDAY
DINNER	SLOW COOKER CHICKEN & DRESSING	OVEN BBQ CHICKEN	BAVETTE STEAK	BROWN SUGAR BOURBON PORK CHOPS	COBB SALAD with JALAPENO RANCH	HONEY THYME PORK	CHICKEN FAJITA BOWLS
DESSERT		MARGARITA CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING			LEMON BLUEBERRY COFFEECAKE

I didn’t take many photos this week, but did see these adorable chicks up at the feed store. And these bulls were on opposite sides of the road and VERY vocal when the female came trotting up to one of them. It was fun to watch them. 😀

HOW THE DATE FOR EASTER IS DECIDED

Easter is going to be late this year! Do you ever wonder how the date is decided? Well, let me tell you what I found with a little research.

Unlike Christmas, the date of Easter Sunday changes every year and can fall anytime between March 22nd and April 25th. Why is this you ask?

Because Easter Sunday is decided by complex calculations based on the moon. Early on in Christianity different churches used different methods. This led to disagreements that still exist today in some cultures.

Easter celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus which according to the Bible happened around the same time as Jewish Passover. Passover typically begins the night of the first FULL moon AFTER the spring equinox (usually March 20th or 21st) EXCEPT in months when it is the SECOND full moon. This most recently occurred in 2016. The FULL moon can vary in each time zone so the Church calculates Easter from the 14th day of the ecclesiastic lunar month which is known as the paschal full moon. Easter is the Sunday that follows the paschal full moon that falls on or after the equinox so can be from 1-7 days later.

In 1818 the full moon fell on the equinox, Saturday March 21, so Easter was the next day, March 22. Easter will not be this early again until the year 2285. The earliest recent Easter was March 23 in 2008. In 1943 a full moon fell on March 20, just before the equinox, so the paschal full moon was the next one on April 18 which was a Sunday so Easter was seven days later on April 25. It will not be this late again until 2038. The latest recent Easter was April 23 in the year 2000.

This year Good Friday will be April 19th and Easter Sunday will be April 21st. You can find a table for upcoming Easter Sundays here.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 48 of 2017

I hope you had as great a Thanksgiving as we did. It was a day full of relaxation, food and football. It was a small gathering this year for us. My uncle came for dinner and brought a yummy apple pie with Marble Slab Vanilla Ice Cream – YUMMY! The weekend was quiet – we NEVER do Black Friday anyway, but being in isolation in the house made it seem quieter than normal. I did tape AND watch several Christmas movies as well as eat some yummy leftovers which are in my opinion the best part of Thanksgiving.

When I was a kid, the Friday after Thanksgiving was the day we put up our Christmas tree, ate turkey sandwiches and started wrapping Christmas presents. Well, this year we put up decorations, ate HOT turkey sandwiches and relaxed. Living in a BIG city this year I avoid shopping on Mondays, Fridays and weekends so it was nice to have a LONG relaxing weekend.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

While it has been more pleasant recently there are still a few days this week projected in the 80’s with higher humidity, but I have realized this is my current norm and won’t change until we move.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Pomegranates and cucumber salad with Green Tea

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

LAUNDRY… quite a few loads this week, towels, bedding and clothing
LIVING AREAS… plan on doing a deep clean today and tomorrow
KITCHEN… part of the deep clean today
STUDIO… is mainly storage pending our move so nothing going on there
YARD… nothing much after the weekend storms, just too wet to do anything
ERRANDS…hospital pre-op blood and xrays Wednesday, grocery shopping, drugstore and Target
BLOG… some recipe updating, future post planning and BLOGMAS post planning

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I finally finished reading the Bridge to a Better Life by Ava Miles book 8 in her Dare Valley Series. I will continue her series with book #9 Calendar of New Beginnings as I’m enjoying it, but for a bit of change I switched over to Marie Force’s Green Mountain #8 Can’t Buy Me Love.

BIG BANG THEORY and the new YOUNG SHELDON
NCIS, NCIS NEW ORLEANS and NCIS LA, CRIMINAL MINDS, S.W.A.T.
MADAM SECRETARY, SCANDAL, DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO PD, CHICAGO MED
BRAVE, VALOR, SEAL TEAM
LAW & ORDER SVU, BLUE BLOODS, HAWAII 5-0
MACGYVER, SCORPION, BLINDSPOT, ORVILLE, WISDOM OF THE CROWD
Z NATION, WALKING DEAD, FLASH, DC LEGENDS, INHUMANS
THE GOOD PLACE, AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE, SPEECHLESS, GREAT NEWS
THIS IS US, ONCE UPON A TIME, THE GOOD DOCTOR
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES, BEAT BOBBY FLAY, BOBBY AND DAMARIS, GUY’S RANCH

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	TATER TOT WAFFLE BACON CHEESE SANDWICHES	QUICHE
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	C.O.R.N.
DINNER	TURKEY TETTRAZINI	HOT TURKEY SANDWICHES	PORK CHOPS & STUFFING	CHILI DOGS and DEVILED POTATO SALAD	MONTE CRISTO SANDWICHES	MEATLOAF and PARMESAN STACKERS	C.O.R.N.
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

10 days until surgery – FINALLY! Who would think I’d actually be looking forward to such a thing? After the past 13 months I will be so relieved to have it over that I’m actually glad it’s almost here! I’m trying to get things done a month ahead to make life easier for hubby ESPECIALLY with Christmas in the middle!.

We mixed and match our recliners (since the backs come off so easy these days) so I would have the most comfortable parts in the bedroom since I’ll still be sleeping in a recliner for the next several weeks.

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

On of the best things about Thanksgiving is the leftovers! INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday, Terri at Darling Downs Diaries and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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Tag: MENUS