Good morning all. Hoping this finds you all well and safe.
All is fine here. It is a dark, wet and chilly morning.
We have had another full cycle of weather again this week - well, all but snow! Warm weather and got to open windows, strong winds - was watching for a house and little dog to fly by (LOL) - rain, we should be catching up from drought, and cold - had to plug in outdoor water bowls.
Critters were all hungry. The little birds were very thankful to have the water bowls not frozen! It is funny, I don't see them at the birdbath often - unless it is very cold.
I saw a red-winged black bird eating in the yard this week. Unusual, as I usually only see them in spring and early summer. Must have been heading southwards.
It seemed to be the week of 'one thing leads to another'. Every project I did led to another, It didn't seem anything was just simple.
My week:
- My neighbor brought me some candy and a pumpkin roll - what a nice surprise
- Made a batch of corn muffins that lasted a few meals and froze some
- The light company sent out someone to replace my house meter (garage one already replaced). It is supposed to more accurate. The worker walked out back and just stopped and was saying nothing. I asked if all was OK and he said "I have never seen squirrels come so close to people. That is amazing! It ran right up to you." I then showed him how I feed them nuts by hand. He thought that was just the coolest thing he had ever seen. Then he said "look it is waving at us". It sure did look like it. LOL! I got a new more accurate meter and he got a story to tell all day!
- I wasn't going out - but ran to Aldi. I got butter 1.79/lb. (no limit), fresh potatoes were 1.89/10 lbs. and I got a gift card and some small items for gifts. In and out in about 20 minutes. They were completely and well stocked and only limits was on TP - 2 packs.
- I raked leaves again. I did the leaves that collected in a part of the drive up by house
- Emptied and put away 1 rain barrel. One more to go
- Working on the bedroom pantry - I am working on re-arranging and organizing. I will be adding a curtain as well
- Been working on de-cluttering and deep cleaning again. That is where one thing leads to another!
- Normal stuff - laundry, cleaning, using what I have, cooking from scratch (making simple meals), made carbonated fruit water, reading
- Got to open windows and turn off heat on 2 days
- Renewed library books on-line
Meals this past week: Simple but yummy
Cheesy mac with broccoli and cherry tomatoes added and tuna on the side
Complete meal tostado - cheese, taco meat, mac n cheese and slaw all on a tostada
Mixed greens with ham chunks and corn muffins (best bite I have had in ages)
Leftover greens, fried potato and corn muffin
Homemade pizza
Leftover pizza and salad
Homemade beans and rice and brats and corn muffin
Mac with cheese and added broccoli and halved cherry tomatoes
No meal this week probably cost more than a couple dollars and some like greens, mac and pizza cost a lot less than that PER meal! I loved it all and I used what I have and re-invented a couple things in new ways. Keeping it simple!
How was your week? Are you all ready for Thanksgiving? I think I am staying home and having a friend and a neighbor come by to eat. I will take something to another neighbor as well - she is battling cancer and treatments.
Did you get any of the great deals being offered? There sure are some good sales.
May you and yours stay healthy and safe.
Blessings from my humble little home to yours.
This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118:24
Well, I have woken up to heavy, wet snow this morning so November has truly arrived.
ReplyDeleteWe go back into lockdown as of midnight so the stores have been very busy - I won't be joining them. I am well stocked and picked up some fresh food last week when the writing was on the wall.
I have just gone through that "one thing leads to another" scenario so now I just need to dust, swiffer and vacuum and then I'll put out some Christmas decorations over the next week.
Meals were chicken thighs with salad, stew with squash - x2 for both and then a steak sandwich with peppers. Just used up bits & pieces from the freezer for another couple of meals with soup and meatballs.
I hope that you have a lovely Thanksgiving this week - but please be careful.
ICK snow! One can still go to the store for groceries even when things get tough here. Many wouldn't - but you can. That is considered essential.
DeleteYour meals sound good. I love just using what you have and adding this and that together.
Thank you. Have a great week.
Grocery stores & drugstores are essential here - I just didn't want to go over the weekend when everyone went into panic buying mode - again.
DeleteOh I agree with that for sure!!!
DeleteThanksgiving looks very different this year. I'm still cooking the traditional meal however only for my husband and I. Covid is horrible here in Illinois so we're not letting anyone in our bubble. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI am doing a lot less. Got to have turkey - just less sides.
DeleteI hope you and your hubs enjoy the week and day.
Thank you!
I've been rereading Tamar Adler's book "The Everlasting Feast" and your menu reminded me of it again. Along with the reminder to "Use the Fragments" from Amy Maryon, each week. We all want to comfort ourselves and at the same time, we see the need to be frugal. Use up, remake it, find a way to season it into a "better" dish. Stop wasting and use our excess to love ourselves a little more.
ReplyDeleteExactly. These all seemed like comfort foods to me and I really like them. I use up all I can and try to take something simple and make it something fancier. Why not? It is kind of fun and a challenge.
DeleteSomething about food that IS comforting to most.
Your dishes are the first corelle set Hubs and I had when we first got married. I remember how grownup I felt when I unboxed those dishes. Isn't it funny how one project begets another, that is why we have to be careful what we start... says I who started a quilt and now the whole house is wearing scraps.
ReplyDeleteI only have 2 of those dishes as I got them when Glen was here, because they were light weight. Now I just use them myself.
DeleteYes mam - one thing leads to another. It is like how messy the house gets when you are CLEANING house!!!!!!
Goodness you never stop, do you? I'm impressed with your productivity and positive attitude.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that was quite the story for the electrician to tell at work and at home. I only have one squirrel, that I know of, and he's used to me shooing him away from the bird feeder. I don't expect he'll ever eat out of my hand. :)
Take care, and stay well!
Oh I do stop - believe me!
DeleteYes, I think he had a fun story to tell. My bird feeders are pretty much squirrel proof - so they get their own food.
Have a good one.
Your week sounds like mine, except for the neighbor bringing treats.
ReplyDeleteMy Aldi had a limit of 6 on the butter so I made hubby go in with me. He got 6 and so did I. Last year they dropped the price during the holidays and then it shot back up never to drop again.
I also bought the potatoes but got two bags. They will be wrapped in papers in the dark basement in hopes they will last a while.
I also raked leaves today until the bad weather blew me inside the house where I worked on painting a wall behind a shelf in the pantry. After it dries, it will be time to pick everything up off the floor.
My first time visiting your blog and I like it.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Ho Jeannie. Glad to have you visit!!! Hope you came and visit more often now that you know where we are! I will be checking yours out.
DeleteGood going on getting the deals. You have to get them while the getting is good. Painting - I have a wall and some trim to do sometime in the next couple weeks. You sound busy.
Please visit again. Have a great week!!!!
Cheryl your meals look wonderful. I especially like the looks of that pizza.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It was tasty if I do say so myself. I like pizza - because it is so versatile. My goodness, you can put anything on it. Always different.
DeleteThanks!!!
Have a good one.
Our butter is 1.67 limit 6 and Hubby says there is no more room in the freezer but I think it will squeeze in somewhere. I got 6 for that price last week too. We got a number of freebies at the store this week and some super great deals. Walnuts were $1 a bag with iBotta and cheese spread was free along with other great deals. We made a stop in Sam's and ground round was 2.48 a pound so we restocked and were grateful for such a good price. I went ahead and browned and froze three pounds for our Christmas Eve Mexican spread. We are topped off with bread flour and the all important coffee beans, too. Today was so nice that we hauled out the grill and grilled a steak for Sunday dinner. Tomorrow we are back to very cold temps so it was nice to sneak in some grilling.
ReplyDeleteWOW - you did great. That is a lot of great deals. Good for you.
DeleteYAY on getting to use the grill. What a nice treat.
Have a good week
I want to squeeze the stuffing out of that sweet cuddle kitty.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy thanksgiving.
He is such a snuggle bug. Probably one of the softest kitties I have ever petted.
DeleteHave a great one yourself.
Don't you just love it when the kitties are so content, cuddling up like that? <3 Really cute kitty! Our kitties rest in that trusting pose too, it makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great attitude on life and oh yeah, that pizza looks so scrumptious!
I'm taking your suggestion of the cranberries mixed with orange slices with some nuts thrown in for a little something different this week on Thanksgiving. I can't eat it but I think my family will love it. Your suggestions are very helpful!
Have a sweet Thanksgiving.
Yes, if we could bottle that contentment for people - we could make a fortune!
DeleteOh I love that you are making the cranberry salad. Glad you found a recipe you could use.
Thank you ! You have a great one!!!
Your bitty kitty is adorable! A kitty or a dog is a good napping partner. My dogs know when it's nap time and snuggle under the throw.
ReplyDeleteYour pizza looks fantastic! Nothing like a homemade pizza. If you order one and ask for extra toppings, they sure are skimpy. We like to add all the goodies that we really like. I do buy the Red Baron pizzas at Meijer and use a coupon, which makes them pretty inexpensive. Made one for lunch on Sunday with thinly sliced onion and cooked hamburger crumbles. It was yummy!
Most stores were out of turkey cooking bags and finally found one at Fresh Thyme. Meijer is out of tp again. So glad we can buy it at Costco. Meijer did have a good supply of cleaning and sanitizing supplies.
Cute story for the IPL guy to tell to his buddies and customers.
Loving the sunshine today but it is chilly. Will work indoors and get some things done that have been let go.
Hope your Thanksgiving is a good one!
Yes pets make the best napping and sleeping buddies.
DeleteI can't remember the last time I ordered a pizza. It has been years. Once and again I will get a fresh one at Aldi and then jazz it up myself. They have pretty darn cheap pizza (fresh) and they are pretty good.
I found bags months ago on clearance and have enough for the next couple years I think! Haven't been to Meijers in a while again. One of these days.
Yes it is nice to see the sun. Chilly but bright. I stayed in and have been doing paperwork (I dread) and other stuff around the house.
Have a great one!
That reminds me--I have an open bottle of spaghetti sauce and a piza crust mix. I need to make that since pizza sounds good right now. Your meals sound just right. It seems the less cooking involved, the better the meal.
ReplyDeleteGood idea - don't want to waste that sauce.
DeleteI agree. Less cooking - better I like it! Doesn't have to be fancy to be good.
Sounds like a good week. I'm sure you made the meter man's day, by hand feeding the squirrels.
ReplyDeleteIt was a sad week for us. We had to have one of our cats put to sleep. He was almost 13 and had been going down for a while. Once he stopped eating and had trouble walking, we knew it was time. :(
Oh Kathy, I am so sorry. That is such a hard thing to do - even in love. We care for our babies as if they were our children (well they kind of are). My heart goes out to you and your family. HUGS
Delete