Happy Sunday to all. I hope this finds you well and safe.
It sure seems like Suday comes around faster and faster every week.
We have had all kinds of weather this week. Warm, cold, wet, dry, sunny, gloomy - you name it. It always amazes how many seasons can hit in one week!!!!! LOL
Yesterday I saw my first red-winged black bird of 2023! I just love those birds. They are so pretty, and they have a lovely song. There are so many different kinds of birds.
I also noticed while out roaming the yard - not only are the daffies popping out of the ground, but also, the tips of tulips, all kinds of lilies, and hyacinths. Spring will be here soon!
I did pull all his bedding out and laundered it this week (get rid of germies) and scoured all the water bowls. But he is well on the mend now!
My week has been kind of quiet. I just didn't have a lot of oomph for some reason. Slept badly a couple nights - ate something I shouldn't have too late! So I had a couple days of just reading, eating and napping!
My week:
- Had company on Sunday - that was wonderful
- Took down the winter door decorations
- Changed out the yard flag from mittens to tulips!
- Raked up a bunch of stuff in back. Sunflower seed hulls and peanut shells. The squirrels need to learn how to clean up after themselves!!!!
- Picked up a ton more sticks - we had another big wind event
- Got to air the house 3 days
- Started stripping wallpaper - oh what a job
- Saved 2 glass jars to use for jar mixes (for gifting)
- Did some mending
- NO grocery store this week
My meals this past week:
Homemade pizza and chacuterie board
Chili (from freezer) and crackers - some fresh veggies on the side
Fried green tomatoes - spicy mac n cheese
Taco salad
Tator tot casserole
Broccoli cheese soup
Tuna mac - used leftover broc. soup and spicy mac
SNACKS - leftovers, fruit, fresh veggies, cheese crackers
How was your week? Did you get any good deals? Are you seeing things come back to life in your area or are things still all winter?
We sure had some good conversation this week. I love that - we can all be so different, yet so the same!
I pray that you have a safe, healthy and lovely week. Blessings to you and yours from my humble little home.
*****************************
For He will give His angels charge of you to guard you in all ways.
Psalms 91:11
We ask for Your help in taking better care of ourselves - physically, spiritually, and mentally. We know we are in Your hands, but we must tend to our bodies as well. Guide our steps to make positive changes in our lives. Amen
It was a crazy weather week here also. Wednesday was 70 degrees and Friday was 27 and a bit of snow. It looks like much of the same rollercoaster this week.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your kitty is feeling better. It's always so stressful when they aren't doing well.
Same here - we had upper 60's and rain - next day high was 30 and flurries! At least those icky days are less than the better ones now!!
DeleteYeah, he did a walk about even this morning - so he is much better. He has just hung out here all week.
Have a wonderful week.
Glad to hear Blackie is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteHope your weather settles down soon. Love the thought of green popping up...it's gray and gloomy here again today.
Thanks - he is much better.
DeleteYes, the green puts a little perk in my step! Promises of things to come. Hope you week gets prettier.
Have a great week.
Love the Scripture and prayer. Yes, we need to take care of the temple.
ReplyDeleteHappy that your kitty Blackie is much better. Too bad they can't tell us where it hurts.
Peonies and some bulbs are starting to pop up. Also the maples are starting to bud. Sure hope we don't have super cold weather to damage the new growth. According to the forecast, we have another warmish week ahead.
Thanks - indeed, we are nothing without the temple!
DeleteIt was obvious with him - he was so congested and snotty! (TMI). Poor guy - too bad they can't blow their noses like we do!!! LOL
I didn't see any peony shoots yet - but they are covered good with leaves too. I just love the promise of the beauty & life to come.
It does look warm until Friday - and another 'short' colder snap.
Have a wonderful week.
Happy Sunday to you too Cheryl. The weather in our part of the UK has been very changeable. One day this week, the dog and I sat out on the decking in the sun. The sun is out today but the wind is cold. We have just come back from a walk along the beach, with jeans, jumpers and coats on. Sadly the little rescue dog gets car sick, will have to phone the vet this week to see if anything can be prescribed for him. Glad Blackie is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteThe garden is beginning to wake up. We have buds on our Kilmarnock Willow, the bulbs are pushing their way through the soil and other shrubs are showing leaves.
We had my sister and BIL over on Wednesday with their grandchildren, M is six and J just over a year. I have only seen M once, when she was a baby, she is a chatterbox like my sis. She lives further north than us and has quite an accent which is cute.
Our eldest son and family visited for 3 days so we had kid type meals for two days, the last day I made Korma curry and chicken pasta bake and there was a portion of each left for the next day. Yesterday we had a roast chicken with stuffing balls, roast parsnips and veg, today is pizza, salad and mozzarella sticks.
I enjoyed your post about a no spend year, after long spells where the country was shut down for Covid, it's really nice to just go out for a coffee or light snack. I could well not spend on clothes or household items as long as nothing major broke down.
Wishing you a blessed week.
Poor pup - car sick could be a problem. I hope they have something to help. Anxiety - perhaps.
DeleteTo walk on a beach even in the chill sounds wonderful. Nothing like that around me - I remember loving the beach when I got to go. Such a peaceful place.
You had some very nice visitors this week. That is wonderful. I love an accent - and hearing a child with one, sure makes me smile.
Your meals sound so tasty. I bet everyone loved it.
Covid did show us what we could do without if necessary. I think people are just ready to be done with that at the moment!
Have a wonderful week.
Those rascally squirrels do need to clean up after themselves. 😂 your meals sound delicious and sound like meals we would make and eat too. You also had weather just like us, everything this week. Lol I hope you have a good week ahead.
ReplyDeleteYes the squirrels do. Instead they just beg for more! LOL
DeleteThanks, I just like basic, simple meals - nothing fancy and I am happy. Your dinners always sound good to me as well. We do have similar tastes.
Every season in one week it seemed!
Have a good week.
Good morning! We had quite a bit of snow last week (14 inches), but it's been warm enough the past few days that there's only about 3 inched of it left on the ground. Of course, more is coming this week. According to national weather predictions, we'll get anywhere from another 8-20 inches by the end of the week! The bigger issue will be winds, which could lead to white out conditions with blowing snow. BIL has been alerted and will come with the 26 ft. moving van before the forecast storm.
ReplyDeleteThe only grocery shopping of the week was Friday, when hubs got one top round roast (for sandwich meat), cereal, yogurt and chips (he likes them for sandwich lunches) for a total of $13.41. the roast came in at $1.46 for 3 lbs. after sale + applied rewards points.
I made homemade crock pot mixed berry jam, a fresh apple pie and (Friday) a batch of date nut cookies. Meals were homemade tacos, baked burritos the next night, meatballs and ravioli on V.D. (remaining meatballs frozen for a spaghetti meal when BIL is here), pork roast w/potatoes and carrots one night, pork with rice & veg the next, and our son brought pizza last night.
Have a GOOD week. --Elise
Holy cow! 8-20 inches!!!!!! That is nuts. We have always been a snowy area - but not so much this year. Our entire season has been 8.5 inches!
DeleteLove a roast beef sandwich. You did good with groceries.
Dang your meals sound yummy. I love all that! I think I will make some brownies today - I have a hankering!
Stay warm and safe! Have a wonderful week.
Thank you, Cheryl. We bought the acre exactly one year ago. There wasn't snow like this then! I've been... surprised this winter. AZ needs the precipitation, though.
DeleteDo you ever wish SNAP required classes or seminars for making the most of food dollars? I read an article this morning that by May the (COVID) extensions to the program will go away and just over 18 million people will be dropped from the program. How true that is or not, who knows? But if people knew how to shop and stock up on ingredients for healthy meals and snacks, how much $$ could be saved? --Elise
A lot has happened in a year!
DeleteYes, it is true from what I hear as well. The extra all stops come May, as it should in my opinion. YES, have said that for years - they need to educate people. Teach a man to fish - comes to mind!!!!!!
No guidance in school, home or from 'helping' programs. How is anyone supposed to do better? It truly is frustrating. Junk and fast food is a way of life.
Oops... typo! We bought it 3 years ago (just before the world shut down), but construction started one year ago. And yes, much HAS happened... and continues to happen with BIL moving in with us soon. Home Economics used to a a requirement in schools, but that ended before my sons got to school. No young adults have NO idea how to budget, balance a checkbook, invest, cook, do laundry, iron clothes, handle minor fix-it stuff, etc. Sigh. --Elise
DeleteNothing wrong with a nice quiet week. You needed it after all the stress lately. Good to hear Blackie is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteIn Thursday's comment, I alluded to the fact that we have recently made some changes in what we eat. Tired of living in constant low-level pain (and being told by my Dr. that it was normal to feel this way at my age, 62!) I did some research and learned that excessive sugar and starches in my diet were a likely culprit. Nine weeks ago, I quit eating anything with added sugar and gradually weaned myself off starchy foods. Within two weeks, my aches and pains were gone. I was somewhat grouchy and foggy-brained the first couple of weeks and had a number of low-level migraines, but that all cleared up, and I haven't had a migraine since. I also lost 10 lbs. without being excessively hungry. I wasn't trying to lose weight, but I now weigh 121 lbs. (5'3-1/2") almost what I did before I became pregnant with my first child 36 years ago. I'm sleeping better, have more energy, and my mental health is better.
I've been gradually transitioning Husband to eating this way because he finally got his bridge/crown last Monday and can eat more normal food again. He lost 15 lbs. in the four months he was on strictly soft food, but could lose a few more.
So I cleaned out my pantry, freezer, refrigerator and food stashes. I ended up with two full large grocery carts of non-perishables for the food bank and six heavy garbage bags of other food. I kept nothing with more than 2 g. of added sugar (or w/artificial sweeteners) or with a high natural sugar content. You wouldn't believe how much sugar was in Husband's prune juice alone! He kept his orange juice, but gets only 4 oz. a day, and I found an unsweetened ketchup that I like. We don't feel deprived.
Note that this is NOT the high fat-low carb diet or keto diet. We still eat fruit, whole grain bread (limited), and plenty of vegetables, meat, fish and eggs. Whole fat milk in moderation. Whole fat unsweetened greek yogurt with fruit mixed in. Larger salads with lots of variety and low-sugar dressing. If I need a snack when I've been active and my blood sugar drops (a lifelong problem), I eat a piece of cheese and some fruit.
Now this may sound unfrugal, be we're looking at it another way. Yes, we gave away and threw out hundreds of dollars worth of food, but the benefits to our health are worth far more than that, as will be the savings in medical bills for not developing chronic illnesses. It will be interesting to see how the lab tests for our annual physicals turn out. So far, I am spending about 1/3 less on food that I was before.
I know this approach is not for everyone, but I just wanted to share our experience.
With the yo-yo weather the past couple of weeks, I've been getting back to the walking trail on the good days, both for exercise and to pick up trash before it gets overgrown for the summer. I've picked up over 50 gallons of garbage in less than two miles, a lot of it blown in from the road running adjacent to the trail. I also scored a couple of pieces of foam-board insulation I plan to use on the mud porch. (Had to get a frugality in there somewhere LOL!)
YOU GO GIRL! Fantastic. I am not a doctor fan at all - I believe most know that about me. I think we can take care of ourselves and know our bodies better than anyone . God has given all we need on this earth to take care of us - we just need to be aware.
DeleteI got the headaches awful when I quit caffeine years ago.
It was awful for a while.
Nothing at all UNFRUGAL about good health!!!!!!! That is the most frugal thing we can do.
You have blessed others with food, and you are taking care of you and hubby - that is fantastic.
My brother still does not have new teeth after 5 months! He is just so disgusted by it all. He wants a steak so badly! I didn't even make his special cookies for him at Christmas, because he couldn't eat them. I told him once he could eat real food again - he would get a special treat.
So happy your hubby is now eating more.
I will be anxious to hear your new stats from the doctor. You are doing great. Thanks for sharing.
You sound like me - I walk the street and alley after every wind storm - so much trash. People can sure be disgusting. Good going on finding a useful item!
Have a wonderful week!
Hi Cheryl, I am so happy your cat is on the mend! Here in Phoenix last week we had super cold weather, for us. Freeze warnings and all the cub reporters on the tv stations were wearing knit caps and gloves ;). We also had 30-40 mph wind. I imagine all the visitors from the north were laughing and rolling their eyes. There was also a big classic car auction and golf tournament in town last week, so lots of visitors and traffic. This week is the Arabian horse show….then we are done for another year. I am still not cooking for myself in any real way, and thank you again for your counsel that someday I will again feel like cooking ;). I made great progress going through the “to do” list. Some days it doesn’t feel like progress. But I am keeping a long list and dating each item when completed, and it is getting more and more filled in. Of course, I add extra items and cross them off in order to get extra credit ;). All the best, Hilogene in Az
ReplyDeleteYour month sounds like May around here. Tons of visitors to the city. It still amazes me that it gets so cold and snowy in Arizona. I would never have thought.
DeleteIt hasn't been that long. You will get there. It took me several months to get past cold sandwiches and salad or a can of soup. Making a list and taking care of items is vital. Not only do things get done - but it keeps you active and somewhat motivated. You need to give yourself some slack - you need the time. I think you are doing well - considering all.
Blessings dear and have a nice week.
like to camp in those high elevation places in Arizona, so we can look forward to full lakes and green meadows this spring with all that snow EM is getting. One of our favorite State Parks is right down the road from her. There is Snow expected here this week, but 1-3 inches.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of stuffing balls. They sound good! Hmm but they probably fall into the starch category.
Frances- I'm definitely going to try reducing the sugar and starch. I'm feeling more arthritis pain lately. Thanks for sharing.
Hit Hobby Lobby yesterday for 40% off Children's Craft kits for the chickadees. Used a coupon for Goodwill for clothes for #2, who has a tendency to just get her sister's hand me downs. It's good for her to feel she has something "new" to her. .She never asks where I get her stuff, so she doesn't know they've been worn by someone else. Ha! Although, one I found yesterday was new with the tags on. The place was full of bargain shoppers.
Wonderful Scripture and prayer today.
Ellie
Central Az
It ought to be a lush, green spring and summer here, Ellie. Hope when you come back we can get together again! Good deals for the chickadees yesterday. I sure love Hobby Lobby.
Delete--Elise
I kind of bet we should all change our diets for various reasons.
DeleteI bet it will be lovely come spring. I know people in CA have sure been happy with rain. It has been so needed for so long in a lot of places.
How neat that you got her something 'new'. That has to be special. I used to get a lot of hand me downs from an older niece when I was a child - then her younger than me sister, got mine!
Thank you.
Have a great week.
Ellie and EM, we have friends that live in Gilbert. So I follow their weather. They are from Oregon and Minnesota so they are familiar with the cold!
ReplyDeleteI've lived all over the country, Laurie, including places like Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin, Oregon, etc. This winter reminds me of a cross between upper midwest and the Rocky Mountains. LOTS of snow (so far), but when the sun is out, it feels much warmer than the thermometer says. It's been 20+ years since we lived in snowy winters. It's kind of like riding a bike. In your 60s. LOL! --Elise
DeleteGood morning all. We are still getting cold, cold overnight temps here and expecting snow this coming week! Takes a while for the house to warm up.
ReplyDeleteWe have daffodils, crocus, some of my roses have new leaves coming on and the little pansy's are coming up. We have lots of robins around getting worms.
Frances, thank you for sharing your info on the sugar and the starch.
Cheryl, I'm glad Blackie is doing much better, we love our fur babies.
I have to tell you I tried the cornbread casserole; it is very good, very rich and it makes my teeth hurt just to think about it. A good dish if you have about 25 people to eat it.
Have a blessed day!
I know you will love the snow!!!!!! I sure hope your flowers make it - hopefully if anything, just a little set back.
DeleteBlackie is much better than when I talked with you. Today is just like night and day.
Somethings just need to be eaten in small quantities because they are so rich! That's funny - 25 to eat it!
Stay warm, enjoy your snow and have a blessed week!!!!
well one minute I think it's Spring next it's back winter, snow, ice, wind, and then it's back to Spring. You never know here in Michigan. It's a early Spring now so I'm enjoying it Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteSame in Indiana. Changes daily! Yep, we need to enjoy it while we can!
DeleteHave a good week.
I feel your pain with the wallpaper. When we bought this house almost every wall was papered. It took 15 years to get it all down. Glad your kitty is on the mend. Some weeks are just resting weeks and it was here too. Best to listen to my the old body. Grin
ReplyDeleteSame here. Basically every surface has been papered of the decades and then painted and painted. Now it is cracking in places and it is time to go away! Most was papered 50-60+ years ago.
DeleteThank you - he is so much better.
Yes, when my body says NO, I better listen.
Have a wonderful week.
It doesn't hurt to check on having a professional take it down. We had our last two huge rooms done and it was only $800. I know this sounds like a ton of money but when we compared it to Hubby spending every weekend for months working on it and letting other chores go it was worth every penny and they had it done in one day.
DeleteOh it will take forever to get down - so no that doesn't sound that bad. That is most definitely something to consider. One day! WOW - that would be something. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteSo glad Blackie is doing better, thank the Lord for that.
ReplyDeleteOh dear me...It's been quite a week. But the clencher breaks my heart. My little chicken pets but one hen are gone, it looks like coyotes got all of them including the 2 roosters except for the one little hen as they free ranged probably at dusk when no one was home, we thought the two roosters would protect, but the coyote packs we see are very calculating. I'm so upset, they were pets. The last little hen is so upset, she tried to come in today through the dog door after our hound chased her...He never bothered the flock and now, today he bothers the poor little hen. I gently picked her up and petted her and got her safe in the coop in the fenced yard with electric protection.
Oh what a crazy week. Sorry to be a downer but I could use prayers. Love the scripture, Psalms 91 is a favorite of mine.
So very sorry to read about your chickens. We have coyotes here, too. One neighbor lost all of his flock. Not sure how the other manages to keep their from the beasts. Always praying for you and yours, Amelia. --Elise
DeleteOh no. I am so sorry to hear that. Poor baby that is alone - has to wonder where they are. I hope you get some others soon to be with her. Keep them in a with that electric protection. Gosh, that is awful. That makes me so sad. I hate to see anything get hurt - let alone someone's pets.
DeleteHuge hugs and prayers for peace.
Try to have a good week.
Elise, Thank you for those prayers. Your neighbor recently lost his flock? Yes, we lost both roosters, and nine of the hens...It's such a shame, we love them to free range and they love it but this happened. Those coyotes are so quiet and calculating. One year we lost a dog, oh it was horrible, just so sad, and it was this same season too. Now we try to keep our dogs in our home at night, locking the dog door (unless the dogs get it open). Thanks again for prayers, I appreciate it so much.
DeleteCheryl, Thank you for the hugs and prayers and for Peace, I sure need it at this time.
DeleteThe poor little hen, I'm giving her a lot of sweet talk and attention. We've left all the eggs in one box for her to sit upon, this I think will give her purpose and who knows, maybe she will have some little baby chicks. Yes. She will definitely be in the coop and the little yard with the electric fence. We even put a little Christmas village clear light in the coop so she won't be frightened at night, we read that is a good thing since they don't have their siblings to roost next to.
We're going to try to go tomorrow or the next to go get some baby chicks this week. The sooner the better! I'm just so depressed and brokenhearted over this whole thing, we could not believe what we saw when we got home yesterday. I was so praying I would at least hear a rooster crow this morning or something and that some of the hens would have been in a tree. But it was silence and the poor little hen was peeping out the coop looking for all her siblings. I so miss seeing all of our chicks running around and coming up to me... Poor things.
Thanks you again for hugs and prayers, I appreciate it so much.
We have coyote and Bob cats. My husband uses heavy duty wire, NOT chicken wire to keep them out. We are down to one little banty,; the others have died of old age. We see them as pets as well. We do not free range because hawks will get them. And yes, the predators. Sneaky devils.
DeleteEllie
Central Az
Hi Ellie, I hope you can get some more chick pets, they are so great. We used to have banties a long time ago...They are so cute. We're trying to figure out a new way of making their yard bigger with more green grass so they will be safe and have a lot of area too. We have the top covered also with chicken wire so nothing can get them from the top either. We have electric wire going around too, but I like your idea of extra strong wire. Smart for sure. My son in law's fam uses a double wall of chicken wire. Unfortunately ours were attacked in front of my husband's barn while out and about. Probably around dusk we're thinking when no one was home. Usually someone is always home. So the little demons were watching. The got ll out of 12. Nine hens and two roosters. I just can't imagine something getting the roosters too but they did that is why we think coyotes.
DeleteI'm so upset about losing our pets, I hope you can replace some of yours too. We went out on a mission yesterday to get more chicks and another 8 month old hen to keep the other one company. Praying it helps.
Thanks so much Ellie! Blessings to you!
What a lovely scripture and post. Glad Blackie is on the mend! What wallpaper are you stripping?
ReplyDeleteI have a wall in the living room that has paper that is starting to peel - it has n=been painted forever. I will get it all down on that wall and have paint to paint in accent color. Then I will see from there how I feel about removing more.
DeleteThank you!
Have a great week.
We got to visit with our youngest son for a couple of days.... Loved spending time with him.
ReplyDeleteTeased him about moving in across the street from him.
God bless.
So happy you got to visit with your son. I bet he would love to have you across the street!!
DeleteHave a wonderful week.
Frances, I am so in awe of you. Congrats! Cindy/WV
ReplyDeleteTwo tasks accomplished this week - got the cold room straightened up & the mattress flipped & a thorough vacuuming of the bedroom. Haircut, massage, & a babysitting stint were the commitments (all treats to me).The week culminated with my sister & I honoring our mother on her 90th birthday. Baked a lemon poppyseed loaf & a banana loaf & made rice krispie squares. Meals: avocado toast, pea soup, asparagus with seared scallops, cheesy asparagus pie, egg salad sandwiches, noodle bowl w/ veggies. It will be a few months before there's anything green here. -10C with snow today.
ReplyDeleteBrrrr. I was watching a Vlog of a gal in CA yesterday and you could see all the trees were leafed and grass and bushes green. She had plants on her porch! That is hard to imagine. Trees here just are limbs!
DeleteSounds like a nice week. Yay, on treating yourself. I would like to get a massage some day - never have. Your meals sound good.
Have a great week.
The weather here has been surprisingly mild, I have had windows and even the back door open a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteI have snowdrops and crocus just ready for some sun to burst open, all my clematis have new growth and my trusty camellia, right outside my kitchen window is still in flower. It's still just light at 6pm, you can't know how happy that makes me.
Apart from work and grand dog sitting ( an 8 month old labradoodle) I haven't done a lot this week, though I did make up a batch of muesli. I am still decluttering a minimum of 3 items a day and I think this slow, steady approach works well for me. Oh, I have been making some curtains for my kitchen too, the cafe curtain for the window is made, now I need to make up ones for under the sink, for the front of an old cabinet and to hide some ugly drawers. I'm sewing them by hand as I enjoy the peace and the rhythm, I do enjoy a repetitive craft.
So that was my week. Hope Blackie is ok.
I would love to see some color of flowers. Soon. Blackie is doing very good. Thanks.
DeleteIt sounds like a busy week to me. You got a lot done. Three a day sounds like a good goal - easier to handle than a massive de-clutter.
It is now light about 7:30 AM and stays fairly light until about 6:30. I love it. The more daylight the better to me.
Happy sewing. Have a great week.
SNOW - yuck - a couple other readers said the same. Stay safe - hope you get what you need.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week.
Today is Monday, not Sunday!! I'll wait and post tomorrow. Still recovering from my cold so there's not much anyway.
ReplyDeleteToodles!!
Yep - Monday!! LOL - a cold and sickness can mess you up! Take care. Hope you have a good week!
Delete