Sunday, April 16, 2023

Weekly Wrap-Up 4/16

 Happy Sunday!!!!  Midway through the month - goodness sakes!  Time sure is flying.
We have had the most beautiful week here.  NO heat or AC was needed at all this week - a nice reprieve!  It is supposed to rain a little today and they are even mentioning flurries in the morning!!  My goodness. the difference a few hours can make.  Our return to cool, won't last long - we get back to warmer days later this week.
My allergies were absolutely crazy early in the week - taking all kinds of allergy meds to no avail.  THEN, after a suggestion (thank you) - I started taking local honey and bee pollen - no meds after 1 day!  Feeling so much better, even though the pollen counts are extremely high.  

The perennial bed is coming to life!!!!  So many types of lilies growing, phlox, poppies, you name it!
The redbud across the street finally popped out a day ago - it is gorgeous!
Love seeing the world wake up!

My week:
  • Trimmed hair and did a root touch up
  • Went to lunch with a group of old chums from high school (50 years out!)
  • Froze 2 beautiful cups of ham broth for later use as well as slices of ham
  • NO heat or AC - airing house
  • BIG vacuum, dustmop, and washing all throw rugs
  • Mowed the entire yard and trimmed
  • Yard work galore!!! Pulling weeds, working on containers for gardening, cut all the old wood out of the reg. roses and climbers (lots of dead this spring).
  • Got the rain barrels out and set up
  • Changed out the cushions on the front glider - I got them last fall at discount
  • Had a computer glitch - finally figured it out after a couple hours (yay me!)
  • Cleaned the stove top completely
  • Put all the cooler bedding on the bed - winter items put away
  • I did run to Kroger - I got 8 lbs. of 80% ground beef for 2.59/lb. (with my coupons), fresh fruit, and more echinacea & Vit. C (B1G1) - went on Friday, so I got 4X points for next gas fill-up
Meals this past week:
Ham, green beans, salad
Pasta salad - using ham and fresh veggies
Out to eat with friends (loaded potato skins - YUM)
Tamales over rice
Taco salad
Cheeseburger and fruit
Salad and chicken strips

Taco salad topped with fried chickpeas - yes there is taco meat under all those veggies!!!

So how was your week?  Did you get any yard/garden work done?  Any really good deals?  Any new ways of making do?  Love hearing from everyone and learning from you all.  I just love this group and all the knowledge everyone has!!!!

I hope you are all safe, healthy and happy.  Wishing you each a wonderful week.
Blessings from my humble little home to you and yours.
*****************

Thou art my hiding place and my shield; I hope in thy word.
Psalms 119:114

Lord, thank You for this new day and the promise of eternal life.  I know with You all is possible, and I need to just be patient and follow Your will and word.  Thank You for all the beauty that spring offers and the hope it gives us to brighter days and a growing earth.  AMEN


49 comments:

  1. Although I haven't commented for quite some time, I do read every single post, Cheryl! You always encourage me as we live in similar climates and neighborhoods. Today will be cooler than it has been but it supposed get warm again later this week.
    My husband cleared one garden bed. We are both getting older and I would like to make this particular one a perennial bed with flowers and herbs.
    Today is our 40th anniversary and our daughters treated us to dinner last night. It was delicious!
    I am on a quest for us to be little more health-minded so we are having a little protein with each meal but trying to fill up on whole grains and veggies. We still have our occasional treats but mostly trying to be good :)
    We have cut all subscriptions, unnecessary spending, and generally keeping out of the stores. I colored my hair myself and am using up what I already have for beauty products.
    I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

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    1. Howdy - so happy to see you post and to know you are well. HAPPY ANNIVERSAY!
      Great minds - I have cut out sweets and most sugar from my diet in the past couple weeks - just trying to do better!
      Sounds like you are on the right path on all counts. Glad to see you post again! Have a great week.

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    2. Hi Nana, sounds like you are doing wonderfully! Thank you for following my blog, you don't know what an encouragement that is to me. ~Amelia

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  2. Another restorative week mostly at home. Walked 7 miles. I visit 6 doctors - fresh air, sunshine, exercise, nutrition, rest, water - and walking checks 3 of those boxes. Not to mention the meditative value of a good walk. I've been experiencing neck pain & my massage therapist worked on that awa explaining the link between gallbladder health & neck pain which I will apply some dietary remedies to. I finally finished the book A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. That's been on the go for at least 4 mos; so much science; it's been like going to school. Now I'm reading Five Little Indians by Michelle Good. I watched the movie, The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser, who won best actor Oscar for his role. I made mini quiches & pierogis for the freezer. Meals this week: fried cabbage w/ Italian sausage; crustless quiche w/ salad; pasta primavera. The snow is 90% gone; still 1 month away from any planting. Have a good week, Cheryl.

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    1. You are doing so many wonderful things for your health. Good for you. I hope the neck pain subsides. Diet sure can make a difference.
      That sounds like a deep read! Your meals all sound yummy.
      YAY - hope the remainder of the snow goes quickly and you get warmer.
      Have a great week!

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    2. Mona, I wanted to mention that I experienced neck pain while taking a blood pressure med...Candesartan. I couldn't look down without immediate pain in the back of my neck. If you are on any meds, it wouldn't hurt to check all the side effects.

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  3. It is raining at a nice gentle pace right now. I finally trimmed the climbing rose outside the window by my desk and noticed I missed a couple of places. Not doing it today in the rain!

    Your devotional for today is wonderful. I wonder how many people are actually thinking about their eternity? You could put together a book of your devotionals. (In your spare time)

    Your perennial bed looks fabulous! Aren't perennials the best? When it's time to thin them out, the babies can be moved to another bed or shared with other gardeners.

    One of our large cabbages that lived in the garage for the winter has gone to seed. I had no idea, neither did the Farmer. The cabbage itself is gorgeous, like a giant green rose. It looks like it has a little bouquet in the center. A lot of the plants we bought at Cox's died. We will need to replace the broccoli for sure. Mr. Ed, the horseradish plant looks really good. We have been pulling green onions and then replacing them right away.

    Yay for you figuring out your computer glitch. Our computer geek lives in Texas. Saw pictures this week of Chris (son-in-law/computer geek) in Honduras and Mexico with his son Chase. They went ziplining in a Honduras forest. Can you imagine?

    The redbud trees in the neighborhood are just gorgeous. Wish the blooming trees lasted longer. The peonies and roses all have buds. I need to spray the roses if it is dry enough tomorrow. Hope the little chill coming up doesn't damage them. Last year the Farmer moved an old-fashioned lilac that was in the way of one of the sheds and planted it a sunny location in the yard. It is blooming! I didn't think I'd live long enough to see it that happen. The re-blooming lilac and one of the Miss Kim lilacs are in poor shape. The other two Miss Kim bushes are big and gorgeous. The giant Russian sage appears to have died back. I trimmed it hard and will see if any new growth comes out of the base of the plant. We have a nice English climbing rose to move once I get the area cleaned up. We have an overabundance of thistles. Ugh! All part of the Curse.

    Your taco salad looks yummy! We have cooked chicken breast in the refrigerator and I think a nice taco salad would be good for lunch. We did find some good buys on grass-fed hamburger and chicken breast at Meijer last week. All of it went into the freezer.

    See you on Tuesday!

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    1. Gentle rain here as well. Feels much cooler already!
      I love perennials = almost all that I have came from mom & dad's and from plants that lived on this earth way before I did!!!
      I wonder to about if people think about eternity. I sure want to believe and trust in it!
      The world is just coming back to life so nicely - it is all so beautiful. Sounds like you have some work ahead of you.
      I tried digging out some thistles this week - many to do out back. Dang I hate those things - they hurt!!!!!!
      Have a wonderful week.

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  4. Hi Cheryl. Can you share the honey bee pollen idea? Even here in the Arizona desert the pollen is crazy and we are all suffering and sneezing. I am valiantly working on selling my current house, 16 showings so far but offers so far are too low (flippers who want to make a fortune). I am almost done working through all the house and garage and separating into keep and sell piles. It is liberating to see so much stuff that I don’t need. For example camping gear that we haven’t used in 20 years can go to a new home ;). Hope you have a good week. Hilogene in Az

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    1. Hi. I was reminded this week about the local honey and allergies. You want local as it contains the pollens of your area (that IS a good thing). I have been taking about a tbsp. of hone 2X a day - and once in a while I eat about a tbsp. full of bee pollen. It sure has helped. My symptoms are almost gone - even though the pollen is still high. I was sneezing non-stop and couldn't stop my nose from running. No allergy meds for a few days now!
      Well, I hope you get a good offer - it sure wouldn't be fun to have 2 homes at once!!! Yes, it is amazing the things we keep - just because!!!
      Don't over do it. Have a great week.

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  5. We had some spring like weather here, warm one day, a little chilly the next, and back to the warmth today. I'm itching to get outside but will stick to moving snow around so it melts faster, and sweeping off the decks. It's either far too much snow, or far too wet to get my hands in any dirt. Meanwhile, my seedling are doing very well, as I've been able to set them out in the sunroom on a shelf some afternoons.
    I love seeing the photo of the lush, green plants. It will be a few weeks yet before I see them here.

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    1. YAY - glad you are getting some better weather. Hoping your snow and gunk is gone this week. I bet your starts loved the sun!
      Things have just taken off in the past 2 weeks - and it is all growing like crazy.
      Have a wonderful week.

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  6. Hi Cheryl! Happy Sunday. We had to replace our heating and air unit last fall. I've been keeping track of our power bills and I am amazed that even with rate increases and a pretty cold winter we never had a bill over 180.00. That is about a 30 or 40 dollar a month savings so that makes me smile.
    All of your meals sound delicious. So happy to hear you were able to meet up with old friends. I was able to talk to my life long best friend Friday evening and it just made me feel so uplifted.
    I hope you have a great Sunday!

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    1. Hi there. glad to hear that the heating and cooling units seem to be doing such a good job. That happened here when we had new windows put in - they guaranteed a huge dip in heating costs - and they were right. Such a huge win for you!!
      It is so nice to be able to connect with the past through our old friends. It IS uplifting.
      Thanks. You have a wonderful week.

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  7. Your garden bed makes me smile, Cheryl. I love daylilies. The lilacs and other flowering shrubs are starting to bud and wake up. By the way, that taco salad looks delicious! I'm the only one in my whole family who likes chickpeas.

    Today I'm praying for God to give me His patience. 'Nuff said about that, as I doubt I have to explain.

    Deals this week included gasoline savings via Safeway rewards, 2 pkgs. of chicken thighs for 99 cents per lb., seedless grapes for 89 cents per pound, eggs and bread using coupons for good savings ($3.49 for 18 count eggs). We've gone from more than enough eggs and bread to running out quickly. There's also plenty of soda (I don't buy it) in the fridge and more in cabinets. Meals included grilled tri-tip steaks, steak sandwiches, beef stew, and chicken with potato salad and coleslaw. Today will be burgers on the grill and I'll teach my son how to make meatballs for freezing.

    Have a GREAT week everyone! --Elise

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    1. I love lilies as well. Any kind. They are just such a pretty delicate flower.
      Oh goodness, hugs!!!!!! May God give you patience! I just can't imagine the intrusion in life.
      You got some good deals. Reminded me - I did get grapes for .99/lb. as well. Meals sound tasty.
      Have a blessed week.

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    2. Oh dear, Elise, will sure be praying. I so know how things can be.

      It sounds like you are getting some nice deals!

      God bless you in every way Elise, ~Amelia

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    3. Thank you both, Cheryl and Amelia. Prayer is appreciated. I almost posted an apology yesterday, because I truly want to be better about all of this. Things like one person going through 18 eggs and a loaf of bread in less than a week shouldn't be a big deal. It's more the mismatched schedule that has me tired. Hubs and I are up much later than we're used to, and get up at the same time (dawn). Our house guest sleeps in until 10-11 a.m. When I'm too tired, I get cranky, so forgive me.

      God bless you both, too! --Elise

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    4. No need to apologize. It sounds like some house rules need to be laid out!!!! And someone needs to contribute to the food situation. You and your hubs need a serious conversation and he needs to stand up for you! JMO - Hugs

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    5. When we had a brief bit of time by ourselves (which we've got to leave the house to do), I told Hubs it's like having a teenaged son all over again. Except he's a 59 yr. old man. Who seems to be planning on staying with us long term (several months to a year or more as he's leaning towards buying land and putting a home on it). I'm picking my battles wisely, insisting he gets his money situation/budget figured out and taxes filed ASAP. He can't do anything until he knows what $$ he has to work with. It's astonishing to me that budgeting hasn't been ingrained by now, but maybe it's that way for a lot of people??? --Elise

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    6. Oh dear. It's not right that you and your husband are having to stay up late...I would soon have to say cheerfully: "Well, I think we're going to hit the sack!" I hope he contributes soon...He needs to learn some manners and grow up a bit, even at 59. That is a bit concerning. No budgeting skills either eh? Wow. Maybe you and your husband will gentely be able to teach him some life skills. It sounds like ya'll are putting first things first and that's wise. God bless ya'll in every way.

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  8. How lovely your garden bed looks!!!
    Meals this week have been mostly using up stuff out of the second freezer, but it’s forcing me to be inventive, instead of just relying on the easy meals.
    Got some great deals on some vegetarian foods this week when I popped into the supermarket to get milk. Some packets were reduced down to 20 cents. I’m trying not to put things back in the freezer but at that price I couldn’t leave them.
    I got rid of 8 items of furniture this weekend to a lovely young family who have just moved to my area. Their kids were so polite and well mannered, it was lovely to see.
    Have a glorious week. Louise

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    1. Thank you. I love seeing all the shades of green!
      I think it is kind of neat to be pushed to get creative. It shows us what we can achieve. WOW that is some good deals. .20 for anything is a deal!!!!! You just can't pass up things like that.
      How nice that the young family got a hand up. That is nice.
      Have a wonderful week.

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  9. Glad to hear that you have had relief from using honey and pollen. I find that remarkable. We've had record breaking temperatures for the past few days and it has brought our snow levels down. I've been able to rake some of my flower gardens and do some pruning. Lots of snow load damage to my fruit bushes. The birds are migrating and we've seen sandhill cranes, ducks, juncos and a robin. Still ice on the lake but the shoreline is opening up.
    Ah, spring, at last.

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    1. I love using any natural remedy that I can - and just happened to forget that one until reminded. It sure did the job.
      Sorry you have snow damage. But glad the temps are warming and all that gunk is going bye-bye!! Don't you love seeing the birds coming back - just such a good sign. I believe them over the weatherman!
      Have a fantastic week.

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  10. I have to admit I have been very lazy in the cooking department, just lost the oomph to cook anything different or difficult. Just wanted to stick with old favourite comfort food.
    I’m back at work next week after some time off, so meals will be served instead of grazing and picking. Louise

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    1. I think we all go through those times of being tired of cooking. It is OK. The fun of cooking will come back - just take a break and enjoy it.
      Have a great week.

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  11. Tommy watered pots of flowers, that's all! Hummingbirds are back A bird has built a nest under the gutters where water drains. We called a guy to mow that did so last year. Since he has not called back, I suppose the search is on for someone else.

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    1. How neat on the hummingbirds. We have a few weeks before that happens here. They are just so lovely to watch.
      Hope you find someone soon to mow. It can get out of hand quickly.
      Have a good week.

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    2. Hi There, I hopped over to your blog that was on the sidebar but for some reason could not comment. I enjoyed the other comments, my mom is 93 and foods she can eat is a good thing for her, I keep a listening ear for what she likes. I'm buying her a napkin holder like mine she likes with chinette paper napkins, and a battery operated radio for emergencies.

      Blessings, ~Amelia

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    3. At 93 mom should get whatever she likes or wants! I am always listening for ideas from people - just log them back in the memory!
      Have a great week.

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    4. Yes, it's the easiest way just listening I've found. LOL...I've had some beautiful adult coloring books returned with the pencils untouched. Our daughter even had a potted plant returned to her because my mom didn't want to work watering it. Um...I've had homemade tea and saucer bird feeders given to my daughters because she didn't want to work at filling them. lol...Yes, you read that right. One of my daughters secretly told me she was getting some tunic tops and stuff given to her with tags still on them that I had given...So now the only clothes I give my mom is something I don't like anymore and I ask her first..."Is this something you would like, because I'm giving it away." I have scored on that with her loving some of that. I just have to smile and not take any of it seriously... It's kind of funny I guess. Hahaha...Yep, if it's clothes are a new pair of shoes for Christmas I ask first! I bought her a day clock that is wonderful for her birthday, if anyone has an elderly mom or dad that has a hard time remembering the day or even time of day sometimes? Day clocks are wonderful!!!! I found one on Amazon for 37. Worth every penny. : )

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    5. P.S. I'm the one that made the tea and saucer bird feeders...I was so excited to give those too! Oh well? (shrugs shoulders and smiles) I know my mom didn't mean any harm.

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  12. Sounds like another good week, Cheryl. I love not having to have heat or the ax on, I just wish we had more days like that. And yes time does fly. I couldn’t believe it was already Friday again and now here we are at Monday! lol

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    1. This is Belinda by the way.

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    2. I will not use AC for as long as possible. I don't really like it. This AM the heat came back on for a minute or two!! It sure changes quickly.
      Have a wonderful week.

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  13. Your taco salad looks so good!

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  14. Good morning Cheryl. I love perennials too. My day lilies are up and the knockout roses have leaves and buds starting. Last year I made rose petal jelly from their petals. The yard is filled with dandelions. Making dandelion jelly has always been a rite of spring for me. Our weather had been in the 80s all week with a little rain. No AC or heat. The basil has germinated and I will have 6 basil plants for outdoors when the weather even outs. Lots of seed tapes got made this week. I made over 4 1/2 dozen English muffins got made, some for hubby and some for a friend whose budget is not permitting the expense of them. (Over $6 a package of 6 at the store). They are so simple to make and cost just pennies in the way of ingredients. I also baked 4 dz 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies that I add chopped up leftover Easter candy to. I have a lot of lentils on hand and used some to make no roll 3 ingredient lentil crackers (recipe on powerhungry.com). We went to Lowes for a new screen door and some orchid fertilizer. I worked on Mothers Day cards.

    Meals this week were:
    Turkey wraps on homemade tortillas
    Homemade calzones
    Chicken sheet pan dinner with celery, carrots and onions, collard greens
    Roast pork loin, sweet potatoes and salad
    Zucchini fritters, steak fries, salad
    Chicken, broccoli and rice casserole
    Turkey salad
    Wishing all a blessed day. Cookie

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    1. I have made dandelion jelly a couple times - it is really good. I also like wild violet jelly. I made jelly one year from the peonies - it was good, kind of flowery tasting.
      You have been busy!!! How sweet to make the muffins for a friend in need.
      Your meals sound perfect to me! Just up my alley.
      Have a fantastic week.

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    2. Cookie, I'm going to look up some of those recipes. Thanks!
      --Elise

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  15. Last Friday it was 82 and I went to the zoo with my grandson. Today it's 32. Needless to say we're staying in!

    Speaking of making jellies has anyone here ever made lilac jelly? I want to try it but I never think of it until the blossoms are turning brown.
    ~margaret

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    1. Crazy weather. We had almost 80 at the end of week and in the low 40's today! I don't blame you - stay in and stay warm.
      I have not - I have heard of it though. Anyone????
      Have a great week.

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  16. We finally got rid of all our snow, and now a Colorado low is headed our way and going to give us about 13 inches of heavy wet snow.... Glad that we have no where we need to be.

    God bless.

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    1. OH NO! How awful. You guys can't catch a break. So sorry.
      Try and have a good week.

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