5 thing Friday - puzzle table, easy craft, mantel, plants, headstone

My den is a large and mostly un-used room that has fairly decent light near the windows, with lots of empty space. What better place to set up a puzzle table?

 

  I hauled a very heavy folding table and two chairs in from the garage and gave it all a good wipe down. I don't know why I didn't do it this way last year!  Its not in the way of anything so it can stay set up as long as I want it to.

A few minutes spent each day, unplugged from my electronics.

I hand-stitched one of Mom's small crochet pretties to a scrap of burlap in an embroidery hoop.  Then I added a couple of jingle bells on some twine.  It sits nicely in the greenery of the china cabinet.  It was a fun 5 minute craft this week.

I never got around to taking photos of the house decorated for Christmas.  I kept everything pretty simple and sentimental.  I love the look of the mirror ball here, but I would still like to find it a permanent home in a window.  (Less decor = less to put away come January.)

All of my smaller plant babies came inside to live in the kitchen.  I wiped off the outside of the pots, cleared out any leaves, then set them on clear plates to protect the window seat.  

Prettier than the plastic ones!

I think I will be leaving the big plants outside, unless we get a ridiculous ice storm like we did a few years ago.

The very kind lady at the monument place sent me a picture of Mom and Jim's stone in place.  Fifteen months later it is finally there, Mom.  The photo proof of it really wrecked me, but I think she would approve of it.  And it is one more thing, a biggie, crossed off the 2024 list of things to do.

Gina

Monday menus #102

 I made a Tilapia riff on Chicken Piccata a couple weeks ago*.  I lightly coated the tilapia in flour, sauteed that in butter, then added lemon juice and capers to the pan drippings to make a sauce, and cooked the fish through.  I boiled a couple of small potatoes to make one small serving of skinny masheds to spoon sauce and fish over.

I served mixed greens alongside, and it was restaurant-worthy!

Monday - kitchen closed {mail Christmas cards}

Tuesday - Skillet Chicken Thighs with Butternut Squash, mixed greens salad {telehealth appt. in a.m., might take myself to Wicked in the p.m.}

Wednesday - Mixed Greens with rotisserie chicken, olives, tomato, Greek dressing {dietician appt. in p.m., set up puzzle table}

Thursday - Smoked Pork and Butter Bean Cassoulet, herb biscuits {taking myself out tonight}

Friday - Beef Soft Tacos with lettuce, tomato, and purple onion, side of refried beans

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed but I will eat "planned leftovers" and I am off on Monday!

Gina

*I still don't "love" cooking lately, but as I make these satisfying creative dinners I feel a little more at ease with the idea!

5 thing Friday - Christmas decorating, tennies, coffee station, thrifting, church

 I couldn't decide where to hang the mirrored ball, so I just ordered a clear plexiglass stand for it and plopped it onto the mantel display, like a giant ornament.  I have been on the look out for mini mirror balls to add to this vignette.

But mostly, I am done decorating my home.  I will show all of it next week.  I managed to only purchase a few things: A piece of art for the front room, an ornament for my skinny tree, some lights for the patio, a throw for the front room.  A lot of it will stay out past Christmas.

Back in June, I ordered these tennies on the recommendation of another blogger who loves this brand.  I also ordered a pair of Brooks, as suggested by the podiatrist.  The Brooks won out -  I barely wore these - so I am selling them on Ebay.  When they sell I may buy another pair of Brooks - I love how they feel and my feet are worth it!

On Wednesday I ventured over to World Market to buy some Torani syrups, and lo and behold, they were 20% off.  So, using a Chinese lacquered tray gifted by my mother years ago, I made a coffee station with my tiny coffee pot and syrups.  I am trying to break the creamer habit, and a splash of one of these might do the trick. Plus they are good in a diet coke!

A local thrift store has moved to my part of town and I stopped in to have a look see.  I found a sweater, summer top, two paperbacks, bag of ornaments, pretty dish, bag of green excelsior, and the button art.  Mostly of the things I bought were $3 each and some were "on sale".

The buttons were removed from the ca. 2013 art and added to my growing collection.  Some of them look vintage - well worth the $3.  Look at the tiny ones!

We are being encouraged at work to bring an ornament for the hospital "legacy tree" with our names and department noted on it.  One of these will work nicely - also $3 for the bag.

This year I will be off work M-F of Christmas week!  I am going to find a church that has Christmas Eve services and take myself in person.  And I was originally looking for an Episcopal church, then realized that I can basically choose whatever church I want.  Mark was the one who decided we were going to raise our family in the Episcopal church, and though I agreed to it, I know now that I can choose to go somewhere else if I please.  Call it another epiphany.

Gina

Monday menus #101

I started a tradition with The Girl of giving her a Christmas ornament every year.  Sometimes I make them, sometimes I buy them, usually from Pottery Barn.  And this year, she gave me one! 

I put it right on my bedroom tree, which has a snowflake theme.

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - Trader Joe's Gnocci ala Sozzentina with mini meatballs, green beans {Telehealth appt. in a.m., on call in p.m.}

Wednesday - Seasoned Chicken Drums, sweet potato, side salad {on call in p.m.}

Thursday - Skillet Curry Tilapia, root veggie fries, corn

Friday - Thai Pork with Peppers, pot stickers {payday}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Its a smallish slim tree on a timer, and pretty to wake up to!

Gina

5 thing Friday - chili jam, H-Mart lunch, thrifting, glass vase, patio lights

My goal going forward is to give each of my peeps at least one handmade or homemade thing each year for Christmas. Last year it was fudge.  Seasoned snack mixes the year before that.

This year, I tried my hand at Chili Jam - a recipe from Rhonda, whose blog I love to read.  I borrowed a snipet of her serving suggestions to include.

Mine looks a little more like salsa than jam, and its quite spicy!  I think the boys will love it - not sure about The Girl.  In any case, I have 5 small jars to gift, and one big jar for my own fridge.

Chicken Katsu at H-Mart.  The prices are high, but the portions are really for two people.  That angel hair slaw was sweet and crunchy - all of it was really good for lunch out on a gloomy day.

The giant food court was made for people watching.  I saw a lot of people going for big bowls of steaming noodle soup, but to me, it didn't feel like a soup day.  I ate about half of those fries and am not ashamed.

I did a bit of thrift shopping at a really funky jam-packed store on Burnet Road and got this metal pinecone for $4.  I couldn't put it down, I love it.  I should have taken a photo of the inside of the store.  It was like a hoarder's paradise.  Anything and everything piled to the ceiling - no joke.  The owner's son waited on me and he was the nicest person I came in contact with all day.

I had $5 Kohl's cash to spend, so I popped in and found this pretty green glass vase that I reappropriated as a tissue holder.  It was originally $22 but I paid $5 with tax. Its so pretty in person!

It gets dark now at 5 p.m.  So I guess some lights out here would help. I spent $9 on two strands of 100 warm white lights at Wal-Mart, then around 30 minutes draping them from the existing cup hooks.

Easy projects are my jam.

And now there's just enough sparkle to sit and enjoy the cool evening.

Gina

Monday menus #100

 I hadn't been in a church in a long time, so the candlelight concert at an Episcopal church gave me the opportunity to walk around the building a bit and admire the scenery...

...and a beautiful chandy.

I do miss going to church, which is why, at least until I retire from this job, I will be the occasional "poinsettia" or "lily".  I do often drop into the chapel at work.  But its not really the same.

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - Tilapia Piccata, mixed greens, skillet potato

Wednesday - Pulled Pork on Toast, root veggie fries

Thursday - Teriyaki Beef, rice (save half for weekend meal)

Friday - Rotisserie Chicken Breast Strips, baked sweet potato, mixed greens {make chili jam}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Can you believe it is December?  Me neither.

Gina

5 thing Friday - art, Thanksgiving table, comfort food, mirror ball

Long story short:  I want to change out the "art" over the mantel this year seeing as how it hasn't changed in years and years.  I ordered a print from Kirkland's, then when it arrived, I thought it would actually look better in the front room.  So on to Plan B, which is just make something myself.

Using some spray water and gold spray paint I added a little aged glimmer to a wood frame.  My plan is to hang a wreath in it, embellished with some picks, and fashion a Christmas tree scene below.  Its gonna be kind of shabby chic. 

Stay tuned.  

For no good reason I had FOMO about giving Thanksgiving such minimal effort.  I know that a lot of how I'm feeling about it has to do with grief, but I also know I want quality time with my family.  And even though I did work most of the day, I didn't want them thinking that they weren't actually the single biggest thing I am thankful for.  So I hauled out some stuff I already had - a plain tablecloth, white plate, battery candles, and greenery.  It wasn't fancy, but neither was the menu, and we ate off paper plates.

Taking my cues from "comfort food" I decided to fix Turkey and Biscuits.  Easy enough to top with biscuits and pop into the oven when I got home around 3:30 pm.   Right around the time the candles came to life, ha ha. And you know what?  It was delicious.

For dessert, I made Monster Cookies and No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Balls.  I spent at least two hours in my kitchen, not including the roasting of that bird last week, but I knew I would reap the rewards on Thursday with an easy meal and clean-up.  And today I will decorate the house for Christmas!

Check it out!

Mirror balls are IN and it just so happens that I have one.  When Mark was in high school he had his own little business DJing parties {named Rotation} with a mobile sound system, complete with twin turntables, giant speakers, and a mirror ball.  Years later, he hung it on the basketball goal at Halloween for our "Deadbeat Disco" theme.  Its going to be fun to decide where to place it and bring it out of the garage and literally, into the light.

A very hot summer and little rain spelled doom for three of the lantana I planted, and the ones that survived are looking pretty sad.  Maybe I will try again - rearrange them and add in some other type of shrub, like dwarf nandina.  For now, the ones left are hanging on for dear life.  This is one of those "tomorrow problems" and can be dealt with in the spring.

Let's get December started!

Gina

Monday menus #99

I pulled the totes with quilts down from the top shelf of my closet, just to check them and get them ready to set under the Christmas tree for my peeps, and I noticed this small section of quilt block with type print.  Do you see it?

On closer inspection I could tell it was part of the sewing instructions, printed on fabric, for a doll she sewed.  The woman had BAGS and PILES and BOXES of scrap fabric, and that's the piece she used on a quilt?

The funny thing is, I think my sister has that doll.  Mom really had a Cute Self sense of humor - I can see her laughing about this, knowing we would find it someday because we always had to examine her quilts to see which fabrics she chose.  So funny!

Monday - Fried Chicken, peas, sweet potato {Gina off, cleaning house!}

Tuesday - Veggie Marinara over linguini, salad {mow yards, powerwash patio}

Wednesday - Brisket with mixed greens, pickled okra, purple onion {assemble foods for Thanksgiving}

Thursday - Turkey and Biscuits, cranberry sauce, Pumpkin Balls {Gina work 630am - 3pm}

Friday - Day after Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup! {10 am Subaru appt., decorate the house}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

**I am flipping the script on menus, eating non-traditional breakfast foods in the mornings (sammies, etc.), main meal at lunchtime, cereal at night.  My dietician thinks its a plan that might work for front-loading most of my calories and getting just enough food to keep my tummy happy at the end of the day.  Wish me luck!**

5 thing Friday - cleaning closet, wonky tree top, nostalgia, birthday, concert

 I ordered a new fire extinguisher for the house and decided to hang it in a very accessible place:

Its heavy, and I figured there was a stud directly under the shelf support in this small coat closet just off the kitchen.  So this was a quick mini-project, no skill involved, even though I did charge my drill battery up, just in case.

I no longer hang coats in here - rather, its now a cleaning closet.  All of the vinyl albums are still up there, too. This closet has had quite the transformation in the last year.  It was previously STUFFED with coats, games, vintage camera equipment, table leaves, and two vacuum cleaners. Now I can actually stand in here and access the things on the shelves.

For years the top of the vintage Christmas tree (ca. 1970) has bugged me.  It was so awkward and wonky - hard to get the topper to stay put.  Someone had folded over and smashed the top together.

But lookee what I had hauled out of the truck bed - bolt cutters.  They are massive.

A good snip and the bent and twisted wire was the perfect height and shape for the topper. This is one of those "why had I never done this" things*.  I say I want to buy a new tree, but I kind of love this one every year that I set it up.

I'm not decorating for Christmas just yet, but I am looking forward to adding some nostalgia around the house.  My mother wasn't one for decorating, but she did love this rattan Santa we found at a thrift store years ago.  It makes me smile to see some of her things around my house - almost like she's here celebrating with me.

For my birthday, I took myself to a favorite restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal and my favorite cocktail.

I had plenty of time left to get to an evening event, so I bought a dessert to enjoy in Bridgid while I waited in the parking garage.  No food regrets.

This was the venue - one of the oldest buildings in downtown Austin.

Rings and Dragons Candlelight Concert

Have I ever watched Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings?  Both no.  But did I enjoy the masterful musicians who played hauntingly beautiful music by candlelight? Yes.  And overall, it was a very good birthday.

Hooray for 64!

Gina

*probably because I'm still doing things that Mark would never have let me do, or would have been really mad at me if I had.  So, slowly but surely, I am claiming my right to do whatever I want, including trimming off the wonky top of the Christmas tree...

Monday menus #98

Well darn.

I was all excited about drinking "dirty diet cokes" with the new flavors of creamer that have come out, until I got the results from my food sensitivity test...

It turns out that eggs, milk (casein)*, almonds, garlic, poppy seeds, and pomegranate are the trouble makers.  Plan B is to get some sugar free Torani syrups, Plan C can be to explore dairy free creamers, and Plan D can be to drink plain old diet coke and coffee.  I'm going to finish up what I have in the way of creamers, in either case.

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - Chicken and Peppers, jasmine rice {on call}

Wednesday - Pulled Pork, chopped salad {roast a small turkey, morning telehealth appt., afternoon dietician appt., on call}

Thursday - Happy Birthday, Gina! {dinner out, Candlelight Concert}

Friday - Turkey over chopped salad {might put the trees up, but I probably won't decorate them}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

*Many foods contain casein, which is a protein found in milk.  For example: milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, half and half, sour cream, pudding, custard, sherbet, hot dogs, lunch meat, sausage, creamed soups and veggies, soup bases, white and milk chocolate, and dietary supplements and protein powders.

Gina

5 thing Friday - November, fire extinguisher, new car, cranberry sauce, Thanksgiving plans

 I cannot remember where I found this printable:

But I printed it and it lives above my desk and is EXACTLY what I want for myself this month.  And maybe the rest of the year, too!  I have been feeling better and that always translates to me getting things off the back burners and DONE.  But also?  I am trying hard to stay present, and experience peace in my inner thoughts.

One of the Fall projects was to get my extinguisher refilled.  Turns out, it was not the refillable type.  So I ordered a new one, complete with hanging bracket, and will be installed in a central location of my house today.  God-willing, I will never use it, but it will be there, just in case.

I sold the truck as a trade-in towards my new car.  Goodbye forever, stinky truck.  You helped me do a lot of things and I am thankful I had you for some of the hardest stuff.

Hello, new car. {she needs a name!}

I promise to drive you gently and take good care of you as you may be the last car I ever buy.  I am proud of myself for finally gathering my wits and courage and taking care of both things yesterday.  As I told the Subaru lady, I have paid for many a vehicle, but never actually bought one on my own.  And I think I made a good choice.

One of my sisters convinced me to make my own cranberry sauce, and I'm glad I did.  Whatever doesn't get eaten before Christmas will be used for Cranberry Oat Bars.  I also got a small turkey, which I will roast next week, then debone to make my Turkey and Biscuits for Thanksgiving Day, and also make stock from the bones.

Will I miss not making a full Thanksgiving dinner?  I don't think so.  And I have to work that day anyway.  I did very much enjoy my sammie last week made with canned cranberry jelly, deli sliced turkey breast, and Stovetop Stuffing.  I'm good.

Gina