What I cooked for Easter weekend

 Since I worked yesterday, I made no plans for Easter, but that didn't stop me from playing E. Bunny to Firstborn and taking him some home-cooked food.  Life is pricey right now and I know that he is not cooking for himself.  

So I put years of practice into play and made a big meal I could portion out in containers for his freezer.  Calamity Anne's Meatloaf, Arkansas Green Beans, and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes.  I also threw a pork butt into the crockpot overnight, and I baked up the rest of the freezer cookies.

Then I had a pulled pork sammie with him when he got off work!  We might be scattered around, and work opposite schedules, but I can carve out time to feed my peeps a meal now and again. Years of taking care of a home full of people has been good training, I guess.  Here are the recipes:

Calamity Anne's Meatloaf: 2 lbs ground chuck, 2 eggs, 2 c. Italian breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup milk, 1T. creamed horseradish, 1/4 c. ketchup, a generous squirt of Worchestershire, S&P, and garlic powder. 1 hours at 350, drain the excess grease, top loaf with 1/2 c. ketchup mixed with some brown sugar and let it bake another 10 minutes.

Arkansas Green Beans: I used 4 cans green beans, drained.  Melt half a stick of butter with 5 T. of soy sauce, 2/3 c. brown sugar, and 1 1/2 t. garlic powder.  Toss it all with the beans. Pour into a baking dish. Top with 8-10 slices cooked and chopped bacon, and cook with the meatloaf for about 40 minutes. Stir every so often while cooking.

Mashed potatoes - I boil peeled russet potatoes 'til tender, then mash with butter, salt and pepper, a splash of milk, and some sour cream until I get the consistency I want.  Sometimes I add cheese, green onions, garlic salt - you name it.

Pork Butt - I made a rub with brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, red pepper, and S&P.  I plopped it into the crockpot, squeezed a lime over it all, and set it to low while I went to bed.  I think it cooked a total of 10 hours.  Then I poured the fat off the drippings, shredded the meat, and reduced the pot drippings in a small saucepot 'til they were reduced by about half to pour over the meat.

Cookies - right here

Typing all this out made me hungry!

Gina

5 thing Friday - Easter, chairs, sleep clothes, garbage disposal, journal

Easter was the quiet affair I knew it would be.  I made myself a lunch of rotisserie chicken, green beans, and half a baked potato with cheese and butter.  My work friends left me candy treats.  We weren't all that busy at work. Heard from ONE of my four peeps and that was after I pushed out a group message.

So there's really no reason to fuss over Easter anymore, right?

I've been wanting a much simpler look for my home - hence all of the purging and organizing.  All things I was not allowed to do when Mark was here* because he could not bear to part with anything and moving it all into the garage was a no-go as it was already full.  One of the changes is getting rid of these black and white mid-century modern chairs.  I had them re-covered, for years worked around them, found them difficult to decorate with.  Plus, they are not all that comfy to sit in after 70+ years.  I'm sure they need new foam in the seat cushions.  Also? They were the cat's favorite place to vomit.  And brilliant Me had picked a dry clean only fabric.

Lately, one of them had been in the bedroom, the other in the office.  Moving them leaves empty spaces and full possibility!  I had been looking for an upholstered chair for awhile until I hit upon the idea of getting a much simpler chair:

I found what I wanted at Home Depot, and we will just call this my Mother's Day gift to myself.  I only need it to sit and sip coffee in the morning.  Maybe to slip on shoes.  Fill a space with boho vibe.

The black and whites went to live in the garage until Bubbie moves.  Then if he doesn't want them, I will sell them.  I found a very nice 100% cotton sheet at the thrift store for two bucks to cover them with.  

Also while out thrifting, I found a black tee shirt dress.  Then I popped into Wal-Mart for some cotton men's sleep shorts and tees so I don't bake like a potato at night.  Its impossible to sleep when you are over-heating and kicking the covers off alllll night long.

The garbage disposal conked out, so I crawled up under the sink to take a picture of it and look up the file for it in the garage - turns out that Mark installed it in 2004.  So I guess we got our money's worth!  Its a little more complicated a DIY than I am willing to tackle. Don't try to talk me out of replacing it - someone has already tried.  It would be just as expensive to have the plumber re-work the sink drain and I use this every day.  So I ordered one, along with that chair, and next week I will get 'er installed.

I got another freebie blank notebook from Shutterfly as I am almost done filling up the previous one. Even with using it as a gratitude journal, turns out I had a lot to say - who knew?

Gina

*Not to complain so much about Mark, but he was a stick in the mud when it came to getting rid of things, and did not appreciate my efforts to control the chaos!  But would I prefer to have him back vs. a clean garage? Always yes.

5 thing Friday - taco bowl, magazines, selling albums, garage wall art, Easter plans

A friend shared with me this taco bowl idea made with sweet potatoes, cottage cheese, and avocado.  It was an amazing meal, I have to say. 

I forgot to buy the hot honey, so I subbed in some of the red pepper jam I made for gifts last Christmas. (Firstborn texted me shortly after Christmas asking why this jam was so blankety blank hot, ha ha.  Its not meant for biscuits!)

I am always on the lookout for things to read, so I thought "why don't I start a couple of magazine subscriptions?"  It might be fun to get something other than junk in my mailbox.  I am starting with these two, but am also considering The Week, a news magazine.  I have always loved getting a new magazine in the mail, so this will be something to look forward to.

To that end, I am also using the funds I get from selling off these vinyl albums to get new things to read or do.  Too much free time on my hands is never a good thing if I am bored, so this should help.  I am trucking about 50 albums at a time over to Half Price Books, and this week I also took them a vintage Risk game and some round playing cards from the 50s.

Hanging this art in the garage was a challenge.  To start, it weighs 44 pounds!  And I knew I would be doing it by myself.  It had to be hung with more than just nails, so I bought a French cleat that had a built-in level.  I dragged a heavy steel table over here and got to work measuring, pre-drilling holes, and lifting.

I love it in here!  It hung at Highlands for years, attached directly onto the outside of the barn.  The Girl made it with her Dad's help, and it lived in her shared house at Baylor.  It has great sentimental value.

The best pic I could find of where it had hung on the barn.

One thing about being single with no peeps around is that the holidays tend to sneak up on you since they blend in with the general scenery of life.  I didn't do a whole lot of decorating for Easter, because of that, but I did set a few bunnies out.  I will have a (hopefully) quiet day at work next Sunday and pack a special lunch for myself.  I'm sure I will send my peeps a special text.  But it feels weird to celebrate these things alone.

Gina

Monday menus #63

Its really hard for me to fathom that Easter is almost here.

Didn't we just have Christmas? 

faux flowers are ok by me...

I knew it was coming, but seriously, its like we are zooming thru this month, this year.  I think that time speeds up when you least expect it to.

Monday - kitchen closed, but I have a pizza in the freezer

Tuesday - Spaghetti Bolognese, zucchini

Wednesday - Buffalo Chicken Salads with romaine, black beans, corn, avocado

Thursday - Gyros with tzatziki and curly fries

Friday - Eggplant Parmesan, salad with olives, bell pepper, croutons

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I will have a quiche for us to eat!

*this week I will continue working on the things on my To Do list that I did not get done last week!

Gina

5 thing Friday - cabinet clean-out, snakes, treats, cross, puzzle

I decided once and for all that I was tired of the function of this under the counter cabinet in the kitchen.  Its where I store extra dishes, including those dishes that I cleared out  of the china cabinet, plus my mixer,  the wax tarts, some holiday dishes, and miscellany.

Normally the trash can sits in front of it.

I pulled everything out and wiped it all down.

I had a tiny bit of shelf liner that I used for the top shelf.  (When I moved my plants outside, I ran all of the white plates through the dishwasher, which is why I only have two pictured here.)  I boxed up the china, found another place for the wax tarts box to live, and moved the mixer so I can get to the trash bags more easily.  The china went to the thrift store and I am not sad about that - we never did end up using them over the holidays.  Or ever, really.

Its hard to tell, but the small(!) yellow sign warns you about VENOMNOUS SNAKES in the area.  This is literally a few feet away from the employee entrance at my hospital.  I hope you can read, people.

Here's another one!  This one near a sidewalk that literally everyone, including the general public,  uses.  What snakes you might ask?  Oh, only copperheads, coral snakes and RATTLESNAKES*.  I mean, I guess its good that you would be right here at a hospital if you got bit.

The upside of having a son who works in a bakery is that he brings us treats like fresh French bread, muffins, and thick walnut chocolate chip cookies.  Its like he reads my mind.

Well actually, I did a save a couple of china pieces out from the donation pile.  And from my Buy Nothing Group, I got this pretty mosaic cross.  I don't know what possessed me to jump on it so quickly (after purging so much junk from my house), but the person lived within walking distance from my house and I got to meet a neighbor!  Meant to be mine, I guess. But after Easter, I think it will go.  

Will this puzzle ever get completed?  Will Gina ever clear off her dining table?  Will we actually ever use it to eat in the future?  The world will have to wait to know.

Gina

*rattlesnakes are something I won't miss about Highlands...

5 thing Friday - Mom's birthday, doorstops, painting, firewood harp, night guard, Spring

Today would have been my mother's 94th birthday.  She was a big fan of birthdays and could never get over how far she had made it.  "Can you believe I'm 93, Gina?  NINETY-THREE!"

Happy Birthday, Mom.  I miss you every day!

I finally paid the tile guy, put the disappointment of it out of my mind, and finished spiffing in the boys' bathroom.  Its not worth stressing over any more, and I want to tie up these loose ends.

It involved painting all of the trim and putting new door stops in, as the tile guy "lost" one of them.  That meant the other one wouldn't match (this is a small bathroom, after all), so I just replaced both.

I also gave the vanity cabinets a coat of paint while I was at it.  (here they are drying) I like to use a Rustoleum brand called Painter's Touch Ultra Cover latex, in a semi-gloss white.  Paints like a dream and cleans up easily.  I have used it on all of the trim and bathroom cabinets, as well as all of the closet walls.

After giving away all but two firepits' worth of wood (it was old and some of it borderline rotted), I decided to set the giant firewood harp out on the sidewalk, and lo and behold, it disappeared.  I might replace it with a smaller one next winter, we shall see.  I'm in no hurry to clutter up the back patio.

Fun times - my new night guard.  Its bulky and has taken some getting used to, but I love the look of my newly repaired bottom teeth - so I will give it my best effort.  I haven't worn anything resembling a retainer since I was 22.  It feels strange to be doing this at my age!

Wouldn't you know it, I changed out the flannel sheets for the new pretty ones, then immediately we had another cold snap!  Austin weather can never make it's mind up for more than a day at a time.  I am so ready for Spring!

To that end, I also set out all of the bunnies that were not broken from being improperly stored by somebody myself, and I added some pussy willow and moss balls to a tall vase in the bedroom.  Is it silly to decorate just for me?  Because literally no one else besides me is going to care about it, and I feel like that's OK.  I love the look and feel of my own home!

Gina

5 thing Friday - barrel cactus, necklace, Easter, new job, FB memories

 The day before Easter, I checked on Highlands and found my barrel cactus, hidden under an oak, flanked by Nandina and Texas Sage...an odd and shady place for a cactus.  Anyhoo, it was about to bloom so I put it and a lot of its surrounding dirt in a temporary home on my patio.

And bloom it did!

On Easter, I wore my "messy nest" {made by a friend} with my lucky penny charm {from Etsy} and an "m" for Mark {James Avery}.  I love changing out the charms on this necklace.  Its one of my favorites!  Mark gifted it to me on Mother's Day 2019.  A very good memory.

I did so enjoy the pulled chicken on Easter.  It made delicious sammies!  Scout and I ate all we wanted, then I froze the rest for future us.

I tried to talk him into going to get a beer with me on Easter afternoon, but he wouldn't budge.  So I texted a former co-worker, she brought her mom, and we had a great time talking and laughing for three hours!

Long story condensed: my friend and co-worker informed me at 2 p.m on Tuesday that it was my last day at my current hospital and to show up at the new place bright and early the next day.  Its happening, she said.  I could have cried.  I had an hour and a half to say goodbye to the folks who were going to be leaving at 3:30 - one I had know for over 30 years - and we were so. damn. busy.

I wrote notes on a couple of dry erase boards.  It was just too hard to do in person.  They all thought I would be there until Friday, and so had I.

The next evening at the new hospital was the grand opening.  Since I hadn't slept well the night before, I didn't stay for that.  My friend took the charge nurse and I out for a Chinese lunch.  I sat and worked on the computer in an air conditioned office with oldies rock playing in the background as I ate a donut and enjoyed a K-cup of coffee.  My new boss offered me a glass of wine and gave me a giftie bag. I watched the worklist for the other hospital explode with patients and I felt like I had escaped a war zone.  I was a little shell shocked.

Yesterday was better, as far as how I felt.  I ate a quiet lunch in the breakroom.  Walked around the hospital, finding my way around.  Met a nice lady in registration in the professional building next door.  Got so many educational modules done.  Deep breaths.

Thank you, FB for continued reminders, including this one of Bubbie, who had hernia surgery as a result of falling forward on his bike handles 12 years ago. {actually this was the second time he did this, but he didn't have surgery to repair it the first time around}  Sometimes, I wish he was this little again - he was 11 here and still my baby.  I do miss him.

Happy weekend!

Gina

5 thing Friday - bluebonnets, therapy dough, work, candy, Scout

Last summer I collected a few bluebonnet seeds one afternoon at Highlands. 

Then I brought them home and sprinkled them in that little spot of grass by the street that is always full of weeds.  And they sprouted.  So I plan on doing that again until this whole area is full of them.

Its my mini-memorial to Mark.

Have you ever heard of this scented therapy dough?  Someone at work had it and passed it around.  Its not cheap, but it smells amazing and it was curiously calming to roll around in your hand.  I think this idea is pretty nifty and would make a good Christmas gift!

T-minus 6 more work days at my current hospital.  I will say my farewells, clean out my locker, and walk down this long hallway to the garage.  Its been a long 16 years and I am ready to start anew.  And that's all I'm going to blog about THAT.

My peeps are maybe too old for Easter baskets (ok, they definitely are!) but if they come to lunch on Sunday I will gift them these little covered cups of candy. I couldn't find pork shoulder at HEB, so I flexed to chicken thighs.  I'm going to pre-season and marinate them, then cook them in my crockpot to shred up and serve on buns, with pickles and onion, chips on the side.  Goodbye to fussy Easter luncheons.  And I will probably do a little bit of yardwork in the afternoon, if the weather is pretty.

I love when Facebook reminds me of my sweet ones.  Here is Scout, all of 17.  He was a nice kid, he is a nice adult.  The road has been bumpy, but I know he can make it.  And so can I.

Happy Easter,

Gina

Empty Nest menu #116

Easter weekend came and went, and I never even blogged about it.

In fact, I did not take any photos. 

I know that with time, my family and me will settle in to the new holiday normal and I intend to be the one who directs it.  I don't want my family to lose holidays, including their meaning. Meanwhile, I think we are all doing as well as expected.

Monday - Chicken Alfredo Pasta, peas

Tuesday - Polenta with sausage marinara, green beans

Wednesday - Salmon, risotto, asparagus {eye appointment in the afternoon for a weird eye issue that's happening}

Thursday - Biscuits and Sausage Gravy with eggs

Friday - Happy Hour with The Girl

Saturday - Freezer meal {wine club pick-up with Firstborn and The Girl}

Sunday - TBD at home {on call in the afternoon, hopefully a day to read and relax}

Gina

Two me's can exist at Easter, too

 Just as two of anyone else can also exist.

After all, everyone had moods, feelings, and a psyche!

I have blogged this topic before...

funerals are for the Living...

You can blog about your meals and projects and home and crafts and sound like you are the old you.  The next day you might have nothing to say as depression seems to consume you and push you back at least one of the steps that you painstakingly took forward.

It doesn't mean you don't still have a right to both you's.

No one is gonna get that unless they've lived it themselves, and most people will keep telling you they are "trying" to be understanding but they truly don't what to say or do and etc blah blah they still love you.  Great as that is, it changes nothing.  Two you's are still there and maybe will be for a nice loooong while.

  Friendships are hard.  Holidays are hard.  Work is hard.

Sometimes even days off are hard.  And that's where I am, but not where I will be forever.  Spring is the season of hope.  So very truly from me:  Happy Easter to all of you, and to all of my family as well..

Gina

*5 thing Friday will be back next week

Empty Nest menu #114

Leftovers are a beautiful thing. 

Monday - Chicken Enchiladas, green salad with avocado

Tuesday - BBQ beans and Sausage, creamy corn, salad

Wednesday - Wine Wednesday with The Girl

Thursday - Greek Pork chop, tabbouleh, green beans

Friday - Sloppy Joes with hidden veggies*, sweet potato fries

Saturday - out {might visit my mother, we'll see}

Sunday - Easter Potluck at Camp Rustown

*I will add finely minced bell pepper, onion, and carrot

Gina