5 thing Friday - icy days, reading, chrysanthemum print, simple meals, pastimes

The severe cold weather and ice we had are now over. 

Even safely warm at work, I was stressing over my house, but when I got home on Monday afternoon, all was well.  The house was just fine, I was safely off the roads, a martini was shortly going to be in hand, and I burst into tears after setting my things down and locking the door, grateful to be home - the very best place to be.

I spent a whole day putseying around my house and sleeping well.  Then on Wednesday I shoveled the sheets of snowy ice off my walkway and managed to get to coffee with a friend, groceries bought, bins to curb.  Does it say I am an old lady to need a whole day to recover from the weekend?  It wasn't even overly busy!  I think it was a delayed stress reaction.

I'm looking forward to sitting on my couch and reading, under this soft blanket made for me by The Girl.  Where did she get her mad crochet skillz?  Turns out, You Tube.  It sure has come in handy.

I joined another book club at a local library branch and I think it will be perfect for me.  The list of books is published in advance so you have time to find and read them.  I am a fan of holding an actual book, so I ordered mine used (through Amazon) and stacked them in order right where I will be reading.  The first one is The Mender by Jennifer Marchman.  We will get to meet the author, too!

Last week, when I was moving pictures around, I ordered myself this chrysanthemum poster print for the collage wall in the office.  I can't wait to hang it!  Mostly I have been very good about not using on-line shopping for therapy.  But I did earn some overtime and I have been wanting a print like this for months.  The chrysanthemum represents optimism and that motif is the largest element in my tattoo that says "expect the best". 

I haven't been publishing menus because I am cooking either mostly the same things, or just eating out or doing very simple things like this egg and sausage skillet with roasted Mediterranean veggies.  I am back to learning how to feed just me.  One night this week I did a big pot of soup using the leftover turkey broth and meat from Thanksgiving, the rest of above mentioned veggies, and a can of white beans.  Nothing exciting, just getting myself fed.

I am still plugging along on the photo album project.  All the pages were removed from the albums, then all of the photos removed from the pages, next I will further purge the photos, put all of them in chrono order adding in photos from separate Christmas albums (WHY did we do that), then put them back into new albums (maybe trimming some of them up), then scanning them, then adding them onto flash drives for my peeps. This will take me weeks, 'cause I can only work on it an hour or so at a time.  It is unbelievably hard to trip down memory lane like this.

For stress reduction and meditative time, I have been practicing my cursive handwriting which I had abandoned as a teenager.  Its like starting from scratch!  Writing my whole name, correctly, is very tricky.  For years I have been writing a big lowercase G for my first name.  Its fun to practice your fine motor skills with fancier handwriting.  I think I may like to learn calligraphy some day, who knows.  For now, this is a low cost pastime of putting pencil to paper while I listen to music, and doesn't make me cry like the photo project!

Happy almost end of January,

Gina

Monday menus #53

 We're supposed to get super cold weather here that will strain the grid and ERCOT issued a weather watch. Below was the scene from last Tuesday's foray onto the grocery store at 9 a.m., a full week in advance! I guess I'm glad I went early in the week, because Scout reports it was a zoo this weekend at HEB.

I wish people in Central Texas wouldn't panic every time it gets cold.  People in other parts of the country don't seem to. But yes, I made necessary precautions.

Monday - either leftovers, or thawing out the chili from last week {I work until 8:30 p.m., weather permitting}

Tuesday - Jalapeno Sausage links with South Texas Rice, Caesar Salad {pay the fence guy}

Wednesday - Beef Stroganoff Noodles, steamed carrots, cinnamon cookies {morning hearing appointment with audiologist}

Thursday - Pork Tenderloin, green beans with new potatoes, rolls {Happy 34th Birthday, Firstborn!, virtual meeting for hospital Town Hall}

He doesn't like it when I point the camera at him, but I think he's a handsome guy!

Friday - Cheese Tortellini with pork sausage crumbles, broccoli {tire rotation for my car, boy bathroom touch up paint, tub and toilet gaskets, and doorstops}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed (probably eating leftovers!)

Gina

Monday menus #52

 Last week's crockpot of beans with ham was very good.  It made enough to feed an army, but we will enjoy it heated through on a weekend night when its "kitchen closed".

To the soaked and drained beans I added a ham bone that had plenty of ham still on it, a can of tomatoes, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, some powdered bouillon, and water.  It cooked on the high setting most of the day and made the house smell very cozy!

Monday - kitchen closed {but we have so many pre-made individual meals in there}

Tuesday - Roast Turkey, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts {on call, debone and store turkey}

Wednesday - Spinach and Ham Quiche {visit the library and get my account updated and squared away, on call}

Thursday - Cajun Turkey Pot Pie* {paint my bathroom doors}

Friday - Crockpot Chili with corn muffins {kitchen cabinet clean-out and organization, pick up grocery fillers}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

*this is nothing more than cooked and cut up turkey, a bag of frozen veggies, half a jar of Cajun pasta sauce from the freezer, and a pie crust.

Gina

5 thing Friday - Ice, bedroom window, blue skies, stitching, pendant

When we had the ice storm last Thursday, I called out and hunkered down.  Not only do I not feel confident driving to work on I35 in an ice storm but I don't particularly trust the other people on the roads either.  One look at the morning news, with all of the road closures and wrecks and I had made my choice.

Stay home and stay warm.

The street behind my car is a sheet of ice.  No thank you.

I did some sewing, some cleaning, some desk work, and some soup-making in my little crock pot.  I ate whatever I happened to have on hand and I didn't bother leaving my house until Saturday. 

On Friday I was a cleaning demon!  I pulled the curtains down in my room, moved the furniture, fixed my blinds so that they would stop popping off the bracket, vacuumed the heck out of carpet, cellular shades, and furniture.  Then for good measure I wiped down the shades with warm soapy water. The windows got windex'd, too.

Let there be light!

It was nice to give my bedroom a little extra love.  And it smelled so nice in here!

Saturday and Sunday were both beautiful days.  I love Central Texas mild winters.  Ice and snow, not so much.  In fact this weekend, I think I will visit Highlands and sit in the sun for a while.

Stitching again.  I have claimed the kitchen table as my spot for stitching since the light in here is perfect for it.  I have a lot of little projects I want to work on.  

I did go get this compass pendant engraved with the coordinates for Highlands.  I wear it most weekends, along with a few other small charms.  I haven't decided what will become of Highlands,  Still a tomorrow problem, I guess.

Happy Weekend,

Gina

5 thing Friday - snow, pumpkin, wreath, thrive, Highlands

Remember that Sunday it snowed in Austin?

It cracks me up that people think it doesn't snow in Texas.  Its maybe rare for Central Texas, but when I was growing up in Lubbock, it was a regular winter thing.   Remember:  TEXAS IS BIG.

Since it was a Sunday, and we were fairly homebound, I broke out the two cans of pumpkin leftover from Thanksgiving and made some treats.  One loaf of pumpkin bread to eat, warm with butter, one for the freezer,

...and a pie for dessert.

I also made a "new" wreath for the front door, using my deconstructed Christmas wreath.  I will leave the wintery greenery up until at least mid-February.  It still fits the season and is so pretty.  Not to mention free since I had everything for it already.

My word of the year is thrive.

Its not enough for me to just survive.  "Survive" feels dismal.  Thrive feels forward-moving.  I ordered this brass and sterling tag from The Vintage Pearl, along with a cranberry pearl drop.  I try to remind myself everyday that I want to move forward in joy.  Sad is not ok.

Hubby and I were at Highlands last weekend for the first time in many weeks.  It was both unfamiliar yet felt like home all at the same time.  Weird.  We had a campfire, made a delish pasta dinner, putseyed around, napped in our lounge chairs, ate late breakfast and lunch, and just generally decompressed.

God willing, we will do it again this weekend!

Gina

5 thing Friday - clothes, Winter decor, mother, wineries, produce

Does anyone else borrow their Hubby's socks?  I know it seems strange.  But he has colors I would never buy for myself because I just don't think about it. 

One of the things I like to do for Spring is closet cleaning.  We need to go through our wardrobes and look at what we may need to replace/repair.  That might be part of our Sunday morning before we go and do.  I need to take all of his slacks to the cleaners, too.

So exciting.

I still have my Christmas wreath up - I just took off the sparkly reindeer and added some gold berries.  I think it looks rustic glam with the burlap ribbon against the chocolate brown door.  

I also left out the pinecones because they look like Winter to me.  I know it feels like Spring here lately, but there's no sense in replanting this pot just now.  Typically we get snow or ice in February, and true to form, we woke up to a lightly snow covered backyard yesterday morning. 

 Last week my mother got another partial thickness transplant of her right cornea.  I hope this one heals better than the previous one.  Its very hard on the elderly to undergo so many procedures and stress.  And she is constantly worried about her vision, driving, and living independently.  Really all I can do is help her troubleshoot some situations so that she is intentional about her own safety.  

When I am with her, I try to encourage her to be careful, but not fearful.  I want her to feel as confident as she can.  People who are worried about falling are more likely to fall.  Park near the cart return, grab a cart to steady yourself up the parking lot to the store.  It will help you return to the car safely, too, making you more likely to be seen.  Also, bright clothing helps!

Driving home from her house last week I stopped by Rising Sun Vineyards.  The drive up to their property is so lovely.  {see what I mean about the weather?}  One of the owners was there pouring and she remembered me and thanked me again for the article I wrote for the website back in November.  I enjoyed a glass of wine on her porch and got to meet her marketing lady, too.  Such a friendly winery and such beautiful views.

We were eating so much kale and though we really like it, I wanted us to have more variety in our produce boxes.  Enter Rainbow Chard - so mild, easy to saute, and so delicious.  I paused the Imperfect delivery for the week because I had plenty of veggies, but we will start back up on Monday.  Its been great at keeping us accountable for eating fresh veggies and we get to try new things!

Gina

Weekend re-cap: the overnight edition

We are missing people at work - as in, we are missing both of the regular staff members that work weekday overnights.  We got a couple of emails that asked for volunteers in advance of outright assigning us a particular week, so I just bit the bullet and volunteered for last week.

Sunset meant it was time to get up for the day and have a cup of coffee before cooking dinner.  I'm not gonna lie, it was a challenge. Ahead of time I planned out when I would eat, when I would nap, when I would have coffee, what to pack to eat.  

Teddy was not a fan of me sleeping the day away.
But I call it a success because I made it through!  By the time Saturday morning came along, I was ready for it to be over.

I left work at 6 on Saturday morning, was asleep by 6:35, and woke up without an alarm by noon.  After a quick shower, we headed to Highlands. We picked up steaks and portabellas to grill at Highlands, spent an hour or so at Save The World enjoying a cherry ale and grilled pizzas.

When Spring arrives, this giant tire will become a container for lantana! 

We grilled our steaks and did some odds and ends around Highlands.  Then we both called it an early night at 8 p.m.

The next day we ate a leisurely breakfast and checked on the burn barrel from the evening before.  {We are slowly making our way through the pile of bark leftover from moving the firewood stacks.}  Then we headed over to Perissos for the wine club pick-up party.

Even though it was cold and misty, we were comfy and cozy.  The lunch of Chicken Parmesan Pasta was great and we enjoyed a bottle of Sangiovese in the tasting room listening to live music. 

It seemed like the rest of the afternoon went by in a blur.  We were home in Austin by 3:30 p.m., made a fire in the firepit, and enjoyed snacks.  Dinner was meatballs and fettucine, and after I got the kitchen cleaned up and the laundry going, we were in bed super early.  And now its Hump Day already!
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I will bake a sweet treat for my peeps, and another weekend is just a couple days away.

Gina

Weekend re-cap: junk-ing, fondue-ing, wine-ing, eating, and relaxing

We started off our Saturday by visiting Leander Market - a group of vintage/antiques/junk stores - on our way to Burnet.

 In particular, we were looking for a solid wood bookcase for Firstborn's new apartment.

  

LO AND BEHOLD! 

 It was $35 and just needed to have a scuff or two knocked down and a fresh coat of poly.

We stopped at Hoover Valley cafe for a catfish plate to go, then mosey'd over to Perissos.  The weather was glorious and they had live music.  

 After that, we headed to Highlands and Hubby surprised me with an early gift:  A fondue pot with a bottle of Rousanne, a loaf of bread, and some swiss and cheddar cheeses.

We filled up on fondue and skipped dinner!  And we were treated to a pretty sunset, and a calm evening by the firepit.

 A million miles from holiday stress.

The next day we visited Westcave Cellars. 

 

 The guitarist was a nice guy and he and Hubby chatted it up for a while, but we had one last stop to make.

 It's been about a year since we visited Wimberley Valley Winery, but we knew they would have spiced Christmas wine so off we headed!

We enjoyed a leather couch all to ourselves in front of the fireplace and we sat sipping our Christmas wine in peace - a delightful break from holiday stress.  We collected our wine and we headed home.  And today it seems like Christmas 2018 is already a million miles away.

Gina